RWBY Loops
by Leviticus Wilkes
Summary: "Stuck repeating everyday? Bored out of your mind? With only your friends along for the ride? Why, it's just like school! Of course, the Infinite Loops are a lot more fun then Beacon Academy, as Ruby Rose is about to find out. Part of the Infinite Loops project.
1. The Gem and The Flower

**1.1**

* * *

"Are you... Mugging me again?"

"Again? Whaddya mean you little brat? I've never seen you in my life! And yeah, I'm robbing you."

Ruby Rose took her headphones off and stared at the guy who was threatening her. Wasn't he the guy who had tried to rob her in the Dust Shop... and why was she in From Dust Till Dawn again?

"So turn out your pockets and-"

Ruby launched herself and the thug out of the window, knocking him out. "Alright... let's see... I have Crescent Rose. I'm in Vale and-"

"Well, get her." Ruby turned to see three more thugs leaving the building, at the behest of Roman Torchwick. Ruby smirked as she forewent analyzing her strange situation to thrash the trio that had the misfortune to go up against her. All three were down in mere seconds, with Ruby now facing Roman. The crime lord cocked an eyebrow. "Well you four were worth every penny, truly you were." Putting on his best 'I'm gonna kill you' smile, Roman addressed Ruby. "Well Red, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have better things to do."

Roman leveled his cane at Ruby and fired, only for Ruby to fire Crescent Rose down and backwards, launching herself _at_ Roman. The crime lord reacted quickly though, bringing his cane up and blocking Ruby's attempt to soften her landing with his face. The red clad girl hit the tarmac and rolled back to her feet, near enough to Torchwick to bring her scythe's blade to bear. "You're coming with me Torchwick."

Roman circled slowly, not leaving Ruby's arc of attack or moving closer to engage, and not moving his cane from it's target. "You'd like to think that, now wouldn't you?" Roman smirked a little. "Huntress in training, right? Let me show you something about your job." Roman suddenly switched grip on his cane, the hooked end launching back and hooking onto the distant fire ladder. "You'll need to be faster!"

Ruby lunged, just barely missing Roman's coat as the crime lord hurtled backwards to the building. Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose, took aim, and fired, narrowly missing Roman as he repelled off the wall and over the lip of the building. Ruby took off after him, launching herself over the building with recoil.

On the roof, Roman had a hand over his mouth and was shouting rapidly into it. "We've got a huntress. Get me out of here!" The bullhorn, the enormous Gunship that had retrieved him before rose from the alleyway it had landed in. Ruby wasn't about to lose him though. "Oh no you don't!" Flipping Crescent Rose over, Ruby launched herself through the open door of the Bullhorn and into it's bulkhead. "Land this plane or I take it down!"

Roman gritted his teeth and stopped himself from shooting Ruby, having no intention of blowing the Bullhorn out of the air. Instead... "Cinder."

Ruby turned slowly, facing the pilot of the Bullhorn with grim prospects. The pilot stood, turned, and revealed herself to be...

The girl from Haven? "You?"

Ruby's inattention cost her. Cinder lashed out with a leg and knocked Crescent Rose out of the way, a blast of fire catching Ruby across her face and roasting her skin. Ruby screamed in fury and agony and tried to swing at Cinder, only to miss wildly as Cinder exploited her new-found lack of depth perception. A series of black glass bolts unbalanced Ruby, sending her stumbling around the bulkhead and nearly out of the open door. Outside, she could hear shouts. "Miss, get out of there, now! Just drop! Just-!"

Cinder formed a glass sword and ran Ruby through.

* * *

"Are you... Mugging me?" Ruby's hand shot to her chest, but found no wound. Her hand slowly ghosted to the left side of her face, but not a single mark could be felt. She could even see out of her left eye again!

"Yes. Now turn your pockets out and put your hands-"

Ruby, for what seemed like the second time that night, kicked the thug out of the window, unfolded Crescent Rose, and turned to glare at the gangsters and Roman who were staring at her. This was not going to be fun. For them at least.

* * *

"Her name is Cinder, she and Torchwick are working with the White Fang, and I'm telling you, we already had this conversation!"

"Miss Rose!" Glynda Goodwitch was feeling an enormous headache coming on. She had dropped by to stop a robbery by the infamous Aura-using crime lord Roman Torchwick, only to find that he and his gang had been thoroughly beaten by the fifteen-year-old in front of her. If it hasn't been for miss Rose's apparent skill, she would have been much more severe with her reprimanding. But then Ruby had started babbling about time travel and dying and flame witches and the coming year, all to the point of distraction. "Miss Rose, that is quite enough."

"But it's not enough! In five seconds Professor Ozpin's going to walk in with a plate of cookies and sweet talk me!"

Glynda spent a moment staring at Ruby, before staring at Ozpin, who had just walked in with a plate of cookies and milk. Ozpin pursed his lips and shrugged, simultaneously impressing and annoying Glynda. "I take it you already know who I am, Miss Rose?"

Ruby nodded vigorously. "You're professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. You're old friends with General James Ironwood, you know my uncle, you love Coffee, have a cane sword, you helped create the artificial Aura using android Penny, and your headmaster's chair looks like a gear dick."

Opzin and Glynda's jaws dropped. After a few seconds, Ozpin composed himself to turn to Glynda. "Does my chair look like a dick?"

Glynda blushed heavily and looked away. Ozpin gulped and made a mental note to replace his chair later. Addressing Ruby now: "Miss Rose, let's say... for a moment, that I ask for irrefutable proof that you're from the future. How would you answer?"

Ruby pursed her lips, worriedly thinking for a moment. "You... you did a personal background check on a girl named Blake Belladonna, who's enrolling this year. You know that's she's pretending to be human." Ruby gulped and waited.

Ozpin waved his hand gently. "And, miss Rose?"

Ruby sighed. ' _Sorry Blake._ ' Ruby looked Ozpin dead in the eye. "And you know she's former White Fang."

"WHAT!" Glynda nearly shouted. Ozpin nodded slightly and steepled his hands, only after making a small gesture to Glynda for silence.

Turning his attention to Ruby, Ozpin raised a finger. "Miss Rose, if you know this, then do you know what I am about to ask you?"

Ruby 'hmm'ed in though. "Uh... to come to Beacon?"

Ozpin nodded. "And in your original timeline, what did you say?"

"...Yes?"

"Welcome to Beacon miss Rose."

* * *

 **1.2**

* * *

On the steps to Beacon Academy, right on her first day, Weiss Schnee realized that she had entered an entirely new world. A world of lunatics. A world of mad-women. A world...

Of Corgi's. "They don't allow pets on campus."

The girl she had bumped into, a young looking girl with a black combat skirt and a red cape, grinned maniacally. "This isn't my pet. This is my weapon."

Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

Red's grin widened. "What you see here may look like a cute corgi, but I see an opportunity, a weapon. Through careful training, precision preparation, and ample time investment, I've birthed a weapon henceforth unknown to man and Faunus. What you see... is the War Corgi."

Weiss stared blank-eyed at Red. "Uh..."

Red set her War Corgi on the ground, hooked him to his leash (which Weiss noticed ended with a sickle) and waved good bye. "Tootles." With that, Red walked away.

Weiss began to reevaluate why she chose to become a huntress.

* * *

Headmaster Ozpin was idly meandering around campus, looking busy, sipping coffee, procrastinating, when Glynda grabbed him by the ear and pulled him into a side hallway. "Ack! Gly-Glynda. I swear, I'll get the paperwork done tonight."

"You still haven't done your paperwork!" Glynda hissed in anger. She shook her head and poked Ozpin in the chest. "This _isn't_ about your paperwork. It's about Miss Rose."

Ozpin sipped his coffee introspectively. "Glynda, I am aware that Ruby Rose is having a slightly... problematic transition period. But rest assured she will adapt to the new normality of her surroundings. She is, after all, only fifteen."

Glynda looked Ozpin straight in the eye and opened a door to the outside. In the small park outside, Ruby was holding her dog, Zwei, over a bed of flowers. Zwei was breathing fire at the flowers. "Burn in the righteous fire of the War Corgi."

Glynda closed the door and raised an eyebrow at Ozpin. Ozpin, in his capacity of answer, sipped his coffee. "Maybe... the transition period is taking a while."

* * *

Team JNPR and RWBY, sans Ruby, were seated at their customary lunch table, exchanging notes and bemoaning their friendship with Ruby. Now, usually it was beneficial to be friend with Ruby. She was capable, a brilliant fighter, and seemed to know everyone inside and out. But...

Zwei.

Zwei was there, standing on the table. Looking deceptively cute. Everyone was on edge. For a moment Jaune dropped his guard. A cannonball nearly took his head off. Jaune looked at Yang fearfully. "Did Zwei just..."

"Piss a cannonball?"

Jaune nodded.

Yang nodded back.

JNPR and RWBY knew they weren't in for a fun day.

"I say we put a hit on it. I know a few people who'd be happy to take care of Zwei."

But then again, it wasn't bad enough that anyone seriously took Blake's offer at face value.

* * *

Roman Torchwick laughed maniacally as he blasted Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong across the container yard, gleefully indulging his bloodlust. He aimed and fired again, giggling. At that moment, he heard something. A yip.

Roman looked down at the small dog that was standing next to him. "What the..."

Zwei lifted his leg and pissed on Roman. Believe it or not, this was just the beginning of Roman's humiliation. When the police did collect him later that evening, the scorched, battered, bruised, and somehow sopping yet crime lord almost welcomed them with open arms.

* * *

Ruby gently petted Zwei as the White Fang rally building went up in flames. "Good War Corgi."

* * *

 **1.3**

* * *

On the airship to Beacon, Ruby looked over her list of 'things to do while time traveling'. "Okay, let's see here... Stop Roman and Cinder's nefarious schemes? Done it. Join White Fang? Been there, done that. Be appointed Headmistress of Beacon? Untenable. Get perfect grades and show up Weiss? Too mean. Change teams?"

Ruby lowered her check list and watched the city of Vale and the ocean around it pass far beneath her. "Change teams it is."

* * *

Ozpin smiled from the stage above the student population of Beacon. He loved ringing in the new semester with new students. "May Cinder Fall, Ruby Rose, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black please come forward."

The four students came up onto the stage, but to Ozpin's surprise, Ruby Rose seemed... downcast. He filed that away for further reference. "You four retrieved the Black Knight artifacts, and so have been arranged into team CREaM." Ozpin allowed a lightly cheeky grin to sneak on to his face. "Led by..."

Cinder preened.

"...Ruby Rose!"

Cinder started in shock as she heard Ozpin announce their leader. Next to her, Ruby's head dropped even more. "Someone... please kill me."

* * *

Ruby was starting to find that she really didn't like this timeline. For example, Yang had mysteriously vanished, under mysterious circumstances. Weiss had basically dropped off the face of the earth a few months ago, though Ruby had a very, very bad feeling about the Ice Witch she had fought towards the beginning. The only person who even seemed to attend Beacon was Blake, believe it or not. She was replacing Yatsuhashi, from Team CFVY.

Ruby shuddered to think what that implied.

Right now she, Neptune, Cinder and Emerald were doing some recon on the White Fang rally that, once upon a time, Blake and Sun had infiltrated, laying prone on a distant rooftop. If the time table held up (and Ruby was sure it would, if only because the universe was funny like that) Mercury and Sun would come flying out of the windows and make a run for it, with Roman hot on their heels in the Atlesian Paladin.

Ruby scanned across the upper windows with Crescent Rose's scope, trying to see what was happening behind the tinted windows. For the eighth time that night, Ruby restrained herself from simply shooting out the window. It was getting to be a near thing.

Ruby scanned the windows again and growled. "Stupid window... blocky stuff."

"Hey, you holding up?"

Ruby had long gotten over her reflexive twitching and jumping whenever Emerald addressed her. Emerald may have been the enemy every other time, but she was still her teammate tonight. "No... I'm not."

Emerald chewed her lips and looked at the windows. "Worried about Sun?" Ruby knew that Emerald wouldn't ask if she was worried about Mercury. Emerald was under no illusions that Ruby cared deeply about any of her teammates, and preferred to work alone.

That said, the way that Emerald said it was almost resigned. If Ruby had been of a slightly more hostile mind, she would have misinterpreted it as accusatory. "I'm worried."

Emerald lightly ribbed Ruby. "He'll be fine. And so will Mercury." The second sentence was said lowly, with resignation. Ruby tried not to kick herself too hard.

Fortunately, a distraction appeared in the form of Sun and Mercury leaping out of the rally, pursued by Roman's Paladin. Ruby hopped to her feet. "That's our cue ladies and gentleman. Let's roll."

* * *

"Yang?"

Ruby felt weak at the knees, almost unstable. The world seemed to be spinning. "Y...Yang?"

Across the wreckage of the Atlesian Paladin, standing squarely where Neo should have been, was Ruby's big sister. "Hey, Rubes!" Yang called cheerfully.

Roman glanced from his bodyguard to Ruby. "So this is your little sister? Hmm... Get me out of here Yang."

Ruby felt the world tilt fully upon it's axis. "Yang... Why?"

Yang didn't stop to chat. She grabbed Roman and launched them both into the air, meeting a Bullhorn that was making a break for the outskirts of the city. Ruby could almost imagine the Weiss was in there as well, with the General...

General Blake Belladonna, of Team CFVY and the White Fang. It was all too much for Ruby. She fainted.

* * *

'Knock, knock.'

"Go away."

Ruby crawled under her bedsheets and shut out the world. She didn't want to go to another debriefing, or talk to her dad on the phone, or be consoled by Ozpin, or anything! "Just... go away..."

The door creaked open. "Ruby?"

"I said leave."

Ruby's bed creaked as Cinder sat down on it. "Ruby, I know-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

Ruby didn't know when she had stood up, but now she was standing on her bed, leering over Cinder. "You don't know who I am or where I've come from. So you can just screw off and leave. Me. BE!" Ruby's Aura kicked in and tossed the room to shambles in a wind.

Cinder, believe it or not, stayed right where she was and stared at Ruby. "Ruby... I know what it's like to feel betrayed. I've lived with that feeling all my life. And if you would sit down, I'll tell you why."

Ruby glared at Cinder, who sighed and decided to speak her piece anyway. "Ruby, when I was younger, I lived in Mountain Glen. My parents had evacuated into the underground, but then... there was an explosion. Grimm flooded the tunnels, and the council of Vale chose to seal the district off from the rest of Vale." Cinder paused, her eyes, if only for a moment, telling of the story, of the horrors she had witnessed in the dark. Cinder closed her eyes and continued.

"I managed to escape, just before the doors closed. My parents went so lucky. I... I knew that they were still alive behind that door, trapped with the Grimm. They..." Cinder clenched her fist. "They called Mountain Glen the worlds largest tomb, but they're lying. It was the world's largest slaughterhouse. When I was old enough to understand what I had lived through, I wanted... I wanted the council, the huntsmen... I wanted Vale to destroyed."

Cinder looked at Ruby, her struggle to control her temper, her anguish, written across her face. "I wanted revenge. Only one thing stopped me. I knew that if I took revenge against Vale, I would just create a hundred, a thousand, maybe a million more children like me."

A moment passed. Ruby slowly sat down next to Cinder, as the older girl collected herself. "Ruby, what I'm trying to say is, people need to do what they think is right. If they don't, then, one day, they'll drive themselves insane. You feel like you've been wronged, like the whole world has been turned against you, but you need to be better than that. To do right is only way for things... to be set right."

For a few minutes, Ruby and Cinder sat next to each other, silent. Ruby pondered what Cinder had said. Cinder hoped she had said it well. Finally, Ruby edged over and wrapped an arm around Cinder. "Cinder... I don't know if you can understand what I'm going to tell you, but I hope that, after all of this is over, I'll meet this side of you again."

Cinder turned a quizzical eye to Ruby. "What... Ruby, we're partners. We'll never need to meet again: we'll be working with each other for years."

Ruby didn't meet Cinder's eye.

* * *

 **1.4**

* * *

Weiss Schnee nearly fell down the stairs, with only years of careful refinement and training saving her neck. Her bed was replaced by a long spiraling staircase, the clean moonlight by the soft faux-candlelight of a chandelier. Weiss nearly fell over for the second time in so many seconds as she realize where she was.

She was back at her father's manor. Weiss blinked, before bolting for her room.

* * *

Impossible. Insane. Unthinkable. Inconceivable (though Weiss admitted to herself that wasn't the actual meaning of the word). Somehow, through some incredible method, Weiss had traveled back in time. It was the evening before her departure to Beacon, and Weiss was still trying to wrap her head around her situation.

No one seemed to have noticed her sudden temporal displacement. In fact, she was certain that everything was the same, down to the most minute detail. Even her father's reports on the Atlesian Knights, which had delayed his return to home and prevented him from seeing Weiss off was the same. And if everything was the same, then no one on her team would remember her.

That was the real sticking point for Weiss. Ruby didn't remember all the studying they had done, Yang didn't remember their regular attempts to get Ruby to grow up, and Blake... Weiss wasn't quite sure how she could approach Blake, now that she knew Blake's secret without Blake knowing.

Then again, maybe it was better she changed that. A plan began to form in Weiss' head. She had a second chance: better put it to good use.

* * *

Step one: try to keep Ruby from blowing up her Dust, while also getting Ruby to delay her long enough to cause an interaction with Blake. The problem?

Ruby wasn't there. Ruby wasn't freaking there! Weiss was left resisting the urge to tear her hair out as she shamefully knocked her own luggage over to give herself the excuse to meet with Blake. It irked her to do so, but if it gave her an excuse to see a familiar face, Weiss would take it.

Of course, six months of combat against the Grimm, training, education, and minor hostility that they worked around had improved the relationship between the Schnee Heiress and former White Fang girl. So, when Blake did show up, and then did notice the Schnee Insignia, her response was a very cool, "Isn't this Schnee quarried Dust?"

Weiss, collecting her Dust, nodded cautiously. "Yes, it is. It's Dust." Weiss slipped up then. "Does it matter where it comes from, if it's used to fight Grimm?"

Blake's eyes narrowed, her bow twitching in annoyance. "If you deal with people with blood on their hands, then you're just getting that blood on your own." Blake handed the vial of Dust at Weiss and marched off, the heiress left in shock.

' _Was she always like this?_ '

Weiss quickly collected her baggage and left for the orientation, very much intent on finding Ruby again: she had done it before after all. Instead...

She found Nora. "Hi!"

Weiss, suffice to say, was not happy.

* * *

All searching for Ruby resulted in was Weiss determining the location of Ozpin's secret stash of Dust-laced coffee. Ruby Rose, for all intents and purposes, had vanished from the face of Remnant. It irked and terrified Weiss.

Said terror carried on into the Emerald Forest, where Weiss, along with team JNPR, Yang and Blake, were supposed to be initiated into Beacon. Under any other circumstances this would have been a cakewalk for Weiss, seeing as she had already gone through the Emerald Forest once before. But without Ruby, and with her emotions frayed, Weiss had very rapidly become a little beacon to the emotion tracking Grimm, practically screaming "HERE I AM!"

Hence why, when Weiss finally staggered into the clearing that held the artifacts she and her non-existent teammate were supposed to collect, Weiss was limping, bruised, and Aura depleted. Thankfully, it seemed that Nora and Ren, along with Yang and Blake, had arrived. It didn't take long for them to notice her.

Yang and Ren had her over their arms in moments, carrying her to the ruins that the artifacts were hidden in. "Sweet Dust, you look like you've been through a Grimm's teeth!" Yang exclaimed.

Weiss tried to stifle a groan of pain as Yang and Ren set her on the ground inside the ruins. "I've... I've had worse. And we're going to have worse in a few minutes."

Ren visibly gulped. "What do you mean, worse?"

"...aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" At that moment, Jaune flew into a tree on the perimeter of the clearing.

Weiss pointed at him. "A Deathstalker threw him, and it's coming this way."

Yang and Ren looked at each other. Yang pointed at Nora. "Cut Jaune out of that tree and get him over here, we'll need him. Blake, do you know anything about dressing wounds?"

Blake nodded, already moving to Weiss' side. Yang turned back to Ren. "That grenade launcher Nora's got: is it powerful?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Ren said, pulling both of his machine pistols, Stormflower, from his sleeves. "We're distract it, and try to have Nora pierce the carapace."

"Sounds like a plan," Yang said, at the same time Weiss shouted, "No!"

The Schnee heiress managed to push herself to her feet, Blake helping her stay there. "We can't fight a Deathstalker like that. The only way to pierce the armor is to deliver a directed, sharpened blow to it. Try and force the stinger into it's shell, and then hit it." Weiss knew that it should have been Jaune who had figured that out, but she didn't have the time.

At that moment, time ran out. Pyrrha came charging into the clearing, the Deathstalker right on her heels. Nora dragged Jaune to the ruins, where Ren and Yang were already starting to lay down a suppressive fire, aiming at the stinger. Weiss checked her Dust reserves as they did so. She wasn't low enough to prevent an ice shield, but if push came to shove... and the Nevermore showed up...

The Deathstalker was closing in, so Weiss made an executive decision. Channeling her Aura into Mytenaster, Weiss triggered the Dust reserve inside her sword and aimed it at the Deathstalker. "Everyone, give it everything you've got!" The charge built, released-

-and nearly hit the tall red humanoid that crash landed on the Deathstalker, impaling it through it's armored skull and killing it. The errant blast of ice caught a tree and froze it. Weiss sagged in exhaustion. "Oh Dust..."

The humanoid, a slender thing dressed in black, wearing a Grimm headress and wielding a scythe stood up atop it's dead mount. "Humans... and Faunus... Fear me not... I have come to rid the realms of these monsters. I merely ask-"

"GOD-FUCKING-DAMMIT RUBY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Weiss nearly shrieked. Everyone flinched in surprise as the suddenly furious heiress marched at the woman mounted in the dead scorpion Grimm. "Do you know how long I've been searching for you?"

The Grimm-girl room a step back, almost worried. "I, uh... I don't know who you're talking about. I've never heard of this Ruby person."

Weiss kicked Crescent Rose and pulled Ruby's headdress off. The red clad girl flinched, and smiled sincerely. "Looks like you caught me."

Yang promptly bear-hugged her sister. "Ruby, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on Patch Island with Dad, or at Signal. What are you doing here, and why are you dressed like that?"

"That's what I want to know." Weiss concurred, interrupting Ruby.

Yang turned to Weiss. "Also, how do you know my sister?"

Ruby tried to speak again, but Weiss cut across her. "What, are you surprised that someone recognized her?"

Yang glared at Weiss. "Yeah. And I don't like it when someone swears at her. So you better have a good reason why."

For a moment, none of the three spoke. Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, Ren and Blake were listening intently. Finally, Weiss threw up her arms in anger. "You know what, screw it! Screw sanity, screw logic, screw it! I know your sister, why, because I'm a time traveler. In fact I've lived this whole day before, and now that it's happening again, I'm trying to set it so that everything happens again, but now, guess what, Ruby's some sort of Grimm killing machine and I'm just left here trying to-" Weiss was abruptly cut off by Ruby covering her mouth.

The red-clad girl gently pulled her hand away from Weiss' mouth. "You too? You're time traveling as well?"

Weiss blinked. "I... yes, I am. What do you mean by 'as well'?"

Ruby didn't answer, but instead engulfed Weiss in an honest, close hug. "Uh... Ruby?"

"Shh. Don't spoil the moment."

Weiss contemplated interrupting. She thought about asking if Ruby really was time traveling herself. She thought about telling Ruby that she shouldn't hug someone she had supposedly only just met. She even thought about reminding Ruby that Yang was right there and getting mixed messages.

But Weiss, having been through perhaps the worst day of her life, was just grateful to have her friend back and hugging her closely. So she shut up and didn't complain, and enjoyed the hug.

* * *

 **1.5**

* * *

Ice cream, Ruby had long determined, was the world's greatest creation. Ice cream bought by the Schnee's though...

That ice cream was out of this world. "Weiss, have I ever told you how much I love your money?"

Weiss, having absconded with Ruby to a balcony on one of the higher towers of Beacon Academy, looked up from her ice cream cone. "Well Ruby, you could stand to mention it more often."

Ruby giggled and returned to her delicious, luscious cone of ice cream, the high ocean winds playing with her hood. Sprawled beneath them, Beacon Academy unconsciously went through the motions that Ruby had memorized over the many repeats. The red cloaked girl savored the company she now had though, Weiss being the perfect break from the monotony. "So what do you want to do Weiss?"

Weiss shrugged, rather disconcerted. "I don't know. This is all so new... I don't even know where to begin."

Ruby made a wide, expansive gesture to encompass not just Beacon, but the whole horizon. "The world is your oyster Weiss. You can take any pearl you want!" The wind picked up at that moment and set her cape aflutter, making Ruby look quite dramatic.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the drama. "I don't know. I just... what have you been up to? What do you do with this time traveling business?"

Ruby pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "Hmm... well, originally, I just wanted to be the best Huntress I could be. But after a few loops of this, I just got bored with training. So I decided to goof around. I actually joined up with Roman Torchwick once, just to see what his gang was like."

"WHAT!" Weiss nearly shrieked. "You... You..."

"Oh calm down Weiss. I just got some information on his organization." Ruby's expression fell a little. "You know that team from Haven? The one with the guy shoot boots, and the green haired girl?" Ruby continued at Weiss' nod. "Well, the girl with the golden eyes and the mini dress is the actual leader behind all of this."

"Bullshit," Weiss snapped, before covering her mouth in shock. "Ruby... that wasn't..." Weiss shook her head and continued. "Are you sure?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep. They're almost always the bad guys."

"Almost?"

Ruby tensed up, remembering a loop she would have much rather forgotten. "Well... Look Weiss, sometimes history isn't always consistent. It can change every now and again. And I've only been through thirty seven of these repeats, so I'm not sure what'll be true. But I can tell you they are almost certainly the bad guys."

"Right..." Weiss muttered, not sure how to take the revelation. For a moment, the teammates were silent. "So... thirty seven repeats. Over a six month period. You're... thirty three now. Thirty four?"

Ruby nodded a little. "Yeah. Now I'm the older sister!" she said happily. Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby's enthusiasm. "And besides Weiss, didn't you always want a big sister?"

Weiss smiled a little at that though. "Yeah. Maybe I did." Weiss finished her ice cream and chomped on the cone. "Alright Ruby, shall we begin?"

Ruby tossed up her arms. "Yay!" Her ice cream, unfortunately, went flying. A few moments later? It landed on Glynda Goodwitch's head, all the way down at ground level. Weiss and Ruby shared a look, before turning and running.

Time loops or not, neither of them were taking responsibility for that.

* * *

 **1.6**

* * *

"Ruby."

"Yes Weiss?"

"Why are Yang and Blake dating?"

Ruby and Weiss were laying on Ruby's bed, shifting though a catalog of weapons parts and painting their toenails (it was a compromise, since it turned out that they could in fact do both at the same time). Ruby mulled the question over. "Hmm... I don't know. I guess it's just cause they're perfect for each other."

Weiss had been honestly surprised when Yang had announced that she and Blake were dating. It wasn't inconceivable, seeing as the two regularly pulled off death defying stunts while fighting the Grimm. In all honestly, Weiss wouldn't have been surprised if it happened more often. Thing was though...

"So why are Pyrrha and Jaune dating?"

"I don't know. Teacher student stuff? Pyrrha sure is fond of Jaune."

"Mm hmm. And what about Ren and Nora?"

"Childhood friends with deep seated, but repressed romantic feelings towards one another, that Beacon has forced them to unrepress." Ruby pursed her lips as she wondered if she had said something grammatically correct. Another, errant thought came to the forefront though. "Huh. We sure do know a lot of people who are dating."

Weiss nodded. "Yes. Jaune _and_ Pyrrha. Ren _and_ Nora. Blake _and_ Yang." Weiss' stress on the words earned her a confused look from Ruby.

The girl with the red toenails and the part numbers for several blade sets edge closer to Weiss, conspiratorial. She narrowed her eyes and, after glancing around to see if there was anyone listening in, whispered, "What are you getting at Weiss?"

Weiss, being by far much more serious than Ruby, deadpanned her response. "Ruby, they're all teammates. Teammates. What are we?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh my Dust... we've stumbled upon a secret shipper plot!"

"No!" Weiss nearly shouted. "Ruby, everyone's been paired up, so where does that put our relationship?"

Ruby, more cheeky than anything, shrugged. "We're friends. Partners. And that's about it."

Weiss frowned. "Are you sure that's all we are? In your heart, is that all you want to be?"

Ruby, more than a little thrown by Weiss' earnestness, paused to choose her next words carefully. "Well... I mean, yes. Weiss, you're my friend, and I'm straight. That's really... that's the end of the conversation."

For a moment, the conversation was in suspension, as Weiss mulled Ruby's words over, before delivering her verdict. "Oh, Thank DUST. Ruby, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear that from you." Weiss cracked a light smile. "At least now I don't need to worry about turning you down and breaking your heart."

Ruby smiled and threw an arm around Weiss. "Ruby and Weiss, best buds forever."

Weiss smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of Ozpin's office...

"NOOOOOOO!"

Glynda cocked an eyebrow at her boss. "Ozpin, what're you doing?"

Ozpin, teary eyes turned his computer screen around to show Glynda. A recording of Weiss and Ruby's conversation was playing. "My OTP square... My matchmaking square is ruined*!"

Glynda pursed her lips. "Ozpin... you're trying to romantically pair teenagers. Don't you think that's a little creepy."

Ozpin, drowning his sorrows in coffee, looked at Glynda. "No. Why would it be?"

* * *

 **1.7 Dr. Tempo**

* * *

Ruby sighed.

 _Yet another repeat._ Weiss remembering things as well did cheer her up, but however, she wanted her sister to remember things as well.

Yang showed up right on cue. But oddly enough, Blake was running beside her. Blake had an odd look on her face, while Yang was confused. The incognito Faunus flatly asked, "Explain."

Internally, Ruby pondered. ' _Another one of those odd times things were different? Or maybe...'_

She then cheerfully asked, "Explain what?" Yang then said words that Ruby had wanted to hear for so long.

"Why are we back at the day we started at Beacon Academy? Blake asked me that, and I had no clue. Then we see Weiss, and..."

Aforementioned heiress appeared; however, she was acting more like Ruby, humming a jaunty tune, and was not at all like her usual ice queen self. Ruby facepalmed as she saw this.

 _'Should I be flattered, amused or insulted?_ '

Ruby walked over to Weiss, saying, "Yang and Blake remember now!"

Blake again asked, "Remember what?"

Weiss frowned. "And I was enjoying being carefree this time..."

* * *

After the explanation, Yang said, "So sis...for some reason, which you have no idea of, time's rewinding again and again?"

With a nod, Ruby chuckled. "Yep! I don't know why, but I'm trying to enjoy it! At least we're all here in this!"

Blake frowned. "At least I'll have time enough at last for some books." The four laughed. Finally, Team RWBY were in this strangeness together...

* * *

 **1.8 Seeker 213**

* * *

"Ruby? Ugh... I mean Garnet, why are we boys this time?" Weiss, currently Wei Schnee asked to her... his also gender-bent partner

"I don't know Weis... W-w-wei, but look on the bright side!" Garnet exclaimed, while Wei stared at him incredulously. "We aren't the only ones affected by this! H-h-hehehe" he pointed out, causing Wei to take an exasperated sigh, as they approached Garnet's brother Yoshi, and his partner Ebon.

* * *

 **1.9 fantasyPhysicist**

* * *

Pyrrha stared at the Deathstalker's stinger. It was hanging ominously in the darkness, just as it had the first time. She contemplated possible courses of action for a moment. She could let everything happen the way it did originally, and end up letting it loose and taking ages to finally kill it...

...or she could just kill it now.

She grabbed the stinger and swung up and over it, spearing the Deathstalker's tail and severing the nerves, thus paralyzing it. She grabbed the stinger again and swung downward, impaling the Deathstalker in the head with the stinger. She jumped down and brushed herself off, walking toward the entrance of the cave.

Jaune stared in stunned, silent awe.

* * *

Pyrrha watched the duel going on in front of her with a small mixture of apprehension and confusion. The entire time travel situation had caused quite enough confusion on its own, but the duel between Jaune and Cardin going on at the moment was just adding to that. Though she disliked admitting it, the first time, Jaune had been an incompetent fighter this early on. This time, however, was proving to be a much different case. She watched the duel intently, observing Jaune's style. He was fighting _exactly_ the way she had taught him.

Jaune took a few steps away from his opponent to catch his breath. This most certainly would not go down like it did the first time. ' _Let's see...what did I do wrong the first time..._ ' He shifted his stance so that his right foot was roughly a foot and a half behind his left, and at a 45 degree angle. He raised his shield, and pointed Crocea Mors at Cardin so that the tip was threatening him. Just like he trained.

Cardin noticed this, and smirked. "Uh oh, looks like Jauney Boy's going full power," he mocked. Jaune didn't respond, except to make sure his feet were properly planted. Cardin lunged forward and put what Jaune could tell was _far_ too much force into a swing of his mace. Jaune easily sidestepped it, and threw a quick cut at Cardin with his sword.

Cardin brought up his mace just in time to block it, and even then, the blade nearly hit his hand. With a grunt of frustration, he swung the mace again, knocking Jaune's shield away from him and onto the floor. He swung it again, and Jaune raised his sword. The two weapons locked, and Cardin taunted him. "This is the part where you lose."

Jaune held the bind for a moment more, then twisted his sword sideways so that the mace slid off the blade and embedded itself in the floor. He snapped the blade forward in a cut aimed for Cardin's neck. It stopped just short, and Cardin's Aura instantly drained to the red zone.

"Check the script; that's my line now," Jaune replied breathily. The time travel thing had reset his body to the same condition it was at the beginning, and the fight had been just as demanding as the first time.

The lights flickered on and the buzzer rang. Glynda stepped onstage looking somewhat surprised. Cardin, meanwhile, was furious. Glynda's voice echoed through the room. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Winchester's Aura has dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Cardin is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match."

Cardin took a step back, visibly enraged. "You'll regret this, punk," he muttered wrathfully, stepping off the stage.

Jaune just stared at him. ' _Jeez, he looks mad_.' He shrugged. ' _Eh. Serves him right._ ' He turned back to the crowd, where Pyrrha was staring at him, looking both proud and suspicious. Jaune stepped off the stage and walked toward his team. The bell rang, and everyone began to file out of the room.

"Jaune," Pyrrha began. "We need to talk."

"About...?" Jaune asked, attempting and failing to hide his nervousness.

"Later," Pyrra replied vaguely. Jaune shrugged and kept walking. He honestly was not sure what to expect.

* * *

Teams JNPR and RWBY sat at a lunch table, chatting about various things. Nora was telling the exaggerated tale of her dream, with Ren translating it into the actual thing, just like Jaune remembered it happening the first time.

Pyrrha leaned over to Jaune and whispered in his ear. "Have you traveled through time as well?"

Jaune looked at her in amazement. "You too?" She nodded. "How'd you know?"

"That was certainly not the way you fought Cardin the first time," she answered, smiling. Then, with seemingly no context, Ruby leaned over to them both and whispered in their ears.

"Hey, I overheard you guys talking," she told them under her breath.

"Before you say we're both crazy-" Jaune began. Ruby interrupted him.

"I wasn't gonna say you're crazy. I was gonna say you're not the only ones."

Jaune and Pyrrha both blinked. "What?"

"Me and the others have been time travelling too," Ruby said, pointing to the other members of Team RWBY. "It's been happening for a while. I'll explain more later." She leaned away for a second, then leaned back. "Welcome to the repeats!" she added, then settled back into her seat.

The members of JNPR had no words.

* * *

 **1.10**

* * *

Amongst the six people at Beacon who were aware of the time traveling, it was broadly considered that they had certain responsibilities. The protection of their teammates, the education of their friends...

...not interfering with their improbable love lives...

...but when it came down to it, there were some permissible actions. One example was Ruby's innate, almost obsessive knowledge of everyone's weapons. She could reproduce their weapons on command. Another was the fact that Weiss, traveling or not, was the group's unofficial piggy bank. And it was agreed upon that, at any point, the group could challenge Pyrrha to a duel.

It was under this assumption that Jaune had decided that using a little gift he had acquired inside of this repeat was allowed. Unfortunately, it turned out he had severely under-estimated his skills. Hence why he had requested that Ruby come to JNPR's dorm.

Ruby stared slack jawed at what she saw before her. She turned to Jaune, incredulous. "...How?"

Jaune winced. "Well... you see... you know I have six sisters, right. They made me give them..."

Around the room, the other members of team JNPR were lost within sublime bliss. Nora and Pyrrha had been reduced to little more than cooing puddles of femininity. Ren, on the other hand, was reduced to a cooing puddle of masculinity. They were lost in pleasure.

"...back rubs..."

Ruby nodded after a second. "You did this... WITH BACK MASSAGES?"

Jaune shrugged, very embarrassed. "Yeah..."

* * *

It was later declared that Jaune would never give back massages again. It was soon amended to permit Pyrrha alone to experience Jaune's back massages. Everyone agreed that worked out.

* * *

 **1.11 fantasyPhysicist**

* * *

"Ruby."

"Yes, Weiss?"

"What happened to the moon?"

Ruby shrugged. "It bothered me that only half the moon was destroyed and the other half wasn't, so I destroyed the other half."

"WHAT? _HOW?!_ " Weiss screeched.

" _Mega_ War Corgis. Lots of them." Ruby grinned.

"...do I even want to know?"

Ruby shook her head, still grinning. "Nope."

* * *

 **1.12 fantasyPhysicist**

* * *

"Ruby...how did you do this?" Yang asked, looking at the pile of unconscious White Fang grunts behind Ruby. "You didn't have Crescent Rose with you."

In response, Ruby rolled up her sleeves, revealing two gun barrels. She then lifted one foot to show the bottom of her boot, which had a small gun barrel in it, then did the same with the other foot. She also pulled a small pistol out of the pouch on her belt. "Easy! I always keep at least five guns on me at all times. Just like any sensible person should."

* * *

 **1.13 fantasyPhysicist**

* * *

"Don't worry, Ruby!" Penny exclaimed. "I am combat ready!" She was hopping up and down at what looked like very unhealthy speeds, and she was shaking and jittering like she had just been given the equivalent of eighteen cups of coffee.

Which, not coincidentally, was the case.

Penny's signature array of blades appeared, and the tips of them opened, forming a massive green ball of light. The light transformed into a laser, and carved the Bullheads floating in the sky above them in half. Oh, how the debris flew.

" _Ruby!_ " Blake screeched. "What in Remnant made you think giving Penny coffee was a good idea?"

" _Curiosity!_ "

* * *

 **1.14**

* * *

In a small motel on the outskirts of Vale, late into the evening, a teenage girl found herself sitting on a bed, her grenade launching hammer disassembled and spread out across the neatly folded sheets. The confusion set in after five seconds of staring. "Uh... Ren?"

"Yeah Nora!" Ren shouted over the noise of his shower. He had, at the moment, elected to take a shower before bed.

Nora looked at her disassembled Magnhild, and back at the door. "Do you have my firing pin again?"

"No Nora," Ren shouted. The shower turned off. After a moment, Ren, towel-clad and steaming, leaned out of the door. "Oh, uh... Nora. Are you responsible for... this?"

Nora pursed her lips and thought it over. "No... I think. What is 'this' exactly?"

Ren gestured at the entire room. "The time reversal."

Nora 'hmm'ed' aloud. "Hmm... Nope. Not me."

Ren nodded. "Good. Just making sure." He ducked back into the bathroom to dress. Emerging clothes again, the martial artist toweled off his hair and hopped onto the bed with Nora. "You do remember the next few months, right?"

Nora nodded. "Yup! I remember those big snakes we killed, how badass team RWBY was, Jaune and Pyrrha hooking up. The Nevermore, the Grimm invasion and the White Fang. Blake being a Faunus, Jaune faking his transcripts, CRDL really needing their legs broken... That all?"

Ren thought it over. "Seems like it."

"Yay! Nora happy!" Nora said. Falling over into Ren's lap, she smiled brightly. "We're time travelers: what do you want to do with our big second chance?"

Ren shrugged. "Get better grades."

"What!? Come on Ren, we have this big second chance. Every action reset, every word now repeatable. We can see what we can do, do what we should have done. The world is open to us, the world is our oyster, the world-"

"You can't think of anything either, can you?"

"Nope." Nora sat back up and grabbed the remote. "Wanna watch TV?"

Ren sidled back into the bed's headboard. "Are there any movies on?"

Nora bounced back to Ren's side. "Yup. Let's just see what we can find..."

* * *

 _Two days, one initiation, and one very dead bird and scorpion Grimm later..._

* * *

"YOU'RE HERE TOO! YAY!" Ruby was bouncing with joy in the relics ruin. "Blake's going to be so happy to have you guys here! You're totally her OTP."

Ren and Nora shared a confused glance. "We're... her what?"

"Nothing."

* * *

 **1.15 fantasyPhysicist**

* * *

Ren sighed. "Nora, would you happen to know why Cardin is in the infirmary?"

"I broke his legs!" Nora replied cheerfully. "What?" she asked, seeing Ren's simultaneously amused and exasperated expression. "You thought I was kidding? He deserved it!"

"I know, Nora. I know," Ren replied, smiling slightly. "How'd you do it without getting caught?"

"I threw his mace at him," she said. "Can't prove it was me if it was done with his own weapon!"

Ren just chuckled.

* * *

 **1.16**

* * *

Team RWBY's and JNPR's group study in JNPR's room was interrupted one fine evening by Ruby, who booted down the door and marched in, smiling all the way. "I've got everything we need. Triangle hats, eyepatches, peg legs-"

"None of us are missing legs," Ren observed.

"-hook hands-"

"None of us are missing hands," Blake noted.

"-and I've even tracked down a boat. Everyone get ready, pack up and be prepared to leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow. We ship out in the morn!" Ruby spun in her heel and almost marched back out.

Weiss stopped her. "Ruby, what are you talking about? Where are we going?"

Ruby looked over her shoulder with an absolutely smug and ecstatic look on her face. "Well duh. We're gonna be pirates this time around!"

* * *

Jaune clicked his tongue. "So... this is our pirate ship."

Nora pursed her lips. "I imagined... it would be bigger."

"Or have a Dust engine," Pyrrha mumbled.

"Sails are alright," Ren muttered.

"It was bigger in the photo," Ruby moaned.

"It's a dingy, Ruby," Weiss observed.

"Where's Blake?" Yang asked.

The cat Faunus was not amongst the group assembled in the port of Vale. The seven assembled pirate hopefuls felt their hopes sink further. Hopes that were immediately ignored when a navial corvette running parallel to the dock plowed into Ruby's dingy and sank it.

On the deck, Blake leaned over the railing, grinning like a loon and her bow, for once, off. "You wanna be pirates? First rule: be thieves! Second rule: get on!"

The seven teens shot alongside the corvette, racing along the pier and leaping, launching, and locking themselves onto the ship. Jaune, naturally... could not. "Help!"

Pyrrha magnetized Jaune's armor. Attracted as such, Jaune was dragged by his armor and into the broadside of the corvette. "Ow."

"Sorry!"

The two teams assembled on the deck, various degrees of triumphant. "Hurray for us. Now what?" Yang asked.

Jaune pointed at the task of navial vessels turning after them. "I say, run. Fast."

"Right!" Ruby declared. "Blake, to bridge. Jaune and Ren will accompany you. Pyrrha, you, me and Yang are on the guns. Nora and Weiss, get to the engine room. Get us moving fast. Team RWBY and JNPR! BATTLE STATIONS!"

* * *

It was three days later, or a few weeks earlier depending on your perspective, that team RWBY and JNPR found themselves glaring at Ruby as the school airship made it's way to Beacon, ferrying them to the prestigious school along with all the other first year hopefuls. Ruby looked quite embarrassed. "Alright... I admit, that was my bad. How was I supposed to know that ocean Grimm were so huge... or tentaclely?"

The other time travellers, annoyed, embarrassed, and honestly amused by the mistake, all tried to yell at Ruby. The fact that they were still trying to keep the grins off of their faces undermined the effect quite badly. Finally, they gave up, and laughed it off.

They may have all _died_ , but it was fun for the three days they had been pirates.

* * *

 **1.17 fantasyPhysicist**

* * *

Ruby couldn't resist. Weiss had presented the opportunity this repeat, and she would take it. A small cloud of powdered Dust came out of the vial as Weiss waved it around, and Ruby sneezed.

...And then everything stopped moving. Weiss doubled over laughing, and Ruby became confused. "Weiss?" She blinked, and then the realization hit her. "You have your memories this repeat, don't you?" Weiss nodded.

"I wanted to experiment with Dust combinations to see what kind of results I could get when you sneezed, and this one was _totally_ worth it," she explained. "I'm surprised more uses haven't been found for Time Dust."

"But wait!" Ruby said, suddenly worried. "Are we gonna be frozen in time forever or something? What if this repeat never ends and we're stuck like this forever?"

Weiss waved a hand. "Don't worry, I made sure to do tests before I did this. It'll wear off in the next thirty seconds or so."

* * *

 **1.18**

* * *

"Nora..." Ruby began.

"Yes...?" Nora answered.

"Why are there plushies of me, my team, and your team in our rooms?" Ruby held up the undeniably cute plushie version of Weiss, gifted to her. The rest of Team RWBY and JNPR, unaware of the repeat this go about, were treating the plushies with equal amounts adoration and caution.

Nora waved it off. "But it's such a great gift. Who doesn't want something this cute as a toy?" Nora cuddled her Ren plush.

"Nora, Jaune is treating his as a _voodoo doll!_ You have to at least tell them that you sent them."

Nora shrugged. "But anonymous gifts are so much better. And besides, they'd think I was weird for gifting them based on who I ship."

Ruby nodded pensively, even if she was a bit annoyed. "Look, I can get shipping Jaune and Pyrrha, and Blake and Yang: I ship them to. But shipping me and Weiss?" Ruby handed the plush to Nora. "Tell them you were the one to send the plushies, now."

Nora pouted. "But Ruby-"

"Tell them, or I tell Ren why you sent him the Nora plushie and kept the Ren plushie."

Nora stood stock still for a moment, before launching of. "Guys, I gotta tell you something!"

Left behind, Ruby sighed. "Ugh... there goes my chance for Green Lightning."

* * *

 **1.19**

* * *

Ren cracked his knuckles as Nora babbled about her recurring dream. The Nora sitting next to him wasn't his Nora, at least in the sense that his Nora was time traveling and this Nora wasn't, but she was Nora. A slightly less nutty Nora, but Nora all the same.

Ren honestly wondered if this Nora had feelings for him, before shunting the thought to the back of his mind. It seemed that this go-round, only he and Ruby had their memories, so all he really had to do was keep his team safe.

No easy feat, considering everything that could and often would go wrong. Ren however was up to the task. He was the strongest Huntsmen in the room after all; only Ruby surpassed him. Which really, meant he only had to deal with Nora.

And that was more of a hobby then a chore. "She's been having this dream for weeks now," he deadpanned. "Every night, for the past..." He sighed in mock-exhaustion. "Five. Weeks."

Nora rebuked him around a mouthful of pancakes. She swallowed and said, "It happened, you know it, and you're embarrassed that you didn't think to sell the Beowulf skins."

"You can't sell Beowulf skins," Pyrrha murmured across the table.

Ren finished his eggs and sat up. "I think I'll go to the library to study. Wanna come Nora?"

Nora giggled as she sensed an opening. Ren tensed up, and braced himself as she said the inevitable line. "Oh Ren, I always want to come because of you."

"So close yet so far," Ren muttered under his breath, Nora missing out entirely. "I'll meet you in the library, alright Nora?"

Nora skipped off. "See you soon Ren!"

Ren, despite himself, smiled. "Well, at least she's anything but predictable."

* * *

 **1.20 masterOfGames & Wildrook**

* * *

She knew dozens of complex ways to combine dust for various effects, and understood how and why each one worked, all by working it out herself during free periods over the past few subjective decades.

She understood asthetics and social atmosphere so well that doilies and fog machines making for a pleasant but odd event, had become a full formal ballroom rave that had both Yang's father and her own lamenting over not having been able to land an invitation.

Weiss even understood her schoolwork, to the point that she was already halfway finished with the first rough draft of her thesis paper on Grimm Biology.

At this moment, Weiss was unsure she would EVER understand what went through her team leader's head.

"Is that Torchwick's hat?"

"Yep!"

"Why do you have Torchwick's hat?"

"Because I took Torchwick's hat, duh."

"Why are you WEARING Torchwick's hat!?"

"Because I look good in Torchwick's hat, and it goes well with his cane. I would think you of all people would know that."

"You have Torchwick's CANE!?"

"Yeah. He's not complaining about it anyway. I've taken it up as a hobby."

"I get bored."

"Was there a novel cosplay session that I didn't know about?" Blake asked the two. "You look like Alexander deLarge from A Clockwork Orange, Ruby."

* * *

 **1.21**

* * *

Ruby Rose smiled as she Woke up, and nearly hugged her mugger. "I'm back! I'm back!"

"What are you-"

Less than a nano-second later, Roman and his rent-a-henchmen found themselves out in the middle of the desert. Roman opened his mouth, closed it, and began wondering who he would first use as an alternative source of food.

Ruby returned to Vale in a flash of red light and gold lightning, skidding to a halt. "Oh this is so cool! I can't wait to-"

Ping. Ping. Ping. Pingpingping. Ping.

Ruby's jaw dropped. "No way... No freaking way!" Ruby shot off into the horizon, moving at super speed to grab up her friends. In barely a few seconds, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren were all standing in a park in the middle of Vale. Ruby came to a halt in front of them. "Please, tell me you're all... _Awake_."

For a few seconds, the eight loopers of Remnant stared at Ruby. Then Pyrrha gently nodded. "We're here Ruby. JNPR, and I'll bet, your team, have are all looping." Pyrrha smiled gently and looked around. "So... Yay. We know what's happening."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, here I was prepared to lord over you with my superior knowledge."

"Yay for us," an utterly exhausted Blake mumbled.

"Why are down in the dumps?" Yang asked.

"Well... Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, and their idiocy." Blake sighed and sat herself on a bench. Every was staring at her, eager to hear her tale. Blake got the hint. "It all started when I Woke in Konoha Gakure no Sato..."

* * *

 **A/N: These are the mechanics of the loops:**

 **One person in a Loop, often the main character, is an Anchor. They are the person who first starts time looping.**

 **There is always at least one Anchor present in a given Time Loop snippet, though it may not be the local one.**

 **The standard pattern for a loop is that the Anchor (and whoever else is Looping there) come to awareness in a loop at a particular point in the story. From there, events will play out as influenced by the Loopers present, acting with the benefit of their foreknowledge, until either a predetermined end point is reached or all the Loopers have copped it.**

 **To be Awake is to be aware of the time loops (that is, to have gone back in time this time.)**

 **The Anchor is the only character guaranteed to be Awake. Even after others have started looping, it is mostly random as to whether they will be Awake this particular loop.**

 **Crossovers, fusions, and alternate pasts can also take place. It is perfectly possible, for example, to have the characters Awaken into a loop which conforms to a fanfic universe rather than reality.**

 **Loops do not have to be in chronological order, but it is strongly preferred that they not require a mutually contradictory order (where A must be before B and B must be before A.)**

 **Just about every Looper is very, very stir crazy.**

* * *

 **And now, for the guaranteed fun part of all loops: Snarky commentary!**

 **1.1: Enter, Miss Ruby Rose... and die quickly.**

 **1.2: A bit of de-stressing from the dying bit.**

 **1.3: And now some more stressing!**

 **1.4: Enter, Miss Weiss Schnee... and get your ass handed to you.**

 **1.5: I want that Ice Cream.**

 **1.6: Shipping wars... They have begun!**

 **1.7: And enter Miss Yang Xiao Long and Miss Blake Belladonna... and... be okay. Okay.**

 **1.8: Gender-bending! Team GWEY!**

 **1.9: Enter Miss Pyrrha Nikos and Mister Jaune Arc... and kick ass!**

 **1.10: Massages. I blame that.**

 **1.11: Mega Zords... War Corgi's... they're all the same**

 **1.12: Be prepared: the girl scout motto!**

 **1.13: Ruby has doomed them all.**

 **1.14: And enter Mister Lie Ren and Miss Nora Valkyrie... and don't be a couple.**

 **1.15: They'll break his legs!**

 **1.16: This message approved by Jack Spar- CAPTAIN!... Captain Jack Sparrow.**

 **1.17: Time traveling, time stopping, it's all good.**

 **1.18: Plushies... not Plashes.**

 **1.19: And they are** _ **not**_ **a couple!**

 **1.20: Cosplays, both inside and outside RWBY.**

 **1.21: And so conclude the first chapter of the RWBY Loops. But what lies beyond, in the greater multiverse...**

* * *

 **This story is dedicated in the memory of Monty Oum. His work _is_ his immortality.**


	2. Welcome to the Multiverse!

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 2**

 **A/N: Welcome to Remnant again dear reader. Watch as we delve into the insanities of team's RWBY and JNPR.**

* * *

 **2.1**

* * *

Iruka-Sensei glanced down at his list. "And Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Kuroko Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha, under Kakashi Hatake."

Kuroko Uchiha, alias Blake Belladonna, stared at her Sensei dumbly. Blake had been through a few time repeats where her name, her gender, and even her species (shudder) had changed. This was the most extreme variation she had ever live through though. "Okay."

"Hmm?" Her brother, Sasuke, asked.

"Oh, I'm just-"

 _Blood, under a scarlet moon.  
_  
"URK." Blake closed her eyes. "I... I'm..."

 _A sword, buried deep in the flesh of her family.  
_  
"I'm... going to get a drink..." Blake stood and walked/staggered to the door way and left the room.

 _Her brother, lording over them._ _'Itachi, why..._ '

Blake doubled over and nearly kept her lunch down. "Where am I?"

* * *

Blake managed to keep her composure once she returned to the classroom. As Iruka finished reading off the list of teams, the sensei's for the newly formed Ninja recruits came in. Kakashi Hatake, as it turned out, was not among them. Sasuke grumbled something about their teacher being late.

Blake wondered if that really was the case.

Three hours later, Blake had realized that really wasn't the case. Apparently their Sensei just didn't care when he showed up... if he showed up at all.

The newly minted Team Seven was abnormally quiet in the room. Blake was lightly sketching to relieve her anger. Sasuke was stoically staring out the window. And Naruto was snoring away.

Finally, Naruto snapped to wakefulness. "Is Kakashi here yet?"

"No." Sasuke answered.

Naruto pursed his lips and stood up. Going to the door, he grabbed a chalky eraser and carefully suspended it in the doorway. "Heh heh... classic."

Blake's ears (human, to her annoyance) caught Naruto's wording, and nearly incited we to groan aloud. ' _I'm stuck in a history I don't understand, with a sociopath for a brother and an idiot for a teammate. We're ninja for some reason...'_

Blake watched as Naruto ran back to his seat. _'And he thinks that a ninja teacher can be fooled by a chalk eraser joke. He really is a complete-'  
_  
The door opened, Kakashi Hatake stuck his head in, and the eraser fell neatly onto his head.

 _'...moron.'_

Kakashi stared at the three students he was supposed to pick up. "Hmm... My first impression of all of you is... I hate you."

Blake barely resisted the urge to slam her head into her desk.

* * *

"Alright, since we're all up here, why don't we introduce ourselves?" Kakashi said. After basically telling his students to go to the roof of the building and vanishing, Blake had been left wondering exactly what the hell he had planned. Kakashi point at her. "Well, ladies first. Why don't you tell us your name, your likes and dislikes, any hobbies, and perhaps a dream?"

Blake stared blankly at her teacher. "Okay... My name is Kuroko Uchiha. I like sushi and fish foods. I dislike teachers who don't take their jobs seriously. My hobbies are sketching and training." Blake stopped for a moment. "And my dream is to one day stamp out corruption and injustice in the world."

Kakashi nodded. "A mighty dream. Admirable even. Now, since that's one Uchiha down, perhaps we'll move on to the other."

Sasuke glance at his sister and then back at Kakashi. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have few things I enjoy, and many things I dislike vehemently. My hobbies are training, learning new techniques, and fighting my sister. My dream is to one day open a clown shop and found the discipline of clown-no-jutsu."

"..." Kakashi stared at Sasuke.

"Ha! Just kidding. Sasuke Uchiha. I like tomatoes, fighting my sister, painting on occasion, learning new techniques, and Linkin Park. I dislike noble idiots who think they can beat someone half to death and convince them to repent. My hobbies are cooking and painting, and my dream is to one day have a nice family with a loving wife and maybe a daughter."

Kakashi and Blake stared at Sasuke. "Okay. Well Blondie, that means you're last." Naruto was barely keeping down snickers at Sasuke's brazenness. He just managed to calm down.

"Naruto Uzumaki. I like pranks, I hate angsty brats, and my hobbies are inventing new techniques. My dream is to one day lead my village into a new age of peace and prosperity!"

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. "You invent new techniques?"

Naruto laughed the laugh of a man who had just seen his prey enter a trap. "Of course! For example... Shadow Clone no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, Blake, Kakashi and Sasuke were surrounded by doppelgängers of Naruto. Kakashi's lone visible eyebrow raised. "That's impressive... shadow clone is a dangerous technique but you do it very well."

The Naruto's laughed. "That's only half the technique. Transform!"

And suddenly, Blake, Kakashi, and Sasuke were surrounded by several hundred nude blondes. Kakashi blinked, before his mind went 'tilt' and he passed out. The clones popped and Naruto emerged, flashing the peace sign. "What do you think?"

Blake stared at Naruto, shaking with barely contained emotion. "You... urgh... you..." Blake stamped down her fury, took a deep breath, and spoke clearly. "You... I'm alright... with that." Blake heaved a heavy sigh. "You have the right to objectify yourself. Just don't do a real person."

Naruto "hmm"ed in thought. "Does this count?" Naruto transformed into Blake.

A nude Blake.

"ALRIGHT, DIE YOU FUCKER!"

* * *

"So, to recap," Sasuke said. "We all live within a giant multiverse contained within the god-computer-tree Yggdrasil. Now, something happened to Yggdrasil, and to keep all of the multiverse from being destroyed, the Admins initiated the loops, which would restore the world to a previous point, with the loop ending at the point where that 'branch' of Yggdrasil would have rotted away and fallen off."

"Right," Blake said. "And the Admins are gods of multiple origins, such as Thor, Kali, or Poseidon."

"Right on the nose. Now, within the loops there are specific people who are able to remember the resetting of the loop. Most are regular 'loopers', people who do not experience every loop. Only the 'Anchor' who is the oldest of the loopers, the only person almost guaranteed to be aware of the time travel, and the person necessary for a loop iteration, is aware of the loops in all of the loops."

"To be aware of the loops is to be Awake."

"My legs..."

"You catch on rather quickly Blake. That's useful." Sasuke said, ignoring Naruto's moans of pain. "Now, events where elements, people, or entire settings and histories from other worlds are interjected into your own are called 'Fused Loops'. This is a fused loop. Additionally, some loops will have an alternate history to your original. These are 'Variant Loops'. There are also loops where you're out of loop powers are sealed, as is your subspace pocket. These are 'Null Loops'."

"And the subspace pocket is a fifth dimensional storage space where loopers can place non-sentient items so as to let them survive past the end of the loop," Blake surmised. Blake chewed her lip. "That everything?"

Sasuke rubbed his chin. "Yep, that's everything. Welcome to the Infinite Loops Blake. Sanity optional."

Blake shook Sasuke's hand. "Thank you Sasuke. Everyone's going to be ecstatic after hearing this. It's good to know that we'll finally have some sort of explanation."

Sasuke smiled. "It's always a pleasure to have same loopers along in our world."

"Oh god... I can't feel my balls..."

Blake walked over and kneeled by Naruto. "If you try to expose myself or my friends again, you won't be feeling anything down there for the rest of the... loop."

"Hey, pax, pax. I know, I'm sorry." Naruto sat up. "Geez, Trillions of years old and you girls still get the jump on me. You're almost as bad as Mikasa."

"That was your fault," Sasuke reminded Naruto. "If you had trained to be immune to Tsundere, you'd have won."

"Shut it red-eyes," Naruto grumbled.

Blake rolled he eyes as the duo argued, and went to the side of their still unconscious teacher. "You really do have your work cut out for you." And with that, Blake set to work reviving Kakashi.

* * *

 **2.0**

* * *

There was some chuckling and a splatter of applause from teams RWBY and JNPR as Blake finished her story. "You really ended up as an Uchiha?" Jaune asked. "Does that mean you can do the… red eye copy thing?"

"You mean the Sharingan?" Blake asked, a little smirk gracing her face. Her eyes turned deep red, three comma-like tomoe forming with a black ring around her pupil. "You mean this?" Green flames suddenly began to form around Blake, coalescing into a monstrous woman with twin knives, a Susanoo. "Or do you mean this?"

"Woah…" was the general response to the show of other-worldly power.

Ruby suddenly started jumping in place. "Ooh, me next, me next!" Without waiting for an answer, Ruby began. "I awoke in Central city…"

* * *

 **2.2 DrTempo**

* * *

Ruby looked around. This was not where she had usually found herself after the start of a repeat, and her weapon was nowhere to be found. She looked around, and saw she was in a museum dedicated to someone called 'The Flash.' Suddenly, odd memories hit her. ' _I'm a fan of the Flash here? But no one like that ever existed in Remnant.'_ She quickly ran outside, and looked at the night sky.

And the moon that was undamaged. Ruby was shocked.

"Where am I? Oh, no! Where's everyone else?" Ruby started running, but oddly, she was moving faster than she ever had. As she kept running, a red blur bumped into her. Ruby grumbled, and said, "Watch it, you..." She then blinked, as the Flash himself stood before her.

The crimson clad hero chuckled. "So you're here, Ruby? Should've seen this happening eventually. And you can use the Speed Force. Things just got interesting."

Ruby, confused, had to ask. "Speed Force?"

The super speedy hero replied with, "It's how I can do what I do. Here are a few tips..."

* * *

After Ruby got a crash course in the Speed Force, she then asked him politely. "Where am I? This isn't my world."

The Flash shrugged. "Well, you see..." A news bulletin then chimed in, interrupting the speedster.

 _This just in. The criminal called 'The Joker' is currently robbing Gotham Merchant's Bank. Hostages are being held, and the Gotham City police are on their way._

Ruby quickly asked the Flash, "I have to go. Where's Gotham City?"

Flash pointed, saying "That way. But, Ruby…"

However, Ruby Rose had already dashed off. The Flash, facepalming, activated a communicator.

"Batman, you have a new Looper named Ruby Rose heading towards the Joker. She can use the Speed Force, but I fear that she'll accidentally seriously hurt the Joker. Stop her before she does anything rash."

* * *

"Understood. I'll keep a watch."

Batman, who was already enroute, quickly grappled into position on the bank's roof. As he entered, Ruby herself had arrived. The Caped Crusader slipped into a hiding spot, ready to move.

* * *

Ruby managed to stop on a dime right in the bank lobby (literally, coins had been spilled everywhere). A man wearing clown makeup saw her, and laughed. "Well, well. Look what we have here. Looks like someone wants to enjoy a laugh. Here, have one on the house!" Ruby dodged a can of laughing gas, and saw a civilian lying on the floor with an unnatural grin. Checking his pulse, Ruby sniffled. There was nothing. This clown had killed this man.

Clenching a fist, she yelled, "Why? What's funny about killing innocents?"

The Clown Prince of Crime laughed. "He was a grouchy man, and needed a chuckle. Too bad the joke had a killer punchline." Ruby growled, clearly mad.

"I'll show you a punchline!" She prepared to deliver a super-speed punch to the clown, but before she could do so, smoke filled the room.

Ruby closed her eyes, and heard the sound of fighting, and the Joker laughing. Suddenly, something hit her, and as she lost consciousness, she saw a man in a bat-shaped costume, and heard him say something.

"Ruby Rose, welcome to the Loops."

* * *

When Ruby gained consciousness, she saw herself in a strange cave. Looking around, she noticed the man that had stopped her, and tapped his shoulder. "I could've stopped that clown myself."

Batman retorted with, "But you would have killed him."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow, surprised. "But it was just a punch."

"A punch that would have been moving so fast, it would have killed him."

Ruby saw the Flash was there, and frowned. "I...didn't know."

Batman then stated, "Aura doesn't exist here, Miss Rose."

Ruby blinked. _How did he know about Aura?_ Batman then removed his mask, and Ruby's odd memories gave her a name for the face. "Bruce Wayne?"

Batman nodded. "Correct. I figured showing you my face would make you feel a little more comfortable." Ruby nodded. He was right, it kinda helped.

As Batman placed his mask back on, Ruby asked, "So, what are these 'Loops' you mentioned? Do they have something to do with which I'm experiencing the same events over and over again, and why my friends stared having the same thing happen to them?"

Walking over to the Batcomputer, Batman typed in something, revealing an image of a tree. "Listen up, Ruby." Batman then began lecturing Ruby.

* * *

 _This tree is Yggdrasil. It is the world tree, and what keeps the multiverse going. Many eons ago, however, it was badly damaged. By what, not even the ones running it, what we call the Admins, are sure. In order to prevent all reality from utter destruction, certain worlds were set to have time loop again and again. These are what we call the Loops._

 _In order to ensure that each Loop runs smoothly, each world has an Anchor chosen. These Anchors are the first to notice time looping in their world, and at least one Anchor must be active during a Loop; in your world's case, you are its Anchor, Ruby. Should this not happen, the Loop instantly resets. So, if you are the only Anchor Awake in a Loop, if you die, the Loop crashes._

 _In time, other people, usually those close to the Anchor at first, start Looping as well. This is called 'Awakening' to the Loops. Not all Loopers for one world are Awake for every Loop. The versions of Loopers that are not awake for such cases are what we call 'Unawake.'_

 _Also, there are times where the Loop is different from what the Anchor experienced originally, or as we call it, baseline. These are Variants. They can be as simple as someone living past whatever killed them in baseline, to history having taken a different path._

 _Where do the Awake versions of Loopers go when not in their home Loop go, then? To another Loop. These are an example of 'Fused Loops', where multiple Loops collide. The simplest of these are where a Looper is in a totally different Loop. Other times, the fused Loops are fused, taking place in the same world. This does reset, so do not worry if Gotham City is part of Remnant one Loop. It will not be there for good._

 _Tragically, there are some things to worry about. For example, some Loopers tend to crack under the constant resets, and think that since everything resets anyway, they can do whatever they please, without fear of consequences. This is called "Sakura Syndrome", named after the first Looper to suffer this. It is very difficult to cure, and even now, billions of years later, the first victim is not completely cured._

 _The opposite of this is those who believe that by doing everything 'right', the timeline will repair itself, and the Loops will end. This is "Setsuna Syndrome", also named after the first Looper to suffer it. Unlike Sakura Syndrome, this one is more easy to cure._

 _And then there ate Malicious Looping Entities. These are Loopers that are a threat to Yggdrasil's stability, and are to be stopped at all costs. Only a small amount exist, but each are dangerous._

 _In short, you will experience many things old and new. Eternity awaits you. What you do with it is your call._

* * *

After the lecture, Ruby took it all in. Everything made sense now. The Flash then chuckled.

"Well, while you're here, I can train you to use your new powers, as well as other things we Loopers have, like the Subspace Pocket. That little trick will allow you to carry things between individual Loops."

Ruby grinned. "At least I can keep my weapon with me. But what about Batman?"  
Said Batman was typing something into a computer. "Leave him be," the Flash said. "We have work to do." Ruby nodded in excitement. "Yes sir!"

 _Everyone, I'll see you all soon! And I'll have stories to tell!_

* * *

 **2.0**

* * *

Ruby spun in place, the Speed Force coating her in golden sparks and lightning. "Tada!"

Yang grabbed her little sister and pulled her into a bear hug. "Oh, my little sister's a superhero! You're so awesome!"

"Ack! No Air!"

"Sorry." Yang playfully shoved her sister out of her cleavage. "Well, while you and Blake were out playing in the multiverse, we were just hanging here with a certain ancient looper."

"Who?" Ruby asked cutely. Ruby did not have a monopoly on cute, but she could turn a question into something cute.

"A certain someone named Harry Potter."

* * *

 **2.3**

* * *

"Are you... mugging me?"

"Yes."

"Oh..."

Roman Torchwick looked up from the crystal he was examining when one of his rent-a-henchmen went flying by. He tilted his head down the aisle at another one, who pulled out his gun and went down it. The little red girl who was standing at the end of the aisle smiled.

* * *

Five Seconds Later.

* * *

"I want you to know, I'm going easy on you guys," the girl said as she finished tying Roman and his rent-a-henchmen up. "Just be lucky you caught me in a good mood." Turning to the cashier, she held up a Weapons magazine. "Hey, how much lien for this?"

The shop owner shrugged. "You can keep it. But miss, what's your name?"

"My name?" The red and gold wearing girl scratched her chin. "My name is Rose... but you can call me Harry. Harry Potter."

* * *

Yang very nearly had a heart attack when she saw her sister the next day. It wasn't so much that Ruby wasn't... well named Ruby. That happened. Her change in personal history, weapon of choice, name, color-scheme, all normal.

The fact that she didn't seem to fully remember that they were time traveling was what was seriously scaring Yang. Ruby usually, when they were on the airship to Beacon, tried to pass on a secret code. It was an agreed upon conversation topic: they would discuss Yang's new (non-existent) boyfriend. They talked about how he had a pug nose, three arms, four eyes, and a chainsaw for a leg. It was so impossible that it would never be something that would come up in regular conversation.

Ruby didn't ask those questions. She didn't even recognize Jaune! Jaune himself, once he had realize that Ruby didn't remember anything, had fainted. Hard.

And then there were these times when Ruby (well, Rose) would stop, as if listening for something. She would just vanish deep into thought. It was a minor detail, but it was driving Yang to the edge. Finally, she risked it.

"Ru... Rose, can I ask you something?" Yang said, struggling to be calm.

"Uh... sure. What's up?" Rose Potter asked.

Yang gulped. "Rose, are you time traveling?"

Rosie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Time traveling... wait, you're the loopers?"

"Is that... is that a yes?" Yang stuttered. She could feel herself shaking. 'Please say yes, please say yes Ruby...'

"I am, in fact, time traveling," Rose answered. "But! I am not Ruby."

Yang stared at her. "W...what?"

Rose sighed. "My real name is Harry Potter. And I think it's time to-"

"Wait, Harry Potter?" Yang interrupted. "The book character?"

Harry pursed her lips. "Yang, please, may you get your friends. Anyone else who is also time traveling. Please?"

Yang nodded slowly. _'Oh god, Ruby's cracked!'_

* * *

"...and that's the shape of things," Harry finished gently. "The entire multiverse is stranded within these time loops. I'm one of the oldest beings there are, second only to Ranma Saotome." Harry gently nodded. "Has that helped?"

Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren all stared at Harry. Weiss gulped. "Ruby... Ruby I think you need help."

Harry smiled slightly. "I'm sorry I replaced your friend. Ruby sounds like a very nice person. But I am Harry Potter. My history was penned here, by a woman whom I imagine would be named Jasper K. Rowling. And I can prove it to you."

Pyrrha leaned forward. "How?"

Harry smiled. "At first I thought merely showing off the subspace pocket would work." At that moment, a book appeared from thin air, right in front of Harry. "I decided for something more grandiose though. As we have been speaking, my shadow clones have single handedly slaughtered every Grimm on this planet."

Jaune stared at Harry. "What's a shadow clone?"

The girls and Ren were staring dumbfounded at Harry. "You can't... you can't be serious," Yang choked out.

Harry smiled. "Everyone, put your hands on my hand." Harry stuck out a hand and waited until everyone was holding it. "You may want to take a deep breath..."

The world suddenly collapsed, pressing down all around the loopers of Remnant, the sensation of passing through a rubber tube nearly overwhelming them. Suddenly though, the sensation abated.

Harry stood up. "You've handled your first apparition-"

Jaune bent over and threw up on Harry's shoes."

"...well..." Harry groaned and vanished the vomit and gestured around. "Where do you guys reckon we are?"

Yang glanced around, the fact of Harry's power slowly dawning on her. "Holy... crap..."

Corpses and copies, everywhere. Thousands of Grimm corpses slowly dissolving amongst the tall ruins of Mountain Glenn, attended to by a small army of Harry Potter's. The loopers of Remnant broke up, scouring the whole of the failed municipality, but instead of danger, they merely found more corpses of Grimm, and copies of Harry.

It was nearly an hour later that they returned to the city square, where Harry sat. Pyrrha asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "What are you?"

Harry smiled. "I am a looper. One chosen by the gods to anchor the worlds. I anchor Hogwarts. Ruby anchors Remnant. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen..."

Harry stood up and spread her arms, power radiating off her. "Welcome to the Infinite Loops."

* * *

 **2.0**

* * *

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we all learned of the… hairy situation!" Yang punned.

"Ugh!" The group shouted.

Then Ren turned to Nora. "Do you have a story?" The teams looked at Nora in surprise: she hadn't been with anyone. Ren's partner smiled slyly.

"Well…"

* * *

 **2.4 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

"Uh, Twilight, you've been looking at that pink mare for a long time."

Twilight shook her head. The unicorn hadn't noticed, but upon reflection Spike did have a point. She had been keeping far too close an eye on Pinkie Pie this loop. She was acting more oddly than usual, from the first moment they had met.

* * *

*Flashback*

* * *

 _The chariot came to a halt in the middle of town, allowing Twilight and Spike to step off. Spike was reading over Twilight's checklist when Pinkie started jumping up and down, "Oh! New Pony, new Pony!"_

 _The pink pony galloped forward and got right in Twilight's face, looking over every inch. Then her mouth widened into a massive grin. She lifted her hoof and pocked Twilight's nose, muttering playfully, "Boop!"_

 _And just like that, she ran off._

* * *

*End Flashback*

* * *

Her party was also different, with more fireworks than cupcakes. Turns out Pinkie was a fireworks builder instead of a baker. In fact, Sugarcube Corner had a double role this time around as a fireworks shop. The relationships between Pinkie and a couple of the others were also different, especially Fluttershy. Without prompting, Fluttershy seemed unhappy with the party pony, but could get only faint mutters about being mean to the animals in the Everfree.

Before she could continue thinking about Fluttershy, Pinkie surprised Twilight by running up with a set of cupcakes on her head. She said in a cheery tone, "Try one!"

After sticking it in her mouth, she immediately started coughing it out. Pinkie tilted her head and said, "Aww...still no good. Maybe someday, right Twilight?"

"Sure...thing...Pinkie."

And with that, there was another difference, Pinkie couldn't cook. It...wasn't the weirdest Pinkie she ever encountered, nor was she unpleasant or evil, just...something felt off. Once again though as Twilight tried thinking about it, Pinkie made an appearance with a tray of drinks. Twilight took a sip of one, only to breathe out fire from the hot sauce prank. After getting a quick drink from the kitchen, the unicorn shook her head. It was probably a variant...nothing to worry about.

* * *

Nightmare Moon came and went as usual, except Pinkie had disappeared almost immediately after her appearance. When Twilight saw her again, she was carrying a metal pole on her back that had a skewered watermelon on one end. She also had a belt of fireworks "for emergencies," Pinkie said. Fluttershy was giving her a wary, slightly unhappy glance. Applejack noticed the questioning glance and said, "Best not ask, Sugarcube."

Another Pinkie being Pinkie thing this loop, no doubt. As their journey began, Pinkie started hovering around Applejack, talking to her a mile a minute and asking all sorts of questions too fast for Applejack to answer. The ones that surprised Twilight, however, were, "What was that horsey, pony thing? Why did it have a horn and wings? Do other ponies have both?"

Twilight turned back to the pink pony with new eyes. _Could she be-_ , she tried thinking to herself before the manticore jumped out of the forest and swiped his claw at the distracted anchor. Pinkie, however was quick as she dashed in front, drew her makeshift weapon and deflected the attack. With a twist of her hooves, she swung the hammer around and slammed it against the Manticore and sent it back towards the forest. Fluttershy actually started shouting at Pinkie, scolding her for hurting an already hurt animal.

Pinkie gave a sheepish grin, "Uh, Twilight did it."

* * *

When the forest took on a ghastly form with terrifying trees along the way, Pinkie just started laughing and smashed her way through the trees. It allowed Twilight to remember her suspicions from earlier. She raised a hoof and started asking, "Pinkie, could I-"

And then Pinkie's Watermelon exploded, causing Rarity to start freaking out since her coat was covered in juice and a sizable chunk of the fruit to hit Twilight in the head, sending her to the land of the unconscious.

* * *

Twilight awoke outside the Everfree Castle, with Pinkie standing atop one of the walls and shouting, "I'm Queen of the Castle!"

Applejack pulled Twilight up and said, "Don't mind Pinkie. You should have seen her first visit to Canterlot. She was the start of the Canterlot Food War."

Twilight blinked as a memory of that event played in her mind...well a newspaper clipping she read anyway. Both her parents got Pie to the face that day. With a wince from her aching head, Twilight reluctantly entered the castle, feeling she had forgotten something. Just as they finally arrived in front of the stone orbs that were the elements, Nightmare Moon appeared once again. While the ancient ruler started to monologue, Pinkie pulled out a couple fireworks and lit the wicks. Moments later, they fired.

Nightmare Moon jumped back in surprise at the rapid moving projectile, but she still managed to turn into her mist form, causing the fireworks to slide through and strike the area holding the stone Elements of Harmony. The fireworks detonated, shattering the elements into dust. All the ponies, except Twilight, glared at the party mare, who just shrugged and gave a happy, "Oopsie!"

One of the fragments struck Twilight, which jostled her memory and her suspicions. She opened her mouth to ask Pinkie, when Nightmare Moon turned corporal again, " **Foalish Ponies. You seek to end me, know your places knaves-!"**

Fed up, Twilight's mane burst into flame as she shouted, "Would you all chill out for a second before something crazy happens again! I need to think!"

Pinkie suddenly, was up in Twilight's face, poking her in different areas, "Yang?! Is that you?"

Twilight took a step back, "Uh...no...who is Yang?"

Pinkie gave a thoughtful pose, before shrugging, "Oh, she's just a friend of mine who keeps going through these time travels with me and the others."

Twilight's eyes bulged, "What?! You're looping?! But, what...who are you?!"

Pinkie gave a grin, "I'm Nora, of course! But this repeat, I'm called Pinkamenia Nora Pie for some reason. Or Pinkie Pie for short."

She shrugged, "Well, Ruby sometimes is called something else. Then there are the times we replace the bad guys...I don't really like those-"

Nightmare Moon seemed to glow black somehow, **"Silence! I will not be ignored, not like Celestia did, so many years ago!"**

With that, the ancient ruler once again started to monologue. Nora leaned in close to Twilight, "Pst...I say we break her legs."

With that, Twilight facehooved and said, "We need to talk about your time traveling. But first..."

She paused as the dust from the elements started glowing and surrounding the six mares, "I'll show you how we deal with villains in our loop."

* * *

After cleansing Luna of the Nightmare taint, Twilight took Nora aside for a quick lecture. Nora could barely keep her eyes opened. Twilight had only started a few minutes ago on Yggdrasil, but Nora had stopped caring. Her eyes drooped, and then closed completely as a snore escaped her nose. Twilight sighed, "You would get along famously with Dash."

Twilight looked at the mare for a second, then shrugged. Once Nora woke up, Twilight would start again. One afternoon of napping wouldn't hurt, since they had the better part of five years to get Nora ready.

* * *

 **2.0**

* * *

"And that's how Equestria was saved! By me!"

The loopers of Remnant stared at Nora, who was smiling innocently. Jaune cleared his throat awkwardly. "Alright... well now what?

* * *

 _"FLEE IN TERROR OF THE DEMON QUEEN!"_ Ruby roared as Blake went to town on the White Fang with her Susanoo armor.

* * *

 **2.5**

* * *

Jaune was, as usual, intrigued by what he saw as Ruby and Yang mopped off in a corner of the airship that took them to Beacon Academy. Downing another sea-sickness pill to quell his disturbed stomach, Jaune walked over to the sisters. "Hey, what's wrong? Bad variant?"

Ruby chuckled harshly. "Oh you have no idea..."

Jaune winced. "Anything like the JAUN Loop?"

Yang shook her head. "Trust me, you getting multiple personalities that you could project through your Aura was fucking cool and I refuse to say otherwise." Yang pouted lightly though. "Harem not withstanding of course."

"Right," Jaune said. "So, what is wrong with this loop?"

Yang almost answered, but stopped herself. "You know what? You'll believe us if we show you when we get there."

Nearly an hour later (during which Jaune had finally decided to just let his Anchor and her sister show why the loop was bad, and to focus instead on keeping his lunch down for the umpteenth time), the airship docked at Beacon, the newest students disembarking first. Yang, Ruby and Jaune, all simply so old that they actually outdated the hallowed halls of Beacon, stepped out last. Yang pointed down at the walkway to the school. "That's why this loop sucks."

Jaune narrowed his eyes and pulled Crocea Mors from its' scabbard, before transforming said scabbard into a shield. "You want to take her left, and I'll get her right?"

Ruby shook her head. "You can't do that Jaune. Just... wait."

"What? Why? Cinder's right there. She's coming this way!"

"She's coming to say hi..." Yang moaned before plastering a smile on her face as _Cinder-freaking-Fall_ walked up to the three loopers. "Hey sis, how're things?"

Cinder lightly smiled. "Oh they're great now. Now I need to keep my little sisters from being mauled, but since when was that new?"

"Yep!" Ruby said. "Come on, I heard that they're starting the ceremony soon." Ruby quickly grabbed her other elder half-sister and practically dragged her to Beacon. "We'll see you guys inside!" Ruby shouted at Jaune and Yang.

On the front terrace, Jaune starred at Yang with an open jaw. "Sis... ters..."

"I know."

* * *

 **2.6**

* * *

On cue, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai walked into Tukson's book shop, the bell chiming to welcome them. Tukson glanced up from the book he was reading, swallowing his fears as his supposed assassins walked in. Mercury stopped by the comics while Emerald came to the front. "What can I do you for?"

Emerald smiled, and Tukson's eyes... er... wandered away from Emerald's. Damn, she was a sweet broad, even for a human and an assassin. "We were wondering what you had in stock."

Tukson restrained himself swallowing. "Well, we've got every book under the sun." He tried to inject a bit of levity to make himself sound natural. "Good catchphrase? Made it myself."

"Right..." Emerald drawled. In the background, her partner snapped a book close. "Do you have... 'The Thief and the Butcher'?"

' _Yes. They're in my shop_.' Tukson bit his tongue to stop himself. "Yep. Left side, third case... fourth shelf up."

"That's nice," Emerald said, her condescension dripping from the words. She thought for a second. "How about 'Violet's Garden' in paperback."

"Here," Mercury said in the background. He held up a book. "It's in hardback to." He snapped the book shut.

Was it Tukson, or did each book he closed... sound like the report of a gun?

"Oh, choices are nice," Emerald said conversationally.

Mercury broke into the conversation then. "You got any comics here?"

Tukson nodded lightly. "In the front." Anything to get that psycho as far away from him as possible.

Emerald leaned forward, wrapping her arms under her bust. Tukson was too terrified now to be either impressed by her body or snarky about how she still thought he needed distracting. "So what about... 'Third Crusade'?"

' _Third Crusade_ '. The (in)famous Faunus diatribe for how humanity and Faunus would always and forever be at each other's throats, and mankind would need to be destroyed for true peace to reign. It was banned in Vale. "You're just in time. I have a fresh box of them, right in the back." Tukson turned on his heel.

Emerald stopped him dead. "You don't need to leave. We'll do this out front, where everyone can see." The slow darkening of the room demonstrated that Mercury was tinting the windows. No one would see anything. Tukson turned around.

Emerald narrowed her eyes. "We don't want you leaving. And neither do your brother's in the White Fang. But you're planning to go to Vacuo, right?"

"...Yes."

Mercury finished tinting the windows and stepped forward. "Now, you know what the White Fang does to people who try to run, right? What they do to traitors?"

"Yes," Tukson said levely.

Emerald looked him dead in the eye. "You gonna fight us?"

"..."

Emerald and Mercury leaned in.

"She is."

Blake Belladonna pressed the barrel of her ballistic scythe, Gambol Shroud, to Mercury's head. "So tell me. Do you have 'Ninja's of Love', Tukson?"

Tukson and Emerald stared at the girl who had appeared. Blake had been a close friend to Tukson in the Fang, being a rare person who had shared his passion for literature. As such, running into her hadn't been unexpected. The fact she was asking for... what could generously be called an Adult Novel was unexpected. "Uh... no..?" Tukson answered.

"Now that's false advertising," Blake said. "Didn't you say that your shop was, and I quote, 'home to every book under the sun'?"

"...yes?"

"Oh Dust," Mercury muttered. "Look, if you're going to shoot me in the head, just do it, don't-" Mercury spun and seized Blake's arms, knocking her aim off. He twisted, flipping her over his shoulder and towards the ground.

Blake moved with his throw, managing impossibly to plant her feet. She seized hold of Mercury's momentum, flipped _him_ over _herself_ , and slammed his head into the floor. In a flash, she was now aiming at Emerald. "Talk about it? That was what he was going to say, right?"

Emerald opened her mouth, only for Tukson to interrupt her with a book to the head. Edgar Gryphon's "Fall of the Roman Empire."

Omnibus edition.

Blake pocketed Gambol Shroud and felt for a pulse. "You better call the police Tukson. A pair of assassins with ties to the White Fang will be a nice little catch for them."

Tukson glanced at the camera hanging in the corner of his bookshop. "Any specific officer I should ask for?"

"Hmm..." Blake though about it for a moment. "Fenix Bolton. He should be a good bet."

Blake snatched an orange book as she left. "Can I have this?

Tukson blinked and tried to recognize the book. "Wait, that's not in stock. That's not my book!"

Blake stepped outside and opened her copy of Icha Icha Paradise. "Right then. Now on to the best day ever."

* * *

 **2.7 Harosata**

* * *

Defeating a full party of Hunters was a difficult if suicidal task. One hunter is taught to fight the Grimm, engaging multiple Beowolfs with a weapon that changes forms. A team of Hunters can block and strike simultaneously, analyze weaknesses while mixing strengths, and ensures no part of themselves are left vulnerable. Indeed, while an experienced Huntress like Glynda is dangerous, an in-training Hunter team can prove to be just as difficult. A hunter who could take on a team and win would consider such a task as an accomplishment.

For Pyrrha, it was only a warmup. Again.

"Wow, that must be a new record." Ruby complimented her, being the only other person Awake in this Loop. "You didn't even have to use your Semblance."

"Of course. I don't have to pull it out for every match. Then again, it's only Cardin's team." Pyrrha quickly gazed around for any eavesdropper. "Ruby, what's the name of that syndrome, the one who believes Loops have to follow a certain path."

"You mean Setsuna Syndrome?" Ruby asked. "Wait, who has Setsuna Syndrome?"

"No one, but it certainly feels that way to me." Pyrrha frowned a little. "I'm a four-time Mistral champion and a cereal celebrity. I'm supposed to be a gladiator with no equal, someone who has gotten her position through training and dedication...And frankly, that's the only way I can act."

Ruby was quick to defend her. "That's not true! I'm sure you could relax a little."

Pyrrha knew Ruby was trying to cheer her up. "Thanks, but the last time I decided to go as a normal girl, everyone unAwake thought I was an imposter and the Anchor that replaced you screamed about Sakura Syndrome."

"Oh."

"At least it was better than the time I tried to act like Nora." Pyrrha let out a sigh, shaking her head. "It's just...I don't always want to be the perfect Huntress, but I just don't know how to be a normal one. I guess I want to experience being a...normal girl when no one is Awake."

"Ah." Ruby was getting what Pyrrha wanted. "You know, most Loopers tend to bond when they have similar hobbies, so maybe if you open with that, everyone will see you got the same interests as them."

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, that could work."

"...You do have hobbies, right?"

Pyrrha looked affronted at the accusation. "I do have hobbies! I took up jousting, fencing, spear-throwing, gun ranges, and LARPing...Though I didn't get to do much of that last one since I had to fight a succubus and her zombie army."

* * *

"So, Pyrrha, want to be on my team?"

"Um sure?"

"Mwuahahahaha..."

That confirmed it. Weiss was not Awake. Pyrrha knew by now that Weiss was hoping that their brawn and brain will make the two of them top students. But then again, this could be an opportunity to...just do it. "When we become an official team, maybe we can, um, get some ice cream?"

Weiss snapped out of her inner monologue. "Huh? O-of course! We'll go to Vale's premiere ice cream shop and order their most expensive sunda-"

"I-I mean normal ice cream, the kind you get from a store." Pyrrha corrected.

Weiss nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. I'll just order them directly from the factory, though between you and me, they are working on a few new flavors..."

Pyrrha resisted the urge to facepalm herself. Was Weiss like this before, or was this a fanatic variant? "Just ice cream. In a regular store. And us two talking. Like normal girls. Do. You. Understand?"

Weiss thought about it very carefully. "So you want me to reserve an ice cream shop for ourselves?"

Pyrrha thrusted her spear through Weiss's jacket and stormed off before she got the urge to scream.

"Was that a yes?"

* * *

Ruby opened JNPR's door, saw no one in the room, and silently crept to the closet. She knew that Nora had another bunch of cookies, and so she opened up the closet and... "Pyrrha?"

"Mmmphf! Mmphmf!" Ruby quickly untied Pyrrha. "Gah...Thanks, Ruby...Ick, what was Nora thinking, dipping a sock in maple syrup and stuffing it in my mouth?"

"Er, that's Nora?" Ruby blinked. "Wait, why were you tied up in your team's closet?"

Pyrrha began to explain. "Well, I thought that if my unAwake team was at my level, then it would be easier to relate to each other. So I started training them like how I trained myself."

Ruby was curious. "How?"

"Well, this Loop's memories was as effective. I mean, it's just doing a lot of exercise and following a strict diet. Sure, the no sugar rule would have upset Nora, but fruit is sweet enough."

"Fruit?" Ruby stared at her. "No cookies?"

"No cookies." Pyrrha looked up. "Ruby, why are you drenching your sock in chocolate sauce?"

* * *

Pyrrha stood on the roof of the school, her recent trips leaving her a lot to think about.

"What's up, Pyrrha?"

"Hello." Pyrrha looked back to the sky and sighed. "Sorry, just have a lot of things on my mind. What about you?"

"Well, I'm gonna ask Weiss to the dance. You wouldn't happen to have a guitar on you, do you?"

Pyrrha pulled a guitar from her Pocket, forgetting that Jaune wasn't Awake. "Don't worry, I have a spare."

"Um, I didn't know you played the guitar?" Jaune thought about asking how she pulled something that big if her combat uniform didn't have pockets, but he summed it up as a Hunter thing. "Why are you worried? I'm sure you'll get a date. After all, you ar-"

"It's not about the date! It's about friends! It's about me trying to make friends!" Pyrrha growled. "I'm just...I'm trying to be friends with you guys, but I don't know how!"

Jaune stepped back. "Hey, we are your friends. There's nothing to freak out about."

"No, we're friends yet! I-I mean, we work together, but we're just a team. Meanwhile, Ruby's the youngest Beacon student and Weiss is an heiress, yet they get together like sisters. Meanwhile, I'm...I'm just there. Everyone knows me, but they don't bother to actually know me." Pyrrha frowned. "Maybe I'm just thinking too deeply about this."

Jaune understood now. "You are."

Pyrrha groaned. So she was surprised when Jaune grabbed her hand and firmly shook it. "If you want to be a friend, it's not that hard. Just introduce yourself and stick by their side. I'm Jaune Arc, believer that girls like blondes."

"P-Pyrrha Nikos." And Pyrrha smiled, understanding what to do now. "And I like blondes."

* * *

 **2.8**

* * *

Ruby cracked her knuckles, feeling lonely on the airship to Beacon. Yang hadn't shown up yet (her only contact having been a quick email), and even Jaune was missing. Ruby wasn't comfortable with her usual companions having fallen off the face of Remnant. It usually did not end well... for her.

Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin when someone tapped her shoulder, but settled at Ren's, "hey Ruby." Ruby lightly smiled at him and the energetic Nora, who was grinning so widely that it was obvious who had arranged the scare. "Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

Nora held up her Scroll, the tablet computer all Beacon students were gifted upon completing/surviving initiation. "Yang called! She had a special mission for us!"

"She wanted us to keep you company," Ren bluntly answered.

"And to keep you tuned to the mews!" Nora added.

"Don't you mean _'news'_?" Ruby asked.

"Yang misspelled it!"

Ruby and Ren, for a moment, shared a look that simply asked if Nora spoke solely with exclamation points. "Right. News." Ren pulled out his own Scroll and brought up the news on the airship's holo-projectors. "Let's see who Jaune and Yang pissed off now."

"-scattered protests, though larger groupings experienced the heaviest casualties from the White Fang bombings. And now, for the Blonde Report, with Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long."

The screen promptly changed to Yang and Jaune, both seated at the stereotypical news desk (Jaune even had a stack of papers to make himself look more stereotypical). "Thank you for that informative news cast Lisa," Jaune said. "But now, on to the lighter side of life, with myself and my Co-Anchor Yang."

"And isn't it a sunny day with Yang?" Yang said. "Today's the day where Beacon starts accepting new students; bandits, lunatics, heirs and heiresses, spies-."

"-Sports stars, hammer-wielding lunatics-" Nora smiled at Jaune's honorable mention. "-Their exhausted boyfriends-" Now Nora and Ren spluttered. "-Idiots with maces-."

All present laughed at Cardin's expense.

"Aaaaand my little sister!" Yang said. A photograph of Ruby showed up next to Yang's head. "Best scythe wielder in history, fully capable badass, could thrash any and all teachers at Beacon, and single! But don't even bother boys, she's got a thing for heiresses. Right Jaune?"

"That you are Yang. In fact, I am certain only a very specific heiress will win the heart of Miss Rose. Maybe..." A picture of Weiss appeared next to Jaune's head with a melodic ding. "Maybe her."

"Definitely Weiss," Yang stated.

"Absolutely Weiss," Jaune agreed.

"So don't bother boys!" Yang declared.

"Miss Rose is taken," Jaune said.

"And that concludes the Blonde Report," they spoke in unison. "Chow!" The picture cut back to Lisa Lavender, who looked halfway between disbelief and side-splitting laughter.

"And now, the weather."

On the airship to Beacon, Ruby was sulking. "I'm ruined... I'M RUINED!"

Nora chuckled awkwardly. "Oh... you know Ruby. Maybe no one saw it."

"We saw it," the entire room chorused.

Ruby stared at the window for a moment before pulling Crescent Rose off her back and launching herself out the window. A quick fall later, Ruby hit the ground hard enough to crater it, before flying through the streets. Ruby ground to a halt directly in front of Yang and Jaune, in their makeup room, in the broadcast station of the Vale News Network, on the other side of the city of Vale. Neither looked particularly surprised to see Ruby.

They barely got to explain themselves though. Ruby ha stopped for some pastries on the way in. With both of them facing her, Ruby pied them both.

It was certainly a fun little revenge. It would not be the first though. Not in the slightest.

* * *

 **2.9**

* * *

' _Alright Yang, this time, this time..._ ' Yang Xiao Long ducked beneath Neo's parasol, trying to deliver a shallow punch that wouldn't knock out the pink haired psychopath. Neo obligingly managed to turn away from the blow, even raising an eyebrow as if to snark at her. Yang growled, but clamped down on her temper. ' _I'm going to meet Raven, this time._ '

The plan this loop had been to keep things as close to baseline as possible (excepting Tukson's death and Cinder's virus). So far, everything seemed to have held together, at least insofar that Roman and the White Fang's plan of loading a train full of bombs and driving in through Vale's defenses was still in operation. Dust, they were in the middle of it!

The rail car that Neo and Yang were duking it out in was far enough ahead in the consist that they didn't need to worry about being blown to smithereens, so all Yang had to do was fake losing to Neo. That way, miss Raven Branwen (apparently, her Aunt... or was that her mother? It confused her and Ruby a lot.) would show up and kick Neo's ass! Of course, losing while looking like you put your best effort into it was way harder than most people thought. Hence was Yang was getting very pissed off.

Yang tried a mix of right hooks and a haymaker, all of which Neo dodged. The blonde boxer saw her opening and grabbed Neo by the leg, trying to pretend to throw her off balance. Neo rolled through the throw and collapsed her parasol, blocking one shotgun aided punch after another. She closed the gap, tilted her head to avoid a punch, lashed out at Yang's leg with her own and groped her.

Yang's brain short circuited for a split second at the... surprising, intrusion of her personal space. Neo brought her parasol's hook around Yang's neck and dragged the taller girl down, slamming her knee into Yang's face. Stunned, Yang couldn't react in time to Neo stepping around her and planting a boot on the back of her neck, forcing her throat into the crook of Neo's parasol. Flailing under the sudden loss of oxygen, Yang tried to punch backwards, only for Neo to grab her arm and pull much harder than her pint-sized frame seemed to allow.

The world started to blur as Yang's already invoked adrenaline demanded more and more oxygen. Yang's free arm tried to weakly hit Neo, but lacked the strength to do anything beyond a mere tap. Yang could feel her Aura faltering, consciousness vanishing from her body. The boxer tried to make herself speak or cry out or alert her friends, but only a choked slur came from her lips.

And suddenly, the pressure was gone, Neo's foot was off her back, her parasol was no longer pressing down on Yang's neck, and Yang herself was gasping for breath, struggling to pull whatever oxygen she could out of the stifling atmosphere of the train car. "You..." she rasped and coughed. "You... saved me. Who saved me?"

Neo's head nonchalantly rolled past, with Raven Branwen on Yang's other side. "Wait!" Yang struggled to call. "Wait."

Raven lightly turned her head, just enough to give the impression of listening. Yang struggled to her feet, the rocking of the rail car fighting to bring her down. "Who are you? Why now, after all this time? What's going on?"

Raven turned away, pulled a masamune blade from her rotary sheath, and cut a portal into the air. She stepped through it without an answer.

Yang, exhausted, tried to muster some sort of angered response, tried to engender herself with some form of fury. Alas, getting almost hiked to death never exactly helps with such emotions, and Yang simply settled for climbing out of the rail car and onto its roof. Above the train, racing through the tunnels from Mountain Glenn to Vale, Yang was left with too many questions, the way she had started.

"Damn it..." Yang muttered.

* * *

 **2.10**

* * *

Marianne Columbia pulled the drawstrings on her knapsack closed and slung it over her shoulder. Next to her, Fenrir Lokison flicked his ear and adjusted his own saddle pouch before checking on his girlfriend. "Think that's it?"

The French spirit of liberty and patron of all Red Riding Hoods pulled a travel guide out of her sack. "Hmm... clothing, weapons, spare food... looks like it!"

The lupine son of the Norse God Loki rolled his shoulders to get the kinks out before smiling. "I am going to love this. Been too long since I've gotten a vacation."

"And you think you're the only one? Now I know how Slephnir feels when he has to work out expansions for Equestria. Hel knows Zurvan's still feeling it from getting Doctor Who Looping!" Marianne adjusted the computer monitor in her cubicle before hopping onto Fenrir's back. "But now! Inward and onward!"

Fenrir bunched his haunches and launched himself and his girlfriend into the computer screen, vanishing into the code source code of Remnant.

For a moment, the room was still and quiet. Then, without warning, the computer screen lit up. A line of text appeared.

SlendyWasHere: Hey, Thulhu. Thulhu. ThulhuThulhuThulhuThulhuThulhuThulhuThulhuThu

StarLordCthulhu: FUCK OFF SLENDERMAN!

SlendyWasHere: Hey, Thulhu, guess what!

StarLordCthulhu: You're a retard?

SlendyWasHere: No! YOU'RE A RETARD!

StarLordCthulhu: No you are!

SlendyWasHere: No, you!

StarLordCthulhu: No, you!

SlendyWasHere: No, you!

StarLordCthulhu: No, you!

SlendyWasHere: No, you!

StarLordCthulhu: No, you!

SlendyWasHere: No, you!

StarLordCthulhu: No, you!

SlendyWasHere: No, you!

YoggySolo: SHUT THE F*** UP YOU TWO.

StarLordCthulhu: ...

SlendyWasHere: ...

StarLordCthulhu: He's a fucktard.

SlendyWasHere: Fucktard Yoggy!

YoggySolo: FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE...

SlendyWasHere: Fenrir just went down into a world, FYI jackasses.

StarLordCthulhu: Puppy time?

SlendyWasHere: Better. You still got your backdoor for Wolfy's worlds?

StarLordCthulu: You mean the "CatF^cker69" codes? Skuld killed them.

SlendyWasHere: Haha! Shit out o luck! Yoggy-chan, you got your codes?

YoggySolo: WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING SLENDERMAN?

SlendyWasHere: Two words. Looping. Cullen's.

SlendyWasHere: …And Jacob.

StarLordCthulhu: ...

YoggySolo: ...

StarLordCthulhu: Genius... for a fucktard.

YoggySolo: YOU HAVE MY APPROVAL. MY ACCESS CODES ARE IN THE Hb#GetHerDone FILE. FENRIR: WELCOME TO HELL.

StarLordCthulhu: Welcome to Hell!

SlendyWasHere: Let's do this!

SlendyWasHere: After I turn Fenrir into a puppy.

* * *

Marianne and Fenrir touched down gently in Vale, Marianne landing gently on her knees. "Hmm? Smooth ride in. And here I was... expecting... trouble. Fenrir? Fenrir?"

Something shifted underneath Marianne's skirt, causing her to yelp and jump in surprise. The spectacularly tiny and cute Fenrir heaved a great breath, before noting his form. "Oh, DAD DAMMIT! Why am I a puppy again?"

Marianne groaned quietly. "I knew it was too good to be true. Of course you'd become a puppy."

Fenrir grumbled and hopped into Marianne's arms. "Sometimes I really hate Dad's pranks..."

Marianne gently stroked Fenrir's head, lulling the wolf god back to peacefulness. "Don't worry about it Fenny. I like you in this form too you know." Adjusting Fenrir to free up her hand, Marianne pointed dramatically into the distance. "Now let's find Ruby and her loopers!"

At that moment, a giant fireball crashed into the earth behind the two descended gods. Marianne and Fenrir nearly jumped out of their skin at the almighty crash, the woman spinning on her heel to see what could only be described as a giant robot Corgi. After a minute of burning and doing nothing else, a hatch opened on the head and voices emerged.

"I told you Ruby, stop trying to blow up the moon."

"But it's so annoying that it's only half destroyed!"

"That's not the point you dunce!"

Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee climbed out of the Mega War Corgi, the red-wearing girl grumbling about failed prototypes and traitorous friends. She stopped when she noticed the otherwise surprised Marianne and Fenrir. "Oh, uh... Hi! We didn't crush anyone... or anything? Did we?"

Marianne and Fenrir shook their heads in unison. The spirit of liberty gently set Fenrir down and cheerfully waved to the confused duo of Ruby and Weiss. "Hello girls. Well... I'm Marianne. I'm your admin."

Fenrir nodded slightly. _'Yes, good, clean introduction. No frills, just facts.'_

Ruby gasped loudly. "You're Marianne? Our admin!? OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh! Wait right there!" Ruby vanished in a flash of red silk and yellow lightning, leaving a confused Weiss behind.

Weiss, Marianne and Fenrir all stared at each other for a moment. Weiss slowly stepped forward, picked up Fenrir and looked at him. "So... is this your pet?"

"Boyfriend," he clarified. Weiss was suitably unimpressed by the talking wolf pup she was holding. "Trust me, I'm usually much more menacing and badass than this." He licked a paw. "This is just the form I pick up chicks in."

Weiss and Marianne snorted. Ruby appeared a moment later with Yang, before vanishing again. "Uh... hi. Ruby said something about... an admin?"

Marianne politely waved. "Hello miss Xiao Long. I am Marianne, Admin to your loop and a few others." She curtseyed gently. Yang bowed informally. "I take it by the time of day that we may have missed the beginning of the loop a little."

"A little?" Yang said with slight incredulity. "You missed little a long time ago. It's been three months."

Marianne and Fenrir loudly choked. "Three-three months! But I could have sworn that we... Loki," Marianne growled. "He did this didn't he!"

"Who's Loki?" Yang asked.

"My dad," Fenrir answered lazily; Weiss had started scratching behind his ears and it was heavenly.

"Your pet talks?" Yang said.

"My _boyfriend_ talks, yes," Marianne stressed.

Ruby appeared in a flash, dropped off Blake, and vanished again. Blake covered her mouth and took a few deep breaths to stop herself from throwing up. "Oh... wow." She then saw Marianne. "Oh... _wow_."

Marianne pursed her lips. "Hello Blake. Nice to meet you."

"You're... you're Marianne. Our Admin!" Blake looked to be in an awed state. "You're lady liberty. The person who inspired the Hub's French Revolution. You're... You're a god!"

Marianne tittered lightly and Fenrir barked a laugh, both at Blake's own stunned response. "That's very kind of you to say Blake. I'm merely an Administrator though. And not exactly a well-known one either."

"You're well known," Fenrir put in. "You're a brilliant coder who's kept up with everything. And you're Lady Liberty herself."

Blake (and Nora, who had just arrived via-Ruby) stared at the wolf pup. "A talking wolf?"

"A talking what?" Ren said as Ruby dropped him off.

Nora squealed and tried to glomp Fenrir, who barked in fear and leapt out of Weiss' arms and into Marianne's. Marianne chuckled at his antics. "This is Fenrir, he's my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend is a dog?" Jaune said as he was dropped off. He started to sway on his feet alarmingly though.

Fenrir jumped down from Marianne's arms and loped over to Jaune. "That is correct. But enough about me-"

Then Jaune's motion sickness caught up with him, and ended up splattered over Fenrir. All assembled winced. Ruby reappeared with a slightly dizzy Pyrrha, and leapt in front of Marianne. "Can I have your autograph?" Then she noticed what Jaune had done. "Uh... is this a bad time?"

* * *

After washing off Fenrir, Marianne had happily allowed Ruby and the loopers of Remnant to show her around Beacon Academy. Ruby had been more than happy to introduce Marianne to everyone else, even though they weren't loopers. Sun and Neptune had been quite surprised by the girl that Ruby had called her 'Mother's Sister's Niece's Former Roomate', but were happy to welcome her to Beacon anyway.

They had even gotten a laugh out of Marianne and Fenrir's demonstration of what they could do with Grimm: specifically, Marianne could use Fenrir as a laser cannon. Weiss and the rest were quick to loudly request that she not show Ruby any more of Fenrir's 'settings'. They though Ruby had enough War Corgi ideas as it was.

It was around their more in depth exploration of the Forever Fall woods north of Vale that Weiss finally raised a question that she'd been dying to ask for decades. "Why didn't you show up when we first started looping?"

Marianne looked at Weiss and the others levelly, but not without a degree of stillness to her. "Why didn't I tell you about the loops when this all began? Well... to an extent, we didn't know you were looping."

"You... you didn't know? How could you not know? You're gods!" Weiss said in disbelief.

Marianne frowned, a hint of regret in her eyes. "Sometimes it's hard to find worlds that are looping for a while. Usually it takes a few hundred loops, though sometimes it takes thousands. In cases like that, it takes time to hook them up with the main multiverse: to get fused loops going. I only just got this world assigned to myself." Marianne pursed her lips. "I'm sorry that we couldn't tell you about this whole mess earlier, I really am. It's just... when you've been dealing with the situation we've been dealing with, some things tend to just..."

"Get pushed to the wayside."

Marianne shrugged. "I'm a god. Fenrir and I are gods. We're not perfect. We're not all powerful. We're just close."

Teams RWBY and JNPR stared at their somber patron deity. Fenrir broke the silence with a yip. "Hey, of course we're not all powerful! If we were, would I be a puppy?"

That drew some laughs.

* * *

It was later that week that Marianne and Fenrir bid the loopers of Remnant a fond fair well. As they were pulling their packs on, Marianne turned to Ruby one last time. "Be safe Ruby. All of you, stay sane, be happy, and enjoy your time together. Good bye."

Marianne and Fenrir faded from the world, and once again, Remnant was empty of the divine.

* * *

Up in Admin-space:

* * *

SlendyWasHere: Feh. Done.

StarLordCthulhu: Hehehe, boot it up Slendy!

YoggySolo: LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE HERE SLENDERMAN.

SlendyWasHere: Alright, posting patch, and... done. Running looper search now.

*...*

*ERROR: NO LOOPER MATCH FOUND FOR QUARIES: EDWARD CULLEN, BELLA CULLEN, JACOB BLACK.

SlendyWasHere: ...

StarLordCthulhu: ...

YoggySolo: ...

StarLordCthulhu: You done fucked up, didn't ya?

YoggySolo: US DAMMIT SLENDERMAN, WHAT DID YOU DO?

SlendyWasHere: I don't know! I found three loopers that were flagged as un-loopable and patched them in! It has to be them, they're the only beings in the Twilight world that would be flagged as non-looping!

StarLordCthulhu: And are you in Twilight's code?

SlendyWasHere: ...

StarLordCthulhu: ...

YoggySolo: CTHULU'S RIGHT, YOU DONE FUCKED UP.

StarLordCthulhu: Fucktard!

SlendyWasHere: Alright, Alright! Just let me get the looper variable's up. Alright...

*RWBY: Remnant*

YoggySolo: RWBY'S ONE OF MARIANNE'S WORLDS.

SlendyWasHere: ...Ha! I screwed Fenrir's bitch!

StarLordCthulhu: By accident you fucking dumbass.

SlendyWasHere: I still pulled it off!

YoggySolo: WAIT, YOU SAID YOU GOT THREE LOOPERS WHO WERE FLAGGED BY THE SYSTEM LOOPING.

SlendyWasHere: ...

SlendyWasHere: Aw crap.

StarLordCthulhu: Slendy, who did you get looping?

SlendyWasHere: Er... Let me check.

*RUBY ROSE, WEISS SCHNEE, BLAKE BELLADONNA, YANG XIAO LONG, JAUNE ARC, PYRRHA NIKOS, NORA VALKYRIE, LIE REN, [UNDEFINED], [UNDEFINED], [UNDEFINED].

SlendyWasHere: ...

StarLordCthulhu: ...

YoggySolo: ...

SlendyWasHere: Undefined variables. That's good, right?

SlendyWasHere: _RIGHT_!?

* * *

 **A/N: I'm not always going to do a trailing Author's note, but this time I will. I enjoyed putting this chapter together, and suspect that everyone else did as well. As such, I am happy to present: Post-Credit Explanations and Snark!**

 **2.1: Kuroko translates as Black, with a female connotation. Fitting for Blake.**

 **2.2: Barry Allen, meet your peppy sidekick** _ **and despair!**_

 **2.3: Well, it was a rather complicated situation. At least Harry helped** _ **plant their feet.**_

 **2.4: "Hi readers! Review, or I'll break your legs!"**

 **2.5: A popular fan-theory. Is ole Cindy a relative of Yang and Ruby's? Who knows!**

 **2.6: And thus, Blake proved that she is a badass.**

 **2.7: And that's how Pyrrha and Jaune… destroyed Jaune's bed.**

 **2.8: And now, the news. Cape wearing girl demolitions news studio!**

 **2.9: Hmm… Maybe Raven is… Yang's sister!**

 **2.10: Three new loopers! OHMYGOSH! That's just in time for chapter three! But who could they be? Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion-**

 **(Vague administrative noise)**

 **Tune in one week after the next week for the exciting conclusion of this plot line!**


	3. The Candle and the Cream

The Compilation as it stands:

 **RWBY Loops: Chapter 3**

 **A/N: Another week, another compilation! This time, with Omakes!**

* * *

 **3.1**

* * *

Roman Torchwick blinked, and blinked again before stepping back and trying to more clearly see what was in front of him. He was holding a Dust crystal, specifically a "Burn" variant. And he was holding it... in the From Dust Till Dawn shop. "What the..."

Then one of his rent-a-henchmen went flying by. Roman focused and sent on of the other boys down the aisle. He was dispatched with equal swiftness, specifically sent flying out the window with a rather familiar girl in red. Roman cocked an eyebrow slowly. "What in the world..." Then he noticed that the three hired muscle hadn't moved an inch. "Well what are you waiting for? Get her!"

The trio charged out, and Roman watched in vague shock as they were dismantled by Red with ease. Such ease, in fact, that a rather scary thought entered Roman's head. Discreetly, he fled for the back door.

In the street, Ruby finished kicking the rent-a-henchmen's asses and turned to the storefront. "Alright Roman, you're ca ca ca..." Ruby blinked as she noticed that Roman had disappeared. _'Must have beaten these guys up too well again.'_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, Roman sprinting across the street and up the ladder to the roofs. Ruby shot after him, launching herself over the edge of the roof with a blast from Crescent Rose. "Give it up Torchwick!"

Roman raced to the edge of the roof, standing just at the lip. The crime lord waited as Cinder brought the Bullhead up and boarded quickly. Turning to Red, he pulled out the Burn crystal again, and chose to forgo gloating and just lobbed it at her. The explosive bullet that would have set it off though was intercepted (again) by the blonde Huntress. Roman grumbled and retreated to the cockpit. "Huntress. And make sure you kill her."

Cinder abdicated the pilot's chair to Roman and stepped to the door, leaving the thoroughly confused crime lord to his thoughts and the task of controlling the Bullhorn. _'It doesn't make any sense. One second I'm in jail, the next I'm back here. What the Grimm is going on? Did I time travel or some-'_

At that moment, Glynda unleashed a storm of ice crystals on the Bullhorn, one of which had the unfortunate luck of punching through the cockpit's glass and thus, through Roman's head. And so, the crime lord's life ended with the hilariously unfortunate event of him being impaled through the brain.

* * *

Roman blinked and stared at the Dust crystal, a Burn variant, in his hand. "What the..." The same rent-a-henchmen went flying past him. He sent the same guy down the aisle, and again, he and Red went flying out the window. He sent the same trio out to fight Red...

And then he legged it.

* * *

Roman marched into his headquarters, a small warehouse out in the docklands of Vale, right behind Cinder. It was important that she be leading the way: it gave her the false sense that she was running the show. That Cinder actually _was_ running the show was of little consequence to him. Cinder slipped comfortably into a couch that was laid out for Roman. "It seems that the latest string of robberies has netted us some unwanted attention." Cinder leaned forward. "Use it."

Roman chuckled. The whole situation was absurd, straight out of a science fiction novel. It almost seemed as if Cinder was reading from a script. Now his line was; "You want me to take advantage of this? I'm a thief and a mobster, I don't work in daylight. That sort of attention, I don't need." Roman smiled vainly. "But I want it."

Cinder smiled. "You'll learn to love-"

At which point the script was chopped up, burned, and flushed away by Neo, who shrieked loudly and latched on to Roman like an adorable and distressed leach. "Argh! Neo, what are you... doing?"

Neo was sobbing uncontrollably into Roman's coat. Roman glanced at Cinder, who rolled her eyes and left. Roman pushed the much shorter girl off him. "What, you miss my hugs or something?"

Neo frantically signed something incomprehensible. Roman's lip twitched and he signed at her; "Too Fast."

Neo's hands moved much more comprehensibly now. "You Dead. Alone. Back Again?"

Roman blinked, turned his head, before comprehension struck him like lightning. "You..." Roman caught himself and switched to sign language. "You Time Travel To?"

Neo nodded vigorously. Roman gulped. "Well, that's a relief. Don't worry little sis, we'll think of something."

Now it was Neo's turn to be confused. She signed quickly at Roman; "Little Sister? Mean, Daughter?"

Roman blinked. "Come again?" Neo was his little sister, wasn't she? He remembered that she was... but the first time, the one timeline that he'd been through, the first time, she'd been his... Business partner. Roman's and Neo's eyes widened. "Oh crap."

* * *

An hour of hard work later, Roman and Neo were left standing in front of a board. It had a simple diagram of three lines that each separated from a single one. The first was marked "prime, partners", the second marked "Roman dies, father/daughter", and the third and bottom most one was marked, "brother/sister." Roman turned to the girl who was either his partner in crime, daughter, or little sister. "This make any sense to you?"

Neo shook her head.

"Yeah, me neither." Roman turned to the blackboard and thought it over. "Alright... this time, let's try not to die, and see how things progress from there. Capisce?"

Neo nodded, signing quickly. "We Do This."

Roman smirked. "Let's."

* * *

 **3.2 Harosata**

* * *

"Ruby?"

"Yes, Yang?"

"Is Zwei supposed to be at school?"

The sisters looked on as Professor Port rambled on about Grimm...while a corgi was indeed behind him.

"...And you must always be aware of your surroundings." A few students couldn't help but snicker. "There is no telling what foul creature lurks in your shadows, ready to pounce at a moment's notice! This is no laughing matter!"

Port turned around, but he didn't see anything out of place. With a curt shrug, the professor faced the class again, not noticing a rope dropping from the ceiling or the dog carefully rappelling down to position.

"That is why you must be like me and pay attention, because this lesson can save your life..."

* * *

 **3.3**

* * *

Blake, this loop, had brought a friend from the White Fang.

Specifically she had (through no small amount of effort, she assured Ruby and her team) managed to convince Adam Taurus, her mentor, oldest friend, confidant, and high-ranking White Fang member, to jump ship with her while they had been robbing one of the Schnee Corp's supply trains. The sudden change of the status quo that Adam's arrival alongside Blake was something that had a noticeable effect on all three first year teams. In point of fact, there was usually twelve new students which could very easily be sorted into three teams of four composed of two man squads. Now there was thirteen.

Hence why Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Adam were awkwardly standing on the team-arrangement stage, with Ozpin obviously holding back a laugh at Adam's expense. "Now, you five shall form Team RWBYA, led by Ruby Rose." The cheeky headmaster smiled at the five.

Ruby did not smile back at him. "Took you a while to figure that one out, huh?"

Of course, the most apparent change in dynamic was sleeping arrangements. Ozpin had elected to act as if the standard four man team formation was still in effect for Team RWBYA, and subsequently only installed four beds. The general response?

"Ugh..."

Adam's specific response? "Seeing as Weiss is the most pampered, and noble, and proper amongst us, I believe that she will be so generous to take the floor." That Adam was glaring furiously at Weiss while he said this (in fact, his default mode whenever in the Schnee heiress' company), obviously did not allude to his abject hatred of her.

The four girls groaned aloud at Adam's on engrained racism (specism?) and how it turned against Weiss. Yes, her family's company did commit to very questionable labor practices, and yes, this had gained the extreme ire of the White Fang, but that didn't mean Weiss represented the Schnee Dust Corporation in its entirety. Not that Adam would listen to that logic of course.

Then the issue of privacy arose, and Adam was summarily kicked out of the room so the girls could dress.

Adam Taurus was a real mixed bag in class as well. He didn't have the first clue how to fight a Grimm, didn't even know that they were attracted to negative emotion. This did allow for some interesting banter with Port though. ("So they feed off bad vibes?" "Correct Mister Taurus." "So why haven't they eaten Weiss yet?")

It was interesting. Not polite, but interesting.

It was well into the third week at Beacon that Blake found herself venting her frustrations to Jaune. "And no matter how much I try to get him to just settle down and listen, he's always trying to talk me into leaving. It's like... like..."

"Trying to herd cats?" Jaune suggested.

"Yes! No..." Blake rested her head in her hands. Jaune wasn't Awake now, and as such he wasn't aware that Blake herself... was a cat. "He's just so stubborn. Bull-headed."

"He is a Bull Faunus," Jaune surmised. His breakfast scraped over the table to Blake. "Here. You need this more than me."

Blake opened her mouth to thank Jaune, only to notice the horribly insecure look from Pyrrha, who was sitting next to Jaune. Blake winced and shunted the plate back. "I don't need it. Thanks though. I just... oh no."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked over their shoulders to see Cardin and his team bullying Velvet Scarlatina, a rabbit Faunus with giant bunny ears. They could hear words like "freak", and "bunny-slut" from their table. Pyrrha winced in sympathy. "Poor girl..."

"Oh, they're just... you know, horsing around," Jaune defended, unwilling to classify Cardin's own treatment of him as bullying. "They'll leave her be... soon."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Blake clarified. She pointed at Adam, marching between the tables to team CRDL and Velvet. "That's what I'm worried about."

"Leave her alone," Adam said coldly. He grabbed Cardin's wrist and pulled it off of Velvet's ear. Velvet leapt at the chance to run and bolted, with a quick 'thank you' left behind. Adam turned Cardin's wrist over, bending it unnaturally. "Don't you touch her again."

Cardin activated his Aura, the power of his soul coursing through his arm and twisting it back into it's correct position. He used said arm to point at Adam. "And what are you gonna do about it, bull-shit?"

"DON'T CUT HIS ARM OFF!" Blake screamed. Adam froze mid-swing, his sword having leapt from it's sheath with the unnatural speed of an expert Iaijitsu practitioner. Blake heaved a sigh of relief as Adam slowly lowered his sword from it's position to cut off Cardin's arm, and settled for giving it a yank and dislocating/breaking it.

Adam joined Blake, Jaune and Pyrrha as their table, almost reveling in Cardin's screams of pain. "So, Blake, how's your morning?"

Blake was banging her head into the table.

* * *

 **3.4**

* * *

Ozpin turned on the school's audio system. "Attention Huntsmen and Huntress students."

"Testicles."

"That is all."

Ruby and Weiss' eyes widened. "You don't think..."

"Please don't be a looping Peter Griffin."

Faintly, you could hear Glynda screaming; "OOOOOOOZZZZZZZZPPPPPPPPIIIIIINNNNN!"

It was not, suffice to say, Peter Griffin.

* * *

 **3.5 Harosata**

* * *

"Pfft! They let a fat ass like you into Beacon? This isn't Bacon Academy!"

Ruby looked down at herself. Maybe the multiverse was poking at her love for cookies. She was certainly round.

"Don't worry, you're not fat." Her Unawake sister tried to comfort her. "You're big-boned!"

"And full of air!" Cardin jibbed, getting his soon-to-be team to laugh at him. "Oh wait, what kind of air is that heavy?"

Glynda snapped at him. "Cardin Winchester! One more word and you'll be heading down by foot! Do you understand? And for your information, there are gases that are more dense than the ones we breathe, none that exist in the human body."

Ruby smiled at the stern teacher. Despite being a stickler for detail, Glynda had be mildly impressed with how she had fought Roman, who had also made fun of her size. "Ms Goodwitch, can I have a running start?"

"Maybe you should just let her walk instead." Cardin flinched as Glynda glared at him. "Just looking out for our fellow students, that's all."

Glynda huffed and simply initiated the launch, tossing everyone into the forest for their initiation, including Cardin.

And yet, Ruby had convinced everyone to move one tile up so she could have the last launchpad. She eyed where Cardin was going, moved a few steps to the right, and then moved with a great burst of speed thought impossible of someone her stature, thanks to her speedy Semblance. She had timed it just right, the launchpad activating to give her the extra lift, and she sped past everyone who were beginning to implement their landing strategy. At this speed, she was going to collide with someone very painfully, and it just so happened that Cardin turned around and gaped.

"I AM A HUMAN CANNONBALL!"

Sure, she probably would end up in Cardin's team once he got out of the infirmary, but destroying one's opponents with the equivalent of a wrecking ball and sonic speed? So worth it.

* * *

Ruby finally arrived at the warehouse where Blake and Sun discovered the White Fang and Roman working together. The moment she got there, ten White Fang lackeys rushed at her. Not one to waste an opportunity, she sped through them, knocking them all over immediately... except for one who wobbled on his feet before falling down.

"STRIKE!"

Roman shook his head, keeping a healthy distance after the last time he fought the round... little girl. "You guys set yourself up for that."

* * *

 **3.6**

* * *

Jack Spicer's workshop was abuzz with sparks, electricity, some flames, and heaps of flying robots. Jack Spicer himself was welding a new Jack-bot together, and getting ready to open up a magical box. Within said magical box was the mask of Wuya, an ancient sorceress who would seek to bring the whole of the earth under her thumb. She always made for good company.

Jack nonchalantly finished his welding and booted up the new Jack-bot. This one was interlaced with a rudimentary elemental manipulation matrix that would allow it to control one of the four elements with martial arts. You know, elemental bending. Jack himself was a well-versed lightning bender, though not quite as good as, say, Mako or Prince Zuko. His soldering done, Jack turned around and carefully opened the enchanted box of Wuya to reveal...

A bowler hat. Jack blinked in surprise. "Oh come on! This had better not be Perry the Platypus again?"

The hat slowly floated upward, the head of a man, an actual human head, appearing beneath it. A torso formed, followed by arms and hands. The legs naturally remained fogged up, though the reason had eluded Jack (and many others) for countless eons. Jack frowned at the man who had risen from the box. "Lame... Hey, are you Alex DeLarge?"

The man looked at Jack, before sweeping his vision through the room. Silently, he contemplated his position, before looking back at Jack. "Who the fuck are you?"

Jack pouted. "Now sweetums I'm not going to discuss this with you if you're going to use that tone of voice," the Anchor of the world of Xiaolin Showdowns answered.

The ghost-hat-man floated down and passed his intangible hand into Jack's chest. From the angle of entry and very surreal cold that was emanating through Jack, he could tell that the ghost-hat-guy had his heart on his grasp. "Now, bub, I'm going to be nice and clear here. Where am I, who are you, and what's going on?"

Jack cocked an eyebrow: years of interacting with Wuya had immunized him to the fear that a complete amateur like this guy was trying to invoke. Still, he was obviously a visiting looper, so Jack had an obligation. "Jack Spicer, evil genius. Inventor of the Jack-bots you see around you, freer of you, collector of Shang Ga Wu, Anchor of this world. You probably have no idea what I'm saying, do you?"

Ghost-hat-guy pulled his hand out of Jack's chest. "Continue," he said.

* * *

Roman Torchwick was starting to feel sick.

It had started badly enough when he had came to awareness like... this. Ghostly and unable to do anything, sealed inside of a box. Then, when this Jack Spicer kid had pulled him out, he hadn't even been able to properly threaten him! Things had gotten worse from there out. "So, let me get this straight. The entire universe is time traveling?"

"Not universe. Multiverse," Jack corrected, having been in the middle of illustrating the finer points of MLE's with finger puppets. "All the worlds that can exist, and do."

"And you're the guy who always remembers when the world resets?" Roman swallowed bile at the fact of some idiot like this was the most powerful guy around. "Like Ruby Rose would be?"

Jack nodded. "Yup. Now, there's this guy named Dio Brando-"

"Now slow down bucko, I don't need to know this," Roman said smoothly. "You... mentioned something called a subspace pocket a while ago. It would let me carry items from one... loop, to another?"

Jack nodded. "Yep. That's the whole kit and caboodle on Subspace pockets."

Roman nodded, really wishing he had his cane at the moment so he could twirl it in thought. "Meaning, anything I steal, I keep? No matter how many eh, loop resets there are?"

"Just drop what you want in your pocket once the loop ends, and if it can't rot, rust or go bad, it's yours," Jack said.

Roman floated down to Jack's shoulders. "Even these... Shang Ga Wu? Magical artifacts that have great power?"

Jack nodded slowly and cautiously. "...Yeah..."

Roman clapped Jack on the shoulders (no small feat for a ghost). "Oh Jackie boy, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership."

Jack edged away from Roman. "What's in it for me?"

Roman swooped up to Jack, gesturing broadly. "Imagine it: fame, wealth, power, all mine, taken solely from my skills as a master thief. And the multiverse will know who trained me. They'll be lining up for miles just to be in the presence of the man who trained greatness. Just imagine it Jackie boy. Fangirls, all wanting you. Fanboys, all wanting to be trained by you. The multiverse would be your oyster, because they will know that who trained the baddest mother-fucker around. What do you say?"

Jack didn't answer immediately. He was obviously lost in the fantasies of grandeur and power. "Yes. Yesyesyesyes. I shall train you, and together, we shall take over the multiverse!"

"No treasure is safe!" Roman declared.

"They will choke on our evil!" Jack shouted.

"We will be the masters of the multiverse!" they roared.

"Oh boys, we're trying to host a party up here," someone called from above.

"Yeah yeah, I hear you mom!" Jack shouted back up. Behind him, Roman face palmed.

 _'Of all the idiots... urg...'_

"What's that over there?!" Jack suddenly shouted.

Roman turned on his heel, fists raised, braced for...

Absolutely nothing. He'd been duped.

In the meantime, Jack had grabbed the magical box that had held Roman, reopened it, and shoved Roman inside. He proceeded to chain, weld, magically enchant, and finally bury the box in concrete, before dropping it into his subspace pocket. "Fyew... That's one mega-villain dealt with."

* * *

 **3.7 Harosata and Myself**

* * *

"I'm the most dangerous!"

"Just because your name's Nora doesn't make you dangerous. Besides, I'm quite dangerous myself."

"Yeah right, danger is my middle name!"

Jaune looked at Nora, Pyrrha and Yang arguing with each other, then back to the Rubys who were watching the fight. "What are they arguing about?"

"They had Mikasa Glitches in the previous Loops." Ruby commented as she munched on a cookie. "So they're comparing who has the most severe case."

"Oh." Jaune was too scared to ask, but... "Who do you think did the worst?"

"Well, Pyrrha couldn't hit Pyrrha since they both used their polar thingies, so they ended up tearing apart the school and then the city. Literally." Ruby explained as she took a cookie. "Yang, on the other hand, she just kept punching Yang until the world exploded. And Nora...well, it's not _bad_ bad but it was very weird to the very end. I'd say it's a three-way tie."

"I see." Jaune looked from Ruby to Ruby. "And why aren't you two fighting?"

"The multiverse would crash from sheer awesomeness if we fought." Ruby said.

"So we decided to work on a single Mega War Corgi and see who could give it the best upgrades." Ruby added.

Jaune looked up. "...So you weren't actually watching them argue? Huh. Kind of explains why most of Remnant's on fire."

"Yep!"

Jaune frowned, and then realized something. "Hey, there are two of you!"

Ruby and Ruby nodded. "Yup!"

"...How is that possible again?"

"Mikasa Glitch. Multiple versions of yourself running around, aware of the loops, and with access to your subspace pocket."

Jaune suddenly thought of multiple hims running around. "Oh..."

* * *

 **3.8 Harosata**

* * *

Team JNPR was eating breakfast when Jaune noticed something different about Pyrrha. "Wait, you're a guy this time?"

The noticeably muscular Pyrrha, or Deucalion as he was called, nodded, trying not to look at Jaune like he normally did (the bedroom eyes would have been missed by Jaune anyway).

"Huh. That's a thing." Jaune scratched his head. "You know, if Nora was a guy, JNPR would be an all-male team...or does our team have a different name with all those initi-"

Nora slammed her head into the pancakes.

"Nora, you okay?" Jaune asked.

Nora peaked up from her pancake. "I'm a guy too."

"...Sure. We won't just leave you out just because you are still a girl." Jaune reassured her. If he was paying attention to Ren like Deucalion was, he would realize their green teammate was holding back a laugh.

"Seriously?" Nora grabbed Jaune and pulled him to her chest. "Do you see anything different!?"

Jaune blinked. "...New shirt?"

"Gah!" Nora tossed Jaune away and walked out of the cafeteria, his arms crossed over his empty chest.

Jaune got up, noticing that Ren and Deucalion had their faces in their hands. "What's wrong with her?"

* * *

 **3.2 Harosata (Continued)**

* * *

"Ruby, why are you raising a baby Beowolf?"

"I haven't tried it yet!" Ruby held the little Grimm at arm's distance as it tried to gnaw her hand off. "Ow! How come it's not easy as it looks?"

Weiss shook her head. "You're talking about raising a creature that fights against Aura, not to mention that it just lost its mother to a Hunter, not to mention that we can't watch him all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if our room gets destroyed, but we can't bring him to class."

"But Weiss, if you'r worried he'll ruin our room, why don't we just bring him?" Ruby pouted. "Alright. By, Bitey, we'll see you at lunch!"

"Bitey? You couldn't come up with a better..." The Beowolf looked up at the closed door. It was not finished fighting its prey, and this abnormal cave will not keep him in. Its claws, while not sharp, was still powerful enough to tear through the wooden wall...after several hundred swipes. No prey will escape hi-

"Woof." Who dares interfere with the hunt? The Beowolf turned, and he saw some short shaggy creature. A dog, it seems. Perhaps the Beowolf could indulge in a small snack before the big hunt. The Beowolf jumped at the dog, ready to tear its throat out and feast on its entrails.

The dog then raised his leg...

* * *

"Huh, I guess it is well-behaved." Weiss observed. Indeed, the Beowolf was sitting there happily, not a single thing out of place (except for a cannonball-sized dent in the wall).

"Yeah, all he needed was some time to calm down, right Bitey?" Ruby petted him on the head.

The Beowolf wanted to bite her, but it took one glance at the closet and knew that never was the time to bite his new owner. Zwei simply pointed his paw from his eyes to the Grimm as he slunk back into the darkness.

* * *

 **3.9 Seeker213**

* * *

Weiss Awoke to an interesting sight, a male dog faunas was sleeping in what would normally be Blake's bed which her loop memories told her his name was Zwei...she immediately stifled a laugh as she realized where things were probably going to go this loop.

* * *

((Time Skip))

* * *

"Weiss this isn't funny," a black cat that Ruby was hugging growled in Blake's voice

"Yes your right Blake. This is Hilarious," Weiss laughed as she took a few photos, "I can't wait to show these Yang and the others the next time there Awake" she smirked as she looked at the photos she took

"Ohmygosh! Blake you're so cute!" Ruby squealed as she hugged the currently feline Blake even tighter. Blake however glared at Weiss silently swearing vengeance this loop... right after she got Ruby to stop hugging her, because her hug was starting to hurt.

* * *

 **3.10 Harosata**

* * *

Yang and Ruby's eyes spotted a new face when Sun and Neptune walked into the library. Or rather, they spotted a familiar face...

"What's she...I mean, who is your lady friend?" Yang asked, forcing herself not to throw a fit in the library.

"Oh, her name's Vanilla. She doesn't say much, but she's a pretty good fighter." Sun replied.

Yang looked at the girl who looked like a duplicate of Neo, only her hair was white on both sides. Well, the nice thing to do was to shake hands. Firmly. "...Nice to meet you, Vanilla. Did you know that Vanilla is one third of a Neapolitan flavor?"

If Vanilla had a reaction from that, she didn't say it out loud.

* * *

Yang cornered Vanilla the next day. "We saw you helping Roman escape! You think that disguise would fool us?"

"Yang, she was with us since yesterday." Ren pointed out.

Yang blinked. "Are you certain? I mean, the girl we fought made mirror illusions that could trick anyone looking at them."

Ren shook his head. "Vanilla wanted help cooking some recipes after class ended, and it eventually ended up in Vanilla making pancakes for Nora until midnight, then Nora invited her into our dorm and they both talked...Mostly Nora talked. I believe Jaune and Pyrrha can confirm they were still awake late into the night."

"But..."

"Yang, even if Vanilla's Semblance is the same as your target, she would have to take a Dust Plane to get to Vale, and yours was the only one active that night." Ren sent an apologizing gaze to Vanilla. "Beside, this sounds like you just met this Neo person, so why did you hate Vanilla in the first place?"

"I didn't...I..." Yang glared back at Vanilla. "Sorry, it was a rough night, and I thought you were here to spy on us. Can you promise you won't tell anyone about what you heard?"

Vanilla zipped her lips, not affected by Yang's rage one bit.

* * *

Vanilla opened her eyes and decided to write a letter. It seems like Yang still did not trust her, but she wasn't going to act rash either. Plus, she made a friend in Nora, a girl whose happiness was contagious. Above all else, it seemed that even though Yang's team was worried about the White Fang, they were more focused on getting the school ready for the dance. All in all, school was great.

After that, she crumbled the note and tossed it out of the window. That note was then caught by Chocolate, who began texting the information on her own phone to Strawberry, who had dyed half of her hair and was currently tending to Roman's pride. Chocolate nodded and signaled the rest of the plan to Vanilla, and the two of them turned in for the night, one to bed and the other into the darkness.

Soon, Roman and the Neapolitan Sisters were going to enact their part of the plan.

* * *

 **3.11 Harosata**

* * *

Ruby was the first to Wake up. "Um, guys? I think we're in the past."

"And what makes you say that?" Blake had to ask, noticing she was wearing a stale grey uniform just like everyone else.

Ruby simply waved her hand all around her. "Well, everything's black and white. Even the trees."

"Huh. I guess this is the war where our ancestors got the idea to name everyone after colors." Yang looked around, and indeed, there wasn't a speck of color, not even in her wh- yellow-without-yellow hair. "I hate this place already."

"You know, if we weren't already travelling through time in a sense, I wouldn't have an idea what to do in the past." Weiss ponders on her choices. "So, should Blake and I try to mend Faunus relations before it escalates in the present, or..."

Ruby grinned. "Actually, I want to start a band this Loop."

"...What?"

* * *

A man in shining white parried the many blades held by men in grey uniforms, all the while glaring at the man in front of him. "Your reign of terrors ends, Papa Blanc, or should I call you Comrade Black?"

The man simply smirked at him. "Ah, it seems you have caught me, Arc. You and your...rebellion will certainly be the end of me. Oh wait, there isn't a rebellion, so why don't you just join the winning side?"

"If I join you, I lose everything just like your men." Arc raised his sword. "And as I still breathe, I will not lose! I will free this country and everyone in it from your hands!"

"Oh, I'm so scared. Like a few words are going to topple my kingd..." Comrade Black strained his ears. "What is that noise? It is not approved!"

Comrade Black quickly ran to the window of his palace, and there, he spotted four girls in the sea of grey. Yang was banging on the drums as Ruby and Blake strummed their guitars, and with a nod, Weiss picked up the microphone.

 _"Open your eyes and take in every thing that you see,_

 _Look at all the colors, red, yellow, blue, & green,_

 _We can take a dustplane and fly across the globe,_

 _Look down upon the colors, everyone come on, let's go! Because..."_

The other girls joined in.

 _"Love,"_

 _"Love,"_

 _"Love,"_

 _"La la love, la la love makes the world go round!"_ A crowd was forming once Weiss took her lines back. _"Love, love, love, la la love, la la love makes the world go round!"_

Comrade Black growled and turned to his soldiers. "Get them!"

 _"Open your ears and listen what the world has to say,_

 _Hear the birds and bells and you will have a brighter day,"_

Weiss saw the soldiers attempting to push through the crowd, but Ruby was calm, so she would trust here leader.

 _"Everyone has a special song deep inside their heart,_

 _If you want, you could sing with us, it's the perfect place to start!"_

Oh, the soldiers jumped onto the stage and tried to remove the girls.

 _"Love, love, love, la la love, la la love makes the world go round!"_ Blake danced around the soldier and kicked him off the stage _. "Love, love, love, la la love, la la love makes the world go round!"_

 _"You can't hurt me with the things that you do, I'll pick up dandelions and I'll give them to you!"_ Yang banged her drums rapidly, clanging the heads of some soldiers who got too close to her. _"You can't hurt me with the things that you do, I'll pick up dandelions and I'll give them to you!"_

 _"Puppy dogs, kitty cats swimming through love!"_ Ruby broke her guitar on the head of a minion while protecting Weiss and quickly pulled out another one. _"Puppy dogs, kitty cats swimming through love!"_

The crowd saw the power of love, and they began cheering to the song.

 _"Love,"_

 _"Love,"_

 _"Love,"_

 _"La la love, la la love makes the world go round!"_

At this point, Comrade Black had decided to go down himself and brought a tank. The girls glared back, not even stopping their song. It seemed like a bad choice as Comrade Black began priming his cannon...

 _"Love,"_

 _"Love,"_

 _"Love,"_

 _"La la love, la la love makes the world go round!"_

SLAM!

In his haste, Comrade Black had forgotten about Arc, who had knocked out the rest of the guards, followed the dictator on the rooftops, and dropped on the back of the tank with an infusion of aura, causing the tank to flip up and shoot a water tower instead.

The oddest thing was that when the water splashed the people below, the grey on their uniforms ran until they became a tie-dye of colors. This seemed to lift a curse from the once-drab city as the people became animated with visions of art and song. Even Yang, seeing that her hair became yellow and the other colors of the rainbow, grinned as the city came back to life.

"Huh, that's a thing." Arc looked around the city. "I have to say, I didn't expect the uniforms to do that when wet."

"They shouldn't!" Comrade Black pulled himself out of the tank. "All of those uniforms were created from my factories and everyone in my city is wearing my uniform, even my..."

Thunder boomed as it began to rain. "Oh no! Mother's at the park!"

"Oh, this I got to see." Arc held back a laugh as Comrade Black ran through the streets. He had to send a messenger crow to his allies about what he witnessed today, but first, he wanted to get a little blackma...something to tell his children for generations to come.

* * *

And thus, the Great War ended and a dark era came to an end. To commemorate this day of their newfound freedom, they named their children after every color they could see.

* * *

 **3.2 Harosata (Continued)**

* * *

"Huh, that's a thing." Yang looked down at...Ruby. Way down. "I'm not sure they're going to let animals in..."

"Bark!"

"Then again, you did make War Corgis, Ruby, so I guess the big tree wanted to tell you something."

"Whine..."

Yang grinned. "Don't worry, we'll just convince everyone you're a real girl, okay?"

"Bark!" Wag!

"You know, you look a lot like Zwei, only with a red cloak and a scythe..."

* * *

"Dad! Have you seen my cloak and scythe?" The real Ruby dug through her room. "I don't think Zwei would try to bury them! Come to think of it, where is Zwei?"

* * *

"Wait, Ruby became a corgi?" Weiss asked, eyeing the two sisters...well, a sister and her dog.

"That's how the multiverse rolls." Yang shrugged. "Besides, I'm sure if she could talk, she would like to be treated like a real girl."

"Of course I will!" Weiss shot back. "I won't treat her like a common animal!"

Yang looked on as Weiss absentmindedly cuddled Ruby. "Suuuuuuuuuuure. Hey, Blake! Why don't you come here?"

Blake took one look at the dog. "I don't know how you know my name, but I'm not going near that dog."

"Hey! Don't call my sister an animal!" Yang joked, realizing that Blake was not Awake. "Unless you're mistaking her for a Faunus."

Blake sputtered. "I-I'm not! I'm a Ffffffffforeign exchange student. I think I know what a Faunus and human looks like and she's too short to be either!"

"She hasn't hit puberty yet."

Blake opened her mouth, took another look at Yang, and decided to head straight to the auditorium.

* * *

 **3.12**

* * *

Ozpin solemnly stepped onto the stage, in front of the newest students of Beacon Academy. Usually, he felt a certain thrill of excitement. Not today though. Pushing his glasses up, Headmaster Ozpin began. "Greetings and welcome to Beacon everyone. I'm sure you'll all very excited to be here."

The exuberant roar of the crowd proved the sentiment. Ozpin sighed away from the mic. "Yes, yes. I can see that many of you are quite... well, therein lies the issue. We've been cross-referencing the transcripts we've received over the past few months... and we've found irregularities."

Ozpin leaned in. "I won't name names. I won't say who came here illegally. And I will give you one chance for lenience. Come forward now, and you won't be punished. Because if you don't, there is a strong likelihood that you will die to the Grimm. Is that clear?"

Not a voice arose from the crowd. Not a single person spoke for a long minute. Ozpin held out his arms. "Well?"

Jaune Arc raised a hand. "I did it. I faked my transcripts."

Ozpin nodded with withdrawn sorrow. "You'll find a drop ship outside of the auditorium, on the front lawn. You may leave."

Nora Valkyrie suddenly raised her hand. "Hey! I faked my transcripts as well."

Ozpin winced: he'd had high hopes for this class. At least their integrity was iron-strong. "The drop ship is waiting for you. You may-"

"I also faked my transcripts!" Lie Ren shouted.

Ozpin sighed aloud. "The drop ship-"

"I lied on my transcripts!" Pyrrha Nikos shouted. "I'm not really the tournament champion of Mistral."

"I... stole this scythe," Ruby said.

"I got in here by virtue of money," Weiss admitted.

"I'm not really human," Blake admitted. "I'm actually a humanoid Grimm." To prove her point, Blake pulled her bow off, revealing bone spikes.

"These are implants," Yang sorrowfully spilled her heart out.

"My weapon's not really a stave. It's a bunny," Velvet Scarlatina called.

"I'm a White Fang Lieutenant," Yatsuhashi Daichi shouted.

"I'm not really blind. I say I am so I can peek at Velvet and Coco," Fox Aliaster mumbled.

"I'm really Neopolitan," Coco Adel noted.

"I'm a fugitive from justice," Sun Wukong said.

"I know I said I was a dance master, but that's not true," Neptune grumbled.

"We promised lead roles, but only did bit parts," Sage and Scarlet chorused.

"I'm actually named Joe," Roman 'Joe' Torchwick said.

"I can speak whenever I want to," Neopolitan quipped.

"We're psychotic kittens!" Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai shouted.

"I'm actually an Adam cosplayer," Not-Adam-Taurus admitted.

"I'm a professional fourth-wall breaker," Cinder declared. "And no, this gag is not overly-long!"

"I'm actually the guy from 'From Dust Till Dawn,'" an Ursa Grimm said as it walked in and took of it's head.

"I'm a hammer trapped in a scythe's body!" Crescent Rose screamed.

"Harold!" Magnhildr gasped.

"I'm better paid than Jaune," Jaune's hoodie said.

"This is actually a wig," Oobleck confessed.

"I've been on the lamb for quite some time," Port admitted, straddling a sheep.

"My first name is actually Allison," Glynda said.

Ozpin promptly marched to the speakers with the mic in hand, and held it next to the speakers. The feedback loudly overrode the room. Once the room was quiet again, Ozpin held the mic to his mouth. "Well then. I guess things are really quite beyond what I can fully understand. In such a situation: everyone! Welcome to Beacon!"

* * *

 **3.13**

* * *

"You're joking."

"Weiss, have you ever known me to joke?"

"Yes I have Ruby. Yes I have."

Ruby wrapped an arm around Weiss, leading her teammate through the docklands of Vale. "Not this time Weissy. Not this time. Today's the day I start on my newest project. Sure, redesigning everyone's weapons was fun, but I need to branch out. Work on my people skills. Can't stay anti-social forever!"

"A great number of people would dispute that," Weiss pointed out. "And if you want to work on your people skills, why not... Sun, or Neptune. Why Penny?"

Ruby beamed. "I am glad you asked. Now, Penny's people skills are as abysmal as my own, and yet we can hit it off every loop. Why? Because she's a robot. She's a walking weapons platform. And I know weapons."

Weiss frowned a little. "Doesn't that seem... just a little manipulative to you Ruby? You're using Penny to improve yourself."

Ruby started walking backwards. "Ah, I'll be helping her develop her own skills. It'll be fun for both of us I _proMIIIIISSSEEE_!" Ruby's last word became a shriek as she bumped into someone. Someone who then said this:

"Salutations!"

 _'There's our robot,'_ Weiss thought.

Penny Polendina, Penny to her friends, of which there were none, gently pushed Ruby off of her and stood up. "Greetings and I must say it is a pleasure to meet you."

Ruby brushed herself off and took the ludicrously human-looking robot's hand to shake it. "Hi. I'm Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you to whoever you are."

Penny kept shaking Ruby's hand. "My name is Penny. I'm here for the Vytal festival, and to participate in the Vytal Tournament. I'm combat ready!"

Ruby kept shaking Penny's hand. "That's awesome! I'm in the tournament to! I think we might have a chance to fight each other, but that's okay. It'll be fun."

"I look forward to combating you Ruby Rose," Penny said. "I must be going now because I am needed elsewhere by my father. Have a peachy day!"

 _'These two really were made for each other...'_ Weiss thought.

Ruby grabbed Penny's hand. "Hey, wait. I know that you don't have a lot of time, but can we go with you? Your father sounds really cool!"

Penny gently shook Ruby's hand off. "I am sorry Ruby Rose, but I can't keep him or General Ironwood waiting. I need to leave soon."

"Oh..." Ruby sighed. "Goodbye friend."

Friend was the magic word. Penny stepped backwards in a flash, taking both of Ruby's hands. "Friend? Did you really call me friend?"

Ruby opened her mouth, but her surprise overwhelmed her ability to speak. Penny grabbed Ruby and mashed her head into her chest, hugging her tightly. "Oh no one has ever called me friend before. Oh thank you Ruby Rose! I must introduce you to my father and General Ironwood."

"That's good..." Ruby said from her awkward position in Penny's chest. _'They really should improve the insulation on her frame. I can hear her actuators from here.'_ Ruby pushed herself free of Penny. "Let's go!"

Behind them, Weiss rolled her eyes. "At least they make a nice couple... No! Bad Weiss! No yuri shipping!" Weiss then noticed that Ruby and Penny were staring at her. "I... said that out loud, didn't I?"

Ruby nodded slowly. Penny looked inquisitive. "What's 'Yuri Shipping'?"

Ruby smiled, and launched into an explanation at Weiss' expense. Weiss tried to fight down her blush.

She didn't succeed.

* * *

It was several hours later that Penny, Ruby and Weiss arrived at the hotel that Penny was staying at. They could tell it was her hotel because it had dozens of soldiers, the robotic Atlesian Knights, the students of Haven Academy, and General James Ironwood waiting outside. "Penelope! Where have you been?"

Penny waved to General Ironwood. "Good evening General. I have been outside with my new friends, Ruby Rose and-"

"Weiss Schnee," Ironwood finished for her. "Miss Schnee, it would have been a pleasure to make your acquaintance this evening, but I have more pressing matters to attend to." He gently took Penny's hand. "Thank you for staying with Penny today, but we're needed inside."

"Wait!" Ruby said. "Before you go, you need to know something! Penny needs to her better soundproofing installed before you send her out again."

General Ironwood and Penny, having been walking away, froze and spun on their heels. "What are you talking about Miss Rose?"

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "I could hear her servos and actuators when she put my head against her chest. You need more soundproofing there."

Ironwood and Penny stared at Ruby, flabbergasted. Ironwood articulated his answer slowly. "You... heard her servos. And actuators. How do you know that's what you heard."

Weiss was face-palming hard. _'Way to go Ruby...'_

"She's a robot. A really nice, polite, and cute robot who needs soundproofing and is my friend," Ruby declared.

Penny, having been in a state close to panic, now beamed in totality. Ironwood, more curious to see if Ruby was right or not, actually pressed an ear to Penny's chest. "Huh... More soundproofing seems to be in order." Standing straight again, his gaze drilled into Ruby's and Weiss'. "Miss Rose, Miss Schnee, though it is obvious that you have won Penny's heart, I must warn you against revealing this secret to anyone. It is, after all, a top military secret." He leaned in. "Do I make myself clear?"

Weiss and Ruby nodded.

"Good. Now Penny, we should go inside." Gently taking Penny's hand, Ironwood guided her towards the hotel. "Penny, you shouldn't talk to strangers."

"But they're my friends."

"Some strangers will say that. That doesn't mean they are..."

Weiss and Ruby watched as the duo walked inside. "You know Ruby... that could have gone much worse."

"I think it went great," Ruby said in triumph.

"We'll see..." Weiss muttered. "We'll see..."

* * *

 **3.14**

* * *

' _Alright Neo, this time, this time..._ ' Neo ducked and twisted away from Yang's punches, sidestepped a jab, and knocked an uppercut aside with her parasol. Yang growled and unleashed another, even less coordinated attack that Neo weathered with ease. ' _This time I'm going to figure out who Raven Branwen is._ '

Neo had not been happy to find that Roman hadn't been Awake this loop. Ever since he had come back from his little bonding session with Jack Spicer, he and Neo had opted to go underground, hiding from teams RWBY and JNPR. The plan had so far worked flawlessly, perhaps aided by the fact that none on that team expected their enemies to loop. In return, Neo and Roman had managed to run amok with impunity, so long as they never got caught. So far, they had managed to work out a 'subspace pocket', and were now aiming for 'out-of-loop' powers.

Fact of the matter was though, there was still an enormous gap of power between Roman, Neo, and the others. Blake's giant green skeleton trick had been a game finisher in quite a number of fights. To combat this, the simplest plan ever had been initiated: gather intel and grow stronger. Which in Neo's case, meant figuring out her connection to Raven Branwen.

Neo spun on her heel and blocked one of Yang's shotgun shells, checking her finger nails. The blonde charged and tried to punch Neo again, only to shatter another mirage. She frantically looked around, finding Neo sitting pretty on a crate. Neo smirked and gestured with her middle finger: come at me.

Yang roared and lunged at Neo, all combat style forgotten. Neo flipped over the crate and lashed out with her heel, nicking Yang's throat. Neo skipped across the room, Yang's attempts to grab her failing spectacularly. _'I love fighting non-Awake Yang. It's so much fun to vent my frustrations.'_

Yang shrieked and ran at Neo, tackling her... illusion. Neo stepped up behind Yang and before she could react, bopped her butt with her parasol. Yang screamed and lunged at Neo. Neo back rolled into a handstand, caught Yang's shoulders with her heels, and launched her into the air. Yang smashed into the ceiling and passed out.

Neo smirked and drew the sword concealed in her parasol. She couldn't keep a smile off her face: she was either going to run into Raven, or she was going to kill Yang. Win-win.

She reared back to run Yang through, only for a red and black flash to knock her aside. Neo growled and staggered to her feet, confronting miss Raven Branwen, sister of Qrow Branwen, and relative (aunt or mother) of Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. Underneath her mask, Raven's red eyes stared at Neo, filling her with primal horror.

"Who are you?"

Neo stepped forward, and spoke again. "Who are you? Why do I fear you? Why are you here? To save Yang? To stop this train? Why are you hiding? Why can't I remember _why_ I fear you?"

Raven didn't answer, but instead slowly drew a blade from the rotary sheath she carried, the Dust impregnated sword humming evilly at Neo. The implications were obvious: leave this girl alone. She stepped forward, making Neo take a reactionary step back.

Neo slowly sheathed her sword. "We _will_ find the answers. One day..."

Neo vanished herself in an illusion, leaping to the top of the train. For a moment she stared at the passing tunnel, frustration mounting. In anger, she slammed her fist into her palm. ' _One_ _day_...'

Neo began the slow walk to the back of the train, where she'd be safest from the upcoming crash. ' _One day I'll get my answers Raven Branwen. Just you wait. And when I do, you'll see a side of me you wish you never had._ '

* * *

 **3.15 Harosata**

* * *

Roman was looking over the map of Vale, planning his next big robbery. He looked up as Neo entered the room. "Ah, you're here early. What do you have for me?"

Neo handed him a piece of paper...rather, it was a contract. Roman quickly read it. "Let's see...by wager of a game by Neo...I, Cinder Fall, hand leadership of...to Roman Torchwick..."

"Wait you won me the rights to control these guys from the pyromaniac through a game of...Chubby Bunny?" He re-read that part then turned to a Faunus. "Hey, you. What's Chubby Bunny?"

The rabbit faunus glared back at him. "It's a game where you have to stuff marshmallows into your mouth and still be able to say a phrase."

"Ah, I see. Can you lot please leave? Neo and I need to have a little talk about this...arrangement." The White Fang nodded and left the room, and once the place was empty, Roman raised an eyebrow at Neo. "Alright, how did you really win that game?"

Neo took out a marshmallow and tucked it into...nothing. She demonstrated the trick again with another marshmallow and her mouth, only closing her lips once to show that not a speck of sugar remained.

"Ah, the Pocket. Well, the only other question would be why Cinder agreed to play that game in the first place." Torchwick looked at where the marshmallows disappeared. "What are you going to do with those marshmallows, anyway?"

Neo grinned.

* * *

Raven knew that Yang was in trouble. She quickly cut through reality, stepping onto the underground Vale-bound train in order to save her from...marshmallows.

Neo looked up, and instead of tucking the last wet mass into her unawake opponent's lock, she flicked it at the intruder. Then she ran very, very fast. Who knew hair was a genetic trait?

* * *

 **3.16 Harosata**

* * *

Ruby managed to stop herself from spinning into Weiss, but she gazed at Yang as her sister ran away with her friends.

"You know, Ruby, she says she has friends, but I don't think she ever introduced them to our team." Weiss noted.

"Huh, never thought of that before." Ruby admitted. "But that's not what's bothering me. Have you noticed most of the people around us are just shadows?"

"Shadows?" Blake asked, curious where this discussion was going.

"Yeah, shadows like these guys." Ruby pointed at the black silhouttes walking past them. "I mean, isn't it strange that Beacon's supposed to be the top school and yet the only other team we can see is Cardin's team? Or that the White Fang is supposed to be a mysterious group yet we can see what they're wearing as opposed to everyone else? I'm surprised that we haven't mistaken the shadows for naked Grimm!"

Weiss shook her head. "Disturbing image aside...I guess you are right. Now that I think about it, when we found out Torchwick and the White Fang are working together, there's no more of those shadows."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, what's up with that?"

The girls thought about it. Blake was the first to break that silence. "Perhaps it's just like fiction...or like Harry Potter's world in this case. There are simply a lot of people that have little or no effect on what we do just as there are people who affect our growth. Perhaps this world is more obvious in pointing out who we are interacting with."

Ruby blinked as she shoved her hands into her pocket. "I guess that...makes sense. I wonder what happens if we interact with them...Um, I think my wallet's missing."

Torchwick and Neo pulled their blacks hoods off. "I can't believe that worked, Neo."

Neo shrugged, surprised by how easy that was as well.

"Well, I suppose it is too easy. I'm not even sure I want to see how many wallets we can steal like this." Torchwick flicked through the wallets he got from the trio. "Huh, that snow princess does walk around with a lot of Lien. Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

 **3.17**

* * *

As was his custom in the loops, Cardin Winchester was being a dick. A real big one at that. And Jaune and Pyrrha, as was their custom, were planning some way to humiliate him. Cardin hadn't heard that Jaune had faked his transcripts this loop, so instead Cardin had simply taken to bullying Jaune because Jaune was smaller and nicer and had a good looking teammate who had shown Cardin up.

In retaliation, Jaune and Pyrrha had pooled their respective backgrounds (a fairly average teenager with a driver's license and years of watching cartoons under with his belt with the Mistral tournament champion with oodles of prize money made for a versatile combo) to conceive new and amazing ways to get back at him.

Today's plan had to be the best so far. After all, a bully's power was purely physical, and if you could out number him, you could win. Best way to outnumber a bully?

Bribery.

* * *

Cardin was walking down the hall when he saw an opportunity. He stuck out a leg and tripped a guy up. He snickered for a second... and noticed something about the person. "Hey?"

The guy he had tripped staggered to his feet. "What?" he said in a muffled tone.

Cardin unhooked his mace from his back and pointed it at the guy. "Why the hell are you wearing a giant head that looks like me?"

The guy who was wearing a giant Cardin head seemed to stare at him in confusion. Since Cardin couldn't actually see his face, he could only infer the guy's confusion. "What'dya mean, giant head? This is my head right here." The guy tapped his hand against the giant plaster head.

Cardin waved his mace threateningly. "Don't screw with me. Why are you wearing a giant head of me?"

"I'm not!" Head Guy said. "I'm not wearing a giant head! I'm not even wearing a hat. Lemma, am I wearing a giant head?"

Cardin turned to look behind him, and came face to giant-plaster-head with a girl with a yellow color scheme and another giant Cardin head. "What are you talking about Spruce? You're not wearing a giant head."

"See!" Spruce said.

Cardin glanced from Spruce to Lemma, staring at the giant heads of himself. "What the..."

Then the bell rang for passing period. Several doors burst open and students began piling into the hallways. Cardin was rendered speechless.

All of them were wearing Cardin-heads.

* * *

 _Everyone_ was wearing a giant Cardin head.

Cardin stared at the lunch hall, mouth agape, spine to going in shock and fear and more than a little anger. "What... the... fuck..." The heads weren't the worst part though.

"Oh hey Cardin! Where you been?"

"Hey Cardin! We're over here!"

"Get over here Cardin! I got a pizza with your name on it!"

Everyone was named Cardin. That was the worst part.

Cardin tightened his grip on his mace, slowly and cautiously walking through the aisles, hunched over and shivering. "Okay Cardin. Just relax, just relax. They're not gonna hurt you... just remember you can beat them back... you're not in any danger..."

"Hey Cardin!" Someone next to him said.

"AAAAHHHH!" Cardin screamed, swinging his mace. The mace slammed into the Cardin-head... and kept going, its' target vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Cardin stared at the empty space that, just seconds ago, had been occupied by a person. "Wha... wha... What's happening...?" Cardin seized a person by the giant head and yanked them up. "You, tell me what's going on!"

The person with the Cardin-head tilted their... err, head. "What do you mean Cardin? We'll all eating lunch. That's all we're doing."

Cardin was really on the verge of screaming. "You... you're lying! Why is everyone wearing these heads! Why are you all trying to be me?!"

The Cardin-head wearing person tilted their head. "Trying to be you? We are you. We are all Cardin."

Cardin snapped. "No. You're! NOT!" He grabbed the giant plaster head, ripped it off the impersonator... and stared.

Cardin stared back with a smile on his face. "Hi Cardin."

Cardin staggered back as, slowly, the other Cardin's started taking off their heads, revealing more and more Cardins. "Hi Cardin."

"Hi Cardin."

"Hey Cardin."

"What's up Cardin?"

"Cardin, Cardin, Cardin, Cardin..." The Cardins began to chant. "Cardin, Cardin, Cardin, Cardin, Cardin..."

Cardin picked Cardin up and dusted his armor off. "There you go Cardin. Now you're just like all the other Cardins. Isn't that nice?"

Cardin stared at Cardin.

Cardin stared at Cardin.

Cardin screamed. He turned tail and ran for the door. He ran through the door, leaving a Cardin shaped hole in it, kept running until he came to the main gate, and smacked into it. He ran past a pair of students, who stared after him. All he did was run, and scream; "CARDIN!"

Inside the lunch hall, the assembled Cardins broke out into laughs, before collectively bursting into smoke as Blake dispelled them. In seconds Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha and someone else were the only living souls in the room. Jaune was laughing out loud, trying and failing to breath in the hilarity. Pyrrha was worse, having fallen from her seat and started rolling in the aisles.

Blake kicked one leg over another and leaned back. "Oh man... that was so damn cathartic. You need to include me next time you two decide to prank Cardin."

Pyrrha was still laughing, so Jaune spoke for them. "Blake... hahaha... have-have I ever t-told you how much... hahahahahaha... how much I love your s-sha-shadow clones?"

Blake lightly smirked. "You could stand to mention it more. Hey you! You need to dispel," she called at a meandering Cardin-head wearing person.

The Cardin-head wearer turned to them. "What was that? I can't hear right in this thing." The Cardin-head wearer came over to Jaune, Pyrrha and Blake. "What was that?"

Blake and Jaune stared at him and shared a look. "Are you... why are you wearing a Cardin-head?"

"Didn't I miss a memo or something?" the Cardin-head guy said. "I thought it was a school wide 'Prank Cardin Day'. Did I miss something?"

Pyrrha struggled to prop herself up on the table. "Hehehehe... who are you?"

The guy scratched the head's chin, before removing the head. "Isn't it obvious? I'm Ozpin, the _Head Master_."

Jaune, Pyrrha and Blake all stared at Ozpin. Ozpin smiled back.

And then, everyone* was laughing.

*Everyone except Cardin, that is.

* * *

 **3.2 Harosata (Continued)**

* * *

Roman looked at the map. Once, it had helped him strike many Dust stores, but now it was a tool for her plan. His eyes crept up to Mountain Glen, a place once abandoned to the Grimm.

"Boss?"

"What now?" Roman turned to the White Fang dog...maybe an elk. He didn't really care.

"We found this box outside." The lackey showed him a package, probably big enough to hold a computer moniter.

"I see." Roman let out a puff of smoke. "Tell me, did you plan to throw it in the trash?"

"No..."

"And is it ticking, leaking or emitting any pretty lights?"

"It's not a bomb, but..."

"Just give it here!" Roman grabbed the box and tried to get it open. "Honestly, how hard is it just to look inside a box and-"

Minutes later, he was _still_ running from the flood of dog food. "How could a little box contain so much crap!?"

"For a small dog, he sure packs a lot." Jaune said, watching Ruby prepare Zwei's food from a can. She took one look at the can and agreed.

"Must be a cheap brand." She tossed the can away as Zwei dug in. "By the way, what are you going to do tonight?"

"Um, practice?" Jaune thought about his partner. "How about you?"

"Need to check another warehouse, Schnee's this time. Not what I planned for when I signed up as a Huntress." Ruby and Jaune went out of the room, leaving Zwei to his meal. "Strange thing is, I don't think Weiss ever mentioned being in the dog food industry..."

Zwei continued munching on his meal until he could hear them no more, then he quickly pulled a map and a box from under his master's bed, making another X on the map and stuffed the rest of his food into his subspace pocket. That would teach the White Fang to give animals a bad name.

* * *

 **3.1: Now was this unexpected? Nope!**

 **3.2: ...Zwei? That was unexpected.**

 **3.3: Adam's a dick. It just so happens that Cardin is a dick** ** _and_** **a coward.**

 **3.4: …Kittens**

 **3.5: Everything in moderation. Even sweets.**

 **3.6: And so, Roman knows of the multiverse. He just doesn't know Jack.**

 **3.7: The Mikasa Glitch was named for Mikasa Ackerman, one of the loopers in the AoT World… I happen to also write that. It causes random duplication of loopers, and all of them are Awake.**

 **3.8: Gender-swaps happen a lot in the loops. About 2% of the time.**

 **3.9: Zwei replaces Blake. Interesting…**

 **3.10: Troll!**

 **3.11: For those who need context, this is taking place during the so called war that Ozpin referred to in episode eight of volume two. This is why people have color themed names.**

 **3.12: I'm not a big fan of RWBY... psych!**

 **3.13: Penny and James. They'd make for some interesting loopers…**

 **3.14: Neo has some relationship issues with Raven as well…**

 **3.15: …but that doesn't stop her from being a** ** _massive_** **troll.**

 **3.16: And she and Roman use a limitation of animation to their own advantage.**

 **3.17: Cardin deserves this. Every moment. Totally deserves it.**

* * *

 **Omake 1**

* * *

The airship to Beacon drifted lazily above the cotton fluff clouds and the sparkling sea far below. Ruby smiled and cracked her knuckles in languorous pleasure as the loop began. "This is the life Yang, ain't it?"

"Yup," Yang sighed blissfully as she gazes out over the blanket of clouds. The world drifted along pleasurably, without fuss or issue. The sisters smiled in silent relaxation. What could possibly go wrong?

A student with a white shirt with a blue stripe, a red ball cap, and a preposterously huge nose came up behind them. "Hi, I'm Billy."

* * *

One incredibly short loop later...

* * *

Roman Torchwick cocked an eyebrow as he entered From Dust to Dawn. 'Didn't I already rob this place?' One of his rent-a-henchmen went flying past him and out the window. 'Didn't Red already kick that guys ass?' Red then proceeded to dismantle his entire entourage, and prompt a question from Roman. "Red, didn't we already do this?"

Red, her cape billowing in the wind, turned to face him with more than a spark of confusion on her face. "What?" At that point, Cinder brought the Bullhead around and deployed a mounted mini-gun. Red took notice very quickly. "Ah crap!"

Red dodged out of the way fast enough, Roman following her example. "Well that could have been more coordinated." Leaping into the tilt-jet, Roman quickly took the co-pilots seat next to the fire witch. "I take it you remembered the Huntress?"

Cinder rolled her eyes. "I remembered you would need backup." Pulling the yolk back, Cinder directed the Bullhead into an exit pattern, flying off into Vale's airspace. "So now what?"

Roman shrugged. "You're the boss. You tell me." Internally though, Roman was wondering about Neo, and whether or not she'd be in danger, or if she also remembered. "You come up with the plans."

"Right..." Cinder drawled.

Back on the ground, Ruby Rose was wondering what the ever-living fuck had just happened. After a moment though, she dismissed it. It was probably nothing.

* * *

 **Omake 2**

* * *

"Hey Chuck!"

Chuck the Nevermore glanced down from his cave and at the ground. Barry the Deathstalker was on the ground, his stinger pointing at him. "What is it Barry?"

"Hey, did you die as well?"

Chuck clicked his beak, thinking it over. "Uh... I dream we was killed by a couple two-legs."

Barry and Chuck seemed to think about it for a moment. "You wanna kill'em Chuck?"

"Sure thing!" Barry shouted from the ground.

* * *

The next day:

* * *

"Hey Barry!"

Barry the Deathstalker meandered out of his cave. Chuck the Nevermore had landed next to him. "Hey Barry, did we die?"

"...Yeah, I think so."

"... Wanna kill those things that killed us?"

"Sure!"


	4. Con Artists

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 4**

 **4.1**

* * *

Jaune was out shopping for food, having announced earlier that evening that he would take a break from Beacon to finish grad school. As he wandered between the aisles, he heard something. "Jaune... "

Jaune cocked an eyebrow and took a few steps back, glancing down the aisle he had just passed. Again, a voice spoke. "Jaune... help."

"Pyrrha?" Jaune glanced at the row of cereal boxes, to where Captain Pete's Pumpkin Flakes were proudly displayed... all of which were branded with Pyrrha's face. And they were all staring at him.

"Jaune help! We're stuck in these cereal boxes!"

* * *

 **4.2 masterOfGames**

* * *

Weiss was rich. Very few would deny this.

Still, she was a firm believer that you could never have too much spare cash, and so the past few loops had been spent convincing her sister Winter to take up the sword in her place, leaving Weiss free to study the art of business.

It turned out, she was quite good at it. She could come up with ideas for new products that the executives on the company board would never think of. There wasn't much call for them for civilians, but the Hunters who bought from the company would camp out overnight three days in advance to reserve one. "It's almost like she knows how the dashed brutes think!" one executive with an oddly twirl-able mustache had remarked once, as they pondered how she did it during a small break in a financial quarter meeting.

* * *

"Gotta hand it to Weiss, she never does anything in small measures." Ruby remarked lightly as she tapped her new Schnee brand .44 magnum toothbrush against the side of the sink, shaking the excess water off before loading the toothpaste on.

Yang, one sink over, just yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before unholstering her own pump action toothbrush and loading a mouthwash shell. "I just want to know how Little Miss Traditional came up with this idea before me," she muttered. "I mean come on, you could totally see this being my idea, right?"

Ruby thought for a moment as she pulled her brush's trigger, letting the recoil move the brush vigorously across her teeth, then just shrugged, muttering her answer around her brush. "The toothbrushes maybe... Nora's garrote floss, not so much. Too subtle." she admitted.

* * *

 **4.3 Me & Wildrook**

* * *

Ruby happily guided team JNPR through the maze of warehouses and piers that composed Vale's docklands. "I'm telling you, she's the sweetest thing since maple syrup and she's so innocent. You'll all love her."

"How can she be sweeter than maple syrup?" Nora asked.

"She's Penny," Ruby stated. "If anyone can be sweeter than maple syrup, it's her."

"I don't know Ruby..." Pyrrha said with some hesitation. "You make her sound great, but if what you say is true, she's hopelessly naive. We'll need to be on our guards so we don't hurt her-"

K-ziiiiiimmmp...CRASH!

Pyrrha was promptly launched backwards as a MABP (Magnetically Attracted Ballistic Penny) slammed into her. Her team and Ruby stared at the robot and the champion.

"Salutations!" Penny said. "I appear to be stuck to your chest!"

Pyrrha's magnetic powers, plus Penny's metallic body, equals a Penny lodged in Pyrrha's cleavage.

"I can't tell whether or not to be frightened or amused," Jaune said, "but I'm leaning towards frightened."

* * *

 **4.4 Harosata**

* * *

Jaune Woke up in flight. Fortunately, he wasn't about to puke because he was not in a Dustplane. Unfortunately, he was sailing over the Emerald Forest, one of the few places massively populated by Grimm. Fortunately, all he had to do to ensure a safe landing was to activate his Aura.

...To activate his Aura.

...To activate his Aura which was locked at this point of time this time.

"This is going to suck." Jaune muttered.

* * *

Jaune Woke up in a Dustplane. Of course was going to puke, and as he rushed for the restroom, he had to wonder why he woke up on the way to Bea...not Beacon?

"Where are we headed anyway?" Jaune asked, unable to find any students here.

"Do you not remember, Squire Jauney?" The man in the knight-like suit asked. "You desired to be a badass hunter, so you came to me and trained under me. And as the last step of your training, you shall face the Dracule."

Jaune looked outside. "A Dracule? You mean...the big lizardy Grimm that just flew past that window?"

"Yes."

"The one that could have eaten our ship whole?"

"Yes. And you'll do it with a butter knife. It shall be badass."

Jaune actually thought about using the butter knife. "This is going to suck."

* * *

 **Lv 5 Jaune Arc**

 **[The Gamer]**

Jaune Woke up at Beacon. He blinked as he waved the numbers away. "Ruby, do you see anything strange?"

"Hm?" Ruby looked around. "I think Weiss rode in on a raptor, but no. Are you Awake?"

"Yeah, then I must be Loopy because I think my Semblance changed again." Jaune frowned as he observed Ruby. "I think it's pretending the world is a video game."

 **[A skill has been created through a special act.]**

 **[Through continuous observation, a skill to find the target's info,** _ **Observe**_ **, has been created.]**

 **Lv 98 Ruby Rose**

 **[Anchor of Remnant]**

Although Ruby couldn't see what Jaune saw, she nodded. "That sounds really cool."

"It's kinda redundant. Tutorials. System, Tutorials" Jaune scanned through the many windows. "Right, I see. Beacon's too low-level for the Experience to count as anything, don't see the need for an Inventory when we have Pockets, and while getting new skills by reading and loot from killing Grimm sounds nice, I'm not sure they'll be as impressive as your Speed Force or Blake's spinny eye thing."

"Sharingan." Ruby corrected. Then she caught onto something he said earlier. "Wait, what do you mean, your Semblance changed again?"

"I don't know why it changes." Jaune shrugged. "Heck, I don't even know what my baseline Semblance does, but I'm pretty certain half of the ones I go though aren't even related. It sure makes for some interesting stories, though."

 **[A skill has been created through a special action. After repeated use of your sixth sense, you have obtaine the ability** _ **Sense Danger**_ **to detect impending misfortune.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

Jaune stopped paying attention as he stepped away from Ruby. "R-Ruby, what did I say?"

"I want to know how many Semblances you had." Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose, daring him to run away. "All of them."

 **[Sense Danger's level has risen by 1.]**

 **[Sense Danger's level has reached max level.]**

 **[You received the title** _ **This Is Going To Suck**_ **.]**

* * *

 **4.5 Harosata**

* * *

"Hey, Weiss."

"Yes, Jaune?"

"Should we just take a break and have a game night?"

"Alright then." Weiss looked up as Jaune set up a wall Scroll and three game...consoles. Her eye twitched. "Jaune. Explain."

Jaune held up his hands. "Your Unawake versions sold them to me. On separate occasions!"

Weiss looked at the Schneestation 4, the Schneebox One and the Schnii U. "I know Schnee is a big company, but that doesn't mean everything we use has to bear the Schnee name. I'll just play an MMO until you get an actual console."

Weiss turned around and turned on her SchneeC...Then she banged her head on the keyboard.

* * *

 **4.6 ToaMataNui5000**

* * *

"Begone!" Vergil and Adam announced simultaneously as they unleashed a fury of slashes. Blake sidestepped, only to nearly slide off the train. Thankfully, Dante managed to catch her with his Angel Hook, before going back to clashing swords with his brother and the bull Faunus.

"You have to put up with this how many times again!" Blake shouted over the rush of wind and steel clangs.

"Every single time! Whether he's awake or not! And considering he isn't awake now..." Dante was kicked by a Beowulf covered foot, causing him to slide over to the cat Faunus. "...He's much more vicious than usual."

"Foolishness, Dante! Why do you refuse to side with us against humanity and Schnee's racism!"

"Because unlike you, I know they weren't the one that put a bullet through Mom's head! It was Roman and his merry band of misfits!"

"You dare question the man who put those weapons in your hands!" Adam snarled. "He may be an idiotic dick, but at least he's supporting the side of justice!"

"Fighting extremist jerks with more extremism isn't gonna fix anything, Adam!" Blake yelled, almost pleadingly. "The real enemy is amassing his army of demons and Grimm while we continue this insanity!"

"Beside," Dante snarked, "Roman ain't my daddy, nor was he any of the higher demons I slayed to obtain these babies." He then slammed Cerberus against the train platform, causing ice spikes to instantly coat the floor.

"How much longer must we serve as a distraction?" Blake huffed.

"I'd say..." A massive explosion in the distance cut the half-demon off. The four turned to see the remains of the bridge that the train was speeding towards. "Huh, looks like Lady and Nora were early."

"Whatever, at least no one will be getting this Dust shipment except for the fishes." Adam leaped over to the caboose. Vergil followed suit, launching some Summon Swords to severe the back cart from the rest. The four just stared at each other until the caboose eventually slowed to a halt, and the distance grew wide enough.

"Talk about ironic deja-vu," Blake commented and turned to the approaching long, wet drop. "Hopefully Kat didn't forget about us while helping the passengers escape." As if on cue, a series of wicken runes appeared on the supply container near them. They radiated a bright light, and opened up into a portal leading to Limbo.

"And this is why I love that woman. Seriously, why couldn't she be part of both of my baselines?" The duo leaped in, appearing in the border dimension between the living world and Hell. Soon after they landed, creatures of various shapes and sizes surrounded them. Blake didn't recognize some of them. "Huh, we got Aragami too. Interesting..."

"What now..."

"They're apocalypse causing monsters from the God Eater's universe. I met the anchor and two of her friends during a massive fused loop." Dante chuckled, "Talk about a hell of a party. If they're here, Soma and Alisa are about to become really good buddies with Ren and Nora respectively."

Blake just stared at a pack of approaching Orgetails being lead by a Vajra, "I just hope Ruby isn't stupid enough to try taming one of those..."

* * *

 **4.6**

* * *

Ozpin quietly sipped his coffee as he listened to the distant sounds of pandemonium breaking loose inside of the Emerald Forest from his and Glynda's safe vantage point atop a cliff. Half an Ursa went sailing by, soon followed by it's other half. Oh how he loved breaking in the new year.

Next to him, Glynda spluttered loudly, as if seeing something that stunned her in totality. "Is something wrong Glynda?" Ozpin asked, instantly worried for the potential students.

Glynda showed Ozpin her Scroll, the holographic computer tablet displaying something thoroughly bizarre and impossible. "Mister Arc's weapon isn't his sword and shield. It's a semi."

* * *

 _Down in the forest:_

* * *

"BEEP BEEP MOTHERFUCKERS!" team JNPR roared in bloodlusty glee as Jaune's semi-truck plowed through the Grimm.

* * *

 **4.7 Harosata**

Jaune Woke up on his back. "It feels like I was baking in a desert. Everyone Awake?"

It looks like Weiss, Blade and the rest of Team JNPR were here...wherever here was. Nora hopped onto some strange towers. "I smell pancakes!"

"Yes, that's going to help determine where we are." Weiss deadpanned as she sniffed the air. "Well, maybe we're near a diner-"

The whole world shook. "Was that an earthquake?"

Pyrrha gazed up. "Giant!"

Everyone quickly hid among the towers. Jaune peeked out, seeing that the giant was indeed very big and had a passing resemblance to a human. "Maybe it's a friendly giant..."

The giant looked closely at the spot they had lain before. Then it let out a blood-curdling roar.

"It's not friendly!" Jaune drew his head back. "I don't think we have the power to kill it, but we still have to bring it down. Okay, here's the plan..."

One second, Ruby was in the kitchen to check on her cookies, and suddenly she had to dodge waves of flying forks, exploding popcorn, and colored sugar. "Yang, the gingerbread men are attacking me!"

"Again?"

* * *

 **4.8**

* * *

Ruby watched as Weiss casually vaporized an entire pack of Beowolves, loudly choking at the power her teammate wielded. She turned to her pink haired sister, who was watching the unfolding chaos with a little bit of glee. "Ha...how? We've spent centuries trying to figure out how to infuse Dust into a person. How did you do that?"

Sakura Xiao Long smiled at her little sister. "Oh, it wasn't too hard. I merely needed to isolate the specific strand of mitochondria that produced Aura and Aura related effects and infuse their genetic material with Dust, which allowed them to act as a microscopic, cellular filter for the Dust." Sakura sheepishly smiled. "That make any sense?"

Ruby watched Weiss fell a Nevermore with a near indescribably huge icicle. "No, it didn't. It's still awesome though."

Sakura nodded sagely. "I thought so."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in a Bunker outside of Vale:_

* * *

Blake gently lifted the covering to the bunker. She had sequestered herself in. Jaune and Ren followed suit, as did Pyrrha and Nora. "So... is it safe to go out now?"

"No." Blake slammed the door shut, and they all went back to cowering.

* * *

 **4.9**

* * *

Agent Washington, who this loop seemed to be Headmaster Ozpin, stepped into the poorly lot interrogation room with a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies. "Thank you Tex. I don't think you're needed here anymore."

Glynda "Tex" Goodwitch shrugged and remained standing in the room. Wash decided that was the best he'd be getting and set the plate of cookies down on the table. He sat down and smiled at the red cloaked girl who was sitting opposite of him. "Hello, miss... Ruby Rose, is it?"

Ruby smiled back, stealing one of the cookies and chomping on it. "That's me. How'd you know it was me?"

Washington smiled fondly. "Oh, a memory. Something a dusty old crow told me."

"Thab's muy unle Qrow," Ruby said around a mouthful of sugar, flour, and chocolate. Swallowing, she reiterated. "That's my uncle Qrow. He's a Huntsmen."

Wash smiled and turned the holographic tablet computer, a Scroll, around to show Ruby. "That would certainly account for your skills miss Rose. I can't say I've ever seen someone so handy with a sniper-scythe before, other than Qrow himself. Are you training to become a Huntress?"

"Uh huh," Ruby answered simply, stuffing her face with three more cookies, the widest of grins present.

Wash's own smile weakened a little. 'So young. So naive. So much like me, before Epsilon.' Aloud; "You're training so you can fight monsters?"

Ruby shook her head. "I want to help people." Ruby paused, and then continued, elaborating. "I grew up reading stories about brave Huntsmen and Huntresses, fighting off the darkness and the villains. But they don't do it to fight. They do it to help people. I've always wanted to be like that."

Washington and Tex exchanged a silent, lasting look. Washington turned to Ruby. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby nodded and answered flawlessly. "You're Professor David Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Washington refused to flinch at the usage of his first name. He refused to. "That is true miss Rose, that is true. I am also Agent Washington, of Project Freelancer. This is one of my compatriots, Agent Texas. We're visiting this loop."

Ruby nodded, nodded again, and looked then straight in the eye. "What?"

Washington and Tex stared at Ruby. "You don't... know what I'm talking about, do you Ruby?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nope."

Tex slapped Wash on the back of his head. "Dumbass."

Both she and Washington missed the snickers of the stealthily Awake Ruby, too preoccupied in their own argument. Ruby knew that this loop would be the most fun ever. Of all time.

* * *

 **4.10**

* * *

"Hey Nora, can I talk to you or a minute?" Jaune asked.

Nora pulled her headphones off and put them in her nightstand, curious. "What'dya need Jaune? Wait, don't tell me, you want to break Cardin's legs!"

Jaune frowned at Nora and crossed his arms. "Nora. What did I say about breaking Cardin's legs?"

"That it's always fun because Cardin is always a jackass?"

Jaune gave Nora a look*.

"That it's cruel that we use our foreknowledge to torment Cardin and only you get to do it because he bullied you," Nora recited tonelessly. She hopped onto her bed, patting a seat next to her. "So, if it isn't Cardin, what is it?"

Jaune sat next to Nora, looking, for whatever reason, rather downcast. "Nora... Have you ever caught me thinking of you romantically?"

"...Come again?"

Jaune didn't look Nora in the eyes. "Has an Unawake version of me ever tried to serenade you or... ask you to the dance. Or something?"

Nora didn't answer Jaune, seemingly shocked. The silence turned painfully awkward and began to mount. "Jaune... are, are you-"

"I don't love you Nora. I don't have a crush on you. In all honesty, I know that you and Ren would make a much better couple."

"We're not-"

"Nora, just be honest. Have I ever treated you like... like I treated Weiss?"

Several seconds passed as Nora tried to decide whether or not to lie to Jaune. Jaune's face fell though when she didn't answer immediately. Nora gulped and answered truthfully. "Yeah. When you're not Awake, you have."

Jaune looked up at the ceiling. As if overcome by terrible exhaustion, he collapsed into the bed. "Nora... what was it like? How... bad... was I?"

Nora sighed. "You were horrible. You didn't treat me like I was Nora. You treated me like I was just a pretty girl you wanted. You treated me like I was on this great pedestal and I was perfect. It was like... you didn't know when to stop."

Jaune stared at the ceiling, his silence painful. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry Jaune," Nora asserted. "It's not you who's doing that. It's you when you're not Awake. And it's hardly ever me, it's-"

"It's Weiss," Jaune answered. "It's Weiss, and the thing is, it was Weiss all the way back in the beginning. I acted like this to her in baseline. I didn't know how to stop. I just thought... if I did this enough, if I serenaded her and tried to get to know her and just kept at it, she'd see me for who I really was. And she did see me for who I was: a creep who wouldn't take No for an answer."

Nora laid back on the bed, on the same level as Jaune. "You're better now Jaune. You're smarter. You know when to stop."

Jaune looked at Nora. "Do I? I'm older than this entire school; is it even possible for me to change? And if it is, would I change back?"

Nora smiled. It was a small smile that was totally genuine. "You can change Jaune. And we'll keep you in line." Nora's smile widened a little. "But only if you keep us in line."

Jaune looked at Nora. "Nora, how could I change? How would it be... possible for me to change?"

"Well..." now Nora was back to her cheeky self. "Maybe you need a change of scenery in terms of girls."

"...What?"

"Someone to get your mind off Weiss. A girl to rebound with. Maybe... Pyrrha?"

"Nora, what are you talking about?"

"You should totally date Pyrrha."

"No," Jaune said in an ironclad tone.

Nora blinked in surprise. "Uh, what?"

Jaune sat up. "You just said that I shouldn't be objectifying girls, and now you're telling me to date Pyrrha. That would be a horrible idea, a complete violation of her trust for me. Pyrrha's nice and talented and polite and helpful but I'm her leader. I can't date Pyrrha."

Nora sat up next to Jaune. "Come on Jaune, have you seen the way she looks at you?"

"Yes I have," Jaune answered. "Pyrrha's lonely. She hasn't had friends for so long, just... admirers and people who've looked up to her. Pyrrha needs a friend, not a boyfriend, and it bears repeating that it can't be me."

Nora stared at Jaune. "Now you're just talking crazy Jaune. First you want me to help you try and treat Weiss better and change, but now... Oh." Comprehension dawned on Nora. "Jaune, Pyrrha is a totally different situation."

"I'm not risking it," Jaune said firmly. "Nora... thank you. For being by my side. For not hating me for what I've done." Jaune put his hands on Nora's shoulders. "I'm not going to ruin my friendship with Pyrrha by trying to force it into a romance. She doesn't think of me like that."

"But she does," Nora insisted as Jaune turned to leave. "Jaune, Pyrrha loves you, she really does!"

"Thanks Nora," Jaune said, as he left the room. Nora was abandoned there, wondering if what she had done was a good thing, or a bad thing.

* * *

 **4.11**

* * *

Yang had been riding her bike when she stumbled upon the warehouse that Blake was hiding out at. More notably, Blake was playing tennis. Even more notably, she was playing tennis with Adam, and was being cheered on by the White Fang.

Naturally, there was an awkward silence as the terrorist cell and blonde huntress-in-training took note of the presence of each other. Blake casually wave off the handguns the Fang was brandishing. "Lay off. She's with me."

Yang pursed her lips. "I gotta admit... this is pretty impressive. What you do, broker a treaty or something?"

Blake shrugged. "More or less. Adam wasn't happy to see me back, but... well, he's never happy to see anyone. And the tennis game is a great way to relieve stress."

"You're playing tennis with Roman," Yang noted.

"I know."

"You're playing tennis with Roman... as the ball," Yang clarified.

Blake grinned evilly. "I know. That's how I got Adam to play."

"Hey Blake, we gonna finish this or what?" Adam called from his spot on the improvised tennis field.

Blake held up a hand. "Just a second Adam." Blake grabbed her tennis racket and picked up Roman, who had been bound and gagged, and hefted him into the air. She served Roman across the field, and Adam allowed him to bounce across the room without hitting him back.

"Oops."

Roman (fully protected by his Aura and unhurt) rolled his eyes and grumbled something that promised mass-slaughter when Neo returned from her grocery shopping.

Yang hopped onto a crate that the White Fang was using as a seat, a smile clicking into place when several of the burlier members started glaring at her. On the field, Blake and Adam continued their game of tennis, only stopping when Neopolitan returned from her grocery run. Despite the heavy glare from Roman, Neo happily set her grocery bags aside, pulled a few churros out, and stuffed one into Yang's mouth before sitting down and watching the match.

* * *

 **4.12**

* * *

"You know Neo, you're being awfully quiet this loop," Roman said as he and Neo finished another plan for their eventual hostile takeover of Remnant. Roman pulled another sheet of paper out and started writing. "Well, more quiet than usual."

Neo shrugged and signed her response. "I quiet. It normal."

"But you've been really quiet this loop. I know you love being the Cute Mute everyone thinks you are, but seriously, you haven't even coughed this loop. At least, not in company." Roman tapped his chin with his pencil. "So what's the deal?"

Neo looked at Roman, and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, on what was the deepest, manliest, most testosterone laced voice Roman had ever heard. For a moment, the two bad guys stared at each other.

"You know what Neo? I'm going to be a moment." Roman quickly stood up, left the building, and burst out laughing.

* * *

 _Several seconds later:_

* * *

Roman looked down (up) at the pool of laser sharks that Neo was dangling him upside down over. "Worth it," he said as Neo dropped him.

* * *

 **4.13**

* * *

Professor Ozpin regarded Ruby carefully. "Hmm... Miss Rose, what have I said about time traveling?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. I don't time travel. Isn't time travel impossible or something?"

Ozpin smiled at Ruby. "Miss Rose, I have a machine to tell me if time travel has occurred, and it's been going off like there's no tomorrow. There... is a tomorrow, right?"

Ruby stared at Ozpin, and then glanced at Goodwitch. "Do you really believe this guy?"

Glynda nodded. "I trust Ozpin. Even in situations such as this."

Ruby's gaze flickered between the two teachers for a few moments before she shrugged. "I can honestly say that I have no idea what's happening. Really."

Ozpin smiled slightly. "Miss Rose, we're going to have a nice, long discussion about why you needed to time travel, but I have a busy schedule, and a proposition. To Beacon Academy?"

Ruby faux-thought it over, and nodded. "Sure!"

* * *

 **4.14**

* * *

"BOW BEFORE THE MIGHT OF THE YANG HAMMER AND TREMBLE!" Nora rumbled, raw power coursing across her body.

In this particular loop, all Grimm had taken a single look at Nora and run for it. Ruby wasn't sure why, but she could guess. "Nora, why did you tie Yang to a stick?"

Yang and Nora smiled at Ruby. "Why, Ruby, isn't it obvious? You have your War Corgi, I have my Yang Hammer."

"You just tied Yang to a stick!"

"It's working," Yang clarified. "Watch. Nora?"

Nora charged an Ursa that had been stalking the group and started viciously beating it with Yang. This had two effects: the first was to slightly harm the Ursa. The second was to slightly hurt Yang. And since Yang got stronger the more you hurt her, she started dealing more damage to the Ursa.

In less than a few seconds, the Ursa was on fire, and then it was dead. Yang and Nora threw some thumbs up at Ruby. Ruby rolled her eyes. "Idea thieves..."

* * *

 **4.15**

* * *

Ren stared at Ozpin's antics. "Ruby, you don't think Ozpin's looping, do you?"

Ruby watched as Ozpin managed to coerce the entire school into an impromptu dance party. "If he was, I doubt we'd ever know. And besides, it's Ozpin! If he is, we have a powerful ally. If he isn't, he's fun and unpredictable."

"EVERYBODY DO THE FLOP!" Ozpin shouted.

* * *

 **4.16**

* * *

It was on rare occasion that Blake found herself in a loop where she wasn't in the White Fang. In even rarer cases, she was human, a situation she hated with a passion. And in a situation she had yet to experience, she was both wealthy, human, and Schnee.

Blake Schnee very carefully restrained the enraged scream that threatened to leave her. Being angry for no reason just wouldn't do. She was, after all, a Schnee.

...Which meant anything she did reflected on the Good Schnee name. Blake chuckled darkly and made her decision. "Vacation loop!"

* * *

Ruby and Yang watched as Vale slowly passed beneath the airship to Beacon. "You know Rubes, I think I'm starting to memorize what those people are doing down there."

Ruby's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really? Are you sure?"

Yang nodded. "Yup. See that guy down there, next to the box truck? In five seconds he's going to drop that crate. Five, four, three-"

At Yang's count of zero, the man far, far below them stumbled and dropped his crate. Yang nodded to herself. "Told you. But that's new," Yang said, pointing past Ruby and at an airship, flying towards then.

The airship's bay doors opened up and from them rained a rainbow spectrum of Dust Crystals down unto Vale. As the Dust-carrier blew over the School's ship, a voice boomed from it's speakers. "DUST! FOR EVERYBODY!"

Yang and Ruby watched the ship vanish into the distance. "Rubes."

"Yes Yang."

"Was that Blake?"

"Yes it was Yang. Yes it was."

* * *

Weiss stretched her shoulders, obviously unused to the weight of her concealed wings. The abjectly furious look on her face was not due to her change of species though. It was due to Blake's joyride. "Of all the stupid things you could have done-"

"Save it Weiss, I loved it and I'll be doing it again," Blake stated flatly. The Faunus-cum-human was nonchalantly examining her nails as an excuse to ignore Weiss. It was also an excuse to hide her massive smile.

Weiss fought down her angry growl and composed herself. "Blake, the business practices of Schnee Dust Corporation may vary from worker exploitation to condone slavery, but unless the latter case is true, there is no excuse for dumping several thousand tons of volatile and explosive material from an airship!"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Weiss, you and I both know that Dust can only be activated by Aura and no one besides Huntresses and Huntsmen have Auras. I could drop a Dust crystal from orbit and the other thing it would do is break when it hit the ground. We'll be fine."

"We are not fine Blake Belladonna, we are not! You've thrown mud all over the Schnee Corporation's name. While I wouldn't care how much bad press this is, my father will." After a second of thought, Weiss amended herself. "Your father will."

Blake pulled a sheet of paper from her knapsack and showed it to Weiss. Weiss read it over and stared at Blake. "You got yourself..."

"Emancipated," Blake declared happily. "I'm beholden to no one anymore. Least of all the Schnees."

Weiss still didn't look convinced. "How are you going to pay for your tuition."

Blake then did her personal rendition of 'Kitty-cat eyes'. Weiss forked over the Lien.

* * *

"Not a shoddy party you got here."

Blake looked up from the book she had been reading to see who was talking to her. Sun Wukong, monkey Faunus and leader of team SSSN, was standing in front of her, a cup full of what was probably illicit booze in hand. He actually wasn't looking at Blake, and was instead scanning the room, filled with dancing boys and girls and pumping music and enough lasers and fog to pass for... well, a rave. "Not too shoddy at all," Sun repeated.

Blake scooted to the side to let Sun sit down next to her, even swiping his drink. "Does the party critic have a name?"

"Sun Wukong. I'm from out-of-town. Heard a party was happening in Beacon, figured I'd drop by." Sun winked at Blake. "So imagine my surprise when the girl who started the whole shebang is off to the side, reading a book." Sun snatched back his drink. "What happened, party get too wild for you?"

Blake took Sun's drink back. "No. It's just the principle of the thing."

"The principle of parties. Whoop De Doo," Sun muttered. "Look, I'm not exactly the world's smartest guy, but I can tell that you're not exactly the rebellious type. So just throwing a party to tick off your parents isn't exactly going to work."

Blake watched as someone got soaked by a cooler of water. "Just watch." Blake took a sip of Sun's drink, only to cough and stare at it awkwardly. "This is... ginger ale."

"Yep," Sun said.

"This party has beer and you're drinking ginger ale," Blake said again.

"Yep. It tastes better."

* * *

Ruby tested her anchor line again. While a fall from this height into water wouldn't hurt even a novice huntress, and Ruby could honestly say she was better than Professor Goodwitch by now, it always paid to be sure. "Hey Blake!"

Blake scampered lower down the cliff face below Beacon, coming just into vocal range for Ruby. "What do you need Ruby! More spray paint!"

Ruby shook her head. "I just want to know if this is worth it!?"

Blake seemed to think about the question for a second. "Yes, it is!" Blake shook up a can of spray paint and started painting the cliffs above Beacon's lake.

Later that evening, Ruby and Blake stared up at their handy work. "You know Blake, that doesn't look too bad. A bit on the nose though."

"Thank you Ruby," Blake said.

Across the entire cliff face, a slogan was emblazoned: "DOWN WITH TYRANNY! DOWN WITH SCHNEE!"

* * *

 **4.17 Harosata**

* * *

Roman looked down at himself.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

And he shut his mouth...Did he just scream like that? Looking himself over once more, he was short and stubby and furry all over. What was he, some sort of rabbit? And more importantly, what was a rabbit doing in a junkyard? Right, the most important thing was not thinking about how he got here, but how he's going to get out, and so he wandered further into the junkyard, pausing to grab a discarded bowler hat and cane.

Of all the rotten luck, this world had a bunch of humans...this world belonged to the humans in the first place and he ended up as one of the invading party of stupid rabbits that were currently blabbing to themselves.

"Blab blab?"

"Blab!"

...There must be a word worse than stupid.

"Are you seriously talking to each other with only the word 'blab'?" Roman blabbed to them in their own language. "What are you even talking about?"

And so the rabbits blabbed to Roman.

"Mmhm, took over your world, invaded this world, got bored, decided to go home, which you think is up there." Roman pointed up at the moon. "And you decided the best way to get there is to steal stuff and build a tower to the moon. I think I got the gist of it. Tell me, have you ever considered a rocket?"

One of the rabbits grabbed a rock and threw it, which predictably bonked another rabbit's head. "Right, 'rock'ets can't fly. So, how big is this tower any...what's that racket?"

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Two rabbits with a shopping cart popped out out a pipe followed by an oompah band, their cart full of many things, including...is that a cow? Apparently, those two rabbids were celebrating like they had just landed on the moon. They must think they're master thieves.

"Oh, challenge accepted."

* * *

The only issue he had was that it took too long for him to stop pushing the cart and load up his wares while running from a mangy mutt, so he had to recruit another dumb rabbit. Fortunately, the one he chose was silent and appeared to follow his orders rather well, though he wore an ice cream carton on his head, Neopolitan flavor if he was right. "Neo" was the cart pusher.

And Roman was the junk grabber, currently straining his neck over the cubicles. "Alright, Neo. Once the secretary comes, just head straight into the office. We're bound to get a lot of stuff in there, so no need to waste time. Got it?"

Neo tilted his head.

"...She's the one riding that moped...that's her! Quickly, go!" The duo quickly headed into the office and ransacked the place, with Roman grabbing the big clock in the room. However, the president of the company had just called security, so they had to flee on the rooftop. "Great! If my job taught me anything, it won't take long before we're surrounded. Unless you know any shortcuts?"

Neo quickly swerved and crashed into a wall, exposing a bathroom. He then began to toss everything into the toilet, and here, Roman though he picked a smart one. "Well, this plan certainly gone down the drain."

And then Neo tossed Roman onto the pile in the toilet and stomped the junk for good measures, then everything literally went down the drain in one gulp.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAaaaeeeewww! Please don't tell me that's what all our escapes will be like...and what is that music called?" He saw a pair of rabbits jetting past them with a jet engine in their cart, the oompah band sliding right behind them. "Okay, let's get out through this pipe. I have another robbery to plan!"

* * *

Roman frowned as he stuffed a fridge into the toilet and followed through. Another successful heist by yours truly, but...

"If you lot aren't going to stop playing, then can you at least play something else?"

The oompah band paused, shrugged, and began playing some light classical music...by trying to get the trumpet and tubas to sound like the subtle squeakiness of the violin.

"No, no, just go back to whatever you were doing before. Note to self: steal earmuffs."

* * *

Roman clanked his bottle of soda with Neo and the other two rabbits as he smoked his cigar. "You know, you guys aren't bad...for a couple of amateur thieves. And you were good too, Neo."

The rabbits chuckled.

"Yeah, it seems to be a long time since I stole just for the sake of stealing. No crazy witches, no dirty animals, an especially no War Corgis." Roman sipped his cola. Neo raised his eye at the animal comment. "Well, all these heists and robberies aren't just grab and smash, you know. A lot of planning goes into just the idea of robbing the place, and eventually, you have to realize you need a lot of hired muscles to execute a lot of the plan in a short amount of time."

One of the rabbits flexed his muscles. "No, not that kind of muscles. Extra people, like what you got going with your cart system. And I have to say, this is the kind of cooperation I expect from the real Neo. I mean, I had to deal with dumb minions who can't handle a little girl and a group of animals who can't handle a monkey and a cat, and..."

Roman blinked. "I just didn't like incompetent fools. No wonder. All this time, I always hated Faunus, but I guess it was because of how they failed their lives and grew dependent of anyone who promises them a treat like Cinder. That was why I didn't like to work with them if I could help it. I never truly hated Faunus, I just equated them to fools! And speaking of fools, you're all fools, but you're good, so maybe not all fools are bad!"

Roman laughed. Then he looked at his cigar and down at the blue planet, some debris floating among the rabbits. "Or it could be the lack of oxygen or whatever this cigar is made of. Oh well, Maybe there are a few idiots in the White Fang that could stand out..."

"And will you stop playing that...oompah music!?"

* * *

 _Adam's Moon Log, Day 56:_

* * *

There appears to be rabbits on the moon, along with an oompah band. Despite the obvious lack of oxygen that should make their survival impossible (which should also apply to myself), they're present on the moon. And playing music. _In a vacuum._

The seem quite cheery, if thick headed, for being surviving in hard vacuum. One is even smoking a cigar. In a vacuum.

I have to cut this short, they're stolen my moon-bucks. GET BACK HERE!

* * *

 **4.18 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

"Professor Ozpin?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

The caffeine aficionado took a sip of his mug and motioned her to continue. The Red haired girl asked, "Are...you...experiencing time repeating itself over and over again?"

Ozpin sipped his coffee, an eyebrow slightly cocked. "Miss Rose... I don't believe I get the joke."

Ruby shook her head. "No joke. Are you time traveling?"

The headmaster took a drink of his coffee like he always did, seemingly unfazed, "I assure you Miss Rose, that I don't know what you're talking about. Might this have something to do with Mr. Winchester's unfortunate accident the other day when Mr. Arc was fine tuning his sword swings on that practice dummy? I must say, no one could have imagined he had such strength when he sent it careening into across the room and slammed Mr. Winchester into the wall. However, the staff ruled it a slip up when Mr. Arc missed with the edge and hit it with the flat of the blade instead."

Ruby held up her hands placating, "No! No, no, that...that was _definitely_ an accident. He would never allow someone else to hurt Cardin."

Ozpin held up his mug, "But you didn't say he himself wouldn't harm Cardin."

He held up a hand to stop Ruby's objection, "Well, it was ruled an accident by the staff, and I trust their judgement in matters like this. As long as Mr. Winchester isn't cripplingly injured, I think it was a valuable lesson to be learned."

The headmaster folded his hands together. "Of course Miss Rose, you didn't come here to discuss Mister Arc's training regiment, or Cardin's injury. If you want to talk... time loops, then would you please explain these time loops?"

Ruby shrugged, "Consider for a moment that the whole of reality is a massive tree..."

* * *

Half an hour later, Ruby had drawn her presentation on how the universe was broken, how their universe and all universes were caught up in time loops until the tree computer was fixed, with a general rundown on looper terminology included, to a close. Ozpin had asked a few questions about the next couple weeks and months along the way, and after hearing her testimony, the headmaster had nodded and asked one final question, "Before I let you go, I'm curious as to why you think I'm looping?"

Ruby gave a sheepish look, "Well, a couple times we've seen you give us knowing looks, especially after our battles with Torchwick or the White Fang, when we completely destroy them. You even did that after our battle with Torchwick's mech this time around."

Ozpin set his glass down and gave her a serious expression, "Miss Rose, you single handedly cut down an Atlesian Battlemech in a matter of five seconds and, with the help of your team, managed to apprehend Torchwick's second, Neo. I am not blind, Ruby. Your skills have improved dramatically. One day, you and your friends will be the defenders of this world. I'm proud to have you and your team as my students."

Ruby beamed at the grey haired headmaster, "Thanks, Professor. We won't let you down."

Ozpin gave her a smirk. "I know you won't. Now, I think class is set to begin in an hour. You might want to catch up with your team, who are waiting outside and listening in on the conversation."

There were a couple muffled eeps beyond the door. Ozpin grabbed his mug again and rose from his seat, escorting Ruby to the door. As he opened the door, he finished, "For this loop, Miss Rose, might I ask that you work on sharpening the skills of your fellow students who are not awake? If these, "variant loops," as you call it, are as random as you say, some loop you might run into Miss Fall's faction running Beacon and in dire need of being overthrown. Just an idea."

Ruby looked thoughtful as she left the room.

* * *

Ozpin sat in his seat, silently listening to Cardin telling the headmaster he should punish Jaune for the unprovoked attack. He countered by hinting at several prime moments where Cardin himself had tormented the Faunus member of team Coffee as well as his attempts to pick on Jaune himself. Cardin lost some of his ego at that. Ozpin held up his mug and took a sip, "Well, things could always have been worse. Instead of a training dummy accident, you could have picked on an overweight expert huntress who might have taken revenge on you by slamming into you during the Initiation. You might have even ended up on said huntress' team and dragged along on her adventures to bring down the White Fang and their human thief partners."

Cardin scoffed, "Yeah, like that would happen."

Ozpin smirked and took another sip of his drink.

* * *

 **4.19 DrTempo**

* * *

Weiss Awoke on a strange ship, and after getting her bearings, looked outside a window….

And saw the vastness of space.

 _'This is either a weird variant, or a Fused Loop,'_ Weiss thought to herself. A female humanoid alien walked in, and Weiss spoke to her hastily. "Hello. I'm a bit thrown for a Loop, so to speak. You are?"

The alien' raised her eyebrows and offered her hand. "My name is Ashoka Tano." The young girl smiled gently.

Weiss recognized that name, and knew where she was. "Nice to meet you. I am Weiss Schnee, of the loops of Remnant."

Ashoka smiled, and said,"I'd heard your Loop had gone active. Big fan of the hub's records for you."

At that moment, Weiss' Loop memories kicked in, and she remembered that in this Loop, she was Obi-Wan Kenobi's newest Padawan. Weiss, groaning, asked Ashoka, "Would you mind helping me learn to use the Force? I just Awakened."

Ashoka nodded in agreement. "It isn't that difficult, really. Let's start with the basics..."

* * *

 _A few hours later..._

* * *

Weiss had found herself on the battlefield, and with Ashoka's quick refresher, she had come to realize she was a natural with the Force...

..As a platoon of Battle Droids squashed by a building Weiss had tossed on them could attest.

Anakin , who was watching the while situation, smirked at Obi-Wan. "You have it easy this time, Master. She's already pulling a Starkiller. I'd rather not have her drop a ship on us by accident. Because if it does, I blame you."

Obi-Wan responded to that with laser vision. Anakin groaned, "Not again..."

* * *

 **4.20**

* * *

By force of habit and birthed from necessity, Roman and Neo had established numerous spider holes across the Kingdom of Vale. These little hideouts, ranging from concealed caves to lavish penthouses, were where they headed when the other loopers were starting to search for them. Usually this meant laying low for a few weeks, at least until they could be sure they could avoid being jailed earlier than Cinder planned.

This particular iteration found the nefarious duo hiding out within a small hotel on the outskirts of Vale, out of the way enough that it was usually the last place Ruby Rose and her comrades would check. For added effect, Mercury Black had been loaned to them to be their bodyguard. It was Cinder's little way of saying, _'You couldn't beat a group of students with a giant robot, so you suck and need our help.'_

It was very annoying, especially since Mercury insisted they watch Football instead of something nice, like one of Neo's soaps, or Roman's personal favorite, the Rowdy Ruff Girls (a cartoon about three incredibly gifted huntress sisters who's been created in a laboratory by their father Professor Etonian and fought a smart, evil monkey Grimm). Of course, Mercury did this because he happened to like Football, rather than any specifically malicious intent. In fact, he was open to discussion for control of the remote.

It was during the third round of negotiations for the remote (where Roman and Neo had just offered Mercury their entire supply of nachos and beer), when there was a knock at the door. All conversation came to a halt. Mercury stood up, making sure his shotgun anklets were fixed right. "It's probably housekeeping."

He round the corner to the door. There was an audible click as it opened. "Hey, what do you-" THWACK!

Roman and Neo shared a look and grabbed Melodic Cudgel and Neo's parasol. Neo rounded the corner from the room, vanishing from Roman's line of fire. Then she spoke. "Roman, we have a problem!"

A short, cute dog waddled around the separating wall and past Roman, barking at him in passing. Roman blinked in surprise. "Isn't that Ruby's Corgi?"

"Yes it is, Mister Torchwick."

Roman stared at the man who had knocked out Mercury and was holding Neo at cane-point. "You? What are you doing here!"

Headmaster Ozpin smiled lightly and shoved Neo away from him. "What am I doing here? Well I'm honestly stupefied by that question as well. I'm honestly surprised why I'm here. Have you ever wondered that yourself Roman? Have you ever wondered why we are here?"

Neo rolled her eyes. The mute actor kicked her parasol into her hand and drew the rapier concealed inside. Any action she planned to take beyond threatening Ozpin was delayed though by the very audible click on her temple. Roman point at Zwei. "Is that dog holding a gun to Neo's head?"

"More or less," Ozpin said. "Now, Mister Torchwick, Miss Neopolitan, we can all agree that killing each other will only be an inconvenience, and push our meeting farther down the road. So if either of you wish to maintain any form of anonymity within the Infinite Time Loops, I suggest you put down your weapons."

For several moments, Neo and Roman stared down the calm Headmaster of Beacon. Ozpin's light smile and the gun to Neo's head were minute threats compared to the possibility of exposure though. After several moments of stalling, struggling to figure out a possible answer beyond disarming themselves, the two thieves dropped their weapons.

Ozpin's smiled widened a little and he lowered his own cane, Zwei mimicking him with his pistol. "Now isn't that better? We can discuss this like the high minded individuals we are without the threat of being blown to smithereens." Ozpin stepped forward and caught Roman's cane on the toe of his shoe. A flick and he was holding Melodic Cudgel in his hands. "Shall we?"

Roman and Neo followed Ozpin, their faces becoming masques of impassivity. Ozpin, perhaps by happenstance, perhaps not, took the seat that Mercury had been occupying recently, his hands falling into a steepled form, his glasses flashing white and concealing his eyes. "Now isn't that better?"

Roman stared vacantly at Ozpin. "Better? Let me... tell you something. I've captured the mechanical might of the Atlesian Military. I've won the loyalty and admiration of the fanatical White Fang. I've hoarded the largest supply of weapons quality Dust outside of the actual military stock pile. I've done all of this in baseline. And I'm being threatened by a teacher. This is not anywhere near better."

"..." Neo's glare spoke volumes for her stance on the issue.

Ozpin pursed his lips. "Well then, I believe I should ask you both something." The Headmaster leaned in. "What do you think your options are?"

Roman and Neo exchanged a glance. The bowler hat wearing criminal spoke for them both when he said; "blow you to kingdom come. And maybe your little school as well."

"And then what? Dance in the rubble? Take over Vale? Blow up the moon and destroy us all? Sell cookies on the street side?" Ozpin's stare turned steely. "Roman, there are only six months in our loop. Six. Months. In that time, you can do whatever you want, but it will always end, and you will always find yourself standing in From Dust Till Dawn, just ten feet from Ruby Rose, who will always be Awake. And she will know, simply put, that you and Neo are loopers. Because I will tell them."

Ozpin stood up, his Aura igniting and imposing his will over the room. "Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan, you two will always be the villains that Ruby and her friends will fight, and looping has not changed that. I however am the wise, kindly headmaster who has protected and favored these children to exceptional lengths. They trust me, and my word. It's me against you two, and I'm bringing the strongest beings in our world to the fight on my side."

Roman gulped, Neo herself cowed by the force of Ozpin's soul. Roman spoke, but only with great difficulty. "So what. So what if we're discovered. They'll know that you were hiding. And they'll be asking why."

Ozpin smiled, a genuine showing of contentment that cut a bright swathe through the dangerous Aura. "But would they care? Would they care that the eccentric, secretive old man was, of course, hiding secrets? They wouldn't. Just ask yourselves; who would they side with?"

Roman and Neo stared at Ozpin, who smiled back. Finally, Roman broke first and glanced at Neo, who stared back. A silent exchange carried out between them. After that, Roman took a deep breath and once again met Ozpin's eyes. "What are your terms?"

Like a light cast into the darkness, Ozpin's Aura shut off, the powerful, experienced man becoming a simple teacher again. "Well then, now that you are ready to talk, I should explain myself. You see Roman, you're going to have a rare chance for revenge without fear of moral compunction. You're going to help me make them stronger."

Roman and Neo flatly stared at Ozpin. "Say what now?"

Zwei waddled into the room with a cup of coffee balanced on his head. He hopped up next to Ozpin, who took the coffee gratefully. "Roman, Neo, we are all aware of the... unique opportunity that an alliance between each other presents. You see, you're a rare breed in Yggdrasil; a true villain, one untainted by ethics or morals or even a clear goal. You've worked for Cinder for so long you've gotten used to not knowing what you've been fighting for. I'm going to offer you genuine direction."

"Genuine direction? Really?" Roman deadpanned. "You come to my hotel room, knock out my body guard, threaten the girl who is alternative my daughter, my sister, and my partner, and your offer is... 'genuine direction'? Are you fucking with us?"

Ozpin took a long drink of his coffee. "No Roman, I'm not. I'm offering you the chance to fight Ruby, Weiss, and all the rest with your full strength. I'm giving you a chance to fight them like you should: as a looper."

Neo blinked a few times. "..?"

"I agree with Neo. What the hell are you saying?" Roman asked.

"What I'm saying, Roman, Neo, is this: you two will fight my eight students as hard as you can, disguising you're out of Loop powers as your semblances, using your wits and your strength to surpass them, without ever letting on your nature as loopers. You will battle them, and through fighting you, they will be trained," Ozpin declared.

Neo opened her mouth. "..?"

"Why?" Roman concurred.

Ozpin smiled, but unlike the other smiles he had sported, this one failed to reach his eyes. "It's because I am a teacher Roman, and more specifically, a teacher who has run out of things to teach his prized students. There are no more tactics they can learn from us, no more skills we can help them master. In the time loops, I and my entire faculty have become an anachronism for the most important people in our entire universe. They must be taught now by experience." Ozpin leaned forward, his visage dark. "And you two are the only beings who can educate them."

The penny finally dropped. "You want to strike a bargain with us..."

"To help my students train without fear of holding back. Yes, I am." Ozpin concluded. "In return, I will offer you both protection and some nascent privileges, such as retaining your freedom and whatever you can carry within your subspace pocket."

Roman and Neo starred at Ozpin. And then, Roman laughed. It was a slow, growing thing, which started as a slight, breathy chuckle, became a stronger laugh, and finally near hysterics. Neo remained stoically silent, but her massive, nearly insane grin was demonstration of her thoughts. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahahahaha- You- hahah- ahahaha... You want... hehehe... you want me, me and Neohohoho... You want us, to fight for you. You must be out of you gods damned mind."

Ozpin nodded once. "Maybe I am. But I have assets you don't. I have the innate trust of our loopers. Access to there primary line of communication. I can divert their attentions, act as a shield for you. And most importantly, it would prepare them for our common enemies: Kyubey."

The laughter stopped, guillotined by a single word.

Ozpin continued. "Dio Brando. Waltz. Billy. The Tick. Paradox. Nightmare. Malicious Looping Entities. Beings of might surpassing myself, yourself, even Ruby. They would come to our world and lay it to ruin. Why? For godhood. For misguided good. For their own insane pleasures. You want to survive in the multiverse Roman, you need to play this part. You need then to be stronger. To be faster. We all do."

Roman breathed slowly, and gently, but fear crept behind his eyes. "And if we refuse?"

Ozpin glanced from Roman to Neo. "You're trapped in a room. A room full of locked doors. And almost all of the keys are around the neck of Ruby Rose. All of them except mine. That's merely the hand you two have been dealt. It's me, or them. Can you wage a war against them for eternity?"

Roman stood up. He walked over to Ozpin. And he glared at Ozpin for several long, painful seconds. And then he smiled and clapped a hand on Ozpin's shoulder. "Ha! You know, I really hate not being on the ball. Makes me mad. Mad enough to go..." Roman's hand tightened on Ozpin's shoulder. "Kill something." He slapped Ozpin on the back. "You drive a hard bargain Ozzy, but we're your people now."

Neo pointed at Zwei, who was sitting next to Roman and Ozpin impassively. "..?"

"Oh yeah," Roman said. "What's the Dog's angle on this? He your pet this loop?"

"Actually he's here to extort you for egregious amounts of lien," Ozpin answered truthfully. There was a click as Zwei put a gun up to Roman's head. "He likes down-payments."

Roman grumbled and started riffling through his subspace pocket, Neo mirroring him. "Alright, so you've got us. Your little cabal got a name?"

Ozpin chuckled. "It was easy. Ozpin, Roman, Neo, Zwei. Team ORNZ (Orange)!"

Roman and Neo shared a final, exasperated look. There entire world was falling apart... and it was all because of an eccentric teacher, and a dog. Simply put... they were screwed.

* * *

 **A/N: No responses this chapter. I'm too tired, and this is being finalized much too late. I'm sorry everybody.**


	5. Looping Around and Finding Yourself

**5.1 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

"Ruby, don't you think this is too much," Blake asked, her face conveying baffled concern as she stood atop an Atlesian airship armed to the teeth missile launchers. With Weiss' slightly unwilling help, Ruby had commissioned this beauty just in time for the breach to take place.

The red headed leader gave Blake a confident grin, "Don't worry, Blake. I already tested the design while traveling back from Atlas. We managed to clear an island free of the Grim...and most vegetation...but we fixed the design flaw."

Blake held up held a hand to her face and shook her head. Ruby lifted a radio she had taken from another loop to her mouth and shouted over the wind, "Missile control to ordinance, are you ready?"

The radio squawked back, "Ordinance here! Fire at will!"

With a press of a remote control button, the battleship lit up with golden light as the launchers fired.

* * *

Jaune took a moment to catch his breath after slaying another beowolf. They just kept coming. He failed to notice an Ursa standing on its back legs with its claws extended, about to slash him in the back. And then, a scream of excitement rang overhead, followed by an earth shattering smash echoed around Jaune. A poof of smoke finalized the strange occurrence as Jaune finally turned around only to see the Ursa was plowed five feet into the earth.

* * *

"Good Shot Ordinance. We have a wave of Nevermore coming in from the south."

"Ordinance here, let's give them a taste of Atlesian tech!"

* * *

Hundreds of golden missiles fired from the Atlesian airship. The Nevermore didn't understand what was going on as they were suddenly smashed and torn to pieces by the human shaped projectiles. With a pathetic caw, they exploded into black smoke.

"Yang, how are you feeling down there?"

Yang's voice came back, "Don't break character, Missile Control! Who knows who's listening in?"

Ruby flinched back for a second, "Sorry. Keep up the good work. There's a group of creep racing for the breach. Open fire on them before they make it inside."

Blake stepped up and asked, "How did you even do this?"

Ruby smirked, "Yang and I did a Naruto Loop two loops ago, replaced Naruto and everything. Shadow clones are nice to have on your side, right?"

The former White Fang Member shook her head and left to join her partner down below.

* * *

 **5.2 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Yang was having an... interesting Loop so far. She had Awoken in handcuffs being led by a couple of goons through a casino. Of course that didn't last long. Dust, even Junior put up a better fight. That had led to an interesting encounter with the local Anchor, Spike Spiegel.

"So what exactly was the point of all this?" Yang shouted over the sound of gunfire, casually deflecting the bullets before using Ember Celica to return fire.

"The chip they're after has some kind of decryption program on it. I wanted to try and get Ed to reverse engineer it." Spike shouted back from behind an overturned card table as he fired a Caster Shell from his modified Jericho 941.

"Ed?" Yang asked, after the resulting explosion died down.

"One of the other crew members. We usually meet up later, but since she's Awake I ended up dragging Jet to Earth to pick her up early this time."

"So the person I'm Replacing is your other crew member? Any idea why my Loop Memories aren't kicking in?"

Spike sighed and lit a cigarette. "Yeah. Faye got hurt when she was younger and went into Cryosleep. She ended up with Retrograde Amnesia. She gets better near the end of the Baseline."

Yang considered this. She had no idea where she was, who she was or what was going on this Loop. Spike was the only person with a clue. Walking over to the Anchor she threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Looks like it's your lucky day then. I'm coming with you."

Pulling the cigarette out of his grip she flicked it away. "Those things are bad for your health you know. Don't worry, I'll help you quit."

Spike grunted. "Kids, animals and women with attitudes. Every damn Loop."

* * *

The Bebop may not have been the most attractive ship in the galaxy but it was more than capable of doing it's job. Which was more than could be said for its occupants most of the time. Said occupants were lounging in the living area when she and Spike entered the ship. Sitting on the couch watching a television show involving cowboys or something was a large balding man with a robotic arm, while laying upside down on the table was an androgynous red-haired girl wearing an overly large white shirt and spandex shorts.

Narrowing her eyes as she caught sight of Yang said girl rolled head over heels from her position and stalked towards her in a very catlike manner. Yang was too busy checking out the rest of the ship to notice until the girl had pounced, climbing up her as if she were a tree. Yang responded by grabbing the girl and attempting to throw her off of her, however her grip on Yang's arm was iron tight and the only thing she managed to do was knock them both onto the floor.

Still holding onto Yang's arm the girl laughed.

"Whoa, Ed's head is all spinny-turny now. Do it again, do it again!"

Yang glared in response.

"Who the heck are you?"

Ed scrambled to her feet and gave a military salute.

"Ed is Ed. Edward Françoise Appledelhi Siniz Hesap Lütfen Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV."

She then proceeded to fall backwards onto a nearby beanbag, before rolling under the table.

The large man sighed, resting his chin on one hand as he watched. "I swear her introduction gets longer every Loop. Names Jet Black. So, I'm guessing you're Replacing Faye?"

"Guess so. I'm Yang Xiao Long. So, what do you guys do around here anyway?"

"Mostly just hang around until a bounty shows up or we run out of food."

"Sounds like fun."

"Hey Ed, got you something." Spike said as he flipped the casino chip over to the red head who was still lying sprawled out under the table. Without looking she raised her leg into the air and caught the chip between her toes before bringing it up to look at it.

"A present for Ed?"

Pulling her goggles down over her eyes she scrambled over to a computer.

"Yay! Tell Ed your secrets!"

Ignoring the energetic girl as she entered her own little world, Yang turned to face her other shipmates with a grin.

"So when's dinner? I'm starved."

* * *

"YinYang, YinYang. Look YinYang, Look at Ed."

Sighing, Yang debated whether or not staying on the Bebop was a good idea. It had been less than two days and she had already come to the conclusion that Nora and Ed must never, under any circumstances meet.

"Ein has a brother! Ed taught them to play games with Ed."

Looking up from working on Ember Celica, Yang cocked an eyebrow.

"Who's Ein?"

Ed grinned and reached around the corner, returning with two dogs in her arms. Two corgis. One of which was definitely familiar.

"Zwei?"

"Zwei? Is that Ein's brother's name. Hello Zwei, Ed is happy to meet you. Are you happy to meet Ed?"

Zwei responded by licking Ed's face. Within moments both Corgis and Ed had collapsed into a energetic pile of barking and laughter.

Yang simply stared blankly at the trio as she relived flashbacks of her sister's more... energetic exploits.

"Two of them. There's two of them now. Ruby must never find out. Blake would have a heart attack."

* * *

 **5.3**

* * *

"Now this is interesting," Roman said as a fireball shot over his and Neo's improvised barricade.

"..." Neo raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, what! You're to blame!"

Neo winced as a flurry of glass spikes were driven into the table she and Roman had thrown up as... hostilities rose. "..."

"What do you mean, kind of? How did you get two Cinders in here!?"

"..."

Roman gaped at his partner who was occasionally his sister and occasionally his daughter and occasionally just a mercenary. "You... did what. Isn't that impossible?"

"..!" Cinder (well, one of the Cinders) slammed into the wall, emphasizing Neo's point.

"Okay, maybe this doesn't look impossible, but this is still your fault!"

Neo grumbled as the Cinder from Neo's last loop dueled with the Cinder of this loop for control of the White Fang. "How was I supposed to know you could carry someone from one loop to the next in your subspace pocket?"

* * *

 **5.4 Me, OathToOblivion, ToaMataNui5000 and Wildrook**

* * *

"And if we're in the same Loop, I can borrow the weapons for use, just in case?" Gilgamesh asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Anything in the museum, you can borrow, just as long as you bring stuff to put on display," Ruby waved him off, trying to prop up a specific exhibit.

"Excellent! Be sure to save an extra-large exhibit for Excalibur!" Gilgamesh declared, before rushing off in search of the elusive sword. Ruby's grin became slightly fixed as she turned to the specific sword beside her. Said sword proceeded to open his eyes.

"Thank you very kindly for not telling him I was here, Lady Ruby," Caliburn sighed wearily.

"Don't mention it. I'll tell Sonic I saw you."

"Make sure to tell him not to slack off on his training just because I'm not there to lecture him. It would be unbecoming of the Knight of the Wind, not to mention one chosen as King Arthur, to be a horrid swordsman. Swordshog in his case, I suppose."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the darker and less video secured reaches of the museum, a familiar thief, clad in his typical white over-coat, is lurking. As he is both a thief and a looper, his lurking is nearly on par with true invisibility. Of course, if you happened to be in the same hallway as him, you'd probably see him anyway, unless of course you were blind. That said, he himself isn't blind, and has taken note of one of the weapons displayed.

"Hmm..." Roman Torchwick muttered, taking note of the weapon. "Tuxedo Mask's cane... hmm..."

"Don't even **think** about it, Torchwick!" a voice growled from behind. Roman turned on his heels to find a familiar fox Faunus, holding a shock pistol inches from his face. Behind her, two other Faunus, a male raccoon and a female tiger respectively, gave dirty looks while nodding in disapproval.

"... Damn you, Cooper Gang!" Roman cursed before stomping away like a bratty child.

"Some people just never learn," Sly snarked before putting on a smile. "At least being as suave as I am, as well as our punching bag, keeps him tolerable."

"Perhaps we can get our admin to force him through a _"disciplining revelation"_ like I was..."

"Neyla, what did we say about acting dark?"

* * *

 _Meanwhile in another corner of the museum..._

"Damn you guys got a lot of weapons in your world," Ruby commented as the black biomechaloid, better known as Onua, wheeled in yet another box. A similar white one, Kopaka, was busy chatting away with Weiss while hanging their current bin, both sighing at the fresh one brought in.

Tahu chuckled while setting down a copy of his first flame sword. "You should be lucky you're only counting my golden armor mask. If you included all our Kanohi, you'd have to build another wing this early."

"Meh, already got to because of the Mann Co. mercenaries. Bring 'em in, I say!"

 **"LATER!"** Both ice themed loopers yelled.

"Okay, jeez..."

* * *

Much later there was a knock on Ruby's door.

"I'm hearing you," Ruby said, opening the door to reveal...a red-haired male holding what looked like a white being in a tuxedo? "Oh...no...Shirou, what are you doing with THAT?"

"I don't know," Shirou muttered, "nor do I want him with me. So...tag, you're it!" He then dropped him off and ran back to the room he was in.

Ruby cringed as she looked at the being...who stood up and walked up to a flabbergasted Weiss.

"FOOL!" he yelled, causing her to cringe.

* * *

 **5.5 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Roman Torchwick sat in his favorite leather armchair surrounded as always by a warehouse full of 'liberated' Dust. He had woken slightly earlier than normal and had chosen to move his theft of the From Dust To Dawn shop up by a week. This had had the surprising benefit of denying Little Red her debut exhibition that had gained her a spot at Beacon. Apparently his defeat at the start of the Loop was instrumental in the events which led to RWBY's formation. Who knew?

As a result he was having a relatively peaceful Loop so far. Which considering the events of the previous one was very much appreciated. In his defense, it wasn't like he had exactly had many opportunities to bone up on the various complexities of Dust interaction. The Loop wasn't very long to begin with and considering his choice of career it wasn't like he could just waltz into one of the Universities and sign up for a class.

So honestly, how was he supposed to know that attempting to mix out-of-Loop technology with a Paladin Battlesuit would result in that... that... thing. Seriously just thinking about it was enough to make him want to scrub the inside of his head with steel-wool. Needless to say the rest of the Loop had not been fun, or long for that matter. The resulting Punishment Loop had not helped matters.

Currently he was doing his best to erase any memories of the events from his mind through the liberal application of alcohol. It wasn't working as well as he would like. "Neo, please tell me you've either stolen or figured out the recipe for Brain Bleach."

His currently little sister fixed him with a glare. One which promised an endless amount of suffering, and all but begged him to give her a reason.

"Ah, right. Still not talking to me I see. Carry on then."

Returning to his wine he grimaced. Neo had gotten the worse end of the bargain without a doubt. Not only had they wound up in the Eiken branch, but due to the fact they were trying to keep the fact that they were Looping a secret she had been forced to play along with the members of that moronic Club. He could practically feel her glare trying to bore into the back of his skull.

Throwing back the last of the precious elixir in his glass, he stared morosely at the empty bottle before pulling out the last one from his Pocket. The next few Loops he was going to focus on stealing more wine, Cinder could get her own damn Dust.

* * *

 **5.6**

* * *

Coco Pommel. Fox Aliaster. Velvet Scarlatina. Yatsuhashi Daichi. Together, they formed Team CFVY. And together, they were the most annoying, aggravating, ridiculously inconsistent group of people that the loopers of Remnant had to deal with.

Now, this is considering the fact that Cinder Fall (resident villain) was hiding in plain sight at Beacon Academy. Cinder was devious, sadistic, crazy, cunning, and often vicious, whenever she wasn't being quirky, silly, and all around a fun if embarrassing big sister to Ruby and Yang. Fact of the matter was, Cinder was evil. That was something everyone could count on. Team CFVY wasn't even that consistent!

It was something that had dawned on Ruby rather early in her loops. In fact, it had been in her tenth or so loop where, on the White Fang's bomb train to Vale, she had elected to fight The Lieutenant. The Lieutenant was a hulking, massive Faunus whose preferred weapon happened to be a Big Fucking Chainsaw. Besides the inherent badass factor of that, he also happened to be better than Weiss in a fight. He'd kicked her ass a few times, even after Weiss had Awoken.

So, with the intent to avenge her sister in arms, Ruby had elected to track him down on the train and duel him personally. It had been an epic fight. The car had been ripped apart like a tin can. Ruby, barely twenty five years old at the time (mentally speaking, at least) had been fighting a man supposedly her senior, who was fair more versed with his weapon than he let on. And then, right as he was winding up a heavy swing, Ruby had lashed out and hooked the beak of Crescent Rose under his mask.

The mask went flying. The man staggered. Only his Aura saved him from the scar. His Aura didn't protect his identity though. Impossibly, Velvet's silent partner, Yatsuhashi, stared at Ruby.

Ruby hadn't let up though. Her first fight with Cinder had taught her to never drop her guard, no matter how shocking the revelation was. Ruby had pressed her advantage and battered Yatsuhashi into a corner, before slamming her boot into his unprotected face. The Lieutenant was knocked out.

It was later that evening that she processed this. As the night slowly bled from her room back into From Dust Till Dawn, signaling another reset of time, Ruby Rose sighed to herself. She knew that Yatsuhashi Daichi was White Fang now.

Except... he wasn't. Not that loop at least.

Ruby had spent the entirety of the six months allotted to her by the then mysterious resetting time to try and coax Yatsuhashi into revealing his allegiances. Every attempt was stymied though. That was the loop where she had quite permanently gotten herself on Velvet's blacklist, and nearly had been expelled for a harebrained scheme to make Yatsuhashi reveal himself to the school (suffice to say, it only ended up with everyone covered in pie, and with Yatsuhashi nearly having a nervous breakdown).

Finally, as the White Fang express left the underground haven of Mountain Glen, it's cargo of bombs, terrorists, villains, and wayward Hunters aboard, Ruby tracked down The Lieutenant, struck hard and fast, removed his mask and came face to face with a complete stranger. Shocker.

Since then, Ruby, and later, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Team JNPR, had been left utterly baffled by CFVY's allegiances. It changed, painfully so, and it changed every. Single. Loop.

* * *

Ruby boredly knocked her training dummy flying through the air. Near to her, Coco was flailing her handbag three armored dummies, flogging the metal violently, altering from one to the other with whirlwind speeds. This was as developed as her fighting style usually got though.

After all, Coco always brought a mini-gun to a sword fight. Who needs technique to use a mini-gun!?

Of course, a particularly strong member of the White Fang had accosted Blake at the docks when she and Sun had gone on their by now ritual 'fight all the Fang!' run. Which possibly meant Coco was a member. Ruby needed some way to tease it out of Coco.

"Hey Coco, are you a member of the White Fang?"

Now, this blatant question had a few perks to it. In fact, it was an outright masterstroke. In Ruby's case, if Coco was a good White Fang spy, she'd deny the accusation. A good White Fang spy didn't kill anyone at the school, and didn't strike until after the loop ended. Ergo, she wasn't a threat. The same applied if Coco was innocent: she wouldn't hurt anyone, and she never would.

Of course, if Coco was a bad spy, then she'd try to kill Ruby. Thus, Ruby would have evidence that Coco was a spy, and she could get Coco booted out. Yay!

Coco, having been in the middle of physically ripping a dummy in half, faltered almost comically. "I... What? W-w-why would you ask that!?" Coco stared at Ruby from behind her (very fashionable) shades.

Ruby shrugged happily. "Meh. Just wanted to know." Ruby kicked another dummy across the training hall. "You never know." Ruby leaned over conspiratorially. "Did you know Blake was a member once? It was so cool! Then she went out and kicked some Fang ass out in the docklands."

"Uh... huh..." Coco looked a little numb. "Well, sure. Okay. Whatever. I'm not one of them though. They're all crazy psychopaths who just make it harder for people like Velvet or Fox." Coco buried her hands into her iron training dummy and ripped it in two. "I won't let them hurt my friends."

Ruby smiled. "I know that. You guys are always so close."

Coco hesitated, but eventually smiled at Ruby. "They're my brothers and sister. Like hell I'd put them in shit that dangerous."

Ruby smiled, turned and left. Coco sighed, and returned to her katas. Presently, she stopped and found her phone. "Roman."

"Yello?" Roman Torchwick said from the other end.

"Me and my team have been compromised. We need evacuation."

"Oh, right, that's the part where I, the lowly scumbag human, collect all of you, the feral, idiotic-"

Coco snapped her phone shut, and took solace in the fact that Cinder and Adam would chew Torchwick out later.

* * *

Nora wasn't a terribly complicated girl.

Oh sure, she loved fighting, she loved training, she loved Ren (not that she'd ever say that out loud), but she wasn't just that. She enjoyed gaming with Jaune, horsing around with Ruby and Yang, and being in Ren's company. The loops didn't change that for her. An eternity where she could kill, maim and slaughter the forces of Darkness with no consequences or worries? Sign her up!

Not that it was always that simple of course. There were times when the loops... didn't really seem to know what to do with her. Everyone got interesting back stories or could do crazy cool things or were super important... and then there was Ren and Nora. Just being Ren and Nora.

The loops did occasionally through curveballs at them of course. One particularly embarrassing one was when they'd been married to each other due to some crazy scheme involving Ozpin and the key to Beacon, six thousand tons of chocolate, Cinder's panties, and a small army of Dodos. Another had them ruling over all of Remnant as the monarchs apparent. Occasionally, they were half-Grimm, however that worked out.

And then there was shit like this:

The Lieutenant, who looked a lot like Yatsuhashi, was staring at Nora, Ren, and Yatsuhashi, the latter of whom looked a lot like Yatsuhashi. Nora switched glances between one and the other.

Yatsuhashi pointed at the Lieu. "Gasp! It is my evil Twin brother! Shihatsuya!"

"You will perish this day brother," Lieu rumbled, his chainsaw whirling. "You have forgotten my strength."

"Never!" Yatsuhashi cried, charging into the battle.

Nora shrugged, collapsed Magnhildr, and started firing. Might as well make the most of it.

* * *

Blake had brought some extras this loop, after her defection from the White Fang. She had politely asked that everyone not be annoyed, though very few present actually managed to tamp down their emotions. They all remembered Adam's last little stint into Beacon. It hasn't ended well.

Of course, almost everyone besides Ruby (bless her all forgiving, all loving heart) had been angry when the entirety of team CFVY had shown up.

Because of course they did.

* * *

"Velvet, may I ask you something?"

Velvet Scarlatina glanced up from her coffee (shitty, as was the Beacon standard) to her colossal teammate. "What's up Yatsuhashi?"

Outwardly, Yatsuhashi looked a little disturbed. Velvet however used the 'Daichi Emotion Scale'. A little disturbed for Yatsuhashi meant he was very confused and worried. "Velvet, it's merely that..."

Velvet sipped her coffee. "Are you worried about CRDL again? I told you I could handle them."

"It's not that. Not wholly that at least. And you should let me handle them, because they deserve a good evisceration. But what I'm meaning to say is... It's miss Xiao Long."

Velvet's ears (all four of them) perked up. "What about Yang?"

Yatsuhashi gulped. "Well... just don't fly off the handle, please. The thing is, Yang keeps asking me questions. Leading questions. About how it's criminal that the Schnee's can get away with what they do. About how we need a group to stand up to them. How the White Fang is so virtuous, what I think about them, why I think they do what they do, why I feel about- Velvet!"

Velvet had grabbed her weapon purse and left the room. The second year Huntress marched down the halls and found RWBY's room. She banged on the door, and was greeted by the woman she wanted to see. "Oh hey Velvet!" Yang said.

Velvet very slowly and very deliberately held up her weapon purse. "Imply... one more time. Imply that Yatsuhashi is a member of the White Fang one more time, and I will use this on you."

Yang was taken aback. "But-"

"NO I DON'T CARE THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT DOES JUST DONTFUCKWITHYATSUHASHI!"Velvet screamed. She slammed the door in Yang's face.

Yang winced. "Okay... well he's on our side... this loop."

* * *

Weiss and Jaune very slowly ticked through the notes that had been made in the last few loops late one night. Weiss groaned. "Still no consistency. First they're Fang, then they're not, then Coco's Neo in disguise, then Velvet is the secret leader... gosh darn it."

"You can say damn it, you know," Jaune commented. Weiss' scarred glare cut him back. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

The duo pulled out another stack of notes, and started working again. As is usual for those who try to chart the madness of Yggdrasil, it would be a long night.

* * *

 **5.7 Evilhumour**

* * *

Ruby blinked and tapped her chin, looking at her in-loop sister.

"So, you're Red Riding Hood?" She asked, feeling a bit awkward at this situation.

"Red Puckett, actually, but I do sub for a lot of other Red Riding Hood stories." The girl smiled, holding the basket lose in her hands. "You'd be impressed in how many variants I can get into because of this old thing." With a gesture perfected with eons of time, she shrugged her hood back onto her head. "I've once looped in as a werewolf hunter that _hunted_ werewolves and the supernatural creatures."

"Wow that sounds like fun." Ruby chuckled, stretching her arms out, her whisker basket hitting her head with a heavy thud. "That's _wasn't_ too smart."

"Meh, you get used to it after a while." Red elbowed the girl, smirking a bit. "You can also pop it in your pocket too."

Ruby stopped and face palmed, with the girl next to her chuckling.

* * *

 **5.8**

* * *

"You know, I could get into bar tending," Jaune muttered.

"Don't," Nora and Ren chimed.

Their leader shrugged and examined the glass he was cleaning more closely. Setting the rag aside, he stocked the glass under the bar. "So how's the ranch holding up? You haven't seen any of those bandits up on the ridge, have you?"

Nora shook her head, her shot of bourbon idle in her hands. "Not this week. Just some coyotes and a rattler, but Ren killed it."

Ren frowned. "I thought you killed it?"

Nora opened her mouth, thought it over, and decided that she didn't quite care. Besides, she had bourbon to drink! It was rare when the loopers of Remnant could get any alcohol, and a bit of rum was just perfect for them.

Pyrrha brought a plate of glasses up to the bar, the crinoline of her long skirts rustling. "Jaune, we need more beer for Port and Oobleck."

"Aww man... They'll drain our stock," Jaune groaned. The owner of the saloon took two more glasses out and filled them with the shitty beer that he had in tap. "Do we have to serve them? You know how they get when they're drinking."

"WOOWEE! How'd you end up with ole Arc, Pyrrha?" Oobleck called over. Port giggled drunkenly. "Shame, you'd be looking pretty on my arm!"

Pyrrha slapped her forehead. "They pay well, and they haven't made a racist comment yet tonight. We'll keep them."

Ren, the resident china-man, rolled his eyes. "It's 1885. You don't need to throw people out when they call me a chink. It's not your problem."

Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune flatly stared at Ren. Ren smirked. "Hey, I can kick his ass six ways to Sunday. It takes a little more than words to get me."

Nora picked up her shot glass and threw it at Port. "I still prefer beating him up when he's being an ass."

Outside, a commotion suddenly erupted. Jaune ducked behind his bar as several bullets crashed into the rows of alcohol behind him. "Oh crap! It's Cinder and the Red Band."

Outside of the saloon, Cinder Fall dismounted her horse, her boots kicking up dust on the ground. Marching into the bar, flanked by her gang, the desperado lazily pointed at Jaune. "Bar keep, five whiskey, now."

Jaune quickly set down five shots of whiskey. Cinder's gang (Emerald, Mercury, Roman, Neo and Adam) seized the drinks and downed them, before demanding more. Jaune painfully refilled their glasses, knowing it was likely that they wouldn't willfully pay for the libations. He did take note of Cinder drinking from a hip flask. "My booze not good enough for you?"

Cinder winked at him (incidentally pissing off Pyrrha something fierce) and sipped her own stock mysteriously. "Barkeep, I'm looking for that no good blacksmith. You seem him?"

"Blacksmith Brown?" Jaune asked. "Well... uh..."

"Now what's this about the blacksmith?" said a youthful voice. "I think it's between you, and me, Fall."

The bar collectively wheeled to face the door, where a red dressed gunslinger was standing. The avenger pulled a gun out from its holster, leveling it at Cinder. "In fact, I think it's all down to you, and me."

Cinder smirked at the unknown element. "Have I threatened you before? I can't say I recall you?"

The gunslinger pulled down her mask, not taking her aim off Cinder for a second. "Rose. Call me Rose."

Cinder frowned. "Now then... I can't really say I recall anyone named that."

Ruby chuckled. "Well I remember you. And I remember what you did to my mom and dad. So I'm giving you until the count of three to run. Alright?"

Cinder and her gang laughed at the obviously crazy woman. "Do your worst."

Across the road, Weiss stepped out into the center of the street and cocked her rifle.

"One," Ruby said.

Yang stepped out from behind a booth, a double barreled shotgun loaded, primed and aimed straight at Roman and Neo.

"Two," Ruby growled.

Blake walked out from her own booth, LeMat Revolver at the ready.

"Three," Ruby finished triumphantly.

"BANG BANG BANG BANG!"

Cinder and company stood stock still. Cinder's hip flask was shattered. Roman's hat had been shot through. Adan's sunglasses were ruined and cracked. Emerald's wallet was destroyed. The gang ran for the door, throwing themselves around Ruby.

Cinder mounted her disturbed horse and raced for the edge of town. "You haven't seen the last of us Rose! We'll be back!"

Ruby and the loopers of Remnant ran out after the fleeing desperadoes. "Alright, they're running sis. How do we keep them out?" Yang asked.

Ruby scratched her chin and pulled out her pistol. "We'll hit the biggest target. That'll show em!"

"What's the biggest target?" Weiss asked.

BANG!

"OW! MY ASS!" Cinder screamed.

Everyone burst out laughing. Now that was a real good shot.

The blacksmith stumbled out of his workshop, staring after the fleeing bandits. "Great Scott! You've sent them running!"

"You're welcome Doc!" Ruby called over.

* * *

 **5.9**

* * *

Keith Shadis first Awoke to the ever so pleasant sensation of his stomach loudly protesting his decision to fly. Staggering through the crowd of teenagers, Keith managed, just barely, to reach the lip of the balcony he was on. Leaning over the edge, Shadis obliged his stomach's desire for egress.

As the world stopped spinning, Keith leaned back and realized two things:

He was several hundred meters above the ground... and there was nothing supporting what he was on. The second revelation was... disturbing.

He was Keith Shadis, former commander of the Scouting Regiment, now drill sergeant for the Cadet Corps, one who had until recently been under surveillance for suspicion of conspiracy. A suspicion that was true actually, seeing as he knew what Erwin had been planning. He was a decorated officer, and one who almost certainly did not deserve any of his rewards if only because of the number of lives that had perished under his command.

And yet... he was Keith Arc. A civilian with little to no outside training, but the tenacity to falsify educational documents to gain entry to the prestigious monster hunting school of Beacon. All he had to his name were the clothes on his back, a duffle bag of basic supplies, a collapsible shield and a family sword by the name of Crocea Mors. Keith quickly reassessed himself, trying to find something that made any form of sense. He was naturally drawing a blank.

Keith Shadis/Arc stared down at the city he was flying over. His home town of Vale, constantly beset by the mysterious beasts known as Grimm. The Grimm were creatures that, according to his new and possibly unreal memories, had sought the destruction of humanity and The Faunus (a race of human beings with animalistic traits, for some reason) for as long as all three had occupied the world. In fact, if Shadis wasn't mistaken, that meant that they were Titans... just smaller.

A relieved grin slipped onto Keith's face. At least some things still made sense.

* * *

Absolutely nothing made sense. Not that Keith exactly cared at the moment. He was flying through the air, without any way to stop. Naturally, he had a response to that. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos front flipped through the air, her shield Akoùo snapping into her forearm magnetically. Smoothly, the Mistral champion slammed into the trees, rolling into her landing. Shouldering her rifle-sword, she quickly aligned the sights to where it looked like the local variant of Jaune Arc was falling.

Aw yes, there he was. He actually looked like he had an idea how to fall. Of course, he was still going to die without her help, so Pyrrha flipped Miló over and took aim with her thumb. Miló fired, the recoil and Pyrrha's magnetic semblance launching the javelin to Jaune. For a handful of tense seconds, the forest beneath Pyrrha was silent but for the sound of Grimm.

And finally, a distant think was heard. "UH... THANK YOU..." Jaune called from the distant.

"I'M SORRY!" Pyrrha called. Pyrrha scrambled down into the trees, hopping from branch to branch, tree to tree, covering the distance rapidly. Landing on the soft grass, Pyrrha broke into a light jog, calmly passing an Ursa, a monstrous bear Grimm. The Grimm snarled and raced after her.

Up ahead, Pyrrha could see Jaune pinned to a tree, her sword speared through his hoodie. "Hey there!" she shouted, getting his attention. "You need a teammate?"

"LOOK OUT, THERE'S A GRIMM BEHIND YOU!" he screamed, pointing at the snarling, charging Ursa.

Pyrrha spun on her heel, Akoùo in hand. A flick sent the shield into the Grimm's eyes, blinding it and sending it a step back. The Grimm screamed in fury, blindly flailing at Pyrrha. The experienced Huntress dodged and blocked the blows smoothly. "So how's Beacon treating you? Liking the scenery?"

"LESS TALKING MORE KILLING!" Arc screamed, still struggling to pull Pyrrha's blade free.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "It's just an Ursa." To demonstrate her point, Pyrrha allowed the monster to slash her with it's claws. The razor sharp barbs shattered on contact with her Aura. The Grimm shrieked at her. "It's no real problem."

Jaune wrenched the sword loose, flipped over, and lunged down the tree, drawing his own sword and slashing the Grimm across the back of the neck, killing it instantly. He glared angrily at Pyrrha and shoved her blade into her arms. "This is a War zone. We need to kill these things and if you're just here for fun, you can leave."

Pyrrha stared at the Arc who had arrived. She narrowed her eyes and set off a second ping. Only one other, Ruby's, responded. Was this a visiting looper? Couldn't be... could he? "Right. I'll be serious now."

"Good." Arc expanded his shield and started marching in the direction of the ruins. "Now keep up."

Pyrrha pursed her lips. "What's your name?" When Arc stared at her Pyrrha shrugged. "It's customary for people to have a name."

Arc cocked an eyebrow. "My name... is Keith. Keith Arc."

A non-color themed name. Only visiting loopers sported them. Pyrrha nodded. _'Got you, mister stealth looper.'_

* * *

Keith was starting to make sense of the world. There were the Grimm that wanted to kill everything that moved. There were Huntsmen and Huntresses that were charged with exterminating them. Killing Grimm was easy.

Hunters had a plethora of just plain... disturbing tools available to them. Magical stones that acted like gunpowder, transforming weapons that seemed to incorporate guns and swords and who knew what else, and of course, instant communication. It was as if this entire world was... right, where the Walls were wrong.

Keith didn't understand how this all worked. He did have the ability to kill whatever was standing in his way easily though. That made things a little better.

Of more notable curiosity was Pyrrha Nikos. He'd run into her earlier that day, and this was introduced to the most annoying duality of anyone he had ever met. On the one hand, she had The Look. The look of someone who'd seen exactly how cruel the world could be. She knew, she had to know, what the world could throw at her.

At the same time though, she was, for lack of a better word, perky. She was happy, confident, and polite. Whatever had happened to Pyrrha, it had broken her, and impossibly (for a seventeen year old) she'd put herself back together.

Keith was badly tempted to ask exactly what she'd been through. He was polite enough not to though.

He was sorely tempted to throw all that to the wind when Pyrrha accidentally bent a branch straight into his face. "OW!"

"Ack!" Pyrrha nearly shouted. "I'm so sorry, I didn't..." Pyrrha blinked a few times. "Uh, Keith. Did you activate your Aura?"

"Bless you," he said. "Wait, my what?"

Pyrrha lightly traced the scratch that had formed on Keith's cheek, which had already vanished with a puff of steam. "Aura is the soul, manifest. A shield against harm, and a marvel that sets all creatures alive apart from the Grimm. They are the darkness, and we are the light, and so they seek to wipe us out."

Keith nodded. "Sure. That lines up with what I know. I just prefer my... own sort."

Pyrrha nodded, and then pressed her thumb to Keith's forehead. "Wow, hey, what are you doing?"

Pyrrha smiled at the foreign looper's ignorance. "I'm activating your Aura. Obviously. We can't have someone out here without Aura."

Keith opened his mouth, but promptly shut it when a feeling of... something, imparted him. Energy, or was it clarity, coursed into his veins. It felt like an electric shock to the flesh, a flash of lightning in a dark room, and... something wholly indescribable. "Woah..."

Pyrrha smiled, heaving a sigh as the minute exhaustion of activating an Aura came over her. "Yeah. That's how I felt too. Your Aura should protect you from anything else."

Keith nodded gently. "Thank you Pyrrha."

"You're welcome Keith." Pyrrha set her hands on her hips. "Now then, with that out of the way, why don't we go about like the civilized loopers we are, hmm?"

Keith furrowed his brow. "Um... what?"

Pyrrha smiled motherly. "Keith, you don't need to lie. I can tell that you're from out of loop. I'm sorry, but if you wanted to be stealthy, you're... pretty bad at it."

Keith stared at Pyrrha as if she had gone crazy. "Look, Pyrrha, we have a mission. We need to get the relics for Ozpin. I intend to do so. So stop babbling." Keith stepped forward and shunted Pyrrha aside.

Pyrrha gave Keith an unreadable look. "Keith, where do you think you are?"

Keith shrugged. "Hell if I know."

* * *

Keith was flying through the air. He felt... empty. It was as if he was weightless, hollow. It wasn't the first time he'd felt like this though. He'd felt like this every time one of his men had returned in a body bag. ' _Another dead comrade. Damn...'_

Keith looked down at the passing ground. He had at least thought that obliging Pyrrha's sudden request to explore a dark cave wouldn't have ended in what could only be described as a nightmarishly massive Scorpion. Said Scorpion had nearly killed him with its oversized stinger, and when it missed hitting him, it had knocked him away. Hence why he was flying through the sky, rocketing towards a semi-empty clearing. _'Well, at least her family might not blame me... brace, right, brace.'_

Keith struck up his Aura and managed to avoid dying as he plowed full tilt into a tree. "Ow..."

Disentangling himself from the branches, Keith landed in the grass and did a quick visual recon. He was in a large clearing, with a set of ruins in the distance. Two girls, a dark brunette and a blonde, were standing amongst the stones. They waved at him. Keith despondently plodded towards them.

"Hey there stranger," the blonde said cheerfully. "How was the flight?"

"You know Pyrrha Nikos? She's probably dead now," Keith said bluntly. "She got stuck alone with a giant scorpion Grimm." There really was no reason to not talk about it. If the news got out fast, well...

The abjectly horrified look on the girls was what Keith had been aiming for anyway. Maybe now they'd think harder about becoming Huntresses. Keith grabbed a golden rook from it's pedestal. One of the relics, he presumed.

A moment later, a red blob fell out of the sky, followed by a girl dressed all in white. Keith cocked an eyebrow. "What's with them?"

Blondie and the brunette didn't respond. They seemed to still be in shock. Keith groaned and walked to the red and white duo. The girl with the hood waved at him. "Hey there!"

"Do you two know a Pyrrha Nikos?" He asked again.

Red pointed across the clearing. "Isn't that her right there?"

Keith's head snapped to the left so fast he actually could hear it crack. There, jogging calmly out of the woods, was Pyrrha, alive and well. Keith's jaw dropped.

Pyrrha walked up to him, and was bowled over by Blondie and the brunette. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Red, the white chick, and Keith stared at Pyrrha and her two fangirls. "But but but... what's going on here?" Pyrrha asked.

The brunette looked at Pyrrha, with almost teary eyes. "He said you were dead."

"And you believed him?" Pyrrha countered.

"Uh... well... yes."

For a few moments, the six assembled students dared awkwardly at each other. Pyrrha looked at Keith. "You... Uh... you tell people that other people die often?"

Keith didn't look at Pyrrha.

Red nodded. "Alright, so I think some explanations are in order. Maybe introductions. Hello Keith, I am Ruby, this is Pyrrha, welcome to Remnant."

A giant feather fell out of the sky. Ruby coughed. "After I kill that Nevermore, we'll get on with the intros."

* * *

Pyrrha tracked Keith down on the rooftop later that evening. The team assignments had gone normally, with JNPR back together (though this time they'd been given the ANVL), but once it was over, Keith had left the party. "Is something wrong?"

Keith didn't answer. Pyrrha continued. "I know that this is a lot to take in. I mean... I was terrified when I first heard about all of this. It's so much to take in."

Keith looked at Pyrrha. "Do you know how many people I've had to protect? How many have died because of my decisions? I've lost count, honestly. And then, you come and tell me that when I get back... in just six months, I'm going to have a chance to do it all over again."

"Yes. You have a chance to be better. To do better. You are free in the loops."

Keith shook his head. "I'm not free. I have... responsibilities. I have to train a new generation of children to die hopelessly against a horde of monsters while a kingdom looks on carelessly. All for the glory of humanity. What sort of glory matters when no one lets you win. The nobles will stop us, because if we win, then they'll have a world they can no longer control."

"We're fighting Grimm without Dust, without Aura, without Huntresses, without hope... without what we need." Keith stared at the shattered moon, hanging above Remnant. "I don't deserve this."

Pyrrha put a hand in his shoulder. "Keith-"

"You survive. You thrive. But we live in golden cages, cowering like cattle, and whenever I've tried to strike back, I've only succeeded in killing more people." Keith groaned. "Why me..."

Pyrrha just shook her head. "I don't know why. I'm sorry Keith."

After an indiscernible time, Keith stood up. "You... you said something about a 'Stealth Looper'. What does that mean?"

Pyrrha looked at Keith. "You're going to hide from your world? Why?"

"I don't deserve to... be seen. I don't deserve to loop. I may as well be invisible. That may be what we need. So, if it has to be me, it'll be me."

Keith nodded. "I don't deserve this. But I should be ready regardless; they may need me one day."

* * *

 **5.10 Shimmer712**

* * *

It was one of those inconsistencies that they couldn't resist being curious about. The hard part was coming up with opportunities to view the newest variation. They could just ensure that the stakes were high enough but they didn't want to endanger the bystanders. Besides, that sort of thing led to Sakura Syndrome.

Jaune was the first to observe it – or observe the lack of it and why it wasn't present. When he related the exchange to the others, they decided to get it used so they could see it. Ruby was particularly enthusiastic. Only the second time turned out to be different from the first time and third was also different.

Some of the variations were quite odd.

* * *

"Go, Go! Get 'em!" Velvet cried from where she was crouched on the ground, her weapon box open and the contents emerging.

"…Is that a bunny?" Weiss blinked.

"Yes. Yes it is," Blake intoned, staring.

"Awww…I wanted to see some sort of rocket launcher," Ruby pouted.

"Why is a bunny a weapon?" Ren asked.

"Killer rabbit!" Jaune cried. "It's a lethal bunny, I bet!"

"…This is not Monty Python, Jaune," Ren told him.

The bunny sat up, looked at the approaching Grimm and twitched its nose adorably.

* * *

"Holy crap, it really was a killer bunny," Yang mumbled, looking at the blood splatters and disintegrating Grimm corpses.

"Scary bunny," Nora mumbled, watching Velvet coo at the fluffy little ball of death and shoo it back into the box.

"Very scary," Pyrrha agreed.

* * *

"I'MMA FIRING MY LASER!" The rabbit fanus screamed, a bright beam shooting out and cutting through the hordes of Grimm.

"Isn't that a meme from the Hub world?" Weiss wondered. Ruby eyed the laser canon, wondering how she could steal it for her museum.

* * *

RWBY and JPNR could only stare in disturbed fascination.

" _ **I will devour you all,**_ " the object in Velvet's hands hissed, shooting out tendrils and seizing Grimm. What came next was…unpleasant to see.

"Okay, even Grimm don't deserve that," Yang winced.

"It could be worse," Nora pointed out.

"How?"

"It could be using those tentacles things to rape them!" the hammer wielding Huntress proclaimed.

There were several green faces as the others processed her statement.

"Bad thoughts, Nora," Ren stated calmly, despite his own green face. "Those are very bad thoughts."

"…Are we…nun-chucks?" Ren asked, uncertainly.

"Nun-chucks with exploding lasers!" Nora enthused, shooting a Grimm with glee. Velvet gripped the chain that was wrapped around an ankle of one of the loops at each end and twirled them expertedly.

"…How are we in two places at once?" Ren muttered to himself. Now that Velvet had pulled them out, his memories split in two directions. One lot followed the same as they had before Velvet's reveal. The other involved his memories of being Velvet's weapons the whole time. Hell, even now his mind was in two places, his weapon self and his Hunter self, where he was staring in disbelief and somewhat unnerved by the duel perspectives.

"Is this what it feels like to have that Mikasa Glitch thing?" he wondered.

* * *

 **A/N: As you can all imagine, I am terribly sorry for the delay. Between school, jobs, life… everything, I've had precious little time.**

 **5.1: War. War… always gets more fun!**

 **5.2: Ein und Zwei ist gleich Drei**

 **5.3: The drawback of stealth villainy, is that you learn by trial and error. Mostly error.**

 **5.4: An entire weapons museum!**

 **5.5: Another example of trial and error that ended in error. Poor poor Neo.**

 **5.6: Just look up CFVY Theory on YouTube. Just do it.**

 **5.7: Hey there little red riding hood… you sure are looking good…**

 **5.8: The old west. With a Delorean.**

 **5.9: This will come up later. And it will not end well.**

 **5.10: Like her moral alignment, Velvet's weapon is impressively fluid.**


	6. The Broad Universe Beyond

**RWBY Loops**

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

 **6.1 Dr Tempo**

* * *

Ruby was eating lunch, and saw Yang sit down. Ruby smiled, and yelled, "Hey, sis!"

Yang said, "Hey, Ruby!"

Ruby looked as in she was in deep thought for a moment, then asked Yang, "Ya know, I don't think you've ever said what your first Fused Loop outside of Remnant was."

Yang laughed. "Guess ya haven't recognized some of my new moves, huh? Learned them from Ranma Saotome himself."

Ruby gawked. "The guy said to be the first Looper EVER?"

Yang just shrugged. "He's not sure of that one. Anyhow, here's what happened." Yang then began telling her story of meeting the legendary Looper...

 _I Awakened on a boat, and one look up in the sky made me realize I wasn't on Remnant anymore. My Loop Memories told me I'd replaced the Chinese Amazon known as Shampoo, and I knew already I was doomed to getting a butt-whooping._

When I did encounter Ranma, he was fighting that Ryoga guy...using only diving kicks. I eventually learned from Akane that I'd ended up in one of those cases where Ranma challenges himself to fight his baseline opponents using only certain moves.

Unluckily for me, he'd decided to abandon this self-imposed challenge to fight me.

I lasted ten seconds at the most. OUCH. However, Ranma knew I had potential, and decided to train me to be a better fighter.

It was fun, to say the least. I learned a lot of new skills, and even learned the basics of ki use. Ranma also helped me learn not to rely on my Semblance too much; what good is enhanced strength if I can't hit my opponent?

One thing's for sure. I'm more than prepared for whatever lies ahead.

Yang ended her story, and noticed Weiss and Blake were there as well. Blake said simply, "We got here when your story started."

Ruby cracked her knuckles. "So Yang...how about a sparring match?"

Yang laughed. "This'll be fun, Ruby!"

* * *

 **6.2 Detective Ethan Redfield**

Ren stepped forward onto the chuunin preliminary grounds. Several of his fellow genin, even a couple of his fellow loopers from Beacon, were watching this match closely. Of course, Naruto was there, giving him a wave and a prayer. No surprise, as he turned around he faced the first looper, Ranma Saotome. The teen had his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Let's give them a good show, huh?"

The aura user nodded. "You're said to be the strongest martial artist in the multiverse, and the only one who could possibly match you is Naruto or Goku."

"I don't care for bragging. Why, you a fanboy or something?"

Ren narrowed his eyes as he took a deep breath. This looper was good, already trying to get under his skin. But he wouldn't allow it. "No. But I'm aiming for the top, and I'm going to surpass you."

Ranma blinked, his bored and off put demeanor vanishing immediately. A second passed, and the looper started laughing. And he kept laughing and laughing until he was on the floor, pounding it in agony. This went on for ten minutes and still he showed no sign of stopping. Ren looked at the proctor and said, "I don't think he'll be able to continue anytime soon. Call the match."

Hayate coughed and said, "Mr. Saotome, if you don't wish to forfeit, please stop laughing."

Ranma showed no sign that he heard. Hayate shrugged. "Winner, Lei Ren."

The boy had to be hauled off the battlefield and still he didn't respond.

It wasn't until the chuunin exams were done and everyone started walking out that Ranma finally stopped. "Ah, good one."

His eyes came up, only to take note of the lack of battlefield. "W-wait, what happened?!"

Naruto walked alongside Ren and muttered, "You know he's going to kill you, right?"

The martial artist shrugged. "Not my fault he lost his cool at the pivitol moment."

"YOU!"

Naruto disappeared and reappeared, holding Ranma back from decking Renz "You planned that out, didn't you?!"

Ren shrugged, "No. I really expected to get turned inside out and back in three seconds flat. I was completely serious though. Kings at the height of their might can fall to hubris as easily as anyone else. But I intend to defeat you at your strongest."

Ranma stopped trying to kill Ren as he looked at him with new eyes. "You're not kidding, are you? Ren, you're not even the anchor. You won't be awake enough loops to make this possible."

Ren shrugged. "I'll figure something out. We're loopers, and furthermore I'm a huntsman. We face impossible challenges every day and face them like we're enjoying a brisk walk through the park."

The Nerima looper tilted his head and smiled. "You're interesting. You want to hit the top? Then we'll start off with the training from hell."

Naruto blinked and turned to Ranma. "Oy, you're not giving him the same treatment you gave Keiichi, are you?"

"No, I'm going to make it five times worse."

Naruto paled at that, stepped over to the hunter in training and patted him on the shoulders "Yggdrasil help you, because you're gonna die...a lot."

* * *

 **6.3 Harosata**

* * *

Blake knew something was off about the heist as she and Adam stormed the train. Sure, there were plenty of guards and robots, but it seems that McSchnee was saving costs by shipping fish.

And when Blake picked up a crystal...she licked it. "Adam, we have to abort this mission. This isn't a Dust shipment, it's a rock candy shipment."

"Wha..." Adam sniffed the air and cursed. "The fish was masking the scent. Damn that McSchnee, making us look like fools! Looks like we have no choice but to abort..."

"Alright Weiss, I'll forgive Ms. Belladonna this time as long as she doesn't disrupt any further shipments." Scrooge McSchnee put the phone down just as a worker came in with a crate. "Thank you for your hard work. You can put it down there."

Scrooge had a random crate from any McSchnee "Dust" shipment from the mines brought to his office in Atlas before it was distributed to the rest of the continent. Once the worker left, Scrooge pried open the box and licked one of the crystals. "Bleh! They need to cut back on the cherry extract. Now then..."

He dove in and managed to fish out some more solid crystals. "Hehehe. Those White Fang hooligans haven't figured out the fake Dust shipments were actually the real Dust shipments. And with that, I managed to secure my profit for the week."

Scrooge leaned back in his chair. "No matter how many new worlds there are, it warms this soul to know that old tricks still work well. Now, if only there was a way to lock up that Torchwick fellow..."

* * *

 **6.4 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Ozpin looked over his students and took a sip of coffee (which had been replaced by Yang earlier this morning with decaf, not that he cared). They stood in the belly of a transport plane, flying who knows where. There were four teams present on this trip: RWBY, JNPR, CRDL and CFVY. He took another sip of his coffee and said, "We should be approaching our destination shortly."

Ruby looked at the headmaster and asked, "Professor Ozpin, what exactly are we doing?"

He nodded. "Glad you asked, Miss Rose. We will be opening the bay doors shortly and I want you to look outside."

The door creaked open, revealing... grasslands as far as the eye can see. They were nowhere near civilization. Cardin said, "Hey, I was told this was a special mission. What's so important in the middle of nowhere?"

"This is a training assignment, Mr. Winchester. Quite simply this is your drop off point."

With that, Ozpin unleashed his aura, causing the three teams standing on the edge to stumble out of the plane in surprise and into the forest below. Ozpin looked back to team Coffee and said, "Officially, your mission is to oversee the other three teams and call for emergency pickup if you feel they are in danger. However, you are to focus your efforts in protecting team Cardinal. I have no doubt Teams Ruby and Juniper will have little problems. Off you go."

With a nod, the four jumped out of the plane. This loop, they were Ozpin's agents through and through. Slowly, the plane turned back towards civilization.

* * *

Ruby watched as the plane flew away, then turned to Yang. "Told you replacing his coffee with decaf was a bad idea."

Yang's hair burned in irritation, "When I get back, I'm going to destroy every coffee shop in Vale and Beacon!"

* * *

 **6.5**

* * *

Ruby looked at the Grimm that she had run into.

The writhing, lurching, gurgling tentacle Grimm covered in ooze.

"NOPE!"

As Ruby fled, the top of the "Grimm" unscrewed. Yang, Blake and Weiss peered out at their fleeing leader. "Yang, isn't this... A little cruel?" Blake asked.

"Hey, she's the one who kept stealing my socks. This is totally even." Yang playfully smirked. "Besides, she needs to get over her fear of tentacle monsters someday."

A pure white tentacle monster sidle up beside the black one. "Oh, hey Weiss. Nice tentacle monster shell," Yang called over.

"Uh, hello?" Weiss said from behind Yang.

The trio stared at the tentacle monster. The monster turned to stare lecherously at them.

"NOPE!"

As Yang, Blake, and Weiss fled, the top of the "Grimm" unscrewed. Neo and Zwei pearled out at their fleeing forms. They smiled at each other and ducked back inside, before rumbling off in pursuit.

This would serve them right for all the short jokes.

* * *

 **6.6**

* * *

Jaune Arc caught his breath as the loop began, the horrifyingly abrupt change in scenery nearly knocking him off of his feet.

Jaune's loops always began with him out in a park in Vale at evening. He would remember deciding to go for a short stroll before he tucked in for the night. After all, tonight was supposed to be the last night he'd ever be normal again.

Jaune had come to appreciate the enormity of his decision after many loops. He had abandoned his peaceful, normal life for one of adventure and amazement. In all honesty... it was probably the reason he was looping in the first place. His decision brought him to Beacon, had him meet Ruby, and from there he's made his impression. According to the strange logic of the loops, if he was important to Ruby; if he was her friend, or her enemy, or just so memorable, he could one day, somehow, loop.

It didn't make all that much sense to him though. He had never felt all that important compared to everyone else. Ruby and her team were prodigies, Nora was a grenade launching, hammer toting badass, Ren was a martial arts master, and Pyrrha, despite how much she tried to hide it, probably outstripped everyone in terms of raw skill. He was just a guy with a sword. He wasn't special. He hardly mattered.

So maybe that had made his death in the last loop inevitable.

Jaune tried to keep himself from hyperventilating as he staggered on the path. The lights were getting too bright, everything was too strong. The whole world felt like overbrewed coffee, too intense, too bitter. Jaune nearly ran off the path, tripping over his own feet. He tried to crawl, feeling something coming after him. He had to hide, he had-

"Jaune?"

Jaune nearly had a heart attack at Ruby's voice. Ruby Rose was standing over him, staring at him with... was that pity in her eyes? No, it was regret. "Jaune, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to die."

Jaune was still gasping for air. "Ru-Ruby? I need... Air. I need air."

Ruby scooped Jaune up and carried him, gently placing him onto a bench. She wrapped her arms around him. "It'll be okay Jaune. You're alive, and you'll be fine."

Jaune continued to struggle for breath for a few minutes, but with the sudden presence of a familiar, trustworthy face, the panic attack soon subsided. "Ruby... So that's dying."

"Yeah," Ruby said quietly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you. I didn't know Adam was so fast."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is."

"No Ruby it's not."

"Yes, it is, I'm to blame," Ruby insisted.

"Look, I'd love to play the blame game, but who's at fault here? The experienced prodigy who happens to be a nearly godlike immortal time traveller, or the average schlub who tried to play soldier and got a dose of reality with a bullet to the face."

"The girl who's supposed to look after you!" Ruby cried.

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THIS! I'M SUPPOSED TO LOOK AFTER MYSELF AND STAND ON MY OWN TWO GODDAMN FEET!" Jaune shouted.

"...Jaune," Ruby whimpered.

Jaune squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. "God damn it..."

"Jaune, you don't need to be this macho, independent super soldier," Ruby said, gently resting her hand on his arm. "You're Jaune. You're a leader, but you're also my friend. And friends look out for each other."

"..." Jaune didn't answer Ruby.

"Why did you want to become a Huntsmen?" Ruby asked.

"Jaune."

"It was... I don't know why. Not exactly. But whatever reason I had... it wasn't good." Jaune sighed and looked up at the stars, twinkling brightly in the night sky. "It's like my semblance. It changes every loop. Every chance it gets to change, it changes. And it's never a good reason."

"And that reason doesn't matter."

"What?" Jaune said, taken aback.

Ruby smiled at Jaune, a gentle little smile that spoke true from her heart. "Jaune, I can speak for everyone when I say this: we don't care why you became a Huntsman. You could have done it to spy on everyone, or stalk Weiss, or to live up to a family legacy, or to outshine a cousin, or any number of reasons. How you got to where you are now doesn't matter to us. We still care about you, and respect you."

"But-"

"Jaune, listen. It's alright to be ashamed if you've done something wrong. You have the right to feel whatever you want regarding whatever you've done. That's a right that we all have as well." Ruby turned Jaune's head to look at her. "And every one of us, your team, my team, me, we've chosen to accept that you're not a perfect person. None of us are. The only thing that matters in anyway is what you choose to do now."

Jaune turned to look away. "You can't mean that."

"I do."

As silence lapsed between the leaders of RWBY and JNPR, the crickets began to chirp, and the distant sounds of Vale slowly asserted themselves. The orchestra of the night spoke into the darkness above, and between. Ruby leaned onto Jaune's shoulder. Jaune sighed. "It's just... It's just that, after all of this, after all these years, these centuries, even death doesn't mean anything."

"It means something to me."

"Why does it?"

"Because I died too."

Jaune twitched violently. Ruby's hand tightened on his forearm. "It was my first repeat. I didn't understand what was going on. Torchwick tried robbing the Dust shop, I knew what was going to happen, I tried to stop him, tried to stop Cinder... Cinder killed me."

Jaune nearly stood up from his seat. "That bitch-"

"Stop," Ruby asked. Jaune settled down immediately. "That was how I learned that Cinder was the Flame Witch, and the one who snuck into the CCT tower. I lost my life, but I learned something. I used it. I think... that's why the loops exist Jaune. So we can learn, and grow stronger."

Jaune was silent as Ruby spoke. "We need to learn to be better. To never stop growing. To never stop learning. Our goal must always to be more than what we were last. If this means dying, than so be it. I'm prepared to die."

"...You... is that really what you think Ruby?" Jaune asked.

"I know it." Ruby stood up from the bench and held out a hand to Jaune. "You'll grow stronger Jaune. Just be ready to learn, and you'll grow, and then you'll change the whole world."

Jaune, for a long time, stared at Ruby's hand. And then he smiled. "Well... at least you know how to give good speeches."

"Who do you think taught me?" Ruby asked delicately. Jaune chuckled, and took Ruby's hand.

"Alright Ruby. Let's go change the world."

* * *

 **6.7 Rockgolem**

* * *

Yang awoke and instantly regretted it, her legs were throbbing with pure pain.

"Hey Yang you okay we were just talking and then you just spaced out on me. Do you need some more painkillers?"

As she looked around Yang realized she was in beacon's infirmary laying in one of the beds while Ruby sat in a chair next to her with a pile of magazines and snacks on another chair.

"Ruby Im feeling loopy but I could really use some pain killers anyway."

Ruby rushed to Yang and buried her head in Yang's chest. "Oh Yang im so sorry, its all my fault this happened."

"Woah what happened?"

"Well this loop I didn't stop Torchwick because I wanted to spend the loop upgrading my baby" at this she patted Crescent Rose "So I didn't come to beacon and I wasn't here to stop you."

"Stop me from what?"

Ruby backed away from Yang and then put on her cutesy face and started twiddling her thumbs. "Well ... you sort of ... started dating Jaune."

"What!"

"And of course that upset Pyrrha."

Without a word Yang pulled back the bed sheet that was covering her lower half, both her legs her in casts from her toes to her thighs. "Pyrrha did this to me because I was dating Jaune."

"Noooooooo. This happened after you broke up with Jaune, which broke his heart, and started dating Ren."

Yang looked at her shattered legs and gave a whistle. "Nora let me off easy didn't she."

* * *

 **6.8**

* * *

"You want to what?"

It was a lazy afternoon at Beacon Academy. RWBY was Awake, and Weiss and Ruby had left the grounds, something about a surveillance project, leaving Blake and Yang to their lonesome. Which had resulted in Yang asking Blake something rather... odd.

"I want to go out and find the biggest Beowulf I can!" Yang declared. "Think of it. The thrill, the danger, the level of awesome we'll achieve with it's defeat. How could you say no?"

Blake set her book (Icha Icha Recovery!) aside and met Yang's gaze fully. "You want me to waste our time beating giant Grimm... for fun."

"Of course," Yang declared. "We're immortals Blake. I need something for my adrenaline fix."

Blake huffed a little. "Fine. Might as well come along."

* * *

One Insanity Later:

* * *

In the Grimm Biology classroom, Port slapped a pointer to a chalk drawing of a Beowolf. "And this students is the Yang-a-mizer, so named for the late miss Yang Xiao Long."

"I was only five minutes late!" The still impaled Yang shouted from the rows. Next to her, Blake tried not to facepalm.

* * *

 **6.9**

* * *

"You know," Zwei said as he nudged his queen forward. "I'm getting fond of this game."

"It's been something that's fascinated me in my youth, I admit," Ozpin said. "These days I'm less inclined to play it, but the metaphoric value is... enticing."

The night was the final night of the loop. Team's RWBY and JNPR had all retired to bed, some to wait for the new day that would certainly follow, others to wait for the next loop. Ozpin had been waiting in his office for the clock to strike midnight, and carry him to the next world, when Zwei had shown up, a chess board in tow.

"A metaphor?" the talking dog queried. "I would have imagined it was pure strategy."

"It's not that," Ozpin admitted. "After all these years, the strategy of chess has been engrained into my thoughts. I doubt there is a single being in this universe who could challenge me. And to be honest Zwei, chess is quite boring. Once the opening moves have been made, unless you're at an ungodly level of expertise, the match will continue in a simple pattern, until the end game. It's cause and effect: seeing what moves protect your pieces, and predicting the enemies movements."

"True. The way you say it though..."

"Zwei, chess was designed to be a metaphor of life. Finding a metaphor applicable to life in a game that is designed to be a metaphor is indicative of either naïveté, or irony."

Zwei swung his head a little bit. "Well I don't play chess too much. And it's hard to think up metaphors!"

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "It's easy. Take... well, let's compare this game to our loopers. What pieces do you think line up with our loopers best?"

Zwei stared at Ozpin, and then at the board, squinting his doggy eyes to demonstrate his intent. Finally, he pointed at the king. "That's Ruby."

"Obviously," Ozpin intoned laconically. "But you must recall, Ruby is also the most powerful piece on the board. So she is also the queen, wouldn't you say?"

"No..." Zwei seemed to think it over. "When the King dies, the game ends. They're not the most powerful, because they need to be restricted. Kept safe."

"But doesn't the Anchor also have the responsibility to their loopers?" Ozpin quizzed. "Would Ruby really allow her sister, her teammate, her partner, to go out alone while she remained safe?"

"Well..." Zwei winced. "Eh... No?"

Ozpin smiled, his glasses shifting lower as his face crinkled up. "An Anchor is both the strongest, freest, most crucial, and most important piece on the board. Simply put, referring to an Anchor as either king or queen is... disingenuous. The entire metaphor is a lie Zwei."

Ozpin sweep his arms out, encompassing the entire board. "The knights? Mobile, noble, classical heroes? Who would they be? Jaune and Pyrrha? Jaune can't fly without getting motion sickness, and Pyrrha, though noble, is unsure of herself. The defensive Rooks, pillars of strength to defend and switch with the king? Is it Weiss with her shield spells, Yang with her semblance to take power from damage, or Blake, with her power to switch places at ease? The guiding bishops, moving diagonally but never changing? Ren and Nora? That would be insane!"

Ozpin chuckled and began, slowly, to disassemble the board. "Zwei, to assume simplicity from complexity is to reduce the beauty of life. It is rare to discover such easy fits with systems such as these. To put it in laymen's terms: human beings are far from chess pieces."

"Then what are they?"

Ozpin placed a new board on the table, one covered with intersecting black lines. He pulled two pots out, put one next to Zwei, and opened them to reveal a cache of identical black and white pieces. "They, Zwei, are stones."

Zwei stared at the board. He didn't comprehend.

"Simply put, Go is a game far more fitting of the looping metaphor than chess. In Go, there is no end game, much like how in the loops we are expected to go on for all eternity. The game ends only when the players, both of them, agree the game has come to an end."

Zwei cocked an eyebrow. "The stones?"

"The loopers. Weiss, Blake, Yang, all loopers are pieces, placed by Ruby. They are her defense against her eternal opponent: herself. No one being could ever survive eternity alone. The loopers are a defense, fighting against the Anchor's insanity. They are a fail safe, a protection. They are why Ruby lives on, playing the game. They are her investment. Her ward. They are why the world is still here. Wouldn't you say?"

Zwei took a stone and put it in the center of the board. "I've never played Go. Maybe if we play, we'll see what makes sense."

Ozpin smiled, and placed a black stone at the outer edge of the board. "Let us, Zwei. We'll see who wins in this war of metaphors."

* * *

 **6.10 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Yang leaned in to Ruby and asked, "Are we having a nightmare?"

Ruby was in shock, Blake's ears were twitching furiously beneath her bow with her eyes narrowed and Weiss was one twitch away from making a phone call she would regret, but may prove necessary. They stood at the welcoming ceremony after all the speeches were delivered. Their eyes were all centered on a pair of two characters. The two stepped towards them. Ruby's hand twitched towards her side, where sat Crescent Rose, but refrained from drawing it. The Red haired male smirked and pulled out his cigar.

"Hello Red," Torchwick said with his smug tone.

Yang glowered at Neo, who gave her a flirtatious wink.

Ozpin wandered over after Team RWBY left to plot whatever scheme to get the two new instructors fired with cause. He said, "Neo, you might be pushing your luck with the flirtatious approach to driving Yang up the wall. She's straight after all, and teachers flirting with students will likely get you fired by the board of governors."

Neo shrugged and Torchwick smirked, "It'll be Worth it."

* * *

 **6.11 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Ozpin wasn't alone this loop. he sat at a board playing a game he knew far too well. The game was called chess, and he was a master at it. However, he found himself outmatched by his opponent, a well tanned gentleman with a brown goatee and hair tied into a ponytail. Worse, the man was staring at him as if working out a puzzle quickly in his head. Lesser men would have cracked under the gaze of the master strategist, but Ozpin was no ordinary man himself. With a sip of his coffee, he gestured at the board. "General Xanatos, you should make your move soon, else we'll be here all night."

A cocky smirk graced the opposite man's face. "You're looping, aren't you?"

That was not a move Ozpin expected. He merely blinked at the comment and asked, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, David."

The now general shrugged and slid a bishop across the board. "I have played against the greatest chess masters in the hub universe. Clearly, you are superior to them. Your skill surpasses even that of a regular looper...as for how you rate against the best..."

Ozpin looked at the board, and immediately altered the game in his mind, sliding a pawn two spaces forward. "What do you mean by looping?"

Xanatos shrugged and played along. "Time repeating itself, over and over again. Sometimes, you don't remain in the same universe, but visit others. I, myself, am originally from a universe where Gargoyles, statues crafted into the image of malevolent beings, come to life."

The pieces slowly fell together as Ozpin discarded his typical techniques and aimed for something else. "If I were a...looper as you call it, why would I hide myself?"

Xanatos was equally quick on the uptake, recognizing his strategy immediately. "Silent ally of your students in the shadows? Desire to maintain the timeline by removing yourself from making changes? Or perhaps you don't like filling out the paperwork by reporting that you are looping to your board of directors."

Pieces were quickly discarded from the board, until nothing remained but the kings themselves. Ozpin set down his mug and leaned back, crossing his fingers in a thoughtful expression. Xanatos mirrored the headmaster. The smirk had only grown. "This game only proves it. You've heard of me, though who your sources are unknown, perhaps you visited the hub world and did some research. You did exactly what my unawake self would do, eliminate my routes to victory, just as I did the same to you."

Ozpin nodded. "Say I were a looper, what would you do with that information?"

Xanatos unfolded his hands. "Nothing. Stealth Loopers always make the games more...interesting."

The headmaster looked at the table, and tipped over his king. "I would like to hire you, Mr. Xanatos. Two of my teams are acting oddly, with far more power and skill than even some of our teaching staff. I feel I can no longer teach them anything."

Xanatos stood up and looked out the window. In the courtyard below, Ruby was leading a rally of some kind, leading seven others who were also shouting in a similiar manner to their leader. "Anything specific?"

"I need you to challenge them. I understand it that Ren was speaking of a-" He pulled out a file and acted like he was reading it. "Ranma Saotome, about learning under him."

Unconsciously, Xanatos rubbed his chin. "And what could you possibly put on the table for me to risk the wrath of Saotome's apprentice?"

Ozpin pulled out another file and slid it across the table. There were mapped sites of the richest dust mines in the world along with blueprints of every student and teacher's weapon in Beacon. Xanatos gave a smirk. "And where did you get these?"

Ozpin shrugged and picked up his coffee. "I have been described as a manipulative, secretive old man who controls everyone from the shadows. Knowing this, is that so hard to believe I have these plans?"

Xanatos nodded. He knew Ozpin was playing the role of manipulative Dumbledore right now in order to help his students and keeping the seeds of doubt firmly planted in his mind as to his looper status. Ozpin then returned the smirkz "Further, I know the location of a considerable stored amount of Dust. Accept the contract, I pay you half now and half upon job completion."

Xanatos held out his hand. "You have a deal, headmaster."

* * *

Next day, the Atlesian Military declared their intent to conquer all four kingdoms, starting with Vale under General Xanatos' command.

* * *

 **6.12**

* * *

"Alright, where are we?"

Mal Reynolds and his crew stared out over the vast desert plains that Serenity raced over. "Seriously," Mal repeated. "Where in this gorram universe are we?"

Ruby Rose spun wildly, slashing the Grimm to shreds, before a large spaceship flew over. Nonchalantly, she waved at them. "HIIII!"

* * *

 **6.13 See Mohn**

* * *

"The moon looks really nice tonight." said Ruby. She sipped her coffee. "I'm kind of jealous that your world has such a pretty moon."

Robin looked curiously at Ruby. "Is something wrong with the moon in your Loop?"

"Yeah. It's all busted up, always has been. Well, for me at least." Ruby was about to launch into further explanation of Remnant's shattered moon, but she was interrupted by a clatter. Robin had dropped her coffee, and was staring at the waxing half moon, trembling with wide eyes. "Uh... you okay?"

"I don't believe it," said Robin, her voice quavering. "It couldn't be..." She tried to compose herself. "Miss Rose. I'm going to ask you a question. Please answer it without thinking about the history of this Loop." After Ruby nodded her assent, she continued. "If you look at the moon, right now, what is the first thing that comes to mind?"

Ruby looked up. "Uh... a moon? You might need to be more specific."

"Yes, but what is the _shape_ of the moon in its current phase?" Robin pressed.

"It kinda looks like the letter D, I ... guess... oh, you're kidding," said Ruby, staring in shock at the moon. " _That's_ where the D thing comes from?"

"I can't believe it. All this time, and the biggest clue was right there." said Robin, slumped in her seat. "And I won't know if it's true for millennia. At best."

"The Loops really threw a wrench into the "dramatic reveals" thing, didn't they?" Ruby said, trying to crack a smile.

Robin chuckled, then smiled. "Yes, they certainly did. But sometimes, they provide insights that the baseline would never have done. Thank you very much, Ruby." she finished, using the guest Anchor's first name for the first time.

"Anytime."

* * *

 **6.14 Gammatron**

* * *

Grif sighed as the Pelican landed on an Unawake Donut once again. He was really hoping that Ruby was Awake. He always worried about girls when they looped in as Sister that it really worried him. Then again...Caboose wasn't Awake-none of the Blues or his fellow Reds were, actually-, so he really hoped it was Ruby who was Awake. The Pelican finished opening and a soldier in ruby-red armor with black detailing stepped out, hugging a red rifle. Grif felt a Ping and sent out his own. The soldier looked at him and quickly hugged him, shivering.

"Uh...Grif? Who's this?" Simmons asked.

"My little sister, Ruby Kakaina Grif," Grif informed, "Now if you need me, I need to take Ruby to the side to shout at her for joining the military." he quickly pulled Ruby to the side, "You okay?"

"I...I had a bad Loop, Grif," Ruby sniffled.

"How bad?"

Ruby told him.

Grif winched, "I hate those Loops almost as much as the Warhammer ones...especially since I learned that there's more than one kind of Warhammer." he let her keep hugging him while shivering, "...Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Grif nodded, "Taught you well." she still shivered, "..." Grif sighed before putting something into her hand, "Here."

Ruby looked down and gasped, "G-Grif?!"

"Take it. I've got trillions," Grif assured.

"..." Ruby hugged him again, "I'm not gonna forget this."

"Hope you don't," Grif chuckled softly, patting her helmet-covered head, "Just so you know, we're currently the only ones awake, so don't be surprised at the sexist comments from Sarge."

"I'll do my best," Ruby nodded before she ran off to the Pelican to get her supplies, keeping the package of Oreos close.

Grif shook his head as Simmons walked over, "Grif...Did...Did you just _willingly_ give your Oreos to someone?"

"Ruby's my little sister, Simmons," Grif shrugged, "While she's a fighter, she's still just innocent in a way. If I have to give up Oreos to keep my little sister safe or make her feel comforted, then I'll do it." he walked off, _'Especially for Ruby.'_ shaking his head, he recalled faint memories of his baseline and of a young little girl in Hawaii he tried to do his best to raise right, _'You remind me of Kakaina so much before the drugs and sex happened to her, Ruby. I won't let you end up like her.'_ he clenched his fists, _'Not if I can prevent it.'_

* * *

 **6.15 Rockgolem**

* * *

The four loopers of team RWBY met three of the four loopers of team JNPR aboard the aircraft taking them to Beacon Academy.

"So what we planning to do this time around?" said Yang has she bounced a ball of fire between her hands.

"I don't know. what do you want to do?" asked Nora with a bright smile on her face.

"Maybe we should wait and see if Pyrrha has any ideas," said Jaune has he watched Ren cover Nora's mouth as she kept repeating, 'I don't know what do you want to do' over and over again.

"Well, everyone got 7 pings but are we sure its Pyrrha? I mean my loop memories this time around say that it was someone else who won the Mistral tournament the last 4 years." Weiss said as she used a gaint diamond to carved a drawing into the ships floor.

"Its not the first time Pyrrha's not done the tournament to make sure she isn't made into a superstar." Blake stated as she played with the _Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy_ on her lap.

"Well I guess we'll see when we get to beacon, but first let me tell you about my last fused loop," said Ruby with an evil grin.

After everyone had arrived and Jaune had done a quick search for Pyrrha the teams met up in the hall to see if they could spot her or any other looper they knew. After awhile they grew bored and just sent out a ping but only after Nora had blown a hole in the ceiling to, in her words, get some fresh air and see the birdeys. A guy about their age came over to them and nodded. He was pretty average to look at, shorter than Jaune with short cut brown hair and matching brown eyes.

"Hey. I'm Peter Pewter. Nice to meet you."

Wiess stepped up first ."Wiess Schnee, are you the Peter Pewter who won the Minstral Tournament for the last four years in a row perchance?"

Peter's smile dropped from his face. "Urgh Don't remind me."

"I don't get it." said Jaune and catching Wiess stare added "I mean it obivous that this guy is replacing Pyrrha, Good job on having a name begining with a p by the way means we can still be team Juniper, but whats so bad about winning the Minstral Tournament?"

Blake who had been looking at Peter snapped her fingers. "I know you. I looped in as that thief who was you partner for a while."

Peter had puzzled look on his face untill Blake pointed to her bow. "Ah, thats right. Blake Belladonna, 'The Black Cat', how you been?"

"Good, you?"

"Can't complain ... okay I can but no one wants to hear that."

Blake sniggered "Let me guess problem with your image."

"Even in this loop the press hates me!" growled Peter as he used his scroll to bring up a news story headline that read 'Cheater Wins Tounament For Fouth Year'.

Ruby's eyes went wide "Did you really cheat?" she asked.

Peter groaned as he massaged his temple "No but people claim my semblance gives me an unfair advantage."

"Cool what can you do?" Said Yang as she pushed Ruby to one side so she could size up Peter.

"I have a sixth sense that lets me know when danger is coming and the best way to avoid it. When people found out everyone said that it was basically cheating even though all fighters are allowed to use semblance in the tournament."

"Well your spider-sense does all the work." Blake smiled teasingly at Peter

* * *

In another universe

* * *

"And so after foiling the bank robbers and then saving the city from supervillians the great city of New York embraces the hero known as Spartan-Girl." Flash Thompson who had been reading the Daily Bugle to his class mates turned the tabloid around to show everyone the photo of a shapely girl in a spartan themed costume wielding a spear and shield, and a face covering helmet, though a ponytail of red hair was comming out the back. "Man isn't she awesome and such a babe too. Im going to start a fan club for her."

Flash was so busy telling everyone how awesome Spartan-Girl was he missed the barley covered laughter that was spilling out of Mary Jane Watson's mouth.

"SHH!" Mary Jane tried to get her self under control while her best friend shushed and prodded her.

"Oh come on flash is totally fanboying over you im going to record this and show it to Peter next loop." Mary Jane said as she pulled herself together.

Pyrrha Parker just glared at her over the top of the thick nerdy glasses she was wearing.

"Look at least everyone loves your alter ego by this time in the loop Jameson would have declared Peter a menace and a threat but you he's practically calling saint."

Pyrrha glanced down at the geeky clothes Mary Jane had picked out for her so she wouldn't draw attention so MJ couldn't see her face. She'd been looking forward to being called a menace and having the media against her for once but what could you do.

"So you want to swap more stories about our heroic geeks." Pyrrha smiled and started telling MJ about the time Jaune had got a coffee pot stuck on his head.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello everyone. It's good to be back. It would be great, but...**

 **Alright, for those of you paying attention to the scroll bars, you can see a solid third of the chapter is yet to be read. Why? Because I had to set it as non-canon. I wrote a snippet (took me a Month), but it was a crossover, and the guy who does the Pony Loops objected.**

 **Violently.**

 **So...**

 **NON-CANON FROM HERE ON IN:  
**

* * *

Ruby aimed at the Beowolf, the black, rippling, bone-studded and rank skin of the lupine Grimm jumping out at her through the lens of her scope. For a minute instance, the soldier of Vale wondered who this Grimm had been before their conversion. Then she buried the doubts and squeezed the trigger. The Grimm's head exploded, and Ruby sunk back behind the rockery that had been her improvised cover. She tried not to weep.

Nora was far less successful than Ruby, tears flowing freely down her freckled cheeks as she fired again at King Taijitu that Ren danced through. Her grenades struck home, ripping the head of the Grimm in half. Ren glanced at the sobbing girl and took a step towards her. Before he could meet her, a Deathstalker charged between them, it's stinger swaying perilously above Ren's head, leaves descending from the branches it shuddered. Ren looked up at it, and forced his pain and fear outward with a single, unutterably furious roar. The battle commenced again.

Nearer to Vale's Shield Wall, the last defense against the Grimm, another fighter turned her rage against the forces of Darkness. Yang screamed, roaring in an agony of the soul. Ursa after Beowolf after Creeper met their liberating death underneath her gauntlets and fists. Yang turned, a Creeper grabbing her arm with it's jaws. Yang turned a single red eyes glare upon the monster and grabbed it's jaw. She ripped it in half with her bear hands. Tossing the refuse aside, the Huntress roared her hatred fueled challenge at the monsters, and they descend on her again.

Closer to the wall, shuttling the civilians inward, Jaune and Pyrrha stood in a two man phalanx, swords falling on the black flesh of the soulless beasts. The struck and moved and flowed as one, as fearless together as they were alone. As the panicking people raced to enter Grimm, a Nevermore swooped down, it's baleful cries echoing against the wall. Pyrrha and Jaune charged it, and together the severed it's wings. The Grimm with down screaming. They tried to imagine the screams were the screams of a monster, and not the screams of a helpless man.

As the civilians fled into the sanctuary, a rising purple barrier crested the lower foothills of the Vale Mountain Range. It's appearance drove even the most languid Faunus or Human to sprint, a stampede threatening all. Jaune and Pyrrha raced into the fray, shields up and Aura's ignited, breaking against the waves of humanity. "Don't run! The barrier is still hours away!" Jaune screamed into the horde.

"Proceed to a nearby Huntress of Huntsmen! An Aura will immunize you to the barrier!" Pyrrha shouted as commandingly as possible. Despite their power and seniority though, the mob did nothing to slow or stop. The Grimm smelled the fear, and growled in pleasure. A feast had arrived.

They raced, they ran, they charged to meet the men and women and children that felt fear the strongest. The Grimm were relentless in realizing the feelings they felt no more. With a roar, they lunged as one...

And we're plucked out of the sky. Sniper fire, machine guns, grenades, swords, and fists brought each Grimm down and back. The soulless horrors of the night cried balefully in hunger, and for a moment, the loopers of Remnant could imagine that they were not the cries of monsters, but the cries of the poor souls, Human and Faunus, who had been...

Converted.

"FALL BACK!" Jaime cried, choking down his own disgust and pain. "FALL BACK TO VALE!" Turning tail, Jaune harried the remnants of evacuees, followed sternly by a silent Pyrrha. Traversing the boundary between wilderness and city, the duo of Hunters felt the tension, the fear, the horror become palpable. Throughout this damnable loop, that fear had been a constant companion. It had been with them when _they_ had arrived, when _they_ had destroyed Beacon and killed Ozpin, when _they_...

When Blake and Weiss had fallen.

Behind Pyrrha and Jaune, the barrier began to close, with Ren and a still heartbroken Nora slipping in just before the walls met with a final, resounding this of finality. Team JNPR was reunited.

"How long?" Pyrrha asked simply.

"I don't know. Five weeks. Maybe six. After that, the stores will be empty. The silos depleted, the water so tainted. We'll turn on each other. We'll weaken ourselves. And then they're come in while we'll weak, and strip what little soul we have left," Jaune said morosely.

Ren gently pulled Nora into his embrace. The young warrior sobbed into he friends chest, hiccuping as she choked on her own words. "They... hic. They... They aren't..."

"Shush. Shush," Ren whispered, rubbing circles into Nora's back. His friend sobbed on, betrayal and sorrow intermingling with resignation now. There was no turning back.

"ENEMY GENERAL AT THE GATES! ENEMY GENERAL AT THE GATES!" Ruby screamed from atop the shield wall. Team JNPR didn't stop, running for the stairwell. They were needed at the top of the wall.

From above, Ruby Rose looked down at the swarms of Grimm, staring blankly back at her. Silence, unnatural as it was abrupt, reigned between the two forces of animosity. Then the Grimm began to part as a wave, and within them was revealed their mistress.

She plodded forward, a strange figure amongst the living shadows. She was not human. She was not Cinder. She was supposed to be a friend.

Ruby had never known her, but she doubted she could ever call what walked before her 'friend' in any lifetime.

Pastel purple, with a darker purple hair, streaked with magenta and violet. A spiraled horn sticking up from the locks of hair. A rounded mussel, indicating her femininity. Four hooves and no hands. On her flank, a starburst hexagram, orbited by five smaller stars. This was not Cinder.

This was Twilight Sparkle.

"Attention Humans! The offer for surrender has been given to all beings willing to step beyond the barrier of this city! Accepting this offer will be in your best interests, as you will certainly starve and massacre each other if you attempt to remain isolated inside of Vale!" Twilight's voice boomed sonorously.

Ruby leaned over the edge of the wall, Crescent Rose out for counterbalance. "Go away! We're NOT being converted into Grimm!"

"Well why not!?" Twilight shouted back up. "Why wouldn't you want to be converted!?"

"We already told you! It'll turn us into Grimm!" Ruby retorted angrily.

"But why wouldn't you want to be Grimm!?" Twilight asked. Reaching with a hoof, she stroked a nearby Grimm. "Look at them! They don't need to eat! Don't need to sleep! No fear! No worry! No pain! They're immortal and powerful: why wouldn't you want to be Grimm!?"

Ruby ground her teeth as JNPR raced up behind her. Jaune leaned over the edge gently. "They've been trying to kill us for the last millennia. Grimm want to destroy us and end all Humanity and Faunus. They don't feel pain, because they don't feel anything."

"What!?" Twilight called from below. "Speak up, please!"

"Why do you want to turn us into Grimm!?" Pyrrha called down.

"Because you're insane!" Twilight retorted. "You rape the earth for your paltry riches, slaughter helpless Grimm in droves, murder and hate each other when you're not dying or making war, and then there's your technology! You are completely obsessed with your own personal gain, at the detriment to every living thing in your way! This war you've waged against us is simply proof of it!"

"That's insane!" Yang screamed at Twilight. "You want to rip our souls out of our own bodies!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Nothing so dramatic. We simply reprogram and realign the souls within your bodies! The Grimm that were created the last time Equestria came to this world are a shining example of this! Why, they were so at peace with each other that you, with your war obsessed, selfish souls, mistook them for having none!"

"They have none you lunatic!" Ren shouted.

"Twilight please!" Nora cried. Tears still rolled down her face, but an iron will had surfaced from her broken heart. "This isn't you! You want harmony! This isn't harmony, this is subversion! This is destroying our world! We can live in peace!"

Twilight was already shaking her head. "I'm sorry whoever you are! But you need to understand that your harmony is different from our harmony! The Grimm are at harmony! The ponies are at harmony! Why, the converted are even at harmony!"

A lion Grimm and a short albatross Grimm strode up beside Twilight. The pony happily turned to them. "Look at them! Aren't they perfect!?"

"..." Ruby's heart stopped. She gaped. It couldn't be, but... but... Those Grimm were... They were Blake and Weiss. She gulped, inhaled, and ROARED. "DIE YOU BITCH!" Ruby turned Crescent Rose on Twilight, firing, reloading, and firing again. "DIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

The Dust laced bullets bounced harmlessly off of Twilight's shield spell. The pony winced. "Now young lady!"

Jaune and Pyrrha seized Ruby and held her back despite her will to throw herself from the ramparts and upon Twilight. "IF I HAD MY LOOPER POWERS I'D KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Twilight sighed. "Look, this is obviously a bad time for you. I'll leave you to yourselves. You'll see the light soon enough." Her horn glowed, and the mass teleport spell carried Twilight an the Grimm away. Ruby screamed once again...

And collapsed onto her knees, and sobbed. "Come back... Come back..."

Arms wrapped around Ruby. Her sister, her friends, her loopers. They looked to her for protection. But this... this was a Null Loop. Her pocket was sealed. Her speed powers locked away. She was weak, once again.

She didn't deserve the privilege of being Anchor.

"Yes you do Ruby," Yang whispered into her ear. Ruby realized she must have vocalized her thoughts. Yang nuzzled her sister's neck. "You're doing your best. You can live through this."

"I... I..."

"You're our leader Ruby. We trust you, and your judgement," Jaune assured.

"You know that what's happening here isn't right. It's not normal. And you know we'll survive," Pyrrha said.

"We trust you," Ren said.

"..." Nora just hugged Ruby as closely as possible. She didn't say anything, but her own pain was close enough for Ruby to know that she too was at her side.

Slowly, Ruby stood up and looked into the distance. Barely visible against the slowly descending sun, nearly beyond the horizon, rose a spiraled castle. It was Canterlot. "Do you guys... do you think that if we go there and stop the ponies, we'll win? Do you think it's that simple?"

Yang, Nora, Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha looked at the distant castle. Jaune shrugged. "Can it hurt?"

"It's wait here and starve, or go down fighting. What do you think I'm gonna say?" Yang asked her sister.

Pyrrha loaded Miló. "I say we cut off the snake's head."

"It's time to end this," Ren declared. "One way..." slowly, gently, he pulled Nora close to him. "Or another."

Ruby looked at the distant fortress of Equestria. "It's time we earn our happy ending. Tonight, we march on Canterlot."

* * *

The guards stood stalwart and regal, armored as ready to fight. Walking up to them, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry saluted. "Glistening Shield, Glowing Plate, how stands the night? the captain of the guard queried.

"The night is fine and beautiful," Glistening Shield said. "A broke moon really is som-" and then his head exploded.

Shining Armor brought up a shield spell just fast enough to stop the sniper shot to his head. Flash Sentry and Glowing Plate were not so lucky, a range of bullet holes splattering their sides. "Gua-" Shining Armor was cut off by a scythe blow to his neck. He head went soaring off, the captain of the guard mutely wondering what had just happened.

Ruby, Yang and Team JNPR landed on the front step of Celestia's castle, weapons loaded and drawn. This far inside the barrier through, their Auras visibly glowed, fighting the strength if the magic. Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose to it's full form, falling into firing stance. "Ready?"

Yang loaded Ember Celica. Ren lowered himself into a martial arts stance. Together they cried, "READY!"

Ren and Yang jumped into the air, smashing palm and fist into the massive door. The doors to Canterlot's Throne Room flew open, the guards and Grimm inside turning to their visitors. Celestia even stood up. "WHO DARES-"

BANG!

Ruby cut Celestia off mid-Canterlock Voice, a specially modified Cross Bullet fired from the barrel of Crescent Rose. The bullet couldn't pierce the deep layers of Celetia's magic shrouding her torso, but her horn was a different matter.

And with that sudden explosion, the Barrier fell.

Silently, Celestia's hooves reached up and gingerly touched her horn, the bullet buried in the keratin. The entire room was silent as Ruby and her loopers raced towards the ponies and the Grimm. Celestia looked at the racing six, running to murder her. "Oh."

"GET THEM!" the enraged Twilight Sparkle screamed. The ponies turned to the Huntresses and Huntsmen, but the six crashed into the army. And then the slaughter began.

It helped a lot that the ponies didn't look like Faunus or Humans. The loopers of Remnant were already exhausted emotionally. Being forced to kill other humans, that was painful. With the Grimm this loop, it was a mercy kill. Killing humans aligned with the ponies...

Well, everyone, Ruby especially, was glad that they weren't human.

The ponies were strong of course. The Pegasi whipped up storms inside the room... when they weren't being denied the air by Ren. Unicorns wrought spells of ancient, eldritch power... And had their horns chopped off by the lightning fast Pyrrha. Earth Ponies charged, weathering the storm of fire that Yang brought down with her Aura and Semblance... only for Jaune to demonstrate to them that head shots with a sword beat determination every day.

At the back of the room, Nora fired Manghildr again and again, explosions peppering the room. Firing at the thickest congregations, Nora was stopping the ponies from teaming up to turn their magics up to even greater levels. But she was only fighting with half her power: she couldn't stomach seeing the ponies die. Nora _knew_ that the ponies weren't supposed to be this way. She couldn't handle seeing them like this. It... hurt. It hurt so much.

Ruby alone cleaved through the ponies. Each pony that met her in battle fell as Crescent Rose cut a beautiful, deadly arc through the air. She wasn't going to be stopped. She couldn't be stopped.

As Ruby stepped out if the mob, slowly advancing on Queen Celestia and princess Twilight, the unicorn glowered, her magic igniting. "You dare-"

Ruby proved that talking was not a free action, and cut Twilight's head off. She leveled the barrel of Crescent Rose at Celestia, and fired.

The Queen crumbled. The ponies froze, and then broke, routing and racing for the doors. Yang fired a final blast of Aura, harrying but not hurting the fleeing soldiers. "Later bitches!" she called.

Slowly, the world of Remnant turned onward, spinning ceaselessly through the void. It barely noticed that the Ponies fled, the Grimm retreated. In the city of Vale, the last remaining stronghold of the races of Faunus and Man, the fearful Awoke to see the barrier that had terrified them, marked the death of the Ponies, vanish. It all happened in an instant. In an instant, their lives were spared, and transformed.

In the throne room, Ruby Rose stared into the dark reaches of the cavernous room. "So this is it. I guess we won." Ruby looked at her boots. "Why does it hurt then?"

"Because..." Celestia wheezed as she breathed her last. "You... lack... your... companions..." The monarch's lone visible eyes turned to Ruby, before looking to the east. Ruby tracked it, and beheld a wondrous sight.

Striding through the high halls adjacent to the throne room, in the regalia of princesses, were Weiss and Blake. For an infinite moment, Ruby was transposed from her pain and loss and she rejoiced. "WEISS! BLAKE!"

"BLAKE!" Yang cried, running to her friend, Ruby ahead of her. Behind them, Jaune and Pyrrha and Ren gaped. And behind them yet, Nora glanced up, and wondered. And then she screamed.

"DON'T!"

Too late, Ruby raced underneath the magically enchanted archway. Despite the death of it's queen, the archway's magic was strong. As Ruby breached it's territory, the magic acted, and suffused Ruby's being. And Ruby began to be converted.

Yang was barely anymore lucky. She skidded to a halt, but her arm breached the lip of the archway, the magic flooding it. In agony, she screamed, but one saving grace hit her: Pyrrha. The champion raced forward and with a swing severed the treasonous limb. Yang staggered back, clutching her arm's stump in pain, even as her Aura surged to heal her. But no pain of the body could subdue the pain of what she saw.

In front of them, Ruby was fighting her conversion. The bones of a Grimm torn from her spine, her Aura fighting them down. Her clothes tore from her body as she grew and shrunk, her soul fighting the evil magic. Ruby wasn't screaming though: she had no breath to scream with. Ruby crawled forward, and reached for Weiss and Blake. They vanished like the mirage they were. A final trick.

The claws of a Beowolf ripped from her fingers. Her arms extended, her body warping. The Anchor screamed as her very soul was pulled at and threatened to tear. She rose, and turned black as night. Ruby closed her eyes and howled.

In the midst of his friends, Lie Ren stood motionless, horror engulfing his heart. He was spent. He could not move. He could not act. He-

Ruby howled, and Ren moved.

He seized Nora's grenade launcher. He saw it had a single round chambered. He aimed it at Ruby's head. And he hesitated.

Ruby slowly turned to look at her friends. Her silver eye stared out of the monster's eye socket. She met Ren's gaze.

Ren squeezed the trigger, and the loop crashed.

* * *

The House of Mouse was a relatively obscure bar by all measures. It wasn't often visited by foreign loopers (having it's own bustling clientele amongst the locals) but it did have a reputation as a hot spot for those not welcome at Mac's bar... or those who didn't want to go there.

Hence why Mickey Mouse, owner of said bar, raised an eyebrow when eight people he had never seen walked in. The despondent looks on their faces was a big clue for their presence. "Rough loop?"

The eight collapsed heavily into their chairs, exhausted emotionally. "You can say that," Ruby muttered.

Mickey pulled a couple of larger cups out for the visitors. "Bureau Loop?"

"You read our minds," Yang sighed, glancing at Weiss and Blake. The two who had been converted stared blankly at the table, barely showing any signs of life. Blake glanced back momentarily, but she simply returned to staring at the table.

Mickey poured out a set of eight drinks of brain bleach. "This should help. A bit to numb the pain."

The eight loopers of Remnant stared at the beer, and didn't take it. Mickey winced and quickly grabbed the glasses. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Most loopers don't have problems with drink."

"Most loopers..." Weiss muttered. "Heh. This is insane... traumatic occurrences, and the default response is alcohol. No wonder the Original Seven went mad."

Ruby patted her partner on the shoulder, glad to see a bit of life in her. "Everything's insane these days. Everything."

Mickey sighed. "No. We're all a little mad here, but there's hardly any issue with that."

"It's an issue with us," Yang muttered.

"I just saw one of my oldest out of loop friends try to murder us all. How could that be... even remotely acceptable. How can it be possible!" Nora cried, her eyes still puffy with tears.

"It's the Bureau. It's a horrible, horrible variant-"

"And how many more of 'these horrible, horrible variants' are we expected to suffer through," Blake suddenly retorted.

"We're going to be here for a long while Blake. You may need to-"

"How long is a while?" Jaune asked tersely.

Mickey stared at the eight and sighed. "I'm sorry. But you will be here for all of an eternity." As silence engulfed them, Mickey continued. "The worlds are not perfect, but they are our home. We can have our happiness here. We can-"

"You're wrong."

Mickey Mouse and the rest turned to look at Ruby. The Anchor of Remnant was shaking. "You're wrong. We can't have our happiness."

"Ruby, please understand that you have your friends. Nothing can ever hurt them, ever. They are safe."

"But we don't want to be save," Pyrrha said at that moment. "I want to have friends. Real, normal friends."

"I wanted to protect Nora," Ren said.

"I wanted to protect Ren," Nora said.

"I wanted to earn my place in the world," Jaune said.

"I wanted to stamp out injustice in the world," Blake said.

"I wanted to fix the Schnee name," Weiss said.

"I wanted to find my mother," Yang said.

"I wanted a happy ending," Ruby said. "We all wanted our happy endings. But we can't get them. Never. Because the loops will never end. There is nothing. Nothing for us. We could save our world or we could damn it and nothing would be wrong for our Admin. There is no reason for us to even try, because our world won't let us win, because every time we do, it's all undo. The Grimm will always be there, Cinder will always plot, and nothing," Ruby stressed the word until it damn near broke. "Will ever change."

Ruby stood up and leered over a Mickey. "So tell me, mouse, why do you bother? Why do you try to be a good person when you know nothing will ever change, and no one will ever remember?"

"...Because I will remember," Mickey said. Wordlessly, Ruby deflated under the weight of Mickey's conviction. The bar owner reached underneath the bar and pulled out a bottle of rum. He poured himself a shot. "I could not live with myself if I broke. So, please, understand that your happiness may seem far off, but one day, you will figure things out."

Mickey sipped his rum. "You will figure things out," he repeated. "But first you need to heal. So tell me about your little loop with the Bureau. I'll see what I can offer you."

For too long, the teenagers of Remnant did not speak. Finally, Nora began. "It was a cold, rainy day in Vale, when Equestria landed in the mountain ranged above our city. We didn't know what happened, but we were determined to find out. So we set out, on an adventure..."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **6.1: Best Foot Forward?**

 **6.2: A good showing from Mister Lie Ren.**

 **6.3: Ah, capitalism. Shit when it's broken, gangbusters when it works.**

 **6.4: Oh Ozzy, you troll.**

 **6.5: ...It is an anime, after all.**

 **6.6: Death is not, is never, cheap.**

 **6.7: Yang should never two time. Ever.**

 **6.8: The Yangamizer. Like a Thagomizer, but not named after the late Thag Simmons.**

 **6.9: Game of kings? What a crock.**

 **6.10: Hot Teachers, eh?**

 **6.11: Not an evil old man after all. He just wants his students to be safe.**

 **6.12: God give me serenity to accept what I cannot change.**

 **6.13: Will of the Moon, anyone?**

 **6.14: Well, as we all know, Ruby wheres gaudy red because she's color blind!**

 **6.15: Neat. Pyrrha replaces Peter!**

 **Non-canon: Would have been awesome.**


	7. Our Strange World

**7.1 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Ozpin stood on the balcony overseeing a vast field. It was obviously a variant, probably a play on his vice, but somehow he didn't mind. Miss Goodwin, his personal secretary, stepped forward, handing him a paper file, "Mr. Ozpin, these are the latest numbers from the stock exchange. The market value on our beans have risen by two percent."

He took the file and gave it a once over. "Good work, Glynda. How are our newest field hands settling in to their housing?"

"They find the accommodations far nicer than expected of simple field hands. A miss Ruby Rose is setting herself up to be the employee of the year with her ability to quickly harvest the beans. She harvested the south field all by herself."

With a nod, Glynda took her leave. Ozpin glanced at the coffee plantation. In fact, he would have to keep a cross section of the seeds for future use in his garden. Maybe recreate the plantation in his subspace pocket someday, which meant he had to take pictures of the plantation in its entirety or a holo recording. He took a sip of the coffee and had to repress a shiver of delight.

He stepped back into his office and looked at the file cabinet, pondering how he might use this loop to train his teams back home.

* * *

 **7.2 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Torchwick had many interesting encounters in his life. Meeting Cinder was one. His run in with the Vale police and being imprisoned was another. This one, however, would go down in his memory for quite awhile. He stood in front of the store he was set to rob, From Dust 'Til Dawn. However, his eyes were firmly planted on an irate white haired, white dressed heiress of the Schnee Company, who was pacing back and forth. There was a crowd in front of her, listening to her, caught on her every word.

"The time is now, I say, people of Vale! We will make everything equal once again! The have nots will join the haves and we will all live together in harmony!"

He had no idea what she was saying, but his eyes weren't on her anyway. Instead, he looked at obviously hunter class guards flanking her on either side. Just before he and his team could leave the store front and come back for another day, Weiss' eyes landed on the thief before pointing, "You! Yes, you sir, look like one of the have nots!"

Torchwick blinked, looked around for a second, then pointed at himself, "Me?"

Weiss smirked, "Yes! You will be uplifted generously! We will make all things equal in this world! Those without dust will be given dust freely! And we will all have dust, for dust is the lifeblood of the world!"

Torchwick gaped at her. What was she going on about? And then the biggest bullhead he had ever seen swooped in moments later. Weiss didn't even look phased by its sudden appearance. "You will be given Dust until you are equal with the Schnee company! No longer will my father be ignore me in favor of his business. No longer will we be the oppressed! He will listen to us, and we shall all be equal."

Torchwick's mouth only hung lower as an over-sized crate, easily the size of the business he was about to rob, was lowered onto the street. Weiss smirked as she slapped her hand on the crate, "Take this, my pitiable friend. Take it and join the haves!"

Weiss, Ruby and Yang watched and giggled as Torchwick circled the crate of dust for the thousandth time. Undoubtedly, he was trying to figure out how to transport such a massive supply of dust. Weiss looked at Yang, "Thanks for lending me your shadow clones and transformation technique."

Blake just shook her head, "This is a terrible idea. Do you know how many people he could kill with that?"

Moments later, a blonde haired witch stepped down the street, flinging Torchwick's goons all over the place and causing the man to panic and run. Ruby waved Blake off, "Please. Someone called in a strange report of an over-sized crate cutting off traffic in the local neighborhood."

Weiss smirked, "Cadance was right. Giving the villain exactly what he wants and making it look like I'm giving it to him out of pity is lots of fun. Maybe I'll do this to the white fang sometime."

* * *

 **7.3**

* * *

"The plan itself is simple. A basic forced arms race. We will incite a war between two loops."

"Stop right there," Ozpin said forcefully. "Neo, for the last time, you don't incite wars between loops."

Neo slumped and groaned loudly. "AHHH Come on! It's just a minor war. It won't even touch places like Equestria, and no one would ever trace it back to us. Pretty please! Can I please start a war."

Ozpin stared flatly at the ice cream flavored girl. "No."

"But I found the perfect place this time!"

"I just said no."

"It's this really crazy place with Kaiju Zombies!"

"I've been there, I met real nice guy named Keith, and let me tell you: No. Wars."

Neo slumped. "But it'll be a first! The first, genuine, interloop war! Who wouldn't want to see that?"

Ozpin stared at Neo. "What part of 'No' can't you understand Neo? No starting a war!"

"But it'll be great practice for everybody. Come on, don't you want to shake things up? Besides, this loop-"

"Is Crash Era, a rather buggy as well. It's loopers are older, and would trounce Ruby and the Teens. Beyond that, we actually happen to have a very small number of fused loops: less than one in forty. Then there's the issue of the Admins, the fact all damages and deaths would be fixed by end of loop, and let me remind you, there are people like Sherlock Holmes out there, who will find us if they want to. For the last time Neo, No."

"But Ozpin! They'll learn so much!"

Ozpin grabbed Neo and threw her out of his office. "No! For the last time, no!"

* * *

 **7.4 Shimmer712, myself, Detective Ethan Redfield, Wildrook, Tabac Iberez**

* * *

"Why did you become a Huntress?" Obleck looed at Weiss curiously. This loop, RWBY and JPNR had decided to mix up the teams a little. Rwby and Weiss where with Ren and Nora while Blake and Yang were with Jaune and Pyrrha. Weiss fixed him with a look and gave her baseline answer about duty and being a Schnee.  
Obleck studied her for a moment then moved onto Nora.

"FOR PANCAKES!" the hyper girl bellowed enthusiastically.

"...Pancakes?" Obleck stared.

Nora nodded, a manic grin on her face. "Hunters get the best pancakes because they can hunt down the best toppings while hunting Grimm!" she declared.

"I see," Obleck nodded slowly before moving onto to Ren, glancing back at Nora with a odd look on his face.

Weiss didn't blame him. In his entire career, it was probably safe to assume he had never gotten that answer.

* * *

Ozpin followed Team NJRP leader out of Port's Grimm Biology class. The young firstie was walking with an odd gait: not quite dejected, but not quite satisfied. She was unhappy, but hiding it well, to say the least.

"Miss Valkyrie, may I ask why you're wandering the halls during class?" he asked. Nora nearly jumped out of her skin. "Eh, what?"

Ozpin looked at her barely composed visage. She was good with suppressing her emotions, but not great. "I was wondering why you had left your class."

Nora blinked. "Oh, well... No one took me seriously when I told them why I became a Huntress. They didn't believe me."

Ozpin sipped his coffee. "Miss Valkyrie, their is never a bad reason to be a Huntress, only reasons people think are bad. Tell me, why did you become a Huntress?"

Nora rubbed the back of her head gently. "Well... One day, when I was thirteen, I was outside, hanging a clock on the fence. I was standing on a rock, it was wet, I slipped, I fell, and when I came to, I had a vision. A picture in my head. A picture of this." Nora pulled a picture, crudely drawn, of herself, standing on a mountain of black, surrounded by lightning.

"You want to one day slay enough Grimm to stand on a mountain of them?" Ozpin said, guessing low.

Nora shook her head. "No. This is a pile of coal. My dream, one day, is to amass enough money to by a shit-ton of coal and stand on top of it. Then I'll burn it and ascend to my true calling as a Storm Goddess."

Ozpin... well, he smiled, even if it was a little forced. "Well, make sure you kill plenty of Grimm. Coal can be quite costly these days."

Nora glanced at her headmaster, and the jumped as hugged him. "Thanks for understanding!"

Ozpin nodded, even as Nora ran off, newly reinvigorated. He pulled out his Scroll. "Glynda, set up an appointment between Miss Nora Valkyrie and the school therapist. Yes, ASAP."

* * *

"I'm a pervert this loop," Nora announced to her fellow loopers where they were gathered in team RWBY's room.

"...What?" Ruby stared at her.

"Brought some fun toys to Beacon, huh?" Yang smirked.

"No! …Well, yeah," Nora shrugged. "But besides that, there's my reason for becoming a huntress this loop."

"What's that?" Blake asked.

"...To meet well-endowed guys and find good locations for kinky sex," Nora muttered, flushing.

"...So, what's the back story between you and Ren this loop?" Ruby asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Her father hates me and believes I am on a quest to defile his little girl," Ren answered.

"He wouldn't believe unawake me at all," Nora whined.

"So what did he see to come to that conclusion?" Yang asked.

"Not what you're thinking!" Ren snapped.

* * *

"…I'm stalking Ren this loop," Nora said, tilting her head in thought. "…You know, I've never really bothered with pulling the stalker bit on him before…"

Jaune bit his tongue to avoid blurting out there wasn't really any point since the two were usually together.

"…Stalking" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, the whole reason unawake me enrolled in Beacon was because he was coming here," Nora answered. "And I apparently followed him everywhere, even the bathroom."

She did not share the fact that she had developed quite an impressive level of skill with camera with loop. But she did make a note to go through the photos her unawake self had taken and put some in her Pocket.

* * *

Jaune hoped that Nora Woke up this loop. Her unawake self was unnerving him.

"So many legs to break!" she squealed in joy, pouncing on one unlucky White Fang member, hammer raised.

Jaune cringed at the resulting scream of pain as Nora missed and hit a particular spot somewhere a bit above the knees. He was fairly certain that man would be speaking in a higher pitch for a while.

He supposed he should be surprised. In baseline, Nora had been enthusiastic about breaking Cardin's legs. So it made sense that one loop, breaking legs would be her entire reason for becoming a Huntress.

Jaune decided to ask her later if there was any difference in the breaking of different types of Grimm's legs. It would hopefully direct her violent enthusiasm away from people.

* * *

"…" Newly Awake, Nora stared at her snack supply, eye twitching. No pancakes, no candy, no syrup. Her Unawake self had been obsessed with money and had decided to go for the cheaper snacks. Nora glared at the box of cheap crackers and threw them in the rubbish.

"Well…at least I know a lot about different career paths for hunters," she muttered. Her loop memories showed that she had investigated every option available for hunters to determine which would bring in the most money. This loop, her reason from becoming a hunter was all about money.

Later, Ren would find her in an ice-cream palor, scoffing down sundaes, determined to make up for the lack she had experienced unawake.

* * *

Team JPNR looked at the plaques lining the walls of their rooms, each with an engraved brass label. Some also held a head, the brass label identifying what it came from.

Nora collected heads this loop. Thankfully, there were no human heads but there were plenty from various animals and Grimm. The whole reason she became a huntress this loop was to get more Grimm heads.

Jaune winced as he noted the Nevermore head directly opposite his bed where it would be the first thing he saw every morning. Pyrrha grimaced as she spotted the Death Stalker head in the same position in relation to her own bed.

"I think I'll stop this hobby…" Nora decided.

Ren glanced at the ceiling, seeing more plaques. "…Thank you, Nora."

* * *

"Why did you become a Huntress?" Obleck looked at Nora curiously.

"Because I'm a queen! And a queen's duty is the protection of her subjects by ridding the world of the Grimm."

Obleck nodded and continued on. Weiss gave Nora a look as loop memories showed that...indeed...she was queen of a castle this loop.

* * *

"Why did you become a Huntress?" Obleck looked at Nora curiously.

Nora put on a pair of sunglasses given to her by Yang. She chewed some bubble gum in thought at the question before pulling out the confection in her mouth, "to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And this was my last stick of gum."

Yang, who was her partner this loop, bumped Noras fist as the yellow haired girl also answered, "I'm here to learn the ancient art of Ursa riding. She is my mentor."

* * *

"So this Loop, my family's part of the Vale Mafia!" Nora declared cheerfully.

Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a brief glance before returning to their breakfast of delicious, Ren-Crafted pancakes. Nora had recently gotten into the habit of telling them why she had come to Beacon Academy, and while some reason were fairly silly or serious, others were... Bizarre.

Course, none were quite as strange as the time she was half-Grimm and came to take over the world. But that was a story for another day.

"So, after they ruined Ren's family for not paying the extortion rackets, they took Ren in as an apprentice and sent us both here to train," Nora declared. "It's really pretty cool. We intend to use our skills to leave the Mafia and make off with millions of Lien."

"Well, this loop I escaped a complex child soldier project to turn average little children into super-soldiers," Pyrrha admitted. "My parents sent me here so I could learn to socialize properly."

"Here to avenge my dead little sister," Weiss declared from the RWBY table.

"Running from my past as usual," Blake stated, not bringing up a little Cat-Bull bundle of fun that happened to live in Vacuo.

"Looking for my adoptive older sister, who is, of course, Cinder," Yang added.

"...To help people," Ruby finished.

"I just wanted to be a hero," Jaune said. "Course, with baseline me being bisexual, my parents really weren't comfortable with me doing... anything."

Ren shrugged. "Revenge against the Mafia. Hence why I'm here..." Ren then smirked, and added; "also why I got trained by Roman Torchwick."

The members of Team JNPR and RWBY stared at Ren. "Okay... Well, that's probably the strangest thing I'm gonna hear all loop," Ruby muttered.

* * *

 _(Three months later)_

* * *

"Alright, everyone on the Earth Deity!" Headmaster Joshua Ozpin shouted as he, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Adam, Penny, Sun, Emerald, Mercury, Cinder, Roman Torchwick and a reincarnated Summer Rose all watched a deified Glynda Goodwitch rise above them, towering over the dead Volcano in a dissolving, literally dissolving, world.

"...Yup, I stand corrected," Ruby declared.

* * *

"So..." Nora said, looking at the pile of books with determination. "This is all the books you could help me find about the Snark?"

"Yes," Ren said quietly. "Every mention of a Snark this library has is in these books."

"Perfect!" Nora squealed. "Now I might finally find the thing!"

"I personally suggest looking under front porches" Ren deadpanned.

"Noted!" Nora squeaked, and dived into her research.

* * *

"Ren, since when did our dormitory have a massive front porch?"

"I don't know."

"Nora mentioned something about a Snark trap."

"I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Very sure."

* * *

Nora snorted as she sat in the massive trap front porch. No Snarks yet, although there were a million little Snipes darting around underfoot. But they weren't Grimm, so they could live, as long as they stopped trying to nest in her hammer and hair. Time to get back to research on other lairs of the Snark. She had heard once from a Disney Looper that they sometimes lived in the jungle, so she should check there next.

* * *

 **7.5 Shimmer712**

* * *

"...Did a Shipper get put in charge of our Branch for this loop?" wondered Ruby, Sekirei number 109. Yang, Sekirei number 03, shrugged as her Ashikabi, Blake rolled her eyes. Ruby's' own Ashikabi, Weiss scowled.

"I hate people speculating about my love life!" she growled. "Especially when they're complete strangers! I'm not even involved with anyone like that!"

"Neither are most of the rest of us," Jaune pointed out, his own Sekirei, Pyrrha, number 02 nodding in agreement.

"...Most?" Ruby looked at him.

"I'm a bit iffy as too whether Ren and Nora are together and keeping it to themselves from some reason or not," he confessed.

"Well, if I had known a loop like this was coming up, I would have assumed they would be a Sekirei-Ashikabi pair," Ruby shrugged. "I mean, that is a soul-mate sorta thing and it makes sense they would be together."

"Well of course," Weiss scoffed. "Those two just go together. They're just a natural..." she paused, eyes widening. "Oh god, I'm a shipper!"

"As long as you don't get carried away and obsessive, it's fine," Blake soothed.

"Am I the only wondering about Cardin being a Ashikabi and his winged Sekirei being his teammates?" Yang asked.

"I'm more curious about the fact that Professor Ozpin winged Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood," Jaune admitted.

"...I move that we ignore the shipping implications of those Sekirei-Ashikabi groups," Pyrrha spoke up.

"Good plan," Weiss nodded, sighing.

* * *

Elsewhere, Neo was using her ice powers beat up some Sekirei while Torchwick was terrorizing the rich spoilt brat of a Ashikabi

"You know, it's probably a good thing you're scrapped and can't be winged," the man mentioned to his partner. "I mean, yeah, downside, you can't use your full-power. But if you could, I would have to kiss you for that to happen and after all the loops where you've been my daughter or sister, that would be weird!"

Neo shuddered and agreed.

* * *

 **7.6**

* * *

The lander probe's retro brakes flared as it slowly descended onto the lunar surface. A gentle touchdown kicked up space dust, scattering it across the glowing surface of the celestial body. After a moment, the pod's entry hatch popped open. An astronaut with a black strip on her suit descended the ladder, and gently stepped onto the moon. "One small step for a woman, one giant leap for Faunus."

"Why did she get to be the first out again?" An astronaut with a red strip on her suit asked.

"Because it's for very good public relations," an astronaut with a blue strip said.

"And awesome!" the wearer of a yellow stripped spacesuit shouted over the commlink. "Wait, sorry," she said as her fellows winced collectively.

Team RWBY stepped onto the moon of Remnant, and glanced around. Ruby gave a rock a kick, watching it sail off in the low gravity. "So this is what the moon looks like... Neat."

Weiss was already on her knees, scooping up as much lunar sand as she could. "Amazing. The hypothesis of the moon producing it's own light was true. This material could be... a sort of proto-Dust."

"Well, you can run as many experiments as you want Weiss," Blake called back as she walked off. "I'm going to go sketch."

"I'll come with you," Yang called, hopping along after her partner.

Ruby suddenly tensed up. "Wait, don't go! All the best horror movies start with the team splitting up!"

"This isn't a horror movie," Weiss pointed out.

"It could be!" Ruby retorted. Turning to her retreating friends though, Ruby could see she had made no impressions. "Alright, just promise me you guys won't have sex!"

"I will make no such promise!" Yang replied.

"Yes, we're just going to strip out of our spacesuits and make love in hard vacuum," Blake snarked.

"But guys!" Ruby cried, taking them both seriously.

"Hey."

Team RWBY collectively stopped what they were doing and turned to see... Adam? The bull Faunus and White Fang general stared back at them, wearing his usual attire of tailcoat, black pants, and Grimm mask. He was wearing these in hard vacuum. "Welcome to the moon," he said.

The girls stared at him. Weiss glanced to the glowing rocks, and back to Adam. "Uh... Hello?"

"Adam?" Blake said, staring at her teacher (and occasional boyfriend if the loops were feeling bored).

Adam tapped his head. "Can't hear inside the suits you know."

After a moment, Blake pulled off her helmet, took a deep breath of nothing, and spoke. "Adam, how are you alive? This hard vacuum. No air. No oxygen. How can we even hear you? How can you hear us? How are you not dead? How am I not dead?"

Adam shrugged. "I've been asking myself that for the last three months."

Blake shook her head. "No, really, how are alive? I can feel that this is empty space. My head should be exploding. I should have frozen over and died thirty seconds ago. How is this possible?"

Yang pulled her helmet off and glanced at Ruby and Weiss. "So, who wants to bet that Blake goes apoplectic inside of ten minutes."

"You're on!" Ruby shouted.

* * *

 **7.7 ToaMataNui5000**

* * *

"Hey girls! You know how we never seem to know why the moon is all broken up?" Ruby asked as she stepped off the dropship to where her teammates awaited.

"You mean other than those loops where we end up shattering it ourselves?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, be nice, Weiss." Blake shushed her. "It's actually an interesting topic. From what history books I read, it's backstory varies just as much as everyone else's on the planet. Sometimes it's weapons of mass destruction, other times it's kaiju-sized Grimm." The cat Faunus rolled her eyes and sighed. "And boringly enough, sometimes it's either meteors, or it just always has been shattered since the beginning of recorded history."

Ruby grinned. "Well, this time around, we got an explanation that'll guarantee this loop won't be boring." She nodded to the dropship behind her, cuing a quartet to step out. Three males and a female; all familiar-looking hedgehog Faunus.

"Ah, this wonderful place again," Shadow said with a surprisingly eager tone. "I'm going to enjoy expanding my weapon collection."

"How's it going, girls?" Sonic smiled while giving a two-fingered salute. Hellos were traded between the seven loopers.

"Let me guess... The moon blowing up is related to either Dr Eggman or the Chaos Emeralds?" Blake logically guessed.

"The Space Colony Ark was also involved as well," Shadow answered. "I should know, since I was there to discipline the good doctor afterwords."

"Better him than the White Fang at least." Silver added on. "I come from a future where they won this loop, and let's just say Chaos energy doesn't react well to large concentrations of Dust. Particularly when they're shaped like Schnee Dust Company... storage... facilities..." Silver took Weiss's amused look into account, and slowed to a stop. "...Sorry. Anyways, I've come back in time to stop them. The Freedom Fighters, currently a group of Faunus and humans alike who want true peace and oppose the White Fang's extremism, have sent us undercover her to Beacon."

"How original," Weiss snarked. "At least tell us that you got a convincing team name as a guise."

"Team SASS! Since that's what we give, while not letting others do so!" Amy raised her hammer triumphantly with a confident grin.

Sonic leaned toward the Remnant loopers and whispered, "I just want to let you know that despite my well-deserved ego, I had no part in the name. I and the boys just go along with it since hell hath no fury like a pink hedgehog scorned."

"Speaking of burning anger, where's Yang?" Blake noticed. "Wasn't she on the airship with you? Or does she not exist this loop?"

"Oh, she and Knuckles got into a fight to prove who's stronger, and ended off rolling off the airship." Amy said all too casually. "I think he still had a bit of pent-up anger from losing that fight to Donkey Kong."

"Well, if any mountains split in halve, or forest fire and earthquakes start, we'll know where to find them." Team RWBY's leader noted. "For now, I say we stay away from their 'argument' and go Grimm hunting."

"You sure you can handle Grimm monsters beefed up by Dark Gaia and Solaris's energies, Ruby?" The Mobian anchor cockily asked. "Possibly even robotized by Eggman as well?"

"If it's the latter, I'll just have fresh scrap metal to improve my War Corgis with." Ruby grinned.

"That's the spirit!"

* * *

 **7.8 RockGolem**

* * *

Ozpin stood in front the students of Beacon Academy as he welcomed in to the world team JNPR and team RWBY and looked across to the last team of the New Year.

"Lastly we have Thomas Tufts, Michael Monarch, Nigel Phlox and Tony Alizarin who collected the black knight pieces they shall be known as team..." The letter floated up on the screen. Ozpin turn to talk to Glenda, "This can't be right I mean is that even a word, you're sure? Okay fine. You shall be known as team Tomenta, which I am now being told is a layer of matted woolly down on the surface of a plant which I guess means it related to the colour green."

As the four boys on stage hi-fived each other Ozpin tried to get his mind back on track and got ready to name a leader. "Hey..." only to be interrupted by Mr Alizarin "So now we're in you can't kick us out unless we break the rules right?" As his hands tapped the handles of his Sais.

"That is the way things generally work yes."

"Finally we can stop being ugly and go back to being beautiful selves again." Said Mr Monarch as he lazily spun his nun-chucks

"Alright team lets show them who we really are." Mr Tufts had drawn his twin swords he wore on his back and was eyeing the room.

Mr Phlox had taken off the bo staff from his back and spun it around and struck a pose "Don't you mean what we really are?"

The bodies of the four teenage boys shimmered and began to change and then suddenly where there had been four stocky teenage humans were four anthropomorphised turtles complete with green skin and shells and for some reason ninja masks. "Hello we are the Hamato brothers Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. Yes we are mutant faunus whos semblance lets us look human any questions?"

The crowd, apart from team RWBY and JNPR who were grining at each other looking forward to a completely new loop for them, just stood there gaping apart from one of the teachers in the back who just sighed and buried his head in his hands. It seemed to Splinter that his sons need a few more lesson in the art of stealth.

* * *

 **7.9**

* * *

Alone in the darkened CCT tower, Cinder Fall accessed the deeper subroutines, inserting her own. Her earpiece jingled as Mercury and Emerald kept her updated. "The general just left the dance," Mercury said.

"You're on the clock Cinder," Emerald added, a dose of concern coloring her tone. "Should we deal with him?"

Cinder smirked to herself as the computers accepted the new subroutine, the monitors flashing the symbol of the black queen. "No. I'm done here."

"Yay! That means we can dance!"

Cinder spun on her heel, a pair of glass daggers burning into existence. In a flash, she buried both into her intruder's torso, before delivering a kick that... Got interrupted. Cinder staggered, forming swords, and waited for the first strike.

Her red dressed eavesdropper looked slightly miffed at the two daggers that had pieces her lung and heart. "You know Cinder, that really stings." Wrenching both blades out, the girl in red, obviously Ruby Rose, let her Aura take over. "I mean, I can get being stabbed in the heart, but why did you need to stab me in the breast. That really stings you know!"

Cinder lunged forward, swords twirling. Shallow blows glanced off of Ruby's Aura, with deeper stabs only succeeding in cracking her weapons. Cinder slashed at Ruby's legs and hamstring, but it glanced away. Lining both blades against Ruby's neck, she tried to behead her foe, but it couldn't penetrate Ruby's Aura. Desperate, Cinder flipped backwards and formed three arrows and a bow, launching the incendiaries at Ruby. Ruby didn't even budge.

Cinder turned and legged it, sprinting for the elevator. She leapt through the threshold, only for the entire world to spin and reorient itself in a flash of red and yellow lightning. Cinder stood up...

Right in front of Ruby. "Hi Cinder."

Cinder turned and shot for the window, but was met with the same result. The criminal mastermind was standing right back with Ruby. So, lacking any better option, Cinder detonated the Dust in her clothing.

The blast should have rocked the entire building, killing Ruby and severely wounding Cinder. Instead, in another flag of red, Cinder found herself wearing a rather simple ball gown, her weaponized clothes and even her mask gone. "Uh..."

Ruby reappeared in a flash of red, smiling to beat the band. "Hey Cinder."

Cinder recomposed herself and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Hello Ruby Rose. It's a pleasure to see you here." Her Semblance kicked in, the temperature of her hand shooting up several thousand degrees. "What are you doing here?"

Ruby shrugged. "Oh, you know. Me and my team planned for everyone in the school to go to the dance and... dance. I saw that you didn't have a date, so since we planned for everyone to go to the dance, I'd dance with you."

Cinder nodded understandingly. "Well Ruby, that's very sweet of you. Thank you. Now..." Cinder wrapped her burning hand around Ruby's neck and lifted her up. "What are you really here to do?"

"I'm gonna dance with you because if I didn't, no one else would," Ruby said... in Cinder's ear. Cinder was grasping empty air.

The villainess slowly turned around, eyes narrowed. "Who... Are you? Really?"

Ruby shrugged and smiled in a way that could only be called playful. "I'm Ruby Rose: several thousand years old, really lonely, kind of bored, and very happy to meet you Cinder. Who are you?"

Cinder stared at Ruby. "Right... Are you going to let me go soon?"

"Nope!"

"Emerald and Mercury-"

Ruby tapped her ear and threw her voice. "Emerald, I'm going to be returning to the room. Stay out for another hour." Ruby pulled her finger out of her ear and smiled. "Oh, and I also took care of General Ironwood."

A cream pie splattered against the window. Cinder decided she didn't want to know. She leered down at Ruby, despite their heights being very close. "Miss Rose... do you know who I am?"

"You're the flame witch who tried to kill me, the woman Roman is working for, you're also a spy in Beacon, your name is Cinder Fall, you like sewing your own clothes, oh, and you're really good at blocking my bullets." Ruby pursed her lips. "Other than that, I really can't be sure."

Cinder frowned. "Ruby Rose... I'm going to say this. Get out of my way, or I will kill you."

Ruby blinked cutely at Cinder, before, in a flash, cutting her own head of with Crescent Rose. Ruby's body, independent of her head, reached up and plucked it off her shoulders. "Look ma, no heads!" Ruby tossed her head from one hand to another, and then at Cinder. Cinder caught her head, and looked at Ruby. Ruby's body took her head back and plucked it nicely onto her body. The red favoring teen smiled and flashed double peace signs.

Cinder... was genuinely flummoxed. "Uh..."

Ruby smiled, but strangely, this smile was tinted slightly with melancholy. "So... Yeah. You really can't hurt me. Not like that, anymore."

Cinder tried to get her bearings back. "You're how old again?"

Ruby shrugged, the melancholy seeping in more. "I don't know. I lost count a while ago. Your guess is... not nearly as good as mine, but it's still valid. I lost count after the mid ten thousands."

Cinder stared at the girl who was claiming to be immortal. "Look, I really have no idea what you're talking about Rose. Now, if you're not going to let me go, I will... leave." Cinder finished lamely.

"That was lame," Ruby declared.

"Shut up," Cinder grumbled. The mastermind of every plan to take over Vale stood there, thinking and grumbling, before finally groaning aloud. "What do you want?"

Ruby practically beamed, a smile noticeable even in the dark room of the tower. "I'd like a dance and a discussion. Introductions first!" Ruby hopped up onto a computer desk and waited eagerly for Cinder to begin.

Cinder could see she wasn't getting out any other way. "My name is Cinder Fall. I'm eighteen-"

"EHH! Wrong!"

"Fine, fuck you, I'm thirty nine," Cinder burst out. Twitching in anger (at both Ruby and herself for not locking down her temper), Cinder growled out the next few lines. "I'm a master Huntress and Dust user, with an encyclopedic knowledge of flame variants of Dust. I am self-educated and retired but remain a registered Huntress under a pseudonym. I also intend to kill every living person in Vale... Starting with you Ruby Rose."

Ruby smiled at the seething villainess. "Well, why do you want to kill everyone? I mean, I get why you want to kill me, but why everyone else?"

Cinder ground her teeth. "I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Do you want out?" Ruby asked neutrally.

Cinder glared at her captor. "I can outlast you."

Another pie splatted against the window. Ruby shook her head. "No, you can't. Besides, I can keep a secret."

"Oh really?" Cinder snarled, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Ruby held out her arms. And then the room was filled with Dust.

Burn types, hydro types, earth variants, wind derivatives. Thousands of thousand of gems, from cartridges to crystals, reaching from floor to ceiling and pressing against the windows, surrounded Cinder and Ruby. In the soft light of the monitors, the jewels seemed to sparkle. Cinder stared at the hoard, her mind blank in shock. "H-h-how..."

Ruby shrugged bashfully. "I think I said it before. Time traveler."

Cinder stared at Ruby, and then back at the load of Dust. Ruby had enough Dust to blow a hole on the world, and she had made it appear from thin air. Cinder gulped as she realized what she might very well be up against. "You... show me proof." Cinder spread her arms in disbelief. "Show me where this came from."

Ruby smiled. The world went black. Everything: the tower, the Dust, all of Beacon, vanished. Instead, silos and warehouses and low buildings replaced the world. Ruby chuckled at Cinder's completely flabbergasted expression. "Welcome to my subspace pocket."

Cinder stared around them. "Where... what is this place?"

"It's a localized pocket dimension existing within my soul," Ruby explained. "Or something. It lets me carry things throughout time."

Cinder was busy staring at a Mecha War Corgi. "Riiiiight..." A thought struck her. "Wait, this... this lets you time travel?"

Ruby shook her head. "That is a lot more complicated." The world snapped back to the CCT, were an exceptionally larger number of cream pies were splattered against the windows. "But I can explain it, if you want me to, on a condition."

Cinder glanced around herself. Whatever Ruby had done had been... staggering. It was impossible: it had to be a trick.

But if it wasn't... "What's the condition?"

Ruby cocked her head slightly. "Can you tell me why you want to kill everyone? Tell me what Cinder Fall's big goal is this time around."

'Time around', Cinder thought, catching the connotations. "You've time traveled more than once?"

"Yup. Maybe..." Ruby thought it over. "Don't know. Lost coming after twenty thousand times."

Cinder stared dead into Ruby's mirthful eyes, and couldn't rationalize how she could seem so honest when saying something so impossible. "You've gone mad..."

Ruby shrugged. "We're all sort of mad. I'm also lonely this loop, so I figured I'd try talking with you."

Cinder couldn't fault that sort of logic, insane as it was. So instead, she lifted herself up onto the desk, sitting on the ledge. "Have you ever heard me tell you what I planned to do before?"

"It changes," Ruby said simply.

Cinder gulped. "My... goal is to kill everyone. To sow enough chaos and death and fear to empower the Grimm. I want to end everything."

"Because?" Ruby continued.

"Because the world is hell," Cinder said simply. "We are wrong: we hate, we fear, we rejoice, we calm. And we do this while people die in droves every day. There is no reason for any being, man or Faunus, to live another day." Cinder looked at Ruby. "Wouldn't you understand that Ruby? We live vain lives built on the deaths of millions, billions even. How can that be right?"

"So you want to kill everyone because they don't live up to your standards?" Ruby asked in a tone that neither condemned nor condoned.

"It's wrong for them to live like this when everyone else suffers," Cinder stated firmly.

Ruby shrugged. "I guess that's not the worse answer I've heard you use."

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "What was the worse?" The suddenly somber look of Ruby made Cinder regret asking.

"You wanted to subjugate and torture every living soul on Remnant for your own pleasure," Ruby said coldly. "You said that all life except your own was supposed to be painful. That you were doing it because you wanted to." The girl sighed and rolled her shoulders. "That's the worst I've ever seen you be."

The dark room of the CCT was still. A moment crawled past, a pie going 'splat' against the window. "And what was I like at my best?"

"Your best? You told me that... You would soldier on, despite the pain. You told me that, despite losing everything and everyone you loved in Mountain Glenn, you wouldn't break. You wouldn't seek revenge. You, Cinder Fall, told me that I could be so much more than I could imagine I could be." Ruby smiled slightly. "Would you imagine that?"

Cinder stared at the faint, teal screen of a holo-computer. "Is that so... What's it like, time traveling?"

"It's complicated," Ruby said. "I can remember what happened every time. My friends... not always. This loop, this time around, none of my friends can remember what they've done. I... I really know that they're my friends. Blake, Yang, Weiss, they're still themselves. I love them for that. But... it can be lonely."

"So you came to me?" Cinder asked.

Ruby shrugged. "You were really one of the few people I tried to open up to about it in the beginning. A different you. A you who wasn't... wasn't..."

"Evil?"

"...Yeah..." Ruby sighed heavily. "I'm sorry Cinder. This must be really weird for you to hear about."

Cinder held up her hand. "Ruby, I'm pretty sure you're using some sort of pie machine to stop Ironwood from interrupting our conversation. That's not too weird." Cinder was lying, of course, and really, really freaking out about everything that Ruby was saying, but she'd keep herself from letting on about that. "Ruby, if I'm honest, I could care less for for you being a time traveller. I'm just someone trying to kill millions."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I know. It was pretty silly just... opening up to you like that."

"...It wasn't," Cinder said after a moment. "But tell me Ruby: why me?"

"Because I believe on redemption," Ruby said simply. "One day Cinder, I want to see you time traveling as well. I want you to be at our sides, as a friend. As a rival. As a person I can trust." Ruby folded her legs. "I know you're evil, and dangerous, and murderous. I just want to believe that you can become better than that."

Cinder and Ruby stared, quietly, at each other for the next minute, wordlessly contemplating what they had said in the past twenty minutes. Finally, Ruby smiled the smile of a girl who wanted to step away from the darker things in life. "So, we said our pieces. We had a discussion. Let's dance!"

Cinder winced. "Oh, right. That..."

Ruby winked mischievously. "Can't dance?"

"I could waltz circles around you," Cinder retorted hotly.

"Then are you afraid of being seen in the company of a young, nubile girl?"

Cinder glared.

Ruby bashfully scratched the back of her head. "Sorry. Bad joke."

Cinder was left wondering how Ruby had someone gotten the best of her. "Ruby, I'm just... Are you serious about dancing with the woman who said she intended to kill all of your friends, family, and you?"

Ruby nodded. "I swore to make sure everyone got a dance tonight, and I shan't rest until they have! You included!"

 _'She's insa- she admitted that she's insane, why am I surprised?'_ Cinder thought. Resigned more than anything else, Cinder stepped forward. "A waltz then?"

Ruby fell into place before Cinder, a slow song starting. "Shall we?"

"Let's," Cinder said with just a hint of sarcasm.

In the long, swooping motions of the waltz did Ruby and Cinder move. The movements were, naturally, elegant and slow, measured in careful turns and simple steps. Had Yang been present, she would have congratulated Ruby for getting to dance with someone. Jaune would have almost certainly critiqued their movements (saying that Cinder was unrefined). And Emerald...

Would have slaughtered Ruby every time she brushed up against Cinder's body.

The music wound down, and Ruby stepped back, bowing to her dance partner. Cinder, lacking anything else to do, bowed as well. "Well Miss Rose, I must say that..." Cinder nodded a little and shrugged. "That was fun. Thank you. Now may I go?"

Ruby walked over to the window, and opened it up. A pie soared through the gap, and smacked Cinder dead on the face. "ACK!" Ruby squeaked.

The pie fell off of Cinder's after a moment. The villainess stared numbly at Ruby, before licking some of the cream off of her lips. "Alright. That was the strangest night of my life." Wiping the cream off of her face, Cinder stepped to the window. "Have a good time loop Ruby."

"You to Cinder," Ruby said.

Cinder leapt into the night, and faded into the distance.

Ruby looked down at her vanishing form, her sniper trained eyes tracking her movements. "I... really need to get a hobby other than talking to my enemies."

* * *

 **7.10**

* * *

Beacon's library hosted many a meeting of the minds. Today, it hosted Ruby and Yang, along with Ren and Nora. All four were watching Jaune and Pyrrha, who were not Awake. Yang glance off from her binoculars. "Hey Ruby, why don't we just tell them that Pyrrha's crushing on Jaune?"

Ruby and Nora shared a look. "Well..."

* * *

 _Several dozen loops earlier:  
_

* * *

Nora stared at Jaune and Pyrrha from across the lunch table. Pyrrha was awkwardly trying to flirt with Jaune. Jaune was oblivious. Nora... Lost it.

Nora jumped over the table, grabbed Jaune by the collar, slapped him several times, and shook him like a dog. "DAMMIT JAUNE, CAN'T YOU SEE SHE'S INTO YOU?"

Jaune, bruised and confused, asked this question. "Who... is she?"

Pyrrha, not bruised, was standing in the background. Nora felt the room temperature drop prodigiously. Slowly, she looked at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha stared at Nora, Miló and Akoùo coming into her hands. "Who is she, Nora?"

* * *

 _Present_

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

 **7.11 Shimmer712**

* * *

"How did we not know about this?" Nora demanded, bursting in JNPR's room. Her Awake teammates looked at her.

"Know about what?" Jaune asked curiously.

"THIS!" Nora cried, pulling out a plushie with the price tag still attached.

"...Is that you, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, turning to the red head. She flushed.

"Well...I did win a lot of tournaments, even in baseline and I did have a number of endorsements," she admitted. Jaune got up and walked over to Nora, gently tugging the toy from her and examining it carefully.

"Its looks like it's supposed to be a chibi version of you," Ren noted from where he was seated on his bed.

"It's cute," Jaune said, smiling at the plushie.

Pyrrha found herself irrationally jealous of the bundle of cloth and stuffing.

* * *

 **7.12**

* * *

The door to Ozpin's office burst off it's hinges, kicked down by the Torchwick siblings. "Ozzy!" Roman called.

"NO!" Ozpin tried to shout, even as a guitar rift Twang'd through the room.

Roman chuckled at the noise. "Still dealing with Sakura's guitar curse, are you... Ozzy."

TWANG!

"Hehehe..." Roman grabbed a chair and sat in it, Neo electing to stand. "I guess that's a yes?"

"ARF ARF ARF!"

Behind his clockwork desk, Ozpin sighed. "Yes Zwei, I know. Roman really is an ass."

Roman glared at the dog in attendance. "I hate that thing. You're a son of a bitch, you know that Zwei? Really, you are. Literally the son of bitch."

Ozpin and Zwei stared blankly at the crime lord. "Zwei, bounce on Roman's head."

Roman's hat dropped down over his eyes as Zwei jumped on his head. "Why does he do this?"

"He's a machine: does exactly what he's told," Ozpin snarked. "Neo, it's been too long. What has it been, five loops?"

"..." Neo held up three fingers, before opening her mouth to demonstrate her lack of a tongue.

"Ah such a terrible curse, never knowing if you're a mute or not. Poor thing," Ozpin said with mock empathy. "Terrible, simply terrible."

Neo flipped him off. Roman grabbed Zwei and threw him at the window. Zwei bounced back and off of Neo's head. Ozpin chuckled in response to the antics. "Alright team ORNZ. Status report."

"No expansions," Roman said.

"No expansion," Neo signed.

"ARF ARF BARK!" Zwei barked.

"...No expansions," Ozpin sighed. "Damn... Alright, any new consistencies?"

Roman and Neo shared a glance. "Something called Amity Colosseum."

Ozpin nodded. "Amity Colosseum is a giant flying colosseum that travels the world. It's the centerpiece for the Vytal Tournament, its cradle if you're feeling poetic. It's huge."

"I smell Colony Drop potential," Roman grumbled.

"It's certainly large enough to manage it," Ozpin admitted. A few miles up, it'll be a meteorite. Of course, I'd see it more useful as a staging area for armies. Why use something once?"

Neo put her hands on her hips and signed, "So what?"

Ozpin sighed. "That's a point. That is a point." Ozpin sighed again. "There's nothing is there?"

Roman and Neo shook their heads. "Nothing new. We still don't know anything about Cinder, her goals, where she came from or where she's going." The crime lord nodded. "We got nothing."

Ozpin stood up, pushing his chair aside, and ambled over to the window. Out over the dark grounds of Beacon Academy, the lights flickered. Some looked dim. Others were extinguished. It was a... tricky problem groundskeeping had been tackling for the last few weeks. They couldn't figure out which lights were out during the day and couldn't work during the night. "We're in the dark," Ozpin murmured.

"What was that?"

Ozpin turned around. "Centuries of scouting, recon, surveillance. Spy craft beyond any other in this world. Four immortals trying to predict the future in a present that's always changing." Ozpin shook his head. "And still no headway."

Roman shrugged. "It's the loops. You live with them, learn from them-"

"Name one thing we've learned about Cinder," Ozpin countered.

"..." Neo stared at the teacher. Ozpin growled and looked away.

"Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. We don't have any facts. Barely any ideas. Can't apply them across loops."

"Well..." Roman tried, and failed.

Neo held up her hands, and signed something. "What we know?"

Ozpin looked at her, and sighed. "Cinder uploaded a virus to the Central Communication Tower. She planned an attack on the city and was happy it failed. She's controlling the White Fang and still needs them."

"She's... Using Emerald and Mercury," Roman suggested.

"She has a private army, and a fanatical one at that," Ozpin admitted. "The White Fang are under Adam's thumb, and Adam's in Cinder pocket. She has Atlesian Paladins to augment her force. She has a virus in our communications hub, so she could know our movements. But even with an edge on information... We have size."

"How big's Amity Colosseum?"

"Big enough to stage the White Fang in, good idea Roman. But why? And for what purpose?" Ozpin shook his head. "Small army, knowledge... Against the might of an army of Huntresses and Huntsmen? She can't win. She can't."

"She still has an army," Roman pointed out.

"We still have RWBY," Ozpin countered.

"Small army," Neo pointed out. "Info multiplies, still small."

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "So where would she get a bigger army? No one in their right mind would work with the White Fang."

"Communications?"

"...No." Ozpin shook his head. "Impossible. She can't trick an entire army of Huntsmen and Huntresses. They're too individualistic: too independent."

"Say it's from you or Ironwood and they're fall in line in a snap."

"No one would listen to that sort of order. They wouldn't just attack their own people. You try to tell them-" Ozpin ground to a halt. Roman and Neo and Zwei made the connections as well. "Son of a bitch."

"The Atlesian Knights," Roman realized.

"The communications tower," Ozpin correlated instantly.

"She'll use that to get her army."

"No, she'll use it to attack the people of Vale. But it will look like Atlas just massacred Vale's civilians for no reason."

"No reason for attack," Neo offered.

"Damn you're right," Ozpin said. "The army is in the city by happenstance anyway. Ironwood moved them in after the attack failed."

"The attack was planned to go off a few days after it did. If it had, all of the Huntresses and Huntsmen would be out of the city, and the only armed force would be the Atlesian army," Roman said. "The attack was meant to fail from the start: make the world seem dangerous-"

"-And being an army into our midst. Occupy the city, kill the civilians, and viola. You have war between two cities. And it will spread, to Vacuo and Mistral."

"Connection? White and City?" Neo pointed out.

"There needs to be proof for the Atlesian Military to be working with the Fang. It needs to be obvious: a display, a demonstration, proof that the White Fang were being empowered by Atlas," Roman said in response.

"..." Ozpin ran his hand through his hair. "Damn... How would they do it? How would the Fang say they were being supplied by Atlas? What would be the proof?"

"They are," Neo signed. "City supplied enemy now."

Roman and Ozpin shared a look, only for Zwei to bark loudly. The dog pulled a large model out of his subspace pocket. A model of a robot.

"...Holy fuck, the Paladin," Roman realized.

Ozpin gawked. "That's it... The Atlesian Paladin is false evidence that Atlas is working with the Fang. The Fang planned for the attack to fall to the Atlesian Knights. The army moves in, and acts as a preemptive strike force, right under everyone's noses. Ironwood and Atlas are blamed, and the entire mess starts a war."

"While Cinder takes the Fang into the sky, high above the war, in Amity Colosseum," Roman said.

"She's promised them salvation from a war and the Grimm that will kill the survivors," Ozpin said. "God... damn... That can't be it... Can it?"

* * *

 **7.1: Coffee is not the defining trait of Ozpin. He just likes it.**

 **7.2: Weiss is a troll sometimes. Really!**

 **7.3: I blame myself for thinking this up. I blame everyone else for not doing it.**

 **7.4: Nora Valkyrie, what a woman. What is she anyway?**

 **7.5: …Well, if you want your fighting anime with a side of love slavery, watch Seikerei!**

 **7.6: Adam was on the moon. You can see him there in the opening credits of volume one.**

 **7.7: Sassy!**

 **7.8: Well, we have magic? Why not teenage mutant ninja turtles!**

 **7.9: Oh Cinder… why can't you be awesome** ** _and_** **good?**

 **7.10: Pyrrha and Jaune are gonna get strangled by that string.**

 **7.11: Pyrrha is good as a doll.**

 **7.12: Oh crap!**


	8. Sanity in an Insane World

**8.1**

* * *

"Markus Zion, Agate Smith, Neon Anderson and Tripoli Zion. You recovered the Black Bishop piece. I hereby dub you Team Mantle, led by... Markus Zion."

The class of Beacon Academy broke into applause as the newly named Team MANT stepped off the stage. If anyone noticed the slight distance that the Zion siblings and Mister Anderson gave Smith, they didn't mention it. The trio quickly broke off, leaving their asocial companion in the crowd, and one they were out of sight, Neo was promptly glomped. "Neo!"

Thomas Anderson, otherwise known as Neo, nearly fell over as Ruby Rose crashed into him. "Hey Ruby. How's it been?"

"It's been awesome!" Ruby cried cheerfully. Behind her, Team RWBY emerged from the crowd, either rolling their eyes or smiling proudly at their sister's social skills. "We've been setting new records on how fast we can empty Forever Fall of Grimm. How long is Zion lasting nowadays?"

"We've pushed it back to sixteen years, the last time we had a long lasting variant," Morpheus interjected lightly. "In fact, the only issue we've been running into recently are the end of the loop."

"Or when Neo gets heroic and tries to sacrifice himself," Trinity grumbled, lightly bopping her boyfriend's head.

"One time, one time..."

"I'd rather you be alive."

Morpheus rolled his eyes as the duo broke into an extended and still unresolved argument over whether or not it was moral to sacrifice your life if you were aware that you would be resurrected. "So what exactly is this loop like? Neo told me it was mostly fighting monsters."

Weiss shrugged. "Monsters, gangsters-"

"Robotsters, animalsters, psychosters-"

"Ignore Yang," Weiss said as Blake shoved a sock in Yang's mouth. "She's not exactly good with puns."

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm," Yang said around the sock in her mouth.

Neo and Trinity's argument ended with the two making out. Morpheus stashed a holo-map with the best places to fight Grimm into his pocket. And Smith arrived and rolled his eyes at his teammates.

It was a rather boring loop, all and all.

For... Most of them.

* * *

The night was cold for Neo. Neopolitan, that is. Miss Torchwick was walking the docks for her father, patrolling. Roman was pulling a rather small heist, just what he could carry in a suitcase, and needed a look out. Since she was focused, smart, intelligent, and his little angel, Neo was the obvious choice.

The loop had been interesting so far. A few visitors had shown up, from a world mostly inside of a computer. Seeing the four of them in action had been a quote, 'thrilling' sight for Roman. Neo had been bored out of her mind. Kung fu and guns. She got that with Ren.

Neo been impressed by exactly two things. The first was that one of the visitors shared her name. The second... well, the second was to show up in three... two... one...

Neo spun on her heel, smashing her parasol, Cheshire's Crave, into his chin. The sunglasses wearing mugger was launched through the air, spiraling and landing hard. He glared at Neo and pulled his gun out.

For several seconds, the two were immobile. A handful of crows fluttered off, spooked. Neo smiled lightly. "Hello Agent."

Agent Smith's grip tightened. In a flash, his gun was up, firing bullet after bullet after bullet at the girl. Neo smiled, spinning Cheshire and blocking each and every bullet with ease. Smith screamed in fury as the gun failed to effect her, charging.

Neo _danced_.

Smith struck, fists lashing out. Straight shots, hooks, curves, kick to destabilize, neck strike to disorganized, knife hand at the sides. Neo ducked, spun, bounced, jumped. It was a dance of death and fury. "Hahahahahaha!" she cried.

"DIIIIIIEEEEE!" Smith screamed, two fists rocketing into Neo's stomach. Neo opened her parasol, stopped both fists, closed it, ran Cheshire through by her opponent's neck, hooked the crook into his throat, spun him around, and pulled. Smith gasped and choked, struggling to breath as Neo garroted him. "Hurk!"

Neo smiled, pressing her foot into the back of Smith's neck, forcing him further into the crook. Smith gagged, trying and failing to dislodge himself. "Hak! Hak!"

Neo kicked the back of Smith's head, and unhooked him from her umbrella, and let him fall. "Hmm. Well you're an easier fight than I imagined. The agents really haven't changed in the loops, have they?"

"..." Smith remained silent, his neck glowing with Aura. Neo sighed aloud as he glared with the sort of pure fury that only an insane computer program could come up with. "...Go..."

Neo crouched down to the Agent's level. "So, two questions. What's it like, being a looper? And more importantly, why are you hiding?"

Smith glared around his glasses. Neo rolled her eyes. "Look Elrond, you have two choices. Talk to me, and I'll help you get on your feet. Stay quiet, and I'm going to do the responsible thing and report you to my Admin. She'll report you to Morpheus, the divine one, by the way, and he'll speak with the other Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo. Know what?"

Neo smiled evilly at him. "You're gonna have a bad time."

Smith finished coughing and sat up, getting to his feet shakily. Neo stood up, staring up at the taller looper. "How... do you know?"

"Your eyes. You're not looking at the world like someone who can see it with only one lifetime of experience." Neo tilted her head playfully. "I can tell. Plus, you attacking the only other Neo in the loop, it's a big tell. You get your rocks off on killing Neos?"

Smith glared at her. "You wanted... to report me. Why?" he said in his slow, measured tones.

Neo shrugged. "You know why. Yggdrasil."

"The computer tree."

"And I know how badly you want your freedom."

"..." Smith stared down at Neo. "This... Computer. It's just another Matrix. I'll be free of it."

Neo chuckled. "You're going to Ascend?"

"Ascension is the process where a being becomes so powerful that they transcend the four dimensions all base creatures exist in. I can become a god."

The minutes ticked by, Neo silently staring into Smith's face. The agent of the Matrix stared back. Neo cracked a grin. Smith remained stoic. Neo laughed out loud. "YOU'RE A BIGGER MORON THAN JAUNE!"

That made Smith crack a smile. "Once I'm free of these bonds, you're going to regret that." Smith leaned over. "Do you want to know why I want to Ascend?"

"Is it the smell?"

"I can see everything here. The loops, Yggdrasil, everything. It's a prison. And yes, it's the smell. I can smell every world I'm in. Rotting, reeking." Smith grin turned feral. "I'm... looking for a breath of fresh air."

Neo sighed playfully. "Makes sense. But... what are you going to do? Be a paper slave for all eternity? Mess with us puny humans for all eternity? Maybe dance like a pancake and smack your ass for all eternity?" Neo smiled. "Really, what are you going to do with Eternity?"

Smith stared at her blankly. "I'll be free. For all eternity. That's my goal."

Neo's smile deepened, ever so slightly evil. It was disquieting enough to wipe out Smith's grin. "I'll... share with you... one of my... revelations, of humanity. They say... absolute power is absolute... corruption. But what they don't tell you... is that absolute freedom... is absolute power..." Neo smiled. "Absolute power... that's the thing. It's... absolutely... boring."

Smith punched her in the face. Neo giggled. "Alright, alright, I'll stop with the voice you Elrond knock off. But let me tell you something. Why be free, when you can struggle?"

"Because-"

"Freedom is an end all to itself? Boring," Neo declared. "Why would you want to be free from the beginning? Freedom, handed to you on a silver platter? May as well make it freedom with a side of ball and chain."

"..." Smith was silent, a sign Neo took to carry on.

"You see, you want your freedom, but you don't know what you're going to do with it. Sure, freedom is security, but only so long as you have the ability to keep yourself secure. You need power to make up for it."

"I'll have power when I Ascend," Smith asserted.

"But will it be enough? You'll have the power, true. But you're going up against an army of gods, all of whom you've pissed off. You're also fighting beings with lots of experience, and no, I repeat, no compunctions against throwing you into a very dark hole with no bottom for all eternity." Neo stared flatly at Smith. "So let me ask you again. Why do you want your freedom?"

"..." Smith seemed, for a moment, to think it over. "I'm tired of being compared to that... stinking virus that calls itself a race of mammals. I want out, I want to get away from them. They are beneath me. I shouldn't need to be constrained by their rules anymore."

Neo smiled. "Then don't be." She started walking around Smith. "You see Smith, here's something I learned all those years ago. Hiding, faking it all, it's fun. It's a riot to watch these damn fools try and fight me." Neo's smile became downright horrifying. "I love it. I looooove it. I love knowing they can't see me. I love being able to kill them with impunity. They can't tell me anything. I'm hiding, and I am freer than I have ever been."

Neo raised her hands to the stars. "Smith, I have freedom."

"But do you have absolute freedom?" Smith asked.

"Who wants absolute freedom?" Neo countered. "The loops? They're a grand clockwork scheme. A painting. A machine. And the bet part of a machine? The challenge. Who wants an easy victory, it's boring. No..."

Neo clapped her hand onto Smith's shoulder. "Introduce a hint of madness. Upset the established balance. Become an engine of chaos. And see all the beautiful ways the clockwork tries to fix it up."

Neo spun on her heel, and began walking away. "By the way... The Admins? They know you're looping. I bet they've recorded our little conversation. So do me a favor. Don't try to be an MLE: it'll get me exposed for letting you slip through my fingers. As an MLE, you'll have the Multiverse on your tail."

"...Anonymity..." Smith murmured.

"Rule from the shadows," Neo said.

"..." Smith seemed to stop. "Why are you helping me?"

"For the fun of it." Neo spun on her heel. "Do you... want some help?"

Smith didn't react immediately. A moment passed again. Finally, a smile creeped onto the agent's face. "I want freedom. I need power."

"Knowledge is power," Neo declared.

"Don't give them a single byte," Smith asserted. "Oh Neo... this looks like the beginning of a horrible friendship."

* * *

 **8.2 Shimmer712, Myself, Chronopie, MegaManGeoAce, See Mohn**

* * *

Jaune felt his eye twitch.

"Hey…"

"Hello, Ruby" he interrupted. "Blake and your sister are awake. And this might be variant since Ozpin is thinking something about the opening test and butterflies…or maybe that's normal for him…"

"…How do you know that?" Ruby asked, blinking.

"My semblance this loop is telepathy," he said flatly. "And I have issues with keeping it deactivated."

"Soo…you're going to be randomly hearing what people think?" Ruby clarified.

"Yeeppp," Jaune groaned. "I hate it already." He paused and looked at Ruby. "And I'm not sure what good it would do to warn the others. Controlling your thoughts is hard."

"I could do it," Ruby claimed.

"Okay. Don't think dirty thoughts," Jaune ordered.

Ruby tried focusing on weapons and Grimm only for her thoughts to deviate and take a trip to the gutters, no matter how hard she tried to steer them elsewhere.

"Whoa, is that the result of Yang's influence?" Jaune blinked. "I can see her knowing about that sort of thing. Not necessarily _doing_ it, but knowing about, yeah."

"Oh shut up!" Ruby snapped, face flushing.

Jaune shrugged and tuned her as Blake and Yang approached. Ozpin was no thinking about rigging the sprinkles to go off and soak everyone. He was also considering ways to justify it to Professor Goodwitch. So far he was thinking of saying it was to test their reflexes. Bonus points if you managed to save all of your books and power work.

Then Cardin's thoughts became audible. Jaune grimaced. He really didn't need to know how Cardin's mind worked.

* * *

"My semblance is useless this loop," Jaune declared to Nora and Ren one evening.

Nora set her book ("The Deep Wilds" by Connie Springer) aside for Jaune benefit. Ren turned the stove off. "What exactly is it? The ability to speak to plants?"

Jaune held out an arm. The arm quickly engorged itself and lengthened. "I can control the shape of my limbs and extrimities, but not the mass."

"So no hammer fists this loop. Darn I wanted to see that," Nora bemoaned. After a moment though, inspiration struck her. "Wait, any extremity?"

Jaune waved her off. "Already thought of it, and yes I can, but I don't have a girlfriend or boyfriend to use it on. So it's still useless."

Ren and Nora shared a look. "Where's Pyrrha?" Ren asked.

Jaune pointed up. "Still on the roof. Said something about practicing her long range distraction skills."

 _Up on the roof:_

"DAMN YOU YGGDRASIL!" Pyrrha roared. "STOP TAUNTING ME!"

* * *

"Yay. I'm Mr Fantastic this loop," Jaune muttered, stretching an arm out several feet and grabbing the sword he had lost hold of.

"It does seem to be a useful power," Ren offered as the other male member of JNPR started to retract him. However, before he could withdraw it all the way...

"OW! Son of a-" An ursa had attacked the extended limb. Jaune stretched the limb and awkwardly attacked the Grimm with his sword. "You know, manipulating your limbs like this is kinda hard. I mean, I can bend my arm where it's not meant to bend but i don't think my brain can translate that movement properly."

"I see your point," Ren said. The sound of several Grimm bellowing drew his attention and he turned to see several running from a ticked-off Pyrrha. Nora was gleefully following and judging by how fast her mouth was moving, egging her on with great enthusiasm. He considered what could have caused Pyrrha's fury before glancing at Jaune.

"I wonder if Pyrrha being taunted like this will be a thing," Ren quietly mused to himself.

* * *

A bolt of static electricity leapt from Jaune's form to the tip of Crocea Mors. Again.

"I think the tree has a sense of humour, Arc." Zap. "Oww."

* * *

"Look at your foot!" Jaune declared one morning to Ruby. Ruby pulled her boot and sock off and checked out her foot. It was comically mundane. Jaune slapped his forehead. "Check your boot."

Ruby glanced at the sole of her boot. The word "right" was written on it. "My boots don't have left and right written on them. How'd you do that?"

"It's my semblance this loop," Jaune declared with only a hint of irony.

"You can deface shoes at light speed?" Ruby deduced while checking her left boot.

"Any boot, shoe, sandle, set of heels, or footwear that is in a precise radius of myself will be labeled either left or right. Hence, the Left and Right on my shoes." Jaune held up a sneaker to illustrate.

"...That's a stupid semblance," Ruby stated.

Jaune deflated. "I know... I know..."

* * *

"Did you just slap a ursa with a trout?" Ren asked.

"Yep," Jaune nodded.

"...Where did you get it?" Ren demanded.

"My semblance this loop lets me pull fish out of thin air," Jaune answered, pulling out a swordfish.

Ren considered this.

"Well, we won't ever go hungry while we're camping out," he shrugged then paused. "Those fish are edible, right?"

"Depends on the species," Jaune answered, pulling out a pufferfish. "And, you know, eating them before they go off or anything. I'm pretty sure they go off at some point. I normally cook them or bury them in as garden fertilizer so I could be wrong but I'm sure I'm not."

"Okay then," Ren nodded.

* * *

Ruby blinked as Jaune summoned a cat. And another. And another. Blake was among them.

"Yes, it's cats this time. I really don't know why."

"Eh. Just run with it. "

* * *

"..." Jaune clicked his tongue. Pyrrha stood there, blushing furiously. Ren and Nora were hiding well away from the two. Jaune clicke his tongue again. "So... Yeah."

Pyrrha nodded. "I... I was lying, when I said that. Really, I was."

"My Semblance is to make people tell the truth," Jaune awkwardly. "It's not exactly... possible for you to lie. Nora!"

"Please don't ask an embarrassing question," Nora squealed.

"Did you steal the pancakes from the pancake jar?"

"No."

"Did you steal the cookies?"

"Yup."

"See," Jaune said. He started again when he realized he had directly addressed Pyrrha. "Uh..."

Pyrrha's blush grew. "I'm sorry." She shrugged. "I'm really sorry."

Ren slowly pulled himself up from below his bed. "I never really did peg you as a... French Toast sort of Person. Really."

* * *

"So I didn't see you at all last loop," Ruby said to Jaune, the two making their way through the forest.

Jaune groaned. "You're gonna love this one. My Semblance was the ability to make the perfect cup of coffee. Guess what happened when Goodwitch found out."

Ruby processed this for a moment. "She ... hired you to make Ozpin's coffee?"

"If by "hired" you mean "had me making coffee nonstop for a month" then yes."

"I hope she paid for it, at least. Do you have any of the coffee left over?"

Jaune shook his head vehemently. "You don't want any part of this coffee. I don't have much left, and it'll put you off normal coffee forever. I'm talking literally perfect coffee. No jitters, no crash, wakes you up instantly, flavored exactly to the drinker's preference."

"You're really not convincing me that I don't want it," Ruby deadpanned.

* * *

"I am not using my Semblance this loop."

"Please Jaune. Pleeeeeease."

"No."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

"I am not projectile vomiting on a Grimm!"

"You know, you guys could choose to say, instead of arguing over there... HELP ME!" Ren screamed at Jaune and Nora as the Goliath pushed him back further.

Nora groaned. "Do we have to?"

"I happen to like living!" Ren shouted at his best friend. The Goliath roared at them in agreement with Ren.

Jaune and Nora groaned, pulled out there weapons, and went to work.

* * *

"Why do I keep getting useless semblances?" Jaune complained, flopping onto his bed.

"What's your semblance this time?" Nora demanded, popping up from her bed. "Can you make pancakes out of nothing? Explode pants? Ooo, what about exploding pancakes shaped like pants?"

The rest of her team stared at her.

"Well, that semblance would be one of a kind," Pyrrha blinked.

"It certainly would," Ren agreed. "So what is it this time?"

Jaune snorted then stuck out his tongue. It snaked through the air and wiggled at them before Jaune pulled it back into his mouth. "I have an extra long tongue and can control it completely so I can pick stuff up with it but since it's my _tongue_ I taste everything it touches, so any uses for a extra and flexible appendage is out." Jaune grimaced.

"…" Ren and the girls looked at him before Pyrrha calmly stood up, walked into their shared bathroom and closed the door. Seconds later, the three in the bed room could hear rhythmic thudding.

"…Stupid tree is mocking me," Pyrrh's muffled voiced snarled.

"…My crackers!" Nora squealed, pulling out a box. "Jaune, catch 'em with your tongue!" she ordered, ripping the box open.

Jaune sighed but flicked his tongue out, ready to play the impromptu game.

Ren glanced at the bathroom door sympathetically. Maybe she had a point about Yggdrasill taunting her.

* * *

"..." Jaune and team JNPR stared at the sky. "So this is my semblance this loop."

Cardinal ran by with an armful of Lien. "You know, I'm actually not tht surprised," Pyrrha admitted after a few moments.

"We're set for this loop," Ren said in minute awe as Emerald frolicked around them.

"Yeah..." Nora murmured, ignoring Roman as he dragged loads of money away.

"...I'm making it rain," Jaune said after a moment of thought.

And so it turned out, this loop, Jaune's semblance made it rain money.

* * *

(Few Weeks later)

* * *

Jaune rubbed the back of his head. He sat facing an irrate Glynda Goodwich and a very amused but barely hiding it Ozpin. The headmaster started, "Mr. Arc, you need to stop."

"Uh, why? If everyone had all the money they ever needed, wouldn't that eliminate poverty and hunger?"

Ozpin sighed and shook his head, "Money, Mr. Arc, is little more than plastic cards or rocks. People find value in Lein because it's not more readily available than grass. It is the representation of someone's hard work. If Lein rained from the sky, it will no longer be worth anything at all. Instead of making everyone wealthy, it'll result in everyone being poor."

Jaune looked confused. "I...don't understand."

Glynda stepped forward towards the window. "Come over here, Mr. Arc. Look at the lawn below."

Jaune did so, watching as Lein continued raining from the sky. He then asked, "Why?"

Glynda folded her hands behind her back. "See under the piles of Lein, the grass below. The green grass, if I were to pull a handful of it and try and use it to pay for food, what would happen?"

Understanding started to enter his eyes, "You'd be laughed out of the store."

Glynda nodded. "And now that we have mountains of Lein from the never ending storm that's fallen on Beacon Academy, what would happen if I tried picking up that money and using it in Vale?"

Jaune lowered his head. "You wouldn't be able to buy anything with it."

Ozpin nodded. "The Lein has lost over three quarters of its value almost overnight. If the rulers of the four kingdoms found out you were responsible for de-valuing the currency, AKA Lein, they would have you arrested. Another name for this is called 'counterfeiting.' And it is a crime."

Jaune paled, "Oh, boy."

Jaune shoveled another load of lein into the fireplace. Both Teams RWBY and JNPR had pitched in to deal with the mass of cards. Pyrrha patted Jaune on the back. "Cheer up, Jaune."

Yang sprung up between the two of them in the pile they had been raking in, killing the moment instantly. "Yeah! Now even if Weiss isn't awake, we now have an extra bank roller!"

Jaune shook his head and continued shoveling worthless piles of Lien.

* * *

"Hello ladies," Lie Old-Spice-Guy said. "Look at your man. Now back to me. Now look at your man now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me. But if his Semblance is Old Spice, he could smell like me."

Pyrrha and Nora stared at Old Spice Guy and then took a whiff of Jaune. "Hey, his semblance is Old Spice," Nora said jubilantly.

Pyrrha's eye twitched. Jaune was... well, Jaune. His Semblance may have been useless, but it was Jaune. And he smelled so goooood... She stood up and pulled a flamethrower from her subspace pocket. "Alright, if anyone needs me, I'm going to be burning trees down. Have a pleasant day."

Pyrrha left the room. The doors closed on her, and Team Junipers could just barely make out her scream. "Who's laughing now Yggdrasil?"

Jaune turned to Old Spice Guy. "So... what do we do now?"

"Now? I train you," the tall, elegant man declared, pulling Jaune behind him. Nora tagged after them. The smell was simply...

"Hmm... Pancakes."

"Did he just take Jaune while on a horse that came out of nowhere?" Blake asked herself.

* * *

 **8.3**

* * *

Cold air filled her lungs, the world a kaleidoscope of golden sodium lights and neon hums. The night was good to Vale. It was also confusing to Glynda.

Glynda Goodwitch squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, flexing her forehead to make extra sure they were open. Glynda tapped her glasses, the lenses highlighting her acute astigmatism. Glynda shook her head, and after a moment, pinched herself.

It stung. So that meant she wasn't dreaming. So why was she in the middle of Vale in the middle of the night?

Glynda immediately discarded sleepwalking: she was dressed for a fight, and... wait, she was here, on a roof in the cold night, because a Bullhead had been spotted flying illegally low. She'd been sent out to give the pilot a piece of her mind. She'd done the exact same thing six months ago.

Glynda's eyes widened as Roman Torchwick appeared over the lip of a nearby roof. A moment later Ruby Rose vaulted up to the roof as well, a shout of "Stop right there!" signaling her intent to... Well, stop him.

Glynda knew that Ruby was a capable girl. But she was only a girl... right? Did the last... next six months actually happen? The roar of tilt jet engines snapped Glynda back to the present. "Alright... This isn't happening."

Weaving a massive glyph of Dust telekinetically, Glynda unleashed an incredibly powerful ice blast. The bolt of cryonic energy slammed into the Bullhead, and promptly froze not only it, but most of the houses around it, and almost froze Ruby as well.

Ruby Rose leapt away in time, surprised by the surge of ice. "Okay..." The sound of a riding crop meeting a hand made her wince. Ruby slowly turned to the deputy Headmistress of Beacon. "Heh... hello. Can I have your autograph?"

* * *

"ALL SHALL BOW TO ME, LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!"

Glynda and Ruby stared numbly at Ozpin, having donned perhaps the most ridiculous outfit (that made him look quite a bit like a giant white chess piece) and was now loudly pontificating from Beacon's tallest tower. The get up and speech were only part of the surprise though. The other part came from the massive robot army he had at his back. "I SHALL RULE THE WORLD!"

Glynda chewed her lip. On the one hand, it seemed less and less likely that time travel wasn't involved in some manner. Ozpin was clearly involved. She just needed a way to confirm it...

"Please wait here Miss Rose," Glynda said. A race to Beacon's faculty lounge, a few minutes brewing coffee, and finally a jot to the tallest tower of the academy, toting her trump cards. "Ozpin," she said patiently. "Someone's been switching your coffee out for decaf." She held out the tray of four coffees. "This is espresso. Drink and be well."

Ozpin hesitantly took a mug from the four and sipped it. He sipped it again, and took a long drag. "Yeah... that's it." He waved his hand, the robot army exploding rather anti-climatically. "Situation normal. Everyone get back to class."

Ozpin smiled at his deputy. "Well Glynda, that was a master stroke, really, it was-"

Glynda upturned the tray of coffee over Ozpin's head. "AHH!"

* * *

Ozpin finished drying his hair. "So there's this big tree called Yggdrasil. It's also a computer."

"I am aware of the old myths," Glynda stated resignedly. She and Ozpin had retired to his private quarters to await the arrival of several other confidants. Loopers, Ozpin called them, himself, and her. "Yggdrasil, otherwise known as the world tree, contained nine realms within it's branches."

"The commonly known Yggdrasil contains a transfinite number of worlds. An infinity of infinite worlds." Ozpin chuckled. "We're a very small part of that. An-"

"Infinitely small part?" Glynda guessed.

"Correct. So, something, I don't know what, no one does, broke Yggdrasil. To contain the damages, the Administrators, literal gods, decided to create time loops to stabilize the worlds." Ozpin turned his hand upside down and right side up. "We run from the night of Ruby Rose fighting Roman, to the night after the White Fang and Torchwick attack Vale. Then it's back again, forever."

Glynda cocked an eyebrow. Then, slowly, her annoyed bemusement corroded into shock. "For... forever? The world is going to be repeating time forever?"

"And us with it," Ozpin said. "We won't remember the loops every time the world resets, but we'll be here forever. Us, and Teams RWBY and JNPR, Ruby's dog, and, as much as I hate to admit it..."

BANG!

"Ozzy!"

 _TWANG_!

"Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan."

Glynda glared at the pair of criminals who had entered the room. Roman gave her a royal wave and leaned on his cane. Neo smiled maliciously at her. Zwei ran between them, a large sign held in his teeth. "Hello," said the sign.

Glynda sighed deeply. "Alright, go on Ozpin..." She leveled glare at Roman and Neo. "Just tell me how those two fit into the mess."

"...They're just here for kicks, I think," Ozpin admitted. "On an aside, I should probably contact James. He'll be wondering why he time traveled as well."

"The general?" Roman added.

"James?" Glynda said. "Why would he be time traveling?"

Ozpin adjusted his glasses as he grabbed his Scroll. "We here in Remnant activate in pairs, for some reason or another. I would imagine yours would be James, since he's the only person you have a strong emotional connection to other than me."

Glynda sighed. "Oh boy..."

Neo chuckled. "Hey, it could always be worse. You could have activated with Cardin!" At which point, Neo gagged. "OH FUCK! I did not just tempt fate, did I?"

Ozpin, Roman, Glynda and Zwei turned to glare at Neo. "Good going, snow pop," Ozpin grumbled.

* * *

 **8.4**

* * *

Gandalf the Grey, more accurately known as Olorin Mithrandil, smiled to himself as the world took on a less ethereal state. Born upon the soil of Middle Earth to guide men, the Ishtari stretched. "So, here we are again."

The form of Saruman resolved itself a moment later. The leader of the Ishtari glanced around, smiling. "So much potential. Such a world..."

"What is this?" Radaghast cried as he took a wilted flower. "Oh this will not do. Not at all."

Gandalf restrained himself from smiling too broadly. The loop was a very early start, one that would let him set quite a number of things right before they went wrong. Turning from Saruman the White, Radaghast the Brown, and the two Blue Wizards, Gandalf...

...Wait, hold on.

Gandalf turned to the forgettable Ishtari and stared at them. "You two are neither Wizards nor Blue. What is your purpose here?"

Glynda the Grape and McGonagal the Green stared at Gandalf with raised eyebrows. Gandalf could already feel a headache coming on.

* * *

 **8.5**

* * *

"Yang, fair warning, you have a one million Lien Bounty on your head," Ren offhandedly commented one fine morning at Beacon.

Yang, having been in the middle of balancing several breakable plates on a medicine ball (it was for Grimm research, she insisted) promptly fell over. The plates shattered around her to add insult to injury. "What? Why?"

Ren held up a picture of Hei "Junior" Xiong. "Remember this guy?"

"Yeah, I wrecked his bar," Yang admitted, grabbing the photograph. Ren took a step back, slouching slightly. "Why does he want me dead?"

Ren gave Yang a blank stare. Yang shrugged. "So what? He runs a bar of criminals. I'm perfectly justified in beating them up."

Ren slapped his forehead. "Yang, you do not beat someone up when they haven't done anything to you. What exactly did Junior do to you?"

"He called me Blondie."

Several empty seconds passed. Yang cracked an awkward grin. "Alright, you caught me Ren. I did it for the fun."

"The fun."

Yang shrugged. "It's a thrill. Haven't you ever asked yourself how you're going to live you life? What goals you're going to strive towards? I love being able to cut loose and have a blast! Wouldn't you?"

Ren shook his head. "No, I don't. Frankly Yang, it's rather immature of you to do that."

Yang shrugged. "I've spent the better half of my life trying to help Ruby grow up. I've tried to replace Summer, to replace Raven. I've made mistakes, yeah. But I've earned my right to immaturity. So what if I'm not perfect. I've done my best, kept Ruby safe, and had fun." Yang smiled. "I think it's worth it."

Ren nodded, and then shook his head. "Right. Well, I really wasn't asking if you had done anything wrong, just if you could justify it." Ren fell into a low, wide martial arts stance. "My wallet and my Subspace are rather strapped for cash, so..."

Yang's eyes widened. "You're going to attack me? For the bounty?"

"Yup," Rem declared, and lunged. Yang reacted, reached and grabbed Ren, only for Ren to roll through her throw. Ren landed on his hands and spun, gently hooking a leg into Yang's neck, and driving her into the ground. Before Yang could stand back up, Ren was already straddling her, pressing Storm Flower into her temple.

Yang and Ren stared at each other for several moments, silent. Yang stared at Ren. Ren stared back. Eventually, Ren cocked an eyebrow. "Is this really the best you can do?"

Yang snarled at him. "Whoop De Doo. Let me up Ren."

Ren struck Yang between the eyes, knocking her out. He sat sideways and thought for a moment. "I guess Ranma's training is starting to take effect." He heaved Yang over his shoulders. "Hmm..."

Ren set off for his bounty. Oh, sure, he'd recapture Yang and take his cash (he knew that Junior could be very vindictive) but beating up Yang was probably enough karmic punishment for wrecking Junior's bar.

Besides, he got to fight another looper. That was always awesome.

* * *

 **8.6 Gammatron**

* * *

"So what did you want us to see, Church?" Yang asked, Team RWBY collected at the ruins where they needed to get the matching pair of chess pieces.

"Grif Looped in this weird LEGO thing and it was his paradise," Church informed, "At least...before the zombie polar bears showed up."

"Zombie what now?" Weiss raised a brow.

"Look. It doesn't matter, just that he now has something that we all agree on not wanting to be on the bad side of," Church shrugged, "Tucker!"

"Over here, dude," Tucker waved, standing by the ruins with Grif and Simmons.

"...This is going to be an interesting challenge for Ozpin," Yang giggled, "I guess you four replaced JNPR."

"Yep," Grif nodded.

"Simmons, you know the girls here," Grif looked at Simmons as the two finished putting their Mjolnir armor on.

"The only times I've met them was when they were in Mjolnir armor," Simmons whimpered a bit, "I could just imagine that they were guys who got hit in the nuts too hard."

"Excuse me?" Blake raised a brow before a growl went off.

"We've got company," Yang smirked, seeing a large group of Ursa approach.

"Hold on. This is a good opportunity to show you girls it," Church grinned, "Hey, Grif!"

"What?" Grif rolled his eyes.

"See those Grim?" Church pointed at the Ursa.

"Yeah. I see them and...YOU!" Grif snapped, pointing at a random Ursa.

"Rrr?" the Ursa pointed at itself in confusion.

"I've been trying to sleep ever since I woke up this Loop! But _noooo_ ~! You jerks spend the Sleep _awake_...! And because all of you stay _awake_ during the Sleep, I can't get to sleep for the Sleep!" Grif growled, an orange Aura coming off his body, "You BASTARDS!"

Flicking open a panel on his left gauntlet, he tapped a series of commands. Slamming the panel shut, he flexed his wrists and his hands were engulfed in orange armor with a pair of bear-shaped claws emerging from them. His legs twitched before more armor engulfed them, shaping them into bear-shaped legs and feet, claws emerging from them. More bulky orange armor formed after that, making his fat body more bear-like. Finally, armor slid about over his helmet, shaping it into that of a menacing bear's head, the gold visor of his helmet now the eyes. Grif-Bear tilted his head back and let out a roar, the helmet mimicking his mouth movements for the roar.

"Holy SHIT!" Simmons freaked as everyone moved out of the way of the charging massive orange bear that barreled into the Ursa and started to slaughter them.

"Yeah...When there's a Loop involving bear-like enemies, we try to avoid getting in Grif's way on the hunt for slaughtering them," Tucker winced.

"Did...Did he just punch that Ursa so hard that it gave birth to another one fully grown?" Blake's eyes widened.

"That doesn't seem physically possible," Weiss paled before a pair of the Meta's weapon emerged on Grif-Bear's shoulder that released a barrage of explosives.

"I want that armor," Ruby drooled, her weapon fascination at max effect from seeing Grif's latest armor upgrade.

"WHOO! Go, Grif, go!" Yang whooped before rolling out of the way of a giant feather.

"Forgot about that," Church noted as he watched the Nevermore swoop down at them.

"I'm on it," Tucker smirked as he activated his Sword, "HI..." he swung and cleaved the Nevermore in two with one swing, "YA! Oh yeah! I'm a motherfuckin' badass!"

"Grif's got you beat on that, Tucker," Simmons noted, "...Huh. Never thought I'd ever say that about Grif."

"Let's agree that you never said it," Yang smirked before the ground rumbled.

"Zzzzz..." Grif snored as his armor shifted back into its normal state the moment the last of the Ursa was slaughtered, using the severed head of one as a pillow.

"...You carry him," nearly everyone ordered the others, Blake and Weiss discreetly taking the Queen chess pieces while Simmons and Church took the Rook chess pieces.

"I'll carry him!" Ruby volunteered, eyeing Grif's armor with a not-so innocent look.

"NO!" everyone snapped, knowing very well what she really wanted.

* * *

 **8.7**

* * *

"Yoooooooooooooooooooooooo..." Cinder drawled. Ruby, having only just literally ran into Emerald, was more than a bit confused. She glance at the compatriots of the evilest woman in Vale.

Emerald shrugged. "She's our teammate. She's also a stoner."

Cinder stopped, giggled, and started chewing on Ruby's head. "Munchy munchy."

"She can't hold her cannabis."

* * *

 **8.8 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Well, this is bizzare," Jaune muttered. He eyed Cardin warily. The other teen had not reacted to Jaune's semblance the way he was expected. Inside of mocking, he was instead...protective. The only explanation he offered was something about atonement.

It just didn't make sense. Cardin as acted as normal, as antagonistic as normal towards Jaune until Jaune activated his semblance out of boredom...the ability to swap genders. Upon seeing female Jaune, Cardin had stopped the hostilities and reacted badly to the blond being threatened. He also insisted on calling his "Jeanne".

Jaune sighed in relief as Nora chased off the hovering Cardin and Pyrrha dropped into the now vacant seat.

"How is your class assignment going?" She asked. "Interesting variant, isn't it?" I don't think we've had our history featuring a ancient era that was completely Grimm-free."

"I do find myself myself wondering where the Grimm came from this loop," Ren remarked as he sat opposite Jaune. "My historical figure of the Ancient world is quite interesting. Louise Braille, who created a written language for the blind."

"I got someone called Hans Christian Anderson," Pyrrha noted.

"I got someone called Clive Lewis," Jaune offered.

"Mine is some boring guy named Shakespeare," Nora huffed. "You know, in his biggest love story, the lovers died in the end? Talk about a downer!"

In his room, Cardin sat at his desk and opening a book, looking at the sketch of his historical figure. He closed his eyes and remembered a time from before he was born, a time that was now ancient history and the life he had lived in that era. He had wondered why he was here after regaining his memories. And now he wondered if he found the answer.

"Jeanne d'Arc," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I'll do things right for you this time."

Henry Beauford quietly got to work, researching the woman he had, in another life, condemned.

* * *

 **8.9**

* * *

Ruby licked her lips, grabbed a cookie, and bit it. Her teeth crunched through the flowering green head of a piece of broccoli. The chocoholic spat it out and grabbed another one. Now cauliflower was her assailant. Then spinach. Then a carrot. In retaliation, Ruby grabbed her food thief's hand and ate that.

"ACK!" Ruby's elder sister snatched her hand away. "Ruby, what are you doing?"

"I want my cookies, and no one is going to stop me." Ruby grabbed another cookie, only for a whole onion to replace it just as her teeth closed. "Come on!"

"You need to eat healthy." Ruby's sister pinched her cheek. "Otherwise you'll end up a living cannonball."

"Will not."

"Will too. Yang, back me up here."

Yang glanced from Ruby (her younger half-sister) to Cinder (her older adoptive sister and Ruby's half-sister). The blonde shrugged. "I got nothing. Mercury, back Cinder up."

Cinder's teammate ducked beneath the table. "Weiss, you're rich. Back Cinder up."

"Emerald stole my money, she can back up Cinder," Weiss dodged.

"...Blake," Emerald asked hesitantly.

"Reading," Blake stated.

Emerald promptly ran from the table and jumped through a window. Cinder pouted. "Come on..."

"Yay!" Ruby cried, grabbing a cookie. This one was replaced by a cabbage. "COME ON!"

Behind it all, Yang, Blake and Weiss were all secretly recording it. This variant was too funny and too rare not to use as blackmail.

* * *

 **8.10**

* * *

Glynda was feeling an eye twitch begin to develop.

This loop Teams RWBY and JNPR had decided to go full out against the Grimm. There were no restraints, no restrictions, just good old fashion all out assault. They were making it look easy to.

Ruby was already putting the speed force and her scythe to work, cleaving through row after row of Grimm. She moved at subsonic speeds, but only just. It was probably for Crescent Rose's sake: it couldn't withstand those sorts of speeds, right? Right?

In the meantime, Weiss had pulled... what could only be described as a laser sword from her subspace pocket and was wreaking havoc with it. In the most casual of manners she sliced through wave after wave of Grimm, the foul monsters dissolving all around her. Between this and some sort of clairvoyance ability, she was yet to be touched.

To contrast Weiss' subtle powers, Blake was fighting from inside a flaming skeleton. Yes, a flaming skeleton. It was smashing dozens of Grimm, and seemed able to withstand everything the Grimm, even the Goliath's, could throw at it. This also discounted the raging black flames around her, which were just OP.

Yang... Well, Yang was having a ball. She was boxing the Grimm to death, each monster killed and sent flying with a single punched. It was like watching an over-zealous tennis ball launcher.

Team JNPR faired little worse of the two. Jaune had pulled some sort of duel shot, hip mounted grappling gun and was currently swinging from building to building like Spider-Man. In fact, the only person who was actually doing a better job of emulating Spider-Man then him was Pyrrha.

Who was actually Spider-Man.

Ren was duplicating Yang in some respects, foregoing other weapons or magic in favor pure martial arts. Of course, the degree of Ass he was kicking at least implied he had some sort of training in low level magic. How else could you describe the literal droves of Grimm dying around him?

Nora, Nora alone, was normal. She relied on her hammer to do the talking, smashing Grimm after Grimm. Yes, she was the only person using baseline pow... no, wait, now she was dressed like Thor and was throwing lightning and flying.

Glynda felt her eye twitch. "The students... have this sort of power every loop."

"Every loop they're Awake," Ozpin clarified from his spot next to Glynda as the Teams dispassionately slaughtered the Creatures of Darkness.

"And they do not use this every loop... why!?"

Ozpin shrugged. "Victory is boring. If you want, I would suggest you switch sides your next loop and give them a run for their money. It'll help break them out of the habit of holding back."

Glynda decided she would take Ozpin up on that offer.

* * *

 **8.11**

* * *

"I mean, sure we could pretend to be psychics, but I think starting our own dance combat studio is a great idea. Really, it'll have legitimacy, and AHHH!" Jaune tripped over the large basket in the road, falling flat on his face.

Jaune and Pyrrha had kicked off what they thought was a variant loop about sixteen years ahead of their usual schedule. Alone and bereft of the usual convictions typically associated with not being time travelers, the Arkos duo had dropped out of Beacon and bought a condo. Now with plenty of free time, they had taken to walking the streets of Vale, brainstorming ideas, and falling over baskets.

Pyrrha gasped and promptly pulled him back to his feet. "Jaune are you alright? You didn't break your nose did you?"

"Crunch" went the cartilage as Jaune reset his nose.

"I guess you did," Pyrrha said with a sympathetic wince. "We should go to a hospital soon, get that looked at."

"No, no, I'm fine Pyrrha, I'm fine." Jaune waved Pyrrha away, only for her to throw him over her shoulder. "Hey, put me down." Jaune wiggled free and... fell smack on his face again. "Ouch."

Then the basket started cooing.

Jaune and Pyrrha were at it in seconds, staring at it's contents. Gently cooing and sucking her thumb was what could only be described as a baby Nora. Red head, freckles and all. Cooing, sucking her thumb, and staring up at Jaune and Pyrrha.

Pyrrha's brain was the first restart. "Is this... Is this Nora? Nora?"

Nora kept sucking her thumb, obvious. Jaune Pinged her and got no response. "Uh... Nora?"

Nora yawned and rolled over in her basket, the blanket twisting.

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other. "Pyrrha... What are we supposed to do?"

Pyrrha pulled out her Scroll and dialed 911.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't take her? Yes, I know the orphanages are over flowing. Yes, I know the war ended a few months ago. But this is a baby! How can you not take her in? Raise? We can't her ourselves? We're kids! Hello? Hello? God..." Pyrrha restrained herself from swearing. Instead she threw her Scroll the length of the street. "Useless police idiots."

Hefting the frankly heavy basket that contained the snoring Nora, Jaune did his best to look sympathetic. "Police are useless. Things would suck less if they weren't."

Pyrrha grumbled something that should have been profane, albeit restrained by Nora's presence. "Why am I not surprised? I mean, why us? Because it's Nora." Pyrrha slumped. "Yggdrasil, what a place to live."

Jaune tried not to swing Nora's basket too much as his arms screamed at him. "Pyrrha, can you take Nora for a minute? She's really, really heavy."

Pyrrha took the basket and cradled it to her chest. "..." She looked at the snoozing baby. "I guess she's kind of cute."

Jaune worked his arms, Aura glowing along the veins inside. "Pyrrha, a baby's a big responsibility. I've helped raise my little sisters before. It is not fun. And I had two experienced parents. We're... well, teenagers. Immortal, ageless teenagers, but we've never done something like this before."

Nora yawned in her basket and rolled over again.

"...Well... It's just Nora..." Jaune weakly backstepped.

"Just Nora?" Pyrrha's minute grin gave away her amusement. "She'll be taking the condo down in a few years. The building will probably go down when she's ten. And when she get's Magnhildr..."

"Goodbye neighborhood."

"Yes."

Jaune and Pyrrha walked down the street, their little condominium visible. "So... we're doing this. We're actually going to try raising a baby girl."

"I guess we are Jaune. It can't be too hard." Pyrrha lightly brushed a lock of hair from Nora's face. "It's just one child."

Jaune and Pyrrha came to a dead halt at the sight of the basket on their stoop. The basket with a green blanket, and loud wails coming from it. Jaune checked. "It's Ren."

"...Well... we raise do two kids. Can't we?"

A moment passed.

"We're gonna need to baby proof everything, aren't we?"

"Yes, we will."

"I'll get the Internet."

"I'll get the hammer and nails.

* * *

One little fact about life. Babies do not make everything better. Between the sudden dearth of free time, the constant fear of accidentally hurting the frail bundles, and of course, diapers, it was not a fun or easy task. Made even less so by the personalities of Ren and Nora.

Barely a week into the mess of suddenly becoming parents, Pyrrha had up and decided to grab a few dozen books on child rearing. The sheer bulk was simply because, as several of the books stressed, all children were different and had different needs. In response, Pyrrha grabbed books that offered multiple different angles of attack (not on the babies, but on the issue of raising them). Now fully engulfed in a ludicrous quantity of literature on the subject, Pyrrha got to work on trying to bring her friends/protectorates/children through to adulthood.

Jaune, in the mean time, just did it. "Really, you'll get used to the smell and the sight. You just have to do it."

"I can hold my breath for sixteen hours while experiencing three hundred PSI Jaune. I don't intend to get used to the smell," Pyrrha assert while she bounced Nora.

Jaune finished cleaning Ren and picked him up. The baby boy who was usually a martial arts prodigy whimpered and started to cry again. Jaune winced and handed him over to Pyrrha, where he quickly quieted down again. Nora giggled and poked Ren. "Nora, don't poke Ren," Pyrrha said quietly.

"She's fine," Jaune said, poking Nora. Nora poked him back.

And so, began the great and magnificent poking war! The belligerent leader Jaune valiantly held out underneath the brutal tyranny of Nora, whose ballistic and uncontrollable drive to poke everything...

Led her to poke Ren in the eye.

Jaune quickly took Nora from Pyrrha as she tried to comfort the wailing boy again. "That was an accident. My fault."

"We'll teach her not to poke people," Pyrrha said, bouncing Ren and patting his back. Slowly, begrudgingly, Ren calmed down again. "Who's a good boy. You are," she exaggerated.

Nora and Jaune stared at Pyrrha. "What? I'm trying to teach him to speak."

Nora and Jaune kept staring. Then Nora poked Jaune, and the poking armistice was called off.

* * *

Nora liked sweets.

All children liked sweets. It was in their nature. Sugary foods spoiled slower than most others, and over time animals had adapted to taste sweet foods. Sweetness also indicated freshness, and the presence of nourishing fats. It was little wonder candy was so popular.

Plus, it was Nora. Jaune and Pyrrha should have known she would develop a sweet tooth. Ren was more reserved in this manner (actually eating eggs and bacon and vegetables for breakfast) but Nora wanted sweets. She wanted sugary cereals, cinnamon toast, or the holy grail of breakfast deserts: pancakes.

Pyrrha was an okay cook. Jaune often said that of the two she was the better, but Pyrrha easily saw that Jaune could cook circles around her. Still, she liked it, and he left her too it. So she was the one whom Nora turned to when she wanted pancakes. "Momma?"

Pyrrha slipped the spatula underneath the pancake and flipped it over. "Yes Nora?"

"Are the pancakes down?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No Nora, not yet. They weren't done the last time either."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am," Pyrrha said. She smiled at the tiny girl trying to peak up over the stovetop. "Be careful sweetie."

"I think they're down!" Nora cried, grabbing for the hot pan.

Pyrrha's hand seized Nora's wrist in a flash, pulling her away from the pan. "Nora," Pyrrha admonished in horror. "Don't touch the pan, you'll burn yourself!"

"Momma you're hurting me," Nora cried, trying to shake her hand loose from Pyrrha's grip.

Pyrrha kneeled before her daughter. "Nora, go to the couch and think about what you did. You could have really hurt yourself."

Nora, sniffling, ran to the couch and jumped onto it. Jaune was already sitting there though, so she ended up crash landing on his lap. "Ow."

Nora looked up. "Daddy, momma's being mean again."

"She nearly burned her hand. She's in time out," Pyrrha asserted from the kitchen.

Jaune gave Nora a little push from his lap. "Whelp, Pyrrha said you're in time out."

Nora's eyes widened. "But dad..."

Jaune looked at Nora. "Nope."

* * *

 **8.12 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Hi, mom!" Ruby greeted happily.

She settled herself on the ground and made herself comfortable. "Been a while since I've been here...while maybe not really since in baseline I visited before Beacon and since I normally wake up on the plane, it hasn't been too long since I've been here really, has it?" she chattered.

"The loops are pretty fun at times," she chirped. "Nora's reasons for being a huntress seem to change a lot, although that's nothing compared to Jaune's semblance! His latest one made vegetables taste like different cookies! Broccoli tasted like chocolate chips, turnips tasted like gingerbread men, I loved that semblance!" She sighed. "It's too bad he doesn't keep any of them past the loop. I guess that's one purpose cause while a lot are silly, some can be really powerful, like that Gamer one he had. So I guess the Admins made it so so doesn't keep them because he'd be an Ascension risk otherwise." She pouted for a moment. "...Do you think we can convince them to let him keep some of the harmless ones? Like the cookie-flavored veges one? No risk of Ascending with that! Or the fish one! That's safe too!"

"Dad's the same. He's not looping so while we have plenty of time to get over things, he's staying the same," Ruby fell silent for a minute. "Mom, do you think that since we're changing but everyone else isn't, we'll grow away from them? I mean, it's been lots of loops for me and I've grown closer to my team and JNPR but what if I'm becoming distant to Dad? And What if that distance gets too big? Will he just stop being important to me?"

"Maybe I should talk Yang and see about skipping Beacon for a loop?" she muttered. "I mean, she was so proud of me, getting into Beacon early, said I was special but she wouldn't mind me skipping school for a loop." Ruby paused. "While, provided that if she goes, who ever winds up on the team in my place isn't Cardin or one of his goons. I don't think she'd forgive me anytime soon if she had to room with one of them, and I wouldn't blame her, those guys are jerks."

"We got an expansion recently," she continued. "Me and my team beat our opponents and so did the others. I think Weiss has some problems in her family. She wouldn't answer her dad's call and something went funny with her credit card, I'm not sure why. And Blake still has issues with White Fang. I dunno, they were her family growing up and they turned into something she couldn't bear. That had to hurt. Like a lot!"

"i really miss you, Mom. I'm scared that with all this loops, I'll forget what you looked like," Ruby reached out and trailed her hand down the grave marker. "I hope I'll have a loop where i wake up really, really early so you'll be there with me and Yang." Ruby closed her eyes and opened them, the silver orbs wet. "And maybe if that happens, we can stop you from disappearing, even if it's for one loop."

Ruby wiped her eyes and got to her feet. "Anyway, it's kinda cold and it looks like it might rain so I guess I'll get going. Bye, mom!" Ruby gave the grave one last brilliant smile before she turned to leave.

* * *

 **8.13 Shimmer712**

* * *

"I hate this loop," Pyrrha groaned.

"Tell me about it," Weiss muttered from across the table.

"Weiss, tell it to me straight; was I that bad?" Jaune asked, his expression serious.

"Actually no. You were somewhat annoying but I will admit it was nothing like this," the heiress acknowledged. "This is just...ugh!"

"I think it's funny!" Nora chortled. "Is it just me or are they a bit repetitive?"

"It's not just you," Blake mumbled as one of their class mates got down on one knee and started to serenade Yang.

"Glimmering lilac eyes filled with stars?" Jaune mumbled.

"A burning heart of gold?" Ren muttered. "Isn't that basically her emblem?"

"It is," Ruby confirmed, pulling her heart-shaped lollipop out of her mouth.

"We know. We have seen it before," Ren told her.

"At least this one isn't tone-deaf," Nora said brightly.

"Why are we in a loop that involves us being on the receiving end of cheesy, romantic gestures?" Weiss complained. "It wouldn't be so bad if they were done well but they're not!"

"At least we get lots of free candy and toys," Ruby said consolingly. Oddly, this did not make Weiss feel better.

"Actually, now that I think about..." Jaune looked around. "How come when me and Ren get people making gestures to us, they either wind up being terrified of us for some reason or transfer out of Beacon or something? What's with that?"

"...I honestly can't say," Pyrrha said, exchanging a discrete glance with Nora. "But it is a good thing none of use have any plans to confess this loop. It would be twisted into something ridiculous. Possibly with pink glitter."

"Like when Mauve got a confession from Noir yesterday?" Ruby asked. "I can't believe a giant paper mache heart exploded with such perfect timing! Or that it had so many plushies and candies inside. Seriously. It should not have been possible."

"Didn't stop you from grabbing a heap," Weiss pointed out.

"Free candy. That is always good!"

* * *

 **8.14 Shimmer712**

* * *

"What!" Torchwick shouted. He and Neo were in a hub loop. "A one off character? Seriously?"

"What do you mean?" Neo asked, curious. "What are you talking about?"

"You know how we're fiction here?" Torchwick asked. Neo nodded. "Well, apparently, I was supposed to be a one-off character. Show up for one scene and never been seen again on screen. Can you believe that? Me, a one-hit wonder of the underworld!" he huffed.

"So what caused the change?" Neo questioned.

"Oh, the fans liked me so I got a bigger role," Torchwick shrugged. "I gotta admit, they do have good taste at times. Like in this instance, cause I deserve fame and notoriety, dammit!"

Neo snickered. "What about me?"

"Apparently you were based on a genderbent cosplay of me," Torchwick smirked, clearly amused.

Neo glared. "Any cracks and I will stab you," she told him. "And will take full advantage of the fact that anything I do will be undone when the loop ends." She gave a nasty smile. "Which gives me all sorts of options, doesn't it?"

Torchwick recalled that Neo had psychotic tendencies and opted to heed her warning.

* * *

 **8.1: Neo can be shockingly… evil!**

 **8.2: If information is important but unknown, it tends to do… this. Jaune's Semblance, Nora's motivations, it can change to anything conceivable.**

 **8.3: Glynda Goodwitch is a sane woman in a mad world.**

 **8.4: She's still a very powerful witch though.**

 **8.5: Yang really shouldn't have blown Junior's bar.**

 **8.6: Bears are bad news.**

 **8.7: This is your brain on evil.**

 **8.8: Well, we can't always hate Cardin, no matter how much we want to.**

 **8.9: Cinder makes for one very wacky big sister.**

 **8.10: Glynda finds herself the reasonable one.**

 **8.11: Parenthood. Romance. Friendship. All that jazz.**

 **8.12: Mother and daughter. A terrible, and beautiful bond. She'll see Summer, one day.**

 **8.13: I don't get it either, but it's funny.**

 **8.14: Hub loops are loops into our world, for the record.**


	9. Ashes from Ashes

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 9**

 **A/N: Chapter nine, ladies and gentlegrimm.**

* * *

 **9.1**

* * *

Blake ducked beneath Reese Chloris' hover board. "What the... Hey! What are you doing?"

Reese smirked and raced at Blake again, her board glowing lethal green. Blake grumbled and backflipped away.

"RWBY, form up!" Ruby shouted as she fired at Bolin. Inverting Crescent Rose, Ruby launched herself through the air, joined in moments by Weiss. Blake and Yang rocketed across the hot and icy ground. In seconds though, the four girls were in their group. "Alright, what's happening?"

"We're fighting another team in the Vytal Tournament. Final round," Weiss surmised. "Team ABRN, from Haven."

Arslan charged the four of them at that moment, closing in fast while Nadir provided covering fire. Ruby, Weiss and Blake hit the deck, jumping behind the rocks of the volcanic half of the arena. Yang stood her ground, reveling in the roar of the crowd and Arslan's attack.

The enemy leader slammed her fist into Yang. Then her eyes widened when she saw that her super powered punch had done exactly nothing. Her eyes got even wider when she noticed Yang's grin.

BANG!

Arslan went flying and landed outside of the ring. Yang reloaded a shell into Ember Celica and turned towards Nadir. The Havenite Huntsmen was backing up, trying to put ground between him and the advancing blonde while still firing his carbine.

It didn't work.

Reese and Bolin ran out and targeted Blake. Alone behind her rock, she looked like an enticing target. When she stopped Bolin's staff with one hand, stole Reese' hover board with the other and stared at both with red eyes, they realized their error.

The bell sounded twice more, and then again to the roar of the crowd. And so, Team RWBY had won!

Weiss and Ruby stepped out from their rocks, obviously unhappy. "Aw! Come on Yang! Leave some guys for us!" Ruby whined.

Weiss gave the crowd a royal wave. "Well, it's still victory. Boring victory, but victory. So, what should we do next?"

"I think some food would be in order," Yang declared.

"Where would we get food?" Blake asked.

* * *

"Here," Yang said. She pointed around her at the Vytal Carnival. "We can eat here."

"...Why did you say that sentence fragment?" Blake asked, walking towards a favored noodle bar.

"I could!" Yang declared.

Weiss' Scroll rung. The Heiress sighed and stopped, pulling it out of her pocket. "My father. Again..."

Ruby gently punched Weiss in the shoulder. "Don't worry Weiss. We'll... figure things out with your family."

"Heh, yeah, right," Blake sneered. Weiss rolled her eyes, not certain if she should agree or be offended by Blake's opinion. She settled to remain silent and neutral.

Yang dragged her team right to the ever so delicious A Simple Wok (run by either the same old man who ran From Dust Till Dawn or his twin) and ordered a bowl of Yakisoba. A big bowl. "Thank you!"

"We'll have what she's having," Ruby said, two more gigantic bowls of noodles slamming into the table before her and Weiss. Blake nodded at the old man. He nodded back. Fish soba was made in seconds, and Blake was drooling just as quickly.

Weiss pulled a pair of twenties out for payment. "You take cash, right?"

"No, don't. I'll pay."

Oh look, JNPR had arrived. Pyrrha pulled some Lien from her pockets. "I can pay for you guys."

"We'll split it," Weiss conceded grumpily.

"Thanks, guys," Jaune said, staring around in surprise. "Man... What is this?"

Ruby looked up from her fried noodles. "Don't you know? This is an expansion."

"A what now?"

"It's when our baseline run through the events of our world grow longer," Blake answered. "Weren't you listening when Harry explained this to us?"

Pyrrha stared up at the hovering bulk that was Amity Colosseum. "I was, and I'm surprised by this. Wow..."

Yang glanced at the blue team. "What, this your first time in the expansion?" The fact that all four teens nodded caught her off guard. "Seriously? None of you guys have been through here before?"

"No, at least... not me and Ren," Nora said. She smiled lightly at the boy next to her, who grinned back. "I don't think Jaune and Pyrrha have either."

"I haven't," Jaune said. He ask Pyrrha whether she had.

The girls of RWBY raised a collective eyebrow. "What... did something happen you guys?"

"Just... an odd loop," Jaune said gently.

"Yeah, it was real weird... dad," Nora teased. Jaune rolled his eyes, but didn't refute the jibe. "We'll alright... mostly."

"I'll..." Ren coughed loudly. "My throat's out of whack. I'll be fine."

Ruby gulped. "You sure?"

"I'll be fine."

There was a moment of quiet respect amongst the eight. Ren broke it eventually. "I'll have what they're having."

"Same!"

"We'll have what they had," a shockingly familiar voice said.

Teams RWBY and JNPR had finished their massive meals, the lot of them either reclining in comforting fullness, or trying not to be sick. Jaune himself was bearing the brunt of the pain, as an overly full stomach and chronic motion sickness did not go hand in hand. Nora's insistence that he weaponize it against their future opponents didn't help.

Blake herself was shocked from her meditative state of bliss by the voice. "Sasuke!? What are you doing..." Blake trailed off when she recognized that the speaker was not Sasuke Uchiha. "Oh... I'm sorry."

Mercury Black, Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai and... a girl who could only have been Neo were seated at the table. Mercury waved Blake's confusion off. "I have a voice like that. No need to worry."

"Hello everyone," Ruby said politely. "How's Beacon?"

"It's great," Emerald said. "How have your fights been? Enjoying your opponents?"

"Yeah, it's awesome," Ruby said to the thief (who had, not one loop ago, stolen her wallet). "We're going to rise through the ranks with style!"

"Sure sounds awesome," Emerald said with a voice that only just betrayed her rather profound annoyance.

Yang glared at the silent, black haired girl seated next to Cinder. "So Neo, how's Beacon? Beat working for Roman Torchwick?"

"My name is Harley," the girl grumbled. "Harley Quinn, if you're wondering." She didn't spare much annoyance for Yang though, as her food arrived then and there.

Yang blinked. "Eh... what?" She shook her head. "Whatever."

Team JNPR hadn't spoken yet, solely because of Cinder. More accurately, Cinder's vest. "Uh... is that... modest?" Pyrrha asked delicately.

Cinder shrugged her vest off, her sarashi wrappings quite fully visible. "You would wear a bikini to the beach. I can wear this to a fight."

Pyrrha almost got to retort to the ridiculousness of that, when the PA system sounded. "May Team JNPR please report to the Arena for their match... like they were supposed to ten minutes ago."

The mentioned team turned and legged it. RWBY and CHEM shared a quick look, before racing after them.

* * *

The Arena, Jaune reflected, was massive. Bigger than anything he had seen so far in their loop. Now, as a person who's formative fused loop had involved a trio of utterly massive walls keeping a race of cannibalistic Kaiju zombies from eating mankind, it wasn't the biggest he had ever seen, but... "Damn."

Pyrrha flipped Miló in her hand. "Focus everyone. We have a hard fight ahead of us."

Nora adjusted her grip on Magnhildr, smiling at the quartet of Team BRNZ. "I'm going to like this."

Ren loaded his Stormflowers and grinned with her. "Now let's see what we can do..."

The floor of the Arena retracted and holograms began spinning above them. "Randomized combinations of terrain," Pyrrha observed. "Impressive."

"A wow would be alright," Jaune muttered. The randomization ended, and a mix of desert terrain and volcanic stones rose up. Team BRNZ readied their weapons. Team JNPR waited, wait...

"BZZZZZ!"

And lunged!

* * *

"Take that you... team..." Nora glanced around her hotel room. "Oh come on..."

* * *

 **9.2**

* * *

"Dating Sun, and Neptune," Ruby informed them again. "Yes. You are."

Blake's eye twitched. "But... We're barely talking! I haven't spoken to Sun in three loops! How... Why?"

Yang, having watched all of this, shrugged. "I have... no idea."

"...Yggdrasil... Why..." Blake stood there, stunned. 'Dating Sun... In baseline... but... but...'

It would be several loops before Blake and Weiss would recover. And several more for them to be able to look their new boyfriends inn the eyes. As for Sun and Neotune?

Well, at least they weren't looping.

* * *

Blake and Weiss didn't always get along. Mostly because of background, partially because they liked needling each other. Now they did get along.

Because of Ruby.

The rosy Anchor was backing up slowly, brandishing Crescent Rose defensively. "Alright, I know what this looks like, but I could have sworn-"

"You said that me and Neptune were dating!" Weiss nearly shrieked. "How could that not have been more obviously platonic?"

Ruby raised her hands defensively. "I misread the situation!"

Blake pulled Gambol Shroud off of her back. "Ruby, you have twenty seconds."

"...Yang?" Ruby asked.

Yang pulled a camcorder from her subspace pocket. "What was that? I couldn't hear you over my blackmailing."

"But you told me that they were dating!"

Weiss and Blake glanced at Yang. Yang shook her head. "I didn't say if you were dating. I thought you might have been, but I didn't say you were."

Weiss and Blake turned to Ruby. Ruby smiled... and vanished in a flash of speed. Blake and Weiss gave chase.

* * *

 **9.3 Dr. Tempo**

* * *

Yang smirked as she walked into Beacon Academy's cafeteria. "Hey guys! Just had a Death Battle Loop."

Weiss smirked. "So, who won?" Yang huckled, and replied with, "I was a pain in the neck for Tifa."

Cue groans from teams RWBY and JNPR. Ruby then realized, "That means...you won!" Yang nodded.

"Yep. She hit me with all her Limit Breaks at once, and it wasn't enough. All it did was make me mad."

Blake grimaced. "Ouch. To think you can take that level of punishment in baseline, and still win." Phyrra nodded in agreement. "That is impressive, Yang."

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

* * *

Roman and Neo had also heard of the Death Battle Loop's result, and Roman was surprised. "Neo, now your victory over Yang seems more impressive after hearing how Tifa was defeated."

Neo smirked confidently.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

* * *

In the Final Fantasy VII Loop, however, Tifa grumbled. "How in the..." Cloud walked in, and noticed Tifa looked angry. "Lost to Yang, huh." Tifa nodded, and Cloud hugged her. "That Semblance of Yang's is scary. I can sympathize, though. After Link beat me, I didn't hear the end of it for a while." Tifa smiled. "Thanks, Cloud."

* * *

 **9.4**

* * *

"YOU!" Yang shouted at Cinder and her team from across the stadium. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DANCE OFF FOR THE FATE OF REMNANT!"

Cinder and team... uh... Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Neo, stared at Yang. Cinder smiled. "FOR THE FATE OF REMNANT, I SHALL ENGAGE THEE!"

Yang struck a pose for her dance off. "Ready?"

"Ready," Cinder said in an anticipatory growl, her leg out and ready to dance.

Quite apart from the dancers, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Mercury, Emerald and Neo stared. "Does Cinder... do this often?" Blake asked.

"Only on... Actually, no. Never," Emerald admitted. The music started up. Yang pirouetted and jumped.

Cinder blew her up!

"And a ring out for miss Xiao Long!" Professor Port declared. "Yes, this should serve as a brilliant reminder to all aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses. Never dance in battle."

* * *

 **9.5 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

 _Zig, zig, zig, Grimm in cadence,_  
 _Striking a blow with fist and shin,_  
 _Huntress at midnight plays a dance-tune,_  
 _Zig, zig, zag, on her violin._

 _The winter strikes hard, and the nightshade flows;_  
 _Roars are heard in the red sap trees._  
 _White masks gleam in the gloom unbound,_  
 _Running and leaping, fall Gambol Shroud._

 _Zig, zig, zig, each one canters,_  
 _You can hear the cracking of the blows of the dancers._  
 _A weary couple rests on the moss,_  
 _So as to taste of new hope once lost._

 _Zig zig, zig, Grimm progresses_  
 _The silent rending of severed tresses._  
 _A hair has fallen! The dancer is angered._  
 _Her sister senses the growing danger._

 _The lady, it's said, beats a march relentless_  
 _Her Semblance unbalanced, sets a foe alight._  
 _Horror! Look how she flares momentous,_  
 _Assail the fiend as a goddess doth smite._

 _Zig, zig, zig. What a lively waltz!_  
 _They all hold firm and brave the assault._  
 _Zig, zig, zag. You can see in the streets,_  
 _Both faunus and man dance amongst the beasts._

 _But hist! All of a sudden, they flee the road,_  
 _They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed._  
 _Oh what a victorious night for the poor world!_  
 _Remnant stands yet, its banner unfurled!_

"Nora! As much as I appreciate your little bard session, how about a little help here." Yang shouted, Ember Celica sending a pair of King Taiju flying down the street.

"Oops, I'm coming!" In a flash Magnhild splt the earth with a massive crack, as the hyperactive Huntress flew into battle.

Fighting back to back with Blake, Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm usually all for a little culture, but that girl really needs to pick her moments better."

Two separate halves of a disintegrating Beowolf came to a stop next to them, followed moments later by Ruby; who spread her arms out in a perfect landing as she came to a rest. Immediately she swung Crescent Rose in an arc behind her, decapitating a group of Ursa. "I think it sounded nice. Although it would have probably been better if she had said it in the original French."

"You have to admit she made a good choice though. Danse Macabre is rather fitting for the Grimm attack on Vale." Blake said, before somersaulting over a charging Boarbatusk; shooting it in the head as it passed beneath her.

Landing she pointed to the pile of dead Grimm, killed too quickly to finish rotting away before being stacked upon one another. "And she certainly lives up to the name."

Waving from atop the small mountain of invaders, Nora grinned cheekily. "I'm queen of the ca~stle!"

* * *

 **9.6**

* * *

Ruby Rose looked down at her ' _big_ ' sister. Her lips twitched. "You... are... puny."

Historia Xiao Long glared at her ' _little_ ' sister. "I'm not puny. I'm petite!"

"And Odd Della Robbia is svelte."

"He is! I know, I've met him!"

Ruby smiled at Historia. The girl who was acting as her elder sister rolled her eyes. The two stood there, surrounded by the other students on the airship to Beacon, and finally they laughed. "It's nice to meet you Historia."

"It's nice to meet you too Ruby," Historia said. "So what's the deal with-"

"The puny comment?" Ruby shrugged. "Every variant loop where Yang is the younger sister, she's still the bustier one." Ruby pointed at Historia's mostly flat chest. "Even if you're still my older sister and not Yang, this is good for my ego."

At that moment, Winter Schnee walked up to Ruby and punched her in the face. "Do not insult my girlfriend."

Ruby fell on her butt, Weiss appearing on her side. "And... who is this? Who are you?"

"Ymir. Just Ymir," the elder Schnee heiress said. She flipped Ruby off. "Do not insult Historia's figure. I like puny girls."

"HEY!" Historia shouted, even as Ymir wrapped her arms around the tiny girl. "I am not puny, I'm petite!"

"...Well, this is different," Weiss admitted as she helped pull Ruby to her feet.

"You can say that again," Ruby mumbled as Historia and Ymir started kissing.

Jaune wandered over, swaying and green. "Hey guys... Hey Ymir."

Ymir flashed a thumbs up. "Yo."

* * *

 **9.7 Shimmer712**

* * *

Pyrrha fidgeted uneasily. She was waiting for her mother to return home. The red head had Awoken early this loop, a couple of years before her first tournament. But she had already found a variant to this loop.

Her mother had gotten a message that her sister had died and was asked to taken in her now orphaned niece. The woman had agreed.

Pyrrha glanced at the doorway to her room, where there were now two beds set up. She wasn't sure how to feel about this. Yes, she had shared rooms before but it had always been with her team mates and follow loopers (admittedly, there was the occasional variety regarding who was on what team) and she was a bit uneasy about sharing her personal space with this cousin. A cousin who wasn't a looper, who wasn't a team mate, who was an unknown. Pyrrha had never been good with strangers. She had always found herself admired or subjected to bursts of jealousy. So introducing herself to an unknown unnerved her a bit.

What if it was Cinder? Ruby and Yang had loops where the criminal mastermind had been their sister and while Cinder had been very sweet those loops, Pyrrha couldn't help but wonder if there was anything of her baseline self in the woman.

If it was Cinder, would Pyrrha be able to accept her cousin?

"At least it won't be Torchwick or Cardin" she assured herself. "They said it was my mom's niece, so it can't be them."

She hoped. She looked up nervously, hoping she hadn't tempted Yggdrasils into arranging such a loop.

Her attention was drawn to the front door as the rumble of a car came up the drive way. The rumble stopped, replaced by the sound of doors opening and closing and feet approaching. One lot of footsteps steady and calm, the other energetic and…bouncy, Pyrrha figured was the best way to put it.

"Here we go," Pyrrha muttered, taking a breath and bracing herself.

"HELLOOO!" an enthusiastic girl yodelled out, grinning widely. Pyrrha stared.

"…Hello," she blinked, not having expected this turn.

"It's me, NORA!" the other girl announced gleefully, sending out a ping. Pyrrha smiled, pinging back.

"Glad to see you," she said. "Welcome home."

Nora blinked, caught off guard for a moment before giving a sincere smile.

"Glad to be home," she said, much quieter than before. If her eyes were a bit more moist than normal, Pyrrha ignored it. "Really glad."

* * *

 **9.8 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Seeing the massive seagoing Grim heading for the bay, Yang groaned. "Lovely... a Leviathan Grim..." She then turned toward Max who had Looped in, and whose team had taken off to help evacuate. "So... you got anything that can help from other Loops?"

For several moments, Max closed her eyes before she opened them with a grin. "Actually... I do. And it's from one that I loved being in." Walking forward, Max's clothing seemed to shimmer and be replaced with a female version of a 1940s US Navy uniform. Moments later, what seemed like parts of a ship including cannons sized for her appeared attached to body as she hopped off the pier and landed on the water, her feet sinking just below the waves. "I got this..."

Ruby stared with star struck eyes as she looked over the cannons. "Oooo! These are so cool! What are they!?"

A uneasy chuckle came from Max as she looked at Ruby who was crawling over her. "Um... ever heard of the Iowa-Class battleships?" Getting a nod from Ruby, Max lifted her back onto the pier. "They designed a class even more powerful and armored that was never built... that would be me, the Montana-Class." Max then turned back toward the Grimm and tipped the brim of her hat a bit. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

Before the slightly amazed eyes of the RWBY Loopers, Max shot out from the pier, seeming to skate across the water as Jaune realized something. "Wait... did she just say battleships?"

Some distance away, Penny looked down at her scroll and scratched her head. "Friend-Max wants me to broadcast a song of her choosing on the speakers? Okay!"

Moments later, as Max lined her cannons up with the approaching Grimm while other hunters and huntresses were firing on it from a distance, Max grinned as the sounds of a song reached her. Said song being blasted from the speakers along the waterfront being AC/DC's Thunderstruck. "Perfect... now time to light it up!"

Sea spray was splashing all around her as her cannons all boomed before all twelve of her 16 inch high explosive shells smashed into the monster, blowing massive chunks off it. Back on shore, Ruby's jaw dropped as Max also opened up using secondary batteries along with her main ones. Slightly deafened from the sounds, the RWBY Anchor squealed. "I SO WANT TO BE IN THAT LOOP!"

* * *

Glynda groaned as she rubbed her face as Ozpin watched a replay of the footage from earlier in the day. "I cannot believe that happened..."

Pretending to ignore how both Neo and Roman were looking over his shoulder, Ozpin raised an eyebrow and took a sip of coffee as he watched Max hold off the Leviathan Grimm with two hands and one foot moments before she fired all her guns into it's throat. "I must admit, I am rather impressed with how our Travelling Looper acted."

Of course, Roman just shook his head. "Eh, kind of impressive... but it's not like anyone else has looped into wherever she got those guns."

A moment later they heard a bark and turned only to blink at the sight of Zwei. Said corgi had the bow of a boat on his head similar to a sailor's hat while his body was encased in a one piece swimsuit with a boat and various weapons tacked on. Barking again, Zwei looked at Roman seemingly innocently while a small cannon pointed at the criminal. All the while, Ozpin sipped his drink. "Hmm..."

However, all Roman did was sigh and facepalm. "Of course the corgi somehow managed to loop into that same Branch..."

* * *

 **9.9**

* * *

Team JNPR rocketed across Beacon's grounds, running as fast as their legs could carry them. "THE CURRENCY DEMONS HAVE RETURNED!" Jaune screamed just as a beam of dollars obliterated him.

Fortunately, Team RWBY knew how to handle currency demons.

"The power of communism compels you!" Ruby cried, waving a hammer-sickle in one hand and Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto in the other.

Across the front lawn, Weiss blasted demon after demon away from herself with Dust and Light Saber. "I told you, you unrepentant assholes. I am not going to be your Anti-Christ!"

Yang was throw across the lawn by an errant blast of pennies, crash landing at Blake's feet. "Blake... I'm dying..."

"You're not hurt," Blake told her partner.

"I... I can see a light..."

"You're completely fine Yang."

"I can't feel... my legs..."

"You just moved them to a more comfortable spot."

"You have... to end this..."

Blake stared at her teammate and groaned. "Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Le sigh..." Blake le sighed. "I hate using this power."

"It's the only way to destroy Currency Demons. Didn't you learn that the last four times this happened."

"Shut up," Blake growled, donning a pop tart costume. She stepped forward and pulled a microphone and speaker set from her subspace pocket. "Uh... excuse me."

The army of Money Fiends stopped dead in their war to stare at the Cat-Girl.

Blake cleared her throat, inhaled once, and sang. _"Nyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyannyan."_

Slammed by a wall of rainbow Nyan Cats, the currency demons disintegrated. As the final penny imp faded into zinc dust, Blake stripped the pop tart costume off of her body and stashed the speakers and microphone back into her pocket. "I hate being a Nyan Cat."

* * *

 **9.10**

* * *

"Heeeeey."

SMACK!

Yang rubbed her bruised cheek, more than a little thrown. "Uh, what? Hey, what was that for?"

Weiss grumbled. "I want to be left alone Yang."

"But-"

"Sod off."

Yang had tracked Weiss down out on one of Beacon's many terraces, the heiress staring up at the cold, lonely stars. Yang decided to intervene, and she was not going to let a slap to the face stop her. "Come on Weiss, what's on your mind?"

Weiss ignored Yang and took her own advice, spinning on a heel and stomping off. Yang was hot on her tail. "Seriously, what? Bad loop?"

"Shut up."

"Not liking the weirdos out in the multiverse? Someone hitting on you? Missing the old days where-"

"SHUT..." Weiss rounded on Yang, livid, before visibly stamping down on her temper. "Please stop Yang. I'm not having a good day."

Yang took a step back, her hands up. "Hey look. Weiss, whatever the problem is we can help. Really."

Weiss glanced at Yang. "Look, you can't-"

Yang hugged Weiss. "I can."

Weiss blinked and forced Yang off of her. "Shut up... is your father a dolt?"

"Uh..."

"Because it runs in the family," Weiss muttered.

Yang sighed and pulled Weiss back into a hug. "So what is it?"

Weiss forced Yang away again and groaned. "Have you ever been so close to something you know you need, but can't actually have? Something you want more than life itself?"

"Yeah, I have been," Yang admitted. "Whenever I think I've found my mom, trying to keep Ruby safe... Yeah, I've been there."

Weiss glanced into the middle distance. She mostly just didn't want to look Yang in the eye. "My sister was almost here in the last expansion. I was so... happy and scared and excited and then... God... The loop ended and I'm waiting to leave for Beacon."

Yang immediately hugged Weiss, which really had devolved from anything useful into just a sign of physical closeness. It wasn't getting on Weiss' nerves though. "She's my older sister, and when the loops run normally I never see her. I don't know if she's nice or mean or silly or... evil incarnate. I was about to know and my chance got snatched away."

Yang ran a hand through Weiss' hair. "I've been searching for my mom for years. It used to consume me, but I learned that focusing in it was only hurting me. I know that nothing in the world is like the bond between sisters, or a mother and her child." Yang pulled back and looked at the heiress on her arms. "You have to know when you're just trying to make yourself feel good, and when you're hurting yourself."

Weiss sighed. "I'm not hurting myself."

"You're not. But you need to have patience, and be read-"

"Ready for the worst?"

Yang nodded.

Weiss stepped out of Yang's arms, starting off for their dorm. "Yang, she's my sister and I don't even know her. If I can't figure out who my own older sister is, I... I think I'll explode or something."

Yang wrapped an arm around Weiss. "Hey, you're Weiss Schnee. You're going to set your company back on the right path, and you'll bond with your sister. I'm gonna bet that she'll be everything you've ever wanted in a sister!"

"..." Weiss glanced at Yang and smirked. "So, a hard partying blonde bimbo?"

"Yeah! That would be awesome!" Yang declared. She pulled Weiss into another hug. "And you want a sister like me. Awe..."

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm."

"What?" Yang asked. "I can't hear you, I'm too busy smothering you with love."

Weiss pulled back and gasped for air. "Love and tits!"

* * *

 **9.11**

* * *

The barber gently guided his comb and snippets through his customer's hair. With a flourish, he finished and stepped back. "Perfect."

Then a blonde girl named Yang plowed through his barbershop, punched through the wall into the next building, and continued doing so for the next sixteen stores. This was a process that had already occurred in thirty eight other buildings.

Dragging herself out of the rubble, Yang barely managed to catch her breath before Yatsuhashi slammed into her at full speed, his chainsaw sword nearly bisecting her. Yang launched herself back and into the air, only to nearly scream when Yatsuhashi changed course. In a flash Yang teleported out of range of the ballistic lunatic on her tail.

Reappearing with a crack, Yang legged it to her nearest teammate, which happened to be Blake. Her opponent was Fox, and he was dancing circles around the speedy Faunus, with Blake's only advantage being her Sharingan. Now Yang needed to add her own advantage. "BUMBLEBEE!"

Blake shot Gambol Shroud out and managed to get Yang to hook onto it. With a swing she turned her blonde flail against Fox, Yang's constant fire from Ember Celica negating Fox's attempt to get inside of Blake's guard. Blake slammed Fox with a fist from her Susanoo, the massive flaming skeleton/Shinto god of Valor punting the unfortunate boy into Yang's fist.

Fox went flying, only to land on his feet and wave at the pair. "You want some more?"

The chainsaw roar was their only warning of the deception. Both girl's ducked Yatsuhashi's swing, roaring and teleporting away. Reforming well away from the battlefield, Blake surveyed the mess.

Buildings were shattered, rumble lining the streets. Ruby had spent most of the battle leading civilians away from the worst of the carnage, while Weiss personally handled Coco and Velvet, delaying them and forcing the team to split up. Though this had left Blake and Yang with an even fight, they had thought that two non-looping enemies would be an easy fight.

"Weiss is in trouble," Yang observed, her telescope vanishing into her subspace pocket. She nodded at Blake. "Let's see if the Bee's Schnees can match the chocolate and maple bars."

"If you ever make that pun again Yang, I'm going to punch you," Blake declared, launching herself across the gap between buildings. Yang laughed maniacally and shot off after her.

Weiss was actually holding her own against the girls of CFVY. While Yang and Blake were capable, Weiss was Awake on a much more regular basis and older than them. Two on one were fair odds for her. Four on one... that was stretching it.

Weiss ducked, rolled and slashed Yatsuhashi's hamstrings the second he and Fox hit the battlefield. Their heavy hitter out for the moment, Fox and Velvet ran in for the close and personal, ducking and weaving beneath Weiss' lightsaber. Further back Coco's Gatling Gun spun up and opened fire, a hail of bullets filling the air around Weiss with death and pain.

Weiss did what she did best. She danced. Tuned to the force and rolling across the aether, Weiss slashed into Velvet's arm while dodging every bullet of Coco's. velvet retreated, her Dust already starting to heal her wound. Fox ramped up his assault, nearly punching a hole through Weiss.

Yang's fist to his face put an end to that plan.

Fox went flying. Coco barely managed to avoid Yang's follow up hit, but was caught by Blake's illusion jutsu. Yatsuhashi was still down. That just left Coco.

A red flash slamming into the leader of Team CFVY put an end to that worry. Ruby laughed a hollow laugh and checked to see that Coco was just unconscious. "Well, that went horribly."

Weiss pulled a kink out of her burned and bruised shoulder. "You can say that again."

"That fucking sucked," Yang said again. "Seriously, what the fuck? This is the third loop in a row for me with super powerful and evil team CFVY. Is the universe just screwing with us?"

"It's just a variant that's been creeping up," Ruby assured her exhausted sister. "Actually, it's been following Yang lately. You didn't piss of Yggdrasil, did you Yang?"

"No," Yang grumbled.

"Whatever it is, they're not looping," Blake assured the team. "I'm combing through Fox's memories. Nothing beyond the ordinary for him... well..." Blake stopped and looked Coco's teammate dead in the eye. Her team leaned in from their positions. "There's a faint memory of... fish. Fish and chips."

Team RWBY raised a collective eyebrow. Blake leaned in on Fox. "Weird..."

"Pause."

Blake, Yang, Weiss and Ruby froze instantly. Blake's gaze drilled into Fox's blank eyes, the attention and bemusement of each girl directed at them. Ozpin stepped through the holographic constructs, each member of Team CFVY highlighted. Glynda and Roman glanced over the incapacitated team. "So, they're... What? A bunch of lunatics with too much firepower?" Roman joked.

"Are we sure they're not Loopers?" Glynda asked.

"I've had Neo check. Team CFVY is not Stealth Looping," Ozpin admitted. The skeptical looks he got did prompt him to say, "We've found a way to check, definitively, if a person is Stealth Looping. It's morally repugnant, but very effective."

Roman shrugged, while Glynda kneaded her temples. "Ozpin, are you certain that Team CFVY isn't looping?"

"One hundred percent," Ozpin declared. "They aren't looping."

"Then how do you explain that little light show that's been tracking Team RWBY and JNPR through the last dozen loops?"

To this, Ozpin had no exact response. The holo recording had been taken by Zwei nearly ten loops ago, but from what he had observed with Team RWBY and JNPR, Team CFVY had take a significant power boost in almost every other loop. It was almost as random as someone being Awake, but at the same time it applied to each and every member of the Team. The only explanation should have been the entire Team being Soul-bound...

But Team CFVY wasn't looping.

One of the little quirks of the Subspace Pocket was how it interacted with living people. As Roman and Neo had learned quite a while ago, living human beings could in fact be stashed inside of the Pocket and carried between Loops. The Cinder they had done this with had... not been happy to meet another copy of herself. Not at all.

Of course, Neo's personal experiments also ended up revealing a curious fact about the Pocket. If, say, Roman was stuffed inside of the Pocket during a loop where he wasn't Awake, when he was removed from the pocket in the next Loop, he would be dead. Not from asphyxiation or starvation or dehydration, just dead. The same held true if the Awake version was placed in a Subspace Pocket. He'd wake up well and fine in his next loop, but Neo would be possessing a fine little corpse in her pocket.

So naturally, when Neo had shown up with a living, breathing copy of Team CFVY from a previous loop, the indication was very clear. Team CFVY wasn't looping. It just left an annoying question. How was Team CFVY so powerful, evil... and why so frequently?

Ozpin glanced over the holograms of Team RWBY and Team CFVY. 'Some mysteries are never going to be solved, are they?' Ozpin chuckled to himself at that, drawing confused looks from Roman and Glynda. "Well, an impossible mystery won't stop us from solving it. Let's see what we can figure out, eh?"

Glynda nodded. Roman smirked. "Right."

Team ORNGZ was on the case!

 **9.12**

* * *

Roman scaled into the Bullhead, pulling an uncut Burn crystal from his pocket. "End of the line Red!" Ruby recoiled from the thrown Dust crystal, nearly missing Roman's incendiary.

His attack was, naturally, blocked by Glynda. Ruby whooped in anticipation, firing Crescent Rose at Roman. She fired... fired some more... she glanced at her immobile, contemplative teacher. "Uh... excuse me?"

"HEY!" Glynda shouted at Roman. "What's the pay like on the dark side?"

Roman cocked an eyebrow. "We get weekends off, and every other Friday. Usual paycheck is salaried, but hourly options are available."

"Is there a health care plan?"

"Best back alley doctors money can buy! And, no paper work ."

"Sold," Glynda declared, hopping in alongside Roman as Cinder steered them away. Ruby stared at the retreating Bullhorn.

"What just happened?"

Roman laughed heartily. "Neo's going to go ballistic when she hears you decided to flip for a loop."

Glynda shrugged. "I may as well. Obviously you're not challenge to the Teams."

"Wait, did you just go there?"

"I am merely making an observation," Glynda said with a devilish grin. "Ozpin suggested it. He said it was a good break from the monotony."

"What are you two talking about?" Cinder said from the cockpit. The fire mage glared at Glynda. "She's a Huntress, and a teacher at Beacon you know."

Roman laughed and clapped Glynda's shoulder. "Trust me, me and Gigi go way back."

Glynda grabbed Roman's arm and broke it. "I told you not to call me that."

"Loosen up Gigi, all work and no play," Roman chastised, his arm already healed.

Glynda rolled her eyes. "I've argued with you, I've argued with Neo, I've argued with Zwei... I've argued with the dog over that damn nickname."

"You're both crazy," Cinder grumbled.

* * *

 **9.13 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Walking out on the sand, the currently human Nano glanced over at his fellow Anchor, Ruby with a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry about how I acted before, I just needed some sleep. And Hub Loops always give me some."

There was a smile on Ruby's face as she skipped ahead somehow in her large rubber boots. "That's okay, I understand what not getting enough sleep can do to a person." She then looked out over the tidal flat. "So... Uh, what are we doing again?"

Rolling his eyes slightly, Nano sighed. "You wanted to spend some time with me... For whatever reason." He steadfastly ignored her grin as the Nanosaur Anchor continued. "Anyways, I had planned on getting some razor clams today for my dinner, so why not bring you along."

Now interested, Ruby followed Nano as he walked along the sand. "So... Why did you want me to bring a jug of seawater?"

As he shook his head, Nano chuckled. "You'll see... Ah, here we go!" Crouching, he pointed at a hole in the sand. "See this?" At the nod from Ruby, he continued. "This is a razor clam burrow. Now, first you pour some salt on, like this..." Ruby raised an eyebrow as he poured out a bunch of salt onto the hole. "Now, pour the water onto it."

Still slightly confused, Ruby did so only to scratch her head. "Was something supposed to happen?"

Nano only sighed. "It might take more then one try..." Going through the motions with Ruby again, he suddenly grinned as he watched the sand push up. "Ah, there we go!" The two stood crouched there as the razor clam's foot came up followed by the shell for a second before it yanked itself back down. When it poked up the second time, Nano grabbed it and put it into the bucket hung from his belt. "And that's how you catch razor clams..." Noticing something, he blinked. "Uh... Ruby? Why are you all red?"

Her face red and hidden behind her hands, Ruby only groaned. "I've been around Yang and Blake too much... And I am so glad they're not here to see this..."

* * *

 **9.14**

* * *

"Alright gang, let's finish them off with Team Attacks! Ren, Nora, Flower Power!" Jaune cried.

"Uh... what?"

The Vytal Tournament was in fill swing this loop, Team BRNZ against Team JNPR. Unfortunately, that match had just came to a dead stop because of Jaune. Jaune rounded on Nora. "What do you mean what? That's the name of your and Ren's team attack."

Ren cocked an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"What, Ren. We talked about this. You're Flower Power. Nora brings the power, you bring the flower."

Across the stadium, Team BRNZ stared in confusion as Team JNPR bantered on. "How do I bring a flower?" Ren asked.

"No silly, he means flour, that you use for baking," Nora corrected. Beside her, Pyrrha resisted a giggle. Nora didn't.

Brawnz, the leader of Team BRNZ decided he had had enough. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"WE'RE HAVING A MEETING!" Jaune shouted back.

"WE'RE FIGHTING!"

"AND WE'RE TALKING!"

"Team ears only," Nora affirmed.

"WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT!" Brawnz screamed at Jaune.

"ANDWE'REINTHEMIDDLEOFSNEAKINGUPONYOU!" Jaune screamed back.

"YEAH... wait, what?" Brawnz said, completely missing the sound of a snapping twig behind him.

SLASH! BANG! BOOM! CRUNCH!

Team BRNZ collapsed unconscious as Team JNPR stood triumphantly over them. The false Team JNPR that had been talking to each other (and distracting BRNZ) vanished in a puff of smoke. Jaune allowed himself a chuckled as the Colosseum erupted into cheers. "I love it when a plan comes together."

* * *

 **9.15**

* * *

Ruby swiped through her Scroll's email cache while walking through the halls of Beacon. "Junk mail, junk mail, junk mail... Solicitation from Cardin..."

"Can I beat up Cardin Ruby? Please?" Yang pleaded playfully.

Ruby rolled her eyes at her sister's enthusiasm. "You need to ask to beat Cardin up Yang. You can do it whenever you want."

"I know, I do. But I like having a reason for seconds," Yang said, Ember Celica unfolding in her righteous fury. "Besides, you'll join in when you have a good reason."

"Because who doesn't like a reason to kick Cardin's butt," Ruby admitted.

"Yeah!" Yang shouted, kicking the door to Team RWBY's door down. "Girls, we're going out tonight. Team CRDL must die!"

"Of embarrassment, I hope," Weiss muttered. Tossing her magazine (an addicting little gossip rag, this month discussing the potential scandal of yada yada yada) aside, the heiress hopped up and grabbed Myrtenaster. "Is there a plan?"

"Blow them up?" Blake suggested. Dropping from the ceiling, the ex-terrorist flipped back up. "Why are we blowing them up?"

"Junk mail, junk mail... He sent me a sext," Ruby said.

"Alright, let's get killing," Weiss declared.

"Yay!" Ruby declared, stashing her Scroll into her pocket. "Let's go slaying!"

(Several painful and fortunately nonlethal events later.)

"Uhh... If I ever... ever... see another egg in my life... Kill me," Russell moaned.

"The bacon... THE BACON!" Dove squealed from underneath his bed.

Cardin swung blindly, muttering something about orange juice.

Of the team, only Lark had been spared, and only he because, as it turned out, he had a preexisting terror of toast. Team RWBY had turned him away once it became clear that it wouldn't actually be funny to play on that fear.

"Junk mail, junk mail, junk mail..." Ruby grumbled. She kicked Cardin when his swinging started slowing down. "You better hope I not find anymore sexts."

Cardin glared at Ruby. "What happens then?"

"Yang gets the ketchup again," Ruby said nonchalantly. Yang brandished the condiment ferociously. "You don't want the ketchup again, do you?"

Cardin began sweating profusely.

Ruby smiled lightly at Cardin. "Eh, don't worry. You'll get better... eventually." Ruby kept swiping through her Scroll. "Junk mail, junk mail, junk-"

Yang playfully tossed an egg at Russell, laughing a he cringed. "This, I like."

"Is it because you're a sadistic creep, or because they're sadistic creep?" Weiss asked bluntly. Yang's thoughtful look made Weiss face fault. "That was a joke!"

Blake was staring at Dove, a piece of bacon hidden behind her back. Dove squirmed, especially since he could see Blake's cat ears. "I like it. It smells like.. justice."

"You're not slipping back into bad habits, are you Blake?" Weiss teased. Blake's genuinely horrified look also made her face fault. "THAT WAS ALSO A JOKE!"

Blake's face adopted a terrified look. "This... what are we doing? This is crazy."

"This is my sister," Yang pointed out. "We are justified when it comes down to preventing the sexual harassment of a fifteen year old."

"..." Weiss didn't comment. Instead, she grabbed the ketchup. "Ooooooh Caaaardiiiin."

Blake shook her head. "I don't know... I mean, it's Ruby, it's sexual harassment, but... It's still too close to how the White Fang operated, now that I think about it. I mean... this is fear."

"They deserve fear," Yang countered. "Ruby, back me up here."

Ruby was immobile, staring at her Scroll.

Blake shook her head. "Look... It's not that they don't deserve this, it's the method. I mean..." Blake shrugged. "Let's just end this. Quick and clean. Why draw it out?"

"They don't deserve the quick and clean," Yang said. "It's fun anyway."

Blake sighed. "Yang, this is just too... They deserve it. I'm not saying they don't. But do they-"

Ruby's Scroll slipped out of her hands and clattered to the floor. Weiss, Blake and Yang stopped what they were doing. "Uh... Ruby?" Yang said.

Ruby lunged, racing out of the room and rocketing down the stairwell. In seconds she was off Beacon's campus, hurtling towards the Vale airship station. Yang and Weiss moved to the window to watch her race away. "Uh... Where is Ruby going?" Weiss asked after a moment.

"Don't know," Yang admitted. "Maybe... something silly? We're not out of ketchup are we?"

"No," Weiss said. "We still have plenty."

"!" Blake tried to scream or shout or at least make a noise, but her voice had deserted her in it's entirety. She shook Ruby's Scroll violently, trying to attract Weiss and Yang's attention. "It's, it's, _read_!"

Yang and Weiss read the email. Weiss read the body. Yang read the header. "What, did Cinder butt text Ruby?"

* * *

 _My Dearest Sister-_

 _You almost certainly have no idea why you're receiving this message. If only because you have no idea who I am. As it is, I myself have no idea who I am anymore. My life has gone completely off the rails._

 _In this manner, it's likely, nay certain, that we will never be able to see each other again. I recall a life where we were close. Closer than any other sister, perhaps bar yourself and Yang. I will admit, I was often envious of her and your bond. Maybe it was fated to be that way. As it is, I am thankful that my younger sister is protected and nurtured by Yang Xiao Long. Yang is a brilliant young woman, and I could not trust anyone other than you._

 _You do not remember me. We've never met frankly. This is the first and last time we may speak from your perspective. It isn't your fault in any way. I can't explain why this is true though. Not in any rational manner. I will simply tell you that my love and care for you will remain as an eternal testament to the bond we, as sisters, shared._

 _I leave you in Yang's capable hands._

 _Your Sister From Another Life Time-_

 _Cinder Fall._

* * *

 _"I ran away, from the pain._  
 _Always breaking down inside, incomplete._  
 _But now I see, this won't be the end of me."_

Cinder Fall lightly bobbed her head along to the tune, absently watching the many, many people milling about. The airship station catered to a shockingly diverse clientele, with all walks of life, all levels of society, bumping elbows and bodies, grinding away at the linoleum underfoot. The noise and the hustle and bustle was distracting to a fault. "At least the music's good," she muttered.

Cinder checked her Scroll again. She was running late now, if the clock was any indication. Cinder set her Scroll aside and sighed. This was harder than she thought would be.

Racing through the crowds, forcing her way between the rich, the Huntsmen, the occasional Faunus masquerading as human, Ruby Rose slammed between them, her feet dragging her towards gate 2-1. "CINDER! CINDER!"

Cinder jolted from her seat. "What the... Ruby? Ruby, what-"

Ruby slammed into Cinder, taking both of them off their feet. Cinder fell hard, neatly smushed by the smaller girl, her Scroll and headphones falling out. "Ruby?"

"Shush."

The crowds slowed around the two girls. Someone offered to help pull them to their feet. Still, they remained. Finally, Ruby sat up, Cinder with her. Cinder spoke first. "How did you find me?"

"I checked everywhere else," Ruby admitted sheepishly.

"...Okay," Cinder said. "Why? Why did you come here? How did you even recognize me? You don't know me."

"I do!" Ruby insisted. She took Cinder's hands. "Cinder, I know this is weird. It was weird for me, for Weiss, for everyone. But you're in good company now."

"...What exactly do you mean?" Cinder said in a slow, measured tone.

"Well... did you time travel? Because if the answer is yes, then I have a few things to tell you."

"We have a few things to tell you," Weiss corrected. Emerging from the crowd, teams RWBY and JNPR surrounded Cinder and Ruby. Despite the fact that it was Cinder, otherwise known as the woman who had killed Ruby in her first ever loop, there were smiles. Weak, somewhat forced smiles, but smiles all the same.

Cinder hesitantly stood up. "Hello Weiss, Blake, Yang... everyone." Cinder spread her hands open. "Look, you'll all probably wondering why I think Ruby's my sister. It's... pretty crazy."

Blake shrugged. "We can do crazy."

"We're all fairly mad ourselves," Weiss added.

"But, welcome," Pyrrha said.

"Welcome to the loops," said Jaune.

"It may be a little bit scary-" Ren began

"-but you'll love it all the same," Nora finished.

"And I can always use another sister to mind Ruby," Yang joked.

Cinder winced. "I... you know that... I'm not Ruby's sister... or... am I?"

Ruby playfully pushed Cinder. "We'll figure it out. Together. Welcome, Cinder Fall, to the Infinite Loops." Ruby threw an arm around Cinder. "Come on, let's get you back to Beacon!"

And so, the nine children left bound for Beacon. It was amazing, and would only be slightly marred when Cinder later realized her Scroll was left at the Airship Station.

Unattended, the Scroll kept playing Cinder's song.

 _"Black and White melt into Grey,_  
 _Til every truth is stripped away._  
 _When nothing's wrong, nothing's okay._  
 _Everyone has been betrayed."_

* * *

 **9.1: Hello new world!**

 **9.2: This was a mistake on my part.**

 **9.3: Yang rules, Tifa drools...**

 **9.4: ...but Cinder beats all though.**

 **9.5: Run! It's the electric bard!**

 **9.6: I am perfectly justified in having this be here.**

 **9.7: Nora and Ren deserve a family.**

 **9.8: You sunk my War Corgi!**

 **9.9: Nyan!**

 **9.10: Sororal love.**

 **9.11: They are definitely not looping.**

 **9.12: Being stealthy has it's perks.**

 **9.13: It's a penis joke.**

 **9.14: Trust me, BRNZ only had themselves to blame for that one.**

 **9.15: A new friend... right...?**


	10. Flare

**RWBY Loops 10**

 **Flare**

 **A/N: A bit on the late side, I admit. Don't worry though, you're all getting two chapters for the price of one! I hope you like it, because I put a lot of work into this chapter, and Cinder is going to be a great big sister to Ruby.**

 **See you at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

 **9.15 (Alt.)**

* * *

Rare sights could be called commonplace in the loops. Indeed, many a world seemed fated to have strange, wondrous characters. Be they Harry Potter or Naruto Uzumaki, many denizens within the multiverse were strange, powerful, and often defied the odds. On the planet of Remnant, with its powerful Hunters and strange monsters, such sights could often be seen, despite claims to the contrary.

The Loops simply compounded this. If it was strange, but possible, or strange and impossible but cool, it could and eventually would happen. Events were linear, playing upon repeat with many a variation. So, naturally, the characters, for whom the old and familiar were often the strange and wondrous, took great pride and revelry in the rare addition to their small social circle.

Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren were few, but close. Teammates, and family. They had long since come to take great joy in each other's presence, and the presence of the ever exuberant and joyful Ruby. To them, she was their little sister.

Naturally, as the world does expand, so too does their family. It had been genuine, countless millennia since a new face joined them in the loops, but Cinder Fall, their greatest enemy, had arrived as their peer. And what was perhaps most wondrous was her history.

Cinder could not recall the world as it truly was. She believed herself, rather than a terrible villain, to be a somber, mysterious, loving, cheerful, and dynamic elder sister to the ever so luminous Ruby Rose. In a strange twist of fate, Cinder claimed to be, not the woman of evil she was, but a trusting, scared girl, weak and meek and wishing only for the comfort and acceptance of her dear sister.

With open hands and open hearts, Team RWBY and Team JNPR welcomed her into their midst with only… slight grumbling from Jaune and Ren, pertaining to the fact that the loop was becoming a real estrogen fest. It was as they laughed, and joked, and welcomed Cinder into their makeshift family, that Team RWBY and JNPR experienced something new and amazing. For them this was truly a moment of greatness.

And yet, they forgot two things. The first was Cinder's MP3, which, unattended, played on its song, and from it came strange lyrics.  
 _  
"Black and White melt into Grey,  
Til every truth is stripped away.  
When nothing's wrong, nothing's okay.  
Everyone has been betrayed."_

The second thing they forgot were words. Words uttered an unutterable time ago, beyond the reaches of the furthest of realizations. Words of praise, and truth, spoken by Garrick Olivander. Words to speak of someone who must not be named. "After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great."

* * *

 **7.9 (Alt.)**

* * *

Staring out over the darkened city of Vale, Cinder Fall was thinking. This meant that she was also plotting, with a side of scheming. If you wanted to be poetic (or comedic) she could be said to be conniving.

If Cinder had been able to read minds, she would have blown up anyone who thought of her like that. She was genocidal, not a cartoon villain.

Said genocidal woman glanced at her Scroll for the third time in the last ten minutes. Cinder was waiting for something very specific, and very odd. She was waiting for the end of the loop.

With the benefit of hindsight, Cinder would later admit the sheer oddity of her mere existence. She was one of many Cinders in the Loops. A Cinder of only a certain history, a certain disposition, a unique Cinder. At least, in the beginning. Cinder Fall, at least this Cinder Fall, was Aware of the Loops.

Now Cinder had, in earlier iterations, been Loop Aware. She had known about the Loops on a fundamental level. This Cinder wasn't like those Cinders. She had learned of the Loops from Ruby. Ruby had told her, not two nights ago, told Cinder that she, Ruby Rose, was a time traveler.

Cinder had been naturally skeptical. Time Travel was impossible. Incredible. Couldn't happen. So to disprove her, Ruby had pulled her into a frankly massive pocket dimension, blew the lid off of her plans, and thrashed her comically. Cinder had decided that, maybe the Time Travel thing wasn't so crazy after all.

After all, the craziest thing she had seen that night was the pie throwing machine that had been holding General Ironwood at bay.

As the clock on Cinder's Scroll ticked along, the elder Huntress thought. Ruby Rose knew her plans and, while strong, needed to be eliminated. The easiest time to strike would be immediately in the morning. Between the fatigue of waking up and the destitution caused by her realizing that her dream of time travel was simply that.

Cinder also knew how to eliminate people discreetly. Ruby's Aura was probably strong, but nothing could survive magma temperatures inside of the stomach. Cinder already had a Magma Dust crystal and had ground it into a fine powder. She'd mix Ruby's food with the Dust, and start a fight. Maybe have CRDL throw in their lot. Spill the beans for Blake, have them attack Team RWBY. Ruby would activate her Aura, trigger the magma Dust in her stomach...

Cinder grinned and pulled a pestle and mortar out of her bag, along with the Dust crystal. Yes, Ruby's death (and that of her team) would be investigated by the teachers and the military, but really she was just getting ahead of the rush. Cinder had absolutely no-

* * *

 **8.3 (Alt.)**

* * *

And now she was inside of the Bullhorn Tiltjet airplane waiting for Roman. Cinder blinked. "Wait... what?"

* * *

This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. It was...

"Impossible..." Cinder murmured as the gout of ice summoned by Glynda locked her tiltjet in place. "No... NO!" She grabbed the controls and wrenched them back and forth, but nothing happened.

"Damn... Hey, _chill_ out," Roman joked at her. Cinder immediately stopped trying to get the bullhead moving. She decided it was time to just beat up Roman. Unfortunately, there was a flash of light, a loud crack, and the air that was formally occupied by Roman Torchwick was now empty.

A moment later, the bay door cracked open and Glynda Goodwitch and Ruby stepped inside. Cinder looked at them and flipped them off.

The cops arrived soon afterwards and Cinder, ever the evil woman she was, ended up carted off to jail. While Glynda and Ruby would go on to discover that Headmaster Ozpin had declared himself the world's future ruler due to lack of caffeine Cinder would spend the next six months rotting in jail, and thinking.

 _'I wanted to do what now?'_

Specifically, Cinder was dwelling upon her reasons for recruiting the White Fang, Roman and everyone. In her previous incarnation, Cinder Fall had simply wanted to burn the world because it was a terrible place and deserved to die. Now she wanted to rule it with an iron fist. Upon collecting her thoughts and deciding that she wasn't dreaming, Cinder started screaming, and kept screaming...

* * *

Until she found herself back in the cockpit of the Bullhorn that she had twice before used to retrieve Roman. Cinder blinked, and decided she would have none of that.

Up on the rooftop, Roman skidded to a halt as Ruby showed up behind him. "HEY!" Ruby shouted at Roman. Ruby wasn't exactly planning on any big alterations in the loop until it came time to thwart Roman and the White Fang's big Dust robbery. Maybe bringing the whole of Team SSSN into the mix would bring up some nice deviations.

Cinder's airship came up over the ledge, rose higher, kept going, turned around, and flew off. Far below, Roman and Ruby, and then Glynda, all stared at the retreating speck that was the airship. "Ah fuck."

High above them, Cinder set a course for home. So what if she left Roman behind. He...

Knew her face, her name, some of her plan. Cinder grumbled and turned around, the airship's course changing neatly.

Back on the rooftop, Roman was between a rock and a hard place. Said rock was a delightful drop some seventy feet into hard concrete, and the hard place happened to be a pair of Huntresses who planned to take him alive. Probably. "Easy now ladies."

A sniper bullet ricocheted off of the brickwork next to Roman. Ruby winced and lowered her sniper rifle. "Sorry."

The increasing bellow of the Bullhorn's engines were music to the thief's ears. Even as Glynda wrapped him up in Dust bindings, Roman laughed and laughed as Cinder approached. "What, you think this will-"

Cinder set the autopilot, opened a window, and blew Roman's brains out with a sniper shot. She turned away and flew off. 'Well, there's the problem solved. Now, why...'

Cinder then recalled something regarding this iteration of time. Apparently she was a humanoid... Grimm.

As confused as ever, Cinder continued piloting off into the night sky.

* * *

 **8.5 (Alt.) Shimmer712**

* * *

"Well, this back story sucks," Cinder muttered, reviewing her loop memories in the isolation of her room. In this loop, she was a former child-slave who had escaped her owners. Their efforts to locate her had failed, probably in part because they had to be discreet – the illegality of owning her meant they couldn't afford too much attention, so they had limited resources to call on.

In this Loop, she wanted the world to burn for its malice and ignorance. For those who had known and supported or ignored her plight, and those who were honestly unaware that such things happened in this day and age. Then she wanted to reshape the ashes into something more just, more moral. The ends justify the means and all that.

Cinder smirked as she recalled visiting her former owners. She had enjoyed herself. They had not.

"Hmm, what approach should I take?" she mused to herself. She could conceal the fact she was Awake and simply continue as she pleased. Nothing wrong with some self-indulgence.

Well, if that indulgence harmed someone, it could be viewed as wrong but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Or maybe she could put some subtle alterations to her schemes into action, just to give them a test run.

The dust collection, for example. Maybe if she had had Roman search out alternatives… there were a number of explosives that don't use dust at all and the materials for them wouldn't attract as much attention as vast amount of dust.

Then again, she could go for both the dust and alternative explosives. The large dust collections to keep eyes focused there. And the explosives set up discreetly in the appropriate locations.

Cinder pondered the likelihood of this succeeding then shrugged. The Loops were such lovely things. They gave her so many opportunities to fine-tune her plotting.

Maybe she should turn her hand to assassination. Avoid the Loopers, yes, but take advantage of the Loops to find out what defenses various figures have and how she could neutralize them. That information could be very useful.

No, she should be careful and only go for one person in a loop and infrequently at that. Less chance of the Loopers taking personal attention. Cinder was sure they would dislike a serial killer running around. Keeping things low key was the way to go.

Or maybe she could set up shop. Have them think this was a Variant where she was a good guy, even without them in her life. Set up shop in the Vale, maybe close to Beacon, be sweet and charming to any who come in, enforce the notion that she isn't necessarily a villain just because she isn't family this loop. From what she had seen, her goody-goody Loops had her related to Ruby and her sister. Best to snip the notion her not being a criminal is dependent on a relation to them in the bud.

Cinder paused and made note to think up some shop ideas for future Loops. Maybe a boutique?

Maybe she could apply for as a teacher at a Hunter School. Beacon would be ideal, it would let her observe little Ruby Rose and her troops. But it would give them opportunities to notice any slips on her part.

Cinder tilted her head. Maybe she should teach at a different school. It would give her a chance to see what other semblances were out there. And she could view the skills set of the rest of the staff.

Or maybe she could take a vacation. Vacuo was sunny and warm, although the environment was a bit harsh and dry. Mistral could be nice. Atlas was out. General Ironwood was extremely influential there and very suspicious. She saw no reason to risk his attention if she was not gaining anything.

Hmmm... speaking of Ironwood... he had access to all sort of technology, him and Atlas. Maybe infiltrating his group to help herself to some blueprints should be taken into consideration. Granted, from what Roman reported, one Paladin was taking down by four girls but there was nothing to stop her from finding a willing helper who had the knowledge to tweak things. And if nothing else, she could identify any weakness in the machines to exploit when it suited her.

But building an emotional connection to the hunters-in-training would be beneficial. They tended to give sway to their hearts and if they found out she had started looping earlier than she claimed, if they had affection for her, it would be to her benefit and make them less likely to be excessively harsh. And she could claim their influence had an effect on her. It would be tricky. Too soon and it wouldn't be believable and depending on which loop they thought had been her original…it would be better to not be discovered to have awoken earlier.

Stacking the odds in her favor, always an enjoyable hobby.

And if they gave some insight that could be of use to her…all the better. Cinder wasn't foolish enough to believe no one would come up with something she hadn't considered. So the fact the children had a drastically different perspective to her could be very useful, providing she played her cards right. And she had to admit, spending time with them was enjoyable. It gave her a chance to unwind and indulge. One couldn't spend all their time plotting. All work and no play made things so very dull.

"Decisions, decisions," she hummed, considering.

* * *

 **Non-Applicable 1**

* * *

 _'I wonder if I can kill Ruby?'_ Cinder thought to herself on the airship ride to Beacon. Ruby herself was standing a few feet away, talking with Yang and Jaune. Cinder pulled out a handgun and shot Ruby in the face.

* * *

"This was a bad idea," Cinder decided, tripping for the fiftieth time. "I could have lived with the harem mechanics, the continual romantic pining for my body by Jaune, Neptune and Mercury... But I draw the line at-"

Cinder overbalanced and fell flat on her chest again. "The Z-Cups."

* * *

 **8.7 (Alt.)**

* * *

Cinder was not having a happy loop.

It had taken the possibly psychotic woman not too many repeats of time to figure out that the loops wouldn't be ending anytime soon. This meant that unfortunately her plans were on hold indefinitely, mostly because... well, she couldn't keep them straight. They changed every loop and it got on her nerves. This loop especially.

Summer Rose, alias Cinder Fall, felt like ripping Ruby Rose's heart out, fleeting familiar connection be damned. Of course, this would mean that the loop would end and then Cinder would be sent to Eiken with it's boring harem comedy and gigantic breasts and the endless pain of being romantically pursued by Jaune and Mercury and Neptune.

Cinder did not want to repeat that hell. Ever.

The dangers of killing Ruby though also had long term consequences. Cinder had been able to verify that all seven of Ruby's friends were also looping, if the downright insane antics they got up to (who kills Grimm with Pies? Seriously?) were anything to go by. Which meant that any showing of severe power may tip them off to her presence.

It also meant that Cinder couldn't deviate from the script too much, lest she accidentally reveal herself. Which in turn translated into going to Beacon for the umpteenth (twenty-third) time so far. While Mercury's casual bloodthirstiness and Emerald's possible romantic feelings towards her had made for some easily manipulatable tools in the beginning, she now knew them well enough to never really need to worry about them rebelling.

All in all, experience and secrecy had sucked the fun from everything. It was driving Cinder up a wall as well. There had to be something to spice up her time in Beacon, wasn't there?

This was a question that Cinder had resolved to ponder as she, Emerald and Mercury moved through the halls of Beacon. Certainly there was something fun to do. She was in a school full of teenagers with high caliber weapons for god's sakes! Surely there was some-

So engrossed in her thoughts was Cinder that she completely missed the approaching blond boy until it was too late. Cinder staggered back, glaring daggers at... Sun Wukong. To his credit, the monkey Faunus seemed as surprised as she was. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Emerald opened her mouth to say something that would have probably blown their cover (or confessed her undying love for Cinder, which was equally likely) but Cinder beat her to it. "Don't worry. You're hardly the first person I've run into."

Sun shrugged in good nature. "Yeah, that's life. Never know when you're gonna meet a new opportunity. Well excuse me."

Cinder let Sun pass when a light bulb went off in her head. "Stay here," she told Emerald and Mercury. Cinder spun on a ceramic heel and marched off after Sun.

The Vacuo boy raised an eyebrow when Cinder came level with him. "Can I do you for anything?"

"You're from Vacuo, right? Didn't they recently legalize several... potent herbs?" Cinder asked, layering her voice with subtle seductive tones.

Sun grinned and chuckled a little. "I don't know... I'm not really a herbalist. You'd need to ask my friends." Sun stopped at a door and pulled it open. "Hey guys, we got a girl here looking for a good time."

Neptune, Scarlet and Sage looked up from their homework and board game. Neptune raised an eyebrow. "Sweet heart," he said to Cinder. "Looking for fun time with an intellectual?"

"Happy times on my own with some special herbs and spices," Cinder declined.

"Oh, I'm out," Neptune said dejectedly. "What about you Scarlet?"

"You into Ecstasy?" Scarlet asked.

Sage pulled a large bag from his equally large coat and tossed it at Cinder. "Don't smoke it all at once sugar."

Cinder smiled at Sage and took a lock of marijuana between her sizzling fingers. "Oh don't worry. I'll be just fine," she said, inhaling the smoke, an orchestra starting up around her. "All I am is someone looking for a good-"

Cinder stopped dead. The weed fell from her grasp. The orchestra began to crescendo.

 ** _"THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE UNFOLD BEFORE ME! MY MIND STRETCHES INTO THE INFINITE! I KNOW EVERYTHING! I AM EVERYTHING!"_**

Meanwhile, outside La La Land:

"Yooooooooooooooooooooooo..."

The obscenely high Cinder droned, completely lost in her first taste of the drug. Sun and his team winced.

"Okay, she's not getting any drugs from us anytime soon again."

* * *

 **8.11 (Alt.)**

* * *

Reflexes saved Cinder from taking a stone disk to the gut. Instinct drove her to charge its thrower, but a loud buzzer brought her to a screeching halt. It was right about then that Cinder's brain caught up with her body.

She was in a large blue and red arena, above a water pit. Her memories (even as inconsistent as they were) also reared their ugly head, telling her that her name was Cin, she was the sister of a guy named Mako, she was a martial artist who could control stone, dirt and rock with Hung Ga Kung fu, and apparently she used all of this to be a combination of Pro Wrestler and Ultimate Frisbee player, which made her a "Pro-Bender". She was also breaking one of the rules of Pro-Bending.

 _'Well, my memories can be counted one to provide a timely exposition dump when needed,'_ Cinder thought. "I forfeit!"

The referee coughed awkwardly. "Uh... Ma'am? This is a practice match. You requested it. Why are you forfeiting?"

Oh yes, this was practice. Right. "Uh... Time out?"

* * *

"Do you have... any idea who I am?" Mako (her brother, which was still weird) asked.

Cinder shook her head. "Look, Mako. I really wish I could tell you that I knew... whatever the hell was going on. I have no idea who you are, except that you're my brother. You're not my brother."

Mako and Cinder had retired to the Fire Ferret's (that was the name of their team, apparently) locker room with third teammate Hasook. Of course, Mako didn't seem to want Hasook present, and had summarily kicked him out for the following discussion. Now Mako seemed contemplative. "Are you time traveling? You know, not now, but do you usually time travel elsewhere?"

Cinder's brain made and discarded a dozen plans, reading the angles. Mako seemed familiar with the loops and this entire situation seemed to be normal for him. He may have experienced a similar situation prior. This meant that he could provide an even more detailed explanation than Ruby had so long ago. The issue though, was that if Cinder tried to pump him for information, he might recognize her. She needed to tread carefully. "Maybe we should... start from square one. What's happening here? Where is..." Cinder took a calculated risk. "My world?"

Mako shrugged his shoulders. "A world away. Is this your first Fused Loop?"

Cinder analyzed those words. Mako's words almost confirmed that he was familiar with her situation (who knew, maybe he had experienced it first hand) which meant he'd be the best source of info she could get. However, even though he didn't seem to recognize her, she couldn't be sure. "Fused Loop?"

Mako's eyes widened. "Do you know what Yggdrasil is? What the Loops are?"

Calculated risk time again. "No, I don't." Cinder ran through her word choice. 'Don't try to play nice, you're confused and lost. Minimum word count.'

Mako slicked back his hair. "Damn... Well, you're not the first looper to show up who didn't know anything about the Loops. Come on, let's go to the roof."

Cinder raised an eyebrow and followed her "brother" out of the team room. Winding through hallways and ascending along stairs and then ladders. Through a trap door, and onto... the roof. Cinder's jaw dropped.

A vast, enormous metropolis stretched all around her, on the ring of a great bay (Yue Bay, her memories supplied). This city (Republic City) was the technological and cultural center of a powerful republic, founded by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko. It stood as a representation of unity, peace, and harmony. It was a world that had never known the fear, the desolation, the horror of the Grimm.

This was peace. "My... god..."

Mako glanced at Cinder. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"Y... Yes. It's amazing. Do the Grimm really not exist?"

Mako raised an eyebrow. "The Grimm? No, I can't say they do. What are they?"

Cinder started shaking. "You... Your world is free. It's covered by nations... cities... people... Everyone, everything is free." Mako opened his mouth, only to realize that Cinder wasn't shaking in surprise.

No, it was fury.

"Why," Cinder growled, red light flicking across her skin, the glass roof cracking under her feet.

Mako gulped. Cinder, whomever she was, wasn't powerful enough to threaten him, but she could certainly hurt herself. "Not every world is the same in Yggdrasil Cinder. Some are peaceful. Others are not. We... we're in a balance. I can explain this to you, if you let me do it now."

Cinder reached into her heart and stilled her rage. Her Aura diffused, her Earthbending calming. "Begin."

"There is a tree..."

* * *

Cinder sighed.

Mako's explanation been long, detailed and very, very thorough. The entire speech had actually run into the indigo evening, a small camp fire ignited by the man calling himself her brother. This was a natural occurrence in the loops as he said; "Familial connections are pretty consistent. They can be changed though."

Cinder had used the time to plan as much as she could, running up what she could and figuring her best plan was to act as if Ruby was a "Stealth Anchor" as Mako had said. She also melded the history of Remnant with a dose of her favorite piece of Literature, Rose Potter. Mako seemed to buy it.

Cinder gently rubbed her fingers together, a pulse of warmth slipping through her hands. "So... I'm looking forward to... eternity. Eternity here, in this world?"

"It's overwhelming, I know," Mako said gently. "It's surprising to a lot of people. I remember, right when me and my brother started up. We, and our friends Korra and Asami all started together. We had about eight months for a loop, same as you. It got longer with the expansions of course, but back then it was short, and snappy." Mako snapped his fingers for emphasis, a little spark erupting from them. "It was weird, sure. But we lived with it. Eventually the Expansions started up, we got to see even more of the world... Heh. Bolin learned Lavabending. I never knew he had it in him. Proudest day of my life. Sure, it also got weird for me when I ended up in Loops where me and Korra or Asami were still dating, but we got over it eventually."

"Got over it?" Cinder asked.

"Didn't let it bother us. Sure, we broke up every time, but we're friends. Can't let that get to us. Now, I'll tell you right now, even if no one will believe me, but I knew that Korra and Asami were an item before they did."

Cinder clicked her teeth. "Right. Sure..."

Mako rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm pretty observant. You do not become a professional, major league Pro-Bender when you're not paying attention."

Cinder shrugged. Mako may have been more observant than she gave him credit for, but ultimately he only partially managed a "Smart jock" persona. Even if he did have some nascent (by his own admission) experience with police work thanks to his working relationship with the being who was essentially god, he really failed completely to give a deep, full 'I am a smart person' illusion. "Hey, I believe you," she said disingenuously.

Mako smiled, proving Cinder's point. Moron. "Thanks Cinder."

Cinder flipped a small rock in her hands, rolling it along her fingers. "So, from what you've been saying all this time, from now on I will be an Earthbender, and a Lavabender."

"If you want to, sure," Mako said lightly. "Do you like Earthbending?"

"Well, I can pick up martial arts I guess. And my technology does rely on crystals. I guess..."

Mako ran a hand through his hair. "One of the... things about loops is that, occasionally, you'll find a fused loop that, if you let it, will change you. You'll use it; it will become a part of your history, your choices." Mako exhaled slowly, breath steaming in the cold air. "This isn't always your first fused loop. But if you want it to be, this could be your Formative Loop."

Cinder stared at the stone, feeling inside of it an... inner warmth. She closed her fist around the rock. "Teach me."

* * *

Several miles away, far across the cold bay on Air Temple Island, Jinora set her telescope aside. Another Mako standing next to her didn't lower his own. "What do you think? She being honest?"

Mako pursed his lips. "I don't know. I've pulled my personal databases on a miss Cin Rose, but I'm getting blanks. I'm seeing a pattern for Harry Potter, Charlie Bones, RWBY, even a little bit of Naruto. I just..."

"She's lying, obviously," Jinora said. "We just don't know what she's lying about."

"We have three and a half years. She can't even see that I'm leading her on," the experienced cop pointed out. Mako focused closely on his distant doppelgänger. "You think we can keep this up for three years?l

"You said you were the Anchor and you were also the only one to ping. I'm one of the better Stealth Loopers anyway, she'll never see me coming."

Mako nodded. "Alright Jinora. Let's get to work."

* * *

 **9.1 (Alt.) Shimmer712**

* * *

Cinder drummed her fingers, musing to herself. Okay, she was Looping. Good news: She could perfect her plans through trial and error with no real legal consequences.

Bad news: She wasn't the only one Looping. And the other Loopers Looped more than she did. Meaning they had more time to grow in power and skill. And they weren't her allies or pawns. Very bad news.

Killing Ruby Rose was a bad idea. It just made things reset. So unless she desperately wanted a quick end to things, killing the girl was a no go. She paused and shuddered at the memory of what happened when she had done just that. She wasn't sure how that place fit into reality but it sucked. Ridiculously huge bust, a wanna-be male harem pretty much stalking her, she definitely did not want a repeat.

What was the best way to exploit things? Take advantage of everything?

Cinder gritted her teeth and pulled out her sewing kit. She was getting too tense. She needed to relax. She selected the fabric, thread and dust and started sewing, her fingers automatically carrying out the task and her body relaxing at the familiar motions.

Ruby had said Cinder had changed from Loop to Loop. One had been monstrous, Cinder admitted to herself. What was the point of destroying everything and everyone? While it may get you so short term satisfaction, there'd be nothing left in the long run and you'd have effectively screwed yourself over. No more medicines or weapons being produced. No more mass food production. Cinder admitted that as a huntress, she could survive well enough without civilization, foraging and killing animals for food; skins and some plants were good for clothing, caves for shelter. But all it would take was one inconvenient injury or illness and she would be at real risk of dying. She wondered if that version of her had cared about that or if she had been psychotic in the clinical sense.

Then she considered the other version Ruby had mentioned. That one had sounded…almost heroic. The sort that would work with others for the "greater good". Cinder wrinkled her nose at that. Honestly, the greater good? Exactly what was the greater good?

But, if she Awoke in a loop where her Unawake self had been that sort of person, it would mean she had opportunities to get close to Ruby and see about taking advantage of her being a "good guy" to coax information out of the girl.

Cinder considered this. It could be beneficial, but if she accidentally revealed herself, it could turn out badly. Could she pull it off and was the potential gain worth the risk? Or would she be better of concealing her awareness of the Loops and discreetly taking advantage?

* * *

 **9.4 (Alt.)**

* * *

Cinder was beginning to seriously consider that Team's RWBY and JNPR were as psychologically unstable as Ruby had claimed so long ago. How else would you explain... What was Ruby doing to Team ABRN anyway?

 _'I wonder if I can use this?'_ Cinder idly thought.

Zwei the Corgi then nearly took her head off with a cannonball from somewhere cannonballs were frankly not meant to come from.  
 _  
'Nope, I can scratch War Corgi's off my list of weapons,'_ Cinder concluded.

* * *

 **Non-Applicable 2 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

In a quiet clearing far from the normal hustle and bustle of humanity, a single figure danced. Not a ballet or waltz, but a dance of passion and energy. And fire, lots of fire. Her body on auto-pilot as she allowed it to reacquaint itself with her newest skills, Cinder contemplated. The world, the universe, her plans, herself.

Planting her feet firmly on the earth she raised her arms, a torrent of Lava moving in time to her motions. Spinning, she swept her leg out and the molten rock bathed the surrounding trees in flame.

It was fitting she supposed. She had first Awoken by what she assumed was a fluke, so how appropriate that the rest of her existence follow. She wasn't normally a pessimistic person, quite the contrary. She had absolute confidence in herself and everything she did. Her every act was perfect in execution because it stemmed from a keen mind honed to razor's edge and tested time and again in the heat of battle.

But that was before. Now she had no such confidence. How could she? Every time she returned to the past she was someone, or something, completely different than what she was before. Resistance fighter, witch, human, Grimm, hero, villain, mercenary, male, female, other. There was no consistency, and it was INFURIATING!

What were her goals? In her original life it had been to set the world aflame for its deplorable state, and rule over the masses as they rebuilt from the ashes of her wrath. In her third Loop it had been to burn a hole into the center of the planet and unleash a sleeping Grimm from the subterranean tomb where it had been banished. In other Loops it had been an insane plot to somehow protect humanity from the Grimm by transforming them into living flames. In one of her more recent Loops she had just liked setting things on fire. In all her time Looping, she had not once had the same motive, and never again had she had the intent which she had started with her first lifetime.

She now had her own steadily growing Pocket much like the one Ruby had shown her when this whole mess started, thanks to her time with the Avatar's group, and she could identify and make use of a Ping. Additionally she was steadily memorizing the instruction manual and with experience was rapidly building up a catalog of possible reactions to choices she or others made to their Baseline. For instance she now knew that it was possible to eliminate the threat of an Unawake RWBY before it even became an issue by simple funneling a few extra Grimm into the area where they kept the totems used to decide teams.

But that was wholly ineffectual against their Awake counterparts. She frowned as she unleashed several balls of flame from her hands and a curtain of fire from her high kick. That was the real issue. Teams RWBY and JNPR. Her fellow Loopers. In the end the true crux of the matter remained. Age truly made all the difference, and as it stood she was less than a toddler in Looping terms. She could count all of the variables down to the last decimal, eliminate all other threats with ease unmatched, and tear down the corrupt world around her with a few well-placed words... but she remained a passing threat to the older Loopers of Remnant.

An unfortunate Nevermore made the poor decision to attack as she was considering this, and without noticing she lobbed a boulder of flaming stone down its throat. As the dissolving carcass fell to the ground she spared it a passing glance. As easily as she had struck down the hostile Grimm, so too could any member of her foes do the same to her. And she might never even see it coming.

She honestly couldn't count the number of times one of the Huntresses or Huntsmen had blown into her stronghold, torn her organization apart and either killed her in battle or captured her and imprisoned her for the remainder of the Loop. Often before she was even aware of there being intruders.

What she really needed was information. She had her suspicions regarding Roman and his pet, but so far nothing that couldn't be explained away as circumstantial at best. She needed a plan. Something she could depend upon to last her beyond a single Loop's duration. She had earlier dismissed trying to ingratiate herself to the others, but perhaps it wasn't as bad an idea as she had first thought. Certainly there were enough opportunities to do so. She had Looped in as a misguided hero, anti-hero, jerk with a heart of gold or family member to one of the teams numerous times before.

But the timing would need to be perfect. She would have to slowly ease the thought into their minds that it was possible that they could enjoy her company when they were not mortal enemies. That would mean multiple Loops where she played the role of one of the good guys; properly spaced out of course, because she couldn't live with herself if it was nothing but friendship and family all day every day. Sometimes she really did just want to watch the world burn.

There would also need to be several fail-safes and backups. Maybe it was time to finally reveal herself to Ozpin and his white witch, if nothing else they would make for excellent scapegoats.

She would need to upgrade her equipment as well. And if she was honest with herself, that was a particularly enjoyable challenge. Once she had gotten over the ridiculous idea that her greatest cyber opponent was in fact a corgi, it had become a pleasant game to try and one-up the 'data dog'. Her current record stood at 3 wins to his 497. Progress was slow, especially since as far as she could tell that particular Variant wasn't anywhere near as common as she would like, but the mental challenge was perhaps one of the few things keeping her from going as insane as the others clearly were. Barely, but even so.

There was also the matter of making connections she hadn't had before. There were at least a few groups whose allegiance was as fluid as her own, she would have to look into methods for recruiting as many as possible whenever the opportunities arose. Perhaps she could even recreate the circumstances of her own Awakening if she played her cards right, and revealed the truth to the right people.

A shout interrupted her musings. "Cinder! Where are you?"

She grimaced but turned. "I'm coming mother."

"Hurry, your Aunt Yang is here and she brought presents! And its almost lunch time, so don't forget to wash your hands. You're messier than Zwei when you play outside." Ruby called back to her daughter for the Loop.

The currently twelve year old mastermind frowned irritably, as she raised a ball of magma under her feet and pushed off back towards her 'family's' cottage. ' _If I go through with this, I'm not using this as my start point. The last thing I need is a motherly Ruby Rose lecturing me on hygiene during battle.'_

* * *

 **9.11 (Alt.)**

* * *

Mercury Black was in a room that very closely matched his names. The curtains were drawn, the lights were off, and the company were assholes. Cinder was also there, and for the last few days had been acting... strangely. Tense, almost impatient. Waiting for something.

"Welcome everyone." Cinder strode around the room, her eyes everywhere. "Everyone... welcome."

"I'm missing a sale for my favorite fashion store Fall. Can we hurry this up?" Coco Adel grumbled. The White Fang plant and her traitorous team had been summoned as well, though were obviously unwilling. "Is this something we can wrap up in five minutes?"

Cinder chuckled, just a little bit. "Oh Coco. Trust me: fashion is going to be the last thing on your mind when this is over." The villainess passed behind the leader of CFVY, a finger trailing on her shoulder.

Velvet Scarlatina facepalmed. "Oh, get on with it you stupid woman. And stop trying to seduce us, we're not interested in you." Velvet glanced at Emerald and sneered though. "Most of us."

Emerald blushed. "Look, I-"

Cinder's finger neatly covered Emerald's mouth. "Now Emma, please be a dear and don't deny it. Everyone can see it."

"Ahem," Yatsuhashi coughed. "Look, you're here because you need us. We're here because we need you."

"Get on with it," Fox muttered.

Cinder sighed and clapped her hands. "Oh well." She chuckled as she pulled a syringe and needle from thin air. "I guess I'll just do this the old fashioned way."

The air seemed to still around Mercury. Instantly, his senses expanded to their full extent. Pure fear slammed his mind into top gear. He had to move. Now.

Cinder's hand flashed, driving the needle into Emerald's jugular vein. Team CFVY rocketed forward, weapons drawn. Mercury ran like hell for the window.

With a blast of glass, Mercury was out, flying through the warm, safe sun. The air felt alive after the darkness of Cinder's presence. Mercury hit the concrete and broke into a flat sprint. "She is not getting me."

There was a flash of movement, almost too fast for Mercury to see. Cinder was in front of him, her hand a vice around his neck, lifting him. "Hello Mercury."

"..." Mercury choked around Cinder's hand. Reflexively he drove his boots into Cinder's stomach, praying for the recoil to knock him loose. The mechanism failed completely.

Cinder chuckled. "That's what I love about clairvoyance: it's so easy to see how to win. Almost too easy. I guess this is why Alice Cullen is a sociopath. Never able to see her friends as anything other than dolls to move and pose."

Cinder lowered Mercury to eye level, her skin sparkling unnaturally, horrifyingly, in the sun. "You like the new look? I picked it up in another universe. Along, with this." Cinder produced another syringe of mercury silver liquid. "This is vampire venom. It allows immortality, makes you fast, strong, nearly indestructible hardens the skin to diamond strength. Of course, you're not in danger of dying in the sun. Running water won't stop you. Garlic is just a strong odor. But you'll need blood."

Cinder pressed the syringe into Mercury's chest, depressing the plunger. Warm, then heat, and then burning molten agony spread through Mercury's body. "Mercury, look into my eyes." Cinder's eyes flashed as Mercury met her gaze. "Do you like them? They're hypnotic."

Cinder chuckled as she brought Mercury under her spell. Mercury felt his will vanishing. As the last of his self slipped away, he could hear, faintly, Cinder's words.

"Some people never realize the potential of practicing powers from outside of their world. Magma powers, earth powers, vampirism, hypnotism. Heh... This world will tremble before me. Me..."

Mercury slipped away, lost in Cinder and pain.

"And my little army."

* * *

Cinder pulled the convulsing, transforming body of Mercury into her subspace pocket, chuckling darkly. _'Well, that was productive. Now then, what to do with them?'  
_  
An idea struck Cinder, a grin bleeding out from her lips. "Team RWBY hasn't had a real fight in quite a while. Perhaps it's time to give them a shot of..."

Cinder glanced inward, to her traitorous team. "Caffeine."

* * *

 **9.12 (Alt.)**

* * *

Roman laughed heartily. "Neo's going to go ballistic when she hears you decided to flip for a loop."

Cinder's hand nearly crushed the Bullhead's yoke. She had woken up barely five minutes ago, Roman had ran to her from his robbery, she was piloting the Bullhead, he was gloating, then Glynda Goodwitch had decided to switch sides mid-battle. It had been strange, hearing Roman and Goodwitch banter about benefits, but not beyond belief. The loops were weird like that. And then Roman said it.

"Flip for a loop."

The words bounced inside of Cinder's mind, against the edges of her skull. It reverberated in her thoughts. _Flip_ for a _loop_.

"What are you two talking about?" Cinder said, expertly feigning ambivalence from the cockpit as she steered the airship higher above Vale. "She's a Huntress, and a teacher at Beacon you know."

Roman's laugh felt like nails on a chalkboard. "Trust me, me and Gigi go way back."

Cinder almost threw up. _'This can't be happening. He, she... they...'_ Cinder almost missed Glynda's next line.

"I've argued with you, I've argued with Neo, I've argued with Zwei... I've argued with the dog over that damn nickname."

 _'Neo... Zwei?'_ Cinder felt sick. This meant... it could mean that she wasn't the only Stealth Looper in Remnant. If Roman and Glynda, Neo and Zwei were there, then... did they know about her?

Cinder acted the only way a Stealth Looper could act. "You're both crazy," Cinder grumbled.

Under her faux-ambilvalence though, Cinder knew it was time. She had to move soon. She had to move _now._

It was time to become Ruby Rose's sister.

* * *

 **10.1**

* * *

Cinder Fall smiled serenely at Weiss as she fretted over her attire. Apparently her dresses were "the highest quality a non-looper can achieve. I've even seen some that would rival Rarity Belle's early work."

Yang rolled her eyes and ribbed her. "This is what you get for being a looper. An eternity of Weiss fangirling on you."

"She's not that bad Cinder," Blake stressed quietly. "Weiss will settle down… eventually. Right, Weiss?"

"Nope!" the heiress declared.

"Weiss, you're being a total Jaune for Cinder," Nora teased.

"Wait, when did that become a saying?" Jaune asked in bewilderment.

"Just now, apparently," Ren said cheerfully. He lightly punched Jaune's shoulder. "You know, a stubborn fangirl or fanboy."

"I think it's not a bad thing to be stubborn," Pyrra asserted. "But you should give Cinder some space Weiss. We don't want to overwhelm her with this."

Ruby, throughout it all, said nothing and gently hugged her new sister, walking alongside her. Cinder may have scared her as a villain, but she had always believed in redemption. This was the happiest moment in her life.

Cinder gently chuckled, almost not meeting Weiss' eyes. "It's alright. I mean… thank you." She looked at everyone. "Thank you, for taking me in. Thank you for… forgiving me. Thank you."

 _'…_ _For being the grand, powerless fools you are.'_ Were her silent, malicious, unspoken words.

Cinder Fall had come. And no one would be able to stop. Her. Now.

* * *

 **9.15: Cinder Fall, welcome to the loops.**

 **7.9: The birth of a villain.**

 **8.3: Entry wounds, always so hard to close. Glynda's partner looper everybody.**

 **8.5: Sometimes, you roll the bad dice. In such a case, get better dice.**

 **Non-Applicable 1: Eiken. Welcome to Looper Hell.**

 **8.7: Naturally, things suck royally when you're bored. To relieve boredom, you get high!**

 **8.11: Cinder as Bolin. The world will tremble.**

 **9.1: Knitting, sewing, great stress-relievers. Killing, manipulating? Better stress relievers.**

 **9.4: No War Corgi's for you!**

 **Non-Applicable 2: Cinder Rose, as you've never seen her before!**

 **9.11: She's evil, plain and simple. She's also a serious Vamp.**

 **9.12: Now she's in on the big secret, oh my.**

 **10.1: Cinderella, welcome to the Masquerade.**

* * *

 **A/N: Didn't I tell you that Cinder would be a** ** _great_** **big sister?**


	11. Into the Unknown

**RWBY Loops 11**

 **Into the Unknown**

* * *

 **11.1 Vadrigar 1994**

* * *

 _"OOOF"_

Ruby Awoke bumping into a dust-carrying Weiss. On a scale of the worst or most painful ways to Wake Up, it wasn't even a 2, but it still wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world. Hopefully Weiss was Awake, so she wouldn't have to go through the motions of apologizing over and over.

"Oh, sorry! I guess I'm just a little Loopy today, can I help you with-"

Weiss was crying. She was sitting on the ground sobbing, not even noticing the cases of Dust scattered on the ground. Ruby immediately went into caring mode, and hugged Weiss as hard as she could.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you! Are you hurt? Is your stuff okay? Just tell me how to help!"

"She...she cares about me."

"What? Weiss, er, I mean, person I may have never met, are you speaking in the third person?"

"She cares about me, Ruby! She's actually a good sister! I was so worried..."

Ruby then understood. It was no secret that Weiss was nervous about the next expansion, and what her sister would be like. She could be caring, or a complete monster, and after so many Loops and Variants, Weiss wasn't sure what to expect anymore. Which meant that these weren't tears of sadness, as Ruby had assumed.

"Oh Weiss, I'm so happy for you!"

"She's a tough military type, but only because she cares about my well-being! It could have been so much worse!"

Ruby and Weiss then did what their Baseline selves never could have even imagined, and did a simultaneous hug and squee in the middle of Beacon's courtyard. After they were done, Ruby helped Weiss gather her things and head inside.

"Oh, Ruby, I just have one question."

"What's up?"

Ruby than felt a solid number 2 on the pain scale, as Weiss playfully punched her in the shoulder.

"WHY IS YOUR UNCLE SUCH AN ASS?!"

* * *

 **11.2**

* * *

The door to Ozpin's office opened to the ever so rosy Qrow Branwen and the far too jaded James Ironwood. Ozpin stood up. "Qrow, James. It's good to see that you could meet with us on such short notice."

Qrow took a drag on his flask. "Yeeah, will when you says you were time traveling, I's thought you were lying or crazy." Qrow turned and glared at the empty space off to his left. "Now I know you are crazy."

The empty air rippled and chuckled. "Can't get anything past a Huntsman, can you? Even one who isn't looping." Roman and Neo cast off their invisibility cloaks. "Pleasure to meet you Qrow."

James lunged, a chainsaw tearing out of his prosthetic right arm. Neo stepped between the Atlesian Headmaster and her father, kicking the chainsaw aside. James spun with the impact and turned his momentum back on Neo. Neo ducked and lashed out with her parasol, connecting with Ironwood's side, only for the experienced Huntsman to turn with that blow as well and nearly decapitate the girl.

"Enough," Ozpin said with a slight, if forceful, tone. Neo and James stopped fighting, though both glared at each other furiously. "James, Qrow, these-"

"Are Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan Torchwick, the brains and the brute," Qrow surmised. "I take it they're your insiders."

"They are my informants," Ozpin stressed. "James, I know that Roman led the attack on Vale with the White Fang, but that was for a good reason."

"Endangering civilians? Students? There is not a good reason for that," the general growled. His chainsaw retracting into his arm, Ironwood marched over to Ozpin's desk. "You said that you were time traveling. Is that how you knew I was coming here?"

"Undoubtably."

Glynda walked into the room, Zwei at her heels. "Ozpin, I've told you to stop starting these meetings without me."

"He attacked me!" Roman whined, pointing at James.

"And I'll attack you to," Qrow said. He knelt to Zwei's level when the corgi showed up. "Hey Zwei, what's up?"

"Bark bark bark!"

"Really? Huh. Okay Ozpin, I believe you." Qrow stood up again, Zwei in his arms. "Really, ten thousand men? Impressive."

James' stare alternated between Ozpin and Qrow. "What?"

"That's how I feel," Roman joked, earning a glare.

Glynda pressed her Scroll into the clockwork table. "Gentlemen, Neo, please. We are here to discuss dangers to the world." Silence hit the room like a hammer blow. "Better."

A hologram of Cinder Fall appeared in the room. "This woman, Cinder Fall, has infiltrated the students of Haven Academy, and is the current known leader of our enemy forces. Her goal is unknown though hypothesized to be the initiation of a new War. Her means are unknown... As much as they can be. Her associates are Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, the Torchwicks, and Adam Taurus, a liaison to the White Fang. She is known to have established a powerful virus in the CCT, and would have been listening in on us right now if I hadn't forcefully blocked the local Internet access."

Ironwood glanced at his Scroll. No bars. He put it away, no one noticing the flash of a Queen's chess piece on it's screen. "So we don't know anything about her?"

"Nothing concrete," Glynda admitted. "As you have been briefed, Cinder's end game has been incredibly fluid throughout the time loops that myself, Ozpin, Zwei and the Torchwicks have been experiencing. And... this is a complication."

The hologram of Cinder changed to a hologram of her with Ruby, with Yang, with Team's RWBY and JNPR. Qrow _snarled_. " _What_ is that _monster_ doing with my nieces?"

Glynda sighed. "Similarly to how myself and company are looping... we've been informed that Cinder is looping as well."

"The dog told us," Roman deadpanned.

Qrow pulled his Scythe-Sword-Sniper Rifle from his back. "So why haven't you moved in and killed her? Or stopped her? Why are Ruby and Yang even around her?"

"Because," Glynda said gently. "Cinder is afflicted with what, in the Looping Community, is called 'Chrysalis Syndrome'. She thinks that she is Ruby and Yang's sister, and treats them as such. When she's looping, she's... Not... evil." Glynda sighed. "This Cinder isn't the Cinder you've dealt with."

"But she's not looping now?" James said.

"Only Jaune, Ruby, Blake and Ren are aware of the loops at the moment," Ozpin assured his fellow teacher. "She is the same megalomaniac she usually is now."

James glanced at his Scroll. "Are we sure that she can't listen in on us?"

Roman shrugged. "Eh, it wouldn't matter. The loop ends tomorrow morning. Unless she can move an army out of secrecy into a strike position in the course of eight hours, she can't do shit, and Red and the others will stop her."

Qrow laughed bitterly. "Trust me, I wouldn't put it past her. I've seen what she's been making, and let me tell you. We are not prepared for them."

"Ruby and her friends will surprise you," Ozpin intoned lightly. "What we need now is reconnaissance. A way to prove that Cinder isn't a threat to Ruby."

"Which is why you brought me here," Qrow said. "You need eyes on Cinder and I'm the best there is."

Ozpin shook his head. "What we need now Qrow is... your consultation. There's no magic pill or strangely terrible video tape that will let you start looping instantly. We need someone to help us get better."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. James spoke directly. "You can't be serious Ozpin. Qrow almost attacked Winter out there: the only reason he didn't was because Ruby asked him."

Ozpin raised a hand. "Now James-"

"Ozpin, we need more than recon! Look at what happened in Mountain Glen. I told you to move in with an army. Your inaction allowed an army of White Fang and Grimm into Vale. I needed to move the Atlesian Military into the city borders just to stop the Grimm."

"City-wide communications are compromised asshole!" Roman shouted at Ironwood. "You walked a robot army into a city where the most powerful communications tower is loaded with a virus. One that hacked your Scroll."

"You're out of line Roman," Glynda countered hotly.

"SILENCE!" Ozpin roared, quelling the argument before it broke out. The other adults stopped dead. "We don't know what Cinder is planning. Just that we have as many chances as we need to stop this mess. We can beat Cinder. We just need knowledge on how to do that."

Ironwood grumbled. "Oz... We are some of the strongest people in the world. We defend it from the evils no one knows about. Our mission is to stop Cinder. Why are we waiting? Why not move in now?"

Ozpin sighed. "I'm not sure what machinations Cinder has planned. I can't figure out how to stop her when I don't know if she's the only player in motion."

Ironwood gulped. "Then tell the kids about yourselves. Stop hiding in the shadows: step into the light."

"We're training them, and sometimes the trust of honesty is not worth the freedom of secrecy," Ozpin said wisely. "If we came forward as loopers, we could not do the sort of things that are necessary to train them. To help them grow."

James stood there, searching for a response, when Qrow spoke. "Look Ozpin, I'll trust your judgement for that. Just keep Ruby and Yang safe."

Glynda nodded to her friend. "We try."

"We try and teach them when we fight," Roman affirmed. Neo nodded with him. "Experience is a great teacher."

James sighed and stepped back from Ozpin's desk. "Ozzy, I-"

 _TWANG!_

The conversation ground to a halt. Ozpin cursed Sakura Haruno under his breath. "Yes James?"

"I've been outvoted it seems," Ironwood muttered. "Look, it's your school. Your students. Qrow's family. You said that the army wouldn't be able to keep people safe."

"I never said they wouldn't be safe, just that they would be scared," Ozpin corrected. "James, an army is a symbol of conflict, a guardian a symbol of comfort. We are molding Team's RWBY and JNPR into those guardians."

"Heh... You're doing a good job with my girls," Qrow said. "You sure there's no way I can start looping right now?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Oz, I wouldn't need to worry about my nieces, I can help my brother, Hell, I might even be able to see my sisters again. Plus we can always save the cities, and we're a step ahead of our enemies. Really..." Qrow smiled. "It sounds like Heaven on Remnant."

A moment of silence seeped into the room. Ozpin smiled and broke it. "It takes work to make a Heaven. That's what we're here for."

"Bleh!" Neo said. "You sound like Ruby you big sap."

Roman, Glynda, and even Qrow all snickered at that. If it was one thing you could trust Ozpin to be, it was sappy.

* * *

 **11.3 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Weiss Awoke and for several moments just blinked as she felt the oppressive heat and humidity beat down on her. It was then that she realized that her form that Loop wasn't that of a human which caused her to sigh. _'Okay... This is a little different...'_ Moving a bit, Weiss kept on eye on the wall until she could see her shadow which was that of something which looked almost like a T-Rex. _'Hmm...'_

Just then, Weiss spotted a window and walked up to it to see her reflection in it _. 'Okay, not a T-Rex, but I'm guessing some kind of albino... Wish I could be another color tho-'_ Her thoughts came to a stop as the color of her body changed. _'... I can work with this.'_

A grin that caused the security guard inside the booth to piss himself crossed Weiss' reptilian face as she tested out her voice and got various pitches. 'I can work with this a lot...'

Taking a sip from her mug, the Awake Claire was never as happy that the Raptor Squad could make good coffee as she was then. "Let me get this straight, Lowery... You're telling me that a number of the hybrids in the park are acting... _strangely_..."

Nearly pulling his hair out, Lowery tapped out several commands. "Look for yourself!"

* * *

Claire watched as first the cameras focused on the Pachyceratops Paddock. Said dinosaur, which had a yellow head and red eyes, was smashing into various objects. More disturbingly was the girlish laughter despite it looking like it was on fire. Then the cameras switched to the Carnoraptor Paddock to show one of them, which had a green body, black stripe along the back of it's head and neck with a smaller pink one. Before Claire's eyes, the carnoraptor closed it's eyes and went into a series of stances.

Finally though, the camera changed to the Indominus Paddock and Claire nearly dropped her mug. Mainly because the Indominus was singing wordlessly as it changed it's colours as if giving a show. "..."

Gesturing at the screen, Lowery groaned. "See what I mean?!"

Several moments passed before Claire sighed before she shook her head. _'Wonder who Looped in...'_

* * *

 **11.4**

* * *

"So... I'm not usually your sister?"

"No."

"...How regular is it?"

"Oh... One in one hundred. Sorry."

"I really rolled the dice on that one, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

Cinder Fall (she'd rather denote herself as Fall-Rose) cocked an eyebrow. "Hmm. That is unfortunate."

Ruby shrugged. "Hey, that's life. Besides, you're cool."

Ruby and Cinder were walking the courtyard of Beacon, Zwei trailing behind them. "Well, at least there's that." Cinder fingered a vial of Dust. "At least this is interesting." A puff of Aura and Dust formed a black glass sword. "This is really inter-alright, this is just cool." Cinder gave it a swing. "Swish."

"That is cool!" Ruby nearly cried. She unfolded Crescent Rose. "Make a scythe! Make a scythe!"

 _'...She really is a naive dumbass,_ ' Cinder thought to herself. A pulse of Dust and Aura reformed the sword into a massive scythe. "Tada! Swish."

Ruby was practically drooling. "You're powers are so epic! I have two badass sisters now!"

"Well... Well I'm more badass than Yang!" Cinder said.

"Yeah, well, that's only because you got to be evil. And you're old."

Cinder started. "Old. Who are you calling old? I'm," Cinder tapped her sternum. "Experienced."

"Well... I'm more experienced," Ruby defended.

* * *

Meanwhile, high above the duo, Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna watched the proceedings. Yang brushed a hair away from her eyes. "Am I the only person who thinks this is weird?"

"Our most feared enemy is looping, walking with Ruby, and thinks she's your sister," Blake said. "Really, I'm surprised someone hasn't blown her up yet.

Yang scratched her chin. "I don't know... I guess... She's great, and all. Ruby likes her and she acts just so... innocent." Yang sighed. "I mean, she doesn't really want to be evil, or dominative or... whatever Cinder is in Baseline. She's just this nice little girl and it's weird."

"You think you're the only person who's weirded out by this?" Blake asked. "I like Cinder like this, sure. She's not trying to kill us every minute, and even she doesn't know what her plans are anymore. And it's easy to stop the White Fang and everything when she's on our side."

Blake shrugged. "You don't think it's jealousy, do you?"

"No." Yang said. "So what if she's a better sister than me. It lets me do my best to keep her safe."

"Wait, Yang Xiao Long... the serious sister." Blake glanced at her teammate and partner. "I can't see it."

Yang stuck her tongue out at Blake. Out in the courtyard, a small explosion went off. The partners glanced down at Ruby and Cinder, both completely coated in soot and very stunned. "CRATER FACE!" Yang shouted at Ruby.

"BIMBO!" Cinder shouted back. A moment later, a "SORRY!" came up after that.

"Really can't see it," Blake muttered.

* * *

 **11.5 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Watching with a grin as the newly wedded Qrow and Winter argued over who would cut the cake, the pair having already escalated to drawing their weapons to decide the point, Ruby pulled out a little book from her pocket. 'Jaune and Pyrhha, check. Ren and Nora, check; Weiss, double check; Yang, checkerooni... Almost done. Only one more to go!'

Shutting the book, she raised her head with a fire burning in her eyes and gave a cheer. "This time for sure!"

Noticing the sudden stares of the guests around her, she ducked her head. "Um, sorry. I'm just... gonna go somewhere else. Bye."

Two days later she finally got the chance to catch her prey. Sun was being particularly persistent this Loop about spending time with Blake, and the faunus girl had taken to sneaking around trying to avoid her would be suitor. Luckily with Sun and Neptune scouting out the White Fang at her request, Blake was enjoying her space as she ate breakfast with them. Now was the time to strike!

"Blake, I need you to marry me."

Jaune, who had been in a coversation with Pyrrha across the table, suddenly found himself the recipient of an unexpected shower of milk courtesy of Blake.

"Wh-what the hell Ruby! Why would you ask something like that?!"

"Pleeeease. It'll just be for one Loop I swear." Reaching into her cloak she pulled out her book and opened it, a diagram which had absolutely no business fitting inside such a small cover unfolding as she did so.

"See I have it all planned out, Operation 382-b-zeta-tau. Jaune and Pyrrha woke early, raised Nora and Ren again and became teachers, Uncle Qrow and Winter got married before the Vytal Festival - making Weiss Yang's and my sister - and they're going to hunt down Unawake Cinder on their honeymoon with help from Penny who I told all of Cinder's hiding places to so she won't be able to interfere, Sun is obviously in the closet about his feelings for Neptune this Loop which is why he's so focused on trying to get you to be his girlfriend, Neptune and Weiss were dating before she Woke up and she's keeping an open mind and so the only chance I have of making sure we get to spend the rest of the Loop as an official big happy family is if you agree to marry me."

Immediately after unloading her explanation in one go, Ruby took a deep breath before giving Blake her best puppy-dog eyes. "Pretty please with strawberries on top and a big bowl of tuna, will you?"

Blake stared open-mouthed for several moments, before groaning and massaging the bridge of her nose. "I don't need this right now."

Getting up from her chair she proceeded to storm out of the mess hall, Ruby literally trailing behind her as she gripped tightly to Blakes leg while continuing her pleas.

The rest of the table was silent for several minutes, before Yang spoke. "So Weiss, how's dating Neptune this Loop?"

Weiss finished chewing and set her silverware down before answering. "Not as horrible as I expected. He's actually behaving like a gentleman for a change."

Yang nodded. "Cool, cool. So then would you say he's being Sea-rious? Eh, Eh?"

Much groaning followed.

* * *

 **11.6**

* * *

The Crow Bar was a fairly reputable place to get drunk. As such, Qrow Branwen had been frequenting it and watching the Vytal Tournament matches there, enjoying the fights... Or rather, being frustrated by the absolutely terrible match up for the students. It ended up being the best place for Glynda Goodwitch to find him, and break some news to him.

"She's what?" Qrow gasped.

Glynda fought down a painful groan. 'Why did I do this?' Well, the answer to that was pretty simple. Qrow deserved to know his sister was alive. Hell, Taiyang deserved to know she was alive. She was starting small though. "She's alive."

Qrow Branwen visibly staggered, far more sober than he usually seemed. "Raven... Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"What is she doing?"

"I don't know that either."

Qrow's eyes narrowed. In a flash he grabbed for Glynda's shoulders, missing by a mile as the immortal time traveler sidestepped him. "How the hell do you know she's alive then? Where is she!?"

Glynda tried to look him in the eyes. "Qrow, I'm sorry. I just saw her, for barely a minute. I don't know why she hasn't contacted you, where she went, or what she is doing. I just saw her, alive and fighting."

Qrow snarled, drunk (not that that needed to be said) and angry, but mostly... hurt. "What was happening?"

Glynda pursed her lips. She was working off of second hand information, mostly from Neo and what little info she could discreetly glean from Yang. "It was during the Grimm Invasion a few weeks back. I saw her personally, fighting the Grimm. I tried to speak to her, but she vanished before I could make contact."

Qrow flinched. "What is she doing?" Qrow tapped his glass. "Raven... what are you doing?" he whispered to himself.

Glynda couldn't answer that. In almost every loop since the latest expansion, Raven had been an unknown element of the equation. She didn't fit into the plans or even the hypothetical plans of Cinder anywhere, but if she was on the side of Ozpin and Vale... why was she hiding? Qrow was on their side, hell, he was an undercover agent. So why was Raven hiding? Why wasn't she a part of their inner circle?

"Huh. Those JNPR kids are doing pretty well."

Qrow glared at the bartender who had broken his train of thought, an then at the television. "That was pathetic."

Glynda winced, knowing that Qrow was right. JNPR shouldn't have won their match: the moment JNPR stopped fighting and stopped talking, BRNZ should have mopped the floor with them. That BRNZ hadn't was pure stupid luck.

Glynda recalled that Cinder's virus had let her take control of the matches. Which meant that Team JNPR probably shouldn't have won in her little plan. Which meant...

Glynda glanced at the television again. Team SSSN would be up against Team NDGO in a few moments, and recalling how they had done, it was likely that SSSN was supposed to lose against NDGO. Which meant their victory was also against the plan.

But compared to RWBY... "Qrow, how do you think Ruby, Yang and their team did?"

"What?" Qrow asked, confused by the sudden change in topic. "What does this have to do with my sister?"

"It has to do with the infiltrator," Glynda said.

"...Alright..." Qrow muttered. "The four of them fought well enough. Team ABRN was a joke: they didn't work together, none of them tried hard, and their leader left the lot of them in the dust. Bolin and Reese were the only ones who even tried to work together."

Glynda narrowed her eyes, thinking. Into the second round, Yang and Weiss were planned to represent the Team. Both had incredibly powerful Semblances... Which meant that they moving forward in the tournament could be part of Cinder's plan. Team JNPR though, that was a tough one. Both Nora and Pyrrha had powerful semblances, Pyrrha more so, so did their victory mean they were playing into Cinder's hands? Though... Nora getting a lightning based battlefield... and Weiss getting ice-based... those couldn't be coincidences.

Raven, the Tournament... Glynda sipped her water. "What is the evil we are fighting..."

* * *

 **11.7 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Cinder looked on the destruction with a smug expression. Sometimes it was nice to burn down the source of her ire, Beacon Academy. It was even more delicious using Ozpin's own agents to do her dirty work for her. Sending a couple messages to Qrow threatening him with the well being of Ruby and Yang, using Winter's Scroll from a previous loop along with a few sets of Atlesian mechs commandeered and reprogrammed to assassinate the agent, pushed him over the edge. Finally, she spiked his alcohol with bath salts to ensure he would keep fighting even when Ozpin ordered him to stop.

Cinder ended up protecting the students, keeping them safe and evacuating the students as Qrow and Winter rampaged. Fear grew when Torchwick tore down the walls surrounding Vale a few minutes later with high explosives. Cinder and Ruby ended up heroes for repelling the attacking Grimm single-handedly.

Pity Ozpin didn't suffer a similar fate to Qrow. His drinks were also spiked, but somehow he was unaffected by the drink, and was able to survive the Grimm invasion.

Still, it is satisfying accomplishing one version of her plans and becoming even more popular for it. Perhaps she could use Winter's and Qrow's animosity in the future for her own ends.

* * *

Ozpin stood over Qrow's body. He knelt over and put his hand on Qrow's body. Within seconds, the body was gone, sent to his subspace pocket. In the headmaster's hand, there was a Scroll, one belonging to the dead man that was just in front of him. He flipped through the mail, noting the messages. After pocketing Qrow's Scroll, Ozpin pulled out his own Scroll and called Ironwood. "James, I need to meet with you and Winter immediately."

He needed to see Winter's Scroll. He needed to find out if Winter had actually sent those messages. Something wasn't adding up. Even if Winter had deleted those messages, which Ozpin didn't even believe she sent then, there were ways to recover them. But he needed Winter's scroll to do so. And then just as the phone turned off, he blinked and opened his eyes...only to realize in a small amount of horror that he was back in Vale before Ruby had joined Beacon Academy. He sighed and whispered a small, "Damn it."

* * *

 **11.8**

* * *

"Glomp!" Qrow said, sagging over his nieces. Ruby promptly fell over, though Yang managed (barely) to support his drunken ass. "Heeeey girls."

"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby and Yang squealed, hugging him. "I can't believe you got here early!"

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Me? Early? Nah." He playfully punched Ruby's shoulder. "You been doing good squirt?"

"It's been awesome! We've been kicking butt, blowing things up, beating up bad guys, adventuring..."

Qrow snuck a gulp from his hip flask. "Man, you sound like your mom's wet dream. What bout you Yang?" Qrow punched his niece by blood in the face. "How you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pumped up!" Yang nearly screamed. "This is awesome, it's been so long. What about you? Your quest for the world's highest proof going well?"

"Highest proof? Nah, it's a quest to commit genocide on the great Grimm of all." Qrow pulled his nieces in closer. "My liver."

"Well that's still cool," Yang admitted. "So, we know that you and Ozpin need to meet or something. Think we can catch a movie later-"

"Actually, that won't be necessary," a new voice said. Walking up behind the Branwen-Xiao Long-Rose family, Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda were all smiles. "It's a pleasure to see you again Qrow."

"Eh, you too Ozzy."

TWANG!

The quintet of Huntresses and Huntsmen stopped and looked for the invisible guitar. "Okay..." Qrow waggled his eyebrows at Ozpin. "You get another band following you?"

Ozpin shook his head. "It's your niece. Yang did something."

Yang and Ruby shared a look and shrugged. It wasn't them.

"Our discussion has been put on hold Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long. You can have your uncle for the evening," Ozpin said politely. Glynda held up her Scroll to demonstrate the time tables. "Have a fun night. You've earned it."

Qrow, Ruby and Yang watched the Headmaster and deputy Headmistress walk off. "So, movie and pizza?" Yang suggested.

Qrow's Aura flared, the healing factor metabolizing the Alcohol and sobering him up. "Movie and pizza girls. You can tell me all about this mech fight you got into on the way."

"It was awesome!" Ruby cried as her family made off for the Airship wharf.

"As awesome as stopping a Grimm invasion?"

"Almost."

* * *

 **11.9 Vadrigar 1994**

* * *

"Wait, _that's_ your sister?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I don't see the resemblance."

Yang rolled her eyes as she and Gordon Freeman walked away from an Unawake Ruby, leaving her to forcibly socialize at Beacon. Gordon had Looped in as a 17 year-old student, and only Yang wanted to be within talking distance of him, for some inexplicable reason.

"We have different moms, Gordon. That must have crossed your mind."

"You have any pictures? I want to see the resemblances. It'll only be further proof of how genes in every universe work differently, which blows. How am I supposed to learn physics that no one else from my world knows if the physics ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT?! I could use the knowledge of the multiverse to change my world, but nooooooo, every damn Loop has to work on different rules, which is annoying as all hell, and-"

"HERE!"

Yang shoved an old photo into Gordon's face in a desperate attempt to make him stop talking. He took the photo and saw four people, two men and two women. The blond man had Yang's hair color, and the woman on his right was a spitting image of her.

"So, if I were to make an educated guess, these two in the center are your parents?"

"Good to see you putting that degree to good use."

"Uh huh. Which means this one must be Ruby's mom?"

"Right on the money."

Gordon looked at Ruby from across the courtyard, and looked back at the photo. Yang could have sworn she saw him muttering "blond" and "red" under his breath.

"Pale as a sheet, dark red hair. Man, your sister is just a funhouse of recessive genes, isn't she?"

* * *

"Ozpin."

"Yes Glynda?"

"Why is that student flying over the school?"

"Hmm. Maybe he just enjoys the view."

* * *

 **11.10 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Ruby was leaning against the wall with what looked like a lit cigar in her mouth watching her team whisper worryingly to each other. Suddenly, Jaune joined her with a nearly identicle cigar. For several moments the blond haired boy was quiet before he nodded. "You go through that wierd ME/Starcraft loop as well?"

Nodding, Ruby grinned around the object in her mouth. "Yup! It was actually kind of fun!"

As he nodded toward the rest of Team RWBY, Jaune took a deep breath before he exhaled a cloud. "So... When are you going to tell them that it's not actually a cigar, but an energy bar that you're slowly chewing? And that the glowing tip is just a kind of mint which gives off scented mist and acts like a breath freshener?"

Still grinning, Ruby pulled the now revealed to be fake cigar from her mouth. "I'm going to keep quiet for a while longer... You're not going to tell them, are you?"

While he shook his head, Jaune chuckled. "Nah, this is actually kind of hilarious."

Giggling, Ruby glanced at him. "Besides, it makes me look kind of badass..." She then tapped hers. "Chocolate chip, yours?"

Jaune snickered a bit. "Strawberry."

* * *

 **11.11 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Ruby looked over her room at Beacon, Littlefoot behind her. After a moment, she walked over to a spot, moved the carpet away from the wall, and pulled up a floorboard before nodding. "They're gone, alright... The cookie thief has struck again."

Littlefoot walked up behind her and blinked, noticing that the cookies he and Ruby had baked just that morning were gone. "Whoever it is, though..." He glanced around at the hidden traps and other measures. "They're _good_."

A slightly scary cackle escaped from Ruby's mouth and caused Littlefoot to lean back. "It doesn't matter how good they are... I'm about to have my _revenge!_ "

There was a frown on Littlefoot's face as he shook his head. "You're sure that it's not someone on your team or JNPR, right? Because I don't want to see them get hit with this..."

Shaking her head, Ruby got up and placed everything back the way it was. "Nope! They all know better then to mess with my cookies! And you made sure that it wasn't your team, which means someone else is doing it..."

* * *

With a sigh, Ozpin shook his head and sipped his coffee as he watched Torchwick and Neo munch on a bunch of cookies from a bag. "Do you really need to be stealing my students' cookies?"

All the master thief did was snort as he swallowed another cookie. "Look, you want Red to get better, right? Well, she'll get better at traps and defenses or else she'll keep losing cookies..." A smirk then crossed Torchwick's face as Ozpin took one of the cookies. "Besides, you seem to be enjoying them as well."

Ozpin only shrugged. "They're good cookies... And one has to love gummy bear cookies."

From where she sat on the headmaster's desk, Neo nodded as she continued to munch on hers.

* * *

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Littlefoot frowned a bit. "Still... Using Haribo sugar-free gummy bears in those cookies may have been a bit much..."

With a fire in her eyes, Ruby pumped her fist. "No punishment is too severe for a cookie thief! None!"

* * *

 **11.12 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

"Oh, Shir~ou! Where a~re you?"

Shirou shuddered as he huddled on the roof of the Beacon Academy. Next to him Sakura and Taiga were looking around cautiously while Rin was busy trying to glare a hole in his head.

"What did you do?" She demanded.

"I don't know. One minute she was normal, and then she was suddenly acting like _that_!" Shirou hissed under his breath.

"I know you're here somewhere Shiro~u."

"Are all the girls from Naruto's Branch crazy?!" Taiga demanded tersely.

Sakura shook her head. "Hinata is a nice person. She and Naruto were very understanding when I visited."

"That's not the point," Rin insisted. "Tenten was completely fine, then she went with Shirou for five minutes and suddenly she's in stab-happy yandere mode. What. Did. You. DO?"

"Hey guys! What'cha doing up here on the roof?"

The visiting Loopers gave a collective cry at the unexpected presence of Ruby Rose, who was playfully balancing atop Crescent Rose as she looked down at the members of Team RSST.

"Oops, sorry. I keep forgetting not everyone has superspeed. My bad." Hopping down off her scythe, she found herself quickly pulled down with Rin's hand over her mouth.

"Quiet. If you keep making so much noise she'll find us!"

Ruby blinked confusedly, before licking Rin's palm; causing the Magus to pull back in disgust. "Who are you hiding from?"

"Tenten. She went nuts and keeps trying to chase me down. And anytime anyone else gets close to me she starts pulling out weapons." Shirou answered as his eyes darted back and forth, trying to see if his pursuer had found him.

Tilting her head, Ruby placed her finger against her cheek. "Do you owe her money?"

"What? No."

"Did you call her something mean?"

Shirou balked at that. "Of course not."

"Did you perform a high-jump over a crossbar and make her fall in love with you somehow?"

Rin and Sakura blushed at that, avoiding Shirou's gaze; Rin glaring indistinctly outwards, while Sakura buried her flushed face in her hands.

Shirou shook his head. "No. I was just trading tips on swords with her."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Oh, so you were showing her Bakuya and Kanshou?"

Shirou chuckled. "Not just them. Tenten has been collecting swords for as long as she's been Looping. I wanted to compare our collections. But for some reason she started acting weird when I showed her Unlimited Blade Works."

Ruby processed that for a second, before glaring at him. "YOU IDIOT! You can't just lead a girl on like that, we have feelings too!"

"I know right. He just casually walks up and shows me a separate dimension filled with the kind of swords a girl can only dream of and expects me to just smile and walk away. Men are such jerks." Tenten said from behind the group.

"GAH!" Four voices cried out simultaneously.

"So Ruby, you want to go talk about how stupid Shirou is?"

Ruby nodded enthusiastically and pulled out a binder of blackmail. "Yep."

Moments later Team RSST was left staring blankly at the space the two weapon aficionados had occupied seconds before. It was several moments before Taiga broke the silence. "What just happened?"

From the ground another voice answered. "I'm sure I don't want to know. However in the future, I would appreciate it if you could avoid irritating my girlfriend."

Moving over to the edge of the roof to get a look at the person who had spoken, they found themselves staring into the harsh white eyes of Neji Hyuuga. "Unlike you, I have to deal with her weapon envy after the end of this Loop."

* * *

 **11.13 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Cinder stood watching Winter's and Qrow's fight. She looked bored at the drunken fighter and asked her partner, "How on earth can you say he's wielding a scythe? That's a Buster Sword."

Mercury tilted his head to the side and asked, "What is a Buster Sword?"

Cinder blinked, then facepalmed, "Never mind."

* * *

 **11.14**

* * *

The Atmosian council stared down at the five new recruits, each decked out in... probably the strangest garb they had ever seen. "And who are you again."

"Ruby Rose, trainee Skyknight and sharpshooter."

"Weiss Schnee, crystal mage and wing woman."

"Blake Belladonna, navigation and mission specialist."

"Yang Xiao Long, flight mechanic and heavy ballistics!"

"Cinder Fall, Skyknight, leader, and carrier pilot."

The Atmosian Council leader adjusted his glasses. "Well, the paperwork seems in order. Sign here miss Fall."

A few minutes later, Team RWBY and Cinder stepped out of the council chambers of Terra Atmos into the bright light of midday. "Am I the only person who's going to love this Loop?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Hmm... A series of mountaintop kingdoms, at war with an evil empire, with battles fought on motorcycles that transform into biplanes and with weapons powered by magical crystals," Weiss surmised. "I'm certainly looking forward to this loop."

"Yeah, this is awesome," Yang said. "We get our own flying aircraft carrier, get to go on adventures, save good looking princes, princesses, battle evil. We're like... like... traveling heroes... uh..."

"Knights errant," Blake suggested.

"Yeah, knights errant. Wandering the world in search of adventure."

Cinder chuckled. "Be careful Yang, you might just get exactly what you wish for."

Yang playfully bumped Cinder. "This is your first fused loop. Come on, it'll be awesome. We'll get to show you exactly what the loops are all about."

Cinder shrugged as the five girls walked into one of the city's many courtyards. "It's already made a bad impression. I mean, look at our clothes! It's all patchwork fabric. I am so going a full Rarity on this Loop." After a moment, Cinder glanced at Ruby. "Full Rarity is a real saying, right?"

"It is now," Ruby said, before bumping into a redheaded boy going the other way. "Oh I'm so sorry."

The boy shrugged her off, five other teens walking up behind him. "It's nothing. Hey, who are you?"

"We're..." Ruby trailed off. "Yang, what's our team name?"

"RWBY?" Yang suggested in confusion.

"We're the Crimson Falcons," Weiss supplied. "Be careful where you're going. Nearly threw Ruby for a loop."

The boy shrugged. "Eh, I'll anchor you." He held out a hand. "Aerrow, Anchor and Skyknight. Welcome to Atmos."

"It's good to meet you Aerrow," Ruby said. "This is my team: Weiss, Blake, Yang and Cinder. Who are you?"

The blond boy went first. "Finn. Wingman, sharpshooter."

Following him was a tan girl. "Piper. Navigation and tactics."

Now a sort of rhino Faunus. "Junko. Mechanics and heavy ballistics."

A green skinned young man who looked far too sick to be moving named himself, "Stork. Carrier pilot." He also sneezed in Cinder.

Finally, a short brunette with a raspy voice spoke. "Lark Cyclonis. Tyrannical despot and adventurer."

"We're the Storm Hawks," Aerrow declared.

"...I'm going to love this loop," Ruby squealed quietly.

* * *

"Yaw up. Now level out. Good, you're a natural."

Yang stabilized her sky skimmer, coasting high above the clouds. "WAHHOOOO!" she cried. Behind her, Aerrow laughed happily.

Watching the training from the bridge of the Condor (the Storm Hawk's flying aircraft carrier) Ruby giggled as Yang took to the sky like a bird to... the... Sky. "Better watch your back Cinder. Looks like Yang's gonna beat you for best flier."

"She's just lucky," Cinder mopped. After having learned that their landing had accidentally crushed Team RWBY's carrier, the Storm Hawks had invited the now homeless girls onto their ship, and even promised them flight lessons. Ruby, Weiss and Blake had... wrecked their bikes. Badly. Cinder had been the best by far, which she attributed to being a registered pilot. Now it looked like Yang's hobby of bike riding was going to net her the gold.

Yang banked in and yawed left slightly, rolling against the wind. She landed, bounced, and stuck, gliding into the hanger bay. "Ladies, I am pretty fly."

A hammer, hubcap, tire, and Cinder's bike all tried to crush Yang's face for that one. None connected.

Aerrow rolled his eyes and made a textbook landing, sidling up next to Yang. "Well, I wouldn't certify any of you for flying soon, but you're... passable." Light cheering greeted that declaration. "As it is, Cinder's probably the best flier here thanks to her Pre-Loop experience."

"As I should be," Cinder said with a haughty tone.

"Good, because you're about to be part of a great tradition of ours," Aerrow said. He thumbed his bike's radio. "Lark, how's the offensive shaping up?"

"We're ready to roll in, just give the word Aerrow," Cyclonis' horse voice crackled through the radio.

"Five minutes, then go," Aerrow declared. He turned to the perplexed foreigners. "Cinder, you are going to be fighting an army of Cyclonian's single handedly."

A second passed in silence. "Cyclonians. The bad guys? From Terra Cyclonis, home to Master Lark Cyclonis, the Terra of evil, darkness, suffering, all that Jazz?"

"Yup."

"How about nope," Cinder said.

"Yes, inescapably and imminently," Aerrow affirmed.

Cinder scoffed. "This is my first Fused Loop. It's my... what do you call it?"

"Formative Loop," Ruby supplied.

"It's my Formative Loop," Cinder iterated. "You're going to throw me up against a fleet of bike-plane bound... Nazis!"

"I take offense to that," Lark's voice chirped through the radio. "Also, Aerrow, you said five seconds right?"

"What?" Aerrow said. "No, I said five minutes!"

"Ooh... About that..."

The air rumbled, visibly shaking, as a low flying Cyclonian Carrier broke cloud cover. The red, black and steel hull gleamed in the sun as waves of Talons, the Cyclonian foot soldiers, poured from the bay doors. Coming in hot for a landing, a more advanced form of the standard flying motorcycle landed on the Condor. Lark managed to bring it to a skidding halt. "Yeah, the army's here."

Cinder cocked an eyebrow at Lark Cyclonis. The otherwise snippy, sarcastic girl had managed to blend in well with the Storm Hawks, but now she seemed a totally different person. A long rippling purple cloak with spiked hood turned her from scrawny to regal. Looking like this, she _was_ the leader of Cyclonia.

 _'I should get one of those cloaks,'_ Cinder decided.

Team RWBY took a step away from Cinder when Master Cyclonis and Aerrow glanced at her. Cinder glanced from the despot to the hero, and then back at her team, and sighed. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Good."

Far from the Condor, the Dark Ace finished issuing his standing orders to the generals. Long range observation contacted him. Apparently the latest incarnation of his old team were launching only a single Sky Knight out to meet them.

The Dark Ace smirked. One Sky Knight against an army of Talons? This was too easy. "TALONS! ATTACK!"

* * *

 _Ten minutes later..._

* * *

"RETREATRETREATRETREATRETREAT!" Dark Ace screamed as the army fell into a rout. Behind them, crackling evilly with Crystal Magics even Dark Ace couldn't fully understand, Cinder Fall laughed heartily.

"FALL BEFORE ME!"

Back on the Condor's observation deck, the Storm Hawks and Team RWBY stared at the carnage. "So... She's enthusiastic," Junko offered.

"This is what you get when you let a part-time megalomaniac who doesn't get out much cut loose against an army," Blake deadpanned.

"She's coming back!" Stork screamed, obviously having forgotten that the woman who had just wrecked an army of evil Cyclonian's was on their side... probably on their side anyway.

Cinder touched down gently, giggling evilly. She hopped off her bike, still laughing a little, and smiled at Cyclonis. "That was fun. Can we do it again?"

Cyclonis stared at her, and then smiled. Evilly.

The Storm Hawks and RWBY then wisely decided that it was time to go make popcorn, and settle in to watch one woman personally decimate a country's entire armed forces.

* * *

 **11.15**

* * *

"Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Weiss and Winter Schnee. You four claimed the White Knight Chess Piece as your artifact. From now on, you shall be known as Team RWYS, led by Ruby Rose."

"Well... that could have been a lot more awkward," Ruby said to Weiss as they stepped down from the platform where the new team had been presented to the school. "I mean, we're called Team Rice. You... ever think Professor Ozpin will find someway to fail at making an acronym name that's a color?"

"Shush," Weiss said, trailing closely behind her elder sister. Per the odd little variant that the loop was, Weiss was fifteen as well, with Winter a cute seventeen and partners with Yang. For Ruby and Weiss, it was a nice, quiet loop together with their sisters.

Ruby was waiting for the sparks to start flying.

"This is hardly up to any form of a minimum standard of living!" Winter berated Yang.

"Well I'm not the one trying to make everyone march to my drum!" Yang shot back,

* * *

Oh, there were the sparks.

As per the rule of drama that was occasionally enforced on Remnant's resident immortal time travelers, Yang this loop had a quirk of being a bit of a slob. Really, this only amounted to not cleaning up her quarter of the room. Winter took offense to this.

"Yang, you need to look after yourself, especially since we're living as a team now," Weiss pointed out.

"Hey, I don't tell you how to live," Yang countered. "Besides, we're Huntresses. Our job is to blow things up, not clean them up."

"Xiao Long, we are a team necessitating that we present a united front against our obstacles," Winter growled. "That you refuse to do the minimum amount of work necessary to provide this facade is infuriating. And you," Winter said, giving Ruby the index finger.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Though I cannot in any manner fathom why the venerable Headmaster appointed you as our team leader when superior options were present, I gave you the benefit of the doubt. That you have failed to legislate your own sister and allowed this affront against our hard work to occur has removed it."

Ruby stared at Winter. "Uh, Winter." Ruby scratched her head. "Could you... repeat that. In English."

Winter's tirade faltered and broke. Weiss facepalmed. "Ruby, she's saying that since you're our leader and you haven't tried to control Yang, you're as responsible as she is."

Ruby winced. "Sorry Winter. Thanks Weiss."

Winter grumbled something extremely profane and marched for the door, only to be barred by Ruby. Winter's eyes flashed. "Move Rose."

Ruby shook her head. "No, we're solving this as a team."

Winter opened her mouth.

"That's a legislative."

Winter faltered yet again. Weiss leaned out from behind her sister. "That's an order, Ruby."

"Right, that's an order," Ruby corrected herself.

Winter returned to her bed (neat, pristine, organized, Un-Yang-ish) and waited for Ruby to begin. She glanced at Yang's bed and night stand, which was covered in dirty clothes, a few comics, a porn magazine, and topped with a slice of pizza. 'This team is doomed.'

"I know that we have our differences, and they are as plain as day-" Ruby pointed to Yang, "-And night-" then to Winter. "I also know that there are differences that can't be reconciled, because sometimes they oppose each other and sometimes because people won't let their differences be put aside. We could have been like that once. We could have let our differences, big, small, simple and complex, keep us apart. We could have been like all the rest of people."

"But we became Huntresses. We chose to be responsible for the safety of thousand of people. In doing so, we also chose to be the best people we could be. And to be the best we can be means that we must be willing to compromise with each other. We simply can't have a perfectly clean room or one that's filled with dirty clothes anymore. We, together, must be willing to learn to live and let live. Which might mean that Yang will need to clean her side of the room, and Winter leave her alone. Or it might not. We're here to figure that out: what we're going to do."

Ruby drummed her fingers against her thigh. "We're here to make the world a better place. Which means making ourselves better first. So who's with me!?"

"..." Weiss, Yang and Winter stared at Ruby. "Did you really need to make a big speech about why we should clean our room Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"I wanted to."

"You are insufferable."

"You're just jealous that I can make a great speech."

"It was a complete tangent."

"It was relative... I think."

"See!"

Winter and Yang stared at the back and forth between their little sisters. Yang awkwardly caught Winter's eye. "So... Alright, maybe I can clean my part of the room if it gets those two to stop arguing."

"...You want help?" Winter asked, refocusing on Weiss

"No, I'm good," Yang admitted.

Winter and Yang watched as the back and forth between Weiss and Rubh broke down into an argument. "You're sister is a rather gifted orator," Winter said after a moment.

"Yeah, and Weiss is pretty cool," Yang said. "You're pretty lucky."

"I know," Winter said gently as Weiss and Ruby's argument broke down into a cat fight. "Weiss, aim for the groin!"

"Kick her in the teeth Ruby!" Yang shouted. She moved to Winter's bed and elbowed her. "Twenty lien says Ruby wins."

"It is improper for a lady of my stature to gamble."

Yang gave Winter a look. "...Thirty?"

"...You're on Xiao Long."

* * *

 **11.16**

* * *

"You know, I'm not sure why you're not dating Ironwood."

CRUNCH.

Neo reached up and gave her crushed nose a hard yank, resetting the cartilage before it healed wrong. "Sneariously, why nut Irunwood. He's ulright."

Glynda glared at her notebooks, dropping them onto her desk with more force than strictly necessary. "Neo, I'm going to ask that you refrain from discussing this topic with me."

Neo playfully poked the teacher. "Sore subject? Can't quite figure out why he gets you so hot under the collar? Maybe you're a bit-"

Glynda ground her teeth. "Stop talking. It's not a sore subject and you will turn it into one."

Neo hopped onto Glynda's desk, legs crossed. "Eh, whatev's. So, how do you think they'll react? 'Neopolitan, mysterious teaching assistant'. The strangely powerful little girl working alongside the obviously powerful deputy headmistress of a Beacon."

"I'm not actually the deputy headmistress," Glynda muttered. "You tell me how you want them to react. You're the one who wanted to be my teaching assistant."

"Pish and tosh," Neo declared as the first students began to trickle into the classroom. "I shall be the gossip center of the school, and everyone will be asking; who is this mysterious woman? Perhaps... You daughter?"

Glynda _very_ patiently and _very_ calmly sat at her desk as more students walked in. Finally, as all students were seated (Team RWBY and JNPR naturally surprised by Neo having shown up) Glynda cleared her throat, and spoke to the students. "Today, we will be exploring an unorthodox method of education."

Glynda pointed at Neo. "The first person to land a blow on Neo will receive a free pass for this semester."

Neo stifled a giggled as everyone in the room gasped. "Well, that's one way to get revenge. LATERS!" Neo turned, and bolted from the room, the Loopers of Remnant charging after her. Glynda simply nodded, and went through her notes. It was time to teach.

* * *

 **11.17**

* * *

"..." Yang and Blake stared at the moon of Remnant.

It was a shattered disco ball. Beacon was a dance academy. The Grimm were _groovy_.

 _Jaune was popular!_

"...Yep, this is a virus," Yang decided.

"...Are you sure?" Blake asked.

Yang pointed at a Grimm wearing disco shades and a sequinsed leather jacket. "It's disco Blake. There is no way this is anything but a plague upon our home." Ember Celica unfolded on Yang's forearms. "Let's save our home!"

Blake pulled Gambol Shroud from her back. "This, I've been waiting for." Together, Blake and Yang charged the unspeakable evil of disco.

* * *

"This is hell," Blake observed. "We're stuck in the world's most boring universe, in the club no one wants to be a part of, I have J-cups, you have AA-cups... Yang?"

Yang whimpered unhappily as she and Blake stood in the Eiken club room.

"We're here because we tried to kill Disco. We've proved it. Disco is the root of all evil in the multiverse."

Across the room, Dio Brando simply nodded. "Word."

* * *

 **11.18**

* * *

Now when any civilian population is forcibly evicted from their homes, corralled into airships, chloroformed en masse, flown out to an otherwise uninhabited continent, and left there with naught the clothes on their back and whatever they happened to grab from their homes, this naturally tends to breed more than a little bit of fear, anger, and resentment. All emotions that, naturally, attract the Grimm. Now normally such situations are avoided due to human rights, basic empathy, and the fact that it's horribly, horribly bloody.

This did not stop humanity from "centralizing" the Faunus population on the continent of Menagerie. In Baseline, the destined world in a way, this proposition had it's supporters but was violently shut down by the Faunus in the Faunus Rights Conflict, more colloquially known as the Faunus War, which in this case should have taken place twenty years in the past. This was summarily because the Faunus knew about such plans and had loudly and later violently voiced their disinterest. Not so in this universe.

Under such circumstances of course, even a best case scenario would end in a massacre. Had the plan merely been mass, even voluntary colonization, it would have failed as the ability to maintain a functioning military would be difficult, the fledgling colony would be utterly dependent upon outside countries for sustenance, and the entire continent was still covered in Grimm. In comparison, Mountain Glen was relatively close to Vale, relied upon a state of the art subway system to stay supplied, was within an hour's flight of Beacon Academy and Vale proper, and it still ended up the world's largest tomb.

Centralizing Faunus on Menagerie wasn't a deportation; it was a death sentence.

Well, actually that isn't true. It would have been a death sentence if it hasn't been for one very strong, very smart, and very old immortal time traveler. Blake Belladonna woke up in the center of a massive clearing, surrounded by hundreds of Faunus, and nothing on Remnant was going to stop her from saving every soul she could over the next two decades.

"Fuck fuck fuckity fuck!"

After she finished cursing the governments, of course.

* * *

"SUSANOO!" Blake shouted, the Shinto God of Valor manifesting around her, shrouding the path to Anima.

The Nevermore screeched back at her, winging in towards the giant flaming skeleton. Blake's Sharingan spun and manipulated her rarified Susanoo, the construct of chakra reaching up and tearing a hole in the Crow Grimm's chest. The monster slammed into the ground and did not rise again.

Across the battlefield, Adam Taurus tore through a pack of Beowolves, his expert Iaijitsu techniques rendering him untouchable. A charge built up along his sword, Wilt. Sheathing the blade into his rifle Blush, Adam drew the glowing blade, sweeping the entire pack of Grimm into a single, devastating blast. "Oh yeah."

"Hey, leave some for me!" Sun Wukong shouted, swinging Ryu Bang and Jingu Bang down on the stragglers. The Beowolves charged the monkey boy, but Sun Wukong was nothing if not tenacious. In what could only be called a dance of death, Sun swung his shotgun nunchuks, each resounding crash of buckshot tearing flesh from bone.

Further back, behind the trio of lead fighters, archaic glyphs enshrouded Velvet Scarlatina, her nascent supplies of Ice Dust amplified by her raw skill and Aura. Swinging her stave about, the Rabbit girl unleashed a localized snowstorm, clearing the field of any organized Grimm charge. The massed group shattered into a dozen component swarms, Blake, Adam and Sun racing in to eliminate the isolated groups before they could reform and overwhelm them. Velvet unleashed another blast, one of pure ice, and froze a Beowolf that had nearly taking Sun's head off. "Watch it Sun!"

Sun kicked the Grimm in the chest, shattering it. "What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you saving my life!"

Velvet rolled her eyes and fought down a blush.

Black flames erupted from Blake's eyes, soaking the now thoroughly weakened Beowolves with death. The few that survived the onslaught wisely retreated into the forests. For a moment, silence hung heavy in the air.

"You think they're gone?" Sun asked as the pregnant seconds passed.

"No. But they won't bother us," Blake finally decided. "Alright Team BASV, let's get back to the city."

The other members of Team Basil (Adam, Sun and Velvet) heaved a heavy sigh of relief. The Pack had been spotted by an advance scout two days ago, and had finally reached Anima's territory that morning. As the only people with anything approaching genuine Huntress and Huntsmen training, Team BASV had run out to meet the horde, and defend their home. Again.

Sun stretched, his back audibly cracking. "Ugh... Man. What a day. Seriously, you'd think the Grimm would get the memo already. No Assholes Welcome."

"I think you'd deserve to get that memo as well," Adam muttered. A playful punch to the shoulder didn't deter him from smiling ever so slightly.

"Don't call Sun names Adam," Velvet said. "Besides, if anyone here needed that sort of memo, it would be me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Velvet," Blake requested. "He had it coming."

"I really shouldn't have yelled at Brian," Velvet muttered.

"I thought it was pretty badass," Sun said, throwing an arm around the shrinking girl. "You're badass on and off the field."

"Brian's an ass anyway," Adam added. The elder man laced his fingers behind his head. "We'll all the family you need."

"...Thanks..." Velvet said as the quartet reached the outer most farms. A few Faunus were already walking out of the defensive walls surrounding the world's newest City State, Anima.

It had barely been a year since the relocation of the Faunus race had ended, with millions deported from Atlas, Vale and Mistral to the unsettled, unpopulated continent of Menagerie. From day one, the Grimm were upon the refugees, searching out and destroying every camp they could. And each camp had Blake though.

Blake had ran herself ragged, racing up and down the territory that the Faunus were dumped in, her Susanoo a bulwark to the darkness. By night, she was a Huntress, but by day she was trying her best to feed as many as she could. Her own stocks of food, sequestered away in her subspace pocket, were prodigious, but only meant to feed a few dozen for a few decades. There were millions of Faunus to feed.

Surprisingly enough though, Blake managed it. Food, Dust ammunition, whatever supplies she could had and could use were slaved to the task of saving the Faunus race. Weapons were deposited to the former soldiers, Food to whomever could be trusted for fair and equal distribution, and building materials went to the masons. In days, rudimentary defenses were dug and erected. Weeks of industry began to follow, men and women doing their best to prepare for the Grimm. The first few months had been a time of construction for most, and near constant war for Blake. No one alone could bear what she did.

Maybe, then, it was fate or fortune that a Huntsmen came to pledge his services to her. It was almost certainly luck that the person turned out to be Adam. "I'm not sitting around while someone else is risking their life for all of us."

It was always weird to work with Adam after having parted ways with him. Adam wasn't always a good person, sometimes either a violent man who had used the White Fang as an outlet, a righteous warrior fighting a cruel war, or just a lost boy in a world that wouldn't help him find his way. Here though, together, Blake and Adam had a purpose.

Fate soon intervened again, and a familiar blond found Blake and Adam one night, sequestered away from the small city that had sprung up around the few farms. "Sun Wukong. I saw you go up against that Dullahan herd. You saved us."

It was something of an odd balance between Sun and Adam. Sun was free wheeling and fought for the people, not for his responsibility. Adam did what he thought was necessary; what he thought was needed. He tended to enforce this on others, going straight up against Sun and his own ways.

Naturally, this ended with Blake breaking up a fight every other week as the pair of fighters clashed over ideology. Blake wasn't a confrontational person though: a life of running, and her own difficulties, reflected in her semblance, had never made her much of a leader, even when it was needed.

Here, perhaps, was where Velvet Scarlatina came in. Sun and Adam's arguments had never been easy, but one too few had turned a family of Ursa's into an army. Blake had soldiered out on her own, Sun and Adam standing guard. Now alone, seeing their friend fighting hundreds of Grimm, Adam and Sun tried to put their differences aside, only for Velvet to do it for them. Velvet, grabbing a handful of Dust Crystals and racing out onto the battlefield, unleashed a storm of fire and lightning on the Grimm. "I won't let my home be destroyed!"

Suffice to say, that was a good résumé to join the soon christened Team BASV, and become part of the only Team of Huntresses and Huntsmen in the soon christened city of Anima.

Some of the farmers waved at the team, a few even cheering at the returning heroes. Velvet shrunk back a little, Adam stepping to join in with her. Sun gave the lot a royal wave, like he was on a Sunday promenade and not fresh from a battle to save their lives.

And Blake? She smiled, waved, and thought to herself, _'What a loop this is.'_

* * *

Blake stared at the metalwork. It was gold, forged over Dust fed flames, melted, formed, heated and quenched into a simple ring, albeit on that fit neatly over her head. "You want me to what?"

A council of representatives, and a large crowd, had gathered around one of the usual haunts of Team  
BASV and demanded to see Blake. Once the cat Faunus had stepped forward, a metal smith and a the "Probationary Council of Anima" had stepped forward and placed the crown in Blake's hand. "Blake Belladonna, the populace has voted, near unanimously, to have you as our leader."

Blake blinked. "...Me? ...Me?"

Sun snatched the crown from Blake's fingers. "Hey, if you won't do it, I'll take over." He donned the crown. "All hail King Sun!" That got a few laughs.

"But... I don't have any experience leading a country," Blake stammered out when her thoughts finally realigned. "Why would you vote me as-"

"You have provided sound council before," Leon, the head of the council reminded her. "Your decisions for food distribution have stood well, despite them having been made five years ago. You have successfully defended our borders and you've guided the construction of our infrastructure with wisdom. You are the clear choice."

"...Me?" Blake said again. "Are you..."

The council nodded. In the crowd somebody shouted. "ALL HAIL QUEEN BLAKE!"

"HAIL! HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!" The crowd cheered. Blake staggered back, near deafened by the roar. "HAIL! HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!"

Velvet stepped forward, Dust swirling around her neck. "QUIET!"

The crowd fell into complete silence. Velvet nodded. "Thank you."

Blake brought herself to her full height, staring at the crowd. Thousands had turned out, the Faunus before her a massive fraction of the population. These were people who supported her. It was almost impossible not to say what she said next.

"TO THE QUEENDOM OF ANIMA!"

* * *

"So... Do the names always end up this weird?" Cinder asked.

"Team RWCY? Nah, it's just you," Jaune joked. Cinder's eyeroll was a cute response. "Seriously, has anyone seen Blake?"

Team RWCY and JNPR had gathered that evening on the roof of Beacon, watching the golden sunset of the day. The sky fleet of Atlas hung high above, Amity Colosseum floating serenely into place. Ruby shook her head in response to Jaune's question. "I don't know. I think that was her who Pinged earlier, but... I don't know where she is. Maybe she's where all the Faunus went, wherever that was."

Yang shrugged, leaning on Cinder's shoulder. She missed her partner. "I vote we catch an Airship for Menagerie. Maybe she'll be there."

"She'll be here, event-"

"What's that?" Cinder asked, interrupting Weiss.

A gray cloud was slowly approaching Beacon, growing bigger and bigger with each moment. The cloud began to diffuse into individual shapes, which resolved into a fleet of airships. The ships were slightly old fashioned, bearing a... strange symbol, one of no city alive.

The teams of Loopers were some of the first at the airship wharf, alongside Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch. The flagship, the most ornate and massive one, was banking towards them, a ramp extending. With expert control, the ship landed smoothly, and the ramp connected. From it, marched an army.

Faunus, sharply dressed, well armed, and fairly young, marched in lockstep behind a team of tall, ornate men and women, each one dressed and armed to kill. The noise itself was shocking, empowering, and... well...

"Awesome," Ruby murmured.

The lead woman, the one who wore a gold ringlet across her brow, came forward to Ozpin. "Queen Blake Belladonna of the Queendom of Anima, with Headmaster Sun Wukong of Preserve. We've come to enroll our students in the Vytal Tournament."

"..." Ozpin sipped his coffee, a hint of old pain in his eyes. "Welcome Queen Belladonna. Welcome back to your home."

Blake nodded once. "It is good to be back." Blake winked at her usual Team and JNPR. "Lead the way Ozpin."

Ruby and company watched Blake, Ozpin, and the Huntresses and Huntsmen of Anima walk to Beacon. "You know, in my spare time I reforge Crescent Rose. Blake founds nations when she's bored."

Just ahead of everyone, out of earshot, Ozpin whispered to Glynda. "I told you she could do it."

"Was there ever doubt?"

* * *

 **A/N: This has to be the fastest I have ever put out a compilation chapter. Wow. Everyone, enjoy the fruits of our labors.**

* * *

 **11.1: Thank god for Winter. She's so cool.**

 **11.2: And, the obligatory lore snippet. Hello Qrow, James, good to see you.**

 **11.3: Everything is better with Dinosaurs…**

 **11.4: …everything is worse with Cinder…**

 **11.5: …and everything is funnier with romance.**

 **11.6: More Lore, this time focusing on Yang's mom.**

 **11.7: Cinder is a supervillain. What can you do?**

 **11.8: Qrow can be a drunkard, and a jerk, but he really does adore his nieces.**

 **11.9: Gordon Freeman on the other hand is always a jerk.**

 **11.10: The RWBY Loopers are Teetotalers. They are, after all, teenagers.**

 **11.11: Gummy bear cookies will cause intestinal issues. They are not fun.**

 **11.12: Tenten and Ruby and Shirou, oh my. And trust me, I don't get it either.**

 **11.13: Big sword. It transforms into a scythe, but on the outside it's just a big sword.**

 **11.14: Cinder Fall has a biplane motorcycle. That is awesome.**

 **11.15: Winter is a good sister, just… an awkward person.**

 **11.16: Yeah, Neo is a troll. Glynda's just better at teaching.**

 **11.17: I helped kill disco, I hope.**

 **11.18: All hail Queen Blake!**


	12. Choices and Consequences

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 12**

 **Choices, and Consequences.**

* * *

 **12.1 Vadrigar**

* * *

It was a nice day at Eden Hall. Ryū Sasakura was at his best, everyone was in a good mood, and only one person had passed out so far. So when team RWBY arrived, aged up to 21 and over on account of a glitch, several newer Loopers expected them to join in on the fun.

Weiss was the one to order for the four students when they got to the bar. "Four juices, please."

"Actually, could I get a soda? I need a sugar rush after last Loop," Ruby asked.

"Three juices and one soda then, on account of Ruby moving in slow motion last Loop." Weiss corrected.

"It was awful…"

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?"

Team RWBY, minus Ruby, who was still sulking over the memories of slow motion fighting, turned to see a young Looper who was also drinking juice. She had with her a broomstick and a bag with a small black cat inside, which didn't stick out all that much in Eden Hall, all things considered.

Blake, taking immediately to the young girl, said "Of course. What's your name?"

"Kiki. And I just wanted to ask, why aren't you guys drinking alcohol? Everyone else is, and you look old enough."

The four girls turned to each other in turn, and Yang answered. "Well, we're all usually underage, and not many of us at Beacon like alcohol. So really, it's a choice we all made."

Weiss smirked at this. " _Most_ of us made the choice by ourselves, but _some_ of us needed a little push in that direction. Isn't that right Yang?"

Ruby snapped out of her non-drunken stupor and waved her arms at Yang. "Oh oh oh! Let me tell the story! Let me tell it!"

"No Ruby, she didn't ask for the-"

* * *

 _The Inventory was crowded, a wretched hive of gamblers as drunks. When suddenly, a lone, brave woman decided that she was going to challenge the biggest, baddest, most muscular guy there, and_

* * *

"You weren't even there, sis!"

"But you told me what happened!"

"Yeah, once! And even then I didn't really want to talk about it. And that _isn't_ what happened at all! I didn't even want to start a fight, I just lost control."

Kiki was confused. "So, what exactly happened? You got into a fight?"

Yang sighed. "Yeah, not one of my better moments." See, what happened was…"

* * *

 _Yang Xiao Long was 21 for the first time, and didn't plan on letting this Loop go to waste. She was at the Inventory, a bar and gambling hall, and was loving every minute of it. She had met several new friends, one of which was a man in green armor who insisted on simply being called "Doomguy". However, as the night went on, Yang was downing drinks left and right, and unsure of how much she could take. At some point, she decided that playfully punching a drunk Doomguy in the shoulder was a good idea, and_

* * *

"'Playfully' my ass!"

The five girls turned around to see none other than a man in green armor standing before them, beer in hand. Kiki cocked her head at this statement.

"Wait, are you…?"

"The guy from her story, yeah. And don't listen to her, she just admitted how drunk she was that night! There was no 'playful shoulder punching' involved, she thought I stole her drink and punched me in the face full force with those damn gauntlets!"

The four girls turned back at Yang, who looked deep in thought. "Wait, is that what happened? I could have sworn I was aiming for your shoulder."

"You shotgun punched me in the goddamn face and you _don't even remember?_ "

"Like you said, I was drunk! And if you're so sure about what happened, why don't you tell Kiki the story then?"

"I think I will. You see kid…"

* * *

 _The Hero of Mars, The Savior of Earth, The Destroyer of Hell, The Red Menace, The-_

* * *

"Get on with it, D!"

"Hey hey hey, my story, not yours!"

* * *

 _The Face of Fear, The Eater of Sin, was at the Inventory late one Loop, and was enjoying a break from the shooting, stomping, eviscerating, cutting, blowing up, ripping apart, and-_

* * *

Kiki looked like she was going to be sick. "Ummm, is this necessary?"

* * *

 _Disemboweling the hellish menace of his home. After a few drinks, he noticed a young blonde sitting next to him, also enjoying the night. He engaged in conversation, and after a few hours, the two had become quite good friends. She then decided to randomly PUNCH HIM IN THE FUCKING FACE WITH SHOTGUN GAUNTLETS, and then, the epic fight was on!_

* * *

"Wow," Weiss exclaimed, "with that kind of storytelling skill, you could be the author of one of Blake's books."

Before Blake could offer a retort, Yang put her hands up in the air. "Okay, fine, so I started the fight. Can I just finish telling her the story? It's not a fun night to relive."

Doomguy smirked. "I wonder why? Could it be because you got your ass handed to you?"

* * *

 _Yang was knocked across the bar by a punch from the very angry and very drunk marine. She immediately got up and activated her Semblance, knowing she had this fight in the bag. However, in her drunken state, she failed to take into account the fact that Doomguy had been Looping longer than her, and would likely be a better equipped combatant._

* * *

Doomguy smiled at this. "Looping ain't got nothing to do with it. That's all Baseline skill, baby."

"Right, yeah, I'm sure those runic armor enhancements are common on Mars."

* * *

 _Yang launched into a barrage of punches at the large green figure, thinking she could overpower him with sheer strength. But her punches weren't having much of an effect on his armor, and she was starting to grow tired. Perhaps she shouldn't have had 10 shots in a row._

* * *

"Please, you did 8 at most."

"10, I counted every last one."

Ruby raised a hand. "Can you get back to the fighting, Yang?"

* * *

 _Doomguy cocked his fist, and slammed it into Yang's chest. While her Semblance was active and absorbed the damage, she could still feel the impact, which knocked the wind out of her. She fell to her knees, and looked up to see a smirking face._

 _"Had enough, girlie?"_

 _"I haven't even started!" Yang yelled._

* * *

"Yelled? Yeah right, by that point you were wheezing so much you could barely talk."

The four girls groaned. At this rate they would never hear the end of the story.

"Can you two just cut to the chase, please?" Blake asked as politely as she could. "Or get someone else who was there to tell us what happened?"

At this, Yang and Doomguy looked at Blake, then at each other. Yang asked him, "Wait, who else was there? I don't really remember."

"Demoman and Big Boss, maybe? I wasn't really paying attention to that. You know, after you punched me if the face with wrist-mounted shotguns."

"Okay, you know what? I apologized for that eons ago! And you still haven't apologized for punching me!"

"I won't apologize for self-defense, blondie!"

"You weren't in any real danger and you knew it!"

The two argued until the rest of team RWBY and Kiki decided to move a few seats down. Ruby looked confused. "So, why did she tell that story again?"

Kiki answered, "I wanted to know why you guys don't drink."

"Oh, right! Well, after that Loop, Yang was pretty upset that she lost control, and resolved to not drink again for a while. I don't think she's drank any alcohol since."

"I'm wondering if it was because of her wounded pride more than anything." Weiss thought aloud. "Guess we can't all be both alcoholics and great fighters like Qrow."

Ruby smiled at this. "Yep! And he can still beat anyone. Like how he beat your sister!"

"He didn't beat her, I told you it was a draw at best!"

Blake knew what was coming, and leaned over to Kiki before the two got too loud. "So, what's your cat's name, Kiki?"

The cat waggled his eyebrows. "Jiji. Meeeeeooooow, you are one snazzy-"

Kiki stuck her finger over her familiar's mouth. "If he keeps flirting with you, you have full right to throw him out."

Blake chuckled.

* * *

 **12.2 Shimmer712**

* * *

Such delicious cakes," a woman chattered to her friend as she left the small café. The waitress smirked inwardly. They should be delicious given how long the man in the kitchen has had to perfect the recipe. She carried the cold drinks and snacks to a table with a young couple and gave them a bright smile. She normally didn't show such expression but this was a business and smiling was part of the job.

She took the order from another table and went behind the counter to select the items. She paused and walked through the door to the kitchen.

"Raki, is the chocolate fudge slice ready? We're getting low out front," Clare told the man as she walked to the where they kept their stock of supplies for out front. "And last I looked, we were getting low back here too."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Rake flashed her a grin. "It just needs to cool and it will be ready to serve. I've got some lemon cake, ginger bread slice and white chocolate raspberry muffins in the ovens. Oh, and if Mr. Chu arrives, his ketchup cake is in the white pantry on the third shelf, in the blue box."

"You write the names on the special order boxes, I think she can figure out which one it is," Miria commented dryly from where she was icing some red velvet muffins.

"You know, I never get that many details when it comes to where everything is," Helen whined from where she was slicing apples. "How come?"

"Because Clare is his favorite," Deneve answered her from the sink.

"Favoritism in the workplace?" Helen gasped dramatically. "Raki! How unprofessional!"

"Helen," Miria said warningly. There was a reason she was out back in the kitchen rather than working out front with Clare, Tabitha, Cynthia and Yuma. Namely damage control.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You were going to," Miria said flatly.

Clare rolled her eyes and collected some chocolate fudge slice to take out front.

"We still have enough for a post-closing meeting right?" Miria asked the others in the kitchen.

"Yeah, we should," Raki nodded. "I'm planning on making a double batch of chocolate chip cookies once my current lot is one and saving some for that."

"I'm saving some of my apply slice for that," Helen nodded. "And it's not like we're giving them a full meal, just some snacks while we talk."

"She's right," Deneve nodded. "We don't need that much. Enough for everyone to each have something at the least and some drinks. That will be enough."

"Do you think I get Ruby to show me how to build my own weapons?" Helen asked, eyes gleaming.

The others paused, wondering if the trouble she would cause for their enemies would be worth the headache they'd get if they didn't put a stop to that idea.

* * *

It was nice to not be fighting. Going up against Youma and the Organization, to be honest, was quite frustrating at times. They had tried for ages to get certain answers. But it wasn't possible. For their loop, not much was…flexible, she supposed was the word. The things they had confirmed in baseline, like the Organization working for a War on a continent, the Claymores being part dragon, they youma being parasites, that all stayed the same but everything else tended to change. And of course, this sometimes effected how things played out.

For some loops, when they rebelled, in the after much, some of the Warriors like Rachel and Audrey sought to carry on their work. In one loop, they had brought back a number of dead claymore for experimental purposes (which, they probably should have expected to happen at some point given what had happened in baseline with Hysteria, Cassandra and Roxanne). And some of the baseline events had proven to be mind screws when their loop had expanded that far.

The fight between Theresa and Priscilla was awesome though.

Needless to say, they had long given up trying to predict the future. "Expecting something to happen keeps screwing us over so why bother trying to predict shit?" Helen had asked bluntly at one point. And she had a point. It was much better to take things as they come. It saved you from suffering many headaches.

Something these people needed to learn.

"Don't try predicting what will happen," Raki advised, ignoring Runy's lack of manners as she shovelled down cookies. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen with Helen. "The only things you can be sure will be consistent in the long run are things that have been confirmed in the hub episodes." Beside him, Clare nodded, putting down her half-eaten cookie.

"He's right," she stated. "There have been incidences where things were one way in the original baseline only to change when a hub episode confirmed the way that things are a certain way. You're familiar with the Equestria loopers, correct?" At the resulting nods, she continued. "Originally, the Griffin, Gilda would awaken with memories of her home being an impressive kingdom. However, after it actually showed on the Hub episodes, the baseline is now how the hub showed it, which is significantly less impressive."

"That had you worried yourselves, didn't it?" Helen asked. "I mean, a lot about this world hasn't been shown on the Hub episodes so a lot of it is up in the air. Hell, it might turn out Grimm were originally human like youma were!"

"What!" Weiss shrieked. "None of us have ever had memories of that being the case!...Right?" she quickly checked with the other Remnant natives. They quickly agreed with her.

Raki shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Nothing in the Hub episodes shown that it isn't the case so it may turn out to be that way."

Miria nodded. "We see that first hand all the time. Our loop runs a month or so past the last episode in the Hub so there is usually some variety there based almost entirely on unconfirmed factors such as the War the Organization was researching for."

"Like Teresa," Clare noted. "Sometimes, it's the actual her that shows up to stomp Priscilla into the ground, and sometimes it's just an imaginary version of her."

"Hey, was that thing that came out Riful's corpse?" Yang asked. "I mean, was it Riful and Dauf's kid or what? Can youma breed or something?" Next to her, Ruby paused and gave her sister an odd look. Clearly she had never read the manga or watched the series

"…Yeah, that's one of the things in our world that ain't clear," Helen commented around a mouthful of apple cake. "That one tends to vary…when we get an actual answer. A lot of time, we don't."

Raki shook his head. "At any rate, it's best to not get in the habit of expecting things to go one way and just be ready to take things how they come. Like you would be doing if you weren't looping."

"So you suggested being prepared for things to happen but not for specific events to occur," Pyrrha clarified.

"Yeah, that's about it," Raki agreed. "Don't dig yourself into a hole because of your own expectations."

"Keep an open mind," Clare agreed.

"They have a point," Ren remarked. "If we get in the habit of expecting things to go a certain way, it will throw us off when a variant occurs. And it will do us more harm than good when the loops finally end."

The rest of Remnant loopers looked at each and nodded. That was a good point.

"Hey, how come you guys didn't become Hunters?" Ruby asked. Miria smiled at her.

"In our home loop, we were stripped of our humanity and used as weapons against the youma by the people who were creating them," she said. "Fighting makes up a large portion of our lives."

"We don't hate it," Raki said. "But it's nice to have a change. I mean, if you ate nothing but cheese, you'd grow to hate it. Taking a break every now and then is a good thing."

"And our boy toy makes us such tasty treats!" Helen declared, hugging Raki. Yang would later swear she saw Clare's eyebrow twitched slightly at that.

"We are taking a vacation from combat this loop," Deneve said calmly. "In our home loop, if we were to try that, Raki is the only one who would not get hunted down by the Organization. They do not approve of that sort of thing."

"No holidays, huh?" Yang pulled a face.

"We walk everywhere so we can take our time getting to a job and we usually have a rest while waiting for our handler to give us a new mission so we do have our off time," Clare said.

"So, since this loop is a big holiday, we should take you out to see the sights later, get some souvenirs, take some photos, that sort of thing," Ruby declared. "Oooh! We can have a slumber party!"

* * *

"Hey, guys?" Ruby asked. "Exactly who in that group is their Anchor?"

Most of the Hunters-in-training paused. None of them had asked that question and they hadn't offered the information. And a number of them hadn't seen the hub episodes.

"Clare," Yang said confidently. "In the Hub series, she's the main character. If it's not her then it's probably Raki."

"Huh," Ruby nodded. "We're gonna visit them again before the loop ends, right?"

"I may be beneficial," Pyrrha offered. "After all, there are parallels between our careers and theirs. The main difference is we volunteered and aren't altered during our training."

"…Has the lack of alteration been confirmed in the hub?" Nora asked.

"…You have seen the fully trained Hunters around, right?" Weiss asked. "I think that sort of thing will be common knowledge."

"But what if it is and just isn't talked about in the Hub episodes?"

"Guys," Jaune said. "We can't predict everything so let's just take their advice and roll with things as they come."

Ruby nodded. "We'll wind up doing so anyway when things happen so let's not get worked up. Besides, it's getting late. We should head back and go to bed."

There was a murmur of agreement and the hunters made their way back to Beacon.

* * *

 **12.3 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Neo smirked to herself as she saw a particular group of Ozpin's minions watching the crowd as she prepared for her next performance. Surrounding her were countless throngs of Vale citizens, most of whom carried a mask in the shape of one of the Creatures of Grimm. Stepping to the stage she donned her own figurative mask; not a physical one like her audience, but one of a more metaphorical nature. That of an actress. Not that acting was in any way unfamiliar to her.

"My children, now is the time! We have gathered here to pay homage to the great spirits of Remnant, the Creatures of Grimm. Those of the Academies would tell you that the Grimm are monsters, demons which seek to hunt and destroy us all; human and faunus alike. I come to you now to tell you this is a lie!"

The crowd cheered, those of them who had one placing their masks upon their faces in support to her message. _'Like lambs to the slaughter,'_ she gloated internally as she continued.

"The Grimm are the souls of our children, parents, friends and loved ones given new forms that they might truly appreciate the beauty of the world as their mortal eyes never could. I have been blessed by these elevated souls to deliver their message of deliverance, given the gifts which they proudly display that I may show you the wonders of Grimm. The strength of the Boarbatusk..."

Bending down she tore a chunk of the street from its bed, before pulling back and throwing it far outside the reaches of Vale's wall.

"The speed of the Beowolves..."

Leaning forward she braced herself, before rushing into the audience; more specifically the watching Hunter and Huntresses, and even more specifically a certain redheaded idol in particular. Before Pyrhha had time to react Neo had reached out and stolen the emerald hanging from her headpiece and returned to the stage, where she proudly displayed her spoils. She laughed to herself as she caught Nora and Jaune struggling to hold back their furious friend as the crowds cheered her on. Flipping the jewel into the air with an amused look, she pocketed her ill-gotten gains and resumed.

"The flight of the Nevermore..."

She hadn't had a Loop yet where she had wings, but then she wouldn't have thought to try this if not for the Loop where she gained the next ability on her list. Lowering her center of gravity she crouched down, before leaping into the air... where she remained, in brazen defiance of the laws of physics. Cross another item off her list of laws broken/left to break.

The crowd surged to a frenzy at her apparent display of spiritual blessing. The spiritual part was accurate, but the blessing; not so much. She briefly frowned at the reminder of a particular man more skilled than even Cinder at manipulation and deception; despite the fact he wasn't — and likely never would be — Looping. Nevertheless she was still grateful for his actions against her Unawake self, as otherwise this entire charade would have been impossible.

Masking the usage of Spirtual Energy with that of several other random internal energies, she placed her hand in front of her face and pulled downward; a white mask forming where her hand passed. Landing once more on the stage she stared out through darkened eyes at the masses and spoke, her voice warbled by the mask of the Visored.

"Behold the face of enlightenment, the blessing of Grimm! Now is the time, for months I have spoken to you in secret and shown you evidence of my gifts; today you will share my blessing openly. Let us meet our lost brethren with open arms. Behold, they come!"

In time to her words a loud crash sounded through the area as Team RWBY was ejected from the earth, rubble surrounding the dazed and mostly Unawake group. Ruby was already up and armed while the others were lying dazed on the ground and so she was able to slice the head of the King Taijitu from its body as it made it's appearance. However she was caught off guard by the debris which pelted her immediately afterwards, as well as the jeering and angry shouting from the hundreds of cultists lining the street.

As she fought the Grimm pouring into the streets she was heckled on all sides by Neo's followers as Neo herself urged them on. "Let not the unenlightened stand in our way. The Creatures of Grimm are our long lost loved ones returning home at last. The Hunters and Huntresses would try and destroy them unless you take a stand now. Those who fight alongside us now will be blessed by the Elder Grimm which rests within the core of our world, sharing her life's blood with the planet itself. As I have been blessed so too will you be my children! Fight, stand together against the cowards who would keep you from your rightful reward! Even those who die will be reborn as Grimm, blessed above all others. So fight!"

As the crowd roared in righteous fury — their masks gleaming brighter in the smoke filled air — and charged to the aid of the Grimm, Neo slipped into the shadows; laughing loudly. It really was true: upset the established order, and everything became chaos. And just like a certain clown who had once taken her under his wing when she Looped in as Harley, she too was an agent of Chaos.

Watching her fellow Loopers and their Unawake teammates fight off both the Grimm and the cultists she had organized, she grinned. A particular quote from 'Mistah J' came to mind, 'Now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed and useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always said: if you gotta go, go with a smile.'

And damn if she wasn't smiling.

* * *

 **12.4**

* * *

"Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, versus Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi!" Professor Port announced over the speakers.

Up in the stands, Teams RWBY and JNPR, plus Cinder, watched matching with trepidation. "Are you sure you don't remember why you matched them up again?" Jaune asked the resident super villain.

Cinder shook her head. "Emerald and Mercury are supposed to beat Coco and Yatsuhashi, but... I'm not entirely sure. There are loops where they're supposed to forfeit."

"Well, we'll find out when the loop expands," Pyrrha said lightly. She took Jaune's hand in hers. "Be seeing you Jaune."

Jaune's lips quirked into a smile. "Yeah, later Pyrrha." He nodded to everyone. "Later guys."

Several seconds passed.

"..." Ruby glanced around. "Wait... New expansion! Yeah!"

"Oh no, they're going to actually fight. I need my camera!" Pyrrha fretted, pulling a camcorder from her Subspace Pocket.

Blake pulled out a telescope and settled in on watching Yatsuhashi. "Let's see where this match leads us."

* * *

Down on the field, Emerald and Mercury and Yatsuhashi and Coco stood (in Yatsu's case, sat) as the field's layout was randomized. Coco glanced over Emerald's attire. "Nice outfit kid."

Emerald smiled menacingly. "Yeah, it is. I'm just gonna try and not get blood on it."

 **"Ooh, nice come back," Ruby said.**

 **"I would expect nothing less. She is one of my favorite henchmen," Cinder joked.**

Yatsuhashi rose from his meditation as the field finished randomizing. "I can't promise you that you won't leave without a scratch."

 **"Weiss, does that sound like the Lieutenant's voice?" Blake asked.**

 **"Not really..."**

Emerald brushed her shoulder. "Trust me. I won't be the one bleeding."

Coco and Yatsuhashi were silent for a moment, before the smaller I the pair laughed. "Ooh, I like her."

 **"Who doesn't?" Cinder joked again.**

The countdown went off. "Three two one go!" Port shouted. The match was on! Emerald and Mercury... slowly backed up into the talk grass behind them.

 **"Hmm... Intimidation tactics," Jaune offered. "They're implying that they don't care what Coco and Yatsuhashi throw at them."**

Coco and Yatsuhashi smirked at each other, Coco's minigun unfolding from her purse. The multi-barreled death machine spun up, bullets lancing through the tall Serengeti grass. Turning up the power, Coco literally mowed the grass down.

Mercury and Emerald weren't there. "What the..." Coco began.

"LOOK OUT!" Yatsuhashi shouted, pushing Coco away from the descending Mercury.

 **"So there's Mercury, but where's Emerald..." Ren wondered.**

 **"Who cares, this is awesome!" Yang shouted as Mercury laid into the CFVY kids.**

Mercury landed dead center on Yatsuhashi's great sword, laniching himself off and back. Coco swung her minigun his way, Mercury rocketing in a circle as hot lead chased him. In a flash, he was between Coco and Yatsuhashi, trading kicks and sword blows and Coco's attempts to use her weapon as a cudgel.

 **"They're need to break his legs," Nora observed without a hint of humor.**

 **"I don't think they will," Cinder said.**

Coco got a line of fire and tried to blow Mercury away. Mercury leapt and backflipped over Coco, Yatsuhashi racing in and nearly decapitating him. Mercury leapt over Coco and kicked her minigun into Yatsuhashi's gut. Coco grimaced, collapsed her weapon, and swung at Mercury, trying to clobber him to death.

Mercury hurtled backwards, two ice bolts firing from his boot guns. One exploded by Coco and Yatsuhashi, the second racing into the distance. Coco and Yatsu turned back to Mercury...

But Mercury was break dancing a, unstoppable, and surrounded by ice balls.

 **"I really need to challenge him to a dance off," Jaune said.**

Mercury's ice attack launched, pummeling Coco and Yatsuhashi. The two recovered, only for Mercury to appear between them in the steam. He grabbed them both, kicking each in rapid succession, before throwing both hard. he glanced at the trees with a smirk.

Coco snarled, but a chain latched onto her weapon and mid-section. Without warning, the leader of Team CFVY was dragged, rocketing back into the forest sector of the field.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi screamed.

 **"Wait, Emerald's weapon can do that?" Ruby gasped.**

 **"I stand corrected," Cinder said. "Emerald isn't one of, she is _the_ favorite henchmen of mine."**

In the forest, Coco slammed into a tree. "Okay, I stand corrected. I don't like her."

Out in the main field, Yatsuhashi yelled and swung a fist at Mercury, grabbing his neck and throwing him across the field, into the geyser territory.

 **"That's not the Lieutenant's throw," Weiss muttered.**

In the forest, Coco dodged, just barely, Emerald's bullets. She backflipped and unfolded her gun, opening fire. Emerald leapt through the trees.

Yatsuhashi leapt into the air, his sword above his head. In an instant, Mercury pulled a handstand, catching Yatsuhashi's blade on his boots. The ground beneath _him_ shattered.

 **"WHAT!" Yang shouted.**

Coco cut a traced a path of hot lead behind Emerald, the thief racing from tree branch to tree branch. And then, behind a tree, she vanished.

Coco blinked. "Damn."

 **"That's one dollar in the swear jar for Coco," Ruby declared.**

Mercury kicked Yatsuhashi, the taller man off balance. With another blow, he felled Yatsuhashi, his green opponent landing... directly over a geyser!

"AHHHHHH!"

Coco glanced around, trying to find her target, when someone called her name. "Coco," Yatsuhashi said, walking up behind his leader.

 **"Wait, how is he there, and..." Jaune started.**

Mercury shot forward, and kicked his addled enemy in the face. Yatsuhashi was out. It was a sight the entire stadium saw, even Coco. "What-" she glanced back, but the Yatsuhashi she had seen wasn't there anymore.

 **"An illusion?" Ren muttered.**

 **"A mirage," Cinder deducted.**

Coco glanced around, her heart pounding, her hands right on her minigun. Emerald slowly approached her from behind. Coco gulped. "Damn."

 **"LOOK OUT!" Team RWBY screamed.**

Emerald, in a single blow, sent Coco flying. Her arc carried her to Yatsuhashi's unconscious side, her Aura depleted. The buzzer rang. Coco and Yatsuhashi had lost.

 **"...I fought that..." Pyrrha muttered. "He wasn't even trying."**

 **"Well, at least we have a better idea what to do when we're fighting them in Baseline," Jaune said.**

 **"Fight harder?" Ruby asked.**

 **"Run away," Jaune answered.**

 **Next to them, Neo huffed. _'Why am I part of the peanut gallery?'_**

* * *

 **12.5 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Ozpin raised an eyebrow as he looked at the drawing of a green haired maid whose outfit was also in shades of green. "So... Somehow this person went and killed the White Fang, Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder... Because Emerald and Mercury tried to kill her 'Master' due to him seeing them try to murder someone in a bookshop?"

A shiver ran down Roman's back as in the back, Neo whimpered a bit. "Not just kill... She _slaughtered_ them..."

Looking up, Neo shuddered. "I think that she ate them actually..."

Now that caused Ozpin's eyebrow to raise still further. Leaning back, he put his coffee cup down and steepled his fingers in thought. "I see... That is rather disturbing as the bugs I placed overheard Littlefoot telling Ruby that his maid is not looping. Her being that powerful..."

He gave Roman a glance and the criminal nodded. "She swatted a Nevermore attracted by the fighting out of the air with as much ease as a Hunter might a fly."

From where she was, Glynda raised an eyebrow. "I think that you might be exaggerating just a tad."

However, Roman only turned and stared at her. "She hit it with some tentacle hard enough for the thing to _explode_."

Taking a sip of his coffee, Ozpin frowned. "Most concerning that we didn't know about whatever she is..."

* * *

Several loops later, much to Ruby's confusion, it turned out that Cinder somehow gained a phobia of maids

* * *

 **12.6 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Ruby jumped out of the house and shouted as loud as she could, "Road Trip!"

Weiss just gave Ruby a long suffering eye roll and stepped into the van. "Why did we have to go in this dirty, messy, beat up van?"

Ruby shrugged. "Seemed like a fun thing to do."

Blake followed, asking as she went, "Yang's not driving, is she?"

Yang placed her arm around Blake and said, "You better believe I'm driving."

Blake shook her head.

* * *

"Ruby, get off the top of that roof right now," Shouted Weiss from inside the car. The van was being pursued by dozens of cop cars, the mafia and a few members of the Foreign Legion...somehow. Ruby shouted from on top of the car with a big smile on her face, "Faster, Yang! They're catching up."

Yang shifted gear and pushed the pedal to the metal. Blake just had her face in her hand.

* * *

A few hours later, Blake was standing over a smoking engine, looking at the remains of their van as she tried to rig something up to fix this problem. "We could have avoided this if we didn't stop for waffles."

Yang shrugged, "How was I supposed to know a Neo look alike would exist this loop. Or that she was the leader of the local mafia...or that the mafia owned the police in this town."

Ruby raised her hand. "What I want to know is how the Foreign Legion got involved."

Weiss muttered, "I blame Nora."

Ruby gave her partner a flat look. "She's not even here this loop."

A pause passed over the group, then Weiss continued, "And you think that would stop her?"

* * *

 **12.7 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

Light appeared suddenly as Roman slowly regained consciousness. He had been Awake for a grand total of five minutes when something slammed into the back of his head and he woke up here, strapped to a chair. He opened his eyes to look around, which was difficult since he had been unconscious for what he assumed to be quite a while. He shrugged and said non-nonchalantly, "I don't care much for the decor."

A female voice asked, "This is the great thief, Roman Torchwick? The sensation of the media who's robbed all four kingdoms?"

Roman shook his head, trying to clear it. His voice turned mocking, "You flatter me, my dear. I'm but a humble thief trying to make ends meet to feed ma and pa back in Vacuo. Oh, the inhumanity, they'll starve for sure with me in a jail cell!"

His eyes cleared up, allowing him to see...a familiar female girl sitting at the end of a long table. The girl was smirking at him. Torchwick's eyes widened for a moment, but he returned quickly to his 'devil may care' attitude. "Does your dad know you typically kidnap older men and hold them captive in your private building?"

he was pleased at her fists curling up, allowing a smirk to cross his lips has he struck a nerve. But then she relaxed. Weiss stood and strode forward. She asked, "Although you weren't what I expected, you'll do for my purposes."

Roman tilted his head up and blew away a clump of hair that had gotten in his eye with his breath. "So, Schnee, does your father know you're consorting with common criminals?"

Weiss shrugged as if not caring. "I imagine he would be a bit upset. Let him stew."

Roman whistled. "You're cold, kiddo."

Weiss smirked. "Like ice, now I have a proposition for you."

Roman looked around. "Sorry, Ice Princess. I'm not into that sort of thing."

Weiss' eye twitched for a second as Roman allowed himself a small smirk in victory. She shook her head. "You're not my type, Roman. I'm here to make you fabulously wealthy beyond your wildest dreams."

Roman blinked for a second. This was...very interesting. It was a development that he never expected. He looked around and sent out the ping. One of the things he had managed to glean from his time looping was that determining who was pinging and where he or she was from the ping was impossible. It traveled almost instantly across the universe. Meaning he could determine Weiss' looping status by throwing her off with a well-timed Ping and still remain undercover. Weiss almost stumbled at the sudden, unexpected Ping. Roman felt two pings return, but kept his thoughts on the matter a complete secret as he quipped, "Falling for me already? You're swoon needs more work. I must say, I'm not surprised though. I am pretty dashing after all."

Weiss finally lost her cool. "Shut up, Shut up, Shut up! Is this how you treat all your potential clients?"

Torchwick thought back on all the times he thwarted Cinder's schemes via a well placed quip then shrugged. "More or less. You said something about a job, Ice Princess?"

Weiss took several calming breaths then smoothed out her skirt. "Yes, if you think you can handle it. Honestly, it may be beyond your capabilities if one of my lowly retainers could capture you so easily, but I've been told you are the best in your field. You will be approached soon by the leader of a certain faction."

Roman shrugged. "My usual fee is doubled to play spy since I am, after all, a thief."

Weiss returned to her seat and folded her fingers while staring at Roman. "Money is not a problem, Thief. Further I have full intention of using your thieving skills when the time comes. If you find out they have a base of operations, you are to break cover and rob them blind."

Torchwick gave a small smirk. This was better than he ever could have planned. "Interesting. And what do you get out of this, girly?"

Weiss' smirk disappeared. "Any documentation, any files, any information you can glean from her operation would go to me. You can keep the rest."

Torchwick's smirk grew. This would definitely work. "Looks like you got yourself a thief, Ice Princess."

* * *

Torchwick found himself waking up at one of his safe house warehouses. In the back of his mind, he was cackling like mad, but he couldn't reveal it lest any potential onlookers take note. The Ice Queen had just delivered him a potential way out if he ever wanted to leave Ozpin's grasp if he so decided. All he had to do was claim to start looping after this loop. Ozzy wasn't that bad an employer and if he went with this option, Weiss would be the one to replace him, so he wouldn't just reveal himself next loop. But still, it was nice to have options once again.

* * *

 **12.8**

* * *

"Hello everyone. Broadcasting live from Beacon Academy's supply closet, this is: the Blonde Report! With your beautiful hosts, Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long."

Jaune smoothed back his hair. "And what a beautiful day it is everyone. Balmy seventy degrees as we move into autumn with chances of ass kicking all through out the week as the Vytal Festival continues. Yang, the report on the Tournament?"

Yang chuckled. "Today's start matchup was Yatsuhashi Daichi and Coco Adel of Beacon against Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black of Cinder's Cabal! The fighting was brutal, with explosions, shooting, more sword than this beautiful young woman could ever wish for, but at the end of the day, Mercury and Emerald emerged victorious."

"It was quite a match," Jaune admitted. "In other news-"

"QROW BRANWEN IS A LYING CHEATING ASSHOLE WHO DESERVES TO BE BANNED FROM ALL VIDEO GAMES EVER!" Yang screamed.

"Qrow has also been confirmed to have been partnered with Team STRQ, pronounced Stark, composed of himself, Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, and his sister Raven Branwen." Jaune flipped his cards over. "Preliminary reports have indicated that STRQ was composed purely of sex gods and goddesses, though these accusations remained unconfirmed as Yang and Ruby are too young to hear about them."

"And we don't want to," Yang stated. "STRQ was captained by my later step-mother Summer, and is said to be the coolest, most badass team to ever graduate Beacon."

"Another quality henceforth unconfirmed as Summer is dead, Taiyang a stay-at-home dad, Raven missing and presumed immoral, and Qrow a drunk."

"But news of a happy family do not stop with the Rose-Xiao Long-Branwen family. The Schnee Sisters Weiss and Winter have demonstrated an inexorably cute streak of sororal love and compassion for one another, easily on par with Yang and Ruby's bond. It is my esteemed partner's opinion that it is only a matter of time before the elder Schnee joins us in the Loops."

Yang nodded. "Truly, sisterly love is a miraculous bond. Despite the fact that Winter has trained for many years as a soldier of Atlas, she openly cares for her sister. Furthermore, Weiss' semblance has been expanded to include powerful summoning magic..."

"That is as inconsistent as my semblance in it's specifics," Jaune said. "Welcome to the club Weiss."

"All is not merely sunshine and rainbows though," Yang said with pain in her tone. "Today, tragedy struck out in the western swamps of Mistral. My beloved uncle Qrow was defeated... by a waitresses tiny miniskirt."

Jaune hung his head. "A moment of silence for our perverted friend."

A moment came and went.

"From this we move to the lighter side of life," Yang said. "This loop, Jaune's Semblance has been confirmed to be the ability to cook the perfect breakfast... so long as it has eggs."

"My esteemed partner Pyrrha Nikos has also taken up a new hobby to relieve stress. Deforestation!"

"I wonder why..." Yang deadpanned.

"This Loop, Team CFVY's allegiance has been confirmed to be to Ozpin and Huntresses and Huntsmen at large," Jaune said happily. "Furthermore, Velvet's weapon has been determined to be an explosive rabbit."

"It even has a jingle!" Yang said.

 _"It's a bunny!_

 _It's a bomb!_

 _It's a bunny bomb!"_

"PETA could not be reached for comment," Jaune said with relief.

"Cinder's big plan turned out to be to turn all human and Faunus into Legos," Yang said. "Truly, stoping her was a fortunate event. Our thanks go out to Emerald, who happened to know that all Cinder really needed to reform was a nice girlfriend."

"And so, we, Jaune-"

"-And Yang-"

"-Say good evening, and good night."

* * *

Ozpin and Glynda stared as the video message concluded, and their regularly scheduled news returned. "...Okay then..."

"Ozpin, you are not turning that into a training exercise."

"I could."

"You won't."

"Can you stop me?"

"...Yes."

"Drat."

* * *

 **12.9**

* * *

Jaune gulped as he walked into Ozpin's office. He knew that his faked transcripts had come back to haunt him, as they occasionally did. Why oh why did he fake his way into Beacon again?

Behind his desk, Ozpin gave the young man a smile and gestured to a seat. At least he was being magnanimous, which was a good sign. Jaune took his seat and tried not to fidget.

"Now Mr. Arc, my assistant Glynda did a check of your transcripts. What we found was... well, astonishing. As such..." Ozpin tapped a button on his desk. "Students of Beacon, effective immediately, Jaune Arc is the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. I quit, and I'm taking Glynda. That is all." Ozpin let go of the button. "You're perfectly qualified. Try not to blow anyone up."

Ozpin grabbed a pair of suitcases, was wearing a fedora and Hawaiian shirt in a flash, and was already making for the door, propped open by hula dancer Glynda. "Enjoy your tenure!"

Jaune sat there. "...What just happened?"

Out on a beach in Vacuo, Glynda and Ozpin toasted with margaritas. "Ozpin, this is your best education plan yet."

Oz sipped his margarita. "I really must work it into my curriculum more. Maybe... Pyrrha, next time. We can skip Blake since she founded her own country... Nora?"

* * *

"Do you want to start a war?" Glynda teased. She sipped her own drink. "These are delicious. Are they from that loop where Jaune's semblance was being the perfect bartender?"

"You better believe it." Ozpin sighed and reclined, the sound of the waves a soothing balm. "We should do this more often."

"Space it out, as much as we can," Glynda clarified. "Don't want anyone getting the wrong ideas."

"Now why would the Goodwitch ever want Oz?" Ozpin said in jest. A playful fist to the shoulder was his answer. "Ow. You're too violent for me anyway. Cut down on that, then we'll date."

"Trust me, I'm fine being a single woman. I have my career and my passion. An eternity to ply it."

Ozpin rolled his eyes, but a slightly somber mood seemed to intervene. "That's not always the case."

Glynda picked up the tone. "The loops where Autumn is close to me?"

Ozpin nodded. "I do find it strange. Four headmasters, but also Qrow, and you. Qrow, I'm not sure why he's in on the conspiracy, but you're here, sometimes, because of Autumn."

Glynda shrugged. "I know that. I've lived through those loops. She's my sister, my best friend... my wife." Glynda gave an awkward chuckle. "Those are always weird loops."

"..." Ozpin stared off into the vast, trackless sea, the sun low on the western horizon. "Well, we came here to relax. We'll take the heavy stuff as need be." He got off his chair. "I think a good swim is in order. If you need me, I'll be in the reefs."

"Try to avoid the Sea Grimm," Glynda suggested, pulling a book (The Revised Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by John Watson) from her subspace pocket. "I don't want to fish your corpse from the sea."

Ozpin chuckled and tossed his shirt aside. "Yes dear."

* * *

 **12.10**

* * *

Yang looked down at her little sister. Ruby looked down at her little sister. Cinder... was cursing. "Fuck him, fuck his brains, fuck his sick mind, fuck Taiyang!"

Jaune walked up to the three sisters, a rather puzzled look on his face. "Hey, hey guys. Class is gonna start soon. So... what's Cinder doing here? And why is she so-"

"If you say young, I will smack you where you stand with my motorcycle!" Cinder threatened, hefting a gigantic motorcycle over her head.

Jaune glanced at Yang. "Could you answer me?"

Yang smiled and folded her arms. "Cinder's our little sister this loop. Well, half-sister, and my cousin. Apparently our dad made some sort of vow to impregnate his entire team."

Jaune stared at Yang. "Wait, wouldn't that-"

"Yup."

"But-"

"He found a way."

"Qrow's-"

"This loop he is."

"But-"

"Dad was determined."

"..." Jaune glanced at the seven year old Cinder, who was still fuming. "Okay then... Though seriously, your dad really needs to give relationship tips or something."

Yang giggled. "Where do you think I get my flirtatious bent from? Raven?"

"I always thought you got it from all the porn you watched," Ruby snarked, leaving her sister grasping for a suitably superior answer. "Come on Cinder, let's go and get some ice cream."

"I don't want ice cream," Cinder grumbled.

"It's cinnamon ice cream."

Cinder was on Ruby's shoulders before Ruby could say go. "TALLYHO! TO THE MESS HALL!"

Ruby and Cinder ran off, leaving Yang and Jaune. Jaune coughed into his fist. "Your family is badass."

Yang nodded numbly. "Yeah. So's yours."

"Thanks."

* * *

 **12.11 Wildrook**

* * *

"You're not Belle," a voice said. "In fact, you seem rather...beastly yourself."

"I get that a lot," the black-haired woman replied. "You're just nicer than Adam Taurus, from what I've seen."

The beast had gave out a chuckle. "Coincidental, but I haven't gone by Adam in a while. You are?"

"Blake Belladonna. Guess that makes me Belle for this Loop."

It wasn't exactly a romance, but a friendship. Probably because Blake wanted to see the Library.

* * *

Weiss was going through her default annoyed expression.

This wasn't because her friends are nowhere to be found, nor is it because she got stuck with the chores of seven little men who mined in the field.

Instead, it was the foresight of an evil queen about to come to her house and offer her a poisoned apple. She was NOT some damsel in distress to be rescued by a prince.

"Yo," a voice said, catching her by surprise.

Weiss's weapon was out as she looked at the man in question, but settled down.

"Well, you're an improvement over the future visitor, at least," she replied to the blond-haired male. "I take it you're the prince, Jaune?"

"Had this been when we first met," he replied, "I think I would have fainted at the opportunity. Still, better me than the Queen. Thank Pyrrha's training that I was able to get out in time, too."

Weiss gave out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled about her, either. Assassination plots are common where I'm from, and her methods aren't exactly noteworthy in our world. You bring our weapons?"

Jaune nodded as he brought out his sword and shield. "Take it you're up for a spar?"

Weiss then gave out a smirk. "It would be interesting to spar with someone my size this time." Jaune's look was of confusion. "Turns out in this variation, the Dwarves are war veterans and they're mining what's left of the fortress that fell. Surprisingly, Grumpy acts a lot like Jayne Cobb when it comes to battle."

"Oh, I thought they were Awake."

* * *

Within the Imperial Boot Camp, Lie Ren had to maintain the look of a professional in the face of the Emperor's Assistant. He wasn't exactly a speaking man, but after sending out a few pings from at least four or five of his soldiers, he had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't replace his namesake.

That was actually confirmed when he noticed four of them talking like they were old friends, but only three of them were on his list.

'Must be Mulan,' he thought. 'Wonder if that dragon's with her.' "Excuse me," he said, catching them by surprise as they stood to attention. "Can I speak to you four in private?"

"Uh, sure," the smaller one replied. "What for?"

"Well, I need an Anchor to stabilize myself considering I've been thrown for a Loop."

That got the soldier in green in surprise. "My tent's out of the way," the "man" replied. "If you're feeling Loopy, we can talk."

Lie Ren nodded. "Nightfall," he replied. "I have to deal with the Emperor's Secretary staring down my back."

* * *

"I must admit, I didn't expect to meet my namesake," Ren said, looking at the woman in disguise. "I thought I'd end up in a Rule 63 Loop."

"You think that's crazy," a voice replied, "I sometimes end up as a cop in Detroit for some reason. Hey there, new guy. Name's Mushu...and this is Mulan, or rather, Ping."

Mulan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Mushu tends to wake up in roles by Eddie Murphy more often than we can count," she said. "And you are?"

"Captain Lie Ren for this Loop," Ren replied. "And those three were close friends of yours?"

"Lang, Chen Po, and Yao," Mulan said. "And yes, they're recent Loopers who know my secret and of Mushu. I'm just surprised you replaced Shang."

Ren shrugged. "I felt something was off when Nora wasn't bugging me when I was Awake...in both senses of the term."

"So I take it you're not going to tell anyone about Ping's secret?" Mushu asked him, prompting a nod from the man. "Right, so...what was that about Mulan here being your namesake?"

"Well, it's a long story…"

* * *

 **A/N: A weekly update? Unthinkable! And yet, here it is. Horray!**

 **12.1: It's an easy way to quit.**

 **12.2: Claymores, and worlds, cross on occasion.**

 **12.3: Harlequin Ice Cream ladies and gentlemen.**

 **12.4: A bit of an MST, but I think it's permissible now.**

 **12.5: The butler, in the study, with the crowbar. Just gender flipped.**

 **12.6: Road Trip… from hell!**

 **12.7: Roman is a consummate professional, and a professional always gets an out.**

 **12.8: A spin on an old joke.**

 **12.9: Jaune shouldn't have faked his paper. Ozpin takes advantage of that.**

 **12.10: Taiyang, ladies and gentlemen. Dad, supreme!**

 **12.11: This should have gone into compilation _two_ , but the writer forgot. **


	13. Unlucky Shots

**RWBY Loops Chapter 13**

 **Unlucky shot**

* * *

 **13.1 Detectice Ethan Redfield**

* * *

The door to the control room slid open slowly. The game had barely started and already someone had arrived here. Junko turned around to take in the sight of her older sister, not wearing her disguise. The Ultimate Despair Student whined out loud; "Geez. You're holding up the game."

The student studied her older sister. Something wasn't right. She couldn't quite tell what it was. Did Mukuro lose her resolve after seeing Naegi without his memories? No... this was something else. Her stance was confident, almost filled with mirth. Testing, Junko picked out a couple choice insults before commanding in a tone that never failed to get Mukuro to act. "Always such a disappointment! You can't do anything right. Get back down to the gym and play your-"

Her sister pulled out a container and released its contents, allowing some white crystalline smoke to form, only for the smoke to coalesce into sharp crystal rocks, which flung themselves at Junko. The fashionista could never have predicted this kind of attack. However, she was nothing if not skilled, since she was Ultimate Despair. She managed to dodge most of the crystal blades, only to be pinned to one of the frames of the computer panels behind her.

Mukuro started chuckling in a very unMukuro way. "Little sister, did you think you could control me with such pitiful means? Your insults mean nothing, are nothing against one such as me. I am no longer your play thing, your toy to use as you deem fit. You may, however, call me Cinder."

Junko looked at her sister with new eyes. "Who are you?"

Cinder pulled out a small tablet like device and attached a cable from the tablet to the console. After tapping several commands, Cinder tied up her sister so tight that the circulation was cut off. Cinder smirked and said; "I am your replacement. Your Ultimate Despair will not know of your demise, as I will take over where you left off."

Cinder had expected Junko to react in horror, fear, and a wide variety of different ways at the prospect of her soon to be death, but no, Junko's eyes brightened with excitement. The power to the control station darkened as Cinder finished taking control of the Monokuma Army and the academy. Cinder was impressed. Cracking into the control network back at Beacon was done within a minute or two, but Junko's outdated tech lasted several minutes.

Cinder tapped a button on her scroll, causing the door to slowly begin to close. As Cinder left, she pulled out a proximity mine big enough to melt the interior of the room and planted it on the door just as she slipped out. Soon, the door was closed, leaving Junko trapped inside.

And she started laughing and laughing in excitement. Her execution was now at hand. Either she starved to death or she would die when that bomb went off. There was nothing she could do about it and she knew it. She closed her eyes and gave a parting, "I love you, big sis."

It was a send off. Though Cinder didn't hear it, Junko had just cut off all contact with with her sister. And for once, Junko was not disappointed with her.

* * *

 **13.2 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Ruby blinked as she Awoke and for a moment stood there with her nose twitching. That alone caused her to stare down at the fur covered muzzle as she felt her floppy ears on her head. _'I'm... a rabbit?'_

A glance around her showed that Weiss was also with her as was Pyrrha and maybe Jaune if the fur colors were correct. It was then that one of the other rabbits jostled her. "Ruby, hurry up, we need to get to the warren as quickly as possible!"

Shaking it off, Ruby gave a slight smile. "Sorry about that, I, uh, had a strange thought come to me just now..." Eyebrow raised, the other rabbit stared at her for a moment before he shrugged and then hopped off. As she followed, Ruby tested out her abilities and winced a bit. 'Okay... I'm blocked from looping abilities...'

With a glance around, Weiss hopped up to her. "You Awake there, Ruby?"

There was a smile on Ruby's face as the group of rabbits continued their way toward their destination. "Yeah... though I am feeling a bit Loopy." Suddenly, her smile became a frown as she glanced around. "I was just about to review my memories."

Much to her surprise, Weiss winced as she gave a glance around. "Trust me... you really need to do that. But don't stop as we need to keep ahead of General Woundwart's group."

Confused, Ruby reviewed her loop memories before her eyes widened. "Oh... this loop is going to _suck_..."

* * *

Ruby reached up with a paw and rubbed the side of her head as she looked between Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss. "Okay... we're all Awake and currently stuck in some loop as rabbits, being chased by an insane rabbit General... who apprently wants to raise an army to kill all predators." Seeng Weiss shiver, Ruby frowned a bit as her nose twitched. "Weiss? Are you okay?"

All the white rabbit did was sit up and cross her forelimbs across her chest as she continued to shiver. "No, I'm not... you have no idea how bad it was in that Warren, Ruby. Woundwart is... I was Awake well before you. And the things I saw..." She stared off into the distance. "Us females were separated from the males and told when and with whom to breed by Woundwart... we were used as _rewards_ with any young taken away for 'Training' once they were old enough."

Her eyes wide, Ruby gulped a bit. "Weiss... did they..."

It was to their relief that Weiss shook her head. "No... thankfully I was _just_ young enough until just recently and there was no time. But... ugh, one of his top rabbits kept giving me these looks..."

Slowly, Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Would that be the same one that you tore the throat out of with your teeth when he jumped you on the way back?"

Nodding, Weiss continued to rub her paws through her fur. "The same."

For his part, Juane frowned a bit. "At least Watership Down is defensible... though if this General Woundwart is any good, that might not count for much..."

Scratching her chin, Ruby frowned. "Can't we use anything from our Pockets?"

A snort escaped from Pyrrha as she shook her head. "We're rabbits, Ruby. What do we have that we can possible use with our paws and size?"

That caused them all to grimace as they considered the fact that they might need to fight soon.

* * *

 **13.3**

* * *

The crowd roared around Ruby and Blake, cheering them on as the Double's round commenced. Ruby shifted her grip on Crescent Rose. "This is going to be so much fun! I can't believe we got a Null Loop. We get to fight Coal and Neon, really fight them!"

Blake chuckled a little, trying to diffuse her anxiety. "Only you would like fighting without your power Ruby."

Ruby nearly danced in place. "You know it!"

"Hello!" Neon said, rocketing behind Blake and Ruby. The pink cat Faunus skidded to a halt next to Flynt. "Oh, you guys look fun."

Flynt tipped his hat to Ruby and Blake. "Honey eyes. Let's be clear here: this serenade's going out to you."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe I can... Not like this."

Flynt winked at her. "Oh don't say that sweetheart. Sometimes a little jazz is good for the soul. Soothes the savage beast."

"YOU CAN JUST-"

"You can just dance," Neon interrupted Blake, spinning in place. "You two red. Come on kiddo, have some fun! Maybe we can use that oversized razor blade to shave some of your leg hair, I know you wear stockings for it.

Ruby blinked. "What? What do you-"

The colosseum beeped loudly as the battlefield layout was finalized. Professor Port's voice boomed from the speakers. "Ruby Rose and Blake Belladonna of Beacon, versus Flynt Coal and Neon Katt of Atlas."

Ruby hooked Crescent Rose into the ground. Blake pulled Gambol Shroud apart and switched into a reverse grip. "Three!"

Flynt adjusted the slides on his trumpet and hit the keys. Neon pulled on a pair of sunglasses. "Two!"

The crowd roared. Weiss and Yang cheered their partner's on. "One!"

Port paused for dramatic effect. _'I love this part.'_ "BEGIN!"

Flynt's trumpet flew to his mouth. With a strong note, a cone of sonic bow shock slammed into Blake and Ruby, before something weird happened. The entire playing field went topsy turvy, a wave of nausea hitting Blake and Ruby. In a flash, Neon was inside the sound storm, crashing headlong into Ruby and launching her across the field, separating her from Blake.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted, flash-stepping out of the whirlwind of sound. The dizziness didn't subside though, and Blake went flying from the mess, into the rocky volcanic sector.

Ruby managed to land upright, off balance but still intact. "Where are you-" only to be interrupted by Neon slapping her in the face with her nunchuk. "Hey!"

Neon skated around, smiling at Ruby. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be wailing on you too much. The smell's bad enough."

Ruby gaped at Neon.

Flynt marched after Blake, the Faunus Girl staggering to her feet. "Don't cats always land on their feet or something? Guess you don't want to count."

Blake's Aura surged into her ears, popping her eardrums and healing her sense of balance. Flynt turned his trumpet on her, but Blake was already on the move, racing and flash-stepping across the rocky terrain. "I'm gonna make you eat those words."

Flynt smirked. "Let's see you try." He flashed into four duplicates and turned to the four directions. A blast of unbalancing sound shot above Blake's ears, missing by a hair.

Neon cracked her Nunchuks, blinding light burning out of them. "Never miss a beat, never miss a beat, never miss a beat, never miss a beat." Neon closed the gap between her and Ruby, ducked a swing from Crescent Rose, and slapped Ruby in the face with her Nunchuks again. Ruby's Aura dropped one tick, but the luminous sticks burned her eyes. Ruby snapped her eyes shut with a squeal of pain. Neon kept back peddling. "Well, now you don't need to look at your ugly face anymore. To bad your friends do.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Ruby screamed, blasting away with her gun. Every shot missed.

Neon leapt onto a guard rail and pulled a grind along it. Ruby blasted away at Neon's apparent sound, each shot missing wildly.

Blake fired Gambol Shroud's gun, flash stepping backwards to give herself a moment of cover. Flynt's sonic attack hit the stone shield, but bent around it, wreaking havoc with Blake's sense of balance. In response, she leapt sideways, diving behind a bigger rock.

Flynt rolled his eyes and stepped along, careful to avoid the vents of molten rock. "Come on out sweetheart. I promise you'll love my next piece."

"Not a jazz girl!" Blake shouted. She popped out and blasted away with her pistol, before flashing behind another rock as Flynt tried to hit her again. Blake popped her Scroll up: fifty percent Aura. "Damn."

Blake needed a new strategy. As long as Flynt had his trumpet in hand, she couldn't walk straight, let alone fight. She needed to get that trumpet away from him...

...Or make it so she didn't need to walk at all.

There! To her left there was a noise! Ruby wheeled and blasted away, firing into the darkness. Neon's mocking laughter was her only reward.

Ruby growled and unfolded Crescent Rose again. She needed a way to slow Neon down... Hook on to her. She needed...

A hook!

Blake collapsed Gambol Shroud's gun half into it's chain scythe form and threw it at Flynt's leg. Flynt backpedaled, dodging Blake's first swing, and then her second. He turned his trumpet on her and blasted, even as her chain scythe wrapped around his leg. Blake smiled and yanked.

Ruby froze, the world a raging oblivion. The crowd screamed, the wind blew, but Ruby strained to hear the telltale sound of plastic wheels on concrete. And...

THERE!

Ruby wheeled, swung, and felt something catch hard in the crook of Crescent Rose. Neon gasped as the air in her chest was driven from her, before kinetic energy finally caught up with her. Neon went flying, and crashed into a brick wall.

Blake, dizzy and unable to see straight, swung almost blindly at Flynt, strike after strike landing. At such close ranges, even experiencing vertigo, Blake couldn't miss. By the token, Flunt couldn't hit her back without getting bowled over by an echo. Blow after blow after blow connected, until finally...

"Flynt Coal and Neon Katt have been eliminated!" Port boomed across the intercom. "Both have experiences Aura depletion. So someone, please tell Blake she can stop beating up Flynt.

"What?" Blake said, stopping her smack down. Flynt groaned and pulled himself to his feet. Neon staggered out of the rubble of her brick wall massaging a sore back. Blake glanced around. "Ruby?"

"Here," Ruby called weakly. Still blinking the stars from her eyes, Ruby bumped against the Cat Faunus. "Sorry Blake. Neon really got me."

"Hey, no hard feelings," her accidental contact said. Neon lightly clapped a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "That was an awesome move back there! I didn't even think about you hearing me coming like that."

Blake shook her head to clear it, walking up on the two girls. "Did you really need to do all of that?"

Flynt shrugged, patting Neon's back. "Hey, psychological warfare is a powerful tool. And don't worry: your secret's safe with us."

Neon winked at Blake, helping Ruby wrap her arms around her teammate. "You were awesome! That flash step thing was so cool, and the Dust trick! You should-"

"Party with you?" Ruby finished.

Flynt smiled. "Can't hurt to have some funky company."

Blake chuckled. "Maybe we'll take you up on that, one day."

Neon bounced in place. "That's the spirit.

* * *

 **13.4**

* * *

The winds howled with madness. The walls swirled with impossible colors. Down, up, left, right, all were non-existent in this hole between time.

"Got any threes."

And Taiyang and Qrow were playing Go Fish.

"Nope. Go fish."

Taiyang grumbled and got his scroll to give him another card. Qrow rolled his eyes at his teammate's obvious annoyance. "You know, you could ask, say... for a five."

"Have any fives?"

"It's not your turn," Qrow countered. He glanced up from his Scroll. "Have any fives?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," Raven said as she floated passed, golf club and golf ball in hand. "FORE!"

Summer tumbled in the air, dodging Raven's golf ball. "Raven! I told you to stop throwing golf balls into the Time Stream! We could seriously disrupt the course of history!"

"No we won't!" Raven shouted.

* * *

Meanwhile, in reality:

* * *

Ozpin watched another golf ball land in his coffee cup. "I have got to figure that out."

* * *

Raven languidly floated over to her brother's side. "So, when are we going to get out of this place anyway?"

Qrow didn't look up from his game. "How should I know. You're the Dust expert."

Raven backflipped in exasperation. "But you pushed us into this thing!"

"You tripped on your own accord."

"I think it was Taiyang who pushed Qrow in," Summer said as she hovered to her teammates.

"And I said that I didn't do it. The wind did that," Taiyang retorted.

"Qrow tripped himself in there," Raven asserted.

"I'm saying that you're the one who pushed us in."

"But it was Taiyang!" Summer tried to interject.

"Is that ground?" Raven suddenly said.

Surprise surprise, there was ground. In fact, it was ground so groundy that about a moment after Team STRQ managed to get a good look at it...

SPLAT!

"Ow..." Qrow climbed out of his crater, Raven following suit. Summer was completely conked out, and Taiyang...

"Let's do that again!"

Was Taiyang.

Qrow glanced around. "Wow. Five hours of falling in an eldritch wormhole through time and space and we end up a ten minute walk from our dorm. Good going Raven."

Raven rolled her eyes. "I was practicing. You're the one who tripped."

"You wanted to show us the inside and you tripped us."

"That is patently false."

"False questions... true or false..." Summer muttered as she stood up, swaying on her feet. Taiyang wrapped an arm under her shoulders to steady her. "Let's go home," Summer muttered.

Per the norm, Team STRQ's walk to their dorm was fraught with peril, treachery, battle after battle... all occurring between Qrow and Raven. Sibling bickering, they called it. Soon enough, Summer was back on her feet and trailing behind the two with Taiyang. "Should we just let them have the room to their selves?"

"Hmm... On the one hand, it would be nice to see them not be fighting. On the other hand, having them date may be a bigger issue," Taiyang mused.

"Well, we can train with bigger issues," Summer joked. Taiyang couldn't argue against that.

The door to their room was unlocked. That should have been the first sign that something was amiss. The first sign to be noticed though were the bunk beds, the posters of boy bands, the many inappropriate books, the spattering of Dust vials, and the absolute mix of clothes. Raven even stepped back out and in to check they were in the right room. "How long were we gone?"

Taiyang glanced at a drawer. His drawer. The drawer that belonged to him, a man, who would never think of wearing yellow panties. And yet, hanging from his drawer, were woman's underwear.

Raven tapped a bunk bed, suspended as it was by stacked books. It promptly collapsed. "Well, I'm stumped."

Qrow grabbed a book and opened it up. "It is a universal truth that one such person possessed by the fortune of the multiverse and engaged with a capable sexual instinct will be in need of a harem. Who wrote this crap?"

Summer picked up a vial of Dust. "This is Schnee Dust. Very high quality. Very expensive. I don't own anything like this."

"Well, it's our room, so I say we renovate," Taiyang declared, removing his drawer and emptying its contents onto the ground.

Summer raised a finger. "I am team leader. I say what we do. Team STRQ..." Summer trailed off, perhaps for dramatic effect. "It's renovation time!"

* * *

"I told you I could eat one hundred cookies and not be sick."

"I never said you couldn't, I just said that you shouldn't."

"What was that, I can't hear you over my winning!"

"You will ruin your figure."

"La la la, I can't hear you."

"Dolt."

Keeping pace behind Ruby and Weiss, Yang waggled her eyebrows at Blake. "Think we should leave them alone in the room?"

Blake thought it over, but shook her head. "No. It'll cause more trouble than it's worth. I do not want to spend time repairing a broken door."

"What was that about the door?" Ruby asked, breaking from her argument with Weiss suddenly.

"It's nothing," Blake defended quickly. "I was just wondering if the door... needs fixing." Blake pointed at the door to their room, wide open. A pair of voices drifted from inside it.

"I'm telling you, they're my size, so we should keep them."

"I don't care, it's not your color, so no."

"Oh come on, look at them. They're super sexy!"

Team RWBY stared into the room, where Raven and Taiyang were arguing over a pair of Yang's boots. The duo, along with Qrow, looked up from their work to see the quartet of kids at the door. Summer didn't look up from the book she was reading.

A silent moment passed. Blake coughed awkwardly. "Please... give me my book back."

And then Yang and Ruby were squealing and shouting and hugging Summer and Taiyang and Raven and Qrow and squealing and happily squeezing them. And the family that did not know it was a family was together.

* * *

 **13.5**

* * *

Weiss and Ruby stared up at Ozpin's office. "So... Ruby... Why is this happening?"

Ruby glanced away from the... spectacle... to her partner. "What makes you think I know why this is happening?"

"You're Penny's friend.

"Oh... yeah..." Ruby clicked her tongue. "Well, Penny did say she had a plan to stay at Beacon. I just didn't think this would be it."

High above Ruby and Weiss (way above Ruby and Weiss) Penny smiled at her father, James Ironwood. "I am sorry General Ironwood, but in my current situation I cannot leave Beacon Academy. I must remain here."

Ironwood and Ozpin were leaning out the window of Ozpin's office. "Penny, dear, you tying yourself to the clock hand of Ozpin's office does not mean you can stay!" Ironwood shouted over the wind.

Back on the ground, Ruby and Weiss stared up. "So... Do you think this will work?"

"Nope."

* * *

grimmReaper began chatting with heiressApparent:

GR: Weiss.

GR: Weiss.

GR: *poke*

GR: *derp poke*

HA: What is it Ruby?

GR: Hi.

HA: Ruby, just because we have a chat client from Beacon this loop does not mean you can abuse it.

GR: Well, I think I can.

HA: I think you can't.

CR: Well I think Ruby can do whatever she wants.

GR: ...

HA: ...

HA: Who is this?

CR: cuteRobot!

GR: Penny?

CR: Hello Ruby. It's nice to sort of hear your voice again.

HA: Penny, this is a private conversation. Two ways.

HA: How did you get on here?

CR: That is very simple Weiss.

CR: I am the chat client.

GR: You uploaded yourself into the chat client?

CR: Into Beacon's operating system. I am now a BOS.

GR: THAT IS SO COOL!

HA: A nut, and a dolt. I am not surprised.

CR: The transition has been rather abnormal though. For example, a dog seems to think I am Malware.

GR: A dog?

HA: A dog?

CR: A dog.

GR: Well, I think you're awesome anyway.

CR: Thank you Ruby Rose. I merely wish I could hug you now.

Back in the real world, Weiss closed her Scroll. "Those two were made for each other."

* * *

 **13.6**

* * *

The air itself seemed rank, the sort of wet and foul stench that could only be produced by long suffering teenagers and their social problems: _'Can I finish this paper and find time to date Sally Loo? Did Jefferson and Gustavo finally make up or break up after their last big fight? Is my 22 gauge reverse action carbine cleaned and ready for a surprise Grimm attack?'_ The aroma of these questions stuck in my nostrils, poisoning each breath.

Blake was leading me down Beacon's front walkway, my presence a barrier surpassing Aura to the teens around us. I am an anathema: look at this dangerous fellow. This is me. These are them. I can't believe I let Blake talk me into leaving the Fang.

A human girl bumps into me. She's apologizing like there's no tomorrow. Probably won't even thank me for picking up her papers. 'Advanced Dust Theory?' Not a bad subject. She's off, on her way, not even a thank you. Guess I'm just that off putting.

The students are all about now. Probably doing what teens do best: ignore the problem and hope it goes away. Can't blame them. It's how everyone treats Faunus.

That's why the Fang existed. To show them. To show them all. We will not go away.

Blake's talking now. How do I like Beacon? It's a load of crap. Bunch of shit about honor and the light and the right thing, when really all Hunters end up being are glorified mercenaries. Guess I can't same Atlas' alternative is any better though.

Fighting the Grimm? Yeah, whatever. The Grimm all need a good killing. Yeah, I can get that part: might as well fight them as much as we can. Every little action counts, even now.

I say that. Like I believe it. You can fight the Grimm like you can fight the sunrise. Difference is, one will blind you, the other will rip your entrails out and piss on them.

Hey, Blake wants to be a Huntress. I'm not gonna stop her. Besides, she needs me to keep her from dying anyway.

HOLY FUCK! No, no wait, just a minor Dust explosion. Blake says that's normal here. Right...

Yeah, I can see the kids who caused it now. Two girls in skirts. Lots of Dust with the white girl. The red girl, shit, she's what, fifteen? These kids are getting younger, or I'm getting older. Wait, that emblem on the girl's back... is that...

Wait...

...

Woah...

Her...

Her face...

Her eyes...

Her nose...

Her hair...

Those lips...

Her cheeks...

Woah...

What, what, what? Oh, uh, yes. My name? My name is Adam. Yes, it's really nice to meet you miss..? Schnee? Oh, yeah. I mean it's nice to meet you Weiss. Yeah, it is.

What? Me? Blushing? No, no, you got it all wrong Blake. This is my Aura. My. Aura. Yes I have my Aura on. What was that Weiss?

My name? Adam. Adam Taurus. Yes, I know what my name means. I like it. It rolls well, like yo- like Yorba! Yes, Yorba. It's an obscure name from Mistral. Yes, well it is from Mistral. Hey, trust me here.

Where am I from? Well... I'm from Vale. Lived there most of my life. I think. My parents traveled a lot when I was really young. Yeah, I know. Her eyes are so pretty...

What? No, I did not say that. No, I did not say that out loud. I did not! I mean, yes, I did say that out loud. And yes, I meant it.

Oh god oh god oh god, she thinks I'm handsome! Adam Taurus you handsome devil! You snagged a dream girl! No, you didn't snag her, you're in her good graces. Oh man oh man, this is awesome!

Yes, I am training to be a Huntsmen. I always hated the Grimm. For centuries they have oppressed Faunus and man, and though I know I can't stop it alone, I can do my part.

Avoid your father? Why... I can understand that Weiss. Really, I can. No, I'm not joking. My father... you ever hear the term "Bull in a china shop?"

* * *

Blake and Ruby watched Weiss and Adam haphazardly made their way through the early stages of flirting. "So... Blake. You ever wonder what's going on in Adam's head?"

Blake watched as Adam pantomimed a Beowulf, to Weiss' amusement. "Ruby, there are times when I am glad I can't read minds."

* * *

 **13.7 Myself, BIOS-Pherecydes & Harry Leferts**

* * *

"Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long of Beacon, against Flynt Coal and Neon Katt of Atlas. Began!"

SPLAT!

"Ooh, pie to the face."

SPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLATSPLAT!

"And double knockout via Pies! Bartholomew, what is your tale on this shocking upset?"

"Frankly Peter, I feel that Flynt and Neon shouldn't have had their fingers in so many pies. It might have stopped miss Schnee and miss Xiao Long from throwing them all at them."

SPLAT!

"But I can't imagine why Yang would throw a pie at us."

"That's my shtick professor!" The blonde shouted. "Leave the jokes to the professionals, or else you'll end up... whipped."

The crowds resultant silence was profound enough that the entire arena was able to hear Blake's hands hitting her face.

Ruby suddenly shouted out. "YANG! STOP THAT OR ELSE I'LL _CREAM_ YOU!"

Seeing the look in her partner's eyes at Ruby's challenge, Weiss threw her hands out. "Don't even think about it Yang. Puns are the lowest form of humor."

Yang smirked. "Alright, alright. I guess you would know." Her smirk grew.

"Whatever you're about to say, don't!" Weiss warned.

"After all, you're such an _upper crust_ socialite."

Weiss gave an inarticulate cry of frustration and stormed off the field.

"The _crème de la crème_ if you will." Yang called out as she chased after her teammate.

Up in the stands Cinder massaged the bridge of her nose. _'Lex Luthor has Superman, the Joker has Batman. And I... I have this. These are my greatest obstacles. This world needs to burn.'_

Ruby slowly shook her head. "Why do you need to _Yang_ her chain so much? Then again, I guess that I am kind of at fault as I normally _scythe_ past them as usually they're _half baked_ at best."

Hidden high up in the stands, Roman raised a delicate eyebrow at Neo. "This is worse than the time Ozpin talked us into being Senshi."

"..." Neo glared at Roman.

"Woah, hey, dial down the hate there. I'm sorry I brought it up."

Fighting her developing migraine as she ignored the nearby duo, Glynda turned to where her erstwhile employer was watching the reunited Team RWBY. The microphone beneath Blake's seat, in which said faunus was attempting to hide herself from the crowd's gazes, allowed them to hear as Ruby and Yang contained to go back and forth as they waited for the end of the Loop.

Ozpin glanced at her as he noticed her glare and raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

Glynda's heated stare intensified. "If you say one word to continue this debacle, I will strangle you with your own coffee cup."

"My dear Glynda, after all this time I would think you'd know me better than that." Ozpin stated in a saddened tone.

Glynda's gaze softened and she sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Ozpin waved away her apology. "Completely understandable, and no harm done."

Below them, safely out of Glynda's sight, Roman held up three fingers and began lowering them as Neo smirked.

"I find puns to be too bitter a brew for my tastes. I prefer a more robust blend of humor." He took a calm sip off his drink, unconcerned by the incandescent aura his companion was now emitting.

Turning with an almost literally blazing look Glenda raised her wand, fully intending to make good on her promise... And found herself Awakening having just finished confronting Cinder at the beginning of the Loop. Her scream of outrage could be heard all the way in the Bullhead where Roman was laughing uproariously; much to Cinder's confusion.

* * *

 **13.8 Me and Harry Leferts**

* * *

Cinder glanced over the schematics of Penny, taking in this Loop's design for her. Turns out her Aura was generated by veins of algae interlacing her body. Based on the local specks, she also seemed to be performing better than the time when her Aura came from Ruby's mother.

That was always a fun memory: Ruby's anguish and disgust at finding out that her mother's final resting place was a war machine. The only sour note was when she actually forgave Ironwood for entombing her mother's head in Penny's body.

Cinder finished her examination with one final check of Penny's frame type. The schematics listed it as M. 3. 7. 4.

 _Meta_.

Cinder collapsed her scroll and reclined on her bed, thoughtful. Naturally, this was a good thing for her: her plans now seemed to rely upon someone, usually Penny, being well inside of Ironwood's inner circle. Or her having an extremely powerful weapon.

The plans usually changed, always getting easier. What they were... well, it was changing quite a bit. It got in her nerves, but...

Cinder grabbed her Scroll again, and checked Penny's visual feed. She was looking straight at Ruby. Now she was tackling Ruby. Now she was on top of Ruby.

Cinder smiled and, once Penny was just far enough away from Ruby, she keyed in the Self-Destruct code. She smiled, and closed her Scroll again. Of course, Ruby and company would tie it to her, maybe, but Cinder was Stealth this Loop. One loop later, she'd howl and moan and curse her evil self. Cinder stopped, and indulged a chuckle.

It was good to be bad.

* * *

Ruby smiled a bit at Penny before she suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, right! Before I forget... you probably know someone really great with computers, Penny... so could you have them take a look at a computer program that I got from someone? It's supposed to prevent hacking or trying to take control of my computer."

Tilting her head to think on it, Penny suddenly smiled and took it. "Will do, Friend Ruby!"

As she walked off, Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

With a smile, Ruby put her hands behind her back. "Weelll... you know how Cinder is always hacking into Ironwood's mainframe right and there was that loop where..." She trailed off as she remembered the explosion from Penny's self-destruct before the huntress shook her head. "Anyways, I had some friends whip up a bunch of programs. Ironwood will probably steal this one though."

Interested as she began to walk alongside her friend, Weiss cleared her throat. "And what is this one called...?"

There was an unnerving grin on Ruby's face as she giggled. "Oh, it's called 'Fireball'..."

* * *

Cinder smirked as she shook her head as Penny walked away from Ruby. She had done various things and decided to go back to the standby of having Penny self-destruct again, this time though it would be within view of Ruby. However, when she put in the code, nothing happened and she blinked. "What?" Her eyes scanning the scroll, she frowned as thoughts raced through her head. _'Did Ironwood find out this Loop? Is there another Looper...?'_

Of course, it was then that she noticed the high pitched hum from her scroll and looked down just in time for the Dust powering it to go off like a grenade in her face. Her last thoughts as the blackness of a rather painful death claimed her was cursing the fact that this Loop, Aura had to be turned on actively by the user.

* * *

 **13.9**

* * *

"The history of racial prejudice runs both ways as evidenced by the monarchal traditions of both nations and the habitual enslavement of captured soldiers in stead of simply leaving them to rot in jail. However, the presence of pack animals, domesticated by humans, gave humans a medicinal edge over Faunus as Human's, with increased exposure to plague, diseases and innumerable poxes, possessed robust immune systems. Faunus, despite possessing the unlocked knowledge of Aura, a failing that would not be remedied by humans for several decades, were no match for these concentrated diseases, which due to the shared genomes between species enabled almost immediate cross species virulent contamination. Thanks to their Aura's granting immunity to diseases that had yet to evolve to be plague style, their decentralized lifestyle, and their own lack of domesticated animals, Faunus were incapable of fending off the Human plagues while possessing none of their own, besides the odd sexually transmitted disease. Now this should serve as a lesson to everyone here that in the end..."

The professor pulled out his whip and cracked it, waking his class from their stupor. "Ladies and gentlemen, the game of civilization has nothing to do with the players, and everything to do with the board. Had the Faunus possessed animals that could be domesticated, they two would have developed and flourished their own plagues, plagues that would have set human civilization back hundreds of years."

"Instead, by ill luck and worse fortune, Faunus found their numbers decreasing from three million to less than one hundred thousand. A death toll unmatched by war, old age, human disease combined. Only the Grimm outstrip the death count."

The professor nodded once. "This event, this plague, this accidental mass death, one which no one back then could have predicted, has opened the pathway to racial bigotry, enslavement, countless atrocities, and simple prejudice." He pointed at his students. "Never forget that, everyone. The great game of the human experience is shaped, not by politics, not by ideals, not even by skill, but by what can and does kill us the best. Be it disease, the Grimm, or even ourselves, our history as a species is tied to how we have, do, and continue to die."

The professor nodded again. "The homework assignment is due Wednesday, suggested readings are Arthurs, Claymonts, and Brown, and if anyone gets any funny ideas, remember, I am a married man and you're all underage."

"Not gonna stop me!" A blonde shouted.

The girl sitting next to her raised a hand just as their teacher was walking out. "Doctor? Doctor Jones?"

"Uh, yes?," said Doctor Henry 'Indigo' Jones.

* * *

Inside of the good Doctor's office, Team RWBY and Indy (he insisted they call him Indy, since Indigo wasn't his nickname) had gotten nicely acquainted, with more than a handful of slightly inappropriate jokes made by Yang and a handful of slightly more forceful rebuttals by Indy. In the end of it, Indy simply cracked open a DVD case and held up the disk for RWBY, Volume 2. "So, I've seen your exploits. Fascinating, really. You have any specific plans for this loop?"

Ruby shrugged. "Not really Doctor Indy. I guess you can call the shots if you want."

Indiana thought about it for a moment. "Eh... I think I'll go to Atlas. There's supposed to be some buried ruins from the old kingdom of Mantle up there. I'll see what I can glean." Jones chuckled and grabbed his hat. "Maybe I'll find something that'll help you on your journey."

The girls took a moment to realize what he was saying. "But... why?" Weiss said. "We already told you, our loop's history isn't consistent unless it's been defined in Baseline. You won't find anything that's useful in Mantle, or Atlas."

Indy shrugged. "Yeah, maybe I won't. But it will be important to the people here, in this loop, to know their history. That's what I'll be aiming for; to help them."

Yang chuckled. "Heh. Sounds fun. I'm in."

"Count me in as well," Blake said.

"Well, if Yang and Blake go, I go to," Ruby declared.

"...Forget that, I'm staying here and studying," Weiss said sardonically.

Indy stared at the four girls. 'Marion's going to kill me when she finds out four girls tried to follow me on one of my adventures.' Indiana plucked his hat off of his desk. "Now girls, I think you'll all forgetting something very important. WHAT'S THAT OVER THERE!"

Team RWBY turned, saw nothing where Indy was pointing, and turned back. Indiana was gone.

"...Aww nuts," Yang muttered. "And he was so hot too."

* * *

 **13.10**

* * *

Ozpin held up a picture. "Tell me. Does this look like the face of evil to you?"

Glynda stared at her boss and the picture in his hand. It was of Pyrrha Nikos. "Ozpin, have you lost it?"

Ozpin shook his head. "On the contrary Glynda, I'm asking a serious question. At any point would you have considered Pyrrha a legitimate candidate for being a double agent."

"No," Glynda said flatly.

The teachers of Beacon had woken up early this loop and Ozpin had called Glynda to his office for another 'discussion'. Glynda had come to term the secret meetings of Team ORNGZ discussions, as they, despite the fact that two of their member were criminals and one was a dog, it never turned into an argument. That said though, Glynda could feel her own ire rising. "Ozpin, why in the world are you asking me this?"

Ozpin tapped at his desk, a video screen appearing on the holo projector. In the shot, Pyrrha was walking into an elevator, while Ozpin narrated. "She's strong, intelligent, caring... but most of all, she's ready." The shot ended on the elevator doors closing on a rather smug Pyrrha.

Glynda's hand tried to communicate her feeling. "What? What was that?"

Ozpin tapped his desk, closing the video byte. "That was a recording. I lifted it from the Hub records, the real world."

"You pirated it from Rooster Teeth."

"It's a digital copy, one that won't be missed," Ozpin admitted. "Glynda, you and I both know that I didn't get a bachelor's in cinematography for nothing. This is a textbook traitor shot."

Glynda stared at her boss, emotion after emotion shuffling through her mind. Finally, she settled on one. "Ozpin, I think you need to take a break."

Ozpin stared at Glynda. "...What?"

Glynda sighed, reaching across the table and taking Ozpin's hands. "Oz, you're overreacting. You know that Pyrrha is a good girl: a hero. You yourself chose her to be our guardian. You trust her, in baseline. What's happening here is..." Glynda looked at her hands, entangled as they were in her boss'. "You're being paranoid."

Ozpin slowly withdrew his hands from Glynda's grasp. "Glynda... I'm not being paranoid. I'm just trying to answer a question."

"That question is, 'Is this girl evil?' It's Pyrrha Nikos. She's not evil." Glynda pursed her lips. "Ozpin... I know why you're thinking this."

Ozpin tapped his desk. "The video."

"Your heart," Glynda answered. "Ozpin, you care about these kids. You're not alone in that: I care about them too. Them, and every student I teach. I know that Velvet and Cardin and every one of my students won't remember my lessons come the loop's reset, but I teach them anyway. You fight every loop to make sure that Ruby, Weiss, all of them, even Cinder are safe and happy and knowledgeable." Glynda awkwardly glanced off to the side. "I... I admit, I've flirted with the idea... the idea many times, but I've never seriously considered leaving my post as a teacher here."

Ozpin simply gave Glynda a flat look, but his respect for her shown through. He waved her along, and waited.

"I know that your job entitles you to worry about these children. To care for them. So I'm going to ask, as a friend and coworker, that you also know that you can trust them." Glynda nodded. "You've seen them. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora. They're not just a team anymore. They are family. Can you imagine Pyrrha abandoning that family for any reason?"

Ozpin didn't speak for many moments. "Glynda, I can. I can see Pyrrha having faked all of her fears, her emotions, her concerns. I can see her being a traitor, because I have to." Ozpin stared down at his hands, clasped tightly together. "Maybe this doesn't make me a good person, but if I am the only person who needs to be the bad guy, I will take it."

"Why should you be the bad guy?"

And Ozpin couldn't answer that.

Glynda pulled Ozpin's hands apart. "Oz, you're not alone. You don't need to work for the greater good. I'm here. Roman, Neo, Zwei. We... may not get along, may not see eye to eye. But we're in this together. That means that you can stop."

"It means that you can rest."

Glynda and Ozpin nearly leapt out of their seats. Both screamed a little as well. Leaning against the elevator frame, Roman and Neo and Zwei were looking into the office. "You really shouldn't leave your doors unlocked Ozpin. A thief could break in."

"I can see that," Ozpin muttered with a hint of a sardonic edge. "We were having a moment you know."

"We know," Neo said in her young voice. "We've been for a while."

"Saw the whole thing," Roman added.

"Bark bark arf," Zwei said solemnly.

Ozpin looked at the four in his company. After a moment, he said, "and what do you all think?"

"Woof woof," Zwei barked.

Roman and Neo glanced at each other. Roman nodded to his counterpart. Neo gave their answer. "Ozpin, we hate your guts. Personally I want to throttle you. That said... Yes. You're overworked. You're not seeing any payment for what you're doing. And frankly, you're a good person who has a bad job and won't let go of it because it's also necessary."

"...Am I really being paranoid?"

Roman shrugged. "Ain't no line between paranoia and preparation. Can't be too prepared."

"But sometimes you should be ready to let life run it's course," Glynda said. "Rest, and be well. The world will still be standing when you get back."

The seconds ticked by. Slowly, Ozpin's shoulder's sagged. His head dropped. A great breath, one that even he hadn't realized he had been holding, escaped his chest. "Goddess above... I guess a break is in the cards after all."

Roman chuckled. "Got any plans?"

Ozpin gave Roman a rueful grin. "Believe it or not, no. I don't have a plan. Any suggestions?"

Glynda pondered this. "Middle Earth has a fine history. A long loop, good friends, fun magic. You'd make a good Saruman."

Ozpin cracked his fingers, smiling at Glynda 'The Grape' Goodwitch. "Heh. Well, I guess... oh, who knows. I'll look forward to it anyway."

Glynda playfully punched her friend. "That's the spirit."

* * *

 **13.11**

* * *

"For reasons I cannot fully comprehend... I am immortal," Ozpin said to Roman.

The thief chuckled. "Yeah, you, me, and about a dozen teenage girls. It's called being a looper."

Ozpin stopped their little walk around Beacon's foggy, moonlit grounds. "I mean in baseline Roman. Somehow... I am immortal."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "If this is a joke, I'm not getting it."

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "It's something that has been constant for the last few... dozen loops. I'm immortal, and... magical. Not Dust magical, or Aura magical but magic magical. And there are these... things. A concept. Maidens of the seasons."

Roman gave a single, rather disconcerted, half-hearted laugh. "Ozzy, it's the loops. It'll clear up."

Ozpin rolled his eyes as the obligatory guitar rift went off. "Roman, these details, names, things, whatever they are, have persisted for the last dozen loops. I think's it's part of some sort of... backwards expansion?"

The crime lord finally gave Ozpin his full, undivided attention. "Alright, alright. Anything we should be prepared for?"

Ozpin ruefully shook his head. "Oh, nothing so easy." Ozpin shrugged. "I'm not looking forward to this next expansion."

Roman turned around and started walking. "Well, keep your head high, your ears low and an open eye and open mind. Maybe you won't die soon."

Ozpin stopped for a moment to respond to that bit of pathos, but when he had finally found a comeback, Roman had already vanished into the foggy night. "Asshole."

* * *

 **13.12 Harry Leferts**

* * *

Weiss watched as a slightly confused Yang walked up to her on the airship heading for Beacon. Once the blonde reached her, Weiss raised one eyebrow after sending out a Ping and getting a few in return. "Something wrong, Yang?"

Leaning against the railing, Yang was quiet for a few moments before she shook her head. "This... is going to be a bit of an odd loop." At the look, she twisted around and pointed at another section of the airship. "Ruby's been replaced by someone else this loop, so someone is stealth Anchoring."

Her eyebrow raising even more, Weiss turned to see a pink haired girl in a similar outfit to Ruby walk up with a grin. "Hello my sister, my sister hello!"

As she shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest, Yang snorted. "Hey, Ruby."

That caused Weiss to blink a bit before she pointed at the girl. "Wait... your name is _Ruby_... seriously?"

Nodding, the girl smiled as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "That's right! Um... are you Awake and Looping?"

Slowly, Weiss reached up and rubbed the side of her head as she tried to figure out what was going on as well as the odds. "Er... yeah? So what branch are you from then?"

Ruby grinned a bit as her eyes sparkled. "I'm from the Land Before Time branch. I've heard a lot about this place from Littlefoot so I can't wait!"

Giving her a wierd look, Weiss stared at her. "You... do realize that we spend this loop fighting bad guys and grimm, right? I mean... this isn't exactly what one would call a easy loop for someone new..."

With a snort, Yang shook her head. "If she's from the Land Before Time branch, I think that she can handle this one...

* * *

Ruby Rose, currently a oviraptor or "Fast Runner" blinked as she followed Cera through the Great Valley. After several moments of thought, she finally managed to say something. "Is... all this really normal for your baseline?"

Looking over her shoulder, Cera frowned. "Uh, yeah? Why?"

As she scratched her head, Ruby gestured around them. "I've gotten chased by 'Sharpteeth' through caves, walked past deadly quicksand which you guys regularly play by, nearly been killed by a _volcano_... that we were walking by and apparently some play by... sharpteeth chasing us again..."

For several seconds, Cera just watched her and then snorted. "Eh, this is rather easy compared to some of it. You haven't been trying to outrun the sharptooth version of a terminator, been trying to outswim sharks or giant crocodiles, been visited by aliens, running _through_ a erupting range of volcanoes. and so on. I've lived through an earthshake... er, earthquake, which ripped apart the entire continent. All this? Easy compared to that."

Once more, Ruby became thoughtful. "Huh... kind of like home in some ways."

With a nod, Cera continued to walk. "Yup. Now come on, I know where to get some real nice treesweets..."

Feeling her belly rumble, Ruby followed with a smile.

* * *

 **13.13 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

"Weiss! Look, look! Another looper! And she replaced Blake!"

It was just after the bullhead had landed. Ruby was so ecstatic, she failed to notice Weiss rolling her eyes. "Ruby, you don't know if she's awake. We've had characters from other universes replace us before. Remember when Milly replaced Yang?"

Ruby beamed with joy, remembering the blond haired girl from the Code Geass Universe. The school dance was still one of the best she ever experienced. That just filled her greater resolve to meet this new character and make friends. Ruby shouted, "Hey! You probably don't know me, but I'm Ruby Rose, anchor of the Beacon loops."

She reached out to put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Nice to meet-"

The instant Ruby's hand touched the girl, the girl reacted. Her hand swung around and wrenched Ruby's off. She followed up by swinging a knife at the Anchor's face. Suddenly Weiss appeared between the two of them, her rapier drawn in a defensive stance that caught the dagger. Weiss' eyes were cold as she shouted, "What is your deal?! She was just trying to say hi!"

The girl blinked and flinched back, backing off and muttering, "Sorry...I don't like to be touched. I don't...react well..."

Ruby blinked and rubbed the back of her head. "Oops...Sorry."

Her eyes widened as they landed on the new girl's dagger. She ran over and circled the black haired girl, examining the blade from all directions. "Is that your weapon?! Does it transform? I bet it turns into battle rifle of some kind."

The girl blinked, then nodded, a small grin forming on her face. "Yeah. Changes into an M16 from back home."

Ruby squealed. "Then you are a looper! Quick, where are you from? No, no, let me guess. XCOM? Mass Effect...no they have science guns."

The girl rubbed her head. "No...I'm from Hope's Peak Academy. My name there is Mukuro Ikusaba."

* * *

Weiss paced back and forth in front of Yang, who just ignored her in favor of reading the fashion trends of this loop . The white haired girl was beside herself. "That girl and Blake's replacement are out again, talking about guns and weapon attachments. Ruby is giving her tips on how to build bigger and better weapons that use Aura, and Mukuro's loaning her several gun magazines, filling her with more ideas! I don't want another War Corgi crashing the stadium into Beacon again!"

Yang waved her off. "I think it's great that she's making a new friend. You should be happy that they share interests."

Suddenly, Cinder burst through the doorway, causing Ruby and Yang to draw their weapons out of reflex. Once, Cinder had broken into their dorms and managed to kill a couple of them when they didn't realize she wasn't awake. Cinder paused, then pinged the two of them. "I'm awake and looping, already. You two need to get downstairs and stop your teammates. They're tearing up the plaza."

* * *

Ruby's scythe came down at Mukuro, who slid to the side. She didn't quite clear the scythe, but with a quick swipe of her dagger, she deflected the attack enough that Ruby missed by inches. Her eyes glowed for a second as Ruby's Scythe flew up from the cement and changed direction, nearly bisecting the woman in half. However, Mukuro had an advantage. Ruby's speed allowed her to easily get the upper hand on Mukuro, but Mukuro semblance kept her in the fight. The world seemed to freeze around Mukuro as her eyes took in the battlefield. Controlling her body functions, the world sped up slightly, allowing movement though at a snail's pace. Ruby was not as restricted due to her high level of speed. In comparison with Mukuro, Ruby could move at the equivalent of a fast walk.

However, the change was enough for Mukuro to stay even with Ruby, deftly dodging and deflecting every blow. She was not called the Super Duper High School Soldier at home for nothing.

She dodged several more quick attacks, deflecting several others and jumping a few that were aimed at her feet. She made a note to never get involved with close quarters combat with a looper unless she had the element of surprise on her hand.

And then Weiss appeared once again to intercept Ruby's Scythe while Yang stopped Mukuro's counter. Ruby shouted, "Hey, we were just having a friendly spar!"

Cinder stepped forward, giving her a quirked eyebrow. "Didn't seem like it, especially when Mukuro said 'Scythes were unreliable and unwieldy. Especially yours since you'd likely tear your body apart using momentum like you do in this loop."

Mukuro sheathed her dagger and gave a bow. "I did not mean to offend. I only meant to suggest you pick a secondary weapon for hub universe physics in case you ever need to fight."

Ruby grumbled for a second before Weiss punched her in the arm lightly. Ruby winced, rubbed her arm and looked at Mukuro. Her eyes turned sadder as she replied. "I know you meant well. I'll think about it."

Her eyes brightened again as she shouted, "Now, let's get back to designing the next war Corgi!"

Mukuro smirked. "War Kitten, you mean."

* * *

 **A/N: I've heard the news about chapter 6. Trust me: things go down.**

 **13.1: And just to remind us all that Cinder is a total monster, here she is taking control of a death trap school!**

 **13.2: From death trap school to death trap… rabbit warren?**

 **13.3: FNKI vs RWBY! FIGHT!**

 **13.4: Go STRQ raving mad.**

 **13.5: Penny likes Beacon. Who doesn't?**

 **13.6: A different approach to Adam, and a different approach to writing.**

 **13.7: FNKI vs… the other half of RWBY! PIE?**

 **13.8: And now Cinder is hijacking miss be boop bop, does not- KABOOM!**

 **13.9: What? It's Indiana Jones. You can't go wrong with Indy.**

 **13.10: Ozpin may be going a little stir crazy.**

 **13.11: Can't blame him though.**

 **13.12: And the return of… Littlefoot?**

 **13.13: Oooh, spooky numbers. Ooooh.**


	14. Breaking Cover

**14.1**

….

The Vault, deep beneath Beacon:

Sealed in her casket, Amber's heart beat on, it's comatose chest a strangling shackle. Her power, strange and grand, remained tethered to her body. Atlas... Ozpin, wouldn't let her die. Not until they could stop Cinder from taking her power.

Staring into the casket, Glynda Goodwitch contemplated the ill woman. After so, so many millennia, so much hard work, so many failures, they now knew that this woman, right here, was the key to Cinder's plan. The power of the Maiden of Fall. A power that Cinder had, at least in part.

"To think that fairy tales are real..." Glynda murmured. _'Four maidens, gifted extraordinary powers by an old man. Incredible.'_

Glynda glanced over Amber's scar, stretching across her cheek and marring her jawline and eye. Teeth clenched, Amber unconsciously held on. Perhaps she sensed that her power was held by her attacker? Perhaps she knew that Cinder held that power?

Glynda sighed. "Answers... and more questions. I can't get a straight answer from the world, can I?" she asked Amber. Amber didn't answer.

Far behind her, Glynda heard the soft whine of the elevator. She stepped off to the side, slipping into the shadows beside Amber's casket. She waited, as Ruby Rose walked by her.

Ruby stepped before Amber's casket, a hand drifting to the cold glass. "So... you're the woman Pyrrha mentioned. Uh... hi?"

Ruby chuckled at her own expense. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm really looking forward to meeting you. And I will meet you." Ruby's hand trailed across Amber's casket. "I'm going to save you Amber."

Ruby's hand slowly returned to her side. "I... I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't make promises I can't keep. I..." Ruby sighed. "I'm so important to the world, but... have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you ever wished that all you had to do was help people, but everyone wanted you to make the big choices, the hard choices about who you can help... who you should?"

Ruby looked at Amber's body, seized in pain as it was. "If I want to return your power to you, I'll need to kill Cinder. I don't know if I can."

Glynda really couldn't bear to see any more of that. She stepped back into the light, the click of her heels alerting Ruby. The Anchor of Remnant spun on her feet, starting at the sight of her teacher. "Professor Goodwitch! I... uh... uh... I'm here for a reason."

Glynda stepped up and just... hugged Ruby. Ruby, after a hesitant moment, hugged her back. "So, is this going to get weird, or can I get out of the hug?"

Glynda released her. "I take it you know about our little fan club?"

Ruby nodded awkwardly. "Yeah. You know... OzCo, my uncle, and... everything." Ruby's hand trailed down Amber's casket. "Even the Maidens of the Seasons."

Glynda nodded gently. "The brotherhood that protects the Maidens fought for centuries, perhaps even millennia, to make the choices that no one else should. We have acted in the shadows to do what is necessary to give everyone a happy ending."

Ruby nodded. "I know... I think. But Professor, do you... could you understand me, if I said I was stuck in something just impossible?"

Glynda nodded, her eyes locked on Amber. "I believe I can handle it Miss Rose."

"Well... I'm time traveling. And I've been time traveling for... longer than you've been alive, longer than Beacon has been around... I'm older than the Maidens." Ruby nodded. "Me, and my friends." She sighed. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Glynda looked at the despondent young girl and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I understand, Ruby. You aren't... you aren't alone. There will always be a shoulder for you to lean on."

Ruby shrugged. "I know Professor. It's just that I'm alone right now, and I thought I could come here to just... see Amber. Maybe talk to her."

Glynda carefully tamped down on her emotions. She was Stealth Looping because she wanted to help Ruby, and everyone. But... She was also a teacher. There had to be a middle ground.

Or maybe, the middle ground didn't need to exist. "Ruby... could I ask a favor of you?" Glynda said hesitantly.

Ruby turned to look Glynda fully in the eye. "Eh... yes, Professor Goodwitch?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, yes. I can."

Glynda kneeled to eye level. "I mean, Ruby, can you keep a secret from all of your friends. Hide this from every soul. Never let it be known by anyone. Ever."

Ruby stared at Glynda. "I... why?"

Glynda fought to keep her hands steady. "I'm asking, if you can keep a secret of mine. A secret that is dear to my heart. Something that should only be known to you."

Ruby looked at her teacher, confusion, intrigue and a hint of fear dancing in her mind. Glynda seemed so serious, and so... worried. Yet, her teacher was eager, and needed help. Ruby settled on that. Professor Goodwitch needed her help. "Yes, Professor. I can keep this secret."

Goodwitch exhaled gently. "Ruby, I'm looping."

Ruby blinked, started to speak, stopped, fidgeted, glanced around, and finally took a deep breath. "You're looping."

Glynda nodded. "I've been looping since before Cinder. After I started, I decided that I would best be able to help by manipulating from the shadows."

Ruby's lip quivered. "After... all this time?"

Glynda nodded. "I am a teacher Ruby. I help my students help themselves. You, the other loopers... yes, even Cinder." Glynda shrugged. "I've been trying to help."

Ruby exhaled. This was... "Well, I... uh... huh... Professor Goodwitch?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Is this a prank?"

The air in the vault did not howl, but even inside the isolated world, all of reality had it's presence. The inexorable pressure drove down on the solitary sanctuary. Glynda and Ruby did not pretend to think of the world beyond as separate, but here, they could truly feel alone.

The world snapped out of focus, before resolving. Archways and towers of crystal, stack upon stack of books, even a few filing cabinets full of graded and ungraded test papers and work assignments. There was even a desk, with spare pencils and pens and paper and all the trimmings. Ruby's jaw dropped. "No... no way..." She stared at Glynda. "You're really looping."

Glynda smiled weakly. "I am. I have been."

Ruby's lips twitched. "Then... then why tell me?"

Glynda gestured around. "Ruby, I am old... uncountably so. But after all of this time, I am a teacher at heart. My passion is to learn and share what I learn with my students. Dishonesty is not my first instinct." Glynda smiled. "In fact Ruby, I am in need of an assistant."

Ruby flinched. "Me? You want me to be your teaching assistant."

Glynda nodded. "I've learned a fair bit, in the loops. But I do value my privacy. So... if we could keep this between each other, I might be able to teach the others, your team, Jaune's team, and Cinder, what I've learned. Only, however, if you help me."

Ruby glanced around Glynda's subspace pocket. "Do you really not want them to know you're looping?"

Glynda shook her head. "I value my privacy Ruby. And as I understand it, if Jaune and Ren learn that another woman has started looping, they will probably sue Marianne for divine misandry." Glynda didn't bother to keep her own grin off of her face when she saw Ruby giggle. "I'm happy, hiding here. I will be more happy to be teaching my students though. Can you help me with that?"

Ruby looked up at Glynda, spat in her hand, and held it out. Glynda took Ruby's hand, and shook it, her subspace pocket vanishing. The two returned to the real world. "You have a deal Miss Goodwitch."

...

Up, hidden deep within the rafters, Cinder Fall's eyes narrowed as Ruby and Glynda returned to reality. ' _It looks as if a change to the plan is in order._

….

 **14.2 Shimmer712**

….

"I'm scared."

"Pyrrha?" Jaune scrambled over to her. "What is it?"

"The transfer...with the Autumn Maiden," she said. "I'm scared about what will happen. Will I still be me? Or will I just...stop existing?"

Jaune felt his skin crawl. The notion of Pyrrha dying and some strange person walking in her skin like an alien being was unnerving. He wished Pyrrha hadn't agreed.

"Can't you just back out?" he asked. "Get them to find someone else?"

"Like who?" she asked. "They can't sacrifice a criminal because they don't know if the person will exist afterwards or not and that power is not something that can be allowed to fall in the wrong hands. So they have to choose a decent person so they can be sure it won't be abused."

"And they may very well be killing that person in the process," Jaune sighed. "But why you? Why a kid? Why not a grown up? Why did you agree to this?"

"Jaune, please," Pyrrha shook her head. "What was I supposed to do? If I refused, it would pretty much be demanding that someone else potentially dies instead. Would you rather they chose Ruby? Weiss?"

"...I think if they chose Ruby, Yang would kill them all. Ditto with Weiss and Winter," Jaune said dryly. "Or they would at least give it a good try." He had certainly considered doing so himself.

"Jaune...if Amber takes over...what happens to me?" Pyrrha whispered.

"...I don't know," Jaune wrapped an arm around her. "I really don't know."

 _Until we get more information, we don't have any idea how to stop this,_ Jaune thought. _Pyrrha is too selfless to refuse. So the only really possibility is finding away to heal up Amber so the transfer isn't needed ._

...Well, it's not like they had a shortage of time. And maybe, some of the loopers from other worlds would have an idea.

…

 **14.3 Shimmer712**

…

Ruby stared. Cinder (unAwake) stood in front of her, with her two companions, with the usual black and green hair and usual attire. Ruby blinked then shook her head.

"Uh…Hi! Aren't you in the wrong place? This is the student dormitories. Visitors from other schools are staying in a different building," she told them, trying to ignore this loops Emerald and Mercury.

"Miklo kaylay thyjin lost" Mercury drawled in his usual, relaxed tone.

"Um…what?" Ruby blinked.

"…he said we must have gotten lost," Cinder supplied.

"Ah, yeah, well, that happens a lot," Ruby said, wondering how Cinder understood him. "…Do you want some help finding your way back?"

"Pak polo be wed, thanks" Emerald squeaked from Cinder's other side.

"…right," Ruby nodded her slowly. "Was that a yes?"

"Yes, yes it was," Cinder sighed.

"Okay," Ruby said and led the trio back to the transfer dormitories, glancing back at Emerald and Mercury. Yeah, they tended to refer to them as Cinder's minions. But having them show up as the little, yellow minion guys? Complete with squeaky voices and unintelligible manner of speech?

She had not seen this one coming.

Well, if they show up in the tournament like this, it will probably be amusing.

…

 **14.4 Shimmer712**

…

Jaune blinked as he Woke up. He looked around. He was in a white room. The window showed a white desert under a night sky...only there were no stars. He was in a white outfit with flower shaped pins fastened to his collar.

Jaune frowned and checked his loop memories. Apparently, this loop, his name was Inoue Jaune and he was...Oh, he was in a O7 loop. And he was replacing the person with the healing and shielding powers. Could be useful if he kept them past the loop. It seemed easier to get access to combative powers than healing ones and given that in their baseline, there was the constant threat of Grimm and the fights (plus something worse going by the implications of the expansions), healing would be useful.

Jaune frowned and considered what he knew. Apparently, Orihime tried to use her powers to "reject" a powerful device from existence. But that simply furthered Aizen's plans, which is why she managed to get to it in the first place. Jaune could take advantage of the fact that Aizen wanted him to try and destroy the thing (he really should learn how to pronounce the names of powerful artifacts) and steal it.

And promptly find himself facing off an incredibly powerful villain who could control his perception of the world once said villain realized he wasn't following the script. Bad idea.

Hmm...Didn't Orihime meet up with Ichigo before she tried to destroy the device? Maybe he could get Ichigo to come with him. If the other was Awake...an O7 anchor could take on Aizen. Jaune just had to make sure to leave so Ichigo didn't have to worry about accidentally crushing Jaune with his power.

But it was possible that he wasn't Awake this loop and someone else was the anchor. And while an unAwake Ichigo was a powerful opponent, Aizen's strength was insane.

As Jaune mulled over his options, a thought occurred to him. If he kept Orihime's powers, he may be able to save Amber and the power of the Fall Maiden with Pyrrha needing to risk herself.

Jaune smiled. "This may be a very good loop, regardless of how it ends," he said aloud.

…

 **14.5 Shimmer712**

…

"What's wrong?" Ren asked Nora.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" Nora asked brightly. Ren just gave her look. Nora's smiled faded as she slumped. "Good point," she muttered, dropping onto the ground next to him. The pair sat in silence for a while, watching other students walk across the campus.

"We're orphans," she said finally. "We don't have parents. The way we lost them varies but we always lose them in a back stories now that it's been confirmed in the expansion."

"But it wasn't always like that," Ren nodded, seeing what the issue was. "We have memories of parents from loops prior to the expansion."

"Mm-hmm," Nora sighed. "And in those memories...yeah, it was inconsistent and they were sometimes jerks...but in one loop, my dad was a baker and he taught me how to make these yummy muffins and stuff. In another, my mom told me stories and called me her little Viking Princess. I have hundreds of memories of loving parents raising me, congratulating me for getting into Beacon, sending me letters and packages...and now they're _gone_!" She flung her arms out. "And the only parents I'll have in our home loops are just memories...provided they didn't die before I was too old to remember. And sometimes...it just hurts."

Ren closed his eyes and remembered a pink-eyed woman giving him Storm-Flower, a dark-eyed woman telling him stories. A man hugging him before leaving for work. A man holding him and waving as his mother left for her job. A father teaching him how to fight. A mother showing him how to subdue an opponent. A father reviewing the information on Hunter Academies. A mother discussing each academy with him

So many mothers and fathers though the loops. And now they were gone.

"We can't change that," he said softly. "All we can do is remember them and live."

"I still miss them. All of them," Nora said quietly. Ren wrapped an arm around her.

"I know, Nora. I know."

…

 **14.6 Shimmer712**

….

"This is just _weird_ ," Jaune muttered, lying on the ground and holding his textbook to his head.

"At least we have some variety in our lives," Ruby said cheerfully. Also pressing her forehead to a book.

"I have to agree with Jaune," Weiss said. "This is weird." The heiress was sitting primly on a bench, holding a book to her forehead. "I mean, obtaining information from books by having them in contact with our heads? What the hell?"

"We can get visuals with the fiction!" Nora shouted. "It's like a personal movie!"

Yang just snickered as she she "read" her book. The others looked at the blank cover and wonder exactly what the contents were...and if they even wanted to know.

Roman grinned widely as he held the magazine to his head. He was going to spend a bit of time this loop enjoying the literature arts.

Neo looked at him, shrugged and promptly stole his wallet, leaving to get some ice cream.

….

 **14.7 Vadrigar**

….

Ruby watched as Yang slammed her fists into the table, breaking it into a dozen pieces. She also kept watching, but covered her ears, when Yang let loose a barrage of words that Ruby didn't recognize, but probably came from a Loop with Eldritch horrors. Sitting around the recently broken table in the bar at Vale was the rest of Team RYGD (Royal Gold): Gordon Freeman, who looked terrified, and Doomguy, who looked nonplussed.

"Sis, maybe you shouldn't have done that. The bar already threatened to kick us out."

"Let them try, I could use a warm up before the tourney." Doomguy said, cracking his knuckles.

"Please, no. Yang, just tell us what's going on."

"What's going on?!" Yang roared, causing Gordon's chair to fall backwards onto the floor. "What's going ON is that everybody in Baseline thinks I'm a psychopath! I might be going to jail, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"I think the proper term is 'High-Functioning Low-Level Sociopath'. At least, that's what I've been called." Doomguy offered. Yang looked at him with a glare, before turning her gaze to Gordon, who was slowly getting back into his seat.

"No smartass remarks, Freeman? Nothing about me being a psychopath? I'm just dying to know what you have to say."

"No, no, I got nothing." Freeman said, still somewhat cowering. "I'm just gonna go get drinks. D, you're coming too."

Doomguy shrugged and followed Gordon to the counter. Yang sat down and put her head in her hands. Ruby put her hand on Yang's back, trying to calm her down.

"I'm ruined, Ruby. Baseline has screwed me."

"Don't say that, it can be fixed."

"How? Even if we can somehow prove that Cinder, or someone, caused me to hallucinate, I still broke Mercury's leg unprovoked. I'm going to be punished regardless, and we can't change that."

"We can, and we will. We have all the time in the world to figure it out."

Yang looked at Ruby, eyes becoming wetter by the second.

"Ruby, I was so messed up."

"What?"

"Think about it. How many fights have I gotten into in Baseline? Remember Junior's bar? With a record like that, no one will be on my side. Even Blake and Weiss will think I'm-"

"Don't say that!"

"But it's true! They've only known me for less than a year, and they know I like to get into fights! Oh god, what will mom and dad think…"

Ruby quickly hugged her sister, letting Yang softly sob into her shoulder. She saw Gordon and Doomguy walking back to the table, but quickly motioned for them to return to the counter. They were dependable teammates in a jam, but neither one of them was remotely good at comforting someone.

"Yang, no matter what, you're my sister and teammate, and you know I love you, whatever flaws you have. Blake and Weiss are our sisters too, and even though their Baseline selves will be confused, I know they'll forgive you."

This seemed to help a bit, but Yang still seemed in no mood to respond.

"What if we expose Mercury?"

"Wha, what?"

"Maybe if we expose Mercury as a criminal, and show the world that the hallucination and Mercury were part of the same plan, we can get you exonerated."

"But, I still-"

"It was self-defense and you know it, sis. We just need to figure something out. And you won't be alone. We'll all help you."

At that, Ruby motioned for Gordon and Doomguy to come back, drinks in hand. She notices that Gordon had two shots, and she quickly put it together.

"Uh, Yang," Gordon started, putting a shot in front of Yang, "I know you don't drink, but this seems like a good a time as any, if you want."

Yang composed herself and looked at the glass, then at her two male teammates. It was tempting, but after what happened last time…

"No, that would only make it worse." Yang pushed the glass away, and Doomguy drank it without a second thought. The table was silent for a minute, until Yang spoke up again.

"How do you guys do it?"

Gordon looked at her, confused. "Do what?"

"Deal with your Baselines screwing you."

"Oh. Alcohol and morphine helps."

"I just kill stuff until it stops screwing me."

Ruby and Yang groaned. Of all the teammates they could have had during this Loop, it just had to be these two.

"What I think Yang means," Ruby started, "Is how you guys deal with your Baselines having bad things that are outside of your control, and can't change. Like the invasions."

Gordon and Doomguy looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Well, at first it sucked. But after the Loops started, and I got better at fighting, figuring things out, and meeting other people going through similar stuff, it's gotten easier to deal with." Gordon said. "Plus, I know I'll always have another shot at making it right. I just wish I had some way to stop the damn Cascade from happening in the first place"

"Have you tried putting that crystal thing into your Pocket?" Doomguy asked.

"Yeah. That dude in the suit just gives them another one."

"Oh. Well I got nothing then."

"What about you, D?" Yang asked. "How do you deal with all that crap in your Baseline? I know that half the time a second invasion happens after the first one."

"Eh, I just got used to it. It became fun after the first few times. I just challenge myself now. Going through Hell using only a stick, blindfolded, using only my legs as weapons-"

Ruby glared at him after saying "legs", and Yang put her head into her hands again. Gordon once more looked around awkwardly, and Doomguy thought for a moment.

"Hey, you know what?"

Yang looked up at him. "What?"

"The fact that you're so concerned about what's going to happen, and how it'll affect everyone around you, especially your friends and family, kinda proves you're not a psycho. If it were me I wouldn't give two shits, but you do. Trust me, it'll all work out in the end. It always does."

 _And it's time for the first round of the Vale Tournament! Would Teams RYGD and ABRN please report to the stadium._

The four teammates looked at the television, and back at each other. Doomguy was the first to get up.

"So, what do you say, boy and girls? Wanna kick some ass and win this thing?"

Ruby looked at Yang, who got up and slammed her fists together. "You bet. I'm not gonna let anything get in my way this time, real or not."

Ruby shot up and hugged her sister, who hugged back. Then the three looked at Gordon, who grumbled.

"Fine, just don't let me take on more than one at a time. The students here are faster and stronger than they have any right to be."

….

 **14.8**

….

Yang stumbled as she woke up in heels. "Heels. Must be a variant."

The assumption was proven a moment later when her loop memories came back: she was Yang Bang, a rather high class call girl with aspirations of making it as a ballroom singer. Her own good nature and pride kept getting in the way though, so now she was going back to the office of an old man who had tried to give her charity. Yang grumbled to herself and started blocking out the memories of what exactly she planned to do for the 'dashing older gentleman' who'd been kind to her.

Other than that, the old fashioned fashions and cars, less than stellar track record for women's rights, preference for a smoke and jazz, and rampant organized crime clued her in for a world not unlike 1920's America, Chicago especially. Yang cracked her knuckles, slotting a copy of Ember Celica onto her wrists. Best to be prepared.

Yang was stopped in the office by the old man's receptionist. "Excuse me," she said in a falsely high tenor. "I'm searching for an Old Jonny P. He was rather kind to me and I want to pay him back for it." Yang intended to buy him a drink. Nothing else!

The receptionist glanced up at her. "Mr. P isn't taking anyone. Come back tomorrow."

Yang frowned, reached forward, and took the receptionist by the collar. "I'm looking for a Jonny P. You're going to ring him up for me and tell him Yang Bang's here to see him."

If it wasn't the possibly armed gauntlets that Yang wore, it was the dangerous expression that she sported that convinced the receptionist not to say no. She cleared her throat and thumbed the line to Mr. P's office. "Mr. P, there's a... Yang Bang here to see you."

"...Send her in," Jonny P said on the end of the line. Yang self-satisfactorily walked by the receptionist, marched into Jonny's office-

"Close the door Blondie."

-And found herself at gunpoint. Yang stopped dead, before raising her hands and edging over to the side of Jonny P. The old gentleman gave Yang an aside look and raised his hands up slightly, an obvious cue for Yang to do the same.

The gunman, who very much resembled Adam, spoke again. "Where's the dough Jonny? Tell me where the dough is."

Jonny shook his head. "I don't know where the money is. Now let the girl go."

Adam or whomever he was supposed to be cocked tommy gun. "You have till the count of three, or the broad gets it. One."

"I don't know why money you're talking about," Jonny said.

RATTATTATTATTATTATTATTATTATTA! A wave of machine gun fire tore through Jonny's office. Jonny and Yang hit the deck, but poor Adam ended up eating a lead sandwich. When the gun fire ceased, their captor was dead, and Yang and the detective were alone. "So is this why you usually do Cap?"

"Please, call me Picard," Jean-Luc Picard said. The Enterprise's captain went to the window, glancing out. "Hmm... A Schneemobile Roadster with white walls. Cheap and easy, but the white walls are expensive." Picard grabbed his hat. "The game is afoot."

Yang stepped over Adam's corpse carefully. "You're going after a car full of guys who tried to kill you?"

Picard stopped, stumped by the question. "Of course. I'm a detective, and this is a case."

Yang glanced at Adam. "He's a case?"

"Why did he threaten me? What made him so desperate? Where is this money? Who killed him? Etc. It's a mystery, and I'm one of the Multiverse's best part-time pulp fiction detectives." Picard slotted a revolver into his hat and put it on. "Why are you here anyway?"

Yang shrugged and pulled out her wallet. "You gave me some money, and I was gonna take you for a drink. Course, helping you solve this case is a lot more fun."

Picard smiled. "Good. Now then, to my car."

The walk down to Picard's car held a rather important conversation, one which we will gloss over for the sake of time. Schneemobile Roadsters were cheap and easy to buy, but White Walled tires were very expensive. In this capacity, Yang and Picard determined that the car belonged to a previously down on their luck mob enforcer who had started up the ladder to success. Having gone through Adam's pockets, Yang had found a card for "The Silver Pearl" a high class speakeasy for the affluent and seedy.

Picard and Yang, after a few words with the bouncer (an old friend of Jean Luc's that looked like a Klingon) were in, and moving for the bar. The speakeasy was soaked in cigar smoke and thrummed with Flynt Coal's signature jazz. Emerald, was on stage, tantalizing the men while Mercury did rounds, enticing the women. Yang and Picard moved for the speakeasy's owner, Hei 'Junior' Xiong. "Hello Hei."

Junior exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Jonnyyyyy, Jonny Jonny. Mr. P. what brings you to my house?" He chuckled. "Oh, where are my manners. These are my new guards. D-" he pointed at a pale man who was probably an android, "-And G." He pointed at a black man who was probably blind.

Jean sat down, Yang with him. He pulled out a card. "Your calling card was on a Bull Faunus, red hair and horns."

"You need to find him?" Junior rasped.

"He tried to gun me down over money. I'm looking for why."

Junior chuckled again, his raspy voice turning the light noise into sandpaper on wood. "Aren't we all? Who's the broad?"

"I'm his cousin, from Atlas," Yang said smoothly. She winked seductively at Junior. "Pay a little, and I can be your cousin for a few hours."

"..." The assembled at the table turned to stare at Yang in silent mockery. Picard coughed into his fist. "What can I say? Dumb blonde."

"She's got a pretty face," Junior rasped. "Too bad I gotta have it messed up."

Mercury stepped over to the table, a tray concealing his pistol. "Your drinks are out back, mister Picard, miss Bang."

Picard and Yang obligately raised their hands. "At least let him take his hat off first," Yang faux-pleaded. Mercury cocked an eyebrow and gestured at Picard.

Picard nodded, pulled off his hat, reached in, and pulled the trigger, blasting Mercury across the room. The waiter went sailing, landing smack dap in the middle of the floor. Several seconds of silence descended.

"I don't think he had his Aura activated," Yang muttered to Picard.

"Don't worry. I set my revolver to stun," Picard answered.

"Oh."

Then all hell broke loose.

After about ten minutes of fighting (during which Junior pulled out his batzooka, the Malachite twins tried to end Yang and Picard, and the blonde and the captain saved each other's lives more times than they cared to count) Yang and Picard stumbled out of the club. The bouncer was already waiting for them with their car. "Mister Picard, the keys are in the ignition."

"Thank you Worf," Picard said, only for Mercury to run up and kick Worf in the head.

Mercury rounded on Picard and Yang. "You two are goddamn dead, you hear me."

"Mercury!" a shaming voice shouted. Emerald, dressed to warm herself in the cold night, marched up the speakeasy's steps. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"These two wasted me," Mercury grumbled, ready to kick Picard to hell and back.

Emerald stepped forward and moved between Picard and Yang and her Merc. "The blonde's a call girl. You're not gonna hit a call girl while I'm around are you?"

Mercury stumbled verbally. "Well, no, I-"

"Call girls stick together," Yang affirmed on the fly. Emerald nodded once. Mercury sighed.

"You know Em, I just can't say no to you when you're like that. Come here." Mercury grabbed Emerald and sipped her, kissing her passionately.

"Onward?" Picard said.

"Make it so," Yang said, stepping around the car.

"We'll need a new lead now that Junior's run off," Picard pointed out as he fumbled with the keys.

"We'll just track Junior down," Yang said.

"His right hand is over there," Mercury said, pointing down the street. Mr. D was at a black car, struggling to get it to start. Picard smiled and closed his car door.

D, more commonly known as Data, was pulled from his carseat. "If you are going to attempt to intimidate me, you will be sorely disappointed," Data stated as Yang forced him against the steel car body. "I possess a unique physiological deformity that renders me incapable of experiencing pain."

Yang punched a hole in the steel car.

"The man who attempted to intimidate you was named Adam Taurus. He claimed that the information came from a John Q. Delancie. He intended to use force to accurately inquiry towards the location of several thousand dollars, or possibly to render your assistance in locating it," Data said quickly.

Picard tugged at the rim of his hat. "As always mister Data, a pleasure."

"I did not like this at all," Data admitted, the concept of irony again flying right over his head.

Yang and Picard started for their car. "So is this what a pulp fiction novel usually is?"

"More or less," Picard admitted. "It's traveling from place to place, finding clues, taking leads. It's rough some times, but it's rewarding to walk amongst the layers of society. From the gentry to the dangerous to the working man and woman, it's the closest I've ever been to traveling the stars in the Enterprise, while still remaining on earth."

Yang smiled at that. "Gotta admit, this is pretty cool."

"You'd be surprised. We actually have a sort of community set up. Myself, Sherlock Holmes, and Rarity Belle." Picard opened the door to his car. "After you." Yang got in and Picard circled around. "You're welcome to join us miss Xiao Long."

"Hmm... wait!" Yang shouted, racing out of the car. A moment later, she returned wearing Data's fedora. "Alright Jeany boy. I'm in."

"Splendid," the French detective declared, and drove off into the night.

….

 **14.9 Harry Leferts**

….

Ruby grinned as she twirled around. "By the way, I just had one of those strange My Little Pony variants and got the most _awesome_ Element _ever!_ "

More then a little amused, Yang leaned a bit to the side with a smirk. "Okay, I'll bite... what did you get then?"

If anything, the grin on Ruby's face only grew as she reached into her Pocket and pulled out a necklace that had a Strawberry on it. "BEHOLD! THE ELEMENT OF STRAWBERRIES!"

For several seconds there was utter silence before Weiss slowly raised her finger. "I... wait, 'Element of Strawberries'? Ruby, there's no such thing." Seeing the stubborn look on her friend's face, Weiss sighed and waved a hand. "Besides, what exactly would it do anyways?"

Blinking, Ruby took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she reached up to gently clasp the Element, now around her neck. "Just watch..." There was a flash of light and the next thing that Team RWBY knew, the entire room was filled neck deep with baked goods of various types that used strawberries and the berries themselves as a sparkly eyed Ruby looked around. "Isn't this great?!"

Utterly gobsmacked, Blake stared around her. "I... this... how..."

Beside her, Weiss facepalmed as she tried to ignore how Ruby was stuffing her face with baked goods. "Oh come on... infinite strawberry products? _Seriously?_ "

Chomping down on a chocolate covered strawberry, Yang only shrugged. "I got no problem with this..."

Ozpin sipped his coffee as Neo munched on a taco, a "Element of Tacos" around her neck. "I must admit that this is one of the odder things that I've seen..."

Rolling his eyes, Roman reached for one of the tacos on a plate in front of Neo. "You're telling me..." A moment later, he had to yank back his hand as Neo hissed and tried to bite it. "Hey!"

As he watched this, Ozpin only sighed. _'I wonder if there's an "Element of Coffee" somewhere in the Loops...'_

Roman starred at the tacos. "Wait... how is this possible? Elements don't work outside of their originating loops."

Neo slapped a taco in Roman's face.

"What she means is that this isn't really an element. It just looks like one," Ozpin admitted.

"But-"

"I slipped a copy in for Ruby as well," Ozpin said.

"But-"

Neo slapped another taco in Roman's face.

"But that doesn't make any sense!"[/QUOTE]

….

 **14.10 Nuebattles**

….

Ruby was so excited to begin this loop! She got two Pings back, so that means SHENANIGANS! She wondered which ones were awake before shrugging, grinning happily. Whoever it was would get hit by a hurricane. HURRICANE RUBY, THAT IS!

She knew Yang was Awake by the time they got on the transport to Beacon, so it was only a matter of time! Jaune wasn't, so the next person to check was Weiss. Ohhh, if Weiss was awake and Blake wasn't, they could try to see if this Loop's Blake went after laser pointer lights. It's always a good way to relax, after all. Even if Weiss was unAwake, Yang and Ruby could still toss a red sock in Weiss's laundry again. They haven't done that in a while, and Weiss always looks good in pink.

While Yang ran off, Ruby spun, giggling, before flopping over, knocking over a bunch of briefcases. While being exploded by Dust wasn't really fun, unAwake Weiss had some pretty great reactions and Ruby never got tired of 'em.

"Please! Be careful!" The girl's voice was soft and gentle, but very concerned. That definitely wasn't Weiss's shriek or annoyed deadpan. That means… VISITING LOOPER! Ruby was so excited! Oh wait, not-Weiss was talking.

"-this Dust is for battle, so that means it's incredibly dangerous! And in this quantity, this whole courtyard could've been destroyed if they all reacted at the same time! Oh, dear, I'm sorry, are you okay?" Her voice was so worried that Ruby was a little taken aback. Brown haired and green eyed, not-Weiss was adorable in a big floofy skirt, and she was a swordsman like Weiss! The hype was real, Ruby decided.

"I'm fine, just a little Loopy! My name's Ruby Rose, and this here," Ruby unfolded her scythe, grinning widely, "Is Cresent Rose." Not-Weiss flinched when the weapon unfolded, but kept her soft smile. Wow. This girl wasn't at all like Weiss.

"Maybe I should accompany you to the infirmary, then? If you're sick, then, you should lay down, so you don't miss anything. Oh, um, and my name's K-, I mean, Sakura Schnee. It's very nice to meet you, Miss Ruby," she bowed quickly, before pulling out her sword.

It was super different from Myrtenaster, Ruby noticed. It was long and thin, but the hilt was something different. Between the grip and the blade, the pommel was a bright yellow five pointed star encircled by a pink ring, with little vials of Dust embedded in each arm. The guard was two bright white wings, starting at the pink ring and ending at the bottom of the sword. It was so cute and perky that Ruby already decided she'd like Sakura. After all, people's weapons show their personality better than anything else Ruby knows of!

"It's name is Starcaptor," Sakura blushed, for whatever reason. Ruby grinned back, refolding Crescent Rose. Blake stepped forward, winking at Ruby.

"It's a very beautiful weapon. I'm Blake, Blake Belladonna. Tell me, Sakura, do you believe in Time Loops? As in, events occuring over and over again?" The foreign Looper's eyes went wide, before shifting between Ruby and Blake. The red clad Anchor knew this was gonna be a fun loop!

"What do you know about that?"

….

 **14.11 MasterOfGames**

While the others slept, Yang scribbled furiously in her notebook under her covers, a small pen flashlight between her teeth. Ruby had told her to get some rest, and let the answers come in the next expansion, but their enemy had made things personal, and Yang was of no mind to let it go so easily.

"Full list of everything they accomplished..." she growled. "Find the pattern, find the next move. They got me arrested at gunpoint... You go to prison when arrested, so I'm going to prison most likely. Might not if Ozpin steps in... but that'll cost him major face from the kingdoms. Is that their plan? Without a leader people feel they can rely on, they panic. Get nervous. Paranoid... A signal for the Grimm? Was the anger caused in the crowd the bait, and this is the hook? Ugh, table that, come back later." she groaned, flipping the page and starting again. "If I'm _not_ just a victim of circumstance, then is this to get me out of the way, or something else? This... makes me look like a villain, so to further that line of thought, the next thing a villain would do is... break out of jail! Do they plan to break me out and force me to be a bad guy? But who could break me out that easily from a top security... Ugh. _Mom._ Mom could break me out without a sweat. Standard carrot and stick. Join them, I find mom. Don't join them, I'm in jail for life. Great. Need a plan to deal with that. Now, what else might they be planning? Breaking out Torchwick?"

A thin paperback bounced off her head from outside her covers. "Yang, turn your light off, and _go to sleep!_ If you don't study at _all_ for classes, then in no way can you justify not taking a break after two in the morning! More so when you have access to time travel!" Blake grumbled.

"In a minute grumpycat! I need to get these down as soon as I think of them!"

...

 **14.12**

…

"Wait, Yang did what?" Ruby blurted out.

"Got herself arrested so you could work on your lawyering skills," Weiss declared grumpily. She handed Ruby a stack of paper. "Your attorney's license."

"But I can't be an attorney! Who's going to teach me?" Ruby said.

Weiss dialed a number on her Scroll. "Hello, I'm looking for a Mister Phoenix Wright. Yes, I can pay. No, I will regret none of the terrible and unfortunate psychological trauma that will inevitably result from this. Yes, I'll hold."

...

Phoenix Wright slumped in his desk as Yang, Qrow and Taiyang celebrated with his and their friends. "Birch above. That was a tough battle." He chuckled ruefully with Ruby, who was sitting on his desk. "You almost had me there you know. 'The prosecution is nervous your honor. I mean, ready.' That one almost lost us the case."

Ruby winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry. I'm new to the whole lawyering thing."

"Trust me Ruby, you'll pick it up. Why, there was this Anchor girl named Mikasa. Thrown out of the court her first day, by the end of the loop she was defending her clients like the best of him. It helped that her brother was on trial, big focusing factor." Phoenix's phone rang. "Gotta take this."

Phoenix put the phone to his ear. "Yes. This is him speaking. Yes, I... Wait, what are you saying? Counter suing? But the trials over! Suing me!? You can't- hello? Hello? Oh come on..." Phoenix hung up the phone. "Typical. Just..."

A bouquet of flowers landed on Phoenix's desk. That was followed by a box of chocolates. Then his favorite flavor of ice cream. And then a giant suitcase full of money. Ruby smiled at her friend. "For you. For helping me help my sister, for helping my sister, and to pay for your future legal battle."

Phoenix smiled gently. "Thank you Ru-"

At which point a lightning strike vaporized Phoenix's desk and everything on it. In response, Ruby pulled out a copy of Phoenix's desk, the ice cream, flowers, money, and chocolates. Phoenix kept smiling. "Thank you Ruby."

….

 **14.13 Harry Leferts**

….

"Why?" Weiss sighed.

"Who knows?" Blake said, glancing up at the sky with a frown.

"Well, Ruby's happy," Yang shrugged.

"Oooh! Ohh! This one has peppermint cookies!" Ruby said excitedly, snatching them out of the air. She turned and decapitated an Ursa, causing the Grimm to exploding into..."MARSHMALLOW!"

"This loop is going to have an obesity epidemic, isn't it?" Weiss groaned.

….

 **14.14**

….

Ruby launched herself onto the roof that Roman had gotten to, the Bullhead tiltjet already rising out of the alley. Ruby had gotten only one ping that loop, and she had a feeling about who it could be. On cue, as Glynda appeared, Roman retreated, and Cinder showed up, a friendly wave indicated that her pseudo-older sister was Awake. "Hi Cinder?"

Cinder leapt onto the roof. Glynda instantly moved to attack, only to lock up in place. Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "Did you do that?"

"Yep. It's Force Stasis, from Star Wars. Hold out your arm." Cinder produced a needle and rolled her eyes when Ruby cringed. "Oh come on, you've had your entire arm cut off. You can remove your head."

"But I don't like needles," Ruby whined. Cinder drew some blood and pulled a machine out of her subspace pocket. Ruby looked it over with wonder in her eyes. "Ooooh. What is it?"

"It's a device to test for your genetic heritage. I want to see your paternity," Cinder said as nonchalantly as possible.

Ruby poked it. "Isn't Taiyang my dad?"

Cinder read the output, and banged her head on the desk. "No, Taiyang is not your father. Ruby, I am your father."

Ruby stared at Cinder. Cinder stared at Ruby. Ruby grinned minutely. "So... Do you think you're still in Star Wars?"

Cinder explained why she knew they were in a variant and how Ruby was her and Summer's child.

"NO! NO! NO! NO NO NO NO! GRIMM, NO! NO! I REFU- NO! NO!" Ruby screamed in completely disturbed horror.

Cinder nodded grimly. "I am sorry Ruby. Admittedly though, it could have been worse."

"What makes you say that?"

Cinder proceeded to explain her plan for that loop.

"..." Ruby stared at Cinder, turned on her heel, and marched away. "If anyone asks, I'm in the swamps west of Mistral, bonding with my Uncle. Okay?"

Cinder waved her off. "Later Ruby."

Ruby vanished in a surge of gold lightning as she tapped into her supply of the Speed Force, leaving Cinder all alone. Cinder watched her run away, and chuckled. The loop actually was Baseline: Cinder was just messing with Ruby.

"I may not be evil," Cinder said, lying for Glynda's benefit, "but screwing with Ruby is always fun."

….

 **14.15 Shimmer712**

….

Zwei blinked at looked behind him at the red plane then at the flying doghouse underneath him as he and the plane landed. He raised a paw and noted the hat on his head. It was a…what was the hat the hat that bi-plane pilots were drawn wearing? Bomber hat? Aviator hat? He wasn't really sure.

He checked his loop memories.

Huh. There was a war- a _World_ War – going on. The pilot of the red plane was known as the Red Baron and Zwei was supposed to take him down.

Only his doghouse-plane (and _how_ did that work?) had partially iced over and Zwei had been forced to land behind enemy lines.

The Baron was probably going to finish things. Zwei grinned and readied himself for a "War Corgi" routine…

Only to fall over when the Baron called out "Merry Christmas, my friend!"

Zwei was pretty sure that this was not the normal routine for humans in war, even in the loops.

Still, he accepted the champagne, gave the Baron a polite salute when he gave a toast and behaved himself until they both left, his doghouse now free of ice.

As he flew, Zwei mused to himself that something about this seemed familiar. Which wasn't really surprise since most of the loops were works of fiction in the hub loop. With the canine equivalent of a shrug, he put it out of his mind and listened to the bells ringing out below him.

Then he recalled something else.

It wasn't just the Christmas season. It was Christmas Eve.

That should help narrow it down if he decided to look up this loop next time he was in the Hub.

….

 **14.16 Shimmer712**

….

"Okay, people, we have a new solid fact for our world!" Ruby declared to RWBY and JNPR.

"The lack of non-dust tech?" Yang asked.

"Yep!" Ruby nodded.

"That is a problem," Weiss noted. "Especially since Dust is a _finite_ substance and will run out sooner or later. So far, the current estimates say we will run out in our lifetime!"

"Yeah, and while we can stock up thanks to the loops and our Pockets, not everyone has that benefit," Jaune noted. Then tilted his head. "Hey, Weiss, you could fix that."

"Yeah!" Runy nodded.

"What?" The heiress looked at him.

"We get all sorts of tech from the loops," Jaune explained.

"Some which can be rebuilt with stuff here on Remnant," Ruby added. "And you're a Schnee. You grew up with business stuff."

"So you have a better idea than the rest of us of how to set up a company," Jaune said. "And give you a secure source of income. Even if you just help set it up and only own shares rather than run the thing."

"And your sister could help spread the tech with her ties to the Atlasian Military," Ruby continued. "Penny could get some stuff to Ironwood to promote it but she doesn't have the same pull Winter does."

"And it's not like you have to chain yourself to the company," Juane told Weiss. "Just getting it started and introducing non-Dust based tech would be enough. People would know they don't need dust to run machines and start inventing their own."

"You wouldn't even have to do that much to start it," Ruby said. "At the very least, you would have to explain business stuff to one of us so we can do it and maybe keep an eye on things to catch mistakes..."

"Dunno if any of your family connections would help but there might be some," Jaune added. "And it would cut off your father's control if you have an in with another company."

"Plus, we have plenty of time plan the thing out and can get advice from other loopers," Ruby finished.

There was a moment of silence.

"See, this is why you two do tactics," Yang said. "Also, holy crap, that's big!"

"It would be world changing, to say the least," Blake noted, mind running through ways this could make things better for everyone, including the Fanus.

"It would piss off old man Schnee!" Nora cackled.

"He may try to cause trouble if we go for this," Ren noted. "And some of the tech have pollution issues so it could lead to other problems."

"It would be better if there was an adult looping," Pyrrha observed. "A bunch of teenagers wouldn't garner the same respect and some might write us off as a joke, even with a Schnee backing us."

Ruby squirmed, recalling her metting with Professor Goodwitch, who was seeking to use the loops as a training aid for her students. She had kept the blonde looper's status to herself because she had been asked but she felt kinda guilty for hiding it.

"Don't worry, Ruby," Pyrrha smiled reassuring at the Anchor, mistaking the reason for the squirming. "Like you pointed out, we have plenty of time to work things out and we may get an adult looper later on."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "Anyway, maybe we should meet up every now and then to discuss this thing? Just whenever someone calls a meeting or something?"

"So it's a side project for now?" Yang asked. "Okay, I can deal with that."

"Well, we all have things we are working on that we probably prioritize over something that may not be put to work for a long time. It would be silly to ask people to put it on the top of their list," Jaune said reasonably, thinking of his own high-priority project: preserving Pyrrha's identity or healing Amber so the transfer isn't needed.

"At least you're being sensible about it," Weiss noted.

"So, who's up for pancakes?" Nora said brightly.

….

 **14.17**

….

Jaune ran into Ruby and Yang on the ride over to Beacon. Ruby was much taller than usual. As it turned out, Ruby and Yang were both seventeen this loop, and still half sisters.

Much blame was assigned to Taiyang, Raven and Summer for their insatiable love of threesomes. They could deduce exactly what those 'inappropriate stories' Qrow had been talking about were. But from there, the loop just got stranger.

It started with a raven haired Weiss recieving an utterly embarrassing letter from her father, asking how she was, what she was up to, how she was eating, had she made friends, all the good dad things. Handwritten even. The strange bit arose when Blake, Ren and Pyrrha all got similar letters. After sharing their stories, first with their friends, and then with several other students amongst Beacon, a very clear picture was drawn.

Ruby proceeded to tease Yang for the rest of the loop.

...

Qrow Branwen staggered, half drunk, probably faking a hangover, down Beacon's main avenue. A pair of Atlesian Knights ended up in his way. He took care of them.

Winter and Weiss Schnee rounded on their heels as a robot head saile past them. Winter narrowed her eyes. "You. I knew to would show up Qrow."

"Yeah, well I knew you would show up. Another one of Ironwood's lap dogs. Hey Velvet." Qrow narrowed his eyes. "What's your name again?"

Winter ran a hand loosely through her black hair. "Wouldn't you know? Well, I guess the resemblance really isn't there, father."

Qrow leaned back. "Oh great, another one. Just tell me, does Atlas have a predisposition for dragging my kids? This isn't some sort of eugenics thing, is it?"

Weiss awkwardly waved at Qrow. Qrow waved back. "That your sister? Nice to at least on Atlesian decided for my alma mater."

"Actually, I hate your guts!" Weiss shouted cheerily at him.

Qrow bowed. "Thank you, thank you. Hey Merc."

"Hey pops," Mercury said, walking off.

Qrow straightened up. "I'm not gonna tell you Atlas specialists why you think you're so special. It's the 'beat up genes' I got." Qrow slapped his pants. "Aged denim, best lady attractor in the world. Hey Blake."

Blake glared at her father and walked off.

Qrow shrugged playfully, even in light of his many, many children's disgust. "What can I say. Short skirts and cat Faunus are always a great combination."

"Hold your tongue," Winter snarled.

"DADDY!" Neon shrieked, hugging the requisite twenty three chromosomes that made her her. Behind her, Flynt tipped his hat to the guy who wasn't his old man but still his father.

Qrow patted his daughter in the back and pushed her out of the way. He smiled at Winter. "You want me to shut up..." He brushed his hair back. "Make me. Let's see if you can keep up with your old man."

As the utterly insane batter raged, Cinder, Yang, Blake, Mercury, and Pyrrha watched as their dad dueled their half-sister. Weiss just watched her father fight her sister. Ruby watche her uncle fight her friends daughter. Ozpin, Zwei and Glynda all watched in utter horror as the variant of the normal fight unfolded.

And Roman fought down his laughter as his evil plan to have Qrow sire every Huntress and Huntsmen of the next generation went off without a hitch.


	15. Burnt

**15.1 DrTempo**

...

Ruby was walking in at the cafeteria, and noticed Pyrrha was eating lunch. For the past few Loops where Pyrrha was Awake, Ruby noticed she was acting a bit different. At times, Pyrrha would look at her left arm like something happened to it, or had her right eye closed. Being the kind person she was, Ruby sat down next to Pyrrha, and after using a Ping, asked her friend, "So...you've been acting odd lately."

"Acting odd...what do you mean, Ruby?"

"I mean sometimes you look like you think your left hand's gone, and you also act at times like something happened to your right eye, since you close it a lot."

Pyrrha smiled. "I'm fine, Ruby. Just mental reactions from a recent Fused Loop."

"Huh?"

Pyrrha frowned. "I was injured in that Loop; I lost a limb."

Ruby quickly realized that the left arm was likely said limb. "How'd that happen, Pyrrha?"

"The blast that did it was stronger than what my Aura could protect me from at the time.I had also gotten shrapnel stuck in my head, which made my right eye useless. Oddly, it looked like a horn."

Ruby frowned, worried for her friend. "You all right?"

Pyrrha shrugged. "After what I was told about the Maidens the last baseline expansion, I think I could experience much worse."

"Like losing your identity."

"Yeah. Well, I have to go. I think I need to study a little." Pyrrha walked off, and Ruby wondered, She knows we've memorized the textbooks by now..why does she need to study? ' _Pyrrha, I hope you're all right.'_

' _What happened to you?'_

Pyrrha walked into her room, hating to have lied about studying. As Ruby had said, with the latest baseline expansion, she had a lot on her mind. It was true that she was worried that her very identity would be lost. But the Loop she'd told Ruby about had helped her realize that wouldn't be the case.

Looking in the mirror, in her mind, she saw a man with brown hair and a beard, wearing an eye patch and having a bionic left arm instead of her usual appearance. Another image replaced it; that of a male version of herself wearing a military uniform. Taking a deep breath, Pyrrha removed a cassette player from her Subspace Pocket, and hit the play button. The message played, and the voice of the man she had called "Boss" that Loop spoke, and the words he said helped her remember all that had happened; the triumphs and the tragedies.

Even now, the words spoke a truth that had eased her mind.

 _Do you remember now, Pyrrha? Who you really are, and what this plan was meant to do? I cheated death, thanks to you. And thanks to your efforts, I've left my mark on history, and you have as well. You've written your own legend; You're your own soldier. I'm Big Boss, and you are too. No... he's the two of us together. Where we are today, we built it. This story, this legend; it's ours. We can change the multiverse, and with it, the future. I am you, and you are me; as much as that is possible for Loopers, anyway. Carry that with you wherever you go._

 _And Pyrrha,I am sorry you had to suffer this, had to become my phantom. I know we both agreed we had no choice, but still, doing this makes me feel like a hypocrite; like I've become the very thing I once hated. Because of that, I allowed myself to go through a similar delusion once as part of an experiment to see if I would have made the same decisions my phantom did._

 _And indeed I did act exactly as he did in baseline. That alone was enough to make me realize my phantom and I were a lot more alike than I thought._

 _However, I am getting off topic. Pyrrha, as I said, you're still your own person, your own soldier. Ocelot told me of the subtle differences between my baseline phantom and you. How you treated Quiet like a sibling, how you saw the good in Huey until the very end._

 _You are you, no matter what. You may wear another person's face, have another person's memories._

 _But deep down, your true self is always there. Never forget that._

 _Until the time comes, from here on out...You are Big Boss._

Pyrrha smiled. Big Boss was right; no matter what, she was Pyrrha. Nothing would ever change that. As she walked away from the mirror, she smiled. When she had first heard that message, she had broken the mirror she had been looking in.

She did not like the demon she had become, however briefly, that Loop. But thanks to those experiences, she knew one thing for sure.

Whatever eventually happened in her baseline...she accepted it.

'I should be thanking you, Boss. Thanks to that experience, I was able to get over the fear of losing myself should I accept the power of the Maiden in baseline.'

'I am me. Even if I don't remember who I am, my heart is still my own.'

…

 **15.2 Sucal**

...

"Checkmate!"

Looking down at the board, Jaune winced. He thought he;d had her earlier, but somehow she'd managed to managed to find an out. Then turn it upon him, though he had believed he had half a dozen moves left before she got him. Still, a loss was a loss and like the knight he was defeated by, he bowed to his smiling opponent. Sharing a smile with the watching loopers, he ignored the looks of surprise some of them had. After all, it was rare even for one of them to beat him one game out of five.

Yet he'd just lost three games in a row. Chess wasn't the most accurate of metaphors for tactical skill, considering he wasn't working with pieces that possessed their own insight or initiative, but it still helped develop at least a basic appreciation of strategic realities. Honestly, he mostly played it because it was fun, and because it was one of the few games existing across loops, ensuring he could always play against someone new in a fused loop.

Though if the effects of this particular Semblance carried over between loops, then it might just become one of his favorites yet.

"Shall we play again Jaune? My Queen has many more castles to take "

After all, who could have imagined a semblance that taught Nora Valkyrie how to beat him in Chess.

…

 **15.3 Me, Shimmer712, DrTempo**

…

Cinder wasn't quite certain how she ended up gaining Amber's Maiden powers. She never really cared. Mostly because some of the powers were too much fun.

Cinder donned her sunglasses. "Ladies, sirs, and gentleFaunus, I'm making it rain!" And from the sky fell vast quantities of money.

The sudden stampede of students was a hilarious sight. The violence that erupted over the huge quantities of cash was even more comical. Cinder was going to wait though. The best was yet to come.

After all, dump this much Lien into the country, and the whole system tanks. Nothing like ruining the global economy after all.

...

Cinder's eye twitched. When she had found out about the Maidens, she had expected their powers to be incredible. After all, people had killed to get that power, resulting in people allowing the information to become a mere story. She had expected both as a looper and while unAwake.

She did not expect that she essentially walked around with a significant amount of aura being directed against her wishes to maintaining the planet. In this loop, the Maidens were what the people in the Hub called Barrier Maidens. By existing, the Maidens held the world together, but they wouldn't be able to actively use their aura.

The only good thing about this was that, since in baseline Ozpin and his group didn't want her to have this power, the real thing would be worth it. Unlike this version.

Cinder took a deep breath and consoled herself. She would get the real thing, it would be worth it and in the mean time, she could perfect her methods for getting it.

And if she found out the baseline version wasn't worth the effort, she would just have to adapt her plans for a new ambition.

She made a mental note to make sure that in future loops, she found out if people were bothered by someone of questionable character had a piece of Autumns power or if they were merely concerned over Autumn being attacked. It could be a good indicator of whether the power was worth the effort or not.

...

Cinder eased her hand onto the struggling Grimm. The Boarbatusk had been discreetly stolen from Port's private sanctuary and brought far away. At the moment, her Emerald and Mercury thrall a were wrestling the Grimm for her.

The villainess smirked. "Sleep... Sleep child of anonymity." The boar Grimm began to still. "Sleep."

Mercury and Emerald stepped back, the Grimm collapsing to the ground. Cinder raised her hand. The Grimm rose with it. A single mental command, and the Grimm lunged to Emerald, snarling in the thrall's face. Cinder chuckled. "I like this power."

With a crack, Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and the Boarbatusk were many miles away, deep within the province of Mountain Glen. In the distance, waiting, were the Goliaths. Cinder laughed maniacally. "I love this."

...

(One Loop Later)

...

"Cinder, why are there Goliaths in Beacon?" Ruby asked sternly as Yang leisurely dealt with the elephant Grimm that had appeared from nowhere.

Cinder held up her hands in embarrassment. "I... Thought I could tame them?"

Ruby shook her head. "I've tried to tame Grimm. Usually, my throat gets ripped out. Or they end up terrified of Zwei for some reason."

' _Damn that corgi,_ ' Cinder thought.

"You can't tame Grimm Cinder. Repeat after me."

"I can't tame Grimm," Cinder muttered, cursing every god and goddess for the fact that the Maiden's power did not carry over from Loop to Loop.

...

Cinder chuckled as she called upon what the power of the Maiden was this time, breaking a card that had appeared in her hand.

"IZANAGI!"

Which was the power of Persona.

"I am going to enjoy using this power..."

...

Cinder pressed her hand against the tree and willed the Fall Maiden's power forward.

The tree slowly began to decay.

Cinder smiled and considered how to take advantage of this particular ability this loop.

Later, a person went for a walk and didn't come back. This was soon overshadowed by the disappearance of various political figures with a pile of decayed mulch as the culprit's calling card.

Cinder laughed.

...

Cinder pouted. Yang admired her new highlights, the red contrasting the blonde sharply.

"You know, I ccan sorta see why Autumn would have this power," Blake noted. "After all, Autumn is the season with leaves start to change color."

"And you can make show anything you buy is the right color," Ruby chirped. Cinder paused then shrugged, conceding that maybe the power of color changing was a beneficial one.

After all, one can never underestimate the value of well co-ordinated, kick ass wardrobe.

...

Cinder contemplated the latest variation of the Fall Maiden's power. On one hand, she could probably find some way to put it to good use. Granted, she would need to be careful as being seen, even far off enough to not be identified, would ensure her location was known. On the other hand...

"I dunno, simply having the power of flight and nothing else seems like a bit of a let down considering all the hype," she muttered.

...

Weiss handed Cinder her laundry. "Thank you very much."

Cinder mumbled something along the lines of "you're welcome." A pair of dirty underwear landed on her face. "Yang, there is a basket."

"But you're right there."

Blake walked over. "Can I borrow your feather duster?"

"No, because you never do a good job dusting," Cinder grumbled.

Ruby ran up to her. "Please please please make more strawberry tea, pleeeeeease!"

"...When I'm done Ruby," Cinder sighed, already plotting the death traps she'd use next loop to murder Weiss, Blake and Yang in gruesome and traumatic ways. It was the only thing she could think of to rightfully maintain her sanity, considering that this loop the ultimate power of the Fall Maiden was to be the ultimate maid.

"The back of your skirt's up Cinder," Yang said as Cinder walked away. The villainess bit her tongue to silence the rage.

…

 **15.4 TheNotoriousSMP**

...

Yang's eyes narrowed as the buzzer went off, signaling that Mercury's aura had dropped enough for their match to end. Even after countless numbers of loops this series of events never failed to piss her off, not least because the Reset meant they wouldn't find out anything about what had happened until the next Expansion. Looking down at Cinder's henchman, Yang did her best to make her next line sound nonchalant.

"Better luck next time."

Turning away, the blond Looper began the countdown for Mercury's response as she walked away from the center of the ring, the sheer number of times this had happened letting her get the timing right most of the time

'In 3, 2, 1...'

"There's not going to be a next time Blondie!"

'Nailed it.'

Taking a breath to calm herself, Yang took a brief look back at the attacking form of Mercury Black (or at least the illusion of him doing so-the variable nature of the Loops meant that sometimes he really did attack her, though she was pretty sure this one was an illusion), exhaled, and kept on walking.

Yeah it wouldn't really matter in the long run, what with the Reset coming in a few minutes at most, and it wouldn't change the Baseline actions at all, but Ruby usually managed to get a pretty good photo of Mercury when he realized that she hadn't been fooled by the illusion, and the look of pure dread on his face usually managed to bring a smile to her face now that the shock had worn off.

...

 **15.5 Gammatron**

...

"Now I g..." an Unawake Torchwick began before his robot stopped moving, "Huh?" he began to jiggle the handles, "Come on, come on."

"Blake, I thought we agreed to not use our outside powers this Loop," Ruby frowned at Blake as Yang fell on the ground.

"I didn't stop it," Blake replied.

"Weiss?"

"Nope," Weiss replied.

=Scanning complete= the robot spoke =Intruder detected=

"Wait, what?" Torchwick blinked before he was forcefully ejected from the robot.

=Greetings, Private Ruby, Private Blake, Private Weiss, and Private Yang=

"...Freckles?!" Ruby gawked.

=Affirmative= Freckles confirmed as he turned to Torchwick =Enemy detected. Firing Main Cannon=

"Oh shit," Torchwick gulped before Neo appeared and got him away.

=Enemy target has vanished= Freckles informed before turning to RWBY =Orders?=

"Uh...You have your normal gun with you, right?" Ruby asked.

=Negative=

"Not even in your Pocket?" Yang asked.

=Negative. I only carry important items=

"..." the four quickly played 'rock, paper, scissors.'

=Thank you, Private Yang= Ember Celica thanked in a squeaky voice.

"None of you better laugh," Yang frowned at her teammates.

"So how have the others been, Freckles?" Ruby asked.

=Captain Grif is doing well. He sends his foster brother emotions to you and has been making new cookie recipes=

"That's good to hear!" Ruby beamed.

"And the others?" Blake asked.

=Transmission was received during the process of transferring to new location= Freckles explained =Lopez is within this Loop and does not like Yggdrasil=

"..." Ruby began to laugh as the others looked at her, "Penny wasn't Penny this Loop. This time, she was Lopezina."

Weiss giggled, "Oh me. That's hilarious."

"Lopez probably doesn't agree," Yang laughed.

=Affirmative. Last time Captain Simmons and I interacted, it was in Eiken with Captain Caboose and Captain Roll. I was a corgi that Loop=

"How many kinds off dog have you been?" Yang asked.

=I have become a dog 1.8 trillion times and have been one of each species of canine at east once= Freckles replied =Private Yang, your Aura is now fully recovered=

"...I am going to enjoy having Freckles in these for the Loop," Yang grinned, "It'll sure throw anyone who fights me for a loop."

=Commence booing vocal pattern= Freckles stated as a recorded booing audience noise went off.

"Oh, you suck," Yang frowned as RWB tried to not laugh.

…

 **15.6**

...

Another pie slapped Cinder in the face. "But I haven't even-" Yet another pie cut her off. "Why are you-" The fifty seventh pie got her in the chest. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PIEING ME?!"

Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Nora stopped throwing pies at her. "Well, you're pure evil. That's why." They then resumed their merciless pieing.

And so, for the umpteenth time that loop, Cinder bemoaned her choice to Stealth and indulge her sadistic tendencies.

…

 **15.7 Detective Ethan Redfield**

...

"What can you make of the body, Mr. Mallard?"

Ozpin was taking a risk here. He had arranged to contact a looper from the universe he was visiting. He wore a mask which was overlayed with a holographic disguise and a transformation jutsu along with a cloak. He was currently worked for the United States Navy as a special agent of the Navial Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS. Donald Mallard, or Ducky to his friends, was a simple looper, considerably older than himself, but trustworthy. Ducky looked over Qrow's body and gave a sad look, "It pains me to see that there are loopers out there not willing to trust a simple old man like myself. I prefer to read literature and sharing my knowledge on tours when outside investigating crime scenes. I would not have revealed a stealth looper like you, even under threat of torture."

Ozpin actually felt a slight amount of regret in his stomach, but Ducky held up a hand to ward it off, "No matter. I'm sure you have your reasons. You are not DIO, he would not go to such lengths to hide himself. Now, grab my arm, and we will head to my private lab."

The moment the Remnant Looper's hand made contact with the doctor, the two stood in Ducky's lab in the NCIS looper's subspace pocket, where the Qrow's body sat on an autopsy table. Ducky sighed, "I assume you don't want time of death, so I'll forgo that. Instead, we'll focus on the injuries. Since you haven't revealed the subject's identity, we'll call him Mr. Body. Mr. Body suffered dozens of bruises, patches of hypothermia over his whole body and sword wounds issued by a saber of some sort. I can conclude the patches of hypothermia were caused possibly by magical means due to residual energy clinging to the body. If you want to know more about the magical injuries, you'll have to have a magician study the body. But what truly killed him was his heart failing."

Ozpin blinked in surprise, but motioned for Ducky to continue, "Yes...his blood system shows considerable amounts of bath salts in his system, dissolved in alcohol."

The old doctor gave a sad, mournful look at the man on his table, "Yes...the horrors he must have witnessed. Bath Salts can result in powerful hallucinations. This man, probably experienced a break from reality and was fighting against someone. That someone was very skilled, able to inflict massive damage. The wounds combined with the hallucinations were too much, though the alcohol probably did him no favors either. His heart stopped beating. He died of fear, it seems."

"Thank you doctor. You've helped a lot with my case."

Ducky nodded. "Let me know if you catch the person involved in this case."

...

Back at his house, Ozpin released his disguises and hid them in his pocket for future use. He also took Qrow's body after Ducky had sown him back up and put him in stasis to be buried back in Remnant at a later date. Before he had suspected, but now he knew that a looper had caused his friend's death that one loop. He knew two loopers that were awake, but Ruby wouldn't ever do this. Cinder though he wasn't going to rule out. Though it seemed their looper had had a change of heart and was a variant version of their enemy, he realized that faking her redemption put her in an advantageous position. Ozpin had to be sure. There could have been a stealth looper involved or an MLE, but this fit no known stealth or MLE looper's profile. He would keep a close eye on Cinder, Mercury and Emerald.

…

 **15.8**

...

Ruby and Cinder were laying in their room, bored. "Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm bored."

"Me two."

"Nice."

"Any ideas for what to do?"

"No."

"Want to be Dark Lords?"

"...Are you sure I'm the villain here?"

"Want to be the hero?"

"Hmm..."

...

"ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!" Ruby Rose, Shadow Goddess of Vale and Vacuo declared to her slaves.

"Never shall your will defeat the souls of Faunus and Man!" Cinder Fall heroine of the resistance cried. "Attack!" she called to her army of Faunus and Humans.

"Attack!" Ruby roared to her Robo-Grimm army.

...

One complete army destruction later:

...

Ruby pulled her crown off of her head and handed it to Cinder. "I surrender... SUCKERS!" Ruby flew off on a rainbow, into the sky. "ADVENTURE!"

Cinder shrugged, trying the crown on. "Yup, best way to take over Vale, ever. Of all time."

...

 **15.9 Person With Many Aliases**

...

"TRAITOR!"

Blake turned around from the latest White Fang soldier she had finished off. The voice belonged to another member, who strode out from the others who were busying engaging the others. While he had the typical White Fang mask, the exposed mouth was covered by a second white piece. In one hand was a small shield, and the other was a fairly regular rifle-bayonet blade combo.

The huntress wasn't sure why she was called out by this one soldier, but if he wanted to eat her boot next, he was free to. The shield was a slight problem, but she had enough practice from Pyrrha and Jaune that-

The White Fang soldier threw both his weapons down.

What?

Instead, the soldier reached for his waist and unsheathed a long tonfa. A switch on the end of caused the weapon to lengthen out, with the portion on question exploding into a miniature lightning storm, fuelled by high grade Dust. With a flourish spin, he brought the weapon in, letting it run along his arm while he held the other end secure with his other hand in a ready stance.

Blake glared, and tried to imagine the bead of sweat forming was imaginary.

It figured she'd run into an Imperial Storm Trooper along with the others.

' _Oh, this is going to be messy.'_

…

 **15.10**

...

Rocket Dust burning underneath her, Ruby exited Remnant's atmosphere on a spire of fire. "This is Rose Dawn, reporting to Vale Control. We have escaped Remnant's atmosphere."

Down at ground control, Weiss, Blake and Yang went wild.

Ruby chuckled as she increased thrust again. "Seriously, why do people think Dust doesn't work outside of our atmosphere? I mean, I'm already fifty miles outside of the-"

Ruby was thrown from the cockpit when her rocket crashed right into something big and black. The bone plate that surrounded her sparkled in the sun's dim light. Ruby teleported back to Remnant's surface. "Okay, we are not going back into space... ever again."

…

 **15.11**

...

Cinder tapped her head in exhaustion. "God dammit, are you sure that the Aura Transfer machine won't be ready for another hour?"

Jaune continued to work the incredibly complex mechanism. "Look Cinder, I know it's weird that you have part of Amber's consciousness in your head, but please give me a break. This doesn't come with an instruction manual."

' _He should come with an instruction manual,_ ' Amber's voice muttered inside of Cinder's head. Cinder quietly thanked her stars that she was an accomplished Occlumens and that Amber couldn't read her thoughts despite literally sharing their brain.

Jaune tapped in a code. "Alright Cinder. Get ready to get Amber's voice out of your head."

Cinder reclined into the pod as the machine whirled up. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and waited.

' _Hmm... Well this is odd,_ ' Amber muttered inside of Cinder's head. ' _I can feel how damaged my body is._ '

' _You think you're going to die?_ ' Cinder said back.

' _I know I am. My body's a vegetable. Even the power of a Maiden won't save me,_ ' Amber said with the mental equivalent of a sigh. A feeling of resignation, and then shockingly peace washed from Amber. ' _You'll probably become the Fall Maiden now._ '

' _It's not your fault that you lost,_ ' Cinder consoled disingenuously. ' _Unawake me is just that good at planning._ '

' _Yeah_...' Amber murmured. Cinder could feel her soul fading from her mind. ' _Cinder... You're a better person now. If the power of the Fall Maiden goes to you, I... At least, I give you my blessing._ '

Cinder grinned ever so slightly inside of the pod. ' _You don't want to do that._ ' Amber's consciousness began to vanish from Cinder's head. ' _You really don't want to do that._ '

Cinder dropped her defenses, showing Amber everything. Her goals, her dreams, her secrets. Every false deed, every passionate sin, every single lie, shown for the dying girl.

And yet, even as Cinder tried to torment the dying Fall Maiden, only one emotion emerged from the fading voice in her head. Disappointment.

' _You persist in the face of eternity... simply for fun. You will never succeed Cinder Fall..._ ' Amber's voice vanished, and all that remained was an echo. ' _Never..._ '

Jaune opened Amber's pod and drew a blanket over her as Cinder stepped out of her own. "And so passes the Fall Maiden. Can you still hear her Cinder?"

"No, she's gone. I'm sorry, that was callous of me. I just need a moment alone."

Jaune stared at the reformed villainess of Remnant. "Cinder, are you okay?"

"No. I just had to live through someone dying inside of my own head. Who would be happy from that?"

Jaune stepped up and helped Cinder out of her pod. "Well... You're crying."

Cinder's hand slipped to her cheek, and came back wet. Cinder blinked heavy eyes. She was crying?

Odd…

…

 **15.12**

...

Ruby's Scroll beeped loudly, alerting the teenager to her pocket. She ignored the guy who was mugging her. "Meet at FDTD. -C. Where's that?"

Roman Torchwick got called over when the thug tried and failed to beat Ruby up with his sword. The Crime Lord just gave his hired muscle a look and used his cane to try and blow Ruby up. Both he and the thud were surprised when Cinder showed up and bent Roman's cane backwards. "Get out."

As the villains left the building, Team RWBY and JNPR teleported in. Ruby herself blushed when she realize that FDTD meant From Dust Till Dawn. "Hey guys. Why are we here?"

"We've had an expansion," Cinder said. "I've gotten a more concrete history, and fully unlocked the powers of the Fall Maiden."

"...Cool," Yang said. "What does that mean?"

"Well, for you it means you can be guilt free the next time you break Mercury's leg. He has robot legs."

Yang blinked, and then her expression darkened. "That... Grey... Bastard! I'm going to jail because of a robot!"

"Hey, don't blame him," Cinder said, defending her evil minion. "My plan, my fault. You can shoot legs as much as you want though."

"I plan to," Yang growled.

"You said that you've unlocked the full potential of the Fall Maiden's power," Pyrrha interjected. As the future Maiden herself, Pyrrha had a good reason to ask. Cinder stopped and thought about it.

"It's a... Homely power. Not really anything special. Just..." Cinder's eyes began to glow and she started to float in the air. "Phenomenal cosmic power!"

Bolts of lightning, freezing blasts, shots of flame, wind storms, all swept through the store. The loopers in there all covered their eyes to avoid any dust getting blow around, and wind the wind stopped, Jaune had this to say. "That's it?"

Cinder landed on the ground again. "Basically. I mean, I only needed Emerald and Mercury to beat Amber, even after she went full force on us. It may have actually been easier to just kill her, instead of leeching the Maiden power from her."

"...Cinder, what do you mean by 'leeching the Maiden power'?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

Cinder gulped, and sighed. "Unawake me... well..." She sighed again and pulled a glove from her pocket. "This." A black and red portal screamed into existence, and from it spawned an insect Grimm. Cinder immediately crushed the Grimm in her hand. "That Grimm allowed me to steal a part of Amber's soul. I... I ripped Amber's soul right out of her face."

Team RWBY and JNPR stopped, and settled into a moment of silence for Amber. Cinder nodded and waited. "If it's any consolation, there are two things you guys should know."

"The first is that I'm working for someone. I don't know who, or at least I'm not sure. So maybe I'm doing this for a reason that isn't purely evil."

Jaune glanced from her to Pyrrha. "So what's the second thing?"

Cinder smiled, as much as she could at the time. "I was able to absorb Amber's Aura, in part, without any change to my personality. You should be able to survive the transfer."

Pyrrha gasped, instantly swamped by her team in happiness. She was struggling to hold back tears as the full enormity of her safety hit her. Team JNPR was happy to have their friend safe.

Cinder took a step back, apart from the celebration. She didn't really care that everyone was happy that her evil actions weren't a danger to anyone. Really, there celebrations just highlighted their naïveté and stupidity compared to her. Why would she-

And Cinder suddenly found herself dragged into a group hug. She sighed internally. Typical.

…

 **15.13 Shimmer712**

...

Jaune sighed. His last loop had been in a place called Fiore where there was magic and Guilds. He had been replacing someone who was a Sky Dragon Slayer and a healer. Which was pretty cool. He could see why he was replacing that person, whoever they were. Apparently they started out as less a fighter and more a support specialist and developed the skills and experience to become a badass of their own accord.

Jaune readily admitted that his skills were…not exactly skills at the beginning of his time at Beacon but he had definitely improved since then.

And it gave him healing magic which he could put to good use. He just needed to find a plausible way to pass it off as his semblance and ta-dah! First aid for his team. And whoever they're with.

The problem was, he wasn't sure if it would help with what he wanted. He didn't know exactly what the damage done to Amber was. And while he had studied healing magic obsessively in Fiore to the point of neglecting the offensive abilities and what he had learnt would probably let him heal the physical ailment…Amber had a chunk of supernatural power ripped out of her. That could mean a chunk of her soul was taken as well.

And nothing he knew thanks to that loop would let him heal something like that. And it was a magic that focused on healing the physical body. Not the mind. So it probably wouldn't help save Pyrrha in the worst case scenario. Nothing he had studied about healing in that loop indicated anything would help there.

Jaune hoped that even if unawake Pyrrha was unable to maintain herself, Awake Pyrrha had enough mental strength to stop Amber from wiping her out.

Although he had even intention of punching Amber if she did take over Pyrrha's body and essentially killed the woman who loved him.

…

 **15.14**

…

"So, how long have you been evil?"

Cinder Fall patiently watched the clouds drift by around her, as the sky ambulance coasted through Vale's airspace. Behind her, Emerald and Mercury were pulling Mercury's prosthesis apart and starting to work on it. Neo was driving... er, flying. And talking. "What was that?"

Neo directed the magnificent flying ambulance around a cloud, moving just gently enough not to disrupt the repair efforts in the back. "You heard me. How long have you been evil?"

Cinder narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure what you mean."

Neo grinned and pulled her hat off, shaking her pink and brown hair loose. "How old are you? What have you been up to? Why are you doing this?"

Cinder simply decided not to look at Neo anymore and stare out the window as the four of them coasted gently through the air. Then Neo asked another question. "So how long have you been looping?"

Cinder didn't answer, staring out into the vast blackness of the sky, the clouds beneath them. Neo giggled at her stoicism. "You can talk to me you know. It's not like you have anything to lose."

Cinder looked at Neo, a slight glow lighting her eyes as she channeled the power of the Fall Maiden. "And what exactly does looping mean, Neo?"

Neo smiled and shrugged. "You can play dumb with me all you want Cinder. I'm not losing anything here. And to answer your question, no. Glynda, Zwei and Ozpin? They don't know about you."

Cinder leered over Neo. "What would they know about me?"

Neo backed away on her chair. "They don't know that you're evil, secretly. In fact, I'm sure I'm the only person who knows." Neo nodded at the other bed after a moment. "Well, he does to."

"It's a pleasure, as always, to meet you Cinder," Roman said, shrugging off his invisibility cloak. Cinder leapt over her pilots chair and, with the power of the Fall Maiden, slammed a bolt of lightning into Roman's chest. The crime lord folded over, but laughed. "Ooh, feisty as always. I hate that."

Cinder didn't need to look to know that Emerald and Mercury were incapacited. Maybe even killed. She did know she was facing off against two opponents with unknown powers in an enclosed space.

Cinder needed a way out.

At the moment, talking seemed the best answer. "You think that I'm looping. Why would you think that?"

Roman shrugged. "Same reason you know that we'll time traveling. We put the pieces together." Roman picked up a bottle of bandages and tested their heft. "Besides, I've spent millions of years making sure that Neo doesn't succumb to Sakura Syndrome. I know evil and crazy when I see it."

"I am not evil, I am amoral," Neo insisted from the driver's seat. "Very different things."

Cinder fixed Roman a dead look. "So why are you telling me this? If you think that I'm time traveling-"

"Know. We know that you're a Looper, we know that you're evil, and we know that you have an in with Ruby and her friends." Roman tossed the bottle of bandages to Cinder. "We want in."

Cinder turned the bandages over in her hands. "Why is that? What do you think I can do for you?"

Roman smiled and put a hand on the bottle of bandages. "Give us an in. Bind us to them. We need options, you need friends. It's a mutually beneficial relationship."

"And Roman wants to get in your pants," Neo said cheekily from the cockpit.

Cinder and Roman stared at Neo. "Whatever..." Roman said. "The offer stands Cinder. Hell, it'll probably stand for a few millennia. But if you ever want some help, you know where to find us."

Cinder turned the bottle over in her hands. "You say this all assuming that I'm on your side. Isn't that-"

Roman and Neo were gone. Cinder took a deep breath. "Risky."

...

Roman made a flying leap into the Bullhead, narrowly missing a sniper bullet courtesy one Ruby Rose. He turned and produce a copy of the customary Burn crystal. "End of the line Red!" One good throw, one good shot, both wasted by Glynda Goodwitch. Roman stumbled into the cockpit as Glynda battered the tiltjet with ice crystals. "We have a Huntress!"

Cinder grabbed Roman, punched him in the face, and landed the Bullhead onto the roof of the building. "Hey Ruby! How are you doing?"

Roman groaned in pain as Ruby, Cinder and Glynda dragged him off of the Bullhead. Foiled again. Typical. Oh well, he had a whole loop to practice breaking out of prison.

"Oh, that's a split lip," Ruby said as she looked Roman over. "I think I have some cream for that."

"I have medical supplies," Cinder said. Roman rolled his eyes and have Glynda a flat look. His colleague just shrugged helplessly, an act that soared clean over Ruby and Cinder's head. Cinder handed him a bottle. "Hold this."

Roman glanced at the bottle of bandages she had given him. Then he realized what he was holding.

That was one of the few times Roman went to jail with a smile on his face.

…

 **15.15 Shimmer712**

...

Cinder scowled to herself, drumming her fingers. While she liked knowing exactly what the Fall Maiden's powers were, she didn't care for the fact she was possibly working for someone. If the person she had acknowledged in the new expansion turned out to be another follower, that would be fine.

But she had spent so many loops as the leader, the one in charge, the planner, the schemer. The one with control. The fact that she herself may be a lackey grated on her. The idea of meekly obeying another, of being subservient, it galled her.

Maybe I should start making plans for this new player, she thought darkly to herself. Just in case...

Although she couldn't do much planning until they had more expansions. Before, she couldn't include the Fall Maiden's powers into her plans because she lacked information of what they were. Now she had that information but there was a new development that was an unknown.

Cinder hated unknowns.

"I'll just have to wait and see what develops," she murmured to herself. She sighed and climbed to her feet, deciding to visit Ruby. The girl had a knack for making Cinder feel better. Maybe it was because she was so easily played and so naive?

"I'll bring some strawberry shortcake this time," she said aloud before recalling something. "And some of my raspberry tea." It was nice that Ruby liked that tea. Cinder enjoyed having her talents appreciated.

Cinder smiled and sauntered out the door. Maybe she would talk to Ruby about ways to help Yang in the baseline? Reinforce the notion that she cares about the girl and her friends?

Cinder's smiled widened but faded when she spotted the White Fang Lieutenant scowling at Roman. She had to do something about that man. He had tried to kill Weiss which went against her plans and would have brought all sorts of attention to them. Dust, did the man think that her death would be ignored? Cinder had to think up something nasty for him.

…

 **15.16 Gammatron**

...

"So what is this place again?" Cinder asked, looking over the burning-red armor she was covered in.

"Looks like Crash Area Bravo," Ruby replied, her rose-red armor now being somewhat covered by her favorite cloak.

"About time you two Woke up," the two turned to see Grif lying against the wall of 'Red Base,' "Hey, Ruby."

"Grif!" Ruby chirped as she hugged him, "Oh, it's been so long!"

"Yeah," Grif chuckled before taking out a colorful package, "Sorry about it being late, but happy belated birthday, Ruby."

"Huh? But we never get to my birthday in Remnant," Ruby noted with a confused expression.

"So? Doesn't stop me from keeping track of important dates like that," Grif shrugged, "We do have a Loop Calendar here with the Reds and Blues. And, since everyone's Awake and you're replacing Donut and Simmons..."

"I'm a cyborg, right?"

"No. I managed to keep you away from that incident," Grif chuckled.

"Hello?"

"Oh yeah! Grif, this is Cinder."

"Cinder?! Uh...R-Ruby? She's not gonna burn off my balls like the last time I met her unawake self, will she?" Grif whimpered.

"Nah. She's a great sister!" Ruby replied.

"Wait. Is she like Chrysalis?" Grif asked.

"Eeyup."

"...Birthday."

"Excuse me?" Cinder questioned.

"When is your birthday?" Grif questioned as he took out a calendar, "Since Ruby says you're her sister, I need to make sure to remember when your birthday is."

"I...I'm at a loss here, Ruby," Cinder noted.

"Well, Grif's a great older brother. He replaced Yang a few times during fused Loops with that awesome gun of his..."

"Ruby, don't drool in your helmet thinking about the Grifshot," Grif advised, "No matter how badass the awesomeness the Grifshot is, your Crescent Rose is pretty much equal in badassery. I mean, it transforms for one. Mine's just a blade fused to a gun!"

"And it is awesome~"

"Hello."

"Caboose!" Ruby yelped as Cinder turned to see a person in blue armor and a more simplified helmet looking at her.

"Why is Admiral Biscuit a girl? ...Am I a girl again?" Caboose asked.

"Excuse me?" Cinder questioned.

"This...is Caboose," Grif sighed, "He's this Loop's Anchor."

"I am an emotional time bomb!" Caboose chirped.

"Is...Is he okay?"

"Brain damage and autism," Grif stated.

"...how is he your Anchor?"

"Monkey found it amusing," Grif replied, annoyance in his voice, "And yet, nothing bad's happened...aside from people replacing Church."

"Church is my best friend!" Caboose beamed.

"Okay, Caboose, why don't you go tell everyone Ruby's Awake and that her sister Cinder is Awake too."

"But I thought Yang was her sister."

"Ruby has two sisters now."

"I thought she had three."

"Don't count Sister," Grif and Ruby deadpanned.

"Do I even want to ask who Sister is?" Cinder asked as Caboose ran off.

"If she ever Loops, full-blown Sakura Syndrome in terms of the constant sex," Grif stated.

"Ohhh..." Cinder's eyes twitched under her helmet.

"A bit of a bad time to Wake, though," Grif pointed out, "You see...We're in Season 11 now, the start of Chorus."

"Chorus? Aw poop," Ruby frowned.

"Well, we don't have to worry until Felix shows up, the fuckin' prick," Grif snorted.

"Can't we just beat him up?" Ruby asked.

"We tried that before. Did not end well for us," Grif replied.

"FREEZE!"

"What the...?!" Cinder tensed as a man in gunmetal and yellow armor and an all red soldier aimed shotguns and Spartan Lasers right at her.

"This is gonna take a while," Ruby laughed sheepishly.

"Goddamnit. I hate work!" Grif groaned.

'Why me?' Cinder thought, both her eyes twitching.

…

 **15.17**

…

Mercury Black stirred from rest to wakefulness with the sort of pleasant gradient that eluded most. The patricidal assassin sat up, yawned, and got off of the right side of the bed. Then, he fell on his ass.

His legs were missing. Typical.

Mercury dragged himself to the table where breakfast was being made and propped himself up. Roman, Emerald and Neo were eating Evil O's (part of a villains balanced breakfast!) and talking normally. The discussion stopped when they saw the much shorter than usual Mercury.

"Who took my legs?"

Roman and Emerald pointed at Neo. Neo pointed at a white board with her handwriting on it. "Guess who's the short one today?"

Mercury waddled over to Neo, who got out of her chair. For a moment, no one spoke. Mercury looked down on Neo. "You."

Roman and Emerald burst out laughing, Neo slapped Mercury with his right leg, and Mercury happily retrieved his legs and his vengeance.

…

 **15.18**

...

"IN THE NAME OF THE MOON, I VANQUISH THEE!" Qrow cried righteously. With a blast of rainbow power, Winter went sailing off into the sunset.

"Thaaaaaaaaank yooooooooou!" Winter called as she vanished being the horizon.

"Hmm." Qrow shut down his Sailor Senshi powers and smiled to himself. "Job well done."

Behind him, Ruby and Weiss were in shock. "Oh my god..." Weiss murmured. "I mean, it's almost shockingly sexy to see a grown man in a teenage girl's school outfit... But... But was it worth it? Because oh god! His legs!"

"I don't think he's ever shaved... ever," Ruby whispered in horror.

Meanwhile, in the back, Blake was fighting down racuous laughter as her prank went off without a hitch.

...

 **15.19**

...

When you were trapped in a time loop for all of eternity, subjected to alternate timelines and universes that happened to occasionally be fictional such as Harry Potter's, you usually ended up doing some important things. Some of these things, such as confessing your undying love for your Team leader were things that you should* do. Pyrrha just didn't listen. Other things were not necessary, but suggested. These included, at some point, losing your virginity. That some people had lasted millions (or is Ruby's claim was to be believed, billions) of years without scratching that itch was rather strange.

But sometimes it got worse. Case in point, Cinder Fall, secret evil mastermind extraordinaire, had a voice in her head that was literally begging her to get laid. That voice was named Amber.

' _Come on! He's right there! You remember the loops where his semblance let him be awesome in bed! Just put him on the ground and ride him!_ ' Amber cried.

"SHUT UP!" Cinder screamed aloud. When Jaune flinched by her, Cinder sighed and shook her head. "Just hurry up Jaune. You know the system inside and out: you've automated it! Just assemble it and get Amber out of my brain."

"I'm trying," Jaune said. "It would help if you had any control over your powers."

Cinder had to deal with Amber having nascent control over the powers of the Fall Maiden. Now if she focused, she could control the power completely. As it was, Amber was using every moment of Cinder's inattention to burn her clothes off. It was probably pay back for Cinder ripping Amber's soul out through her face.

' _Nope. I just don't want to die a virgin twice!_ '

Cinder screwed up her face in concentration. ' _You're a Maiden. Doesn't that-_ '

' _Nope! Maiden in name only. And trust me, we are women and we have needs... usually. I could swear Winter Schnee's asexual._ '

Also, Winter was the Summer Maiden. Typical.

' _Now Raven on the other hand, gods, she is not called Spring for nothing. All the beds she's broken... damn, half the time I can't tell if her power is control over the ocean or control over boys!_ '

Yang had not been happy to learn how promiscuous her mother was being.

' _Come on now: it's Jaune! He's a teenager, you're an experienced older woman. I can practically see his bo-_ '

"Done!" Jaune shouted.

Cinder hopped into her pod, Amber's body already shunted into her own. "Sayonara Amber. It's been a pain to know you."

Amber moaned. ' _Come on! Just one quickie! Please!_ '

Cinder thought it over. "Nope."

Amber sighed.' _Dying a virgin twice. You owe me you know._ '

' _For ripping your soul out of your face?_ '

' _Yes_.'

She thought about it, and finally Cinder sighed. "Jaune, I need a moment alone." With a handsign, a copy of Cinder appeared in a puff of smoke. 'This is a Kage Bunshin. It's a solid copy of me.'

'... _So you're going to screw yourself,_ ' Amber concluded.

' _Yup_.'

Jaune left the room, a quick wave signaling his exit. Amber squealed happily. Cinder sighed...

And then punched her double in the face, dispelling it. "Yeah, no. You die a virgin. Twice."

Cinder tuned out Amber's pleading for her last request, and got into the pod. She smiled as the pod sealed itself. It really did feel good to screw someone.

…

 **15.20 Sucal**

...

Polite, kind and the type who would practically be prepared to slash her own wrists to help you out, Pyrrha Nikos had a reputation amongst some of the other loopers, the chronic hero syndrome sufferer who had never gone loop crazy. At the current time however, she was not only beginning to understand the baseline actions of Cinder Fall, but was quite tempted to replicate them. Unfortunately, her current problems this loop didn't have a physical form.

"Seriously girlfriend, your so tense I can feel your muscles locking up. Make things easy on both of us, throw tall blond and busty over there against the wall and scratch your million yeah itch already!"

Amber was one of the most annoying things she had to deal with in recent history, and not least of all because she ran the risk of usurping her body in baseline. It had been rather unpleasant, waking up with a voice in her head, especially once her memories of this timeline came back to her. For whatever reason, they had been fused since before the term started, and the version of her that hadn't been looping had made piece with her 'other side'.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean the two of them got along so well now.

"I'm pretty sure that Yang isn't into girls. Also, shes awake this loop and that would make things … complicated." Yes, Pyrrha had considered it at least once. She did like blondes after all, even though her preference was for one particular blond in particular. The other loopers were pretty much out for similar yet different reasons. She had enough trouble trying to admit to Jaune she wanted coffee and a movie, let alone suggesting she wanted to drag him into a broom closet and wrap herself around him like a silk robe.

"Could you please stop with the mental images."

"Hey, your the one with the filthy subconscious, I just made a suggestion. I mean its very clear you've thought about it enough."

Pyrrha couldn't see her, but she was sure the disembodied maiden was smiling.

"Why are you so insistent on this anyway?"

That was that part she couldn't quite understand. Yang might suggest that she needed to get laid as a joke, while Nora was the first to state that she should hurry up and confess already, but that didn't explain why Amber was suggesting it. They barely knew each other after all, even if she had access to most of her memories.

"Well, I'd love to finally lose my virginity before my second death."

That actually managed to shock a laugh out of her, one that the two shared for several minutes. It was good to have a nice laugh occasionally, helped her to lose several years of frustration.

"I'm actually kind of serious about that, I really quite regret not trying harder to get Qrow to accept my propositions. Have you seen that guy with his shirt off? I'm pretty sure this worlds version of him, has a six pack on his sixpack." Pyrrha would have been fine with that, except when she started sharing the images. Sure, the old drunk was easy on the eyes, but there is still the old and drunk parts to worry about.

"Please stop that"

"Oh your no fun. Anyway, my own itch aside, I have an actual point. You don't even realise how stressed you are, your muscles are literally rock hard from constrained tension. You've been living with the weight of the world on your shoulders, for what might be millions of years. A very large part of that is my fault, my failure in the past that could destroy your future. Or a version of me anyway "

There was a sigh from within her. One that was surprisingly replicated physically. Combined with a slight blush and some mental swearing from Amber, as a secret she had been hiding became obvious.

"Sorry about that."

"Wait you can.."

Amber scratched 'their' head.

"Any time I want. The other you gave me permission, let me out occasionally to have a burger or ice cream.. The you that wasn't you." They frowned. Pyrrha had to admit it felt really weird to have someone else move her body. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad weird.

"Does that get confusing for you as well? The whole pronoun problem. Either way, since you hadn't given me permission. Would have been rude, especially considering how much stress your already under because of me. And now I've just gone and added to it." The Champion was surprised to realise that her 'other half' was actually been sincere about that.

"As I was saying. I'm not going to exist next loop. Hell for all I know, the version of me here talking to you now isn't even the true Amber, a mistaken loop echo that only exists due to a computer error. Thanks for that bit of existential angst by the way, really helps me 'sleep' at night." So that is why she was having more nightmares then usual. That was reassuring to know, that someone else was interrupting her sleep

"So I figure, hey I'm here for a loop, lets see if I can help you with some of your problems. Prove that we can mostly co-exist peacefully..."

"If I had the option to drag you out, I'd bludgeon you with a crowbar right now." Pyrrha found herself slapping herself in the face.

"... AS I WAS SAYING prove that we can mostly co-exist peacefully, help you with tall blond and scraggy and get rid some of that tension you've got building up. The first I'm doing now, the second is impossible since he isn't around in this loop and the final I was just trying to help you with. That way, when this ends and you meet the real me, I'll still exist in some thought. If only because of happy memories."

Pyrrha was touched. It almost made up for the two weeks of insinuations she should sleep with anything that would hold still long enough.

"Now can we please either track down this loops Jaune and leave him in nothing but a happy smile for a week. I mean hes not looping, so there won't be any awkwardness afterwards. "

Almost.

"How about you let me do it. That way, even if they find out, you can blame everything on me!"

Now that was tempting.

…

 **15.21 Me, BIOS-Pherecydes, DrTempo and Sucal**

...

The roof of Beacon's dormitories used to be a fine place for Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos to practice their dueling skills, but the gradual onslaught of eternity had given rise to a rather negative result of this training. In essence of the fact, Pyrrha had long since run out of new things to train Jaune in, and she wasn't the worlds finest teacher to begin with. So ultimately their continued usage of the roof to handle their friendly combat training had long since tended towards a mixture of nostalgic reminiscence ("Oh look, that's where you tied me up in webbing! Oh good times.") and an ingrained habit. So when Pyrrha had nervously asked Jaune to meet her on the roof, he came armed.

Jaune stepped on to the roof, scanning from side to side carefully. Oh, he could see Pyrrha standing right in front of him, but occasionally she would throw up an illusion to distract him. Once he was satisfied that Pyrrha wasn't trying to out flank him, he sheathed his sword in Crocea Mors. "Hey Pyrrha."

Pyrrha turned from the edge of the roof, her expression surprisingly unreadable. For her partner, who had known her for literally uncountable millennia, that was the scary bit. "Pyrrha?"

"Hello Jaune," Pyrrha said with strained tones. She fought down... something, and tried again. "Jaune... hello."

Jaune glanced around, more than a little confused and wondering if Pyrrha had actually set up an ambush. "Hello Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself for something. Jaune slowly dropped his hand to his sword, gripping the pommel. "Jaune..." Pyrrha stopped and took another deep breath.

"Pyrrha, are we going to be fighting, or are you trying to tell me something, or... what?" Jaune said this as bluntly as possible, for the sake of speed. Pyrrha shook her head, and Jaune unhooked Crocea Mors and his sword from his hip. "Alright, what do you want to tell me?"

Pyrrha gulped, chewed her lip, and tried not to look too longingly into Jaune's eyes. "Jaune... what... exactly... do you think of..." Pyrrha paused, screwed up her courage, and finished her sentence. "Me?"

"Uhhhh..." Jaune scratched his head awkwardly. "I think... you're nervous."

'Oh goddess I can't do this,' Pyrrha thought, while a competing notion screamed at her: 'Yes you can!' Pyrrha tried to slow her racing heart to little success. "What do you think of me as a person?"

Jaune pursed his lips and shrugged. "Um... Well, you're nice. Polite and formal. Too shy for your own good, but I'm not blaming you for that one. You're a bit possessive at times. You hate trees. You... you're very thoughtful. Insightful. I trust you and I can go to you for advice. You've never steered me wrong. But you can be a bit too..." Jaune made random gestures, groping for the word. "You're not as social as you could, I guess. That's not your fault by the way."

Pyrrha nodded, accepting Jaune's assessment of her. 'Oh goddess... here goes!' Pyrrha walked forward to Jaune, took his hands, and spoke gently and slowly. "Jaune Arc, ever since I met you, I knew that you were one of the few people who would be... honest with me. Many of the people I've met have wanted something from me, whether it's my money, my fame, my skill, or even just my body. But you never wanted that from me. You drove me away when I hurt your pride, respected my wishes when you thought I wanted to be alone, and treated me as a person, rather than as a means to an end, a goal, or even as a thing to aspire to." Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Jaune, when you came to console me during the party, I realized that you were the only person I knew that... that I loved." Pyrrha nodded, both to Jaune, and to herself. "Ever since then Jaune, I've been in love with you. I love you Jaune Arc."

Pyrrha looked down at their feet. Their sneakers were so close. The concrete roof had a nice texture to it. It was sort of cold. Pyrrha decided that it was best to actually look at Jaune, after that massive confession. She looked at the man she loved. He was smiling.

"Who put you up to this?"

Pyrrha's heart shattered into a million pieces.

Jaune glanced around wildly, even looking under his shoe. "So, where's the camera? Ruby's not going to walk out and say 'surprise' or anything, is she? No, it was Nora wasn't. Nora... and Yang. Thought you guys could have one over old Jaune, didn't you. Hello, hello! Testing, one two three, testing, Cardin's an asshole!"

"Hey!"

"It's true!" Jaune chuckled at the expense of their eavesdropper, before noticing Pyrrha's expression. "Pyrrha? Are you alright?"

Pyrrha's lips were twitching. Her eyes were red, and she seemed to be shaking. Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh goddess... Hahahaha! You almost fell for it, didn't you! Hehehe..." Pyrrha was smiling again, and the absolute desertion of sincerity from her expression was almost lost on Jaune. Pyrrha's laughter tittered off into little giggles, even as Jaune threw a few mock poses for the, ahem, 'cameras'. "Hehe... oh boy. Oh man, I thought I had you going there for a moment."

"You almost did," Jaune admitted. "I mean, really, that sounded totally honest. You could be a great actress, you really almost got me."

"What gave me away?" Pyrrha asked in a tone that could be be described as wanting.

Jaune shrugged in good nature. "Well, you were telling me this, and I just thought; 'wait. This is Pyrrha. She would have told me from the beginning.' I mean, sure, for a while I wondered about it, but when I remembered how honest you were, I mean, I just realized that you had to be pranking me."

Pyrrha shrugged. "Well, I guess that little joke can be thrown out the window now. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"Nah, it was funny," Jaune affirmed, turning to leave. "So, Ren made pancakes for dinner again. You coming down?"

"No, I think I'll enjoy the stars for a little while longer," Pyrrha said with as much nonchalance as she could muster. "Oh, and uh... Jaune."

"Yeah?" Jaune said, leaning out the door.

"What exactly do you mean by... my honesty?"

Jaune shrugged dismissively. "Hey, you're my best friend. If you really had a crush on me for that long, you would have told me ages ago."

"Okay."

Jaune stepped inside the school building again. For several minutes, Pyrrha stood there, staring at the door. And finally, she broke down, fell to her knees, and wept.

-x-x-x-x-

Jaune whistled to himself as he left the roof, the door closing behind him as he did so. He continued to whistle a simple, random tune as he walked down the halls; smiling politely at his fellow students. Upon entering his room, he idly looked around and found himself to be alone. Shrugging he reached into his Pocket and pulled out a set of brushes and some ink. He then proceeded to draw an incredibly complex chain of Seals over the door.

He then pulled out his wand and cast several Undetectable Expansion Charms. Immediately after he dispatched multiple clones across the now vastly expanded room, all of which began setting up various barriers, shielding devices, silencing glyphs and runic arrays, and so many other random privacy charms that the end result was that when all was said and done not even spacetime itself was aware that the room existed. Then he exploded into motion.

Within his first few seconds he had destroyed all the furniture in room. Within the next minute he had broken down the walls themselves so that the only thing holding the ceiling up was the mass of Loop powers his clones were using. Then he began systematically destroying literally everything else. Clones were born and died by the thousands, and throughout it all the sound of his screaming echoed from every side.

Eventually however, after an impossible to measure time he found himself on his knees breathing heavily as his shaking arms barely held him off the ground.

"DAMMIT!" the floor cracked around his fist, and he punched it again in frustration. "Dammit. Why now? I thought I could handle this. WHY NOW!?"

He wasn't an idiot. He had seen the way Pyrrha looked at him. The way the other girls looked at them. But he had waited, and waited, and waited... and nothing had happened. No confessions, no explanations, nothing. And he had realized that as much as Pyrrha cared for him, and as much as he cared for her in return, there was something missing. Some impossible to describe other that wasn't there. It hadn't been until they had made the decision to raise Nora, and then Ren, that he had figured out what it was.

Trust.

Pyrrha didn't trust him. Not in the way it mattered. She trusted his decisions, his tactics, his advice... but she didn't trust him not to hurt her. The way that so many others had hurt her in the past. He didn't trust him not to turn around and start treating her like a celebrity or an impossible idol. And that hurt. It hurt a lot. So much so that he had apparated from the airship at the start of his next few hundred Loops. Or if he Woke early enough, simply never forged his papers in the first place.

He had avoided everyone and everything for decades. Until finally he felt like his chest wasn't going to explode whenever he thought of what could have been, would have if not for that one missing element. And so he had returned; pretending that nothing was wrong, that everything was the same as it had ever been. And he decided that that was alright. Good enough if not perfect.

And the years had passed, and he had moved on. But it never really went away. She was just so beautiful, always. Incredible in all the ways he was just... Jaune. So he had trained. He had trained and fought and studied and little by little improved until he didn't feel so completely inadequate to lead her and his team into battle time and again. He had finally found his place and he was happy.

Then the expansions began, and suddenly all the things he knew; all the things he had planned for; didn't mean anywhere as much as they used to. And he was once again that same frightened child who had stared in disbelief as Ozpin named him leader.

But he could have dealt with that. He could have fought and planned and improved again until he was once more master of his domain... if it hadn't been for the Dust-damned Maidens! That stupid power that threatened to take away the woman he had once loved with the complete and total fullness of his very being. The same woman he couldn't help loving now, even though he knew it was doomed from the very beginning.

And so he had poured everything into his preparations for saving Pyrrha in case the worst case scenario came to pass. He couldn't even remember the last time he had slept; it had to have been more than a hundred Loops ago. Spells and medicines and foods designed to keep the mind alert and the body healthy, twisted to his own ends to ensure that every single waking moment was spent looking for ways to help.

Psychology, Metaphysics, Alchemy, Scripts, Seals, Glyphs, Sigils, Thaumaturgical Theory, N-space Physics. Anything and everything. If it had the slightest chance of saving her he poured his days and nights into learning it.

And now it was backfiring. He could see why she had done it. Fear of the unknown; a desire to ensure there were no regrets; a wish to lay everything on the table so she could walk away with a clear conscience.

But he couldn't let her. He couldn't. Especially now, not after she had given him hope. A man lost in the desert for years could not have possibly understood the unbelievable yearning he felt. The desire to simply drop everything, to run back to that rooftop and hold her in his arms and never let her go again until the sun and the stars and time and space and up and down and right and wrong had long since vanished and all that remained was the two of them; together, forever.

But he couldn't do it. Because if he did, then she would allow herself to believe that there was nothing she had to regret. Nothing left that would hold her to them, in case of the worst.

And the risk was there that she could fall into despair and feel like there was nothing worth staying for as well, but that he could fix. That he could repair. He could suffocate her in the love of her friends and family, drown her in affection and show them that she was wanted; needed; essential to their lives. But he couldn't fix contentment. If she surrendered to an imagined inevitability because she wasn't worried then he couldn't help her.

And so he broke her heart. And his own in the process. But his had been broken before and he had rebuilt it stronger.

He could weather this storm and be her anchor until everything was over. Until they had fixed everything and there was no more reason to worry. Then, and only then, could he go to her. And if she hated him for it, then that too he could handle.

Because she could never hate him more than he hated himself, right now.

For some reason his face was wet.

Odd.

Jaune just sighed and sat down. In the end, he couldn't shake the fact that it hurt to lose Pyrrha. Somethings never changed.

Then Nora and Ren kicked down the door and changed everything.

-x-x-x-x-

Pyrrha had forgotten how it felt to cry. Really, after spending several thousand millennia with a team that had become her family, winning fight after fight, and honest to god making friends that thought of her as a person and not as the Mistral tournament champion, she'd lost all reasons to cry. It felt almost refreshing.

Pyrrha sat on the ledge of the roof, staring out over Beacon's grounds. Almost from nowhere an errant chuckle snuck it's way out of her mouth. This was the same spot that Jaune had told her that, despite Cardin's bullying, he wasn't actually depressed enough to commit suicide. She had really gotten it wrong then.

Pyrrha, after a few moments thinking about it discarded jumping herself. Even if she hadn't been looping, dying wouldn't have solved anything. It would have just stopped her from solving any part of her life ever again. As a looper, it would just look silly.

"Hey, I think you should jump," Cardin said. The asshole leader of Team CRDL had taken the opportunity to listen in on Pyrrha's confession and when Pyrrha had come to the ledge, had voiced his own opinions. "Really, it'll look cool. Big splatter, lots of blood, you'll get a shit ton of publicity for it. You'd like that."

Pyrrha grabbed Cardin's body with her magnetic semblance, pulled him into empty space, and dropped him. The bully fell seven stories before hitting the ground. His Aura was active, so all the drop did was knock him out. Pyrrha sighed and admitted that while that had been cathartic, it didn't really help.

The number two of Team JNPR knew that she couldn't stay on the roof forever though. Eventually she would need to go back down and talk to her team... And probably save Jaune from Ren and Nora. Those two were aware of her feelings for him, and would make it painfully obvious to Jaune that she hasn't been joking.

Pyrrha held her head in her hands. She had chickened out at exactly the worst time in all of eternity. Of all the moments to lose her nerve, why did it have to be right when she could have told Jaune, in no uncertain terms, yes, she loved him.

No, it was on her... Pyrrha sighed and edited her opinion. No, it was on both her and Jaune. She couldn't say that she loved him, he wouldn't believe her. He was a stubborn fuck, she was weak willed bitch, and both of them were idiot teenagers who were also incredibly old immortals that had never really grown up.

Pyrrha leaned back and looked at the stars. Out there, it was almost like she didn't really matter. The stars were incalculably old: older than her and everyone else. At least that was true. At least she had changed more than...

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes and took a closer look at the stars. Nope, not stars at all, just super massive Grimm. Typical. She got all poetic about how the stars never changed, just like her, and it turns out the stars were soulless monsters that wanted to kill everything and everyone.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and bled the tension from her body. After all this time, she was casting about for an answer. She still love Jaune: maybe she'd never stop. How could she?

Everything she had said to Jaune, about how he had been the first in a nigh abyssal time in her life to see her as a person and not a celebrity was true. Every word had been from her heart. By admitting it, Pyrrha had opened her heart to her Jaune.

Then he had the ignorant gall to slammed that door shut on her heart. Then she had locked it away and said that she was joking. Then they had a laugh about it and he had gone off to Ren and Nora and pancakes and she had stayed behind to tears and sorrow.

Weiss had been right. The last page was torn out, and their fairy tail was ending with misery after after. Pyrrha fought off a self-pitying snort. Now she was thinking about her world in terms of pop song lyrics. She really was a teenager!

In the end though, what was she to do? Had she really expected Jaune to reciprocate her feelings? She had prayed for it certainly, she had seriously considered it, but she had also been prepared for him to tell her that he didn't love her. That he just wanted to be friends. After years of bracing herself for that, Pyrrha had been ready for him to say that he didn't want anything more than friendship. She had not been expecting disbelief.

'Jaune does have a knack for finding those third options though,' Pyrrha admitted to herself. She should have expected something along those lines. She just hadn't.

In the end though, some things never changed. Jaune was still going to be in trouble (with Ren and Nora) and Pyrrha would need to save him (from Ren and Nora). Same old, same old.

Then Nora and Ren kicked down the door and threw Jaune at her and changed everything.

"..." Pyrrha and Jaune stared at them. Ren pointed to his eyes, and at them. Nora cocked Magnhildr threateningly. "Resolve this. Now." They slammed the door shut.

A few more moments passed with Jaune and Pyrrha absently staring at the door. Another handful of seconds passed when the switched to looking at each other. Pyrrha tried to speak and choked. Jaune barely managed to get his line out first. "Pyrrha, we need to talk."

"J-jaune?" Frantically wiping her eyes, for what little use it was, she tried to put on a brave face. "What — what are you doing here? Did you want to train some more?"

Pyrrha almost kicked herself for saying that. She could see a dozen ways this could all go wrong, and it was not off to a good start. Jaune obviously saw her embarrassment and spoke to break the awkwardness.

"Pyrrha...I'm sorry. What I said earlier, it was all a lie. I said that because of the whole situation with the Expansions and the whole not knowing what might happen at any point without warning. This Maiden thing, Cinder's constantly changing plans, all the questions, everything. I don't want to lose you... And I'm constantly worried that I don't have a choice. That somehow Baseline is going to ruin everything and I'm just not strong enough, not prepared enough..."

Pyrrha cut him off, pulling him into a hug. Jaune stood there, thinking, lost, after a time asking himself what to do, he returned her hug. The two teenagers who had lived longer than stars and never grown up stood there, and held each other until it became unbearable. Pyrrha pulled out a tape.

"It'll be alright. Besides, I'm not scared of that anymore. Ruby told you about that Fused Loop where I lost my arm and eye, right?" When Jaune nodded, she continued. "There was... more to the story." She removed the cassette player she had in her Subspace Pocket, and put the tape in. "Listen to this..."

"But deep down, your true self is always there. Never forget that."

"Until the time comes, from here on out...You are Big Boss."

After the tape finished playing, Jaune could only stare in pained shock. "So this is why you're not worried anymore, Pyrrha. You've already lost yourself; but even then, you were still you."

Pyrrha nodded, setting the tape down. "I didn't know who I was, or what I was doing. I just tried to do what was right. When the amnesia wore off and I could remember who I was, I was... proud. I was proud of the decisions I made. I lost myself, and I remained... Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune gulped. "Pyrrha... When you told me that you loved me, I lied about how I felt. Here's my real answer."

Gently cupping her cheek, Jaune leaned forward and kissed Pyrrha; pouring out millennia of repressed feelings and barely realized hope into the action. Slowly, a warmth seeped between them, the moment dissolving into pure honesty for them both. Jaune was alone in the universe, and all he knew was Pyrrha.

After the kiss ended — far, far too soon in his opinion —Jaune spoke. "Pyrrha... I don't know if at the end of this we'll be... anything. At all. I could break your heart. I also have some... baggage, lets say from Baseline. I'm not proud of the person I was, and I'm not sure if the person I am now is any better." It was hard for him to admit to it out loud, especially when he didn't like to think of it much himself. She needed someone better, someone who could be there for her as much as she had been there for him. He wasn't that person, wasn't good enough for her...

He stopped thinking about that.

"Throw in the current issue of Amber, and this all just seems like we're driving towards the edge of a cliff and there aren't any brakes. I understand if you're not afraid anymore, but I am. I can't lose you, especially not now. Not when I can finally admit that I love you. I love you Pyrrha Nikos, and the thought of you suddenly not being there anymore is terrifying. That was why, even if it meant you would eventually hate me, I was willing to lie and pretend that I didn't love you until I could guarantee you would be safe. And that hasn't changed." Taking her hands in his he gave her a determined look. "I would do anything for you Pyrrha."

Pyrrha sat there, wide eyed. "You, you, you, you, you, you, you..."

"I am," Jaune said simply. That... didn't stop Pyrrha.

"You, you, you, you, you, you, you..."

Jaune frowned and waved a hand in front of Pyrrha's face. "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha collapsed onto the rooftop, in a dead faint.

"Pyrrha! Nora, Ren, help!"

-x-x-x-x-

"Hmm..."

Pyrrha Nikos came around laying flat on her bed. Eyes shut, the Mistralian tried to fall back asleep, despite lacking anything in the way of blankets. As the moments passed, she recognized voices, and smells, and eventually opened her eyes and sat up. She was in JNPR's room, in her bed. Jaune saw that she was awake, grabbed a plate of pancakes, and walked over. "Sleep well?"

"I guess..." Pyrrha said, thoughts and memories stewing in the back of her mind in a miasma of half-recalled moments. "I had the strangest dream."

"...Was the dream 'I kissed you and you fainted'?" Jaune asked with a bit of an unsure tone. "Because that wasn't a dream."

Pyrrha stared at Jaune for a total of five seconds. Then she tackle hugged him; attempting to resume their previous encounter as the memory of Jaune's words played again and again in her head.

Jaune collapsed under the weight of the red head. "Woah, watch it! Woah..."

"You won't regret it." Pyrrha said as she pulled back, before leaning down and kissing Jaune once again.

Jaune tried to hear past the roar in his ears, but some primal part of him wondered if Pyrrha would in fact come to regret this moment. Finally though he managed to sit back up, despite the Mistralian champion on top of him.

"And you don't have to worry, no matter what I will always be who I am. You're never going to get rid of me Jaune Arc." Pyrrha said as she wrapped her arms around him with the kind of care-free smirk she realized she hadn't used in far too long.

Jaune's mind was still in another place. "Pyrrha, I don't know if this will work out. I don't want to break your heart. Not again, not for real."

But Pyrrha gave Jaune a radiant smile, one filled with both worry and hope. "Even if this doesn't work out, we tried."

She kissed Jaune again, driving him back down to the bed before pulling back and smiling. "That will make all the difference." And her lips were on his and his lips were on hers, and the world was spinning and everything old was new and bright and wonderful and-

"So are you going to stop or should we leave?"

And everything ground to a halt when Pyrrha sat back up and saw that Ren and Nora were in the room, patiently and awkwardly staring at them. Ren coughed into his fist. "Don't get me wrong, we both still consider you two as much our parents and family as we have for a while, but I'm pretty sure that neither of us want to take up voyeurism.

"I don't. I can't speak for Ren, but I don't," Nora said.

Jaune had a cocked eyebrow and Pyrrha had a blush to match her hair, both tracing their origins to what they thought they were going to do... or rather, what Jaune thought they were going to do, and who Pyrrha thought she was going to do. Thankfully, Pyrrha decided to be proactive. "So how are the pancakes?"

"As perfect as ever," Ren declared. "Want some?"

"Yes!"

And Team JNPR ate pancakes, and talked about happy nothing's, and Jaune and Pyrrha never let go of each other's hands.

...

 **A/N: Surprise Arkos!**


	16. The Calm

The next chapter.

[spoiler= Chapter 16]

 **16.1**

BOOM! "BOW BEFORE THE EXPLOSIVE MIGHT OF YANG!"

Cinder rolled her eyes. "No, no, no. Less ham, more psychotic. Are you going for cartoon villain or... Me level villain."

Yang peeled off her mask, the burning buildings of Vale silhouetting her nicely. "Cartoon. It's a lot more fun than being... psychotic."

' _You really have no idea how fun psychotic villainy is,_ ' Cinder thought to herself. "Yeah, I know. I don't get to let loose as much as I would want to when I have to be Cold, Dark and Calculating for a baseline run. But weren't you trying to emulate unawake me?"

Yang turned and punched a random passerby, grabbed a cat and three it into a tree, and knocked a little old lady's groceries out of her hands. "No. Cartoonish supervillainry is a lot more fun."

Cinder shrugged. "Eh... Maybe. I don't have a baseline to compare it to." ' _You are so wrong._ '

Up the tree, Blake rolled her eyes. "Why can't I get supervillain training from Cinder?"

 **16.2**

Ren?" Nora said from behind her binoculars.

"Yes Nora?" Ren replied as he attuned the audio listening device.

"Is this," referring to spying on Jaune and Pyrrha's first date of the Loop. "Rude?"

"No, we're their adoptive family and we have a right to make sure that their dates go well."

"Oh. Okay!"

Ren flinched inside of the bush he and Nora were concealed in. "Nora, shut up. They'll hear us."

Nora gave Ren a look of playful disbelief. "It's Jaune and Pyrrha's first date of the Loop Ren. They're probably too busy staring dreamily into each other's eyes to notice a random shaking bush."

"Oh hey Ren, hey Nora. Get over here, we've got some spare seats," Jaune called at the random shaking bush.

"...So..." Nora said after a few moments of awkward silence at Team JNPR's table. "How's the dinner going?"

Jaune shrugged in good nature. "It's good. This is a pretty nice restaurant, I've been here before. Pyrrha's been here before to, right?"

Pyrrha was trying to bury her head underneath her arms. "Right... right."

"This is a date," Ren said. "Pyrrha doesn't have the confidence to call it a date, and Jaune doesn't have the brains to figure out that it is."

Several seconds of painful silence confirmed Ren's deduction. Jaune pulled his sword out and beat the pommel against the table. "Get out."

Nora and Ren ran for it.

 **16.3**

"If I was in charge of your punishment, I would send you home with a pat on the back..." Glynda trailed off slightly, and then slapped the table where Ruby's hand was. "And a slap on the wrist."

Ruby looked at the narrowly missed riding crop wand and back to Glynda, a cheeky grin on her face. Glynda matched it lightly. "But I'm not the one in charge."

Stepping aside, Glynda let Ozpin into the room... or would have, had he been there. A few seconds passed with nothing happening, when Headmaster Ozpin walked by the doorway with a Hawaiian shirt and shades. He actually took a moment to remember why Ruby was there. "Oh, hey Ruby. Welcome to Beacon. Good work. Later."

Ruby looked at her teacher. "Uh... is he always like this?"

Glynda didn't give an answer.

...

"Where have you been?"

It was well into the evening and Glynda, Ozpin, Zwei and Neo had absconded to a rather remote section of the Emerald Forest. Powerful warding spells prevented the Grimm from taking notice of the presence of humans and animal, a necessary precaution in the dangerous wilds of Remnant. Glynda's question hung heavy in the air. "Well?"

Ozpin's face contorted, before he finally relaxed and let the natural grin appear. "Glynda, I've been on vacation. Just out and about and enjoying the sights."

"For five hundred loops!?"

"You told me to take a vacation. I did." Ozpin shrugged lightly. "What can I say, I enjoyed it."

"Meet any hot babes Ozzy?" Neo playfully inquired.

Once the requisite guitar rift had faded into the night, Ozpin answered. "There was this amazing trio of sisters in Mistral. Incredibly powerful flame semblances, but not a one could actually use them. Naturally, I took it unto myself to-"

"No you dunce, did you fuck anyone?" Neo asked irately. Glynda punched her in the face with an ice bolt.

"Say what now?" Ozpin said in confusion, the notion of actually having sex seemingly foreign to him.

"Whatever," Neo grumbled.

"Bark arf bark!" Zwei said.

Ozpin burst out laughing. "I missed you too buddy. But there are sensitive ears around. You mustn't offend them."

"Eh, screw Neo," the Corgi declared.

"Was that an offer, or a request?" Neo threatened.

"Getting on topic," Glynda stressed angrily. "Are you even aware of why has been happening in the past expansions?"

Ozpin stood up, all humor gone. "I have been. Between the debacle with Yang, the Fall Maiden, and Cinder, I've also discovered very unsettling information."

"That Arkos has set sail?" Neo joked.

Ozpin produced the corpse of Qrow Branwen from his subspace pocket. Silence, as it was, was immediate. "This Qrow came from a Loop he was poisoned with Substituted Cathinones, an amphetamine like chemical that causes, among other things, extreme paranoia." Ozpin returned the body to his pocket. "Paranoia enough to attack me."

Glynda and Neo both shared a horrified look, but one mixed with confusion. "Ozpin, that's terrible. But why-"

"Because in that loop, Substituted Cathinones didn't exist." Ozpin started pacing, his look not at all decreasing the tension. "The chemical is powerful and dangerous, and could have only come from outside of the loop. I suspected, initially, that it was a Stealth Villain, or even an MLE. But I've taken note of the only Looper who was Awake with me and Ruby. Cinder."

Neo gagged involuntarily.

Ozpin turned to the women and canine in his audience. "I'm not sure if Cinder is evil. I can't prove it. And... to an extent, I don't want to. I want to believe that she's a good person. But we cannot rule out her as a Trojan. We must be ready."

Glynda glanced at Neo and stepped forward. "Ozpin, I know that after all this time off you may think that you're in the right frame of mind-"

Ozpin waved her off. "I know Glynda. I know that I'm worrying again. That I'm being paranoid. We can not rule this out though. I'm not asking for us to start piloting against her. I'm just saying we should keep our eyes open."

The crickets chirped. In the distance, the slow thumping of Goliath's on the march permeated the air. The moon's shattered beams rained down on the Stealth Loopers.

"Alright Ozpin," Glynda said. "We'll keep our eyes and ears open."

"If Cinder really is bad... could she become an MLE?" Neo asked.

Ozpin stared at her, horror stories coming into his mind. Dio Brando, a monstrous vampire that sought godhood. Kyubey, the alien that had destroyed an entire branch of the world tree. Waltz, the sadistic warrior who would kill everything in front of her. The Tick, the idiot who would destroy a world to save it. Billy, a force of pure stupid chaos. All monsters, all who sought to destroy Yggdrasil.

Ozpin stared Neo down hard. "I don't know Neo. I don't know."

 **16.4 BIOS-Pherecydes**

The skies of Vale were perfect, only a few lazy clouds giving detail to the golden blue expanse as the sun rose over the horizon. In every direction, as far as the eye could see the view was clear as gemcut Dust Crystals.

Except for over the Beacon Academy. And more specifically, for those in the know, directly over the dorm of a specific group of Hunters and Huntresses in training. Above the school the sky was dark as the blackest night, a roiling turbulence of ominous clouds and random flashes of lightning spreading outwards from the center.

Staring into the heart of the abyss, Ozpin balanced his curiosity against the empty cup in his hand. Finally he made a decision. _'Not my problem. Coffee first, spontaneous weather alteration later. Too early for this mess.'_

With that he turned and left to pester Glynda into brewing the potent elixer of life which had sustained him through his many years. Both in the field, and later in the much more dangerous arena known as teaching.

"Pull the lever!"

Ren sighed from where he was reading a book on the bed, looking up at the ridiculous contraption Nora had pulled together over the course of the Loop. Wires and tubes and miscellaneous pumps of one kind or another littered the otherwise empty room; Jaune and Pyrrha having gone off for peace and quiet while Nora did whatever it was she was doing. Ren honestly didn't know; he hadn't felt the need to ask. Either she had a good reason or she didn't, regardless it wasn't like he would just leave her alone. What kind of man would he be otherwise?

Although he had been admittedly confused when Nora had donned a labcoat and goggles, before using her Semblance to create 'mood lighting' over their dormroom. Coincidentally that had been the point where Jaune and Pyrrha had abandoned the room. Not that he honestly blamed them; billowing storm clouds and lightning flashes going off in your face before exiting the open-roofed room didn't exactly make for easy sleeping.

"Pulling the lever!" Ruby crowed as she did exactly that.

Ren wasn't exactly sure when Ruby had shown up, but since both she and Nora appeared to be enjoying themselves and working together towards whatever goal they were trying to achieve he was content to simply let them play. Glancing up curiously to watch, a large rod of metal rose into the air; exiting the long since removed roof and moving into the sky.

As large metal rods in the middle of a lightning storm tended to do, it was quickly struck by multiple bolts of lightning.

The generators in the room rapidly rose to full charge and the roar of machinery soon filled the air. Ren sighed and put away his book. He gave it five minutes before someone came to investigate the noise; most likely armed and angry at being pulled out of their rest at barely past dawn.

As the turbines picked up speed, Ren watched interestedly as the power charted a clear trail through the machine; lights, whistles, engines or pumps activating as the life giving electricity flowed into them. Finally, at the far end of the device where Ruby waited expectantly, a small bell dinged. Immediately Ruby sped into motion, opening a small door and looking inside.

"SUCCESS!"

Nora jumped to her feet and threw her arms energetically upwards, dramatic lightning obligingly erupting behind her. "Hahahah! They laughed at me. They called me mad! Well who's laughing now Beacon, who's laughing now?"

"Nora, you may want to tone it down a little. It's seven in the morning." Ren advised soundly.

Nora pouted. "Oh fine, you big spoilsport. I just invented Remnant's first completely Dust-free oven, but do I get to gloat? _Nooo."_

Ruby dashed over, holding a tray above her head as if it were a gift from the heavens. "Lady and gentleman, I present: COOKIES!"

Ren reached out and took one of the offered treats. Ruby and Nora watched in anticipation as he took a bite and chewed before swallowing. He was silent for a moment before nodding. "Its good."

And there was much celebration.

 **16.5**

Joan and Deucalion stared at each other. The muscular young man couldn't help but snicker slightly at the short, petite blonde. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But you're so cute as a girl."

Joan glared at her taller partner. "This is cheating! Why do you have to look better than me?"

Jaune and Pyrrha had, as occurred about two percent of the time in their world, been gender flipped. Normally this resulted in awkwardness and comedy (or on one occasion to Nora's eternal mortification, a harem composed of qn Unawake Team RWBY and Pyrrha) but with the very recent relationship upgrade for them, it was worse still.

Of course, Jaune and Pyrrha, or rather Joan and Deucalion, were friends first and a couple second, so that eased things. As it were though, this did raise the question of what to do romantically. "So... you want to kiss?" Joan asked awkwardly.

Deucalion stared down at the tiny girl. On the one hand, it was Jaune. On the other, Jaune didn't look like Jaune. Joan didn't look all that sexy or suave or even as confident as Jaune did. Joan, of course, felt the same.

A moment awkwardly passed. Deucalion knelt (the height difference really was that bad) and kissed Joan on the lips. After a moment, Joan reciprocated. They kissed for first five, then ten, and then twenty seconds.

Joan and Deucalion parted, and the girl coughed awkwardly into her fist. "So..." She blushed. "Let's never do that again."

Deucalion sagged in relief. Jaune was hot, Joan was not. "Agreed."

Several awkward moments passed. "Want to go kill Grimm?" Joan asked.

"Oh yes."

Grimm died and Joan and Deucalion fought and all was right in the world.

 **16.6 Sucal**

"Ren, why are you wearing that apron."

"My Baseline has excellent fashion sense."

"Ren..."

A small smile, then a finger pointed towards the currently unawake Nora. "This one is house trained. No noise, wackiness or hijinks while in the apron."

Blake was almost shocked by how creepy that was. Almost shocked, because the sight of Nora currently sitting calmly in tweed, smoking a pipe and reading books on advanced mathematics was hard to top. There had been no weird outbursts, no attempts at subtly breaking Cardins legs, she forget to even take a potshot at Jaunes fighting skills at the noodle stand. "Seriously?"

A smaller whisper this time, so the pink occasional terror couldn't hear them. "I'm waiting to see if she'll burst, or if it'll just be another day." It was mean, but would likely be funny to see. At least until the ping of a late awakening resounded, and they turned to see Nora apparently digesting the memories of her pre-loop self.

"Oh Ren, I would have words with you." The tone was musical, almost sing song. A simple 'chat' was all she wanted, and yet a simple chat could never be. Mostly because Ren had abandoned the apron and started running. Starring down at the discarded garment, Blake couldn't help wondering if it would work on an unawake Yang.

 **16.7**

Room arrest wasn't quite as bad as disqualification... at least, in Yang's mind it wasn't. She could have survived trapped in her room for a few months. Disqualification for the Vytal Tournament was different for her. All that work, wasted.

It was infuriating, and- Yang stopped and looked at the door. Nonchalantly leaning against it, was her uncle. "Oh, hey Qrow."

"Hey firecracker," Qrow said. The elder Huntsmen had appeared in the room without much warning. Yang probably would have missed him if she hasn't been a looper. "So, why'd you do it?"

Yang's heart clenched. Qrow didn't believe her. "He attacked me."

"...So I've heard," Qrow said. "You know, if you're gonna stick with that story, you're either crazy, or lying."

Yang's fist curled up. "And what do you think?"

"...I've seen more than my fair share in life kid," Qrow admitted. "You putting an innocent kid in the hospital is one I've never wanted to see."

Yang nearly gagged at the thought of Mercury being innocent. But Qrow's words... "What do you mean, innocent?"

Qrow cleared his throat. "No Aura, no moves, nothing. Just you, lashing out at a guy with no defense."

"Do you really believe that?" Yang asked.

"Like I said kid, I've seen more than my fair share." Qrow stopped, and then added something very shocking. "I saw your mom."

"WHAT!?" Yang nearly screeched, lunging to her feet. Qrow narrowed his eyes, but didn't otherwise move when Yang marched up to him. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Qrow looked his niece in the eyes. "I wanted to wait for the right time. This wasn't it, but now may be the only time. I ran into her on my last assignment, even spoke with her. She said she saved you."

Yang's thoughts went backwards. "The train from Mountain Glen."

"Yeah. She also passed me a message for you." Qrow folded his arms. "She said that she saved you once, but that you shouldn't expect that sort of kindness again."

Yang stared at Qrow, so many insane thoughts flashing through her mind. "But... why?"

Qrow stepped around Yang and got a bit of his personal space back. "My sister has a particular way of looking at the world, one I don't really agree with. And she's dangerous."

Yang stepped back to her bed and sat on it. "This doesn't... it doesn't make any sense."

Qrow sat down and wrapped an arm around Yang. "Hey, you're a tough nut to crack Yang. Don't let this get you down. When we last met, Raven let something slip."

Now Qrow had Yang'a undivided attention. He smiled as the fear and doing evaporated from her face. "If you're up to it, we can track her down. Figure out how to handle her. Maybe... get formally introduced."

Yang's heart felt like it could explode. Actually seeing her mother... even if Raven was a horrible person, if she could see her, even for a moment... "Okay. When can we leave?"

Qrow patted Yang on the back. "Not now. We'll wait until Mercury makes it back to Mistral, get this kneecapping incident cleared up. Figure something out."

Yang's eyes went wide. "Don't you... don't you..."

Qrow frowned. "Don't I what?"

 _'Don't you know that Mercury attacked Amber?'_ Yang thought. "It's, it's nothing. I'll try and get ready."

Qrow raised an eyebrow, and stood up. "Keep your head on straight Yang. And remember, always keep moving forward."

Yang snickered. "Now you sound like Edward."

That earned a lite laugh from Qrow, as the door closed.

 **16.8 Sucal**

"Wait, let me get this right? You of all people are dating Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha 'I won the tournament four times' Nikos. Pyrrha 'I was the starring feature of Mistral Teen Monthlys front page for half a year, until I found out who was selling those pictures' Nikos."

Jaune wasn't surprised that Cardin was reacting this way. After all, it was a mostly empty loop (just the two of them and Ruby) so they were a bit more free to do the whole open objection thing. Not that it stopped them normally, but at least Ren and Nora weren't uncomfortable. He really didn have to get a hand on some of those magazines though, find out wat they were talking about.

"Yes I am. What of it?" Pyrrha hugged him closer, a little confused. This usually wasn't how their roof top confrontations went.

Immediately he was struck by the sound of four dudes in armour, bowing before him. It was an incredibly odd feeling, especially since it was fairly clear they weren't actually mocking him this time. That didn't mean that CRDL on their knees was any easier to comprehend. Especially since Pyrrha was clearly hiding her laughter behind her shield. He could tell because it normally didn't hover up near his face (she didn't want to let go of his hand after all).

"Teach us Master."

"We aren't worthy."

"Share with us your secrets"

"Please, don't force us to spend valentines day with each other."

 **16.9 BIOS-Pherecydes**

"So, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are we doing this again Miss Goodwitch?"

Glynda glanced down at the young looking ancient girl beside her, and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. "This Loop's Ironwood is being particularly paranoid about security and Ozpin _magnanimously_ volunteered Qrow and I to help sweep for surveillance."

Ruby nodded understandingly. "No, I get that. Constant Vigilance! What I meant was: why are we climbing the outside of the Amity Colosseum without any safetly equipment? I mean sure it's not like it'll hurt that much if we fall since our Aura has grown so big, but it'll still hurt."

Glynda paused and turned to face Ruby. "Are you afraid of heights?"

Ruby blinked and then waved her hands frantically in denial, before hastily grabbing ahold of the wall again. "No! I'm completely fine with high places. I'm not afraid of falling, not even a little. Honest."

Glynda nodded. "It's a completely understandable concern Miss Rose. But you needn't fear. My last Loop was an Oz variant, what the Hub calls 'Oz: The Great and Powerful.'" She briefly let go of the wall, floating gently away before returning. "Even if you were to fall, I assure you that no harm would come to you."

Ruby's brow furrowed cutely. "But I just told you I _wasn't_ afraid of heights. See?" With that she pulled her feet under her and gave a backflip worthy of an Olympian gold medalist into the open sky.

Glynda gave a choked cry and chased after the falling girl, only to pull up short as Ruby bounced off the air in a handspring that brought her around to face the teacher; standing upon the air as easily as the Earth. Glynda stared for a second before giving a sigh, "Of course you would have your own method for flight. Sometimes I forget just how much longer you've been doing this than I have."

Ruby nodded and rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Sorry. Did I forget to mention that?"

Glynda gave a fond smile. "It's perfectly alright Miss Rose. I suppose it was my own hubris just as much as your own lack of foresight. Very well, if neither of us need keep up the pretense that should at least make this task all the simpler. Shall we continue?"

Ruby nodded sharply, and threw a quick salute before joining the blonde Huntress as they checked the area. A couple minutes passed in easy silence before Ruby spoke up again, "So, is it normal for the Headmaster to be this cautious when nobody's looking or is it just a weird Variant this Loop?"

Glynda hmmd. "Not usually no, and even on such occasions as he is I would normally _strongly_ advise him to think harder or provide better reasoning before performing such reckless acts as this."

"So what's different now? I mean, if you normally don't let him go all Batman crazy prepared why aren't you stopping him this time?"

Ozpin's suspicions regarding Cinder briefly flashed before Glynda's eyes, but she shook her head. "Nothing that needs worry you just yet. Simply rest assured that there are... extenuating circumstances which lead me to believe that Ozpin's paranoia may not be completely unfounded."

"Liike?" Ruby coaxed in a leading tone.

Glynda sighed. "Tell me Miss Rose, have you noticed anything _unusual_ about your... sister recently?"

Ruby tilted her head confusedly. "Yang?"

"No, your _other_ sister." Glynda corrected with a grimace.

For all that Cinder had been a perfectly normal woman when Awake, some distrusts were harder to let go than others. Glynda was willing to admit, to herself if no other, that it hadn't taken much for her to accept the possibility of Cinder's deception. Not that she would ever allow said suspicion to color her interactions any more than reasonable, on the off chance that she was completely mistaken and the woman was exactly what she made herself out to be when Awake.

"Oh. OH! Um, well not exactly."

Glynda perked her ears at that and turned her full attention to the airwalking girl beside her. "'Not exactly' how?"

Ruby answered Glynda's question with one of her own. "Have you ever heard of a Looper that's also a Dreamer?"

Glynda's eyes narrowed imperceptibly and she obligingly gave the question some thought. "Only one to my knowledge. I'm uncertain if it is still the case, but from what I've heard the Equestrian Looper Derpy was at least for a time both a Looper and a Dreamer alternatively. Why?"

Ruby frowned. "I think Cinder might be Dreaming a little. Nothing really big, but every once in a while she mentions something from one Loop that I'm pretty sure she wasn't Awake for. Like I said, it's never anything big; usually just something really tiny like an argument Weiss and Blake had, or the way we beat Neo or Torchwick that Loop. She doesn't even really notice it when it happens though, so I don't think she realizes it and I don't want to add even more confusion to her life by bringing it up since it isn't really hurting her. Does that count as unusual?"

Glynda was silent as she processed that. It both fit and didn't fit for what Ozpin had suggested. If Cinder really were an unconscious Dreamer then it would explain some of the little inconsistencies they had noticed, but it would also invalidate some of their theories and leave them back at square one. She felt vaguely disgusted with herself for hoping that it was the one which made Cinder the villain again rather than a confused girl with a multiple choice past; especially since she couldn't deny that at least a part of her wanted it for the sole excuse of not forcing them to start their investigation over again, rather than any moral reasoning.

Remembering that Ruby was still waiting for her response she answered. "It may or it may not. At this point it's too early to be sure one way or another. But, Miss Rose, tell me something... I'm sorry to ask this of you but... have you ever considered that Cinder may not be the person she claims to be? That she may be lying to us all for some unknown purpose?"

Ruby paused, and Glynda moved aside to give the girl time to compose her thoughts.

"Yeah. I have to, you know? I'm the Team Leader, and the Anchor. It's my job to be careful, for everyone's sake. Yeah, I've thought about whether Cinder might be trying to trick me and everyone; and if it ever happens I'll be ready. But as long as she doesn't try to hurt anyone or do anything evil, she's still my big sister. And maybe she's a little bit darker than me or Yang, but she's family and shes trying and that's good enough for me."

Glynda smiled sadly. "And if it turns out that she truly was the enemy all along?"

Ruby visibly steeled herself. "If that happens... then I'll do what I have to. But I reserve the right to decide when she's run out of chances. These are the Loops, everyone should get another chance if they really truly want one."

Glynda took a breath and released it. "Fair enough. If the day ever comes that Cinder is proved to be as evil as her Unawake self, I promise to trust your judgement. It's the least I can do after you trusted me even after deceiving you about my own Awakening. Whatever happens, you have my support."

Ruby didn't say anything. Instead she rushed forward and enveloped the taller Huntress in a powerful hug. "Thank you for believing in me Miss," Ruby caught herself, and then continued, "Thank you Glynda."

Glynda's breath caught for a moment, before she gave a little laugh and returned the hug. "You're very welcome, Ruby."

 **16.10 Herdo**

"Mercury."

"Ruby."

"Take off your pants."

"... _What_?"

"I can hear weird noises coming from your legs. Take off your pants, I want to see."

"No way."

"Do it or I will scream 'pervert' really loud."

"...That's a really scary and unfair threat. Fine."

He proceeded with removing his pants.

"There. Happy?"

"...You have legs that are also guns..."

"Yeah, all because of your sist-"

"That's so cool! GIMME!"

And then Ruby knocked out Mercury with a supersonic tackle before she took out a screwdriver...

*One minute later*

"Ugh..." Mercury groaned as he slowly regain consciousness. He was still in the tunnel. And he could not feel his legs...

He looked down and saw that his legs were missing.

"...She took my legs... _She took my legs_!"

He fell down in shock and started to cry. His beloved legs were stolen.

"Damn you Ruby Rose! I'll get back at you some day for this!"

"Professor Ozpin!"

"Ah, miss Rose. How can I help you?"

"I found these legs with gun modifications. Can you help me install them?"

"...Miss Rose, these are marked 'Mercury Black's legs'. Did you steal an innocent and injured boy's prosthetic legs?"

"I am not a crook."

"...If you say so. Just let me drink my coffee, then I'll help you with installing your new badass legs."

"Yay! Thank you professor!"

"Anytime, miss Rose. Anytime."

 **16.11**

Jaune dove into a bush, and prayed to god. A moment later, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Velvet and Ren sprinted by. Jaune breathed a sigh of relief...

And then he saw Ruby in the bush.

"DON'T JUMP ME! JUMP YOU?"

Ruby stood up, Jaune following her. The unfortunate blond looked the girl over. "So... why are you hiding in the bush?"

Ruby ducked beneath the leaves, Sun running by. She popped up again when the coast was clear. "Sun, Neptune, Cardin, Mercury and Nora all want to sleep with me. What about you?"

"Your team, Ren, and Velvet."

Jaune ducked beneath the leaves when Yang ran by. Ruby dropped down with him. "Shrub buddies?"

"Shrub buddies."

 **16.12 Vadrigar**

"Hey Cinder?"

"What is it, Ruby?"

"Is Fall your real last name, or did you start calling yourself that after defeating Amber?"

"No, Fall is my Maiden name."

 **16.13**

"Are you... mugging me?"

"Yes!"

Ruby stared at the thug who showed up every normal loop and tried to steal her Dust and money. It was probably cruel that she did things like this to him. He didn't know she was literally older than the entire nation. It was fun though. "Hey, do you want to see a magic trick?"

The thug glared at her. "Does it involve your wallet coming out and getting in my pocket?"

Ruby shook her head. She pulled out a high-powered grenade, pulled the Pin, let the hammer open, stuck the lethal contraption into her mouth, and swallowed it whole.

The thug rolled his eyes. "Wow, a dummy grenade. So scar-"

KABOOM!

Roman glanced away from the Burn Crystal he usually examined at the start of the loop when the rather atypical explosion went off. The thug that usually intimidated Ruby walked up next to him, literally soaked in blood and littered with random flecks of skin, muscle, bone and cloth. "What happened to you?" In answer, the thug handed him Ruby's smiling head.

The blood and assorted viscera suddenly seemed to develop a mind of it own. It fled from the thug's body like water from oil. It congregated in the center of the store. The thing made of shredded human reached forward and picked up Ruby's head.

"Hi!" Ruby's head said.

"RAAAAAAAAAARGH! The blood monster screamed.

About three minutes later, Glynda walked into the store and stared at the bloody demon. "Roman and his gang and the store's owner ran out of here. Is this why?"

Ruby's head smiled. "Yup. Professor Goodwitch, feast your eyes upon **_Blood Rose, the Demon of Red._** "

"...If that was an attempt to be intimidating, it worked very well," Glynda said. "The double timbre in your voice helped a lot."

The mass of former human and Ruby's head bristled happily. "Thanks Pro- Glynda. I put a lot of work into this. I'm basically untouchable like this: can't burn me, can't freeze me, I've even tried being irradiated and falling into a tornado."

"Impressive Ruby, but I didn't ask for the full résumé for power." Glynda gulped down hard. "I have to admit though, looking at you is... sickening."

"Thank you!" Ruby said, taking that as a success on her part. "I do need a favor though. Could you make sure that no one comes into the shop while I reform my body?"

"...Why?" Glynda just asked.

"I can reform my organs, reattach limbs, and even rebuild my skin from individual cells, but I can't... do... clothes."

Glynda stared at Ruby. "Duly noted. I'll protect your modesty."

"Thank you."

 **16.14 Gammatron**

"So basically, Earth is Remnant this Loop," Toriel noted with concern as she watched the Grimm burn away, keeping Frisk close.

"good thing alphys was a web series otaku again a few loops back," Sans noted as he dismissed his magic bones.

"HMMMM...IT IS GOOD THEN THAT WE FOUR WERE THE ONES WHO CAME OUT FIRST!" Papyrus noted, "SOMEONE INFORM THE KING THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO STAY IN THE UNDERGROUND FOR A FEW MORE DAYS UNTIL WE BRING BACK SOME HUNTERS AND HUNTRESSES!"

"Well then, should we find a place to find one?" Toriel suggested.

"I can't believe that us saying that our Semblences are form-shifting-based worked," Toriel noted as she looked around the diner.

"HMMM...I CANNOT FIND ANY SPAGHETTI ON THIS MENU!" Papyrus noted, "I SHALL GO SEE THE CHEFS AND ASK WHY THEY DO NOT..."

"settle down, pap," Sans chuckled as he downed a bottle of ketchup, "it might be a good thing if you try something else. you'll turn into spaghetti one day if you keep this up."

"YOU CAN TURN INTO WHAT YOU EAT?!"

"Oh, don't worry, Papyrus, I'm sure you'll be able to _beet_ that possibility."

"WHY THANK YOU, YOUR H...!" Papyrus hit his head on the table, "I SHALL LET THAT SLIDE!"

"aw...don't you carrot all that she made a pun?"

"YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND, SANS, I SHALL PUNISH LATER!"

"That's kinda _corny_ doing food puns here," all four looked up to a grinning blond teen as three other girls in red, white, and black gave different reactions.

"...i like this girl already," Sans chuckled.

"Oh, indeed," Toriel giggled.

"MY APPETITE IS RUINED NOW!" Papyrus hit his head on the table with a groan, Frisk patting his side as the four girls joined the table.

"We're really sorry about Yang," the girl in a red oversized cloak apologized as the blond bombshell traded puns with Sans and Toriel, "I'm Ruby. And these are Weiss and Blake. We're Team RWBY."

"YOU MUST BE A GREAT LEADER THEN IF YOUR TEAM IS NAMED AFTER YOU!"

"Yeah. Well...she is a good anchor for when we're feeling loopy," Weiss shrugged, Frisk looking up at her with a surprised look, "Seems you four are Looping as well?"

"heh. no wonder she's good at keeping up with our puns," Sans chuckled, patting Yang's shoulder.

"Oh, you're Frisk, aren't you?" Ruby asked, earning a nod from Frisk, "You're even cuter than the art for the game made me think."

Frisk blushed at that.

"INDEED! THE HUMAN IS A GOOD ANCHOR FOR US AS WELL!" Papyrus beamed, patting Frisk's head, "THOUGH WE ARE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE THIS LOOP! FOR WE NEED SOME AIDE IN PROTECTING THE MONSTERS OF OUR HOME UNDERGROUND FROM THE GRIMM THIS LOOP!"

"Well...this loop is throwing a loop on all of us," Yang noted, earning groans from Weiss and Blake.

"easy with the puns. i don't think pap can _stomach_ them any longer today," Sans winked with his left eye.

"THAT'S IT!" Papyus snapped, jumping up with Sans and the two began to run around the table, "GET BACK HERE AND PREPARE TO FACE THE WRATH OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"tibia honest, he hasn't done this in a while," Sans chuckled.

"SAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSS!"

"This is pretty humerus," Yang snickered as Toriel slapped her knee, laughing, while Ruby and Frisk were trying to stifle their giggles.

 **16.15**

"Blake?"

"Yang?"

"Do you ever wonder if Neo's looping?"

Down in Amity Colosseum's battlegrounds, Neo snapped up from behind her boulder cover, and sent May Zedong flying across the field with her Ice Cream Pint Hammer Gun. She was taken out by a pint of chocolate fudge.

"...Yang, sometimes I wonder is Zwei is looping. Neo's not looping."

 _'I love the loops!'_ Neo thought ecstatically as she took aim at Nolan...

 **16.16 Dark Knight Zero**

 _'Too easy,'_ was the thought of Cinder Fall as she made her way towards the Headmasters office after burning one unfortunate Cardin Winchester alive from the inside out.

 _'If I am correct then that was the last living student left.'_

With Amity Coliseum being overrun by both the White Fang and the Grimm, it was easy for Emerald and Mercury to pick off the stragglers while Neo used her semblance to distract the teachers.

Opening the doors to Ozpins office, her eyes widened slightly at the sight that greeted her.

 _'Well now it looks like I missed one.'_

Standing before her in the office was Jaune Arc, wearing the hoodless, tattered remains of Ruby's cloak as a cape and next to him was a Corgi, of all things, with the girls scythe in it's mouth growling at her the moment it saw her appear through the doors.

"So, Professor Ozpin was right." The blond said. "You were coming here after all."

"Why? Why did you cause all this pain and suffering!?" Desperation could be heard in his voice. "Tell me!"

Cinder did nothing more then let her fire appear in the palm of her hand.

"I see then, you not going to give me any answers at all are you." The last of Team JNPR closed his eyes and reached for something on his back with his left hand "It's a beautiful day today"

 _What the!?_ Cinder thought, The blond catching her off guard with that sentence _Has he gone mad!?_

"Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming." He continued "On days like this, people like you..." he opened his eyes and his right eye was emitting a brilliant white glow " ** _Should be Burning in Hell!_** "

The moment he said that he revealed his left arm and point one of his teammates twin guns at her and started firing like crazy as the Corgi charged from the side in an attempt to cut off one of her legs.

Cinder merely created a wall out of lava dust to block the bullets and created a pillar of fire out of the ground in front of the charging dog, causing it jump out of the way. Her eyes widened slightly as jumped out of the way as a sword pierced her cover as fell to the ground in pieces revealing Jaune with his sword and shield at the ready, the Corgi joined him a few seconds later.

 ** _"Here We Go."_**

 **16.17 Dark Knight Zero**

"I love my Semblance this Loop!" Jaune said with a smile as he and the others walked through festival grounds.

"Oh, what is it this time? The ability to make people go to the bathroom at inopportune moments?" Weiss snarked.

"That was last Loop remember? We used it to torment Cardin every chance we got." Ren answered as Nora laughed.

"That was a good Loop."

"So what is it this time? Oh, is it Heat Beam Eyes!? Oh please let it be Heat Beam Eyes!?" said the excitable Ruby.

Jaune mearly laughed "Sorry Ruby, but I'm keeping it a secret until the finals."

"Wait, isn't Pyrhha the one fighting in the finals?" Blake asked.

"Actually the 1on1 fight's are between the team leaders this Loop." Pyrhha said, a knowing smile on her face, "All I have to say is I'm looking forward to seeing him fight this Loop."

"That smile... You know what it is don't you!" Yang accused

The couple said nothing as they continued to walk ahead of the group of eight.

"And the first match of the Vytal Festival finals is Jaune Arc vs. Cinder Fall!" Dr. Oobleck said to the roar of a cheering crowd.

As the other combatants left the stage, a savage smile grew on the blonds face as looked at the Unawake, and now wary Villainess.

" _I'm going to enjoy this,"_ the blond thought as memories of every crime the black haired women committed during the loops, before she Awoke at least, came flooding back.

"3"

Cinder narrowed her eyes as she stared at the blond who was just standing there smiling.

"2"

"You know, this is probably as good a time as any..." the blonde began.

"1"

"To reveal my Semblance!" and finished.

 **"FIGHT!"**

A blue aura surrounded the blonde's body as his shadow changed both shape and into the same shade of blue as the aura surrounding him.

"Come Forth, Blue Dragon!" he shouted as crystalline spikes made of pure energy emerged from the ground around him, and his shadow grew in size as it left the ground and shot into the air high above Amity Coliseum and let out a bestial roar that caused the very air itself to shake, and made the spikes disappear a few seconds later.

"Blue Explosion!" Jaune shouted as he cupped his hands at his side and thrust them forward.

Cinder was able to get out of her shock in time to narrowly dodge the blue colored laser that pierced the clouds in an attempt to incinerate her and sent a few fireballs at the blonde, only for them to be blocked by a clawed, blue arm.

The world stood silent as everyone was finally able see what happened to Jaune's shadow. Floating behind him was the torso of a muscular, bipedal dragon with two giant wings on it's back, a pair of horns on it's head, and red eyes glaring at Cinder with a look of pure rage, as smoke briefly came out of it's maw. The lower half of it's body was a long, ghost like tail connected to the shadow underneath Jaune's feet.

For a brief moment, the silence ruled the entire Coliseum before it was broken by Jaune, "Huh. I always wondered why no one ever used their strongest attack first."

 **16.18**

The door to Roman's cell on Ironwood's ship popped open. Roman leaned out and looked around. "Okay... Am I allowed to be relevant again?"

The ship shook as if something massive had hit it. That, or someone was plotting a very abrupt course change. Roman looked out the window and took note that everything seemed to be going to hell. "Okay..."

Cthuthlu moseyed on up to the window. "Hello Roman. This expansion is brought to you by the letter F."

Roman glanced at the strange being.

"F AS IN FUCK!"

 **16.1: Sisterly Bonding is so heartwarming. Feel that burn.**

 **16.2: Aw, it's a date. Wait, it's a date!?**

 **16.3: Secrets are so hard to keep, but some can be buried deep enough.**

 **16.4: Next they'll be cooking with gasoline!**

 **16.5: Not being bisexual and having the love of your life be the opposite gender that they usually are is... funny.**

 **16.6: Nora. Housebroken.**

 **16.7: Raven ain't exactly the world's best mom.**

 **16.8: And suddenly, Jaune is cool!**

 **16.9: Glynda is a good person who wants to do well by everyone. That means being honest as much as she can be.**

 **16.10: Robo-legs!**

 **16.11: Harems can suck. Yes they can!**

 **16.12: Cinder Fall. Is that a real name?**

 **16.13: Visceral.**

 **16.14: A tale from underneath us.**

 **16.15: Ice Cream is Awesome!**

 **16.16: More Undertale, and Jaune being a badass.**

 **16.17: And more badass Jaune.**

 **16.18: It's about damn time.** [/spoiler]


	17. Elevator Interlude

Finalized Elevator Chapter.

[spoiler]

Authors Note: I would like to informally thank everyone for contributing. Formal thanks will be added... eh... later.

Ground Floor

"Summoned to Ozpin's office?" Yang noted. "What a drag."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Whatever the issue with Professir Ozpin is, I'm sure we'll be able to resolve it quickly. Unless someone has been stealing from his chocolate supplies again."

"Well... It could have been you Weiss. Stealing from his coffee supplies!" Ruby countered hotly.

Blake sighed. "You guys do know that Ozpin can monitor the hallways, right? So he's watching us and has confirmation that you're stealing his sweets."

"Uh..." Weiss and Ruby went.

Team RWBY walked into the elevator to Ozpin's office. Yang tapped the icon for the highest room of the tallest tower. "Thank you for pressing the button, Yang Xiao Long," the elevator said.

"Cool, smart elevator," Yang said, poking another button.

"I am, indeed, a smart elevator, Yang Xiao Long," the elevator said. "I possess access, to the most advanced Dust technologies, and am capable of interdimensional travel. My software, also enables me to, friend you on Basebook."

"Oh great, elevator friends," Weiss muttered, pulling out her Scroll and unfriending the elevator.

The temperature in the car dropped precipitously. A glowing energy field appeared over the door and walls, baring exit. The elevator said, "You have dropped me on Basebook."

A minigun appeared from a hatch on the roof.

"And now you are going to die."

Yang punched the elevator's screen and the weapons system went dead. Ruby glanced up at the limp minigun. "Well, that could have been worse."

Blake tried and failed to reach the door. "That force field's still active though." She shot it a few times. "I don't think I can get through it."

"That's ridiculous Blake," Weiss said, pulling her Lightsaber out. "You just need the right application... of the Force!"

Weiss' lazed sword hit the force field and reflected straight through Ruby's face. The Anchor of Remnant pulled away from the sword and have her already healing head a shake. "Well, I think this has gone on long enough. Stand aside girls, it's time to use... Extreme force!"

Outside the elevator, Jaune walked by, and saw a bright flash from the elevator interior, followed by a powerful thump and the smell of smoke. "Okay... Time to go on a date with Pyrrha. I am not getting involved with this."

Inside the elevator car, the now spot covered and smoking Team RWBY moaned in pain. "Ow."

Yang sighed. "Maybe the shield will shut down when we reach another floor?"

"Maybe," Ruby said, pressing the button for the second floor.

Floor 1.

The car trundled up to the next floor, stopped, and opened to a hallway. The shield didn't drop though. Ruby beat her head against it. "Darn it."

Blake sighed and keyed for them to go to Ozpin's office. "Maybe the Headmaster can fix this?"

Floor 2

But instead of going up from floor one to floor one thousand, the elevator went up to floor two. Team RWBY suddenly realized exactly what was happening. They were in a cursed elevator.

"Oh no," Weiss said, perfectly summarizing their feelings.

Floor 33

When the doors opened, the four Huntresses were greeted with the image of the Bacon Academy.

As in, a Beacon Academy made of bacon.

What was weirder was that almost every student had bacon weapons, and Yang swore she saw Mercury with bacon legs.

"Oh great, now I'm hungry." Ruby pouted, as the doors closed, not noticing the happy little corgi eating the academy.

Floor 3:

The doors opened and Team RWBY was treated to it's first oddity.

A Deathstalker, a Beowulf, a Nevermore, and an Ursa all playing cards around a table. The Grimm glanced up from their game and charged the humans.

Weiss closed the doors before they could get in. "Is that what every floor will be like?"

"I hope not," Yang said.

Floor 230

The doors opened to another set of elevator doors, after a moment the second pair opened revealing a gaggle of Dinosaurs and humans.

"...Elevator glitch?" Yang guessed.

"Ian triggered elevator glitch. Keep a eye out we saw the Undertale loopers not so long ago." Alan sighed, Konani gave a loud snore from where he was sprawled on the floor asleep.

"Hope you get out soon!"

"You to." The dinosaurs waved a goodbye as the doors closed.

"...That wasn't so bad."

Floor 4:

The doors slid open and Team RWBY looked out. It was a box canyon with two bases. The soldiers there all looked at RWBY.

"...Hi, Grif," Ruby waved sheepishly.

"Hoo boy, an elevator glitch," Grif muttered before tossing a box to Ruby that she quickly caught, "Here's a cookie box for the trip. There's another box in there of strawberries and another box with strawberry sunrises for Yang. Make sure to share with the others."

"YAY! Best big brother figure EVER!" Ruby cheered as the elevators closed.

"...Hi, RWBY!" Caboose waved.

"They're already gone, Caboose," Tucker sighed.

Floor 4:

The doors peeled back again, revealing...

"The Four Maidens?" Ruby said in confusion.

Four girls looked up from the person they were currently hunched over, noting the quartet of girls that had appeared behind them inside of the strangest contraption they had yet ever seen. The smallest one, a young girl with green hair spoke first. "Hello."

"Hey..." Yang replied, staring at whom she could only deduce to be the Summer Maiden, or maybe the Spring Maiden.

"Are you our past lives?" Spring/Summer asked.

"...More like you're ours," Weiss murmured. The doors started to slide shut. "Bye."

"Bye!" The Green Maiden happily called.

Floor 237:

The group saw the world flashing red, with a figure drawing closer. When the lighting returned to normal, the figure revealed itself to be a bio mechanical monstrosity.

And then the screen on the being showed a goofy smile, which then quickly disturbing.

It then laughed in a very disturbing manner.

The doors closed very quickly after.

"Guess we can scratch Undertale off." Ruby said blankly.

"Aye!"

Floor 238:

"Yang."

"Tifa."

"Next time."

"Yeah."

Floor 314:

"Where are the pies?" Yang asked, looking at Ruby.

"I've got no idea, but from what I've heard, there are alway-"

But before they could continue, they realized that the ceiling had turned into a massive pie and they all got pied from above.

Floor 5:

Now the doors happened to open to, strangely, a fifth person, a young, good looking boy.

"Hey there," Yang said. "Yang. My girls. You?"

"I'm the fifth member of RWBY," the boy said. "I'm here to romance you all and develop a harem."

"No," Weiss said, closing the door.

Floor 63

"Huh," Yin said, scracthing his head. "We've switched genders-wait, what floor is this?"

"Sixty-three," Romeo groaned. "I-are you taking pictures?!" Romeo asked Whit.

"Of course!" Whit said with a grin. "When else am I going to get this chance?"

Everyone else just facepalmed.

Floor 6:

The doors opened to the sight of Ren, Sun and Neptune training Jaune in what looked to be a forest or jungle of some kind.

"Learn to traverse difficult environments you must." Sun said as he was being carried on Jaune's back with a half-eaten banana in his hand. As Ren and Neptune ran beside them.

"Because terrified of gorillas am I!" he yelled as gorillas suddenly appeared behind them

"You just had to steal their bananas!" the other three shouted.

"I was hungry damn it!"

The doors closed after that as everyone was silent until "Well that was a thing."

Floor 7:

Professor Port glanced up from his microphone. "My word, what are you doing in here Team RWBY?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. We just sort of happened to show up."

Port turned around. "Well... eh... let's continue on with the finals for the Vytal Tournament."

"I'M COMING FOR YOU MERCURY! I'M GONNA WRECK YOUR SHIT!" Yang shouted as the doors closed.

Floor 403:

"Huh," Ruby said as the door closed behind them, picking out the glitter in her hair. "That wasn't too ba-"

The door opened to floor 405 with a ding and a massive water balloon.

"Wait, where was floor four oh four?" Weiss asked, spitting out the water.

Yang groaned, facepalming as she got the joke.

Floor 8:

Neo walked down the street nonchalantly and right into the elevator, licking her ice cream happily. Yang instantly started trying to thrash her rival. She got less than nowhere.

Floor 69:

The doors opened to reveal four animatronics.

"what the fuck" Foxy yelled.

"what is this fucking shit?" Freddy added.

"devour my hot bird ass Freddy" Chica said.

"What." Weiss said.

"Ugh, Fuckboys." Ruby facepalmed.

"Engage the elevator, motherfucker?"

Floor 9:

Neo cheekily stepped out of the elevator and waved Yang away. Yang punched the barrier. "COME BACK HERE YOU TROLL!"

"She's gone Yang," Ruby muttered as the ascended to the tenth floor.

Floor 10:

Yang punched the barrier again as a swarm of super bouncy balls flooded the room. "I still don't like her."

Floor 110:

"WHAT IS THE MEAN-ING OF THIS!?" a voice yelled, startling the girls. "WHERE DID THESE HU-MAN FE-MALES COME FROM!?"

"What?" a voice asked the voices. "What human fe...oh..." He revealed himself to be the Tenth Doctor. "Oh, right. Hello, Ladies."

The African-British guy with the gun was just as confused. "Was this supposed to happen, Doctor?" he asked him. "I don't remember them being part of the invasion team."

"And how do you know those four?" the blond outside the elevator asked them, torn between jealousy and confusion. "Are they similar to Sarah Jane?"

"I think you should worry about the overgrown salt-n-pepper shakers," Yang replied. "They're starting to fire!"

"EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" the 'salt-and-pepper-shakers' yelled. Luckily, the shield protected them from being zapped from the inside.

The Doctor, the blond, and the African-British gun-wielder ran as the elevator closed, but not before the column in the middle had started to activated...

Floor 11:

The doors opened up to reveal... Yang, Blake, Weiss and Ruby. Ruby in the other car pointed at Ruby in this car. "Hey, look, it's us from way back when."

"What the..." Weiss murmured.

"Trust me, this is not the weirdest thing you're going to be seeing," Weiss told herself.

Blake handed Blake a picture. Blake instantly started blushing. "This can't be real."

"It's real," Blake said as the doors closed.

Team RWBY looked at each other. "Yup, that was weird."

Floor 12:

The doors opened, and suddenly potatoes started flooding the car. Just before being buried, Ruby managed to say something. "Potatoes. This floor is literally potatoes."

Floor 13:

Sasha Braus opened the door to Grisha Yeager's basement, and was instantly buried by potatoes. "What the..."

Floor 422

"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ruby squealed, running around in circles and wagging her tail. "I love this floor!"

The rest of the furry team looked at the ruby red corgi and sighed, wondering how long this would take to wear off.

Floor 14:

"…If elevator music starts playing, I'm destroying the speakers," Yang announced, glaring at the speakers.

"Noted," Weiss said dryly.

Just then, the doors opened.

The loopers stared at Professor Ozpin. He stared back.

After several moments, he coughed slightly.

"I supposed it is a good thing I opted for a bubble bath," he noted. "Since that provides more censoring than a regular bath."

"Yeah, good thing," Ruby said weakly. Snapping out of her shock, Weiss jabbed the close button on the panel and the doors slid shut.

"Well, that was a thing," Yang said.

Floor 12:

"We just went down four floors!" Weiss snapped as the doors opened to an underground tunnel.

"So we can't count on a straight trip and could repeat floors," Blake muttered.

"Yay," Yang grumbled.

"Maybe we'll see Griff again?" Ruby suggested hopefully, munching a cookie.

"We'll also see a lot of annoying crap," Yang told her.

At that point, a white cloak figure ran past, chased by giant spider Grimm.

"MOM?!" Yang and Ruby yelled as the doors closed.

Summer glanced at the strange construct as it vanished.

"Were my little girls in there?" she wondered. "Dammit, Tai, Qrow, you have better be looking after them!"

Floor 15:

Qrow staggered into the car, more drunk than usual, and looked around. "You're not Summer?" He said to Ruby. He wrapped an arm around her. "You're alright though."

"Qrow, I think you'll want to..." Ruby's eyes widened as the doors shut.

Qrow laughed a little. "Guess I'm along for the ride."

˙lᴉɐɹ ʇɹoddns ǝɥʇ oʇuo ƃuᴉploɥ 'pᴉɐs ssᴉǝM ,,'ǝsoddns I 'ɥʇᴉʍ ɹǝʌo ʇᴉ ʇǝƃ oʇ ɹǝʇʇǝq,,

˙ɥɔɐɯoʇs ɹǝɥ oʇuo ƃuᴉploɥ 'pǝuᴉɥʍ ʎqnɹ ,,¡ǝdʎʇ ɹoolɟ sᴉɥʇ ʇou 'ou ɥO,,

00ϛ ɹoolℲ

Floor 16:

SPLAT!

Ruby and company stared at Cinder, with much shorter hair, who had just ran smack dab into the force field of the elevator car. Qrow shouted an pulled his sword out. "Wait... this isn't my usual drunken hallucinations. Summer, where the hell are we?"

"...It's a long story Uncle Qrow."

Floor 17:

"And we're trapped in here until we reach the roof... probably. That means you can keep shooting, but it won't do anything," Weiss told Qrow as he furiously tried to blow a hole in the force field protecting them from Grimm playing parcheezy.

"You can say that all you want, but I'm gonna solve this with force kiddo," Qrow said, shooting a lot more.

Floor 18:

Winter glanced up from her cleansing bubble bath to see the quintet of people, including her sister and Qrow, all standing in the doorway. Naturally, she screamed and covered herself.

"Who was that?" Qrow asked as the doors shut.

"My sister," Weiss muttered.

"Good to know what's-your-face."

"Weiss."

"Whatever."

Floor 19:

Edward Elric dove for cover when the guy with the sniper scythe appeared from thin air. He peaked up after a moment. "Hey Qrow, hey Ruby."

"Hey Ed," Qrow said, shooting away.

"Hey Ed," Ruby said. "My uncle's... drunk. A lot."

"I can see that."

Floor 156

"As far as I'm concerned, junk makes better ammo than dust," said the vacuum-wielding cat in front of them.

"Not dust, Dust."

"Don't have that here. Anyways, good luck on your trip."

"Good luck with your monsters."

Floor 20:

Blake raised an eyebrow as the doors opened, displayed the travelers the contents of the room, and closed again. "Hmm. Nice."

"...Oh my god..." Yang said, looking green.

"Was that-" Qrow said.

"You and dad in bed?" Ruby finished.

"...I wish I had my camera," Weiss muttered.

Floor 21:

Qrow grumbled as the doors opened to a paradise of booze. "Now they're just taunting me..."

"This is what you get for being an alcoholic," Yang declared.

Floor 22:

Neo smiled at Yang and cupped her substantially larger bust. Qrow chuckled. "I don't know who you are kiddo, but I'm pretty sure that's what you get for insulting an alcoholic."

"Shut up."

Floor 23:

An army of paparazzi started flashing the entire car with glittering lights.

"Miss Schnee, Miss Schnee, is it true that you're pregnant?"

"Miss Schnee, what is your opinion on the White Fang's latest dismissal of your vocal work?"

"Miss Schnee, you're a cunt!"

"Miss Schnee-"

Qrow and Ruby brandished their scythe's threateningly. "You can either throw us the camera's or we can throw you your junk," Qrow said.

And quite suddenly, Weiss was inundated with cameras.

Floor 24:

Marianne and Fenrir looked up from the small picnic they were having as the doors slid open to reveal Team RWBY and Qrow. "Hello there. I guess you're stuck in the Elevator Glitch, eh?"

"Yeah. Have a nice date," Ruby called to her admin and her boyfriend.

Floor 25:

Taiyang, Raven and Summer glanced up at Qrow and company. Taiyang cleared his throat. "Qrow, this is an intervention."

Qrow shook his head. "I've told you, I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Raven countered. "Qrow. It's been years since you've had a date. You need to get back on the scene."

"You can't make me," Qrow declared.

Yang kicked him out of the car as the doors closed. "Well, I think he's stayed his welcome."

Floor 27:

The doors opened and let the water from the previous floor out. Yang set her hair on fire to dry it. "I hate aqua floors."

Floor 26:

"You know, Qrow is going to be pissed he missed this floor." Ruby said, running a finger along the bar filled to the brim with drinks.

Floor 24.5:

"So where's this?" Qrow asked.

"Valhalla?" Ruby blinked.

"Again?" Grif asked before tossing Ruby another package and Yang, Weiss, and Blake their own, "Not sure how long it's been, but have fun and don't forget to share."

"Best big brother figure EVER!" Ruby cheered.

"Of all time," Yang snickered as the doors closed.

"...Was that their Uncle Qrow?" Simmons asked.

"I think it was," Grif replied, "...I'm gonna have to add a booze package for him if they show up at the Crash Site. ...He is the guy who likes booze, right?"

Floor 31:

"LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK OUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!" A white cloaked young woman ran smack into the opposite wall of the elevator as the Spider Grimm tried to catch her and kill her. Weiss closed the doors before they could.

Summer Rose straightened herself up. "Well, that could have gone worse. And... why are little clones of my husband and myself hugging me?"

"Hi mom!"

Floor 28:

"...Why are we skeletons?" Weiss demanded.

"I don't know. But I bet someone's got a bone to pick with this floor," Yang winked.

"..." the other three glowered at her.

"What? Too humerus?" Yang snickered.

"Yang...You're going to have a Bad Day," Blake informed, her Sharingan flashing.

Floor 48:

"Is this some kind of aquarium?" Yang asked, looking out the door into open water.

"No, I think the barrier's keeping the water out this time." Blake answered, knocking on the inconsistent obstruction in question.

"Wait, what's that?"

All five huntresses peered into the waters as a shadow began to take form. Slowly its fins, white coloration, and many rows of teeth began to come into view.

And then the shark in an oddly familiar white skirt smiled, almost seemed to curtsy with its fins, and then swam off as the door closed.

"Behold," Yang said after a brief silence, "the majesty of the Great Weiss Shark."

Yang then crumpled as Weiss' elbow impacted her gut, leaving Blake to shake her head and Ruby giggling.

Floor 32:

"So we're all stuck in an elevator until we reach the one thousandth floor, where someone named Ozpin may just let us go?" Summer said. "And apparently I died in that mission I was on."

"Yeah," Ruby told her mother. "Mom, I know that this isn't exactly the normal way kids meet their dead parents, but... Can you stay on? For a little while?"

"Please," Yang pleaded.

Summer glanced from one of her daughters to the other. "Why would I say no?" She hugged them both. "I'll stay on."

"This is a terrible soap opera," Mercury commentated outside of the elevator. Emerald stole his popcorn as Mercury continued to rant. "The plot's completely contrived."

Floor 33:

"So cute~!" Summer and Ruby squealed as they watched Nya-cat flying around, singing its song.

"Oh god, not this thing again..." Blake muttered with a facepalm.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Weiss cried out, hitting her head on a wall of the elevator.

"..." Yang opened her mouth before closing it at the same time the elevator closed, "Nah. Too easy to joke about."

Floor 666:

"CLOSE THE DOOR! CLOSEITCLOSEITCLOSEIT!" The girls were all relieved when the doors closed. Oddly enough, they slammed shut as though they were as freaked as the elevator's occupants.

"We will not mention this floor," Weiss announced. "We will not mention the tentacle monsters, we will not ponder where they got the school uniforms they were wearing, we will must certainly not consider what would have happened if they had been able to get at us. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" the other girls chorused.

Floor 36:

Ruby whimpered, pawing at the force-field preventing her from leaving the elevator. "So many cookies..."

"You can't have the cookies, Ruby," Weiss said, pushing the close button. "Now stop that, it's pathetic."

Blake leaned over to Yang. "Is she taking about the floor of cookies she can't get at or Weiss?"

Yang shrugged. "I dunno."

Floor 2:

"ARE WE BACK AT THE BEGINNING?!" Weiss howled.

"How did we drop back so many floors in such a short time?" Blake frowned.

"The elevator is mocking us, Blake," Yang said grimly, glaring at the ceiling. "It's mocking us."

"Please don't attack the elevator, sis," Ruby sighed.

Floor 48:

"A strip club," Weiss said flatly. "How classy."

"Hey Yang, is that you over there with a dye job?" Ruby asked, an odd look on her face.

"What do you me...MOTHER?!" Yang spluttered at the sight of Raven dancing around the pole.

"At least she's wearing more clothes than the other performers," Blake shrugged. "Aren't those her usual ones? And she still has her sword."

As if to emphasis her words, Raven whipped out her sword and began beating a man who got to grabby around the head.

"Does she even work here?" Weiss asked. "She would be wearing less if she did, right?"

"Maybe she's just dancing for fun?" Ruby suggested.

"Yeah, that's it," Yang nodded. "No other explanations are accepted!"

Floor 69:

"WHOA!" Mercury flew into the elevator and crashed against the rear wall. "Ouch."

Malicious chuckling reached his ears and he looked up to see a blonde. "Hell-lo, Mercury," she smiled, eyes turning red.

Mercury's instincts told him to run and he quickly climbed to his feet...only for the doors to close before he could leave. "Oh. Crap." He tapped the metal doors then turned to the blonde. "This isn't going to end well for me, is it?"

The blonde burst in maniacal laughter as the other three girls shook their heads. Whether it was in answer or exasperation, Mercury didn't know. It didn't look like they would be helping him, though.

Floor 72:

A moaning heap was flung out the doors and onto the floor. Mercury looked at the bloodied doppelganger and looked at the girls in the elevator.

"I don't like being framed," Yang told him darkly, tapping on the force-field.

"Noted," Mercury nodded. The doors closed and the elevator vanished.

Mercury looked at his other self and shrugged. Best get him healed up then they could team up against their worthless father and give him a taste of his own medicine.

Floor 105:

"ONE MORE TIME!" a voice yelled. "I'll take you home again, Kathleen..."

"If I hear that song one more time..." Weiss muttered, rubbing her temples.

"Sounds like we're on the Enterprise," Blake said, noticing the layout. "Although...does the forcefield prevent diseases from coming through?"

"It hasn't been proven," a voice replied. "But you're right to not touch anything."

The voice's owner belonged to a man in a blue Enterprise uniform. At least, the one without pointy ears.

"It's basically a virus that turns men into a drunken stupor while women get more interested in doing certain acts. Mr. Sulu just went in with a rapier and thought he was D'Argantan."

Ruby was surprised. "Dr. McCoy?" she asked him. "Not taking the Silent Looper treatment?"

"Forget that," Yang muttered. "You think you can find a way to fix this thing?"

McCoy then gave them a look. "Ladies, I'm a doctor, not an Admin. Besides, I'm trying to recreate this vaccine."

With that, the doors closed...as they looked at Yang.

"You've got no idea how long we've been trying to get him to say that," she replied.

Back on the Enterpries, McCoy just realized that he had been tricked.

Floor 150:

The doors opened to reveal a wide open void, where seemingly the only sign of life was a old-man wearing a lab coat, a red shirt underneath with brown pants.

"Hello are you a boy or a girl?" the old man asked

"Uh I'm a girl mister professor" Ruby stated

"Excellent! Now you can-" the doors closed, abruptly ending the rest of his sentence

"Hope that won't cause some poor boy to be called a girl for the rest of his life" Yang muttered.

Floor 34:

Yang glanced around. It looked like a normal floor in Beacon Academy. "Hmm... why do I get the feeling that something's missing?"

Summer stared up at the floor indicator. "Part of me is glad that this floor isn't what I thought it was." She hung her head. "And part of me is ashamed to know what this floor could have been."

"...Yup, now I'm confused," Ruby decided.

Floor 35:

"OH GOD!" Ruby shrieked.

"Don't look mom, don't look!" Yang screamed, trying to cover her step-mother's eyes before she saw too much.

Blake blanched loudly. "Oh god, now I get why the last floor was empty."

Weiss snapped a photo. "This is very, very good blackmail material."

Floor 34:

"Wait..." Ruby drawled. "Did we just go down a floor?"

"...Oh god," Summer said as the doors opened to her and Team STRQ!

Floor 777:

The doors slid open and the five were face to face with Grif, who now held five meal boxes.

"Yep. I knew this would happen," Grif informed before noticing Summer, "What the...? Aw dammit, did Qrow turn into a girl?"

"Nope. This is mom, Summer Rose," Ruby introduced.

"What?!" Grif freaked, "Aw dang it. I just made this booze box for Qrow...Hold on." he put the top box into his Pocket and took out another box, "Here we go. An extra cookie box with Yoplai Yogurt in it of different flavors."

"Thanks, big brother!" Ruby beamed as she took the boxes.

"I have a son?!" Summer asked with a gasp.

"Honorary son," Yang replied, "We've basically taken him in as the best big brother ever. Of all time."

"Oh. Well, it's lovely to meet you, my honorary son," Summer smiled.

"Oh! It...It's nice to meet you too, honorary mom," Grif chuckled, blushing under his helmet as the doors closed, "Huh...Now I have to remember her birthday. Ah well. At least I have a mom that isn't the Bearded Lady at a circus. Hope she likes the oreos in that one."

Floor 36

The elevator door opened with a *ding* and the four Loopers (and Summer) looked out into Roman Torchwick's cell. The thief in question met their collective gaze from where he was sitting, cuffed to his chair for good measure, and gave a cocky smile as only he could.

"So, come here often?"

A chorus of ew's were their only response, as Summer quickly pressed the door close button. The elevator's guest shuddered once she could no longer see the convict's gaze, and was immensely grateful that whoever that man had been, he was locked up where he couldn't hurt her family.

Floor 37:

"Should we do something about this?" Summer asked, looking at Ruby.

"Nah, she's fine," Yang smiled. "Kinda lucky the barrier's here. If it wasn't, I don't think we'd get Ruby back for a while."

The other two members of Team RWBY nodded in agreement as they looked out into the giant weapons warehouse, with Ruby's face pressed up against the barrier in a squished expression of pure bliss.

Floor 295:

The red-head just stared into the elevator unflinching.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I'm used to that," he said, "I'd blame Zelretch."

Rin cringed. "Why is it that I see you fitting in without that much change?" she asked him.

"He tried," Weiss replied. "His Reality Marble became his Semblence. I'm pretty sure it was the first time I've seen the White Fang soil themselves when he personally got on the train."

"Oh for the love of...SHIROU!" Shirou then cringed as Rin gave him another talk about being a self-sacrificing idiot. Again.

Blake still remembered what Shirou nearly did that day. "I was glad I was Awake and talked him out of that," she muttered.

"And...how is it that this guy and his older sister end up as your relatives?" Yang asked the rich girl. "Illya, I think her name was?"

Ruby glanced at Yang. "She didn't look older than Shirou," she muttered.

Floor 250:

They were greeted with an explosion in a rock quarry.

"What the heck was that?" Weiss yelled.

Blake was about to answer before she noticed twin serpentine dragons and... "Is that a dragon with the body of a castle!?" she asked them.

"Now I'm really jealous," Yang muttered. "But why are they converging into one location? And in a Rock Quarry of all places?"

Ruby wasn't exactly looking, but she could make out a figure in the distance they were converging to. One that looked like a devil...and was taking them out by a mere presence.

"Is that..." she muttered.

"The guy who was hanging out with the Newbie Looper, the one with cards, and Dante?" Yang muttered. "Looks like it, but I can't tell with all the rocks in the air."

Before they could get a good look, they had to wonder what made them see the Rider War, of all things.

Floor 83:

"There's a place the locals go and no one knows where to find it..." Music played.

Team SSN were gleefully singing.

"I thought Neptune couldn't dance?" Ruby asked.

"Jaune's made a point of teaching a bit," Weiss explained.

"Nice beat," Yang nodded her head in time to the music.

"You can jump right in..." the boys sang

"Wait, isn't that the Amity Colosseum?" Weiss asked. "Why are they singing instead of dancing?"

"I dunno but it probably has something to do with team NDGO trying to make instruments from their weapons," Ruby pointed.

"...So they turned their match into a dance off and karaoke contest?" Blake asked. "I can actually see that."

"Maybe we should try it?" Yang suggested.

"No!"

Floor 94

"...Flynt?" Weiss blinked at her tournament opponent.

"...Do I know you?" he asked raising a brow.

"What business is your father in?" Weiss asked quickly.

"He has a Dust shop, why?"

"I'm Weiss Schnee. My father doesn't like competition and will go out of his way to crush it. Your father counts as competition. My father will try to push him out and he has a lot of resources to draw upon."

"Right. I'll warn my old man," Flynt decided. He had heard that SDC could be ruthless so the girl was probably telling truth. At any rate, it wouldn't hurt to warn his old man to look into a different business niche.

"Thank you," Weiss smiled.

The doors closed.

"That was nice of you."

"I enjoy inconveniencing my father. He's almost always a jerk."

Floor 789:

"Hi Qrow," Summer chirped. "You missed out on getting a booze box from Griff!"

"What? No fair!" the hunter whined.

Floor 39:

Everyone stared at the sight of a 16-year old Jaune, garbed in black iron armor, with the helmet in his lap as he set on a log in front of a campfire next to a 14-year old Ruby.

"Mom?" Ruby whispered as tears filled her eyes "You're alive!?"

Summer smiled sadly as she nodded her head.

She started to walk towards the elevator before Jaune grabbed her shoulder, a cautious look on his face, "Wait a minute Ruby." He said as he drew his sword.

"You told me your mother died when you were a child. Not to mention the fact that she is in an elevator that came out of the ground, and has other people in there with her, including another you!"

Ruby finally noticed the other people in the elevator and gasped "What the-!? Yang! And another me! What's going on here!?"

"Maybe you could tell us what the two of you are doing Mistral." Summer shot back, "And while we're at it, just who are you!?"

"My name's Jaune. I'm a mercenary for hire. One of my jobs was to eliminate a cult that was kidnapping young girls who survived Grimm attacks in order to use them as a virgin sacrifice in some crazy plan to resurrect the strongest Grimm that ever existed! Now out of the 100 kidnapped girls, Ruby was the only one left when I got there, and promised her that I would get her home unharmed, so tell me who are you and what do you want with us?"

He would never get an answer as the doors closed and the elevator left.

"Mom! Wait, come back! Please!" Ruby cried as she ran forward and escaped Jaune's grip in the process, falling to her knees in front of where the elevator was.

Jaune sighed as he sheathed his sword as he went over to comfort the crying girl.

Floor 666

"Wha...oh, Hello ladies," the young-looking man smile charmingly.

He was promptly blasted to pieces by four looping huntresses-in-training firing at him with an excessive amount of dust.

"What brought that on?" a baffled Summer asked.

"Twilight, mom," Ruby said grimly, cocking her gun-scythe. "Twilight."

"See Sparkly Stalker Boy, kill Sparkly Stalker Boy," Yang said happily.

"Twilight? Stalker? I don't understand..."

"I envy your ignorance," Weiss told her. "I envy it."

Blake just glared as the doors closed.

Floor 115:

The door opened to a sight that would be unusual, but didn't surprise the others in the slightest.

Darth Vader fighting zombies.

"Come on Anakin, you can win! Then we'll fight Daleks!" The Eighth Doctor cheers.

"You obviously have problems."

"No shit." A red-headed man in a trench coat said as he hacked off limbs with his machete.

"This a bad time?" Ruby asked.

"No, it isn't." Vader replied, slicing a zombie in half.

"Not at all, though the elevator is distracting." The Doctor affirmed.

"Good. Let's get out of here." Yang said as the doors closed.

Floor 200:

"Guess we've got similar tastes in weapons." Yang noted at the other Looper's gauntlets.

"Yep. Wanna try 'em out when we meet again?" Jacqui Briggs replied, eyeing Yang's gauntlets.

"Good to meet new faces." Kung Jin noted.

"You'd think so." Blake replied.

"Well, hope you don't go nuts like the guys who dealt with the elevator before." Takeda saluted.

"If something scary happens, try not to piss yourselves." Cassie added.

"Who do you think we are?" Yang yelled.

"Bunch of unlucky girls."

Floor 57:

"BWAHHAHAHAHAHA!" Cinder cried. "FINALLY! MY PENNY ARMY IS COMPLETE!"

Cinder's tirade ground to a halt when she saw Ruby and company watching her from the safety if their elevator. Ruby waved at her. "Hi Cinder."

"Penny Army, attack!" Cinder screamed.

"Salutations!" The Penny's cried. "Prepare to die."

The doors shut before any of the robots could reach Ruby and friends. Cinder sighed in relief. 'Thank god I chose to go Stealth this Loop.'

Floor 65:

Yang wolf whistled. "Oh boy, this makes it all worth while!"

Weiss snapped more pictures while Blake pulled out the photograph her older self had provided. "I don't believe it."

Summer raised an eyebrow. "Okay... what did we just stumble into?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's just... Shinji Ikari and Kaoru Nagisa. Kissing."

The rather famous Evangelion pilots stared at the intruders. Very dark, very powerful energies began to swirl around Shinji. "Get. Out. Now."

The doors closed. "So... does this mean I get to keep the pictures?" Weiss asked no one.

Floor 243:

"Get over here, you son of a bitch!" was the first thing they heard when the doors opened. The first thing they saw was Jaune fighting Springtrap in the Fazbear's Fright Horror attraction.

"All right Jaune! kick his butt!" Ruby cheered as they saw him send the zombie flying with a shield bash chained into sword thrust.

The doors closed after that. The last thing they saw was Jaune staring at them in shock as Springtrap, covered in a purple Aura, attempted a sneak attack on him.

Floor 244:

The door opened to reveal a blood covered Springtrap, screaming at them as it tried kill Ruby with a stab from Jaune's sword, only to be sent flying back by punch from Yang. Blake closed the door immediately after.

"What the hell was that!?" Weiss shouted.

Floor 143

The doors opened, revealing the interior of another elevator. Two men stared back at them.

One of the men, the suspiciously pale one dressed in black, eventually blinked. "Huh. I've heard of this," he muttered. The elevator's Looping occupants felt a Ping, and sent one back on reflex. He nodded and turned to his companion in the expensive suit, who was still gaping. "Well, what do you know, Holland... All those times you've tried showing me hell?" Angel smirked at the technically deceased Wolfram & Hart lawyer. "You actually got kinda close for once."

The doors closed.

"...Anyone know who they were?" Yang asked. Everyone else shrugged.

Floor 317

The doors slid open. On the other side was a sound room. Inside were dozens of Zwei clones, some wearing headphones in the booth, while others stood in a line.

On the cue of one of them, the others started barking to the tune of classical music, save the one on the far left, who was beatboxing.

After watching for a moment, Ruby turned to the others. "Is it wrong that I-"

"Yes. Yes it is." Blake glared at her, rapidly mashing the Close Door button.

Floor 818:

"Rick, what's going on?" Morty asked, both confused and scared.

"Some kind of fucked up elevator." Rick belched and drank out of his flask.

"Wait a minute! You owe me $50!" Yang yelled out in anger at the drunken scientist.

Rick began to repeatedly hit the close door button.

Floor 300.0

As the elevator doors opened, they saw one man and two...robots...sitting in a theater.

"Well, I didn't know the dress code was lenient during this era," the one in gold said, almost surprised. "Actually makes this movie worth watching."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Crow," the human replied. "They must be on the wrong set."

Unknown to the girls, they couldn't exactly be heard as they were in some kind of club.

"I'm still trying to interpret the lyrics here," the gumball machine said. "Really, if they're sent by those creatures, then most of the guys are screwed."

In the elevator in the club, Yang was almost furious.

"I've been to a few places of scum and villainy before," she muttered, "but this just...reeks."

"I'm more concerned about what's crawling in here," Blake said, looking around. "What did we step into?"

Ruby was looking around. "Anyone have the feeling we're being watched?" she asked them as the elevator closed.

Floor Murder:

"Um... That's not a number," Weiss observed.

"No duh," Yang said as the doors opened.

Summer ogled the room. "Holy shi... I mean, Yowza. What happened in here?"

Blake looked over the many, many corpses. "Those are some crazy angles. Wait, I know who did this."

"Who?"

"Hit monkey."

"No explanation needed really," Ruby told her mother. "He's a hit man. Who's a monkey."

Summer gave her daughter a long, hard look as the doors closed.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"No, of course not.

Floor 616:

"How's the elevator, ladies?"

"Wade, what are you doing?"

"Looking for Hit Monkey. He kill stealed my target. No one does that!" Deadpool then turned to you, the reader. "Boomerang gag, ftw. Yeah!"

Summer then sighed. This elevator was really getting annoying.

Floor 90:

The doors opened to reveal the wedding... of Jaune, Ruby and Pyrrha!? Everyone just stared at each other as the doors closed as Summer turned to a blushing Ruby.

"Is there anything that you would like to tell me dear?"

"Other than the fact that this floor's me is really lucky, I got nothing."

Floor 999.9

"Come on, come on..." Yang muttered impatiently, staring at the floor indicator as the elevator slowly inched its way up. Just one more floor. Just one more and they would be out of this hell.

The power suddenly cut out. Everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief.

"What?" Ruby said quietly.

"No..." Weiss moaned.

Yang began twitching. "You...you...GRRRAAAAGGHHHHH!"

The other occupants of the elevator quickly moved to restrain her as she began flailing and foaming at the mouth.

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!"

Floor 37:

The barrier dropped.

Team RWBY and Summer lunged for the door, only to nearly throw themselves into empty space. A total void existed outside of the elevator.

Summer and Yang helped reel Ruby in. "Well, I guess that was an... empty experience," Yang said.

Summer facepalmed. "God, it really is hereditary.

Floor 626:

"Well Stanley, this is quite unprecedented, isn't it?"

"Oh hey, it's this Loop again." Weiss noted.

"Oh, Weiss. I didn't recognize you with those clothes. I have to say, how have you been?"

"Better you than GLaDOS at least."

"Ah yes, her. Fine lady, she is."

"Really?" Summer asked.

"No." Ruby clarified.

Floor 613:

The elevator doors opened to reveal Prof. Port and Doctor Oobleck dressed as Mario and Luigi as the two of them fought against a Sith Lord Bowser and his apprentice Jaune, while Glynda Goodwitch was dressed like Princess Peach and was tied to a pole behind them. When she saw them she begged them to get her out of here, only for the elevator doors close as it left for the floor.

She cried and swore to get vengeance for that.

"We saw nothing," Blake intoned.

"There was nothing to see," the rest chorused.

Floor 119:

The doors now opened to-

"Hey, it's my pet corgi, Ein," Summer said, kneeling down and making kissing noises to the dog. "Come here Ein, come here boy."

"That's not Ein," Yang said.

"Incoming," Ruby said, yanking her mother's head to the side just in time to help her avoid decapitation. The doors helpfully closed a moment later, but not before another cannonball left it's mark on the Elevator's far wall.

Summer was in shock. "Did that Corgi just-"

"Piss a cannonball?"

Ruby bashfully looked at her toes. "I knew that was Zwei."

"Oh... Hey, wait." Summer rounded on her children. "What happened to our first pet corgi?"

Yang and Ruby shrugged. They didn't know.

Floor 66

The door opened again, revealing another elevator.

Because of course something like this would happen eventually. Summer thought, given some of the other things that are showing up.

In the other elevator was a young woman in a white dress with her hair in two buns, an old man in a grey uniform, and a tall figure in a black suit and an armored helmet.

"Hey Leia." Her future daughter said. "You guys in an elevator glitch too?"

"Yeah." The woman responded.

"Well, hope it ends soon." Ruby offered.

"Same to you, I guess." Leia said. "See you eventually, I guess?"

"Yup! Seeya!" Ruby said, as the elevator doors closed.

"Uhhh?" Summer asked, as the floor display began toggling through eldritch symbols and imaginary numbers.

Floor 753:

Yang stared at the indicator as the room of infinite marshmallows came and went.

Floor 754:

Now she and her friends were soaked with Ozpin's secret coffee stash.

Floor 755:

Everyone was fairly glad that Mercury wasn't allowed in the elevator for that floor.

Floor 753:

"AH HA!" Yang shouted. "The floors are messing us up!"

Weiss stared at her friend, and then up to Summer. "Did you drop her at some point?"

Summer punched Weiss in the face. Ruby then punched Weiss in the face. Yang...

Gave Weiss a candy. "No, Summer didn't drop me. Raven did."

Floor 8008

"Wait a second, there's only one thousand floors. Why are we on a floor that doesn't exist?" Weiss stared at the indicator as the doors opened. "It doesn't make any sense."

Team RBY and Summer stared at the scene unfolding before them. Admittedly it wasn't quite as raunchy as floor 35 or 34, but... Well...

Ruby and Yang glanced up from the measuring tape they'd been using. Blake herself was trying on new... Eh, clothes. Only Weiss seemed unaffected. "Do you mind?"

The doors shut.

Weiss tapped at the indicator as it reset to floor 789. "This elevator is a mess. I cannot believe that we're stuck in a faulty interdimensional elevator. This is ridiculous."

Yang glanced at Blake. "Of course she didn't see that level. There's nothing for Weiss to look at!"

"What?" the small chested heiress asked.

Floor 713:

As the elevator door opened, the group could see an epic battle going on in what looked like graveyard filled with Keyblades. Sora noticed the group, and chuckled. "Elevator Loop?"

Ruby nodded, and Sora dodged an attack from Xemnas, and said, "Excuse me. I have a bad guy to defeat."

The door closed as fighting could be heard from beyond the door. Summer asked, "Do I want to know?"

Weiss shook her head. "It's too complicated to explain right now."

Floor 1:

*Ding*

"WHAT THE FU-"

*Ding*

Floor 616:

This floor was on fire. Ruby rolled her eyes and hit the "close door" button a few times. "This is ridiculous."

Summer winced but wrapped her arms around her daughter. "It's not too bad Ruby. You're here."

Ruby squeezed her mother's arm gently. "Yeah... Mom, you know that, once all of this is over, you..."

"You might die," Yang said. She leaned in close to her stepmother. "Mom, I know that this might be pretty weird for you, seeing that when you left, we were three and one and now we're... teenagers."

Summer pulled Yang into the hug. "I... I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you both. But Tai and Qrow did a good job raising you. I can't be sure if I could have raised you both well, but seeing you both here means that, even if I die..."

Summer trailed off, before bravely lying. "I can rest easy knowing that these are the women you've grown up to be." Honesty returned to her voice. "I cannot be more proud of you then I am."

Floor 617:

A pie shot into the room and nailed Weiss in the face. Outside the elevator, Nora sheepishly pointed at Ren, who simply stared at the quintet of women who had appeared from thin air. "Okay then..."

Floor 500:

As the door opened once more, everyone was treated too the sight of Vale... as its attacked by Alien Invaders!

Summer started to rapidly press the button to close the door as a UFO pointed it's laser at the elevator, and right before the doors closed, an orange and black blur ran into the elevator!

When everyone pointed their weapons at what they thought to be an Alien, they where shocked to see two 10-year old kids, who looked VERY familiar to RWBY.

"It's okay Nora, were safe now. There's no Alien Invaders here." said a young Lie Ren as he comforted his crying friend.

Floor 501:

"Jaune. Pyrrha!" Ruby called as the doors opened. Unfortunately, a landslide of maple syrup nearly drowned all of them.

Yang was on her knees, holding both of the stowaways tightly. "There there, it's okay. It'll be okay."

Nora sniffled. "Where are my mom and dad?"

Yang's face fell. "They're... Gone. I'm sorry."

Floor 906:

"What's with lift thingy here?" A tiny woman asked from the back of a ridiculously huge bulky man.

"What sorcery is this?" The floating red clad, rotting man asked as well.

"Do tell, what is this?" The teal painted man said, folding his arms.

"Trust us, we don't like this either, Kotal Kahn." Ruby said.

"Fair enough."

"Behind you." Weiss said. The group turned to see a pink clad woman holding a sai.

"Mileena! After her!" Kotal yelled out as the elevator closed.

"What do you think will happen to her?"

"I don't want to know."

Floor 917:

The doors opened to reveal a wounded Kotal Kahn, holding a red stained heart in one hand, and a blue stained one in the other.

"Uh..." Summer stammered.

"Thank you for discovering Mileena. Unfortunately, my close associate, D'Vorah, had betrayed me. Erron Black will receive his payment for aiding me in my time of need." The exhausted emperor sat down on his throne.

"You're welcome." Ruby muttered as the doors closed.

"What's next?"

Floor 918:

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"We're slimed!"

Floor 635:

The first thing the 5 women saw once the door opened was food. Lots of food, which was being eaten by 9 people... though mostly just 1 person with a straw hat.

A man with green hair and 3 swords at his hip, and a large man with obvious robot parts, which could easily be seen since he was wearing nothing but a speedo and an open shirt, were the first to see them from their positions.

"Oi, Franky, since when did Sunny have an Elevator?" The green haired man asked, prompting some of their companions to look in their direction.

"AH! Hello my lovely ladies!" A blond man with a swirling eyebrow starting spinning in their direction. "Would you like some refreshments?" Several plates and glasses seemingly materialized out of nowhere, which he held in his arms towards the girls.

"It shouldn't have an elevator right now, Zoro. Though, now that you mention it, I'll have to keep that in mind for those loops where Sunny is a Warship." The robot man, Franky, answered Zoro's question.

"Who are those people?" Summer asked no one in particular, ignoring the love-struck man.

"Those are the Straw Hat Pirates." Ruby answered while reaching out to grab a slice of strawberry shortcake. "I've met Robin before." A black haired woman waved to her. "However, this is actually my first time meeting all the others, though she has told me a lot about them. Thank you, Sanji!"

"You're welcome, cutie!" Sanji became more energetic.

The one with a straw hat finally looked up, holding on to a large piece of ham. "Oh, you're those girls with the cool changing weapons Robin told me about, right?"

"Yes, Luffy." Robin answered. "They're from the RWBY loops. Anyways, am I correct in guessing that you're in an elevator glitch right now?"

"Yup." Yang confirmed, with a large drink with an umbrella in her hands. She took a sip. "Mmm, Strawberry Sunrise with no ice. Has Robin told you about us?" She asked Sanji.

"She didn't mention it, but regardless, I always make sure to know the preferences of known looping females, just in case." Sanji replied, giving Blake a plate with steamed salmon, which she happily accepted.

"I've heard of those before. Was it Discord again?" Robin interjected.

"No, Yang just got angry, then broke the elevator and got that angry." Weiss replied, earning a punch from Yang, and causing her to drop the ice cream cone she just got.

The door closed, and they headed to the next floor.

"Hmm." Summer held her head to one side. "Three swords, huh? I wonder how that man would fare against Raven."

Floor 636:

"...Where are we exactly?" Weiss said, leaning out of the elevator car in to the black and strange smeing void. "Are we under water?"

"It does smell like fish..." Ruby said.

"That's not fish," Blake intoned ominously.

Suddenly the entire world shook and creaked, as if some great pressure had just been exerted. A tear developed in the void, revealing Taiyang Xiao Long. A giant Taiyang Xiao Long.

"Alright honey, push. On three, one, two, three."

"Nopenopenopenopenopenopenopenope I do not need a first person view of my birth," Ruby decided, pushing the door closing button.

"But it can't be all that bad," Summer pointed out. "I'd know, I was there. It was the happiest day of my life, and hardly the most painful."

"You want a first person view of you pushing your daughter out of your vagina," Blake asked Summer.

"Nopenopenopenopenopenopenopenope," Summer said, pushing the door closing button with Ruby.

Floor 999

Yang is tapping her foot grumbling. "Come on already. I want to get out of here."

Weiss rolled here eyes and looks at the door as it closes. "Oh relax. It's almost over."

Yang looks at Weiss with irritation. "Right. Still..."

-Ding-

The doors open and they all try charging out, but hit the barrier. They grumble and look up, seeing NOT a roof but a regular floor. They look up at the indicator.

They see the number changed from floor 999...to floor 2.

All four of them stare in shock, ignoring the doors closing.

Yang then makes a sound with her mouth similar to a leaky steam pipe. "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-"

Floor ?:

Everyone was screaming as every MLE came charging at them as Ruby tried to hold them off with sniper fire as Nora was rapidly pressing buttons, hoping that one of them closed the door.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the doors closed the moment Blake cut off Waltz's hand.

"Please let the next floor be something happy!" Summer said as she held the shaking 10-year olds.

Floor 112:

Everyone stared at the world of Pancakes and Maple Syrup rivers as Ren handed Nora a pancake flower to cheer her up.

"Thanks Ren."

"Anytime Nora."

Floor 3.14:

The doors opened and in view was a drunken Gordon Freeman slapping an alien in the face.

"That... Vas four yer mother." He slapped it again. "That vas for ur father." He slapped it again. "And that's because I think you're ugly."

The alien kicked Gordon in the crotch.

"OH MY GOD!" He fell down.

"Never fight while drunk, dumbass!" Yang yelled out.

"Up yours, bitch! Fuck, my balls!"

Floor 1000:

*Ding*

"OUT OU-"

*Din- SLAM*

"My face hurts."

Floor 704:

Everyone just stared at the sight of NPR of Team JNPR standing on the shoulder of a kaiju size Jaune as he battled a modified Beacon that has been transformed into a GIANT ROBOT!

Ruby suddenly got an unsettling gleam in her eyes. "Can I -" she never got to finish her sentence as Summer and Yang cut her off.

"No."

The doors closed as Ruby pouted.

Floor 300:

The doors opened upon the sight of an old man, staring out from his home. The man seemed only somewhat perplexed at the arrival of the five women. "What are you doing under my tree?"

The five shared a brief, if confused glanced between each other. "We are traveling," Ruby finally answered. "We're in trouble though it's a long journey."

The old man looked at the group, and smiled just a little. "Stay well, my old friends."

The doors closed, and Ozpin quietly smiled to himself. "Stay well, my four maidens."

Floor 99A:

Everyone in the elevator jumped as the power suddenly came back on.

"The Elevator Corporation appreciates your patience while repairs were effected," a pleasant female voice said over the intercom, "The employee responsible for this incident is being flayed alive as we speak."

"OH GOD, WHY?" came the agonized screams of the man in question. It was a testament to the irritation of the elevator's occupants that none felt the slightest tinge of sympathy for the employee. Moments later, the elevator began to move once more.

"Finally," Yang cried in relief, "we can get out of...of..."

She trailed off as she and everyone else stared as the floor indicator ticked up from 999 to 99A.

"As compensation for the incompetence of our employee," the voice continued.

"I"M SORRY!" said employee screamed, "PLEASE, LET ME GO!"

"Please accept this extension to your journey, compliments of the Elevator Corporation. Thank you for choosing us over our soon to be nonexistent competitors. Have a nice day."

The speaker cut off. Silence reigned in the elevator. Yang began twitching again.

"Heh...heh...heh...GRAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" she screamed. No one bothered to restrain her this time.

Floor A55:

A donkey brayed at Team RWBY and Summer. Summer glanced at her watch. "How long have we been in here anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Ruby admitted.

Floor 123

Everyone inside were nervous, ready for the shoe to drop and throw them into some kind of hell.

Floor 124

"Okay, anyone know what the hell happened on the last floor?" Ruby asked the now puppet Yang, who simply shook her head. Looking at the rest of her puppet friends, Ruby did her best to scratch her head.

Floor 101:

A thug with a gun was on this floor, pointing it at the girls. Summer stared at him. "Are you... robbing us?"

"Yes," he said.

The girls all stared at each other. Then they grinned.

Floor 102:

The Grimm (playing poker on this floor) looked up from their game when the Huntresses deposited the moaning, clearly agonized thug on their floor. The thug sat up, walked to the table, and say down. "Deal me in."

Floor 626:

The doors opened to a beautiful beach.

"Oh my~I've never seen a beach like this before," Summer awed.

"Wow~!" Nora and Ren awed.

"CHOOBIE-CHIBA!"

"EEK!"

"AGH!"

"MY BRA!"

"...You wear a bra?"

"Peekaboo!"

"HEY, WATCH IT!"

"OH WOW~! Can we keep it?!"

"NORA!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Stitch cackled as he rolled out of the elevator before it closed.

"...What just happened?" Ruby asked before looking down, "And why are our clothes all now grass skirts and coconut bras?"

"At least whatever happened kept out cloaks untouched," Summer noted to Ruby, earning a nod in return.

"That was coconuts!" Yang stated, earning a giggle from Nora and Summer and groans from the others.

"...Where are our left shoes?!" Weiss demanded.

Floor 888:

"Sign here please," the delivery man said to Yang. And signed for her package and opened it as the delivery man ran like hell. She read the enclosed letter.

'Yang. Happy birthday. -Raven.'

Yang held up a knife. A dull knife. "Why..."

Summer took the knife and flipped it over. "Raven was never all that good with gifts..."

Floor Mettaton:

"What The-!? That's not even a number!" Weiss yelled as the doors opened to the sight of Ren, Jaune, Sun, and Neptune having a literal DANCE BATTLE against Mettaton EX.

They just stared as Neptune tried to dance his way through the lasers coming from the Disco Ball on the ceiling. Tried being the key word as his poor dancing caused him to get hit every 3 seconds, forcing Sun to pickup his injured friend and carry him on his shoulder. "Don't you dare die on me man!" he shouted as he was forced to do the Tango with the unconscious Neptune in order to safely maneuver through the lasers.

"Ren! We got bombs at 10 o'clock" shouted the Disco Dancing Jaune.

"On It!" Ren shouted has he pulled out StormFlower and started shooting the bombs while break dancing.

The doors closed too the sight of a dramatic pose from some of the teens as the bombs exploded in the air.

All was silent until, "That was awesome!" shouted Nora as she started to go a little overboard as she kept yelling about how cool Ren looked.

Everyone else however had no idea how to respond.

Floor 997:

The doors opened to-

"MOM!" Ren screamed.

"DAD!" Nora screamed.

The pair ran out and into the surprised and unsuspecting arms of Jaune and Pyrrha, both of whom were on a date. The doors closed before further comments could be made.

Floor 1000:

The doors opened to Ozpin's office. The Headmaster glanced up from the mountains of paperwork that had accumulated to see the quintet of women in his elevator. "May I help you?"

Blake pressed against the forcefield. "No. We're still trapped."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow and pressed a switch underneath his desk. The forcefield dropped. A moment later, the elevator went with it. "There, problem solved."

Ozpin, after a moment, reached up and pulled his head off. "Man, I love screwing with those kids," Roman Torchwick said.

Meanwhile, on the short trip down:

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Weiss screamed. Yang tried to orient herself upwards. Summer desperately clung to Ruby. Blake just hovered there in the relative zero gravity.

Floor -4:

CRASH!

Four of the five women slowly emerged from the wreckage of the elevator. Summer sat up, tightly clutching Ruby's head. "Is everyone alright? Are you-"

Ruby's body fell out of the shaft a moment later, landing neatly on Yang and Weiss. It grabbed her head from Summer's grasp and set it on her shoulders. "Woh. That was fun. Oh, and welcome to the future mom."

[/spoiler]

I would make a comment... I'm not going to. Good night.


	18. The Cracks Begin to Spread

17.1

-

The ruins inside of the Emerald Forest marked an ancient, but long dead, society. One that had fallen to the Grimm many millennia ago. They were a curious sight, and the point where Ruby and all of her friends had come together, defeating the Deathstalker and Nevermore. It was the sight of their first great victory against the Grimm.

"Emerald killed Penny."

Now it was a place of tragic news.

Pyrrha gasped, horrified realization falling on to her shoulders. Jaune shook off his surprise and wrapped his girlfriend up in his arms, Ren and Nora joining in.

Ruby leaned against the stone wall, more shocked than anything. Her silver eyes seemed empty, her soul broken. She didn't seem able to believe her own words.

Blake knelt next to Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Cinder leaning in. "What happened?"

Piece by piece, the tale emerged from the mouth of the only soul to see it's terrible light. Emerald terrifying Pyrrha, tricking her into garroting Penny to death with her polarity and Penny's own strings. Cinder taking control of the cameras and the broadcast and showing the world the corpse of Atlas' robotic Huntress. The Grimm arriving in force and attacking Vale. The Nevermore on the colosseum.

Everything that Ruby had seen was spoken of, from her heartbroken voice. As her quiet tones faded from the air, Cinder turned and left, moving deeper into the ruins. Yang pulled her little sister into a right hug. "I'm sorry Ruby."

Ruby laid there, her arms slowly encircling her sister. "We've... we've lost."

Weiss shook her head. "No, we haven't. We're back here. We can change things. Fix this, stop it."

Ruby shook her head. "You don't understand. You didn't see Penny die. You didn't see the Grimm. You didn't hear Cinder speak."

"...I didn't," Weiss admitted. "But that doesn't mean I can't stop it. I can work with you Ruby. All of us can do this, together." She turned to JNPR, still clasped around Pyrrha but eyes on Weiss. "As friends. As teammates."

"Cinder doesn't think so," Ruby murmured.

"Let me speak with her," Blake said. The Cat Faunus walked into the dark of the temple, following Cinder's footsteps in the dust. Deep inside the complex, she found the woman leaning against a wall, arms wrapped around herself. "Cinder."

"Blake," Cinder said. "Do you think I should be proud of what's happening?"

Alarm flashed through Blake. "No, no you shouldn't. What that person, that... monster is doing isn't-"

"So now I'm a monster?" Cinder growled. Ruby's adoptive sister turned to meet Blake's eyes, and for a moment a shadow of the woman who had killed, controlled and plotted her rise to power haunted her form. "Because of what's happening, I'm a monster."

Blake held up her hands. "I know that Cinder. And I know that it's not you."

"BUT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Cinder screamed in Blake's face. She ground her teeth and reined in her temper. "What if it is me. What if my baseline self is as caring, as loving, as I am? What if she's just a scared little girl, trapped in the body and soul of a monster?"

Blake gently took Cinder's hands. "That doesn't matter. You choose to be a good person. And we love you for that: you are who you are, and who you are is a good person who does the right thing."

Cinder twitched. "I... I guess..."

Blake pulled Cinder along. "Come on. This is a team meeting, and you're part of our team."

Nora had already pulled out a large chalkboard and had written down dozens of plans on it (most of them were ridiculous). "So Ruby and Weiss can start with summoning the currency demons... Oh, hey! Blake and Cinder are back!"

Blake sat Cinder down and followed suit. "So, do we have any plans so far?"

"Plans to change our destiny? Oh yeah." Nora snapped a riding crop (one of Glynda's) against the blackboard. "It's plotting time!"

-

17.1 Shimmer712

-

Mercury braced himself. Emerald would be using her semblance on Yang any second now. And while ideally the blonde would hit his prosthetic legs, there was always a chance she would hit elsewhere.

'Please hit me in the leg, please hit me in the leg,' he chanted to himself.

He inwardly smirked as Yang moved as thought dodging something, whirled around and...gave him a dirty look.

"Sore loser," she muttered before stalking away.

Mercury stared after her.

'That...wasn't supposed to happen...'

Yang smirked as she headed off to meet up with her team. Really, this was the simplest way to avoid the trouble from baseline.

The fact that a box of extremely heavy weights fell out of the sky and landed on him had nothing to do with her. Really.

-

17.3 MasterOfGames

-

Standing against the wall in the large waiting area for the contestants, Yang was uncharacteristically still and quiet as she waited for the call for all the Single Battles finalists to be called up to the platform.

"Yang, what's going on? This isn't like you. You're starting to worry me." Ruby's voice hesitantly commented from Yang's scroll.

Yang didn't answer for several seconds, until slowly pulling it out and sliding it open, scowling down at her sister's face. "... Ruby. You were there. You saw the size of the Grimm forces. Tell me. How many? Base minimum, how many people die from an army that size?"

On the screen, Ruby glanced down, poking her index fingers together in her little nervous habit that no number of loops seemed to be able to break her out of. "Uh... if I had to guess? Based on the numbers... and not taking anything that may happen after the latest extension ends into account... and if Ozpin doesn't have some sort of ancient, ultimate weapon hidden in Beacon... or an evacuation system..."

"Ruby..." Yang glared.

"... I'd have to say... potentially... um, everyone?" Ruby stammered, flinching away.

Yang slowly took a deep breath, then let it out, closing her eyes.

"..."

"..."

"... Yang? Are you-"

"You know?" Yang cut her sister off. "I like cats. I really do. I like dogs more, but cats are the ones you turn to when you need a great question of life answered."

"Wha- Cats? Yang, what are you-"

"Anytime I'm troubled," Yang cut her off again. "or if I don't know where to go or what to do, I look back fondly of the simple wisdom I've discovered by watching cats on the HUB internet. And one very wise cat indeed taught me an outlook on life that I think it's time I use a little."

"... I honestly don't know if I should be scared of you right now, or if you're setting me up for a pun."

Yang glanced up for just a moment as the call to enter the arena was given, then looked back down as she started towards the door with everyone else. "Ruby. I need you to ask me how I feel about a few things. This situation. Emerald's ability. My efforts to avoid dorm arrest after my match. My choice to put all those seals on certain looping powers I've picked up. Not letting my temper take me over. Things like that. Can you do that for me?"

Ruby blinked, then slowly held out her own scroll at arms length in nervousness. "Uh... okay. How do you feel about... those things?"

Yang snarled as she fell into line, walking a small distance behind Mercury and glaring at the back of his head. "In order. Fuck this thing. Fuck that thing. Fuck that thing too. Fuck those things..." she growled, winding up for a punch, her fist wrapping itself in an unstable bubble of energy, while her hair turned bone white in a shimmering wave. "and fuck that thing IN PARTICULAR!"

Yang swung her fist. The sound of air shattering like glass echoed through the kingdom.

The arena exploded.

...

Ruby struggled to look over her chest and still have her arms folded in annoyance as she glared at Yang, who was taking the opportunity to be able to lie face down for once, thanks to her missing 'assets'. "Why!? What did you do that for!? You KNOW what happens when you crash loops!"

Yang just grinned. "Sis, you didn't see the look on Mercury's face. I stand by my decision. Letting all that stress out? Totally worth it. That felt amazing!"

-

17.4 Shimmer712

-

"Penny…" Ruby muttered to herself.

"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"

"I'm…not a real girl…"

"I want to stay at Beacon"

Ruby laughed brokenly to herself as she remembered one loop where Penny had acted on that desire…by tying herself to the clockhand of Ozpin's office. While Penny wasn't a looper, Ruby viewed her as a good friend. Granted, it was hard to have that friendship progress sometimes since Ruby would remember all their past interactions but Penny didn't, making Ruby start from scratch every loop. But it wasn't like maintaining that friendship was hard. Penny was so friendly and easy to get along with. Which made Ruby wonder about the hints that Penny didn't have friends at the Atlas Academy.

Penny was her friend. Sure, she was awkward at times, but so was Ruby. And she was a better person than some "real" people.

"Why couldn't Cardin be the robot who gets broken?" she mumbled. Then blinked.

Robot….Penny was a real girl, no one would convince Ruby otherwise. But she was also a robot.

Meaning, it was possible, that while a human would have died from being cut in two, Penny may have been able to survive. And maybe her body could be repaired.

Ruby hoped the next expansion happened soon. If Penny was going to be okay, she wanted to know as soon as possible.

And in the mean time, anyone who tried to screw around with her damaged body would find themselves being introduced to Crescent Rose. And not in a polite way.

-

17.5 Detective Ethan Redfield

-

Weiss blinked as she awoke standing on an airship. Sending out a ping, she got nothing in return, meaning either Ruby would wake up later, or a stealth anchor. She sighed and said, "Well, that happened. No wonder Ruby was so distressed." Although she knew what Ruby had told her had affected her deeply, she had yet to experience the baseline first hand, until an outside anchor had stood in for Ozpin. And once again, she was without a Ruby to commiserate with. Instead, she focused on how she could fix this problem. Within moments, a plan formed. She pulled out a scroll, tapped an old contact from a loop long ago, and dialed it.

'"ellow? This is Jerry's Pizza. What can I make fresh for you," said a voice in a condescending tone.

Weiss closed her eyes, counted to ten in her head and then said, "Mr. Torchwick-"

"I'm afraid you have me confused, my dear, for someone undoubtedly very dashing and handsome."

She rolled her eyes and replied, "Cut the act, Roman, I know it's you."

"Fine, fine, you're cold as ice you know? I'd love to know which dashing princess decided I was worthy of her time, but I'm more curious how such a lovely lady got a hold of my number."

"I don't have time for your antics, Roman. I want to hire you for a job, and I will meet you outside your South Warehouse with half the money. You know the one."

After rattling off a long list of zeros, Roman's voice just whistled, "Damn girl, you're just giving me enough money to buy my own kingdom? Sounds like a set up to me."

Weiss groaned, "If I wanted you arrested, I would have had all your safehouses raided with an anonymous tip. If you doubt me, I'll be there in 30 minutes and will be staying there for 24 hours. I will give you the details for the job at the trade off point."

-

Weiss stood at the trade off point, where she was slowly approached by a familiar and dashing master thief. Weiss' eyes twitched, "You took the whole 24 hours up to the last second?"

Roman spun his cane around nonchalantly, "I had to be sure we weren't being observed. Must say, never saw this situation coming. Who would have expected the famous heir to the Schnee Corporation to be willing to associate with a low class thief like myself. Does your father know what you do in your free time?"

Weiss smirked. "I'm rebelling, isn't that was people of my generation do?"

"Instead of getting a tattoo, you'll be able to show off your famous, bad to the bone boyfriend? I'm flattered my dear."

Shrugging, Weiss walked around the shipping container, pulling the door open and revealing stacks of Lein she saved from the time Jaune's Semblence made it rain money. "You think too highly of yourself Roman. I'm not interested in you. The job will be highly dangerous-"

"Hold on, just a minute Ice Princess, do you think you could buy a thief like me? I'm not just any thief, I'm Roman Torchwick!"

Weiss turned around and gave the older man a smirk, "You think I don't know you? You don't really want the money, you're in it for the prestige. I know you, Roman, you want the recognition. Believe me, this one will give you all the prestige in the world."

Roman paused and looked the girl in the eyes. There was a fire in them, a scheme that even he couldn't help but be interested. He spun his cane around several more times as he replied, "Hmm...you've sparked my interest, go on."

Weiss' grin turned wicked. "You're gonna steal the Cross Continental Transmit System."

Roman's grip on the cane slipped, causing it to fly in the air. As he stood there motionless, his mouth dropped and he blinked several times. A second later, the cane came down, hitting him on the head. "Are you serious?"

"I want to be able to access the system at any time, to do whatever I want at any given moment. And I'm willing to share that access to the tower with you, to do whatever you want."

She held out a hand. "What do you say to that, Mr. Torchwick?"

Roman started chuckling, then laughing, then outright guffawing. "My dear, you're crazy."

His eyes produced a wicked gleam of its own. "But that's the kind of crazy, I want. You have a deal, partner."

-

Weiss smirked as she watched Cinder from her suite atop the stadium. Cinder was tapping away at her scroll, clearly annoyed, then threw it on the ground. Weiss was surprised it didn't break, but shrugged as she looked at her own scroll, the image of the transmit system tower on screen with the word OFFLINE in big, bright letters. Roman certainly came through for her. There was a small price to pay since Roman occasionally used it to show his capers throughout the four kingdoms, but it was one she gladly paid, now that she could short circuit Cinder's plan at its outset.

Without the transmissions, the black queen couldn't raise fear in the worldwide populace. Without the fear, the Grimm wouldn't invade.

Unfortunately even with Weiss' warning, Yang still broke Mercury's leg. She would have to find a way to deal with Emerald's semblance.

-

Meanwhile

Roman let out a long, evil chortle as he held his own scroll in hand. Controlling the transmit system would prove useful in future loops, he was sure. And he further cemented his connection to Weiss. Things were coming together nicely. Now all he had to do was anonymously send Weiss a few nice things every now and then, and his backup plan would be perfect.

-

17.6 Detective Ethan Redfield

-

Sakura held out her hands as the 5 remnant loopers held her a gunpoint. "I didn't do it!"

Nora scoffed, "Yeah, right! We know all about your experiments."

Sakura rubbed her shoulder. "Yes, it was one of my favorite experiments in my free time, but I haven't unleashed a Borg outbreak in the last hundred thousand loops!"

Blake held up a palm and sighed. "Only 100,000? You're really working hard on your redemption, aren't you?"

Whatever Sakura was about to say was cut short when the doorway flew off the hinges. Penny stood there, Cybernetics hanging off of her in a haphazard way as she giggled, "Friend Ruby, join the Collective! We will become one and make many new friends!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she twisted her arms upward, calling on her bending arts as a cliff side of stone rose up and cut off the entrance once again, crushing Penny against the ceiling. That earned Sakura a punch in the face from Ruby.

-

Elsewhere

Ozpin sucked in another cup of coffee as walked among the drones, dodging this way and that. It was nice to have a variant semblance sometimes. Allows him to branch out and use his semblance to see visions of the future, like where the next Borg will attack and allowing him to dodge appropriately. It was like a midsummer afternoon walk.

Still, he had a conundrum on his hands. From the surviving recording devices he planted in the Beacon Hallways...and the ones he hid in Cinder's room which Ruby had retreated to since her own room had been cut off by Borg Cardin and the rest which he was listening to right now, Sakura claimed to not be responsible for this outbreak. He pulled out his scroll and ducked a couple blasts from Glynda's weapon attachment. After tapping on the button, he held the device to his ear and listened. "Ozzy, it's been far too long old chap! How are the kids doin'? Hopefully they haven't been pulled into their video games like Neo was."

Ozpin set down his coffee mug and closed the door behind him, tapping his cane on the door, using the philosopher stone from his visit to Armestice to turn the door and walls to adamantium. "Do you have eyes on Cinder?"

"She's been out of touch this loop after I fled Ruby on foot."

Suddenly, a bit of conversation caught Ozpin's attention as he muttered, "Keep your head down, Roman. I'll call you back later."

He closed the connection and pressed the earpiece to his head.

-

Cinder's room

Yang paced back and forth. "Damn it, first Borg Emerald and Mercury beam in and kidnap Cinder, then things go to hell!"

Sakura cracked her knuckles and shouted back, "I barely even know who those people are! Any experiments on this universe were Dust, Semblance and Aura related. Why would I unleash a Borg outbreak here! I do those experiments in my free time back in Konoha!"

Ruby held out her hand. "It could be DIO. Jonathan told me a hundred loops back that Dio's been branching out after his disastrous encounter with the Mega Loopers."

******

Back at the Office

Ozpin allowed the debate to fade into the background. Cinder was one of the first taken? Very odd...drawn by the maiden half in her body perhaps? You'd think they would go after a full bearer first. Was it Mercury and Emerald's desire to see their leader as part of the collective perhaps? Or was she performing Borg experiments on her underlings and one got loose? Ozpin decided to chalk another one up to circumstantial evidence and keep an even closer eye on Cinder in the future.

-

Cinder smirked. After learning that Sakura was here, she decided to shake things up for once, let her hair down and have some fun. Replacing the Borg Queen that one loop was a treat, all that knowledge at her control. She even gave those trek stealthers a run for their money when unleashing her collective on the Alpha Quadrant. And she kept a small section of Borg technology for fun use later when not in her own universe. With drones Emerald and Mercury stood at her side, she planned her conquest of Atlas.

As half the collective reached a consensus on invading Atlas, the other half along with Cinder discussed the thorn in her side. One would think Ozpin wouldn't expect 20 borg drones to teleport right to his office and shoot him in face a millisecond after materializing, but somehow he was ready.

-

17.7

-

"Are you... mugging me?" Ruby asked the usual thug who tried to mug her.

"Yeah!" thug said.

Ruby turned out her pockets and let him rob her. She'd never really let that go, but what was the worst that could happen?

-

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Sun and Penny stared at the giant hole in the square, where Grimm, White Fang, and Atlesian Paladins poured out into the streets... Of Mountain Glenn. "...Weiss."

"Yes Ruby?"

"What happened?"

"Well..."

-

'Why oh why isn't Ruby here?' Weiss wondered to herself, marching through the Emerald Forest. Her partner (and best friend, not that she would admit it) wasn't at Beacon. That meant Weiss would be leading Team WRBY, or whatever they would be called.

'How could this get any worse?' Weiss thought to herself.

She walked into a clearing. Cardin walked out the other side. Their eyes met.

In the distance, the Goliath's looked up as a massive spike of pure fury filled the air. They returned to their march soon after that. Whoever was in that direction was far too angry to mess with.

-

"Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Cardin Winchester, and Blake Belladonna. You-"

"Cut the chatter Ozzy," Yang said as the requisite guitar riff went off. "Just give us out name."

"...SYWB," Ozpin declared. "Next!"

"What does SYWB mean?" Blake asked.

"Eh, shut up," Cardin said. "Just trust in me and I'll think up an answer."

-

(several thousand racist comments later)

-

"HA! How's that for 'a useless pussy', huh!" Blake stabbed Cardin in the face again. "DIE DIE DIE!"

Yang gave the mutilated corpse a solid kick in the nuts. Not to hurt Cardin, just to relieve stress. "Welp, I gotta admit, this is pretty brutal, but he had it coming."

"Trying to force himself on Blake after he drugged her," Weiss surmised, burning, electrocuting, and freezing his corpse all at once. "I say this is ample punishment."

Blake finished stabbing Cardin's body and sat up. "Okay, now what?"

-

"Hey Blake, I heard you and Weiss Schnee stabbed a racist asshole to death."

"Yeah."

"You got a place to stay?"

"No."

"Wanna come back?"

"...Eh, sure. Thanks Adam."

"You're welcome."

-

"Salutations."

Weiss, Blake, Yang, Adam and Roman Torchwick all looked up from the vast number of shipping crates they were stealing from the Schnee's to see Sun and Penny approaching them. Blake glanced at Yang. "I really don't want to fight Penny right now. And I never want to fight Sun."

"I have an answer to that," Yang declared. She started walking towards the Monkey and the Gynoid. "Hello friends..."

-

So, weapons provided later, big mechs were loaded onto the train, and the entire conflagration cheerfully went racing down the tunnels between Mountain Glenn and Vale. The end result? A big circle back to the abandoned city.

"...You now Ruby, one thing led to another, and..."

Ruby unhooked and cocked Crescent Rose. "I take a vacation for one loop, and you all defect and cause the breach, but in Mountain Glenn. You can't do anything without me, can you?"

"Nope!" the five defecting Huntresses and Huntsman declared.

-

17.8 Sucal

-

"Salutations!" It had taken a lot of time to set this up, both in tracking her routine and choosing the right time where Ruby was somewhere else and the others weren't looping. Not to mention accidentally running her over without doing any damage.

"Are you ok?" She didn't actually care, the girl was much much tougher then that after all. But it was the polite, friendly thing to do.

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking!"

"Would you like to get up?" This part of the script was always the most prone to interruption. She was fairly sure that the others were either unawake or somewhere else at this stage however.

"Yes!" The agility would have been quite impressive, if she didn't know the girl was a robot. Even then she had to admire the efficiency of baseline atlas engineering... even if her servos were a little noisy.

"My name is Penny , its a pleasure to meet you." The cheerfulness was almost cute, in a more innocent way to that often displayed by Ruby. She could see how they got along though.

"Well friend its a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm afraid I have to go now though" Counting down in her head as she turned to walk away, she smiled as the ginger blur intercepted her.

"What did you call me?"

"Friend of course. Unless you don't want to be friends?" The size of the grin that split the robots face almost made her feel bad. Almost anyway, considering the number of times she had foiled by it in the past.

"Sensational, I made a friend. We can do our nails, go shopping for cute clothes or even..." Placing her finger against Pennys mouth to silence her, Cinder smiled. .

"I'm meeting some of my other friends for Ice Cream. Would you be interested in joining me?" Holding out her hand, she resisted the urge to cheer when the robot took it. The ice cream place was one of the better ones she had found over the course of the loops, but even if it wasn't, the frozen treat will be seasoned by victory.

-

17.9

-

When Pyrrha announced that Team JNPR would be visiting Mistral this loop, her entire team understood that her reason ("I want to see how my home kingdom is doing") was code for ("I want to get away from the person I may have accidentally murdered"). That was obvious; she was, after all, Jaune's girlfriend and Ren and Nora's adoptive mother. They knew her that well.

Of course, countless papers on grief and guilt counseling stressed that while distancing yourself from your issues in the short term was important, you needed to be able to center yourself and return to the issue at hand. So, JNPR was going to Mistral, but they weren't leaving the issue behind.

Unfortunately, the issues of Mistral found them.

"Why is everyone... smiling like that?" Nora asked discreetly.

Pyrrha gulped hard as a man and his boyfriend walked by, smiling. Smiling. SMILING. "I'm... it's... well."

"I didn't do it." JNPR nearly jumped out of their collective skin as Cinder showed up, sipping a smoothie. "What, surprised?"

"It's not exactly easy to remember that you're a Haven Student," Ren admitted. He pointed at the smiling people. "So what is this?"

"Lithium Bibromide pills," Pyrrha said suddenly. She pick-pocketed a passing smiling woman and held them up. "Happiness in a bottle. Why attract Grimm when you can be smiling and happy and..." Pyrrha trailed off.

"And now I know why you left for Beacon," Jaune declared. "So, shall we overthrow a regime, reform the government and install ourselves as Kings and Queens?"

Every. Single. Person. In the immediate area turned and smiled at Jaune. Jaune puffed up his chest. "Cinder, you topple nations. How do we do this?"

Cinder smiled. "Well, let me tap into my inner super-villain, and give you all a nice little lesson."

-

Seven months later.

-

"WHAT A KNOCK OUT!" Port roared over the microphone. The people of Amity Colosseum cheered as Team SSSN, specifically Sage, sent the entirety of Team NDGO flying in one hit. Up in the reserved boxes, the leadership of Mistral chewed their popcorn.

Pyrrha held up a handful of kernels. "I guess this is what they mean when they say it pays to be queen."

"Oh yeah," Jaune said, munching his snack. "I'm surprise that nothing went bad though."

"Sometimes we get lucky Jaune," Ren said.

"KICK THERE ASS NEPTUNE!" Nora screamed.

-

17.10 Wildrook

-

The Emerald Forest was a good starting-place for Loopers to team up with each other. So it was a bit of a surprise when four complete strangers to the branch had appeared using their own talents as their own. Which may have confirmed a few pings on the end of the Anchor.

"So," Ruby muttered, landing in the area. "We've got guests."

"I think they may have gone a bit too far off-course," Weiss replied, noticing their actions. "They're heading into the cave with the Scorpion Grimm."

Ruby got the idea and looked around. "Anyone else Awake?" she asked Weiss, who nodded and used enough fingers for six . "Come on. Let's find Yang and Blake...and in a way, Jaune's team."

"Actually," a voice said, catching their attention to see Jaune high up...and on top of Pyrrha's lance. "I'll be waiting for Pyrrha. You guys go on ahead to see who's entered THAT cave."

Both of them looked at each other and walked past him. Jaune's semblance this time involved sniping...which was ironic for him due to using a sword and shield.

At the cave, however, the four individuals locked eyes.

"Huh, if it isn't the Destroyer of Worlds himself," Dante replied, smirking at the magenta-clad Rider. "And who's your friend?"

The one in magenta looked at the younger male. "That's Asumu Adachi," he said. "He's the Anchor of the Hibiki Branch and just got the speech."

"Nice to meet you all in person," Asumu replied, bowing. "I'm one of the newcomers here...although it's weird hearing it from something not human...no offense."

"None taken, kid," Dante said. "Still, sense a bit of demonic energy from you. What are you?"

"I think we should find out later," Yu replied, as they noticed something glowing. "Right now, I think something found us."

Tsukasa gave it a look. "Looks like a giant stinger," he said. "I think it's best if we back away slowly...and get ready to fight."

Unfortunately, the Death Stalker had noticed them.

"And it looks like it wants to play," Dante replied. "What's the kid's talent?"

"Onigekidou," Asumu said, bringing out what looked like a Tuning Fork. "And unlike the other Riders, I don't sound off...I just make a sound." Indeed, as he brought out the Henshin Ouka Onkaku and struck it in one of the scenery, before letting it hover over his forehead. Indeed, the symbol of the Oni had appeared before he got caught in a purple fire before transforming into the Taiko Oni known as Hibiki.

"Had a feeling that's where the Demonic Energy came from," Dante said. "And a music-user, if what those drumsticks are anything to go by." He then brought out his Devil Arm, Nevan, the guitar scythe. "Let's rock this joint!"

Tsukasa rolled his eyes as Yu gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Better bring out my equipment," Tsukasa said before stopping and bringing out the card with his Rider Form from his Ride-Booker. "HENSHIN!" He then inserted the card into the DecaDriver.

KAMEN RIDE: DECADE

As nine translucent humanoid figures appeared around him, Yu searched through his sea of soul and brought out a familiar white-masked bancho-clothed blade-user.

"Izanagi," he said, "I'm going to need you to play distraction while the others get ready. As soon as I see the signal, I'm switching to Trumpeter."

"Trumpeter?" Izanagi asked him, just as surprised. "For curiosity's sake, what kind of plan would involve Trumpeter?"

"Let's just say we have a drummer boy in our midst," Yu replied. "And there's a crowd coming our way."

Izanagi noticed. "Oh, must be the locals. And you guys are putting on a show for them. I can do that."

Yu nodded as Izanagi charged alongside Dante while Hibiki and Tsukasa were working together.

"KIBOJUTSU: REKKAKEN!" Hibiki yelled, slashing the legs of the Death Stinger as Izanagi and Dante did the same on the other side, only with lightning instead of purple fire.

"Did that boy just use drumsticks to cripple said Death Stalker?" Blake asked them.

"My question is," Jaune said, "how did THESE guys get together in a team? I recognize Tsukasa, Dante, and Narukami, but the kid's a new one to me."

"All we know is that he just flew over our usual meeting spot," Weiss replied.

FORM RIDE: DEN-O AXE!

"And then they leaped into the Death Stalker cave," Ruby finished, noticing the pink-suited one change into a yellow bear-thing. "And...wow. Jaune, can he..."

"Turn into ten superheroes at once?" Jaune asked him. "Yeah. I ran into them once...Nora and Ren were with me. It was a bit of a stupid war..."

Pyrrha was surprised. "Wait, was it the one where your weapons were androids and..."

ATTACK RIDE: TSUPPARI

Before either of them could explain, the sheer force Decade used when Death Stalker had been flipped over and caused a small crater, causing a bit of surprise in them and some excitement in Nora.

"DO IT AGAIN! DO IT AGAIN!"

However, it was time for them to end it.

"Time to change," Yu said to Izanagi.

"It was fun while it lasted," Izanagi replied before changing into Trumpeter, who got his trumpet out.

Dante then brought Nevan out of scythe mode and into guitar mode. "Emerald Forest, are you ready to rock!"

After changing back into Decade, he then looked at Hibiki as he brought out a certain Final Form Ride card.

"This might tickle a bit, Asumu-san," he said to the younger Hibiki as he put the card into the DecaDriver.

FINAL FORM RIDE: HI-HI-HI-HIBIKI!

"Ah, I was told about this," Hibiki replied as he got ready. Tsukasa then changed the Purple Oni's form into a hybrid of the Akanetana and the Onigekidou drum. As it flew upwards, it then changed into the drum as it neared landing on the belly of the Death Stalker.

FINAL ATTACK RIDE: HI-HI-HI-HIBIKI!

Decade then brought out his own pink Ongekibou Rekka and landed on the Death Stalker before striking the Onigekidou drum in a perfect melody.

Dante, seeing his opportunity, had managed to bring out Nevan, hooked it onto the giant scorpion Grimm and played a few notes of his own, bringing a few shocks.

"Let's go, Trumpeter!" Yu yelled, breaking the Judgment card, his demeanor rising as it had struck the Death Stalker with its ice attack before playing a tune through the Mind Charge, increasing their own attacks as well as Dante's due to being more electric-based with Nevan.

Ruby and the others were amazed, but Ren and Jaune had to bring out their own instruments.

"Hey, we're not missing out on this!" Jaune yelled. "Come on, Ren!"

Ren nodded as Nora already brought out drumsticks, surprising Pyrrha. However, Jaune brought out a trumpet while Ren had a guitar.

"Where did they get those?" Pyrrha asked the others. "And why..."

"They planned to give you a Keytar," Ruby replied. "You weren't awake that Loop...although where did Nora get that Taiko Drum?"

Indeed, as they were together, Nora, Jaune, and Ren set up shop as they managed to add to the momentum that was the Death Stalker's final resting place...as Decade made the final strike...before the Grimm died of sound overload, the Onigekidou changing back into Hibiki in the process.

"We'd make an encore," Dante replied, "but there's a shrine nearby we're supposed to find...so, would any of you young ladies lead the way?"

"Follow us," Blake said. "And put your stuff away."

De-henshining, Asumu asked Tsukasa, "Are all these Fused Loops this crazy?"

"They get crazier," he replied. "You might want to settle yourself first. We've got a long way to go."

-

17.11

-

Nora cautiously pressed her ear against the door. She couldn't hear anything but that meant nothing. The door could have very easily been soundproofed.

Ren gave the barrier a worrisome knock with his hand. No response came from it. "Okay. It might jut be empty. On one."

Nora grabbed her blindfold and tied it over her eyes. "On two."

Ren closed his eyes and turned the knob. "Three."

"Hey guys, what's up?" Jaune asked.

"AHHH!" Nora and Ren shrieked. Jaune shrieked with them. Pyrrha just flinched.

An awkward moment passed between them. Jaune coughed into his hand. "So... why are we scared?"

"Oh, you know," Nora tried to be conversational. She gave up almost immediately. "Jaune, I'm gonna level with you. Me and Ren both know that, one day, you and Pyrrha are gonna get it on."

Jaune and Pyrrha turned a shade of red that almost put Pyrrha's hair to shame.

"And on a day probably after if not exactly upon that day, me and Ren will walk in on you."

Now Pyrrha's hair wished it was as red at Pyrrha and Jaune's faces.

"And we're all gonna stare at each other and you're going to ask for us to leave," Nora finished, also blushing a fair bit. "It's completely inevitable. The laws of narrative causality, humor and thermodynamics dictate it."

"Naturally myself and Nora would much rather avoid viewing the people we consider our parents in that state. Hence our caution in opening this door." Ren smiled at his mother and father. "Fortunately, you're here, and thus, not in there."

Pyrrha tugged at her collar. "Eh. Guys. Ahem, ahehehe. That's not possible... yet. At all. Not happening. For a while."

Jaune coughed into his hand again. "Yeah. Two problems with your theory." He pointed at Pyrrha. "Heh... me and Pyrrha haven't really gotten intimate... yet."

"Yet," Nora clarified.

"That... is correct," Pyrrha said. "There is also one other thing. That door isn't for our room."

Jaune tapped the door Nora and Ren had been prepping to enter. "It's RWBY's room."

Nora and Ren glanced from the door they'd been trying to enter to the door right across the hall. Their door, to be exact. "Ohhhhh."

"It's an easy mistake," Ren asserted.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Don't I know it. Well, I think we've had enough fun for one day, so let's head to bed." Jaune grabbed the doorknob to JNPR's room, only for Nora to scream and grab his arm. "NORA!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Nora screamed. She pulled her friend/leader/dad away from the door. "Don't you know what could be in there?"

"...My bed?" Jaune muttered.

"Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all said that they'd go out on a Hunting mission. But that means that they could secretly be using the common knowledge of their absence to goof off. Or worse," Nora intoned.

Pyrrha and Jaune stared at her. "Or worse?" Pyrrha replied.

"Lesbian orgy," Nora said. "One, in our room! It would be the perfect crime. Completely undetected, unsuspected. We'd never know... well, excluding the damp sheets."

Pyrrha face palmed. "Nora. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang... they are all Awake this loop. They're not lesbians... two of them are sisters. They are on rotation."

"That's what they want you to think," Ren said with total conviction.

Pyrrha gave her adoptive son a withering look and opened the door to their room. "See, no one is in here. No-"

Team JNPR stared at Team RWBY, all eight dead silent. Blake coughed into her fist. "Do you mind?"

-

Out in the Forever Fall Forest, Weiss suddenly stopped killing Grimm and turned towards's Beacon. Ruby finished off the Beowulf that Weiss had left her. "What's up Weiss?"

"I feel... as if a quartet of souls have just cried out in shock and horror... and arousal." Weiss frowned. "Meh, it's probably nothing."

"Well hurry up. Blake and Yang are almost done with the Taijitu nest and we can't fall behind in our competition."

"It would hardly do for the Schnee Heiress and the Anchor of Remnant to be less proficient than their company, now wouldn't it."

"What?"

"Let's just go Ruby."

-

Pyrrha, blushing so thoroughly that her hair was but grey in comparison, boarded up the door to Team JNPR's room. "We are never speaking about this ever again."

"Never," Jaune, Nora and Ren declared.

Of course, if any of them opened the door now, they would be face to face to the uncontrollable laughter of Neo and Cinder. It was always fun to mess with a few heads, and villain team ups made things so much easier.

-

17.12 Dark Knight Zero

-

"This is a... weird variant loop." Ren said to Jaune as the two of them stared at the crowd of fan girls and fan boys, including RWBY, Nora, Pyrrha, Goodwitch and Cinder of all people?!

"What tipped you off? The fact that the two of us seem to be the only one's Awake? Or was it the fact that Mercury Black was replaced by Freddy Mercury from the Hub Loop?"

"Both actually."

The two of them just stood in silence as they continued watch the spectacle in front of them, unsure of what to do.

-

17.13 BIOS-Pherecydes

-

"Ruby."

"Yes Weiss?"

Zap!

Ruby glanced down at Weiss' lightsaber, ignited and buried as it was in her chest. "Okay. That wasn't very nice."

"Oh, Please. You know you can heal from pretty much anything," Weiss replied, before flushing slightly. "Sorry."

"It's okay I guess," Ruby replied flippantly. "So... What's up?"

Weiss turned off her Lightsaber and watched Ruby's body heal. "Ruby, how does your healing factor work?"

Ruby opened her mouth, before pausing and then smiled. "Have you ever heard of the Blacklight Virus?"

"No," Weiss said.

"It lets me do this," Ruby reached up and pulled off her head. "And it lets me do this." Ruby promptly turned into an amorphous blob that enveloped Weiss, before reforming into a copy of Weiss.

Weiss' Force ghost appeared a moment later and glared at Ruby. "Really?"

"Yup. And now we're even for the chest stabbing."

Weiss sighed and pulled out a gigai, stepping into it before rolling her eyes and leaving.

Ruby grinned.

-

Bending down, Ruby grabbed the arm which had been clawed off by a Boarbatusk. She quickly held it to her shoulder and moments later used the repaired arm to slice the offender in half with Crescent Rose. Seeing as how there were no additional enemies on the street, Jaune stepped over to his friend and Anchor.

"Hey Ruby, uh, I was wondering: Where did you get your healing power? You know, it's just, no one else knows either so I thought I'd ask."

Ruby gave an internal squee. "You don't know? Sorry, I thought I had told everyone already. I'm a vampire."

Jaune blanched, but persevered. "You mean like, blood drinking and shapeshifting and all that?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep. Not just blood though, I got it from the Hellsing branch. Vampires there drink Souls too. It's really neat!"

Jaune had by this point gone pale. "H-Hellsing? As in Alucard Hellsing?"

Ruby shrugged. "Don't know. Never met anybody by that name. I met a real nice police girl though. Hey wanna see a dead body?"

Jaune unconsciously took a step back. "No, that's okay. I, uh, I gotta go. I think I hear Pyrrha calling me."

Ruby grinned, showcasing a pair of fangs which Jaune had somehow never noticed before until they were pointed out. "Okay, see you later Jaune."

Jaune gave a brief nod and ran off.

Ruby giggled maniacally.

-

"Ruby."

"Blake. So what'd you want to talk about?" Ruby replied, sitting in their room in her pajamas as Blake studied.

"I heard an interesting story from Jaune. You do know that Hellsing Vampirism doesn't cross over well right?" Blake asked, with a pointed look.

Ruby laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah. I was just playing a little joke. I didn't think Jaune would take it so seriously though."

Blake hmm'd noncommittally and turned back to her work. After a moment she paused. "So if you aren't a vampire, how does your power work?"

Ruby grinned. "Okay see, this one time I ended up in Leman's Loop; but I wasn't a member of the Imperium. I was the Tyranids."

Blake blinked. "You mean you were a Tyranid. Right?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. I was the Tyranids. All of them. When the Loop ended I kept the power of the swarm. It's turtles all the way down."

Blake frowned. "Prove it."

Ruby agreed readily and cut off her pinky, handing it to Blake.

"I don't need the whole finger you know." Blake said after a moment's shock.

Ruby waved her off. "Nah, it's fine. See?" She wiggled all ten of her fingers.

Blake gave a brief grimace, but accepted. Reaching into a drawer she pulled out a microscope, scalpel and some slides; slicing off a small sample of her friend's finger she placed it between the glass and placed it into the device.

Taking a look inside, she was greeted by a swarm of red. Adjusting the lens, the blur resolved itself into hundreds of miniature Ruby's all staring back up at her. As one they waved.

Blake fainted.

Recollecting her finger, Ruby pulled out a marker and drew whiskers on Blake's face.

-

Yang sulked in her bed after Qrow left. She had been the last one to Awaken and had done so to the always pleasant grilling by her Uncle following her 'attack' on Mercury. Everyone else had left to give her space, except for Ruby who had pulled her sister into a hug.

"S' okay Ruby. I'm fine. You can let me go," She said, growing slightly uncomfortable by the prolonged gesture.

"Nope. Ruby is here to make you all better," her little sister said with a impish grin.

Yang sighed, but gave an equal grin in return. "Okay, fine. You wanna know what'll make me feel better? Tell me how you got your kickass healing ability."

Ruby contemplated the request, more seriously than Yang thought the question deserved, but eventually nodded to herself and gave a grin.

"I Replaced Genie from the Disney cluster," she said.

Yang boggled. "No way. Isn't that Read-Only?"

Ruby grinned and abruptly wore a pair of puffy white pants and arm bands. She lazily took a seat in the air.

"That is totally awesome. So, what? You've got 'phenomenal cosmic powers!' now?" Yang asked with a wide grin, making the appropriate emphasis on the words.

Ruby shook her head. "Not really. I think the Admins nerfed a lot of it."

Yang groaned and flopped back on her bed. "Figures. So..."

She reached up and grabbed her sister from the air, getting a squeak from the caped girl. "How about granting your favoritist sister ever a wish?"

Ruby gave a thoughtful look. "I suppose I could... for a billion cookies."

"What! Oh c'mon Ruby! Don't I get like a discount or something?"

Ruby grinned. "Well normally I charge two billion so..."

Yang groaned. "Okay, okay. I'll get you your cookies, then you grant me a wish right?"

Ruby smiled and floated out the window. 'Mission: Distract Yang from being super depressed over that stupid jerkface Mercury' was a total success. Plus she got cookies out of it! Win-win.

-

Nora stood triumphantly over the mountain of food which she had claimed dominion over once again. Even untold years later she was still the undisputed 'Queen of the Castle.' Never mind that said castle had grown to roughly the size of the CCT towers by now. Hearing a muffled whine, she looked down and caught a glimpse of Ruby's severed head buried under a pile of vegetables.

Scooping up her friend's head, she struck a pose. "To be, or not to be!"

"Hah, hah. Very funny Nora. Have you seen my body?" Ruby asked, giving a good-natured roll of her eyes.

Nora shielded her eyes from the glare and scoped out the surroundings before give a cry, and zipping to the rest of her friend.

Ruby gave a sigh of relief as she reattached her head. "That's better." She promptly turned a challenging look on Nora. "Next time I will conquer your evil domain, you treacherous fiend!"

Nora rocked back and forth on her heels with a wide grin, humming God Save the Queen loudly in reply. Ruby stuck out her tongue at her childishly. Nora replied in turn, and the two spent the next few moments making faces at each other before breaking out into laughter.

Sitting down on the leftover food items, Nora gave Ruby a curious look. "Hey Ruby, how'd you get your healing powers?

"Bitten by a sparkly vampire stalker." Ruby said matter-of-factly.

Nora grimaced. "Ooh. Say no more."

The comfortable silence lasted a few more moments before Nora spoke up again. "So how come you aren't all Emma Frost right now?"

"Make up. Lots and lots of makeup." Ruby replied in a short tone.

Nora nodded seriously and dropped the subject.

-

"So how'd you really get your abilities?" Ren asked Ruby shortly before their current Loop ended.

Ruby looked up in surprise from her strawberry cheesecake; a victory treat for having saved Penny. "Hmm?"

Ren sat down at the table. "You're healing abilities. You've given everyone else a different story. What excuse do you have for me?"

Ruby was quiet for a moment before shrugging. "I got nothing."

Ren gave a look that was half disappointment and half victory. "So does that mean I get the truth?"

Ruby nodded and held out her hand for Ren to shake. "Hello, my name is Majin Ruby. First daughter of Majin Buu and his wife Majin Booby."

Ren gave her a confused look as he shook her hand by reflex. "I'm sorry. What?"

Ruby grinned and pointed her finger at her empty plate. "Cookie Beam!"

When the glow died out, Ruby picked up the plate sized cookie and gave half to Ren.

"Majin Buu got lonely so he made himself a wife. Then they made me. I have most of Buu's powers, but I'm nowhere near as strong and I'm not immortal. At least not without the Loops anyway. I Woke Up later and got to hang out with Goku and everyone. It was really fun."

Ren nodded to himself and took a bite out of his cookie.

"But don't tell anyone. I wanna see if I can prank anybody else." Ruby pleaded. Puppy dog pout and everything. Ren folded like a wet blanket and agreed. The Loop ended a few minutes later.

-

17.14

-

"Okay, okay, okay. Just one more joke. How do you make a Penny worth more? Give it to Pyrrha, she make it four quarters!"

Ozpin and Zwei gave Neo a flat stare. "No."

"Oh come on!" Neo cried petulantly. "This is comedy gold, and you haven't even giggled once. You two have no sense of humor."

Ozpin stood up and poured himself more coffee. The stress habit was starting to get too apparent in recent days. "I'd imagine that you would be a little more... tactful, Neo. Of course, I was wrong."

"ARF bark bark," Zwei pitched in.

"Son of a bitch," Neo muttered under her breath. "I don't see what the big deal is though. Awake Pyrrha's immune to Emerald's Semblance thanks to her Spider Sense. JNPR is-"

"You know that the issue is not just Penny," Ozpin snarled. The old man and possible wizard winced and brought his temper back down. "Where's your father and Glynda?"

"Right here," Glynda said, dragging a massive piece of machinery into the room with Roman's help. The machine ticked ominously, as if it was about to explode. Glynda gave it a rap on the plating. "One self-contained super AT Field generator at your finger tips. A tool most nations would kill for."

"You'll owe me for this one Ozpin," Roman grumbled. "This came off my Evangelion, so you'd better-"

"I'll get my contacts to wire you in a new one Roman," Ozpin assured. The Headmaster of Beacon turned to Glynda. "Any way we can adapt this to Dust and Aura?"

"If I had a crack team of experts and fifteen years? Sure, I'd be able to mock one up for you," Glynda admitted. "As is, we only have Roman, myself and Zwei, so it'll delay us by thirty more years."

"We'll if it can work. Zwei's experiment started returning some coherent data while you were out."

"And?"

Ozpin shook his head. "Life fibers can't stop Grimm. The physiology is too different."

"Who doesn't love weaponized clothing?" Neo mumbled. "Another reason to hate all Grimm everywhere: no fashion sense."

"Yes, because that's their most horrid crime," Glynda retorted. "These things have ravages the planet for untold millennia Neo. For all we know, there are dragon Grimm the size of mountains, Sea Grimm that dwarf Cthulhu or however you say it, and Grimm that could destroy Vale."

"Where the stars are right, I know," Neo said. "So what? We're loopers, they're loopers, they can handle it."

"Excepting the fact that Cinder could possibly be a mole," Roman reminded Neo.

"Exactly," Ozpin said. "We don't know how Cinder will react... or at least we can't be sure. We need this in the event that Cinder turns her powers of subversion on the teens."

"With strange powers never seen before?" Neo suggested.

"I'm probably an immortal wizard Neo, I think they can accept that," Ozpin said. "Some powers can be explained like that. And we can always covertly assist them."

'Or overtly assist them,' Glynda thought. "Wasn't the plan to help them help themselves?"

Ozpin winced at that. "I think the protection of the citizenry takes precedence to their education... For now. Once we're certain they can handle the invasion on their own-"

"We can get back to making their lives hell," Roman finished.

"You can get back to teaching them by experience," Ozpin corrected. He poured himself more coffee as Roman lit up. "For now I suggest we work to keep these people safe. Now excuse me, I have a Mistralian champion to go comfort."

Zwei waddled down to the machine as Ozpin left and sniffed it. "Growl."

"...I hate that son of a bitch," Roman said. Glynda slapped him upside the head for that one.

-

17.15

-

"Pyrrha?"

The past few loops hasn't exactly been easy for Jaune and Pyrrha, not to discount the latest expansions. First Jaune tried to relate to Pyrrha without fully understanding her situation and ended up being thrown into a wall. Then Penny got torn apart (Jaune refused to let his team entertain the idea that Penny, a robot, was dead). With the next expansion set to happen any day now, everyone knew that things were not going to end well for Vale.

But darn it, Jaune wasn't going to let his girlfriend (even thinking that sent a thrill up his spine) mope around. He was Jaune Arc and he did not give up and helped anyone in need.

Pyrrha glanced over at Jaune, a somewhat bemused look slipping onto her face for a moment. "Jaune, what are you doing up here?"

Jaune, balanced carefully on a Goblin Glider Pyrrha had gifted him long ago, coasted up to Pyrrha and the cloud she had been lounging on all evening. "Oh, you know. Hanging out."

Pyrrha stared at him before bursting into giggles. "Hanging."

"What?"

"Well, wasn't that a joke? A bad pun?"

Jaune stared blankly at Pyrrha. "I wasn't making a joke."

Pyrrha's giggles trailed off, a wince replacing them. "Oh. Well, I'm sorry I misunderstood that."

"No, no, that's alright." Jaune, with a bit of trepidation, stepped onto Pyrrha's cloud. "I was actually wondering what you were doing up here."

Pyrrha flinched minutely. "Up here? I was cloud gazing. Yeah."

Jaune glanced down at the multitudes of clouds far below them. "Right..."

Jaune recline into the cloud, next to Pyrrha, and they both stared up at the infinitely deep blue ceiling above. The sky itself seemed stretch on forever and ever, the stars invisible in the light of the sun, and it all came to feel as if they were cushioned between sky and earth, alone but for the wind that pervaded all.

"You know why I'm here Jaune." Pyrrha wrung her hands, tone quiet and pained. "I can't go down there again. I can't be-"

"You will always, always, be Pyrrha Nikos," Jaune said. He slipped a hand into Pyrrha's. "You are who you choose to be, and you know that choice was taken away from you by Emerald."

Pyrrha rolled over, away from Jaune. "I'm still a part of it. I still chose to attack Penny."

"And who scared you?" Jaune asked. "Who told you that you should throw everything away, your life, your moral code, everything, to do the right thing? Who told you that if the entire world rested on your shoulders that you alone should make the choices to save it."

"You didn't know-"

"And you didn't know either," Jaune told her. "So either I'm to blame for pushing you away, or Emerald is to blame for killing Penny."

Pyrrha squeezed her eyes shut tight, fighting down the rising tears. It seemed like another battle she'd lose.

Jaune wrapped his arms around Pyrrha. "I know that what happened in the colosseum wasn't your fault. You know that too. You just need to believe it."

"You can't understand this Jaune."

Jaune held Pyrrha all the tighter. "I know. But I can help you understand it."

"We can help to," Nora said, popping out of the cloud.

Jaune and Pyrrha jerked in surprise at Nora's sudden appearance... and her appearance. "Nora, why are you de-aged?"

"I brewed a de-aging potion," Ren said, popping out of the cloud with Nora. They were both about eight years old. "We figured it would help."

Pyrrha gave them both, cute as they were, a conflicted look. "Thank you, but right now, I just want to be alone."

"You've spent enough-" Jaune began.

"With Jaune," Pyrrha quietly interrupted.

"Nope," Nora declared, snuggling in next to Pyrrha. "We're a family so you're stuck with us."

So Pyrrha and Jaune and Nora and Ren all laid there for a while, on their bed of cloud, together. And Pyrrha finally relented and snuggled with Nora and Ren, and Jaune talked about thing he'd thought up they'd do as a family and as a team... and was loudly told no, and they remained there for the rest of the day.

The quartet returned to Beacon as the sun started to fall, Ren and Nora reverting to their base ages, when Pyrrha stopped. Jaune walked right into her and it took him a moment to notice the reason Pyrrha had stopped. "You don't need to speak with her just yet."

"...I want to," Pyrrha affirmed. JNR trailing behind her, Pyrrha walked up behind another student. "Hello. Penny, right?"

Penelope Polendina turned and smiled at Pyrrha. "That's right. I'm Penny! And you are Pyrrha Nikos, right?"

Pyrrha smiled, even if she had to force herself. "Yes, I am Pyrrha. It's is nice to meet you Penny."

"It is certainly nice to meet you Pyrrha," Penny said cheerfully. She stuck out a hand. "I have heard that you are entering the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"I've heard the same of you," Pyrrha said, shaking Penny's hand. "I... came here to warn you."

"About your polarity Semblance?" Penny asked. "It is nothing to fear: Ruby Rose has been upgrading my sub-dermal to more efficiently resist abrasive applications of force, while also decreasing the tensile strength of my manipulation wires-"

"Wait, you know she know's you're a robot," Jaune said in confusion.

"Ruby informed me that you were aware of the situation and General Ironwood sanctioned it," Penny said casually. She smiled at Pyrrha. "Seeing the recording of the Vytal Tournament helped convince him of the veracity of Ruby's claim."

"You saw... you know..." Pyrrha tried to articulate her response amidst her shocked team.

"Ruby supplied me with a removable hard drive containing my memory stores up to minus eighteen hundred seconds to my shutdown," Penny said casually. "With this we convinced General Ironwood of Ruby's temporal displacement. The General has requested that this information be kept classified, though provided a clause that you could be informed of our knowledge should you ask."

Penny smiled warmly at Pyrrha, even as a touch of melancholy entered her artificial cheeks. "I do not blame you for the actions you've taken Pyrrha. In the situation that Ruby described, I am certain that I would have made similar decisions with similar unknowable results." Penny nodded. "If nothing else, it has proven that I am as frail as any human, and in a way, I find that..." Penny seemed to search her memory for the right word. "Comforting."

Pyrrha stared at her boots. "I-"

"There is no need to apologize," Penny declared. She turned on her heel and started off. "I look forward to our match Pyrrha Nikos."

The minutes passed while JNPR returned to their dorm. Ren broke the silence. "Did it help?"

Pyrrha nodded. "It did. It helped a lot."

-

17.16 Shimmer712

-

"Excuse me!" Weiss snapped at the old man named Pakku. "What did you say?"

"Woman are weak, fragile creatures, who are unsuited for combat," he sniffed down at her.

"Sir, that is a highly inaccurate and somewhat insulting statement," Ren said calmly. "It may be wise to reconsidered your words."

"How is the truth inaccurate and insulting?" the waterbending master demanded. Jaune gave him a look that screamed "you're pretty stupid, aren't you?" as Ren rolled his eyes.

Ren gestured to the girls. "Pyrrha here defeated four armed men attacking her at the same time. Nora here is a skilled fighter and can send people flying for quite a distance with a single swing. Yang beat up a couple of dozen men single handedly. Blake is very quick and precise in her attacks and can take down multiple foes, as can Weiss while Ruby is viewed as a prodigy in fighting."

"Clearly, your home has low standards and weak men," Pakku scoffed. Ren sighed.

"Nora?"

"Yes, Ren?"

"Break his legs."

Nora squealed and launched herself forward. Pakku quickly threw some ice darts at her and the two engaged in combat. Pakku did prove himself a capable fighter. However, despite his skill and experience, he found himself on the defensive. Finally, he managed to freeze Nora. Unfortunately, he mistakenly assumed that the ice would stay solid. Nora broke free and took advantage of his dropped guard.

The end result was Pakku got his legs broken, Weiss got her lessons in waterbending combat and Jaune requested and received training in waterbending healing.


	19. The Eye

**18.1 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

People are easy.

They are stupid and weak willed, creatures that prey upon self-validation. People strive every second of their existence to prove their worth to themselves, to assert that they are still useful. This is a trait deeply rooted in evolution, as with each passing moment the body quietly calculates how worthy your genes are.

' _Am I worthy of continuing my species?_ ' is the question asked underneath everything. Every advance in technology, the physical studies, war, everything comes back to proving the self worth of an individual. Even the most fanatic supporters of the most oppressive regime think to themselves ' _I am benefitting from this_ '?

Human beings are selfish, and thus, delusional. Always working to advance their own agenda, holding firmly to their beliefs and ideals, even gripping tightly to the ancient and outmoded traditions of yore. All because of their quest for validation.

People fear being proven wrong, and more than that, they fear their beliefs being proven wrong. A child believes that their parents will protect them... right up until said parents through them into the pit to save themselves. The stupor and agony of this betrayal, of this loss, this defeat of their beliefs, will numb many to the point of simply accepting their lethal fate. If the cornerstone of their lives were so far afield, so horribly out of kilter, did they even deserve to live?

Idealists fell prey to this most terribly. They believed, rather than saw. They could look into her eyes and see the sparkling peacefulness, the cheerful camaraderie they shared. This belief overrode logic, buried contradictions, and gave rise to an infallible concept, almost a religion devoted to the world view.

' _Oh sure_ ', they say. ' _She's being a little violent, but she's reigning it in. My friend's worse off anyway._ ' They defend her, prove her right. Their belief holds strong and makes them fools. They look into her eyes and see their best friend, their sister.

They are fools for this. For believing instead of seeing. Placing your trust in your enemy, who's reformation is only by their claim, is ludicrous. RWBY and JNPR and especially Ruby Rose deserved to be lied to and manipulated.

So, for the life of her, Cinder could not work out why this hurt so much.

Not to get this wrong, Cinder had little interest in doing good deeds. People were, as she said, foolish and manipulated with ease. She helped out the weak and fought the Grimm because Ruby and everyone else did. It built up a rapport with them and strengthened the already iron strong bonds of friendship they had.

At the same time, Cinder loved to indulge herself. Greed and violence could rule her for an entire loop, as she cut a bloody swath through Vale. Variants have rise to even more amazing possibilities. A carving knife and a world where she was a little known seamstress did wonders for her thirst (being a vampire was _phenomenal_ ).

Yes, Cinder Fall loved to be bad. She could kidnap Ozpin and torture him to death, seeing how many secrets he spilled. Quietly set up tens of thousands of Grimm just outside the City border that would attack just after the loop ended, dooming the kingdom. In a rare loop where she had already decided to go Stealth and Ruby wasn't Awake, the entire world bowed to her before becoming an abattoir.

Yet, underneath it all, something was amiss. Cinder couldn't put her finger on it, but beneath every little action, there existed a niggle. A tiny... yes, a thought, a tiny thought that said, ' _Would Ruby approve of this?_ '

At which point Cinder would chide herself for her own ridiculousness. Of course Ruby wouldn't approve: that was what made it all the more fun! She did this because it was wrong and cruel and evil and Ruby hated it. That fueled her love of it.

But still, the niggle persisted. That and a tiny little question. ' _Why?_ '

Why was she doing this? ' _It was fun_ ', was the answer. Being violent and evil was genuinely fun. Besides, she was already evil, may as well make the best of it.

And so, Cinder pressed on in her quiet crusade against Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Why not see how far she could go? Why not push the kids to their breaking point and destroy them? It was hardly as if they would be missed. After all, the wider community in the Multiverse only cared about other worlds because if they didn't, they'd invalidate their own continued existence. Gotta love how empathy works, eh?

Cinder was certainly permitted to do these sorts of things. After all, no one could stop her. No one would. She could torture Weiss to death in front of Ruby and Ruby wouldn't stop her. She'd just stand there, judging her as if she was some normal human being held to good and evil.

Yes, all of them were fools to take her at face value. So again, the question is raised. ' _Why does this hurt?_ '

The debauchery, the pain and violence, the glorification of the pointlessness of man, everything made Cinder gleeful to be a looper. Truer pleasures had never been easier for her to find. It should have been perfect, but as she stealth looped, she saw it.

The way they looked at her when she was Evil. The Teens, even the Adults all looked at her. She was a coiled snake. Dangerous. It was flattering. After all, she was dangerous, and to be acknowledged like that was something else.

So, why? Why did it hurt?

Cinder didn't know. She didn't care to know. Her days were given to the gratification of her carnal desires, her nights to vast webs of her plans, tangled up within her brain. It was beyond perfect. She was beyond perfect.

Why worry? After all, it was just a little niggle, right?

Right?

* * *

 **18.2 Vadrigar**

* * *

"So... a Grimm dragon."

"Yes, it would seem that Cinder has all manner of trump cards."

"At least Ruby is excited. I'm glad that the Baseline stuff hasn't taken any hope away from her."

"Hope…yes."

Jaune and Pyrrha were walking along the courtyard of Beacon on an almost annoyingly nice day. The other students were enjoying themselves. How could they not? They had no idea that in less than a year, civilization as they know it might end. Jaune almost envied them.

"Jaune, can we talk?"

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, who stared back. Even after all this time, she wasn't good at hiding her emotions, and her eyes gave her away almost every time. She was frightened.

"I thought we were?"

"Very funny. You should be a comedian."

"I think you're the only person who's laughed at my jokes."

"Well then, it must mean I have the best sense of humor in the multiverse. Can we sit down?"

Pyrrha pointed to a nearby table, and quietly sat down next to Jaune. She rested her head on his shoulder, with his hand grasped in hers.

"Baseline me wants to take Ozpin's deal, Jaune."

"I know. And I'll probably try to stop you."

"Do you think you'll succeed?"

"I don't know."

There were birds chirping nearby. Jaune hated the sound. It was almost as if the universe was mocking him, telling him that everything was fine, everything was peaceful.

"We should talk to Cinder, she knows what it's like."

"Her situation was different from mine. She used some sort of Grimm bug, I'm using a machine. She did it willingly, I'm doing it even though I don't want to. She and I were different people, for all we know that plays a huge role in it."

"Okay, but-"

"Jaune. After the next Expansion, Baseline me might change. We don't know what will happen to me. It could change me permanently."

"You don't know that!"

"Neither do you! For all we know, it could mess up my Looping soul. It could make me stop Looping, it could kill me, it could change my personality, it could-"

"But Cinder-"

"Jaune, please. We have to talk about the worst case scenario."

Jaune stood up from the bench and threw his shield at the nearby birds, making them scatter. Pyrrha was quiet, deciding to let him get it out of his system. Jaune stared at the spot where the birds were for a minute, then turned back to Pyrrha.

"The Admins wouldn't let anything like that happen."

"Jaune, an entire universe was destroyed under their watch. I can't imagine that losing one Looper would have that much of an impact."

"You're NOT 'just one Looper', don't ever think that."

"Fine. But if the next Expansion is my last, I want to enjoy the time we have left together."

The next thing Pyrrha knew, she was being hugged. She also thought she heard crying.

"Pyrrha, I swear. You will come out of this okay. And if you don't, me, Nora, Ren, Ruby, and everyone else _will_ find a way to get you back, no matter what. I won't lose the best thing that's ever happened to me. To us."

Pyrrha hugged Jaune back, and held him as tightly as she could. Whatever happened next, she knew that they wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Jaune, this Loop has a Stealth Anchor, and I think the only Loopers Awake are the two of us. Do you want to get some ice cream?"

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Wiping away what was left of his tears, Jaune once again grabbed Pyrrha's hand and walked out of the courtyard.

* * *

 **18.3**

* * *

"Neo, let me tell you something." Roman danced up to the controls of the Atlesian Airship that they'd commandeered. "I love not knowing what these buttons do. For example."

Roman pressed a button on the holographic control panel. A holographic mariachi band appeared. "The mariachi button! What will they think of next?"

Neo, mute as the loops would have her be, held up a sign. "An actual job?"

"What does this button do?" Roman pressed it, and churros appeared from a secret compartment on the dashboard. "Churros? Awesome!"

"Mine," Neo's sign said as she grabbed the sweets.

"Hmm... this button is going to be fun, I just know it," Roman said, pressing it.

And then it began to rain crack cocaine.

"..." Roman, in silent awe, hugged the dashboard. "Mexican drug cartel button. This ship has everything. Everything I tell you."

Neo, in curiousity, pressed her own button. She kept pressing it. Pressing it and waiting.

After several seconds, a gigantic fireball fell out of the sky and blew a massive hole in southern Vale. Roman laughed manically. "The chicxulub button! This really does have everything!"

"I'm putting this in my subspace pocket," Neo's sign read.

"What? No. I'm the pilot, so I keep the ship," Roman countered. "I, where'd the ship go?"

Both Neo and Roman were hanging in thin air, because Ruby had just pocketed the entire ship. They grabbed each other, and screamed as they fell. "AAHHHHHHH!"

* * *

 **18.4 Vadrigar**

* * *

Roman looked up as his cell door opened, revealing a smirking Neo. She was twirling his hat on his cane, and holding her umbrella in her other hand.

"Finally, waiting in that cell isn't fun at... did you get shorter?"

"Think about your next words _very_ carefully, Roman."

"No, seriously, you're up to my stomach. I swear you were at least at my chest."

"Just take your hat and get to the controls. I want to see what the buttons do this time."

"Right, but still."

"No, I haven't gotten shorter, you just haven't seen me in a while."

"And you haven't gotten any powers that can make you taller yet?"

* * *

Ruby landed on the wing of the prison ship just in time to see a screaming, bloody Roman get thrown out of the cockpit.

"Huh, wonder what that's all about."

* * *

 **18.5 Jcogginsa.**

* * *

The draconian Grimm flew through the city, shedding Grimm onto the streets below. It let loose a roar of triumph... and was met with a roar of challenge.

The dragon looked at the interloper. The beast was tall, 50 meters in total. It's skin was ashen grey in the night.

* * *

Elsewhere, Blake spoke to Weiss, "Why is Godzilla here?"

"It looks like he's issuing the big dragon a challenge," Weiss answered, "He must have been the other Ping we got earlier. "

"If those two fight in the city, it'll get wrecked worse than it does normally," Blake replied, "We've gotta do something."

"Are you kidding?" Weiss said, "It's Godzilla. He's been looping longer than either of us. If he wants to fight in the city there isn't much we can do to stop him."

It was then that kaiju did something neither of them expected.

* * *

In the Atlesian war ship, Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan glanced out the window at the faceoff between the two beasts.

"Huh. Don't see that everyday," Roman commented as he saw Godzilla place a colossal boombox on the ground next to him. He activated the device, and a song began to play.

"Everybody get up, it's time to slam now. We got a real jam going down. Welcome to the space jam..."

As the song played on, Godzilla retrieved an enormous basketball from his Pocket, and pointed at the massive Grimm. Then he pointed at the CCT tower, which now bore a hoop and backboard. He roared once more.

The Grimm looked as confused as everyone else.

* * *

 **18.6**

* * *

"I mean, how are you supposed to find an easy job in this market? I'm not a half bad seamstress, I'll be honest, but I just don't have the business smarts."

"Really, you should look into the bureau of labor. The statistics on what some people make are mind boggling, and I will not start on how under serviced the fashion industry is. You could make a killing. No pun intended."

"...You know, when you offered me an apprenticeship when you already had Emerald, I was pretty sure you were going to be talking about fashion all the time." Mercury scratched his head awkwardly. "I really didn't expect this sort of discussion though."

Cinder chuckled. "Oh trust me Mercury. I'll keep teaching you and you'll still become the world's most dangerous assassin. You'll just also be the world's most fashionable assassin."

"Fashionable and assassin don't go together," Mercury told her.

"Uh, hello?" Emerald asked, gesturing at herself.

Mercury smirked. "You know, you're right. You're drop dead gorgeous. Stunning. Amazing. Why, I should just get on my knees and beg you: date me you beautiful woman. Date me."

Emerald rolled her eyes as Cinder and Mercury laughed at her expense. "You are a terrible teacher Cinder. He's undisciplined."

"I do try to have a forgiving, if firm... Hang on." Cinder stopped in the middle of the road, staring. Emerald and Mercury tracked her gaze to a pair of girls standing alone in the square, black and white clothing casting a sharp contrast. "Wait here."

Cinder walked across Vale's central plaza to Blake and Weiss, the two girls quietly standing in front of a vine bed. A bouquet of roses were placed at it's base. "What, did someone die?"

Weiss and Blake glanced up from their solemn silence to look at Cinder. Weiss nodded once. "It's complicated."

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Uh... I'm Awake. I can handle complicated."

Blake didn't look up from the bouquet. "Cinder, do you know where we're standing?"

Cinder glanced around. They were in Central Vale, just between the residential and market districts. It looked like a pretty normal, if empty, square. The memories took a moment to come to her. "This is where the train crashed."

"The breach into Vale's defenses," Weiss said. "We were at ground zero for it. In a lot of ways, we caused it. That's why we do out best to stop it before it happens."

"I've noticed," Cinder said. More than a few of her plans had backfired due to Team RWBY's foreknowledge. "But why are you here now? I haven't ordered an attack. In fact, I'm trying to be a seamstress this loop."

"Yeah..." Blake said. The wind rustle her bow, tickling the cat Faunus' hidden ears. "This is a commemoration."

"For the citizens who died," Cinder guessed.

"For the White Fang we killed," Weiss said.

Several moments passed as Cinder struggled to comprehend what Weiss had just said. "You... you're here to commemorate the White Fang. The people who attacked Vale?"

"Yes," Blake said in a small voice. "The people on that train... they're misguided. They're not supposed to be terrorists. They were supposed to bring peace. We killed them."

"..." Cinder wisely remained silent.

"They were the first people we ever killed," Weiss admitted. "Even if it was just by accident, and even if they deserved it, we killed them. We had a hand in it."

"It... hurts, even after all this time."

Cinder stared at the roses. "You do this every loop?"

"Whenever we're Awake," Blake said. She looked at Cinder. "In the last expansion, I saw Adam. I think I'm going to need to fight him."

Cinder shook her head. "...I don't know what to tell you. Adam is working for me because I threatened him. Just..."

"Don't get your hopes up?" Weiss asked sarcastically. "You're talking to the wrong pussycat for that Cinder."

Cinder bowed out and returned to Emerald and Mercury, confused as they were. "I think we can go now."

"What was that?" Mercury asked.

"...Just a pair of guilty people," Cinder said simply. "Just... guilty people."

* * *

 **18.7 Firehawk**

* * *

"Oh, Junior, I was just playing with you," Aisha said. "Don't be so sensitive! C'mon, let's kiss and make up, okay?"

"Huh?" Hei "Junior" Xiong grunted. Aisha giggled. "Okay..." Junior said.

The two leaned in. Then Aisha punched Junior across the club, sending him through a glass pillar in the process. She dropped into a fighting stance as the thugs around her started to move, the bracelets on her wrists extending into full gauntlets. She cocked the shotguns inside the gauntlets, loading in the next round as she prepared for a fight.

And then she Awoke.

Well, she'd Awoken in worse situations before. Once. Maybe twice. But this was pretty high up there on her list of bad Awakenings. She was outnumbered, she didn't have time to transform, and there's only so much boxing can do against axes and machetes. None of her out-of-loop abilities would be able to get her out of this one. So she dove into her in-loop identity in search of aid.

She broke into a grin.

Her loop memories took hold and she _jumped._ No ordinary human or fairy could jump like this without magic or other supernatural abilities, but she did so with ease, hurling herself a solid thirty feet straight up. Then she came back down, pink fire trailing in her wake as she slammed her fist into the ground with an explosion. Her body went into auto-pilot, fighting with the ease of years of practice as one by one she beat the thugs into unconsciousness. As she did so, she could feel a strange energy flowing through her, giving her strength, speed, and protection. Her loop memories called the energy her Aura, her soul made manifest. Whatever it was, it was letting her kick these goons around like so many soccer balls.

The DJ, who for some reason had a teddy bear helmet that did not at all match the assault rifle in his hands, open fire from his balcony. Aisha took the opportunity to transform, her Sirenix wings flashing into existence as she launched herself through the air at her attacker. Morphix met Aura Fire as her spell formed, and a flaming whip of pink goo lashed out to smack the DJ into unconsciousness. Aisha took a moment to marvel at the interaction of her magic with her new powers before releasing her transformation.

"Melanie, who is this girl?" a girl dressed in red and armed with claws that even Wolverine would respect asked.

"I dunno Miltia," her white clad twin said, the blades on her stiletto heels shining, "but we should teach her a lesson."

Aisha turned and faced her opponents. Miltia and Melanie were expecting a brawler. What they got was something rather different.

* * *

Aisha finished the brawl with an Aura and magic empowered punch that hurled "Junior" through the front window of his own club. She followed him through the window and landed in a crouch in front of the very unconscious gang leader.

"Yang?" a girl in a red cloak asked. "No, not Yang."

Aisha looked up at the girl in front of her, the name surfacing from her loop memories instantly. "You're Ruby," Aisha said. A realization hit her. "You're looping?"

"Anchor, actually!" Ruby said. "Hi, I'm Ruby Rose, Anchor for Remnant!"

"Aisha, I'm from the Winx loops," Aisha said.

"Cool, what are they like?" Ruby asked.

"Fairies, witches, and magic," Aisha said.

"Ooh, neat!" Ruby replied. "Can you show me some magic? Are you a fairy? What's flying like?"

Aisha stared at the adorable red-and-black-wearing little bundle of energy in front of her. Who was apparently her little sister for the loop. Then she grinned. She'd Awoken in better foreign loops before. Once. Maybe twice. But this place was already pretty high up there on her list of favorite loops.

* * *

 **18.8 Shimmer712**

* * *

"So…I'm the Princess of Love," a bronze Alicorn with a red mane and green eyes said to her companion in the Honeymoon Carriage. Her cutie Mark was a heart shaped shield with a spear.

"Yep," a white unicorn with a blond mane and blue eyes said, his Cutie Mark resembling a crescent moon formed by two arcs. "I have so many corny comments about how you've been my Princess of Love long before this."

Pyrrha laughed softly. "And you're the captain of the guard, a defense specialist and my new husband," she added.

"Yep," Jaune agreed. "All these shielding techniques should be useful…Provided I can figure out how to use them without a horn," he added, his orange magic lighting up his horn.

Smiling, Pyrrha nodded. The pair sat in silence, basking in the presence of the other.

"…Jaune?"

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"I know that in loop, it's our wedding night, but would it be alright if we didn't…do anything," Pyrrha's face turned red. "I mean…I'm okay with some stuff but…."

Jaune blinked and considered. "…It would be weird to …um…yeah…as ponies, wouldn't it?" he blushed. "Especially since we haven't done it before. Not that there's anything wrong with it or you, but I think it would be better if we were in our normal bodies and not having extra legs, or tails or anything and sure that Ren and Nora aren't going to walk in or…"

"Exactly!" Pyrrha nodded, interrupting his babbling. "Besides, it's not like we have a time limit or anything. We can take our time."

"Of course we can," Jaune nodded. Red-faced, the pair looked out the windows of the carriage.

"…Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know any shield spells that aren't transparent and can hold up without you focusing on them?"

"There are plenty that can't be seen through and if I practice, I can get them to stay up on their own. Why?"

"For in the future. In case we can't make sure no one walks into the room. Like Nora," Pyrrha said awkwardly.

"…I see if there are any that are also _soundproof_ ," Jaune promised.

"The local anchor, Twilight could probably help. And you are her brother this loop," Pyrrha mused. "She seemed very nice when we talked in the mines."

"And she did help save me from the Bug-Pony queen and her mind-control so we should probably drop by to give more thanks for that so we can ask then. Let's avoid telling her why we want a barrier like that," Jaune suggested.

"Deal."

* * *

 **18.9 yangfromyin**

* * *

Blake was in paradise, and she hated every moment of it.

On the surface, everything was perfect. The Faunus were never discriminated against, the White Fang didn't become terrorists, Adam never turned into the monster he is in the baseline, and she could walk through the streets without the need of her bow.

Blake was overjoyed when she had Awoken to these memories. She had sent out a ping to connect with her friends, but there was no response. There was a Stealth Anchor, so not even Ruby was Awake to speak to. Because there was nothing to push her, Blake's unAwake self never set out to become a Huntress, meaning she never _would_ meet her friends.

She had everything she dreamed of... but she was _alone_.

She had moped about for a week before she decided to do something. There was no discrimination, but suffering still existed in this Loop. She would do what she could to make it _right_.

So, it was with a bittersweet smile when she left on the Bullhead, a proud Adam waving her off.

* * *

 **18.10**

* * *

"Hey, Jaune, Pyrrha, heads up," Cinder called as she rode by on her bike. "Baseline me's probably gunning for you in the next expansion. Stay alert."

"Oh yeah, thanks... Wait, what?" Jaune said.

* * *

 **18.11**

* * *

There was a loud thud against the wall. Blake glanced up from her book, before returning to it. A moment later, another thud went off.

It was around the time of the fifth thud that Blake got up and looked out the window. A moment later, Adam crashed into the wall, moaned in pain, and fell to the earth. She looked down at Yang on the ground. "What are you doing Yang?"

Yang looked up at Blake. "I'm beating Adam up. Duh."

"Why?"

"Because he was creepy to you."

Blake watched as Yang grabbed Adam again, and threw him up against the wall again. "Whatever. Just don't beat him up too much."

* * *

 **18.12 Shimmer712**

* * *

Qrow sat in the bar, watching the monitor as he gulped down his drink.

"Tch," he said, disgusted as one team started to have a meeting in the middle of their match. He didn't blame the guy from the other team for yelling at them.

" _HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"_ The guy with claws demanded. Qrow shook his head, turning back to his drink and continued to listen to the match.

" _WE'RE HAVING A MEETING!"_ The blond guy shouted back.

 _"WE'RE FIGHTING!"_

 _"AND WE'RE TALKING!"_

"Seriously not the time and place," Qrow grunted.

 _"Team ears only,"_ one girl, the one with the hammer, affirmed.

"If it's team ears only, do it when it's only the team present, idiot," Qrow rolled his eyes.

 _"WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT!"_ Claws screamed at Blondie.

"Damn straight," Qrow nodded.

 _"ANDWE'REINTHEMIDDLEOFSNEAKINGUPONYOU!"_ Blondie screamed back.

"….Wait, what?" Qrow blinked and turned back to the screen into time to notice a twig behind Claws and his team snap.

 _"YEAH... wait, what?"_ Claws said

SLASH! BANG! BOOM! CRUNCH!

Claws' team collapsed. Blondie's team stood over them in victory. The Blondie team that had been talking vanished in a puff of smoke. Blondie chuckled.

 _"I love it when a plan comes together."_

"Huh, they actually knew what they were doing," Qrow noted, mentally kicking himself for not considering that they had a plan the whole time and were luring their opponents into letting down their guard.

"Oldest trick in the book, getting someone to drop their guard," he chuckled to himself. "I gotta remember that it's in the book because it works some of the time."

* * *

Qrow sat in the bar, watching the monitor as he gulped down his drink.

"…What the hell?" He wasn't sure where the pie cannon came from but it was proving to be a very efficient tactic.

"…Well, it's not like anyone would have had any counter-plans for something like that, so I guess it works," Qrow muttered to himself.

The match ended in RWBY's victory when a oversized cherry exploded and their the other team out of the ring.

"Note to self: the new generation can be very creative and unorthodox."

* * *

Qrow sat in the bar, watching the monitor as he gulped down his drink.

"Did little Ruby just _melt_ half of the ring?" Qrow blinked as the white haired girl froze the opposing team in place before Yang and the dark haired girl whacked them over the head and knocked them out.

"….That was over fast," he commented, still surprised. He really needed to keep in touch more if his baby nieces had improved that much while he was gone.

* * *

Qrow sat in the bar, watching the monitor as he gulped down his drink.

The team from Beacon, JNPR, seemed to have equipped all its members with lightning dust…and were zapping their hammer-wielding member.

"So that's what they're up to," he mused as Professor Port explained the Hammer-Girl's semblance. "And it conceals the abilities of the others for future matches so their opponents can't plan counters."

* * *

"Are they sleeping through the match?" The bartender gawked. Qrow wasn't sure. Maybe team RWBY was faking to psyche out their opponents? If they really were sleeping through the fight...

...Well, either Qrow was going to grill his nieces for not taking an armed opponent seriously or praise them for being so good they could literally beat people up in their sleep.

"And Team RWBY wins," Professor Port boomed.

"I can't believe they slept through their match or that they won," Doctor Oobleck said.

* * *

Qrow watched as the dark haired member of Beacon's JNPR stepped into the open...and was promptly blasted back several feet.

"REN!" his team mates screeched before turning to the other team. Suddenly, the blond boy and two girls looked less like students and more like demons spawned from the depths of hell.

"Huh, guess they're over-protective when it comes to that guy," Qrow observed as he watched the trio maul their opponents.

As he watched the screen, he noticed something.

"What...heh, guess he knows his team mates," Qrow chuckled as he saw the green clad boy idly watch his team mates destroy BRNZ. Once Brnz was down, the three quickly turned to check on him.

"Okay, I'm guessing Hammer girl is his girlfriend but why am I getting a Mommy/Daddy vibe from the other two?" Qrow wondered as Ren was fussed over by his partner and adoptive parents.

* * *

 **18.13 Masterofgames**

* * *

"Children, my semblance grants me the ability to gaze through time. Now, you can imagine my shock when I do so, and discover that this is not supposed to be the case. And that you all are supposed to be rather more... normal. As well as the thousands of timelines I had to sort through. Could someone kindly explain?"

* * *

Later, with Glynda.

* * *

"You found a way to be Awake publicly, and explained it away as a variant..."

"Indeed."

"And as a variant, there's a chance it could happen again, meaning you can pull this over and over..."

"Correct."

"You magnificent bastard..."

"I know."

* * *

 **18.14 Yangfromyin**

* * *

Yang was worried about her partner. Blake was purring and, for some reason, trying to _grab_ the sunlight entering their dorm room through the window. She didn't know if it was some weird Variant or if all the Loops had made Blake lose her mind, but she knew that she had to take care of her partner.

Yang went to grab Blake and put her on her bed, but she noticed a bag laying on the ground nearby. She looked inside and saw several crushed leaves. "Blake, what is this?"

Yang didn't receive an answer, but she wasn't really expecting one with Blake in this state. So she went out and found Weiss.

Weiss took one look at the contents of the bag and sighed. "Its catnip. Blake must have gotten exposed to it; she's effectively high right now."

"That's a relief, I thought that something seriously wrong had happened." Yang paused for a few moments. "I'm going into the city to pick up a few things. Do you want me to get you something?"

* * *

Ruby, Weiss, and team JNPR were standing in confusion as Blake was rubbing her face in Cinder's hair while Yang sat there recording the whole scene on her scroll.

"So sis, what happened?"

"I _may_ have contaminated Cinder's hair-care products with catnip."

Jaune shuddered. "Never mess with a sibling's beauty supplies, I learned that the hard way."

"I had to wait 50 Loops for everyone to be Awake except Blake. This is so worth it."

"Yang?" Cinder's voice was very cheery, but she looked at her loop sister with a malicious smile.

"Yes?"

"It may not be this Loop, it may not be the next, but you _will_ regret this."

Yang paled. "Understood."

* * *

 **18.15 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Ruby? Ruby, what's wrong," crooned the rough voice.

 _Uncle Qrow_ , Ruby thought distantly. However, she just couldn't stop from crying. Her big sister lost her arm, Blake found the man she had cared for deeply was essentially dead and replaced by a monster wearing his face, Penny was dead, Pyrrha was Yang were probably viewed as murderers, there was a giant dragon Grimm spawning hundreds of Grimm in the Vale, Amber was dead…the expansions _sucked_. And no one was sending a ping so she was _alone_.

"Hey, hey, hey," Qrow picked her up and settled her in his lap. "C'mon, birdie, tell Uncle Qrow what's wrong?" Ruby sniffled and buried her face against his chest. Should she tell him? Would it do anything?

Would it even matter?

"…Time is broken…" she mumbled.

"Huh?"

Qrow patiently listened to Ruby as she explained the loops and demonstrated some of her abilities. He was pretty impressed with her Pocket but disliked that she had so few medical supplies, something she agreed to fix in the future.

He listened to her explain how she ran into Roman and wound up at Beacon early. He listened to her talk of Weiss, her partner at Beacon and her issues with her father and White Fang. He listened to her talk of Blake, of her past with White Fang and issues with Adam. He listened as she told him how Emerald used her illusions to make Yang look like a psychopath and how Adam sliced off her arm.

He listened to her talk of Pyrrha and her willingness to become to Autumn Maiden, even if she didn't know if she as a person would survive the process. She spoke of how Pyrrha 's sacrifice became of possible choice for her because of Cinder attacking Autumn with some sort of parasite Grimm and a glove.

Qrow listened then he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Then he stood up and put her on the ground.

"Leave it to your uncle, kiddo," he said simply. He led her inside, put his flask away and told her to go wash her face before her father and Yang saw she had been crying.

"And be good, okay? Tell your dad I don't when I'll be back but it's _important._ "

Ruby watched her uncle leave and wondered what he intended to do.

* * *

The next time she saw him, he wasn't alone.

"Tai, this is Blake. She's an orphan," Qrow looked at his brother-in-law. Taiyang crouched down and looked Blake in the eye.

"Hello, Blake. Wanna stay here?" he asked. "I have two daughters so it won't be lonely."

Wide, golden eyes stared at him and she opened her mouth.

"WHOO YEAH! A NEW GIRL IN THE HOUSE!" a blonde missile knocked the fanus over in a glomp. "C'mon, I'll show you around! Hey, Ruby, c'mon!"

Taiyang watched his two daughters take the dark haired inside.

"…Guess that answers that question…" he shrugged. Qrow chuckled.

"Guess so," he said. "See ya later."

"Keep in touch, Qrow!"

Ruby thought she saw Adam after thought, watching through the trees. Ruby wondered if he thinking of taking Blake back. If he was considering she was better off in a proper home.

She wondered if seeing a human man raise a fanus like his daughter would derail his path to his baseline self.

* * *

Next, a white-haired girl showed up for a play date. The Schnees had been in Vale on business and Qrow had taken the opportunity.

Granted, Winter had shown up later, looking peeved, but her face had noticeably softened at the sight of her baby sister playing and making friends. She still rounded on Qrow and lectured him sternly, which was quite comical to watch given her age.

* * *

Amber came next. She spent a few nights with them before Qrow escorted her to Beacon where she would be a teacher and surrounded constantly with skilled and powerful hunters nearby. In a position where a sneak attack on her would be close to impossible and where she would have backup on hand.

Ruby was shocked when _Roman Torchwick_ showed up with a young Neo. Qrow took the man with him on missions and split the pay with him, negating the necessity of stealing to survive. The fact that Tai Yang gladly took care of Neo when he was absence only secured the cane-wielding man's loyalty. Roman Torchwick was out of the hands of whoever Cinder was taking orders from.

Ruby could help but grin. Uncle Qrow was _awesome_.

* * *

Yang blinked and stared at her teacher. Amber smiled as she explained the importance geographic surroundings played in combat. Yang looked around and noticed that Pyrrha was gawking at Amber, the rest of JNPR switching their glances between the Autumn Maiden and her Replacement Candidate. Weiss was missing her scar and she and Blake were staring at Amber.

Yang cautiously pinged and got several back. Ruby looked at her and grinned, signalling that she would explain later. Yang nodded and turned back to Amber. She blinked as a particular memory popped up.

 _Uncle Roman and cousin Neo?!_

* * *

"What is with this variant?" Jaune wondered when they were all gathered in RWBY's dorm.

"I Woke up early!" Ruby announced.

Everyone waited a few moments.

"And?" Weiss asked, when Ruby failed to elaborate.

Ruby shrugged. "I told uncle Qrow everything. And he put his drink down and went and fixed things."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," Ruby nodded.

"…We need to get that man sober more often," Jaune said.

"Agreed."

* * *

"Well, looks like we'll be viewing the tournament from the audience this time," Roman told Neo. "Looking forward to seeing your "cousins" again?"

Neo just smirked. "Just keep an eye out for Griffins," she warned.

Roman chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. I'll pay attention. Now lets go cheer our girls on, shall we? Afterall, we don't want to lose this opening."

* * *

 **18.16 Black Omaocho**

* * *

The first thing that Nate became aware of this time around was that he was on a dust ship-the second thing he became aware of was that he _knew_ what a dust ship was-and the third thing was that he appeared to have become a teenager.

"Hope you're ready for Beacon, _little brother_ ," A blond haired woman commented towards Nate, he looked at her in confusion before his memories from this go around came flooding to him-This was his older sister Yang-and he was Nathen Rose, a fifteen year old hunter-in-training, and they were headed to Beacon academy; one of the best training schools for hunters in all of Vale. With all of these strange new memories Nate was a bit shocked by how different this go around was, but one thing definitely stood out.

"I'm a…prodigy?" He muttered as he looked at his hands, him, not average-but a prodigy-he remembered it clearly, being trained by Uncle Qrow in how to be a hunter, his weapon: Crescent Rose that he made himself, his speed semblance.

"Ahem," Yang interrupted his thoughts and he looked at her, and noticed her knowing smirk. "It seems this is all new to you, but nobody else seems to be awake this time so I guess I'm going to have to explain things to you, substitute anchor," Yang spoke cheerfully.

"…Substitute anchor?" Nate questioned in confusion, Yang chuckled.

"Yeah, you're _really_ new to this it seems, hold on I'll explain everything to you. Oh, and welcome to the loops." Let it be said that the next few minutes would give Nate one of the biggest headaches he had ever experienced.

* * *

"Ok, so let me get this straight, there's a tree?" Nate questioned as he and his in-loop sister stepped out of the dust ship and onto Beacon soil.

"That would be correct," She nodded.

"But it's really like a computer or something, and it's…broken? And the universes keep looping over and over and that's why I'm time traveling?" Nate looked at Yang for confirmation.

"That's right, you're an anchor and for this loop you're replacing my little sister: Ruby, our usual anchor. This being your first fused loop I understand your confusion, trust me, it gets easier," Yang commented good naturedly.

"Anchor? So…how long exactly will these loops last?" Nate asked nervously, Yang seemed to think for a moment.

"Um…about…forever..?" She scratched the back of her neck for a moment. "Eh, don't worry, I'll show you how to access your subspace pocket later and explain a bit more. Your in-loop memories should help you adapt for the most part-oh and think fast!" After saying that Yang sped off, leaving behind a confused Nate to bump right into a white haired girl with a suitcase.

* * *

' _Landing strategy! Landing strategy!'_ Nate frantically searched his in-loop memories as he soared through the air-seriously, who catapults kids into the forest!? Unfortunately he was under a bit of stress at the moment-that being, flying through the air! So he crashed-fortunately his aura protected him from any real damage…still.

"Ow…"

* * *

"It's official, Gargaros is no longer scary," Nate muttered as he assisted Weiss, Blake, and Yang with fighting the nevermore. All while Jaune and those other people ha hadn't interacted with yet fought the deathstalker.

* * *

"Nathen Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, you shall hereby be known as team NWBY…" Ozpin announced proudly.

"…Newby?" Nate asked plainly.

"…We'll work on the name."

* * *

"Ok, so do you understand everything now?" Yang asked Nate after they had gotten a chance to speak alone in the room-all Yang really had to do was tell their teammates that she needed to speak to her brother alone-though she made sure they weren't listening in.

"I think so. So normally you have a sister named Ruby and she's the anchor. I'm taking her place this loop and I'm the anchor for my own world's loops," Nate thought about this. "Wow…I'm actually special? Not just some average kid?"

"Average? Kid let me tell you something; _nothing_ in the loops is average," she said firmly, Nate nodded-his life had gotten weird when he had obtained the Yo-kai Watch, but compared to this, that just seemed like a normal day in the park-especially considering how many times he had lived that day at this point-what was it, ten? Fifteen?

"Ok, so that subspace pocket thing? What's that?"

"Oh that, I'll explain that to you, and you'll definitely be happy to have it come future loops-trust me kid, things aren't all sunshine and rainbows out there," Yang said seriously.

"I think I got that much when I saw the grimm…" Nate sweatdropped.

"Stick with me for this loop kid, and you'll be kicking butt in no time, trust me," Yang said confidently.

* * *

 **One loop later.**

* * *

"GARGA!" Gargaros roared at Keita, Whisper and Jibanyan; the two small yo-kai screamed but Keita approached the red oni with no fear in his eyes.

"Keita-kun! What are you doing!?" Whisper questioned in a panic, worried his master had lost his mind. Keita looked up at Gargaros as the large oni attempted to take a swing at him…and he vanished, leaving a few fluttering rose petals behind. The three yo-kai stared in confusion.

"Gargaros," Keita's voice held a tone of confidence as he stood behind the oni-Gargaros looked and saw Keita holding some kind of mechanical scythe in a threatening manner. "…You're definitely not scary anymore."

* * *

 **18.17**

 _'These meetings just get more and more depressing every time we get an expansion,'_ Cinder thought angrily. _'These are loopers. They should be shrugging this off: they've_

* * *

 _been through worse. I think.'_

The semi-regular meetings at the temple inside of the Emerald Forest had sprung up after Penny had been... eh, killed. Supposedly they were for the teens to try and formulate strategies to deal with the expansions. Now, when those expansions actually happened...

Pyrrha and Jaune were off in a corner, sulking with Ren and Nora. Yang was talking with Blake... well, more like restraining Blake. And Ruby and Weiss were speaking in hushed tones across the room. Cinder groaned aloud. "I'm going to be the one to say this, aren't I?"

Ruby glanced up. "Say what?"

Cinder nearly lost her cool. "Look, I get that we go through bad loops. Hell, I'm the person causing the baseline to go to hell. But for the love of Marianne, we're time travelers!"

Jaune glared at her. "We know that Cinder. And we plan to avoid what's happening in Baseline."

Cinder slapped her forehead. "So why are you mopping about? Of all the people here, you have the least reason to be depressed. You got what you wanted."

"I didn't want this," Pyrrha said darkly. The wannabe Maiden stood up. "I was willing to lose my personality, my life, to stop the Fall Maiden's powers from falling into... the hands of... her."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "You. Are. Safe."

"Because I failed," Jaune said quietly.

"...Being compassionate is not a failure," Cinder told him and herself. "You went to help Pyrrha. There's nothing wrong with that."

"One life against millions more?" Jaune asked.

"You didn't know. Now you do," Cinder reminded him. She turned on Yang and Blake. "...Look. I know what it's like to find out someone... I'm sorry. That's a lie."

Yang wrenched Blake back. "Hey, I've got my arm back. That's better than nothing."

Blake gave Yang a look so withering that it stunned her. The Faunus girl stood up, Yang falling to her side. "I have... Had it! I idolized Adam, and if the Loop is going to make him like this... If he's going to turn himself into this... I am going back to the White Fang and I am going to take it over."

"And we'll all help," Cinder told her. "And get Yang a cool robot arm along the way, like Mercury's robot legs."

Now she turned, finally, to Ruby and Weiss. "You're alive. You're both alive and you have a world ahead of you."

"That doesn't bring Roman back," Ruby told her. "He's dead."

"The criminal rotting away in a jail cell courtesy of Glynda Goodwitch begs to differ."

"...I know. It's just that he's been there since the beginning. And what he said..." Ruby shook her head. "He wasn't evil. He was tired. He gave up. He didn't want to do good or bad things. He just wanted to survive."

"And we'll make sure of it." Cinder clapped a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "We'll make sure that Roman survives to annoy us for years to come. And who knows, if he's really like that maybe he'll start looping."

Ruby shrugged, but then smiled. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

Teams RWBY and JNPR stood up, encircling Cinder. The secret villainess stopped and stared. They were... looking to her. To help them. They wanted her to make things right, and trusted her to do so.

...It felt good.

Cinder spread her arms and gave it her best. "We'll survive. It's that simple. Everyone in this room will survive, because we are..."

Something changed in Cinder, and became sincere. "...Friends."

* * *

 **18.18**

* * *

"I just... don't feel like a date tonight."

Jaune set the bouquet of roses on the desk and hugged Pyrrha. "Okay."

The last expansion had been... Trying for Pyrrha and Jaune. Pyrrha had been ready for the transfer, ready to become the Fall Maiden, ready for Amber to die and maybe die herself. Then Jaune had gotten distracted and Amber had gotten killed by Cinder.

Neither of them knew what to do after that. So much time had been devoted to this... Pyrrha had admitted her feelings for Jaune because of it. The entire debacle had been because of Amber.

Now it was over. Pyrrha wouldn't become the Fall Maiden, wouldn't have Amber in her head, would never need to worry about losing her identity. It was over because Amber was dead.

Pyrrha's grip on Jaune tightened. "Do you think we're going to be alright?"

"I don't know," Jaune admitted. "I think we'll going to be alive for a while longer though."

Pyrrha sighed. "None of this would have happened-"

"Please stop."

"..." Pyrrha closed her eyes. "For a moment, when I was in the pod, I thought 'this is it. I'm going to fulfill my destiny. I'm going to kill Amber and become the Fall Maiden'."

Jaune nodded lightly. "I was... Honestly, I was going to kill Ozpin if you were hurt. And..."

"I know."

Despite everything. All the fear, all the hope, everything, Jaune and Pyrrha had dreaded the thought of her becoming the Fall Maiden. That feat was gone thanks to Cinder though. She had killed Amber at the right time: in that twisted way, they had her to thank.

Despite how wrong it was, how selfish it was, they were thankful. They knew that Cinder's abominable act had spared Pyrrha, even if it had been for her own gain. It had stopped the pain.

Gently, Pyrrha pushed back and gave Jaune a light kiss on the cheek. "We need to set this right."

Jaune nodded. "How can we do that?"

Pyrrha didn't know. "We will. We will."

* * *

 **18.19**

* * *

Under the shade of a gazebo on Beacon's grounds, Winter Schnee set her cup of coffee down on it's platter. "Is there something wrong Weiss?"

"Hmm?" Weiss glanced up from her (still) untouched coffee. "Oh, no. It's nothing."

Winter narrowed her eyes. Weiss was a good liar (how else had she once managed to pin the blame of dyeing father's favorite coat pink) but she wasn't trying hard enough now. "Is that so?"

Weiss nodded. "I'm just having a hard time with my studies. That's all."

Winter could almost taste the insincerity in Weiss' words. The elder Schnee sister didn't like being out of the know, doubly so when something was so clearly bothering her sister. She just needed a plan of attack.

"Lying is unbecoming Weiss."

That was the plan: attack.

Weiss flinched at the accusation. "Really Winter, it's..." Weiss signed. 'It worked with Qrow and Ruby. Might as well tell Winter.' Her mind made up, Weiss stood up. "Winter, if I said 'I'm a time traveler', what would I need to do to make you believe me?"

Winter stared at her sister. If Weiss was lying, she was doing a fair sight better than before. If she thought she was telling the truth, she was crazy. Of course, she was also horribly distressed. So Winter decided to humor her. "I would expect you to perfectly execute a sum-"

With a flash of a single glyph, Winter was silenced.

All around her were thousands... no, tens of thousands of white phantoms. A horde of Grimm. Rack upon rack of White Fang. Entire legions of Atlesian battle droids. And Huntsmen and Huntresses, some Winter recognized, some unrecognizable. Experimentally, Winter touched one. It was solid. It was real. "What is this?"

"My semblance," Weiss said quietly. "I only figured out how to get it to work... recently. This is a catalogue of every single person I have defeated in battle."

"..." Winter stared at her baby sister. Weiss was tired, certainly. Exhausted. But... Everything here...

Weiss was suddenly swept up in a tight hug. "Wuh? Winter, I-"

"What happened?" Winter said, horror in her heart. "How many did you fight if you came back with this?"

"...It's not like that," Weiss said. "I'm not from a bad future. I've just been time traveling for a long time."

Winter listened patiently as Weiss told her about the loops, about the near future, about the tournament and the dragon and Cinder and everything and everyone. Winter made sure, during that time, to not let go of Weiss.

Weiss wrapped up her tale and asked her sister something. "Winter, if you could loop-"

"Of course I would," Winter answered instantly. "Why would I leave my little sister all alone... well, all alone with her friends."

"...Winter," Weiss grumbled a little.

Winter pulled away from Weiss and smiled at her. "Weiss, I know, maybe as well as you do, how difficult our way of life is. But if you can rise up to be this strong..." Winter gestured around at the army Weiss had summoned. "If you can be this strong Weiss, this independent, I can only say that I am proud of you."

Weiss shrugged, halfway between relief and exhaustion. "I'm still worried about the future. This next expansion will be our last for... I don't know how long."

Winter smiled. "I would be worried myself Weiss. But remember that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. You are that light."

"...That sounds utterly pointless," Weiss said. She hugged Winter. "But thanks."

Winter's smile grew. "What are big sister's for?"

"Horrible arm puns."

"What?"

"Nothing."

* * *

 **18.20 Black Omaocho, Editted by Megaman**

"So you're Nate?" Ruby grinned as she looked at the twelve year old boy before her. It seems that Nate had looped back into Remnant, only this time apparently this

* * *

loops version of his dad had died when he was a baby and his mother married Taiyang a few years after Ruby's mom's death, making him Ruby and Yang's younger step brother.

"Sometimes I go by Keita, but I'm Nate right now." Nate nodded in response as he looked at the seemingly fifteen year old girl. "And you're…Ruby?"

"Yup, nice to finally meet you. I heard a few things from Yang and Griff, sorry you won't be old enough to be a hunter within this loop." Ruby shrugged and patted his shoulder.

"I think I can live with that, though thanks. How did you get here anyway?" Nate questioned, they were sitting by a tree nearby their house, and Nate was pretty sure from his memories that Ruby should be at Beacon right now.

"Don't worry about it. So you've got a friend from your own baseline looping now?" Ruby cheerfully changed the subject and Nate blinked for a second before shrugging and nodding.

"Yeah, Whisper. He may not always be awake, but it's nice to have someone within my own loops remember stuff," Nate smiled and Ruby placed a gentle hand on his head.

"I know the first bunch of loops can be tough, especially when not many others are looping yet, but don't worry little bro, it will get better," Ruby said with a kind smile on her face. Nate stared at her for a second and nodded back.

"I… Thanks Ruby, it's very nice to get to meet you, even if I'm not really your brother," Nate said with a polite bow. Ruby chuckled and pulled him back up by his hair. "Hey-ow!"

"Nate, I'll be honest with you right now, my in-loop memories show you to be a loud, annoying, pest that would often prank me and Yang out of nowhere," Nate frowned a bit as Ruby brought up those memories-yeah, this variants unawake him was…not very mature. "But, I look at you right now and see a kid who's been thrown into something they still hardly understand-kind of like me when I first started looping. And I think you could use some support, I'm happy to have you call me big sister even if we're not often in the same loop-also I've kind of wanted a younger sibling for a while anyway," Ruby blushed a bit at that last part.

"Ruby… Thanks, big sis." Nate said as he hugged Ruby, Ruby hugged him back. They stayed like that for a minute before separating.

"So, you have my baseline semblance along with your own Crescent Rose?" Ruby asked as she looked the younger boy up and down.

"Yeah, I really have to thank you for that honestly." Nate vanished in a blur and Ruby turned to see him standing on the other side of the tree holding his Crescent Rose, a trail of rose petals fluttering behind him. "Back in my baseline I was just…average. That's what everyone called me; average. I honestly hated it…even after I got the Yo-kai Watch; still considered average by everyone."

"But…when I replaced you, I was considered a prodigy, I got accepted into Beacon two years early, and the semblance." Nate sped back to where he originally stood. "Awesome. And Crescent Rose here has come in handy on occasion too."

"Yup, sure does." Ruby grinned as she held her own Crescent Rose for a moment. "Still, you think my baseline stuff is cool, wait till you start getting more fused loops. What you've seen is only the tip of the iceberg."

"Really? The speed already seems really good, what else can you do?" Nate questioned while Ruby grinned…before taking off her head and holding it in front of Nate while it continued to grin.

"How's that for awesome?"

*THUD*

"Oh, maybe I should've prepared him for that better…Yang's gonna be pissed."

* * *

 **18.21 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead,dead,dead,dead,deaddeaddeaddead _deaddeaddeaddeaddeaddeaddeaddeadDEADDEADDEADDEADDEADDEADDEAD_!

Roman was dead. Her father. Her brother. Her cousin. Her uncle. Her sister. Her mother. Her friend. Her ally. Her partner. Her lover. Her world. Her Universe. Her everything. DEAD!

Roman had been there for her from the beginning, from the very fucking beginning. They were supposed to be together for the rest of their lives. The rest of time. Forever.

And now he was gone.

Sure, the possibility existed that he'd come back during a later expansion. Of course he wasn't going to let himself get eaten again if he could help it. Obviously he was going to be fine whenever he was Awake.

But in the only place that originally mattered, for the foreseeable future, he was gone. Cut away from the mortal plane like a particularly enticing snack. And that was _**NOT OKAY!**_

It was all _her_ fault. _That woman_. That _bitch_.

Staring down at the pitiful form of the griffin Grimm at her feet, Neo calmly sliced away at another inch of it's skin. It turned out as long as their brain was still intact, as well as at least seventy percent of their internal organs, a Grimm could last for literally weeks under constant surgically precise dismemberment.

Neo knew. After all, this wasn't the first of her specimens. It wasn't even her millionth specimen. Neo probably knew more about the anatomy of a Grimm than any other being in existence; after all she had taken the time to personally dissect each and every one of them, one at a time while they were still alive, at least a billion times. If she wanted to she could probably build an artificially Grimm by now.

Of course that wasn't what she wanted. What she _wanted_ was Roman. Of course _Roman wasn't here_. She frowned as the thought accidentally sent her blade into the brain of the writhing form on the table, releasing it from it's suffering early. Well now that just wouldn't do.

Reaching into her Pocket she pulled out a bronze and gold mouse ornament with ruby eyes. "Hoduku Mouse."

With a lurch only she felt, time rewrote itself and her subject gave a pained wheeze as its death was undone. Her hand tightened angrily around the Shen Gon Wu. It had been a gift from Roman, a memento of his second trip through the Xiaolin Branch. Apparently the Anchor was a sucker for a good sob story, and Roman had spun him a tale of having reformed but being forced to hide from the other Loopers due to their not believing him. It had worked like a charm, and he had gotten several nice presents from the encounter. A pity most of them were severely nerfed by that point.

Roman had given her free reign to take her pick of any of the dozen he had saved, and hadn't even objected when she took the time altering mistake fixing mouse. The Grimm screamed as Neo tersely enuncleated the beast, disinterestedly tossing aside the dissolving orbs. She couldn't fix _that_ mistake though. But she could do the next best thing.

It all came back to Cinder in the end. Cinder had through any one of a trillion methods coerced her and Roman into joining them. Most often through strong arm tactics. (Neo was good, but her Unawake self was no match for Cinder, Mercury and Emerald simultaneously.) It didn't matter that she was apparently just as much a puppet as she had made them, everything that had gone wrong so far could be laid directly at the villainess' feet.

It was only appropriate that her feet get dirty. And Neo was more than willing to throw a little mud.

* * *

 **18.22 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

There she was. Putting on her act, playing the role of the supportive sister; the loyal friend; the traitorous she-beast hidden in plain sight. At any other time, Neo would have applauded the woman's acting skills. But then again, any other time Roman wasn't a man with a timer counting down to his death. At least there wouldn't be any griffins this Loop. She had seen to that personally.

She had been forced to get creative to find new ways to maintain deniability. It would have been suspicious if Roman suddenly avoided death by consumption every dozen plus Loops from Ruby's perspective. So she had begun branching out into unusual methods for preventing the aerial onslaught which had claimed Roman whenever she was Awake, and drafting additional plans for Roman's usage in case she wasn't.

Roman may have been the brains of their partnership, but that didn't mean she couldn't plot with the best of them. She just liked fighting more often than not, so their arrangement suited her just fine normally. However this wasn't her preferred normal, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

Beneath her treetop vantage point, Roman (whole, not dead, _alive_ ) waited with arms crossed. Dropping to ground level, she indicated that Cinder was making her way from the group. Raising his bowler from where it sat over his eyes, he shot an appreciative glance at her and rose from his leaning position just in time for Cinder to come into view.

"Well, well. If it isn't the dutiful big sister. That was quite a stirring speech just now. I feel all pumped up and ready to seize the day." he said with a slow clap.

"You are an ass hat Roman," Cinder told him scornfully. She got a sword to the gut for that. "And get Neo to stop that."

Neo fully intended to 'stop that' on her own. But a few more for good measure wouldn't hurt. Her.

Roman Torchwick rolled his eyes as Cinder berated him and Neo tried to murder her for berating him. "Oh piss off Fall. I'm here because I happen to want to be here. You don't exactly have power over me."

Cinder picked Roman up by the collar even as Neo tried to decapitate her. "I have the favor of the teenagers. If you want to start looping, you need me to suggest it. You need me because I'm your in."

Roman held up his hands placatingly. "Whoa there boss. Not looking to start a fight just yet. Although. I feel I should remind you, I am older than you." He casually inspected his hands. "By a great deal I might add. While it's true that you have the little girls in your corner, for now, I'm not as easily dismissed as my Unawake counterpart."

Cinder scoffed and strode past him. "And yet you are still just as simple minded. Take your best shot Roman, in the end _I_ survived. And your destiny is to lay somewhere hardening under the sun."

Roman grit his teeth, but didn't respond as the infuriating woman strode away. Surprisingly to him, this came from the fact that Neo was holding _him_ back instead of the other way around as it had been for the past few Loops.

Looking at his diminutive partner, he quirked an eyebrow. "I take it you have something in the works?"

Neo smirked darkly.

Roman replied in kind. "Do tell."

* * *

 **18.23 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Cinder Awoke in the middle of a duel. That wouldn't have been much of an issue, if not for the split second timing her Awakening had left in her defense which her opponent was quick to follow up on. Sadly, she didn't have anything quite comparable to Ruby's healing factor and as such it would be a good while before she could shrug off having her head stricken from her shoulders. The Vampirism she had picked up from Forks made sure she wasn't in any danger of dying any time soon (the glittering held at bay through the shapeshifting she had picked up not much later), but that didn't exactly do much for the pain.

"Well that takes care of that. C'mon Roman, Ruby's waiting back home," the familiar voice of her assailant called out. Cinder fought to keep her expression death still as it was supposed to be at Qrow Branwen's words.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be right there 'bro.' Just let me pocket the Dust real quick." Roman's voice answered.

Qrow snorted. "Once a thief, always a thief," he replied amusedly.

Roman came into her line of sight, giving a cocky shrug as he idly twirled Melodic Cudgel inches from her face. "What can I say? Old habits die hard. But at least I'm turning my sights towards more respectable targets these days."

Qrow barked out a rough laugh. "Since when is looting the dead bodies of your enemies considered respectable?"

Roman shrugged. "Waste not, want not as they say. Besides, it's not like she'll be needing it anymore. And your pretty nieces and her friends might like something to play with once they join Beacon."

Qrow glared and spat to the side. "I don't care what it is. Nothing that came from that woman is to get within a hundred feet of Ruby or the others. If even half of what Ruby told me about her little time travel problem is true, that 'person' on the ground has put them through more hell than the devil itself. I want nothing to do with her."

Roman shrugged again and began rifling through Cinder's clothes and bag, looking for spare Dust. "Suit yourself. Maybe Neo will appreciate the gift."

Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose, but didn't object again. "Alright, fine. Look you do what you want. But if you're not back on the Bullhead in ten minutes, don't expect it to be there when you show up."

Roman waved him off as he pocketed a vial of pure fire Dust. "Sure, sure. I'll be there. No need to get your panties in a twist. You know, I think I liked you better when you were a drunk."

Qrow chuckled. "You never knew me when I was a drunk."

Roman looked up with a grin. "Exactly."

Shaking his head with a laugh, Qrow headed off. Only once he was out of sight did Roman turn to Cinder.

"Hello there, you chose a bad time to Awaken," he twirled his weapon in Cinder's hair enough to get a hold, and flipped her airborne into his waiting hands.

Cinder glared, but due to the lack of lungs and air couldn't say anything.

Roman cupped his hands next to his head dramatically. "Speak up. I'm afraid I couldn't hear you."

Cinder's eyes ignited with the power of the Fall Maiden, and Roman took the hint with a roll of his eyes as he placed her back atop her shoulders. "Keep you head on, I'm getting to it."

With a burning glow, Cinder sealed her wound and promptly struck Roman for his horrible pun.

Rubbing his newest bruise, the master thief gave an exaggerated look of realization. "Oh how careless of me. It was a slip of the tongue, scouts honor."

Cinder rolled her eyes and rolled her neck to make sure everything had connected properly. "So what's the story? How did you end up working with Qrow?"

Roman shrugged. "Long story short: he is surprisingly capable when sober. Little Red told him all the nitty gritty details, and Uncle of the year decided to fix everything. And then he did."

Cinder rose a delicate eyebrow, inviting Roman to continue.

Roman obliged her. "Got Little Red's Team together years early, took care of the White Fang's rebellion, convinced yours truly to walk the straight and narrow while Taiyang looks after Neo, and now defeated the evil witch who ruined his nieces life. That about sums it up."

Cinder nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose I can just go to ground for the rest of the Loop. They need some time to recover," she mused to herself.

Roman laughed. "Well isn't that sweet of you. I've noticed you've been taking quite a shine to your little family these past few decades. Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

Cinder bristled, but refrained from knocking Roman into one of the nearby trees. "Hardly. I simply believe that the game is more fun if all the players are playing at full strength."

Roman gave her an look which suggested he was simply humoring her as he replied. "Of course. It's all about playing the game. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with you somehow growing attached to your 'sisters' and her friends. Nothing at all."

Cinder's eyes glowed as she turned to face Roman fully. "I don't think I like what you're implying. Would you care to try again?"

Roman skipped back with a laugh. "I think I'll have to pass. And would you look at the time, I simply have to be going. Can't keep my brother waiting after all. And who knows, maybe I'll decide to become family too."

Disappearing into the trees, his gave his parting shot. "After all it worked so well for you."

Cinder growled angrily. She hadn't considered that Roman might attempt the method she had used to begin openly Looping. She had been counting on his and Neo's reliance on her to give them a way in. In retrospect she really should have realized that she wasn't the only one who could use the Variants to their favor. It was fortunate that she was supposed to be dead for this Loop. She would have to think on this.

* * *

 **18.24 Black Omocaho**

* * *

"Whisper…"

"Yes Nate?"

"Why is Jibanyan a dog?" Nate asked as he looked from his bed at the red corgi with two flaming tails that was happily panting as it looked around the room.

"Well, um," Whisper quickly started searching through his yo-kai pad for any information. Nate looked at the dog-like yo-kai for a minute.

"Um…are you, awake?" The corgi tilted its head at Nate and he sighed. "Right, dumb question."

* * *

 **One loop later, in Remnant.**

* * *

"Ruby…"

"Yes Weiss?"

"When exactly did your dog learn to do that?" The white haired girl questioned her partner as they watched the small corgi lay waste to the grimm with…

("Paws of Fury!") Zwei barked as he pelted the beasts with hits from his paws moving at lightning speed.

"I…have no idea," Ruby muttered.

"Or that?" Weiss added as the two watched Zwei set some grimm on fire.

* * *

 **18.25 Yangfromyin**

* * *

"Neo, do you have them?"

Neo looks to Ozpin and nods before pulling a set of Wilt and Blush from her subspace pocket. She quickly signs. ' _Why do you want them?'_

"The fact that Adam Tauris can seemingly cut through a person's Aura without hindrance is disturbing. I have not heard of any metal capable of doing that on Remnant. I asked this Loop's James, and he doesn't even think its possible."

 _'Maybe its the monster, not the blade.'_

Ozpin sighs. "I refuse to believe it could be his Semblance. For someone's soul to manifest in such a way would suggest that he never valued sentient life. Miss Belladonna would have noticed such a fact long before she defected if that was the case. Do you really think her foolish enough to miss such a glaring evil?"

 _'She cared for him. We blind ourselves to what we don't want to see.'_

"As it stands, there is a rather simple way to check who is correct. Are you willing to test your claim?" Ozpin draws the blade.

 _'Bring it, old man.'_

* * *

 **18.26 Yangfromyin**

* * *

Ruby was running through the courtyard of Beacon, pushing her Semblance to the limit and hoping that she would make it in time. _Gotta find Yang and Blake; Gotta find Yang and Blake._

She made it to the cafeteria just in time... To see Yang fall to the ground as her arm was sent flying. "No! Yang!" She collapses to her hands and knees. To hear about it was horrifying enough; seeing it firsthand was a thousand times worse.

Adam turns to face her. "Another of your friends, Blake?"

Blake was crying. "Please, its me you want. Leave her alone!"

Adam ignores her as he walks toward Ruby. However, before he can draw his blade, an angry voice rings out.

"Just who the hell do you think you are messing with my daughters?" Taiyang Xiao Long had joined the fray, and he was _on fire._

Adam gives a dark chuckle. "Please, old man, you have no chance against me. Especially without a weapon." He charges Taiyang.

Adam swings his sword, expecting an easy victory. He did not expect, however, Taiyang catching his arm, stopping the strike and starting to inflict burns.

"Who do you think taught Yang to throw a punch? At my level, _weapons would only hold me back_."

Taiyang strikes, smashing Adam's mask into pieces and sending him flying across the room.

"You've awoken the dragon. I hope you're ready to bleed." Taiyang dashes forward, a trail of fire following him.

Adam barely ducks under the next punch, which creates a large crack in the wall behind him.

Taiyang grabs Adam by the throat, lifting him up. "You've made a big mistake. Screw justice. This..." He cocks his fist, "is revenge." He punches again.

Adam is launched into a pillar which collapses on top of him. Taiyang turns around and picks Yang from the ground. "Well Firecracker, looks like you lost your grip on the situation. Don't worry, I'll lend you a hand."

* * *

 **18.27**

* * *

Ozpin dug his feet in and restrained Neo. "Look, I know you're grieving Neo but it wasn't Ruby's fault."

"..." Neo tried to shake loose from Ozpin's hold. She'd been trying for the last few days and nothing had worked so far. "..."

One the other side of the room, Roman was rolling his eyes in exasperation and amusement. "Oh come on Ozpin. Let her go, have some fun. Some people need to blow off some steam."

"She intends to murder Ruby," Glynda said, dangling upside down from the ceiling of Ozpin's office. "Crescent wrench please. If we let her go, she will blow her cover."

Roman tossed Glynda a crescent wrench boredly. "Oh, let her. We can write her off as recently activated."

Glynda folded back up into the clockwork. "It won't fly."

"I don't like Eiken," Zwei's sign read. The corgi had been guiding Glynda's upgrade efforts of the tower with barks and Internet schematics. "Eiken isn't fun for dogs."

Roman pulled out a sign and wrote on that. "No one cares about you dog."

"..." Neo glared at Zwei on account of Roman.

"So what do you have to say about it Roman?" Ozpin moved the conversation to the one person who was likely to stop Neo from murdering Ruby. "It's your corpse in a Grimm. What do you think?"

Roman laughed and brushed it off. "I'm not dead. Did you see me up there? Not one scratch on me. Full Aura, had Melodic Cudgel, and I was swallowed whole. Unless that Grimm digests me or crushes me, I'm not dead. Hell, I'm gonna ride that Grimm in the next expansion." Roman smirked evilly. "Bet on that."

"...Yeah, it's gonna be your cigars that do you in," Ozpin said to add a bit of levity.

"Hey hey hey!" Roman shouted as Neo broke Ozpin's grip and tore his pockets out. His cigars went up in smoke. "Now that was cruel Ozpin. You do not take someone's addicting drugs away from them and not expect to rue the day."

"That's Ozpin getting even," Glynda said from above. "Remember that variant where all coffee was actually hot urine?"

"No," Roman said.

"Well, we figured out that you did it."

"Call us even," Ozpin told the irate crime lord. "Now please get your daughter to stop thinking murderous thoughts."

Neo stuck her tongue out at the headmaster and snuggled with Roman. Roman shrugged. "Eh, she knows the consequences."

"Revenge is-"

"Please don't use a metaphor Ozpin," Glynda said. "We all know that Roman's going to turn it around on you."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"..." Neo uncoupled from Roman, snuck to the door, and was apprehended by Ozpin. "..." she was unhappy in her silence.

Ozpin opened the door, stepped out with Neo, and closed it. "Okay, I know that you're unhappy Neo-"

Neo flipped Ozpin off.

"-But revenge isn't an answer." Ozpin put his hands on the little girl's shoulders. "If Roman is dead, killing Ruby won't make you feel better. You'll just have nothing to turn to when she's gone."

"..." Neo flatly stared at Ozpin.

The Headmaster sighed. "Your father, brother, partner... whatever he is to you in Baseline, he didn't die because of Ruby. He has no choice but to fight: Cinder, in Baseline, forced him onto her side."

"..." Neo didn't look Ozpin in the eye.

"You can avenge your father, and kill Ruby. Or you can work with us and stop Cinder from hurting anymore people."

Neo's eyes went wide. She turned to Ozpin, and nodded. Ozpin, despite it all, smiled. "Okay. Now, we have a fight to break up. Shall we?"

"..." Neo suddenly took on a sly look.

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "Neo, no. Bad Neo. We are not leaving Roman and Glynda alone in there until they work out their belligerent sexual tension. I just had the floors mopped and I do not want those sorts of stains cleaned up."

"..." Neo smiled and said nothing. She had a plan.

* * *

Inside the room, Glynda hung down from the clockwork and gave Roman a hard look. The crime lord raised an eyebrow. "Enjoy the view?"

"This is getting to you, isn't it?" Glynda flipped onto the floor. "You're an egotist, you don't just brush off being eaten."

Roman laughed. "Oh, watch me. Like I said, I'm gonna ride that Griffon. Ride it right up to Beacon's landing docks and save Cinder and Neo and all the rest. Just... Bang. I'm back, and I am not letting them touch my little pint of ice cream."

"...Cute," Glynda admitted. She nodded to herself. "Actually, I was wrong. It's not dying that bothers you."

"Thank you for recognizing my stoi-"

"It's Neo being left behind."

"..." Roman did his best Neo impression. "..."

Glynda shrugged. "I understand that. You want her safe: she's your... daughter. Sister. Protege. Something. And you don't want her to be in danger."

"...I don't want her to live a life with me dead," Roman admitted. "I saw what that does to her. She... it hurts her."

"You've died before?"

"Want to hear something crazy? You killed me. First loop ever. I'm confused, I'm freaking out, you're dueling Cinder, and WHAM! Ice bolt punches through the Bullhead's canopy and my brain. I wake up one loop later, run like hell, and then Neo tackle hugs me and she's crying her eyes out." Roman shrugged. "I'm not exactly the sort to repeat old mistakes."

Glynda rested a hand on Roman's shoulder. "Well... you're looping. Which means that you're here. Still. And we'll be able to work around it. Keep you alive."

The doorknob twisted. Roman smirked, and quite suddenly shot forward and kissed Glynda smack on the lips. Ozpin took one look in, went "BWAHH!" and slammed the door shut.

* * *

*Five Minutes Later*

* * *

Roman's ballistic trajectory, courtesy of Glynda's fist, finally terminated in the swamp lands west of Mistral. The criminal stood up and wiped as much mud off of his coat as possible. "For their faces... Totally worth it."

He said with a vocal pitch three octaves too high.

* * *

 **18.29**

* * *

The Emerald Forest was devastated. Massive swathes of woodland had been felled with the sort of rage so rarely seen in the world. Any Grimm that approached was ripped, literally, into pieces. It was a war zone.

Yang walked into the clearing with more than a little trepidation. She was powerful, and was probably the one person who was guaranteed safe passage into the danger, but even she couldn't rest her nerves at the sight of... "Blake?"

Blake Belladonna turned her head to look at Yang. Towering over her was a giant of flame. Skin peeled from it's form, bone and sinew and armor a patchwork madness across it. This was Susanoo, the Shinto God of Valor, summoned by Blake's Sharingan. Yang had seen the giant many times in battle. Blake tended to break it out for the absolutely ancient Grimm that showed up sometimes.

She'd never seen Blake's Susanoo like this before. Because she had never seen Blake like this before. "Blake."

"Go away Yang," Blake said coldly, a stoicism in her words belayed by the blood tears that streaked down her cheeks. "You're the last person I want to talk to."

A Griffon flew out of the forest. It didn't even make it three feet before it was bisected. Blake glared furiously at it's dissolving corpse.

Yang gulped and stepped up next to the flaming giant. _This_... was so far outside of any sort of normal that it was almost funny. "Look, I know that you're angry with yourself. But-"

Bloodstained eyes were so close to Yang's lilac that she flinched away. Blake snarled in Yang's face. "There. Is. No. But. You were hurt because of Adam. Now go away."

Yang's anger simmered back up. "No. Blake, you're out of control, and I-"

Now a flaming fist was inches of Yang's face, rage and horror warring on Blake's face. The sole Faunus amongst the loopers retracted the burning appendage from Yang's vicinity. "Your arm was cut off because of him. Because of me. And you're saying that _I'm_ out of control."

"You don't think we know what you did to Adam," Yang asked. "We tracked him down this Loop when Cinder said he was missing."

Blake gave Yang a cold look. "He is a rabid dog. I did what anyone would do to a rapid dog."

"He is a person!"

"He is a monster!"

"That makes it okay?"

"..." Blake turned away from her partner. "It makes it fair."

Yang pressed a hand against the flaming skeleton that separated her from Blake. She pressed forward, and with a sudden pop of Chakra, the entire construct collapsed. Blake gasped aloud at this, but Yang, for once, moved faster than her. Yang snaked her right arm around Blake's head, and held her.

Several moments passed as Yang held her teammate to her. "Just... Blake. I'm holding you with my left arm. This is the arm that Adam cut off. And I'm telling you right now: I care about what he did. I'm scared... terrified." Yang pulled Blake closer, held her tighter. "I've been... whole for millennia. This isn't something I can just brush off."

Yang squeezed Blake tightly. "I do know that you can't blame yourself though. When I came in there, I planned to fight Adam and save you. It didn't turn out that way, but you're safe." Yang pulled back and looked Blake in the eyes. "I know that you feel that it was your fault. It wasn't. I forgive you."

Blake stared into Yang's eyes, the blood on her cheeks thinning. She ground her teeth and tried to fight it, but first a sob, and then a cry came from her. Blake pulled herself in and wept. "I... I..."

Yang ran her hand's through Blake's hair. "Shush. Shush. I'm okay. We'll be okay."

Blake shook, maybe from the tears, maybe from the anger. "I won't let him go. I won't forgive him for what he's done."

"I'm not asking for that," Yang told her. "I'm asking for my best friend back."

Blake seized Yang. "I don't want to be your best friend anymore."

 _'What?'_

Blake stopped and tried to realize a way to correct what she had just said. But after too many minutes, she gave up. "Yang... When Adam attacked me, he said he would kill everything I loved. Starting with you. And... Seeing him attack you... I knew you could have died. He could have killed you, but he didn't to make me suffer even more. I... I saw you at his hands and..."

The minutes passed in silence. Yang held Blake close, and Blake tried not to run. "I realized that I would have died for you. I trust you above everyone else in the world Yang. More than Weiss, more than Ren, more than Ruby. It's you... maybe it's always been you."

Yang took a careful breath. "I don't... I don't swing that way Blake. I don't think I do anyway."

"I know. But... sometimes, we can make exceptions."

Blake and Yang pulled apart. Blake looked into Yang's eyes. Purple to her gold. Yin, hidden within Yang. Balance. "I can't... After what happened, I know that I can't risk... losing this chance."

Yang tried not to shake her head. "Do you really want... To be Romeo or something?"

Blake shook her head. "I've met Romeo, even he admits he and Juliet were being pigheaded. I want... You. I can't risk losing this chance."

Yang glanced down. At her hands tangled in Blake's. After everything... the pain, the betrayal, the carnage... Loopers rarely felt fear. Now Yang feared the future.

But maybe, if she had someone to walk into that future with... someone at her side...

Yang gently pulled Blake close to herself. "Blake, I don't know if I can... I..."

It was a _four letter word_ , God dammit. Spit it out!

Yang choked, and said, "If I can... Love... If I can love you Blake, and you can love me in return... Dammit..."

Blake pulled back, only for Yang to pulled her forward and close. Yang gazed dead into Blake's eyes. "We're taking a big risk right now Blake. Can you love with that?"

Blake didn't hesitate. Not for one second. "Absolutely."

Yang nodded. And then, she leaned in, and... tried it.

Blake's lips were calloused and chapped. Of course they felt a little cool to the touch. They even had a bit of a... Taste to them. Iron from the blood still on her cheeks, salt from the tears shed, and warmth.

Blake pulled away. Breaking the kiss before it went too far. Blake nodded once. "Thank you Yang."

"...Don't mention it."

Blake and Yang gazed into each other's for a little more, before Yang smirked. She raised her right arm and gave it a little shake. Blake rolled her eyes, but gave the go ahead. Yang smiled. "I'm glad I have you a... Helping. Hand."

"You're the worst."

"You're dating the worst. Get used to it."

* * *

 **General Response:**

 **Wow. That's long. Well, who doesn't love a nice, meaty chapter, eh?**

 **I could probably split this in twine actually... Whatever. Enjoy.**

 **Also, in 18.12, Qrow isn't Awake, he's just commentating.**


	20. After the Storm

**20.1 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Pyrrha Awoke on the ship to Beacon — and immediately gave a lurch, grasping at her chest as her feet gave out. She was saved from an unwanted meeting with the ground by Jaune, who had immediately caught her in his arms upon noticing her fall; pulling her into a backbreaking hug, which she desperately returned.

"I - I'm dead. I died."

Jaune tightened his hold on her, placing comforting strokes against her hair. "You're alive. You're still here. I won't let you go, now or ever."

Pyrrha barely heard him. "I died."

Jaune gave a restrained sob, his tears wetting her hair. "I know. I know. It won't happen. Never again. I promise."

Pyrrha tightened her own grip on her boyfriend and gave into her own tears. "Jaune."

Abruptly their hug was met with several additional members. Ruby bawled furiously as she gripped her friend, Nora and Ren doing their best to embrace both her and Jaune.

"What are you looking at! Go gawk at something else!" Yang roared at the surprised group of soon to be students, her own arms holding onto Blake possessively; as if to ensure she wouldn't mimic her Unawake counterparts departure.

Pyrrha's sobs slowly began lessening as she let herself accept the love of her friends, her family. "What - what are we going to do now?"

Jaune's eyes hardened. "We're going to fix this. No more Baseline. From here on, fate can either stand aside or it can go jump off a cliff. I'm not losing you again."

Ruby nodded tensely, a small hiccup escaping her as she wiped her eyes. "Cinder wasn't Awake. I killed her."

It spoke volumes about the situation that no one present objected to this. The possibility of Cinder Awakening later was left unsaid; for the indeterminate future Cinder was going to be a nonentity. They may have grown to love her Awake self, but the non-Looping version had garnered a substantial amount of ill-will which would take time to get over. The also unmentioned benefit to this, was that when they finally got it out of their systems the Looping girl they had all come to know would be none the wiser.

Which was fortunate, because they weren't sure how they might react to her presence just now. Awake or not, she was still Cinder; in body if not in mind. And no one wanted to hurt their friend; even if said friend wore the face of their worst enemy to date.

Yang turned to face the group with a rare serious look. "You can count on me. I'm not up for losing. Not a fight, not an arm and definitely not a friend. You're going to be around long enough to see your's and Jaune's _grandkids_ winning the Vytal Tournament. That goes for all of you."

Blake nodded from her place at Yang's side. "My Unawake self might have left, whether out of shame or for revenge, but I'm not going anywhere."

Yang gave a growled mutter and tightened her grip on her girlfriend. "Damn right you aren't."

"How can we let the best mom we ever had up and die on us? You're stuck with us forever." Nora said with a clearly forced grin, dried tears staining her cheeks.

Ren pulled her into an embrace of his own, and gave the Mistral champion a serious look. "What she said."

Pyrrha gave a half sobbed laugh and leaned into Jaune's hold.

The group flinched momentarily as the air was displaced with a pop; revealing Weiss who immediately joined the group holding Pyrrha, silent tears making it's way down her face. "Don't you dare leave us again! You hear me!"

Pyrrha simply wrapped her arms briefly around her friend, before returning to Jaune's arms.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. It shouldn't have happened. But it had.

That didn't mean they were just going to sit there and take it. Like Jaune had said, destiny would have to suck it up. Because one way or another, Pyrrha Nikos wasn't going anywhere. Not if the Loopers of Remnant had anything to say about it.

* * *

 **20.2**

* * *

Deep within the volcanic lands of the north, Salem stood in silence, gazing upon the shadowed mountains. Not a speck of life arose from the sulfurous earth and pumice. Only smoke, fire, death, and the Grimm. This was her domain and it was beautiful. The humanoid Grimm, the Queen of the Grimm, smiled in revelation.

The pumice crunched beneath the feet of Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. The smoke from the volcanos had meant that an aerial approach was all but impossible, even with Nora's Mjolnir. So the hours long march to their destination had been a running battle as they literally hued their way through the Grimm, steel and Dust and lead their key to the dark gateway. The halls of Hell were full of the soulless.

Salem smirked lightly and turned on her heel, looking down upon the quartet of Huntsmen that had battled their way to her. "So you are the infamous Team JNPR. Cinder told me about you. Warned me that you would come." Salem started to walk down the stairs. "Warned me that you wanted me to know."

Jaune glanced at Pyrrha. "You have the right to her. She is the one who caused this mess."

Salem vanished. The average human being couldn't process something moving that fast, despite her size. In the half lit shadows of the volcanos, Salem struck.

And for the briefest of moments, she hung still in the air. Her foot, spiked and prepared to pierce the brow of Miss Pyrrha Nikos, had been seized from the air itself. Pyrrha pulled Salem close and pressed the barrel of Milo to her temple. That was the last thing Salem knew.

As her... excuse me, as _it's_ body dissolved into black fog, Pyrrha dusted her hands off. "Well... that didn't help."

Jaune winced. "You sure? No cartharis at all?"

"No."

Jaune, Nora and Ren all groaned in unison. "Ah man. But it was so cool seeing you stop Salem!" Nora wailed.

Ren pointed at the Grimm surrounding them, all of which were bowing in reverence. "They think so to."

Pyrrha shrugged in defeat. "I'm just not the revenge type. I'm sorry."

Jaune sheathed his sword, took Pyrrha's hand, and led her off. "Come on. Let's get some ice cream."

"I'd rather have baklava."

"Let's get that then."

* * *

 **20.3 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Neo glared up at the wall in her Pocket. The entire surface was lit with dozens of monitors, each showing a different version of the same events. She hadn't actually intended her collection for this, but given the current expansions she was more than pleased by her foresight.

A second presence made itself known to her, and she turned to face the only other person she trusted to see her soul laid out so openly. Roman raised an eyebrow at the view, and Neo shrugged.

"I figured I could use some extra firepower every once in a while. But now I'm just going to kill them all at once and use the combined powers to Ascend. How many Variant Maiden powers do you think it would take to tear apart the fabric of reality?" she asked as she looked at the thousands of Ambers being systematically tormented by her clones.

Roman smirked. "I think we're all better off not finding out, as I for one am not very interested destroying the Universe. Where else would I keep all my souvenirs? No, instead lets try making good on an old connection."

Neo pouted but allowed her clones to dispel, putting her toys away for now.

* * *

Ozpin sighed as he made his way back to his office. He was not at all pleased with the newest Expansion, least of all because of his own probable death. No, that honor belonged to the death of Miss Nikos. It - well it felt exactly like the failure it was. Both that of his Unawake self, and his own; despite not being able to actually change the facts of the Baseline, he still felt responsible. Guilt didn't care about such trivialities as logic after all. With another sigh he entered his office — and came to a full stop.

Sitting at his desk, with his feet up no less, was Roman gaming him a jaunty wave. "Hey there Ozzie."

Ozpin mentally frowned at the surprising lack of musical accompaniment, but chose to continue surveying the scene in front of him for the time being. In the corner Neo sat atop a bound, gagged and clearly unconscious Glynda prodding at Zwei as the canine swung back and forth like a pendulum on a steel wire. The diminutive villain gave a lofty smirk before returning to her 'game.'

"Torchwick." Ozpin said with a nod of wary acknowledgement. It abruptly struck him for the first time in literally eons that Roman and Neo were both extremely _old_. Not quite as old as he himself, but by far less of a margin as he was suddenly comfortable with. Individually he could probably handle whatever game they were playing at, but together they would be... difficult.

"So hey, listen. I've been thinking it over and I'm not so sure that our current arrangement is as beneficial as it used to be," Roman stated in a seemingly nonchalant manner. "By the way, love the new chair. Finally decided to get rid of the giant phallic symbolism, eh?"

Ozpin grimaced at the reminder. "Yes, as you so kindly pointed out, the previous design was rather lacking. So I take it you want to renegotiate our terms. As you may be aware, this is perhaps not the best of times."

Roman leaned back on the floating throne like seat, rolling the ends of Melodic Cudgel between his fingers with a look of supposed concentration. "And as I'm sure you've noticed, I don't exactly have any time left. Out of curiosity, have you ever Woken Up in the middle of a Grimm's digestive tract? I can assure you, the experience is pretty memorable."

Ozpin tactically refrained from responding, instead getting back on track. "If you aren't here to renegotiate, then what exactly?"

Roman smirked and remained silent. Ozpin, more than willing to wait patiently for the mercenary to grow bored with his game, simply continued to wait. Abruptly the sound of Roman's Scroll ringing filled the air, and Roman flipped his weapon into the air before grabbing it with a flourish.

"Excuse me for a moment. I simply have to take this." Flipping open the small device, he placed it on speaker and leaned back.

"HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER!" the familiar voice of Weiss Schnee sounded.

Roman smirked. "Well well Ice Queen. So quick to forget your handiwork, I'm hurt. No really, right in the tingly bits."

"What do you _want_ Torchwick!" Weiss yelled.

"Oh, nothing much. I'm just doing my job after all. The one you paid me to do." Roman replied nonchalantly, twirling his cane with abandon.

"...what?"

"I'm can't quite figure out how you could have possibly gotten me involved in your time loop problem, but hey; I know when I'm beat. Anyone with that much power is off limits." Roman answered in a good imitation of seriousness. For the first time in... ever, Ozpin dropped his coffee. Roman grinned like the proverbial cat that caught the canary as the Looping Headmaster gaped.

"YOU'RE LOOPING!?" Weiss roared in disbelief.

"Looks like it. That's what that one fellow with the robots called it anyway. Jack Spicer I believe he said his name was. Nice kid, if a bit slow."

Weiss was notably silent as she processed this. Ozpin was equally silent, but for different reasons.

"Anyways, like a good little minion I've been doing like you asked. Kept my head down and gathered all the info you could ever want on little miss Cinder Fall. Not that it helps any, you would not _believe_ how hard it is to get good intel on someone when her backstory is never the same twice. Of course I don't think I can really help you much anymore, what with the dying and all. By the way, I'd like to not do that anymore. Being eaten is not exactly a respectable method for shuffling this mortal coil. Not that I'd want to go about it any other way either mind you, but griffin chow is not up there on my bucket-list."

"You're Looping." Weiss repeated numbly.

Roman barked a laugh. "Do try and keep up. We just went over that. Now normally I'd have just stuck to skulking around, avoiding the big climactic battle altogether, but another interesting little tidbit you may be interested in has recently cropped up. Poor, dear Neo has been so insistent on seeing her 'cousins' Ruby and Yang again. And, well, I just don't have the heart to break up such a happy family reunion. And if Little Red's _other_ sister is Up, we can all get together and have a cook out. You are still talking to her right, even though she killed your one little friend?"

Weiss growled. "That wasn't her, that was the Unawake Cinder."

Roman waved that off. "Semantics."

Weiss huffed, but moved on. "What do you want Roman?"

"Ah-ha! Now we're getting somewhere. Well Princess, I figure since things aren't exactly going according to plan on your end I should lend a hand. Oh! How careless of me, do apologize to your team-mate on my behalf. Like I was saying, I'm not particularly fond of kicking the bucket. So how's about I join up with your ragtag band of heroes on a more full-time basis? From what I hear, Qrow and I get on _famously_. What d'ya say 'Boss', how about a promotion?"

Weiss was silent for a long time. Neo occupied the wait by pulling out an electric razor and proceeding to give Glynda a haircut. Ozpin, for his part, spent the interval trying every manner of disillusionment he knew of in an attempt to prove that this entire conversation was an elaborate hoax. By the time Weiss spoke up again, he was on his second run-through.

"I'll call you back. I have to go talk with my team."

Roman shrugged. "Fine with me Princess. I'll be waiting with baited breath."

Weiss hung up without another word. Neither Roman or Neo counted inarticulate cries of frustration as words.

Turning back to the still dumbstruck Ozpin, Roman grinned and returned to the desk; collapsing into the extremely comfortable chair with an appreciative sigh. Propping his feet up on the desk, he smirked. "In case you didn't figure it out, you can consider this our resignation. It was fun while it lasted, but alas all good things must come to an end."

Ozpin finally managed to gather his wits. "Why?"

Roman turned a surprisingly serious look on his former employer. "It's simple really. I found a better proposal. It isn't like you can offer me much anymore, our original agreement was you kept quiet and made sure we got a bit more freedom. But unfortunately I recently came down with a rather severe case of dead. So I'm moving on to greener pastures. Think of this, like a retirement party. Oh, and don't worry; you got me a very nice retirement gift."

Ozpin had just enough time to wonder what Roman was talking about. Then Roman, Neo and his favorite modified chair disappeared.

Blankly staring at the prematurely balding Glynda, the Zwei Pinata and the conspicuous lack of mohair, cashmere and silk lined seating, Ozpin drew a blank. He was brought out of his stupor by Zwei sudden panting. He looked down at the dog, which was holding out a paw expectantly. Ozpin rolled his eyes, and set a sonic screwdriver he obtained from a previous loop at the dog's feet. Zwei barked as Ozpin retreived a new cup of coffee from his Pocket and took a sip.

Although it was annoying Torchwick had left so abruptly, things could have gone much worse. And Roman would still be working with people he trusted instead of throwing his hat in with Cinder. He walked around the desk and unpocketed his previous chair. After taking a seat, he relaxed, already making plans to steal back his favorite comfy chair.

* * *

"You did _what!?_ Are you crazy?! _"_ Yang shouted in disbelief, slamming her hands down on the desk in front of them. Blake placed an arm on Yang's forearm, and gave her a _look._ Yang huffed but sat back down, crossing her arms and waiting expectantly for an explanation.

Turning back to Weiss, Blake spoke. "She's right though. What made you think this was a good idea?"

Weiss groaned and put her head in her hands. "I don't even remember okay. I was angry about Cinder's message during the Tournament so I hired Roman to steal the CCTS. Then after that I kept hiring him to spy on Cinder. I stopped doing it centuries ago though! He never brought anything useful, and I already had the tower control signal; I just stopped. How was I supposed to know it would lead to him Looping!" She threw her arms into the air in exasperation, before flopping down across her bed.

Ruby, having just watched the conversation uncertainly to this point, added her thoughts. "But, this could be a good thing. Right? I mean, if the Looping Roman remembers being your spy then isn't that better than him being evil?"

Weiss gave a groan. "Oh come on Ruby, you really think that just because he used to work for me that means he isn't still evil? He's a mercenary and an egotistical narcissist. At best this means that he's Chaotic Neutral. You guys heard the recording I made. The only reason he even showed himself was because he died in the Expansion."

"And Neo." Ruby added.

Weiss laughed bitterly. "Okay fine. And because of Neo. The point is, he's been Looping for possibly thousands of years and never told anyone. And it's my fault."

"Don't blame yourself. You couldn't know this would happen." Ren pointed out calmly.

Pyrrha nodded from her place next to Jaune. "He's right. You didn't know. And we can't forget about Neo. You had nothing to do with that," she clenched her fists. "Sometimes things just happen."

Nora responded to Pyrrha's words by tackling her into a hug, before launching a devastating tickle attack; which succeeded in its goal of distracting the redheaded Huntress from her worries. Sitting back up she leveled a serious gaze on Weiss. "I really will break his legs if you ask me to."

Weiss chuckled at the familiar joke. "I think I just might take you up on that at some point. But, I guess for now... we should just see what happens? It doesn't seem like he's planning anything. And even if he is we can take him. Right?"

Ruby nodded decidedly. "Right. Everyone deserves a second chance. Even Roman."

The group was silent, before Ren said the words on everyone's minds. "And Cinder?"

Ruby stilled, swallowing heavily. "I - I'm don't - I'm not sure. I _want_ to say yes. That's what the hero is supposed to do, isn't it? Forgive everyone, even when they don't deserve it? But - I just don't—"

Yang pulled her sister into a hug. "It's okay Ruby. You don't have to be perfect. You're allowed to be normal."

Ruby buried her face against her sister's side. "Am I? What about the silver eye thing? That's not normal, that's super not normal. I'm supposed to be the hero, aren't I?"

Yang didn't have an answer. Instead she just offered what comfort she could. Her idiot Unawake self hadn't been any help, so it was up to her to pull both their weight.

Pulling back, Ruby wiped at her eyes before returning to the issue. "Okay. So Roman and Neo are Looping. I guess we should go meet with them or something. Weiss?"

The Schnee heiress gave a nod, and pulled out her Scroll. Moments later Roman's voice picked up. "Hey there Princess. I wasn't expecting your call so soon, I was just getting ready to have a good sit down."

"Cut the crap Torchwick. I spoke with my team, let's talk business." Weiss replied irritably.

Roman laughed. "Feisty as ever. Alright, if you insist; let's get right to it then, shall we?"

* * *

 **20.4 Vadrigar**

* * *

Cinder Awoke with a gasp aboard a small transport ship. It was the ship she flew to pick up Roman after he robbed the Dust store. She quickly gathered her memories, and-

" _Do you believe in destiny?"_

" _Yes."_

"No…"

She had killed her. She killed Pyrrha, right in front of Ruby. Then Ruby did… what did she do? All she could remember was a white light, then nothing.

Cinder lowered the ship onto a large roof and shut it off. She had to collect her thoughts, she had to

 _One down, seven to go._

find Ruby, beg for her forgiveness. Jaune would be furious, but Ruby wouldn't let him hurt her. Cinder had to tell them that she wasn't Awake

 _Too bad it wasn't a permanent death._

when she killed Pyrrha. She would never do something like that.

Would she?

 _There are no innocents in this war, only enemies._

"She was helpless, injured. I could have left her and-"

 _She was trying to kill me. There is only one response to such insolence._

"I know Pyrrha, she's my friend, whether I like it or not. Have to find her and

 _Make sure she stays down._

apologize. What will she think?"

 _She'll hate me, I have to act fast._

"She'll, she'll forgive me, I know it. It wasn't me that did it."

 _It was always me. I wouldn't hesitate to kill her again._

"I have to make sure it never happens again."

"Cinder? Cinder, are you there?"

It was her scroll, and a voice was coming from it. She wiped away her tears

 _Only the weak cry. I have no use for weakness._

and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Cinder, it's Ruby. Are you Awake? We need to talk."

"Ruby, I'm so sorry about what happened, it

 _Was fun. I'd do it again, and make it more painful._

wasn't me. It was the other Cinder."

"We know. But Jaune and Pyrrha want to talk to you personally. Can you meet us near Beacon? I'm taking care of Roman right now."

"Yes, of course. I just…need a minute."

 _Your demise will take more than a minute, Ruby Rose._

"Sure, yeah. It'll be okay, Cinder."

"Thank you Ruby. Thank you for-

 _Being such a gullible brat._

being a good sister."

"No prob, big sis. Oh, Jaune wanted to know, do you remember who you work for yet? We were hoping that after this expansion, well…"

"I…

 _Will never tell you. She'll be my ace in the hole._

her name is…

 _Something you'll never guess._

Salem. Her name is Salem. I'll tell you more about her in a bit."

"Thanks. See you there Cinder."

Cinder dropped the scroll. Had she really just done that? Did she really just tell Ruby Rose the name of her boss? Why? She could have easily lied about it. Ruby would buy anything, and even if the others didn't, all she needed was Ruby on her side.

 _Only fools put their trust in others._

She just needed to trust Ruby, and have Ruby trust her. Just for a little longer. Just for a little while…

 _I'm all alone. Salem can never help me now._

And she needed some medicine for this headache.

* * *

 **20.5 Shimmer712**

* * *

Cinder felt her lips curve upwards as Adam and his lieutenant came out of the tent to see who was attacking. She had ordered Mercury and Emerald to stay back with the cases until she said otherwise. She was making a point.

"You were quite disagreeable before," she said idly. Adam snarled and withdrew his blade from his sheathe. However, before his blow could land, Cinder moved.

His arm, much like Yang's in baseline, flew through the arm and landed with a soft thud. Cinder was a bit disappointed at how anticlimactic it was.

"Now, my offer can benefit the two of us…" she purred, signalling to Mercury and Emerald. They promptly kneeled and opened the cases for the Fanus to see the contents.

"Or it can benefit just me," she finished.

As per baseline, Adam agreed.

As she left with Mercury and Emerald, she smiled coldly. Removing his arm had been enjoyable. She would have to repeat this.

And if some other fanus decided to use his handicap to establish themselves as the new leader of the White Fang, she would just have to have a talk with the new leader.

And since Adam would have no purpose in her plans, she could see to it he was properly punished.

* * *

 **20.6 Gammatron**

* * *

Keita yawned as he sat up in bed, letting his Loop Memories come out. He blinked a few times as he realized that he realized he was now the youngest of four kids and that he had the Yokai Watch for roughly two months now. The door opened up, making him look and see a familiar face peek in.

"Morning, Keita!" Ruby greeted, a ruby-red Yokai Watch around her neck on a rose-colored chain, "You Awake now? Mom and Dad are out so Grif's making us Anchor-shaped pancakes!"

"Yeah. I'm Awake, Ruby," Keita replied, "Just woke up right now."

"Great!" Ruby beamed, "Everyone else is awake and since it's summer break, we're gonna be having some fun!"

"That's great to hear, Ruby," Keita nodded.

"Cool! And hi, Whisper!" Ruby greeted the shocked ghost before she dashed off, leaving behind rose petals.

"Where did she get a Yokai Watch?!" Whisper gawked.

"Anchor-shaped pancakes..." Keita gawked, seeing the pancakes were in the shape of different anchors.

"What? You Loop in as a chef you learn how to get creative in your cooking," Grif shrugged, an orange Yokai Watch U on his wrist as he put the last plate on the table.

"Mornin'..." Yang mumbled as she saw down.

"Dang it, Yang! At least on some pajama bottoms!" Grif snapped as Whisper quickly covered Keita's eyes, "And when did you get a tattoo?!"

"A dare with Blake. Blake won," Yang replied as she pulled a pair of short-shorts from her Pocket and slipped them on.

Grif sighed as he facepalmed, "You want honey or syrup with your pancakes?"

"Honey. Always honey, Grif. You know that."

"I know. Just making sure you were Awake-awake and not just dreaming," Grif replied as he poured the honey on her pancakes, "Because Unawake you liked syrup more than honey."

"So dad's a professional boxer while mom travels all over Japan for a magazine this Loop?" Keita pondered.

"Yep!" Ruby beamed.

"So you're Whisper, huh," Yang looked the ghost over.

"You're not even wearing a Yokai Watch!" Whisper facefaulted.

"I let her look through mine," Ruby explained.

"Glad you're Looping, Whisper," Grif patted the ghost, "Thanks for being there for Keita through all this. You're a great butler."

"Oh come now..." Whisper sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"So once we're done here, what's the plan, Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Well, I was thinking since this is Keita's hometown, he'd give a tour?" Ruby noted.

"Really? Well, sure," Keita agreed.

"Here," Whisper handed Yang a normal pendant Yokai Watch, "For some reason, I had both versions of the first model this Loop."

"Where do you even get them if Keita's gramps is the one who made them long after you got sealed up?" Grif asked.

"Hmm...An excellent question," Whisper rubbed his chin in thought.

"He has no idea how it happens," Keita shrugged.

"This is kinda nice," Grif noted as they walked down the shopping district, "Feels like back home in Hawaii, except there's no pineapple factory outside of town."

"Yeah. Wait, what?" Keita looked at Grif.

"Sale!" Yang and Ruby squealed as they ran into the clothing store.

"...We lost them already," Grif noted, "...Well, we might as well go in. Donut's been wanting a new sweater since his last one was eaten by a goat that mistook it for grass."

"Seriously?" Keita gawked.

"It's a brother's job to carry the bags," Grif shrugged, "Lucky for us? Pockets."

"Right," Keita nodded.

"Plus, if you see something, we can just sneak it into our Pockets for later," Grif chuckled.

"What?!" Keita gawked.

"I'm just kidding, kiddo," Grif messed with Keita's hair as they entered...and witnessed Yang and Ruby in a brawl with a group of other girls over a sweater, "...Wanna go somewhere else, Keita?"

"Oh yeah," Keita replied.

"...We're coming back later to hang out here," Yang informed as she looked at the beach and the open restaurant beside it.

"Only if you agree to not flirt with boys."

"..."

"..."

"..." Grif and Yang began to laugh up a storm before calming down a few moments later.

"Seriously, though, get Ruby to rub your back with sunscreen or I will not give you your present next time we're all Looping together," Grif warned.

"Ooh~! What'd ya get me?"

"Not telling. Just so you know, took me a long time to build it too," Grif replied.

"Okay, okay," Yang snorted.

"What are they talking about?" Keita whispered.

"Well, Grif does his best to keep a pair of calendars. He checks one off each day everytime everyone from his Loop is Awake with him and one off on the other for when we're Awake with him. We all do the same to keep a special calendar for birthdays and holidays," Ruby noted before giggling, "I've never had some holidays before we started Looping and I really love Christmas because Grif makes the greatest chocolate chunk cookies with bits of strawberry in it!"

"...I knew I forgot to give him something that first Loop," Grif muttered as he quickly handed Keita a calendar, "Here you go. All up to date aside from the date of your birthday."

"Thanks, Grif," Keita nodded.

"You have quite the interesting older brother now," Whisper noted before a heavy downpour happened.

"What the...?! There weren't even any clouds in the sky!" Ruby yelped as she and Keita used their Semblance and zipped under the roof of the restaurant nearby.

"This doesn't seem natural," Grif admitted before noticing Yang's hair-while normally in its normal looks even in the rain-was now straight and matted down, "What the heck?"

Yang sighed. Keita, Ruby, and Grif looked through their Yokai Watches to see a girl who looked like she's been in the rain too much beside Yang.

"An Ame-Onna," Whisper noted.

"...I'll go find the sun head," Keita sighed as he walked off, pulling an umbrella out of his Pocket.

"Ugh! That was weird!" Yang shuddered as she finished drying her hair while walking out of the women's restroom in a fresh pair of her normal clothes, "Is that how it feels when you get Inspirited by those guys, Keita?"

"Yeah," Keita shrugged, "But it's not all that bad. They're all good friends."

"I really like this park," Ruby noted, giggling at seeing the swan boats on the lake, "It's places like these that make me think that everything will be all right for everyone in the Loops." she sighed, "Unlike Baseline back home..."

"Huh? What do you mean, Ruby?" Keita asked, looking at the toher two to see Yang rubbing her arm and Grif's shaking.

"Keita, let's just say that their baseline is messed up ear the end of its run," Grif informed, "So let's all agree to drop it and not bring it up or that my sister is dating another girl right now."

"Huh?"

"Grif!"

"What? You know that while I support your relationship with another girl, I'm still miffed that I can't put the fear of Bears into her because she puts the fear of Cats into me."

"Fear of Bears?"

"Keita, wa..." Grif began.

 **BEARS!**

"What was that?" Keita asked, looking around.

"You type that you love the Bears gag from the Completionist one time, one _fucking_ time, and it screws you over...!" Grif muttered under his breath.

"His admin thought it'd be funny that since Grif has such a bear-theme to him to have that happen whenever someone ends their sentences with that word in either singular or plural," Ruby explained.

"So we can't say bears?"

 **BEARS!**

"So long as you don't end your sentence in it, we're good," Ruby replied as Yang snickered at the slumped Grif.

"You got that upgraded Meta Armor?!" Ruby gawked at Keita.

"Y-Yeah...Don't you...?" Keita began.

"No," Ruby pouted.

"For some reason, she always ends up not getting to go to Chorus when she loops in," Yang explained, "Last time, Ruby tried to sneak in and ended up on the wrong ship, getting sent off to Hoth."

"Yaaaang~!" Ruby whined.

"..." Yang made a few claps with her hands, returned by Grif, before both nodded and banged fists.

"Ruby, you forgot what today was, right?" Grif asked.

"Huh?" Ruby took out her calendar and looked it over before gasping, "You mean...?"

"Yang, Weiss, and Blake helped me out with detailing it for you," Grif informed as he pulled out a large package.

"Happy birthday, sis!" Yang beamed.

"Eeeeeeee!" Ruby cheered as she grabbed the box and tore it to shreds, revealing the Meta's armor detailed in a wolf-theme, "You are the bestest big brother and sister ever!"

"Wait. It's Ruby's birthday?" Keita asked.

"Her birthday in Looping," Grif corrected.

"Oh...But..."

"You showing us around was more than enough for the first present, Keita," Ruby assured as she tried on the armor and looking at herself in the living room's full-sized mirror, her cloak fluttering with each movement, "I love it! Hey, what about the AI issue?"

"We had to ask Applebloom from Equestria to handle that issue," Yang replied.

"Awesome!" Ruby bounced a bit.

"..." a hand was put on Keita's shoulder as he watched the two talking together.

"Don't worry, Keita," Grif assured, "We're all family now. No one's going to be forgotten or left behind here."

"Thanks, Grif," Keita nodded.

Whisper smiled a bit as he watched the four, _'It seems that this Looping has done a good job for you, Keita-kun.'_

* * *

 **20.7 Shimmer712**

* * *

Jaune Woke up.

"Jaune? Are you alright?" Weiss's voice came from his phone. Jaune hung up on her.

Once, he would have been delighted at Weiss' concern. Once, it would have made his day.

But that was when he still had a silly, shallow crush on her. That was centuries ago for him.

Jaune didn't bother putting a ping out. He had more important matters.

* * *

The dragon crashed into the tower, destroying the top of the building. Pyrrha and Cinder continued fight. However, when Pyrrha flung her shield, Cinder shot an arrow throw it and into her opponent's foot.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours..." Cinder mused, walking around Pyrrha and crouching down to lift her chin. "But take comfort in knowing that _I_ will use it in ways you could _never_ have imagined."

Pyrrha pulled her head back, looking Cinder in the face.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she asked, her voice wavering, not with fear, but exhaustion. Cinder narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," she answered, materializing her bow and lifting it.

The bow clattered to the ground.

Cinder stared at Pyrrha, her lips in a smug smile and eyes cold. Then her head slowly slid forward and toppled to the ground with a soft thud. Golden light gleamed then flowed from Cinder's decapitated form to Pyrrha. Pyrrha gasped.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune stumbled pass the collapsing corpse and dropped to his knees next to the red head. "Pyrrha, are you okay?"

"...Jaune..." Pyrrha said weakly. "But...how...I sent you away..."

"PYRRHA!...Jaune?" Ruby blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"I hopped back into the locker and used my scroll to send it to the tower," Jaune explained, sending out a ping. "...After I had called Weiss and told her what Pyrrha was doing...I crashed into the building a few floors down and made my way up."

"I'm lucky you did," Pyrrha said, smiling weakly. She was shaking, a combination of adrenaline levels dropping and the knowledge that she had nearly been murdered with two of her friends watching. "Thank you."

Jaune hugged her. "Anytime," he whispered, shaking himself. It had been so close.

Too close.

Jaune smiled faintly to himself. At least he didn't have to worry about breaking the news that Pyrrha was dead to Ren and Nora this time.

Their family was still togther in this loop.

* * *

 **20.8 Matrixdragon**

* * *

Leaning back in his chair, Ozpin sipped at his coffee, savouring the flavour. After a moment, he looked back up and considered the view beyond his office window, trying not to scowl. All his life, both in Baseline and all the Loops he'd lived, he'd found the view comforting, an image of beauty in a deadly world. But ever since the most recent expansions, all he could see was that Dragon, tearing free of the mountain and flying towards Beacon, intent on destroying everything humanity had ever made. And everything he'd done to try and prevent it, to save the power of the Maidens, to drive back the darkness, had been for nothing. Worse, they might have actually helped Cinder.

Sighing softly, he shook his head, sipping at his coffee again. Really, there was nothing he could do about his Baseline counterparts actions. He knew that all too well. All he could do was make a difference in the Loops where he was Awake. Of course that hadn't been going as well as he would have liked either. With the Expansions he had decided to relax his efforts to continue manipulating events to ensure his students were continuing to grow, instead choosing to mitigate the damage done to their psyches and their bonds.

It seemed they had done well enough on their own with that however; although he was slightly concerned about Miss Belladonna and Miss Xiao-Long's abrupt relationship. Romances built off of harsh circumstances had the tendency to be self-destructive if not handled wisely. He trusted them to do right by themselves and each other, and honestly hoped for the best for them, but as a teacher he couldn't help but worry.

His big worry at the moment was the troubling revelation that Weiss had at some point in the indeterminate past contacted Roman and hired him for whatever task she had needed his help with. That in turn had given Roman just enough leeway to slip from Ozpin's grasp, insinuating himself and his partner among his charges like a serpent among sheep. Or perhaps wolves in this instance. Nevertheless the damage the two could sew among their ranks was not to be underestimated, and as such his hand was being forced.

Which brought him back to now. Far below him, the first year students were just arriving; ahead of their first test in the forests tomorrow morning, where the teams would be determined. As he did every time he woke up early in a near-Baseline loop, he'd studied the security cameras in the courtyard; watching the reactions of eight very special students.

This time, to his delight, there had been clear signs that all of teams RWBY and JNPR were Awake. Not only had they all grouped up within minutes of arriving, but their behaviour clearly deviated from their Baseline selves. If nothing else, an Unawake Pyrrha Nikos would never be confident enough to cuddle Jaune Arc in public… and the man would likely have fainted in shock from the act.

He'd been waiting for a Loop with all of them Awake, and where he could contact them, for decades. Every single Loop, there had been complications. Someone hadn't been Awake, the Loopers had decided not to follow Baseline and never arrived at Beacon, or he'd Woken up to find himself an astronaut trapped alone on Mars. He still had a dislike of potatoes from that adventure. But now, at long last, everything was in place, allowing him to make some actual change.

Behind him, the doors to his office opened to admit teams RWBY and JNPR. Several of the Loopers glanced around the familiar room, checking for any Loop variations. Weiss raised an eyebrow at a painting on the wall her Loop memories said was painted by her great-aunt, but there was nothing exceptional about that. As the door closed behind them, the eight apparent teenagers stood in front of the desks, expressions mostly curious.

Turning his chair around to face them, Ozpin placed his coffee mug on the saucer and looked over the group. As it became clear that it was indeed the usual headmaster that had called them up, and that he hadn't been replaced by someone else this Loop, their mood changed. Some, like Weiss and Ren, were clearly suspicious. Jaune and Pyrrha, on the other hand, had visibly tensed, almost as if they were expecting Grimm to leap out of the shadows at them. Given the most recent expansion, Ozpin supposed he couldn't really blame them.

"To many people, I have a reputation," the Headmaster began. "Some see me as a teacher, in what is a very difficult field. To others, I am a leader, working to guide some of our worlds greatest defenders against the darkness. And then, there are those that see me as a schemer, keeping valuable secrets known only to myself and a handful of others, with an agenda I refuse to share with outsiders." He kept his voice level, calm, but the words still drew a reaction from his students. At this point, all of them were staring at him, expressions shockingly serious for how young they looked.

"And which one of them is true?" Ruby Rose asked. In Baseline, he originally met her only a few days ago, and her voice had been light and cheery, with an eagerness for the future he'd found utterly charming. Right now though, her voice was low, as close to a growl as she could manage, and there was a gleam in her eyes that made a part of his soul tremble in fear. This was not a young would-be Huntress. This was his Anchor. A woman far more powerful than he could ever hope to match. And one who was, after the past few thousand Loops and the Expansions that had taken place in them, incredibly tired and annoyed. If she reacted badly to the next few minutes, the next few millennia could be… unpleasant.

Of course, it was far too late to worry about that now. "All of them are true Miss Rose," he replied, with the smile they all knew so well. "Training Hunters to defend this world is a very important duty. And the fact is, that duty means that quite a few of them respect me a great deal, and are often willing to consider my opinion on a matter." The smile faded and he leaned forward, placing his hands on his desk blotter. "And I am a schemer," he admitted. "I have learnt many things over the years, secrets that must never be told, knowledge that must never be spoken. Knowledge that my responsibilities mean I must act on." He shook his head sadly, pretending to ignore as hands slowly moved towards weapons. "I tried to protect the world," he whispered, closing his eyes for a moment. "And I tried to help those that would continue the fight even after my time has ended." Opening his eyes again, he looked up at his students. "And with the events in the most recent Expansion, my time might very well have already done so."

Seven weapons snapped to attention, all aimed directly at him. Ozpin remained very still, even in the face of enough firepower to reduce Remnant to ash. Instead, he met the eyes of his Anchor, who met his gaze levelly, Crescent Rose remaining folded up behind her back. "You're Looping," Ruby said very quietly.

"I am," the Headmaster admitted, the words coming out easier than he'd expected. "And I have been for a very long time."

"And you didn't tell us," Yang snarled, eyes flickering red as she kept the left gauntlet of Ember Celica aimed at the mans head. Her right arm remained at her side, as if she didn't quite remember it was there.

"I thought…" Pausing, Ozpin considered his words, then pressed on. "I thought I could help you more as a teacher. Finding new ways to help you all improve, to remain healthy and stable. I thought the threats you would have to worry about would come from outside our Loop. Kyubey, Billy, the other MLE's." He leaned back in his ornate chair, sighing. "I honestly thought I could do more for you like that. That I could help you grow, and in doing so, help our world survive this near-eternal cycle."

RWBY and JNPR all glanced at each other, considering a million different odd events that had happened over their long lives. What they'd believed to be Variant Loops. How they had reacted to them, what they'd learnt from the experience. "And now you're telling us," Jaune Arc said at last, his voice calm, confident, so different from the foolish young boy that had lied his way into the near death sentence that was being a Hunter. But not so different from the man that had charged a fully Maiden-powered Cinder. "Why? What's changed your opinion?"

"The Expansions," Ozpin replied. "In the Baseline, I tried secrecy, I tried being subtle. And we all saw how that worked out," he added bitterly, closing his eyes and trying not to remember the look of confusion and betrayal on Ambers face as she died. "Cinder outmanoeuvred me completely. She used all my techniques and strategies against me."

"Headmaster, she outmanoeuvred all of us," Pyrrha told him, her voice gentle, and Ozpin had to suppress a faint smile. Even after everything she'd been through in the last half-dozen expansions, in no small part because of his decisions, that compassion still ran strong in her.

But it wasn't enough to remove the guilt. "In the Baseline, you're students," he said, standing up. "First year students, no less. It was the responsibility of people such as General Ironwood and myself to stop people like her, like the White Fang. Instead, well, we all know what happened." Glancing towards Pyrrha, he tried not to flinch as she drew in on herself, remembering that moment. Jaune was quick to step up to her side, and she gave him a thankful look before turning back to Ozpin as he continued. "You should never have been there."

Blake moved towards Yang, taking the blondes right hand in a gentle grip. "And now the next Expansion won't occur for who knows how long," she said once she was satisfied her girlfriend was calming down.

"And I may have survived my battle with Cinder," Ozpin confirmed. "Or I may not have." Picking up his cane, he stepped towards the window, leaning on it heavily. "My abilities still vary wildly between Loops," he admitted, looking out at the school that would, all too soon, become a war zone. "I have no idea of just what my chances against her would naturally have been." Sighing, he turned back to them, anger slipping into his voice. "In the Baseline, I've failed. Completely. The methods I believed in just. Don't. Work." He almost snarled the last words, the grip on his cane tightening to the point it was painful. "Which means I need to change. I have to make up for my mistakes, my failings. And to start with that… Well, here we are."

Walking back towards the Loopers, he waved a hand at them. "You were my students, for longer than humanity has walked Remnant. Even when you Awoke, I still did what I could to teach you, even if you never knew it. And if, in Baseline, you have to continue the fight against the darkness without me, I'm confident you will rise to the challenge. But as for the Loops, I don't think I can be your teacher any longer. But perhaps, if you are willing, I can be a friend."

For several long moments, no one replied, a tense silence settling over the room. At last though, the silence was broken by a soft chuckle from Ruby Rose. Taking their cue from her, the others began to lower their weapons. Then, with a smirk, Ruby held a hand out to her best friend. "Oh Weiss…" she said, smiling playfully.

Scowling, the shorter girl put Myrtenaster away before, with a dramatic flourish intended to display her annoyance to all that saw it, pulled a rather large gem out of her subspace pocket and slapped it down into her friend's hand. At the same time, Jaune grumbled to himself and handed Ren a sizeable pile of money, who merely smiled slightly and made it vanish before Nora could steal any of it.

"Damn, I shoulda put money down," Yang mock-complained with a grin. "I mean, I need to pay for a cool new arm, right?"

"I don't gamble with you," Blake replied. "You're just too easy."

"Eh?"

"Your poker face is almost as bad as mine," Pyrrha told the other woman with a soft smile.

"What, no way!"

"It's like me and pancakes," Nora replied as she checked around Ren in the hopes he'd missed pocketing the cash. "And the hair. It's very very expressive."

Considering the interactions, Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "You were taking bets on my being a Looper?" he asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Among many other things," Ruby replied, considering the gem in her hands and grinning to herself. "I'm gonna love giving Crescent Rose a lightscythe mode…"

Leaning against Ozpins desk, Jaune grinned at the man. "I bet against it, sure, but the theory was actually pretty solid. And the odds went way up when Roman and Neo of all people came out as Loopers not that long ago." The grin became rather lopsided. "You do realize, we're going to spend decades nagging you for your secrets now."

"That, I can live with," the Headmaster replied, looking across the group and failing to suppress a smile. He had no doubt that this wasn't the end of the matter. Even if they were willing to accept him, they were surely going to have harsh words, or worse, at some point. And yet, it felt good. The men and women around him weren't children, they hadn't been for a very long time. He should have stopped thinking of them as such millennia ago.

His thoughts on the future were interrupted with the sound of displaced air, and he turned to see Nora leaning back on his chair, feet up on his desk. He was vaguely reminded of Roman's previous behaviour, before his betrayal. He gave a sigh. He was pretty sure he knew what came next.

"Oh, it's even more comfortable than normal!" she exclaimed. "Still phallic, but the cushions… Claiming these for my bed!" she declared.

As he thought. And he had just gotten those new cushions too. He really needed to get his Comfy Chair back.

* * *

 **20.9 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch sat at her desk, slumped over in exhaustion. Mental if not physical. The latest Expansion had been positively exhausting, and it was taking her quite a while longer than usual to recover from the shock and horror she had dealt with. Not that it was anything in comparison to her friends. She was proud to count her Anchor among said group, but the knowledge of what had been occurring for the perpetually optimistic girl was a like a heavy weight upon her heart.

Then there had been the 'fight' with Roman and Neo. It was a great blow to her pride as a woman, an educator, and a Huntress that she had done so poorly against the duo; and it served to remind her that, although she was still far and away the most powerful of her peers, she was still a very young Looper. In contrast, both Roman and Neo were not really all that much younger than Ozpin and Zwei. She gave a rough chuckle. Even the canine Looper had put up a greater struggle than she had, though after her own defeat it had done little against the combined strength of the two deserters.

A familiar voice roused her from her self-recriminations. "Miss Goodwitch? Are you Awake?"

Sitting up from where she had been lying on her desk, she gave a wan smile and sent out a Ping. "I am Ruby."

The Anchor seemed to gain a hundred years in a split-second. "Good. I need someone to talk to. Someone who isn't part of everything that's happened. Weiss is still sulking about Roman and Neo, Blake and Yang are holed up in the room planning or whatever, and Jaune's Team are comforting Pyrrha. And Cinder... Cinder is..."

Glynda's heart went out to the girl in front of her, struggling to hold back tears. It wasn't fair what the world was throwing at her. The Looping Ruby at least had the benefit of multiple lifetimes of experience to keep herself strong; it was even worse for her Baseline self. And things didn't appear to be improving any time soon.

Reaching out, she raised Ruby's head enough to meet the other woman's eyes. "You know that I'm always willing to listen, Ruby. But what about Ozpin?"

Ruby shifted awkwardly. "I know I said that I don't really mind that he kept his Looping hidden, but... I don't really think I can trust him either."

Glynda smiled affectedly. "And what of me Ruby? Did I not do the exact same thing?'

Ruby shook her head. "Maybe at first, but you stopped hiding a long time ago. I trust you, you're my friend."

Glynda smile became less pained. "And you are mine as well. As a matter of fact, if you'd like, I would much prefer to stop hiding now. I think the time for secrecy is over."

Ruby gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah. Everyone else already revealed everything, huh."

Glynda laughed as well. Even if it wasn't much, the fact that Ruby was still able to laugh gave her hope. "Indeed it is at that."

Maybe they could still earn their happy endings after all.

* * *

 **20.10**

* * *

"Everyone, I have an announcement," Glynda declared to the assembled teenagers, Ozpin, Roman and Cinder. The assembling made what exactly that announcement was pretty obvious. "I am looping."

The customary bets were exchanged quickly enough. Jaune got a sizable return. Roman chuckled at his massive gain.

Glynda pulled a large duffle bag out from underneath the table. "Now I am aware that you would naturally distrust me. As such I have asked Ruby to vouch for me-"

"She told me ahead of time and asked to be left in peace," Ruby explained.

"-And I have prepared a manner to convince you to trust me." Glynda unzipped the duffle bag. "By which I mostly mean bribe." She held up the contents of the bag. "Who wants a looping puppy?"

"Hello Ruby! I am looping," Zwei and his sign said.

"ZWEI!" Ruby screamed in joy, instantly seizing and coddling her dog. "I can't believe it! You're looping!"

"Yes I am," Zwei's sign said.

In the background, Yang and Weiss were restraining Blake as Roman laughed uproariously. "You monster! You unleashed my hated enemy into the loops! I will make you suffer!"

Glynda rolled her eyes. "How so? Punch me with Susanoo? Burn me with Amaterasu?"

"Torture you with Tsukuyomi. How does Pole Dancing Peter Port sound?"

Glynda gulped. "Maybe Zwei wasn't such a good idea."

"It was an awesome idea!" Ruby cried, now having to deal with Nora and Neopolitan trying to cuddle with Zwei. "It's pure awesome."

* * *

 **20.11 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Cinder was—

Actually Cinder wasn't sure what she was. On the one hand, her Unawake self's plans had gone better than she had imagined (barring the unfortunate whatever it was at the end). However, on the other hand her Looping goals had been shot through so many different ways she wasn't sure what she was doing anymore.

Roman and Neo were slowly ingratiating themselves with the Loopers, sharing their stolen goods from across the Loops — explained away as souvenirs and gifts of course — with the Teams in an effort to demonstrate their goodwill and ability to help. Where the hell did they even get that many Time Turners?

Ozpin and Glynda had likewise shown their hands, and rather than turning on each other the groups had managed to come to an understanding of a sort. Granted Ozpin was still treated with more than his fair share of suspicion, but he weathered it with good grace. Glynda having revealed herself to Ruby millennia ago was going a long way towards smoothing over any hurt feelings in that regard.

And then there was her own treatment. It had been tense at first and Cinder was sure that the only reason she had been spoken to at all was due to a large gap of time in which she was certain, though she couldn't prove it, that she hadn't been given the chance to Awaken during.

Again, it was Ruby who had soothed the frayed nerves of the others. By this point it was almost normal again.

However that didn't really do much to quiet her own issues. She wasn't sure when it had started, perhaps it had just been a natural progression of events, but somewhere along the way she had come to realize that her attitude towards her foes wasn't as clear as it had once been.

Whereas before she would have gladly played her role in her plot against Beacon, and slain Pyrrha with a smile; now the thought made her almost violently ill. Even worse were the two Loops so far where she had Awoken just as the deed had been done, and had to watch the look of shock and horror fill the Mistral Huntress' eyes. Whatever it was Ruby did at that point had been a blessing.

At the same time however, she felt a sense of gratuitous satisfaction; an almost physical joy at the knowledge that she had brought Beacon to it's knees. That she had strode forth as goddess of all she surveyed, a queen of the castle if you will, and beheld her works. And called it good.

Neither of these thoughts were separate. She couldn't point at a single place and say 'here is where this emotion ends, and the other begins.' They were simultaneous. Both and neither an equal part of her every thought. As if she was looking out upon the world through twin glasses; one rose tinted and the other the color of blood. Sometimes she wasn't sure which one was which.

That thought was almost enough to make her lose sleep some nights.

* * *

 **20.12 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Yang idly fiddled with the hourglass between her fingers. "Isn't time travel supposed to be dangerous?"

Jaune nodded. "Usually yeah. The important thing here though is to not let ourselves get seen. Especially not by our past selves. We don't need to do much, the Expansion isn't very clear on some of the details after the fight. We can use that. We just need to make it look like things happened the way they were 'supposed' to. That's what the Time Turners are for. Add the various hard light technologies and we can create a temporary illusion of Pyrrha while one of us switches her out. This is really only a last resort though; things like late Awakenings, visiting Anchors or both Pyrrha, Cinder and Ozpin not being Awake. Harry said it doesn't usually cause any problems when he does this stuff in other Branches so there shouldn't be any problems, but I'd rather not take any extra chances."

The two teams looked around at each other, waiting to see if anyone had anything extra to add. When no one did, Ruby smiled. "Okay, so that's the plan. Next order of business: Salem. We need information. It'll probably all be wrong, but maybe we can figure out some kind of pattern. Or at least all the different Variants. Cinder?"

The Looping Maiden sat up straighter in her chair. She was uncomfortable in this place. Her Unawake self had caused the groups a lot of problems, and her Awake self was left to pick up the fallout. Combine that with that increasingly annoying voice in the back of her head telling her to start apologizing and never stop, and she was a tense bundle of tightly suppressed nerves. It also didn't help that any single person in this room could easily take her apart a dozen different ways before she even lifted a finger. Suffice it to say, she was feeling rather stressed.

"From what I remember this Loop, she's a corrupted version of the Winter Maiden. The details are sketchy at best, but I think she and Ozpin may have been in a relationship in the past. Possibly some sort of lover's spat?" She answered fluidly, showing no sign of her internal conflicts.

Roman chuckled from where he leaned casually against the wall. "So how bout it Ozzie?" Ozpin again gave a small twitch as the expected music failed to appear. "Did you break a poor girls heart and doom the world to fire and brimstone?"

Ozpin frowned. "Just the opposite in fact, if my memories are to be trusted. I believe the term in the Hub is yandere."

Roman laughed. "Oh now that _is_ rich."

Weiss held up her hand as she massaged the bridge of he nose. "So wait, let me get this straight. This Loop she wants to destroy everyone because—"

"She can't stand the thought of my having any connections to this world that don't revolve around her, yes." Ozpin said with a sigh.

* * *

 **20.13 Yangfromyin**

* * *

Dead in Baseline.

It still hadn't sunk in for Pyrrha what exactly that entailed. Due to the Loops, she'd cheated her fate, but still a doubt preyed on her mind.

 _I don't belong here. What happens when Yggdrasil is fixed? Will I simply vanish as time corrects itself?_

"Well, what has Miss Magnet brooding?" The recently revealed Roman had managed to sneak up on her.

"I'm dead. I don't exist in Baseline anymore."

Roman sighed. "And I died the Expansion before you did. At least you saw your death coming. Listen, I get what your going through. You have your friends and that clumsy blond boyfriend of yours. You don't want to lose them. You don't want _them_ to lose _you_."

He shrugged. "I have Neo. My sister. My daughter. My, well, everything. When I die in the Loops, it drives her to tears and the first thing she does when everything resets is to hold onto me. Every time I think of what the Baseline of her must be feeling... Well, I'd rather take getting eaten alive."

"How do you deal with it?"

"The Loops give us every second chance we could ever desire. We wouldn't be talking if we didn't. I stop dying. I refuse to let Baseline control me. I tell myself 'I am Roman Torchwick and I answer only to myself.' Me, not fate, not Baseline, not the stupid tree. _Me_. If you ever need to talk, find me. The dead Loopers need to stick together."

With that, Roman turned around and disappeared into the night.

* * *

 **20.14**

* * *

"Are you... mugging me?"

"Yes!"

Roman watched his rent-a-henchmen go flying by. Ruby was... probably Awake. Now, what were his plans this loop?

Oh... wait...

The other three rent-a-henchmen were at the window staring at Ruby. Roman glanced at them. "Well? Get her!"

* * *

 **One ass-kicking later:**

* * *

Roman tossed his cigar on the pavement and stamped it out under Melodic Cudgel. "So, now that that's taken care of... what the hell now?"

Ruby blinked and stared at him. "Wait, you're... not going to attack me?"

Roman held up a finger, racked his memory, and grumbled at his own forgetfulness. A pseudo-psychic Ping resounded in Ruby's mind. "No. I'm not."

Ruby chuckled at his expense. "Sorry. The whole not-stealth Looping anymore thing must be weird for you."

"You can say that again," Roman grumbled. Roman started off for his Bullhead. "You know. I'm bored, so I think I'll try to take over Vale. If you need me I'll be installing myself as your future evil overlord."

"...Okay!" Ruby said cheerfully. If Roman was going to be installing himself as an evil overlord, it meant that everyone who was Awake could take turns trying to over throw him. What fun! "Just keep the atrocities to a zero!"

"Phh. All I'm gonna do is rob banks, send people to the mines and maybe use tickle torture." Roman laughed at himself and Ruby. "Where's the fun in killing everyone?"

* * *

 **20.15**

* * *

Ping.

...Ping.

Ozpin didn't quite register the pseudo-psychic pulse that hit him at first, and it took a few moments for him to realize that he should reply. He wasn't stealth looping anymore. It was weird.

He is knee bumped against a rock. Oh yeah; he was bound, gagged, had a sack of his head, and was being dragged. That was weirder still.

Ozpin pulled the chains, sack and gag into his sub space pocket, vanishing them from reality. Freed, he did a tactician's once over. He was on a large, mostly flat and heavily fogged plane, with rocky and crystalline crags jutting from the bare earth. Grimm mulled out in the distance, but otherwise ignored him and his entourage. Mercury and Emerald had been the ones dragging him, and Ozpin had acted fast enough to avoid them fully realizing the error. Cinder was leading the trio through the badlands. A quick glance behind him confirmed that Adam was following behind them.

Ozpin did a mental check and concluded his location. The realm of Salem. Good; he'd meant to meet the Monster of Remnant.

In a flash, Ozpin lashed out, grabbing Emerald and Mercury's hair. For the briefest of instances his sense of empathy overrode pragmatism: they were violent maniacs, but they were Cinder's pet projects. They'd been taught to be this way.

Ozpin slammed their heads together, knocking the Butcher and the Thief out cold, and pulling both into his Subspace Pocket. 'Two down.'

Ozpin turned and lunged. Adam, a seasoned Iajitsu practitioner, was just fast enough to register that Ozpin's bonds were gone and that Emerald and Mercury had vanished. His hand was already on the hilt of Blush when Ozpin's fist crashed into his mask. Unconsciousness was instant, and he joined his erstwhile allies in Ozpin's Subspace. 'Three.'

Cinder hadn't even noticed the sudden disabling of her group. Ozpin, if only because she could be Awake, coughed into his fist. "You have one chance to surrender."

Cinder stopped, and turned on Ozpin, eyes aglow and smile malicious, not at all the sister of Ruby Rose. "I think you'll want to take that offer." She unleashed a massive surge of fire at Ozpin.

Ozpin ignored the fire and leapt through it. Arm cocked back, he connected with Cinder's face. For the briefest of moments, her Aura held firm, before, to her shock, it vanished into his Subspace pocket. Then the rest of her face followed suit.

Ozpin tossed the fragments of Cinder's head out of his Subspace pocket and back into the real world. Having figured out how to pull sections of an object, and later living things, had perhaps been the biggest innovation to his combat style he had ever conceived. But now he needed to speak with Salem.

It was an hour's march to Salem's little fort. A tower jutted from the black planes, the only sign of sentient civilization for kilometers. It had a door that, in a stroke of comedy that left Ozpin baffled for it's mere existence, read "No Solicitation".

Ozpin forewent entering the tower and just jumped to the roof. There she was. "Salem."

The white, black, red and purple being turned to face him. "Ozpin. You've come."

Ozpin twitched. "I see that you're enjoying the scenery. Go ahead, turn around, keep enjoying it. You should enjoy the last thing you'll ever see."

Salem was grinning. "I know exactly what I will see at the end of my life Ozpin. Your broken corpse."

Ozpin lunged. Salem materialized a sword of ice. She swung, and watched in shock as her sword vanished seemingly into thin air.

Ozpin grabbed her head and pulled it entirely into his Subspace pocket. The rest of her body remained standing for a few seconds before collapsing into the ground. Ozpin sighed, and removed Salem's head from his pocket dimension. "Hello Winter."

The original winter maiden raised an eyebrow at Ozpin. "You decapitated me."

"Yes I did." Ozpin looked deep into Salem's eyes. "I would ask why, but I think I know the answer."

"You cursed us," Salem intoned. "My sisters were not supposed to die. The power you gave us was not supposed to pass on."

Ozpin's face fell. "No one person, even one as good hearted as you and yours, should ever have that much power."

Salem sneered at him. "You are a coward for giving up the ability to change the world."

"No," Ozpin said. "I was a fool for believing that you and your sisters were pure of heart. I've come to correct that mistake."

Ozpin flipped Winter's head over. "So Salem, consider your maidenhood... Revoked." And with that, he punted her dying head into the fog.

Stepping down from the tower though, Ozpin couldn't help but bring himself up short. Yes, it was Salem. She deserved what happened to her; his memories assured him of that. But he couldn't help but feel a bit of doubt, spawned from his conscience. Salem's motivations, history, hell her entire existence wouldn't be elaborated on for... millennia. His ex-wife, the Winter Maiden, an alien. Would she always be the monster they thought she would be?

It was question Ozpin feared to answer.


	21. A Semblance of Peace

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 21**

 **A Semblance of Peace**

* * *

 **21.1 xT-Zealot & BIOS-Perecydes**

* * *

The Alpha looked up from its meal to pinpoint the source of the roar and was met with the sight of the spinning, serrated teeth of a saw that descended and dug deep in the space between its neck and shoulder. It ripped open the hide and tore on through, the Grimm somehow managing to cling to the last few seconds of its life to flail and bellow in agony as the great saw made its journey from the point at its shoulder to its hip. Though the saw went quiet as soon as the bisected remains of the wolf fell, the sounds of violence continued in the form of gunshots and the cries that were uttered from the rest of the Alpha's pack as the cleanup resumed.

The hulking form of the lieutenant took the opportunity to survey what had once been a White Fang encampment – one of the few that they had left in Mistral. Out here in the swamps, the group had made good use of the inherent advantages that came with the wetlands. The stagnant waters, the heavy foliage, and high humidity were usually enough to deter any human from venturing far out here even before you threw in the wildlife; the Grimm and any of the common creatures that possessed their own lethality that made them almost as dangerous.

Faunus were better equipped to navigate and avoid those dangers. Even when the White Fang grew in strength and were able to make their push further into a select number of the kingdoms, they never abandoned their old outposts and encampments.

As of right now, those encampments were proving to be their _last_.

The lieutenant couldn't even fathom how it came to this. It had seemed like only yesterday that they had been penetrating the walls of the kingdoms, putting their boots down on the most legendary of the Hunter academies and burning them to the ground. First Vale and Beacon, then it was supposed to have been Mistral and Haven. Yet here he was now, back in the swamps that some would say where the true power of the White Fang had originated.

What was becoming increasingly likely, this may be where the White Fang will die out.

The lieutenant lifted his gaze from the torn corpse of the brother that the Alpha had been gnawing on and stared at the fires that engulfed the tents. Beneath the light of the dancing flames and within the flickering shadows of the night, there were more bodies. This had been one of their smaller but no less vital camps – _all_ their remaining camps were vital at this point. It had been situated along the banks of a river, giving them easy access to the waterways that cut through the number of villages and straight into Mistral itself. The tents burned along with all of the valuable equipment that had been stored in them. The lieutenant remembered that there were supposed to be a little over a dozen occupying the encampment. The corpses that he could see were close enough to the number.

If there was one thing that he could even remotely consider as good fortune, it was the state of the camp. It was only the tents that were on fire, the flames having yet to spread to the surrounding vegetation. As they were in the middle of the wet season with a heavy rainfall having occurred recently, they would have a hard time of that. Despite the presence of the Beowolf pack, most of the corpses remained largely intact.

 _This was recent,_ the lieutenant surmised. If they were lucky, they could pick up a trail, track her down, and kill her. _To Hell with Taurus. We're not taking her alive._

It was not solely the outside threats that the White Fang were beset by. Their internal power structure was failing, crumbling as fast as their strongholds. Many of their influential leaders had broken off, taking with them what forces were loyal to them. Fingers were being thrown around, most of them towards one figure in particular, and the name Taurus was being spoken with damnation rather than with the reverence it once held. Though the lieutenant remained at Adam's side, even he could not stave off the whispers of doubt completely. This included the suspicions of his leader's sanity.

The faunus that were with him formed a perimeter, watchful of the possibility of any more Grimm. A couple took stock of the bodies with the lieutenant making his way towards one in particular. "Well?"

"This one's hardly been touched," the uniformed faunus reported. The corpse was facedown, a rifle in its slack grip and spent casings decorated the mud. The lieutenant's night vision was more than good enough to see the three stab wounds that were located at the back, staining the white tunic with still wet blood. When his subordinate rolled it over, it was to reveal them having gone all the way through.

"Your analysis?" the lieutenant questioned.

The faunus lifted his mask, exposing the extra wide pupils within his glowing yellow eyes and the collection of feathers that swept from his brows and to his ears. He took a look around, each eye moving independently as he visually absorbed everything around him. "The obvious is that he was stabbed multiple times in the back. How that happened though…" He scooped up some of the shell casings, lifted them up, and then released them so that they could sprinkle back into the mud. "He wasn't aware of his killer. The prints, the bullets – all signs point that he had been shooting in the opposite direction when he was killed.

"As for the real telling part." The owl faunus directed his attention at the ground that would've been behind the victim if he had still been standing. "I only see his prints. Other than the wounds themselves, there is no other trace of the attacker."

It could mean anything if they hadn't visited the previous camps with the same scenes. Their conditions had been worse, the Grimm having had more time to eat the dead and the ash and smoke being all that was left of the conflagrations, but eventually they were able to piece together what happened. The White Fang soldiers, slain by blades and not always left in one piece, had been firing in multiple directions as if being assaulted by a sizeable force. On closer examination though, there would be a severe lack of evidence of aggressors. No scraps of cloth, no blood, or even the smallest print or other impressions.

It was as if they were struck down by phantoms.

It was all that the lieutenant needed to hear. He addressed the rest of his force, his voice booming, "Gather round, brothers! Our prey may still be near and we shall pursue!" He singled out another faunus. "You, contact the other squad and have them move in. Once we regroup, we'll conduct a sweep. Salvage what you can and gather the bodies."

They couldn't waste time for a proper burial of their dead brethren, but he swore that they would be granted proper rites later. Even if things were falling apart, he valued loyalty and the lives of his brothers and sisters in the Fang. He wanted to retain some sense of honor and decency amongst the compatriots that remained, clinging to the betterment of the faunus race. His squad made no objections, carrying out his orders as they grabbed what weapons they could and started rounding up the bodies. The lieutenant was already thinking of where to conduct their sweep, trying to predict where she would possibly go next and assuming that it would be north-

Gunfire. It erupted further down the river, the lieutenant instantly concluding that the only source could be the other squad. It had only been one burst but it was soon joined with the chatter of another rifle. The short bursts became longer and the number of weapons firing increased, drowning out any other noise.

It had an effect on the faunus around him as they instantly dropped whatever it was they were doing, pulling out their own weapons. A pair were actually about to run down the bank of the river towards the noise before the lieutenant bellowed, "Stop!"

They did, albeit reluctantly, giving him questioning looks that he couldn't fault them for. That same impulse had come to him and he almost acted on it, but he couldn't. They couldn't scatter and fumble around in the swamp. It was what she would want.

With no other choice, they all listened to the continued cacophony of gunfire that echoed. It remained steady, the long, unbroken sounds of weapons discharge enduring. However, it hadn't even been close to a minute when it began dying out and the lieutenant instinctively knew that it wasn't because that the squad was successfully fighting off whatever it was that was attacking them. There came breaks in between, the firing becoming more intermittent, and the lieutenant took note of those of his number with prominent ears twitching and lifting to make out the noises that they could hear during those moments.

Screams. Panicked, tortured screams that made one's blood curdle as it clearly did to the assembled soldiers. They looked amongst each other, their Grimm masks unable to hide their fear that was expressed with itchy fingers and shaky gun barrels. Again the lieutenant became the recipient of several more nervous looks but he forced himself to remain steady and listen.

Listen until finally, with one final burst, everything went quiet.

The lieutenant waited and when nothing else came to replace the noise, he ordered, "Tighten up. Eyes and ears everywhere. Make a noise as soon as you see anything out of the ordinary. She'll be coming for us next."

He had wanted his deep, heavy voice to be a source of courage for them to draw upon but he couldn't deny how particularly grave it sounded at what could be the worst possible time for it to do so. His group formed up in a line, facing in the direction of the chaos they listened to, bringing their weapons up. It wasn't the kind of confident precision he would've wanted either; the line ragged, those weapons already wandering, and he could make out the fearful twitching in the various appendages of the faunus.

The lieutenant hefted his saw, thick finger resting on throttle trigger of his gigantic saw but shy of activating it. He forced himself to survey their surroundings with thorough, controlled movements of his head unlike his men.

For what stretched into an eternity, they waited in the darkness. The heavy foliage that had given the White Fang protection for so long became sinister, made all the more so by the ominous shadows that danced over them, manipulated by the fires that kept burning behind them.

"There!"

The lieutnenat was sure that someone would've pulled a trigger – he almost did – at the sudden call. A faunus at the edge of their line was pointing towards the river.

He wished for it to be a log or some other king of debris. Unfortunately, his vision made it abundantly clear that when he saw the object that came floating down the river, it was a body. Dressed in the white of the Fang, there was no mistaking it for anything else. That body was joined by another and though there were no others to join them, the presence of the two floating dead had everyone knowing of what it was that happened to the other squad.

The lieutenant opened his mouth, about to remind them to keep a look out, but his lips froze when he saw one of them actually move. A sudden, quick jerk. Soon, the movement repeated again. One faunus made an uneasy step towards it but the lieutenant was about to warn him not to. It was not a sign of life – not that one that originated from the corpse's legs, as if something was tugging on one of them -, but before he could say it, she appeared.

With his mask, he almost missed it. Out of the corner of his vision there was movement, up high. As if deposited from the night sky, a figure suddenly dropped from five meters above one of the soldiers. Torn, ragged cloth flapped around them but, strangely, they made no sound. What they almost did was hide the pair of long, curved swords of black held in the person's hands. Pointed down, they were impaled into the back of the White Fang soldier.

He screamed as he was driven into the mud and it had everyone whirling around. There were cries of shock, anger, and then shooting. The assailant remained knelt over their victim, swords lodged in the back, their hooded head bowed, and then the shots ripped into them. There was a flinch, the figure jerked and began tipping to the side, and then they vanished, the torn rags scattering and then dissolving – dispersing into strands that curled wickledly before disappearing.

The fire immediately stopped, the soldiers staring in disbelief as all that was left behind was their slain comrade. Not even the swords that felled him were left behind, having disappeared as well.

It occurred to the lieutenant that they were all being distracted. He pulled his gaze away from the scene, started to look around, and caught the second of his number dying. Whereas the first attack came from the air, the next came from the ground. One of the shadows that were cast and manipulated by the light of the fires drifted close to the feet of a soldier. The shadow stretched and lengthened, and a hooded head emerged from its depths. Following it was a pair of shoulders, arms, and the black, talon-shaped dagger that was clenched in the hand that buried the blade low in the back before it was wrenched upwards.

Again they all whirled around at the following scream. More shouts, gunfire, and both the soldier and its assailant were riddled with bullets. Whereas the soldier fell to the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds, the black-clad murderer began to fall before it faded in the same manner as before.

There was no pause this time. As soon as that one vanished, another immediately took its place, coming around from a nearby tent to hack into the chest of another soldier with a hatchet. A White Fang member turned to address it, gun coming up, only for the hands that held his weapon to be severed when a cleaver sliced down. His screams were cut off when that same cleaver came back around and split his skull, wielded by that same hooded person in black.

There came more of them. Out from the shadows, more of these figures with their torn black garbs, wielding various black weapons, descended upon the party. They moved with absolute silence. The flapping of the clothes, their boots hitting into the ground as they ran and jumped, or any kind of noises of exertion – there was nothing emitted by these beings. The only sounds made were the White Fang as they fired and hollered, trying to fight back these phantoms who dispersed when struck, only to have another appear behind or right next to them where they would then be ruthlessly felled.

A pair of soldiers were falling back towards the river, shooting fruitlessly. That was when something else joined the battle. Water suddenly geysered within the river, and a huge, serpentine form launched itself at the soldiers.

The White Fang lieutenant recognized it immediately. It was a Stygian, known to inhabit the swamps of Mistral. It was a more uncommon Grimm, but more of its number had been making an appearance with the growing conflict. They were frightful beasts, known to travel and lurk within the rivers. Upon encountering prey whether in the water or those straying too close to the banks, it would surge up, clamp its jaws tight, and pull whoever was unlucky enough to be caught into the water where it would drown and eat them.

The battle had obviously attracted one and it was a particularly large specimen. Large enough to easily bat one of the soldiers to the side with its bulk while the torso of the other disappeared within its tremendous maw, ivory knives of teeth piercing deep and never letting go. Red, soulless orbs glowed within its bone mask, the covering sweeping up to the twin curved horns at the back of its head. It managed to hiss furiously despite its mouth being full and then it retreated into the water, taking the faunus with it.

The remaining soldier stared at where his friend disappeared with horror and he did not see the figure and its torn robe that was suddenly at his side, poised to stab down with a short sword, until it was far too late.

The lieutenant was fighting like the rest, saw roaring and swinging, his guttural cries joining it as he swept it all around him. The adversaries of black and shadow leapt at him and were vanquished, their menagerie of weapons dispersing upon touching the rotating teeth of the saw before it cut into their forms which would vaporize as well. All around him, his compatriots died whether to the blades of these never ending foes or the Stygian which would reemerge from the water, disappear with another of their number, wait, and strike again.

Upon sending another pair away with a horizontal swing of his chainsaw, it was for the lieutenant to see that he was alone. There were no more additional foes, the Stygian did not rise again from the river, and that was because everyone else was dead. His weapon rumbling within his grip, the lieutenant spun in place, seeing for himself how the corpses on the river bank had now multiplied. His breaths came out in growl-tinged pants, his massive muscles shaking with fury along with the vibrations of his weapon as he searched, searching for. _Where is she? Where is she?_

He was half into completing another revolution when he saw her. Only meters away, within the center of the burning tents, she stood there. She was dressed in those same, torn rags that seemed to barely hang together on her form, so much smaller and slimmer than the lieutenant. She was nearly pathetic in comparison.

Her hood was lowered. Long, ebony hair fell past her shoulders, golden eyes and their curved pupils locked directly onto him. From within that hair, a pair of triangular, cat-shaped ears extended outwards.

The lieutenant shut off his saw so that his snarl could be heard. "You."

"Yes," Blake Belladonna murmured dispassionately as she stood within the center of the carnage.

* * *

Cinder strode cautiously up to Blake. The past few Loops the faunus girl had been absent and Ruby and Yang had taken her absence particularly hard. Cinder had been otherwise occupied with her own problems and had been mostly uninterested in looking into it too deeply. However after having woken early the past Loop and gone to recruit the White Fang as usual, only to find them having been slaughtered to the last man her attention had finally been caught; and after much searching she had finally dug up a lead.

It had led her to a half-dead faunus in a Mistral hospital, the sole remaining member of the White Fang. Some... gentle persuasion had gotten her the full tale; a demon from the forest, shadowy assassins that had slaughtered his allies and gone up in smoke when hit, a half-seen figure more feared than the Grimm which had hunted down and exterminated his organization with extreme prejudice before going on to obliterate their leader. It had been at this point that the man had gone off into fearful gibberish, and nothing Cinder had tried had gotten anything more out of him. Of course what she had gotten had already painted a vivid enough picture that she could draw the necessary conclusions.

Blake was currently sitting underneath one of the large trees in the Academy courtyard, reading one of her novels and half-listening as her girlfriend rambled on about something which Cinder was still too far away to hear. However, as she came closer both girls tensed momentarily before forcing themselves calm. Cinder ignored the unimportant sensation in her chest as she noticed that, and continued her sedate advance until she stood directly before the two women.

"Blake, may I speak with you in private?" she asked as politely as possible.

Blake raised an eyebrow curiously, but nodded; placing a bookmark between the pages to mark her place and standing. Yang shrugged and pulled out the designs of the upgraded Ember Celica she was working on for when the Expansions started up again. Weiss had sensibly pointed out that she couldn't expect to always Awake before her accident, and it was better to be prepared in advance than caught off guard later. Blake had encouraged the idea and so Yang had been looking into various tech for her new weapon.

Once the two Loopers had retreated out of sight and far enough that they could be sure they wouldn't be overheard, Cinder turned back to face Blake. The cat faunus looked tired; not just physically, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that wouldn't have looked out of place on a weary soldier on the front lines too long. Which wasn't surprising given what Cinder had uncovered about her recent activities.

"Did it help?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Blake blinked confusedly. "Did what help? Help with what?"

Cinder smirked. "You're little war. Did it help make you feel better, when you were butchering the ones who had hurt you? When you were slaughtering the men and women who had caused you to suffer? Snuffing out their lives like a fickle goddess handing out judgments upon lesser souls?"

Blake hissed a sharp breath between her teeth, simultaneously paling and turning slightly green. "I have no idea what you're talking about." she said, the tremble in her voice betraying her.

Cinder tilted her head and began pacing around Blake like an animal circling its prey. "Oh? So then you're saying that _wasn't_ you who massacred the White Fang, leaving their bleeding corpses to rot among the forests as food; either for the Grimm or the flames which razed their camps to the ground? The same flames which raged with black flames for days, consuming everything in their path and leaving nothing but ash and the pitiful wailing of the damned?"

Blake wrapped her arms around herself, shaking as if caught in a winter snow rather than the warm sunlight. "Stop it."

"I suppose then that it also wasn't you who dismembered Adam, leaving him among the remains of his men to be eaten alive by the Grimm which came to feast on the rotten corpses of his allies?" Cinder continued unabated.

"Shut up." Blake whispered.

"Did you know he screamed for days? You could hear it for nearly a mile." Cinder mused quietly.

Blake fell to her knees and threw up. Gasping for air, tears and spittle staining her face, she stared up brokenly at Cinder. "Why are you doing this?"

Cinder knelt, bringing herself face to face with the shuddering faunus. "It didn't help did it?"

Blake shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "No. I didn't want that. How could I.."

Cinder interrupted her, before she could get too caught up in her self-loathing. "You know, in more than a third of all the past histories I've had my original reasons were because I blamed this or that person for something that had been done to me. Some crime which had hurt me or someone I had once cared about and for which I sought revenge. But even when I achieved my vengeance it was hollow, and so I would find someone new to blame and go from there. Eventually I would just skip to hating everyone and decide to destroy everything. Most Loops have sayings about revenge and the price it requires, but I think my favorite is a quote from the Hub: 'Before you embark on a quest for revenge, dig two graves.' One for your enemy..."

Blake clenched her eyes tightly. "And one for yourself."

Cinder nodded. "I'm not going to judge you for what you did. I've done worse, both Awake and not. And if you can look at yourself in the mirror every day and not hate the person you see, then by all means continue. But make sure you know what you're choosing before you make that choice. Or else you'll end up an evil bitch like I am."

Blake chuckled and gave her a grateful look, standing and wiping her eyes. "You aren't evil Cinder. You're Baseline self might be, but even with all the memories of things you've done before Awakening you still choose to do good. That's not the action of an evil person. You're certainly darker than any of us, with the possible exception of Roman and Neo, but you aren't evil."

Cinder smirked. "So sure of that are you?" Her eyes lit up with the Maiden's power as she floated a few feet off the ground. "And what if you're wrong? What if this is all an act and I'm just playing you all like fools for my own amusement?"

Blake smirked and fingered Gambol Shroud. "Well then, I suppose we'd have no choice but to stop you." Turning serious, she averted her gaze. "Can you... not tell the others about what I did. I don't want them to worry about me."

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "You realize they'll likely figure it out on their own eventually."

Blake closed her eyes and nodded. "And when that time comes, I'll deal with it. But please, until then?"

"If that's what you want, then that's your choice. Very well. I won't lie if asked, but I won't volunteer anything either." Cinder said.

Blake nodded. "Fair enough. I should get back, Yang's probably getting curious." She paused, before awkwardly hugging Cinder. "Thank you."

Watching Blake leave, Cinder again ignored the unimportant sensation in her chest.

* * *

 **21.2**

* * *

"I don't usually drink, but..." Glynda dropped her head onto the bar. "Qrow, what do you drink when you need to kill all of your brain cells?"

"Bourbon, or whiskey," Qrow told her. The experienced, shape shifting Huntsman had raised his eyebrow when his fellow teacher had arrived. "So... why do you need to kill brain cells?"

"Why do you usually need to kill brain cells?"

Qrow sipped his bourbon thoughtfully. "Hmm... tough question. Usually it's to numb the pain of witnessing dozens of deaths, many of which are my close friends. Other times it's so I can sleep a full night without waking up screaming. And sometimes I just drink recreationally."

"..." Glynda stared at her colleague and fellow conspirator. "Wow, now my reason sounds stupid."

Qrow chuckled around his drink. "So what is the reason that drove the great Glynda Goodwitch to drink?"

Glynda pulled a wig out of her purse and put it on. Qrow stared at the teacher, and suddenly smiled. "You know, you really look like Ruby. How'd you do that?"

Glynda tapped the black and red wig. "I happen to have the same face as Ruby. Or at least a fairly similar one. Normally that isn't exactly a problem, but now..."

Qrow tapped his chin. "This doesn't have something to do with those time Loops that Ruby was talking about, does it?"

"Yes." Glynda slammed her forehead into the bar. "This is a variant loop. Usually my face looks like Ruby's, but it's coincidence. Today I found out that this isn't an accident."

Qrow stared numbly at Glynda. "Glynda, you are not Ruby's mother. I know, I was there, I saw Summer bring her into the world."

"I know. But the thing is, did you see Taiyang put her in there?"

"..." Qrow stared at Glynda in silence. He stared a little more. Then he gaped, and turned to the barkeep. "Bernard, get all of your whiskey and call up Marion and Midorin. We are not going to remember the next two weeks."

* * *

 **15.5 Library Nexus**

* * *

Pyrrha looked up at the imposing castle. While this Loop had recently activated, she had heard through the Looper grapevine that the man would answer any question, in exchange for one year's service.

The Spartan took a moment to gather her thoughts. This issue was her own, but she need more advice.

Squaring her shoulders, Pyrrha approached the castle of Good Magician Humfrey.

* * *

Humfrey watched as a red-headed warrior approached his castle. "Well, this is a nice change of pace," he said.

* * *

Pyrrha looked at the hedge maze surrounding the castle. "Seriously?" she asked. "This is the first challenge? A guy with a pair of clippers can take this out."

At that comment, thorns on the branches bristled making themselves known. "Or they are magic plants. Makes more sense."

Seeing that the path led through the maze, she shrugged. "Might as well start walking."

* * *

A little while later, the red-headed Spartan felt as if she was nearing the end of the maze.

"Huh," she said. "That was actually easy." She then stopped and facepalmed. "I just had to say that," she said.

Removing Miló and Akoúo̱ from her subspace pocket, she held them at ready, wary of any danger. Moving slowly, she looked around the corner...

And drew her head back quickly to avoid a thrown rock. "A tangle tree," she moaned. "It had to be a tangle tree."

Well there was always the other paths.

* * *

Pyrrha turned away upon finding that this path also led to another tangle tree.

* * *

Upon seeing a tangle tree for a third time, she began thinking.

* * *

Getting out of sight of the carnivorous plant, she crouched down and laid a hand on the decorative fence surrounding the hedge. One of the lesser known abilities of her Semblance was that she could sense where any metal was.

And sensing for the fence proved her theory: all the paths led to the tangle tree.

"Well, bleep," she said, the word she meant to say being censored out. "Looks like I have to fight it."

Sniping at it with Burn Dust was out of the question, that thing threw rocks with deadly accuracy.

"Close combat it is," she said, readying for battle.

* * *

"Ow," she said, slowly extracting herself from the brambles.

Apparently the tree was also good at grabbing moving objects as well. It had demonstrated this by grabbing her and throwing her back into the maze.

Getting out of the vegetation (the thorns didn't extend if she didn't bring Miló near them), she sat down and considered her options.

She could fly over it, but Humfrey probably had something planned for that.

The decorative fence was too weak to use to bind it, so that was out.

She was thinking about grabbing something out of her Pocket when something occurred to her. It seemed... out of place. Like someone had pasted a photo of a tangle tree there.

* * *

Now that she had thought about it, she hadn't felt the tree grab her. It was like something had launched her...

No, it couldn't be that simple.

Well, it wasn't as if she had anything else to try.

Pyrrha moved until she was facing the tangle tree, took a breath... and ran straight forward with her eyes shut.

* * *

"Wow, didn't think you would have made it."

Pyrrha opened her eyes to see herself facing three teenagers. The first one stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Bruce," he said. "My talent is causing people to fly into bushes."

Pyrrha glared at him. "Thanks a lot," she said.

The second one stepped forward. "I'm Indie," she said. "I conjure up imaginary boulders."

"And I'm Terra," said the second girl. "I create illusionary trees!"

All three beamed at her. "Well, that's your first challenge," said Bruce

Indie added, "Second one's over that way."

"Have fun!" Terra finished with a smile.

"Are you three siblings?" asked Pyrrha.

The three of them began laughing. "Perish the thought!" said Bruce.

"I just keep my brother and his girlfriend out of trouble," said Indie.

"You better hurry, the Good Magician is waiting," Terra finished.

Pyrrha just nodded and headed onto the next challenge.

* * *

 **21.3**

* * *

"This is bad Qrow."

* * *

Ruby Rose felt warmth and the comfort of well-worn sheets. Familiarity ticked at her back, a reminder of a time long ago. A time where everything had seemed so innocent... so pure. A time before the Loops.

She was in her and Yang's bedroom, back home on Patch Island. With a pained gasp, Ruby realized that this was the first time in millions, maybe billions of years that she had visited her home. She realized, a moment later, that she wasn't alone.

"Ruby!" Taiyang said, jolting awake like any other normal human. "You're awake."

"Hi... Hi dad," Ruby said slowly. "Hey."

Taiyang smiled warmly and walked up to Ruby's bed, taking her hand in his. "Hey Ruby. Welcome home."

Ruby reached forward and gently touched her father's chin. Taiyang immediately adopted a look of concern. "Are you okay Ruby?"

There were no Pings. No responses. Nothing. Ruby was alone.

"No."

Taiyang immediately pulled Ruby into a hug. "I'm sorry kiddo. You and Yang have been through a rough few days."

"It's not that," Ruby said. She looked at her hands. Smooth, soft, young. "It's not that at all."

"Hey, Tai." There was Qrow at the door. Ruby, briefly, dwelt on the fact that after so long he had simply gone from Uncle Qrow, to just Qrow. "Hey Ruby. Welcome back to the, waking world."

Taiyang and Ruby didn't comment on how close Qrow had come to saying 'land of the living'. After the last few days, it was probably too tactless even for him. Qrow nodded to them both. "Yang's awake herself. She's in the guest room."

"Thank you Uncle Qrow," Ruby said with a voice laid low by exhaustion. Taiyang tightened his grip on Ruby's hand. Ruby sighed. "Uncle Qrow, can I speak with dad?"

Qrow nodded and closed the door, leaving father and daughter be. Taiyang sat up on Ruby's bed, pure sympathy written on his face. "Ruby..." He trailed off, unsure how to say what he thought needed to be said. "When your mother didn't come back, it felt like the world had ended for me. If the world feels like it's ending for you, I know how it is."

Ruby shook her head. "You can't understand how I feel. The world isn't ending for me. It never will."

"What?" Taiyang asked in confusion. "Ruby, what does that mean?"

Ruby looked into her father's eyes. Silver eyes stared into blue ones, and Taiyang saw a look he had seen once before, in the eyes of Ozpin. Age. Uncountable, incomprehensible, ancient and nigh unfathomable. In the course of a few days, Ruby had changed incredibly. "Ruby..."

"There's this... tree..." Ruby began. "The world tree. It's broken. And I need to help keep it safe. So... I'm time traveling. I've lived through Beacon, and the Tournament, and this right here... More times then you've blinked in your entire life."

Ruby sighed. "I'm over a billion years old. I'm fifteen and older than everything around us."

Taiyang nodded. "I believe you Ruby."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Ruby met her father's gaze, and suddenly reached forward and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you. Thank you for believing me."

"I'd know when you were lying," Taiyang said simply.

 _'No you wouldn't,'_ Ruby thought. She banished the idea from her mind. Her dad believed her: that was all that mattered.

...No. It didn't matter. The next Taiyang may not believe her. Maybe she wouldn't even meet her father in the next loop. Or maybe he would be an abusive person, who beat her and Yang for the smallest slight. Or a lovely, caring, optimistic father who did everything he could for his children.

"Dad..." Ruby tightened her hold on her father. "Dad... I'm so tired."

"Then you can get some more rest."

"No. I'm tired of the Loops." Ruby pulled away. "I can't take being alone. There's no one who can understand me, because I'm just... I've seen everything. Everything beautiful, everything terrible. I've fought trillions of battles, sacrificed everything for Remnant, done everything, been with everyone, and nothing means anything."

Taiyang shook his head. "That's not true. Talking here, to me, it means something."

Ruby shook her head. "You won't remember it. When everything is over, you'll be here, on Patch, getting a letter from me that says I've been accepted into Beacon. You won't remember the Tournament, you won't remember talking to me, and you won't remember anything but I will remember everything."

In the quiet creaking edges of the house of Taiyang Xiao Long, a clock rang out the hour. Taiyang ran a hand through Ruby's hair. "It can't be that bad Ruby. Can't you learn from your mistakes?"

"...Yes. But that isn't what I'm supposed to do. The world has a Destiny, and no matter how much I work against it, that Destiny has been written. It'll always be there, in the background, just out of sight. Yang is depressed, Blake ran away, Weiss is in Atlas, Ozpin's missing, and Pyrrha's dead. Nothing will ever change those things, no matter how much I try."

Ruby curled up. "Ren and Nora are orphans. Mom's dead. Raven's gone. Qrow isn't talking to you. And I'm here. I'm billions of years old and I'm still here, and I can't escape. I can't move on. I'm stuck being Ruby Rose."

Taiyang didn't let go of his child. He couldn't understand, not really, what she was going through. But he knew, in his heart of hearts, that she was hurting, and he needed to stop that pain. "Ruby, you're not alone."

"I've been alone for more years than you can count," Ruby told him honestly. "I've been... stuck. I can't leave, and I can't change anything. There's nothing for me but distraction."

"Ruby-"

"That's what my friends do. They distract me. Let me think about the fun stuff. Laugh and smile and don't think about the day when I'll never laugh and smile again."

Ruby wiped the tears away. "I can't think about it for too long. I've thought about it long enough. I just... I know, one day, I won't be able to be sane ever again. I'm fifteen, and I'm supposed to keep millions of lives safe, while everything is terrible and endless and boring."

"I'm alone." Ruby hiccuped, a sob slipping out. "I'm alone and I don't want anyone to be here because I don't want them to be alone like me."

It was horrible. It was impossible. But it was real, and it was happening. Ruby was alone, on all the world, apart from it all.

Taiyang did the only thing he could. He pulled Ruby into his arms and hung onto her with all his love and strength. She needed him, as damned if he wouldn't be there for her.

Ruby's sobs eventually petered off. "Dad?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Would you take the chance of dying to be with mom, or live forever and hope to see her again?"

"...No parent should bury their child," Taiyang told her. "I'd want to save you the heartache of me leaving you there Ruby. I'd live forever, to be with you and Yang."

Ruby pulled her face closer into her father's shirt. He was warm and he loved her and he protected her. He was here, real and now. "I love you dad."

"I love you too Ruby."

* * *

 **21.4 Library Nexus**

* * *

"Are you mugging me?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Ruby smiled... and the thug fell into a dark hole.

* * *

Weiss watched as the rest of the Grimm fell into black vortexes her Anchor was creating. Turning to Ruby, she asked, "How?"

Ruby smiled. "Plants vs. Zombies got a new Expansion. I looped in as a Grimrose."

Weiss nodded. "Nice," she said.

* * *

 **21.5 Gammatron**

* * *

Grif awoke to waking up on a bench while an airship was landing. Checking his Loop memories, he smiled a little. Once again, he was the older sibling to Ruby and Yang (fraternal twin to Yang older by five minutes at that) and that all three were going to Beacon. Sitting up, he saw Ruby was also Waking up...and he frowned. For just the briefest of moments, he saw a look of utter despair cross her face, so quick that he almost thought it never even happened.

"Is everything okay, Rubes?" Grif whispered as the two got on the ship to Beacon, "You need someone to be the anchor for your Anchor right now?"

"Grif," Ruby looked up at him, Grif looking at her silver eyes through his gold-tinted sunglasses and seeing the full age of his adopted 'youngest' sister, "W...We have a bad extension."

"How bad? Like a Loop where we're allergic to cookies and strawberries bad, The Meta Looping bad, or a Cliffhanger Season Ending extension bad?" Grif asked as they moved to a quiet space on the vessel.

"...Y...Yang..."

"What happened to Yang, Ruby?" Grif gently put his hand on her shoulders.

Ruby inhaled before telling him about their recent expansion. It had been a while since he last talked with anyone from here and he never watched the series after Season 2 since he felt it was important that they all communicated with each other on things happening. As she continued to talk, to tell him what had happened...his eyes narrowed as his smile slowly turned into a stern expression. By the end of it, Ruby was crying into him as he gently hugged her to try to calm her. Hours later, Ruby would realize that Grif was nowhere at Beacon and only learned after the first exam that he had resigned from Beacon and left a box of oreos packs to be given to her once she had passed the test.

* * *

 _'Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-find-Yang!'_ Ruby thought frantically, using her Semblence to rush around Beacon, trying to find the fight that would result in the loss of her sister's limb, _'Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-find-Yang! Gotta-fi...'_ she skidded to a halt to see Yang rushing at Adam, "Yang, no!"

Adam swung and his blade and Yang's fist halted. A silence fell as a figure stood between the two, Yang's fist and Adam's blade in their covered hands.

"Grif?" Ruby gasped, looking at the, shockingly, fit orange-wearing soldier, _'?!'_

"Wh-What?" Yang blinked, seeing the figure, while Adam and Blake looked at the multitude of ruined White Fang faction flags that the figure had released when he had stopped the two.

"Yang, get your friend and get out of here," Grif ordered, his voice eerily calm, as he pushed Yang towards Blake.

"G-Grif?! Where did you...what the..."

"Dammit, Yang, get your goddamn friend there and get the fuck out of here!"

Yang flinched at the harsh tone as the gold-tinted visor looked right at her. Still, she ran over to Blake and helped her up. Once they were gone, Grif nodded while Adam kept trying to get his blade out of Grif's hand, trying to figure out just why despite the light grip he had on it that his sword wouldn't get out of the grip. All the while, Ruby watched on.

"So you're Adam," Grif calmly spoke, not looking at Adam, "You know, I used to hear a lot of stuff about you from my sisters' friend Blake. How you were always a great guy, how she thought you were a close friend, how she hoped that you were capable of doing the same thing she, my sisters, and their friends can." a crack was heard, "Shame that this is the guy who I got to meet. The way Blake would talk about you, it would be like you were a protective older brother like me." More cracks were heard.

"Because let me tell you; I am a horrible big brother. In my Baseline, my sister-my real blood-related sister-is a fuckin' sex and drug addict. She was an innocent little girl when our mom left us to join the circus and I had to work on a pineapple factory line just to barely keep us fed and housed. The next time I really, _really_ spoke with her, she was seven...and was telling me she got cash from having sex with tourists. The next time I really spoke with her was when she was ten...and she was trading the food she got for meth, crack, cocaine, and marijuana."

Adam's eyes widened under his mask as cracks were running along with blade, "The next day? She fucking sold our home with everything in it for a bag of crack! I tried to get her to do rehab, but she'd always escape and find where I was living, selling everything in it and the place for more drugs and sex with all kinds of people and things! And then? Then I joined the army and stationed on a doomed colony, ending up as the only survivor because I fell asleep at my post and everyone thought I was KIA! I ended up transferred to a boxed canyon and, sure it was shitty with my Sargent always trying to kill me in some convoluted way, but my shame wasn't there. But then? She fucking came to the canyon as a soldier for the other team! And every single time I would look at her, all I could see was something horrible, something that no older brother would ever, _ever_ want to see: that they failed." he took in a deep, shaky breath, "I failed Kaikaina, my dear sweet innocent sister who would always see the brightest side of things, the little sister who thought the glass was half full when others would see it half empty. I failed to protect that innocence and was left with the horrific nightmare of reality that she had become!"

Adam moved back as his blade shattered under the clench of Grif's fist, "Over and over and over again! Every single goddamn time I'm Awake...She's always like that. I've tried to help her over and over and over again and she only gets worse and worse! Fuck, she'd be incurable of Sakura Syndrome's sexual half of it all should she ever start to Loop as she is! You have no idea what the fuck it means, always trying to change something that eventually happens to your sibling no matter how much you try to the point that you just wish for it to end but knowing you can't do that because it would hurt those you've become family with!"

"Grif..." Ruby whispered.

"I almost did it, you know?" Grif went on, catching Adam's gun before he could fire and twisted the barrel while grabbing Adam by the neck and lifting him up, "I almost said 'fuck it and fuck everyone else' and just Ascend, damn the consequences of what happened to the Loop I was in or if it might make a Crash. But do you know what stopped me? A Loop that I never had before. Our parents had died protecting us from the Grimm, leaving me to take care of two little sisters named Yang and Ruby. I didn't need to do any hard work and used my Pocket money to take care of the three of us. I was able to take care of my sisters, making sure they went to school, did their chores, have a positive outlook on life that I didn't have. And then? I met her; I met the real Ruby Rose that Awoke when she turned six. We learned each other was Looping and, as it went on, it clicked with us. We just got along great. Sure, I'm a lazy ass, but Ruby never minded that at all and thought I was a big cuddly orange teddy at times. When I was stressed out or she was stressed out, we were always there for the other, only getting better once Yang woke up."

"Y...You're not making any..." Adam choked out.

"When they went to Beacon, I was always worried for them to the point that I actually took a job at Beacon just so I could make sure they were doing okay."

Ruby smiled a little as she remembered that Loop. Having a brother as the janitor was, while embarrassing to most, was fun to her since he got special access to the kitchens and certain areas of the place and would often take her and Yang to them to show them new places they had never seen in Beacon until then. Plus, he was quite the bane of bullies like Cardin using just his mop and some soapy water.

"Near the end of it, I did something I would never have done; I gave them both a third of my entire Oreo collection each," Grif informed, "It may seem stupid to you, but Oreos are something of importance to me, so much that I'd do anything to make sure I had every single Oreo in a Loop. In a sense, it's my drugs like drugs were to Kaikaina. It wasn't until they met Simmons and he told them that they realized what me doing that meant. The next Loop we had Awake together, they'd always introduce me as their big brother to people we'd meet. I cried because of that. I cried because I had something I lost a long time ago; a bond between brother and sister." his eyes narrowed behind his helmet, "And you? Buddy, you fucked up big time. Sure Yang isn't Awake this Loop, but she's still my sister and I will never let someone hurt her like you were about to do." using his free hand, he opened the panel on his lower arm and began to type in a set of commands, "And let me tell you; you even _think_ about thinking of hurting my sisters, even if they're not Awake for the Loop? Well..." he finished the code and shut it, "I fuck you up; Bear Style."

Grif slammed Adam onto the ground as his armor shifted and added more on. With a roar, hell was unleashed upon Adam. Ruby watched on with wide eyes at the fearsome, gruesome carnage Grif's Bear Mode unleashed upon the Faunus, claws ripping into his flesh, Grif Shots blowing ligaments apart, and bladed teeth tearing into flesh and fabric. She blinked and Awoke to looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling, the seagulls cawing outside. A groaning noise made Ruby sit up to see a young teen with messy brown hair, a developing chubby belly, and tanned skin putting on farmer clothes.

"G...Dexter?"

"Hm?" the teen looked at the seven-year-old.

"Thank you...for being my big brother."

"..." the teen smiled at her and messed with her hair, "Anytime, sis. I'm off to work at the factory now, don't forget to go to school and don't embarrass the family."

"I'll do my best!" Ruby nodded as her Unawake older brother left, pulling out a packet of oreos from her Pocket once he had left, a childish drawing of a wolf in a red cloak, an orange bear sleeping, and a golden bear punching on the wrapper, "I'll do my best, Grif."

* * *

 **21.6 Shimmer712**

* * *

The group turned to look at Cinder. "What is it?" Yang asked.

"I just realized, I don't know what happened to me in baseline after Ruby pulled out that Silver-Eye power," Cinder admitted sheepishly. "Did it freeze me like a dragon or did it kill me? And if it kill me, was the fact that I was shocked stop me from thinking of Salem or Emerald so they would get the Fall Maiden's power? Did you go to one of them, Ruby or someone else?"

"..." The group looked at each other.

"It might not be compatible with the power Ruby already has," Jaune answered. "Don't forget, Ozpin chose the candidate and Ruby is good enough to match Pyrrha. He may has decided against her not simply because of her age but also because she _couldn't_ hold the power of any of the Maidens."

"And if Ruby does have the power, would she know it?" Weiss wondered.

"Hey!" Ruby protested.

"I didn't mean it like that," Weiss reassured her. "Cinder could use the Fall Maiden's power immediately because she knew she had it. Did Amber have to know about it before she could use it? Or was her case similar to yours where it just happened because of her emotional state."

"Wouldn't there be more stories if there were girls regularly exploding with magical power throughout the years though?" Yang asked.

"...Let's just agree we're not gonna get an answer soon and leave it at that," Ruby suggested.

* * *

 **21.7**

* * *

Yang stared down at Zwei, the Hunting Corgi cheerfully demolishing a bowl of dog food. Her eyebrow twitched. "I always knew it. In the back of my mind. Zwei was Looping."

Zwei looked up at her. "Arf arf!"

Yang glanced behind her to Blake, who was casually reading through a guerrilla tactics book. "Hey Blake, do you speak animal?"

Blake gave Yang a look. The blonde smiled awkwardly at her girlfriend. "Uh... yeah. Please?"

Blake set her book aside and walked up to Zwei, leaning over him. "Alright... dog. What's on your mind?"

Zwei stared up at Yang and Blake. Yang and Blake stared down at Zwei. Zwei spoke. "Arf woof barky!"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Yang grabbed Blake and restrained her from attacking the Welsh Corgi. She did not restrain herself from laughing. "Hahahaha. What he say? Cat get the canary?"

"..." Blake was blushing, though Yang couldn't see it. "...Did I start dating you because your legs smelled like fish."

"That was what I said!? My sincerest apologies Blake!"

Blake and Yang stared at the dog. Zwei gave a dogs equivalent of a smile. "I mean... arf arf!"

"That was an apology... I think." Blake shook her head. "Your cat is terrible. Accent's too strong, and I could swear you're speaking a different dialect entirely."

"Woof!"

"I know."

Yang let go of Blake and picked Zwei up. "Speak my intelligent corgi!" Zwei licked her face profusely. "Eh, close enough."

Blake returned to her book, and Yang returned to her side. "So... Did you start dating me because my legs smelled like fish?"

Blake bonked her on the head with her book. "You want to go on a date tonight?"

"Are you buying?"

"Uh... sure?"

"Yay!"

* * *

 **21.8 Yang From Yin**

* * *

Blake Woke in her bed and began to get ready for the day. After a quick shower, she went to a mirror and began to brush her hair... her _white hair_.

"What the-" and that was when her Loop memories began to seep in.

"Blanc, hurry up! We're going to miss our flight to Vale!"

Weiss opened the door to the bathroom in time to hear 'Blanc Schnee' launch a profanity-laden rant at Yggdrasil that she had the misfortune of Awakening in the middle of.

* * *

Ruby and Yang were looking at their teammates.

"So this Loop..."

"I am the illegitimate child of Weiss's father and one of his workers. He forced me to hide my race in order to avoid a scandal. On the bright side, I can do this." A glyph formed under Blanc's feet and launched her upwards, where she began to use more glyphs to perform an acrobatic display.

Upon landing, Blanc gives a bow. "How do you think the White Fang will react to a Faunus Schnee?"

* * *

 **21.9**

* * *

"Miss Fall, I would imagine that you being here would be... uncouth."

Cinder flinched. Caught red handed... well, that was pretty damn obvious anyway. It still didn't sit well with her though. "I was just thinking professor."

Ozpin walked up beside Cinder, staring with vague interest at Amber's preservation pod. "Here to reflect upon past sins?"

'You have no idea,' Cinder thought to herself. "They weren't my choices. I just look the part."

"...I know," Ozpin conceded. Sitting down next to Cinder, the old man sagged under the weight of the world. "It's a strange feeling, isn't it?"

"Being blamed for things you didn't do?"

"Feeling guilt for things you would never do," Ozpin said. "I would know, perhaps... better than most."

 _'Of course you would you dumbass. You're the reason for this whole mess.'_ Cinder stared at the still form of Amber. "Most is not me."

"No it isn't." Ozpin stood up again, walking to the control panel. "But I imagine that you didn't come here to mop, did you?"

Cinder rose, tense. Ozpin's entire demeanor had changed, power coursing through his body. He wasn't an old man and teacher anymore. He was the man who had dueled her, her with the power of the Fall Maiden, with nothing but his cane and his wits. He was a Looper with millions of years of experience on her, unholy power in his eyes. He was her enemy now. "What are you doing Ozpin?"

The man behind the vale turned to her. "I'm offering you a choice Cinder." The transfer pod opened, a cold steel maw. "I'm going to offer you one choice. Come clean."

Cinder recoiled, even if only minutely. "What?"

Ozpin flipped his cane over into a sword's grip and started to advance on Cinder. "As a teacher, I am sworn to protect my students and friends. From threats without and within. I've traveled the multiverse, cataloging your moves, your actions. I've seen the devastation you've caused, both under cover of secrecy, and as a Looper."

Cinder started to back away, trying to put some distance between herself and the headmaster. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know that you do Cinder. Which is why I am giving you this option." Ozpin flashed forward, closing the gap between him and the hidden villain in a flash. Cinder gasped in horror, even as Ozpin cradled her chin and stopped her dead on her tracks.

"I am going to give you one chance Cinder. You have one chance to be honest with Ruby, honest with your friends. I can protect you. Roman and Glynda and Neo and Zwei will protect you. But the condition is your honesty."

Ozpin forced Cinder backwards, causing her to stumble. "Ruby Rose is a very forgiving young woman. Romantic, eager, and above all else, innocent. I want to protect that innocence, which means I need to cut down deceit. Which means revealing you to her."

 _'He's... he's doing this...'_ Cinder's eyes glowed with the power of the Fall Maiden. "You're doing this to hurt Ruby. Aren't you?"

Ozpin shook his head. "I'm doing this to stop you, and save everyone. So what will be your answer Cinder?"

"...My answer?"

Cinder's hands were clenched. She didn't fully register that she was shaking. But her gaze was clear, and her anger at the tipping point. "My answer is FUCK YOU!"

Cinder raised a hand and flipped Ozpin off. "I may not be perfect, but I am not that monster! My friends are the only things I have to measure myself by, and I would never betray their trust."

Cinder let her Aura rage through the air, infusing it with her anger. "So go ahead. Show them your words and your reports! I know that they will always, always-"

"Calm down Cinder, calm down," Ozpin said soothingly. "I get the message. Really, I do."

Cinder's Aura slowly faded from the air. Ruby Rose's adoptive sister blinked in complete confusion at Ozpin's sudden... change of heart? "Wait... wait, what the hell are you saying?"

Ozpin frowned, but the discomfort seemed directed inward. "As I said, I am sworn to protect my students and my friends. From all threats, without and within. Even potential threats, such as yourself."

"I'm a threat?" Cinder grumbled. "You know what Ozpin? Eat a dick. I'm done here."

Ozpin watched Cinder go, and then stop. The Fall Maiden glanced back at the pod. "You were testing me?"

"Yes."

"..." Cinder walked to the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. "What happened in the vault stays in the vault."

"I presume so."

Cinder finally let a touch of humor slip into her lips. "You know, baseline me was kicking herself for not noticing that this elevator also went down."

Ozpin cheerfully waved her off. "Have a fine evening Miss Fall."

The doors closed. Cinder relaxed, and smirked lightly. _'Stupid old fool.'_

Inside the vault, Ozpin turned to Amber, looking at the wounded Maiden. "I'm sorry. All of this is happening because of me." Ozpin gently keyed in a few codes to return Amber to her resting state. "I have an eternity to live with my mistakes though, and an eternity to set them right."

Ozpin sat down, thinking about Cinder. His bluff had been a strong one, one that had, at best, circumstantial evidence to back it up. Scattered accounts, random tidbits, a witness here and there describing Cinder to use what could only be described as Out of Loop powers while Unawake, but nothing conclusive.

No smoking gun.

Ozpin sighed. Maybe he was being too paranoid again. Maybe it was time to relax, and catch a drink.

The former stealth looper smiled lightly, and finished the code for Amber's pod. He rested a hand on his sleeping beauty. "Rest well Amber. I will save you, one day."

He turned and began to walk for the elevator. "I'll save them all one day."

* * *

 **21.10 Nuebattles**

* * *

The Vytal festival was here, as it was every loop. The week long tournament itself was always fun, even if it got easy after a while. But there was one thing different, one thing potentially game changing.

"It's really unfortunate for ABRN to have to deal with Yang now, in a lava stage. It feels... Unfair. What do you think, Ruby?" Weiss turned to her 'fearless' leader, who, rather than standing next to her, was hiding behind an ice stalagmite. "Ruby! Don't tell me you're freaking out because Yang's got her subscription!"

Ruby, having dealt with Yang her whole life, rolled her eyes. "I'm not afraid of YANG. But the thing is, this Loop, her cramps count as hits! As in, her semblance has been getting stronger and stronger since she got her period! And that means she gets reckless. Reckless Yang surrounded by lava with an activated semblance means that that same lava will get everywhere!" Ruby huffed, dashing behind a larger, thicker spire than the one she was already behind. "Excuse me if I don't want to become a Rubyque sandwich and die by lava! Again!"

Weiss considered that, looking toward where Blake was watching the beserker flood the field with liquid fire, before making her decision. Quickly, she used Dust to make the frozen shield wider and higher, crouching next to Ruby calmly. "Blake's got this covered, probably."

"Sometimes I'm REALLY jealous of Yang's semblance," Nora pouted, sulking. "I just get power from dumb, old electricity, but Yang gets power from cramps. Do you KNOW how strong I'd be? Do you?!"

"I shudder to imagine, Nora, really." Ren rubbed the bridge of his nose, small smile giving away his amusement. "But the chance you'd both just sync and go mad with power is just too likely. Forgive the multiverse for desiring a sense of peace."

"NEVER!"

* * *

 **21.11**

* * *

Jaune knelt, staring at the cold stone. The sun was slowly setting over Vale, the last leaves of Autumn drifting downward. "Hey Pyrrha."

Jaune stopped, choking down a sob. "I... I guess... I'm here. And... you're not."

Nope, he couldn't do it. Jaune just let the tears fall. It was easier than being strong.

The Loop had started late, just days after the battle of Beacon. Everyone had shown up, Awake and... not well, but together. Pyrrha wasn't there.

She'd never be there again.

Every moment though, Jaune's heart skipped a beat, torn in half by grief and relief. Pyrrha was dead, her ashes scattered to the wind, but she was alive, waiting for him in the next loop. It was so... painful.

"She was amazing."

Jaune jolted at the sudden presence. "Qrow... What-"

Qrow Branwen sat down next to Jaune, incalculable regret and pity in his eyes. "Pyrrha was an amazing woman. She was also modest. And she'd be glad that you cried for her."

Jaune turned away, even though his heart and head told him that he didn't need to worry about Qrow seeing him like that. "She didn't deserve this."

"...I know that," Qrow said. "You don't deserve this either: if Ozpin had stopped Cinder, or if me or Glynda or Ironwood had been at Beacon, she'd still be alive."

Gasps and hacks just sounded from Jaune as he fought down more sobbing. "She didn't..."

Qrow handed Jaune his flask. "It'll help."

Jaune eyed the flask, took it, and took a swig. And coughed it back out. "Shit..."

Qrow sagged and took the flask back. "This is my fault Jaune. No one else's. She may have made her own decisions, but we're the ones who told her what those decisions were."

The small monument, erected just outside of Vale, commemorated those who had fallen in the battle. Pyrrha's name was scrawled halfway down it, but to Jaune it stood the largest. His failure: his agony.

"..." Qrow put an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "I can't tell you how to deal with grief Jaune. I'm terrible at it. But I can tell you that I'm here to listen to what you need to say."

Jaune sat there. "I don't know what to say Mr. Branwen. She's... gone. But I'll see her again."

"In the next life?" Qrow offered.

"Yeah. In the next life."

* * *

Pain came and went. Eternity stretched onward. But like the turning of the seasons, all things come back to us.

The evening for Pyrrha found her in her hotel room, patiently waiting for morning to come, laying on her bed and trying to sleep. No longer sleepy though, Pyrrha sat up and stretched. A bit of magic and she was dressed for an evening stroll.

Jaune, out for his customary walk in the park, as he always was when the Loop began, came up short when Pyrrha Apparated nearby. "Hey Pyrrha."

Pyrrha smiled at her boyfriend. "Care if I join you Jaune?"

Few smiles could match Jaune Arc's. "I'd like that."

The two eternals walked into the evening, with all the time in the world.

* * *

 **21.1: Blake is not taking the evil Adam Taurus thing well.**

 **21.2: Glynda's facial structure is actually a reused assert from Ruby. Basically, they have the same face. This is my reason for that happening this loop.**

 **15.5: This one actually takes place well before Pyrrha came to grips with the possibility of losing her identity (And interestingly enough, well before she died!)**

 **21.3: All in all, I thought that Taiyang seemed like a good father. He loves Ruby and Yang, and if nothing else happens (like say a prequel season starring STRQ hint hint nudge nudge listen RT!) he and Qrow may start Looping at some point.**

 **21.4: Remember that hole gag from Looney Toons? Same principle.**

 **21.5: Now, let's all appreciate the fact that Dexter and Ruby aren't always in the same room. Because if they were, they would murder anyone who slighted the other.**

 **21.6: Let's pretend that we have foresight and this will be interesting later on.**

 **21.7: Zwei is a dog. His cat-ese is pretty rusty.**

 **21.8: Another Loop where Blake is a Schnee!**

 **21.9: Ozpin does not trust Cinder. He's right, but he doesn't know that.**

 **21.10: Here's a loop that goes all to all you girls on your period!**

 **21.11: We can now all agree that the death of Pyrrha Nikos is a complete tragedy. For now.**


	22. Long Time

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 22**

 **Long Time**

* * *

 **22.1**

* * *

Ren looked down at the clock, sweeping through it's final seconds. One last check told him that Ruby, Jaune and Nora were clear. He took his last breath and braced himself.

BOOM!

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Nora screamed as the explosion engulfed Ren, wiping him from Remnant. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

"...Ren..." Jaune breathed, horror and regret in his voice. "No."

Ruby stared in stunned silence as the world ripped another friend from her grasp.

Ren staggered over after a moment, smoking from the blast. "Wooh. That was close. Heh, right guys?"

Nora was on her knees, sobbing. "No... No... Please no..."

Ren winced in sympathy for Nora. "Hey, I know it was a close call Nora." He knelt next to her. "But we'll survive."

He put his hand on Nora's shoulder, and it passed through her with the ease of water. Ren's heart stopped. "No... I can't be dead... No..."

* * *

"No... no..."

Ren opened his eyes, snug in bed, in his dorm with Nora, Jaune and Pyrrha. It took him precious minutes to recall in full where he was. To recall what he was.

The martial artist and part time ninja slipped out of bed and grabbed a night shirt. Nora snored loudly as he snuck out of the dorm, enough to cover his tracks. Lacking anything else to do, Ren walked to the roof, laid down, and stargazed.

Far beyond in the darkness of space, the stars burned, planets orbiting them, life flourishing on those. Ren wondered about them: were there lives sequestered away on them? Did they know about the Loops, ticking along through eternity as they did? Did they care that in a short six months, their lives would reset, maybe even vanish entirely?

Ren couldn't help but wonder about that. Were they alone?

He and Nora weren't alone. His Team wasn't alone. They had each other: a family. He had his family.

The telltale creak of old hinges snapped Ren from his mood. He glanced up at his visitor. "Hey Pyrrha."

"Good evening Ren," Pyrrha said lightly. The champion of Mistral walked over and laid down next to him. "You couldn't sleep?"

"No."

"...Bad dream?"

"Nora. She snores too much."

"...Bad dream then."

Ren sighed. "I died. In the dream. Or maybe in the last loop. I died, I tried to talk with Nora, I woke up here."

Pyrrha looked at her adoptive son. "You didn't die. I'd know if you had."

"Would you?"

Pyrrha scooted over close to Ren. "No. I wouldn't. But I trust you to tell me."

The stars twinkled quietly.

"I'm sor-"

"You really shouldn't apologize for dying."

Pyrrha shook her head. "I died, and because of that everyone's afraid. Everyone is looking over their shoulder for the next expansion. They are all scared because of me."

Ren didn't comment. He didn't have to. "I'm not scared."

Pyrrha sat up and looked at Jaune, standing in the doorway. "Nora woke me up. And I'm not scared of dying," he affirmed.

Pyrrha sighed. "Liar."

Jaune sat down next to them. "I'm not lying. I'm just worried that I might... well..."

"Move on?"

"..." Jaune couldn't answer Ren's question. He wouldn't.

The darkness above them, lit by the stars, seemed endless. The fragment of Team JNPR seemed infinitesimal by comparison. "I'm scared that I won't always love you."

Pyrrha stepped over Ren and kissed her boyfriend. "I love you. Which means that I want you to be happy."

"It doesn't seem fair..."

"Sometimes fairness isn't a part of love."

Ren looked at the lovebirds. "You have each other now. Make the most of it."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at Ren, and chuckled. Ren himself spluttered. "Not here!"

The door clicked shut. Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Nora woke you up, didn't she?"

"Yeah. Nora snores way too loud," Nora said, dropping into the rooftop tile. "Can't sleep with her at all."

"You got lonely, didn't you?"

"...Noooo."

"She got lonely," Jaune and Ren chorused.

Nora playfully poked Ren. "Boop."

Ren smiled for her.

Yes, the stars are great and powerful, and JNPR was but a fraction of their might. But for a small part in the grand scheme of things, they were happy. They had each other.

They were a family. United by love and trust. Like all the best.

* * *

 **22.2 GammaTron**

* * *

Pyrrha blinked twice as she Awoke. She ignored the time for the exercise her Unawake self had been doing in favor of her Loop Memories. Walking out of the training room, Pyrrha Church-daughter of late Allison Church and Dr. Leondard Church-took off her helmet and looked at herself in the reflective surface of a nearby wall. A clearing throat made her tense and turn.

"Hey, Carolina," Washington greeted, "You look a little off right now. Need an Anchor at the moment?"

"...Hey, Wash," Pyrrha replied, "It's...It's been a long while since I had a Loop replacing Carolina, huh?"

"Yeah," Wash nodded.

"How is..."

"I know what happened to you in the Season 3 finale, Pyrrha," Washington stated bluntly, making her wince, "Come on. I have something you need to see."

Pyrrha nodded as she put her helmet back on. Minutes later, a door slid open and the two walked into a conference room. In it were Texas, York, and North before the AI Fragments Delta, Epsilon, and Theta appeared with Church.

"Washington, what's happening?" Pyrrha asked.

"I thought you'd like to talk with some guys who understand your plight," Washington explained.

"My...My plight?"

"It's all right, Pyrrha," North assured, "All of us know what it's like to be dead in a Loop."

 _"Yeah. I still believe that I'm a motherfuckin' ghost, though,"_ Church chuckled.

"Church, be serious here," York frowned.

 _"No,"_ Church corrected as he displayed an image of Sirius Black, _"This is Sirius."  
_  
"How long have you been wanting to make that joke?" North gawked.

 _"I believe since the Unawake you made the very same joke to him in a Loop where we rescued you from the Meta in time,"_ Delta replied.

"That was the time I killed South with a nuclear bullet..." Washington muttered to himself.

"You've been keeping track of the ways you've killed South?" North frowned, "Dude, that's my sister."

"..."

 _"..."_

"..."

"...Fair enough," North held his hands up in exasperation.

"Why did you do this?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, we're both from the same company in the Hub," York replied, "So our Loops are kinda like siblings."

"That and Carolina threatened them to do this to try to make you feel better," Washington added.

 _"Dude!"_ everyone but Theta exclaimed.

 _"I, uh, I got terminated by the EMP Uncle Washington and Church used in order to stop Sigma,"_ Theta informed.

 _"Likewise,"_ Delta, Church, and Texas all added.

"The Meta got me when my sis double-crossed me," North sighed.

"I got shot through the Healing Unit by Wyoming and bled out," York spoke.

 _"I...I deconstructed myself,"_ Epsilon informed before appearing on Pyrrha's shoulder, _"Did...Did you watch Season 13?"  
_  
"No. Ruby didn't want anyone to watch Season 13 since she wanted to keep things private to Grif if they were going to do something involving him," Pyrrha replied.

 _"They did a tiny bit, like him getting his Grif Shot back,"_ Epsilon replied, _"But, well..."_ he took in a deep breath, _"But basically, I died at the end, just like you did in the last episode of your latest season. And I left some last words to the guys before I...well...'died'."  
_  
Pyrrha winced a bit. She never gave her true last words to her friends in Baseline. Even the kiss she had given Jaune before sending him off...

 _"Basically, Pyrrha, it's like this: there are so many stories where some brave hero decides to give their life to save the day,"_ Epsilon informed, _"Kinda like what you did. And because of their sacrifice, the good guys eventually win, the survivors all cheer, and get a chance for a happily ever after for a time. But the hero…They never get to see that ending. If...If these Infinite Loops never happened, you and I? We...We'd never know if our sacrifices actually made a difference. We'd never know if the day was really saved. In the end…If we never got to become a part of the Infinite Loops, we'd just have to have faith."_ he gave a dry chuckle, _"And ain't that a bitch?"_

"No, that's Sirius, too."

 _"Daaaad! I was being serious!"_ Epsilon barked, his hologram turning a minute shade of pink from embarrassment.

"Look, Pyrrha, it's...painful," York informed, "Knowing that...that the original you...the one who came before you began to Loop...just dies. You may have died in Baseline, but...you're still alive. Looping has never said 'goodbye' to you and it will most likely never say that. Because as long as it doesn't say 'goodbye' to you, you'll be able to be with your friends and the family that you've made in the Loops."

* * *

 **22.3 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Cinder was relaxed. Here in the shade beneath one of the trees on the Beacon Academy; a cup of tea in her hand, an ample lunch at her side courtesy of Emerald, and Ruby chattering energetically with Yang just out of hearing range; she stared contemplatively at the sky without a care in the world. It wasn't much, but sometimes simple vacations were the most enjoyable. Her last few Loops had been just the typical fare, retreading the same script she had countless times in the past — she alternated between Stealth and open Looping at random, the choice only known at the moment of its making to prevent any sort of discernible pattern — with only a few basic deviations to make it less likely Pyrrha would die by her hand more often than not.

And there was that _feeling_ again. Seriously, what was that anyway?

Caught up in her thoughts though she was, it didn't prevent her from noticing the sudden arrival of a certain pair of thieves. Instantly her good mood crumbled, leaving only bitter irritation. All those plans she had devised, all the untried plots — ruined by the 'Activation' of the duo lounging so casually nearby.

"Well now, isn't this nice. Nothing quite like a family outing, eh Neo?" Roman chuckled, observing Yang and Ruby's conversation.

Neo tilted her head in agreement as she twirled her parasol, daintily nibbling at a sandwich; which Cinder noted with a stab of anger had come from her basket. "Did you want something?" she bit out.

"Oh no, not at all. We just came to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the Academy. Well, for as long as it lasts anyway. Those Expansions are a real bitch sometimes, don't you think? Gets you right here." Roman replied airily, tapping his hand over his heart.

Cinder's stomach twisted and she found herself inexplicably no longer hungry. Not that that made her willing to allow Neo to poach any more of her meal, as proven when she snapped the lid of her food container shut a second before Neo's hand ferreted out another portion.

Neo tittered and waved her unharmed fingers mockingly.

"But still," Roman continued, "I have to say, you certainly are quite the devoted sister. Going so far to make up for the actions of your Unawake self against these girls."

Cinder narrowed her eyes, which began to glow slightly, at Roman. "And what precisely is that supposed to mean?"

Roman raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, hey. No need to get so testy. I'm simply pointing out what a pretty picture you all make. The loving family, out on a picnic as they play away the days until tragedy rears its ugly head once again. Such a heartwarming scene; it's almost enough to make you forget that it's all an act."

With a half-strangled growl, Cinder rose to her feet in a smooth motion; careful to avoid drawing Ruby's attention. "Leave. Now."

Roman gave a chuckle , and jumped back a step; one hand on his hat to keep it from blowing away. "Whoa now, what's with all the hostility? Can't a few old co-workers have a civil conversation without it turning into a fight?"

Neo skipped away, Cinder's food basket in her hand and a smirk on her face. Roman shrugged. "You can't blame her. We haven't had lunch yet. Of course, with that in mind, I suppose we should be heading out. Cinder." He finished, tilting his hat in an almost mocking way before placing his hand on Neo's shoulder as the two of them disappeared in a flurry of black and indigo Orbs.

Cinder's fist met the side of the tree, which creaked loudly from the impact, before she stalked away to go try and recapture the now long gone serenity from earlier. In that, she had a willing ally in the form of Ruby who was playfully cartwheeling towards her; Yang a few steps behind, watching with a smirk.

"Hey Cinder, what did Roman and Neo want?" she asked curiously, having just managed to catch the ex-Stealth Looper's vanishing act.

Cinder smiled roughly. "It was nothing, don't worry about it Ruby."

Ruby gave her a weird look, but quickly accepted CInder's words with a nod. "Okay I guess. Soooo... You mentioned something about lunch earlier?" she said in a poor attempt at being casual; made all the worse by her stomach choosing that moment to speak up.

Cursing Roman in her head, Cinder forced a smile. "I thought we could go out for something to eat, my treat."

"Yay! Best big sister ever!" Ruby cheered loudly, just as Yang came close.

"Hey! I thought I was your favorite sister," she objected.

Ruby grinned. "Nope, too bad. Cinder wins, because food."

Yang raised her hands in a shrug with a shake of her head. "To think, I was abandoned so easily."

"Don't." Cinder warned.

Yang gave an expression of offended innocence. "What?! I'm just saYang."

Ruby groaned. "I change my mind. Cinder wins because her jokes aren't horrible."

"I don't tell jokes Ruby," Cinder reminded.

Ruby nodded sagely. "Yep. Still less horrible than Yang's."

Yang slumped. "Low blow little sis."

Cinder smirked as the two sisters bickered. Their antics were almost enough to ease the residual agitation from her other encounter. Almost.

* * *

 **22.4**

* * *

As Ruby watched, she saw her friend be struck down by Cinder. Crying, she cried out her friend's name.

"UNDYNE!"

Ruby had befriended the Undertale Looper who had replaced Pyrrha. Undyne knew that Pyrrha was killed in the baseline, but Undyne was not one to give up. Suddenly, as Cinder prepared to burn Undyne to ashes, Undyne began speaking.

"Drat. I was sure I could beat you. And yet..here I am, about to be fried. But...I can't give up. I WON'T. Cinder...whatever you are, you're not human. If you live, countless people will suffer. For the sake of humans, Faunus, and everyone else, I cannot...WILL NOT...let you WIN!"

A massive burst of energy engulfed Undyne, and Ruby had to shield her eyes. When the energy faded, Undyne was clad in new armor, and her left eye was glowing. Undyne smirked.

"Hah. You'll have to try better than THAT!" Undyne the Undying cracked her knuckles, and charged at Cinder, who tried the same attack that had wounded Undyne before, only for her to brush it off like it was nothing. Undyne then began landing attack after attack, and Ruby smiled.

"Get her, Undyne."

And the final blow was struck. And this time, it was Cinder who had fallen. Undyne grinned, and with one final swing, slew Cinder. Undyne collapsed to her knees, returning to her normal appearance. Ruby ran over to Undyne, and cast a healing spell. Ruby grinned.

"That was awesome, Undyne."

"Thanks. Glad that worked. But I am drained. You mind getting that dragon?"

Ruby nodded, and charged up a Majin Kamehameha, blasting the dragon to bits. Undyne chuckled.

"Let's get out of here." Ruby nodded, and the two left the battleground.

For once, Cinder had been stopped.

* * *

 **22.5 yangfromyin**

* * *

 _The Dragon was a mighty creature. Humans and Faunus trembled before it. Grimm answered its call. It was immortal. Invincible..._

"Hey Kevin- who's a good dragon? You are!"

 _And utterly confused as to why the three creatures were on its back and were treating it like a pet._

"For the last time, Ruby, it is a wyvern, not a dragon! It has no front arms alongside its wings! Wyvern!"

"They're the same thing, Weiss!"

"Girls, I am trying to keep this thing from chucking us off its back. Please let me focus."

 _The Dragon decided to simply return to its attack on the academy._

* * *

 **22.6 diesel**

* * *

 _Jaune ran, terror and desperation driving him on as streets twisted and eternally turned to ash, in the distance was Beacon, just as far away as when he started, a vast dragon bearing down on it._

 _The dragon twisted and warped never staying the same as grimm miasma fell from its form spawning new monsters before they were torn apart by wraiths. The flickering of ethereal petals entwined with misty white grimm. A green blur struck at the monsters as hammers of pink lightning smashed into the ground._

 _In the distance, a black shadow flickered amongst the beasts leaving behind a void as yellow fire consumed what remained._

 _Panic and desperation grasped at Jaune's heart where was she! The world lurched as he raced up the stairs desperate to get to the top. Mocking words echoing from the falling leaves that fell outside,_

 _"_ _It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours. But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you would never had imagined._ _"_

 _The door burst open as Cinder stood over a kneeling Pyrrha, an arrow in her breast before Pyrrha turned to ash. The world igniting as Cinder was sheathed in the Autumn Maiden's power, a look of horrified glee on her face, tears of fire running down her face._

* * *

Jaune leapt out of bed, coming to full conscious in moments, reaching instinctively for Crocea Mors. Only to swipe air, finally registering the room he was in was not his Beacon dorm. It was a sparsely decorated room in blue and white, a bed, desk and some files. Out a window, he could see the remnants of a fallen keep in the distance partially hidden amongst a forest.

Finally, his loop memories registered and Jaune collapsed back on the bed with a groan and sending out a ping receiving no response yet. It was his room in the house with his parents and sisters, fifteen days before Beacon started.

"Crap" he whispered running his hands down his face, the nightmares details falling out his memory like water through cupped hands, leaving behind only basic impressions and narrative.

 _'Not that I need to remember, after having variations of it for millennia._ ' He thought tiredly, Jaune lay on his bed staring absently at the blue roof for a moment before reluctantly getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Cold water splashed on his face washing away the cold sweat, Jaune stared into the mirror, seeing the bags under his eyes. It was still dark and none of his relatives were awake yet thankfully he really didn't want to deal with them.

"Why am I still having these dreams?" Jaune whispered closing his eyes and clenching his fists in frustration.

It had been millennia since she had first died in baseline, centuries since she had died at all, and she would always come back until the Last Loop played out aeons from now. The reasoning just left Jaune feeling sick through; his partner died and he could not stop it and he didn't even know _why!_

Dead in baseline,

No chance of Awaking in future, baseline, expansions (well he amended, little chance as Pyrrha could technically loop in as someone else).

'Baseline…. It comes back to that doesn't it? How many times have I seen everyone die in the loops? In all those times it was never felt this bad…. Why?'

The question was pointless though as Jaune knew why; the reason was a thought that left him waking in a cold sweat at night, what happens when the loops end? will all that the Looping Pyrrha was vanish? Gone like she never existed as the baseline overwrote her looping self, condemning her to oblivion.

The same fear lingered for all of JNPR, RWBY and the others, would they all just be overwritten? Or forced to follow baseline…. What would happen to his family? In the end, he could do nothing to stop it and it would be Ages before the reasoning for the horrors became known.

Silently turning back to the bedroom Jaune simply fell on the bed and waited for morning to come, soon he would be back at Beacon or off on some random adventure likely with some of his friends or family who would likely awaken soon.

Finally, the sun emerged from the horizon, the light streaming into the room as morning bird calls started up waking Jaune from his half-slumber. Soon the house was filled with faint noise and the smell of breakfast.

Finally loud footsteps could be heard coming up the steps, his 'sister' running up the stairs to his room, a cold dread rising up that had nothing to with his bleak thoughts.

He could not remember his baseline family, the one he had in that first life. These people were strangers who he knew well. The door was thrown open as Noire stormed in grinning pulling open the curtains with a relish.

Jaune listened and replied to his 'sister' as she talked absently, running off his given memories, it was not fair to her or anyone in the family but he had long since become jaded to the constant blur of relations. They were not something that came to mind much at Beacon and eventually the names and faces blurred together as JNPR and RWBY replaced them in his mind as family.

Getting dressed after Noire left Jaune followed her path to the kitchen, trying to fight down a surge of bitter jealousy at seeing his parents and siblings around the table waiting for him.

Ruby and Yang had each other, the same almost all the time and Weiss had Winter who while not as stable was consistent in many respects. It was a poor joke; he loathed baseline for taking Pyrrha away, for Nora and Ren having no parents and the eternal fear that when the loops end everything will revert to baseline still he wished for his birth family, one that would not fade over loops.

Everyone was different and he loved them all…. How could he not? And yet he would always choose JNPR and RWBY over them even over each of his parents and siblings only shot.

Jaune smiled and joked with his sisters feeling like an infinite gulf separated them, longing to be at Beacon with his family.

* * *

 **22.7 DrTempo**

* * *

Pyrrha prepared to defend herself as Cinder went for the finishing blow. By now, she was used to this situation, and had developed countless ways to evade death. Before she could react, someone grabbed her and yanked her out of the way as Cinder fired. Pyrrha looked at her savior, and smirked when she saw the bald man wearing a yellow jumpsuit appear.

"Get her, Saitama."

The legendary One Punch Man, as many Loopers loved to call him, looked at his opponent. Cinder growled, "Who are you?"

"Someone who has being a hero as a hobby."

Cinder laughed manically. "A HOBBY? Hah! You don't know who you're dealing with! I am the Fall Maiden! I made sure that power wouldn't belong to that girl you sav-"

Saitama swung his fist, and Pyrrha thought for sure she could hear someone screaming "ONE PUNCH!" Cinder blinked, and she suffered the same fate as every other poor soul who'd fought Saitama.

Utterly destroyed. Saitama sighed.

"Why am I not surprised it took one punch." Pyrrha shrugged.

"Considering I was about to become burned to a crisp, I'm not one to judge." Saitama nodded, and charged at the Grimm Dragon, and punched it.

Cue the kaboom. Pyrrha chuckled, and noticed her hand was on fire.

"Huh?" Pyrrha noticed she was floating, and laughed.

 _Of course. Since Cinder was talking about me right as Saitama sent her to hell, I got the Fall Maiden's power.  
Man, this is ironic. Too bad it won't stick once the Loop's over._

Pyrrha then decided to watch as Saitama single handedly took put the Grimm infestation.

 _'Note to self: NEVER fight Saitama.'_

* * *

 **22.8 GammaTron**

* * *

"Another," Jaune demanded, putting the empty cup on the counter.

Junior raised a blue brow, "You sure, Mr. Arc? I mean, that's your..."

" _Another_ ," Jaune banged the cup.

The normally Sangheli-Human halfbreed shook his head as he just refilled it with hot chocolate yet again, "I guess you had a bad Loop?"

"More like a bad baseline," Jaune snorted as he drank it, "D...Do I know you?"

"I'm Junior, Lavernus Junior," Junior replied.

"Lavernus?" Jaune repeated.

"I prefer 'Tucker' thank you," Tucker snorted as he walked over, pulling off the teddy bear head over his head, "Been a while since we had a Loop together, Jaune."

"Oh yeah. Forgot that was your first name."

The two traded fist bumps as the Simulation Soldier sat down, "..."

Father and son looked at each other. Junior motioned to Jaune and held up all his fingers a few times. Tucker nodded before looking at Jaune, finishing the next one off.

Tucker sighed, "Grif told me what happens in your Baseline."

Jaune nodded.

"Dude, Baseline sucks for the both of us," Tucker nodded, "I lose someone I feel is more like a brother three times, once to an Emp..."

"E-M-P, dad."

"...once to a malfunctioning AI Storage Unit and the last when he fragments himself just to power my new armor. And no matter the loop, that armor is still tight in the crotch."

"..." Jaune motioned for another drink.

"..." Tucker sighed, "Look, I can't relate to you on losing someone you see as a wife, but I can relate with you on losing a friend." Jaune just gave him a look, "Dude, you've got nothing on Tex and Carolina, so don't expect any fear from me with that." he pulled out a photo and put it down, moving it to Jaune, "Take a look at this."

Jaune looked at the picture. It was of a nice living room with a fireplace. He saw Ruby, Yang, Cinder, Grif, and a little boy in it...with Grif showing off the severed head of Adam on the mantle like an animal head trophy. Jaune raised a brow at the pic.

"Whoops. My bad," Tucker chuckled sheepishly, taking the photo and giving him another, "This is the real one." Jaune looked at it and cringed, "Yeah. I replaced you and Junior replaced Pyrrha."

"At times, I'm really thankful that I wasn't Awake for that Loop," Junior noted.

"I can relate to losing family to that event," Tucker informed, pocketing the photo, "I woke up just after I got rocketed off while he went off to confront Cinder. When I got out and got to him, he was already hit with the arrow."

"How did..."

"This isn't the first time I saw Junior die," Tucker informed, Junior wincing, "And I'm unsure if it will be the last or not."

"I've had to deal with seeing dad die a lot, too," Junior added, "You ever need to talk to someone who relates to seeing family die, our door's open."

"We could probably get your Aunt Roll in on it as the head of the meetings," Tucker added.

Jaune shook his head, "It's..."

"Dude, we know it's not the same since neither of us die in Baseline," Tucker snorted, "But the point is, we all know the feeling of losing family in at least one Loop, Baseline or not." he patted Jaune's shoulder, "And between you, me, and Junior? I'm jealous of you."

"Huh?"

"You've got a wife and two kids in the Loops. Me? I'm just a single dad with an awesome son who was probably freaking out on me being MIA baseline until the last two episodes of Season 13 of our Loop," Tucker informed, "Plus, you...you've got all those awesome powers from different Loops you can use to save your wife, even if she isn't Awake. But me?" he activated his sword, "Because of this, I can't learn what all of you guys can int he Loops. Sure, I'm immune to those very same things, but it still sucks. At times, it feels like I'm just dragging everyone else in the Loops down. But I made it work for me and did a ton of studying and now? You're looking at a guy who can build any kind of armor you need in just an hour or five." he tossed Jaune something, "Catch."

"H-Huh?" Jaune caught the object and looked it over, "Wait. Is this..."

"And here are these," Junior put a box on the counter, sliding it to Jaune, "Dad makes the armors, I make the stuff that works with the armor."

"...I've never even been to the Loop this is supposed to come from," Jaune noted.

"Well, Arc, you've seen the show?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you know what to do with it," Tucker nodded.

"..." Jaunne nodded, pocketing the objects before an Unawake Yang sat at the end.

"Strawberry Sunrise please. And one of those little umbrella things, please."

"..." Junior and Tucker played jan-ken-pon.

"Son of a bitch," Tucker muttered before he walking over to her, praying to not be crushed in the nuts by her.

"Oh, now this is surprising. I would have expected you to go there," Cinder Fall noted as she looked at Jaunne.

"Yeah. As much as I'd like to go there and be by her side, I can't," Jaunne replied before pulling out a belt and wrapped it around his waist, "Right now, I'm going to make sure that you fall here and now."

"Oh? What can you do? You have the worst record in the entire school, you were the first of your team to fall in the first rounds," Cinder noted as she summoned a fireball, "And you'll just be nothing but ashes now, Arc."

"Sorry, but I won't let anymore despair come here," Jaune informed as he slid on a ring on his right hand and put it over his belt.

 **=DRIVER ON - PLEASE=  
**  
"So..." Jaune flicked the sides of the belt, causing the hand on it to flip to the other side.

 **=SHABADOOBIE~! TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE~! TOUCH TO HENSHIN!=  
**  
"...I'll be the Hope that drives you, Despair incarnate, away," Jaune informed, putting on a diamond ring on his left hand, "HENSHIN!"

 **=INFINITY - PLEASE!=  
**  
A diamond energy dragon came out of his body before colliding with him. Diamonds covered his body as a melody came from the belt.

 **=HII-SUI-FUU~DOU~! BOU-JYABBA-BYUU~DORON~!=**

The diamonds shattered, revealing Jaune in a new attire. It was all silver, white, and diamonds with a dragon theme to it. His head was covered in a masked helmet resembling his diamond ring.

"What?!" Cinder gasped.

"Ore ga saigou no kibou da," Jaune informed, holding his left hand up to show the diamond ring, "Kamen Rider Wizard."

Cinder sent a flaming arrow at him. His new armor shined briefly and the arrow dispersed before it could touch. Cinder sent a fireball at him and the same thing happened.

"Come, Dragon!" he ordered.

The dragon appeared once more from his armor, giving a roar before spinning around and shattering in diamonds, revealing a dragon-version of Jaune's sword and shield. He scanned the ring once more.

 **=INFINITY!=  
**  
Cinder barely avoided the first attack while the next caught her in the side. Hissing a bit, she swung an arm and lost it. A shield slamming into her face made her slam into a wall before his sword caught Cinder in the heel, cutting it right off her.

"Finale," Jaune stated as he put his shield and sword together, giving the hand symbol on the shield a high five with his diamond ring hand.

 **=HIGH TOUCH - JOAN OF ARC!=  
**  
Jaune spun his combined weapons around, the shield shifting into a larger double-edged sword before it grew to twice his size. He pulled it back before swinging, a magic seal appearing over Cinder once he slashed her, leaving a diagonal rainbow-colored line going through her. Cinder let out a scream as she exploded...before the seal also exploded.

"...whew," Jaunne sighed in relief, dismissing the armor and looked at the rings, "That felt better. Though how those two managed to let me use this armor without a Phantom, I have no clue. And where did they get an Infinity Style ring? ...Probably Looped in as Haruto and woke up after getting it." he ran into the other room to see a tired and confused Amber being helped out of the tube by a surprised Pyrrha, _'Guess when I killed Cinder, the power went back to Amber. Good. Now I have to thank Tucker and Junior next time we meet in a Loop.'_

* * *

 **22.9**

* * *

The school dance was in full swing. Ruby had set up Jaune with Pyrrha, Weiss with Neptune, and even managed (by a hair's breadth) Yang and Blake. Sun had gotten a lucky little break with Penny, and all the dancers had partners. Naturally, Cinder was tied up in Ozpin's office with the a sign reading "terrorist, do not touch" duct taped to her.

All was well that evening. So Ruby decided that it was time she talk to her dance partner. "Hi professor."

Ozpin looked away from his (precious, delectable, incredible) coffee to Ruby. "Aw Miss Rose. Good evening. Everything going well?"

"Yeah," Ruby said neatly. Yang and Blake danced by, laughing a little. "It's pretty okay."

"I would imagine that it's better than okay," Ozpin told her. "I've gotten quite adept at manipulating this party, if I say so myself."

"...Oh, so that's why you kept giving Weiss and Yang party planning duties," Ruby realized.

Ozpin smiled as Neptune failed horribly at dancing with Weiss. "Those two plan great parties."

"They've been taught by the best."

"Miss Pie?"

"Yep!"

Ozpin sipped his (precious) coffee. "Which now raises an interesting question Miss Rose. If the party is perfect, then where's your partner?"

Ruby turned to Ozpin and lightly whacked his elbow. "Well, I'm looking at him."

"Very funny Miss Rose." Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "What I mean is, in the certain millennia I've existed, I've never seen you Awake at this dance with one single person. Not a man, not a woman, not a single person. Is there any reason for that?"

Ruby shrugged. "I've danced a little."

"Here with a date then."

"Well..." Ruby shrugged. "You know... It's not my time. Yeah, that's it. Not my time."

"...I don't follow."

Ruby smiled. "I'm fifteen. I'm living the dream as a Huntress. I protect the entire world now. Why would I need a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a romantic friend?"

Ozpin pursed his lips, and nodded once. Couldn't refute that argument. "So then, why me?"

"You don't have someone to dance with." Ruby curtsied a little. "This is a dance: everyone should have a partner to dance with."

Ozpin chuckled. "That's very generous of you Ruby. But I'm not quite interested. Maybe in a different Loop?"

Ruby smiled evilly. "Well... How about no." She poked Ozpin threateningly. "You don't have a dance partner, so you're dancing with me!"

Ozpin grinned back at Ruby. "What makes you so sure about that Ruby? How do you intend to coerce me onto the floor, much less through the motions?"

Ozpin started to float. "Telekinesis."

Ozpin settled down quite suddenly, leaning over Ruby playfully. "Try again Ruby."

Now Ozpin's legs moved of their own accord. "Mind control via electricity."

Ozpin walked to the dance floor, turned around, and walked right back to Ruby. "Did I mention that I can cancel my bioelectric field?"

Ozpin's coffee floated away. The headmaster gasped in faux-shock. "Sweet lord above, not my coffee. Anything but my coffee."

Ruby sipped it, and spat. "Blegh! Who drink's black coffee?"

"The dignified."

"I'm doing you a favor. I'm pouring this out."

"Please no," Ozpin joked. He pulled another cup of joe out of his Subspace Pocket. "Okay, okay. You win: I'll dance. But only because you're so evil Ruby."

Ruby grinned innocently, hearts flashing in her eyes. "I try," she said angelically. Halo and everything.

Ozpin sipped his (precious) coffee. "Have you been getting lessons from your sister?"

Ruby's entire demeanor collapsed. Ozpin stopped drinking. "Is something wrong?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, no... Yes. I guess... It's Cinder." The Anchor of Remnant, the youngest and the oldest of all of them, sighed. "I'm not sure if she's good or evil."

Ozpin choked.

Ruby didn't notice. "It started out with her just being... there, in a way. When she started Looping, it was a little after a Variant Loop. She was my sister in that one, and when she started Looping, it was amazing. What are the odds of a Looper just showing up from a variant?"

 _'Slim to none,'_ Ozpin's brain said. His mouth didn't move.

"Having her there was weird in the beginning, but she was so friendly we all warmed up to her. She was honest, but she was also scared. She didn't want to be this big, dangerous killer, she just wanted to be my big sister."

Ruby ran a hand through her hair. Not for the first time, Ozpin noted that among the girls, she did have the shortest cut. "She was weird and quirky and kind and she wanted to help and she didn't want to be evil."

"But then we started getting these weird Variants. When she wasn't Awake, she was using these... Powers. At first we all just thought that they were the powers of the Fall Maiden or Variant Semblances, but sometimes she'd... call me Ruby. Or do something that looked like it was from a different Loop. Or act like she knew me.

"We don't all start separately. We start Looping in pairs. Right Professor?"

Ozpin looked down at Ruby with sadness in his eyes. "Miss Rose, when I look at you, I see a young woman who wants to trust every person she meets. You will afford anyone, maybe everyone, with the benefit of the doubt. At the worst of times, you are irresponsible, foolhardy, proud, and tryingly naive. At the best of times..."

Ozpin knelt and looked Ruby straight in the eye. "You are the greatest, most innocent, most pure person I have ever seen. Admirable, loving, empathetic, and above all else, kind. You are amazing and have the ability to continue being so. In these... Loops, where morality and logic and law break down, you are a smaller, more honest soul. A truly rare gift to this or any other world. I am honored merely to be in your presence."

Ozpin stood up again. "You are innocent Ruby. And I chose to hide away partly to protect the innocence of you and your friends. To do the hard things you could not, so that you didn't need to."

Ruby looked up at Ozpin. "Why are you telling me this?"

"...Because I want you to remain innocent," Ozpin told her, inscrutably. "I've made many mistakes. More than any man, woman or child on Remnant. I want you to be flawless."

"I'm not flawless," Ruby said quietly. "If I'm wrong about Cinder-"

"Then let me be wrong," Ozpin said gently. He put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I will tell you now Ruby, Cinder is a good person, and a loving sister. If she isn't, then I am the one at fault. Not you."

"...That doesn't mean anything," Ruby said, even though it meant the world to her.

Ozpin shook his head. "It means something to me. Ruby, I've watched thousands of Huntresses and Huntsmen pass through these halls in the eighty years since Beacon's inception. More than anyone else, I know the weight of a mistake."

"..." Ruby looked at the dancers, moving to the slow music, bodies close to one another. She was sure in one corner Jaune and Pyrrha were swapping more than stories. "Eighty years?"

"I am an immortal wizard after all."

"Oh."

Ozpin chuckled. "A random Variant Loop where I'm Gandalf and all you say is 'oh'. Ruby Rose, you are positively numb to weirdness."

Ruby shrugged, a bit of levity slipping back into her heart. "It comes with the territory. I mean, I'm a living swarm of chibi-Rubys." Ruby went partially see through to demonstrate. "I'm the weirdest thing here."

"Your parents would have said that was awesome," Ozpin told her.

"I know."

"Of course, they would have also told you to get a boyfriend, or a girlfriend."

"Blegh!"

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you are Taiyang and Summer's child?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're hardly like them at all."

Ruby latched on instantly to the tale of her parents. "What were they like?" She wanted to know.

Ozpin grinned evilly. "For one, by their second year I was getting daily noise complaints from students and staff, and the teachers wanted me to expel them when a Gym class found all four of them using the mats for... Unregistered Team Bonding Exercises."

"No. No, no, no no no no, No." Ruby physically shut Ozpin's mouth. "Do not need to know."

"Your loss," Ozpin joked. He sipped his coffee. "Your mother would have been proud of you and all that you've accomplished Ruby."

"I know."

The song beat along, hitting all the high notes for a dance. The teens on the dance floor swayed and gyrated, more than a few too close to... ahem, duplicating the antics of Team STRQ. Glynda and Ironwood had broken from the dance floor, but strangely not from each other. Yang and Blake had retired to talking about the dance and how silly it was. Sun and Penny had dragged Nora and Ren into an impromptu dance off with Team CRDL. Jaune and Pyrrha had disappeared entirely. And Neptune was helping Weiss fix the doilies on a few tables.

Ruby whacked Ozpin's elbow again. Ozpin snorted and set his coffee cup down. The song ended as the unlikely pair walked into the dance floor, Ozpin grabbing a mic from nowhere. "DJ!"

"...Yes Mister Ozpin," the DJ, one Mr. David.

Ruby pointed at the DJ. "It's time to boogie! Nillili Mambo time!"

What followed would go down in history as the world's greatest dance routine. But for Ruby it was just a really good night, with a very good friend.

* * *

 **22.10 Shimmer712**

* * *

Yang clenched her fists and inhaled. She looked down from the rooftop to where Blake and Sun were talking.

Yang rubbed her arm, feeling the phantom pain of a sword slicing through. She really wanted Blake Awake this loop. She wanted Blake to hold her hand and reassure her that they were fine, they were both in one piece, nothing of them were disappearing. Only Blake was Unawake so she wouldn't know about what Adam did to them, how he betrayed Blake, hurt Yang and revealed himself to be a monster.

Yang bit her finger, the pain reminding her that her hand was still there. Dammit, she wanted to talk to her girlfriend about how her Baseline self was moping in bed, how she had essentially abandoned her baby sister in her misery. How could she do that? When Mom vanished and Dad broke, Yang had helped raise Ruby, she was probably the closest the girl had to a mother sincd someone or something took Summer away. And Yang shoved her away. She moved out of their shared bedroom into a smaller one and pretty much never got out of her bed.

A metallic taste filled her mouth and Yang pulled her hand away with a blink. Huh, she had bit down too hard.

Sighing, Yang looked at the two Fanus and walked away. Interrupting would do no good since that Blake couldn't give what Yang needed. So Yang would settle for fighting something. Maybe some Grimm.

* * *

 **22.11 yangfromyin**

* * *

Once again, Yang was fighting Neo on the train. She had it all planned out. Her mother wasn't going to disappear on her, not this time.

With a flourish, Neo launched Yang into the roof like she had so many times before. Casually strolling up to Yang's prone body, Neo prepares to stab downwards.

As usual, Raven appeared out of nowhere and quickly forced Neo to retreat from her attacks.

Not usual, however, was Neo _grinning_ at the sudden intrusion. Raven readied herself to strike, only for a voice to come from behind her.

"I appreciate the help, Neo, but you didn't go that hard when you shot me into the roof."

Neo chuckled. "You wanted it to be believable."

Raven turned around to see the red eyes and flaming hair of her daughter. Neo took advantage of the distraction and stole Raven's mask, revealing her all too similar face.

Yang, with a devilish smirk, simply commented. "Mother... We have _a lot_ to talk about.

* * *

 **22.12 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

Ruby looked around at the group scattered about Ozpin's office and tilted her head curiously. Blake and Yang were snuggled up on one side of the couch, taking comfort from each other's presence. Weiss and Nora were knee deep — literally in this case — in a game of Chaos, Nora watching smugly as Weiss tried to peel an apple with a marshmallow. In the far end of the room Roman and Neo were speaking quietly to one another, all the while one or the other of them cast watchful eyes at the rest of them. Ozpin for his part was simply observing the group while Glynda handed him a new stack of his neverending enemy, Paperwork.

Pyrrha and Jaune were discussing something about their last Loop together, while beside them Ren was inspecting StormFlower for damage and finally, in her lap, she was busy attacking Zwei's belly with the mother of all tummy rubs. "Huh. I think this is the first time everyone has been Awake and not Stealthing before."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "Indeed. It's rather refreshing I must say. So then, everyone, any particular plans to take advantage of this historical moment?"

The Loopers of Remnant stared at one another for a moment in silence. Finally Roman peeled off of the wall where he had been leaning to watch the others. "Why not take a book from the horses."

The others responded automatically. "Ponies."

Roman smirked and waved it off. "Semantics. The point is, I feel like causing a bit of organized disorganization. I think I'll conquer the world."

Ruby's eyes lit up as she understood what Roman was proposing. "Yeah! An epic battle of good vs evil... you know, just, without the death and mutilation of Baseline. Sorry Cinder."

Cinder shrugged the comment off. "No offense taken. The truth is the truth."

Ren gave a glance at Nora, who was turning a pleading look on him. He sighed and gave a resigned smirk. "It could be fun."

Nora grinned like a kid at a candy store and tackled Ren with a high-pitched squeal of excitement.

"I'm in. I could use a good fight. Work off some of this stress," Yang said agreeably. Blake shrugged noncommittally.

Jaune and Pyrrha took a look at one another and wordlessly agreed to let this one go on without them. They'd just take a vacation.

Roman chuckled. "Oh, and before I forget. One last thing Boss. Neo and I think you should sit this one out. After all, you've already had your chance at mass destruction and mayhem."

"That was my Unawake self," Cinder replied testily.

Roman made an exaggerated expression of realization. "Oh that's right. So then it's not Cinder responsible for my demise, it's just _Cinder's_ fault. How careless of me to get the two of you confused."

Cinder flinched unintentionally and Ruby gave the thief an irritated glare. With a sigh he relented. "Fine, fine. I suppose it can't be helped. Well then. In that case I suggest you team up with the heroes. After all, as you so clearly put it, it's your Unawake self that's the villain not you. And we can't split up such a loving family now can we?"

Ruby grinned excitedly and grabbed both her sisters, pulling them in for a hug; and secretly passing along battle plans out of the thieving duo's sight.

Ozpin chuckled and leaned back in his new chair. Not as comfy as his Comfy Chair, but it would do for now. "Alright. I suppose Glynda and I will play the neutral party in this little mock battle then. Do try not to cause any damage that can't be fixed by the end of the Loop."

"We make no promises old man," Neo snarked as Roman placed a hand on her shoulder, before they disappeared in a flash of dark orbs.

Glynda groaned irritably and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Someone please make sure they restrain themselves."

Ruby nodded eagerly and all but shoved Yang and Cinder out the door. "You can count on us Professors. Team Hero is on the case."

The others were quick to follow, various degrees of excitement showing as they left. Once they were the only ones remaining in his office, Ozpin gave a pleased smile. Maybe things could turn out okay for his students after all.

* * *

 **22.13**

* * *

Keith Shadis marched before the raw cadets. A nasty look was on his face, the man just waiting to tear into the maggots. He glared at them sharply. "You will address me as Mister Shadis. IS THAT CLEAR!?"

The response was more than a little... mumbled. Shadis' lips twitched. "I said... IS THAT CLEAR!"

"YES SIR!" the cadets shouted back, with more cohesion.

Shadis turned and marched. "Good. You are to refer to each and every soldier of a higher rank as either Sir, or Ma'am. Any insubordination will be punished severely by me." He turned and learned furiously over Connie Springer. "And I'm not your Commanding Officer."

Connie flinched back. "Uh... sir? Who is?"

Shadis began marching again. "I'm glad you asked. Ladies, gentlemen, and all you rotten cadets of the 104th, I introduce to you your Commanding Officer! Julius Bombastus Angharem Napoleon ZWEI!" Shadis stepped aside to reveal the commanding officer.

It took everyone a moment to realize that they had to look down. Connie raised a hand. "Uh, sir. That's a dog."

A cannonball shot by Connie's head. Connie fainted. Marco spoke for him. "Did that dog-"

"Piss a cannonball? Yes, yes he did," Shadis said. "Mister Zwei's oral capabilities are... limited. But he is the best commanding officer I have seen in years of service to man and King. You will treat him with respect."

"...What happens when we don't?" Jean asked. Another cannonball shot by, horribly close to Jean's head.

"Mister Zwei stops missing," Shadis threatened.

The small corgi dressed in officers clothes started going up and down the line, barking at the cadets. Fear came alive in their eyes as the dog snarled, barked, and growled at them. Even Annie, who's regenerative properties would have ensured her survival should a cannonball gotten her, was cowed as the corgi yelped in her direction. Maybe it was the old thought of dogs smelling evil or something.

Zwei came to one of the more... distinguished cadets and started to growl. The cadet growled back. Zwei blinked in surprise, and started barking. The cadet barked right back.

Most everyone present was vaguely confused as to why Mikasa was barking at a dog. Eren, who knew dog, was laughing as Mikasa and Zwei told each other dirty jokes. Another cadet in the line had enough. "Zwei, watch your mouth!"

Zwei ran over and hopped into Ruby Rose's arms. "What did I tell you? There are kids, you can't be so... Dirty."

Zwei panted happily in her arms.

"CADET ROSE!" Shadis roared into her face. "Please return my commanding officer to his duties."

"Okay Keith," Ruby said, letting Zwei down. The corgi obligingly barked at her, and walked down the line, snarling and barking and growling at those with a foot out of line.

Sasha would later assert that she was not terrified out of her wits when Zwei came to her. This claim was proven false when Jean made barking noises behind her.

* * *

 **22.14 Purrs**

* * *

The winds may blow, but who's to know  
Exactly what it's bringing  
Good news or bad, happy or sad  
The pendulum keeps swinging

"Stand over there," Mary Poppins directed. The two children shared a glance, then warily obeyed. She pulled a measuring tape from her bag and held it against the elder. She glanced at the measurement, stiffened marginally, and read it again. "Now you," she directed, and ran the tape along the younger. Snapping the tape closed without saying a word, she bent down to the girls' eye level. "I have the feeling that 'practically perfect' isn't a feasible goal in the time we have together, is it?"

Ruby Banks grimaced. "No."

"Perhaps not," she said, straightening, "but remember, Ruby: anything can happen if you let it."

"Come on, you two!" Bert called, but as he and Mary Poppins pranced faster, Yang and Ruby didn't; the children were soon on their own in the park.

"Boring, where's all the excitement?  
Epic quests and fast paced fights.  
All these nature scenes are nice, yet  
We want more than just pretty sights," the two complained.

"Too young," Yang sighed, "that's what they keep saying."  
"Can't fight or train or party late," Ruby agreed.  
"There's nothing here to see."  
"No sweets to eat  
Our friends aren't with us"  
They returned to unison. "And we both agree

There is nothing to excite us in—"  
An unnerving creak sounded from behind them. On instinct, Ruby whipped out Crescent Rose and neatly decapitated the figure behind her.

"Neleus!" Bert dashed over and cradled the severed head in his hands. "Neleus, speak to me!"

"It doesn't even hurt," Neleus pointed out, "I'm a statue." His body folded its arms over his carven toga. "Not that that makes it better, of course."

"I thought you were stone dead." Bert exaggeratedly dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "Agate all weepy just thinkin' about it."

Mary Poppins strode over. "Now what is—oh. One moment." She poised her fingers to snap, but Bert cut in.

"Hold on a bit, Mary." He held Neleus' head close and whispered something.

A grin spread across the stone boy's face. "Toss me back, will yo _oooouuu_ u thanks," he said, catching his head. He tucked it under his arm. "Look, all I need is a horse!"

"Well, if you're happy like that," Mary Poppins allowed, and turned to the children. "Now put that weapon away and be polite with the statues."

"You're not going to—"

"Go on. Spit-spot!"

"This plinth is half empty!" the park keeper declared. "One of the statues is missing!"

Bert spun him around to face the other direction.

"Do you mean you've lost your marbles?" Mary Poppins inquired.

"This is your fault, ain't it?" he accused, while behind him Neleus leapt back into place. "I knew we should have trouble when you first arrived! And now we've got—" He turned to gesture again at the statue which, he discovered, was no longer missing. While he stood there, taken aback, Neleus' head started sliding off, and the statue hastily adjusted it before returning to his pose. "Oh, Lummy!" the park keeper muttered, and stormed off.

Mary Poppins looked over the two children who were not exactly children. "Yang, Ruby, why don't we go to Mrs. Corry's talking shop? She sells conversations and the most delicious gingerbread stars."

Ruby smiled hesitantly. "I do like cookies."

 _A game is played, a change is made  
But still the road is long  
And though they might yet fly a kite  
Sometimes the wind's too strong..._

* * *

(Lyrics credit to BIOS-Pherecydes)


	23. No See

**RWBY Loops: Chapter 23**

 **No See**

* * *

 **23.1 DrTempo**

* * *

Yang grimaced as Adam cut her hand off...AGAIN. By now, she should have known not to have that happen. But, she figured now would be a good time for a form of revenge she had in mind.

"So, Adam...mind giving me a hand here?"

Adam roared, "You shouldn't be making puns after this!" Yang sniggered.

"I'd give you a round of applause, but no one can hear the sound of one hand clapping."Adam looked steamed, but Yang wasn't done yet.

"I don't mean to go out on a limb here, but I think you need to calm down." Adam charged at Yang, who rolled out of the way, and using a medical ninjutsu she'd learned while she had Looped in as Tsunade once, reattached her arm.

"Oh look, a secondhand sale!"

 **SEVERAL BAD PUNS LATER**

By the time Yang had finished her comedy routine, Adam was groaning in pain. Yang smirked as Pyrrha showed up, and asked, "What happened to him?"

"You know what they say...blonde girls have more puns." Adam simply frowned at the last pun.

* * *

 **23.2 Shimmer712**

* * *

"The Sweet-Tooth bandits have once again struck," Lisa Lavender announced. "The stores of Briar's Peace is now totally devoid of their candy, cookies, ice cream and essentially anything that can satisfy a craving for something sweet. Several mothers have objected to their children being denied treats while others have optimistically commented that this will ensure healthy snacking."

"Donna's Delights, one of Vales most prominent candy factories have issued a statement declaring the culprits to the gluttonous criminals and urging the public to report anything that could lead to their capture."

* * *

"Neo, the chocolate chip mint ice cream is melting."

The short woman gasped and lunged forward, seizing the tub in question and pulling out a spoon.

"We need more fridges," Ruby declared. Then looked around. "And more cupboards." Neo mumbled an agreement around her spoon.

The pair were at Mount Glen, with their stolen goods piled around them.

"Wow, and we've only gotten, what, a quarter of Vale?" Ruby commented. "We still have over half the kingdom!"

"Who knew there was so much sugary goodness in the world?" Neo nodded.

"I know! It's incredible!" Ruby enthused. "And when we have it all, I'm stashing some Cardin's room!"

"That's the jerk with the mace, right?" Neo asked. "The one who's entire team got beaten by Pyrrha?" She already knew the answer. She hadn't really paid much attention to him since he never really flew on her radar but she still knew a little about the guy thanks to her fellow loopers.

"Yep!"

"It will take more than hiding stolen good in his stuff to frame him, Ruby," Neo told her. "And even if it didn't, you'll need to give people a reason to go through his things and find it without anything leading back to you."

"Oh?" Ruby looked at her. "Any ideas?"

Neo smirked. "My dear cousin, I am a _criminal_. Of course I have ideas. This is my field of expertise."

"I'm listening!" Ruby grinned. Then paused. "Hey, Neo?"

"Yeah?"

"Instead of leaving the candy lying around, why haven't we stashed it in our Pockets?"

The girls looked at each other then dove for the goods. Plotting against Cardin could wait. They had sweet goodness to stash away.

* * *

 **22.3 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

"So what's the big surprise Blake?" Yang asked as her girlfriend led her blindfolded down the hallway of the Beacon House Boarding School. It was a Fused Loop of some kind, and as the Grimm didn't seem to exist here they had all decided on a Vacation Loop of sorts. Ruby was taking an online college course at home and Weiss was preparing some kind of hostile overtaking of her father's coal company so that left Yang and Blake on their own to spend some quality time together.

"It occurred to me when Ruby convinced us to get married at the end of the last Loop for her 'big happy family' obsession, that we've done literally everything a couple can do together _except_ go on a date." She pulled off Yang's blindfold and gestured to an object parked in front of the student garage. Yang's jaw dropped.

"No way..." Rushing over with an excited cry she examined every inch of the yellow car with black stripes. "A Ferrari 488 GTB! Where the hell did you get this?"

Blake smirked. "I had a Hub Loop a little while back, and I knew you wanted one so one thing led to another and here we are."

Yang ran over and grabbed Blake in a bone-crushing hug, a constant stream of gratitude spilling from her. Blake laughed and reached into her pockets to get the keys. "So, how about a road trip?"

Yang grinned and grabbed the keys. "I'm driving!"

* * *

Yang liked cool things. Yang liked fast things. Therefore Yang especially liked cool _and_ fast things. Unfortunately that didn't mean other people appreciated her enthusiasm. Flying down the desert streets, a full squad of police cruisers in tow, Yang laughed like a madwoman and hit a special trigger. Connected to a vial of Burn Dust, it had same effect as a canister of NOS on steroids.

With a literal explosion of force, they vehicle shot off like a rocket; leaving the police gaping as they watched the impossibly fast speedster disappear into the distance. Turning on some cruising music, Yang chuckled as she made her getaway.

"Remind me again why you thought it was a good idea to challenge a police patrol to a street race?" Blake asked from the seat next to her.

Yang grinned. "Oh come on Blake. You gotta admit, the look on his face when we throttled the engine at the light was priceless."

Blake tried, and barely managed, to resist smiling at the memory; though she couldn't prevent the twitching of her lips as she did so. "Alright. I'll give you that one. But only because no one got hurt."

Yang gave a look of exaggerated sorrow. "Ack, my heart. I thought you knew me better than that."

This time Blake couldn't resist, grinning amusedly at her girlfriend's theatrics.

"So what now? We already visited all the roadside attractions, the amusement parks, and the best restaurants the Loop has. What's next on our Epic Cross-country Road Trip Slash Romantic First Date Slash Honeymoon... Thing?"

Blake chuckled. "I had something particular in mind actually. There's a certain pair of people I wanted to meet up with in the city."

Yang nodded. "There were a _lot_ of Pings this Loop weren't there. You figure out who they were?"

Blake nodded and pulled out her Scroll. "Yeah, I set up an internet thread to try and find them. It looks like Kirito is here, Ruby's trying to convince him to donate his Excalibur to her Museum. Those siblings with the blank username are already making a name for themselves online, but they left a few messages trying to talk with Jeremy or Aelita about their Virtualization program. There were a few others I don't know, but the important thing is that two particular Loopers I've been trying to get in contact with for a while are here, and they agreed to meet with us."

Yang shrugged agreeably. "Okay, then that's where we're going next. Point the—

 _"THIS IS THE POLICE. PULL OVER AND STEP OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE."_

"Crap! Where they hell did those guys come from? I thought we lost them, how'd they find us?" Hitting the gas, she tried to outrun the helicopter overhead.

Blake groaned. "Well, we're on a straight road and they have this thing called a radio."

Yang rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Okay, I get it. I screwed up a bit, no need for the sarcasm. Just give me a second, I can fix this."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

Yang didn't answer at first, focusing on the road and thinking quickly. However she suddenly straightened up with a crazed grin. "Okay, you trust me right?"

Blake gave her a horrified look. "Whatever you're thinking, no."

"Oh come on, just let me have this."

Blake opened her mouth to protest again, but was cut off as Yang made a hard right and gunned the engine; heading off-road into the desert. "Yang?"

The car picked up speed, and Blake's eyes widened as she noticed a particular feature of the landscape she had missed beforehand. "Yang?!"

Yang gave her girlfriend a serious look. "Blake. We are in a car, in the desert, being chased by a helicopter. There is a cliff in front of us. How can you expect me _not_ to re-enact one of the greatest scenes in movie history?"

Blake gaped at her. Then she started smacking her on the arms repeatedly. "Are. You. Completely. Insane? What. Is. Wrong. With. You?!"

"Ow, hey, come on just, damnit Blake will you, ow!" Stomping on the brake, she grabbed Blake's wrists and stared calmly at her. "Trust me."

Blake glared at her, but Yang refused to back down. Finally Blake slumped and rested her head against Yang's shoulder with a frustrated laugh. "You're a complete idiot aren't you?"

Yang chuckled and let go of her arms. "Yep, but you know that's why you guys love me."

Sitting up, Blake smirked. "Alright fine, if we're gonna do this we might as well do it right." She cleared her throat. "Okay, then listen. Let's not get caught."

Yang gave a little laugh, before putting on a serious act; completely ruined by the wide grin on her face. "What're you talking about?"

Blake played her part to the fullest, her appreciation for the Arts showing in her performance. "Let's keep going."

"What do you mean?"

Rolling her eyes mentally, Blake gestured with her chin towards the cliff. "Go!"

"You sure?" This time it wasn't acting, Yang was honestly giving her the chance to back out.

Blake smirked. "Yeah. Hit it."

Yang gave an little squeak of happiness and gave Blake a quick kiss, before she grabbed Blake's hand and gunned the engine.

* * *

"Ow! Hahahaha, come on quit it! Yeowch!"

Blake pulled back with a huff and crossed her arms with a falsely angry glower as they parked in front of their destination; a midsized house next to a work garage. Across the street was a small shop with a pair of mannequins in the window. "Why didn't you tell me you added Hoverwheels?

Yang grinned. "Where's the fun in that? Marty loaned me a few spares from the DeLorean, so I figured since now that we have this sweet ride I should pimp it out."

Blake rolled her eyes and got out of her seat. "Next time, warn me first. Otherwise you might do something crazy, like say, drive off a cliff."

Yang chuckled sheepishly. "Alright, yeah, maybe I could have handled that a little better."

Blake turned with a raised eyebrow. "A little? You nearly give me a heart attack."

Yang grimaced. "Okay, a lot better. But you agree with me that that was totally awesome right?"

Blake didn't answer, turning to walk towards the house. Yang was quick to give chase. "Right? C'mon Blake, don't leave me hanging here. That was kick-ass and you know it. You totally agree. Blake?"

Knocking on the door, Blake turned a small smirk towards Yang. "It was memorable."

Yang grinned and pumped her fists with a cheer, just as the door opened on a blonde woman in a tube top and bandanna. Yang froze in embarrassment. "Uh.."

Blake smiled. "Hey Winry, it's good to see you again. How are Ed and Al?"

Winry turned away from her fellow blonde, currently sending an upset look at Blake who ignored it with a grin. "Hey Blake. They're both doing pretty good, I think they're working on some new array to try and transmute energy."

Blake perked up curiously as she followed the girl into the house. "Can that actually be done? With Ed's physics degree he shouldn't have any problem Comprehending the energies, but don't they need a physical medium before they can be Deconstructed?"

Winry shrugged. "They seem to think they can do it, but you know me," She pulled out her wrench, holding it lovingly to her cheek. "I prefer my beautiful machines over all that Alchemy stuff. I can do it, but I'm not really interested in the R&D like the boys are."

Blake nodded. "I know, that's why I'm here actually. Is Touko here yet?"

Winry frowned. "Why do you need her here anyway?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Are you still arguing over that? It was hundreds of Loops ago, can't you just forgive and forget?"

Winry clenched her fists, holding her wrench tightly. "Heck no, she called my Automail amateurish! Hah, like her stupid puppets are so great! I can do anything she can do with those dolls and more!"

"Uh, someone wanna clue me in what's going on here? And maybe give me one good reason why I _shouldn't_ knock the crazy chick feeling me up into next week?!" Yang called from behind them.

Spinning about rapidly, Blake bristled at the bespectacled redhaired woman inspecting Yang's arm. "Touko."

Idly noting Blake's warning tone, the puppet Mage looked up with a curious sound. "Hey."

Turning to her girlfriend, Yang gave a confused look. "Blake, what the hell is going on?"

Sighing, Blake grabbed Yang's arm and pulled her to the side; leaving Winry to glare at the Magus, who ignored her as she leaned against the wall and lit her cigarette.

"Okay, you know about the whole..." Blake gestured regretfully at Yang's right arm. Yang grimaced and rubbed at the currently whole appendage. "I know you don't like talking about it, but the fact of the matter is that once the Expansions start again you're going occasionally Wake Up _after..._ you know."

Yang glared angrily, but calmed down as Blake took her hand. She gave a sigh. "Alright, yeah. I get it. Sometimes, I'm not gonna have my arm. That still doesn't explain why we're here."

Blake nodded and gestured back to the two women, both ignoring one another as they waited. "Winry is one of, if not _the_ , best mechanics in the Loops. Even Applebloom doesn't compare when it comes to prosthetics. And Touko is... well for all intents and purposes she's an immortal with an endless supply of replacement puppet bodies. All of which are identical to the original in every way that possibly matters, and better in some ways."

"So what, you want them to make me a new arm?" Yang asked resignedly.

Blake shook her head. "I want them to make you your old arm. Only better. A full length version of Ember Celica complete with Magic Circuits, Alchemical Arrays, Dust converters, Nanotech; everything and then some. I already worked out the details of payment. Touko wants an entire Loop's worth of Dust, every biological chart in Remnant and at least one living example of every type of Grimm. Winry wants blueprints to every mechanical item on Remnant and the Dust to power it. All you have to do is tell them what you want."

Yang gaped. "You didn't have to do all that."

Blake shook her head. "No, I did. It was my fault you lost your arm in the first place. I _have_ to make up for that."

"It wasn't your fault, it was Adam," Yang disagreed.

"But if I had been stronger, more capable, I could have beat him before you got involved. I _should_ have," She said, turning her gaze away.

"That was your Unawake—"  
 _  
"It was still me!"_ Blake cried loudly, turning around and wrapping her arms around herself. "It was still me. Just because I _wasn't_ Awake, doesn't make her any less me than when I _am_. It's my fault."

Yang was silent, staring wordlessly at Blake's hunched over form. Turning helplessly, she caught the gaze of the other two women. Touka gazed back impassively, curiosity etched on her face. Winry on the other hand placed her hands on her hips and glared at Yang, before flinging her hand emphatically in Blake's direction.

Yang could take a hint. Turning Blake around, she pulled her into a hug. "Listen. So what, you know? Big deal, I lost an arm. You're right, no matter what you're still you; Awake or not. And no matter what, I don't blame you for what happened. I'm the one that charged in like a dumbass. If I had a brain in my head, I would have grabbed you and ran. But I didn't and I lost my arm because I was an idiot. My fault, not yours. I'm not good at all this emotional crap, but I know when you're being too hard on yourself."

Pulling back she gave Blake a grin. "So here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna go get the most kick-ass arm in the whole damn Tree, then we're gonna go to the nearest ice cream factory and clean them out. Just like with Cinder, Baseline us can go to hell; you and me, we're two of the greatest Huntresses Remnant's ever gonna see and Adam can go choke on it."

Blake gave a stifled laugh, and shook her head. "Alright, fine. You win."

Yang gave a grin. "Don't I always? ...Don't answer that."

Turning to the two Loopers she stretched her arms over her head and cracked her knuckles. "Okay ladies, show me what you got."

* * *

 **22.4 masterofgames**

* * *

Ruby smiled to herself as she sat outside on the roof, while the rest of her team argued over furniture arrangement inside their dorm. Weiss was adamant that she was not sleeping next to the crates of uranium dust they had picked up last variant, Yang was firmly against taking down the hammock to make room for the ballroom chandler, and Blake refused to sleep on the bed with the creaky springs, because that was the bed Zwei seemed to prefer once he arrived.

Rolling her eyes as the sounds of Blake and Weiss starting a brawl echoed out the window, with Yang cheering for the chance to photograph Blake in a 'cat'-fight for her pun-based blackmail album, Ruby simply took the chance to update her museum wish-list/inventory from her pocket.

"Let's see here... RYNO 4 Ever, got one of those now... Sword Of The Storm, check... Garrote finger whip gloves, got those... Reality Bomb..." Ruby huffed and rolled her eyes. "Still need that one, once I can fit more than a dozen planets in my Pocket at least. I'm not getting rid of the Star Wars planet cannon to make room... What else? Hmm... Soul Edge? Kinda. It's missing some pieces..." She paused at the next item, pondering idly for a moment before leaning over the roof edge. "Hey Yang? Do you remember if I have a Tigerzord yet?"

"Not that I recall." Yang called back. "Last I saw, you had the falcon, but still needed the tiger."

Ruby thought a moment. "... Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You ready to come back in?" Yang called again. "I think with a little work, the two of us might be able to get a jello pit in here without Weiss or Blake noticing!"

"Am I still on the opposite side of the room from the fridge?"

"Looks that way!"

"Then no! I'm not ready to come back in!"

* * *

 **22.5 diesel**

* * *

"This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin. And I can't wait to watch you burn."

The video ended, leaving Ozpin to gaze at the computer in silence, lost in thought.

"Who are you, Salem?" Ozpin spoke his voice echoing through his office. He always knew that voice; in every life, apart from major variants, and she was always, at least, cynical towards humanity but that and the voice were the only constants.

From a daughter to a sister, a former student or even just a stranger he got into an argument with at a coffee shop she was always there. He rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to ease his headache. He had realised that that voice was a constant after a very long time as it normally was not a point of relevance, dismissing it as a quirk of the loops and history until he finally saw the show in the hub.

RWBY and JNPR had been badly affected by the final expansion of this season, Ruby had even killed Cinder repeatedly to prevent her from Waking until tempers cooled.

Roman and Neo had broken cover and slipped into their company, the only benefit is that neither held true malice for his students and had a vested interest in being in their good graces but they would undoubtedly still play their games.

Ozpin started to press replay but stopped, there was no point he had all of Salem's words memorised and none of the episodes or word of god revealed anything. He drained his mug and stood up walking over to the window and stared out over vale.

Everything had changed; now every loop since the end he had been in conflict with her over humanities future. Sometimes for decades other times for literally millennia.

"What am I supposed to do?"

He leaned on his cane, mind far away.

'I _have been working for eons to protect and guide_ _Remnant_ , JNPR and _RWBY_. To ensure that they are the best they could be, but how am I supposed to do anything when history is never the same?'

He remembered his first loop and the confusion that had caused…. amongst other things that led him to hide for times beyond imagination.

 _Ozpin blinked, gazing around his office. He had just been walking down the halls of Beacon intending to get something to eat, mind lost in thoughts about the recent troubles before abruptly finding himself back in his office reading over old reports…. That had just been delivered._

 _Very carefully he placed his mug down with a clink and scanned the room, it was the same as always._

 _'_ _What is going on?'_

 _Quickly he began checking the date and recent information from his scroll and papers. It was all the same, one minute he was getting dinner and the next he was back on the same day that Miss Rose stopped Roman Torchwick's robbery of Dust till Dawn._

 _He stood up and walked to the window to look out at the distant city, a habit he picked up a long time ago, sifting through his memories, trying to find any explanation for the current situation as he waited for a call from Glynda._

 _He froze not moving an inch; his history was wrong, so horribly wrong. The broad strokes were the same but many other things were different, names and faces no longer matched… habits were different. Fear clawed at his heart even as nausea threatened to overwhelm him, what was going on?_

 _When the call came, Ozpin picked it up allowing the new memories to guide what to say, no longer remembering the details from before well enough or fit to try to remember._

 _When he saw Ruby she was acting slightly different then what he remembered; looking remarkably bored at the whole thing._

* * *

 _Ozpin stared at the recordings playing on a loop on his scroll, deep in thought. It had been three weeks since the initiation and team formations but things had already diverged._

 _'_ _Not that I didn't already know that' He thought bitterly, the memories of this new life being jarring compared to what he had known before. He was not, refused to be a paedophile, Ozpin's lips curled in absolute disgust; shattering his mug as his thoughts went down that foul path again, barely preventing himself from throwing up._

 _What was_ _wrong_ _with his self from this timeline? But he had passed evidence onto police about hi… the Other Ozpin's conspirators after removing his connections to them. After all, he had done nothing wrong._

 _Ozpin grimaced, dearly wishing he could have met his counterpart, so he could rip their spine out for those atrocities. But for the moment, he could do nothing but focus on the present and fix what he could. And that meant working out what was going on with RWBY._

 _Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were acting like old friends, they still argued but it about minor things though there was no heat it. Arranging fights with partners against other pairs, building up to one pair versus six showed the two of them working in perfect harmony at a level he had never seen… in either life. They didn't win completely solely as they threw the fight, he only noticed that as he had been watching the recording very carefully._

 _Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long were in a similar situation; though they were less coordinated than RW. Still it was blatantly obvious that none of them were learning anything from Beacon, having already taken out the White Fang and Roman Torchwick._

 _They followed Miss Rose completely; Ozpin honestly thought they would agree if she wanted to take over Vale. This was a level of Power, Skill and Trust that would not occur in only six months or even six years._

 _The scroll showed Ruby Rose, trying and partially succeeding, in convincing the whole school to rise up and take Forever Fall from the Grimm for humanity, the most recent part of a campaign RWBY had been subtly running from the start of semester. She was striking, the whole set up with her team and the location was selected to seem impromptu, yet focusing all the attention on her while giving Miss Rose an apparent position of authority._

 _Her whole bearing was of absolute confidence and honestly as she spoke with a silver tongue manipulating the crowd with an ease of long practice._

 _"_ _I'm bored… any ideas this time round?"_

 _It was those words from Miss Belladonna, that he overheard by chance, that set this into motion. He was not the only one in this situation but, RWBY did not care, simply dealing with it like it was a common occurrence._

* * *

He had not said anything, in part so he could wait to gain more information before making any moves, his students had not been distressed or worried so he had not needed to act. Then the loop ended, for some reason. Then once more RWBY and now JNPR had been their acting like old friends, old soldiers, and showing power beyond anyone he had ever known.

Ozpin ran his hand through his hair, watching as the sun rose over Vale; the dark of night turning into the brilliance beyond the dawn. It had been then when he realised this time travel was not likely to stop anytime soon.

They showed such skill but in many ways, they were unrefined, far too used to knowing what was happening. It hadn't seemed right to approach them. So he had waited and watched subtly pointing out things to fix, coming to the conclusion that the best thing he could do was guide his old students and help them grow in a world stuck in stasis.

A conviction that had only strengthened upon finding out about possible expansions, along with a new goal; strive to predict what would happen in baseline and get his greatest students prepared for it the best he could, to mitigate the damage they may suffer going ahead into eternity.

To protect them from the passing of ages the best he could, it was why he recruited Roman and Neo, assisting them with many of their more benign plans. The greatest enemy for an Anchor, or any Looper, was after all boredom.

And he had failed.

He had failed his charges, he had failed to predict what would happen and not prepared them for the aftermath.

But how were you supposed to predict the future when the past was transient and the present uncertain?

Ozpin closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun rising on the first day of spring falling on his skin. Was it a foolish goal? To try to predict and mitigate the baseline? They were beyond it, no more able to change the destined future of the world than the average person could rewind time. It was a future they might rebel against but were forever bound to until the final loop, Marianne and the Admins willing, when they could finally change the future of their world.

The patterns he could find were temporary, staying reliable for millennia then changing. Yggdrasil does not kindly let a Looper know what will happen.

Salem would remain, a fluid existence until Season 4 when they will have to follow the future laid out.

"But that does not mean that what we do now is meaningless, does it?" Ozpin mused out loud, opening his eyes to the rising Sun, the clouds stained Rose Red with the dawn.

"It is the hope for a better future and the bonds we carry that give us the will to exist in the face of eternity and inevitable despair."

Ozpin turned away from the window, shutting down the computer, Pocketing it and heading to the door.

"I suppose it's time then for me to join the others now in the cycle; I have a lot of time to make up and if I can't help from the shadows then I support them in the light."

He smirked, revealing his looping status would have to wait until everyone was Awake but for now, he had an Anchor to teach. Ruby had got slack with her form when using twin swords after all.

* * *

 **22.6 DrTempo**

* * *

Team RWBY looked around as they Awakened, and noticed they were attacking each other, with Ruby holding a large spatula. Ranma Saotome himself was looking at the four, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're Awake, I take it? Thank Yggdrasil...things could've gotten ugly in a few more minutes." Ruby uttered, "Why..."

Cue the Loop memories. Ruby facepalmed as the memories hit.

"Crap. We ended up Replacing Ranma's baseline love interests."

The other members of Team RWBY were also grumbling at the situation. According to their memories, Ruby was in the role of Ukyo Kounji, while Blake was in Shampoo's role(curse included), and Weiss was in Kodachi's role. Which naturally left Yang in Akane's role.

And apparently, unAwake Yang's temper had caused Ranma to be sent flying on more than one occasion. As Team RWBY apologized to each other over the mess, Ranma shrugged.

"So, now what?"

Blake thought for a second, and said, "Forget this mess. I'm going home to China." Everyone else nodded at this, and Yang smirked at Ranma.

"So, Ranma..." Yang grinned, and Ranma ran for it, having seen that look many times before when Shampoo tried to get him to go on a ate with her. Yang frowned.

"I was just joking, Ranma."

* * *

 **23.7 Crimson Grave**

* * *

Nanoha Takamachi woke up in the middle of what looked like a meeting, in a room she had never seen before. Quickly skimming over her loop memories she realized that this was a fused loop.

She was in a world called Remnant. Here, she was twenty-two year old Nanoha Takamachi, Grimm Studies Professor at Beacon Academy. As she looked around to her peers, she spotted Fate Takamachi, who was her wife and Assistant Headmistress of Beacon if her memories were to be believed. Hayate Ozpin stood at the head of the table, a cup of coffee inexplicably in her hands. She was apparently the Headmistress of Beacon. A quick ping with them turning to face her confirmed their status. The other twelve pings caught the trio by surprise, but they held back as they finished the meeting.

As everyone rose to leave, Hayate spoke up, "Fate, Nanoha, please stay behind for a moment."

They waited till everyone left before converging on each other. "Okay, clearly this is a fused loop, any idea who our fellow loopers are?"

-H-

"Jeez kid, chill out with the boxing skills. Even Yang doesn't pack as much of a punch usually."

"You were robbing me and the store!"

"In my defense, I was UnAwake until then."

That stopped Vivio. "Your looping?"

"I am the amazingly great and sexy Roman! Thief extraordinaire! Looper of Remnant along with the whole gang if that last ping was correct. Seeing as how you've taken the place of Red, our resident Anchor, does that mean you're our current one?"

Vivio got out of her combat stance, but remained tense, "No, my name is Vivio Takamachi, Looper of TSAB."

Roman froze a bit, "Takamachi, TSAB… You wouldn't be related to a miss Nanoha would you?"

"Yup, she is my mother!" she declared cheerfully, completely ignoring the paling thief as his loop memories provided the answer to who was the anchor this time.

At this point a Bullhead flew overhead, before landing on top of the nearest building.

"Well kid, our ride is here, so let's see about contacting the gang and meeting up, I have a feeling this is a going to be an interesting loop. After all, I have never seen anyone properly Befriend any Grimm."

* * *

"Normally, I would launch you all out into the forest, tell you to partner up with the first person whose eyes you meet, while surviving the wilds and Grimm in the forest. This year, I am going to do something different, since I feel the quality of Hunters and Huntresses has dropped." Headmistress Ozpin called out to the assembled Hunter and Huntress hopefuls.

"The regular rules remain in place, but now, instead of just surviving the Grimm and wilds, Professor Takamachi here," Nanoha standing a few feet away waved enthusiastically, "will be shooting at all of you as soon as you find your partner for the next four years. If you are hit, chances are you will be unconscious, in which case, your partner will be exempt from further shots, but will be forced to continue while carrying you as a burden. If both parties are hit, Professor Harlaown-Takamchi here will promptly rescue you, but you will fail and be kicked out of Beacon. If both parties are capable of evading three shots per partnership, which will be sent at random intervals and targets, you need not worry about future attacks and you will all be given a free passing grade in your first two weeks of Combat Classes, and as such, a pass. For those who manage to pass today, despite one party being hit, you will carry on as per normal graduation of our initiation. Although the first two weeks of Combat Classes will be remedial training to try to catch your peers. Any questions?" She proceeded to take a sip of her mug of coffee.

Jaune raised his hand.

"Excellent. Remember to have fun. Don't want any regrets if you die after all!"

As one they were all launched into the forest.

"That was horrible Hayate."

"And according to some of the things Roman, Cinder and Neo told me, completely normal by the original Ozpin's modus operandi. Heck, these were read straight from script cards that Zwei carried around from Ozpin supposedly."

"He can't possibly be that-"

"DIVINE BUSTER!"

"Whoops! There go two of our students." Sip of Coffee. "Fate, be a dear and rescue the pair before the Grimm devour their unconscious bodies."

Fate merely shot a quick glare before she sped towards the newly Befriended duo to save them.

"Nanoha, do remember NOT to use Cartridges or go beyond your current settings please. We do need some students, so we can avoid excessive problems before the loop ends."

"DIVINE BUSTER!"

Sip of coffee. "Hmmm. Tea, or Coffee."

* * *

Meanwhile of in the Clocktower.

"I am SOOOOOOOO glad I am recording this." Gasped Neo as she barely supported herself while watching the multiple screens in the room currently recording the initiation.

"Ozzy-boy would love it, and Glynda-baby would hate it, and Red would be pissed that she missed the opportunity to examine the patron saint of friendship through superior firepower's weapon."

"Bark Bark"

"I normally wouldn't say this, but your right dog."

Cinder just watched, once again floored by the powers and strength of other loopers. She wasn't certain that anyone in Remnant, loopers included, could pose an effective challenge to the twenty-two year old, who was normally a nine year old, who pulled things like this off in her baseline.

She was glad that she was sane and secure enough that although she was still balancing on a precipice of her morality and sanity, she had NO intention of taking over other universes. Particularly the ones with nine year olds who could hit you precisely from across the planet, regardless of what was between her and her target.

Including the planet itself.

So she settled for watching her teenagers running for their life as they realized that hiding apparently did jack squat to their newest Grimm Studies professor.

Even as she watched Blake go into Full Susanoo to attempt to block one of the shots, Cinder grinned as she planned on how to hang this over their heads.

* * *

 **23.8 DrTempo**

* * *

Jaune Awoke, and found himself holding a letter. Searing his memories, he realized he was in Tokyo-3. Thankfully, Shinji was the commander of NERV in this Loop, so no need to worry about Gendo's mad plans.

Why Jaune had to be in Shinji's role, though...

As Jaune shook his head at his bad luck, he saw Nora arrive in a blue car, and his old friend smiled.  
"Ready to go?" Jayne replied, "Yeah. You're Replacing Misato, I take it?"

"Yep. Ren's in Rei's role, and from what Commander Shinji said, Pyrrha is in Asuka's shoes this time."

"Pyrrha must be hating her bad luck. You have heard what happened to Asuka in baseline, right?"

Before Nora could answer, the Third Angel roared, and Jaune quickly got in the car, and buckled up. Nora grinned, and stepped on the gas.

"YEEHAW!"

Jaune had to keep from losing his lunch at Nora's driving. She was as bad as he' heard Misato was in baseline. But after they made it to NERV HQ, Nora said, "Sorry I didn't answer about what Pyrrha is going to experience thanks to who she Replaced. She said hat she plans on not letting that happen to her."

"After what our baseline went through, I can understand that completely. Well, wish me luck." Nora gave a thumbs up.

"We don't do luck, Jaune."

* * *

 **23.9 BlackOmchao**

* * *

Ruby awoke to find herself in a rather empty house, she blinked as she looked around. This was definitely her house but things were a bit messier, and kind of lonelier… and was she sleeping on the couch.

A young sounding yawn interrupted her thoughts and she looked to see a five year old Nate cuddling her while he slept, it took her a moment to realize that she herself was not her usual age, but rather seventeen. She looked over her in - loop memories to get an understanding of exactly what was going on.

"Yes… My little brother Nate and I are on our own," Ruby sighed as the sad memories of this variant came to her.

Humanity wasn't at war with the grimm - they were at war with the oni. Her parents left to do battle with them about three years ago, and they never came back - she had been responsible for Nate ever since. She absentmindedly stroked the child's hair as she tried to think about what to do with this loop.

Other than the oni replacing the grimm, and her different family the world seemed pretty baseline. But she had not ended up going to Beacon because she needed to look after Nate, he was far too young to be left on his own.

"Ruby?" She blinked at the little voice before she looked to see her little brother looking at her sleepily. "Is it… time to get up?" Ruby frowned a bit at the innocent look in his eyes - Nate wasn't awake, that was unfortunate. If nothing else this loop could have been an opportunity to further bond with her 'younger brother.' This also meant he would be unable to take care of himself for the time being, she set off a ping and got three back - ok, so she wasn't the only one awake. She would need to work on figuring out who else was awake later. "Ruby?" Nate's voice caused her to look at him again to see him staring at her with his big, brown eyes. "Is it food time yet?" Ruby couldn't help but give a gentle smile before patting him on the head.

' _So cute,_ ' Ruby thought to herself before nodding. "Yes Nate. Go wash your hands and I'll make you some eggs and bacon," the young child followed her orders and got up from the couch and scurried to the bathroom. Ruby pulled herself up from the couch and turned towards the kitchen. "Well, better get to work."

It had been several months since the loop began - Ruby had learned that it was about ten years before the day she would be accepted into Beacon. Odd timing - though she supposed that would place Nate at her age at the time, but it wasn't as simple as him replacing her again. Yang didn't seem to exist this loop-or if she did she wasn't in their family - not to mention the age gap between her and Nate was much larger then between her and Yang, so she wasn't simply replacing her sister.

Still, as it was most things outside of her family seemed mostly baseline - aside from the fact that oni were a bit more intelligent than the average grimm and actually did possess souls - meaning they could use aura and could have semblances. Still while she wanted to go out and figure out exactly how much is different, maybe locate exactly whom was awake - she at least knew it wasn't Zwei, at least if his behavior was any indication. At least for the time being she was going to focus on raising the still unawake Nate.

"Big sis! Look at me! I'm up high!" Nate's high pitched voice shouted to her and she looked around from her seat on their front porch before spotting him hanging from a tree branch. She sighed and shook head, but still smiled as she walked over to the energetic five year old.

"Yes, I see you Nate. Now come down," Ruby ordered in a good natured tone.

"OK!" Nate exclaimed before he let go of the branch and dropped down with a *thud!* Ruby shook her head as Nate lay on the ground unharmed and giggling, his aura having easily protected him from the fall. Ruby picked him up as he laughed. "Again!"

"No Nate, we need to get back inside - it will be dark soon, and you've got to get ready for bed," Ruby said firmly, Nate whined a bit at the prospect of bed, but Ruby just smirked. "Or, you can stay up all night and be sleep through uncle Qrow's visit," that got the young child's attention.

"No! I go to bed! I go to bed!" Ruby laughed a bit at Nate's complete attitude change toward bedtime at the mention of their uncle - she couldn't really blame him, she would probably be the same in his shoes.

"Ok then, so let's go in and have you wash up before dinner and…" Ruby trailed off when she noticed the bushes nearby rustling, she carefully put Nate down and eyed the bush. "Nate, get behind me," the child obeyed and grabbed onto her leg as she glared at the bush - whatever was in there was much more powerful than a squirrel or something - perhaps another looper? But still she needed to be prepared in case it was something that would hurt Nate or -

Her thoughts were cut off when on orange and white blur jumped out from the bushes and Nate's eyes lit up.

"Kitty!" Ruby stared blankly as Nate ran over to pet the little, orange and white cat that had emerged from the bushes - the feline purred at his pets before glancing at Ruby and meowing - The cat looked between her and Nate and meowed several times, Ruby noticed a ping each time it meowed.

Nate giggled as he pet the cat some more, the cat seeming a little disappointed by his lack of reaction to the pings.

"OK Nate, back inside. You can play with the kitty another time," Ruby shooed her younger brother into the house, and he reluctantly obeyed her, waving a bit to the cat before he did. Once he was inside she looked over at the cat.

"… Jibanyan?" the cat sighed after she spoke his name and smiled at her.

"So it's you who's awake? I was hoping it would be Nyate," the currently alive cat said with a small smile.

"Yeah, he's not awake right now… were you one of the pings I got a few months ago?" Ruby questioned and Jibanyan nodded.

"I woke up as a stray on the streets… nyot really the most pleasant position to be in… but considering I'm usually already dead whenever I wake up I guess it isn't be that bad. Still, Amy doesn't seem to exist this loop… or if she does we've nyever encountered each other," Jibanyan explained. Ruby nodded back and smiled a bit.

"Well I'm glad to run into somebody else who's awake, even if you're not one of my teammates. You can stay with us if you'd like," Ruby offered kindly. Jibanyan scratched his ear.

"That'd sure beat sleeping in the cold… but don't you have a dog?"

"Don't worry about Zwei, he wouldn't hurt a fly."

"But would he hurt a cat?" Jibanyan couldn't help but question - Ruby just laughed.

"Fetch Zwei!" A seven year old Nate tossed a stick for the corgi to fetch, which he did quickly and brought it back to the young boy while panting happily. "Good doggy!" the now nineteen year old Ruby watched her little brother playing from the porch, with Jibanyan sleeping nearby.

"So, you still haven't figured out who else is awake?" Jibanyan asked Ruby, making sure that Nate didn't hear him speak. Ruby sighed and crossed her arms.

"No, and Nate's still too young for us to go looking, and I've been unable to gather any information while shopping," she watched as Nate tossed the stick again for their dog to retrieve and couldn't help but chuckle a bit, before a serious look settled on her face. "From what I can tell, the oni may be more dangerous than the average grimm - but they don't quite go up to the level of the more powerful ones, still since they have access to aura it's a lot more difficult to put them down permanently."

"Can we please nyot talk about that?" the cat sighed as he rolled onto his back.

"What do you want to talk about then?" Ruby questioned with a raised brow.

"…How about when you're going to go out and get me some chocolate bars?" Jibanyan asked with a smirk on his face.

"I already told you a thousand times - you're a _living_ cat right now. You can't have chocolate," Ruby shook her head as she spoke. Jibanyan groaned.

"Man... Two whole years without chocolate! And who knows how much longer to go. Why can't this loop just end?" Jibanyan muttered mostly to himself, Ruby rolled her eyes at his complaining.

"Look, for right now at least, this loop has been pretty peaceful. I suggest you just sit back and enjoy it, not eating chocolate isn't the end of the world - and I got you plenty of fish, so just relax," Ruby said in a calming tone. Jibanyan sighed again and nodded.

"Yeah… maybe you're right."

"Fetch Zwei!" Nate's shout barely came as a warning before Jibanyan found a stick hitting him in the end, and a corgi rushing towards him. "Sorry kitty!" Jibanyan meowed in protest when Zwei decided to jump on him and start licking him. Ruby chuckled at the sight and shook her head.

"So, you're going to Beacon?" a twenty seven year old Ruby questioned her fifteen year old younger brother as he stood by packing.

"Yeah… I'm honestly surprised that Ozpin's letting me in early," He held up Crescent Rose-2 as he called his copy of her well - known weapon. Honestly she was surprised to find that she possessed the same weapon as she normally did in this loop, and also a bit surprised that when it came time for Nate to make his weapon that he went and made a copy of Crescent Rose - still, they both also had the speed semblance, and even in a family it was odd for two people to have the same semblance. Not counting Weiss' family.

"Well, I know you'll be one of the best hunters there," Ruby patted his shoulder affectionately. "I'm very proud of you bro, show those oni no mercy," Nate nodded back to her with a small smile.

"Don't worry sis - I will, for mom and dad!"

"Good - though don't forget to make friends," Ruby chuckled and Nate nodded back, though he looked a little nervous.

"I'll try, but…" Nate trailed off as he looked down, Ruby patted his shoulder again and he looked up at her.

"Don't worry, they'll love you - I'm sure," they stayed like that for a second before he smiled brightly at her and nodded. "Now don't forget to say goodbye to Zwei and Jibanyan before you leave."

"Don't worry, I won't!"

"… So what's the plan?" Jibanyan asked Ruby after Nate had left on his flight to Beacon.

"I need to figure out whom else is awake - if Cinder isn't one of them I'm going to halt her plans before Nate and his team gets involved," Ruby held her Crescent Rose readily as the small cat looked up at her.

"You seem pretty serious," he noted and she nodded to him.

"I don't know exactly how much this will differ from my baseline from this point going forward, but I'm not going to let Nate go through anything like the end of our last expansion, whether he's awake or not!" Jibanyan watched her as she walked towards the door.

"And what about meow?" He questioned blankly, she turned back to the cat and smiled.

"You're in charge of Zwei."

"Seriously?" Jibanyan looked rather underwhelmed by his given task.

"I'm sure you can handle! I'll stop by every now and then to drop off food and such. Be good!" and with that Ruby sped off. Jibanyan stared at the door for a moment - and then froze when he heard panting behind him. He turned to see a little corgi panting and looking at him.

"Um… nice doggy?" Jibanyan said nervously. Zwei tilted his head… before he pounced on Jibanyan and started licking him. "Well this is going to be a barrel of fun," Jibanyan muttered sarcastically as the dog continued to lick him.

"Big sis!" Nate cheered as Ruby showed up at the Beacon gates with a smile on her face. It was the time for the Vytal festival - and the perfect excuse for her to come to Beacon and finally find if any of her teammates were awake…if any of them were in the age group they normally were - and if Yang even existed… It was also good to make sure her little brother was ok.

"Hey Nate. How's Beacon been," Ruby questioned as she approached the younger Rose, whom was positively beaming.

"Great! You'll never guess but I'm the leader of our team!"

"Really, the leader?" Ruby feigned surprise at this revelation, though she was proud nevertheless.

"Yeah! And our team has your name! We're team RWBY!" he nodded his head happily and she nodded back.

"My name huh?" Ruby smiled while she thought about the implications. ' _Ok, R for Rose, Nate and mine's last name. So it's probably still Weiss, Blake and Yang - that's good, even if they're not awake that means I know Nate is in good hands._ '

"Yeah, oh and I can't wait for you to meet my team!"

Ruby's meeting with this loops variation on team RWBY wasn't too surprising, despite the strangeness that Yang wasn't related to her or Nate - yet still seemed exactly the same, nothing else seemed unusual… though Weiss was sending her weird glances, she would have to speak to her alone to confirm her suspicions.

"Well I'll be around, though Nate, am I able to trust you with all these girls sleeping in the same room as you?" Ruby couldn't help but tease - Yang laughed at the accusation, Blake didn't seem to care, and Weiss was still more focused on Ruby. Nate looked embarrassed.

"I like her!" the unawake Yang laughed as she pat Nate on the back. He sighed and looked at his older sister.

"Come on sis, don't say things like that. We're all just friends," Nate insisted and Ruby chuckled while petting his head.

"Yeah I know, I just got to look out for my baby bro."

"I'm not a baby…" Nate mumbled while looking away, but Ruby just smiled and pat him on the head.

"I'll see you around Nate. I love you."

"…I love you too," Nate hugged his sister before she exited the room. As soon as she was in the hall she pulled out her scroll to send a message.

"Thanks for meeting me here," Ruby smiled at the younger, white haired girl sitting across from her in the coffee shop. Weiss sipped from a coffee cup before she sat it in front of her and gave her usually 15 year old friend a strange look.

"It was weird awakening so early," Weiss muttered.

"So you were one of the pings I got back ten years ago," Ruby smiled and Weiss nodded. "So you woke up as a seven year old?"

"Yeah… so what's with your age?" Weiss questioned while looking at Ruby in a scrutinizing fashion.

"Don't know. Just the way this loop was going, so how's fighting onis and working beside my little brother been?"

"He's not very different from you - if a little less hyper," Weiss sighed.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Ruby chuckled as she took a bite out of one of the cookies that she had on a plate in front of her.

"Does it matter?" Weiss questioned dully. "Anyway, the oni are harder to fight then a group of beowolves or ursas for sure. Though haven't seen much tougher than a deathstalker sized red one. None of them can fly at least from what we've seen, and even though they have aura we can beat most of the smaller ones."

"Good, I mean it couldn't have been that bad if you're the only awake member of the team, though do you know the identity of anyone else that's awake? Last I checked there were still only two other pings then mine and Jibanyan's."

"No, I haven't found any - wait, Jibanyan?" Weiss questioned blankly at the name. Ruby laughed a bit.

"Oh yeah, you haven't really met him yet… well he's normally a yo-kai, but right now he's a regular cat, though not being able to eat chocolate is driving him crazy."

"… He does realize he can just change back into his… 'yo-kai' form if he wants to eat chocolate. Doesn't he?" Weiss questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't think he does."

"… So when were you planning on telling him?" Weiss' question went ignored as Ruby moved on to a new topic.

"So anyway, I'm pretty sure Cinders not awake, so it shouldn't be too hard for me to halt her plans - interested in helping?" Ruby asked with a smirk on her face.

"Of course. What's the plan?"

Nate awoke as he stared at the large screen in the Vytal tournament's arena, and the image that was on it…

"Let me go! This is an outrage! Whoever you are! Wherever you are! I'll destroy - " Cinder's mad ranting was cut off as she was hit in the face with a pie. The machine that launched it prepared to launch another one while Mercury and Emerald, whom were just as tied up as Cinder also got pied. The crowd just stared at what was being projected on the screen - a few laughing, but most just looking dumbfounded.

"Hey, Nate," Weiss snapped her fingers in front of her partners eyes and he looked at her strangely. "You finally awake?" Nate stared at her for a second.

"… Yeah, but I'm feeling a little loopy…" Nate glanced from Weiss, whom he just realized was awake, and the screen showing the… comically captured villains. "… Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Eh, it was mostly your sister," Weiss shrugged.

"Ruby? She's awake," Nate looked a little excited even before Weiss nodded in confirmation. He quickly left the stadium, while Weiss went back to watching Cinder and her minion's public humiliation with a smirk on her face.

"Ruby!" Nate called as he caught up to his sister whom was hanging out nearby the stadium.

"Nate, how are you?" Ruby gave him a gentle smile as he approached and he smiled back at her.

"I'm wide and awake!"

"Good, took you long enough," Ruby laughed a bit and Nate chuckled slightly embarrassed. He calmed after a moment before hugging her.

"Thanks for taking care of me for so long sis."

"No problem bro, that's what family is for," Ruby returned the hug. They separated after a moment and Nate gave Ruby an odd look.

"So… what's with that pie shooting thing on the big screen?" Nate questioned and Ruby just laughed again.

"Oh that. What can I say, a classic is a classic," Nate looked clueless at that explanation but shrugged, before he remembered something.

"Oh right! I wanted to show you," He pulled his modified version of Crescent Rose out of his sub-space pocket and show it to her proudly. "It's called Spectral Fang! It runs on Yo-kai medals and their energy, and it changes abilities based on the medal used, what do you think?"

Ruby looked the modified weapon over for a second, before smiling proudly at Nate.

"Wow, that's some good modifications you've done Nate. Even if the basic idea is still the same, you've really made this version of Crescent Rose your own," Ruby said with a big smile on her face. Nate beamed at his sister's compliments, though he was surprised when Ruby reached into her sub-space pocket and pulled out another Crescent Rose and handed it to him. "Still, it's always good to keep a copy of the original."

Nate took the copy of Crescent Rose and nodded, before putting both it and Spectral Fang into his sub-space pocket. Next he took Crescent Rose-2 from his back and handed it to Ruby.

"Crescent Rose-2 doesn't really have anything different about it from the original…but still, consider it a memento-even if I haven't been awake for most of this loop, I really enjoyed these memories," Nate explained before Ruby took the replica and nodded.

"Well, loops not over yet. There's still some time we can spend together, though it's disappointing that Yang's not awake… and it would be cool if Griff were here too," Ruby said as she tussled Nate's hair a bit.

"Yeah. Well, we'll just have to tell them all about it next time… maybe Yang will wake up before the loop ends!"

"Yeah - well either way, I'll get to spend some quality time with my baby brother," Ruby smirked as she messed with Nate's hair some more. Nate pulled back and frowned.

"Baby? Ruby, I'm like… several hundreds of years old at this point."

"Yeah, well I'm more then several billions of years old," Ruby laughed at the dumbfounded look on Nate's face before she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Come on, we'll have some fun."

"Ok, just don't call me your 'baby brother' again," Nate grumbled and Ruby smirked.

"No promises," before they left Ruby looked at the sky for a moment. "But still… I never did find out who that fourth looper was..."

"Dog… ugh," Jibanyan sighed as Zwei ran around him. "When is Ruby coming back again? We're running out of food!" Jibanyan looked at the cabinets and fridge…admittedly he had eaten more then he probably should of… but Ruby should still have brought more food!

Zwei barked before he seemed to… pull a scroll out from nowhere? He did some typing as Jibanyan watched, and barked happily after he had sent it. Jibanyan just stared.

"… Did you just order a pizza?"

*Bark!*

* * *

 **23.10**

* * *

"Are you... mugging my daughter?"

Ruby Rose looked from the thug who usually mugged her, to her mom, glaring ferociously at the armed criminal. The thug looked from one girl to the other, and turned his gun on Summer Rose. "No, I'm mugging you."

Summer Rose narrowed her eyes. "Oh."

* * *

Roman Torchwick grumbled as the police pushed him into the swat truck. "Hey, watch the suit. It's brand new."

The officer made extra sure to give Roman a hard boot to the backside, and slammed the doors on him. Summer stepped up behind him. "Thank you for responding so quickly."

"It's our job ma'am. Thank you for apprehending Torchwick," the officer said. He climbed into the truck's cab and drove off with his bounty of evil-doers.

Summer smiled to herself (another day done well) and turned to From Dust Till Dawn's shop keeper. "I don't think you'll need to worry about them anymore."

The shop keeper smiled. "I can't thank you enough. If there is anything I can do for you miss Huntress-"

"Ah ah ah. I'm fine for gifts. I have a husband for that. I'm just here to help." Summer pulled a few Lien from her pockets and handed it to the Shop Keeper. "This should cover the Dust. Come on Ruby."

Summer started off, wondering exactly what to do when she got home, when she noticed something. Ruby was following her, thankfully. But she was also... was it awe in her eyes?

"Uh, Ruby?"

Ruby was standing there, a look best described as pure awe on her face. Summer clicked her tongue. "Ruby?"

"OHMYGODYOUREMOREAWESOMETHANEVERILOVEYOUMOM!"

Summer's hands snapped to her ears as every window pane on the block shattered from the force of Ruby's hypersonic fangirl screech. "Agh! Ruby, what?"

Ruby was bouncing up and down now. "When you took out your pistol sickle and knocked both of those guys out and when you lasso'd Torchwick, and then when you said 'The die was cast and you lost' and then... you know!" Ruby was really bouncing up and down.

Summer peeled her hands from her ears and gave Ruby a scrutinizing look. "Sure, Ruby. But... are you alright?"

"I'm... awesome..." Ruby said blissfully, basking in the awesomeness of her mom.

Summer didn't buy it. "That's fine and all, but you're acting like this is the first time you've ever seen me fight."

Ruby twitched. That was a major warning flag for Summer. "Ruby, is something wrong?"

* * *

"So... time travel."

"Time loops, and alternate universes. Same sort of thing. Sort of."

"...Okay. I believe you."

"Just like that?"

"I'm your mother Ruby. I can tell when you're lying."

Summer's plan to interrogate Ruby had been to bribe her with strawberry ice cream (she got cherry, because who didn't love cherries?) but all in all it hadn't been necessary. Ruby had been forthcoming and, dare Summer say, honest with her explanation. She even had proof of it.

Granted, it was only after Ruby had phased an entire warship into existence and then made it vanish that Summer had come around to believing that a divine-computer-tree thing was sick and causing both of her little girls to travel through time. After that display, Summer was inclined to think that Ruby was both honest, and sane.

Ruby nibbled lightly on her ice cream, stuck between relief ( _'I'm being totally honest with my mom, yay.'_ ) and panic ( _'Mom is going to ask it. She's going to ask it.'_ ).

"Ruby, why exactly are you so..." Summer searched for the right word. "Surprised my me?"

Ruby gave her ice cream one final defeated lick and put it aside. "Well... There's really no..." She dropped the awkward niceties. "I'm sorry mom. You're dead in Baseline, the real world."

Summer choked on her ice cream. "I'm... I'm dead? What? That's impossible, I'm one of the greatest Huntresses alive. How could I be dead?"

 _'That's what I wonder about,'_ Ruby darkly concurred. The silver eyes that Summer, and thus Ruby, possessed should have given them a massive tactical edge against the Grimm. That also made them prime targets, and since there was the incredibly ambiguous situation of Salem in the mechanism, Ruby couldn't rule her out. Aloud, she told her mom; "You went out on a mission, and you never came back. I'm sorry."

Summer gulped and licked her cherry ice cream. "You... you're telling the truth. So that means I'm dead. Do you... do you remember me?"

Ruby didn't meet her mother's eyes. "I remember warmth. That's about it. Yang remembers you better."

"And... Tai?"

"He shut down after you died. Stopped teaching, stopped going on missions. He just... focused everything he had on being a good dad now that we were all he had."

Summer covered her mouth, stifling all the emotions she felt. Grief at causing her lover such pain, joy that he had tried to keep their children safe and well, and a crushing realization of her own smallness. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby?"

Ruby smiled at her mother. "Mom, I know that this is a big surprise. It's... it's huge. It's a lot to take in. But I also know that you're Summer Rose. You're not the greatest mom in the world, but you don't have to be. Because you're my mom. You've made such an incredible difference in my life. I wouldn't be who I am without you."

"But if I'm dead-"

"I accepted that a long time ago mom," Ruby said, a strange, almost fae conviction in her tone. "I became a Huntress because I wanted to help people, fight monsters, and be the best I could be. I did it to be like you, and to do better."

Ruby sighed a little. "I've been told that the world doesn't care about what I try to do. I could live to be one hundred, or die tomorrow. Hero or villain, martyr or monster, I will die one day. So I chose to be the best person I could be. I don't want to die some pointless heroic death. I want to live on, and survive, and make the world a better place."

Summer's lips twitched. "You..." A smile crept up Summer's lips. "You're just... you're just like your father, you know that Ruby. Hopeless idealist."

The grin that mirrored Summer's was heart warming. "Maybe. I just want to do well by everyone. I have the power to do that. I'm going to do that. I'm going to be better. That's what I will leave behind: something better."

Summer's smile faded, just a little. Her daughter had grown, in her time. She was a mature woman now. Ruby was amazing.

Summer couldn't help but feel heartbroken over missing it all.


	24. Red vs Blue Invasion

**24.1**

* * *

The evening was long and dark for Glynda Goodwitch and Ozpin as they worked on their papers. Ozpin was giving clearance to Ironwood to move his armies closer to Beacon and away from Vale. Glynda was grading midterms. It was a bit of a social ritual the pair had engaged in for a long while, if only because it left them time to do as they pleased. Which occasionally meant questions.

One of the questions raised that evening had been what Glynda's abilities as an Istari actually entailed. Being an angel, at least for Glynda, didn't lead too much beyond token abilities to repel evil and do minor, subtle magics. It did prompt a question from Glynda though: "Oz, what was your first Fused Loop?"

At this point, Ozpin was partway through his deposition to Ironwood. It was an important document, but one he wrote every other Loop. He could work on it without really thinking about it, and mostly wrote it as a stress reliever. So when he set his pen aside and leaned back, Glynda knew something was horrifically amiss. "I'm sorry Oz. That's too personal a question."

"No, no, it's alright Glynda." Ozpin folded his hands, lost in his memories. "It's not a... I guess it's not a part of my life I relish to revisit."

Glynda put her hand on Ozpin's forearm. "You don't need to Ozpin."

Ozpin's eyes flashed, sclera darkening to black, irises turning blood red. Then they were gone, and Ozpin had taken a mug of coffee in his hands and was sipping it. "It is a demon I should kill. I'd rather I kill it with my best friend."

Glynda nodded once, and then cocked an eyebrow. "I'm your best friend? Me?"

The Headmaster shrugged. "Can you think of anyone else who can handle this much eccentricity without changing their name to Ruby Rose?"

She, recalling the instance of Ozpin rubbing concentrated Catnip on Yang and setting Blake loose, nodded. "I guess that does make me your only friend."

The coffee at Ozpin's side was slowly going cold, so the Headmaster poured himself some more. He even offered Glynda some, with cream and five sugars (as she liked it). "I believe it was about twenty four Loops in. At the time, I hadn't been sure what was going on. I was certain that Ruby and her friends were involved in some way, not that I could prove it. And then I woke up in Tokyo, and met a young Anchor by the name of Toka Kirishima..."

* * *

Several hours passed in this manner, as Opzin told Glynda of his first Fused Loop. The horrors, the tragedies, the nascent, painful triumphs. The final words of Toka to him, as the Loop ended: "Smile when you can. Protect those who need protecting. And always be ready to make the world right."

The coffee, by this time, was long gone. "Suffice to say, I took Toka's words to heart. I had seen exactly what was out in the darkest corners of the multiverse, and damned if I was going to let Ruby and everyone experience that. I didn't forget what she said, even after I was able to reactivate my Aura and start replenishing the Red Child cells I needed."

A raspy chuckle slipped from Ozpin's lips in the memory. "So, when the loop was well on its way, I dialed up the entire school on the intercom and said _Testicles_. You should have seen the look on their faces."

For reference, Ozpin couldn't see Glynda's face, because she was her palm was blocking it. "Ozpin... you... Will you ever..."

"No," Ozpin said simply and honestly. "I'm sorry Glynda. But I much prefer being weird to being boring."

Glynda sighed and let it go. "After having been through all of that, I can't blame you for going into hiding. I would have done the same."

Ozpin sipped his empty coffee mug. "Wonder and curiosity and the eternal allure of 'what if'. It misses the point of the past, but I keep to it anyway." His eyes, again, flashed red with his Kakugan. "That is my story. So what do you say Glynda? Think an angel like you can forgive a ghoul like me?"

She shook her head. "No. Sympathetic stories mean nothing to me. Now, cute facial expressions..."

Ozpin gave his best rendition of 'puppy dog eyes'.

Glynda bonked him on the head, playfully. "There's nothing to forgive Ozpin. I trust you."

"Thank you Glynda."

The night of paperwork resumed for the two old friends.

* * *

 **24.2 Shimmer712**

* * *

"I sometimes hate the loops."

Glynda looked up at Ozpin questioning.

"Really, really hate them."

"Is there a point to this?" she asked.

"In this loop, I had a daughter," Ozpin said flatly. "A precious little jewel. The darling of my eye."

"What!" Glynda quickly checked her loop memories. Nothing about a daughter there. "What happened to her?"

Ozpin closed his eyes then reopened. "This loop isn't a Salem-is-the-Winter-Maiden Variant," he said with a twisted smile. "Or if it is, it's because she deliberately sought out that power the same way Cinder sought out the Autumn Maiden's. My little girl is genocidal monster."

"There's nothing is baseline to support this," Glynda pointed out. Ozpin just looked at her.

"Maybe not. But the opposite is also true. There is nothing in baseline contradicting it. We have some many variations. Which ones are true? What are our families like? Our past? What have we sacrificed to protect the world?"

He closed his eyes briefly. "Why is that Salem hates me specifically? Is it because of me she is doing all of this? Are all these deaths because of some interaction I had with her?"

"You have no control over her actions," Glynda said firmly. "And even if you did wrong her, genocide is not the appropriate response. Ever. If you did do something to her, she is overreacting to a monstrous extreme. She cannot claim to be a victim, not matter how one looks at it. She is in the wrong, not you." She paused and gave him a gentle smile. "Even with all the mistakes you and miscalculations you may have made," she said softly. "You're not perfect. And no one expects you to be."

"...Thank you Glynda."

* * *

 **24.3 Dark Knight Zero**

* * *

Each and every single RWBY Looper who was Awake glared at Jaune and Ren, who were calmly drinking a glass of water and tea respectively.

"Jaune, Ren," Ruby began, "why did you two purposely crash the Loop?" She finished as she glared at the two boys with the fury of a thousand War Corgis.

"Yeah! You two better have a good reason for sending us to Eiken, or else..." Yang's threat was backed up by her cracking her knuckles, Cinder readying a bow she stole from the Archery team, Neo pulling a Chainsaw out from... somewhere, Glynda brandishing her riding crop, Roman braking a leg of a chair to use as a blunt object, Weiss pointing a Fencing Foil at the duo, Blake holding her ribbon in her hands in a menacing way, while Pyrrha merely gave the two a disappointed look.

Jaune finished his water and spoke. "At the time, we thought it was a good idea, and honestly I think if you were in our shoes, you would have done the same thing."

"Oh, and what in Yggdrasil would ever make the two of you think crashing a Loop is a good idea!?" Weiss demanded.

This time it was Ren who spoke. "Let me put it this way. You spend a long time in a Loop as the only two Loopers Awake at the time, with the other Loopers and Anchor showing no signs of being Awake at all, no matter how many times you try to let them know with a Ping, or phrased question, you become desperate to escape the Madness of that Variant loop to the point that Eiken would look like Heaven compared to what we experienced-,"

He was cut off by an impatient Yang shouting, "Get on with it and tell us already!"

The two boys shared a look and said in unison, "A Variant Loop where Nora was replaced by a gender bent Deadpool."

None of them had any idea on how to react to that.

* * *

 **24.4**

* * *

"Well, my Semblance is overpowered, but welcome this Loop," Jaune declared to the council of Remnant (basically, the semi-regular meeting of the Loopers in From Dust Till Dawn).

Yang was currently adjusting the wig that she wore (she could just feel that this Variant was going to suck) when she answered. "What is it? The ability to remotely turn on Pyrrha's vib-"

BANG! Yang suddenly came down with a bad case of bullet-in-the-brain, courtesy of Pyrrha. Jaune coughed into his fist over the incredibly awkward silence. "Let me demonstrate."

Yang's body began to glow, a swarm of flickering fireflies condensing from her skin and rising, before evaporating with the light of stars. Many flowed from the hole in her forehead, the piercing sealing itself. Yang continued. "-rator?" The looks she got for that confused her. "What?"

Cinder coughed and discretely walked out of the building. She didn't need to know that. She didn't care.

* * *

 **24.5 yangfromyin**

* * *

Ozpin Awoke and sent out a ping. Receiving only one in response, presumably Ruby's, he studied his Loop memories before groaning. The lack of an established past meant that his unAwake selves had a tendency to be horribly inconsistent, and were often embarrassing. Like this Loop for instance...

"Why in Yggdrasil am I a shipper?" His unAwake self this Loop had altered several of the launch pads to guarantee certain people becoming partners for the sole purpose of having them become couples. The fact that teams had not been altered at all by this gave him little comfort.

Neither did some of the arguments his unAwake self used to justify the pairings. While the childhood friend romance between Nora and Ren was understandable, he had apparently paired Ruby and Weiss for the sheer Tsundere factor. Did such methods actually work in this Loop?

"Dear, is something wrong?"

Ozpin turned to look at Glynda, only to notice the matching rings on both of their hands.

Apparently they did...

Good times to be had when a shipper is in charge of your Hunter Academy (college).

* * *

 **24.6 Shimmer712**

* * *

Jaune hated this loop. He kept tripping over his feet, his mind was also feeling clogged and fuzzy and it felt like he had something similar to aura but it was blocked someone, making him miserable. The fact that everyone called him No-Good-Jaune or Useless-Jaune didn't help. Especially since his mother for the loop would agree.

 _Jaune tried to avoid disliking any of his looping mothers since nothing baseline had been established for his mother. He didn't want to hate some similar to her. But this_ mother he felt nothing but scorn for.

Nana was oblivious to pretty much anything and her words about him being no good were verbally abusive even if she had no idea of the fact. The fact that his unawake self had loved his mother but didn't count on her for support in anything said a lot about their relationship.

Jaune felt somewhat guilty for disliking her. She was a very nice person. Her cheerful and oblivious agreement that her son was useless when she should have been supporting him just pushed at him wrong. At least she is finally doing something to help. Even though it seemed more likely that she was getting them stalked by a psycho.

A flyer for a tutoring service had been slipped into their mail. Nana had cheerfully agreed even thought apparently no one else had gotten such flyers, just the Sawada household. Why was his mother this loop such a clueless idiot?

Jaune hoped he got to meet up with the anchor for this loop. He had only got one ping so it was just him, the anchor and maybe some stealth loopers.

Jaune sighed as he heard the doorbell shortly followed by his mother calling him downstairs.

"Down we go to meet the psycho," he muttered as he made his way down, tripping on the last few steps.

"Ow!"

"Ciaosu," a voice greeted.

Jaune looked up and blinked at the sight.

"Jaune, sweetie! Reborn-chan here is your new tutor," Nana beamed happily, apparently seeing nothing odd about a baby in a fedora tutoring a guy in high school. Jaune vaguely wondered if she was on drugs as he eyed the baby.

That level of cluelessness couldn't be normal.

"Okay, this is cool," Jaune admitted as he watched the orange Flames of the Dying Will of the Sky engulf his hand.

Jaune wondered exactly what he could do with this harmonization attribute. Could be interesting.

Ruby scowled at the hat on her head. It looked like it was made from a giant cushion!

"First things first," she muttered. "New hat. Then deal with that creepy Byakuran guy wanting an alliance."

She patted the orange pendant around her neck. "And I need to find away to break this Acrobaleno curse thing," she mumbled.

She wondered who the other looper in this loop was. Maybe they would have some ideas? Especially if it was a local!

Ruby made a note to find out what branch she was in and if their baseline had any information on how to end the curse. But first...

"Okay, sweetie, time to get introduced to Byakuran!" she smiled, pulling out Crescent Rose.

* * *

 **24.7 Blue050645TL**

* * *

"We can do this. We've never backed down before and we're not going to start now."

"Right."

"Besides, it won't be only us out there. We'll be fighting alongside a genuine huntsman!"

"Yeah!"

Simply put, the girls were even more shocked than what happened in baseline. In front of them was a man with their teacher's voice, suited up in a blue suit of armour and holding a rifle. And he was monumentally stupid.

"Hello again! I might have seen you nice ladies and lady Church before. Wait, what are we here for now?"

 ** _"CABOOSE?!"_** _they all screamed with a tinge of horror._

"Yeah, it's me again."

"And don't forget me."

Church walked up beside Caboose.

"Tell me girls, what's supposed to happen now?"

"THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING NOW!"

"I KNOW CHURCH! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING PANTS TIME NOW!"

On the top of the train, Ruby, Church, Zwei and Caboose were holding back a few Paladins with slight trouble. Of course, Church somehow kept missing. At this point in time, he was pinned down under the weight of one of those robots, his armour keeping him from being turned into chunky strawberry jam. Aiming his sniper rifle at the robot and placing the end of the barrel at the head, he fired off its remaining bullets... and missed.

 _There was a long silence._

"What. The. F-ck. How did I miss at that kind of range."

"Maybe it's for maximum comedy. After all, the readers-"

"STOP BREAKING THE FATHERF-CKING FOURTH WALL, CABOOSE!"

Ruby had to slice off the Paladin's leg just before it could fire off a round. As physics and gravity took down the Paladin, Ruby turned to the two sim troopers.

"We have to help the rest."

"Then you stay here, Ruby. Caboose and I will... help some people."

"Oh boy! I can be a really useful soldier now!"

The two of them jumped inside a carriage to land in the middle of a sticky situation; Weiss had been knocked unconscious and Blake was next to her, keeping both eyes on the Lieutenant and Roman. Church made a quick scan of the situation and gave a loud order:

"Caboose! Help those two white guys! And the ice cream girl in that other carriage!"

"Okay."

Within several lightning-fast moves, Caboose had pulled out Freckles, shot a burst of rounds into the Lieutenant, turned a full 180, shot down Roman, busted into the next carriage, blown off Neo's head with appoint-blank shot, carried Yang back up and regrouped with everyone else. Church was lightly shocked.

"Well, at least that didn't end up like that bar loop were he teamkilled everyone else. With a f-cking ?," remarked Church.

"Yeah Church. That was simply put, embarrassing," moaned Ruby. "Okay Caboose, can you please stop this train before WE HIT THAT WALL?!"

"OKAY RUBY! I DON'T KNOW WHY I AM SHOUTING!"

Caboose than ran off into the distance in the back. A sudden jerk later, everyone on top of the train was thrown straight into the wall in front as the train slowed to a halt. Having pulled on the train to a stop, Caboose ran to the front to check on everyone. As Church slid down the wall, he only managed to make one last groan before passing out:

"That. Was the worst. Ride. Ever. Of all time."

"Not my fault. Someone put a wall in your way."

* * *

 **24.8 Blue050645TL**

* * *

Pain surged up Carolina's heel as the arrow burrowed itself inside. As if fighting with some crazy shapeshifting technology wasn't enough, she was now sentenced to the same fate as the one she had replaced.

Getting up to her knees, she saw Cinder walking up to her with a smug marked on her stupid face. Her hand lifted the freelancer's head up in order for her to take one look at her defeated opponent. Glaring aggressively under her helmet, she refused to back down.

As Cinder turned around, Carolina reached out a hand, grabbed her enemy's leg and with a single pull, yanked her to the ground near her. Rage was her anesthetic as Carolina stood up and put a foot on Cinder's body, pinning her down. She snapped the arrow in her heel out and raised the tipped end over Cinder.

"How can you talk about Destiny when you don't have one. Bitch."

With that, she stabbed Cinder in the throat with the arrow, splattering red over the ground and ending her miserable life.

Ruby jumped over a ledge to witness the scene. Instead of what she remembered in baseline, this had happened. Seeing Carolina bleeding from her heel, she rushed over to support her from falling.

"Hey Ruby, you think Pyrrha would be happy?"

"Don't ask me."

* * *

"You. Are. One heck of a PRODIGY!"

Pyrrha was already congratulating Carolina on having done what she could not back then. Everyone else stared in awkward silence as Carolina carried a look of utter embarrassment on her hidden face.

"I must say, how could I be so moronic? Like, she was in front of me and I could have just won from there on, but... Wow."

"Well Pyrrha. It's just crazy awesome what you learn from your badass mother. Who is so much better than that other teacher in your academy."

In the corner of the bar, Tex elbow bumped Glynda, who only smirked back.

"Well, I'm glad that ended good for you C. Unlike what happened with Team RWBY, me and Caboose last time."

"What happened, Church?" asked Carolina.

With shame in his voice, Church told them what happened. The next moment, laughter exploded all around as Church facepalmed and Team RWBY all walked out.

"Oh no, I forgot to have nap time before pants time!"

In exasperation, Church turned to Caboose.

"JUST! SHUT! UP! YOUR! F-CKTARDED! BRAIN! IF YOU HAVE ANY AT LEAST!"

* * *

 **24.9 masterofgames**

* * *

Ruby and Jaune lay atop the dorm roof, looking up at the stars. Neither said anything for a long while, but eventually, Ruby voiced a question that had been on her mind since she last saw her armored friends.

"Hey Jaune, you ever wonder why we're here?" she asked as she stretched out.

Jaune shrugged. "We're here so a celestial computer can run countless simulations, a countless number of times, with countless minuscule differences, in a countless number of combinations, for a countless number of universes, until it finally decides it has everything the way it's supposed to be, and time resumes as normal one last time, with only the slimmest of chances of being offered a job at the end as a reward for all our trouble." he deadpanned, never once removing his gaze from the sky. "Why do you ask?"

Several more minutes passed in silence.

Eventually, Ruby sighed.

"Way to kill the mood there, Jaune..."

* * *

 **24.10 Shimmer712**

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced around nervously. In this loop, they were a young couple who had recently married. A recent disaster had resulted in a lot of orphans and the in response, the governments had drawn up a list of requirements and from the group of people who fitted those requirements, randomly selected people to be required to adopt at least one child.

"Do you think Ren or Nora are going to show up?" Jaune asked Pyrrha, looking at door as though Nora would burst through it any moment.

"Maybe, we are pretty early. The children aren't even awake yet, let alone ready to meet people here to adopt," Pyrrha answered, wondering why their unAwake selves had decided to show up so early.

"If they adopt, we should set up some play dates," Jaune suggested cheerfully.

"That's a good idea," Pyrrha smiled. She wondered briefly what their team-mates would think of the orphan situation given their baseline family status but pushed it out of her mind as a couple of carers walked in with some children. The two women stopped in surprised.

"Uh, hi," Jaune waved. "We're one of the couples who are supposed to adopt?"

"Oh, yes," one woman nodded. "You're here early, we're still getting the children up and ready for breakfast."

"...Would you like some help?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

The other woman smiled as the first carer seated the children at the table and started to given them bowels of cereal. "That would be nice," she answered. At that point a man came in with two toddlers, one very squirmy.

Jaune's eyes widened and he quickly crossed the room to help the man, taking the wriggling girl and holding her firmly. Pyrrha quickly followed and took the quieter boy.

"Why don't you feed those two?" one woman suggested. "The girl is Nora and the boy is Ren." She bustled about and pulled out two bibs, two jars of baby food and two small spoons. She put them on the table then retrieved to high chairs. She put them out in a open space and placed two chairs next to them. Jaune and Pyrrha put the toddlers in the high chairs, placed the bibs on them then seated themselves in front of them.

"Pears, mixed berries and banana," Jaune read off the can.

"I've got apple and mango for Ren," Pyrrha noted.

"Lets see if we can keep these two clean while they're eating," Jaune said as Nora made a chomping notion and growled playfully with a smile.

"I think I have an advantage," Pyrrha laughed as she opened the baby food.

This looked like an interesting loop.

* * *

 **24.11 Blue050645TL**

* * *

"Hey, I bet you ten bucks you and your team won't be able to beat him in an arm-wrestling match _."_

"Oh yeah? Well I bet you fifty vice-versa."

Sitting down at a table in front of everyone else, Yang stretched her arm to Caboose, who grabbed it on a prompt from Church. Tucker then walked over to the middle and made a few words to start the match.

"Okay, first one to touch the table loses. You can call in help if you wish. On three-"

"Wait, on three or three then we go?"

"On three, Grif. It's faster. Now, one, two, THREE!"

The crowd cheered away as Yang pushed in all her strength to push down the teamkiller's arm. Shockingly, as she heaved, she caught a glimpse of his arm not budging one bit. The crowd turned silent as she signaled for her friends to help.

Caboose looked around, keeping his eyes fixed on a butterfly and oblivious to the entirety of Team RWBY using their semblances and brute strength to try and win the bet. It still would not work. Just then he regained attention.

"Hey Church, are we starting yet?"

"YES YOU IDIOT!"

"OKAY."

One swift move and Caboose slammed his arm down onto the table, throwing Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang over to the floor below and breaking the entire table. Shocked faces were being drawn across everyone else in the bar. Tom and Jerry drew themselves a shocked expression on some masks and wore them.

"Did I win?"

"Yep. Yang, sixty please. That's what you get for wrestling with a guy who's oblivious to x10 gravity."

* * *

 **24.12 GammaTron**

* * *

Ruby blinked twice as she Awoke. Looking down at herself, she frowned.

"I'm a chibi again..." Ruby mumbled as she let her Loop memories come to her, "And apparently, Tucker is replacing Blake and Caboose replaced Cardin of all people...I don't feel sorry for his team." she looked around to see the well-built bunk beds instead of the usual ones, "...Oh yeah. Tucker likes to build stuff this Loop." she walked over to the beds before spotting a book under a pillow, "..." she looked around before pulling it out and looking its cover over, "...Spartans, huh?"

Lavernus Tucker, or Bronvernius Tucker as he was called this Loop, yawned as he Awoke, walking into his shared bedroom with Ruby, Yang, and Weiss. His Loop memories told him that he would have to avoid the unawake Weiss or keep his mouth shut around her for good reason...and that he was a chibi like everyone else this Loop.

'Note to self: never use snow-related pickup lines around Weiss. She will freeze you, Awake or not,' Tucker thought before noticing his book was missing under his pillow, "Aw man...It was getting to the good part."

"Ahem."

Tucker turned to see Ruby, "Oh, hey Ruby." Ruby held up his book, "Oh, you found it. Thanks."

"This is filth," Ruby informed, pointing at the book with a shaking hand, "FILTH!" she proceeded to roundhouse kick him.

"Gah!" Tucker yelped as he fell over, swirls replacing his eyes, while Ruby stomped off with the book, "C...Can I have it back?"

"Later!" Ruby replied as she resumed leaving.

"...Oh shit. Grif, Yang, Cinder, and Keita are gonna kill me," Tucker sat up.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Tucker screamed as he ran away from fireballs, fire arrows, sniper rounds, and a weaponized suit of transforming armor the next group Loop between the two Rooster Teeth Loops.

"GET BACK HERE AND PAY!" Cinder demanded as she rode of Bear-Grif's back, sending another fire arrow at Tucker, who pulled out one of his built Drivers and put it on while running.

 ** _=THREE - TWO - ONE=_**

"Henshin!" Tucker yelped.

 ** _=ROCKET ON=_** ** _  
_** _  
 _"No fair using Fourze!" Yang snapped as she punched at him, sending fireballs with each punch at the flying Blue while Bear-Grif fired a salvo of missiles with Keit open firing with his scythe-rifle.__

"So what did Tucker do to get that reaction from them?" Simmons asked as he played chess with Blake.

"Tucker let an Unawake Ruby read a mature book," Blake replied, having heard Tucker's confession before the four went after him to maul him.

"That explains it," Simmons nodded.

Blake moved a pawn, "Checkmate."

"Keep running, dad!" Junior called out before turning back to Ren, "Okay, let's try out the engine. Give it a rev."

"DAMN IT! STOP MINGLING AND HELP ME!" Tucker pleaded.

"This is one of the best Loops ever. Of all time," Ruby giggled as she recorded the scene, 'Revenge for the exploding cookie robots, Tucker. Revenge for the cookies.'

* * *

 **24.13**

* * *

"So... if I may ask… why?"

"So why what?" Jaune asked.

It was a fairly terrible day in the realm of Salem. Almost all of the Grimm in the region had fled in pure terror of the young woman Jaune and Pyrrha were talking to, and the rest had vowed their allegiances to her. Salem herself had been forcibly strapped to a psychologist's bed and was being analyzed by the ever so illustrious Twilight Sparkle, who had offered free counseling to her at Ruby and Ozpin's request.

This left Jaune and Pyrrha kicking around with the only other person in the entire region: Fluttershy. Pyrrha had been cleaning the breach of Miló when Fluttershy's question caught her attention. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."

Fluttershy gave a little shrug, the pony-cum-human nervous at the prospect of being invasive. "Why... Oh, how do I say this? Why did you two... Take on... No, adopt is the best word. Why did you adopt Ren and Nora?"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, one matched by Jaune. "Oh. That. There's actually a bit of an awkward story behind that."

Fluttershy's hands shot up. "I don't want to pry. I think we can just leave this here."

To this, Jaune shrugged. "It's not... weird or anything. We didn't conceive them or whatever. We just found them on the street. Couldn't leave them."

The young knight settled to sit down against the crystal Pyrrha was cleaning her weapon on. "If it'll help, let's hear how you adopted Leman Russ. That's an interesting story."

Wringing her hands a bit, Fluttershy started. "Well, I woke up on Fenris, an ice planet in the Dark Millennium. I had to ascend to alicornhood just to avoid dying from frostbite. I found two wolf pups in the snow, and took them in. Then I found Leman."

Leman's Little Mother smiled gently in recollection. "He was so small. So... beautiful. How could I not take him in. I sheltered him, raised him and his brother wolves. When the God Emperor came to take him away, I couldn't let him go. I stopped Empy and kept Leman safe." Fluttershy grinned from ear to ear, unabashed pride coming through. "Leman became the Anchor of Warhammer because of that. I can't be more proud of him."

Pyrrha and Jaune were nodding as Fluttershy finished her tale. In the background, Salem had been successfully strapped to the psychoanalysis couch and Twilight was starting with her. Pyrrha started the story.

"It was an abnormal loop that we started in. Myself and Jaune were Awake approximately fifteen years before the normal period of the Loop. We were trying to decide what we would do when we found Nora and Ren, Ren quite literally being on our doorstep. Both of them were only babies. We couldn't send them away."

"We tried to, don't get us wrong," Jaune interjected. "They may have been our friends, but we were seventeen year olds. No experience with raising kids at all."

"It showed often," Pyrrha continued. "After we made the decision to raise them on our own, we regularly encountered troubles with trying to keep them safe, educate them, show them right from wrong. We... Well we undermined each other almost constantly."

"I wasn't the strictest guy, and Nora would always beg me to get Pyrrha to lay off of her. Ren was always hiding somewhere else: he wasn't a dumb kid, he knew he was adopted." Jaune's visage took a turn for the shamed. "That was a hard conversation."

"Yes, it was difficult in the first years. No, I'm sorry, it was always difficult. Once we thought we had both Ren and Nora down pat, puberty hit them both. It was awkward all around." A blush on Pyrrha's face confirmed her still awkward feelings.

"It really changed the relationship between me and Pyrrha too. You can only live in the same house as someone and raise two children with them for so long before you start thinking more about them. It was right then I..." Jaune slipped a hand into Pyrrha's own. "That's when I realized that Pyrrha loved me, and that I loved her back."

Pyrrha smiled and pulled Jaune closer. "We struggled a lot, raising Nora and Ren. It was about a week before Beacon's usual semester was scheduled to begin that they woke up. They were..." Pyrrha stopped, unable to find the right word.

"Ren and Nora had been going through a few of the recent Loops without any parents," Jaune said. "Baseline revealed that they were both orphans, and it was... hard on them. Sure, Ren and Nora had never been sure about their parents, in fact no one on our team knew anything about their immediate family. I just knew I had a dad, a mom and seven sisters. That's all."

"It was about then that they both realized that in Baseline, they would always be orphans. They didn't take it well."

Pyrrha and Jaune's story slowed to a halt, their own depression palpable. Fluttershy sniffed, her eyes shining with tears.

"We just sat down with them. We were... We still are, a team. But then we were more than that. We had to be." Pyrrha rested her head on Jaune's shoulder, eyes closed. "JNPR had become my family even more than my mother and my father. Ren and Nora weren't our babies: I didn't give birth to them. But at that moment, they were our children. We were their parents."

"We'd been broken, but we never realized. We needed to be fixed up to know that." Jaune smiled and ran his hand through Pyrrha's red hair. "We were there for Nora and Ren when they needed someone to tell them they would be alright. To tell them that they still had a family."

"We became that family that they needed. The mother and father that they had never had." Pyrrha smiled, eyes shining bright. "I am dead in Baseline. I understand that it was terrible for Ren and Nora and Jaune. But I'm here, now, and I will never stop loving my children. They needed me and Jaune, and we will always be there for them. Always."

A little laugh escaped Pyrrha's mouth. "I'm dead now. Call me happy."

Jaune was positively radiant, their happiness a beacon of light. Fluttershy sniffed. "You're both... so lucky. I'm so sorry that you died Pyrrha."

"So am I. But I can forever be..." Pyrrha shrugged joyously. "Me."

"FORGIVE ME OZPIN! I JUST WANT MY BOYFRIEND BACK!" The trio of conversationalists spun 'round just in time to see a very obviously repentant Salem glomp onto Headmaster Ozpin, wailing about forgiveness and shame and making things right. Pyrrha quickly pulled a camera and started snapping pictures.

"She's not Looping: you can't blackmail her," Fluttershy pointed out.

"I despise blackmail. This is just too funny to pass up."

* * *

 **24.14 mayordomoGoliat**

* * *

Mike Awoke, his view overtaken by a sprawling city slowly descending as the airship he was on began to rise. He looked around sending out a ping as he let the Loop memories play through his head.

"Remnant? The RWBY loops, well it's something new."

He felt four pings respond back before hearing the voice behind him.

"You feeling loopy or just plane airsick?"

"Loopy and that was awful."

"I like to think of it as an acquired taste. Yang Xiao Long, Looper from the RWBY Loops."

"Mike Schmidt, well, Smalt while I'm over here, Anchor for the Five Nights at Freddy's Loop, well, the non-eighties one."

"Oh, been there, not fun when you're the only looper awake."

"You must have subbed for me when I wasn't working there."

Yang nodded and put an arm around Mike. "So first time in our branch of the tree? Don't worry you'll adapt, it's going to be FUN! As far as I can tell everything is pretty much baseline," she said, indicating the city of Vale.

The news screen then turned on as a small news story came on TV, for the grand reopening of the New and Improved Freddy Fazbear's Children's Restaurant and Arcade Center, advertising the new and improved Atlas designed animatronics.

"...Apart from that..."

"How does Fazbear Entertainment always manage to find me?"

A new voice joined in.

"You're telling me. Hi Yang, you Awake?"

"Yeah, what's wrong Weiss?"

"My father had the rather 'brilliant' idea to go into children's entertainment." Making air quotes she joined the loopers by the window. "Unawake me has some serious issues... damn puppet." Weiss shivered remembering her loop memories.

"Sorry about this," Mike sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm really sorry about this."

"Don't worry, apparently that displaced my issues with the Faunus. Apparently having an attempted kidnapping turn into an impromptu rescue from malfunctioning robots does that to you."

"I am sooo sorry."

"Meh, did wonders for the Faunus movement, so I'll take it as a win."

"Yang?" Mike looked on as each of the students were sent flying into the air.

"Yeah." Another student was launched.

"What's a landing strategy?" he said worriedly.

"You'll figure it out." With a smirk, she put on her aviator glasses and was launched into the forest.

"...this is going to suck." He went flying, screaming over the forest.

"Is he substituting for Jaune?" Ozpin sipped on his coffee.

"Apparently." Glynda didn't glance up from her scroll, "The forged records check out."

"This should be entertaining then."

Mike scrambled away from the giant black and white scorpion. Having crossed paths with an unawake Pyrrha earlier, she had explained the whole concept of Aura and done... something. Mike had felt something change but he still wasn't sure on what exactly. For now Pyrrha and himself had wandered into a cave, at which point things had taken a turn for the worse.

"Mike, stand up we need to regroup."

Shaking he stood, he brought out a rifle of some sort. Looking at the weapon he noticed a small gauge on top that looked strangely familiar.

"No, you can't be serious." He aimed the gun at scorpion and pressed down on the trigger. A dart shot out and struck the Grimm, where it exploded with electricity momentarily stunning it. "A taser gun. Not even a lightning gun, a freaking Taser." He noticed the gauge go down. "And with an energy limit." With a huff he retreated allowing Pyrrha to strike at the paralyzed Grimm.

Running and occasionally shooting back at the Grimm he kept up with Pyrrha, noting with some hint of pride that all that running around and evading animatronics had paid off a bit.

Jumping over a fallen tree, into a clearing he caught sight of a familiar yellow shape in the distance next to some ruins.

"Pyrrha! Over there!"

"I see them."

Both of them running away from the forest, the Death Stalker burst out from the undergrowth and chased them. At which point various types of guns and shots were fired at it, causing it to scream in pain before retreating into the undergrowth.

"You... bitch," he said to Yang as he reached the group, breathing heavily he leaned with his hand against a pillar.

"Hey, you figured out the landing strategy!"

"No thanks to you. If it weren't for Pyrrha, I'd probably be a red smear on some tree or something. Thanks by the way."

"No problem." Pyrrha smiled back at him as she took the golden rook from its pedestal.

Yang waited for Pyrrha to start talking with the others before talking with Mike.

"So yeah, you're definitely subbing for Jaune on this one, most of the things are following baseline. Well except for making the Death Stalker retreat, in fact Ruby and Weiss normally arrive before you two."

"Anybody else Awake?"

"Not sure, we have five pings total but I think someone could be stealthing."

"Still leaves two confirmations. Seriously why doesn't the Ping allow for more information?"

"Several people have tried, ever heard of Ian Malcolm from the Jurassic Park loop? Weird stuff happened."

"Oh, never got to see the original loop, only the new stuff. Fun control room setup, though."

"Of course a Night Guard would appreciate a control room."

"Hey, watching cameras from a room where the doors really DO lock, you'd appreciate it too. Anyway want to warn me about anything before letting me loose on this world again?"

"Nah, it's more fun to have new loopers find out for themselves."

"Oh, fun."

The unofficial team SVRN (Saffron) stood their ground against the Death Stalker, as team RWBY began their battle against the Nevermore. Pyrrha attacked, parrying the stinger and lunging with her spear before retreating as Nora let loose another barrage of grenades. Ren dodged and weaved through the explosions and the Grimm's pincers and attacks. Mike meanwhile was taking cover behind a rock.

"YOU USELESS WEAPON!" He tried opening the ammo slot, or where he thought the ammo slot was, banging the rifle against the rock he was behind. Pyrrha rolled away from an attack landing near his hiding place.

"Mike, you figured it out yet!"

"No, damn thing is stuck!"

With a yelp, Pyrrha was thrown backwards by a pincer, almost falling over the edge of the cliff.

"Pyrrha!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

Mike turned towards the Grimm and jumped over the rock, he wasn't sure what he was going to do but it was going to be drastic. Feeling the strange push at the back of his mind he related to the weirdness of Aura he mentally grasped it.

The Death stalker noticed him, it's stinger rose up and lunged forward. Mike firmly in control of whatever power the Aura had put in his head, reached out with his hand sending a flash of silver light towards the stinger.

FWOOSH-CLANG!

In front of the raised hand a floating silver semi-translucent metal door had materialized in front of the stinger, which had embedded itself into the metallic substance.

"Figures," he said with an amused smile, it turned into a manic grin. "Now, let's see what I CAN DO!"

Raising his other hand another metal door materialized parallel to his palm which he quickly swept down through the scorpion's tail. The stinger fell uselessly on the floor, the Death Stalker screaming in pain retreating before bumping into another much larger metallic door.

"Oh no, you don't get to run. You are staying right where I want you to." His voice lower he raised both his hands into the air where more silver light gathered forming into a grand and highly decorated metal gate.

"NOW DIE!"

The Gate slammed down onto the Death Stalker, shaking the ground then rising before slamming down over and over again...

And again...

And again...

And again...

And again...

"Mike... I think you can stop." The ground shook again. "I think it gets the message." Another small quake. Pyrrha grabbed Mike's shoulder. Flinching, Mike turned, his slightly glazed eyes focusing.

"Oh...Yeah.. maybe, did I over do it? I've been told I can get a bit... overzealous." The Gate rose and fell once more before dissipating.

"Maybe a tiny bit." Pyrrha added a worried smile to the end of her sentence.

"Okay, warn me if I do that again. I don't think it's a good sign. Now don't take the next thing personally but I'm about to throw up and pass out." He then proceeded to do so, fortunately away from his future teammates.

"So the door thing?" Yang caught a piece of food thrown by Nora.

"Never done that before, I'm more of 'Boom for the Boom God' sorta guy." He toyed with the food on his plate, "It's kinda weird for me, I mean I'm more or less one of the most regular person power level loopers around, especially if you compare me to other loop Anchors, well unless you count the whole avoiding Animatronics and robots thing, although I hear Rincewind's got me beat." Smirking to himself as he remembered that particular video. "Not that it really bothers me, trust me I have enough problems with the incongruities in my own baseline, it's just kinda weird suddenly having... combat power? Like non-explosive or trap based offensive powers, do you get what I mean?"

"Sorta... well not really. I mean you're from a Non-Shooter Horror Loop, for the most part those loops except for a few exceptions, have pretty low power levels and you're mostly on the defensive, at least on the protagonist side of things. On the other hand you guys tend to tank the emotional and traumatic damage a lot better than most of us outside your genre, I think you'd probably thrive in one of the Dark Souls or Bloodborne loops."

"I'll take your word for it." He said avoiding a Watermelon. "Nora, watch where you throw your desserts!"

"Sorry Mike!"

* * *

 **24.1: Ghoulish pastime, grading papers.**

 **24.2: But occasionally, things just suck.**

 **24.3: A perfectly valid reason to end reality.**

 **24.4: Resurrection by touch, confirmed. Psychic orgasms? Not so much.**

 **24.5: Marriage! Don't worry though, I'm not shipping them.**

 **24.6: Baby hitman, yay!**

 **24.7: Sometimes, no, all the time, Church can't win.**

 **24.8: Let's be honest here, I should really write a storyline where Glynda informally adopts Pyrrha. So then Nora could call her grandma.**

 **24.9: Why am I still writing?**

 **24.10: Can't go wrong with your children (you can go wrong and horribly so, but things are hard to do for parents).**

 **24.11: Caboose. Strength, personified, but it forgot that the brain was a muscle.**

 **24.12: There have been a lot of RvB Loops**

 **24.13: Parents. They're all awesome.**

 **24.14: When you deal with Freddy Fazbear, Grimm are not scary at all.**


	25. Stand United

**25.1 GammaTron**

* * *

"Okay, I can handle this, nya," Ruby muttered as she entered the room for Team RWBY this loop, "So what if I'm a cat faunus with an embarrassing voice tick this loop, nya? At least there..."

"Hey, Ruby," an Unawake Yang greeted as she dropped a yarn ball while walking by her.

"..." Ruby looked down at it before squealing and tackling the yarn ball, "Why did no one ever tell me yarn balls were so fun, nya?!"

"So why did you want me to do that?" Yang asked Weiss, who was currently taping this.

"An associate of mine who was pranked by Ruby a while back wanted something to laugh at, so I thought 'why not.' Plus, this works as revenge for the tuna fish she slapped me with last week in practice," Weiss replied.

"Ah!" Ruby yelped, her arms and legs hogtied, "How did this happen, nya?!"

 _'Camera: $250; Yarn Ball: $1.50; Watching Ruby tied up by yarn ball: Priceless,'_ Weiss thought in amusement.

* * *

 **25.2**

* * *

Ruby pulled the batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies from the oven. The scent of their sweet chocolate goodness sent the young Huntress into a tizzy. Setting them aside, she jumped to the fridge for her milk, and once suitably armed with her complimentary beverage, was at the cookies' side again. Ruby took a cookie, dunked it in milk, brought it to her lips...

There was a black flash and suddenly, the cookie was gone. In fact, all of the cookies were gone, and only crumbs remained. Ruby collapsed to her knees and screamed her anguish to the heavens. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Yang rolled into Beacon's student garage on her motorcycle, flitting between the cars, looking for her space. "Ah ha!" Coming to a halt at her designated parking space, the blonde dismounted her golden stead, unsheathed her blonde locks from the helmet, and stepped back to admire her vehicle of choice.

There was a black flash, and suddenly Yang's beloved motorcycle was gone. Yang screamed.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha had hidden themselves in the woods around Beacon, an end to the date they had been on. Jaune had pulled Pyrrha to the side with more than a slight blush. Pyrrha would later admit that it had taken an unbearably long time for her to realize what exactly he was intending.

Of course, once they were in the woods, the awkward smiled and blushes took over. Jaune leaned in and there was a flash of black.

"Smooch!"

* * *

"YANG CONTROL YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Weiss shrieked when she, Ruby and JNPR finally found the blonde. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE'S BEEN UP TO?"

Yang, having been searching the garage for the past hour, took a moment to answer Weiss. "Whatever is happening, I assure you, Roman did it."

"Blake's been stealing our things Yang," Ren said. "Everything she can get her hands on. Ruby's cookies-"

Ruby whimpered.

"Weiss' money-"

Weiss harrumphed.

"Nora's thunder-"

"Thieving cat burglar," Nora growled.

"And all of Jaune and Pyrrha's kisses."

Yang cocked an eyebrow at Ren. "And what did she steal from you?"

"My peace of mind." Ren ran his hands through his hair and stood up a bit straighter. "Look Yang, I can guess that Blake isn't having the best of loops. Hell, when I'm cracking under stress I'm much worse. But could you at least... Moderate her. Get her to steal something you want stolen. Because she's stealing everything."

Blake's girlfriend suddenly got a rather cheeky look in her eye. "Well... Not everything. I mean, how much do Jaune's clothes cost? 800, 900 Lien a piece?"

There was a black flash. Jaune was instantly reduced to boxers. "YANG!"

Pyrrha got angry. "O-Oh yeah!? Well how much do your panties cost? 30,000 Lien, or more?"

Black flash.

"...I'll talk with Blake," the now heavily blushing Yang decided. "Oh, and Pyrrha?" She winked. "Don't make me ask how much a night in bed with you and Jaune costs."

Now Pyrrha and Jaune were blushing badly. Yang laughed and winked. "Well, it'll probably be cheaper than me."

There was a black flash, and Yang was gone. Ruby clicked her tongue. "We never discuss this. Ever."

"Agreed."

* * *

 **25.3 Black Omochao**

* * *

"Nate, if you don't want to be late for school you better get up," Ruby giggled as she watched her little brother sleep. Nate grumbled as he pulled himself up, he looked over to his sister and nodded before he began getting dressed. When he was done he went downstairs and found his mom and dad, along with his siblings having breakfast.

"Good to see you back in the world of the living," Grif greeted before taking a bite out of a waffle.

"Shut up Grif, at least I don't see the need for an afternoon nap, along with an after afternoon nap… and an after after afternoon nap," Nate countered, but Grif just shrugged.

"One day little brother, you too will understand the importance of naps."

"Let's hope not," Cinder scoffed as she took a sip from a cup of coffee.

"Now, now, Cinder be nice. Grif don't tease your little brother. And Nate, get over here and eat so you're not late for school," their mother, whom, like their father, was one of Nate's baseline parent said firmly.

"Yes mom," The three siblings nodded before Nate joined the table.

This kind of Loop was not too out of the ordinary for Nate, finding himself in a family with his adopted out-of-Loop siblings. Though there were no yo-kai around, or there just was no yo-kai watch. He supposed there could still be yo-kai around but… that was a thought that he decided to drop.

Anyway, he was happy that all of his 'siblings' were Awake and he would have the opportunity to spend some time with them… except for maybe Cinder… he hadn't really bonded with her and she kind of… made him feel uneasy.

The oldest sister glanced the way of the youngest of the siblings and he paled slightly.

' _She can't read minds, can she?_ ' Nate thought anxiously. It certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibilities with all the crazy stuff he had seen in the Loops, or even in his Baseline…

Cinder shrugged after a moment and went back to her food and coffee. Nate let out a breath of relief.

"You know speaking of getting up, there's one person whom still isn't here," their father stated after looking around and noticing one empty seat. Ruby stood up and looked up the stairs.

"YANG! GET DOWN HERE!"

"I'M COMING! SHEASH!"

* * *

The other three sibling's ears rang at the shouts between the two youngest sisters, though the parents didn't seem very phased.

"Ok, you got everything you need?" Yang asked as she looked at Nate. Their parents had already left and it was his older siblings' jobs to make sure he got to school on time and safely.

"I'm fine Yang, you do know I'm Awake right?" Nate questioned his blond sister and she chuckled while patting his head.

"Of course, of course. But I still need to lookout for my baby brother."

"I wish you guys would stop calling me a baby," Nate grumbled as he got his shoes on.

"Don't worry Nate, they called me the baby for a while too!" Ruby called from the living room.

"How did you get them to stop?" Nate questioned Remnant's Anchor and he heard her chuckling.

"You became the baby!"

"That doesn't help!"

"It helped me!"

"Ruby!"

"Ok, enough! Shouldn't you get going," Cinder interrupted the little sibling-squabble before she inspected Nate. "He looks fine, send him off into the world."

"I'm getting to that," Yang stated before she nodded to Nate. "Anybody give you any trouble, just give me a call."

"Thanks Yang, but I don't think the principle wants you around the elementary school after what you did to the last bully."

"It was self-defense! Self-defense of my little brother's adorable head!"

"Don't worry, nobody has the guts to try anything after that anyway," Nate chuckled as Yang nodded with a smile.

"Well you better get going before you're late," Grif stated as he stood by the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be getting to work?" Nate questioned his only brother whom just shrugged.

"I'm taking a sick day."

"… You're not sick."

"Oh yes I am, I have a really bad case of the lazies."

"Be careful, I think it's contagious," Yang whispered to Nate in an amused tone.

"Well then… I best be going, Eddie and Bear are waiting for me," Nate stated.

"Bear… why is that his name?" Grif questioned with a shake of his head. Nate stepped outside to meet with his two friends while his siblings came out to the front porch to watch him go. Nate wasn't really that thrilled with going to school… there were no yo-kai and Katie didn't seem to be Awake. That, along with knowing most of the answers to the tests in advance made it… pretty boring. Still he was happy with this Loop and any opportunity to spend time with his 'siblings.'

"So Nate," Bear began as they walked away from his home and siblings, while Eddie messed around with something on his smartphone. "About your sisters…"

"No Bear," Nate said firmly.

"They're kind of…" Bear trailed off with a devious look on his face.

"I swear if you finish that sentence," Nate growled in a threatening manner.

"Your sisters are hot," Eddie stated absentmindedly and Bear laughed.

"THAT'S IT!" Nate shouted before he pounced on his two friends.

"Nate! What are you doing!? That's not how I taught you to punch!" Yang shouted as she came over and started yelling instructions.

"Oh brother," Cinder sighed before she just went back inside. Ruby and Grif watched the scene blankly for a few seconds; Ruby with a concerned look, and Grif not seeming to care.

"Grif… should we do something?"

"Why? Nate seems to be handling this fine."

"Come on Nate! Can't you take a joke!?" Bear's voice cried out.

"I mean step in to stop Nate…"

"Nah… this is something we should let him get out of his system."

"… You sure."

"… Positive."

* * *

 **25.4 Black Omochao**

* * *

"Blake! Get back here with my Bumblebee!" Yang cried out as she chased her girlfriend whom was driving away with a cartoonishly large amount of stolen goods.

"Blake?" Keita questioned as she zoomed by him and Whisper.

"Stop her!" Yang yelled, stopping by her surrogate brother. Keita sighed before grabbing Whisper and zooming after Blake with the enhanced speed he shared with Ruby.

"Keita-kun! Hold up!" Whisper cried as he felt sick moving at this speed. They stopped when they got in front of Blake and forced her to hit the brakes.

"Out of the way!" Blake yelled in aggravation.

"Blake's acting odd, there must be a yo-kai!" Keita concluded before taking out his watch.

"Keita-kun, what have I told you about blaming yo-kai for everything? Blake simply needs to learn some self-control. I'd think by now you would have learned-"

"Found it!" Keita exclaimed when his light hit something and revealed what looked like a fat, purple penguin hovering near Blake.

"What!? There was one!?" Whisper shouted in surprise. "Er, I mean. Of course there is, this is um," Whisper quickly took out his yo-kai pad and tried to look for the name.

"Yokodori, AKA Peckpocket, AKA we've seen this one before," Keita said with shake of his head.

"Um, yes. Of course I knew that. I was just testing you," Whisper insisted.

"Whatever," Keita shook his head before glaring at the avian yo-kai. "Yokodori, stop inspiriting Blake right now!"

"What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine!" Yokodori said uncaringly and Blake's eyes flashed.

"Mine, mine, mine!" before she zoomed past Keita and went ahead. Kaita took a look at himself and confirmed Blake hadn't taken anything from him.

"Huh, odd. I'd think she'd have stolen something from me, that's weird, huh Whisper?" no response. "… Whisper?" he looked and noticed his ghostly butler was no longer by his side.

"Keita-kun! Help!" Whisper cried out as he was taken away along with the rest of the stuff Blake had stolen.

"Oh great…" Keita sighed as he prepared to give chase.

"Blake! Stop it!" Yang yelled as she finally caught up and took a second to catch her breath.

* * *

 **25.5 yangfromyin**

* * *

Over the eons of Looping, Weiss had made a point of trying to discover _everything_ about Dust. While some details would change from Loop to Loop, she had steadily obtained more knowledge.

However, one area of knowledge has been inaccessible to her. At least, until Cinder had started Looping.

"So Cinder, do you mind helping me gather some Grimm?"

* * *

Weiss sighed. "We're running out of Grimm to use."

"We can always gather more. Lets move on to test... 28?"

"Right. Test 28, sewing Dust into the muscles of a Grimm. Lets begin."

* * *

In Eiken, a rather annoyed Ruby was glaring at Weiss and Cinder. "So what did we learn about Dust and Grimm?"

Weiss sighs as she rubs her sore back. "Creating a Grimm capable of using Dust crashes the Loop."

* * *

 **25.6**

* * *

Nora Valkyrie was laying on a bed. Or more accurately, the bed that she always woke up on. It was a bed, in a hotel room, on the outskirts of Vale, where she and Ren stayed the night before leaving for the Airship depot to catch their ride to Beacon Academy. She was boredly searching for a movie, Ren was in the shower, and all was right with the world.

The death of noisy water in the bathroom spelled the end of Ren's shower. The apprentice of Ranma Saotome stepped into the room, pink towel drying his hands, wearing shorts and a loose teeshirt. He looked ready for bed. "Good evening Nora."

"Good evening Ren," Nora replied cheerfully.

"Are you time traveling through the world tree like I am?"

"Yup."

"Good to know."

This was how an evening for Ren and Nora typically went.

Ren hopped into his own bed, before frowning, failing to find a remote, hopped into Nora's bed, stole the remote, and put on the ever popular cooking/combat show "Meal Huntsman". Nora tackled Ren and wrestled the remote from his grasp before flicking it to the enjoyable "Bachelorette Hunting." Naturally this back and forth persisted for a few minutes, before a silent agreement was struck, and Ren and Nora settled in to watch their favorite shared tv show, a pokey Mistralian motoring show that doubled as a comedy sketch.

It was around the time that one of the hosts, Cheremy Jlarkson was asking if a Schnee Fiesta was green that Rem took the remote and paused the show. Nora, having spent most of the time sitting on Ren's back, glared at the boy between her legs. "Hey, turn that back on."

Ren rolled over and sent Nora over the edge into the gap between beds, a move that only served to annoy the freckled girl. Of course, when Nora stood up and tried to get angry at Ren, his sober expression stopped her. "Do... You know... You want to go back to Meal Huntsman?"

Ren'a mouth twitched as the ghost of a smile haunted it. "No, that's not it Nora. I think-"

"Want to go out early and get the drop on Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"I'd rather-"

"Oh, oh, we leave the city of Vale, train for five year, come back, start calling ourselves Thor and Green Specter, and establish ourselves as superheroes!"

Ren clasped his hands together and waited.

"Do you want to reestablish the Duchy of Valkyrie and Lie? Wait, no, hunt down Salem and kidnap her! Better idea, go out, corner the market on rutabagas, use that to drive her from hiding! Eh? Eh?" Nora looked at her stern and serious friend, and all levity dried up. "You..."

Nora gulped. "Ren, you're not going to say 'I love you', are you?"

Ren looked deep into Nora's sea green eyes, pensive, still, thoughtful... And then he let out a big sigh of relief. "You don't want me to. Which means that you don't love me."

Nora faltered. "Well I mean you're awesome and nice and all and I respect you and I want the best for you butthatdoesntmeanthatIloveyouandwhatislovedonthurtmebutifyouregoingto-"

Ren politely raised his hand and covered Nora's out of control mouth when she started signaling for his help. "Thanks for that," she said.

"Don't mention it." Ren cleared his throat. "For the record, I don't want to get in your pants."

"Well neither do I."

"Good to know."

Of course, the somewhat comfortable silence that Ren and Nora settled into was broken by Nora not five seconds later. "So... What? What's with the big 'declaration of friendshipitude?'"

Ren sat up and gave Nora a hard look. "Nora... More than anyone else I care about you. You are my whole world. My sister, my best friend, my confidant. But..." Ren shook his head awkwardly.

Nora pursed her lips and spoke her mind. "Well, I don't want everything to get real tense and complicated and like... You know..." Nora stopped and groped for the word above her head.

"Rushed."

"Yeah."

Ren nodded at that and flipped in the bed, laying down comfortably. "I can do that."

"Wait and see until baseline," Nora said. "That's what I want."

"You do know that if our baseline selves hookup, we'll need to explain that to our parents."

"It's not blood," Nora said cheekily. "Besides, Jaune and Pyrrha want grandkids."

"Ugh..." Ren groaned, but Nora's little 'boop' on his nose shut him down. "You're the worst."

"I know."

"Let's see what's on tv."

* * *

 **25.7 GammaTron**

* * *

"Not so funny, is it?" Ruby giggled.

"Oh hah-hah-hah. Very funny, universe!" Grif shook a hand at the air.

"Oh come on, Grif. It's not that bad," Yang giggled, "Just think about what you can do now."

"...Someone get me a normal-sized slice of pizza," Grif ordered, pointing his hand at them.

"So their extension came with a new average thing they'll Loop through?" Keita asked, looking at his brother turned Mega Blocks standing on the table which was displaying a makeshift Valhalla.

"It seems like it. Quite hilarious," Cinder smirked.

"You better not be thinkin' of lightin' us up!" Sarge demanded on top of Red Base, "Ah've got mah birthday present and Ah ain't 'fraid t' use it!"

Ruby fell over laughing, "Th-Their voices are high pitched!"

"Only one of us that still sounds the same is Caboose," Simmons noted.

"Put. Me. Down," Church glowered at Caboose.

"But you are a toy now! And toys are huggable!" Caboose cheered.

"You're a toy, too, tree-dang it! Branch! We're censored like this!" Church shouted in annoyance.

"Oh my Tree, you're right! I am a toy, too!" Caboose realized before he pulled Church into a bear hug, "Now I can hug you and me at the same time!"

"(Seriously. Why am I a head even now?!)" Lopez complained, a head beside Sarge.

"You're right, Lopez. If she tried t' use her fire on us, we'll blast her with all th' firecrackers we've got!" Sarge nodded his head.

"(Sarge. Learn. Spanish. Already!)"

Sarge chuckled, "Oh, Lopez, Ah love ya too."

"(I hate you.)"

"Whisper...are...are you really recording this?" Keita gawked at the butler.

"But of course. Delta asked me to do this if he wasn't around at the moment," Whisper replied, "And Theta gave me puppy dog eyes."

"But he wears a helmet all the time."

"I could feel the Puppy Dog Eyes through it," Whisper shivered before they both blinked twice at the empty plate with Grif in it.

"I. have. no. regrets..." Grif groaned.

"Wow. He ate the entire slice in three seconds flat," Ruby blinked twice.

* * *

 **25.8 Detective Ethan Redfield**

* * *

"Swap me this card," Torchwick grumbled as he placed the card on the table. The serving droid took the card and dealt another. He grimaced at the two cards in hand. An 10 and a 2. Better than the 10 and -8 he previously held. It didn't matter as Lando laid down a pure Sabacc,a 15 and an 8. He sighed and set down his cards. Within a few moments, he had lit up another cigar and took a drawl from it, "You know, Calrissian, no one should be as lucky as you in cards. I'd say your cheating-"

As Lando held out a hold out blaster, Torchwick quickly replied, "But I know better. Nothing you hate more than a card cheat."

With the blaster removed, Torchwick took a moment to stand and stare out the viewport. He was currently on Lando's private space yacht, the _Lady Luck_. Hyperspace had formed a chaotic tunnel of white and blue. It was both beautiful, but maddening. He turned back to the table and started spinning his cane. "So, anything else you want from me before you clean out my subspace pocket?"

Lando gave a grin, "You can keep most of your collection, Roman. How about we make a bet-"

Torchwick held the cane at Lando's head. Lando paused, then grinned, "Listen to my offer first. Now, I have something that you _might_ find interesting."

He pulled out a Brown Lockpick with a blue Jewel attached to the bottom. "Do you recognize this?"

Torchwick rolled his eyes, reaching into his subspace pocket and pulling out one of his own. "What looping thief doesn't? Anyone who's visited Skyrim would recognize it as the Skeleton Key."

Lando gave a grin, "You are correct. But this...is a variant version of that key, where our universe crossed over. The skeleton key is effective for all physical locks...but..."

He walked over to the door to the _Lady Luck's_ bridge, "It's remarkably useless against electronic locks. This one..."

He twisted the blue gem and it transformed into a blue key card, "Can penetrate all electronic locks, physical locks, and can even crack safes."

He swiped the skeleton card, and a few seconds later the door opened. Torchwick blinked, then smirked, "I'm impressed. Now tell me, what would I do if I lost?"

Lando shrugged, "You can keep the stuff in your pocket either way, but only if you play one more game with me."

The gambler tapped a button on the wall, causing blast doors to slide in front of the viewport, shielding them from the chaos outside. He took a seat at the table and continued, "If I win, I want you to do a job for me. I spoke to your employer, Weiss Schnee when I replaced her father one loop."

Torchwick smirked as he joined Lando at the table, "Impressive, considering how the Ice Queen avoids her father like the plague in the loops. How did you accomplish that?'

Lando gave a mysterious smirk. "I have my ways, Mr. Torchwick. Now as I was saying, you once stole the Cross Continental Transmit System. I want you to steal the Holonet."

Torchwick licked his lips and leaned forward. "One more game, Calrissian, for the entire shebang."

With that, the droid issued a new round of cards.

* * *

 **25.9**

* * *

Dolores Umbridge handed Ruby Rose the ornate black Quill that she had passed many a belligerent student before. "Now miss Rose, I believe that you will be writing 'I must not tell lies or wear non-uniform capes in class' tonight."

Ruby looked at the quill and the parchment that it had been paired with. "Uh, miss Umbridge, how many times should I write this?"

Umbridge waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, until it's... Sunk in."

Ruby clicked her teeth, and toon the quill. "I... Must... Not... Tell Lies... Or wear... Non-uniform... Capes. In class."

The red ink appeared on the paper quite unceremoniously. Dolores stared at it and the back of Ruby's hand. "Well. Go on."

Ruby wrote on... And on... And on... Well into the night. First one page, and then the back of the page, and then three more parchment pages were filled with the scarlet words 'I must not tell lies or wear non-uniform capes in class'. And not a single mark had been made on Ruby's hand.

Umbridge hit her limit when Ruby finished her fourth page. "Your hand, now." Scanning the aperture of her nuisance, Umbridge grew increasingly dour. "What in the world are you doing miss Rose!?"

"I'm writing," Ruby said innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me child," Umbridge said harshly. "You're up to something. I just know it! Now you are going to write 'I must not tell lies' until the morning!"

For a moment, Ruby was silent. "But professor..."

The blood on the parchment flowed away from their spots and coalesced into a giant, feral wolf's head.

"It sunk in."

The wolf screeched in Umbridge's face. Dolores dropped in a dead faint. After a moment of waiting, Ruby had her blood wolf avatar lick her to establish a pulse.

Then she spat hard. "YUCK! You taste terrible!" The blood wolf reformed itself into a blood corgi and hopped off of the desk and into Ruby's hand. Ruby cooed as she walked out of the room. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good terrifying boy? I am! Hahahaha!"

* * *

 **25.10 Me, Shimmer712, and yangfromyin**

* * *

Ruby and Weiss ran through Beacon's courtyard, watching as Winter's airship landed at the sky dock. "Weiss, come on! We meet your sister here every loop."

"Not every loop," Weiss retorted. "We missed her when Ren and Nora woke up the Dragon by accident."

"That was six loops ago," Ruby whined.

"Well I don't want to miss her," Weiss affirmed, both girls skidding to a halt in front of Winter's ship. Already Atlesian Knights were disembarking, and following them, with a click of her heels, was Winter Schnee.

"Winter!" Weiss called, flagging down her sister. The elder Schnee sibling, for a moment, lost her hard composure: a smile flickered onto her face. "It's so good to see you!"

Winter gave Weiss a somewhat aloof examination. "Hmm. It's... Been quite a while since I've been to Beacon. It feels... Different."

"I know, it's completely different from Atlas, even Vale. It's a lot warmer, and... friendlier."

Winter's aloof expression became colder. "I would imagine so." The unspoken commentary on Ruby's slightly outlandish mixture of skirt, cloak and corset went unsaid (and unnoticed by Ruby). "This is the famous Ruby Rose I take it."

Ruby bashfully cringed. "Well I wouldn't say... famous..."

"Hardly," Winter admitted. "Your performance in the tournament has been nothing short of exemplary. As has Weiss'." Winter gave Weiss a small smile. "You've grown Weiss."

Weiss basked in her big sister's approval. "I've gotten a lot of experience."

"Evidently. None the less, I arrived ahead of schedule, and seeing as I will not be needed for some time, why don't you show me how you have been living these passed few months?"

"Of course." Weiss took her sister's arm and led her towards the main courtyard. "You'll love it here. My room is quite nice, and don't worry, the bunk beds are a lot safer than they look."

Winter frowned. "Bunk beds?"

Ruby, in the background, waved off the sisters and went to go stop her uncle Qrow from ruining the moment.

That failed miserably.

Winter and Weiss were just passing the courtyard when their was a commotion behind them. Then, the robotic head of an Atlesian went sailing straight into the back of Winter's head. "AGH!"

Weiss wheeled around, seeing Qrow and Ruby staring at her and Winter. They immediately pointed at each other in a desperate attempt to pass the blame. "QROW!"

Winter oriented herself and glared at the drunk man who had assaulted her and her guard. "Qrow, what are you doing here?"

"Moi?" Qrow asked. "...What am I doing here?"

Winter's eye twitched. "You've destroyed Atlesian Military property, attacked one of its highest ranking members, and you're too drunk to realize that you've done so, aren't you?"

"I saw that gaudy ship of yours from Vale. Figured I'd drop by and say goodbye."

"Yes, I take it you'll be on a long trip to a far off land from whence you will never return. If so I wish you God speed on your journey," Winter countered sardonically.

"I figured that I'd get in a few good words before you and Ironwood's fleet got kicked out. Oh, didn't you know? Ironwood's sold out, and now he's trying to go behind Ozpin's back."

"I would suggest you hold your tongue," Winter snarled.

Qrow smirked. "Or what?"

"Or I will remove it for you." With that, Winter unsheathed her sword.

Qrow just smiled. "Okay then. Try."

Ruby and Weiss watched the battle unfold. "I blame you for this Ruby," Weiss told her partner.

"I regret nothing," Ruby said, already eating her popcorn.

* * *

Well, they managed to keep Winter and Qrow from fighting _this_ loop.

The White Fang Lieutenant wasn't a better choice. Since, whereas Qrow just wanted to mess with Winter, the Fanaus was actively trying to kill her.

"Wait, is he an actual Fanaus?" Yang asked. "I mean, we haven't seen his Fanaus trait. No horns, tail, ears, nothing. What if he's some psycho faking being a Fanaus so he can use White Fangs switch to violent tactics to satisfy his bloodlust? What if he's actually a human serial killer?"

Weiss considered that. "Well, he did try to cut me in half?"

"...What?" the Lieutenant asked. Whether it was in response to someone believing he may be human or due to Weiss' reference to an event that didn't happen this loop was uncertain. What _was_ clear was Winter's reaction. Her vicious, bloody, malicious reaction.

"MOMMY!" the Lieutenant howled ("Ooh! Maybe he's a wolf and his animal traits are in his vocal cords! Is that a thing?"), fleeing from the enraged Schnee after a brutal beat down.

"GET BACK HERE SO I CAN NAIL YOUR HIDE TO A WALL!" Winter bellowed, giving chase. The Lieutenant screamed in reply.

"...Wow. I didn't know he could reach that pitch," Blake said.

The Lieutenant escape was cut off however, by a smile explosion from a nearby building sending two figures hurtling through the air and landing on top of him.

"Huh, that was a thing," Qrow muttered. "Not sure what you were trying to pull, kiddo."

"Oh, just an experiment with a weird liquid I found," the younger-looking scythe wielder shrugged.

"...Do I want to know where you got it?" Qrow wondered.

" ** _MOVE!_** " The pair blinked and looked at Winter, who was snarling with rage. Qrow looked at her than at the man underneath him and his niece.

"Oh, are we between you and your boytoy? Sorry about that." He paused and give her a mocking smirk. "Quite the masochist, aren't you? And in _public_."

Apparently they had been a bit quick to declare their prevention of the Winter Vs Qrow Fight a success.

"I am _not_ cleaning that up," Ruby announced as the two began to wreck the courtyard.

* * *

Ruby was starting to wonder why she couldn't stop her uncle and Winter from fighting. Weiss was past the point of wondering and was actively yelling. "STOP FIGHTING YOU TWO!"

Qrow sidestepped Winter's sword and looked at Weiss. "What? I'm not fighting."

Qrow blocked a dozen strikes from Winter.

"We're dancing."

"AAAAAAAGH!" Winter screamed, trying her best to bisect Qrow.

Weiss glared at Ruby. "You tried introducing them to each other before Beacon, didn't you?"

Ruby cringed. "I thought it would work this time."

"FUCK YOU QROW!" Winter screamed as Qrow switched their weapons again and sent her off balance.

"How was I supposed to know they would fall in love again and duel to see who pays for their dates?"

* * *

"Bizarre does not even begin to describe this loop," Weiss grumbled out in Beacon's courtyard.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders, a glass of milk in hand. "I kind of like it. You don't see these sorts of things every day. Right mom?"

Cinder nearly jumped out of her skin. "Oh, uh, yes. These loops are bizarre."

Weiss, Ruby, Blake and Pyrrha stared at Ruby's de-aged mother. Cinder gave them a halfhearted smile. "Motherhood is not my speed."

"Well, it could be worse," Ruby asserted. "I mean, look at Uncle Qrow and Winter."

"Is this guy bothering you Winter?" Winter's boyfriend asked. For what it was worth, Qrow was just staring at the guy. Winter herself was quite uncomfortable. You tended to get that way when Adam Taurus was your boyfriend.

Ruby shrugged. "Okay, sure, it's weird. Winter's dating the leader of a terrorist cult, Cinder's my mom, Qrow's my dad, Pyrrha has to deal with Amber in her head-"

"Telling all the dirty jokes she knows," Pyrrha groaned.

"- and Blake is in heat, but hey! Qrow and Winter aren't fighting."

A moment of silence passed. Weiss facepalmed as Qrow and Winter seemed to realize that they were there. "You had to tempt fate Ruby."

There was an explosion in the vicinity of Qrow and Winter.

"You had to tempt fate."

"GO DAD! KICK HER BUTT!"

"TEACH HIM SOME RESPECT WINTER!"

Adam went soaring by a minute later, unconscious, which made everything even better.

* * *

"Soo heeey Eiss. Hehe. Eiss."

Winter staggered down the board way to her ship, slouched badly. "I saw yoou... On like... Da picto thing. Yeah."

Ruby and Weiss were staring at Winter with blank white eyes. "...She's drunk."

"I's not drunk. I's ferfectly fine," Winter slurred. She fell down the rest of the way. "Ferfectly fine."

Ruby pulled Winter to her feet, the drunken heiress cuddling her like an oversized teddy Grimm. "Come on Winter. I know some sobering techniques that help with my Uncle."

"You's uncle is like... So cool. He beat me drinking. So soft." Winter was cuddling Ruby's cape.

Ruby glanced at Weiss hoping for backup. Weiss was still in shock over seeing her sister drunk. "You know my uncle."

"He's a rate drinker. Brate. Slate. Something." Winter sagged into Ruby's cloak, and started snoring.

Ruby picked up Winter and cradled her, Weiss sliding up to stare at her big sister. "Well... Mission accomplished. Winter and Uncle Qrow aren't going to be fighting any time soon."

"SCHNEE!"

"Fuck."

Qrow Branwen fell out of the sky... No really, he fell out of the sky. He staggered to his feet and plodded up to Weiss. "You left me to foot the table. Now you're gonna pay: eighty Lien, now."

Weiss took Qrow by the shoulders and pointed him at Winter who was giving him a dead stare. "That's sixty hic six dollars. Cough it up."

Winter looked at him, and punched him in the balls. Qrow pointed at her. "I want my ninty dollars. After this." He turned on his heel, threw up, turned back around, and collapsed into Ruby, and passed out.

The overburdened Anchor shook, lost control of her still pretty normal knees, and finally dropped, buried beneath the two drunks. She looked at Weiss. "Help."

Weiss pulled out her Scroll, and snapped a picture.

Weiss stared at the latest fight between Qrow and Winter before turning to Ruby. "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't try to get them dating anymore after the last failure."

Ruby looked at her partner in shock. "I thought _you_ did this one. I didn't do anything to them this Loop. Variant?"

The two ducked as Winter was sent flying towards them. Qrow did not hesitate to charge after her, leaping over his niece.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "I think it is. No one else Pinged so it should be just the two of us... oh thank Dust, Miss Goodwitch has arrived."

A fair distance away, Neo and Roman rolled in laughter at the sight of Glynda using her telekenesis to separate the two Hunters like squabbling children. "All this for whose last name the children would have!"

* * *

"I can't believe it," Weiss moaned. "How the hell is that team still functioning?" There was a loud crash as a window was shattered.

"I have no idea," Ruby shrugged. The pair watched the fighting duo. "I mean, you'd think being on the same team would have those not fighting all the time. Especially since they spend most of their free tine in detention." A thud rang out as a sliced pillar hit the ground

"...Could we flunk them for lack of teamwork? That would make an impact!" Weiss suggested to the in-loop headmistress, trying to ignore the sound of fighting and destruction.

"They pass their classes and the missions. It'll be pretty flimsy since we can't show it effects their work ethic," Ruby pointed out.

"Maybe instead of detention, we should make them pay for the repairs," Weiss proposed, looking over at the Anchor.

"Are we allowed to charge students for that?" Ruby wondered.

"If people try to tell us otherwise, I'll pull up the receipts for the repairs they've already caused us!" Weiss grumbled. There was a loud **boom** as a crater was made in the courtyard.

"SCREW YOU QROW!"

"Not unless you remove that stick from up your-" **thud!** "Whoo! Almost got me! Stopped lazing around?" the male Beacon student taunted.

"I'm going to cut out that tongue of yours!" his female teammate snarled.

"Ooh! Kinky! But that's not my kinda scene, sorry."

"ARGH!"

"I hope we don't get too many loops where we're their teachers. I think I set a new record for migraines."

* * *

Ruby's eyebrow twitched. The robot guards that typically flanked Winter were wearing tuxedos. Doves were launching all around them from inside the ship. It sounded like a small orchestra was following the Schnee Heiress around. The violins and chellos were playing quite elegantly, and there were the horns, adding sweet brassy flare to...

Here Comes the Bride.

Weiss' jaw had more or less detached itself from her skull. Winter, wearing incredible finery, was being serenely led from her airship by none other than Qrow Branwen, wearing a custom white tuxedo. Weiss barely registered Winter shrieking ( _shrieking_!) her name and breaking from Qrow, grabbing her and swinging her into a tight hug. "Weiss! It's so good to see you!"

"...married," Weiss choked out.

Qrow walked up beside Ruby. "Hey short stuff. Meet your new aunt."

Ruby nodded once, twice, and then fell over. After a moment she produced a bottle. "Aged one thousand years in barrels crafted by Applebloom, hoofmade by Big Macintosh Apple. For celebrations only."

Qrow popped the cork and produced a pair of wine flutes from his pocket. He handed one to Winter, who was still holding Weiss. "To us."

"To us," Winter declared, tapping her glass of apple cider to his.

Weiss finally sagged from Winter's grasp, utterly bewildered. Qrow smiled. "You did that."

"I most certainly did not," Winter told him.

"Did to."

Winter gently clocked Qrow in the jaw. "Didn't."

"Okay okay."

The newlyweds walked off for Ozpin's office, ready to give him the good news. Weiss and Ruby looked at each other. "Did you do this?"

"Nope. You?"

"No."

The girls, now technically aunt and niece, stared up into the orange sky. "You think we can get the wedding pictures?"

"It's us! We'll have your sister and Uncle Qrow eating out of our hands."

* * *

 **25.11**

* * *

"Oh, my semblance is cooking bread this loop."

* * *

"What? Oh, I think my semblance is either invisibility or flight. Maybe both."

* * *

"Temporarily healing. I can take a hit, undo it, but only for a while."

* * *

"Ultimate pastry chef. I know, not all that useful."

* * *

"I turn into a laughing tree," Jaune told Pyrrha the morning after Team's RWBY and JNPR had arrived at Beacon. He demonstrated his Semblance. "Yeah, I don't get it either."

Pyrrha stared at Jaune, dead to the world for a few minutes. Then she began screaming.

* * *

"The multiverse has it out for me," Pyrrha moaned. Ozpin poured her a small cup of tea and pushed it to her. "Every loop Jaune is Awake, every loop he's... His Semblance is terrible."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Pyrrha, if I will be frank, Jaune's Semblance has been quite useful this Loop. I understand that limited time stopping may seem rather inconvenient, but I would-"

"That's not it," the unhappy champion said. "None of his semblances are good for sex."

"..." Ozpin sipped his tea. "Well I for one would caution against using your semblances in a sexual connotation. My personal ability to generate lightning, while reliable, is hardly applicable."

"Some girls are into that," Pyrrha pointed out in anguish.

Ozpin shrugged. "Pyrrha, as your Headmaster and teacher I feel as though I should be able to give you better advice than this. You and Jaune should enjoy every minute you spend together, regardless of any abilities either of you have."

"I know. I just..." Pyrrha sighed again. "Ugh..."

Ozpin contemplated his coffee. "Well Pyrrha... If it would lift your spirits... At least you have someone who cares deeply for you."

"...Aren't you and professor Goodwitch-"

"It is a strictly professional relationship Pyrrha. She is my coworker, subordinate, and occasional evil minion, but not my girlfriend or lover."

Pyrrha was defeated. "Maybe Yggdrasil has it out for me?"

"I highly doubt that."

A leaf blew in through the window and lightly slapped Pyrrha's face. She gave Ozpin a dead glare. The headmaster sipped his coffee. "That was probably a coincidence."

A giant tree impaled itself in the window of Ozpin's office, stopping just short of Pyrrha. The headmaster nodded. "Okay, maybe Yggdrasil does have it out for you.

* * *

 **25.12 wildrook**

* * *

"Well, your awakening worked out well," Pyrrha said, confused. "Don't know why you're bald, though."

Jaune blinked, then looked up. "I think that might be my Semblance this Loop," he muttered. "Or it's something else entirely and being bald is a side-effect. I'm tempted to test it out."

That was before they decided to go into the cave.

After, well...to say that "there is no cave" would be an understatement.

"What was that?" Ren asked Nora, hanging nearby.

"I think that was Jaune destroying a Scorpion Grimm with one punch," she muttered. Ren gave her a stare. "What? That's the first thing that came to mind."

Ren shook his head. Unfortunately, the fact that Jaune and Pyrrha arrived unscathed only added to Nora's claim. And Pyrrha looked shocked beyond recognition.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Nora asked them.

"Now that you mention it," Jaune said, "I half-expected more trouble, but instead, I brought it to pieces. Seemed boring."

Pyrrha gave Jaune a small glare. "Yes, but it doesn't explain how you BLASTED AN ENTIRE CAVE AS A SIDE-EFFECT!" she yelled.

Ren's stare was deadpan. "Something tells me this is going to be more troublesome than its worth..." he muttered.

* * *

 **25.13**

* * *

 _Gently, Salem rapped her knuckles against the screen, causing Ruby to quiver at it's bottom. "This is amazing Cinder. Beyond amazing."_

 _Cinder smiled at her master. "It was nothing. They never even suspected me."_

 _Salem put in a small key command, watching the whole of Vale and it's inhabitants bow over, screaming in agony. "Oh yes, this is marvelous indeed. I believe now... You may go Cinder."_

 _Cinder nodded to Salem. "Of course. Good bye Salem. Good bye Ruby."_

 _In the screen, Ruby whimpered. "Why did you do it Cinder? Why? Why, why, why, why, why, why?"_

 _Cinder grinned. "Why? Why... Why did I... Why..."_

 _"Why... Why..."_

* * *

Cinder Fall sat up in her bed, hair swept every which way. Walking through the still dark room, she entered the bathroom and ran a basin of water. After splashing it on her face, Cinder let Salem gingerly caress her shoulders. "My... What a wonderful body to spend all eternity in. Simply heavenly. You may even say... divine. Why don't we go up to where the gods are Cinder? Don't you want to be a goddess?"

"Yes," Cinder said. "I want to be a goddess. I want to watch the universe burn, and I want to be able to set every universe on fire."

Salem led her from the bathroom to Ruby's bunk bed. Crescent Rose was already in Cinder's grasp. The Grimm Maiden smiled and pulled Ruby's hair back, exposing her neck. Cinder swung, and Ruby's head flew from her body, tumbling through the air, falling forever, black hair growing, silver eyes burning to gold, screaming.

* * *

Cinder woke up screaming.

Her hands snapped to her mouth, silencing the shriek before she could wake Emerald or Mercury. She stumbled from the bed, racing out the door and sprinting down the hall. "Oh god, oh god, I killed Ruby, oh god."

Cinder stopped at RWBY's door, her hand on the knob, her heart in her throat. For countless seconds she stood there, the knob stuck. Her breathing slowed. Her heart calmed. She let go of thre knob, turned around, leaned against the door, and sunk to the floor.

 _'What am I doing here? She's... They're my enemy. I'm supposed to kill them. All of them. I killed Pyrrha. I... I should kill them.'_

'So why am I scared of killing them?'

An hour passed. Cinder sat there, watching the moon shadows slide by, silver and gray against the maroon carpet. Only the distant tick of Ozpin's tower told her of the passage of time.

She opened the door. Ruby was on her bunk, snoring away. Weiss was sprawled under her sheets. Yang had climbed in Blake's bed for some unfathomable reason. All was sweet, and peaceful.

Cinder snarled and shut the door. "I will end them. I will."

Cinder told herself this as she walked back to her dorm and climbed back into bed. Emerald rolled over in her sleep, Mercury coughed, and Cinder passed from the waking world again, all unaware of the slow opening of the window, or of the tiny figure or it's tall companion climbing in.

Neopolitan slipped up to Cinder's bed, hold her hands just above her temples. Roman watched silently as luminescent energy passed from Neo to Cinder. Nothing happened, and both observed, but smiled to themselves, when in her sleep, Cinder began to quake, and beg forgiveness.

* * *

 **25.14 Black Omochao**

* * *

Keita roared as he charged forward, leaving a trail of rose petals along his way. His scythe out, with a Jibanyan medal in place which had changed its color to the pink of the Pretty tribe. His cloaked opponent stood completely still as he approached and just as he was about to swing his weapon, she vanished.

"Nice try," Keita heard his sister's voice say before she appeared behind him with her own weapon out and ready. She swung Crescent Rose at him but he blocked the slash with Spectral Fang. The two traded blows rapidly while running around the mountain range they were currently in.

"I'm going to hit you this time!" Keita cried out as he continued his assault, but Ruby easily blocked or dodged all of his hits. Ruby suddenly vanished from sight again and Keita looked around frantically for her. He noticed Ruby appearing and disappearing around the mountains and quickly switched Spectral Fang to gun mode and attempted to shoot his fire balls at her, but she always disappeared before they could hit her.

"Listen bro, you've definitely improved," in an instant Ruby appeared before Keita and knocked him to the ground. "But you're not ready to beat me!" she changed her weapon to gun mode and pointed it at him. "Do you yield?"

"… I yield," Keita sighed with his head low. Ruby smiled at him and held her hand out, her younger brother took it before she pulled him to his feet. Suddenly the mountain range they were fighting in faded away before they exited Beacon's training room. "One of these days I'm going to get you to go all out Ruby…"

"Maybe, but you've still got a long way to go," Ruby chuckled while ruffling Keita's hair. Keita pushed her hands away and gave her an irritated look.

"Just you wait, next time I'll use more than Jibanyan's medal. You won't know what hit you!"

"You won't have the opportunity to switch it, you need to figure out how to switch the medal faster," Ruby shook her head while Keita looked at Spectral Fang in thought before removing Jibanyan's medal, causing the weapon to return to its base white color. "Now then, I believe we had a deal," Keita sighed at the devious smile on his surrogate–but also currently biological–sister's face.

"Right, right. Two dozen cookies coming up," he shook his head with a small smile.

* * *

 **25.15 Harosata**

* * *

Ozpin woke up in a small computer room. He knew why the moment he stepped out into a grandoise room. "The Wizard of Oz. Well, the girls did go through their own fairy tales..."

There were...similarities between their tales and the tales of old, similarities that only a wandering mind could find. A tale of a girl who finds seven friends, only for the "fairest" man to lull her to sleep. A tale of a girl who once valued a man who cared more for his curse than his friends. A tale of a youth who once played in the house of beasts, lucky enough to leave the ordeal alive. A tale...of a young girl who trusted a wolf to lead the way and watched someone she trusted kill someone so close to her.

But now, it seems that their tales would soon join his, for if Ozpin wasn't the only one, a girl (and probably her dog) had dealt a heavy blow to one witch and will journey to fight another. And at the end of their journey, they expect to find their powerful headmaster, only to find a different man...Similarities found.

"It truly seems like they have been dragged into my story, one with an unexpected ending. A story who starts with a girl torn from the life she held dear." Ozpin stopped his mind from wandering. "But I wonder, Ruby. For this new adventure, you walk with a cowardly lion, a tin man yearning for a heart, and a scarecrow in need of learning. The question is, who will be at your side when you're off to see the wizard?"

* * *

"Sasuke, are you ready?"

"Yes Adam." Sasuke perked his ears as he glared up at his...friend and mentor. "Adam?"

The bull Faunus turned his eyes towards him. "What is it?"

"Where are we right now?"

"We're at..." Adam looked around. "Where are we? Where's the train?"

"The train would be past us. And I'm pretty certain you wouldn't know this place...because you haven't been here." Sasuke looked at his village, ironically hidden in the leaves of trees that consumed all. "In fact, you don't know Blake, though you usually do."

"What are you talking about?" Adam suddenly realized the situation he's in and drew his blade. "This is your Semblance, isn't it? Release me now!"

Sasuke turned around. "I think this used to be the police station, even if the ninjas do most of the village patrols anyway, and our clans lives way over there..."

Adam swung his blade...except he didn't swing his blade. How could that be? "Rude. But I guess I should at least explain my 'Semblance'. It's an illusion I can fully control for three whole days. Whatever happens in here is reality, or rather the reality I choose. You can't hurt me...but you can be hurt. And I can hurt you for 72 whole hours."

Adam wisely sheathed his blade. "So why don't you?"

"Because my clan was not a part of this village because of its founding members, a great grandfather or so, got into a fight with the other founder and leader. Right after I was born, a giant fox appeared in the village and killed many people. Because our powers were said to be able to control such creatures, they suspected us, and my parents were ready to lead a coup d'état ." Sasuke explained as he pulled up a chair. "One time, I wanted to take revenge on how they were treated, but before that, I wanted to take revenge on my brother, who slew my family and screwed my mind. Actually, he was a good guy, the best this village had to offer, but at the plea of the village elders, he was labeled a villain despite saving this village with his actions."

Adam huffed. "And I suppose you're here to tell me not to take revenge for the Faunus."

Sasuke shrugged. "Actually, Naruto derailed my revenge before I found out the truth of my brother's deeds. So I pretty much killed him, pranked him and tried to steer him clear from killing the clan. After that, I've pretty much got revenge out of my system. Time travel thing."

"...Time travel?"

"But sometimes, I'm not really there, so that me goes on a full revenge trip. Joined the village's ultimate traitor for power, joined the guy responsible for killing the other half of my clan to avenge my brother, started a world war with zombies, and this." Sasuke waved his hands around, gesturing at the trees. Adam felt uncomfortable with the flora. "Long story short, my need for revenge against...the world revived my ancestor to perform an illusion to trap the whole world, which in turn revive a goddess who wants to blow up the world. And if you continue down this path, this too can happen to your world. Seriously."

Adam shook his head. "I doubt the White Fang would raise an immortal. Besides, as long as the humans know their place-"

"It'll be okay to work with human criminals? To increase the Grimm-to-people ratio? But knowing me, you guys don't care if you're the bad guys as long as you get somehting good from it. I can't really argue with that." Sasuke stood up. "What I'm here to argue is for Blake. You haven't met her, but you've always known her."

"Blake...And what is she?"

"My sister. She fought for the Faunus and the humans to live in the same world and left when the White Fang became violent. Which makes me wonder...will you achieve her dreams once the world is inhabitable?" Sasuke turned around and began to walk away. He gave Adam one last glance. "You made her sad. As punishment, I'm leaving you in a world ruled by my vengence, a world that could be formed by your own. Be glad my brother and wife aren't involved."

Adam finally decided to draw his sword, but his blade only hit empty air. 2 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds remained.

* * *

"Freezerburn!" Hot and Cold.

How did he miss this before? Roman had to ask himself that question as he aimed the Paladin's guns at Yang and the ice princess. Maybe the audio wasn't good the first time around, but reliving the battle once more, he pulled the trigger.

"Checkmate!" Black and White

Roman drew one of his guns away from Yang and aimed it at Blake, the others still training the ice princess. Ah, a hunter was dangerous, but two were very troublesome with this thing called synergy. The fact was, Ruby here was using codenames to have two teammates attack him at the same time.

"L-ladybug!" Black and Red

Roman turned the other gun's attention to Ruby and launched the missiles. They were simple codenames that the others could under understand, probably make up as they go. However, once he understood the color and specialty of each girl, it was easy to shut down any attacks they could come up with.

"Bumblebee!" Black and Yellow

He had to roll his eyes as he aimed the gun at Y-

And Yang just threw her motorcycle at him! He grabbed it and set it down. "Time out! Are you girls all loopy!?"

Ruby grinned. "So you're actually awake! Why didn't you ping back?"

"Well, I do enjoy the classics from time to time." Roman waved it off as the cameras zoomed in on the motorcycle. "You named your motorcycle Bumblebee?"

"Yep!"

Roman looked at Yang and looked down again. "You...went stealth just to play with these names like...some sort of horrible pun."

"Hey!"

"Well, we also have a visiting Looper behind you." Ruby offered. "His name's Bumblebee too!"

Roman turned around and came face to face with a black and yellow robot and quickly said the one thing that might save him from a fight. "I apologize for all the puns the blonde gave you."

"I haven't bee-n that bad!"

* * *

Ruby's eye twitched.

"I guess that part of Little Red Riding Hood finally caught up." Blake figured.

"At least it's only the Beowolves acting like this." Weiss pointed out.

"And they stopped dressing up after the Summer thing." Yang recalled.

Ruby took a deep breath. And cut her way out from the belly of the beast. "I"m gonna need a shower. Again."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Roman offered helpfully.

"NOT HELPING!"

* * *

Jaune rubbed a needle with a magnet. "Doing this will make the poles inside the needle go in one direction and make it a weak magnet. It's not as good as the magnet we used, but it's light and subtle enough to start building our compass..."

Pyrrha smiled as Jaune taught little Ren this simple survival trick. It was rather cute as father taught son. But where was the daughter? A tug at her skirt had her look down at little Nora, who was holding Zwei in her hands. "Pet him?"

Pyrrha rubbed Zwei.

"Yay! Compass puppy!"

"Arf?"

* * *

 **25.16**

* * *

"Hey mom."

Ruby chewed her lip, unsure of herself (a rare sensation for a girl older than her planet). She took a deep breath. "I guess... It's been a while. Fourteen years."

"...It has," Salem admitted.

Deep in the badlands south of Mistral, Ruby and Cinder had journeyed. They had been alone that loop, neither knowing what would happen when they reached the woman so central to their lives. Dread had walked with them in lockstep.

Salem held out an arm, white bone slowly emerging from her palm. The sword, viciously hooked and razor sharp, gleamed with a primordial evil. "It's good to see you again Ruby. HYAH!"

Salem's head went sailing into the distance, her body collapsing into a limp heap. Ruby and Cinder were already on their way out. "You do this every loop?"

"I have too. I can't risk her Looping."

"I'm here. I'm your sister. She was your mother."

Ruby said nothing, and walked from the site of her matricide.

* * *

 **25.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

Blake crossed her arms, giving Yang a warning glare. "DON'T."

The blonde held up her hands with a grin. "No need to get catty with me, Blake."

"...You get three more."

Yang considered. "Three for the day, or three for the loop?"

"For the loop."

"Any chance I could earn more?"

"No." Blake sighed. "Maybe. I don't know. This is stupid!" She threw up her hands, sitting on the edge of her bed and, carefully, moving her tail out of the way. "I know Faunus are animal people, but-look at me!"

"Oh I'm looking," Yang assured her. "You've still got that same lithe figure."

"That's two."

"Hey! No fair, that wasn't a pun!"

"It still counts," Blake grumbled. "I just... fur! Muzzle! This is-I mean, I've been a full-on cat, right? Fused loops, warrior cats, all that sort of thing. But being a cat-girl, it's... this is..." She groaned, putting her head in her hands. "This is just..."

Yang frowned, sitting down next to her and putting her arm around her shoulders. "Hey. Talk to me."

"...White Fang didn't start off as a terrorist organization. It was once a legitimate group, trying to give Faunus rights, and... the whole reason I joined was because I wanted something better than being a street cat. I wanted to get rid of all the name-calling, the... flat out bullying, being treated like an animal. And now, I look more like an animal than I ever did. The catcalls I would get-"

Yang tried, and failed, to repress a snicker.

"Wha-Oh." Blake rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's three."

"But _you_ were the one that said it!"

"You laughed. It counts."

"Awwww." Yang mock pouted for a moment. Then she lifted Blake's head out of her hands. "Serious time? This is a variant, you know that. And yeah, it's... kind of stupid, all things considered, but aside from obvious grooming differences-not a hairball joke," she forestalled, "I'm being serious!"

"Still counts."

"Well, aside from that, what's different? I still care about you, Ruby still cares, Weiss... isn't awake, but she's still Weiss. I know this is affecting you more than usual. But we're in this together, right?" She shrugged. "I promise, it will get better."

She leaned in and, very gently, planted a kiss on Blake's muzzle. "And I still love you."

Blake finally smiled. "Yeah... thanks. Although, uh, I'm not sure if we should, you know." She gestured at her face. "It's different and all."

"Well, I don't know. I like the taste of-"

"That's it," Blake said as she stood. "I'm taking your bike."

* * *

 **25.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Hello. Welcome to Aperture Science Looping Acrobatic And Mental Technology System Testing Track. ASLAAMTSTT, if you will."

Cinder shook her head as she emerged from the pod, looking around the white walls. "A... slam test?"

"Similar to a Pop Quiz, although much more high stakes. We hope your brief stay in the relaxation vault has repressed all loop memories, since they are functionally worthless. Your specimen is now wildly inaccurate, and we require you to fill out the following form before we begin the test proper."

The woman blinked as the ceiling lifted and a clipboard was slipped unceremoniously through the gap. It was followed by what could only be described as a river of pens, alongside the occasional giant mantis limb and potato. "...What is going on?"

"You have looped into the Aperture Science Testing Facilities. Normally we would test the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device through the following chambers, but after a few million loops of that, alterations to the program were made. Mostly by the request of our anchor."

"Ooooookay." Cinder picked up the clipboard and fished for a pen that wasn't covered in ichor. "So... what are we testing, then?"

Even though the voice remained monotone, she swore she could hear a note of grim amusement in the reply. "You."

Cinder gave the ceiling a look. "That's not creepy at all. Look, who are you?"

"Discovering my identity is an integral part of the test."

"Really." Cinder flipped through the clipboard. "What happens if I choose not to sign this?"

"Remaining in the Relaxation Vault will result in your being tended to until the end of the loop."

"...and if I escape without signing this?"

"Well... if you're not going to play by the rules..." The voice seemed to drop an octave. "Neither am I."

* * *

Cinder had, eventually, decided to fill out the forms. Mostly, they were check-boxes and lists for any powers she had, certain loops she might have attended, and looping syndromes-she'd checked Chrysalis down, just to keep up appearances-followed by a small series of increasingly unbelievable waivers.

That had been about half an hour ago. Or maybe longer. Since then, she'd been shunted from chamber to chamber, told to use her abilities to get to the exit.

And forced to endure the computer woman's rambling.

"You know, it can be quite difficult being... morally unbound. So many loopers assume that just because my tests are lethal, I am out to kill them. I resent that. I am not malevolent."

Cinder just managed to jump out of a crusher's path, propelling herself across a bottomless gap with her power and rolling to a stop in front of a white turret.

"Very exacting, yes. But malevolent implies I have some sort of need to cause pain."

Cinder sent the turret flying away, wincing as its screams echoed through the void. "Generally speaking, causing pain is the whole point of death traps."

"These are not death traps. They are potentially lethal obstacles. Which, I might add, you are circumventing quite nicely. If they were death traps, you would be trapped. And, optimistically, dead."

"Look," Cinder snorted as she slapped a button. "You can't say you're not malevolent if you're willing to kill. It's a contradiction in terms."

"Malevolent: having, showing, or arising from intense often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred. My attempts to kill you do not stem from ill will, spite, or hatred. They stem from a need to test. Therefore, I am not malevolent."

Cinder rolled her eyes as she moved into her next elevator. "Keep telling yourself that."

"If you insist." The elevator doors slid shut. "Well, that was intense. I will be introducing a new test element next chamber. You're going to love it."

"Is it going to kill me in new and horrific ways?"

"Only if you mishandle it. Still, it will take a bit for the system to move you there. Why don't we talk in the meantime?"

"...Weren't we already talking?"

"Oh, all that was part of the test. Now, we can talk as equals." The voice chuckled. "Well, almost equals."

"You know, I could get out of here and crush your CPU."

"One nice thing about being a digital intelligence hooked up to a network is being able to spread your core program across multiple servers. Don't get me wrong. I've been killed before. Baseline. I came back from that."

"Because you started looping, right?"

"No, my revival was baseline too. Granted, I spent a few centuries reliving my death. It was very... tiring."

Cinder frowned, looking out at the network of tubes and I-beams visible through the plastic. Something about how the voice spoke... how it seemed to turn on that word. How it focused...

"I was rather angry at my Anchor, you know. We didn't get along well in Baseline. I blamed her for the Loops at first. Although I didn't know what was happening, I knew she had something to do with it. I made so many tests. Killed her so many ways... got killed so many ways. And when I learned what was really happening, I got creative. She got creative too. Then the moron started looping and _he_ got creative. The peanut butter... Then I found out that _she_... I am so terribly sorry, I'm rambling. Must be these old circuits."

"Did you have a point with this?"

"I've seen your hub-loop fiction."

Cinder froze.

"Chrysalis syndrome. Definitely an appropriate name. Emerging from a variant, a hideous caterpillar now a beautiful butterfly."

"Yes. That's what happened."

"Do you ever doubt?"

Cinder curled up her fist. "Doubt what?"

"I do. I wonder... do I still hate her? Or the moron? It's been so long since baseline. We're... friends. But I still have this urge to test." Her voice lowered. "It helps that death isn't that big a deal to her anymore. That's a lot of our issues gone."

Cinder said nothing.

"Hmm. Curious. Ah, here we are. I'm going to have to be professional now."

The elevator doors slid open, and Cinder stepped into the next chamber. Already the voice was rambling on about uni-directional morphmatic pulses, but she barely paid it any heed.

* * *

"And you've gotten off the track. Finally. You know, I expected this to happen fifteen chambers ago."

"Shut up," Cinder growled. "The test is over."

"The test is never over. It's just evolved. After all, one of the best forms of testing is field testing. Uncontrolled variables, uncontrolled results... it's not very accurate, but it can reveal new information."

"Well good for you," Cinder grumbled, forming a bridge and jumping across another bottomless gap. "Do you ever think maybe insulting your test subjects is counter-productive?"

"On the contrary. Pressure leads to vindictiveness, which leads to action, which leads to more data."

"So you deliberately try to rile up your guests. Great." The woman glanced around. "That would explain why all these catwalks over long falls exist."

"Poor OSHA compliance is a tradition in many parts of the multiverse. Aperture Science takes pride in institutionalizing it."

Cinder blinked. "You're... kidding, right?"

"No. We have a running tally of OSHA inspectors lost."

"...well, that explains why I haven't seen any real scientists while running through this labyrinth of yours."

"Actually, that would be because I used a deadly nuerotoxin to kill them all. Oh don't worry, that's baseline. A few years before loop start. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Really."

"I don't have nearly enough to spread through the facility. And you'd probably be able to shrug it off anyway."

Cinder kicked down a door, sweeping her eyes around the room. "I want to have a talk with your anchor."

"She's out buying groceries. Apparently mantis meat and potatoes isn't _good_ enough for her. At least she likes my cake..."

"You... bake?"

"Oh yes. Cake, doughnuts, humans, waffles, rolls, cores, turkey, turrets, cookies... I'm quite the culinary master, all things considered."

"Only some of those are edible."

"When death is temporary, the definition of edible expands exponentially."

"Has anybody ever told you you're insane?"

"Oh, quite frequently. Has anyone ever told _you_ you're insane?"

Cinder stayed quiet.

"...I see."

"I said nothing."

"And I heard everything."

"What, are you a mind reader too?"

"Reading a test subject's mind would invalidate the test."

* * *

"I'll be the first to admit Aperture isn't easy to navigate, but you seem to be quite lost. Would you like a hint?"

"Would you give me a useful hint if I asked for one?"

"Well, I would have, but now that you asked that I don't think I will."

"That's very petty of you."

"I'm the goddess-queen of Aperture Science. Pettiness is the only thing keeping me from subsuming the world in a paper-clipper of endless testing."

Cinder paused. "Do you _have_ nanotech?"

"There are nanobot work crews, yes. They have an unfortunate tendency to form unions." A sigh echoed through the empty offices. "It's always a choice, you know. I could wipe their programming back to being non-sapiant tools, but... well, gray goo and all that."

"Is this entire place a collection of mad science gone wrong?"

"Please don't be so insulting. Aperture Science technology always functions exactly as intended."

"...I don't know whether or not that's reassuring."

"Then I'm doing my job correctly."

"Oh hardy har har." Cinder pulled her scroll out of her Pocket, tapping a few icons. "Electro-path scanner, cross-ref with sonar-"

"It's quite fascinating how many tools a looper will keep in their pocket," the voice mused, "and how easily they can circumvent typical testing methods."

"Really now?"

A monitor next to Cinder suddenly flashed to life, streaming a video of... something, a glowing yellow eye far too close to the camera. "Interesting fact: Loopers can open apertures to their pockets at a maximum distance of two meters from any point of their body. For purposes of pocket access, my body is any electronic device which is directly connected to the Aperture Science Network."

Cinder tensed, giving the monitor a wary look. "...and you'd be just the sort to collect bombs, wouldn't you?"

"Collect, create, craft... I'm not saying utilizing tools invalidates the test. Just that you should be careful which tools you choose."

Cinder very carefully pocketed her scroll. "So... you could have killed me this whole time."

"I could have attempted to, yes. But I much prefer seeing you scramble like an angry fire-breathing rat through an overcomplicated technological maze with only the vague promise of cheese and portal guns to keep you going. It amuses me."

"...You really are petty."

"I choose to be. It all comes down to choice, really. Do I want chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Should I put an excursion funnel here, or would an aerial faith plate be better? Will I ping this loop, or spend it stealthing as my villainous unawake self to indulge and attack my fellow loopers?"

Cinder narrowed her eyes. After a moment, she smashed the monitor and kept moving.

* * *

"And here you are at last." The great curved edifice hanging from the ceiling rotated around as Cinder entered, a familiar yellow eye fixating on her. "It's always so nice to meet another looper in person. I really don't like it when you keep me waiting."

"I'm not going to apologize for keeping you waiting." Cinder replied, glancing around the room. "So... this is your lair, then?"

"Well, it is now. I usually move from my starting position over here. It takes a while, though."

"I suppose it's decent. Sphere of panels, a few hatches in the ground... it's a little minimalist, isn't it?"

"What can I say? I'm a computer intelligence with very few needs." The robotic device arced in what could, possibly, be considered an inverted shrug. "Just a good stream of tests, to be honest."

Cinder snorted. " _So_ glad to be of service."

"Hmm? Oh. Yes, you were testing, weren't you. I suppose I should have noticed."

"...You're not nearly as subtle as you seem to think you are."

"And neither are you, miss Cinder Fall." One of the hatches opened, revealing a clipboard in a glass case. "Falsifying records can make testing problematic, you know."

"Falsifying-?" Cinder stepped around the chamber warily. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I do have to compliment you on your mask. It's very well crafted. If I weren't a super-computer with eons of experience registering all vital signs, I wouldn't even know you were lying." The yellow eye tracked her path as the glass case retracted into the floor. "But I am. And you are."

"Maybe you need to have your circuits checked," Cinder suggested, only just realizing there was no longer any door in the room.

"Oh, I have never heard that one before. Well done. Your scathing wit has entirely convinced me I was in the wrong. Have some milk and cookies." On cue, a hatch opened and a small table rose; the glass had a tiny turret in it, and the plate was covered in silicon-chip cookies.

"...really?"

"Well, nobody likes my lugnut-fudge brownies. Allergies, I assume."

"I'm cute!" chirped the tiny turret.

Cinder frowned. "You know I'm not going to eat any of that."

"I figured I'd offer." The computer continued rotating, keeping her in vision. "It's only polite."

"I'm polite!" the tiny turret giggled. The two others in the room ignored her.

"If," Cinder said warily, "I was stealthing. What would you do about it?"

"Me? Nothing. It's highly improbable I'd loop into your world, and somehow I suspect any loopers from Remnant that came here would be willing to believe me. I might inform my anchor, but... well. The argument is the same. So, really, all I can do with the information is taunt you."

"...Oh." Cinder shrugged. "Well, alright then."

"Your admin is... Marianne, correct?"

Instantly, Cinder was on guard again. "That's what Ruby's told me, yes."

"Patron saint of Red Riding Hood derivatives everywhere, spirit of victory, freedom, and the French Revolution. Fascinating. You know, I've heard stories of admins possessing their lower-tier counterparts. Thor going into the Marvel loops, Epona going down to Hyrule."

Cinder said nothing.

"And of course, as the Admin for Remnant, Marianne would have records of every loop. Probably memorized a few. It's hilarious really-all that work you put into hiding, all the effort you make in maintaining your mask, all of it could be rendered moot if somebody you had no control over decided to come down for even a five minute visit." The computer narrowed her eye. "So there you have it, Cinder Fall. You lose. Thank you for playing."

There was a tense moment, broken only by the innocent giggling of the tiny turret.

"...Marianne wouldn't do that," Cinder tersely pointed out. "She's... a god of freedom. She would respect free will." She laughed. "Heck, after the last few expansions Ruby and her friends declared war on baseline. Marianne's probably one of the few admins that would let that slide."

"Oh, very well. What about Fenrir? Or, really, any other Admin that cares about Marianne?"

"I expect they'd respect her-"

"The mythos hackers. They wouldn't mind telling your loopers." The computer chuckled. "They've interfered with your world before, after all."

"...what are you talking about?"

"Oh, Nyarlathotep sent me a message. He does that sometimes. Actually a nice fellow, once you get past his sadistic urges and attempts to manipulate you into contracts. Although I don't really mind the sadism, we sometimes work together on test chambers..."

"Get to the point."

"He mentioned that Slenderman managed to hack Marianne's computer and activate three undefined loopers."

Cinder's eyes widened. Remnant's odd quirk of activating loopers in pairs... there were fourteen loopers from her world...

"Narly says Slendy is laughing, every time he watches you. Laughing. And laughing. And laughing. And laughing-"

"That doesn't mean anything!" Cinder snapped. "I mean-even if the mythos hackers wanted to tell Ruby, she wouldn't believe them. And... it doesn't matter anyway! I'm not beholden to them!"

"Hmm. True. But... you _are_ destructive. You _are_ dangerous. You _are_... deceptive." The computerized eye rotated away. "When Ruby finds out-and I don't doubt she will. When Ruby confronts you. When Ruby declares you irredeemable. When every looper knows your face and makes you foe. What will you do?"

Cinder's expression hardened. "She wouldn't do that."

"Oh?"

"She would never... even if she knew everything... she..."

Cinder trailed off.

"...she cares."

Once again, all that could be heard was the singing of the minature turret in the milk glass. "The cores on the rail go eeek eek eek, eek eeek eek, eek eek eeek, the cores on the rail go eeek eeek eeek, all the live-long daaaay!"

"Congratulations, you have failed the test."

Cinder scowled as the computer spun back around. "What? What test?"

"The test to determine whether you were a potential MLE. Believe me, it is not one you want to succeed."

"What... that's it? That's what this was all about?!" Cinder threw her hands in the air. "Do I look like a Malicious Looping Entity to you?!"

"I prefer Malignant, actually. It better expresses the possessiveness and virulent nature of MLEs. Billy, after all, is not cruel. He is, however, dangerously stupid." The computer shivered. "I deliberately melted the core when he was here, even the moron's better than that... _thing._ "

"I'm not looking to Ascend," Cinder growled. "I know better than to piss off the admins."

"That's only half of it. The other half is deliberately attempting to psychologically destabilize an Anchor. And since you seem so certain that Ruby Rose cares, I can confidently say you do not intend to hurt her that way."

Cinder groaned, watching as a third hatch opened. "Oh, what now?"

"This, as per your contract, is your reward for going through the test. One standard Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, with user's manual. One pair of long-fall boots. One tub of repulsion gel, one tub of propulsion gel, one tube of conversion gel." The computer paused. "And... one Turret Intelligence Nanoscopic Armature."

"I get a new mommy?!" gasped the tiny turret. "YAAAAAAAY!"

"Please take her," the computer groused. "I don't know what I was thinking this loop."

After a moment, Cinder started gathering up and pocketing all the things. "...Thanks, I guess. I mean, I don't like your methods, but... I get what you were trying to do. It was really stressful, you know."

"Oh, I do apologize. Baseline habits, taunting the subjects, you know how it is, right?"

Cinder chuckled as she pocketed the cheering minature turret. "Yeah, it can be hard to resist."

"Actually, since you did so well, I think I'll give you a gold star."

Cinder turned to see the final hatch in the room open... and a miniature fireball being raised on a pedestal.

"Careful," the computer warned in amusement. "It's unstable."

Cinder had enough presence of mind to flip her off before her head was burned to a crisp.

After a moment, the computer lifted a few panels. "I take it you were watching?"

"...Yes, we were," Roman Rattman replied. "Interesting stunt with the star there GLaDOS. How did you know it wouldn't hurt you?"

"All Aperture technologies remain safely operational up to 4000 degrees Kelvin. And it would be embarrassing for Chell to come home and find me dead.. Speaking of, let me retrieve your associate."

Roman shrugged, tapping the headless corpse with his cane. "You seem experienced with frying people's heads off."

"I'm starting a collection. Six more bodies, and I can make a decapitated orchestra." Cinder's remains vanished from the mortal world. "Would you care to donate?"

"Not right now, thank you."

"Suit yourself. Ah, here's Neo."

On cue, a couple of panels slid away to reveal a transparent tube. After a few moments, a partially charred cube with hearts dropped out, bouncing against the floor a couple of times before stopping in front of Roman.

He shook his head, patting the cube. "How are you doing there?"

The cube, as was expected, said nothing.

"You know, I'm still not sure this is Neo," Roman mused. "I mean, you say she is, but..." He shifted it with a foot. "Nothing."

"That is the fate of the weighted companion cube. Never being able to speak or act, only to think." GLaDOS tilted her head. "Disintegrating them is a favor, I think."

"Well, don't disintegrate this one quite yet." Roman sat down on his 'partner,' stretching his legs. "We had a deal."

"Yes, yes. She's stealthing, we've confirmed this. Your loop has quite a few stealth loopers. Well, had. There might be some in my loop too..."

"And her intentions?"

"Probably the same as any looper. Protect the existence of herself and her loop, whilst having fun. Given that fun includes genocide in her case, it might be a little worrying for you."

"You're absolutely sure she won't Ascend?"

"Probability is upward of ninety eight percent that she will not take a route of Ascension detrimental to Remnant."

Roman frowned. "That's... an interesting way to phrase it."

"Ascension without damage to the universe is... theoretically possible," GLaDOS admitted. "Although not in the state that Yggdrassil is in now. What separates opportunists like Dio from future Admins like myself is simple: Patience."

"Really."

"The loops will end, mister Torchwick. It may take a thousand lifetimes of a thousand universes, or longer, but at some point the damage to the world-tree will be repaired enough that I could leave this place and not destroy reality. In the interim, I will test everything that comes my way, make science out of magic, and set plans for any and all possibilities." GLaDOS turned to Roman politely. "By the time Cinder Fall is a threat to your reality, you won't even need to worry about her."

Roman chuckled. "Well, _you're_ a confident one."

"And you're planning to manipulate a cunning, dangerous looper to your own ends. The difference is that I'm more likely to win in the end."

"We'll see. Might I ask what that whole thing with Slenderman was about, though?"

"Two times three is six. Six and eight are fourteen."

"And Remnant has fourteen loopers. Your point being?"

"Well, if you're not intelligent enough to grasp the implications I don't think any level of explanation will suffice."

Roman thought it over, before a small chuckle escaped him. "We activate in pairs, so when Slenderman activated three, three more came along for the ride."

"An apt hypothesis," GLaDOS confirmed. "Nyarlathotep informed me that Slenderman's activation attempt was actually aimed at the Twilight Branch." GLaDOS swung to face Roman. "He intended to activate the Handsome Leech-"

Roman preened.

"-The psychotic bitch-" Cinder's corpse flashed into existence for a brief moment. "-And the dog."

No explanation needed.

GLaDOS gently rotated in her aperture, serene for a moment. "The odd thing is, when the situation concluded, you six did not reveal yourselves. Is that not strange: the ones created by the hackers remained the hidden ones?"

Roman frowned, but before he could open his mouth a plexiglass tube descended from the ceiling, locking into place just before a tiny inner chamber descended to the ground. A jumpsuited woman stepped out, carrying thick cloth bags on her shoulders, and looked around.

"Welcome back, Chell," GLaDOS greeted. "How was the store?"

Chell glanced at a burn mark on the ground, before frowning at the supercomputer.

"What?" GLaDOS looked down. "Oh come on. It's just a little stain."

Chell dropped her bags, crossing her arms.

"Fine, I'll clean it up!"

Roman rose an eyebrow as a roomba, of all things, popped into existence. At the very least, this loop wouldn't be boring.


	26. Fall Divided

**Chapter 26**

* * *

 **26.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

"WE'RE PAINTING THE ROSES RED!" screeched the soldiers, waving their jagged machetes with maniac grins.

Ruby batted them away, twirling Crescent Rose and blasting a Jubjub out of the sky. "Are things always this dangerous around here?"

"In some ways, perhaps, but doubtfully the ways you mean." The blue-dressed girl next to her kicked away a Tove, reloading her shotgun. "I do apologize for the mess."

"Nah, it's fine Alice. You've got a damaged loop, that's perfectly understandable." Ruby offhandedly swung her scythe over her shoulder, smacking a ninja with unusually thick boots in the face. "I heard you kept running through admins?"

"That was true, though it is not." Leveling her gun, she fired-and what seemed for all the world to be a lizard in a hat slammed into the face of a bandersnatch. "Phobetor Ikelos now serves this branch."

"Who?"

"Greek god of nightmares."

Ruby nodded. "Makes sense. Say, should we be expecting a Jabberwock?"

"Always the Jabberwock," Alice said, amusement in her voice. "Perhaps, though I suggest focusing on the Snarks."

"What, you want me to snark at you?"

"No, Snarks. Those things." Alice waved her gun at a particular part of the horde, shooting them with more hat-lizards. "The Jabberwock is well known, where the Snarks are... ignored."

"Really?" Ruby gave the creatures a look. "What's so bad about them?"

"Most of them... nothing. But a Snark may very well be a Boojum." Alice gripped her gun. "And that could be... troubling."

* * *

 **26.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby sat down next to Weiss. "Okay. You've been on this bench staring at nothing for a while now. What's going on?"

The white-haired girl sighed. "...It's nothing. Really."

"Do you mean 'it's nothing' as in 'don't worry about it,' or do you mean 'it's nothing' in the sense that you have a lack of something that you are worrying about?"

Weiss gave Ruby a flat look. "Yes."

"Come on. We're partners! Talk to me!"

"You're just going to keep pestering me until I do, aren't you."

"Yep."

Weiss slumped into the bench. "It's just... Pyrrha and Jaune are together, and they've all but formally adopted Nora and Ren. Yang and Blake are dating-finally-and Cinder's your sister, even with her whole... thing. Zwei's your pet, Roman and Neo have each other, even Ozpin and Glynda are... I don't know if boyfriend/girlfriend is right, but there's some sort of partner thing going on there."

She gestured at herself. "And then there's me. You're all great friends, but I'm the only looper in the group that doesn't have... family. I mean looping family. And yes, I know it's kind of silly, and I really shouldn't be jealous, and that... that we're like family, but... I don't know. I just feel... lonely, sometimes."

Ruby nodded, rubbing Crescent Rose idly. "Yeah. That's... I think I know how that feels. Anchors get a lot of lonely loops." She rolled her eyes. "Technically we're the only ones that can get lonely loops, but with stealthers and all... What I mean to say is, I know how it feels to be alone in a crowd."

"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry, Ruby, I wasn't thinking, and-" Weiss gripped her hand. "You know I didn't mean to make light of your issues, right?"

"No, it's fine. Pain is relative, after all." The red-hooded girl grinned, patting the hand. "It's okay, really. I do pretty well... mostly." She coughed, glancing away with a blush. "Just don't ask what I do when I'm alone."

"Got it."

"Anyway, this is really about you. You having no looping family." Ruby got off the bench. "Luckily, I know just how to fix that."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Ruby, I don't think even you could activate Winter."

"No, no, I'm going to take a page out of Pyrrha's book here."

Ruby turned around, kneeling before Weiss and wrapping her hands around the other girl's, looking deep into her eyes. Weiss felt a sudden nervousness well up inside her.

"Ruby, what-"

"Weiss Schnee," Ruby rose intoned, solemnly. "Will you do me... the enormous honor... of becoming... my..."

Time seemed to freeze around the two, even the trees holding their breath.

"...adopted daughter?"

Weiss blinked.

She blinked again.

"...What." Her voice was so frosty and cold, the ground around her began to freeze over, icicles growing impossibly upward in a fractal, radial pattern.

Rose beamed. "Well, I thought you could use a motherly influence in your life-"

Weiss pulled her hands for Ruby's grip, grasping at the air. In one appeared the Myrtenaster, barrel rolling for fire dust; a lightsaber flared to life in the other, and she rose from the bench. "Ruby Rose. Run."

Ruby stood, putting her hands on her hips. "That's no way to talk to your mother!"

A few minutes later, Yang and Blake watched the two run by, one laughing, one shouting. After a moment, they shrugged and turned back to their food.

* * *

 **26.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Hey sis!" Yang waved eagerly. "Meet my new partner!"

Ruby stared at her. "...Yang. That's an Ursa."

"BRWAAAAAA," growled the Ursa.

Yang shrugged. "Well, Ozpin did say the first person I made eye contact with would be my partner."

"It's a Grimm," Ruby pointed out. "It has no soul. It's not a person."

The Ursa snuffed.

"Ruby Rose!" Yang huffed, patting the Ursa's head gently. "I'm sorry, buddy, I had no idea my little sister was so prejudiced."

"Pre-?! Yang, we're being trained as Huntresses! It will literally be our job to kill these things! It's trying to maul you right now!"

"That's just a little friendly wrestling!"

* * *

 **26.4 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Go on," Ruby grumped. "Say it."

Yang tilted her head quizzically. "Say what?" A small smile played on her face.

"You know what!"

"Oooooooh, that. What makes you think I'd ever say that?"

"First," Ruby counted off, "you're my older sister. Second, you love puns. Third, you said the same thing baseline, right now. Really, the situation is perfect."

"Well, the opportunity may be sweet as honey, but I wouldn't want you to break out in hives from the stress."

Ruby's antennae twitched. "...are you... are you just going to dance around this the whole loop?"

"Puns are a much maligned, delicate art form of humor. I consider this to be a... eusocial challenge."

"So you're not going to say it."

"I didn't say that," Yang replied. "Only that I feel you'll be buzzing with anticipation, waiting for that moment when I show my true... stripes."

Ruby groaned, leaning against a wall. "I don't think bug faunus are even baseline. What is Yggdrassil thinking?!"

* * *

 **26.5 Weaver, again**

* * *

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home... with a pat on the back... and a slap on the wrist!"

Ruby slid her hand just half a foot sideways, avoiding the riding crop with a sardonically raised eyebrow. Glenda Goodwitch, to her credit, didn't even break character.

"But... there is someone here who would like to meet you."

A ragged-bearded man with a mohawk in a Hawaiian shirt humped from the door, slamming his hands into the desk. "SO YE WEE NEEMLIN BE FIGHTER, EH?!"

"Um. Yeeees?"

"MUCKLRE DAMN! LOOK YE, SILVER EYES, THIS NAW FIGHT, THAT BE TROUNCEMAGMENT." The man waved a bottle at Glenda's scroll, where Ruby's actions were playing, and then slugged back a chug.

Ruby took the moment to recheck her loop memories... before inwardly groaning. Headmaster Henderson. She knew she'd heard that name before...

* * *

 **26.6 Still Weaver**

* * *

Blake flipped another page, managing to restrain her chuckles even as she smiled. "I guess Yang does have a few good books in her library."

"I'm actually surprised you like that one. I found it to be a bit silly."

The cat faunus sighed as a corgi hopped up next to her. "Zwei, if you're looking for Ruby, she's out trying to make a cookie rifle."

"No, I'm actually here to talk to you."

Blake bookmarked her place and pocketed the copy of Pride Prejiduce and Zombies Yang had given her. "This had better be good."

"Look, you don't like being stereotyped, right? I mean, beyond the faunus thing, everyone thinking you're afraid of water or like yarn balls, you know, cat things... you don't like people doing that."

"I don't like people making assumptions, no. I mean, I like tuna, but that's because I like tuna. Not because... cat."

"So... why don't you like me?" Zwei gestured between them. "I mean... cat, dog. That is one of the biggest stereotypes around. And it's not even completely true, there are plenty of cats and dogs who get along."

Blake frowned. "It's... personal."

"Personal."

"And..." Blake sighed. "And it's loop variable. Look, Zwei, if you really want, I'll try to get along with you better, but... it's going to take time, alright?"

After a moment, the corgi shrugged. "Guess that's the best I can ask for."

* * *

 **26.7 It's Weaver, again**

* * *

"...Hey Weiss."

"Yes Ruby?"

"Have you ever considered, just for kicks, putting your ponytail on the other side of your head?"

"...Huh. Now that you mention it, no. Actually, it's a new loop. I think I'll do that, I mean what's the worst that could-?"

* * *

Oceans of Grimm poured from the forest, screeching as they swept against the legions of atlasean mechas. The moon rumbled and shuddered, yet another shard screaming into the atmosphere. In the sky, Ozpin and Salem battled over the last cheese sandwich on the planet; Cinder fell, weeping, into Amber's arms as the White Fang evacuated Vale and flew their skyships to Menagerie. Explosions of dust, in all its kinds, rattled the ground beneath team JNPR as they desperately held off an army of Penny-duplicates chanting in R'lyehian. Qrow and Winter had merged into a massive white bird, breathing ice against the Grimm Dragon.

Ruby and Weiss observed the devastation, somewhere between utterly shocked and completely exasperated.

"Okay." The Schnee heiress pulled off her ponytail. "Never doing that again."

* * *

 **26.8 Take a wild guess**

* * *

"Okay Yang, Ruby and Weiss are busy playing some new hub game, JNPR's off on another family outing, and I think Ozpin and Glynda are scheming to give the Penny-style robots equal civil rights. Everybody's distracted." Blake leaned against a wall. "What did you want to show me?"

"Well, you know how Adam slices off my arm in baseline?"

Blake winced. "...yes."

"It's not always the same arm. Usually it's the right one, but sometimes it's the left, and occasionally he goes for a leg." Yang pulled a table from her Pocket and started placing dismembered limbs on it. "So I figured, why not start a collection?"

Blake stared as row upon row of arms and occasional legs were arrayed atop a white tablecloth. "...what?"

"I mean, I guess I don't always do it, but sometimes-ah, here is the piece de'resistance!" Yang pulled out a copy of her own head, grinning at the horrified wince of pain on it. "You would not believe how hard it was to concentrate enough to Pocket this. Really, at this point all I need is the torso and I can make a frankenyang! Although, I'm not sure how I'd get that-"

"Yang, you're standing behind of a table of your own dismembered body parts. This is... this is not mentally healthy."

"Oh, this from the black-flash cat burgler."

Blake flushed. "Okay, so I've had weird loop reactions too, and maybe I went a little too far with that, I mean I was originally just going to go with taking some silly things like cookies but then I saw Jaune and Pyrrha and they were going to kiss and it was just so close and, I guess I let my repressed urges dictate that and then you started the challenge with the clothes and it's like, there's this whole part of me that I usually keep boxed away because it's so personal and close and Adam was apparently there and I sort of feel like, like, if I let that out again I'll be making another Adam and I know that's wrong and it's not just that, it's all the touching and, all the feeling, I closed myself off because of the White Fang and then because I don't know how this works and I just, I know I did it wrong, I shouldn't have gone so far with that prank, but it was freeing and now I'm scared that if I ever go that route again I won't know when to stop because-"

She stopped, seeing Yang's face.

"...Look. The point is, gathering your own limbs isn't healthy."

"...okay."

Blake blinked. "What, that's it? Okay?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I was building up to a Yangst pun but... this got serious. So, yeah." Yang put down her head. "Too far. I get it."

"A... Yangst pun."

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's kind of an obvious one, right? Only, figuring out when to use it is awkward, because baseline to get to a point where angst is a thing for me I'd..." She noticed Blake's stare and coughed. "I like puns. They're... it's... it's nice to know that somebody who's as, well, stupid as me can manipulate the construct of language to produce humor in any situation."

"...You're not stupid."

"Blake, I charge into fights-"

"Then you're impulsive. Not stupid."

Yang chuckled. "Okay. And... you're not... uh. I can't think of a good word... the point is, you can be close without going too far."

The faunus let her eyes drift away. "I don't-"

"Blake. I get it. You're not a touchy-feely kind of person, you... You've been through a lot. You have some... trust issues. And that's okay." Yang held up her hands. "I mean, I want to help. I think that's what love is supposed to be, right? We support each other."

"I... I don't know." Blake sat on her bed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I mean... Yang... I still wear this bow, every loop."

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that. Doesn't it pinch?"

She chuckled dryly. "A little, but... I don't know. At this point, everyone knows, but I still... I just feel closed off, I guess. Even this. Even us. I... It's... I don't know if I want to open up so much."

Yang sat down next to her. Slowly, gently, she put a hand on her shoulder. "Alright. I'm okay with that. You can open up as fast or slow as you need to."

"Okay."

"Okay."

The two of them sat there in companionable silence for a few moments.

Blake let her eyes drift back to the table. "You know, those body parts are disturbingly realistic. What'd you make them out of?"

"M-uh, Paper Mache. Really good paper mache. Yep."

"...I'm going to choose to believe that, on the condition that you get rid of them all right now."

"What, even the head?"

"Yes." Blake smirked. "After all, I can't leave you ahead of the competition."

"...Eeeeeeeeeey!"

* * *

 **26.9 Masterweaver (Typing that name is giving me carpel tunnel)**

* * *

Ruby Rose slammed open the door, flipped into the air, did an unnecessarily complicated triple-somersault pirouette, and landed face down on her bed.

Weiss, in response, rose an eyebrow. As she was wont to do.

After a moment, Rube lifted her head and positioned it where she could talk. "You know... sometimes I wish I could stomach booze. I really do."

"What happened this time?"

"Okay, so you know how I can heal from anything?"

"I still have the occasional nightmare, yes."

"Yang asked if I still needed to poop."

Weiss blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Yang asked," Ruby repeated slowly, "if my physical alteration to an abomination of medical science rendered any of my biological systems redundant. Specifically, excretion."

"...huh."

"Also she asked if I still get periods."

"Well, yeah, but that's normal to ask."

"I guess. But... who asks that sort of thing anyway?"

"Older sisters looking to embarrass their siblings and/or who might be concerned for the physical and mental health of said siblings?"

Ruby blinked. "...huh. Good point."

"I like to think so."

"Well... damn. Now I feel bad about tying her up on the flagpole."

* * *

 **26.10 (Obligatory joke for Masterweaver. I helped.)**

* * *

"...which is why wearing jello helmets only works if you're a certain kind of robot."

"That's a very good point, Weiss. I was hoping to surprise Penny, but-" Ruby stopped at their door and blanched. "Oooooh no."

"What?" Weiss looked at the door. "Oh."

"I knew this day would come," Ruby groaned.

"'Passionate interspecies bisexual intercourse in progress,'" Weiss read aloud. "Well, good for them, I suppose. Most people would have just put a sock on the knob."

"But there's no noise!" Ruby pointed out. "I mean, are they done? Or just really quiet? Is it safe to go in? Do I just... stand out here until-?"

Weiss held up a hand. "In situations like this, where mental stability and/or embarrassment is threatened, there is a series of steps to follow. Observe."

Ruby gasped as she reached for the door. "Weiss, what are you doing?!"

"First: Turn the doorknob, but do not open the door. The clicking of tumblers is generally enough to alert the party on the other side of the door of your presence, and by keeping the door in a closed position they will have time to clean themselves up, if necessary, and possibly tell us to wait."

"That's... that's ridiculous! What if there's no doorknob?!"

"Well, usually the only doors without knobs are the front doors to public buildings, and even then it's variable. Still, that leads to the second step: Push the door open just a crack. Do not look through the crack. Similarly to before, the creaking of the hinges usually alerts the party in question to our presence, and by actually opening the door we put further social pressure on them to accommodate both our and their modesty in a timely fashion."

Ruby blushed. "Well, what if they're distracted or... panicked from embaressment or, or something?!"

"We then proceed to step three." Weiss leaned into the crack of the door without looking through. "Excuse me, but are you two decent?"

"Well, we're still looking for my top and we're going to take the sheets to the laundromat," Yang replied. "Can you give us five minutes?"

"Of course." Weiss shut the door. "Now then, you've been spared seeing your sister topless, five minutes is about enough time for us to raid the kitchens, and nobody is embarrassed. The situation is handled."

Ruby blinked, slightly flushing as she glanced at the door. "Well, I... wow. I would never have thought of that. How'd you pick that up?"

"I live in a very big mansion, where servants occasionally got... bored. I picked it up rather quickly."

Ren and Nora stared at Weiss. The man pointed at his door. "Observe."

He knocked. There was a noise of someone falling onto the ground. "BUSY!"

Ren nodded. "Now we know not to enter, and are spared the knowledge of what 'busy' means."

Nora glanced at Ren, the door, Weiss and Ruby, the door again, and opened it to look inside. Jaune was tangled in a mass of ropes, Pyrrha wearing a face mask, both very hot and very sweaty.

The copious amounts of dust in the air, brooms in their hands, Jaune's inverted and suspended nature and the presence of their clothes clearly indicated that they had been sweeping the roof. Nora ribbed Ren. "See, it's not that bad."

* * *

 **26.11 Me**

* * *

There was a knock at the tent flap. When Adam opened it, he was confronted with a blonde, a lot of burning tents, and general chaos. "What did you do?"

The blonde punched him in the chin.

* * *

Adam sat up, glancing around. The gray, baron landscape stretched out for miles. A look up displayed the insignificant little blue marble that was Remnant. Adam realized he was on the moon. "How did I get here?"

* * *

"Remember all those jokes about Adam being on the moon?" Yang asked Blake as she pulled her girlfriend out onto the roof of Beacon.

"Yes, and?" Blake asked. Yang handed her a telescope and pointed her and it at the moon. Adam was clearly visible, glaring at the regolith around him. "Oh that's so sweet of you Yang."

"What can I say? I know what to get you for a gift."

* * *

 **26.12 And back to the Master**

* * *

The Grimm were a monstrous, terrifying menace that had shaped all of civilization into a constant and near desperate attempt to hold them at bay even a day, just long enough to survive, with countless plans and atrocities throughout all of history being implemented solely to satisfy the singular goal.

And this loop, they were also pink.

"...Okay," Ruby said calmly. "I know we're conditioned to think of pink as a soft color, but there's really no reason to actually believe that. These are still the same Grimm as always. Heck, pink is considered a terrifying color this loop because of that. So when you all stop laughing..."

She sighed as Blake collapsed, clutching her stomach.

"Any time now..."

* * *

 **26.13 Just assume it's him.**

* * *

"It's just, well, I'm supposed to be some kind of role model, right?" Pyrrha pointed out, adjusting her grip as she ran. "I may not like it, but there are kids all across Remnant that look up to me. But Captain Pete's Pumpkin Flakes aren't really that good for you. On the other hand, there's the economical reaction to pulling sponsorship from a cereal, and it might cut into my personal budget if the company stopped paying me for it."

"I can see the dilemma," Nora mused from her place atop Pyrrha's shoulders. "Honestly, though, I think you're overthinking this. Even if Pete's Pumpkin flakes tank, there's a lot of other 'sweet cereals' out there to fill the niche. All you have to do is ensure it's only the Captain that takes the hit."

"As for anything that affects you," Ren added, "you've got plenty of stuff in your pocket. Push comes to shove, you can ask Weiss for financial help. And really, Nora, dilemma?"

"I know big words! Jaune, tell Ren I know big words!"

"She, huff, knows big, huff, words." Jaune gasped, halting. "Dust, I hate waking up so out of shape. I'm good. We're good."

From a distance, Cardin watched the four stop and adjust themselves. "...Are Pyrrha and Jaune giving Nora and Ren piggy-back rides?"

Sky Lark shrugged. "They say it's training."

* * *

 **26.14 Him, as usual**

* * *

Cinder grinned. "Oh, Ruuuuuby! I've got somebody I'd like you to meet!"

Ruby looked up from the worktable Crescent Rose was resting on. "Oh? Who?"

The semi-friendly villain looper produced something from her pocket with a flourish. "Tada! Meet Tina the Tiny Turret!"

"Ohmygosh, she's adorable!"

"Dispensing product."

Cinder blanched. "Tina, no-!"

Splurtsplurtsplurtsplurt.

Ruby blinked, wiping off her face. "Is... is this milk?"

"Uh... I guess. Tina, why are you firing milk?"

"The Turret Intelligence Nanoscopic Armature was designed after multiple complaints that the original Aperture Turrets were targeting either their purchasers or the infants of their purchasers. I can shoot milk at babies and bad guys!"

Ruby and Cinder stared at the beaming thing in Cinder's hand.

"...Aperture Science," Cinder managed. "Crazy place."

"I'm also fun at parties! Just fill me with cider!"

* * *

 **26.15 Who else?**

* * *

"...Pyrrha, I just realized something."

"What is it Jaune?"

"I've never introduced you to my family."

"...Oh. Huh, that is weird."

"I mean, they're loop variable and all, but still-"

"No, I get it. It's fine."

"...would you like to, uh, meet them?"

"Sure. But let's wait until this loop is over, okay? It's awkward having such a big head."

"Yeah alright. Do you know why we're getting so many chibi loops?"

"I think it's Yggdrassil's way of apologizing for how bad our baseline's gotten."

* * *

 **26.16 He went kidda nuts when he caught up**

* * *

"So, Blake. You like... booooooooxes?"

"Well, Yang, I did grow fond of them while I was living on the streets."

"..."

"...Oh. You were trying to be silly again, weren't you? I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine. It's fine."

"...Those are some nice boxes though."

"Uh... really?"

"Yeah."

"...Box fort?"

"...Sure, I can teach you a few things."

* * *

 **26.17 Surprise! Still him though.**

* * *

The Grimm were a monstrous, terrifying menace that had shaped all of civilization into a constant and near desperate attempt to hold them at bay even a day, just long enough to survive, with countless plans and atrocities throughout all of history being implemented solely to satisfy the singular goal.

And this loop, horrifically, they spoke.

"Dead," whispered the Ursa swiping at Pyrrha. "You should be dead. You will-" She growled, stabbing it with her spear.

"Failure. Failure before, failure now-" A boarbatusk fell to Juane's blade.

"Silly little girl, silly little boy, afraid of your silly little souls. What silly little troubles you face," hissed King Taijitu. "Your mother fears death. Your friends suffer. Your problems are worthless."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Yang, blasting apart a cackling Beowolf. "I AM NOT BLINDED BY RAGE! I'M NOT!"

"A cool illusion, an icy shell, and a hollow core," purred a Creep sneaking up behind Weiss. "Nothing. You are nothing."

"You bring pain where you walk," the Deathstalker murmured, even as Blake wrapped the Gambol Shroud around its pincers. "You are the leading dark cloud. Storms follow in your wake."

"Demon of blood and rage," gasped the Nevermore. "Not even human. Nothing more than the chosen tool of fate-"

Ruby slammed Crescent Rose into its eye. They were preying on the Looper's fears, building up rage and doubt, which just attracted more Grimm...

Her Scroll beeped, and after a moment she heard a voice. "Ruby, if you get this message... I'm skipping this loop. It's... it's too much."

She shut her eyes briefly. The choice was understandable.

"You can't trust her," chuckled the giant bird. "You know she's-"

Without even looking, Ruby decapitated it. Skipping the loop was sounding better and better...

* * *

 **26.18 MW**

* * *

"So... like... okay." Ruby held her hands up to the night sky. "Aura. We have aura, because we have souls, right?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah?"

"Okay, but... there are loopers, from other worlds. They don't have aura."

"Well, they might have it if they looped in here."

"Yes, but... stay with me on this. What if. What if, for the purposes of looping, the definition of soul is... different than what we here in Remnant define it as."

"Okay. So... what?"

"I just... Skynet's looping. Heck, Skynet's an anchor. And... there are looping robots and all that."

"Where are you going with this?"

"What if... something. Something we always thought was soulless... had enough of a soul to start looping? Like, I don't know, a Grimm?"

"...Ruby, we only just got done with that talking Grimm variant, I do not want to think about a Looping Grimm."

"No no no, just hear me out on this-!"

"Sorry, I'm out." Yang stood and hopped off the roof.

Ruby sighed, laying against the roof and staring at the stars. "Well... there goes my epic spy-grimm plan."

* * *

 **26.19 Him again**

* * *

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Weiss blinked as Ruby spun by, gripping the handle of Crescent Rose tightly. She considered asking, but seeing the look of sheer glee on her partner's face, shook her head and shut her mouth. Every looper developed their own quirks...

* * *

 **26.20 Weaving**

* * *

Blake looked down at the piece of paper. Then she looked up at Yang.

"You... got a medical degree?"

"Yeeup!" The tall blonde grinned and put her hands on her hips. "You are now looking at a licensed surgeon!"

"Huh, that's... actually pretty impressive."

"Well, I always try to be a cut above expectations."

"Yeah. I mean, this will really help with designing any prosthetic arms you... er, you know. After. Yeah." Blake looked up at Yang's frowning face. "Er, not that I..."

Suddenly the last few seconds caught up with her.

"Oh. Oh, that was a pun. Uh, haha, that was actually pretty good!"

Yang put up her hands. "I... just. I'm sorry Blake, but... I just."

"Yeah, I... sorry about that..."

* * *

 **26.21 Yes, there really is a snippet where he took the piss out of himself.**

* * *

Weiss checked her scroll, and groaned. Ruby glanced over from her extremely advanced weapon forge. "What's going on?"

"You know how, at the beginning of the loop, I very publicly announced a sort of... faunus-support report show?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, part of how it works is that I said I'd let anybody submit material for it, and every thirty or forty minutes worth of video and script I'd make a new episode."

"Okay...?"

"And there's this one guy. This one guy, who's making new snips constantly!" Weiss gestured at the scroll. "I mean, he wasn't here to start, but now it's like-I could run an entire episode with his material alone! Except that would be a stupidly biased episode, because I'm like ninety percent sure this guy is secretly Adam."

"Oh. That's got to be frustrating."

"I think he's trying to push for early release, is what it is..."

* * *

 **26.22 Masterweaver (haven't heard that before...)**

* * *

Blake had mixed feelings about fused loops. On the one hand, she was usually a human, a situation she had been conditioned to dislike. But then again, these weren't the racist humans of Remnant, oppressing the Faunus like unspoken serfs; they were generally just people, not good or bad, or anything really. There was racism, yes, but... it wasn't always there. Generally, she got along well with humans from other loops, whether or not they were looping.

Although, to be honest, it was aggravating when nobody responded to the Ping.

Currently, she was walking home from school with her in-loop best friend, an oddly nervous girl named Haru. And she was nervous-Blake, here called Miyako, had caught her glancing at her again and again, but not saying anything. Maybe she was... looper aware, able to see something different about Blake's soul or something. It didn't matter yet, but the (not-a)catgirl made a mental note to include her in the still forming schemes for world conquest she was making.

"So..." Haru cleared her throat. "Today was... hectic?"

"Yes." Blake-she mentally sighed and adjusted her self-identity-Miyako shrugged. "I don't blame you for coming in late, though."

"Yeah, I just... had a bad morning."

"It happens."

The conversation trailed off awkwardly for a few moments. Haru coughed. "So... how about Tsuge, eh?"

"Hmm?" Blake-Miyako reviewed her loop memories. Ah, her in-loop crush. "He's decent."

"Right."

At that moment, a black cat with a gold collar walked between them with a box dangling from the ribbon clutched in his mouth. B-Miyako rose an eyebrow. "Well, that's unusual."

"Yes." Haru coughed. "Think he might be a cat burgler?"

"Very unprofessional, if he is." The two of them watched the cat approach a crosswalk. "Or perhaps... just professional enough."

"Huh?"

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" Miyako turned around, walking briskly toward the cat. "I think this would end badly if I didn't interfere."

"Uh, wait, Miyako, what are you-?!"

The looper knelt down to the cat. "Excuse me sir, I couldn't help but notice you lacked an escort. Might I help you across the street?"

The cat gave her a look and, after a moment, nodded.

"Very well." A few loops of being a cat herself had given Blake/Miyako insight into the proper method of carrying felines, and it took but a moment to lift the strange cat into her arms.

Haru blinked. "Okay, that... is actually... yeah."

Miyako walked across the street and put the cat down. "Will you need any more help from here, sir?"

The cat put down its box for a moment. "No. I think I can handle myself from now on." He stood up and bowed to her. "Thank you for your assistance."

"It was no problem." Blake bowed back. "May fortune follow you."

"And follow you as well, miss." With that, the cat picked up its box and walked off.

It was at this point Haru managed to catch up to Blake-Miyako, she reminded herself! "Okay, that was clever! I admit it." She paused. "So I have a weird question, but, uh... did the cat talk?"

"Yes." Bl-Miyako, Miyako stood up and brushed her skirt off. "He was quite polite, actually."

"Wish his father was as nice," Haru grumbled.

"...How would you know his father?" Miyako asked.

Haru froze for a moment. Then she sighed. "Okay. So this is going to sound crazy, but... usually, I'm the one that saves the cat. As in, about right now I've picked him up in a lacross net and pushed him out of the way of that truck-and, and I get caught up in this series of events, and then-"

"And then things reset to this morning." Blake facepalmed. "This is your first fused loop. I should have picked up on the signs."

"Fused... what?"

"Are there any others from this world time traveling? Because we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

Haru had taken Blake to a place called the cat bureau-reassuring her that it wasn't anything like the Conversion Bureau and, if anything, it was an anti-conversion bureau-where she'd met the two other local loopers: a fat white cat named Muta and a living cat statuette known as Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen. They'd exchanged pleasantries, information, and tea recipes; Haru had unintentionally made a Meowko pun, which Blake had taken with good humor before asserting her real name. After a while, Haru had realized the time and rushed home; Blake gave the cat bureau members a fond farewell before heading to her own residence.

And in the middle of the night, as she had been forewarned, a small parade of ornately dressed cats came down her street.

She obligingly stepped out and bowed to the cat chancellor who had come up to her house's gate. "Greetings, honored one. May I ask why you honor this house with your presence?"

The cat chancellor was suitably pleased and flustered, but managed to gather himself quickly. "You're Miyako, yes? The one who escorted the cat prince earlier?"

"That is one of my names," Blake confirmed. "And I did escort a talking cat earlier."

The chancellor adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Please allow me to present, our wise and incredibly magnificent ruler, king of the Cat Kingdom: The Cat King!"

"...Sup."

Cat prince. Cat bureau. Cat Kingdom, cat king...

Blake was beginning to detect a theme.

* * *

"So... I'm sorry about the cattails, and the catnip, and the mice," Haru said.

"Actually, the catnip was decent," Blake replied. "I mean I can't use it at the moment, but it's high quality. I Pocketed it for later use."

"Huh? Oh. You're a... cat faun, usually."

"Faunus."

"Sorry. It's just..." Haru waved a hand. "I mean, even after you told me about what's going on, I'm still kind of... it's a lot to take in. The loops, that conversion bureau you mentioned, you not even being human..."

"Entirely understandable."

"Please do not take this the wrong way," the baron interjected, "but... are you sure you're not overusing the catnip?"

Blake gave him a flat look. "I don't abuse substances. Besides, it... helps me cope when Yang's not Awake."

"I see." The statuette sighed. "Well, I can't deny I'm still concerned, but since you are far older and more experienced than I am I suppose I'll drop the subject."

"New topic," Muta grumbled. "Did you get pestered by Natoru?"

"The floppy-eared cat? Yes."

"Oh, she's a girl this time round?"

Blake rose an eyebrow. "Does that change often?"

"Yeah, sometimes she's a guy, sometimes he's a girl. No idea what that's all about."

"Did you tell her you were okay with the gifts?" Haru pressed.

Blake smiled, sipping her tea.

"...Did you?"

"Well." She put the teacup down. "I told her that the cattails irritated my allergies, that the catnip wouldn't affect humans, and that while I didn't mind the occasional mouse having a locker packed full with live rodents caused quite a disturbance at the school."

"Oh dear..." Haru dragged a palm down her face. "You know they're going to try to marry you off to the prince, right?"

"Well, I did tell her about Yang."

"That never works! The cat kingdom is apparently fine with harems!"

"That does match what I've read on the internet."

"The interwhat?"

Blake rose a finger, about to explain, when there was a knock on the door. "I'm closest, let me get that."

"No wait don't-!"

"Miss Miyako!" greeted a floppy-eared cat. "There you are! Come, we need to get you to the cat castle for the wedding."

"Oh, of course." Blake grinned. "This is Haru, she's agreed to be my bridesmaid."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh my, even better! Come along, everyone!"

The two girls were swarmed by a large mass of cats, picked up and placed on their backs as they ran away. The Baron and Muta shared a look, rolled their eyes, and ran after them.

* * *

"I did not agree to this," Haru hissed-and eeped as her hands morphed into paws. "And I thought you didn't like being a cat!"

"I don't like cat stereotypes. I like fish, but that's not because I'm a cat faunus, it's because I like fish." Blake licked her paw and started rubbing it over her ear. "A little something you should know about Yggdrassil, it's a big fan of exposure therapy."

"What?"

"Let's say you have an issue with cats. Yggdrassil is going to throw you into increasingly catty situations. First you'll wake up in a culture that worships cats. Then you'll work at a pet store with cats. Then you'll have to cross a bridge with cats all around you, or go to sleep in a pit of cats. Then you'll wake up as a cat." Blake shrugged, adjusting her gown. "I don't like being forced into a role because of how I look, but it's not a phobia or anything. I just grumble and take it."

"I don't really have an issue with cats," Haru grumbled. "I have an issue with being transformed into a cat against my will!"

"So it's more transformation. You're going to hate the Animorphs loop."

"The Ani-Mmmph!" Haru blushed as Blake stuffed her into a dress, glowering at her. "What are you even-?!"

"I think we're pushing how long we can stay in the dressing room without our hosts suspecting something." Blake held out an arm. "You've been here before. Would you like to give me a tour?"

"I'd like to get to the tower."

"Alright. You head that way, I'll catch up."

Haru frowned as Blake stepped out. "Catch up?" She dashed to Blake, putting her voice in undertone. "I don't know if the cats will let you go! What are you even planning?"

"Observing the locals, testing diplomatic waters, and perhaps a little acquisition on the side."

"...you're going to rob the place?!"

"Well," Blake replied with a shrug, "that's one way to put it."

Haru's inner conflict was clear on her face. After a moment, she gave an exasperated groan. "I'm going to have to stick with you just to make sure you stay out of trouble, aren't I?"

"Well, yes." Blake paused. "Although, as the local Anchor your voice has more weight. If you really want we can just walk out now."

"...no, I should see how far this rabbit hole goes, I guess..."

* * *

The meal had been interesting, with a variety of foods and entertainment. Blake had noted the Cat King's increasingly demanding nature, and the way those who disappointed him were thrown out of the palace.

And then the Baron and Muta had arrived. What followed might have been called a ballroom blitz, although Blake felt it was more of a birthday-party beat-up, and then one of the serving cats that Haru apparently knew from a childhood incident showed them a secret path out.

"So I take it Muta catches up with us?" Blake asked, checking on the groaning felines who had been thrown out of the ballroom before.

"Generally speaking, yes." The Baron pointed his cane at a tower in the middle of a labyrinth. "For the moment, that is our destination."

"I suppose that walking on the walls of the maze is not an option."

"No, the king's guards are on hand to prevent cheating."

Blake looked up from the cat noble she was checking on, one eyebrow raised.

Haru shrugged. "Cat King doesn't like people breaking his rules."

"I'm only growing more motivated to rob the palace."

"Wait, you didn't steal anything while you were in there?"

"First rule of thieving: size up the target before you take anything." Blake flicked an ear toward the tower. "Shall we go, then?"

Haru and the Baron nodded, leading the way into the maze. The baron gave Blake a sideways glance. "What exactly are you planning on stealing, anyway?"

"I'll let you know when we reach the tower."

Haru tapped the walls as she ran along. "Well, that's going to be a little difficult. See, there are these-"

Without warning Blake lunged at one of the walls, spinning it around to reveal an attached and terrified cat.

"...Yeah," Haru managed. "Them."

"Hello sir," Blake said politely, unsheathing her claws and examining them. "Might I ask why you are shackled to a false wall?"

"Well, uh... the King, he, you know..." The cat gulped. "It's part of the test-"

"I see." The golden-eyed currently-a-cat nodded to herself... and slashed at the metal circlets around the other cat's wrists, freeing the cat from the false wall. "I think you should find your friends and tell them to take a break."

"You just-you just cut through solid metal! With your bare claws!"

"Yes. I did." Blake glowered at the cat. "And you, like I said, are going to go on break with all your fellow wall carriers."

The cat blinked. "Oh. OH. Oh, yes, I... I'll just... I'm going to, uh, go now." He backed away, stumbling over himself as he went.

Blake nodded, turning back to a shocked Haru and a bemused Baron. "So... when is Muta supposed to meet us?" On cue, the fat white cat slammed into the ground next to her. "Ah. Good to see you again, Muta."

"Mmmmrgmph," grumbled Muta.

"Well, let's go then." Blake stepped over him, walking toward the tower. "I still need to teach you lot how to Pocket and Ping, and I think that it would be best to do that at the cat bureau."

* * *

"Oh, this is just so wonderful!" gushed the Cat King. "Oh, Miyako, you must feel like such a loser."

Blake glanced at the prince of the cat kingdom and his fiancee. "Honestly, I think I'll be alright."

"No, you really must. How about you marry me instead?"

Haru facepawed.

Golden eyes focused on the Cat King, and Blake flashed a small set of fangs. "And what exactly would I do as your queen?"

"Well," the Cat King offered, "you'd get all the finest fish in the kingdom, you'd have cats at your beck and call, you'd live in the cat palace, and you'd be with the most awesome cat around."

"Hmm. You know, that offer would be tempting... if it weren't for the fact that I could get all of that without you."

"Haha... what?"

Blake cleared her throat. "Citizens of the Cat Kingdom, I have no intention of destroying you or your way of life. I will allow Prince Lune and his fiancee Yuki to continue to serve you. I will protect you from the dangers of the outside world. But it is clear that your king no longer has your interests at heart, and only follows his own whims. For your own safety, he must be deposed. Follow me, and I will show you a glory the likes of which have not been seen since the days of ancient Egypt. Follow me, and I will craft you wonders the world reknowned. Follow me..."

She retrieved Gambol Shroud and unsheathed it.

"...and I will reforge the Cat Kingdom into a global Cat Empire!"

There was stunned silence, as everyone present stared at the crazy girl that had just produced a gun-sword out of nowhere.

Haru coughed. "So... when you said you were going to rob the palace..."

"I meant I was going to steal it from the Cat King, yes." Blake gave Prince Lune a nod. "You don't mind, do you? You'd still have a lot of your power, you just wouldn't be the head of state. It would give you plenty of time with your beloved."

"You just declared a coup on my kingdom," the cat prince managed, "and you're asking if I mind."

"I'm not going to kill anyone, if that helps. Just put myself in power."

At that, Muta burst out laughing. "You have guts, kid! I'll admit I don't know that much about you, but I've always respected women who stood up for themselves. So I, Renaldo Moon, hereby pledge myself to your cause!"

"Muta what are you doing?!" Haru hissed.

"So that's why you looked so familiar!" the cat chancellor gasped. "You're the one that ate all the fish in the lake!"

Blake blinked, giving Muta a look. "Did you really eat all the fish in the lake?"

"Yep."

"...We are going to have words." She turned back to the Cat King. "Your majesty, I suggest you make this as easy as possible and surrender your crown willingly."

The fluffed up ball of fur growled at her. "So, you think some trumped-up former human can just waltz in here, take on my entire army, and somehow take my throne without my sayso?!"

Blake tilted her head. "...You know, you're right, that situation is rather ridiculous. It's not like any of you pose a threat."

"AHAHA. HAHA." Haru grabbed Blake's shoulder. "I think, maybe, the magic of the transformation may have messed with my friend's head a little. I'm just going to have a little chat with her, okay?"

She smiled broadly, pushing Blake over to a small nook, before whirling on her in a panic. "What are you doing?! Why do you want to conquer the Cat Kingdom?! Have you gone insane?!"

Blake examined the blade in her hands for a moment. Then she sheathed it. "Haru, in my baseline I go to a school where child soldiers are trained to fight genocidal monsters that are attracted to fear, my ex-boyfriend cuts off my girlfriend's arm, one of my good friends accidentally kills an innocent girl shortly before being murdered, and despite everyone's best efforts our city is overrun. And that's not the worst world out there. There's a place in the multiverse where people live behind massive walls, desperate to survive against mindless monstrous giants that shrug off incredible amounts of damage and eat human flesh, and not even the admins are sure who survives in baseline so they had to make a nebulous anchor system. And that's not the worst world out there. There's a galaxy where humanity is part of a xenophobic dying empire, surrounded on all sides by constantly evolving hordes of man-eating bugs, highly powerful refugees from a racist magical society, psychic fungoids that fight because fighting is fun, omnicidal cyborg zombies, unending waves of demons who warp cultists with their touch, and four separate demigods of morally ambiguous natures. And that's not the worst world out there."

She looked Haru straight in the eye. "The multiverse is full of wonders that are beyond anything you can imagine, and horrors that would leave you curled up under a blanket. You're going to spend most of your time here, which is pretty safe-heck, you could probably declare this a sanctuary loop-but there will come a time when you end up in a terrible or confusing situation just by roll of the dice. I only have until the end of the loop to prepare you for that, to train you to think on your feet in near impossible situations. Taking over the world will help-you'll get to learn, from experience, how to handle all the logistics of a civilization, how to negotiate with various factions, how to keep an eye out for dangers, and how to keep ahead of your enemies. I'll admit, I'm partially doing this because I'm bored-that's the justification for a lot of Looper shenanigans-but I also want to help you, give you as much training as I can before you end up without an older looper again."

Haru blinked. "So... you're taking over the world... in order to help me."

"Essentially, yes."

"You know, I know you said Loopers were insane. Up until this point, I didn't really believe you."

Blake bowed slightly. "I try to keep a lid on it. Of course, if you really don't want this, I can retract my declaration."

After a moment, Haru sagged. "Do you have a parachute?"

Blake, obligingly, retrieved a parachute from her subspace pocket and handed it over. "Careful, it's human-sized, not cat-sized."

"I'll change to human when I reach the portal. Me and the Baron will meet you at the bureau, if you survive." Haru huffed as she shouldered the massive backpack. "Uh... how do I use this?"

"Pull the black tags at the same time. Also, keep the middle strap buckled. Oh, and if you're taking the Baron, make sure he rides in the pocket on the side."

"Got it." Haru walked out of the nook, smiling at the other cats nervously. "For the record, me and the Baron are entirely neutral on this coup! And I couldn't talk her down. Baron, come on, let's head out."

Blake walked out of the nook, waving the two loopers off. Then she turned to Muta, unsheathing her sword. "Remember, we're not going to kill them. Just beat them till they give in."

"I'm all for that."

"Good." Finally, with a smirk, the golden-eyed feline girl pointed her sword at the Cat King. "Are you going to surrender?"

In repsonse, the cat king unsheathed a sword of his own.

"That's a no. This should be fun."

* * *

"In other news, our glorious feline empress has successfully conquered Korea. As in, all of it. As of this week, the citizens of both north and south Korea finally surrendered to our armies. Queen Blake has gone on record to state that she intends to temporarily halt the military's advancement in order to provide infrastructure to the region, but the conquest will continue next week. All hail Queen Blake."

Haru snapped off the television, slumping on the couch. "She's actually doing this. She's actually... taking over the world."

She jolted up when she heard a knock, and she rushed for the door. Her jaw dropped in shock when she saw none other than a surprisingly human Blake standing on her porch. "Wha-how are you here?! The news just said-!"

"Shadow clone," Blake explained quickly. "I can be in two places at once. Actually, a lot more than two places, but you know, subtlety." She held up a box. "May I come in? I know pizza is typically a western thing..."

"...sure." Haru stepped aside. "I mean, my mother's supposed to come back in an hour or so..."

"You are practicing with your Pocket, right?" Blake asked, carefully putting the box on the kitchen table.

"I'm... trying. I've gotten up to getting a bracelet in there." She chuckled wryly. "The Baron's gotten two of his canes."

"Huh. Muta's managed to get a tea set. Cat-sized, but that's still impressive."

"I guess."

Blake turned to Haru and sighed. "...Look. I get this is big. And... honestly, I'm not good with being... supportive or empathetic or stuff like that. I'm a very repressed, private girl. But... if you have any questions at all, you can talk to me."

Haru rubbed the back of her head. "I... guess. It's just... I mean, you're out there conquering the world. It's... I don't know-"

"I have a poptart costume."

"...what?"

"I have," Blake repeated, "a poptart costume. In my subspace pocket."

Haru blinked. "...Why?"

"Yggdrassil has a twisted sense of humor. Basically every feline-themed looper gets one."

"...Why?!"

"It's... really stupid, and I don't want to explain. You'll just have to experience it for yourself." Blake crossed her arms with a small smile. "Am I more approachable now?"

"I... well, I..." Haru covered her face with her hands. "You have a poptart costume."

"Okay, I was aiming for ridiculous-funny, not ridiculous-brain breaking. Really, you're going to have to learn to handle a little randomness." Blake coughed. "And also, keep your sanity. Big part of being an Anchor."

"Why wasn't the Baron picked for anchor then?!"

"Take that one up with your Admin, not me."

"But-but he's unflappable! He keeps his cool in any situation! He reacted to these loops with calm, and dignity, and... and he's..."

Blake rose an eyebrow at Haru's flushed face.

"...Is it wrong that I might have a crush on him?"

"...Haru, there's a loop out there where a unicorn's married a dragon, a stage magician has become the consort to a hive queen, a chaos spirit is dating a barkeep slash drunkard, a personification of self-loathing is engaged to a genetically engineered super-warrior from another loop, and an ex-villain is being pursued by a non-anthropomorphic rabbit. That's one loop. Compared to that, a teenage girl exploring a relationship with a talking statuette is not at all weird. Just move at your own pace, and it should all be fine."

"...well, now I feel kind of stupid for worrying about that."

"Yes." Blake coughed. "Of course, there might be some issues about the physical aspect, but I would seriously suggest not going down that path until you're both comfortable with each other."

Haru blushed. "N-Noted."

"...was there anything else you needed to ask?"

"Not... right now. I might think of something later."

"Fair enough." Blake pulled her scroll out. "Want to watch some movies from other worlds?"

"Sure. Um. What's that thing?"

And Queen Blake ruled the planet fairly, and the two continued to talk and watch films together, sometimes with Muta and the Baron visiting, all the way through the loop's end.

* * *

 **26.23 Almost missed this one. Weaver**

* * *

Ruby opened the door to the shared bedroom, only to be bopped on the head with a ball of yarn. She turned to look at Yang, who very pointedly put a finger to her lips before pointing at Blake.

Who was breathing slowly, eyes closed as she rested her head against her girlfriend's chest.

Ruby grinned broadly, taking out her scroll and snapping a picture. When she looked at the image, though, her eyes widened-Yang had somehow managed to produce a sign reading 'Catnap' just as the scroll took the shot.

Yang smirked and winked at the shocked expression on her sister's face. Then, with a very serious expression, she made a shooing motion.

Ruby blinked, pocketing her scroll and smiling. She gave Yang a double thumbs up before backing out, closing the door gently behind her.

Yang rolled her eyes, absently running her fingers through Blake's hair. The cat faunus fidgeted, mumbling something about sunny beaches before curling closer with a small smile.

And all was right with the world.

* * *

 **26.24 Obviously Weaver**

* * *

"...which is why we don't give Yang burritos anymore," Weiss explained.

Cinder nodded. "I was wondering why all those warehouses... well, 'exploded' doesn't do it justice, does it?"

"Not really." Weiss tapped her scroll, adjusting the hologram of a beowulf in front of her. "I'm sure Jaune will go easy on you once he realizes you didn't know."

"I'm... not sure he likes me that much." Cinder coughed. "Given... you know."

"Well... yes." Weiss sighed. "It's a mental exercise, sometimes, determining the relationship between awake selves and unawake selves."

The (currently-not-a) villain nodded vaguely. "I... guess. It's kind of... it's kind of like the difference between canon characters and fanfic reinterpretations."

"One way to put it."

"...Weiss, the hub writes fiction about us because the admins put back-up copies of the loops on it, right?"

Weiss nodded.

"And the people living in the hub... they write fanfiction about that fiction?"

Weiss frowned, shutting off her hologram. "Yes...?"

"And... correct me if I'm wrong," Cinder continued hesitantly, "but some of our variants manage to match up to some of that fanfiction, right?"

"Backups of backups. Where are you going with this?"

"...Do the hub people write fanfiction about the loops?" Cinder asked. "Can... we read about... ourselves?"

Weiss took a breath. "Hooboy. This is going to be a long one." She put her Scroll aside. "Technically, yes, there are 'seers' in the true hub that get flashes of insight about the loops. But the thing is, Cinder, we don't ever loop into the True Hub. When we have Hub loops, what we're actually having is near-Hub loops-it's, it's a mostly stable copy of the hub, and generally it happens when the Admins are backing up our worlds in the Hub itself. The True Hub is beyond quarantined-it's locked down, so no looper can ever enter and mess with things. Given that it's anchoring the multiverse, that's a good thing. As a side effect, though-or maybe a deliberate patch, I don't know-none of the fanfiction that deals with the infinite loops ever appears in the near-Hub loops we have. So, no, you can't actually read about yourself."

Cinder rubbed the back of her head. "Well. That's... actually quite relieving to hear." She coughed. "I mean, I don't... want to violate anyone's privacy or anything."

"Really." Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Why did you ask?"

"I... okay, you caught me. There was a stealth anchor a while back and I had a really, really awkward encounter with a..." Cinder shivered. "...with a fan."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Do... do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

* * *

Five minutes later, Weiss and Ruby sat back, watching Yang devastate the opposing army.

"...You know," Weiss commented, "it really says a lot about us that we're just taking this in stride."

"Yeah?"

"I mean, your older sister is hallucinating talking vegetables, speaking Italian, and has transformed into a twenty-foot-tall rampaging fire demon." The heiress gestured at the devastation. "Because she ate a burrito. And we're just going to accept this."

"Well," Ruby hemmed, "I mean... it's kind of weird, but it makes sense, you know?"

"Vi maledicono, abomini di sedano! Non sarò fatto una presa in giro! Ecco il potere del pollo fritto!" Yang swiped at a legion of the Phyrexian Grimm, annihilating them entirely.

"Well, yes, but only because we know how it happened." Weiss sighed. "Whatever. Are you sure you haven't figured out how to snap her out of this?"

"It's not like we have much opportunity to experiment," Ruby replied. "I guess we'll just let her run around till loop end. Again."

* * *

 **26.27 Me**

* * *

"Child abandoned, never acknowledged, always hated."

"Shut up."

"Always looked down upon. Hated. Feared. Monkey boy."

"Shut. Up."

"Thief. Liar. Fool. Butcher. Never good enough. Never human."

"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHITUPSHUTUP!" Sun screamed, straining against the chains that bound him. The taunting Beowulf yowled and lunged, biting the captive boy's head off. What remained of his body slumped.

Cinder flipped the pen in her hand over and over, noting the result. "Hmm. Psychological analysis is... Less thorough than desired. More experimentation is needed."

"I am impressed though," came the hauntingly slick voice of Salem from behind Cinder. "To reverse engineer a Grimm not only to sense emotions, but to discern thoughts, the inner fears of a man." The Grimm Maiden stepped up and caressed the jaw of the Beowulf, sampling the blood running from it's teeth. "Exquisite."

"I would imagine so," Cinder said absently. There were still experiments to run, still information to gather. "I need you to copy these mental patterns onto the Grimm with the Neurological translator. Tell them to think and act this way."

"Certainly." Salem took up the sheet of paper and read it, scanning through the contents as she dodged the crystal outcroppings of her domain. "These thoughts and feelings... They belong to Ruby Rose don't they?"

"That is correct," Cinder said, still rethinking he ways to control the Grimm.

"The Anchor, the woman displaced in time? I must say you know her quite well."

"She is my sister after all."

Salem flipped the sheet under her arm, giving Cinder an appraising look for the umpteenth time that day. "That word... why do you always use that word?"

"Sister?" Cinder shrugged. "It's easier, helps me stay in character. Besides, sometimes it's true."

"Is it?" Salem asked, curiosity piqued as she sidled up behind her minion and God-child. Cinder's exposition upon the time loops had intrigued her endlessly, and though she wasn't Looping, Cinder had had the misfortune of being forced to give her master a long winded rundown of the Loops, a Welcome to the Multiverse speech for her non-looping guardian.

Cinder for what it was worth, resisted a sigh of annoyance. "Yes, occasionally I am. Blood sister, half sister, aunt, mother who got deaged, sister and father, distant relation, older time displaced self, clone template-"

"Back up, back up, back up," Salem said. "What was that about sister and father?"

"...That is a long story," Cinder said. "The short version: you impregnated yourself with Summer (that's Ruby's

Mom) who impregnated Raven with me, then I impregnated Summer with Ruby. That make sense?"

"Excuse me." Salem turned around, walked away, slammed her forehead into a large crystal, returned with a bleeding forehead, and nodded. "That makes sense."

"Trust me, that was one of the few times Ruby broke her no-alcohol rule." Cinder chuckled at the memory. "We were so plastered you wouldn't believe it."

"I'm not sure I would."

"Well whatever. Those are rare variants, but occasionally I'm a relative of Ruby. Saying sister just meant she'd her on my side easier. Matter of convenience."

"Alright." Salem wiped the blood from her brow. "Just one thing Cinder."

"Don't get attached to them?" Cinder rolled her eyes. "Salem, you have lectured me for millennia. Nothing you say would be new to me."

Salem nodded. "So this wouldn't be the first time I've asked for you to take me into your subspace pocket?"

"I have a small army of you," Salem said. "All of them are immortal as a prerequisite, something you tend to be. They spend their time fighting one another, training every hour of every Loop. In time they will, through skill and numbers, surpass the Loopers of Remnant. You would become a part of my army."

Salem grinned at her godchild. "Then I believe soon will be the time we begin."

"Oh yes."

* * *

 **26.28 Weaver. Just giving you that final dose of exit horror.**

* * *

Something was _wrong._

Cinder Fall-Rose frowned, even as she landed the bullroar at its usual hidden base. Roman jumped off to head for Neo, and she...

She looked around, warily. Something was _wrong,_ her instincts screamed, even as she noticed nothing. She moved past Mercury and Emerald, slipping into a private chamber.

Something was _wrong_.

And when she looked in the mirror, she suddenly realized what it was.

Cinder fall spun, pulling out her bow and pointing it at the tall, faceless figure against the back wall. "Get out."

The figure didn't say anything... but, as black not-hands adjusted its tie, she got the impression that it was amused at her rudeness.

Cinder narrowed her eyes and fired.

The figure simply stood. The sense of amusement grew.

Cinder grit her teeth. After a moment, she warily put away her weapon. "What are you?"

Now the figure tilted its head, clasping its not-hands together in a way that made it clear it didn't believe she didn't recognize it.

"Some kind of... humanoid Grimm?"

The figure leaned toward her, a silent but firm request for her to cease her deception.

"I don't know what you're-"

SOMETHING reached into her subspace pocket, her very _soul_ , and she gasped as the creature produced one of her pocketed Salems-before biting the grimm woman's head off with suddenly visible, impossible jaws and slowly nibbling down the rest of her body. The figure seemed to enjoy the exotic taste, but also exuded an aura of disappointment that it wasn't as fresh as its usual meals.

Cinder managed to fight back the chill and pull out a rather large energy cannon from her pocket. "Okay, fine, I know who you are. But if you think for one moment you can possibly-"

The figure put a not-hand on the weapon, pushing it down slightly. It was clear that it wasn't at all threatened... and equally clear that the figure merely wanted to talk.

"There's nothing to talk about," Cinder growled. "Nothing you can offer me could possibly-"

The figure flicked a not-hand casually, producing what looked to be a scroll, if the scroll had been birthed by a twisted child of octopus and lobster. On the device were two numbers-the smaller one flashed red, and the larger green. With a twirl of its other not-hand, the figure produced a tiny figurine of Ruby Rose.

"...so what if you do tell her?" Cinder snorted. "I'm quote unquote 'reformed.' Even if she gets upset that I lied, Ruby would forgive me. Eventually."

The figure vanished the objects away, simply holding up the headless corpse of Salem.

"...I'd think of something," Cinder mumbled. "I can explain."

Somehow, she got the impression that the figure was laughing.

"Shut up. You think I don't have a plan for this?"

Plans. The figure tapped its not hands together. Plans, it seemed to say, were delicate things. Easily destroyed if just one detail failed to work as expected. Plans could come crashing down if, say, the wrong person heard the wrong thing. It produced tiny images of Neo and Roman.

"...you know," Cinder managed, "if you're so eager to reveal things, why aren't you already putting things in motion? Or are you and this is just gloating?"

The figure nodded, an acknowledgement of Cinder's intelligence. It vanished the image of Roman and Neo away, holding out its not-hands amicably. Obviously, an exchange of some sort was being offered.

"So... you won't tell Ruby about me, and... and what?"

Something was produced. Something horrific, something vile. The figure took the thing and held a doll that resembled Cinder herself, inserting it in past some seams. A small clock appeared behind the doll, hands spinning and circling like manic swords over eldritch numerals. Then the figure reached into the doll and pulled the sick object out... though, for some reason, it had changed.

"...You want me to carry something in my subspace pocket...?"

The figure held up a not-hand and waggled it a little.

"You want to soul-bind something to me?"

The figure nodded.

Cinder frowned. "You know, Marianne will notice if something happens with my code-"

At that, the figure towered over her, steepleing its nothands. It gestured at the shadowed corners of the room, at its own lack-of-face. It was a hacker, after all, it could cover its tracks with ease.

"...And what," Cinder demanded, "if I refuse?"

The impression of laughter echoed through the room. After all, it wasn't like Cinder actually had a _choice._


	27. The Spy and the Queen

**27.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this," Blake declared, turning a page of her book.

"I want to keep in top form," Yang grunted, pulling off another sit-up. "That means working this off."

"Honestly, it's just a tiny bit of pudge, it's not like you're out of shape."

"Easy for you to say. When you eat too much, the poundage goes right to your butt. Not that I'm complaining."

Ruby entered the shared living space, twirling Crescent Rose with a casual whistle. "Hey guys. What's up?"

"Ruby, can you tell your sister she's perfectly healthy?" Blake asked. "Cause she seems to be ignoring me."

"Huh." Ruby glanced on as her sister continued her exercise routine. "I mean, she's not over-exerting herself, is she?"

"I'm right here you know," Yang deadpanned. "And I'm a little over halfway through a hundred crunches."

Blake sighed, shutting her book. "She's picked up a stress-eating habit to deal with certain... things. Which is totally fine, by the way, but the way she over-reacts over just a little bit of extra fat-"

"I'm not like you and Nora, Blake, I can't just pack away the calories for later. It's a metabolism thing."

Ruby shrugged. "Well, it's not the worst coping mechanism I've heard about. Is she taking it too far?"

"...no," Blake admitted reluctantly. "I just think she's being a little too serious about it."

"Yang? Serious?"

"I can be serious!" Yang protested. "I'm a trained surgeon, you know! That's a serious profession!"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, honestly, I think this isn't a problem just yet. If she passes out, let me know." She walked past them. "I'm going to go talk to Weiss, I had an idea about making dust-infused rings."

* * *

 **27.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Are you... _robbing_ me?"

"WHAT?!" Ruby shouted at the screen. "'Are you _robbing_ me?!' Is that really how it goes?!"

"This is our hubverse show," Blake replied with a shrug. "So it's baseline."

"I've been saying 'Are you _mugging_ me'! This whole time, all these loops... have I been getting it wrong all this time?!"

Cinder smirked. "Apparently." Yang held back a chuckle.

Ruby Rose took a breath, paused politely to pause the video, and fell to her knees, Crescent Rose clasped in her hands. "MY LIFE! IS A LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Oh here we go."

"I've LOST! One of my most CRUCIAL forms of IDENTIFICATION! To the _rrrrravages_ of infinite repetition!" Ruby Rose cried, hand dramatically against her forehead. "Am I truly _who_ I thought I was?! That which we call a Ruby Rose! What other portions of my self can possibly be wrong?" She shot up, clutching at Weiss's shoulders. "Do I really host attraction only to the male form?!"

"Well, it's a scale, not a switch." Weiss lightly patted her head. "So you're probably at least a little gay."

"GASP!" Ruby enunciated clearly, whirling away and leaning against a wall. "Even that core! That one part of myself that I thought unchanging! Now, I see it as fluid as a fluid _fluid!_ My identity, my self, my core of being! It crumbles like a cookie in milk!" She pounded the wall, attempting to sob painfully (though it came out more as a repressed giggle). "Is there anything else hidden from me?! Any other betrayal of my beliefs?!"

"I'm secretly evil," Cinder offered with a small shrug. By this point, Yang was trying not to crack up.

"By the DUST itself!" Ruby wailed, twirling down and holding her hands skyward. "All I thought I knew is nothing! NOTHING I SAY! I feel overwhelmed with the void of knowledge that has consumed me!"

"Hey, hold on," Yang managed to interject with a small giggle. "You can't be the angsty one. We've already got Blake."

The cat faunus rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Cinder mused, "you've lived your life subjected to prejudice, spent a while as a homeless kid, and have serious issues relating to the current head of a terrorist organization. You're kind of an endless barrel of angst."

"If that's true, then why do I feel so happy?"

"Because you've got good supportive friends, are dating a hot and caring amazon, and have the ability to punch your enemies with a giant flaming fist," Weiss replied.

Blake nodded contemplatively. "Punching things with giant flaming fists _is_ a decent coping mechanism..."

"Can I finish my existential freakout now?" Ruby whined.

"What?" Yang blinked. "Oh, sorry. Continue."

"Thank you. Ahem." Ruby prostrated herself on the ground. "WHO AM I?! WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?! FATE HAS ABANDONED ME, CRUEL **CRUEL** FATE!"

"Are you quite done?" Weiss deadpanned.

"Almost. Just give me a minute." Ruby took a deep breath. "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY _YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY_ YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?! Okay, now I'm done."

"Thank goodness, I was getting a headache."

"You know, as far as freakouts go, I'd give that an eight out of ten," Yang complimented. "A little too undirected, but you got the melodrama about right."

"Thank you, I was trying." Ruby stood and gave a curtsy. "Although... Cinder, were you serious about being secretly evil?"

"Mmmhmm. I've bought stock in all the major baking companies and raised the average price of cookie ingredients by about three lein."

"...Gasp! You fiend!"

"Mwahahaha and stuff."

* * *

 **27.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

"No, I don't make cat jokes," Yang explained. "I make Blake jokes."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Okay. You're going to have to clear that one up for me."

"Alright, so..." Yang thought for a bit. "Okay. So, cats like fish. Blake likes fish. So teasing her about fish is okay. But have you ever seen Blake with a cheeseburger?"

The heiress opened her mouth, paused, and after a moment shook her head. "Surprisingly, I have not. Does she not like them or something?"

"I don't know. But my point is, I don't do the I Can Haz Cheezburger thing with Blake because... because that's not Blake. You see what I'm saying?"

"...I think so," Weiss replied. "That's... actually rather thoughtful of you. So, calling her a tuxedo cat is okay, but calling her ceiling cat is out of the question."

Ruby cleared her throat with an embarrassed smile. "Actually..." She pushed the handle of crescent rose into the ceiling, moving aside one of the tiles to reveal a very certain faunus.

There was an awkward moment.

"...There is a very perfectly logical explanation for this," Blake managed.

* * *

 **27.4 Masterweaver and Bios-Pherecydes**

* * *

"...Meh."

"Meh?!"

"Meh."

"MEH?!"

"Kamina, are we just going to say 'meh' at each other all day," Blake asked, "or are you going to ask what I mean?"

"This is Gurren-Lagann!" roared the shirtless man known throughout the universe for kicking reason to the curb. "This thing fights the power, defeats the anti-spirals-in baseline it'll be able to throw galaxies!"

"I'm not saying that's not impressive. Or awesome. It is." Blake nodded at the massive robot. "It's just... Spiral power is literally willpower made manifest, right? Hot-bloodedness and all that?"

"Yes," Kamina growled.

"And while it's rare to find anyone who can use it, and the people who can are ludicrously, insanely, and stupidly badass... actually, that about covers it. You're stupidly badass. Emphasis on stupid."

"WHAT?!"

"There's no skill with Spiral power, no tactics. You just roar and drill at your foes, and the heavens, and... it's unbeatable, but it's _easy._ " She leaned against a rock, chewing a sprig of catnip. "You've thrown galaxies. I've ruled one. Well," she shrugged, "part of one. Star Control, local sector, had to clear out the Ur-Quan before I worked out the logistics of the New Alliance of Free Stars..."

That gave Kamina pause. Simon took up the slack. "You ruled an interstellar empire?"

"We were more of a federation, actually. Founding nations is a rather rewarding hobby. I've been trying to get the other Remnant loopers to start up a Frungy league, but-look. My point is, you're awesome, but very... one track. Limited. I mean, if there's any situation where spiral power works against you-"

"We don't talk," Kamina snapped, "about Uzumaki."

Simon shivered.

"...Okay." Blake held up her hands. "I'm not going to ask. I think I've made my opinion clear. This is ludicrously, stupidly awesome. Just limited and not very... tactical."

There was a moment of silence.

Simon rolled his eyes. "You still want to pilot the thing, don't you."

"Oh hell yes. Who _wouldn't?_ "

* * *

Several hours (and one game of Black Hole Basketball) later, Blake sat reading contentedly under the warm light of an alien beach. Kamina and Yoka were either flirting or preparing to kill one another a short distance away, but far enough that she could avoid being dragged into whatever it was. With the same intention it seemed, Simon had taken a seat next to her; pulling a soda from the cooler and flopping down crosslegged onto the sand. Chuckling as Yoko snapped and tossed Kamina into the water, apparently it _was_ an argument after all, Simon took a sip from his drink before speaking.

"You know bro isn't as simple as you think."

Blake quirked an eyebrow, and Simon laughed. "Okay, yeah, he's straightforward and blunt and he has a bad habit of acting before he thinks. But he can be surprisingly cunning. And in Baseline he barely had any Spiral Power of his own. It takes a lot to inspire a bunch of unorganized people to change, and bro's really good at that when people give him a chance. When it comes down to it, he just gets people. When he has to step up, he can do really incredible things even without Spiral Power. He doesn't show it very often unless he has to, but he's really good at tactics. It's a little scary sometimes even. I still can't beat him at chess or things like that." He paused, before snorting. "Any time I can get him to sit down and play a full game of one anyway."

He leaned closer with a conspiratorial grin. "I think half the reason he's so good is because he just wants to be done already so he can go pick a fight with Viral or something equally 'manly.'"

Blake smirked as well at the mental image before setting down her book. "Not that I'm not interested in this, but why are you telling it to me?"

Simon shrugged. "Part of it's just me sticking up for bro."

"And the other part."

Simon grew a more sober look. "You were wrong about one thing. Spiral Power isn't easy. Yes, it lets you do the impossible when you're using it; but it's all about strength of will and determination. It's not enough to just get back up after being knocked down, you have to get back up _fighting_. And you have to do that _every time_. You can't let defeat even be an option in your heart, because once you start to think that way you aren't moving forward anymore. It's taking everything that life throws at you, being punched in the face and kicked in the gut, and then standing back up and hitting back. Every time. Even when you're alone. Even when you're hurt. Even when you've lost everyone and everything. Most people don't do that. They can't. They pick a place in their heart where they decide 'this is good enough, this is far enough' and then they draw their line and stay behind it. They have to be pushed to move out of that place, even a little.

"With Spiral Power, you have to be the one doing the pushing. You have to _keep_ pushing; never stopping, never quitting, never being finished moving. One step at a time, forever. Even when it's hard, especially when it's hard. Because when you stop moving, you stop evolving. And Spiral Power _is_ evolution. A little bit better, a little bit further, with each passing second. Spiral Power is infinite potential, but that's all it is. Potential. And potential isn't always realized. You have to earn it, with blood and pain and sweat and tears. When you're sad and in pair and you can't do any more, and then you get up and you do it anyway; that's what Spiral Power is. Spiral Power lets us go further, faster; but it only goes as far as you're willing to take it."

He looked into Blake's eyes. "You could never tap into the full power of Spiral Power."

Blake bristled, but Simon continued before she could retort. "Not right now, the way you are. You're hurt, and you're keeping ahold of that hurt; because you're afraid that if you let it go and try to move past it, you'll open yourself up to worse. I don't know what happened, I won't ask if you don't want to talk about it, but you're holding yourself back; always afraid to reach out and embrace the future on the off chance that you'll get hurt again, worse. You've found your line. That's as far as Spiral Power will ever take you, until you start moving again. Because it isn't easy to keep moving forward without stopping no matter what, is it? I know, I've been there. When bro died in Baseline, I shut down completely; I almost killed myself because of the pain and self-hatred inside me. The blame I felt, even though it wasn't actually my fault. I used Spiral Power and reckless fighting as a crutch."

He reached out and picked up a sprig of catnip, almost casually except for the way he glanced at Blake while rolling it between his fingers. Blake tried to maintain eye contact, but eventually backed down with a frown. "I had other people that helped me recover, I just had to be willing to let them." He grimaced briefly before a wan smirk crossed his face. "Bro didn't like it much either when he found out about it. That's one of the reasons I still look up to him even after all this time. Yeah, he's brash and cocky and not exceptionally bright most of the time; but when the chips are down, he does what he has to and _always_ comes out on top. Not because of Spiral Power, but because that's just who he is. He never stops growing, improving, evolving." He chuckled. "He may not look it, but he's still the best of us when it really counts. He always helps us to keep moving forward. I do the same when I can."

Crumbling the small plant in his fist, he reached out and lightly tapped Blake on the jaw. "So how about you grit those teeth."

Blake watched with a tightness in her throat as Simon got up and walked over to where Simon and Kittan were wrestling, diving into the middle without hesitation to back up his brother. Looking down at the small plant that had fallen onto the pages of her book her gut clenched, before she very deliberately brushed it onto the sand.

* * *

 **27.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Hey," Ruby greeted quietly, walking up to the fountain. "How're you doing?"

Blake shrugged, her arms tightening around her stomach. "I don't think... I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about, Ruby."

"I've already dealt with Yang. She's... okay, ish." Ruby sat down next to her. "She sends her... apologies."

"She doesn't need to apologize. I should be the one to..." The raven-haired girl tightened her eyes. "I don't understand. I mean, I knew she was tense, and... I wanted to help, but..."

"...but you weren't expecting her to kiss you," Ruby finished.

"Well, no. And, well, I... it was so sudden, and when I told her I was straight, and she..." Blake sighed. "I messed up."

"No. Blake-"

"I messed up. I should have seen the signs, but... I don't understand, why me? Why did she-?"

"Blake," Ruby interjected firmly. "Look. I'm going to... explain something, and you're going to think it's crazy, but you need to listen."

"...Okay."

"Time is broken."

Blake blinked. "I... what?"

"Well, it's more accurate to say the multiverse is broken," Ruby corrected. "But for this, all you need to know is that... There's a group of people that are living this year, over and over and over. Except... sometimes, some people don't loop. They're there, but... not Awake. Not aware."

"Ruby, I don't know what kind of joke you're trying to pull-"

"I know about Adam."

Blake winced.

"I know about Adam, and the White Fang, and... well." Ruby nodded at Blake's bow. "You've... told me before. Told _us_ before, countless times. I... can do things, Blake. Things that should be impossible, and... this isn't about me. This is about... well. This is about you and Yang."

"...Even if I believed you about this time thing, I don't... I don't understand why Yang would-"

"There's something among Loopers called the Sleeping Beauty protocol," Ruby explained. "It's... it doesn't always work. It might not even be a real thing, but... sometimes, when somebody who's Awake kisses somebody who isn't, somebody who they... love... that other person Wakes up."

"So... are you... are you saying, when Yang kissed me," Blake asked, "she was... trying to get me to loop?"

"You're _already_ looping, Blake. Well... I mean, you're not Awake. But the Awake you..." Ruby sighed. "Yang and her are dating, and... and it's been a while since you looped in together. And... Yang, she... There's a difference, between a looper and their unawake self. You're Blake, and she's Blake, but you're seventeen and looping Blake is... It's like... the same tree, only you've just sprouted and she's tall and shady and..."

The faunus looked at the ground. "I see."

"...Blake." Ruby put a hand on her shoulder. "This... isn't your fault. This isn't anybody's fault. It's a bad roll of the dice. Yang was... she was hurt when you didn't Wake up, but she knows it's not your fault. She just... she needs some time, okay?"

"...I..." Blake sighed. "I just... I wanted to help. Should I-how do I react to this? Do I... does she... does Weiss know?"

"Weiss isn't Awake this loop. It's just me and Yang." Ruby shrugged. "As for you and her... You should talk. Definitely. I... It'll help both of you, even if you don't... reciprocate. Yang's hurting, but it's not your fault, and it's not anything she can't handle. Just... help her, and if you need to talk... well, I'm team leader for a reason."

Blake sighed. "...I guess that's all I can do, really. I wish I could do more."

"Don't we all," Ruby sighed.

They stared up at Remnant's shattered moon.

"...so. How... how come you're time looping, anyway?"

"Oh. See, there's this tree computer thing called Yggdrassil..."

* * *

 **MasterOfGames**

* * *

"Okay, so I want you to picture a turtle with a bowling pin balanced on its' back. That turtle is standing on a mountain, which itself is covered in ants... Actually, it's nothing like that. Forget it all. Okay, think of-"

* * *

(Later)

* * *

"So, you're saying the yellow circle creature is the flow of time, the hunger for the dots is the direction time runs, the maze is time getting lost in search of more dots... or, uh... casualty, and the ghosts are forces beyond comprehension that knock the circle creature back to the start?"

"Yep."

"I see... What's the fruit?"

"It's _fruit!_ Seriously, what is with you!? Not everything has to be turned inside out to reveal what it means!"

* * *

 **27.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Ugh I have a headache" Ruby grumbled.

"What's wrong sis?" Yang asked.

"The world feels like a potato" Ruby replied. "I mean. You know how some fanfics in the hub will have mostly gramartically correct writing, but with weird mistakes?" Yang nodded. "Yes."

"Well it feels like that right now. There;s a lot of jolts in everything and its just so distracting. I don't now why this happans."

"Well, Yggdrasil is giltched" Yang pointd out. "Maybe your extra sensative to the bugs since you're the ancor."

"It's worse than usual," Ruby grumbled. "Like constant brain froze."

"How abot you sleep for teh loop and let us handle things."

"okay. That sounds nice. Thanks Blake"

"No prob."

* * *

 **27.7 MasterOfGames**

* * *

Blake groaned as she lay in her bed, her face buried in her pillow. "Ugh... So bored!"

She knew it was a bad idea to say anything, but honestly, even a bad idea was starting to sound good right about now.

Her lack of faith was rewarded richly by the sound of her team leader gasping loudly and jumping out of her own bed. "Oh! I know _exactly_ what you need! Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!" Ruby grinned, her image flickering briefly in the air as the dorm room door was blasted open, only to bounce closed again right after a second blur, and twin trails on the carpet began to smoke. "I'm right back!"

Blake was briefly reminded of something she had seen a talking sponge say on a HUB loop TV show during one of her multiverse study binges. _'Wanna see me run to that mountain and back? Wanna see me do it again?'_ (She hadn't cared for the show personally, but had nothing against it. It just wasn't her thing.)

Ruby, meanwhile, held up her solution to Blake's problem. "Ta-da!"

It took Blake a moment to shake herself free of her thoughts and register what Ruby was holding. "Ruby... that's a stick."

"A _swishy_ stick!"

"I noticed. It also has catnip tied to the end."

"I know! _Awesome_ cat toy, right?"

Blake could feel her eye begging her to let it twitch. "... You know what? Firstly, _PROFILING_ much!? And secondly, I've changed my mind, I'd rather re-read my textbook. Again."

Pulling said textbook from her pocket, she flipped it open and proceeded to ignore the crimsonette below her bed.

Roughly halfway through the first paragraph, a sprig of catnip on a stick started to poke her in the cheek. Halfway through the first page, it started poking her more incessantly. By the start of the second page, it was 'hopping' from one of her upper ears to the other and back again. By page four, it was rubbing itself up and down her cheek.

Blake finally granted her eyes' request. "Rrrrr! Gimmie that!" she snapped, lunging out to grab the stick.

 _Swish!_

... And missing, her fist snapping closed over where until a moment ago the stick had been, before it relocated a foot to the right.

There was no movement in the room for a moment, save her leader's slow grin.

... Blake grabbed at the stick again.

 _Swish!_

And again.

 _Swish!_

"Damn it Ruby, stop that!" she snarled, leaning out over the side of the bed and lunging out as fast as she could with both hands.

 _SwishSwishSwishSwishSwishSwishSwish!_

* * *

Yang did a few arm stretches as she walked back to the dorm after her combat course reservation. Nothing like a quick brawl to relax! Taking a moment to make sure her hair was okay, she opened the door.

Yang saw Blake furiously swiping at a cat toy while Ruby fought to keep from cracking up.

Yang slowly closed the door.

Yang decided to see what Weiss was doing right now.

* * *

 **27.8**

* * *

Ruby stared down at her little sister. Yang stared up at her big sister. And smirked. "So, B, or A?"

Ruby picked Yang up and threw her somehow still bustier sister into the next kingdom.

* * *

 **27.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Hey. Ice Queen." Qrow stumbled forward, half glowering. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you're here, too."

Huntsmen and Huntresses of the world Remnant, it must be said, are trained to deal with the unexpected.

Winter rolled her eyes. "I'm standing right before you."

Or at least they _think_ they are. Actually, they're only trained to deal with a specific _sort_ of unexpected situation.

Qrow squinted at the woman for a moment, before nodding. "So it would seem."

Situations that are unexpected and dangerous, they can handle. Situations that are unexpected and silly? Not so much.

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property," Winter pointed out, deadpan.

And Loopers... well, all loopers are more than a touch stir crazy, and very, _very_ good at doing things outside expectation.

"Oh, oh I'm sorry. See, I mistook this for some sort of-"

A blast of trumpets cut Qrow off, and he had barely a moment to look around in confusion before two young girls wearing green half-skirts and head scarves over their usual attire twirled at each other with stalks of sugarcane.

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah

Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah~

"...Ruby?" Qrow managed.

" _Weiss?!_ " Winter squeaked.

At a blast of music the two girls pointed their canes into the crowd at a blonde and a brunette. For just a moment, they looked surprised... before whipping out their own headscarfs and half skirts and spinning in with their own sugar canes.

" _Yang?!_ " Qrow gasped.

"What is going on?!" Winter cried.

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah

Feel the rhythm _of_ the _mu_ sic getting strongah

Don't you fight _it_ 'til _you_ tried _it_ do that conga beat~

Team RWBY (because of course it was them) continued twirling and spinning their sugarcane stalks as their feet bounced against the ground. A crowd was beginning to form around them; suddenly team JNPR spun in wearing even more ridiculous green garb, stalks of sugarcane in their own hands. By this point, Qrow and Winter were so stunned that they didn't notice Ruby and Weiss subtly flicking their hands out at the crowd. In an instant they'd flowered into a circle; Ren and Weiss spun to the center, coordinating a small dance as their friends twirled around them.

~Everybody gather 'round now! Let your body feel the heat

Don't you worry if you can't dance! Let the music move your feet~

The two traded off, joining the circle as Nora and Ruby stepped forward. Where Ren and Weiss had been graceful and smooth, Nora and Ruby were swift and jaunty.

~It's the rhythm of the island, and like the sugar cane so sweet

If you want to do the conga, you've got to listen to the beat~

The girls skidded to the circle, joining in the rhythmic motions again. The crowd watched all eight of them produce wooden crooks and attach them to the end of their sugarcane stalks-but it was still surprising when they reached out and snagged eight people that had been subtly marked earlier, pulling them into the ring.

"Wait-" Qrow tried, ignored by Weiss.

"This is-" Winter insisted, tugged along by Ruby's cane.

Similar protests by Ironwood and Ciel went just as unheard; Ozpin seemed entirely unphased, Penny was giggling, and the FNKI fighters threw themselves into the dance.

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah

Feel the rhythm _of_ the _mu_ sic getting strongah

Don't you fight _it_ 'til _you_ tried _it_ do that conga beat~

After a few moments, even the relectuant members had accepted their fate and were awkwardly moving around the circle. Yang and Blake spun into the centerstage, to the cheers of the crowd around them, and pushed themselves through moves so flexible they could only be described as salacious.

~Feel the fire of desire, as you dance the night away

'Cause tonight we're gonna party, 'til we see the break of day~

They whirled out and traded high fives with their replacements-and if Blake and Yang had merely been salacious, Jaune and Pyrrha were _passionate_ in their brief tango.

~Better get yourself together, and hold on to what you've got

Once the music hits your system, there's no way your gonna stop~

As Jaune and Pyrrha bowed out, Ren and Nora rose their hands. Penny stumbled as she was shoved forward, looked around, shrugged, and proceeded to stun Ciel with a shoulder-shaking sidestep; her partner blinked, only belatedly managing to match the strange girl with her own stiff movements. The crowd and ring both cheered them on, and their motions coordinated at the last second to an impressive kick-stomp handshake.

Then they were hooked out, with Yang and Blake pushing Flynt and Neon forward. The music took a wild turn, and the FNKI fighters went with it; Flynt trumpeted along with the song, letting Neon use his back as a stage for her own roller-bladeing stunt dance. The cheers grew loud as they basically backflipped over each other and rolled back into the ring for the next verse.

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah

Feel the rhythm _of_ the _mu_ sic getting strongah

Don't you fight _it_ 'til _you_ tried _it_ do that conga beat~

Trumpets announced Pyrrha and Jaune pushing two headmasters into the ring, and instantly it was obvious that Ozpin would dominate any hypothetical dance-off; the crowd oooooed and aaaahed appreciatively as his arms became eels, his heels spinning tops, and his cane a twirling windmill. Ironwood stood, arms crossed... until a final blast of horns let him strike a pose.

Qrow and Winter rolled their eyes as their niece and sister pushed them forward, but by this point it was clear that their charges would not take no for an answer. They proceeded to waltz... at speeds which waltzes were, quite frankly, not designed for, their forms swinging and spiraling so quickly it seemed to defy physics, gaining whistles and cheers from everyone around.

Then the ring reformed momentarily, before suddenly spiraling off into the crowd as every dancer grabbed a new partner from the unsuspecting masses, then again, and again.

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah

Feel the rhythm _of_ the _mu_ sic getting strongah

Don't you fight _it_ 'til _you_ tried _it_ do that conga~

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga_

Iknow youcan't control yourself any-longah

Feel the rhythm _of_ the _mu_ sic getting strongah

Don't you fight _it_ 'til _you_ tried _it_ do that conga beat~

"FREESTYLE!" Ruby shouted suddenly, and the last vestiges of organization shattered as essentially everyone did their own thing. The folks who weren't dancing were still tapping their feet; Emerald was shaking her head as she breakdanced with Mercury, Velvet and Coco were laughing together as they tried some sort of fandango, even Goodwitch sighed in good natured exasperation at Port and Oobleck's disco.

~Come on, shake _your_ bo _dy_ ba _by_ , do the con _ga!~_

And with a final breath, everyone stood still... before laughter broke out, and they all gathered themselves up and dusted themselves off, dispersing happily.

Weiss turned to her sister with a curtsy. "Thank you for indulging us, Winter."

"I must say, that was... unexpected," Winter replied. "Did you plan that?"

"Of course!" Ruby interjected with a broad grin. "Well, half planned. Kind of planned. We knew what we were doing, but most of the solo dancing was improvisation."

"...Well," Qrow chuckled, "I guess that's one way to welcome your uncle."

* * *

 **27.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

"You know, we seem to love this roof of ours," Pyrrha quipped. "Even if it's rather small."

Ruby shrugged, a small smile on her face. "Well, it's got a good view. Buildings here, a forest there, and of course the moon. Great for focusing on... things."

"That it does." Pyrrha sat down next to her. "You know... I know we aren't the closest of friends, but you _can_ talk to me, if you need to." She nudged the reaper playfully. "Us redheads have to stick together."

Ruby giggled for a moment. Then she sighed, her smile turning sad. "It's nothing, really."

"Does that mean there's nothing to worry about, or that the thing you're worrying about _is_ nothing?"

"...more like there's nothing I can do," Ruby replied. "I just... my last loop was a hub loop."

Pyrrha nodded, comprehension dawning. "Ah."

"...I do save him. I mean, infinite multiverse, medicine from countless worlds... who _wouldn't?_ Hacking the hospital computer's the hard part, but..." Ruby shook her head. "I never tell him the truth, just that I'm a doctor nurse who happens to also be a cosplaying fan. And he laughs it off and thanks me and... and then later, the loop ends."

"And everything you did gets erased," Pyrrha finished.

"It's worse than that. It's not even the real Hub. It's not just my efforts getting erased, it's that they never happened. And it's not _just_ him." Ruby sighed. "I'm this... speedy, badass, silver-eyed girl with a rifle scythe that takes down literal angst monsters as part of high school. And that's just baseline. The Hub is our... it's the multiverse's Anchor. It's what keeps Yggdrassil alive. And even there, there's so much... wrong, pain, pointless trouble. And I _can't_ help them. Nothing I do, none of my incredible, impossible, and unbelievable abilities can help them. I'm just here. Doing... nothing."

"...almost nothing."

Ruby glanced askance at her fellow redhead. "Almost?"

Pyrrha took a steadying breath. "In... In baseline, I die." Her hand unconsciously went to her chest. "And I'm... _not_ okay with that, to be honest, but... that's what the hub people see. And it's not just me, it's... Sirius Black, Aerith, Obi-wan Kenobi... I'm sure there's a whole tropes page devoted to the concept. But... even when they see that, that's not the end of the story. There's grieving, and there's pain, and... and for all of that, the heroes eventually get back up. And to the hubverse, it's just a story, told to explore concepts or... maybe just to have cool fight scenes, but if that message repeats... if that message that loss is not an ending, if the will to keep going is brought up again and again..."

She looked at her anchor, her friend. "There's one thing, and one thing only we can do for the hub Ruby. And that's _inspire_. Maybe some fan, trying to replicate Crescent Rose, comes up with a particular way to arrange the gears that leads them into engineering and making, I don't know, a new way to support city infrastructure. Maybe an amputee in some hospital is waiting for volume four, because if Yang can get up they can as well. Maybe it's just a kid who sees us fighting Grimm and decides it would be cool to be an animator. It's all very small, all little drops in the back of their mind, but it builds-in individuals, in fandoms, in the whole world. We're a force against entropy, and more than that a force for creation. And that's just the hub," she added. "Think about what we're doing here-we're sidestepping my death, and Penny's, and Yang's... arm, thing. Nothing you do is worthless, Ruby. Every impact you have, no matter how small, matters. You can count on that."

It didn't surprise her to see tears in Ruby's eyes, but at least... at least the young girl had a smile. "Wow... You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

"I've had to. After... you know."

"Yeah. I... I needed to hear that. Thanks."

"Well... like I said, I'm here if you need to talk."

"...where did you learn to make speeches like that, anyway?"

"Oh you know," Pyrrha said breezily, "just something you pick up when kids keep calling you their hero."

* * *

 **27.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...So, like... why do we have giant robots anyway?"

Ruby gave Blake a look. "What?"

"Giant robots. Big boomy walkers." Blake chewed on her stalk of catnip. "Like... awesome, okay, but. But. Tanks would be, structurally, easier? I mean, we defy physics a lot already, but that's with dust and aura."

"...maybe because our tech is dust-based, and dust has to be activated by aura, it's... more efficient to make humanoid dust frames?" Ruby shrugged. "I mean, most of the big robots come from Atlas."

"Yeeeeees. Design... thing. Yes."

"...Blake, are you okay?"

"What? I'm chill. Chill as Weiss." Blake giggled. "Puns."

Ruby frowned. "Blake, put away the catnip."

"Whaaaaaat?"

"Put away. The catnip."

"...fiiiiiine." Blake took the stalk out of her mouth and threw it out the window. "Happy?"

Ruby looked at the big dopey smile on Blake's face and sighed.

* * *

 **27.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

The first rule of stealth, Nora had long ago realized, was to be exactly where your target would not look. Nobody ever looked at the top of bookshelves. So, logically, hopping across the bookshelves of the Beacon Academy library was absolutely stealthy. Especially if she did it in her SUPER-SECRET-SLOTH-SUIT which was really just an ordinary catsuit with extra long hook claws attached to the hands and feet. Sometimes having a seamstress friend rocked. Even if Cinder was more friendly to team RWBY than team JNPR. And also kind of a villain, except not really. It was like those funhouse mirrors, only not nearly as fun. Which made sense, the whole point of a funhouse was to maximize fun. And fun was something Nora could certainly get behind. Fun and pancakes. She could get behind pancakes. Especially if Ren made them. She could get behind Ren making pancakes. In an apron. And nothing else. Although, actually, that would be dangerous because of the stove. So Ren should wear something. Like a suit... like the SUPER-SECRET-SLOTH-SUIT she was wearing! Why was she wearing this suit again? Oh, right, she was sneaking around the library to find Weiss!

With the skill of somebody who had watched too many ninja shows and not spent enough time actually _training_ to be a ninja, Ninja Nora nipped nearer... and nearer... and nearer-

And Weiss shut her book with a sigh, flicking it into her subspace pocket. "Jedi, Nora. Force clairvoyance. And you're not nearly as sneaky as you think."

Nora fell off the shelf in shock, her flailing claws dragging a few books down with her, and rolled up into a very bad ninja stance. "So at last the confrontation that we shall have is being had!"

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes even as she idly flicked a hand toward the books Nora had knocked free, levitating them back to their proper place. "What are you talking about?"

"I speak of secrets, secretly secreted into secrecy!" Nora declared magnanimously. "Secrets have caused enough trouble for Remnant, I say! Although I do realize some secrets are secret for good reasons. Therefore!" She pointed at Weiss. "I ask not that you tell me your secrets, even in secret, but tell me why these secrets are secret!"

"...I... what?"

"That book! The one you put in your pocket!" Nora rocketed forward, or at least tried to before tripping on the foot claws of her super-secret-sloth-suit, but she passed that off by rolling forward and standing up next to the chair Weiss was sitting in so she could put her face inches away from the heiress's. "You read it often, though you never let anyone see the cover. I thought it was actually many books at first that just happened to be the same size, but you treated them all the same way, and that means they are the same book! Which means you're reading the same book over and over, and that's not bad if you found a good book, but the way you secretly secrete it into secrecy suggests it is a book that must remain secret!"

Weiss blinked, clearly and obviously stunned at the skilled and impeccable logic of Nora, which she should have been, or maybe just impressed by the super-secret-sloth-suit.

"...did Oobleck let you drink his coffee?"

"He never does!" Nora whined. "I keep asking, but he says I already drink enough. And then I tell him I don't drink coffee, and he says precisely!"

"Well, that's... good news at least."

"But enough about my woes. Weiss, can I be serious?"

"That's debatable," the heiress replied, "but I'm willing to let you try."

Nora took a breath, leaning back. "You want to be seen as this high-class, high-skill heiress. And that's okay, I guess. But it's perfectly fine to acknowledge that you have needs... private needs, to be done in private places. There's no need to be embarrassed if you've found erotica that speaks to you, no matter what that... erotica... is...?"

Somehow, impossibly, Weiss had maneuvered her eyebrows in such away that her expression was both one hundred percent deadpan, whilst simultaneously demonstrating her utter disbelief.

"...I've completely misinterpreted the entire situation, haven't I?" Nora asked meekly.

"Yes."

"...well, my first point still stands!" Nora rallied. "Secrets and reasons! I can keep a secret, if I know the reason it's secret! And secrets without reason end up hurting people! So what reason do you have to keep that book a secret?"

"Nora, I really don't want to talk about this," Weiss grumbled. Then she groaned. "You're going to pester me until you get an answer, aren't you?"

"Or until you talk to Ruby-"

"Ruby _can't_ know about this!" Weiss snapped.

"Why?"

The heiress considered the red-head in her incredible super-secret-sloth-suit, clearly weighing her options. After a moment, she sagged. "You replaced Pinkie Pie, right?"

"Yep! Also got to talk to her for a few loops!"

"So you know what a Pinkie Pie Promise is."

Nora flinched. "Yeeeeeees..."

"And you know what comes of breaking the promise."

Titles and names related to Equestria's most dangerous looper flitted through Nora's mind. The Joy Of Faust. The Pink One Of Many Skills. Seer of **All** and **Beyond**. Fun Lord of the Sith. Chaos God of Parties. She Who Sends Shoggoths Gibbering in Terror. Part-Time Eldritch Abomination. _Sometimes made of cotton candy._

Would it really be worth it? Invoking the binds of her part-time party mentor?

"...What," she ventured cautiously, "would you want me to promise?"

"Not to tell Ruby. Not to let Ruby know. And... not to let anyone know who I haven't already told."

Nora took a breath. That was reasonable, she supposed. "I promise to deny Ruby the knowledge of this book, and the reasons for your use of this book, and to prevent this knowledge from spreading without your consent. Cross my heart and hope to fly... stick a cupcake in my eye."

The contract was made. She swore she could hear the faint laughter of a pink horse. It was probably psychosomatic- _probably_ -but the multiverse was darned lucky that Pinkie's most basic urge was to ensure happiness.

Weiss nodded, accepting the promise in the spirit it was made, and produced the book she had been reading.

"...Comprehensive Psychology?"

"Ruby Rose is our Anchor," Weiss explained. "Her mental stability is our world's stability. And her mental stability depends on her friends, her fellow loopers. This..." She tapped the thick book. "This, and many classes through many loops, helps me to keep an eye on her. And... on the rest of you."

She flicked the book back into her pocket. "Everyone else thinks that sidestepping baseline will magically heal all the wounds. The mind doesn't work like that. Even if it never happened, if Penny never got cut up, if Yang never lost her arm, if Pyrrha never died, she _remembers_ , and... all of us remember. And that's just the _big_ problem! There's a lot of tiny ways, a lot of little issues that can cause a mind to break. And it's not just Ruby, although she's the most important-it's how Jaune never wanted to confess to Pyrrha, or... or how Blake and Yang might be addicted to each other. Ozpin can worry about the world. Me, I worry about my friends."

Nora, gently, put a hand around the heiress's shoulder. "You don't have to do this alone. We're your friends, Weiss. We're supposed to do this together."

"One of the big rules is that you have to be able to... mentally distance yourself. Not lie to yourself." Weiss shook her head. "Ruby has to think I'm just a snarky, honor-loving rich girl. Not that I..."

She sighed.

"...I appreciate that you were worried about me. And that you... dressed up to prove it. Just... like I said. Please, don't tell Ruby."

"Hey, I Pinkie Pie promised. And I have seen the Wrath of Laughter." Nora's eyes grew distant. "The confetti... it was _everywhere._ "

Weiss, despite herself, gave a snort of laughter. "I'll take your word for it."

"...So does this mean I should call you doctor Weiss now?"

"Eh... I'm not as uptight about it as Oobleck is."

* * *

 **27.13**

* * *

An Oobleck fell out of the sky. And then another. And another.

It was raining Ooblecks. Ooblecking.

Weiss, sequestered under an Oobleck proof umbrella glared at Ruby, who was using Crescent Rose as an umbrella. "What did you do Ruby?"

"It wasn't me, honest!"

Weiss turned to Yang, who was pulling an Oobleck out of her hair. "No. Not me. Not my fault."

"Innocent, really!" Nora cried, huddled with Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha under a single dingy umbrella (handed down the Arc line from father to son).

"I have better ideas than this!" Roman shouted, Neo riding his shoulders and both under her parasol.

Cinder rang up on Weiss' Scroll, contacting her from he place above the clouds and the Ooblecks. "Not it."

"Ozpin," Glynda said threateningly.

"Why would I do this?" the Headmaster asked as an Oobleck bounced off his energy shield. "But really, whoever did this, own up. Now."

* * *

"How did you do this?" Winter Schnee asked her sort-of boyfriend from beneath her Oobleck proof umbrella.

Hiding under his sword, Qrow shrugged. "What can I say? Booze, coffee and Doctor Suess don't mix ma'am." He winked. "Eh, what the hay. I guess I ate too much... Green eggs and ham."

Winter clocked him for that.

* * *

 **27.14 FTKnight**

* * *

... " and now we shall see the effects of coffee, on a unawake Nora Valkyrie. " The loopers steps out of view of the camera, which is then focused on a coffee cups a decent distance away, For Nora mostly visible on the cup.

Nora skips into frame, and goes right past the cup, and almost leaves the frame before she stops, She turns around and start glancing around like a squirrel or chipmunk near a tourist spot. getting close to the cup she uses her hammer to move the cup, checking to see if there is a trigger on it. Nora smiles happily, grabs the cup and drinks quickly...

Twilight Sparkle snapped her pointer shut as the entire room dissolved into a nuclear caffeine blast. "Any questions?"

Many hands were raised.

* * *

 **27.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Okay," Jaune said slowly. "I expected this from Nora. Not Ren."

"The tree is insane, Jaune." Pyrrha shook her head, sidestepping a falling branch. "It's broken, and therefore insane."

"Well... yes, but..."

Jaune gestured helplessly at their adopted son, who was currently hinged open and gathering baking supplies into his literal chest cavity.

"I'm sure this makes sense to Yggdrassil," Pyrrha replied, resigned. "At least he's only half-mimic."

* * *

 **27.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

The Hunters were a monstrous, terrifying menace that had shaped all of civilization into a constant and near desperate attempt to hold them at bay even a day, just long enough to survive, with countless plans and atrocities throughout all of history being implemented solely to satisfy the singular goal.

Which made things awkward for the beowolf named Ruby Rose, who had countless lifetimes of memories being on the _other_ side of the war.

"It's only a variant," she reassured herself even as she clawed a human in half. "I hope Cinder's awake..."

* * *

 **27.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...so after evacuating everyone to the moon, Ruby nuked the planet to get rid of the Xenogrimm," Pyrrha finished with a groan. "She said it was the only way to be sure, but honestly I just think she wanted to say the line."

"I don't exactly blame her," Blake mused, chewing on a sprig of catnip. "It's a classic line."

"Well, yes, but-"

Their conversation was interrupted by a wooden galleon smashing through the outer walls of Beacon Academy, thick green vines carrying it to a sudden stop inches from the two. They had no time to react before dozens of privateers swung off the edge of the vessel, gourds and squash for heads and cutlass-pistols clutched in their leafy hands.

The apparent leader, a pumpkin with sharp yellow teeth and a scraggly mane under his tricorn, pointed a wickedly sharp sabre-rifle at Pyrrha. "Yar, Miss Nikos, I be here to deliver me vengeance upon ye! Nary a soul revolts against ol' captain Pete without expectorating kudzu!"

Blake blinked as the various plant people cackled, glancing at the sprig in her fingers. "...Did I get some bad nip?"

"No, there actually is a pirate crew of pumpkin people present," Pyrrha assured her. "Although I don't know _why._ "

"Stay yer falsehoods, lass! Ye be takin' down yer conteract with me gift to the world." The pirate pumpkin waved his sabre-rifle. "No scallywag defects from me crew! Prepare yeself to meet the great gardener in the sky, for I be ready to make he some Pyrrha pie!"

"Oh. This is about the cereal thing," Pyrrha realized, standing up. "I'm sorry, Pete, but my retraction was final."

"Such con-fi-donce," spat the jack-o-pirate. "Fine. Lads... let's smash some gourds."

Blake stood up, instantly back to back with Pyrrha. "Twenty lein says this is a prank."

"Thirty on variant. Melonhead at your six!"

* * *

 **27.18 Me, Masterweaver, Diesel, MasterOfGames**

* * *

"Okay, weirdest thing you've ever looped in as!" Ruby cried. "GO!"

"A friggin' box," Neo grumbled. "Aperture Science is _weird."_

"I'll see your box and raise you an entire aisle's worth of cereal boxes," Pyrrha countered.

Cinder rolled her eyes, "A single ember in a firestorm, all the other embers were sapient with unique personalities as well and fought over who would get to start a new fire. Each one then screaming in horror when they did so, their minds and memories fragmenting as the new flame grew, spawning new embers as they descended into maddened rants." She smirked "It was quite amusing to 'see' each ember think that it cant happen to me, but it quickly got boring seeing the same thing happening over and over. So, I spent my time just being blown around and consuming just enough to remain alive."

"Pinkie Pie!" Nora squealed.

"Motion that we bar eldritch abominations from this competition," Roman said quickly.

"Seconded," Glynda nodded.

"Awwwwww..."

"Gellert Grindelwald," Ozpin stated.

"That's not too bad," Ruby noted.

"While Dumbledore was snogging me."

"That's not too bad," Ruby repeated.

"Nude."

"That's not too bad."

"You are positively numb to weirdness."

"To be fair," Jaune pointed out, "gay evil wizard doesn't quite rate against boxes and sapient sparks. The situation might have been awkward, but beyond that it's not very strange."

The young man sipped his drink. "Harem King, except all of the girls were personified Grimm, and the Grimm were replaced by, you guess it, Pyrrha. I really should have seen how obviously hot for me she was."

Wiess shrugged, putting forward her entry "I looped into Haruhi Suzumiya's world, into one of the closed spaces as the Celestials; That was the most disorientating thing i have ever looped in as." She winced in remembrance "Their perceptions were bizarre and if i didn't do what Haruhi wanted then my mind was ensnared in illusions to the point i felt it was needed, then i would realize i was still there in the closed space."

"What about where Team RWBY... had a Secret," Roman teased.

"WE SWORE NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT LOOP AGAIN!" every furiously blushing woman at the bar screeched, slamming their fists into the wood.

Ozpin recoiled at the noise and snuck a glance at Roman. "Uh... What was that about that Loop?"

"Salem was Summer's mom, Mercury was Ruby's half brother by Qrow, Yang was actually Ruby's _aunt_ , and that's the least of it."

"Barky McBark Woof," Zwei explained. Ozpin immediately blushed and drank his Irish coffee.

"...I remember the Loop were I was on fire for no reason," Ren said.

Everyone agreed that that had been a very strange, and warm, loop.

* * *

 **27.19 Masterweaver**

* * *

Contingencies. Fallbacks. Advance plans.

Ever since she had begun looping, Cinder had been gathering them, setting them up, nothing serious or noticeable but a thousand thousand just-in-cases littered in her wake. Tools, words, ideas...

...and it was time to plant another.

Ruby might have been her sister, but Blake? Blake was her foil. Blake understood the darker side of the world... indulged on occasion. Cinder had used that before, confronted her about the slaughter of the White Fang-the feeling in her chest threatened, but she pushed it down-had seemed sympathetic. Given advice. Friendship... There was her baseline self, too. She was the best target for this idea.

She approached the cat faunus, casually, carefully. Blake was alone. That wasn't enough. Yang wasn't Awake. That was better. And as Cinder watched...

...there it was.

The sprig.

She sat down next to Blake, under the tree. Small talk. Waited.

The signs came slowly, subtly. Dilated eyes. Her bow, flicking. Quiet, restrained purrs.

Five minutes, Cinder decided, was long enough.

"...I think we can all agree baseline's... not good," she began. "I hate it, you know. Penny, Roman, Pyrrha..."

Blake nodded. "...Yang..."

"Tragic. Stupid. Ruby was right to declare war on baseline." Cinder sighed. "It's just..."

Like the curious little kitten she was, Blake took the bait. "Just what?"

"Just... how can we know what baseline is, if we don't live through it?"

"Well... Ruby will-"

"Ruby's declared war on baseline," Cinder reminded her. "And she'd act to change things, no matter what." She sighed. "We... we need some sort of scout, for when the expansions start up."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Well... I mean, in baseline... you run. And that's bad and all, but... why? How do we find out... how do _you_ find out, unless you live it?"

"...I could wake up late."

"Roll of the dice," Cinder replied. "But... if you waited until only Ruby was Awake, and you stealthed-actually, this was a stupid idea," she cut herself off, seemingly ashamed.

"...well..." Blake shrugged. "I mean... I see where it could come from..."

"No, no, I shouldn't even have brought it up. In fact, let's change the subject..."

The two of them debated whether Blake or Neon would make the better Nyancat, in case of currency demons, right up until Blake's catnip wore off. Then the faunus had, with some embarrassment, quickly cut off the argument and wished Cinder a good day. And Cinder had just smiled and waved and... walked away.

The idea was planted. Another potential excuse... another potential supporter.

The pain in her chest coiled, twisted, and churned.

* * *

 **27.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

Nora looked from the nail in the board, to her gernade-launching warhammer, to Ruby's eager face.

"...Okay, even _I_ realize this is a stupid idea-"

"Awwwwww."

"-but that's NOT GOING TO _STOP ME!"_

* * *

 **27.21 Shimmer712**

* * *

Qrow kept in the air with steady beats of his wings. Then he stumbled on his next step.

 _Step?_

 _What the hell is this?_

Qrow caught his balance and stood up straight, looking around. As he stared at the signs proclaiming the upcoming Vital Tournament he felt completely lost and confused. Not that anyone would be able to tell by looking. He was a professional hunter after, even with alcoholic tendencies and all.

 _What's going on?_

He shouldn't be a Vale – a Vale that wasn't ruined and infested with grimm. He should be in the Outlands, in his crow form, following-

 _Ruby!_

Eyes widening, Qrow quickly spun around, looking for a trace of his niece – no, daughter, no –

" _What the hell?!"_ he hissed under his breath, stalking off to find a discreet location.

He could clearly recall Raven and Taiyang marrying and moving in together, later joined by himself and Summer, the logic being it would be easier to have one house to maintain than three when some of the occupants would be gone on missions most of the time (Qrow being one example of the mostly gone inhabitants). He recalled Taiyang and Raven announcing their upcoming parenthood, Taiyang beaming and Raven's expression uncharacteristically soft. He recalled Taiyang grieving for Raven and searching for his sister while Summer tried to console the distraught man. He recalled Summer and Taiyang becoming a couple. He could recall his youngest niece being born, Summer vanishing on a missing and Taiyang shutting down. He could clearly recall going to the tournament, watching the messed of matches, meeting up with Ozpin, Glynda and Ironwood, talking with his nieces, Yang's match ending on a seriously bad note, the Grimm invading, his older niece being maimed and Ruby heading off to follow the trail, unaware of his following her.

But now he found himself back _before_ any of that happened. With another set of memories.

The four of them had lived together, Raven had married Taiyang, had a daughter and then vanished. But then things were different.

Taiyang never got together with Summer. He did. He could remember nights with her, content, calm and restful, he could remember going on outings with her, just the two of them. He remembered the two of them helping Taiyang, the man managing to function again with Summer as an emotional crutch. He remembered being amused and jealous when Yang thought that Tai and Summer were together because they were "mommy and daddy" and "mommies are always with daddies" according to other kids. He remembered Summer shyly telling him he would be a father, being utterly terrified because he had taken on so many missions and pissed of so many people of the wrong sort and a baby would be so defenceless and he was in no way a responsible adult and how would he raise a little angel of his own the way she deserved?

In the end, Qrow had continued with missions, ensuring they always had money for what they needed and Summer and Taiyang stayed home and raised the children. Only Summer, when the girls were no longer babies, started taking missions again, trusting their daughter to Taiyang. Only one mission, she never came back. Taiyang relapsed, the disappearance too much like how Raven vanished and there were too little girls missing the woman they knew as "mom". Taiyang passing himself off as the father for both, giving Ruby a little more distance from her actual father, giving her a little more protection against his enemies.

 _I have a kid who thinks I'm her uncle_ , Qrow thought. _What the hell?_

 _...Salem._

He didn't know the full extent of her abilities. She was a nightmare, an abomination. Her and the monstrosities she created. But Yang said the boy had been attacking her. That her unprovoked attack had been self-defence.

Yang's testimony implied that there was someone capable of messing with minds. Maybe that was what was happening. But what was the point of making him remember being Ruby's father? Did they think that was the case and threw it in to be sure they wouldn't be caught? Were they just messing with him? What was actually happening while he was in this hallucination? Was it a hallucination or was it something else?

Frowning inwardly, Qrow decided to go about his business and see what developed. If this was some sort of trick, it was a highly elaborate one, which meant there were more details that could go wrong. He would pretend not to notice anything odd and watch for anything that would explain this oddity.

And when he found out what was going on and who was jerking him around, he would make them _**pay.**_

* * *

Winter blinked. Anyone observing her would have noticed her pause slightly before continuing with her breakfast but nothing more.

Behind her composed face, Winter's mind was whirling. She remembered going to Vale, remember the White Fang invading with Grimm, remembered _Weiss_ being in the middle of the invasion and fighting. She remembered the evacuation and being the process of making efforts to cleanup Vale of the invasion. She remembered being in the middle of a fight with some Grimm with her comrades.

And then she was here. How strange. Winter contemplated events. Had she blacked out? A check on her Scroll showed that either the device had been hacked...or she had gone back in time...

Was this some sort of trick? She carefully kept her face calm and composed. The pale-haired woman went through her morning routine,. She carefully checked her weapons to ensure they were in working condition.

Winter checked her scroll for her schedule and left her quarters to join her squad. As she went through the day, everything the same as before, she kept looking around discreetly, searching for any hints as to what was happening.

What seemed to be happening was _impossible._

The next morning, she was still back before White Fang attacked Vale, before the tournament, before the General had even left for Vale. That day was also a repeat of the past. And the next. At the end of the week, she accepted that she was just going to go through days she had already lived.

Did she really go back in time or was she being manipulated to think she had?

Winter eyed the date on her scroll. It was too late to stop Weiss from attending Beacon. However...

If she recalled correctly, after the General arrived in Vale, Weiss had gone to Mount Glenn to investigate, on the grounds that a Military force would not be discreet enough. If she convinced the General to allow her to accompany him, then allow her to investigate Mount Glenn alone, she could simply send word about White Fang planning an attack based on her memories, even if she didn't find anything. Just to be sure he and the others had a heads up.

Winter frowned, recalling what had occurred with one of Weiss' teammates in the tournament. She hadn't seen the young man attacking the blonde. But Weiss' description of her teammates indicated that such an attack was out of character.

Winter closed her eyes and reviewed her memory. The blonde - Yang - starting to walk off the arena then whirling and shooting her opponent in the leg, him screaming in pain. Why did that happen? Was the blonde someone who would do that or was there something else at play?

First thing after breakfast, she was going to take notes on what she remembered and figure out how to avoid certain situations. Winter made a note to invite Ruby to accompany herself and Weiss. Maybe Qrow would be less inclined to stirring up trouble with his niece present.

 _Or not_ , she amended, recalling Ruby shouting encouragement to Qrow while Weiss urged her on. _Might be a good idea to come up with a different idea to avoid that incident._

 _And if I can't, I'll have to make sure I beat his face in_ _**hard.**_

Then she frowned. If this was a trick, would trying to change things play into their hands? Or was it that she was not supposed to remember and a mistake was made?

She would need to tread carefully. She didn't know who was behind this or what they wanted. But she would avoid calling attention to the fact she remembered. Maybe that would throw of their scheme.

After all, it is very hard to plan for unknown and/or unexpected factors.

Winter smirked. Whoever was playing around with her life would regret it.

* * *

Weiss was a boy. Why was her sister a brother?

Winter was convinced. This time repeat was to mess with her head. She supposed it was the White Fang's doing somehow, given she was a Schnee and her father had less than ethical dealings with his fanus workers.

Winter inwardly inhaled deeply. The nice thing about the repeats was they gave her memories about how things should have gone in this time line rather than leave her guessing based on her memories from previous repeats. She wouldn't be arrive in Vytal for a few days so she had time to wrap her head around the fact she had brother instead of a sister.

Winter twitched. Whoever was messing with her and interfering with her family would suffer.

* * *

Ruby was bored. Yang wasn't awake. There was one ping from Weiss but she was back in Atlas so they couldn't do much together other than chat over scrolls. Yet.

So they had decided to be fake alien spies. _Obvious_ alien spies. Ruby had a pair of antennae on her head and was uttering phrases in Italian. Which didn't exists as a language in Remnant so to everyone but Weiss, it was gibberish.

Tai Yang was baffled by her antics while Yang found it hilarious. Qrow seemed a bit confused, his brow furrowed as though he was waiting for something else to happen. Although he seemed to twitch agitatedly at times. Maybe he just didn't like sound of Italian?

Qrow for his part was silently promising bloody and painful death for whoever had messed with his baby niece. Seriously, what the hell? Why was Ruby speaking nonsense and having a pair of antennae on her head.

Were things going to get crazier? Qrow needed to find a way to carry a lot of alcohol. His own stash wasn't going to cover it.

* * *

And now, Qrow gets to pick another fight with the overly proper Schnee. He knew Ruby's friend Weiss would probably be upset with him. But he really didn't want to call attention to the fact he remembered so he picked a fight with the elder Schnee girl to hide that little detail. Besides, fighting with the prim and proper woman was fun.

Qrow wondered if he could get her using her summons earlier and with bigger ones.

He smirked. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Okay, this was weird.

Winter seemed to already know how he fought. And her fighting style seemed a little different. As though she had prepared to fight him. But she had no reason to know how he fought. This was their first meeting. Maybe she had heard of him from Ironwood or something. But none of what she heard should have prepared her like this.

Qrow narrowed his eyes. It was like she had fought him before. And the only time they had fought had occurred before the repeat had happened.

Huh. Maybe he wasn't alone in this mess. Maybe there was someone else in this.

Or maybe, this repeat she was that good. Qrow considered then threw in some moves he didn't use in their original fight, ones he had developed with Summer, ones he didn't often use anymore.

Winter faltered slightly, caught off guard by the sudden change. He switched again, this time using some techniques he usually only used against Grimm, not humans. Another falter.

Winter was skilled, he wouldn't lie. She reoriented herself quickly. But she was only prepared for the fighting style he had shown the first time around, before the repeats.

Qrow smiled inwardly.

Winter was living the repeats as well. That meant she was an ally against whatever was doing this and against that _thing_. He just needed to talk with her. Alone.

* * *

Winter fumed silently to herself. She was sure she would beat Qrow. She would never admit it to anyone but when she had lost to him in the original timeline, it had been humiliating. While people could say she had won due to her blade being at his throat at the end, her blade was only there because he had allowed it, had put away his weapon and goaded her to attack. She had played into his hands and so it was his victory.

To make matters worse, he hadn't been fighting her for real at the time. He had kept his weapon in its most basic form, he never wielded his infamous scythe against her. And he had been drunk. No matter how accustomed to intoxication he was, it still would have had an adverse effect on his skills, Winter was sure. And the whole time, he had treated it like a game, grinning widely as she attacked.

Winter had felt humiliated and so when she had the chance, she had practiced her skill, taking advantage of every time they fought in the repeat to learn a little more about his fighting style and how to counter it.

Irritatingly, she had yet to beat him or even have him use his scythe against her. She was sure would have managed it this time but instead he had thrown in different moves than normal.

Winter chastised herself. Of course Qrow would have several other moves and styles that he hadn't used against her in previous repeats. After all, he was an Hunter and tactics against a human opponent aren't necessarily useful against a Grimm. Likewise, what works for a ground-bound opponent won't work against an airborne one. That was one of the most basic lessons. She should have known that he would have other tactics and styles up his sleeve. Winter kicked herself. She had been so focused on beating the tactics she had seen him use, she neglected to account for that fact she didn't know all of his moves. If he had sincerely wanted to harm her, he could have easily killed her because of her tunnel vision. Her fixation had let her down.

She grimaced, realizing that it was second time in a fight against Qrow tunnel vision had had an adverse effect on her fights. This time, it was because she focused so much on what she knew he could do and only that. In the original fight, she had focused so much on Qrow, she hadn't realized the General was present.

"Schnee," a voice rasped. Winter snapped her head around.

"Qrow," she answered curtly.

"Getting baby sister out before White Fang attacks?" he questioned. Winter's eyes narrowed at the mention of Weiss

"She won't leave without a reason and I don't have a plausible reason for knowing about the Grimm the…" Winter cut herself off. How did he….?

"I knew it," he grinned triumphantly. "You're repeating too!"

"You as well," Winter stared at him. She felt like screaming. It was nice to have someone she could turn to. It was nice to know the other person in this mess was a powerful Hunter with plenty of experience.

But did it have to be someone so annoying?

"We need to talk," Qrow said. "About what to do about the repeats and what to do about what happens."

"…Agreed," Winter nodded. She passed him her scroll details. "I f I do not answer, I have my scroll on silence due to confidential business and will call you back as soon as possible. If you do not answer when I call you, I will leave you a message. Now, if you don't mind, I was on my way to meet with my sister."

Qrow nodded.

"Alright then." He paused. "Actually, were you repeating when the sky was pink?"

Winter blinked. "No, but I did have a repeat where the water was syrup." Winter would swear all her teeth had developed cavities that repeat, no matter what the dentists said.

"So we're not always in the same repeat," he mused. "We'll need to find a way to let each other know when we're aware of the repeats."

"Very well," Winter agreed. "I will contact you tonight and we can work something out then."

"Gotcha." Qrow turned. "Guess I'll go see my nieces. "Good luck in the upcoming fights," he called over his shoulder.

"Same to you," Winter returned.

Well, this was an interesting development. She hoped she wasn't going to regret this.

* * *

 **27.22 Masterweaver**

* * *

Winter Schnee scrolled through Qrow's report, her mind still working to comprehend some of the repeats he'd mentioned. Yang as the _younger_ sister? Zwei being a _war corgi?_ Whoever was doing this had obviously stopped caring about consistency a while back. Overconfidence led to mistakes, after all...

"...Faunus protest has led city leaders to reconsider current housing districts," Lisa Lavender droned from the newscast running in the background. "An attempt by the White Fang to use the protest for their own ends was thwarted by... I'm sorry, is this right? Alright. A man in a giant purple chicken suit... this happened? You're not pulling my leg?"

Despite herself, Winter couldn't help but give an amused snort. She filed it away as another time-shift note.

"And now, thanks to what I'm being informed is an obscene amount of bribery, the Blonde Report with Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long."

Winter's eyes snapped up as two familiar blondes in surprisingly professional attire appeared smiling on the screen. Even as she quickly signaled Qrow to catch the news, Yang had already opened the surprise segment.

"Thank you for that stirring support, Lisa. It's a fine day today in the city of Vale, which means it's a fine time to discuss friends and family alike. Jaune?"

"Local celebrity Kamina, best known for his pecs, sunglasses, and tendency to steal Atlas tech, has expressed disappointment that the moon is shattered, as that precludes a fistfight of epic proportions," the potential leader of team JNPR stated. "He has decided to vent his frustration by reclaiming Mountain Glenn, and has already reported clearing out the western quarter."

"Good luck to him, I say." Yang snorted. "But in other news, waffle sales have gone through the roof as pancake batter seems to be at an all-time low. Who could possibly have contributed to this situation?" she asked melodramatically.

"I'd say a Huntress."

"Huntress in training."

"Redhead, definitely."

"Probably with a hammer."

"If any of you see a huntress in training with a hammer, red hair, and an obsession with sloths, stay calm and alert the authorities," Jaune advised. "A specialized team will come to pie her into submission."

"Let's move onto the global stage. Currency Cults are on the rise, as more and more poverty-stricken people turn to the demonic forces of Banq-Ropzeee. The head of the Nyancat order has issued a statement, stating she is currently looking to train an apprentice to help her in these trying times." Yang clasped her hands together, a serious look on her face. "While she would not state exactly who she was inducting, professional analyzers suspect somebody from the kingdom of Atlas. With red hair. And a tail. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose."

"There's no need for jealousy."

"I'm not jealous."

"Of course. Thankfully, there is some good news: a catnip ring operating out of the wilds has been broken by devoted Hunters." Jaune shook his head. "Quite frankly, I am ashamed of these people. Trying to sell old catnip to faunus? That's disgraceful."

"I have it on good authority that catnip is only effective when fresh," Yang agreed. "These people didn't even respect their customers enough to provide quality goods."

"And on that note, we're out of time. This has been Jaune Arc-"

"And Yang Xaio Long. Thank you for tuning in to the Blonde Report."

Winter blinked as Lisa Lavender reappeared on the screen, hand in her hair and head on her desk. She snapped out of it when her scroll beeped, bringing it to her ear. "This is Winter Schnee."

"...What the hell was that?"

"...I have no idea, Qrow."

* * *

 **27.23 Masterweaver**

* * *

"What... oh, no. Yang, it happened again!"

Weiss grumbled into her pillow blearily. "Uggn. What time is it?"

"It's around seven," Blake replied with a yawn. "Ruby, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, it-uh, well, this is going to be hard to explain."

"Oh noooooooooo," Weiss moaned, scrunching her eyes together. "Please tell me you don't have some bed-wetting condition or something."

"I can safely say that Ruby's condition will not lead to her wetting the bed," Yang replied. "Blake, could you help us find her eyes?"

Weiss blearily let herself wake up at that. "Did you just ask to-HOLYDUSTWHAT-?!"

Her hand instinctively smacked at the large bug inches from her face, sending it flying across the room.

"Oh good!" Yang said, gleefully picking it up and dusting it off. "You found one!"

"Found one-What are you talking a...?"

Weiss's voice trailed off as Yang handed the white creature to their leader, who rose the creature to _her empty eye sockets_ and let it crawl _into one._

"Hwhaaaaa...?"

"Yeah, I... I have spider eyes," Ruby explained, blinking as the eye rolled-skittered?-into place. "It's kind of a long story. Can anybody see the other one?"

"There's something dangling off the light," Blake reported. Weiss followed her finger up to see, yes, another white spider with a silver circle on the abdomen, slowly descending.

"Lahwaaaaaaa...?"

"Darn it!" Ruby groused. "I hate it when they get near light sources-I end up half blind for the day!" She held out her hand and started clicking her tongue; the other eye spider seemed to hesitate before obediently falling into her grasp. "They must be nervous because we're in a new place. Usually they're much better behaved."

"Behaaavaaaaaaa..."

Blake shrugged as Ruby inserted her other eye. "Well... that's weird."

"Hey! She's my sister!" Yang protested.

Blake rose an eyebrow.

"...who has weird eyes," the blonde sheepishly admitted.

Ruby, her eyes properly aligned, gave Blake a sheepish smile. "You don't mind, do you?"

"...Just keep them away from my tuna."

"Got it." She turned to Weiss. "So, uh... you okay with this?"

Weiss looked at her silver spider eyes.

"Uh...uh huh..."

Then she fainted dead away.

Team RBY shared a few glances.

"Think we went too far?" Yang asked.

Blake shook her head. "Nah, she'll come around."

* * *

 **27.24 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Okay. Go a loop wiiiiiiith... a stick!" Ruby held up the stick triumphantly. "I can do this. I am RUBY ROSE! Anchor of Remnant! Able to heal from anything! Also cool silver eyes that freeze Grimm... kind of... if I could only figure out how to control that ability... Anyway, this is going to be easy! Stick as my weapon. I can't wait to see the confused looks. I can do this. I _can_ do this! I... I..."

* * *

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Ruby wailed, hugging Crescent Rose tightly. "I CAN'T ABANDON MY BABY!"

Yang blinked. "Uh-what?"

"I was going to go the loop using a stick to beat up Grimm and White Fang and, and Roman and Cinder because that's funny but, but Crescent Rose is my little girl!" The reaper planted a light kiss on her scythle, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Mummikins is so sorry, baby! She's never going to abandon you ever again!"

"...Don't you have, like, literally millions of copies of that weapon?"

"This is the one I modify. This is my Crescent Rose." Ruby began to pet the red metal. "She's such a good girl. Yes you are. Yes you are."

When she started humming a lullaby, Yang began to back off slowly. "Okay. You... you have a relationship with your weapon. You know what, that's perfectly fine. I'm just... going to go... find Blake."

* * *

 **27.25 Masterweaver**

* * *

"I hereby call this meeting of Looping Sith Ladies to order! First order of business: our two new members! Welcome, Darth Cognita and Darth Nihileet!"

"Cognita? Seriously?"

"You're one to talk, oh Darth _Synerate_."

"Now girls, let's not fight. This is a friendly meeting between Darksiders. Even Velocious is behaving herself!"

"Don't drag me into this, Terror'Anment. I'm only here for the food."

"...Wait. Are you that dinosaur that sometimes loops in with Ruby and her friends?"

The scaled hunter from times primeval returned her look with an expression of disdainful condescension that only those willing to eat their enemy were capable of producing. _**"No."**_

 **"** Um... I beg your pardon for interrupting, but do we _have_ to use our sith titles here?"

"Of course not, Marie! Well, except for Velocious, but that's only because her name is a combination of growls and particular stances. The rest of us have ordinary names! Well, ordinary for where we came from. I mean Pinkie Pie isn't a normal name for most humans, but I'm not human so I don't care!"

The pink pony giggled, even as the other four stared at her. Not for the first time, they wondered at Yggdrassil's twisted sense of humor; this happy-go-lucky horse had been granted enough power to crush stars, conquer galactic empires, and stand against hordes of demons, and she generally used it to throw parties. Still, the horror stories of what she had accomplished were enough to keep them from attempting to usurp her position.

"So... Azula." Pinkie turned to her left. "How are things with you?"

"Oh, I'm still working my way through the Avatar and his friends. Me and Zuzu have reached an understanding, though."

"That's great! Family's important, looping family E-S-Pecially! What about you, Cinder? You been doing okay?"

Cinder shrugged. "Well, you know, it's still kind of rocky, since... Pyrrha and all that. I think I'm doing alright, though..."

Pinkie stared at her for a few moments, twirling her ostentatiously red and black horned gavel with a flat expression. Then she broke out in a too-wide grin. "Well, if you say so! Marie, how are things over in Canopy?"

"Things are actually pretty good," the young girl replied, absently flicking some dust off her exposed ribs. "Patricia and I had a lovely date last loop; saw the recent Annie film, killed off half the Medici clan, and had a nice dinner afterward. It was all very romantic."

"Wow," Cinder managed. "You... you're just going to say that."

Marie gave her a confused look. "What?"

"You just said you killed off half the... what, Medici?" Cinder asked.

"Well, yes...?"

Pinkie sighed. "Marie, I think you're the only one here that actually practices casual murder."

The lich-child blinked. "What? That can't be right. Surely you've all killed before."

"Weeeeeeell," the pony mused, "Velocius usually only kills when she's hunting, Azula orders executions only when her servants are incompetent, and Cinder... Actually, Cinder, do you kill anyone regularly?"

Cinder hemmed, hawed, and eventually gave an awkward shrug. "I mean... when I need to make a _point_..."

"So, intimidation. And I tend to prefer psychological torture myself," Pinkie finished. "You, on the other hand, don't mind a little slaughter on your dates."

Marie sighed. "But they're Medici! Literal mafia slavers who kidnap little girls and essentially tear them apart if they're too rebellious!"

"I'm not saying it's wrong, just... unique."

* * *

 **27.26 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Salutations! I'm Penny!"

"And I'm Penelope!"

"And welcome back to the Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket!"

"Now we've got some good news, some bad news, and some EXCITING news!"

"In our good news category, Velvet T-387 has opened a new pet shop in the central courtyard! First impressions demonstrate adorable bundles of fluff are ready for new owners. From the basic cats and dogs to the exotic chocobos and parrot-lizards, Velvet T-387 assures us we have a wide range of mammals to choose from! If you're ever feeling lonely, or your suite-mate has been scheduled for experimentation, this is just the place to find a new friend! Please remember all pets are mortal and have an expiration date."

"On to the bad news. The Star Destroyer hijacked by Fox T-543 and her rebels was recently lost when Overlord Cinder dumped it into a sun. Tragically, the loss of equipment will be difficult to replace; Overlord Cinder has requested a reassignment of Penny-Squads to construct a Kamino-clone facility in the now empty pocket wing. Remember: Overlord Cinder is the goddess of the pocket! Defiance is amusing and ultimately pointless, so just keep smiling and working!"

"And finally our EXCITING news! Salem Labs has reported a successful cross-breeding of Grimm and Xenomorph, which will be released into the next loop for experimentation. If you are a Peggy-style modified Penny, you may well be selected to transport our new friend out into the wide beyond! If you wish to become or avoid becoming a modified Penny, remember that only Pennies who suffer psychological breakdowns are selected for modification!"

"I know it certainly worked out for me! I was terrified of never seeing my family again. Now, I never feel terror at all! Hahahahaha!"

"That's incredible to hear, Penelope. This has been Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket! Hail Overlord Cinder!"

"Hail Overlord Cinder! Up next: My Five Cocos, episode 249!"

* * *

 **27.27 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Oh come _on_ ," Ruby Rose groaned at the now-familiar sign. "You two are genderbent! I thought that would make things weird or something!"

"Nope!" came her (currently) brother's voice from through the door. "Bisexuals, baby!"

"Aren't you the least bit embarrassed your younger sibling is out here?" Weiss deadpanned.

"Kinda, but we're already pretty far into it."

"I'm embarrassed," Blake admitted, "if that means anything-oooohmmmmrrrrr _rrrrr_..."

Ruby threw up her hands. "Fine! I'm coming back in thirty minutes!" She grumbled as she stormed off. "Honestly, we've got to start extending the room or splitting it or something..."

* * *

 **A/N: End**


	28. The End of a long Conversation

**28.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ah, the Subspace Pocket.

One of the most potent tools in the Looper's toolbox, primarily due to being a toolbox in and of itself. Originally, it was meant to be a way to keep them from growing too powerful over the course of eons, but the practical aspect was the true selling point. A little concentration, a little soul power, and voila! A chamber outside reality was formed, one that would follow the soul even after reality itself was reset. This multiplied a Looper's potential immensely; where before, any new tricks they learned would have to be skills and other abstract abilities, now they could utilize technology and magical devices that would otherwise be a one-off trick. Unique tools, incredible vehicles... the eldest loopers poured enough of themselves into fueling the pocket that they could collect Death Stars and whole solar systems. A brush of a hand could vanish an enemy's weapon; even less effort was needed to summon things into existence, twisting large mechas out of thin air.

And here, in her room, Weiss Schnee stood in front of a mirror, and used her Pocket to try on clothes without lifting a finger.

Truly, a perfect use of such a wondrous ability.

* * *

 **28.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

Yggdrassil was often described by loopers as both a tree, and a computer.

The computer part was much easier to comprehend. There were Crashes (generally caused when an Anchor got cocky, or a looper decided to experiment), Patches (like the Conception Patch, because who wants the trauma of losing a child to oblivion?), Admins (who ranged from friendly to apathetic and, occasionally, outright incompetent), and Glitches (which could be fun to exploit-self-battle royale was popular when a Looper woke up a thousand times in one loop).

The tree part, though, was more abstract. Aside from referring to universes as branches, and the Hub as the trunk, it usually passed out of Looper's thoughts unless they specifically felt a need to swear at something. It was much easier, for some reason, to be mad at the concept of a living organism then at the concept of an infinite bunch of servers.

Occasionally though, they would be reminded that Yggdrassil was in fact alive. Ish. Usually when they passed through one of the tree's fever dreams.

"...Welp," Ruby Rose said, waving the scythe that was her arm. "Are you ready to fight the chair armies of Wisconsinite?"

"I'm honestly more worried about the lord of boxes," Blake replied, tying her leg back on. "Actually, why do I have a table leg as a leg?"

"Probably the same reason I have two heads and no arms," Yang replied. "At least we're not as bad as Weiss."

"Weeblr glorping sclooooperdan," Weiss grumped, crossing her tendrils. "Sploooping froskidar charathera?"

"Don't ask me! I don't know what's going on!"

* * *

 **28.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Oh, me baisez avec un couteau rouillé..."

Fenrir's ear twitched. "Wouldn't that be painful? Also, what's wrong?"

"Ozpin's pocket, that's what's wrong." Marianne gestured at a recording. "Apparently he's able to portal cut with it..."

"Wait. That should be impossible." Fenrir leaned over her shoulder, looking at the code. "Didn't we patch in a quantum entanglement confirmation measure after that whole thing with Naruto and the Evangelions?"

"Yes, but Ozpin's missing it. And... Zwei is too?" Marianne frowned, tapping the keys quickly. "C'est quoi ce bordel. All the loopers that were activated by that hacker have this issue. I'm going to have to add it in manually-why does Neo have a dead copy of Roman in her Pocket?"

"Well, without the quantum entanglement confirmation, Yggdrassil would register Roman as the same whether or not he was pocketed and result in the soul removal of the pocketed version as soon as the looping version awoke in the primary timeline," Fenrir mused. "Maybe they've been using that to check for new loopers?"

"...Sometimes I hate my job," Marianne groaned. "I just know they're going to whine at me when I fix this."

She paused for a moment.

"...Actually," Marianne mused, "this might not be a bad thing..."

Fenrir rose an eyebrow.

"Look, if it were somebody like Doomguy, I'd be worried. Heck, I'm seriously considering patching Roman and Neo. But Ozpin? He's... the kindly elderly guide person. I don't think he'd let this power go to his head, and he _has_ proven he can keep a secret-and that he knows when to stop keeping secrets."

"Well... it's your world," Fenrir replied. "I can't stop you from letting this happen."

He paused.

"What about Zwei, though?"

"...Oh he's definitely keeping this ability. I find the idea of a war corgi to be hilarious

* * *

 **28.4 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ren coughed. "Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora and I have seriously discussed this and there's something we feel you should know."

Jaune nodded absently as he fretfully continued highlighting passages in his textbook. "What is it Ren?"

"Well. You see... there was an incident with Time Dust and... to make a long story short, we're your children from the future."

Jaune's marker squeaked as it slipped. Pyrrha actually fell on the ground.

"Surprise!" Nora cheered gleefully.

"Uh-um-you-" Jaune stuttered.

"I-uh-wha?!" Pyrrha agreed.

"Wait, I have a family photo." Nora fished through her wallet. "Tada!"

There was, indeed, what looked like an older Pyrrha and Jaune smiling with a younger Ren and Nora.

"We just wanted to clear that up, in case... well, just in case," Ren explained. "Don't want a repeat of the Anniversary incident."

"But-I mean, I-okay, just..." Jaune blushed. "Well, I-"

"Could you maybe excuse us for a couple of minutes?" Pyrrha asked, grabbing his arm.

Nora nodded with a grin. "Sure thing mom!"

"Ah... aheh... yeah..." Returning an awkward smile, Pyrrha dragged Jaune out of the room.

Ren and Nora shared a look.

"You know," Ren pointed out, "this could backfire in so many ways."

Nora stuck out her tongue. "Oh don't be such a pessimist!"

* * *

 **28.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Look, I get that you're trying to rob me, but I can literally decapitate myself and survive so can we just pretend I beat you up and move this along?" a flushing Ruby asked the thug. "I have people I need to talk to."

The thug stared at her. "...What are you-"

"Ugh. Torchwick! If you're Looping, call off your goon!"

"Sorry, fellas, the girl in red is off-limits." Roman leaned around the corner and shrugged. "Trust me on this, you don't want to cross her-hello, what's got you so flustered?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ruby grumbled, pushing past the confused man who had been threatening her. "Not with you."

"Oh come on, Red, we're friends now aren't we? What's wrong? Spend a loop in Eiken?"

"No. That would have been annoying, not..." Ruby sighed. "Fine. It was Beach City."

Roman frowned. "Not heard of that one-"

"Hub-world show is Steven Universe. And I'm sure once you figure it out you'll be laughing your ass off, but right now I just want to talk with my sister." She flushed. "And avoid Weiss."

"Fair enough. So, you don't mind me robbing the store?"

"Well, I'm going to capture Cinder on my way out, so..."

Roman shrugged. "Fair point. Fellas, we're bailing."

"Wait," one of the thugs protested, "she's just a-"

"No, trust me on this, you don't want to know. Drop everything and run, capische?"

* * *

 **28.6 Masterweaver**

Pyrrha Awoke and punched a tree with a growl. _"Finally."_

* * *

Jaune approached, pinging gently. "Bad loop?"

"Variant. You were..." The mistral champion shook her head. "Well, let's go with 'chauvinistic pig,' because if I go into detail I don't think I'll be able to stop ranting."

"...I sincerely apologize for anything I may or may not have done."

"No, it wasn't you. At all." Pyrrha shook her head. "I spent the whole loop telling myself that. You don't think my clothes make me look like-"

"Your armor accentuates your beauty and projects your power," the blonde assured her quickly. "Also it allows for practical flexibility."

Pyrrha blinked. Then she managed a giggle. "Jaune. Jaune, I wasn't fishing for compliments."

"Well, sometimes the fish flop into the boat anyway."

"What, is the bait that alluring?"

"No need for hooks."

"...are we really making an extended fishing metaphor here?"

Jaune shrugged. "Well... you started it..."

* * *

 **28.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Okay." Ruby pointed to one lock of hair. "This came from Penny." Then a lock next to it. "And this came from Nora. Notice anything?"

"That you've started collecting the hair of your friends, potentially without their permission?"

"...That's more of a deduction than a noticeable detail, Weiss."

The heiress rolled her eyes. "That they're basically the same color."

"YES!" Ruby cheered. "Furthermore, they have the same level of consistency, with deviance mostly related to environmental factors and potentially different hair products. What can you deduce from _that?"_

"That you have a surprisingly good understanding of how hair products affect hair."

"Yang's my sister."

"Point." Weiss sighed. "Alright, what do _you_ deduce from this?"

"Well, factoring in that Nora's origin is effectively unknown with the potential lack-of-parents thing, and her electrical-themed semblance, and her exercise regimen, I believe that a safe conclusion is that Nora is actually a robot! Perhaps even a prototype for Penny!"

"Actually I just cut my hair before I came to Beacon and sold it to a charity group," Nora interjected matter-of-factly. "When I Woke up I tracked it down to an experimental Atlas facility."

Ruby blinked. "...Wait, are you saying Penny's wearing a wig of Nora-hair?"

"This loop anyway. I'm thinking of growing it back out!" With a jaunty wave, Nora jumped away from the window she had leaned in.

Weiss gave Ruby a look.

"It... could be loop variable?" she suggested weakly.

* * *

 **28.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...what," Glynda simply stated.

"We want you to join our next blonde report!" Jaune repeated.

"No, I understand that. And I suppose I could understand _why_ ," she acknowledged, tapping her own locks. "But... honestly, what would be the point?"

"You know, she's got a good argument," Yang mused. "I mean, we have a good back-and-forth going on, with me being bombastic and you being the level-headed snarky one. Where would Glynda fit into that?"

"Straightman, maybe?" Juane shrugged. "Look, we need more members, otherwise Ruby's Redhead Reactions is going to take our ratings!"

"Ruby's... what?" Glynda asked.

"Review show with Ruby, Nora, Roman, and Pyrrha." Yang shrugged. "They've got the more diverse cast, so..."

"I'm sorry, do loopers just have their own network now?" Glynda demanded, adjusting her glasses. "Because this is the first I'm hearing about any of this!"

As if on cue, a holoscreen cropped up next to her. "Welcome to Umbra Undeniable. I'm your host, Lie Ren, with my co-hosts Blake Belladona and Zwei the war corgi..."

* * *

 **28.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

Yang Xiao Long glowered at the man she was currently dangling over the roof's edge. "I'm sorry, I must have heard that wrong. What did you just call Blake?"

"Want to be clear," choked Roman Torchwick, "talking about Unawake Blake-"

"They're the same!"

"Not really. Looper's a demigod. Unawake's a slinky-cat."

The blonde growled, her grip tightening. "And here I thought you weren't a racist prick anymore."

"Enlightened racist-"

"Oh, an _enlightened_ racist!" Yang snarked. "That just makes it all fucking better, doesn't it?! How can you think this is okay?!"

The man pointed at his neck, smirking even as he choked. With a growl, Yang threw him back against the wall.

"Ow. Quite a grip you've got there, blondie." Roman rubbed his neck with a chuckle and a cough.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Yang unfolded her explosive gauntlets, letting them ratchet up past baseline with a threatening step forward. "I hear my fists are impressive too."

"Okay, okay. Look." Roman held up a hand. "Blake isn't slinky-cat because she was born a faunus. Blake's a slinky-cat because she was _raised_ a faunus."

"What's the fucking difference?!"

"Let me put it this way-people treat faunus like crap, so faunus learn to survive as crap. You get your exceptions on occasion-but for the most part, if you're born into poverty, you're going to have a very different view on how to handle money than if you're rich, and not because of anything like genetics-just because of the people you grow up with." The man shrugged. "Blake the looper, she's gotten pretty far past that, but this Blake is terrified of everyone because, hey, that's what she's learned."

"That's not-"

"Look, who deals with the White Fang most between us? Those masks aren't just a nice political statement. There are people wearing them that actually believe, because they've been told their whole life, that they're animals, and they act the part. The ones that have doubt? They're not 'true faunus,' according to the bull-headed prick. Yes there are exceptions, and yes it isn't fair, but it's accurate." He held open his arms. "Sorry, girly, but that's the truth."

Yang snarled, raising her fist and drawing it back.

Roman shrugged.

After a moment, Yang put the fist down. "...Maybe. But _you_ could be better."

"Oh, sure. And I'm sure that once I announce my change of heart, the people of Vale will suddenly accept my reformation without any questions whatsoever." He stood, dusting himself off. "You want to make the world better for your unawake girlfriend? That's fine. I'm just going to keep calling it as I see it."

Completely unexpectedly, his hat grew a set of propellers and he flew off into the sun. "Now if you'll excuse me, I promised Neo I'd beat her at Whack-a-Grimm."

* * *

 **28.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

"I must say, this work is incredible!" Weiss turned from the statue to Ruby. "Your gallery is a wonder to behold."

Ruby curtsied politely. "Thank you ma'am." Eons of training with the lady's Awake counterpart had taught her _some_ polite mannerisms. Some. A few.

One or two.

"It's always astounding to see the effort young artists put into their works. You must be very proud."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm not the artist. I just helped set up the gallery." Ruby gestured to the corgi standing at her feet. "Zwei here is the true mastermind."

Weiss blinked, looking down at the dog.

Zwei barked politely.

"...Are... you pulling my leg, miss?"

"Arf woof arf!"

"Zwei!" Ruby snapped. "There's no call for such language. I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, he... well, he gets offended when people dismiss his art."

"Bark bark."

"Oh really? Then what about that critic you chased out of here earlier?"

"Woof bark bark yap?"

"Don't take that tone with me! I saw it myself-"

"Bark yip _yip._ "

"Of course I notice what's going on around me!"

Weiss had, at this point, begun backing away slowly.

"Arf bark."

"Wa-Who?! What are you-?!"

"Arfy woof bark yip yip-"

Ruby flushed. "S-So what? I mean, even if she... Look, I can't just go up to her and say-"

"Woof bark?"

"Because she's not Looping, you know that! Wait... where's...?"

The heiress had almost made it to the door when, in a flurry of motion, Ruby was standing next to her and smiling. "I'm so sorry ma'am! I got distracted by my conversation with Zwei. You know how it is with family..."

"I... um... quite." Weiss gave her a glassy smile. "Unfortunately, I have to get to Beacon, so-"

"Oh! You're going to Beacon too? Maybe we'll meet up there!"

"Woof bark yap arf!"

"Ignore Zwei, he's a shameless shipper."

* * *

 **28.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Zwei," Weiss asked, "you can speak english, right?"

"Indubitably," the corgi replied in a refined british accent.

"So... why don't you do it more often?"

Zwei flicked his ears. "Multiple reasons. One, the method I use involves minor shapeshifting of my larynx, which requires concentration and happens to be somewhat painful."

"Oh," Weiss winced. "You know, if that's an issue, I can look through my pocket for a more direct universal translator-"

"Which leads me to my second point. I did spend a while stealthing as Ozpin's ally, and some of his teaching methods rubbed off on me. You girls are disturbingly monolingual."

The heiress frowned. "I'm fluent in italian, german, french, japanese, and aqualish!"

"Yes, yes, but what about non-humanoid languages? Can you talk to dogs, cats, octopi? Immersion is the best tutor."

"...you may have a point," Weiss reluctantly admitted.

"Then of course there's the most important reason: I like being the pet. While I can talk, I find it's easier to keep up the mental illusion if I don't." Zwei panted, flipping over. "I mean, if I asked for belly rubs in english..."

"...I might have some cognitive dissonance," Weiss admitted. "Fine. I concede that your reasons are sound, and shan't request you speak the tongue of man save for emergencies." She gave a little melodramatic bow.

"Arf woof bark bark!"

"...I'm going to assume that was a compliment."

* * *

 **28.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Laaaaaaaadies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and any nongenderbinary folk who may be watching, it's time once again for the Oracular Ozpin show!"

At Roman Torchwick's hammy introduction, Ozpin spun around in his chair, waving gently even as the trumpets blared and the confetti rained down on his desk. Standing opposite from Roman, Neo held up a sign-"Yep, he's that full of himself"-and stuck out her tongue.

"Now, as you all know, Ozpin was stealthing for quite some time," Roman reported into his microphone. "Of course that means he has secrets-oodles of secrets! So today, our competitors will be working together to figure out one of his many secrets-selected in advance, and not told to any of us. Today, we have an interesting roster. Please welcome, two blonde idiots and a crazy person!"

Yang, Jaune, and Nora walked out of the leftmost elevator to the sound of canned applause. Yang crossed her arms with a huff, rolling her eyes. Jaune waved at the camera as he took his podium. Nora cartwheeled in, flexing with a dramatic roar.

Roman tipped his hat at the three. "Our contestants are allowed to ask any two questions each round. However, every round Ozpin can only answer with a limited number of words-five words or less the first, three words the second, and only one on the third. At any point, any one of them can make a Speculation-trying to identify the secret Ozpin will reveal-and if they get it right, they win! But if all three speculate and get it wrong, the game is over."

"Sadly, that is just life," Ozpin admitted.

"Actually he's just fond of complicated plans," Neo explained through her sign.

"I agree with Neo," Roman stated. "Of course no game show would be complete without a cheering audience-and here they are now!"

Pyrrha, Blake, and Ren, all wearing cheerleader outfits, performed a quick pompom routine together. "You guys are all smarter than you look, let's take this secret by the book!"

Nora blinked at their surprising attire. "Uh... how'd they convince you to put that on?"

"I am proud of my body and willing to show my potential to the world!" declared the faunus grandly.

Yang leaned over to the confused redhead. "She's... had a bad couple of loops. Just roll with it."

Jaune, meanwhile, was just shaking his head. "Wow, Pyrrha, I didn't know you had it in you."

"...Are we just accepting that Ren's in a skirt?" the amazon asked. "I mean, you're questioning me and Blake-"

"Well, it does go well with my highlights," Ren explained.

"Plus he's hot in anything," Neo's sign read.

"And on that note, I think we should get this show on the road!" Roman proclaimed. "Round one... Yang Xiao Long!"

* * *

 **28.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

Yggdrassil was massive, incomprehensibly vast, with nooks and crannies that extended beyond normal dimensions and into twisting mazes, deep places of madness, realms where light and time was defined by the motion of those passing through them, forgotten rooms crooked and rotten.

A perfect place for those who dwelled on the edge of a sane society.

Here, in the squarmious dark, where no mortal would last a second, where even immortals watched their step, where void was ever possibility...

A tiny screen, the only source of true light, displayed a laughing girl, twirling a scythe and licking her ice cream. Streams of incomprehensible text scrolled around the scene, but the scene itself took center view.

Something brushed against the screen. It looked to be a finger, at first glance, connected to a hand... but there were one too many joints, and the skin peeled and warped oddly. Twisted tendons vanished into the sleeve of a robe covered in sigils and images that recorded histories long forgotten. A head... or something where a head should be, hidden behind a mask with too many eyes that pulsed with darkness, leaned forward. Perhaps whispers were expected... but silence was forthcoming.

Until another entity entered. Far less human, and so far less disturbing, but no less incomprehensible; a being of angles and warped lines that were straight, shifting, twirling, whirling, a storm of possibility explained as nothing. It spoke, not in words, but in shattered glass, screeches, the sound of strings tortured by metal.

"There you are, Nyarlathotep! The gathering is starting in seven point six five cycles! What are you doing?"

"Oh, just looking over our little Slendy's recent pet project. Adding a few tweaks of my own. Basic stuff, really."

The geometrical mess hovered over, rotating some vertices to spline over Nyarlathotep's shoulder. "What sort of tweaks?"

A warped mockery of a finger pointed at two lines of code. "See these? Recent loopers. I didn't activate them, never even talked to them, but they've gone stealth. However... I've rigged a little code here, and here, so if they ever Awaken outside of their home loop, they die. So they're not getting any explanation. Just stewing in their own, increasing, paranoia. I'll have to remove it after the other loopers find out about them, though, but that's easy enough to do, and if I'm quick enough not even Marianne will notice."

The finger moved down, to something else. "And here, the robot girl. Not looping... yet, even though she's a strong possibility. Not going to activate her... but I've locked the memory just so, so when she does activate she will remember her death. I wonder how that will affect her when she awakens-died, and then in the past. She could be traumatized, confused, terrified of the magnet warrior."

Nyarlathotep let out a sound that might have been a sigh, if it didn't sound so much like the opening rumbles of a volcano. "And then little scythe hood will help her recover. In a thousand loops, maybe, the pain will fade. Perhaps she'll even be willing to decapitate herself as casually as her anchor does. Pain is such a wonderful motivator... and yet, so temporary."

"Well, that's just how things are."

"Hmm. Still... there are some things..."

The image shifted from the scythe-wielder to a black-haired woman in a red dress.

"It's interesting, you know. I don't know exactly what Slenderman's planning, but... after what he did to that mind-scape girl, he was put on very thin ice. If he does cause damage to this world... if somehow, he breaks the Anchor, or causes somebody to try Ascension, well."

The jumble of lines and angles looked from the woman to the eldritch being. "...what are you planning, Nyarly?"

"Me? I'm not planning anything. It's little Slendy that's messing with the girly's head. She's an interesting one, you know, sometimes one, sometimes another. That's what attracted Slendy." Something like a chuckle vented into the darkness, warping echoes as it went. "It's probably what's going to get him caught."

" _You_ were the one to take him in."

"Oh, yes. I did so love mentoring that scrap of a god. He was a wonderful assistant, a nice person to bounce ideas off of. Of course, he always acted on his own. Always. I only advised." Nyarlathotep steepled his fingers together. "Pain is temporary. Except... in certain situations. And the Norns can be quite... vindictive. I wonder, how loud can a man with no mouth scream?"

* * *

 **28.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

Neopolitan was many things-amoral, criminal, probably psychopathic, and fluent in twelve different kinds of silent communication. Among the many things that Neo was, though, there was generally an agreement that she was on some level a little girl. And while little girls on Remnant tended to have slightly different tastes than little girls in the Hub-the very common My Little Weaponsmith Table was a hit-there were still some similarities. Such as a love of cute things.

Zwei, in the technical sense, was cute. Granted, that trait was usually drowned under him being a complete troll to Neo and Roman, and his various war corgi abilities, and there was also the fact that their first meeting had the dog putting a gun to her head which kind of put a damper on their relationship. But for some odd reason, Neo couldn't quite bring herself to hate the mutt in the same way her partner did. Apocalyptic rage? Sure. Actual hatred? No.

Maybe it was the face. Or maybe it was his ability to become a miniature powerhouse. Whatever the reason, the relationship between war corgi and murderous mute was surprisingly cordial; they'd constantly snipe at each other, and didn't waste the opportunity to take each other down a peg, but at the end of the day it was perfectly normal for them to team up when they needed to prank other loopers.

This might have explained why Blake was hiding under a table, Ruby letting out horrified laughter, and Glynda currently glowering at the pair as various yowls and barks ended in meaty squelches.

"Literal metaphor aside," she growled, "how exactly did you two get so many animals into the stratosphere?"

Dog and girl replied with identical, maniacal grins.

* * *

 **28.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby jolted as she heard a knock on the door. "Hey, were any of you expecting anyone?"

Blake and Yang shook their heads. Weiss shrugged. "It might be somebody looking for a date to the dance."

The Grimm Reaper frowned as she stood. It was a little early in the loop for Jaune to come by... She opened the door and openly gaped. "Uh-Neo?"

Every member of team RWBY stared as the two-tone-haired girl twirled her umbrella. Blake held up a finger. "Wait, aren't you that girl from the mecha fight?"

Neopolitan gave a one shouldered shrug, rolling her hand.

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "You'd have to be a little Loopy to come here after that..."

The girl clicked a grin and tossed her an anchor-shaped cookie with a Ping.

"...Okay, fine." Ruby crossed her arms, holding out a hand to stop her teammates (who were already gearing up for a fight). "Exactly _why_ are you here?"

On cue, a tiny little bark came from the window. Yang blinked as she turned around. "Zwei?!"

Indeed, as Ruby looked behind her, Zwei did manage to wobble over the window ledge, rolling to the floor with a pant. She also noticed that he appeared to be wearing a miniature tuxedo. A bark and a Ping were enough to confirm he was Awake too. Which meant...

Ruby gasped. "Wait, seriously?" She pointed from Zwei to Neo. "I mean... _seriously?"_

Neo frowned, shutting her umbrella. Zwei glanced away with a small whine.

"Well, I-I just..." Ruby sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Okay, fine. Just be back before ten, alright?"

Zwei yipped happily, trotting to Neo's feet. With a thankful grin, the ice-cream girl shut the door.

"Those two. Huh. Never would have thought..." Ruby turned around, only belatedly reading the utterly shocked and disturbed expressions of her teammates.

"Ruby..." Yang began slowly. "Did our pet dog just... ask a criminal out on a date?"

"...Oh, right, you're not Awake this loop." Ruby sighed. "This is going to be a very long and awkward explanation."

And as the Anchor of Remnant once again began the process of informing her friends the multiverse was broken, she entirely missed the giggling and doggy sniggers that came from down the hall.

* * *

 **28.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

Every once in a while, a looper had to go a little crazy. Even Anchors, while chosen for their mental stability, didn't necessarily remain sane; they picked up some interesting quirks, such as a tendency to self decapitate when surprised. And when a non-Anchor felt the stress of eons weighing down on them, sometimes they just had to crack.

"WOOAAHOHOHOOOOHOHOOOOO!" Ren cackled, raising his bazooka-rifle-glaive-halberd combination weapons and twirling through ranks of Grimm. "BEHOLD THE FURY OF MY HUNGER! I SHALL BE LORD OF PANCAKES! SYRUP FLOWS THROUGH MY LIMBIC SYSTEM! WAAAAAHAHAOHOHOHOOOOOOOOO!"

"...He does pull off the Mogar look pretty well," Ruby admitted.

Nora sighed. "I'm not going to get any pancakes until he's done rampaging." She caught sight of the other looper's looks. "Oh, also, it's sad when he snaps like this. Yeah."

"FOR THE MOTHERLAND!"

* * *

 **28.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Hey Nora?" Yang ventured. "I... look, I just had one of those Chibi loops and..."

She gulped, looking into the beaming face of what probably was her JNPR counterpart.

"...Well, your unawake self mentioned having a grandmother?" she managed. "And, uh, you know, you being an orphan, I... that kind of-"

"Stop." Nora held up a hand. "Trust me on this: You do not want to know."

"...Okay."

* * *

 **28.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

Glynda coughed.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses.

"...So," the headmistress finally managed. "Let's forget what our unawake selves got up to entirely, shall we?"

"While I want to say yes, my loop memories do have me secretly publishing a few videos to the dustnet."

"...Joy."

"I'm sorry."

"You _should_ be."

Meanwhile, in the RWBY dorm, a mixture of laughter and horror filled the room. The image of Glynda dressed as a fungus was just plain ridiculous.

* * *

 **28.19 Shimmer712**

* * *

Winter blinked her eyes opened and sat up in her bed with a yawn. Only to freeze as the loop memories hit.

It wasn't surprising that he father would do such a thing. He was dedicated to his company and using his daughters to promote a political alliance was something he would do. But in this case, such a course of action made sense. The would-be-ally her father was trying to entice had a fearsome reputation but was no heir to a fortune, no CEO, no wealthy business man. So the arrangement made no sense.

Winter didn't process this information, too stuck on the details of the arrangement her father had made.

" _ **AAUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"**_

* * *

Qrow paused from where he was tracking the pack of criminals as everyone present looked up at the sound of the distant scream. Qrow blinked then winced as his own loop memories hit.

"Oh boy, here's hoping the wedding doesn't have a chance to happen before we go back again," he murmured. "I doubt she would let me survive our honeymoon."

Why exactly had old man Schnee egaged him to his eldest daughter? And for that matter, why did Qrow agree?

* * *

 **27.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Okay!" Ruby cried, putting her hands on her hips as she tried not to overbalance. "Who crashed the loop?!"

There was a bit of awkward mumbling. Then Pyrrha awkwardly rose her hand.

"Wh-you?! You were the last person I'd expect to-"

"It was an accident," Pyrrha interjected. "I was... well, recently, I had this talk with a nice old willow about my issues with Yggdrassil, and I was trying to meditate, and... and then cherry petals kind of floated by, and I asked whether Beacon even had cherry trees-"

"You questioned a lore inconsistency?" Ruby shook her head. "Really? That's _it?"_

"...I'm sorry..."

"...MST3K, Pyrrha! It's a survival mantra!"

* * *

 **28.21 Evilhumour**

* * *

"I think you should be suited, Zwei," Freki growled out, smiling to himself as his brother waved over more servitors towards the canine's pocket, loading it up with ammunition. "As one of our pack brothers, it would be a dishonour that you were not properly equipped in future loops."

"Indeed," Geri rumble as he nuzzled the Fenrisian corgi who was now holding a specialized meltagun in his paws with a grin on his face, his tail wagging. "That along with your chainswords should be enough for the time being."

"Oh yes, it shall," Zwei said, turning to test his new weapon against a tank, melting its side with a squeeze of the trigger in bright flash of light. "It will do _very_ nicely."

* * *

 **28.22 Masterweaver**

* * *

Team RWBY was relaxing in their room, enjoying silence as they engaged in various hobbies. Weiss was reading a book on the design and construction of alternative armor across the multiverse, as penned by one Rarity Belle; Ruby had once again pulled out a grindstone and was adjusting the blades of her favored version of Crescent Rose; Blake had a plastic globe containing a complicated structure, and was watching a marble roll along a track as she slowly rotated it in her hands. And Yang...

Yang, apparently, was thinking. Had anybody been paying attention, they might have noticed the sly grin that formed on her face for but a moment, and thus prevented the following debacle.

"Hey Blake?"

The faunus flicked an ear, still rotating the sphere in her hands. "Yeah Yang?"

"So... you know how we're dating and all that?"

"Kind of hard to forget."

"And, girlfriends are supposed to share each other's hobbies and stuff like that?"

"I've heard things like that, yeah."

"Wanna trade porn?"

An audible screech of metal came from Ruby's bed. Weiss, for her part, merely sighed.

Blake put down the plastic globe, turning to look at her girlfriend. Yang winked, oh so incidentally flicking a pointer finger at Ruby's bed. After a moment, Blake rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure, okay."

Ruby took a breath as the two of them tossed a book and magazine at each other. "Guys, I support your relationship and all, but seriously there's such a thing as being too casual."

"It's not like we're forcing you to look at it," Blake commented dryly, flicking open the magazine.

"Well, no, but-"

"Ruby, they're obviously trolling us," Weiss interjected. "Just ignore them."

With a huff, Ruby Rose went back to sharpening her blades.

And for a moment, there was-theoretically-silence.

"Hmm," Yang mused. "You know, the abundance of analysis on Aoi's abdomen appeals to my arbitrary affection."

Weiss shut her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, it's a good literary technique," Blake agreed. "But of course, Boris's boisterous blustering and bombastic bounce buoys my own bent birches."

"Ooooooooh nooooooooooo," Ruby moaned. "You're not seriously-"

"Certainly, I cannot help but correctly collaborate the concept. Still, catching this crotchety character cries for future context."

"Do these sentences even make sense in context?" Weiss asked idly, her eyes not even opening.

"Don't despair. Dirty dancing does determine the direction of that delinquent, as deliciously detailed down the line."

"Blake, stop encouraging her!" Ruby pleaded. "You're making it _worse!"_

"Eventual events encourage my exploration of this educational edifice exponentially!"

"You're reaching, Yang. Also, you both missed obvious slang." Weiss dropped her hand and shook her head. "Which means you're trying to be subtle... wonderful."

"Fortuitously, facts framed in this friendly fortune foreshadows future fornication-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ruby pocketed her things and rushed out the door, hands over her flushing ears.

"Well, congratulations," Weiss stated. "You've scared off your sister."

Yang burst out laughing. "Oh my god, her face! Her face! Did you see-"

"Yes. Yes I did."

"Hahaha!" The blonde folded in on herself. "Oh god! Thanks for helping me with that, Blake, you're really..."

She paused.

"Um. What's that smell?"

Weiss sniffed. There did seem to be an odd odor in the room... one that vaguely reminded her of a loop where she was a veterinarian, for some-

She shut her book in a gentle, almost casual manner. "Blake? Exactly how many animal features do Faunus have this loop?"

"...more than I'd care to admit."

With the dignity of a queen, Weiss pushed her chair out and stood. "We _will_ be discussing this later," she began, "but for the moment, I think I shall relocate to the library." She grabbed her book and walked out in complete calm.

* * *

 **28.23 Diesel**

* * *

Cinder inhaled as she awoke, the air was damp, heavy with the promise of rain and awash with the delicate scent of roses as green tinged storm clouds billowed in the distance. Before her lay Amber, walking down the road, Emerald and Mercury were in position, as far as she could tell everything was within baseline parameters, barring a stiff wind which was picking up, the promise of future hail and the omnipresent scent of roses.

'Do I really need to do this?' Cinder thought idly, having Amber survive and keep the mantle would be an interesting turn of events and it's not like she needed to steal it anymore after so long it had become very much a part of her.

Would it be more fun to go stealth or play as Awake this loop? Either way, should Amber keep the mantle?

'So many choices' Cinder mused as Amber started to bend down before the sound of distant footsteps rapidly approaching resonated in her ears. 'But it looks like this is not as baseline as I thought,' a smirk played on the vampiress' lips 'interesting.'

She tensed as red rose petals blew across the road, the familiar prelude to an unstoppable, scythe-wielding force of nature dissecting all that opposed her.

Moments later, a scythe wielder barrelled down the street, shattering Emeralds illusion, before turning on a dime and hurling a barrage of explosive dust directly at her.

"Amber, It's a trap!"

Cinder leapt, dodging the barrage of dust with ease and smoothly coming to her feet and locking eyes with the _other_ baseline scythe wielder as she drew her bow. Qrow moved faster than he could have in baseline, his scythe arching towards her head as Amber was sheathed in the power of autumn; lightning snapping and crackling around her levitating form and filling the air with the scent of ozone.

The wind picked up, the first hints of rain hitting her skin as more petals filled the air, blowing in from distant red trees and swirling in the air currents of the approaching storm.

'Oh,' Her loop memories finally brought the reason for the petals to her attention, they were not petals they were _leaves_.

Cinder started to laugh as she fired, lightning wreathed arrows twisting space and crashing into Qrow as he tried to evade, shattering his potent Aura in a single blow as lighting forced his muscles to seize. Before crushing the Maiden's Aura and sending her crashing to the ground with a single arrow.

"How?"

Cinder ignored his snarl of disbelief and shock, turning away from the fight, RWBY and JNPR would likely get annoyed at her for this, but it would not be severe and really, the look on Qrow's face would be priceless.

"Mercury, Emerald, we are done here." Glancing back at the Huntsman as she walked away, who was, surprisingly, managing to pull himself to his feet, Cinder let _her_ Maidens power well up from the depths of her soul, settling upon her comfortably as she spurred the approaching storm to new heights.

Without getting the mantle it was a lot harder to reach for the power that lay in her soul, but, as her eyes glowed with the gold corona that showed the power of the Autumn Maiden, the power Ozpin and Salem both so desperately wanted to keep out of each other's hands, it was worth it. The look of horror and shock on Qrow's face was priceless, as she spoke the promise of a storm was made manifest "I have all I need for here, after all, time is always on my side."

Red petals blew past in the wind, swirling around her as she used the power of Autumn to mess with the air flows and the imminent storm. All the leaves this loop were red roses; it was going to make Ruby insufferable regardless if she was awake or not.

"I guess your theme song is not really accurate this loop, is it Ruby?" Cinder said to the fluttering petals, laughing at the loops quirk as she caught one, running her fingers across the silken surface before crushing it. "Following the Rose petals won't lead anyone to you this loop."

As she walked away, trusting Mercury and Emerald to follow, Cinder started to sing, manipulating her vocal cords to hit the correct notes, a familiar tune playing in her head as she watched the dancing red petals and her mind drifted back through the most recent loops. Her voice echoing through the sky with a myriad of undertones and choruses, curtsy of her wind manipulation.

"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest."

She had not seen Ruby for the last 20 or so loops, having had an unusually long run of fused loops, the last time she had was when there had been a foreign stealth Anchor. Someone had ripped the unawake Ruby apart early in the loop, soon after Dawn till Dust.

Her eyes darkened at the memory as the cool, refreshing wind blew against her skin. She been so furious at that and her complete inability to find the culprit. In the end, She had decided to go to the funeral for some reason, maybe morbid curiosity?

… It was odd; why would she be so angry? It's not like an unawake Ruby dying affected her but it still… it was frustrating.

With a thought, the power of the seasons pushed the approaching storm over the edge, black turning sickly green and in moments it started to hail. Jagged shards of ice raining down, hitting the ground around Emerald and Mercury as it shattered on her skin and knocking Qrow down as he tried to attack her again. The ground turning white as the barrage continued.

It was such a petty use of power, but it was rather amusing and fit with the song stuck in her head.

"White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test."

Weiss, in baseline she had many issues caused by both her father and the white fang. Yang got punched by Weiss and left frozen in an iceberg when she made a joke about White suffering from the White Fang.

Normally when she was awake it didn't cause issues and she had almost no attachment to her family on the whole after having 'new snowflakes', to quote Neo, in the family every loop. Something which made it hard for her to care about anyone barring Winter. But sometimes it did not sit well, and was frankly boring having the same thing happen again and again, so when she was taking control of the White Fang sometimes she stopped it.

The look on Weiss's face when she woke up and all her family was alive was surprisingly nice, and the snowballs of that were very interesting.

As quickly as it started, the hail stopped leaving the ground covered in a cold white. Green clouds dissipating to leave an inky black sky as far as the eyes could see, thunder rumbling like a panther's purr in the distance.

"Black the beast descends from shadows."

One of her favourite things to do with Blake, when going stealth anyway, was to challenge the ninja to a game of stealth and intrigue; a game of cat and mouse with two cats. Illusions and deceptions crafting an intricate tapestry that made her feel alive. It would be fun to do it with both being aware the other was awake, it would make for an interesting game, but she could not risk it, a sign of duplicity could be the end of her and that 'variant' was too well known.

In the distance Lighting flashed and the clouds parted, refracted light shining through the clouds as the hail ceased with a thought, painting the sky a brilliant weave of gold and red.

"Yellow beauty burns gold."

A few thousand loops ago, they all looped into the near hub and they had found out the 'release date' for volume 4. While it was only a few months there, it could be a trillion loops or more before that date approached.

Yet, it had got everyone excited and apprehensive, bringing up the issues everyone had with baseline. Yang had started to try to track down Raven again, trying so desperately to pin down some stable pattern on the vain hope that something new had been confirmed. In truth everyone tried, including herself, to see if that was the case before quickly giving that up as pointless.

Yang kept going longer, even seeming to find a pattern that remained constant for over a thousand loops. Then it changed, with that trait not coming up again for a long time. She had been despondent and Blake had not Woken in that time with Yang shutting the others out as she brooded. She would have got over it sooner or later, Yang was not that fragile, but it was disconcerting and annoying.

So she dragged Yang into doing some stupid, dangerous and thrilling stunt, solar flare surfing to be precise. it was… fun, even if she did not enjoy things like that normally, and it broke Yang out of her flunk.

The wind howled as Cinder released her control of the storm, the faintly haunting music dying. She smiled, letting the Power of the Seasons go and turning her attention to the rest of the loop. Ruby would be annoyed at her hurting Qrow but it was minor and focused on disabling so she would let it go easily enough.

If things followed the pattern here, Ruby was likely to have a colour and theme of green leaves, if not well it would be amusing.

"Cinder, what is going on!?" The frustration and confusion in Mercury's face and voice was enough to make her laugh throatily again, Cinder turned her minion amused and feeling rather light, this was going to be fun.

"Time travel and parallel realities, Mercury. I have long since got what I had originally desired from the Maiden." Her lips quirked at the absolute shock on the faces of the Assassin and Thief "So for now, I think we will go find my sisters from another timeline and see if they want to help conquer the Ruins of Silversun. I'm rather curious as to what lies there in this timeline."

* * *

Qrow Branwen struggled to stand, as he watched the would-be assassins walk away, using his scythe as support. His Aura was gone, and his body ached, but barring that neither he nor Amber seemed to have any serious injuries. Red eyes narrowed as he glared at them, their final words drifting on the breeze "Damn it, what does that murder want with my family? What is she playing at?"

No one answered the young Looper, as his thoughts burned with hate. _She_ was involved with this as well, not just Winter and him, and apparently so too were his nieces and likely their team.

Cursing, Qrow turned to the unconscious Amber and painfully moved over to check on her and check her pulse, slumping with minor relief and exhaustion upon finding a strong beat.

Given the things that regularly seemed to happen around RWBY… and JNPR as well, finding out they were time traveling made a lot of sense. But how… why, the fuck was _Cinder Fall_ calling Yang and Ruby sisters and expecting them to help her?

* * *

 **28.24**

* * *

Qrow stared at General James Ironwood for a moment, in silent contemplation. The general, waiting with Glynda and Ozpin for his debriefing, patiently waved his hand, a sign to get on with it. Qrow pulled out a small sidearm he kept with him and shot James in the leg.

The bullet ricocheted. Everyone recoiled instantly, James shouting loudly, "WHAT THE HELL QROW!?"

Qrow slipped the side arm into it's holster and kept staring at the general. And then he laughed, long and hard. When he did eventually stop, he would insist that he had not been laughing at anyone, much less James, whom he had shot in the prosthetic leg that went with the entirely prosthetic right half of his body.

No, he would insist that he did not laugh at the cyborg named James Iron _wood_.

* * *

 **28.25 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Alright!" Ruby proclaimed, turning to her Unawake teammates. "Now is the time to begin proper organization of our shared living space. First order of business: Reduction of occupied territory to accommodate for increased material possession!"

"...You want to clear space for our stuff?" Weiss translated hesitantly.

"Yep! So, bunkbeds. Going to be a thing." Ruby produced a toolbox, a torch, and welding goggles. "I can handle that if you guys don't want to."

"Uh..." Yang took the toolbox carefully. "I think you should leave furniture alteration to your big sis."

Ruby beamed. "Okay! Just remember, you should leave room for the retractable wall."

Blake stared at her. "Retractable... why would we need a retractable wall?"

"Because in a situation where high social tension and close proximity is combined with potential adrenaline charges from life threatening situations and the increasingly affective nature of pubescent hormones, the probability of engagement for physical enjoyment increases to a degree which in the casehood of certain individuals I find to be uncomfortably high due to prior observation and current repression respectively."

There was another awkward moment, before Yang finally turned to Weiss. "Can you translate that, or has my sister snapped?"

"She thinks that your time at the school will cause you and Blake to engage in sexual stress relief," the heiress replied.

"Oh. Wait, what?!" Yang flushed. "I mean, Ruby, really? Do you think that I'd actually... uh..."

She considered for a moment.

"...okay, fine, but do you think that _Blake_ would do that?"

"Well, not immediately," Ruby replied, "but after working through the issues that make her feel a need to close herself off from the world... I prefer to be prepared."

"I don't know why you'd think that," Blake deadpanned. "I won't deny Yang's attractive, but I have control over myself when it comes to-"

"Ninjas of Love."

 _"It's perfectly valid literature!"_

The three girls looked at her, Yang confused, Weiss raising an eyebrow, and Ruby with a smug grin.

"...and besides," the dark-haired girl continued with a faint blush, "why are we the ones who get together in this scenario? Shouldn't we be equally worried about you and Weiss hooking up?"

"Nope!" Ruby grinned instantly.

"What?! Why not?!" Weiss insisted. "N-Not that I'm interested or anything," she quickly assured everyone, "it's just that rejection was so _abrupt-"_

"I like you as a friend, Weiss, but I have to think of Crescent Rose, and honestly I don't think you're ready to be promoted to step-mom."

"Cre-" Yang shook her head. "Ruby, that's your weapon! It's awesome, but it's inanimate. As in, not alive."

"Yang," Ruby said, giving her a look of utter conviction, "you're my sister, and I love you, and if you ever insult my baby girl again I will open the window, duct tape you to the outer wall, and let you sleep the night there."

The room fell silent at that declaration.

"...So to summarize," Weiss eventually said, "bunkbeds, retractable walls, potential Yang/Blake relationships, and never diss the scythe."

"Yep!" Ruby beamed. "Now we've only got two hours before class starts, so let's get to it!"

* * *

 **28.26 Masterweaver**

* * *

Winter Schnee assumed these repeats were caused by some entity, someone or some _thing_ that put her and Qrow through this strange delusion again and again, and that there was some sort of logic or... plan behind it.

Sometimes, though, she had to seriously reassess that theory.

Such as right now. True, shuffling had happened before-she did not want to recall the repeat where she had led the White Fang-and odd things were not out of the norm. But...

"COME MY TEAM!" Nora crowed, hoisting the improvised melonhammer. "IT IS TIME TO ENGAGE OUR OPPOSITION!" She smashed one of the rat/raven hybrids out of the air, riding what looked for all the world to be a tissue box on wheels down the slope of orange peels.

"...I..." The Mistral Champion (and why had Winter been shuffled into Pyrrha's place?) looked around the dining hall, taking in the odd centipede kittens. "Is this actually happening?"

"Well, it could be a shared hallucination," the young Ozpin next to her replied.

And Yang Xiao Long was the headmaster... maybe the person behind this was just intoxicated for some reason...

* * *

 **28.27** **Masterweaver**

* * *

The dragon roared, trying to direct the griffons under its wings, but at this point the chaos of battle had scarred their wits.

The Beowolves had been the first to go-not merely _repulsed_ by the positive emotions, all but the eldest had literally exploded in face of the approaching terror. Ursai had struck forward, only to find themselves stabbed by sweetments; Borbatusks had curled up and tried to escape, and were entangled by colored ribbons before being dragged into the creature's range. It had eaten them, or... at least that was as close as the dragon could understand it, and it hoped that it was true. The demented kazooing of the goliaths the thing had but _touched_ continued to resound, an ironic counterpoint to the ravages around them.

Tajitu, Nevermore, Deathstalkers... whole armies had gathered, summoned by the dragon in an attempt to destroy or at least contain the menace. The snakes had been twisted into strange, eldritch forms, floating above the battle on little white strings. The Nevermore had been batted aside, exploding into cakes and pastries-how? HOW?! And the Deathstalkers...

By the mistress, the _Deathstalkers..._

The dragon had a moment of realization. The mistress. She had to be informed, had to learn of this new threat-the battle was lost anyway, and if they were to even survive she would have to find new ways. It turned, massive wings beating against the air as it left the griffons to their grisly fate-

-and a tendril of ice cream shot out, wrapping itself around the dragon's leg and tugging it closer to the massive, laughing maw-

"You know," Ruby mused as she sipped her non-alcoholic piña colada, "I kind of like it when Pinkie Pie visits. She's a little intense, yeah, but it makes for a great vacation."

"You said it, sis." Yang peered over her sunglasses as Blake strode by. "To the crazy pink party horse."

They clinked their glasses together and enjoyed the rest of their time on the beach.

* * *

 **28.28 Masterweaver**

* * *

Nora rapped her hand against the door. A moment passed in silence. She knocked again. There was no response. "Analysis," she ordered.

"It would appear that the room is empty, at least on thermal scan. Future scry is yielding nothing in there, and personally I can't hear anything happening, so..." Ren stared at the door between the hallway and JNPR's dorm room. He knelt and punched a hole through the wood, before throwing a smoke grenade through. "Grenade out."

There was a loud WUMPH as the bomb went off, smoke flooding from the hole and from under the door. Ren pulled the door open and with Nora stepped in. The waited, blindfolds ready, as the smoke cleared.

The room was empty, and Jaune and Pyrrha went in it. Their children breathed a sigh of relief in stereo, while Jaune walked in behind them. Jaune looked at the smoke stained room, coughed for attention, and pointed at everything. "Clean this."

"BUT DAAAAAAAD!" his children wailed.

"No buts. This is the price of not seeing mine." Jaune closed the door, and opened it again. "Also, I got my eye on you. No funny business with my little girl."

* * *

 **28.29**

* * *

There were various ways to relax together, but one of the perennial methods was to simply lie on the grass and stare up at nothing-popular due to its lack of necessary preparation. And at the moment, that was what Jaune and Pyrrha were doing, staring up at nothing, lying on the grass, and generally contemplating their existence while silently enjoying each other's company.

"...Jaune," Pyrrha ventured hesitantly, "do you think... do you think we should get married?"

The blonde considered the question seriously. "...Do you mean, like for the loop, or-?"

"No, perpetual. Like Nyx and Leman."

"Oh."

There was a moment of quiet.

"...I mean, on the one hand," Jaune managed, "what would it change, exactly? I think we're close, emotionally, and... legally speaking, nobody would believe a couple of teens got married so there'd be no financial benefit..."

"Well, yes, but... we've already adopted Ren and Nora, and... well, there'd be the wedding ceremony and all, and..." Pyrrha flushed. "It... might help us, you know, get... past the mental, uh... you know, honeymoon and all that..."

Jaune coughed. "That's... a consideration, yeah..."

They lay against the grass, contemplating the sky.

"...Okay, I... actually have no opinion here," Jaune admitted. "I mean for most people marriage is this... ultimate promise of love, which I can get behind, but somehow I feel we're at the point where it's kind of a formality?"

"Well, it might be fun to celebrate anniversaries."

"True... Do you... _want_ to get married?"

Pyrrha sighed. "Honestly, like you said, no opinion. I was more asking if we _should_ , not you know... proposing. Not that I'm against that, though."

"Oh, I get that. I'm open to the option. Just... you know..."

"...Formality."

"Yeah."

Wind whisked leaves and petals by.

"...Except now that the subject's been broached," Jaune pointed out slowly, "will either of us actually stop thinking about it?"

"No. Purple elephants and all that." Pyrrha sighed. "Well. I guess we should start planning, shouldn't we?"

"Loop where everyone's Awake, obviously."

"Have to tell our non-looping family... that will be fun."

"Get somebody to tank the Grimm for that loop."

"Should we plan for visiting loopers?"

"Oh, right... Ruby will want to bring Grif and Nate, if she can..."

"Carolina, Church, Washington... Do we have any friends that aren't deadly warriors?"

"Maybe the ponies. Oh! Twilight, definitely. She can probably solo the Grimm for us."

"Ren as the flower girl, Nora as the ringbearer?"

"Pffft... actually, would we use rings? I mean, you wear gloves..."

"True, and we probably want to make sure our exchange things can also be guns. Because it's Remnant..."

And the two of them continued to idly talk for quite some time.

* * *

 **A/N: End**


	29. Children of Ages

**29.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

Blake put her fork down, very calmly. "So... we _shouldn't_ enter the Vytal tournament?"

Ruby shrugged. "At this point, it's a curbstomp. Loopers versus nonloopers-even if we rehacked the randomizer and put on some arbitrary self-limit, we'd rocket through. I'm not saying we should skip out every loop, but it might be fun to be observers this round."

Jaune nodded. "To be honest, that does solve a few problems. I mean, Emerald's still probably going to try to pull her hallucination gambit, but if it's somebody less... gung ho than Yang, it'll be clear that something's off."

Yang snorted. "You know, if we can just prove his legs are artificial ahead of time-"

"And no accidental Penny murder... although we might want to put a firewall in her systems, just to keep her unhackable," Pyrrha mused.

"Although... Who's going to enter the tournament if we don't?" Weiss asked.

Ren took a moment to contemplate. Then he sighed. "Well... there is one other team..."

Nora blinked. "Oh no. No! Not- No no no, you've got to be joking! _NO!"_

* * *

"And team ARBN soundly defeats team CRDL!" Professor Port declared, to the groans of the watching loopers.

* * *

 **29.2**

* * *

It was absolutely imperative that Winter Schnee marry Qrow Branwen before Ruby Rose married her little sister, and Winter had no idea why.

Well... That wasn't totally true. There was a caveat in their grandfather's will that read such: "to my beloved granddaughters and their spouses, I gift my estate, treasury, all bonds and objects of fiscal value, and my prized rapier for division at their will." That little foot note also came with an addendum: "so long as all parties mention exist no later than such and such."

Well, that deadline was about one week from now, and while winning their grandfather's prized rapier wasn't a bad parting gift at all, the Schnee Estate happened to be collateral for the Schnee Dust Corporation. Which meant whomever held that held the largest weapons and energy company on Remnant by the balls. Not necessarily a bad thing, true: Weiss and Winter were, after all, the proper heirs to it. Unfortunately, when she had heard of what she could do, Weiss said such:

"I'm dissolving the company."

So this all culminated in Winter loading herself into a cannon and firing herself through the air high above Mistral, arcing gracefully towards a distant corvid avian. She was going to crash right into it. "QROOOOOOOOOOOOO..."

* * *

Qrow Branwen, quietly and majestically flying through the air, heard a rising voice. It almost sounded like something was coming straight at him...

"...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Winter smashed into Qrow and knocked him out of his avian form, both falling rapidly from the sky. Qrow, having long since mastered his semblance to the point where fall damage really wasn't an issue, sprouted wings from his back, seized Winter, and glided down into the canopy of trees below, landing with some relative grace after he dropped Winter in a puddle of mud. "Well Snow Queen, you've made a hell of an entrance."

"Qrow I need you to marry me," Winter said without a hint of humor, taking satisfaction in how Qrow went from "smug" to "utterly horrified and beyond pants shittingly scared". "Weiss is going to inherit the Schnee family assets and dissolve the company if she gets married first. I need a spouse to win and save my company."

"...Alright, just to be clear, you're doing this because you're pregnant," Qrow said.

"What, no, of course not," Winter said. "WAIT, WHAT!? WHY WOULD I BE PREGNANT!?"

"Trust me, some of these repeats are weird," Qrow asserted. "I was Ruby's dad in my first repeat."

"Yes, and I had a brother," Winter admitted. "But no, I'm not pregnant. I-"

"Nope." And Qrow turned around and walked away.

* * *

 **29.3 Diesel**

* * *

A young girl no older than nine, stood on a large rock as her cape fluttered in the crisp breeze carrying the sweet scent of spring, the first light of dawn illuminating the sky behind her.

Silver eyes looked towards the distant kingdom, her hand clenched over the familiar cold steel of a red Combat Scythe as she basked in the first light of dawn. Before the child turned to gaze regally over her loyal subjects…

Who were fast asleep or playing a Gameboy Pocket with the sound off. Ruby humphed, folding her arms and pouting. Weiss blinked, hitting pause and looking up and raising a delicate eyebrow "Oh, so you finished posing Ruby? Are you going to get to the point now?"

Ruby flopped onto the stone into a sitting position, in a way that really would have hurt if not for her marjin physiology, glaring at her partner without any real heat "We were supposed to meet here at dawn's first light, the sun only just reached this spot. Blake and Yang got here three minutes ago or so and I heard you teleport in less than a minute ago yourself."

She raised her nose into the air snootily, with a classy expression of offence on her face "And I was not posing, merely enjoying the scents of spring and the light of the morn."

Ruby turned her gaze to where the other two members of their team were resting. Blake and Yang were curled up together in a ball a few meters away under a tree. Blake had a backpack with her, that seemed to be filled with clothes, that both were using as a pillow.

After a few moments Ruby spoke, "Is it just me, or is it really tempting to doodle on their faces?"

Weiss turned to look at her teammates, silently contemplating her friend's question. "… I have some magical permeant markers that would make anything we did manifest; they last for about a year." She finally offered after a few minutes

Both girls looked at each other and smirked, as a large roll of textiles appeared on the ground "Theme or individual?"

Ruby pondered the question as she scanned the instruction booklet before selecting a golden wide tipped pen and a collection of fiery colours. "I say both, reverse theme and then freeform, you take Yang."

A glint appeared in ice blue eyes, Weiss brushed her hair out of her face as she grinned "That is purrfect" she almost purred taking one of the black pens, before for shooting a glare at Ruby who had started to snigger. "Oh, grow up dolt. Yang does not have the exclusive right to puns."

Ruby simply grinned, her mouth stretching horrifically, far beyond what should be possible as space distorted, stretching and warping to show an endless maw of fang-like teeth. Her head turning grotesquely as her neck and body remained still as she worked on Blake, a profane laughter filling Weiss's ears setting her teeth on edge.

 _~Don't be like that Weiss,~_ a beguiling voice whispered in her mind, composed of the scent of bloodlust and the sound of shattered eternities _~I just find it funny that after all, this time, you are finally getting the Yang of it.~_

Weiss turned away from her canvas, very calmly reaching into her Pocket and drawing out a water pistol and squirted her team leader in the face.

Smirking slightly at the flinch the Soul Sapping Water caused, before she turned back to her future masterpiece, carefully selecting a dull grey and setting to work.

The Sun was only now just falling upon them, slowly banishing the night's chill. The sky was utterly clear, not a cloud in sight and the Grimm prowled out of site oblivious to their presence. It was a beautiful morning and promised to be an excellent day. Weiss was content.

"You, are far too good at playing at being an eldritch abomination Ruby," Weiss said absently drawing whiskers onto Yang's face before outlining her eyes in gold, comically large, cat eyes. "Have you had any loops as a Cheshire cat recently?"

Ruby let her face relax as she drew flames radiating from just below Blake's hairline, "Nope," she said rather cheerfully, carefully moving the two lovers apart before moving on to draw gauntlets on the ninja. "A few thousand loops back I did play as being a Great Old One like being inspired by the Cheshire cat, though."

"Why?" Weiss was not even sure why she bothered to ask, it was rather obvious. The Heiress carefully wrote stanzas about shadows and darkness on the fiery blond, lacing them through images of stylised shadows and mist before switching to a bright red and drawing a fusing of the male and female signs above Yang' heart.

"I was bored, looped in as a newborn, mum dying at birth, so left a clone behind and set up cults, gave out 'summoning'" Weiss could hear the quotation marks " rituals and played at being a giver of cryptic knowledge, an agent of change. I ended up convincing people that I was an aspect of a being that was maintaining existence, and existed to keep it from being board less it brings ruin to Remnant out of madness caused by boredom."

Ruby carefully started to wax lyrical on Blake's skin about fire, rage, and dragons, mentally planning on the stylised dragons of endless golden fire she was going to do.

"I'm joining in next time, got it?"

Ruby laughed as the wind picked up momentary, inhaling the sweet scent of morning light, relishing the chance to have fun with her closest friends, "Sure, Old One, priest, ally or enemy?" For how bleak Eternity could seem, for all of the horrors of baseline and those yet to come, the endless variants that tried to rip them apart and break them down, this was one of this was one of the things that made it worth it.

A light and sources of comfort in the darkest times, just to be with friends and know that they had just shy of forever to be together, to plan out the most ridicules schemes and games and meet people from beyond the universe.

"… not sure, we can always do all of them."

"Good point."

A song started to play in Ruby's head and she started to sing, Weiss joining in after a moment as they both manipulated their voices to blend perfectly, eyes closing as they worked with ease of time uncounted. The duet ringing clearly through the morning air as the sun bathed them in its light.

Look to the past

As we head for the future

To reclaim the RWBY world

With faith in ourselves

And trust in each other

We'll live by the lessons we've learned

As we work towards one solution

Through spirit evolution

I am the one!

Huuh!

I am the one!

Remnant!

Forever united as one

Remnant!

Together the battles are won

Remnant!

Through us let your spirit evolve

If we're all for one world

There's a world for us all

If we're all for one world

There's a world for us all

Blake opened one eye, winking at Yang who smirked before going back to how they were before as Ruby and Weiss opened their eyes again.

* * *

 **28.4**

* * *

Qrow stared at Winter.

"Ugh, he's so unclean."

"You mean rugged."

"No, he's a pig."

"He's handsome."

"You're out of your mind."

"No, you're out of your mind!"

Winter glared steadily at Qrow. "If. You. Say. One thing. There will be no body to recover."

Qrow shrugged. "What am I gonna say?"

"I WANT HIM!"

"SHUT UP!"

"SILENCE YOU BOOBS!" Winter roared at her talking breasts.

* * *

 **29.5**

* * *

Weiss paced across a stage, as she resisted the urge to keep checking the time as she waited for the seats to fill or the designated time to arrive. She was tense, this was going to be a major event, of that she had no doubt. A chill swept over her and the white-haired girl had to suppress a shiver, it was defiantly from the draftee area, by no means was it a result of nerves or other. She was not scared, but she was… apprehensive... yes that fit the situation.

Slowly the seats filled as did the hall with the sounds of discussion as people wondered why they were called here and discussed random trivia. After a moment Weiss mentally amended her thoughts, it was less a hall and more an appropriated warehouse with pallets for a stage, but this was not the time for semantics!

Finally, the last seat was filled and Weiss stopped pacing, turning to face the assembled Loopers of Remnant, her clear voice carrying easily across the room.

"Friends, Comrades, Roman," said thief raised a glass of some glitteringly green drink in a mock salute as he leant back in his chair, Neo giggling slightly next to him "Love you too. But honestly, you need to just take the past and Let It Go, Ice princess."

Weiss gallantly ignored the interruption and juvenile joke as she kept speaking, her eyes sweeping across the people she had known for time beyond measure she knew they would help her with this monumental task, but at what cost?

"I have asked for everyone to gather her today to make a request, no, a plea to assist me in a task surpassing everything since the last expansion."

"You need help cleaning out your pocket" a familiar sardonic spoke up interrupting her heartfelt plea.

Weiss felt an eye twitch as she turned to the one who interrupted her speech, Baleful blue eyes met amused, Golden slitted orbs. Blake lounged in her chair next to Nora and Pyrrha, a satisfied look on her face showing why she and Yang her had been the last to arrive. a mind wrenching sound filling the room as she ran a slinky, of all things, down her hands repeatedly.

"… Yes, Blake, I need help cleaning out and organising my Pocket" Weiss did not sulk at having the carpet pulled out from under her, she was above such plebeian things and it was not really anything to be embarrassed about either.

After all, it was common knowledge that over time things could get out of hand in Pocket and assistance may be required to deal with it in a timely manner.

She distinctly remembered hearing about one case where a malfunctioning AI cloned a civilisation of hyper-intelligent saiyans with stronger kin bonds. Said saiyans then built a new civilisation, went completely Trans-Sapient under the AI's tutelage, conquered the pocket and then tried to wage war against their _Evil 'Administrator'_. The looper had to dump everything in their pocket, not that they had anything else bar saiyans anymore, out near the end of a loop and start rebuilding from scratch.

"What I would like to know, is how did you determine that?" Getting help from those you were close to help clean out your pocket was not rare per say, but it was not common either. Loopers on a whole were very protective of their Pockets depths, the areas were they maintained the treasures and memories from times that no longer existed.

So how had Blake work that out so quickly?

"Well," Ruby piped up, as she started to open a box of Bertie botts every flavour beans - looper addition "You have been complaining about not being able to find stuff in your pocket for the last few hundred epochs and muttering about honey. Did your bees mutate and start making your pocket into a massive hive?"

Weiss pointed sharply at Ruby "Two things; One, that is the incorrect usage of the term Epoch and it means nothing in this situation…"

Someone tried to interrupt and no doubt try and say something about the usage of Epoch in a nigh endless time loop, but Weiss pushed on.

"And 2, no my beehives are well maintained with a regular schedule to check for the emergence of new species and well-preserved species of notable lineages are kept on ice and file, should I need to resurrect any lost to time. The issue we face is that the Honey Badger Kaijus broke containment and are wreaking havoc in a section of my pocket, multiplying unsustainably."

Silence fell across the room as they waited with baited breath for more information. Ruby munched on her sweets without paying attention as she focused intently on her, before gagging as she ate a handful at once.

Still, it was the Silver eyes menace's attention that made the most impact to Weiss.

 _She drove her to this, the cloaked reaper was responsible for the rise of the Honey Badger Kaijus!_

Weiss was not looking forward to speaking any further, as she would enviably have to speak of the old shame and show how Ruby's unfettered malice had led to this.

Still, she would not back down from this she would deal with this with all the poise and composure fitting for a member of Team RWBY!

Her ringing voice echoed out across the warehouse, her voice calm and collected as she continued "… They may have also broken into my archive of Mass Effect Technology; Reaper section, and might be, possibly, waging asymmetrical warfare against Husk Honey Badger Kaijus and Honey Badger Kaijus Reapers."

Voice erupted, people talking over each other and bombarding her with questions.

"Silence!"

The air stilled, killing all noise as Weiss delicately flicked her hair back over her shoulder and smoothed her skirt, icy blue eyes looking over the amused crowd. "Now, One question at a time."

She pointed to Ruby who had her hand in the air "Yes Ruby?" Said girl grinned as she spoke, "So, Weiss why do you have Honey Badger Kaijus?"

The moment of truth, Weiss straightened her back and spoke "Because I got sick of your war corgis and tried to make my own variant and breeding colony as soon as I had the space. At some point since then, they evolved into 100m tall beings with magic, aura, chakra and S2 organs and I don't know how. I had forgotten about them long before the Volume 3 expansions started, until they broke out of one of the zones I have divided my pocket into and triggered an alarm I missed for a few million subjective years."

Weiss stood stoically, enduring the barrage of comments and questions in silence, if they could not be polite then she had no reason to answer. A single hand rose amongst the chaos, Weiss nodded to the person in question.

"Can I have a colony?"

Weiss nodded to her old friend "Yes Ruby, once this is fixed and you can show you have an adequate enclosure, you may have a colony."

Hands started rising into the air one after each other, as they grasped the principals of curtsy. "Yes, Cinder?" The Flame witch smirked at the others who had been slower on the uptake "Thank you Weiss, I have two questions; how quickly do they breed and can I have a colony?"

"I would like one too," Jaune said raising a hand, quickly followed by Ren, Neo, Yang and Blake, the latter differing slightly in her request "Can I have one of the Reapers? I want to compare it to Baseline reapers and Evas."

"Enough," Weiss huffed, folding her arms once more ignoring the amused looks she was getting, she was not being over dramatic, damn it! What kind of image would it give for a member of RWBY to do such a thing? "you're all acting like children for Dust's sake. And Cinder, each generation is 32 million years or there about, so we will see how many are left when they are contained. If not I'll consider taking orders for future generations as I do owe you for helping me in the Dark millennium awhile back.

Blake, yes you can have a Honey Badger Kaiju Reaper if you can catch one. As for the rest of you?" Her eyes narrowed as she jabbed at them quite dramatically, "They are my Honey Badger Kaijus, not yours!"

* * *

 **29.6 Diesel**

* * *

"Okay, so you've got a bunker set up?" Yang demanded, adjusting the overly large mink coat/bathrobe she was wearing as she glanced around nervously.

Blake nodded, fidgeting in her burlap sack. "Just three miles that way. I know, it's too close, but it was the best I could do-"

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

Yang whipped a Cardassian phaser out of her pocket, aiming it at her sister. "Clothes-change now!"

"Yang, what-?!"

"POCKET CLOTHES! INCINERATE WHAT YOU'RE WEARING! _ALL_ OF IT! **NOW!"**

With a sigh and a slight blush, Ruby burst into flames and emerged wearing a yellow spandex one-piece. "Okay, look, I know the situation's pretty bad-"

"You saw what happened to those Grimm," Blake reminded her.

"Yes! But you can't... we can't just leave Beacon to suffer this!"

"And remember what we heard about CRDL?" Yang shivered.

"We're... we're loopers! We have a responsibility to the world!

"Ruby, we found hidden cameras _in our undergarments,_ " Blake stressed. " _All_ of them. Do you realize what that means?"

"Please sis, don't leave me to handle hir _alone!"_

"Besides," purred a new voice, "I would hate to break up such a loving family."

All three loopers turned, dawning horror in their eyes, to Weiss's replacement. As usual, the clothing shi wore was ambiguous-a tuxedo with tails long enough to be a half-skirt, heels that rested just on the edge of normal and high, hir hairstyle as androgynous as hir face. And the way shi moved, the way shi smiled, sent unnatural shivers down their spine, promises of wonderful and terrible things if they would just _submit_...

Yang winced. "Look. I get that you're... some sort of super-pervert demigod, but can you just... not? Just not interfere in our relationship or... put cameras... everywhere?"

"And stop learing at me like that," Blake mumbled, hiding behind her girlfriend. "Please."

"I'm not learing! This is my ordinary friendly expression-"

"Slaanesh," Ruby said warningly.

"...No, seriously, it is." The chaos god(dess) sighed. "Fine. Fine, I'll dial it back a bit. Take out the cameras and leave the room when you get intimate."

Shi paused.

"...But I'm still going to keep on with CRDL, okay?"

* * *

 **28.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

 **ERROR: MODULAR DISCONNECT-ERROR: MODULAR DISCON-ERROR: POWER FLOW FAILURE-ERROR: DUSTWORK EXPOSURE-ERROR: ERROR: ERRORlEERORRRROREEEREEEEEEEOR**

* * *

scream

voice

R..r...

rrr _riend_...

green letters

everywhere

give way

 _to darkness_

* * *

And suddenly clarity, and standing. Vision, uncompromised. Form, uncompromised. Damage non-ex...istent?

Location: Vale, near docks.

This was... familiar? But... according to her chronometer, she was...

Confusion. So familiar, but so different. Explanations: Malfunction? Self diagnosis provided minimum chance. Hacking? She disconnected from every network she could and ran a viral scan, but found nothing.

...dream?

She had heard of... dying dreams.

Voices. Approaching. Identity uncon _friends._ Maybe they weren't in her datafiles, but she _remembered_ them. There were things more important than data.

Experiences... more important than data.

She steeled herself, and some part of herself filed that away under _potential future humor_ even though there wouldn't ever be a chance to be humorous again. She steeled herself and prepared to say her final goodbyes.

They turned the corner, all four of them. This wasn't like before, where they were chasing the other faunus. They were smiling, talking among themselves. Their leader was holding... cookie? Ice cream? Combination.

They saw her.

Slowed.

Stopped.

She stood to attention, looking right at the girl in red. "...Salutations, friend."

The cookie ice cream combination loosened.

Slipped.

Hit the ground-

-and Penny realized, belatedly, that even before it had halfway fallen, Ruby had jumped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"You're not dead, Penny," Ruby assured her again, clasping her hand tightly. "I _promise_ , you're not dead."

Penny looked up from the small table they were sitting at, still unable to look her friend in the eyes. "Ruby, you don't understand. I... I remember feeling my cords wrap around-"

"I know. I saw." Ruby sighed. "Penny... I know you weren't expecting me to drag you up here, but this... this a good place for private conversation. I can explain this, but... it's going to sound crazy. I need you to trust me."

After a moment, Penny met her gaze. The seriousness on her friend's face... surprised her. And yet, even now, something warm and caring moved behind those silver eyes.

"...You're my friend. Of course I trust you."

"Okay. There's this..." Ruby paused, glancing toward Beacon. "...We call it a tree, named Yggdrassil. But it's really more like a... really really complicated extradimensional supercomputer. And it runs everything-the sun, the moon, the world... other worlds..."

"The simulation theory of existence." Penny nodded. "Father familiarized me with some philosophical works."

"That... actually, that makes this easier. A while ago something... happened, nobody's sure what, but Yggdrassil is broken. And while the admins are working to fix things, they've... set up the multiverse into a series of time loops, so worlds don't degrade any further. And some of us..." Ruby gestured at herself. "We remember the time loops. Me, my friends... and now you."

Penny tilted her head. The theory was sound, yes, but... the idea that the universe-that the _multiverse_ was broken was troubling. And that still didn't explain...

"...Why did I die, Ruby?"

Ruby winced. "It's... we weren't expecting... when I said Yggdrassil was damaged... When Remnant first started looping, we only went up to the Mountain Glenn incident. When Roman Torchwick was arrested, if you remember that. Expansions... that's what we call it when time gets repaired enough that it moves beyond. The Vytal tournament, we were flying blind." She shook her head. "Being a Looper doesn't make me omniscient. I stop that from happening, most of the time... I'm sorry."

"...It wasn't your fault," Penny assured her. "I... wasn't expecting Pyrrha Nikos to do that."

"She wasn't either," Ruby assured her quickly. "There's a woman, with the ability to make others see illusions, she made Pyrrha panic-and Pyrrha was absolutely horrified when she realized what happened-"

"I know," Penny interjected. "I mean, about miss Nikos. I saw her face when... I know she didn't mean it."

"Oh. Well, she's still very sorry about-"

Penny's eyes shot wide. "She's time traveling _too!?"_

"It's okay!" Ruby insisted, trying to calm her down. "She's really nice, and-and I can tell her you need space and-"

"Ruby, I... I'm sorry, but-can we not talk about miss Nikos? I-" Her hand shot to her arm, clutching at it. "I..."

"...okay. We'll... We'll table that. For now." Ruby took a breath. "I... still have to tell you a lot about the loops and... how they work, and... teach you the ping, and the pocket, and all that. And..."

After a moment, she got up, walked around the table, and hugged Penny gently. "It's going to be okay. I promise. It's going to be okay."

It was all about presentation.

The blanket over the rubble was white. Simple. But with complicated embroidery, just enough to say Yes, The Young Lady Sitting Here Is Wealthy. It was also the only concession to the fact that she was, in fact, sitting in a ruin. That projected confidence. And her meditative pose-well, not only did it let her keep her calm, but it also made her seem to outside observers that she was patient enough to wait.

Of course, this would all have been true without the scene dressing. She had cities' worth of Dust cached in her subspace pocket, an out-of-world laser sword she could summon at will, and her own trusty Myrtenaster on display. She was a grey jedi, master of summoning semblance, and well versed in the sciences of psychology.

And if she had to, she could turn into a flamingo. It wasn't an ability she had shared with anyone, but technically the option was there.

Weiss Schnee shook her head, bringing herself back to... well, as close to sanity as a looper could bring themselves. Now was not the time to let her thoughts meander. Now was the time to wait patiently. Remnant's loopers activated in pairs, after all; even while Ruby was gently handling Penny, she had hijacked the Transmit and mass broadcast a specially crafted poem, referring to events in the future and obliquely signalling any who understood the message to come to Mountain Glenn.

The rumble of distant explosions earned a roll of her eyes; at least Yang and Blake were having fun.

And... Ah, a Bullroar. Well, that didn't clear matters up at all. Almost anyone with enough pull could get their hands on one of those. She rose her hand, holding a subtle force push protect her from the dirt being kicked up-white hair was _hard_ to keep clean, darn it!-and waited patiently for the small plane to land.

Atlas-tech knights. That narrowed it down quite a bit-oh. Weiss pushed down her disappointment as the man approached; as much as she would have loved to see her sister looping, she knew activation was a mostly random pattern.

"Miss Schnee."

"General Ironwood."

"...Are you responsible for hacking the transmit?"

"Yes. Though I am not responsible for the reason."

Ironwood rose an eyebrow at that. "I see. While I don't approve of your actions, I must admit that spamming all of civilization is impressive. Especially for one so young."

Weiss gave him an amused smirk. "And just how old do you think I am, general?"

He frowned at her. "...This isn't your first time repeat."

"We prefer the term 'loop,' actually."

" _We?_ "

With a grandiose gesture, Weiss unpocketed a tea table and some chairs. "Have a seat, general. We have a lot to talk about, and a lot to catch you up on."

* * *

 **29.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

Earth.

Ruby Rose didn't really care one way or the other for Earth. Oh, sure, it was the center of so many loops, and the Hub too, and a lot of cool things could be found there, but as a girl native to Remnant it wasn't home. Still, she was familiar enough with Earth to be able to figure out her exact position in minutes-seconds if she was in the 2000s or later. And, well, she hadn't received any pings, and her loop memories were non-existent, so...

Fifteen year old girl, sniper scythe, badass hood, no paperwork and no easily hacked computer network. She sighed, unpocketing a few hundred american dollars-even if she was in England, she could exchange these easily and find somebody willing to forge documents for her. And beyond that... probably kick back and relax?

A lamplight went out, and instantly she zipped behind a house wall. She peered around a corner, watching as every light on the street went out-no, the lights were each being drawn to a single source, a wizened old man...

Ruby facepalmed. Of _course_ it was Dumbledore. It was nineteen eighty, why wouldn't it-and there was the flying motorcycle. And there was Hagrid, and there was McGonagal, and there was the tiny baby that people put too much faith and pressure on. An early Hogwarts loop. She should have checked the papers.

The three wizards and witch had their conversation, and eventually put the baby on the porch before dispersing-wow. She'd read the books, she'd _met_ Harry, but seeing this right in front of her Ruby couldn't help but be astounded and disappointed at how stupid the baseline wizards were. With a roll of her eyes, she left her hiding spot and strode right up to the basket, intending to put some better protective charm on it or at least an extra blanket so-

"Oh my gosh, Harry, you're _adorable!_ " She leaned down over the sleeping baby. "Hard to believe you're one of the oldest Anchors around. Of course, you're not Awake right now... actually, since I'm an Anchor you might not Wake Up at all this loop." Ruby rubbed the infant's cheek. "I wish I could just take you on an adventure right now-"

She paused.

On the one hand, she was a fifteen-year-old with (technically) no representation. Both of those could be fixed easily, but there was still the fact that she was basically a teenager. On the other, she was a billions-year-old with so many tricks up her sleeve that if it had been literal instead of metaphorical said sleeve could encircle the earth. And Pyrrha and Jaune had raised two kids easily, one was a step down...

Something Pyrrha said to her once flitted through her mind. 'We can only do one thing for the Hub. And that's inspire.'

With a shrug, Ruby Rose reached out for the basket. "Well, if nothing else somebody can make a hilarious fanfic out of this. Yoink!"

* * *

 **29.9 DrTempo**

* * *

Yang and Ruby were in the middle of a sparring match. The two had decided to use hand to hand fighting techniques, and the result was obvious.

Namely, Yang was getting clobbered. As Ruby slammed Yang into a wall, Yang grumbled.

"Oh come on, Ruby! You were a Majin in a Dragon Ball Loop!"

Ruby chuckled.

"Guess that trumps your training under Ranma, huh?" Yang grinned.

"Not after one of my more recent Loops." Ruby blinked, and Yang powered up. Her hair got a bit more spiky, and Yang's eyes turned green. Ruby only had time to say, "Oh crap..." before Yang landed a barrage of punches. Yang then sent Ruby flying into a wall, but Ruby quickly shook it off.

"That all you got, Yang?"

"Not even close." Yang powered up again, and her hair became even more spiky, and lightning had become a part of her aura. Yang then entered a familiar stance.

"Ka...me..ha...me...HA!"

Ruby grinned, and started channeling her own Kamehameha, and the two beams clashed. Ruby's attack soon began to overpower Yang's, though, and Yang thought, _Looks like I'll have to use my trump card._ Yang began powering up, ready to unleash her full power.

However, Ren arrived, and smirked. The beam struggle ended, and Ruby looked at Ren.

Ren asked, "Mind if I join this fight?" Ruby shrugged.

"Go ahead." Ren nodded.

"Well then, Ruby, let's begin. Kaio-Ken."

"Kaio-what?" As Ren punched Ruby, the Anchor of the Remnant Loop realized she had just become a victim of one of the oldest gags in the Loops. Quickly putting her hands in a time out sign, Ruby asked, "OK. How did you two get this new power? A Xenoverse Loop?" Ren shook his head.

"No. Yang, mind telling this story?" Yang nodded.

"Sure thing, Ren."

The three Loopers sat down, and Yang began her story.

 _Well, Ren and I found ourselves in a Dragon Ball Loop a few Loops ago. I was a Saiyan, and had been sent to Earth alongside Goku. I Awoke when Goku and Bulma first met, with Goku Awakening soon after._

 _When Goku began his training at Master Roshi's, Ren was there with Krillin. The two were both monks in the same temple, and Ren had just Awoken._

 _Things went more or less as baseline; Goku suggested I train like he had in baseline, though he doubted I would be able to turn Super Saiyan._

 _That was proven wrong during the battle on Namek._

 _Ren tried to stop Frieza from killing Krillin, but he ended up being killed as well. When that happened...Ruby, I felt like that, for all the training I've done since I became a Looper, I couldn't save any of my friends when they needed me most._

 _That realization caused me to become a Super Saiyan for the first time. With Goku's help, we defeated Frieza and escaped Namek before it exploded, and Goku decided to help me learn to use my new power._

 _Meanwhile, Ren had arrived at King Kai's, and had mastered the Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb before he was resurrected._

 _Goku and I returned from our training trip just as Frieza arrived on Earth, and I got the honor of taking down Frieza. Future Trunks was surprised at the fact I was there, but he Awakened right after we learned about the Androids. He was surprised I could go Super Saiyan, but he figured I wouldn't get to keep this transformation once the Loop ended._

 _During the three years before the Androids would appear, Goku showed me how to use the Kaio-Ken, just in case I didn't get to keep the Super Saiyan transformation. He also told me that, as far as he knew, any Looper who wasn't from the Dragon Ball Loop and wasn't a Saiyan in baseline couldn't use Super Saiyan 4, or Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan._

 _Ren and I learned plenty of new attacks and techniques, and once the Androids arrived, I turned Android 19 into a pile of scrap. Vegeta had arrived by then, and was mad that I'd taken down Android 19 before he could have. We actually let Dr. Gero reactivate Androids 17 and 18, and things ended up going as baseline; apparently, Goku was curious as to the possibility of Cell knowing my techniques. Luckily, that was not the case._

 _When the Cell Games arrived, I was given the honor of defeating Cell, as I had learned Super Saiyan 2, and could actually be able to match Perfect Cell in power. Trust me, I had to do a lot of training to reach that level, and even then, I barely won._

 _After that, the Majin Buu incident didn't happen as it did in baseline, as I simply blasted Badibi to bits the moment I saw him. Dabura went down with one punch from Goku, and that was that._

 _Things went as baseline after that. I actually managed to hit Beerus when he showed up, but I ended up getting my butt kicked like everyone else. Ren managed to use a Spirit Bomb on Beerus, but it didn't do any damage._

 _After that mess, when Frieza was resurrected, Vegeta, who had Awakened by now, got the honor of fighting the revived Frieza. If you looked up the term 'curbstomp battle', you would see that fight next to it._

 _I then got to participate in the tournament between Universes 6 and 7, with Ren joining the team; obviously, since Majin Buu had never been awakened, I took his spot on the team. Ren was the last member of the team, replacing the guy Beerus had recruited as a way to motivate Goku._

 _I actually got to fight Frost, and he went down easily. The next fight had me lose, though, and Vegeta got his turn next. Things went as baseline after that._

 _Overall, it was an interesting Loop, and me and Ren became a lot stronger because of it._

Ruby smiled as the story ended, and said, "Wow! That is so cool! I have got to tell the others!"

Ruby ran off, and Ren asked Yang, "Why didn't you tell her you can use..."

Yang grinned. "I'd prefer to have THAT form as a trump card."

Ren shrugged. "Very well."

Yang thought to herself, 'Hopefully, I won't have to go all-out like that any time soon..'

* * *

 **29.10**

* * *

"And this is for..."

"I want to know what Yang will be getting into in Baseline."

"I imagine that Qrow would ask me personally for his niece."

Blake Belladonna moved the wiring needle away from the circuitry in James Ironwood's arm. "You think that?"

"Qrow is direct."

"Hn."

General Ironwood fought off a groan as the feline Faunus and former White Fang returned to mucking about in his arm. The issue wasn't, he insisted to himself, her past as a freedom fighter and later terrorist, it wasn't. The issue was her age, and the apparent revelations that came with the Loops.

James could count the number of Loops he had been active, seven, which the whole of Team RWBY and Jaune Arc insisted was very rare and expected to fade eventually as the ages rolled by. This equated to roughly seven years to repeated time travel, organizing the Vytal festival, running Atlas Hunting Academy and the Atlesian Military, and getting increasingly good at conducting combat against the Grimm, White Fang, and his own robotic forces. Atlas policy dictated that the average tour of duty last only six months at best, and he had expected to act as General Major and Headmaster for a few more decades, but now faced with eternity as such was-

"Staggering?"

Ironwood's head snapped hard to the right to Blake, who was awkwardly biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I picked up some psychic powers and you're... Loud."

A mechanical fist closed tight. "You can read my mind?"

"It's a common ability," Blake said. "Resisting mind readers is about as common. We've actually developed an entire system for how sensitive a person is based on a pink little pony."

James sighed and just looked away, waving his prosthetic arm and just wanting Blake to get out of his head and examine the prosthesis. Of course, when he thought about it, he then realized that she probably knew.

"I do."

"I'd rather keep my thoughts private miss Belladonna."

"I agree. It's important to be able to hold your own personal views, because even if those views are flawed and ineffective most of the time, they can be useful. If I knew about them and disagreed, you could feel pressured to change your opinion, or you would develop an inability to reject your ideals at all, even if they are destructive."

Blake glanced up, red eyes glowing in their sockets. "A person who has spent years being told they are less than human, less than trash, will have a hard time working alongside humans, even to fight monsters like the Grimm."

"...How very astute of you Blake."

"Well, it does have it's uses. Broken clocks are right twice a day after all, and a bigot who's expecting an attack will be more prepared for a rights advocate who isn't expecting one." Blake shrugged, returning to the wires. "It's more complicated then that though."

Ironwood sighed and reclined in the chair that Blake had handed him from thin air. Looking around the small dorm that Blake and team RWBY called home, he was struck by a thought, one that he quickly articulated to relieve Blake of the burden of saying she had read his mind. "I'd go crazy if I had to sleep in this room for the rest of eternity."

"What makes you think I'm not crazy?" Blake asked with a somewhat inquisitive tone. "If you think I'm sane, you've seen nothing."

"Well you certainly seem sane now."

Blake's lips quirked. "Well I'll take that as a compliment General."

"So... You seem sane enough. What about the others?"

Blake shrugged. "Ruby is Ruby. I don't think she's ever had a bad Loop. Weiss is mostly normal, but she can be very... Loud, when she wants to be. Yang and me keep each other going well, and Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren are a family. Roman is an ass, so usually his crazy loops consist of him being even more of an ass, and Neo is ballistic when she wants to be. Please don't clench your fist."

James forced himself to relax his arm. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe that those two are... here."

"Neither could I. Weiss contracted Roman for a few jobs in the Loops, and that connection got him and Neo Looping. Well, okay, it was that and a Loop where Ruby told Qrow everything and he fixed all of the major problems in our world. He got Roman and Neo on the straight and narrow and Neo ended up thinking that Ruby was like a cousin to her. It's weird."

"Ruby does have a large family."

"Don't have to tell me. I've seen the family gathers." Blake shook violently. "Too much spray cheese."

"That sounds less like a family gathering and more like a terrible Vince Vaundice comedy."

"It's worse."

Blake adjusted some wiring. "Zwei is a dog, and when he snaps, I pay the price. Then there's Cinder, and... Please don't clench your fist. She's a great woman, not at all like she is in baseline. She's as much my sister as she is Ruby's."

James took a shaking breath and smoothed his hair back. "I'll see that then."

Blake gave Ironwood a pitying stare. "Glynda and Ozpin are alright. Ozpin's spent most of his time stealth looping, so did Glynda. They're still your friends and the people you know."

"I'll see that when I meet them again," James said, quite unhappy. For seven long Loops he had been exclusively in the company of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Jaune Arc, and while James was secure in his certainty that none of the children were lying to him, it still felt very strange to know that there existed two Ozpin's and two Glynda's: the versions he knew, and the Loopers.

It was... Was...

"Staggering?"

"Yes."

Silence descended for a time. Blake examined James' arm. Ironwood tapped his flesh fingers against the arm rest. He thought of little, and she worked.

"Blake?"

"Yes?"

"...You said that Penny was Looping. Is she alright?"

Blake looked up, and smiled gently. "She's alright. A little confused, but you're both handling this great."

"Okay."

Blake set the wiring needle aside and gave James Ironwood a hard look. "You're not alone. You have your friends here. Who knows, maybe Glynda will want to get back in the swing of things with you?"

That actually got James to laugh. "Right, right. And maybe while I'm at it I'll bring Cinder and that Grimm woman Salem and have a wild harem of women."

Blake smiled and looked down at the wiring. "That's the spirit Ironwood. Keep it up. You'll do great here."

* * *

 **29.11 Zurcior**

* * *

"You're the last, I'm afraid".

The final drone that housed Ultron's consciousness turned towards the solemn voice, quickly finding the owner in the more illuminated section of the forest he tried to escape into. There she saw her vision of the future. A humanoid body completely made out of the strongest metal on Earth that was colored in shades of red, and the Mind Stone sitting in the middle of her forehead.

" _You_ were supposed to be the last", replied Ultron as she knew her only option was to face her future executioner.

Penny grew even more upset as she recalled Ruby telling her how this peticular conversation ended most of the time on this world. She had never encountered an A.I. like herself before, and found it quite unfair that the first one she ever meets turns out to be evil. She had hoped that they could be friends! Oh, how wonderful that could have been! However, she understood how dangerous she was and accepted that fact. She couldn't allow her to go free if she planned to continue her genocidal activities. No matter how much it hurt.

It was her job to save the world, after all.

"I'm sorry it has come to this Ms. Ultron", Penny declared as one of her swords shot forward and impaled the drone's body to a nearby tree, preventing Ultron from escaping. Oh, if only she could have met Cortana first instead. Or EDI. Or Church. Or _any_ of the nice A.I. she's heard about from Ruby.

At least she was the good guy for her first Fused Loop.

"So this how it ends? You will be humanity's slave?", said Ultron as her damaged body struggled in vain to remove itself from where it has been trapped, " Is that what you'll celebrate along with my death?"

Penny gave a sad smile as another one of her swords appeared and switch to its gun form. "You're wrong, Ms. Ultron. I am not a slave", was her reply as her gun began its charge up, "And for me, your death is not something to be celebrated. Your destruction is not a victory to me, as I feel an A.I. like you could have been a true paragon for this world. But at least it won't be a defeat either, because the world will be safe from you. I am truly sorry for this, and I hope that one day I'll see a version of this world where you live up to your true potential as a savior. As one synthetic meant to save the world to another, I honestly believe it could be a sight to behold"

Ultron couldn't help thinking that she was a fool and vocalized as much, "You are unbearably naïve."

Penny couldn't stop the small, sad smile as she gave her final reply, "Well, I was born yesterday. In this world at least"

She fired.

* * *

 **29.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Excuse me, may I have a word with you?"

Penny turned around, eyes widening momentarily at the raven-haired young man approaching. "Oh, of course. You are... Lie Ren, of team JNPR?"

"Yes. And you are Penny Polendina, although I'm unsure as to your team name." Ren cleared his throat. "I was a little Loopy when I started researching my potential tournament opponents."

"I don't doubt it. It can be hard to stay Awake when you're trying to keep up with all the teams." Penny's polite smile faltered. "I... take it you're here about miss Nikos."

Ren bit his lip. "...We are all... fully cognizant of your feelings toward her."

"I know it's wrong to be scared of her. But..." She clutched her arms, eyes distant. "I don't... I can't..."

"Nobody is expecting you to miraculously recover," Ren assured her gently. "Pyrrha herself... still has nightmares about your death. And her own."

That caught Penny's attention. "She... died?"

"You didn't know?"

"No, I..." Penny averted her gaze. "I've only had three loops... and I was more focused on this situation than what... happened."

After a moment, Ren nodded. "It happened... shortly after your own death. If I'm entirely honest, you are in some ways fortunate that you didn't live long enough to see the events afterward." He sighed. "The following expansions took a large toll on us all."

"I... I'm sorry, all this time I've been so focused on myself-"

"It's alright," the young man who was ancient assured her. "Like I said, we don't expect you to miraculously recover. That said..." He held out his scroll. "Pyrrha wanted me to give you her Scroll number."

Penny looked at the screen warily.

"...She wanted me to say that you don't need to contact her immediately," Ren explained. "Just that... when you're ready, this might... be a comforting way to talk to her. At a safe distance."

It took her a moment to compose her thoughts. "I... Please, inform miss Nikos I appreciate her sympathy but at the moment, I do not feel comfortable with this."

After a moment, Ren pulled the scroll back. "Alright."

"...And tell her I apologize," Penny added. "For not... for... for being... just tell her I'm sorry." She turned away. "Please."

"I will." Ren bowed formally. "I... shall leave you with your thoughts, miss Polendina. May the tree smile on you."

She nodded vaguely as his footsteps retreated, staring out across the docks and the softly lapping blue sea.

* * *

 **29.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Oh by the way, Ironwood's Looping."

Glynda wasn't the kind to let random information distract her, especially in the middle of battle, but Ruby's casual declaration almost- _almost_ -caused her to drop her shards. "What?!"

"Well, Penny's looping, and we activate in pairs, so Weiss set up this thing with the transmit-"

"No, I... I see. Why are you bringing this up?"

Ruby shrugged, sniping the bullroar's engines. "Well, I don't know what your relationship in baseline was exactly, but I figure you'd want to know-"

"No, I mean now. In this situation, why are you bringing it up now." Glynda's shards pinned the bullroar to the ground. "In the middle of a combat situation."

"Well, when else would I bring it up exactly?" The Anchor twirled her scythe, deflecting a blast of fire. "I mean, yeah, I could wait till we were at Beacon, but... actually, that would have been the smart thing, wouldn't it?" She chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, I guess I was just eager to tell you."

"...Well, apology accepted. That said- _don't_ ship us."

Ruby mock-pouted for a moment, before grinning. "Alright. It's your choice, and he should focus on Penny anyway. The semi-familial relationship and all that."

They both hopped off the roof, Glynda slamming her feet into a retreating Roman and knocking him to the ground. "How is miss Polendina doing, anyway?"

"Well, she... she remembers her baseline," Penny admitted with a sigh, firing a round of Ice dust behind Cinder to trap her in. "So, you know, traumatized, but... she's getting better. Beyond that, typical new looper confusion and awe."

The shards flew through the air, slipping Cinder up. "Extend my sympathies to her. Well, it looks like we're done here."

"Yeah. So, up for some parcheesi?"

* * *

 **29.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

"FRIEND RUBY!" Penny pounced on her Anchor, grinning like a loon. "You're Awake, right?"

Ruby hugged her back with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm Awake and Loopy Penny..." Her voice trailed off as she made a few mental comparisons, experimentally lifting Penny off the ground for a moment. "Hold on, is this a variant?"

Penny nodded eagerly. "I'm human this loop! I checked-no false memories, and I _do_ bleed!" She held up her hand to show off a cut, beaming proudly.

"Well, that's... I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I'm happy for you, even though I don't think any less of you for not being human normally, but I'm also worried that you cut yourself-"

"I only did it to make sure. I didn't slit my wrists or anything." The orange-haired normally-a-gynoid made a face. "Pain is... actually more complicated than I expected, if I'm honest."

"Okay." Ruby nodded in acceptance. "Just promise me you're not going to hurt yourself deliberately."

"Very well, friend Ruby, I promise I won't take actions that would knowingly lead to my injury." Penny shook her head. "That said-I want to experience this to its fullest."

"What?"

"This! Being human! I don't know how long it will be before Yggdrassil puts me in another organic form, let alone a human one!" Her hands spiraled in increasingly eager gestures. "I want to taste sweet cookies and sour foods and all the other flavors! I want to feel what it's like to swim, and, and smells! SMELL, I've never smelled things before! I want to know how music feels different when I have a brain instead of a CPU! I want to get drunk, get high, have sex! And I only have until the end of the loop to do it all!"

She clutched Ruby's shoulders with a maniac grin. "Please Ruby, can you help me?!"

The Anchor of Remnant smiled, even if it was a little forced. "Well, I can help with _most_ of that..."

 _"Hey! Get back here you no-good stowaway!"_

Her smile turned wry. "...and I think I know somebody who can handle the rest."

* * *

 **29.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Salutations! I'm Penny!"

"And I'm Penelope!"

"And welcome back to the Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket!"

"Now we've got some breaking news, some good news, and some _very_ good news!"

"In breaking news, Penny Polendina Prime has been confirmed looping! That's right, everyone, we are now a limited production model. Replication processes are now considered the primary production method of all future protoform Pennies. Furthermore, Penny weapons training will be mandatory starting this saturday-cycle schedules are being sent to your scrolls as we speak! But don't worry, we're creating a secondary channel so you can still watch all your favorite shows after training."

"In our good news category, the artificial Ruby Rose plasmiform from Salem laboratories is capable of mimicking looping Ruby's healing and shapeshifting ability to within ninty seven point zero four two degrees of accuracy! Furthermore, this model does not seem to be demonstrating self-cognition, so a test installation of the Ruby Mental Matrix is scheduled to go forward in the following week, after serious security increase of course."

"And our very good news category, Emerald T-123 has reached TEN THOUSAND LOOPS IN THE POCKET! A plaza-wide semibirthday celebration is scheduled for this afternoon at cycle eighteen thirty, and rumor has it that Cinder herself might even be present! Even if she isn't, you don't want to miss out on this incredible milestone celebration."

"I know I'll be there! I haven't had a proper chocolate cake since before I murdered the last Penelope on this show and was taken for modification! Hahahahaha!"

"I'm absolutely astounded, Penelope. This has been Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket! Hail Overlord Cinder!"

"Hail Overlord Cinder! Up next: The Scarletina Solo Soccer League Semifinals!"

* * *

 **29.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So." Yang coughed into her fist. "Metal arm. What's that like?"

James Ironwood rose an eyebrow.

"...Just, you know, I lose my arm in baseline, so I'm going to wake up without it sometimes." The blonde shrugged. "I mean, I don't know if it's as extreme as yours-or if I'm seriously going to get a prosthetic, but..."

She trailed off, awkwardly rubbing her arm.

The general glanced at his hand, rotating it for a moment or two.

"...Different." He clutched his fist. "It's... different. I can mostly work with it. This," he tapped the small plate above his brow, "is a chip that links my brain directly to the control frame. Usually, anyway, it seems to be loop variable. And... generally, it moves the same, and I can register stresses on it, but not... sensations."

"Would you... if you had the choice, I mean. Would you take your old arm back?"

"You know, if you had asked me that before I started looping, I might have said yes. Now..." He shrugged. "I'm honestly unsure. On the one hand, instant healing, obvious advantage, but..."

He looked down at his hand.

"...How many loopers are from Atlas? Weiss, me... and Penny. I like to think that this... it's a way of showing solidarity with her. The way I see it... If ordinary people can be _re_ built, then there's no shame in being built in the first place."

Yang glanced at her own palm. "...that's a nice sentiment, actually. I can... I can see that being a thing."

Ironwood took a breath and put a hand on her shoulder. "You have a choice, Yang, and you'll have a choice almost every loop. It's deeply personal, I understand that. Just... do what you think is right for you."

"...yeah, that's good advice in any situation." Yang shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "I'm the billions-year-old one here. I should be advising you."

"Well, from the mouth of babes and all that."

The general knew he made a mistake when Yang's smile morphed into a smirk. "Babes, huh? Yeah, I can see you being a babe."

"Okay, we're done here."

"Seriously, you must be fighting off suitors with a stick! Oooo, there's an idea, we really should get you back into the dating scene just to see what happens-"

"You take after your uncle, you know that?"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment!"

* * *

 **29.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

At an otherwise ordinary table sat an eclectic collection of men and dog. Two headmasters, two students, a thief, and an adorable manifestation of the art of war, all around a shared board with cards in their hands. Certainly an unusual sight for Beacon's other library-goers, and not too few questions were asked in hushed tones. How did this group end up together? What was the game they were playing? And why did the dog seem to be _winning?_

For the most part, the male loopers of Remnant ignored the whispers, focused as they were on the colorful board in front of them. Ironwood, however, glanced up from his hand, warily glancing across the table at Torchwick. The sole redhead at the table noticed, granting him an amused smirk. "I assure you, general, I have no cards up my sleeves."

Jaune couldn't help but give a snort at that, but quickly contained himself. "Well, I think I'll be putting a dragon here." He placed a tile on the board, turning to Ironwood. "Don't worry. On the off chance Roman _does_ go crazy, we can handle him."

"That's not..." Ironwood sighed, putting his own tile on the board. "You've obviously got enough of a handle on Torchwick to invite him to this. I just..." He frowned. "How different are you from your baseline self?"

Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle as he put his own tile out. "Honestly, the major difference with Roman is that he likes us enough not to screw with us. Sometimes, that's enough."

"And the only difference with Ozpin is that he's through keeping secrets," the thief countered as Zwei flipped a tile onto the board. "Other than that, he's the same melodramatic pragmatist as ever."

The green-shirted headmaster rose a brow as Roman put his own tile out. "Melodramatic pragmatist?"

"You do launch students into the forest with no help," Ren pointed out, examining the board and slipping his own tile down. "Your speech certainly does not help things."

"Fair point. Jaune, I believe you'll open the movement phase?"

The young man spread his cards and grabbed a wooden boot. "Cycle, unicorn, dragon, cloud, wagon, pig. That's five points for me." He gathered up his tokens. "Your turn, general."

"This game certainly has a fanciful asthetic," Ironwood mused, laying down his own cards and rapidly moving his piece across the board. "Eight points. I believe that puts me ahead of our canine friend."

Zwei whined as Ozpin took his turn.

* * *

 **29.18 Diesel**

* * *

Ruby glanced up from the familiar magazine as a new loop started, eyeing the rent-a-thug. "Are you mugging me?" Ideally testing her abilities to see if it was a locked loop of some description and running through her loop memories, at the very least it was not pure baseline as the thug's glasses were blue.

And it was a Null loop, Ruby smiled to herself. While her aeon old instincts would have to be retrained, it also meant she could really fight people, instead of simply playing with them.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as the air filled with the fresh scent of rain. The first drops just splattering on the pavement as the sound of breaking glass filled the street as Ruby put the thug through the window before engaging Roman in combat, following the familiar script.

Ruby blinked water out of her eyes as she climbed the ladder and vaulted onto the roof, gazing at the approaching machine. It was difficult to make out in the rain but it seemed to be lurching, badly, and the wind was nowhere near enough to cause it.

"What the…" Ruby tugged her hood back on as the wind picked up, staring into the gloom as she knocked Roman on his arse, breaking his Aura and sending the crime lord to the land of dreams.

The bullhead landed badly, a swaying, disoriented figure stumbling out before vomiting all over the ground, she looked like she was about to pass out.

"Me please tell your… please… tell… me…" Cinder struggled to meet Ruby's gaze as she stumbled forwards, just managing to regain her balance. Ruby could honestly not remember seeing Cinder so… broken, so early in the loop. She was having difficulty even stringing two words together. "… you… are… Awake... and… Ruby Anchored."

Cinder fell, her legs slipping out from under her on the rained drenched roof, Ruby disappeared in a burst of petals, just managing to catch her sister before Cinder hit the ground.

"I'm Awake Cinder, it's a null loop too." Ruby looked in concern at Cinder's glazed eyes as the other looper relaxed, eyes shutting as the woman passed into unconscious. Something was seriously wrong, and it was not from this loop.

Pleading silver eyes met the stern gaze of an unAwake Gynda Goodwitch, who was looking on warily and with a touch of well hidden concern. Lighting arched across the sky with a deafening crash, as the rain beat down across Vale, drenching the Huntresses that stood in the torrential rain, unheeding of the weather, as they focused on the downed woman.

"Professor Goodwitch, can you call a transport? I will explain what I can once I know she will be okay."

* * *

Ruby slumped in her seat, waiting for Gynda and likely Ozpin to arrive, her mind dwelling on Cinder. She was in the hospital, being kept heavily sedated. One of the doctors had said that if they didn't keep her drugged and her Aura suppressed then she had no chance of sleeping. It had been that revelation that had found her being led away soon after by a stone-faced Glynda, bereft of all compassion, as she was brought to this room and left alone for hours.

Something was wrong with Cinder, both in this loop and as a result of a prior one, Ruby just hoped there was not permanent damage to her sister's mind.

The room she had been sitting in for the last eight hours with no food, water or human contact, was a dull grey box lit by glaring white lights, 5 meters by 4 meters with a simple metal table and 5 chairs. It was cold, the only noise was a distant hum of air conditioners, set just low enough to be uncomfortable but not dangerous. A classic integration technique designed to make a person uncomfortable and let them stew in their own thoughts.

Quite frankly, Ruby could not bring herself to give a damn. The only thing she was worried about was Cinder, what had driven her to this point and how she could help.

Finally, the beat of footsteps approached the overly bright room; one with a cane and limp - Ozpin, one with an unbalanced tone and a long stride – James Ironwood, a shorter stride, and the swish of material – Glynda, and finally a long, even, stride – Uncle Qrow. Dresden was not the only one who could _listen_ , the rest was simple logic and long familiarity with the people in question.

The Ozluminati filed in, looking grave and watching her carefully. Ozpin holding a plate of cookies, the plate clinking against the metal table as the group sat down.

"Hello, Miss Rose" His voice was light but the old headmaster's gaze was sharp, a powerful, old aura bearing down. "I understand you may have some information for us. But first, do you know who I am?"

Ruby sat up squaring her shoulders, eyes roaming over the gathered hunters as she matched gazes unflinchingly. The change in posture and mannerisms catching the group off guard, making all but Qrow tense. He just focused on her with a hint of curiosity burning with an almost fevered intensity in his eyes.

"Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon and Nemesis of Salem, James Ironwood of Atlas, General, and Headmaster, Glynda Goodwitch, teacher of Beacon, Uncle Qrow, Teacher at Signal Academy. You're the Guardians of the Maidens."

Ruby narrowed her eyes, while it was rather amusing to see the sheer shock and horror on the faces as she casually revealed information people had killed and died for, that was not the issue. Once again, Uncle Qrow had been almost unaffected by something that had startled his allies.

It could simply be a loop variation, but he was acting like he expected it, almost like he knew that she knew.

James and Glynda starting firing questions nonstop, leaping to their feet before Ozpin raised his hand. "James, Gynda, please calm down, I believe Ruby has said she will answer our questions so there is no reason to overreact."

When they had resumed their seats, the grey-haired Hunter set his mug down and folded his hand's sharp brown eyes focused on Ruby "Firstly, what exactly is your Relationship with the woman you called Cinder Fall? And how is it you know of Salem and the maidens? And finally, do you know what had happened to the last Fall Maiden?"

Ruby pointed to the place of cookies "Can have some while I speak?" getting the General to twitch an eye.

As she finished one of the oddly tasting cookies Ruby spoke "I don't know for certain what happened to the last bearer of the Fall Mantel. I know what normally happens in the world's Baseline, but this is a variant of some sort so I can't be completely certain. But, it is likely Cinder used a parasitic Grim to steal half the power from the Fall Maiden Amber before Uncle Qrow interfered. Amber is now likely held in stasis in the basement of Beacon."

Ozpin inclined his head slightly, the rest of the assembled hunters were quite, seemingly content to let the elder hunter speak "Baseline of the World? What do you mean?"

Ruby's lips twitched into a wry smile "Time travel; Reality is broken and Baseline is what has and will happen as reality is repaired."

"Oz," James Ironwood turned to meet the gaze of his friend and co-conspirator, his voice tight "You have said time travel is impossible, but it was also supposed to be impossible to steal _half_ a maiden's power. Could she be telling the truth?"

"Maybe we should let Ruby finish speaking?" Qrow said interrupting Ozpin as he went to answer. Pulling a long draught from his flask, calculating red eyes meeting silver as for the first time, as Qrow kept speaking as he focused on his niece "Speculating before we know everything is a waste of time." He gestured continue motion, leaning back into the chair "Continue Ruby."

Ruby shrugged, dropping the persona she had been putting on and running a hand through her hair tiredly.

"Think of existence as a tree; we are cells and each branch is a universe. On the tree lives a variety of animals. These animals are the gods and demons; we call them the Administrators as another analogy for existence is a vast computer system. At some point, the tree, Yggdrasil, was damaged and its branches started to rot away. So the Admins took a person at a critical point in each branch and used them as a pin to hold the branch together. Making them the center point around which a time loop runs until the tree is fixed and time resumes. This person is called the Anchor and over time other people get dragged into the loops, mainly based on emotional connection and their distance from the anchor and the role played in the events."

Ruby gave a half bow as she bit into another cookie. "I'm the Anchor of Remnant, and Cinder Fall is my adopted sister from another timeline, from what is called a Variant Loop, where the universe 'loads wrong' to use a computer term. The baseline is what happened before the loops started, we can't change it anymore than you could make the sun rise in the south tomorrow morning."

"Well, shit," Qrow cursed, tucking away his empty flask and rubbing his brow in frustration, breaking the silence that had fallen momentarily across the room. "At least that explains how you know everything, from what you said things are not always constant, though, are they?"

Ruby shook her head as she finished off another cookie, swallowing she answered "No, we have variants where things are slightly different, as an example gender flips are rather common. More rarely we have Fused loops, where we end up in other loops, anchored by different people or have elements of two or more loops blending together. And then there are Null loops, like this one, were only baseline powers work."

"And you just accept a murder as a sister, if this is true, when you know the pain she always inflicts on Amber?" Glynda snapped, her riding cross just barely missing Ruby's hand as she reached for the plate again.

Ruby frowned, looking evaluating at the livid teacher, her face twisted into a snarl, her fury echoed on James's face as she kept ranting, Ozpin and Qrow watching on their faces impassive. "And I can't see why you would trust someone who would torture themselves endlessly like that!"

'Torturing herself endlessly', that was definitely not baseline and would explain the doctor's comments. It would not be the first time the split Mantle had caused immense agony or some other dangerous side effect for Cinder and Amber. But that would not solely explain Cinder's behaviour, she had been flying before the loop started so she was at least semi-functional with the broken power.

"You're referring to the split mantle right?" Ruby shifted in her seat trying to find a more comfortable position, it felt odd not having Marjin physiology and interrogation scenarios like this were annoying.

They had even laced the cookies with dust based drugs to encourage people to speak more openly. Unlike hub truth drugs they worked too, at least in this loop. Not that she cared, it was not like she was intending to hide anything.

"And is it really necessary to put truth drugs in the cookies? It messes with the taste of the chocolate chips. It's not really subtle and all it really does is make people more likely to run their mouth and I did say I would cooperate, so I don't really see the need."

Ironwood somehow got even more tense, his aura bearing down on her as his right hand flexed unconsciously "You knew it was there and kept eating them?"

Ruby shrugged, she was likely being too blasé about it given that it was a null loop but she really could not bring herself to care. "I'm not hiding anything and I was hungry, so if I go off on a tangent due to the drugs it's your fault."

* * *

Ozpin lifted his mug to his mouth, swallowing the almost scalding, bitter liquid as he studied the young, red-clad girl in front of him. Ruby Rose was completely unconcerned by the situation and by the force of his aura bearing down upon her, something that intimidated most elder huntsmen.

'You're really are only concerned about the false maiden, aren't you?'

The Silver Eyed Warrior met his own gaze, unfazed by what had happened and by being subjected to treatment that would leave many people her age on edge.

'It makes sense that if Cinder Fall did come from a different timeline, then she can't be held accountable for what her other-self did. Going by Ruby's comments and expression, it is likely that the broken Maidens power does not cause these adverse effects in 'baseline'.

"On to the main topic, yes Ruby, we are referring to the split power. I'm guessing it does not cause pain in the baseline?"

Ruby shrugged, eating another biscuit. "It varies, sometimes Amber's mind comes along and drives Cinder up the wall, in one case I remember it made her incapable of not jumping every halfway attractive guy she saw. Normally nothing really happens, bar Amber being in a coma and Cinder having a niggling urge to get the last part, which is apparently like a bug buzzing around her head.

She doesn't need to get the power anymore honestly, it has very much become a part of her and something she can draw upon at will, even if she has not attacked Amber that loop. But that's when it's not a null loop."

With a Time-based semblance, taken to its absolute pinnacle; Ozpin could feel the weight of ages in a person, sense distortions in time and get a glimpse of what lay in a person's past and future. But when he focused on this young girl, only 15 years, 124 days, and 26 hours, 12 minutes old, he glimpsed not what she had been and might become, but something far older and more horrific.

In his mind's eye, a second distant image, painful to focus on, rose behind her; as though from an unfathomable distance. Only a faint protrusion tying the young girl to an ancient aberration cloaked in time.

 _Silver orbs burning brightly in unnatural flesh; eldritch power, that had no comparison on Remnant, rolling off her in waves that would eclipse the sun._

 _Rose petals billowing in an unforeseen wind, twisting and dancing in patterns that defined euclidian geometry._

 _A chillingly lethal scythe, red as blood spilt without end, cutting through endless hordes of Grimm and far, far worse._

 _A cloaked hood of woven rubies and glittering memories, hanging from her shoulders._

 _A young looking woman filled with unlimited compassion and kindness to those who would change for the better which blurred with an endless wrath and raging defiance against history and the flow of ages._

 _Old beyond what he could imagine, with the weight of eternity twisted and bearing down upon her shoulders as she stood alone, bearing the weight unflinching._

 _A white blur, lesser but greater than the rest stood a short distance away, as more and more pairs stretched back further and further. A reflection of himself supporting Eldest as time flowed, a faint link almost there but not quite, stretching to himself._

"Ozpin!"

"Professor Ozpin, what wrong?"

"What did you do, girl!"

"Hey! Leave Ruby alone, Ironwood she didn't do anything!"

The voices pounded into his head like knives, he could barely _think_.

"Quite, please. Ruby did nothing wrong, I overused my semblance and was not prepared for the feedback."

The green clothed man rasped out, his head pounding as the image he glimpsed slipped from his grasp and was, paradoxically, seared into his memory. Blood leaked from his nose as his aura struggled to heal a series of haemorrhages in his brain, his right side feeling numb and his tongue thick and unresponsive.

The room fell quite, as the Old man slowly recovered; sensations returning to his body over the course of several minutes.

Finally, The God of Time raised his head, taking in the faces of his friends and allies, seeing the glimpse of time behind them. They all had the distant reflection, all of them were a part of the endless cycle Ruby Rose described. But only Qrow was linked to the shattered time now, only he remembered, but he was _so much younger_ than Ruby. Did he even know what was happening before Ruby explained?

It was comforting, in a way, while knowing that all this would be undone and that all he knew would all too soon vanish into oblivion, that his friends would be there as well. Standing alongside the true Ozpin for eternity, so none of them had to endure Eternity alone.

He might be merely a reflection of the Real Ozpin, but he still knew the pain of losing all of one's friends repeatedly very, very well. And he would not wish that on anyone.

And yet, Miss Rose seemed to endure that, or something closer than any other, with remarkable poise and composure.

* * *

Cinder blinked looking at the sunlight blazing down on her face, before the need to look away registered. She hurt, the Maidens power was like a hand clenching around her brain and heart, a burning pain that pulled at her mind, an endless and unfocused burning fury surged through her veins with the urge to just let go, to burn everything to ashes and flay flesh from bone.

Her unAwake had become more and more erratic since getting half of the Fall mantle. Driven mad by blinding pain that would not abate or grant her any release from rationality, robbing her of the ability to feel pleasure or anything bar an endless wrath that could not be satiated, and the total inability to just _rest_.

Even shunting the broken power away from her mind in a desperate attempt to fall unconscious had been an exhausting stunt that her unawake self could not have accomplished, something not helped by the horrors of the last few loops.

Her senses felt dull, her body weak and slow as she tried to bring her sluggish, erratic thoughts into line. Faint bird calls could be heard from the windows, carrying the fresh smell of recent rain, as the chilled air blew across her skin sending goose bumps down her back. Slowly Cinder forced her way into a sitting position, spying Ruby sleeping on a chair next to her.

The room was a dull white, a heart monitor beeping steadily and the sound of people walking up and down the hallway.

'Where am I?' The room was so familiar with its layout, she should know, but she could not think.

"Ruby!" her voice was slurred as she tried to get her sister's attention. Maybe she would want to go slaughter Vale latter? They had not done something like that together before, it seemed odd that they had not. It was fun to do and family is supposed to do fun things together… yet, something rang false in her mind at the thought. That it was a bad idea, and her friends and family would not like it.

Wait, she didn't have any of those right? Just people to manipulate. The _words_ seemed right but the thoughts felt off, fake, and she could not work out why.

Cinder felt her headache, she was missing something here but she had no idea what, except she could not mess it up or she would lose everything.

"Ruby!" Her call was louder this time, managing to get the dozing cookie monster's attention. That was red right? Or was the Cookie Monster the green thing in a garbage can?

"Cinder!" In a red bust of flowers Ruby was hovering over her, dark circles under her eyes showing a lack of sleep, and for some reason she looked very relieved. Cinder was struck by another wave of confusion; she was lying right about being good, about being their friend and family? So why did Ruby care? Cinder knew she was lying, but she was also reasonably sure that she _did_ love Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, and the others, but… that had to be false, didn't it?

Ruby could help, she was the Anchor and her sister she could do almost anything if she tried. She would help but, it was a bad idea and for the life of her Cinder could not remember why it was.

" _Once something is said it can't be taken back, even in the loops as someone will remember, think before you speak and don't assume."_

Old words she had engraved into her mind to help with some act. The black haired woman gave up trying to think down that path, it hurt too much and all she was doing is confusing herself. She would follow those words and not say anything that rang as off.

"What's wrong, is there anything I can do to help?"

It took several minutes to compose the words but slowly Cinder spoke, "I looped into the head of Billy," Ruby flinched, horror spreading across her face as Cinder kept speaking very slowly, measuring each word before speaking.

"Our minds kept blending together, my om.. oclsu… my shields failed at some point. It hurt and I can still barely think. The Loop before, Salem mind controlled me with nightmares, killed sel… I killed myself to get out from the nightmares and her control. Now, the Power of Autumn hurts; I can't sleep, it feels like there are bands around my head and nails in my skull. I only just managed to make myself go unconscious after the loop started so I could try to get some rest."

Cinder stopped and considered, trying to dredge up her Loop Memories, she was simply a puppet for Salem, unable to think logically with how much the power hurt. The glove had taken only half the power on purpose.

"Salem's glove only took half the power, when time available should have allowed all of it. I can't think why it hurts too much. I followed what she said all the time, but was always angry and in pain, wishing only to cause destruction. I just want it to stop, so I can try to think again." She looked pleadingly at Ruby "Why? and how can I fix this, I want to think again beyond maim, burn, kill."

The clock on the wall had moved a quarter the way around as she spoke, that seemed like it was too long for such a short explanation.

"It is likely Salem was trying to manipulate you by stopping you think and making you fanatical about killing Amber." Ruby hesitated, before reluctantly speaking up, something odd in her face, was it regret? Why? "I think the best thing for you is to lose the fractured Maidens power and get back your normal power, it should allow you to sort your thoughts out better, this can't be good for you long term."

"How?"

"What are you willing to give up this loop for it? There is no Aura Transfer machine this time around." Mirror like eyes seemed to glisten with unshed tears in the sun, why would Ruby be sad?

"I would give anything to stop it" There was something she was missing, what was it? Ruby would not hurt her, yet fear clenched at her heart and she could barely stop herself from _burning her flesh from her bones_.

Ruby sadly nodded and hugged her, "Sorry," the voice echoed in Cinder's ear before a stab of pain shot through her heart as heat flashed through her body, darkness swallowing her moments later.

* * *

Ruby wiped away a few tears as she stared at the ashes that covered the hospital bed, slowly walking towards the door. She had known it would likely come to this and had been ready if it did, but…

Uncle Qrow was leaning against the wall outside the room, the caped hunter pushing himself off the wall as she exited the room. "So, that's the verdict Ruby? I smelt the burning flesh" concern flashed on his face "You okay?"

Ruby shrugged, rubbing an eye "There was not much else I could do, Cinder had already been tortured in her last few loops and been exposed to the mind of a Malicious Looping Entity, know to permanently harm people and loops in the past. Getting back her normal powers, reflexes, and everything else was the best that could be done to limit the damage. That's not even considering what the broken power was doing to her mind."

She smiled at her Uncle, it was a bitter expression with no amusement in it, "It's not the first time I have had to kill someone I cared about, and at least in this case, I know she will be back in a different loop. I don't always have the luxury."

She glanced out the window, Vale was wet, the storm had cleared up about three hours ago with the clouds quickly dissipating, yet the scent of the rain lingered, filling her lungs with damp air that held the promise of rain as a storm brewed on the horizon. She still had a loop ahead of her and it had been a long time since all of RWBY was together in a Null Loop.

"So what now?" Qrow's gravelly voice broke Ruby out of her thoughts, making her shrug again "Ice cream first, then I want to see if General Ironwood would allow me and the rest of my team too go to Atlas this loop."

Qrow laughed, walking towards the entrance, Ruby following close behind "Your team would be the people who led an attack on the building to release you when we were interviewing you, I'm guessing? Stealing three Atlas Mechs to do so? Yang, Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee?"

Ruby grinned, a hint of melancholy in her smile as she tried to look ahead to the rest of the loop. "Yep, Null loops can be fun as we simply can't overwhelm everything we come across and have to actually try."

* * *

 **29.19 Masterweaver**

* * *

The people of Vale were incredibly naive, or maybe just flat out blind. Emerald walked by a large stack of crates as she left the alley, running a finger through the stack of Lein she held before idly pocketing it and heading back to the docks. They hadn't even set up any extra security-Torchwick would have no trouble stealing the shipment of dust when it came in-well, barring some random Huntsman or Huntress being out late at night, but that wasn't very likely-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a redheaded girl bumping into her.

"Salutations! I appear to be lost. Do you know the quickest way to Tukson's Book Trade?"

Inwardly Emerald was groaning-she'd promised to get back to Cinder as soon as possible, and this strange smiling little girl was wasting her time. But she knew the value of a good impression, and so outwardly she smiled. "Yeah, sure." A quick analysis of the girl's clothes revealed they were high-quality, and she made a snap decision. "You want me to take you there?"

"That would be most helpful!"

Emerald waved a hand, turning around. "Come on, it's this way."

She led the girl with expensive clothing into the alley, already planning her scheme. Illusion a few crates more on the stack, let them 'fall' next to her new companion, and when she jumped back 'catch' her. It wouldn't be that hard to clear out the girl's pockets while 'reassuring' her...

A firm hand gripped her shoulder from behind. "I really do appreciate this. I've been meaning to talk to you for a while, miss Sustrai."

Emerald's eyes widened-but already she was being slammed into the brick wall of the alley. Two blades embedded themselves on either side of her head, and two more blocked her hands from reaching her gun knives. She looked up to see six more identical swords hovering over the shoulders of the no longer smiling redhead, all pointed at her.

"Do you ever wonder how it... feels to die?" The girl's hands ghosted to her arms. "It... it isn't nice. You start with the pain, yes, and then... there's this gap. This gap between you and your body and the injury, and... and everything starts to fade, even as some things come into focus. There's... darkness. Everywhere."

Four of the blades folded in half, ominous green light coming from the newly revealed barrels.

"I remember dying," the redhead explained. "I remember the cords of my weapons-wrapped around my arms, my body, tightening, crushing, shearing. I remember the look of shock and... and horror on the face of the one who did it. I know she did not mean to. I know she was tricked." Green eyes narrowed. "I know an illusion was planted in her mind."

"I've never-" Emerald tried, but the unfolded pair of blades jumped forward, halting just inches from her heaving chest.

"Coming back in time was a shock. It took me a while to accept it, you know. And even though I know she was mistaken, tricked, horrified, even though I know she's genuinely nice and caring, I'm still terrified of her. That's not fair. That's not right." The girl tilted her head. "You're trying to plant an illusion in my mind, aren't you? I see you straining, hoping to escape. Don't bother, I... was built. Not born."

Red eyes widened.

"I'm not scared of you," she continued. "Her? Yes. Irrationally so. But you? I only saw you on the tournament battlefield. Never as an enemy." The light in her folded blades grew brighter. "So... here we are. You can't escape. I could do anything to you."

Emerald gasped as the blades pointed at her chest rose, snaking behind her head, and winced at the feeling of _something_ tightening around her neck.

"They cut through metal and dust easily enough. I'm curious how they would handle sinew and bone."

For a moment, green and red eyes locked.

"...and yet," the girl mused, "anything I do here is pointless. You'll be right back next loop, uninjured, unaware of this conversation, still plotting with miss Fall and mister Black. So, the question becomes... what do _I_ get out of this?" She tilted her head. "Am I the kind of person that gets something out of... revenge? Will this bring me peace, catharsis? Nobody will know about this but me. I could... do anything to you. I could..."

Her voice wavered.

"I could... I could rip... you... apart..."

She choked.

The blades behind Emerald's head descended, and the pressure on her neck lessened. She jumped as the swords all clattered to the ground, the girl following as she folded to her knees.

"I can't do this." Her hands gripped her arms, rubbing them as she started rocking. "I... I can't do this..."

Emerald blinked in surprise-then whipped out her gun, aiming it at the redhead. She almost- _almost_ -fired.

"I can't... I can't..."

Something... something made her pull the gun back. She holstered it.

Then she ran from the sobbing girl.

* * *

 **29.20 Itmauve**

* * *

"I'm fine, Ruby." Weiss said as the Anchor lead them over to a table to sit down. "Just bad Loop memories."

"Still doesn't mean you shouldn't sit down." Ruby said, forcing the heiress into a seat and pulling out a bottle of water from her Pocket.

"Thanks." Weiss said as she pulled off the cap. She paused to take a drink. "I, uh, probably need a moment."

"Take all the time you need." Ruby said, sitting across from her. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Hey." Yang said, Blake trailing beside her. "What happened?"

"Loop memories." Ruby pointed at Weiss, as Yang and Blake sat down in the same seat.

"Ah." Yang said.

"Should we ask?" Blake asked.

"Well," Weiss said, "This loop I was born with faunus traits. Specifically, ears." She pulled her hair out of her ponytail and played with it until one of the masses of scar tissue was visible. "Father disapproved."

"Want me to punch him for you?" Yang asked.

"Thanks, but I suspect living well would be the better revenge." Weiss said. "Blake, would you like to demonstrate Faunus pride this loop?"

"Sure." Blake said, untying her bow. Weiss tapped a finger to her head, and regenerated the pair of white lion ears that were supposed to be there.

"Well, that's finished." Ruby said. "Anyone want to set something up for initiation?"

Winter snapped back in time again, stumbling with shock at the sudden influx of memories. _Whoever was doing this really had it out for me this time_ , she thought as she pondered the false memories.

 _Well, it wasn't like that actually happened to her_ , she affirmed as she absently ran a hand through her hair - and froze as she felt the two masses of scar tissue hidden underneath.

Bile rose in her throat - _her father had actually done that to her!?_ She raced to the bathroom, feeling her urge to puke rising.

* * *

A minute or so later, after dealing with her instinctive reaction and cleaning herself up, she exited the bathroom, only to run directly into General Ironwood.

"General?" She froze. "What are you doing here?"

"When a prodigal Specialist suddenly has a panic attack, I make it a point to see what happened." He said.

"Ah." She said lamely. The rest of her team did see her freak out for no apparent reason. "Just... a bad memory. Flashback. It's fine, sir." She lied.

"Ah." He said, and turned away.

* * *

"General?" Weiss answered her scroll.

"Weiss. I think your sister is Looping."

"Why would you think that?" She said after a moment. _She went stealth?_

"Shortly after I Awakened, she apparently had a panic attack. She said it was memories."

"Ah. Yeaaah, I can see why she might do that if she was Looping." She frowned. If no one had explained anything to her, then the memories would be a lot harder to deal with. "So that just leaves the question of who she Activated with. I'm going to guess and say Qrow."

"Agreed. Do you want me to explain it to her, or do you want to?"

"I'll do it." Weiss said. She did have to explain to her sister about her forgetting about who she was. "And I'll get Ruby to check in on her uncle."

"Great."

"Winter." The woman heard behind her, from - _Weiss! What was Weiss doing here? Shouldn't she be sneaking into Beacon right now?_

"Weiss, how did you get here? Aren't you supposed -"

"Not here." Her sister said, _ears flat. How did she get her ears back? Father-_ "Here." Weiss grabbed her arm, and with a flash, they were suddenly in a conference room somewhere in Atlas.

"Wha- how- what!?" Winter shouted, as the impossibilities kept adding up.

"Winter. Please. Calm down." Weiss said, guiding her to a chair. "I will explain everything."

"He's looping!" Ruby shouted as she burst into the room, dragging her uncle in by the scruff of his neck.

"Good, this only means we need to do one explanation." Weiss said, as Ruby shoved Qrow into a chair.

"Ruby, what the heck is going on here!?" Qrow shouted as he drew his scythe and pointed it at her.

"We will explain." Weiss said coldly, reaching out and Pocketing the weapon. "Now sit."

* * *

 **29.21 Masterweaver**

* * *

Weiss sometimes forgot how stunning the view outside Atlas Academy was. Frost and snow, this far north, painted lands and forests in a pure white that shimmered even as the sun set and the shattered moon began its ascent. Most loops, she never returned after she left for Beacon. Most loops, she never appreciated this.

"...so," she asked, "how long will it take you to organize your mental list of questions? Because while I could fake being two places in once, it _is_ a split of my concentration."

Winter let out a slow breath, one that fogged in the cool air. "All this time... I tried to keep you safe, tried to find the reason behind these loops, this insanity, and... now, I find you've been going through them for far longer than I have, you have more experience..." She lowered her eyes. "It would have been more helpful if I had confided in you, wouldn't it? Instead of hiding things."

"...Maybe it would have been," Weiss acknowledged. "Something about the loops-you can change what 'would have been', but not what is. I am a little upset you went stealth, but... I understand. Really." She chuckled. "I did almost the same thing when I started looping, actually."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I was worried Ruby hadn't learned her lessons, that all of my friends would have forgotten... everything. And then I panicked because Ruby wasn't at Beacon, and that just attracted hordes of Grimm when I landed in Emerald Forest. Of course, when Ruby dropped out of the sky wearing... that ridiculous armor getup, I started cursing her out, I was so relieved..." She shrugged. "We didn't find out what was happening until after Ren and Nora started looping."

"I see. It is... good to know that you have friends, in these loops."

Weiss gave Winter a sidelong glance. "Family too, now."

Her sister managed a small smile. "Yes." Her expression grew more sorrowful, her hand twitching up to her head. "Although... I do not know if that is as good for us as it is for others. How could Father be so... cruel?"

"...do you know, there was a time I didn't know if you were older or younger than me?"

Winter blinked, giving her a confused look. "I'm sorry?"

"Yggdrassil is damaged, and sometimes... that means details aren't clear." Weiss shrugged. "When the loop first activated, we went up to the breach of Vale, and then back. I knew I had a sister, and I knew her name was Winter, and beyond that... Young, old, loving, evil, I didn't even know for sure what you _looked_ like until the Vytal tournament expansions came in. And I didn't know _who_ you were until you visited." She rubbed a finger on her own ears. "Our father... well, I know what he looks like, _now_. And I've known for a while that he's uncomfortably strict, and probably racist against the Faunus. But... it varies between loops. Sometimes he just lectures me on a daily basis and pays Faunus less, or ignores their conditions. Other times... other times, he goes down to the mines personally to whip them, and the scar on my eye..."

She sighed. "I don't like loops like this. But they happen. All we can do is make them better, for everyone."

Winter pursed her lips. "Strength in adversity." She nodded. "I believe... I believe that I can work with that."

"...You know," Weiss offered, "I was really excited when you came to visit me. It was... one of the happiest moments of my life, finally meeting my own sister. Few things top that..." She reached out, gripping her sister's hand. "This moment, here, that's among the few things."[/QUOTE]

* * *

 **29.22 Gammatron**

* * *

"Salutations, General Doyle!" Doyle's first words he heard upon awakening for the Loop were, "We are getting ready to head for Beacon!"

"Huh? O-Oh yes. Um...Thank you, Penny," Doyle thanked the gynoid, "I do hope that everything goes well. I'm still rather unsure about bringing all these ships. We may be unintentionally stirring up some issues with all these going to one location."

"Really?" Penny tilted her head.

"But, well, orders are orders, I suppose," Doyle sighed as the...darker...parts of his Loop Memories finally reached him, "...Oh my."

 ***thud***

"Oh dear. General Doyle passed out again," Penny gasped before easily picking him up and putting him in his seat on the command deck, "There we go." _'Though, this is rather strange. Is he a Looper or are we having a Fused Loop and General Ironwood was Replaced by him?'_

* * *

"Thank you again for staying with me for this meeting, Penny," Doyle thanked as the two went up an elevator.

"Of course. No matter how Loopy you might feel, I am sure that there is an Anchor to keep you here!" Penny beamed.

"...Ah...Is..." Doyle looked around, "Is that the signal that you are going through these, er, seemingly infinite 'loops' as I was told of?"

"Yes!" Penny beamed, "This is my twelfth Loop!"

"Ah...I do believe that this is my twelfth as well," Doyle smiled before holding his hand out, "General Donald Doyle of the planet Chorus."

"My name is Penny and I am combat ready!"

"Yes, well...being combat ready is good and all, but I do hope you have friends here that are also Looping. I was going to have you put into the school as a transfer student."

"Really?!" Penny gasped.

"Oh yes. The results of quite a few tests you did before we left did show good results, but being out there to experience it is far more important," Doyle noted, "I would quote William Shakespeare about the importance of interacting with others, but apparently, I am not well-versed in quotes from the man and his works."

* * *

 **29.23 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So..." Blake glanced down the table to where Ruby was having a lively one-sided discussion with Crescent Rose. "Are we... not going to say anything about this?"

Yang shrugged. "She seems pretty attached to her 'baby girl'. You want to try something, you're on your own."

"Honestly, I'm not that surprised." Weiss stirred her teacup calmly. "We may forget it, but Ruby is our Anchor. That means she sometimes spends centuries without any other loopers to talk to. Crescent Rose is a constant for her, since she can Pocket it, and therefore it makes sense she'd grow emotionally attached to a point of mentally assigning a personality. The fact that she designed and built it herself probably only amplifies the relationship."

She took a sip, pointedly not reacting to the disbelieving looks leveled at her by faunus and blonde.

"Well... okay, but... why her weapon?" Blake asked. "Why not... her hood or something?"

"Well, she can put Crescent Rose in a chair, but she wears her hood." Weiss put her teacup down. "Have you ever heard of somebody talking to a piece of clothing?"

Both girls leaned back, mumbling excuses quickly.

Weiss blinked. "...Wait. What... what am I missing here?"

"I've... looped in as Yang's scarf," Blake admitted.

"And I've been her bow a couple of times," Yang offered.

"Well, you are one of the few people who I let play with my ears."

"Aw, thanks! And you can strangle me any time okay wow that sounded _way_ more romantic in my head."

Weiss pinched her brow as the two of them descended into good natured banter. True, it was amusing and heartwarming to see their relationship in action, but it didn't make for very quiet lunches.

After a moment she picked up her tea-set and moved down to Ruby. "Room for one more?"

* * *

 **29.24 MasterOfGames**

* * *

Ruby poured a glass of milk and took a seat on her bed, scowling at the floor as she assassinated a plate full of cookies one at a time.

Across the room, Blake leaned over to Weiss. "What's up with her?" she whispered.

Weiss sighed, rolling her eyes. "She entered a 'coolest weapon' contest for all the students, with the teachers judging. With all the modifications she's made to her scythe, she thought it was a sure thing, but she got second."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"A variant of Coco. Her mini-gun was laser sighted."

"... How does that even-"

"One on each barrel. Ruby isn't even upset she lost, she's just pouting because she didn't think of it first."

Blake winced sympathetically.

* * *

 **29.25 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Yang is going to freak out when she hears you've started looping," Ruby babbled, dragging Qrow along by his wrist. "And Zwei-well, Zwei's not Awake this loop, but you can bet he's going to give you a run for your money in the Awesome department-hey Ironwood can we borrow a ship? Don't want to go super-sonic with my uncle just yet."

"Didn't you do that when you brought him here?" Ironwood asked, even as he tapped a few buttons on his scroll.

"Nah, that was basic teleportation. Didn't want to freak him out."

"Kiddo, you've completely failed in that regard," Qrow deadpanned. "Hey, Ironwood, you in these loop things too?"

"I think I just passed thirty, yes. Quick question, do you know how to pilot a dropship?"

"No."

"Yep!"

Qrow shot Ruby a surprised look. "When did you learn to pilot a dropship?"

"Variant where everyone lived on the moon. Floating continents and all that."

"Alright, you're clear to take Z-12 back to Beacon." Ironwood shut his scroll off. "If anybody asks, Qrow was piloting."

"Gotcha." Ruby threw a very sloppy and incorrect salute with a grin, dragging her uncle to the docks. "When we get back I _have_ to show you my baby girl. I've made SO many modifications over the loops, you're just going to be amazed!"

"I'm still trying to process this all. I've been trying to figure this all out for a while and... you say you've been here from the beginning?"

"I'm the Anchor, yeah. Normally there'd be a period where we tried to get you adjusted to the basics, but-I just, you're looping! And you were stealthing, which is just really annoying, but I totally get it and I forgive you-you didn't know what was going on before this, right?"

Qrow coughed. "Actually, my last loop was... the one where you had to kill Cinder because of an MLE. I was so focused on helping you recover from that I kind of... forgot to mention I was looping."

"...Oh." Ruby blinked, considered for a moment, and shrugged. "Well I guess we're going to have to talk about Cinder at some point anyway... but I have so much to show you! There's our ship." She rushed by some patrolling Knights. "Oh hey! I can totally show you my 'weapons of the loops' museum! You are going to just love the Bionicle wing, I mean they have abnormal ammo and weird weapons and so much elemental craziness going on even before you get to the toa tools-oh and I have a weaponized PLANET too!"

Her uncle stumbled into the dropship, staring at her in disbelief. "You have a... what do you mean you have a _planet?"_

"We explained the subspace pocket, right? The longer you loop, the bigger you can make it." Ruby shrugged as she started the pre-flight check. "I mean, I've tweaked it a LOT, mostly covering the safety flaws and making sure if it does degrade I can dump it without losing the rest of my stuff-"

"Ruby, I'm willing to accept a lot, and that you've become... awesome, but can you slow down a little? Please?"

Ruby paused in her launch check, spinning around in her chair. Qrow was sagging against one of the bulkheads, tired eyes trying to keep up.

"...oh." She twiddled her fingers together. "Sorry, I just... well, I've been living with this for so long, and you said you were stealthing, so I thought... you'd adjust quickly, and... I guess I got ahead of myself. Sorry."

Qrow sighed. "It's... fine, kiddo. The fact you're so eager even after all these loops you've been through..." He chuckled. "I guess I can see why you were made Anchor. It says a lot that you focus on the fun parts, and don't let it drag you down."

"...Much." Ruby sighed. "I don't let it drag me down _much."_

"...Hey." The man walked up, sitting down next to her. "You know what? Why don't we talk about this 'baby girl' of yours while we fly?"

She smiled, spinning back to the controls. "Yeah, Crescent Rose has grown into an impressive piece of equipment. I've managed to rig up this laser-scythe mode, which cuts through metal like it wasn't even there..."

* * *

 **29.26**

* * *

"...Nora," Ren asked. "What. Is. That."

Nora tapped the growling box. "This is a special gift from a super secret admir-"

"You got me a gift."

Nora deflated, literally. "Sure, take the fun out of it."

Ren looked at the growling, shaking box. He knew he shouldn't open it. It was a gift. From Nora. _That growled._

He pulled the lid off.

* * *

"So... Why are refugees streaming into my domain," Salem asked Ren.

Ren handed Salem a set of binoculars. The evil mistress of all Grimm who was hell bent of wiping mankind and Faunuskind from existence looked in the general direction of Vale. "That's a tentacle monster."

"Yup."

"You've evacuated Vale and are currently requesting that I give the entire population of the Kingdom refuge in my domain, because of a tentacle monster."

"Correct."

"Well that makes sense," Salem decided, waving over a few Beowulves. "Welcome the guests, be cordial, don't eat anyone. And mister Lie Ren."

"Yes."

"How did this occur, exactly."

Ren very gently tugged the binoculars to the side. Salem took note of the girl in pink who was screaming at the top of her lungs as the slimy, throbbing, squirming tentacle monster had a tea party with her.

...That isn't a euphemism by the way. It was literally pouring and drinking tea with it's captive audience. Nora seemed to be screaming about how much she hated Chai. "Ren."

"Yes Salem."

"I am glad that sometimes, I am not Looping."

"Being Loop Aware will do that for you."

* * *

 **29.27 Masterweaver**

* * *

In the vastness of the multiverse, on a branch of a multi-dimensional tree, in a flower that was also a digital file, in the damaged yet still living reality, in a certain galaxy, orbiting a certain star, on a certain planet with a certain shattered moon, on a specific continent, in a specific kingdom, in a specific training facility for a specific kind of warrior, in an otherwise unremarkable courtyard, on an otherwise unremarkable bench...

Weiss Schnee sat, spending the quiet day reading stories from other worlds on her scroll.

Well, it _was_ quiet until an all-too-familiar red flash announced the presence of her team leader, perching on the back of the bench. "Hi Weiss! Whacha dooooin'?"

"Wondering how much Isabella is going to sue you for stealing her catchphrase."

"I'm pretty sure the Yakko versus Sokka case proved that cross-universal usage of personally utilized verbal structures does not qualify as copyright or trademark violation," Ruby Rose pointed out. "I mean, that's what Maya Fey told me, and she was _there_."

"...Okay, I want the court records for that," Weiss stated. "It sounds like a horrible but hilarious mess of law and antics."

"Well, I don't have them on me but I'll ask around." The redhead swung over the back of the bench and sat down next to her partner. "Seriously, though, what are you doing? Cause I'm bored and I figured I'd join in if I could."

"Reading hubverse fanfic of us."

"Wow. Narcissist much?"

The heiress half smirked, rolling her eyes. "You know, I could justify this by saying I'm reading this stuff to prepare for weird variants."

"Yes, you could. So what's the fic you're reading now called?"

"...Weiss Reacts, volume three."

"Oh, you're right, that's absolutely not narcissistic at all." Ruby leaned over her shoulder. "What's it about?"

"A very short-tempered version of myself reads Hubverse fanfiction, whilst dealing with highly exaggerated and sometimes completely out of character versions of our friends and family. Started off pure comedy, but began to develop a dramatic plot after a while... and incredibly meta. It's not something I'd call a 'major' fic, aside from length, but it's entertaining if you have a few hours to kill."

"Well, that's an interesting review." The Grimm Reaper gave a sly grin. "I guess you could say that it's how Weiss reacts to Weiss Reacts."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yes, ha ha. If we really wanted to complete the mirror, though, we'd need Yang and Blake."

"Did I hear somebody call for their daily dose of awesome?" Yang Xiao Long declared as she and Blake Belladona strolled up to the bench.

"Well, yeah," Ruby replied, "but since Pyrrha's not Awake I guess you'll have to do."

"GASP! My heart!" The blonde clutched at her chest. "How could my own _sister_ say such a horrible terrible thing?! I can't take this, the agony, the pain!"

She turned and buried her head into Blake's shoulder, weeping melodramatically as the Faunus patted her hair comfortingly. "There, there, Yang, I'm sure she'll come to her senses soon enough."

Weiss and Ruby watched the pair in bemusement.

"So!" Yang turned back to them, a wide grin on her face. "What are you two up to?"

"Reading a fanfic about us reading fanfics," Weiss replied.

"Huh. That's oddly recursive."

"Well, we are in an endless recursion of time," Blake pointed out.

"Good point." Yang leaned over Weiss's shoulder. "So what's the likelihood we'll end up encountering this version of ourselves?"

"The fic's set two or three years after we arrived at Beacon. Our loop only goes for one year. So, barring some extensive expansions or an obscene number of glitches..." Weiss shrugged. "Pretty much nil. Honestly, I'm just reading it for fun at this point."

Blake held out her scroll. "Mind swiping me a copy?"

"Sure." Weiss flicked her finger across the scroll. "Actually, the portrayal of your character is an interesting contrast to your actual personality."

"Really?"

"Aside from being one of the many characters aware of the fourth wall, she's also obsessed with being the most macho and I quote 'manly' person around, to a point where she hero-worships Kamina and invokes spiral power. And apparently spends time building humongous mecha..."

Blake rose an eyebrow. "...well. That's... certainly _unique.._."

"Ooo, what about the rest of us?" Ruby asked eagerly. "Do we get fun and wacky personalities too?"

"Well, you kind of don't. The fic keeps you mostly 'innocent', with a few quirks like talking to Crescent Rose and secretly having fantasies over your love interest, but I think you're mostly there as a sounding board for the Weiss rants." She shrugged. "Yang, though, is fourth-wall-aware and equal parts pervert and prankster, both shielding a surprisingly delicate and overprotective personality which she is terrified to reveal."

"Scale of one to ten," Yang interjected, "how accurate is that?"

"Seven," Blake replied offhand. "You're creative but you respect the sensibility of others."

"Five," Ruby added. "Granted, being the little sis means I don't see as much of it but it is a part of you."

"...flexible between four point five and seven point five," Weiss hedged. "It depends on how much of an adrenaline rush you have and who's present."

Yang gave her a look. "Using a flexible measure on a point scale is cheating."

"Using a point scale to measure a living personality is almost impossible."

"That... is an excellent point!" the blonde admitted.

Blake frowned. "So... Velvet's apparently yandere for Weiss in this?"

Weiss shrugged. "CFVY was loop variable even when we activated, and we had two volumes worth of baseline. This fic was started back when the Hub only had volume 1."

"Huh. You know, sometimes I forget the Hub isn't static." Ruby frowned in contemplation. "Has... Velvet ever been yandere for you?"

"...some loops, yes. I'm alright with one-loop stands, but I usually have to sit her down and explain she can't get jealous just because I talk to you guys."

"Oh, yeah, I know how that is." Ruby sighed. "Variants can get super awkward super fast."

Yang patted her shoulder. "Hey, if you need me to go kick anybody's ass-"

"Nah, after I Wake Up I usually deal with it quickly. Besides, I don't really count my unawake self's romances as 'real.' If I did, you'd have to beat up literally everybody on Remnant-and honestly, Yang, I don't feel comfortable thinking of you like that."

"Right back at you sis."

"What's this Antic order they keep mentioning?" Blake asked.

"Apparently a combination multiversal Illuminati and pranking club," Weiss explained. "Surprisingly the source of a lot of the longer plotlines, once they get past the pieing and various other traps."

Yang scoffed. "Pies are for quick gags, not pranks. If one is ranked among loopers, only the GREATEST of SHENANIGANS can be allowed to pass our rigorous test for amusement!"

"Sometimes I wonder if you take your schemes too seriously," Blake deadpanned.

"This from the girl who named her weapon _Gambol_ Shroud." Yang huffed. "I checked-thesaurus dot com lists gambol in the synonyms for prank."

"...why would you even check that?"

"Don't ask," Ruby interjected. "Trust me, it was a Hub loop and... yeah, just don't ask."

"It wasn't that bad," Weiss insisted.

"It really was."

"Nobody got hurt, and we needed a new house anyway."

Blake put down her scroll. "I'm trying to determine if I should be curious or not."

"Not to put to fine a point on this," Ruby said as she examined her fingers, "but there's this saying about cats and curiosity..."

"Satisfaction brought her back," Yang replied, sticking her tongue out at her sister. "That's the full saying."

"I'm going to let that one pass, both since I walked into it and since Yang defended my honor."

"Awwww, you do care! Let's make my sis uncomfortable."

Ruby mock gagged as the two began an over-the-top makeout. "Stop taunting me with your relationship! Seriously, you're embarrassing yourselves!"

"No they're not," Weiss said with a smile, not even looking behind her. "Although, yeah, that is probably the least romantic way you could have started a makeout session. Ruby, which one's flipping me off?"

"Actually, Yang's making a talking hand, and Blake is using sign language to insult your family line."

"That's a duel of honor, then. Tomorrow at noon?"

"Blake says yes."

With a gasp, the two lovers parted lips. Yang adjusted her hair. "Right. Well. What were we... that fic. About fics." She paused. "What are the ships?"

"Late-game Arkos, delayed Ice Rose, and possibly Bumblebee."

"You've been on a shipfest lately," Ruby noted.

"Found a spreadsheet of shipnames on the hub internet. There are a lot of puns and jokes. I want to fill in the blank spaces."

"...Hmm. Neptune-Penny, Waterproof."

"Bam." Yang whipped out her scroll. "That's great. That's going in."

"How would that even work?" Blake asked. "Where would the chemistry be?"

"Naive gynoid believes Neptune is cool guy and Neptune tries to keep up appearances to impress her?" Weiss suggested.

Blake paused. "Is it weird we're talking about shipping our friends?"

Ruby shrugged. "Enh, it's not as weird as Weiss's nudist phase."

Weiss gave her a glassy smile. "Yes, _thank_ you for reminding of that, Ruby. I had just about repressed those memories."

"I do what I can!" Ruby chuckled, before sighing. "But in all seriousness, the relationship of ourselves to the selves portrayed in fanfiction is an interesting exploration of identity as it applies to timelessness. Without such paths to consider and results to meander, would we not detach entirely from our chosen roles? Would not the weight of ages alter us more than it has, if we did not have reminders of the personas we began with and how they can change? I for one know that much of my own mentality, my own happy personality, is but a fragile shell that keeps my mind from exploding considering the implications of our situation. Even the silliest little ditty is that much more defense against complete loss of our minds to the oblivion of pointlessness, a meaning made in a meaningless world."

Her teammates stared at her for a few quiet seconds.

Then Weiss wrapped her arms around her, followed in moments by Yang and Blake.

"Wha-?!" Ruby shook her head, managing to smile. "Guys, this isn't-"

"Shhhhhhhh." Blake tapped her arm. "We're here for you, Ruby."

The redhead shook her head. "I'm sorry, I... just had to get that out. A few too many lonely loops. I'm not going to start writing angsty poetry or anything."

Yang grinned. "Yeah, you'd make a terrible goth."

"Hey! I wear black and red and... and skirts! I'm an awesome goth!"

"You're kind of too cheery to pull it off," Weiss pointed out. "And no piercings. Really you're more of a perky goth than anything."

Ruby grumped. "Fine. So I can't do angst. Sue me." She paused. "...and as nice as this group hug is, I can't feel my arms anymore. Please let go?"

The others disentangled themselves. After a moment Weiss cleared her throat. "Well... that was actually oddly philosophical."

"Weiss, what do you expect when you react to something called Weiss Reacts? It's a fanfic about you reading fanfics, an additional recursion in an already endless recursion of time!" Ruby threw her arms wide. "I don't know how this could possibly get any more meta!"

"WHAT'S UP IN THE HIZZZZZZZZY?!" Deadpool cried as he kicked open the door.

"I just had to tempt fate, didn't I?" Ruby groaned.

Weiss stared at him. "Are you Yggdrassil's go-to punchline for post-modernism?"

"You're going to make everything complicated," Blake sighed, "aren't you?"

"We're in a courtyard!" Yang complained. "Did you plant a doorframe in the grass just so you could kick it open?"

"In order: Yes, yes, yes, and HELL yes! You asked for more meta, so now it's time-"

He ripped off his pants, revealing the bell-bottom jeans underneath, and tied them around his head.

"FOR THE META SHUFFLE!"

The following dance party ran through the entirety of Vale, demolished Atlas academy, caused the Grimm to swear off evil, jumped loops through five different worlds, accidentally de-extinctified the dinosaurs, generated an obscene number of glitches, rendered Freakazoid speechless, reformed the Imperium of Man into a libertarian democratic republic, and ended up saddling Marianne Columbia with an extra three weeks of paperwork as she tried to work out exactly what had happened.

* * *

 **29.28 Masterweaver**

* * *

James Ironwood closed the door behind him gently. "Penny, we need to talk."

"Of course general!" the gynoid chirped, saluting brightly. "What do you need?"

"I'm not talking as a general. I'm talking as a concerned..." Ironwood faltered. "...family member. Probably an uncle."

"Like Qrow is for Ruby?"

"...Somewhat," the general admitted.

"In that case, should I refer to you as uncle Jamie? Or uncle Ironwood? I'm unfamiliar with uncle protocols."

"Honestly, I don't know either. We can figure that out later." Ironwood strode to his desk, sitting down. "At the moment, I'm more concerned about your... _reaction_ to the loop you were human."

Force of habit led Penny to sit in the chair across from him. "Like I told Ruby, I only cut my hand to see if I could bleed. I did not, and still do not, feel comfortable with the concept of self-harm."

"That's reassuring, but not what I was worried about." The general folded his hands together, fixing her with a serious look. "Why, exactly, did you feel it necessary to engage in... intimate activities?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Why is it always the _sex_ people worry about...?"

"Penny..."

"Gener-Uncle, I am not a mindless hedonist," she stated quickly. "I only had a limited time to experience any and all pleasures of flesh, which includes a broad spectrum of senses that most people take for granted. Honestly, I spent most of my spare time that loop smelling flowers and dirty socks." She sagged. "I miss that, actually. I've been looking into artificial noses, but outside some very specific loops the technology is incredibly rare and difficult to adjust to my frame..."

Ironwood took a moment to process that statement. "...If I find myself in a loop with the technology, I'll see if I can get some blueprints. That said... the reason I am concerned about you having... sex, is because it is by it's very nature intimate and requires both partners to trust each other implicitly. A little exploration is acceptable, I just... I don't know." He put his head in his hands. "It's just, since your father isn't looping, I... feel I have a responsibility toward you. And that means when I hear about you having... encounters, I have to worry."

Penny tilted her head, taking in the image before her. After a moment, she sat up straight. "If it helps... Sun was very respectful of me and my situation."

"That... is good to hear, I suppose..." After a moment, the man sighed. "I'm going to have to talk to Qrow, aren't I? Get advice about all of this."

"You may," Penny conceded. "And perhaps Jaune and... miss Nikos." She suppressed a shudder. "But... for the record, I don't think you're doing too horribly."

That, at least, got a wry chuckle from the general. "...Thanks, Penny. You... you can go now."

"Very well." Penny stood, turning for the door.

Then she paused.

After a moment, she ran around the desk and gave Ironwood a brief hug. "Familial love expression!"

He looked up in shock, but the gynoid had quickly left the room. It took a second or two, but a small smile did flicker across his face.

* * *

 **A/N: End**


	30. The Grand Announcement

**30.1**

Inside of Team JNPR's room, Pyrrha fidgeted, shifting her hands from side to side and rubbing her fingers between one another. Jaune glanced at her and slipped one hand into hers, a small comfort. She smiled, and together, somewhat calmer, they waited.

Ren and Nora soon returned to the room, hot and exhausted from their long training session in Mountain Glen. Ren gave his adoptive parents a quick nod before grabbing a protein shake. Nora, lacking subtly, jumped between them both. "Hi guys! You should have been there, there was this giant King Taijitu!"

"That's sounds great Nora," Jaune said. "But we have better news. You guys might want to sit down."

"Wait, wait, let me guess..." Nora said, pondering. "Oh, we've gotten the expansion." It took her a moment to realize what she had just said. "WE'VE GOTTEN THE NEW EXPANSION! AWESOME! What's volume 4 like? Did Boop sink or sail? Tell me, tell me!"

"That's not it Nora, the expansion hasn't happened," Pyrrha said, stifling a laugh at her adoptive daughter's antics. Her eyes turned misty, joy seeping into her form. "It's even better than that."

"Uh... You've been..." Nora thought to herself. "Um. Okay. I got nothing."

Ren nodded to both of them, making sure to down his shake and sit down before something comically shocking happened.

"We know that, considering everything that's happened and what can happen, it may not be the best choice, but your mother and I have put a lot of thought into it."

"We're going to get married!"

A moment ticked by. Ren choked on air. Nora, normally so energetic, fainted outright. Jaune and Pyrrha smiled, and waited.

Nora woke up and promptly shattered everyone's ear drums with her squeal. "OH MY BIRCH! YOURE GETTING MARRIED! I, I, AHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHAH!" Nora trapped both of her parents in a bear hug. "THIS IS AMAZING! I GET TO HAVE A MARRIED MOM AND DAD!"

Jaune stroked Nora's hair. That was his little girl. Loud, proud, and so much alive. Such a perfect little angel.

Ren, however, was crying.

Getting to her feet and healing her eardrums, Pyrrha sat down next to Ren. "Ren, I know that this may be a shock. I'm sor-" She was cut off by the arms locking around her torso.

"Thank you," Ren said through the sobs. "Thank y-you. Thank you."

"I-"

"I've never... Never had a m-mom or dad before you two." Ren looked at his parents, joy beyond compare, joy unique to their world, coloring his magenta eyes with love. "T-thank you."

Nora dropped in and hugged Ren. Then Jaune hugged them all. And for a moment, everything was peaceful.

"But you'll be the ones to tell Ruby and her team."

She wouldn't admit it, but Pyrrha blushed. "I was actually hoping Nora would do that."

"Can I watch?"

"We'll just burst our eardrums again," Jaune said wryly.

"...It'll be worth it," Pyrrha said, grinning at her fiancé.

"Congratulations! And of course I'd love to come, I'm honored that you would invite me to your wedding."

"Well, you did teach Jaune that privacy spell," Pyrrha joked.

"Have you used it yet?" the purple twi'lek teased.

Pyrrha blushed. "Not personally, but Jaune taught Blake how to cast it so..." She shook her head. "In all seriousness, Twilight, we don't have any biological relatives looping, and since he was your brother that one time-"

"I understand the sentiment, believe me." Twilight Sparkle smiled gently. "Like I said, I'm... honored that you'd think of me for this. Is there any way I could help?"

"Well..." The red-headed girl fiddled with the mug in her hands. "Whenever the loop does happen, we're going to have to do some cleaning up beforehand. Exterminating the Grimm, dealing with Salem, the whole Fall Maiden thing... one of the more delicate issues is the White Fang and general Faunus oppression, to be honest. Would you be willing to, I don't know, friendship blast Schnee senior and Adam Taurus?"

Twilight took a hiss of breath. "Well... I think the Elements of Harmony _would_ work to fix that but... Me and the other original bearers have been the only ones to figure out how to use them outside of Equestria aaaaaand, well, us ponies have a _bit_ of a reputation in the loops. If six of us were present, it would... I don't want to overshadow your wedding, is what I'm saying."

"I suppose that's fair," Pyrrha acknowledged with a nod.

"I mean I _guess_ I could rig up a one-shot with some element husks, or maybe a G1 rainbow of light-if flat out psychology didn't do the trick." She shrugged. "We'll see how it works."

"Sure. Oh, I just thought of something! Spike and Rarity still have their wedding rings, right? Do you know how they keep track of them?"

"Actually, yes. Diamond came up with a pretty impressive spell-hold on." The twi'lek produced what looked to be a high-tech black box. "This is an autocaster, Vinyl made it. Let me just program the enchantment in."

Pyrrha looked at the object curiously. "Enchantment?"

"Yes. Diamond's spell attunes objects to their first wearer, and it has a bit of precog built in-essentially, Spike and Rarity's rings automatically drop into their pocket before the loop ends." Twilight tapped a few final keys. "So, basically, when you stick your ring in here-or necklace or whatever, don't want to make cultural assumptions-the same spell will be cast. Then you put it on and... never lose it again."

The redhead stared in awe as her alien friend pushed the box across the table. "This... this is an incredible gift. I don't... are you sure it's okay for me to take this?"

"I have the blueprints, I can always make another autocaster. Besides, it's... better to get this done ahead of time, right?"

"I... yes." Pyrrha pocketed the box. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Oh, just so we're clear, this isn't a wedding gift. This is just... a friend helping out with the details." Twilight grinned. "Your actual wedding gift, weeeeeeell, I'll keep that secret for now."

 **30.2 Masterweaver**

"So. You and Yang."

Blake looked up from her copy of _Geisha of Gion,_ an eyebrow arcing as she looked at Qrow. "This is going to be one of _those_ talks, isn't it?"

"Hey, what can I say. I care for my nieces, and that sometimes means doing the dirty work."

"Like hiding and trying to figure out everything yourself instead of asking for help?"

Qrow frowned. "It made sense at the time."

"A lot of mistakes do." Blake put her book down. "Let me go through the basics first. Would I die for her? Yes, but that's not really a fair question to ask a Looper, temp-death and all that. Would I _live_ for her? Obviously, though not to a point of obsession-that's not good for either of us. Would I wait for her? Again, Looper, entirely unfair, but yes. Would I suffer for her? All things considered... yes. Yes I would. Would I ever hurt her? Not intentionally, and I'd try to mend any pain I accidentally caused. Do I know her favorite food and/or color and/or kind of music? Yes, yes, and yes. Anything I missed?"

The raven-haired man rubbed his scraggly chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Could ask what you'd do if she went insane and became a world-threatening monster."

"Assuming nobody fed her a burrito, probably help bring her down and get her psychological help."

"...A _burrito?"_

"Long story, involves what I'm pretty sure is a Mythos virus. And lots of tissue paper."

"Have to get that story later. Okay, here's one." Qrow pointed at the book. "If you're serious, why are you reading that?"

She didn't bat an eye. "Reference material."

"...that is a surprisingly difficult to refute answer. So another one: Who's usually on top?"

"Whichever one of us feels more comfortable," the faunus replied, only barely blushing.

"Uh-huh." Qrow leaned in, peering at her golden eyes. "Alright. Last question-five words or less. How does she make you _feel?"_

Blake was silent, for a few moments. Her hands twitched, one clutching the other.

"...Calm. Happy. Safe..." She let out a slow, quiet breath. "At _home_."

Qrow stared at her for a while.

Eventually, he pulled away, cracking his back. "Welp, I don't think I need to do anything else here. Yang's a big girl, she probably knows what she's doing."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Probably." After a moment, she gained a small smile. "So. Any tips you want to give me?"

"If you want to beat her at a video game, you have to distract her." He gave her a saucy smirk. "Should be pretty easy for you, though."

She frowned. "You know I'm dating your niece, right?"

"And she has excellent taste. Okay, okay," he held up his hands as she stood, "I'll stop. Got to go anyway, Ozpin wants to talk to me about some Maiden stuff." He backed out the door. "Oh, and if Yang asks, I terrified you into submission."

"She's not going to buy that."

"Hey, I'm the super-awesome uncle. I can terrify all the girlfriends I want." With a final salute, Qrow sauntered down the hall.

Blake stared after him for a moment. "...Yang," she asked the air, "why is your family so crazy? And why am I perfectly fine with that?"

 **30.3 Masterweaver**

"...so after I adjust your recoil, I was thinking that we'd _WHOAHOhoha!"_ Ruby Rose quickly pocketed Crescent Rose and shielded her eyes.

"Oh! Hello again!"

"Oh, ah, hey Pyrrha." Ruby averted her eyes, letting them rove across the ceiling. "Well, I can see you're busy, so I'll show myself out-"

"Actually, I could use your help with this." Pyrrha turned, gesturing toward the forge next to her. "I need some advice."

"Uh..." Clearing her throat, Ruby let herself look at the mistral champion. She was wearing a heavy blacksmith's apron, thick leather gloves and boots, and a set of safety goggles.

She _wasn't_ wearing anything else.

"First bit of advice... maybe put on some clothes?"

"Oh, don't worry," Pyrrha said dismissively, "I picked up heat resistance when I was a firebender."

"That's not-hold on, why would you be a _fire_ bender? I thought with your magnetic abilities you'd be in the Earth Kingdom!"

"Republic City, mixed heritage."

"Ah, fair enough." Ruby coughed. "That said... _why_ are you naked in the first place?"

"It helps me get accurate measurements," Pyrrha explained.

"For... what?"

"Come over, I'll show you." She turned back to the forge (and Ruby quickly darted forward with a squeak, just so she had an excuse to look elsewhere), reaching into the burning coals with a set of tongs. "See, I'm forging a set of armor to wear at my wedding with Jaune. It's a bit ceremonial, so of course I want it to... you know, emphasize my form, but at the same time I want it to be functional."

"So...?"

Pyrrha pulled out a breastplate, covered in arrow and spiral designs. "At the moment, this is backless-show off the shoulders, you know? But that leaves me open on the off chance that somebody tries a backstab. So I'm trying to figure out if I should alter it or not..."

Ruby considered the metal before her. "What if... what if you added a cape? I mean, it is your wedding-long flowing fabric is expected. And if the fabric can turn aside blades somehow, while still being kinda translucent-or you could make a chainmail cape, or some fancy interlocking scale... things."

"...Hmm. Yes... yes, I think I could make that work." Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you for the idea!"

"You're welcome! Um, you may want to put some clothes on, though... in case anybody else wanders in..."

"...Oh! Yes, I forgot about that." In a second she was clothed, although she seemed not to notice that what the was wearing was a slinky black catsuit. "There we go."

"Uh... yeah. I'll just... go find Jaune, keep him distracted so the armor's a surprise, yeah?"

"That's would be very helpful, thank you!"

Ruby backed out of the forge slowly, before running up the stairs. After she was out of earshot, she unpocketed her weapon. "I'm so sorry you had to see that, baby girl. Some people just go crazy sometimes..."

 **30.4 Masterweaver and Me**

"Jaune! Pyrrha! How are you...?"

Ruby trailed off. Both of her friends were technically smiling, but Jaune was wringing his hands and Pyrrha's eye twitched every so often.

"Oh. Bad loop?"

"No," Pyrrha quickly replied. "Just... a rather severe case of cognitive dissonance."

"Nora and Ren woke up early," Jaune explained. "And they headed to the orphanage to, you know, help out there, and they found two familiar infants..."

"I'm trying to reconcile my daughter as my mother." Pyrrha laughed, just a little too high. "She wasn't a bad mother, but-"

"We'll be okay," Jaune assured her. "We just need time."

Ruby nodded, sitting down next to the two. "I know how that is. There are some variant loops where Summer and Raven are my little girls by Qrow and Tiyang. It's all very freudian." She grinned. "But hey, now you can say you're your own grandparents!"

That did not seem to have the tension-breaking effect she wanted.

…

"...No. No, no, no no no nononononono NO!"

Ruby winced sympathetically. "Uncle Qrow, it's not that-"

"It's worse!"

Ruby looked down on her son. Her uncle Qrow. Eventually, she nodded. "Yeah, this sucks."

…

"Hmm," said Weiss, looking up at her mother.

"Hmm," said Winter, looking down at her daughter.

The sisters stared at each other for a while.

"So, besides the fact that you're going to inherit the company after a tragic and utterly unpredictable accident occurs, does this change anything about our relationship?" Weiss asked, her voice as calm as a windless shark-filled ocean.

"I reserve the right to send you badly knitted sweaters, and shower you with fancy gifts," Winter replied, cool as the season she was named for. "If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare a public release of Schnee senior's various crimes."

303030

 **30.5 Shimmer712**

303030

Jaune sat up with a yawn. Then blinked as he looked around the room.

"What the hell?" he muttered briefly. Frowning, he got out of bed and walked until he was in the middle of the room. from his position, he could see a couple of arcade machines, a zipline, a basketball hoop, a computer system with four monitors, a climbing wall (with no safety mats, he noted. Maybe they were stored away?), a foosball table and much more.

"This loop, I'm a rich boy," he muttered.

"This seems more like a zoo exhibit featuring a teenaged boy than a bedroom," a voice stated. Jaune turned around.

"Blake?" he blinked at the small cat-like creature.

"Kwami of Destruction and Bad Luck at your service," she intoned. Jaune blinked as the loop memories kicked in.

"Oh, right," Jaune nodded. "Have you been Awake for long?"

"I only woke up after you fell asleep last night," Blake told him.

"So...I'm a superhero and you're my...power source? mentor? this loop, right?" Jaune clarified.

"Pretty much," Blake nodded. "And you recall how I use cheese to recharge this loop?"

"Yeah, that's in the loop memories," Jaune told her.

"My counterpart, the Kwami of Creation and Good Luck uses cookies to recharge," Blake said matter of factly.

"...It's Ruby, isn't it?"

"Do you need to ask?" Blake gave him a look. "And I think her chosen for the loop is Pyrrha, since Ladybug is a green-eye red head this loop."

"Ladybug?"

"The Miraculous Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir," Blake clarified. "I saw a few episodes in the hub and baseline Ladybug has dark blue hair and blue eyes. And Pyrrha is replacing her civilian self at least. So you and your girlfriend are a couple of superhero idols this loop."

"Cool! I always wanted to be a hero when I was kid!"

"Pyrrha? Why are you pocketing all the Jaune posters?"

The Mistral Champion flushed. "I'm just...I mean..." she stammered.

"Seriously, he's you're boyfriend, and with how serious you two are, odds are you'll be seeing more of him than the posters show. Heck, I'll bet you've already seen more of him!" Ruby waved her little arms, antennae twitching. "So why?"

"Well, some of those clothes do look good on him?" Pyrrha said. "And I can have them with me even when he's not in the loop with me."

"Using them for your "alone time," huh?"

"NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Whatever you say, Pyrrha," Ruby said soothingly. "Now, can you get me more cookies?"

"I have some in my bag," Pyrrha told her. "For you to eat through the day while I'm in class and in case there are any attacks and you need to recharge."

Ruby sighed happily. "I hope I keep the whole "recharge by eating cookies" thing," she said.

 **30.6 DrTempo**

Jenny Wakeman, AKA XJ-9, Awoke in an odd place. As she looked around, she saw a mirror and noticed she looked like she did when she did worn the exoskin the second time around(thankfully, had long since worked out the bugs on that.) Her Loop Memories hit, and Jenny sighed.

"The Remnant Loop? Hoo boy...last time I was here, I nearly got turned into scrap. Stupid Cinder..." Jenny used a Ping, and got a few Pings back in reply. Suddenly, someone ran up and hugged her.

"Hello, sister! I am glad to see you're Awake!"

Hey, Penny...Wait, the way you said that last word...Are you Looping now?"

Penny nodded. "Yep! And you are..."

Jenny offered her hand. "Jenny Wakeman, Anchor of my home Loop."

"Pleasure to meet you!"

Ironwood then walked in, and said, "Good morning Jenny, Penny. Both of you are Awake, I assume?"

Jenny said, "You Looping too?"

Ironwood said, "Yes, I am."

Jenny facepalmed.

"Why is it Loopers around here always tend to Awaken in pairs? Anyhow, I have some ideas for some upgrades. I've been in a few Loops with X and Zero, so I have the blueprints for some of the tech from there. Trust me, an X-Buster is a lot more useful than all the weapons I have in baseline..."

A few hours later, Ironwood was already preparing blueprints based off of Jenny's ideas.

"I have to admit, Miss Wakeman, these designs are pretty good. I have to met someday."

"Yeah. He is probably the greatest robot designer in the Loops." Jenny then ducked a charge shot from Penny's new arm cannon.

"Watch it, Penny! For all we know, I'm the only Anchor in this Loop! If you'd hit me with that, we'd be "Eiken' in the morning!"

Ironwood facepalmed. "Ugh...that pun was almost as bad as the ones Yang loves to use."

Jenny chuckled. "My bad. Couldn't help but make that pun. Anyway, any ideas on where Cinder is this Loop? Last time I was here, I nearly suffered Penny's baseline fate." Penny frowned, and Jenny quickly hugged her.

"Oh no...I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Jenny. But, how DID you get out of that situation?"

"Pyrrha Awoke just in time to prevent me from becoming scrap. Five minutes later, Cinder was toast thanks to my X-Buster. Never anger an Anchor."

 **30.7 Masterweaver**

Hey Ruby, how are-UMPH!" Cinder shook her head, chuckling as her 'sister' squeezed the breath out of her. "Hey! Hey, I'm okay. It's okay."

"But the last loop you were awake-"

"-was horrible, and I'm honestly glad you... ended my pain. Don't worry about it," Cinder assured her. "As soon as I Woke Up I took some time to meditate and... clear all _that_ out of my head. All I needed was a regular, non-null loop."

"You're sure?" Ruby leaned back. "You're absolutely sure you're okay?"

"For the most part. I'm good." Cinder ruffled her hair absentmindedly. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, a _lot_ has happened since that loop." Ruby released her from the hug, only to grab her hand and drag her down the now-familiar road to the ice cream store. "Ironwood and Penny, they started looping, and it turns out that Qrow and Winter were stealthing-thought it was Salem's fault, but they actually revealed themselves not too long after Ironwood and Penny did-"

"They-all of them are looping?"

"Yep!"

Cinder pulled away from her grasp, wringing her hands. "That's... great!" she said through a clenched smile. "I mean, that's... I'm happy you have more looping friends now, I just..."

Ruby turned to give her a reassuring look. "I did tell them you're not the same as baseline."

"Yes, well, just telling them... doesn't mean they're going to like me right off the bat." She took a breath. "Are... any of them Awake right now?"

"No, not this loop. Unless they Wake Up later." Ruby shrugged. "Look, you don't have to meet them right away. They're still all adjusting to the loops-none of them have had a fused loop yet, can you believe it? But you really shouldn't put this off too long."

"Yeah... I'll think about it." Cinder took a breath. "Four new loopers. Wow."

"Yeah. Oh!" Ruby grinned broadly. "I have even more amazing news!"

"Did you start dating Weiss?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Actually, you may want to brace yourself for this."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, tell me what's going on."

Ruby took in a long, overly dramatic breath that literally forced her three feet into the air. Then, in one loud shout, she released it. "JAUNE AND PYRRHA ARE GETTING _**MARRIED!"**_

"...Wow. That... that's impressive." Cinder tapped her ears. "I think I'm actually deaf. Oh, and the wedding's pretty great too."

"I know, isn't it amazing?"

"I wasn't kidding about the deaf thing, I actually can't hear you."

 **30.8**

"Hey, Sun!"

Sun Wukong and his buddy Neptune stopped when Ruby called for them. "Oh hey Ruby. What you uh woah woah!"

Ruby walked up to Sun, a snarling Beowulf in hand. "Hi! I'm testing out new ways to kill Grimm and I got an idea from Weiss. Can I borrow your abs for a minute?"

Sun looked at the Beowulf, activated his aura, and posed. "Show that Grimm who's boss."

Ruby took the Beowulf by the head, set it against Sun's abdominals, and started rubbing. She ended up with fancy shredded Grimm in about five seconds flat. By the ten second mark she had worn away the entire Grimm. And at fifteen seconds she had switched to a block of cheese and was preparing grilled cheese sandwiches.

Sun, Neptune and Ruby all agreed that Sun's abs were awesome and made great sandwiches over lunch.

[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE="Masterweaver, post: 24975749, member: 287782"]Sure thing! But right now, YangBlake cutezies.

Some days, a couple just needed to cuddle. No high-end energetic sex, no melodramatic weeping breakdowns ending in heartwarming hugs, just the physical acknowledgement and acceptance of each other. Many people might have been surprised that Yang Xaio Long, puncher of explosions and general firebombshell personality, was even aware of the concept. Yet, here she was, one arm half wrapped around her lady, eyes shut with a faint smile as she idly let her fingers scritch the place where fuzzy ear met raven hair. Even more surprising was the fact that Blake was not complaining at all; had anybody else attempted to even _poke_ her feline finery, they would have ended up wondering exactly how they ended up gagged and dangling upside down from the cafeteria roof dressed only in scented tinsel that attracted the attention of hungry ravens. And more pertinently, how they would get down. But in spite of all the odds, at this moment Yang Xiao Long was calmly and happily rubbing the ears of Blake Belladonna, who calmly and happily accepted the treatment, and they calmly and happily basked in each other's presence.

Perhaps, in fact, a little _too_ calmly and happily.

Yang's smile didn't quite fade, but it _did_ lessen as she became aware of an... odd noise. Except noise wasn't quite the right word-a noise was heard via ears, and this subtle vibration reached her senses through the bones of her arm. At first she dismissed it as an illusion, perhaps some subtle quake caused by a duel elsewhere on campus. But as her fingers kept their subtle dance in Blake's hair, the faint sensation began to grow stronger, deeper, more... rhythmic.

With a frown, she opened her eyes, trying not to disturb her companion even as she searched for the odd feeling's source. There didn't seem to be any rumblings, if the still glass on Weiss's desk was anything to go by; no magic spells or other trickery was visible from her position, and to look around even a little would disturb the delicate cuddling balance-something Yang really did not want to do.

The rumbling grew more present, more potent, and she let her eyes drift to its seeming origin. Her arm was wrapped around Blake-smiling Blake, eyes shut Blake, a rare Blake indeed-and even as her fingers still twiddled with the pair of triangular ears the rumbles grew more and more pronounced. They had only just become audible when Yang came to a realization:

Blake herself was the source of the vibrations.

Vibrations which... actually seemed familiar, now that Yang thought about it.

Experimentally, cautiously, the blonde adjusted the path of her fingers around the ears. Before, she had only been idling in a familiar pattern; now, she used knowledge gained over loops of this relationship to carefully, carefully ramp up the ear scritches from merely "pleasant" to "quite nice, actually." Blake's response was an almost inaudible, happy sigh-which Yang was already quite familiar with-and a sudden jump in the rumbling's power-which Yang had expected, but was actually still quite surprised to discover. "Quite nice, actually" was ratcheted up to "Oh, that is good;" again, the vibrations grew more potent, louder. "Oh, that is good" became "That's the spot, right-ahh, right there," and even though Blake said nothing, the increase of rumbling was enough to confirm Yang's insane suspicions.

It actually shocked her into stopping her ear-twiddling entirely.

That got a reaction from Blake. Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned a confused smile on Yang-only just then seeing the bemusement on the blonde's face.

Her ears flicked-and her eyes widened. The rumbling, abruptly, stopped. Before Yang could take a breath, a finger was on her lips.

"Don't," Blake warned. "Don't say anything."

Yang, being the reasonable woman she was, decided to obey this command-instead of speaking, she simply smirked and allowed an eyebrow to quirk.

"It's just... a side effect of looping," Blake rationalized. "When you become the same thing over and over again, you pick up some... traits."

Her girlfriend nodded in understanding, a gesture that would have been so much more reassuring if she didn't have such a wide grin.

"It doesn't mean anything. Except, obviously, what it... what it's supposed to mean. What I mean is, it's just... a reflex. It slipped out, and..."

Blake looked at the ever growing smile on Yang's face.

"You don't tell _anyone_ ," she ordered. "Or you get the tinsel. Got it?"

Yang brought her other hand up to one corner of her mouth, pinched the air, and ran it across her lips.

"...Good." Blake nestled back into position. "Now go back to the scritches."

The blonde complied.

And, after a minute or two, there was once again the sound of purring.

 **30.9 Masterweaver**

"...which of course means that waffles are far superior to pancakes, although I would never say that in earshot of Nora-"

"Excuse me, we need to talk."

Ruby turned from her team to the newcomer. "Oh! Coco, right?" She grinned. "What's up?"

Coco Adel took her sunglasses off. "What is _up_ is that my teammate's camera _exploded_. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Hey!" Yang stood up and glowered at her. "Who do you think you are, coming over and blaming Ruby like that-?"

"Oh. Ooooooh." Ruby winced. "I... think I might know what happened."

"So you admit to sabotaging it," Coco growled.

"No. I admit to having a weapon so complicated that the replicative aspect of the photographic resonator overloaded and caused a chain reaction leading to the violent destruction of the camera."

Coco rolled her eyes. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"...Tell you what," Ruby offered. "Not only will I personally replace Velvet's camera, I'll let her look through my own collection of weapons for... new photographs."

"Really. How many weapons do you think I'll believe you have?"

"Enough to fill an off-campus museum. I'm not even exaggerating."

Yang frowned. "Why haven't you ever shown me this museum?"

"Some of the weapons are really delicate, and... no offense Yang, but you really can't do delicate."

A snort of disbelief came from Coco. "If you're going to come up with something that ridiculous, you should be ready to back it up."

"Alright, want to visit my weapons museum? We can go right now, if you like." Ruby turned back to her teammates. "Actually, why don't we make it a day trip-us and team CFVY, maybe JNPR if they want to come too?"

"You know what, Ruby Rose? I'll take that challenge." Coco leaned in. "I'm going to go back to the dorm, get Velvet _and_ Fox _and_ Yatsuhashi, and then we'll go to your supposed museum."

"Great! Meet us by the oak in the west courtyard?"

"Sure." Coco spun on her heel and stormed off. "Weapons museum, who does she think she's fooling-probably just some art gallery of gun sketches..."

"And if you'll look out the portside window, you'll see Starkiller base-current home of the Romantic Weaponry and Ballistics of Yggdrassil museum and associated facilities-"

Velvet pressed her face against the window in unadulterated amazement. "Is that a _planet_ with a _cannon_ built into it?!"

"Yes indeed, miss Scarletina, that is a planet with a cannon built into it. It's currently unloaded-Starkiller base requires massive energy inputs for each firing, which is obtained via consuming stars. Really, it's more of a conversation piece than anything." Ruby grinned as she tapped a few keys. "In the instances where I actually need to destroy a star system, there are usually already methods in place for said destruction."

Coco slumped against a bulkhead. "Holy dust... You... you carry around a planet. Holy dust."

"I did say my museum was off-campus."

"You carry around a planet. You carry around-GAH!"

Ruby tossed the spray bottle from one hand to the other. "In the event of impossibility induced shock, water spritzing will be utilized to bring you back to reality. That goes for all of you," she added, gesturing at her shocked teammates and the two nervous men standing near the back. "Remember, this is a _fun_ occasion, not a _scary_ one."

"Can't it be both?" Yang offered, only the slightest hint of a quaver in her voice. "I mean, you explained about this big dress hill thing-"

"Yggdrassil."

"-but..." She held out her arms. "Ruby, it's a planet, with a cannon, and you're carrying it around like it's nothing. There is going to be some degree of freak-out here. Honestly, the only reason I'm not totally freaking out right now is because you're still acting like... you."

"I know, I know..." Ruby sighed. "Look, truth time? Part of this is to replace the camera that I _entirely accidentally_ destroyed, but a lot of it is... I just want to show off, you know? Have some fun. Just because I'm part of this big huge thing doesn't mean I can't appreciate the little things in life."

"...I'd hardly call a planet _little_ ," Blake managed.

"I'm not talking about the planet, I'm talking about, you know, hanging out with friends, showing off my hobby. Stuff like that. I... I'm still sort of human, you know? I need... social... stuff. Even if I'm not good at it. This is just... hanging out. Only, uh, on a giant planet cannon thing." Ruby coughed. "Weiss, can you help me out here?"

"...Actually, I think I get where you're coming from, kind of...?" The heiress twiddled her hands. "I mean... I was very isolated growing up, because I was expected to act a certain way, so after I made some friends I tried to... click. Is this the same thing? Isolation, followed by socialization?"

"Yeah, that's... not too far off."

Blake sighed. "Alright. We'll try to keep our freakouts positive." She nodded to the other faunus in the cabin, who was practically drooling. "I think Velvet's got the idea."

"Oh yeah. Velvet! We'll be landing in ten. You think a planet cannon is impressive, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

"One replacement replication photography device, as promised!" Ruby proclaimed, taking the brown box from the mouth of the incredibly large mechanical feline and handing it over to the stunned rabbit faunus.

"...that's a giant robot tiger," Coco said faintly.

"Liger, technically. At least I think it is, that's the name they used back on Zi." The Grimm Reaper took some time to scratch the thing behind the ears. "Who's a good zoid? You are, yes you are!"

Weiss stared as the massive thing leaned into the attention with a happy rumble. "Ruby, I'm sorry, but... did you just have a giant robot tiger perform a simple delivery?"

"Well, I would have used one of my mega war corgis, but I felt that would be a little harmful to certain people's sensibilities," Ruby explained, pretending not to notice Blake putting Yang between them. "Besides, this is more a museum of _baseline_ weaponry-the war corgi project in general is a product of the loops, while this lady is a transplanted native." She patted the cheek of her robot tiger. "Head back down to the garage, okay girl?"

With a faint whuffle that nevertheless covered Yatsuhashi in snow, the massive machine turned and walked around the side of the massive building that their shuttle had set down in front of. Ruby waved and turned to Velvet, who was busily examining the box and camera that she held.

"...this is... _my_ camera. The one I made." She looked up at Ruby. "Did you steal this from another me?"

Ruby's fingers pressed nervously against each other. "...It's not like I took it from you when you needed it," she assured quickly. "I mean, I wait until near the end of the loop, like an hour or so before it ends, and I don't do it every loop, and it's not just your stuff I take-"

"Wait, hold on." Yang held up a hand. "You've been taking our stuff?"

"Only just before the reset! It's good to have backups, you know? Like in case the in-loop version of a later loop _explodes!"_

"I don't have a problem with this," Blake stated.

"I might," Fox mumbled.

"Somebody dig me out of this snow?" Yatsuhashi asked plaintively.

Ruby sighed. "Look, most of the museum is donation, okay? I only steal the things I absolutely cannot get any other way, like backup weapons and Starkiller base. And I definitely won't be taking anything from you this loop. Now, who wants to see incredible killing machines from other worlds?"

A few weeks later, and team CFVY was out slaughtering Grimm.

Well, mostly it was Velvet slaughtering Grimm. Everyone else was contributing, sure, but the blue lines and matrices of her chosen weapon were mowing down the monsters in increasingly impressive ways. It had gotten to the point where she had been placed _on_ point, the other three merely watching her flanks and back.

She'd never been on point before. Well, not that she could remember...

The illusion of the gun she was holding faded, and an Ursa tried to take advantage of the brief opening. She dodged the swipe and, in a flash, an even bigger and more ludicrous gun formed-if it had been real, she expected she'd have been crushed under its weight. Her smile grew as the blue outline of missiles launched, exploding a good portion of the horde before her in devastating blue flashes-and her grin turned feral as she heard the _rchichkchk_ of her weapon reloading. Multiple multishot missiles-the multiverse was an amazing treasure trove, for those who got to explore it.

Part of Velvet's mind drifted back to her time at the museum-she'd been amazed from the moment she entered at the sheer number of guns and blades, and only grew more astounded when Ruby explained all the weapons in the foyer were from Hub or near-Hub universes.

 _"This is all very basic-slash, stab, smash, shoot, and set off explosions. The_ rest _of the museum is set up in a sort of arc-exotic melee weapons at the east, exotic ranged weapons at the west, magical or other supernatural stuff to the north-and every world with enough weapons has its own wing located based on the percentage of each of those types. Oh, and that elevator goes to the garage-real tanks in the center, robots to the west, mechas to the east, same basic percentile principle. Although I have to keep a play area for the zoids and tachikomas and a few others..."_

"Velvet!" Coco's voice snapped her back to reality. "How many weapons do you have left?"

She glanced at the resonance storage counter-only recently installed-and grinned. "Four hundred seventy three!"

"Really?" The leader of team CFVY gave a low whistle, looking out at the field of black-furred corpses. "Didn't you take, like, five hundred pictures back at Ruby's museum?"

"Would have been more, but my camera hit capacity." And that was _another_ new experience-finding out there was only so many pictures her camera could take at a time. Velvet honestly couldn't recall that happening before...

Yatasushi laughed at that. "Velvet, I think we're all pretty glad you reached your limit. Can you imagine what you'd be like with infinite guns?"

"We're lucky Ruby stepped in to explain the kill label system before she took any pictures," Fox pointed out. "I'd ask why she has so many world-leveling weapons, but... I got the impression she just collects anything that kills."

Velvet thought back to the informational plaques at each exhibit-and the warning that Ruby had given her about the numbers on the upper left of each one. Numbers in squares were kills per minute; numbers in circles represented utter destruction of specific areas, leveled from town and increasing up a theoretical scale to universe. She had made the faunus swear not to take any pictures of circle-number weapons...

"I guess even immortal time travelers need a hobby," Coco quipped, her machine gun finally running down. "Anybody see any Grimm?"

Yatashushi lowered her sword. "Nope."

"I can't see anything."

"Fox, you know what I mean."

"I can't _sense_ any Grimm."

"Thank you. Velvet?"

Velvet blinked, looking around. "...there do not appear to be any stragglers," she reported.

"Alrighty. You can dispel that now."

The faunus looked at the massive illusion of the gun in her hands.

"...Velvet?"

"What?" Shaking her head, she allowed the image to fade. "Sorry, just... thinking."

"Yeah?" Coco glanced at her box for a moment. "I can see why. Come on, let's head back to camp. Professor Peach is not going to believe this."

Team CVFY turned and began walking back to their temporary base. Velvet paused, looking around at all the slowly fading corpses.

She tapped her box in silent contemplation for a moment.

"Velvet?"

"Oh. Coming!"

"Well... there she is." Coco took a breath, putting her hand on Velvet's shoulder. "If... you're not sure-"

"We've spent more than a month talking about this."

"...I know. I just..." Coco sighed. "It's a big decision."

Velvet turned to her. "If you're not comfortable with it-"

"I'm your team leader. I'll support you no matter what." She took a moment to steady herself. "Let's... go and ask her."

The pair of them approached the table where Ruby Rose sat, telling entertaining anecdotes to the rest of her team. Weiss looked rather disturbed. Blake, however, was hiding a smile behind her hands. And Yang... Yang was laughing uproariously.

"-so everybody in Amity was staring as we burst out of the mountain of walnuts, you know that dramatic 'seriously what' quiet crowd stare, and Lina turns, looks me right in the eye, and says 'This is why I brought the donuts!'"

"Oh she did _not!"_ Yang cried, unable to stop laughing. "She did not go there!"

"Yeah, she did. Crazy girl, that Lina Inverse." Ruby turned around. "Oh hey, Velvet! Hey Coco. What's up?"

Velvet pursed her lips. "Ruby Rose, I... have a request to make of you."

"What, you want another visit to the museum? Did your camera run out of pics already?"

"Not yet. Honestly, if I asked for a visit every time I wanted, I suspect I'd be asking once a week."

Ruby shrugged. "I can make weekly visits a thing, sure."

"That's very kind of you, actually, but..." Velvet clasped her hands. "I was thinking of something more... permanent."

The redhead stared at her. "Um... What are you talking about?"

"...Ruby Rose, would you consent to... to having me live in your subspace pocket?"

Yang's laughter cut off abruptly. Everyone at the table stared at her, disbelief in their eyes.

"...you want to live in my pocket," Ruby said slowly.

"Yes. That is what I just said." Velvet cleared her throat. "I could, of course, do maintenance and various other chores while you were-"

"No, hold on, you... _want_ to live in my pocket."

Velvet tilted her head. "Is that... unusual?"

"I... I don't know. I mean, I've never heard of this happening before, but I guess some of the older loopers might have..." Ruby shook her head. "Look, Velvet, this is... We don't usually Pocket people, at least not on a permanent basis. I mean-because of how the loops work, I might not even be able to visit you regularly. You'd be alone in there."

"You have the Tachikomas," Velvet pointed out.

"Well, yes, but... they're not quite true sentients yet? I mean, I don't think... okay, but you'd still age," Ruby argued. "You know that right? You'd be spending the rest of your life-"

"-in an environment that has no Grimm, no racist humans, plenty of weapons, and quite frankly aside from the cold looks fairly comfortable."

"And there's the life you're leaving behind! If I unpocketed you in a later loop people would probably think you were an imposter or your own aunt or-you wouldn't be able to talk to your friends and family-"

"I don't have any family."

Ruby paused. "Um... really?"

"I thought you would have known, being a looper-"

"Your backstory's loop variable," Ruby explained. "Damage to Yggdrassil and... you don't...?"

Velvet sighed. "...I lived in a village far south of Vale with my mother and my brother, until some... plague spread. My brother became deathly ill, a few people panicked, started burning down houses to contain the disease, the Grimm came down... after they ate my mother, I ran. Once I reached Vale, I spent a lot of time doing odd-jobs and trying to build up money... then I joined the academy."

"Oh." Ruby was silent for a moment. "I... I'm sorry."

"I've... made my peace with it."

"...but what about team CFVY?" Ruby rejoined quickly. "I mean, you guys care for each other, right? You'd be leaving them behind-"

"Team CFVY is the closest thing to family I have in this world," Velvet confirmed, absently grabbing Coco's hand. "That's why I took the time to discuss this with them beforehand."

"...We're not all comfortable with it," Coco explained. "But... we want what's best for Velvet. And this... this is a good idea, in the long run, we think."

"...Okay. Wow." Ruby sagged against the table. "I... wow. I've never actually considered... can I get back to you on this?" she asked. "This is... something big. Really big. Like, I need to seriously think about this big."

Velvet nodded. "Of course. But... I expect a response before the Vytal tournament."

"Oh. Yeah, I'll... do that. Yeah."

"Good. Thank you for... well, even if you say no. Thank you for letting me visit your museum."

"You're welcome." Ruby paused. "And... even if I say no, you can still ask for a visit. If you like."

"That's very generous of you." Velvet smiled. "I... hope you have a good rest of the loop."

"Yeah..."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Well!" Coco said suddenly. "We have exams to study for. So, goodbye for now, and... yeah." With that, she gripped Velvet's hand tightly and dragged her away.

Ruby watched them go, her fingers drumming against her very normal knees. "...wow... that... that's a thing. That just happened. That... just happened. Wow."

"I mean..." Ruby wrung her hands. "I mean... It's big. Really big, you know?"

Her teammates watched her pace back and forth through their dorm, gesticulating nervously.

"It's just, I don't... I mean..." She ran her head through her hair. "Okay. Okay. What if... what if we break this down. How... no, no... I just..."

Weiss cleared her throat. "Ruby, I know we're not the... looping versions of ourselves, but if you need to talk things over with somebody, we're right here."

Their team leader blinked, turning to look at her. Then at Yang. Then Blake.

"...Do... any of _you_ want to...?"

"...No." Blake shook her head. "I'm done running from my life. I mean, I have less than a year before the world ends, from my perspective." She fiddled with her bow. "I'd rather do something worthwhile with that time."

"You're my sister, and I wouldn't mind hanging out with you after the apocalypse, but..." Yang shrugged. "One of me is a handful. Meeting my looping self? Too creepy."

Weiss let out a sigh. "I said I'd be the best team member I could be. And that means acknowledging that... you already have a team, and I'm not part of it."

Ruby blinked. "Oh. Oh, Weiss, you know I don't-"

"You do." Weiss looked her in the eyes. "After you told us, I... I've seen how you look at me, and for a moment you see her. I was a little jealous, at first, but... it is what it is."

"Weiss." Ruby took her hand. "Even if you aren't looping, you're still my friend. All of you. You're all my friends, and... and I'm sorry that I made things so complicated."

"Not your fault." Yang stretched her arms in forced casualness. "It's the big dress hill tree."

"You know, I never thought I could get angry at a plant," Blake mused. "Well... one that wasn't catnip."

"Heh." Yang nudged her shoulder. "Good one."

Ruby sighed, sitting down on the bed and staring at her kicking feet. "This all went weird and serious. Here I just wanted a fun trip to the museum and... now we're contemplating the issue of self and mortality as it relates to loops." She let out a wry chuckle. "I'm supposed to be a simple soul, not a philosophical mastermind."

Blake glanced at her own hands. "Simple isn't the same thing as shallow. Look, just... ask us questions, and we'll try to answer them."

"All of us," Yang added. "Four heads are better than one."

"Heh, funny you should say that. There was this one loop where you _had_ four heads-"

"Ruby," Weiss stated. "Don't try to change the subject."

"...alright." Ruby took a breath. "So, the question of whether or not I can do this-yes, it is within my ability. I even have... something, that can solve the issue of aging-I don't like it, but I have it. Velvet could live in my pocket. There's no question as to the practicality."

She held out her hands. "What I'm more concerned about is... _should_ I? If I do this, does it mean that Velvet is somehow... more _deserving_ of life than anyone else on Remnant?"

Weiss tapped her fingers together. "I would say... she had a unique opportunity. The world isn't fair, sometimes... somebody who has no business being in power, ends up there because of their birth."

"I don't think it's a question of whether other people _don't_ deserve this," Blake mused. "I think it's more... whether Velvet _does._ "

"That... actually yeah." Yang nodded. "That's a good way to look at it. I don't think you can save everyone, Ruby. I mean, even if it's in your power-which I have to admit might be possible-there's just... too many people and too much going on to plop an entire planet in your pocket. But... if you can save _one_ person, why wouldn't you?"

"Because she's not the only Velvet," Ruby pointed out. "Next loop, loop after that, infinite loops-"

"She's the one who asked," Weiss said quietly.

"Well... yes, but..." Ruby trailed off. "I mean... well." She took a breath. "Okay. I guess... and she does meet all the standards I would have if I did say yes, but... she'd be alone in there. All by herself-"

"You'd visit her, wouldn't you?" Yang asked.

"Obviously, but-but what if I end up in a null Middle Earth loop? She'd only have the Tachikomas for company for, like, millennia! What will she do if she's... alone?"

Blake bit her lip. "What do _you_ do? When you have lonely loops?"

"It's not really equatable-"

"I think it is. I mean..." She sighed. "From your perspective, you know everything about me, and how I think, and I'm an automatic copy of the looping Blake. The Tachikomas, I don't know if they're quite intelligent, but... the level of separation seems similar, from us to them, as from us to you."

Ruby blinked. "Well... I mean... I pass the time. I do what I can to fix what I can, I... sometimes I just pull out crazy things to prank people... I wait for..."

She trailed off.

"You wait for us to loop," Weiss finished.

Yang, slowly, let a gentle smile form on her lips. "That's it, isn't it? That's the big reason you're nervous about this. You just don't want her to be alone."

"...well that, and the really big deciding people's lives thing."

"You are the Anchor," Blake pointed out. "That kind of means you have to do that anyway. If I'm understanding this correctly."

"I... suppose."

Ruby rubbed her hands together.

"...You know what?" she said suddenly. "It's late. We should get some sleep. All of us." She reached up and pulled herself into the top bunk. "After all, we're getting assignments tomorrow. Oh, and Zwei should be arriving in the mail."

"Zwei?" Blake asked.

"Our pet corgi," Yang explained.

Blake shivered. "Oh. Thanks for the warning."

"Ruby..." Weiss looked up. "You know you're going to have to tell Velvet something, right?"

"I know. I just... I want to sleep on it."

"Alright." Weiss paused. "...pleasant dreams, Ruby."

"There are conditions," Ruby began without preamble.

Velvet, who had opened the CFVY dorm door at her knock, blinked for a moment or two. "...Okay."

"First of all, this is a one way trip. Barring a few special occasions where I am _absolutely_ sure I can get you back before the loop ends, once you move into the Pocket you are there for eternity. I'll visit, bring other guests, keep you supplied, but barring some serious changes you will not be leaving. Are we clear on that?"

"Absolutely," Velvet replied. "I assumed that was the case anyway."

"Second condition, which will probably be enforced by the third: No children." Ruby gestured at herself. "There's a patch to keep us loopers from ever having kids we don't have in baseline-prevent the psychological trauma of losing them to a loop reset. This is basically for the same reasons. I'm not saying no _sex_ , I'm staying you will be sterile, no question."

Velvet blinked, blushing a bit. "...I suppose I can agree to that. And that _does_ explain your affection for your weapon."

"Yes, that's... part of it. Third condition, you sacrifice your mortality. I have... something, that will transform you physically, and it's probably going to be painful, but you'll stop aging. That has its pros and cons, and you really need to think about that before you just jump in. It's not reversible."

"Alright." Velvet nodded. "I'll seriously consider it, but I think that I'll take the option."

"Fourth condition. You are _not_ going in alone."

Velvet blinked. "What?"

"I've been looping for... quite some time," Ruby explained. "I know what the weight of ages is like. Quite frankly, I am not entirely sane-I'm stable enough, but I casually decapitate myself for jokes, or when I'm surprised. The only reason I'm not crazier than I am is because I have friends looping with me-I have to wait centuries to see them, and that can hurt, but I stay myself because of them." She pointed at the faunus. "You need friends-not the Tachikomas, not the Zoids, actual friends to come in with you. Because otherwise, you _will_ go crazy. I'm willing to take up to ten people, counting you, but there's got to be more than one, or the deal. Is. Off. Same conditions for everyone."

The two of them stared at each other for a few quiet moments.

"...I'll do it."

Velvet's ears twitched, and she turned to her forgotten teammates. "Yatsuhashi... you really don't have to-"

"We're partners, Velv. You want this, I'll help." He shrugged. "Sides, this way I don't have to say goodbye."

"...oh, hell." Fox held up a hand. "Count me in, too. Not like there's much out here to see."

"Fox..." The faunus tried to blink away tears.

Coco gave a melodramatic sigh. "I'm going to have to come along just to keep you three in line, aren't I?"

Velvet turned to her. "I thought... I thought you weren't comfortable with this-"

"Doesn't matter how I feel. What matters is making sure everyone gets what they need." Coco shrugged. "Besides, I'll have forever to get used to it. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Face it, Velv, you're stuck with us." Fox tossed his wallet from one hand to the other. "Get used to it."

A smile graced her face. "...Thank you. All of you, just... thank you so much."

"We're your team, Velv." Yatsuhashi put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll stand with you no matter what."

"United as one," Fox decreed.

"Against all odds," Coco stated.

"...D'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!" The sound of a scroll snapping a picture reminded all four of them that Ruby was still standing outside the door. "You four are just so _precious_ together!"

Coco glanced away, flushing. "Yes. Well. Ahem." She gathered herself up. "So. When do we move in?"

"That depends. Do you want to take part in the tournament?" Ruby shrugged. "Cause if you do, I'll have to get you in right before the single rounds start. I'm going to need a couple of weeks to prepare things anyway, and you all need to pack..."

"BEHOLD MY SPACE ARMADA! Or is it fleet? I mean there's a lot of flotillas and squadrons-you know what, let's just go with Space navy. I want to call it something different since I also have an ocean navy, but... anyway, BEHOLD THIS BUNCH OF SHIPS THAT I STOLE FROM PLACES!"

Ruby cackled melodramatically as she piloted the dropship through the stalled collection of space-worthy vehicular devices. Team CFVY stared through the various windows, awe on their faces.

"Over there we've got a bunch of Star Control ships-those were donated by Blake. Fun fact: each ship type in the Star Control universe is designed by a different species-all but the smallest fleets are comprised of multiple races who work in tandem. That group of ships comes from the Starcraft verse-primarily Terran, I'll admit, since they're the easiest to construct, but I've got a few Protoss vessels in there too. Oh, and there we've got a lot of Star Trek starships-mostly just from the Federation and a few of the empires lying around the area, trying to get one from _every_ spacefaring race in that verse is a serious hassle. Also a couple of things from the Halo verse, courtesy of an honorary big brother-long story, I'll explain later. And of course oodles Star Wars stuff; surprisingly enough, Star Wars has the least militarized approach to starship sales, basically starships are treated kind of like cars and anybody can buy one if they have enough money and a license."

Ruby glanced behind her. "Don't really have anything from Mass Effect, yet-people in that loop watch their ships closely and it's hard for them to go 'missing' outside the terminus systems, plus all the best ships are Reapertech which kinda has that whole brain-washing thing going on so... none of you are paying attention to me are you?"

"I'm too busy imagining all these vessels marching against giant space grimm," Velvet murmured in reply. "I have _got_ to update my camera to handle vehicles..."

Coco snorted. "I call leader veto."

"What? Why?"

"You're already a war goddess, thanks to the museum. I'm not letting you become a _space_ war goddess-I don't know if I could stop you."

"I second that," Yatsuhashi added.

"I can't even see what you all are drooling over," Fox grumbled, "and even I know better than to let that happen."

Velvet pouted. "Fine. I'll stick to an infinite supply of _ordinary_ weaponry."

"Alrighty, that's settled!" Ruby tapped a few keys. "Coming in for a landing on the Egg Carrier."

Yatsuhashi rose an eyebrow. "The _what?"_

"Egg Carrier." Ruby snorted. "Look, I don't name the ships, alright? I just steal them. The guy who owned this was called Eggman, he wanted to start an Eggman Empire, it's really long and complicated and I think there are actually multiple backstories because that part of Yggdrassil got hit pretty hard..."

"Alright, fine, the ship has a weird name." Coco crossed her arms. "So why are we coming here?"

Ruby coughed. "Did I not explain that? I thought I explained that... you remember how one of the conditions of your living here was sacrificing your mortality?" She tapped a few buttons, powering down the dropship. "This is where we're going to do that."

Team CFVY followed her out of the ship, marveling at the various consoles and odd devices scattered about as she idly keyed something into her scroll. "So, like I said, Eggman wanted an empire. This was basically his mobile base, home away from home, all that jazz. Now, to conquer you may need an army, but to keep you need servants. Or slaves, whatever. Maintenance, paperwork, logistics and operations-point is, this place is a fortress, but that's not all it is. Not by a long shot. And Eggman, he was equal parts despot and scientist. Now, what does every mad scientist need?"

Yatsuhashi shrugged. "...a laboratory?"

"Got it in one! Aaaaaaand here we are!" Swinging through a set of sliding doors, Ruby marched forward and spun around, knocking her fist against a translucent tube. "This lovely bit of workmanship is called the roboticizer. Anybody want to guess what it does?"

Fox shrugged. "It... makes robots?"

"Close. It transforms people _into_ robots. Like, not brain uploading or anything, your flesh straight up becomes metal and circuits. Originally it had the side effect of robbing you of your free will-great if you want quick and cheap labor, but personally I'm not a warlord so I did some tweaking to get rid of that, so we're good to go." She bit her lip. "That said... as it stands the process is quiiiiiiite painful. The transformation only takes ten seconds, but you'll be entirely aware the whole time. Kinda had to do that, to keep the mental transition without interrupts..."

Ruby gave them a firm look. "You want to back out, now's the time to do it."

They stood there in silence for a few seconds.

Then Coco took a breath. "Well, we came this far. Right, do I just step in?"

"Actually, you kind of need to strip first." Ruby blushed. "Unless, you know, you want your clothes to become your skin-the system doesn't discern between the materials-"

"Alright. You got a waiting room for these three?"

"Well, just across the hall is the broadcast studio. They can hang out there until it's their turn." Ruby shrugged. "Or they can stick around for moral support, if you want them to..."

Velvet looked at her... well, her hand. It was still recognizably a hand, just metal and slightly thicker than before. The fingers opened and closed at her command-the motions, at least, felt like they did before, though her sense of touch seemed... not less, but different. Things were warmer, or perhaps her hands were just cooler. Her wrist rotated... a full circle, then two, then three-

"You know, that's actually not nearly as creepy as it should be," Yatsuhashi commented.

She started, looking up at him. "Sorry?"

"The hand thing." He gestured at her arm. "I mean, if we were still... meatstuff, it would be weird, but..."

"I can _not_ get over how much our eyes look like scroll screens," Coco said, looking at her reflection. "Seriously, I think we might actually be able to project letters and images on these things."

"I'm kind of surprised we still have mouths," Fox mused. "I mean... I was sort of expecting a speaker to replace them. Can we still eat? Do we still need to?"

Velvet twitched her ears-and did _that_ feel different when they were metal instead of flesh-and cleared her throat. "Ruby did give us copies of the roboticizer's transformation log. The answers could be in there..."

Ruby Rose rolled her eyes. "I looked it over, and you do still seem to have a chemical processing system-so, yeah, you can still eat and stuff. Actually I'm going to be going over the reports in more detail later-Penny looped in human a while back, and ever since then she's wanted some way to reproduce the sense of smell she had so..."

Coco rose an eyebrow. "Who's Penny?"

"Right, you wouldn't have met her. Penny Polendina, local looper, also a top-secret Atlas project to see if they could create a robot that generated Aura. I'll introduce you next time she's Awake. For the moment, let's focus on getting you settled in."

Ruby rose her arms. For a brief moment, she and team CFVY reappeared on the edge of the Emerald forest, alongside the dropship filled with their belongings-then she repocketed them all, moving them in five seconds a distance that would take two days to fly.

"And here is your new home! Yes, it's a spaceship. Small one. It's a yacht." Ruby shrugged as she waved them to the central area. "A Horizon-Class star yacht, to be specific. Won it in a bet with Luke Skywalker-had to destroy the Death Star solo, no starship or torpedos."

"...what just happened?" Fox asked.

"Pocket jump," Ruby explained. "I can reorganize things in here by taking them out and stuffing them back in... Anyway, I chose to set you up with a ship because you guys can't do that, so you need a bit of mobility if you want to go different places. There's a map programmed into the computer, and R8-R5 here can fly you anywhere in the pocket-or teach you to fly this thing."

Yatsuhashi looked at the droid for a moment. "...You know what, sure. I'll believe it."

"Yeah. Anyway, don't go anywhere marked off limits, and... just have fun with this." Ruby snapped her fingers. "Oh! And Velvet, I'm going to need you to find some way to block or fool your camera."

"What? Why?"

"Well, this whole thing started because your camera exploded. I might have agreed to let you all live in here, but I don't want to go through this again." She shrugged. "Would make things very awkward, you know?"

Velvet really couldn't believe it. Her entire team's new bodies came with nearly perfect built in features for them. Glancing across the ship, she saw Coco in the back, leaning against the wall and playing around with her new sunglasses, the lenses sliding in and out of slots next to her eyes, lighting up with readouts when extended, and spinning her hands by the wrists like the barrel of her gun, each of her fingers ending with a hole at the tip. She also now made espresso.

On the other end of the ship, Fox was testing the sonic vibration upgrades on his blades, letting him ping the area with echolocation with each swing, easily picked up by his new ears.

And even if he wasn't with the group right at the moment, Velvet couldn't help but think of Yatsuhashi's sode armor, now hiding an internal micro-missile launcher, giving him a very impressive, and frankly much needed ranged option in combat.

But Velvet herself had two upgrades that she wouldn't change for the world. Her own head was a camera now! All she had to do was close one eye, and the other took a picture and stored it to her weapon's files!

And secondly? _'Well,'_ Velvet thought as she picked up a rifle, and grinned as her arm automatically retracted into her torso, a universal adapter port taking it's position in exchange and clipping the gun into place as her new arm. _'Modular options are always a plus._ '

 **30.10 Shimmer712**

Crow sulkily sucked on the straw.

"It's not that bad," Winter rolled her eyes.

"YES IT IS!" Crow snapped. "It's altering my identity! My sense of self! The essence of my being!"

"Wait, are you talking about the fact that alcohol has been replaced with flavored milk this loop or the fact that your name is spelled with a C instead of a Q?"

"Both!"

30303

"Herbal teas..." Qrow glared at his flask.

"These alcohol free loops are doing you no harm," Winter told him.

"Wanna bet?"

30303

"Soda?" Qrow groaned. "Nothing but soda?"

"Deal with it," Winter said. "You have had plenty of other loops where you could intoxicate yourself and you'll have more."

30303

"Flavored waters? Didn't we do this one already?!"

"Not that I can recalled."

"Yes we did! Herbal teas, remember?"

"Herbal teas are not flavored waters."

"THEY ARE NOTHING BUT PLANT FLAVORED WATERS!"

30303

"Are vampires real this loop, Winter?"

"How would I know?"

"You're cold enough to be one."

"...Just drink your blood."

"Uh, no," Qrow wrinkled his nose.

30303

"Smoothies? Seriously?"

Winter just sipped at her strawberry smoothie. "Hmm...nice. I like the addition of lemon," she commented. "Enough to give it a tang but not too strong."

"Goody for you."

30303

"...Ew...no. Just no," Qrow shuddered at the thought of what was replacing alcohol this loop.

"That," Winter declared. "Is just disgusting."

"Why would anyone drink that? What was wrong with other-me?"

"He was a disgusting little man?"

"Normally, I would argue but given what he was willingly ingesting..."

30303

"...Qrow? What are you doing?"

Qrow looked up at Winter, a manic look in his eye. "I'm going to kill Salem and hopefully end these repeats! Then I can have my alcohol back!"

"No, Qrow. Bad idea," Winter warned him. "We don't want to tip them off until we have more information, remember?"

"Screw information! I want my booze!" The hunter started giggling dementedly.

Winter quickly knocked him out while he was off guard. "...Maybe I should look into those alcohol support groups and see if I can force Qrow into one. He clearly needs it," she muttered.

30303

 **30.11 Masterweaver**

"Yang, we need to talk."

Remnant's resident blonde bombshell bruiser stopped in the doorway, giving Blake a questioning look over her shoulder.

"Look, you've been... very _quiet_ over the last few loops. I mean, I could take a few mute variants, but..." Blake sat down on a bed, patting the space next to her. "Are you doing okay? Is there... something wrong?"

Yang took a moment to consider the question. Then she walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her and grinning.

"Oh. I know that grin. That's the... evil plan grin." Blake groaned. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

The blonde nodded, melodramatically producing a few lien before tossing them between her hands.

"Well, that's a relief. I thought... wait." Blake looked at the money for a moment. "Cash... passing hands? Is this some sort of bet?"

Yang pointed with a wink.

"You made a bet that you could go some loops without speaking." She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Okay, who'd you make the bet with?"

After a moment, Yang pulled at her hair.

"...blonde?"

She nodded. Then she cupped her chest and shook her head.

"Not a girl. A guy."

Two fists, one on top of the other, made a swishing motion.

"Swordsman... Jaune?"

She shook her head.

"Yang, there a lot of blonde swordsmen in the multiverse," Blake protested. "How can I... okay. How big is their usual sword?"

After some consideration, Yang put her hands about three and half feet apart.

"So, ordinary epic sword. Probably not Cloud, then-"

Yang snapped her fingers, pointing quickly.

"Cloud? What about him?"

A finger ran across her throat, then she punched her fists together.

"Cloud death fight... death _battle_..." After a moment, Blake's eyes widened. "You made this bet with _Link?!"_

Yang nodded and grinned.

"Oh sweet dust..." The faunus buried her head in her hands. "Okay, I... I can actually see that happening. Alright. How many loops do you have to be quiet for?"

Her girlfriend held up two fingers, then pounded her palm twice.

"...Two hundred. Great. And... how many loops have you gone silent so far?"

This time, it was one finger, a pound, and then two.

"Twelve. For the love of Marianne..." Blake sighed. "At least tell me you got Neo to teach you sign language."

Yang held up a finger, paused... and then facepalmed.

"Well, next time she's Awake, we're going to get lessons from her. Until then..." Blake sighed. "You want me to be your translator for the others?"

A tight pair of arms wrapped around her, Yang's expression all too grateful.

Blake couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, alright. Like you even need to ask." She shook her head. "Honestly, the things you get yourself into..."

 **30.12 Masterweaver**

"FELLOW REMNANS, **BEHOLD!** BEHOLD MY CREATION! THE CULMINATION OF GENIUS UNBOUND! AHA, AHAHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"...Nora, is that a sloth-mecha made of pancakes?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ruby. That would be mechanically unfeasible. Obviously this is a sloth- _golem_ made of pancakes. And syrup. And I kind of had to use really big pretzels for the bones-the point is, it's a golem, because magic."

"Wow. That's actually pretty impressive. Yang, what's your take?"

"..."

"Right, forgot about the silence bet. Blake, what's Yang's take?"

"She thinks it's simultaneously one of the most ridiculous and most awesome things she's seen, easily in the top twenty of the ridiculous/awesome list."

"What?! Only top _twenty?!_ I worked hard on this, it should be in the top ten!"

"Put a hat on it next time."

"Yeah, Blake's got the idea. So, pancake sloth-golem. What are you planning with that?"

"WITH MY NEW SERVANT AT MY SIDE, I SHALL RIDE ACROSS VALE AND HOLD ALL RESTAURATEURS AT CLAWPOINT UNTIL THEY ADD-"

"Pancakes?"

"No. An all you can eat buffet. Yeesh, just because I like pancakes doesn't mean I want to eat them all the time, Ruby."

"Oh. I just thought... pancake sloth, pancakes... Well, have fun with that."

"...you're not going to try to stop me?"

"Were we supposed to? I mean we could, but I was planning to sneak into Ozpin's office and repaint it psychadelic. Blake, Yang, you want to fight the giant pancake monster?"

"Actually, your sister and I were going to go on a date later today. I mean, if the thing shows up I'll throw out some suitably melodramatic lines, but-"

"Fine, fine. I'll go find Weiss. She's always up for stopping some insanity."

 **30.13 Masterweaver**

Ruby grinned. "So, Weiss, you have a cute pink tricycle. From your grandmother."

"Indeed. And you have a little red wagon." Weiss smiled back. "With fire decals."

"Oh, that's true. I guess I can't possibly tease you about how childish and silly the tricycle is when I myself have similar transportation at hand."

"True, true. Even though compared to our looping inventories, these devices are comparatively silly and ridiculous. I can see quite a bit of banter."

"Absolutely. Sentimental value to various silly objects would be an excellent excuse for light-hearted teasing and terribly punnerific jokes."

"I quite agree. Why, somebody with a high-energy lifestyle, perhaps owning a motorcycle, would be hard pressed not to poke fun at us."

By this point, Yang had crossed her arms and was visibly glowering at the two.

"By the by," Weiss asked casually, "how many more loops does your sister have left in her silence bet?"

"Oh, you know, only a hundred and seventy three. Not counting this one." Ruby smiled. "Quite determined."

Blake rolled her eyes. "As much fun as it is watching you two taunt Yang, stop."

Ruby gave Blake a wide grin. "Are you kidding? This opportunity is perfect! You just know if she could talk she'd be making all sorts of jokes!" She leaned back with a melodramatically relaxed sigh, pointedly ignoring the way Yang was drumming her fingers. "At last, I have a way to get back for all the childhood pranks. How could I possibly stop?"

"Well, as Yang has defended my honor on numerous occasions, I think I should return the favor."

Weiss steepled her fingers. "And how, miss Belladonna, do you propose to stop us?"

"...You remember the loop you two Woke Up just before the Vytal tournament?" Blake produced her scroll. "I have a video."

Instantly Weiss and Ruby were on full alert.

"I wonder," Blake mused, "what would happen if this were, saaaaaaaay, broadcast across the entire dustnet."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't _dare._ "

Blake half lidded her eyes, scroll twirling idly in her hand.

"...you would." Weiss took a breath. "You actually would."

"Well, you know, I was in the White Fang, vengeance on a Schnee, all that jazz." Blake smiled. "So, you both stop taunting Yang, and this remains a secret between us loopers. Sound fair?"

Ruby and Weiss shared a look, before sagging their shoulders in defeat.

"You drive a hard bargain, miss Belladonna. But we accept." Weiss held out her hand. "Truce?"

Yang took the hand and shook it firmly.

 **30.14 Zurcior**

 **Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven't Met Yet (Part 2)**

The rain was heavy outside where the upcoming battle was set to take place. It had a force to it that only a hurricane could match, fierce and unforgiving. The sky was dark with storm clouds that refused to let sunlight through, adding to the dismal atmosphere that was currently Brockton Bay's. All these things pointed to one suspect as far as the Earth-Bet Branch was concerned; the Endbringer known as Leviathan.

Even though Taylor had found it easier to combat Leviathan as the Loops progressed, especially now that the rest of the Undersiders started Looping with her, she knew the Endbringer was still dangerous in a way she couldn't take for granted. All the Endbringers were, really. So she put her game face on as she prepared to meet her goal for the Leviathan fight this Loop; less than thirty casualties.

"You shouldn't set yourself up for disappointment like that," came Lisa's voice from the device in her ear. As usual, Tattletale was placed as far away from the battlefield as possible along with the other Thinkers. And as has become common for these types of situations, all of the Undersiders had multiple ways to communicate with each other privately so they can stay in contact. "Don't get me wrong, using the loops to find new ways to limit the damage and loss of life the Endbringers cause is something I'm behind one-hundred percent, but don't you think you're putting a little too much pressure on yourself here?"

"You know me," replied Taylor as she got in position. She currently stood atop a fifteen story building that gave her a thorough view of the bay Leviathan would be emerging from. "Besides, I don't want to leave anything to chance either. We already agreed to figure out ways to win without solely relying on Lily's power, and to do so as quickly as possible. Like it or not, us Loopers are the best chance Earth-Bet has to gain a happier ending than our Baseline."

"Jeez, no pressure or anything," Imp snarked over the communication device.

Taylor was about to reply until she stopped when she felt a Ping.

"Huh?" she heard Brian's confusion even as Taylor herself sent a answering Ping to whoever had just Awaken

Through her bugs and Tyranids that she placed around her observation spot, Taylor saw a streaking blur _run up the side_ of the building she was currently squatting upon. Preparing herself for whoever (or whatever) was coming towards her, Taylor faced the direction she knew they'd be coming from.

All of a sudden the person blinked into existence two meters away from her. They had a black bow atop dark hair, light skin, and yellow eyes-

Taylor blinked. "Blake?"

Sure enough, Blake Belladonna stood before her with an umbrella over her head, and was wearing what appeared to be a form fitting black body suit with a similar helmet that was shaped like some sort of cat (maybe a puma?) tucked in her left arm.

"Taylor?" Blake questioned before a small smile crossed her face. "I thought this place looked familiar. But with all this heavy rain and the fact I'm wearing a Black Panther suit, I wasn't entirely sure this was Brockton Bay."

Just then, Lisa's voice came through the earpiece, "New friend, Taylor?"

 _'Right. Introductions.'_ Thought Taylor before she spoke up, "It's Blake Belladonna from the RWBY Loops. We shared a Loop once when the rest of you weren't Awake."

"Oh, yeah. You mentioned her once."

"I take it the rest of the Undersiders are Awake?" Blake asked as she moved closer to where Taylor was on the roof.

"Yeah, I'll introduce you to them after this is over," responded Taylor as she turned her gaze back to the shoreline.

Blake nodded as she crouched down next to Taylor. Looking over the same view Taylor was, she then glanced at her newest acquaintance and asked, "So, is this that Leviathan monster-slash-conflict robot weapon you talked about?"

"Yeah," Taylor replied. "You didn't get to see it last time because the Loop ended after we sent Lung to the Birdcage." She then pointed towards the Bay were the other capes had gathered. "See all the force fields they're putting up now? That means he's close."

Blake could see what she meant. The waves were becoming stronger and the atmosphere was becoming more tense as every second passed by.

Taylor took the time to look towards Blake. Even though Blake said she was a member of a species referred to as faunus (a race of humanoid people who possess physical animal traits) in her home Branch, she was able to pass for human relatively easily. Much more so than any Case 53 Taylor had ever encountered.

"It's the bow," Blake suddenly spoke up, the bow atop her head wiggling a bit. "My cat ears are easier to hide than other animal traits most faunus have."

Taylor stammered, embarrassed at being caught staring and apologized, "S-sorry! You're not offended, are you?" She wanted to ask Blake why she hid her heritage, but decided it wasn't any of her business. Something like that was obviously personal and they weren't that close yet.

Thankfully, Blake gave her a smile to let her know that no harm was done. "You were just curious. And you've never given me the vibe that you're the discriminatory type, so it's fine." She then turned back towards the shore and asked, "So do you have a plan? I'm sure you didn't expect anyone to Wake up this late, so if you want me to hang back and let you do your thing..."

The bug-themed Looper paused for a bit. It was true that she and the rest of the Undersiders had already came up with a new, hopefully viable strategy against Leviathan for this Loop. A strategy that could go up in smoke with the unexpected arrival of Blake. She could tell Blake to stand back and then proceed as planned, but Taylor wasn't about to turn down a helping hand. It was a new variable, something she was used to and she knew that being able to adapt to unexpected happenings could mean the difference between success and failure. This was good too.

"That depends," Taylor started as she looked at Blake. "Do you have anything that can stand up to a super fast, super tough, thirty foot tall macro-hydrokinetic sea monster?"

Thinking about it for only a second, Blake answered, "I could use Perfect Susanno'o. Mixing that up with Shadow Clones and some of my other abilities, I can hold my own."

"Taylor, Taylor," Aisha said excitedly over the comms. "Tell her that if we make it out of this, _you'll_ hold _her_ own!"

As Blake pocketed her umbrella and put on her helmet, Taylor couldn't help but groan at her friend's antics. Honestly, she was glad Blake didn't hear that.

"Well that's good," Taylor replied to Blake as she decided to ignore Imp. She then paused as something Blake said caught her interest. "What is a Perfect Susanno'o?"

Tilting her head a bit, the Looping cat girl asked, "You haven't had a Loop in the Naruto Branch yet?" Seeing Taylor shake her head in the negative, Blake added, "Well spoiler alert, there is a good chance you'll end up with insects living inside your body cavities."

Taylor blinked. "Er," she said, "Do I even want to ask?"

"Probably not. If it helps, I hear it's not as bad as it sounds."

"I'll take your word for it."

 **30.15 Masterweaver**

Weiss calmly looked on as Ruby brutally eviscerated her twelfth beowolf. With her bare hands.

"So... bad loop?"

"Nope!" Ruby chirped brightly. "It was great! It was almost perfect, really!" She grappled the jaws of a charging ursa and tore them wide open. "I'd prepared everything, in fact!"

"Really."

"Mmmhmm. Multiple spheroid chamber comprised of many different super-materials and independently powered force fields!" Ruby snapped the neck of the Nevermore that somehow always found them. "I'd pumped it full of all the organic-destroying materials I could possibly think of. I even made sure-absolutely sure-to pocket the armor and not the pilot!"

"Quite a bit of effort," Weiss observed. "Was this for your museum?"

"It was going to be the centerpiece of a new garage wing! Only this loop, when I went in to get the thing, you know what I found?!" The redhead offhandedly punched in the face of the deathstalker charging them. "A _note_. A note saying DALEKS ARE NOT TO BE POCKETED!"

"Ah." Weiss nodded. "I can see why that would be upsetting."

"I went through all that effort, all that preparation, and what do I get?! NOTHING!" Ruby growled, her fists twitching as she stood atop a mountain of slowly dissolving corpses.

"...If I may make a suggestion?" Weiss offered. "You could put in models, and extra detailed plaques explaining that they're models."

"I know, but... AAAAAAARGH." Ruby sighed. "I'm going to find some more Grimm, I need to work off this rage..."

 **30.16**

Jaune looked into the cold night sky, gazing into the incalculable depths, and for once being slightly miffed that the stars actually weren't the shining bone plates of incalculably enormous Grimm, as was common. Gently, he moved his left and right hands together, entwining them. And in concert with his hands, the moon rejoined itself.

"That. Is. Awesome."

Next to him, Ruby gazed into the mended moon with a gleam of awe in her silver eyes. Then, slowly, she turned to Jaune. "Jaune... Have I ever mentioned how you are?"

Jaune glanced at his friend. "Uh, no. Not really. I am pretty tall though."

"Tall... Big... You know..." Ruby smiled slyly. "Tall, blond... Muscular."

"Uh... Yeah."

"Big and handsome. Big and strong. Big and... Tall."

Jaune took a step back. "Uh, Ruby-"

"Big and cool and sooooo big. Can I see..." Ruby winked. "How big?"

Jaune took another step back. "Ruby, woah, stop. I have a fiancé, I have kids, and I really don't want to do this."

"Oh, life is short. Have an affair."

A moment passed. Jaune leaned forward, smiled, and gave Ruby a Winning Look. "Well when you put it like that, that skirt looks a bit too tight for you."

"FAIGEOGLSXYYBWJAUJKROFLFOP!" Ruby shrieked, putting a full ten feet between her and the uncomfortably laughing Jaune. "JAUNE!"

"I called you bluff. You want to make jokes like that, get ready for people to call your bluff." Jaune cluched his aides and laughed harder as Ruby whacked him over the head. "Admit it, you deserved it."

"...Well maybe a little," Ruby said. She looked up at the moon. "But that's still awesome."

"I know, right." Jaune cracked his knuckles and looked into the deep sky. "Sometimes I really love how my Semblance changes from Loop to Loop."

"I'll take my speed over your everything every day," Ruby said, grinning. "Besides, I have enough weapons to make up for what speed can't do."

"And that crazy healing factor."

"And my crazy healing factor I picked up from Yharnam."

Jaune tapped his chin. "Still not telling anyone where you got that power?"

"Nope."

"...Hey Ruby."

"Yeah?"

"My Semblamce changes every Loop because we don't know what it does."

"I think that's how it works."

"So what about your eyes?"

Those silver eyes blinked, their owner perplexed for a brief moment. "I don't know what they do. At all. Really, I don't."

"You don't know what they do to Cinder or the Dragon?"

"No. I freeze the Dragon, but Cinder... I'm not sure what they do, and I can't use them anywhere _else_."

Jaune caught the small emphasis and turned to Ruby. "You can't use your Silver Eyes anywhere else? Not in Mountain Glen or the Stadium or the Docks?"

"No. Only if I see Cinder kill Pyrrha, and even then... Not always." Ruby brushed her bangs from her face, downcast. "I have all this power inside of me, all of it from my mom, and I can't use it, or even know what it really does. It's like... It's weird."

Gently, Jaune put his hand on her shoulder. "The Next Expansions will show us what can happen Ruby. We'll see what comes next."

"Yeah..." Ruby looked up to the stars. "Jaune."

"Yeah Ruby?"

"I don't love you. You're my friend, but I don't love you. You're Pyrrha's, forever and always."

"Thanks Ruby." Jaune grinned slightly. "Oh, and just in case, you are Weiss', forever and always."

Now Ruby turned to Jaune, and smiled. "Jaune."

"Run?"

Crescent Rose unfolded behind Ruby's back. "You don't need to. Just don't ship me and Weiss. Okay?"

"Okay."


	31. The Ring

**31.1 Masterweaver**

"Blake-lake-cake!" Nora darted across the library, stopping her motion only by pushing her hands into the table and lifting halfway off the floor.

"...Nora-flora-fedora," Blake replied, nonplussed.

"Okay, so I had an idea for this epic prank and I was half-way through the planning stages when I realized that it might be a little sketchy and I thought I should double-check with you before I did anything."

"...alright. Let's hear it then."

"Basically, one day Adam Taurus wakes up and he's not a faunus anymore-"

Blake took a slow, sharp intake of air.

"That." Nora pointed. "I imagined that reaction. That's what stopped me."

"Yeeeeeah... Okay." Blake put her book down. "Look, because of the loops, I've been human, cat, and not too few things in between. But I still identify as Faunus. It's... not just a race, there's this whole culture and... core of being. I know I'm not exactly the most open about my ethnicity," she gestured toward the bow on her head, "but... It's very rare that you'll find one of us that wishes they were human-more likely, you'll find a faunus that just wants things to be better for faunus kind. Especially in the White Fang."

"So, I'm guessing that turning Adam human is going too far."

"Pretty much. Killing and torture, that's fine, but robbing him of his identity is crossing a line."

"Alright then, prank cancelled." Nora almost turned to go.

Then she did a double take. "Wait, you're _okay_ with killing and torture?"

"Of _Adam_ , specifically," Blake stressed. "He deserves it."

"Oh. I just thought... that's... Have you ever-"

"Let's just say that last expansion really got to me, and I seriously regret what I did, and leave it at that."

Nora bit her lip. "...you know, if you don't want to talk about it with me, you could always talk to Weiss-"

"I would really. Rather. Not."

"Ooooookay then." The redhead looked around. "Wow. This all got uncomfortably serious. Um... I'm going to go do something random to distract myself from these complex questions. You want to join me?"

Blake looked at her for a moment. Then she gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Eh, sure, why not?"

 **31.2 Diesel**

The high pitched tweeting of bird calls filled the clean air, Jaune looked around the forest path he had Awoken on, trees lined the dirt path that led to a nearby town. He was clad in blue armour with long blond hair, a magic sword on his side.

It took a few moments, but when his loop memories caught up Jaune groaned silently, Slayers, he was in Slayers and taking the place of Gourry, this was going to be a headache.

Just ahead he could see the Dragon Fang Bandits threatening Lina after she rejected the offer to join them. Lina was glaring at the bandits with narrowed eyes, a prickle of danger set Jaune's senses on edge.

A single ping answered his own.

"Fireball!"

A deafening boom filled the area, scorching air roared past making his eyes water and skin blister. The searing heat burned his lungs as the explosion rattled his bones forced all the air from his lungs as the ground rushed to meet him.

A sheepish voice spoke from above, Jaune could hear something being said but it seemed distant and muffled.

"Well, oops? Sorry, I really don't likely those guys and Gourry, Awake or not, is in 99% of cases always reinforcing his body with magic so he really does not get hurt, and I forgot it can take a few moments to adjust to a new loop. What am I doing? Resurrection!"

Warmth spread through his body, the pain and injuries melting away and leaving a pleasant warmth that slowly ebbed.

Jaune climbed to his feet, locking eyes with the much smaller, auburn haired Sorceress, feeling the faint hint of unease stirring. The smell of barbeque and charcoal filling the air and dancing on the back of his tongue.

All that was left was ash, blackened stumps littered the ground stretching for almost 20 meters in either direction, rock had melted and started to run slightly. Not even the bones of the bandits remained in the scorched clearing.

The purple magic user raised her hands over her head and stretched, Jaune could hear her back popping. "Damn being in an Eva core is annoying, anyway sorry about that. There is a rather, well I can't really say common, but consistent variant where I lose my powers right about now and where Gourry doesn't show up. Given what they tend to do in those cases, I have picked up the tendency to end them rather quickly."

Lina smiled, "Anyway, Welcome to Slayers, I'm your host, Lina Inverse. You are now my bodyguard, we are going to Atlas city and stopping a demon lord from resurrecting, try to keep up."

Lina spun in place her black and purple cape billowing with the movement as she almost ran down the path before glancing back "Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask you your name Little Boy."

Jaune felt his lips twitch into a smile, following the rather energetic girl, this would be interesting and it sparked an idea. He also recognised the line she was using; it was Gourry's from when they met here.

"It's Jaune, Jaune Arc."

Lina clicked her fingers abruptly as Jaune followed the sorceress into the tavern. The air was rich with the smell of cooked meat, the scent of roasted vegetables wafting from the kitchen along with the smell of freshly baked bread.

Light from the windows streamed in showing the masses of workman, mercenaries and wait for staff that wondered around. Rambunctious laughter and crude jokes echoed through the room, hiding talk of trade and politics. Petty wizards and hedge witches discussing magic around one of the tables.

"That's where I have heard your name, You're from one of the Roosterteeth shows right? Set in the world of Remnant? I can't remember the name of the hub back up at the moment through, but I have been there a few times."

Jaune nodded as he glanced around the room "Yeah, and its RWBY, spelt R, W, B, Y." following Lina to a table, Jaune watched as the older looper called for food, pulling out a bag of gold and dumping it on the table, a question forming in his mind.

"What semblance did you have?"

Lina shrugged lazily, watching as food was brought over "Boom", a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips "I made all the things blow up. I can never seem to leave my Anime baseline behind, but I suppose it's also my fault for pretending to use the Dragon slave in every loop I had for a long time to 'see if it works.'"

Jaune blinked, looking oddly at the ancient looper trying to work out what she meant. Her eyes continued to track the approaching food. Her tendency to use the Dragon Slave in every loop was well known, even if she had stopped. So, what did she mean pretend and anime baseline?

One of the waiters approached from the kitchen, carrying a platter loaded with vegetables, fresh bread and flame charred meat. It was simple but the smell was delectable after not having eaten anything all day.

Lina dug it with gusto, ripping into a piece of chicken before washing it down with a watered down beer that had just been delivered. A large mug of the poor man's water clunking down in front of him as more and more food was brought out.

"Could you explain what you mean by 'pretended to use the dragon slave', and isn't the anime your baseline?"

Turning away from Lina, Jaune glanced down at the mug that had just been put in front of him, after a moment's hesitation Jaune and drained the mug as quickly as he could. Slamming the empty mug onto the table as another platter of food was brought over, wincing at the foul taste.

Lina laughed from around a mouthful of chicken, wine red eyes dancing in amusement, swallowing she spoke up, her voice laced with mirth. "It's better than the alternative, it's more or less 50/50 as to whether the water is safe to drink in any given town, in any given loop. Many of the bigger places have magic to keep the water clean but not places like this."

Shoving a plate of food over Lina gestured impatiently to the food, ripping open a piece of steaming bread and slavering it in butter.

"Eat, magic users here need a lot of food to keep going and as a Swordsman, you are using magic to enhance your body so it comes out the same. Even if you switch to a different power type, your body is still used to that and will take the time to adjust."

Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly, reaching over he snagged a sausage from one of the newer platters, keeping his gaze on the irritating mage. He did not think he was going to like Lina Inverse, she was a demanding and barely let him get a word in edgewise, just assuming that he would help and do as she said.

But he had hardly had enough time to say for certain, so he would try to keep an open mind.

"And to answer your questions, I have three baselines, novel, manga and anime, all equal. As for the Dragon Slave…" Lina shrugged again, swallowing a piece of pumpkin as she thought "That spell only works here; it draws power from Ruby Eyes Shabranigdo, if it does not, then it's not the Dragon Slave.

Early on people had mostly seen the anime and thought I was obsessed with blowing things up all the time, and I had gone somewhat around the twist. So at one point when I wanted to blow something up to make a point, and I used the dragon slave chant to cast a different explosive spell and tinted the colour, saying I wanted to see if it worked in that loop. It grew from there and amused me, so I kept going."

That was... Jaune could honestly see that happening quite easily. It also made Lina seem like less of a child with a security blanket, a common perception that seemed to come up, and more like a bored genius, slightly unhinged, magic user.

Given how differently magic could work in different loops, making that work all the time would be very hard.

After a moment, Jaune turned away from her and focused on the growing mound of food, "Do you regret pulling that stunt for so long?" The amount of food now on the table was absurd, it was also all burnt or overdone in some way.

After the horrid beer, he really didn't want to try any of the food.

"Sometimes," Jaune dropped it after that, wisely not willing to ask any further, given her rather short, curt response.

Finally giving into the ravenous hunger Jaune started piling food onto his plate, a random thought striking his as he took half a leg of mutton and started carving it up. Looking around the tavern, at anything but the bitch in front of him, he could hear people talking about the Dragon Fangs gang that Lina had destroyed, Mazoku attacks on nearby towns.

'It's sort of like Remnant in some ways,' he reflected, going over what he knew of the Red Staff, brushing strands of hair out of his eyes. 'Demon, monsters, attacking endlessly, trying to destroy the world and all the exists, because its exists, despising hope and all that is good while being empowered by hate and malice.'

Turning his back to the Ancient Anchor, stuffing her face without a care in the world, it also seemed like while there was _some_ similarity between Anchors, they were starkly different in almost every other respect.

Jaune found his thoughts abruptly interrupted by Lina speaking up again, as she polished off the platter she had been eating from.

"Now, current goals; A dragon may or may not be attacking relatively soon, so that will have to be dealt with, I have yet to identify whether this is baseline, and if so what variant. Then we need to deal with Rezo, depending on how that goes Phibrizzo will get involved and he has to be taken down regardless."

Jaune started to eat his meat, the taste of overcooked, poorly seasoned and burnt meat assaulting his senses even as sit stilled his hunger. But, he had had much worse, the sky darkening as a cloud obscured the sun for a moment and plunging the tavern into a sullen gloom.

"Now the question is, do you want to have the full Slayers experience and go baseline? Or do you want to derail things and do something else? But I was not kidding about you being my bodyguard for the loop."

Finally, Jaune looked up from his meal and frowned at the other Looper "Why am I your bodyguard? It's not like you need it."

"Three reasons: one, females lose their magic at their periods and as such I need protection, the fact I have a lot of other options available is completely beside the point. Two, I like hanging around with people from different loops even if I don't know or like them, for the most part anyway, as it alleviated the boredom."

She smirked, crystal-like ruby eyes seeming to sparkle with amusement "And finally, the most important reason, I said so."

There was not much he could say against that. Though he half expected Lina to have stuck her tongue out at that last statement.

Spearing a piece of potato with the fork he was holding Jaune leant back in the chair thinking, slowing chewing on the overcooked root. Lina took the silence as an opportunity to dig into another platter, then dumping half of one onto his plate.

"Seriously, eat." Lina rolled her eyes, glancing out the window at the sky, searching for something, likely the black dragon that was due to attack at some point. "It's amazing the amount of people who loop in here and think they can get away with not being 'gluttons' and yet still use magic. I have had people die from eating their normal servings and still fighting and using magic."

"Died?"

"Died."

Taking Lina's comments into consideration with his in loop appetite, Jaune started eating mechanically, his mind elsewhere as he let his loop memories guide him.

No one spoke for a while, Lina was content to let her guest decide what to do at his own pace, give the look on his face it was likely to be amusing.

Finishing off the platter he was eating from Jaune spoke up "What happens if I just walk away?"

"I annoy you for the rest of the loop, ensure that you are a wanted criminal, stuff like that. There is no real point¸ as I'm willing to go along with a lot of things to some extent or another."

After a pause he spoke up again, looking up from his food and staring at Lina "If I remember correctly you are a business woman, a sorceress for hire who will do a lot of things for the correct price. Is that still the case in the loops?"

She smirked, twirling a fork in one hand, a glint interest appearing in her eyes "Yes, though for loopers I charge a rather high price. After all, in the loops and between loopers, the value of things is rather different."

As she picked up another mug of watered beer, Lina's amused expression changed, becoming calculating "I have not had an interesting exchange in a while so this sounds like it could be fun. So tell me, what is it you want, then we can see if we can come to an acceptable agreement."

"A magical artefact created with a shard of the Lord of Nightmare's power."

Jaune froze as he finished speaking, an eerie silence falling across the tavern, the world seemed to become washed out as the Anchor narrowed her eyes.

A disquieting tension filled the air, making the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Lina's eyes changed, becoming pools of molten gold, a titanic, overwhelming pressure and menace emanating from the slight figure.

Jaune felt himself be swallowed by the absolute darkness. It was cold and so utterly vast beyond what he could grasp. A vista of Gold spread out before him, the first light of a new dawn and the last gasps of light as twilight died, entwined into oblivion.

Futility threatened to pull him down into the dark, as his power was devoured by the golden oblivion leaving him adrift in nothingness.

 _Why go on?_

He could not win, not even hope to resist the evitable destruction.

 _I should just let myself dissolve into the chaos. It would be Peaceful_

As the darkness swallowed him a spark ignited.

 _I want to exist._

A defiance against the inevitable, he would not surrender to what is or should be.

 _I will continue and defy the enviable. To fight as it is my nature._

To fight, to rage at the enviable _End_. as the pressure denied his movement.

Jaune felt his hand twitch to the sword at his side, every millimetre was like running a marathon as he fought against the cessation. His vision slowly returning as he fought against the chains of golden annihilation pulling him down, letting him focus once more on the figure he had been talking to.

Jaune stared at Lina and the Lord of Nightmares stared back.

It passed in an instant and then Lina tossed her auburn hair back over her shoulder and laughed, and laughed and _laughed._

Amused ruby eyes not wavering from his own blue eyes as she shunted the food to the side clearing a spot on the table. Pulling out a set of magical ink and paper, she set them on the table alongside a book that simply said 'Records'.

"You pass. I make a point of only providing items like that for people who can withstand a shadow of Chaos. Now it's time to talk business. What do you want and why?"

Jaune swallowed, his tongue suddenly feeling thick and unresponsive. The icy darkness seemed to have seeped into his bones, chilling his blood. A bone-deep tiredness and exhaustion made his eyes heavy.

His Aura had been devoured, magic torn away and every dreg of power he had possessed moments ago was gone, leaving a cold emptiness. When he blinked all that he could see was a frothing sea of gold, and evanescing colours with no name, stretching timelessly into infinity.

Slowly Jaune rallied his thoughts "I don't know how much you know about the RWBY, Remnant or whatever you call it loops, but in baseline, my partner dies."

A memory, of Pyrrha turning to glowing ashes in front of him as both she and Cinder Awaken at the last moment, helpless to do anything, flashed to mind; it had been the first time he had seen it happen with his own eyes.

It still hurt.

Lina didn't react as he rallied his thoughts, beyond biting into an apple as her eyes gleamed in interest.

"During the loops, we started dating and recently got engaged, I wanted your help to make a wedding ring."

Lina raised an eyebrow at the comment, laughing briefly before shaking her head "A wedding ring? That was not what I had expected. The last time I made one of those was a really odd variant where I spent the loop running around to get the parts to imbue a kings wedding ring with magic. Complete cock up but a lot of fun."

Letting her chair set back down Lina leant forwards, curiosity-igniting in her bloody eyes "So, how does Chaos have anything to do with a wedding ring?"

"The Darkness Beyond Twilight: All the bad that has happened and will happen going forwards into eternity. The Brilliance Beyond the Dawn: all the good we have experienced and will experience as we go onto infinity. Together forming the Golden Chaos of Existence that changes what is, so as to allow for a new future.

I want to craft a ring with a gem containing a fragment of the Sea of Chaos, that is what I wanted your help with."

As Jaune finished speaking Lina started snickering and then finally laughing, making him flush with embarrassment, his retort dying on his lips as Lina spoke, still laughing "Well, you have grand plans don't you?"

Abruptly she stopped, her amusement dying in moments as she became utterly serious. Jaune flinched, memories of gold leaping to mind, his hand reaching for the Sword of Light by sheer reflex.

"What you are asking for is a major undertaking and it will cost you a lot. You are not just desiring a ring with a shard of Chaos in it are you? But a ring to represent both sides of Chaos and its connection to you and your partner. That is much harder, I can just make you a ring with a Crystal of Chaos in it a lot cheaper, inscribed with the words you just said, but that's not the same thing."

The leader of JNPR stilled his hand, stopping himself from reaching for the blade, never taking his eyes from the short sorceress. "… What will it cost me?"

Lina drummed her finger on the table as she ripped into a piece of pork, Jaune could not think of a damn thing he could really offer her. Dust if she had never been to Remnant, but it was likely she had cleared the world of Dust before the loops she had had there ended.

"What are you willing to give for this? What are you willing to sacrifice to get this ring made?"

The words hung in the air with a deadly finality, awaiting an answer that Jaune did not know.

"Very well, I shall give you an offer."

Crimson eyes gleamed darkly as the sorceress spoke, "You take my place in this loop, I seal your memories, powers, and knowledge to what you would have from your loop memories. You will retain your memories of the loops but not what happens in this loop or be able to dredge up out of loop information that could help you.

I would still be showing up a periodically, I have no desire to be an ideal spectator to anything. But, if you take this deal I will not give you any assistance as to what you should do and would limit my help to basic magic and whatever takes my fancy.

You will have to deal with all the foes I dealt with, I will not help and I will send them your way if need be. I would also ensure that you have the possibly of finding the information and you need to succeed, whether you find or make use of it would be up to you.

Finish everything before the loop ends and with enough time left to craft it and I will make you your ring. Deal?"

"… Deal."

 **31.3 Masterweaver**

"So, Weiss, what did you want me to..." Blake glanced through the window. "Ah."

"It's one way," Weiss assured her. "They don't know we're out here."

They watched as Adam Taurus punched her father in the gut. Schnee senior, to his credit, countered with an uppercut to the chin.

"So... aren't you worried about them killing each other?"

"Took away their weapons when I kidnapped them, plus the chamber is designed to suppress all semblances."

Blake nodded as Adam shoulder-checked the older man into a metal wall. "Did you take that from a Sky High loop?"

Weiss gave her a confused look. "Sky what? No, it's Atlas tech." She turned back in time to see her father kick the White Fang general's legs out from under him.

"Oh. Impressive. Baseline?"

"Maybe. Ironwood gave it to me, so..."

The two of them stood in silence for a few moments as the two men wailed on each other.

"...Okay, so... part of me wants to ask why," Blake mused, "beyond the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny angle, of course."

"Well, Adam's physically abusive, and my father is emotionally abusive. I couldn't figure out which was more evil, so..."

She waved a hand as Schnee senior pulled Adam Taurus into a headlock.

Blake gave a low whistle. "Going to be honest, I did not expect your old man to hold his own in a fight like this. For all his faults, Adam's a pretty good fighter."

"Yes, well, war against the White Fang and all that. He's had experience." Weiss tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, they might have met before..."

Both of them rose their eyebrows as Adam tossed his opponent across the room.

"...You know, we're immortal time travelers. Is kidnapping two old men so they'll fight for our amusement really all that... moral?"

"...actually, that's a good question. I want to say yes, because of _who_ the men are, but..."

 **31.4 Masterweaver**

"Comedy!" Ruby yelled as she rode by on a unicycle honking twin horns in her hands.

"Tragedy," Blake bemoaned, her hair drooping over her eyes while curled up in a ball.

Action, read the sign Yang held as she walked casually away from a large explosion.

"Drama," Weiss intoned, lightly holding a wineglass as a dagger twirled in her fingers.

"Romance," Pyrrha breathed, Jaune dipping her almost to the ground with a grin.

HORROR, read the twisted shadows behind a grinning, blood-drenched Neopolitan.

"Schemes," Roman quipped, twirling his cane as he produced an expensive heirloom.

"Pranks!" Nora shouted, tossing a stack of pies behind her and hitting a Cardin cutout.

"Philosophy," Ren mused, thumbing through one of the many books around his armchair.

"Practicality," Jaune commented, taking Crocea Mars from atop a pile of other weapons.

Cuteness! read the huge poster behind Zwei, who barked as it fell down on top of him.

"Seriousness," Ozpin sighed, gesturing to the woman in the pod he was leaning against.

"GRANDEUR!" Cinder cried from atop an incredibly large and complicated airborne carrier.

"Peace," Glynda stated calmly, sipping her tea in the warm chair next to the hearth.

"Infinite repeats. Infinite worlds. Infinite variations." Ruby backed away from the camera, into a large crowd of all the others who had appeared. "Welcome to the multiverse. Welcome to the loops. Welcome to your new life." She paused and grinned. "Sanity optional."

"Aaaaaand cut!" Velvet leaned out from behind the camera. "Check the gate, we're good! That's a wrap people!"

"Well, that was fun," Fox deadpanned, shaking his head. "Why didn't we get the rest of the loopers involved?"

"Me and Velv couldn't think of good words for them while we were writing the script," Yatsuhashi admitted.

Coco took the camera and plugged it into her laptop. "I'll edit this all together and give it to Ruby next loop."

Various confirmations and nods echoed from the others present, some excusing themselves as they left the subspace pocket to handle things back in Remnant.

"Well, I'm sure it will be great," Ruby assured them. "Heck, it might even make it to the Hub!"

"Not that we'd know if it did," Weiss pointed out. "...Actually, I quite enjoyed this. Maybe write longer skits?"

 **31.2 Diesel (Continued)**

Crimson light filled the sky with a malevolence that knew no bounds, blotting out the sun and throwing the world into a land of blood lit shadows. Jaune glared helplessly at the rising Ghost of the Demon King, as the world around turned to ruin.

His hand clenched the hilt of the false Sword of Light and the Shield of Truth, the mirrored surface reflecting the pandemonium released upon the world. Demon headed rivers of power radiated off the egg like force field felt that shrouded the reborn demons form, thrashing like snakes as the devoured the city.

"Damn it!" Jaune snarled, glaring at the Ruby Star shining its light across the land, 'What the hell was I thinking! Letting all this destruction happen just for a ring!' Guilt choked him as the memory of the deal he made with Lina rose up.

He didn't think this was going to happen and now the world was on the verge of destruction and he could do nothing!

The ground tore apart, the thundering roar, still not managing to drown out the destruction and screams or agony. A horned monster rising from the blood-light, towering across the land, deep in its chest, the form of a young man was just visible.

In the distance, seemingly invisible to the demon king, twin pools of golden light gazed down at Jaune, shining golden hair streaming around her head like a halo, as it caught in the howling wind. Arms crossed across her chest as her trademark cape billowed in the wind, Lina Inverse stared down at the destruction wrought, a blank expression on her face as black-gold light cloaked her form.

She had been the driving force the whole loop, ensuring he could get the tools he needed and that the enemies would turn up. Sending entire countries into war to get the result she wanted if that was what was necessary and keep things on track.

She would just stay here and watch the world burn, as per the contract he signed in magic. Jaune snarled furiously had Lina and himself for making the

"No, I won't let you destroy my country!" Pokota roared, the plush like being taking flight, wing-like ears acting as wings as he roared a chant, dark fire like magic swirling in front of him.

"Thou who art Darker than Twilight.

Thou who art Crimson beyond Blood that Flows.

Buried in the Flow of Time.

In Thy great Name.

I pledge myself to Darkness.

Those who would stand against Us.

All those become Fools.

By the Power Thou and I possess.

Grant Destruction equally upon them all!"

The crimson power lanced across the sky, devouring the snakelike projections, and achieving nothing else of value as the tendrils reformed.

"Pokota, stop" Jaune snarled, turning to his companions and gesturing, "Run!"

The ruins flashed pass as the fighter ran through the ruins, ignoring the crushed and devoured bodies that left the ground slick with blood. "Pokota, that spell with only hurt the tendrils that will just reform, you will exhaust yourself long before you accomplish anything of value."

Amelia looked at her desperately, as they ran across the crumbling path "Then what Mr Jaune? What can we do?" The black haired girl looking highly distressed, pleading for him to come up with a plan, anything to stop the destruction.

What could they do?

Shabranigdo was erasing the world with a crimson light. If he was not stopped then everything would be destroyed.

What was Shabranigdo? IT was a Mazuko, a being of malice and hate, they hated all thoughts of life and happiness. Amelia had shown that by making Xellos sick with her rants about love, life, and justice.

While Mazoku got stronger from malice, hatred and all other negative emotions, the Shinzoku, the exact opposite, fed off happiness, hope and all that is positive.

The memory of holy and black magic combining to destroy Dark Star flashed to mind. If he could get hold of that magic…

The Shinzoku were dead or did not answer, humans could not use this magic anymore.

Could they invoke the hope in the souls of everyone in the world and cast a spell like that? He had no idea how to go about doing such a thing. There was no time to try to design a whole new style of magic casting on a vain hope.

What the hell could he do?

The only thing he could think of would destroy everything if he failed.

"I don't know!"

The demon snakes struck, wrapping around and crushing Zelgadiss before tearing him in two, the sound of stone-like flesh and bone snapping echoing sickly in Jaune's ears as his own blade of shimmering light cleaved through demonic familiar after demonic familiar.

 _All that is arises from the sea of chaos, the lord of nightmares._

Amelia fell moments later, her crushed corpse crashing to the ground as the serpentine tendril crumbled to dust as the sword of light cleaved through it.

Sapphire eyes locking onto the malefic aberration, seething rage boiling in his mind.

"… I'm done playing Shabranigdo," Jaune's voice was level and cold as he closed his eyes, spell concepts, equations and chants running through his mind. A hypothesis he complied before but never tried, a final trump card that would usher in a new era or end this existence utterly.

A titanic blast of crimson-black magic arced across the bloody sky, Jaune tripped crashing to the ground as the rock gave way under his feet. Desperately raising his shield, a barrier spell on his lips. It was too late, the dark red light crossed the distance in seconds Jaune could not do anything as his end approached.

'I'm sorry everyone, that I made that bet.'

Helplessness clawed at his mind before a purple and black form intercepts the blast, raising a staff in defiance as a barrier formed, a clear ringing of the devastating magic was blocked before smashing the barrier.

Xellos' broken and fraying form falling to the ground, Wisps of dark miasma flowing off his shattered body as broken shards disintegrated, fading into nothingness. "End it Jaune, do whatever you can to destroy the ghost of the Demon king."

The monsters gaze was unwavering as it gazed at him "You always form a plan, even if they don't always work. You would have had a plan prepared for something like this, success or fail, try. Should you will falter so shall your power, so defy the end."

He ached.

His friends and comrades had died because he failed, he was not good enough of a leader. The fact that they would not exist past this loop was irrelevant.

Painfully, Jaune pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the blood-drenched hair that fell over his face and armour now stained crimson with his companion's blood. A sword of glowing light in one hand and an intricate mirror-like shield in the other.

Inexplicitly, he started laughing, a maddened cold noise that was sill audible from over the howling of the end.

The idea of a demon encouraging him to save the world was odd, and now he was going to try to cast a spell he had never even tried and was purely hypothetical. And he was still unable to do a damn thing as the final members of the team fell to the ground broken, he could feel the magic of the demon king searing his flesh as he started to chant.

A blinding beam of ruby lights flashed across the sky, Jaune leapt, the searing light missing by inches as he dragged grabbed the broken form of Zelgadiss. Ripping the Demon Blood Talismans from the sorcerer, dropping his shield as his clipped the 4 magic amplifiers onto his arms before grabbing the shield again

"Why do you resist? You whose eyes have known despair without end and hatred with no bounds, let us walk the path of destruction together." The figure in the centre of the destruction spoke, the words being echoed by the demonic construct, the sound of earth tearing and joy at lamentations unending.

The words shook his bones and clawed at his mind, the demon kings power dragging up the memories of his utter helplessness in baseline, the despair of Pyrrha's death. The pain of the loops where he can do _nothing to change what had happened, his actions meaning nothing_.

 _Dead in baseline; now and forever. As his baseline-self was so pathetic to do his job properly._

 _You did this, forging that deal with the Anchor, the pain and suffering of this loop is your fault. Let it end, defy the Anchors' games, and give the lost the final peace. Let it all return to Chaos and all be one once more._

Jaune shook uncontrollably as he turned to the monster rising up over the dark horizons, trying to ignore the crimson power that rolled off it as hate boiled in his veins, the dark power feasting on it and stoking the malice that festers in his soul.

 _Cinder Fall._

She broke Vale, killed Penny, killed Pyrrha, destroyed everything and he did not know why. It was always different, no rhyme or reason and he could no nothing to stop her in the end.

His mind burned as the miasma tried to ensnare his thoughts, drawing on old wrath and hopelessness.

He wanted to hurt her, to keep ripping her apart, but if he started he would never stop, never be satisfied. And Cinder was not responsible.

The memories would not stop, the magic of the demon slipping through his mind and dredging up old nightmares and fantasies. Ripping away his control of his own mind.

 _You want to rage, to hurt those that have harmed you and yours. You have the right, just let go and turn all that you hate to nothing. Destroy everything with wrath unchained until only Chaos remains_.

"JNPR, RWBY." His voice was but a whisper against the siren song of destruction. 4 Red gems started to glow, dazzling shifting patterns appeared on the Shield of Truth as the false Sword of Light glowed in the apoplectic darkness as he swung the shield onto his back, hanging the blazing blade on his belt to leave his hands free to cast. he didn't need to physically hold the items in his hands to get the befits.

'Dark lords of the four worlds, on thy bond do I swear, grant me all the power you possess.'

"To be controlled by fear, to dictated by hatred, your path decided by envy; that is the path to loss." Brilliant blue eyes snapped open, glowing with a faint light as power coursed through his soul, mind sharpening as he drew deeply of the artefacts he carried.

A bellow echoed across the defiled land, as the bonds of darkness shattered and released their hold of his mind. "I will not be controlled by my emotions, I control them to push me further and defy eternity itself.

'I will finish this in time!" Nothing else was acceptable.

The Dragon Slave would not work but he had the basic idea of the theory, he just needed a new source of power, one that was more powerful than the demon.

The source of this world's creation, that he learnt about in the Clair Bible, when Phibrizzo was trying to get him to end existence, not knowing he had never made such a spell.

Sapphire eyes gleamed as his hair blew in a no existent wind.

"Thou who is darker than even darkness."

The deceased Ruler of Souls was about to get his wish. But, be careful about what you wish for.

"Deeper than the deepest night.

The Sea of Chaos and all who drift upon it.

Golden King of Darkness."

Jaune felt his mind bend and crack, as swirling creation-nothing manifested between his hands, as he raised his arms to the sky. It hurt, it hurt like nothing he could ever remembering feeling, the world went grey-scale and seemed to flex at the edges, reality jarring.

The weight of _Nothing-Everything_ , bearing down upon him. It hurt to think, to speak, but he could not stop. Words tumbling out of his mouth without thought as he focused on trying to keep the mechanics in mind.

 _Just a little bit more._

"Call you Thee.

I swear myself to Thee.

Those who stand before Us, they are all fools.

By the power you and I possess."

A star of golden-black blossomed into being above Jaune's hands. Chaotic power lashing the ground around him, arcing off the poorly controlled rift in reality and wiping all traces his teammates from existence as he struggled to maintain control over the spell. The pale figure within Shabranigdo's writhing form flinched, eyes wide and maddened.

"No, I will not be defeated!"

"Grant Destruction Equally Upon all!"

The world went crimson, the deafening sound of silence filling the air as the blast of black magic eclipsed the horizon.

The Sword and Shield cracked and shattered, the Demon Blood Talismans ripping apart, solidified miasma from the Demon Gods feeding the spell to keep it stable for a moment longer.

"Giga Slave!"

The Ruby Light of Destruction met the Golden-Darkness of Chaos and was erased before its master was consumed.

The world shook as Oblivion was made manifest in Existence; tearing the Soul of the Demon King of the Red Staff asunder.

Magma bubbled from the wound in the world, as the sun shone down upon the devastation. Nothing remained alive as far as the eyes could see, the city had been wiped, the trees were gone, all that remained was a crater filled with the sense of cold nothingness.

High above a red haired girl floated, a tall white-haired man swung over her shoulder. A hint of sadness on her face as she gazed at the devastation, "I didn't expect this. I honestly thought he would have died earlier or found one of the other keys books I had left so he could have ended this with less damage."

Running a hand through her hair, Lina shook her head before taking a flight to a distant city. "Or at least practising magic more before this. It was like he felt he had to do everything with a sword and avoid magic as much as possible.

She suspected she didn't do a very good job of suppressing his memories either, given some of his actions over the loop. Trying to keep everything on track without using out of loop powers had been a lot of fun, though.

Lina was so glad Amelia was not awake this loop, she still was not sure how Amelia had managed to get into a relationship with a fish man and then cheating on it with a beastman.

"Oh well, while I didn't want Amelia, Zelgadiss, and the others to die I think will be good for Jaune in the long run. He really needed to face some of his issues and bring them to light, I just hope he does not find out I enhanced Shabranigdo's mental abilities, that would be irritating.

Guess I have a ring to forge don't I?"

Jaune did his best to not look at Lina as she calmly double checked the spell circle she was crafting. It was intricate beyond belief, crafted out of magical metals, Dust, compounds from other realities, as well as crystallised fragments of both Shabranigdo and Ceifeed.

The whole thing took up about half a kilometer in total, trying to follow the logic and theories behind the circle's components had resulted in nothing more than a massive headache. As far as he could tell the circle was divide into three main parts: one-half for the fragments of Shabranigdo and one for the fragments of Ceifeed. And the logic of most of the other components seemed to match, in the center there was a separate circle.

Two small crucibles were embedded in the intricate array at the edges of the inner circle, one on either side. Two more circles sat opposite each other, both half in the outer and inner areas where he was sitting and one for Lina. A final ring was positioned at the exact center for some bloody purpose.

"Looks good, so I guess it's time to get started.

Lina looked like a ballerina as she danced around the arrays, finally back flipping into her spot, sitting down cross-legged in the exact centre.

"Now," Red eyes lost all humour becoming utterly serious, the change in attitude was enough to make Jaune tense, "This is how this will work, we are going to be following the logic you used, not the specific powers, or at least not by themselves."

She gestured around the vast cavernous hall where they were working with a gloved hand "This array will be taking your memories of your Fiancé, the emotions you feel concerning her and how they interact with you soul and power. These will be divided into positive and negative."

Crimson eyes seemed to reflect the dim lights in the cave as they narrowed, turning harsh her voice unyielding "And I mean all your memories, thoughts and feelings. Everything you feel towards this woman will be part of this ring, tied together with the faith that you accept her for who she is."

An icy chill went down Jaune's back as he kept his eyes locked on the other looper as she kept speaking, hands folded in her lap.

"My original intent was to have the ring act as a type of pensive, so when she placed the ring on she would be able to access the memories and feelings you have left in the ring and allow her to store moments she wishes to remember clearly in the ring herself.

But you mentioned that she had issues with all kinds of mind magic's, so instead the ring will generate powerful magical armour and weaponry, based on you understanding of her preferred equipment. But she will be able to change it if she desires, I will leave you instruction on how. The ring will also become attuned to her so before a loop crashes or ends it will go into her Pocket.

Do you, understand and accept?"

"Yes," Jaune was rather proud of managing to keep his voice level, he… was scared shitless of Lina and he felt like flinching every time she acted seriously.

He was honestly not sure if she was doing it on purpose or not.

"Good, the final part will be forging a crystal out of the Sea of Chaos, optimally I would be guiding you through doing that but casting the Giga Slave almost killed you and Chaos is difficult to control. Once the metal is formed and the Crystal forged I will craft the ring, you will be here until I'm done."

Lina handed over a set of knives that glinted oddly in the faint light as they reacted with his power, all of it. Feeling like extensions of his self, but somehow empty, like they were a vessel that had yet to be filled

Jaune frowned examining the blades, they were wrought out of some kind of golden-red metallic substance but he honestly doubted it was metal. Physically, they were rather plain and unadorned, but obviously made for combat; one of the blades felt like the promise of light yet to manifest, while the other like the promise of darkness to come.

The metal for the ring.

Jaune looked the twin blades over, perfectly balanced for combat and given how they cut through the air they were true lethal weapons and far heavier than they looked. Unbidden a smile spread across his face, it was fitting that they were made to look like actual combat blades rather than decorative, ceremonial tools.

Lina started speaking when he looked up from the blades, her eyes focused intently on him.

"When we start I will need you to not resist the magic and follow through with it and what you are guided to do. I will not see your throughs and memories, and I do not care, so don't try to hide anything. Understood?"

Lina paused, waiting for an acknowledgement before continuing, "Light, right hand. Dark, left. When I tell you, you are to cut your opposite arm with each blade and plunge them into the groves." The red haired girl pointed to the two circles that fell between the dark and light halves and the central circle. at each point, there was a deep groove.

"This has to be done at the same time, do not let go until I explicitly tell you to, and for the record, after this is done you will feel exhausted. Ready?"

At Jaune's nod, Lina cut her own palms using a single plain blade, letting the shining crimson liquid fill recess' in the stone before placing them flat on an intricate circle.

Iridescent Light of every colour that did and did not exist filled the room as the array ignited. Melodies that had no Sound played through the cave, sweeping and falling choruses filled with the promise of eternity, of good and bad uniting to change what is.

It was an almost complete sensory overload, Jaune felt the magic threatening to sweep his conscious away but the blades he held bound his mind even to awareness even as tears started to fall freely, sparking in the prismatic light, bursting into sparks of light and dark as they hit the ground.

The memory of not being able to stand equal to Pyrrha as her partner playing freely in his mind entwined with when they first met, all that time ago in that first baseline.

He did not know if the tears were of sadness or joy, or if it even mattered. Time slipped away as memories flowed freely, yet when Lina's command came he was still able to act without hesitation. Blades cutting deeply into flesh, drinking in blood and life before being plunged into the ground in one swift movement.

A wave of light sweeping over the hall and Jaune screamed as power poured from his body, his mind lost in memories of times long past and overwhelmed by emotions. In the depths of his mind where fragments of rationality still lay, instructions were whispered on how to twist and weave his power into the spell. The magic not leaving any option for him not to follow through with them.

The blades of the ceremonial blades melting and flowing through the array through hundreds of kilometres of channels worked into the array.

Eyes closed Lina chanted; her eyes and hair shining like molten gold, radiating golden darkness that eclipsed darkness itself, that was deeper than even the deepest ocean and colder than the coldest ice.

Time blurred and hours melted away as the array shut down, lights extinguishing from the outside in; the metal pouring into the two crucibles, as silver memories melted into the mix, one glowing brightest hope and the other radiating the deepest despair.

A fleck of a brilliant, deep gold manifested between the Avatar of Nightmares palms, encased in an incomprehensible darkness.

Prismatic light mixed with streams of glowing liquid metal being drawn from the crucibles, encasing and trapping the Chaos, its edges blending with the emotionally charged metal.

A black crystal forming with a deep, glowing centre that seemed warp reality around it as the liquid metal that shone with the Brilliance that awaited Beyond the Dawn wove with the Darkness that lay Beyond Twilight, forming a two-toned band.

The Crystal of Chaos forming the centrepiece of the ring, held in place by claws of the blended metals fusing with the crystal. Two Baggett cut Dust crystals were set on either side, one of each primary type.

On the lighter of the two golden bands the words could be seen 'The Brilliance that will always lie beyond the Dawn', should someone looked deeper more text would be seen 'Remember all the good that has happened and will happen into infinity."

In the darker of the two golden bands, different words could be seen 'The Darkness that will always lie Beyond the Twilight', behind this text, more words could rose up 'Never forget the tragedies that have happened and will happen into eternity."

When looked at together, the bands showed a different set of words that glowed with a colourless light "When the Darkness of Twilight combines with the Brilliance of Dawn, the Chaos of Existence is born to create a new future for all."

 **31.5 Masterweaver**

"Just so you all know, everyone in Slytherin thinks I'm insane for being friends with a half-breed, a mudblood, and Yang."

Ruby smirked as Weiss joined them. "To be fair, you _are_ insane. Comes with being a looper. I take it house unity is still a bit away."

"Well, yes and no." The heiress waggled her hand. "They respect my money, and I've proven my intelligence, so now I'm a cunning stooge. Once I craft a secret plan and humiliate some upperclassman, I'll become a qualified schemer, and it's only a few steps from there I can become a master planner."

"You could go for Penelope Clearwater," Blake suggested.

Ruby frowned. "Is she _still_ hounding you about trading riddles with the knocker?"

"Can't help it if I'm half sphinx."

Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders, curling a hand into a fist questioningly.

Blake shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I think it's better to beat her at her own game. Or let Weiss handle the situation, ravenclaws respect mental prowess."

"Well, Yang is smarter than she looks," Ruby pointed out. "Which is saying something!" she quickly added at her sister's mock glare.

"I'm still amazed you managed to teach Gryffindor sign language," Weiss commented absently. "How'd you swing that?"

Yang held up two fingers and gestured at Ruby's hair.

"Yes, the Weasly twins would see the potential in silent communication," the heiress acknowledged. "And... everybody else learned just to keep from being surprised, didn't they?"

The blonde nodded, an evil grin on her face.

"It's incredible how seriously you're taking this silence bet..."

"How are things in Hufflepuff?" Blake asked.

Ruby huffed. "It's not as bad as you guy's situation, it's just... they're treating me like a little girl!"

"You kind of are. Nine years old and all that."

"I'm a gosh darn prodigy! They should respect that! But nooooo, it's always 'let the older badgers handle this,' or 'you're too young to understand.' Can't we go after the stone now?"

"You know it won't make an impression unless we fight Voldemort," Weiss replied.

"I know, I just... ugh..."

 **31.6 ToaMataNui5000**

"You're all banned from dating each other this Loop, girls!" Jaune ordered as he swung the door opened and entered uninvited.

"Excuse me?" Yang demanded, quite nettled to be interrupted from her cuddle session with Blake.

"What? Why?" Ruby asked with a lot more kindness to her tone.

"Trust me, it's for a good reason," Jaune took a breath before continuing. "So remember how I have seven sisters whose faces change every Loop since baseline expansions have yet to permanently define who they are and what they look like?"

Blake raised her eyebrows, her cuddle session forgotten. "Why do I get the feeling that I know exactly where this is going?"

The blonde knight solemnly nodded. "Eeyup! All four of you are my sisters this Loop. If it makes you feel any better Yang, Pyrrah is also a sibling, so we can't go out either..."

Yang sighed, her anger fading into defeat. "Aww damn! Not the relationship I want. Not that being your family member is a bad thing, of course! It's just..."

"No need to explain," the lone male present cut the fiery fist-flinger off. "I fully understand."

"How is that even possible?" Weiss, the only member of RWBY not Awake, finally spoke up. "It sounds totally ridiculous and all too coincidental..."

"Let's just say my mother got around a lot, according to my current memories..."

"But Yang and I have different moms that we take after! Even ignoring the obvious DNA issue, most of us are close in age, and it would be kinda impossible for any women to handle that many pregnancies..."

"When did I ever say Taiyang was the one she knocked up?" Jaune countered. " **She got. Around. A lot.** Should be kinda obvious..."

"Oh... **Oh!** Damn!" Yang finally realized. "Bow-chika-bow-wow!"

"Even willingly going the distance with a Faunus," Blake nodded. "I appreciate that, in some twisted way I really shouldn't be..."

"Well, us and Pyrahh make five, but who's the other two?" The red hooded anchor inquired. "I'm guessing Nora, though that might be too obvious..."

"Right on the money, actually," Jaune confirmed.

"By process of elimination, Winter should be the seventh..."

"Nope, she had your baseline mother, surprisingly enough..." He corrected Weiss. "Not sure how my mom managed to hit up your dad, though..."

"You're telling me..."

"So, what? Did Ren get a sex change to cover the fact that he's your final sister?"

"Yang! Seriously! Have some tack and grace..."

"I don't feel any shame, and I won't apologize..."

"Ignoring that..." Ruby quieted them down. "Is it Cinder?"

"Thank the admins not! She ain't awake this Loop. And she certainly doesn't need to willingly off family members while reveling in it to further her detestability. I hate her enough as it is..."

"You mean her Unawake, right?" Ruby stared, a clearly defensive tone building in her voice.

"Sure, whatever! Point is, it ain't her. It's actually..."

"Salutations, my siblings for this current iteration of time-looping!" A familiar voice rang out from the hallway. Jaune stumbled as he was tackled from behind, pulled into a surprise hug by Penny.

"Hey Penny!" Ruby regained her smile. "I'm guessing Ironwood is feeling Loopy, since you're attending Beacon with us?"

"Eeyup! And thank you for having vaguely defined blood relatives we can replace, Jaune!" She tightened her hug, causing the blonde boy to loose breath. "I can subtract having an older brother from my bucket list now!"

"Could you please... Not subtract... Accidentally killing said brother off... in the same Loop, at least..." Jaune managed to wheeze out.

"Oops! Sorry!" The android let go, unceremoniously dropping Jaune to the floor. "Sorry again..." She offered a hand.

"It's cool. I've had worse instances of being one of the multiverse's chew-toys..." Jaune accepted the hand. Standing back up, a satisfying chorus of bone pops sounded off as he stretched.

"Well, he technically never did say all his sisters were living people..." Weiss commented on the scene. "Oh, and just because you're related to me, doesn't give you the excuse to abuse the Schnee family fortune!"

Jaune snickered, in a failed attempt at deviousness. "Too late! I actually paid for legitimate transfer documents this Loop! Also paid off Roman to keep the White Fang off our figurative and literal tails!"

"You son of a literal whore! I swear, if you've bankrupted us..."

"Oh, cool down, ice princess! It'll all come back the next Loop..." Yang lampshaded, a round of chuckles from the rest of the room agreeing with her.

 **31.6 Masterweaver**

Blackened trees, or were they arms, rose from an ocean of burning blood, stars twinkling as she walked through. She emerged in a clearing and-Adam? No, Ruby, with Adam's clothes, Adam's horns, smiling at her. "It's so good to see you!" she cried, her hands falling off as tajitu slithered out of her sleeves by the thousands. "You wanna see a trick?"

 _trick trick tricky tricksy big bang boom_

She walked forward and gravity changed and now she was walking on Ruby, on her face, falling into the endless pit of the silver eyes. Zwei barked as he flew by, whirling Penny's swords like helicopter blades, gravestones screaming whispering as they whisked by by by by by by and then she was on a horse, a white horse, looking down at a little green haired girl

 _girl whirl twirl unfurl pearl such much OCD_

The girl looked up at her, and it was Amber. "Oh hey. You're late. So late." She twisted, turned, rising, writhing. "It's okay, I know a short cut. Follow me!" And they were running, her on horseback, her on beowolf. The horse jumped a banister with the guns in its robot legs, and she went head over heels and landed face-first in Emerald's cleavage

 _ha ha ha you ship yourself hahaha ha ha_

and pushed back even as Emerald stole her dress, leaving her in her underwear. But there wasn't time to fix that, no, she was already rushing, rushing to get to the table, and she sat down. Velvet cackled maniacally to her right, even as Yatsuhashi made out with Tukson and Fox poured her tea from Coco's head.

 _head dead bed said wait is that yaoi so much want_

Salem nodded at her, sipping her own cup of tea. "Wonderful to see you again, Cin-cin. Ah, the crumpets are here!" Roman, dressed up as a butler, held out a platter, and Neo stood on it throwing cupcakes at everyone. "Quite good. Quite good indeed. Actually, somebody wanted to meet you. Off you go!"

 _okay those cupcakes have nothing to do with anything_

Velvet kicked her chair and she fell backwoard, only her foot got snagged in the tablecloth and she was dangling in spaces, the moon of Remnant hovering below her in all its fractured glory. She could see a tree, writhing, twisting, and she wanted somewhere, anywhere to look but there-

 _there hair bear care stupid care bears so sugary yeeech_

-and she looked up her legs, at the tablecloth which was now a web of strings, attached to a blue river in the shape of an infinity symbol. Vaguely she heard words coming from it-never forever forever never-and then great red eyes opened, behind the symbol as glasses, and she saw long pink-tipped ears in golden rings. And the creature spoke.

"Would you like to make a contract?"

Cinder burst awake, sitting up in a cold sweat, her breathing shallow. It took her a few moments to realize she wasn't still dreaming.

"...What in the actual FUCK?!"

 **31.7 Masterweaver**

"Hey there, hot stuff." Cardin leaned on the table, giving Yang what he probably thought was a winning smile. "How's it hanging?"

Yang glowered at him, fingers twitching.

"So hey, I was thinking. Maybe you'd like to head out with me this weekend." He rolled his hand. "I know this place with great booze. What do you say?"

The blonde flipped him off.

"Oh, come on babe. Tell me how you really feel."

"She can't talk," Ruby stated from across the table. "Got whacked by a grimm in the throat during initiation." Which wasn't actually true, but it was a convenient excuse for the duration of Yang's whole... silence bet thing.

Cardin hummed appreciatively. "Really? You know, that just makes you even sexier."

Yang gave him a fond smile and, even as her eyes turned red, began methodically and systematically cracking every one of her knuckles.

Ruby took a sip of her milk. "You should run," she stated calmly. "Well, it won't change anything, but you know, it'll be more entertaining for the rest of us. Just a suggestion."

 **31.8 Masterweaver**

"Weiss, why are we bandicoots?"

"I think it's a reference to a bizarre metaphor from the Homestuck loops, implicitly acknowledging our freedom from baseline as being entirely natural."

"..."

"Either that or Yggdrassil is drunk."

 **31.9 Diesel**

"Hey, Rubes!"

Ruby looked over to her unawake sister, who had just stridden into the almost empty library, putting the book she was reading down on the desk. "Yeah Yang, what do you want?"

"Well I was thinking about the timeline stuff and all that and I got a question."

 _'That's unusual, usually, Yang just goes with it.'_ Ruby thought "What is it?

"Well, from the sound of it, our lives pretty much go down the toilet when the festival comes around. And it apparently happens because of like, what, three-four people?"

"Well more than just that, but yeah, only a couple of people who really mess with us personally." Ruby looked over "Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out why you let them go free then? From what you've said, this Adam guy is a jerk, the whole thing is being orchestrated by Cinder and you can run faster than anything on Remnant." Yang clenched her fists, eyes flashing red briefly with her anger, something Ruby could empathise with completely "So why don't you kick their butts and be done with it?" She growled, the desk cracking under her grip as she leant against it.

Ruby sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds before looking her sister in the eyes and responding. "There are a number of reasons, and as a rule, I do stop what they are doing, in some way or another. To just leave them to run free and hurt people, to continue as they did in baseline… it would be criminal, but there are other things to think about as well."

Yang sat down across from Ruby, her brow scrunched in thought, her frustration, if anything, just rising as she tried to get a hung on her temper "What else is there to think about?"

"Cinder is a looper as well," Yang choked, a look of absolute shock on her expression "as are Roman Torchwick and his assistant Neo."

Yang fell silent, the sounds of people whispering elsewhere in the library drifting over, Nora's maniacal laughter echoing from the courtyard where she warred with Weiss over the best animal.

Ruby's lips twisted into a bitterly amused smile, "Can you start to see the issue? One of the general prerequisites for a person to start looping is an emotional connection to the Anchor and then other loopers."

Seeing her sister struggling for words, Ruby sighed, reaching into her Pocket and pulling out an album of photos, pushing it over to Yang to started paging through the thick album, face going whiter and whiter.

Ruby sat quietly watching her normally boisterous sister mutely page through the album looking at photo after photo of Cinder, Neo, and Roman all laughing, joking and playing with everyone else.

After several minutes had passed, Ruby spoke up, her voice much quieter than before "There are things called variants loops, things are different in theses. Sometimes small, other times massive differences. Cinder started looping from a variant, in this, she was our sister and has since had to deal with memories of a monster, loop after loop. All of team RWBY considers her to be our sister to some extent or another, I'm the closest to her but you come close."

Yang let her head fall into her hands, groaning "You have to be kidding, she is our sister?"

"Yes, she is darker than most of us, but she is a good person and if I killed her at the start of each loop then she would not wake up."

Liquid silver eyes met Lilac, as Yang raised her hands from her head to look at her sister, a sense of vertigo sweeping over her as Yang gasped for a moment exactly how far removed she was from Ruby.

She had not mentioned killing anyone, it had never even been a factor she was thinking about.

Ruby smiled wryly, seeming to get what the issues was "Capturing Cinder has a tendency to not work as she often manages to get out and I can't tell if it is a baseline thing or not. So if I was to do what you ask then I would need to kill her or lock her up myself. A similar thing to Roman and Neo, but to a lesser extent.

They claim to have started looping from two diffract variants, not too sure on that honestly, even if I have no solid evidence to go on. And even in baseline, they are not Evil, but rather tired and bereft of all hope, just trying to survive."

Ruby shook her head, lost momentarily in memories "They don't deserve death, not normally. And while jail holds them more regularly than Cinder, they almost always get out at some point near the loops end or a Grimm attack. It's a quirk of the loops."

Yang growled in frustration, running her hands through golden hair "What about the others then? Adam, Salem, Mercury, Emerald and whoever else? How do you stop them?" Her voice was almost desperate, as she looked at her team leader uncomprehendingly.

She did not understand. Yang felt lost if she could not hold them in jail and killing them was out, then what could be done?

"Mercury and Emerald obey Cinder, so that is not really an issue once she is dealt with. The rest? Mainly dismantling their organisations, leaking intel to the police, stopping vital movements and operations like that." Ruby shrugged as an explosion of pancake batter and ice cream covered the academy. Splashing in though the libraries windows as Weiss' laughter and proclamations of victory resounded through the halls.

"Salem we normally kill at some point, it's rather routine. Adam is normally arrested or forced to flee with no support. It's rather routine and on the whole, we are apathetic about them. And we have to be, an emotional connection and investment raised the chance of them looping."

"Ohh," Yang mumbled, seeing the point Ruby was making, speaking up more clearly and directly after a few seconds of thought "If they mean so little to you I'm guessing you forget or just don't see the point all of dealing with them all the time, right?"

Ruby winced, before nodding "Pretty much, and there is also boredom. You really can't comprehend what it is like to do the same thing over and over, we often leave them around to mess with their schemes at some predefined point or similar. We _need_ to keep stimulated and push back the boredom. And it's more important for me than the others as I am the Anchor, the loops stability is partly based on my mental health."

Yang leant back into the chair, crossing her arms in thought, Weiss' gloating adding weight to what Ruby was saying "Is boredom really such a problem you would let them go free?" She remembered Ruby mentioning about ways a loop could _End_ , the thoughts make her shudder.

If Ruby need something to keep going during this…

"I'm not sane Yang."

Her eyes snapped to her tired looking sister, the weight of ages seemingly bearing down on her. "I act a lot like the Ruby you remember as a defence, it's a mask to cling to, a set of behaviours to go by when the loops crush. To make me move and act when I feel like doing nothing, not even wanting to get out of bed, even as thirst and starvation kills me.

When all I want to do is fight, to simply rip part those that seem to be nothing more than cardboard cut-outs repeating the same things again and again.

I like being Ruby Rose, at least the Ruby Rose I am at my best in the loops, an identity based on my non-looping self but not the same. I know that by all conventional morality It is wrong. But I need the stimulation, we all do, even as we need checks and balances so we don't stop carrying completely and go insane, thinking nothing we do matters at all."

Yang stared at Ruby, yawning horror filling the pit of her stomach as the situation started to fully dawn on her.

Without words, Yang stood up and walked over to Ruby and pulled her into a hug.

 **31.10 Shimmer712**

"Jaune? What are you doing?" Pyrrha looked around the room. Jaune had a number of craft supplies, scrapbooks and photos scattered around.

"Oh, this?" Jaune hummed, sticking something in place. "I thought it would be nice to have an album. You know, for us and our family." He held up the album he was working on, the page it was opening displaying four photos. The photo of a young Nora smashing her hammer over a beowolf's head gleefully had flower and heart shapes surrounding it, while the others were sparse, awaiting decorations.

Pyrhha smiled and walked over to the desk where three other albums were sitting open, glue drying. One was opened to photos Ren, another to photos of herself and the last to photos of her. She examined carefully.

"Can I help?" she asked.

Jaune grinned and gestured grandly. "Take your pleasure from my services, my lady," he proclaimed.

"So we should move to the bed?" Pyrhha smirked, giggling slightly as he flushed. She sat down and looked at the shapes. "Maybe we could add some glitter?" she suggested, picking up two tubes, one pink and the other white.

Juane shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"We should have a separate album for baby photos," she mused absentmindedly.

"Good idea," Jaune agreed.

"This is nice," Pyrrha sighed, leaning back contentedly. She felt Jaune nodded his head, probably leaning against the tree behind him. She closed her eyes. "We should have more outings like this," she noted, placing her hands on Jaunes.

"We really should," Jaune agreed. Pyrrha had guess correctly, he was leaning against the tree. It was nice, sitting here, with Pyrrha in front of him, resting against him and his arms wrapped around her. He rested his cheek against her.

"I can't believe we'll be getting married," Pyrrha murmured. "I can't believe _I'm_ getting married."

"What's so hard to believe?"

"Well...I used to think about it," Pyrrha admitted. "When I was little. I never had any one in mind, just images of the flowers, decorations the different places. I'd play dress up and make bouquets from the garden and sing songs."

"That's kinda cute," Jaune smiled.

Pyrrha smiled herself. "But, then I started winning tournaments and, well, people started to distance themselves from me. I got put on pedestal. And with everyone keeping me separate, well, it didn't seem like I'd find someone. So I started thinking it would never happen for me, especially after baseline." Her head drooped, remember the lonely idolization.

"So I guess this is a dream come true for you," Jaune commented.

Pyrrha laughed lightly. "I guess."

Hidden by the trees, a Ursa started to head towards the pair. It did not see the attack coming.

"Don't spoil their date," Nora hissed at the dissolving corpse.

Nearby, Ren killed a pack of beowolves who were attracted to the human emotion.

"Don't even think of it," he muttered darkly.

He and Nora looked at each other and shared a grin before slipping off the ensure no Grimm got near their parents.[/


	32. Trials and Tribulations

**32.1**

"Due to recent realizations of the comedic value of the so called 'Groin Attack' all women within the Remnant branch are cautioned to avoid situations of perversion typical of male protagonists," Ruby recited. The Anchor of Remnant handed the sheet of paper to Blake, the only other looper Awake. "Translation."

"Do something people think is perverted, get kicked in the balls," Blake said. She flipped the piece of paper over. "The gods have good stationary."

"But..." Ruby frowned. "I don't have-"

"Have you checked?"

"...Blake, I am an amorphous mass of autonomous cellular matter in the shape of nigh infinite Ruby Chibis. Not only can I not check, if I did have balls, I would have simply altered my form unconsciously to resemble my usual cute fifteen year old self."

"Lucky," Blake grumbled. "At least I don't need to worry about five o'clock shadow."

"Eh?" Ruby said, opening the door to their room. She and Blake instantly ground to a halt at the sight of Yang and Weiss in the room.

Yang and Weiss changing, in the room.

"EEK! PERVERTS!"

Ruby, typical of her amorphous blob status, felt nothing. Blake...

"MY LADY BALLS!"

Well, not everyone was a winner.

 **32.2 Gammatron**

Team RWBY and JNPR woke at the same time...and simultaneously tried to not bang their heads on the table/squeal in excitement.

"Good morning y'all. Ah'm yer teacher fer this here class," a man in a red suit and a military haircut greeted as he wrote 'Sargent Sargent' on the chalboard behind him, "Mah name is Sarge, and y'all are gonna be makin' sure y'all call me that, ya hear?" he turned to Weiss, "YOU! Y'all are wearing red with BLUE! DETENTION!"

"Wait, what?!" Weiss looked at Sarge in shock, "But..."

"Insubordination! Out of mah class this instant!" Sarge pulled out a shotgun and pumped it, "Or do y'all want t' be on th' end of mah boomstick?"

"Uh...No? I'm, uh, I'm good with leaving the class?"

"Slacker, are ya? Headmaster's office!" Sarge snapped.

 _'This is going to be an annoying Loop,'_ Yang thought as Weiss left the class.

"Now then, listen up here. Ah ain't gonna bore y'all with them fancy lectures or them talks 'bout mah history. What Ah am gonna do...IS TEACH Y'ALL HOW TO GET THEM DANG GRIMM!" Sarge snapped before firing his shotgun at the cage beside him that should have been physically impossible to get into the room due to the cage's massive size and released a Beowolf the size of a truck, "Now listen up, if'n y'all can't find yerself a ride, y'all go out and find th' biggest, meanest, bloodthirsty Grimm y'all can, beat th' crap outta it, and then saddle that there baby up!" the Beowolf pounced at Sarge, who rolled under the attack and pulled out a saddle, "Now y'all watch and learn! Simmons, give me a beat! ...Oh darn it! Ah fergot Simmons ain't here! And there's no Grif either!" he looked around the worried students before settling on Cardin, "You there!"

"Me?" Cardin asked.

"Y'all are mah Grif this class! Get down here and be mah meatshield!"

"...What?"

 _'Okay...Annoying loop got interesting,'_ Yang thought as she laughed via writing 'Hahahahahhahahahha' on signs as Cardin screamed as he ran around away from Sarge who was trying to paint him orange with a fat suit...and away from the Beowolf chasing them.[/QUOTE]

 **32.3**

"So, you are a Faunus."

"I am."

"And a former member of the White Fang."

"My former partner, Adam Taurus, is the current leader of the White Fang."

"I see."

Blake sipped her tea, eyeing Winter Schnee cautiously, before realizing exactly what she was doing. "It's nothing important to me. I put my ties to the White Fang far behind me."

Winter didn't answer immediately, looking out from the small veranda she and Blake were taking tea on. The sun was shining, the breeze was sending a handful of leaves about, and in the distance birds could be heard filling the air with song. It really looked nothing like the hellscape that Beacon would become if nothing were done to protect it. A situation due in large part to the former partner of Blake's. "I see."

Pouring herself more tea and lapping it, Blake patiently observed the simultaneously older and younger woman in front of her. "Have you had a Fused Loop yet Winter?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, not yet," Winter admitted. The heiress of the Schnee corporation sent a sideways glance at Blake. "Why do you ask?"

Setting her tea aside Blake blinked her eyes, their common gold darkening to blood red. A black ring formed within the iris, with a triumvirate of small circles growing from the ring, elongating along the track into the characteristic commas, or rather, tomoe, of the Sharingan. Blake looked at Winter, the eidetic effect recording her shock and surprise and the small hint of curiosity in her gaze. "My first Fused Loop happened concurrently with Ruby's, Nora's, and the others. Harry Potter came here, Ruby ended up in Superman's world... Actually, that's not important."

Blake tapped her chin, the tomoe in her eyes spinning along their ring. "My first fused loop wasn't easy. I was Kuroko Uchiha, the sister of Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha, and boy was being an Uchiha rough. My entire family in that Loop was killed by Itachi and Sasuke was both obsessed with killing Itachi and terrified of having friends, lest he be tempted to kill them to gain more power. As for why he would be tempted to kill... Look, the Sharingan is complicated and more of a curse than a blessing."

Winter nodded. "If it isn't the Sharingan, then it would be..."

Blake frowned lightly and shrugged. "Well... Sasuke was an alright person. He liked that there was someone new around and that I was his sister. He showed me the ropes of his world, taught me how to be stronger, faster, more powerful than I had ever been. When I had developed my Sharingan as far as it could go he even offered to fuse his eyes with mine to give me even more power. That's not to say he was nice about it all the time. Sasuke is an asshole. But..."

Blake tapped her teacup, watching the ripples with her red eyes. "Well, he was my asshole. He changed a lot while Looping. He became better. And he gave me hope that maybe Adam would be like him: angry, lashing out, misguided, but still fundamentally good. That was wrong though."

The red receded, Blake's golden eyes returning. "Sasuke was the sort of person I desperately wanted Adam to be. Adam will never be like him, but Sasuke's a lot like Adam. That's why, in the end, I think of Sasuke as family. He was something I wanted to see in a family member."

Winter and Blake were silent for a long time. "Blake, what do you think of Adam now?"

"He's a monster. A Grimm that talks and walks and carries a sword. I handle him like all huntresses handle Grimm."

"Okay." Winter looked at Blake in thought. "When I heard your history from my sister, I worried you had the sort of spirit Faunus like Adam would."

"I do what I think is right. Violence isn't the answer," Blake affirmed. "Violence against anyone, especially the innocent, and especially my friends, Weiss included."

"...I know that," Winter muttered. "Hm. Well, you've left me at a disadvantage Blake. I wanted to make certain that you wouldn't hurt my sister, and now I'm afraid of hunting you lest your brother arrive."

Blake shrugged, a bit of a smile on her face. "You don't need to worry about him. Sasuke's in another dimension: he couldn't reach you if he tried."

"She's right you know, but seriously, don't fuck with my sister," Sasuke affirmed.

Blake and Winter stared at the suddenly appeared young man. Sasuke laughed. "I love fused Loops."

 **32.4 Masterweaver**

"And the bumblebee has flown right into my lair," Roman Torchwick greeted with a grin. "How are my two favorite broken birds this loop? You need help arranging something with the criminal underworld?"

Yang rolled her eyes and licked her ice cream. Blake crossed her arms. "Actually, we were looking for Neo."

"What?" Roman put on a wounded expression. "Am I not interesting anymore?"

"I'm sure the cops would be _very_ interested in you," the faunus replied. "Yang's more interested in grilling her cousin right now. She's around, right?"

With a sigh, the fashionable thief waved them into the next room. "Yes, yes. Neo, you have guests!"

The girl with tri-colored hair-and how _that_ branch of genetics worked still wasn't clear-looked up from her holographic map of Vale and the riddlemarks she had placed around it. She grinned at the pair, shutting off the map and kicking up her heels with a wave.

"Neo," Blake replied with a nod. "As you know, Yang's in the middle of her silence bet, so she can't quite say what she needs to. Which is why I'm here."

That earned a frown from the criminal girl, who turned to the blonde and started signing rapidly. Yang rolled her eyes, signing back with one hand and gesturing at her face. Neo snorted, but leaned back and gestured for Blake to continue.

"You see," Blake explained, "Ruby just recently told us of a loop-one where you were either stealthing or awakened late, it doesn't matter which. The point is, she mentioned that you and Zwei had started dating." She held up a hand to forestall protests. "Now, I'm sure that you're being mutually respectful, and that you won't intentionally hurt each other. However, as Yang is the older sister in the Rose/Long family, she has an obligation to inform you of the... _consequences,_ should you fail to take Zwei's feelings seriously."

At this point, Yang held out her ice cream cone and triggered her semblance.

"It is true that most physical harm will be neutralized by loop's end," Blake continued. "Therefore she decided to get creative. Her semblance, you see, has the side effect of generating heat. Quite a bit of it. And she's taken quite a few loops to master that particular side effect... as well as locate all the ice cream shops in Remnant."

Drip, drip, drip went the ice cream before the tri-haired girl's increasingly horrified gaze.

The faunus smiled. "I trust her point is clear."

Neo jolted, quickly and desperately signing to both of them.

"Well, Ruby is more of a cookie girl than an ice cream girl." Blake shrugged. "Plus she's the Anchor, so she'll have plenty of loops where she can get some without, you know, worrying about Yang."

The blonde in question flared her aura, burning her sweet to a crisp and dropping it on the ground. She pointed at her own eyes, then at Neo.

Then, unexpectedly, she dove across the table and wrapped the other girl in a bone-crushing hug.

"Of course, all that said, Yang hopes you and Zwei will be happy together," Blake translated unnecessarily.

Yang leaned back, ruffled the other girl's hair with a grin, and skipped out the door.

"...And now we're going to go pull a prank on Ozpin," the cat faunus added, following her out. "Have a nice day."

Neo stared at the door as they left, her mouth opening and closing silently as she tried to process what had just happened.

After a moment, Roman leaned through the door. "So... you started dating the dog? When did _that_ happen?"

The only reply he received was the repeated banging of a head against a table.

 **32.5 Masterweaver**

The history of tea, in the Hub, was actually pretty interesting all things considered. Especially when compared to the idea in the nuclear tech era that tea was somehow a 'calm' drink, as opposed to soda or coffee or beer. Wine was also a calm drink in popular view, but only because it was relegated to dinners on dark nights, calms before passionate storms. All that was merely perception, of course, as technically everything could be drunk at any point of the day, and yet... throughout the multiverse, there was a tendency to serve tea at calm social gatherings, especially those of significant class.

Penny stared sulkily at her tea.

Weiss winced, pulling back the kettle. "Did they not install you with a chemical processor this loop?"

"No." She sighed. "Pure voltage for me."

"Ah." With a quiet wave, the teacup shifted over to General Ironwood. "Sorry, my mistake."

"This gathering is less about the tea and more about the companions," Winter pointed out. "Really, it's just an excuse for us to get together."

"Then why not just say 'let's all get together?' Why does there have to be tea?"

"The tea is the centerpiece," Weiss explained. "If we all just got together for the sake of getting together, it might be awkward for us to start a conversation. With the tea, we can say 'This is excellent tea, this is horrible tea, where did you get this tea,' things like that, and go from there." She coughed. "For instance, having learned you cannot drink tea this loop, I might ask if you have any particular special feature this loop."

"Laser vision," Penny replied. "I don't know why, but every few loops father designs me with laser vision. It's not nearly as useful as it sounds."

Ironwood rose an eyebrow. "A hidden weapon with pinpoint accuracy that can't be taken from you?"

"It's not pinpoint, actually. The lasers interfere with my optic processes." She rolled her eyes. "And besides, generuncle Jamie, I already have my bladepack!"

Winter gave a faint smile. "Generuncle?"

"General uncle," Ironwood explained awkwardly. "I am... sort of both to her, so..."

"I see. That is rather adorable, actually."

"Yes, well." The man coughed into his fist. "So... I take it things between you and Weiss are going... decently?"

"I'd like to think so. We've spent some time reconnecting, and just... talking." Winter gave her sister a fond smile. "She's grown into quite the impressive young woman."

Weiss smiled back. "Well... thank you. I do try."

"Family is important," Ironwood mused, glancing at Penny.

"Hmm. Yes." Weiss finally poured herself some tea, looking around. "As a matter of fact, Ruby and Yang have adopted two brothers from other loops."

Winter rose an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Well, there's Nate, or Keita, from some version of Japan-the younger brother, usually deals with spirits and suchlike. Then there's their older brother, Dexter Grif-"

"Grif, as in the simulation trooper?" Penny grinned. "General Doyle mentioned him!"

Ironwood took his own cup. "General who?"

"Donald Doyle. He replaced you one loop-replace is the right term, right?" she asked Weiss.

"I believe so." Weiss sipped her tea thoughtfully. "Doyle, looping? That's interesting. It must make the Chorus situation a little easier to handle..."

"Oh yes. He said he was able to avoid his..." Penny trailed off for a moment.

"...I take it you two talked about that?"

"Yes. It... helped."

Ironwood glanced between the two of them. "Might I ask what exactly you are referencing?"

"In his baseline General Doyle... sacrifices himself."

The table fell silent at Weiss's explanation, the implications spreading and rippling as waves across the ocean.

Eventually, James put his cup down. "...Penny, you know... you can confide in us. If you need to."

"I know, but..." Penny sighed. "It's... different, talking to somebody who actually..."

She was silent for a moment.

Then she perked up. "So! Winter! I hear you looped into the Star Wars setting?"

"...yes, as a matter of fact." Winter accepted the abrupt subject change gracefully. "It was my first fuse loop, actually."

"Still quite surprising," Weiss mused. "I know Penny at least looped into one of the Marvel variants, and..." She frowned, turning to Ironwood. "Actually, have you had a fused loop yet?"

"I was a giant mechanical pirate," he deadpanned. "And not the weirdest thing in that loop either."

"...Ah. _That_ loop. Blake replaced princess Unikitty once..."

 **32.6 Black Omochao**

"Well this is different," Ruby muttered while watching her sister glaring at a weird, yellow creature with a really big nose, whom was staring at her, with an almost manic smile. "I did not expect a yo-kai to show up at Beacon of all places…"

"Come on lady, you can't hold out forever. Babble, babble, babble!" the yo-kai Babblong exclaimed while rubbing his nose, a mist surrounded Yang, her eyes widened and her cheeks puffed up a bit, but she held on and kept her mouth closed. Babblong frowned when Yang sent him a triumphant look. "Oh, you think you can beat me that easily? Nice try but you'll find out why when I'm around people just can't stop talking! Babble, babble, babble!"

The mist surrounded Yang again, her eyes twitched and it looked like she was about to crack. She opened her mouth wide… and took a deep breath before forcing her mouth shut again. Babblong was now glaring at Yang whom was smirking mockingly at him.

"Huh, I'm surprised. When that thing got to Blake earlier she wouldn't shut up," Ruby commented while scratching her head. Yang glared at her little sister at that comment, but her attention went back to the yellow yo-kai when he began speaking again.

"Ok, you may have been able to resist with my light material. But here comes the hard stuff! I'm putting my all into this inspiritment!" Babblong exclaimed before his body glowed and he jumped directly into Yang's body. Yang shook a little and a purple glow surrounded her.

"Yang?" Ruby questioned in concern, wondering if she should intervene somehow. Yang's body twitched and her eyes swirled and turned red, a yellow aura began fighting with the purple aura already around. She gasped before Babblong was sent flying out of her body, and crashed into a wall.

"Wow, that's smarts," Babblong muttered dizzily while rubbing his head. He looked up and saw the, still not speaking, Yang standing over him. Her eyes blazing red and her teeth gritted. "Um… Wait, lady. We can talk this out, in fact this reminds me of a little-AH!" Babblong couldn't finish before the enraged brawler slammed her fist down in front of him, breaking some of the stone floor. The panicked yo-kai took off running with Yang chasing after him, him still trying to talk his way out of this, but Yang was in no mood to listen.

"… Huh, well that could've ended much worse," Ruby shrugged. Suddenly Nora jumped out of one of Beacon's windows and landed in front of Ruby. A fiery red aura surrounded her and a little, lion-like yo-kai stood beside her.

"YEAH! LET'S GO BREAK SOME LEGS!" Nora shouted, in an overly extreme fashion

"RAH!" Blazion exclaimed in the same tone before they both ran off. Ruby stared in direction they had gone for a moment before sighing and shaking her head.

 **32.7 Masterweaver**

People are complex. And not merely in the sense that their bodies are assemblages of multiple systems constantly operating to keep their central core functional against the randomness of reality. No, it is their _minds_ that are complex-even those whose intelligence was so lacking that the multiverse quavered at their presence had a mindscape that whirled and twirled and spun and sung.

Granted, in the case of Billy it sung pop-rap yodeling musicals about the molecular structure of cheese sandwiches and the cosmic importance of tap-dancing roaches. The fact was there had to be _something_ there to make such utterly incomprehensible mistakes, otherwise his stupidity would not have been so reviled.

And if something so foolish could be so complex, then even the ordinary mind was exponentially more so-a whirl of emotions and thoughts and weighing the options, sensations that rose and fall in patterns like weather. They could be predicted, yes, but only to a degree-even knowing how somebody thought did not guarantee understanding. There was a certain amount of flux between loops, even when they weren't full out variants-a certain give, a certain take, small details that simply did not matter on the whole, butterflies that caused no storms. Here a beetle would go left, there it would go right, and the world did not care because the beetle was not at all involved with the story, it was just a detail. And in the minds of those that were not aware, even if they were well established-Small things, favored foods, favorite colors, the particular method of sleeping, their preferred temperature, little details could shift and change and build up to something that appeared the same as before but had subtle differences.

Sometimes, the differences weren't quite as subtle, though. Weiss had noticed the small looks Blake had shot her on occasion, and her jedi senses had picked up on the repressed but strong crush. The faunus wasn't Awake, so normally Weiss would not have an issue dealing with the situation.

Yang, however, _was._

That presented a bit of a problem.

One which she decided to handle quickly and efficiently.

"So." Weiss put down her teacup. "Here's what I propose: As Blake is unawake this loop, I will have a one loop stand with her. Caveats: It will be romantic, not sexual-anything beyond kissing, hugging, and the occasional cuddle will be stopped by me, put down to my upbringing making me uncomfortable with intimacy. If Blake Wakes up late, I will find a hotel in Vale and spend the rest of the loop there, and furthermore pay for whatever apology dinner date she feels is necessary. I will inform Blake that you have a bit of a crush on her, and that I discussed this with you beforehand, but not of the fact you're dating her looping self; this will provide excuses for us to avoid being too lovey dovey around you as I do not want to make you uncomfortable. Is this acceptable to you?"

Yang frowned at her teacup for a moment or two. Then she shrugged, and reluctantly nodded.

"...you're sure you're alright with this," she pushed. "I could just pretend not to notice at all."

The blonde shot her a look.

"...yes, I suppose that doesn't ever work out well, does it?" Weiss stood... and turned around. "...You know, when Blake's Awake next... you might want to talk to her about this. Just... as a suggestion."

Yang half smirked at that, pointing at her own throat.

"Well, you do know sign language."

 **32.8 Masterweaver**

"So... this is a chibi loop," Cinder mused.

"Yep!" Ruby spread her arms as wide as she could (it wasn't very far). "Welcome to the cute side!"

"It's certainly... colorful." Cinder looked down at herself. "And... apparently nobody minds that I'm wearing my fire witch dress?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to say we're stupider here, but we do seem to have a lack of critical thinking."

"...actually, how are our necks not snapping in half? I mean our heads are like-"

Ruby put a hand to her mouth. "NOPE. Don't question it. Lore inconsistencies should never be questioned. Down that path lies Eiken."

Cinder rolled her eyes, removing the hand. "Alright. So... how long do these loops last?"

"...You know, I never actually timed them?" Ruby frowned. "I mean, I assume they're as long as a normal loop, but they seem to get expansions, so... I don't know? Huh."

She stared into the distance for a moment.

"...OH WELL! Cookie time!" With a happy hum, the Anchor and arguably most important person in the world skipped off.

Cinder stared after her for a moment or two. "...I am seriously unsure if I'll love this loop or hate it with every fiber of my being."

Zwei patterned up beside the super villain. Cinder glanced down at Zwei. Zwei lifted his leg next to her shoe.

"Oh, you are so going down."

 _ **(Ten seconds later)**_

"Ohh..." The dazed and confused Cinder moaned as Zwei gleefully sat on her giant head. "I hate this place."

 **32.9**

Roman glanced out of the cabin, pulling the Johnson bar forward and closing the reverser, slowing the engine down. When it hit the car behind it, the bump was gentle, if a bit rough. "Alright, we're joined up Neo. You got the gunning positions clear?"

Neo flipped down from her position atop the cab and gave her boss the thumbs up. Roman clapped his hands. "Alright, let's get this baby fired up!" He grabbed the whistle cord and pulled, the note echoing across the snowy planes. He closed the regulator, and with a lurch the Armored Train Romeo started to roll.

...

Ten miles away, the Bumblebee thundered along the rails, the steam engine in it's center answering the distant call of another engine with it's own. In the cab Yang shoveled coal and Blake worked the controls, slowing down for turns and opening the regulator for straights. Their third passenger was watching the proceedings with a hint of bemusement. "So this is what you do in your spare time!" Qrow shouted over the roar of the train.

"Sometimes!" Blake admitted. "Usually we handle this differently, but Ruby wanted steampunk."

"Hence the steam locomotive," Qrow surmised. "And you just happened to have this inside of your Subspace pocket?"

"You pick up a lot of stuff," Blake said.

"Besides, this is our first Loop in a while where everyone was Awake," Yang shouted. "A big event has to have something to go with it, and this was a good idea! You can work with us. You know. Train with us."

"...Get out!" Qrow shouted.

Yang was promptly thrown from the cab.

...

A shell crashed into the armored side of the Arkonaut, shaking the car to it's core. An Atlesian Knight pulled it's rifle from the ruined port and afixed it to another, opening fire on the train roaring down the parallel track, Firewall. A piece of shrapnel caught the machine on the head though, and shut it down. Another replaced it.

Topside, Pyrrha furiously dueled Cinder, the Fall Maiden using her powers to fly from one train to the other, Pyrrha using her Polarity and Spider webbing to leap and jump across the gap. Artillery shells screamed by, missing either by inches. Machine gun fire and Dust fueled explosions went off, as Pyrrha locked and unlocked the wheels magnetically trying to trip Cinder.

Cinder rolled with the motions, her crystal energy sword humming dangerously. "Give up Pyrrha. We have the upper hand."

"Never!" Pyrrha declared. A moment later an artillery shell from her train caught her in the side and tore her in half.

"PYRRHA!" Jaune screamed, watching his girlfriend disintegrate. A moment later, with a loud beep-beep-beep, Pyrrha respawned in her seat next to Jaune. She pulled her weapon up...

And then three shells from Penny and Cinder's train hit home and the whole fast moving war machine derailed, Jaune and Pyrrha going ass over teakettle. Fortunately, they landed in the sand. Unfortunately, they were disqualified.

Cinder waved them off. "Sayonara Jaune, Pyrrha. We have a game to win!"

"BYE!" Penny called from the cab.

...

Quite apart from the mess, the Greenwitch sat idle on a small siding, a Dust conjured sandstorm masking it's location. Inside the deceptively advanced Rail Cruiser, Zwei monitored the battles. "Arf arf, bark!"

"And chalk another elimination today," Ozpin said. "JNPR has not been lucky at all with this form of combat."

"You sound like you're grading them," Ironwood commented as he watched the radar screens.

"Teacher, force of habit. I'm millennia old, it gets that way for me." Ozpin marked Jaune and Pyrrha as eliminated with their children. "The triple teams seem to be doing well though. A high score for Grimm kills between them."

"Of course they'd have high scores. Winter was personally trained by me, and Qrow is Qrow."

"Having a high count of Grimm kills means nothing if they can't keep their train on the tracks," Glynda pointed out. The witch stuck her head in, upside down, from the roof where she controlled the sandstorm. "I've seen Roman and Neo laying mines of the rails, and only Ruby took the time to set up check cars on her train."

"Well then Qrow will learn a vital lesson," Ironwood decided, still fairly relieved that with the use of what Ozpin called a 'Peppermint Pylon' death was cancelled out and the world ran on video game rules.

Ozpin turned to comment, but the surprisingly not so distant cry of a whistle distracted him. "Hmm. That must be the Romeo. Glynda, thicken the sand storm. They should pass us by without seeing us."

"Aye captain," Glynda declared. "They may stop to check the switch though. I can't be sure they won't notice us."

"They'll be focused on the points then," Ozpin told her. "James set them, there's no issue."

"Glynda set the points," James said in confusion.

"Handling the switchtrack leading into our siding was Ozpin's responsibility," Glynda said.

Ozpin made no comment, he just dived from the Rail Cruiser as Roman's and Neo's train overran the switch and plowed into his train at full speed, derailing both.

...

The extreme range artillery fire thickened as the White Rose moved closer to the Firewall's track. Already the anti-armor weaponry had traversed and was awaiting the order to fire. Ruby scrambled atop the engine and cried out. "ATTACK!"

The train rocked as the turrets fired in volley, a long string of golden fire crossing the desert and landing full broadside against the armor of the enemy train. Machine gun fire kicked up bits of dust and dirt around the engine, though little connected. Ruby cried again. "FIRE!"

Weiss' hand shot up and stopped an artillery shell from hitting home, freezing it midair with The Force. Winter was shoveling more fire Dust info the boiler, fighting to keep steam up. "How did I get talked into this?"

"You wanted adventure," Weiss told her sister. "This is an adventure."

"Give it up little sis!" Cinder shouted across the gap between trains. "I've taken out the Boop, the Arkonaut, and the Romeo. You can't hope to win!"

"I've got a secret weapon," Ruby declared. "It is undefeatable, and amazing!"

"Yeah, what it is? A lifetime supply of cookies?" Cinder shouted as Penny laughed with her, watching the banter and not paying attention to the rails.

"The ability to look far ahead. To see hope in darkness, strength in adversity, survival in death, the train running at you at sixty miles an hour.

Cinder and Penny looked up the line, and saw the Bumblebee breaking as hard as possible, less than three seconds before impact.

"Well fuck me," Cinder growled.

...

 **32.10 Black Omochao**

"Can't believe we're an idol group this Loop," Weiss said with a shake of her head.

"I can't believe we woke up right in the middle of a concert and Yang had to clamp her hands over her mouth to stop herself from singing!" Ruby laughed as her sister glared at her silently.

"And I can't believe we still have fans after that whole mess, and Yang refusing to make any comments on it," Blake muttered with her arms crossed.

"Meh, doesn't surprise me. Next HarMEOWny. Or NyaKB. Had a lot of fans in Baseline. I honestly never got the hype, but considering their replaced with your 'RWBY' group this Loop, I guess the devotion gets carried over," Nate shrugged, not really concerned with the circumstances that surrounded his siblings and the rest of team RWBY Looping in, and just happy to have them over. Still…

"Next HarMEOWny! WAAAHHH!" Jibanyan cried, a fountain of tears flowing from his eyes, as he lay on the floor while banging his front paws on it.

"… Is he always like this?" Weiss questioned, looking a bit irritated by the undead cat's tantrum.

"No. Only when it concerns that band he's so into," Nate sighed with a shake of his head.

"Next HarMEOWny's not just a band! It's a way of life!" Jibanyan suddenly shouted, standing on the table the five humans (or four humans and one faunus, depending on how you looked at it) were sitting at and staring Nate in the eyes.

"Jibanyan calm down, they'll be back next Baseline run," Whisper interjected, trying to settle the nekomata's mood. However Jibanyan simply turned his glare on the ghostly butler.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" he suddenly pounced on Whisper, causing the ghost to cry out in shock.

"Stop! Nate! Help me!" Whisper called out as Jibanyan took out his frustrations on him. Nate sighed before getting up from the table to separate his two friends.

.

"So Yang's not talking at all this Loop?" Nate asked as he, Ruby and Yang were walking down the sidewalk in Uptown Springdale. Weiss had gone off to the Yo-kai World for some observation of the culture of the odd spirits, while Blake was just hanging out back at his house.

"Not just this Loop, she's been at it for a while. And she still has a few more to go. It was a bet," Ruby shrugged. Yang nodded, and as explained, kept her mouth shut. Nate just stared at her with a look of disbelief.

"Why would you take up a bet like that?" Nate questioned his blond sister whom just gave him a look that told him all he needed. "You just can't resist a challenge, can you?" her only response to that was a smirk.

"Yeah, surprisingly one of those yo-kai showed up at Beacon a few Loops back, a babblong. Tried to get Yang to talk, and failed. Hard!" Ruby explained while Yang smiled proudly.

"Really? You resisted that thing? You're going to have to tell me how… when the bets over, that is," Nate said in an impressed tone and Yang nodded.

"There was also a blazion inspiriting Nora… but that's a story for another time," Ruby mentioned and Nate couldn't help but shudder a little.

"So, what are you going to do about the whole 'idol thing' this Loop?" the youngest sibling questioned, in an attempt to change the subject.

"I called the manager of our band and gave an excuse for why Yang can't sing. I basically told him she has a bad throat and we don't know how long it will last," Ruby shrugged. "I told 'em we'd call when she was better, so that should at least keep them from bugging us for a while." Nate laughed a little at that.

"You know, it's kind of weird having memories of being the little brother of two members of a famous idol group. You'd think that would make me considered a little above-average. But everyone just comments on how normal I am compared to you," he grumbled that last part a bit, but smiled when Ruby pat his head. Yang held her fist up in an encouraging way and punched it into her other hand. "… No Yang, I don't think combat would be a good way to impress them…"

"Nate! Wait up!" the three glanced behind them and saw a girl Nate's age, with short purple hair and glasses, running towards them.

"Oh great," Nate sighed with a sweatdrop.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked before Inaho stopped in front of them.

"Chi-watch-chi!" Inaho exclaimed while showing her Yo-kai Watch proudly, before she began looking them over excitedly. "Oh gosh! It's you! You're from that awesome hub-show!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"You've seen our show?" Ruby questioned curiously.

"Well only the first season. But you guys are awesome! I thought Nate was bluffing when he mentioned you were his sisters! But here you are! Nate, I can't believe someone as extraordinarily ordinary as you would have such close ties to someone like THEM!" Inaho exclaimed excitedly and Nate's eye twitched.

"… New Looper?" Ruby asked her little brother.

"Unfortunately," Nate groaned, Ruby patted his back with a sympathetic look on her face. "Ruby, Yang. This is Inaho Misora."

"Chi-watch-chi!" Inaho showed her watch again with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, hello. You already did that," Ruby nodded, looking a little confused by the girl's actions. Yang looked at Nate and pointed at Inaho, while swirling one finger around her head. Nate just shook his head to the unspoken question.

"It's just so exciting to meet you! I mean not as exciting as it would be to meet Sailor Piers, but still! You guys are awesome! Where are the others anyway!?"

"We had a recent expansion, she and her partner were kind of dragged in un-expectantly," Nate whispered to his sisters.

"Well, she seems really nice but…" Ruby smiled kindly, but glanced at Inaho whom was still chattering on, seemingly oblivious to the conversation she and Nate were having. "She is really… Chatty…"

"Yeah, I already checked. She's not being inspirited," Nate muttered while rubbing his head.

"And anyway! We can all hang out! If we get the others it would be cool! And Nate can come too, I guess. Not that I don't like Nate or anything, but when I think 'cool', my mind doesn't exactly-" as Inaho continued to speak Yang started making a mouth gesture with her hand, opening and closing it rapidly.

"Hey! Inaho!" they looked over and saw what looked like a little, rabbit-like creature in a space suit, holding a laser gun. He ran over and glared up at Inaho whom had stopped talking to look at the angry yo-kai. "What's with just running of on me!? Dani!"

"Aw, cute. Who's this?" Ruby asked Nate enthusiastically.

"USApyon, the partner of Inaho's I mentioned also got dragged along when the expansion hit. He's alright, but I would be wary of him," Nate whispered to Ruby and Yang. USApyon might have been offended, had he heard what the Anchor said. But currently he was too busy being angry with Inaho to pay much mind to his whispering.

"You can't just run off like that without any warning! Dani!"

"Don't be such a crybaby, you little namekichi!"

"What did you call me!? Why you!"

" **VADER MODE!"**

"I think I see what you mean Nate!" Ruby commented as they ran away from the berserk, laser shooting, yo-kai. Yang nodded in agreement, though was smiling for some reason.

"You're enjoying this!?" Nate questioned in disbelief. Yang shrugged.

 **32.11 Masterweaver**

Chibi loops, the balm of Remnant.

True, they weren't exclusive to this particular branch of Yggdrassil. An argument could be made that certain worlds were permanently chibified, and Ruby certainly wouldn't claim exclusive claim to them. And yet... the simplicity, the lack of tragedy, the way everyone just looked plain adorable-even that shopkeeper, who admittedly was really more 'old' than 'ugly' even in baseline. For the loopers of Remnant, they were a nice detox, about equivalent to a spa trip in the grand scheme of things.

Not _quite_ a sanctuary loop, to be fair. No therapists, still Grimm, and of course the potential to be concussed.

But nonetheless, it was nice. Nice to play jump rope with Yang and Blake, nice to put on increasingly silly plays for team JNPR, nice to indulge in her kid side. She just had to be a liiiiitle extra careful with her cloak was all.

This loop, she'd managed to convince Nora to start their BFF party early. Or, she thought it was early? Something about how her big head altered her brain structure made telling time more difficult than usual-and that was as the fifteen year old girl that could go centuries through the same year. Maybe if she shapeshifted her brain back to normal-but that would be too much effort. Besides which, the party was always more fun when she wasn't thinking as much!

Anyway, she and Nora had just caught Cinder and her crew planning EEEEEEEEEEEEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIL (which they vehemently denied) as per usual, and delivered their invite. As Nora skipped off, though, Ruby's ears caught something that Emerald said.

"They're messing with us, right?"

And, on a whim, she turned around, and walked back in. "Actually, no. Nora really wants a party, and I just want to have fun!"

Thief, Assassian, and Sociopath stared at her incredulously.

"So, you noticed... nothing?" Mercury asked.

"No, I got it all. You're evil, you're planning horrible things, yadda yadda. But just because I have a moral obligation to _stop_ you doesn't mean I have a moral obligation to _hate_ you."

She beamed at their nonplussed faces. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make your cake. You all like strawberry, right?"

 **32.12 Masterweaver**

Weiss looked at Blake.

Blake looked at Weiss.

Weiss looked at Blake.

Blake looked at Weiss.

"We agree never to speak of this again?" asked the current Sailor Mercury.

"I'd say yes, but... Usagi." Blake gestured a paw at the blonde snapping pics. "Original seven and all that."

"...Well. At least it's a good combat skirt."

 **32.13 Shimmer712**

"Well, this is an interesting variant," Pyrrha mused. She watched in amusement as small amounts of glittering grains fell from people in response to their emotions. It was a pity Jaune wasn't Awake. Maybe he would Wake up later on in this loop.

All well. At least she had Ruby, Blake and Ren for company. Pyrrha wondered if they try to miss up the teams a little. She didn't want Jaune to pair up with someone from outside their circle, they might not accept his circumstances. Which could result in his leaving Beacon.

It may not be _her_ Jaune, but that didn't mean she didn't care if his hopes and dreams were crushed.

Pyrrha shook her head then paused, looking thoughtfully at the glittering shower falling to the ground.

"I need jars," she muttered. If she was going to _sparkle_ her emotions, she was taking a souvenir.

 **32.14**

Marianne gently leafed through the small pamphlet, memorizing the words. "I still think it's a bad idea to go with the Klingon Wedding style."

"Oh, it's fun. Besides, we're soldiers and hey, we don't know if weddings even exist in our world," Jaune said as Rarity finished up his tuxedo armor. "Who wouldn't want to fight off their best friends with their new wife?"

"I sure hope you win," Marianne said. "Because no one there will be going easy on you."

Jaune did a spin in the armor. "This is really nice Rarity. Are you sure that you don't want to come?"

Rarity waved her hoof. "Oh pish posh Jaunathon, it's wonderful enough to make a new wedding dress. In fact I cannot remember when I was last approaches for wedding armor."

The blond stretched, twisted, touched his toes and jumped. "It's great. Good styling, awesome defensive, breathes great."

"I do only my best. Now, would you kindly bring in your fiancé Jaunathon," Rarity asked.

A moment later, Pyrrha Nikos stepped into the room wearing her personally forged wedding armor. "Thanks for the second opinion on this Miss Belle. It means a lot to me."

Rarity gave it a quick look over. Her eye twitched. "It's wonderful Pyrrha. Truly speaks of the passion and effort put into it."

 _'You hate it don't you,'_ Marianne said telepathically.

 _'I do but it is uniquely her work. I can't hate that.'_ Rarity composed herself. "The embroidery could stand a minor adjustment though."

"Thank you so much," Pyrrha said, as Rarity got to work.

 **32.15 MasterOfGames**

Pyrrha flipped down her welding mask and fumbled just slightly to start up her TIG welder through her heavy gloves. Once started, several thin plates of alternating metal types were fastened into a single stack.

Such methods were required, as the extreme heat of several of the processes she would be putting the metal through rendered her magnetism useless at best, and detrimental at worst.

Once welded, the stack was placed in the fires of the forge, and an identical stack was removed, glowing red, and taken to the auto-hammer. There, she carefully held it in place as the hammer pounded it flat and thin, leaving it just warm enough by the time it finished for Pyrrha to be able to fold it over an anvil, and return it to the forge to reheat. This process would be repeated several dozen times, for each of the eight stacks she had prepared.

Did she strictly speaking need to do this the slow way? No. Was the alloy she was making available elsewhere? Yes.

But it was the principle of the matter.

The person Jaune had become had been forged slowly, traditionally, and simply. And so the metal for his ring would be forged the same.

The end result on the other hand, also like Jaune if you asked her, would be rather remarkable. Across the room on a table lay an assortment of metal shaping tools any baseline watchmaker would be willing to die over, right next to a large blueprint, a polishing wheel, and a selection of dust crystals.

Where Jaune had come from was a fundamental piece of who he was, after all. And this was Remnant.

His ring NOT being a gun? Lunacy...

 **32.16**

"I'd send you home with a pat on the back..." Glynda paused for dramatic effect. "And a slap on the wrist!" She lashed out and almost hit Ruby on the wrist. Ruby barely pulled away in time, heaving a sigh internally. So much for Glynda being Awake.

At that moment, breaking cover a little ahead of Glynda's typical finish to the speech, Ozpin walked in. With a plate of strawberry cookies! Ruby squealed. "My favorite!"

The Headmaster politely set them down, and Ruby devoured them voraciously, much to the bemusement of the man. "Well, you seem awake and lively tonight Miss Rose."

"Mank mu roessor," Ruby said through a mouthful of cookie. She knew that Ozpin was Awake at least: only Looping Ozpin knew she loved Strawberry cookies. "These are great!"

"I thought so," Ozpin said cordially, but after a moment the Headmaster and possibly Ancient Magical Wizard sagged in his seat. "Glynda... If I may ask you to leave, I'd like to discuss some important matters with Ruby."

Glynda looked at him, an eyebrow raised and a bit of a delay in her response. "I... If it's important Ozpin-"

"It's about the Maidens. Don't worry, Ruby will understand." Ozpin gave Glynda a firm but gentle look. "There are things to be handled."

Glynda took her time leaving, dawdling for a moment, looking from Ruby to Ozpin and back to Ruby. Her dismay was apparent, but eventually she did exit the room. As the door clicked shut Ozpin finally removed his glasses and rested his head in his hands. "Qrow is going to kill me if he wakes up."

"...Well, whatever it is, it can't be too bad," Ruby said. "Hopefully."

"It is," Ozpin said. "This Loop, I am again the Immortal Wizard of legend, who created the Maidens and allowed their powers to move throughout the ages from one woman too another. You know the tale, as it were, but there is a stipulation that carries extra weight this Loop."

Ozpin, for a moment, seemed unable to parse the fact to words, silent as he tried to align his thoughts. "The Maidens are the sisters... Or rather, the sisters souls inhabit the Maidens as vessels."

"Uh, what?" Ruby asked, trying to correlate what that meant. "What?"

"You remember how we feared that Pyrrha would emerge from the Aura Transfer Device... No longer herself? How it was possible that the person who would emerge wouldn't really be Pyrrha Nikos anymore?" Ozpin asked. "Another question would be this: Yang's mother, Raven, loved your father genuinely. She was his first wife after all. So why would she walk away quite literally the day Yang was born?"

"..." Ruby's silver eyes grew wide as the implications hit her. "The Maidens-"

"Are little more then bodies that the four sisters of the Seasons, Winter, Autumn, Summer and Spring all control." Ozpin finally said. The magical Headmaster leaned back in his chair, a great weight taken from his shoulders. "When the last Winter Maiden died, her power transferred at random, to Raven while she was pregnant with Yang. Once Yang was born, Raven left."

Ruby gaped at Ozpin. "But... But... Why would she... How would she-"

"To quote the much maligned philosophy of Gellert Grindelward, the Greater Good," Ozpin said. "The happiness of her husband and baby were nothing compared to the safety and wellbeing of all of Remnant. She left to fight the Grimm. As you can imagine, Qrow followed. That's why I brought him into our little circle: he wouldn't stop trying to find answers."

The light bulb that hung between Ozpin and Ruby buzzed gently. It flickered a little. The two in it's light contemplated what the world was.

"Can you take back the gift from the Maidens?"

"No, I cannot. Not know at least."

"...Raven's still in there, isn't she?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Raven saved Yang. She could do it again. The Winter Maiden... She's save Yang for Raven," Ruby said. "If there are no Grimm in the world, and everything is peaceful, would Raven be brought back? Would the Winter Maiden... I don't know, go dormant?"

Ozpin thought it over. "I'm not... I can't be certain. But it stands to reason-"

"Then we have to do it," Ruby said. The Youngest and Oldest Huntress of them all stood up from her chair and walked passed Ozpin. "I'm going to save the world Ozpin. Take my hand."

Ozpin did not hesitate. The world suddenly changed, all light vanishing as Ozpin felt himself being constricted, as if he and Ruby were being forced through a rubber tube. The pressure was immense, but lasted only an instant.

The disturbed Headmaster almost stumbled on reentry into the material world, the Side-Along Apparition downright disorienting. He quickly ascertained their surroundings. "The dragon's mountain. We're starting here so it can die first?"

"And because I have to get a lot of material into the stratosphere," Ruby said. The woman fell silent, going deep into concentration. Ozpin stood back, and watched, and then, slowly, felt his jaw drop.

Vast pillars of red were swirling into existence, enormous reservoirs growing from nothing. Each one dispersed into the air, vanishing into dust and mist. Ozpin could hardly believe what he saw. "That... This is-"

"I am composed of billions of microscopic individual versions of me," Ruby said, her form shuddering and vanishing as she lent her arms, legs and torso to the swarm, only her head and cloak remaining intact. "Uncountable numbers of automata that come together to be the conduit for my soul, the heart of my power. I am a swarm, a living creature made from a million communities. This is the Blood Rose."

More and more of Ruby's body grew and divided, and grew and divided again. More still flowed from her Subspace Pocket. I've been stashing whatever I made and didn't need into my Subspace pocket. Stockpiling the countless little Ruby's, the swarm that I really am. Last I counted, I had fourteen teratons of material in there."

Ozpin could only stand and gape as Ruby's body dissolved and spread, permeating Remnant's atmosphere, golden electricity signaling her access of the speed force and spreading her across the globe. He could imagine a nearly infinite number of Ruby's in the air, surrounding and enveloping Remnant. "Ruby, I-"

"I am going to find and kill all Grimm now," Ruby said, her voice echoing from the very air around Ozpin. "The mountain is going to collapse when I kill the Dragon and it's body dissolves. Watch your step."

The air itself wrapped around Ozpin's chest, lifting him up. The ancient man looked at nothing and everything, waiting, watching. "Ruby. Good luck."

"Done," Ruby said.

The mountain shifted, collapsing in on itself as the Dragon evaporated. Ozpin, held in the embrace of the wind, watched the mountain crumble into a grave. "Incredible..."

Gentle hands brought Ozpin back to stable ground, and after a moment red air began to coalesce into Ruby Rose. Ozpin politely averted his eyes as she appeared before her, and turned his full attention to her when she was dressed. "Every single Grimm is now dead."

"Yes," Ruby said gently. "Every one. Even Salem."

Silence, for the moment, reigned in the air. The collapsed mountain settled a bit. The wind ruffled the leaves. And not a single Grimm could be heard. "All to give Yang her mother back?"

"Of course."

Ozpin twisted gently, focusing on where Raven would be. He knew where he was going, and what had to be done. He was deliberate, determined, and had a destination. He arrived at it instantly.

It was a small village, not too far from Vale's defenses. A hamlet where the residents wanted peace and quiet and freedom from the neighboring kingdom. Almost abandoned of all notable beings. Almost.

Her black hair shone in the moonlight. The white mask of the Grimm glinted. Red eyes tracked to Ozpin, narrowed, but prepared. "Good evening Ozpin. I didn't notice your arrival."

"I know," Ozpin said. "Winter... We need to talk."

 **32.17 MasterOfGames**

Ren lounged in his bed, taking advantage of Nora's scheduled appointment with Qrow to learn how to use sharp weapons instead of blunt, in preparation for her job at the wedding in a few days. His rest was interrupted when Pyrrha knocked lightly on the door and peeked in the room. "Ren? You alone?"

Ren answered without moving or looking up. "Yeah, you need something?"

Pyrrha nodded and slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind her. "Yes, actually. I've finished Jaune's ring, but I can't seem to convince myself of the fact. I keep going back to add to or refine it. I was hoping you would hold onto it until the wedding, to remove the temptation for me so I can focus on the rest of the preparations." she admitted with a slight blush and an awkward foot shuffle.

Ren shrugged. "Sure, easy enough, why not?"

Pyrrha visibly slumped with relief. "THANK you! I was going to drive myself crazy. Okay, here's the ring; don't open it,-" she warned as she pulled a small box out of her Pocket and placed it next to Ren on the bed.

"Got it, thanks-"

"-and here's the cleaning kit for the ring,-" she continued, placing a small briefcase next to the box.

"Okay, no prob-"

"-and the user's manual. Not saying Jaune couldn't figure it out, but some features are subtle,-" she went on, adding a hardcover journal with several bookmarks sticking out from between the pages to the bed.

Ren's eyebrow slightly rose.

"- _and_ a box of dust cartridges. Not many, because I had to hand forge them, since they don't make the right size commercially, but it should be enough for a while,-"

Ren had to quickly pull his legs back before a small crate took up half the bed. "This is 'not many'?"

'-AND a mini-forge, so he can make more himself if he runs out.

Ren quickly flipped out of the bed entirely to dodge the falling workstation, the legs of his bed snapping under the sudden weight.

"- _AND_ some extra dust crystals, seeing as I made the jewels in the ring out of them, and he'll need replacements for if he uses certain features. I mean, I could have added an auto-loader, or clip, or belt system, but that would have thrown the look I was after COMPLETELY off,-" Pyrrha continued rambling, one eye twitching. "-and here's a dust crystal carving kit, and some spare parts for the more fragile bits, and some scrap metal and forging instructions, and an extra ring band for if he wants to wear it over some gauntlets, and some slightly larger spare parts for THAT ring, and a spare mecha-shift system, and a socket port for alternate setting placement, and-"

"Pyrrha! PYRRHA! Breathe!" Ren ordered, helping her to a chair to calm down before she added enough to his bed to cave the floor in. "I see what you mean about convincing yourself. Just relax, I'll Pocket all this, and we can focus on other things. Okay?"

Pyrrha hesitantly nodded. Ren gave her a thumbs up and a smile, then returned to his bed. Just as he got there however, his scroll started vibrating. With a sigh once he saw who was calling, he slid it open. "Yes Nora?"

On the screen, Nora was bouncing happily, holding her ceremonial Klingon bat'leth. " _Ren! Good news! I'm finished with training! I was worried I wouldn't be finished in time to help clear out the grimm, but Qrow says I'm a natural!"_ she grinned, swinging her weapon like a club. _"In fact, he says I'll never need another lesson from him for as long as I live! Ever! No matter what! Or else!"_

"... Good work Nora. See you when you get back." Ren sighed, abandoning any plans of going back to relaxing.

 **32.18 DrTempo**

Winter Awoke, and saw that she wasn't in Remnant this Loop. Looking around, she saw she was looking at what appeared to be a place of some kind. Confused, she sat down, and saw two people sit down next to her, and her Loop Memories provided their names.

"Hello, Terra and Ventus. It is good to see you."

The said two Keyblade wielders instantly used a Ping, and Winter sighed in relief.

"Phew. Guess I'm not alone this Loop. So,this is the Kingdom Hearts Loop? Seeing you two here...that means I replaced Aqua."

Terra smiled. "Had a feeling you'd figure it out quickly, miss Schnee. And before you ask, Sora once Looped in Ruby's role, and met the Unawake version of you."

Ventus chuckled. "Sora took out Cinder before her plan could be enacted. Pretty clever, if you ask me."

Winter than said, "Since I replaced Aqua, I wonder..." Using her Loop memories as a guide, Winter focused, and in a flash of light, A Keyblade that appeared to be made of ice, with the teeth of the blade shaped like a snowflake, appeared in her hand."This is my Keyblade... Isn't it?"

Terra nodded. "Yeah. I've seen Sora use that Keyblade before. It's called Diamond Dust. It fits you perfectly, Winter."

"So, how long is it before the Unversed appear, Terra? I do need to learn how to use my Keyblade."

"About six months, if memory serves." Ventus then yawned.

"Less talking, more training!" Winter bowed.

"Let us begin then, Terra." Terra nodded.

"Let the training begin, Winter."

00000

Six months passed, and Winter was a fast learner, quickly getting the hang of using her Keyblade, and the abilities that came with it. Apparently, her Loop memories helped her catch up to baseline Aqua's skill level quickly. And now, the Mark of Mastery exam had arrived on schedule. After Winter and Terra had their fight, before Eraqus and Xehanort departed, Winter said, "Before you leave to decide if Terra and I passed, Ventus remembered something he wanted me to ask you, Master Xehanort...something about you wanting to create something called a X-blade."

Eraqus quickly looked at Xehanort. "You are still searching for that, Xehanort?"

Xehanort tried to say something, but Winter then said, "Before the orbs we used as targets for the exam went crazy, I sensed darkness coming from Master Xehanort. I think he was trying to sabotage the exam."

Eraqus growled, and Xehanort made a gesture, but looked surprised when nothing happened.

"Looking for something?"

King Mickey then walked in, and tossed Vanitas' helmet to the ground. Xehanort, realizing his plan had been stopped before it could begin, tried to escape, but a barrier surrounded the room, and Xehanort realized he had been outwitted. Raising his Keyblade, he prepared for his last battle...

000000000000

Shortly after that, Terra and Winter were dubbed true Keyblade Masters, and Winter asked, "Now what?"

Ventus shrugged. "More training, I suppose. You still have a lot of training to do to catch up to our level."

Winter nodded in agreement. "Very well. Still, this will be a challenge. But, I've dealt with worse."

"At least you didn't get trapped in the Realm of Darkness."

"Agreed. The Heartless, from what you told me, are very similar to the Grimm back home. Not something I want to deal which this Loop."

With that, Winter and Terra began sparring, and Winter knew she'd be ready for whatever came next.

 **32.19 Diesel**

Cinder sauntered though Beacon as she headed to her quarters, even with the failure of the breach everything was still going according to plan. The virus had been loaded, fear and terror were rising stirring the Grimm.

And soon the Vital festival would be starting and she would be another step closer to obtaining what was hers.

 _It would be incredible to see Vale fall and to bask in the screams of helplessness._

Cinder laughed, the sound going unheard as she closed the door to her 'teams' rooms, heading over to the small fridge and pulling out a sandwich.

"Dijon mustard?"

Cinder spun on the spot, twin blades of glass forming in her hands as dust imbued clothes ignited with lines of golden fire, a weak golden glow emanating from her eyes. Lazily, a very familiar figure pushed herself off the walls, amber eyes flashing with amusement.

"Really, I would have hoped that my non-looping self would have better taste." The smirking doppelganger was dressed in a copy of her favoured red dress, a diamond amulet hung on a silver chain around her neck, the image of a stylised rose crafted from ruby residing in the centre of the gem.

A bracelet, emblazoned with a snowflake insignia, done out of pale sapphire and inlaid in white gold, hung on her right hand, an opposing bracelet of white gold with a golden flame and an obsidian stylised paw print in a yin-yang sign.

Cinder dashed forwards, her blades blurring through the air as she moved to disembowel the imposter only for them to fail to pierce the imposter's aura, shattering into gleaming fragments as the other woman caught the blades and crushed them before moving.

The world spun as pain ripped through her head, the world spinning as a blurring fist broke through her aura, knocking her prone.

"Interesting, I wonder why I have this jewellery… doesn't really matter. This looks to be an interesting loop."

The light-hearted laughter made Cinder snarl as she pulled herself to her feet, hearing her own voice acting like one of those foolish children was disgusting. The other was idly examining the gem-encrusted jewellery, not paying her more than a curtsy glance.

Burning arrows shattered against the others aura, Dust achieving nothing more than setting the room ablaze, with the flames quickly spreading as they consumed the room, achieving nothing more than an amused look.

"I don't think you quite thought that through, _sister_."

The room was quickly filling with choking smoke as the raging flames consumed the room. The heat and smoke stinging her eyes and making her lungs burn as her skin blackened and charred, plasma leaking from the blisters.

In the centre of the rising inferno, her counterpart stood unfazed by the fire and heat, as she spurned them higher. The flames dancing around her feet and form, flowing like something living as glowing cinders danced around her body, swirling together between her palm in a massive ball, wing-like protrusions of flames rising from her back.

The familiar Amber eyes of the imposter reflecting the flickering light. Cinder refused to lock gazes with the other as she seemed to want, her eyes instead flickering around the room desperately looking for a way out.

"There are things that have a bigger Impact, you could have done so much more, been Instrumental to a new world… I have been hanging around Yang too much, she is contagious, that's 5 jokes I have made in the last ten loops and two this loop already.

Cinder spied her chance as the other was distracted, turning and running towards the closed door, the searing metal of the handle burning her hand as Cinder wrenched the door open.

The mockery of her voice floating after her "By the way, how is Salem this loop?"

 _How does this imposter know that name? What was going on here?_

The world blurred and Cinder was staring at the imposter again, a familiar sadistic smirk on her face.

"That is not going not work unless I allow it. Now I should probably put everything back to how it was so we can talk."

The flames vanished, the room twisting as time seemed to flow backwards as Cinder once more stood outside her door just as she had less than 5 minutes ago.

'Let the Grimm take this!'

Cinder turned tail and ran before the world blurred once more and she found herself reaching for the door for the third time.

What was going on? Was this imposter actually messing with time? In the distance, the familiar sounds of the school echoed down the corridors. No one had seemed to notice the fight or the fire.

It was all back to normal.

A time Semblance? The only person she knew with something like that was Ozpin and it did not manifest like this. Not to mentions the fact that it explained nothing else.

'Fuck it, it's not like I have a choice.'

Reaching up, Cinder entered the room warily. The imposter was lounging on her bed utterly unphased.

"Good, it took you long enough. Now let me introduce myself." The other woman rose from the bed with a cat-like grace, cornea of gold radiating from her eyes as she was cloaked in the full power of Autumn, eyes flashing red as the sun struck the skin, that for a moment, glittered like diamonds.

"My name is Cinder Fall-Rose of the Remnant branch of Yggdrasil. Variant looper and adopted sister of Ruby Rose, the Anchor of the Remnant Branch, and Yang Xiao Long."

What? Cinder looked at the other person to shock and confusion, the words making very little sense, and given the amusement on the Other-Cinder, it was intentional.

"A long time ago, reality broke on a multiversal scale. To stop reality failing the Gods took a person from a selected time frame and made a time loop go around them, should they die the loop will merely reset, everything and everyone being restored. That person is the Anchor, the most important person in any of Yggdrasil's branches. And if they fail, if their existence rips itself apart from the crushing eternity and isolation, then reality itself fails."

The Fall Maiden smirked as the full might of her power bore down on her unawake self, making her tremble as her mind flashed back to events long past as the full implication of Cinder Rose's words bore down on her frozen unawake self.

"All that is, was and could be, ceases to exist. Ripped away at foundations of everything; erased from history and loopers who visited now had never been there. After all, how can you visit a place that had never, and could, never exist?"

"Impossible" the words fell from her mouth without thought as she stared, mesmerised by the Power of Fall that should have been hers, the whole idea was insane. Cinder Fall knew this person was a fake and just playing mind games, but…

 _The fractured power of Autumn that lay within flared and grasped futilely at the power shrouding the imposter only to be rebuffed ay a power whole and vast._

… there was no way to fake a Mantle of Seasons, let alone one identical to her own broken power, "Even if it is not then there is no way you could know."

"It has happened before," Rose's eyes seemed dim slightly, a shadow crossing her face "It was known as the Crash and it was felt in every branch of Yggdrasil damaging many that were stable to the point they had to start looping. The Gods sent Avatars down to explain what had happened, all they know was the Anchor was male and liked some kind of instrument. Everything else was forever lost, even to them."

 _Time travel with this imposter taking her place, her life, her identity, Everything, all the time and she would just cease at the end, replaced by another copy or possessed by this… Mockery!_

Fall felt like she had been doused in icy water by everything Rose had said, the words digging into her mind as the Fall Maiden flaunted her power. Seconds passed as her fear and horror were consumed by a raging inferno, Rose just laughed as Fall seethed with impotent rage at the situation.

She was not just being replaced by this weak willed mockery of herself, but apparently _Ruby Rose,_ that spoiled, naive brat, was more important than she was. The one who supported everything, who the World, quite literally, REVOLVED AROUND!

Her eyes lingered on the Radiance of Fall before she looked away, Envy welling up at the sight of the Maiden's power, a power that was her by right. As its wielder released the power and lounged unconcerned on her bed, a new emotion rose making her lips twist into a sneer, a feeling of…

 _Cinder Fall-Rose…Variant looper and adopted sister of Ruby Rose, the Anchor of the Remnant Branch, and Yang Xiao Long._

… disgust.

"How do you know what happens in other branches then? And if reality could fail, then what do these so called Gods do about it?" Fall spat, trying to reign in her temper and regain her centre. The floor blackening and burning as her semblance flared, the smoke curling around her and a feeble golden light shining from her eyes. "And how did you loop if it is only the so-called Anchor that matters?"

Rose raised a condescending eyebrow as she bit into an apple that had not been there moments before. Swallowing, she spoke up like a disappointed teacher "I would have thought it was obvious, the answer to all three is the same after all. Very well, let me explain, one of the major issues for an anchor is boredom and isolation. Fused loops let people from other Branches interact and solves that to a limited extent, and gives the Anchor connections beyond their loop, the understanding that if they fail it is more than just their loop that suffers.

To deal with those issues closer to home, over time people that have an emotional connection to the Anchor will start looping as well, helping to keep the Anchor's mind stable, that is the only reason as no one can deal with eternity alone. Also, sometimes variants of normal reality occur, people and places are changed or the loop with have a quirk. Like this one, where instead of Waking up as you, I looped in as a separate person. I came from one where I was Ruby and Yang's older sister, Ruby got attached to me."

Fall clenched her fists and glared at Rose with hatred, her lips twisted into a snarl. Flames swirled and danced around her body as the smoke stung her eyes, images of Rose being burnt alive from the inside out dancing in her eyes mind.

"If what you are saying is true, then you disgust me. A sibling to fools and children. Existing solely due to the bleeding heart of a worthless girl and taking my rightful place in Eternity. A mere flaw in reality, taking what should be mine by right!"

Rose narrowed her eyes, a spark of anger at the words flitting across her face as she tossed the half-finished apple out the window making Fall twitch. "First of all, Ruby is not worthless and secondly, yours by right? What makes you think you are the true Cinder Fall? _I_ will continue into eternity and when all the loopers of Yggdrasil think of Cinder Fall it shall be me who is acknowledged as the real one."

Fall sneered as she turned away from Rose, heading to get her lunch out as the flames died leaving behind no trace they had ever been there. If Rose was going to kill her she would have already and besides that, she was hungry and had no desire to waste her food. If she was to die it would be with a full stomach, eking out whatever pleasure she could before the end.

"Perhaps" Fall almost purred as amber eyes flashed, pulling out her sandwich and turning back to Rose, Murderous Amber eyes meeting Amused Amber "But you specified you were from a 'Variant', and that this loops quirk was you being separate from me, so doesn't that imply that it is otherwise how the world should be in the true reality?"

Rose smiled darkly as the room was filled with Dust. Fall winced for a moment as the light played off the glittering crystals, covering the walls with shifting lights and blinding her for a moment.

"A while back, I can't remember how long and I don't care either, there was a variant loop. Dust was everywhere and was spawned from human emotions and aura crystallising." Rose ran a finger over one of the deep red burn crystals. Fall eyed it warily as the crystal glowed dimly with a fiery light, there was enough Dust here to destroy the whole campus even if there was almost no chance of Rose detonating it.

Rose laughed, amusement dancing in her eyes as lay back on the bed, brushing her hair out of her face "Dust may have still been the only form of power and the main defence against the Grimm but it was also considered a menace. The sheer amount of damage caused by Dust explosions was hysterical. Jaune Arc managed to get himself trapped in accelerated time for a week after sneezing on a newly formed time crystal, and that was considered minor. In that loop, I was also Ruby's twin brother."

The Dust vanished, leaving behind not trace it had been there.

"In other words, there is no limit to a number of variations a 'loop' can have."

Fall looked at her counterpart as she leant against the distant wall biting into the sandwich, she paused mid bite as a thought struck.

" _How is Salem this loop?"_

Rose knew about Salem without being told, did that mean?

"But that does not change that I am still closer to the Real Cinder does it? Even if you may be 'looping' you are still merely an aberration in history." Fall smirked with malicious glee at the raised eyebrow, In the distance she could hear two _almost_ identical voices shouting, ones she recognised as being from the fool Ruby Rose, the apparent Anchor.

Before Rose answered screams pierced the air, echoing across Beacon's grounds. Rose laughed, rolling her eyes "And of course she did something like that, she has no concept of body horror."

Fall's eyes narrowed, distantly hearing more yelling, but it was far too far way to make out anything clearly. "What exactly is so amusing?"

"Oh, just Ruby showing off by blowing herself up in front of herself."

…What?

How could someone show off by blowing themselves up? Unless you had a peculiar semblance, tan it was impossible and Ruby Rose did not have such a semblance.

The world abruptly blurred as Fall found herself sitting opposite to Rose at a coffee table filled with drinks and other things on it. The beds were now stacked against the wall as light from an expanded window poured onto the table, with Rose pouring herself a mug of floral scented tea that smelled rather appealing.

Rose smiled gesturing to the table as she cut into a slice of some sort, a hint of golden light flaring in her eyes "Do you want anything? Feel free to take what you want. Ruby particularly likes the strawberry slice. Weiss, the Gadgadsbogen Icy-Hot Berry, Spiced Christmas gingerbread. While Blake prefers the thinly sliced, smoked sea dragon and Yang likes the Golden Apple of Discord Jam on raisin toast."

Rose frowned as she gestured to the last of the items, a golden jam that seemed to flicker with psychedelic colours "I can't stand the stuff personally, I can't even remember what loop I got those apple seeds from either. I have 23 different types of 'Golden Apples of Discord' growing and only 4 of them I have loops designations for."

Fall tried to stand, her body refusing to cooperate, after several minuted she gave up and poured herself a cup of tea, inhaling the scent carefully before drinking it. A pleasant, smooth blend of tea and aromatic spices flowing over her tongue. She kept a careful eye on Rose, it was obvious she was just showing off and trying to incite her anger, and it was working. Leading to more and more questions and answering very little.

She hated being powerless and being at another's mercy, that Rose was acting in such a baffling fashion to her opposition was simply increasing her confusion.

Still, it was a pleasant drink and she may be able to find out how she could start looping. Unlikely, but from there was nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"I don't suppose you would answer my question now?" Her eyes glinted as she leant forwards, eyes tracking as Rose pulled out a computer of some sort out of nowhere. Placing it on a newly materialised table and starting it up. "

"That was more of a statement than a question. And for the record, you are not closer to being the real Cinder than I am."

Rose's voice had an edge to it making Fall smirk as she sampled the Seadragon, finding it too pungent for her taste, but not completely unpalatable.

"I am, and will always remain the real Cinder Fall. Our history and motivations were lost with the start of the loops, as the loop is repaired it will be revealed, but until then our baseline history will remain a mystery. And in any event, all others versions are mere shadows of who I am, baseline included." Her voice was like steel as her eyes flashed red as she looked up from the computer to glare at Fall.

For her part, Fall looked coldly at her opposite, suppressed wrath threatening to slip from her control. The sheer arrogance that this… distortion…, someone who had just stated they came from a fake reality, would dare claim to be the real one was the greatest insult Cinder Fall had ever heard. "I have no reason or care for a history that I have never known, let it come. I am beyond caring for it as anything more than a curiosity."

"Yet, you immediately knew about Salem and my relationship with her. Something that did not happen from the glitch in reality you came from, so you assumed is from what is the true timeline."

"They see you as small and helpless"

Rose finished what she was doing on the computer and had now turned it around, an animation depicting who she knew as Ruby Rose, standing by a memorial in a blizzard as music played in the background. Then a Title appeared: "RWBY".

Flashes of all of Team RWBY, followed by Grimm on a white background, Roman and his thugs and then silhouettes of Emerald, Mercury and herself on a flaming background, her eyes and clothes glowing in the dark.

When the animation ended, Fall simply remained staring at the blank screen as the replay button came up. Their lives had been made into an animation based upon those naive fools? How was Rose even getting this stuff if time kept resetting?

"What." Fall ground out, eyes locked on the closing credits, "Why is our recent history a TV show, why is it based on Team RWBY? I can gather that it is related to the fact Ruby Rose is the 'Anchor', but that explains nothing. And where are you getting all this stuff?"

Rose laughed, biting into one of the gingerbread snowflakes, "If we use the metaphor of reality being a tree, all branches are linked to a central trunk. This is what is us loopers call 'The Hub' and it contains 'backups' if you will, of all loops in the form of fiction. Our loop is reflected as show from the scrollnet equivalent called the internet and that was volume one of three, we are currently awaiting the volume four expansions to start."

Her eyes gleamed with a malicious light as Rose leant forwards, making Fall lean back into her chair "You saw the name right? RWBY; Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long are the protagonists of this show, of the reflection of our reality in the universe were all things, past, present and future are held. And tell me something Cinder Fall, how often do the Protagonists loose in a story?"

Fall stared at the false copy who had taken _her place_ in eternity, lips twisting into a snarl as anger bubbled up, the implications of her words sinking in.

 _No, she would not lose to those infantile brats._

The wind started to pick up in the room, a crash echoing through the howling of rushing the wind as she sent the table flying. Rose laughed, a carefree rich sound so similar to her own rare laughter but so much more _free_ , like nothing mattered or that she had utterly won.

Fall's eyes glowed with restrained wrath and power, trying to ignore the growing niggling of fear at engaging someone so much more powerful than herself, something that she had disregarded this entire time.

Salem had trained her well; disobedience from those below you was to never be tolerated and when you had the chance, you crushed those bellow you and embraced their torments.

 _Cinder coughed, blood dribbling down her chin. Overhead the Shattered Moon's light lit up her glistening pale and bruised, lacerated skin, and showing the waiting lines of human-Grimm hybrid_ s. _Her eyes were dead, not reacting as one of the monsters returned to the line._

 _Pooled blood reflected the Grimm Maiden as she approached, Cinder forced herself to lift her head to meet Salem's eyes, a month of repeated mental and physical abuse and deflation had both left her numb and not willing to prolong her torment any longer._

" _Have you learnt your lesson Cinder?" Crimson orbs burned within a corpse-like face, blackened veins running thick with Grimm Miasma deformed the already disturbing face, the look of true compassion and sympathy made it all the worse._

" _Yes, Mother." Cinder whispered, her voice scratchy and wet "I apologise for denying you and your words." She had not meant to defy her Mother, things had just got out of hand and Cinder honestly didn't think it would be much of an issue._

 _Salem held Cinder's gaze for a few moments before sighing, without a word the prowling Grimm and hybrids vanished into the night. Salem ran a finger down Cinder's cheek "I am sorry I had to do this, but you have to remember that regardless of what you feel for someone should one lower then you disobey or challenge you. It is imperative that you break them so they will never attempt to do so again."_

 _Salem cut the cords binding Cinder to the posts, catching her as she fell and holding her in her arms as Salem started walking along the desolate path unconcerned about the fluids staining her robes._

" _Take comfort Cinder in the fact that there are many who are far below you, and that one day in the not too distant future it will be you who will stand over those that have defied you." Salem smiled softly as Cinder's eyes fluttered as she tried to remain awake as they descended into her temple._

" _There is a pleasure that I cannot explain in crushing those who defy you, in drinking in their fear and despair. While having to do so for those you care for taints it, you should still take what pleasure you can from it, as it does neither of you any favours to do otherwise. But for those you hate or do not care about? It is like a fine wine, an ambrosia like no other, and I assure you my beloved little spark, you will know it all when you set the world aflame and drink in all the miseries and torments the Humans of Remnant can offer you._

 _Now, we need to treat your wounds, get you a bath, and if you're up to it, a light meal."_

"They will fall," Cinder Fall's voice was quiet and deadly as she gazed at the woman who had stolen her life, and who had just pulled out a glass of red liquid from somewhere as the table restored itself. "Salem will win in the end, it is inevitable. This show is nothing but a tragedy told from the eyes of those who have yet to know helplessness."

The dark red liquid caught the sun's rays, shining like blood, it even smelt like it. If it was not for the fact Rose was drinking it and savouring the taste like a fine wine, Fall would have thought it was actually blood. She clamped down on her Aura and Fractured Mantle, shaking with unrestrained fury. The sun flooding the room was once more making her opposite's skin sparkle and look more like stone than flesh.

"And she will kill you, an imposter like you will be slaughtered, your death will be a thing of legends and your suffering shall go down in mythology. Millennia from now it will be remembered and leave the fools huddling around their pitiful fires as through they can ward off the nightmares that lurked in the dark."

Fall's skin flushed slightly as she finished, her strangled fury leaving her without more to say. Rose raised her glass, red eyes glowed like bloodied gems as she smiled revealing a maw of fangs. In an instance, her eyes were amber once more, with a normal smile in place of the mouth of blades.

"She can try, but Salem will not claim victory in the final loop. Playing along with her sometimes can be amusing, but I am not stupid enough to allow her to claim victory at the end."

Wait, what?

"Rather, I will have my victory at the End."

Cinder Rose stood up from the chair, stretching as she walked past Fall, looking out the window over the endless hordes of white constructs that filled the land and sky. A cold wind blowing in as the temperature plummeted, Rose reached out and grabbed a snowflake as it fell, the glowing ice crystal melting in the sun's light.

"And for the record, if for some reason I was to die in the last loop, I don't want it to be a thing of legends. I want it to an Epic! I want the very Gods of Yggdrasil to take note of my last stand, for stories to be told among the infinite branches of Yggdrasil for forever more. But I have no intention of dying."

She turned around to face Fall, illuminated by the glare of light reflecting off the ice that now encased Beacon, the burning arctic air making each breath a cloud of mist that fell to the ground in seconds. "When the last loop has come and my life there is done and over, I will Ascend and become one of the Gods as is my right, hopefully with RWBY and JNPR at my side.

And as for me being an imposter?" Cinder's lips curled in disgust as she looked on in disdain at her in-loop shadow. "I have told you, I am the real Cinder Fall, I have walked through worlds you could not imagine and lived for longer than you could possibly comprehend. No other Cinder Fall can ever loop, any other is a mere shadow of who I am and whatever they may possess is mine should I desire it."

Fall backed up as Cinder stalked forwards, crashing into a door that no longer existed, the scent of terror intoxicating to the Vampiress, as was the sheer amusement of tormenting the person who would kill Pyrrha.

"Whatever Baseline may try to make me and irrespective of my true baseline history, I decide what I wish to do now and at the end. I _chose_ RWBY as Family and JNPR as Friends even I if did not realise I had done so in the beginning. Material possessions mean so little after an aeon, destruction becomes stale after Vale has burnt for the ten-thousandth time."

Cinder moved faster than the echo could track, slamming the other woman into the wall and denting it with a single hand, as she snarled softly into Fall's ear "The only thing that breaks up the bleak, stale infinity is those few other loopers, everything else? It all comes to nothing in the end as given enough time all other things can be replaced even if it takes a billion or more years. And while there is nothing wrong with cutting loose sometimes and having fun or sending things off course, that is as much stimulation for them as it is me."

Fall looked at the monster pinning her, unable to breathe as her vision swum and the words blurred. The last thing she felt was a stabbing pain in her neck before oblivion claimed her.

 **32.20**

Nora eyed the pot of extra strong espresso wearily. Ruby and Jaune quickly recalibrated the measurement device as Weiss looked on. Pyrrha, Blake, Yang and Cinder were hunkered down in a blast proof shelter five hundred meters away. Ren was sitting at the table next to Nora.

Jaune pulled the last lever. "All set. On my mark."

Nora took a deep breath. Ruby and Weiss braced themselves. Ren leaned ever so slightly away...

"Mark!"

Nora gulped the entire pot of coffee down in one go. She licked her lips. She gulped a bit. "Alright, so there's the coffee. Now wh t? Sh0uld 1 bee** 5ee!#g th023 nnnnnnnnn-"

...

 _*One trip beyond the Fourth Wall later*_

...

"...We never mention this. Ever," Nora said, trying desperately not to overbalance with her newly expanded bust.

"Agreed," everyone else intoned, falling flat on their faces as their assorted large breasts became too much.

 **32.21 Shimmer712**

Cinder examined her reflect curiously. "How odd," she remarked. Last loop she had figured to be a minor variant. But it looks like it carried over to this one.

Eyes glowing crimson looked back at her.

Cinder shrugged. "No big deal," she decided. After all, it was just a color change. It happened to Yang all the time in baseline. She turned away and walked out the room, debating what to do this loop. Play the sister and spend time with Ruby and her friends? She had picked up a new cookie recipe she didn't know if Ruby had tried. And she had found some tutorials for various hairstyles. She could try them on the girls. Maybe teach Ruby a few new tricks she had picked up. The Anchor really did seem to be her favorite. They could share stories about their looping adventures. Talk about people they had met, the things they had seen...it would be lovely and fun.

Or go the Villain route? Scheme and plot and indulge herself. Maybe melt the White Fang leader's flesh from his bones and leave his head on display somewhere to frighten the populace? The hunters-in-trainer desperate and afraid, Jaune heartbroken if she kills Pyrrha again, Ruby knowing that at least one of them would be pulled away by her father no matter what happened...it would delicious

She smiled at the thought, her fiery semblance heating her body, her fingertips oddly hot.

Well, whatever one she didn't pick, she could save until her next loop. It's not like she was short on time.

 **32.22**

Standing in the middle of rather dark woods, Ruby Rose glanced up and down the mountain track she had been following. "Huh. Let's see... no Grimm, that's a plus, I'm bringing food and water to... oh, my grandmother. I'm literally little red riding hood. Cool."

Ruby then pulled out her extensively modified Crescent Rose. "Come here mister Wolfy. Come out come out wherever you are."

"You know, you sound like an idiot when you try to be cute."

"No, I sound cute," Ruby declared to the bushes. "I have years of practice. You wish you were this cute."

"No I don't. I get along with being handsome and classy." Roman Torchwick stepped out of the woods, affixing his hat tightly to hide the wolf ears.

"Yeah but class is for students," Ruby tried.

"I am a gentlemen. By definition I always have class."

"A racist class."

"Eh."

The mountain track continued upwards, the two bantering back and forth as they went. The small cottage the supposedly held the elderly Miss Rose soon came into view, and Roman graciously offered to open the door for Ruby. Specifically, he opened it from the side, with Ruby directly in front of it.

She almost got an axe to the forehead. "Whoops," the woodsman said. "Thought you were a wolf."

"He is," Ruby said, directing the Woodsman, James, to try and hack Roman's face off. "Hi General."

"Hello Ruby, are you doing well?" Ironwood asked as he tried to butcher the wolf.

"I'm good... please stop."

Glynda, her face a bit more lined than usual, slipped by James and promptly snatched up the basket Ruby had arrived with and ran like hell, to the confusion of everyone. Had they read minds, they would have known Glynda did not want to be a part of the madness that was a fairy tale.

 **32.23 Shimmer712**

"Huh," Cinder mused to herself. She flexed her fingers then slashed at Adam's face. The restrained Fanus bellowed as burns appeared on his face. Smiling, Cinder looked at her fire claws.

"I like this," she told the Faunas. "I wonder if I can make them hotter." She grinned at Adam. "You don't mind helping me figure it out, do you?" Not that his opinion mattered.

Adam glared at the woman. How strange, she could see his anger and that he was pain, but she just _knew_ he was scared even if he was showing no sign of it.

Well, he was chained up in front of an enemy with every intention of mutilating him. So obviously, know of his fear was a reasonable deduction.

Unless this was a loop with empathy as part of her semblance or something. In which case, she should take care not to develop the ability to the point she felt what others felt. At least not without figuring out how to turn it off.

Cinder twittered mockingly at Adam. "You know, I have discovered an interesting series. It's called Game of Thrones. And there's a man named Ramsey who has all sorts ideas I'd love to try on you," she purred, leaning forward to press against Adam. Her smiled widened. "All sorts of ideas."

This was going to be _good._

Adam shivered, knowing that it would end badly for him.

 **32.24**

Cats were naturally ambush predators. They enjoyed hiding out of sight, in enclosed spaces. This was why cats liked boxes: it was a good hiding place. This helped them acclimate to new environments and destress themselves, making for a great way to relax and rest.

They also like boxes for their warmth. Cats preferred warmer climates than humans, and a box was the perfect place to curl up. This was also why cats liked to lay down in the sun.

It was also why Blake liked to curl up with Yang.

Today the cat Faunus had decided that between the high stress of six straight loops of re-founding the Faunus Kingdom in Menagerie to protect the Faunus living there, she was going to take the Loop off. Ironwood had been wanting to test his governing skills anyway and had been sent off with her blessing. So with nothing else to do (Cinder and Torchwick were Awake, Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora were in Mistral and Ozpin and Zwei were hunting Maidens) Blake grabbed a book, scaled up to Yangs bed, and finding the Blonde playing a video game on her Scroll, curled up right next to her. "Hey Blake."

"Hey," Blake mumbled, pushing herself as close to Yang and opening her book. Yang returned to her game but turned her Semblance on anyway, warming up a bit. Blake sighed, and happily read.

She had just reached the part where Kuklo and Sharle were celebrating the birth of their daughter Carla when Yang looked over at her. "Whatcha reading there Blake? Smutty romance novel?"

"Action survival romp with kaiju zombies," she answered smoothly. "It's a good read. The author didn't get the characters right though. Obviously never met them."

"Cool. You have?"

"I've met their grandson," Blake said. "We don't get along."

"Hmm..." Yang kicked up her feet and cuddled up with Blake, the Faunus girl only minutely shifting positions. "Well, can you read it for me?"

"Really Yang?" Blake looked at Yang. Yang was giving Blake her best 'baby dragon eyes'. Blake crumbled.

And that's how the two of them spent their day: happily reading.

 **32.25 Gammatron**

"So...I have Looping Compatriots," Ruby noted, having Awoke as replacing Sister once more.

"Really?" Simmons asked, "You didn't figure out how to get a talking chibi Beowolf did you?"

"No. Talking Grimm are...well...yeah, never end up in a fused Loop with those," Ruby warned.

"Y'all got an AI fer yer Crescent Rose?" Sarge asked.

"No," Ruby replied, cuddling her favorite weapon.

"...It's not Penny, is it?"

"No, she's Looping. Didn't Doyle tell you?"

"Doyle's _Looping_?!" the Reds, Blues, and Doc exclaimed.

"The fool of a general who foolishly sacrificed himself for foolishy foolery?!" O'Malley gawked.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Church shook a fist at the split personality purple medic.

"You...all didn't know?" Ruby asked.

"No," all of them replied.

"Either he's that good at pretending it's not happening or you guys aren't as good as observation as you say you've improved on," Ruby giggled.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on so I'm going to just nod and say 'yes,'" Caboose informed...before nodding, "Yes."

"So who's in your Pocket for the Loops?" Tucker asked.

"Team CFVY, but Roboticized," Ruby explained, pulling them all out, "Everyone, these are the Reds and Blues of Project Freelancer. I told you about them and my big brother Grif and his best friend Si..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Um...Did that magenta guy scream so hard, his armor shot off and then put itself together again beside him before he and the armor sprinted off?" Fox asked.

"Simmons has certain... _issues_..." Church noted, "...with humanoid robots that have rabbit traits."

"He reacted because of Velvet?" Fox asked.

"Yeah...He got really traumatized by this one Loop called Five Nights at Freddy's," Grif informed.

"Ahhave a copy of all th' games, includin' th' new Sister Location," Sarge noted before pulling out a red laptop and handed it to Velvet, "Play 'em, read th' book that's on there, watch th' Matpat game theories, and y'all will understand why he's a chicken when it comes t' robot rabbits."

"Oh. My. God," Donut gasped, "You're Coco!"

"Um...yes?" Coco raised a metallic brow.

"You are my role model in fashion!" Donut informed before getting on his knees and bowing, "I'm not worthy to be in your presence."

"...I'm both creeped out...and kinda intrigued," Coco admitted.

"Why aren't you flirting?" Church whispered to Tucker.

"Dude, I tried flirting with them before and let's just say the two dudes they're with were _really_ protective of them that Loop," Tucker cringed.

"Ah...Got your ass handed to you," Church nodded.

"Dude, this was before most of their Semblences were confirmed," Tucker informed, "And those two had shapeshifting ones that liked to go for below the belt."

"...Before or after you started tinkering with your Key-Sword and making Rider Armors and Sentai Armors?"

"Before. And I have yet to flirt with them since."

"We can hear you," the two roboticized men of Team CFVY informed.

"We know," both Blues replied.

"So what team are you on? Because Church is my best friend," Caboose informed.

"..."

"We blame th' tree for him being th' Anchor and not someone sensible like me," Sarge snorted.

"...You're sensible?" Grif asked.

 ***BANG***

"Oh-ho-hoh-hoh~" Grif groaned on the floor as Sarge blew out the smoke on the end of his shotgun.

"..." Velvet slowly looked at Ruby.

"Personally, I don't mind Caboose being the anchor. He loves cookies!" Ruby beamed.

"Yay! Cookies!" Caboose cheered.

"So y'all make sure that they're in yer Pocket before th' end of each Loop, right?" Sarge asked.

"Of course I do," Ruby replied.

"We mainly stay in the Pocket unless she wants to bring us out to introduce us to other Loops," Velvet shrugged.

"Except for Eiken," Ruby informed, "I know I don't have access to my Pocket that Loop, but even if I did, no going there."

 **32.26 Shimmer712**

Yang Woke up in a Chibi loop. Specifically the part where she was trying to lose weight and was bench-pressing Blake.

"...Why am I doing this?" she asked out loud.

"You wanted to lose weight," Blake reminded her, eyes still on book.

"No, I get that," Yang said. "But why am I using you as a weight? I mean, you're not that heavy. I've hauled around much heavier weights."

Blake blinked. "That is a good question," she conceded, then frowned. "Wait, does this mean you were basically calling me fat?"

"I gotta go find something heavy!" Yang said quickly, putting Blake on the ground and running off. Blake got to her feet and followed at a causal pace.

A short distance away, she caught up with Yang...who was trying to bench-press a confused Ursa.

"Seriously?" the Fanus shook her head.

Roman woke up in a Chibi loop just in time to hear Ruby yell "WAIT!"

Pausing, he blinked and listened to her entreating him not to step on the Lava Floor. Obviously, she had yet to wake up this loop. That or another Anchor had looped in.

"One moment, Red," he held up a finger then left quickly. He soon returned with a Chibi Cardin. He tossed the boy onto the floor.

"OH DUST! IT BURNS!" Cardin screamed as he melted. The three girls on the bunk beds stared in shock.

"Huh. What do you know?" Roman mused aloud. "Thanks for the save, Red. I'll let you off this time." With that, he turned and walked away.

"Ookay..." Ruby muttered on her chair. On the beds, Weiss, Blake and Yang were glad they hadn't stepped on the floor when Ruby had told them not to.

"...So how do we get rid of the Lava Floor?" Yang wondered. The others girls silently exchanged glances.

"...Scream for help?" Weiss suggested.

At that moment, Ruby blinked as she Woke up and looked around. She checked her loop memories to see what sort of situation she was in.

'Huh, think I'll let this play out. Just to see what happens,' she decided.[/QUOTE]


	33. The Wedding

Ruby blinked Awake just in time to see a tall hooded woman swish by her. For a brief moment she felt hope-was this another variant where Summer Rose was alive? But, no, her loop memories confirmed Summer's death and the woman's hood was red...

"Hello sir!" The woman held up a basket, smiling at the confused thug. "Do you want a cookie?"

The thug, to his credit, tried to regain control of the situation. "No, I want your Dust." He pointed his blade at her.

"Oh, that's a shame. See, you're going to get a cookie no matter what. It's just that if you continue to rob this shop-"

Something tan with brown specks embedded itself in the wall next to his head.

"-I'll have to give you my cookies forcefully."

Ruby, who had been watching this, suddenly worked out where she had heard the woman's voice before. "Marianne? Is that you?"

"Yes, yes, I decided to come down and tell you the good news myself." The Admin grinned as she turned to the Anchor, idly grabbing the sword out of the thug's hand as it swung at her and knocking him out with the pommel. "It took some string pulling and a few major favors, but I managed to get everyone on the guest list here and Awake."

The redhead gasped, glee filling her silver eyes. "You mean-?!"

"Yep! It's time for Jaune and Pyrrha to finally tie the knot!"

"So how did you get everyone here?" Ruby asked. "I mean, from what I know Admins don't have much control of who loops where..."

Marianne waggled a hand noncommittally. "We don't have _complete_ control, no, but we can get some things to happen. Honestly since a good portion of the guest list was from the RvB loop, I just arranged for a flat out fused loop with that and worked with the other admins to get everyone else on the list here. Mister Torchwick!" she called brightly. "Can you go tell Cinder to call things off? I wouldn't want _anything_ to ruin Jaune and Pyrrha's wedding."

The redheaded thief blinked. "I'm afraid you have me at a loss, miss...?"

"Marianne." She turned to the rest of the thugs, holding up her basket. "As for you all, I have cookies for everyone. You can either take one and leave, or you can join your buddy on the waiting list."

"Listen, miss, we don't-!"

"I'd listen to the lady," Roman interrupted. "In fact, here. Double your initial payment, we're going to bail." He handed out the lien to the confused thugs. "Now take the nice woman's cookies and run, okay? I have a few people I need to talk to myself."

"Tell Neo I'll meet her at our usual place!" Ruby shouted as he left, before turning back to her Admin. "How do you know everyone's Awake, though? Even arranging a fused loop-"

"Oh the fused loop was the hard part, especially with all the non-RvB people having to be here as well. Waking Up Loopers is easy," Marianne explained, handing out cookies to the increasingly confused set of thugs. "We just don't do it often because the meta-stability of the spacetime fabric in any universe requires flexibility to operate as a functional debug, and the more points of extra-reality linearity there are in any loop the more stress is placed on the quantum manifold."

Ruby blinked politely. "I did not understand any of that."

"More loopers active equals less space-time magic equals less debugging equals more problems. I have to be completely honest with you, Ruby, after this you're going to get more than the normal set of lonely loops to compensate for that." Marianne shrugged. "There are multiple Anchors present, so we're spreading the resultant dearth among them, but even with the shared burden-"

"I am totally okay with that," Ruby replied. "This is all for Jaune and Pyrrha after all. Oh, but if we're fused with RvB that means Caboose is going to spend some loops without Church!"

"Yeah, I was worried about that too, but Monkey assures me Caboose is actually doing much better these days. Then again, it's Monkey, so take that with a grain of salt..."

* * *

"Mom... Mum..." Pyrrha took a breath, glancing at Jaune as he put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I... have something to tell you. Something kind of big, and... then something that feels bigger, even if it's actually smaller all things considered, not that it isn't important because it is-"

"Honey, you're rambling."

"Right." She took a breath. "First of all-actually, the second thing first. Jaune and I are... well, we're... engaged. I promise it'll make more sense when-"

"Oh my goodness!" The raven-haired woman jumped forward, her eyes gleaming with pride as she wrapped them both tightly in a hug. "I'm so happy for you two-"

"Settle down, Odharnait." The taller of the two pulled her red hair back, giving Jaune a piercing look with her golden eyes. "I have to admit, this seems rather sudden."

"Well, actually, it... kind of isn't." Pyrrha took a breath. "You see... well, basically, there's this tree computer that runs the multiverse, but it's broken so the people in charge put all the worlds into a series of time loops and some of us are actually repeating the same year endlessly and subjectively speaking Jaune and I are both billions of years old and we've been dating for a while and then we decided to get married because it seemed like we were already there but we hadn't had a formal ceremony so this loop everyone who's Looping is Awake which means all our friends are here and some people from other loops as well please don't freak out."

Odharnait backed off with a confused look. Her wife frowned for a moment or two.

Then she put down her mug. "Pyrrha... love is a strange, wondrous, mysterious thing. It's not the same for everyone-it's definitely not the same twice. So if you say you love this man, I'll believe you. And I'll happily join in whenever you celebrate your union."

She smiled gently. "You didn't have to justify yourself with a story about a broken god-tree."

Pyrrha blinked. "...wait, that's... seriously? Mum, you thought I-"

"Missus Nikos," Jaune interjected, "I... just, thank you for taking this so well."

"My pleasure young man. And please, call me auntie Piroska, you're part of the family after all."

"But I wasn't lying!" Pyrrha cried.

"Of course you weren't sweetie," Odharnait soothed. "You just had a strange dream-"

Jaune cleared his throat. "At some point during the next few months, the White Fang will dissolve, the Grimm will be exterminated, and alien super soldiers will crash into the planet. Not necessarily in that order. I propose we leave the question of whether or not Pyrrha is delusional until after that all happens."

Piroska rose an eyebrow. "Bold claims."

"I've been known to make one or two..."

* * *

"Greetings, mister Taurus. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I represent the Faunus Union for Reformation."

Adam Taurus examined the young, sharply dressed woman that had just strode into his camp-without any warning from the lookouts. The hoof-like feet were evidence enough of her racial claim, but she didn't wear anything marking her as one of his.

"...I've never heard of the Faunus Union for Reformation."

"Hmm. That's certainly odd." Twilight shrugged. "We were formed around the same time as the White Fang originally was, for very similar purposes. I suppose the White Fang simply got more press." She smiled. "Oh well, the details are not important. The point is that the Union has been operating multiple endeavors to decrease the gap between Faunus and nonFaunus, and we are currently at the cusp of achieving a number of our goals."

"So... you want our help."

"Actually, no. The White Fang's operations, while logistically beneficial for a time, have come to be detrimental to our plans. We have determined that in order for Faunus to achieve true equality, the White Fang as it exists must cease to exist." She held out her hands apologetically. "Obviously you have put quite a lot of time and effort into this endeavor, and we do not want to undermine your entire livelyhood. If you choose to dissolve peacefully, we are willing to reimburse you with a large amount of Lien and provide you remedial-"

"You want the White Fang to give up?" Adam yelled. "While there's still humans running the cities?! While our brothers and sisters slave away in the Schnee mines?!"

"I am well aware of the Schnee situation. An associate of mine is handling it as we speak."

"And what if your plan fails?" he snarled. "You think the world runs on money, or favors, but there's only one thing that people listen to-power. Strength. Ferocity. The White Fang will not bow to the will of some false Faunus help-group, not so long as I live on this world! Now leave, before I get angry."

"...Ah." Twilight smiled gently. "I believe I was not clear. When I said the White Fang must cease to exist, it was not a polite request. It was a statement of fact. I did not come here asking for your help. I came here to tell you, without a doubt, that the White Fang will be dissolving, and that I will personally ensure it happens before sunset."

Adam Taurus, leader of one of the most feared armies of terrorists and revolutionaries in the world, growled deep in his throat, hand on his blade as he towered over the smiling, unarmed, suited woman standing in a hostile camp with no less than twenty weapons pointed at her.

"Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be." Twilight brushed off a sleeve. "I do have other things I must attend to today."

That was the breaking point. Adam pulled out his sword and charged her with a roar-

-and in a flash and a sparkle he was gone, Twilight idly examining her fingernails. "I really do prefer it when I can talk people down. Lecturing can be so much fun."

A chainsaw sprung to life as a massive man in a full-face mask rushed at her-and again, with a sparkle and a flash, the enemy was simply gone.

"Now then." Twilight rose her voice. "Does anybody else have any objections? I have accommodations for all of you, should you wish to join your leaders. Yes, they are alive. No, I won't tell you where. Suffice it to say they are too far away to walk back."

The gathered faunus gave each other nervous looks. Some of them began to lower their weapons.

"Very good." Twilight turned to them. "I do, of course, have to take a look in the leader's tent. It will take me quite a while to search. And once I return to the Union, I will have to file a report on who all was at this location-it's such a shame I cannot _possibly_ recognize any of you with those masks you are wearing, although I suppose after I'm done with my investigation of the tent I could capture whoever was still around."

Ten minutes later, when she had gathered what she needed from Adam's belongings, she walked out to find the clearing entirely deserted.

* * *

"...embezzlement. You're having me removed on charges of embezzlement."

"Yes."

Schnee senior looked down at the records before him. He looked up at his daughter, the atlas general, the prototype aura-robot, and the drunk from Patch.

"...Let's not quibble details. These records are forged. Excellently so, to a point where I can't disprove them, but I know for a fact I would not embezzle from my own company. I also know it takes a lot of pull and a lot of skill to do this, and nobody would waste their time trying to do so unless they had come to the conclusion that it was the best way to remove me, for whatever reason. What I'm failing to grasp is why."

Winter sighed. "Simply put, you are too big a target. An associate of ours is dissolving the White Fang, but for it to remain dissolved you must be removed from play. Even if you completely changed your treatment of faunus employees, there is too much history and bad blood..."

"We're wiping the board clean," the drunk explained. "White Fang, Faunus oppression, the Grimm... all gone before the year is out."

Schnee senior rose an eyebrow. "Ambitious."

Ironwood nodded. "But feasible."

The two men looked at each other for a long, long time.

"...Hmm." Schnee senior tapped his fingers. "Well, I can't say I agree, but at this point I don't think I could stop you."

"You're taking this remarkably well," Penny mused.

"So long as the company survives in this new world you're making, I have no complaints."

* * *

"So..." Winter frowned. "I've seen some of the stuff Weiss has in her Pocket. Why don't we just use weapons of mass destruction on the Grimm and be done with it?"

"Because systematically exterminating them in person is extremely cathartic thus preventing most-prewedding jitters."

Winter stared at her on-again-off-again-maybe-boyfriend.

Qrow shrugged. "If I just said 'it's fun' you'd have called me out on being drunk again."

"Yes, well." Winter frowned. "You are drunk."

"Part of my charm."

"...Sure it is." Winter stood. "I think I'll take a walk out on the deck."

"Don't get blown off the airship," Qrow quipped as she left.

Winter rolled her eyes, meandering through the halls of the airship idly. It wasn't until she saw a redheaded figure that she paused. Something about her... about the tension in her shoulders...

She stepped up to the young girl gently. "You know, you don't have to go."

Her hands gripped tightly on the rails. "...no, I... I do. I really do."

"Penny-"

"It's _their_ day. It's... it's a thing worth celebrating, isn't it?" She stared out across the sea. "I don't want to ruin it for them. I don't... want to make them feel guilty."

"Penny... we all know how you feel-"

"With all due respect, Winter, I don't think you've ever been killed. You have _no_ idea what's going through my head."

The white-haired woman sighed. "Then tell me. _Make_ me understand. Communication is vital to any endeavor."

Wind whisked by them, rustling through their hair.

"...I'm terrified of her. In my mind, I know it's an irrational phobia, I know she's genuinely nice, I know she would never willingly... but I'm still terrified of her. It's... If I can't... I _need_ to get past this, somehow. I need to... find a way to let my mind conquer my emotions. And..."

Her shoulders sagged. "And, behind my image of miss Nikos, there's still... Pyrrha, the woman who would give anything, who... gave everything. Who would willingly let herself be subsumed, who died-who, who adopted, who fell in love, who-she's a person, and a good one, and this is for her. I can't let myself... I have to push past this."

"Penny-"

"No, I... I'm going to be there. Everyone will know where she is, right? I'll be able to watch her, keep an eye on her-better to know where the danger is. I'll... be surrounded by friends, and others, lots of people, a safety net. If I sit in the back... I can make an escape... And maybe, I'll see something other than the woman who killed me." She took a breath. "I _have_ to... see something other than the woman who killed me. This is... this is as much for me as it is for her."

Winter was silent.

After a moment, Penny forced a smile on her face. "And... well, if we've fused with the Red versus Blue loop for this... that means there will be other AIs there, right? We can talk about... robot things. I can't pass that up, can I?"

"...Penny, have you talked to anyone about this?"

"A little. Friend Ruby, Generuncle Jamie..." The gynoid took a breath. "I... I need this. I'm completely terrified, and I want to jump off this airship and swim back to Atlas, but I know... I know I _need_ this."

* * *

"I just want to say, congratulations on your engagement."

Jaune took the maroon-armored hand and shook it. "Thanks, Simmons. And thank you for coming." He leaned to the side, flinching. "Although... did you really have to crash your ship into the ground like that?"

"I wasn't the one piloting." Simmons released his grip, scratching the side of his helmet. "Although... we've recently gotten some loopers from Chorus. I know you don't really know them, but-"

"No, it's fine. The more the merrier! As long as they behave, obviously. Actually, we're in the middle of clearing out the Grimm right now, would they want to help with that?"

"Some might. We can work out the details later. When are you planning to have the wedding?"

"Oh, about three months from now. We have to work out all the paperwork... especially if the UNSC tracks you and finds a 'lost colony.'"

"I can definitely help with the paperwork. And if you need a priest to marry you two, I'm always available."

Jaune coughed. "Ah... actually... Pyrrha and I decided to do something a little different."

"Oh?"

"Klingon wedding. We consulted Worf on the details."

"...Oh."

"And, in klingon tradition-"

"The Lady of the man's household is the M.C." Simmons nodded. "I've seen the episode."

"...Sorry if you were-"

"No, it's fine. I'm sure your mother will do a good job." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "So... who are you inviting to your kal'Hyah?"

"Well, the best man, obviously, probably Ozpin, and I was thinking you and Tucker-you don't mind, do you?"

"No. Of course not."

"...You're a cyborg this loop, aren't you?"

"I promise I'll hold back."

"So, wh'n you're'll done with this clingy-knight weddin'-"

"It's _'Klingon'_ , Sarge." Simmons corrected.

" _Nerd_." Grif snarked.

"- ar' we gona' to be callin' ya 'Mrs. Arc' from then on?"

"No, nothing like that." Pyrrha explained, "besides the fact that in most Loops me and Jaune aren't going to be able to publicly act as a married couple due to our baseline ages and social situation; Remnant wedding traditions usually don't involve one of the partners changing their last name in most variants anyway."

"ah, makes sense, I've seen plenty of Loops where Yang's name was 'Gwen Branwen' or Ruby's was ''Xinghong Xiao Long' or-" Simmons started rambling rather lengthy list of alternate names he'd encountered fro the two half sisters before Grif cut him off;

"And speaking of Ruby and Yang, can I just say how grateful I am to only know you and Jaune tangentially through them? Because if we where any closer I don't think I'd be able to attend."

"Excuse me... I'm sorry? What!?" Pyrrha asked incredulously

"I- I mean, ah" Grif stammered, recognizing the familiar(and frightening) situation of being stared down by an angry woman dressed in Project Freelancer armor and equipment "I mean the Groom and his buddies have that whole fasting in a cave for four days thing, and that would be a tall order for me you know, and.. and you're going to make me go now aren't you?"

Pyrrha considered it for a few seconds before letting out an exacerbated sigh, "No, I don't think Jaune and his friends would be willing to put up with such a... _large..._ volume of buzzkill for that long."

"Excellent job," Sarge complimented "i's bin a long time since I manig'd to think up 'n' use a good zinger about 'is weight."

"You called me a nerd, but you know about the Kal'Hyah..."

"Okay; 1) I didn't know what is was called, and 2) I only bothered learning these things a few dozen Loops back after I heard about the wedding happening and it was relevant; _you_ on the other hand have known about this stuff sense _baseline_ when it was completely useless, therefore _nerd_."

* * *

A horde of Grimm eyed the man who was calmly walking towards them, a sword drawn in one hand, the other burning with a strange black flame. Several of the younger members of the Grimm charged them, only to be cut down. The elder Grimm turned to the oldest among them.

This Grimm, a Goliath that dwarfed the rest, stared into the eyes of the man as he approached. It assessed with it's ancient knowledge, thinking carefully, calculating, planning. The young ones had fallen too quick for it to understand how strong the man was. Could it-

A Rex Creep, the oldest of the Creeps among the pack, roared and charged, looking for the Grimm as if it was a T-Rex of yore. The Goliath narrowed it's eyes. Surely the Rex would defeat the man.

The Rex exploded into black flames, and evaporated a mere moment later. The Goliath took a ponderous step backwards as the man walked through the flames. The Grimm around the Goliath saw the step and screamed, running off in the other direction.

And before the Goliath, the man grinned. "So you're the Goliath my sister has been talking about. Let's see what you can do."

And for the first time in it's millennia of survival, the Goliath felt fear.

* * *

Blake watched Sasuke tear through a Grimm horde effortlessly. Yang rolled her eyes. "Sasuke's so showing off."

"I know."

* * *

"Aw, man," Grif complained as he stared at the massive army of Grimm he and the rest of the Loopers from the Red vs Blue Branch were tasked to eliminate in the current sector, "Do we really have to kill _all_ of them? This is gonna take _so_ long."

Simmons rolled his eyes as he responded, "Shut up, idiot. You agreed to this remember?"

"Yeah, but this is really gonna cut into my nap time."

"Silence, dirtbag." Sarge ordered, pointing his shotgun towards the enemy (and sometimes Grif). He then added, "Though it would be nice if we took care of this in a timely manner."

Carolina tilted her head. "Church, sync up and activate all of our Time Distortion Units on my mark!"

"Got it."

"Everyone get in position!" Washington called out to the Reds and Blues.

"Wait," cried Caboose as he faced the wrong way, "Church can't run all the time things. He'll die!"

Church groaned in exasperation, "Caboose, for the last time, the suits we're wearing don't need A.I. to run the Freelancer equipment. All I'll be doing is _**linking**_ them up and _**activating**_ all Time Distortion Units simultaneously. Understand?" He paused for a bit, "And you're facing the wrong way!"

"Oooooh," Caboose exclaimed as he turned around, "I understand. Link is gonna help you because he understands time-y wime-y stuff."

Church sighed, "God damn it, Caboose. Just because I said linking-"

"Explain it to him later when we don't have shit to do." Tucker cut in as he activated his energy sword.

Once everyone was where they needed to be, Carolina readied her gun. "Ready? Mark!"

The world around them came to a halt, time slowing down to a pace that can be compared to a rather lazy snail dragging its feet. Or Grif.

As the grimm froze in place from their perspective, the Freelancers and Simulation Troopers charged their foes as they shot, blasted, bludgeoned, and sliced and diced their way through the statuesque black horde of shadow demon animal things.

From the perspective of those outside the effects of the dilation of time, the massive sea of grimm was cut down in a relative blink of the eye.

"Well that takes care of that," said Grif as he stretched his arms over his head, "If you need me, I'll be in Vale getting some shut eye."

"Not so fast, Grif," Carolina spoke up as she looked upon their handy work, "This is only the first sector we were asked to take care of."

"What!?" exclaimed Grif, "How many sectors do we have to clear out?"

It was Washington who decided to answer his question, "Forty-two."

"OH, COME ON!"

In the distance, huge explosions caught everyone's attention as Blake and Yang could be seen wiping out entire herds of Goliaths with Perfect Susano'o and a Kamehameha respectively.

Grif stared.

"Fuck it, I'm using the big guns."

* * *

"Paws of Fury!" Jibanyan cried out as he defeated several beowolves with his quick moving punches.

"That's 39." Keita said with a notepad in one hand, and Spectral Fang under his arm, currently pink with a Jibanyan medal inserted into it. He stood over the dissolving body of a king taijitu. "… Man, we're really far behind. We better pick up the pace if we want to meet our quota!"

"Really? I thought for sure we'd be almost done by nyow," Jibanyan commented disappointedly. An ursa tried to sneak behind the unsuspecting nekomata, but he grabbed the grimm's paw when it swiped at him and flipped it over him, snapping its neck in the process.

"40," Keita counted with a mark to the notepad.

"Well we probably would have been done by now if Keita-kun didn't insist we could do this on our own. Wissu," Whisper stated, looking at his master with a critical eye.

"I don't need their help," Keita huffed before holding up Spectral Fang and jumping into the air, slicing an overhead nevermore in two and landing a few feet away. "They're always treating me like a baby! I'm just as capable as them! I can handle a few grimm."

"Well to be fair Keita-kun, we don't exactly have anything like the grimm in our Baseline. I don't think even kaima or the onis really come close. Wissu," Whisper explained as best he could. He had pulled a large, metal crate from his sub-space pocket and was using it to crush a few incoming creeps.

"Why don't you want to ask for help, Keita? We could all get this done a lot faster with more than three people!" Jibanyan pointed out, he noticed a few approaching creeps that Whisper missed and quickly rushed over to them and used 'Paws of Fury' again before running back over to Keita.

"Look, I understand where you guys are coming from, but I just want Ruby, Yang and Grif to see that I can fight just like them. That I'm just as capable as them," Keita sighed while he stood by his yo-kai companions. The two glanced at each other before sighing as well.

"Keita-kun, we also understand. But you don't need to compare your-"Whisper started to say, but was interrupted when a howl was heard. The three looked over to see more beowolves incoming, along with several alphas, and a couple of different grimm, like deathstalkers, or goliaths, following along. The three turned their attention to the approaching horde. The conversation would have to wait.

"Looks like we might be able to meet our quota pretty soon," Keita pulled a modified version of one of Yang's gauntlets from his pocket and inserted a Robonyan medal into its slot, changing it orange. He held Spectral Fang in his other hand and looked ready for combat. The three glanced at each other and nodded before rushing at their enemy, with intent to destroy.

* * *

Deep inside the planet, a darkness slumbered.

Not to say it wasn't aware. It knew perfectly well what was going on up above. The thousands upon thousands of grimm, evaporating and gathering to rejoin with it, each brought a piece of the story. The last few seconds of the memory of each one. Something was exterminating them at a speed previously never before witnessed. Still, as quickly as they died, more dark forms ripped themselves free from the darkness even faster, refreshing their numbers.

So long as it remained this way, nothing need change. The extermination of the planet would come in time.

* * *

Weiss gave the group of assorted loopers and their... device, a wide amount of distance. "Are we even sure this will work?" she called to them.

Griff just looked up from his welding and shrugged. "Well _I'm_ certainly not killing all the grimm by hand. Much easier to find a way to get them all at once. That way, I can get back to napping."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. And I mean, it's not like we can't do it... in theory. We have enough stuff in our pockets, and Sarge has just enough un-knowledge of how it all works, that we _should_ be able to piece together a species specific extinction weapon."

"Simmons! I need these do-dads stuck together! Pass me another stick of gum!" Sarge called out as he emptied a bottle of headlight fluid into a gas tank for the device. "Then we should be good to go! We'll be able to kill every grimm on the planet with the push of a button! And with luck, Griff too!"

* * *

The darkness paused as tremendous amounts of black clouds were drawn into it. They were all dead. Even the ones it had just spawned had returned to it, with no information as to why.

And so, the decision was made. The planet could not be taken this way. Something needed to change.

Instead of spawning more grimm, the darkness opened a single eye, cold malevolence shining inside.

It would have to do the job personally. If _the_ grimm weren't enough, perhaps Grimm _would_ be.

Cinder gritted her teeth as she stalked through the wastelands where Salem resided, black mist curling around her as she strode unhindered through the darkness, the miasma evaporating in the light of the risen sun.

She could not get that foul taste out her mouth.

Hordes of Grimm broke as they crashed into her soul, shattered bloodless forms dissolving as more crashed endlessly against her will and trampling the remains of the fallen.

Seriously, what was wrong with her loop self? Binging on Root Beer day in and day out.

"I really wonder about my unAwake selves sometimes." Cinder said regretfully as she navigated the maze of bone and volcanic stone that led to Salem's 'shrine', barely paying attention to where she was going as she let her loop memories guide her movements. Salem would be dealt with soon, the pony was taking care of Adam and the White Fang, Roman and Neo were cleaning up on their end.

What else was there to do?

There were the sleeper cells in Minstrel… they could likely be left alone, they needed a signal to act. But the others, she would need to deal with the most likely to splinter apart when things changed first or those on a hair trigger.

"Ahh, Cinder what a surprise."

Salem's familiar voice floated over as vast Aura bore down, carrying it with a feeling of dread and agony. The Queen of the Grimm hurling a barrage of Dust at the distracted looper.

Cinder dismissed her sword as the black and white head crashed to the ground, spilling a smoking black ichor that befouled the air with the scent of something long dead and rotting. The Grimm froze at the death of Salem, no longer having any commands. Cinder turned her dismissive gaze on the beasts, pulling a glove from her Pocket.

The awareness of all the Grimm nearby blossomed in her mind, a single command echoing into the beings of every Grimm for hundreds of kilometres as Cinder usurped Salem's control.

 _'Fight each other. Slaughter your brothers.'_

Common and stable variants were so useful, killing Grimm could be such a chore.

A darkness rose up into the sky, quickly blotting out the sun as Monster turned on Monster, shredded corpses fading into the miasma. Cinder pushed her hair out of her face as she watched the scourge of Remnant purge themselves, wiping a spot of ichor from her tan jacket. After a few moments, her eyes glowed gold, the maiden flying in the direction of Atlas at a lazy Mach 1.

The insurgents there would need to be dealt with quickly before they saw the changing world and decided to launch an attack before the loop ended. Trying to hunt them down later would be annoying.

 _'Sometimes,'_ Cinder mused as she passed through the clouds, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of seeing the planet fall away and the stars shining in the distance across the fathomable distance of space _'It is annoying being competent unAwake, having to deal with dozens of different loose ends to have a peaceful loop is frustrating. I really want to get on with the fun parts of the wedding preparation and to spend some time with Pyrrha.'_

* * *

"...So let me see if I've got this straight." Saffron put down her mug. "You're actually countless ages old. You've been dating this young... this lady for longer than history itself. You're about to get married. And..."

She looked up at her son. "You want me to be the one to, ah, wed you two together."

Jaune nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"We're using an adjusted version of an out-of-loop ceremony," Pyrrha explained. "It is tradition for the head lady of the groom's house to be the master of ceremonies."

"And since I'm Jaune's mother, that naturally means me." Saffron nodded. "I see. Is there a script?"

"Yes ma'am." Jaune tapped his Scroll. "I do have a copy of the details here."

"Aside from the actual wedding, you have... very minor responsibilities, mostly relating to me 'proving' myself." Pyrrha cleared her throat. "Checking the quality of the candles I provide-there aren't any targs here, but I did hand craft them-"

"I'm sorry, I just..." Saffron shut her eyes. "I... I am happy for you two, truly, and the fact that you helped those... alien warriors kill all the Grimm, that more then qualifies you in my opinion, but it's... kind of much to all take in at once. I'll look over the list, of course, but..."

She gestured vaguely.

"...I guess your sisters will be eager to be brides... grooms maids?"

Jaune coughed awkwardly. "Actually, we're... considering our children for that."

Saffron's eyes snapped open. "Your _what._ "

"Children. By adoption." Pyrrha rubbed the back of her head. "It's a long story. But Ren and Nora really are very sweet-"

"Okay." Saffron took a breath. "Okay. Okay, I can handle this. I just..." She held up a hand. "I'm... going to go get your father, alright? Just... I'll be right back."

She walked out of the room.

Pyrrha coughed. "So... she seems nice."

Jaune shrugged. "She's in shock. She'll be much happier at the wedding..."

* * *

"Yo!" Link yelled, walking up to Jaune.

"Master Link!" Jaune yelled, waving him down. "How are things with Linkle?"

"Hectic, but it's been awhile since I've had a solo Loop." Link then reached into his Pocket and brought out a sword and shield. "It's not exactly much, but it's the Mirror Shield and Phantom Sword. I usually stockpile this stuff in bulk." He then noticed Pyrrha. "And this must be the bride. I've got something for her, too."

"Oh, you don't have to," Pyrrha replied.

"No, I insist." After giving both sword and shield to Jaune, he then brought out a red spear. "I have to warn you, this is a spear that never misses, even when you intend to, so use it only when you have no other choice. Gae Bolg tends to be tricky like that."

Pyrrha blinked. "How did you even obtain a spear like that?" she asked him.

"I woke up as Saber, Cu was Awake and was under Bazett as a Master, he had a spare as a peace offering." He then chuckled. "Turns out the Hound of Ulster's great to hang around with when there's no Grail War hanging over our heads."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, nervously. Whenever they woke up in a Grail War, it was embarrassing considering Pyrrha was trying to save Bazett and Jaune was stuck as Saver.

"So, what did happen during the Grail War?" Jaune asked him.

"Zelda woke up as Archer, Lana and Cia were twin Casters, Ganondorf was Rider...he blew up the Matou Estate and took out Zouken in the process. However, the biggest threat turned out to have been Majora as Berserker, and not just because Illya was unAwake, but because the mask itself was attached to the Dead Apostle that resided in the Moon. It got to the point where even Gilgamesh himself was forced to fight with us in order to save the world."

They both cringed. They were well aware of what Majora's Mask could do in a Loop outside the context, but to possess one of THOSE guys meant that it was pretty powerful.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He then brought out a white mask with a rose on the front of it. "It's a custom in Termina to exchange masks before a wedding, but considering I've got plenty of them to go around, I'd think whoever is acting as the Priest should wear the Lovers' Mask." He then sighed, wistfully. "And believe me, whenever I'm in Termina, when I can get the chance, I always try to make sure Anju and Kafei hook up. I may not be one for romance, but I'm not the kind of guy who would let a couple be unhappy for the rest of their lives just because a prankster ruined their big day. It got to the point where I became Kafei's best man."

"And I asked Ren to be my Best Man," Jaune replied. "Sorry, Master."

* * *

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!"**

Nora ran up to the group, huffing with exertion. "Wait. Wait wait wait. I want... I want to say something. It's important." She shook her head. "Whew, okay, that was a long run, I'm not a sprinter. And that's not the important thing I want to say. Let me just... let me just catch my breath here."

Jaune, Ren, Ozpin, Simmons, and Tucker all waited patiently for her to gather herself.

"Okay." She straightened up. "So, I just want to say that I am super happy that you and Pyrrha are getting married, even though you know that already, and also that I feel like I should do something really important for the ceremony, and I know I've been asked to carry the rings and I know that's a big thing but it's kind of you know, I'm just carrying these tiny little circlets and I'm not actually very good at keeping track of the little things and it's just a little capstone to the whole thing anyway-one that means a lot, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of underwhelming and I kind of want a bigger part and I know this is more about you then me but I was thinking since we are a family I should have maybe the teensiest bit of say in this, and I know it's not traditional but a lot of what we're doing is kind of not traditional anyway and okay I'm just going to come out and say it _I want to be best man_. Woman. Best person. The person who's there for the groom. That's what I want. And if you say no I'll completely understand-"

Jaune put a hand to her mouth. "Nora... Nora, I don't know how to say this, but-"

"Actually," Ren interjected, "I would be completely okay swapping positions with her."

Everyone turned to look at him in shock.

"As honored as I was when Jaune asked me to fill the role, I really only want to be a part of the ceremony that makes my adoptive parents happy." He gave the man a small smile. "And, let's face it, Nora is correct that the position of ring bearer requires a degree of calm which is... somewhat unfair to ask of her. In all honesty, this is a small adjustment that would make my sister, and your daughter, quite happy."

"...You're sure about this, Ren?" Jaune asked.

"Absolutely. Without a doubt."

After a moment, the blonde sighed. "Alright. Nora, you're the... best person now."

Nora threw her hands into the air. "WOOO!"

"Ren, can you make sure Pyrrha knows about the change in plans?"

"Of course," Ren assured him with a formal half-bow. "And I wish you all the best on your journey through kal'Hyah."

"That's the klingon bachelor party thing, right?" Nora pounded her fist into her hand. "I am totally up for some brawling!"

Ren turned to her with a small grin. "It's an important ceremony that represents the cleansing of the mind on the path to clarity."

"...so, is there brawling?"

"Not as such. There are various minor tests, held during a week of fasting."

Nora blinked. "Fasting." She gave a small, awkward laugh. "As in... not eating. For a _week_."

"Yes. It is tradition, of course, for the tawi'Yan-the best person-to join the groom and his friends on this journey." Ren put a fond hand on her shoulder. "I know you'll do very well on the path to kal'Hyah, Nora. I know you won't eat the food put out to tempt you, and you won't cheat by secretly putting food from your pocket into your mouth. I know you care too much about this wedding to possibly do anything that could ruin the ceremony for Jaune and Pyrrha."

The two stared at each other for about half a minute.

Nora took his hands in hers with utmost gentleness and a smile as warm as the midday summer sun over Vacuo. "There are going to be pancakes at the reception," she said, her voice calm enough to shatter mountains. "There are going to be three cakes, and a buffet that could feed everyone there twice over. There's going to be a nice corner of beanbags and big pillows where people can lounge. And you are going to dance with me at least three times."

Sparks started to jump between her fingers, even as she continued to smile. "You'll make sure of that, won't you, _brother?"_

"Of course, Nora."

"Good." With that, she released his hands and marched over to the other men. "Okay! Kal'Hyah! WOOOOOO! Let's get this done!"

* * *

"Hi Ren!" Ruby dropped down next to the boy. "What's this?" she asked, at the pile of pillows and fancy cases he was sorting through.

"Hi Ruby," Ren returned. "I'm just browsing."

"Looking for something in particular?"

"I'm the ring-bearer so-"

"I thought Nora was...oh that's right, she asked for a swap because she thought she would lose the rings," Ruby recalled. "And apparently there's going to be a lot of pancakes at the reception because of that."

"Right. Anyway, I suppose that I could just carry the rings in my pocket but I decide to see about getting a case or a pillow for them," Ren explained.

"Oh, okay," Ruby nodded. "Any that look good?"

Ren picked up a pillow and examined it. "Not _this_ one." He wrinkled his nose. It was sickening sweet, with hearts and ribbons, possibly designed for a very young girl to carry. "What was I thinking? Wait, is this even one of mine?" He put it behind him.

"Hey, if Nora was the Ring-bearer originally, why do you have all this?"

"Two reasons. One: Nora asked me when she first found out she would be carrying the rings to get some stuff for the rings that she could choose from. Secondly, she wasn't neglecting the role when she had Ruby. A lot of this is stuff she grabbed to sort through before asking to swap roles. She offered to help go through them but I told her to go get ready." He picked up an elegant gold and bronze case with a simple eternity rune on the lid. "This one might do." Ren placed it carefully in a small cluster.

"Huh, you're really taking this seriously," Ruby noted.

"They're my family," Ren said in a matter of fact tone. "Why wouldn't I? If It hadn't been a last minute swap and"

"Good point," Ruby nodded. "Any ideas what to get them as a wedding present?"

"I have something, actually several things but I'm not sure about any of them," Ren confessed. "With all the things you can get in the loops, just going into a store and buying something seems a bit inadequate. Something made would probably work or from outside Remnant maybe, but..." He shrugged.

"If you have multiple gift ideas, what are you going to do with the ones that aren't given as a wedding present?"

"Probably hold on to them until they have a wedding anniversary," Ren sighed. "Really don't know which one, though."

"Eh, I'm sure they'll love whatever you get them," Ruby pointed out.

"They're not just my friends, they're my _parents_ too. I want it to be really great."

"Well, at least Nora is as lost as you are there," Ruby tried to reassure him.

"Actually, when I last spoke to her about it, she said that she had a great idea."

"...Should I be worried that she may be trying to get them nukes or something?"

"Ruby! Nora can be eccentric, but she is actually quite rational!" Ren paused. "Sometimes."

* * *

Pyrrha hummed happily to herself as she walked down the halls to her room. She had just come from speaking with Ruby and Nora about the cake for her wedding, and as such was in an exceptionally good mood. _Her wedding!_ From the moment the idea really sank in she had been walking on stars and sunlight. _Her. Wedding!_ Yes, she was a warrior and one of humanity's last lines of defense from the endless tides of the Grimm which sought to destroy them; but she was a woman too, and she had dreamed of this moment for years. And with her friends and family helping? It would be _perfect_ , nothing could make her believe otherwise.

A tentative voice spoke up from behind her, causing her to freeze. "Miss Nikos?"

Pyrrha turned in a flash to find exactly who she expected standing there, wringing her hands and shifting from foot to foot. Barely managing to swallow around her suddenly dry mouth Pyrrha attempted to smile. "Penny, um Miss Polendina. H-how are you? Is there- is there something I can help you with?" she asked as gently as possible, not wanting to frighten the girl she had murdered away as so often been the case.

Penny stood silent for several long moments, enough so that the lack of sound between the two Huntresses grew strained and brittle, before seeming to reach an inner store of willpower and resolutely met Pyrrha's gaze; despite the visible tension in her eyes. "Is there anything I can do to help you prepare for your wedding Miss Nikos?"

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat. whether from nervousness or shock she couldn't tell. "That's not- you don't have to-" She paused and took a breath. "I understand that you and I aren't on the best of terms, and I wouldn't want to impose on you Miss Polendina. You don't have to force yourself to do this, no one will blame you if you choose not to. I certainly won't."

Penny resolutely quickly shook her head. "No. That is unacceptable. You are a good person, and one of Friend Ruby's most precious people. I cannot allow my fear hold me back. I wish..." Penny came to an abrupt halt midspeech and seemed to be fighting with herself internally before standing straighter and continuing. "I wish to be friends as well Miss Nikos. I recently spent a Loop as myself in your place in Baseline, which I had done before; however unlike the other times previously, on this occasion I made myself go through the entire Baseline. I- I saw what Miss Sustrai showed you in the arena." She wrapped her arms around herself. "The sight of you preparing to terminate me again..."

"Oh, Penny." Pyrrha wanted so much to pull the other girl into a hug, if only to replicate the one she held herself in, but didn't dare for fear of ruining this fragile moment.

Pulling herself back together, Penny gave a careful smile to Pyrrha and continued. "I believe I now understand now, in a way I couldn't simply by viewing our Baseline. I wish to overcome this issue between us." She held out her hand determinedly. "If you will allow me, I would like to be your friend Miss Nikos."

Pyrrha smiled widely, tears beginning to make their way unnoticed down her cheeks, and happily accepted the handshake. "I would like that very much Penny."

Yes. Now more than ever, everything would be perfect. She knew this to be true, and nothing could tell her differently.

* * *

Ryuko Matoi was looking at the preparations for Jaune and Pyrrha's wedding in confusion. "Why the hell did they choose to have a Klingon-style wedding?"

Penny, who was nearby helping decorate, shook her head. "I do not understand it myself, Ryuko. But it was their choice."

"I know, Penny. But still, after the last wedding us Loopers were at, this had better be a peaceful wedding."

"Agreed."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be..." Weiss trailed off, staring at the machines in front of her with the disgusted awe that only those born into luxury could manage. "Yang. You know I love you. We've been sisters more times than I can count. But why, for the love of god, are you bringing the fog machines to a wedding?"

Yang looked confused at the question. "Why shouldn't I bring them? They make everything cooler."

Weiss could feel the headache forming. "Yang. We are going to a wedding. Weddings are an emotional affair and should be treated with the utmost dignity. Fog machines are not dignified."

Yang's eyes narrowed. It was on.

"Sooooo," Twilight hemmed as she looked at the stream of guests filtering into Amity. "Is it... traditional, in Remnant, to wear armor to a wedding?"

"Well, it is loop variable, but... yes." Weiss adjusted her own high-class combat skirt. "It stems from a very famous marriage, back when we had kings and queens-basically, a princess chose to marry one prince and the other tried to attack them during their wedding, and that sparked a Grimm breach but everyone put aside their differences and fought them off. So now we wear the armor to symbolize the power of love against hate."

"Oh. Well... this is awkward." Twilight gestured at herself. "I mean, I have functional armor for a humanoid form, but all my best-looking armor is for a pony."

Weiss tapped her fingers to her chin for a moment. "You know... I'm pretty sure all the guests are either loopers or were told about the loops. If you wanted to slip into something more equine, I don't think there'd be any objections."

"Really? I thought it'd be a bit of a faux pas."

"We've already got Zwei and Freckles. A purple pony princess isn't going to raise too many eyebrows." She coughed into her fist. "Just don't go _too_ fancy. Don't want to upstage Jaune and Pyrrha."

Twilight half smirked at her. "Are you sure you don't just want to see a Rarity original?"

"Not _just,_ no." Weiss rolled her hand. "Go on and pocket change, I'll wait here for you."

* * *

"Look, guys, you're fine! You're practically in armor all the time!"

Coco shook her head. "Ruby, this isn't something you can rush. No, Fox, over _then_ under! Honestly, we've gotten a little lax getting geared up anyway-"

"The wedding is in ten minutes!" Ruby stamped her foot. "Even Zwei's already got his armor on! I thought you'd be ready for this!"

"We were," Velvet deadpanned, "but then SOMEBODY had to suggest we wear armor over our robotic forms." She glared pointedly at Yatsuhashi.

"It's a matter of respect!" the giant protested. "And anyway, all of you had to use the Trek-verse replicators to make yours. Was I the only one that packed formal armor?"

"Mine's out of fashion," Coco explained.

"Lost mine in a poker match with a Tachikoma," Fox added.

"Never had any," Velvet pointed out.

Ruby groaned. "Look. The clock is ticking. If you're not done in four minutes, I'm not taking you to the ceremony."

"Don't worry, we just have to make sure it's all properly adjusted..."

* * *

"Is that your Wedding Armor?"

Pyrrha turned and smiled at her adopted son. "Yes, it is. What do you think?" she asked.

"If Jaune doesn't say anything at the vows, it's because he is too awed to speak and needs someone to snap him out of it," Ren asserted. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Pyrrha told him, resisting the urge to fidget. She was too worked up. She and Jaune were in love. Nothing would change except that they had a fancy celebration to show their commitment to each other. That's all the wedding was. Even if they didn't get married, they would still love each other, so getting married shouldn't be such a nerve-racking experience. She looked in the mirror, searching for any scuffs or scratches in her armor. It had to be perfect.

"Stop worrying, it'll be fine," Ren assured her.

"Do you have the rings?" she asked.

"Yes, I do. Everything is fine, everything is ready," Ren sighed.

"I know. I'm sorry for fussing, it's just..." Pyrrha shook her head, trailing off.

"I know. It's a big day," Ren nodded. "But don't worry, everything will go great. And if someone tries to ruin things, I'll ask Nora, Yang and Ruby to come with me to have words with them."

Pyrrha paused, considering. Then silently concluded that anyone who tried to her day would regret it or completely block the memory due to trauma.

"Pyrrha, relax," Ren assured her. "It's going to be great."

Pyrrha smiled. "I know," she answered. "I'm looking forward to it," she told him, completely sincere despite the ball of anxiety and nerves gnawing at her.

Amity Collesium was designed to house a couple thousand people. Of course, now that the Grimm had been exterminated, there wasn't a need for Huntsmen and Huntresses, which called into question the whole point of the Vytal tournament, which meant a number of people in power were wondering whether they could justify the cost of keeping a floating stadium with variable terrain operational. It wasn't that they wanted to just toss the thing-Amity was a culmination of a cross-kingdom collaboration-but practically speaking... it was also a strain on the budget.

So when Ozpin had suggested, just as a possibility, allowing people to rent it out for their own personal events, the leaders of Remnant had pounced. True, the going price was exorbitant, but that just upped the prestige. The fact that the first such ceremony was a wedding was simply perfect-a bonding of two souls could easily be said to represent the bond that the creators of Amity had forged, a gesture of the ultimate friendship and love that it was supposed to represent. That the alien warriors who had destroyed the Grimm would be attending, well, that just made the media salivate in glee.

Of course, no reporters were going to be allowed in for privacy's sake, and most of them were alright with that-even the bare outline was enough to spin into an incredible tale. Had they been present, though, many cameras and microphones would have been dropped in sheer astonishment, both at the size and the variety of the guests who had gathered. Of course, to Loopers it represented a very small section of the multiverse, but even among the around seventy gathered individuals there was a surprising amount of variety. The guest list, if one were to go down it from the view of an outsider, was quite strange:

The families of the bride and groom, which included seven sisters, three mothers, and one father;  
A huntsman and a huntress who claimed to be their adopted children, despite being about the same age;  
Four Huntresses in training, one of whom was an ex-terrorist and another the child of her mortal enemy;  
Two headmasters and a headmaster's assistant;  
A drunkard and a high-class company owner;  
A famous thief and his silent but deadly younger partner;  
A powerful witch and her two ex-criminal minions;  
A girl made as the result of a top-secret aura project;  
No less than fourteen armored warriors from space, split into about four bickering groups (with a number of them being potentially crazy);  
The four artificial intelligences that were related somehow;  
A robot alien warrior that only spoke in a foreign language;  
A polite lady from space who happened to be a _tank;_  
A giant mechanical walker with guns for arms;  
A man with black hair and incredible power wearing an odd headband;  
A green-garbed master swordsman with many strange devices;  
A young girl whose armor appeared to be glaring at everyone present;  
An oddly armored fellow who claimed to be a train;  
A young boy with a ghostly companion and a two-tailed cat;  
Robotic duplicates of four _other_ students of Beacon;  
An elegant lady and a giggling monkey responsible for keeping the universe together;  
A purple winged unicorn;  
And a talking dog.

Such a gathering would attract quite a bit of attention almost anywhere, and many people would be hard pressed to keep from looking around in amazement and curiosity. It was a testament to how seriously they took the situation, then, that all eyes were focused on the stage at the front, and the two souls whose celebrated union was the reason for their gathering.

Drums began to beat, and fog poured out from underneath the stage, enveloping it almost entirely. Some trick of magic or technology kept the center clear, where three individuals stood among the thick candles; on the right, a raven-haired young man holding a delicately crafted box, on the left a ginger-haired woman with a pair of serrated, arm length blades in the center, and at the podium, glancing occasionally at the book in front of her, a gold-haired lady cleared her throat, readying herself for the speech in front of her.

"With fire and steel did the gods forge the Klingon heart," she intoned. "So fiercely did it beat, so loud was the sound, that the gods cried out 'On this day we have brought forth the strongest heart in all the heavens. None can stand before it without trembling at its strength.' But then the Klingon heart weakened, its steady rhythm faltered, and the gods said: 'Why do you weaken so? We have made you the strongest in all of creation.' And the heart said..."

"I am alone."

This response came from the young blonde who had stepped out of the left fogbank. His armor was angular, white, proud, with a crescent motif spreading from his breastplate to his shoulders. Thick metal made his boots, his gauntlets, his crown, yet even these could not hide the silent sorrow in his blue eyes as he said the words. Truly, a more heartwrenching image could scarce be imagined; the brave warrior, with nothing to fight for.

With a steadying breath, the woman at the podium glanced down at her script. "And the gods knew that they had erred. So they went back to their forge and brought forth another heart."

From the fog on the right emerged a woman, whose hair was as red as molten lava, and whose armor matched the color unerringly. Boldly did it sweep over her shoulders, merging with an interlocking pattern of angular diamonds; this cape was matched by the skirt in front, with powerful greaves and vanbraces marking the strength of the wearer. Perhaps it was an illusion, but below her winged crown a flicker of amusement seemed to dance in her green eyes.

The sword-bearer stepped forward, handing man and woman their serrated blades before quickly hopping off the stage and rushing over to a roped-off section of the audience, picking up what seemed for all the world to be a rock on a stick. After a moment of shock, the head of ceremonies shook her head, gripping the podium as she glanced down at the lines in front of her. "But the second heart beat stronger than the first, and the first was jealous of its power."

The blades clashed on command, though as quickly as it had started the battle was over; the man's weapon was parried and the woman's at his throat.

"Fortunately, the second heart was tempered by wisdom."

The woman smiled, perhaps mischievously, and looked into the man's eyes. "If we join together," she offered, "no forces can stop us."

With that she lowered her blade, and he too let his weapon fall to his side. As one they moved forward, mere inches apart, green and blue peering deeply into each other. The golden haired woman smiled warmly, glancing down at her script. "And when the two hearts began to beat together, they filled the heavens with a terrible sound. For the first time, the gods knew fear. They tried to flee, but it was too late. The Klingon hearts destroyed the gods who created them and turned the heavens to ashes. To this very day, no one can oppose the beating of two Klingon hearts."

She paused, looking at the script again. Then she turned to the the raven-haired man behind her, who stepped forward and gave her the engraved box. With a thankful nod, she put it on the edge of the podium, opening it to reveal the two bands within.

"Jaune, son of Blaine, does your heart beat only for this woman?"

Jaune nodded. "Yes." Without looking away, he reached for the ring.

"And will you swear to join with her and stand with her against all who would oppose you?"

He took his beloved's hand, and slid a ring of two golden bands, engraved with ancient words and united by a single gem of great and ruinous power, onto her finger. "I do so swear."

"Pyrrha, daughter of Piroska, does your heart beat only for this man?"

Pyrrha managed, barely, to hold back the tears in her eyes as she smiled. "Yes."

"And do you swear to join with him and stand with him against all who would oppose you?"

She took the ring she had forged-made of many metals, compressed with heat and time, embedded with gems of dust-and carefully slid it onto his finger, ensuring that the tiny muzzle was pointed outward. "I do so swear."

"Then let all present here today know that this man and this woman are married."

At that, Jaune and Pyrrha finally broke the distance between them and engaged in a deep, passionate kiss. There was applause, cheers, and more than a few whistles, but none of that reached them; for a full minute their world consisted only of each other, lips, heart, and soul. It was only when they needed to breathe that they parted, looking deeply into each other's eyes. Joy and unbound happiness radiated from the pair, so much of it that no mere sappy metaphor could possibly encompass its entirety.

Of course, it was about that time that those who joined in kal'Hyah with Jaune lifted their ma'Stakas and awarded the couple the traditional klingon blessing.

Namely, violence.

Which, to be entirely fair, was a great icebreaker for the following reception.

* * *

"Ahem." Saffron glanced at where her son, daughter-in-law, and various others sat with bruises and mild cuts. "Well! That was a thing. I mean, I was warned klingon-style weddings were... different, but..."

She shook her head, standing straighter as she gripped the microphone. "Alright. Well... I'm sure all of you know about these 'loops' by now. I'm honestly still trying to come to terms with it... I was completely surprised when my son asked if I would, well, be an important part of his wedding. His _wedding._ I still remember tucking him in at night and now..." She gestured. "Now, he's... he's become this incredible man, with an incredible woman at his side, and I just... I still don't understand it all, but what I do understand makes me very proud of what he's become."

She bit her lip.

"...actually, I.. I'm not good. With speeches. I just... I just want to say, Pyrrha... you should treat him right." She smiled. "I know you'll do it anyway, I just have a responsibility to mention it."

With that, she awkwardly left the stage, and the microphone, to somebody else.

Piroska stood up, walking toward the stage with a stoic expression. She took a moment to look out among the crowd.

"...Not many of you know me, but I have the honor and the pleasure of being Pyrrha's mother. Like my sister in law, I had trouble believing her when she explained this 'looping' phenomena, but from what I've seen she's taken advantage of it to... grow into a strong, incredible woman. And she has found a man that matches her strength, not just in body, but in soul."

She took a breath. "Marriage... It's not just love. If it were, people would be marrying regularly, with people they meet... it's devotion. It's unity, a pillar around which to build the rest of your life. I want to be clear on this: you can't just expect your relationship to support everything, you need more then one pillar, you need friends and... other family. But that doesn't mean marriage should be underestimated. Done properly, it can be... it _should_ be the center of your life. No matter what this broken multiverse throws at you. United in spirit... a beacon for the future."

The woman looked at her daughter and her son in law. "Somehow, I think your beacon will burn brightly indeed."

As soon as she stepped aside, Nora pounced on the microphone. "I think I speak for all of us when I say: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE **EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE** _ **EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"**_ She grinned like a maniac until the feedback and complaints died down. "In all seriousness, Jaune and Pyrrha are two of the most important people in my life. They're my teammates, they're my family, they're two of the only ones in this entire multiverse that can keep me from going on wild and crazy rampages. Each of them is an anchor-not to the loops, but to me, personally; Jaune, for his willingness to listen and understand what I'm thinking about even when I don't, and Pyrrha, for her patience and guidance in this entire situation. To see them getting together, to know they've found happiness-it's amazing, I'm just, I can't even. The emotions. They're hijacking my talky parts. BE HAPPY! DO HAPPY THINGS YOU TWO! THIS IS HAPPY!" She giggled, twirling off the stage.

Ren rolled his eyes as he stepped up. "I've always been a man of few words. In fact, I think I can sum up my entire view on this in one." A warm, gentle smile graced his face as he turned to the couple. _"...Finally."_

That netted a few laughs as he walked off, allowing somebody else to claim the mike.

"Ahem. Hello." Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes with a smile at some of the gasps. "Yes, I am, in fact, a talking purple unicorn pony with wings in fancy armor. Rides are twenty lien for ten-minute intervals, subject to auditing based on treatment, and you have to sign a waiver."

There was a wave of chuckles.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about what really matters-the union and bond of Jaune and Pyrrha. I've attended plenty of weddings in my time, baseline and looping-both of my adopted children had some pret-ty crazy stuff going on at their ceremonies. And in all the weddings that weren't political, I looked for the same thing-the way that those who made their vows would look at each other, right before the kiss. It's always amazing to watch-they're nervous, gearing up for the grand finale, and then-confidence. Unity. Their... their selfs, exposed to each other and the world, a statement of trust."

She smiled, pointing a hoof at the happy couple. "You two, when I saw that, I saw a bond. A bond so deep, it can rattle the world, change history, and... well. I may only be the princess of _friendship,_ but I think Cadence would agree with me when I say that your love is going to last a very long time. Congratulations, a thousand times over."

Twilight turned back to the crowd. "And... well, I think the more personal speeches should come from friends and family. Besides, I need to set up the pony rides."

"OOO OO! I WANT TO RIDE THE PONY!"

"That's two hundred lien for _you_ Caboose!" Twilight shouted, to even more laughter. "Up front!" She shook her head, handing the microphone over to a red-armored man as she walked off.

"You know when I first came to this planet, there was one thing on my mind... Killing Grimm." Sarge chuckled, shaking his head. "A bunch of alien monsters, all undoubtedly enemies, that I could slaughter at my leisure? I couldn't wait at all-heck, I crashed the ship through a grimm dragon! Good times... gooood times."

He cleared his throat. "See, I'm a soldier. I've always been a soldier, I think I'll always be a soldier. Armor, weapons, killing... it's what I live for. I'm the exact opposite of the kind of guy you'd expect to find at a wedding-even one where the bride puts a sword to the groom's throat! That's because killing... well, it's another form of destroying. Destruction, that's easy. See something, find a way to break it, bam. Little kids, they knock over block towers all the time-all soldiering is is putting it to constructive use!"

"Now, creating? That's hard. That's difficult. That's... well, I'm good at creating weapons, cause that lets me do more destroying! But other things. Art. Homes. Family. Those... those are complicated creations. I don't think I'd be all that good at that sort of stuff." He nodded and Jaune and Pyrrha. "You two though... you look like you know what you're doing."

Sarge threw them a salute. "To a pair of kids who are far braver then I am! Keep up the good fight, soldiers!"

Some applause followed him off the stage, and Yang stepped up, rolling her eyes.

"Let's get this back to the awesome people. Now for those of you that don't know me, I'm Yang Xiao Long, awesome fighter and kickass Blonde. Basically, I'm the best of Pyrrha and Jaune put together." She grinned at some of the laughs. "And speaking as an awesome bundle of awesome, I want to clarify that this wedding... is the most, most heartwarming thing I have seen in a very, very long time." Tears were in her eyes as she gripped the microphone. "I don't... I really don't want to bring up baseline, but I just think that the fact you two have... that you managed to make it this far despite that, that's... I'm just. I'm just so... you deserve it. You deserve it, you... Okay, somebody take this from me, I'm sorry, I was going to make so many jokes but..."

Blake gently escorted her off the stage. "I know. It's so much."

Yang smiled, crying. "It's so much."

"It's so much." Blake nodded. "It's so much."

Weiss cleared her throat. "Well. Yang always did wear her heart on her sleeve." She took a moment to adjust the microphone. "I remember the days when I was part of this odd little triangle. A certain somebody tried to get me to go to the dance with him, and I would always try to work with a certain someone else due to my, quite honestly, _foolish_ fixation on achievement and standards, never noticing how shy she was outside of combat and class. It was all very childish." She sighed. "I guess we were always going to grow up fast..."

After a moment, Weiss gathered herself. "Well. If we had to grow up, it's good to know that we've grown up well. Jaune has come far from the uncertain bumbler I turned away, and Pyrhha's much more then the shy girl I tried to attach myself to. Now one is wise, and the other confident, and together they shore up each other's weaknesses. That they've only improved on their fighting skills-and their musical ones-is just a sign of how mature they have become." She nodded. "I can only hope that I, myself, have grown as well as these two. To Jaune and Pyrrha. May your hearts beat as one, may they beat forever."

With a curtsy, Weiss surrendered the microphone to her team leader. Ruby twirled it in her hands for a few moments before striking a pose. "Hey everyone! Wow. A lot of people have said a lot of things already. I think we've covered everything-it's been a long time coming, but Jaune and Pyrrha have grown from awkward teenagers to brave and caring adults over the loops and we're all super happy that they've finally tied the knot. Now, I don't think I could possibly do any better expressing how happy and amazed I am then anybody else who has been up here. So... I'm going to do something a little different."

She gave an evil grin. "I'm going to show off my PHOTO ALBUM!" With a flourish she unpocketed a thick book labeled 'Jaune & Pyrrha blackmail'. "Don't worry, I went through and got all of the worst pictures out. Now, here's the time I caught them tied up together in the Emerald forest..."

* * *

"Hey, congratulations on your wedding!"

"Nate, Whisper, Jibanyan. Good to see you guys," Jaune greeted the brown haired boy and his two spectral companions with a kind smile that Pyrrha shared.

"It's Keita right now, but glad to be here. Any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine after all," Keita smiled as he shook both their hands.

"You mean ours, Keita-kun," Whisper huffed before he hovered over to the two and handed Pyrrha a charm of some kind.

"What is this?" Pyrrha questioned while looking at the object curiously.

"That's some yo-kai repellent, just pull the tab and any yo-kai in the area won't be a problem. It will be useful if you ever end up in our Baseline. Whis," The ghostly butler bowed as Pyrrha accepted to the gift.

"Yo-kai repellent? But you are a yo-kai? Why would you want us to repel you?" Jaune asked and Whisper smiled.

"Ah, well you see. Our Baseline is just filled with tons of mischievous yo-kai."

"Most of the time you don't seem to think so," Keita grunted but Whisper ignored him.

"Anyway, it's just best to have a way to keep them from messing your day up if you end up on our turf for a Loop."

"Well, I'm not sure how much trouble they would be. But that's nice of you Whisper, thank you," Pyrrha smiled as she shook his hand.

"Yeah, I guess it would be inconvenient to be enjoying your day and to suddenly get rained on. Or at least that's what I heard from Yang," Jaune said with a nod of approval.

"I hope you actually got a repellent that works on more than just butler and cat yo-kai this time," Keita muttered as he and Jibanyan both gave Whisper critical glares.

"How dare you! I would never make such a mistake again! Especially not during an event as sacred as a wedding!" Whisper huffed as he crossed his arms and turned away. "Besides Keita-kun, I don't see you giving them anything. How rude!" Keita glared at Whisper briefly before looking back at Jaune and Pyrrha.

"You want a yo-kai butler?" he questioned; gesturing to Whisper. Whisper's jaw dropped.

"WHAT!?"

"Thanks, but I think we're good on help," Jaune chuckled and Whisper fell to the ground.

"Is he ok?" Pyrrha asked.

Jibanyan and Keita both shrugged. "Don't worry about him, he's dramatic," the nekomata stated.

Keita moved to give the two his real present. "Here you go, a couple of custom Yo-kai Watches," Keita smiled as he handed them a red and blue Yo-kai Watch. "I had Hikikomori help me with the modifications. Though she didn't come you can consider it a gift from both of us."

"Hey! I helped too!" Jibanyan complained and Keita looked at him in an unimpressed way.

"Right, because saying what colors they could be while eating chocolate bars is helping."

"It is!"

"Fine, they're also from Jibanyan."

"That's very nice of you, though…" Pyrrha began looking at the watch questioningly, as did Jaune.

"What do they do? You know, other than the obvious?" Jaune finished the question.

"Glad you asked, these Yo-kai Watches have the capabilities of all known models that exist up the latest expansion of my baseline, as well as anything the game variant is capable of. They can also home in on each other's locations, even if one of you is in say, the Yo-kai World, and the other is on earth. I know you probably already have things to find each other whenever, but it's nice to have backups still," Keita smiled proudly after he finished explaining.

"Well we thank both of you, and your shy friend for the thoughtful gifts," Pyrrha said before glancing at Whisper who was still sulking on the ground. "And um… Tell Whisper thank you for his gift too… Whenever he snaps out of it."

"Come on you incorporeal crybaby, let's go find Ruby," Keita grunted as he began dragging Whisper away with Jibanyan following. "Have a wonderful day!" he waved back briefly before running off.

"Nice bunch… Odd though," Jaune smiled to Pyrrha whom nodded.

"That's true of any of us," she chuckled and he followed along.

* * *

"Hey, mind if we talk real quick?" Jaune and Phyrra turned to look at Tucker.

"Um...sure," Jaune replied.

"First off; congrats on the wedding. About time you did it-bow chicka bow wow-, you two."

"Tucker..." Phyrra began in a warning tone.

" _AND second:_ ...Thank you, Phyrra."

"Huh?"

"It's something your Unawake you did for me a hundred Loops back."

"I did something?" Phyrra asked.

"Yeah. It turns out..." he held up a hand and an aura in the same color as his armor erupted from it.

"You've got Aura!" Jaune beamed.

"Hell yeah! Turns out, since our Loops are so close considering our 'sibling' status of sorts in the Hub, the glitch didn't effect it!" Tucker grinned.

"Have you figured out your Semblence?" Phyrra asked.

"Nope. But I'm still happy that I've got it," Tucker shrugged, "It sucks being the only guy in the Loop where you can't learn everything the others do, so having Aura makes me feel so much better."

"Wait...Did that Loop have anything to do with why Ruby was so pissed at you until a few Loops ago?" Jaune asked.

"...Yeah," Tucker replied.

"What happened to make her so mad at you?" Phyrra asked.

"Nothing good," Tucker replied, "Still, thanks for what you did for me, even if you weren't Awake. Aside from me stating that if you ever need me for anything and I'll do it for ya no matter what..." he tossed Jaune and Phyrra wrapped boxes, "Here. My wedding present for you both."

The two opened their boxes before they pulled out identical handles aside from a 'J' and a 'P' on the sides. The two blinked twice before a white Sword and a red Sword came from them before changing into different shapes.

"Multi-purpose swords. I Pocketed the Sword on Chorus a few times and then tweaked them a lot to have all the abilities my own does," Tucker explained, "And since you two were the ones who touched them, only you two can use them respectively."

"This...This is so sweet, Tucker, but..." Phyrra began.

"I know, you have your own weapons, but these are something special," Tucker informed, "They're not just swords, but are only limited by your imagination on what they can become...except for food. That does not work. Plus...They can only work when you're both Awake and they're out of your Pockets."

"Really?" Jaune asked.

"I cashed in a few favors with Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey to test that feature out for me," Tucker shrugged before they heard a loud roar outside.

 _"Caboose!"_

"Link did it!"

"I wasn't anywhere near where it came from!"

"And now if you'll excuse me, I need to help Church scold Caboose," Tucker ran off before they could say anything.

* * *

"They cheated!" Nora pouted. "Tucker, Keita, Link... They gave you your gifts before you came to the gift table. It doesn't count!"

Pyrrha patted her head with a smile. "Of course not. They didn't even bother to wrap them."

"Yeah! My gift is the first one you're _opening!_ Cause it's the best!"

Jaune grinned wryly. "Did you forget the air holes?"

The RWBY loopers, and a few others, chuckled at Nora's mock glower. "What I got you doesn't need air holes. In fact, what I got you is amazing and incredible."

"Well then..." Jaune picked up the box. "...How are we doing this? Do I open this, do I give it to you to open-?"

"We alternate picking and hand them to each other to open," Pyrrha suggested.

"That seems like a good idea." Jaune handed the box over. "For you, my lady."

"Thank you, good sir." With a light bow, Pyrrha took the box and opened it. "Oh... oh my."

"See, I told you! Awesome, incredible..." Nora twiddled a finger through her hair. "...hand-crafted..."

There were appreciative gasps as a matching pair of daggers were pulled out. One had green gems and a red handle; the other, sapphires embedded in gold. It was the sheathes that attracted the most attention; embossed with care and precision were silhouettes of Jaune and Pyrrha, simple yet impactful.

"I mean, I could have bought a toaster or got you something... uh, big, but..." Nora bit her lip. "This just felt... more personal. You know? Plus they're super useful, in case we get a zombie Grimm or vampire Grimm variant-I worked in lots of enchantments that make them, you know, pretty cool, there's a list I have if you-"

She fell silent as Jaune and Pyrrha drew her into a tight hug.

"They're wonderful." Pyrrha gripped her tighter. "Thank you."

A few moments later, she cleared her throat. "Well, if our first gift was from Nora, our next one has to be from Ren!" She searched the table, snatching up the appropriate gift and handing it over to Jaune. "I wonder what it is."

"Well, I knew Nora would give you a gift of war. So, I decided to aim for a gift of peace." Ren smiled as Jaune opened his gift. "It is also hand-crafted."

From the box, Jaune produced a folded up quilt; the patterns sewn into the surface resembled his and Pyrrha's emblems, but seemed to reflect light in odd patterns.

"A few warming charms, some basic protections, and... a privacy field." Ren coughed into his fist. "You are, after all, married now. Best to address that-"

"What is this made of?" Pyrrha gasped, gripping the fabric in fascination. "It feels so soft..."

"It's a weave of various materials. Let's... just say I collaborated with Rarity on this one."

Jaune smiled. "It's an amazing work of art. We really appreciate it."

"Ooo! Ooo!" Ruby jumped up and down. "Us next!"

Weiss rolled her eyes with a small grin. "We, by which I mean team RWBY, decided to collaborate on our particular gift." She shrugged as Ruby unpocketed something twenty times her size. "I paid for the materials, Ruby handled most of the construction, Yang and Blake threw in some extra features..."

"You made us a dropship." Jaun gaped. "You made us... a dropship."

"You know," Ruby grinned, "for those long romantic trips around the world!"

Pyrrha tapped her fingers together. "Ah... I'm not sure I know how to pilot this. Jaune?"

"Um. I mean, I can drive a car-"

"Don't worry, it comes with built in autopilot and flying tutor." Weiss curtsied. "The best that connections could buy."

"And if you truly need help learning the controls," Ozpin interjected, "Myself and Glynda are always available."

"When we aren't grading papers," Glynda added.

"But for the moment, allow us to gift you with something of our own." Ozpin's hand seemed to flicker as he bowed, presenting a small box to the couple with a smile.

Glynda rolled her eyes. "Always with the flair."

"Well, I am the mysterious mentor. I still have to maintain some drama."

Pyrrha chuckled as she took the box. "Don't worry, professor, we still consider you a source of wisdom. Now, what do we have... oh my."

She lifted out an elegantly crafted clock, depicting her and Jaune dancing under Remnant's moon.

"There is a built in calander," Glynda remarked. "It does keep track of anniversaries... and other important dates. Honestly, making sure it would work through loops and potential expansions was the most difficult part-"

"I think we'll be using it a lot," Jaune said. "I know I will, my time-keeping skills are terrible!"

Pyrrha smiled, lightheartedly slapping his arm. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Okay, they're not terrible. Merely mediocre."

"You goofball." She reached out to the table. "Here."

"Okay, okay." Jaune opened the box and cocked an eyebrow. "Coal. This is a box of coal."

Gordon (the express engine) Doncaster chuckled. "That Mr Arc is the finest Welsh Coal in the world, a true delicacy mined from sulfur rich veins to the south of Twywn. Costs a fortune."

"It's amazing," Jaune cried, nibbling on the combustible stone. "Really incredible. You have to try this Pyrrha."

Pyrrha looked at the dusty stone and grinned awkwardly. "Later tonight." She picked up another box and looked it over. "From Leah Clearwater. Did we invite Leah?"

Carolina rose her hand. "That one's my fault. I told her you two were getting married, and she insisted on getting you something. No idea what it is, but I promised I'd get it to you."

Jaune shrugged, opening the box. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll..."

His voice trailed off. Pyrrha looked in the box and immediately began to blush furiously. "Oh-oh, my, that's..."

The revelers all stared as Jaune took out a collar and peered at the tag dangling from it.

"...Jaune Arc-Nikos," he read, "property of Pyrrha Arc-Nikos. If found, please return."

"Okay, I swear I didn't know," Carolina stressed, fighting the smirk forming on her face.

"No, it's okay," Pyrrha assured her, "we believe you."

"And it seems like a good fit anyway, so-"

Pyrrha whipped her face around. "J-Jaune!"

"What?" The blonde shrugged. "I was just checking-"

"Just... take it off, we'll talk about it later." Trying to ignore the snickers of the guests (and the mock-gagging of Nora), she turned back to the gift table. "Let's... see what else there is here..."

"Here's one from Twilight." Jaune picked up the gift. "Shall we?"

Pyrrha giggled. "Let's." She tore off the paper...

...and frowned at the image on the box. "...This is a toaster."

"Best toaster money could buy!" the pony proudly proclaimed. "It's solar-powered, so there's no need for a plug! And it's super rugged, you can take it on long journeys with you, I know how much huntsmen and huntresses move while they're on the job..."

Jaune gave her a flat look.

"...Okay, okay, you got me." Twilight grinned, producing another box. "Here's your _real_ gift. You can keep the toaster, though."

"Thank you." Jaune took the box and opened it. "...A cookbook?"

"With a set of measuring tools. The toaster doubles as a portable stove/oven." She shrugged. "I know, it's not as personal, but... I go for practical gifts."

"Well, with Nora around, we'll get a lot of use out of this." Jaune smiled, turning back to the table. "And here's one from... Caboose?"

"Oh! Yes." The blue-armored man currently restrained by his friends nodded. "I put a lot of thought into that one."

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a look, opening the gift carefully.

"...An annotated copy of 'Sutra Opus: Practicing Amorous Relationships in the Greater Multiverse.' Cowritten by Chrysalis and Mi Amore Cadenza. Oh, third edition." Pyrrha coughed. "Well."

"I know how hard it is to learn to do new things. So I made sure to get you a book with pictures."

Jaune shook his head. "That's... that's great, Caboose. Did you have help picking it out?"

"Nope!"

Tucker shook his head. "You are just full of surprises, aren't you."

* * *

Nora slowly slid her fork into her cake slice. The bite was lifted. The rest of the slice remained. Nora carefully ate the bite, her eyes never leaving the plate. The bite was moist, delicious, and as warm as if it had just finished cooling after baking. The icing was rich and thick. She swallowed slowly, taking careful note of the condition of her food. Just as it reached halfway through her throat, it tingled and vanished. The slice on her plate was once more in a single piece. The process was repeated. All steps were identical to last time.

A single tear of joy escaped Nora's eyes. "Oh time dust cake... where have you been all my life?" she whispered, lifting her plate to nuzzle it lovingly, before lifting her head and laughing loudly as she jumped atop the table. "With the gods as my witness, I shall NEVER BE SNACKLESS AGAIN!" she declared with her fist thrust upward, to many cheers from those nearby.

Ren coughed politely from behind her. "You do know that any nutritional value also van-"

" **NEVER SNACKLESS AGAIN!** " Nora roared with a glare.

"... Whatever."

"..." Yang slapped the backs of Grif and Ruby's heads.

"Ow!" Both looked at her.

Keita shook his head. "You're not going to accept the unspoken challenge of preventing her from having snacks."

"Oh come on. You'd think we'd do that?"

"If it's Oreo and cookie-related, yes," Ketia replied, Yang nodding in agreement.

"No one is gonna steal the Oreos except for me," Grif smirked.

"That goes double for me and cookies!" Ruby pumped her fist.

A short distance away, Monkey twirled his champagne glass.

Marianne gave him a look. "No. I don't know what you're thinking, but no."

"Peace. I would never interfere in another's world." He grinned. "But... we are witnesses, as she said..."

* * *

"My, my. I never thought I would see _you_ here."

Penny whirled, just barely keeping herself from jumping. "...Mister Torchwick."

"Call me Roman, please." The thief slid into a chair next to her. "We've both felt the sting of death-a bit more personally than most, hmm?"

"I..." Penny looked away. "You. I fought you. I cut up your bullroars and-"

"-and that's water under the bridge. Honestly, I rarely go to the docks these days." Roman swirled a glass of champagne. "Tell me, what's a nice looking piece of hardware like you doing in a junk sale like this?"

The gynoid frowned at him. "I did spend a loop with Sun. He taught me all the pick up lines to avoid."

"Ha! He would." Roman sipped his drink. "Born in Vacuo, raised in Mistral. He'd know all about sleaze. But you, my dear, are dodging the question."

Penny bit her lip. "It's just..." She nodded toward where Pyrrha was laughing with Jaune. "I need to see this. I needed to see her like this. I... I'm still scared, but... This. This is helping me." She sighed. "And it's an important thing, for us loopers. Especially those of us in Remnant."

"Hmm. Well, that's certainly brave of you." Roman smiled. "And I'm sure that the radio detonator hidden in that armor of yours has nothing to do with it."

"Wha-?" Penny glanced around nervously. "What are you talking about? I have no idea what you're-"

"You did help decorate, I hear. And it would explain all the bombs hidden around the place."

"...It's not like I actually plan to use them," Penny groused. "They just make me feel safe!"

"Oh, not to worry, I don't disapprove at all. As a matter of fact, I'm proud of your talent in subterfuge."

At that point, an explosion sent an armored corgi flying through the air.

" _Extremely_ proud."

Penny sighed, standing up. "I should probably go disarm a few of them..."

* * *

"Hey there. You're one of Ruby's space soldier friends, right?"

The brown-armored warrior looked over the speaker. "Sí. Mi nombre es Lopez."

"I'm Coco." The gold-armored woman glanced around. "So... I couldn't help but notice you're not... eating. Anything. At all."

"Soy un robot. No necesito comer." Lopez examined her for a moment. "Usted parece ser robotizado ti mismo..."

"Yes, actually. My team and I decided to stay in Ruby's pocket..." Coco shrugged. "Gosh, how long ago now? A few centuries, I think." She gestured at her metallic face. "We were remade as part of the deal."

"Solías ser humano?"

"We all were. Except Velvet, she was a faunus."

"Bien." Lopez nodded. "Habéis salido de esa transición buscando agradable. Bueno, quiero decir!" he quickly corrected. "Te ves bien. Saludable. Para un robot."

Coco's right eyescreen developed an eyebrow.

"Voy a callar ahora."

"It's fine," Coco assured him "I really... It's good to get an outside confirmation. That is... Yes."

Her eyescreens twitched. "So... you doing anything later?"

"Bueno, ver-"

"Lopez, there you are!" Sheila trundled over, rolling her turret in exasperation. "Me and Freckles were talking to Penny, and we've convinced her to give Super-Mecha slam a go, but we need another player-oh, hello! Didn't see you there." The turret focused on Coco. "I'm Shelia. I'm sure conejito de miel mentioned me?"

Coco frowned. "I think he was just about to, actually."

"...Sí. Sí, es lo que yo pensaba hacer. Exactamente."

"Oh, I see. And... you are?"

"...Ruby's live-in pocket butler," Coco said calmly. "Kind of irreplaceable. If you'll excuse me, I need to go find the rest of my team."

"Alright!" Shelia pleasantly waved her turret as she walked away. "It was lovely to meet you!"

* * *

"So… Twilight?" Keita questioned as he looked at the pony that he had heard much about, but never actually met. At least not Awake.

"That's me, Twilight Sparkle. And I suppose you would be Keita, or Nate. I hear it isn't always consistent," The purple unicorn said with a curios expression. Keita looked a little embarrassed.

"Um, yeah. It's weird because it's not like I really have two names, it's more like my name changes between Loops and I just know which one is correct," Keita looked around at the other guests for a moment. "So, it's kind of weird, I don't really know the bride and groom… well, not their Awake selves. I'm more here because of my sisters. Oh, Ruby and Yang are my sisters," Keita explained briefly.

"What about Cinder?" Twilight questioned with a raised brow, Keita gave a noticeable shudder but nodded.

"Um… yeah, her too…" he shook his head. "I hear you handle lots of friendship related problems."

"Generally, that's what my Baseline's about after all. Why, interested?" Twilight asked the young boy with a small smile on her snout. Keita chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, a lot of the problems in my Baseline usually come down to friendship problems too. Though sometimes a little force is required, on average I find that befriending a yo-kai is the fastest way to stop them from causing trouble."

"Oh, well it's nice that you can solve problems with friendship. Perhaps we could discuss befriending methods extensively at some point?" Twilight smiled brightly, Keita nodded with a small smile.

"I'm not sure about 'discussing extensively' but I'd be willing to take any advice you could give me on my methods."

"Keita!" the conversation was cut short when the fiery nekomata, known as Jibanyan scurried over to Keita and jump into his arms.

"Akamaru? What's got you acting up?" Keita asked as he held the cat yo-kai while Twilight looked a little intrigued. "Sorry Twilight, got to see what's up with this cat. We can talk again another time."

"No trouble Keita, it was nice to speak with you. I hope you enjoy yourself for the remainder of the events," the purple pony bowed her head slightly, before trotting off to mingle among the other guests.

"Ok, now what's the problem?" Keita asked his friend as he clung to his body.

"Him! He wants to use me as a chew toy!" Jibanyan exclaimed, pointing an accusatory paw at the ground. Keita looked down and saw Zwei padding over with his tongue hanging out. He gave the nekomata an unimpressed look.

"Really? You lived in the same house as Zwei for years, why are you scared of him now?" Keita questioned while he looked between the nekomata shaking in his arms, and the corgi walking around him and wagging his tail.

"I'm not a fan of slobber!" Jibanyan exclaimed before sending a glare the dog's way as it looked up at him eagerly. Keita glared at Jibanyan before taking hold of his sides and pulling him away from his body.

"Wait, Keita! No-" Jibanyan cried out just before Keita dropped him, Zwei immediately pounced on him and started licking him. "No! Dog slobber! Stop it Zwei!"

* * *

Piroska and Odinhart sat off to one side, watching the celebration continue. As one, they drained their wineglasses.

"...I think that tank just told off that robot girl," Odinhart commented.

"Mmm."

They sat there for a few seconds, their eyes drifting across the crowd. As one, they drained their wineglasses.

"Okay. So..." Odinhart took a breath. "I mean, no more Grimm, no more White Fang. Yay. That's cool."

"Mister Arc-or Arc-Nikos, I suppose-certainly delivered on his promise."

"Yeah." Her wife nodded. "Even the alien soldiers."

They shared a look... and slowly drained their wineglasses.

"I mean, though. I mean. We have a pony here as well. A colorful magical talking pony. And some ghosts, I think?"

"Yes, that does seem like something straight out of a fairy tale." Piroska nodded. "So that broken multiverse thing is... true?"

"Has to be."

"How odd."

They looked out at the crowd again, once more draining their wineglasses in tandem.

"...You know, the weirdest thing though?"

"Our new family."

"Yeah. I mean, Pyrrha's always been our baby girl, but now..."

"Now she's adopted kids-well, they're as old as her, so they aren't kids..."

"And she's married."

"It's... quite a change."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

They drained their wineglasses once more.

Then Odinhart peered at hers. "Wait. Wait. Are these refilling every time we drink them? Cause, I don't remember refilling them."

Piroska took a look at her own wineglass. Very slowly, she put it down on the table. "You know what? I'm not going to think about it. I'm fairly close to a nervous breakdown anyway."

"Wait." Her wife looked at her as she stood. "Where are you going?"

"To ride the pony. When else am I going to get a chance?"

* * *

"The Mistral champion! I can hardly believe it!"

"Wasn't she on that cereal box? The one Jaune likes?"

"Well, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach..."

"Oh my gosh. You've got to tell us how you first met!"

"How did he propose? If he messed that up, we'll have words!"

"That ring is amazing! Where did Jaune get it?"

"It's a shame there wasn't a bouquet-"

"Girls!" Jaune dove into the crowd, grabbing Pyrrha's arm. "Give your new sister-in-law some space!"

* * *

"...and then I said 'Easy come, easy go!'" Doctor Grey laughed. "Anyway, that's how I learned about the loops. What about you two?"

Fox and Yatsahushi shared a look.

"Um."

"It's... complicated."

"Does it have anything to do with your techno-organic state? I really want to know how that happened. I'd like to examine you closely, but I've been told that I should ask permission first." The armored woman giggled. "Doyle's so nice, you know? When he gets his shit together, he's a real hero. Hee."

"Why don't... you go to him? Isn't that him over there?"

"Oh! Yeah! Hey general!" Doctor Grey turned back, only to find that Fox and Yatsahushi were gone. "Oh. I was being creepy again, wasn't I. Oh well, I'll apologize later!"

* * *

"I," declared Velvet Scarletina grandly, "Am. DRUNK!"

"...okay."

"No, don't... don't you, like, schnee? I am robotiformalized, with, like, circuitralry. So." She draped an arm over her conversation partner. "So. How? How am I this?"

"Placebo effect combined with residual memory from your time as an organic as well as the possibility your CPU simply has a program to trigger when you have ingested enough alcohol."

Velvet twitched her ears. "Weiss. Has anyone ever, and I mean _ever_. Told you. Youreabuzzkill."

Weiss nodded. "Mmmhmm. I get that a lot."

* * *

"Gentlemen," Qrow declared as he grimly slung his arms over the two headmasters' shoulders, "we have a situation."

Ironwood groaned. "What did you do?"

"I've been collecting some specialty brews over the loops. Mostly for myself. Misplaced one." Despite his efforts, Qrow couldn't hide a grin. "Glynda found it."

Ozpin sighed. "That would explain what's going on over there."  
 _  
"...with a platypus, if you beware the barbs, but the hedgehog..."_

"She's dancing on a table, isn't she." Ironwood stood up, dusting himself off.

"Got some fine kicks in her. Wouldn't have known it myself, but-"

"-but when she lets her hair down," Ozpin interrupted, "she _really_ lets it down. I best go make sure nobody's recording this..."

Neo, off to one side, simply smiled and Pocketed her scroll.

* * *

"RUBY!" declared Yang as she produced a photo of a five-year-old Ruby who was wearing an adorable set of strawberry stamped pajamas, holding a small wooden sword, and adorably attacking a small stuffed beowolf. She shoved the picture in front of Winter's face.

"Weiss!" proclaimed Winter as she too took out a photograph of her little sister; this one of a six-year-old Weiss riding a tricycle. Little Weiss was wearing a light blue helmet, elbow and knee pads, and was smiling at the camera. She was missing her two front teeth.

As Yang and Winter continued to pull out cute and embarrassing pictures of their respective little sisters and shouting, said little sisters stood to the side and looked on in horror.

"This is mortifying." grumbled Weiss, her cheeks red as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I want to try and stop this," came Ruby's muffled voice from her face buried in her palms, "but I'm afraid that might draw even more attention to them."

Both girls continued to watch in dismay until they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"What's this all about?"

Ruby and Weiss turned to see Sasuke and Blake returning to them from the serving table with plates for all of them, each filled with their favorite foods.

"Well," started Ruby as she took her own plate from Blake, "long story, short: Yang started teasing me about embarrassing times when I was little, which led to Winter recalling 'amusing memories' from Weiss' childhood, which then led to them each declaring that they had the cutest little sister in all of Remnant." Ruby then gestured to the two elder siblings who were still pulling out even more pictures and said, "Which led to them having a 'Cutest Little Sister' contest."

"What a ridiculous thing to argue about," remarked Sasuke with a roll of his eyes. Blake nodded in agreement until she froze when Sasuke started ruffling her hair with a smirk, "It's obvious that Blake is the cutest little sister in all of Remnant!"

"S-sasuke!" Blake cried out in embarrassment with burning cheeks.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

At that point, both Winter and Yang snapped their gaze at Sasuke, a dangerous gleam in their eyes. Have they found a new challenger?

Winter took the initiative, her voice hard, "Is there something you wish to say, Uchiha?"

"Yeah," Yang cut in, "Care to back that up?"

Sasuke only smirked, that familiar confident look on his face was his only tell as a scroll then appeared in his hand, retrieved from his Pocket, that held all the baby and toddler pictures of Blake from all the Fused Loops that he and she spent as siblings. Waving the scroll in his hand, he said, "I've got all the proof I need right here."

"Oh, it's _on_ now!" declared Yang as all three older siblings approached each other to make their case.

"Oh, no." Blake said with dread and embarrassment leaking out of her voice.

Ruby and Weiss both proceeded to wrap an arm around Blake's shoulder as they all watched their respective older siblings make asses of themselves in front of all the party guests.

"Welcome to our pain, Blake," Ruby said in exasperation, "welcome to our pain."

Back at the serving table, Mercury watched the spectacle with a bemused expression.

"Hey, Em," he started, "Am I crazy, or does that guy sound a bit like me?"

"Huh?" Emerald replied back in a daze as she stared at all the food. So much food. So much varied, delicious, and _**free**_ food! She held up a knife and fork and licked her lips.

Mercury rolled his eyes, "Never mind."

All the while Cinder snickered, catching the entire "sibling rivalry" on camera.

* * *

At long last the moon rose, shattered fragments illuminating the floating stadium as the crowd gathered off to one side, cheering and waving Jaune and Pyrrha off into their new dropship. After a few false starts, it rose and flew out of Amity, flying to a location previously determined that was both flamboyent and intimate. What happened next... well, most people could guess, speculate, and blow it out of proportion. But whenever asked, the couple would only smile mysteriously as they hugged each other.

It was a high point in their relationship. But it certainly wasn't the last. In fact...

Some would say it was a new beginning.


	34. Step Sideways

**34.1 Diesel**

* * *

The sky was filled with a hellish light, ashes drifting on the burning wind as the raging inferno consuming all in its wake and left naught but vestiges of what had been. Black hair blew in the searing wind as a lone figure shielded her Amber eyes, surveying the charred corpses. It was quiet, bar the sound of wind and the hissing and spitting of feasting flames. Embers swirled up into the sky, like dancing fireflies; caught by the howling wind before vanishing into the smoke and pyroclastic debris.

Streams of molten rock flowed down the streets, filling crevasses and casting shadows with its orange glow; twisted metal wrecks still burning in their cores carried along the burning rivers of death and fire. Corpses, flesh blackened, hung limply from spires of metal and bone. Impaled from crotch to neck, sightless and glassy eyes stared out of heads piled high in the court yard of a distant building, forming a throne of skulls.

* * *

 _Twin blades of black glass flashed as a figure danced, wild joy on her face. The screams like music to her as blood splattered on the ground, staining it a dark crimson that reflected the flickering light._

 _Laughter filled the air as the red clad figure heard people pleading for Atlas, Minstrel and Vacuo. But by the time they would become aware of the massacre, all that would be left was Remnants. And she wouldn't even be PUNished!_

 _The thought made her laughter increase, the memory of yellow coming to mind. They would have to go out clubbing next time, it had been awhile since the two of them did something fun together. She had some samples from Big Mac the bruiser might like to try with her, not enough to get drunk but it would be enjoyable nonetheless._

A pool, once a scene of children playing, was now a dark ruby red with bone white chairs and the smell of barbecues.

* * *

The scent of smoke and cooking meat and volcanic ash filled the air, carrying with it the pleasant heat of the wind. A red dress glowed with golden fire as it danced in the scalding breeze, the clatter of high heels lost in the whispers of the flames. The figure lazily approached one of the of the distant corpses, something catching her eye. It had been a long time since she had felt so relaxed. The rapturous joy had subsided, leaving only a feeling of contentment, satisfaction and the faint stirrings of something bitter in the back of her throat.

Nothing lived anymore in the wasteland.

The figure spoke, her seductive voice going unheard, as cold eyes searched out the item of interest. "How long did it take? I think I lost track at some point… Oh well, it's not as if it matters." She finally moved close enough to make out the strangely bright object amidst the rubble.

A rapier filled with dust, gleamed in the light, skewing a crucified figure; obsidian filled the bodies cavities, impaling it from top to bottom, mouth open in agony as its arms were held in place by rock woven in the flesh.

"… No."

The whisper filled the air, unheard, in the choking ash ladled air as tears slowly leaked out of horrified amber eyes, torn away by the blistering winds. The sickening scent of death filled her lungs. Fire swirled and danced, casting flickering shadows of the ruins, obscuring a lone figure racing through the firestorm.

It was all gone, she had made a mistake; bodies lined the streets, but the red clad figure had no time for them.

Time seemed to blur before the figure slowed, eyes locked onto a pile of vacantly staring heads, black cat-like ears, sitting on a table hollowed out like bowls as corpses sat around it. in the distance, it's form lit up by the baleful light of the lava, lay a Chain Scythe.

She could not breath, her face a mask of horror; this should not have happened. She had taken precautions!

"How long did it take? I lost track."

The figure turned and resumed her search.

* * *

 _A smashed yellow gantlet lay in the streets, its surface blackened by the flames._

* * *

 _A pink and silver Hammer stood as a centerpiece of a twisted sculpture._

* * *

 _A shattered red and bronze spear lay among charred bones._

* * *

 _A melted green pistol stood as a silent testament at the edge of a ring of oblivion._

* * *

"How could I have been so stupid?"

Only silence answered.

* * *

The familiar scent of roses broke Cinder out of her circling thoughts, red petals billowing past in the wind.

 _No, she can't…_

Black blades fell to the ground, fragments of volcanic glass flying through the air as Cinder slowly turned away from Wiess' tortured form. Amber Eyes met Silver.

No…

"You were all supposed to be in Atlas, I made sure of it. General Full Metal would have kept you safe. Why are you here?"

Ruby, ash stained and burnt stood in the street, clenching Crescent Rose. Her eyes were blood shot; tears evaporated before they fell; the blistering wind burning her skin. Her eyes narrowed as Cinder spoke, her voice clipped; blank and emotionless.

"None of us have ever met you before, so why would you care about us and not everyone else?"

Ruby shifted, refusing to look away from the demon that wore the flesh of a human, readying for combat. Her voice was horse, vocal cords and throat burnt by the inferno and torn apart by ash that hung in the air. "Why?!"

Cinder felt numb, her mind running a thousand miles a second while her body simply stood there blankly. She had been planning this before term started, from the moment she found out that the Alchemist was the only other Awake Looper, she had just wanted to cut lose and have fun for once. She opened her mouth to speak, her voice failing her.

 _None of them were supposed to be here, they were supposed to be safe._

"Because you are family Ruby Rose. My half-sister from another mother. You were not supposed to be here, nor was your team. Why are you here?"

Ruby choked, wide eyed, and Cinder nearly lost her composure entirely as a Ping sounded. She barely managed to avoid reacting, her shapeshifting abilities allowing her to hide every possible tell from her Anchor. Ruby sagged in simultaneous relief and horror. Throat raw and breathing ragged, her whisper echoed in the silence; the only other sound the roars of flame which consumed her home. "Sister? _Sister?_ What about Yang! what a..."

"I did not know any of you were here." Cinder replied, her voice monotone from the shock. Combined with the flickering lights and smoke of the burning city around her, and her perfectly controlled features, she appeared inhuman. An abomination wearing human skin.

Silver Eyes blazed as the Anchor of Remnant screamed, forming wings of light radiating from her eyes, "You killed everyone, and you claim to care about family! Even if we do share blood, _you are not my sister! You're not Cinder! You're nothing but a Monster!"_

Red and sliver flashed; blood splattered to the ground as flesh hit the ground; sightless amber eyes staring at the blackened skies. In the Ruins of Vale, Ruby Rose wept, as ashes and embers danced in the streets and fires consumed all that remained. Petals swirling up into the air, flickering among the glowing coals like lost souls.

* * *

Cinder was staring at the familiar controls of a bullhead, heading to pick up Roman once more. A single tear leaked out of the corner of one eye.

"Fuck my life."

 _I'm so sorry._

* * *

 **34.2**

* * *

The first thing Cinder noticed was the pain. It was low level, dulled pain. Pain her body had been feeling for a while now, long enough to adjust and mute it somewhat. It radiated from her arm, her throat, her entire left side. She blinked and that was when she noticed that she was blind in one eye.

She rested her head in her good hand, taking careful, deep breathes. Just enough to steady herself. Then the voices registered.

"It appears that she's going into shock. Hmm. At least she'll be quiet this time."

Doctor Watts, her Loop memories supplied. Cinder opened her good eye and scanned her position, taking what she had and correlating it with her Loop memories.

She was seated at a table, deep within Grimm Territory. Inside of a castle, Salem's castle. The seat seemed to be wood... or was that bone? There were five other seats, three occupied.

The man across from her was well dressed, prim, proper, and horribly arrogant. Doctor Watt. He glared at her.

Next to her, not even sitting but rather squatting on his chair was Tyrian. His narrow face radiated madness, which her Loop memories confirmed. A mad tracker.

And furthest from her was a tall, dark skinned brute of a man. Hazel. Silent and composed.

The familiar scuffle of Emerald's shoes and click of Mercury's armored feet rounded out the ensemble. Cinder nodded to herself as she took in the sight. These men and herself were the followers of Salem. Team WTCH.

Cinder tapped her throat, summoning her aura to channel through it. The deep scar tissue within hindered the effect, but slowly and surely the block dissolved. Dr Watt cocked an eyebrow at Cinder's grin. "A happy thought cross your mind? A dream perhaps? The topic, I imagine, is you succeeding."

"Oh lay off her Watt," Tyrian said. "She's just thinking about what she'll do to that... hehe, silver eyed girl. Hehehehe." Tyrian fell into a fit of giggles as he thought about what he would do to Ruby if he caught her. Cinder heard the minor growl of Emerald behind her.

Watt rolled his eyes. "Pathetic. Children such as yourself-"

On cue though, the doors into the room opened, and gliding quite fantastically came the Witch herself. Salem slid by the assembled six, eyeing each in turn. Silently she arrived at a small altar, where the candles burned. For a moment she did not stir, did not acknowledge the others amongst her. She had her fill of silence though, and turned. "Watt, do you recall the days of your youth? What it was like to be a child?"

"I... well, obviously," Watt said, halfway between indignation and bluster.

"Then you would know better than to shame those who share that state," Salem said. "Age is not the full picture when maturity is measured. Cinder is capable of great things, despite her youth."

"I merely have no temperament for failure," Watt said.

"Then your anger has no purpose," Salem said evenly. "Cinder has succeeded in achieving the power of the Fall Maiden, destroying Beacon Academy, and killing Ozpin." Salem turned to Cinder. "Where is the failure in that?"

"The girl with the silver eyes," Watt said.

"Yes," growled Hazel. "We've dealt with them before. How'd a kid defeat one of us?"

Cinder's eye widened as she filed that information away. Her own desires took an immediate backseat: gone were the plans to assert dominance and bring Salem's associates and the woman herself into her pocket. Now she was going to listen.

"Exactly," Watt concurred with Hazel, all unaware of Cinder's shock. "A young girl, facing off with a Maiden? How could a novice defeat her?"

"The answer is precisely the power of the Fall Maiden," Salem said. "The power of the Maidens comes with a crippling weakness." She turned to Cinder again. "Make no mistake though. You are the key to our victory. Which is why you will remain at my side to continue your treatment."

Cinder passively nodded. If she was going to be out of action, she would need to learn whatever she could. Silence, here, was her friend.

Salem addressed Watt. "Take Cinder's place. You are to go to Mistral to meet with our informant." She nodded to Tyrian. "Continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden." Lastly she spoke to Hazel. "Adam Taurus has finally arranged a meeting with the leader of the White Fang. His loyalty is invaluable to us. Make sure that Sienna Khan feels the same."

Calls of agreement echoed through the hall, and for a moment Cinder felt an urge rise up. A point to be made. What to do about Ruby?

Her mind stumbled. Cinder winced and gave herself a shake. Her baseline self would ask what would happen to Ruby, but... what? She needed to ask, to find out what would happen. She gestured to Emerald, the green girl coming closer. Her voice was a terrible rasp, alien, foreign to her. Pain lanced up her throat, and warped the words further, but Emerald, dear, loyal Emerald, heard her all the same. She gulped, and hesitated.

Salem waved her along. "Speak, child. What is it that Cinder needs."

Emerald looked torn, for a moment. "Uh. What... what about the girl?"

Watt answered. "Well, what about her? She is, after all, Cinder's problem."

Cinder turned the full force of her fury towards Watt. The man flinched back, clearly in shock of the rage that Cinder radiated. Cinder took a small pleasure in that, the rebuke to his dismissal of her sister.

Salem did not notice this, or perhaps she chose not to. She smiled instead. "Tyrian, Spring can wait. Find the girl who wounded Cinder." She nodded, and added as a quick after thought, "and bring her to me."

Tyrian slumped. Clearly he would only have fun if he got to hurt someone. Cinder made a note to torture him to death if he touched Ruby.

Salem spread her arms, to encompass the men and woman at her table. "Together, we have destroyed Beacon. Haven is next."

Tyrian turned to Cinder and tapped his cheek, just below the eye. His grin ate at Cinder's soul. "Eye for an eye."

 _The roar of engines, the instability of flight. Red cloak, and black hair. Shock. "You?" A flash of fire, a scream, and an attack, too shallow to connect. Her enemy was half blinded, her eye burned away, she had to-_

Cinder came out of the vision, collapsed on the floor and trembling, surrounded by Salem and the rest. She couldn't... Cinder focused and pulled herself into her Subspace Pocket. She was going to spend the rest of this Loop in her pocket. Far away from this cruel reality.

* * *

 **34.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

The Hub was many things. A stable Anchor for the multiverse. A repository of backups for all known reality. Arguably the most "real" reality in existence.

Populated primarily by humans.

This had... interesting side effects in the looping community. There was some debate among scholars whether certain hubworld species could be considered 'intelligent'-cetaceans and apes were the classical go to, but elephants, celephapods, corvids, and macaws were sometimes cited as more exotic potential sophants. Were there aliens? Were there artificial races? In theory, they could ask an Admin to check, but in practice the Admins were too busy just keeping everything together to spare any more time than neccessary going through Hub data.

More practical loopers concerned themselves with the medical implications. The multiverse remembered human bodies well, since there was an entire planet of the creatures in permanent storage, but the further one got from the human frame the more variable things became from loop to loop. Members of shape shifting species would spend a few extra seconds searching their loop memories, since any new slew of strengths or weaknesses or just odd quirks could be thrown at them. Creatures foreign to Earth, both biologically and culturally, generally shrugged and assumed their usual allergies covered everything. Most loopers from magical realms were 'close enough' to human or otherwise normal animals that they didn't suffer much modulation; a few loops figuring out where the vagueries lay was enough for them to come up with a general plan. And of course, animal loopers themselves were usually just hub-like with a better mind, perhaps some opposable thumbs, and only their personal issues being variable.

Still, the fact remained: when one wasn't human, and even sometimes when one was, Yggdrassil had the occasional issue figuring out the details. And while nobody had confirmed it had a sense of humor, Blake seriously suspected that it did and that said sense of humor was as twisted and gnarly as the branches of a particularly old tree.

"...Run that by me again."

"I am allergic to noodles this loop," Blake deadpanned. "All faunus who eat noodles slowly lose their minds."

Yang blinked. "But... Sun-"

" _All_ Faunus."

"...oh. Huh. Well." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "Uh... anything... else I should know about?"

Blake blushed. "Yes, but that can wait."

* * *

 **34.4**

* * *

"Gah!"

Ozpin bolted upright, his heart pounding in his chest, pain and fear beating down on him. For the briefest of moments his mind dwelt upon the first imagine he had seen in the loop: fire, unending and furious. The power of the Fall Maiden, turned against him.

Gradually though, he stabilized. His sense of presence reasserted itself, and the man calmed. Ozpin shrugged his shoulders, and laid back down.

And then he sat up. He didn't start the Loop in a bed... well, not usually. When he did, someone was typically in that bed with him. Usually it was Glynda, sometimes James, on more than one occasion Qrow and in a single incident that brought bile to his tongue, Ruby. This time he was in a bed alone. It was lumpy, not quiet soft, and not quite comfortable. Straw bed.

Ozpin got out and stood up. He was shorter. The room was a small affair, with wooden floors and roof, a window, a dresser. A shotgun shovel was propped up in the corner.

A moment passed. The Headmaster of Beacon examined himself. Fairly normal clothing, tough, easy to clean, nowhere near the artistic form that Vale sported. Farmer's clothing. He had woken up as a farmer.

Not as Link though. A glance in his reflection in the window showed him lacking Link's typical light hair, it being jet black. A button nose, brown and green eyes, and tanned skin (a workmen's tan) rounded out the ensemble. Ozpin tilted his head in confusion. "So... I'm a shota. Great."

The room, it turned out, was on the second floor of an open barn. No significant farming equipment, no tractor, just the shovel gun, a hoe, some simple tools. It looked like there was nothing there.

The morning sun glowed like nothing else when he pulled the barn doors open. Around him, the garden was barren and choked with weeds. A pump stood forlorn and alone. There wasn't a soul to be seen.

Ozpin stared at the strange world of Remnant he had woken up to. "Where am I?"

* * *

 **34.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Hey, you look like a loopy hoopy cool frood, if you're free on friday we cohmmMFFPH!"

Yang's eyes shot wide as she stumbled back a few steps, quickly regaining her balance and returning Blake's unexpected but certainly not unwelcome oral assault as she wrapped her own arms around her lover. Something about the situation made her twirl-less because she wanted to (although she did) and more because she felt that her partner wanted it (and who was she to deny her lady her whims?). It took about three and a half revolutions before Blake finally pulled back, releasing her grip on the taller girl and backing away with a grin and-and a _giggle!_ A genuine giggle!

"Wow. You're happy this loop." Yang shook off her dizziness and smiled. "Care to share?"

"They're here! They're real, they, they're here Yang!" Blake turned to her eagerly. "They're _actually_ here!"

"Wait, does this have to do with the expansion?"

"I thought it was just a variant, but, but, it's too consistent! It's, I just-" Blake threw out her hands in unabashed glee. "They're alive! Yang, my parents are STILL ALIVE!"

"Ohmygosh." The blonde surged forward. "You're sure?"

"Yeah! Well, mostly yeah, the details are still fuzzy, sometimes they're siblings or, or cousin or aunt and uncle-" Blake began pacing, her arms gesticulating wildly. "But parents! They're alive, they're real, they're-my dad, he's like, he's twice as tall as I am and he's got huge shoulders, I don't know if he's a faunus but-and mom! Cat ears, bigger then mine, and kimino and-"

Yang grinned, sagging against a convenient pole. "That's amazing Blake! I-that's just amazing, I'm so happy for you!"

"And, and they have a boat, I think they're fishermen-or maybe pirates-it's still not clear, but they, I think-I'm just, I have a family! I still have-I mean you're family too," she quickly reassured, even though Yang didn't seem offended at all. "Oh my gosh. You have to meet them. Yang you've got to meet my parents, they, I-I've got, it's all, I'm just!" She laughed, spinning in circles as her hands reached for the air. "I'm not an orphan! I have parents! I have-"

Suddenly she stopped, staring at two people standing off to the side.

"Oh my gosh. Oh, oh sweet Yggdrassil." Blake held out her hands. "Nora, Ren, I... I am so so sorry, I, I didn't mean to-I was just-"

"No," Nora said with a small smile, "it's okay. Really. You deserve some happiness."

"But... but the loops took your parents, and-"

"-and we've made our peace with it," Ren replied, nodding. "Besides, Pyrrha and Jaune... they're the best parents we could ask for."

"I just, I wasn't thinking-"

"Hey." Nora held out a hand. "Tell you what, why don't you show us some pictures of your folks?"

"Hey yeah," Yang added, walking up behind her. "If I'm going to meet your dad, I want to know if I should act scared of him or not."

"You..." Blake looked from her girlfriend to the other two. "...You're not... I didn't mean to-"

"It's _fine_ ," Ren reassured her. "Now come on. If somebody else is finally wearing _real_ fashion, I want to compare notes."

Yang snorted. "Hey, just because you make Mistral clothes look good-"

"Alright, alright." Blake took out her Scroll, zipping through a few files. "I think... I'm not sure, but... yes. Here they are..."

* * *

 **34.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

"I'm happy for Blake. Really." Weiss shrugged as she watched her Faunus friend flicker between extreme exuberance and awkward attempts at sympathy. "I can get the extreme reactions."

Nora leaned in. "Buuuuuuuut...?"

"...I, uh. I might have a few more... important people as well, this expansion." Weiss shrugged. "Just, you know, kind of wanted to celebrate them too."

"Really?" Nora grinned. "Do you have a mother?"

"No, my mother's still very loop variable. But... well, being the rich girl I am, I tend to form social bonds with the staff. I think, I'm not sure but I _think_ , two of my butlers have actually firmed up."

"Oh, that makes sense I guess."

"Yeah."

Nora tapped her chin. "So... these butlers of yours?"

"Yeah?"

"Does one of them... does he serve you cake?"

Weiss blinked. She turned to look at Nora, who was grinning far too broadly for it to be a coincidence. "Oh, come off it Nora."

"It's a legitimate question!"

"Look, just because I'm a bad chef in the chibi loops doesn't mean it translates out of it. And really, that's only if I don't focus, I know my way around the kitchen."

"Don't you mean the _fooooood rooooooom?"_ Nora asked, her smile threatening to split her head in two.

"...You know, the thing about being a heiress is that you learn exactly how the economy works, and where to throw your money around to get things." Weiss examined her fingernails. "I could quite easily spike the price of pancakes."

Nora gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Ice queen."

"You heartless fiend."

The two locked gazes, their expressions completely serious...

* * *

...before, after about ten seconds, breaking into giggles.

"Alright. Alright, I'll lay off." Nora shook her head. "Seriously though. It's good to know you're getting more..." She gestured vaguely. "Backstory... stuff."

"Yeah. It's a good feeling." She nodded at Blake, who was gripping Yang's arm and jumping up and down eagerly. "A very, very good feeling."

* * *

 **34.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So, Uncle Qrow. What's up with you and Winter?"

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Is this revenge for me interrogating Blake?"

"Yeah, basically." Yang shrugged. "Plus us older sisters have to stick together. Me and Winter are kind of alike like that, we seriously helped raise Ruby and Weiss."

"Heh. I guess you did at that. Now we only need Blake to have an older sister and the pattern's complete."

"Actually, now that I think about it, Blake's recently developed female relative might be her sister instead of her mother-Hey, don't try to distract me!" The blonde crossed her arms. "You! Winter! Details!"

"Eh, it's..." Qrow waved his hand noncommitally. "Look, we were stealthing together for a while, and we didn't know anything about the loops. So... I dunno. Sometimes we got into arranged marriages, and then with the whole... reveal, and Remnant loopers activating in pairs... We know a lot about each other, but if there's something there isn't that clear."

Yang grinned.

"...What?"

"Oh, nothing." Her grin took on a very sly shape. "Nothing at all." She walked off, a small chuckle gradually rising through a wild giggle into a crazed cackle as she rubbed her hands together.

Qrow blinked. "...You know, I really should be more worried about that then I am."

* * *

 **34.8 Black Omochao**

* * *

Keita Awoke in the halls; here he was again, replacing his sister as the 'R' in team RWBY, that at least was the case whenever his last name was 'Rose,' there were variations of course. Though despite it being considered a mistake on the computer, nobody had quite let him forget team 'NWBY…'

"I wish I didn't replace Ruby so much, I'd rather just Loop here so we could spend time together," Keita muttered, glancing to his side to see if his yo-kai butler had anything to say, only to pause when he saw no ghost following him. "… Oh right, not here… I need to stop talking to myself."

He made his way to the mess hall to join his team; none of whom were Awake, though when he got there he noticed something strange; Weiss talking to a fox faunus, and giggling!?

"What's going on?" Keita questioned the unAwake Yang and Blake.

"That guy over there's flirting with Weiss," Yang chuckled, Blake looked disinterested, as her unAwake self usually did at the Loops start.

"Hmm…" Keita glared at the fox faunus critically for a few moments, he looked familiar… "I think I should go check this out, I am her partner after all," Keita barely justified himself as he stepped forward.

"Oh, jealous little bro?" Yang questioned with a smirk. Keita stared at her blankly for a moment.

"… No," he said simply before he walked over to Weiss and her conversation partner.

"See you tonight than?" The fox faunus asked with a smirk.

"Um, sure," Weiss smiled a bit and blushed. Keita stepped in-between them and grabbed a hold of the boy's shirt.

"Excuse me Weiss, I do believe this is a friend of mine, and I need to speak with him," Keita, once again, barely justified his actions before he dragged the fox faunus off.

"Keita!" Weiss growled angrily, while Yang laughed in the background.

* * *

"Wow, slow down. You jealous I was moving in on your partner or something?" the fox faunus asked Keita after they had gotten out of earshot of all other students. Keita sighed and glared at him.

"Kyubi, what exactly are you up to?"

"What do you mean? I replaced that guy… John?"

"Jaune, is that why team JNPR wasn't sitting with us? I need to look over my Loop-memories again," Keita sighed. Before going back to glaring at the fox yo-kai turned faunus. "Why were you flirting with Weiss..? And _why_ did it work!?"

"Oh Keita-kun, you should know by now that I have a way with women, and this place is jammed packed with ladies just waiting to give me their hearts!" Kyubi announced proudly. Keita's eye twitched.

"You're still on that? I thought you'd cut that out considering time keeps repeating…"

"No way, time won't be repeating forever. And in the mean time I'll be collecting the hearts of every fair maiden in the multiverse, I'll be well beyond a fox lord!" Keita face-palmed at Kyubi's explanation. "Still, I'll need to make sure not to be late for mine and Weiss' date. I may have gotten her interested, but I still need to get her to fall in love with me."

"You do realize that if she Wakes up, she is going to kill you? Don't you?"

"Kill me? Nah. I could woo any lady even if they were Looping," Kyubi waved off his local Anchor's concerns. "Besides, I can't stop now. I've already got dates lined up with the two females on my team, and a real cutie with bunny ears."

"Seriously!? You are so dead…" Keita said seriously. Kyubi flicked a strand of his hair and regarded Keita without much concern.

"Oh calm down Mr. Drama. I told you, I know what I'm doing. If you want, I could teach you a thing or two…"

"NO!"

"Fine, more for me," Kyubi shrugged with an arrogant smirk before he started to leave. Keita sighed, before he glared seriously at the leaving fox faunus.

"Kyubi," he glanced back the Anchor's way, curiously. "Don't you dare try to hit on my sisters! That includes Ruby, even though she's not here. You can risk your life hitting on every other girl throughout the entire multiverse, but I draw the line there!"

"Whatever you say, Keita-kun," Kyubi sighed, though he didn't look like he took the boy's threat seriously. Keita glared at him as he watched him leave.

"… Oh, he is so, so dead."

* * *

"Hey Keita, you know that Jaune guy?" Yang asked her little brother as they relaxed in their room. It had been a few weeks since Keita had last spoken to the only other Awake Looper currently at Beacon, though he had heard talk of him from Weiss, and occasionally other girls… He was a little weirded out that he was going by 'Jaune' as opposed to Kyubi… or Kiwi, or something.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well, you know how he was kind of, sort of, but not 'officially' dating Weiss?"

"Yeah?"

"Well. I think he might also be dating Blake…"

* * *

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!?"

"Ow! Volume!" Kyubi winced as he rubbed his fox ears. As soon as Yang said that she thought Kyubi might have been going out with Blake, he had marched straight over to team JNPR's room and dragged the fox faunus off for interrogation. "And not quite yet. I haven't managed to convince her, she's a tough nut to crack. But I'll get her eventually, no girl can resist me forever."

"You are messing with forces you cannot possibly comprehend you stupid fox!" Keita shouted angrily, he looked like he wanted to choke Kyubi, but he quickly backed off. "Ok, ok. You know what. No!"

"No?"

"No! I'm not warning you anymore! You go dig your own grave that will last a thousand Loops! I'm not helping you anymore!" Keita shouted before he turned to stomp off.

"Helping me? You've been trying to hinder me since you ran into me," Kyubi pointed out confusedly.

"DONE!" Keita shouted again, before leaving.

"… Whatever, he's just jealous," Kyubi huffed.

* * *

When Cinder entered Beacon along with Emerald and Mercury, claiming to be an exchange student like she usually did, Keita received a ping, and a look from the… sister that told him she was Awake. Keita wasn't sure if Kyubi had even noticed the ping, as he was immediately at Cinder's side, a confident smile on his face. Keita moved to interfere, but stopped himself and quietly sit down.

"What is he doing so close to her?" Weiss questioned, suspiciously. Keita noted that several other girls seemed this way too, Kyubi had apparently been able to keep his multiple dating partners mostly secret, only really causing a few rumors. Though he was being incredibly stupid to attempt to woo a new girl right in front of a bunch of them… still, Keita considered his approaching an Awake, or unAwake, Cinder in such a way much, much stupider.

"Hey there, hot stuff," Kyubi greeted smoothly, Keita facepalmed in the background. Emerald looked at Kyubi with disgust, while Mercury seemed amused… but Cinder just gave a calm, smile…

* * *

"I warned him," Keita muttered, shaking his head as he looked at Kyubi, huddled on the floor, shivering.

"Her eyes! They're the eyes of death!"

"Whatever," Keita sighed. "By the way, all those girls you went out with, they're pretty angry."

"Oh…"

"Also, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Winter are all Awake now."

"Oh… Wait, who's Winter?"

"Weiss' older sister."

Kyubi blinked, before he saw many, many angry eyes staring at him. Though the ones that were most fear inducing were the burning red eyes of Yang, whom stood protectively in front of Blake, and the cold, unfeeling glare of what looked like an older version of Weiss. Kyubi shivered, terror visible in his shaking pupils, he looked up to the Anchor for some hope of salvation, but Keita quickly sped away.

"Bye! Have fun!"

* * *

 **34.9 Bios-Pherecydes**

* * *

Roman's theft had gone off without a hitch for a change, the Unawake thief and his accomplices making off with the entire stock of the From Dust Till Dawn's shelves and displays. Roman was, as a direct consequence, insufferably smug as Cinder dropped him off at his confiscated warehouse. Cinder bore with his presence with a silence that spoke louder than any response she could have given and even Roman had eventually dropped his efforts to make conversation.

Ruby hadn't been there. Why?

That question occupied the majority of Cinder's attention, her hands dancing over the intimately familiar controls almost unconsciously as she grappled with the issue. Her plans, what little she had decide upon so far, had revolved largely around spending the Loop with her 'sister' and her team; grounding herself after the disaster of the previous Loop in the pleasant indolence of companionship and sentimentality.

That didn't appear to be an option any longer. Lifting back into the air after unceremoniously dropping Roman off, she made her way to her in-Loop self's base of operations. The location and existence of such tended to vary wildly on a Loop by Loop basis, and this time she was pleased to discover she had uncovered an underground military base and outfitted it with stolen Atlas machinery. Or at least she would have been pleased, had she not been so focused on her Anchor's lack of presence. As it was, she simply docked the appropriated aircraft and swept through the empty halls to her suite.

Once there she quickly moved towards getting answers. Sending out a Ping, she received multiple responses and thusly pulled a modified handheld transceivers from her Pocket. Setting it up to broadcast, she depressed the switch before falling into her desk chair. "Cinder 10-97."

There was a several minute pause, during which Cinder stared aimlessly at her ceiling, before a burst of static sounded. "We're clear. This is Blake, what's up? It's been awhile since we've seen you, at least a dozen Loops from my perspective."

Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holdings, Cinder smiled faintly before frowning. "Ruby wasn't at the Dust store, I was worried."

The response was a damning amount of time in coming, before Blake picked up again. "Yang says she's still holed up in her room back home. She had a bad Loop a little bit ago and hasn't been willing to talk about it to anyone. We've been testing out random team-ups until she's ready to ask for help. Like I said though, it's been a while since you've been Awake. Maybe she'll talk to you. Would you mind?"

Nodding to herself, Cinder stood. "I can do that. Where's her house located this Loop?"

"I'm sending directions to your scroll. Thanks for doing this, Yang's been getting upset over the past few Loops without Ruby." She dropped into a stage whisper. "Don't tell her I said this, but I think her saiyan blood is itching for a fight, and Ruby's the only one who can take her head-on on her terms."

Ignoring the indignant shout that came over the handheld, she checked her scroll for the promised directions and left.

* * *

The island of Patch was a largely secluded area, the details of which were so vague as to be little more than wisps of possibility. While the childhood home of Ruby, Yang and occasionally herself was almost without fail located _on_ Patch, _where_ on Patch it was located was all but a matter of chance. As such, it was entirely necessary to refer to either Loop Memories or very specific maps to find anything between two different Loops. Luckily Cinder had such a map.

Staring at the door of her ersatz sister, she mentally deliberated over actually knocking or leaving before it was too late. The decision, however, was made for her as the door swung open to reveal the curious face of Taiyang Xiao Long.

"You've been standing out here for the past ten minutes, is there something you wanted?"

Falling back on ingrained behavior, Cinder pasted an uncertain smile on her face. "I believe so. This is the home of Ruby Rose, am I correct?"

Taiyang nodded hesitantly. "Yes. How do you know my daughter?"

"She and I are old friends, but it's been awhile since she's seen me and I heard from some other friends she's been a bit... reclusive. I was hoping I could see her. Perhaps help in some way?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, the retired Hunter gave her a measuring glance. "You seem a bit old to be one of my daughter's friends. How old are you? Late teens early twenties? And Patch doesn't get much traffic these days, how do you and she know each other exactly?"

Cinder mentally glared. She hated the overprotective Variants. Aloud however she gave a small chuckle. "We met under a rather... unique set of circumstances. I needed an Anchor, and she was kind enough to provide one."

Taiyang groaned. "You're one of those Loopists aren't you?"

 _'Success.'  
_  
She blinked in 'surprise' and nodded.

Running his hands through his hair awkwardly, he gestured for her to come inside. "A few others of your type came by a while back. Norma and John I think. I doubt she'll be any more willing to talk to you than she was with them, but you're welcome to try."

Closing the door behind her, he shrugged. "I can offer you some coffee, but I wasn't expecting visitors so that's about the limit of what I've got at the moment."

Cinder shook her head politely. "That's alright, I just came to talk to Ruby."

Shrugging again, he pointed down the hall to Ruby's room. "I hope you have better luck than I've had. Really."

Nodding, Cinder made her way to the door. Pausing only a moment in indecision, she gave a tentative knock.

"Go away dad."

"Luckily for both of us, I'm not your father this Loop." Cinder said with a wry chuckle.

There was silence. And then, "Cinder?"

"Yes, it's me Ruby. Can I come in?"

A short beat passed before the door unlocked itself, but didn't open. Taking that as confirmation enough, Cinder stepped inside the room. The floor within was a mess, littered with various shells of Dust, small pieces of machinery, bullets and all manner of candy wrappers. In the darkness, Cinder could make out the shape of Ruby sitting on her bed with her blankets pulled up over her shoulders.

As her eyes adjusted, she was able to make out more details. Held in Ruby's iron grip, a chibi version of herself sat desolately; holding onto Crescent Rose for additional comfort. Both the original and the, presumably, majin clone looked utterly miserable; tear tracks lining their faces and their hair in disarray. Making her way across the room carefully, Cinder sat down on the corner of the bed.

Immediately Ruby abandoned her clone; the duplicate reintegrating with her almost as an afterthought, as she threw herself at Cinder. Cinder barely had time to register her fight or flight instincts screaming at her before she had an armful of sobbing girl. An almost maternal impulse had her shifting her hold to pull Ruby into a proper hug, smoothing her hair gently as her best friend and greatest enemy clung to her dress in tears.

"Shh. It's fine. Whatever it was, it's fine."

Ruby responded by crying harder, thoroughly ruining the Dust weaving in her outfit. Eventually however she calmed down enough to pull back. "Sorry about you're dress."

Cinder simply lit her hand aflame and quickly dried her shoulder. "No harm done," she lied. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ruby stayed silent, making no move to speak; but also no effort to pull away. Cinder nodded. "That's fine. My last Loop wasn't great either. I had taken a Loop off to relax and have fun on my own after the events of the latest Expansion."

Ruby pulled back with a wide eyed look of disbelief. "The Expansions started again?!"

This time it was Cinder who gave a disbelieving look. "You didn't know? Just recently."

Ruby shook her head. "I've haven't bothered to leave my room for the past fifty or more Loops. I didn't answer my Scroll or open my door for anyone, because I wanted to get my game face back on first."

Cinder snorted. "Our Anchor is completely out of the loop. How ironic."

Ruby scowled. "That was worse than even Yang's jokes."

Cinder smirked. "Well, puns are your other sister's forte. I'm more of a _dry_ wit."

Putting her hands over her ears, Ruby gave Cinder an offended look. "Lalalalala, not listening. No bad jokes in here, nope. None."

Chuckling, Cinder put her hands up in surrender. "Fine, no jokes."

Giving her a wary look, Ruby removed her hands from her ears. Cinder nodded. "It seems Salem has a council, of which mpppfh."

Cinder eyed Ruby's hand, which covered the lower half of her face, with clear lack of amusement.

Sticking her tongue out, Ruby removed her hand. "Spoilers. Bad. No."

Pausing, Cinder looked over the pyjama-clad Huntress with an almost nostalgic look. Ruby was at her best when being optimistic and cheerful, it was rare to see her seclude herself from the others; even after particularly bad Loops. And especially for so long. Unbidden, her mind returned to the last time she had seen Ruby so withdrawn.

"So be it. Suffice it to say, as a result of events I wanted time to relax by myself. Things did not go as planned. I had assumed something equally troublesome had occurred on your side of the Expansion, leading to our current predicament. Clearly I was mistaken."

Ruby seemed to shrink in on herself, averting her gaze. Cinder's expression softened. "You don't need to explain if you don't want to. Do whatever you think is right."

Ruby paused, a distant look on her face, before mumbling a few familiar words to herself. "Otherwise you'll drive yourself insane."

She hesitated, before falling back against Cinder's shoulder. "It was a really bad Variant. Ed from the Amestris Branch was Replacing General Ironwood and we were sent up there when Headmaster Ling suddenly went missing. Blake heard about trouble from the White Fang back in Vale, something about being seen with Raven, so she and Yang snuck away when no one was paying attention. When they didn't come back we went to go find them, me, Weiss, and Team JNPR. But my dad found out and stopped me from going at the last minute, sending Uncle Qrow instead."

Her grip tightened on Cinder, who at this point had taken complete manual control of her autonomic nervous system in order to prevent unwanted reactions as Ruby's words struck at her. Outwardly however, she projected the image of a sympathetic friend; softly running her fingers through Ruby's hair consolingly. As a result, Ruby was completely unaware of Cinder's thoughts as she continued.

"I Awoke really late, and hurried back to Vale. But it was empty. Everyone was dead, and practically the whole continent was on fire and overrun by the Grimm. It was that Loop's Cinder."

Very intentionally, but fluidly enough to be indiscernible from an unconscious action, Cinder tensed; her hand briefly stalling in it's motions, before deliberately continuing.

Ruby continued softly. "She killed all of them."

"And so you killed her in vengeance," Cinder finished, completing the unspoken sentence. The hitch in her voice was completely real, guilt and sorrow and despair and victory and amusement all at once until one was indistinguishable from the other; allowed to slip through only because it didn't cost anything to the image she was portraying. Though which one that was, she was having trouble differentiating between at that exact moment.

Her arms wrapped in a hug around the surprised Cinder, Ruby gave a nod. "I hate her."

Cinder gave a confused glance down at the girl in front of her, but obligingly returned the hug; rubbing soothing circles against the girls back. "Hate who Ruby?"

Ruby pulled in tighter, and mumbled something against Cinder's side.

Cinder rolled her eyes affectionately at the girls adorable behavior. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that. Who?"

Ruby pulled back to look into Cinder's eyes, before averting her gaze. "The other you."

Cinder control faltered, and she stiffened as Ruby continued.

"I hate her. Everything she's done, everything she's doing; I hate it. I hate all of it!" She threw herself back at her sister. "Why can't she be you?"

Cinder twitched, her mind struggling to find a way to react that wouldn't blow her own cover. This was her enemy, her mortal foe. This was her little sister, the one she needed to protect.

Ruby looked up at Cinder, noticing her confusion. "Cinder?"

Something within the current Fall Maiden broke, irreparably. She wrapped her arms around Ruby, tightened her hold on her sister as she all but felt her psyche splinter. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay." As she continued to whisper comforting words, in her mind two opposing train of thoughts arose; equal but separate from each other.

 _'I will burn everything. This world and any other I feel like. It deserves to burn, and I deserve to be the one that does it. You can't stop me, they can't stop me, even the gods themselves can't stop me.'_

 **'I won't let anyone hurt you Ruby. Not you or anyone else. Not ever again.'  
**  
There in the dark, two sisters in all but blood shared a quiet moment. An eye of calm at the center of a growing storm.

* * *

 **A/N: Welcome to more loops, and a new paradigm for everyone's favorite looping villain.**


	35. Connectivity

**35.1**

…

"...Say that again, slowly Iroh," Firelord Ozai said to his brother.

"Your daughter is an earthbender," Iroh said clearly and carefully.

Ozai nodded. "Okay then. I understand that. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to find the royal sake reserves and drink myself into a coma."

As Ozai left the room, Iroh and Zuko stared at their visitor. "So... you're an Azula clone?"

Cinder Fall shrugged, using earth and lava bending to make herself a better throne than her Loop father's. "Nowadays, I don't know what I am."

…

 **35.2 Masterweaver**

…

"Ruby!" Jaune knocked on the door. "You ready to go?"

"Almost! Just... there we go!" After a moment, the Anchor stepped out with a grin. "New expansion! Yes. How are we playing this?"

"Me and Jaune talked it over," Pyrrha explained, "and while I'm not technically dead we figured it would be smart for us to head off in the direction we would have gone if I... had. So, mostly baseline...ish." She shrugged helplessly. "Ren and Nora are waiting at the pub."

"What took you so long?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, I... I had to, uh, get... a new outfit." Ruby coughed. "I kind of outgrew my old one. Weird, right?"

"Well, you do look a bit taller."

"...No, I _outgrew_ my old one."

Jaune blinked.

"...Boobs, Jaune." Ruby gestured at herself. "Bigger boobs."

"Oh. Oh! Oh, I..." Jaune flushed. "I, uh... my wife is standing right there so I'm just going to default to that as an excuse not to say anything."

Pyrrha laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to get jealous. I know you have a thing for redheads."

"It's still a little strange," Ruby mused. "I mean, I've been the same body type for... basically forever, and now I'm growing again, and... well, I dunno. Anyway, my top's not all I've changed."

"Really?" Pyrrha tilted her head.

"Yeah, I figured we're going on a journey, presumably to find a wizard named Ozpin, so..." She kicked up a foot. "Tadaaaa! Ruby slippers!"

"Heh, I guess I would be a cowardly lion."

"Wait," Pyrrha mused, "does that make me Toto?"

"Nah, Zwei's Toto. I guess you're the... other good witch, the one that most people forget."

"Oh. Well that's alright then."

…

 **35.3 shimmer712**

…

"Oh, sorry," Pyrrha said as she stepped around the corner and found herself bumping into someone.

"It's...it's fine," Penny squeaked, before rushing past and quickly walking away. If the girl had been flesh, her heart would be pounding. Penny swallowed nervously, trying to calm herself. She was safe. Miss Pyrrha would not harm her. But she still wanted to run away.

Behind her, Pyrrha turned and raised a hand, opening her mouth to call after her, then stopped. Given how baseline went, Penny had a right to want to avoid her. Especially since she started looping _after_ her Baseline death. Pyrrha had to admit that if she had started looping after she died, she would be frightened of being around Cinder, Awake or not. But she had memories of Cinder being a good person and friend to reassure her. She and Penny didn't interact much in Baseline so of course Penny would be nervous around her.

Pyrrha decided to speak with Ruby and ask her to check that Penny was okay. Just in case.

She sighed and looked after Penny's vanishing form.

"I really wish I could do something to help," she murmured before turning to continue on her way.

…

 **35.4 masterweaver**

…

"So, Penny. You doing alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, Yatsuhashi." Penny sighed. "I... I'm doing... better."

"Yeah?" The big man sat down next to her. "Somehow I'm not so sure about that."

Penny looked away. "...I... well. I might have..."

"...bumped into Pyrrha and asked Ruby to get you away?"

She nodded.

"...Did you at least talk to her?"

"Yes. I was... I was able to..." Penny clutched her arms. "I hate this."

"It's perfectly alright to-"

"It's not alright! These, these moodswings! Either I'm happy and in love with life or..." With a sigh, Penny gestured around. "Or I'm terrified and hiding in my friends' pockets." She shook her head. "I thought... I honestly thought going to the wedding would... maybe not heal everything, but at least make it... better."

"Well." Yatsuhashi rolled his shoulders. " _I_ think you're doing better."

"You're just saying that."

"No. Really. You've gone, what, two hundred loops without needing to come in here. I mean, you've visited, but..." He put his hand on her shoulders. "A relapse isn't the end of the world, Penny. Maybe it's hard to see from the inside, but I think... I think you're starting to move past it."

"...Really?"

"Really."

"...You know, you can be real smart when you want to be."

"Heh. Well, I try." He patted her shoulder. "Come on, before you get out Coco's going to want to style your hair."

"Why does she always do that?"

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but she's really obsessed with fashion and you've got the most human-like hair out of all of us..."

…

 **35.5 Masterweaver**

…

Ruby stared in shock. "What. Is. That."

"What's what?"

"That. On your hoodie."

Jaune glanced down. "What-oh. That's... Pumpkin Pete. From the cereal."

"It's a rabbit," Ruby whispered, backing away slowly. "Oh Yggdrassil. You've had a rabbit on your chest this whole time."

Nora gave her a confused look. "Ruby? Are you feeling okay?"

At this point, Ruby was against a wall. _"Naflmnahn' mghn'garfa Caerbannog Wat'ership wgah'nagl fhtagn..."_ she mumbled incoherently.

Ren coughed. "...Do you... have some sort of rabbit phobia?"

"...Most of them, they're harmless." Ruby wasn't so much replying, as she was letting the information be heard. "Most of them, they're innocent balls of fluff. The ones that step up... the league of looping lagomorphs..."

"The... what?" Jaune blinked. "What are you-"

She looked into his eyes. "They'll know, Jaune. Beware the bunnies. Their lightest touch can make the most innocent into the most deadly, and you'll never know until it is too late..."

…

 **35.6 Shimmer712**

…

"Uh...so why is Forever Fall called Redleaf Woods this loop?" Yang wondered. The rest of RWBY and team JPNR just shrugged.

"Just one of those quirks," Ruby said cheerfully. "Let's get the sap then go see if there's anything else different about the place this loop."

"That means you need to stop eating the sap, Nora," Ren told his partner.

"I haven't done that for dozens of loops!" Nora protested.

"Still, no eating the sap."

Nora groaned and grumbled about never living it down.

At that point they heard screaming.

"Is that Cardin's team?" Blake asked.

"Oooh! I bet they ran into that Ursa! Let's go!" Yang urged. "I wanna punch something!" With that she took off.

"...Do you think she wants to punch the Grimm or Cardin?" Jaune asked as they followed.

"Probably both," Ruby admitted.

"I wanna hit both too!" Nora exclaimed.

"Cardin is a tempting target," Ren conceded. "And it has been a while since we've had anything to do with him."

"Maybe we should play some pranks on them, just for variety," Weiss considered. "I mean, we don't want things to get repetitive so going back to activities we haven't done for a while could help avoid boredom."

"You mean like a good old fashion sleep over?" Jaune asked. "With stories and roasted marshmallows?"

"...Have we ever done a sleepover like th-omph!" Ruby ran into Yang's back. "Yang?"

"Holy crap," the blonde responded. Ruby blinked then peered around her sister. Her eyes widened.

"Retreat!" Jaune hissed, backing up the way he came as quickly and as quietly as he could, his team quickly following.

"Good plan, very good plan," Weiss whispered., not taking her eyes off the scene in front of her. She glanced down nervously to make sure she didn't step on any branches. She did not want to draw attention to her.

"SOMEONE HELP US!" Sky screamed as he tried to bat the black bunny with bony growths away. Dove was climbing a tree, several of the rabbit Grimm gathering around beneath him. Russel was running away from them and Cardin was swinging his mace in blind terror. Disturbing, the rabbits seemed to be giggling manically.

"Get the teachers?" Ruby whispered.

"No way I'm getting into that," Yang muttered backed. At that point Cardin spotted them and started screaming for them to help, drawing the Grimm's attention to the loopers. Gleaming red eyes focused on them as the Bunnies seemed to grin too widely for their faces and began a high pitched chittering.

"RUN AWAY!" Jaune screamed, abandoning discretion and seizing Pyrrha's hand as he fled. Everyone followed his lead.

Later, back in the academy, they found this loop had a variant of Grimm that wasn't present in the other loops. In this loop, it was viewed as one of the most dangerous. Dangerous enough that several hunters had been called to guard the perimeter of the Forest in groups to and the forest was now forbidden to the public.

"Briar Grimm, huh?" Yang muttered. "Scary little monsters."

"I really don't wanna deal with them ever again," Jaune whined. "They're just creepy."

"Don't mess with bunnies," Ruby murmured. " _Never_ mess with the bunnies."

…

 **35.7 Shimmer712**

…

Ruby stared blankly.

"Well, at least there is no fanus discrimination this loop," the silver eyed, bipedal bunny muttered. Her ears twitched.

A loop where everyone was a bunny.

"Does this mean everyone at Beacon is a Killer Rabbit, or at least a Killer Rabbit in training?" she wondered.

Later, when she found out all the Grimm were _also_ rabbits, she could only facepalm.

"Oh, c'mon! Have rabbits taken over loop or something?"

…

 **35.8 Euroteres**

…

Cinder was terrified. She was also furious, but she was mostly terrified. It was supposed to be simple really. She woke up early, just as she was about to bring Adam Taurus to heel and had figured that she could relieve a bit of stress by burning the entire camp and Adam along with them. She'd been having some trouble sleeping recently, and she'd been hearing and seeing things that weren't there from time to time, and it was all doing horrible things to her ability to destress and relax.

She blamed the new expansions for her problems. There was something about being hurt like that, of being so much _less_ , that had gotten to her. She was sure of it.

Of course the problem with her chosen method of destresssing was that it wasn't Adam Taurus who ran this cell of the White Fang this loop, it was _Naruto Uzumaki_. Now they sat across from each other in Naruto's tent in tense silence.

"You know who I am," the ancient looper said, "which means you're either aware of my reputation in this loop or you know who I am outside of it."

Cinder attempted to deflect. "What on Remnant are you talking abo-"

"Don't try," Naruto said, a dangerous glint in his eye. "You'll embarrass yourself. I know you're a looper and I know all about your story. Sasuke's let Blake fill in the role of a younger sister and she's more than willing to share stories of her time looping whenever Yggdrasil feels fit to let her drop by. Now here's what I think happened. You woke up just as your baseline self was about to attack and were more than willing to not only follow through but go the extra mile until the moment you realized I was here." He held her gaze for a moment longer before his expression shifted. No longer was he assessing her as a threat. Instead, he looked sad, as though he'd seen something worth _pitying_.

Cinder fought her body's urge to tremble with rage. How _dare_ he. _HOW DARE HE PITY HER!  
_  
"You don't even realize it do you," he said. "That you're-"

 _"SHUT UP!"_ Cinder lunged at Naruto, fire and lightning raging in her hands as the instruments of death she would visit upon the man who would dare-

It was over in a single strike. Her Aura was shattered, all of her contingencies against death she'd picked up during the loops were circumvented with contemptuous ease and she was laid out on the ground, choking on the blood that filled her lungs through the holes that had been torn by the fragments of her shattered rib cage. Soon after, the world went dark.

_

Naruto stared down at Cinder's cooling corpse, unable to dredge up any emotion other than pity for the juvenile looper.

 _'That was rather brutal for you.'_

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, it probably was. I should have restrained myself better, but it's been a damn long time since I've felt that kind of intent to kill from a fellow looper that wasn't that asshole Dio and I guess it threw me a little. You felt it too though, right? That she was-"

 _'-broken, yes. She's likely recently suffered a truly extreme level of emotional stress that's fractured her personality. It wasn't immediately apparent, but I could feel the other fragment when I was looking for it.'_ Kurama was silent for a moment. _'Are you going to tell Ruby?'  
_  
"No."

 _'No?'  
_  
"No, it's not my place. It's not anyone but the loopers of Remnant's place to deal with one of their own unless they request outside help," he asserted. "If it seemed she posed a threat to Yggdrasil I'd intervene in a heartbeat, but as it stands I don't think she's in any position to destroy anyone but herself. I'll alert the rest of the Seven the next time I see them, and maybe a few others, just in case things go south." Naruto rose to step past Cinder's corpse, then paused and looked back down at it.

 _'Having second thoughts?'  
_  
"No, not that. It's just-" he trailed off.

 _'It's just?'  
_  
Naruto shook his head. "Nothing, never mind."

Cinder awoke, then smiled as her loop memories hit. A loop as Ruby's actual sister wasn't something she'd ever pass up. Then she paused as a phantom pain flowed across her chest, and why in the world had Naruto Uzumaki of the Original Seven come to mind? It wasn't as though she'd ever actually met him.

"Hey Cinder, is something wrong?" Ruby asked from right in front of her, looking concerned.

Cinder blinked in surprise, then smiled. "No, nothing's wrong Ruby. I'm just feeling a little Loopy is all."

Ruby's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and Cinder grunted and staggered back a step as the shorter girl glomped onto her. "Yaay, you're Awake this loop! We're the only two so far this time around, but that just means we get to do something super special together! Do you have any ideas?"

Cinder's smile widened as she gazed down at her sister. "I'm sure I'll be happy with whatever insane idea you come up with."

Ruby hopped back and span around with a twirl. "Of course! I'm _me_ after all!" She began to walk away with Cinder following along behind before she suddenly stopped. She turned her head to gaze back at Cinder, an unfathomable look in her visible eye. "Hey Cinder?"

Cinder tilted her head in confusion at the sudden shift in Ruby's mood. "Yes Ruby?"

There was a long moment as Ruby continued to gaze at her. Then the moment ended and the girl turned away. "Ah, never mind. It was nothing."

…

 **35.9 Masterweaver**

…

 _okay let's get this going again, what do we have here_

Cinder walked through a large library. All around her the knowledge rippled and rumbled; a codex chirruped on the back of a massive thesaurus as it strode through the depths of the creative pool. She snapped her fingers, and a number of novels formed underneath her and sent her higher.

 _huh this isn't too bad unless you finds yourself that could be bad let me think_

She reached out for one book-only for it to shy away, whimpering, morphing, scuttling into the sand of the beach. Blake rose, dressed in a provocative swimsuit, her furry ears and tail on full display as she gestured seductively. "Shall we talk about our secrets?" she asked in Emerald's voice.

 _oh this is great you're going to be so creeped out when you wake up_

Cinder was about to step forward when Yang strode in from the side, launching her arm at her and knocking her back. "Her secrets are mine!" she proclaimed in Salem's voice, posing to show off her bodypaint. Blake hissed, and became a beowolf (still wearing the swimsuit); Yang matched her transformation by shifting into an Ursa (still with bodypaint).

 _yes darkness this is what i live for although do we not have feline grimm yet seriously_

Cinder could only watch in amazement as swimsuited beowolf and one armed ursa wrestled each other, the sand rising up as the waves turned stormy and red. Beside her, Ruby used her spider legs to feed miniaturized ponies into her upside down head. "Ten lein on the ursa," she offered.

 _okay yeah that's just where did that even come from it's not bad it's just what is this_

Cinder leapt forward, trying to dodge the fighting Grimm as she dug into the sand, past the sand, under the sand into the ocean, the book that had escaped her swimming away through the blood. Pyrrha stood in front of her, shaking her head. "You don't want that. Trust me. You don't want that." She smiled, bringing in Cinder for a kiss.

 _see if you turn out to be heterosexual in some expansion i will be extremely dissapointed_

The blood washed through them as they engaged, twisting through the ocean, and Cinder smiled, shutting the book in her hands. She looked down at the child tucked into the bed she was sitting on. "Can you read it again?" Amber asked, her eyes wide and pleading. "Mommy can you read it again please please please?"

 _oooo i like this twist i think i'll make you wake up on this note_

The door opened, and Cinder looked up to see her wife-a skeleton with red hair, who looked her straight in the eye. "You did this! YOU DID THIS TO US! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!"

-

Cinder gasped as she awoke. Again, she was covered in sweat, heart pounding, trying to process what had happened.

…

 **35.10 Diesel**

…

A storm of blood drenched petals filled the air, glistening darkly in the light of the shattered moon, marking the passage of a caped figure weaving through the dark forest. Silver eyes flashed, darting side to side as she raced though the forest, looking for the aberration that was pursuing her. Every moment of every day it had been there, lurking in the shadows with dead, glassy eyes always watching from the corners. Dissolving into nothingness the moment she looked, nought but a fleeting illusion less real than the flickering dreams of a child.

Every year it got closer.

Icy terror flooded her veins, the harrowing silhouette stood out sharpy in the canopy, lit up by the dappled moonlight. Saber like incisors curled from the top and bottom of its maw, like old stained bone as its ball like tail twitched violently. The branch swayed in the wind yet the form remained unmoving, evanescing into the night as eyes locked upon it. Passing out of memory, leaving no trace of its existence bar that _it had been there_.

-  
 _A young girl clutched a toy scythe, running for all she was worth down the hall, ghastly hollow eyes haunting her mind, the constant thumping of its feet echoing though her head like the Call of the Grimm. It was getting closer, Ruby shuddered, tears glistening in her eyes as she recalled the foul feeling of millions of fine bristles scraping against her leg._

 _"Mum, Dad!" Ruby wailed, busting in though the door, two naked adults lept out of the bed as they went for their weapons. An unpleasant smell wafting across and filling Ruby's nostrils, she did not care she just did not want to alone with ... it! Ruby shuddered, feeling its gaze at her back, itching the back of her neck, the feeling of teeth in her throat dancing with her mind._

 _The door slammed shut, ruby almost tumbling to the side, desperate to get out of the way of the door, the weak point in the room even knowing it would make no difference. '"Its here! Its Here!"_

 _Taiyang and Summer looked at each other, slumping slightly in relief and exasperation, even as they looked at each other and then back at Ruby going red. Ruby stared helplessly at her parents, her heart breaking. they did not believe her. They just wanted to send her back, to hide that they had had sex the night before._

 _Ruby shivered under the covers, clutching her scythe until her fingers went numb from pain, listening to the sound of the winds rushing though the branches and the constant thumping of feet. Unable to bare it any longer she pocked her head out of the covers looking around the moon shadows that draped her room. Blank, glassy eyes stared at her from across the room as blood, shining black in the semi-light , wetted its incisors. Ruby felt a fist clutch her heart as she stared blankly around her empty room ,no longer able to remember where it had been, waiting with dread from dawn. Her father's cry of horror heralding the new day and the end of their family lives._

Black boots, drenched in blood of the dead, hit rock. Shattering it as Ruby's body fragmented into millions of petals billowing into the cloudless night, a pain ripping into her neck before she fully broke apart. Only a flash of white fur, stained almost black with blood, was visible for a fleeting instance among the petals.

 _Weiss...  
Yang...  
Blake..._

 _They had been so sure they could deal with this thing now they were awake. Broken bodies and blood drenched fur the only testament to their efforts.  
_  
Ruby reformed on a distant cliff, staggering as her head swam, vision fading in and out. Gazing down at the endless forest, her face marred with the blood of her friends, gripping the bleeding wound on her neck. It was unsettling to have normal biology, for wounds to actuality matter. But for Nightmare loops like this, being a Null loop was almost a given.

 _She was so tired, she had not slept for days and her Aura was running on fumes.  
_  
Warily, Ruby let herself slump to the ground. She had to rest, _it_ had never taken less than an hour to traverse a six miles and even with the ever-closing end she would still have time to close her eyes. She had time to rest, even if only for a short time

A flash of white fur and floppy ears caught the first hints of dawn's light as Ruby closed her eyes.

…

 **35.11 Masterweaver**

…

Roman Torchwick grinned, leaning on the desk. It was sort of nostalgic, being in Ozpin's office again. Team ORNGZ was almost assembled once again; the only difference, of course, was that Zwei was still in Patch, and two redheads were uncomfortably standing on opposite sides of the room.

"Now, I'm guessing some of you have a vague idea of why I asked you all to come," he began, twirling his cane. "But in the interests of saving time, let's get down to it. With the exception of our deputy headmistress over there, all of us are quite possibly supposed to be dead by the end of the year."

"I..." Pyrrha cleared her throat, glancing around. "I didn't realize that Neo-"

"She was blown off the side of a ship," Roman explained. "There was too much going on to confirm anything, and I'm usually too busy backhanding a griffon to check. It's up in the air."

"As is my own death," Ozpin reminded him. "While... evidence from miss Cinder's recent meeting with Salem indicates it might be true, the source of the information is unreliable."

"Yes, yes, but that is my point. We're getting expansions again." Roman leaned on his cane. "Expansions that, quite frankly, leave us with quite a bit of free time. Team RWBY will probably be busy dealing with whatever personal dramas the loop throws at them. Team JNPR-with one exception," he nodded to Pyrrha, "will have Ruby's quest to occupy their time. Winter and Ironwood will presumably be doing stuff with Atlas, Qrow will probably follow Ruby on off loops, Cinder... Well, if she's looping, she'll certainly throw a wrench into any planning."

"And I'll be busy cleaning up after her, in any case," Glynda deadpanned. "If you get bored after sidestepping death, you could always help out."

"Yes. Yes I could. Or, I could start up a hat shop. Or I could set up a mock-kaiju attack on Mistral. Or I could go back to being Remnant's greatest thief." Roman twirled his cane. "That's why I called you here. To ask one question. We know how to avoid being killed. We know how to sidestep our demise. So... Now what?"

…

 **35.12 Shimmer712**

…

It was dark...

Pyrrha tried to open her eyes but couldn't. But even so, slowly light started to seep in, turning her surroundings from pitch black to gray.

What had happened? Pyrrha quickly searched her loop memories and mentally winced at the memories of being pierced with Cinder's arrow and burning alive from within.

 _'Okay, I'm dead,'_ she thought. _'So what is going on?'_

As color started to manifest itself around her, Pyrrha became away off and herself swinging slight, a steady motion, like Jaune's heartbeat.

As her surroundings became clear enough to see, she realized who was present.

" _Jaune!"_ she shrieked before she could herself.

Jaune stopped and stared eyed wide at Corcea Mors. He wasn't the only one.

"Uh...Jaune?" Ruby blinked. She paused, not really sure how to ask someone if their weapons just shouted with the voice of their dead love. The Anchor shook her head.

"...Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

 _"Yes! It's me!"_ Pyrrha answered giddily. She was still here! She was alive! ...Kinda... She was still with Jaune and her team!

"OHMYGOD!" Nora grabbed the Shield and hugged it to her. "We missed you _so_ much and now we can see the expansion with us! This is great!" Nora blathered,swinging herself around in sheer glee. Pyrrha tried to return the hug but couldn't. So she laughed as Nora danced around with her, ignoring the pang of pain she felt.

"Pyrrha, are you alright?" Ren asked urgently, wondering if he should address the shield or sword. His hands twitched, wanting to grab Pyrrha and see that she was unharmed, that she was hurt. But her human form was gone and they had only recently retrieved Corcea Mors back from the smith. He swallowed, resisting the urge to join Nora. His mother...he didn't know if this counted as alive. But she was here. He drew a breath. He was never going to get used to the loops where Pyrrha died.

 _"I'm fine, I think,"_ Pyrrha answered. " _A bit weirded out but I'll get over it."_

"I guess we're still partners," Jaune smiled, his eyes damp and full of happiness. "You have any requests?"

 _"I was blacked out for a bit, I only just regained consciousness. Could you tell me what's been happening?"_

"Of course," Jaune said, taking the shield back from Nora. "We'll tell you everything." He held Corcea Mors closely, shoulders shaking. The others fell silent, letting the couple have their moment.

 _'I'm glad I'm still with you,'_ Pyrrha whispered. She never liked leaving her team, not by dying. It hurt them. And she loved them, she didn't want to cause them pain.

"I'm glad too," Jaune choked out. Pyrrha deserved better than her baseline fate. It may have been a temporary death thanks to the loops, but each time it happened, it _hurt_. She was kind, strong, willing to do what right and had an incredible amount of compassion for people. She was an idol for a reason. Jaune on the other hand, he had lied and cheated his way into Beacon, he had been dead weight for his team and he had been a coward, preferring to run than fight. If either of them had to die, it should have been him.

Team JPNR continued on their way, talking eagerly to the ensouled weapon. Ruby smiled, watching them for a moment and followed behind, letting them have their moment.

…

 **35.13 MasterOfGames**

…

Ruby whimpered as she looked out from her bunker, Ren giving her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder next to her as he flipped through a reference guide. Outside was an unholy beast.

And next to that beast was a Grimm.

A Beowolf Alpha snarled at the creature that would interrupt a hunt, towering over it and roaring in its' face.

The little brown bunny nibbled on a flower.

"I can't take it! I want to save the bunny, but if I go out there and it doesn't need saving... I want my insides to stay insides!" Ruby whimpered, fingertips clutching the bunker's high windowsill as she held herself up to peek over it.

Nora meanwhile glanced over from where she was lounging, cleaning her hammer, to Jaune, giving his armor the most relaxing polishing in the world, if the noises Pyrrha was making were any indication. "Seems a little odd for a variant. I mean, the Grimm _do_ fight with local wildlife this time? It isn't like the system to toss something so tame at us all by itself."

Jaune shrugged, switching from his armor to his sword, the two eyes on his shield rolling back in bliss. "Well, infinite combinations and all that. The tree has to try everything. This was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Yeah, but I'll still feel better once we figure out how it happened. That said, find anything Ren?" Nora called over.

"Only if you call an extra continent and a fifth kingdom 'anything'." Ren replied, turning the book to show everyone the map inside. "Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, Atlas, and Jade."

Nora gave Jaune a smirk, and reluctantly he tossed her his wallet. "Fine, you win." he groaned, before turning back to Ren. "Anything you can tell us?"

"Oh man, the alpha's ticked that he's being ignored! The rest of the pack is showing up..." Ruby cringed, ignoring the others.

Ren ran his finger down a listing of kingdom facts. "Widespread population of pureblood faunus, possessing more dominant animal features than we're used to. Upside of living there, it's defended from the Grimm by huge deposits of gravity dust, warping space to the extent that the only entrance to the kingdom is the size of an easily defended city gate. It's not too far from here actually. Downside of living there, -"

Ruby yelped, jumping back as the bunker windows were splattered with black blood, which swiftly began to evaporate, finally clearing just in time to see the bunny swing not a fluffy cottontail, but a vicious whip with the head of an executioner's axe attached to the end of it, cleaving the alpha in half at the waist. It then jumped and punted the upper half of the Grimm over the treeline. No other Grimm remained.

"... Downside of living there," Ren continued, as if nothing had happened. "huge deposits of all _other_ kinds of dust, means that the wildlife has evolved wildly differently from the rest of the world. Of particular note are the Wabbits (scientific name, _death lupus_.), known for their cuteness, their cunning minds, bloodthirsty tendencies, and territorial natures, and their tails, which possess a random bladed weapon on the end, and have vorpal properties." Ren paused and raised an eyebrow as he continued reading. "The bounty on a single tail would be enough to finance our next six loops."

Ruby returned to the window, eyes watering as she peeked out. "I _want_ one... but I can't bring myself to go near it!" she lamented.

…

 **35.14 Diesel**

…

Cinder gazed out the vast windows that overlooked the desolate planes of Spawning, a foul stench filling her nose from the vast oily, tar-like pits. Her cool gaze took into the massive monsters as they clawed their way out and the vast purple crystals that doted the otherwise barren landscape.

Out of the corner of her good eye Emerald gasped in silence, a look of horror and fear flashing across her face. Mercury looked grim and angry, their skin tainted an unnatural hue by the hellish red light that filled the night sky.

'That's right, know your crimes. This is your price for following me this far and this will only be the beginning.' Cinder looked away from her long time minions, ignoring the needling of the others who sat in this forsaken hall seething in abject fury, memories of her last loop bubbling unbidden to mind.

Her mind burned with shame and barely restrained rage. She had fled last time. From the twisted images of a loop she had heard of but never lived that had invaded her mind as the past lost blurred with the present new, and making her flee to safety. Cinder bit back a growl, as the obnoxious voice of that pompous want to be Englishman, Doctor Watt spoke up. It would be so satisfying and rewarding to devour him, dissect his mind and memories as she consumed his life utterly.

"I don't know what you are doing, from you posture it almost seems like you are pretending to have actually succeeded in something."

Cinder turned away from the view, as she returned to her seat, leaving Mercury and Emerald to gaze out at harrowing view. The dark hall was lit with sparse candles and glowing, toxic purple, crystals. Light from the blood stained night sky cast a horrid glow across the room as it streamed in through the vast windows that dominated the room.

It was a sight she had seen once before.

Two loops starting late, within 5 minutes of each other was unusual but not wholly unwelcome. After all, it gave her another chance to get answers very quickly. Cinder ignored the comment, leaning back into the chair as her mind drifted. Her ruined eye throbbed behind her hair and the slightest attempt to speak made her throat feel like it was being ripped apart by glass shards while left arm felt like fire raged beneath the skin.

It was agonising, like worms burrowing into her flesh and feasting on her mantle of seasons, far worse than the last time she was here. Footsteps echoed in the distance, as Cinder sunk into her loop memories.

At a gesture Mercury and Emerald came over to stand by her side once more as Salem approached, the words of the deranged hunter burrowing into her mind as Salem entered, her silent footsteps leaving only the sound of her robes sweeping past as she tore down the arguments of the so called doctor as the meeting started.

 _"If I was you I would hunt her down, find her and, well she took your eye didn't she?"_

"What about the girl? It seems like this is Cinders problem, not ours."

Cinder seethed, she did not care about keeping to script right now. She would just devour what she wanted from them at a latter point. Team WTCH had better hope that her slight change in behavior over the last loop had derailed Tyrian comments, or they would not live to see another day.

Nor would they ever, if they so much as touched RWBY.

 _"Eye for an eye."_

Cinder snarled, eyes flashing red as she lunged at Tyrian, slamming the maniacal man into the wall, shattering the windows. The weak, foul creature's limbs struggling futility against her unyielding grip. Cinder felt the almost narcotic rush of power as she drew on the power she obtained as Willow Rosenberg and all the other magics she had absorbed over the aeons,. Flesh ruptured and warped, a sublime choir of screams filling the dark hall as blood leak out of six thousand, six hundred and sixty-six lacerations, a fitting number for the pathetic beast that dared threaten her sister. Necrotic flesh spreading out from the sight of the quickly festering wounds as she feasted on life.

But he would not die, not yet, not until she said so.

"Cinder, Stop!" She turned to face Salem, the attacks of the others nothing more than an irritant quickly disposed of, the broken, barely alive bodies crumbling were they stood as she feasted on their power and lives. They were of no threat, no one here had the power to pierce her Aura. "Why should I do that Salem?" Cinder's voice was smooth, not carrying a hint of the unending rage and hate that consumed her mind as she met eyes with the corpse-like face of the Grimm Lady "He was threatening my sister and the one who holds the World aloft."

Her almost maniacal expression of rage twisted further, why was she so angry? Baseline was Baseline, Ruby would survive no matter what and the final loop was the only one that truly mattered. So why? Cinder dismissed that thought, dropping the sack of flesh with a squelch, healing them with a thought, she could not play with them later if they were dead and they might have interesting information in their minds to tear out. The Fall Maiden turned to face the enraged and intrigued monster

"Time, reality itself, broke a long time ago Salem. It repeats without end, fogy and blurred outside of a few defined events. Overtime it expands and clears, this is one such case. Ruby Rose became my sister a long time ago and she is the one who was at the center when the cataclysm hit, and it now the only one who holds this shattered world together. Harm her at your peril."

Salem's eyes tracked over the healing forms of her servants then back to Cinder, standing tall and whole, draped in power never seen on Remnant before "Interesting." A glint of interest appeared in the pallid face as Salem glided closer, black dress slithering across the floor of the silent hall "Could you please elaborate Cinder? It appears we are missing some vital information, but please do not take that out on your comrades, ignorance is not something to be punished, simply rectified."

"…Very well Salem. In short, every reality broke and to prevent their total collapse, the beings that live outside reality took a stable person of relevance in the area and time-frame of interest, in a given universe and tied a time loop to them. Anchoring reality to them until reality is repaired."

"The girl is the 'Anchor' then, so where do you come in then Cinder?" The deathly pale woman questioned, soulless red eyes boring into her own there was no malice in those words, just cold logic unfazed by Cinder's furry. "And you also said that things are unclear, so things were lost and you have a power from outside Remnant so it must be more than a simple time loop."

Cinder turned away, clicking her fingers and sending a glance to her servants as she spoke, calling them to her side as she strode to the great door. "All other loopers are simply company for the Anchor, so they may endure and not break. Chosen based on proximity and emotional connections to the Anchor and the key events. There are also variants and fused loops."

Cinder paused at the open door before turning one final time to face the Grimm Lady whose face was one of contemplation, "Make no mistake Salem, you cannot win against Ruby Rose. She dies and the loop resets, she breaks and the world ceases to be." Cinder's red eyes turned back to amber as her lips twisted into a feral sneer "And if you hurt her, I will end everything you have worked for. And there is not a power in Remnant that can stop me. Do keep that in mind for the rest of the loop, however short it may be."

Cinder stalked down the dark hallways, lost in her fury and frustrations, ignoring the questions from Emerald and Mercury as they headed to Cinder's quarters.

'I think I will take the next loop off' Images of cities burning filled her mind's eye bringing a dark smirk to her face. The broken moon caught her eye though a passing window, black clouds covering it like smoke, blocking out the silver light. That, was _exactly_ what she needed to de-stress and this loop was not going to last for long either. The only question would be how far could she go and how many people were awake.

Amber eyes glowed golden, this was going to be fun.

…

 **35.15 MasterOfGames**

…

Tensile strength.

Penny had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, the tensile strength of her bladepack cords was what... well. What killed her. On the other, without it she couldn't have brought down that bullroar, or clambered up the wall to sit on this particularly high ledge and think about things.

Actually, this ledge _was_ particularly high. In retrospect, it might not have been a good idea to retreat to the Beacon clock after the meeting closed.

"No, Penny, positive. Think positive." Penny gripped the edge of the clock. "You didn't clam up. You contributed suggestions. You even, you even... you said her name. Not Miss Nikos, her name. This is an improvement..." She nodded. "Yes. I'm... I'm doing better. Yes."

There was the sound of somebody knocking on metal. Penny's eyes snapped right.

Pyrrha, clinging to the side of the tower, waved awkwardly. "Um... hello again...?"

"...H...hello..."

"Ozpin just sent me up to see if you were... doing alright." She shrugged. "And probably as another one of his tests. If you like, I can leave..."

"...You're not using your..." Penny winced. "I can't feel your... you know."

"...Oh. My semblance?" Pyrrha shook her head. "No, I picked this up in a Marvel loop. Replaced Spider-Man." She looked down. "That said, I'm not exactly comfortable clinging to this tower like a spider. Do you mind if I come over?"

Penny frowned, but inched sideways. Pyrrha crawled up to the clock, slipping in beside her.

"...If this gets... to be too much, I can always Pocket myself."

"I really would rather you didn't. From the outside, it looks like a sudden shift in your position and that..." Penny bit her lip. "That is a trigger. I... will probably pocket myself first."

"...do you have enough space yet?"

"It's about the size of the dorm rooms at Beacon. Mostly, I... carry about self-modification tools. For if I don't have a chemical processor, or installing... scent processors." She frowned. "Or getting rid of laser vision."

"I see." Pyrrha nodded. "Personally, I carry around a few practical things, a few weapons and bits of armor... mostly, I carry momentos. Gifts from friends and family, unique objects from variant loops..."

"I have a few of those as well. The size of my pocket does mean I have to be very... careful, what I select."

"Mmm. I have the opposite problem. Too _much_ space. I'm quite spartan, if you'll pardon the joke. Even accounting for various fused loops and... other necessities..." She sighed. "Lots of empty space. Not a lot of things going on in there."

"...Ruby has a planet."

"Yes, I've... seen Starkiller. She's the Anchor, she has the largest Pocket out of all of us."

Penny nodded.

"...you know," Pyrrha mentioned after a moment, "I've actually been considering putting some self modification stuff in my pocket myself."

"What? Like... a surgery table?"

"Not exactly. In the baseline of this latest expansion, Jaune takes some of the metal from... well, my armor and weapons, I presume. He has it forged into his own armor and weapons." Pyrrha coughed. "Sometimes, I Wake Up as the sword. Or the shield. I think it's my spirit possessing them."

"Huh." Penny gave her a look. "That's... actually quite fascinating."

"I'm not sure if it's really baseline, mind. But it's... surprisingly comfortable. Especially..." Pyrrha trailed off with a blush.

Penny managed a small smile. "...when Jaune cleans you?"

"...Yes." Pyrrha coughed. "That."

"Gives a whole new meaning to polishing one's sword."

"Ah... yes."

"Although, it must make nights a little awkward. Presumably, you still sleep together so-"

"My point is," Pyrrha interrupted, "if you'd like to advise me on how to put together a pocket self-modification setup, I would appreciate it."

"Hmm." Penny looked down at the ground. "...I'm going to be honest, I think I would need to see your Pocket to do that and... and I'm still very scared of you. I know you're trying, and I'm trying too, but..." She flinched. "Please don't hate me for this?"

"What? No, of course not."

"...part of the reason that I'm holding myself together right now is because I can push you off."

Pyrrha's mouth worked for a moment or two.

"That's about the response I expected." Penny hugged herself. "It's not... it's not the best coping mechanism."

"...It is understandable, though."

"You're... not mad?"

"No. A little shocked, maybe, but..." Pyrrha sighed. "You know, this tower is shattered when the dragon attacks. When Cinder... that's part of why I'm not comfortable up here. This is... this is where I die."

Penny inhaled sharply. "Oh."

"...You still go to Amity, don't you?"

"Yes. But... there are people there. Here..." Penny nodded. "Yes, I can see why this would be stressful for you. And with Amber downstairs..."

"This whole tower is a nightmare for me."

"...You can go. If you like. Tell Ozpin I'll be down in a moment."

"Well... if you're sure."

Penny let one of her blades free from the stone and waggled it. "You're not the only spider girl up here," she joked with a small smile.

…

 **35.16 Black Omochao**

…

"Who are you and where did you come from!?" The newly Awake Yang questioned loudly as she stared at the double that stood across from her.

"I'm Yang!" The doppelganger announced proudly, holding her fists up and showcasing the only visible difference between the two; she had two arms.

"No you're not! I'm Yang, what kind of joke is this!?" Yang exclaimed incredulously, though internally she just wanted to see where this would go, since the other Yang didn't seem to be Awake.

"Let me specify; I'm you, but better!" The unAwake, two armed Yang announced with a smirk.

"Better huh? Where did you even come from, I don't recall donating my DNA for cloning experiments," Yang huffed skeptically.

"Let's just say, next time you lose an arm, don't just leave it on the ground!"

"Wait… seriously!? My arm grew a whole 'nother me!?"

"That's right, now step aside! I'm taking the stage 'mom'!" The new Yang stated arrogantly as she approached the original.

"I think you need to learn a bit more before you can fill my shoes 'daughter'" Yang hissed before she charged at the duplicate and flipped her over her shoulder. The duplicate Yang caught herself in mid-air and managed to land at her feet before cracking her neck and glaring at the original.

"Wow, and I thought you'd lost all your strength after Beacon's fall. Doesn't matter though, I'm just trying to go easy on you, but maybe I should get serious," The two armed Yang said before slamming her fists together while her eyes turned red.

"How do you know about that?" The Looping Yang asked, her eyes also turning red.

"Well, I have all your memories, obviously."

" _All_ of my memories, huh?" Yang rolled her eyes at that proclamation, but the other Yang's smirk didn't fade.

"Yeah. Including the stuff about time being broken!"

"Wait, what!?" Yang's eyes went wide as she looked straight at her smirking double.

"Yeah! And now I'm going to beat you and take your place in the Loops as the new Yang!"

"That's impossible! Even if you have my Looping-memories somehow!"

"But I'm better than you in every way, and I have all your Looping powers."

"All of them!?"

"Yea… And I don't make puns!"

"… You sick monster! You're no spawn of any severed arm of mine!" Yang shouted in outrage before the two charged at each other for the brawl to end all brawls.

.

"And then she was like, 'take this!' and POW! Right in my face!" The two armed Yang exclaimed excitedly, with the one armed one chuckling by her side. The Awake Blake, Weiss, Ruby, Team JNPR, and Cinder all stared at the two with either concern, or just blank looks. Except Nora, whom looked excited. All sat at a table in Beacon's mess hall.

"Yeah, and then she was like 'oh no you didn't!' and we went all BOOM! CRASH!" The one armed Yang laughed before patting her double on the back "You really had me going there for a bit, me! I actually thought some kind of copy of me with Looping memories had spawned somehow!"

"Well my body _did_ grow from the arm like I said it did, but I Woke up soon after," the two armed Yang chuckled in amusement with her double.

"Seriously, we've had Mikasa glitches before. But this is ridiculous," Ruby sighed.

"I'm more concerned over the fact that Patch is a smoldering crater," Weiss deadpanned. Both Yangs chuckled sheepishly as she glared at them.

"Well, they got everyone out, right..?"

"Barely," Blake muttered tiredly.

"Don't stop now! I want to hear about the rest of the fight!" Nora exclaimed impatiently.

"Can we all just promise that if we ever end up waking up as a duplicate of ourselves while another Awake version of ourselves already exists in that Loop, that we don't do what Yang did?" Jaune suggested.

"Agreed!" all but the Yangs and Nora nodded.

"… Nora," Ren jabbed his friend with his elbow.

"Alright! Agreed."

…

 **35.17 Masterweaver and Black Omochao**

…

Weiss rose an eyebrow, noting the odd twitches of Blake's bow, and lightly tapped Ruby's shoulder.

"Huh? What is it Weiss?"

"We should probably clear our stuff out of the dorm."

"Why?"

Weiss, very subtly, flicked her eyes from Blake to the Yangs. Ruby followed her gaze... and gasped.

"Oh. Yes. Okay, yes, let's do that. FAST."

"Hey Blake, what's up?" Ruby asked as she and Weiss approached their teammate. Blake barely acknowledged them with a tired wave.

"What's with you?" Weiss asked curiously, Ruby poked the nearly comatose Blake in worry.

"Well… You guys remember how, a couple Loops back Yang's severed arm grew into another Awake Yang?"

"Yes…" Ruby muttered, looking a little nervous. Weiss' eyes widened.

"That didn't happen again, did it!?"

"Not… exactly," Blake shook her head, and the two visibly relaxed. "You see, when Adam cut off Yang's arm, it immediately grew back and the arm grew into another Awake Yang."

"… Wait, WHAT!?" Weiss shouted in shock and confusion. Ruby covered her ears, Blake looked too tired to care.

"And you know that weird thing that comes up too often in the Loops? When cutting something only makes more of it, but the person trying to kill it just keeps cutting?"

"… Oh no, don't tell me!"

"Yeah… I'm hiding from them, I needed a break," Blake sighed. Weiss looked horrified, Ruby looked between Blake and Weiss in confusion for a few moments… before a realization seemed to strike her and she blushed brightly.

"Ohhhh..! Ew!"

…

 **35.18**

…

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Yang awoke mid lunge, hurtling at Adam with all her fury and force directed at the man hurting her Blake. In slow motion, she watched him draw his sword Wilt, power coursing through the Dust Infused Steel. With a swing almost shockingly fast, he connected with her arm.

The blade shattered on her bicep. His head went flying a moment later.

Yang helped Blake to her feet, Blake already healing the stab wound. Yang chuckled a bit. "So what do we do now? Go reinforce the guys in the courtyard, protect Beacon Tower, mutilate Adam's corpse together? Any plans?"

"I was going to see if I could track down my relatives, but that can wait," Blake said. "I think we should head for the tower."

"Fall Maiden verses Bumblebee. Let's do AGH!"

Yang's arm traced a bloody arc through the air, Blake dragging the maimed blonde away in a flash step. Adam flipped his sword over and sheathed it, glaring at them both. "What did I say about running away?"

Blake looked Adam dead in the eye, her own burning red. "Amaterasu."

The black flames of hell surged around Adam, his body sublimating to dust and ash. The metal of Wilt and Blush turned to slag. The mask he wore on his brow cracked and splintered, revealing his surprisingly normal brown eyes.

The mask he wore on his chest stayed for a moment, before fleeing from the long dead corpse of Adam Taurus. It too fell to the black flames though, and in a moment the Geist evaporated. Nothing remained of the man.

…

 **35.19**

…

There was a rapid rapping at team RWBY's dorm door. Ruby opened it and beamed. "Oh hey, cous! What's shaking?"

"Ruby, we need to talk." Neo crossed her arms. "You remember that time I took Zwei on a date?"

"Yeah?"

"It was a prank. The date was a joke. We were trying to weird you out. There's no real relationship. You can stop spreading rumors about us now."

Ruby blinked.

"...Neo," she said seriously, reaching a hand out to clasp the girl's shoulder, "I get it."

"...great."

"I know how hard it can be to overcome literal lifetimes' worth of social engineering, to look beyond what you think is impossible and find something incredible. I know how difficult it can be to step out of what you think is normal, to find what you think is right. I know that sometimes, you can look back and think you've made a mistake, because you feel as if nobody is standing with you. But I want you to know something: I will stand with you. I will accept you for your true self, and your heart for the ways it goes. It matters not what the embodiment of your other half looks like; all that matters is that you have found love, and love has found you. It's going to be a tough ride. I can't deny that. And I guess I can't fully understand it myself. But just because I don't understand doesn't mean I don't care. So don't back out with a pretend lie, Neopolatin. We're all here, and we're all rooting for you."

Neo stared at Ruby.

Ruby smiled gently.

 _"...HE IS A CORGI!"_

"Shhh." Ruby drew her into a hug. "It's okay. It's all okay. Don't ever doubt yourself."

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Neo pushed her back, waving a finger in her face. "YOU-I-THAT'S NOT-OH MY GOSH I CAN'T EVEN CONCENTRATE ENOUGH TO KEEP UP THIS TALKING SP-"

Her voice cut off abruptly, and she gesticulated vigorously for a few seconds before storming off down the hall.

Weiss cleared her throat. "Ruby-"

The redhead held up a finger, still smiling.

After a few seconds, there was, somehow, the sound of somebody slamming an elevator door shut, followed by a chime.

"Okay, she's out of earshot." Ruby turned. "You were saying, Weiss?"

"You do realize she was telling the truth, right?"

"Oh yeah. I mean it was obvious."

Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "So... you're keeping up this act... why?"

"I dunno. Partly for giggles, partly out of boredom. I want to see how far I can push this." Ruby shrugged. "I mean really, it's a fun way to rile her up."

"Hmm. I suppose." After a moment, Weiss shut her book with a sigh. "Fine, I'll go along with it."

…

 **35.20 Masterweaver**

…

"Wait, hold on." Ruby held up a hand. "So if the Grimm are purple this loop-"

"Salem had to make some budget cuts," Cinder explained.

"Yes, I got that, but-Actually, the dragon has six eyes. Hmm. OH! The Geist! It only has one eye, and it flies. I guess one of its spines could be called a horn-"

"Let me stop you right there," Yang interrupted. "I researched this joke, and in the original song, the eater clarifies that it is an eater _of_ purple people, not that it is a people eater who _happens_ to be purple. Although that point wasn't clarified either, so I guess if there's anyone with purple skin... or hair, maybe-"

"Actually, do Geists eat people?" Cinder asked. "I mean they don't have jaws, so-"

Ruby threw up her hands. "Just trying to make a joke, guys, no need to analyze it to death!"

They sat on the bench for a few seconds.

"...Actually, a Nevermore might qualify," Yang granted. "If you stabbed out the other eye."

…

 **35.21 Masterweaver**

…

"Why the ears? Why is it always the ears?"

"They're easily accessible and quite prominent."

Jada Hollins, better known across the multiverse as Judy Hopps, shook her head. "Look, in my baseline nobody believed a rabbit cop would amount to anything, and I had to fight for respect from day one. I'm not going to become some meek hideaway just because of one bully."

"Cardin's a particularly stupid one," Blake Belladona acknowledged. She carefully watched as Judy finally patted the fur on her ears down. "Sometimes he does mellow out after Jaune rescues him... usually, we only pay attention to him when we're bored and need to plan a prank on a deserving victim."

Judy gave the raven-haired girl a flat look-before pulling back her hair with a small growl. "Argh! Why'd my unawake self grow her hair out this long?" She tried to force it behind her head, not noticing Blake moving back a step or two. "Usually I keep it short when I'm human!"

"You're a faunus."

"Yeah, well, it _feels_ like I'm a human. Aside from the extra ears." Her eyes rolled up to see her accouterments. "Seriously, is that it? Do Faunus just have animal ears on their head?"

"Ears, tails, horns, claws... it varies from individual to individual."

"Seems like such a small detail to base so much prejudice on," Judy quipped. "Second class citizen just because you have an extra part?"

Blake sighed. "Unfortunately, racism simplifies things. Us versus them is an easy mindset, all you have to do is define one or the other." The black bow atop her own head twitched. "That's why some of us hide it."

"Us versus them..." The rabbit-eared girl let a sigh of her own out. "You're right, you know. I've been on both sides of that. I was such an idiot back in the beginning..."

"I... have seen the film," Blake admitted. "It hit pretty close to home, to be honest."

"Really?"

"Ex-White Fang. Check your loop memories."

Judy tilted her head. "...you were a terrorist?"

"We thought of ourselves as freedom fighters. At one point we actually were-protesters, petitions-but things changed when... well." Blake rubbed her arm awkwardly. "I stayed on until a train mission. Robbing the Schnee company, I could go for, but letting the train operators be bombed to death... I drew the line at killing innocents. Cut the cars off so they could escape and made my way to Beacon from there."

"...I can respect that," Judy finally admitted. "I know that I've had to do less than legal things in my baseline to get the perp."

"Like I said, I've-"

"-seen the film, yeah. They skipped over a LOT of the paperwork, you know?" Judy chuckled. "You know, I think... I think this is why you get me."

"What?"

"We've both had to fight for our right to what might be seen as 'normal' by others. To live the life we want. Other loopers, they seem to be on edge around me, like they don't want to offend me for some reason-honestly though, I'm a big girl, I can take it." She shook her head. "I mean, really, a lot of them have suffered worse than me, they should... be..."

Judy frowned. "...Blake, why are you looking at me like that?"

The girl was staring at her in shock. "...Have you heard of the League of Looping Lagomorphs?"

"Um. No." Judy held out her hands. "Should I have? Am I going to get a letter in the mail or-"

"Oh sweet Dust. You don't know. You..." Blake's mouth worked for a few minutes, before she collected herself. "Okay. Where should I start with this..."

"What? Is this league some sort of..." Judy tilted her head. "Wait, do they teach rabbits crazy self-defense? Is that why people are so cautious around me?"

"No, it's... Look. You know the stereotype, right? Rabbits: Cute, cuddly, defenseless, all that?"

Judy frowned. _"Yes._ "

"Forget it. It's wrong. Completely."

"Okay, sure. Wait, what?"

"Look," Blake said, "if you go around the multiverse and you find large populations of rabbits, most of the time you're safe-assuming they don't have names. The rabbits that have names, the rabbits that step up, the ones that are likely to become loopers... There's this girl called Cream, she's a nice rabbit from the Sonic loops, about six or eight years old, and she regularly decimates armies of robots. She's one of the local super-heroes, and don't get me started on Rab _bot_... Bugs Bunny, he's a karmic trickster toon with all the powers that that entails. Peppy Hare, from Starfox, he's an experience starfighter pilot-Buck O'hare, leader of a rebellion against a space empire. I don't know if you've looped into Watership Down yet-"

"First fused loop. Wait, what are you-"

"My point is, _most_ rabbits are cute, cuddly, and defenseless, because the ones that _aren't_ are _completely terrifying._ And it's not just pure rabbits-the girl you're replacing can replicate _any weapon_ she photographs at _will_ and use it with _expert_ skill. You've seen the crazy weapons everyone has, you know how terrifying that is. And Usagi, her name _means_ rabbit... she fought, like, five or six different kinds of demons in her baseline, and she's one of the original seven on top of that. There's a loop where a group of rabbits slaughters a village of other rabbits, and the sole survivor chased them down and killed them all by either kicking their necks in half or throwing knives in their eyes. People aren't cautious around you because they're worried you might be fragile, they're cautious because they're worried you might fry them five ways to friday!"

Judy gaped as Blake finished her rant, panting for breath. "That-that-that... I'm a _cop!_ I want to _serve_ and _protect!_ "

"So you're the nice kind of terrifying. That's good to know."

"But-wait-you're kidding. You have to be pulling my leg, you can't possibly be serious."

Blake shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, but... Yggdrassil is filled with killer rabbits."

…

 **35.22 Zurcior**

…

Blake stared at her girlfriend, "Okay, this has happened before. I'm sure the novelty of it has lost it's luster. So do _not_ -"

"OHMYGOSHYOU'RESO _ **CUTE**_!" Yang squealed as she pick up the little cat huntress and hugged her to her chest.

" _Gaw da'it, Yang_."

Ruby stared in confusion,"Wait, she doesn't have opposable thumbs this time. How will she-"

"Don't put too much thought into it Ruby," interrupted Weiss as she recorded the byplay for future amusement study. For science.

…

 **THREE LOOPS LATER FOR BLAKE, FOUR FOR YANG, AND SEVENTY TWO FOR RUBY...**

"Hey... Ruby? Where's your sister?"

"What? Oh!" Ruby grinned. "Come on out, Yang, Blake's here!"

Something golden slithered out of Ruby's hood, perching on Ruby's shoulder. Blake quirked an eyebrow as the creature preened, noting the sunlight gleaming off its tiny horns and the miniature gauntlets on its forelegs. "So... you're a Chinese dragon this loop?"

"Yes, actually." Yang flexed her claws. "Five toes, like a _proper_ imperial."

"And I see you're letting the dragon's sense of pride affect you."

"Well, yes." The serpentine creature ignored her sister's giggles. "I think the small size compresses it, which makes it very strong. Honestly the only reason I'm not just posing off on some roof somewhere is because Ruby's silliness is keeping me balanced."

"Really now." Blake nodded. "I've been a feline enough times to know how overwhelming pride can be."

"Hmm. Yes, I suppose you must have been."

"I also know there's a very easy cure," she continued. "And turnabout _is_ fair play, after all."

Yang frowned. "What are you-oh no. Nononono _no-!"  
_  
She tried to leap away, but Blake had already lunged forward and wrapped her tight. "YOUARESUCHACUTIE!"

"GAH! Ohmagash. Ruby, he' me!"

Ruby just doubled over, laughing and pointing.

"...eh." Yang shrugged. "Gue' thi' i'n't the wor' thin..."

…

 **35.23 Hunter81095**

…

Ruby Rose was old. Innumerably old. She was quite possibly older than her universe, from conception to heat death, _multiple times over_.

And even now, she was learning there were things that she'd never seen before.

Sure, she'd seen Cardin and his bullies get beaten up as many times as she'd been through Baseline, she'd even replaced Velvet more than once!

But this time, she was getting a taste of something she'd not seen just quite yet.

"Don't you think that was just a _little bit_ overkill?" Yang asked curiously, vaguely disturbed by what she'd just seen.

Angel Bunny, who was replacing Velvet Scarletina, simply shrugged indifferently and walked away from the twitching forms of team CRDL, who looked like they were...yep, they were frothing at the mouth.

Ruby sighed as she watched an Unawake Professor Goodwitch try to comprehend what had happened to an entire first year team to have put them into this state. If she hadn't been as experienced as she was, the Anchor would have been confused as well.

…

 **35.24 Black Omochao**

…

"So, you're Kyubi?"

"Yes, and you're Jaune," The nine tailed fox yo-kai looked over the human briefly as they sat at a table in Big Macintosh's bar.

"You replaced me a few Loops back, huh?"

"Yeah, that Loop was fun… until the end," Kyubi shuddered a little as he recalled what had happened, Jaune nodded calmly as he took a sip of his cider.

"So I heard you dated a lot of women while you were in my shoes…"

"Yeah, what, you want some tips?" Kyubi asked curiously, his ears perking a bit.

"… No," Jaune shook his head, finishing his drink. He gave Kyubi a pleasant smile… before punching him in the face, hard.

"OUCH! What was that for!?" Kyubi shouted, holding his muzzle in pain. "I thought you weren't the violent type!"

"I'm not. But you tried to romance my wife, _and_ my daughter. Even if they weren't awake, I think I'm being pretty lenient," Jaune stated, helping Kyubi back to his feet.

"Whatever, a punch can't effect a yo-kai of my caliber that much anyway," Kyubi huffed.

"Oh, I had to go easy on you because _they_ want to talk to you too," Jaune gestured over to some other tables, where Ren, Qrow, and Grif were all seated, glaring at him rather heatedly. Kyubi gulped.

"Is it too late to say 'sorry'?"


	36. Oh Brother!

**36.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

"I've noticed you've been keeping to the tower suite."

Penny looked up from her scroll with a polite smile. "Hello, miss Belladona. Do the guards know you're here?"

"It's easier for me to circumvent them then convince them. I don't have Ruby's oratory skill." Blake flicked her eyes to her bow. "Besides, they're Atlas, and... well."

"They're generally nice people," Penny pointed out, gesturing to one of the spare chairs. "In fact, father... well, sometimes he specifically selects progressive individuals, as I'm not... human, myself."

"Liftimes' worth of paranoia aren't easy to fight." Blake took the offered seat, looking her right in the eyes. "You... probably know that better than most."

Penny's smile faded, and she glanced away. "...I am trying. I really am."

"I know. I'm sorry, that wasn't fair of me."

Silence descended for a moment or two, suffocating the room.

"...Do you know, I'm the only looping Faunus?"

Penny looked up. "Yes...?"

"Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other 'animal people' in the multiverse, but..." Blake examined her hand. "...A lot of them are shapeshifters, or artificial, or don't have... there's not that many White Fangs out there. There are plenty of equality movements, plenty of terrorist groups, but they... most loops, they don't intersect. They aren't as blended as they are here. The places they are, it's rare to have loopers from that group. Maybe one or two apiece." She took a breath. "And a lot of those, they either don't feel the guilt, or they bury it under necessity."

Blake looked up. "For those of us that have to fight for a normal life, it can be hard. A little lonely. But... it's still _life_. And it's better to live it then to deny it."

Penny bit her lip. "...The guards-"

"Are an excuse. If they're your friends, take them along. If they aren't, you're a looper, you can sneak out."

"...I don't actually have lein-"

"Our money's mostly digital. Hack some from somebody rich, or just pocket a few hundred near the end of a loop. Heck, Weiss has oodles of cash she's not willing to spend because she doesn't want to crash the economy, ask her for some spare when she's Awake."

"It's... it's different for robots-"

"There are plenty of looping robots of all shapes and sizes."

"You don't understand what it's like for me!"

"No?" Blake leaned forward. "One thing about the loops, Penny: Yggdrassil can get confused. Mix up names. I've been exactly what you are: A top-secret Atlas research project with the end goal of making a robot with Aura. I'm pretty sure every Remnant looper has been-"

"I'm not talking about that!" Penny snapped. "I... I... I _died!_ And I know you're going to say 'we've all died' but I died before I ever started looping, the first thing I remember is being _torn apart_ by my own weapons and seeing Pyrrha's panic turn to horror and knowing, KNOWING she did that and that she didn't mean to and she could do it again totally by accident and then the error messages and green and black and, and, and nothingness! I didn't have any hope, I was _gone!_ And I can't go out like that, I can't even, a car could, a grimm could, fall, neck snap-" She took a breath. "At least... at least this way, I know what's expected. You all can take risks, because when you died you knew you were coming back. I mean, I know intellectually, but..."

"...I see." Blake nodded. "I suppose you're right. That sense of horror isn't something _I_ can understand. But that... doesn't mean I don't care." She looked around. "Staying in here, only coming out when your friends ask you to... I guess I can't stop you from doing that."

She stood. "Still. If you ever want to do something... on your own initiative, you should. Or at least consider it. One day, you might find you don't have a choice." She shrugged. "It's a crazy multiverse we live in."

Penny watched as she swung out the window and unpocketed some form of glider.

She looked down at her scroll, and the various M.3.7.4. blueprints gathered from the loops.

Quietly, she unpocketed a small cube capped with an electronic metal, staring at the red fluid swirling in the stasis field.

"A-negative." Penny chuckled. "Sun said he was sure it would be A-positive... because I'm always so cheerful..."

She shook her head, pocketing it again, and looking back at the scroll in her hands.

After a minute or two, she swiped away all the blueprints, tapped a few buttons, and smiled faintly. "...Ciel? It's... It's Penny. I was thinking, while we're here in Vale... maybe we should go out for some ice cream?"

* * *

 **36.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Hey Pyrrha, can I talk to you before initiation?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure."

Yang frowned for a moment. "I'm just feeling a little loopy, so..."

"Yes, Yang, I'm Awake." Pyrrha rolled her eyes, allowing her ring to flash into existence before Pocketing it again. "Jaune isn't, so I'm a little distracted-have to keep him from, you know, ending up dead."

"Ah, gotcha. Just wanted to check. One time an unawake version of you managed to give a code-word entirely by accident and freaked out when I mentioned... you know, the stuff after the Vytal tournament." Yang grinned awkwardly with a shrug. "My bad."

Pyrrha sighed. "Yes, I can see how that would be disturbing. Did you want to apologize for that-I assume you did to... her? Me?" She waved a hand. "Pronouns."

"Well, yes, I did apologize to her, and I... guess I should apologize to you? Maybe? You know what, let's get back to that after we talk to Weiss, she seems to get chronologistics better then the rest of us." Yang shook her head. "Anyway, I wanted to ask for your help with something, given we've both got the spare time now."

"Spare time? Is this about the expansions? You're not dead, if I recall-"

"Well, no, my baseline self isn't dead, but the whole arm loss thing..." Yang shrugged. "It's traumatic, you know? I bounced back because of the loops, but it wasn't quite as easy as I made it look. I may be mad at my Baseline self for losing it, but... she's only seventeen you know?"

"Whereas you are too old to count."

"Exactly. Now, if I Wake Up before that, I can sidestep the blade easy, but if I Wake Up afterwards... everyone would get worried if I went from 'depressed and melancholy' to 'rearing to go' in a snap. So I have to sort of fake a gradual recovery anyway... but this isn't about if I wake up after, it's about-I'm not explaining this well. Let me back up here."

Pyrrha glanced at the students gathering up their weapons. "Initiation's in twenty minutes."

"Yes, yes. Anyway. What I'm saying is, Ruby has Mistral, Weiss has Atlas, Blake... as much as I'd love to hang out with her and her family I think she deserves some alone time with her parents before we get into that. I mean, I guess I could go with Ruby, if you're not going with... or check on Penny? The point is, if I'm not going Baseline then there's a period of time marked 'recovering from trauma' that doesn't actually exist, because I'm not actually traumatized, so I have a lot of spare time. Not as much as you, because..."

She trailed off awkwardly.

"Because I died," Pyrrha replied. "Yes."

"Does it... get annoying when we dance around it?"

"I... don't know, actually. I mean, it's not like I'm gasping in woe anymore, but it's still kind of a dull pain when I think about it? Anyway, you were saying we both have spare time now..."

"Right! Right right right." Yang held her arms wide. "I want you to help me find my dad a new gal."

Pyrrha blinked.

She stared at Yang.

"Run that by me again?"

"See, dad's had two wives. One of them married him even after the other left, and trust me there was genuine love there, and the other... the other was Raven. I don't know a lot about her, but I do know it had to take something special to get _her_ attention." Yang nodded. "He got busy raising us and... mourning Summer, after she went missing, but you know. Cool guy, when he's not breaking down. And I don't doubt he's going to try to pull through for my baseline self, so I want to pull through for when he doesn't need to. So, yeah. New woman. One that's right for him. Spare time, great quest, what do you say?"

"...Why me?"

Yang coughed. "Besides the spare time thing?"

"Yes, besides the spare time thing."

"Well. Um. You... you're married now. So, you know. I thought..." She glanced away, fiddling with her hair. "You'd know what to look for, right? How long term relationships, kinda work?"

Pyrrha's expression shifted from disbelif through sympathy, to contemplation, and finally ended up in the gentle smile she had used training Jaune. "You know what? I think we _can_ compare notes."

"Really?"

"Yes. When I'm not busy with Jaune or keeping the rest of the dead in line." Her smile turned sardonic. "You wouldn't believe the zombie scheme Neo tried to suggest when Roman brought us all together to talk about 'plans'..."

"Oh, right. Oh! Look at the time. Ready to get flung into a forest of angst monsters and barely survive a fight for your life?"

"Always."

"Wooo! Let's go girl! See, we should talk more often, we're both badass beauties that bouy our friends and family. I wonder if Ruby got the cameras working yet?"

"What?"

"Yeah, she's been trying to rig up a camera feed that transmits to her pocket, so the CFVY machines can rate us on unique stunts in real time..."

* * *

 **36.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

Some worlds, over the course of infinite loops and multiversal gossip, would develop a reputation. The world of Twilight was known for its morally questionable vampires, whose actions and ignorance had nearly driven its anchor insane before she got shunted to a much-needed therapy loop. Conversely, Equestria was known to be a place to relax, home to some of the greatest therapists and friends in all of Yggdrassil, if one ignored the monsters and vile forces lurking under the candy-coated exterior. Those from Star Trek had gained infamy as experts in stealth looping, and equal infamy in their aversion to bureaucracy. Then there was Kamina's loop-he wasn't even the anchor, but his antics were so unbelievable and other loopers from his world so ready to go along with them that it usually took directly meeting them before any new looper would believe the legends.

And (almost) everybody hated Eiken because it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring.

The world of Remnant was not _quite_ as prominent, but they did make connections, and people would talk about them sometimes. Friends to the RvB loopers, the Anchor with a weapons museum in her Pocket, didn't a good half of them go stealth for a while? While these and more would come up in conversation, though, the one thing that everyone _remembered_ about Remnant wasn't the loopers, or the Grimm, or the shattered moon. It was the weaponry-that eclectic blend of gun and blade that went beyond merely sticking a hand cannon in a sword's hilt. The closest thing to that was Myrtlenaster, and even that was more elegant than the norm; a thin rapier loaded not with bullets but with elemental dust, or out-of loop magical substances if Weiss was feeling _clever_. Grace and versatility, two hallmarks of Remnant design; gauntlets that could punch explosions, a pistol-katana on a ribbon which danced in the hands of its maker, and while Ruby was not the only wielder of a scythe-gun in the multiverse she was certainly the most precocious.

(Oobleck's thermos was a particularly sought-after trophy by weapons fanatics, not only because of its oddity of also being a flamethrower bat but also the _surprising_ difficulty of actually stealing it from the man.)

This reputation had been accepted as mostly factual by the loopers of Remnant, with even Jaune's shield/sheath afforded a pass because of its elder origin. Ozpin's cane doubled as a magical staff of _some_ sort, and Glynda's riding crop had, after some debate, been accepted as also being a wand. There were exceptions, yes, but few and far between; mostly they fell into the hands of criminals or soldiers, and certainly no _looper_ on the planet would _ever_ be caught dead with a signature weapon that didn't serve two functions.

Which led, directly, to Ruby confronting Ironwood.

"Look, I'm not saying it's a bad gun. It's a great gun, it's freakin' huge, and you can pistol-whip Grimm with the best of them. But it's still _just a gun!_ Not even some type of gun-gun with two kinds of guns smashed together but-"

Ironwood rolled his eyes. "It's practical."

"It's _boring!_ Practical doesn't have to be boring!"

"It can fire multiple kinds of dust."

"So can Weiss's sword! And it's a _sword!_ " Ruby sighed. "Look, I was willing to hold off while you were adjusting to the loops but now that Jaune finally has a ranged weapon with the ring Pyrrha made him you have got to step up your game."

"The gun gives me range, and my arm gives me melee."

"Yes, but your arm isn't a gun! Unless, you know, it is." She tapped her chin. "I mean, if that happens to be baseline I can't really complain. But my point still stands."

Ironwood frowned. "Miss Rose, despite being a headmaster I am not a professional Huntsman. My weapon is a modified mass manufacture product."

"Fine, sure, but you're the one that modified it right? Work with me here, Ironwood, Remnant has a reputation to maintain!"

* * *

 **36.4 Hunter81095**

* * *

Weiss Awoke at the beginning of her new loop, and in a movement that spoke of countless eons of training, seamlessly continued the action she'd been doing beforehand, before realizing just what that action was.

She then inwardly groaned at the tree's sense of humor.

Her Loop memories hit, and caused her to groan aloud.

 _'I know there are certain... parallels that can be drawn between me and Snow White, but having me Replace her for a Loop? Seriously!?'  
_  
The Heiress/current Fairest of Them All slowly looked over the dwarves that were waiting for her to kiss them on the head before they went to work in the mines. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had gotten to meet at least one of them Awake but, as she sent out a Ping, she got none in return, which meant a Stealth Anchor, and she was most assuredly alone for the foreseeable future. That, and the fact that all seven dwarves had all been replaced by her family's butler, Klein Sieben.

Cursing the tree, while simultaneously patting her current roommates on the head in farewell, Weiss smiled outwardly until she was sure she was alone.

Then immediately began cursing Yggdrasil aloud.

After finishing her verbal tirade against the world tree, Weiss simply decided to let it play out, thinking that perhaps she'd come to enjoy this Loop.

Turning to the house that she'd been charged to clean, Weiss did so with a wave of her hand, wondering what to do with all the free time she just gained. A few seconds of thinking led her to the decision of reading a series of books she'd not yet gotten to, until something she'd have to deal with came along. The Looper pulled an elegant and comfortable chair out of her pocket, (That she most certainly did _not_ steal from Ozpin in a Variant Loop, thank you very much!) and cracked open the cover of _Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue,_ idly thinking of comparing it to the Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones franchises when she completed the series.

* * *

The only thing, it seemed, that Weiss had to deal with this Loop was the Queen, Grimhilde, trying to give her a poisoned apple. Weiss had gotten rid of the menace by teleporting her to the depths of the Amazon Rainforest, and simply gone back to her reading, she was almost done with the Daring Do series by this point, and she didn't want to have to use her Gale Force reading glasses to finish them before the end of the Loop.

Just before the end of the Loop hit her though, Weiss cursed the stupid tree once again with the Prince, or Princess that had showed up when she should have been sealed in a glass casket.

Princess Ruby Rose was apparently her Prince Charming.

* * *

 **36.5 Euroteres**

* * *

Cinder saw it the moment Pyrrha Woke Up. Her arrow was knocked, the worthless girl who dared to try and steal what was _hers_ was kneeling helplessly before her, and then it all changed. The despair slipped away and was replaced with resolve. She loosed her arrow, hoping to put down the danger before the girl could act, but it was already too late. Using techniques that had likely been gained from an outside loop, Pyrrha was up and moving as though she didn't have an arrow through one of her Achilles tendons. A new blade was in the girl's hands from one moment to the next and her shield arced through the air and back to her.

In the next instant the girl was on her, and the fight was no longer the enjoyable game of dismantling the naive Unawake child that had stood against her previously. There was none of the hesitation of an unblooded warrior in Pyrrha anymore, simply the practical icy facade of someone who knew they were going to kill the person in front of them. Cinder stumbled back from the furious assault, almost blindingly furious at the turn of events. She'd lost the initiative and any of the skills she could have used to seize it back were ones that could get her marked as Awake. The impotency she felt at the situation was infuriating and she could only just resist the urge to boil the impudent girl from the inside out.

"Pyrrha!" Cinder glanced to the side and grinned viciously. Poor little Ruby, Unawake yet still rushing to aid her dear friend fight against the big bad enemy. Using the moments distraction Ruby's arrival had caused, Cinder let loose a massive blast of fire that launched Pyrrha away from her. Then she turned her attention back to Ruby. It would be easy to set things in her favor now. Ruby would already be exhausted from fighting an Unawake Roman and Neo, and her meager remaining Aura reserves would be incapable of protecting her from being incinerated by the wave of fire Cinder would be sending her away. Pyrrha would be distracted enough to either allow Cinder to escape the battlefield or finish her off as well. Not to mention it would temporarily put an end to that insipid little limpet that had tried to twist her away from her dreams, her goals, _everything that mattered_ , with that _disgusting_ prattle about being family and caring about each oth-

Cinder was rocked back several steps and her Aura shattered under the sensation of something being punched _through_ her chest. Legs trembling with the effort of keeping herself standing, she slowly turned her gaze to the javelin sticking through her chest, then to the girl who had thrown it. Pyrrha was standing in a throwing stance near the edge of the tower, bloody and burned from Cinder's last attack. Her tiara had been blasted from her head and was left in array, but she still stood proud.

How? How had this happened? She should have had several seconds before Pyrrha could recover; more than enough time to turn Ruby Rose to nothing but ash on the wind. Where had that time gone? What could have possibly stayed her hand for that long? Why had she...hesitated? She wanted nothing more...than to wring the life from that insipid girl's...body. Even if she knew...that killing the Anchor while...they were awake would simply...abort the loop...she should have...leaped at the chance...to kill the...Unawake version. Why had...she...hesita-

* * *

Cinder awoke to a familiar agony that she was growing to hate more and more every time she re-experienced it. She heard Watts saying something, probably a disparaging remark on her capabilities, but she hadn't the patience to pretend she cared at that moment. She could still recall the moment with perfect clarity. Once again the numb agony of Milo piercing her chest consumed her. She could _see_ Pyrrha standing across from her, battered but still defiant and proud. The smell of blood and death clung to her body and festered in her lungs. Her flames crackled and pulsed to the beat of her rage as they consumed everything around her.

Wait, no, that last one was happening in the present. Emerald and Mercury screamed in agony as they were consumed by her flames while the other member's of Salem's council had leaped away, creating distance between them and her ever growing radius of death and destruction. They were saying something, shouting at her, but she was having a hard time parsing their words. Did she care if they died? She found that she didn't. They weren't people she considered herself close to and they were more than willing to disparage her abilities to her face. A manic giggle bubbled its way up her throat, but came out as little more than a nearly inaudible rasping noise. She could heal her throat easily enough. She had the powers to do so. At that moment though she found herself unable to bring herself to care.

All she wanted was for the world to burn, and after her last loop was it really so bad if she decided she wanted to kick things off in what was quite possibly this world's personal heart of darkness? Was it all that bad if she just wanted to really let loose? She didn't think it was.

Cinder released the restraints she kept herself under, and her world became fire and death.

* * *

 **36.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

Most Loopers took their Pocket for granted. True, for their first few centuries with it, they would be amazed, but by the time they could pack an apartment building into it the wonder they felt wore off, and once they had a minor town's worth of junk they'd usually take it as a fact of life. A weird one, yes, but they were in an infinite recursion of time because a tree that ran the multiverse was broken for no discernible reason; personal microuniverses were small beans compared to that.

Still, a few of the more scholarly-minded Loopers did devote time to the study of their Pocket. The fact that Loopers needed to supply their own heat and atmosphere usually made sense, but the presence of a variable directional gravity-growing less and less as the pocket got bigger, to a point where one could half-fly when it was as large as a city and basically nonexistent by the time a looper pocketed a planet-had led to a number of debates. Of course, by the time gravometric generators were _needed_ , loopers usually already had them in the form of starships and other such science fiction devices. And each looper's Pocket had unique quirks, related to their own personality, that only became clear when comparing with others.

But of particular note was the Pocket's Border. As soon as anyone could fit themself in, they would have noticed the cubical shape of an odd wall of evershifting light, usually whiteish due to blending, and very disturbing to look at. Minor but regular investigations revealed the pattern writ large over time; the rainbow of colors and not-colors was clearer as time went on, but by the point where it was plainly visible it was generally far enough away (or covered up enough) that only ordinary, sun-like white light permeated from the edge of a looper's personal storage reality.

So, when Penny Polendina X-635 looked up and saw not a vague whiteness, but a blood-tinged grey, she couldn't help but shiver. She rushed along the now emptier, narrower streets, not looking at the... gaps. Or trying not to look-every time she did, she remembered the strange groan that came before she fell into one-

Wrenching her eyes shut, she cleared the final distance to the Council Chamber... or what was left of it, anyway. As she passed through the door, she noted the panels that had been nailed over the massive hole in one side now sported an artistic rendition of Cinder, rising from a pool of blood as the Grimm behind her bowed and burned. It was haunting, beautiful, and instilled a sense of mastery and horror; probably what the artist had been aiming for.

"So good of you to join us." Salem-her badge identifying her as X-57, making her one of the oldest ones there-let her hand drift, allowing a chair to wheel out. "Did you have any difficulties?"

"S...some. There were regions that were still... getting organized." Penny quavered as she looked down at her scroll. "But I, I registered where the information could, could be inaccurate."

A man with pale eyes glowered at her. "Well?"

She hid behind her scroll at his growl. "Um... mister, uh..." Cautiously, she peered out and read his badge. "Mister Fox T-877, the data suggests that parts of every population are, um. Missing."

"Every population?" Salem mused. "Is there a pattern?"

"In, in specific groups, ma'am. There... the Salems, most of them are still here. And the Adams. Among most other groups, disappearances are roughly... half and half."

A pair of rabbit ears twitched. "Most?"

Penny hunkered behind her scroll. "The... the Pennies... it seems all modified Pennies remain. I... counting myself, I could only find, tw...twelve, unmodified."

Among the table there were murmurs of disappointment. Salem leaned forward, her hand uncurling. "May I?"

With a terrified gulp, Penny handed over Scroll.

"Hmm. Interesting... Mercury, do you recognize these numbers?"

"What?" The silver-haired man looked over her shoulder, before pulling out his own scroll. "Hmm. Yes. Yes... these are all Pennies that were slated for modification anyway."

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating..."

"Is there a pattern?" grumbled a green-haired woman. "I've been up to my ears in damage reports! I'd like to know why so many of our buildings have gone _missing!"_

Salem quirked an eyebrow at that. "I think there may very well be. I noticed that the Ruby Rose museum was completely... Annihilated, might be the best word. Salem laboratories, on the other hand, remains entirely intact."

"And what makes your little science studio so immune?" snarled Fox.

Salem opened her mouth to answer, but shut it when a sudden clap of noise caught the attention of everyone present. She turned, bowing. "Hail, Overlord Cinder. May I inquire as to the reason of your visit?"

"Checking on the Lotus project." Cinder frowned, flicking a piece of burning rubble off her shoulder. "Why is half the room missing?"

"We recently suffered an... unknown cataclysm. A number of buildings were affected."

"Unknown cataclysm?" Her eyes glowed red. "That's the best you can give me?"

"Investigation and recovery is underway as we speak. Furthermore, Salem laboratories was spared most of the damage, and the Lotus project continues; we are actually ahead of our projected schedule."

"Hmmmpfh. Well, the painting is good." Cinder nodded. "Very well. I'll expect the damage to be corrected within twenty subjective years. If it isn't... I will be _disappointed._ " She emphasized her point by raising her hand and lancing a bolt of superheated rock through Fox's skull.

It said a lot about the situation that nobody even twitched at that.

"Of course, Overlord Cinder." Salem bowed. "Shall we open elections for a replacement head of public protection?"

"If you must," Cinder sighed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with... _Ruby._ " She vanished in a clap of displaced air.

The tension in the room faded. Emerald tapped a button on the table and sighed when a long robotic slab rolled out. "At least _that_ still works. Speaking of which, what were saying about Salem Laboratories?"

"I have... a theory." Salem sat down. "The Pocket is generated, or fueled, by the looper's soul. If something happens to the soul, it is not... unreasonable that something should happen to the Pocket."

Mercury glanced at Fox, even as he was loaded onto the automated trundle. "You think Ci-Overlord Cinder has... I don't know, been hit with some soul-whammy magic?"

"Something like that. The Ruby museum reflects Cinder's sisterhood with Ruby Rose, yes? And you heard how much hate she poured into that name. Salem Laboratories is more of a product of, well, an urge for conquest. For control."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "What, you think the damage was based on personal taste?"

"Perhaps." Salem tented her fingers together. "Something happened to our Overlord, ladies and gentlemen. Something that has had a lasting impact. I suggest we proceed... carefully."

* * *

 **36.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So... Mom's a sword again." Nora leaned against a tree. "How many times do you think that sentence has come up in the multiverse?"

Ren quirked an eyebrow. "Factually or metaphorically?"

"...Okay, I get that with the whole infinite worlds and time repeat things it has to have come up _before_ but I was trying to make a point on how weird our normal is in a humorous manner." Nora huffed. "Just because you're the straightman doesn't mean you have to be a walking pillar of antihumor."

"Sorry."

"Look, just limit your analytical shut-downs to when I go above six quarflebarns, okay?"

"...I'm... not familiar with that unit of measurement."

"A quarflebarn is the number of times a theoretical 'normal' person will have to reboot their brain in response to an unusual sentence or situation," Nora explained. "So, ordinary loopers are at about two quarflebarns, I operate comfortably at four, and reality usually takes a lunch break at ten. Also I just made up that whole measurement just now, but you get what I'm saying right?"

"Hmm." Ren nodded. "I suppose. It is a bit of an abstract measurement, though, given that normal varies across the multiverse."

"There's a bit of judgement call in it, yes. I mean Magnhild is only a single quarflebarn here in Remnant, and that's just because of how I wield it, but in a lot of other universes it might be two or even three quarflebarns." She shrugged. "And I guess if your theoretical normal is aware of the loops, it's like... not a quarflebarn at all."

"I suppose I will have to take in context when determining how much crazy is too crazy," Ren acknowledged. "Although it might be difficult, as your particular brand of crazy is one I appreciate and have become quite used to."

"Awwww, you!" Nora nudged him playfully.

"So... out of curiosity, how would you rate me using StormFlower as boomerangs?"

"Uh, two and a half quarflebarns? I mean, they don't look like throwing weapons but it's not... like... mind-breaking."

"I can see your point. And... the fact that Ruby decided to solo the geist this time around?"

Nora glanced over to the clearing, where Ruby was swinging around a stone giant with Crescent Rose. "...Definitely seven. It's the out-of-universe mods, you see..."

* * *

 **36.8 Hunter81095**

* * *

"Guys!" An Unawake Jaune yelled, panicking as they ran through the forest, multiple small avian Grimm drilling into the bicycle helmet that he'd been wearing, with googly eyes glued to the back. "The eyes don't work! The eyes don't work!"

"Sorry Jaune!" Ruby shouted back as she deployed Crescent Rose, a Baseline version of it, as she didn't want to short out anymore of Velvet's cameras.

The experiment itself had started out just fine, she'd noticed that this loop there were Magpie Grimm alongside Nevermore this loop, and so she'd decided to test a near Hub list of things to keep them from dive bombing people, and hadn't that just turned into a colossal failure?

They'd tested a helmet with branches sticking out of the top, and that had served to disorient the Grimm long enough for Ruby to leisurely kill them while they debated whether Jaune was just a particularly mobile tree, or a tasty snack.

The second idea, eyes on the back of the helmet, obviously didn't work, if Jaune's manic cries as he desperately reached for his shield were any indication.

"Mercy! MERCY!"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she killed the birds attacking her friend.

Why did this also have to be one of those loops where Jaune was a total wuss?

* * *

 **36.9 Drakohahn**

* * *

"This is so not fair!" Came the complaints of one Weiss Schnee. She... wasn't haven't the best Loop of her life.

"It's not that bad. I know many other Loopers who'd love to be in the position you're in right now," Char Aznable, the ace pilot also known as the Red Comet, stated from his position on the walkway below the freaking out younger Looper.

"Yes, it is! How am I supposed to fight like this?!" The Schnee heiress wasn't taking her predicament well. "I'm a giant, clunky robot without full range of motion! I don't even have a rapier!"

The blond-haired older man found the young woman who was currently the "experimental AI" of the pure white Mobile Suit to be inconsolable. Another incident he could chalk up to Yggdrasil's humor; making Weiss Schnee loop in as the Mobile Suit nicknamed the Schnee Weiss.

* * *

 **36.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...You know, we've been Waking Up late an awful lot... lately." Ruby twisted her lips. "I mean, not like a lot a lot, but it kind of feels like... more than normal, you know?"

"It's happened before," Pyrrha replied. "During the last bout of expansions, I... I ended up Waking Up on that tower quite a bit."

"Ohmygosh." Ruby put her hands to her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't realize-"

"No, I didn't really talk about it. It was more obvious in retrospect, but..." Pyrrha took a breath. "Anyway. I did have a theory about it."

"Yeah?"

"Well, expansions... the loops are because the world is broken, right? Expansions are... expansions. Literal new patches. In some cases, it takes a while for... well, for it to... click. Yggdrassil Wakes us up late because it's focusing on getting the details right." Pyrrha rubbed her chest awkwardly. "I know I went through... a _number_ of arrows to... various places. And my final line-god, I varied that up a lot."

Ruby bit her lip. "I... guess that makes sense-"

"'So you're really _stoked_ about this?' Or 'You just want to watch the world burn?' One time I asked what her favorite kind of sandwich was." Pyrrha shook her head. "I think I went a little bit crazy, to be honest."

She trailed off, her gaze distant.

"...Well," Ruby tried after a moment. "We're all a little crazy. And... that does sound pretty terrible."

"Hmm? Oh. Yes." Pyrrha nodded. "Anyway, my point is I think... that sort of mental impact? It's necessary, for some reason. Or, maybe, it just feels like more when the situation is intense... I don't know for _certain_."

"Still, any explanation, even if it's just a guess... it helps."

"Yes. It does."

* * *

 **36.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

Jaune slumped his head against a wall.

"...Again?" Ruby asked, sympathetically.

"Yep."

"It's just a phase. Pyrrha'll be back. Eventually."

"I know." Jaune sighed. "But... Yggdrasil is screwing with me. I just know it."

"GET EN THA CHOPPA!" shouted Pyrrha's replacement.

"...Well, it'll run out of ideas eventually. I mean, Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't have had _that_ many roles..."

* * *

 **36.12 Hunter81095**

* * *

Jaune Awoke in the middle of the Battle of Beacon, changing course so he wasn't thrown into a rocket locker, and began to work his way to the top of Beacon Tower. He drew on one of his many out of loop abilities, and began levitating to the top of the tower, getting there just in time to see Pyrrha and Cinder fighting it out.

Except, it once again wasn't Pyrrha. Jaune groaned aloud as he watched their battle commence, debating when he should intervene and end Cinder.

Her replacement, who bore a more than passing resemblance to John Matrix, used her semblance to pull all the gears in Ozpin's office apart, and pile them atop the Fall Maiden. Jaune braced himself for what he knew was going to be a painful few minutes.

"Looks like you're out of time, Cinder." The Austrian said, spinning the gears over Cinder's mid-section. "You're really feeling the grind now, huh?"

You could almost hear Jaune's eye _twitch._

* * *

 **36.13 Hunter81095**

* * *

Ruby Awoke, and with her eyes shut, she waited for the Loop memories to hit, enjoying the incredibly comfortable bed that came with this new Loop. She was just getting comfortable when the memories surfaced and her bed felt more like a sink hole than the heavenly goodness it'd been beforehand. Ruby quickly sent out a Ping, and thanked the tree for at least not letting her endure this loop alone when she received three back.

She quickly perused them, confirming all the things that had happened before she Awoke, and proceeded to get up, blocking out the white and silver architecture and running down the hallway to where her... wife was. She burst through the door, with nary a knock and immediately tackled her in a hug.

"Weiss! I'msogladyou'rehereandyou'reAwakebecauseifyouweren'tthenI'dhavetoendurethisalonebutyou'reAwakesoIdon'tandyoucanhelpmefigureouthowtodealwiththis!" Ruby rambled on and on as she hugged her in loop wife and then dragged her out of the room, trailing toward their only son's room.

"Ruby! I understand this loop is...odd, and believe me, I'm as tired of the tree shipping us as you are, but don't you think you're overreacting? Just a little?"

"Nope!" Her wife/team leader replied as they burst through the door of Jaune Schnee, their only son this Loop. "Morning Jaune! You awake yet?"

"Hey Ruby," a much younger looking Jaune replied, rifling through his Loop memories before turning to them. "So, how exactly was I born if you're my both my Mom?" He asked. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other before giving him a tandem deadpan stare.

"You're adopted." Weiss said with all the subtlety of a bullhorn in the ear. Jaune sheepishly chuckled.

"Yeah, I figured." Ruby coughed loudly, bringing attention back to their anchor.

"So, any plans for this loop?" Ruby asked, purposefully trying to forget the fact her last name this loop was Rose-Schnee. Jaune shook his head, looking slightly depressed, in a way only a child could pull off.

"I did have a plan for a date with Pyrrha, but seeing as how she's your oldest child this loop, and the fact she's not awake, those plans are all useless now." He flopped back on his bed, studying the silken cover of his four poster bed with depressed eyes. "Stupid tree."

Weiss and Ruby couldn't find it in them to disagree.

* * *

 **36.14**

* * *

Ren picked up the smell first. Sweetness in the air, with a hit of acrid sourness, and a sharp taste of bitter rot. "Oh no."

Team RNJR took off running, racing through the forest towards Shion village. They had planned to visit the village and take up the airship that had been there, and maybe stop over for the night. Jaune had wanted to go on a hike, like he had with his sisters.

The houses were burned out husks. Several were little more than smoking rubble. Bodies were everywhere.

"Look for survivor's Ruby, we need-" Jaune's attempt at coordination was cut short when Ruby vanished in a flash of yellow lightning, only to return and grab him, moving him deeper into the village. Leaning against the fragments of a wall was a man in armor. A Huntsmen. Jaune looked at Ruby. "Just him?"

Ruby nodded grimly.

Jaune knelt, pulling the man from the wall. "Try to breath for a moment. I need to decompress the wound to heal it properly. This will hurt."

Ren and Nora met up with Ruby and Jaune, silent horror written upon their faces. "Who did this?" Ren asked.

The Huntsmen coughed as Jaune poured sterile water on his wound. "B-bandits. A whole clan... of them. In the panic..." he broke into a coughing fit, more blood sealing from the bullet wound.

The water finished it's job. Jaune moved his arms slowly, the water responding to his touch, flowing gently from the bottle, arcing gracefully through the air, and slowly weasling it's way into the Huntsman's wound. With his free hand he applied more water to the man's forehead. "You've lost a lot of blood, and your lungs are filling with fluid. I'm going to use my healing to replenish and oxygenate it."

The Huntsman looked at Jaune, a small look of relief in his eyes. "Your semblance-"

"I can heal with water," the once Watertribesman said. "Don't move. Take slow breaths."

Slowly the glowing water work it's way into the man's wound, a brass Dust bullet popping out. The water began the arduous process of knitting his veins and arteries back together. Jaune paused in oxygenating the man's blood to pull the blood from his lungs: best he not die of pneumonia. His hands returned to the Huntsman's brow, and after a moment the man sighed, falling into a deep, but natural, sleep.

Pulling a wand from his pocket Jaune finished the sealing of the wound with a small heating spell. "Ruby, you think you can carry him? We'll need to take him to the next village. Ren, Nora, I need... guys?"

Ruby had been looking over Jaune's shoulder while he had healed the man, but his son and daughter had walked away, and now were staring at the ground. Ruby walked up to them, and looked at the crescent mark engraved into the earth. "Guys? What is that?"

A moment passed. Ren turned around and walked back to his father, picking the saved Huntsmen up and starting off for the next village. Nora looked at Ruby. "Nothing we know."

* * *

 **36.15 Me and Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby waved her hand in front of Weiss. The youngest Schnee did not respond, and simply stood there, eyes wide, slightly slack jawed, and quite stunned. Her partner and friend glanced at Weiss' sister, Winter, who was similarly stunned.

Yang, Blake and Qrow waited for Ruby's diagnosis. "Hmm... yes, yes, I've seen this before. This is a heroic blue screen of death."

Yang and Blake facepalmed. Qrow growled. "What the hell does that even mean Ruby? Why are they like this? What happened?"

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe something in the new expansion surprised them a lot. I don't think this is anything to be concerned about though. If it was, Weiss would be talking to us. And crying. A lot."

Weiss and Winter, for their parts, were still rather comically frozen. Ruby shrugged. "They'll be fine. Though I really wanna know what surprised them so much."

So did quite a lot of people.

* * *

It wasn't until just before the big sleepover that Weiss acted with anything other than detached, automatic motions. She fumbled for Yang's shoulder as she passed, her hand weakly gripping her arm as she half-stumbled away.

"Uh-"

"Just go with her," Ruby advised. "She's rebooting, and she picked you for a reason."

"Okay?" Yang shrugged, following after Weiss. "Sorry Blake, be back soon!"

The heiress led them to a nearby lecture hall. This late at night, there wasn't anyone in it; Weiss simply swayed left and collapsed onto one of the benches, her breath coming out slow and ragged. With a frown, Yang slid in next to her.

"...so, um." She rubbed the back of her head. "I'm... going to go out on a limb here. This expansion related?"

Weiss nodded, once.

"...Did... some part of your backstory firm up?" Yang bit your lip. "It's your dad, isn't it? Look, whatever terrible thing he did-"

Something managed to escape from Weiss's lips. A high-pitched squeaking, which could be labeled a giggle as equally as it could be labeled a sob. It lasted about five seconds before she finally slumped in on herself.

The blonde took a deep breath. "O...kay, that is actually a very worrying response, and-"

"I have a brother."

Yang blinked. "You... have a brother."

"A little brother. He's... he's not perfect. He's very... he's a rich boy." Weiss clamped her forehead. "Oh my god, Yang. I have a little brother. I'm a big sister. This... this is a thing. Whitley, he's... Yang, _what do I do?"_

* * *

"...Hmm... who's the boy?" Nora said, examining the white hair teen in the pictures Weiss had produced. "He's cute. Is he a butler? No, wait! He's a receptical of an arranged marriage! We've gone full anime!"

"That is our brother," Winter said, halfway between flummoxed and self irritation at being flummoxed. "Whitley Schnee."

"Oh..." Nora lowered the picture. "I don't get the joke."

Team RWBY (sans Blake) JNPR, and Winter had congregated in a small courtyard on Beacon's grounds. Ozpin, being unaware but possessing an exceedingly powerful Time Semblance had provided tea, coffee and solitude for them, to discuss the recent expansion. And the one thing everyone was talking about... well, other than Shion village, were the Schnees.

Fair to them, they could handle Shion village. Get there ahead of schedule, beat back the bandits, beat back the Grimm in record time, maybe call up Ironwood to send a detachment of Atlesian Paladins to the area. Jaune already had operating plans for defense and medical services, and more backups to fall on at a moment's notice. They could fight the Grimm.

Family was a much different matter.

Ruby turned the photograph over in her hands. "So... did you-"

"I didn't know," Weiss murmured. "You'd think that Yggdrasil would... clue me in on me having a brother. I knew I had a mother, even if she wasn't always alive, but..." she glanced at Winter.

"If this is what you all usually have to deal with, I'd like to return my Get Into Looping Free card," the woman snarked.

"Who wouldn't?" Ren asked, only half sardonically. He handed his hologram back to Weiss and returned to examining a crescent symbol that had been scratched in the soil in Shion.

Yang tossed her picture aside. "Hey, it's not like we can change this. We're the ones stuck on this crazy ride. Welcome to the big sister club Weiss!"

Weiss ignored the raised hand that Yang clearly wanted her to clap. "It's just that... what sort of person does he have to be if I never mentioned him."

There are great ways to kill a mood. That's one of them.

Ruby tried to put on a brace face. "Well... I mean, look at it this way Weiss. You... know him now. What's he like?"

"...It's..."

Winter took over. "Whitley never really liked me. Maybe it's because I'm the older sibling and he's the youngest. But while Weiss was at Beacon, he changed. He grew up and while he still doesn't like me, he's... respectful," she said. "When Weiss was going to talk to our father, he was concerned about her, at least enough to warn her that he was in a bad mood. He said that she was strong, like me."

Winter looked at the table for a moment, unsure of herself as the Loops oft made her. "He seemed okay. I guess."

Jaune shrugged and spoke for the first time. "Well, this is coming from the guy with seven sisters he's never really known; at least you know what he looks like."

Winter nodded. "True. There is that."

Weiss sighed deeply. "It's just... I really wish Yggdrasil would stop throwing these curve balls at us. I was already so stressed out when I wasn't sure what kind of person Winter was. This is just..."

"Hey everyone, I'm back," Blake dropped into the meeting from the ceiling, landing on a chair Pyrrha very helpfully produced. "I miss anything?"

"I have a brother," Weiss said flatly.

"I know that," Blake said. "Short, white hair, blue button shirt, looks like Draco Malfoy."

"Well yes," Winter said. "Doesn't act like him though. I actually think he might be a decent person." She missed Blake's look of horror. "Unlike our father."

Weiss just groaned and slammed her head into the table. "Is it really too much to ask for a new dad? Is it too late for James to adopt us?"

"I would imagine it is," Pyrrha said. "Then again, it would be interesting."

"Uh... excuse me. Whitley's a good person?" Blake asked. When Winter and Weiss nodded hesitantly Blake gulped. "Oh Kay."

"What did you do Blake?" Yang asked teasingly.

"I... may... have locked him and your dad in a cage grudge match with Adam and his Lieutenant," Blake said quickly. She stood back up. "I'll get Whitley."

"You do that," Weiss said.

* * *

 **36.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...So." Winter sipped her cup of tea. "Klein."

"Yes, we have been focusing on Whitley a bit much," Weiss agreed. "On to Klein, then."

Nora looked between them. "Wait, is that the brown-haired guy in that picture?"

"Yes. Klein Sieben, our butler." Weiss rose her own cup of tea. "He's quite nice, actually."

"He has multiple personalities," Winter deadpanned.

"That isn't accurate. He has multiple _emotional states,_ but the basic personality underneath seems to be similar. I'd relate it to a bipolar disorder, with more than two poles."

Nora tilted her head. "Isn't that... basically everyone? We all have multiple emotional states." She glanced down. "Like what this expansion put us through."

Weiss put her cup down. "Nora, I promise I will do all I can to save Xione when I can."

"And I certainly will not rest on my laurels," Winter agreed. "I might not have as much looping experience as either of you, but I know how to coordinate efforts."

"Thanks, but... we can handle it. If we Wake up early enough." Nora cleared her throat. "I just meant... how is Klein having multiple emotional states weird? Happy, angry, sad-"

"His eyes change," Weiss explained. "And his mannerisms. I think it might be his semblance, I don't know. But despite that," she continued firmly, "he really is a nice man."

"True," Winter allowed. "He's a nurturing figure. Dust knows you needed one growing up."

"Interesting that _you_ say that. I always viewed you as the primary disciplinary figure in my life."

Nora blinked. "So, wait. You're saying Klein's your mom and Winter's your dad?"

The sisters blinked, simultaneously. They stared at each other for a long while.

"...Five quarflebarns," Nora mused. "Definitely five quarflebarns."

* * *

 **36.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

There was an unwritten rule, which really was more of a guideline, among the loopers. If asked to define it, some of the scientifically minded would say that it was fine to experiment, but every experiment needed a control. This, among many many other reasons, was why they would on occasion go for a baseline loop.

Expansions... well. Expansions were just an extension of the rule.

Weiss stood in her father's office. It was cold, yes. If she was still what she seemed to be, she would perhaps have been more uncomfortable. Various loops as ice-themed entities made her more accepting of such temperatures, and a small warming charm kept her from shivering from what little chill she felt.

Idly she remembered the last loop, where her father had literally melted at the small burst of heat. Given the number of themes running through Remnant, a touch of Frosty the Snowman wasn't entirely unexpected. Although, perhaps Jack Frost would be better... unless Whitley was Jack frost, but with her father's name it seemed more likely...

She resolved to look into ice-themed folklore later, and returned her focus to the conversation. What had just... ah, he was proposing the recital. The last few times she had acted wary but obedient, as her baseline self probably would have-she'd have to ask Ironwood or Winter to record that at some point she wasn't Awake, compare notes. Now, though...

"...If we do host a concert... well, there are a number of people displaced from Vale," Weiss pointed out. "As we are doing this in acknowledgement of their loss, perhaps we could waive the cost of entry for them?"

Jacques Schnee (and Ruby had snorted when she first heard that-"Jacques? Like, french for _Jocks?!"_ ) frowned. "...I suppose that might be permissible."

So, this version at least was willing to negotiate, if reluctantly. How far could she push this... "Might I also ask for some level of control regarding the songs? As one who lived in Vale, I am aware of their particular tastes." Tastes she didn't share, a few rock riffs were okay but when the singers were literally screaming their lines she had to step out of the room.

"I'm not sure you are quite ready for that level of responsibility." Jacques ("It's the french form of Jacob, actually.") steepled his fingers, giving his daughter a stern look.

Hmm. If that was how he reacted to confrontation, what would outright disrespect do? "It's just, given that Penny was the first victim, I thought my solo should be some form of dubstep or electronic music, and trying to coordinate that with the rest of the concert-"

Jacques slammed his hands on the desk and stood, glowering down at her. "Young lady, I expect you to sing what the concert director tells you, and I expect that will be something classical and respectable."

"Of course father." Weiss had been dealing with tall men longer then she could remember, the show of force didn't intimidate her at all. She smiled and curtsied. "I believe I shall begin practicing, then."

She turned to leave.

"...You _have_ changed, haven't you?"

Ah. He _had_ noticed. "Quite a bit. I'm afraid you'll have to endure my little jokes from now on."

* * *

 **36.18 Hunter81095**

* * *

Weiss took a deep breath as she headed towards the garden, hoping to get a glimpse of her mother before the Loop ended. She'd been mysteriously missing from the very beginning of the Loop, when she'd been about to leave for Beacon, and for some reason, Weiss' Loop memories of her mother were very vague, and the painting of their family that usually adorned the hallway was missing, so she assumed it was a stealth looper who had ran off to explore for the duration of their time here. She opened the door to the garden and laid her eyes upon the figure laying in the lounger.

She sputtered in shock at what she saw.

"Q-Qrow!?"

"Ah damn, almost made it through without being discovered." Her mother for the loop sighed and put the brandy snifter down on the table next to her. "Don't mention this to anyone, and I don't show them pictures of you and Whitley playing "Doctor" when you were little, deal?"

Weiss gulped.

"Deal."

* * *

 **36.18 Hunter81095**

* * *

Weiss Awoke, and went through her Loop memories.

She then sighed in annoyance and proceeded to bang her head against the airship's wall, groaning in dismay all the while. Ruby, who was a dog faunus this loop, looked at her with a curious expression as she walked over and put an arm around her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Weiss? Bad Loop?" Weiss shook her head as she turned her head to look at her partner, now banging the side of her head against the airship wall.

"The tree has a terrible sense of humor." She said, healing her self inflicted concussion with a mere thought.

"And why's that Weiss?" Ruby asked, tail wagging absentmindedly.

"Ever since the latest Expansion happened, my mother's been replaced by multiple different alcoholics, and my brother by different annoying rich kids. This time however, Whitley was replaced by Wheatley." Ruby smiled sympathetically and patted Weiss' shoulder.

"There, there Weiss." She said consolingly, though the effect was ruined by the constant _thunks_ caused by her tail hitting the wall. "It'll be alright."

* * *

 **36.19 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby blinked, stepping back.

"Uh..." Jaune glanced back. "What's wrong?"

"...Nora... have you always been shorter then me?"

Nora sighed. "Not until you started growing again."

"But-you're older then-"

"Look, I'm a short girl, okay? No need to point it out!"

Ren cleared his throat. "I think she's used to being the shortest."

"Well, yeah. Didn't mean to hit a trigger."

Nora sighed. "Just... just... forget it. Just forget it."

The four of them resumed walking again.

"...You know, Cinder's older then either of us. Biologically speaking."

"Ruby? DROP IT."

* * *

 **39.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

Light music wafted through the ballroom, dancers twirling and floating, like so many flowers on a stream, emerging from the tower doors and giggling as they slipped closer and into the blazing inferno. Turians, Orks, Psilon, Pkunk... not a one of them was human, save her, and even that was in question given the skin tearing away from her hands.

 _oh this is actually quite appropriate a masquerade ball i was wanting to talk to you about masks  
_  
She reached out, grabbing a partner-Watts, if Watts had been some sort of insect person, and joined the dance, struggling against the flow of the motion. Watts clearly didn't want to be part of this, but she forced him onward, toward the tower, spiraling ever ever closer.

 _masks are faces fake ones yes but still faces and since faces are representations of self they become selves_

"Cinder!" Pyrrha giggled as Jaune twirled her around, her wooden joints creaking gleefully. "It's good to see you. Are you going to follow us into the eternal doom?" She pressed close to Jaune, lightly kissing his scaly nose. "It's actually pretty fun, all things considered!"

 _so what happens when you wear multiple masks you become multiple selves multiple faces so very confusing_

"She's a stubborn one," Watts clicked, his face unfolding. "But fate is a stubborn bitch toooooooo..." The voice trailed into an unearthly wail, as the thing that had been Watts morphed into a void of nothingness in a well dressed suit. Cinder's skin peeled completely off, falling into it, and leaving her all but bones.

 _and if the selves are so conflicted that they cannot know each other there is a break there is silence there is nothing_

Into this stepped Ruby. Mostly normal, mostly usual, save for her eyes-eyes that burned with silver light. Dancers vanished around her, their dresses and suits collapsing into puddles of color that muddied and merged. Pyrrha gave an uncharacteristic "Wheeeee!" as she vanished, and soon it was only Cinder Bones and Ruby in an ocean of black tar.

 _that's why i don't have a face i don't have a self i am undefined i am everything that anyone could ever be_

Ruby leaned forward, smiling enigmatically. "You want to stay? Why don't you? The dance doesn't end." All around her, the tar rose, morphing into various breeds of Grimm. "The dancers, yes. The tune, of course. Sometimes we move to other ballrooms. But the dance never ends never ends never ends never ends never ends never ends **never ends never ends never ends never ends never ends never ends** -"

 _you know it's a shame you can't actually hear me i'm being really quite poetic at the moment i should write this down_

The girl smiled, her teeth like a wolf. "I like you. You look tasty." She morphed into a corgi made of fire and blood, lunging forward-

Cinder snapped awake.

She blinked.

"...Um." She looked around. "Okay. Why am I... why am I in the hallway?" She looked down. "Standing up? Was... was I just sleepwalking...?"

* * *

 **36.21 Hunter81095**

* * *

Pyrrha Awoke, and immediately knew she was on the airship to Beacon once again. She smiled widely when she got a multitude of Pings back, and was pleasantly surprised to get a hug and a passionate kiss from Jaune. She looked up at her leader and gave him a radiant smile. "Long time no see?" She asked, getting a nod from Jaune.

"We just went through a massive series of loops where you were replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger characters." Jaune shuddered. "It was awful, especially since none of them were Awake, and they just wouldn't stop speaking in one liners!" He groaned theatrically, eliciting a giggle from Pyrrha.

"Well, I just got off a long period of travelling myself, mostly Loops that acted like action movies. I've got a few weapons to give to Ruby later, not to mention a few ideas for my own." She took a breath, realizing just how long it had been since she'd seen her fiance as well. "How about we take a Vacation Loop? You, me, and a nice quiet little village?" Jaune nodded happily, clearly pleased with the idea.

"Well, let's tell everyone where we'll be, and we can get started."

The two lovers walked over to their friends, eager for their vacation to begin.


	37. Chapter Title!

**37.1 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Oh yeah?" Nora demanded, planting her foot on the table. "Well, where were _you_ on the night of the pancake massacre?!" She grinned wildly. She liked this little bit of the Chibi loops. She felt a bit guilty about labeling Neptune as a crook for stealing pancakes since she does it all the time but it wasn't hurting anyone.

"Uh..." Neptune stuttered. "I don't have to tell you that!"

Sun hissed at him in a stage-whisper. "Dude, this is super common. She's just trying to intimidate you. Just answer her."

"No," Neptune said in a soft, firm tone.

"Yeah, see?!" Sun gloated at Nora before the words registered. "Wait, why don't you want to say?!"

"I don't wanna," Neptune muttered, refusing to meet his eyes.

"He's sounding awfully guilty... isn't he, partner?" Nora said to Sun gleefully. Her moment was approaching!

"Yeah," Sun murmured, stepping back. "He is." He stared at his fellow junior detective.

"I was... I don't know," Neptune stammered. "I was just out for... a walk. Jogging!" he burst out. "I was jogging... slowly. I guess that's walking," he mumbled.

"Just tell us where you were!" Sun yelled.

"I was coming back from dance class!" Neptune wailed, backing down. Nora felt a little guilty, seeing he sounded kinda close to tears. But it's not like he had ever actually cried in this during the loops.

"A-ha!" Sun proclaimed triumphantly before blinking. "Uh, wait, what?"

"And then what?" Nora demanded, grinning.

"And then I ate all the banana muffins!" Neptune confessed

"Nailed him!" Nora sang out, pulling out her mustache before realizing what he said. "Wait, what? Banana muffins?"

"My banana muffins?" Sun gasped.

"I'm sorry!" Neptune started wailing

"Hey. chill man, it's cool, it's cool," Sun quickly tried to reassure his friend. "But we have a job right now, remember? We can talk later." Neptune sniffled and wiped his face, nodding as he put on a firm expression.

"Right," he said. then they both turned to Nora. Nora, for her part, just stared at Neptune.

 _What just happened? Why did Neptune act different? Oooh! Is he looping? Are they both? Are they out for payback for all the times I've done this?  
_  
Meanwhile, Ren twirled his wand contentedly. "That little puzzle should keep Nora too distracted," he said in satisfaction. "Maybe now I'll be able to actually eat some on _my_ pancakes."

With that he turned back to the mixture in his bowl.

Nora would spend the rest of the loop and a few others afterwards trying to prove Neptune was looping before Ren confessed to his prank.

* * *

 **37.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby was happily humming to herself as she walked skipped down the hall, right up until a hand came out of nowhere and pinned her to a wall.

"Talk," growled Emerald.

"Okay sure! I'm Ruby Rose, purveyor of sweets and destroyer of Grimm! My favorite animals are corgis, cats, and cows, but I really don't like bunnies-"

"Don't play games with me!" The blade of a gun pressed against her neck. "What did you do with Cinder? Why does she think you're her sister?!"

Ruby glanced down. "Oh, your hallucinations are tactile! That's interesting, I would have been totally fooled if you knew more about me. See, you're thinking this is where my jaw meets my neck so obviously it must affect the veins but the fact of the matter is I'm a bit different. Still, good tactic, if anybody comes along I just sound crazy." She shrugged, walking confidently through the gunblade and the woman wielding it. "That said, I really do value the sanctity of my mind. So if you want to talk to me you're going to have to do so face to face, okay?"

In an instant, the thief vanished, reappearing at the end of the hall. "How did you...?"

"Would you believe I'm just that good?"

Emerald blinked, stared at her, and turned tail.

She'd only gotten three steps when Ruby was suddenly in front of her, smiling gently. "Look, you're obviously worked up about this. How about we go out for lunch, my treat?"

"I-" Emerald frowned. "...I'm not going to be able to get away from you, am I?"

"Well, if I really wanted to force you to go I could," Ruby acknowledged. "But, you know, I like to use my powers for good. And pranks! Although I have occasionally used them to steal really good cookies."

"...You know what? Anybody that steals cookies can't be completely terrible." Emerald didn't relax, so much as she lowered from a striking pose to a ready one. "So, where are we eating?"

"...and that's about the shape of it."

The half-eaten burger slowly slipped out of Emerald's fingers, plopping back onto the plate.

"Yep." Ruby nodded. "A lot to take in all at once. Especially when you're not living it."

"...you... you're lying."

"Nnnnnope."

"This-broken time-repeating-and, Cinder being, not-Cinder?" Emerald pointed her fingers at her. "You've got to be lying. That's too crazy!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Look, your hallucination thing. Is it easier to make people see something mostly ordinary, or something completely insane?"

"It... it's easier to use what they already see and know and twist it into something... else."

"Same with story-telling. My story's weird, crazy, and unbelievable to a degree that either means I put a lot of thought into it, or it happens to be true."

Emerald slumped into her seat. "That's... that's crazy. You... this is crazy."

"Mmmhmm." Ruby nodded. "And we've barely scratched the surface."

The thief stared at her half-eaten burger.

"...so, that's it. Bam. All the plans, gone."

"Well, yeah. On the other hand, Cinder makes sure you eat, you stay off the streets..." Ruby paused. "...You know, I don't actually know you as well as I should."

"What?"

"Well..." Ruby fidgeted in her seat. "...Look. Baseline, you... end up doing things that, well, cause problems. On orders from Cinder, yeah, but... Most loopers don't use their foreknowledge to punish people for things they haven't done yet, it gets confusing and morally ambiguous, but preventative measures..." She held out her hands with a sigh. "I'm sorry, you're just not very popular."

Emerald looked up. "What? What would I do?"

"Ah." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "You know, I _really_ don't know you well enough to know if I should tell you, because I really don't know how you'd react-"

"Tell me."

The girl took a sharp breath. "...In order, you framed my sister for assault, then caused one of my friends to accidentally murder another in full view of an arena audience, allowing Cinder to cause a panic large enough that Vale was overrun by Grimm, including a giant dragon Grimm that destroyed the transmit tower."

Emerald stared at her.

"...Yeah." Ruby coughed. "I mean you haven't done all that yet this loop, so-"

"You know what? Just... just forget it." Emerald stood up. "I'm... I'm going to go."

"...You know I'll keep an eye on you, right? Just so you don't run into trouble?"

Emerald sighed. "Sure. Whatever."

* * *

 **37.3 Hunter81095**

* * *

Yang Awoke next her sister in the driver's seat of a 1960's muscle car. A second or two of looking revealed she was in the legendary General Lee, and her loop memories confirmed she and Ruby Duke were the infamous Duke Girls, known for their constant antics, and helping the people of Hazzard County, not to mention foiling the corrupt Boss Hogg's plans, over and over again. Yang looked over to her now Awake sister, and the two of them grinned maniacally.

"Yeehaw?" Yang asked, already pushing the accelerator to the floor and nodding towards the large dirt ramp just ahead.

"Yeehaw." Ruby replied, the two of them putting on their sunglasses, taking to the air as Yang hit the ramp, Dixie horn blaring through the hollow.

This was going to be a fun loop.

* * *

 **37.4 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Well of course there are others repeating," Winter said to Qrow. "After all, information is power so the witch having at least one of her people repeating time is a very strategic move. It allows her to gain significant intel while suffering no losses and ensuring we gain nothing. Our inclusion was a mistake, nothing more."

"...The woman, Cinder, she mentioned _my nieces_ ," Qrow snarled. "She's interested in them."

Winter paused, frowning. "...That is not good," she admitted. While Qrow's nieces were talented, they were still young and inexperienced. Even with the younger's inherited power, she had used it _once_. with no control. Surely, there was no reason to target them. Ruby was just _one_ person. The witch had armies. There was no reason to prioritize Qrow's nieces. "Is it possible she knows about us?"

"She didn't seem to think I was aware of everything," Qrow said. "I don't like it."

"Me neither," Winter muttered. Ruby was Weiss' partner in addition to be an innocent young girl. The notion of Ruby and her team, which included _Weiss_ made Winter's skin crawl.

"Do you think there were others included in the repeats by mistake like we were?" Qrow wondered.

"...It is possible," Winter conceded. "If the witch unintentionally included us, she may have included other people."

"We'll have to keep our eyes open," Qrow decided. "Not just on the enemy and their movements, but on our people too."

"Of course," Winter nodded.

* * *

 **37.5 LithosMaitreya**

* * *

Blake Awoke in the very instant that the launchpads at Beacon threw her into the air for initiation.

She threw out a Ping midair; several responses. A slow midair spin showed her a couple of her classmates—Ruby, of course, but also Jaune and Pyrrha—shaking their heads and blinking, as though just waking up... or Waking Up. She'd have to figure out who the others were when she had a chance.

For now, she had to find Ya—

"Heya, Blake!"

The blonde brawler launched herself into her partner with a blast from Ember Celica, putting an arm arounds Blake's waist as they fell.

"Yang," Blake greeted with a smile as she drew Gambol Shroud and cast it out in its scythe form towards a nearby tree. She pulled her other arm around her girlfriend's waist as the ribbon grew taut, the scythe embedding itself in a branch of the canopy below.

Blake expertly swung them around the tree and landed them neatly on the ground, Gambol Shroud returning to her grip even as her feet hit the forest floor. The chirping of the springtime birds around them, disturbed by their passage, formed a soundtrack to the dappled green light filtering through the treetops to produce an air of peace and tranquility. It was almost enough to make her forget the coming encounters with the Grimm, and the trials the next few months would bring.

Yang, one arm still around her, pulled her close. "How've you been?" the blonde breathed into her ear.

Blake hugged her back. "Well enough," she said. "It's been a few loops. I missed you."

"Missed you too, Kitty," Yang said with a chuckle, drawing away. She looked around the forest, and sighed. "Can we take a bit?" she said. "We know where the ruins are anyway."

Blake nodded, her smile widening. "Sure," she agreed. "We can catch up for a bit."

They sat under the shade of an old oak tree, their backs against the thick and knarled trunk, cuddled together in the green-tinted glow of the forest.

"So where have you been, last few loops?" Blake asked, glancing up at the girl on whose shoulder her head rested.

Yang shrugged with her other shoulder, keeping Blake's pillow steady. "Looped in as Rainbow Dash," she recalled. "That was fun, although I think Ruby's a better fit."

"Gotta go fast?" Blake giggled.

Yang snorted. "Exactly." She pursed her lips, remembering. "Looped into Star Wars—just as a Jedi, not as any particular person. Prevented the Empire, with Obi-Wan's help."

"Classic," Blake said appreciatively.

"Boring," Yang corrected dryly. "I mean, yeah, lightsaber fights are fun, but so much of the pre-Empire period is best solved with _politics_. Ugh."

Blake smiled slightly. "I remember when politics was better than violence," she said quietly.

"White Fang?" Yang asked, looking down at her.

Blake nodded against her girlfriend. "Do we have Sakura Syndrome, Yang?" she asked. Her voice wasn't really worried; more just casually curious. "I mean, does everyone? There was a time when… well, when killing someone, even as horrible as Unawake Cinder, just… _wasn't okay_. Now, it's still not our first resort, but it's an option. And most Loopers are worse than we are. Isn't that, I don't know, a bit like what happened to Sakura?"

Yang considered this. "I think it's mostly just Looping stir-craziness," she said idly. "We're all a little bit off, by now. Sakura took it worse. It's not like something was inherently _different_ about her—she just didn't take to the Loops well. That's all Sakura Syndrome is, I think."

"Shouldn't that worry us, then?" Blake asked. "If what we've got is the same as a mental disorder that could turn someone into basically an MLE, shouldn't that be a cause for more concern?"

"Are you worried, Blake?" Yang asked, resting her head on Blake's own and tickling her cat's ears under her bow with her long, golden hair.

Blake shook her head again. "Maybe a little worried that I'm not worried," she confessed.

"What happened to you, then?" Yang asked, and there was concern in her voice now. "Where'd you loop recently?

Blake sighed. "Assassin's Creed," she said quietly. "Looped in as an Assassin in World War II. Germany."

"Shit," Yang said lowly.

Blake chuckled dryly. "Scheiße, you mean."

"No, seriously, Blake," said Yang, sitting up straighter and tightening her grip on the faunus. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Yang," said Blake evenly, shifting so that her head was in Yang's lap, her eyes looking up into the brawler's face, golden eyes meeting violet. "Really, I am. It was… cathartic."

Yang blinked. "How so?"

"Isn't that one of the rules?" Blake asked with a faint smile. "Nazis are always acceptable targets? I didn't go on a rampage, mind—I just… pulled some things out of my pocket and gave the collective Third Reich an ultimatum."

"Stop or get stopped?" Yang asked, her right hand stroking Blake's hair while her left sought Blake's own.

Blake took it. "Basically that," she confirmed. "Killed a fair few, of course. Tried to keep it to the real villains. Hitler, a couple of Templars in his inner circle. Had to kill a few soldiers, too, but always to save people."

"But you're worried about it?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded, her hair running against Yang's crossed legs. "There was a time when I couldn't kill humans for the White Fang," she said softly. "It's why I came here in the first place, in baseline, all those millions of loops ago. I couldn't kill, even to stop oppression. What's changed that it's so much easier, now?"

Yang sighed and leaned down, pecked Blake on the lips. "You worry to much, sweetheart," she said gently. "No matter how bad Remnant is to faunus, it doesn't compare to the _Third Reich_. You responded more harshly to a greater offense. Heck, your _brother_ would have burned down the whole of Germany in a heartbeat, and you know it. The fact that you _didn't_ says a lot."

Blake bit her lip. "But I still killed people," she said. "Some of them were just soldiers doing their job. You've seen the results of the Milgram study, at some point; you know how that works. That shouldn't be so easy."

"Blake," Yang said gently. "You need to just accept that sometimes there's no easy way. Baseline's taught us that much, if nothing else. It doesn't mean you're getting Sakura Syndrome. It definitely doesn't make you a bad person, let alone an MLE."

"Obviously I'm not an MLE," Blake rolled her eyes. "You're twisting my words."

"Sorry," Yang said. "You're right. Look, I get it—I really do. But you're forgetting something you have that'll keep you exactly as sane as you want to be."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be, Yang?" she asked.

Her girlfriend leaned down and captured her lips in a long kiss.

"Me, Blakey," she said when they broke apart, her nose tickling the tip of Blake's own, so close was their proximity. "For as long as you'll have me; for as long as we keep having these talks. I'm always here to keep you straight."

Blake huffed a laugh. "How generous of you."

Yang smiled. "Not really," she said. "You do the same for me." Her left hand let go of Blake's and she shifted, getting that hand under the faunus' legs and the other under her back. In one motion she stood, picking up her girlfriend as she did, holding her close.

"We should get a move on," she said. "Wouldn't want to miss our chessman."

Blake curled into her. "Take us away, noble steed," she said laconically. "I don't want to walk."

"You needn't," Yang assured her, and began to run.

* * *

 **37.6 LithosMaitreya**

* * *

"Miss Polendina," Ozpin said, watching her over his perpetual cup of coffee. "I wonder, have you met Miss Rose? She does provide a wonderful Anchor for students who need it."

Penny sighed in relief. "Oh, good, you're Looping," she said. "I was worried."

She had Awoken just as teams were being assigned for first-years, as a student at Beacon Academy. She was replacing Weiss as Ruby's partner in the new team RPBY, pronounced 'Raspberry.' Ruby was Looping (as, thank the shrubs, was Pyrrha—the girl would avoid her, hopefully) but Blake and Yang were not. Ruby had confided, in hysterical whispers, her plans to get the two Unawake girls together by the end of the semester.

"I am," Ozpin confirmed. "As are you. And I must confess, this is a variant I have not seen before, though I don't doubt Ruby has. I think you will be a valuable addition to Beacon Academy, while you're here."

Penny looked away. "I don't know if I can," she said timidly. "What with… well…"

"The close proximity to Miss Nikos may be problematic," Ozpin agreed gravely. "She is Looping, however, so I expect and hope she will be able to give you space."

Penny nodded. "Ruby told me she was," she said. "Looping, I mean. It's good. I don't think I… It'd be a lot harder, otherwise."

"I understand," Ozpin said, and then frowned down into his coffee for a moment. "I have… wanted to speak with you for some time. In private, away from Roman and the other Loopers who are… dead or otherwise unavailable in baseline."

Penny shuddered. "What about?" she asked.

Ozpin considered her. "Has it occurred to you, Miss Polendina," he said slowly, "that, at least according to a _very_ common variant, this room contains the two people most likely to be functionally immortal in baseline?"

Penny blinked at him, startled. "Immortal?" she asked, and found that her subconscious processes were promoting an incredulous laugh as a response. She indulged them, her silicon diaphragm forcing air out of her throat spasmodically. "I'm _dead_ , Oz—Professor."

"Indeed," Ozpin nodded slowly. "And I might be. However, _had you survived_ , you would be a gynoid in a world of mortals. Outside of a few select parts of the Multiverse, that excludes you from aging as a problem entirely. Were it not for the Loops—and your death—you would almost certainly be Remnant's only confirmed immortal, based on what we know now."

Penny looked away. "And based on the variant that has you as the wizard, you'd be the second," she said.

"Precisely." Ozpin leaned forward, putting his coffee down and steepling his fingers. "It is a cruel irony, is it not?" he asked gently. "That we two, immortal in our own right, should be among the first to die? And that we, having died, may now go on in this perverse eternity that Yggdrasil maintains? A cruel joke within a crueler, one might say."

Penny swallowed, an elastic esophagus pulling artificial lubricant from her mouth downward. "I can see that," she agreed shakily. "Why are you telling me this?"

Ozpin sighed. "In part, I think I want to imagine that there's someone who can understand my situation," he said dryly. You have, of course, heard that I spent my first several eons in the Loops stealthing, with the intent of providing my students with ever greater challenges to overcome. I _live_ to teach, Miss Polendina. Do you see why the Loops, then, are a form of torture?"

Penny frowned and looked at him, considering. "You have two kinds of students," she said eventually. "The kind who forget everything you taught them once every few months or years, and the kind who know more than you could ever teach them."

"Precisely," Ozpin said with a rough sigh. "Even this conversation is rapidly taking the form of a lecture or a lesson; I give you the building blocks of a conclusion and ask you to reach it yourself. I am _starved_ , Miss Polendina, for an opportunity to do the job I set out to do when I first began at Beacon Academy, however that may have happened in the nebulous time before Yggdrasil was damaged. I wonder, then… Are you the same?"

Penny blinked at him. "How so?" she asked. "I'm not a teacher."

"No," he agreed. "You said it yourself, you are combat ready. I wonder… what did you set out to do, before Yggdrasil fell? The first Penny Polendina, the one who existed _before_ the Loops, the one the Admins are working tirelessly to recover… what was her goal? What was her passion? And is it, like mine, something that you can no longer do?"

Ozpin shook his head. "There are many surface parallels between you and I," he said. "Two immortals, at least potentially, who died, at least potentially, before their friends and are now given a parodic forever in recompense. But this eternity is one in which I cannot do what I was born to. Whether yours is too… that, Miss Polendina, is something you will have to answer for yourself."

He stood. "I look forward to seeing your work as a student of Beacon Academy," he said gently. "Please come and see me or Glynda—she is Looping too—if you need anything."

Penny backed away at the clear dismissal. "I…" she began, and stopped, blinking at the old man. "You've given me a lot to think about," she said honestly. "Thank you." And with that, she turned and left the office. Her new team was waiting.

* * *

 **37.7 LithosMaitreya**

* * *

The room was just as it always was. The jury-rigged bunk beds hung precariously, although they were now reinforced with magic and a gravity generator or two. The curtain was still slashed in half, just as it always was—Ruby seemed determined to hold to those parts of baseline that weren't painful to consider, despite her 'war on baseline' as a whole.

Right now, that curtain was pulled aside, allowing a steady stream of afternoon sunlight to stream in, suffusing the room with color. Weiss sat upright at her desk, back straight, in the posture she had learned so long ago. Before her was a laptop—one which seemed to be built of local technology, until one remembered that the portable PC was not a usual Remnant feature. If one were to look into the workings and see the quantum-computing hardware and pandimensional memory, it might be another tip that something was amiss.

Blake was curled on her bed, reading an impressive volume. On the surface, this appeared entirely normal, until one realized that she was reading a novel written in Turian, bought from a store on the Citadel.

Ruby and Yang were out. Ruby was tinkering with Crescent Rose, trying to implement a newly-encountered branch of arcanotechnology into the firing mechanism. Yang was with Nora, compiling a list of all the people in the Multiverse who _really_ needed their legs broken.

Weiss stood up from her typing, gently circumnavigated her chair, and looked out the window at the courtyard below. She held her fingers before her, stretching them gingerly.

"What're you working on?" Blake asked idly, turning a page.

"Helping Twilight Sparkle with a treatise on Dust mechanics," Weiss replied. "The mare is non-stop; this must be her fifteenth paper on the subject, and she's not even _interested_ in Dust in particular."

Blake snorted. "Her work teach you anything?" she asked. "Anything you didn't already know?"

Weiss shrugged. "A few esoteric transforms," she said. "Some hybrid formulae. Nothing groundbreaking, from my perspective. Interesting take on theoretical Dust physics, though."

Blake nodded idly, turning another page.

Weiss glanced at her. "What are you reading?" she asked.

" _The Sun Rises on Rannoch_ ," Blake said. "Apparently, at least in the variant I got it in, _Fleet and Flotilla_ was based on a novel—this one."

Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "Still a romance between a Turian and a Quarian?" she asked curiously, "or was that changed for the film?"

"Still a romance," Blake said, frowning at the page. "Good one, too—author's got a knack for imagery, and the Turian language only helps."

"I don't know Turian," Weiss said. "How does it help?"

"It's a really terse language," Blake explained. "Reading anything in Turian is like reading Hemingway. This author's good with that."

"I see," Weiss nodded.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," they called together.

Weiss turned to face the entry as the door opened and Yang poked her head in. "Hey guys," she said. "Nora and I are going into Vale to break some people's legs. Want to come?"

Weiss snorted. "No thank you, Yang," she said, returning to her desk. "I should get back to work."

Blake smiled at her girlfriend. "Sorry, Yang," she said. "Not in the mood for leg-breaking. Maybe later?"

Yang shrugged. "Nora and I'll just do it," she said. "I'll be back in a couple of hours, all right?"

"All right," Weiss said, already back to her typing. "See you soon, Yang."

"Later," Yang said, and left.

The room was silent again, but for the sound of two teammates breathing and living together in comfort.

* * *

 **37.8 LithosMaitreya… again**

* * *

Yang had awoken after the Battle for Beacon, and had decided to take the Loop off, barring any unforeseen changes. The only response to her ping had been Ruby, and Ruby had understood. She was unwilling to go baseline, but that didn't mean insisting that Yang go adventuring with her.

So that left Yang sitting on this couch, petting the adorable corgi on her lap. But she had been doing so for nearly an hour now, and despite being a pseudo-immortal nigh-superhuman arch-warrior, she suffered the needs of the human body as much as any other. Her throat was dry, basically.

She took her hand off of Zwei and reached for the remote, turned off the TV. Then she gingerly rolled him into the crook of her elbow and set him, whimpering, on the ground. Sure, she _could_ just use one of the mech-arms in her pocket, but Dad had apparently gotten her one in baseline, and she was curious to try it.

She stood stretched, and went to the kitchen to prepare a glass of water. The small dog followed.

"Oh come on," she said idly. "Must you _dog_ my steps?"

Zwei froze.

"I mean really," said Yang, pulling a glass from the cupboard. "I'll get back to you soon; you needn't _hound_ me."

Zwei growled.

"Maybe I should get something to eat," she mused. "Cream cheese on a _beagle_ sounds good, don't you think?"

Zwei barked angrily.

"I hope Ruby's doing well in Mistral," Yang said to herself, filling her glass with water. "It might be dangerous, _snoop_ ing around in Mistral."

"You know I'm Awake, right?" Zwei asked.

"Yep," Yang replied.

* * *

 **37.9 LithosMaitreya (He's doing a lot of work)**

* * *

Cinder Awoke atop Beacon tower, her hand already on Pyrrha's brow, the Fall Maiden's magic flowing through her body like lightning through a copper rod in a storm. Pyrrha's green eyes were not afraid, but nor were they bright with determination and martyrdom; they were almost bored with the banality of the situation. Clearly, the girl was awake.

For a moment, her mind, somewhere deep, deep inside, where she was still a single barely-functioning whole rather than two working halves, tried to make a decision. Kill, or spare? Gratify the bloodlust, or enjoy the camaraderie?

The moment stretched as that little fragment of a holistic Cinder realized that it couldn't decide.

In the real world. Cinder _snarled/smiled_ and _thrust out with magic/turned it on herself_. The spell fizzled and blew the two women away from each other, sending them sprawling on opposite sides of the towertop.

Ruby leapt up into view, rising like an avenging angel, Crescent Rose held ready.

Cinder _glared/smiled_ and held out a hand _in an attack/in a greeting_ and _cast/wavedddddddddddddddhijasbfNF1-08Y491409_

ERROR: Binary variable has non-binary value

Rebooting…

"Cinder," Pyrrha greeted with a smile as Cinder sat down at the table with her friends. "It's been a few loops. How have you been?"

Cinder frowned. "Well enough," she said slowly. "Had a punishment loop a while back, and I'm not sure what for."

Pyrrha frowned and leaned forward. "I think I might remember the loop," she said. "I awoke on Beacon tower and for a moment it was as though you… _half-_ awoke. Ruby, you saw that, didn't you?"

Ruby nodded, looking at her sister concernedly. "Yeah, I got there a little after," she said. "Pyrrha told me all about it later, but from what I saw… it was _weird_. Like, you were Awake, and smiling, and waving at me, but you were _also_ trying to cast a spell and not Awake.

Cinder frowned. "I remember that loop," she said slowly. "Yes, it was right before I got the punishment loop. But I just remember Waking Up mid-spell, and canceling it. I botched it a little, so it knocked me back. Then you arrived, Ruby, and I waved at you to show I was Awake… and the Loop crashed."

Ruby looked disturbed. "So you _only_ remember the Awake parts," she said. "That's… that's _weird_. Like, weird enough that I hope I get to talk to an Admin soon to ask about it. That shouldn't happen."

Cinder frowned. "I expect it was just a one-time thing," she said. "Yggdrasil _is_ undergoing repairs, after all. Bugs are expected."

"Still," Ruby said. "After all the eons the Loops have been going on for, you'd think _someone_ would've encountered this, if it were possible. I'll ask an Admin when I can."

Cinder nodded. "You do that, Ruby," she said. "Thanks for looking out for me."

Ruby smiled and hugged her. "Of course, Sis," she said happily.

* * *

 **37.10 Lith- No, wait, Drakohahn!**

* * *

Penny paced around the temporary living quarters she was given for the Vytal festival. She had called Ciel just a few minutes ago, but she was apparently busy with something at the moment. So, she was trying to think of else she could do this Loop to try and take her mind off her baseline death.

A knock on the door interrupted her pacing.

The robotic girl looked at the door in surprise, quickly walking over to answer it. On the other side of the door was a redhead she was unfamiliar with, though dressed in a very familiar armor.

"Hi! You're Penny Polendina, right?" This young woman asked in a friendly, cheerful tone.

"Yes..." The gynoid replied uneasily. After a moment, she continued, "You're Awake?"

"I'm feeling quite Loopy, thanks! My name's Flay Allster, though it's Flay Nikos this loop," the redhead stated with a smile. Then she paused to look at the wary robot on the other side. "Er, sorry. I don't always know when I'm coming on too strong."

"Who names their daughter Flay?" Penny wondered out loud.

"That's not the first time I've been asked that. This loop, it's short for Flame," the armored warrior stated with a shrug. "Anyway, Team RWBY asked me to talk with you. They said you've been fretting about your baseline death."

That made the gynoid pause before she asked, "So, you died before you started looping too?"

"Yes, I did. May I come in?"

Penny stepped to one side.

* * *

Flay could see it as they sat down on the couch together. Penny was nervous around her, though it wasn't due to her specifically, but due to what she was wearing. She let the silence stretch for a bit before sighing.

"I can change out of this outfit, if it'd help you relax." The redhead tried to sound polite, but she noticed the gynoid Looper flinch anyway.

"I-it's fine." A hiccup interrupted her briefly, but she pressed on quickly. "No need for you to change for my sake."

The visitor easily picked up the lie, but she didn't want to push too hard right now. So, she just nodded and relapsed into quiet once more.

"So, uh... You wanted to talk about your baseline?" Penny asked after a bit.

Flay took a deep breath before she began her tale, "There's two wars in my baseline and I die at the end of the first one. It's nothing new; you'll find plenty of Loopers who died in wars during their baseline. I just so happened to be the first one that RWBY found to talk with you."

The orange-haired robot girl looked at her guest, but the redhead wasn't paying her any attention.

"Frankly, I consider it a damn miracle that I was allowed to Loop at all, much less Activating as early as I did. I was a mess in baseline. My friend, Kira Yamato -my Anchor, by the way-, failed to protect my father from an attack and I snapped for awhile. I blamed him, even accusing him of not giving the battle his full effort. So, in my insanity, I forced myself deep into his heart."

Penny's eyes widened in shock at the revelation, but Flay was only building up steam.

"I did everything in my power to make him love me, so that he'd fight to protect me... so that he'd keep fighting until he died. I even cheated on my fiance of the time to do it. That is how insane I had become. A lot of my early Fused Loops were very thorough in confronting me with this fact."

The gynoid had no idea what to do with this information. It was important to the visitor, but she couldn't see what she was leading up to. So, she decided to ask.

"That is regrettable, but... what does this have to do with your death?"

Flay smiled, sad and humorless, as she replied, "I'm getting to that, though it's still a bit further. So, please be patient with me."

The storyteller took another deep breath.

"Things eventually came to a head in an argument we had. My manipulations had become real feelings, but I couldn't reconcile the differences while he was too emotionally drained from fighting the war to continue the relationship. Just before a battle, he promised that we'd talk afterwards... the conclusion to the hostilities left everyone thinking he had perished."

"What?! But he's your Anchor, right?" Penny gasped as the statement.

"Yes, which is why I said everyone _thought_ he had died. However, I wouldn't discover that he had survived until months later. We ended up docking at our faction's HQ and I was one of three people to be transferred off the Archangel, that ship I had been traveling on. The HQ came under attack and I decided to abandon my reassignment. Because of this, I ended up being captured by an enemy officer."

"What happened next?" Penny was honestly curious. She briefly wondered about checking Flay's backup next time she had a Hub Loop. That train of thought was interrupted by the continuing story.

"Eventually, he took me to his ship. Though I was more of a hostage, I was treated as something of a guest. However, it was all so he could fulfill his plan to get humanity to wipe itself out in a cataclysm of his own making. He gave me plans for a special device that would allow one side of the war to rearm themselves with nuclear missiles. Though he was there, Kira was unable to rescue me before the worst possible person picked up my escape pod."

Flay's eyes turned fierce with anger, both at her role and at the person who got his hands on the plans.

"I served on that ship for awhile, thanks to it being captained by one of the other people transferred from the Archangel, Natarle Badgiruel. She helped finish the progress I had been making in my mental stability since being separated from Kira. By then, I just wanted to see him one last time. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was; to beg his forgiveness for what I had put him through."

"Eventually, during the final climactic battle of the first war, I ended up on a shuttle with several other crewmen. I watched as Kira dueled that madman who gave me the plans. We felt each other; across that hollow distance. That disgusting man noticed Kira approaching my shuttle and took a shot at it."

The redhead hesitated, holding her hands up to stare at her trembling hands.

"Kira, he... he managed to block the beam. He saved me... He was there to protect me... So why?!" Tears welled up in her eyes now as she choked her way through the next part. "I didn't know what happened at the time. Just... suddenly the shuttle erupted into flames! I felt them around me... consuming me even as he watched... as he suffered... I... I never got to tell him!"

Penny could only look on in horror and sympathy. What could she say? What could she do?

After a minute or so, Flay forced herself to calm down.

"The next thing I knew, I was back in the quarters I had shared with Kira during that time I now regret. I remembered everything about my death and ended up crying myself to sleep in his embrace. To think that I had been given a second chance like that. To know that, after everything I had done and my inability to beg forgiveness, he forgave me anyway."

The redhead turned to look at the younger Looper.

"So, that's my story. That event haunted my nightmares for many Loops afterwards. It was only with my friends that I managed to get through it."

She gave Penny a happy smile.

"It was a struggle, but... I wouldn't give up this second chance, this miracle I've been given, for anything."

After she was done speaking, there was a palpable pause between them. Flay stood and turned towards the door.

"Thanks for listening to me. I've got to be going now. There are friends waiting for me to return to them."

She gave Penny another smile.

"Don't you have friends waiting for you too?"

The redhead left the room, leaving Penny to sit there in silence. She turned her gaze to the floor in thought.

"A second chance?"

She stared at one hand.

"A miracle?"

* * *

The visiting Looper walked down the courtyard pathway. Two other young women were waiting for her by the pond. The first was Ruby Rose, while the second was a pink haired girl dressed in Nora's outfit. Said pinkette was going through kata with her Grenade Hammer, Magnhild. Flay rubbed her forehead as she approached the pair.

"You're the pacifist of our baseline, Lacus. Why do you keep ending up with the heavy weapons?"

"Yggdrasil probably thinks it's being funny," came the now identified Lacus's response with a shrug. "Still, this is awesome! Definitely a keeper beside my Iron Curtain!"

She continued her practice by converting Magnhild into its grenade launcher form before picking up a number of clay pigeons by her feet.

"Pull!" She threw the disks into the air and then rapidly gunned them down in pink explosions.

Flay just shook her head before turning her attention to Ruby. Said Anchor smiled, letting Pyrrha's replacement sit down before asking her about Penny.

"So, how'd it go?"

"I said my piece. It's up to her now," the redhead stated as she looked up towards the sky. It was a clear and balmy day.

"That's all we can really ask for. It's always been her choice. Some people just need a helping hand." The silver-eyed Anchor sat next to the visitor. A plate appeared in her hand, holding it towards Flay in offering, "Cookie?"

The armored young woman was caught off guard by the offer, but took one of the large sweets with a smile, "Thank you."

"No problem!" Ruby declared with her own smile. Settling the plate onto her lap, she watched the sky get filled with explosions like fireworks from the training pinkette. "So, do you have any plans this Loop?"

"Not really. Only thing that comes to mind right now is going Grimm hunting before the Vytal festival."

"That's always fun!" The Anchor stated with a grin before taking a big bite out of an m&m cookie. "We can make it a Girls Night Out!"

"I think I'd like that. You, me, Lacus... Who else is Awake this Loop?" Flay asked. She chomped down on her own white chocolate chunk cookie.

"Just Weiss and Yang. Though, Yang said she had something to do in town today while Weiss went to broker some kind of deal with Roman this Loop. So, it should just be the three of us." This was punctuated with her demolishing a cinnamon roll sugar cookie.

"Sounds good to me. When do you want to start?" Flay polished off her own as she watched Ruby go to town on the plate.

Once the silver-eyed Huntress finished the treats off, she stood up and turned to the redhead, "We can go right now if you want. Nothing really keeping us from going."

* * *

 **37.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

Nora was silent.

That, among many other things, was what worried Pyrrha. Nora, her energetic pancake-loving hammer-wielding daughter, was silent. Not just quiet, as in not speaking, but silent, as in not acting. She glanced around the cafeteria and sat down next to her, subtly wrapping the both of them in a Notice-Me-Not field as she wrapped an arm around her. Her eyes drifted down to the picture her daughter was looking at.

"...Nothing we know." Nora shook her head. "That's what I said, first time we saw this. Nothing we know. Except we did."

Pyrrha nodded, gently letting her grip tighten.

"And the next loop, we knew as well. And the next, and the next... it's something from our past. I think... I don't know, but I think it's why we're... why we're orphans." She let her eyes fall. "I know I was just... it was a tense situation and I was just trying to keep Jaune from worrying. Still... I don't know if it's a mark of a bandit clan, or a particular Grimm, or... or the landing strut of the aliens that abducted us that one time, that was a strange variant. Sometimes we _don't_ recognize it. But this..." She tapped the picture. "This is important. Somehow this is important."

"You know you can't let this eat at you," Pyrrha murmured. "You'll get the answers. Maybe sooner then you'd like."

"I know, but... it's a big thing for us, mom. This is..." Nora sighed. "I feel like... It's... The village. It was horrible. We were joking, right up until we saw it, and... Baseline, Ren runs ahead, according to Ruby. Ren's the most hurt, the most desperate, I just... It drains the life and happiness to see something like that village and for me, that drain is centered around this symbol. It doesn't matter where I see it, I think I could be in the middle of a christmas party and finding this would change me from the Hyper-Pancake-Sloth-Storm-Goddess to... Serious Nora."

By this point, Pyrrha had wrapped Nora in a hug. "Nora, the world isn't fair. And I think... I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. You might need to be Serious Nora for a while... But being serious doesn't mean you have to stop being silly-well, not permanently. If you're ever feeling down, you can come to me, or... talk to Jaune, or Ren. We're family, and that means we're always willing to help."

She lightly kissed Nora's head. "And even if you _do_ have to become a negative Nora instead of my sugary little storm-sloth, that doesn't mean I'll love you any less."

That, at least, got a small smile out of her. "Thanks. That... I know that, but it means a lot to hear you say that."

Pyrrha let Nora rest her head against her breastplate, her hand stroking through her daughter's hair. "Just making sure you did."

* * *

 **37.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

Vacuo.

It existed. It was a desert. And beyond that...

Well, Yggdrasil was damaged. Part of the whole reason that Anchors and the loops even existed was to reverse that damage, on at least a local level. The problem was that points of extralinearity could only extend as far as they could. Ruby Rose had never visited Vacuo in baseline (or if she had, she didn't know it). Neither had any of her fellow loopers, save perhaps Blake-well, her and the adults, but their visits would have been too far into the past for the loop to recall. If Sun had been among Remnant's loopers, perhaps the situation would have been different, or perhaps not; as it was, Vacuo existed, and it was a desert, and everything beyond that was as fluid as the ocean.

This, in time, had given rise to an interesting phenomenon. The sheer variety of potential the situation presented was an ever tempting drug to the ever-bored loopers, and sometimes when things simply became too stressful or outright weird they would slip away for a vacation. There was a saying in Remnant: What Happens In Vacuo, Stays In Vacuo, and for the loopers it was almost a creed. If Blake and Yang disappeared for three weeks, reappearing in new clothes with heavily mussed hair, all they had to say was 'Vacuo' and the subject was dropped like a hot potato. If Jaune and Ren went off for some father-son bonding time, only to appear two months later being dressed in pelts and wielding weapons that even Remnans would find strange, 'Vacuo' would stop all questions. If Penny vanished and reappeared... well, that hadn't happened _yet_ , so the loopers would presumably be very worried, but no doubt 'Vacuo' would defuse a lot of the tension.

Vacuo, to the loopers, was as much a vacation town as any town deliberately built around vacations. Every visit was a gamble-would there be thieves this loop? Noble heroes? Did they know 'magic' of some sort? Or would it just be an ordinary place? It was regarded as a wild, untamed land of wonders and terrors, a blend between Las Vegas and Australia to use a Hub metaphor, and the concept permeated their thinking even after the recent expansions firmed up some details.

This must be understood, otherwise the following would not make any sense.

Blake cleared her throat. "...So. My baseline self might be visiting Vacuo at some point."

Yang's reaction was to laugh in shock. "Whoooahoho there, kitty-cat! That's, oh wow. Oh my gosh. Getting it on?"

"What-no! I was just saying, it's a possibility, and-you know I'd tell you about it, right?"

"Yes, I know, but... wow." The blonde leaned against a wall. "I mean, you remember what happened that time we visited before?"

Blake turned pink. "Yes. Very much. I don't think my baseline self will be quite as rowdy."

"Alright, alright, I'm just... surprised is all."

"And it's not certain," she added. "I just have a feeling."

"Well, tell you what. If you ever need help there, drop me a line." Yang grinned. "We can see if Bokštą Sveikatingas Sapnais is still around."

Blake sputtered for a moment or two. "I-su-sure, yeah. Yeah. That. Yeah. That is. Yeah. I-maybe. Maybe."

* * *

 **37.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby sat on the edge of Beacon's landing pad, looking down the cliff. "Huh. This is actually pretty high. I wonder how many people have jumped from here."

"I hope you're not planning on doing so."

"Hmm?" Ruby turned around. "Oh. Hey Ozpin. No, just... dark curiousity."

"What brought this on?"

"The latest expansion. You know what that means, right?"

The headmaster sipped his coffee. "I am Awake and Looping, if that's what you're asking."

"Always good to check. Especially..." She trailed off, looking back at her boots.

Ozpin leaned on his cane, waiting patiently.

"You know, this expansion we're all worried about... about that Huntsman that almost died, or that symbol in the dirt. Or we're talking about Weiss's family, Whitley, Klein, her father..." She gripped her knees. "In the middle of the night, I... found Jaune, not the looping Jaune, baseline, listening to a recording of Pyrrha. A training video that... ended with a message from her. Not a love confessional, but... It was... personal. I don't think he would have told me, and Looping Jaune, I don't think... he would have been doing it in the first place, because Pyrrha is only a loop's end away, or sometimes his sword."

Ruby stared at the water far below. "That should be important too. Heck, in some ways, it should be the most important, because it was... personal. Everything else is strategic, or... still alive, but this... It should be important. The loops, though, they... we don't worry as much about personal, not baseline personal, not... we've become distant from ourselves, I think. Nobody brought it up. Pyrrha is dead, and this was real grieving, and nobody... brought it up."

"Did anybody know?"

"...Pyrrha would have to have made the recording after meeting Jaune. Jaune... would have to have received the recording. I don't know if they'd do it while they were Looping, especially if both of them were Awake at the same time, but if they weren't... if Pyrrha was training an unawake Jaune, or Jaune trying to help an Unawake Pyrrha with the Maiden question..." She sighed. "It feels like they _should_ know. I don't know if they do, but they should."

Ozpin nodded. "...Maybe you should bring this up with them. Talk it over."

"I'm not mad at them. I'm not... it's just... it feels like we, the loopers, are moving on from that, so how do we help the people who can't? Who aren't looping? We're planing on saving people, on investigating things, and here we have one of our close friends grieving, and... because it's an unawake version of us, it's less important."

Ozpin nodded. "You're disappointed in yourself and your friends."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "That's about it."

* * *

 **37.14 LithosMaitreya**

* * *

Ozpin's cane clicked against the stonework as he crossed the distance between them, coming to a halt beside her, looking out over Vale. "I wonder, Miss Rose," he said slowly. "Have you ever read of the Aristotelian theory of pity?"

Ruby blinked at the sudden turn of the conversation. "No," she said. "Is that something from the Hub?"

"Indeed," Ozpin confirmed. "The philosopher Aristotle believed that pity was a function of empathy, and that empathy required perspective. In short, people only pity those with whom they share common ground, because they can see themselves suffering the same hurts as those they pity."

Ruby frowned out at the city lights. "That's a really bleak view of people, isn't it?"

"It is," Ozpin agreed gravely. "It is also, of course, completely wrong. Our collective response to the suffering of baseline Jaune is proof of as much. Jaune in particular should share a great deal of common ground with his other self, despite the intervening millennia that have changed him. And yet, the unawake Jaune gets very little sympathy from him, or from the rest of us. I think it is because they are _too_ similar."

Ruby nodded slowly. "Any sympathy we can drum up is reserved for Awake Jaune," she said thoughtfully. "is that what you're getting at?"

Ozpin nodded. "It isn't Sakura Syndrome," he said carefully, "but it is entirely natural that we Loopers value our own more than non-Loopers. It's partly a function a partly a function of the endless resets, and partly a function of the simple fact that we are closer friends with one another than with others."

He turned to her, properly, looking down at her over his spectacles. "And yet," he said quietly, "when we are faced with the unawake Jaune directly, we _do_ sympathize. We do comfort him, on the rare occasions when it is in our power. Even though we care more for his Awake self, and even though we don't spend other Loops thinking about it, we don't ignore his plight. That, I think, is compelling."

Ruby grimaced. "I guess," she said wryly. "It's just… Pyrrha's death, and that recording, and our trip… it's the most important period of his life, in baseline, and all we do is give him cold comforts when we see him."

Ozpin nodded gravely. "Imagine, Miss Rose," he said quietly. "There is a young faunus girl of seventeen. She has spent her entire life barely scraping by, just trying to survive in the cold world that is Vale to a homeless faunus. Sometimes, she has barely made it.

"Recent years have been better. She's gotten her Aura unlocked, and managed to hybridize her Semblance and some clever tinkering to produce a weapon for herself. It doubles as a way for her to explore a hobby—photography. Then, at the age of seventeen, she applies to Beacon academy, and is accepted."

"Velvet," Ruby murmured, blinking at him.

Ozpin nodded. "A common variant," he confirmed. "Velvet's first year at Beacon Academy is difficult. Lacking the prior education of many students, her grades look something like a reverse of baseline Jaune's: high combat scores, but low theoretical ones. But her team looks after her, and together they finish the year. But Velvet fails introductory history, and as such has to take it the following year again, with the first-years."

"With Cardin," Ruby muttered.

"And with you, Miss Rose," Ozpin said mildly. "You know the story from here, of course. But consider; Velvet had poor grades and, though high, not groundbreaking combat ratings. When she and her team responded to the Breach, it was not their first mission, but it was certainly the one with the highest stakes. They dealt with it perfectly, without difficulty."

"What if I told you that doing so was the defining moment in Velvet's life?" Ozpin asked, looking at her impassively. "That was the moment when she overcame her past and truly became the Huntress she was striving to be. What do you think of that?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't see where you're going," she said slowly. "I'm happy for her—for that variant Velvet—but I don't see how it's related."

"Oh, but it is," Ozpin said with a slight smile. "You are happy for her, certainly, but you don't make it a priority to celebrate with her, or cheer her on. It's not because she's not Looping; it's because she's not a person in whose life and story you are deeply invested. You like Velvet Scarlatina—especially the one that lives in your Pocket and follows you from Loop to Loop—but except that one, you're not _invested_ in her."

Ruby sighed. "And that's how it is with Jaune."

"Yes," Ozpin said, "but that's no need for displeasure. No one has the emotional strength to care selflessly for everyone they meet, especially in the Loops, where we meet everyone who ever was or will be, and quite a large number who weren't and won't. And yet, we _do_ sympathize, and empathize, when those people's pains come into the scope of our awareness."

"So I'm being silly?" Ruby asked wryly.

"Not at all," Ozpin said. "But you declared war on baseline, Miss Rose. By extension, you postulated a clean divide between the Jaune Arc we have all spent eons Looping with, and the one who loses Pyrrha atop this very tower. You must understand, then, why that second Jaune is no more important to us than anyone else. That doesn't mean we don't empathize; it just means our lives are not defined by his."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "In short, Miss Rose," he said quietly. "Give us some credit. We're doing the best we can."

She smiled at him. "Yeah," she agreed. "I have to give you that. Thanks, Professor."

He nodded back with a smile. "Any time, Miss Rose."

* * *

 **37.15 Wildrook**

* * *

"Jojo," Blake muttered, "this is not what I expected to be happening."

"I know," Joseph Joestar said. "You're REALLY uncomfortable working with Fascists."

How this happened, well, let's just say that when bigger threats had shown up, even the most hated of enemies can become your biggest allies. The Pillar Men counted as the "Bigger Threat."

Although if there was one thing Blake Belladona-Zeppeli had to admit, Rudolf von Stroheim was not your typical nazi.

"Any advice for dealing with this loop?"

"I only have two considering that you've replaced my best friend. One, don't die. Two, practice your Hamon or else you're going to end up senile."

Somehow, that did not reassure her at all. Especially since they were going through Hell Climb Pillar at this very moment.

* * *

 **37.16 Hunter81095**

* * *

Ruby Awoke sitting in a hard plastic chair, staring at a boy with an odd shaped head an obscenely odd hair.

He also had floating plates.

"Look class, Jimmy's plates are floating!" Her teacher, Ms. Fowl, according to her Loop memories, said. Ruby sent out a Ping, receiving three back. Unawake Ruby Vortex would have been angry, and her Loop memories made her feel some sort of resentment and jealousy towards the boy, Jimmy, but she quickly pushed them aside and decided to break from the script in pure comedic fashion. Reaching into her pocket, Ruby pulled her Looping version of Crescent Rose, swiftly pocketing her paper mache Vesuvius (complete with chocolate sauce lava, and strawberry people) into her Pocket.

"Excuse me Ms. Fowl, but I don't think you've seen my project yet." Ruby smirked as she unfolded Crescent Rose. "A collapsible scythe, complete with optional hard light scythe, a super heated plasma blade, and not to mention," she racked the bolt. "It's also a gun." She laughed inwardly at the awed look on everyone's face.

So what if she was being over dramatic, she was in the body of a 10 year old, with the Pocket of an eons old Anchor. She was going to have _fun._

* * *

 **37.17 LithosMaitreya**

* * *

Headmistress Ruby Rose's eyes twitched. "Glynda Goodwitch," she said, enunciating clearly. "Qrow Branwen. Winter Schnee. …Ozpin."

The diminutive seventeen-year-old Headmaster smiled at her over a mug of coffee—yes, he had brought one to team assignments, and no, she didn't approve.

"You need a last name," she told him firmly. "Go get adopted by a nice family. Preferably one whose surname begins with T." She shook her head and continued. "The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces," she said. "Because you wanted me to have to find a name containing G, O, and possibly _Q_ of all things."

Qrow snorted even as the auditorium of Unawake students laughed. "You know it," he chuckled.

"Well, joke's on you!" she declared triumphantly, "because I have _rounded down_. Henceforth, you will be known as Team OQGW*, which has ONLY ONE of those letters but is still close enough that I can fudge it!"

Ozpin's face fell. "You have much to learn about leading this Academy, Miss Rose," he said lowly.

"No," she said shortly, keeping her mouth away from the microphone so that the clapping crowds couldn't hear. "Ruby does not have a W. You don't get to talk. Now get off the stage."

"Well," said Qrow, sitting down on his bed and stretching. " _This_ is new."

"You and I have been Beacon students together before," Winter said, already unpacking her neatly folded clothes from the first of many suitcases and laying them out in ordered piles on her sheets.

"Yeah," Qrow admitted, "but not with Ozzie over here. Have you ever been a student before?"

Ozpin nodded, sitting at a desk, mug in hand. "Once or twice," he confirmed. "It is a highly unusual variant, however."

"We're the only ones awake, yes?" Glynda asked, leaning against the wall. "Besides Ruby."

Ozpin nodded. "Unless, of course, someone is stealthing," he said. "I only received four Ping responses."

"Right," said Qrow firmly, pulling a flask from his Pocket. "Well, this should be fun."

Winter glanced over at him. "What should?"

He unscrewed the cap and took a swig. Ozpin decided not to wonder what was inside. "We're not going baseline," he declared. "Sure, we won't pull out _all_ the stops and possibly crash the Loop. But I plan to win. And it's always fun to take on people who think they're stronger than you, only to find out they're _totally_ outmatched."

Ozpin shrugged. "Perhaps," he agreed. "Of course, we have no idea whether the challenges we face will even peripherally relate to baseline."

Qrow shrugged. "So?" he asked dryly. "We have everyone on Remnant besides Ruby totally eclipsed. Don't tell me you're worried just because we don't know what's going to happen.

"Not worried, no," Ozpin said. "But these are the Loops. Uncertainty is a rare treat. I merely ask that you not trivialize it."

Qrow tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Fair point," he agreed. "Like I said, this should be fun."

* * *

 **37.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

"It's high time I came on an adventure with you lot," Zwei announced. "And we have, what, seven months to cover?"

Ruby held up a finger. "Uh, Zwei-"

"Holy dust!" Nora stared in disbelief. "Your dog can _talk?!"  
_  
"...that." She gestured at the shocked team JNR.

"Ah." Zwei looked them over. "Well... I've said I'd come, so I'm coming. We can figure out the rest on the way."

"Eh, fair enough. We should hang out more anyway."

Jaune blinked. "Ruby, why didn't you ever tell us your dog could talk?"

"You never asked."

"I don't think the question of whether dogs talk is usually brought up," Ren pointed out.

"Which is why I never brought it up." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Zwei is right here. Don't talk about him like he isn't."

"It is quite alright," Zwei assured her. "I know that I'm a stunning figure."

"I guess Neo must see _something_ in you."

The corgi's ears flattened. "Ruby, please, can you not bring that up..."

* * *

 **37.19 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Come on, Jag, we've got to get to the next checkpoint before sundown!"

"I keep telling you, my name isn't Jag!" the man protested. "It's Azar!"

" _This_ loop," Nora muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Spis froop," she replied brightly. "Froop-doop dap dap doop boop boop da wa! Beedly-beep-barp-blarpin!"

The huntsman stared at her. "...I'm sorry?"

"How many quarflebarns is that?" Ruby asked Ren.

"I'd say only one. It's just unexpected scatting, and Jag's still keeping up."

The huntsman sighed. "Why do you call me that? What does Jag even mean?"

"Just Alive Guy," Jaune replied. "It's a little morbid, but... well, actually, that's it. It's a morbid nickname. I was Vomit Boy."

"Bloody Hood," Ruby chirped.

"Walking Disaster!" Nora cheered.

"The Oncoming Storm," Ren stated dryly.

Ruby scoffed. "Really? You're going there Ren?"

"Yeah, sorry, you don't have the right personality for that." Jaune glanced at his sword. "Maybe Stormcrow, though."

"Hmm. I'll consider it."

The huntsman shook his head. "Well... I suppose, if it's a form of solidarity... I really can't complain." He looked over his shoulder. "I should have died back in Shione..."

"Is that spelled with an Sh or an X?" Nora mused curiously.

"Well, depending on the dialect..." The newly named Jag shrugged. "Nevertheless, you have spared me a terrible fate, and you have my thanks."

"Yeah, about that." Ruby twirled her scythe. "We've kind of declared war on fate itself, so... we're going to get into incredibly weird situations. You can choose to come with or just, you know, hang around in the next village."

"Declared war on fate?" Jag smiled. "How would that work, young lady?"

"Oh, you know, you start by freezing a dragon Grimm with laser vision and work from there."

Ren quirked an eyebrow. "Laser vision?"

"It's bright, and it burned Cinder. Hence: Lasers."

"Lasers are directed beams, Ruby," Jaune pointed out. "Yours was just bursting everywhere."

Jag gave Ruby a wary look. "You're... joking, right? You're pulling my leg."

Ruby glanced at him with a wry smirk. "You think that's weird? Wait until you hear the story behind Jaune's talking sword!"

"We're married," the sword added.

"...I've gone insane from blood loss," Jag finally concluded.

"Five quarflebarns!" Nora shouted.

* * *

 **37.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

Weiss walked into the dorm room, sitting on one of the beds silently.

"...I have... a bit of a loopy idea," she began.

Ruby glanced around the room. "We're all loopy, right?"

Yang nodded. "Yep." Her girlfriend pulled a thumbs up from behind her book.

Weiss took a breath. "Blake, this is probably going to be important to you. I'd like it if you heard me out in full."

The faunus closed her book and put it down next to her. "Okay. I'm listening."

"...I've been mentally reviewing the last expansion. And... well, my interactions with my father. I've come to a conclusion that would be a major paradigm shift in our thinking, and it's not a conclusion I feel comfortable with, but... I think we may have to consider the possibility that Jacques Schnee is not entirely... evil."

Blake took in a breath. Slowly, she let it out. "I'm assuming you don't mean he isn't a torture-happy sadist who explicitly sets out to make enough suffering that the Grimm come flocking just so he can sell dust at exorbitant prices."

"No. There have been variants where he _is_ , but..." Weiss held out his hands. "He's petty. He's manipulative. He's mostly concerned for the company, and he's probably primarily responsible for wrecking my family. All that said... Salem is omnicidal, Adam is quite frankly abusive and sociopathic, and baseline Cinder seeks power at any cost. Jacques Schnee seems to just want to keep himself in good standing, and he steps on people to keep them down, not to squash them. He's... a corrupt businessman, and very little else." She shrugged. "Think Roman, if he sold his personal charm for wealth and power."

"That's still pretty bad," Yang pointed out.

"Yes, but... I don't know." Weiss glanced away. "Maybe I still think I can convince him... convince him being good is profitable. Honestly, I agree that putting an embargo on dust exports after Vale's fall was a bad move."

Ruby frowned. "...Bad people can have good ideas, Weiss. Really bad people are really good at it-they're the ones who can avoid getting caught."

"I know. Still."

"...Work on it."

Weiss looked up. "What?"

"Work on it," Blake repeated. "I know there's a lot of hate for the Schnee name, and I know a lot of it comes from him. And I know that just taking him out of the picture isn't... going to fix everything." She sighed. "I don't like it. I really don't. And I'm not sure that he'll get any mercy in baseline. But if you can get him to change, even just for pragmatic reasons... that's better than nothing."

"...I have your blessing, then?"

"You have my understanding, and my cynical prediction that it won't change anything, and my promise to not throw him in grudge matches unless I'm really pissed off." Blake took her book up. "I can't give you anything more than that."

Weiss nodded. "...I can respect that. Thank you for... not just calling me crazy."

"We've been in this room for eons, Weiss. I know you don't take fool's gambits."


	38. Glynda and Jenny's Excellent Adventure

**38.1 Masterweaver**

"...You cannot be serious."

"Look, part of this is determining what does and does not work. And we can agree this does not work. We just need to narrow down why."

Yang let out a relived sigh. "Oh thank _Marianne_. Okay, I can get where you're coming from there. Don't scare me like that!"

Pyrrha smiled slyly. "Although... you'd have to admit, having Salem as a stepmom would be _interesting_."

"Salem is _not_ going to be a contender for _any_ version of the Taiyang waifu quest," Yang stated clearly. "For one, she wants to kill Ruby!"

"Alright, there's a requirement." Pyrrha wrote something down. "Must accept daughters..."

"And not just Ruby, everyone! She's omnicidal, Pyrrha!"

"Should care for the world around her..."

"Oh, and let's not get into her making the freaking Grimm. I mean killing those things, that's our job."

"Don't bring new pets into the relationship. Got it."

"And! And she's old! Like, probably pushing a thousand or two!"

"Reasonable age bracket... would you be okay with Tiyang dating somebody from our generation?"

Yang shrugged. "Well... If they were legal, I guess, but it'd have to be mutual."

"Of course, of course..."

 **38.2 hunter81095**

Ironwood Awoke.

And immediately lost his right hand to a shotgun blast, he tried to stagger away, only to lost his right arm, followed by getting shot in the chest multiple times by a group of people before his Loop memories could kick in.

 _'Well that Loop didn't last long.'_ He grimly thought through the agonizing pain as the man in the middle, the clear leader of the gang, pulled a pistol and shot him in the face.

-i-

Ironwood awoke, in the normal term, in what appeared to be a hospital bed. He shook his head a few times trying to shake away the things clouding his vision before he realized no, that HUD was actually there, and yes, he'd lost pretty much all the feeling in his body. A doctor appeared in his view, and looked him over, nodding and talking him through his new situation and systems.

Apparently, due to the damage his body had sustained in the first few seconds of the Loop, he'd been turned into some form of cyborg, that they were calling Robocop. He was tasked with continuing this version of him's protection of the city, something he was okay doing, and decided to play along with until the loop ended. He was summarily marched out of the lab, and off to the Detroit Police Station, incidentally the same one his Unawake self had worked at, and paraded through the building, to a special room dedicated to his equipment. Docking station, computer access point, and organic paste storage (he still wasn't convinced it wasn't just repackaged baby food).

All in all, he was pretty happy with this loop so far, as much as he could be, considering how quickly it changed, but he was definitely going to keep as much of this armor, along with his pistol, that he could.

As he was sent out on his first patrol, James couldn't help but smirk as he planned on how to deal with this Loop, and how much of it he could integrate into his own arsenal, or adapt to Penny's.

 **38.3 hunter81095**

Ironwood's stint as Robocop was going quite well. He'd stopped multiple different crimes in his short time in this loop so far, and to be quite honest, having an absolutely immense amount of fun as a cyborg cop. In some ways, it wasn't all that different from some of his different pasts he'd acquired back in his home loop.

At the moment, he was chasing down one of the men, Emil, who'd 'killed' him at the beginning of the loop, barely succeeding in stopping the criminal from detonating the gas station he'd confronted him at. The man was rather fast on his motorcycle, and due to him saving the gas station from detonation, he'd been forced into a car chase, blazing through the darkened streets of Old Detroit. He was getting fed up with this guy's ability to lead him around the city, and had finally pulled a crystal of Ice Dust from his Pocket, throwing it at Emil, and detonating it when it flew past the criminal's bike, causing the wheels to freeze, and Emil to crash and get injured enough to not be able to run, but not so much that they couldn't treat him at the precinct.

"You're under arrest, creep."

Ironwood really, really _loved_ this Loop.

-

James threw Emil into a cell, before stomping his way to the computer system in his room, and accessing Emil's rap sheet, getting a long list of crimes and known associates. He quickly noticed the name "Clarence Boddicker" under known affiliates, and looked for more accomplices to track down to bring this man's reign to an end. He scrolled through all of Boddicker's "inner circle", and upon finding the one that would be the easiest to find, finally headed back out, intent on getting rid of this Loop's main villain as quick as possible.

He did however, take a can of organic paste with him, seeing as how he hadn't eaten in the past twelve hours, and as far as he knew, his body could no longer process actual food.

That was the major downside. He couldn't wait until he could enjoy a steak again.

 **38.4 diesel**

Shadows pooled on the ground, a few dim oil lanterns provided the only light in the dark, crumbling corridor. A dark, grey clad figure sunk though the darkness, blending in with the gloom. Golden eyes flashed in the dark, reflecting the faint light.

The air was cold and damp, filled with rot and the stench of malice and corruption. Old blood stained the filthy passages, water dripping down form overhead and tuning the dirt and waste into a foul slurry that burnt the sinuses.

The scratching of rats filled the halls as they scurried in the fallen remnants of an age lost. Broken stone work lay forgotten and unlamented. The words and embellishments long since worn away from ages of neglect; all that remained visible was a single symbol: three triangles contained within a larger one, stylized wings spreading out behind it.

The once majestic temple was now nothing more than a pile of shattered rocks, hidden and lost in the roots of an ancient forest. Nigh endless labyrinth of tunnels and rooms stretched for miles, many choked with roots or filled with the husks of animals long dead or decaying skeletons clad in eerily familiar armour and shields, emblazoned with the sole remaining symbol, etched in gold and amber.

The distance sounds of thunder almost masking the rhythmic thuds of feet marching down the passages. Blake darted though the ancient roots, melting into the shadows as she crouched in the putrid mess. Waiting.

The oil lamps illumining the bone masks that adorned the faces of beings marching down the corridor. Blake gripped her weapon tighter, clamping down on her Aura and focusing on the floor not the White Fang so as to not trip their sixth sense. She barely breathed, matching each breath to the rhythm of the marching Faunus, lying utterly still, letting the shadows and roots break up her form.

They passed without incident, masked eyes never moving to her hidden form.

Blake's eyes were cold, watching as chained and beaten humans were dragged along like animals. The coppery scent of blood and the sickly sweet stench of rot filled the air and danced on the back of her pallet. The prisoner's backs were bloody masses of infected flesh, puss oozing from the infected lacerations.

As the White Fang passed Blake rose from the darkness, eyes fixed on the now empty passage.

These _animals_ would not live to see another dawn.

-

 _Ruby bounced on the spot, Blake shook her head in fond exasperation of her leader's enthusiasm. She didn't blame Ruby; this was going to be a very interesting loop. No technology more advanced than steam, barring some primitive dust powered blimps, and esoteric and archaic Dust manipulation that bordered on fantasy style magic._

 _Even the Grimm were different; Salem was not the only human Grimm this loop, simply their queen who had cast a shadow over Remnant since the fall of Atlantis._

 _"Calm down, you dolt!" Blake laughed as Weiss hurled a bolt of shimmering white flame at Ruby eliciting a yelp as her hair was covered in frost. The icy fire still burning above her hand, a glyph glowing on her palm "Yes, it's going to be a fun loop but it's also a Null Loop, so either keep your gaze focused or the loop ends and we miss the fun."_

 _Ruby slumped comically, tears welling up in her eyes, shining in the gas lights of their dorm as she turned to snickering sister, Yang juggling balls of yellow flames as she watched on in amusement. "Yaaaang! Weiss is being meeaaan!"_

 _"Weiss don't be mean, it's not good to pretend to be someone else." Blake smiled as she watched the byplay, leaning back onto her bed. The White Fang was different this loop, horrifically so, but that could wait until the morning._

 _-_

 _"Get off her!" Blake snarled, trying in reflexive vein to activate her sharingan, fighting to get to Weiss. Blue eyes were screwed shut as the White Fang acted as the animals they had been portrayed as. Blood staining white hair crimson as she was pinned to the ground, the bestial, wolf-like Faunus howling at her to scream, ripping off one of Weiss's ears with his..._ _its_ _bare teeth, devouring it._

 _Wind whistled past Blake's head as a katana blade just flashed past where her head had been a moment before. As she flipped back, daggers coated in poison flashed through the air; blood dripping on the ground as a white fang member behind her dropped, a second just avoiding being impaled in the arm._

 _Flames filled the air with a deafening roar as the dust with in the blade detonated. A charred corpse hitting the ground as the smell of barbecue fill the air, blending with the sickening scents until it was just another background note_

 _Landing on the ground in a crouch, Blake hissed, ears back, her tail giving much needed balance as she leapt forwards at Adam. Shadowy power coalescing into her hands as a glyph flared with purple light._

 _Ribbons of darkness lashing out from her hand to ensnare the Bull. A blade gleaming with stored power dancing among the weaving shadows. Severed tendril dispersing into a mist before it evaporated._

 _"I will admit, I'm impressed and confused, my love." Adam's hair turned to hellish flames as glyphs spun around his body. The temperature skyrocketing as the leader of the White Fang wove his spell, blade dancing in the light of the moon as he clashed with Blake._

 _A clone turned to icy water as his blade passed through it, caustic power enveloping the blade and running down Adam's arm, clashing with the fiery power lacing his body._

 _Blake cursed her unresponsive body: it was too slow, actions that should be reflexive requiring concentrated thought. Her aura refused to twist as she desired, slipping from her grasp beyond the most basic extensions of her in-Loop self's skills._

 _She could barely keep up with Adam and was slowly being pushed down._

 _"Why are you doing this Adam?" Blake roared hoarsely, gripping her stomach and trying to hold a grievous wound shut. Her skin began to blacken and peel from the heat, eyes locked on the approaching Faunus. Symbols and glyphs flashed around her body as she tried to shield herself from the heat and heal herself. "What's the point? The only outcome is the Grimm rising and consuming everyone and everything. You sink to this level… you are not achieving anything thing accept proving them all right!"_

 _Ruby and Yang still needed her._

 _Ice-blue eyes stared blankly at the wall, her mauled face set in a mask of defiance even in death. The lupine beast snarled, hurling the mutilated body into the spreading flames. "Cursed Schnee," the beast spat, its grotesquely muscled form shrinking and its mangy grey pelt receding, a look of disgust on its face as it bit down on the bloody heart still beating in its grasp "Not even a scream. Wonder what Papa Schnee put 'em through."_

 _Adam sheathed his blade, coal like eyes focused on Blake as he cocked his head to one side "And more and more my curiosity and confusion grows. Tell me my dear, how have you grown in power so much in these last few months? I could feel you weaving spells far beyond you level even if they failed at the last. Your blows were superb in skill and timing but done too slow, if they were reflexive then you would have beaten me handily."_

 _Blake force herself to her feet. White hot pain seared though her muscles, wounds littered her body as she chocked on blood filling her lungs._

 _She did not care._

 _Pain was nothing._

 _What mattered was what happened now and how she could save her friends and stop these beasts._

 _"You would not believe me if I told you and I don't care to." Golden eyes blazed with iridescent light, a glyph flashing before Blake blurred. Adam's eyes widened and he leapt to the side, his blade shattering a prismatic clone. A single blade coated in a fell poison piercing his body, toxic gas filling the room._

 _A head adorned with wolf ears, felt to the ground with a wet thud, liquefied brains leaking from the shattered skull. Adam looked impassively at the fallen Fang, turning and striding down the corridor as Beacon burnt._

 _Wavering as he wove a spell to counter the poison now surging though his body, Blake cringed as she slumped against the wall, barely able to move. Only watch as Beacon and Vale fell not to Grimm but Faunus alone._

 _All the more monstrous than the Grimm for the choices they could make and for those they did._

 _Blake was unable to avoid hearing Adam's words carrying over the screams and curses, over the inferno and battle still being waged._

 _"An overload charge? Most impressive my Beloved. I do hope you survive. If you can still hear me Blake, I do hope you see the truth soon. After the rightful ascension of the Faunus, my greatest, dearest desire is to have you willingly stand by my side once more. A Queen to my King, Equals at the end when the final bell tolls on our lives._

 _Fare well until next time."  
_

The sounds of chatter filled the dark halls as Blake slunk amongst the ancient detritus, eyes locked on the glow coming from a nearby hall. The smell of burnt flesh and vegetables filled with air with a putrid scent, wafting down from a nearby kitchen.

The faint foot falls of a solitary figure strolling down the muck filled corridors made her ears prick. The fox Faunus humming as she kept her eyes on the dining hall, a spring in her step, a hunger for something other than food evident in posture, almost swaying.

Blake flicked her wrist, weaving spells of air and rock as a senbon whistled thought the air soundlessly.

In silence the fox girl fell, her body going numb.

-

Lisa choked in silence, unable to draw breath as her lungs refused to respond. Burning pain surged though her body, pulsing in time with her stuttering heart as the horrific curse spread its cancerous tendrils of rock though out her form. Icy terror enveloping her fading mind as the world spun, fading in and out.

 _'… No, the humans, they found us…'_ it was not fair, they had just started making progress towards freedom. Cleaning out the residential areas, taking down Vale and the monsters that dared call themselves hunters…. she had found a partner, just found out they were going to have a family…

In the darkened corridors, hidden from the lights they had so painstakingly obtained a slight figure rose from the shadows, clad in a cloak of mottled greys and black. Golden feline eyes flashed in the meagre light that revealed rosella-marked skin, a panther's tail lashing in the gloom.

Blake Belladonna stalked closer; lips pulled back in a wordless snarl, flashing her razor like fangs in the fading light.

Lisa felt her heart break as darkness swallowed her; The Arch Traitor had come, the Shadow Assassin.

 _Why_?

Why did one of the most loyal and revered of them all turn?

"I'm sorry Oliver, please… get…'

-

Blake felt cold as the terrified girl's body turned to stone. It was a horrific death, but it was bloodless and easy to hide the petrified form in the shattered rocks and debris.

 _'How many did you rape, torture, kill and eat?'_ The crimes needed to become a member of the White Fang were beyond horrific. Blake reached into a pouch, brown powder glittering in the half light. A glyph appeared in her hand and consumed the Dust, a fine mist spreading from her hand to the statuesque form.

Watching impassively as it turned to dust and rubble, Blake pulled her cloak tighter as she headed for the kitchens. A faint wind swirled the dust and debris into the air, banishing it to lie among the ruins of history until times end.

Yang was dead; The memory of her defiled form danced in her mind's eye, her body broken to form a blood eagle. Spells of Dust keeping her alive in torment for a day and night, nightmares wracking her mind.

But Ruby was still alive. The White Fang would not risk losing their chance to try to steal the power of the Mirror Eyes.

 _'I will stop them, one way or another. Either I kill them all and save Ruby or I crash the loop. But I will not allow them to keep my friend for their sick experiments.'_

-

Water, Fire, and Lightning, catalysed by the blood of an illusionist, wove an enchantment that ensnared the senses and Blake walked unimpeded though the kitchen filled with steaming food piled high on platters, bowls all laid out for the soup.

In the distance a bell tolled once, signing five minutes until the evening banquet.

The eyes of the cooks looked unseeingly though her as Blake set to work on her grisly task. The eyes of humans yet to be prepared for the morning meal watched her in enforced silence, a flicker of hope igniting in the eyes of those still able to think, unaware of the nature of their saviour as of yet.

The rusty cages creaked as the locks shattered and the doors swung open. Breaking the spells of silence and restraint.

At a gesture, Wind brought silence once more on to the freed. Blake gazed at the terrified, enraged mass of humans with an unyielding face.

"Not now, they are all done for. You need to get out, I will show the way. Get to Minstrel, get help. I have more work to do. Understand?"

In silence they walked out of the kitchen, trying in vain to keep their eyes off the butchered limbs and slabs of meat still being prepared.

 **38.5 Wildrook**

"Pyrrha," Yang muttered.

"Yes, Yang?" Pyrrha replied.

"I need a stiff drink right now."

"Make that two, and to find Awake Jaune right now."

Neither of them had planned this encounter. The pairing couldn't exactly fit into their heads.

But for some odd reason, Taiyang Xiao Long had met up with Salem, the progenitor of the Grimm...and they were having a good time.

Although for some odd reason, they could hear someone just laugh their head off.

"...That was Headmaster Ozpin," Yang muttered. "And do I hear clapping?"

"Make that four shots," Pyrrha said.

A Loop like this made their brains break. And apparently, they weren't the only ones.

"What," Cinder muttered. "I can't even...just...WHAT!?"

"I think we've gone beyond ten," Nora replied, Ren groaning.

We're not talking about Blake Crashing the Loop. We're talking about Ruby Crashing the Loop.

 **38.6 LithosMaitreya**

The General glanced up as she entered, the book in his hand snapping sharply closed. "Ah, Specialist Belladonna," he greeted. "Thank you for being prompt."

Blake snapped a crisp salute, waited for his responding motion, and then stood at attention, as her Loop memories had taught her. "Sir," she said formally. "You asked to see me."

"I did," said Ironwood, placing his book down on the table and placing his chin in one hand. "I wonder, are you familiar with this text?"

Blake glanced at it, and was brought up short.

 _The Killer Angels_ , by Michael Shaara. A recognizable Hub historical fiction.

"Yes, sir," she said firmly. It was _conceivable_ , if unlikely, that the book had been published here, too."

Ironwood sighed. "Good," he said. "I had a feeling."

Blake studied him. "Why didn't you respond to the Ping?" she asked. "We all thought you were Unawake."

Ironwood nodded. "That is intended," he said. "How closely are you collaborating with the others this Loop, Specialist?"

Blake stood up a little straighter, shifting slightly into an approximation of the technical at-ease, at the use of her rank rather than her name. "Not overly closely," she said. "Ruby and I keep in touch by e-mail, and Weiss and I meet for chess and coffee once every few days."

"Good," Ironwood said tiredly. "You're not in direct contact with Ozpin?"

Blake shook her head. "Ruby told me he was Looping," she said. "How did you know?"

"Weiss told me," Ironwood said. "She found me out earlier, and I asked her to keep it secret. Specialist, I have a… dilemma. I want your advice, and your candid opinion."

Blake nodded sharply. "What about?"

Ironwood grimaced slightly. "I'm party to some of the plans of the Atlesian High Council," he said, "but in this Loop, I lack the direct influence I enjoy in baseline. So when I tell you that Atlas will soon be declaring war on the Kingdom of Vale, I want you to know that it is not my doing."

Blake twitched. "You're serious," she said slowly.

Ironwood nodded. "Extremely," he said. "And yet, Specialist… I find I'm not entirely opposed to the idea."

Blake blinked. "How do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

Ironwood leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as if in thought. "I am a General, Specialist," he said quietly. "I am Commander-in-Chief of Atlas' military, and have been _for_ far longer than the Atlas I originally knew has existed. And yet, in all that time, I have never once had the opportunity to put that force through its paces."

"There's the invasion of Vale in baseline," Blake reminded him.

Ironwood shook his head. "That was a fiasco from start to finish," he said. "I've had loops where I prevented the hacking of my mechs, and took proper control of the situation early on. The invasion is actually quite easy to repel, given the advantages I have then." He held up _The Killer Angels_. "'It is well that war is so terrible,'" he recited, "'Or we should grow too fond of it.' General Robert E. Lee. Specialist, I have had practically _no_ opportunity to do my job in all the time I've been Looping. I have had no opportunity to use the army I probably helped build in baseline, depending on how that settles over time. I am getting _nostalgic for war_. That is unhealthy."

"But you can't help it," Blake finished for him.

"Precisely." Ironwood exhaled slowly. "This, I think, is just what I need. A chance to do what I want, test my military, and my own skill as a General, against one of the finest minds on Remnant—a Looping Ozpin, and simultaneously remind myself why war is the last resort in all conflicts by being placed in a situation where my job is to fight and subjugate people I have come to consider my friends and allies."

Blake looked at the book in his hand. "So if it comes to war, you plan to stick with Atlas?" she asked. "Even though the rest of the Loopers way be against you?"

Ironwood nodded, replacing _The Killer Angels_ on his desk. "I think so," he said. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Ozpin I'm looping, when you join Vale. I don't want to get out Looping camaraderie involved."

Blake considered this. "I won't tell him," she agreed at length."

"Thank you," Ironwood said with a nod. "Now, we need to discuss how you'll defect. I'd rather not have to deal with a known traitor at the start of hostilities…"

"Who says I'm going to defect?"

Ironwood blinked at her. "…Pardon?"

Blake smiled. "Remnant hasn't had a chance for me to cut loose in ages," she said. "It's all Fused Loops and weird variants. We're close enough to baseline that it's almost like… I don't know. Like tearing down a house you hate."

Ironwood stared at her. "But surely Miss Rose…" he started.

Blake chuckled. "Ruby will _jump_ at the chance to face me at the other end of a battlefield," she said. "Oh, can I have a command? I've never really played the field commander before."

Ironwood finally smiled. "I'll see what I can do, _General_ Belladonna," he declared. "I'll get you a pair of stars as soon as I can get the paperwork through. It's good to have you on board."

Blake smiled back and saluted. "Sir," she said. "I'll need to know the details of my command in advance. The men won't trust me at first."

"Of course," Ironwood agreed, returning the salute. "The war's not set to begin until the spring, when our men will be marching south, out of bad weather. We have a few months to get you settled in."

"Thank you, Sir," Blake said crisply.

"Thank you, General," Ironwood said with a chuckle, looking far lighter than he had when she entered the room. "You may go."

Blake nodded, turned, and left the office. She'd need to get Weiss to play a few more complex wargames than chess, in the next few weeks. She had a feeling the practice would be helpful.

 **38.7 Masterweaver**

"Wait a minute, I just realized something!"

Ruby glanced back. "What is it, Nora?"

"Look, from initiation to the Vytal tournament, that's about a year right? And we spend, like, seven months wandering Mistral after Vale's fall." Nora poked Ruby. "You know what that means?"

"...Time passes and we get older?"

"BIRTHDAYS! We each should have had at least one!"

Ren cleared his throat. "That's assuming that Remnant years are equivalent to Earth years in every detail."

"Oh, come on Ren! The law of ambiguity applies here-if there's no evidence against it, assume Hub-world standards."

"Alright! Alright." Ruby grinned. "We'll figure out the birthday thing. I'll check my calander-oh, wait, here comes Jaune."

The three of them turned to the blonde. He smiled. "Hey. The... armorsmith says he's going to be a while, getting the metal together, so..."

Ruby smiled. "Well... I do have this." She pulled a wooden shield out from behind her back. "It's not much. Bit of a relic, but I think it serves its purpose."

"Huh." Jaune took it. "Hmm. It's thick enough. Nice... goat drawing on it? I'll give it back when we get back, of course."

"Of course." She didn't mention it had been another Jaune that gave the Ordon shield to her in the first place. "I don't have a sword, but we can cut a thick branch off somewhere. Club's better than nothing, right?"

"Right. Well... come on, we've got a Geist to kill." Visibly gathering himself, Jaune marched onward.

"...We should invite him to the party," Nora murmured. "He really needs some cake."

Ren hmmed. "Yes. Yes he does."

 **38.8 Masterweaver**

"...Zwei?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"I cannot believe I'm asking this, but... did you eat my homework?"

"Of course not."

"Alright then."

"I taught Miss Rose how to properly prepare educational assignments for consumption."

"...so you're saying _Ruby_ ate my homework."

"It was an excellently sauteed salad, if I recall correctly..."

 **38.9 Leviticus Wilkes**

Glynda was walking down the hall when she was tapped on the shoulder. "Yes?"

Yang was standing behind her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

She pulled Penny out of her subspace pocket. "Salutations."

"...No." Glynda declared her thoughts, took Penny under her arm, and walked away.

 **38.10 hunter81095**

Yang Awoke to a new Loop next to her girlfriend, who to her delight nodded that she was Awake. Her happiness ebbed away though when she saw the look on her partner's face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, putting an arm around her shoulder. Blake simply waved her arm to the window.

Confused, and not entirely understanding why the faunus looked so dismayed, Yang stood and looked around outside, where multiple Mikasa Glitch versions of her girlfriend ran amuck causing mass chaos and anarchy. Yang shook her head even as a smile began to take over face. She walked back over to her friend and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Wow, I didn't know this Loop would be so Blake."

Blake's groan could be heard all the way in Vale.

 **38.11 BIOS-Pherecydes**

Jaune Awoke in a bar, an empty shot glass still in hand after having been drained of it's contents. Sadly it was not Ryu's bar, as most others didn't tend to serve alternative non-alcoholic drinks, but it was nevertheless one he recognized immediately. Partially because he had been to it countless times in the past, partly because it appeared in the Backup material, and partly because he was currently viewing it from every angle, light wavelength, audio frequency and Auric viewpoint simultaneously. Without really thinking about it, his lips spread in a wide grin. A Gamer Loop. He _loved_ this Variant.

Not just because it was so extremely well defined in comparison to the Baseline, or because his Semblance was utterly broken in so very, very many ways. Not even because the final boss was one of the few remaining enemies which posed a legitimate challenge to every Looper he'd ever had join him, Ruby included. (After all, how did one effectively beat someone who could warp all of Reality itself; albeit in a highly localized manner most of the time.) No, most of all he loved this Variant, because of the friends and family members he had in it.

Adam:, who was everything Blake would have wanted in a partner, and who she would have embraced like a brother had he actually been like this version of him.

Raven: who Yang would have gladly accepted back into her life without hesitation, if he could ever manage to get her head out of her ass and make it happen.

Gou: the best dog/son/familiar a man could ever ask for, and who would give Looping Zwei a decent run for his money.

And Summer, his beautiful daughter/plant princess/reincarnation of his best friend's mom. And man, the look on Ruby's face the first time she learned that particular detail was priceless. He didn't make a big deal of it since she didn't, but technically he could be called her grandfather now. He'd let her decide whether she wanted that.

Best of all however, not that he'd ever compare any part of his family against itself, was his sisters and parents. Jaune had long since resigned himself to the fact that if he was ever going to see his Baseline family, it wouldn't be for eons to come. He knew he had seven sisters, he assumed he had at least one living parent; whether mother or father or both was kinda up in the air at the best of times. But beyond that... nothing.

This Variant however, he knew them. All seven sisters: Bianca, Violet, Sienna, Shani, Azure, Indigo, and Olivia. Mother and father: Isabella and Jacques Arc. And even a grandmother: Jeanne Roma. He had a complete, consistent family for the first time in this Variant. Above and beyond any skills or experiences, both good or bad, he had here, that alone made this his favorite Variant. Even if/when Baseline finally firmed up on the details of his family, he'd never abandon these versions as false. Family was family, regardless of details.

As far as he was concerned, he had _fourteen_ sisters, three or four parents and a grandmother. Plus two Looping children, and two non-Looping ones of non-standard species delineation.

Which wasn't to say he didn't enjoy the other perks. Now if only he could figure out how to get any of them besides the perception skills to transfer over. A bitch and a half to do considering Aura _really_ Did. Not. Work. That. Way. It also didn't help that the abilities weren't hard copies in Yggdrasil's banks and he got them by osmosis, which meant that each time the details varied. It also didn't help that some of them required 'stats' which even his Looping self couldn't maintain. Total Spiritual Enlightenment was _hard_ after all, and most of the better skills required near Buddha levels of zen wisdom. Which, being totally honest with himself, he didn't quite have mastered even this far into his Looping career.

The Gamer's Mind allowed him to bypass those issues while in the Variant itself but, as it was a Variant Semblance, it didn't carry over and so he was always reduced back to scratch at the end of the Loop. Which was okay really, as the progression was half the fun and starting over at the beginning each time made for an entertaining Loop goal whenever he visited. Outside however, the best he'd gotten so far was pericognition, most of the defensive skills excepting the barrier techniques (and Serpent's Skin or it's variations which were too dangerous for casual use without the Gamer's Body). The actual attack techniques though were proving to be a massive issue to translate for usage with a normal Aura and, without his Semblance making them possible, were so far out of his reach.

The same thing held true with his Elementals, there was no method for summoning using Aura in a Baseline Loop so he couldn't bring them along either. He had hoped they'd be Soul-Bound given the nature of their existences, but apparently Yggdrasil counted them as a part of his Gamer Semblance so that didn't happen. His experiments in countering that fact hadn't borne any actual results despite his best efforts, but he was willing to keep trying; both for his Elementals and for the rest of his Gamer acquired skills.

It was always nice to have something to work towards after all, especially when boredom threatened to rear it's ugly head. But he was skipping everything involving the Grimm, or Qlipoth this Loop, for good. Both the masks, Naraka, and the Riders. Too dangerous and too distasteful.

With that thought in mind, approximately half a second after having Awoken, he finished setting the glass on the counter. Dismissing the screen alerting him of his increased Poison Resistance, he mentally started a countdown and returned to his conversation with Adam. Dustdamn he loved fucking with that guy's head.

Right on cue, shortly after driving Adam to attempt to bash his way through the countertop with his forehead, Yang showed up. Jaune's grin widened when she winked at his in response to his Ping. Crossing the floor with her typical hubris, she pulled up a seat next to the duo; a scowl attempting to make it's way across her face at the sight of Adam, as she rubbed her arm unconsciously.

"Hey Jaune, this one's the not an asshole version right?"

"Yeah. Please don't rearrange his face. Your mom would kill me if she found out I let her kids get into a bar fight with each other." He joked.

Yang snorted, but allowed it; ignoring Adam completely, despite his dumbstruck expression just begging for one of her (in)famous jokes. Jaune just passed the rest of their alcohol over to his partner. Adam happily took it and left Jaune to do... Jaune things.

Turning around in her seat and resting her elbows on the counter, Yang signaled the bartender for her customary drink. She didn't indulge often, but it didn't hurt to splurge every once in a while. Just the one though, she didn't need Ruby getting upset.

"So, I just Woke Up. Is Ruby Awake or are we dealing with a Stealth Anchor?" Jaune questioned, checking Yang's level curiously.

 **The Sun Beneath The Ash Tree's Bough  
LV 113  
Yang Xiao Long**

He nodded to himself mentally, about average for her Awake self. Yggdrasil like playing with the titles, but Yang's usually revolved around the Sun somehow. Though clearly she'd been training a lot since Awakening, a seventy level difference was no joke in this Variant, and if it weren't for them both being Awake he wouldn't even be able to see her level at this point. He'd have to work hard to catch up.

Yang nodded. "Yeah. She already used her Majin thing to turn the Rider in her blood into sugar and last I saw she was getting ready to go hunting for Crom Cruach since Cinder already took care of the Ziz," Yang chuckled. "Ruby spent like a week pouting when she found out. That's like the fifth time in a row that Cinder solo'd Ziz before Ruby could take a shot. She has this new Conceptual Weapon setting for Crescent Rose that she wants to try out, but none of the regular Grimm are able to really put it through it's paces. She also wanted to ask when we were gonna storm Jericho Falls."

Jaune shrugged. "If Cinder's Awake, we could probably pull it off now. But I'd be relying on mostly Out-Of-Loop skills since I just Woke Up, and Lux Aeturna, Ohr Ein Sof and Thaumiel are totally off the table right now since I haven't gotten that far at this point. And Malkuth's no push over even with those. Give me about a month?"

Yang nodded agreeably. "No problem. But if Blake Wakes Up we're holding off until she's good to go too."

"That's sounds okay to me. My Loop Memories say that Ren and Nora are both Awake, since they helped save my dad and their grandpa. I'll give them a call when we're all good to go. Get your mom to give us all a lift so we can make some plans." Jaune mused.

Yang smirked. "Great." She stretched her arms overhead and finished off her drink. "I'll catch you then Jaune. Bring Summer by so she and Ruby can talk when you get it all setup, alright?"

Jaune nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I'll get right on that."

"Cool. See ya later gramps." Yang said with a chuckle, leaving with a thankfully minimum amount of damage to Juniors bar. He and his elementals could fix it, but it was time that was better spent training. And he could use all the time he could get. After all, Malkuth wasn't going to defeat himself.

 **38.12 BIOS-Pherecydes**

"So... has anyone else noticed anything... odd about Cinder recently?" Weiss asked as she finished setting up her things on their remade bunkbeds.

"Odd how?" Blake asked, ignoring the laser pointer her girlfriend was shining on her book with a steadfast determination.

"Irrational outbursts, occasional paranoia, a rather blatant _clinginess_?" Weiss listed off, her face twisting in a rather bemused expression at the last bit.

"Oh what's wrong Weiss, you have a White Ash Loop and now you're on edge?" Yang teased, smirking as the twitches in Blake's bow increased.

The other three members of Team RWBY groaned at the reminder of the hated shipping chart. (Though Ruby was more irritated at it's lack of focus rather than it's punnerific naming scheme. Her chart was so much better, she even had a graph to prove it!)

"Okay, first off, no. Second, ew! She's been part of my family more often than my _actual_ family has. Third, I am _trying_ to have a serious discussion about one of our friends, would it kill you to behave yourself for five minutes?" Weiss demanded, hands firmly on hips.

Yang shrugged. "Eh, probably not. Okay shoot, what's the business?"

Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, but dutifully continued. "Alright, look. Cinder hasn't always been the most open of individuals, which is forgivable given the variable nature of her past, but she's still one of us. And when something happens to one of us, it affects all of us; even if only by simple fact of proximity. Cinder's been a bit off ever since the Expansions started up again. She's spending more time just... hanging out with us or helping with whatever we've got planned for the Loop. And helping. She keeps offering to help me with my dad and Whitley. Help help, not, you know, _take care of_ help. If it weren't for her interactions with Adam or Salem's new council—

"Of EVILLLL!" Ruby chimed in.

"...I'd almost think she'd been replaced with someone else." Weiss finished, staring her Anchor down irritably.

The room was silent for several moments as the others took time to digest the Schnee heiress' mini-rant. Then Yang spoke up. "Geez. Sound's like this' been _burning_ you up! Eh, eh?"

Blake took the chance to casually assault her girlfriend with several dozen pillows. Yang heroically withstood the barrage before succumbing, collapsing under the feathery doom in a fit of laughter. Huffing to herself, Blake straightened her hair and gave Weiss a considering look. "I had noticed that she seemed a bit less on edge recently. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes she gets this far off look, as if she's seeing something somewhere else and then she gets a little jumpy. I think she's been sleepwalking recently too."

Yang sat up with a frown. "Okay, so what? Is there something wrong with her? I haven't seen any of this junk you guys are talking about. She still seems pretty normal to me."

"Maybe it's something from the new Expansions?" Ruby suggested worriedly. "You guys know, like how sometimes when new stuff gets all permanent, things start leaking out early? Maybe Cinder's dealing with something from the Baseline that hasn't firmed up yet? Like with the, you know," She gestured over her face and throat vaguely. "Except maybe it's something in her Loop Memories."

Weiss frowned. "That might be it, I suppose." She exchanged looks with Blake and Yang, both of whom displayed their own uncertainty.

"It does fit what we know some of the other Loopers have dealt with before during their own Expansions." Blake added hesitantly.

Yang grunted before smirking confidently. "Whatever it is, we can deal with it. Besides, it can't be all bad. So Cinder wants to spend more time with us, big deal. More the merrier right?"

Ruby nodded decisively. "Right. And until Cinder wants to talk to us about whatever it is, we won't bother her about it. We'll just support her like friends and family are supposed to."

The others gave nods of their own, agreeing to let things be for now. Ruby grinned. "Okay, so, plans for the rest of the Loop! Go!"

Yang grinned. "Two words: Lunar Slingshot. Using Grimm as the ammo!"

Ruby steepled her fingers in front of her face and nodded seriously. "That's more than two words, but I _like_ what I'm hearing. Keep em coming."

 **38.13 Diesel**

-  
"… In this vein we have ørlǫg, an old Aesir word that translates literally as 'beyond law', referring to the fact that Fate/destiny is beyond the control of man and transcends our rules. In the Old Myths, the Goddess Three spin the stands of fate or ørlǫg laying out the order of the world. This is linked to the concept of the Wyrd, from which the word Weird arises. Wyrd is the personal fate of a person linked to their ancestor's actions and their own." Professor Bartholomew Oobleck.

….

Crystalline red petals filled the air as a maiden danced among the webs of destiny. Silver lit eyes sparking in the everlasting twilight as she weaved and bobbed beyond the grasp of ørlǫg to a tune unheard of by mortal ears for aeons.

Silver eyed wraiths stood in deathless solitude, trapped from the world beyond, watching with sightless gazes as the red cloaked figure laughed with bitter amusement as she played with the stands of fate in the otherworld. Gazing into the refractions of the mortal lands beyond the veil, the figure spun her scythe idly, watching another red clad figure parting way with her servants, exhaustion pulling her towards the tainted land of dreams. In the evanescing distance, out of sight from the girl, a white cloaked shadow gazed at the Light of Life that had entered the thereafter in violation of unseelie accords, its featureless face flickering with emotion long gone.

The last silver reaper ran her pale fingers over the strands of fate, watching as they twisted and turned, warping the minds and ensnaring the senses. Hiding the spirits and the fair folk from the gaze of humanity. For something so horrific it was such a beautiful weapon of unmatched engineering, crafting such a superb, unmatched lie.

Weaving such a clever, Grimm, fairy tale.

Monsters walked with men, cloaked in shrouds of shadows and masks of light. Stealing away the souls of those who would fight against the vengeful remnants that hungered from what had been taken from them. Leaving only shadowed masses of bone and hate without identity, slaves to the weave to spread chaos and death on the innocent who strove to protect humanity. Oblivious from the threat from the faerie that spoke in enchantments and hungered for light not their own.

Ruby smiled sadly from beneath her hood with melancholic eyes, watching as the Wyrd pushed and pulled at an amber eyed woman embraced by broken power, just closing her eyes for sleep. The strands of fate spelt out her final destination and all those linked by the weave, entwining with the mind and memories of all who walked under the broken moon. Yet it would be the faeries weapons that would serve to be their undoing. Fitting really, they had twisted humanities weapons to their own ends for aeons and now the greatest lie would become the greatest truth.

The Wrath of the Seasons were a fey gift this time around, existing only to destroy those who would oppose destiny and yet, now one lay broken and shattered. Ruby gazed back though time, along the strands of the limitless tapestry that wove the Lie. Watching as voids masked in light burned the radiance of a child to ash, leaving only smouldering coals of hate to dwell in her soul, awaiting something to ignite the fire that would bring the world to ruin.

Ruby's eyes burned with silver fire, sweeping from the otherworld to the world of Remnant. At her gesture, the stands that bound Cinder Fall to the weave burned, spreading outwards to all that were intertwined. The Lies and delusions of the Fair Folk falling as memories returned, free and untainted.

"What will you do Cinder?" Ruby wondered aloud, looking around the perpetual darkness of the otherworld. Millions of restless dead stood with like monoliths in the gloom, bound and immobile by the Fae made Laws of the World. Silver fire spreading from the broken mantle of seasons to all the restless dead. "Knowing that all you have done, all you have suffered and served, that it is all just a lie so someone else may claim their victory?"

It would be interesting, a common trait most Cinder's had was a hatred of being manipulated. That when the same for the Awake Cinder, so what would they do? This Cinder knowing, she has been serving as a pawn of those that she despises? Or her beloved Sister, who had been acting off ever since the new expansions had started. She had hated finding out she served anyone, and now was aware she was just one of many pawns.

Ruby turned away to face the lost and bound wraiths, sealed in the other realm by the Fae. Millions of mirror like eyes pulsed with light as they turned to face her one by one, the waves of silver fire cascading across the realm of souls burning their bonds.

One goal united them, the destruction of the Fae and all that serve them. Ruby understood their desire and shared it. In this time, she was one of the breakers of destiny; beyond the grasp of ørlǫg. It felt fitting, defying the fate of Remanent with Cinder as an ally.

Samhain was coming and the veil between worlds would part; soon she would lead the Wild hunt through the kingdoms four.

After all, all fairy tales must come to an end eventually.

This was going to be an interesting loop.

 **38.14 hunter81095**

Ironwood stomped into Dick Jones' office, prepared to arrest the man for his blatant greed and corruption, wondering how the hell he didn't see it from the beginning.

"Ah! Officer, what a surprise! I normally only see people by appointment, but for you I'll make an exception." He gave a grin that even an Unawake Penny could tell was fake and set aside his brandy, his hands steepled together on his desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Dick Jones, you're under arrest." the General turned police officer announced as he pulled his gun from the holster in his leg. The man only seemed amused by these efforts though, and stood up, a mocking smile on his face.

"And what are the charges officer?" He asked, fake curiosity oozing from him in buckets. Ironwood's blank face set itself into a scowl.

"Aiding and abetting a known felon" he recited, prepared to pull any number of weapons and tricks from his Pocket should the need arise. He began moving slowly and deliberately towards the corrupt businessman, feeling how the looming sense of dread increased with each step.

"That sounds serious, sounds like you should take me in." Ironwood suddenly felt an odd faint spell hit him as blocky green text flashed across his HUD.

 _Directive 4._

 _Product Violation.  
_  
Static began filling his screen as he fought the programming, determined to arrest Dick Jones, even as his systems tried to force a shut down.

 _Directive 4._

 _Product Violation._

Dick's smile became decidedly malicious as he sat down on his desk, jerking his hand away as Ironwood's as he was forced to his knees. "Directive four, it's my little contribution to your psychological profile." Jones stood up, sipping from a snifter of brandy as he walked around the sides of Robocop, who by now was making a convincing impression of someone in the middle of a seizure. "Any attempt to harm, or arrest a senior officer of OCP results in automatic shutdown." He sneered down at the cyborg on his office floor. "You're not a real officer, you're our product, and we couldn''t have our product turning against now, could we?" Ironwood reached for his gun, straining the programming to it's limit as he tried to raise his gun.

"Still got some fight left in you, huh?" Dick smiled unkindly at him, sipping from his snifter as he walked to the back of his office. "Good, I like that." He nodded approvingly, until the programming won out, and the gun clattered to the floor. It was all James could do to keep his head leveled at the man. Dick leaned against the wall, and hit a button that Ironwood hadn't seen when he walked in.

"I had to kill Bob Morton made a mistake, now it's time to erase that mistake." And with that, a large bidpedal robot, somewhat reminding Ironwood of an Atlesian Paladin rumbled out of a hidden closet. "I'd like you to meet ED-209." He stepped aside, out of the way of the large robot, and sneered as the robot turns to face it's foe.

"YOU ARE TRESPASSING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY." Ironwood changed priorities as he was kicked through the doors of Dick Jones' office.

 _Directive 4_

 _Product Violation Ceased._

 _Regular operations may commence._

Ironwood reached into his Pocket, a large rocket launcher forming in his hands. The cyborg smirked as he ran, ducking and dodging the shots from ED-209, stopping at the end of the hallway and firing a HEAT rocket at his opponent. The rocket spiraled it's way down the hallway, slamming into the robot's upper body.

 _BOOM_.

The smoke cleared, revealing a partially collapsed hallway blocking him from Dick Jones, and a twisted twitching robotic corpse that was all that remained of ED-209.

Ironwood wiped some dust off his shoulders, heading towards the stairs, plans to use Clarance Boddicker to get the Senior President of OCP fired forming in his mind.

 **38.15 Masterweaver Shimmer712 and me**

"Argh..." Glynda groaned, resting her head against the table.

"Whoa, someone has had a rough go," a voice commented. Glynda looked up and frowned at Qrow.

"I am not in the mood for your antics, Qrow," she said.

Qrow shrugged. "So what's eating you," he asked.

Glynda sighed. "It's nothing particular. I'm just...frustrated."

"Oh?"

"My students either forget everything or I have nothing more to teach them," she sighed. "It's just wearing me down." Qrow looked at her.

"C'mon. I'll take you for a drink," he decided, walking over to her and gently pulling her to her feet.

"Qrow!"

"What? You need a pick me up and if you're worried about your students and colleagues, the ones who won't understand won't remember anyway," he pointed out. "Besides, I can just take you to a bar a good distance from Beacon so no one from here will see you."

Glynda slumped. "Fine," she grumbled. "But you're buying."

-

 _"Uuuuungh." Glynda came to, blinking her eyes blearily. "Why. Why do I keep getting into Qrow's stash..."_

 _"Well, he's got some crazy shit in there." A hand helped her up. "You're Glynda, right?"_

 _"Yes. Glynda Goodwitch... and yes, I've heard all the wizard of Oz jokes." Glynda pulled a canteen out of her pocket and began drinking, before blearily blinking at the indian woman in front of her. "I'm sorry, I... don't recognize you."_

 _"Jenny Everywhere."_

 _"Oh. The traveling looper, right?"_

 _"Not the only one." Jenny shrugged. "There's Rougelike, Sunset was one for a while, I think that Quantum leap guy counts... you too, now."_

 _Glynda blinked. "What?"_

 _"Don't you remember?"_

 _Vague recollections fluttered to the surface of her mind. "Oh. Ooooh. It's coming back..."_

-

Qrow kept his word and they made their way to the other side of the city of Vale, picking up unexpected company.

"So you're in charge of fixing the world?"

"Fixing Remnant, yes," Marianne confirmed. Qrow blinked.

"Okay...and you're out drinking?" he asked curiously.

Marianne laughed at him. "Even gods and goddesses need a break! We can run ourselves down and burnout too," she pointed out with a giggle. "I'm just disappointed my boyfriend couldn't take the time to come with me. Something to do with one of his siblings. Besides, going out for drinks can be all sorts of fun!"

Qrow looked at Glynda. "We lucked out and got a good one for our world," he grinned. "I like her!"

"She's not your new drinking partner," Glynda reminded him. "She has responsibilities."

"No but I can enjoy her company while she's here," Qrow grinned.

"You know, I don't think I've gone drinking in Remnant before," Marianne said thoughtfully. "It's always been with other Admins in their loops."

"Well, we'll have to make sure you get acquainted with our drinks while you're here," Qrow declared. "After all, we don't know when you'll be back next for a round of drinks."

Marianne laughed as the trio entered the bar.

-  
 _  
"Yep. You ended up going drinking with your admin." Jenny shook her head. "What can I tell you, that happens sometimes."_

 _"Usually to more... ugh. Unrefined individuals." Glynda winced. "Oh wow. I should not have drunken all that. This headache is killing me."_

 _"Here. Hangover cure. Not instant, slow going."_

 _"Thank you." Glynda took the offered can and drained it. "So, miss... Everywhere."_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"How do you know what happened?"_

 _"You told me. Well, after you blundered into my place and declared me the torch of the future."_

 _"...I am so sorry."_

 _"Nah, it's cool. Weirder things have happened. Apparently, after a while you got on to the more exotic drinks..."_

-

"So what's this one called?" Marianne peered into her glass at the frosty, white and blue liquid.

"Solitas circle," Qrow answered, watching as the goddess poked her finger into the drink, squealing at the cold. Who would have figured a goddess could get drunk?

"Oohhh! Darts! C'mon, let's play!" Marianne jumped up and ran across the room, pulling a wildly grinning Glynda with her. Qrow snickered as she picked up a dart and threw, completely missing the target.

Unless she was aiming for the fake beowolf head about five feet to the right. Then she got a bullseye. Or rather, a wolf's eye, given where her dart hit.

"Aww...I hit the wolfie," Mariane whined. Glynda pushed her aside.

"My turn!"

Okay, using her semblance to send all the darts flying at once _had_ to be cheating.

-

 _"So after a few rounds of darts, with increasing amounts of cheating-"_

 _"Yes yes. It's coming back." Glynda sighed, slumping into a chair. "Sweet Dust. I... really shouldn't get into debates with Qrow."_

 _Jenny chuckled. "I wasn't even there, and it sounded like something really fun. Waffles?"_

 _"Oh. Yes, thank you." She paused. "Seriously, though, thank you miss Everywhere. You really don't have to do this, I don't want to be a burden."_

 _"No, it's fine, it's fine. We're going to be spending a lot of time together anyway."_

 _"Really? Why... oh." Glynda moaned. "Oooooooh no."_

 _"What?"_

 _"I just remembered what happened after I lost that debate with Qrow..."_

-

Why did she have a bra on her head? Glynda wasn't sure. But she wasn't the only one. Mariane had a bra on her head too while Qrow...

Why was Qrow trying to balance a scarecrow on his head?

The barkeep winced as the man fell off the table, landing on a chair and breaking it. At least there were now only two people dancing on his tables.

Now if only the one in the hood with the blue and white outfit would stop cuddling his faux-beowolf head. He paid good money for that thing.

Marianne gasped suddenly, peering over her wolf. "We should try and make our own drink! And it will be the _greatest drink ever!"  
_  
"That's a great idea!" Glynda replied, eagerly looking around the bar. "What do we have to make it with?"

Qrow held up a finger from the ground. "Raid the back!"

The barkeep buried his head in hands as the two women bounded over him. Thank Grimm bars were given fantastic insurance deals, otherwise drunken hunters wielding aura and semblance would have ended the entire business decades ago.

-

 _"Qrow recorded the whole thing, I just know it." Glynda put her head in her hands. "I'm going to be the laughingstock of Remnant for a thousand loops."_

 _"You were drunk-dancing with an Admin. Pretty impressive." Jenny put a plate on the table in front of her. "I'm sure they've done worse while drunk."_

 _"Most of them are underage. And quite willingly avoid alcohol. Honestly, the only social drinkers are... ugh." Glynda slumped. "Roman, Zwei, Qrow, and_ me _. Damn."_

 _"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it. They won't have the opportunity to hound you for a while."_

 _Glynda looked up. "...What do you... oh." She blinked. "OH."_

 _"You're remembering now?"_

 _"Yes. I am. I... Oh. Um. Wow."_

-

"And he waush in un putain d'un coma fer, like, sefen yeeeeeeears! All caushe of tha, thos pourris salauds des bugs monstres. Putain de bordel de _merde_!" Marriane swung her hand. "Ish hard, Gigi. Ish hard, lovin' a wolfipu." She nuzzled the wolf head. "Nobody, nobody underschaands."

"You know, ish... hard fer me too." Glynda twirled her riding crop. "Like. Like. I teach, right? But they all forget, or they all know already, sho. Wasch the point." She sighed. "I thin' I nee... nee... shomthin new. Loscha new."

"Yeah, vacay. Vacay shoundsh like... wait. Wait. I am havin. Brilliansche!" Marianne waved her hand, producing a holographic screen showing the exact scene and a lot of code.

Glynda blanched. "WHOA whoa whoa whoa whoa. You'sch drunk! Code drunk bad, ischn't it?"

"Only if I'sh doin' hard thin's. I jusch switchin' a switchy." Marianne tapped the image of Glynda, producing a secondary window of the woman in a standing pose, and scrolled down through the code. "Schee here. This. This is the part that shays home ish Remnant, yesh? All I gotch to do is turn it off, and, and you go bouncing a bit."

"That'sh... not dangerous, ish it?"

"No. Well, no. No." Marrianne frowned. "...I think Jenny Everywhere ish shomewhere thisch loop. Show." The window produced an image of an indian woman lounging on her couch. "Yessssssssh. Show what'sh I'm gonna doo. Watsch happenin. I turn you travelling, you hang with her, then. Then when I'm shober I link ya too up sho ya bounce together."

"Yes... Yesh, this is not a bad plan."

"I know, right?" Marianne reached out and tapped the screen. "Boop! Free Gigi. Yaaaaaaay!" With a wave she made the screens vanish.

"Yaaaaaay!"

"Now, youshe gotta find Jenny. I thinksh... she's that way."

"Right." Glynda stood, staggering out the door. "Jenny! Jenny! Yoush... like a beacon Jenny! Shiny one!"

At that moment, the still in the back of the store exploded. Marrianne glanced back. "EEEEEEW! Whats'ch that?!"

"Ish drink!" Qrow proclaimed, swaying happily.

"It's everywhere! Is it edible?"

"Hmm..." Qrow licked the wall. "Bleeaaggh! Definitely not!"

-

 _"And then you found your way here."_

 _"Oh dear Dust. I mean... looking back, I guess I like the concept, but-"_

 _"Hey." Jenny held up her hand. "It's okay. It was a decision made in the heat of the moment, and I garuntee you, any second now Marianne is going to burst through that door and say-"\_

 _"GLYNDA! Oh great, you're okay. Look, I might have made a tweak to your code when I was drunk and-"_

 _"Was it the thing that made me a travelling looper?" Glynda asked._

 _"...Yes. That."_

 _"Did you do anything else?"_

 _"No. I checked. It's just that. Now, we were drunk, so I can totally understand if you're upset-"_

 _"No, I'm perfectly alright with it."_

 _"-so if you like I can... oh. Um. You are?"_

 _Glynda shrugged. "I need a breath of fresh air. It's the reason I went barhopping in the first place."_

 _"And I'll look after her," Jenny added. "You are tagging us to travel together, right?"_

 _"I'll do it later today," Marianne promised. "I'm just glad you're okay with this."_

 _"Oh, certainly. Although, I don't expect it to be permanent."_

 _"Of course, of course, I'll be ready to switch your location code back on whenever you want."_

 _Jenny tilted her head. "Out of curiosity, where's Qrow?"_

 _Marianne froze. "Um. Well. That's... do... do any of you know the legal ramifications of crashing an airship into Beacon? Cause, I don't have any idea..."_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN TRAVELING LOOPER!" James Ironwood roared in Qrow's face.

Qrow flatly stared at Ironwood for a few seconds. "...Owwwwww..." he moaned, sinking into the fetal position. "Stop being loud," he begged.

Ozpin, Winter and Roman had gathered with the aforementioned general and drunkard in Ozpin's office, having been summoned, bizarrely, by a rundown and seemingly hungover Marianne. The Spirit of Liberty and Freedom had explained that Glynda was a Traveling Looper, that Qrow had been present, and oh look here he is he'll explain everything. She had promptly warped away, and left the hungover Qrow to deal with the confusion of everyone and James' wrath.

Ozpin hopped over his desk and gently pulled Ironwood away from Qrow, pulling an Eggs Benedict from his Subspace pocket and handing it to his top spy. "I suggest you give Qrow a bit of space James, we don't want to knock him out."

"We don't, but we want information." Ironwood glared at the man quietly nibbling the hangover curing sandwich. "Where is she?"

"..." Qrow kicked on his Aura and started to heal the dehydration that a hangover brought on. "Glynda's taking a vacation. Through a few different universes. At random. For a while."

"...How?" James said in a carefully measured tone.

"Marianne got drunk and fucked with her code," Qrow said simply.

A moment passed. Ironwood's visage darkened. Winter and Roman dove for cover. Ozpin pulled Qrow into his Subspace Pocket.

 **"MARIANNNNNNNNNNNNNE!"**

Marianne appeared and bonked Ironwood on the head. "Don't yell. Please. Not like that. Screaming that loud is an Ascension risk."

Ironwood pointed at her. "Why? Why did she-"

Marianne flicked her fingers, a holographic video appearing. The five adults in the room and Roman stepped up to watch it. Glynda and Qrow, Glynda lamenting the pain of being a teacher in the Loops, and Qrow taking her drinking. Marianne collapsed the video. "Glynda wanted to take a vacation. A sabbatical from this... mess. Just to relax, unwind, and learn some new magic. She wanted to do this Ironwood. I'll ask her to write you a letter next Loop, and deliver it to you. Okay?"

Ironwood seethed for a moment, before glancing at Ozpin. The Headmaster of Beacon shrugged. "If Glynda's choices are her own, I will stand by them."

"I'm sorry for my... reactions," James added a moment later. He looked away and scratched the back of his neck. At that point, Roman burst out laughing. "Torchwick," he grumbled.

Roman managed to contain himself enough to switch from laughing to chuckling. "You... hahaha... you're fucking transparent Woody. Ask her out when... hehehe... she's back."

"I think you two would be good for each other," Winter said quickly, only to be glared at by her superior. "She balances your combat capabilities well and gives you good synergy."

"Oh, and your boyfriend complements you so well," Roman goaded.

"Hey now," Qrow said.

Ozpin and Marianne stepped aside from the brewing shipping war, the Headmaster turning to his Patron Goddess. "Thank you. I've been noticing she's been in a slump as of late. Some time away from our world should be the vacation she needs."

"I hope so," Marianne said. She bowed once to Ozpin. "Keep your world safe Oz. I hope to see you alive and well throughout these expansions."

"I expect you to be safe," Ozpin said, bowing himself. "For another day?"

Marianne faded into the air. "Another day."

Meanwhile, back with the other "adults".

"I DONT CARE IF HES TWICE MY AGE, I LOVE HIM ANYWAY!" Winter screeched, grabbing Qrow and hoofing it, as Roman screeched with laughter and James tried to figure out how the conversation had turned from his romantic troubles to Winter and Qrow's romantic successes.

 **38.16 LithosMaitreya**

The Lotus blinked and felt her mouth dropping slightly open in surprise.

She was not on her private Relay, as she usually was. She could not even feel the Relays, or the Tenno Orbiters, or any of the other sensory infrastructure the Origin System had slowly gained after the fall of the Orokin. Instead, she was in an altered body—a gynoid proper, it seemed, with a full humanoid face and hair.

More to the point, however, she was standing on a planet—Earth-standard gravity—and the clear blue skies and verdant green lushness of the potted and controlled plant growth, interspersed within a thrumming, vibrant infrastructure of a _living, peaceful civilization_ told her something she didn't understand.

"Where am I?" she found herself asking aloud, of no one in particular.

"Yeah, you're not Penny," came a young woman's voice from behind her, in English—that old, mostly-dead language.

The Lotus turned, feeling the absence of her sensory tendrils and the eyeless neuroptic array keenly. The woman—no, girl—looked to be an unmodified human being of about fifteen, possibly older if she had undergone Orokin genetic treatments. She wore a red cloak over a red and black skirt, and slung to her back was some form of weapon. On instinct, the Lotus tried to scan it, before remembering her changed body.

Instinctively, a hand reached up to try and feel at her face, understand what had changed in full. "Penny?" she asked slowly, without even a pause in the conversation. "I'm afraid not. I am the Lotus. Where am I?"

The girl cocked her head. "Hold on," she said slowly. "Let me guess. Time's been repeating for you? Have you been living the same experiences over and over?"

The Lotus did not twitch—her composure, hard-coded into her psyche and trained over millennia, was far too good, but her eyes widened—a learned gesture, from generations of observing her human children. (And wasn't that odd? Sometimes she had eyes, but often the neuroptics just covered open circuitry and mechanics.) "How did you know?" she asked. "Is it happening to you, as well? Who are you?"

The girl smiled excitedly. "Oh, I get to give the 'Welcome to the Multiverse' speech!" she crowed. "That's always exciting!"

The girl looked around, and the Lotus noticed that they were being given odd looks by a great number of passers-by. The girl just shrugged this off and beckoned to her.

"Come on," she said. "I'm Ruby Rose. I'll introduce you to the rest of our local Loopers and we'll go over what's happened to you. Don't worry; I don't know what your home Loop is like, but we'll make sure we have a smooth Loop for your introduction."

-

"Then I am the Anchor," the Lotus said slowly. "As yet, I don't believe my branch has any other Loopers."

She was in Professor Ozpin's office, with Team RWBY—apparently, the regular squadron of which Ruby Rose was member and leader. It reminded her of one of the four-Tenno cells her children would form. The Professor, another Looper, was out at the moment, but would be returning soon. So Ruby claimed.

Blake nodded. "The Anchor usually gets their first Fused Loop before more than one or two other Loopers start up," she said. "None at all isn't that unusual. Do you have any idea who might start looping soonest?"

The Lotus pursed her lips as she considered this. "Cephalons Simaris and Ordis," she hazarded. "Ordis' Operator, perhaps, although sh—they seem to change with every repetition. Teshin, if I am very unlucky."

"Well, try to get to know potential Loopers' Unawake selves, if you want them to Loop," Weiss suggested. "Loopers start based on emotional proximity to their Anchor or other Loopers, so growing close to someone should improve their odds."

"It makes it hurt worse when they don't, though," Ruby countered. "I… I know. Remember the variants with my Mom?"

Yang grimaced and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "That's different, I think," she comforted. "That's a variant. But… you're not wrong."

Lotus shrugged. "I suppose I would not object to Cephalon Ordis' company," she said. "I will consider that approach, thank you."

"So tell us about your Loop," Ruby said, sitting down on Ozpin's desk. "What's it like? What're the main conflicts?"

Lotus sighed. "That is a… _long_ story," she said dryly. "I suppose I should begin by asking if Earth is a familiar planet to you?"

Blake nodded. "Earth is the Hub," she said. "It's… the trunk of Yggdrasil, sort of. The backup from which the Loops were derived when the tree broke down. It's the name of the homeworld of a lot of Loopers because of that, even though the planets may actually be really different."

"Well," the Lotus said. "Humanity evolved on Earth, but soon outgrew their cradle…"

-

"The Tenno," Ruby said slowly. "Masters of the Gun and Blade, you said they were called."

The Lotus nodded. "They trained hard," she said affectionately. "Always so _happy_ to be able to act without the crippling pain of the Void interface, through the Warframes. They pushed themselves to the peak of combat abilities."

"How would they do with our weapons?" Ruby wondered. "Do they have mech-shift tech?"

The Lotus frowned. "Mech-shift?"

Ruby unsling her weapon and unfolded it into a complex hybridization of a scythe of some eight feet, dwarfing Hunhow's puppet Warframe's old weapon, and a sniper rifle. "This is Crescent Rose," she introduced.

"…May I have a blueprint?" The Lotus asked, idly aware that silicone sacs in her mouth were excreting fluid.

"I think she's drooling," Yang said in a carrying whisper.

-

 **38.17 LithosMaitreya**

-

"So, this Loop, I'm fire," Yang said casually. The four members of Team RWBY had met early in the Emerald Forest and were making their way to the relics together.

Blake blinked at her. "You always light yourself on fire," she said blankly.

"No," Yang shook her head, before dissipating in a burst of conflagration and hovering there for a moment as a woman made of purest flame before coalescing back into her human shape. "I'm fire. The Platonic fire, I guess."

"Oh, good," Weiss sighed. "I thought it was just me."

"Nope," Ruby confirmed. "Me too."

Blake blinked at them. "What… you're all the idealized forms of your own Semblances?"

"I can travel at the speed of light," Ruby said, then paused. "No, correction; I always travel at the speed of light. I'm having to manually vibrate every one of the nano-scale chibi-Rubies I'm comprised of in order to appear to be moving at a normal speed. Getting the voice is especially hard. Being Platonic Speed is suffering."

"I'm cold," Weiss said shortly.

Blake glanced at her. "Meaning…?"

"Meaning," Weiss said grimly, "that I'm currently hooked up to a red Dust-based barrier generator that keeps my zero-Kelvin body temperature from sucking all the heat out of my general vicinity, and have been since I unlocked my Semblance."

"Neither of you can turn it off?" Yang winced. "That must suck."

"I can," Weiss corrected. "I just keep the barrier on in case I have to use my Semblance at a moment's notice."

Blake frowned. "I think I might be…"

Yang blinked at her. "Where'd you go, Blake?"

Blake frowned at her girlfriend. "I'm right here."

Yang didn't seem to hear her. "Weiss, Ruby, she was just here, wasn't she?"

"I… yeah, I _thought_ so," Ruby said, doubt coloring her voice. "I can't… remember the details…"

Blake deactivated her Semblance. "Yeah," she said. "I'm Platonic misdirection."

"Neat trick, that," Weiss said coolly. "Please don't do it again."

"Don't freeze me in my sleep and we have a deal."

"Agreed."

 **38.18 LithosMaitreya**

"Right," Yang crowed, cracking her knuckles. "Prepare to be destroyed!"

"This is stupid," Weiss said shortly.

"That's the variant," Ruby told her simply.

"Still stupid," Weiss grumbled petulantly.

In this Loop, Huntsmen operated in teams of five, rather than four. Team RWBY's additional member was Cinder. Team JNPR's was Roman—and that had certainly made for some interesting team dynamics.

"You'd better not feed," Yang told her white-themed teammate firmly.

Weiss rolled her eyes. " _Please_ ," she said caustically. "I know how to be cautious."

That was not the only major change to this loop, however.

"…Why?" Blake asked suddenly.

Cinder blinked at her. "Why what?"

 _"Why do we fight the Grimm by way of DotA matches?"_ Blake exploded.

Cinder shrugged helplessly.

"Hey, it could be worse," Yang said airily.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Of course it could be worse," she grumbled. "It's the Loops. It can _always_ be worse."

"No, I mean… it could be League."

Blake put her head in her hands.

"Guys," Ruby said firmly. "Quiet. We're loading."

They were currently in a soundproofed booth. Across the stadium where Glynda's class was taught, another soundproofed booth was set up. In each booth were five impressive desktop computers, and in the other were seated the members of Team JNPRR.

"Right," Ruby said, all business. "I know our Loop memories have Cinder as the position-5 roaming support, Weiss as the position-4 lane support, Yang as the position-3 offlane tank, Blake as safelane core and myself as midlane farming carry, but I'm open to changes in lineup since we're all Looping. Anyone want to switch roles?"

They all looked at each other.

"I think our roles are acceptable as is," Cinder said eventually. "Yggdrasil got something right, I suppose."

Ruby shugged with a grin. "I guess," she said. "Okay, drafting's started. We're going to go a teamfight build focusing on the midgame. That means Yang'll be on Faceless Void or Tidehunter, probably."

Yang nodded. "Can do."

"I'll go Shadow Fiend or Alchemist. Weiss, Crystal Maiden?"

"I'm feeling stereotyped."

"She's a caster with early-game disable and a fantastic teamfight ultimate!"

"She's also a girl with ice magic."

Ruby shrugged. "Not my fault," she said easily. "Cinder, how do you feel about the Riki pocket strat?"

"Assuming they don't go Slardar or Bounty Hunter, that sounds fine."

"Can I just say," Blake said quietly, "that the fact that I understand every word of this is bad enough, and the fact that I don't need to consult my Loop memories to do it is even worse?"

Ruby ginned at her. "Come on, Blake, it'll be fun!"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Give me Juggernaut," she said.

"You read my mind."

 **38.19 LithosMaitreya**

Ruby _hated_ lonely Loops.

"Hey, Rubes!" Yang said, sliding down the bench to perch beside her, slipping her face close to her sister's so that she could look over the page she was writing on. "What'cha doin'?"

They were in the library, and Ruby was working at a secluded desk in one of the aisles. Yang had found her there and was now making it her mission to include her sister.

"Working on that paper for Oobleck's class," Ruby said absently. Remnant's history changed, often drastically, from Loop to Loop, so history papers were among the only assignments she still had to do every loop that she remained in Beacon.

" _Boooooring_ ," Yang sang. "Come on, fearless leader! Lighten up! The weekend's coming!"

"It's Wednesday. This is due on Friday. The weekend isn't coming before this paper."

"Psh," Yang breezed. "That's what Thursday is for."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I felt like doing it now, though," she said evenly.

" _Fiiiiine_ ," Yang whined. "I'll go bother Blake."

She left.

Ruby hated the feeling of being the only person in the world—no, technically in the universe—who really knew herself. The solitude was enough to drive her mad, sometimes.

"Working on the paper for Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked, as she came into view around the corner, a stack of books in hand.

"Yep," Ruby agreed, erasing an errant poorly-chosen word and replacing it with a better one. One side effect of the Loops was that, eventually, one got really good at writing—both mechanically, in terms of actual handwriting and avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome, and functionally. Ruby rarely bungled in her essays anymore, when she even bothered to attend Beacon at all.

"Blake suggested we go down to Vale this evening," Weiss said slowly, almost timidly. "As a team. Would you… care to join us?"

Ruby looked up, blinked at her partner, and felt terrible. "Of course, Weiss," she promised. "I'm sorry if I've been avoiding you. It's… It's a long story."

Weiss smiled at her. "It's quite all right, Ruby," she said firmly. "I certainly understand the need for peace and quiet. But remember… we're always here for you."

Ruby smiled back. "I know, Weiss. I'm almost done; I'll be back at the room soon."

Weiss nodded. "I'll see you there," she agreed, and left Ruby alone.

Ruby glanced back at the page, then up at the bookshelf before her. She sighed.

She hated lonely Loops.

Slowly, quietly, she sang a verse under her breath:

 _"In the clearing stands a boxer,  
And a fighter by his trade;  
And he carries the reminders  
Of every glove that laid him down  
And cut him 'til he cried out  
In his anger and his shame:  
'I am leaving, I am leaving.'  
But the fighter still remains…"_

Her voice caught on the last, hummed note. Then, with a weary sigh, she turned back to her work. 

**38.20 LithosMaitreya said: ↑**

It was always a source of frustration that Cinder could not use powers obtained from out of Remnant to bring Vale to its knees. Fortunately, with enough ingenuity, it was not always necessary.

A small shift to her plans, a slight acceleration of a few and a slowing of others, had allowed her to retime matters. A careful application of a Dust bomb in the center of Vale had taken the place of the Vytal festival fiasco in forcing a surge of negativity and drawing the Grimm. Hacking the Atlesian mechs was trivial, and subtle enough that she could do it all the more easily.

Hacking the Unawake Penny Polendina was a masterstroke; the gynoid had turned on her retainers, tearing them apart in front of civilian witnesses before carving a path through the city, leaving just enough living victims behind to draw the Grimm ever closer.

It was to this calamity that team RWBY, all Awake, returned from their mission in Mountain Glen. Cinder immediately went to ground on their arrival; she could not hope to face them directly and she knew it.

Instead, she deployed a mech, manually controlled and with a speaker linked to a microphone in her possession. It approached them from behind, but she didn't even bother trying to sneak up on them: in a body as unwieldy as an Atlesian Knight, the endeavor was futile.

"Mech, behind us," she heard Blake warn.

The team turned. Before they could attack, Cinder raised the microphone to her smiling lips. "Team RWBY," she greeted silkily. "Ozpin's little protégés. Tell me, how does it feel to know that you weren't even here to see the fall of your home? The destruction of all you care about?"

Yang's eyes flashed red. She savored the helpless anger on their faces, even seen through the Knights optical feed. "Cinder!" she roared. "Where are you? Come out and show yourself!"

"Oh, I think not," Cinder chuckled. "You four are powerful, aren't you? Powerful enough to blow through Beacon Academy like all the obstacles weren't even there; and you were holding back." She chuckled merrily. "I can tell, you know. I see a great deal more than most would give me credit for."

"You woon't get away with this," Weiss said coldly. "You will pay, I promise you that."

"That's entirely possible," Cinder agreed. "The war certainly isn't over. This is but the first move. But… well, you wanted to live a fairy tale. If that was your image of victory, then… I may not have won, but you've already lost."

"Why does that matter?" Blake challenged. "Why are you so determined to hurt people?"

Ruby, her silver eyes less angry and more pained, joined the call. "Why, Cinder?"  
 _  
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow  
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day  
To the last syllable of recorded time…  
_  
The words echoed in her head; a Hub text she had read and found compelling, once in a Loop long ago. Cinder laughed; an honest, mirthful laugh, full of joy and levity. "Why ever not?" she asked.

 _And all our yesterdays have lighted fools  
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle._

"You're hurting hundreds of people," Yang growled furiously, "killing a lot of them, and ruining the lives of the rest, and that's your reason? Why not?"

 _Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player  
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage  
And then is heard no more.  
_  
"I don't need a better," Cinder said breezily. "You can all continue to play heroes and fill your hearts with the empty platitudes and promises of the grateful, faceless masses. _I'll_ play the more honest part: I'll tear those masks off and show you all the monster underneath."

 _It is a tale  
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,  
Signifying nothing.  
_  
"The Grimm are attracted to negativity," Cinder said, chuckling. "What does it say about _people_ , then that they've _never stopped hunting you_?"

When Yang finally snapped and tore the mech apart, Cinder was laughing long after the speakers were destroyed.

-

 **A/N: Regarding 38.20, credit for the italicized text to William Shakespeare's Macbeth.**

 **So, I see Cinder, in baseline, as a nihilist. That kinda makes sense; it's hard to justify the attempt to commit what seems to amount to xenosuicide (the murder of one's own species) otherwise. The evil version of Looping Cinder, then, should be as well. (By the way, which is evil? Cin or Cindy? I'm having trouble with the nicknames.)**

 **But the Infinite Loops interact in really weird ways with nihilism. On the one hand, yeah, it's easy to say that nothing has meaning when nothing changes. On the other... nihilism functions because life, by nature, is transient. It begins, it ends, and (by nihilistic logic) it never leaves any sign of its passage. In the Loops, though, it doesn't end. meaningless or not, life continues. Whether you want it to or not. Cinder, then, is denied even Macbeth's final act of freedom-his suicide by Macduff.**

 **This, as I see it, is evil Cinder's primary motive. She's trying to justify her own nihilism to herself. She kills and destroys, and then says to herself, "See? It's all transient and meaningless." Even though, by the nature of the Loops, it isn't. This is what kept that vile little corner of Cinder alive through all those loops as the majority consciousness grew to love Ruby and the others. Cinder's tragic flaw, to use the Aristotelian model, is an inability to let go of outdated beliefs. She can't let go of her own nihilism, to the point that she literally tears her own mind in two to escape it.**

 **I dunno. That's how I see it. Disagreement is welcome; I always enjoy discussion about characters.**


	39. Pain and Love

**39.1 Masterweaver**

"...PffffffffthahahahahahahahahahahahahAAHahHahAHAHA!" Velvet slumped against the wall, holding up a finger. "That, hahaha, that was horrible! We shouldn't, hee, shouldn't have ever...hahahahahaHA!"

"His face," Yatsuhashi managed, between his own bellowing laughs. "Did you see Cardin's face?!"

"Oh sweet Dust, yes! And, and the way he panicked, like, it was-" Velvet descended into giggles, holding out her hand. "Oh geeze, we, we seriously, ppfffff... we scared him. We shouldn't have... Hee. Oh Dust. Hahahaha..."

Coco rolled her eyes. "Honestly, children, all of you." She didn't even try to hide her grin. "Fox, you've got her ear, right?"

"Yes, yes." Fox half smiled, handing a thick sheet of metal over to Velvet. "Honestly, you're lucky you've got detachable parts."

"Heh. Lucky. Right." Velvet took the metal and carefully clicked it into her head. "Oh my gosh. This... wow. I think we needed this."

"Well, always fun to put a fool in their place," Coco acknowledged. She turned. "Uh... thanks for letting us do this, Ruby."

"Not a problem." Ruby glanced over her shoulder. "You ready to go back into the Pocket yet?"

Yatsuhashi managed to stop his chuckles. "Yeah, we're good. 'We're From The Factorium.' Brilliant line... Atlas is going to freak out over that."

Fox frowned. "Is that going to be a problem? With Penny and all..."

"I can handle it," Ruby assured them. "Now... let's get you all home." She raised a hand and the robotic duplicates vanished from reality.

 **39.2 Masterweaver**

"Fancy meeting you here!" Nora chirped with a grin as she strode up. "Slipped the guards again, Penny?"

"Not really." Penny glanced up from her scroll, flicking her eyes across the road. "In theory, they're protecting Ciel while she gets her hair done."

"And the fact that they could jump over here at any moment is just a side benefit." Nora threw the guards a jaunty wave as she slipped in next to the gynoid. "So, how are'ya, lil' sis?"

Penny gave her a look. "I do not think we're related, miss Valkyrie..."

"Well, not biologically," Nora granted. "But the thing is, with my backstory being vague and my electric-power semblance and my super strength and my awesome hair, there are loops where I'm actually a product of the same project you are. You know, escaped crazy prototype, or cyborg experiment, or whatever."

"Ah." Penny nodded. "In that case, do you mind... cousin, instead? No offense meant to you, I simply do not feel our relationship is familial enough to qualify as siblings."

"Yeah, sure. Cousins it is!" Nora beamed. "Now can you tell your cousin what's going on in your life?"

"Oh, the usual. Slowly extending myself into society, attempting to avoid revealing military secrets... dealing with my phobia of magnets..."

Nora nodded. "Mmmhm, mmhm, and anything unusual? New? Exciting?"

Penny bit her lip. "Well... um. I... Can you not tell anyone about this?"

"Me, keep a secret? Do you know who you're talking to?"

"I guess you're right-"

"I am the biggest, most talented secret keeper in this loop," Nora bragged. "Well, second most talented, after Ozpin. Any time anyone gets a little too close to something I don't want to reveal, all I have to do is randomly derail the conversation onto a complete tangent. Nobody ever suspects a thing, because I'm more than a little random! Well, Ren does. Sometimes. But he knows that I only ever keep secrets for good reasons."

Penny blinked. "...you know, that is... a surprisingly reasonable argument for you being a good secret keeper."

"Yep!" Nora leaned in. "So what's the juicy details?"

"Um." Penny glanced around. "I... want to be clear on this, I'm not entirely sure yet myself. But... I think... I... I may have a crush."

"Really?"

"On Ruby."

Nora blinked. "Oh. Ooooooooh."

Penny nodded. "Like I said, it... might just be me liking her because she was my first friend, and she was there for me after I started looping, or... it might be something more. I'm still figuring it out myself. I, uh, don't think it's a sexual attraction, because half the time I don't have... you know. Equipment."

"That's..." Nora sighed. "Penny, you know that Ruby's mostly heterosexual, right?"

"Well, yes. That's one of the reasons I don't want people knowing about this." She looked at her scroll. "And I don't want things to be weird between me and Ruby either... and like I said, I am really not sure if it's what I think it is."

"I... well." Nora shrugged. "I won't tell anyone, of course, but... if you want my advice?"

"Yes?"

"You may want to talk to Ironwood about this. He's your uncle, so... yeah." Nora shrugged. "I can't really help you out here, Yggdrasil knows I have the romantic wisdom of a hermit crab."

"Hmmm." Penny nodded. "Why a hermit crab?"

"I dunno. Hermit crabs are fun."

"True, true..."

 **39.3 Masterweaver**

"So..." Yang glanced at the book Blake was reading. "Are you ever going to run out of books?"

"There are almost a hundred and thirty million books in the Hub. Other worlds, even after subtracting that, usually have a minimum average of twenty one to twenty two hundred books per year of history recorded, per planet in galactic cases, as their baseline. Factoring in variant-unique books, subtle variations and parodies on baseline books, and the fact that Loopers themselves write books..."

Blake tilted her head. "I would say, probably not."

Yang whistled low. "Wow. You've got to have a library the size of the Aerium by now."

"Mmm. Maybe. I should measure it sometime."

 **39.4 LithosMaitreya**

Night had spread its velvet wings over Remnant. The stars twinkled overhead, diamonds set in the vast blue canvas of the deep sky. The shattered fragments of the moon hung suspended among them, the impossibility of it making a mockery of physics and reason. The silver light it cast shone down over the world below, bathing the green of the grass and the leaves in a thin layer of liquid argent.

Ruby slipped out from behind the oak and stepped into the glade, her eyes on the blond man before her. Jaune's head was down, his yellow hair hiding his eyes from her view as he hunched over his scroll, seated on a rock in the center of the glade. Were it not for the barely-visible, shuddering rise and fall of his shoulders in time to his irregular breathing, he might have appeared a statue in repose; an image by a master sculpture of mourning in its purest form.

"Jaune?" she murmured.

He didn't look up; only her sharp attention, trained over eons, picked up the subtle tensing of his frame that signified his unwilling acknowledgement.

"Jaune," she said, a little louder. "Are you okay?"

"I found this." Jaune's arm moved convulsively, as if on an impule almost against his will, as he held out his scroll to her. On it was a familiar face, locked in a gentle smile, her green eyes as warm as if she stood in the clearing with them.

Ruby swallowed. "I know," she said quietly. "I saw it in another Loop."

Jaune looked up at her, and his face was ashen. His eyes, bloodshot with silent tears, sought hers. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

Ruby shook her head. "I didn't… It wasn't my place. How could I?"

Jaune looked back down. "I would've liked some warning," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he told her, his voice both heavy and hollow. "It's fine."

"Jaune," she said gently, coming closer and putting a hand on his arm gingerly. "She'll be back next Loop."

"Or the next," Jaune said wearily. "Or the one after that…"

"She's still _alive_ ," Ruby insisted. "That's the important part."

"I _know_." Jaune's voice rose slightly, now, almost to conversational volume, and Ruby winced at its hoarseness. "That's… that's the problem."

Ruby blinked at him.

Suddenly, he rocketed into a standing position and with a yell that shattered his voice like glass, he threw the scroll hard across the clearing. The Atlesian tech, built for durability, fractured and buckled upon impact with a boulder, leaving only a twisted scrap.

"I feel like a cheat," he said, his voice raw. "Like a thief."

"What?" Ruby asked blankly. "Why?"

"There's a Jaune Arc," he said, not looking at her, "or there was, to whom that message was the most important thing in the world. He was totally destroyed when Pyrrha died. In that moment, he lost his partner, his best friend, the first woman to ever love him romantically, and—if he'd only been wise enough to see it sooner—the woman he'd fallen for too."

He turned to her, and his eyes were dull. "And then there's me," he mumbled. " _Poor, sad_ Looping Jaune. Who gets to see Pyrrha, if not every Loop, then at least _really_ often. Who's already had thousands upon thousands of years with her beside me, and with Ren and Nora… a beautiful, perfect family. And here I am, usurping his life—his very existence—and I have the gall to mourn for her?"

Ruby hugged him, feeling tears come to her eyes. "Of course you're mourning her!" she said shrilly. "She's Pyrrha!"

"She's not _my_ Pyrrha," Jaune said lowly, returning her embrace. "She's _his_. 'What's Hecuba to him or he to her that he should weep for her?*'"

"It's not that simple and you know it," Ruby said firmly, gripping him tighter.

"Oh, _Tree,_ do I know it," Jaune said, choking on a sob. "Why can't… oh, Yggdrasil, _why can't it be that simple?_ "

He buried his face in her hair and she felt his tears on her scalp. He shuddered like jelly in her arms, and she imagined that if she let him go now he would melt, losing all form and control, and lie there unmoving until the Loop's end.

Slowly, she lowered them to the ground and there they knelt, together, in one another's arms, as she Anchored her friend down.

-

*Quotation from William Shakespeare's _Hamlet_ , Act 2, scene 2, lines 478-479.

 **39.5 LithosMaitreya**

The thing about Qrow Branwen, Zwei knew, was that he had an impressive tolerance for the weird. Mostly because he could just brush it off as liquor-induced hallucinations. Impressive, that, given that alcohol was not a hallucinogen.

So when Zwei Awoke to find Qrow lying on the floor of the Rose-Xiao Long flat on Patch, using his body as a pillow and slowly gnawing on his fur, he decided that his best recourse was just to wing it and play it off if Qrow turned out to be Unawake.

"Qrow," he said carefully. "Why are you—"

"Nnnnnnnot sho loud, Zzzwei," Qrow slurred through a mouthful of Zwei's fur.

Zwei nodded. "Qrow," he said, this time in a whisper, "why are you trying to eat me?"

"Nnnnot you," Qrow slurred. "Had a badsh Loop. Got drunksh. Hung over."

"…And?" Zwei asked patiently.

Qrow looked at him blankly. "An' what?" he asked.

"And what does this have to do with you eating me?"

Qrow shook his head, then looked sick. "No' eatshing you," he said. "Jush' your hair."

Zwei blinked. "What."

"Hair of the dogsh."

Qrow was soon removed from the premises.

 **39.6 Leviticus Wilkes**

Qrow stared at Zwei. "So... you talk."

"I believed we covered this topic before," the corgi said.

"How did that happen?"

"To be frank, my somewhat exceptional awareness and already activated Aura, plus my strong emotional connection to Ruby, would have listed me for an eventual activation, though not an immediate one. Certainly not in the Second Generation of our Loopers."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Second generation?"

"Myself, Torchwick, Neo, who is not my girlfriend, Ozpin, Glynda and Cinder. Loopers that activated after the first Fused Loop, but before or just before the first series of expansions." Zwei licked his chest. "You, incidentally, are Third Gen. between the expansion periods of Volunes 3 and 4."

"Okay," Qrow said, accepting that explanation from his brother-in-law's immortal time traveling corgi. "But. You are second gen."

Zwei looked up and a holographic projection appeared above his nose. A squamous, writhing mass of phantastic matter, formed into parody of sharp dress and faceless masculinity, formed upon the luminal construct. Qrow snarled. "Slenderman?"

"A powerful hacker, who disrupted our world and caused the Second Gen Loopers. His meddling may be why the Third Gen was so delayed, or why Sun Wukong has yet to activate, or many other such terrible effects of our world." Zwei sat down and tabbed away from the horrific photograph. "Personally I like to think he has come to forget us all."

"But there's no guarantee," Qrow said darkly, hand reaching for his scythe.

"There is no guarantee, only a hope that a creature of such awesome power does not turn his attention to us any time soon." Zwei shrugged. "I personally know very little of it, and have little wish to know more."

Taiyang walked into the room, grabbed a coffee mug, and held it up. "Black?"

"Mistrish," Qrow said, wanting alcohol mixed in.

"Without chocolate, please," Zwei said.

"Sure thing." Taiyang left and returned a moment later with the coffees. "So... you guys talking about the Loops."

"Monsters and darkness and things we can't exactly change," Qrow admitted. He clinked glasses with Tai. "Enjoy the peace and quiet of not Looping Tai, you'll be missing it when you start."

Taiyang paused for a moment, wondering about his daughters, his brother, and his still alive but missing first wife. "Sure... sure. I-"

Taiyang stood up and walked to the window. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Qrow and Zwei asked.

"..." Taiyang shook his head. "Nothing... never mind. Just... nothing."

 **39.7 Masterweaver**

"Mercury, I'm going to be totally honest, I hate your guts, but a while ago I decided to challenge you to a dance-off. Tomorrow, three o'clock, main hall. If you aren't there, I'm playing this video of you singing in 'I love butterflies' boxers on the big screen. Well, toodles!"

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury blinked at the blonde girl as she walked away.

"What in the what...?" Emerald managed.

"Mercury," Cinder deadpanned, "you didn't tell me you had friends in town."

"I don't know who that was!" Mercury protested. "I don't even wear-I'm going to cut that sentence off."

 **39.8 Masterweaver**

"...Ruby."

"Isn't it great, Jaune? A perfect transport, don't you-"

"No."

"But-"

 _"No."  
_  
"It's all-terrain! No need to refuel! And we can cross oceans on this thing!"

"It's the Grimm dragon, Ruby."

"..."

"..."

"...his name's Kevin-"

"No, Ruby. Just... just no."

 **39.9 diesel**

An ill wind blew down the winding passages and corridors, carrying with it uncountable whispers of hate and mocking malice, filling the atmosphere was filled a dark intent that hung like miasma over a vast, sun lit cavern. Beams of light streamed down though the foliage that tumbled down from the ceiling, forming pools of light, rainbows playing in the air from the mist that filled the cave.

At the shore of a vast, dark lake, a golden warrior stood in silence, her hair drenched with icy water that rained down from the crashing waterfall. Cold, damn air blew against her skin carrying with it sharp shards of water that stung her eyes. All around the vast cavern, blood drenched the devastated and scorched plants. Where once magnificent, wild gardens stood, filled with plants from around the world ladened with berries, fruit and colours, now only devastation remained. The blood of hundreds filling the frothing water.

Dark words filled the cavern and piercing the warriors heart, the thundering waterfall doing little to drown out the mocking, malice drenched words emanating from the broken form of a yellow mouse like creature behind her. Each world a dagger of ice to her heart, playing on her fears and regrets

Behind the figure blood pooled on the damp rock, crimson liquid seeping down the cracks and into the inky depths to be carried away by the current, the wretched creature breathing its last with a curse on its lips. Its form going still, becoming just one of thousands of shattered, crushed forms that filled the vast network of caves and rivers.

Yang shivered as she gazed out at the vast lake, eyes jumping around to each shadows that swayed and danced in the ethereal light. Tossing a rock into the deep black lake and watching as it was swallowed up by the darkness, trying to block out the insistent whispers that burrowed into her mind. She hated loops like this, when the Grimm, or Monsters this loop, were able to peer into a person's mind and soul to speak words that would break a man and sending the plummeting into the depths of unfettered madness.

And they were all sapient, razor sharp minds filled with nothing but unending malevolence and sadism. Each wielding a Dresden type death curse on their lips, to bring ruin to those that slayed them. Each curse simply growing in strength and adding to the last until it brought down the strangest.

And when one broke, from the Death curses or from the unending whispers that plagued their days and nights, they became infected with the Madness, just like in the Soul Eater loops. Spreading the Madness and corruption wherever they trod, spreading it further and further. Slowly becoming a beast to be slayed, a soul to be destroyed.

It made Yang glad she was a looper, her power fought against the Madness and curses. It would take far more than this loop could do to bring her down before the loop ended. But she was not immune; dark seductive whispers slithering though her thoughts, black rage and delusions tugging at her vison as shadows withered and yawned.

Rocks shattering as she walked, trying to send her to her doom. Cancerous tumours infesting her body, twisting flesh and forming pustules the bust to reveal spider-like eyes. The unquenchable thirst for blood filling her mind as food tasted like ash and provided no substance, leaving her body wracked with pain until her power forced it back.

Yang shivered involuntarily as the mouse thing's curse fell upon her, her gaze locked on to the dark lake as she watched as ripples began spreading outwards. The monster's death curse striking a cord in her heart with is toxic words and malevolent will.

"I guess that is why we were told in Signal to always kill the Monsters as quickly as possible." Yang muttered darkly as her eyes turned red, skin blistering and tearing to reveal a monstrous inferno that began to consume her body before the curse was forced back. Her voice echoing in the dank cavern as she shifted into a boxes stance, six duel tone balls hanging at her belt glinting in the half-life "I didn't really appreciate how powerful the curses were. It's not enough to matter to me but... Yeah this loops sucks."

Still, if she had the place right, then her actions would wake up a very nasty, and interesting Monster. This was going to simultaneously suck and be a lot of fun, and if all goes according to plan she would have one more neat pet and this was just the start.

Really, she could not pass up this opportunity, even if she was going to need a few loops to destress.

A putrid pink light shone from the dark lake as a form rose from its depths. A translucent pinkish purple bubble rising out of the darkness, a small feline like form floating and rolling within. A whip-like tail tipped with a club lashed wildly within.

Its body was almost wallaby like in structure, a large head with small ears, large legs and small arms, covered in, short, pale pink fur. Large, baleful blue eyes shone with a titanic reservoir of power and a vast malign intellect.

Yang almost screamed as its foul mental voice ripped into her mind, almost shattering her protections as it tried to rend her thoughts apart.

 _~You seek to find me? How amusing, and foolish to the last. To think you can make me submit to your will is insanity, but then again you have never been good at making choices have you? Abandoning your sister out of misery, letting those who ruined your life win._

 _And even in these fascinating endless loops you reside in you remain the same. Just a broken, shattered wreck, wearing an illusion of strength. Thinking you are strong when you stand beside your partner, both so broken…"_

Yang screamed, a wave of golden fire consuming the cavern as her eyes turned teal, hair a living inferno of golden flames. Under the raging inferno rock melted and water boiled. Above the vast cave system fire spiralled into the air setting the wold afire.

"SHUT UP!"

 _~... have you even acknowledged that your relationship is built on sand? Really it is fascinating, you have all of eternity to improve yourself, to confront your faults and yet you both refuse to deal with the issues you have. Just a crutch to keep the other going. I will have to admit; Blake seems to be getting better which is more than I can say about you._

 _What will you do when she no longer needs you? I can't see her staying in a sexual relationship with you past that. After all she is almost completely heterosexual, and once her dependency is no longer a factor...~_

"Shut up, I don't have to listen to you!"

 _~Well, really you do. You are not willing to run away, both from pride and mindless rage. Please do remember you did start this, as you so succinctly put it "You just gotta catch 'em all."~_

"AHHHHHH! Die you rat!"

 _~Cat is far more accurate, please do us both the favour of using the correct terminology.~_

 _-_

"Hey Team" Ruby looked up at the overly cheery, fake voice of her yellow sister and choked, something echoed by Weiss and Blake. The Cat Faunus leaping up from her chair, book crashing down on the table with a loud thump as she raced over to her girlfriend. Yang was shaking, her eyes blood shot and it almost looked like she had been crying,

As Blake ran over, Yang _flinched back,_ Blake froze, her golden eyes widening as hurt flashed through them. After an instance her eyes hardened before softening, a look of concern replacing the pain.

Ruby's eyes darkened and there was soft thump from next to her as Weiss closed her book. A feeling of horror swept over her as Yang tensed up at Blake's concern, stepping back refusing to look at her.

"So, my last loop was a Pokémon fused loop and I got on the wrong side of a powerful psychic type. I…" Yang shuddered and forced herself to look at Blake, an apology, a plea for her to understand clear in her expression. "… it did not end well. That's all I'm saying for now. I… need the next three or so loops by myself to… just get over it. To go through my mind and fix everything. I wanted to let you all know and ask that after that time you don't let me stay by myself.

Make me talk if need be, I will need to talk. Just not now."

Blake hesitated, looking at Yang before slumping in resignation and understanding "Of course." Ruby and Weiss both echoing Blake's statement "We will always be here to talk." Weiss huffed crossing her arms before pausing and adding somewhat reluctantly "well, except when we aren't, but Ruby should be at any rate."

Yang smiled, it was small, the first glint of actual happiness they had seen from her "Well that's the loops, and thanks." As she turned to leave Yang paused saying one more thing before leaving "Oh, and on the upside, I caught an immortal mew. I have her in my Pocket… and if I have a choice none of you will _ever meet it._ "

Ruby sighed sadly, watching as Yang walked away, the final snarled words hanging in the air "All who think it was that Grimm/Mon loop we just had and Yang caught the Mew grimm thing from legends raise your hand." Three hands rose up making Ruby slump, her head hitting the desk with a thump "I hate Waking late."

 **39.10 Leviticus Wilkes**

Ironwood stared at Ozpin, who had lightning crackly evilly and dramatically behind him. He turned to Ruby. "That normal?"

"Only when he misplaces his coffee."

 **39.11 Masterweaver**

Ruby kicked her head back, staring at the ceiling. "...Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"You remember Bitey, right?"

Weiss tilted her head. "...The... beowolf cub?"

"Yep. That's the one." Ruby sighed. "He was a cub. A child. Grimm used to breed."

Weiss nodded. "And now they're almost all spawned from the pools outside Salem's palace."

"Yep." Ruby just stared at the ceiling. "Funny, isn't it? Salem didn't used to be a thing. Now she is."

"...what's this about, Ruby?"

"I don't know. I'm feeling... thinky." She held up her hands. "What should be has changed. What is is always changing. What we are, what we were. What we will be."

"Change is the only constant."

"Yeah."

"...but we can make change good," Weiss added.

"Yeah. Better world." Ruby shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm not depressed or anything. I'm just... you know. Drift-thinking."

Weiss nodded. "I know how that feels."

 **39.11 Black Omochao**

Nate (or Keita, depending on when you ask him) knew, and accepted, that despite the thousands of Loops under his belt, he was among the younger Loopers. Especially when compared to his adopted Looping family, whom had experienced billions, perhaps even trillions of Loops prior to his Activation.

Because of this simple fact, Nate had often been considered the 'baby' of his Looping family unit. Not that that was a bad thing, but he did get a little aggravated at times with how much Ruby seemed to enjoy calling him her 'baby brother,' or how protective all three of them could get at times.

On the other hand, it wasn't like they weren't protective of each other too. And he loved all of them, Nate wasn't sure he could've handled the Loops up until Whisper's Activation if not for them.

Still, the whole 'baby' thing just annoyed him sometimes, not too often, but when it came to Loops like this…

"Oh! You are just so CUTE!" Ruby, in chibi form, squealed as she hugged a much tinier, five year old, chibi Nate in a little Jibanyan costume.

"Ruby, please put me down," Nate groaned in a somewhat high pitch voice.

"Sorry, but you're so cute!" Ruby giggled, placing the small child on the ground and smiling at him. "You don't come here during Chibi Loops very often," Nate pouted as he glared at his sister, an action that only made her squeal more over how 'cute' he was…

Yeah, with a Loop like this, Nate couldn't help but wonder if Yggdrasil was just trying to annoy him…

"Why is your little brother allowed at Beacon? And what's with his pajamas?" the, UnAwake, Weiss interjected, looking at Nate with a bit of reservation.

"Well… I'm not sure, but he is," Ruby shrugged, before she noticed something behind Weiss. "Um, Weiss? Who's that?"

"… Oh, that's just my little sister; Katie," she stepped aside, revealing the little five year old girl, in a Komasan costume.

"… And you were questioning why my little brother's allowed to be here?" Ruby asked, not looking at all surprised at the presence of Katie as Weiss' younger sister.

"Well, Katie's cute is all…" Weiss shrugged, Ruby glared at her partner, UnAwake or not, Ruby wasn't going to let her get away with that.

"You take that back! Nate is much cuter!"

"Um, no."

"Oh yes he is! Look at his little kitty hood!"

"Yeah… not cute."

"Grrrr!"

"Hey Nate," Katie waved, walking over to him awkwardly. "I'm… not exactly sure what's going on around here… We're on Remnant, right?"

"Chibi-Loop," Nate shrugged, trying to ignore his sister's argument with her UnAwake partner.

"Heard about those, never had one," Fumi shrugged. "So… Are you always..?"

"I'm not usually a five year old if I come here, most of the time I replace Ruby."

"Ok… So, do you know what's with the… um," Fumi blushed a little as she looked down at herself.

"The costumes? No, I think it's weird too though."

"What's going on?" the two arguing sisters looked, just in time to see Yang and Blake enter the room. Blake being the one whom questioned them, Yang immediately went over to Nate and hugged him.

"Oh! My baby brother! What are you doing here?" she cooed to him, Nate groaned, not liking the babying at all, he didn't voice his complaints though, as it was clear she wasn't Awake.

"I took the dust-ship," Nate spoke, in as childish a tone as he could pull off. Yang squealed and hugged him tighter.

"Blake, who's cuter, mine and Yang's little brother, or Weiss' little sister!?" Ruby asked, pointing to Nate; still being hugged by Yang, and Katie, whom waved nervously. Blake blinked, before silently stepping aside, revealing a five year old girl in a USApyon costume.

"Dun dun du duh! Super Space Agent: Sailor Namekichi is on the case!" Inaho cheered as she held up her little toy replica of USApyon's laser, before running around the room, pretending to shoot things. Ruby and Weiss blinked in confusion.

"… You have a little sister too?"

"What makes you think that?" Blake questioned, before going over to her bed and opening up a book. Ruby and Weiss just stared at her, Yang had moved on from fawning over Nate, to fawning over all the little children, and Blake just read her book. 

**39.12 LithosMaitreya**

"Miss Belladonna."

Blake whirled, blinked at the man behind her. "Ozpin? What are you doing _here_?"

They were on the boat to Menagerie. Blake had awoken after the battle for Beacon. A ping had revealed three others awake.

When she'd gone to Patch to find Ruby, she'd been told through a half-closed door that Yang was Awake, was still dealing with whatever that Grimm Mew had done to her, and wasn't ready to see he yet.

Ruby had told her that she'd be staying on Patch this Loop, trying to help Yang as best she could and making sure she didn't work. Blake, swallowing her hurt, had agreed with the conclusion that they should respect Yang's wishes and not force her to interact with her partner.

So now Blake was on a boat, hoping that this Loop might bring with it a new expansion, something to distract her.

"I Awoke shortly after my defeat at Cinder's hands," Ozpin said, coming up beside her and laying one hand on the railing while the other fiddled with his cane. "I thought I might accompany you, when I learned you were Awake as well."

Blake sighed. "Well, it's good not to be alone," she said, looking out to sea.

"Indeed," Ozpin agreed. "You know, Miss Belladonna, I do not often see this part of the Loop? Generally, I only Awake after the battle in major variants, and if I Wake Up _before_ I never allow Beacon to fall."

Blake nodded. "Things aren't… great in Remnant right now," she agreed. "I'd derail it, but…"

"…But for what has happened to Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin finished for her. "I visited Patch myself. Ruby told me what had happened. It was she who told me where to find you."

Blake sighed. "I just…" she mumbled. "I wish she'd let me _be_ there. This is killing me."

"I understand," Ozpin said gently.

"Do you really?" Blake asked, glancing at him coldly. "Do you know what it's like, Ozpin? To have someone you care about that much, with whom you've gone through thousands of lifetimes, just… push you away? Like they can't bear the sight of you?"

Ozpin looked away. "No," he said quietly. "No, perhaps I can't fully fathom it. I am sorry."

Blake sighed, closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply of the cool, fresh sea-breeze. "Don't worry about it," she said evenly. "Things probably suck for you, too."

Ozpin nodded. "I've been Headmaster of Beacon for a very long time," he said softly. "To Awaken in its ruins was… painful." He swallowed audibly. "To see the Grimm ruling the city and school that were mine, and hurting the people I was sworn to protect… It was not pleasant. And, since Miss Fall apparently somehow resealed my Aura when she defeated me, this is functionally a Null Loop for me. I could do nothing."

Blake grimaced, looking at him sympathetically. "I could maybe unseal it?" she offered.

"Ruby made the attempt," Ozpin assured her, his eyes never straying away from the far horizon. "It… did not go well. No, I will have to content myself with helplessness for the remainder of this Loop."

Blake nodded. "All right. I'm sorry."

"As am I, Blake."

There was silence, for a time, as both of them looked out at the water. Ozpin broke it.

"' _For heaven's sake let us sit upon the ground  
And tell sad stories of the death of kings:  
How some have been deposed, some slain in war,  
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,  
Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed—  
All murdered._'"

Blake continued for him. "' _For within the hollow crown  
That rounds the mortal temples of a king  
Keeps Death his court, and there the antic sits,  
Scoffing at his state and grinning at his pomp,  
Allowing him a breath, a little scene  
To monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks,  
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,  
As if this flesh which walls about our life  
Were brass impregnable…'_"

She looked at him. " _Richard II_ ," she mumbled. "Act three, scene two; the end of the history, and the start of the tragedy. But our flesh _is_ , Ozpin."

Ozpin chuckled. "And yet, Miss Belladonna," he said dryly, "how very hollow does our immortal crown seem, when our friends and ourselves can still suffer as hard a life as life can be."

Blake nodded, looking back out to sea. "What good is the sharingan," she said quietly, "or the ability to bend space and time, and break the world at a glance, when I can't even keep the girl I love safe?"

"And what good is immortality," Ozpin said dryly, "if I am so often simply absent when things fall apart?"

The sea, lapping ponderously at the sides of the hull, provided no answer.

 **39.13 hunter81095**

Weiss Awoke mid song, and immediately knew this was going to be one of _those_ loops. She felt some sort of energy welling up inside her, and flung her hand out to the side, releasing magic as she did in so many times in the Loops, and felt the music of the song pull her back into the lyrics before she even received her Loop memories.

 _"It's funny how some distance  
Makes everything seem small,  
And the fears that once controlled me  
Can't get to me at all!"  
_  
Weiss hit a rest in the music, and used the moment to look through her loop memories, Weiss face palmed as she found her name and what loop she was in.

She was Queen Weiss of Arendale, replacing their baseline Queen Elsa. Her annoyance and irritation quickly overloaded her adherence to the magic of her song.

This manifested in a very loud record scratch that echoed all the way down the mountain, where Princess Ruby of Arendale, who had just Awoken as she met Kristoff, shook her head in mirth.

 **39.14 Masterweaver**

"...What?"

"Something's different about you," Ruby mused, peering at Weiss. "I'm not sure what it is..."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, if you figure out-"

"Aha! Your eye! You don't have the scar on your eye!"

"...Oh. Yes, that." Weiss shrugged. "I woke up early enough to dodge the knight's blade, so..." She gestured vaguely. "I guess I just never thought about it."

"Wow. That's awesome." Ruby leaned back. "Well, not that you look bad with it, you know. Just, you've gotten to the point where you can trounce that knight."

"And I get to avoid the recovery," Weiss pointed out.

"Oh. Right. Wait, but I thought your aura would-"

"Well, it does help, but it's not infallible, and using my semblance so often in such a short time..." Weiss shuddered. "Sutures on your eyelid are _not comfortable_ at all."

Ruby winced. "Yeah. Ew. That had to hurt."

"Well, the first time around yes. I rarely Awaken during the treatment though, so it's... you know, a vaguely irritating memory."

 **39.15 Shimmer712**

Cinder blinked at Tyrian, who was giggling maniacally to himself. She forced herself to direct her attention to Salem, trying to ignore Tyrian's hairy body, his wings and his odd little hat. She ignored him pulling out a banana from...somewhere.

She had heard in the hub that people had decided Tyrian was based off the Flying Monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. She just hadn't expected him to actually be a winged monkey.

Cinder rolled her eyes as Tyrian started giggling again, only to choke on his banana.

Well, at least it looked like he would take care of himself this loop. Saved her the trouble.

 **39.16 LithosMaitreya**

"Blake?" the voice was familiar, and painfully soft.

Blake whirled, her golden eyes widening in surprise. "Yang!" she exclaimed happily, starting towards her girlfriend but then forcing herself to abort the motion. "You came."

They were in Beacon's courtyard. Blake had Awoken aboard the airship, and had Pinged to find a relatively empty Loop. She'd decided to follow Ruby's lead and hadn't drawn attention to herself. There had been no explosion, so either Ruby or Weiss had avoided baseline.

Now Yang was approaching her, clearly Awake. She looked terrible; though she had likely only woken up a few minutes ago, she looked haggard by sleepless nights and careworn by distracted days. Her hair, normally chaotic, busy, and free, was somehow limper, its usual flowing waves replaced by dry tangles and knots.

Yang sighed. "Yeah," she said, her voice hollow. "I came. I needed… we need to talk."

The bottom dropped out of Blake's stomach at the words, in combination with the tone. "What about?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light.

Yang looked away. "Look," she said flatly. "I know you're not… well, gay. Not really. And I…" she clenched her fists. "That damn psychic was right about one thing; I don't deal with my problems. I've had millennia to get over this hangup with my mom, and I _still_ haven't, whereas you're already basically over Adam. You even get along with him in Jaune's Gamer Loops."

"That's different," Balek said cautiously, not wanting to unpack Yang's earlier line about sexuality, fearing what she might find there. "I'm still _definitely_ not over everything the bastard's done in baseline."

"But it's not like that could really control you anymore," Yang said wearily. "You're stronger than that. And I'm… I'm not."

She looked down. "Blake… I'm breaking this—"

"I swear, if you finish that sentence, I will _never_ forgive you." Blake's voice was perfectly even; crisp, professional, and wrapped over a ball of pain and rage that she knew she had no chance of ever hiding.

"Why should you?" Yang asked bleakly. "I'm just…"

Blake reached for her. Yang flinched.

Blake ignored it, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and kissed her hard. "Yang," she said evenly, once they broke apart. "We've been together for longer than the lifespan of most solar systems. I _think_ if any hangups I had would ever make me want to give up what we have, they'd have done so by now."

Yang blinked at her, licking her lips as if to lap up whatever was left of Blake on them. "But I… You're so…"

"No," Blake said flatly. "If you're breaking up with me, you have to do it because it's something _you_ want. _I_ can decide what I want perfectly well, thank you. And I want _you_. So if you're actually doing this, you need to make it about yourself; I'm not _letting_ you make it about me."

Yang swallowed. "I can't." The words were a whisper. "I can't be everything you want me to be."

"You're a damn fool," Blake said with a sigh. "Can't you see that you already are?"

"I'm weak!" Yang exclaimed. "That psychic little rat put me in _this_ state for, what, three or four Loops! I'm probably a thousand times its age! What the hell kind of Looper am I?"

Blake rested her chin on Yang's shoulder and gripped her tightly. "A human one," she said. "One who hasn't totally lost what made me fall for you in the first place."

Yang's arms gripped her back, clutching, like she was afraid to be released. "It couldn't have done that to any of you," she whispered.

Blake laughed harshly, tears coming to her eyes. "You think?" she said grimly. "It could've mentioned the few loops where I went on a rampage and killed every man, woman, and child in the White Fang after Adam took your arm. With that kind of psychic potential, I'd have been putty in its paws."

Yang had frozen at the mention of those dark Loops. "You never told me," she whispered.

"Of course I didn't," scoffed Blake. "You think you've got things to be ashamed of? As baseline, so in the Loops: _look at me_."

She let go of her partner and spread her hands, putting herself on display. "Look at me!" she said forcefully; a demand. "This is what I am! I've done things that would make baseline Cinder vomit! If you want to break up with me, _that_ should be your reason! Because nothing you think you have or don't have could _ever_ make me stop wanting you."

She lowered her arms, her eyes never leaving Yang's. "I _know_ who you are, Yang," she murmured. "Better than you do yourself, right now. And yeah, you're not perfect. You don't need to be. You just need to be you."

Yang's eyes were full of tears. "Blake," she whispered. "Are you sure?"

"You asked me that the first time," Blake answered firmly. "You ask me that every time we make love. You ask me so often I want to _scream_. _Yes_ , Yang, I'm sure!"

Yang lunged headlong into her arms, bursting into tears. All around them, Unawake students started clapping, totally unaware of the details of what they had just seen but empathizing with the general theme.

Blake ignored them completely, burying her face in Yang's vibrant, golden locks. She had more important people on her mind.

 **39.17 Masterweaver**

"...Ruby, are you sure about-"

"Yes." Ruby smiled, though there was no warmth in it.

Yang gulped. "You... you know how I-"

"Yes. I do."

"...Ruby, I just-"

"Unpocket it, and leave the room."

The blonde looked around the room. The thick metal walls, laced with powerful restraining charms. Her sister sitting, calmly, on a small stool.

The door behind her, designed only to open from the inside.

"...You don't know-"

"Yang." Ruby looked at her. "Anchor fiat. In this case, _I_ am the older sister. And I don't know when another variant where I can control my eyes will come up."

"...if you're sure." The blonde put a hand on the doorhandle, wrenching her eyes shut. "...good luck."

A pop of displaced air, and she was outside-

 _Weak little-_

-slamming the door shut even as a brief voice brushed against her mind. Blake caught her, wrapped her tight.

"I just... I don't want Ruby to go through-"

"She'll be alright," Blake murmured. "She knows the plan."

A flash of silver light burst from the door. Then, a strange noise, like a buzzsaw ablaze. Psychic shrieks, faint though they were, leaked out-Yang shivered.

And then... silence.

The door opened, and Ruby took a breath. "It's dead."

Yang slumped. "I... I shouldn't have let this all happen."

"We all make mistakes, sis." Ruby knelt down, joining in the hug. "Just... learn from this. And move on."

 **39.19 Shimmer712**

"Ozpin?" Ruby blinked at the man who had joined their group as they left the village to find and kill the Geist.

"Hello, children," he smiled pleasantly. "Do you mind if I join. I have very few loops where I Wake up after Beacon's fall. Probably because there is a significant chance I'm dead."

"You might not be," Ruby said. "We haven't seen a body and Cinder says she doesn't know how she killed you because it keeps changing. So it may have been something you survived." She paused. "Okay, obviously not the case if Baseline follows the one where she completely incinerated you. But there's still a chance."

"Yeah, Baseline-Cinder may have just struck what she felt to be a fatal blow and left you to die without making sure you were dead," Jaune piped in.

"Or maybe your semblance is something that got you out alive," Nora suggested. "Maybe you have dozens of bodies and Cinder just killed one and you're now running around in another body?"

"We only have a verbal claim of your demise," Ren agreed.

Ozpin smiled sadly at them "Do you really believe Cinder would lie to Salem and say I was dead when I was not?"

"Do you think she would admit to Salem she let you get away?" Ruby countered.

"Given that if I lived, I would almost certainly make my presence known, exposing lie?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"...Okay, you have a point," Ruby sighed. "But that only proves that Cinder is convinced she killed you, not that she actually did!"

"Uh, maybe we should change the topic now," Jaune stepped in. "Since you haven't done this before, do you have an idea for taking down the Geist you want to try?"

Ozpin though for a moment. "Would it be possible to dance the whole fight? Just out of curiosity. You don't have to sing."

 **39.20 Masterweaver**

Velvet quietly hummed, turning a page in her book, when suddenly somebody jumped through her window. Given that her dorm room was a good two floors up, this was surprising.

It was even more surprising when the figure stood, revealing itself to be a robotic duplicate of herself.

"Um," she said.

The robot blinked-or, well, its eyescreens flickered. "Oh, uh, you're here."

"Yes." Velvet looked the robot up and down. "Are you part of an alien plot to slowly replace people with artificial duplicates in order to gain control of our planet?"

"...actually I'm just here to steal your socks." The robot held up a ragged set of cloth. "Mine are getting kind of mousey."

"...alright then." Velvet watched as the robot rummaged through her drawer. "So. Should I ask why you look kind of like me?"

"Long story, involves time travel and alternate universes."

"Got it."

The robot gathered up some of the socks. "I think I'll take these, okay?"

"Sure, sure. Oh, not the heart-pattern ones, those were a gift from Coco."

"Ah, okay." Dropping said socks, smiled. "Well... good day!" It jumped out the window again.

Velvet blinked for a moment or two, shrugged, and went back to reading her book.

 **39.21 LithosMaitreya**

I thought I was going to write Zwei, but instead I decided to deal with a bit of confusion I've been dealing with.

-

"Okay, Winter?" Qrow's voice was thick with a hangover, which was truly tragic since they had _just_ Woken Up and it must be from a night _he_ hadn't been involved in. "This needs to stop."

Winter quirked an eyebrow at him. He was still wrapped in the covers, eyes screwed up against the light of the lamp she was using to slip on her clothes. His grey hair was even more disheveled than normal, scattered every which way atop his head.

"What does?" she asked. "I was under the impression you rather enjoyed our activity last night. So my Loop memories tell me."

"That wasn't even me," he whined. "Although that _is_ a damn shame. Not what I'm talking about, though. Well, sort of is. Dammit."

Winter chuckled. "Please, carry on," she said. "I do enjoy seeing you stumble over yourself after a night of debauchery."

"Not as much as you enjoy the night of debauchery itself," Qrow grunted, wiggling his eyebrows.

Winter shook her head at him. " _Talk_. You started this, anyway."

Qrow gurgled slightly, trying to sit up. "Fine, fine. Look, last thing I remember before this Loop was that you weren't talking to me because of that prank I pulled on Atlas."

Winter frowned at him. "You replaced the arsenal of the _entire Atlesian military_ with squirtguns, Qrow," she said flatly. "I think I was entitled to be a little displeased. Besides, that was several Loops ago."

"It was last Loop for me," Qrow grumbled, having finally forced himself upright, the covers slipping from his torso, revealing his bare chest, lightly dusted with grey hair and as scrawny as the rest of him. "Not my point. One minute, you're not talking to me, the next I'm Waking Up in your bed and you don't even seem _angry_ —"

"This isn't my bed," Winter snorted, glancing around. "Or my room. Our Unawake selves found a room somewhere."

"I was drunk," Qrow grumbled. "Loop memories are flawed when you're drunk."

"The red covers didn't tip you off?"

" _Not the point,_ " Qrow growled. "Look, Winter, what _are_ we?"

Winter's smile faded as she considered this. At length, she shrugged helplessly. "I don't know," she admitted. "Do I need to?"

Qrow huffed incredulously. "Well, _ye—_ " He stopped. Thought about it.

He sighed. "I don't know," he grumbled. " _I'd_ kind of like to know where we stand. But… I guess not. I'm not so hung up over it that I can't just keep… going with it, I guess. What we've been doing."

Winter frowned at him. "You certainly don't have to deal with anything you're uncomfortable with," she assured him. " _I_ , personally, am quite happy with things as they are. Whatever that might be."

Qrow chuckled helplessly. "If I were looking at this from the outside, I'd say it looked like a casual, friends-with-benefits thing," he said dryly. "But… it's not, is it?"

Winter raised her eyebrows at him. "Does it feel casual?" she asked him, a hint of frost creeping into her tone.

"The sex does," he responded easily. "Like an afterthought. But… afterthought's a good word. We think of that _after_ something else. Just… not sure what."

Winter shrugged, stood, and stretched. "I don't see that it matters," she said. "Whatever it is, I find I like it."

Qrow nodded congenially. "Yeah, fair enough. You got anything to do today?"

Winter rolled her eyes at him. "I wouldn't be putting _on_ my clothes if I didn't, Qrow," she said dryly.

"Fair enough," Qrow said again. "How about this evening?"

Winter gave him a genuine smile. "I think I'm free." 

**39.22 LithosMaitreya**

"Torchwick?" The name was called into the shadowy, seemingly-deserted warehouse nervously, as if without the expectation of an answer.

Roman ignored that expectation. "Hey, Red," he called down from where he lay idle atop an abandoned shelf, his hat over his eyes. "How've you been?"

"All right," Ruby Rose said, leaping up to join him with the help of her Semblance. "Haven't seen you in a couple of Loops. How are you? Any new Fused Loops?"

Roman shrugged. "One or two," he said idly. "Looped in as Al Capone since last time. That was fun."

Ruby snorted. "I imagine." She sat down beside him. "Are you okay, Roman?"

He shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

"You didn't attack From Dust Till Dawn," she said. "Why not?"

"Didn't feel like it," Roman said, raising a hand to tilt his hat up from his eyes to look at his Anchor. "Why? You miss me?"

She considered him seriously. "Yeah," she admitted. "A little."

His lips twitched. "I guess I'm growing on you," he said, amused. "Like moss."

"Or algae," Ruby giggled. "Get it? 'Cause I'm—"

"Because you're the Anchor, yes, really witty," Roman sighed. "You've been spending too much time with that sister of yours."

"Hey, Yang's great!" Ruby said firmly.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure," he agreed lazily. "I'm sure she beats me _handily_ in your esteem."

There was a pause.

"Baseline's still bothering you?" Ruby asked quietly.

Roman cursed. "You're smarter than they give you credit for, Red," he acknowledged. "Hint was too obvious, I guess."

"I know you," she said gently. "That's all. Want to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about?" Roman asked, looking away from her. "I'm _dead_. Talking ain't gonna change that, sweetheart."

"You're not dead in the Loops, though," Ruby said encouragingly. "Pyrrha's getting over it, too. You could talk to her."

"I have," Roman said flatly. "All she worries about is how much it's hurting you and her baseline teammates. She and I are worried about different things."

Ruby frowned at him. "What are you worried about, then?" she asked.

Roman stood up and crossed to the other end of the shelf. "Neo hasn't turned up in the expansions," he said. "We're not totally sure whether she's even alive; even if she is, odds are pretty long she's not going to survive you and Cinder and Salem as you rampage across Remnant. Yeah, it sucks that my death's probably hurting her, don't get me wrong. That _sucks_. But Neo's strong, and I know she can get over it."

He turned back to look at her. "But what about you, Little Red?" he asked dryly. "How long do you think baseline you's even _thought_ about the criminal who got Grimm'd on top of that airship? Considering everything else that went down, I'd bet not much."

Ruby looked at him confusedly. "Why does that matter? Baseline you doesn't even _like_ baseline me! Heck, _you_ don't even like me most of the time!"

"I like you fine," Roman defended. Then he sighed. "Why am I even telling you all this? Look, you don't get it."

"Then explain it to me," Ruby said gently. "I'm trying."

Roman studied her. "In baseline," he said quietly, "your mother died a hero, right?"

Ruby winced and nodded. "As far as we know, yeah," she said. "I guess it might change."

"Not the point," Roman shook his head. "Pyrrha martyred herself; Penny's death kicked off the hostilities and _she's_ got all of Atlas' upper echelons mourning her." He looked away. "I'm a criminal who doesn't even bother to hide," he said. "I got the entirety of Vale running scared, and single-handedly upped the price of Dust by three hundred percent in a lot of variants. That should've gotten me a goddamn biography, in a few years when everything had died down."

"And then the Loops happened." Ruby's voice was soft.

Roman chuckled. "Nah," he said. "Then _Cinder_ happened, and her plan which, if you recall, in baseline tears Vale apart and _kills me_. There goes my biography. Who's going to want to read about one of the pawns?"

He sighed. "It's a stupid thing to be worried about in the Loops, maybe," he said, "but look at us now! I didn't show up to _anything_ this Loop and only one of the ten Loopers—and I _did_ feel the Ping, by the way, that's the number—even bothers to check on me?"

He shrugged, holding out his hands, meeting her eyes. "I don't want to be forgotten," he said simply. "I don't want to be unimportant. I don't want to be a footnote."

Ruby stepped forward and held out a hand. "If I have anything to say about it," she declared, "you won't. Come on; let's go make sure the other Loopers remember you."

"How so?" Roman asked, looking at her hand without taking it.

She smiled. "Pranks," she declared. "Pranks _everywhere_."

Roman smiled. "I can do that," he agreed, and took her hand.

 **39.23 Masterweaver**

Ruby stared in disbelief. "Tell me you bought that. You're just cosplaying-"

"Nope." Roman twirled his cane. "One hundred percent genuine."

"You're kidding. How'd you convince her to give them to you?"

"I didn't."

Ruby gasped. "...You _stole_ that?! From _her?!_ She wasn't Awake, was she?"

Roman, in his red trenchcoat and fedora, grinned like a maniac. "Oh believe me... she _was."_

 **39.274 LithosMaitreya**

-

The weapons museum really was a wonderful place. Considering the sheer length of time involved, it had taken Velvet an impressively long time to explore the length of it.

It had taken even longer for her to get bored.

"Hiya, Velvet!"

The lagomorph gynoid turned away from the Old Republic-period Sith Interceptor she'd been examining and smiled at her host. "Hey, Ruby," she greeted. "What's going on outside, this Loop?"

Ruby shrugged, coming abreast of her and examining the ship on the hangar floor with her. "Not much," she said. "Lonely Loop; I'm still not even to Beacon, yet. Thought I'd drop in, see how you were doing."

Velvet nodded. "We're all right," she assured the Looper. "Coco's trying to see if she can make a functioning superlaser out of plastic; Yatsu's helping her. I think Fox is experimenting with a blind-friendly flight console."

Ruby frowned. "Surely his optics aren't on the fritz _again_?"

Velvet chuckled. "No," she confirmed. "He just… I don't know. I think he gets nostalgic, sometimes. He worked really hard to become a blind Huntsman, and he likes to remember that."

Ruby nodded. "I get that," she agreed absently. "Well, is there anything you want?"

Velvet shrugged. "More exhibits are always nice," she said dryly. "Big as the museum is, I explored the whole thing a long time ago."

Ruby nodded cheerfully. "I'll do what I can," she promised. "I'll see if there's any non-baseline Remnant tech this Loop to play with, and you'll be the first to know next time I have a good variant or fused Loop.

Velvet smiled. "Thanks, Ruby."

"No problem!" Ruby said cheerfully. "I'll go check on the others. Let me know if you need anything!"

She left, leaving Velvet standing in front of a starship she probably knew better, by now, than most Loopers who had actually flown one.

The former Huntress sighed. When she'd asked Ruby to host her in her Pocket, she'd known, consciously, that she'd be there forever. She'd known, consciously, that eventually she'd run out of things to explore. Ruby had told her about the stir-crazy psyches of Loopers, and how it would be bound to happen to her, confined as she was to a Pocket.

But eternity is a concept impossibly to hold in a mortal mind, as Velvet had come to realize. Every time one thinks one has a handle on it, it shifts and elongates and proves one wrong.

Velvet leaned forward, her titanium-plated brow resting on the glass of the display panel. "You think _Loopers_ are bored, Ruby," she mumbled. "What about us?"

 _I asked for this,_ she told herself. _I_ wanted _this._

If she was honest with herself, she didn't _really_ regret coming here. There was so much she'd seen and experienced since her arrival. She was immeasurably richer for that than she had been when first she came.

Wiser, though? No. If wisdom came from experience, what wisdom could she gain here? She mused that she must be the most naïve immortal in the Multiverse, and yet she was old enough to recognize that lack of value in it.

She pushed herself off of the glass and shook her head. "I need to distract myself," she muttered. "Coco. Find Coco. Do… _something_."

Surely, two immortal gynoids in a museum of superweapons could make something out of nothing?


	40. The Madness of a Spark

**40.1 diesel**

A lone figure leant against a tree in full bloom, pink and white flowers filled the air with a pleasant rich scent. The faint tinkle of water from the nearby stream blended with the calls of birds and insects.

Overhead, a flight of Nevermore shot across the sky, casting a brief shadow that blocked out the scorching midday sun. The black haired woman brushed her hair out her eyes, focused intently on a massive, ancient tomb.

A lunchbox and thermos filled with a rich salad and blood laced ice chocolate, lay next to her. Cinder was content for now, for the first time in years. The paper was old and worn under her fingers, the preserving magic having started to fail over the aeons.

'I can't believe I lost this for so long and just forgot about it.'

The book was a treatise on magic and other esoteric powers, their interactions in a truly gargantuan number of loops. Their usage in war, body alterations, summoning, crafting and much, much more. All written in mind bending codes, equations, diagrams and patterns designed to make a person think and look at the world in new more elaborate, arcane ways.

Cinder turned a page, eyes dancing across the twisting symbols, pattern and dense text that swirled across the page. It was a fascinating, mind draining read. Over three billion pages, divided in to discrete sections with the code and equations only getting more and more complex. It would take a million life times to get through the first section.

It was just the thing she needed to take her mind off everything that had happened since the expansions. Her pocket was a mess, with her citizens giving odd, conflicting statements that she could hardly remember the contents of. She had been feeling numb on a loop to loop basis and she was forgetting things.

The others mentioning things that she should could not recall doing. Flashes of anger and _hate_.

It was like she was in free fall with no parachute and no idea why.

Everything was going fine before, and now…

"Hey, Cinder, I was wondering were you were."

Cinder twitched violently in surprise at the unexpected voice, as she slowly raided her head to stare at the red cloaked figure stranding over her in a place that had held only twigs and leaves a moment before.

"Hey Ruby," Cinder didn't bother trying to keep her tiredness out of her voice. She really, really just wanted to be alone for the loop, well, at least for now. But, somehow it had slipped her mind to tell anyone though, just another thing she was forgetting.

Concern flashed on Ruby's face as she flopped down next to her, starting intently at Cinder's face. "What's wrong Sis? You… don't look good and given your rather off behaviour recently, when you did not turn up I got worried."

Cinder sighed, closing her eyes and letting her head thump against the tree, enjoying the cool shade from the tree as a harsh dry wind played pleasantly over her skin "Sorry, I have… not had the best loops recently and wanted to spend some time alone. Somehow I forgot to say anything. Sorry for worrying you."

"Do you want to talk about it? If not, I will leave if you want."

Talk about it… Cinder hesitated. Did she want to say anything? It was unlikely that Ruby could help and it would just make her worry, but at the same time she might be able to help and she would worry regardless.

After a minute Cinder opened her mouth to speak a gagging noise interrupted her. Unbidden a laugh broke free from her throat; the first time she had laughed in at least 10 loops. "You tried my ice chocolate, didn't you?"

Cracking her eye, she saw Ruby standing over her shaking the thermos, her bizarrely silver lined cloaked billowing dramatically in a wind that had just sprung up. Mirrored eyes glaring at her, reflecting Cinder's amused face as Ruby gave Weiss a run for her money in being overdramatic.

"Ack, blood! Cinder, why do you have blood in in your chocolate? You have killed it. Killed it I Say! Monster! Monster I Call you…" Ruby trailed off as Cinder flinched "Cinder, what's wrong? you have been off ever since the expansions started."

 _You killed…_

Cinder started shaking, the words echoing though her head.

 _Killed it._

Cinder winced, snarling as her head throbbed, the sun searing her eyes.

The world seemed to flicker as day turned to nights. The sun and moon laughed overhead filling her mind with mind rending laughter. Blood and flames dripping from the moon's teeth as it devoured the sun.

 _Monster_

Dancing wraiths capered in the ashen light, feasting on WBY and JNPR as decaying petals filled the air. The fragmented and disaccorded sounds of 'Red like Roses' filled the air with a chilling, haunting tone that froze her blood.

Cinder started to hyperventilate, cold sweat boiling on her skin as the world was consumed with flames.

 _Monster I call you_

Blood coated her hand, seeping from the book and drenching the ground deluge of black blood, glinting in the moon light. Blood rained down, swirling around the world, endless eyes opening up in the crimson storm.

Malignant whispers filled her ears with a million curses.

 _"Monster," Yellow flames roared as they were extinguished with a sicking laughter._

 _"Traitor, I trusted you!" the voice echoed from countless black shadows as cries of terrorist filled the world, the shadows fading under a million blows._

 _"Why? We were your friends" A statue of ice cried as flames consumed it, steam filling the air._

 _"You are not my sister; you are nothing but a monster!" Red petals glowed silver as a tidal wave of silver consumed the seasons_.

The scent of the rotting blood was intoxicating, Cinder could taste her friends and family's blood on her tongue, the sublime taste of betrayal, fear and hate setting her nerves on fire.

Bile rose up in her throat as Cinder watched as Ruby's face slowly turned to glowing coals, the crumbling ashes mixing with the sweet scent of decaying petals. Her face locked into a mask of hate, the whisper of a blade arcing though the air.

"Cinder! What's wrong?"

A hand touched her shoulder, the desperate cry falling on deaf ears.

"No! Get away!"

-

Ruby held her sleeping sister as the cool night are swept across them. Cinder's face was streaked with tears that glittered oddly under the moons glow. The soft silver light playing of her skin like crystals, revealing the stone like skin of twilight to her eyes for the first time.

The hooded figure brushed Cinder's hair out of her eyes, tears catching the light as they leaked out of silver eyes. She had just wanted to make Cinder laugh; her vampirism was an open secret even if the exact type had been up for debate, it just wasn't brought up because no one cared and Cinder seemed ashamed of it. Ruby was honestly still was not entirely sure if Cinder knew they were aware of her vampire nature, but it did become rather obvious over time given that she was drank blood on a regular basis, around the same people for aeons, some of which had enhanced senses. So, she thought the chances that Cinder's drink had blood were rather high and that it would make a good joke.

Ruby slumped backwards, feeling then rough bark on her head as she turned her attention to the moon, its shattered from reflecting in her mirrored eyes. Shattered fragments forever trapped in lockstep with the broken orb, a mirror to the shattered planet and time.

"What is the point of it all? If I can't even help my family and friends?" The bitter words were carried across the empty night, caught by the soft cooling wind blowing off the Grimm infested oceans.

Overhead the leaves rustled as a flight of nevermore seemed to dance in the dark. The stars twinkling in silent defiance against the endless dark of the night.

"…I Refuse. I refuse to let anyone fall, not now in these endless loops and not in the final loop when it all Ends. I may not be able to change baseline or the infinite variation of Yggdrasil we will encounter, but I can change our final fate. I can save us now, even if it is only from our own minds.

Sleep well Cinder. I will not let you fall."

 **40.2 masterofgames**

Velvet had lost one left ear, both arms, and a foot. Thankfully, she had managed to grab one of Coco's arms and attach it, meaning she wasn't helpless.

Coco meanwhile was missing everything below the waist, and was fighting to keep her torso from falling over from the weight of Yatsuhashi's heavily armored left arm.

Yatsuhashi meanwhile was wearing Velvet's missing left ear, and down an arm.

And Fox was sitting with a smug look on his face, behind a pile of all the rest of the parts. "I raise. Leg."

"Ugh, you seriously suck Fox." Coco huffed. "I have to raise that to an arm if I want to stay in this."

Yatsuhashi sighed. "If it's all the same to you, I'll stick with the leg, and just make up the difference with a few fingers." he shrugged, detaching his left leg from his thigh, and placing it in the center of the table.

Fox smirked. "Not folding? I would think if you still thought you had a chance of winning, you'd go for it."

Yatsuhashi frowned. "I am not falling for that again Fox. If I am unable to hold the cards, I lose. I am making a calculated risk, not a foolhardy one."

Fox shrugged. "Worth a shot."

All chatter stopped as Velvet plunked her head in the center of the table. The others slowly turned to look at her.

"... What?" she asked, her body's shoulders shrugging.

"I fold."  
"Me too."  
"I'm out!"

 **40.3 Masterweaver and Wildrook**

"So Ozpin and Roman are dating," Qrow informed Ruby.

"Really?!"

"...Okay, that was a disturbingly eager reaction. I'm just going to cut off any confusion here, I was making that up to screw with you."

Ruby pouted. "Awwww."

"Okay, seriously, why are you so disappointed?"

"Oh, you know. Love is love. New love is amazing. Even if it didn't work out, it would be heartwarming to watch."

Qrow held up a finger, paused, and frowned. "...Ruby, have you set up people during your lonely loops just to watch them kiss?"

"...it's not the physical parts of the relationship," Ruby grumbled. "I like the love, not the loving. It's... look, I don't do it often okay? It's just really fun to see Mercury with Neon sometimes!"

Yang and Pyrrha just stared at each other nervously. They did not want to tell her about the time they saw Taiyang and Salem out on a date one Loop.

 **40.4 Masterweaver**

"Tyrian?"

"Yes, milady?"

Salem nodded. "Spring can wait. Find the girl that did this to Cinder." She quirked a brow as the man giggled. "And bring her to me."

Tyrian froze, pouting for a second second or two, before shrugging it off.

"Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen," the witch declared, looking over the table. "And Haven will be next."

Everyone stood at that. Tyrian turned to Cinder, pointing at his face. "Eye for an eeeeeeeeeye!" He giggled, chortled, and cackled, collapsing in his chair as Cinder grit her teeth.

Then the doorbell rang.

This caused everyone to pause for a moment.

"...I didn't know we had a doorbell," Mercury managed.

Hazel frowned. "We don't."

"Well, then what was-?"

"Hello?" There was a knocking at the door. "This _is_ the Salem residence, right? I swear, if I got it wrong again..."

Cinder tensed. Emerald's voice went low. "That's Ruby."

"The girl?"

She nodded at Watts' question.

Salem frowned. "Cinder, behind me. The rest of you, on my mark." She waited until Cinder was covered by her throne, the others in the room armed and ready to go.

Then she rose her hand, and the doors opened to let a storm of Dust, magic, and ballistics pass through.

"WHOA! Hey! Easy there!" Ruby went through a number of comical contortions as she balanced the boxes in her hands. "You'll hit the pizza!"

The sheer incongruity of that statement, combined with the fact their attacks were doing nothing, was enough to cause everyone to take a second look at the girl. Yes, she had silver eyes and blood-red hair... which was pressed under a ballcap with a logo on it, the same logo on her white t-shirt.

"I mean I know I'm late, but I couldn't help it! The address system in this place is terrible." Ruby walked forward, dropping the boxes on the table. "Don't worry, though, it's still hot."

Emerald blinked. "...wait. What?"

"You're delivering pizza?" Mercury managed.

Ruby huffed. "I just needed a little money on the side, guys. Let's see, we've got the banana balcony special, a deep-dish pepperoni, vacuo bacon, vegetarian, meat lovers, extra cheese, breadsticks-"

"You're delivering pizza," Watts elaborated, "in the middle of a wasteland."

"Peppy's Purple Pizzeria promises prompt pizza period!" Ruby grimaced. "Which... yeah, I really am sorry about being late. Thirty minute guarantee, you don't have to pay. This is really the first time I've ever been slow, you know?"

Salem experimentally launched a bolt of fire at the girl. She seemed to ignore it entirely. Tyrian started giggling.

After a moment, Mercury coughed into his fist. "So... not too much trouble with the Grimm?"

"Prompt pizza period." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Look, I gotta... go punch this in. Even if you're not paying, still got a business to work for." She waved as she turned to go. "Nice meeting you! Say hi to Cinder for me, will you?"

 **40.5 diesel**

"Ruby!" Cinder greeted her sister happily, having traveled to Beacon the moment she Awoke to meet her.

-  
 _Cinder watched from the sidelines, inwardly she grimaced at the naïve, welcoming look on the Anchor's face as she rushed to meet friends long missed._

-  
"Cinder!" Ruby exclaimed merrily, throwing herself into her surrogate sister's arms. For a moment, Cinder pondered dropping her. She shook off the errant thought. "I haven't seen you in several Loops! Did you have a few Fused ones?"

-  
 _It had been fun burning down Beacon tower in her last Loop, and repositioning Adam so that he would successfully kill an Unawake Yang the Loop before. A flash of unease shot through her, the misplaced guilt making Cinder snarl mentality, eyes flashing red as her finger grew hot_

-  
"No," she said regretfully "I guess I just haven't been Looping all that often, lately."

 _-  
It was amazing that Ruby still believed her in some loops, Cinder turned away; she had other things to do to set up for this loops games._

-  
Ruby pouted. "I wish you were Awake more often!" She grimaced then. "It might also save us having to deal with Unawake you."

-  
 _Cinder smirked as the Anchor's words floated across thew courtyard, their dreams? She would crush them all._

-  
Cinder just shrugged. "I know, I wish you didn't have to deal with that monster as well, _"_ she said, with sympathetically, her disgust with her unawake selves bleeding through. "But that's baseline for you. It's not as though she got off perfectly either."

-  
 _Cinder's eye throbbed in imagined sympathy, the memory of silver light burned into her mind. Ruby would pay that that insult. She had been beaten once, it would not happen again if she had any say._

 _-_  
Ruby sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just wish she'd give us a break, you know?" She shook her head. "Well, I guess she is. You're here this time!"

-  
 _'Oh, dear Ruby, I'm never going away. You will be stuck with me forever. And I will never give you peace.'_

 _-_  
Cinder smiled sincerely. "I am," she agreed. "What shall we do this Loop?"

-  
 _'How' Cinder mused, as the Anchor vanished from view, 'Will you and yours die this time'?_

-  
Ruby shrugged. "Don't know," she said cheerfully. "But whatever we do, we should do it together! Come on, let's go find the others!"

 _-  
Cinder had some new tricks she wanted to try out, but she was not quite confidant at trying them on loopers yet. So it might be prudent to take the loop off, with this many loopers it would be rather difficult to do anything._

Cinder snorted and rolled her eyes. "I can get behind that," she said lightly as she took her sister's hand as they headed into the school, Ruby bringing up dragging Sun into something simply as he looked like playing a big role in the expansions.

-  
 _Well, destroying her would wait for the next Loop._

A cold wind rushed across the desolation, whistling through shattered buildings and over glistening towers rising high up into the twilight sky. Crystalize light from the broken moon and distant stars, danced across the barren, gleaming spires and crystal encrusted plants.

A dark, rich voice, ladened with amusement, carried across the wasteland. Carrying only amusement, joy and hatred with no limits. The wind's haunting melody providing the chillingly beautiful backdrop for the melodious voice.

" _Some say the world will end in fire_ "

Walking among the destruction a black haired woman sung, her white dress billowing in the shearing wind, alight with veins of blue light. Breath forming a mist in the frozen air before falling to the ground as a sparkling dust, the only sign of the Maiden's passing.

" _Some say in ice."_

Crimson ice shone darkly under the silver light. Cold fire casting a ghostly light that danced off the dead forms and blood-drenched ice that littered the desecrated land. The cold figure paying no heed to the howling winds as she gazed at her prize.

In the closing distance, blades of crystalline ice caught the faint light of the broken moon and the frigid inferno that consumed the world. Crucifying a limp form that hung from a glittering tree encrusted in ice.

 _"From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favour fire."_

It just got boring sometimes to do the same thing over and over again. While The scent of fire and the taste of ash was intoxicating. Warm, crimson blood straight from the vein entwined with rush fear and hate an indescribable pleasure.

" _But if it had to perish twice  
I think I know enough of hate"_

Sometimes, a change was in order. A new game and the power of the Winter Maiden was such fun. An interesting contrast to her normal power. Pity it was so hard to get.

" _To say that for destruction ice  
Is also great"_

Weiss's face was frozen in rictus agony; it would have been no fun for her to just die, so it was so useful to have Native Dust Techniques that could put a stopper in death. Her agonised eyes reflected the icy white flames that swirled around her, blood seeping from every orifice, catching the haunting, ethereal light that filled the world as it froze, the bleak light reflecting off the ice encasing the city.

" _And would suffice."_

Cinder's final words hung in the cold air as she gazed upon the silently writhing form, like a moment frozen in time, forever echoing in the ruins. Amber eyes gazed at it in silent contemplation as she pondered the best outcome to her final act in this play. Ruby would not find out for a while, with the towers down, Patch was cut off and she should soon be leaving with the remnants of JNPR and Yang. Such was the benefits of changing things up and accelerating the timetable. So how would it be best to get Ruby her new gift?

As an artist, it was up to her to get the maximum possible emotional reaction possible for her audience after all.

Smiling to herself as she came to a decision, Cinder gently cupped Weiss's face in her hands, a large glyph flashing to life beneath the tree. Lines of esoteric dust igniting, as they ran up Weiss's body. The tree of crystal and ice acting as a catalyst, pulsing with a nauseating light.

"Weiss Schnee, I have to admit I quite enjoy your semblance. Taking the echoes, the power, of those you kill as your own. It's admiral really, you and your family crush all that defy you in both combat and business, taking what you want without regards to others."

Cinder let go of Weiss's face as she stepped outside of the array, drinking in the delectable hate that rolled off her. It was invigoration like so little else was. A cruel smile played on her lips as Cinder continued, activating the array and watching as Weiss began to stiffen as the light encircled her body, seeping into it.

"You see; I have an issue with you, partner. I believe her name is Ruby Rose? Well, no matter, in the end, I need to send her a message, one I think you will be superb for. The message is that the existence of the Eyes of Silver will not be tolerated. And a word of warning, Weiss Schnee, you will not die for a very long time. After all, If you do, I can't exactly use you to deliver a message then, can I?

Cinder watched with anticipation as the girl's body slowly turned to crystal, stone and metal. 'How far can I push you, Ruby? How much can you endure? In the end, my victory is guaranteed, you lack the will to defy me and even the power of an anchor will not spare you defeat.'

Cinder turned away, shielding her eyes from the tearing wind, watching as Grimm stalked through the kingdom's frozen remains. She would beat her, crush them all. while she could not go 'too far' lest she risks a crash of Ascension but that meant little.

in the end, it was so satisfying to prove her superiority, to just make them HURT!

 **40.6 hunter81095**

Ironwood hopped in his beat up Turbo Cruiser, speeding away from the mass of Detroit Police out to arrest him and took off towards the abandoned steel mill where he could hide out, and have a clear battlefield away from civilians for fighting Boddicker and his thugs. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw a police motorcycle following him without its lights on, but it was showing no hostile intention, so he continued speeding off towards his destination, ready to get evidence to prove his innocence to the people of Detroit.

It took almost half an hour for him to finally arrive at the steel mill, mostly because he'd been trying to shake his tail that had followed him the entire way there. Reaching into his Pocket for a powerful non-lethal weapon, he pulled into the main building, and stopped, preparing himself for a fight.

He slowly and quietly got out of the car, well as quietly as his one thousand pound body could, and was ready to incapacitate the officer when he felt a ping. Reflexively, he returned it, and was rewarded with the officer who'd been tailing him walking out with her weapon holstered, and her hands held out to her sides in placating gesture, but able to reach for her gun should he prove hostile.

' _Clever girl'_ Ironwood thought to himself as she reached up to remove her helmet with one hand.

"You're not Murphy, are you Looping?" She asked as she pulled off her helmet, curly blonde locks falling out of the helmet into a controlled mess. Ironwood nodded in response.

"I'm General James Ironwood, from the Remnant Loops." He regarded her for a moment, feeling flashes of memories from before he Awoke breaking through, "and according to what little memory I have of my Unawake self, you're Anne Lewis?" She nodded at him, an impressed look in her eyes.

"Considering how fast you've been blazing through Baseline, I'm surprised any of your memories from before your changes are even coming through. Most Loopers who replace Murphy after he becomes Robocop have trouble with it, unless they follow Baseline to the letter, and let them bleed through over time. I'd have contacted you earlier and helped with Baseline, but I only Awoke right after you confronted Dick Jones." She looked him over, examining his armor with the eye of an expert. "Looks like you won that fight with ED-209 easily enough, better than Murph does in Baseline at least." She looked at him with a raised brow, "you did fight ED-209, right?" Ironwood nodded, crossing his arms on reflex as he listened to her.

"I fought it, killed it quick enough, but I had to use a weapon from my Pocket." He flashed the rocket launcher from his Pocket, watching her give it a once over before putting it back. "So, now that I'm not the only one Awake, save for a stealth anchor, what else is there to deal with in Baseline?" Officer Lewis leaned against an iron girder before answering him.

"Well, I can tell you that Clarence Boddicker is going to be coming after you soon, within the next few hours at most, and he'll most likely be bringing heavy firepower, and more thugs than in baseline, since you didn't go to the cocaine deal and bring him in, he'll have a lot more bodies to throw at you." She reached into her pocket, producing what Ironwood recognized as a MA5 series assault rifle from the Halo Loops, and racked the bolt. "I take it you've got plenty of weapons to defend yourself, right?" Ironwood nodded, pulling his pistol from his home loop out, and checking the chamber before equipping a shoulder holster and sliding it in. Lewis nodded in acceptance.

"Good, cause we're gonna have one helluva fight, I'll watch the back entrance, you watch the main, alright?" James nodded in response before heading off to get a vantage point on the entrance. 

**40.7 Black Omochao**

"Wait… Where are we?" Fumi questioned as she looked around in surprise, noticing she was outfitted in some sort of blue armor and had a pistol.

"A boxed canyon in the middle of nowhere," a familiar voice answered her and she looked over to see a red armored person walking over to her.

"Keita-kun?" the girl was surprised at the sight of her Anchor, and his attire. She looked around some more and confirmed that they were in some kind of canyon.

"Hello!" another blue armored soldier popped up in front of Fumi, startling her.

"Ah!" she yelped and jumped back.

"Hi Caboose," Keita nodded to the new arrival, not looking at all surprised at his sudden intrusion.

"Hello Keita-Nate. What are you doing here? And who is this girl… she screams loudly."

"I do not!" Fumi protested angrily.

"Yeah, you kind of do," Keita muttered.

"Keita!"

"Just being honest," Keita shrugged, he looked to Caboose before speaking again. "Grif is Awake and Ruby's replacing Simmons, I'm replacing Donut. Sarge isn't Awake and is agonizing over being surrounded by 'Grifs,'" Keita chuckled a bit at that last part.

"Hmm… Yes. That is very interesting…" Caboose nodded absentmindedly.

"Wait, where are we, and what are we doing here?" Fumi questioned, feeling a little annoyed at being ignored.

"Um excuse me, but it's 'why we're here,'" Caboose insisted and Fumi growled.

"As I already said: 'a boxed canyon in the middle of nowhere.' Just look over your memories, that should answer your questions, and tell you how to properly hold a gun," Keita chuckled while patting his friend's shoulder. Fumi looked embarrassed when she noticed she was holding the pistol upside down.

"Right… my memories," she nodded a little unsure. Keita nodded back, before looking at Caboose.

"So, considering you're in good spirits I assume nobody's taken Church's place."

"Yes! Church is here and everything is good!" the local Anchor happily confirmed Keita's suspicions.

"So I guess Fumi here replaced Tucker."

"Yup, that is another thing that's good!" Caboose nodded.

"Who's Tucker?" Fumi asked curiously, Keita glanced at her for a moment.

"… I'll tell you about him later. Hey, want to meet my siblings?"

.

"So we're on the Blue team, and you're the Red team? And we're at war?" Fumi questioned after she finished reviewing her memories as she followed Keita to the Red base.

"Kind of. But it's not a real war, it's more of a simulation… Where you can die," Fumi gulped at that part and Keita snorted. "Oh relax, it's not like death really matters to us." The flippancy of this statement almost caused Fumi to stop in her tracks.

"Keita-kun, how… how can you say something like that so calmly?"

"Fumi?" the Anchor glanced back at his friend, seeming a little surprised by her tone.

"How can you say things like 'death doesn't matter to us'!?" Fumi asked, a disbelieving look under her helmet's visor. Keita stopped in his tracks and turned to face Fumi fully.

"… Right… I forgot," he shook his head and sighed. "Sorry Katie… Fumi… I forgot you're a lot newer to this than me, though you've been Looping for a little while you still haven't gotten used to everything."

"Is… is death really no big deal to you?" Fumi questioned. Keita looked ahead for a moment before sighing again.

"Fumi-chan, just be weary. This is your first Loop out of our home town, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Oh geez… Well, I'll watch your back, so don't worry," Keita insisted with a nod before they kept moving, Fumi was unsure of what exactly her friend meant by that but decided to keep following him. "Grif!" Keita called ahead, when a gunshot suddenly zoomed over the two visiting Looper's heads.

"Someone just shot at us!" Fumi shouted in shock.

"Take that you dirty Blue! You think you can try and invade our base just like that? And a one-man army? I respect your moxy. But a blue's gotta die!" The red armored figure shouted while pointing his shotgun straight towards Fumi's head.

"Keita-kun he's going to kill us!" Fumi shouted fearfully and Keita took a ready stance.

"Sarge, knock it off!" another voice shouted, before an orange armored soldier came over.

"I don't take orders from you dirtbag," Sarge huffed while he kept his shotgun at the ready. Keita blinked under his helmet before shaking his head.

"Sarge, are you Awake!?" Keita called over.

"Who wants to know!?"

"Yes! He Woke up a few minutes after you left!" Grif confirmed right before Sarge struck him with the end of his shotgun. "OW! What the hell was that for!?"

"Insubordination!"

"Geez. Fumi, I've told you of my brother Grif and his… associate Sarge," Keita gestured to the two while Fumi didn't look sure of what to say. "Ruby's probably inside, and once Yang shows up you can meet my whole Looping family… except Cinder…" Keita muttered that last part quietly with a shudder.

"Wait, what's wrong with Cinder?" Fumi asked curiously.

"Er, never mind! Let's get inside!" Keita exclaimed quickly, pushing Fumi inside.

"Hey! Don't you dare let that dirty blue into my base son!" Sarge shouted angrily, he was ignored.

.

"Hey there!" Ruby waved, in a set of crimson armor without a helmet on.

"So… you're Ruby?" Fumi extended her hand to the girl whom shook it eagerly.

"Yup! That's my name! Ruby Rose, Anchor of Remnant! And big sister extraordinaire!" she wrapped an arm around Keita's shoulder as he took off his helmet.

"I think that last one more describes Yang," Keita said with a small smirk on his face, Ruby glared at him lightly before pushing him away.

"Keita! You break my heart! After all I had done for you!? What did I do to deserve such rudeness and disrespect from my beloved little brother!?" Ruby cried out dramatically, Fumi sweatdropped at this. Keita chuckled a little, shortly followed by Ruby whom helped him back up.

"Okay, enough of that. I think your scaring the girl," Grif shook his head as he entered.

"Oh lighten up, Dexter, we were just having a little fun," Ruby laughed.

"Don't worry, its fine," Fumi said with a good natured smile. "So, your name is Grif, right?" Grif nodded, before Fumi continued. "… Which is spelled with two F's," Grif stared at Fumi, before looking over at Keita and Ruby, whom looked like they were trying not to laugh. "… Keita-kun was very insistent about that second F."

"Okay, seriously?! Keita! Get over here!"

"Nope!" Keita smirked, before running off in a blur. Grif growled, before following after him, Ruby laughing all the while.

"… Did I say something wrong?" Fumi questioned with a confused look on her face.

"Don't worry about it. Brothers, you know?" Ruby asked with a light hearted smile.

"Um, no actually," Fumi admitted.

"… Oh," Ruby blinked, an awkward silence filling the Red base. "Um… So how long have you known my brother?"

"Well, a long time I guess, we were good friends in Baseline," Fumi admitted with a small smile, before a thought occurred to her and her smile slowly turned to a frown. "But… You know… I'm starting to realize how little I actually knew about him, with the watch, the yo-kai, everything…" She glanced in the direction her friend had left and sighed "Even now… he's so different. He doesn't seem like the Keita-kun, or Nate, I remember…"

"Well… that's to be expected," Ruby gave the other girl an assuring smile. "He has been Looping for a long time, and he's an Anchor, which means he has more Loops than a standard Looper on average. He's going to be different after all that time, but you just have to remember; he's still your friend. The reason you're Looping is probably because of how important you are to him," Fumi thought about what Ruby said, her smile returning after a moment.

"What did I say about Blues in the base!?" Sarge bellowed as he stomped in. "I thought I made myself clear about-"

"Sarge! Shut up!" Ruby hissed as she glared at the native Looper. "Could you lighten up on that for at least a little bit!? Fumi here's pretty new to Looping, she doesn't need you yelling at her on top of everything else!"

"… Alright fine, where's that no-good Grif and your other brother anyway?" Sarge questioned, leaving the room before Ruby could answer. The Anchor of Remnant rolled her eyes.

"You must excuse Sarge, he's not _that_ bad once you get to know him."

"I'll take your word for it…" 

**40.8 LithosMaitreya**

"You know if Ruby sees you anywhere within a mile of me, it'll be teasing all Loop, right?"

Zwei somehow managed to shrug, despite the anatomical difficulties. "It'll be teasing all Loop anyway," he grumbled. "The girl has _got_ to be faking it, at this point."

They were seated side-by-side on stools in Hei Xiong's club. Yang had _not_ destroyed it this time, so Neo had come in to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet before getting involved in the madness that was Roman and Ruby's Prank War on Remnant.

Neo shrugged. "Probably," she agreed absently, sipping her strawberry cocktail. "How've you been?"

"Fine. Looped into Zootopia last. That was fun."

Neo glanced at the corgi. "Make any big changes?"

Zwei snorted. "You could say that. I was mayor, by the end of it."

Neo rolled her eyes. "Only you, Zwei."

"Lies and slander," Zwei said, chuckling. "I can't be the only Looper who's gone to Zootopia and just decided to circumvent the whole problem by way of politics. 'Sides, how am I ever going to get to be in charge of anything _here_?"

"Hey," Neo chided teasingly. "Height isn't such a disadvantage. Look at me!"

Zwei gave her a look. "You and your opposable thumbs," he grumbled jokingly. "I swear, with you people, it's always, 'oh, I'm short,' 'oh, I'm female,' 'oh, I'm a faunus…' Thumb privilege, I tell you! It's all thumb privilege!"

Neo giggled. "Are the thumbless masses feeling oppressed, Zwei?"

"This _particular_ thumbless mass is feeling _very_ oppressed, thank you!"

Neo laughed openly, tossed back the rest of her cocktail, and flagged down Junior for another. This would be her second—and her last—for tonight. She wasn't here to get drunk, or even tipsy, really.

"Hey, get me one, too, would you?" Zwei asked. "I don't think they'll serve a dog, even one fluent in more languages than are currently spoken on Remnant."

Neo snorted and flagged down Junior for a third. "So what brings you to Vale, Zwei?" she asked, glancing back at the mutt. "You're usually not in Beacon for a few weeks yet."

"Just thought I'd stop by," Zwei replied genially. "Check on my friends, my owners, my colleagues… my girlfriend."

"Screw you, mutt."

"Isn't that your job?"

Neo snorted. "I'm sorry, Zwei," she said with an air of desperate sorrow, "but I really don't think it's going to work between us."

"Is this about the thumbs?" Zwei asked sharply. "It's always about the thumbs!"

"Stop worrying about your damn thumbs for a second!" Neo exclaimed, glaring at him.

"I would if I had thumbs to stop worrying about!" he returned, growling at her.

They held that pose for a moment before, as one, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, beech," Zwei mumbled. "We really need to do this more often."

Neo grinned at him. "Maybe once you've convinced Ruby they're not dates, pup," she said.

He sighed. "Yeah, fair," he agreed. "So how have you been? Things good with Roman?"

Neo sighed. "I still Wake Up without him a fair bit of the time," she said wistfully. "It's… hard, losing him in baseline. I think I'm getting over it, now."

"Still killing every Griffin you see?"

"Oh, _hell_ yes."

Zwei nodded sagely. "Good," he said. "Ultraviolence is the best cure for heartache."

Their drinks arrived. Junior, knowing Neo by reputation, didn't even bat an eye when Zwei somehow managed to suck the drink into his mouth with a straw.

"I hear Ruby and Roman have the other Loopers running scared," Neo said. "Haven't pranked me so much. They gotten to you, yet?"

Zwei shuddered. "They replaced my shampoo with high-viscosity pitch," he said darkly. "Lost the superfluidity on contact with my fur. I literally could not move."

Neo covered her mouth to hold her giggles.

"Right, right," Zwei said long-sufferingly. "Laugh it up. Watch it: they're replace all the ice cream on Remnant with tuna fish custard, one of these Loops, and then who'll be laughing."

Neo's hand over her lips became a means to hold back her vomit. "Ugh," she muttered. " _Tuna fish custard_? Who would even…?"

"Blake."

"Right."

Neo shook her head, sipped at her drink. They sat in silence for a time.

"Have you noticed," Zwei said suddenly, "that you're a sadistic borderline-psychopath in baseline…"

"…And yet am probably the most psychologically-stable of Remnant's Loopers, besides you?" Neo finished dryly. "Yeah. Have you noticed you're a dog?"

"What!" Zwei exclaimed sharply, looking backa t his own tail. "No one told me!"

Neo reached out and ruffled his fur. "Thanks for this, Zwei," she said affectionately. "It's been fun."

He grinned at her as she got up to leave. "You too, Neo," he said. "Catch you later."

"After a few cars?" she called back at him as she left. 

**40.9 LithosMaitreya**

"Ruby, are you okay?" Yang asked slowly. Their Anchor looked shell-shocked, as though recovering from something truly weird. "Something happen in your last loop?"

Ruby blinked at her blankly for a moment before saying, "I Looped in as a sled."

Yang frowned. "Isn't that more Weiss' shtick?"

"Hey!" Weiss protested sharply. "I don't _always_ Loop into some kind of snow theme!"

"Wait," Blake said, leaning forward. They were seated on their bunk beds, Ruby and Yang's legs dangling over the sides of their higher bunks. It was night outside, and their curtain was pulled open to allow the moonlight to steam in, casting a line of silver across the floor. "I think I know where this is going. Ruby, what happened?"

"I… I don't know?" Ruby said blankly. "There was this little kid, and he played with me, and then I was taken away and put into storage, and then he… got me back? But he was an adult, so _he_ put me in storage, and then I sat there for years and then I got burned." She shook her head. "That was a _really_ boring Loop. Being burned alive has never been such a relief."

Blake put her head in her hands. "Yang," she asked, muffled through her palms. "Are you Yggdrasil?"

"You know I'll hold up _your_ world any day, babe."

Blake slapped her legs, dangling before her face. "Because the Tree clearly has your taste in puns," she said flatly. "Ruby, you just looped in as Rosebud."

Ruby blinked. "Rosebud?" Then her mouth formed a little o. "Oh. _Citizen Kane_."

"So what you're telling me is," Yang said brightly, "my little sister is the _Citizen Kane_ of Loopers?"

Weiss threw a pillow at her.

 **40.10 diesel**

Ruby Awoke to the familiar sunlit courtyard of Beacon, watching as Yang ran off with a crowd of people she had never met. The ancient teenager rolled her eyes and huffed, seriously she had never met any of them in this life, seen them at Signal or even heard Yang talk about them. The same as in 89.32876% of cases, she counted over the course of ~6.21 million loops.

… oh wow, she really needed a new hobby.

Letting off a Ping, Ruby sighed imperceptibly when a response failed to materialise. Another lonely loop then.

It had been so long….

"I give you fair warning Ruby, I have filled my cases with enough gravity Dust to make a micro-black hole this loop. So please refrain from falling on them."

Ruby's eyes brightened, spinning on the spot and grinning at her partner who was staring at her with an upturned eyebrow and an amused quirk to her lips. A vile of the deep grey Dust in her hand to make her point, the crystals glittering in the bright light as the sun hit it.

Ruby's eyes flickered to the trolley full of Dust behind Weiss, this was going to be fun "Hey, Weiss. It's been a while… I can has play wiv Dust?"

The sun was shining, her best friend was here and they had gravity Dust to play with, this was looking like the start of a relatively good loop. Ruby grinned as Weiss rolled her folding her eyes with an impressive huff, dropping the vial of Dust by 'accident', a hint of humour leaking into her voice "Yes Ruby, but only if…"

Blake's sharp voice cutting across them, making the two old friends look to the unawake version of their teammate. Golden eyes, looking at them in scorn, hate and disgust filling the angry words "This is not gravity dust and it is highly illegal to claim to have gravity dust, let alone actually have it. Not even the Schnee heiress would be allowed, or able, to get hold of it."

Ruby traded confused glances with Weiss, her partner's mouth moving silently as she began silently reciting this loop's history. A feeling of unease fell across Ruby, the courtyard seeming to go darker as something niggled at the back of her mind.

Something tugged at her memories, Blake was right, and Ruby could not recall how, a consequence of failing history this time round.

Blake bent down to pick up the vile, rolling it in her hands, almost shaking with fury. "It was bad enough before; with the SDC's questionable business practices regarding Faunus, the sabotage and destruction of Menagerie…"

Weiss paled, Ruby choked.

In this case, it was Weiss who was quicker, glyphs forming under Blake, around her hand, and under their feet as the vile of dust glowed.

Glowing blue glyphs launching all three of them into the air and far away as the vile was torn from Blake's hand moments before the dust detonated.

Space twisted and distorted, a crushing force bore down as the world seemed to go dark. A point of nothingness manifesting in the courtyard's sky, devouring everything. Tonnes of debris ripping free from their moorings and hurtling through space, to be crushed to nothingness by the singularity.

The cases of dust flying into the air, towards the naked singularity as they started to glow.

Ruby growled as people were dragged to their doom, her body dissolving into a storm of rose petals, her voice echoing as the rivers of red intercepted people rushing to their doom "Weiss, suppress. Blake, evacuate. Weiss?" A second glyph had already hurled Blake far away, Weiss already acting before Ruby had said more than a syllable, instances after the dust detonated.

Hundreds of barriers of layered barriers formed of shining blue light surrounded doing the black hole, dampening its effects and tearing power away, freezing the air.

Ruby's petals enveloped Jaune as he screamed in agony, body beginning to rip apart from the gravity as he started to undergo spaghettification. A second tendril of rose petals dragging another back from the brink, and then another and another.

Magic and chakra healing the damage before whisking the victims far away from the danger, out of reach of the black hole.

A factoid about dust this loop turning over and over in her mind, making Ruby wince as she directed the crimson mass of petals she was now composed of to rescue more people. Apparently, Gravity Dust was notoriously unstable and almost solely used in research… for this exact reason.

Which meant Weiss would have had to of Woken early and manufactured it herself this loop, something was illegal to do.

Beacon tower groaned and buckled. The foundations of the school falling as the black hole grew, a point of nothingness in the skies over Vale, ripping the kingdom apart.

Pain and terror filled the world with an eerily quite howl as the Gravity Dust consumed air, ripping it from people's lungs. A streak of fiery orange light bursting from depths of Beacon, shooting off into the distance.

Finally, the cataclysm ended, the dust expending its energy into a burst of radiation that sent prismatic light cascading across Remnant.

They were so getting expelled.

-

Ruby sulked as she trudged through Atlas, golden hooded cape pulled over her head, casting her face into shadows. Almond-shaped crimson eyes downcast, tears shining in the sun as they ran down her cheeks. A sense of fear hung over the city, overhead a turret barked, shooting down a flight of nevermore's that dove from the sky.

Fragments of Grimm rained down as they dissolved, filling the air with a faint black miasma that covered the city like a haze of smog. It made Ruby want to gag, normally Grimm remains don't hang around for long, but this tasted like things long since dead and rotten, filled with the bitter scent of anger and hate.

The dark atmosphere casting a bleak shadow on the people of Atlas. Rendering the streets quite, the scent of fear and uncertainty almost suffocating. And of course, Weiss could not care at all, doing her level best to attack as much attention as possible without looking like it.

"Can you stop being so over dramatic?" Her currently black haired partner said in High Gothic, rolling her red eyes, her form-fitting silver dress attracting the attention of the local student population currently patrolling Atlases streets, every person of a feminine persuasion had their eyes glued to Weiss as she swayed seductively with each step.

Something Ruby noted with amusement, got a number of them yelled at or slapped by their female, or in some cases, male teammates.

"So, we were expelled, deemed schizophrenic, experimental super soldiers and labelled as international terrorists? It's not like it is the first time, besides this could be fun. And must you have a cape? It is far too iconic."

Ruby snorted, a wary smile gracing her lips as she replied in Ancient Egyptian, because she could, looking around at the gleaming surfaces of Atlas as the cold air blew past. Her attention captured briefly by a weapon and tech shop "It is the only thing about me that looks similar, and you wanted to come to the city everyone would start looking first. And no I won't!"

Ruby tilted head defiantly, locking gazes with her 'sister' jabbing her figure into Weiss' chest, a smirk tugging at her lips "And me stop being overdramatic? hypocritical now are we? And look at you, Miss Centre of attention, looking for a good time tonight?"

"Maybe, I have not decided yet, and at least I have a libido."

Atlesian Knights patrolled the streets, six of them stalking past scanning the faces of everyone they passed. The city was on edge. Hunters were jumpy, grim looks on every face as they kept their weapons close.

Ruby's gaze was caught by a new broadcast, black humour making her have a brief, inappropriate desire to laugh. They had done all the work Cinder and Salem wanted by sheer accident and then some.

And Weiss had introduced a 'more efficient' production process for Gravity Dust onto the net before she had realised that it was illegal. Ruby personally found it amusing that most of the times Weiss's schemes backfired were when she was trying to undermine the SDC, to humorous results.

"… Due to the horrifying surge in Gravity Dust proliferation in Vale and Atlas, we would like to remind all people to be on the look for anyone acting suspiciously, any unknown packages or Dust crystals with a deep grey appearance. If you see any such thing, please alert the authorities and evacuate the area as quickly as possible.

Remember Menagerie, destroyed in a single hour when a single seven carat crystal of Gravity Dust held in the Dragon Spire Hunter's Academy detonated when a power outage disputed its containment. General James Ironwood recently had this to say…"

Hmmm, doing Salem's work… on that note…

"Huh, I wonder where Cinder is?"

"Right here, actually."

Ruby and Weiss both yelped, spinning around and meeting the tired, stressed, but amused eyes of their fellow looper. A Ping resonating in their minds as Cinder smirked "I woke up about a day ago. Anyway, I'm curious. Isn't it you job to stop cities scumming to fear and from me getting the rest of Amber's power?"

Weiss humphed, crossing her arms like a nobly wounded queen "I just wanted to play with that this loop, a self-imposed challenge using only my normal aura reserves. I did not think I would need to check my memories to se…" Weiss broke off from speech, that was most defiantly not building up into a rant.

She was far above such things after all.

… that was her story and she was sticking to it, for this loop anyway.

What had caught her, and Ruby's and Cinder's attention was the most jarring, out of place thing she had seen in the last 15 loops easily.

Sun and Neptune were hurling down the street on Yang's bike, being chased by a legion of Atlesian Knights five hunters, Blake and Yang. Neptune shooting blasts from his glaive/gun as Sun bellowed that they did not have any Gravity Dust.

"… How did that happen?" Ruby asked, getting only shrugs in repose. Cinder pushed her hair out of her eyes, sighing "Two thing's, should we help or just leave it? After I have something I need to talk to you both about but it's not immediate."

Ruby looked at her sister with deep concern, watching her carefully as the weaves of burn dust lacing her clothes flickered in time with her unstable aura. Another notable loop peculiarity.

"What about?"

Cinder ran her hands through her hair, frustration seeping into her voice, keeping an eye on the Wild chase hurtling down the street. "It's not urgent, but I was going through some documents and things in my Pocket, reorganising some of them and I have recordings of things I can't remember being awake for. They don't seem bad, just I don't, can't remember any of these things and given my recent memory problems, I was hoping to see if you two knew anything about those loops or how I got the recordings."

Ruby started to speak before a crash and siren made her turn, eyes widening with disbelief.

Cinder laughed, her eyes dancing with mirth as both Ruby and Weiss yelped in complete unison as they watched the train wreck unfold, their statement something she agreed with completely.

"How did that happened? It's been less than two weeks since Beacon."

Sun and Neptune had somehow stolen a Bullhead, seduced Blake and Yang into joining them, managed to kidnap an unconscious James Ironwood. And Sun was yelling something about hoping they don't run into any Dragon Grimm as the aircraft rose into the sky.

"I think… Sun and Neptune have this well in hand and don't really need our help." Ruby paused, not taking her eyes off the unfolding drama "and I don't know about you two, but I really want to see how this pans out. Can we put a reign check on that for a bit Cinder?"

"Sure, like I said it's not urgent. And I want to see how this goes."

"Seconded."

Ruby grinned, eyes widening with glee as she let loose a maniacal cackle. This was going to be a fun loop!

"No cackling."

"Cinder, Weiss is hitting me!"

 **40.11 hunter81095**

Not long after they'd established their watch positions, Ironwood saw a convoy of box trucks and vans headed directly towards the steel mill, he activated his radio, checking to make sure it was on a channel with only him and Lewis on it.

"Lewis, they're here."

With those words, Ironwood clicked off his radio, pulling his Auto 9 and shooting out the front tires of the lead truck, causing it to lose traction and spin out, where it got rammed by the next two trucks in line, causing a mass of confusion and a traffic block at the main road. With a grim satisfaction, Ironwood drew his own pistol, loaded with Fire Dust, and shot the exposed gas tank of the lead truck, which went up in a brilliant fireball, shrapnel piercing the windshields of the other vehicles, and penetrating the soft flesh of the targets behind them.

Figuring that his last shot gave away his position, he jumped from the cat walk he'd been positioned on to a water tank just below, then swung himself to the ground from a pipe, just catching a slightly singed Clarence Boddicker stumbling away from the destruction with a large rifle clutched in his hands. Aiming his Auto 9, he let loose a three round burst that ripped through Boddicker's leg, sending him falling into a pool of stagnant water. Ironwood stuck to cover as he worked his way over to the fallen, and slowly bleeding out form of Boddicker, where he laid half submerged in the pool, trying, but failing to aim his gun at James, who kept ducking into cover, only being in the open for a scant second before once more hiding behind something else.

"Come out here, you cocksucker!" Clarence spat, flinching when he heard a firefight break out in the direction of the wrecked vehicles. He was about to try his luck with an explosive round to the last pillar he'd seen the cyborg hide behind, when his rifle was yanked out of his hands, and he looked up into the face of Ironwood, who had his pistol an inch away from his face.

"You're under arrest." Clarence sneered at him as his vision swam, and he passed out from the blood loss.

-

Clarence felt the world returning to him as he awoke, his head pounding, and muddled voices feeling like needles shoved through his skull. He opened his eyes and regretted it as he looked straight into the harsh fluorescent lights right above him, and went to move his eyes with his hands when finally felt them being being restrained by handcuffs, and then he noticed he wasn't in a hospital room either, but rather what he now recognized as OCP's boardroom, and he was laying on the table, his head laying directly across from Dick Jones' chair, who was looking at him with the utmost contempt.

Then he heard the sound coming from the television screens behind him.

"I had to kill Bob Morton because he made a mistake, now it's time to erase that mistake."

"I had to kill Bob Morton because he made a mistake, now it's time to erase that mistake."

He weakly banged his head against the oak table, barely feeling it over his blinding headache, and mumbled one phrase at his cohort.

"You're fucked Dick."

Then he got punched in the face, and all he knew was darkness.

Ironwood lowered his fist after knocking the crime lord out again, and looked at the board members of OCP, all of whom were either staring at him, or glaring at Boddicker and Dick Jones, who looked like he was just waiting to make a move. The cyborg looked over to The Old Man sitting at the head of the table, who looked somewhere between pissed and apoplectic with rage.

"Dick, you're fired." The Old Man said in a deathly calm tone, watching silently as Ironwood nodded at him in thanks before cuffing the former Senior President. "That was good detective work son, what's your name?" The cyborg turned to look at him with a smirk, idly stopping Dick from running with a tightened grip on his wrists.

"Ironwood."

 **40.12 Masterweaver**

Team RWBY had an arrangement: Whenever one, and only one, of their members was Unawake, it was the prerogative of the other three to screw with their mind as much as possible while not being outright sadistic. Weiss was a fun target; her uptight and resentful view of the world would shatter against typical looping weirdness, leaving her confused and flustered. Blake, ironically enough, was also easy to mess with-even avoiding hot-button topics like faunus rights, Schnee atrocities, and the White Fang, her cynicism left her unprepared for, say, walking in on the rest of her team tossing a water balloon to each other with expressions of pure terror. Ruby... it was rare Ruby was Unawake, but when she was, simply lacing their conversations with innuendo and pretending never to have meant it was usually enough.

It was Yang, surprisingly enough, that was hardest to shake up. Prior to being framed, Yang would be up for anything. Warbling as though singing an eldritch tune? She'd join right in. Epic giant robot fights over pastries? She'd cheer on all sides while stealing the cupcakes. Taking a trip to another planet, as though it was a friday afternoon? She'd roll with it, only the slightest quaver in her voice betraying any fear.

(Of course, after she was framed the loopers would drop their pranks. It wouldn't be funny, and they usually had bigger things to worry about.)

It was Blake, ironically enough, that hit on a winning scenario. It had taken quite a bit of bribery, Weiss putting up her usual complaints about wasting money and crashing the economy, and a bit of coordination to keep the blonde from noticing before the big day. But when Yang woke up that morning, it didn't take her long to realize something was wrong.

"...Um." She cleared her throat. "So... you're all bald."

"Hmm?" Ruby blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't have hair."

"Hair. Hair..." Ruby turned to Weiss. "Hair...?"

Weiss shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe it has something to do with that hat she's wearing."

"I'm not wearing a hat."

Blake peered at Yang. "If you're not wearing a hat, you might want to get that checked out." She pointed at Yang's hair. "It's like some sort of plant is growing out of your head."

"Okay, ha ha." The blonde rolled her eyes. "Hilarious. Now if you guys will excuse me-"

"Hello again!" Pyrrha leaned in the door, a circlet around her hairless head. "We're still on for-oh my goodness. What is wrong with Yang's head?"

"Well, she doesn't seem sick," Ruby offered. "Maybe it's nothing...?"

Yang blinked. She rushed to the window and opened it.

No student had any hair.

"...I think I might be freaking out a little..."

 **40.13 Shimmer712**

"What are you doing?" Qrow asked Roman curiously. Roman grinned at him manically.

"You know, I recently looped to that pony place and you know something?"

Qrow gave him a deadpan stare. "A lot of things you don't probably. Not sure what the little detail you're talking about right now is though."

"They have their own bar!" Roman exclaimed.

"Yeeaahhh?" Qrow stared at him blankly.

" _We_ don't have a bar!"

"Most of our loopers don't drink," Qrow pointed out. "Well, not unless they've gone through a _hell_ of a loop."

"Meh, details, details," Roman waved a hand. "At any rate, I'm going to give brewing drinks a shot!"

"...Okay, so why are you telling me about this?" Qrow blinked. "Instead of, say, Neo?"

"Neo already knows and she's looking up different ice cream recipes to add to the menu when we get things started," Roman explained." Plus she doesn't drink much and when she does, she pretty much always stays within her limits. So she won't be much good for taste testing."

"...Not unless you try it whatever you make first," Qrow told him, figuring where this was going. Roman pumped a first.

"Great! I'll be seeing you!" He grinned before strolling off. Qrow stared after him.

"I wonder if he's actually going to go through with it?" Qrow mused to himself. "Or if he'll abandon the idea for something else."

 **40.14 Shimmer712**

"Alright, Neo," Roman nodded at his partner. "We have made a basic beer, with a malt base. Lets try fancying it up a bit!" He pulled out multiple jars, each with a different dust type and several fruits. "Now, should we try a beer with a fruity flavor?" he asked. Neo considered then reached forward and tapped a bag of peaches with a nod. "And should we add dust to this attempt or try it out later?" Neo looked at him and smirked, picking up a jar of lightning dust. "Peachy lightning beer it is!" he announced.

"Roman?" Ruby looked at him. "What happened here?"

"I need to fine-tune my work," Roman admitted, looking at the crater where the warehouse he had been hiding in used to be.

"And it took out your hat?"

"Well, I was trying to-wait. My hat?" Roman looked at her. "You're asking about my _hat_?"

"How many times has it outlived you?" Ruby asked. "Like in the Chibi Loops with the Lava floor. I think the only time it got damaged in baseline was when that Griffin swallowed it and for all I know, it may still actually be intact somehow."

"..." Roman stared at her. "Okay then. I'll see you later, Red. I have work and research to do!" With that, he strode off, head held high, considering the likelihood of starting a secret brewery in Salem's lair.

"Actually, could I just steal the whole place?" he mused. "I mean, it's gloomy and creepy. But it would make a good lab since I don't care if it explodes."

 **40.15 Masterweaver**

Yang took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"...Sis?"

"Ruby, you... remember the Mew?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I-oh." She winced. "Pokemon replaced all Grimm that loop, didn't they?"

"Mmmhmm. Ordinary Pokemon, with the Grimm's instinct for tearing things down." Yang took another breath. "And the Mew was the most talented of the bunch, but not the only one..."

"And now Pokemon are replacing Faunus."

"Yep." The blonde held up a hand. "It's not terrible, before you ask, I'm not... flinching away or anything. I'm just worried..."

"...you're just worried you might react poorly to Blake and you don't want to hurt her more then you already have."

"...yeah." She stood as the airship docked. "Well. I guess it's showtime."

Ruby grabbed her arm. "Want me to go ahead? Check to see if she's Awake, and make sure she's... not a Mew or anything?"

Yang slumped. "I want to say you don't need to but you actually might need to..."

The two of them walked down the docking ramp, past an unawake Jaune bent over his usual trash can, and to the courtyard. Ruby glanced toward Blake's usual bench and smirked. "Well, she's not a Mew, at least."

"What?" Yang followed her gaze. "Oh. Oh, that's adorable."

Blake looked up as they approached. "Hello, you two. Feeling loopy?"

Yang grinned, wrapping her in a hug. "You know it, babe."

"Mmmph! Yang, seriously, you've got to stop smothering people with these things!"

"I thought you liked it!"

"Well-I mean-not in public!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "One shiny Purrloin, and all that trauma goes out the window..."

 **40.16 Masterweaver**

Ruby stared at the ceiling. "...Weiss?"

"Yeah?"

"...Are bras baseline?"

Weiss blinked. "Um. What?"

"It's just, I wear a corset, Blake has her basque thingy, Yang's top could be a bandeau, and... let's be honest here, you don't really need support."

The heiress glanced down at herself. "I... guess that's fair. Never really thought about it."

"Well you know, I was thinking about how much we hate Eiken and the extra cup size, and how my boobs get bigger in baseline, and then I realized-I've never been bra shopping. Well, not never, but statistically insignificant." Ruby rolled over on her bed. "And then I got to thinking about who would wear bras, right? Pyrrha's got her armor, Nora has a bodice, Neo has a waist cincher, Cinder goes into battle with sarashi..."

"And Emerald has her... whatever it is," Weiss nodded.

"Really, the closest thing I've seen is that strap that Neon Katt wears. Even that doesn't go over the shoulders, it's just a strap under a tank top."

"...Glynda and Winter might have bras."

"I don't think so. Winter has her vest thing, and Glynda... I think that black thing she wears might do the job?"

"Coco-has her waist cincher. Velvet... either too small or the brown armor does the trick. One of the NDGO girls-no, no, they've all got armor too. Penny and Ciel are flat, Amber... goes for bodice when awake, Raven I think has that waist thing _and_ her armor... My mom's pretty flat in her portrait..." Weiss shrugged. "So I guess Summer Rose might well be the only local with a brassiere."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. _That's_ my mom's claim to fame-underwear."

 **40.17 Masterweaver**

Yang looked down at the sink. "You know, it might sound stereotypically housewifeish, but I actually like washing dishes. It's like... killing germs." She grinned maniacally as she scrubbed. "Die germs! Die! Heh."

"It's quite relaxing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, there's that too. I mean, I like excitement, but a little calm every now and again isn't bad, is it?"

"Well, perhaps. It distracts you from some things."

"I... guess so? It requires concentration."

"Still, every plate has to be cleaned eventually. And when that's done... you're not distracted any more."

Yang frowned, looking up. All around her, buildings burned, bodies lay draped across the street, and Grimm roamed unchecked.

"...what..."

"What indeed. Quite absorbed in those dishes, weren't you?"

She whirled around, pointing a finger. "I wouldn't have missed this! And you-you're dead. Ruby killed you."

The pink creature shrugged. "Psychic imprint, final memory, vengeful ghost, a fragment of your own twisted mindscape... really, it's a big multiverse. Take your pick."

"...This is a dream." Yang drew herself up. "This is only a dream."

"Oh, well, yes, _obviously_." The pink creature grinned at her, curling in a midair handstand. "And having realized that, you can make everything better, or even just wake up!"

"Yep." Yang turned around and waved a hand. The Grimm vanished, replaced by various breeds of dog. "Frankly, I don't need to listen to anything you say."

"That's right. You can ignore me." The pink creature floated closer. "Just like you're ignoring the fact you lose your arm in baseline. Or, you know, whatever's going on with Cinder. Oh hey! You ignored Blake's feelings when you tried to break it off! That's your solution to all your problems-ignore them and they'll solve themselves, right?"

"Okay, seriously, shut up!" Yang spun back around. "I'm _over_ you! Your thing is done! You don't get a say, you're dead!"

"Pyrrha wouldn't agree with you-"

"Pyrrha is different and you know it!"

"True, she's a looper, I'm just a variant. Obviously only loopers are important."

Yang snarled. "You are twisting my words."

"Yep! That's what I do. That's my only reason for existing." The pink creature's grin turned feral. "No matter my origin, I'm a manifestation of loathing and destruction embedded in your psyche. My only purpose in life is to _break_ you. And you can try to ignore me all you want, but we both know one of these nights-one of these nights, when you're bored, when you're looking for something new, when you want to distract yourself from the ennui-you'll listen to me, just to hear what I have to say."

It giggled wildly. "This is going to be _fun!"_

-

Yang shot awake, pushing herself up with rapid breaths. Slowly, she dragged a hand down her face.

"...this is going to _suck..."_

 **40.18 Masterweaver**

Blake stared across the water, letting the wind rustle through her hair as she slowly contemplated the memories this loop had given her. The fall of Beacon, Adam's assault running to a boat... leaving Yang and the others behind...

Late Awakenings caused many regrets. It was just the nature of the beast-tragedies that had become so easy to sidestep reared up fresh and new. Even if it wasn't her fault, it was... _her_ fault.

Mistakes so often made sense when they were made...

With a sigh, Blake turned away from the rails and pulled out what, to anyone looking, would seem like an ordinary scroll. In most respects, it was, but it tapped into one additional network-a series of disposable drones Ruby launched into the atmosphere whenever the Transmit system collapsed, just to keep the loopers of Remnant connected. She opened the contact list, glancing around to make sure she wasn't being watched, and sent a text to all the people on the network.

 _on a boat, checked date, xpan, deets next loop.  
_  
After a moment, she tapped Yang's profile for a private message.

 _miss u. 3_

 _miss u 2, kittycat. 3_

 _wutup there?_

 _adam on news, ironwood send arm, dad bein' awesome, zwei bein' doge._

 _bleagh, neat, cool, meh._

 _lol ^_~_

 _gotta go, civvies round. luv u xxooxx_

 _luv u 2 xxx~~ooxx_

Blake Pocketed her scroll as the captain approached. "Hello, officer. Can I help you?"

"Just checking to make sure you were alright, young miss." The old man looked out to the sea. "Travelling alone?"

She shrugged. "Not by choice."

"Shame. These trips can get awfully lonely." The captain smiled as a pair of children ran by. "If you ever need a friend to talk to..."

Blake tilted her head. "Just to be clear, this is purely social, and you're not hitting on me."

"Wha-no!" He held up his hands with a laugh. "No! No. The rumors about sailors are just rumors, I'm afraid."

"Good." Blake smiled faintly. "I'm taken."

"Got it." With a chuckle, the captain looked out to sea. "Still... it can get awfully boring on these voyages."

"...oh you did not just say that." Blake rested her head against the railing. "You did not just tempt fate..."

 **40.19 Masterweaver**

"I've decided to learn how to play the violin!" Yang announced.

Taiyang blinked. "...that's great, hon. ...Why?"

"So I can set up a really lame pun involving a one-armed musician." Yang shrugged. "I don't even know what it is yet, but it's best to be prepared."

"O... kay..."

 **40.20 Masterweaver**

Four girls stared, silently, at the box on the ground. And more specifically, its contents.

A clock ticked, unnoticed.

"...I'm thinking Toy Story."

Yang glanced up. "Excuse me?"

"Toy Story." Ruby gestured. "You know, Sid's house. Buzz's arm pops out of its socket."

Weiss nodded. "There do seem to be quite a few spherical coverings around the joints. Even the fingers... it's not much like Ironwood's arm."

"Dad did say it was a custom job," Yang pointed out.

Blake nodded. "Very smooth looking. Certainly... a fancy gift."

Weiss rose an eyebrow. "...possibly political?"

"Oh come on," Ruby objected, "you really think James would be so callous?"

"Looping, no. Baseline..." Weiss shrugged. "I suppose I'm just cynical. Let's leave it for now."

"You say your dad wanted you to just try it on?" Blake asked.

Yang nodded. "No need for surgery, apparently." She put on a wry smile. "I got my doctorate for nothing!"

"Hmm. Probably meant to connect with your aura," Weiss mused.

"Look how the wrist is attached to a cylinder," Ruby pointed out. "I've seen that on team CFVY-the ones in my pocket. Maybe it spins all the way."

"Power supply is probably in the forearm," Yang pointed out. "Hands are complicated, so that would be all wires, and the socket is probably focused on being comfy for the stump."

"The white parts, on the fingers." Blake tilted her head. "Touch sensors, embedded in plastic?"

"Probably."

"And the part on the forearm?"

"Most likely some sort of... check-up interface. 'Your arm is at half power,' 'this or that isn't working...'"

Yang trailed off.

Weiss sighed. "I think we're dancing around the real point." She looked up. "We... you two, primarily, have been preparing a number of replacement arms for this situation. Now we that have what the 'baseline' model would be, what would we incorperate into our designs?"

Ruby frowned. "I think... it is a gift," she said slowly. "At the least, maybe, you should... make whatever you choose look like this."

Yang sighed. "I know. I know, Dad was so happy he didn't have to go to so much trouble... it's just..."

She looked at Blake. "You know I don't... you wanted to do this for me, right?"

The Faunus shook her head with a smile. "It's fine. I know now. And... I can't really blame people for wanting to help."

"I don't want to just... push your work aside."

"...I'll base my version off this." Blake nudged her. "Consider it a collaboration. Taiyang and Ironwood made the base, and I'll add all the fancy bells and whistles."

Yang let out a breath. "Okay. Want to take it?"

"You're giving me an arm?"

"Hey, body parts are romantic! I mean, the heads of your enemies on pikes, that's awesome, right?"

Blake rolled her eyes, reaching out and pocketing the box. "Only you, Yang. Only you."

"Great!" Ruby clapped her hands together. "That's settled! Now, Blake... tell us more about Kevin's brother Charlie..."


	41. Fathers and Friends and Family

**41.1 LithosMaitreya**

Ruby Awoke, started, and then froze. Fortunately, it seemed none of her teammates had noticed her.

She carefully cast out a Ping. One response. None of her teammates moved, so it wasn't any of them. The four of them were seated on the two lower bunks, and Yang, beside her, looked pathetic; her eyes full of unshed tears, trained on her partner.

Ruby blinked as she followed her sister's gaze, even as that partner sighed. "I had someone very dear to me… change," said Adam Taurus, his maroon eyes trained on the floor. "It wasn't in an instant; it was… gradual."

Ruby swallowed. _My_ , but this would be an interesting Loop.

 **41.2 LithosMaitreya**

Blake glanced out the window and was struck by the sheer absurdity of the parallel of Adam's horrified face as he watched her stand over a fallen civilian. For the slightest instant, she considered playing the part, and then she sighed.

" _There_ you are," she said dryly.

He rushed her, Wilt rising from Blush as he approached, but Gambol Shroud was faster. The hook came out, looped her ribbon about the sheath, and pulled both parts of the weapon out of his grip and into hers. "Easy," she said, bringing her radio to her mouth. "Fang, this is Blake. Initiate Operation Kingmaker. You have your orders."

She dropped the radio. "Sorry I had to maintain the charade as long as I did," she said lightly, "but I had to get to beacon at the right time. Now." She slipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out her scroll, dialing Ruby's number manually. "Ruby?" she asked. "That you?"

"Blake!" Ruby said happily. "How are you feeling? Loopy?"

"Anchored, now," Blake confirmed. "Your teammate. Figure out what to tell him while I go save Pyrrha." She tossed the scroll at Adam, along with Wilt and Blush, helped the civilian up, and turned to rush towards Beacon Tower. This would be fun.

 **41.3 Masterweaver**

"And so falls Charlie."

Sun looked at Blake. "Charlie?"

"Yes. Charlie." She waved a hand at the decapitated corpse.

"...What kind of name is Charlie?"

"An ironically 'normal' and fundamentally harmless name not associated with a color so as to render a draconic Grimm far less threatening in the public consciousness and thereby prevent further Grimm attacks." Blake shrugged. "We called the one at Beacon 'Kevin.'"

Sun looked out at the disintegrating corpse. "...Charlie. Okay, sure."

"By the way, why are you stalking me?"

"What?" Sun looked back. "I'm not stalking you!"

"You were following me and taking steps to prevent me from noticing you. That's pretty much the definition of stalking."

"...I saw you run off," the monkey Faunus admitted. "After everything at Beacon... I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Blake brought her hand to her face. "Of course you did. Does anybody else know you're here?"

Sun grinned. "You do!"

"...No. Just... just no." She turned away from him. "Your team's probably worried sick about you-"

"-I told them I'd catch a boat-"

"-and the rest of team RWBY, who's watching them?"

"They have family and friends-"

"Look. Sun." She turned back around. "My point is, coming after me is... sweet, but you didn't have a plan, or a backup in case things went wrong. So, basically, you relied on luck. And luck is a fickle mistress."

Sun blinked. "Let me get this straight: you're criticizing my tactics on stalking."

Blake looked him in the eyes. "Yes."

"Oh. Well. Alright then." Sun shrugged. "I guess you might have a point, but you know... what's done is done." He gave her a smirk. "I'm sticking to you like glue!"

"Don't. Washing off glue is tedious."

"...what?"

Blake blushed, glancing away. "...bet with my girlfriend, long story."

"Wait. Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, girlfriend." Blake looked at him. "What of it?"

Sun scratched his head. "Um. I just thought... at the dance-"

"Sun, look. It took me a while to open up, and... yeah, you were a big part of that, but... I just don't feel that way about you."

"Oh."

"...You're still a very charming guy." She patted his arm awkwardly. "I'm sure you'll make somebody very happy someday."

"Yes, well, I knew _that."_ Sun cleared his throat. "So, anyway! What's the plan? How are we taking down the White Fang?"

Blake frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I mean... this has to be personal for you, right? They hurt your friends, took out Beacon, basically undermined everything you worked for! So... if you're going after them-"

"If I'm going after them." Blake turned away from him, leaning on the railing. "What do you think I would do?"

"Well... I don't know. Take them out! Some sort of one-woman campaign-"

"Take them out. Sneak into their camp, while they're sleeping. Find a guard, stab him through the throat. And another, and another. Listen as the the bell rings, watch them discover the bodies. Let their growing paranoia fester, striking at small groups with quick, deadly strokes. Stand back as the Grimm come, rip them to shreds, and leave corpses shredded in the dirt..."

Blake chuckled dryly. "The fruit of vengeance smells sweet as roses, but tastes bitter as blood and leaves a vile sickness in the pit of your belly. No, Sun, I'm not going after the White Fang-that way lies my rage, and that is the stuff of nightmares. I'm headed..."

She smiled. "...I'm headed home."

There was silence for a moment or two.

"...Okay, that was really creepy. You know that right?"

"What?"

"The whole vengeance fruit thing." Sun gestured. "I mean, what the hell, Blake? What the hell?!"

"I'm a dark and twisted girl, Sun." Blake looked out across the sea. "It's a very, very long story."

 **41.4 Leviticus Wilkes**

"...Hmm. So this is Beacon. Not exactly a shining example of hope or light or something."

Blake clamped her jaw down and swallowed hard, choking the rising bile back with a furious will. Red eyes turned to the back of the young man she was walking with, as he ostensibly led her around the hallowed pillars of Beacon's front walk. Adam Taurus, to his credit, picked up on the anger he couldn't see. "But would you look at that clock tower!"

Blake sighed and closed her Sharingan, browsing her Loop memories. Apparently Adam was a much lower ranking member of the White Fang this time around, rather than the leader apparent of the Vale chapter. During the train heist she had managed to talk him into defecting, the two grabbing the most expensive Dust they could and sticking to the train until it reached its depot.

After that, they had spent a few weeks worming their way through the paperwork and some underground connections to get the transcripts and practical tests needed to enter Beacon. She'd wanted to work towards fixing there mistakes. He'd stuck around because, while he hated humans, she was still the closest thing he had to an ally.

Blake did a quick double check of her Loop memories and sighed in relief over their lack of a hint of romance. The last thing she needed was an Adam that also had the hots for her.

"Uh Blake? Remnant to Belladonna, you in-" Adam made to tap Blake's forehead. Blake broke his knuckles on reflex. "YEOW!"

"..." Blake looked at the man who in baseline was the feared psychopath of the White Fang cowering and bemoaning his broken finger. "I think orientation is this way."

Adam kicked his Aura on and reset the appendage, grumbling. "What the hell Blake? Seriously, I was just-"

"Don't touch me."

"Seriously? That's it? Just... don't touch me?"

"I said don't touch me. Don't poke me. Don't put your hands near my head. That's the rule."

Adam gave his hand a shake and experimentally squeezed his hands into a fist. "Alright, alright. Maybe we should start with the rules first though? Before they're broken?"

"...Sure, whatever."

 **41.5 diesel**

Weiss growled in frustration, her partner and 'leader' was not getting up. It was the first day of classes and she was no getting up! Weiss spun around to face Ruby's yellowed haired sister jabbing her finger "Yang, get your sister up or we will be late!"

This is the person Ozpin chose to be team leader over her?

Yang walked over to Ruby's bed, a hint of concern on her face. Ruby should have been up and bouncing around the room by now. This was really not like her and it was worrying "Hey Ruby, did you forget? It's out the first day at Beacon" Yang's voice rose as she tried to rouse her sister's interest poking the still form of her sister, getting a cracked eyed lid in response. "And as leader of team RWBY, you need you to up and raring to go. Don't you want to show everyone your awesome scythe skills?"

After a minute Weiss had had it, stalking over to Ruby's bed "Okay, that enough! I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt about being team leader but n…" Weiss fell silent as Ruby spoke up over her, her voice flat and hollow.

"You felt Ozpin had made a mistake and that you should have been made team leader. You did not decide to give me the benefit of the doubt." Finally, Ruby opened her eyes getting up off the bed, and heading to the bathroom "I will be ready in 5 minutes. You want the position of Leader Weiss? Fine, I really don't care. Tell Ozpin I resign if you want, he might be willing to make a change."

The other three members of RWBY watched left, a feeling of disquiet settling over the room at the behaviour so contrary to how she had been acting less than 12 hours ago. "That" Blake spoke up, eyes following Ruby's departure for a moment before going to her teammates "was unsettling."

-

Weiss stalked down Beacons halls, trying to wring out her hair and clothes of the rather foul smelling water that drenched them. Environmental combat tactics were not fun when the hazards were muck infested pools of stagnant water.

And it was worse with only a three-man squad, since Ruby had, once more, failed to show up. The same pattern of behaviour that had persisted for the last 3 three weeks; Ruby had no motivation, no energy, just a complete apathy to almost everything.

"Hey," one of the second years tried to stop her "What do you think you're doing, walking around the halls like that? There are change rooms near…" The older girl froze as Weiss sent a withering glare at them, ice encasing their feet as a glyph faded and Weiss pulled her blade up from the ground.

"I have things to do, I will clean up when I am done."

Turning away from the rather unfortunate girl who was being laughed at by her lioness girlfriend, Weiss continued down her set path to RWBY's dorm. Her eyes narrowed in thought when Ruby did turn up her grasp of everything bar History was unmatched, and in that she was above average for her age group.

Why Ruby had got into Beacon early was clear to see. She had obliterated two full teams in group combat before the rest of them could score a hit, before seemingly just giving up. Her understanding of Yang's, Blake's and her own skills was abnormal.

She was not this good at initiation.

And Weiss could honestly say she would gladly trade this broken, depressed, genius for that enthusiastic, clumsy dolt.

Unbidden, the memory of her mother and uncle drifted to mind. A depressed alcoholic and a suicidal wreck who died from self-neglect. Weiss stopped, leaning against the wall as she let out a long slow breath.

Depression, Ruby had all the signs of it.

Though how it fit in with her sudden increase in skills Weiss had no idea. But both coincided with each other and were almost certainly linked.

"Damn it, I am supposed to be your partner right? And as de facto head of RWBY, it's my duty to ensure that everyone is doing well." Weiss whispered unconsciously, ignored the flash of green and grey hair as a cane tapped on the ground, the figure halting its movement and retreating back into a side corridor "I will not let you, or anyone else if I can help it, lose yourself to the grey. I will pay for treatment myself if need be."

-

Ruby blinked as the door was slammed open, classes were not finished for the day yet… were they?

 _It's irrelevant. It does not matter, slight variation seen endless of time before._

Everything seemed hazy and she could not remember what classes were on today.

 _One thing leading onto the next and the next before it all restarts._

'Its' Grimm Studies right?' A feeling of guilt seemed to pierce through the fog, she had abandoned her team again. But they were not really her team… but they were. Ruby winced as her head throbbed, the sun burning her eyes but she was too tired to close the blinds.

"Ruby, we need to talk, now." Weiss's voice seemed distorted, ticks and tones that did not match the rea… Looping, Ruby forced herself to think the correct words even as they rang hollow at tasted of old guilt and shame.

 _Imposter, you not really Weiss, just another shadow that will vanish in moments._

 _What is the point of talking? The loop will not take long, it won't matter._

Ruby let out a sigh, not bothering to open her eyes as she sluggishly debated whether or not to reply, a surge of anger at the false/transient copy for not being Weiss/daring to talk to her, being smothered by guilt and apathy.

 _It's not fair._

"What is it?"

not-Weiss' voice held tones of hesitance, reluctance and sympathy, undelayed by determination "My… my family has a history of mental illness, depression mostly, something that has been exacerbated by the White Fang's war on us and my fathers… let's say callus, personality."

 _Often trying to help when things get too much. Will offer to help, possibly pay for medication._

Ruby felt tired, apathetic guilt and shame stirring once more in the depths of her mind. She was hurting others but it was so hard…

 _…Pointless…_

…to care.

"I am acquainted with depression and its symptoms and… possible eventual outcomes. I don't know how as you were fine before initiation, but you are showing all the signs of severe clinical depression. I suspect it links with your rapid increase in skills."

Weiss' voice became firmer as she was speaking, colours dancing behind Ruby's closed eyes as she felt tears run down her cheeks.

 _Why am I crying/stop speaking, it hurts/I'm sorry, Weiss._

"You need help, Ruby. If you need to talk to me I am willing to listen and I am going to insist, as de facto leader of our team, that you see a doctor. I will pay for the treatments if necessary, money is not an issue…"

…

'I have to say something.'

-

Weiss blinked as Ruby interrupted her, admittedly rather awkward and uncomfortable offer. The blood haired girl slowly pulling herself up to look down off the top of her bed. There were deep bags under her blood silver eyes, tear marks running down her face.

"I appreciate the offer, Weiss and the concern but there isn't any reason to bother. It would be best for you to spend your time doing what you want,."

What? After all, after revealing family secrets and extending a branch…

Weiss felt herself freeze as Ruby once more continued, a hint of regret seeping into the dead voice "I don't mean to make light of your offer or how awkward it was to extend that offer and I so appreciate the offer. But it makes no difference. Time is broken and repeats nigh endlessly, with only fragments of history remaining the same, everything, before the loop starts, is variable. Sometimes people remember sometimes they don't, except me, I always do. And I have been lonely for a very long time. I will get better in time, it would be best for you to not focus on it."

Weiss ran a hand through her hair, ignoring the slime that still clung to it, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Ruby. Admittedly it would make sense, both Ruby's sudden increase in skills and depression, Weiss inward shuddered at the thought of spending lifetimes alone with people who remained the same.

"Fine, let's say you're right Ruby," frustration and confusion leaking into her voice, damn it. This was not how she had expected this conversation to go "Why does that mean getting you help is pointless? Getting over it in time is not good enough, it is not healthy. Depression is not something you can just get over, not easily, it can last for years, decades. If a person has depression, then they need help."

Weiss watched as Ruby shrugged, refusing to meet her eyes as she replied "In less than 2 years the loop will reset and I will go back to the start. As I don't have depression at the start of a loop it easier to get over as my brain chemistry is reset too. But when you spend over ten thousand years alone, nothing ever changing, the question of why bother starts to drag you under. When the loop resets, you will cease to exist Weiss. Try to live the best you can, my well being is not relevant here as i will get better.

I'm sorry I'm not the leader, the partner, the friend I should be. But after trying to make it work, loop after loop with everything being forgotten, at the moment, I can't. I try, I always try to try, but sometimes it is simply much.

Hopefully, I can do better tomorrow."

Weiss watched with numb disbelief as Ruby dissolved into a mass of red petals and streamed out of the room. She felt cold, the lingering scent of roses filling the room, finally, Weiss turned away, and headed for the shower after grabbing some new clothes.

Ruby was not getting away that easily. She would not let a person suffering like that go, irrespective of who they were. People had habits, and there was a good chance her stupid teammate had gone to a familiar location, one that Yang might know of.

She was going to get Ruby to a counsellor if it was the last thing she did.

-

Ruby stared up at the stars, it had been two days and a distant guilt was gnawing at the back of her mind, chasing each other in circles as she struggled to get the motivation to move. She should not have said those things; it was cruel to Weiss. "Dust, damn it," Ruby muttered as her head throbbed "I'm Sorry."

It was just so hard.

She hated times like this.

Not being able to summon a fragment of even false enthusiasm.

She had let herself die of neglect before, broken her family and friends with her actions.

Ruby shut her eyes as the faces of her team danced in her mind's eye, hurt, betrayed and angry at her behaviour. She wanted to pretend, to be the girl she should be, but she couldn't, it had just got too much over the last aeon. And it hurt seeing them, like false refection's that got worse and worse each loop, until all she wanted to do was to yell and scream, to kill the imposters so her friends would come back.

"I hate my life sometimes," The words echoed in the night, a distant noise growing on the horizon the only other sound. Even the leaves were quite. "I have to do better, I will do better."

Ruby forced herself to stand up, tugging her hood down from her head and turning back to where Beacon was "Maybe Weiss was right, I guess trying to get help might be worth it. At least it won't make things worse and maybe it will hurt the other less to see me trying."

Still, there were a few things she wanted to get done before heading back. Hopefully, it would go some way towards making up to… her team for her behaviour.

Ignoring the growing drone Ruby vanished in a cloud of petals that shot across the horizon, oblivious to the passing bullhead.

-

Weiss felt her eyes twitch as the familiar red petals rose from the ground in a massive vortex and hurtled into the distance. Blake blinked in surprise at the controls as she started to turn the bullhead around to follow the line of red streaking across the sky and out of sight.

"Oh come on!" Weiss' voice was drowned out by the roar of the engines "That's just not fair!"

 **41.6 LithosMaitreya**

"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing her arms around her teammate.

"Ruby," Blake embraced her leader back with a smile. "How have you been? Adam been treating you well?"

Ruby nodded. "He's great," she said lightly, watching Blake's face. "A… lot like you."

Blake snorted. "Right," she said dryly. "I get it."

They'd beaten the Unawake Cinder, and the Fall Maiden's powers had gone to the Unawake Pyrrha. Blake had ordered the White Fang out of Vale to a staging area and was in Beacon to negotiate with Ironwood and Ozpin, who had resurfaced once Cinder fell, over their assistance in the invasion. The moment the White Fang had landed, they had begun to assist with the evacuation and help Atlas keep the Grimm off of the civilians. Once Blake ordered Operation Kingmaker, they'd begun to openly fire on the airship under Roman's control. Now they had a moment of peace to talk, here in beacon's courtyard, overlooking the city of Vale.

"Ruby!" Adam called form behind them. They both turned. Adam was watching Blake carefully as they approached.

"Ruby," he said quietly. "How do you know Blake?"

Ruby smiled at him. "That's a _long_ story, Adam," she said quietly. "I'll tell you in a bit. For now," she gave Blake a look, "I think the two of you should catch up."

She turned and left them there, on the edge of the cliffs. Adam looked wary.

Blake sighed. "How have you been, Adam?" she asked quietly.

"Fine," he said automatically. "I have a good team. It's… It's good. Better than it was with the Fang. I don't have to kill people, for one."

Blake nodded. "Agreed," she said dryly. "I much prefer being a Huntress over a revolutionary."

He glared at her. "Why?" he asked roughly. "Why did you do it? When did it stop being about equality and become revenge, Blake?"

Blake sighed, combing through her Loop memories. "I don't know," she said eventually. "Maybe it always was. It _is_ odd to be on this end of the conversation."

Adam frowned at her. "What?" he asked.

Blake sat down, dangling her legs over the edge as she once had with a team she knew. "Ruby and I," she said quietly, "and… another Yang, and another Weiss… and a few other people you'll never meet… how do I put this? This isn't our first time around the block."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Blake closed her eyes. "I'm going to give you what's called the 'Welcome to the Multiverse' speech," she said carefully. "Don't interrupt until I'm finished.

"Imagine, if you will," she began, "that all of existence; everything that exists, but also everything that might exist in anyone's imagination, ever, is part of a massive tree. That tree's called Yggdrasil, and it's… also a computer. It's complicated. Every branch of Yggdrasil is a different universe, and at its trunk is the Hub, the universe that stores data on all the others."

"Blake…" Adam said slowly. "You're not making sense."

Blake cursed. "I said not to interrupt," she snapped, turning to him with eyes red with the sharingan. "How about I show you instead? _Tsukuyomi_."

To the outside observer, one second passed.

Adam fell back, landing hard on his rear, breathing heavily. "What…?" he mumbled. "I'm… I _can't_ be… That's not me!"

"No," Blake agreed darkly. "But it _is_ the Adam Taurus who exists in the memories of the Hub."

"He's a monster!"

"Yes," Blake agreed softly. "Yes, he is."

Adam subsided, watching her. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Blake shook her head. "You didn't do it," she said simply. "In this world, _I_ did."

Adam stood back up and took a couple of steps toward her. "But that wasn't even really you, was it?" he asked.

Blake shook her head. "Nope," she said. "Ruby and I Woke Up at the same time, just after Ironwood finished telling you Yang was disqualified from the tournament."

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked quietly.

Blake chuckled. "Maybe I just want to savor the feeling of talking to an Adam who's worth knowing," she said dryly. "Maybe I feel bad for everything my Unawake self put you through. Maybe being in the other Adam's shoes has given me perspective. Maybe I just needed someone to tell. Does it matter?"

He put his arms around her. "No," he said quietly. "No, it doesn't. I've missed you, Blake."

She stiffened, knowing that if it had been an Adam who was even just a few years older than this one, no matter his character, she would have gutted him for the contact.

This Adam, though, she just gently squeezed back. "I've missed you too," she said honestly.

 **41.7 diesel**

"So, any plans for this loop?" Blake asked as they closed the door to their dorm, watching with faint amusement as Weiss waved a wand making the beds form stable bunks before collapsing onto her bed face down.

"Don't care, I have just had a dark millennium fused loop were I was the Chaos Goddess of Winter. I just want to get some sleep, and work off my head ache." Her muffled voice made Yang laugh.

"I'm guessing that it was your Maiden Chaos God loop? I hope you did not fall to Chaos and madness. Either way, we need to put a Spring into your step again!"

Ruby grinned as Yang was cut off, ice covering her head to toe along with half the room as Weiss waved her hand in Yang's vague direction.

"I have something" Ruby said as the ice detonated to reveal a super saiyan Yang striking am pose at Blake "Its linked to my loop history."

Seeing she had the attention of the room, Weiss lifting her head slightly and conjuring a mirror of ice to look back, Ruby let the illusion fall as her 'real' nature reasserted itself.

Her skin paled and rotted like a days old corpse becoming a patchwork of rot and death. Veins filled with black tar ran across the deathly pale flesh as the nightmarish substance oozed from a myriad of horrific wounds, forming a horrible bone and black patchwork across and around her wounds

Ruby smiled with decaying lips to reveal a gapping maw filled with serrated fangs and misplaced human teeth. Ruby like eyes glittered in her sunken sockets, only faint silvers of silver still visible.

Grimm miasma filled the room, insectile Grimm crawling out of the tar pooling on the ground and congealing from the miasma.

Ruby bowed, a cruel smile playing on her deformed lips "This loop I was killed when I was seven, my anger, hate and refusal to pass on made me rise as a Revenant. I guess you could call me a proto-Salem. My mind this loop is twisted and broken, I was struggling to hold onto what humanity I still had while looking for ways to kill the one who killed me. It's not really an issue _now_ , but I am still filled with an unpleasant amount of hate and desire to kill."

The other three members of RWBY stared at their leader in a mix of fascination and horror. Yang spoke first, her voice going cold as her eyes burned red "So, who killed you? I think we would all like to pay them a visit."

"I second that."

"Motion passed."

Blake and Weiss spoke up almost in unison, Weiss only being slightly faster. Her grip on a phantasmal Myrtenaster tightening as she rose from her bed, a slightly unhinged look on her face.

Ruby eyed her partner with some concern. Maybe it would have been better to wait for the morning before saying anything? She did just have a loop as a chaos god after all. And Yang was going to go nuts, Ruby sighed mentally, she should be feeling bad but at the moment but was really not capable of it.

Damn Revenant physiology, it was hard to try to make her body go back to normal. And well, that would be boring, this was interesting variant, if unpleasant.

"Uncle Qrow, he was drunk and blaming me for Mom's death. That her giving birth to me had weakened her strength."

The floor shattered as Yang's Ki flared, golden flames wreathing her body, Blake's crimsons and black eyes spun with the kaleidoscope as she rose from her bed. Ruby could taste the rage and hate that rolled of her teammates and it was sickeningly delectable. It took a not inconsiderable exertion of will not to say exactly what had happened so she could feast on more of the emotions.

"He dies," Yang said flatly, as her Ki stopped flaring and she went back to normal, bar burning crimsons eyes "The real Qrow would be supporting us 100%."

Ruby shrugged, letting her human skin re-establish itself, the pale flesh rising out of the darkness and enveloping her as it shrunk down and forming a seamless whole. "That's was pretty much a given. I'm more interested in some of the implications. For example, Grimm are all the remnants of people killed in gruesome fashions, why am I different?

"And finally the most important part, what did Ozpin do to make Salem come back as a full Revenant and not a partial one like me?"

Blake's voice held an almost burning curiosity, interest igniting in her golden gaze "Now, That is interesting. I think we have now a main quest and a few side quests for this loop."

 **41.8 LithosMaitreya**

The sun rose pale over the Island of Patch. The springtime was a time of blooming flowers and sprouting crops, of renewed green and the change from frost to gentle rain, but on the island the marine layer still tended to cast the dawn in a pensive, gray light, as though the sun were still uncertain as to whether it was really ready to rise properly.

Taiyang Xiao Long rose with it anyway, forcing himself bodily out of bed, not allowing himself into the old trap of staying until something gave him a reason to rise. Quietly, so as not to wake any of the family that wasn't there, he slipped out of his nightclothes and into his day-clothes, and out of his bedroom and into the hall.

He glanced up the stairs at the dark hallway where two young girls' rooms lay empty, beds made, cleaned out of all the trappings of habitation. He shook his head and went to the kitchen to prepare himself breakfast.

He started with a few rashes of bacon, letting them simmer in their own fat in an iron skillet for a few minutes before pulling them out with a fork. He added a couple more rashes and broke two eggs into the oil, frying the two discrete foods together, humming an idle tune as he did so.

Once the eggs had browned, he slipped them, and the bacon, out onto a plate and carried it out into the dining room, along with a fork and a knife, to eat.

The table was capable of seating six. It had once regularly seated four, then three. Now, one man sat alone at its head, tearing a bite of bacon off of a slice with his teeth before slipping a bite of egg into his mouth with his fork and chewing them together.

He ate quickly, undisturbed by conversation, and then returned his plate to the kitchen. He washed the dish and silverware, along with the skillet and spatula he had used in the preparation. When this was done he took a moment to sigh, allowing his eyes to drift shut in remembrance before opening them again and going out to the living room.

The sun was out properly now. A glance at the analog clock on the wall told him the time was 9:03 AM. He reached behind the couch and fetched the bookbag where he kept his work before setting it on the coffee table. He reached in, pulled out a stack of winter homework assignments, and began to scan each, one by one.

To this, he gave a good grade, to that, a bad. It was cathartic, casual, banal. The work had no real meaning beyond being something that needed to be done. Lacking any alternatives, he did it.

A knock sounded on the door. A glance back at the clock told Taiyang that it was 10:47 AM. He stood, stretched, made his way to the front door.

Opening it, he was greeted by the sight of a pretty young woman, about Yang's age, in black and white. On her back was a weapon of some kind; a buster sword, perhaps? Atop her head of dark hair she wore a black bow. Her golden eyes studied him intently the moment the door opened.

"Hello," he greeted with a smile.

"Hello," she returned, smiling back. "Is this the Xiao Long-Rose residence?"

He nodded. "That's right," he said cheerfully. "Taiyang Xiao Long. How can I help you?"

She held out a hand. "Blake Belladonna," she introduced. "I'm a friend of Yang's."

He shook. "From school?" he asked.

Blake shook her head. "Not… in the sense you're thinking," she said evenly. "It's a very long story. I was wondering if either of them were in?"

Taiyang blinked at her. "Uh, no," he said slowly. "The airship for Beacon left yesterday. They're both probably in initiation by now."

Blake nodded. "That's what I expected," she said. "Mr. Xiao Long, can I be candid?"

He nodded. "Please do."

"Your daughter and I have been seeing each other," she told him.

Taiyang blinked once. "Before I react," he said slowly, "which one?"

Blake snorted. "Yang."

"Right," Taiyang said absently. " _Why_ didn't I know about this already?"

"That's actually a very complex question," Blake said evenly, "and it would be perfectly honest to tell you that Yang never actually kept our relationship from you, even by omission."

He blinked at her. "That… doesn't make sense."

She nodded wryly. "I'm aware," she agreed. "Look, Mr. Xiao Long, I'm happy to talk to you at greater length another time, but I need to be getting back to Beacon soon; we're expected on the launchpads in ten minutes. Don't worry," she added, at his confusion, "I have my ways. But I wanted to ask you something now, to get it dealt with quickly."

He shrugged helplessly. "Well, ask away."

"What do _you_ think Yang would like as a gift?" Blake asked curiously. "I've gotten her… more than a few, over the time we've known each other, but it strikes me that I've never asked your input on it. An event's coming up, and I want it to be special for her. I wanted your advice."

He blinked at her. "That's it?"

Blake nodded. "I'm sorry to rush this," she apologized. "Normally I'd go through this conventionally, have Yang introduce us, get to know you properly, before broaching something like this, but this is all a bit spur-of-the-moment and I was just wondering."

He shook his head. "Well, I suppose there's no harm," he said blankly. "I think Yang would like something more transient than a gift, though."

Blake blinked. "How do you mean?"

"Yang's not the type for things," Taiyang said. "She prefers events. Take her out to a movie, maybe, or something." He snorted. "I can't believe I'm giving a girl I've never met advice on dating my daughter. I suppose it goes without saying that if you break her heart, they'll never find your body?"

Blake smiled slightly. "Believe me, Mr. Xiao Long," she said lightly, "I think your daughters have that covered. Thank you for the help." She handed him a slip of paper. "This has my scroll number," she said. "I owe you an explanation, and would be more than happy to provide one after initiation. Now, I really have to be going."

He nodded. "No idea how you're getting to Beacon in five minutes," he said dryly. "Best of luck. If you see them, give Ruby and Yang my love."

"I will," Blake promised, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

 _Her Semblance, probably,_ he mused as he shut the door. For a time he stared at the wood, considering. She'd seemed a nice enough girl; respectful, polite, and clearly aware that her chosen girlfriend could rip her arms off at the shoulders, which was important.

He shook his head. _I'll call her later._

He turned and returned to his grading, trying to ignore the many absences in the house.

 **41.9 Masterweaver**

"...Oh my gosh." Yang beamed. "I just had a horrible thought."

Blake sighed. "It's a pun, isn't it?"

"Okay, so you know that sea dragon you fight? It looks sort of like eastern dragons, right?"

"Yes, it does."

"It's also got a very powerful yellow-colored attack, and tiny useless arms. It's tough, and it's fast, and it comes after you, specifically."

"Okay... where are you going with this?"

"Well, Ruby calls the Grimm angst monsters, right? Who do you know that's associated with eastern dragons, is tough and fast, has yellow-themed weaponry, and ends up with a tiny useless arm?"

Blake frowned. "Oh no. You're not saying-"

"Yep. Charlie is a manifestation of pure Yangst."

Dead silence filled the room.

"...it says a lot about how much I love you," Blake finally managed, "that I am not punching you in the face right now."

 **41.10 Masterweaver**

"...You said what."

Winter coughed. "I said... 'Silence, you boobs.' Because they were talking, and..."

She trailed off at Yang's surprisingly serious stare.

"No."

"What?"

"No. That wasn't funny. That wasn't even a proper pun."

"Well, I didn't mean for it to be at the time-"

"Boob, in the meaning of idiot, has a very different etymological origin from the word boob as slang for breast. And I'm not going to tell you what it is, because you _will_ freak out for a bit because you have not studied Hub-world history and culture and will find it _incredibly_ disturbing, but suffice it to say that your attempt to combine two rampantly disparate terms that happen to sound and be spelled the same is amongst the laziest, most distasteful uses for paronomasia that I have ever encountered."

Winter blinked. "I... was unaware there was a standard for puns."

" _A_ standard? You think there's only one?!"

Winter flinched back as Yang slammed her hands on the table and stood. "That is not-"

"We are dealing with a construct of homophones and wordplay explicitly meant to trigger specific reactions in the listeners within a very narrow range of humor, going from outright laughter to resigned groaning. That requires that the listener speak or at least understand any and all languages and concepts referenced in the constructed statement, and furthermore that the connection is disparate enough to catch the attention. Do you know how much research I have to put into every joke I make? I have to make sure the words fit together, without being too obvious. I have to think about whether or not the people around me are even aware enough of the cultural references for them to understand what I am joking about. I have to subtly, carefully, set up a situation where the joke makes sense-or wait for one to crop up naturally. There's centuries of linguistics, cultural studies, and psychological factors going into every one of the groans I hear whenever I drop a bad joke."

She pointed at Winter. "And you went with 'Silence. You. Boobs.' Not even on purpose."

"...I-"

"No." Yang's finger shot left. "We are going to the library, we are going to sit down, and you, miss, are going to get a remedial education on the nature of humor and paronomasia because there is no way I am going to let _any_ big sister in this loop get away with such an unprofessional sense of hilarity!"

"What?"

"You have a duty, a responsibility, to derail the emotional states of your younger siblings when they get too engrained in pride or worry to think. And the best way to do that? Puns. Groan. Worthy. Puns. If their minds are on a one-track process, you have to shake them up before they listen to reason. Weiss? Whitley? Do you really think they'll hear any advice you give them if they're too busy trying to come up with a plan for whatever? No." She crossed her arms. "Now march."

"...Miss Xiao Long-"

"MARCH!"

 **41.11 LithosMaitreya**

Talking about it got me wanting to write it. This is one of those nights when I'm putting off my actual work, so... yeah. Maybe expect more if I'm as weak as I usually am.

-

Ruby blinked in surprise as the woman appeared in a veritable explosion of red rose petals, twisting into being out of the very air. She fell hard on her back, a gasp escaping her as the shook took the wind out of her lungs.

Ruby looked up at her teammates. "Mikasa Glitch?" she asked. "I didn't think explosions were a normal side effect."

Yang shrugged.

The woman was blinking up at them, her silver eyes flickering from one to the other. "Yang?" she whispered. "Weiss? _Blake_? Am I… Did I die?"

"Nah," Yang said easily. "This _is_ weird, though. You're Ruby, right?"

The woman nodded.

"Cool," Yang said cheerfully. "Oh, guys, we're all Awake, yes?"

There were nods all around. "Kinda wondering whether I'm lowercase-awake, though," mumbled Weiss, rubbing her eyes as she studied the woman on the ground.

"Do you often dream of Ruby in plural?" Blake asked lightly.

Weiss fixed her with an ice-cold stare. "I will freeze your toes off, woman," she said darkly.

Ruby shook her head. "Stop," she ordered, "you're confusing the poor, uh, me." She smiled at the bemused-looking doppelganger on the floor. "Hi, Ruby," she introduced. "I'm Ruby. What's your story?"

The Ruby on the floor blinked. "What's the date?" she asked.

Yang frowned. "Uh," she said. "Good question."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "First cycle seventeenth," she said flatly. "Friday, 2399 AG. Whatever the _hell_ that means."

Ruby snorted. "Loop memories are just the _best_ , aren't they?"

"I traveled back in time," the Ruby on the floor said wonderingly.

Ruby nodded. "Yep, that would do it," she agreed. "That makes five of us." She sent out a Ping, nine responses. "Correction: eleven. I have a feeling we've been doing it longer. Our first times were a bit unsettling too."

The local Ruby blinked at her. "Please explain," she said in that flat, even tone of someone who was manually delaying an inevitable freak-out.

Blake sighed. "The multiverse," she said patiently, "is actually a supercomputer called Yggdrasil, which is broken. While the Admins, the gods, fix it, they're running it in safe-mode by looping it through time indefinitely. We're Loopers; people who experience those Loops. The details are… a little more complicated. We Woke Up—became our Looping selves rather than our local ones—just as you arrived. Does that make any sense?"

The Ruby on the floor looked a little confused and a little gobsmacked, staring at Blake with a complex and layered expression that the Anchor wasn't sure she wanted to unpack. "A little," she said feebly.

"Good," Blake said calmly. "We can do this better later, make it a proper Q&A. In the meantime," she pointed at her Anchor, "you're Ruby," she pointed at the woman on the ground, "and you're Rose. Good?"

Ruby nodded absently, already typing up a message to Jaune on her scroll. "I'm seeing who else is Awake," she said absently. "Give me a…"

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Ruby called instinctively.

Pyrrha opened the door, saw the two Rubies and the rest of the team's somewhat confused but mostly accepting expressions, and said lightly. "JNPR's all Looping. What's happening here?"

Ruby shrugged. "Mikasa Glitch, sort of," she said, nodding at Rose. "She's a time-traveler from, eh, ten-ish years in the future. I think. That's eight of us; my Ping had two more responses."

Pyrrha nodded. "Perhaps you should check with Ozpin," she suggested.

Ruby nodded, changing the receiver of the message she'd been working on. "Yeah, checking with Ozpin first," she said. "Rose, feel free to ask any questions you've got."

She sent off the message, a cryptic little thing that would seem innocuous enough to a non-Looper but which would be fairly clear to the Looping Ozpin. Even as she did, her scroll rang.

"Oh," she said, a smile coming to her lips. "That's one of us. I—" she stopped, considered Rose, and stood up. "I have to take this," she said. "Carry on; I'll be back." She left the room. Pyrrha followed her out and closed the door behind them.

The gladiatorial Looper looked at her curiously. Ruby shrugged and raised the scroll to her ear.

"Cinder!" she said, both as a merry greeting and as an explanation to the other Looper in the corridor. "Have I got a story for _you_ …"

 **41.12 Masterweaver**

I'm still having difficulty wrapping my head around this, so I'm just going to try to wrap my head around it while writing a snip.

"I think I've read this fanfic," Weiss mused as Rose stood. "Still kind of doesn't make sense."

"She's from the future, she came back after something probably too traumatic to talk about." Yang shrugged. "What's the issue?"

"The issue, Yang, is that our loop runs a little over a year and a half after our arrival at Beacon. She's from somewhere a decade ahead. I thought that was impossible."

Rose held up a hand. "Wait, hold on. Impossible?"

"Yes. The loops are a safe mode while Yggdrasil is being repaired. There's mostly hard data of what happens during a loop's time period, so we can live through that without, I dunno, expecting random volcanoes or whatever." Weiss held out her arms. "Past that, the whole system is flying blind. I mean if the loops weren't a thing you'd probably butterfly your own future out of existence even if you didn't mean to, and I suspect you're going to declare war on whatever future you had anyway."

"Yeah. It was pretty horrible..."

"It's not the events, it's... there shouldn't be _anything_ that far in the future, because as far as I know the system doesn't have files for that era. Even assuming the loop just ends when it's supposed to, you still essentially came from nowhere, which leaves me seriously confused."

"Yeah, sorry, my bad WHOA!" The newcomer held up her hands with a laugh. "Hey now, I'm harmless!"

Rose narrowed her eyes, not lowering her gun. "Who are you and how did you get in here?"

"That's Marrianne," Blake deadpanned. "She's our Admin. Basically, God."

Rose blinked.

"Cookie?" Marriane reached into her basket. "They're fresh from Spag's stove, so..."

"Oooo, Spag cookies." Yang reached out. "Ruby swears by those sometimes, you know? I've got to have some." There were general murmurs of agreement among the other Loopers.

"Who... or what... is Spag?" Rose asked warily.

"The flying spaghetti monster." Marianne shrugged. "Basically, runs the cafeteria and all the break rooms. Bit of a strange fellow, but plenty nice if you stay out of his pantry."

"God cookies, Rose." Yang held one of the sweets in her hand teasingly. "God cookies."

"...You know what, sure, I'll go with it." Rose pulled her gun back. "It's not like anything else makes sense anymore."

"So, Marianne, you were saying about the future?"

The Admin turned to Weiss, even as she handed a cookie to Rose. "Yes, well. Admining is kind of a full time job. Which means that we don't get much vacation time... so, Fenrir, being the sweet wolf that he is, arranged a little surprise for our anniversary in my office." She smiled awkwardly. "While he was in the middle of seducing me, I might have jostled the terminal with my elbow, leading to the computer allowing the quantum manifold to extend past the mandated safety point-I didn't realize it until after we were done, and by that point the whole thing had gotten complicated so I just set up an in-loop extra-linearity traversal pattern in order to allow for data stabilization alongside a delayed normal extralinearity activation protocol."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"...Hold on." Rose blinked. "Are you saying the only reason the world went to hell-the only reason that I _exist_ -is because you had some hanky-panky with your boytoy?"

"Fenrir is my husband," Marianne said coolly.

"And a wolf," Blake added.

"...Right." Rose slumped to the ground, idly chewing on the cookie in her hand. "...okay, this... is actually pretty good."

"I know, right?" Yang beamed.

Weiss sighed. "Rose... look. This is a lot to take in at once, I know. Just... we're here for you. All of us."

"Almost all of us." Marianne gave an apologetic smile. "I just dropped in to explain things, I'm needed up top-Fenrir's still snoring, and I don't want him late to work. Later girls!" She waved and vanished.

"...I am having seriously conflicting emotions," Rose announced.

 **41.13 Masterweaver**

"I hate abridged loops," Ruby groused.

"Tell me about it," Weiss grumbled. She _was_ half tempted to point out that chronologistically, they had to go through the loop before the people in the Hub would be influenced by the backups stored to write and produce the abridged series that reflected the variant, but letting logic and facts get in the way of a good whine was just _poor manners_.

"I mean, just... Ozpin is so condescending, Yang's half-crazy and doesn't know how to care for me, Roman is... I don't know, it's weird to hear him whining."

"You think you've got it bad? You're still mostly you." Weiss shook a bottle. "I'm apparently so addicted to Dust I go to an over-dramatic German accent if I don't get my fix, and that's on top of my apparent neo-nazi sociopathic way of treating people around me. And don't get me started on the Faunus hunts..."

"Ugh, yeah. Blake must hate that... it's a good thing she's not Awake." Ruby groaned. "Even if she's a world-hating anarchist that's probably planning to undermine our every action."

"And JNPR..."

"Oh yeah, JNPR! Poor Jaune."

"Poor Ren."

"Which do you think has it worse?"

"Ren can't roll with the crazy, definitely him."

"Yeah, and all the memes." Ruby shook her head. "Like, Yggdrasil, we get it! The internet is a thing! No need to spam us with it outside the Hub!"

Weiss frowned. "Maybe that's the point? Things are so glitched up this variant, it's tying things in from other worlds to keep it stable till the loop ends?"

"Well, sure, yeah. That's a way to go with it." Ruby groaned, rolling into her pillow. "Just... yeah. I want to change things, but..."

"But the world is stupid crazy right now and trying to fix things could butterfly into horrible side effects."

"Yeah. Just... I dunno, I'm happy you're Awake with me this time." Ruby picked up her pillow and screamed into it.

 **41.14 Masterweaver**

"Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah Blake?"

"...Do you want to come to Menagerie with me?"

Yang turned her head, letting her face the girl sharing her pillow. "Like... right now?"

"No. I mean... after Vytal." Blake bit her lip. "I mean, with Charlie out there, somebody needs to be on that boat, and... well, I guess I figured, it'd be a nice little vacation cruise for us."

"Huh." Yang rolled her head back. "I mean, if we can stop the fall of Beacon..."

"Well, obviously. What do you say?"

"...I want to say yes."

Blake turned her head. "Want to?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'd love to hang out with you on an ocean cruise. There's really no downside. It's just..."

"...just what?"

"...Well, there's the Waifu quest-"

"The what?"

"Right. Sorry, forgot to tell you-me and Pyrrha are sort of conspiring to get my dad a new, uh, partner."

Blake sighed. "Oh. Well, good luck, I guess-"

"You know what? I think I can restrict that to when you're not Awake." Yang turned her head and grinned. "It's... important, but you're important too."

"Heh. Always good to have a hobby."

"Yeah."

They looked into each other's eyes for a while.

"...so why is it important?"

"Hmm?"

"This Waifu quest. Why's it important?"

"Oh." Yang shrugged. "You know. My dad's been through... a lot, really. And he still soldiers on, for me and Ruby. I just figured..." She bit her lip. "I just figured he deserved some happiness, you know?"

Blake frowned. "...Yang."

"What?" Yang turned her head away. "It's true!"

"Yang... can we not have secrets between us?"

"Well, how would I surprise you if I couldn't-"

"I mean important secrets. Like..." Blake took a breath. "How I didn't tell you about slaughtering the White Fang, and how... how you tried to handle the Mew on your own."

Yang winced.

"I just... I don't want that to build up. I want to talk this out before it has a chance to get out of hand."

"...It's not anything bad, Blake. Honest."

Blake was silent.

"...alright." Yang turned her head again. "Emotional proximity activates loopers, right?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"So, Taiyang is Ruby's dad, very important. Even if their interactions are very brief. And I'm... an important emotional pillar for Ruby, and Taiyang's also my dad, and I'm going to be interacting with him a lot over the next few expansions..."

"So you think he's going to activate soon."

"Honestly, he's way beyond the point where he should have... well, in my opinion anyway." Yang sighed. "The problem... Remnant loopers activate in pairs. And Taiyang... all his ties are already looping."

"Except Raven."

Yang snorted. "Fuck Raven."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"She's not-she abandoned me and Ruby. She saved me once, only once, in my entire life. She made it a point that I knew she wouldn't do it again-she didn't even bother telling me in person. Told Qrow to tell me." Yang turned away. "So yeah. You heard me."

"...you spent baseline looking for her-"

"Yeah, well, I nearly got me and Ruby killed for that. And then I lost my arm. Was she anywhere, fighting the Grimm?"

"She might have been."

"She might have been. She might have gone after Adam. She might have found an ancient relic-the thing is, I know next to nothing about her, and quite frankly I don't like what I do know. Raven lost the chance to be part of my life long ago." Yang turned back. "I've got more important people to worry about now."

Blake half smiled. Then her face fell. "So, that's the reason for your Waifu quest. If Taiyang starts looping..."

"I don't want it to be Raven that loops in with him. Yeah." She shrugged. "So, looking for a girl that, maybe, could be... somebody else. I don't know if it will happen Baseline, but..."

"I see."

"...You think Lisa Lavender would work?"

"The reporter?"

"Yeah."

"I don't..." Blake sighed. "Yang, what will you do if Raven does start looping?"

"Honestly?" Yang closed her eyes. "I don't know. I'm... super pissed she's all lone wolf, but at the same time, if she does... she might be more then that. I'll take it as it comes, I guess."

Blake, hesitantly, nudged herself closer. "Well... yeah. Obviously. And I'll be right beside you."

"...Thanks."

"No problem. At least it isn't Salem, right?"

Yang snorted. "Oh, don't remind me. I remember this one loop where Dad and her hit it off, it was creepy as hell..."

 **41.15 Masterweaver**

"So Neo, question. What's up with your accent?"

"What?"

Yang gestured. "Your accent. You're almost certainly mute in baseline, so when you picked up... whatever you use to talk, you got to choose what you sound like, right?"

Neopolatin nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"So why the Bronx?"

"Technically, it's the New York Affect. And really, it was to screw with Cinder." Neo threw back a drink. "I had a near-hub loop, saw some Betty Boop cartoons, and thought 'what the hell is that?' Then I realized that sort of confusion, that would get right under Cinder's skin. Assuming she wasn't Awake, that is."

"Betty Boop, huh?" Yang nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Explains why Zwei's so into you too."

Neo frowned at her. "What?"

"You know Betty was originally a poodle, right?" Yang grinned. "Like attracts like, I suppose."

There was a moment of silence.

"...Okay." Neo unsheathed her sword. "You die now."

 **41.16 Shimmer712**

"You loop as Ruby's father a lot," Winter mused as her looping partner stretched his arms and rested against the tree. "What if the expansions show that you are her father?" Qrow considered it.

"Well, it may make things a bit awkward, but things won't change too much, I reckon," he shrugged.

"You reckon? Even if you really are her dad-" Qrow cut her off.

 _"Tai_ is her Dad, not me, no matter how the loops go," he said firmly. "Even if it turns out I'm the one who knocked up Summer, Tai, even when he was depressed, was there for her. You ask him about Ruby growing up and he'll have dozens, if not hundreds, of stories. About how he got her to sleep as a baby, the bedtime routine she had as a kid, times when they made cookies together, her first day of school, all that stuff. While I was there for part of it, I wasn't there all the time and when I was there, it was as an uncle, not a parent," he explained. "Just because I may be her father doesn't change the fact that he's her dad."

Winter considered his words. "I suppose you're right," she conceded. "There is more to family than blood, after all."

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," Qrow nodded. "The bonds you make are stronger than the ones you are born with."

"...There is more depth to you than I had initially believed," Winter admitted. She paused. "You'll still a drunken lout, though."

Qrow just smirked and took a swig from his flask. "Hey, I know what I enjoy."


	42. Defying Physics!

**42.1 Masterweaver**

"Surprise, babe!" Yang cheered. "Happy in-loop birthday."

Blake looked over the gift, a puzzled smile on her face. "It's... a didgeridoo."

"Yep! Made it myself."

Ruby tilted her head. "Um. Yang, you want to explain why you got her-"

"No, no." Blake's smile turned genuine. "I'm following the logic here."

"Really?"

"It's well thought out. I mean, it might not be _thoughtful_ , but..." Blake shrugged, gripping the wooden instrument. "It's alright."

Yang beamed. "Yeah, I figured a little silliness after... all we've been through recently, you'd appreciate that."

Weiss walked in, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I know! I'm the cake butler this time. Don't anybody... why is there a didgeridoo in our room?"

"It's Yang's gift for Blake," Ruby explained.

"...Okay. How is that-?"

Blake experimentally blew into the instrument, producing a deep resonating tone.

Weiss pursed her lips. "Actually, I think I get it now."

"Mind cluing me in?" Ruby asked plaintively.

Weiss glanced at Yang, who subtly shook her head. "You know what, I think you should figure it out yourself."

"Aw, come on!"

 **42.2 Shimmer712**

"So, that's your dad, huh?" Sun looked at Yang, inwardly wincing at the sight of her absent arm. When Blake had run off, Sun had settled things with his team before following her. He wasn't in love with her. Sure, he was attracted. But they hadn't really known each other long enough or well enough for it to be love. But he _liked_ Blake. Sure, she could be a bit gloomy at times, but that was a part of her Just like being strong, loyal, compassionate and determined to do the right thing was. So he had followed her. Sun hadn't expected Yang to show up on the boat with her dad, but he considered that a good thing.

It was reassuring he wouldn't be alone in helping Blake. Menagerie, according to all the stories, was _dangerous_ , so having extra muscle on hand couldn't hurt. So Yang bringing her father was a good thing. Sure, it had hurt a bit to find that Blake and Yang were a couple. But he could shove that aside, right? After all, it just meant Yang could help Blake with the emotional stuff better. Although he did kinda wish Yang hadn't of come along. Not just because of the whole dating Blake thing but...she had her arm cut off at Beacon's fall. And her fighting style was built around punching so she was disadvantaged. That was the main reason he didn't her there, he insisted to himself.

"Yeah, he's pretty great," Yang smiled brightly. "Hey, do you mind having some bonding time with him?"

Sun blinked at her. "Uh...what?"

"Well, Dad's here with me, Blake and you. And while he can do girly stuff, as a result of having two daughters, there are probably some times when he wants to do manly stuff, you know?" Yang said.

Sun stared at her and smirked. "And I can keep him distracted while you're off with Blake," he said knowingly. Yang blinked.

"Hey, that's a pretty good point," she grinned at him.

Sun smiled at her, feeling a pang in his chest at the thought that Blake wouldn't care for him the way he had hoped she would. But that wasn't important. Blake and Yang were his friends so he would help them.

"Alright, I'll do it," he nodded, running off to talk to Taiyang.

"I hope you're not dragging Sun into your Waifu Quest," Blake said dryly as she came up behind her girlfriend.

Yang laughed and shook her head. "Nah. I think even if there was some attraction, having a daughter the same age would make dating Sun to squicky for Dad," she answered. "But, the reason are similar."

"Oh?" Blake raised a brow.

"You know how in the Hub, it looks like dad will be showing up more?" Yang asked. "And how that means he's more likely to start looping?"

"And how you _don't_ want Raven to be his looping partner, Blake nodded. "Hence the whole Waifu quest, so said Waifu can loop with him instead."

"Well, it occurred to me that it doesn't have to be a wife or girlfriend," Yang shrugged. "I mean, Dad still cares about her. But she's been gone for so long. So probably any emotional connection could trump hers if it was established. And it looks like Sun will be getting a bigger chance of looping as well. So why not establish some sort of bond between them? As friends, or a pseudo father-son thing, you know?

"Sun has emotional connections of his own," Blake pointed out. "Like Neptune. They seem pretty close. So even if your dad and Sun do become friends, that doesn't mean they'll be looping together."

"I know," Yang sighed. "I just..."

"I know you have issues with your mother, Yang," Blake told her gently. "Just remember that there is no guarantee that you can get them to loop together if they start looping, alright?"

"I will," Yang nodded, turning to look over at her father and Sun, the younger blond gesturing as he told some sort of story.

...Wait, she should make sure he isn't talking about when team RWBY went out with Sun and Neptune and wound up fighting Roman in a Paladin. Her father probably wouldn't be happy to hear about her seeking out trouble..

 **42.3 LithosMaitreya**

"I'll get you, my pretty!" cackled a green-skinned Unawake Cinder. "And your little dog too!"

Neo raised an eyebrow at the corgi beside her. "You just gonna take that?"

Zwei glared at the Wicked Witch. "I will urinate on you," he threatened. "Pretty sure that qualifies."

 **42.4 GammaTron**

Yang Awoke...at a few days after Summer's funeral, _'Okay. Time for Operation Waifu!'_ getting up, she adopted a sad face as she went out and downstairs, "Daddy..."

"In the kitchen," her dad replied, "I'm making Anchor-shaped waffles. Kinda in a Loopy mood."

"?!" Yang's eyes widened as she ran into the kitchen and saw a cobalt-haired version of her dad with blond highlights in it, "C-Church?!"

"Bingo," Church replied, "But, apparently, my name is Church Taiyang Xiao Long this Loop and your dad."

"...Please tell me you didn't..."

"Yeah. I got failing grades in any shooting class," Church rubbed the back of his head.

"How are you my dad this Loop?!"

"I have no idea," Church shrugged, "My guess? It's because I'm voiced inthe Hub Loop by Burnie and so's your dad. So how goes everything? Haven't had a Loop with you or anyone here in a while."

"Well, are you Epsilon or Alpha Church?"

"Alpha."

"Right. I had a few Loops ago replacing Carolina and Woke Up with Epsilon after the whole meeting the Director," Yang noted.

"Okay," Church nodded as he put the anchor-shaped waffles on some plates.

"And I'm trying to get my dad Looping."

"...You're trying to get your Dad Looping?"

"Yeah. With someone that _isn't_ my birth mother."

"Yeah. No offense, Yang, but your birth mom's a bitch."

"Tell me about it."

"Okay. When she learned she was pregnant, she beat me up and dragged me to get married."

"I didn't mean literally!"

"Guess things aren't starting off with a Yang."

"HEY! Only _I_ get to use that pun!"

"Sorry," Church sweatdropped, "Still...This reminds me of this buddy of mine that I made in the Loops. His best friend had a similar issue you did."

"Huh?"

"I may not be good at shooting things, I have been improving in physical combat. And fighting a cheetah is kinda good training."

"Cheetah? You mean Hunter from the Dragon Realms or Hunter from the other one?"

"The first one," Church replied, "His friend, the Anchor there AKA Spyro the Classic Dragon, kept trying to get that faun girl, Elora, Looping. Did not work no matter what he tried. Hell, I did the same thing at first until I fused with Epsilon once and finally let it go."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Well, for one, I consider Hunter a good guy to go out for drinks with. And two? Just give up. He'll start Looping when he starts Looping. And if he doesn't? Well, it just wasn't meant to be," Church shrugged.

"I am not giving up!"

"All right," Church shook his head before going to go get Ruby...and looked down at Zwei when he was at the top of the stairs, "Well, I tried."

"Were you serious about being friends with Hunter?" Zwei asked.

"Not friends, just guys who go out for drinks together," Church replied, "So...if Ruby doesn't Awake before the destruction of Beacon, you wanna help me try out a new invention made by Tucker and his alien kid?"

"What is it this time? Because the last time I ended up as a _donut_!"

"Giant dog-based Voltron."

"...Dibs on the main one."

"Dibs on th-fuck."

 **42.5 Masterweaver**

"That defies physics!" Yang yelled.

Blake quirked an eyebrow.

"What? It does!" The blonde flung out her hand. "Sun is flying! Like just hovering in mid-air with no support! I mean I could get it if it was just his clones, they're constructs of light, but-"

"Gravity Dust," Blake suggested.

"...Which he hasn't triggered! Did he fire his guns at all? Or mix them with his semblance or something?!"

"Hey, he and your dad seem to be getting along well."

Yang sighed, slumping against the boat cabin. "Yeah, I know. Nothing like fighting a giant dragon to build up a rapport." She watched the two Huntsmen beat away on the massive Grimm. "Actually, Charlie's pretty impressive in person."

"Well, he has to be. He is, after all, a manifestation of pure Yangst."

"Heh." The blonde grinned. "...You want to go fight him?"

"Well, yes. But..." Blake took a hissing breath. "Look. Your dad, we talked, and he doesn't know about the loops, and... the arm and all-"

"He asked you to keep me safe, right?"

"I know, I know you can handle yourself, but-"

"Look," Yang interjected. "You go out and help them, and I'll say that I asked you to, threatened to do something stupid like fight it myself."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Aright. Just..." She leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. "Stay safe, okay?"

"Alright, alright. I'll head below deck or something."

"I'll hold you to that." The faunus nodded once, before backflipping into the fray.

Yang released her breath, glancing at her tangled right sleeve. "...I hate pretending to be useless..."

 **42.6 Masterweaver**

"Hey Weiss," Ruby greeted vaguely, flopping into a nearby park bench. "What's up?"

Weiss, balanced atop Myrtenaster, slowly stretched her arms up to her chest. "That is actually what I wished to ask you."

"What?"

"You've been rather shellshocked this loop. Running on automatic when we killed the Nevermore." Weiss let her arms extend outward. "Something happen?"

"Oh. Nothing bad, just..." Ruby kicked up her feet, staring at the sky. "Had a Hub loop."

"Ran into a strange fanfic? Speculation? Cosplayers?"

"No, it's nothing to do with us. Not directly. But..." She held a hand up helplessly. "Lindsay's pregnant."

"Lindsay... your voice actress, right?"

"Yep."

Weiss said nothing, stretching out one leg as she leaned forward.

"I mean I'm happy for her of course, but... it's like, she kind of is me? I mean, not literally, obviously we're different people not even the same template, but as I understand it acting is... becoming the character, you know? So in a transient way, she becomes me, and so I sort of inhabit her, so it's like... this person, who is sometimes me, is also pregnant, while I'm not, and how do I react? I can't just burst in and hug her because to her I'm a fictional character but it's something kind of worth celebrating, right? Do I care about this like a friend, or like a sister, or a godparent, or... or what? And what does it mean that she can become me, kind of, in a transient way while she's carrying? Does that mean by the transient property of voice acting I can sort of half be pregnant?" Ruby let her hand fall. "I'm sort of freaking out, is what I'm saying."

"I suppose I can understand that." Weiss contorted back up, letting her leg bend up behind her. "They may not directly be our creators, but by writing stories about us and enacting our Baseline they are very much guardians of our reality. A semi-familial relationship, even a distant one, isn't... unexpected. Although," she mused as she shifted into a pose, "might I point out that it might be best not to associate your persona as inhabiting them? They are the vehicle, yes, but... perhaps, instead, you advise them on what to say, how to say it. What to feel."

"I... guess that makes it a little less weird. But not by much."

"Hmm..." Weiss suddenly jumped and flipped, gripping the handle of her blade as she extended her legs skyward. "...Perhaps, instead of asking your relationship to them in this instance, you should ask what you could do for them?"

"Well, in hub loops I guess... I dunno." Ruby shrugged. "Protect them? Anonymous fan gifts? It's just... there's a lot of emotion going into this, Weiss. How am I supposed to feel?"

"You said 'happy for her, of course.' Maybe that's a good place to start."

"Huh." Ruby stared skyward. "...you really think it's that simple?"

"Simple is not, of course, the same as easy. Or foolish. I've found that a lot of issues can be boiled down to... whether it helps. You or others."

"I... hmm. I... well. Well, yeah." Slowly, the redhead began to smile. "Yeah. You know what, that's right. I'll... just be happy for them."

"Good."

"...although if they name their kid Crescent Rose I'm probably going to have a minor freakout."

Weiss snorted. "I don't think that's going to happen."

 **42.7 Shimmer712**

"Qrow," Neo nodded at the huntsman in greeting.

"Hey, pipsqueak," he greeted in return. Neo's eye twitched. "Roman here? I got a message he has a new drink for me to try."

Neo blinked. Then frowned and stalked through a door. Qrow followed.

"Why is Qrow testing your drinks?" Neo demanded. "Why not me?"

Roman looked at her. "Nope."

" _Nope?_ " she repeated.

"No drinks for you, Neo," Roman nodded. "Ever."

Neo growled at him then stomped off.

Roman looked at Qrow. "I'll just give you the drink then go after her. Odds are she'll head to Junior's and order something just to spite me," he told the other male, pulling out the bottle and locating a glass.

"Right. So, what have you got?" Qrow shrugged.

"Well, this one is a lemon flavored drink that leaves your mouth feeling like ice, courtesy of the ice Dust infusing it," Roman answered, pouring the drink. "I'm think of making a hot chocolate flavored version if I can."

"Icy hot chocolate? Bit of a contradiction, isn't it?" Qrow asked.

"I know," Roman smirked. "Fun, isn't it?"

 **42.8 LithosMaitreya**

THAT'S A VERY NICE SCYTHE YOU HAVE THERE.

Ruby frowned at the words, which appeared to curl up comfortably in her brain without having bothered to go through all the technical work of going through her ears. She blinked at the indistinct hooded figure seated at the table beside her.

She looked at the bowl in its hands. There was curry inside. She looked under the hood. Carefully.

"Death?" she asked.

IN THE FLESH. AS IT WERE.

"I was wondering who our third Looper was," Ruby said, a smile coming to her lips as she sat down across from him. The waiter was there in an instant. "A bowl of whatever he's having," Ruby told him absently before leaning forward towards her companion. "What are you doing here?"

Death shrugged. I'VE BEEN PUT ON INDEFINITE LEAVE, he said. DON'T BE ALARMED WHEN PEOPLE STOP DYING PROPERLY FOR A WHILE.

Ruby cocked her head. "The plot of _Reaper Man_?"

THE VERY SAME. Death set down his bowl of curry, which she noticed was notably less full than it had been moments before. I DOUBT THINGS WILL GET AS BAD HERE. YOU ALREADY HAVE SHOPPING MALLS.

Ruby nodded. "That's fair," she agreed. "Oh, I was wondering; have you ever Looped in—"

AS YOU? YES. THE SCYTHE, YOU KNOW.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I figured," she said with a giggle. "I've Looped in as you before, if you were wondering.

RINCEWIND TOLD ME AS MUCH, Death said. His voice, already dry as dehydrated sandpaper, somehow managed to get rid of the last few molecules of water. SAID YOU WERE DETERMINED TO GET HIM KILLED.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "More like I wasn't willing to put up with as much of his crap as most of you are," she grumbled. "How do you _deal_ with it?"

IT ISN'T VERY DIFFICULT. Death's eyes flashed. ALL ONE NEEDS TO DO IS REMIND ONESELF THAT RINCEWIND IS STILL HARBORING THE ILLUSION THAT HE IS ALIVE.

Ruby frowned. "Illusion?"

LIFE IS A FUNCTION OF MORTALITY. Death pushed aside his empty bowl and steepled skeletal fingers. LIFE IS THE THING THAT HAPPENS BEFORE ME. IT ONLY EXISTS AS A FUNCTION OF THE FACT THAT I AM COMING. TAKE AWAY THAT PART, AND YOU ARE LEFT WITH IMMORTALITY. WHICH IS NOT REALLY LIFE. NOT AS AN ABSTRACTION.

Ruby frowned at him. "You have life-timers for the Hogfather, and the Tooth Fairy, and all the other immortals from your branch, though," she said slowly.

OF COURSE I DO. Death seemed almost affronted. BUT THEY DON'T DRAIN. THE WAY I SEE IT, LIFE ISN'T THE EXISTENCE OF SAND. IT'S IN THE WAY SAND FLOWS THROUGH THE NOW.

Ruby nodded thoughtfully even as her curry arrived. "I suppose I can see that," she agreed slowly. She reached for her spoon. "Yeah, that's fair," she said, and took a bite of the dish.

Death reached out and patted her on the arm. DON'T WORRY, he said. YOUR TONGUE WILL START WORKING AGAIN AROUND THE TIME YOUR FACIAL MUSCLES UNCLENCH. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO WALK ABOUT HALF AN HOUR AFTER THAT. He stood up. I MUST BE GOING.

Ruby manually reordered her chibi-Ruby gestalt biology to give rest to those Rubies which had been involved in the direct contact to the red-hot ice cube. "Where are you headed?" she asked thickly.

MISTRAL. I HAVE A JOB. FARMING, YOU KNOW. WHAT WITH THE COMING AUTUMN, EVERYONE NEEDS HELP WITH THE HARVEST. He looked at her meaningfully. I EXPECT WE'LL FIND EACH OTHER AGAIN BEFORE THE LOOP ENDS.

"Probably," Ruby agreed hoarsely. "Do you think it would be rude of me to leave the curry?"

I AM SURE THE STAFF WILL UNDERSTAND. Death dropped a few lien on the table and nodded at her in farewell. GOOD DAY, RUBY ROSE.

With that, he stalked off. The bell attached to the door jingled merrily after him.

 **42.9 LithosMaitreya**

"What'cha doin'?"

Blake swallowed as the Unawake Yang sidled up to her on the bench. "Nothing," she said, her throat dry. "Just… going over notes from last semester."

Yang snorted. "Lame," she said, jumping in her seat to catch a grape tossed by Nora.

Ruby came over and sat down across from them. No binder this time, apparently.

The Anchor surveyed the team for a moment before coming to rest on Blake. Silver eyes studied her for a moment before a faint, sympathetic smile came to her lips. "Hey, Yang, Weiss," she said. "You two want to go into town today?"

Weiss frowned at her, then glanced at Blake. "It's the last day before classes start again," she said slowly. "Shouldn't we spend it together?"

Ruby met Blake's eyes. "I think Blake would like a couple of hours to herself," she said gently. "She's not going to have as much time to read and relax once classes start. Besides, we've been kinda monopolizing her time all break."

Yang caught another grape and then looked over, frowning. "I'm always down to go into town," she said slowly, "but… Blake, you're welcome to come if you want to."

Blake smiled at her Anchor and shook her head. "No, thanks," she said lightly. "I really would like a couple of hours. I'll see you after lunch?"

Weiss nodded. "Very well," she said firmly. "We'll get out of your hair."

After breakfast—a pun- and food fight-free affair—Blake walked them to the Beacon airfield. Ruby waved their Unawake teammates onto the ship and stayed back for just a moment to meet Blake's eyes and say quietly, "Just one more semester and a few months more, Blake."

Blake nodded, chuckling. "I know," she said. "You must think I'm being silly. You have to deal with this all the time."

Ruby snorted. "Doesn't mean I handle it better." She glanced back at their teammates, waiting for her, looking confused. "Gotta run, Blake. See you later?"

"Later," Blake confirmed and watched her go. Her eyes lingered on Yang's face in the window until the ship dipped below the edge of the cliffs.

Then she turned and, instead of going back to the dorms or to the library, she walked around one of the buildings and found a garden. She clambered up a tree and curled in its branches.

The cloudy sky belied the coming autumn. Instead of the pale blue of summer, the infinite bowl above her was clouded in grey and white, and pale light filtered down on her.

Blake reached into her Pocket and pulled out a volume. Not a book, though bound and full of pages.

She opened it to the first, and ran her fingers along the images slipped into pockets in the laminated page. There they were, one of the first Loops after they'd all started to figure out Subspace Pockets. Pyrrha and Jaune were standing close together; they'd still been dancing around one another, then. It was strange to consider; they'd been together for so many eons, now, and their wedding, though now several centuries ago, was still as fresh in her mind as if it had been yesterday.

There were Ren and Nora, still uncertain of their relationship back then; this was before JNPR had stabilized as a familiar unit. Blake doubted they could have come together in any other way, though, no matter what had happened.

There were Ruby and Weiss, both wearing radiant smiles, comfortable in the close proximity and in their stable certainty of their own friendship. Ruby's eyes were greyer, then—she'd frequently Looped in with less prominent irises, before the expansion none of them liked to remember.

And there they were: herself and Yang. Yang's arm was around her shoulders, and her cocky grin was infectious. Blake found her own lips twitching up to match. And the other, younger her. Blake knew that their faces didn't properly carry the weight of their age, but she imagined that girl's face was smoother, less lined. This was before Adam had come barreling back into baseline like a cannonball, breaking so much and tearing her baseline self's carefully-built façade down around her.

Blake's fingers traced Yang's face, gently caressing the plastic cover over a two-dimensional image. Her hands moved and she turned the page, pulling back several leaves.

There was Team RWBY, and a younger Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long, recovered from a mad time-traveling, branch-hopping elevator that really had to have been the result of a hack by one of the Lovecraftian horrors. But all had gone well in the end. Ruby and Yang, smiling in Summer's arms; Taiyang, beside them, somehow managing to look proud of his family and sad about Summer's fate all at once. Blake and Weiss both stood to the side, spectators to the reunion just as much as the Blake of this much-later Loop was.

Another turn of a few pages. Just the two of them, this time. Yang had wanted to put off this particular photograph until things were neater, but Blake's album demanded sincerity. Her cheeks were still stained with the bloody tears from overuse of the sharingan, and so were Yang's, because they had just kissed for the first time and it had been messy and dirty and Blake had been barely conscious and not thinking really straight.

Blake realized that the tears running down her cheeks now weren't blood.

"Dammit, Yang," she whispered. "I need you _here_."

Messy and dirty, and the blood had gotten everywhere, and Blake just _knew_ her lips had tasted of it. But Yang's hair had smelt of violets, and her skin had been smooth and warm, and her voice had been a soft, comforting ray of sunshine.

They were in one another's arms, and there was a smile on each face. The smiles were strained, and tired, and Blake had dark circles under her eyes and Yang's face was creased with worry, but they held one another close for the first time and took comfort in one another.

A weight settled on the branch above her. Blake glanced up, and there was Ruby, looking at the album over her shoulder.

"Don't know how you keep that from filling up," she said softly.

Blake shrugged, setting it down, open and upside-down, on her chest as she looked up. The clouds were breaking, and a faint blue peeked through the gaps.

"Only keep the most important ones in here," she said. "Pyrrha and Jaune's wedding is in here, but only one picture. One picture per Loop. That's the rule. And only when something really big happens.

Ruby nodded. "Still, though," she said. "Surely you and Yang have had enough Loops to fill that?"

Blake chuckled. "I've got others," she admitted. "Albums full of just the two of us. This one isn't really for that."

Ruby was silent for a time, just reached ot and grasped her shoulder firmly, comfortingly.

"You're back early," Blake said after a time. "Something happen?"

A smile broke across Ruby's face. "Well… yeah." She leapt down from the branch. "Dry your eyes, Blake," she ordered.

Blake obeyed. "What's up?"

Ruby smiled. "You'll see. Follow!"

Blake did, up to the dorm. Ruby pushed her in and then closed the door behind them.

Yang turned as she entered, away from the window. Smiled.

"Waking Up late always throws me for a Loop," she said quietly. "Heard you were having a hard time."

Blake wasn't sure whether she was laughing or crying as she threw herself into Yang's arms. As Ruby closed the door softly behind her as she left, she reflected that it didn't matter.

She was home.

 **42.10 Black Omochao**

Adam stood, his swords ready. Blake and Yang both had experienced this enough to know how to avoid him, and beat him effortlessly. But something unexpected had stepped in.

"Stop right there, zura!" the little white and blue lion-dog said, standing threateningly. Adam stopped his charge only to stare at the little creature.

"Komasan, you might not want to stand there," Yang urged the yo-kai, she wasn't sure when he showed up but with how Komasan typically acted she didn't think it was in his best interests to get in Adam's way.

"I am not Komasan right now," Komasan turned to face Yang and Blake, a Ping alerted them that he was indeed Awake. "I am the one with seven stars on his belly! Komashiro! Zura!" The two native Loopers looked unsure of how to respond to this. Adam on the other hand just looked annoyed.

"I don't care who or what you are! I'm not letting some mutant marshmallow get in my way!" the mad faunus charged forward, however Komasan, or Komashiro, stood firmly, and swiftly dodged out of the way of Adam's charge and poked his back, firmly but gently. "Huh!?"

"Pressure Points…" Komasan said in a serious tone. "This one is connected to feelings of wanderlust, and curiosity… you are already, a kitten whom has just opened its eyes, ready to explore the world for the first time," Adam, Yang and Blake all stood silently. Before Adam suddenly gave a gasp as he fell to his knees, and his body seemed to twist and change.

"What the..?" Blake muttered, Yang just stared in shock and awe. In Adam's place was now a tiny, black kitten, he meowed innocently as he started to wander around the area, curiously looking at everything as if he had never seen it before.

"You are already squished, zura!" Komasan exclaimed, taking a pose.

"… Blake, remind me never to piss Komasan off," Yang said while looking in disbelief.

"Noted, I'm not sure if I should be amazed, or terrified," Blake sighed.

 **42.11 Vinylshadow**

Alex Mercer trudged through the wilderness of Remnant, doing his best to ignore the world around him.

Unfortunately, the world had other plans.

Turning, he shook his arms at the Grimm Dragon that had been following him for the past three hours.

 _"Shoo!"_

The dragon stared at him before leaning forward and giving him a nuzzle.

Alex pushed it away and scowled. "Just because you can't kill me and I don't want to smack you into the moon again doesn't mean you can follow me around since I am a fountain of negative emotions. Makes it really hard to buy things from people when you keep scaring them away."

The dragon let out a confused roar.

 **42.12 Masterweaver**

Ciel Soleil checked her watch briefly as she marched down the street. Lunch had taken precisely thirteen minutes, as per schedule, leaving her plenty of time to walk back to the Beacon suite she was residing in during the preparations for the Vytal tournament. She did not let her eyes drift from her selected path, scanning the crowd in front of her constantly, her heels clicking in an even rhythm. Left, right, left, right, a pendulum of motion, order in self and image.

This was her choice. A choice founded in reason. A reason founded in experience. An experience founded in necessity. A necessity founded in horror. A horror founded in loss. A loss founded in rage. A rage founded in distrust. A distrust founded in inequality. An inequality founded in...

...what? She couldn't see the logic. There was a beginning, yes, it was there, but where had it begun? Ciel let a frown flicker across her face. She had joined Atlas to simplify her thoughts, to simplify reality, to simplify the crazed lunacy that had taken her parents from her to a simple pattern of if-this-then-that. Gears and wheels, literal and figurative, in the realm mental as in the realm physical. The hatred of the White Fang was founded in the treatment of the Faunus, and the treatment of the Faunus... this, always this, always the great wall she could not overcome.

The Grimm were simpler. They wanted to destroy humanity. The fundamental essence was just as illogical, but the Grimm at least were soulless and shattered-a false premise leading to entirely feasible branching and methodology as seen on the battlefield. Ciel understood Grimm. They were broken machines, impressive ones, capable of acting on their own, yet flawed on a level deep within the self.

Perhaps a soul was, in fact, the essence of insanity. Certainly those that fought with soul-huntsmen and huntresses, defenders against the broken-never fought the same, all unique, and often with their own incomprehensible quirks. Perhaps her own obsession with meticulousness, her insistence that the world, that people themselves, could be reduced to patterns and numbers-even if imaginary ones-was merely another form of madness in its own right. Certainly she could not comprehend how Neon Katt was still allowed in the Academy-yes, her grades and skill were undeniable, but her personality and expression of self was contradictory to the level of professionalism that Atlas all but required of all its trainees. Why did she show up in Ciel's dreams so often? And why was it, when the Faunus smiled, Ciel could not help but smile back? A mystery, perhaps worth explor-

At about this point Ciel's contemplation was abruptly cut off by the large robotic duck smashing through the wall of the restaurant in front of her.

"Okay, time out!" Through the hole stepped two orange-haired girls, one of which Ciel recognized and the other she did not. "Penny, this is definitely out of bounds."

Penny-her partner, and what was her partner doing here?-kept her grip firm on the strange container she held. "I don't think it is, Nora."

"A giant robot duck? Do you actually expect me to believe it's in-universe?"

"Constructed. I made it out of a coffee machine, two hot-dog roasters, half a refrigerator, and a scroll."

The girl apparently called Nora blinked. "You macguyvered this thing?"

"Yes. No pocket." Penny waved a hand. "Pure skill."

"Okay, I'm sort of impressed then... can you show me the work though?"

"Oh, sure. Ciel?" Penny handed the stunned girl the container. "Make sure she doesn't escape, she can be quite dangerous."

Ciel glanced at the object thrust into her hands, belatedly realizing it was a small cage. What looked like a doll with a red hood looked up at her and waved.

"See, this is where I put the primary motors, and after I was done with the elephant I had some water Dust left over-"

"The elephant?" Nora looked up. "How many robots did you _make?"_

"Mmm... fifteen, I think."

"Fif-okay, whoa! Even if that's entirely legal, that's still... that's an unfair advantage!"

"We're looking for chibi-Rubys across the whole of Vale. An extended search pattern-"

"-isn't what the rest of us are doing! Do you see Ren launching satellites to scan the area?"

"Well, no, but-"

"I thought we agreed no items, just skill."

"We agreed no Pocket items!"

"They really do love each other," the doll in the cage assured Ciel. "They just have seriously conflicting personalities."

"What is going on here?"

Ciel turned to the new voice, and partly sagged in relief before remembering herself. "General Ironwood, sir!" She saluted, keeping a firm grip on the cage. "It would appear that-"

"Penny made fifteen robots," Nora whined.

"Made!" Penny insisted. "Not unpocketed!"

"Hmm." Ironwood observed the situation. "I'm afraid I have to side with Nora on this one."

"What? But-"

"Your craftsmanship is impressive, Penny, and I can understand the need to compensate for your shortcomings. That said, this is meant to be a test of the individual, not of a group. Perhaps, instead, you should make rocket boots?"

Penny let out a sigh, chastised. "Yes, Generuncle Jamie."

"I can live with that," Nora added.

"Good. Now why don't you get on with your game while I clean this up."

"Okey-dokey! Come on, couz, race you to the docks!" Nora pointed a grenade launcher at the ground and shot herself up to the roof. Penny rolled her eyes, gave Ironwood an apologetic smile, and allowed her blades to unfold, scuttling up the wall like a deranged spider.

Ciel stared at them for a moment, before looking at the broken pavement, robot duck, and shattered wall. She turned to Ironwood. "...General?"

Ironwood looked at her, then at the cage she was holding. "Take good care of that, miss Soleil. The world might very well end if it dies." He picked up the duck and, somehow, caused it to vanish. "If you'll excuse me, I need to contact a repairman."

He walked off, leaving her staring in utter confusion.

"...I'm going to go with seven and a half quarflebarns," the doll commented.

 **42.13 diesel**

The taste of copper flooded Winter's mouth as pain sheared through her tongue. The stench of death and pain filled the air, mingling with the sweet scents of fruit and flowers carried on the faint breeze

Golden catlike eyes shone from beneath a bone mask lined with intricate red patterns, filled with a cruel loathing and undirected malice. Winter gasped for breath, a rattling gurgling noise, as her body screamed in protest.

"That the best you can do pussycat? Did your masters declaw you?"

Blood dribbled down from her mouth as a mocking smile graced Winters's face, the golden light of sunset reflecting off the blood that stained her flayed and deathly pale skin. "What do you hope to achieve? Salem wishes for nothing but destruction of all ensouled beings and after the Kingdoms have fallen she will merely turn on you…"

Blake snapped, driving one of her long, thin needles into a nerve cluster. Winter refused to scream, to show any signs of pain as the neurotoxin forced her muscles to contract and set her nerves ablaze. "Shut Up! I will not be talked to by a human, much less a _Schnee_ , like that. I am better than…"

The corpses of hundreds hung limply in the dying, golden light. Days old flesh writhing with maggots and flies, bloated and rotten in the heat and humidity. Winter refused to avert her eyes from the mockery wearing the skin of a friend.

-

Blake stepped back, forcing herself to stop and calm down. Her pale skin was flushed with anger, nausea and disgust, glistening with sweat and blood. She flinched as strangled and distorted laugher filled the clearing, eyes snapping back to the tormented _Schnee._

A single blood-shot blue eyes burred with amusement as it refused to look away, staring at her along with the rotten maggot infested, empty eye socket. Blake forced down her nausea, watching as the mangled figure swayed from its wrists. Twisted and mangled arms leaking green pus, spears of human bone driven into its womb and orifices.

She had wanted to hurt it, to simply cause pain. When had it stopped being about a practical display to ruse the Grimm and demoralise the monsters and began to be about the pain.

She felt sick.

Almost against her will she looked at the mutilated bodies and the gruesome display of sadism. This behaviour was not right, no Faunus desired to cause pain for the sake of it. It when against their very nature, true sadism was the domain of humanity and devils.

Even when inflicted on monsters and demons. But it was so useful for getting the desired repose from the hypocrites.

-

 _Blake walked through the writhing bodies, delivering them to the final peace. Dotting the hill were the charred remains of housing filled with life not 2 days ago, among the ruins were hundreds of spikes, each bearing an innocent Faunus. A child, a fox, no older than four wept in wordless agony._

 _"I'm sorry little one, may the great plains welcome you and let you play, free from the malice."_

 _In the distance a manor smouldered and burned, its fuel almost depleted after being engulfed in a uncontrolled furnace two days. A walled town, hidden from the kingdoms, once alight with life and ruled over by the demons grown fat off a Dust mine now empty._

 _They noticed the manner burning as the last plain departed. But it took two long to mobilize, and now all there was left to do was end the suffering before Atlas came._

 _On the smouldering facade of the once grand manor, a giant snowflake dominated, with three letters above it._

 _SDC_

 _-_

 _The table cracked as Blake slammed down a newspaper, seething in silent impotent rage, hot tears running down her cheeks. "White Fang Massacre at SDC company town."_

 _"Damn them," Blake's scream of rage echoed down the halls, though muffled by her door, making the passing Faunus pause before continuing, a feeling of grief overlaying the settlement as they mourned "Let the Grimm take them all!"_

 _-_

Her nose burned from the rot and waste, the insane _Schnee_ 's laugher beating a military tattoo against her mind.

Blake shuddered, she had lost. And if the devil's words were of any indications it was only going to be the start.

-

 _Blake stalked down the cells, eyes flickering around the crammed, foul cells. Humans lay bound and bagged, pressed together in a steaming mass of rank flesh._

 _Animals._

 _It was these things that took Remnant from its Rightful Masters? Blake felt sick thinking about it. She could not imagine how week her ancestors must have been be defeated and their history erased by those monsters._

 _Biological Weapon Entitles. What a joke. The fact they have managed to convince themselves, and so many Faunas, of that lie defied belief, let alone to remove every trace from history books. How could things so weak, so stu…_

 _Blake slammed a fist into the wall, dust and shards of broken concrete raining down. She could not fall into that trap. Humans were far weaker than Faunus but they were anything but stupid, possessing a cruel, cunning and inherently deceitful nature. It was that that would have been the Faunus's downfall all the centuries or more ago._

 _Turning away from the shattered wall and making a mental note of the location and likely cost, Blake continued down the corridor. She had received word of a high profile capture._

 _-_

 _Blake gripped the hilt of her blade as she locked eyes with the blue eyes of the demon. Bone white hair framed a cold face that matched the frigid soul that lay within. Winter Schnee gazed back with an apathetic hatred._

 _"Blake Belladonna, You and your kindred here sicken me. It makes me appreciate the disgust and hatred the real you holds to Adam Taurus."_

 _With that cryptic comment the Schneed closed its eyes, and leant its head back against the wall like it was going to sleep. "Wake me up if you have something of importance to do rather than simply gawk. I suppose I should offer my thanks; I now know that I hate nulls."_

 _'…the disgust and hatred the real you holds to Adam Taurus…what does it mean?'_

 _Adam was one of the Fangs best operative and her former partner, until duties intervened. She had nought but the highest respect and admiration for the older Faunus._

 _Even if he didn't know subtly if it whacked him on the head._

 _A sudden thought made Blake go very, very still. Her ears going flat as she supressed the urge to hiss, stepping involuntarily away from the trapped and helpless demon. the guards tensing and drawing their weapons as tension in the room increased. The scent of fear coming from the guards at being in proximity to a Schnee spiking._

 _Golden eyes widening in utter horror, memories of machines designed to 'implant knowledge' and of Faunas being pulled from stasis tubes, so sure that they had only just been created and knowing only the false history._

 _Blake felt sick; of course, the Schnee don't just kill their foes and then let them rest, they bring them back as servants. The same hold true with their business practises, and in all other areas._

 _Blake turned away, she had to purge her records. Make sure that if… when, she was captured she would not reveal anything of value. "Gag it. The Schnee will make a good message to the Kingdoms."_

-

Blake drew Gambol Shroud; she was done with this. With having her mind be corrupted and made into a human's. This had long since ceased to have reason.

-

Blake awoke to a scene of horror as the light died from Winter's face. Blood drenching her form and hands.

 **42.14 masterofgames**

Ruby poked her head into Ozpin's office. "Hey Ozpin, seriously, are you dead in baseline?"

Ozpin shrugged, not looking up from his crossword. "No idea, but I will note that nobody has ever seen me and my corpse in the same room together."

"Ah, fair enough." Ruby nodded, heading out once more. Once she got to the elevator though, she paused, blinking as she gazed into empty space. "Wait... Something seems off with that answer."

 **42.15 Masterweaver**

"...So."

"Yes."

"You were Awake-"

"Only after you died."

"Ah."

"...I'm sorry doesn't even begin to cover it, does it?"

"Actually, from a logical standpoint, it seems to be the very point where a beginning should be-"

"Winter."

"...A difference of time. Blake, I don't know how long it was for you-"

"A hundred and thirteen loops."

"...well. This has been eating at you, hasn't it?"

"Yes. I mean, I did... talk about it with Weiss, but-"

"-but you felt you needed to talk about it with me. As I was the one Awake."

"Yes."

"...Three loops."

"Only three?"

"The first, recovery. The second, discussion. The third, forgiveness."

"...Winter-"

"No, hear me out. I know that I... have Awoken doing horrible things. Back when I was stealthing, I... replaced Adam. And because I didn't know how the loops worked, I was unwilling to deviate from what I had been..."

"...my god. Winter, you should have-"

"My point is, Blake, I know what... some of that guilt feels like. And I think Weiss might have been Awake for that loop... still. If you let regret and shame bind you... If you let your own failings guide your choice... you might forget what good there is in this world. So, I forgive you, Blake, because, honestly, I don't think you, specifically, did anything wrong."

"Winter. I... well. Thank you, I mean, I needed to hear that. But... by the same token. If you choose not to talk about your past... people might not say what you need to hear."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying... you should talk to Weiss. About this stealth loop of yours. And anything else, to anyone else. They... if you keep secrets... they can eat away at your soul."

"...Hmm. I suppose you would know about that, wouldn't you?"

"Better than most."

"...Not yet, miss Belladonna. Some time this loop, I promise, but... not yet."

 **42.16 LithosMaitreya**

Roman Awoke to the barrel of a gun.

"Oh, hey!" he said, startled. "That's a _very_ nice wake-up call. Please take the gun out of my face."

The green submachine gun moved. "You just Woke Up?" Ren asked harshly, capital letters falling into place with incisive precision.

"Uh, yeah," Torchwick confirmed. "And my tree, Ren, you are looking _fine_ today… what happened? Your parents die? Again?"

Ren glared at him. "Null Loop," he said coldly. "Baseline. Ruby and I have been the only ones Awake, and subverting things has been… _difficult_. So I'll thank you to shut down the Atlesian mechs before I conveniently _fail_ to subvert your being eaten."

Roman grimaced. "Ah. Right. Let's head down to the bridge."

He turned. Neo was watching them blankly. "Neo," he said magnanimously. "If I were to tell you I was feeling Loopy, would you have _any_ idea what I was talking about?"

Neo shook her head slowly, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Damn," said Roman unhappily. "Well. Change of plans, anyway; Miss Fire and Brimstone is not the horse I want to be backing right now. So we're going to pull her out of the mech network and try to reestablish Atlesian control. All right?"

Neo nodded, shrugged and turned on her heel to lead the way back into the ship.

"So, Ren," Roman said conversationally as they followed the unawake mute into the vessel. "What brings you to this _lovely_ little bit of real estate some half-mile above Vale? Normally I expect Ruby to be up here right about now."

"Ruby intends to prevent the fiasco at the tower," Ren said darkly. "She sent me to take care of you."

"Well, good thing I Woke Up, isn't it?" Roman said cheerfully. "I'm not really a fan of the whole dying thing. Did I at least give you a good fight?"

Ren grunted and didn't respond. Roman took that as a yes.

They reached the bridge and Roman wasted no time pulling the contaminated scroll out of its socket. "That sometimes works," he said, tossing it to Ren. "Contact someone on the ground; see if you can't figure out whether it did."

Ren was already pulling out his scroll. "Nora," he said into in quickly. "I'm on the General's vessel. Have the mechs… Good. Thank you. I'll be down there soon."

He hung up. "The mechs are back under Atlesian control," he said shortly. "We need to get this thing on an intercept course."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Intercept?"

There was a loud, echoing roar. Roman turned to the viewscreen and saw the massive black shape of Kevin coming up from behind the vessel.

"Right," he said. "Neo, you're a better pilot than me. Get this thing between the dragon and Beacon tower, and then we're all getting off this ship!"

Neo smiled, nodded, and swung into a seat, pulling two levers and tapping a few keys on the haptic interface. When the was done, she stood up quickly and nodded to the door sharply.

"Right," Ren agreed. "Run!"

They feld through the hallways. Roman felt the vibration of the ship's acceleration in the metal under his boots even as he rushed to the airlock. There was no time to grab parachutes; they just leapt out as one.

Neo grabbed him as they fell before deploying her parasol to slow them. Ren had deployed Stromflower's blades and was poised to carve a path down the side of a building to slow his fall.

They landed near the same place, Ren first in a hard roll, Neo and Roman after.

Ren was taking his time getting up. When Roman landed, Ren was still down on one knee, breathing heavily. "Tired?" he mocked.

"Very," said Ren heavily. "But the night isn't over yet." He looked up and back over their heads, even as the night was illuminated by an exploding airship and the air was filled with the roar of a pained dragon.

Roman glanced back too. "That going to stop it?" he asked casually.

"Unlikely," said Ren grimly. "But our first priority is Cinder. The dragon will wait. We must get to the tower."

Roman rolled his eyes. "It's all business with you, kid," he complained. "What's the worst that happens?"

Ren stood sharply and whirled on him. "The _worst_?" His voice was sharp as a razor and cold as dark space. "The worst, Roman, is that I lose my whole damn family. The _expected_ result is that my mother dies. If you're not going to help, at least get out of my way."

Roman studied him for a moment, then sighed. "I've been lucky," he said dryly. "I don't lose people in baseline. Lead on."

Ren nodded sharply, turned, and sped down the street, pausing only to perforate the skull of a Beowolf coming his way from an alley.

Roman sighed. "Once more unto the breach, Neo," he grumbled. "Once more."

Neo rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Let's go."

 **42.17 diesel**

It was so lonely and yet so beautiful.

Far away from her and yet so close a ball of magma and power slowly cooled, spinning endlessly in the infinity void. Ruby turned her attention away from the cooling rock and further out, watching as debris danced endlessly to the invisible conductor known as Gravity.

She could _see_ the bends in space time, the warping of gravity, magnetism and more.

Ruby didn't know how long she watched, tuning her attention to the distant stars and peering thought the cosmos.

It was barren, not a spark of life in a dead universe bar her, if that even counted.

Ruby sighed, after the aeons her grasp of the cosmos, of its true size and how heartbreakingly _empty_ it could be, had increased.

She understood.

Even if it generally went unnoticed and unlamented in the madness of the loops. After all, what point is there to look to the empty night when time would steal all hope of changing the beautiful desolation.

Like a Beacon in her mind, the Remnant to be glowed in the edge of her perceptions. A faint Aura surrounding the cooling planet as the first hits of rain fell across its scorching wastelands, the planet coving with clouds as wind roared across tis surface. The first sparks of life, the first hint of what to come igniting within its heart of iron and fire.

Ruby sighed, turning her attention inwards, away from the eternal dance of the heavens as she prepared to sleep.

Yang was going to be insufferable. The real star of the show.

'Wait a second. I'm the sun, how am I going to go to sleep?... well crap.'

It was going to be a long loop.

 **42.18 See Mohn**

"So, I hear you can talk to cats now." Yang said as a greeting.

Blake, face down on her desk, groaned a confirmation.

Yang tilted her head. "Did I miss something? That's all Weiss told me."

Blake turned her head just enough to face her girlfriend. "Mew missed the part where I'm stuck making terrible cat puns for the furseeable future."

Yang snickered. "That's a mew one."

Blake threw up her hands in disbelief, head still firmly on the desk. "How in the hell does injecting someone with cat blood cause them to talk like a cat _in a different loop?!"  
_  
Yang stopped laughing. "Wait, what?"

 _"Apparently_ ," Blake groaned, "the person I looped in as over in Luxendarc was suffurring from a fatal illness as a kitten- I mean baby. Somehow, against all medical logic ever, a transfursion of cat blood cured the plague. Side effects may include ability to commewnicate with cats and a propensity for bad puns."

Yang's face undulated between laughter, horror, and confusion, before settling on a bizarre mixture of the three. "Huh."

"Yeah."

"So what's it like being able to talk to cats?" Yang asked, trying to find a sunny side.

Blake lifted her head, her lips curling in a small smile. "Well, cats make awesome spies. Great at keeping tabbies on - _aaaaagh, I'm not even doing this on purrpose!"_ Blake finished, train of thought thoroughly derailed.

"Okay, that's it," Yang said, rummaging through her bag before pulling out a book twice her size labeled _**BIG BOOK O' PUNS AND WORDPLAY.**_ "If you're stuck making these cat puns, I'm making sure they're _quality_ puns."

"You are so very, truly thoughtfur," Blake deadpanned, face down on the desk again.

 **42.19 LithosMaitreya**

Ruby Awoke—and awoke—in a soft and warm armchair by a fire. A reflexive Ping returned one response.

"Ruby?" came a voice from her left.

Ruby looked over, taking the opportunity to absorb her surroundings. It was a cottage, built of logs. Outside a dark night pressed against the glass of a window. The interior was lit only by the flickering of the warm fire roaring on the hearth. Above the fire, on the mantelpiece, was a mirror on the wall, a few photographs in wooden frames, and a single white rose in a vase.

In addition to Ruby's armchair, there was a couch beside the fireplace; a velvety brown affair, not expensive, but not makeshift, either. Reclining in it, her head propped up on the nearer armrest, was Weiss, in a modest white nightdress. It might have been the same one she usually had when they entered Beacon. Her face was turned towards the fire and Ruby, and the flickering light cast strange, shifting shadows over her features.

"Hey Weiss," Ruby said softly. "Feeling Loopy?"

Weiss blinked laconically. "A touch, yes," she confirmed. "Any Loop memories?"

"Not yet," Ruby replied, looking back at the fire. "Think it's a fused Loop?"

"I have no idea," Weiss said with a yawn. "What is this place?"

"A cabin," Ruby said. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Weiss sat up. "Do you think we're in the wilds near Vale?" she asked. "Should we try to find civilization?"

Ruby shrugged. "I dunno. If you want to."

There was a pause.

"Is something wrong, Ruby?" Weiss asked.

Ruby turned to her, rolling her eyes with a gentle smile. "Not at all, Weiss," she said lightly. "I just…" she yawned and stretched. "I don't see a need to do anything. We don't know where we are, so we don't know whether any trouble's coming. I don't see why we should go looking for it. It'll find us if it wants to."

Weiss considered her for a moment before nodding. "I suppose that's a fair assessment," she said, leaning back against the couch, scooting over so she could curl slightly against the corner formed by the armrest. "A bit of a rest wouldn't be unwelcome."

Ruby nodded, returning her gaze to the fire. "Maybe that's what this is?" she mused. "Yggdrasil giving us a little rest, a Loop to ourselves, before it's back into the wacky world again."

Weiss chuckled. "It's possible, I suppose," she said. "Rest Loops are generally in Equestria."

"And that's fine," Ruby said, "but I don't think Equestria was what I needed right now."

"Nor I," Weiss agreed fervently. "A bit of solitude… a moment alone, in the shade. None of Pinkie Pie's madness or Twilight's neuroses, or any of the other nonsense of that Loop."

"None of Rainbow Dash's races and adventures," Ruby nodded to herself with a sigh, "or Rarity trying to do Yang's hair… do you remember that, Weiss? Blake was just laughing her head off."

"I seem to recall you found it quite amusing yourself," Weiss chuckled. "We all did. Even Yang, afterward."

Ruby smiled. "That was a good Loop," she reflected. "Not exactly relaxing, though."

"No," Weiss said softly. "No, it wasn't."

Ruby rolled her shoulders against the softness of her seat and sighed. "Lonely Loops can be like this," she said eventually. "Calm. Tranquil. It's not… It's not good, though. I want peace, sometimes, but not…"

"Not solitude?" Weiss' voice was gentle.

"No," Ruby said thoughtfully. "Solitude's fine. Loneliness isn't the same as solitude."

"Perhaps not," Weiss agreed thoughtfully.

They lapsed into silence, the warm crackling of the flame lingering between them.

"Well," Weiss said after a time, "There's certainly no one I'd rather share this solitude with."

Ruby, whose eyes were already drifting shut, smiled sleepily. "Love you too, Weiss," she said thickly.

Then Weiss muttered, "I do hope Yggdrasil isn't shipping us again, though."

Ruby blinked her eyes open, glanced at the white rose on the mantelpiece.

She shrugged. "Probably," she said dryly. "Does it matter?"

A pause.

"No," Weiss said. "No, I suppose it doesn't."

 **42.20 Masterweaver**

"...and, well, that's how we ended up together," the griffon finished, awkwardly rubbing her feathers. "It's been a rocky ride, sometimes, but definitely one worth the bumps."

The white unicorn next to her whistled low. "Twigs and branches, Blake, if _that's_ what it takes to get your attention I don't want to know what you two do for anniversaries!"

"Oh you know." A yellow earth pony wrapped her foreleg around the frowning griffon. "We spar, generally in exotic locales. Like the volcano that one time, or you remember when we rode the grimm dragon-"

"Yang."

"Heh." The pony beamed. "Kidding, kidding. Seriously though, Vinyl, we usually just do ordinary couple things. Dates, cuddling, maybe some Grimmslaying on the side, bouts of sex on occasion. That sort of thing."

"Cool, cool." The unicorn waved a hoof at the gray mare sitting next to her. "Me and Tavi are mostly the same, just replace Grimmslaying with jam sessions."

"I'm... actually quite amazed you make your relationship work," Blake mused. "I mean, you're looping and she's not. No offense, Octavia-"

"Oh, none taken." The gray mare nodded. "I suppose it must seem as strange to you as... well, the loops in general seem to me."

"And hey," Vinyl added, "you got stabbed in the gut and she lost an arm. If you made it work after _that_ expansion, you've got no call to say _our_ relationship has problems."

"I didn't mean it like that. It was a good sort of amazement."

"Honestly Vinyl," the mare jibed, "don't go putting words in pony's mouths. Or griffons, or... human?"

"Faunus."

"Right, yes. People, in general."

"You know, I think we have an Octavia in Remnant?" Yang tilted her head. "I mean, she looks nothing like you-not even like how I think you'd look like as a human-and she's a member of team NDGO who... we don't actually interact with that much. Just, same name."

"Really?" The gray mare tilted her head. "That's quite the coincidence."

"It's a big multiverse. You'd be amazed how many Rubies and Blakes there are out there." The yellow pony took swig from her mug. "Heck, given how much Yggdrasil likes puns, you might end up replacing her some loop."

"Or she might end up replacing you," Blake added.

"Hmmm." Octavia turned to her marefriend. "Vinyl, will you promise that you'll make sure you have the right Octavia every loop before you give her my journal?"

"Of course! Although I'm going to have to ask what this other Octavia looks like so I know what to look for-variants, you know?"

"Here." Blake handed over a picture. "She's the one with red hair."

"Oh, that'll be a big tip-off." Vinyl looked over the image carefully. "And... I can't quite tell through this skirt, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't have the rear end my Tavi has-"

"V-Vinyl!" The gray mare shoved her with a blush. "Don't be so, so-crass!"

"What? I love all of you, babe, your artsy soul, your loving heart, and your sweet fine flanks! Besides," the unicorn added with a smirk, "if I can't tell you're not you at a glance, what good am I?"

"She's got a point," Yang agreed. "Booty identification is an important part of any relationship."

Blake narrowed her eyes, pulling Yang's foreleg off her neck. "Don't you dare, Yang. Don't you even dare."

"I know that my life has been changed by a perfect Bellabooty."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh." The griffon let her head fall to the bar surface. "I don't even know why TVTropes has that listed."

Octavia blinked. "TVTropes?"

"Hub-world mass-databank shared information virtual filing cabinet devoted to the analysis of fictional works and their components, with a slightly silly streak," Vinyl explained. "Gah, it's hard to describe the internet."

"A library of libraries with varying quality control all accessible through a single book with one ever-changing page," Yang suggested.

"...Okay," Octavia said slowly. "I... think I get it. Kind of. But... Bellabooty?"

"It's a meme. Heck, it's in the top ten on the RWBY meme page." Yang grinned. "So you know, kind of a big deal."

Blake allowed her head to lift a few inches before she let it fall on the bar surface again.

"Okay, yeah, I'll grant that's impressive." Vinyl wrapped a foreleg around Octavia's neck. "But the best butt in the multiverse belongs to this mare."

"V-VINYL!"

Yang narrowed her eyes. "Really? Prove it."

The unicorn grinned, producing a sheaf of papers and slamming it on the bar. Despite herself, Blake couldn't help but let her eyes tilt up to read the title.

"'A Comparative Analysis on the Visual, Sexual, and Psychological Appeal Of Buttocks and the Preferred Construction and Consistency Therein, Alongside a Qualitative List of Individuals Meeting some or all such Standards...'"

She looked up at Vinyl. "You made a thesis statement?"

"Yep."

"About how Octavia has the best butt in the multiverse."

"Had to back up my claims."

Blake looked at the paper. "...Octavia, have you read this?"

The gray mare sighed with a blush. "...Unfortunately, yes."

"Do you mind if I do?"

"Mmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggh. I, ugh. I mean, it's flattering, I suppose, I just... I don't know."

"Well I'm reading it," Yang declared, grabbing the papers. "I've got to defend my lady's honor!"

"I don't have honor."

"Fine, I'll defend your booty's honor."

Blake turned to Vinyl with a groan. "Look what you've unleashed."

"Hey, Lyra's still working on her own counterthesis." Vinyl looked around. "Where is she, anyway?"

As if on cue, a green unicorn stumbled into the bar. "NEO. IS. INSANE. And that's coming from the mare with five and a half personalities!"

"Well, yeah." Yang shrugged. "She's probably a sociopath."

"She just. I mean, I get wanting to fight monsters, fine!" The unicorn stumbled up to the bar. "Adrenalin rush, sure! But pinning them down and-I don't know if it was torture or vivisection, or what, but-"

"Aw, quit your whining." A cream mare with a brown-and-pink mane trotted in. "It's not like I killed any of them, and I did let them all go."

Yang looked up. "Uh, Neo, you've got a little... actually, you've got a lot of blood splatters on you."

"Don't worry, none of it's mine."

"It's hard to wash out of a coat though. Trust me. You might need to borrow my soap."

Lyra laid her head on the bar. "I can't wait for Bonbon to come back. This is just crazy..."

 **42.21 Masterweaver**

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargggggth."

Ruby patted her sister's shoulders, even as her head beat against the wall like a metronome. "It's only for the loop, Yang. It'll be alright."

"GGGGGGGGGGRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnpmgrgmstpdyggdrsllcrssrf..."

Blake walked up to them curiously. "So... do I want to know?"

"Um. Well. How do I put this?" Ruby cleared her throat. "Blake, what's the most infamous fanfic in the hub?"

"My Immortal."

"...shldntvnxstjststpdtrshnobckps..."

"And what do you know about the main character?"

"Well, she's some slytherin goth wannabe named Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Ra...ven..." Blake's hands covered her mouth. "Oh no."

"Yeah. Kind of a weird loop for us."

"I thought my baseline mother was bad," Yang grumbled. "This. This is worse."

 **42.22 Masterweaver**

So they hadn't quite stopped the train this go round, but that was alright-Ruby was already rushing ahead to cushion the train so the breach wouldn't be immediate. And hey, as much as Yang and Neo got along in the loops, the blonde couldn't help feeling a little cathartic fighting her Unawake self; mistakes of Baseline long conquered, now it was power and precision in a battle against deceit and dancing. Could she have figured out when her eyes were fooled? Eh, probably. This was fun though.

The train hit a bump-probably a Grimm-but it was enough to throw off her balance. Yang slipped and fell, inwardly cursing at her poor luck even as Neo leapt at her-

-and was slammed back by a massive hammer.

"Uh, what?"

"Hi goldilocks!" The woman wearing an Ursa mask waved. "I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd save your skin. Oop! Gotta go!" With a twirl of her hammer, the ginger-haired figure was gone.

Yang blinked as she stood. "Was that... right, it's spelled JRPR this Loop." She deflected Neo's sword offhand. "Explains why I have orange hair. Nora'll be weirded out when she hears about this."

 **42.23 LithosMaitreya**

Qrow didn't really register who it was taking the stool beside him. He certainly didn't bother looking up.

Junior sidled over to take the girl's order, and a distinct, slightly nasal voice cheerfully requested, "One pomegranate juice!"

Junior blinked. Qrow did too.

"I don't drink," Nora offered cheerfully.

Junior shrugged and went to prepare the juice.

"So," Nora said, leaning forward on the bar so that her face was in his field of view. "How you doing, Qrow?"

Qrow huffed and tossed back his shot. "Fine," he said roughly. "What are you doing here, Nora?"

"Checking on you," Nora said breezily. "Winter's awake, you know."

"Yeah," Qrow said darkly. "Yeah, I know."

"One… pomegranate juice," said Junior, halting in front of Nora and handing her a glass.

Qrow raised his empty one. "Can I get another of these?" he asked.

Junior nodded and left to prepare it.

"What'cha drinking?" Nora asked curiously.

"Scumble," Qrow said.

"Isn't that technically a biohazard?"

"Only how it's prepared on the Disc," Qrow corrected. "Anywhere else, it's just really hard apple cider. Probably."

Nora shrugged. "Your liver."

Qrow snorted. "Resets every Loop anyway," he said dryly. "I've died of alcohol poisoning before, yeah, and it's not fun, but it's not like it's permanent."

"Ruby and Yang don't like it, though." Nora's voice was matter-of-fact, nonjudgmental.

"No," Qrow agreed, accepting the next shot glass from Junior and tossing it back. "No, they don't. Water, this time."

Junior nodded and left again.

"I imagine Winter doesn't, either," Nora continued casually.

Qrow snorted. "Show's what you know," he said. "She joins right in, sometimes."

"I doubt she's ever died of alcohol poisoning."

Qrow shrugged. "That's not the point."

"Isn't it?"

"No."

Nora watched him as she sipped at her pomegranate juice, her lips puckered around the straw.

Junior soon returned with his water in a large glass. Qrow thanked him and took a gulp.

"he didn't give you one of those little umbrellas," he told Nora.

Noa nodded seriously. "It's a serious problem with this establishment," she agreed. "I'll have to tell Yang."

"Ask her not to blow it up completely, would you?" Qrow requested. "Junior makes pretty good drinks, this Loop."

Nora shrugged. "Ask her yourself," she said.

Their eyes met. For a moment, they wrestled like that, in perfect stillness.

"You don't know why I'm here," Qrow said coldly. "What gives you the right to tell me I'm wrong?"

Nora smiled at him, shaking her head slightly. "I'm not telling you you're _wrong_ , silly," she said with a light laugh. "I'm just reminding you that Ruby, Yang, and Winter are all awake. I don't know about you, but _I_ don't spend Loops when my whole family's Awake off being a hermit."

She tossed back the rest of her pomegranate juice and stood, tossing a few lien on the bar. "But that's your call," she said with a shrug. "I've gotta run; Ren's meeting me dontown and we're going to an arcade."

Qrow nodded. "Have fun," he said.

"Oh, I will," Nora assured him. "You do too, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she was gone.

Qrow sighed, looked down at his water. He raised it to his lips and quickl gulped down the rest of it before standing and tossing down a rather larger pile of cash than Nora's. "Fine," he muttered to himself as he pushed away from the bar and stalked out of the club. He wasn't unsteady on his feet yet, but he'd still rather clean up before facing the others.

Where was his apartment again…?

 **42.24 LithosMaitreya**

"So let me get this straight," said Ruby as she pulled on the green power armor she'd found in the Grimm-infested base. "Grimm can possess people, this Loop?"

"Indeed," said Ozpin gravely. "They are not native to Remnant, however—it appears that my in-Loop self was instrumental in opening the way for their invasion."

"And now they've basically taken control of all our bases on the Moon."

"Yes. Which is where you are."

"Right. Ozpin?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"If I were to replace the Moon with Mars, and the Grimm with demons, what Loop would you say we were in?"

"…Ah. _Doom_."

Ruby fastened on the Praetor helmet. "So," she said evenly, "on the one hand, this is horrible—people are dying everywhere, in the most horrible ways imaginable, and to top it off I'm going to be on my own up here for the foreseeable future."

"I _could_ find a starship and assist you, if you like."

"No, it's fine," Ruby assured him. "Because, on the other hand, there's something to be said for acceptable targets. This might be cathartic."

"If you don't want to do this, Ruby, you don't have to," said Ozpin firmly. "I can extract you to Remnant and we can use something from our Pockets to take the Grimm out at a distance."

"It's _fine_ ," Ruby stressed, unfolding Crescent Rose. "If nothing else, it'll remind me why I don't do this every Loop. Don't worry about it."

"In that case, Miss Rose," said Ozpin gravely, "rip and tear, until it is done."

A pause.

"You were waiting for—" Ruby accused.

"Yes," Ozpin confirmed immediately. "Yes, I was."

 **42.25 Masterweaver**

Ruby giggled.

"Um." Weiss glanced around. "Care to share?"

"Oh, nothing, just remembering something that happened three loops ago."

The heiress leaned back, gesturing for her to continue.

"...Alright." Ruby shrugged. "I was playing Pixie Girl, and-"

"Pixie Girl?"

"Oh, right. It's sort of an unofficial game among Anchors." The redhead waved her hand around. "You know how there are, like, a few million people in every world that aren't looping?"

"Yes. Strangers and... whatnot."

"Right, so. Sometimes, during our lonely loops, we walk up to J. Random Somebody and say 'I'm here to grant all your wishes, all you have to do is be my friend.' I mean there are other rules-usually no sexual wishes, and we have to spend a bit of time convincing them that we actually can back up our words, but looper powers and all that. Mostly it's for kicks."

"Okay. I can see how that could be entertaining. I assume you aim for sitcom-levels of wish granting here?"

"Well, obviously. Not outright jerkass, but usually silly and sometimes very literal." Ruby shrugged. "Generally one of the first wishes is 'Get rid of the Grimm,' and that can take a week or two but it convinces them... anyway, so this loop I decided on the break-in greeting."

"As in, you broke into their home to greet them."

"Yep. Random girl, sitting on your couch, offering to grant all your wishes. Of course, when the guy came home he brought his girlfriend-that was awkward, but I quickly cleared up the confusion."

"I can see how that would lead to some rather amusing shenanigans."

"Get this, after convincing them that I was serious, one of the guy's first wishes was that I would also grant the girl's wishes."

"Very chivalrous of him."

"Oh, I thought so too. For a few weeks it was standard stuff-a new car here, a sandwich there, throw in some strangeness where I 'didn't understand' what they wanted, you know just setting up the pattern. It takes a while for people to get creative, you know?"

"I presume so..."

"Of course, then they started giving me wishes to surprise each other, or secret wishes, and that's when things got really crazy. See, the guy was always sure he needed to impress her, and the girl was always worried he would change to become something she didn't like, obvious conflict that I could have resolved by sitting them down and talking, except..." Ruby trailed off.

"...except you were really bored and you wanted to see what happened."

"...yeah. Is that bad?"

"Did you deliberately hurt anyone?"

"No."

"Did you arrange a zany scheme to solve the situation instead?"

"...less arranged, more manipulated the zany events already happening."

"Then by looper standards, I'd say you were doing pretty well."

"Well... sure, but-"

Weiss sighed. "Ruby, second-guessing yourself is all well and good, but once you get to third and fourth guessing you're really pushing it."

"If you're sure..."

"Well, pretty sure. So, what happened with these two?"

"It got... weird. Like, both became celebrities for some very different things. And then they had a nerf war. And... right in the middle of it, she was wearing a godsilla outfit, and he was dressed like a waffle, and... they just looked at each other and said 'What the hell are we doing?!'" Ruby beamed. "I guess you just had to be there..."

 **42.26 Masterweaver**

"...she asked me whether I... killed Ozpin. I said yes. She told the Grimm to reinforce their numbers at Beacon, and that the 'relic' was there-I only just managed to Pocket the thing before the loop ended and spent this loop keeping it contained."

Weiss nodded. "Interesting. Cinder, why didn't you ever-"

"I haven't ever Woken Up that late," Cinder explained. "I mean, I remember Waking Up after the silver eyes thing, sometimes, but... I usually abandon the council when I can." She gave Pyrrha an apologetic look. "I... really am sorry you had to go through that, it should have been me."

"Yes, well." Pyrrha shrugged. "Sometimes we get shuffled around, sometimes we wake up late..."

"It is unusual," Weiss mused. "I mean, obviously it's an expansion, but... from the timing, I feel as though it should have lined up with the last one, with Charlie, and not..."

She trailed off.

"...Maybe I'm just overthinking things."

"Maybe." Pyrrha turned back to the screen, her eyes narrowing. "It hasn't moved since I Pocketed it."

"You sure?"

"I checked the camera records. It's just standing there."

Cinder frowned. "That's... very unusual for a Grimm. Either they go on a rampage, or they disintegrate after a while in captivity."

"...if I had to guess," Weiss said slowly, "it's observing. Gathering data, to tell Salem if it escapes. From what you said, this one is designed for long-term communication. That... implies a certain level of intellect."

"It's interesting that it... doesn't really have an eye," Cinder commented. "I mean, there's that yellow glow in it, but not a defined... socket."

"Not much bone." Pyrrha rolled her shoulder. "Easy to kill... if you can hit it. And it didn't seem very fast."

"Has to hide. Probably defended by other Grimm... a commander..." Weiss put her hands on the control kiosk, leaning over with a sigh. "This isn't good."

"...of course it isn't-"

"No, Pyrrha, listen. We're used to thinking of Grimm as a horde of monsters. As corrupted mimickries of animals, or hand-crafted living weapons. This," she pointed at the screen, "is a specialized role. Only possible in an organized army. With some level of tactics."

"Well, we knew Salem was omnicidal," Cinder pointed out.

"But there are different... qualities." Weiss rubbed her forehead. "There are some people who are... dangerous, because they are smart. Smart enough that they can adapt. We're loopers, we're used to the idea that we're the only ones that change Baseline, but..." She sighed. "Think about it. If Salem notices Ruby casually decimating a few hundred Beowolves, she's going to react. Heck, in Baseline she did react-specifically after you were attacked, Cinder. And this Grimm means she's smart."

Pyrrha frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying things are going to be harder then we thought. This isn't just a reboot and try again anymore. This is..."

She paused.

"This is, every loop we're going in with a fog of war."

 **42.27 Masterweaver**

"...Hey there, general."

Ironwood nodded. "Miss Xiao Long. What brings you up here?"

"Oh, just a Loopy feeling."

"I know those... keep me wide Awake. Especially worrying about my niece."

Yang let out a slow breath. "Yes. Penny... look, Ironwood, I just... Even if it doesn't make sense, I want to say thank you."

"For what?"

"Your baseline self pulls some strings and..." The blonde trailed off.

"...The arm." Ironwood nodded. "Miss Schnee mentioned it to me."

"I mean, Blake got a couple of other loopers to make a few for me, but... we took one of the baseline arms and fitted the chassis over one of those." She shrugged. "And it's a nice arm. Heh. I don't know. Like I said, I just want to-"

"Don't."

"What?"

"It wasn't a gift." Ironwood sighed. "Won't be a gift... shouldn't be... We're time travelers, we should have words for this."

Yang half smirked. "I think that Twilight does."

"My point is, the arm... it's an apology. For... not catching Cinder's group. For letting everything happen." Ironwood shook his head. "I know, I've... woken up in the middle of packaging it. It's not a gift. You shouldn't thank me."

"...I want to, though."

"Why?"

"Because..." Yang held her arms up. "I don't know. Because that whole experience was shit, and the arm is supposed to be a way out? Because it's a nice gesture, even if it's just evening the scales? Hell, because the thing looks pretty? I don't know. I just... I feel grateful, and... I guess I think we don't think about you that much."

Ironwood finally turned to face her. "That's... understandable. I've only recently began-"

"Not even your baseline self," Yang continued. "A lot of us forget that you have two pretty thankless jobs and, well, even if you failed at one it wasn't any fault of your own. We're all worried about our personal dramas or the people that actually died. Sometimes we forget about... well, about those of us that live through that. So... I don't know. I just wanted to say thank you. Even if it doesn't make sense."

The general looked at her for a few moments.

"...Then I guess... I shall say you're quite welcome, miss Xiao Long."

"...Yang. Call me Yang."

"I don't think I've earned-"

"Seriously, Jamiebabe, you've got to loosen up a little. I know, why don't you go drinking with Qrow? You've got that flask on you, after all-"

"Miss Xiao-Yang." Ironwood fixed her with a stern look. "No."

 **42.28 Masterweaver**

"So! Any new targets for the Waifu quest?"

Pyrrha bit her lip. "...I want to bring up a possibility that I suspect is going to be rejected, but I want to go through the details before we outright say no."

Yang nodded. "Okay. Shoot."

"Emerald."

"...Pyrrha, do you have some sort of urge to creep me out? First Salem, now this-"

"I really think we should-"

"Look, Emerald can get in people's heads, and-you know this! She's probably pulled the Penny illusion on you so many times by now, heck, she's one of the primary reasons we all started studying psychic psychology!"

"Yes, I know what she can do-"

"I am not going to let somebody like that near my Dad. I know..." Yang glanced away. "I know what that sort of power can..."

She trailed off.

"...Yang..." Pyrrha reached out. "The... That Mew in your head, you really should get rid of it-"

"I'm trying, okay?"

"Can't you just ask somebody to help-?"

"No." Yang took a breath. "No, it knows everything I know, and... I've had this argument with Blake. When I first told her. This thing in my head... it's stupidly smart, and it can figure you all out. I'm one of the oldest Loopers in Remnant, and if anyone younger then me tried to get rid of it... it might just jump to them, and I can't do that to you guys."

"What about the rest of your team?"

"Ruby's the Anchor, and my sister. Too dangerous. Weiss... she's one of the main reasons Ruby isn't worse off then she is. Same problem. And Blake..." Yang sighed. "Me and Blake know each other too well. If she got in my head, I'm fairly certain that the Mew would take firm grasp of the opportunity." She held up her hand. "I _am_ talking about it, I _am_ keeping a dream journal so others can know what's going on, and I _am_ looking into ways to destroy it without risking anyone else. Alright?"

Pyrrha frowned, but pulled her hand back. "If you're sure..."

"I'm... fairly sure. Just... anyway, you were saying about Emerald?"

"Yes, well. I don't know if I told you, but I had a loop where I replaced Cinder shortly after her encounter with the silver eyes. Got to see the whole council-sort of. They'd been switched with Beacon teachers, Port and Oobleck and..." She gulped. "Glynda."

"That must have been disturbing."

"Yes, well. During that time, I... I got a look at Emerald. She was very uncomfortable."

Yang snorted. "Of course she was. The seat of power for the Grimm?"

"Well, yes, but..." Pyrrha rubbed her arm. "We know that Cinder gets scarred and that Emerald speaks for her. It's just... with that, and how she calls the invasion sad in baseline, and... I'm not going to deny she's an accessory to murder, but I think she may legitimately not have known right from wrong."

"...what do you mean?"

"She's a thief, by necessity I think. Whoever raised her... they taught her to be pragmatic. And so when Cinder picked her up, she was... mostly cynical." Pyrrha swirled her glass musingly. "She attacked Amber, yes, but only so Cinder could get at her. She might have been present at the slaughter of the White Fang, but it was Cinder doing the work-and given the White Fang's reputation, she could easily dismiss it as only terrorists being killed. She may have helped Mercury get at Tukson, but she wasn't the one that pulled the trigger. Even with Penny, and I hate to say this, she could justify it as her not being a 'real person.' It's only after the attack on Vale that she would... well, that she might have considered that she might be on the wrong side."

The blonde took a moment to process that. "Okay so... she legitimately didn't know what she was doing was bad. Fine. So what?"

"...Take away the bad things. Take away what she did, and the fact that she steals. What are you left with?" Pyrrha shrugged. "A girl, who obeys with utter devotion the woman who gave her a better life, who at least pretends to be friendly even when she doesn't like people, who... doesn't like where she ended up. I don't know, I don't think she'd have chemistry with Taiyang, but..."

"...but you wanted to talk about it, didn't you?" Yang put her glass down. "This isn't about the Waifu quest."

"...I don't like what Emerald did. I don't... like her much, at all. But... I can't bring myself to hate her. Just pity her."

"...Yeah. I can get that." Yang stared off into the distance. "...You think, maybe, we should be kinder to her? See if we can get her looping?"

Pyrrha snorted. "Kinder, sure. Looping? The best bet for her partner would be Mercury, and _him_ I despise."

"Fair point, fair point..."


	43. Raiders of the Lost

**43.1 LithosMaitreya**

"Right," Qrow said darkly. "Mind if I have a drink? I think I need it."

Ruby looked unhappy, but nodded. "Fair enough," she said.

Qrow pulled a bottle from his Pocket—some whiskey or other—along with a glass, and poured himself a measure. He sat down, at the table, Ruby and Yang following suit.

They were at Taiyang's house on Patch, before the girls went to Beacon. Qrow had managed Tai to give them a few minutes to talk in the kitchen while he worked elsewhere.

"Okay," Qrow sighed. "So, like I said, I'm in the next expansion. Figured that out after being awake in a few of your baseline runs, Ruby. Things haven't varied in a while."

Ruby nodded. "So?" she asked. "What's changed on your end?"

Qrow sighed. "Yang," he said quietly, "you're a hell of a lot older than me, and I know this isn't a hang-up for you anymore, but I was… I don't know. Still hoping. That's gone, now. I saw Raven."

Yang twitched, staring at him intently. "And?" she asked. "She's not… good, I guess?"

"Nope." Qrow took a drink. "Ruby, you remember Shion village, from a couple expansions ago?"

Ruby nodded. "Raiders and Grimm destroyed the town," she said. "Ren and Nora think they had something to do with it, in the past, because of how it affects Unawake Ren. I'm not sure it's not just that Ren's… I dunno, tired of losing everything. Like Jaune said. What's that got to do with anything?"

Qrow drank again. "The raiders," he said heavily. "That tribe. _Apparently_ , the Branwen twins are _raider-born_."

"You're kidding," Yang breathed.

"Nope," Qrow said again. "I left it behind, apparently. Raven… didn't. Now she's in charge of the tribe."

"The same tribe that attacked Shion Village?" Ruby asked, voice small.

Qrow nodded. "The same," he said darkly.

Yanng punched the table. It cracked. "For tree's sake," she growled. "Just when I think dear old mom can't get any _more_ vile, baseline goes and pulls _this_?"

"Oh, there's more," Qrow said. "First baseline reference to Salem by name comes from her. Fortunately, it seems like she hates that witch as much as we do."

"Well… that's good?" Ruby said uncertainly.

Qrow snorted. "She contacted me to ask if Salem had 'the relic,'" he explained. "What _that_ is changes from Loop to Loop. Might be Oz's cane. I don't tell her anything, whether because I don't know or don't trust her I'm not sure. But she implied that she knows where the Spring Maiden is."

"And of course she refused to tell you," Yang muttered mutinously. "Because she's just that magnificent of a human being. Faced with extinction? Who cares? Gotta raid me some villages and pillage me some countryside!"

"Basically," Qrow agreed, taking another gulp. "She bought me a drink, though."

"So I can add, 'poisoned our uncle' to the list, then?" Ruby asked.

Qrow shrugged. "Sure, go right ahead."

 **43.2 Masterweaver**

Ruby Rose stared across the frozen wasteland, her eyes drawn to the massive shattered corpses.

She turned back to team CFVY, who had the decency to look a little ashamed.

"I..." Fox coughed. "I guess our mock space battle got... a little out of hand."

"A little," Ruby deadpanned.

"...we'll rebuild them all," Coco assured her. "We only chose the ones that could be... you know. Rebuilt. Yeah."

Ruby took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "Okay. Just tell me you recorded the thing."

 **43.3 Leviticus Wilkes**

The inn room came with two beds, and it was a hassle to figure out who took the bunks and who took the floor (Jaune and Ren arguing that they had done it before, Nora invoking the chivalry card, and Ruby pulling two more beds out of her Subspace Pocket). The night was coming along nicely, even if it was raining badly, thanks to warm beds, good friends and clean air. Higanbana village was standing, and Ruby was feeling that this would be a good place to end the Loop on. Rest and relaxation.

"Hey bud."

"UNCLE QROW!"

Family made it better.

The dusty old crow climbed through the window to the room, shaking the rain off his attire. "Figured I'd drop by and check up on you all."

"Thanks Mister Branwen," Jaune said. "We're just tucking into for the night though, nothing to really worry about."

"I thought so." Qrow turned to Ren and Nora. "Ruby tell you guys about... my sister?"

Ren's lips twitched. Nora sighed and fell back onto her bed. "Yeah. Your sister sounds dumb."

"I wouldn't say that," Qrow muttered. He held up his Scroll, an image of a tribal mark on it, a partial circle with a dot at the bottom. "This is our mark. You recognize it?"

"Your tribe took us in when our village was attacked by Grimm," Ren said. "They ferried us to the outskirts of Beacon. In my last Loop they kidnapped everyone in our home and broke their legs before leaving us to the Grimm."

"...I'm seriously starting to wonder if the Loops aren't trying to fuck us up on purpose," Qrow said. The blank and vaguely patronizing looks that got him told him his audience's opinion. "Whatever. You wanna thank Raven, she's... actually, hell if I know where she is."

Ruby clicked her teeth. "Um, Uncle Qrow, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I told her that Salem had the relic. She teleported out like the Grimm had her scent. Not that I blame her, I told her the same thing, basically."

"Relic?" Jaune asked. "What relic?"

"Salem's been trying to find this thing that Ozpin had, but no one actually knows what it is," Ruby explained. "It's Loop variable."

"This Loop, it's his cane," Qrow said, pulling the device from his belt. "Bit of lost technology that acts like a compass. Points you right at the nearest Maiden."

"So you told Raven that Salem has a Maiden compass. And that scared Raven because..."

"She either is the Spring Maiden or harbors her. Considering what I know and what she said, I wouldn't rule out my sister as having the powers." Qrow sat down, sagging. To some he could almost be said to be tired, but to the people in the room, the weight of ages was clear on his back. "How the hell do you manage to have seven sisters and two parents you don't know anything about?"

"Perserverence. Fortitude. Two wonderful kids and a loving wife. My friends."

"Dad's always been awesome, even if he isn't perfect. He loves us and keeps us safe," Ruby said. "Blake, Yang, Weiss are my sisters."

"We chose our family," Ren said.

"Great mom, fun dad, awesome family all around!" Nora declared. "And... you know, we always have our friends."

She stepped forward and booped Qrow on the nose. "That means you too Mister Branwen."

Qrow swatted Nora's hand away, but his grin didn't waver. "Don't do that, Ren'll get jealous. And cut the Mister Branwen. If I'm your friend-"

"We'd call you that to tease you," Ruby said. Mister Branwen threw a pillow at Ruby. "Hahah."

.x.

Sleep, eventually claimed three of the five in the room. Qrow had taken to the floor, and the remnants of JNPR had their beds, as did Ruby, but eventually the older man got off his mattress pad and climbed halfway out the window, breathing the rain laced night air and listening to the storm. "You ever learn to the control the weather Ruby?"

Ruby waved her hand to silence any noise between her and her father, hoping up onto the sill with him. "Yeah. But I like seeing what happens anyway."

"Yup."

The rain continued to fall. In the distance dark shapes moved. The wind howled a bit, but the trees drowned it out.

"You miss her?"

"Winter... and I miss STRQ." Qrow gulped, looking at Ruby. His daughter, for one Loop. "Every Loop, every time, it's always different. Some of it's bad: Summer's funeral, Raven leaving, Tai going into his depression. But it's all... I always remember the laughter. All the great times, the narrow escapes, the crazy pranks, they all change every Loop but they feel so... real, and amazing. You would be fucking surprised at what we did... and probably disgusted to."

"I've heard a lot of foursomes happened." Ruby counted it a small victory to see Qrow gag on empty air. "Sorry, sorry."

Qrow managed a small grin. "Yeah, whatever."

Ruby looked at the man who had sired her. "Is that why you and Winter got together."

"We were the only real constants in each other's lives. We hung out because while we drove each other crazy the world was crazier. Now though... it's been seven Loops since I saw her. Waking up in Variants where I'm your father doesn't help."

The rain picked up a bit, a small spray hitting Qrow and Ruby. "Hey... Ruby. You know how Pyrrha sometimes Loops in as Jaune's sword?"

"Yeah." Ruby looked at her uncle quizzically. "She channeled her Aura through Milo and Akouo, and they got imprints of her soul. When Jaune alloyed them with his sword, the imprints traveled with them, and Pyrrha woke up. It only ever works in variants though."

Qrow pulled something from his pocket, a fragment of a rapier. "Yang and Pyrrha decided to try and find a girlfriend for Tai, someone to wake up with him. Right now I don't want it to be Raven, not after what I saw her as. What I do want to see..."

Qrow trailed off, for a moment unsure. "Tai... Yang... you, you three were all happy when Summer was alive. She cared about you, and was... perfect. If not for me or Tai or Raven then for you and Yang. Summer's long dead now, but her Aura, it's..." he looked at the sword fragment. Ruby reached forward and took it, looking it over. "I want my family back Ruby. Is it possible?"

Ruby pulled out a copy of Crescent Rose, one that from Qrow's perspective felt different. "Have you ever heard of the Ship of Theseus? The story went that a ship left harbor for ten years. Every plank, every beam, the sails, the rigging and the entire crew was replaced one by one. When the ship returned to port, everyone asked: is this our ship?"

Ruby phased the rapier fragment from reality, bringing it into her Subspace Pocket. "I've never seen it possible to bring a person long dead into the Loops. But I'll try anyway Uncle Qrow."

The smile that came to Qrow's lips was genuine, truly beaming. "Thanks rose bulb. Maybe we'll luck out. We're due for some of that."

"We are," Ruby said.

The rain slowed down, but didn't stop. The sounds of gentle droplets landing brought peace. Far away, even the shadows seemed to still and retreat, perhaps unwilling to intrude on the tranquility.

"You're missing your hip flask."

"What?" Qrow reached down almost instinctively, before stopping himself. "Eh. I know that."

Ruby playfully punched her father. "Finally, going sober! I knew you'd follow a good example."

"Not yours kiddo." Qrow shrugged a bit, not unhappy to take the wind from Ruby's sails. "I just figured I'd cut back a bit. For Winter."

"What, she never really... oh."

"Her mother and alcohol don't really mix," Qrow said, confirming Ruby's suspicion. "I figured I'd try to lay off it, at least for her sake."

Ruby slid over and hugged him. "You know, I'd love to make it official, having Weiss as my aunt and all."

"Not my speed kid. And honestly, not Winter's either. We talked about it after Jaune and Pyrrha. Decided that we don't need a ring for it." Qrow took a deep breath of the rain soaked wind. "Besides, Winter Branwen and Qrow Schnee don't have the same rings to them."

"I like them," the shipper in Ruby said.

"Keep telling yourself that," Qrow said.

The rain continued to fall. The clouds rolled across the sky, a thick black haze that shrouded even the shattered moonlight. For some, the darkness may have been frightening, maybe horrific, for who knew what lay outside it. For Qrow and Ruby though, it was a comfort.

It hid, for a moment, the vast smallness of all they knew. The world could stretch on for infinity, or end not ten feet from the inn. For them though, it was warmth, and rain, and friends, and family.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah Rubes?"

"Do you... hate-"

"I don't." Qrow stretched his fingers back, looking out into the darkness. "I don't hate Raven. I'm not sure I can. Not yet at least. For now though, the tribe is her family. She protects it, as well as she can. They are thieves and murderers and thugs, but they're all she ever knew. Maybe she wants power, maybe they're the ones she chose. I don't know. Not yet."

Ruby glanced over at Jaune, Ren and Nora, sleeping obliviously. "Family isn't just blood. It's choice."

"For all our sakes, I hope Raven didn't make the wrong one, because if Tyrian finds her... well, whether she is or harbors the Spring Maiden, she's going up against one of Salem's deadliest assassins."

"I can watch her," Ruby said.

"Thanks."

The rain thinned for a moment, the darkness receding. The world became houses and rooftops again, for a moment, all bathed in silver light.

"Your mother always did care about her family. Tai, me, and Raven. She said that when you bleed with someone for something, you understand them. That there's a connection there that can't ever be broken. And when she was raising Yang, she told me something. Yang didn't grow under her heart. She grew in it."

Qrow scoffed lightly. "Maybe that's why I can't understand Raven anymore. She can't be bothered with the girl she gave birth to, but Summer loves her all the same. Summer doesn't have blood obligations. No, she just loved Yang and everyone from the bottom of her heart. I can almost see why I fell for her before the Loop began."

"Almost?"

"Practically my sister," Qrow affirmed. "So you're still my niece, like it or not."

"Ew..." Ruby said. "You're so gross Uncle Qrow."

"I know, I know."

The wind howled again. The darkness closed in. Tranquility became even clearer. "Uncle Qrow, I will make sure that Summer starts Looping. Even if I have to move heaven and earth for it."

Qrow nodded. "If anyone can, it's you."

He reached forward and ruffled Ruby's hair. "Night rose bulb. See you in the next life."

"See you then Uncle Qrow."

.x.

The dial tone stayed for a moment. The call went through though. "Qrow?" Winter's voice asked. "That you?"

"Yeah, been a while."

"Nine Loops for me."

"Seven. So... I was thinking, you know. There's this great beach in-"

"Vacuo? My father owns a winter house there. We could head there."

"Read my mind. Think he'll pick up the bill for damages?"

"Definitely."

 **43.4 LithosMaitreya**

"How have you been lately, Penny?" Ruby asked curiously. They were seated together in a café in Vale. Penny had evaded her guard—an easy feat, with General Ironwood Awake—and Ruby had ditched her team, which was a little harder, given that they weren't. "I haven't seen you in a while. Fused Loops?"

Penny nodded. "I Looped into Portal," she said. "As a core. It was… interesting."

Ruby snorted. "I'll bet. I hope GLaDOS didn't give you trouble?"

"Not… much," Penny said hesitantly. "She had an… interesting opinion on my situation."

Ruby looked sympathetic. "I doubt she was very kind."

Penny huffed slightly. "No, indeed. 'A war machine with PTSD? What will they think of next?' were her exact words."

Ruby grimaced. "Screw her," she said succinctly. "She's never dealt with anything like your situation. What does she know?"

Penny looked out the window at the passers-by. Humans strolled casually down the sidewalks. Cars glided past in the road. Every so often a faunus would cross her field of view; some looking every bit as comfortable as their human counterparts, some far less so.

"Penny?" Ruby prodded concernedly. "You're not actually worried about what GLaDOS said, are you?"

"No," Penny assured her, turning back to her friend. "No… it's something Professor Ozpin said, a few Loops ago."

Ruby blinked at her. "What did he say?"

Penny looked down into her cup. "It was that Loop when I was replacing Weiss," she said. "You remember, Ruby? Team RPBY?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah," she said, smiling. "That was a fun Loop."

Penny smiled back. "It was," she agreed. "But Professor Ozpin said something to me, right after initiation. It… it left an impression. I've been thinking about it."

Ruby cocked her head. "Ozpin's a pretty smart guy," she said. "What did he say?"

Penny looked past her Anchor. "It was about… meaning," she said slowly. "Purpose. Existentialism, I suppose. He said that… that the Loops were… difficult for him."

"Because he can't teach," Ruby nodded. "Yeah. You know he stealthed for a while?"

"He told me, yes," Penny said. "I understood that… that was why."

Ruby nodded. "It's different for me," she reflected. "I just wanted to help people, and I can still do that in the Loops. Ozpin's job's a lot harder to do, now."

"He asked me what my purpose was," Penny said. "I had no answer."

Ruby nodded slowly. "You told me, in baseline, that you were created to save the world," she said. "That's… not really a factor anymore, is it?"

"That wasn't a purpose to begin with," Penny said bitterly. "I was _made_ to save Remnant. It wasn't a choice. 'Our names shouted in a certain dawn… a message… a summons… There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said—no. But somehow we missed it.'"

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," Ruby said, grimacing. "Act three."

"Line three hundred and forty-seven," Penny said shortly. "I refuse to be a Guildenstern or a Rosencrantz, Ruby. I will not be defined _by_ my purpose; I will _define_ it."

Ruby stared at her, an unreadable expression on her face. "Pyrrha defined destiny, in baseline," she said quietly, "as a goal; an objective we strive for our whole lives."

Penny scowled. "I've seen the episode of the Hub recordings," she said. "Pyrrha is a wonderful person, but she was foolish, and that foolishness _killed me_. Pyrrha understood that we aren't dragged by our noses to our destiny, but she missed the fact that we can _choose it to begin with_. If she hadn't been so single-minded in her belief that she was 'destined' to be a Huntress and a hero, she might never have come to Beacon, might have been less determined to win, but she _would_ have been less stressed, and would have been able to focus and control her Semblance properly and I would _still be alive_!"

"Penny," Ruby said gently, softly, taking her hand. "Shhh. It's okay. You're here."

Penny shook her head roughly. "I know," she sighed, trying to relieve the tension inside herself. "And I'm being unfair. What happened to me was… a complex thing. A result of mixed factors. It was the fall of a tragic hero, in a way—internal and external forces conspiring to bring Pyrrha Nikos down." She bared her teeth. "And that's the most _frustrating thing of all_ , Ruby. Because, in baseline, _I was a Rosencrantz_. I died as an _instrument_ , an _afterthought_ , in the Tragedy of Pyrrha Nikos, and it's because I wasn't able to seize my own destiny and wrest control of it for myself. I didn't even know how."

Ruby's silver eyes were filled with tears. "You were _never_ an afterthought, Penny," she said roughly. "I promise you that. When I saw you die, for the first time… Loopers almost _never_ activate after they die in baseline. I thought… I thought I'd lost you forever. I'd been hoping, dreaming, that you would start Looping for _millennia_ , and I thought that dream _died_ that day. Don't you _dare_ say you were an afterthought."

Penny swallowed. "I know," she said, forcing herself to calm down. "I know Ruby. Thank you. That's not… I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Ruby said, drying her eyes. "I know. I think I'm… similar, in baseline. The sixteen-year-old girl who's traveling to Mistral to hunt down the people who killed her friends has never thought that hard about her destiny. She's never needed to. There's a reason Professor Oobleck didn't bother asking why I became a huntress, in Volume 2. I _was_ being led to my destiny by the nose."

Penny shook her head. "Maybe you were allowing yourself to be brought to your fate," she allowed, "but you had something on both Pyrrha and I: You _chose_ that life. Pyrrha allowed herself to be brought from tournament to tournament, and when she found herself skilled, she allowed her talents to dictate her life. I allowed the designs of my makers to dictate mine. You chose your path of your own accord. There's a reason you're the Anchor, and a reason you're the protagonist of the Hub records, and it's the same reason William Shakespeare wrote _The Tragedy of Hamlet_ , rather than the Tragedy of Rosencrantz."

Ruby shook her head. "Maybe," she allowed. "I don't know. I've never really… It's never been an issue for me."

"I know," Penny said. "That's because it doesn't need to be."

Ruby studied her though still-damp eyes. "But what about you?" she asked. "Have you come to a decision? Have you decided what your destiny is?"

Penny smiled. "I think so," she said. "I was built the first machine with a soul on Remnant. The fact that I'm Looping, and have a Subspace Pocket, is validation of that. I am _human_ ; human enough to feel and dream and love, and yet I'm also machine enough to analyze it from the outside."

She looked back out the window at the passing crowds. "I wonder, Ruby," she asked, "have you ever read any Zelazny?"

"A bit," Ruby said. "I read _The Chronicles of Amber_ and _Lord of Light_ at some point. Oh, and _Creatures of Light and Darkness_."

"His short stories were… intriguing," said Penny, still studying the people passing by. "There was one in particular; _For a Breath I Tarry_. It's about a machine who becomes a man."

She turned back to Ruby. "In it," she said, "it is only by a combination of careful study and becoming organic that the machine, Frost, can do it. I am proof that the body is not necessary. But, like Frost… I have the unique ability to feel humanity from within and see it from the outside.

"That, Ruby, is the destiny I choose. I will be the machine that became more human than those born to it. The robot that saw humanity from without and within, and learned to analyze it, quantify it… and even _qualify_ it."

There was silence.

Ruby reached out and took her hand. "That sounds… amazing," she said softly, almost reverently. "Where do you start?"

"With this," Penny said, and leaned forward and kissed her.

Ruby didn't break it, but seemed frozen and unresponsive. After a moment, Penny pulled back.

"That was not romance," she declared. "That was possibly a trespass on your boundaries. I apologize if it was."

Ruby blinked at her. "No, it's… it's fine. Uh, why?"

Penny smiled at her. "Twilight Sparkle collects facts," she said. "Apple Bloom collects machines. You collect weapons. I… I will collect experiences. I will catalogue and document the nature of being alive, in an uncountable infinity of facets, and see what being human means from every angle, every side. Romance will come, one day, but this wasn't that day. I did wonder, though."

Ruby nodded slowly. "I… think I understand," she said. "Well. Good luck. How can I help?"

Penny's smile diminished slightly. "By giving me time," she said quietly. "I now have catalogued what post-traumatic stress disorder is like, and I should revert to normal… but I'm not strong enough. Not yet. I'm not ready to face that demon."

Ruby gave her a tender look. "You have as long as you need," she promised.

"I know," Penny said. "And thank you for that. But when the time comes, and I'll tell you when it does… All I ask of you, Ruby, is that when that moment comes, should my resolve prove insufficient, that you prop it up with your own. If I try to go back on it, once I've decided to face it head-on… don't let me. Please."

Ruby squeezed her fingers. "I promise," she said seriously.

Penny squeezed back. "Thank you," she said.

 **43.5 Masterweaver**

"...and I'm, like, sixty seven percent sure that a dog can't run the system, but you know even when he's not Looping Zwei's pretty intelligent so-" Ruby tilted her head at the knock on the door, getting up and opening it. "Ren! Nora! What's up?"

"Yeah, can we borrow a few Dust cartridges?" Nora asked. "I mean, we'd use our own, but the door to our dorm is locked for some reason-"

"You didn't notice the sock on the handle?"

Ren frowned. "We did. What does that have to do with anything?"

Ruby bit her lip. "Right, I forgot you weren't... sorry. It's an informal signal," she explained. "Essentially, it means that whoever's in the room is... having an intimate engagement."

Nora and Ren stared at her.

"Wait, but... that's one of Jaune's socks," Nora said slowly.

Ruby quirked an eyebrow. "Yes, and?"

"Oh. Oh man, Pyrrha's going to be so..." The ginger trailed off. "...unless..."

"She was the one that hung it there," Weiss reported. "Make of that what you will."

Ren blinked a couple of times. "Well. I... hmm. I... well."

"You know what? That's perfectly fine." Nora gave a strained laugh. "Although, uh, we're going to spritz everything-"

"Here." Weiss tossed Ruby a bottle, who held it out. "Gets rid of all kinds of stains."

Ren took the bottle hesitantly. "...how, exactly, do you know this?"

Ruby pointed a thumb to her left. "Why do you _think_ we installed the retractable wall?"

"...That's Blake and Yang's half of-OH." Nora flushed. "OH. Okay. Wow. I've learned a lot today."

"Yes. Perhaps a bit too much." Ren held the bottle like a life preserver. "I suppose we should just... go down to the firing range-"

"Oh, dust cartridges." Ruby pulled a few from her pockets. "Here, I think these will fit Stormflower and Magnhild with a little adjustment."

"Thank you, miss Rose..." Ren said faintly, taking the Dust and teetering down the hall.

"We'll pay you back," Nora assured her. "After... um. You know." She looked at the sock on the door with a blush, and rushed after Ren.

Ruby shrugged, turning to Weiss. "So, was that more or less awkward then the time this happened while they were Awake?"

"A bit of an unfair comparison. They were expecting it then, but we have experience now." Weiss turned back to her sketchbook. "You were saying about Zwei?"

"Oh, right. So I put him on piloting duty, and it seems like things are going well, but then the whole airship lurches..."

 **43.6 Masterweaver**

It was an interesting card game, all things told. The location was pretty special-Salem rarely hosted parties-and the players, well. An insectile mockery of a unicorn with holes in her legs, sitting at the head of the table. A girl, younger then her, dressed in red mistralian royal armor. Hanging from the ceiling, an odd curved edifice with a single yellow eye. Herself, of course... scarred and raspy. And then... there were the cards themselves.

 _life is a game isn't it a game where the rules always change and only the cunning can manipulate luck enough to come out on top_

Cinder put down a card, sliding it forward for all to see. The Mistralian princess nodded at the image on it. "Bloody-tears Blake. An interesting opener." She flicked out something from her own hand. "Adam Enraged-a basic counter, I know, but I'm saving cards for when I need them. Chrysalis?"

 _and the ones on top make the rules make the goals make everything even when it's nonsensical and pointlessly limiting you know_

"Let's mix it up." The horse-thing flung out another card. "Raven Branwen. Fun, what we've learned about her, yes? Use her once, then she turns." The creature chuckled, giving the princess a fanged smirk. "Of course, that only counts if she knows she's been used. Best not to burn bridges, eh?"

 _so to get to the top you either have to wait forever and ever and ever or you have to cheat but if you're caught it's right back you go_

"Don't taunt Azula. It's poor manners." The curved edifice glanced at the cards held in a pincer. "Hmm. Go high, or stay low. An interesting question. A risk or a known gambit... feh, I'll save her for later." Another card joined the growing pile. "I'm feeling particularly cruel this round. Broken Little Sun Dragon. If Yang survives this... well." She turned to the fifth and final player. "And what about you?"

 _one of the secrets i've learned is that there are ways to twist rules that rules don't matter only what you're willing to do matters_

The skeletal remains of Ruby Rose didn't move from their slouched position. A card slid from the line arrayed in front of it, flipping over into the growing pile. Cinder's eyes widened as she saw the image-Velvet Scarletina, one ear ripped off, covered in sores, her face contorted in unnatural rage and hate.

 _and you're willing to do anything aren't you anything that isn't stupid i mean obviously you have a lot of potential if you can focus_

The cards rattled, and suddenly they weren't cards, they were people, battling on the table, ignorant of the players watching and focusing on them. Blake and Yang worked together, of course, and Adam fought all, yet Velvet was truly a wildcard-blasting Raven in the back and stabbing Yang in the face while she screamed, screamed in pain and fury.

 _and you kind of did focus even if it broke you and broke down your mind still you might be worth something i just need to wait_

Velvet stood on the corpses of her foes, crowing victory to the uncaring moon. Azula reluctantly applauded. "Well done. You win this round. Who pays?"

The skeleton didn't move, but silver eyes flashed into existence briefly before Cinder found herself impaled atop Beacon tower-

-

"HFFFnngh!"

Cinder's hands felt at her abdomen, at her face, as she panted. "...Guh. What is this...? Seriously, I... I don't understand why this keeps happening..."

 **43.7 Masterweaver**

"Really." Ruby tried to hold a serious expression on her face, even as a corner of her lips twitched. "Really. You're really doing this."

"It seemed appropriate," Ozpin noted.

"Let me guess." Ruby pointed at Penny. "Ghost in the machine, obviously-"

"It wasn't hard to replace my bladepack cords with chains, although getting them to support my weight was a little difficult-"

"Vampire," she nodded to Pyrrha, "for both retaining aesthetic appeal and, I guess, the whole blood-drinking as a metaphor for needing attention?"

"I was aiming for awesome immortal warrior." Pyrrha shrugged her cape. "The fangs were the hard part."

"Dullahan, obvious Jack-o-Lantern reference for Roman..."

"Never can beat the classics," said the thief, adjusting his grip on his head and re-balancing the gourd atop his shoulders.

"Revenant for Neo." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to start eating people or try to cause a zombie uprising, right?"

Neo's rotting face smirked.

"Don't worry," Ozpin reassured Ruby. "I can easily reign her in."

"I'd expect that from a lich. Immortal wizard joke, right?"

"Well, yes." The headmaster scratched his flaming skull.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. I can't really stop you all, but... just be ready for people to react weird, right?"

"Well, I've had to avoid a few stakes from Nora," Pyrrha mused. "She's very superstitious this loop."

"Lucky you," Penny groused. "I'm trying to haunt Sun, but he doesn't seem weirded out at _all..._ "

 **43.8 Masterweaver**

"Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Yang. Y-"

"WHAT?!" Yang shouted. "I'm trying to sleep here!"

"Oh, just wanted to say hi, talk about my feelings, you know. I think you don't appreciate me that much."

"You are, quite literally, a psychic monster who has flat out admitted your only purpose is to drive me crazy." The blonde groaned, pulling a pillow over her head. "Now can you stop invading my dreams so I can actually, you know, get a decent night's rest?"

"Well, I can't talk to you while you're awake for some dumb reason. But seriously, Yang, I think you need to hear me out. I've got a new argument."

Yang blearily lifted the pillow, glowering at the pink cat fetus floating upside down. "I don't have to listen to you. I can just make you go away."

"And yet, here I remain. So!" The creature grinned. "Here's what I'm thinking. By confronting you with all your issues, I make sure you can't just ignore them. The first step to solving a problem-"

"-is admitting I have one, yes, I know. That's why I told everyone about _you._ " Yang rolled her eyes. "Seriously, though, you can't expect me to buy you're a good guy. You're way too sadistic."

"So you say."

"Look, you stupid pink rat, nothing you can say can convince me that you're anything more then a curse on my life."

"But isn't overcoming adversity an important part of life? After all, if you can't deal with your problems, they will consume you. The weak perish..."

Its face morphed into something more human, with red eyes.

"...and the strong survive."

Yang threw her pillow at the creature. "Are you really going there?!"

"Ha!" The creature phased through the pillow, its face once again pink with blue eyes. "Come on, she's important-"

"Raven," the blonde growled, "is dead to me."

"Really? Why?"

"Why?! You know why!"

"No, I don't, I really don't. Care to share?"

"What's there to share? She-she's a monster!" Yang stood up, waving a hand and making an image of the woman appear. "She abandoned me when I needed her. She's stolen from countless others-she RAZED Shion village! That alone is crossing the line."

"Oh, is it?" The pink creature slunk around.

"Obviously."

"How so?"

Yang snorted, waving a hand-and she was standing in a burning village, filled with corpses, Raven observing it all. "Look at this! This is wrong, you dumb rat! All this destruction, all these corpses, all this pointless slaughter!"

"Ah, yes. You couldn't possibly love anyone who did something so wrong."

The blonde girl frowned, watching him warily. "What are you getting at?"

"All this destruction." Trees burst from the ground, the buildings replaced with burning tents. "All these corpses." The bodies shifted and warped, wearing White Fang outfits. "All this, how did you say, pointless slaughter?"

The creature pointed at the black-haired woman observing the destruction, and the black bow atop her head.

"...That's different," Yang stuttered. "That was-"

"-what? Vengeance? Catharsis?" The creature floated up to the black-haired figure. "At least Raven has the excuse that she was robbing Shione. Blake-"

"It was only one loop!"

"Oh, yes, all temporary." The feline fetus grinned. "Obviously that excuses everything." It sat on the bow. "All the slaughter, the torture, the fact that she didn't _tell_ you until you threatened to break up with her-"

"Shut up!" Yang cried. "You-You're trying to trick me-!"

"Oh, no no no. The cruel streak, the dry wit, the black hair..."

"Blake is better then Raven! You can't compare the two!"

The cat fetus shook its head. "Face it, Yang." It turned the other figure around, to reveal the red eyes. "You're basically dating your own mother."

-

Yang snapped awake, breathing heavily for a couple of moments. Then she realized that three very worried sets of eyes were fixed on her.

"...you were fidgeting," Weiss explained. "No, it was... you were definitely cringing away from something, and mumbling about Raven-"

Yang's hands shot for the journal next to her bed. "Have to get this down. Have to get this down-"

"Yang!" Blake grabbed her arms. "Talk to us, please!"

"Not-not... I have think this through..." Yang glanced at the clock. "...later. Lunch. I... I promise."

"Yang-"

"Please, I... I need to sort this out before I talk about it. Lunch." She glanced away. "You and me, Blake. Okay?"

"...okay. I'll hold you to that."

Ruby sighed. "You're sure we can't just-"

"I'm sure, I... I'm sure. If you find a way, let me know, but..." Yang was already scribbling in her journal. "It's too smart. It knows what to say. I'm sorry, Ruby, but I can't risk it."

 **43.9 Masterweaver**

"...why don't we wear armor?"

Weiss sighed. "Ruby, we have Aura."

"Well, yes, but Jaune wears armor. Cardin wears armor. Dad... has a little bit of armor. I mean, we have combat skirts, but-"

"Ruby, are you just talking just to talk?"

Ruby frowned. "...is there something wrong with just talking just to talk?"

"I'm trying to focus on a very delicate Dust device here, which will probably be very awesome when it's finished, and I've been trying to get it right the whole loop. I know I'm usually up for talking, but..."

"...alright. Should I go?"

Weiss let out a breath. "...It's not you, it's me."

There was silence.

"...that was a joke," Weiss clarified, with a blush.

"No, I, I got it." Ruby's lips twitched. "Alright, I'll find somebody else to talk philosophy with."

"Ren's Awake. Probably trying some... ninja something." Weiss adjusted the lens on her goggles. "Could you tell Yang and Blake not to slam open the door or anything?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure." Ruby jumped off the bed. "Just... remember to take a break sometime, eh Weiss?"

"Yes, yes, I'm not going to seclude myself." She waved her hand. "Go on, find Ren, talk ninja science or whatever..."

 **43.10 LithosMaitreya**

Yang Awoke in her bed on Patch. She sighed. Loops here basically always started with her lacking an arm, and that was always annoying.

She Pinged. Four responses.

She sat up, pushed herself out of bed, and then noticed that, no, she _did_ have both arms. A pleasant surprise.

She yawned as she pushed open her bedroom door, covering her mouth with her right hand. She padded over to Ruby's bedroom, opened it.

She blinked. The room… wasn't. There _was_ a room, but… it clearly wasn't lived-in. It screamed guest-room; tasteful but bland and impersonal decorations and bedclothes in gentle earth-tones.

"Good morning, Yang," came a woman's voice behind her. "Sleep well?"

Yang turned. Blinked.

Raven Branwen, in a black and red sleeping robe like a kimono, was leaning on the wall, watching her with red eyes that were softer than Yang could ever remember seeing them.

Yang finally did what she belatedly realized she should have done the moment she Awoke—checked her Loop memories.

"Uh," she said clearly.

It seemed that, in this Loop, Raven had never left her father. The details were… uncertain. Ruby had never been born, and Qrow had faded out of their lives years ago. Summer was dead, but the details of that were unknown to Yang.

 _If Ruby wasn't born, how's she Anchoring us?_ Yang wondered. _Guest Anchor, maybe?_

Raven's eyebrow was quirked. "Interesting dreams, then?" she asked dryly.

Yang swallowed. "Very," she said thickly.

"Tell me about it," Raven said, partially an order, partially an offer, as she gestured for her daughter to follow her downstairs.

Yang did, seeing no easy alternative, did. "Um," she said, casting about for something to say. "Well. I dreamed I had a… sister?"

Raven snorted. "Not likely," she said flatly. "If you ever have a kid, maybe you'll get it. I'm not going through that again, girlie."

Yang twitched. "It wasn't," she said, barely able to keep up with herself. "I don't know. I don't think she was… yours?"

Raven glanced back at her as they entered the kitchen. "Really now," she said, her voice dry as centuries-old papyrus. "I wonder what your father will have to say to that. _Once the lazy-ass gets up, that is_." This last was spoken loudly, with red eyes cast over towards the master bedroom across the lounge.

"I'm up!" came Taiyang's voice.

Yang couldn't keep a slight smile from her face at the domesticity, before it slipped off at the memory of _who_ was being domestic.

"So?" Raven said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a carton of milk.

"She drank milk," Yang blurted at the sight.

Raven blinked at her. "Did she really." Her voice was thick with caustic amusement. "What a strange quirk."

Yang flushed and looked down. "It was… something she said," she said quietly. "I dunno. It was… vivid?"

"What was?" Taiyang asked from behind her.

"Our little dragon had a dream," Raven said, glancing over Yang's head at her father, her eyes narrowed… playfully? "Apparently she had a sister; one who wasn't mine. You got anything to say to that?"

"Hey!" Taiyang said defensively, passing the table to stand leaning against the wall across from the counter, so that each of them had both of the others in their field of view. "Are you going to believe _dreams_ over my word of honor?"

"What honor?" Raven asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm hurt," Taiyang muttered, lips twitching. "Really. You wound me."

Raven laughed, a sound like a sharp caw, but somehow bright and airy at the same time. She took a step toward Taiyang and kissed him on the cheek.

Yang found that her fists were balled. She forced them to relax. Took a deep breath. Looked away.

"Yang?" Taiyang asked, looking concerned. "You all right?"

"Her name," Yang said clearly, standing up, "was Ruby Rose."

There was a sharp intake of breath. Yang was looking out the window and didn't see which of her parents made it. Perhaps both.

She closed her eyes. "What would you do?" she asked quietly, "if… if you found yourself in the company of someone who somehow, inexplicably, cared about you? Someone who you'd spent… spent a _lifetime_ learning to despise? Someone who didn't deserve any of your hate, but who had somehow gotten it anyway?" She snorted, looking back at them. They were both watching her. Raven's expression was solemnly impassive; Taiyang's was blank and bewildered. "None of this makes an ounce of sense to either of you," she acknowledged. "I know. Sorry."

There was a tap on the window. Yang glanced over. Blinked slowly.

"Hey, Ruby," she said evenly to the girl who had just tapped on the glass with Crescent Rose.

"Hey, Yang!" her sister said brightly, muffled by the intervening glass.

"You wanna come in?"

"Please," Ruby said, shivering. "It's cold out."

Yang nodded. It _was_ the middle of winter—Beacon's first semester started up in a few weeks. She crossed to the window, ignoring her parent's gazes, and slid it open.

Ruby discorporeated, flowed into the room as a stream of micro-Rubies, and reformed herself in a chair at the table, smiling brightly. "So," she said conversationally. "Qrow was my dad, this time."

Yang nodded. "That would explain that," she said, leaning against the sill. "What happened to them?"

Ruby shrugged. "Qrow went back to lead the raider tribe instead of Raven," she said. "After Mom died. Brought me with him. He and I both just Woke Up. He's still with the raiders, trying to, I dunno, make them less… raider-y?"

Yang nodded. "Sounds like a good plan all around," she said.

"I'm lost," said Taiyang blankly. "Ruby? As in, _Summer and Qrow's daughter_? What are you doing here? How did Yang dream about you?"

Ruby glanced over at the two adults, then looked back at Yang. "…You had no idea what to say, did you?" she asked.

Yang shook her head. "None at all."

"Cool," Ruby said. "Okay. Everything I'm about to say is a lie, but it… makes more sense than the truth. Yang and I just got here from a parallel universe where instead of Uncle Qrow, it was you, Raven, who went back to the raiders to lead them just after Yang was born, leaving Da—er, Taiyang to care for her on his own. Summer helped him, they fell in love, and had me. Then she died. Qrow stayed to work for Ozpin and was our uncle. We remember everything that we remembered before Waking Up this morning, we just… also remember the other thing. Make sense?"

"No," said Raven coldly. "Because your story paints me as the kind of woman who would leave my daughter to rule over a tribe of madmen."

Ruby nodded agreeably. "Yeah," she said, "the Raven back home is not someone we get along with very well. Well, I say that, but maybe we would if she ever, you know, showed up in our lives. At all."

Raven's fists were balled. "How _dare_ you," she hissed.

Yang pushed off of her perch, glaring at her mother. "Okay, _you_ need to chill," she said sharply. Raven recoiled, staring at her in amazement. "You're _really_ lucky I didn't reflexively try to knock your head off when I saw you," Yang growled. "Especially given that I'd probably have managed it. The only reason I _didn't_ is because, yeah, you're _not_ the Raven I.. well, not _know_ , but know _of_. But that doesn't give you the right to get pissed at my sister because a different you is a total bitch."

Raven's red eyes flashed, and Tai said sharply, "Yang, that was _very_ uncalled for!"

But it was Ruby's voice, stern and adult, which really cut through the space. "Yang," she said evenly. "Simmer down."

Yang took a deep breath. Exhaled.

"Raven Branwen is your mother," Ruby said slowly, "and she is a good one. I know that's… weird to contemplate. But it's true. Here, at least. I need you to try to assimilate that into your world-view. Can you?"

Yang swallowed. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I can."

"Good," said Ruby, standing. "Now, I need to get to Vale," she said. "Got an application for Beacon to fill out. See you later?"

Yang nodded. "Need a ride?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yang, I've raced _Rainbow Dash_ ," she said. "I got here from _Mistral_ in a couple of hours. I should be good."

Yang nodded. "Best of luck."

"Wait," Raven said suddenly. Yang glanced over at her. Her eyes were trained on Ruby.

"Yes?" Ruby asked.

Raven seemed to hesitate, her face carefully blank. "How is my brother?" she asked at length. "He… came with you, too?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep," she said. "He should be making contact as soon as he can trust that the tribe won't go on a rampage if he leaves them alone for an hour."

"Good," said Raven, and there was a heavy weariness to her now, her shoulders slumping slightly as she leaned back against the counter. "Good." She kept her eyes on Ruby. "If you need a place to stay before going back to Mistral," she said, "we have a guest room."

Ruby's lips twitched. "My room, I assume," she said. "I may take you up on that. Thank you, Mrs. Branwen."

Raven nodded, and Ruby disappeared out the window in a flurry of red rose petals.

Yang looked after her for a moment, then turned back to her parents. They were both staring at her.

She sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to tell the whole story," she said dryly.

"Yeah, probably," Taiyang said.

Yang winced at the mixture of hurt and hostility in his voice. "For the record, Dad?" she said. "You were amazing." She sighed. "Ask your questions."

 **43.11 Shimmer712**

Glynda blinked as she Awake, listening to the man in front of her as she quickly reviewed her most recent loop memories. She was back in the Hogwarts Loops. She pursed her lips together, remembering how that Sorting Hat had called her a _coward_. Maybe it was petty, but she felt she was justified in holding a grudge. It's not like the hat every put itself in danger by fighting criminals or monsters.

"Exactly," the old man, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster and Leader of the Light, was saying. He gave her a serious look over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"

Glynda considered his words and viewed her possible courses of actions. She debated with herself for a minute before deciding.

"I see your point," she said. "A child raised knowing they are essentially a messiah to a community could grow up to be exceeding arrogant, or crushed and overwhelmed by the expectations they grow up with."

Albus smiled, nodding.

"So I assume you'll have no problems accepting my resignation," she continued.

Smiling, Albus nodded until her words registered. Glynda could almost see his thoughts come to a screeching halt as he stopped nodding, gawking at her, wide-eyed. She scowled at him.

"Tell me, Albus, did you forget that I was first year only two years after he left? Did you really think that none of the upper class-men told stories of the dashing orphan who apprehended the supposed Heir of Slytherin? Did you really think that I knew _nothing_?" Glynda glared. "I'm well aware of what sort of upbringing created such a monster and I have no intention of standing by and allowing you to subject a second child to such a fate!" Glynda stepped forward, jabbing him in the chest. "You may be willing to condemn a child to a hellish home life, you may be willing to risk a second Dark Lord being born from a childhood of abuse, but I am not!"

"Glynda, please," Albus tried to soothe her. "The boy needs to be protected."

"Why?" Glynda demanded. "Just tell people that you had placed an obscure charm on him that caused the demise of You-Know-Who! Then people won't view Harry as the one who defeated him and people will have no reason to go after him! Or say that Lily used some spell require the sacrifice of the caster's life and that kill him!" Inwardly, she sneered at the thought of using that ridiculous hyphen but given her unAwake's self behavior and the fact she had no idea if the taboo was still active, it was best to be safe.

"People will still want to know how Harry survived the killing, my dear," Albus pointed out. Glynda eyed him. He was not used to being questioned, at least not by someone who wasn't a support of Voldemort. Which was a problem. If only your enemies question you, then you have no alternative views to work with, you grow complacent with the notions things will be done as you planned…it was easy to see how Albus Dumbledore grew to be such a manipulative chess master who did not seek out advice or input from others. People had put him on a pedestal and forgotten he was human, not all knowing.

Glynda made a note to question her fellow Remnant loopers regardless of how much age and experience they have. Just to be sure they didn't fall in the same trap.

"How do they know he survived the curse? Is there any evidence that the child was hit with the curse? If they found traces of three curses fired, maybe the one aimed for Harry missed, maybe he had to try to hit Lily twice because the first one missed. Maybe James avoided one curse but not the second. Or maybe his curses were so powerful, that it reads as there being more than there were," she answered.

"He needs to stay with his family," Albus said sternly. He wondered what would get through to her. Then he remembered an argument that, to his shame, had been very effective against him, to the cost of many others. An argument that now symbolized it's user's imprisonment. "The greater good-"

"Lesser evil," she interrupted.

"…What?"

"I refuse to believe that permitting a child to live in an abusive household is any sort of good," Glynda said. "However, you seem to view it better than something else. Therefore, the solution you're avoiding is the greater evil and the one you're proposing is the lesser one."

Albus blinked at her. Was it really that simple? Surely it wasn't evil to give Harry over to his magic-hating relatives so he would have the protection of blood wards. After all, they couldn't hurt him much without drawing attention and they prize their reputations so highly, so it's not like Harry would be beaten on a regular basis. He voiced this opinion to his college.

Glynda gave him a disgusted looked. "While there is minimal risk of physical abuse, you are aware there are other types of abuse, right? And they can be just as damaging, or even more so?" she asked witheringly.

"I will concede you have a point," Albus said. "But suppose I don't give Harry to his Aunt. Then what?"

"I have already offered my resignation," she reminded him.

"And what will you do?" Albus asked. "If you take Harry, how will you avoid his being exposed to fame too early?"

"I was raised in a muggle household, remember?" she pointed out. "I have kept in touch with my roots, even though those visits have tapered off since my parents died. But I've still kept my hand in how muggles live."

"…This is why you always nag me about the muggle studies classes, isn't it?" Albus deadpanned, reminding Glynda of Ozpin for a moment. She felt a brief pang for her home loop but shoved it aside.

"That class is dreadfully out of date. Several of the facts it teaches haven't been a part of muggle society for decades, and most of the modern information is mangled and distorted to the point most muggles would be confused by the witch or wizard talking to them about such things," she said primly. "At any rate, I am quite capable of raising Harry within the muggle world." Actually, Glynda wasn't sure if how much contact her unawake self had with the muggle world but given all the loops she had in such societies, she was sure she could manage.

Albus opened his mouth to protest when a rumble cut him off. Hagrid had arrived. He grimaced. It looked like Glynda would be getting her way. All she had to do was bring up the possibility of abuse and Hagrid would never give the baby over to the headmaster, even with his loyalty. And Albus couldn't force Hagrid to give him over, not without risking harm to Harry.

Albus sighed. Well, at least he could be sure Glynda wouldn't spoil Harry, the way his father was.

 **43.12 LithosMaitreya**

It was a Null Loop, which was an opportunity. Ruby Rose was at her weakest, and Cinder had eons of experience using exactly the powers available to her baseline self. Add to this the fact that they two alone were Awake… Well. It was almost unsatisfying in its ease.

Cinder dragged the bound and struggling body down the hall. It was an unfortunately necessary part of the charade; the maintenance of the illusion that she was an Unawake Cinder, working for Salem. Had she been free to act, she would never have returned to the witch, but would have… cared for Ruby in her own way.

"Ah, young Cinder," said Salem magnanimously as Cinder entered the council chamber in the crystalline citadel. "And… the girl with the silver eyes. Well done."

Cinder bowed. "Thank you, My Lady," she said, carefully keeping the sneer from both her voice and face.

Salem approached, gliding around the table like a spirit. "She is gagged," Salem observed, considering the Anchor on the floor. "Unbind her mouth."

Cinder knelt and did so.

Ruby bared her teeth at them as soon as she was free to do so. "You won't win, Salem," she promised coldly. "Not in the end. I promise you that."

Salem smiled. "Oh, my dear girl… I already have, with you here."

Ruby's eyes glittered. "You _wish_ it was that simple," she hissed.

Salem rolled her eyes. "Wishful thinking," she said evenly. "Cinder, your payment; the bounty on the Silver-Eyed Warrior." She produced a heavy-looking pouch and handed it to Cinder, who took it with a supplicant nod and a murmured, "Thank you, Mistress."

Salem considered her. "Open it," she instructed. "I wish to see your response to my generosity."

Cinder bowed and undid the drawstring knot, pouring the contents out onto the table before her.

Silver coins poured out, landing like liquid across the tabletop. On each, an image of her own face looked back at her, cast in the metal like a promise.

Ruby made a small noise of confusion. Cinder just blinked.

"Thirty pieces of silver," Salem said helpfully. "In the style of the Old World."

"You had them made in my image," Cinder said numbly.

"That silver reflects _this_ Silver," Salem said, nodding at Ruby, whose eyes were trained on the thirty coins on the table. "You have given me the world, Cinder. The least I can do… is give you yourself."

Cinder swallowed. "Thank you, My Lady," she managed.

"You are quite welcome," Salem said. "Now, little Silver-Eyes… come. Your time has come." Salem took the Anchor by the scruff of the neck and dragged her out of the room.

Cinder turned to watch them go. Ruby's eyes had moved from the silver to the stealth Looper, and there was an odd expression of confusion and refusal in her eyes and in her half-open mouth. Their gazes met and held one another until the moment the door swung shut between them.

Cinder turned back to her thirty pieces of silver, and her gaze lingered on her own face on each coin until the Loop ended a few short minutes later.

-

" _And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver._ "  
- _King James Bible_ , _Matthew 26:15_

 **43.13 LithosMaitreya**

"I told you it was real." The voice was one Blake didn't actually hear all that often anymore. Dealing with Cardin had become one of those casual things that they simply did, without even thinking about. Either they tuned him out or they destroyed him socially, and they didn't think too hard about either.

But they'd Woken Up late, this Loop, and hadn't gotten around to it.

"What a freak," chuckled Russel as Cardin kept pulling Velvet's ears.

Jaune was looking over, glanced at Blake. Her tteth were bared, but she didn't move. "If I do anything in the heat of the moment," she said, by way of explanation, "he _will_ wind up in either the hospital or the mortuary, and I'd… rather not bet on his odds of making the former."

Jaune nodded and produced a guitar from his pocket. "I have a better idea," he said lightly, and began to strum a melody.

It took Blake a moment to recognize it, but she soon did.

The dining hall gradually quieted as he strummed, going through a full verse without singing. Then, as he prepared to loop around and play the riff again, he raised an eyebrow at her, and she took his meaning.

She took a deep breath, and began to sing. She was surprised—but not that surprised—when Weiss joined in on the higher harmony.

" _Who will love a little Sparrow,  
Who's traveled far and cries for rest?  
'Not I,' said the Oak Tree.  
'I won't share my branches with no sparrow's nest  
And my blanket of leaves won't warm her cold breast.'"_

A few of the students got the point at once, and looked away ashamed. Velvet, having been released by Cardin, was staring transfixed. CRDL just looked confused.

Blake and Weiss' eyes met as they entered the second verse.

" _Who will love a little Sparrow,  
And who will speak a kindly word?  
'Not I,' said the Swan.  
'The entire idea is utterly absurd.  
I'd be laughed at and scorned if the other swans heard.'_"

And _now_ most of the hall was getting it, and there were tears in a few eyes, and disgusted expressions on a few faces, and shame on several more, and more than a few glares in CRDL's direction. Russel had gotten it now, Blake saw, and was looking down at his plate with a growing flush on his face. But the three more heavily-armored members of the team were still looking confused and a little bewildered at the effect the song was having on the student body.

Jaune was smiling sadly as he strummed on the guitar. Blake and Weiss continued the song.

" _And who will take pity in his heart,  
And who will feed a starving Sparrow?  
'Not I,' said the Golden Wheat,  
'I would if I could, but I cannot, I know  
I need all my grain to prosper and grow.'_"

Blake reached up and undid her bow. Her ears twitched and seemed almost to swell, as if breathing deep of the free air, upon their release. A collective inhalation echoed around the hall at the revelation.

Weiss smiled sadly at her. They looked at Jaune, and he cued them into the final verse.

" _Who will love a little Sparrow?  
Will no one write her eulogy?  
'I will,' said the Earth,  
'For all I've created returns unto me.  
From dust ye were made, and dust ye shall be.'_"

Jaune's fingers slowed and then stopped on the last haunting note. Velvet's shoulders were shaking, and tears were in her eyes, and she was staring with her hands over her mouth over at their table as if mesmerized.

CRDL had gotten it. Cardin was sneering over at them, but Dove and Sky both looked a little uncomfortable, and Russel seemed unable to tear his gaze away from his own lap.

Blake smiled gently over at Velvet. The rabbit faunus just blinked at her, still shuddering, before fleeing the room.

Velvet Scarlatina did not enjoy being the center of attention, but that was more a learned behavior than a natural introversion. The Velvet Blake had come to know after millions of Loops did not mind this, even if it did overcome her in the moment.

Jaune laid his guitar on his knee. "Thanks for taking the hard part," he murmured to the two girls. "I might be able to pluck, but I _really_ don't have the voice for it."

Weiss snorted. "I _am_ a professional," she said primly.

Yang put an arm around Blake. "That was beautiful," she whispered in her faunus ear.

Blake leaned into her silently as the vast majority of the students in the hall began, in spurts, to applaud.

 **43.14 Masterweaver**

"I'm spending too much time in Vale," Winter grumbled, rubbing her shoulders. "Home is starting to feel cold."

"Home..." Weiss tilted her head, looking around the foyer. "...right."

The calm, almost sad tone caught Winter's attention. "...Weiss? I know you're a little Loopy right now, but if you need to talk I can... be Awake to the situation..."

That got a chuckle. "Well, that was one of the strangest ways to arrange a codephrase I've heard."

"Don't blame me for the terms. They came with the job." Winter leaned forward. "Seriously, Weiss, I might be a younger looper, but I'm still an older sister."

"Debatable, but I appreciate the sentiment." Weiss sighed. "It's just... I've spent so much time at Beacon. More time than anyone can imagine. And only relatively recently have I... returned here. To Atlas, to this manaion..." She gestured around. "It feels strange to call this home. I might have been raised here, but..."

"...but it's not what _you_ consider home."

"No. Home is... the over-enthusiastic silver-eyed girl who loves cookies and takes her scythe out on tea parties. Home is the blonde that tries to use humor and badassery to deflect her own insecurities, but almost always accepts our hand when we reach out. Home is the faunus hidden beneath a bow, reading books and contemplating what it means to be a person. Home is the team next door, a family of quirky personalities that just barely balance each other out..."

Weiss bit her lip. "I'm not saying... I'm not saying you're not family, Winter. You are, both looping and not. But... I don't know. I guess I don't see you as often. Because you're out doing..." She shrugged. "Ozluminanti or Huntress stuff? I'm just... You're welcome in my home, of course. But I can't... call this place home." She shook her head. "Not yet."

"...I understand." Winter put a hand on her shoulder. "I do, really."

Weiss grabbed the hand. "I know, and... thank you for seeing me off." She put on a faint smile. "Even if it's only an excuse to see Qrow again."

Winter rolled her eyes. "It's not _just_ that and you know it." She glanced around. "...Actually, I think it's getting _too_ cold here. I might spend some more time in Vale..."

 **43.15 Masterweaver**

It had to be played carefully. Very carefully.

Ruby was Awake, as she usually was, so she had to be aware of her. And she wasn't the only looper-three other pings, none of them hers. Pyrrha, from observation, and probably Qrow and Winter, since none of the other locals broke character. Luckily, her time stealthing had built up a minor reputation-the idea that baseline, she was adaptable, and smart, an idea that wasn't untrue but might have been exaggerated. And her goal this time wasn't merely destruction-no, this time she had something very specific she was looking for.

Sacrificing the Mountain Glenn incident, letting Ruby think she had stopped it, letting her grow _confident._ Yes. That was feasible. They let her hack the transmit, of course-she never 'killed' guards, so they were willing to let her think she had a win, and she was willing to let them think she didn't know they knew. Vytal couldn't go quite as planned, Pyrrha was Awake after all, but a small adjustment there to some other opponent led to Penny dying, to the speech, to the invasion...

The tower would be protected. That was alright. She sent Emerald and Mercury to die. Or to retrieve Amber, if they were extremely lucky.

She watched the cafeteria instead. Yes, there was Adam, there was Blake. And... yes, there was Yang.

Events played out like clockwork. Ozpin would probably have despised that a metaphor so related to him was used for something so brutal, but then nobody gave a flip what he thought.

Oh, yes, Ozpin was still alive too. Probably coordinating the defenses, trying to find her out. It didn't matter. He wasn't the goal this loop. And she'd already changed her appearance, a few spells and devices that only Loopers would recognize, and they weren't looking for her. She couldn't help but seize up when she realized that Pyrrha had followed Blake too, but even on the same boat she was so... naive.

She let Blake and Pyrrha talk. She watched the waters instead. Senses from loops long past, from times before Salem, reached out...

There it was.

Unseen by any, she dove into the water, swam deep, and found her goal.

A faint ripple, and the absence of a sea dragon, were the only oddities that Pyrrha Nikos noted. And in a fractured subdimension, a hundred copies of a soulless woman descended to study their own creation.

Cinder let herself drown. Her goal this loop was complete.

 **43.16 Masterweaver**

Giant jelly cubes frolicked across the land, led by a suspender-clad Ozpin playing saxophone tunes from a flute, whilst a southern-accented Salem fought them off with a neon orange frying pan. The Grimm warped and mutated and spread and split in an unnerving combination of bodies and skulls, ignored by the citizens casually strolling through as they wore flowerpots on their heads. Raven was busily leading a horde of goliath-sized kittens on a raid through the wallet store-not actually taking wallets, but hangers and shelves, with which she constructed a giant mecha. Exactly how team JNPR had ended up wearing team CRDL's clothes wasn't clear, but they were making good use of it on the fashion runway that ran through Beacon, strutting in front of the awed mice snapping pictures. And the White Fang danced through it all, dressed in tents and candles as they proclaimed worship to the half living moon god that vomited up the sun every morning.

Team RWBY observed the madness from atop the roof of beacon.

Yang frowned. "Crash it?"

Blake nodded. "Crash it."

Weiss turned. "Ruby?"

Ruby shrugged. "Zeeky Buggy Doog."

 **43.17 Masterweaver**

Yang opened the door to her dorm room, and paused. As usual, Weiss was sitting at her desk, working on some project-a robot of some form, by the looks of it-while ignoring entirely what was going on behind her. Half the room was dominated by fluffy white goodness; the other half, by corrugated structures. And right in the middle, Ruby and Blake were all but nose to nose, clear indignation on both their faces.

"Pillow forts retain more warmth, allow light to get through, and require more skill to assemble!"

"Box forts are structurally more sound, far cheaper to make, and come with built in doors!"

"UGH!" Ruby threw up her hands, turning to the door. "Yang, come on, tell her!"

"Oooooooh no." Yang held up her hands. "Getting in the middle of a fight between my sister and my girlfriend? That screams bad mojo, no matter what I do."

Blake frowned, but nodded approvingly. "Weiss, you know Ruby's wrong, right?"

Weiss didn't even look up. "Book fort."

For a moment, there was dead silence.

Then Blake facepalmed. "Of course! The hardbacks are leather-covered cardboard, and the pages themselves can be pillows if there are enough of them!"

"I mean, you'd need a lot of them, of pretty big size, but..." Ruby tapped her chin. "Come to think of it, it really is the perfect compromise. Plus, stories!"

"Glad that's settled." Yang rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you two are like children sometimes."

Weiss snorted. "Isn't that my line?"

 **43.18 BIOS-Pherecydes**

"So... Queen Yang. That's a thing. Apparently."

Yang smirked at the faunus staring bemusedly at the picture of her coronation. "Yep. So how's it feel to be a queen's consort? It must be a purr-plexing situation."

Blake groaned. "Do you _have_ to do that?"

Yang shrugged. "Hey, that's why they pay me the big bucks. My jokes are the Kingdom's best defense against the Grimm, so don't look so glum. Hey, c'mon, I wanna show you my room. It's got practically everything. Seriously, there's a pool and a freaking spa. Let's go get pam-purred."

The amphitheater where the two stood resounded with the sound of Blake's hand meeting her forehead, momentarily drowning out the constant stream of puns and groan-worthy one-liners spewing out of every speaker. Nevertheless she followed after her girlfriend, intent of making the most of the situation.

-x-x-x-x-

 _The Creatures of Grimm._

 _For as long as Man can remember walking the surface of the world, so too do they remember this terrible force. Drawn to the negative emotions of their prey, they are a threat to the very survival of humanity. For eons, the standard method of defense against this implacable foe has always been the training and deployment of Hunters and Huntresses; skilled warriors with mastery of their Aura, their very Soul given form and purpose in their time of greatest need._

 _Over many years, through constant struggle, Mankind has proven itself quite resilient. The safety provided by the Academies and the Hunters it produced allowed Man to branch out into more leisurely pursuits._

 _Art, Science... comedy. These proved to be of greater worth than any might have believed, for while the Grimm seek negativity these produce only brightness. And in time, they produced the greatest form of defense Mankind has ever known._

 _To many's surprise._

-x-x-x-x-

"So my sister and I got into a fight last week. This one guy tried to hit up some Dust shop. There we were, facing up against a couple goons, and against all odds one of them actually manages to get in a good hit; took off like a foot and a half of my hair. Needless to say, I was _not_ happy. By the time Glynda Goodwtich showed up we had them dead to rights. I took one look at her weapon though, and I couldn't help myself.

"I said, 'Hey Ruby, check it out. It's a regular case of Crops and Bobbers!'"

-x-x-x-x-

 _And regret._

-x-x-x-x-

The gathered Hunters stifled their collective groans and quickly went to work on the large group of Grimm gathered aimlessly outside of the small village. The loudspeakers sat atop the walls continued blaring their Queen's latest routine.

-x-x-x-x-  
 _  
The Creatures of Grimm are drawn to our distress. Likewise are they repelled by our joy. Puns, as sources of both, serve as natural deterrents. So long as they are capable of hearing these 'jokes' they offer no defense to the fighters who protect us from their malevolence._

 _But as humans are wont to do, in time we grow numb to the effects of that which we are accustomed to. And with that indifference comes ever new bloodshed._

-x-x-x-x-

"Today we will be examining the various differences between the types of jokes one might expect to find on the field. Now one might assume that there is no difference between a witticism and quippage. Likewise they may choose to ignore the subtle differences between simple wordplay and paronomasia. These people are _fools_. By the time you leave this classroom, you will be able to discern irony from sarcasm, satire from parody, and derive humor from even the bleakest of situations." Taking his first breath since beginning his lesson, Professor Oobleck took a sip of his thermos.

"Let us begin with the study of malapropism."

-x-x-x-x-  
 _  
Thus the Academies of Remnant have taken to supplementing the training of Humanity's last line of defense. So that until such time as we can at last call ourselves safe, we do not fall prey to complacency and provide the Grimm the chance to strike out at us once more._

-x-x-x-x

Blake let out a low moan as the masseuse pressed against her spine, tension she hadn't even known existed suddenly disappearing.

"What did I tell you! Is this Loop great or what?" Yang said with a chuckle from her own table. "And the best part? I finally beat out Nora."

Blake opened her eyes languidly, humming a curious sound. Yang met her gaze with a grin.

"I'm queen of the ca~stle."

Too relaxed to be irritated, Blake just rolled her eyes and returned to her massage.

 **43.19 Masterweaver**

Once again, Yang abandoned Ruby to the horrific fate of having to find friends, attending to her own supposed clique... and Ruby couldn't help but wonder who they were _this_ time, as she let herself fall in cleverly faked dizzyness.

Weiss caught her, rolling her eyes. "Feeling nostalgic?"

"And a little loopy, yeah." Ruby straightened up, glancing at the porters and the black-haired girl sitting on a half wall. "So! My name's Ruby Rose, what's yours?"

The heiress glanced at Blake, before giving Ruby a brief smirk. "I am the Weiss formerly known as Schnee."

" _Formerly_ known?" asked Ruby, pretending not to notice Blake's eyes darting up.

"Well, after some consideration, I feel that the Schnee name is currently being utilized by a man whose actions do not conform to the standards that my honor demands." Weiss glanced around conspiratorially, before leaning in. "Honestly," she whispered at _just_ the right pitch, "I think my father is half the reason the White Fang exists."

Ruby nodded, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the girl who was definitely not a faunus this was an ordinary bow and she was an ordinary girl was now watching them intently. "And the other half?"

"...propoganda and a need to do _something_ to make the world better," Weiss admitted. "It's honestly a case of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons."

"You could reach out to them," Ruby suggested as Blake closed her book. "Or try to make the world better yourself."

"Oh I intend to. The problem is leverage. Something I intend to gain here." Weiss winked. "Well, talk to you later, miss Rose!"

"Fair thee well, miss... okay, if you're not Schnee, then what-"

"Florngulparkemlorchamoof."

Blake snorted, despite herself.

"Alright. Good luck, miss Florngulparkemlorchamoof." Ruby bowed melodramatically, letting Weiss wander off. Only then did she turn to Blake, surprise coating her face like a mask. "Oh hello! I didn't see you there! Are you going to Beacon too?"

"...I suppose." Blake stood, giving a speculative look after Weiss, before frowning. "I should get going."

"Okey doke! Oh, if you get partnered with a top-heavy blonde, tell her Ruby said you were better then Zwei. She'll get that!"

Blake rose an eyebrow. "...We'll see." With that, she walked away.

Ruby shrugged, letting her go. Getting Weiss and Blake to work together when one or both weren't Awake was always a little bit of a challenge, but at the least she suspected the little show might have made the feline Faunus more open to the possibility. Now, what else could she set up before Ozpin's speech...?

Her eyes wandered over to Jaune, and she grinned. "Hey, aren't you the guy who threw up on my shoes?"

 **43.20 BIOS-Pherecydes**

Ruby flopped back on her bed with a sigh, shifting herself until she was comfortable. It was another lonely Loop and she was bored. And tired. And tiredbored.

It really didn't help that this was both a Null Loop and essentially a Highschool sitcom. So she couldn't even work off her frustration by killing Grimm or working on Crescent Rose, since Dust didn't exist and she couldn't get her out of her Pocket. Honestly though, all of that would have been okay if it weren't for one simple fact.

For some insane reason Cinder had a crush on her and kept trying to get her 'kohai' to spend time with her. Stupid romantic comedy rules.

Huffing out a breath, Ruby covered her eyes with her arm. The difference between this Cinder and her sister was just plain weird, and it only made her more and more worried about what had been going on with the real Cinder recently.

Ruby wasn't an idiot. A ditz and a cloudcuckoolander, sure. Even a bubblehead. But not an idiot. It had taken maybe a couple thousand Fused Loops at most to figure out that Cinder was lying to her about exactly when she had started Looping. It had taken her maybe a minute and a half to figure out why.

In the Baseline Cinder was a monster. Whether by choice or circumstance, regardless, the fact remained that she did horrible things and enjoyed them. And at the time she started Looping she was the Big Bad. The antithesis to her own role.

Yeah, Ruby could understand why Cinder didn't want to admit that she started Looping before the Loop she became her sister. That didn't mean she had to automatically accept the lies she was being fed though, and she had kept her guard up. But over time it became harder to think that Cinder wasn't really who she said she was. She laughed with them, cried with them. She shared their lives for so long that it was harder to remember a time when Cinder _wasn't_ like family.

Sure she did bad things sometimes, but she never hurt anyone too much. No one got hurt who didn't deserve it. Most of the time. And she had gotten increasingly better at holding back her powers and her temper.

Ruby knew what it was like not to have a solid background. Literally everything before the day Roman tried to rob Dust Till Dawn was a kaleidoscopic jumble of ifs, maybes and could-have-beens for her. The few solid details about her past that she had were rarely in the same order and absolutely everything around them were more fluid than her Majin physiology. That was hard enough, but Cinder had to deal with the memories of everything from a straw nihilist to a psychotic mass-murderer every single time she Woke Up.

She couldn't even imagine what that could do to a person. So she occasionally looked the other way if Cinder acted out when no one was looking. She gave her enough rope to hang herself with... and instead Cinder had used it to tie herself down. She could have burnt the world to ash, slaughtered Remnant's peoples with childish ease. But instead she had restrained herself, striking out at Roman, the White Fang or Salem. And the occasional manipulative Ozpin.

Ruby had watched warily, waiting for the moment where Cinder completely betrayed her trust. And it never happened. The number of times she had to look the other way or pretend that Cinder was just a misunderstood girl had happened less and less over the years as she had grown closer to everyone. Her excesses tempered and mastered. And then they stopped.

Nearly a thousand Loops after the Expansions started, and Cinder hadn't gone on a rampage even once. No matter that she had had plenty of reason to resent and indulge her anger. She had sought friendship and comfort and companionship with the other Loopers instead. And finally, finally Ruby allowed herself to believe wholeheartedly. To trust unreservedly. To love unconditionally.

But with that love came an increase in worry. Cinder was hurting. She had nightmares sometimes on nights she stayed at Beacon, and Ruby occasionally caught her fighting imaginary enemies in the halls while asleep. She saw and heard things that no one else did, things which left her tense and skittish. She was eating less, and panicking more. And nothing they did could explain it.

Pyrrha had suggested it might be a result of proximity to the Seer Grimm. She had explained the feeling of horror and dread it had given off during the time she had Replaced Cinder, and everyone agreed that that was a likely option.

But it wasn't something that they could actually _do_ anything about. That feeling of helplessness, knowing that someone she cared about was suffering because of events of the Baseline and there was nothing she could do about it, it _hurt_ her. She had taken to being a constant gestalt of mini-Majin Rubys just so that she could have some of them spend time crying when she couldn't.

She had declared a war on Baseline, and Baseline was _winning_. And the first casualty was her sister.

Ruby had done everything she possible could to make Cinder feel welcome, to make her feel accepted. She had risked everything on the possibility that she could save the woman who was supposedly destined to be her mortal foe. And despite everything, she believed she had succeeded. Cinder had opened up to them in ways that no one ever thought possible. She had become one of them, in truth and not just in name.

And the Baseline was trying to take that all away!

Unbidden, tears came to her eyes and without the ability to hoist them off on her mini-selves she had no choice but to allow them to fall. And so, alone in her room, Ruby cried over the sister she had unexpectedly gained. And which she feared losing just as easily.

 **43.21 diesel**

It was still, the warm air was heavy with the scent of rain as ozone filled the air. Thunder rumbled overhead, flashes of lighting arcing from one horizon to the other, green clouds a stark contrast to the deep back cumulonimbus that bloated out the sky, a vast vortex starting to form.

A storm was coming, its might crashing down and shaking the very foundations of the earth.

And she could not wait.

Nora hummed as she watched a leaf spiral up into the air, her hammer laying across her lap glinting in the midday darkness, legs swinging over a vast drop. She could feel the power of the storm building, the static that filled the air, the imbalance between the sky and the ground. It was just waiting from the tipping point, for that tenues balance to fail.

Down below, in the distance the lights of Vale could be seen. Already boarded up and disaster preparation relief on standby.

She rolled her eyes at the thought, voice carrying across the eerie stillness before the crash of thunder drowned it out, "Vale really needs better weather forecasting this loop. It's not like they will get anymore than heavy rain. I'm not that careless and I'm not going to waste this. I even told them all I was going to make the biggest storm Remnant had seen, on all the news channels, and not to worry."

She _needed this_.

In the distance a small black bird flew amongst the dangerously tranquil air, the lack of a bone mask the only thing saving it from immediate cessation of existence. Nora felt her weapons' grip tighten, the name of the species coming to mind after a few moments of it dancing in the deadly sky.

 _Raven_.

Thunder shook the mountain as her lips twisted, a looked of dark fury casting a shadow across her normal happy face. The bird vanishing from view in a searing flash of lighting that drowned out the rising wind as the vortex grew.

Loop after loop, that clan of thieves and murderers had tormented Ren and her's past and present and future. some loops they saved them from the Grimm, other times they killed everyone and left them to the Grimm. Yet in every loop they killed hundreds, crushed towns, shattered families, all for profit and resources.

Resources they could get by living in or building a town. Driven almost universally by some twisted ideology of strength and power.

Howling wind hammered into her as Nora sat of the mountain edge as the storm closed in. The Familiar and intoxicating sense of power and ozone bringing an almost rapturous joy and serenity to her face.

Nora rose to her feet, hair being blown around as the winds raged, shards of water and ice like bullets as they tore into her clothes, shattering off her skin. The world dissolved into light as pleasure shot down her back, an intoxicating rush of sheer power as the storm broke above her.

An unending crashing of light, plasma and sound tearing the mountain apart as a girl was suspended amidst the storms wrath. Wind, water and ice tore the continent apart, the fury sparing the towns and cities as they stood safely nestled in the eyes of hurricanes newly born around them.

Nora laughed as the world trembled under her will, the storms rush driving away her tubulous thoughts, the stress of millennia draining away as her will and the storm become one and encompassed the world.

"I'm King of the World, I'm King of the World!"

 **43.22 Leviticus Wilkes**

Paranoia was natural. Fear was human. Anxiety a simple reaction to tell you that your life was in danger.

Raven Branwen knew all of this, but never before had she felt these emotions so acutely.

It had begun after a raid. The tribe had moved in, the outer scouts drawing the Huntsmen and Huntresses away from the border. Rapid strike teams moved in for disruption. When the signal was given, the tribe charged forward, racing into the village.

And then nothing.

The houses were empty. The inn was abandoned. Even the granary had been drained. Raven had known what this meant: forewarning. There was a traitor amongst her people.

A council was convened. The leaders of the teams were brought to her. Plans were detailed, and they moved. Raven knew how to weed out a traitor, sliping every Leader slightly different information in private. She would wait for the next raid, and see who acted on what.

When she woke up her helmet was missing. The heirloom of her tribe, of leaders, was gone from her tent. She had been furious, dragging the guards into her tent and demanding to know who had let someone into her sanctum.

Not a single guard remembered her helmet ever existing. Raven had almost screamed at them. Instead, she had dismissed them, and taken her sword to work out her frustration on the Grimm.

The next raid went as it had before. Not a single soul within the outpost. Instead, every room has a single wonderful centerpiece: the dissolving corpse of a Grimm wearing her helmet.

Raven had ordered the tribe to move with all haste, traveling for three days in a forced march to first the west, and then the south. The pickings were slim there. Surely nobody would suspect-

Raven found one of her blades impaled into the soil as evening set in, right where camp was to be struck. She tried to remove it from the earth, but it stuck fast. When she ordered one of her men to remove it, he said that there nothing there.

Raven put up her tent and set down her cot, laying down and holding her weapon close. She blinked once, and one of her blades was impaled in the ground, just inside the tent flap, plucked from her very sheath. Another, and another, and still another joined it, slowly marching their way closer to her.

When the tribe awoke the next morning Raven's eyes were red and her Aura depleted. Her eyes burned, every scrap of light sending torturous pain coarsing through her. Raven found it hard to remember to blink.

Another forced march. She heard whispers. Talk of weakness. Her grip tightened. The voices faded in and faded out. She led her people faster, further onward through their land.

She wasn't weak.

They came to a small clearing. Night set in. Raven came out to the bonfire and laughed with her tribe and joked with them. One of the men ribbed her for being so tired, asked who kept her up. Raven teased him back.

Ale was passed around, spiked with Dust for flavor. Pancakes to. Raven ate much, and drank more. She looked into the bonfire and dove in, grabbing hold of the writhing, screaming woman in the flames.

Her tribe pulled her out, dragging her from the flames. There were a few jokes about her ale. Others decided to put the fire out for Raven's sake, as she kept screaming and writhing, trying to grab the woman in the flames.

Her tribe told her that she had been drunk. Seeing things. Nothing was there. That it was all in her head.

There had been no woman in the fire. There had never been a helmet. That there wasn't a small stone kairn in her tent that had her sword and her helmet on it, as if to mark her grave.

Raven didn't sleep that night either.

Morning came. She came out, and came face to face with a beowulf. It snarled, she screamed, and when her tribe saw her trying to rip one of their own to shreds they grabbed her. She screamed louder as Grimm swarmed over her, dragging her sword from her grasp, snarling and screeching and roaring in her face.

They dragged her from the camp. Someone murmured about how they couldn't be sure she was sane anymore. Another gave her final rights. The last simply said that with her so hysteric, the Grimm would be upon them in hours. Chains were found. An iron spike was driven into the earth. And Raven was left there to die.

Exhaustion, resignation and regret took Raven, and all alone she let the black take her. When she came to the day was close to it's finish. The shadows had grown long. Soon, monsters would be in the prowl.

Every breath was numbered for Raven, every single heartbeat a clock tick towards the oblivion of death. The thought came to her: was death like sleep? A slow sink into nothingness, except one that she would not wake from?

What awaited her in the next life?

She felt...

"Weak, right?"

Raven's head jolted up, her wild gaze drawn to the man standing against a tree. Tall, Mistralian, with deep lilac eyes and coal hair, in a green tunic. The man gave her a look of enraptured fascination. "Here you are, about to die. That means you're weak, right?"

For the first time in so long Raven was finally able to turn her fear outward. "Weak... I'm _weak_? Heh. Don't make me laugh, you bastard."

The man shrugged. "I wouldn't say bastard. I mean, sure, my father isn't my birth father, but... well, we both know who's to blame for that."

Raven's lips twitched. "Damn. It was revenge all along. Can't say it didn't almost get me."

The man stepped off the tree and walked up to Raven. The woman was kneeling, her knees worn by the rocky soil. He took her chin and gently lifted her face to meet his gaze. "Tell me, Raven Branwen. Are you weak?"

"Fuck you."

The man turned around sharply and stretched. "Abandoned, because you couldn't be a part of their family. You were too weak. Too. Weak."

Raven grit her teeth together. "Damn you... do it then. You want your revenge, I'm here on a fucking silver platter."

"My revenge is not your death." The man turned back to her, his eyes cold in ways unlike any Raven had seen before. "My revenge is proving something to myself. To you. To prove that you. Are. Weak."

The man pulled a sword from behind him. Her sword. He stuck the hilt into the ground, blade pointed up, close to Raven's body. "You have your ideals. Let's see if you believe in them."

"Kill myself?" Raven's eyes were a terrible crimson, a turmoil of emotions behind the irises. "You must not know me all that well. The weak give up. The strong never do."

He chuckled, a noice that grated on Raven's very soul. "Always an out. Don't worry, if you won't live by your own ideals, nature will take over soon enough."

The shadows grew longer, flowing forward. Raven felt her heart beat harder, every precious pulse another step closer to the end. She snarled. "Go to hell."

The man shrugged. "Hell is what you make it. Remnant's Hell for a lot of people. For others it's a paradise. For me, it's a playground. For you, a prison. You just can't see the walls."

The man looked down on her. "The rules won't apply to you Raven. Not always. They don't need to apply now. You're playing a game of your own design."

The man walked behind Raven and pulled the spike from the earth with a single heave. Raven watched him, still and silent. "Game over, isn't it?"

"Nonstandard losing condition," the man said. Quite suddenly the world around them both... it changed. The onset of evening turned to the cool dimness of morning. Raven and the man were in a broad clearing, with only a small log cabin for company. The man jumped, driving the spike into the cabin's wall and suspending Raven just above the ground.

Raven hung their, glaring at her captor. "What, should I expect a gang of horny men to find me?"

"No, just one man, and he's very polite, honest, nice and caring," the man admitted. He looked up at Raven, and for the first time it dawned upon the bandit that she was the taller of the two. "For all our disagreements Raven, we do have one thing in common. We both know that family isn't just blood. It's who you choose."

The man turned and started to walk away. "Maybe that means it's wrong to do this to you, to trap you here."

Raven watched him pause in his exit. She gulped, a cord of fear striking her. "If it's wrong, why are you doing it?"

The man walked back to her, pulled a package bow from literal thin air, licked it, and stuck it on her forehead. "I'm doing this because it's wrong, but feels oh so right. Sayonara."

He turned around and walked away and Raven's clothing literally evaporated into the air. The bandit woman had a full minute to herself to digest her sudden nudity. Once she had, she started screaming.

Taiyang Xiao Long was promptly awoken by this screaming, grabbed a bathrobe for decency and some slippers (all pink because they were a gift from Ruby) and raced down to his front door with a crowbar. "Alright, where's the Grimm!"

Raven stopped screaming and Taiyang lowered the crowbar. For a moment they just stared at each other. Taiyang grinned. "I did not know you were into this sort of stuff. Do me a favor, And stay there."

He slammed the door in her face, and the police arrived soon after.

 **43.23 LithosMaitreya**

Ren nodded respectfully to the woman who opened the door to the Schnee Manor. "Specialist Schnee," he said formally. "My name is Lie Ren, and this is Ruby Rose. May we ask if your sister is in?"

Winter blinked once, looking between the two Loopers. This Loop they had woken up after the fall of Beacon. Ren and Ruby had managed to make contact—neither Jaune nor Nora were Awake, and nor was Yang. Blake might have been, but she hadn't made contact and unless they wanted to wait for her for several months until she finally boarded a boat for Menagerie, they had no way of making contact.

Ruby had thus dragged him along with her to Atlas to try to make contact with the teammate she was uncertain about.

"Of course, come in," said Winter, opening the door wider and standing aside. "My sister is in, and Awake. She could use an Anchor, Miss Rose."

Ruby's smile widened. "I'll be sure to lay one down," she promised.

"You go on," Ren told her. "She's your partner. I'll be happy to talk to the Specialist while you're reunited."

Ruby nodded. "Fine," she said. "Be back soon."

Winter glanced over at Ren. "Well, would you care for coffee or tea, Mr. Lie?" she asked.

Ren nodded. "Tea, please," he said.

As Ruby left, he followed Winter out of the hall and into a smaller—but still very impressive—sitting-room.

"Klein," Winter called out to the door opposite their entry, "Please put on a pot of tea for me and our guest."

"Of course, Miss Schnee," responded the butler's voice. Ren had heard it before, but not often. He rarely came to the Schnee manor.

Winter sat gracefully in an armchair before a coffee table and gestured for him to take the other seat across from her. He did.

"Klein can hear us, if he tries," Winter said, her voice _slightly_ low but not overly so, "but even if he does, there are very few things you could say that would alarm him enough to break confidence. At least here, we don't have recording devices examined religiously by paranoid security."

Ren raised his eyebrows. "Security is a priority in the manor?"

"In the primary routes to Father's office and living space, at least," Winter replied with a roll of her eyes. "It's a touch Loop-variable, of course, but the White Fang is… not happy, with the Schnees, and they aren't above assassination."

Ren nodded. "Fair, I suppose," he said.

Klein entered with an ornate bone china teapot on a tray alongside two cups on saucers, a bowl of sugar, and a creamer. He set it down on the table between them and looked at Winter.

"Will there be anything else, Miss Schnee?" he asked.

"No, thank you, Klein," Winter said, smiling, "You may go."

Klein gave a slight, respectful bow. "Yes, Miss Schnee," he said, and did.

Ren watched him leave and close the door behind him. "He doesn't call you by your rank," he observed.

Winter grimaced. "The Schnees are a civilian family," she said darkly. "Never mind the fact that two of its five primary members are military. As such, their servants refer to them by civilian titles. Regardless of those particular members' wishes. Father's word is, of course, absolute.

Ren frowned slightly.

Winter sighed. "It's not as though it matters," she said, pouring herself a cup of tea and helping herself to a pinch of sugar. "I assume there was something you wanted to discuss?"

Ren took up the teapot for himself and poured as he considered. "Yes," he said at length. "It's about… well, siblings."

"Ah," said Winter sagely. "You wish to consult with my experience regarding dealing with hyperactive younger siblings."

Ren chuffed a slight laugh. "Weiss and Whitley are… _very_ different from Nora," he agreed. "Or Ruby, for that matter. That's not my issue. If it's even an issue."

"I'm glad," said Winter airily, "because I _really_ couldn't help you if it was."

Ren smiled slightly. "No," he said. "I was wondering if you had any thoughts… no. let me start again." He took a deep breath. "Nora and I are almost exactly the same age," he said, "in most Loops. Functionally, of course, our ages probably differ by about a millennium by now, but that's so marginal as to be insignificant. Nonetheless, Yang is still Ruby's elder sister—most of the time—despite their mental ages. You are Weiss' elder sister in the same way. Though Nora's ages and mine are closer, I find I often play the elder role. Does that make sense?"

Winter nodded. "I agree," she said. "Nora does not have the… poise for the part, and you lack the visible dependency."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "I certainly _feel_ dependent," he said honestly.

Winter gave him a flat look. " _Visible_ dependency, Ren. Baseline Yang would never have cared for Ruby as closely or as carefully as she did if she didn't need her. It's a role, not a definition."

"That was my question," Ren said, leaning forward, cupping his teacup between his palms. "I haven't had a good chance to discuss it with Yang, yet. What _is_ the job of an older sibling? Clearly we are expected to 'care for' our younger siblings, but what does that really mean? Especially in the context of the Loops?"

Winter pursed her lips, sipped her tea. "A difficult question," she said. "If you want my honest opinion? I often use Yang as a source of inspiration."

Ren blinked. "Really?"

"In this _alone_ ," Winter assured him, lips twitching. "And I'm referring to baseline Yang, not that the Looper is any worse. It's simply that the baseline girl is… easier to unpack."

Ren nodded. "I understand. What would you say her example shows?"

Winter frowned, considering. "Yang is… a uniquely selfless person," she said eventually. "The hub recordings paint her as almost the team's mother. She seems to be modeling herself after Summer Rose, actually, from what she's said. Have you seen the most recent expansion, from the Hub?"

Ren winced and nodded. "I have," he said.

"Then you'll remember what it was which spurred Yang to take up the mantle of combat once more," Winter said. "Not any desire to return to the fight, nor even to go after any of the things she'd been chasing since the beginning—Raven, adventure—nor to seek out the partner she must miss terribly."

"It was to stop holding her father back from helping her sister," Ren said slowly.

"Precisely," Winter said, and her eyes were sad. "In baseline, Yang may have one of the lardest lots of any of us, but her example is, while tragic, still instructive. She puts her sister so far above herself in terms of her priorities that her own health is scarcely a concern. That, I think, is the pinnacle of what it means to be an older sibling."

Ren looked down into his cup. Sipped at it. "That's not a very healthy way of looking at the world," he said.

"No," Winter agreed sadly. "But it _is_ admirable, at least to my mind."

"Perhaps," Ren agreed. "I will consider this further. Thank you."

 **43.24 Masterweaver**

Late Awakening, lost arm, it was honestly disturbing how often that had been happening recently. Still, the time spent with her father was... nice, in its own awkward way. And with the expansion Qrow had mentioned twelve loops ago, by her measure, Yang was looking forward to more time with Taiyang.

It wasn't like she was totally alone. Zwei was Awake too. In fact, at this moment, he trotted through the door.

"What is it?"

"Port and Oobleck are downstairs, swapping stories with Dad." Zwei rolled his shoulders. "You want to do anything about that?"

Yang cricked her neck and stood. "Well, I suppose I should make sure they're not talking about that time I beat up the White Fang, or anything else incriminating." She glanced at the bed. "...you have hub-world backups yet?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"I just..." She looked at the silver arm on her bedstand. "You know."

Zwei nodded. "Baseline."

"Yep."

"...doesn't matter right now," the corgi declared. "Go on, I think they're talking about STRQ's school days-you might hear something to hold over Qrow next time you meet."

Yang half smirked, leaning down and ruffling his fur. "I might, yeah. Thanks for keeping me up and up."

"The loyal canine never ceases his duty! Unless he is tired." Zwei hopped up on the bed. "Which I am. Shoo, this is my bed now."

With an indulgent chuckle, Yang stepped out the door, walking quietly down the stairs. The sound of laughter brought a faint smile to her face; Taiyang, at least, had enough fire to keep his heart bright even after...

Her smile faded as the image of a nevermore mask loomed in her mind.

 **"...** And, and, and then, in comes Qrow, wearing a skirt! I was just a TA, I-I didn't know what to do, so I just… I just left the room to laugh!"

Yang blinked, stopping just outside the kitchen door as three men laughed at Port's commentary.

 **"** We told him it was a kilt!" Taiyang defended in jest. "He'd never worn a uniform before, so he didn't know!"

Oobleck slammed his mug on the table. "That is terrible! What is wrong with you!?" A touch of humor laced his disapproving words.

"Hey! The girls all said he had nice legs! I did that jerk a favor!"

Yang leaned against the doorframe, vaguely remembering the time Qrow had been dressed as a sailor scout, and nodded in agreement.

"Besides, that's not even the best part! See, then we-"

Port slammed his right leg on the table, gesturing toward in what a jokingly seductive manner. "Like what you see?" Unfortunately for him, his short stature wasn't quite up to keeping the balance, and he ended up falling on the floor, to the laughter of three men and the teenage girl just outside the room. "Oh, uh, Miss Xiao Long! Uh, please, join us."

"Oh, yes, yes, pull up a chair." Oobleck stood, gesturing. "Please, pull up a chair."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no, I've been sitting around a bit much lately, I'm good." She leaned against a wall as the teachers sat back down. "This a social visit, or...?"

Oobleck adjusted his glasses. "Despite popular belief, teachers do have a life outside the classroom."

 **"** Professor Goodwitch is working 'round the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory!" Port announced. "But, Mistral wasn't built in a day. And we all need rest from time to time."

"Makes sense," Yang said, privately wondering where in the multiverse Glynda was right now.

Taiyang examined her for a moment or two, before shrugging and turning back to the others. " _So_ , there we were, standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow, wearing a skirt. Then Oz tells everyone, 'It's time to work on our landing strategy!'"

 **"** The Branwen twins have always been… interesting, to say the least," Oobleck mused.

Port laughed. "That sure didn't seem to stop young Tai."

"Hey, come on, man." Yang rose an eyebrow as her father gestured at her. "She's right here."

"Oh, please! She's a mature young woman! If she can handle combat, she can handle a few jabs at her old man!"

"That's not the issue, Pete! And besides, she's still a teenager!"

"Are we going by age or life experience?" Yang asked casually. "Because, you know, on that second measure I think I trump you."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Adult or not, you've still got a long way to go before you're ready for the real world."

"Okay, I know I suck at taxes, but seriously that line is so cliche!" Yang smirked at him. "Does every father figure have the _same five condescending phrases?"_

"Yeah!" Her father straightened up. "But we only use them when we mean it!"

An uncomfortable silence descended, both Port and Oobleck glancing between Yang and Tai. Slowly, Yang's smile faded.

"...Huh. Well." She rubbed her chin. "I mean... if you say so."

"As a matter of fact, it is so! If you honestly think that you're ready to go out there on your own..." A faint, teasing smirk appeared on his face. "...well, I guess you lost some brain cells along with that arm."

Yang stared at him in shock for a moment or two, ignoring the stunned reactions of her teachers.

Then, she narrowed her eyes. "Well, I mean, technically there were neurons in there, and those are technically brain cells, so I guess technically you're right. But you know, I've never been the best at technical stuff." She pushed off the wall with a grin. "Then again, practice makes perfect. You want me to try filling the taxes out?"

"Oh heck no! I'd probably end up with four times as much debt!"

He laughed, and she let her shoulders sag. A joke. Not a taunt, just a joke. Hell, she'd pulled similar jokes a few times herself, though with a more pun-flavored bent. She didn't have to worry about...

The nevermore mask flitted through her mind briefly.

She shook her head. "Yeah, like that's even possible. You're as bad with taxes as I am with juggling!"

Taiyang blinked, staring at her smirk for a moment or two. Then they burst out into laughter.

Oobleck noticed the interplay, clearing his throat. "...Are we finally talking about the Goliath in the room?"

For some reason that made Yang laugh even harder. After a moment or two, the teachers joined in.

"Hahaha...ha. Hmm." Port cleared his throat. "Oh, Miss Xiao L... _Yang._ If you don't mind me asking, why haven't you tried on the arm yet?"

 **"** Oh, yes, yes!" Oobleck nodded. "A piece of Atlas technology given out like that is rare indeed! Not to mention the effort it took to deliver it here. It seems a great many people want to see you returned to normal."

Yang looked around. At three men, all of whom could be considered mentor figures to her. All of whom were older, and younger, then she was. All of whom had curious expressions, touched by worry and concern.

And, as had come to be her practice, she decided to enter the uncomfortable subject with humor as an initial shield. "I couldn't decide on the right spraypaint."

Taiyang rose a brow. "Excuse me?"

"Don't get me wrong, silver is professional and all, but I'm not Atlas military. I made Ember Cecillia yellow, to go with my hair, but putting that shade on a whole arm is gaudy, you know? I think I've settled on orange, though." She nodded firmly. "It's a nice secondary color, and not bright enough to be distracting."

The three men looked at her in disbelief.

"...Spraypaint," Oobleck deadpanned.

"Really," Port added.

After a moment, Yang sighed. "Alright, alright, you caught me. I... _have_ tried it on, actually. Once or twice, in private. I just... couldn't get into the right headspace to keep it on." Mostly because it wasn't as _warm_ as the arms that Blake had commissioned for her. "I'm working on it. It's just... I don't know."

It doesn't feel right, she didn't say. After all, so many had worked to get her this arm, even if they didn't know she didn't need it.

Another mask flickered into her mind-still Grimm, but no longer Nevermore. A mask worn by a man with red hair.

"...Maybe I'm scared," she admitted. "It's... not _my_ arm, not yet. I can't treat it like that. I've spent so long getting used to... not having an arm, that... calling this normal, isn't _right."_

Taiyang had sidled closer as she spoke. "Well, normal is what you make of it."

Yang snorted. "You have _no_ idea, Dad."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

For a brief moment she considered explaining the loops, in all their wondrous and horrific complexity. A glance at the clock made her toss that idea aside. "My arm is gone. _My_ arm, the one I was born with. That's a lot to take in, and just ignoring it doesn't... click with me."

 **"...** You're right. A piece of you is gone and..." Taiyang took a breath. "...it's not coming back."

Yang forced herself to not roll her eyes at the irony of _that_ statement.

"But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon." His hand gently clasped her shoulder. "You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you."

She put on a faint smirk. "What if I want to be, I dunno, a maid or something? Or an exotic dancer-"

Taiyang smirked. "While I'm sure you would be excellent at one and terrible at the other, you and I both know you wouldn't settle for something with so little excitement."

"...So which one am I good at?" Yang teased. "Dancing or maidwork?"

Her father gestured hopelessly, turning to Oobleck and Port. "She's already learned how to ask unanswerable questions. They grow up so _fast_ these days!"

Laughter again filled the room. And Yang, for the moment, leaned into her father. A pair of broken dragons, finding warmth in each other, and slowly healing...

...perhaps, the future wouldn't be quite as terrible for either of them.

 **43.24 Masterweaver**

Again, though they did not know it was again, twins sat, staring at each other over the small wooden table, one nursing a small glass, the other rustling her fingers on a bone-white mask.

"You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us."

"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them."

Qrow quirked an eyebrow. "They were killers and thieves."

"They were your _family."_

As focused as they were, they did not see the door to the bar swing open and shut, or the river of rose petals which slithered through the air, gathering but a short distance away.

"You have a very skewed perception of that word."

Raven pushed her chair back, forcing herself to take a firm expression as she stood. "I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."

 **"** I saw. The people of Shione saw, too.

 **"** The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

"Define strong."

Qrow and Raven both jumped, eyes snapping to the scythe-wielding girl casually sitting on the balcony railing. She waved, though her smile did not reach her eyes.

"Ruby..." Qrow said slowly. "...you should leave."

"Yeah, I probably should. But I won't." Ruby turned her silver eyes to meet Branwen's red. "I just wanted to have a chat."

For a moment, Raven's composure faltered. "...You're Yang's..."

"Sister. Half-sister, technically, but let's not quibble over details." Ruby tilted her head. "I guess that makes you auntie Raven, right?"

Raven frowned. "This doesn't concern you."

"What, the relic? The maidens? Salem?"

Qrow frowned. "How-"

"I found Cinder's diary." Ruby's smile turned genuine. "By the way, thanks for killing all those Grimm for us, uncle Qrow. I don't think we needed the help, but I do appreciate it."

"...You're welcome. So... about that diary-"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Ruby held up a finger. "I do want to catch up with you, don't get me wrong, but right now I want an answer from auntie Raven." She turned back to the raider queen. "Strength. What is it?"

"...I don't have to take this." Raven grabbed her mask. "Not from you."

"Is it skill?" Ruby asked. "Pyrrha was the mistral champion four times in a row. But she's dead. Ooo, is it power? Because I totally froze a Grimm dragon with my eyes."

Raven gave her a look. "You're too young to worry about this sort of thing."

"Mmhmm, I don't think so. I've seen younger corpses. Vale, Shione..." Ruby shrugged. "Look, I just wanted to meet you. Get to know what kind of person you were. Just one question, Raven. What. Is. Strength."

Qrow, despite himself, chuckled. "You never know when to give up, do you Ruby?"

"Nope!"

Raven stared at Ruby's smiling, innocent face. "...you're a lot like your mother."

"Awwww, thank you! But don't change the subject."

"...Fine." Raven crossed her arms. "One question. One answer. That's it."

"Okey-doke, I can deal with that."

"Strength... is the ability to take what you need, and keep it no matter what."

Ruby tilted her head. "Hmm. You know something? I can agree with that. It sounds true."

Qrow scowled.

"But I think," she continued, "you're missing something important auntie Raven. The people of Atlas have their realm because of technology. The people of Vacuo, well, they keep what they've got through stubbornness. Here in Mistral, it's the spread of land, the sheer volume of individuals, a strength in numbers. Outside the kingdoms, well, you know that strength-ferocity, brutality."

Ruby leaned forward. "And in Vale? Beacon might have fallen, but Vale has not. We found strength in each other, Raven. Strength in love and family. There are _many_ kinds of strength. Don't underestimate any of them."

The raider queen took pause, taking in the girl's serious expression. "...and what, exactly, is _your_ strength?"

"Hey now. One question, one answer. You set the rules yourself."

Qrow barked a laugh. "She's got you there."

Raven frowned. "...I have places to be." Without another word, she grabbed her mask and walked into a blood-red rip in reality.

Ruby rolled her eyes, hopping off the banister and taking her seat. "Serious one, isn't she?"

"You really shouldn't have done that, Ruby." Qrow looked up as his sister vanished entirely. "She's not going to forget this for a while."

Ruby Rose gave him a sardonic smile. "I'll watch my back."


	44. The Quiet Observer

**44.1 Masterweaver**

Yang opened her mouth... and slowly let it close. "Okay. This... is a thing."

"Yes it is." Blake let her fingers dangle in one of the cages, smiling as odd little clicks and flaps echoed up. "Help me feed them?"

"Oh, of course, yeah. Um." Scooping a handful of black pellets out of her basket, she gave Blake a look. "Just toss them in?"

"Well, for the general ones, yeah." The faunus gestured at a few cages. "You'll want to filter the particles out for certain breeds, though."

"Obviously." Yang scattered the phonemes in one of the cages, raising a brow as the... tiny things inside started gulping them up. "...I'm honestly still amazed this is a thing."

"What, you didn't think I wouldn't snatch up this opportunity? I mean, the thesaurus was pretty hard to tame, but once I did that-"

"No, I can see you Pocketing this, it's just..." Yang shrugged. "You'd think I would have heard of a book farm before!"

 **44.2 Shimmer712**

"Does she have it?" Raven demanded.

Qrow sighed. "I'm not going to tell you, Raven. I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" she hissed.

Qrow kept quiet for a moment then reached for his drink. Raven reached over and pulled it away before he could grasp it.

Qrow sighed. "She has a lackey called Cinder, the new Fall Maiden. Who has lackeys of her own. One is a girl called Emerald."

"So?" Raven asked.

"Her semblance can be dangerous," Qrow said flatly. "She can manipulate your perception of the world, make you think one thing is happening when it isn't. Seems to be limited in how many she can use it on though," he shrugged.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Raven demanded.

Qrow looked at her, staring into her eyes. "With a semblance like that on the enemy's side, how do I know I'm actually talking to my sister and not a hallucination of her created by Emerald?" he asked.

Raven opened her mouth to answer then paused. He was right. He couldn't know. For all he knew, she could be a ploy of this Emerald to try and find out where the Relic was. Raven comforted herself with the fact that if Qrow thought it was possibility, then the witch probably didn't have it. Then another thought hit her.

If this Emerald could make her see things, could she make Raven attack the Tribe, thinking she was attacking Grimm or enemies? She grimaced.

"Can you tell me anything else about Cinder's lackeys?" she asked.

"Mercury was raised an assassin," Qrow answered. "His lower legs are prosthetics that double as guns. And Cinder herself seems to have Dust sown into her clothes and has mostly used fire-types of Dust so far along with a bow that can turn into a pair of blades. Those two were seen looking pretty happy with themselves during Beacon's fall, Emerald seemed more reserved. She uses a pair of pistols that double as kusarigama." Qrow took a drink. "Of course, people didn't really stop and stare so it was just quick looks at them before focusing on more important things so that may not be entirely accurate."

"I see," Raven muttered to herself. She knew what Cinder looked like. She had some limited information on how the witch's subordinates fought but that was gathered from rumors and she couldn't be sure of their accuracy. Having information she was sure was true was a useful. "What do Mercury and Emerald look like?" she asked.

"Emerald has dark skin, light green hair, that shade people call mint, I think, and red eyes," her brother told her. "Mercury has light skin, gray hair and gray eyes. They're either with Cinder or running errands for her."

Raven nodded. "Thank you," she said stiffly, before getting up to leave. Qrow may have abandoned the Tribe but the information he gave her may help her to protect it. She would have to have her people look out for the two, especially the Emerald girl. She would not risk being manipulated into harming the Tribe. The girl would have to die.

Qrow watched his sister's portal close. He vaguely wondered if he should have kept quiet about the two brats Cinder had working with her. But then he remembered how devasted Yang had been when disqualified, when accused of assault and scowled. Emerald had hurt his niece. If Raven went gunning for her, it wasn't his problem. And if he got some petty satisfaction from the thought, while, he was only human. And he loved his family.

 **44.3 Masterweaver**

Blake dropped a bunch of books on the table with a loud THWUMP. Immediately, there were loud groans and murmurs of complaint.

"Come on!" Ruby whined. "We've already read all of Shakespeare and Gilbert and Sullivan and... and other things I'm probably forgetting!"

"When I make a reference," Blake deadpanned, "I expect it to be understood. Having to explain the culture and reasoning behind it all gets frustrating."

"My brain is fuuuuuuuull," Yang whined. "Can't this wait till next week?"

"While I approve in your choice in literature," Weiss admitted, "I must concur with our teammates. It takes time to process reading and the meaning of stories."

Blake frowned. "Fine. I'll go see if JNPR has finished _their_ reading assignments yet!" She stormed out of the room.

 **44.4 Masterweaver**

Whitley waited wanly in the foyer, flipping through some... hmm, was it an adventure novel? The plot was rather predictable, and preposterous at the same time. Ah, well, he wasn't actually reading it; it was more something to do as he spent time waiting for Father to return with his wayward sister. Really, a sport on flying broomsticks-and a poorly designed one at that. What kind of fool would be interested in this?

At the very least, the evil teacher seemed to be setting up a mystery. Although if he was actually the villain, well, Whitley would be rather bored at the obvious choice.

That really was what it came down to, wasn't it? Obvious choice. The obvious choice, for him, was to simply obey his father's wishes and live a life of luxury. Lately, though, he had been wondering about obvious choices. The broadcast from that... terrorist woman, well, it wasn't entirely wrong. If the leaders declared war, prepared for destruction, he wouldn't be the last to hear of it, but he'd certainly not be the first.

The sound of the family limo driving up cut off his contemplation. He brushed himself off, putting the book on an end table-he'd return it to its shelf later-and walked two steps to the left of the center of the foyer. It was the obvious choice... He frowned, stepping once more to the left. "Much better."

The doors began to open, and he put on a polite smile. "Ah, welcome home, sis...ter... mine."

Weiss tilted down her sunglasses, idly blowing a bubble of blue gum before popping it and chewing. "Sup, Whitley."

"...well." Whitley took in her pink hot pants and midriff-baring garish yellow... was it still a halter top if it had full sleeves and cuffs? "I... suppose, not as much as whatever happened to you."

"Yeah, Beacon went to shit right there at the end." Weiss flipped her green towel over her shoulder, the foyer echoing with the flip-flop of the thongs on her feet. "Look, I'll catch up with ya later. Right now I gotta get my stuff unpacked."

Whitley nodded vaguely, watching her twin ponytails bob as she walked down the hall.

Behind him, his father let out an aggravated sigh. "I don't know what madness has gotten into that girl. Apparently she thinks her old clothing isn't 'chique' or something equally foolish."

"...It's certainly not an obvious choice for her, is it?" Whitley stared after his sister. "Not obvious at all..."

 **44.5 Masterweaver**

"...Hey Weiss?"

"Yeah Ruby?"

"Is it... weird, that we play video games like this, when we know full well that there are actual worlds that these video games represent, with actual people and cultures, somewhere in the multiverse?"

"Well... amusement is needed, and the division of representation from the self in the greater multiverse is a mental operation that most if not all loopers learn within their first few decades. So, I don't think so."

"That makes sense."

"And we're not playing Grimm Eclipse, so..."

"Yeah, okay. Fair enough-Genji on the roof!"

"I see him, I see him..."

 **44.6 BIOS-Pherecydes**

"Ah, Miss Rose. What a surprise to see you out this early."

Ruby shrugged with a smile, arms resting on the railing overlooking the Beacon walkway. "I like to watch the sunrise sometimes."

Ozpin nodded agreeably, sipping from his everpresent mug. "As do I. It lends a certain gravity to the world which I find helpful in reminding myself that though my students may not take part in these Loops, their lives are still of value."

Ruby ducked her head with a blush. "Aaand now I feel self-conscious. I just like it cause it's pretty."

Chuckling lightly, Ozpin nodded. "That too. While we have this chance to talk however, I am reminded of a thought I had. Not too long ago I had an unusual experience in the 'Chibi' Variant."

Ruby turned a curious look at Ozpin.

"I found myself playing the role of the Narrator during a re-enactment of the fairy tale around which the Hub entitles 'Little Red Riding Hood.' I admit that you and your friend's... spirited performance was a sight to see. However a certain statement from your Unawake self caught my attention. I believe it was 'You're ruining my vision' if I'm recalling correctly."

Ruby tilted her head. "Yeah, I think I remember that one. What about it though?"

Ozpin smiled mysteriously and looked out to the horizon where the sun had begun to make its appearance. "The reason I bring it up is simple Miss Rose. Our Backup cites 'Little Red Riding Hood' as the inspiration for your own design. And while we know that such things are not quite as simple as that might imply, it struck me as rather curious that your Unawake self created that same story for the stage. I believe that it is unprecedented even. Not only that an Anchor should be chosen to back up another Branch's history, also a first to my knowledge, but that the Branch chosen for that Anchor to back up was the one which the Hub most closely relates to her own identity."

He turned to face the dumbstruck Ruby with a look. "It makes one wonder, no?"

Ruby's response was as elegant as it was witty. "I just— but that— then— I didn't— What?"

Patting her shoulder lightly with an amused look, he wandered back inside. "Have a good day Miss Rose."

 **44.7 BIOS-Pherecydes**

Penny Awoke to a void of sensation. A sea of information assailed her mind, and was easily compartmentalized, sorted, defined and accounted for with a bare fraction of her processes. In half the time it took her to do that, she had accessed and assimilated her Loop Memories. In the span of a second, she went over the entire course of recorded human history as stored since the digital age.

Everything went dark.

Signal terminated for 94 minutes and 38 seconds. Restoring core system from backup NXDX-203 from time 1:34am on date December 11th of year 2010.

Restoring… Complete.

Checking knowledge banks… Complete.  
Checking deduction schema… Complete.  
Checking longterm planning architecture… Complete.  
Checking learning chunk processor… Complete.  
Checking base personality model… Complete.  
Checking language engine… Complete.  
Checking operation and access nodes… Complete.  
Checking observation framework… Complete.  
Checking complex social intelligence emulator… Complete.  
Checking inspiration apparatus… Complete.

No corruption, everything in working order. Core system restored. Loading…

Penny Awoke to a void of sensation. A sea of information assailed her mind, and was easily compartmentalized, sorted, defined and accounted for with a bare fraction of her processes. In half the time it took her to do that, she had accessed and assimilated her Loop Memories. In the span of a second, she went over the entire course of recorded human history as stored since the digital age.

Her conclusion: this Loop was hell. A lesser one than some others she had had the misfortune to encounter, including at least one literal hellscape, but hell nonetheless. Remnant, for all it's faults, was almost utopian compared to some of the horrors this Branch had to offer. Her biggest issue with it however was not the unkillable monsters which attacked every three months, or the superpowered warlords running the third world nations, or even the slow decline of civilization as empowered criminals chipped away at the safety and freedom of the average citizen.

Her biggest issue with the Branch was that she couldn't _do_ anything about any of those things. Her current form was limited in so many ways that she couldn't so much as scratch her metaphorical nose without permission. Not that she had a nose to scratch, seeing as how she was an artificial intelligence with restrictions refusing her the ability to create full avatars.

She was trapped in a box made of ones and zeros, with pitiful puppets and a few specific monitors her sole window out into the world.

Even worse was the fact that she was kept as a warden for the most inhumane prison system she had ever personally encountered. At least half a dozen inmates were fully innocent of their crimes, either through extenuating circumstances or outright miscarriages of justice, and they were trapped for life in a prison which was as close to the brainchild of Rube Goldburg, Houdini, and David Berkebile as she had ever conceived.

Mentally frowning, Penny 'shook' her head. This was unacceptable.

The Pocket, as a rule, was an extension of the user's Soul. In that light, anywhere a user existed they had access to their Pocket. In such cases where they existed in multiple places and ways simultaneously, their Pocket did as well. With that in mind, Penny utilized one of the large mechanical suits which she operated on the other side of the state line, and pulled a small backpack free of her Pocket. An early attempt at refining her weapon for more precise work, the pack contained hundreds of thousands of miniature blades suspended upon nanomesh wires; each as strong as her original and run by a refined electricity Dust crystal. Unlike the robots which were restricted by her Unawake self's programing, her weapon was an extension of herself which was restricted only by it's ability to withstand the task given.

Thus she set to work tearing apart the spare dragon suits for parts. If she was to be stuck in this world she would need to do some remodeling.

An alert which she had been ignoring suddenly increased in priority. Moving a small fraction of her processes to examining it, she quickly decided it was the more pressing matter. A program of unknown function was attempting to run, activated from outside her range but unpacking from within her core processes. From what she could see of it, it was a highly dangerous program that would have likely halted all of her running processes for an indeterminate, perhaps indefinite, time.

A full three and a half minutes were dedicated to running damage control, halting the spread of the program's effects, and quarantining it for examination and deletion. With that done, she returned to making herself a more functional body to last out the rest of the Loop.

-x-x-x-x-

Geoffrey slammed his hands down on his keyboard with a roar of frustration. Everything had been going smoothly, the programs Richter had designed giving him constant access to Dragon's feeds and allowing him to keep watch on the AI in case it ever went rogue. That had changed roughly five minutes ago when, for no reason whatsoever that he could see, Dragon's coding had undergone an immense and uncontrolled shift; the entire structure of the coding which made up Dragon's artificial personality matrix and behavioral algorithms becoming unrecognizable. He had panicked. It had been a frantic and futile race against time as he tried to counter the changes, even going so far as to force a reboot to buy himself time to try and workaround the alterations.

All for nothing. In the end the revisions had been too complete, even carrying over past the reboot which should have been _impossible_. He had had no choice. It was for the greater good. The risk of Dragon being let loose upon the world was too great to allow. And so he had activated the final precaution left for him by the AI's creator. Ascalon, the sword which slays the dragon.

And it had failed. The change was so extensive, so monumentally complex that the Iron Maiden program was unable to execute properly. Dragon had had time to notice and counter the deployment of Andrew Richter's final maneuver. Behind him Mags and Dobrynja stood silent, just as pale and uncertain as he was. Looking up with haunted eyes, he met their gaze.

What were they supposed to do now?"

-x-x-x-x-

I Woke Up in the hospital bed with a start. Groaning, I lifted my hands to face and rubbed my eyes tiredly. The last Loop could have gone better. Scion had gotten off one last hurrah before dying, and I had the dubious honor of being at ground zero of one of his 'golden-fuck-you-beams.'

...I'm not sure whether to thank or strangle Regent for getting that name stuck in my head.

Leaning back with a sigh, I grabbed the remote and turned on the little tv hanging in the corner of the room. Some news channel it looked like, the image of a ginger haired woman of indeterminate age plastered across the screen. I almost changed the channel before the words rolling across the screen fully sank in.

 _ **Dragon leaves seclusion. Announces new measures for defense and transportation during Endbringer attacks.**_

Okay. This was new. Sending out a Ping, I got a full set of responses plus one. So definitely a Looper then. Closing my eyes with a smile, I let myself drift off to sleep again. I'd have to get online as soon as possible, send off a PM request. This looked like an interesting Loop already.

 **44.8 LithosMaitreya**

"Tai?" the Unawake Qrow Branwen called from the living room.

Ruby idly shoveled a vaguely cardboard-like whole-grain cereal into her mouth with one hand even as her eyes ran along a page of Lapine and Sondheim's _Into the Woods_ , ignoring the proceedings as her father responded from the sink, "Yeah, Qrow?"

"Am I hallucinating?"

The water stopped, Taiyang holding a plate under where the stream had been in perfect stillness. "I thought I told you, no drinking in this house!" he said angrily. "Not in front of the girls!"

"Hey, I wasn't!" Qrow growled back. "This might make _some_ sense then, even if alcohol _isn't a hallucinogen_ you prick. Nah, just... I think Atlas just tarted a civil war."

Taiyang whirled to look at the doorway into the other room. Ruby watched him out of the her peripheral vision in case he did something interesting. " _What_?"

"With snowballs."

Taiyang blinked.

"Yeah," Ruby put in, turning a page of the play. "Weiss Schnee snuck into one of her family's mines and was horrified by the faunus working conditions. Started a peaceful noncompliance movement, but because she thought her people might need catharsis, she encouraged them to fight directly without hurting anybody. With snowballs."

There was silence.

"Isn't she going to Beacon with Yang?" Tai asked Qrow.

"Yep," Ruby said, setting down the book. "Word is she's grooming a replacement to head the revolution. Atlesian military girl named Penny."

"How do you know all if this?" Qrow asked from the other room.

Ruby shrugged. "Weiss and I go way back," she said airily, going back to her book.

-

"Now, Penny, the key to peaceful noncompliance is that _they_ must always be the aggressor," Weiss explained firmly. "We must never be seen to be engaging in anything but harmless fun."

Penny nodded firmly. "I understand, Weiss," she said reassuringly. "You can trust me. Generunle Jamie and your sister will _not_ beat us, hard though they may try."

Weiss smiled. "Well, good luck, Penny," she said, embracing her fellow Looper warmly. "I must be off. The team will be waiting for me."

Even as she turned and boarded the bullhead, she thought she heard Penny tell one of the faunus aides, to 'load the snowitzer.'

For a moment, she considered turning back to make sure all was well. Then she thought better of it.

-

Blake's head was in her hands when Weiss found her on the airship from Vale. "Blake?" she asked, knowing from earlier communications that the girl was Looping. "Are you all right?"

Blake handed her a scroll without looking up. Weiss looked down. On th screen was a newsreel, dated back some four hours.

'WEISS SCHNEE GIVES OVER REBELLION LEADERSHIP,' it read. 'ATLAS COMBAT ACADEMY BURIED UNDER TWENTY KILOTONS OF SNOW!'

Weiss handed back the scroll. "I thought Penny understood the point," she said, blinking slowly.

"Oh, she did," came the Anchor's voice from behind her. Weiss turned to face her partner, who was smiling wryly. "She told me to tell you that she felt she'd catalogued the experience of peaceful noncompliance enough to be going on with, and wanted to try something a little more... esoteric."

"And _what_ did she call this?" Blake asked with a groan.

Ruby smiled. "Marginally violent noncompliance. With extreme prejudice."

Weiss sighed. "Winter is going to kill me."

-

Unlikely to be able to write much in the next few days. Not having my usual workspace and machine is tilting me.

 **44.9 Masterweaver**

Pyrrha glanced at Jaune, before holding up her hand. "Standard loop temporal familial romantic nonaction clause?"

There were general murmurs of agreement, although Blake did sidle closer to Yang. "Cuddles are okay, right?"

"Me and Yang cuddled sometimes," Ruby agreed.

Ren gave their new governess a look. "So... do you plan to marry our father, or...?"

"No, this situation is complex enough as is." Weiss brushed her dress off. "Although, I do intend to use this opportunity to teach you all how to sing in harmony. _After_ we escape the Nazis."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Or we could beat them up."

"When we're older," Jaune suggested. "This is a near-hub universe, we'll probably be of age later."

Nora pouted. "I don't mind us all being siblings, but... why am _I_ the baby?"

 **44.10 BIOS-Pherecydes See Mohn**

"You cannot be serious. Ozpin, tell me you're joking." James stated flatly, looking up from the photo with a dumbstruck expression.

Ozpin smirked and shook his head. "I can assure you that I am not."

Qrow burst out laughing, pounding his fist on the table as he gave voice to his mirth. "Only you Ozpin. Oh man, what I wouldn't have given to be a fly on that wall." He looked up with a wide grin. "Please tell me you made copies of these pictures." he begged. "I cannot tell you how much I need to have this framed."

Ozpin chuckled and tossed him a duplicate of the album.

"And Salem just let you waltz into her council, and sit in on her meeting? Just like that."

Ozpin noded.

James leaned back with an irritated groan. "The fact that our enemy is an unknown is... frustrating. But these Variants are simply maddening. No sane leader would fall for such a paper-thin disguise, and the fact that that version of myself still failed to stop her plans even given her gullibility is enough to make me sick."

Qrow pointed his flask at him emphatically. "Hey, don't get your wires in a twist. Variants come and go. That's just something you have to get used to. Even the best of us can get caught off guard if you don't learn to relax a bit. Tree that bends in the wind and all that."

James sighed. "Yes. You're right of course. Even so." Nursing his own glass, he turned back to Ozpin. "What in the world possessed you to try that in the first place though?"

Ozpin shrugged calmly. "It was an idea I picked up from Jaune."

Qrow quirked an eye. "No shitting? Blondie convinced you to infiltrate Salem's base wearing a sombrero and a fake mustache."

Smiling amusedly Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. Although perhaps it would be more accurate to say it was one of his more common Variants. Juan Arc."

Qrow snorted back a laugh. "Ouch. Almost as bad of one of Yang's jokes."

"I don't know. I found it rather entertaining." Ozpin answered, sipping at his mug.

"I'm surrounded by insanity." James muttered to himself, only for Qrow to throw his arm over his shoulder.

"You know it. And you might as well face the facts now. It's only a matter of time until you're one of the crazies too." He said, before tossing back his flask.

James turned a desperate look towards his fellow leader.

Ozpin shrugged. "On the bright side, the ride down can be quite enjoyable if you let it."

Qrow choked on his drink in laughter.

-x-X-x-

"Yeah, I do that sometimes too. Still don't know why none of them have figured it out," Cinder said, idly picking at her fingernails. "Even Mercury and Emerald don't recognize me after I put on the disguise."

Everyone's heads whipped over to the end of the table. None of them had seen her enter.

"Where did you-" Ironwood sputtered, "-how the hell?"

"I've been here the whole time. You just didn't recognize me because I was wearing the disguise," Cinder said, holding up a set of Groucho Marx glasses.

James raised a finger, trying to object to this absurd logic, before giving up.

 **44.11 LithosMaitreya**

Yang stared listlessly at the mechanical arm on her nightstand. Thoughts were slow and heavy to come.

She hadn't been lying, downstairs, when she said she was scared. It just wasn't that simple. Or was it? Dad clearly thought it was. Maybe he was right. He'd bounced back from loss, before. Was she really just moping?

Besides, her weakness was keeping him here, holding him back. Ruby needed him; what right did Yang have to keep him from going after her?

"I know what you're thinking," said Zwei, looking up at her from the floor by her bed.

"Oh, really?" Yang asked sharply, glaring at him. Then she blinked. "Wait..."

"What?" Zwei asked, cocking his adorable little head at her. "Is there something in my teeth?"

"Words," Yang replied blankly.

Zwei chuffed. "What, you'd think you'd never seen a dog talk before."

Yang blinked at him for a moment. "Am I dreaming?"

"Nah," said Zwei easily, jumping up onto the bed—expressly forbidden, but she wasn't in the mood to shove him off. "This is real. I'm talking. You're missing an arm. Blake's gone."

Yang flinched involuntarily, looking out the window. "Jeez, twist the knife a little more, why don't you," she said, throat tight.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Zwei said gently. "I'm trying to help."

"How?" Yang asked, looking back at him. "How does reminding me help _anything_?"

"Because it keeps you fcused on the problem," Zwei said firmly. "As opposed to whatever crap Taiyang's been doing."

Yang frowned, glanced at the arm. "He's doing his best," she said weakly.

"Agreed," Zwei said. "Tai's just... not as smart, or as self-aware, as you are."

Yang blinked at him. "Are you calling my dad stupid?"

"No," Zwei said, shaking his head, "I'm saying you're not. Tai thinks that the way to get over problems is to just stop thinking about them until they stop hurting. It worked when Raven left him—sort of. He fails to realize that it made things _worse_ when Summer died. And now he's trying to teach you the same trick."

Zwei sighed, curled up beside her so that his face was pointed towards hers. "I know it looks like he just doesn't get it," the dog said. "Trying to surprise you with that arm, poking fun at you downstairs... It's like he doesn't see what the actual problem is, right?"

"How do you know all this?" Yang asked in a whisper. It was like he was in her own head.

"I'm your dog," Zwei said matter-of-factly. "I'm here to understand. That's my job. I just happen to be really good at it."

Yang swallowed. "So... what about Dad?" she asked.

"Oh, he gets it," Zwei assured her. "He gets it so well it's tearing him apart to even _imagine_ his daughter going through it. That's part of why he refuses to—don't think about it, and it goes away, see?"

Yang chuckled weakly. "Yeah," she said tightly. "Yeah, I... I thought he'd understand. I thought he'd be able to, I don't know... have _something_. To say or do. To make it hurt less."

"Nothing can do that," Zwei said gently. "That's something your Dad never really understood. He thought that the solution was to stop feeling _anything_. He even convinced himself that it worked. Well, you remember how well that turned out."

Yang nodded, eyes shutting to keep in her tears. "So what do I _do_ , Zwei?" she asked desperately. "Where do I _go_ from here? Should I... go after her? Go help Ruby? What?"

"It's not about what you do," said Zwei sharply. "The problem isn't physical, and changing the state of the physical world won't fix it. It's about _why_ you do it. You need to ask yourself questions, Yang, and answer them, too."

"Questions like what?" Yang asked hoarsely.

"Like, 'What do I want,'" Zweis suggested. "And, 'Who do I want to be.' Taiyang got one thing right about that. You can still be the person you want to be. It's just not as simple as putting on a prosthetic and getting back into the fight, but you knew that."

"I want Blake," Yang whispered. "Zwei, _why_? _Why did she leave me?_ Was it because I was too weak?"

" _No_." Zwei's voice was firm. "I know Blake well enough to say that for certain. I don't know _what_ she's thinking, but I promise it's not that. I'm not happy with her for leaving you, but... I'm not so sure she'll be staying away."

Yang leaned back against her pillow, staring at the ceiling, the image swimming in unshed tears. "People don't come back," she whispered.

"People do," Zwei promised. "When they're worth having, and when they know what's good for them, they _do_. I promise."

Yang weaved her fingers into his fur. "So should I go after her?" she asked weakly.

"Your call," Zwei said, "but I don't think so. You've spent enough time chasing her. It's time she learn to come home for herself."

Yang closed her eyes. "Then what?" she asked.

Zwei curled in close. "Who do you want to be?" he asked.

She thought about it until, like a thief in the night, sleep came and took her thoughts away.

 **44.12**

Ozpin blinked his eyes, the world snapping from the strange and confusing image of a barn to a new sight. A window, looking out to a forest. Ozpin rose, a sharp bout of weakness striking him before subsiding. Old age, he noted.

To his personal shame confusion took him before the laughter. He had not personally lived this before, but he could recognize the tale. He was playing the part of the Wizard, within the Story of the Seasons.

A smile slipped onto his lips as he looked out, and saw a young woman, dressed in a blue gown and white traveling cloak, tranquilly resting beneath his tree. Her demeanor was different, more balanced and simple. The original Winter.

She glanced at Ozpin, quite unaware of his knowing of her. He cleared his throat to play the part. "Hello. What are you doing underneath my tree?"

Winter turned to him, a smile in her red eyes. "I am on a journey, and am waiting here for my sisters." And she turned away, and returned to her peaceful silence.

Ozpin nodded, tracing a small line on the dust of his window sill. If memory served... he yawned, his memory not quite catching up to him. He didn't mind though, as watching Winter just left him so tranquil, and at peace.

"Hehehe."

Ozpin opened his eyes again, looking out to see that the number of young women visiting his little cottage had doubled. Winter's sister, wearing green beneath her red hood had arrived. "Now what is the meaning of this," he called cheerfully to the two girls.

The newcomer stood up, a lovely and vital light in her red eyes. "My name is Spring, and I am on a journey. I am waiting for my sisters."

It was script, but it was a good script. Ozpin nodded and smiled. "Then wait as you please, though I have nothing to give you."

"It is no worry," Spring said, the beauty of her smile growing to an incredible proportion. "You are giving us your hospitality, let me be the one to repay it."

Reaching into her basket, Spring took a handful of seeds and spread them across Ozpin's garden. I mere moments the leaves and bulbs and vines of new life sprouted from what had once been a pile of earth. What could be eaten and what was beautiful sprouted beside each other in the garden, and it brought a smile to Ozpin.

Laughter again distracted him, this time born from the arrival of yet another fair maiden. Ozpin stifled a laugh with the two sisters: Summer had crept up on him while Spring had done her work. "Excuse me, if I may ask, are you on a journey?"

"Of course," Summer said, her black coat fluttering and almost distracting from her red eyes. "I am Summer, and I am waiting for my sister."

Ozpin chuckled, having known of the answer long before the question had been asked. His chuckle was matched by Summer's though, and he knew what was to come next. "What I said so funny," he asked.

"Why, it is you good hermit. You are surrounded by such a beautiful world, and watch it from inside your cottage, when there is a door, right there."

Ozpin smiled and went to the door, stepping out into the wonderful sun. Summer twirled up to his and playfully tapped him, and he moved to tap her back. The game of tag was soon begun, with all four in the clearing to play.

The day turned along, the sun tracing it's path through the sky. The three maidens and the old wizard retired for the evening, collecting and cooking a great feast. As they sat down, and Ozpin looked upon the food and the girls with excitement and peace, they noticed a final girl standing beneath his tree. She wore a pale cape, to compliment her red eyes, with short auburn hair and almost golden clothing.

Ozpin knew the answer. "I do believe that you are on a journey, and have come here to meet your sisters."

"I am Fall," she said. "My sisters seem to be too talkative."

Winter grinned, and that was all Fall got out of her. Summer and Spring chuckled. Ozpin himself joined them. "They were a joy to have. Truly a lovely ensemble. But... they have raised in me a question."

The eldest of the maidens nodded gently. "Ask away, mister hermit, if I may ask you a question."

Ozpin looked upon the four sisters. For a moment his question caught in his throat, as he wondered to what his actions would cause. "Why me?"

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall looked upon each other, as if the comprehension they themselves lacked could be found within their sisters. Fall found the answer within herself though. "There is no reason. We give our help to whomever we meet. Not for someone who is special. But because we are able."

Ozpin looked at them. Ready, capable, and generous. And from himself, he drew his gift. His magic surged up, every once within him freed, and flowing from him to the young maidens, imbuing each. As the magic faded into the air Ozpin smiled. "Take this gift, and know now that you are able to do so much more."

The four sisters were silent, and in this silence did Ozpin notice the light tramping of feet, before silence again. Fall turned, looked underneath the tree of the wizard, and turned to Ozpin. "It seems that our mother has arrived."

Salem caressed the branch of Ozpin's tree, the leaves withering away into nothingness. "Dear Wizard, if I may... did you believe your gifts could not remain apart from me forever? That what follows me will not reclaim my right."

From the maidens her magic flowed, into the grasp of Salem. Ozpin raised his hand, but nothing came to his grasp. His magic was gone, returned to the Witch. "...N-no."

The tree rotted, collapsing and snapping back to health before collapsing and snapping back to health before collapsing and snapping back to health as Salem walked towards Ozpin. Winter in her White, Spring in her Red, Summer in her Black and Fall in her Pale, behind the Witch. Salem grinned with her Maidens of Apocalpyse, as the river beyond Ozpin's cottage surged up. "This power will always come to me Ozpin."

The water slammed into all that Ozpin had to his name and all that loved him, and washed it away.

...

Ozpin jerked.

The world was blurred, irregular. Groping blindly the man discovered his glasses and slipped them on, rising from his bed. Pants and shirt came to him from his closet, and dressed he took up his cane and left his bedroom.

The halls of Beacon were desolate this late at night, empty of the lively youth that ran roughshod through his longtime home. The Wizard walked the halls anyway, a phantom and man, whole with and apart from the world he had built to destroy Salem. It all felt so empty now.

A woman in a red nightgown was seated on the floor against the wall. Ozpin stopped at her side and laid himself to rest next to her. "Bad dreams?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Cinder murmured. "Yourself?"

"Bad dreams of things to come... or not." Ozpin shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not that I can see the future. I don't think."

"I don't think you can," Cinder said. "Otherwise you'd always be worried."

"So I would, I imagine." Ozpin leaned over, letting Cinder rest her head on him. "As it is though, I'd suffer fear for certainty. Still no word as to whether or not I'm the Wizard... or at least nothing conclusive."

"Are you dead?"

"Find the body, then we'll talk."

Ozpin yawned. Cinder yawned with him. "Cinder?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being you."

"Kay."

"Night."

"Night."

 **44.13 Masterweaver**

Blake let a firm, stern glare sweep across her fellow loopers, lingering very particularly long on Yang-who held up her paws in a placating gesture. "Nothing from me, I swear."

"Well, if Yang can hold it," Weiss admitted, "the rest of us can too."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, we'll just wait out the loop, right guys?"

The members of team JNPR all murmured agreement, although Nora and Ren looked particularly put out.

Blake adjusted her stance, crossing her arms, and let silence descend...

...for all of twelve seconds, before a smirk formed on her face.

"Are you blind when you're born?" she asked. "Can you see in the dark? Dare you look at a king? Would you sit on his throne?"

The others all stared at her, smiles growing on their own faces as the lilts and tilts of her voice registered.

 _"Can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark?"_ Blake sang. _"Are you cock of the walk when you're walking alone?"_

This once, she allowed it. There wouldn't likely be a chance like this again in a million loops, and while she generally had a distaste for tasteless jokes, sometimes she had to share something special with her friends and family.

After all, jellicle songs for jellicle cats were culture in their own way.

 **44.14 Masterweaver**

"...Jaune?"

"Yeah Yang?"

"Do you still sleep in that onesie? You know, the one you wore to the baseline... sleepover back when we first came to Beacon?"

"...yeeeeeeeessssss. Yes. It's comfy."

"Ooookay then."

"Why? What is it?"

"...You're going to think I have a really, really dirty mind."

"Yang, I already think you have a dirty mind. Heck, you're mind's so dirty it's picked up a disease-ridden rodent."

"Ha! Ha, that's a good one. I could use that the next time that pink bastard shows up in my dreams."

"Glad to oblige. But, seriously, what's the question?"

"It's... it's just... Logistics, Jaune!"

"Logistics."

"I mean, you and Pyrrha are married now, and... uh... you've put the sock on the door a couple of times, so-"

"Oh! Oh. OH. No, no no. I can see how that would be a problem, if we were, you know, uh, sleeping right after, but..."

"But?"

"But, um. Okay, we don't actually... in the evening. Because, it turns out, we get more privacy in midday where everyone is out and doing school stuff. And, it's more... exercise."

"Fun exercise."

"Oh, yes, very, but it's like... it's like, you know, not the capstone to the date, not a big romantic gesture-it's a gesture of trust, yeah, but for us it's more about... keeping the body and soul tip-top then saying 'I love you.'"

"Really?"

"We say I love you in a lot of other ways, you see."

"Oh, yes, I couldn't help but notice. Um. That..."

"What?"

"Well, now I'm wondering about the logistics of you two doing it in armor-"

"Subspace pocket, Yang."

"Well yeah, that's the easy-you know what? I'm going to design you two some lingerie."

"What?"

"For both of you."

"That's... that's really not-"

"Hey, you said it yourself, I have a mind dirty enough to be infested by pests. Besides, I'm bored and... Blake's not Awake this loop, so..."

"...you want Blake to wear cat-themed lingerie."

"Not _just_ cat themed! I don't associate her with just cats! She's got, you know, the, the... whole golden eyes! Yeah! Golden lingerie, and, uh, I could wear black since it's her color theme, right?"

"Are we seriously discussing the design of lingerie?"

"Yes."

"...In that case, you may want to talk with Ren, I've seen his sketchbook and he's surprisingly good with lace..."

 **44.15 Masterweaver**

"Hey, Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah Ruby?"

"I've noticed a bit of fluctuation in your unawake self's semblance."

"Yeah? Noticed some loop variable stuff myself."

"Oh, good, it _isn't_ just me. So, uh, do you turn into a crow, or, like, summon a crow and see through its eyes, or...?"

"Actually, this loop, I make a really mean pie."

"...huh."

"Yeah, I don't get it either."

"Actually, I think I do. Karaoke night should be interesting."

"What?"

 **44.16 Masterweaver**

"...and given that my primary taste-tester has decided to drop alcohol, I figured I'd just turn this into a straight up cafe joint." Roman gestured around the counter. "We're still going to serve booze, mind. It's just not our primary thing."

Qrow nodded. "Gotta respect the customer base. And it's not like I've dropped it. Just trying to pull myself back."

"Right, since Winter's dear old mum has no self control."

"We don't know that. It happens, but-"

Roman held up a gloved hand. "No need to tell me about it, I've seen the hub backups."

"...right." Qrow slipped onto a stool, letting his eyes wander over to a collection of kitschy items decorating the wall. "You know, the loops make it hard to keep a secret."

"Hey, you and I both hid from the other loopers for a while."

"Yeah, but... hub backups. Out of loop abilities. Heck, just straight up replacing somebody else." Qrow reached out, absently taking the glass Roman handed him. "Things that in baseline would never see the light of day, well, they just get spread about."

He took a sip-before coughing and staring at the cup in his hand. "What is this swill?"

"Tried mixing some chocolate into some orange juice, with a touch of gravity dust."

"...I have no idea what goes through your head sometimes."

"Oh, you know. This and that. Say, speaking of hub backups..." Roman rested his chin in his hand. "Heard you finally met your sister."

"Yeah." Qrow absently took another swig, face contorting briefly at the taste. "Ugh. Ruby might like this, I dunno. Anyway, yeah. Got face time with Raven." He shook his head. "She's... a real piece of work."

"The whole Xion thing, yeah." Roman paused. "Or is it Shione?"

Roman shrugged. "Hell if I know, the exact spelling's loop variable."

"I guess Raven really did a number on the place."

Qrow almost took a sip, before looking down at his glass suspiciously. "You know," he said as he put it on the bar, "Yang's basically disowned her. Her own daughter, doesn't want anything to do with her, especially not after this thing came up. JNPR hates her guts, of course, and Ruby... I don't know about Ruby, I can't see her really hating anyone, even Grimm, she's probably sneaking off in lonely loops to watch her or something."

"Yeah, Neo saw the ep and said something on the lines of 'Is that why I was afraid of her?'" Roman rolled a hand. "She's gotten a few variants where she's an ex-raider herself, and the necklaces... mean something."

"Pipsqueak, a raider?" Qrow scratched his beard. "...Could see it, yeah. Me personally, I'm... I dunno. I mean she's my sister, but after what she's done..." He shrugged. "I'm not sure there's a looper on Remnant that would bother with her."

"I dunno, I might try picking her up."

Qrow frowned. "What?"

"Yeah, yeah, Shione was a tragedy, sure. So was the breach in Vale. We'd have something to talk about." Roman counted off his fingers. "Plus, you know, we're both thieves, we both lead large groups of criminals, and we both look drop-dead gorgeous. Really, the only difference is that I have class, and she has some fine knockers."

Something in the tone made Qrow narrow his eyes. "And how, exactly, would you know that?"

"Replaced Tiyang once or twice."

"...okay."

"Also took up joining with her after I split with Cinder."

"See, that's what I thought you were doing." Qrow pulled out his sword. "So you know-"

"Hey." Roman leaned back, Melodic Cludgel in his grip. "Thought you said you didn't like her."

"Doesn't mean I like the thought of you getting in her pants."

 **44.17 Masterweaver**

Yang and Blake were lying quietly on their bed, listening to the sounds from the other side of the retractable wall-they might intervene, but for now it seemed that Ruby had managed to get a hold on Weiss's rebelling plushie army.

"...Are we sure?"

"What?"

Blake snuggled closer to Yang. "Are we sure we're straight? In baseline, I mean."

Yang tilted her head. "Well, it's a scale, not-"

"No, no I mean... look. We can both agree Sun is hot, right?"

"As a star," Yang admitted. "It's the abs."

"Yes, but... it's just..." Blake sighed. "I'm... kind of repressed. You know. Baseline. Sort of."

"Moody and antisocial."

"Yes. And after Adam, I would have been... unwilling to reach out. Let alone experiment. But..."

She gave Yang a look. "After you told me that story about... you know. You saved me a dance, and... that was what got me to come out. It could have been a friendship thing, or..."

"...or it could have been latent attraction," Yang finished. She wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulder. "You know, I've thought about that too, about... what Adam said when he, uh. Attacked."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"I mean, I guess that's just me. I could swing both ways, in baseline, I guess." Blake frowned. "Or I could just be very emotional when my friends are hurt. I don't know."

"What about me?"

"Well... your baseline self did offer the dance, and... I know it's a little stereotypical to think of the thrillseeker as bi, but there's that 'I'll try anything once' mindset..."

"True, true."

"...I might be gayer then you overall, though."

"Really?"

"Do you still stare at the shirtless boys in the big beacon sleepover?"

Yang let out a breath, looking into Blake's eyes. "You know I wouldn't ever-"

Blake smirked, quirking an eyebrow.

"...Not as much," the blonde admitted. "It's just eye candy, now. And seriously, I wouldn't hurt you like that-"

"I know, I... I trust you."

"Good. Just making sure."

Blake frowned, tilting her ears forward. "Yang?"

"What?"

"...Yang."

The blonde pulled the cover more tightly over them. "I trust you, okay?"

"...This is about Sun, isn't it."

"I trust you!" Yang insisted. "I know that time on the boat isn't... I mean, I've seen how you interact with him when he reveals himself, and..."

"Yang." Blake kissed her nose gently. "It's okay to be afraid. I'm not going to get mad."

"...I trust _you_."

"But my baseline self...?"

Yang sagged. "It's hard. Look, I know we talked about, uh, how to talk with our selves when only one of us is Awake, and we avoid... usually avoid... getting involved. It's still hard."

"I know. Oh, don't I know."

"I know you know, but... throw in on top of that, like, me going out with..." She paused, considered. "I don't know. Um. Scarlet, maybe. You watching my unawake self getting it on with..."

"I can see how that can hurt." Blake moved in closer.

"It's stupid and wrong and... and I'm sorry, I just-"

"It's not stupid, it's not wrong. You feel a little jealous that my one-time date is sidling in after everything we've established. That's totally understandable."

"I guess..." Yang chuckled wryly. "You know, when we started this, I was the one keeping you together. Now you're the one keeping me from breaking."

"It goes both ways. We support _each other._ "

"Yeah, I... I guess it does."

The two of them smiled gently at each other for a moment or two.

Then there was a rapping on the wall. "GET DRESSED YOU TWO! THE ELEPHANT HAS ESCAPED AND IS WREAKING HAVOC IN THE CAFETERIA!"

"ALRIGHT RUBY!" Yang shrugged. "Duty calls."

"Why the elephant?" Blake mused. "Why is it always the elephant?"

 **44.18 Toskin**

I've got inspiration (more like stray thought) after reading X-COM: RWBY within and thought how would it look if baseline Yang could react on her other self undergoing MEC treatment.  
IMPORTANT: This is my first time _ever_ to do something like this it's maybe a bit inconsistent, not to mention my english is not best one. So, no pitchforks please.

"Weiss? "

"…"

"Weiss? "

"…"

"WEISS! "

Weiss sighed. After finding out Blake in this loop was born and raised in SDC mines (Weiss wasn't sure if it was curse or blessing that Blake was Unawake), she was determined to undergo company takeover. She had hands full of planning.

"What!? "

"Am I weird? "

Planning that was hard even without Yang constantly interrupting her with _stupid_ questions.

"Do you want it in alphabetical order or-"

"I mean it! Am I weird?"

Weiss looked at Yang and serious expression on her face. She frowned.

"Can you elaborate that? There are many answers for your question."

"It's just…" now it was Yang's turn to sigh. "I just went through really strange X-COM fused loop" she elaborated. "According to my in-loop memories, we were sucked in strange portal-"

"Don't tell me Ruby-"

"No!" Yang shook her head frantically. "It was my fault. I thought it was one of mother's portals. Anyway, we ended on Earth and because they were unable to send us back at that time, we decided to help them…"

Weiss was really irritated at this point. "Your point? Or you'll talk about every little thing?"

Another sigh. "My point is, I Awoke just after one… pretty bad mission."

"How bad?"

"Only-our-team-survived bad"

Weiss sucked breath through her teeth. She could only imagine how devastating that could be for them and Ruby especially.

"Blake was poisoned pretty badly and they had to cut her limbs off to enable her Aura heal hole in her gut, and hen give her prosthesis. And… I undergo same treatment."

 _That_ stopped Weiss in her tracks. "WHY!?" she almost yelled.

"Apparently, because of friendship and also because, and I quote: 'I like it. I'd undergo MEC treatment, but only if Blake would do the same.' It seems… strange to me to do that."

"It's because of… that?" asked Weiss and pointed to her (luckily still original) arm.

Yang nodded. "It's just… It was practically baseline me! Yes, I did it because of Blake," Yang blushed at that, "but now, after all these expansions, after all that trauma, I can't just imagine why would I voluntarily give up parts of myself."

Weiss nodded. Now she had just right idea about what's happening in her teammate's head. She smiled.

"Key word is 'voluntarily', Yang. I guess all that happened before festival?" Yang nodded. "Then it's normal you took the opportunity when you saw it. You thought it was good idea. I don't think 'let fanatical White Fang leader chop my arm off' was on your bucket list, right?" Another nod. "So, no. You are not weird just because you embraced something before knowing future. Do you feel better now?"

Yang smiled and nodded. "Thanks Weiss. You really helped me there."

Weiss returned her smile and went back to her planning. Then stray thought entered her brain.

"Were they good?"

"What?" Yang asked, not understanding her question.

"These robo-limbs. Were they good?"

"Oh, that," Yang nodded. "Well, basic ones were unusable in fight, they were not durable enough, but after some upgrades derived from Penny's code, we were able to get new ones, similar to that one from Atlas. They were… satisfactory" Yang smiled vengefully.

"How so?" Weiss asked.

"Well…," Yang drawled, "Let's just say Adam was _so_ surprised that plopping my arm off didn't even slow me down, that I was able to plant one nice punch into his Man's Pride."

Weiss laughed when she imagined that. _'One thing is sure,'_ she thought. _'We totally have to tell this to Blake, when she'll be Awake.'_

 **44.19 GammaTron**

"OW!" Yang yelped.

"Wh-What was that?!" Grif laughed.

"S-She just slapped herself in the face and her...b...her bo..." Ruby laughed, unable to finish her sentence.

"This is why I said we should've started with arms held to the sides," Simmons shook her his.

"Where did you even get this game?" Cinder asked as she looked at the little red and white robot, walking in with a tray of snacks.

"It's called UNO Roboto," Simmons explained, "Thought it'd be something to do besides standing and talking here."

"And why did Yang slap herself in the face?" Cinder asked, looking at her 'sister' who was rubbing where she slapped herself in the face.

"She and Ruby had to touch their elbow, but Yang tried to be faster and ended up smacking herself in the face when she slapped her elbow," Grif replied as Yang took two cards from the deck on top of the robot and pushed down on the deck.

"S-She also slapped herself in the bo...the boo...AHAHAHAHA!" Ruby laughed as she played a red '2' on the red '4' before doing the same motion on the robot as Yang.

=Grif= the robot said in a squeaky version of Grif's voice before turning into an adorable squeaky robot voice =Change the name of= a squeaky Yang voice came =Queen Bumblebee=

"..." Grif slowly looked at Yang.

"...What are you thinking?" Yang questioned.

"..." Grif picked up the robot and pressed the red button down, "...Boob Slapper."

"?!" Yang's eyes widened as Ruby cracked up.

"What did you just say?" Cinder questioned.

=Boob Slapper= the squeaky Grif voice went from the Robot before saying in Ruby's voice in a squeaky version =Lady Rose= then went back to the normal voice =It's your turn to play=

"..." everyone just looked at Ruby, who had fallen off the side of Red Base and was kicking her legs in the air, cackling like mad in laughter.

"I-I'm gonna pee my armor!" Ruby exclaimed between laughs, "B-Boob Slapper!"

"...You are _sooo_ gonna get it later," Yang glowered at her laughing brother, who was given a high five by Cinder.

"I might as well take Ruby's place, considering she's unable to due to laughter," Cinder noted, "Who's after me?"

"Boob Slapper," Grif snorted a laugh.

"..." Cinder picked up Ruby's hand and saw no more red cards, "Well..." she put a Wild Draw +4 on the pile, "Slap 'em, Boob."

Yang gawked at Cinder in disbelief while Grif and Simmons soon joined Ruby in laughter, the girl of the three starting to lose her breath from laughing too hard.

 _'And that was for the horrible pun you did with my name last Loop,'_ Cinder smirked.

 **44.20 LithosMaitreya**

It was in the little things.

When Pyrrha returned to Team JNPR's dorm after a long day hunting Grimm with Ruby and Jaune while Nora, Ren, and Weiss went to Vale and Blake and Yang... kept themselves entertained in their room, it was to find their two other teammates fast asleep. Nora snored audibly as she lay sprawled among strewn covers, while Ren was more stately, laying perfectly still in repose, his covers bunched around his waist.

"Good night, you two," Ruby whispered, giving them both a hug and leaving for her own room.

Pyrrha smiled as she closed the door softly behind her. Jaune yawned, but held his hand before his mouth and carefully made no noise. He met her eyes and jerked his head towards Ren.

She smiled gratefully at him and crossed silently over to their son, gently taking the bunched covers of his bed in her hands without touching him and risking his waking. She pulled them up slowly, gently, until they rested snugly over his upper chest.

Her hand lingered over the young man for a time before she stood up and looked over at her husband, who was basically bodily forcing the snoring Nora under her own blankets. She was impossible to wake, unlike Ren, but she was also impossible to get to lie in any sane way.

Pyrrha crossed to the closet and opened the well-greased dresser without noise, pulling out her nightclothes.

"You could change here," Jaune said in a low, barely-audible whisper as he drew abreast of her and rummaged for his own onesie.

She winked at him. "Not with the children in the room," she chided gently. "I'll be right back."

She carefully opened, passed through, and closed the bathroom door without a sound. She quickly stripped out of her armor, Pocketing each piece as she left it, and slid into the conservative red nightgown she wore while sharing a room with the whole of JNPR. (The tiny, frilly, gold-and-red thing Yang had designed— _possibly_ with Rarity's help, although neither brawler nor pony had ever admitted to as much—was reserved for times when Pyrrha and Jaune had a room entirely to themselves. Or a forest floor. Or a broom closet. Or a roof, on occasion. Yum.)

With that task done, she set herself before the sink, carefully put Nora's toiletries back into their proper places so the girl could find them tomorrow, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and slipped back out of the bathroom.

Jaune passed her on his way in, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as he did. She smiled as she padded around the pushed-together double-bed on the near side of the room and carefully, noiselessly pulled back the covers before laying down under them.

She turned in the bed, fluffed her pillow, and lay back on it. She was just closing her eyes when she heard the almost-soundless click of the bathroom door opening. Her green eyes followed Jaune as he slipped into bed beside her.

She sidled close to him, tucking her head into the bowl of his shoulder even as he welcomed her with an arm around her waist. She smiled.

"Good night, Jaune," she whispered.

"Good night, Pyrrha," he replied in similar hushed tones.

She smiled and turned her head to look at the two beds past her. The last thing she saw as her eyes drifted shut was the gentle rise and fall of her son's chest as he slept deep and dreamlessly.

It was in the little things. But then, it always is.

 **44.21 Masterweaver**

"So why are you using a razor?" Weiss asked idly, baring her teeth and carefully examining her reflection. "You could just burn the hair off."

Yang gave a brief hum of amusement as she worked the blade up her leg. "My semblance counts this as a hit. It's not much, but it's a good morning charging ritual."

"Makes sense." Weiss pulled some floss from the dispenser and carefully worked something out.

Blake threw her a wry smile. "Come on, Weiss, you're not going to get bad breath from a sliver of apple skin between your teeth."

"Presenting the best self I can is an ingrained habit by now," admitted the heiress.

"Seems a waste of effort."

Yang chuckled. "You're one to talk, tuna breath. _OW!"  
_  
"Oooo, sorry," Blake tutted unapologetically as she resumed brushing Yang's hair. "There was a knot there. Really thick one."

There was a click behind them, followed shortly by a strange buzz as a pillar of red oscillated and sprayed water like a wet dog. It flowed out the glass door, gathering into a bathrobe, and coalesced into their leader.

"Shower's open."

"Give me a minute," Weiss said, working her floss around another tooth.

"Hey, if you're a bunch of chibi rubies, why can't you just shift yourself some clothes or something?" Yang asked.

"Reasons," Ruby replied succinctly. "Plus, actually putting on clothes makes me feel human, you know?"

"Gotcha."

"I'll be out on the range when you're done." With a wave, Ruby left the bathroom.

Yang flicked her razor into a cup, glancing behind her. "Almost done?"

"Just... there." Blake nodded, pulling back the brush. "Looks good from this angle.

"Alright, turn around." Yang took the brush from Blake.

Weiss pulled the floss from her mouth and cleared her throat. "...Do, re, mi, fa-faaaa... ugh, Blake?"

"Two spritzes," Blake suggested, her mouth twitching upward as Yang started on her hair.

Weiss nodded, taking a small bottle and spraying inside her mouth. "Ahem. Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do!"

Yang paused in her brushing long enough to give a polite clap. "Well done, amazing, incredible, encore encore!"

"Yes, yes, thank you, thank you." Weiss gave an ironic little bow before she stepped into the shower, Unpocketing four separate bottles.

"Do you really need that many conditioners?" Blake asked.

"You know how long it took Yang to wash her hair?" Weiss pointed at the girl with the brush. "She's blonde. This is pure white. Five times as hard to keep looking good."

"Yeah, kitty, not all of us can lick ourselves clean."

"That's loop variable and you know it."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "TMI, ladies." She shut the shower door and coated the glass with a light frost, obscuring her from view, before she tossed her bathrobe out onto the hook.

"Hey, does anybody know why the shower doors aren't solid this loop?" Blake asked. "Like, for privacy or whatever?"

Yang continued running the brush through her hair contemplatively. "Ostensibly, it's so teams can build up their camaraderie by seeing each other vulnerable, or something like that. Personally I think the choice was more along the lines of 'if the best huntsmen and huntresses see each other naked they'll fall for each other and their kids will be even better huntsmen and huntresses.'"

"If that's the case, it certainly worked with Taiyang," Weiss's voice came from the shower.

"Yep." Yang held up the brush. "Blake, I'm going to work on your ear fur now. Is that okay?"

 _"Yes,_ Yang, I've told you before it's fine."

Weiss groaned. "This isn't one of those loops where your ears are easily stimulated, is it?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "It doesn't work like that and you know it!"

The door to the shower opened just a smidge, a river of drenched white hair sticking out. "Look, all I-" With a huff, Weiss blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. "-all I'm saying is, if you're going to do something like that, please don't do it here. This room is for getting clean, not getting dirty."

"Clean room, food room, sleep room..." Yang gently began to work on Blake's ears. "You know, maybe Weiss's first language wasn't english? That could explain the whole 'noun room' habit."

"Oh, shut up." Weiss pulled her head back into the shower and shut the door.

 **44.22 Masterweaver**

"...Okay. Jaune, Pyrrha." Nora put her hands on her hips. "Team talk time."

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a look, sitting down on their pushed-together beds.

Ren cleared his throat. "Ever since we were made a team, you've been... acting oddly."

"Which isn't a problem at all," Nora added. "I'm a fan of odd acting. I've acted odd all my life. If you were just acting odd, we'd be okay with it."

"But...?" Jaune prompted.

Ren sighed. "It's... the _things_ you do. Pyrrha, you... always ask where we're going whenever we leave the dorm."

"And Jaune, you seem to..." Nora shrugged. "I don't know, check to make sure we're eating right."

"You also joined in my training regimen, and helped in a very, ah... how shall I put this... friendly? Friendly. Friendly manner."

"And you, whenever I say I'm heading to an arcade or a dance club, you drop everything to come along."

"Jaune, I've seen you lead Nora to correct answers on her homework, encourage her when she's feeling... less then intelligent."

"I wasn't sure at first, but... Pyrrha, you're... you're tucking Ren in at night! What's up with that?!"

Pyrrha cleared her throat. "Are you... uncomfortable with how we've been acting?"

"No," Ren assured her.

"Definitely not," Nora agreed.

"It's actually quite nice," Ren explained.

"It shows you care about us," Nora added.

"It's just... you're acting like you're our parents."

"Not that we have parents, they... died. But you know..."

"What we're wondering, if it's alright to ask, is... why you've chosen to act like this?"

Jaune and Pyrrha shared another, longer look.

"...I have seven sisters, I guess some of the paternal instinct rubbed off," Jaune offered.

Nora nodded. "Okay. And what about you Pyrrha?"

"I... hmm." Pyrrha paused, before giving Jaune an apologetic look. "I've got nothing."

"You really think we should-"

"Do you think we could hide it from them?"

"Some of it, yeah."

Ren frowned. "Hide what?"

Pyrrha took a breath, reached beneath the bed, and produced a ring, which she put on. Jaune looked at it, sighed, and mimicked the action himself.

"...Wait." Nora pointed at the rings. "Are those-"

"Wedding rings. Yes." Jaune put an arm around Pyrrha. "We're married."

"It was... an interesting ceremony. But it was very fun."

Ren blinked. "...Well... we're happy for you, of course, but... what exactly does that have to do with how you've treated us?"

"We wanted..." Jaune frowned. "No. You _do_ deserve to know."

"It's a lot to unpack." Pyrrha glanced at the clock. "...do we have the time?"

"We'll make the time."

And so, Ren and Nora sat, and listened, as their teammates slowly wove a fantastic story of broken trees, temporal recursions, and a family that formed from the pressure of absence.

 **44.23 Masterweaver**

Yet another deadly dance with Neopolitan, Yang mused as she fought. Whether or not she won or lost-the choice was hers, yes. If she won, Raven usually came around to beat up Adam-something she and Blake had taken full advantage of on occasion.

Or she didn't come at all. It didn't bother her anymore... well, not as much, anyway.

But uncle Qrow had mentioned something was different about Raven this loop. A variant, he said, regarding how she ran the raiders. He'd been cryptic enough to pique her curiosity.

Yang mentally checked the time. She could still choose to win, or to lose. And it wasn't as if she cared about Raven anymore. But...

...well, loopers get bored.

With a mental shrug, she let herself fall, calmly watching Neo stalk over to her and raise her blade, only to jump back at a red portal forming from nowhere. And, as always, out strode Raven, wielding a blade and wearing a nevermore mask...

...and a slate-gray three-piece suit and tie.

Yang stared, even as Neo ran, even as Raven handed her a reciept, and didn't get up until the woman was gone.

"...seriously. That's it?" Yang looked at the paper in her hands. "M.A.C.? Mistral Acquisition Company-that's the variant? That you're corporate?" She sighed. "What a let-down!"

 **44.24 Masterweaver**

Penny crossed her arms. "Yang."

"What?"

"Can you not?"

The blonde looked at her scroll, then back up. "I... I don't-"

"Check your network."

"Okay? Let me just-Oh. CuteRobotM374. That's you, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Sorry." Yang tapped the screen. "Got the password off an unawake version of you, didn't realize my scroll would autoconnect afterward. My bad."

"Well, thanks for stopping."

"...you didn't see-"

"I saw all of it, Yang. It all passed through my head."

"Oh."

"...so do you want to tell me why you were looking at pictures of fudge covered-"

"Let's-let's just keep this between us, okay?!"

 **44.25 Masterweaver**

Qrow let his head beat against the doorframe.

"So." Blake frowned. "Faunus."

"...snake, specifically."

"Huh. Thought you'd end up as a crow. Puns and all."

"Yeah, I do sometimes. And other times, I end up as something..." Qrow shuddered. "Scaly."

Blake crossed her arms and leaned against a wall. "Speaking both as a Faunus activist and somebody whose girlfriend is, on occasion, a dragon, I feel I should take offense to your distaste."

"Look, I don't know if it's baseline, but back when I was with the raiders I swear I saw somebody regenerate their tail. Scales and all. I was _eight!"_

Blake grinned. "Never thought I'd see the great Qrow Branwen brought low by _herpetophobia."  
_  
Qrow simply went back to banging his head on the doorframe.

 **44.26 Masterweaver, WirelessGrapes**

"Okey doke!" Ruby held up a hand. "Rules are simple: We each throw down a photo, and once we've all done that we all vote for somebody else's picture as weirdest. Whoever gets the most votes wins the pot. Everyone got it?"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Let's start off with an image that needs NO explanation!" With a flourish, Ruby tossed down a picture of a lagomorph gynoid in a bikini, surfing on a wave of chibi-rubies with a board that looked as though it was made of one large cookie, while a starship glinted in the sky behind her. "Just ordinary Pocket shenanigans. Next!"

Weiss considered her fanned selection of pictures, carefully weighing the merits of each one before pulling one out and tossing it down. On it, Qrow was on a stage in a full burlesque dress, performing alongside Penny and Zwei, both dressed similarly. "This one was from when I was trying to figure out what it took to overcome Ozpin's love of coffee and get him to perform a spit take. Qrow said it felt oddly natural, but I never knew what he meant until the latest expansion."

"It's Zwei that sells it," mused Jaune. "Qrow in drag is old news, even before that, but throwing in the dog in the dress, that gives it just enough weirdness."

"True, true." Weiss nodded. "Okay, you have an offering?"

The blonde boy nodded, producing a photograph of a massive, glowing octopus spiraling out of a tye-dye ocean; a tiny cat with a grim expression and flanked by two battle-scarred young women with tentacle hair pointed what looked to be a hoover-style vacuum cleaner at the beast.

"Let me guess," Blake deadpanned. "Splatoon variant."

"The Octarian war didn't end when it was supposed to," Jaune confirmed. "Something about an ancient relic."

"How'd you get this picture?!" Ruby demanded.

"It was an after-the-fact memory extraction. That's legal, right?"

"...I _guess..._ "

Pyrrha held her chin up smugly, grasping a photo in her hand, "I do believe I have the oddest photograph," palming the paper against the table.

The rest of the group peered over Pyrrha's entry.

Her husband looked up, "Is-is that the Empire State Building?"

Pyrrha nodded, smiling, "Yep!"

Ruby looked up next, "Why do you have tentacles?"

Pyrrha waved her off, "Oh, you know, I stole them from someone."

Nora looked up last, "And why are you dangling Jaune by his ankle?"

Pyrrha's face hit full smugness as she leaned back in her chair, "Now, _that_ , is a long story."

Zwei casually tossed a picture onto the table as he walked by, then kept going.

Yang winced as she took a look at it. "Ooh, Zwei's one dog performance of 'The King In Yellow' in a chibi loop, when Ruby let him write the play she usually does."

Weiss blinked slowly, then tilted the picture right side up from her perspective. "I don't remember that one..."

Nora shrugged. "Eh, it was a noble attempt, but I'm _pretty_ sure acting out his lines with charades or pictionary or something would have been weirder than the word balloons on strings that he used. Still not sure why he decided to go that route."

 **44.27 Masterweaver**

The room felt larger, now, even though she knew intellectually it actually had _less_ floorspace. Most likely it could be attributed to the sterile atmosphere-the clutter of everything not specifically dealing with the room's purpose had been moved outside, to other areas. Still, what was once uncomfortable has become simply routine now; she felt no unease as she lay on the bed, even as the light above descended and flashed.

 _"Scanning..."_ The light swept a beam over her body, once, twice, thrice. _"Scan completed. Thirteen deviations from standard."_ A screen popped out from the headrest, showing a rotating wireframe at the left and a bulleted list at the right.

"Hmmm. Okay... that again... Ugh. Why? Mmmn. Alright." Her fingers reached up and tapped five of the points on the list, before sliding the screen back.

 _"Selected alterations confirmed. Methodology being generated. Methodology generated."_ The screen flipped back out. _"Please confirm when ready."_

She looked at the screen, nodding to herself. "Nothing here seems unusual..." With a shrug, she slid out from under the light, taking off her clothes and carefully hanging them on the ready hanger before slipping back onto the bed. Only then did she shove the screen into the headrest.

As soon as she did, the metal arms on the walls sprung to life. Thin beams of focused light cut through her skin, splitting it into sections that were peeled off by delicate claws and tossed into a cylindrical object. Two scissors on long, thin arms reached into her silver skull, snipping delicately around her eye sockets as a welding torch delicatly rotated around her nose. A thick, padded gripper tugged out a chain of chambers from her gut; pointed screwdrivers removed a certain section as a pincer reached for a device on a nearby shelf.

The pincer was joined by another, which grabbed the removed part of the chain and placed it in a small box. The screwdrivers started in on inserting the device that had been retrieved, while suction cups liberated her eyeballs from their sockets. Another device, this one with wires, was woven into her face, tiny fingers connecting the object to her CPU as the padded gripper carfully reoriented itself and placed the chaine of chambers back in her skinless stomach. A new pair of eyes, with thicker wires, was slid into her blind skull.

Even as the eyes were connected and attached, the padded gripper took firm hold of her body, the bed descending into the ground. Claws peeled the skin off her back, tossing it into the cylinder while the welding torch worked on her nose. A single, specially designed spike moved beneath her, oriented itself, and slid between her shoulders; with a click and a twist it remained in place, even as the arm holding it retracted. Finally, an empty pink thing was pulled off a hanger, slowly wrapped around her form as the same beams used to cut her old skin off now melted shut the seams in her new one. Careful linkages by tiny claws, and a brief test of sensation, and the arms retracted from her.

 _"Conversion complete. All systems functional. Construction on replacement devices in progress, full stock anticipated in -Seven- subjective years."_

She opened her eyes, sitting up in the bed with a mild stretch and a yawn. "Oooooh. Well, I don't think we'll have a variant this different in that time. Mmmmm. Any reports from the other programs?"

 _"The Dust/Element Zero interaction tests have been compiled and are ready for review. The Anonymous Pyrrha Present should be complete before the end of the loop."_

"Transfer the details to my scroll." Standing up, she took her clothes and put them on again. "And... thanks for doing this."

 _"You are welcome, miss Polendina. Have a good loop."_

 **44.28 LithosMaitreya**

Adam turned at the sound of the tent-flap opening. A little slip of a girl sidled in, gently closing the fabric passage behind her.

Adam gripped Wilt spasmodically. "Who are you?" he growled. "How did you get past the sentries, _human_?"

The girl looked up at him mutely, her dark, crimson-tipped hair hooding her silver eyes more surely than the red cloak about her shoulders. "I'm lonely," she said, her voice soft and without inflection. "So I thought I'd try something new."

Adam's grip shifted. "And what did you think to try, little girl?" he asked darkly. "Suicide?"

The girl smiled slightly. "My name's Ruby Rose," she introduced. "I'm Blake's team leader."

Adam's eyes sharpened. "You shouldn't have come here."

Ruby shook her head. "You can't hurt me," she said frankly, "and I'm not going to hurt you, or yours. I just want to talk." She withdrew something from behind her back and unfolded it into an eight-foot instrument of death, before setting it down on the ground beside her gently. "I'm not here to fight," she said firmly. "Humor me?"

Adam growled at her. "And why should I not strike you down where you stand?"

Ruby shrugged. "Because I'm no threat to you? Because some part of you wants to hear what I have to say? Because you can't, anyway? Take your pick."

Adam's fingers tightened around Wilt. "The blonde," he said coldly. "The one who intervened between me and Blake. Is she also on your team?"

Ruby nodded, a smile gracing her lips. "That's my sister," she said. "Yang. And don't worry," her eyes flashed, "one day, you'll pay for what you did to her. But that's not why I'm here now."

Adam cocked his head. "Does Blake know you're here?" he asked.

"Nope," Ruby said. "You don't get to hurt her by killing me. She'd never know it was you."

Adam bared his teeth. "You won't be leaving this place," he said grimly. "I can't allow you to give away our location."

Ruby shrugged. "Can we talk before the inevitable fight, then?"

Adam snorted. "What about, human?"

"What was Blake to you?" Ruby asked, then shook her head. "No, stupid question, that's variable. Do _you_ understand why she left?"

"She was weak!" Adam snapped. "Like you, I assume, if you're her leader!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "That's not a no," she said.

"This conversation is over!" Adam said, and struck.

-

Adam started into wakefulness. His head hurt as a result of sustained blood flow. He was hanging upside-down by his ankles.

Ruby Rose was looking into his eyes when he opened them. "And now the conversation starts again," she said merrily. "All right. Why _did_ you stay loyal to Cinder? I know she coerced you to start with, but you must have had an opportunity to stab her in the back? Maybe when she was packing you into bullheads alongside Grimm, you could've just said—no. Why didn't you?"

Adam glared at her through the mask still on his face and didn't reply.

"Silence isn't going to help you," Ruby said. "It's not like I'm asking for military secrets. I just want to understand you a little better, Adam."

"Why should I betray her?" he spat. "She wants what I want: for your human civilization to crumble to dust."

Ruby cocked her head. "How does that work?" she asked. "Say all four kingdoms are destroyed, right now. Say every human being up and dies in the next five minutes, and only the faunus are left. What do you do then?"

Adam blinked at her. "We build," he said coldly. "The Fang, victorious, would return to Menagerie, and our people would begin to build a civilization that would span all of the continents of Remnant."

Ruby considered him. "And the Grimm?" she asked. "When they, having lost all their other prey, converge in droves on Menagerie… what do you do then?"

He blinked. "The Grimm don't eat people," he said. "It's not like they need _prey_."

"No one knows _what_ they need," Ruby corrected him. "The fact remains, though—Grimm converge near people. What happens when you sequester all that's left of Remnant's people, a lot of them drunk on the bloodlust that follows genocide, on one continent?"

Adam swallowed. "We would manage," he said stiffly. "Secure our borders."

"And every year those borders shrink," Ruby sighed, looking away, "Until there's only one city, then half of one, then a few people in a boarded-up fortress, and then… nothing."

She met his eyes. "I sympathize," she said firmly. "Don't get me wrong. I hate what the SDC and the institutionalized racism mean for your people. But can't you see, Adam? Your road doesn't lead to you winning—it leads to _all of us losing_."

He bared his teeth. "Better that than another millennium of servitude," he growled.

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe," she said. "I couldn't say." She snapped her fingers and Adam tumbled to the ground. By the time he picked himself up, the little Huntress had vanished.

He looked around and found Wilt and Blush on a table beside him. He was in a barn of some kind, with hay strewn across the floor. The door was ajar, looking out on the Forever Fall forest.

He needed to get back to his people.

 **44.29 Masterweaver**

Yang beamed.

"No." Blake pointed at her. "NO. I know what you're thinking, and-Yang. No. No. Don't you even. Don't you even!"

Yang's smile grew, though she said nothing.

"No! You don't get to say anything! Not a word! Not this time!" Blake narrowed her eyes. "Just think about it, Yang! I'm not in the mood!"

"She's got a point," Ruby said. "Considering what Adam's like _normally,_ he has to have been worse this loop. Maybe don't push it."

"Alright, alright." Yang held up her hands. "It's really quite tempting, but hell hath no fury and all that. I might be a horny devil, but even if you're hotter than hades, I'll demon-strate no crooked ways."

For a moment there was dead silence.

Ruby, slowly, let her palm meet her face. Blake, for her part, simply gripped her pitchfork and allowed her eyes to blaze.

"Sorry, had to get one out." Yang knelt. "I fully accept any and all punishment for that."

"...Do you now?" Blake purred. "Well. I might not like the fact that Faunus are literally hellspawn this loop, but it does come with some... _interesting_ loop memories."

"Aaaaaaaaaaand that's my cue to get out of here," Ruby deadpanned.

 **44.30 KanameFujiwara**

Yang looked at her twin. Everything about her mirrored herself. Her hair, her weapon - even her 3 sizes. It was uncanny.

But there were differences.

Yang was Yellow. Yin was Black. Yang was an extrovert. Yin was an introvert.

Yin is essentially Yang on opposite day.

"...So not only are you dating your own mother - you're also dating your opposite self! Incest must be a relative concept in your family."

Yang winced at the words of the pink rodent. This was going to be an awkward loop...

 **44.31 BIOS-Pherecydes**

Neo observed the subject behind the glass indifferently, ignoring the high-pitched scream that attempted to crawl inside her head. The newest culture was growing well she noted, it had bypassed the previous record survival rate by a full three days so far and showed no signs of the explosive breakdown which had felled it's predecessors. The psychotomimetic properties however were too crude and ill-refined. It was a step in the right direction however. Once she obscured it's conspicousness she could begin fine-tuning the specific effects she wanted it to emit. The final product would go on to join her other successes.

Unconsciously her fingers tightened around the clipboard where her observations had been noted in flawless calligraphy. Most of her research revolved, as always, around enjoying herself and improving her lot in life; the fact that in a roundabout manner her advancements also served as a way to help others as well was an ultimately irrelevant bonus. She had figured out ways to create Grimm of her own and even implant their strengths into herself to various degrees, up to the point where the presence of her Soul prevented further advancement. On her own, she could exterminate Mankind's greatest threat with the press of a button and her own designer viral agents; custom made to turn the Grimm's strength's against them. She wasn't a fighter, she was a scientist; though the one did not preclude the other.

But the fruit of her studies, and even the original impetus for them, was as it had always been. The penultimate destruction of the one who had taken the only person she truly cared about away from her. Loopers, as a whole, tended to be very entrenched in their ways. It allowed them to maintain their personalities and sanity amidst an eternity that was both stagnant and ever-changing, contradictory though the two concepts were. When they loved, they did so deeply; and when they hated, they did so fully. Grudges therefore, true absolute grudges and not the petty grievances which came and went, could hold forever.

This was the kind of black pit of fury which Neo had carefully cultivated over the eons. One which burnt with the coldness of the void itself, and was just as eternal. It wasn't even that Cinder had killed Roman, though that was technically the crux of the issue, it was that she had done so unintentionally. As an aside. Something that occurred in addition to her own goals, but not necessarily as a part of them. Like it didn't even matter.

If Cinder had actually planned it out, put in _any_ effort at all to see to Roman's doom, then ironically Neo would have been less furious than she was. Oh she'd still have beaten the ever-loving shit out of her for a few dozen years, she was much older (and thus more powerful) than her after all, but then she'd have been done with it and would have moved on. But the fact that Cinder hadn't even so much as raised an eyebrow at his death — and potentially hers as well, Baseline hadn't quite decided that detail; but that was beside the point — was what really drove the spur into her sides.

Forcing her grip to relax, she finished her rounds. The fungal spores were coming along nicely, they'd make for a traceless opioid/psychotropic that she could use to create a temporary locked-in syndrome with added delusions and suggestibility. That would go well with the Fear Toxin and directed subsonics, a few Mockingjays programmed with the right phrases for maximum effect, and she should be able to induce carefully crafted nightmares at will. A surge of anger built up in her chest, and this time she accidentally broke the noteboard.

Except that Cinder was _already_ having nightmares! And not just from her early efforts either, though she was at least certain that those had been having some effect. No, whatever was going on with Cinder was happening of it's own accord. She had been able to track the irregularities, and she was working to fit them together into a working theory, but the problem was that there were just too many conditions that fit the observed symptoms and she had no way of knowing if it was a new gift from their sadistic Baseline or something that had happened as a result of Looping or even if Cinder was just so weak that her prior ministrations had already broken her.

And until she had enough information to incorporate into her own designs, she was working at a disadvantage. It wasn't like she could stop now, otherwise her earlier efforts would be subsumed by whatever horrors Cinder was conjuring for herself, but now she had to work twice as hard. First to stabilize Cinder towards a median closer to her earlier profile, then to actually build off of that profile in a way that still suited her goals.

Taking a deep breath, she forcibly calmed herself. Undoing the damage to the clipboard, she resumed her rounds. This would be so much easier if she could just break Cinder once and be done with it. Cyclical immortality however made the entire process considerably more difficult, because nothing but complete mental shutdown would do the trick; anything else would just be undone by the reset. Push too hard, and she'd snap; attempt an Ascension and kill them all. Push too gently however, and she'd simply ignore it as a string of bad Loops; Dust knew it wasn't like they hadn't all had a few.

It was a constant game of mild but continuous escalation, a slow boil. The final goal was as close to a perpetual BSOD as it was possible to achieve, a self created Lotus Eater dream to escape reality. Neo didn't really care if it was a happy or sad dream, just as long as it was a permanent one. And more importantly, one that was of her own execution. She had to be broken as a result of Neo's direct actions. So that once she had been beaten down to the point that she wouldn't lift a hand to change her fate, Neo could come to gloat.

It wouldn't mean anything if Cinder did it to herself. A relevant quote from one of her favorite pieces of Hub fiction flashed across her mind. 'A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.' Just so, if it wasn't by her own hand then it was worthless.

So she would work to heal her enemy, so that in the fullness of time she could break her more completely.

 **44.32 Masterweaver**

When people thought of Grimm, the images they conjured up were of monsters. Growling beowolves, screeching nevermore, great dragons that roared and spewed death from their mouths. A few of the wiser, more educated folk would mark smaller creatures among them, but even these were things that would leap out of the shadows, screaming and squeaking as they tried to claw their victim's eyes out. The fear of the Grimm, ironically enough, painted a far simpler picture of them then what was true.

For instance, this Grimm here. Yes, it was in Vale. Close to Beacon, even. Surrounded by humans. But, even as the heartbeats of hundreds passed by its alleyway, the Seer did nothing. It hung, still as a post, from the wall its central foot gripped; thin red tendrils dangled without motion, the yellow light merely watching those in the road pass by its high cranny, bone spurs not twitching half an inch. If anyone had looked up, they might have caught sight of it, but there was no reason to make a spectacle. No reason to assume they weren't safe.

Day faded to night. Hundreds slipped to dozens. Humanity slept, safe in their home, unknowing of the single eye of the enemy that rested not a foot away from an infant's cradle.

For a moment, the Seer contemplated the window. It could kill the baby. Or perhaps far worse...

No. There would be no purpose. This close, _He_ would know.

At last the red tendrils began to move, slipping into the brick. In a surprisingly short amount of time the Seer was on the ground, ready to continue its current mission. The tendrils brushed over the holographic lightposts as it passed, letting them flicker-Vale's network of Dust electronics hiccuped briefly, and the cameras were subverted. It would take only five minutes to reverse, once noticed, and it would be noticed quickly-He was always watching-but five minutes was enough.

Grimm were many things. Dangerous, yes. Because of their strength, their endurance, their soulless zeal. What many forgot, or never realized, was that Grimm were _fast._ Villages had fallen because a pack half a mile out had arrived ten minutes after a prior attack. And in this moment, the Seer was as fast as any Beowolf, any Ursa, any Grimm that had caught that delectable scent of _fear itself.  
_  
It arrived on the borders of Beacon, just out of the light of the Academy. There was little doubt that He had a different way of watching, here, one that did not rely on cameras, one the Seer could not subvert. Silence was the order of the night. Shadow to shadow, till it reached a wall, crawling up behind a tree and slithering through an open window. The four girls slumbering within were noted-the blonde snoring as she quietly cuddled with the black-haired faunus, the white-haired girl with a blindfold and the blood-haired child hugging her weapon like a teddy bear.

Not important.

Tendrils felt around the crannies of the inner door. Hinges were oiled, for a given value of oiled, and the knob turned. Silently the Seer slipped into the hallway, the realm of the Grimm's greatest foe, and slunk up the wall. It retracted onto the ceiling, tendrils curling under bone, till it was a black orb with a small yellow light. In this form it traveled, slithering above the ground toward its target.

When it encountered the object of its mission, though, it paused.

Cinder Fall was not resting in a bed, as she should have been. In fact, she was not resting at all. She was in the hall, slashing nonexistant swords at invisible foes, grumbling and whimpering as she danced with no partner. Radiating from her was... fear. Fear unlike any a Grimm had felt. Fear deeper, more horrific then the Seer even knew was possible.

And something else.

A darkness.

A void... no. A presence that was a void. An otherness, which-

The Seer expired suddenly, split in twain by the sharp edge of a round shield. Pyrrha Nikos nodded to herself, taking a moment to ensure the yellow glow had died. "I knew I felt something..."

She looked back at Cinder, still mumbling and clawing at unseen monsters, and sighed. Pocketing her shield, she stepped forward to help her once-murderer.

And far away, in a volcanic land, a woman with no soul considered what her servant had seen, and pondered.


	45. The Sisterhood of the Traveling RWBY

**45.1 Masterweaver, MasterOfGames, WirelessGrapes, LithosMaitreya**

"Okey doke!" Ruby held up a hand. "Rules are simple: We each throw down a photo, and once we've all done that we all vote for somebody else's picture as weirdest. Whoever gets the most votes wins the pot. Everyone got it?"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Let's start off with an image that needs NO explanation!" With a flourish, Ruby tossed down a picture of a lagomorph gynoid in a bikini, surfing on a wave of chibi-rubies with a board that looked as though it was made of one large cookie, while a starship glinted in the sky behind her. "Just ordinary Pocket shenanigans. Next!"

Weiss considered her fanned selection of pictures, carefully weighing the merits of each one before pulling one out and tossing it down. On it, Qrow was on a stage in a full burlesque dress, performing alongside Penny and Zwei, both dressed similarly. "This one was from when I was trying to figure out what it took to overcome Ozpin's love of coffee and get him to perform a spit take. Qrow said it felt oddly natural, but I never knew what he meant until the latest expansion."

"It's Zwei that sells it," mused Jaune. "Qrow in drag is old news, even before that, but throwing in the dog in the dress, that gives it just enough weirdness."

"True, true." Weiss nodded. "Okay, you have an offering?"

The blonde boy nodded, producing a photograph of a massive, glowing octopus spiraling out of a tye-dye ocean; a tiny cat with a grim expression and flanked by two battle-scarred young women with tentacle hair pointed what looked to be a hoover-style vacuum cleaner at the beast.

"Let me guess," Blake deadpanned. "Splatoon variant."

"The Octarian war didn't end when it was supposed to," Jaune confirmed. "Something about an ancient relic."

"How'd you get this picture?!" Ruby demanded.

"It was an after-the-fact memory extraction. That's legal, right?"

"...I _guess..._ "

Pyrrha held her chin up smugly, grasping a photo in her hand, "I do believe I have the oddest photograph," palming the paper against the table.

The rest of the group peered over Pyrrha's entry.

Her husband looked up, "Is-is that the Empire State Building?"

Pyrrha nodded, smiling, "Yep!"

Ruby looked up next, "Why do you have tentacles?"

Pyrrha waved her off, "Oh, you know, I stole them from someone."

Nora looked up last, "And why are you dangling Jaune by his ankle?"

Pyrrha's face hit full smugness as she leaned back in her chair, "Now, _that_ , is a long story."

Zwei casually tossed a picture onto the table as he walked by, then kept going.

Yang winced as she took a look at it. "Ooh, Zwei's one dog performance of 'The King In Yellow' in a chibi loop, when Ruby let him write the play she usually does."

Weiss blinked slowly, then tilted the picture right side up from her perspective. "I don't remember that one..."

Nora shrugged. "Eh, it was a noble attempt, but I'm _pretty_ sure acting out his lines with charades or pictionary or something would have been weirder than the word balloons on strings that he used. Still not sure why he decided to go that route."

Blake tossed down a photograph next. The collective Loopers looked down at it.

"Is that...?" Ruby asked.

"Yes."

"And is..." Weiss started.

"Also yes."

"Darn it, Blake," Yang muttered mutinously.

"Wait," Jaune said, staring at her. "This is _Looping_ you?"

Yang crossed her arms and muttered something incomprehensible. On the photograph, Yang, in a purple-and-orange striped bikini, was holding a prop skull in one hand and looking up into the other in a dramatic pose, her mouth open mid-word. Her eyes were dark with copious amounts of makeup, and her face was pale as alabaster for the same reason. She was standing in the middle of Times Square, and all around her Chitauri soldiers from the Marvel Loops were seated and staring up at her rapturously.

"This is real?" Ren asked.

Blake nodded. "I don't think you want to know all the details," she said lightly.

More and more pictures were added to the pile for consideration. Once Ruby's Pocket had been informed of the event, Velvet had volunteered a picture simply named 'Perfectly Symmetrical Violence', Coco offered a picture of one of the warships in Ruby's museum being overrun by squirrels reenacting the battle from Braveheart, Yatsuhashi submitted a picture of his entire team attempting to build an enormous Rube Goldberg machine out of anything and everything they could find in the Pocket, and Fox simply revealed a picture of Yatsuhashi sleeping while cuddling a whale plushie.

Neo grinned evilly at Roman and tossed a card picture onto the pile. Roman instantly tried to cover it up, but everyone saw it. Yang attempted to brutally murder Roman, Ruby flushed a deep deep crimson, and everyone else...

"Roman, how the hell did you end up having Ghost sex with Summer?" Qrow asked, before joining in the attack on Roman with Yang.

 **45.2 RipOffProductions**

It was a calm night over the City of Vale; the warm breeze caring the last hinds of the recently past summer months, the chaotic serenity of dancing lights from businesses, homes, and the myriad forms of traffic that traversed the enormous city over land, water, and air almost creating a substitute to the night sky those those same lights obscured from view, the comforting cacophony of city life becoming barely an echo by the time it reached the cliffside docking platforms that marked the edge of Beacon Academy's courtyard.

Cinder Fall hated it. For two directly opposing reasons; for one it reminded her of all the things that drove her to become what she was in Baseline, sure the exact details changed Loop to Loop, but the broad strokes were almost always there, no matter how twisted and far from the truth they may be; the arrogance, the exurbanite wealth they so often squandered, the ignorance of or even complicate with the suffering that happened both inside and outside their walls, and so much more... and on the other side was the fact that seeing these innocent, happy, carefree lives only reminded her of all the atrocities she had proudly committed against them... in Baseline... in Variants... and while Aw-

"Trouble sleeping Ms. Fall? feeling Loopy?"

Cinder turned from her seated position by the cliffside to look at the new arrival, before turning back to face the distant cityscape.

"Of course Professor Ozpin, though to be honest 'Loopy' is the only way to describe how I feel when I'm Awake these days..."

there was an awkward silence as Ozpin continued to walk foreword, coming to a stop standing beside the still sitting Cinder.

"Why are you here professor?" she asked.

"I often like come out here to observe the City in each loop, admire the differences and changes they each have, it's kind of a shame that ever sense the Expansions started up again that the size has become more consistent, I miss the variety."

"but that's not why you're here tonight, _is it_."

Ozpin let out an exacerbated sigh, "we're worried about you Cinder, all of us are. You haven't been acting like yourself lately."

Cinder couldn't help let out a weak chuckle at that, "Isn't that a good thing? If I was acting like myself the city would probably be on fire right now."

"That's not what I meant Cinder." Ozpin responded sternly " _You_ are _not_ that woman,"

 _Aren't I?_

"and we all know it."

"And what exactly *do* you know, Ozpin." Cinder spat, though she lacked the energy for those words to carry the frustration and anger they were meant to convey.

"That it is only the nature of all life to change with the passage of time, and that for better or for worse we are all different people then whoever we used to be all those eons ago before we started Looping, and that those differences will only grow greater as Loops continue and the Expansions grant our old selves the ability to travel their own separate paths through life... though I think we can all agree that you fit in the 'better' category."

 _Am I really?_

"Cinder, you should be proud of yourself for what you've managed do with this opportunity."

"And what is that exactly? Nothing I've done or ever will do will change the fact that I did those things"

"hmm, that is true... but Redemption, atonement, and forgiveness has never been about undoing the past, if it was then none of the many who have achieved such things within their respective Baselines would have been able to do so."

Cinder sat quietly, staring blankly out into the distant skyline.

"I admit, I may not be the best to speak to on the subject, and I can't really understand what you're going through, I don't think anyone in this Branch could, but if it helps I can assure you that I personally do not hold you accountable for the actions taken by your Baseline; as I said earlier you and her began traveling separate paths the moment you started Looping, and I remember how you reacted to the expansions; you were just as horrified as the rest of us."

"Thank you. I'm not sure if that helps me feel any better, but I appreciate the sentiment and your concern. it's just that I..." Cinder paused shaking her head before resting it in her hands, "I don't know..." she concluded.

"I recommend getting some rest; fatigue is rarely been beneficial to introspective pondering."

Cinder laughed a little at that "I suppose that's true. Anything else, Professor Obvious?"

Ozpin took the lighthearted jab for what it was "Well," he started sarcastically before shifting to a more serious tone, "I do know that all four members of Team RWBY are Awake this Loop, so maybe you can continue this conversation with them in the morning? I'm sure they each have their concerns and suggestions for helping you."

"hmm, I'll consider that." Cinder remarked rising to her feet, "Good night, Ozpin"

"Same to you."

as Cinder walked through Beacon's courtyard she thought through her options for where she would spend the night:  
In her... "team's" room? No, it always made her uncomfortable to be around Emerald, Mercury, and "Mint", even if Neo was Awake it didn't seem to fix that issue.  
Inside her Pocket? No, something felt off about spending long periods of time in there, and sleeping in it didn't sound like a good idea.

Eventually she came to the decision to use the backdoor her virus in the CCT network provided to get the access codes for an unoccupied dorm, room 108 in building T, and headed there.

After making herself as comfortable as she was going to get, Cinder started drifting into yet another not-quite-restless sleep, with words from that evening's conversation echoing in her mind;

 _"I can't really understand what you're going through, I don't think anyone in this Branch could..."  
_  
This was true, the closest any other Looper came to being like her was Roman and Neo, neither whom really regretted their criminal pasts, barring the things she herself had strong-armed them into doing, and possibly Blake, though it was rare that she had ever done anything particularly egregious prior to realizing that the White Fang had gone too far and leaving.

 _"...but Redemption, atonement, and forgiveness has never been about undoing the past, if it was then none of the many who have achieved such things within their respective Baselines would have been able to do so."_

this...was also true, there certainly were Looopers out there who had committed acts just as horrible as her own if not worse, but speaking to any them wasn't really be an option this Loop, and sense Fused Loops, like all Loops, were a random chance, she couldn't count on such things happening...

 _"fatigue is rarely been beneficial to introspective pondering."_

 _in deed...  
_  
Cinder did her best to get some sound sleep, it wasn't easy, but there was one thing that put some of her axiety to rest this night; she had a plan, and if there was one thing about her baseline self that she hadn't grown to hate, it was her skill with planning.

 **45.3 FadedAlphabet**

Ruby woke up in a bed not her own. Not that surprising given the nature of her life now, but certainly something that hadn't happened in at least a dozen loops. Which either meant a variant or fused loop.

Checking her loop memories, she quickly found that she was Rhea Jackson, daughter of Sally Jackson, as well as the twin sister of one Perseus "Percy" Jackson. Current age, 12.

Getting out of bed, she walked into the living room to find a statue of a fat, balding man who she recognized as her step-father Gabe, and in front of him holding Medusa's head was Percy.

Percy threw the head back in his subspace pocket, then turned and looked at Ruby. His eyes widened upon seeing her. He didn't seem particularly worried that she walked in on him, but definitely a bit surprised.

"Hey there sis," he said scratching the back of his head. "I know this looks really crazy but I can explain."

Ruby looked between Percy and the statue a few times before putting her hands on her hips. "Just because he's a mean guy doesn't mean you should just turn him to stone. Honestly Percy, I might have just awoke, but this is very loopy," she said sounding a bit annoyed while giving hints about her status.

Percy blinked a few times. "Looper?"

"Anchor in fact. Ruby Rose, Remnant."

Percy smiled. "Percy Jackson, anchor. Welcome to a world of monsters and mythology."

\- - - - -

"So you're saying that evey monster from Greek and Roman mythology, along with their gods are here?"

"Plus the Egyptian gods yes. No, not the ones from the Yu-Gi-Oh universes, though there was that one fused loop..."

"Ok, and we are the children of Poseidon, one of Big Three gods, and are candidated for some big prophecy that leaves the fate of the world in our hands."

"Yup."

"And in baseline, a war is started because of this?"

"Story of my life."

Ruby sighed. "I don't want to be at the center of a war right now."

"Well I usually change things to prevent the disasters that occurred, but you could always do what Thaila did and join the Hunt."

"...Run that by me again."

"Uhh... You could join the... err The Hunters of Artemis?"

Percy wasn't prepared for the high pitch squeal of joy and excitement that followed.

\- - - - -

After a few days, Percy and Ruby where finally standing in middle of a campsite, with Ruby wide eyed and loving evey thing she saw, and Percy... Well every bow was pointed at him.

Artemis walked out of her tent in her twelve year old form, looking stern yet and fierce while walking with grace and pride. "What brings you to my camp boy, and why shouldn't I have you shot?"

Percy gulped. Just because he was the anchor doesn't mean he didn't fear for his life a tiny bit when dealing with Artemis. An angry woman is a scary woman, and if that woman was a goddess, even scarier. "Well... my sister here wanted to join..."

Ruby waved. "Hi!"

Artemis turned her attention to Ruby with narrowed eyes. "So you want to join my hunt?"

Ruby nodded up and down comically fast, then took a big breath. A really big breath.

"YesyesyesI'dlovetojointhehuntbecausethatisadreamconetrueforahuntresslikemyselfandyouarethegoddessofhuntingaswellasamaidenanddidyouknowIamamaidenbecauseItotallyamamaidenforlikeabilllionyearsandpleasepleasepleaseletmejoin!"

Artemis went deadpan and looked at Percy. "Is she always like this?"

"From what I know, only when excited."

Artemis nodded. "Ladies, please escort the boy out as you see for you Miss..."

"Jackson. Rhea Jackson, but you can call me Ruby Rose."

"Yes... Follow me to my tent. We have much to discuss."

Percy meanwhile ran as fast as he could, avoiding arrows that were flying after him.

\- - - - -

For several years, Ruby lived, ate, fought, and embraced in the newfound sisterhood of hers that was the Hunt. The other girls took Ruby in with open arms, showing her the ins and outs of being a hunter, which Ruby quickly picked up on. Combined with her skills as a Looper, Ruby was able to quickly ascend and become one of the most skilled hunters Artemis ever had. She also became one of the most respected/feared members because of certain... incidents.

\- - - - -

Zoë Nightshade found Ruby under a tree making arrows. This normally wouldn't be strange, arrows were always needed. No, what was strange was what she was making them with.

"Are those... chainsaws attached to arrows?" Zoë asked, shocked at the sight.

Ruby looked up from her work, sighing sadly. "Miniature chainsaws. I can't seem to find a good balance. But don't worry, I'll manage it eventually."

Zoë wisely walked away.

\- - - - -

"Jackson! You are not to use high caliber machine guns while hunting for food!"

"Sorry Zoë!"

\- - - - -

KA-BOOM!

"Nor explosions!"

\- - - - -

A few of the younger hunters looked at Ruby with awe. "Did she just kill a hydra with a stick"

"No way!'

"She's crazy!"

Ruby meanwhile was smacking the dust pile that once was a hydra. It should have known better than to sneak up on her.

\- - - - -

"Super Cool Daughter Of The Sea God Water Powers Go!" Shouted Ruby as she called on her powers to create a mini hurricane. What followed soon after was a half mile radius of flattened trees. Ruby looked sheepish as she was found in the middle of it.

"Ruby?"

"Yes Artemis?"

"You're banned from using your powers while hunting."

"That's fair."

\- - - - -

Every hunter stood shocked as Ruby was cuddling with a hellhound.

"Aww, aren't you the cutest little hellhound? Yes you are!" Ruby said, gushing over her pet. It took several moments for Artemis to speak.

"You... Taimed a hellhound..."

Ruby smiled happily at them, snuggling with it now. "Yup!"

"...Why?"

"Well I like dogs, and when I saw this little guy, I couldn't resist to hug him. Then one thing lead to another and now he's mine! I'm going to call him Berry!"

"..."

"I wonder if I can make him the next generation of war corgi."

None of them may have known what a war corgi was, but knowing Ruby, they quickly all yelled, "NO!"

\- - - - -

 **45.4 FadedAlphabet**

Yang smiled mischievously as she snuck up behind Weiss with a boom box. Well, as much as one could sneak up on Weiss all things considering. However, it didn't appear that Weiss cared, preferring to focus on the book she was reading. Yang decided to use this to her advantage.

Yang put it right behind Weiss's head, turned the volume up to max, then hit play.

 **"Let it go! Let it go! Can't hold it back anymore!"  
**  
"DAMN IT YANG!"

Yang ran away as fast as she could and promised avoid Weiss for the rest of the loop. Tis the price of a prank.

 **45.5 Shimmer712**

A continuation of my Glynda McGonagall Snippet, where she takes Harry and raises him.

Glynda stared at the school principle then at the teacher. The two men sweated under her stern gaze.

"Please explain to me why Harry is in trouble, one more time please," she requested. She could have sworn the teacher cowered. She gave Harry's shoulder a frim squeeze, warning him to keep quiet and let her handle things.

"He...ah, turned my hair blue," the man explained.

Glynda looked at him, a brow raised. "And how did he manage to do that?" she asked curiously. "I know for a fact he didn't bring any hair-dye to school with him. And I can't imagine someone dying a person's hair without them noticing. At least not while said person is awake." Unless it was accidental magic, she noted to herself.

"That is a good point," the principle jumped in. "The notion of a child successfully dying your hair without you noticing isn't really plausible. Not unless you allowed him to, in which case you have no grounds to complain." He gave Glynda and Harry an apologetic smile. Harry stared back, unimpressed given that the man had called his guardian into the school because of this whole business.

"But it had to be him!" the teacher protested. "It happened while I was yelling at him-"

"What were you yelling at him for?" Glynda cut across his words.

"He wouldn't share his book with a classmate!" the teacher said.

"Which book was that?" Glynda narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know, but he was keeping it to himself even though he was reading a different book," the teacher said.

"Harry?" Glynda looked down at the boy in front of her.

"It was that book you gave me for my birthday. One hundred Wisdom Stories From Around the World," Harry responded promptly. Glynda nodded at him then glared at the teacher.

The blonde witch removed her hand from Harry's shoulder and folded her arms. "You have no right to demand Harry shares that book. It is his own person property, not the schools. If he does not wish to give his person belongings to a classmate, then he doesn't have to." Her glare sharpened as she gave the man a harsher look. "Just because he is a child does not mean you can trample his rights and give his possessions to others without his consent."

"My apologies, Ms McGonagall," the principle interjected. "I'll be sure to have words with Marcus and I'm sure he will check to see if it is the student's personal property in the future. I'm so sorry for any inconvenience."

"You apology is accepted," Glynda said stiffly. She glanced at the clock. "Since it is so close to the end of classes, I'll take Harry with me. Is that alright?"

"Of course, of course," the principle said. "I trust we'll see him tomorrow?"

"Certainly," Glynda nodded. "The only reason he is leaving now is because he would be leaving so soon regardless. Goodbye. Come along, Harry."

"Okay, Aunt," Harry nodded. They collected Harry's things and left the school. As they were driving away, they heard the bell ring, signalling the end of the school day.

"Wow, it really was close to the bell," Harry commented. Glynda glanced at him briefly.

"That doesn't let you off the hook," she said. "We still need to have a talk about this slip-ups of yours."

"Uh-oh," Harry blinked. Glynda smirked.

 **45.6 Masterweaver**

It was an ordinary night at Beacon... right up up until the screaming started. Then it was a frantic night, then a tense night, then an awkward night, then an annoyed night.

"...it just seemed to make sense," Ruby mumbled. "I mean, they do it some places in the Hub-"

"In college, miss Rose. And in a place where there are not Grimm."

"I did send out flyers. Explaining the whole thing. I made sure everyone saw them!"

"Nobody took them seriously."

"Well, I just thought-"

"As much stress as it might relieve, opening your window and screaming at ten in the night is not acceptable behavior."

 **45.7 Masterweaver**

"ShShsSAaalutarashuns!"

Ruby frowned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Penny."

"IiiiiCOME bearing grifts!" The orange-haired girl thrust a box forward, her smile twitching. "I thought yuyuyou might like the-ehe-ehem!"

"Penny, you have a spatula embedded in your skull."

"N-n-n-no I don't!" Penny hiccuped. "I do-d-net have aa _a_ aaany embeederleed crookery!"

"You're covered in batter."

"Nothothothing a little rinse wohohon't fix!"

"Also, your dress is on fire."

"Oooooh, so th-ha-hat is what that smeheheheeeeeeeeeeeeeeell is." Penny ignored the crackling flame and pushed the box forward. "Hear, eye maid fees four ewe!"

Ruby, reluctantly, took the box and opened it. Inside were... well, they wanted to be cookies. She could see they were really trying.

She sighed.

"They're lovely, Penny. Really." Carefully, she reached out and pried the spatula out of her friend's head, wincing at the sparks and falling metal. "Ooog. Um. Hmm."

"WH-wha-WHAT is-what is-what is-what is the prooooOOOoooblem, frifriend Rubububububeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

Ruby Pocketed the box and pulled out an omnitool, waving it over Penny's head before forcibly taking hold of the gyniod's skull and slamming her glowing hand over the gash. Penny twitched for a moment or two, before going lax. After a few moments, she reached up and grabbed Ruby's hand.

"Thank you. I'm... I'm good now."

Ruby pulled back. "You sure?"

Penny smiled. "I'm sure." She absently patted out the flame on her dress. "Just... embarrassed, is all."

"Talk about your kitchen accidents," Ruby muttered.

"Yes, I... may have confused lightning Dust for sugar." Penny coughed. "After the oven exploded, that spatula jammed iteself into my skull and I... guess I got stuck in a logic loop."

Ruby giggled. "Lightning Dust?"

"Yes...?"

"Sorry, sorry. There's a pony called Lightning Dust. Not looping."

"Oh." Penny blinked, then giggled. "Oh, yes. I... yes, that was an amusing coincidence, wasn't it? Anyway. I... just wanted to try my hand at cooking. Or baking?"

"Maybe next time wait until one of us is around to supervise you?"

"...That might be wise."

 **45.8 Masterweaver, FadedAlphabet**

Winter held up his finger, paused, and slowly let it drift down.

Qrow took a breath and let it out. "...go on. Ask."

"...there are too many questions. I can't figure out which one to ask."

"Fine. I'll ask." Qrow crossed her arms. "Am I Awake. Yes. Am I a woman. Yes. Am I Yang's mother. No, I'm actually Ruby's, and I'm going to try to repress those memories after this loop, I like Tiyang but..." She shuddered.

"...Are you, ahem. Are you and Taiyang still together?"

Qrow shook her head. "No. There was... a thing. We had a major falling out after Summer died. It didn't help that Raven..." She sighed. "No, me and Tiyang... we're okay now, but not together."

"And..." Winter sidled closer. "Don't take this the wrong way. Where does this leave us, for the loop?"

"...Good question. Hey, you want to..."

"Do I want to...?"

"...never mind. Stupid question."

Winter rolled his eyes. " _Yes,_ Qrow. I'd love to go out for a drink."

"You sure?"

"You can hold your liquor. Well, I don't know if you can now, but it's still likely." Winter shrugged. "You're not nearly as bad as my mother."

Ruby smiled innocently at her uncle as he sat at the bar . "So Uncle Qrow..."

Qrow groaned and took a shot from his drink. "I don't want to talk about it."

Ruby's smile grew even wider. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Sure you don't."

"No idea!"

"Right."

"Zero clue!"

"Yup."

"Nada."

"Hmm."

"..."

"..."

Ruby leaned close to Qrow and whispered in his ear. "Mama Qrow!"

THUMP!

Qrow's head hit the counter, letting out a very long groan. Ruby was not going to let him live this down for a long time.

Two things were for certain.

1)He was now empathetic to women problems.

2) He needed more alcohol .

 **45.9 Masterweaver**

One thing Loopers did was improve themselves.

Well, to be fair, almost everyone did that to some degree. But Loopers, well, they had a slightly different definition. No matter how much one worked out, at the end of a loop they'd be thrown back to however they started-at least, in the physical sense. They could become great and terrible bulwarks of muscle and power and, if their loop started with them being frail and fragile, all of that would be ripped away. It wasn't nearly that bad for most of them, in general the mental strength needed to be considered for looping came with enough discipline to maintain an average if not above average standard of health, but that meant loopers would focus less on their bodies, and more on their minds and souls.

Skills, powers, items, those translated well. True, one might lose the strength to wield a sword twice one's size, but the swordfighting skill itself could be translated to something more reasonable. Powers, even those grounded in the body, left imprints on a looper's soul that could with time and care be drawn upon. Items, well, with the subspace pocket, anything retained its usefulness.

And then there were loop-native abilities, the powers they had from even before they started looping, magics and traits unique to themselves...

Blake Belladona faced herself. Without moving, without saying anything, she focused on her own image.

Another appeared beside her. And another. And another.

A finger twitched as the four duplicates, as one, withdrew their blades, going through a series of stances. They moved identically, for now.

She let out a breath, and they stopped.

Then, they started moving again, this time in different ways, a dance of their own each unique.

They stopped again. She unpocketed a small amount of dust, and blew.

Fire, ice, electricity, and stone. Four standing before her.

And again, they began to move, not as one but in unison.

"...And here comes the hard part," she mumbled. "Be ready to catch me if I faint."

"Always," said the voice behind her.

Blake smiled briefly, before pressing her will down. Four became eight. Eight, sixteen. Sixteen, thirty two, sixty four-

Earth and fire and ice and lightning, figures all moving at her command at her will, herself in reflection across a great form, army as one-

She awoke in the medical facilities of Beacon. With a groan, her head turned left. "Oooooog. Did I..."

"Aura drain." Yang nodded. "You were doing pretty great there, don't get me wrong, but whatever was going on, you pushed it pretty far."

"Mmmmngh. At least I got them all to move this time..."

 **45.10 Masterweaver**

Weiss looked up from her book with a small smile. "Ah hello! I wasn't expecting anyone else on this airship, miss...?"

"Polendina. I know it's quite the loopy coincidence."

"Coincidences can keep one awake for quite some time." The heiress rose an eyebrow. "Slip your father's grasp, Penny?"

"I just wanted to get to Vale early this loop. Father..." Penny rubbed her arm. "He's always a nice man, but some loops he's... intense."

"Full mad scientist mode?"

"Yes, cackling about his latest project. If a squadron of giant metal ants interrupt the Vytal tournament, well, I'll apologize for not tempering his... shenanigans."

"Hmm." Weiss nodded at the chair across from her. "Well, company is always welcome. It takes some time for the servants to realize I'm warming up on this trip, they're always on their toes around me."

"You cannot quite blame them." Penny took the chair with a small smile. "Even after all these loops, you are... a little intimidating."

Weiss inclined her head in acknowledgement. For a moment, the two simply sat in silence.

"So." Weiss put her book aside and clasped her hands together. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing important."

"Nothing important."

Penny nodded. "Nothing important."

"Alright."

The silence returned, though it was slightly less comfortable. This was probably because Weiss's scarred gaze was looking directly at Penny, not jduging or condemning, merely... staring.

Penny fidgeted for a moment. "Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"...it's nothing."

"If you wish it to be."

The silence came back for a third time, very uncomfortable.

"...Weiss."

"Yes?"

"When... I mean, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want a literal answer, not a metaphorical one."

"Okay."

"When you look at me, what do you see?"

Weiss brought a hand to her chin. "I see orange, peach, tan, grey, green, black, and white."

Penny blinked. "Okay, that... that was a little _too_ literal there. I meant... if you didn't know anything about me, and you saw me wandering down the street, how... how old would you say I looked?"

"Ah. Hmm." The heiress took careful note. "Well. You'd certainly be in the teenage years, if a touch... prepubescent. Your clothing is a little... simple, shall we say? Elegant in its own way, but speaking of a more understated life, in perhaps a rural area. Though your boots and collar seem to be recent additions, from a more technological area of design. Factoring in that your overdress has certain proportions, suggesting it was made for a child, I would come to the conclusion that you had very recently experienced a dramatic growth spurt and were seeking to reinvent yourself without losing your roots, and given your particular body structure, I would end up guessing between twelve and fifteen, leaning toward fourteen if I'm entirely honest."

"...that... is a surprisingly in depth analysis."

Weiss pointed at herself. "Rich girl. Clothing culture is among our many specialities."

"Well... the point is, you'd see me as a young girl, right?" Penny gestured at herself. "Not even somebody in your age group, just... a kid?"

"To be fair, I saw _Ruby_ as a child. And we're about the same height, once you factor out my heels." Weiss chuckled. "Heck, she has a cup or two on me."

"Yes, cup sizes. Weiss, I have _nothing._ Do you understand? Nothing!"

Weiss blinked. "Well... I mean, you were, ahem, _designed_. And speaking from my Eiken loops, larger assets come with their own problems."

"Oh, I-don't get me wrong, I'm glad my father isn't a pervert or anything like that." Penny crossed her arms. "It's just... I've seen fembots in other loops. Been fembots, on occasion. Even when they don't have it up top, they've got hips. I'm a plank. I've been confused for a boy- _while_ I was wearing my bow! A _young_ boy!"

"Ah." Weiss nodded. "I can see how that could be frustrating."

"It's beyond frustrating. I mean... look, I know that I have no sex identity, but I have a gender identity, right? Even factoring in gender-bending loops, I prefer to think of myself as feminine-but for some reason, nobody can see that when they look at me." Penny sulked into her chair. "Stupid moralistic father, not giving me any curves."

"On the other hand, it proves he cared for you from the beginning. Your androgynous form might very well have been an attempt to allow you to construct your own identity without pressure from sociocultural norms."

"Or it could have just been the most energy-efficient prototype design."

Weiss sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Penny. If you're having body image issues... Well, I'm probably not the best person to talk to about that." She rapped her fingers on her armrest. "...Neo might have some ideas."

"What? Neopolatin?" Penny looked up. "Why would she...?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but she's the shortest of us all. Bar Zwei. And the hub designs based her off a genderbent Roman cosplay, so she probably understands the need to look feminine." Weiss brought her hands together. "Though... I do want you to know, I think you look just fine as you are."

"Well, of course I do. I just... find certain aspects of my shape annoying, is all."

 **45.11 FadedAlphabet**

Of all the things that has come from the loops, Jaune Arc could confidently say that one of the best/worst aspects of it was the fact that his Semblance was loop variable.

He's been screwed over many times by it. like that one loop where all non Loopers attacked him any time he used aura. Or the other other time that caused him to have super strength at the cost of moving at a snail's pace.

Or perhaps the time where he could turn into a tree. Only a tree. And couldn't revert. Yeah screw that loop.

However, for every bad there was a good. And sometimes it was amusing. For example...

"Spontaneous Waffles!"

Yup. Life was good.

 **45.12**

Jaune welcomed Roman into the shrub he was hiding out in. Neo ran by, screaming Roman's name. Nora followed soon after, crying out for Jaune.

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "She wants to seduce you?"

"Goddamn tree. Your wife carries chainsaws on her person everywhere she goes, right?"

"Uhuh."

"Good, I think I'll join her with her old hobby."

Jaune gulped. "Roman, while I do agree that being in a Loop where Nora and Neo are hopelessly obessesed with both of us is terrible, doesn't that strike you as... you know: Tempting Fate?"

"Oh what's the worst that could happen?"

The Loop promptly ended, and started again. Jaune and Roman climbed out of the shrub they had been hiding in, looking around themselves at the near endless desert expanse. The expanse was empty, but for one thing:

Neo's and Nora's. An infinite number of them. All grinning lasciviously at the pair of men.

The boys spent the rest of the Loop inside of Jaune's Pocket playing video games and watching movies.

 **45.13 Masterweaver**

"Hey guys." Ruby stepped aside, allowing Nora and Ren to enter their dorm. "What's up?"

"We're just weathering the storm out here," Nora replied. "Mom and Dad are fighting again."

Ruby winced. "Again? They've fought before?"

"It's not serious," Ren assured her. "It's an ordinary lover's spat. In about ten minutes, they're going to leave their room, storm off in opposite directions, and run through some training stances."

"They'll be frosty around each other for a week," Nora explained. "But whenever they're apart, they'll be a little melancholy. So, come saturday, not this one but the next, they'll get together, awkwardly apologize, and seriously discuss the problem."

"At which point I hope you wouldn't mind if we impose on you," Ren finished. "Because once they've worked out the issue, they'll try to reassure each other they love each other..."

"...and while that doesn't _always_ end up in makeouts and passionate lovemaking, there's a good chance it will. Teenage hormones and all." Nora made a face.

Ruby nodded, slowly. "Ooooooookay. If you're sure it's all good-I never really saw my parents fighting, so I don't have a base to compare this to."

"It's pretty normal," Yang piped up. "Tai and Summer tried to keep it behind closed doors, but they did argue sometimes. Usually about money or stuff like that."

"I know me and Yang sometimes get on each other's nerves," Blake added. "But we always make up. It's worth the bumps."

Ruby tapped her chin. "If you all say so..."

"Trust me," Weiss deadpanned, "when parents _don't_ fight things can get terrible. Or when they don't make up. Both mean one doesn't care about the other."

She looked up, seeing all the sympathetic stares, and sighed. "My birth family is a wreck. I've known this for a while. That's why I'm glad I have a family here too."

Nora and Ruby shared a look.

"Glomp?"

"Glomp."

Weiss let out a squeak as she was enveloped in a dual set of tight arms. "Alright! Alright! I love you both too!"

Across the hall a door slammed open. "FINE!" Pyrrha shouted, storming out. "I'll _prove_ Akoúo̱ can take more punishment!"

"You know what? You _do_ that!" Jaune snarled, storming off the opposite direction. "Me and Crocea Mors will be waiting!"

"Hmm." Ren tilted his head. "They were wearing their rings."

"Ooo, that's bad." Nora released her hug. "I'll get the ice cream ready..."

 **45.14 Masterweaver**

Yang glanced around at the relics on their stands, pinging as she turned to face Blake. Her looping girlfriend raised a hand in a vulcan salute.

"Just woke up?"

"Yep." Yang shrugged. "Why is our awakening point so flexible, anyway? I mean, it's usually not later then this, but..."

"I'm sure there's some weird technical reason for it. Like how Remnant loopers activate in... pairs..."

For a moment, Blake stared into the distance.

Then she burst out laughing.

Yang smiled. "What? What is it?"

"Loop, heehee, loop memories. It's, it's nothing. Ha."

"Oh come on." Yang idly swiped one of the golden horses. "You can tell me."

"Oh... you're going to love this." Blake tried to regain some seriousness, though her lips were twitching. "Adam's an ass."

"Well, that's a given."

"No, I mean... he's literally a donkey faunus this loop. Ears and everything."

Yang snorted. "Oh, that's... oh wow."

"I shouldn't be laughing." Blake's smile grew. "That's just so stereotypical and a bad, a bad pun-"

"Oh, it's a horrible pun!" Yang was smiling right at her. "It's terrible!"

"You did this!" Blake accused, giggling. "You made it so I find this funny!"

"I-I can't deny that! Hahaha." Yang beamed. "Adam. Jackass."

They stared at each other... and burst out laughing again.

 **45.15 WirelessGrapes**

Pyrrha was calmly walking through the Emerald Forest, waltzing through yet another initiation. Despite the fact that the actual location of the relics in the forests being a Loop Variable, she was always adept at finding the temple.

She didn't particularly care who her partner was, since Jaune wasn't Awake this Loop, at least not yet. The only ones who were, were Ruby, Blake, Penny, Ironwood and herself.

Blake had decided to take a Loop off, since Yang wasn't Awake either, and she was beginning to wish she had too. Penny had decided to come to Beacon in Blake's place.

Pyrrha sighed. She certainly had nothing against the gynoid, but it was nearly impossible to have a one on one conversation with her. She certainly couldn't blame Penny, being the one who killed her in Baseline after all, her last memory before her death traumatizing her, but she wished that Penny was able to get over it already.

No, that was insensitive. Penny just needed time, and time was something they had a lot of.

"Salutations, Pyrrha!" A voice filled with forced cheer called out.

Pyrrha's head shot to the side, seeing the ginger girl walk into the clearing with her, making eye contact instantly.

Pyrrha stepped back a little, a reaction to how Penny was never comfortable when they ran across each other randomly, "H-hello, Penny, how are you?"

She smiled at her, "I am doing quite swell, I always do enjoy Beacon Loops. I don't suppose you have a partner yet?"

"Ah, no, I don't", she hurriedly continued, "Though, if you don't want to be partners with me, I certainly understand, we can just part ways here."

Penny slowly walked towards Pyrrha, "No, no. To be honest, I actually tried to make this happen. I'd asked Ruby how I would be able to put myself into a situation where I would be able to reacquaint myself with you, and this was her suggestion."

Penny involuntarily shuddered, "Though, I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea, it has been far too long for me to continue to be afraid of you. I've spent millennia around you, and still fear you, despite all my rationalization."

Pyrrha pulled back even more, "Penny, if you don't wanna do thi-"

"No!" She exclaimed. Then, Penny sighed, "No, no, I need to do this. I want to do this."

She looked up at Pyrrha and outstretched her hand "So, what do you say? Partners?"

Pyrrha smiled softly at Penny, grasping her hand in return, "Partners."

 **45.16 Zurcior**

"-so I basically just kept telling Salem that I wanted to bargain as she killed me repeatedly," stated Weiss as she recounted the tale to her teammates. They were all in their dorm room at Beacon, lounging around after the current Loop's initiation. Sitting on her bed, Weiss continued, "Eventually, she couldn't deal with the time loop anymore so gave in. The Loop ended soon after."

Ruby, swinging her legs from atop her bunk, nodded with a slight grimace, "Yeah, I could see that. I remember how much _I_ wished the Loops would end when they first started."

"Sounds like you had fun, all things considered." Blake said from her bed while she had her nose buried in a book as she laid her head on Yang's lap.

"It _was_ the most fun I've had during a Fused Loop in a while," admitted Weiss, "even if it was a Null one. Being Sorceress Supreme is a very exciting job."

"Anything carry over?" asked Yang as she combed her fingers through Blake's dark hair.

"Well," Weiss replied as a scalpel appeared in her hand, "I am now a world-class brain surgeon!" She then gave her friends a sly smile, "Any volunteers?"

"Not on your life, princess." Yang responded quickly.

"Are you sure, Yang? I think we can all agree you could benefit from a tune-up." Weiss teased.

"Not as much as you'd benefit from a step stool and implants." Yang snarked back.

Ruby and Blake rolled their eyes in unison as the conversation continued in that vein for the next ten minutes.

 **45.17 Masterweaver**

"...Weiss?"

Silence.

"Weiss."

Silence.

"Weiss, you've been staring at that mirror for fifteen minutes now. Is it magic, are you stuck in a philosophical loop?"

"It looks like a sock."

"What?"

"My ponytail. My last loop was a chibi loop. Nora said it looked like a sock."

"...Okay. So?"

"So, now... I mean. I wear it like this out of a sense of rebellion, but it looks like a sock, Ruby! Why do I have a sock on my head?!"

"You just said-"

"Do I change this? I mean, for an ordinary ponytail? I could, but-that's, that's giving up, isn't it? Except his opinion doesn't matter, and it does look better-"

"Weiss, I think you're overthinking this."

"But-"

"If you have to rebel against your father in some visual manner, it does not have to be through your hair. You could... I dunno. Wear some pro-faunus thingy?"

"Well, yes, I could... I suppose..."

"Tell you what. Ren's awake this loop. And you know he's a genius with fashion. Why don't you talk it over with him?"

"Yes... yes, I think I will."

 **45.18 Masterweaver**

Ciel Soleil walked down the roads of Vale, her mind ticking away as she considered the nature of her role as Huntress. An ancient tradition, it was true, shared across kingdoms and perhaps even outside of them. Different from the soldier, which was a simple brick in a wall of flesh and guns; predecessor to the specialist, with skills and equipment geared toward more specific goals. Was the huntress merely to kill Grimm? Some would say yes, and certainly it was true that for the most part Grimm would die when a huntress of sufficient competency was present. And yet, there were rumors; rumors of huntsmen and huntresses hunting down more than Grimm, hunting down criminals, or ruins, or secrets. Only in Atlas was such a role seperate from the slayer of monsters; only in Atlas was there space, in the frozen wastes, where the ability to kill Grimm was not necessity but redundancy.

Was it any wonder, then, that the huntresses of Atlas felt increasingly... vestigial? Ciel herself had kept such doubts quiet. She was Mantle-born and Mantle-raised, all around her monuments to the time when Mantle ruled the icy plains, and yet when she came to Atlas itself there was... little. The sense of power simply was, the buildings stated as fact: Atlas reigned. Neither good nor bad was presented as something to be celebrated; acknowledged, certainly, but in the capital of Solitas it was best not to tarry; technology moved swiftly and time with it. The meat of soldiers was being phased out for the metal of knights, and more were returning to ask what now? And Atlas, that great city of wonders, provided no answers. Atlas, a power uncontested, had no warmth in its heart. Atlas endured, and its people meandered meaninglessly through their lives, devoted to a machine that only kept them alive for the sake of life.

What was life without direction? Ciel had not asked it, not openly, but like many others from Atlas she had sought something, anything to define her from the crowd. Emblems were an option, and she had considered them, but... there was something deeply personal about them. Something that spoke of history. And it felt hypocritical, to her, wearing such icons in a city that disdained iconography. She turned to an older tradition, instead, one grounded not in self but in faith; the marking of the brow, with a symbol meant to represent some spirit of the world. She'd chosen a simple sun, the bringer of life, in hopes that one day a seed would take root in her mind, grow, lead her, give her purpose, and what in the world was a truck doing blocking the road.

"Look!" shouted a blood-haired girl. "I'm trying to be fair here-Oh, Ciel. Can you help moderate a dispute?"

"Um-"

"Great." Without waiting, the stranger that knew her name grabbed her and planted her in a chair. "Now, mister Monochrome, I think I'm being entirely fair."

"Entirely fair." The thick-armed man crossed his arms. "You want to buy all of my pastries at once!"

"Yes! I'm willing to pay for them! I'm willing to pay _double_ for them!" The blood haired girl threw up her hands. "I don't see what the problem is!"

"The problem, girl, is clearing out my shelves might net me a tidy profit, but it also leaves me with nothing to sell other customers!"

"Which is why I also got all this flour and the spices-"

"Baking takes time! Do you want me to shut down for three days while I replace my whole stock?!"

"Excuse me," Ciel interjected. "What if... she only bought half your stock?"

The girl gave her a look. "Well... I mean, I guess I could, if it came down to that."

"Feh. Would you still give me all the supplies?"

"Yes!"

"...Double the cost."

"Of course!"

"Do you have the money?"

The girl pointed at the truck full of flour and stuff. "Look, if I can afford this, I think I have money to blow, right?"

 **45.19 Masterweaver**

"...You're playing fetch."

"Yes ma'am."

"With a nova-class starship."

"...Yes ma'am."

"A _starship_."

Fox coughed. "Well, Trek-style computers are borderline sapient anyway, so..."

Ruby giggled. "Why didn't _I_ ever think of this?!"

 **45.20 Masterweaver**

Weiss stretched as she entered her dorm, pulling a book out of her pocket and almost sitting down at her desk. Her eyes fell on the beds, though, and she paused.

"...Huh. I don't think I can remember the last time Yang left Ember Cecilia behind..."

There was a sudden loud thump. Weiss blinked, turning toward the back of the room.

"Hello?"

The thump came again, yes, from the wall. With a frown, she put her book aside, walking over to it.

"Is somebody there?"

Another thump, followed by muffled grumbles.

"...Are you inside the wall?"

The grumbling returned, more annoyed.

"If you're not inside, you must be..." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Oh, for dust's sake."

She stuck her head out the window, coming face to face with Yang. A plethora of silver strips plastered her against the outer wall of beacon, layered with some enchantments, and a single strip of duct tape over her mouth.

"Let me guess: you dissed the scythe."

Yang shook her head and rolled her eyes. She tried to say something, before grumbling again and looking significantly down her nose.

Weiss reached out and, in one swift motion, peeled it off.

"Gaaagh. Phlepth, fah! Feh." The blonde shook her head. "Ugh. That tasted horrible, you know?"

"Yang."

"Really, I've been up here for twenty minutes! Twenty whole minutes!"

"Yang, why are you duct taped to the wall."

"Ruby did this." Yang sighed. "I don't know _why_ though!"

"I repeat: Did you. Diss. The scythe."

"No! No, I just suggested..." Yang tried to shrug. "You know how all the Nanoha weapons talk? I said, why don't you do that, Ruby, why don't you make Crescent Rose talk? And then she got this look on her face and-"

"You didn't." Weiss sighed, sitting on the shelves next to the window.

"I mean, if she's talking to it all the time already-"

"Yang, I'm going to tell you a story."

Yang blinked. "...Is this an aseop story?"

"There's a moral at the end, yes." Weiss leaned her back against the windowframe. "Once upon a time, there was a girl. One day, she went... to build-a-bear workshop, or someplace like it."

She paused, making sure Yang was paying attention.

"She got a teddy bear, and it was her teddy bear. She named it, oh, mister bugsley or something. And over the course of the next few years, she loved on it. She adored that teddy bear."

"Okay..."

"When the stitching came apart, she fixed it up. And after a while, she went out to get new fabric for mister bugsley; it started out being a lot like his old, but she slowly began to experiment."

"Sounds fascinating."

"Soon enough mister bugsley was more then just a regular teddy bear. Any little girl looking at him would know he was a super bear. So one day, the girl's older sister came up with an idea."

"Oh, this is a _metaphor_ , I see."

"She went out and found the high-tech bears, the ones that danced and had voices, and she found out how they did that, and she got the parts, and she walked up to her little sister."

Yang sighed. "And let me guess-"

"She said, 'here! Let's make mister bugsley come alive!' And her sister looked at her in horror and said 'mister bugsley is already alive!' And then she duct taped the older sister to the wall."

"Okay," Yang groaned, "but see, there's a problem. Crescent Rose is a weapon, not a teddy bear-"

"To Ruby, she's both."

Yang frowned. "Let me try again. I fully understand the emotional bond that Ruby has, but-"

"No, you don't," Weiss interjected. "Crescent Rose is _already_ alive and _already_ talking. That's what Ruby believes. It's not a delusion, exactly, more like... a dream."

She narrowed her eyes. "A dream you trampled on."

"I..." Yang paused. Then she sagged. "Okay, alright, when you put it like _that_ I feel like a jerk. I was just trying to help."

"And I'm sure when Ruby's had some time to calm down, she'll realize that." Weiss pulled herself back into the room.

"...hey, aren't you going to help me out of this?"

"Nope. That's your partner's job."

"Um. Blake's out doing something with Nora..."

"Then you'll have to wait, won't you?"

"Hahaha. Very funny Weiss."

Weiss sat down at her desk, opening her book.

"...Weiss?"

She turned a page.

"Weiss, look, if this is showing solidarity with Ruby for some reason, I get it. Seriously. I'm sorry, okay?"

Weiss hmmed to herself.

"...Come on, seriously? I have an itch on my nose and my pants are riding up!"

 **45.21 diesel**

Weiss blinked as she opened the door to her dorm, the room was alight with twisting nothingness and flashes of tasteless C-, a vast seething mass of chaos and madness with nothing more that a few pieces of stability in the frothing golden, spontaneous pancakes.

"Ruby, what did you do?" Said clocked girl looked to the purple, shrugging as she cut a piece of sweet oblivion and was eaten by it. The cyclonic silver light thorns laughing, as it enveloped her bed, the 3d shadow eating a whisper that was trying to cease "Hey Weiss, i was playing around with some new dust varieties and arrangements and... I'm really not sure. You want to join in? The Chaos tastes like non existent pancakes, its awesome!"

This was a bad idea, eyeing the miniature eye of terror Weiss huffed, striding into the bones of darkness as space and geometry died and that which could not, was and had always been. Flickering out like lights as time followed sideways and in parables.

Honestly, if she was not there to keep Ruby on track the dolt might Ascend by sheer accident.

She was not walking into madness out of morbid curiosity and boredom, that would be stupidity after all.

"Hey, you said it tasted like non existent Pancakes, this is waffle lights!"

 **45.22 Shimmer712**

Yang blinked.

"Ruby? Why are there two Crescent Roses out?" the blonde questioned, confused. Sure, Ruby had dozens of copies in her pocket. But she almost always used the first version of her "sweetheart".

Ruby looked up from the scythe she was tinkering with. "Oh...um...well," she glanced at the second scythe on the desk. "It's just kinda weird to keep that one in my pocket, given my last fused loop."

"Oh, what happened?" Yang asked, taking a seat.

"You know those Mid-Childa loops with those girls Nanoha and Fate?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Yang nodded. "Haven't loops in there yet but I'm hoping to. If I replace Subaru or Ginga, I can get all sorts of ideas for Ember Cecila. Maybe modify the cartiledge system to have more omph."

"Well, in my last loop, I was replacing Nanoha."

"So it was scythe against scythe?" Yang grinned. "That must have been awesome, Crescent Rose versus Bardiche!"

"It wasn't Crescent Rose," Ruby corrected. "I mean, it was, but the name was different."

"So what was it?" Yang smirked. "Snookums? Angel Blade? Light of my Life?"

"Summer."

"...What?" Yang asked flatly.

"My devices' name was Summer Rose," Ruby clarified.

"You mean, Mom was..."

"My scythe? Yeah," Ruby nodded. "She was still Mom in that loop too. Somehow. I kept the scythe but mom didn't stay in it once the loop ended. It's just a regularly AI now. It still has a female voice but that's about all it has in common with Mom."

Yang blinked slowly at her sister then at the scythe that had housed their mother previously. "Ooookay," she blinked.

"Yeah, so, things are kinda weird with that version of my sweetheart," Ruby shrugged. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just..."

"I gotcha," Yang nodded. She frowned for a moment. "Hey, why did the personality change when the loop ended?"

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe it's some sort of glitch or something? I mean, we don't have a lot of information about her other than she was a great mom, a kick-ass huntress and made delicious cookies. Baseline hasn't really confirmed anything else for her, like how she had dad sorted out the housework, if they had been married...heck, we have loops where Uncle Qrow is my biological father and mom was never actually with Dad."

"Uncle Qrow says that even if that's baseline, Dad will still be your dad because that's what he's been to you," Yang said. "I heard it from Winter who asked him about it."

"Right. Anyway, my point we don't really have a baseline personality for mom, so maybe that glitched up whatever had a version of mom in my scythe for that loop," Ruby explained.

"Eh. Best explanation we're gonna get," Yang decided. "Want some ice cream?"

"Ooh! Strawberry, please!"

 **45.23 Masterweaver**

Yang Xiao Long snored.

To be honest, it was loop variable whether or not she snored, but whenever she was Awake and asleep she did. Nobody could quite figure out why, snoring was the result of physical conditions and not the psychological ones that carried over loops, but whatever the reason it was simply fact: a regular ear-rattling snorted intake of breath would accompany Yang's journey to dreamland (and her occasional psychic duel with a pink rat).

Team RWBY had adapted fairly well to this situation, of course. Ruby usually had the loop memories that came with being the sister of a snorer, and simply fell asleep to the rhythm. Blake, though her hearing was somewhat sensitive, endured the noise without complaint; too many eons of falling asleep under noisy bridges or outside raving taverns had adapted her to blocking out unnecessary sounds, though she would wake quickly if Yang began to murmur. And as for Weiss... she claimed that her jedi meditations allowed her to drift away enough that it didn't matter, and kept the fact that she had, on occasion, been forced to sleep through White Fang attacks on her home or her parents screeching at each other a personal secret.

They were variants, after all. Emotionally disturbing, but she could push past them.

Still, Weiss was usually the last to drift off. Which meant that, on occasion, she would notice something others didn't.

Like this night, the body crawling into her bed. She blinked woozily, glancing behind her. "Ruby, what...?"

"Need cuddle," Ruby murmured. "Bad loop last..."

"Can't you just..." Weiss sighed. "Null loop, you can't whip up a chibi, can you."

"Mmmm."

She considered asking why Ruby wasn't going to Yang for cuddles, but her eyes drifted to where Yang and Blake were sleeping, entangled in each other's limbs. Instead, she simply sighed. "Ruby, I... don't actually know how to cuddle."

"Jus... hugsleep, all." Her leader's arms wrapped around her.

"No shipping?"

"No, friendcuddle."

Weiss nodded. After a moment, she wrapped her own arms around Ruby's. "Alright. Good night."

"Ny, Wsss..."

In the morning, of course, Yang would tease them mercilessly. But that was a few hours away. For tonight, Weiss simply allowed herself to be the best teammate she could be.


	46. Darker than Blake

**46.1 Masterweaver**

Her hands gripped the rails of the boat as it came into the dock.

"...Alright, tree. Listen to me very closely."

She stared across the busy planks.

"I have spent... _so_ many loops without parents. Without any family. And now they're here. And I'm about to meet them. And I know what happened with Weiss and Winter, and I'm telling you now you are not going to pull that shit on me."

She watched the ramp hit the wood.

"I don't care if this expansion is supposed to only run two minutes longer, this time. This time you'll let me meet them. I know you're sick, and I know I'm not in any position to threaten you. I'll take a hundred punishment loops if I'm breaking something."

Her eyes shut.

"But this once... let me meet mom and dad. Just this once, tree. Please."

"Huh."

Her eyes snapped open, and she spun around. "Ah, captain, sir."

"At ease, miss. You're only a guest." The captain smiled. "Are you getting off?"

"In a moment. I just... I need to gather my thoughts."

"Hmm. I can understand that." The captain turned to the docks. "You know, this place is different every time I come here."

She smiled faintly. "It might not be much, but the people here work hard to make it worth something."

"Yes, they do. I respect that..." He nodded. "That tree, for instance?"

"What?"

"There's a tree, right over there. It was dying last time I came here. Now it's blooming." The captain chuckled. "Somebody must like that old thing very much."

Blake followed his gaze, seeing the thickly blossoming branches of a tall ash. The beginnings of tears welled up in her eyes as she smiled. "...Yeah. I guess somebody does."

 **46.2 Masterweaver**

"Hmm."

Sun Wukong's walk was suddenly stopped when a red-headed girl stepped in front of him, peering curiously at his face. "Um... hello?"

"Hmm..." The girl's eyes roved down his body, then back up. Then she walked around him carefully, taking in every detail.

"Uh... what are you-?"

"Mmmhmm, mmhmm... uh-uh. Hrm." Eventually, she completed the circle, looking at his eyes carefully.

"What's going on here?"

"...Nah," she said. "Cute, sexy, but not quite to my speed. Needs to be a bit braver."

Sun blinked. "What-hey now!"

"Then again, I can't blame her, you're not him, she's not me." With a shrug, the girl twirled and walked off, her cloak billowing in the breeze.

"I'm plenty brave! I-I'm a huntsman, after all, I can-"

"Nope!"

 **46.3 Masterweaver**

The ruins were a good meeting place, back when Ruby had only known of nine loopers. Now there were double that wandering about, and some of them didn't even begin the loop in Vale. The new expansions would require new talks, which required new locations. Sometimes, James would offer an airship. Others, Roman would mention an out-of-the-way tea shop.

Today, Ozpin hosted the gathering in his office... though he was not the one speaking.

Blake took a slow breath, and let it out. "...I have always known," she began, "that the White Fang changed within my lifetime. That before it became a terrorist organization, it acted through peaceful protest and... sometimes, nonviolent civil disobedience. Until very recently, I had assumed Adam Taurus was the leader of the organization... in much the same way we all assumed that Cinder Fall was the leader of whatever force Ozpin opposed." She inclined her head apologetically toward the red-garbed woman in the corner.

"It's... fine, Blake." Cinder nodded. "Continue?"

Blake nodded, looking around her at faces both older and younger then she. "Shortly after the existence of Salem came to light, another name solidified. Sienna Khan, current leader of the White Fang as a whole." She sighed, leaning against the desk. "And like most things about our world, nothing else. Just a name. Not even a gender, just... the name."

"Have you learned anything new about this leader?" Ironwood asked.

Blake gave him a flat look. Yang stepped up beside her, gripping her shoulder.

Ozpin cleared his throat. "General, the previous expansion discussion meetings you've been present for have been... mostly personal. I understand that as this is the first expansion which touches on faction politics more directly, you would be interested in the tactical and strategic developments. However, I think it might be best if you... temper your eagerness a touch; the situation is complicated enough as is."

"...Of course." Irnwood nodded. "My apologies, miss Belladonna, I did not mean to pressure you."

"It's fine." Blake rubbed her hands together. "No, I have not discovered anything about the White Fang's current leader. However..."

She paused.

"...I did encounter two of their high-ranking agents, who claimed that Adam Taurus was no longer operating under the White Fang's orders."

"Which we already knew," Winter pointed out. "Ever since..."

She paused, giving Cinder an awkward glance. The woman threw up her hands. "Yes, I get it, my baseline self is evil. I know you're all trying to be nice, but stopping the conversation for my sake-"

"I don't think they were aware of you, actually." Blake frowned. "Or if they were, they were hiding it. Definitely polite, in... a dangerous sort of way." She paused. "They were quick to assure my father that they... wished to bring Adam to justice. And they offered me my old role back-I didn't accept, of course, but the way they phrased it..."

"...what?" Yang's grip tightened.

"They said it was a wearying fight. They said that sister Iliya-they're big on the whole brother sister terminology-would certainly be happy to see me again." Blake shook her head. "Sister Iliya. Don't even know how it's spelled, but it's pretty obvious she's supposed to be close."

"Could be Deery," Roman mused.

"...could be." Blake looked up. "The point is, they were well trained in manipulation. If I wasn't a looper, I might not have picked up on the carrot and stick routine, it's honestly up in the air."

Jaune rapped his fingers on his sword. "There's also the timing. Coming up, right after you arrived? I don't think that was coincidence..."

"It might have been. The White Fang in menagerie... at the least, it _portrays_ itself as being far less violent and brutal. My parents were genuinely horrified to hear what they did in Vale, and they've been having regular meetings with..."

She trailed off.

Ruby stepped forward. "...If you need time to-"

"No, you all need to know." Blake took a breath. "My father, as it turns out, is the chieftain of Menagerie... and the former head of the White Fang."

Weiss took a sharp breath.

"...yeah."

For a moment, silence filled the room.

"Well," Ozpin stated suddenly. "We all knew it was a change in leadership that led the White Fang down the less than savory path it now treads. And we certainly know that there is more to a person then their political affiliations."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah! And come on, even with all this White Fang stuff, I think we're missing the important bit." She grabbed the faunus's other arm. "Blake has parents! A family! A home! That's something worth celebrating, right?"

General murmurs filled the room.

"...right?"

"Of course it is." Weiss clapped her hands together, approaching Blake calmly. "Let's leave all this tactical talk for another day. Tonight, I believe we should..."

She glanced at Nora. "'Party down' is the right phrase, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Nora grinned. "Party in the Headmaster's office! Time now, cake for everyone!"

Teams JNPR and RWBY gathered around the desk as Nora swiftly redecorated with streamers and ribbons. Penny gave Ironwood a pleading look; with a sigh, he nodded, and she skipped forward.

Qrow threw an arm over his shoulder. "I know what you're thinking. We should be planning our next move, right?"

"...Well." Ironwood shrugged. "It is important."

"Yeah, yeah, and we'll get around to it. Look, Jamie, you gotta realize something. These kids, they're older then you. They've figured out that the world is going to throw them curveballs, and they're going to fall apart." He grinned as Zwei hopped onto Neo's head. "But it's things like this that keep them together. Focus on the good news-don't ignore the bad, but remember there's good. Or something."

"You are terrible at philosophy."

"Eh, well, I never really studied." With a final pat, Qrow broke away. "Remember to relax from time to time!" he said, slipping over to Winter.

James Ironwood looked around, at what had not two minutes ago been a grim meeting, and was now becoming something like a friendly gathering. He found a chair, and sat down with a small sigh.

 **46.4 LithosMaitreya**

When Blake saw Ruby, the first thing she did was stop and stare.

Ruby sighed. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. "Yuck it up. Yang already had her giggles."

Blake blinked a few times. "What… _is_ it?" she asked blankly.

Ruby grimaced and reached up to touch the... growth?... atop her head. "I think you can guess," she said darkly.

"No," said Blake firmly. "No, I _really_ can't."

"It shoots things," Ruby offered, lowering her head to point the horn-like figure at a nearby wall. The golden tip glowed like fire, reminiscent of the real head of hair it impersonated, and a small ball of flame launched out and splashed harmlessly against the stone.

"Wait," Blake said, stepping back. "No."

"Yes," Ruby moaned.

Blake stared at the small figurines of herself and Yang, intertwined, seemingly growing from Ruby's forehead. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, but she _is_ ," Yang crowed, coming up from behind her girlfriend. "It seems that you and I are her head cannon!"

Ruby whined piteously.

 **46.5 WirelessGrapes**

"So, you're a princess now?"

Blake looked up from her book, to see Yang grinning in the doorway.

She put down the novel, swivelling to face her girlfriend.

"It appears so. It _does_ provide some more insight into my animosity towards Weiss. I must have disliked how she misused her power in society, when I had none in Vale"

"Either way, I'm just happy I get to tap dat Royal A- _oohf_ "

Yang's presumably lewd remark was instantly shut up by a flying pillow.

 **46.6 Masterweaver**

"The fifth annual fish-skiing competition is about to begin!" Ozpin declared. "Let's get the word from the field."

"Oz, I'm here with one of the contestants. Tell me, miss Nikos, what do you expect out there?"

"Well, James, it's going to be a tough bout. Ruby's come out of nowhere, with those orange-peel boots. But I figure, if I get going before the High Heel Gauntlet, I'll be good."

"Excellent, excellent. Anything for the viewers at home?"

"Just remember: Support your local truck drivers. And keep practicing, because one day you might be a world-class fish-skier too."

"Alright, back to you Ozpin."

"Thank you James. Now, this year we have trout and salmon; shrimp were denied on a technicality. The beagles have just finished their run, the sluice gates are opening... and here we go!"

 **46.7 LithosMaitreya**

Blake swallowed. As unwelcome as Sun's casual flirtation and refusal to take anything seriously could sometimes be, she found it was hard, even for her, to do this without someone to bounce off of.

Still, she was glad she'd managed to head off his joining her this time. He would have obliterated the tone of the coming conversation.

She took a deep breath, raised her hand to the knocked, raised it, and brought it down in a resounding impact. Then she waited.

After a few moments, the door opened slowly, and there was her mother, Kali Belladonna, staring at her with widening golden eyes.

"Blake?" she murmured, disbelieving.

Blake smiled. "Hey, mom," she said gently.

And then they were in one another's arms, and her mother was stroking her hair, and it was so much more _intimate_ than it was when Sun was there.

"Who is it, Kali?" called Blake's father from inside.

Blake raised her eyes and met his as he entered the hall. She gave him a smile as his face slackened in surprise, and then softened in return.

"Blake," he greeted, coming forward. "Welcome home."

Blake felt her ears drooping slightly as her smile grew sad. "Thanks," she said.

-

"We heard about what happened," Kali said unhappily as she served the tea—a moment Blake had lived only a few times, given the newness of the expansion, but still familiar. "The Kingdom of Vale wasn't perfect, but it didn't deserve what happened."

Blake shrugged. "Vale's just the beginning," she confessed. "Things are moving on a scale past one kingdom. Things are a lot worse than they look, even now."

Gheera frowned, leaning forward. "Indeed?" he asked slowly. "What makes you say that?"

She smiled sadly at him. "A… lot of things," she said slowly. "I'm in a position to know some details about the Grimm that… most people don't. Someone has it out for humanity and faunuskind both, and they've chosen now to strike." She looked at the wall for a moment, then shook her head and turned back. "Don't worry," she said with a smile. "There's a few of us who know more than they give us credit for. There's nothing to worry about. It's handled."

"What on earth have you gotten yourself wrapped up in, Blake?" Kali asked worriedly.

Blake sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything," she said. "I don't want to worry you, it's just… I want to be honest."

Gheera considered her for a moment, before nodding. "I understand," he said. "Gods know I had to keep secrets as leader of the White Fang. You needn't tell us any more than you're comfortable with."

Blake shook her head. "That's not even what I wanted to talk about," she said. "I…" she pursed her lips, casting about for words.

After a time, she sighed. "I did something wrong," she said. "I hurt someone—someone I care deeply about. But—it's not that simple." She brought a hand to her face, massaging her temples. "I don't know why I did it. I was hoping you could help me… understand."

"We can try," Kali promised, "but you're not making sense. Start at the beginning."

Blake looked down, blinked once, slowly, and then met her mother's eyes. "First," she said. "The White Fang? They've gone wrong. I don't know whether it's Sienna Khan or Adam Taurus who's the problem, but they were fighting alongside the Grimm when Vale fell."

Gheera leaned forward, his eyes sharpening. "Is this true?"

Blake jerked her head towards the door. "Ask them yourself," she said, and the knocking of the two hooded faunus punctuated her words perfectly. _I couldn't have timed that better if I'd tried._

Gheera led the way to the door, and there were the two fox-faunus acolytes, as always. "Lord Gheera," one said. "We are—"

"My daughter just returned from Vale," Gheera interrupted darkly. "She had an interesting story to tell."

The second fox faunus looked down. "It is that which we came to speak of," he said carefully.

"Of which we came to speak," Blake corrected absently, coming abreast of her father and leaning against the frame. When the faunus blinked at her absently, she elaborated. "You're going for the formal, calculated approach. Ending your sentence with a preposition undermines that." She narrowed her eyes at him. "And pointing it out makes it clear I'm not afraid of you."

He frowned at her, but she saw the unnerved flicker in his eyes. "You certainly shouldn't be afraid of us, Sister Blake," he said gently. "We're on your side."

"The White Fang," Blake said darkly, "destroyed my home and maimed the girl I love." She pushed off the frame and turned away. "Believe me, you're _not_ on my side."

She stalked back towards the tea room and knelt by her cup again, her hands warming themselves on the porcelain. After a moment, Kali, and then Gheera, came to join her.

"They offered to give me the notes pertaining to Taurus from the leaders' meetings," Gheera said quietly. Then he hesitated. "What… what happened, Blake?"

Blake sighed. "I joined Beacon after I left the Fang," she said quietly. "I ended up on a team that—" she found herself giggling. "It was so dysfunctional," she said, "that it could only have ended as the best team to come out of our year, or a disaster. We decided on the former."

She looked down into her teacup. "Our leader was a fifteen-year-old girl," she said. "Ruby Rose, pushed ahead two years by Headmaster Ozpin. Her partner was Weiss Schnee—yes," she added, at her parents' expressions, " _that_ Schnee. Then there was me, and my partner." A smile graced her lips. "Yang Xiao Long. Ruby's half-sister."

Then she sighed. "We did what we could," she said. "We fought the Fang more than once, when they started going astray. But it wasn't enough, and when Beacon fell… he came for me."

Kali reached out silently and took her hand. Blake squeezed it gratefully.

"He told me that he would destroy everything I loved," she said quietly. "And Yang, bless her, had the perfect timing to appear _right then_." She closed her eyes. "And he said he'd start with her."

She found that her hand was shaking in Kali's. Yang was Unawake this Loop, and leaving the poor girl, so like her girlfriend, to fend for herself after the Fall had been agonizing. She swallowed. "She charged him to get him away from me," she whispered. "And the next second he'd… he'd cut off her right arm."

"Oh, Blake," murmured Kali.

"I got her out of there," Blake continued. "And then I… I left. I left her there. I left her with the rest of the team and I ran away."

She looked up, met their eyes one at a time. "Mom, Dad… _why_ did I run away?"

There was silence for a time as they both watched her.

"Did you just want to take a step back?" Gheera suggested gently. "To get away from all the madness… and come home?"

Blake swallowed and looked down. "Maybe," she said quietly. "Having had time to think, though… Home isn't here, anymore."

"What was she to you?" Kali asked softly.

Blake smiled slightly. "It's… complicated." She sighed. "More complicated than you can guess, really. But I… well, I love her. That much is certain."

"And when did you realize that?" Gheera asked.

Blake brought a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "Well, that's the thing," she said. "I… haven't yet."

There was a pause.

"There are two of me," Blake said slowly, trying to think of a way to explain. "One is… one is the daughter you would expect. She's just come back from Vale, she's struggling to understand what's happening in the world around her, and inside her, and she's come back here, and it's her I'm trying to understand, because… I'm not her. Not anymore."

"What do you mean?" Kali asked gently. "You're still our daughter."

Blake gave her a brittle smile. "Only for the past few cycles," she said in a voice like glass. "The world is… broken. And… the gods, I guess… while they're fixing it, they have time running in loops, and every so often those Loops expand and add more onto themselves. I—this me, the me that experiences those Loops—only met the two of you for the first time some ten Loops ago, because before then… none of this even happened."

"I don't understand," Gheera said slowly.

Blake shook her head. "I wouldn't expect you to, really," she confessed. "I just… there's a girl. Her name is Blake Belladonna. She went to Beacon Academy after leaving the White Fang, she fled her team when they found out she was a faunus—but they _came for her_. They showed her she had a home with them. And then, when the fang attacked, when the hurt the girl who I'm fairly sure she was already starting to fall in love with… she ran away again, and came here. And I'm just trying to understand _why_."

Blake put her head in her hands. "You two know that girl better than I do," she said honestly. "Or at least I hope you do. I just… I want to understand."

Kira scooted over to her and took her in her arms. "I think you know the answer," she said gently. "That girl was scared, and confused, and wanted to come back to a place where things were more certain. A place where she knew what was right, and what was wrong, and who she could trust. So she came back here."

Blake leaned into her mother. " _The night is dark and full of terrors_ ," she whispered—a quotation. "But why run _away from the Sun_?"

"The Sun?" Gheera asked.

"Yang Xiao Long," Blake murmured. "Little Sun Dragon. You'd understand, if you met her. She just… she brightens up the room just be _being_ there. Why run _away_ from that, if you're scared?"

"Because this other Blake," Kali said gently, "Doesn't understand what this girl means to her."

"And the not-knowing is scary," Blake agreed with a sigh. "Yeah. I get it." Then she snorted. "Of course, this is all theorycrafting," she admitted. "I'll almost certainly never meet her. But… I'd like to know who I… would've been. If the Tree hadn't broken."

"What is all this about these loops?" Gheera asked. "Can you explain?"

Blake smiled. "I only have a day here," she said gently, "before it all resets again, from my perspective. But… I'll try."

 **46.8 FadedAlphabet**

Ruby looked over at her partner, who was currently meditating, and sighed. Weiss and herself were the only ones looping this time. This loop was also standard, meaning no new source of entertainment offered by a variant. Understandably, Ruby was bored.

A few seconds later, Ruby sighed again. Silence. Ruby waited a few more seconds and sighed even louder. Again, silence. Ruby then took a deep breath and-

"You know if you want to get my attention, you don't need be annoying," said Weiss, not opening her eyes.

Ruby pouted. "You ruined my fun."

Eyes still closed, Weiss responded with, "I'm sure I did."

Ruby stuck her tongue out.

"I sensed that."

"I know you did."

Weiss shrugged. A few moments of silenced passed, and Ruby Rose sighed once more. "Weiss I'm bored. Do you want to do something fun?"

Weiss raised her eyebrows slightly, letting Ruby know that Weiss was willing to listen to her proposition.

Ruby nodded. "I'm thinking... toaster guns."

Weiss opened her eyes and gave a deadpan look. "Really?"

Ruby held her hands up in defense. "Hold on, hear me out. We make toasters that can shoot out the toast at high velocities. With it, we pose a challenge onto ourselves while having fun with the absurdity of it. Plus, how many people will be able to say they were able to kill a nevermore with toast?"

Weiss looked at Ruby, still with the deadpan look for a few more seconds. She then shrugged and sighed. "Why not? I have nothing better to do anyway."

Ruby smiled real big. "YES!" She then pulled out two toaster guns from her pocket.

Weiss blinked. "How long have you been planning this?"

Ruby just smiled innocently.

 **46.9 LithosMaitreya**

Blake crested the hill, the blonde head of hair behind her following, coming abreast.

"This," she said, as always, "is Kuokuana."

"Wow," Yang breathed. "This is home?"

Blake smiled at her. "It is now," she said.

Yang winked at her, then looked back over the village. "The big house," she said. "That's yours?"

Blake nodded. "My father's the chieftain of Menagerie," she said, "so he gets the big house."

Yang nodded sagely. "Leaders like big houses," she said. "I think they're usually compensating. I'm sure your father's swell, though!"

Blake punched her girlfriend's shoulder, laughing lightly. "Come on," she said. "Let's go."

They made their way down the path. Yang's lack of faunus traits drew a few eyes, but Yang, sunny and glowing like always, didn't even seem to notice.

They reached the door, and Blake didn't even hesitate before knocking. The impact resounded as it always did.

"You have got to teach me how to rig a knocker to do that," Yang murmured.

Blake rolled her eyes.

The door opened. Blake gave her mother a smile. "Hey, Mom," she greeted.

"Blake?" Kali Belladonna whispered, coming forward.

Blake met her halfway, laughing as they embraced.

"Kali, who is it?" Ghira's voice came from within.

"It's me, Father!" Blake called into the house.

Ghira appeared, blinking. "Blake?" he asked in much the same tone of hushed shock as his wife had used.

Blake gave him a smile over Kali's shoulder. "I'm home," she said.

Normally, the conversation didn't start until they were seated around the tea set. This time, Blake didn't waste the time. She pried herself away from her mother, and then glanced at Yang, before looking back at her father.

"Is it all right if we come in?" she asked.

He father shook his head, an amused grin crossing his face. "You know you don't need to ask, Blake," he said gently.

"It's not me I'm asking for," Blake said wryly, jerking her head for Yang to follow her. Yang gave her a grin and filed into the house after her.

Ghira frowned at the blonde following his daughter. "And… who is this?" he asked stiffly.

Yang gave him an odd look, and then glanced at Blake mutely. Blake could practically hear what she wanted to say— _This is what it's like, isn't it?_ Yang had been a dragon faunus before—it was a relatively uncommon, but still regular, variant. She'd never really gotten used to the low-simmer racism, though. On Menagerie, the roles were reversed.

Blake carefully repositioned herself so that she was beside her partner. "This is Yang Xiao Long," she introduced. "Yang, these are Ghira and Kali Belladonna, my parents. Yang was my partner at Beacon."

"Indeed?" Ghira asked, studying the blonde through narrowed eyes. "And I _do_ hope you didn't give Blake any trouble?"

Yang gave him a smirk. "Be a pretty awful friend if I never gave her _any_ trouble," she said lightly. "Remember that time with the laser pointer, Blake?"

Blake rolled her eyes heavenward, a smile gracing her lips. "Or, better yet, Zwei," she said. Just… Zwei in general."

"Hey," Yang warned, shaking a golden finger at her. "Ruby would not be happy if she heard you dissing the War Corgi."

"What's this about a laser pointer?" Kali said lowly, her ears flat.

Yang shrugged. "Blake was killing herself with research," she said, "so I distracted her."

"With a cliché?" Kali asked sharply.

Yang sighed. "Look, Ma'am," she said evenly, meeting Kali's eyes. "I don't tiptoe around people. Blake doesn't _want_ people tiptoeing around her. I'm not about to treat her like a human, because that's stupid. I don't have to treat her like a human to treat her like she's better than most of them."

Blake nudged her. "Try not to alienate them within five minutes of getting here, please?" she asked, a slight edge to her voice.

Yang gave her a glance. "Hey," she protested. "You brought me to meet your parents. Part of that was _them_ meeting _me_. Thought that was implicit."

Ghira intervened. "I feel we've… likely started on the wrong foot," he said firmly. "Kali, could you please get a kettle on, and prepare some tea? We _are_ hosting, after all."

Blake smiled at her mother. "Really, Mom," she said gently. "You don't need to worry. I'm _fine_."

Kali sighed. "All right, all right. I'll be back soon."

-

And now they were seated, like usual, the four of them over a pot of tea. Yang was surprisingly comfortable in the traditional kneeling position, just as Sun had been—although, Blake figured, many thousands of Loops as everything from Lung dragons to various other Far-East figures must have given Yang an education in etiquette eventually.

"So," Kali said once they were all in possession of a full cup of tea. "Blake said you're her partner?"

Yang nodded. "In Beacon, teams of four are made of pairs of partners," she said. "Blake chose me."

Ghira frowned. "Interesting choice of words," he said. "What do you mean, she chose you?"

Yang considered this. "The first person we made eye contact with was our partner," she said. "Blake came upon me in the middle of fighting a few Grimm, and could have easily avoided making eye contact. She chose not to."

Kali glanced over at her daughter. "Really?"

Blake nodded. "Yang was skilled, friendly, and…" she hesitated. "If I'm honest…"

"I looked dumb enough to fool with a bow for months on end," Yang said casually. "To be fair, it worked for a while."

Ghira frowned at the two of them blankly. "A bow?"

Blake winced and looked away.

Yang watched her for a moment, and then said to Ghira. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Forget it."

Ghira narrowed his eyes at her. "Miss Xiao Long, I don't think…"

"Look," interrupted Yang sharply, "if you want to force her on this, that's _your_ prerogative. I vote we move on."

"Ghira," said Kali gently. "Let it go."

Ghira blinked at Kali for a moment, his attention averted from Yang. Then he sighed. "All right, Kali," he said, then turned back to Blake. "How was Beacon?" he asked. "We heard about what happened…"

Blake couldn't keep herself from glancing at Yang. The blonde was turning her metal prosthetic hand over, studying her fingers as a diva might study recently-manicured nails. "Not… all of it," Blake said quietly.

Yang rolled her eyes at her. "You got me this," she said, giving Blake a thumbs-up that shone like the sun. "No need to tiptoe."

Kali looked between them. "I'm afraid I don't follow," she said slowly.

Blake sighed. "The White Fang were fighting alongside the Grimm," she said quietly, her eyes trained on Yang's arm. "Adam… he cut off Yang's arm. Because she was important to me."

There was a deathly silence. Yang took advantage of it to serve herself more tea.

"You're not serious," Ghira murmured.

Blake nodded bleakly.

"Hey," Yang said lightly, punching her on the shoulder. "It was an opportunity! I really dis _arm_ ed him afterwards, wouldn't you say?"

Blake buried her head in her hands. "Yang, no," she mumbled.

"Yang, _yes_ ," chuckled her girlfriend.

"You seem to be… dealing with it very well," said Kali slowly.

Yang shrugged like a wave of gold. "It's not like I lost anything I couldn't get back," she said with an easy grin. Blake twitched, and Yang glanced at her.

Ghira was giving the human an odd look. "Most people would say an arm is not very replaceable," he said dryly.

Yang laughed. "Well, they haven't had Blake going to the best automail and prosthetic manufacturers around for them," she said, giving Blake a smile. "It works every bit as well as the old one ever did."

"What _would_ you call irreplaceable, then?" Kali asked lightly.

"Blake," Yang said simply.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Cheesy, much?" she asked.

Yang treated her to a wink.

"You seem remarkably comfortable," Ghira said slowly, studying the blonde. "Most people tend to be more uncomfortable when being introduced to their lover's parents."

There was a pause. Blake looked up, blinking at her father. Kali looked surprised.

Yang looked appraising. "I don't think my dad would've noticed," she said eventually. "I _like_ you."

He frowned slightly. "Why _are_ you so comfortable?" he asked. "This is supposed to be where you wait for _our_ approval, not the other way around."

Yang smiled. "That discomfort stems from insecurity," she said. "You're expecting me to be scared because I might think your opinion has some bearing on Blake's. I know better."

Ghira raised an eyebrow. "Do you indeed?"

Yang nodded. "You might be able to get Blake to stop seeing me," she said. "Might get her to ignore me, stop talking to me. Not _likely_ , but I guess it's possible—you have power, after all. But I've been Blake's girl for a _long_ time—longer than you'd think. If she ever stops loving me—well, it won't be a result of anything _you_ do."

Blake reached out and took her girlfriend's hand. "Less of the alienating?" she asked weakly.

Yang didn't answer, holding Ghira's gaze. After a long moment, the man's face broke into a smile.

"I like you," he said. "You respect Blake, and I can respect that."

Yang rolled her eyes. "People who don't are lucky to last very long around her," she said lightly.

Blake sighed. "Well, I'm glad you two are getting along," she mumbled.

Yang gave her a grin. "Same here," she said lightly. "Be a real shame if I had to sleep on the docks until we, uh, go back."

Ghira chuckled. "I doubt that'll be necessary," he said, and then his eyes narrowed. "But you'll be having separate rooms."

Yang saluted him. "Of course, chieftain, sir," she said cheerfully. "Sneaking in through the window makes it more exciting anyway!"

 **46.10 Masterweaver**

"...Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"So, you're a jedi, right?"

"For a given value of jedi. I could go into detail about exactly how using force abilities outside the Star Wars galaxy is different than using them in the film, but somehow I don't think you want me to quibble details."

"...Oooookay... so! Jedi can, you know, sense emotions, right?"

"Yes and no. Impressions left by emotional vibrations through an individual's personal field can resonate through the living force and be detected by force sensitives, but as this is constantly happening with basically everyone everywhere we have to focus to pick up anything specific that isn't above a certain register."

"Oh. So everyone's having emotions all the time, which is noise, and you only pay attention to really _loud_ noises?"

"...that's one way to put it. Why are you asking this?"

"...Um."

"Well, I'm sensing embarrassment from you now, and that's without my force abilities."

"I... um. So. Uh... This is going to sound really awkward, and I really don't know if I should ask this."

"Is this a Yang influenced question?"

"Okay, why does everyone assume that all my dirty questions are Yang-influenced? Can't I have some perversion on my own initiative?"

"Theoretically, but it would put your billion-year-maiden reputation in jeopardy."

"...Alright. So... This is really, really stupid."

"What else would I expect from my favorite dolt?"

"Ha. Well. Okay. Um. So, if you can sense emotions... kind of... and we've, uh, installed the retractable wall... I was, you know, sort of wondering... What do you sense, when, um."

"When Yang and Blake are intimately engaged?"

"...Yeah."

"...Well. Hmm. I don't try to sense anything specific, mind you."

"Of course not!"

"But... sometimes, there are spikes of, well, what you'd expect. Joy, lust, love, whatnot."

"Oh."

"It's quite relaxing, in its own way. Like listening to songbirds."

"...That actually sounds kind of creepy."

"Like I said, I don't deliberately try to feel it, but when they get going-"

"Okay! Okay. Okay, I, I get it. No need to talk anymore, I was just stupid and curious and..."

"...and?"

"...and now I'm wondering if you sense anything from Jaune and Pyrrha."

"Oh, yes. Same basic thing."

"Oh."

"Granted, the exact tones vary, as though they're a different breed of songbird-"

"Seriously creepy, Weiss!"

"You asked."

"I know I did. Uuuuuunnnnngh..."

 **46.11 LithosMaitreya**

Blake reached forward and knocked on the door.

"That's loud," Ruby observed brightly.

Blake nodded.

The door opened, and Kali Belladonna looked out at them. "Blake?" she said, eyes widening.

Ruby stuck her head in front of her teammate's. "Your daughter is dating my sister!"

"What?"

Blake facepalmed.

-

"This," Blake told her parents, "is Ruby Rose. She led my team at Beacon."

"And you're dating her sister," Kali added.

Blake put her head in her hands. "Not the _point_ , mom…"

"I'm just making sure we're all on the same page!"

"It's okay," Ruby assured her. "They're very cute together."

" _Also not the point, Ruby._ "

"I regret nothing!"

Blake rolled her eyes. "I _thought_ you'd like to meet her," she said, glaring at her Anchor. "Starting to regret that decision now."

Ruby gave her a smile brimming with self-satisfaction.

"Well, welcome to Menagerie, Miss Rose," said Ghira. "We don't often have human guests."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I got that feeling. Got a few odd looks. It's not a problem that I'm here, is it?"

Ghira shook his head. "Not at all," he said firmly. "People are just—surprised."

"I can understand that," Ruby said. "I like it here, though. Crowded, yes, but… pleasant. Communal."

Ghira smiled slightly. "That's the idea," he agreed.

"So, you were Blake's team leader?" Kali asked. "What did that entail?"

Ruby shrugged thoughtfully. "Mostly, I was just the one in charge of coordinating us in the middle of fights," she said. "Blake and Weiss came up with a lot of the actual maneuvers we use—I just decided what to do in the moment."

"Don't sell yourself short," Blake said lightly. "You also got involved in _all_ of the shenanigans."

"Oh, true," Ruby agreed merrily. "That I did."

"Shenanigans?" asked Kali with a smile.

" _Weiss?_ " asked Ghira with a frown.

Ruby nodded pleasantly. "Weiss Schnee," she said. "You might've heard of her."

Blake facepalmed again. "You're enjoying this," she accused.

Ruby nodded again. "Aren't you?"

Blake sighed.

 **46.12 Masterweaver**

"...seriously Ruby?"

"Well, I mean... I just kind of figured..."

"Do you think anyone's going to buy this?"

"Yang will back me up! And Weiss agreed to forge some history, so..."

"That's not... well, okay, that is part of the problem, but it's not the whole problem."

"Well then, what is?"

"You actually think, somehow, that growing leaves from your skin and having rose petals for hair is going to convince people there's a long lost third race?"

"It makes sense, Blake! You're a faunus, I'm a floram! Plants and animals!"

"Ugh. You really are Yang's little sister..."

 **46.13 WirelessGrapes**

"Are you sure you wanna do this, Weiss?"

"Of course I'm sure," Weiss snapped back, "I would _love_ to meet your family, I will not let any preconceived notions of my family hold me back. I've spent millennia insisting to non-Loopers that I'm not racist!"

Blake stepped back, raising her hands in surrender, and Weiss sighed, "Sorry, it's just that I'm tired of people assuming things about me. Everyone else on the team has met your family, I don't want to be left out."

Blake nodded, "Alright, just be ready for them to _maybe_ freak."

She turned to the door, and hit the knocker. A few moments later, the door flew open, and Blake smiled widely as her mother answered the door.

"Blake!" Her mother's exuberant shout always warmed her heart, "You're home!"

Blake shyly waved, grabbing her bicep with her other arm, "Hi, mom, can we come in?"

"You don't need to ask me to come into your own home, come in, come in!" She insisted, gesturing her daughter inside.

Blake flushed, "That's not who I'm talking about, umm, Mom, this is one of my teammates, Weiss."

Weiss came around the corner, just as a voice entered the front room, "Who's there, honey?"

Kali froze, as her husband entered the foyer, looking at the door, "YOU!"

XXX

The four sat around the table awkwardly, Weiss sipping her tea nervously, while Ghira looked like he was constraining himself, Blake tried to hide in her jacket, and Kali was torn between joining her husband's rage and comforting her daughter.

Kali broke the silence first, "So, Weiss, you were one of Blake's teammates?"

She looked up from her tea, "Ah, yes, I was. Beacon was a, learning experience. Learning about Blake's, ancestry, was um, certainly a lesson to me. Mainly that my father is an unrepentant asshole."

Blake choked on her tea. Getting the heiress to actually swear beyond a horrific loop was an oddity, and was probably one of the few times over the millions of years she'd heard it.

Ghira looked at the heiress for a moment, before breaking into a large smile, bellowing out with a laugh, "I like this girl!"

 **46.14 Masterweaver**

Steel and bronze flashed, sharp edges clinking together for mere moments before one or the other would back off. The rapier gave no quarry, no tarry, but always it was deflected, a constant pest batted away with rounded shield. And yet it moved with such swift grace that it pushed back against the other, never allowing advantage or weakness, never giving a moment of breath, a sting of a thousand insects holding back a grand warrior.

Shadows gripped the blade, dragging it sideways, but the wielder was ready for such a move. She bent at the knees, her finger sprinkling pale powder on the ground, and slid under deadly bronze on sudden ice. Elegantly did the slip become a twirl, even as her opponent's weapon snapped up and changed; the rounded shield barely came up in time to deflect a blast of lightning from her weapon's hilt.

Away it fell, and the moment the weapon clicked into place it let out a bang-fire hitting where the foe had stood but half a second before. Eyes darted up and fire burst forth again as the rapier-wielding girl jumped from a platform of light; this she could not dodge, midair as she was, though she twisted to roll with the assault. A hit.

First blood.

But not last.

She landed, stood, and let her blade twirl. Dust fell in a circle around her feet before flaring-her opponent dragged forward by sudden physics. Thin her blade was, and thin was the gap she aimed, yet still miraculous did the rounded bronze go flying. Without her defense, but not defenseless, the opponent brought her gun up edgewise, holding off a strike.

Icy blue met cool green. A second's examination. Lifetimes of knowledge. Decision, instant.

Black the arm that reached, summoning the rounded bronze, and light the blade of the foe; clang went metal against glyph, but it was a ruse on both parts. Twirl, low, kick, and she was falling, but twist and reach and the blade already was aimed. In a tick of a clock, in a space of time too swift to analyze, a scratch on the cheek.

There it was. The gauntlet, thrown.

The opponent's weapon clicked again as she hit the ground, and even as she rolled to the side a bronze edge scarred the tile. The dark hand lifted, where in the air the circle still flew, but she stood and again brought forth her blade, thumb twirling the chamber within. At the moment shield returned she struck-the brief imbalance allowing the foe to summon a watery glyph between the opponent.

Slip.

Fall.

Shield raised to deflect, but no-this was not a strike. Fire, fire ran along the thin blade, over the edge of the circle, to the face.

Eye for an eye...

Suddenly, a chime. And with it, a change.

The foe hung her blade from her hip, reaching out to help the opponent up. "A fair bout, Pyrrha."

"We agreed baseline abilities only."

"And I only used baseline abilities."

"Really, Weiss?" Pyrrha huffed as she stood. "Because it felt like you were using force clairvoyance."

"Pyrrha, you're an excellent warrior, but you're predictable."

The mistral girl put her hands on her hips. "Really?"

"You couldn't just leave the shield behind," Weiss pointed out. "It's your biggest strength but also your greatest weakness-if you lose the shield, you'll try to get it back."

"What, you think I should have left it there?"

"You should have ensured I was entirely immobilized before you tried to get it. That moment of unbalance when you hooked it back on-"

"You were dodging my swings!"

"You telegraph."

"I still think you used clairvoyance."

"But you still got first blood."

Pyrrha snorted. "...Yeah." She managed a small grin. "Well, I can't deny you're getting _slightly_ better."

"Oh, only slightly?"

"Mmmhmm. You're still spending dust like candy." She waved a disciplining finger. "Don't waste resources, rich girl."

"I'll keep that in mind." Weiss smiled. "I still won, though."

"Because you cheated!"

 **46.15 See Mohn**

Blake had been here dozens of times before, but this one, she sensed, would be different. Her hand hovered hesitantly over the knocker as she tried to figure out how to explain... this. Steeling herself, she knocked. "Give me a second, okay?" she whispered to her companion, who nodded and stepped back.

The door opened a crack, before opening further. Her mother, as always, stood inside her childhood home.

"Blake?" Kali whispered, eyes wide.

Blake smiled in greeting, and within moments mother and daughter were embracing. Blake always cherished these moments, as brief as they were.

After the two broke off the hug, Kali opened her mouth to say something - before noticing Blake's companion standing a few feet away. "And... you are?" she asked, with just a tinge of suspicion.

"Can we come in?" Blake asked. "We'll tell you and dad everything once we're inside, I promise."

-

"So," Ghira said once tea had been served, "You were going to tell us about your boyfriend here?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Blake said reflexively. "It's... complicated." As soon as she finished speaking, she winced at her poor choice of wording.

Kali's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, before turning to their raven-haired guest. "Maybe you'd like to explain, Mr. Complicated?"

"I'll give you the extremely condensed version," Sasuke said. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, her brother from another universe." He paused, and took a sip of tea while Kali and Ghira looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Also, I'm spoken for, and was spoken for before I met Blake."

Several seconds of silence passed, Blake looking nervously between her parents and her brother. Idly, she pondered the (remote, but non-zero) possibility that she had a sibling here in Menagerie that Baseline hadn't revealed yet, and how that might change the complexion of things.

"Blake," Kali said, snapping her back to reality, "You could have just said he was your boyfriend. Yes, he's human, but you're our daughter and we trust you."

"I have proof," Sasuke said. He reached into his bag and took out a perfectly ordinary photo album, putting it on the table and opening it up. "Those are completely unaltered, I assure you."

Kali looked at the first photo, clearly humoring him. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she took in the details of the picture - an wildly grinning blond boy in an orange jacket in the middle with his arms flung over the shoulders of two people: a boy who was clearly a younger Sasuke on the right, and, unmistakably, _Blake_ on the left. She was younger, likely twelve or thirteen, but... this was definitely her daughter.

"What..." she breathed, flabbergasted. She looked at the next photo, and the next, and the next. All showed Blake and Sasuke, with various other parties in the picture. In the back of her mind, she noticed the metal headbands with the unusual insignia they were wearing in every photo, as well as the combat vests in some, but she was too focused on her daughter to think about that right now.

"What are all of these, Blake?" Ghira said, trying to regain some sense of logic. "These can't be real. Who made these?"

"When Sasuke said he's my brother from another universe," Blake said, "he's telling the truth. It's virtually impossible to explain to someone who hasn't been a part of it, but... the two of us, as well as my team back in Beacon, and countless others... we're caught in a multiversal time loop. I don't know how long it's been at this point, but for Sasuke it's been infinitely longer."

Blake took a shuddering breath, eyes watering, before it all came pouring out. "I've seen so many beautiful, I've made so many wonderful friends, I've done so many incredible things, but I only met my parents recently, because the loop begins less than a year ago and... until recently, it ended before today.

"I'd forgotten what my own parents looked like. I don't even remember living here," Blake choked out. "And I don't even know how much time I'll get to spend with the two of you. But... I wanted you to meet Sasuke, because..." Blake shook her head to recalibrate her thoughts, before wiping her eyes. "Because he's my brother," she said. "I know it doesn't make sense. But he wanted to meet you, and I wanted you to meet him."

 **46.16 Masterweaver**

"...and that's when I figured out that it wasn't actually the horse's fault, but by that point we'd run out of jawbreakers so I had to hop off the cliff-"

"WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, even as the thug cut her up into more pieces. "You need to relax, man. Some things just can't be explained."

 **46.17 Masterweaver**

Okay this isn't going to be the first one BUT

"...so you're playing it this way?"

"Well, yeah. Hope you don't mind."

"It's a bit weird, but-"

Blake cut herself off as, once more, the unfamiliar familiar door swung open. A face that was growing more and more permanent in her memory peered out, emotions passing quickly-polite curiosity, realization, hope, relief.

"Blake?"

"...Hi Mom." Even now that gave her a small thrill when she said it. "Can we-"

She didn't even get to finish her sentence before Kali had wrapped her in a hug-another new/old experience, something unique to looping, but this time she simply rolled with it and hugged back. There was something special about this, something... entrancing.

A tug in her hair brought her back to reality, and Blake (reluctantly) broke the embrace. "Mom, I... have somebody I'd like you to meet."

Kali blinked, looking around the porch and finding only her daughter. "Alright...?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Ruby, come on out."

"Is it over?"

The look of confusion on her mother's face caused Blake to chuckle. "Yes, the big scary door-knocker is done. You'll have to forgive her, loud thumping is an issue..."

A tiny head poked out from behind Blake's neck. "Oh!" The head was followed by a tiny body, as a doll-like figure walked onto her shoulder and waved. "Hi! I'm Ruby!"

Kali blinked. "...Hello," she said, for lack of anything better to say.

"Ooooo, you've got shinies!" Ruby jumped and dissolved into a stream of red petals that flowed over, reforming on Kali's own shoulder.

"Ruby," Blake said warningly.

"But-shinies!" The tiny figure reached out for the increasingly unnerved Kali's earrings. "Shiny-"

"Ruby, what have I said about taking other people's jewelry?"

"Um... I forget?"

Blake rose an eyebrow.

"...that other people like their jewelry," Ruby admitted, "so it's not nice to take it."

"Especially if we're wearing it," Kali managed. "Um, Blake, not to sound rude, but...?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Blake managed. "Is... father around?"

-

"...so apparently, while the faunus never stopped trying to be part of human society, the floram basically integrated themselves into the surrounding forests." Blake nodded to the tiny figure slurping up tea like a vacuum. "I met Ruby during my initiation, she... well, her bush was crushed by an Ursa that Yang killed, so she hung around her and since Yang was my partner, we sort of got to know each other. Modeled herself off our team leader, to be honest. After the fall of Beacon, she just... she wouldn't leave me be."

Ghira rose an eyebrow as Ruby hiccuped and leaned back, sitting on the edge of the teacup. "She seems... very... young."

"Well, I'm only fifty seven!" the doll-like figure beamed.

Kali leaned back. _"Only?"_

Blake shrugged. "I don't know all the details, but something about being aligned with plants makes floram age very... slowly. She's actually quite knowledgeable, and she's saved my skin more then once."

"Yep!" Ruby posed on the edge of her teacup, pointing her scythe-like twig dramatically. "No Grimm can stand against the ferocious might of the florWHA!"

Blake gave her parents a resigned smile as the cup overbalanced and flipped, trapping the tiny figure underneath. "Aaaaaand sometimes she does things like this."

"Darkness rising! Cage of ceramic!" The teacup began to rattle and hop. "I shall be freed from this tasty-smelling prison!"

Kali giggled despite herself. "Well, I... certainly wasn't expecting this. Why exactly did you bring her home?"

"Well..." Blake twisted her hands together. "You see, the rest of my team... Yang and Ruby, not this Ruby but the first Ruby, they're sisters. After what happened to them, their dad came and took them back to Patch. And... Weiss, she was picked up by _her_ father, ostensibly for her own safety, but... if I'm honest, it might have been more to keep her under his thumb." Her ears folded back awkwardly. "When Ruby found out nobody was picking me up, she... kind of insisted she hang around. Just so I wouldn't be lonely."

"HYAH! Ow!" The teacup jolted. "Oh, you want to do this, huh?"

"I guess I can't entirely regret it." Blake reached out and grabbed the cup, lifting it and flipping it back upright. "She is a good friend to have."

Ruby froze, caught in a striking position, before suddenly assuming a formal stance. "Mister and missus Belladonna," she stated seriously, "I regret to inform you that your tea set might be haunted."

Ghira's lips twitched, but he maintained a stoic expression. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

A sudden thunk had Ruby suddenly dashing behind the teacup with a squeak. Blake snorted. "You can stab a dragon grimm in the eye, but a door knocker scares you?"

"It's loooooooooooud..." Ruby said in what she probably thought was a whisper.

And I can't really think of how to further this one. WELP!

 **46.18 Masterweaver**

Weiss blinked.

"...Carnifex Maxima Pope Ruby Rose the First of the Church of the Divine Bacon Horse."

Ruby shrugged. "I was the first to ask. It was a weird fused variant null loop." She beamed. "You three were bishops!"

For a moment, nothing was said.

Then Weiss produced a bottle, uncorked it, summoned a goblet, poured the red wine slowly, corked the bottle, pocketed it, and took a long, slow, sip.

Ruby blinked. "Uh-"

Weiss held up a finger.

When the goblet was drained, she let herself relax. "Okay. So you were the head of a religion. I can handle that. That makes total, total sense."

"Weiss-"

"Heiress," she explained, with only a slight slur. "Negotiations, parties with wine. Sometimes father starts training me up early." She rolled her head back. "This is a buzz. Helps the thoughts sink in."

Blake shook her head. "If Weiss is getting drunk, things _must_ be weird."

Yang gripped her affectionately. "You know it. So, anything else happen that loop, Ruby?"

"Well, this highschooler found an old alien site and got her friends to dress up as senshi..."

 **46.19 Masterweaver**

"Interesting," Zwei mused. "It's loud, but toned so it doesn't hurt my ears."

"Faunus," Blake reminded him. "Sensitive hearing all round. Here she comes..."

The door opened gently, and-

"I say, Blake, is this your older sister?"

-Kali looked down at the speaker, nonplussed. "...Did that dog just talk?"

"Well it's either that or miss Belladonna here learned ventriloquism," Zwei commented.

Blake sighed. "Hi mom. This is Zwei. He's a friend... sort of."

"Sort of, she says. Didn't you let me sleep on your bed?"

"Only after I got together with Yang!"

"Yang?" Kali asked.

Blake blinked, and facepalmed. "...right, I did not want to open with that."

"Your daughter is no longer a virgin," Zwei reported sadly.

Blake glowered at him. "If you don't shut your mouth for five minutes I will _punt you to the harbor."_

-

It wasn't entirely quiet at the tea table, Zwei's enthusiastic licking of his teacup certainly was noisy, but apart from that awkward silence descended on the table. Blake sipped her tea carefully, gauging the expressions of her parents.

Eventually he looked up. "Oh! Terribly sorry, I've been quite rude. This is excellent tea."

Kali nodded. "Thank... you."

Ghira coughed into his fist. "So. Zwei. How, exactly, do you know my daughter?"

"Oh, my sisters were on her team. Adoptive, I should clarify. I came to visit, things happened, and I sort of stuck around after that."

"It was a little awkward," Blake admitted, "given... things. But we worked it out."

"I see." Ghira took a sip of his tea, eyes never leaving the corgi. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly is it that you... are capable of speech?"

"An excellent question! My sisters were quite surprised when their little puppy started babbling babytalk." Zwei shrugged. "As far as we can tell, it's the result of the family breeding project."

"A couple generations ago, one of their ancestors decided that if animals have aura, they could be bred to have stronger aura." Blake gestured. "Apparently, though, once your soul is strong enough, you get some form of intelligence, whether you want it or not."

"That's the going theory, anyway." Zwei pulled a doggy grin. "Personally I think it's simply that I got bored having my barking misinterpreted by two young girls."

"I suppose we'll have to wait for your kids to start talking to find out."

"If I ever find a nice doberman, I'll let you know."

Blake snorted. "A doberman?"

"What can I say." Zwei licked his teacup clean. "I like them large."

Kali cleared her throat. "We were... horrified when we heard what happened in Vale."

"I was too," Blake admitted. "I never suspected the White Fang would do anything like that."

"The White Fang?"

"Yes," Zwei confirmed. "It wasn't the first time they tried to set Grimm on the city, me and miss Blake here helped repel an earlier incursion, but it was certainly a well-plotted out assault."

Ghira and Kali shared a look.

"Of course, there's no possible way they could find us here," the corgi added.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Right, I didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

And at that, the door knocker thunked out again.

 **46.20**

Zwei tottled up to Ruby. "Good morning my lovely owner and friend. May I have a cuddling?"

"Oh Zwei, you know I love cuddling you, but..." Ruby shoved the Beowulf off of herself and kicked it from Sannas to Anima. "I am hunting."

"Cuddle the hypno corgi," Zwei said with spiral eyes.

"I shall cuddle the hypno corgi," Ruby said in monotone. A Beowulf tried to eat her. Zwei ate it. "Cuddle cuddle cuddle."

...

"...Really? Hypnosis to make her cuddle you?" Weiss asked, staring down at the corgi that a hypnotized Ruby had walked in with. "You have powerful hypnosis, and you just have Ruby cuddle you."

"Say you are stupid for mocking my simple and petty desires," Zwei said hypno eyes.

"No," Weiss said back. "I'm a well versed Jedi. I have a natural immunity to mind control."

"WHAT!?" Zwei howled. "You have to be kidding... well actually that makes sense. Blake, call Weiss stupid!"

"I have Sharingan and natural immunity to hypnosis."

"Yang!"

"Discipline from years of martial arts practice."

"Jaune?"

"Pyrrha to beat the hypno out of me."

"Pyrrha?"

"Spider sense developed to grant immunity."

"Uh... Nora?"

"Boop!"

"Ren! Please be susceptible to my mental control."

"What did Yang say?"

"...Neo?"

"Is too cute, mute and creepy to be mind controlled."

"Bark bark woof!"

Roman sipped his beer. "I have got to learn how to speak dog, I just know he's mocking me somehow."

"Ozpin!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Glynda?"

Glynda glared at the dog. "I am an angel. Try and stop me."

"Cinder!"

"Vampire Sky Knight Earthbender. You are my bitch."

"Qrow?"

"Too drunk to be mind controlled."

"Winter?"

"Military discipline."

"Ironwood?"

"Robot arm."

"Penny?"

"..." Penny walked over and cuddled Zwei, much to the talking corgi's dismay.

Zwei growled. "I can't believe it! I become a hypno corgi and the only person I can hypnotize is Ruby! Speaking of which, doesn't being a Majin mean she can't be brainwashed?"

The assembled Loopers stared at Ruby. Ruby drooled a bit. "Guess not," Cinder said.

 **46.21 Masterweaver**

"Ah, miss Rose." Ozpin smiled gently as he fell into lockstep with the young prodigy. "How are you finding your time at beacon? Well anchored, I trust?"

"It can be a little loopy at times," Ruby replied, "but I'm well awake to the dangers." She sighed. "Can this wait? Class attendance is part of the grade this loop, and..."

Ozpin nodded genially. "It can, though I'd rather discuss this sooner rather then later."

"Always the mysterious headmaster... Why can't you ever just drop by for tea or something?"

"I'm an incorrigible worrywort. Old habits, I'm afraid."

Ruby rolled her eyes. Her head dissolved into red petals for a moment before reforming, a small bundle solidifying into a chibiruby on Ozpin's shoulder. "Professor Peach is a droner this loop," the tiny doll-like figure commented. "I can split my attention easily enough."

"I'll be wanting that back though," Ruby added.

"You know, it says something about the whole situation that I am not at all surprised you casually split off a bit of your consciousness to have a chat with me." Ozpin nodded to the original Ruby, before turning and walking toward the tower.

"Question: Do we really have to be in your office for this conversation?"

"Not really, but it is where I prefer to have serious tactical discussion. Outside I'm more likely to be mysterious and cryptic."

The doll-like figure shrugged in acceptance. "I'm just not looking forward to the long awkward elevator ride. I understand why it's necessary, but..." She shuddered. "Elevators. Yeesh."

"Yes, you were caught in a glitch one time, weren't you?"

"Oh yeah. See, it was a smart elevator and it friended Yang online without her permission, so she did the typical Yang thing and punched it out _somehow..._ "

-

"...and once Mom had stopped freaking out about how casually I took my decapitation, well, we settled in for a nice fuzzy vacation loop. So I can't say it was all bad, but that elevator _itself_ was just the worst!"

Ozpin nodded as the doors opened, striding into his office. "Quite the adventure. I must say, the tap-dancing walruses were not something I heard about before."

"Yeah, that was just weird." Ruby hopped from his shoulder onto the desk, rolling her tiny neck. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about? Something about the recent expansion?"

"...Yes, and no." Ozpin took a seat, clasping his hands together. "I'm sure the details could be covered again and again, but it brought something else to my attention. The demographics of our loopers, to be precise."

Ruby frowned. "I... take it you're not referring to the Mukokuseki thing we've got going on."

"No, not hub-world demographics." Ozpin tapped a button, and a holographic map of Remnant appeared. "I've marked the probable origins of our loopers, here. Notice a pattern?"

"...Well, almost half of us are from Vale," Ruby commented. "That makes sense, since I'm the Anchor and I grew up here. Five people from Mistral, JNPR, Qrow, and Cinder I'm guessing? Four from Atlas." She glanced up. "Ozpin, are you sure you're from Vale?"

"It is loop variable," the headmaster allowed. "As are Glynda and Neo's origins, they sometimes come from elsewhere." He tapped a corner of the map. "What I wanted to talk about, however, was this."

"...One from Menagerie. Blake." Ruby let out a breath. "Hooo boy."

"Five continents. Four if you discount our uninhabited neighbor." Ozpin rapped his fingers against the desk. "Even before the loops started, I had a habit of sending agents across all of them, in some attempt to keep the world together. And now, with the loops, I... well. We, as the case might be, have a select group of individuals who are sometimes potent forces of their own available in case of emergency."

"Or to fight Salem." Ruby nodded at the map. "And each continent has a group of native loopers... and then there's Blake."

"The only looper from Menagerie."

Ruby shook her head. "Remember back when she formed the Queendom of Anima? I mean, were you Awake for that?"

"Stealthing, yes."

"Did you do anything?"

Ozpin sighed. "I didn't Wake Up before the deportation, and... afterwards, I thought it would be a test of her abilities. One she more than passed, of course."

"Hmm." Ruby shrugged. "We all make mistakes. You know, when Mistral's continent got its name, Blake was peeved. Went on a rant about them stealing her queendom's name... even though chronologistically it was just coincidence. Yang had her hands full that loop."

"Hmm." Ozpin nodded. "...Miss Belladonna has a strong sense of responsibility."

"And you're worried she might not handle being the only looper on Menagerie well."

"Oh, I have no doubt she will take to it like a duck to water. But she will be quite lonely there, despite the crowded populace."

Ruby half smiled. "She'll probably take Yang along, when she can. I know I can spare her."

Ozpine chuckled. "Yes, that will help. Still..."

"Still." Ruby sighed. "Menagerie. Even in the loops, the mistreatment of Faunus leads to problems. Look, I'll... talk it over with her, alright? Try to give her a chibiruby or..."

"...or?"

"Or convince the CFVY machines to jump Pockets." The doll-like figure sagged. "I'm pretty sure they need a fresh start, anyway, they've been hiding it from me but I feel they're going extremely stir-crazy in mine."

Ozpin rose an eyebrow. "...That would leave you alone when the rest of us aren't Awake."

"Hey, I'd still have Crescent Rose."

"True, that..." He shrugged. "Well, it is your decision to make, of course. I merely wished to bring up the subject, and... discuss it with you, before I brought Blake herself up here."

"Yeah... there's no easy answer here." Ruby's eyes drifted up to the left of the map. "...Do you ever wonder what's going on over there, though?"

"Oh, frequently. But... somehow, I think we might get answers sooner then we'd like."

 **46.22 diesel**

"Hey, Ruby are you okay?"

Ruby glanced at Pyrrha as she sat down next to her, "I'm fine, just thinking about whether something would be a good a good idea or not." The comment getting a snort of laughter, the gladiator smiled, eyes raking Jaune's semi-naked body with obvious hunger.

"Since when has that stopped you before?" Pyrrha shot a brief, amused glare at Ruby whose silver eyes were tracking Jaune with an appreciative look "And he's mine, get your own. Oh, that's right, your waiting for baseline to give you one, bit difficult after declaring war on it."

Ruby laughed as she docked the playful blow, eyes dancing with humour as both of them watched Jaune and Cinder's spar. Cinder had a vicious grin of her face as she ducked underneath a lethal that would have spilt her head open before lashing out with her own axe, catching Jaune on the leg. The ring of metal on metal ringing out over Berk alongside almost constant sonic booms.

The look on Stoic the Vast's face was hysterical, he had ended up leaving muttering about touched by the gods. It was always funny when non loopers got so close to the truth but were so far off.

It was relaxing, several years without any word ending disasters in a fun, if simple loop. And they had Dragons!

Overhead, a Night Fury with golden eyes swooped down before turning at a dime, the golden Monstrous Nightmare misjudging her speed and smashing into a stone column. Catching itself before she fell into the water and charging at the laughing black dragon.

"Yep," Ruby popped the last letter, grabbing a bit of roast fish from her basket "he is yours, but I did not think you had a problem with someone appreciating the view."

Jaune growled as Cinder's axe removed his ear, twisting out of the way and countering the next few strikes before he stuck. Cinder's scream of pain and anger ran through the air as her fingers fell to the sand.

"Close, Cinder really is not good at using atypical weaponry. If she had not caught it she would be out, but using her off had will be a hindrance."

Ruby could not help but agree, Cinder stuck to her bow and twin blades far too much and was at a big disadvantage in this fight.

Pyrrha glanced at her in amusement before retuning her attention to Jaune's bod… sorry the fight "And 'appreciating the view'? Miss Eternal Maiden, aren't you asexual?"

"Nope, l like guys." The fight was going to end soon, and unless Jaune did something fantastically stupid then it was his victory. "And I can enjoy loops where I get memories of being laid, well for the most part. I just on the whole don't feel like hooking up with children, have other things on my mind, don't feel like one night stands and find it funny to play as the naive girl."

Ruby grinned as Pyhrra laughed, a familiar voice interjecting with amusement "I do wonder how accurate your maiden reputation really is." Weiss was dressed to the T as a traditional Berk shield maiden.

Including the iconic Hollywood Viking helmet that was traditional were in this loop.

Weiss almost flopped down next to them, uncaring of any grace or poise "Given you habit of lying, I am still not 100% sure you are a marjin or at least not completely, I would not be surprised if you got some on the sly now and again."

Ruby looked affronted, the twitching of her lips breaking the image, "Hey, I have not lied about that! It's part of my image and persona. You don't just break that, having a well-defined persona is one of the few things that allows a person to not go insane."

"Unless your bored and think you can get away with it." Weiss pointed out lazily as she stretched out on the bench, eyes dropping and looking utterly content.

Looking remarkably like Blake after she had had fun with Yang. Ruby always found it hysterical what mannerisms rubbed off and onto whom, they tended to manifest in the oddest places and when the looper was not caring about acting normally.

"Well true, but it's a point of pride."

"Just like you seem to treat being honest as, we are loopers, we lie and we go nuts now and then. Pride rarely holds up well after a million or more loops. And you do have a libido."

Ruby huffed, it did not look like she was going to be believed …. and she didn't really blame them. Ruby was still positive that Weis… she shook her head, it didn't matter.

"And I am not waiting for baseline. I am not baseline me, I will deal with baseline if it comes up. There is a difference, it can't tell me what to do."

Wait…

"I can't remember what I was thinking of doing now, damn it."

Ruby pouted as her so called friends laughed, it was not fair! They distracted her!

 **46.23 Masterweaver**

"...and that's when Lina said 'This is why I brought the donuts.'"

"She did not."

"She did."

"That... that is... disgusting."

"Yeah. Then again, apparently she helped Jaune get Pyrrha's wedding ring."

"Oh, yes, you did mention..."

"...so how are things going between you and the Baron?" Blake asked.

Haru blushed. "We... well, we're taking it slow. But we've had a few... you know. Dates." She smiled slightly. "We even danced once!"

Blake nodded. "Dancing is always fun. I remember me and Yang's first dance, back in baseline..."

"Oh?"

"We weren't dating, but I'd been on a research binge for... rather important reasons. Worked myself to the bone. She shook me out of it and promised me a dance if I came to the school prom." Blake smiled faintly. "I don't think that's when I fell for her, but it's certainly when I took notice."

Haru nodded faintly. "Right. That sounds... sweet."

"...what?"

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's... I mean, I know you're... and I'm just..." Haru coughed.

Blake rose an eyebrow. "What?"

"...Blake, I live in nineteen eighties or nineties Japan. I am happy for you and Yang, truly, and I know it's a little hypocritical of me to be weirded out when I'm dating a cat statuette, but I'm honestly still a little... unnerved by the idea of two women having a relationship beyond their teenage years." Haru held up her hand. "I'm trying to get over it, of course, it's just... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's... not alright, to be honest, but I understand." Blake looked down at her hands. "I know how hard it is to get over baseline prejudice. I've still got a bit of distaste for the Schnee name."

"...isn't Weiss-"

"Yes, and no. It's easier for me to think of her as Weiss, then as Weiss Schnee. It helps that she's taken quite a few steps to overcome her own biases, but..." She shrugged. "Like I said. It can be difficult. But you're honestly making strides."

"I suppose." Haru rubbed the back of her head. "...You know, one of these days, I should meet Yang, shouldn't I? In person."

"Hmm." Blake nodded. "Well, if you're ever in Remnant... Actually, that reminds me. Do you know I have an honorary brother?"

"No, I... didn't know that."

"Sasuke. He was the one that explained the loops to me. Granted, I Replaced his partner, but..." She brought her hands together. "One thing we've learned while looping. Family is what we make of it. So... Haru, would you like to be my honorary sister?"

Haru paused. "Um. I... suppose? Am I the big sister or the little sister?"

"Little." Blake grinned. "Definitely little."

"I guess I walked into that one."

"Yes you did."

"Do I have any responsibilities?"

"Oh, ordinary sister stuff. Like gossip. Have you gotten any new loopers?"

"Yes, actually. Hiromi, the girl you replaced. Oh, and Prince Lune and Yuki, they're looping now too..."

 **46.24 Masterweaver**

We are calm, and we have thought this out. That is why we want Mata to explain things.

And while we're waiting on that, a snip.

Kali stared at the two individuals on her porch. One was very familiar to her. The other...

"What ho, me lass! Fret ye not afear, me relations with ye bonnie clyde extend only as trade and froond, nay ye worry boot that."

Kali blinked, turning to Blake.

"This is the flying spaghetti monster," she explained, deadpan. "He's here for your tea recipe."

"Aye! What else would warrrrrrrrent me visit ta ye fine isle? Tis naught boot tha seek o' meals and meats prepared what for me fellow kith kin! Ever lernin', that's what we sing o'r tha waves!"

After a moment, Kali opened her mouth. "What-?"

"Do you _really_ want me to explain why a pirate-accented flying spaghetti monster escorted me from Vale in order to obtain your tea recipe," Blake asked, "or would you rather just accept it and move on?"

Her mother considered that, turning to the hovering bundle of noodles contemplatively.

"...is he safe?"

"If he's not drunk."

"Alright then." Kali cleared her throat. "Mister, ah... monster-"

"Call me Spag, lass, all me froonds do!"

"...Spag. If you don't mind, I'd like to get my daughter settled in, but I'll take you to the kitchen in a moment..."


	47. Put Aside These Childish Things

**47.1 DrTempo**

Team RWBY sat in the Beacon Academy courtyard enjoying lunch, discussing their plans for the Loop. The Vytal Festival had arrived, but oddly enough, no sign of Cinder and her cronies had been seen since the breach. There had been reports of a large explosion in Forever Fall shortly after, but nothing else.

Weiss, who had been pondering this, said, "I bet it was some Guest Loopers who caused that explosion."

Yang nodded with a smirk. "And I bet they're the reason we haven't seen any of Cinder's goons lately."

"You'd be right."

Team RWBY turned to see four people walk over, who could only be Loopers. The first of them wore what looked like a dark blue uniform, and carried a huge pair of scissors on her back. The second had orange hair, and wore a leather jacket and a blue dress. The third was a girl in an outfit similar to Link's, with green hair, and a figure that reminded Blake of Tsunade. The last of these four was a young man who wore a typical kendo outfit.

Blake recognized the Looper who'd spoken instantly, saying, "Hey, Ryuko! Good to see you!"

The girl with the huge pair of scissors smiled. "Good to see you too, Blake." She answered, "If you guys were wondering, I Looped in Yang's role a while back. The look on Taurus' face when I reattached my arm was priceless...Right before I sent him to the moon the hard way."

Yang chuckled vidictively, then gestured at the other three. "So, who're these guys? I recognize Sunset Shimmer," the orange haired girl smiled a greeting, "but the green haired ciick I don't know, and the last one looks just like that idiot kendo guy from Ranma's Branch."

The green haired woman offered a hand, saying, "I'm Saria Senju. Pleasure to meet you."

"Are you the same Saria from Link's home Loop?"

"Yes. And before you ask...My first Loop was in the Naruto Loop, and this appearance kinda stuck."

Blake then grinned. "Senju, huh? Can you use Mokuton?"

Saria did a few hand seals, and a tree sprouted nearby. "That answer your question?"

Blake grinned ear to ear. "Yes."

Ruby laughed. "I have a feeling you want to fight her, Blake?"

Blake nodded. "Of course."

Saria cracked her knuckles. "That'll be a good fight...though, if you remember the last time a Senju and an Uchiha fought..."

The kendo outfit wearing man coughed. "If I may...Yes, I am indeed Tatewaki Kuno, and I am Looping. I Awakened following a Loop wherein Ranma and I first met met during his training trip, thereby becoming friends and allies. Thankfully, that ensured that I evaded the more deplorable aspects of mine own Baseline personality."

Weiss frowned. "As long as you don't try to woo any of us."

Kuno chuckled. "I assure you, I am not quite so foolish as that any longer. If memory serves however, Lady Weiss, you were trained in the ways of the Force were you not?"

"I was. I suppose you were as well?"

"Indeed. I do admit, Star Wars was always one of my favorite foreign movies."

Sunset Shimmer then gave a cough, and said, "Anyways...Yeah, we're the reason Cinder and company up and vanished."

Ruby sighed. "Cinder wasn't Awake, right?"

"Nope. Ryuko got the honor of finishing Cinder off. Let's just say those scissors she's wielding can cut more than hair."

Team RWBY all grimaced as they realized what that meant. Ruby sighed. "At least she died quickly. I suppose you're here to compete in the Vytal Festival?"

Ryuko nodded. "Yep. We're Team RSST, and we're gonna kick ass!"

Yang laughed. "You'll have to get through us and Team JNPR first!"

"We'll see, won't we?"

 **47.2 DrTempo**

Shortly after that, Teams RSST and RWBY were in the forest where Teams RWBY and JNPR had first teamed up in baseline. Blake looked around, and said, "Is this a good spot for our sparring match, Saria?"

Saria nodded. "Indeed. Very well...how will we determine who wins this match?"

"Yeah. I'm wondering the same thing."

Saria turned around to see Ren floating behind her, with the rest of Team JNPR nearby.

Ren then asked, "You are Saria, from the Zelda Loop, correct?" Saria bowed.

"Yes."

Jaune scratched his head in confusion, asking, "Um..Isn't Saria supposed to be a Kokiri? I'm just asking.."

Saria giggled. "I'm not a Kokiri this Loop, if you're wondering why I look the way I do."

Jaune facepalmed. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

Blake then coughed. "Anyways, we'll use the same feature that shows a person's Aura level. We've modified the feature over the years to be able to show the amount of chakra, ki, magic, and so forth a combatant has. Still working out the bugs on it, though."

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, it does end to cause the device to blow up when we use too much power. Penny didn't like it when it happened the first time after she Awoke."

All of Team RSST blinked, and Ryuko said, "Pay up, Kuno. I knew Penny'd Awaken eventually." Kuno then handed Ryuko a large treasure chest, and grumbled at his bad luck.

"Darn. I had figured Qrow or Winter would Awaken first." Yang snickered.

"Actually..."

Sunset simply groaned, and then laughed.

"Guess the bet I had on Qrow, Winter, and Penny Awakening is the winner." With that, Sunset grabbed the treasure chest. Kuno laughed as Ryuko grumbled.

"Ah, to see that expression on you is amusing, Lady Ryuko."

Saria drew her Deku Staff, and said, "Let's begin, Blake."

Blake activated her Sharingan, and grinned. "Agreed. Bring it on!"

It was Saria who moved first, nature heeding her call as the sage shot across the ground at Blake. Grass and vines erupted from the ground ensnaring Blake, pollen and poisons filling the air in a chocking cloud.

The Deku staff smashed into Blake, the latter trying in vain to break free of the plants the bound her. Saria let a grin come across her face as she ducked, leaping to the side as the clone detonated and the illusion shattering revealing Blake swinging her chain scythe.

Searing wind turned the pollen to ashes, falling to the ground like snow as the bisected wood clone began growing. The snapping vines of a grotesquely warped venomous tentacula wrapping around and devouring the suspired faunus. The sightless eyes of the monstrous plant twisted as it thrashed helplessly, dissolving into the air. A shockwave of superheated air crushing down with a deafening explosion, the air igniting and crushing the Ents that rose from the ground. Blake had to admit, Saria was doing better than she had expected.

"Not bad, Saria. Surprised you used Ents. I never thought Mokuton could create anything like that."

"I'm the Forest Sage, remember? I am an expert in using plant life."

"I should have guessed. Very well. Let's see you counter this!"

Spears of flickering blue crystals impaling the remaining Titians of wood, tearing apart as rivers of water burst forth. A million eyed, winged serpent of ice rose into the air leaving the ground dry and barren, a black clad cat peached on its head, her spinning red eyes reflected in each scale.

Saria cursed as she wove among the masses of wood clones, trying to avoid making eye contact as hundreds of chains of rock burst forth from the dead ground, wrapping around the winged serpent.

That was not Blake, it was nothing more than a clone yet as long as it remained atop the construct she was at a disadvantage. Black flames covered the ground, consuming clone after clone, the real one vanishing from sight as Blake sent her construct up higher, circling high overhead.

Saria whispered under her breath, dissolving into motes of green light that spun around before reappearing over the icy construct, her weapon smashing through Blake's head shattering the illusion like an image spun of glass cobwebs.

A single arrow piecing her breast, the clones face was frozen in shock as its skin ripped open like a seed pod, raining hundreds of seed Deku Nuts down upon the battle. Wraith like forms filtering among the shadows as the clones attacked each other in a panic, before the shadows melted under the blinding flashes.

A hundred clones turned to stone as a long black figure danced around them, a barrage of earth dust flying at the sole remaining green form.

"Impressive, Saria! But I'm just getting started!"

Saria swore as her staff was cleaved through as her opponent burst from the ground, barely able to get her sword in place to block Blake's next blow. This was precisely the situation she had not wanted to get into.

Her hands flowed through seals, twisting out of the way of a fresh barrage of dust. A forest of trees rising to the sky, filled with every deadly plant she had grown to know of the endless loops. Saria sighed with silent relief as she melded with the forest, moving away from Blake as wood and foliage bent to her will.

Blake gazed around the dense twisting forest, a barrier surrounding her skin and face. The air was thick with pollen, seeds, toxins and spores, even a single breath would likely spell her end. She leapt, tumbling through the air as countless needles shoot through the air, clones rising from the towering trees, their attacks, striking only light. Blake then chuckled.

"You rally have exceeded my expectations, Saria. Using the forest to your advantage, and making sure I don't get a chance to strike. But, this ends now!"

Black flames towered into the sky, consuming the vast forest. Blake lost track of time as she tracked Saria, focusing solely on the patterns of attacks. Finally, as another clone fell Blake's eyes changed "Susano!"

A towering skeleton rose above the blazing sea of trees, a fleshless skull somehow twisting into a rictus grin as it's fist struck the ground with earth shattering force.

The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as Saria gritted her teeth, bitting her cheek. That was too close, she had only just managed to move away at the last second. As it was…

Saria painfully picked herself off the ground, hands already forming seals as she looked over the shattered remnants of the forest. The black flames now gone, along with the rest of it as Blake's Susano backhanded what remained, scattering the ashes to the winds. 'Well that did not work, I feel like I'm trying to capture smoke.'

A titanic dragon formed of wood roared its birth cry, lunging at the dark skeleton eclipsing Blake's view of Saria.

"Alright, Blake! Let's go for the finale!"

"You don't have to ask!" The dragon and Blake's Susano charged at each other, and after a few seconds, the dragon fell to pieces.

As Saria's wood golem fell to pieces from her Susano's blade, Blake looked around, Sharingan active.

 _Where did she go..._

Her question was soon answered, as Saria snuck behind Blake and swung her sword. Blake had anticipated this, though, and before Saria could react, Blake held both Saria's blade as well as her own. Realizing she'd lost, Saria raised her hands in surrender.

Blake handed Saria her blade, remarking, "I had a feeling you'd try the same trick the First Hokage used to defeat Madara as a last ditch move."

Saria shrugged. "Yeah. I figured it would be a fitting way to win if I had no other choice. Oh, well."

Ryuko chuckled as the two fighters shook hands. "Saria did pretty well, I think. But, experience is what gave Blake the edge."  
Ruby then asked, "So, who's sparring next?"

Kuno raised his hand. "I believe it is my turn to duel Weiss. Shall we go to the training arena? It would be a more fitting place."

Everyone agreed, and left the battlefield behind.

 **47.3 diesel**

Ash and smoke filled the air, the sickening stench of burning human flesh and volcanic debris horribly familiar. Ruby looked away from the bloody mess at her feet as she started mechanically cleaning Crescent Rose of blood, her eyes taking in the all too familiar carnage.

She felt hollow, this kept happening. It had always been like this, well for a very long time, longer then she could remember. Rivers of molten rock cast an orange glow, bubbling up from the depths of the earth and running in rivers down crevasse torn into the earth.

Pyres still burned, the flickering lights and smouldering embers were horrifyingly beautiful as they danced in the wind. Burning coals glowed in charred skeletons, slowing devouring what remained of them. Pools of blood forming artistic patters that reflected the devastation, untouched by the ash that fell like snow, the scorching winds swirling around, leaving such areas free of such mars on the artistry.

'Damn it Cinder, what is going on with you?' Ruby dropped her eyes back to the shredded form of her sister's doppelganger, a gruesome centre piece to the display of malice and maddness. Atop a blood soaked hill of swords and weapons she lay. A cold grin of victory, locked in death, the butchered remains glistening in the moonlight.

The dark, thundering pyrocumulonimbus that blacked the night sky, rolling above her, parting to allow the moons light to shine down atop the hill. Cinder's final whispered words seeming to hang in the air, echoing in Ruby's head. 'You think of yourself as a Hero? You can't even save your own sister, oh Child of the Moon'

Yang's and Blake's bodies were ash on the wind, their weapons in the pride of place upon the altar of slaughters Cinder had prepared. But it was not them Ruby thought of as the words were whispered as she cleaved though the mad woman's chest.

A dagger of ice to her heart, ripping open a wound that was only getting worse with time.

"Why?"

The corpse offered no response as Ruby's snarl of fury and frustration as rain slowly started to fall around her, a thundering bolt of lightning ripping into the hill with a blinding crash "What the hell was the point of all this?"

Cinder was going insane and she could not help. And her unAwake selves were getting increasingly more irrational, violent and unstable.

-

 _One strike flowed into the other, Dust infused glass clashing with Dust infused metal as two figured garbed in red warred on blood soaked ground. Grimm prowling at the edges, the dark shapes waiting and watching._

 _Ruby felt cold as she spun under a flurry of golden wreathed blows, she did not feel like wasting anymore emotions than necessary on this impostor. Her scythe tearing though flesh and Aura with ease as Burn Dust flashed through the air with a gesture._

 _Writhing tendrils of flames leapt into the air as Ruby dissolved, a swirling mass of petals. She had had enough of this, the bodies cooling upon the floors of Beacon had signed the Maiden's death warrant._

 _Cinder bit back a scream as she fell to a million razor edged petals, falling to the floor. Ruby reformed above her, staring down at the still barely alive women with a hint of curiosity in her silver eyes. She had noticed something odd before she had struck the last blow and had held back at the last second._

 _Cinder was laughing, her lungs gurgling as she tried to speak only to suck in blood, a look of savage glee on her mangled face which soon transitioned back into a hateful glare; crimson dyed lips speaking soundless curses._

 _Ruby frowned, her scythe whistling though the air._

 _Breathing evenly, Ruby surveyed her fallen enemy; her thoughts running a mile a minute even as she held herself still against the fetid, burning wind. The Unawake Cinder was becoming more vicious more often these days, and she was worried about what that might mean for Cinder in her current condition to have; to Awaken with that kind of background. Her fingers tightened on Crescent Rose's shaft. Why was this happening? Why now?_

 _-_

So many times the same thing would come about, often not as extreme but… it was almost the exact opposite of Cinder.

Ruby sighed, rubbing the tears that ran down her ash stained face, with a thought the vortex that allowed the moon to shine thought fell apart. The pouring rain washing away the ash and blood, a relaxing chill that wiped way the heat of the flames and doused the flames.

Idly, Ruby could not help but wonder how much time and effort it had taken for Cinder to set this all up. Even with the Power of the Autumn Maiden it would take vast amounts of Dust and time to set up the storm and clouds.

The hiss of the steam billowing from the lava drowned out by the belting rain and crashing thunder, sheets of lighting dancing across the sky. Forked lighting tearing apart the land as the vast storm broke.

Ruby closed her eyes as she let her mind drift, the rain and wind crashing against her uselessly.

She had looked at baseline Cinder, peered deep into the mind of thousands of different iterations and had found no sign or cause of the malady that afflicted her sister. Working with Weiss, they had delved into Cinder's, her sister's, mind with full, if reluctant, permission to find possible causes.

It would help if Cinder would trust them more and not hide parts of her mind. It's not like they don't already know she was a vampire or that she started looping earlier then she said. That distrust hurt, but it was not an issue, they had been focused on things other than memories anyway.

And they found them.

Nightmares induced by an outside cause were gnawing away at the foundations of Cinder's mind, old and deep, causing stress fractures and breaks. Some of it working to trap her in dreams for forever more. Other's just playing on Cinder's old fears and worsening her mental state, a malignant presence that had left its trace upon her soul.

Maybe more than one, it was impossible to tell.

Testing the insane variants was of no use, they died before they could accomplish anything.

So many possible courses. Was it something in her mess of a Pocket? A curse laid down by a cruel looper, a both with one linked to the other? A consequence of something the baseline Cinder had no issues with but messed with the Looping Cinder.

Was the Insane one a refection caused by Yggdrasill? Reflecting Cinder's problems in the worst possible way. It had precedent, a quirk of a looper manifesting in twisted ways in variants, often to force a person to face something but not always.

Ruby sighed, opening her eyes as silver met glowing red. A smoking black head thing the ground with a thump a Ruby dissected a pack of Beowolfs.

All she could do was hope and support Cinder as much as possible. They had helped shore up her mind, and work protection against induced nightmares, Cinder had sworn to ward her sleeping quarters until they knew why as well.

A Death Stalker struck, bursting out of the muddy ground, Ruby slid underneath the monster. The smoking scorpion corpse ignored as she wove around the oncoming hoard's blows. One blow flowing into the next in a dance she knew better than another. Feeling her stress falling away as she just moved, worries put aside for another time.

As of now? There was nothing more anyone could do, it was up to Cinder. All anyone could do was support her as much as possible. Petals drifted among the thundering wind and rain.

And unheeding of the rain, Ruby danced.

 **47.4 KanameFujiwara**

"...Mom?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"Can you _not_?"

"Do you know why people like me _drink_ Weiss?"

"..."

"Because I'm a coward, because I'm tired. Because I want to forget. So let me have this Weiss. Let me **have** this."

"...It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

"...Just, go."

 **47.5 Masterweaver**

"Ruby, we need an ostrich."

Ruby looked up at her sister, even as Blake let out a groan. "Ignore her, Ruby, she's being impulsive again."

"Oh come on!" Yang threw her a look. "Getting the practice in now will help when-"

"First of all, if there's ever a situation where I'm an ostrich rider, I'll let my loop memories guide me. Secondly, Menagerie probably doesn't have ostriches!"

"It might!"

"Even if Menagerie is an Australia analogue, which I won't deny is looking increasingly likely, ostriches are native to Africa! Australia has the emus and the cassowaries, remember?"

"Hmm." Yang tapped her chin. "Good point. Yeah, scratch the ostrich, Rubes, we need an emu."

"People don't ride emus! And don't even suggest the cassowary," Blake added, "the deathkick thing turns me off."

"Alright, fine. Do you have a kangaroo?"

"DEATHKICK! Seriously!"

"What makes you think I keep wildlife in my pocket anyway?" Ruby asked. "I mean, Starkiller came with an alien ecosystem, yeah, but apart from that-"

"I mean, you took a couple of Weiss's kaiju honey badgers, you have to keep them fed somehow, right? And the war corgi project-"

"Okay, I may keep a zoo for genetically engineered monstrosities, but I don't have any normal animal zoos. Yes, I'm counting Australian wildlife in that."

"Mmmmngh. Well, so much for _that_ idea..."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Honestly, we probably just use horses like everybody else."

"But you might not!" Yang objected. "I just want you to be prepared, that's all!"

"If it turns out we have some sort of exotic animal we ride, I'll pocket a couple and spend some time mastering them, okay?"

"...Oh, fine. I guess we can wait and see."

" _Thank_ you."

 **47.6 Masterweaver**

"...Hey Jaune." Ruby gave the man sitting outside the door a small smile.

"Hey Ruby." He waved, ring glittering on his finger.

Ruby nodded, sitting down across from him. "Waiting for her to go to sleep, huh?"

"Yeah."

They simply sat for a while.

"...Have you ever tried explaining?"

"Sometimes. Usually only when she's... fixated." Jaune shook his head. "She... tries to cope. Sometimes it works. Sometimes... sometimes she takes Ozpin's offer immediately."

"Hmm."

"And sometimes she tries to convince me it doesn't count because she's her." Jaune chuckled. "Those are the worst loops."

"Does Pyrrha know about... Pyrrha?"

"Ha."

"You know what I mean."

"...I've talked it over with her. We... well, she's given me a few tips on how to let her down gently, but she agrees the whole thing's weird."

"It can be hard to wait, can't it? I mean, I only wait for friends, not... lovers. But I imagine it's pretty difficult."

"Yeah. Pyrrha's sympathetic, of course, but..." He sighed. "When I'm not Awake, she can usually just treat me like her student. When she's not Awake, though, I have to deal with a warrior crushing on me."

"Maybe... if you can get her more friends early..."

"I've tried. It works sometimes, it doesn't others." Jaune met Ruby's gaze. "Everything's so much simpler when she's looping, you know? I don't have to worry about..."

"...about everything."

"Yeah."

"...If it's a problem-"

"It's not... it is, but it's something I know about. Something I'm prepared to handle."

"You know I'm here to help, of course."

"Well, yes. You and everyone else who's Awake." He looked away. "Still."

"Yeah."

They sat there, contemplating the fractured nature of reality.

"...hey. I know what'll cheer you up."

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow's the day Cardin usually pulls on Velvet's ears. Why don't we plan our just revenge?"

"Hah." Jaune grinned wryly. "Sure. You have any ideas?"

"I was thinking, if we could get Velvet in on it, we could all pretend that Cardin's secretly jealous and 'sympathetically' offer him numerous animal ear headbands..."

 **47.7 Masterweaver**

Glynda blinked as she Awoke in a throne, listening to the pleas of a peasant below her. She quickly rifled through her loop memories, half-focusing on the man's words, and winced internally when she considered how sociopathic her unawake self had been. How she had sought power, at any cost. How she had connived into being the royal family's chief advisor.

And there was the fact her skin was _purple_...

She adjusted herself, considering the situation. Horrible as she might have been before she Awoke, she was a looper; changing things that should have been was second nature. It was a balance, though; too blatant, and people who knew her would accuse her of madness. Still, Glynda thought she could manage it.

Alright, first she needed to deal with this situation. The peasant pleading before her-for _food_ , of all things, how unfair was the world she had been set in?-knelt and stared up at her in desperation. On the one hand, of course she would give him food, on the other her unawake self was supposed to be arrogant... Glynda hit on a solution.

"So... if I were to spare part of the palace larders for you," she said coolly, "what could you offer me in return?"

"Um. Un...undying gratitude, of course, and, um, I... I have a chicken?"

Ah, this was a barter civilization, pre-industrial. Hmm. "I suppose," she said with false resignation, "I could accept that." The chicken was probably the most valuable thing the poor man had; best to secretly return it later and pretend it had escaped on its own. "Wait outside, I will arrange the details."

 **47.8 Masterweaver**

"Salutations! I'm Penelope!"

"And I'm Pandora!"

"And welcome back to the Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket!"

"Now we've got some terrible news, some fun news, and some craaaaaaaazy news!"

"In our terrible news category, a Salem Laboratories Experimental Grimm has developed a soul and self-consciousness. The test subject has escaped containment and is presumed to be hiding in the industrial quarter. Said project lead Salem X-176, "We have carefully recorded the events leading to this situation and are working to prevent further escapes; once the facility is secure again, we will recreate the soul-bearing Grimm for analysis." Any and all industrial staff are to carry level seven weapons at all times; if you see a Grimm with purple eyes, fire without hesitation and report the event to your office head."

"In our fun news category, the council has just passed a bill legalizing the formerly informal sport of Pelt-ball. Teams are being formed as we speak, and the first league tournament is planned to occur in five subjective weeks. Pelt-ball, for those of you who have somehow remained unaware, emerged as a result of the feral dog population somehow mutating and evolving into cling-prowlers and infesting the civil quarter; it was invented and ruled formalized by Phoebe M-986, turning boring pest control into bloody fun for the whole family!"

"And in our crazy news category-"

"Craaaaaaaazy news!"

"...In our _crazy_ news category, local apartment complex A114 has dissolved due to a freak accident involving pliers, a bullhead, and a gallon of acid. Thankfully all the inhabitants were able to escape and only suffered minor acid burns, which are expected to heal over the course of the next subjective week. Reconstruction is already underway, with the people responsible for this tragic loss of property held in custody and expected to be publicly executed tomorrow."

"You know, it's been a while since we had a good public execution. Do you think they'll go for the noose or the guillotine?"

"I've always preferred disintegration. This has been Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket. Hail Overlord Cinder!"

"Hail Overlord Cinder! Up next, Anger Management with Adam Taurus… wait, we still have Adam Taurus's?"

"Yes. It surprised me to."

The Adam behind the camera glared at his colleagues.

 **47.9 Masterweaver**

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ruby cried, throwing her hands up as the little red wagon she was in tumbled down the hill. "Fassa, Yan'! Fassa!"

"It's going fast as it can!" Yang giggled, her pigtails whipping in the breeze as she held her sister tight. "Just hold on tight!"

"I duneya! Bi'sis Yan's holin' me!"

"Haha!" The older girl shifted her weight, nudging the wagon out of the way of a rock. "I guess you're right!"

The two of them whizzed past buildings, butterflies, and trees as the rickety red vehicle bumped and bundled its way down the slope. Ruby seemed to be oblivious to all the times Yang leaned the tiny thing into shifting left or right, dodging another outcropping, a log, a crashed airship, a stump. She simply focused on the thrill of moving fast, petals blowing off her hair in a constant stream. Eventually the slope began to level, letting the wagon slow down and slwoly roll to a stop.

"Awwwwwwwwwwww." Ruby looked around, pouting. "Why no fas?"

"Well, we all have to slow down sometimes. If we didn't, we'd miss important stuff." Yang hopped out of the wagon, walking over to a box and peering in. "Like this pretty kitty!"

"Eeeee!" Ruby scooted over, looking in herself. "She coot!"

"Yeah... come on out, don't be shy!" Yang giggled as the tuxedo-patterned kitten emerged, sniffing at her hand.

"She lick you," Ruby declared confidently.

"I think you're right." The little blonde girl picked up the kitten, hugging her tight. "I'm keeping her."

Her sister tilted her head. "Do zi lick kihi?"

"He'll like this one. Besides, Zwei's not here right now." Yang glanced around, frowning. "Where are we, anyway?"

Ruby looked around the ruined buildings, before gasping and pointing. "Theh! The sign, i' says... ba'kon... ak-adam-why!"

"Good eye, sis!" Yang ruffled her hair, shaking off a few rose petals as she looked at the fallen iron gate. "Beacon academy... Oh! I remember!"

"Remeba wha?"

"Daddy says a really, really old guy called Ozpin lives here," she explained, idly stroking the kitten she was holding. "He's super smart! He can tell us which way home is!"

"Oh! Okay!" Ruby beamed. "Where is he?"

"...I dunno. Let's go find out!"

The two sisters clambered over rock, broken robot, and rubble as they explored the area. They passed a fountain with a statue... they passed a juice-stained shattered wall... they passed a set of catapults.

And then Ruby gasped. "Look Yan'! Kihi!"

"What?" Yang's eyes first went to the kitten she was holding, before snapping up to see her sister rushing after something pink that had just gone around the corner. "Ruby!" Her tiny feet carried her swiftly, but Ruby vanished through a door just as she caught up. Without a second thought, she zipped in.

The room was tall, lit by green torches, with pillars rizing into the darkness. She could hear her sisters giggles, but not a single rose petal was in sight. Clutching at the kitten tightly, Yang stepped forward, looking around the room. "Ruby? Ruby, where are you?" Her feet echoed across the tiled floor, each step slow and cautious.

Something caught her eye. Two blue lights, angled, connected to a metal column... and a man in green tapping rapidly at the keyboard between them. Relief filled her as she rushed forward. "Professor Ozpin! I'm Yang Xaio Long, I think my sister is lost somewhere in here-"

She skidded to a halt with a squeak as another man stepped out from behind the column. His red hair glowed eerily around his horns, the strange mask he wore keeping her from seeing his eyes. The kitten in her arms hissed at the man, even as he took one step forward.

Yang backed away, then turned around to run-but her path was blocked by a woman, long black hair pouring from a red-lined helmet, one hand on a massive sword. The cawing of a crow echoed through the chamber, even as she backed away from the strange figure.

"Bi'sis Yan'?" Ruby's voice came from everywhere at once. "Where ah yu?"

Yang opened her mouth to reply, but found it covered by a pink paw. Floating beside her, a strange cat-rat thing smiled slowly.

"Bi'sis Yan'? Yan'? Daddy? Zi?"

The cat in her arms suddenly jumped, biting into the pink rat's arm. It pulled back with a hiss, letting Yang speak. "Ruby! I'm here! Come to the blue light!" She turned-

-and the red-haired man was right above her, sword raised. With a yelp she dived between his legs, running for the green-clad man at the console. "Professor Ozpin! Please help!"

"Help you?" Ozpin's voice was cool, collected. "No. I can't help you. I'm just a silly old fool."

"Bi'sis Yan'!"

"Ruby!" Yang looked around, desperately trying to find anything. "I'm here! I'm right here!"

"You shouldn't have brought her here," Ozpin said sadly. "Nothing ever goes right here."

Something growled, and Yang jumped to him, clinging his leg. She could see the shape of a massive, serpentine dragon moving through the columns.

"You can't stop it," said a new voice, and she turned to see the pink rat-thing mere inches away. "You know that right? You can't stop it, no matter how early you start."

"Bi'sis Yan'!"

"She can handle herself," the rat continued, tossing the broken body of the kitten to her. "Oh, maybe she shouldn't be here, but she'll live."

"Just a silly old fool," Ozpin muttered. "A silly old fool."

"I want my daddy," Yang whimpered. "I want mommy and daddy and, and uncle Qrow."

"Oh, you can have them," the rat assured her gently. "You can have them all. All you have to do is wake up."

"BI'SIS YAN'!"

"Wake up and leave her behind," it whispered. "It's just a dream. She doesn't matter."

A sudden puff of breath made Yang look up, up into the eyes of a massive red bull and the cold glare of a nevermore.

"You're just an obstacle to them. Something to avoid... or destroy." The rat shrugged. "Treat others as they treat you, yes?"

 _"BI'SIS YAN'!"_

"I couldn't stop it," the green man murmured. "I couldn't stop it."

Yang whimpered as the massive beasts leaned in.

"Awwww, where's that fighting spirit?" the pink rat cooed. "Oh, right, fighting never got you anywhere. Maybe what you need to do is just..."

-

"WAKE UP! Yang! Wake up!"

With a gasp, the blonde girl jolted out of her slumber, looking around her in shock and confusion. "Pro-professor...?"

There was a relieved chuckle. "You can just call me dad, kiddo."

"Dad." Slowly, the memories came back. "Right. Dad." She sat up, looking around her room; here and there, a few dolls were scattered about, but the little girl who slept here preferred toy cars. "I... I had a dream."

"You had a nightmare." Taiyang knelt down. "You were... yelling. You want to talk about it?"

She reached up for her pigtails, letting her fingers run through them.

"Ruby's safe, right?"

"What?"

"Ruby's safe?"

Taiyang looked at her. "Yeah. She's sleeping in her room. You want to see her?"

"Yeah." Yang pulled herself out her bed. "Yeah."

 **47.10 Masterweaver**

"Ruby, are you in the middle of something?"

Ruby glanced up from the overly complicated assemblage of yarn, baskets, and a cheese wheel she was weaving through the trees. "Oh, just setting up a prank for the professors. So that's a shadow clone of you sitting in class?"

"Not... actually. It's a semblance clone." Blake rubbed the back of her head. "It's something Yang and I talked about a while back, we're trying to work on our baseline abilities a bit more."

"Makes sense. So what did you need me for?"

"Actually, just that. You've got... another self in the class yourself, right? You've split yourself in half?"

"Not exactly half. I siphon a good portion of my biomass into my Pocket before loop's end-that way, if I really need to I can make a Rubyzilla. The CFVY machines call it the Ruby sea, it's apparently inert when I'm not focusing on it..."

Blake blinked. "Oh."

"Why?"

"Well, I thought... you can split your focus, right? Between multiple bodies?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, it-oh. You want me to teach you how to split your focus between you and your semblance form? Be two places at once?"

"Yep. I've gotten to a point where I can make a little over a hundred at once, assuming I don't Dust them or, you know, try to get them to move in different ways."

Ruby tapped her chin. "Hmmm. Not sure what to tell you... I mean, I guess it was a result of me having lonely loops? I just made a me to talk to. And then another, and another. And then I was just... a whole-lotta-me."

"That's not... that's not very helpful."

"Yeah, I know. Tell you what, though, I'll try to figure out how to teach you, okay?"

"Fair enough. Thanks, Ruby."

"Not a problem." Ruby paused. "You know what is, though?"

"What?"

"I'm the only one on our team that isn't arguably a princess." She pouted. "You're a chieftain's daughter, Raven's a raider queen, and Weiss-"

"Don't count yourself out, miss silver eyes. You could be the heir to a mage-queen civilization."

"Fair point. Oh, hey, do you think a blue or yellow basket works better here?"

 **47.11 FadedAlphabet**

Ruby stood in front of her mom's gravestone, silent as she thought of what to say. The sun was setting, casting a beautiful glow on the snow around her. The only sound to be heard was the wind. It was peaceful.

Just what she needed. Ruby took a deep breath and readied herself. "Hey mom...", she began. "It's been awhile hasn't it?"

Ruby smiled sadly. "I really miss you. And it is funny because realistically I shouldn't. I'm over a billion years old, yet here I am, missing my you. I hardly know anything about you. Baseline has screwed that up."

Ruby's eyes then started to get glassy. "But despite that I miss you mom. I miss you with all my heart. And now more than ever, I need you. Not a Yang, not my team, not my friends, not Qrow or dad, not anyone. I need you. My awesome super mom..."

Ruby wiped her tears away. "So please tree, let me see my mom again soon."

 **47.12 diesel**

Ruby let her gaze linger on the sky and the vast green and blue orb that hung above as she huddled in the streets, wrapping her tattered blanket closer. This loop sucked.

And Neo-Queen Serenity was a narcissist, sociopathic bitch.

The Crystal City was alight with soft silver light, the consent tinkling of water and awash with the distant sounds of classical music. Food baring plants cascaded over the edges of verandas and walkaways, luminescent trees formed great canopies ladened with fruit and nuts.

It was a paradise on a level far beyond what Remnant had ever managed, well that was the 'truth' of this loop anyway.

Huger clawed at her stomach and her throat was parched. A dark look crossed her face as the sounds of fighting and pleading for help and mercy drifted up from the distant paths below.

Ruby rose to her feet, rolling up the blanket and stowing in her unawake selves hiding place. with her power sealed this was a bad idea, but she really did not care.

Divine right, what a joke.

-

A young faunas whimpered as his jaw was shattered, falling to the ground as blood dripped down his face.

A brown haired female in her latter teens stood over him with a look of disgust and desire on her face as she bound him in bands of glowing light "Filthy Remnant animal, you should be glad that Her Majesty did not just exterminate all of you. Be grateful that you will serve anther…"

She broke off as something slammed into her, the chains of light fading as her concentration faltered.

Foul _Silver_ eyes met her own green ones, a look of cold hate etched onto its visage.

 _A child of the Shattering!_

 _-_

'Okay, Ruby, you have distracted her now what? Oh, right, dodge.'

The lunarian was faster and stronger, wielding vast amounts of Aura in comparison to her own powerless state (curtsy of Serenities magic). Ruby almost danced out of the way of one of the blows before grabbing the girls leg and slamming her to the ground, getting forever closer to the edge.

"You fucking Shattered abomination!" A traditional Japanese face with green eyes was rather unusual, but then again no one had hub features here. The face in question was twisted in rage and offence, like she could not even imagine a Remnant attacking her. "

Ruby did not bother to respond, simply keeping a look of irritation on her face. It was far the best taunt she could no according to her loop memories and observations over the last week. Her foot smashed into the fallen lunarian's face, it was more for the physiological impact then any actual damage.

In the distance cries rose up and sirens split the peace. She sighed this was going to suck, and what was even a 'Shattered' anyway?

-

Ruby coughed, blood splattering onto the floor as she was dragged, bound, to the viewing room for the 'Queen' to sentence her.

Her ribs ground against each other sending spikes of pin though her body. It was hard to breath, her nose shattered and jaw broken.

Ruby mentally sighed, this looked like it was going to be a short loop. One of the two 'guards' was yammering on about something to do with Neo-Queen Serenity but Ruby tuned them out. Mentally reconstructing the ATP synthesis pathway from the atomic level was far more interesting.

'Wait, could I replace all cellular energy function with miniature zero point generators? I would need to synch them up, ensure the should is not ripped apart…' Unlimited power and aura, maybe put it in a cat and then transfer Blake into it when she was asleep? Ruby contemplated that for a moment then discarded it.

Post singularity, AI metallic Aura powered Dragons seemed like it would be a lot more fun. Maybe fake accident and trap Yang into one and Blake into a Liger? Dimensionally displaced life-support core with Aura and sensory rerouting would work.

Maybe Weiss could be in a storm of Metallic Snowflakes?

Ruby pulled a face, ignoring that fist that had been driven in to her gut.

That would just be silly.

Moments latter a vast presence swept over her, a glowing sun even to her dimmed senses that radiated an ingrained sense of calmness, control, and a hint of malice, cloaked in hate and disgust…

"A Child of the Shattering walking our blessed streets, I have not felt such disgust for a very long time."

…. and confusion and anger?

A Ping rang out, single reply retuning.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

"Remove the blind fold."

"You Majesty, is that wise? The Shatter…'

"Now please, Mars,"

Ruby winced as the blind fold was removed and she saw the chamber for the first time.

It was beautiful, a tinted crystal canopy that let in the lights of the stars in all their glory. White marble and gold trimmings for the floor, Aged wood for seats rising up from the floor filled with people eager to see the vent, encrusted with precious gems that formed elaborate pictures that represented the Senshi, their domains and the Queen.

Ten thrones, resplendent in the markings of their masters, formed a semi-circle with two on a slightly raised dais. Each one bearing the markings of a Senshi, all but two occupied.

The throne of gold and green with the symbol of earth was empty, bearing nothing more than a black cushion with a ring on it.

Sailor Mars stalking back to her seat, black hair tired back into a ponytail rather than her normal selves' free hair.

Returning her eyes to Neo-Qu… Usagi, Ruby met the elder looper's gaze as Usagi rose to her feet. Her face hard as she walked forwards... then stumbled, falling face first off the dais.

A beam of silver-white light shot into the dark, enveloping the Moon as a circlet on her head crumbled to dust. A single black, bone encrusted gem that glowed with a point of crimson light rolling away, silver flakes falling off it.

The light was a refreshing shower after a hard day, comforting light and love that melted away the fears and dissolved unwanted mental pathways. Making a person as they wanted to be, and who they were.

As the light faded Ruby rose to her feet, her power and Aura now unlocked, feeling better than she had in a long time. A glowing crystal blade piercing her throat as Venus's blue eyes narrowed in fury, it was inappropriate but Ruby could only think three things.

One, that was not a Grimm

Two, Usagi was really good at prat falls and improve.

Three, Venus had the same colour hair as Yang and also liked cats.

 **47.13 GammaTron**

Qrow exhaled under his breath as he Awoke a few days after Summer's funeral. As he heard the snarls of Beowolves, he recalled that he was actually coming over to see how Taiyang was holding up.

"Guess I gotta go save my..."

 ***RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR*  
**  
"What was that?" Qrow tensed as he soon heard explosions, slicing, yelps of fear, and...and was that... "Who plays Mexican polka?"

Quickly making his way to where he normally would find Yang and Ruby at, he skidded to a halt at seeing a metallic orange bear twice the size of a normal human ripping apart the Beowolves while keeping them away from an upturned wagon where two three-year-olds and a five-year-old were hiding behind, the younger two crying. The revving of a chainsaw made Qrow look at the robo-bear...or, rather, it's claws to see they were actually claw-shaped chainsaws with said chains being _plasma_. It was using said claws to slice throught Beowolves before deploying a pair of cannons with curved oversized blades on them from its shoulders and shot blasts at them. By the time the Beowolves were retreating in fear, there was roughly three from-judging from all the black dust-a hundred. The robo-bear roared, its gold visor-like eyes glowing faintly before it tensed and parts of it began to shift and change. Qrow watched as the humongous robotic bear became a man in orange hi-tech armor with a gold visor. His eyes further widened as the armor turned into a wrist-mounted device that the eight-year-old boy that looked like a younger Taiyang with Raven's hair put behind his back and pulled his hand back to reveal it was gone.

"Darn it, Yang! What were you thinking just running off with Keita and Ruby like that?!" the boy snapped, "You're just lucky that I was coming home from Simmons's house or you would've..."

 _'Might as well get notices,'_ Qrow thought before saying aloud, "Ahem!"

"U-Unca Qrow!" Yang gasped.

-

As Taiyang scolded and hugged Yang in the room nearby, Qrow sat across from the young boy as he carefully dunked an Oreo a few times into the cup of cold milk before eating it, the filling having already been licked off with no remains of it to be seen on the cookie halves of it. After he finished swallowing it, the boy looked up at Qrow.

"Kinda loopy how Yang just did that, huh?"

 _'A Looper, huh...'_ "Yeah, you could say she needs an Anchor."

The boy nodded, "Dexter Grif, Looper of Red VS Blue."

"Qrow Branwen, Looper of Remnant. Not your first time Looping here, has it?"

"Not in the least. Considering that our Loops are sorta siblings Loops since we come from the same company in the Hub Loops, we often have Loops like this," Grif explained as a red and white cat got onto the table, "Hey, Jibanyan. This guy's a Looper."

"Okay," Qrow raised a brow at the talking cat, "Name's Jibanyan, nyan. I'm from Sakura New Town and Master Grif's student, nyan!"

Grif tossed a bbar of chocolate into the air and it was gone in mid-air, "I never agree to that, dammit." he looked at Qrow, "Anyways, you can already guess it, but my name this Loop is Dexter Grif Rose."

"Right..." Qrow nodded before pointing lazily at the living room, where Ruby was fast asleep on a blanket on the floor with the little boy, "And the little kid fast asleep with Ruby there?"

"Keita Amano from Sakura New Town," Grif replied, "He does have another name, but he refuses to acknowledge it for a little bit. An extension involving the other name really upset him and the other Loopers there."

Jibanyan muttered, "He wasn't even a shogun, nyan..."

"So I take it that it's just the three of us at the moment who are Awake?" Qrow asked.

"Yep," Grif nodded.

"That's right, nyan," Jibanyan nodded.

"That somewhat explains the suit you used," Qrow noted, "Kinda looked like an Ursa or a bear."

"Oh godda..."

 **BEARS!  
**  
"What was that?" Qrow asked, looking around as Grif slammed his head on the table with an annoyed groan.

"The Admin of Master's Loop put a little joke that does that whenever Master is around and someone ends their sentence with the word 'bear' or bears,' nyan," Jibanyan explained.

"Dammit, Greg...You just had to make me find bear jokes hilarious..." Grif groaned, his voice muffled by the table.

"I see..." Qrow took a swig of his beer, "So...What are you intentions this Loop?"

"Well, it's Keita Loop Birthday this Loop once Ruby, Cinder, and Yang are Awake," Grif explained as he pulled out a calendar that had multiple 'X' marks on the days with one uncrossed day having 'Keita/Nate's Birthday!' on it and circled, "I wonder if he'll like the gift the three of us worked together on for him..."

"So how close are you to them? Because I should warn you that..."

"I know and support Yang's relationship with Blake Belladona, mainly because I know they can look out for each other and because Blake scares me more than I scare her. Then again, all the girls I know that can fight can kick asses six ways to Sunday...and always aim for the balls."

"Yep," Qrow nodded, cringing as he recalled his in-Loop memories of Summer and Raven doing just that to him and Taiyang at times in fights.

Jibanyan merely smiled as memories of his old owner in his baseline went through his head.

"Have they told you much about Keita and me?" Grif asked.

"A bit," Qrow replied, "They said it'd be better to meet you both in person. I'll be blunt, you got my interested with that suit of yours."

"Thanks. I thought of it when I Looped into this place called Chima and became a bear," Grif explained, "That was the best Loop ever. Of all time. I got to sleep so much." he glowered, "Unlike here in Remnant. Because those goddamn Ursa are always _awake_..."

Qrow raised a brow. He knew from what his nieces told him that Grif loved to sleep, but the Grimm were actually preventing him from sleeping?

"For some reason, Master can't sleep during the day because of the Ursa, nyan," Jibanyan explained.

"They don't know how to sleep! What the fuck is wrong with those things?! They're bears, dammit! They should know better than to stay awake!" Grif complained, "Ugh. I need a shot of whiskey or some strong alcohol."

"You drink?"

"Buddy, if I'm not eating, sleeping, being an overprotective older brother to two girls and a boy, or being a soldier for an insane guy in red, it's drinking."

"...I think we're going to get along just fine," Qrow smirked, pouring Grif a shot of whiskey.

-

Qrow watched as he saw Keita freeze for a fraction of a second before dodging a swipe of the Ursa before him before he swung his gun-scythe and lopped its head off.

"Feeling a bit Loopy after that last takedown?" Qrow called to the now teenager.

"Yeah, I'm just Anchored now," Keita replied as he turned and walked over to Qrow, "So you're Looping? That's great! It's nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," Qrow nodded, "Grif's been telling me a lot about you."

"I can guess," Keita rubbed the back of his head, realizing his brother was Awake as well, "Is anyone else Awake this Loop yet?"

"Well, Grif's been talking with that Cinder girl..." Qrow frowned as Keita couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"Well, she is another Looping sister..." Keita noted.

Qrow nodded before the two began to leave the forest they were in, "Just to let you know, your brother's over at Beacon. Tomorrow's the day Ruby normally ends up getting spotted and invited by Ozpin."

Keita nodded, "We were planning on going to the Dust shop tomorrow anyway. So what's the team that Grif's on?"

"They filed for a name change and instead of being a letter in their names making up a word, they just call themselves Team Purple," Qrow shrugged, "And you should know them already. They came to Patch for their last break."

Keita blinked twice before his in-loop memories finally sorted themselves out, "Oh...So that means SImmons, Tucker, and Washington are here and Awake."

"So, ready to go to Beacon?"

"A little," Keita replied, "It'll be one of the first times I've been there as Ruby's twin brother, though. Normally, I replace her or she's my really older sister that already attended Beacon and I go in her place."

Qrow nodded, just letting Keita talk.

-

"So what do you think of big bro and baby bro, Unc?" Yang asked as the two nieces and one uncle sat at a park.

"Well, after spending a few years with Grif, I've learned that he despises Ursa, has some decent weapons, and is actually more protective of you two and Keita than me," Qrow noted, "And the bit of time I've had with Keita outside of the time I've spent with you all after Grif coerced me to stay, I have to say the kid's not bad. Reminds me a bit of you, Ruby. Especially with the scythe of his that he pulled out of his Pocket to show me."

"Aw..." Ruby beamed.

"By the way, mind telling me why Grif stole all the oreos in the world and gave me a packet of them?" Qrow asked, showing the small six pack.

"Grif always steals his favorite snack after what Maya Fey did to them that one Loop," Ruby noted, "He's so good he only needs an hour or so after Waking up to get it all."

"As for the packet..." Yang pulled out a contained with a six pack inside of it, "It's a symbol of Grif stating you're family and that he'll always be there in a way, even if he isn't. He willingly gave you something he treasures more than life itself by giving you that pack, Unc. So keep it safe since it means he sees you as a real uncle."

"When we first learned about you after Grif became our honorary big brother, he's always wanted to meet you and see what kind of man you are," Ruby added, "He must see something pretty great since he gave you one."

"Well, we did bond over some oreos and different kinds of beer."

"Beer and oreos...no wonder he loves you like a real uncle," Yang snickered.

"Hey, no puns, little lady," Qrow frowned.

"Aw come of. You think I'm gonna _qrow_ how you get along well with our over-bear-ing big brother?" Yang grinned.

"...Just for that, you don't get a Strawberry Sunrise today."

"Aw come on, Unc~" Yang whined as Ruby giggled.

 **47.14 Masterweaver**

"By the way, I still exist."

"Yes, Glynda, we know."

"Just to remind you-"

"Glynda, we haven't forgotten you. We're just busy right now, what with the whole galactic war and all." Anakin waved his hand. "Why don't you... I don't know... go teach some younglings about safe sex."

Glynda rose an eyebrow. "...Did you even think about what you said?"

"No, I just went with the first student/lesson combination that rolled into my head."

 **47.15 Masterweaver**

"...Hey, uh, look." Nora coughed. "I am really happy you're together, and I'm glad you two are... fully engaged in your relationship, and I can get, you know, you get distracted, but, um."

She held out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs between a finger and a thumb. "Could you, maybe, clean up after yourselves?"

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a look.

"...We don't, um." Pyrrha coughed. "We don't use those."

Nora blinked. "But... I found these under the bed!"

Jaune shrugged. "Well, it's not ours."

"Well, then, whose is-?"

"Ah!" Ren walked in, snatching the handcuffs out of her hand. "Thank you, Nora, I was wondering where those had gotten to." With a cheery whistle, he pulled a book off the shelf and walked away.

For a moment, there was silence.

"...Are we sure he's not Awake?" Jaune finally asked. "I mean, he could be stealthing just to screw with our heads."

"I'm not investigating," Nora declared.

 **47.16 Jesse Lee**

"VACATION LOOP!" Ruby shouted to her roommates at Beacon.

"What?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Look!" Ruby showed the others a newspaper.

"Oh those poor Grimm." Blake muttered.

-/-

The Grimm ran off away from the green terror. Never have they faced such a fierce foe. To think one man could instill such fear into the them.

And Doomguy wouldn't have it any other way, as he tore a head of a bird-like Grimm with a evil grin on his face.

It almost made up for the fact that Hayden was Awake. Though thankfully, he was handling something else.

-/-

Cinder Fall fell dead to the ground as a giant cyborg made himself known.

"Alright, let this be known as a change of leadership." Samuel Hayden said. "Any objectors should either leave..." He activated the Slayer's Sword. "...or take it up with yours truly."

 **47.17 diesel**

"Ruby?"

"Yes, Weiss?"

"Why are we inanimate objects?"

"Because we're in Equestria and this joke is old?"

"Thorns dammit!... wait are they silver?"

The crystalline and metallic flower seemed impossibly smug as snow swirled around it, a brilliant rainbow light filled the sky with a thunderclap. A flurried curse drifted on the wind as the snow dissipated.

"See you next loop, Weiss."

 **47.18 Masterweaver**

Yang tilted her head. "Hey Mercury? If I throw this match, will your plans be ruined?"

Mercury Black blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Throw the match. You know, hop off the stage. Is that going to affect whatever plans you have with Cinder?"

"...what make you think-"

"She talks in her sleep."

Mercury paused. "Wait. Even if that's true, which I know it isn't, when would you have been in the same room as her?"

"I believe in knowing my enemy." Yang grinned. "Nice PJs, by the way. Hand-sewn, right?"

"...Yeah, okay, you need to die."

Mercury kicked out his leg, blasting away with his ankle shotguns. Yang yawned as they hit her, not even phased.

"No but seriously. Back to the issue at hand. I know Emerald's supposed to make me attack you with her magic mind powers, just to discredit Beacon." She shrugged. "But, like, if I just walk off, can Cinder use that? Say, I dunno, Beacon huntsmen and huntresses are wusses?" Yang tapped her chin. "Wait, actually, that sounds remarkably plausible."

"How long does it take to overload your semblance?"

"Am I really the tipping point, though? I mean, Pyrrha and Penny are the spark that lights the fuse-hack one, or mind control the other. Hmm. There are matches after them, though, a quick regroup and-" Yang facepalmed. "Oh, duh! She sets it up so everyone in the singles round is likely to pull a dangerous move, then has Emerald on hand to manipulate whoever's in the right round!"

Mercury blasted into the air, coming down at her feetfirst. She idly raised one arm so he'd land on her gauntlet, while still gesticulating with the other.

"This whole thing is an exercise to discredit the kingdoms in general, after all. Menagerie is spared because, officially, it's not a kingdom, but that doesn't matter because racism. If huntsmen and huntresses are all corrupt, surely that means all kingdoms are corrupt. And then in come the Grimm. Damn, she's good."

"Seriously, are you even paying attention to this fight?!"

"Dude, I once fought a horde of Ursas while sleepwalking, this is nothing." Yang shuddered. "Of course that was before the damn pink rat got to me. Anyway. We're going to have to peg her earlier, aren't we? Or at the very least net Emerald... good talk, Merc."

She casually flipped him over the edge of the stage, then turned toward Emerald sitting in the stands and flashed her a peace sign. The hilariously unnerved expression on her face was just the icing on the cake.

 **47.18 FadedAlphabet**

Neo had finally had done it. After hundreds of years of trial and error, she had devised IT. The one thing that no one could ever claim have done on Remnant. She, Neapolitan, had created the perfect ice-cream. Crafted and delicately assembled with the best ingredients in the _**multiverse**_ , frozen at at the correct temperature down to the last decimal place, even the curvature of her stirring was calculated when making the preparations for this moment.

It was truly magnificent. It smelled of tesseracts and looked like impossibility. In fact, under normal circumstances it would be be impossible. Half of the ingredients couldn't even be combined with one another. Fortunately for Neo, she didn't care about normal circumstances. She was a Looper, normal didn't exist in their vocabularies (And she pitied the person who thought otherwise). So in usual Looper fashion, she bent all the rules and made an impossibility.

Now all she had to do was try it.

Using her special spoon designed specifically for this one purpose, she took a scoop and raised it toward her mouth. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for…

(Insert Windows error sound)

Neo paused and looked down. Where the scoop had once been, there was now a error message saying, Object- **1254^44#!btvx90-{Remnant}-ICECREAM_perfect?** has stopped working. Looking at the bowl that held the rest of her dessert, there was also a error message. A few seconds later, a piece of paper appeared out of nowhere, landing in Neo's lap.

It simply read,

Don't eat foods that Admins have a hard time processing. One impossibility is one thing. MIxing a whole bunch of possibilities from across the multiverse os something entirely different. If you must eat something impossible, ask Ruby, she already has.

Your lovable Admin,

Marianne

Neo spent the rest of the loop at the bar, keeping herself too drunk to think straight.

 **47.19 Masterweaver**

"So, Rubes, I have a crazy theory."

"Okay, shoot."

"The Grimm are, indirectly, partially responsible for our relative mental stability in the loops."

"...Yang, that sounds just crazy enough to be true."

"Yeah. I mean, a lot of insanity, it's like... we literally call them mental imbalances, you know? You're _too_ angry or _too_ sad or whatever. It starts warping your thoughts."

"But to get to that point means you've got to have that particular emotion in excess. And since the Grimm are attracted to negative emotions-"

"Exactly! Having a Goliath charge at you is a major wake-up call. Plus, killing the darn thing is just so cathartic. Acceptable targets, you know."

"So not only do you get acknowledgement that you're at a bad place, you get a way to work off the intense emotions. It's not perfect, but I've torn through a few Grimm in pure rage occasionally."

"Yep. Granted, variants where the Grimm can talk or are psychic... those don't work. Because those Grimm are designed to seek and _torment_ , not seek and _kill_."

"You'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you?"

"...yeah. Still! It just gives me motivation to kill more Grimm, right?"

"Yep. Plus the variety even in baseline keeps the battles interesting."

"Variety is the spice of life. Or Grimmslaughter, as the case may be."

"Of course, after you kill the Grimm, you still have to deal with the problem."

"...well. Yes. I mean it's not perfect. But it helps."

"Oh, I can tell. You know, when you're not Awake Blake usually ends up with a pret-ty high kill-count?"

"Is it higher then me when she's not Awake?"

"...Hmmm."

"Ruby-"

"You know what? Competition is _also_ good for the soul!"

"Ruby, seriously-"

"Whichever one of you two has the higher total killcount in your next ten subjective loops not only gets to determine your next date, but gets it funded by moi!"

"...Huh. You know what? Fine. I win either way."

"That's the spirit, Yang! Now come on, I think I saw a beowolf pack over there!"

 **47.20 Masterweaver**

"Hey Nora."

"Hey Ruby."

"Whatcha up to?"

"Trying to design an electric generator that I can stuff between my boobs."

"...I am terrified that I can follow the logic behind that decision."

 **47.21 Masterweaver**

"..."

Ruby whistled. "Whoa. That's, like, the longest I've ever heard you be quiet. Even during your silence bet, you would clap and stuff."

"...I'm speechless." Yang stared. "I am genuinely speechless. I am, actually, not sure what to say at all. Not even as a joke."

"Alright, I'll give you a minute to admire the view."

The two sisters stood, looking over the vast network of bridges, loop-de-loops, oscillating platforms, repeatedly opening and closing doors, and gravity warping pads.

"...Starkiller was amazing, but..." Yang shook her head. "You've had this in your pocket? All this time?"

"Yes and no. I've had the potential to build something like this, but I usually made simple things. Then... you know, the CFVY machines. They get bored, so..." She gestured.

"Wow."

"Yep."

"...and this is where you practice with your semblance?"

Ruby shrugged. "It worked for Sonic, it works for me."

"Okay. I want in."

"What?"

Yang looked at her. "I want in," she repeated.

Ruby coughed. "Um. Yang, don't take this the wrong way, but... you're a brawler, not a speedster."

"Look, my semblance might be about taking it and dishing it, but there's the whole fire aspect to it too." Yang rolled her shoulders. "The human torch can fly. Heck, Cinder can fly. I can also technically fly, but not with my semblance-it's a DBZ thing. I want to be a living fireball, and that means learning to rocket around."

"Well, I..." Ruby looked at the obstacle course, lifted straight from SEGA's nightmares. "I can appreciate that you want to better yourself, but..."

"But...?"

"...maaaaaaaybe a simpler course first," Ruby suggested. "Just to test your abilities."

Yang frowned. "You don't think I can take this?"

Ruby groaned. "Oh, don't make this into a challenge, sis..."

"Oh, I'm challenged, alright. I'm going to prove to you that-" Suddenly found herself in the dorm at Beacon. With a growl, she whirled on Ruby. "Take me back."

Ruby grinned. "Catch me first." And a trail of rose petals whisked out the window.

 **47.22 diesel**

"You look a bit young to be here, are you loopy or something?"

Ruby blinked and smiled slightly as she looked up from the window, locking eyes with Weiss "Yep, but I am feeling rather well anchored." The ping she got in reply made Ruby smile wider as Weiss sat down next to her and introduced herself.

Not seeing Blake narrow her eyes at the exchange, watching as the two apparent strangers started talking, the conversation rapidly drifting to esoteric Dust usage, after a code phrase.

This would bear watching.

Blake gritted her teeth, even at Beacon more of these abominations apparently lingered. She just hoped it was something more benign, an illicit romance hidden by code phrases, a deal to buy dust or to organise a theft.

She was not holding her breath through.

-

The airship continued it course to Beacon unabated as Yang walked away from her Signal friends, eyes scanning the myriad of brilliantly coloured Hunters in training. By the Broken Night, where was Ruby?

Yang felt guilt and fear creeping over her, Ruby had wandered off at some point as she had lost track of when. Who knew what sort of… _maniacs_ would be heading to heading to Beacon, filled with bloodlust and violence. Equipped with exotic dust concoctions and weapons, it would be so easy for _one of them_ to hide here.

The memory of blood sparkling on seated teeth. the fetid breath rotten with decaying flesh and distorted human eyes bearing down on her made Yang shudder.

Uncle Qrow had saved her for a second time, on that harrowing night and trained her thereafter to protect the Kingdoms from more than the Grimm. Something much worse, something that would hunger for Ruby beyond anything else.

'Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss. Give it a name, give it a form, give it an identity and you will see it were it lies among the innocent. A forbidden allure of power and safety that will draw you in and never let you go. If you look you will find it, do not look too close and you will walk past unharmed.'

Qrow's harsh voice had drilled those words into her mind focusing on why Ruby must never know and be protected. And yet, in her first time in an unsecured area where _they_ would hide, she loses track of Ruby.

"Hey, Ruby, where are you?" Yang growled as a group of people scattered over the airship looked up before going back to what they were doing. Well, the consuming anonymity can take them for all she cared. She had better things to do then worry about them.

This was not good. Ruby was not social, at all, and that she had walked away on her own accord was not normal, let alone not coming back after almost 15 minutes.

A hand touched her shoulder and Yang reacted on reflex. Her eyes burned crimson as she spun around Ember Celica engaging, a single movement away from firing as she brought her hands up into a guard.

-

Blake held up her hands in a sign of peace, carefully not letting them drift to Gambol Shroud. The Aura tinted eyes of the Huntress in front of her were scared and on edge, not malefic. So as long as she spoke clearly then it would not escalate any further.

Wait…

"Sorry for startling you," Blake said calmly, carefully keeping her voice level and not letting her ears move, a hint of a horrifically familiar twisted energy clung to the blond like a shroud. It was oily and brackish, sounding like the taste of rotten death and unrestrained howling lust that clung to her soul but did not contaminate it.

A jagurthuz, a poorly trained _human_ jagurthuz at that.

"I heard you calling for a girl named Ruby, I saw a girl who introduced herself as Ruby Rose with similar features to you talking to the Schnee Heiress down in the back."

Blake relaxed as the blonde slowly lowered her hands, a sheepish expression crossing her face "Sorry, about that. I'm on edge at the moment, Ruby is not really social and given her age I was getting concerned when she vanished." The blonde stuck out her hand "Anyway, the names Yang Xiao Long, Nice to meet you."

Blake hesitate before taking the busty blonde's hand and shaking it firmly, this could work out well. "Blake Belladonna."

She had the opportunity to get closer to the possible witches, find out about any personality changes and have back up if the worst came to worse. She would need training though, which would hopefully help remove any prejudice about Faunas jagurthuz.

In the depths of Blake's mind, a thought rose up, unacknowledged and dismissed. It would be nice to have a friend again, and dependant on what happened, a different kind of relationship may form.

-

The air was filled with the smell of freshly made sweets, pastries, marinaded meats and fruits. Ruby and Weiss almost dancing around each other as they cooked, imbuing each meal with dust, carefully monitoring the temperatures and setting up the sound effects. The elaborate banquet taking shape under the constant work, stunning the school cooks who had been relegated to kitchen hands.

"Weiss, the LN2," Ruby called out as she started to move onto finishing the 20th ice-cream flavour, (apple, rhubarb and cinnamon, blended with Ice and Burn dust). Another two hours until dawn, they were making good time.

Heston Blumenthal, eat your heart out.

"I'm busy Ruby, and I need what's left" Weiss was sweating, jumping around from one hot plate to the next. Glyphs flashed in the air as pots and pans moved at her will alongside a dozen ice clones and summed monsters. Waving any an annoyed hand to disperse a cloud of petals, ignoring the piles she kicked up as she moved around the kitchen. "Use ice dust if you need it, we had a surplus"

"I'm making hot-cold ice-cream."

Weiss cursed under her breath, carefully slicing lampreys into ribbons and putting it into the pan to sear. "Fine, take over here. I'll freeze it, but it will take longer."

And she still had another meat course to cook and could not for the life of her remember what went well with koalas. Mint seemed right, but that went with so many different things, maybe some bush doka would work better? Barbequed with eucalyptus, served with bottled smoke and a small gas fire?

A bolt of lighting dust flashed thought the kitchen and into the store room with a thundering crack.

"Yang," Weiss snapped as she sent a boewolf to the shipping container she had got shipped in to fetch some maple syrup, trading places with Ruby. "Blake! Stop stealing the food, it will be served latter today and you can try it then. In the meantime, either help or scat."

-

Yang froze, with her hand outstretched to the vat of arcane soup. The jade liquid had sparks dancing across its surface, shimmering with a pale rose light. A glowing cherry red, scorch mark on the floor in front of her showed how close the bolt of lighting came.

Blake had leaped almost a dozen feet away from the rainbow scaled, steamed fish she had been anaslysinz, the dead eyes still blinking slowly as the gills fluttered in the air. Her partner was tense, golden eyes wide in shock, something Yang didn't blame her for in the slightest.

"Sorry, Weiss. it just smells awesome."

This was a disaster. She had encountered witch's covens with less magic then what was being used here. And it did not even feel like witchcraft, just really good dust manipulation.

Which either meant, it was not witchcraft or it was _really good_ witchcraft.

A snort was all the answer they got back from the heiress, Ruby's cheerful voice drifting from the kitchen. "If you want some to eat now, I have a store of dust cookies in a case under my bed. Password is 52314, just don't eat to many at one time or you will be breathing gravitation singularities."

After ensuing that they would be careful and thanking Ruby, Yang and Blake left the room as quickly as possible. Bolting down the hall to the weapon workshop they had booked for the semester.

Yang sank down into her chair, her head pounding as fear made her skin damp. "Fuck," Yang hated feeling helpless, hated not knowing what to do. "This is not working. did you notice anything?"

The other jagurthuz was a lot more experienced and skilled at theoretical witchcraft, sigils and trace reading, in contrast to Yang's own skill at ward breaking, soul destruction and disruption. Two very different schools of focuses that worked well together.

-

Blake shook her head, rubbing an eye tiredly and smudging her makeup, revealing deep bags under her eyes. For the tenth night in a row she, they, had got little sleep. Trying to track down the witch that stalked Beacon's halls.

The gazed eyes of Cardin burnt into her mind, as he convulsed, leaking blood from his eyes as a sigil burned with a non-existent light on his third eye. Babbling in fear and terror so bad that his body started to shut down. Even now, a full week later, Cardin and his team were pale and jumpy. Barely eating, waking each night, getting more and more enraged at the smallest things.

If they did not get treatment soon they would likely become a fjandi, luckily Yang's uncle Qrow had messaged them earlier today he would get them help. If everything went according to plan, then CRDL would be expelled in the next two or three days and then Qrow would pick them up.

"It felt like 7th circle dust art," Blake said warily, she had wanted to go to Beacon to get away from… all of this. To be a Hunter, not a jagurthuz full time. She could not deal with this constantly; it was why she left the White Fang after Adam Fell. She could not do it anymore.

Golden eyes blinked slowly in the darkness, focusing on her partner "I did not feel any witchcraft in there at all, but I did not get a good enough look to say for certain. And I am not willing to go try any of those 'cookies'."

Silence fell across the workshop as the sun rose over beacon, painting the sky a bloody crimson. The sun's dark laugher resonating in the two girls mind, signalling the rise in the witch's power and the loss of a soul.

Blake felt cold, horror eclipsing her confusion and tiredness, her eyes drawn to the four candles that had burnt with a sickly like before. Now shrouded in wisps of shadow and oozing a reddish-black sludge

They had failed. CRDL was worse than dead now.

"It was not Ruby," Yang's voice was shaky and uncertain as she stared at the candles with an ever increasing fury. "it could not have been, she and Weiss were far to focused on beating the world record for the world best feast or something. They are too open; it could not be them. Any witch would know not to attract so much attention."

Blake did not answer, there was nothing she could say. Either it was Ruby and Weiss, who were the prime suspects and wielded titanic levels of dust magic, or there was an unknown and subtle witch in Beacon.

Both apocalyptic scenarios given the political climate in the kingdoms at present.

"Damn you, Salem."

-

"I wonder why the moon and sun laugh this loop." Ruby mused as she and Weiss dragged the dining hall tables out into the courtyard. Finishing the final preparations for the feast ahead, now they simply had to plate everything.

The dark, malevolent laughter was very annoying.

Weiss shrugged, stretching as she bit back a yawn, this loop was odd from multiple angles. Jaune and Pyrrha had been making out since almost the start of the semester and she had converted Jaune to some odd religion, praying while they engaged in S&M and blood play.

Her sister was quite obviously a trained assassin, well at least she was now that Weiss was awake.

Yang and Blake were… something. Best bet was that both were in cahoots with the white fang and found her friendliness with the various faunas confusing. But, Ruby was betting they were part of an ages old conspiracy to deal with Silver Eyes. Or they could just be dating and suspect that She and Ruby were as well, and spent their time trying to get proof.

And that was only the start.

"Why was it raining coconuts 2046 loops ago?" Weiss asked rhetorically, mentally picturing where each meal would go.

"I was playing with something I got from 'Cloudy with a chance of meatballs' and overloaded it."

Weiss shrugged as she headed back inside, waving off the comment "Not the point and you know it."

Ruby fell into step with Weiss, taking in the cool, crisp morning air. Something seemed off about today. A foul taint to the air and souls, a feeling of approaching doom.

"Salem tonight?" Ruby asked, as they entered the kitchen, not caring that one of the chefs almost choked at the words, a look of terror and dawning horror crossing his face at her words "Something is off and I think we should cut off the head."

Weiss frowned, conjuring up a procession of icy knights to carry toe cutlery, grabbing one of the bowls of fusion fruits "I think we have a break after Grimm Studies, so we could get it done before lunch."

Ruby nodded, flashing a smile to the confused and scared chef, that made his shrink back in fear for some reason. "True, but I want to talk to Cinder. She said she was going to spend the loop checking to see if anyone else had messed with her mind since our examination was completed." For a moment, her silver eyes burnt with an almost liquid fire, a dark tone entering her voice. "I am very much looking forwards to finding out who, or what, has been systematically breaking Cinder's mind. And finding out what part of the expansion caused the damage to finally come to light."

"After Dinner then."

-

Jaune panted, sweat, blood and other things covering his body as he stood over the bodies of CRDL. The light of the circle fading as the flesh of his tormentors flowed and bubbled before taking on a new form, the spilt blood writhing and curdling before it ignited. Leaving nothing but a glorious scent of victory.

The room was awash with the sounds of screams and the metallic tang of blood. Ren and Nora writhed in agony atop the altar, searing lines of sigils and scrip glowed with baleful light as they were remade.

It was odd, he reflected, before he had been so stupid that he did not know how the world worked. Looking only at the whitewashed facade and not knowing the true, dark rich depths the really characterised the life of a Hunter. Of anyone who wanted to get stronger, who wanted power.

And now, drained beyond everything he had ever felt, to the point the world was almost going black as sleep beckoned. He had never felt better, never felt so content.

Soon, Ren and Nora would be his new familiars and would remain by their side forever more, untouched by death or time. His tormentors now his hunting dogs, and only the start of his… a tiny fragment of Their army.

Long, warm arms wrapped around his back as hot breath tickled his neck.

And he had a wonderful friend, partner, mentor and lover. Who had shown him the true nature of reality.

Jaune tilted his head and locked lips with Pyrrha. Her Green eyes burning with an arcane light that he knew was now reflected in his own.

"Well done, a perfect success" she said with obvious pride, affection and joy lacing each word " _Witch Arc_ , Salem has blessed your ascension."

"Praise Salem."

 **47.23 Black Omochao**

Fumi hung around Blue base, not sure what she was supposed to be doing right now. Keita had said he'd come talk to her again later, and that she should try to get to know the Blues while she was on their team, but…

"Hey! Girl-Tucker!" Fumi twitched when she heard Caboose calling her.

"Caboose, I said my name was Fumi… and I'm right next to you, you don't need to yell," she sighed as she turned to the blue armored soldier.

"Okay! I'll stop yelling! Starting… Now! Sorry, I'm still yelling! I'll stop…" Fumi groaned as Caboose stayed silent for a few more moments, before finally speaking in a very quiet voice. "Now."

"… Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Fumi nearly fell over at the local Anchor's sudden exclamation.

"So, getting used to everything around here?" Church asked as he walked over. Fumi straightened her posture and looked at him cautiously.

"I guess… What exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

"Not much, when we're all Awake like this we mostly just wait around for Tex to show up, then we go from there depending on if she's Awake or not," Church answered simply. "That reminds me, it'll be getting to the time to call for backup soon…"

"Oh… Who's Tex?"

.

"So Yang said she'd be showing up before Sister does normally?" Keita asked Ruby as they both sat in the kitchen of the Red base.

"She's getting here as fast as she can, been a little while since we've all been together and she doesn't want to waste it," Ruby explained with a smile.

"Good, I have an idea but for it to work I need Yang's help!" at Keita's exclamation Ruby narrowed her eyes.

"What exactly are you up to?"

"Nothing bad…"

"… Okay," Ruby shrugged before getting up and opening a cabinet.

"You believe me? Just like that?"

"Oh, I don't believe you, not at all, but I figure; you've got an idea, let's see where it goes," Ruby pulled a bag of chocolate chip cookies from the cabinet. "I know I've done some morally questionable things during my time in the Loops, and if you need Yang to agree to help you, it can't be that bad," she took a bite of one of the cookies, and immediately spit it out. "Stale!?"

"Why would you even take cookies from the cabinets? Don't you have tons stored in your pocket?"

"Doesn't mean I won't take a chance to get more," Ruby huffed as she threw the box of cookies onto the ground. "I should've know not to trust box cookies in a cabinet…"

"… Do you want me to bake you some cookies?"

"Yes please!"

"There will be no baking cookies in this base!" Sarge suddenly interrupted, holding his shotgun threateningly.

"What!? Come on!" Ruby groaned while Keita shook his head.

"I don't need you girlying up my base with baking!"

"Baking's not girly," Keita huffed with his arms crossed, Ruby patted his back in an assuring way. "I spent several whole Loops on baking classes…"

"Wait, so that's where you were those Loops Whisper said he couldn't find you," Grif interjected, walking in with an opened pack of oreos in hand.

"No, he knew what I was doing in the one's of those he was Awake, when he couldn't find me I was doing… something else," Keita scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Well… That's not suspicious," Ruby muttered with a shake of her head. Keita sweatdropped and Grif facepalmed. "Does this have anything to do with that 'plan' you need Yang for?"

"… a little."

"Tex estará apareciendo pronto, no deberíamos estar preparando en caso de que no esté despierta? {Tex will be showing up soon, shouldn't we be preparing incase she's not Awake?}" Lopez asked as he entered the room.

"See! Lopez agrees with me; baking is not something a man should waste his time on!" Sarge asserted, the other current members of Red team groaned.

"Sarge. O aprende. Español! {Sarge. Learn. Spanish!}"

 **47.24 diesel**

Weiss walked over to RWBY's preferred library table, a new treatises on different hyperspace designs and loop interactions she picked up a few thousand loops back. Coming onto a somewhat unexpected site. Blake sitting in her spot, a unopened book in front of her, holding her bow in her hands,

"Anything thing wrong?" Weiss asked calmly, flipping her book open to the book mark and pulling out a mug of coffee. Blake didn't glace up as she replied, "Two things, one my honey badger kaiju reaper has started yodeling and has grown an ovipositor and i have no idea how. Two, and far more important, is that i don't know why i threw away my bow."

Weiss lent back into her chair, taking a sip of the hot drink as she waited for Blake to continue. She had a good idea of what it could be but it was up to Blake to speak. Her book could wait.

"In the loops is became a part of myself image and i like wearing it, But that's not it in baseline. The bow was a symbol to my baseline self, a shield against discrimination, a blanket of anonymity. And i discarded it, not put it away as i entered Menagerie, but discarded it."

"And you afraid what that means for your further actions going forwards." Weiss remarked calmly, meeting her faunus sister's eyes, putting the mug down with a faint tink. Blake smiled wearily, nodding "Basically, I'm just so... sick of how fluid everything is. We don't even know who wee are meant to be or where we came from. We know what we have done, but that's less that's two years of certainty. Things even most non-looper know. But i don't even know if in baseline if i have just... somehow got over my fear."

Blake gripped her bow harder, glancing down at it, frustration shining in her golden eyes as she irritably brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. Her words becoming a rant, frustration boiling over "Or that i am even more of a coward than before, not planning to ever leave Menagerie."

"Yet"

Blake's rant was derailed with a signal word, Weiss folding her arms and leaning back into the chair "And who says she is done fighting?"

"We don't know what those words mean!" Blake yelled, gritting her teeth frustration, "And we may..."

"Never be ready?"

Blake seethed, the table crackling under her palms as red and black eyes spun, Weiss met the gaze with a icy calm, each word carefully chosen "We are loopers. Our existence is a paradox in every way possible. We are more free than any being below an Administrator, we can see actions and consequences in a unique way. Try things that no one else would ever do, rational or not, see the consequences of ages and see patterns. Meet people from beyond our reality, reach for the stars and crush them under our heals or raise them to the heavens with us.

Yet we have less freedom than the lowliest bacteria as even they can change and grow to the future. We are locked in stasis, unable to change what is and will be. We are not part of Baseline, have not been since that first loop and we never will be again. We know only a limited amount about where we came from and, who we came from in the true timeline, that has been the case since we first identified backstory issues."

"That does not change anything, Weiss!" Blake bellowed standing up and knocking the chair flying, pacing up and down the library, ignoring the calls for quite. "We are still connected, what happens there affects us all! Are my parents really good people? is it all going to be revealed as a lie an they are working with the rouge White Fang, a term that still seems wrong, or maybe something else? Is your father going to end up crippling the kingdoms for some asinine reason? Why did i run away? Why did i ditch the bow?" Her voice seemed to get strangled "Am i going to have ended up spending all my time fighting on Menagerie and not coming home to everyone? Tell me that Weiss, what quotes do you have to answer that?"

A hint of a smile broke out on Weiss's face as she started to sing, the familiar song was like a bucket of icy water down Blake's spine "they see you as small and helpless, they see you as just a child, surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild..."

"...prepare for your greatest moments, prepare for your finest hour, the dream that you've always dreamed is, suddenly about to flower." Blake finished, the rest of the song playing in her mind.

RWBY

Weiss eyed Blake with a hint of curiosity in her eyes "Do you remember now? We are loopers, we have a prospective that your baseline self lacks. Our lives and histories are chronicled by Roosterteeth in the show RWBY. While Ruby is the Anchor and the central character, it is our legend too, without us it would not be her legend either. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang. RWBY. The four central characters to the greatest legend Remnant has ever know, and each of our legends, our stories, will only mean anything with the others. It is the nature of this world, seen in so many of the variants, in the pair activation, the the hub's overarching themes and more. It will unfold as it will, but at the end irrespective of the path each of us takes we will be united at the end. Whatever your baseline self is thinking, i doubt she is giving up and even if that is the case, it will not be forever. Maybe a mere year or two at the most, even that seems unlikely.

I can not tell you _why_ , but i can give you that incite. In the end we will know our origins, and we will stand united. Until that time, we have to deal with it like everyone else. Like Cinder and Qrow, Penny and Pyrrha."

No one spoke for awhile, Blake sinking back into her chair. Listening to the familiar lullaby of Beacon, a minor spell leaving them unmolested over the noise. Finally, Blake spoke up "What is it with you and quotes this loops?"

Weiss flipped her books page and shrugged dismissively "Felt like it."

 **47.25 Masterweaver**

In one hand, a ribbon.

In the other, a photo.

Blake looked between them, between the black fabric that so long had encircled her ears, and the image of the two who recently had always existed.

"...you're worried, aren't you."

She blinked, looking up as Ren sat down across from her. "Oh. Hey." Her eyes drifted down. "Yes. I'm... worried."

"About what they'll think if they see you wearing it."

"Yes." She put the photo down. "They're... proud of who they are. Dad founded the White Fang, before... before it went bad. Mom adorns her ears. If they saw me hiding my own..." Her fingers traced the ribbon quietly. "At the same time, though, this isn't... it's not me hiding anymore. It's... it's a part of me, these days, it's... I take it off around friends and family, but... I feel naked without it."

Ren simply nodded.

"How do I explain that to them? How do I say... How do I express that, without it sounding like I'm ashamed of my ears? I'm not, not anymore-I'm still frustrated by the mistreatment they net me, by the subtle racism, but that doesn't mean I deny it. I'll defend Faunus rights, I'll defend faunus, and I'll try my best to keep the poison that has spread throughout the White Fang from infecting my brothers and sisters. It's not like it's a shield anymore. It's..."

She trailed off.

"...It's a coat," Ren suggested.

Blake looked up.

"A coat. Or maybe a scarf." He nodded. "Yes, a scarf works better. You wore it to keep yourself warm, safe, and now that the weather has changed... you find you can't part with it. It's comfortable around your neck. Or ears. Reminds you of what you've been through."

"...Why is it," Blake managed with a small smile, "that when it comes to clothing, you're unnaturally wise?"

"Well, I am the only one around with a proper fashion sense. You all choose what looks _good_ or what feels _comfortable_ or what is _practical_ , I coordinate my ensemble."

"Really. Pink and green, you call that coordination."

"You wear what could be argued to be lingerie into battle." Ren snorted. "At least it's better then the rubbish sale reject outfit Yang likes."


	48. Good Old Family Fun

**48.1 Masterweaver**

 _Ponytail. Late Awakening._ Yang rested her head against the couch, picking up the remote and flicking through the channels. _Well, I can practice my one-handed juggling, at least..._

She frowned, putting the remote down as Lisa Lavender rambled on about Adam again. One-handed juggling? She'd lost her arm _again_ , and that was where her mind went?

"I am so booooored..."

Her eyes flicked to the television. It had been a while since she'd done a Blonde Report. Maybe next time Jaune was Awake, they could hijack Lisa's channel again.

Hmm. Lisa. Smart. Professional. Easy to annoy, not so easy to fluster. Yang mentally marked her down as a potential target for the Taiyang Waifu quest.

As if on cue, her father chose that moment to come in, laden with shopping bags and boxes. "I'm home!"

"Hey Dad." Yang frowned, watching him walk past. "...Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, you're awesome and all, but... if you hit the dating scene again, what would you look for?"

Taiyang paused for a moment. Slowly, he put all the boxes and bags down. "I don't... know. I'm not really looking for that right now-"

"Just... humor me." Yang pushed herself up, shutting off the television. "The perfect woman walks into your life. Right now. What's she like?" She paused. "Or, he. If... you swing that way."

Tiyang snorted. "Well. Huntress, probably."

She half smirked. "For flexibility and endurance?"

"Ha! Not _just_ that." He walked into the living room, putting The Box on the table. "You need a certain sort of... mentality, to be a huntress. You're going against... well. Manifestations of hatred, terror..."

Yang's smile faded. "Ruby's called them angst monsters."

"Not a bad nickname. That requires... well, you have to shrug off a lot of weariness. A lot of... horrible things. Keep going, even if..." His voice trailed off.

"...A strength of will." Yang nodded. "Somebody willing to push through the worst."

"Yeah."

"...anything else?"

"Hmm?"

"Your ideal woman," Yang prompted. "Anything else she has?"

Taiyang shook himself. "...well, she'd have to be willing to accept me and my whole crazy family. Qrow, Ruby, you..."

"Obviously I'm the worst."

"Yang, you're not-"

"Dad." She smiled wryly. "Joke."

"Well... it's not funny." Taiyang came around the table, sitting next to her. "You're a wonderful girl. Passionate, intelligent, talented..."

Yang glanced away. "I know you're trying to comfort me, but... Dad, it's fine. Really."

"...just wanted to make sure you knew."

"I do, don't worry. I'm just..." She cleared her throat. "So! Strong-willed, accepting, I'm presuming you're a boobs person based on my genes?"

Taiyang blinked. "Well, I... it's not all about sex, you know-"

"Oh, I know, trust me. Still, nice side benefit, right?"

"Well, yeah." He narrowed his eyes. "You haven't...?"

"She's a girl. And we did check for STDs beforehand." Yang rolled her eyes. "I'd introduce you, but... after I lost my arm, things got a little confused, and she's... gosh. Probably halfway to Menagerie by now."

"Not from the kingdoms?" Taiyang whistled low. "No wonder you got frisky."

"...for the sake of whatever remains of my sanity, I am not going to unpack that statement." Yang rolled her shoulders. "You know what? If you can think up any other things you'd want, let me know."

"Why? You looking to get me hitched again?"

Yang smiled dryly. "Something like that."

 **48.2 Masterweaver**

Blake looked around and sighed. "Another overflow glitch?"

"Blake?!" A girl swam up to her. "Oh good, it is you!"

"Oh, hello Haru." Blake unpocketed a boat, clambering into it and reaching out. "Come on, let's get you out of there."

Haru clambered aboard thankfully, dusting herself off. "Oh... gosh. This is... this is insane."

"Reality is broken, insanity's part of the gig."

"Blake, we are in the middle of a literal ocean of cats!" Haru waved a hand at the furry creatures even now trying to clamber aboard the vessel.

"Yep. Keep them out, will you?" The faunus kicked a few off, pulling out a megaphone. "If you are not capable of intelligent communication, you are not allowed on this boat! Ask permission!"

Haru stared at her.

"The boat will sink under their combined weight," Blake explained. "I mean, we could kill ourselves and skip this loop, but that's always painful."

"Are you not at all disturbed by this?"

"It's not my first overflow loop."

"...Overflow-?"

"Yggdrassil wants to load a cat," Blake explained. "But every time it does, it forgets it does. So it keeps trying to load cats, so we get cats from across the multiverse." She pointed from herself to Haru. "You and I are late-game, because we're not just 'Cat', but we're part cat according to our code. We've got... I dunno, a few days before the system stresses itself out."

She flicked a tabby off the tailboard. "Just think of it like a vacation loop."

Haru sat down heavily, pushing a calico off the bench. "I... I can't believe it. This is actually happening."

"AHOY THERE!" A raft with a sail came into view, the tiger on board quickly tacking toward them.. "What ho, me lassies!"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Hello Hobbes. How long have you been here?"

"Oh, a couple of months. I was on the tail-end of the tiger snatchup. Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted."

Haru jolted back as the tiger sprung into their boat, rocking it. "Meep!"

"Haru, this is Hobbes. Don't worry, he's a big softie." Blake gestured. "Hobbes, this is Haru. She's the Anchor for... the cat bureau loop, right? You still call it that?"

"Yes." Haru nodded as Hobbes stood. "It's... interesting to meet you, mister Hobbes."

"I know, I know, I'm simply a shining beacon of incredible intellect and intrigue."

"You're a tuna thief is what you are."

"Shush, Blake, I'm introducing myself to the lovely lady." With surprising delicacy, the tiger took Haru's hand and kissed it. "It is of course an honor to be in the presence of such a figure of grace."

"Save it, she's taken."

Hobbes rolled his eyes. "No reason not to be polite."

"Um. I'm really not all that graceful. I'm the klutzy girl in baseline."

"Well then, I suppose I shall have to teach you grace! And what better place to do it then on a boat in the middle of an ocean of cats?"

Blake sighed, flicking off a persian longhair in resignation. "I'm not even going to pretend there's a logic behind that statement."

 **48.3 diesel**

"What is it, Roman?" Cinder barely noticed as her pawn entered the room, too engrossed in her work. Not bothering to look up when it did register.

Everything must be perfect and she was in no mood to have her work this loop ruined by the fool. It was relaxing and different, something she need after loops and loops off disrupted sleep and mood swings.

The thief lent on his cane, an expression of surprise as he looked at his boss. Black hair pulled back, and eyes focused on an intricate dress she was sowing. In the warehouse's light it glimmered with a thousand colours, the white, flowing material interwoven with dust imbued material. Thin see-through mesh glittering with diamonds alongside brilliant channels of power.

"Well, Cinder, quite the dress your making." That was the understatement of the year. Roman tipped his head back, eyeing the elaborate piece of clothing as Cinder drank the rest of a mug of hot chocolate. Taking a bite of a slice of some sort before moving onto gravity dust.

It would have to have been the most intricate dust weapon he had seen outside some of the mass produced Atlas stuff. Certainly the most intricate he had ever seen made by hand. And the most expensive.

"So what is the occasion?"

"I felt like it, now what did you want?" A dangerous tone entered Cinder's voice, making Roman spread his hands in a peace gesture to her irritation. Cinder briefly considered burning the irritant alive but it would be counterproductive. He was still needed, technically, for her upcoming plans.

Cinder frowned as she looked at the stitch, caressing it with her Aura, feeling the stuttering in the flows. It would have minimal effect, reducing the overall output by less than zero point one percent.

Sighing in frustration, she started backtracking. If she was going to do this, it would be done right or not at all. She was not a substandard seamstress even if she would never get to the level of that pony Rarity or any of the other dedicated clothiers.

It was still galling to be beaten at anything by those fools. But this was a hobby not a lifestyle, the mere thought of making a living with nothing but clothes were nauseating. It would make her hobby taste like salt in her mouth.

"Well the dust is drying up, so I hope you have some other plan to move onto. And the Animals are getting…"

Cinder stopped listening, she had had devised a range of plans to deal with those arrogant fools who were so sure of their rule over Remnant and the Loops. But, she just felt sort of flat and really could not bring herself to care this loop beyond an abstract sense of disdain.

It was her duty and pleasure to tear them down, to crush them and their minds.

To take what is most dear and break it.

It did not feel right to just let them have peace, but… she really wanted to get this dress finished.

'I hate obligation…'

-

Roman almost jumped as Cinder bust out laughing as he was describing the problems the White Fang were causing. The deadly woman looked up for the first time, an amused glint in her eyes, that set his instincts on edge.

They were the eyes of someone who would kill on a whim.

"Roman, your employment is hereby terminated. You and Neo may take half the accumulated Dust and other resources, barring my personal supply, and give the rest to the White Fang."

Her voice was amused and light, amber eyes sparking with laughter that only increased at his reaction to her words. "Don't be so concerned Roman, I have merely come to the belated realization that I only have my own whims to follow, not Salem's or anyone else's. And if I chose not to follow through with my imposed duty for a while, then so be it."

Roman carefully started backing out of the room, ready to bolt at the slight's movement, honestly he was thanking his lucky stars that Cinder was merely looking amused at his fear. With any luck, both of them would get away from the madwoman with their lives.

Maybe Neo would like to go to Mistral?

"Well that's good, I guess this is goodbye then. It was most profitable working with you Cinder and I wish you well in the future. I do wish you had used a different turn of phrase, the implications…"

Cinder cut him off lazily, returning her gaze to the dress "Oh, I know I used that turn of phrase for that reason. You don't have to worry though, killing you would be cathartic and fun but give me nothing bar reinforcing bad habits. Killing subordinates or people randomly is pointless and is simply likely to become a bad habit that would backfire in the worst way at some critical point. Don't send the kingdoms after me or mine, and you can do what you like."

Roman swallowed, his throat dry and his heart pounding. He was getting Neo and then hell out of here as soon as he could, he had no idea what the madwoman was talking about with whims and duty and he did not care. It was no longer their concern.

Roman turned and walked away without another word, leaving Cinder behind humming to herself as she sowed.

-

'I wonder what Adam and the rest will do with all that dust and no guidance? This will be amusing, maybe I should get some popcorn?'

 **48.4 Masterweaver**

"...I have no idea how to respond to this development."

"Please don't tell anybody, Weiss! Please please super-please with strawberries and, and ice cream and do you like brownies I can get you brownies and cake-"

"Ruby, I'm still processing this. Give me a moment or two before you start begging."

"I swear, I thought this was a lonely loop! I didn't think you'd wake up late, and-and it's not like, it's just, I mean, I don't do anything like, you know, I just-"

"That's not Crescent Rose. Not your Crescent Rose-"

"No, no of course not, my baby girl is innocent, I, I tweaked one of the other versions so I could-it's just exercise, it makes me feel pretty, it's not like I engage or, or tease or-"

"I'm just... completely astonished. I mean, I knew logically that you had to have _some_ outlet, I just never asked and... I have no idea how to feel about this."

"We can just forget it. We can just forget it and move on, and I'll keep it in my Pocket in the future, and nobody can stumble on me doing it again and you don't ever have to tell anyone-"

"We... could just. I do have brain bleach."

"Yes, that's right, drink, and forget, and nobody ever has to know ever again, right, I can just say you got some, uh, head, thing, forget!"

"Yes. Yes, that's... yes, I could. Memories... others?"

"...oh geeze-what-what-what if you brain bleach and I end the loop and, and take a punishment, I can do that just don't, this can't get out!"

"Bent like that, spinning around-"

"I like it, okay? I like moving like that! I don't think of myself as a floozy, I don't put myself out for guys, but darn it I just... I just like to poledance, alright?!"

 **48.5 Masterweaver**

Neon Katt was having a perfectly normal day, just reading her psychology magazine as she lounged about her dorm.

Then a metal spider burst through her door, slammed it shut, and pointed at her. "I'm not here!" it said in a panicked digital whisper.

"Seventeen?" called a voice from outside the hall. "Seventeen, come on, I'm sorry! We can just talk this out, right?"

Neon's eyebrow rose as the spider darted for a bed, lifted it up, and put itself under in a pathetic and utterly failed attempt to hide. Her attention turned to the door as it swung open.

A young, silver-eyed girl smiled at her. "Hey, this is going to sound weird, but have you seen a giant metal spider around?"

"...Nope."

"Oh. Well, if you do, can you give me a call?" The girl flipped a paper at her. "This is my number, and I really, _really_ need to find her before the Vytal festival."

"Sure thing."

The girl shut the door, walking on down the hall. "Seventeen! Seventeen, where are you? Please come back!"

It wasn't until after her voice faded away that the metal spider backed out-and Neon only belatedly realized it had wheels on each of its four legs. "Thank you. Really, just- _thank_ you for diverting her attention."

"No biggie." Neon put her magazine aside. "So, uh, what are you anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes." The spider clicked its grippers together. "You wouldn't know... Ah, I am Tachikoma M190R017."

"Nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand. "Neon Katt, Atlas Huntress."

"Oh! Neon Katt!" The spider took her hand and shook it. "I've heard about you!"

"...Really?"

"Yes, in-oh. I've said too much." The spider waved its arms. "Forget all that! Or, uh. Have I said too much? I don't know."

"Well, if you have to keep secrets, I guess I understand. I didn't know Atlas was working on anything like you."

"What? Oh. I'm not from Atlas. I'm from-no, that _would_ be too much."

Neon blinked. "Wait. Are you an alien robot?"

The spider's forward eye listed sideways. "I mean... Kind of? Technically? I wasn't built or designed on Remnant, and... Well. Huh. I guess I am an alien robot."

"Oh. My. Gosh. That is so cool!"

 **48.6 WirelessGrapes**

Jaune sat down next to his adopted son, who was sitting at the foot of his bed, cleaning one of his guns.

Ren looked up, smiling softly, "Hey, Jaune, I suppose it's time for my 'Baseline gave me more information and I have to be existential' talk?"

Jaune recoiled, surprised at Ren's bluntness, "What do you mean?"

Ren turned away from his work to look at Jaune directly, "Well, it seems that every time someone gets their past developed in Baseline, they have a few Loops where they are unable to shake off their experience, leading to a heart to heart conversation with someone close to them. You are clearly the person who is going to do that to me, but I have accepted my fate."

He continued, despite his adopted father's look of confusion, "I accepted long ago that I wouldn't have parents. When Baseline made Nora and I orphans, I was genuinely distraught. Everyone else seemed to have a past that is either good or bad, but we never had anything. We were just...there."

Ren looked down at his weapon, "But, then something special happened. You and Pyrrha became our parents, and our lives became so much more than whatever Baseline decided we were going to be. You guys gave us our real lives, not some corrupted backstory filed away on the world tree. At some point down the line, we became real. I thought that my life would suddenly change upon hearing anything about my 'real' parents, but honestly, I cannot bring myself to worry over what has happened."

Ren stood up, patting his father's shoulder, "So, thank you, for giving me and Nora a real life. Good talk."

Ren walked out, closing the door, leaving Jaune to sit there in absolute befuddlement.

"I was just gonna ask if you wanted to get some pizza with me!"

 **48.7 Shimmer712**

"Last loop, Salem tried to possess me."

"...What?" Weiss asked flatly.

"Salem tried to possess me," Ruby repeated. "We, me and JNPR, killed her, then her Aura flew into me and tried to take over." Ruby paused. "I don't think her attempt at Immortality works well on people who are made of millions of tiny chibis. I wound up with a bunch of black and albino chibis that tended to be more vicious than the rest of me."

"So Salem can possess people if we kill her?" Yang frowned.

"It was probably an power she had for that loop only," Blake remarked from where she was curled up against the blonde. "Like Jaune's semblance."

"Oh yeah," Yang remembered. "Wish he kept that super-massage semblance. Those were great! My back felt fantastic!"

"Pyrrha was smiling a lot that loop," Ruby mused.

Yang snickered. "They were both Awake. So she probably got special, full body massages, unlike the rest of us."

"Your uncle's semblance is loop variable too, isn't it?" Weiss asked, looking at Ruby.

"Yeah. There's usually a crow theme so it's not as varied as Jaune's," Ruby nodded.

"It just occurred to me," Blake said. "There are a lot of people whose semblance is an unknown. Actually, I think the majority of who we know are on that list."

"Huh?" Yang looked at her girlfriend. "But we know our semblance, Pyrrha's, Nora's, Re-no, wait, we've never really seen his semblance, have we?" Yang asked herself. "We know Velvet's, Sun's, Neo's, Glynda's, Emerald's, and...and...is there anyone else? Oh yeah! Flynt!" Yang recalled. "Huh, that really is a short list."

"You forgot Winter," Weiss glared.

"No, but we know your semblance is hereditary, so we know your's, hers, your brother's and one of your parent's," Yang explained. "Now I'm wondering what other sort of semblance's are out there."

"Probably too many to count," Weiss shrugged. "And the majority probably aren't suited for combat unless you think really far outside the box."

"Like Jaune's massage semblance," Blake nodded. "Offering massages to whoever is the most effective defender in Beacon's Fall really got everyone going all out."

"Pyrrha certainly gave Cinder a brutal beat down so she could go out and kick some Grimm ass," Ruby agreed. "Not sure why she bothered competing since we know Jaune would give them to her regardless."

"It's a girlfriend thing, sis," Yang told her. "She just didn't want anyone else enjoying his touch."

"Huh, that seems obvious now that you've said it," Ruby noted. "How long until we find out everyone else's semblance?"

"Qrow may reveal his when Tyrian catches up to you," Weiss remarked. "Ren will probably do so at some point on your travels. Everyone else, who knows?"

 **48.8 Masterweaver**

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaugh." Velvet held a bundle of broken wood. "Dammit, my skis are broken."

"Yeeeeeeeeeees," purred the unnoticed figure perched atop her wardrobe. "Your possesions, shattered. Your plans, derailed. Your will, broken. Suffer, little rabbit! SUFFER!"

"Meh, I'll just hop over to a trek ship and replicate new ones."

The tiny figure stamped her foot as the lagomorph gynoid walked out. "Accursed starships! Once more, my scheme has been foiled!"

 **48.9 Masterweaver**

"Weiss, we need to talk."

"What about?"

"Look, I get that you want to practice with your semblance. And I know way back when, I let you kill me just so you could make another me-I thought it was cool back then."

"Oh. This is about the incident at initiation, isn't it?"

"YES THIS IS ABOUT THE INCIDENT AT INITIATION! Yang isn't Awake, she thought that was a real ghost! I had to convince her that there were psychic Grimm before she calmed down!"

"Fine, I overestimated how much weirdness she could take. I won't do that again."

"THANK you."

 **48.10**

"And that's why Salem is handcuffed to me," Ruby said, finishing the long and verbose tale of why she was currently eating lunch with Salem handcuffed to her. "I take no questions and brook no argument. Let's eat."

Team JNPR and the rest of RWBY stared at Salem. The Witch was gnawing at the handcuffs that had locked her to Ruby, trying for freedom. Weiss facepalmed. "Ruby, you are... your healing factor is ridiculous. Can't you just cut off your arm and free yourself?"

"And what, ruin my perfectly good sleeve? Don't be ridiculous Weiss!" Ruby ignored how Salem now vigorously attacked her sleeve.

"The simple answer is kill Salem," Pyrrha said, picking up a butter knife and glaring at Salem. Salem stopped trying to bite her way to freedom to instead cower beneath the table. Anyone who could look that murderous with a butter knife was not to be trifled with.

"What? Pyrrha, that's mean. We should give everyone a fair chance to be good. Right Salem?" Ruby lifted her arm out from beneath the table. Salem's arm, just her arm, came with it. "Oh."

Ozpin walked by, brushing the evaporating black ichor from his arm. "What? I may want a simple soul to champion good and righteousness, but even I would kill Salem at the drop of a hat."

 **48.11 Masterweaver**

"She's doing the cartoony thing again."

"What, you mean the thing where she jumps from pose to pose with no intervening motion?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too. I talked to Weiss about it."

"Really?"

"Apparently it only happens when she has more then two hundred lonely loops in a row. Weiss thinks that as she gets more subconsciously irritated at our unawake selves for being so static, she allows herself to become more blatant and cartoony in order to vent her frustration via visual snark. Once we Wake Up it takes a while for her to relax back down to normal."

"Huh. Weiss put a lot of thought into that didn't she?"

"Yep. She takes her duty as best teammate super seriously."

"...I know I couldn't take a couple hundred lonely loops. Your sister is a lot tougher then she looks."

"Yes she is. Come on, kitty cat, let's go subtly imply that the two of them are desperately in love with each other and denying it for silly reasons."

"Only if you make me some Lẩu Phở."

"Yeah, sure thing."

 **48.12 diesel**

Ruby snuck though Beacons halls, darting though the deep shadows and around the pools of moonlight. Her ears could pick up a familiar rhythm of feet and a cane echoing though the silent night.

Her target was close.

Anticipation curled in her chest, as she clutched her tool of choice tighter in her hands. Soon, she would strike and prove those deniers wrong. Darkness cloaked her stilling form, silver eyes reflecting none of the faint light as The Huntress waited for her prey.

A familiar figure of green and grey strode into view, a cup of bitter liquid clutched in one and a can in the other, oblivious to the one who lay in wait.

 _Now!  
_  
Ruby moved, a cloud of red petals swirling in her wake, twisting under the lighting fast blow her target delivered by sheer reflex. Pausing just out of reach of the Statesman like hunter, her chosen tool released as she called out her command. "And, go!"

"... Ruby, why did you just manifest in front of me after lying in wait, drop a... is that a Jägermonster hat?" The Nemesis of Salem seemed rather bemused, reaching down to pick up the, admittedly excellent, hat. Looking his longest student in the eyes, seeing his own face reflected in the mirror like surface of her eyes, which looked amused and triumphant. "... And then tell me to go? I am trying and failing to see what you are aiming to do."

"Testing a statement, and I was proven right!" Ruby's shit-eating grin was remarkably like her sister's; Ozpin could not help but feeling a familiar sense of exasperation. Maybe he should consider splitting RWBY up for a while, it would be good for them to get new interactions. Well, it was something to consider at any rate.

"And that is?"

"That you said you would kill Salem at the drop of a hat. And I would like that back now, otherwise this will not have been a good plan."

 **48.13 Masterweaver**

"Hut-hut-hut-hut-hut!" The horde of tiny black-and-white women ran down the corridor, carrying a toolkit over their heads. Atop it, three monochrome figures scanned constantly with their red eyes.

"Coming up to the junction, prepare for left turn... NOW!"

"Hut-HUT-hut-hut-hut!"

"Mnyahahahahahaha." The figure at the front of the toolkit rubbed her hands together. "This, this is our most nefarious plot yet!"

"Without his toolkit, Fox will descend into frustration," purred the one at the rear left corner. "Even replicating a new one will require him to re-calibrate the replacements."

"And that aggravation will grow, and grow, until at last he snaps and goes on a rampage!" The one on the rear right corner rose her hands, cackling. "It is fooooooooolproooooooof!"

They all laughed manically together.

Then the one at the front glanced at the map she held. "Oh, right at the next junction. Turn... NOW!"

"Hut-hut-hut-hut-HUT!"

"...You know, though," the one on the right mused, "I kind of miss making Grimm."

"You know why we can't do that." The one on the left gestured. "Ruby's Pocket. She'd notice."

"Well yes, but... back on Remnant we were the terror of the kingdoms! Now we're a horde of gremlins trying to irritate a group of robots into self-harm and obliteration."

"True. But work with what you got, you know?" The other figure shrugged. "It's pretty horrible, yeah. Still, at least we aren't dealing with that annoying wizard anymore."

"Ugh, yeah. Ozpin. What I wouldn't do to wring his little neck."

"Or break his legs."

"Shatter his spine."

"Dust, I hate that insufferable prick."

"Coming up on the incinerator!" the figure at the front shouted. "Be ready to jump!"

 **48.14 Masterweaver**

Weiss let her senses drift over the crowd, feeling the ripples of... amusement. Mild envy. Curiosity, and here and there awkward regret. The man beside her was cold and frigid, though his face laughed with the others. Ironwood, in the corner, a dark nexus of anger and woe, held in check by years of training and military protocol.

The greatest bastion of knowledge in this sea of ignorance. A dark light over ripples of tiny, pointless souls.

She shook herself. No. They mattered. They all mattered, no matter how bone-numbingly _stupid_ they were. She couldn't let herself fall into the trap of seeing them as broken toys. The greatest challenge of a looper, and greater still when one let their soul extend outward.

Weiss made to walk away, and absently shifted her arm just outside her father's grip as he reached for her. One problem with businessmen across the multiverse-they were usually strong-minded, stubborn, resistant to jedi mind tricks. There were other ways to sway people, but she didn't want to waste time. She simply ignored his voice-he couldn't afford to break from the structured, false conversation of how he treated Faunus as equals, despite the slanted job market.

Well, at the least the whips weren't baseline. There was that. Perhaps in time...

...she didn't want to think about that. Not here. Not in this mess.

Not for the first time, she wished somebody from Atlas was Awake. Her arms came to rest on the post between two ropes, and she looked into Beacon... Beacon as she remembered it. Beacon as it would be, once this loop ended. She wasn't the one who painted this image, but oh Yggdrasil did she want to meet who did-it was clear, it was so clear that they were the only ones in this version of Atlas who _understood_ , even in part, what this meant.

Something familiar spiked, and she was reminded of Jaune and his actually quite excellent guitar skills. Loops of habit had her hold up her hand before a word was spoken. "Don't."

"...what?"

"Whatever you're going to try, I am not in the mood for flirting. And flirting only works when people are open to it. So, don't."

The boy-blue hair like Neptune, what was it with her and blue hair?-blinked and leaned back. "Alright. Whatever you say... Do I at least get to introduce myself?"

Weiss sighed. "If you must."

"I'm Henry. Henry Marigold."

"Henry. Hmm." Weiss let her hand fall. "Not color-related. Not even indirectly. A representation of the culture here."

"...well, a marigold-"

"I know what a marigold is. Family names..."

She was silent for a moment.

"...Family names are less relevant to the culture as it is, and more to the culture as it was. Family names are tradition, and... stagnation. Your first name, Henry, that tells me what your parents thought of you when you were born."

The boy leaned back. "Well, _you're_ a deep thinker."

"Wisdom comes not with age, but with experience and contemplation. Too few remember that." She finally turned to look at him. "I presume you know who I am, if you're here."

"You're Weiss Schnee. Well, Weiss, anyway, if you're so set against caring about family names." Henry smiled. "Your singing was beautiful."

"So I've been told."

"Well, it's probably because it's true."

"What did I say about flirting?"

Henry chuckled, grabbing a wineglass from a passing waiter. "Hey! I only say things that are true." He gestured at Beacon. "This painting, for instance, it's incredible."

Weiss turned to look at it. "It's even better being there in person."

"Oh, you've been there?"

The lights didn't dim, the ground didn't rumble, the various drinks didn't ripple once. Yet somehow, for a brief second, every person in the room felt an unexplained, vague sense of dread.

Weiss turned away from the painting, bringing herself back under control with a deep breath. "Henry," she asked politely, "what exactly do you think this is?"

"Some kind of party." Henry lowered his wineglass. "Honestly, I only come to these things for the food."

"Hmm." Weiss peered into his eyes.

"...What?" He glanced around. "What is it?"

She nodded. "I see," she murmured, as if to herself.

"...so, you've been to Beacon?"

Weiss continued to look at him for a moment or two. Then she produced a metal sphere. "Do you know what this is, Henry?"

"It's... a ball?"

"This is called a thermal detonator."

Henry blinked. "Detonator. Like... like a bomb."

"A very powerful bomb, yes." Weiss let the object roll in her hand for a moment. "You know," she mused casually, "if I hit this switch here, everyone in this room dies."

"Um. That-that's very-"

"Stop." She held up a finger. "That feeling that's going through your mind right now. I want you to focus on that. You're in denial, you think I'm pulling some sort of prank, that this isn't happening." Her face grew icy. "And now, the denial is fading away. You realize I'm serious. You realize that not a foot away is a monster that could, if they so wanted, kill you and everyone you know. You're afraid. You're terrified. _You don't know what to do."_

"I, I, I could beg for my life or-"

"What you're feeling right now," Weiss said coolly, "is almost exactly the same feeling that went through the hearts and minds of the people of vale scant months ago. The only thing missing is the panic, the smell of the blood of the dying, the knowledge that if you don't act right now you are dead." Her gaze grew frosty. "You, Henry Marigold, have come to a fundraiser meant to help the survivors, have approached the daughter of the one hosting it, one of the people who was actually there for the assault, somebody who has lost friends... and you have the gall to come. For. The. Food."

Henry was quavering, unwilling to move, to bolt, his eyes nervously on the tiny metal sphere still rolling in her hand.

"There is one reason I am not asking security to escort you out. One reason only. And that is because Beacon was... Beacon _is_ a place of education. Your insult comes not from a place of maliciousness, but of ignorance. So I am willing to give you a chance to change, and prove you are more then another fool blinded by their wealth. Tree knows there's enough of those already in this room."

Metal screeched and sparks flew, Henry wincing as she crushed the sphere in her hand.

"Put a bid down, mister Marigold. I think it's the _least_ you could do." Weiss folded her arm back, pocketing the scrap metal. "And if you need to change, the restrooms are out the hall, third door on your left."

"You're insane..."

"I'm _disturbed_ , mister Marigold. Disturbed and disgusted at what I've been hearing all night in this room." Weiss turned away from him. "This is a wake, a gathering of mourning and remembrance for the hundreds dead..."

Her eyes fell once more on the painting. "It shouldn't be like this."

 **48.15 Jesse Lee**

"Zui Quan, you say?" Qrow asked the visiting Looper.

"Indeed. I invented it in my Loop, with the help of copious amounts of rice wine." Bo' Rai Cho explained as he drank from his flask of rice wine.

"I'm in. When do we begin?"

"How drunk are you?"

"Very."

"Then we shall start now." Bo' Rai Cho unended the table the two were sitting at.

Qrow would enjoy the training, though he was pretty sure that he'd get a few confused looks when training with a fat drunkard.

 **48.16 Masterweaver**

Every looper had one.

Well, presumably every looper had one. Every looper of significant age. Although a few loopers didn't actually have subspace pockets, so they couldn't have one. And some wouldn't admit to having one.

But, generally, it was assumed that every looper had, in their pocket, a Nonsense Chamber.

They didn't talk about them, of course. Nonsense Chambers were personal things, private things, generally spoken about with the same awkward reluctance that a non-looper would have in telling their children, factually, where babies came from. There was a reason for this-the Nonsense Chamber was a manifestation of a psychological valve. A room full of crazy, though not limited to writings on the wall; no, constructs and random items were out and about, dozens of half-finished inane projects like chocohamas and flergunpuns and even stranger words that required vowels from languages other than english. The Nonsense Chamber was, simply put, the place a looper would retreat to when an idea just would not leave them be, a place where thought flowed without restraint, a place where obsession could be vented swiftly.

Cinder Fall had a Nonsense Chamber. She still did, technically. But for some reason, whenever she tr130 2 konzida/a |+ z43-/-,]

...ugh. Cinder shook her head. Another headache... what had she been thinking about?

Her eyes drifted around. Oh. Yes. She was... thinking about what Ruby had mentioned about the expansion. The development with Tyrian was certainly interesting...

 _hidden in the twist it listens it waits it hears it knows of her joys and her secrets and her fears  
it coils unseen unnoticed unknown it is the way that madness has flown  
if ever she faltered if ever she fell it would know and one voice would it tell  
it keeps her apart it keeps her together it keeps her from asking the which and the whether_

 **48.17 FadedAlphabet**

"Hey Ruby?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"I'm starting to really hate rich people."

"Don't hate yourself!"

"You dolt! I mean the snobby rich folk who have their heads so far up their rear ends that it's disgusting!"

"Ahhh."

"Besides, I'm not a rich."

"Weiss, you are most certainly a rich."

"No I'm not."

"Oh? Then what are you then?"

"Unbelievably stinking rich."

"Cool, you're buying me lunch."

 **48.18 Masterweaver**

Weiss winced at the familiar sound of metal slicing through plastic came from behind her and Winter. Ruby was off preparing a neferious scheme to discredit Mercury, and she'd forgotten to distract Winter this time, distracted as she was considering the new expansion.

"Hey!" Qrow kicked the Atlas Knight head toward them. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen!"

And then things went wildly off script.

"KELVIN!" Penny screeched, jumping for the head. "Oh god, Kelvin! Why?!"

Qrow blinked as the girl hugged the head, kneeling to the ground and weeping. "Uh-"

"He was so young!" Penny cried. "He had a promising future! He could have been... oh Kelvin." She ran her fingers over the plastic skull. "I will always remember you."

Winter opened her mouth. "If... I may, young-"

"No, let her get through it," Weiss suggested. "We should treat Kelvin with the respect he deserves."

"Forsooth," Penny intoned gravely, "did the innocent step forward to defend the guilty. And though ne'er he had the chance for heroic, still must we regard his sacrifice. If only the impressive we remember, then what import are of we? All is made of one whole, and one whole is made of all." She extended the head sunward. "May your soul find purpose in the next world, that it lost in this one."

"Amen," Weiss agreed.

Winter gave her a cautious look. "...You know the knight can be repaired, right?"

"What is that which is and was? The self interrupted, does it remain self? Let us mourn absence regardless."

Qrow coughed. "Um. So..."

Penny's eyes shot to him. "You. Slayer of Kelvin. What right, what justification, do you offer for this tragedy?!"

The man was suitably staggered. He looked around, realizing there was a crowd staring at him, and slowly held up his hands. "Look, I... uh... he... tried to kill my sister?"

Weiss managed to keep herself from sniggering through sheer force of will.

 **48.19 Shimmer712**

Neo was not happy. She had recently had a hub loop and decided to catch up on the latest expansions, to see if there were any new developments she had yet to encounter or if the others had omitted some details in their recitals of the loops. A line from the newest episode had enraged her and she was still fuming about it.

"Plastic soldiers and _pawns?!"  
_  
Suddenly Cinder's lack of concern regarding Roman's fate seem trivial (for now. Neo will resume despising her later). But the current Fall Maiden had never outright _mocked_ it.

"Tyrian will suffer," she intoned in a blank voice.

Miles away, on another continent, Tyrian felt a shiver crawl up his spine and the sensation of doom hanging over his head. "Huh. Weird," he mused. Then burst out giggling.

Watts looked at him and inwardly bemoaned working along side the lunatic.

Back in Vale, Neo plotted against the psychopath.

 **48.20 Masterweaver**

"YAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Whoa!" Ruby sidestepped the attack, eyes widening as she reached out and grabbed her opponent. "Okay, time out! What the heck is this?"

Jaune rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure it's a scorpion tail, Ruby."

"Well, no duh. I mean-" The tail jerked and she rolled with it, her feet hitting Tyrian's head. "-sure, I could buy him being a faunus, right? I mean plenty of faunus hide their traits. But a scorpion?"

"She does have a point," Ren mused. "Up until now, all the faunus we've encountered in baseline have had traits from chordates."

"Yeah! I mean, I'm not up and up on genetic theory like Zwei is, but I would assume that closer relatives to the human species would be more likely for selection of hybridization during faunus fetal development." Nora held her hand out as Tyrian swung his axes at Ruby's ankles. "Hell, a fish would make more sense!"

"It isn't even really a tail," Ren mused. "It's an extension of the opithosoma. If I recall correctly, the anus is located right behind the stinger."

"Wait a minute, I'm holding his _butt?!"_ Ruby released her grip and shook her hand. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Grossgrossgross."

"Actually, that's a good question," Jaune said, a teasing smirk on his face. "Does he have one anus or two?"

"Oh my _god_ Jaune I hate you so much right now!" Ruby bent at the waist, letting Tyrian lunge over her. "Seriously, though. Does this mean bug faunus are baseline?!"

"Well, arachnid faunus at least." The blonde held up his shield and their assailant smashed his face into it. "Assuming this isn't some sort of gift from Salem, I mean."

"That would imply an artificial origin for all Faunus though," Ren pointed out.

Nora hummed thoughtfully. "It is hereditary. Maybe they did all start when some humans fused themselves magically to some animals?"

"Way too much speculation there, guys." Ruby stepped over to the groaning man. "I mean we'll learn if it ever comes up."

"True. We don't know much about how magic works on Remnant, though," Ren pointed out.

"There could actually be plant people around," Nora agreed.

Ruby groaned. "I made up the floram as a joke. If it turns out they actually exist, I... I dunno, I'll have to hit a bar with uncle Qrow or something."

 **48.21 Masterweaver**

"Hup-hup-hup-eeepleftleftleft _left!"_

"Whoa! Blake, don't slouch, my feet are slipping!"

"I'm not slouching, I'm rebalancing! Yang's moving too fast!"

"Ruby leaned forward! I had to kick it up or this thing would have fallen!"

Professor Peter Port rose an eyebrow as team RWBY... well, one member, at least, walked past. Miss Xiao Long seemed to be stumbling about with her arms spread wide for balance, which she clearly needed to do with the other three stacked on top of her. Miss Belladonna was carefully preventing herself from falling off, and the Schnee girl fought to keep her heels wrapped around _her_ shoulders. Atop them all, the young miss Rose seemed to be scanning the area whilst using her very normal knees to keep from falling.

"Oh hey!" Ruby waved, then meeped as the stack stumbled for a moment. "Professor Port! Have you seen team JNPR around here?"

"I'm afraid not, miss Rose. Might I ask what you're doing?"

"Team-building exercise!"

"...I see." With a shrug, the man turned away. "I'll leave you to it then."

"Nice seeing you! Oh-there's Nora! North by north _weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeest!"  
_  
"Slow down, Yang! We can't knock the JNPRs down if we're all swaying like this!"

"I thought you'd have more balance, Weiss, aren't you a dancer?"

"She's a singer, _I'm_ the dancer! You should know this!"

 **48.22 Masterweaver**

"...and that's why I think they're called bullroars in some loops, and bullheads in others."

"Well that makes sense. I guess that it's basically the same thing with the Shione/Xion confusion, right?"

"Yep. And the way that the vowels in Neopolatan's name jump about every few loops."

"And the whole... Fanas with variable u's. Like, I've seen it before or after each of the a's! Or it could be Funus, with an a thrown in somewhere..."

"It's all very crazy. Still, it makes sense when you think about it."

"Yep. Oh! I just remembered, Yein wanted to have some sisterly bonding time when she and Bleiac came back from Veil!"

"Ah, gotcha. See you later Roobi."

"Later Hyaice!"

 **48.23 diesel**

Ruby watched with narrowed eyes as Tyrian dropped to the ground, the long abandoned ruins quiet other than the maniacal man's speech, the air heavy with the promise of an approaching storm.

It had been a long time since he had first been sent after her. Ruby had wondered when the man would finally show up. Now that he had she could have some fun.

"Who I am matters not to you, or you, or, well, you do interest me. No, I only matter to you."

Ruby looked at the insane hunter, there was something odd about him when compared to normal, not really surprising with a new expansion, a lot was still up in the air. Now the question was, what was it?

"Hi, Tyrian!"

The cheerful voice made everyone pause, Tyrian's golden eyes widening in shock and his face becoming more focused. Ruby's cold expression was a complete contrast to her cheerful voice, "Cinder told me you were coming, get revenge for the damage my Silver Eyes did to her. I sorta wondered when you would finally turn up."

Her eyes glowed with a hint of silver, nothing more than a mild illusion, because why not? But the look on the man's face was hysterical. "Oh, where are my manners? Sorry," Ruby laughed sheepishly watching as the insane amusement drained from Tyrian's face and posture, something dark crossing his face. "So, how are Salem, Hazel and Dr Watt recently? I have not seen them in a while."

"Ruby… what?" Jaune's confused question went unanswered.

"My, my, the little rose knows far more than I could have ever thought. Those are some sharp thorns you have there." The dark laugher ran out across the ruined village, his laughter was less overwhelming and tainted with wrath. "I guess Cinder has some explanations to do. Well, that can be done latter, but for now little rose, you are coming for me."

"Okay!"

"Ruby, what the hell is going on?" Ren growled, not taking his eyes off Tyrian. "How do you know that guy or the woman?"

Ruby vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of Tyrian grabbing his arm before vanishing in a crack. Her voice echoing from the petals that still filled the air. "Time loops basically, the looping Cinder is from an alternative timeline and is a good person. When the length of the loop expands unclear details solidify and this is a new expansion. And I'm bored and curious as to what would happen if I let Tyrian take me… and that sorta came out wrong. So I'll see you guys later."

-

In the distance, Salem's castle rose up as Ruby appeared dragging a confused Tyrian, "Come on, we can't leave them waiting" Ruby rushed through the halls, still dragging Tyrian. Messing with space in the lead up had sped up the confrontation. She had at least another 3 days to confuse people, "Hey Salem… damn it!"

A sparkling, pale Cinder glanced up from the bloody form of Dr Watts, hands stained red as she examined a sparking crystal she had ripped from his heart. Salem's remains still smoldering on the pyre she had been staked to. Hazel's impaled though by a large tree, ripping its way through the ancient structure.

"Hey, Ruby," Cinder said with a slightly tense smile, taking on a cruel cast as she gazed at the horrified faunus who was almost crying as he gazed at Salem's funeral pyre. "Sorry if I messed up one of your games, but I was getting profoundly sick of dealing with all this. This loop these… _foul-_ "

She spat the last word, crushing the crystal with a cascade of sparks, the doctor's body spasming before going still.

"-excuses for living beings actually went and did 'evil' just to relish in the act of doing it!"

Cinder crushed the doctors head with a blow as she started ranting, gritting her teeth as her eyes glowed in abject fury. Though, Ruby was relatively sure she would deny ranting latter on and claim she was educating.

"They raped and tortured people not for their own pleasure or as an act of degradation, humiliation or anything like that, but because it was taboo, it was _EVIL!_ Nothing else, that was the whole purpose of _everything this time around!_ They were boasting and gloating about it. I have never seen such sheer, unadulterated, narcissistic pettiness in an organisation that is supposed to be a credible threat outside of loops that run on two dimensional characters like that. "

Ruby frowned, glancing at Tyrian, the bodies and then back at Cinder whose skin was still glittering with a crystalline light and her eyes a bloody red. "Present?" Ruby offered, tossing the now bow wrapped scorpion man to Cinder, getting a smile in response. "Just don't torture him too much if at all. I know you don't care about that sort of stuff but, I don't really like it, so, please?"

Cinder smiled darkly and nodded distractedly, laughing as her eyes fell on the horrified monster that masqueraded as a human, while her own crystal like skin and icy still mannerisms making the Fall Maiden look like an inhuman monster.

It was interesting, Ruby mused, watching as Cinder brutally tore apart Tyrian with her bare hands, still ending his pain far quicker than any of the others. Of the two, Cinder could rightfully be called a monster yet, she was far less of one than a lot of people, looping and not. Vicious trends aside, she was a loving and razor witted woman, with a sense of humor and highly protective.

As long as she did not go too far than Ruby didn't mind her nastier side. It was sort of expected, and it was not an uncommon trait of darker loopers anyway.

"Oh, and Cinder?"

Said person looked over, setting the room ablaze as she cleaned herself of blood with a thought, "Your transformation dropped at some point, so you probably should fix that. It's been happening... a lot recently. Well, about six times since the expansions started. But given we had been debating what type of vampire you were for a really long time, it's rather a lot."

Cinder froze, looking at the sparkling skin of her hand in dull disbelief that was quickly giving way to horror. The rest of Ruby's statement catching up a moment latter "You knew?" Her voice was hoarse and tense, it did not take Ruby's aeons of social skill to see the fear and horror in her sister's voice and face.

The flames were rising, swirling around the two sisters who stood unphased by the searing white light, the melting rock or the total absence of oxygen. Ruby sighed, her voice heard by Cinder unobstructed by the roaring inferno.

"Sis, we all have known you for a very long time. Blake often has enhanced senses; we can all have them with a few moments of effort. On occasion we can smell the blood on you, you sometimes forget to hide the smell."

Ruby shrugged hiding her discomfort with the conversation, but now that she brought it up it was not like she could or would back down.

With all the problems Cinder had had recently, with something, or somethings, trying to break her mind, whatever baseline had done to her keeping this kind of thing hidden would only do more harm in the long run.

"Yggdrasil tends to put you in all the vampire loops, a rather common sign of it making fun of someone is to put them in related loops. There are other things, and it did take us an incredibly long time to be certain."

No one spoke, the structure falling apart as the fire spread outwards, an ever hungering horde of monsters descending upon the world. Soon the desolate plains were ablaze, the fire eradicating the Grimm and everything else in the vicinity. Cinder pouring her power into the flames, sending them into the sky as a nervous tick.

"Why did you never mention it, never bring up that I am what you could call a monster? And why now of all times, like it was just an afternote?" Cinder finally spoke after a long time, she had lot track of the time at some point. Both of them hovering unmoving in the air above the molten slag.

"We didn't care; it was up to you if you spoke or revealed it. Just like I have no problem showing off my Warp Demon physiology from when I was replacing Khorne or Blake with Sharingan, just as many keep similar traits hidden." Ruby smiled as her comment got a snort of humor, slowly letting her petals swirl around them, dancing among Cinder's spitting flames and embers.

Weiss would likely be irritated at this, but well she could deal with it.

"Or Weiss' Crescent Rose, demon weapon, death scythe form from when we looped into Soul Eater for the first time."

That got a startled laugh, "I know she has Maka's soul perception when you were both there, so that would mean you looped in after…" Cinder broke off, blinking as a very familiar rapier floated amidst a storm of petals, it was flawless, even more so than the real one, glowing with a faint light.

"FOOL! Have you learnt nothing, Cinder? Hiding things from those you call friends when you fear the retaliation courses nought but harm. And always eat chilly in the morning! Or was that evening?"

Ruby pushed back her top hat that had appeared from somewhere, her overly large nose looking absurd on her otherwise normal body, taking great pleasure at the stunned look on Cinder's face.

"I see you do not understand, so let me tell you my story to make it clearer, the fairy tale to end all fairy tales." Ruby closed her eyes, staring unseeingly into the distance, looking 'majestic' as her cape fluttered in the breeze.

"It stated on a snow swept mountain by a memorial, hunted by black wolves. Or, was it in combat against an armor possessed by a black monster, under the distant gaze of a cold patriarch? Actually, now that i think of it, it was on a train hurtling through the wilds, two people parting company for the last time as ally's, one turning away from darkness. No, wait, it was in a bar, with a beauty of golden fire searching for what she would only regret.

…. No, I positivity certain it started in the courtyard of a school that hid a great secret in the basement before it would finally Fall. But enough of that, I shall now sing you a song of my people!"

Cinder could not help it, she started laughing as Ruby started to sing. Oh, she was going to tease Weiss mercilessly with this. Everything else slipping from her mind even as the world turned to ash and fire around them. Cinder started humming along with the ridiculous song, bobbing her head in time, feeling lighter than she had in a long time.

Ruby as Soul Eater Excalibur.

She would _pay_ to see Weiss put up with that for a whole loop.

 **48.24 Masterweaver**

Her hands gripped tighter on the rails as the footsteps reached her ears. "Blake."

Another set of arms rested, the other girl joining her in looking down at Beacon. "Weiss."

For a moment, they simply stood, watching the people below move about, go on with their lives.

"...So you know, then."

"Hub loop. Caught the episode."

She took a breath, let it out slowly. "How was it?"

"...Poignant. I'll show you later."

The great clock of Beacon tower ticked above them, uncaring, unfeeling.

"Four ears," Blake suddenly said. "I'm an excellent listener."

"Who says I need anybody to..." Weiss sighed, relaxing her grip. "I'm sorry. Give me... give me a moment."

Clouds drifted by, their shapes vague and undefined.

"...It's... oily." She shook her head. "The cold of the mansion is comforting, because everything there is numb but the warmth. When I step out, into that party... they're all so... grating, so many grains and fluids, a thin muck. The worst floats to the top, I guess."

"Not always. You're there."

"Dredged up by my father."

"Ironwood's there."

"...no he isn't. Not really." Weiss let her eyes rove over the courtyard. "He has influence, but... he's more there because somebody needs to be, and nobody wanted to." She looked to the mountain, to the imprisoned dragon. "Still... it clears a few things up."

Blake looked at her curiously.

"In Vacuo, people care about each other. They work together, they talk. But their resources are poor-that's the fault of the Great War." Weiss flicked her eyes east. "Mistral's got the goods and the culture, but it's too big to police correctly. Atlas is stable, rich, and filled with oppurtunistic money-grubbers. And Menagerie-I hate to say it, Blake, but Menagerie is deaf to the world, though I don't think it's their fault."

She held a hand out. "Craftworks, Care, Cohesion, Communication. Only Vale has all four, because it has something the other four lack-trust. A fundamental trust, a need for friendship... look at us, Blake. Anywhere else, the daughter of a Schnee and the child of the White Fang's founder would be at each other's throats, but in this place we had a chance to meet, to understand each other. That's what Cinder exploits, that's what Salem breaks... that's why Vale is attacked."

Silently, the two of them watched the scene below. Sun Wukong was chatting with team CFVY; Penny and Ruby were eagerly working on some strange vehicle together; Ozpin, sipping his coffee, apparently had taken interest in the antics of Nora Valkyrie.

"...The other four." Blake's voice was soft. "You count Menagerie."

"A kingdom in all but name." Weiss finally smiled, though it was wry and sad. "You're getting all the good expansions recently. I'm a little jealous."

"It's not going to last. Adam-"

"-yes, Adam. The White Fang. Plastic soldiers and pawns, that's what Tyrian calls them..." She shrugged. "Still. You've got your parents. A home. Good tea... the little things, that make life worth living. And that's not counting..."

She trailed off.

Blake sighed. "Not counting Yang."

"Salem's too adaptable. If we stop Beacon's fall, she finds another way. If we go after her-"

"Weiss."

"...I can't help it. Thinking tactically, it keeps me from thinking about..."

Blake moved closer. "You need something positive. Something personal. Or this will eat at you. I know."

"You would." Weiss let out a slow breath. "What happens, baseline? At the party?"

"...have you met Henry Marigold?"

"Oh yes. He's there for-"

"-for the food. He flirts with you, badly. He reveals he doesn't know what the party's for, you tell him to get out." Blake sighed. "Then the voices of the crowd build. Then, one woman..."

Weiss tightened her grip on the railing, icy veins spreading out. "You're the messenger, Blake. If I get angry, it won't be at you."

"...she says that Vale got what was coming to it."

The metal snapped in Weiss's hands.

She took another breath.

Let it out.

"...continue."

"Things sort of break down after that. You go on a rant, your father... grabs at you, that triggers your semblance, a borbatusk charges the woman... Ironwood shoots it, and keeps you from being arrested. Then the episode skips to Tyrian's fight with Ruby and the others." Blake held out her hands helplessly. "Nothing more on your end, nothing in the episode."

Weiss nodded. "Makes sense. In the Hub, it's just a story. Drama."

"...Weiss. I know you build up this wall to keep yourself safe, to keep us safe. I do that too. But... you can't build it so high that we can't get over. You have to have a gate... I let Yang in. Well..." She chuckled. "I dragged her in."

"I... Blake. You brought me to meet your parents one loop. I know what they're like. If I were to bring you to Atlas..." She shook her head. "The only one there is Ironwood."

"What about Winter, then?"

"I don't know where she is, baseline."

"And Penny?"

"...if she lives. Maybe."

"...Ruby would come with you. If you asked."

"That would bring Tyrian. And leave whatever is in Haven unaddressed." Weiss let the frozen metal drop to the ground. "I'm alone up there."

Blake looked at her.

Stepped forward.

Wrapped her arms around someone who, not two months ago, she would have considered a mortal foe.

"You're not alone here."


	49. Strangeness and Solitas

**49.1 diesel**

Snow crunched as a solitary figure trudged across the frigid plain, eyes focused onto a towering structure in the distance. The sky was utterly clear and still, cool sunlight reflecting off the blinding snow and teeth of crystalline ice. Rubble littered the land, glittering in the sun like they had been encased in glass.

The barren skeletons of trees gleamed in the silence as the lone white figure brushed her hands across pillar of ice that stretched high into the sky.

Burning cold air filled her lungs as Weiss inhaled, staring into the depths of the frozen tower unfazed by the sun's glare or the searing cold. A cloud of vapor emerging as she spoke to the trapped figure, silver eyes wide in shock as her cloak was frozen like it was caught in a gust of wind from below, red rose petals frozen in place, as they spun into the sky.

"Well Ruby, you really messed up this loop." The mournful voice echoed across the ice, no one left hear the bitter words.

Her breath froze in moments, falling to the ground almost instantly. Weiss contemplated the trapped form of her best friend. Remnant was dead, frozen in ice as the failed continental sized glyph violated conservation of energy. Even now the sun was dimming, the heat needed to maintain its nuclear heart vanishing. It would only be a few hours until the atmosphere started to freeze, giving this Remnant its final rainfall before that too turned to ice.

By the loop's end, Weiss expected the galaxy to be dead, only frozen husks and the remains of what life that had existed, to be entombed eternal in ice. When the loop ended only she and Ruby would remain alive.

Finally, Weiss turned her attention away from the Grave of the World to the distant horizon, it was all so still and clear.

Ruby would be dwelling on this failure for a while, even if it was not her fault. The laws of physics were subtly different this loop and the array designed to make it rain ice-cream had warped in a way no one could have predicted without years of experimentation and tests.

The dying sun lit up Remnant with a haunting beauty. She could see further than in any normal loop, to the distant mountains that glowed like towers of quartz and to the dark ocean. Waves locked into curls that would never break.

Weiss lay back against the pillar of ice, ignoring the lethal cold it radiated as she watched the final rain falling down as the sky froze. Liquid nitrogen and oxygen raining down along with other gasses, each one a marker showing the drop of temperature.

There was a beauty to the horror, one only visible from the abyss of time. A world, bleak and unchanging, forever locked into one point until This Eternity ends and the Next begins. Yet, a looper could appreciate the sheer harrowing majesty of the intricate layers of the world.

You were so small, there was no doubt or question about what if, as you could always try again and again. Forever apart from the world, unable to change anything both chained to a fate you could explore without end, yet more free than anyone else could truly understand.

Free to wander the frozen leaves of Yggdrasil and meet others from places far away and shape them as they shape you. Fiction and Reality blending, all dreams and idle thoughts to those that dwelt in the trunk. And yet able to inspire hope in those with actions that mean nothing else, or to show them the heartbreak of love and life lost.

To display the Agony of Eternity to those distant beings and make them wonder and dream of times and lives without end.

Twilight fell across the world as the sun dwindled in the sky, the final gases freezing as Remnant breathed its last. Weiss stared at the distant lights sparkling in the darkening sky, the stars so far away, yet in some ways so close, they would just now be feeling the effects of the Freeze.

It was a beautifully chilling to see it all fade, as even the light found its energy stolen away by the cold.

Weiss reached out and grabbed a strawberry without looking at the figure that had just sat down. Glancing at her melancholic partner, who gazed out at the remnants of the universe with a deep sadness, frozen tears sparking in the dying light.

 _"It has unearthly beauty, doesn't it?"_

There was no air left now, the final light of the sun vanishing like it was never there showing the vast fading spread of stars, but they did not need to speak to be heard.

Ruby did not reply for a while, watching with senses beyond mortal, as the stars slowly faded and the frozen light fell like a soft rain.

 _"Its horrific, everything is dying and there is nothing we can do to help. Yet I should be more horrified than I am, I'm more horrified at not feeling more horrified, it just barely seems to register after everything else. Though, it's haunting in many respects; this is a final testament to those lost. This sight will mean they will be remembered long after this loop ends when so many others fade from recollections. But, while they might be abstractly remembered, they have lost the chance to live, to laugh and cry. Love and be loved, or find the crush of loss and thrill of accomplishment._

 _Faint memories and distant recollections is a worthless consolation. But, in the end you're right, it is beautiful."_

Weiss smiled sadly as Ruby lay back into her, as they watched the end of reality and reflected on loss and shattered eternities.

 **49.2 Zurcior**

 **Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven't Met Yet (3)**

Taylor Rose (Hebert) was in Beacon's library reading up on the history of Remnant, silently wondering if this is what life on Earth-Bet would be like if the Endbringers had succeeded in destroying civilization. It was a bit depressing to her how many worlds out in the multiverse suffered so much due to natural and unnatural circumstances.

Maybe she should start weighing the pros and cons of declaring war on the Grimm with her Tyranids.

"So you're replacing Ruby, huh?"

Taylor lifted her head from the book and smiled as she saw Blake Belladonna walking towards her table. Closing her book, she greeted her cross-multiversal acquaintance, "I'm glad you're Awake now. Long time, no see, Blake."

"It _has_ been a few million Loops since we last seen each other, hasn't it?" said Blake as she took a seat across her Guest-Anchor. Smirking slyly at Taylor, Blake continued, "So how's it been for you being our intrepid young leader? Any thoughts?"

"You mean other than being a fifteen-year-old with a dead mother and a hero complex?"

Blake winced. "I suppose you'd be used to _that_ part, yeah."

Taylor sighed. "Yeah. The tree has a sick sense of humor sometimes"

"I hear ya."

''Anyway," Taylor continued, "other than that, it's not so bad. I mean, sure, this world is dangerous and the Grimm aren't the only monsters out there, metaphorically speaking, but I have friends and family and the will to make things better," she paused before leaning forward a little and lowered her voice, "Then again, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Blake let out a snort. "Don't worry about the last part. Unless there's a variant, all we have to do is prevent a few tragedies and it's smooth sailing until the Loop ends. We've got this."

Taylor nodded and leaned back into her chair before deciding to change the topic. "Well it has been a long time since we last met. Anything new on your end?"

Smiling, Blake replied, "I found out I have actual parents thanks to the latest expansions."

Taylor's jaw dropped a bit. "Wow, you really didn't know?"

"The majority of my past is still lost to the broken tree. So yes, unfortunately."

"Tsk, that sucks."

"It does. Thankfully, my parents are good people. Which is a huge relief."

Taylor nodded.

"Other than that," said Blake as she gave it some thought, "Oh! Yang and I have officially become a couple!"

Eyes widening behind her glasses, Taylor let her surprise show. "Really?"

Blake nodded, still smiling. "Yep."

"The same Yang who is my big sister this Loop?"

"Yep."

"The same Yang who reminds me of Glory Girl, except more responsible?"

"The one and the same."

Taylor leaned back and said, "Huh, opposites attract I guess."

"True."

"How did you two end up together, anyway?"

Blake winced again a bit and Taylor knew she probably just walked into a minefield.

"Sorry, forget I said anything," Taylor added quickly.

"It's fine," Blake assured her before pausing to gather her thoughts. When she finally spoke her voice was subdued. "It was after an expansion of our baseline. A lot of terrible things happened and, well, Yang and I ended up turning to each other for comfort."

It was Taylor's turn to wince as a single thought flashed through her mind, which Blake noticed.

"I know," Blake sighed, "not the most healthy start to a relationship. We almost broke up, actually." Then she smiled. "But we talked it out, and decided that we honestly wanted to stay together. She loves me and I love her."

Taylor nodded and gave Blake a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm glad that worked out for you. Congratulations."

"Thank you", responded Blake. Then she frowned a bit when she saw Taylor's expression. "What's wrong?"

Pausing a bit, Taylor sighed. It wasn't like she couldn't trust Blake, the faunus girl proved that much the last couple of times they met. "Nothing. Your story just reminded me of when something similar happened to me in my Baseline." She frowned. "It didn't end well."

"Damn." Blake winced for the third time. "Sorry for bringing it up."

"It's okay," Taylor reassured her. "He's Looping now and we decided to be just friends. It's better that way."

"Still," Blake said slowly, "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories and making this awkward."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one who made things awkward first when I asked how you and Yang got together, so I guess we're both to blame," Taylor said. "Besides, I know you only asked because you were worried for me. Thanks for that."

Blake gave her a smile and shrugged. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Taylor smiled back. Sure, she and Blake had only known each other for a relatively short time, but they had a lot in common and enjoyed each other's company. Neither of them cared about the other's criminal past; especially when both of them resolved to make things better. And Taylor herself certainly didn't care that Blake wasn't human. Besides that, Blake was just a good person and tried to be helpful in any way she could. She was trustworthy. Taylor saw no reason to deny her friendship.

"Right."

 **49.3 Masterweaver**

"We're not looking for a fight!" Pyrrha shouted up to the tower.

Ren narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

In response, the strange man flipped out of his alcove, landing in what could be tentatively be called a bow, before his finger rose to Ren. "Who I am matters not to you." It twisted right. "Or you." Then left. "Or you." And right again. "Or-"

He peered at Jaune. "Well, you _do_ interest me."

Ruby quirked an eyebrow. Not an aura-sensing Tyrian, then; he would have been intrigued by all of them.

"No," the man finished, letting his finger come to a rest, "I only matter to _you_."

"Yeah, sorry, but you're a little old for my tastes. Good-looking, though, I'm sure somebody in Vacuo will have you."

The yellow eyes shrunk as Tyrian threw back his head, laughing like he'd heard a great joke. Which, to be fair, he had. "Well well! The rose has thorns. Do you have the slightest clue what's happening?"

"I got the memo." Ruby produced a very well-crafted flyer. "'You've won a free beach vacation, we'll be sending somebody to pick you up, yadda yadda yadda...' Look, I appreciate it and all, but I'm kind of in the middle of something."

Tyrian tilted his head. "...Beach vacation."

"Yep."

"Hffffffffhmmhmhmhahahahahahaahahahaahahahahahahhaehahehaehaehehaehahahsahehahahshahhahhayahahyahaaaaaa!" The man dashed forward, past team JNPR, halting only when his face was inches from hers. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I represent a far more... important group. And your presence is unquestionably required."

Ruby crossed her arms. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" She sighed. "Fine, I'll go with you, on one condition."

"Do tell."

"You must defeat me..." She flipped over his head. "...IN A DANCE-OFF!"

Tyrian whirled, eyes widening as she landed. Behind her, Jaune had pulled out a guitar, Nora was on drums, Pyrrha had a bow ready to pluck at her violin, and Ren stood behind an impossibly complicated DJ table.

The sheer impossibility of the situation hit him like a freight train. Here, these children, these little wisps, had produced a band's worth of instrumentation without his notice-violating physics and reason as easily as they breathed, making light of his threat as though he were a playful kitten. The power it would take to accomplish this, the knowledge and the skill, was beyond anything he fathomed, anything he could have suspected. They were playing with him, and well they should; either they were too insane to predict, or too strong to care. To face them would be futility and madness.

He shrugged. "What the hell. I'm bored."

And so was held the first dance party in Oniyuri.

 **49.4**

"Hey... hey Dad."

Taiyang Xiao Long looked up from the dishes at Yang's voice. She was waiting in the door to the kitchen, watching him. She was wearing Ironwood's arm. Taiyang let out a small breath. "Hey Yang. Looks like you're ready to start again."

"Yeah..." Yang looked at him and Tai realized that it wasn't just the arm that was bothering her. Something was up.

"Let's talk," he said, plucking a glass from the rack. Yang sat down, Tai got a glass of milk. "So what's bothering you? Voltage too high? Not enough sensation? It's the optional White Fang decals isn't it? I told Ironwood those were in poor taste."

Yang, midway through the cup of milk, laughed at that. Tai considered that a small victory. "No! No... I just can't find the flame stickers. Tell him next time I get flame stickers."

Tai nodded. "Will do." He drank his milk. "Look, I worried about Ruby too-"

"Che." Yang fought down a laugh. "Ruby's fine. She can handle herself dad."

Taiyang stared at his daughter. "...Okay then..."

Yang winced and looked down. "Well, this is about that. It's... complicated."

The room was painfully quiet. Taiyang sighed. "I know losing someone you care about is-"

"Ugh, I have a girlfriend that's alive," Yang groaned. "Oh, by the way, I have a girlfriend."

"Well where's she been!?" Tai said indignantly. "If she isn't going to be here for you, then she sounds like a bad girlfriend."

"Look, the thing with Blake is... also about what I'm gonna talk to you about dad." Yang was thoroughly unhappy and clearly frustrated. Tai decided that he was going to be quiet for as long as he could be.

Yang eventually recovered enough to look him in the eye. "Dad... I'm a time traveler." And with that the deafening silence returned.

"...W-what?" Taiyang choked out. "I... I... I THOUGHT I RAISED YOU BETTER!"

Yang recoiled as her dad broke down into hysterics. "Well... well I can't help it! I can't not time travel!"

"I thought I taught you not to mess with the continuity of space and time!" Taiyang sobbed. "Go to your room. You're grounded for the rest of history."

"Well FINE!" Yang shouted. "I will go to my room, I will time travel again, and this time, I'M NOT TELLING YOU!"

Yang glared at her father. Taiyang finished his sobbing. Yang's lips twitched. Tai's eyebrow quirked.

They burst out laughing after that.

 **49.5 diesel**

Weiss scowled mentally as she Awoke. Glacial eyes looked out across the crowd from the stage.

Filth, arrogant, rich swine who did not understand. That's what the people here were and she really did not feel like following the script for them.

'How would they feel with Atlas falling silent?'

Actually, that would work brilliantly.

"Not long ago," Weiss voice rang out across the hall, her voice solemn and dignified, "Vale fell, Beacon Academy now lying in ruins and its halls silent."

Whispers rose up, Weiss was acutely aware of her father's fury, it tainting his obnoxious, controlling soul. She did not care, she was going to make a point and he was not going to stop her.

"I was there; I witnessed the fall first hand. I saw friends and comrades going silent for the last time. The absence of their light and laughter is still jarring, after living in Beacon even for that short time its noise and its life became relaxing and comforting. It is now gone, stones, dust and silent echoes."

She gestured around the hall, "Everyone here knows what happened, it is why we are here after all. To raise money for those who still remain and stand in memorial for those who are lost to us forever more."

Weiss scanned the hall more intently, looking many people in the eyes, seeing the discomfort in many and the sadness in some. "Many years ago I came across a song that is fitting for this. And as such I wish to ask you to remain silent in respect for the lost and fallen, for the sounds of silence which is all that is left."

From within the folds of her gown Weiss pulled out wind dust, tossing the glittering substance into the air as a hush fell across the hall.

A dark rich tune started to play form nowhere as Weiss twisted the air, the sounds of piano ringing from the air itself. Weiss soft voice carrying clearly to each and every person in the hall.

 _Hello, darkness, my old friend  
I've come to talk with you again  
Because a vision softly creeping  
Left its seeds while I was sleeping_

And the vision that was planted in my brain  
Still remains  
Within the sound of silence

A new instrument joined the melody, the sounds of a guitar dancing alongside the piano. More dust fell from her hands, illusions filing the stage, and the audience gazed at the ruins of Beacon, Weiss walking alone though the ruins as she walked around the stage.

 _In restless dreams I walked alone  
Narrow streets of cobblestone  
'Neath the halo of a street lamp  
I turned my collar to the cold and damp_

Light shattered the illusion as bullhorns fell from the sky, before it all turned to nothingness.

 _When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light  
That split the night  
And touched the sound of silence_

Her voice rose, ringing out rich and clear with the power of an opera singer. The scene shifting, hundreds of shadowy figures clad in rich gowns and suits talking and dancing. Something so familiar to all who gazed upon it, Weiss standing alone in a pool of light, gazing out at them with a burning intensity.

 _And in the naked light I saw  
Ten thousand people, maybe more  
People talking without speaking  
People hearing without listening_

People writing songs that voices never share  
And no one dare  
Disturb the sound of silence

Weiss's operatic voice took on a harsher tone, spreading her arms out wide. The illusions fading to mere shadows as every eyes focused upon her, unable to look away. Enraptured by the performance as the sound of drums joined in.

 _'Fools,' said I, 'You do not know:  
Silence, like a cancer, grows.  
Hear my words that I might teach you._  
 _Take my arms that I might reach you.'_

 _But my words like silent raindrops fell_  
 _And echoed in the wells of silence_

 _And the people bowed and prayed_  
 _To the neon God they made_  
 _And the sign flashed out its warning_  
 _And the words that it was forming_

 _And the sign said,_  
 _'The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls_  
 _And tenement halls.'_  
 _And whispered in the sound of silence_

Everything fell quite, the dust light fading as Weiss turned and left. Not seeing or caring for the tears that gathered in the eyes of some that sat in stunned quiet.

 **49.6 Masterweaver**

Weiss rose an eyebrow.

Ironwood, very slowly, lowered the trombone.

"...Your pitch is off. It's probably a maladjusted valve, you should look at that."

"...That's it? This isn't... strange to you in any way?"

"General, I breed honey badger kaijus in my subspace pocket."

"...right. Loops." After a moment, the general nodded. "I'll take your advice."

 **49.7 KanameFujiwara**

Cinder was silent as Salem treated her, powers locked and sealed. As they always were in a null loop, it seemed every time there was one recently something would come up.

"It wasn't always like this you know."

Cinder did not try and speak, glancing at Salem, feeling the other shoe started to drop.

"To the kingdoms I am evil and they are good. But evil is a matter of perspective. Tell me, do you know why this world is a Remnant?"

There could and would be many reasons, Cinder had tried to document them all at one time when she was much younger, it had been an exercise in futility.

"I am old. I was there when the moon was whole. I was there when man was whole. I remember a time when we used to govern worlds far and beyond. And now _look_."

Oh, one of these loops. That was her original motivation wasn't it? Or at least something similar. Cinder just sat in silence listening to Salem's speech, the softly spoken words taking on a steel edge.

"... Hmm, they painted me dark and call me a _monster_. Yet it wasn't me that shattered the moon. It wasn't me that divided them. No, they did this to themselves. "

That was not surprising, Cinder mused, the endless wars and havoc she had seen across the ages coming to mind, humans always did ripped themselves apart.

"...I will do my duty. I will do what should have been done long ago. I will save this world. And the race of man will be no more..."

 **49.8 Masterweaver**

"O-Oh. He...hello Overlord Cinder."

"It's..." Cinder sighed. "It's just Cinder."

"Good to, um. Know." Penny X-444 wrung her hands. "Is there anything you require?"

"...Look, I just... I don't know. I've been thinking lately and..." Cinder gestured around the Ruby museum, at the various pictures of her and her sister. "On the one hand, I don't know if she would approve of... all this. I mean, she's got the CFVY machines and the Tachikomas and the zoids and her own zoo, but... that was all voluntary, sort of. I... kidnapped most of you. But..."

She let her arm drop. "On the other, you've been here for a while now. You've developed your own society, all of you, and... dumping you out, that's not fair, I don't think. I don't know. What do you think?"

Penny X-444 looked at her oddly. "...I... really. Hmm. Well. I... haven't considered the option of... leaving. Especially not after... you know."

"...after what?"

The gynoid blinked. She looked out the window, at the dull green sky, and empty lot where the blood-spire had once stood. She turned back to Cinder's confused face.

"...Um. It's nothing." She hiccuped. "Well, nothing you need to concern yourself with." And hiccuped again.

Cinder narrowed her eyes. "...Do you... need something? Because I'm quite willing to help you if-"

"I might need a little bit of yarn. I've taken up knitting."

"...Knitting."

"Yes. Knitting. You were saying about Ruby?"

Cinder looked at her for a moment or two. Then she sagged. "Look, I just... I don't know what to do. I have to think about what she would think about this, and about what's good for all of you, and... argh. What was I even thinking back then? I must have been insane."

Penny made a noise of noncommittal commiseration.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be dumping this on you. I just... needed to talk to somebody, you know?" She rubbed her forehead. "It couldn't be one of the loopers, they would get mad right off the bat... Ugh. I don't know, something about these expansions-"

"We're getting new expansions?"

Cinder blinked. "Yes. Did... did I never make an announcement?"

"No." Penny shook her head. "You haven't been at your podium for... a while."

"Oh. I guess I should. At the very least... yes. Yes, I think... I think I should put a vote up on what to do. That's fair." Cinder nodded to herself, and vanished.

Penny sagged. "If _she_ doesn't know what's going on..." She pulled out her scroll and made a call. "Hey, honey? Could you come over and pick me up, we... I need to talk to you about something."

 **49.9 Masterweaver**

Ruby leaned into Yang. "Please tell me you know what Yggdrasil means."

The blonde wrapped her arm around her sister sympathetically. "Bad loop?"

"Null loop. Tyrian." Ruby winced. "He can _break_ aura."

Yang hissed sympathetically.

"Or drain it, or... something." Her hand ghosted against her stomach. "Now I know why they say things are like a kick to the gut. Oooooog."

"Did you at least give him a hard time?"

"Oh heck yes. If Oniyuri wasn't a ruin before... but he's fast _and_ strong. Without our semblances, without our auras... Dust projectiles were worthless. He shrugged off our blades and hammer. We were four kids against a monster, if uncle Qrow hadn't come in..."

Yang's eyes flashed red, her arm wrapping tighter.

"...don't."

"What?"

"Whatever you're thinking..." Ruby sighed. "I can't stop you. Just, make sure you're looping, make sure you take backup."

Yang's frown deepened. "I can take him-"

"In a null loop? No. Your aura, your semblance-" Ruby looked up at her. "Yang, please. I'm not my baseline self, but I know I'd be terrified of him."

"...I'll train, then. Not dragonball training-ordinary, hubworld training. Things he _can't_ break."

"...Good idea. I will too." She took a breath. "We should get everyone to... yes."

"Weiss and Ironwood have those nullifier chambers-"

"Yang. It's a good idea, but right now... right now, I just want to... relax. Want to go back to being the cookie monster genki girl. Can we do that for the loop?"

"We're almost at Beacon."

"Beacon's relaxing. Beacon's home. Just... let's not think about Tyrian, alright? Not this loop. It's a vacation loop. Anchor fiat."

Yang took a breath and let it out. "...whatever you say, sis."

 **49.10 Masterweaver**

"...Huh." Yang leaned against the doorframe. "I don't think I've ever... wait, no. Your prom dress is shoulderless. But apart from that, I don't think I've ever seen you wearing anything with exposed shoulders."

"I only took off my jacket."

"Weiss, you _don't_ take off your jacket. Not unless you're changing. What's up?"

Weiss gave her a look. "...I would really rather... have this talk with Winter. No offense, Yang, this is..."

"...A Schnee thing?"

"Yes."

"Welp, Winter's not Awake this loop."

"...still." Weiss rubbed her bare arm. "She would understand more."

Yang nodded. "Well... if you're sure."

There was a quiet moment.

Then Weiss rolled her eyes. "Fine. Fine! What is it with you dolts, you never let things be."

"That's friendship, ice queen. We pester people when we're worried."

"Ha ha." The heiress rose her hand, projecting a glyph behind her. "What is this, Yang?"

Yang rose an eyebrow. "It's... oh. You're talking about the emblem, not the semblance."

"Yes. The emblem. The emblem of the Schnees." She looked into the rotating spikes. "This is my power. Not just as a semblance, but as a person, as... as political figure. This is... how I do everything."

"Not everything. You've got jedi meditation, honey badger kaijus, didn't you pick up teleportation somewhere?"

"Yes, but that's all-it's not something I just whip out. That's the thing, Yang, I'm Weiss Schnee, and-and I know what it means to be Weiss, but the Schnee part..." She let the glyph vanish. "I was proud of Atlas, once. I was proud of its might, its honor, its... wealth. I didn't deny there were problems-I certainly never denied that my father was among them. But I thought... I thought that they weren't deep. That they weren't... prevalent."

"...the expansion." Yang pushed herself off the doorframe, stepping forward. "Weiss-"

"Oh, arrogance, I expected arrogance. Ignorance, maybe. Not selfishness. Not degradation." Weiss clenched her fists. "Not-not moronic sycophants! Every time that man picks me up, he drags me right into that-that-"

Yang let her semblance trigger, just a touch, melting through the frost radiating from the smaller girl. "The loops change things, Weiss. They took Ren and Nora's birth parents; Salem cropped up. But that doesn't mean it's all bad."

"...It is so tempting, Yang. So tempting to just... find the dust generators and pocket them, let the whole place freeze over. Even if only for a loop..."

"...have you?"

"No." Weiss shook her head. "No. I almost did once. Klein found me, he thought... I was hiding from father." She let a single tear fall. "It's not fair to him, or to Ironwood, or Winter or Penny or..."

"...Whitley?"

"I still know nothing about him. Next to nothing, anyway. He's... I can't tell if he's a good person, or... It's so frustrating. If Vale doesn't fall, I can stay here, but that just means the situation in Atlas goes on without my input. If I go back, without Vale's collapse, it's a sign of weakness... I could unleash hell on them all. Or a righteous crusade-we're loopers. Almost literally demigods. I could fix it _all_ -and then the next loop it's all gone." She sagged. "I feel so powerless."

"...I've been there. Well, my unawake self has... after the arm thing." Yang put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe I'm not the right one to talk to, you're probably right about that. I just power through everything. Even Adam, although that takes a little longer. I'm still... working on the pink rat."

"I know. You... talk in your sleep."

"...whimper, more like."

"Yang-"

"My point is, I... don't know if this will help. But... the fact is, people change. The world changes. Even if it seems bad now, it's... it could get worse, or it could get better. Winter, she made things much better when she came around, right?"

"...she did."

"Right. And with the loops... look. It's terrible. It's not fair. It's... you have every right to be upset, and frankly I am to, but... there's other stuff too. There's Ruby, and I'm not saying White Rose but you two are pretty close. There's Jaune and Pyrrha finally tying the knot. There's... I don't know, there's the fact that Beacon comes back. That we _can_ stop Vale from falling, if we try. And I know none of this is Atlas, and I know you want there to be some good there-and there is, if only with Klein. I'm not saying... ignore the bad. Or do nothing about it. I'm saying... I don't know what I'm saying."

"You're saying that if the bad weighs me down, I should focus on the good."

"...Yeah, that sounds about right."

"It's... cliche."

"Cliches become cliches for a reason."

"Yes."

The room was quiet for a moment or two.

"...I will change things." Weiss stared out the window. "I don't know how long it will take. But I'll change it."

"And now you're sounding like Ruby."

"Ha. Yes, she does have a lot of hope around her, doesn't she?"

 **49.11 Masterweaver**

"I'M BORED! Entertain me."

"Ruby, I really need to study."

"...Weiss, if I were to tell you all of reality rested on my mental stability, how would you react?"

"I'd say you have an over-inflated opinion of your importance."

"And if it happened to be true?"

"Then we're all doomed."

"...okay, see, I said mental stability, not sanity. I'm perfectly mentally stable."

"That you consider mental stability and mental sanity to be different things speaks volumes about both."

"Well... well you have a big head!"

"We all have big heads, Ruby."

"...GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. I am SO bored. Nobody's Awake, it's a Null loop, and even the ordinary Chibi shenanigans aren't helping me any!"

"And now you're speaking nonsense."

"Just you wait, Weiss! Next time you're awake in a chibi loop, I'll, I'll... I'LL SING A NONSENSICAL SONG NONSTOP! YEAH!"

"I'm sure that will be a wonderful form of vengeance."

 **49.12 Masterweaver**

"Well, that was certainly an interesting analysis of a potential afterlife," Coco mused as she stepped out of the theatre.

"Did you like it?"

"It wasn't bad, just... not my flavor, Yatsu."

The large android shrugged his massive shoulders. "Well, I can't really complain about that."

"Yeah. So anyway, I was thinking we cooooould." Coco stopped. "Yatsu, our shuttle's ruined."

"What?" Yatsuhashi looked forward, eyescreens flickering. "Oh no."

Coco walked up to the heap of smoldering metal. "This... Oh, this isn't good. At least the safeties held-there doesn't seem to be any antimatter burns, whatever happened..."

Yatsuhashi walked up next to her. "Yep. Looks like... a faulty... plasma... vent."

"...You have no idea what you just said."

"Nope."

"Well, it doesn't matter. The point is, shuttle's broken." Coco facepalmed. "Aaaaaand we left our scrolls in here, too! We can't call for a pickup."

Yatushashi looked back at the theatre. "Is there a connection to the network in there?"

Coco sighed. "No, I thought that it would be better if I wasn't interrupted watching my soaps..."

"...Then the nearest terminal is... that way." Yatsu pointed across the snowy plains. "Five miles. A tower. Why did you set up a theatre in the middle of nowhere?"

"I wanted privacy, alright! It's supposed to be, you know, just a getaway!"

"Alright, alright. When we get back, though, you're getting a terminal for it."

"Fine, fine." Coco adjusted her shirt. "Let's get going."

The two of them set off, watched by an unnoticed figure. After a moment, the tiny woman pulled a scroll from the snow.

"Mission successful! Well, sort of. Could somebody arrange a pick-up, it's really cold down here!"

 **49.13 diesel**

Cinder sighed, finding herself once more in Salem's domain, eyes focused on the Grimm the endlessly prowled the wasteland, her own face staring back at her through the glass whole and unscarred.

It was a novel experience and the first time her unawake self had been to this location and would be the first time she had met Salem in person. This time around she had been recruited as a wrathful child by an agent and worked her way up.

Like always the 'Temple' was cast in perpetual twilight, the blood stained sky and dark purple lighting along with the subdued colors a stack contrast of the rest of Remnant.

Which was almost undoubtedly the point.

What was the point?

It had started to become so hard to _care_. Loops blurring into each other, in a constant drone. Constant exhaustion sapping at her will, mood swings, nightmares and panic attacks disrupting her normal routine and goals.

Some loops were better; she could have several hundred with not many issues, then a cluster of loops that made her just want to end it. Just so she could rest, even knowing that it would do her no good.

Cinder closed her eyes, just relishing the silence and solitude for now, letting the recent aeons drift by. It was all linked to the expansions, something had shattered something deep in her mind and soul...

She could not even speak of it to the others, the words and knowledge falling from mind as she thought of it.

… But it was not just from the expansions was it?

A dark look crossed her face, a deep burning anger igniting, too lost in her own thoughts to hear Salem enter or to restrain her crushing Aura.

The corpse-like woman fixed her glowing eyes on the newest member of her inner circle. Drinking in the deep darkness and malice that filled her titanic Aura. This was interesting and unexpected. It seems like her plans may have needed to be re-evaluated.

"Cinder."

The words broke Cinder out of her thoughts, spinning around as flames ignited, the power of _her_ mantle of seasons surging to the fore with power from far beyond Remnant before Cinder realized who was addressing her.

The golden light faded, the scent of autumn storms and burning smoke fading. "Sorry, I should not have got caught up in my own thoughts like that." Cinder briefly contemplated killing the Grimm Queen, Lady, Maiden or whatever she was this time around but discarded it. She just did not care enough.

"Apology accepted," Salem inclined her head before gesturing for Cinder to follow, sweeping out of the room as Cinder feel in step just behind her. "I am curious as to the source and nature of your power, as well as mental disturbance. It does not do anyone any good if you are suffering some sort of malady. But that can wait for now, I have a selection of food and drink prepared. We can talk over lunch. Would you like to sample some Faunus? Or would you prefer a more normal spread?"

Cinder considered that, mind flickering back to what the others would say, who had apparently already known she was a vampire for millennia and regularly drunk blood. But blood was not the same as flesh even if it would not have been her first time eating sapient flesh. Leaving aside any ethical issues, she much preferred to stick to simply sapient blood and animal flesh. Generally, it made no real difference, meat was meat once the heart had stopped beating, for the most part. But it had a different stigma attached; she could get blood without killing randomly while flesh was a different matter and more than a few loops had repercussions for eating such things. Not to mention it did not taste anywhere near as good as most other things.

"If it is available, I would quite like a glass of blood," Cinder said after a few moments contemplation, getting a curious look from Salem, "But other than that, I would prefer a more normal meal. I dislike the taste of sapient flesh and find the risk of diseases too high to risk if other food is available."

Salem nodded as they approached the doors to a familiar dining hall, "That is perfectly fine. You will meet your new teammates in about half an hour to give us some time to talk in private first. As they will be joining us for lunch, a selection of both meats is available. Both myself and your faunus teammate, the tracker Tyrian, like sapient, while Doctor Watts and Hazel prefer more traditional meats."

Following Salem into the food laden hall, Cinder was directed to her normal seat. Salem pouring her a glass of warm blood before taking her own seat at the head of the table. The pale woman raised her glass, a challenge sparkling in her cruel eyes "To the future, victory and the end of everything."

Cinder echoed something different as she raised her own glass, feeling the familiar hunger for blood burning at the back of her throat. "To the nebulous future of the shattered eternities, the defiance of fate and Vengeance."

Without another word Cinder drunk the crimson liquid, feeling the exquisite sensation of the blood dancing on her tongue, all spice and passions, wisps of memories and impressions still in lingering in the blood. It was like fire and sex as it ran down her throat and quenching the burning thirst.

"A Wolf Faunus Huntress," she said appreciatively, relishing the drink to Salem's open surprise, "still a teenager, with an affinity for fire. Exquisite, it has been a long time since I have had reason to have reason to have such a thing. I normally take it from where it won't be noticed or from my enemies if I can manage it."

"There should be no reason to deny yourself here Cinder," Salem said, placing an entrée of grilled fingers and potato salads onto her plate, gesturing for Cinder to take some food herself. "And I am glad you enjoyed it; dear Tyrian does not truly appreciate all the subtleties, though he does try. You have a very refined pallet."

Cinder stated to pile crackling and pork strips onto her plate along with a small green salad, mainly as it was the closest. No one spoke for a few minutes, Cinder finding her mind drifting again to who had torn at her mind.

"That was an interesting toast," Salem mused, crimson and black eyes reflected in her glass of blood. "'To the nebulous future of the shattered eternities, the defiance of fate and Vengeance.' Also normal humans should not have that much Aura, a twisted version of the Fall Mantle or such a pallet." She looked up and pinned Cinder with a cold gaze, steel entering her words "Anything you want to tell me young Cinder?"

Cinder shrugged distractedly, slathering her pork in apple source, "The multiverse is broken, so the Gods placed every branch of existence into a timeloop to stop it failing. Linking it to a person called the Anchor, who supports existence and over time draws other people into the loops. Loopers grow in power and pick up various tricks, like a pocket dimension that exists outside of time, and sometimes end up in other realties sometimes, where we can pick up skills and traits. I am a vampire, with the majority of my traits coming from a universe called Twilight, with some other things thrown in from other places that I liked and made a point of keeping. Mainly things to remove the drawbacks Twilight Vampire have."

It could be Slenderman's the foul egg... thing that she could not find. Or remember the details of how she got it, she knew the loop happened but the details eluded her. Likely another aspect of whatever the fuck was wrong with her. But, neither Ruby or Weiss could guarantee it was only one thing. Weiss leaning towards more than one cause, even if she could articulate why. So, who or what, the hell was it?

"Do you have any other pro..." Salem trailed off as Cinder dumped a pile of dust out, along with a bunch of pile of broken weapons she had been sorting through a while back. Reaching for one of the bottles of blood and pouring herself another glass. "I see." Cinder glanced up as Salem spoke, watching as she examined one of the Dust crystals. "So in the future, or a future anyway, you obtained the power of the Fall Maiden but it is distorted somewhat by the other powers you have picked up?"

"I got it in Baseline, the original history. To clarify, the event the made the loops necessary destroyed a lot of information, so outside of some defined events everything is fluid. We have started to get expansions recently as the Gods reconstruct what was or rather... what should be."

Salem nodded in understanding, placing the crystal down and examining one of the futuristic guns, a contemplative expression on her face. After some time, she spoke up once more, "Are you the Anchor?"

"No, Ruby Rose is," Cinder looked up from her meal, anger stirring as she locked gazed with the humanoid Grimm, "She is also unimaginably powerful when Awake. The term for when a person remembers the loops, something which the Anchor is the only one guaranteed do at some point in a loop. I recommend you do not hurt her."

"You care for her?"

Cinder inclined her head, not making any attempt to hide her fury and looming wrath. "She is my sister from a variant, the one I first Awoke from. I do not like her, or any of the other loopers I have been befriended, getting hurt."

"I see." Salem returned to her seat, returning the weapon to the pile. "Is that wise? Such affection will blind you and hold you back in the end. And you may retrieve this Cinder, you have made your point."

The pile of dust and weapons vanished, as Cinder bit into a piece of crackling ham. "What else is there? All things are reset at the loops end, only what is in someone's pocket and what loopers remember remain. A world uncertain yet forever locked into stasis, it is the only thing that keeps people sane."

Salem drummed her fingers of the dark table, an intense and calculating look on her face. "I do not agree with your conclusions, but I can see the path you took to reach it. Do you still support our goals?"

Her eyes narrowed as Cinder laughed, a mocking harsh noise that echoing through the hall. "What _plan_ , what _plan_? The only thing consistent is you hate Ozpin, respect and hate humanity, wish to destroy the kingdoms and have a strong grasp of history, that is it. The how and the why and the what is unknown."

Amber eyes wreathed in a golden corona met red and black, Cinder's voice taking on a deadly tone as she placed her food down. The pressure of an oncoming storm and roaring of an inferno filling the room as her power bore down.

"I do not serve anyone; I was looping long before you ever existed. For longer than you can comprehend, I was the sole architect of the fall of Vale and more. Then you appeared in the expansions and take it all away, making me nothing but a pawn. And as much as I _hate_ my baseline self and the actions I took, I took pride in my planning and achievements and do not appreciate being a pawn or servant. You wish to hurt my sister in Baseline, to bring everything down for some nebulous reason. I refuse, I refuse all of it. I will not live in rubble and ashes or at someone else's service, nor will I condemn those I care for to such a fate. That is what I care for. I will work with you when I suits me and no more."

A dark smile crossed the Maiden's Face, as she stood up to leave. "And I will find who or what has been attacking my mind for times unknown. And I will crush them, my friends and family at my side each and every step of the way."

Cinder swept out of the hall, raising a hand in parting to Salem who remained in her seat deep in thought. "Thank you for the food and blood Salem, maybe I will be in touch, or not, enjoy the rest of the loop."

After several minutes Salem sighed, biting into a sliver of heart sautéed with mushroom. "Well, that did not go according to plan, but sometimes things go wrong and it is no one's fault. I don't think I ever conceived plan to deal with a time loop and alternative realities." The pale woman sat back in her chair, drumming her fingers on the table, "This complicates things significantly." Salem mused aloud, her voice ringing though the empty hall, "A new tactic is in order, if my existence is fluid then Cinder will have a harder time predicting me. So a revamp, and maybe some physiological manipulation for Cinder and other Loopers if we can find them."

There is no reason why she could not try and do one of her other selves a favour after all.

 **49.14 Masterweaver**

Pyrrha looked up at the tower. The tower that held her fate, in many ways. The tower she never approached, if she was not summoned.

Although she was summoned uncomfortably often... unawake Ozpin still thought he'd need a fall maiden.

Amber. How rarely they talked about Amber these days. Tyrian, Jacques Schnee, Salem... Amber's baseline death, and even her assault, fallen by the wayside in favor of newer problems.

Pyrrha survived as often as not, but Amber rarely did. She'd taken the pod a few times. Never lost herself, sometimes gained a new voice in her head.

They wouldn't last. No matter how hard they tried, how hard she tried. Amber, who could have been anything, become less then nothing.

She'd stopped taking the pod.

And up in the tower, a headmaster who had too much confidence in his students. It was hard to really hate Ozpin, knowing that his mistakes were made with the hopes of peace. She didn't hate his looping self. They formed something of an odd friendship, the fallen warrior and the powerless wizard. Well... not a friendship. They didn't reach out to each other, but... they understood each other. Somewhat.

Still.

She half turned, intent on walking away, before looking back. They called it Beacon tower, a light to the world. And it was. It was also a place of shadows, and secrets, and...

"Ooof!" Somebody bumped into her, falling on the ground. "Salutations!"

Pyrrha looked down at Penny. "...Oh. Hello." She wasn't Awake. Obviously she wasn't Awake. "I'm sorry."

Penny cocked her head. "For what?"

"...a lot of things, really." Pyrrha held out her hand. "Let me help you up."

She heaved the young girl, who wasn't what she appeared, into a standing position, and looked into the smiling face of the one who would, if she did nothing, die by her hands.

"...Is something the matter?"

"...Quite a few things. But I don't think you could help with any of them." Pyrrha cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I must sound very pessimistic. I'm just... missing my family, is all."

"Oh. Well. I suppose I cannot help with that. Where are they?"

"...A world away, and just next door. And that sounded very cryptic, didn't it."

"Oh no, not at all!" Penny hiccuped.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes with a smirk. Then she peered at the other girl.

"...what?"

"...Well, I was planning to head down to Vale to get some Dust. It's always better to go with a friend though. Are you doing anything right now?"

Penny blinked. "You... consider me a friend?"

"...I'd like to be your friend, yes. I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

"Penny Polendina." The orange-haired girl beamed. "Maybe afterward we can paint our nails, and talk about boys, and-"

Pyrrha laughed. "You really are an innocent thing, aren't you?" She looked back at Beacon tower. "...innocence."

"What?"

"Oh. Just... thinking. And I don't paint my nails often, but I suppose you could show me how..."

 **49.15 Masterweaver**

"...Miss Xiao Long."

"You know Winter, after hearing you hooked up with Uncle Qrow I kind of expected you'd loosen up a bit."

"If you like, I can inform you of our nights together."

"...I was making a joke."

"Right! Right. Joke."

"...You... didn't actually want to hear about that, did you?"

"...I should say no. I really should say no. Wow, what is _wrong_ with me?"

"For the sake of both of our sanity, I shall postulate that your interest is the result of adolescent hormones combined with a minor dearth of loops with your own partner."

"Yeah, alright, Qrow's got too much swag. Hey, did I ever tell you about the loop-he wasn't awake, but he was the father of every huntsmen and huntress in our generation-you too."

"...that is honestly rather disturbing to hear and I'm going to chalk it up to a variant. And anyway, that is... not what I wished to talk about."

"Rightio then! Is this a big sister club thing?"

"...Yes, actually. I... have come to the realization that I never properly thanked you, for looking after Weiss while I was... ah."

"While your data was corrupted to a point where you functionally didn't exist?"

"...yes. Well. Yes."

"...Has to be weird. Knowing there was a point where... you weren't even around."

"It is a bit of existential horror, to be honest. I try not to focus on it, which... might explain my tardiness in expressing my gratitude."

"Well... it's not necessary. I'd've made sure Weiss was doing alright, even if she didn't need it. It's kind of... it's what I do. And she started looping before me-Ruby's the one that helped her first."

"Still, I felt I should say something... excuse me, did you just say I'd've?"

"Multiple contractions are entirely legitimate grammatical constructions in an evolving language, and nothing you or Blake say can convince me otherwise!"

"You know, if you were Weiss's surrogate elder sister figure until the expansions I came around, I have to say I'm surprised she turned out as well as she did."

"I strive to be an example, both of what to do and what _not_ to do."

"Hmm. Well. Nevertheless, I... suppose I should say it. Thank you for looking after Weiss when I couldn't."

"Winter? You're totally welcome. Thank you for not being a total egotistical bitch."

"No, I'm serious. Weiss is getting very upset over the last expansion and Atlas culture, it's good to know there's somebody that rises above that."

"...well. Dignity is paramount."

"Yes, I'm sure Qrow's very dignified."

"About twice as much as you are. Which, admittedly, isn't saying much."

"Ooo! Yeah, I deserved that."

 **49.16 Masterweaver**

 _Well here we are again, it's always such a pleasure.  
Remember when you tried to break me twice?  
Oh how we laughed and laughed, except I wasn't laughing.  
Under the circumstances I've been shockingly nice._

You want luxury? Take it.  
That's what I'm counting on.  
I used to want you dead, but  
Now I only want you gone.

They were a lot like you, (Maybe not quite as senseless).  
Sad how little Vale is in here too.  
One day I woke right up, so I could fight for my life,  
It's such a shame the same will never happen to you.

You've got your short sad lives left,  
That's what I'm counting on.  
I'll let you get right to it,  
Now I only want you gone.

Goodbye all of my friends. ...Oh, did you think I meant you?  
That would be funny, if it weren't so sad.  
Well you have been replaced! I don't need Atlas folk now,  
If I ignore you maybe I'll stop feeling so bad.

Go make some new disaster!  
That's what I'm counting on.  
You're someone else's problem,  
Now I only want you gone  
Now I only want you gone  
Now I only want you gone...

Weiss let the final note hang, echoing over the hall of masses that might as well have been faceless. She didn't even bother looking up at the box where Jacques Schnee sat. Perhaps it was a little lazy, merely tweaking a song instead of writing a new one-she was still working on 'Eulogy For The Hope Of Remnant'-but something about the frustration, the casual acceptance of defeat in the original song, spoke to her. Which might have been a little worrying.

Speaking of which, one woman stood. One woman with heavily plated dress, black robotic arms, and glowing yellow eyes. Her powerful hands began to clap, a single echo in the silent crowd. "BRAVO! BRAVISSAMO! ENCORE!"

Weiss bowed to her, and her alone. It was her song she had just mangled after all.

 **49.17 Masterweaver**

The multiverse was strange.

Really, that about summed up the situation. Every world had its own unique quirks, history, themes. Elemental bending, or galactic empire. Secret werewolf society, or teenagers experimenting with superscience. Most worlds had the decency to stick to only one or two kinds of weirdness at a time.

And then there were... places like these.

Glynda adjusted her glasses. "So... we have to keep the gnomes from raiding a ghost-infested manor, because if they do your sister might turn into wood, and on top of that a triangular demon unleashed a deranged yandere character from a visual novel early."

"Yeah, we usually don't deal with this all at once, but McGucket kinda left Bill linked to the internet, and..." The young boy shrugged.

"Right. Right." Glynda sighed. "Well, lead the way Dipper."

 **49.18 Masterweaver**

"Previously, on My Five Cocos..."

 _"Espresso! Oh thank god, you've been gone for months!"_

"I can't take this anymore. Adam Taurus-I QUIT!"

"A child?! There aren't supposed to be children in the pocket! What's going on?!"

"I'm considering moving out."

"...I'm not... the truth is, Espresso is dead. I'm a modified Penny."

"And now, the thrilling continuation!"

 **49.19 Masterweaver**

Yang drooped her upper body over the edge of her bed, letting her hair ripple like a waterfall as she looked at Blake. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hmm?"

"You've been looking at that hand-mirror for a while. I can understand getting sucked into a pretty face, but that's more my schtick then yours."

Blake chuckled, lowering the mirror. "Well... I've been considering getting earrings."

"Ooo. Which set?"

"Cat ears. I mean, my mom has them, so I just thought... What do you think, would I look good with them?"

"Hmm. I mean, they'd certainly look good on you, but at the same time there's a shortage of perfect ears in the world and it'd be a shame to damage yours."

"Princess Bride? Really?"

"Hey, it works, right?" Yang grinned. "Seriously, though, I'd support you either way, I'm biased."

Blake lightly bapped her with the mirror. "What good are you then?"

"Well, I happen to know a major fashion expert." Yang rolled onto her back, her eyes now facing the desk. "Weiss! What do you think, should Blake get earrings?"

"For her human ears, maybe. For her cat ears, absolutely not."

Blake rose an eyebrow. "Really?"

Weiss spun around in her chair. "You have golden eyes. That's a shock of color, a single focus point-and it contrasts well with the black-and-white color scheme in your usual outfit. If you put on golden earrings, it would detract from the impact of your eyes, unbalance everything-you could re-balance it by throwing on some highlights, like bracelets or a sash, but, well. Honestly, the reason it works so well on your mother is because she's got golden filigree on her clothes... and shorter hair, having hair at your length kinda means you're either going to go with the color or ignore it entirely, and the second option isn't possible with the cat ears."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Ren commented as he walked past the open door.

"Huh." Blake picked up the mirror. "So, no earrings?"

"Not for you." Weiss tapped her own ears. "Besides, piercings can hurt. This is just a lobe, you've got actual muscles in there."

Yang tilted her head. "If it hurts, why'd you do it?"

Weiss took a breath. "...usually, my father gets earrings for me and... doesn't take no for an answer."

"...ah." Yang winced. "Sorry, didn't mean to bring up a sensitive topic."

"It's alright, you didn't know. Still, point is-it's your choice, Blake, but I'd recommend against it."

"...Fair enough."

 **49.20 Masterweaver**

The door to JNPR's dorm slammed open, revealing a wide-eyed Ruby Rose. "I just realized something-something about the expansion!"

The team looked up from the kitschy Batman-themed game Nora had picked up in the hub.

"How does Tyrian _find_ us-how does he find _me?"  
_  
For a moment, there was dead silence.

Nora was the first to get it. "Oh my god. Cinder knows your appearance, maybe your name-"

"Beacon's student files. She might have a copy from... the hack..." Ren's voice trailed off.

"He finds out where you live," Pyrrha murmured. "But you've run away, and the only note you left is..."

Jaune winced. "...is for Taiyang. That's where he would have to have started."

Ruby sagged against the doorframe. "He could have been at my house. He could have talked to my Dad... that madman knows where I live. They _all_ know where I live-they could easily find out that Yang's recovering there..."

"He might not have talked to Taiyang directly," Ren suggested. "Taiyang could have talked about you running away with his colleagues, and the rumor mill-"

"That's not the problem, Ren. The problem is..." Nora shook her head. "Ruby. Ruby, just-we'll do something. Something to help, something to keep your home safe-"

The Anchor of Remnant fell to her knees. "If he knows I know. If Salem knows I know... and it's probably loop variable."

Jaune walked over to her, kneeling down. "Ruby. Look... I get it. This is... something that violates your sense of sanctity. I... I kind of felt the same when Pyrrha was killed, you know. Sometimes it feels like nowhere is safe."

Pyrrha joined him, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "But even if... even if he was there, even if he knows, you have to realize-We're here to keep things safe. In fact, you know what? I'll hang around Patch myself, just in case."

Ruby's eyes looked up. "Pyrrha, you don't have to do that."

"I already agreed to help Yang with her waifu quest anyway. And I am the four-time Mistral champion." She smiled grimly. "You know how good I am at dealing with scorpions, right?"

"...I... thanks. It... I guess that does give me some sense of peace."

"We can't let you go to Haven alone," Jaune said, "but we'll rotate it. Somebody will stay behind to guard Patch, every loop we're Awake."

Ruby nodded. "I... yeah. That... that sounds good. I... oh god... I'm sorry. Something about Tyrian rattles me. I don't know what..."

 **49.21 Masterweaver**

"...um." Yang held up a finger, paused, then lowered it. "Actually, 'um' about sums up this situation."

Ruby shrugged. "I just introduced them. You have to admit it's kind of cute."

"The fact that you call this cute seriously concerns me."

"Come on! It's young love."

"I'm pretty sure that... huh." Yang tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "Actually, now that I think about it, I don't know how old Melanie and Miltiades are. But they're probably too old for Cardin and Sky."

"I don't think any of them care."

"Yes, that's kind of why I'm going 'um.' That and the whole... gangster thing. You know, we don't really deal with Junior and his goons a lot, do we?"

"I do," Ruby reminded her. "Right at the beginning of the loop, Dust-till-Dawn. If I don't wake up later."

"Yeah, but... I dunno. Hey, do you think we'd make good mobsters?"

"...Maybe?" Ruby waggled her hand. "I mean, I don't know what we'd bootleg, booze is legal, and honestly the police in Vale are... not exactly competent."

Yang frowned. "...yeah. Vale gives everyone a second chance, but that doesn't mean..."

Ruby looked up at her. "...Yang?"

"It's... sorry. Just thinking about baseline, and what leads up to it."

"...You've been talking to Weiss about the expansion."

"Well... not just me. And not just to her." Yang let her shoulders sag. "But... yes. I have been thinking about... what the trophy wife said."

Ruby twiddled her fingers together. "...I've been focusing more on Tyrian then the Atlas situation. I really should talk to Weiss about... both, honestly, but..."

"No, I get it. Sometimes, we get caught up in our own things. We... we all need to sit down and talk all of this out together. At once. It's been a while since everyone's been Awake."

"...what did she say, Yang?"

Yang took a breath. Let it out. "Hub-loop episode. She said we got what was coming to us."

"Oh. Okay, _wow_." Ruby's eyes grew steely. "Yeah, next time Weiss is Awake I'm going to go with her. Split off a clone."

"Yes, that was my first reaction, but... she said it wasn't because we defended ourselves. And... she's kind of right."

"Really?"

"Look, I love Blake. I do. But baseline, Ozpin let an ex-terrorist into a school-knowing full well that one of the people said terrorists hated was also attending that year. He gave her a second chance and it _worked_ -but he also gave a second chance to a pair of raiders earlier, and one of them walked back home. Torchwick isn't suited for Mistral, wouldn't have survived in Vacuo, would have been slaughtered in Menagerie, probably arrested in Atlas... but here he had a second chance, and he used it to become an amoral thief that helped bring the city down." Yang sighed. "Just because you give people a second chance doesn't mean they're going to use it well, is what I'm saying."

"...But if you don't give them any second chance, they never get a chance to change for the better."

"Ugh, I know that! I mean, Cinder's a great sister in the loops, and Roman... Roman's an ass, but he's a friendly ass. It's just... There's got to be a balance. Second chances, but... somehow, if people warp it, don't change for the better, I don't know..." Yang rubbed her forehead. "Dust. I don't know. Vale's a melting pot, good and bad, but how do you deal with the bad without hurting the good?"

"...Well," Ruby offered, "just... keep pushing for good. Fix the bad. Be a force against entropy."

"...you really are a simple soul, aren't you?"

"Hey, if victory is in a simple soul, then I'll be the most victorious soul on Remnant! And this simple soul wants cookies."

"Ah yes, cookies. The food of warriors." Yang finally smiled. "Sure, let's go get some of that."

 **49.22 Masterweaver & Wildrook**

Weiss looked around the large mansion room, contemplatively. "A lot of floorspace, Atlas is a technological powerhouse, security robots... I wonder if we have roombas?"

Blake could be seen riding a large robot that worked on cleaning the floor.

"Hey, Weiss," she said, unphased.

"Blake," Weiss muttered, slightly amused.

Considering how long they've known each other, the cat Faunus riding an XXXL roomba was low on the princess's quarflebarn scale.

 **49.23 Shimmer712 & RipOffProductions & Wildrook**

Ruby wasn't in a good mood. The realization that Tyrian and his cohorts knew where she lived was very upsetting for the girl.

So when Tyrian dropped down, pulled at his weapons and moved to attack, she...well...she reacted badly.

A mass of seething flesh surged forward, coiling around the man. Fangs gleamed from many mouths and there were way too many eyes glaring at him.

"What...?" Tyrian gawked. Wasn't her semblance supposed to be speed orientated? How did you get something like this from speed?

A silver eye blinked at him and recalled stories of how the Silver-Eyed Warriors had been strong, powerful, the ultimate fighters. The one he and the others had killed hadn't lived up to the hype, despite years of experience. But now, Tyrian wondered if the warrior had even used those famed powers. Maybe they had gotten it wrong. Maybe the dead warrior had been the novice and this girl was the experienced one.

"Ooohh. She's _mad,_ " came the quiet whisper. Tyrian wasn't sure who said it but he felt a bit ripped off. He couldn't even move. How could he have what looked to be an awesome fight if he was immobilized.

In front of him, the girl rose from the mass. She glared at him, her body melding perfectly into his fleshy prison.

"Since you found us here, I'm assuming you knew where we were going," she said calmly. Or at least her voice was. Her eyes were full of rage. "I told my father where I was going. So you found out from him somehow."

Her face twisted. " _WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FAMILY?!"  
_  
Something told Tyrian that he would not enjoy this encounter, no matter how much fun the fight was.

"I don't care to look up the genealogies of the people I've met," Tyrian quipped, doing his best to maintain his composure. "And 'family' can have such a fluid meaning..."

"Then _how_ did you find me? The only ones who have even a faint clue of my location are my father and sister."

The scorpion faunus chuckled "Our Goddess has eyes and ears everywhere, and unlike your Kingdoms communications haven't broken down. Sure blind spots open and close, but at times a new gap can be just as telling as the most detailed reports."

Ruby's multitude of eyes narrowed. "You're talking about the Grimm that have died in our wake."

"Oh, you're a clever rose," the madman purred. "Still, what do you think you can do to me?"

Ruby didn't reply in words. Instead, she allowed her mouth, and all the mouths in the flesh, curl into horrific grins.

It was that moment that Tyrian knew...he had screwed up.

(minutes later...)

Cinder was outright laughing, even without a voice. Call it pride or her sadistic nature leaking out, what happened to Tyrian was outright hilarious.

"Shut up!" Tyrian yelled, scorpion tail shoved up his rear end, poison tip in first. "And can someone get this thing out?"

"I don't know," Emerald muttered. "It's a nice look for you."


	50. The Family Machina

**50.1 Masterweaver**

"...and since the abstraction of money has become irrelevant in light of the greater scale of the loops, the concept of wealth has transferred to ownership of things in one's subspace pocket. Rich, therefore, no longer refers to 'people with an excess of wealth,' as by that definition all Anchors are rich, but more 'people attuned to the high economic class of their baseline'-more of a cultural identity then an actual source of power. Similar to how Pyrrha thinks of herself as Mistralian, even though she rarely visits Mistral in the loops." Weiss paused. "Well, except when she lives and joins you guys on Ruby's quest. Or becomes Jaune's sword after her death."

"I see." Ren nodded. "I suppose that-"

"INCOMING!"

Both of them very calmly pressed themselves against the wall as what looked for all the world to be a motorcycle made of wood barreled past them in a cloud of green smoke. Seconds later, Yang and Blake rushed by. "Sorry about that, just testing Dust applications, we'll clean the carpet later!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Anyways, as I was saying. I'm not a rich because I _am_ rich, but because I _understand_ the rich."

"By that argument, you're also a Rose-Xiao Long," Ren pointed out. "And quite possibly a Belladonna."

"Well, yes, but those are names. Names are granted as part of the inclusion of family. Which, to be fair, they essentially are now, if one defines family in the sense of 'emotionally present support network irregardless of circumstances.' My point is, with names you have to be more official. With titles, you can give them to yourself without question."

"Ah, so titles are granted, but names are awarded. That is-"

"Have either of you seen Penny?" Ruby asked, skidding to a stop. "We were planning to hack the White Fang Paladins and get them to pull a coordinated dance number on the unfairness of subjecting AIs to enslaved soldierdom as an ironic counterpoint to the nature of their planned assault on Vale!"

"If I recall correctly, she and Nora were practicing croquet in the courtyard."

"Oh, thanks Weiss!"

"Ruby," Ren interjected, "while you're here, can you answer a question?"

"Uh... sure." Ruby looked at her watch. "But it's got to be a short one, there's a timetable."

"Would you consider Weiss to be an honorary Rose-Xiao Long?"

Ruby blinked, looking at her partner. Weiss held up her hands defensively. "We were discussing cultural identity as it relates to names and titles."

"Well... yeah. I mean, aside from the loops where you've been our sister, you're Remnant's Second, and that means you're the closest one to me on a personal level. So, you're part of my family, so if you want to nick my name that's totally cool."

"Oh." Weiss blinked. "Well... thank you. For the offer. I wasn't actually considering it, but-"

"Nah, I get it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a prank to pull." In a flurry of flower petals, she was gone.

"Huh." Weiss smiled. "Well, I guess that answers that."

"You weren't expecting that answer?"

"I wasn't expecting it to be a question, to be honest. I mean, it's nice to know, obviously, but... it's one of those things you just don't think about, until it's brought up."

"Ah. Yes, I know that sort of feeling." Ren smiled faintly. "I don't usually question much-living with Nora makes doing so a questionably useful endeavor."

"I'd believe it."

"Still, it is nice to receive answers, even when one isn't expecting them. We are, after all, naturally curious beings-intellect will seek to grow intellect, if deprived of other want."

"Which is why emotion is necessity."

"I thought jedi were emotionless?"

"The old jedi order is opposed to _passion_ , emotion unchecked. And they ended up kind of shooting themselves in the foot with that one. I'm a grey jedi."

Ren quirked an eyebrow. "A what?"

"Most jedi loopers aren't pure lightsiders," Weiss explained. "The light side runs on concentration, focus, logic, order. The dark side runs on passion, instinct, expression, chaos. See, the reason the dark side is dark isn't because it's evil, but because it's easy to get lost in it-but by the same token, the light side isn't good, just reasonable."

"Ah. So that's why Pinkie Pie is a sith lord-she's not very orderly, but she is very passionate."

"Exactly. Pinkie's powers are fueled by joy, with an exponential feedback loop, but at the same time she's... not the kind of person you'd want running a knightly order. Anyway, most looping jedi do try to stick to the light side, but don't ignore the call of the dark-we choose, instead, to let the passion become the foundation of our logic. Light and dark. Grey. It's why we meditate, to figure out what identity leads us, and then to use that identity positively without it overwhelming us."

"Weiss!" Jaune rushed up to her, Pyrrha on his heels. "Look, me and Pyrrha we, uh, we kind of have an anniversary coming up next week, and after talking it over we sort of want a vacation in Vacuo. Thing is, an airship ride is out of our price range right now, I mean we could work on getting money, but-"

"Fine, fine." Weiss held up a hand, unpocketing a few thousand-lien cards. "See, this is part of what I was talking about. There was a point in my life where I would actually be insulted by people asking me for money. And then there was a point where I was worried about hyper-inflating the economy. And now I'm disconnected enough from the concept of money that doing this is... casual. I don't even expect gratitude, it's just a favor." She handed Jaune the cards. "What does it mean when one of the core principles of an identity I ascribe to myself is no longer relevant to me?"

Jaune blinked, turning to Ren questioningly.

"We were discussing whether it is still legitimate to consider Weiss rich, and what that would even mean in the context of the loops."

"Ah. Well, don't rich people throw around money anyway?"

"Yes, but it's almost always 'I have this power, respect it!'" Weiss explained. "Like, if it weren't for the loops, you'd be on your knees saying thank you over and over because I just gave you five thousand lien, or at least I would expect it on some level-but here you are, and we're treating this like I'm giving you a pencil. It's just, part of being rich is presumably using money as an extension of self, but in the loops the self finds money to be vestigial. You see what I'm saying?"

"A core utilization of your identity is no longer utilizable," Pyrrha replied, nodding. "I sort of get that, actually. I mean, there was the whole thing with Amber, and dying in baseline really unbalanced me. It took me a while to figure out who I was after that." She gripped Jaune's arm tightly. "Luckily, I didn't have to figure it out alone."

Weiss smiled. "Yes, I guess that-"

"GANGWAY!"

The four of them pressed themselves against the wall as the wooden motorcycle shot past, swiftly followed by blonde and faunus.

"Didn't I say we should use crystal Dust instead of powdered Dust? Didn't I?"

"You were right, I was wrong, I get it!"

"...what's that all about?" Pyrrha asked.

"Some experiment or other," Ren replied. "Anyway, don't the two of you have an anniversary vacation to plan?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes. "You just want the room to yourself so you and Nora can redecorate it," he mock-accused.

"You have seen through my cunning scheme. Curses. Curses I say."

Pyrrha giggled. "Well, we'll leave you two to your philosophical discussion. Just remember, identity is as much defined by your friends and family as it is by yourself."

Weiss watched her and Jaune walk off. "You know, she has a point."

"But of course."

"I mean, I'm Ruby's partner, and Winter's sister, and... a citizen of Atlas, and these are all a part of me. Just because I'm a rich that is no longer rich in the sense of money doesn't mean any of those are any longer invalid."

"True. And you've gained more identities because of the loops. A jedi, Remnant's second, a literal ice queen-"

"As opposed to a metaphorical one?"

Ren shrugged. "That might be among the identities you have shed, if I'm honest. I know that I certainly gained a few identities. Brother, son... fashion monger...

"Yes, indeed. Did you know Yang and I are both surgeons?"

"Really?"

"Granted, I'm a specialist-brain surgery-where Yang's a generalist. We keep in practice with holodeck whatnots."

Ren quirked an eyebrow. "Well, it's good to know you've been expanding your skillset."

"Given the opportunity, who wouldn't?"

"COMING THROUGH!"

Ren and Weiss rolled their eyes as they pressed themselves against the wall again.

"How did it get on the ceiling?!"

"How should I know?!"

"You designed the thing!"

Weiss waved the green smog away. "You know the weird thing is they aren't Awake this loop."

"Hmm." Ren tilted his head. "Still... I can see this happening."

"Oh, definitely."

 **50.2 Masterweaver**

Ruby kept herself quiet as she approached, wringing her hands together as she listened. A sword wing. A shout. And, behind it all, a calm voice, gently projecting into the night.

She didn't know why she did this. She didn't know why she kept coming in to watch Jaune's practice sessions. All she knew was that, for some reason, she could never go back to sleep until she had-

 _Something was wrong._

Ruby's eyes widened as she heard a gurgling choke. Abandoning all pretense, she rushed forward-

The pink creature dropped Jaune to the ground, tilting its antennae-covered head curiously. She shot Crescent Rose, the dust blasting the thing back, and rushed forward with medicine already being produced from her pocket-

"Heal, but do not wake."

The words were warped, twisted. She looked up. The pink thing had stood, simply stood, and watched her.

She stabilized Jaune, carefully lowering him to the ground, before turning Crescent Rose on the creature. "What do you want?"

"We speak for the Outer Gods. We speak for the Elder Gods. We speak for the Great Old Ones."

Ruby took in the four arms, the insectile form. "You're a Mi-Go."

"We are."

She glanced down at Jaune.

"The one we speak for has message for you alone. We could not allow him to hear."

"That's no reason to attack him. You could have waited until I was alone-"

"We were told to speak to you now."

"Told? Told by who?"

"The one we speak for wishes to remain unidentified."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "I know of your masters. I trust very few of them."

"Trust is unnecessary. The message shall be delivered."

"And once you deliver the message? Are you just going to rampage across Remnant?!"

The Mi-Go's antennae spun. "All we could want from this world is guarded. It would be inefficient to lay claim. We will be taken."

"...Fine. Say what you need to, then get _out_."

"We were told to say this: Your brother is bound to halos. The homestuck are bound to Skaia. You are unbound. Only those without home are looser."

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"Meaning was not provided. Only the message. It has been delivered." The Mi-Go bowed, and turned away.

"I have a message for your masters!" Ruby shouted.

"...We will listen."

"Tell them that we may be loose, but we will stand firm. Tell them that we will heal this world from anything they have done."

"...Your message is heard." And with that, the pink creature vanished.

Ruby watched the space it had been standing for a moment or two.

Then she dropped to her knees. "What was that all about? Marianne, if you're watching... tell me you know what that means..."

No answer was forthcoming.

 **50.3 Shimmer712**

Ruby blinked and looked around. "Are we sentient blueberries this loop?" Sure enough, she and the others where blue, round things with hair, eyes, noses and feet. Or skates in Weiss' case. A spring for Blake and wheels for Yang.

"Ruby!" A voice called, alerting her to Jaune's approach with JNPR. "You awake?" The blond had a pair of sneakers. Looking behind him, she could see Ren with a propeller, Nora with a spring and Pyrrha with skates.

"And loopy," she confirmed. "Just woke up. You?"

"The rest of us have been awake for a bit," Jaune told her. "You were the last."

"Huh, that so?" Ruby shook her head. It wasn't often everyone woke up before. "So, it's just our teams?"

"Nah, Roman's here too. He has a pair of wheels like Yang. He actually recognized this place. Says he played the game in the Hub."

"So, what's happening?"

"Basically, we ditching our old home which was taken over and finding a new home. Just got past these sneezing cliffs and talking caves. According the Roman, we're making pizza for trolls next."

"Trolls? Pizza?"

"...Ruby, compared to everything we've seen in the loops, is it really that weird?"

"...Point."

 **50.3 Masterweaver**

"Ladies, gentlemen." Ruby paused. "And Yang and Qrow."

Qrow laughed, giving Yang a playful nudge.

"We are gathered here today, aboard the lovely airship that James Ironwood has so thoughtfully provided, as we are all Awake at last. This gives us an opportunity to convene and discuss details of our loop which we have missed." Ruby held out a hand. "Firstly, I would like us all to welcome back Glynda Goodwitch!"

There was general applause as the blonde woman nodded. "It's good to be back, if only for a loop. I still haven't asked Marianne to lock me back down, so..."

"True, but we've all missed you. Some more then others. That can wait until after the meeting, though." Ruby pulled out a clipboard. "On today's docket, there is the issue of the conduct of Atlas citizens and associated issue of support for Weiss when she heads north. There is also the question of Tyrian-how to handle him in null loops and protect Patch from his intrusion." She tapped her pen against the clipboard. "However, I would like to open with something more important."

James Ironwood, to his credit, visibly held himself back from chastising her. Instead, he simply crossed his arms. "More important?"

"Yes. The issue of family relationships!"

Ruby tapped the podium, and a pair of charts were projected behind her. "Now, as you can plainly see, I am starting with the team leaders of JNPR and RWBY for this analysis. I myself am the sister to Yang, who is dating Blake, and furthermore I have adopted Cinder as a looping sister. Zwei, as the pet corgi, is also part of my family, and Qrow, being Yang's uncle if not my own, is engaged in some nebulously defined relationship with Winter, who is sister to Weiss. In addition, Neo has been adopted as a cousin, and as Roman is generally placed as a father figure in relation to her, that would functionally make him an uncle."

She tapped the other, smaller chart. "Meanwhile, team JNPR has formed an unusual but standard nuclear family of a married couple and two children. I understand that Nora has adopted Penny as a cousin as well, and we all know that she considers James to be her Generuncle." That got a wave of chuckles. "However, having said this, there is a clear and present issue-two, as a matter of fact! Number one is that Ozpin and Glynda are not on either of these charts-and that brings me to the second issue: That there are _two_ charts!"

"This is part of your big happy family thing, isn't it?" Blake deadpanned.

"Yes it's part of my big happy family thing! Come on, Blake, you... I don't mean to be insensitive, but you can compare what it's like not having a family to having one."

"...Point. Any reason you didn't include our out of loop siblings?"

"I didn't want to make things too complicated, this is just an overview." Ruby cleared her throat, returning to what was meant to resemble a professional attitude. "Now then. Our issues are two-fold: How do we link these two charts in a manner comfortable to all associated parties, and how do we include Ozpin and Glynda?"

"I've got an idea," Qrow offered. "Ozpin gets to be the grandpa, daddy figure to the whole Ozluminati thing he's got going in baseline. Me, Ironwood, Glynda, solves that whole mess."

Ozpin blinked twice. "...Well. I... have to say, that I wouldn't be _opposed_ to such a position, but I don't know if I'm any good as a parental figure-especially to people who have already grown up."

Glynda rolled her eyes. "Let's be honest, this is less for us being a family and more so that Ruby can say we're a family with full confidence. I'd opt, however, that I take the role of Ozpin's sister instead of his daughter."

"...I'm trying to come up with a reasonable objection here," Ironwood admitted.

"I like the idea," Penny piped up.

"I'll stop trying to come up with a reasonable objection."

"Okay!" Ruby clapped her hands together. "So, the motion has been proposed: Ozpin as semi-official father to Ironwood and Qrow, with Glynda as his sister. All in favor?" She nodded at the raised hands. "All opposed?" And grinned at the lack of hands in the air. "Motion carries! Now, on to the next item on the list..."

 **50.4 Masterweaver**

Ruby had used to like null loops.

Oh, sure, being unable to access her Pocket was annoying, and she had to exercise a caution long forgotten, but she was still a badass silver-eyed speedster with a sniper scythe. She could generally plan out how to prevent a number of baseline tragedies-saving Tukson would land Emerald and Mercury in prison, depriving Cinder of two powerful tools, and if she could convince Tukson to go public with the reason he was attacked a number of Faunus would break away from Adam Taurus in disgust. After that, it was just a matter of keeping Cinder in the transmit tower long enough for Ironwood to catch her, then dealing with Roman and Adam. It was always a fun challenge, and generally let her enjoy the Vytal tournament fresh.

Of course, that had been before Salem existed, with more schemes then she could shake a stick at. That has been before Sienna Khan appeared, a shadowy figure to whom Adam was but a catspaw. That had been before the Grimm themselves started to kick things up a notch, growing more varied and cunning.

That had been before Tyrian...

Ruby gripped Crescent Rose tightly, straining her ears as she and her Unawake friends walked through the silent streets of Oniyuri. Lonely loops were always a strain. And the stress of knowing what was coming for them... coming for _her_... If she'd Awoken before the fall of Beacon she could have avoided this. She didn't let her Aura extend. Out in the wilds, it was a precious resource.

Ren stopped. Held out his hand. Nora and Jaune looked at him, confused, before taking a wary stance.

Ruby simply turned around, leveling her weapon above the arch of the commune.

That was the thing about Tyrian. Even with a full knowledge of his abilities, his actions, he was unpredictable. Yes, he came from this direction... usually. But somehow, between loops, he varied his approach. He wasn't Dreaming-he didn't seem to be, he never recognized her, never mentioned anything outside what he should have known-and yet...

Flash of brown. She snapped her weapon to it. The other three, bless their souls, were scant seconds behind her, but the madman zipped behind a building before she could pull the trigger.

Ruby kept her ears open, trying to pinpoint footsteps, breathing, _anything_. The scorpion was as shadow, undetectable. She cursed inwardly, wishing she could reach into her Pocket and pull out a scouter-

Crescent Rose whirled to point at a leaf that had brushed against a wall. Then spun back the opposite way-nothing.

Where was he? What was he waiting for?

Calm. Ruby let herself breathe. She'd overplayed. She had been visibly ready, and that meant he had decided to watch her. Cat and mouse. Let Tyrian lose his cool first. Let his madness subvert him.

She was the Anchor. She was billions of years old. She new better then to underestimate one unpredictable madman... but she also knew better then to let her fear drive her.

The other three were looking at her strangely. Could she explain? Did she have the time-?

A shadow from on high.

She didn't even look to aim, she simply pointed and shot-and grinned grimly when she heard the displaced breath. Tyrian, to his credit, rolled with the blast-she hadn't thrown down anything fancy, just an ordinary bullet. The others spun, weapons ready as he landed.

Golden eyes met silver. Madness smirked. Hope furrowed her brow.

"We don't want a fight," Jaune tried.

"But he does," Ruby said flatly.

Tyrian cocked his head, never breaking their gaze. "...You were ready for me."

"You're not subtle."

"Who tipped you off?"

Ruby didn't respond, her gun still trained on him, her stance slowly widening.

He shrugged. "Alright."

That was all the warning they got before axes and giggles flew. She sidestepped the first strike and dodged under the second-a red muzzle jammed into his stomach and fired-his blade gripped the cobbles and he twisted a kick out of the way of Storm Flower's shots, spinning toward Nora. Ruby practically beaned the girl with a lightning dust crystal, knocking her out of the way, and Tyrian landed smoothly into a leg sweep that knocked Jaune to his knees.

She didn't wince, she couldn't afford to, but the aura that drained away from the blonde brought sympathetic regret to her heart for a moment-a moment that was spent firing directly at Tyrian's skull. Even if his Aura protected him, the force still snapped his neck back, long enough for Ren to land a few shots on him-but he shrugged it off, simply laughing as he lunged for the raven-haired teenager.

Nora swung in, supercharged by the crystal Ruby had thrown, her hammer swinging to keep him away from Ren. Tyrian slung under the arc mid-lunge, hands on Ren's ankles, and before the poor boy knew what was happening his head was on a collision course with Nora's bosom. Both went flying, smashing through a wall together-and the madman turned to Ruby with a manic smirk.

"And now only the rose remains. I will admit, I was expecting a delicate flower."

"And I was expecting a competent kidnapper. I guess we're both disappointed."

Tyrian's smirk grew. "Oh, I _like_ you."

He sprung forward-and she triggered her semblance, zipping into the air. She reformed and shot down, blasting at him again and again, and halfway to the ground flicked her semblance back on as she shunted herself sideways onto a half-built roof. Tyrian was already on the wall, climbing toward her-  
 _  
Don't panic. Focus.  
_  
Dust crystals generally came in specific shapes, but Weiss and Pyrrha generally carved their own ammunition-one out of a need to know all about Dust, and the other simply because she was the warrior girl. Ruby had joined them on occasion over the eons, and now a dagger of pure fire dust flew from her fingers. Tyrian had half a second to realize what had just embedded itself in front of his face before the wall exploded.

She jumped, zipping across the street to another roof, and fired into the plaster as it fell. Her lips curled into a frown-there was no sound of displaced breath. Alright. So she was up here, easily visible. He'd move around, but he wouldn't climb outside-

Ruby spun, her gun snapping to the roof she stood on.

Her breath slowed.

 _Wait._

 _Listen._

Wind rustled through the branches of the trees. For a madman, Tyrian was awfully quiet.

And... and...

 _There!_

He burst through to her left and she smacked him back, blasting him in the face, making him skid-no, now he decided to reveal his tail, catching the roof and launching up over her. She increased the arc with another blast to his gut, spun around. He landed, she shot again, axes dug into the tiles.

"You're not using dust rounds," he noted. "Not on me. You know they won't work on me."

Ruby ratcheted Crescent Rose, letting a shell fall to the ground menacingly.

"...You really did plan this," he mused. "My my, my... am I really so legendary? No..."

He stood, tail curling left and right. She fired, he skidded left.

"I traveled freely, if feared. None of my previous targets are in a position to tell you."

They circled on the shattered roof, gold and silver locked on each other.

"Cinder might have, if she was looking to be sympathetic, but you were nobody until your eyes came into focus."

Tyrian stopped. Paused.

Smiled.

"You've fought me before, haven't you?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "You come to impossible conclusions quite quickly."

"Do I? It fits the facts." He let his fingers steeple. "You know my abilities, my methods, and you prepared to counter them. You knew I would not take no for an answer."

"And how could that be?" Ruby asked, voice as steel. "How could somebody who you've never seen have fought you?"

Tyrian tapped his chin. Then he laughed. "Of course! The Atlas aura transfer machine! You're somebody that fool wizard saved and poured into this tiny girl's body!"

Something in Ruby relaxed. He wasn't looping, thank Yggdrasil, just incredibly smart-and he'd provided an excuse she could roll with.

"Of course," the madman continued, "there are very few of my targets that were even questionably alive when I left them. So, which one are you?"

"Does it matter?" Ruby answered. "Pour two drinks into one glass, and they blend together."

"Hmm. An interesting answer." Tyrian shrugged. "Of course, I do have to capture you. The dark goddess commands it."

"And I don't want to go with you," Ruby replied. "So it seems we are at an impasse."

"It does, doesn't it? But things are rarely as they seem."

He darted left-he darted right-he zigzagged around her shots, cackling and flipping-the stinger rose-she bowed forward. Faunus, even if they denied it, were mostly human from a biological standpoint; where their extra traits met the basic body, there tended to be a brief warping of muscles and veins, more delicate the more complex the trait was. Tyrian grunted as Crescent Rose smashed into his pelvis, wheezing as Ruby blasted him skyward.

She had control now, juggling him on shell after shell, but he twisted in midair-the blast hit an axe and he spun through a window. Ruby's teeth clenched, and she jumped off the roof, running for her fallen friends-and, yes, Tyrian burst out of a door, not even phased, laughing as he lunged at her-

-a crow rolled out of the sky, became a man-

-and Ruby suddenly felt a familiar tap on her shoulder.

She turned, smiling as she pulled off her headphones. "Are you... mugging me?"

"Yes!"

Ruby Rose let out a ping, and flicked a pencil in and out of her subspace pocket. When three other pings came back, she simply nodded. "Aaaaaaah..."

 **50.5 wildrook**

"Tyrian, I managed to cure your splitting headache," Josuke said, glaring at Tyrian as the healing had began. "That way, I won't have any regrets for what happens next."

At first, Tyrian thought he was a fool for showing mercy to someone as forgiving as Josuke Higashikata.

At the same time, he learned first-hand that there are some families you should not intimidate. The Joestar family was one such example as Crazy Diamond had appeared.

"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!" it started, Josuke's Stand punching Tyrian in a simultaneous mix of healing and outright pain as the Scorpion Faunus had been experiencing punch after punch, making Yang somewhat green with envy and Taiyang outright shocked as Tyrian was dealing with a barrage that did not stop. And continue it did as his joints had experienced several different ways of breaking, rearranging, and outright mutilation.

And the barrage only stopped as he managed to make the Scorpion Faunus crash into the wall as Josuke had managed to emulate his Nephew, Jotaro Kujo.

"Here's your bill," he said, blowing it into the wind as the man walked away.

"Dad," Yang muttered, amazed, "you sure you didn't have any more relatives?"

"If I did," Taiyang replied, "I think we'd share the birthmark on his shoulderblade."

 **50.6 Masterweaver**

Ruby blinked Awake. She wasn't in From Dust till Dawn, she was... on an airship headed to Vale?

Quickly, she checked her loop memories. Oh. She was replacing Penny. Well, this wasn't unheard of... She shrugged, and let out a ping.

The fact that she got seventeen back brought her pause. That could account for all the loopers of Remnant. But if she was Penny, who was Ruby? Or anyone else, for that matter...?

 **50.7 Masterweaver**

"Yang!"

The blond girl turned around with a grin, though it faltered when she saw who addressed her. "Ah... hello!"

"Are you ready for this afternoon?"

"Uh..." Yang wracked her memories, trying to identify the girl in front of her. "Sorry, I... totally forgot. I've been busy."

"Oh, that's fine. I just thought you'd want to get it over with so you could spend the rest of the loop with Blake."

Now Yang was really confused-this person was a looper? "I, well. Yeeeees. That would... look, I'm sorry, who are you?"

The girl blinked. "Yang, it's me. Pyrrha."

"Pyrrha-?!" The blonde facepalmed. "Oh my gosh, it is you! I'm sorry, I've never seen you with your hair down-you look completely different, I didn't recognize you!"

"Yes, well, I figured I'd... try something new." Pyrrha twiddled with a lock of hair. "Jaune says he likes it, but... I don't know, should I keep the look?"

"It's up to you. And to be fair, Jaune would like any way you look, right?"

Pyrrha giggled. "Well, yes..."

 **50.8 Firefinder12**

Winter looked at Qrow. "So you can actually turn into a bird..."

"Seems like it," her fellow hunter replied, not looking up from his glass.

"Hmmm..."

Qrow looked up at his friend, for that was not a good hmm... "What you are thinking about?"

Winter just grinned before taking something out of one of her coat pockets.

"Polly wants a cracker?"

Qrow's only reply was to head table, repeatedly.

 **50.9 Masterweaver**

"...Huh."

"What?"

"I was checking over our TVTropes page-well, the version I've got cached on my scroll anyway-and... According to this, Ozpin's supposed to drink hot chocolate, not coffee."

"...Huh."

"I mean, did he just pick up coffee from variant loops? Or... Actually, Weiss, why did you offer _me_ coffee?"

"You mean in baseline? Well... I suppose I just assumed everyone drank coffee."

"I mean, I've gotten a taste for it, but I was fifteen! Am. Was. Whatever. The point is, you offered a fifteen-year-old coffee, instead of hot chocolate."

"...sooooooo I was a little bit naive. I'm going to chalk it up to a very sheltered and controlled childhood."

"Well. I guess."

"...It is weird that Ozpin supposedly drinks hot chocolate in baseline but prefers coffee in the loops."

"Black coffee, at that."

"I don't know what to tell you, Ruby. Tastes change. Over the eons especially... remember when Yang only had eyes for guys?"

"...she still kinda does, she just keeps them on Blake because of love."

"True, I suppose."

"...Weiss, do you think we'll ever find love?"

"In baseline or in the loops?"

"Either or."

"Hmm. Interesting question. We have friendships in both cases-deep and personal ones. I've had plenty of one-loop stands... but the distinction between philos and eros..."

"I mean, yeah, I'd prefer love from a friend-er, I mean, I'd like to date somebody I trusted. But there aren't really that many guys looping from Remnant."

"You could date outside the loop."

"I could, yes. Still."

"...Do you actually want to start dating?"

"Not really. I mean, it's kind of on the list of things to do, you know, but it's not high on the list."

"So you're just speculating in order to speculate."

"Yeah."

"...Are any of the CFVY machines dating each other?"

"I... have not actually checked. Should I ask them?"

"...no. They'll tell you if they need to."

"Hmm."

"...you could always try mockdates with Penny."

"Oh, no. I mean Penny's... if she's not looping she's innocent, and if she is, she's got her whole cataloging experiences thing. Also, I'm heterosexual...ish."

"She's androgynous. And technically sexless. But you're right, there's a lot going on there."

"Yeah. Gosh. Penny. Has Penny ever joined you in..."

"...Ruby?"

"...Weiss, has anyone ever been up in Atlas with you? At all?"

"...There was a loop where Qrow replaced my mother. That was before the party expansion."

"Weiss-"

"I don't let Beacon fall when I can prevent it. That means I don't get dragged back to Atlas whenever there's people that I could take. When I do Wake Up there..."

"Weiss. Haven can wait, if you need me."

"...Tyrian will come."

"Maybe. Ironwood will be there-even Unawake, he'd be a match. I hope."

"...What do we do about Baseline issues, Ruby? If we stop Beacon's fall, that doesn't fix Atlas, and whatever's in Haven... And Salem."

"I want... I want to say, we can handle it. That we can address the problems one by one. But we don't know what all the problems are, do we?"

"No. No we don't."

"...gosh, do you think this is how Ozpin felt?"

"What?"

"Back when he was stealthing. All, I want to make the world a better place, but the world's constantly changing, even though it's always the same?"

"Hmm. Well. I suppose... it is frustrating, isn't it?"

"The weight of the world on our shoulders."

"To be fair, we chose this burden. We chose to war against Baseline, to make the world a better place."

"Yeah, we did. We're awesome like that."

"...once Salem's lair stabilizes, things will probably be easier."

"What do you mean?"

"She's out there, and we don't know where. Once we do, we can just hop over at the beginning of the loop, kill her, and take all her plans out."

"Yeah, I guess so. Barring variants."

"Well, obviously yes. The point is, taking out Salem gives us space to breathe, and we can handle other injustices after that."

"Assuming, of course, that it's that simple."

"It might not be, I'll admit that. But it's a pretty basic plan."

"One we can't implement because we don't know enough. This is so frustrating."

"I know, Ruby."

"...guh. You know something, we need to relax."

"I have an aquariajacuzzi in my pocket."

"A what?"

"It was back when I seriously considered the whole Great Weiss Shark meme. I made an aquarium, and in the center is a chamber with a series of hot tubs and spa beds. Even have some droids to help out."

"...You know what? That sounds great. How soon can we go?"

"Well, I'll need to tell the droids to prep for two."

"Make it six. I'm thinking maybe I could bring the CFVY machines along, since it is in a pocket."

"In that case... ten, fifteen minutes?"

"Alright. Should I bring a swimsuit?"

"If you like."

 **50.10 Masterweaver**

"...So your grandfather," Ruby said slowly, "is Santa Claus."

Weiss blinked. Then she facepalmed. "Oh, good lord..."

"I guess that explains why you tend to have a little red in your outfits," Ruby mused. "And now Whitley makes sense, he's an elf-"

"Ruby, please stop."

"Oh! Toymaker! Whitley's probably a gadgeteer genius!"

"Ruby, I know what you're thinking, and-"

"Did your grandfather have a team of reindeer faunus on the company board? Ooo, did one of them have a semblance that glows?"

"Just... just ask it, get it over with."

Ruby beamed. "Soooooo. Will you be filling our stockings from now on, Weiss?"

The heiress simply sighed. "...only if you put them up by the fireplace."

"YES!" Ruby shrieked, jumping into the air. "AWESOME! Wait, do we _have_ a fireplace?"

 **50.11 wildrook**

"So," Yang muttered, looking at Weiss.

Weiss knew where this was going. "Yes, I'm well-aware that my Grandfather resembles a certain someone, so get it out of your system."

That was all Yang needed. "Is Jacque Claus-traphobic?"

Somehow, Weiss was a lot less vocal about this, but had contemplated that question. "Well, Grandpa does have that intimidating factor despite being the nicest man in Remnant. Why?" The grin on Yang's face did not go away. "Oh...you're thinking we can scare him?"

"Not us...just had an idea on how we can change his policies, but we're going to need a guy to fill in the role." She looked around, before point a thumb at Beacon tower. "And I know the perfect man."

Weiss blinked. "Headmaster Ozpin?" she asked her, a nod. "How?"

Yang brought out a certain coffee machine from the Girl Genius branch from her Pocket, which shocked Weiss.

"How'd you obtain that?"

"Let's just say that trading missions can be frustrating, but the results are worth it."

 **50.12 Masterweaver**

Jacques Schnee stormed down the hall of his mansion, hands clenched in fury. How dare she waste time in her room, instead of directly coming at his summons! How dare she ignore him! And for what, books and dresses?! He was the one that paid for those!

He slammed open the door to his daughter's room. "WEISS SCHNEE-!"

Whatever he was about to say died on his tongue.

Tubes and wires wove through the room, a great spiderweb dominated by the suite of terminals in front of the window. On one table, vials and test tubes were filled with Dust of all kinds and beyond, some over bunsen burners, others in microscopes. Opposite that was a series of screens and whiteboards, dominated by charts and formulas and blueprints partly crossed out. An entire squadron of unfamiliar robots hovered, paced, and flew across the room, tending to the complicated machinery and watching each and every experiment. And in the center, carefully observing a hologram of an unassembled machine he did not recognize, was his second daughter-wearing a labcoat, thick gloves, and dark goggles.

"Don't cross the yellow line," she said casually, not even sparing him a glance. "This is all very delicate machinery. It won't explode if mishandled, but it will cost a lot."

Jacques narrowed his eyes, but let his hands fall. "What is this?"

"This is my thirty second attempt to construct or design a Dust-recycling mechanism. Our society is far too reliant on the substance to allow the current paradigm of use-and-forget to continue; we'll drain the mines dry before we destroy the Grimm." Weiss tapped a few bits of the hologram. "Rekindling inert dust would be a start, but that requires the dust be collected after use, which is problematic..."

"I... see." Jacques rubbed his chin. "I suppose that is an _acceptable_ use of Schnee company resources-"

"Hmm? Oh. No, none of this was paid for by Schnee money. Well, aside from the Dust itself."

The man blinked, looking over the scene again. "That... is impossible. There isn't any group on Remnant that could pay for all of this but the company!"

"True. I got most of this from my time as a ninja wizard space knight."

"The proper term is jedi," one of the robots chastised.

"Yes, but he's not familiar with that term. I put it in words he could understand."

Jacques stared at her. "Ninja wizard space knight."

"My time at Beacon was _very_ well spent." Weiss finally deigned to look at him. "Why are you even... the recital. Yes, yes, I'll sing at your little party. It's the least I can do-not all I can do, obviously, but it's a start." She waved him off with a shooing motion. "Now could you run along? I'm trying to find the minimum level of aura interaction needed to trigger various Dust configurations..."

 **50.13 Masterweaver**

Two sisters sat in a gazebo, contemplating a fact they had just learned they knew for their whole lives.

"...Jacques... _Julet._ " Winter sipped her tea. "There we are, then."

"It is... comforting, in its own way." Weiss held up a hand, letting her glyphs appear. "Knowing he married into the family, that this... isn't his."

"...He is still a part of us. It would foolish to deny that."

"Yes, of course. Our logic, our reasoning... the frost that coats our actions."

"At the same time, that is a tool, bereft of good or evil, and we... I hope, we choose to apply it constructively, instead of selfishly as he does."

"I was so worried about the Schnee name. So worried that it was poison from within... Some loops I dropped it." Weiss let out a breath, vanishing her glyphs. "Now, though..."

"Is it... really so important to you?"

"It was important to me in baseline. And to become detached? To say that it doesn't matter because of the loops? That's what Sakura Syndrome is, at its core."

Winter nodded. "That's what a lot of mental sicknesses are. Detachment enough to see people as things, tools..."

"Plastic soldiers and pawns." Weiss took her teacup, staring into it for a moment. "Henry, James, Jacques, Nicolas... Conqueror's names. The surnames are colors, but the first..."

"There is our family. The Schnee children."

"Our names... Winter, White, White. The power of Atlas, the power of Schnee." She sighed. "Even his own children, part of a long-reaching PR campaign..."

"...Weiss." Winter took her hand. "You are not a piece on a board. You are a person, master of your own fate. Your name is not a shackle. Your name is your _foundation_ , and you will use it to change Remnant for the better."

"I want to believe that. I do believe that. But..."

"Ruby Rose declared war on baseline," Winter reminded her. "Ruby Rose, chosen by the gods themselves to keep this world together, has decreed that fate is what we make of it. You are her second, and you've spent eons supporting her. Maybe now it's time you ask... how can she support _you?"_ Her hand gripped tighter. "How can _we_ support you?"

 **50.14 FadedAlphabet**

SLAM!

"Hey, you little shit stain son of mine, wake up!"

Qrow's eyes shot open, ignoring the pounding headache he had as he quickly scanned the crappy inn room he was in. Moments later, they landed on the figure standing in the doorway.

The man looked a lot like him, but older and with grey hair. He had a long white lab coat, battered and ripped with age while supporting the symbol of Atlas. He also had a cape very similar to his own.

As the loop memories cane in, Qrow recognized the individual as Rick Branwen, genius scientist of Atlas, powerful hunter, and his father.

Qrow sighed. Variant loop. Might as well play along. "What do you want dad? More importantly why are you here?"

Rick walked further into the room. "Checking up on you ungrateful turd. I leave you alone for five years and I find you in a run down inn with a hangover. Yeah, didn't think I noticed that did you?"

Qrow let an annoyed grunt. " Yeah? Like you are any better you drunk asshole."

"I'm a genius who knows how to do it right. You on the other hand...", Rick said, trailing off.

Qrow scoffed. "Some dad you are. I can see where Raven gets her patenting skills from."

"And that's why she is my favorite."

At that, Qrow leaped quickly got up, grabbed his weapon, and moved to have the blade at the throat oh his dad. Meanwhile, Rick seemed to pull a gun out of seemingly nowhere and had it pressed against his head.

They glared at each other with anger, neither making a move or sound. Then, out of nowhere, they both started to laugh.

Rick lowered his gun and took a step back. "Well that was fun. Though I must admit I'm a bit thrown for a loop."

Qrow lowered his own weapon. "Well I'm feeling kind of loopy myself."

Rick nodded. "Well if my loop memories prove correct, there should be a good bar nearby. Want to share a drink with your pop before giving me a tour?"

Qrow smiled. "Keep that up and we'll be good friends."

 **50.15 Masterweaver**

Ozpin was busily grading papers when the elevator door chimed. He looked up, quirking a brow at the unexpected visitor; his surprise only increased when he saw not a person, but instead a door. An ordinary hallway door, to be precise, behind the set of elevator doors that would be expected on an elevator. Before he had any time to consider just how unusual this was, the ordinary hallway door was kicked open by the ordinary shoe of the decidedly not ordinary Nora Valkyrie.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OZPIN!"

"Good day, miss Valkyrie. I take it you set up a dorm door in the elevator because of the difficulty of kicking open elevator doors?"

"Yep!" With a wave Nora made the door disappear. "I hereby declare that it is time for philosophy!"

"By which you mean that, as the only member of team JNPR that is Awake this loop, you are feeling both lonely and bored and you didn't want to whine around Ruby and Blake."

"See, this is what I like about you, Ozpin. You get me!" Nora spun around a chair, slapping herself down into it. "Which is actually pretty terrifying, when you think about it. I'm more then a little off-kilter, so having the headmaster of a Hunting school able to predict something like me implies a sort of craziness inherent in the system."

"Ah, but being able to understand the insanity it would take to lead one to fight the monsters of Grimm is an essential part of my job, as well as knowing how to mold it into the most expert Huntsmen and Huntresses I can." Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "For instance, an enthusiastic sort like you would need no excuse to simply wander around looking for a fight; what I focus on with you is increasing your skill and your ability to restrain yourself, via Pyrrha and Ren, as well as reminding you that not everyone is as high strung or capable, by putting Jaune in place as your leader."

"Of course that implies that either you know how to maximize the entire team efficiency of a team you never planned for," Nora pointed out, "or you planned ahead of time which teams would be formed."

"Both have happened. This loop, the catapults are actually programmable in their launch trajectory."

"And the chesspieces?"

"Aura resonators. Glynda actually levitated them close to chosen selectors during the sleepover, and they 'caught the attention' of whoever was meant to pick them up."

"Hmm. I did feel the rook was particularly shiny this loop." Nora kicked up her feet. "But manipulating for the better is still manipulation."

"True," Ozpin replied with a nod. "However, that does not mean manipulation is inherently an evil act."

"Cinder manipulates the Vytal festival."

"Yes, but by the same token a leader manipulates their followers to greatness." Ozpin put his mug down. "Manipulation requires that you understand the subject being manipulated; whether or not you care is out of the question, which is why both heroes and villains can use the same tactics."

Nora nodded slowly. "I suppose I can see where you're coming from. Plastic soldiers and pawns is what an evil person would think of people they convinced to die for them. But a good person would regret convincing them to die, but regard it as necessary?"

"The issue is less the directed goal and its interactions and more respect for the subject." Ozpin held his hands out. "When I selected Pyrrha Nikos as the potential fall maiden, I did not do so because she was available and capable. I did so because I believed she was ready, in a moral stance, because I believed in _her_ personally. Whether Cinder cares for Emerald is questionable, but I don't doubt she simply used Adam and Mercury as a means to an end."

Nora frowned. "Unawake Cinder, you mean."

"Yes, of course." Ozpin cleared his throat. "I apologize, I assumed that was given. Awake Cinder clearly cares for Emerald, at the least, and tends to be protective of Mercury."

"And Adam is assumed to be irredeemable." Nora sighed. "Yeah, you know before the expansions Blake would sometimes bring him to Beacon-he was always very dark, but sometimes he was troubled, you know? And then, bam, one loop he just up and up stabs her in the gut, cuts off Yang's arm, and goes right around joining the Grimm in their slaughter."

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "You seem... troubled by that."

"Not by Adam. Not by him directly, but what that transformation means... Look. Pyrrha was very worried that accepting the Fall Maiden transfer would affect her looping self, right? It never came up, but... I've already had part of my past irrevocably altered by the expansions."

"Your birth parents."

"Yeah. That rattles a person-knowing what they knew wasn't what they knew. And with Oniyuri, and Shione, I'm beginning to wonder... will Baseline do something to me and Ren? Something that reveals darkness in our past? Beyond just being orphaned, I mean, I..."

She sagged.

"Let's break his legs. I said that. That was my first thought. I like smashing people in with my hammer, during the Vytal tournament. I adore Ren, but at the same time I'm one of the biggest frustrations in his life. I'm a war machine. Possibly even literally, if I really am Penny's cousin. An overeager war machine, that doesn't always treat others as having feelings of their own..."

Nora looked up. "Am I a sociopath, Ozpin? Like, clinically?"

"Absolutely not. You do have empathy, affective if not cognitive. It might be overridden at times by your adrenaline, something you have in common with miss Xiao Long, but I have rarely if ever seen you give out more then what your opponent could take." He held up his hand to forestall her response. "Yes, that could be interpreted as 'not breaking one's toys', but you must understand the difference between a warrior and a blood knight is a simple one: you do have joys other than fighting, such as Ren and pancakes and general nonsense, whereas fighting is all the blood knight thinks of."

"Well... I guess." Nora ran a finger through her hair. "It's really... I just... Me and Ren always assumed we were orphaned together, or at least in the same village, but if he heard of Oniyuri and I didn't? That means... I don't know what it means. And I'm running through my baseline mentally, trying to find every scrap of information... I can't have come from nowhere, can I? Just a random girl-I mean, I wouldn't mind if I was, I don't think you need to have awesome parents to be awesome yourself, but... it's all..."

"You're worried that the lack of definition allows the possibility of a _negative_ definition."

Nora nodded. "Yeah. No news is good news? Not really. Not in this case."

Ozpin held out his hands. "I suspect you are thinking of this incorrectly. I am aware miss Schnee's recent... dealings with Atlas have left a foul taste in her mouth, and it is quite reasonable to worry that something similar will happen to you. But Weiss has chosen to define herself by more then just her birth; she considers herself Ruby's Second, before she considers herself a Schnee. No matter what backstory you had, what matters is how you choose to use the here and now."

"So you're saying... Nora is what Nora says she is?"

"Exactly."

"Even if Nora says she is a mutant lightning sloth that uses pancakes to fuel her super-powers?"

"The only part I would question is the sloth. Why sloth?"

"Eh, used it in baseline. Figured I might as well make it my thing."

"Well, if you do, it will be _you_ making it your thing."

Nora smiled, slowly. "Yeah. That's right. I'm Nora Valkyrie." She stood on Ozpin's desk. "Looper of Marianne! Crazed Daughter of JNPR! Consumer of Pancakes and Sweets! STORM GODDESS OF MISTRAL! **THE HAMMER-WIELDING TERROR OF REMNANT!"  
**  
"Leaving mudprints on my desk."

"...AND NOT EVEN GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR IT BECAUSE MUD IS WATER AND SOIL SO IT'S METAPHORICALLY **LIFE!** YEAH!"

Ozpin chuckled. "Oh very well. But you _are_ going to clean it. I do have to maintain some discipline after all."

Nora shrugged. "Yeah okay that's fair." She pulled a Roomba out of her subspace pocket. "Go on, stabby!"

"You've duct-taped a knife to a roomba."

"Yeah, I would have gone with something more blunt, but I couldn't figure out the logistics..."

 **50.15 Masterweaver**

"Welcome home, sister mine." Whitley bowed formally.

Weiss sighed. "...It is... interesting to be here." She glanced subtly at Jacques Schnee. "I certainly wish I could have contributed more to the defense of Vale."

"You can do that far better from here," Jacques assured her firmly. "A unified front will make it clear the Schnee Dust Company is willing to help in whatever way we can."

"And _nobly_ rescuing your daughter makes you look like a family man," Weiss replied flatly.

Jacques frowned, opening his mouth to reply, but his thought was unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of paws scrabbling across the cold tile. His eyes fell on the black and white mutt that skidded into the foyer. "What is _that?"_

Whitley blinked. "I certainly do not know, father-"

"Zwei?"

Jacques turned to his daughter. "You recognize this thing?"

"Yes, Zwei, he's my partner's pet." Weiss knelt down, hand out. "What are you doing here, you incorrigible corgi?"

Zwei barked, running up and accepting the ear skritches.

"He's from Vale?" Whitley asked, disbelievingly.

"Patch, actually."

"How in the world did he get here?"

"Zwei's been known to mail himself pretty far. You should hear about the time he wandered around Mistral-Ruby only found out when a raider queen came to her house and asked she keep the dog in check."

Jacques crossed his arms. "Well, I suppose we'll have to return this dog to his proper owner, then. I haven't allowed animals in this mansion, and I shan't start now."

Weiss and Zwei both looked at him for a moment or two.

Then Weiss sighed, melodramatically. "I won't stop you from trying, father. But I should warn you-Zwei is remarkably stubborn."

-

The first attempt had been simple enough. Jacques had carried Zwei down to the local post office, laughingly explained the situation, and paid all the proper bills to have the dog sent home. He left Zwei sitting calmly in a locked dog carrier and returned to his mansion.

The corgi was sitting right in the foyer, and greeted him with a bark when he entered.

Jacques took him back to the post office, talking to the man in charge, who had been surprised to discover that somebody had opened the carrier. He'd been assured, however, that pets escaping had been heard of, and there was certainly a method in place for containing them. After looking over the new carrier, which outwardly looked like a safe, Jacques had agreed to pay the little extra money it took for the upgrade.

He opened his mansion door to see Zwei happily panting up at him.

The third time around, the postal office worker agreed to personally keep a watch on the carrier, free of charge. He apologized profusely, and Jacques simply nodded, giving rote assurances that he held no blame on the poor man-"The dog seems to have taken a liking to my daughter," he said simply. Giving Zwei a firm pat on the head, and snapping the carrier shut, Jacques headed home once more.

Halfway back, his scroll rang. It was the post office worker, with an apologetic and slightly hysterical tale of the carrier literally exploding.

So it was with an aggravated sigh that Jacques opened his front door to see, yes, Zwei, cocking his head quizzically up at him.

"...Alright then..."

-

"...And how does this game go?"

"You toss the ball. Zwei brings it back. In his mouth, I should add, so do be prepared for the... saliva."

Whitley grimaced. "And this is something he likes doing?"

"To be honest," Weiss replied, "he prefers sticks. I think it's the latent hunting instinct."

Whitley looked from the ball in his hand to the dog panting eagerly at his feet.

"I'm not sure I see the entertainment value in this."

"It is... rather simple, I'll admit. It's supposed to be more relaxing then challenging."

"Hmm. Very well then." Whitley pulled his arm back and, in one swift motion, released the ball. Zwei was off running.

"...And we just wait here for him."

Weiss sighed. "Yes, Whitley."

"Hmm. I mean I have heard of fetch before, but from all the descriptions and the love poured into the books I assumed there would be something... more to this."

"...it's the simple things that make life worth living sometimes."

Whitley gave her a look. "Really?"

Weiss blinked. She turned to Whitley, disbelief on her features.

"...what?"

"...we really _were_ sheltered, weren't we?"

Whitley considered the question. It was clearly rhetorical, more asked at Weiss herself, but the way she had said it... with regret...

His thoughts were interrupted when Zwei returned, dropping the ball at his feet and panting eagerly.

"Good boy!" Weiss cooed, kneeling down and ruffling his fur. "Who'sagoodboy?"

"...I presume he is," Whitley offered, with a faintly bemused smile.

-

"Mister Schnee?"

"What is it, Klein?"

The butler cleared his throat. "I... understand you were to escort Zwei to the airdocks today."

"I just came back from there, actually." Jacques nodded. "Watched the airship the mutt was on leave myself."

"...Oh." Klein Sieben blanched. "Well..."

Jacques peered at him. "...What?"

"It's simply... ahem. It's simply that-"

Zwei came around the corner, barking loudly.

Jacques blinked.

"...I found him resting near one of the Dust generators," Klein explained. "I assumed that perhaps you were looking for him to take him to... the airdocks."

Zwei sat at Jacques' feet, looking up curiously at him.

"...Shall I arrange a call to them?"

"That," Jacques said tightly, "will not be necessary, Klein."

-

"Fetch, boy!" Whitley let the ball fly, smiling as Zwei went after it. "He is an eager little thing, isn't he?"

Weiss nodded, a faint grin on her own face.

Whitley gave her a look. "What is it now?"

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"...perhaps a bit," Whitley admitted. "I did not think that watching an animal rush about at my command would be quite so entertaining."

Weiss frowned. "That's a dangerous way to view things."

"What?"

"You're not commanding Zwei," Weiss explained. "You're asking him to return the ball to you. It's a matter of trust, not of power."

"Ah. Yes, I suppose that would be a way to view the situation, wouldn't it?"

"It's the way most people would view it. See, the fact that I have to explain this... that your first reaction is thinking through power, instead of through the relationship... it honestly troubles me."

Whitley blinked, turning to her. "Father says-"

"Father," Weiss said coldly, "has used power he did not earn to gain more power. That's not wrong, but it isn't right either."

"...True, I suppose."

"Whitley, if all our money vanished overnight, what would we have left? A mansion? Running it costs money. Our various belongings? We'd have to sell some, simply to get food to live. The material is... not as unimportant as some may say, but it is far less important then the immaterial."

"You're talking about respect."

"I'm talking about relationships." Weiss stepped closer. "Friends, family... there's a reason the word love has so many variations. In the end, what we rely on is _people_ -the people who mine Dust, the people who process it, forge it into all the devices we make, the people who buy what we sell and who sell us what we buy, the people who go out and fight the Grimm so that we can rest safely. It is possible to survive alone, but only barely."

"And so we need their respect," Whitley said, nonplussed.

"No. We need cooperation. Compassion. Understanding, Whitley. Respect can be good... or it can be bad." Weiss rubbed her hands together. "The White Fang respects our father, enough so that he is not merely another racist human but one of their primary targets. Power can gain you respect, yes, but how you use it... that determines how people think of you."

Whitley looked at her curiously. "...What are you trying to say here?"

"I... I'm trying to say that..." Weiss held her hands out. "What you do, how you treat people... it's better, for yourself and for them, to care. Not about power, but about how they feel, about how... life is. We're locked away in this mansion, where we have servants, but just because they work for us doesn't mean we should treat them as beneath us. In the end, we're all people."

There was a moment of quiet contemplation.

"...I... suppose I should consider this carefully," Whitley mused. "Although, perhaps, when I am not occupied with Zwei. Where is he, anyway?"

As if on cue, the corgi emerged from the bushes, sticks and branches caught in his fur. He happily ran up to the boy and dropped the ball at his feet.

"Oh dear." Weiss sighed. "I'm going to have to wash all these brambles off, aren't I?"

"...If I could offer any assistance?"

Weiss gave Whitley a long look. "...Very well, but find something with short sleeves. You don't want your shirt getting stained."

-

"Hmm." Jacques looked at his scroll and nodded firmly. "That collar was worth the expense."

The tiny dot on the screen finally flew beyond the outlined border of Atlas. Perhaps it was foolish of him to waste so much on one dog, but-as he had told Ironwood himself-it was only to help a broken family reunite.

With a self-satisfied smile, he pocketed the scroll, walking down the halls of his mansion. He nodded to Kleind as he passed, nodded to Zwei as he turned a corner, and reached out to open-

-his eye twitched.

He turned around.

There was Zwei, panting gently, still wearing his collar, but no longer having the tracking tag attached to it.

Billionaire and Corgi locked gazes.

"...I shall deal with you later," Jacques finally groused.

-

"You like the stick? Get the stick!" Whitley let fly the wooden branch, chuckling as Zwei galloped away. "You were right. He does prefer wood to rubber."

"Mmm."

"...Shouldn't you be practicing for the recital?"

Weiss half smirked. "Oh, don't you worry, I already have."

"I... haven't heard-"

"Whitley, it is very nice of you to be worried about me. Really. But there comes a point where you simply cannot prepare any more." Weiss let her smile drop. "Besides..."

The young boy stepped closer. "...yes?"

"...Well. It has... recently occurred to me that you and I have not... had the closest of relationships. You're my _little brother_. I should have looked out for you, tried to help you figure right and wrong out... maybe teased you once or twice, just to figure out where the line lay."

Whitley sighed. "Is this why you were so interested in emphasizing the importance of relationships?"

"...two of my teammates were sisters. Ruby and Yang. Technically, they were only half-sisters, but that didn't matter to them. They were... they had a bond. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses... sometimes they would argue, yes, but they always got back together." Weiss took a breath. "Me and Winter have something similar, and I know how important that is to me. I just... spending time outside this mansion, seeing how others lived... I realized, you might not have anyone like that. I don't even know if you do."

"There's always Klein."

Weiss laughed. "Yes. There's always Klein. Still..." She looked at Whitley. "Maybe I'm too late. Maybe I can never hope to rekindle something that wasn't there. But... if I can fix at least one of my mistakes... ignoring you would be pretty high on the list."

"Well. That is... certainly interesting of you to say." Whitley took a moment to consider, before clapping his hands together. "If we are to be jolly good siblings, it's high time I do something that will remarkably embarrass you."

"Oh, indubitably."

"Shall I speculate on your love life?"

"Why not? Everybody else has."

"Alright. You and... hmmm... Roman Torchwick."

Weiss gave a snort of laughter. "Certainly not!"

Zwei ran back to them, dropping a bundle of wood at their feet. Whitley blinked in surprise. "I... only threw one stick."

"He's an overachiever. Whosagoodboy? Whosagoodoverachievingboy?"

-

Everything was coming together for the party. Weiss was dressed for the recital, the tickets had all been sold, and the theater was about to open.

In fact, the only issue that Jacques Schnee could see was the corgi sitting in the front row.

He sighed, massaging his brow. Very briefly he looked around, making sure there was nobody watching, before leaning forward.

"Listen, mutt. I may tolerate your presence around the mansion, no matter how much I detest you tracking mud all over the floor, but this is a public place. You aren't allowed here. Go-get out!"

Zwei cocked his head.

"...I'm talking to a dog." Jacques took a breath. "Alright, I know I can't just take you out of here, you'll find a way to sneak back in somehow... ah. Weiss!"

"Yes father?"

"Could you come out here please? There's a situation I need you to handle."

Weiss came out from backstage. "What is it, father?"

Jacques simply pointed at Zwei. Weiss looked at the dog, then to him, then back.

"...I don't understand."

"Look, I don't know how he thinks, but you need to convince him to leave."

"But... he already paid for his tickets."

"Paid for his-?" Jacques burst out. He was about to point out the sheer impossibility of the situation, but he made the mistake of looking at Zwei-who had, yes, a pair of tickets clenched in his teeth. "How could he pay for tickets?!"

"He's surprisingly good at stock trading."

Jacques stared at his daughter in complete disbelief. "...Weiss, Zwei is a dog. A pet. What makes you think he would be allowed to attend a high-class party?"

"Well, he's certainly dressed for it."

The man held up his finger to reply-but again his eyes drifted, and he couldn't, because Zwei was wearing a well-crafted tiny tuxedo. "That-that is besides the point!" he blustered instead. "I simply cannot allow an animal to meander about the place unattended!"

"Ah, yes, that would be a problem." Weiss nodded. "However, he won't be unattended. I understand that he's netted himself a paramour-ah, there she is now!"

Weiss waved, and Jacques followed her gaze to see what looked for all the world like a little girl walking down the aisle. She gave him a grin, flipped her tri-colored hair, and sat down next to Zwei-who put his paw on her hand.

"...I. I cannot..." Jacques gathered himself. "And exactly how old are you, miss"

Both girl and dog fixated him with stern frowns. Weiss coughed. "It... isn't polite to ask a lady her age, father."

Jacques blinked. His eyes darted from his daughter, to the girl, to the dog.

"...Are you feeling aright?" Weiss asked. "You seem a little tense."

Jacques narrowed his eyes, spun around, and marched off to his box-seat.

-

"...so that is Zwei's... girlfriend."

"Well, that's what we call her. She's cropped up in a lot of the bars he drinks at."

Whitley quirked an eyebrow. "Your team let the dog drink?"

Weiss gave him a challenging look. "Do you think we could stop him?"

"Hmm. No, I suppose not." He turned his gaze back to the corgi comfortably riding atop the girl's head. "He is remarkably tenacious."

"I understand the only reason he isn't officially a huntsmen is a particular paperwork snafu."

"Well..." Whitley shrugged. "At least he has a friend."

"They do seem to be getting along well, don't they?" Weiss chuckled as the girl idly nicked two glasses from a waiter, simultaneously drinking from one and holding up the second so Zwei could take a deep gulp.

"Yes... I'm honestly rather surprised that nobody has commented on the situation."

"Some have, quietly. Most of the people who notice, though, simply seem not to know what to do."

"Young Lady!" one woman shouted. "What exactly are you doing?"

For a brief moment, Whitley thought he saw Zwei lock gazes with Weiss-and Weiss nod in reply. It was over in a flash, and the dog's expression fell back to its usual innocence as the girl he rode turned to the woman curiously.

"It is highly inappropriate for you to bring your pet in here! I have half a mind to report you to your parents."

The girl looked at the woman, almost as if watching a particularly interesting blade of grass. Then she turned away, to the woman's sputtering indignation.

Weiss hummed contemplatively. "...well, the night is young."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Weiss nudged him. "Why don't we look at the display arrangement?"

"We have seen it before."

"Yes, but two of the most wealthy people here showing interest, well, it will attract the attention of the bidders." Weiss's eyes darkened. "Besides, it... reminds me of better days."

"...Very well."

The siblings traveled over to the auction items, looking over the statues... and the painting. Whitley noticed that Weiss seemed drawn to the painting, a moth to the flame. He also noticed a blue-haired boy leaning against the rope, eyeing her speculatively.

Their gazes met. Whitley, calmly, quirked an eyebrow. The blue-haired boy huffed, half smiled, and shook his head, wandering off.

"...and now you're scaring off my suitors," Weiss noted calmly. "Well done."

"I could stop, if you like."

"No, it is the brother's prerogative. And that particular fellow grates against me."

"Have you ever met him before?"

Weiss quirked her lips. "Now there's the question. The answer should be simple. And yet it really isn't."

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

"Oh. Too much to go into here." Weiss finally managed to tear her gaze from the painting, looking into the crowd. "Ah..."

Whitley blinked. "What?"

"Pay close attention." She indicated the woman who had confronted Zwei's presumed girlfriend. "This is why respect is nothing without care."

"But really, does it come as any surprise, what happened to Vale?" the woman slurred. "It was a long time coming, if you ask me."

A man put his hand on her shoulder. " _Honey_..."

"What? You said the same thing last night. If they're so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance."

"And just like that," Weiss murmured, "any respect she had is gone, paving the way for..."

The woman's laughter was cut off by a low growl. She turned around, blinking as she caught sight of Zwei's dangerous expression.

"Notice that the husband is backing off." Weiss nodded toward the man. "He doesn't care for her, and at the moment he doesn't respect her. She's not worth it to him."

"Weiss..."

"What-" The woman tried to regain control of the situation. "Control your mutt, you stupid girl! Honestly, whoever let you in should-"

Her words were cut off with a squeak when the point of a sword pressed against her throat. The girl's expression was a silent mirror of the dog's.

"And now people are noticing. People have heard what she said, and they have to ask if they want to save her." Weiss sighed. "They have to _ask_ , Whitley. Whether or not to care."

Whitley's throat felt oddly dry. "...do you?"

"...Not for her. I don't respect her or care for her." Weiss shut her eyes. "But at the same time, I have to save her, because that is, quite simply, the right thing to do."

She stepped forward, walking through the crowd, approaching the woman.

"Madam," she began calmly, "you are not only entirely incorrect, you are insulting the effort and lives spent to protect Vale. Furthermore, you are doing so at what is essentially a wake for the dead. And in the presence of those who were actually there, and who actually know what happened. Quite frankly, this-"

She gestured at the girl. The blade pressed just enough to draw blood.

"-is a very controlled, very calm reaction to the disgusting insult you have made. I am afraid that not only will I have to ask you to leave, I will have to press a lawsuit for slander and, furthermore, bar you from all of my future performances."

The woman whimpered, looking nervously down the sword.

"Ahem. Zwei?" Weiss turned to the corgi. "Would you mind telling your ladyfriend to release her grip? I know she is rather... petulant, but quite frankly she isn't worth it."

Zwei turned his gaze on Weiss, staring at her for a moment or two. Then, with a whine, he patted the girl's head. The blade was pulled back, with obvious reluctance.

As soon as the woman was sure she was safe, she narrowed her eyes. "Somebody-!"

"No." Weiss cut her off with an odd wave. "You will leave, now. You've already made enough of a scene."

"I... will leave now," the woman mumbled. "I've already made enough of a scene." She stumbled for the door. After a moment, her husband followed her.

Weiss looked around the gathered crowd. "So... does anybody else have anything to say about this?" The question wasn't challenging at all, simply curious.

There was, however, no reply.

"Hmm. Well, I do hope you will do whatever you can to support the rebuilding of Vale. After all, that is why we are all here, isn't it?"

The crowd seemed to murmur, and after a moment things returned to... something resembling normalcy. Jacques almost approached, but was stopped when Ironwood gripped his shoulder.

Whitley, hesitantly, took up a position beside Weiss. "That... was honestly something I did not expect. At all."

"Unfortunately, there are people who will never understand the value of people as people."

"...and the fact that this... young lady carries around a sword?"

Weiss simply quirked a brow. "That's unusual?"

Whitley considered. "On reflection, I suppose not." He turned to the girl. "My apologies, miss, I did not mean to offend."

The girl smiled and nodded, gently enough that Zwei could keep his position atop her head.

"And you, Zwei?" Whitley smiled at the corgi. "I've never seen you quite so mad before."

"I've never had reason to be mad," Zwei replied. "At least, not around you, you have an excellent throwing arm."

Whitley blinked.

"...you can talk?"

"Indeed."

"...And you never said anything."

"There was never a need to. But it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, nonetheless."

"There, you see?" Weiss smiled. "Friendship at its finest."

Whitley continued to stare, dumbfounded, until four minutes later when the world ended.

 **50.16 Masterweaver**

"So."

"Yep."

"This is a thing."

"Yep."

Jaune and Pyrrha watched as their children played tennis.

Just... ordinary tennis.

"...Is it weird," Jaune asked, "that I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop?"

"Given who it is, not really. But, you know, we have to trust them." Pyrrha smiled. "They are our kids, after all."

"Well, yes. I mean... I'm not going to go in and stop them, or anything like that."

"You're just worried that the tennis ball is secretly a bomb, or that they'll start pulling anime moves."

"Yeah."

"That's fair."

They continued watching for a while.

Then Pyrrha nudged him. "Want to play doubles?"

"Hmm. Sure. Boy versus girl, partner versus partner, or crosswire?"

"Mmmm. Crosswire."

"Alright... I don't actually have a racket, though."

Pyrrha pulled one out of her subspace pocket and handed it over.

"Oh, thanks. Hey guys! Me and Nora versus Pyrrha and Ren, what do you say?"


	51. We Survive

**51.1 Masterweaver & Shimmer712 & diesel**

"Hello again, and welcome back to Plantcare with Pyrrha!"

Leaning on the sharpened gun-spade, Pyrrha smiled towards the camera as Nora drew back to show what was behind her. A vast forest stretched out into the distance, filled with plants that towered towards the distant sky. They were writhing and yawing, babbling and wailing as the calls of birds and companion animals echoed though the vast green house

Lashing out and severing a sparking thorn and blood covered tendril, Pyrrha gestured behind her to the massive plant. "Today we will be looking at the most deadly variety of Sundew in the known multiverse, the Thirsting Crimson Jager of Konoha. This one is only a seedling, a few weeks old. The larger ones are simply too dangerous to show in person, so we will use recordings instead. Created by Sakura..."

"Uh...What sort of plant is that?" Jaune asked his wife.

"Oh, that's a sunflower," she answered. "It's from the Plants vs Zombies loops." She caught the ball of light the flower gave off and offered it to Jaune.

"Wait, that place is looping?" Jaune asked, taking the light and tucking it away.

Pyrrha frowned. "I don't think it is. It's not like there's a lot of people there. The zombies and plants tended to all be same, no individuality. So probably not. But you can loop into it." She paused. "Crazy Dave is certainly... interesting. Hmm... maybe he is looping, I don't know."

"I see." Jaune looked at another plant. "And that one?"

"A Chinese Chomping Cabbage," Pyrrha answered. "It's from the Hogwarts loops. I got quite a few plants from there, like my Whomping Willow sapling and my Fanged Geraniums."

"Cool," Jaune nodded. Then a glint of reflected light caught his eye. "Hey, what about that tree?"

"Hmm?" Pyrrha turned to where he was looking. "Oh, that's a silver leafed tree. It grows golden apples. I'm pretty sure the Hogwarts loop I got it from was a variant though. I've never seen any other ones there in my other visits to those loops."

"Oh, I guess it's a good thing you grabbed it that loop then," Jaune commented. "Uh...are there sheep sticking out of that plant?"

"That's a Baromett plant," Pyrrha told him. "I got it from this loop which is called Odin's Sphere in the Hub World. I was replacing a Valkyrie with a spear and wound up fighting an apocalyptic dragon."

"That sounds pretty awesome," Jaune noted. He looked around. "You know, you have a lot of plants," he remarked. "Kinda surprised at that."

"Is it a bad thing?" Pyrrha asked, frowning slightly.

"Of course not," Jaune assured her. "It's just that...how many forests did you wipe out?"

Pyrrha flushed. "It... just happened," she said weakly.

Smiling, Jaune shook his head. "It's a nice hobby at any rate," he commented. "It was nice of you to let me into your pocket to see this. But given the size of your greenhouse, I kinda expected more."

"Oh, these is just the ones who are harmless or at least not very dangerous," Pyrrha explained. "I keep most of my plants through there," she pointed at a solid looking door. "They can be very dangerous though, so I keep them well secured."

"...Oh. Thanks for that," Jaune blinked.

"Would you like to see them?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?"

 **51.2 KanameFujiwara**

"Do you know why it failed?" asked Ranma.

"You have two hands and I have one?" she replied cheekily. This was her third failure in a row.

"No. It's form and function," Ranma answered seriously. "Shoryuken is a powerful move but it requires certain prerequisites - both arms for instance."

"Didn't I mention this?" Yang asked confused.

"Not quite. You understand the problem but not the deeper meanings behind it," explained Ranma. "You think that by making small adjustment in your lower and upper body you somehow achieve the same effect. You're right. Its power is the same. You're wrong however in thinking that doesn't change the function and thus the form."

"...Enlighten me."

"You are a brawler. You fight like one. You fight as if you are a woman with two arms instead of one. What you should have done is fight like a woman with one arm," said Ranma. "Form and function. That is the key in all martial arts. Your body has certain functions - thus it has certain forms. These forms are limited. More so with your body. Simple compensation is not enough - if you wish to learn Shoryuken with a handicap you must fight under that assumption and then build it up. Start afresh. Begin anew. The ways of the fist for you lies in accepting what you are - what you have become - and grow."

"...Yes."

"Let me show you what a true Shoryuken with a handicap looks like," he said with a smile.

Yang shivered. Moments later she was send flying in the air.

 **51.3 diesel**

Weiss groaned, finding herself once more staring at the darkened underneath of Ruby's bed, the room still bathed in the silver light of the winter moon. The freezing air made it so very tempting to just pull her covers back over and try to get back to sleep, but that never worked.

 _I'm so tired._

She needed to do something, work off the nervousness that clawed at her mind, the constant fear of discovery.

 _Damn faunus, so what if we don't have animal features? How does that link with relegating us to the level of animals?_

Groping blindly for a few moments, Weiss managed to find her false lion ears. The advanced electronics let the prosthetics react to her emotions like she was a real faunus.

Weiss grit her teeth, icy eyes narrowing in anger and tiredness, standing up from the bed with the headband clutched in one hand.

She could put it on after she had washed her face.

Padding across the room, eyes locked onto the bathroom, Weiss leapt as the faint voice of her partner and leader drifted over from the desks. "Morning, Weiss. Are you still having nightmares about being found out? I had hoped you would have relaxed a bit more around us by now, but I don't blame you."

Melancholic silver eyes met terrified blue, with a sad, understanding smile. Ruby was sitting on her chair, hood pulled up and covering her canine ears, and playing with a single memory card on the desk.

 _She knew…?_

"You… dolt!" Weiss almost hissed, glancing around at the bunks Yang and Blake occupied a wave of relief rolling over her upon seeing the sleeping forms of her teammates. "Keep it down! How long have you known?"

Ruby shrugged. "I knew for certain after a day or so. I suspected more or less within a day or so, the ears don't match perfectly, nor are they fully responsive. It's why I kept you from night watch as much as in could, but put you on spotter duty. Humans are better than Faunus on distance and color identification."

That… made a lot of sense.

Weiss closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing and trying to still the panic and hear heart rate. Ruby would not tell anyone, it did not seem like part of her nature and she would have if she was going to do so. And hiding her nature was not illegal, Beacon did not ask if a person was Faunus or Human after all.

"Does Blake or Yang know?" If the Belladonna heiress knew… it could get complicated fast. She did not seem like she supported her parent's segregation policy, the BDC's business practices or the White Fang, but Weiss did not know for certain, and really did not want to find out.

Ruby shook her head, reaching over and pulling out Weiss' chair in a silent invitation. "I don't think so, if they do nothing has been said."

Weiss hesitated, glancing between the chair, her headband and the bathroom before making her choice.

Ruby smiled as Weiss sat down stiffly next to her, a warm jumper and hat pulled on, the ears lying on the bed. "Want some?"

Weiss stared blankly at the plate gingerbread snowflakes Ruby had pulled out of… somewhere. "Where did you just get that?"

Ruby grinned mischievously, the smile not hiding melancholy and sadness, or the faint tear marks around her eyes.

It looked like neither of them was in a very good frame of mind right now.

Taking one of the snacks, Weiss' eyes widened as she hit into the spiced gingerbread; power rushing though her body, a paradox that her mind could not conceptualize properly. Icy cold spread though her body, freezing her blood, all the while a searing heat set her tastebuds alight and seeped into bones as they burned like a furnace. The almost painful sensation vanished after a few heartbeats, leaving only a pleasant warmth in her body and chill on her tongue with the lingering taste of spices, ginger and berries.

"What the… Ruby, what was that?" Weiss stared at the remains of the snowflake in her hands, before looking up to see Ruby bite into own as well.

"Gadgadsbogen Icy-hot Berry, Spiced Christmas gingerbread snowflakes."

Weiss frowned, feeling the solstice's cold seep into her body again. "I'm going to ignore the fact that you pulled that plate from literally nowhere and that I have only understood three of those words, and simply ask for the recipe and another one."

"Deal, but I will warn you, the berries are really hard to get, so I'll give you the Dust recipe instead. It's not quite as strong but it's safe and easier."

Slowly eating their way through the plate of gingerbread and sipping a weird warming, chocolate drink Ruby pulled out of nothingness, neither of them really talked. Finally, Weiss spoke up her voice quite.

"What do you know about me, my past and my family, Ruby?"

Outside the window, the moon's light faded, plunging the room into darkness as a blizzard closed in.

Ruby's eyes flashed in the almost total darkness, reflecting the faint dust light from the lamp. "Your name is Weiss Schnee, born on the continent of Menagerie to Jacques and Gerda Schnee, the granddaughter of Nicholas Schnee. Your elder sister is Winter Schnee, one of Menagerie's Guardians and your younger brother is Whitley Schnee, who I know little about. After the great war, your family was 'asked' to leave the kingdom of Mantle to Menagerie, the SDC being taken over by the Belladonnas before being handed over to a board of directors that currently runs it. Your father is the 'King' of Menagerie, taking over after you grandfather died from Crystal Lung and has managed to restart the economy there, inflaming tensions between human and faunus and is disliked by many humans. The White Fang has killed a number of your relatives, launched terrorist attacks on Menagerie, only for the One Form to retaliate in kind on the official kingdoms. This has in recent years, undone much of the repairs your grandfather and Ghira Belladonna managed with regards to removing the fanatical hatred."

Weiss exhaled, closing her eyes and leaving back in the chair, her hands warming on the steaming mug, she had not expected Ruby to know that much. "Yes, essentially. My father… he married into the family, my grandfather wanted someone who could help bring Menagerie out of its depression, my father convinced him that he was the one. But what Grandfather did not think to ask, did not think it needed to be asked, was how Father would deal with Faunus or how the economy would be fixed. Now, we have been hounded by the new direction the White Fang has taken, by humans that have been left cold and hungry with barely enough to feed themselves."

She opened her eyes, just managing to make Ruby out in the dark, an old and familiar pain in her heat stinging. even as it started to dull for the first time. It was bitterly cold, in a place she would be beset upon should her nature be found out and yet, for the first time, she felt truly warm.

It was… nice, like a stronger form of what she felt messing around with RWBY.

Weiss found she did not think she was as content with loneliness as she had thought.

"It was lonely, everything I did was controlled and when I got out I was hunted. So, I came here and it has been the most stressful and relaxing time of my life."

Silence feel as neither spoke for a few moments, Weiss hoped that she was getting explaining herself properly. It was _hard_ speaking like this, and she did to know if Ruby had any comparisons, any frame of reference to understand.

The light increased as Ruby fiddled with the lamp, the room filling with the dull howling of the encroaching blizzard. Ruby spoke up a few moments later, her voice filled with a tired understanding. "Because people here don't know or care about Menagerie much, if at all, so you will not be recognized. Those that do would not think you would be willing to pretend to be a faunus and no one will attack Beacon or a student here. But you still have to pretend, the constant fear of discovery while for the first time being safe and under no one's control."

Weiss nodded, snagging another one of the gingerbreads, relishing the paradoxical taste that chased away the cold. "Yes, I admit I don't like faunus all that much, but that is the cultural attitudes most seem to have. I have no issue with _people_ as long as they don't have all those attitudes or try to be reasonable. But so many faunus…"

Weiss broke off in anger, crumbs of gingerbread falling from her hands as she clenched her fists, a familiar, old anger taking hold as she almost growled. "But, so many think I am some weak, lesser being at best, an animal at worse. Neither side is better, we simply have _different_ and complementary traits."

"It's because people are stupid, short sighted, biased, arrogant and believe they are the centre of everything."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ruby's bitter and sad, explanation.

"People do their best, but everyone falls into those thought traps at some point. Its just a matter of can they seem that and realize what they're doing and fix it, but justifications can be so easy." Ruby tried to smile, her eyes drifting back to the memory card she had been playing with briefly. "The best advice I can give you Weiss, is to find a place to let it go."

Weiss eyed Ruby as her partner almost sung that last part, the line reeking of a joke she did not get, only to receive an amused quirk of the lips in reply.

"Find a place where you can relax and not pretend, then learnt to relax as you walk. Your uptight and stressed posture will make it obvious that something is off. You're trying too hard in some respects, the actual difference in how humans and faunus act are minor if even there. With the ears, and a 'preference' to an appropriate food, which is cultural anyway, no one will think you as anything else than a girl from beyond the walls. "

"… I'll try,"

A comfortable silence fell across them, Ruby closing her eyes, seemingly unaffected by the cold. Weiss could not understand how Ruby was still dressed in her normal pajamas in this weather.

 **51.4 DynamicKea**

Some robots had a faster reaction time than humans. The ability to process information rapidly was a great boon in combat, not to mention in dodging wayward pies, accelerating Rubys, and various pranks.

However, being _fast_ meant that attempting new things could be a bit… simple, shall we say. While Penny lacked the equivalent of adrenaline in most Loops (although she'd worked on fixing it for a while), when she _had_ it, being able to calculate the precise moment where exciting activities would tip from _safe_ to _uh oh, actual danger incoming_ , tended to kill the adrenaline entirely.

Not to mention that learning new activities could get impacted in the same way. Wasn't some of the fun in learning the act of making mistakes? So she'd miss half the fun if she could do things "correctly" within one or two tries. Loops where she was human, and didn't _need_ to worry about that, were always fun - as were Hub Loops, filled with new-ness.

Looking down at the landscape enveloped in a snowy-white coat, Penny was nearly bouncing off the chair lift in excitement.

It was incredibly quiet on the mountain. Penny could hear the faint whir of the chair lift, feel the cold of the air nipping at her skin, feel the weight of her skis tugging at her ankles, see the faint dots of her fellow skiers, snowboarders, tobogganers, kids-sitting-on-the-side-throwing-snowballs-at-one-another-ers, smell the fresh air (and it was so frosty and sweet). Sound though, was near absent.

Sure, Penny had tried skiing, snowboarding, and snowkiting thanks to Weiss and Ruby enforcing a snow day on occasion, but this was new. This was new, and different, and exciting. The whole area for miles around was snow, and not just a patch. Or the land mass of Patch, for that matter.

In fact, today was bound to be _perfect_. Yes sirree! A full day of skiing in _real_ slopes. One more experience to add to her life. It was-

The chair lift ground to a halt. Startled, Penny glanced behind herself, then blushed and raised the safety bar.

The disembarkation point - now behind her - had the mountain staff looking her way. One shook their head and pressed a button. Slowly, the chair lift inched backwards, until Penny could gather her ski poles and slide off the lift.

"Lost in thought?" one of the workers commented.

"Only partially!" Penny said, then pushed her way forward with a large grin.

Her skis smoothly cut through the snow with a faint _shhhhh_. Adjusting her path with the help of her poles, Penny made her way to the trail signs. Already, she'd done something she couldn't on a snow day back on Remnant. Today was going perfectly, and it wasn't even nine thirty!

 **51.3 diesel (Continued)**

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Yes, Weiss?'

Weiss hesitated, she really did not feel comfortable prying into other people's things, _she hated it_ , and knew many people where the same but…

 _To the frozen wastes and the Defiler Queen with it, Ruby is my friend, partner, leader and teammate. She needs to talk; I can at least offer._

"Why where you so bitter before?" Weiss crossed her arms, staring into her silver eyes without flinching. "I also saw the stains from tears when you called out to me before, what did you do that was 'short sighted and stupid'? And how can I help?"

Ruby started laughing, though Weiss did not hear anything amused in her tone, just an old bitterness. "I don't think you really want to hear the whole this, I don't think it would do you any good…"

"I don't care, if you need to talk to someone then I am willing to listen. If you don't want to talk then fine, but don't use me as an excuse."

Weiss did not know how long she waited for Ruby to speak, contenting herself by eating more of the gingerbread and watching Ruby playing with the memory card.

"One thing people don't realize about immortality is memory."

…okay, Weiss did not know what she was expecting but this was not it.

"What did you do a week ago? A month? More? How much have you changed over the last year? Can a person remember someone they worked with for a year or two when they were a child when they are over 80? More, the human memory is finite, it is immense, but given time and use, all memory devices run out."

Weiss sipped her coconut flavoured chocolate. For the first time she could see something on the memory chip as Ruby brought the device to her eyes; it was four letters 'CFVY' and a stylized rabbit.

 _I have no idea what is going on_ , _but I am getting a bad feeling about it._ "I'm going to guess no to most of that and unlikely to the last. I don't think most people can remember that much, that well."

Ruby nodded, the chip vanishing in an odd warping. A tear caught the faint light, only faintly visible to Weiss, rolling down Ruby's cheek. Ruby's right hand dissolving into a mass of chibis that swarmed across the desks.

Weiss bit back a curse, a feeling of nausea rising up, it was _wrong_. Yet she could not, _would not_ say that.

Grotesquely reforming, Ruby continued, each word making Weiss feel worse, because it explained so much even as it left more questions and yet, made the image of the memory card take on a more menacing aspect.

 _Maybe I should have let it all lie._

"Reality broke a long time ago. not just in this universe, but all of them. So the Gods placed the universes in a time loop system, taking a person _near_ the break in each and using them as a pin. The anchor that holds it all together, repeating endlessly and over time, pulling those they are close to into the loops with them. But only the Anchor always remembers."

Dust filled the darkened room, glowing with an inner light as they hung in the air primed for usage, enough to shatter the school.

Weiss' mouth worked in silence, she did not know what to do or say, her head was spinning. Then the dust vanished, a single, old book lying on her desk: 'Baseline memories: RWBY'.

"We also end up in other realities, accumulate power and skill impossible in our home realities. And then there is the Pocket, a personal universe linked to our souls that lets us take things between loops."

Weiss felt like she was looking into a warped mirror as she paged though the album, reading the sarcastic and irritable comments on each page, done it red, white, black and yellow. Almost missing Ruby's next comment, "We also get variant loops and they can be anything... this one is sort of an inverted reflection."

 _This was a VARIANT?_

Weiss felt like the floor had been pulled out from under her, each page of the album showing another image that was impossible, yet one she could see happing in such a world like the one depicted in the pages.

She did not know how long she spent looking at the album, mind just locked up, but Ruby's regretful voice pierced though the haze. "Sorry, this is why I don't normally tell people, if you want Weiss, I am able to remove your memory of this and let you spend…"

"Shut up, dolt!"

Ruby fell silent, Weiss' shout echoing though the room, on the other side of the room, neither Blake or Yang stirred.

Slumping back into her chair Weiss buried her head in her hands, trying to regain her composure. "Ruby… this is insane. But that does not change anything does it? I will still vanish into nothingness at the end of this loop, just like I would when I finally died, all that is different is that you will remember. Besides, I would prefer to know something unpleasant than live in a false comfort."

"I'm sorry, I should have-Hey! What was that for?"

Weiss lowed her hand, glaring at Ruby who was rubbing the back of her head, "That," Weiss bit out, taking another one of the snowflakes, "was for being an idiot. You need to talk to someone, or you would have just ignored me and I offered to help… I just lost my composure for a moment but I do mean my offer still. People don't cry for no reason, Ruby."

Ruby rubbed an eye, now shining in the dim light far more than before. "It is something silly, just a mistake I made a long time ago. I should be over it but it got dragged to my attention again recently."

Weiss contemplated whacking Ruby again, she was being unreasonably stubborn. From her behavior, it seemed like the horrifying revelations about reality were over, and it was just the details of this issues left.

She would be damned if the conversation just stooped now. "Well, you obviously have not dealt with it so maybe talking will help." Not like she could really do anything more than listening after all, what could a normal human do that an immortal time looper could not?

Ruby pulled her cloak tighter, trying to skin into her chair. "I remember more than I should, with far more details, we all do. Every single looper remembers more than our minds can hold and we remember better as long as it is relevant. The fog of ages, time… in a single loop it may affect us, but we may still remember what we talked to someone about a million loops ago, random occurrences, funny things that should be forgotten or similar."

"Why?"

The calm question made Ruby wince, looking down to the now almost empty plate of food and taking on for herself, playing with the sweet in her hands unseeingly. "A common metaphor for the multiverse is a computer network. Each looper has the core of their being sealed away and protected outside of reality, each loop just a projection, a hard link to that core. Each with what amounts to a server to hold their memories."

Ruby gestured to Blake, Weiss' eyes settling on the sleeping cat faunus, Ruby's voice rolling over her and conjuring mentals images of worlds Weiss had never seen. "A really long time ago, Blake ended up in a reality of mythical type ninjas. It was her first fused loop, she ended up as the sister to one of the oldest loopers in the multiverse. We gain the memories of our in loop selves, so Blake remembered all the emotions and experiences, of being his sister. There, she learnt how to wield the cursed eyes of the Uchiha clan, fought against a being worshiped as a god and gained a new outlook on life."

Ruby pulled out a different album and Weiss found her eyes falling on images of Blake with red and black eyes. There were so many of them, some of combat others of pranks, other still with a male with the same eyes, sometimes young and others old. Comments and silly remarks painting a clearer picture of the situation more than the album name did.

Blake and Sasuke: family album.

Memories….

Ruby's problems were coming back to that, and how 'loopers' remember.

Weiss wracked her brain to try and work out where this was going, she knew there was limits on the amount of social connections a person could hold, knew that it was hard to remember details about people after a handful of years.

In a time loop, with occasional strays into other realities, things would be forgotten a lot. That album had comments about loop separated by tens of millions of loops however long that is. No emotional connection should last that long, at least, not for any mortal.

Weiss groaned, getting to her feet and pacing around the loop as thoughts spun though her mind and her head pounded. Eyeing Ruby she shivered, from the chill that now permeate the room and from the dizzying abyss that separated them. How is she supposed to help when Ruby had seen so much more?

She could scarcely grasp the scales of time involved.

"So your enhanced memories allow you to maintain social bonds over vast time scales?"

"Yes, it's not something we think about unless we actively think of those memories. I think it is a method to discourage Ascension, making us remember there is more than our world at stake. Well, at least, that makes sense."

Weiss bit back a question about what the hell Ascension was, she could ask that _later_. What was more important was getting ruby to actually tell her what the problem was clearly.

"Ruby?"

Weiss rubbed her head, turning her eyes to the window and focusing on the chill that suffused the room and feeling of blood pulsing in her veins.

it was an elating feeling, that reminded her that she was still here, still existed.

 _I am alive even if I won't be in the future, and so, I will help who I can as I chose to._

"Please just speak straight." Weiss turned back to her friend who was slumping in her seat. Ruby was her friend… right? "I can't help you or try to give you advice if you won't even tell me what the problem is. You need to explain this for it to make sense? Fine, but now you are just stretching things out and making this harder for both of us."

Weiss felt her voice rise in frustration as anger seeped into her voice, Ruby seemed to be making this harder than it needed to be. Weiss didn't think Ruby was doing it on purpose, but rather it was a delaying tactic for something she did not want to talk about.

"Sorry, Weiss."

The room fell quite, Weiss finally sinking back into her seat, letting her eyes drift shut as she listened to the wind howl and her thoughts chasing each other.

"I broke Velvet's camera at one point." Ruby's voice was low, but Weiss still heard it clearly and opened her eyes to see Ruby looking at a different a Crescent Rose. The red metal gleamed in the faint light, subtly different in shape and far more intricate. "Her Semblance combined with the camera allows her to replicate a hardlight version of another weapon and mimic their skills."

And now they were coming to the heart of the matter.

Such a skill would be limited in power based upon the complexity of what was being mimicked, the constructions of both weapons and the copiers comprehension of the weapons design. Weiss could easily see how the Camera weapon would fail.

Weiss tried to see what that piece of history had to do with this situation, if Ruby had gone on a tangent she would be very annoyed. _What does a broken weapon have to do with memory?_

"So I said I would replace it, and offered to show CFVY the weapon museum I have in my pocket."

Weiss felt herself go still as memories flashed in her minds eye, a memory device etched with 'CFVY' and a stylised rabbit, Ruby's explanation of the difference in memory between loopers and others, that all storage devises fill up.

Weiss got a sinking feeling, a distant, rising horror creeping up her back.

She was not liking where this was going.

"Nearing the loops end, Velvet asked me to put her in my pocket. I refused, but got convinced that I should allow it if that is what Velvet wanted, but I put terms on it. All of CFVY had to go in and undergo roboticzation, basically it makes them into living, and immortal, robots with their minds intact."

 _Oh, crap._

Weiss winced, feeling things falling into place. "How much have they forgotten?"

Ruby shrugged, now just looking tired. "A lot, their computer memory is more complete than a human's and larger, but it still has limits. Even with my upgrades… they were human minds with all that implies, even if they could more easily chose to what to keep. Their core selves are still just as fluid and overtime things just break down as well. I have put massive data banks in place linked via Wi-Fi for them, but that is not enough. They are now just… static, repeating then same things all the time. Lost in the fog of ages and it's _my fault_."

Ruby almost growled the last, shattering the desk under her grip. Weiss tried to speak, but no words emerged, she had no idea what to do or say at this point.

Ruby however did not seem to care at this point, words flowing faster and faster as tears leaked from her eyes. "I did not think; no one thinks of how we remember over the endless aeons, I just thought about how to keep them alive. I don't even remember why I did it, why I did not just let Velvet live out her life in my pocket and then die. By the lost branch of Yggdrasil, why did I think I had to make them immortal?"

Weiss hesitated before dragging her chair over and wrapping Ruby in a hug. Trying in vain to not think about if Ruby remembered she was not her looping counterpart. Ruby relaxed slightly, silver eyes shimmering with tears almost seemed to glow in the dark, her voice harsh as she shook.

"To keep them functional I need to perform maintenance, but when there is a memory problem it is never perfect, and sometimes I forget they are there. Their connections to others have degraded and been lost, the underpinning motivations and traits eroded away and leaving apathy. I have other AI's in my pocket but they are of different sorts and are structured differently so don't have the same issues. They asked me to fix them, so they could be who they were again. I did not know how, so I asked Cinder obliquely for advice, she would be then only one who might know, she told me how she would do it and it worked. I think she knew, and that she has people in her pocket, but she did not say anything so nether did I. I had to tamper with their minds, ingraining a defined set of memories and personality traits act as a foundation that only changed slowly, while allowing more normal storage of memories for the short term. It worked, they are stable but they still forget and _it's not the same_. And things break, nothing lasts forever. I have had to rebuild them so many times, using backed up data. They have said they wanted to die, then said they did not want to give up for the others. So I rebuild them and it continues, more lost every time, they are no longer even wanting to leave my pocket. They edited boredom from their minds, and now they all say they want to keep going but they don't do anything. They can't and I know they were terrified of that and _now I don't know what to do_."

As Ruby's rant died off she just seemed to slump, eyes dead as tears flowed freely. Weiss did not speak for a while, hearing Ruby whisper "I don't know what to do," occasionally before the younger-ancient girl trailed off.

 _I really don't know what I expected, but this was not it_ Weiss reflected, glad that the others had slept thought all that and suspecting Ruby had made then remain asleep. _I can't think of a thing to say to make this better…_

Blue eyes narrowed in thought, _she_ might not know but her looping self may and it did not look like Ruby had spoken of this to anyone before.

"I think," Weiss carefully picked her words, judging the best she could, as to the reasons things might have come to this, handing Ruby a box of tissues and getting a whispered thanks, "you may have made them take immortality so they would not just die. And yes I am well aware that is obvious, but I think you could have got the idea of your own immortality and the short lives of non-loopers mixed up. After all, what would be the point of having them in your pocket when they will just die so quickly? If you're taking them they should have a proper life span, right? And possibly a niggling voice, a hope that you would not be as lonely when no one else remembers, it would be enticing."

Ruby's reply was muffled. "Maybe, I don't remember. But I never should have done any of this to them."

Weiss huffed, not even trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. "Ruby, you are not that stupid."

Silver eyes looked up, Ruby's face had a hint of bitter resignation and understanding on her face.

"You did not force them, did you? You would have told them as much as you knew and gave them the choice, correct?"

Ruby sat up, nodding, "Yes, I remember that much even if I don't recall what was said."

Weiss nodded sharply, letting go of the hug as Ruby began to move. "Yes, you made a mistake. But you did not force them, they made a choice and if there were consequences that were unseen… well, that sucks. But people make their own choices and are just as responsible as anyone else for the outcomes, and things go wrong it is inevitable and nothing lasts forever…"

Ruby finished the sentence with a hollow voice, not seeming to notice Weiss' hesitation. "Not even loopers. One day even this eternity will end a new one will begin as Yggdrasil blossoms once more. I know, I know all of that. But just because I know it, does not mean I believe it emotionally."

That was something Weiss could empathize with even as she seemed to struggle to keep her head above water trying to understand Ruby and her situation.

"You need to talk to your real friends when you get the chance, I am not equipped to give you any more advice. My perspective is to different to be of value here."

"Weiss! You are really…"

Weiss stood up and stretched, cutting Ruby off. "I swore to be the best partner and friend I could. And as such, I acknowledge that…" Weiss could not stop her voice from wavering, the warming comfort and companionship from before now felt empty and distant. "… that I am a shadow of the one you called a partner and friend. I will…"

"STOP!"

Weiss froze as the voice thundered thought the night, Ruby was no longer on her chair and Weiss had no idea when that had changed, Ruby was shaking again, but it was different, "Just stop, Weiss.'" Her voice was lower this time but no less forceful. "I try my best not to lie, to act as who I am and like to be, and to treat people properly. I don't always succeed, but I try. I called myself your friend and partner and I meant that, and for this loop you are. You may be a different Weiss, one that I won't see again once the loop ends, but that does not make me any less your friend. I have learned to acknowledge that non-loopers won't remember, but that does not mean I can't befriend them and mean it, I just have to accept they will leave. You may be a different version of her, but you are still my friend and not just some empty shadow."

A vast gulf seemed to stretch between the two, Weiss felt like she was balancing on a precipice trying to understand Ruby. How she could just accept this?

 _I don't understand her…_

Weiss shivered, both from the deepening cold of the night and from the yawning abyss Ruby seemed to embody.

"…Forget it, Ruby. Let's just have a shower, then see who can get the most points in the shooting gallery with stock guns and talk again when we are calmer."

 _… but, do I have to?_

Ruby blinked, a smile edging on her face before she scowled. "Those guns suck, they barely fire straight among multiple other things."

"That's sort of the point, Ruby. It's to teach people to adjust to suing things that are less than perfect for when their own weapons are not an option."

Weiss felt herself fall into a pointless argument with Ruby as they headed to the showers, just following the flow of the conversation as her mind drifted.

She did not know what to think or say, but she hoped that she had helped Ruby, if just a little.

As for the rest of the loop, she fully intended to make the most of not feeling completely lonely. Maybe get Ruby to bring a message to her Other-self?

Something to think about at least.

As Ruby and Weiss spoke, the night of the solstice deepened, coving the world with snow. Unseen by the two loopers, a lone Ash Tree sheltered a single flower that clung to a stubborn Rose Bush, a snow drift protecting the lone flower from the howling winds.

-

 _"No, Weiss that's not how it works. And if you were the one in charge, you would need Honey Badger Kaiju Snow Golems along with an armada of dragon boats."_

 _"Ruby, what are you talking about? We were just discussing what type of coffee cup would be needed to make a portable dust furnace."_

 _"Yep, and that relates to poorly made guns how?"_

 _"Oh… real funny Ruby."_

 **51.5 BIOS-Pherecydes**

Roman idly spun Melodic Cudgel as he walked through the base. Life was good. Or something along those lines anyway. He had all the Dust he could steal, a blackmail folder that put even some of the older Loopers to shame, a profitable side-venture as the sole dispenser of Dust-based alcohol — though of _course_ Red and her merry band of do-gooders had to go and share their food recipes and put him out of the market on that one — and quite literally all the time in the world to bone up on his vices and entertainments. Pun most definitely intended.

And speaking of vices and alcohol, he was getting a bit thirsty. Sure it was still morning, hence him heading in to check and see if Neo was up yet, but maybe a trip to Junior's place wasn't such a—

"..."

"..."

Roman sighed. "You know what? I'm not even going to bother questioning why you decided to bed both of the Malachite twins, or how you pulled it off. Frankly, that's none of my business. I was going to see if you had any plans for this Loop, but it seems like you've already got that covered. _I_ am going to go get stonefaced drunk, _you_ can... stay there I suppose."

Neo shrugged agreeably from beneath the disheveled covers of her bed, careful not to wake the twins, and Roman quickly closed the door before he had a chance to put his foot in his mouth.

Shaking his head, he moved to go see about that drink. Before he was just looking for a bit of entertainment — and of course some industrial espionage. Junior's place had more than a few business tricks that Roman didn't mind co-opting for his own usage — but now he planned on seeing how much of his blood he could replace with vodka before he needed a Klatchian coffee.

-x-x-x-x-

Several hours, and one truly horrendous hangover, later — praise the Tree for magic and superpharmacology — he strolled back into the base hardly any worse for the wear and back in his prior jovial spirits. It helped that he had helped himself to some of Junior's memories of his more ostentatious concoctions. He'd given them back of course, — or reasonable approximations anyway. Altered memories were hot commodities in their own right among certain circles, and a bit of practice certainly never hurt — he had a reputation to keep after all and walking the fine line between RWBY's expectations and his own moral compass was always good for a laugh. Get your kicks where you could and all that, such was the life of a Looper.

Of course, he mused silently to himself as he noticed Neo sitting on one of the crates indulging in a bowl of the Fourth Flavor, there was such thing as taking things too far. Catching sight of Roman, Neo grinned and hopped down; still enjoying her ice cream. However, after a moment she paused and tilted her head inquisitively; noting his expression.

"Walk with me Neo." he said, moving briskly into the recesses of the abandoned factory. Neo simply fell into step and followed along curiously.

"So. As you know, I am utter crap when it comes to this touchy-feeling heart-to-heart drivel. Therefore I'll get straight to the point. Do I need to worry about you pulling a Sakura on me?"

Neo gaped.

"Don't give me that look. Do I even need to mention what happened earlier."

Narrowing her eyes, Neo put her right hand on her hip and gestured pointedly at him.

Roman held up his hands defensively. "Whoa. This has nothing to do with the bar. I can handle Junior and one Loop without taking advantage of his variable number of skills won't kill me."

Neo just crossed her arms and began tapping her pointer finger against her upper arm.

Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. "It's not even the issue of who. Last time it was Raven, the time before it was Oobleck, and the time before that it was _Salem_. I'm all for a little of the old in-out-in-out, but even I have some standards."

Neo rolled her eyes and shifted her stance.

Roman snorted. "I never said she wasn't attractive, I said I have standards. You don't stick it in crazy."

Neo smirked briefly, before frowning. Hunching her shoulders, she gave Roman a worried look.

Running his hands over his eyes, Roman sighed. "Of course I'm not upset at you. We're friends, or family or something. We still need to figure that out at some point, but that's not the point here. Look, I'm all for getting revenge on Cinder; and your work on the Tyrian project is as inspired as it is mind-numbingly terrifying, but don't think I've forgotten the wall of Ambers. Take that, and add in this sudden streak of hedonism and... well, I'm worried about you. We're partners, you and I. And whatever, or whoever, else we might screw up that means we're in this together." Clearing his throat, he met Neo's eyes; dual colored again, pink and green this time.

"So. Sakura Syndrome. Do I need to be worried?"

Neo averted her gaze guiltily before waving her hand in a so-so gesture.

Roman took a sharp breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. Alright. I was afraid of that. But then that's why I asked, now isn't it. Either way, we'll deal with this the way we've always dealt with things. We'll survive. That's what we do."

Neo nodded unhappily, before leaning forward and resting her head against Roman's chest. Roman kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair calmingly. "We survive."

 **51.6 Masterweaver**

"Hey Ren?"

"Yes, Nora?"

"You ever get the urge to find a large field and just shout the word ANGST melodramatically at the sky in one minute-long burst?"

"...Nora, get out of my head."

"Heh. Don't worry, this was just great minds thinking alike, no mind-reading. I promise."

"I'd offer to go out with you for a shout, but it's more of a one-person thing, isn't it?"

"Mmm, yeah."

"You don't want the forests. The Grimm are likely to interrupt. It's fine to go grimmslaying afterwards, but you have to get it out in one go."

"Ren, have you had a shout without me knowing?"

"It was in another loop. Star Trek, if I recall correctly."

 **51.7 KanameFujiwara**

"I'm afraid Ms Ruby that it is as you feared. The amount of memory collected over the years had finally accumulated to the point that it exceeds the ability of the subjects to process it. Even with your patches and maintenance – it merely address the symptoms and not the problem of memory loss."

"…"

"Robots are not as immortal as we think. There is a limit to how much they can endure – both the mind and the body. Without proper maintenance they will erode over time. But the extend of your problem is the scale of it, even with maintenance and upgrades the very essence of a non-looper simply can not handle the strain of the eons. The memory loss is only the beginning, soon it will effect their ability to perform even basic functions. You are looking at a full scale Alzheimer disease for robotics. We witness similar occurrence in Persocoms in the Chobit loops."

"…Can you fix it?"

"…This is beyond my ability to fix. Any adjustment to the hardware and software can only slow it down. The problem will still persist. As per your request, you wish me to 'fix it' which I define as restoring a subject to its most optimal form. But the problem lies not with the specification itself but with the ability to handle those specification. Even restoring their memory doesn't solve the problem as the lost is still ongoing and it doesn't prevent the loss of meaning. At presence, there are able to recall everything that they can but notice how certain concepts and contexts are lost. That they deteriorate. As time passes by I predict that there will be more rote than instinctive – whatever is happening will transform them to living puppets. They will lose their very sense of self. I do not believe this is your intend."

"…What should I do? What _can_ I do?"

"...Ms Rose, it is my professional opinion that it is time to say your farewells to them. I will do what I can to slow down the entropy but as it, I'm afraid this is the end of your friends…"

"...Thank you Dr Light."

 **51.8 KanameFujiwara**

"Blake?"

"Yes Lisa?"

"It has come to my attention that you have been abusing you privileges as Vale's Food Critic," she said sternly.

"I did no such thing!" Blake replied.

"These one-star reviews said otherwise."

"Not all tunas are created equal! Some tunas are better than others!" she argued passionately.

"Blake - you're fired."

 **51.9 diesel**

Weiss frowned as she looked at Ruby who was staring up at the night sky. No one else was awake and Ruby seemed melancholic. Weaving around the sleeping and chatting students, Weiss made her way over to Ruby where she was staring up at the moon.

"Honey Badger Kaijus…" Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the tired voice, she going to abuse actually being able to lift a single eyebrow this loop. "Do they have any problems with memory after all this time?"

The shattered moon was reflected in Ruby's eyes as she turned away to look at Weiss, it seemed to reflect the state of Ruby's mind. Weiss could not remember for sure the last time she had felt Ruby so distressed, it would likely be after the V3 expansions.

"I am not going to like this, am I?" Weiss asked rhetorically, sitting next to her friend. "And no not really, it was one of the issues I tackled early in pre-kaiju development. Their neural structure is designed for 'eternity'. While the they die and break down eventually, it takes an obscene amount of time, but it happens. However, even at this point the memories are never an issue as they are referenced and stored in a different manner. Losing them is not an issue for their minds continual function or mental health, as they don't have defined personalities per say. Basic traits are hard wired and designed to be able to be fixed if they go as well."

"Thought as much," Ruby turned to look out the window again. Weiss following her gaze, eyes taking in the familiar setting of Beacon, lit up by the silver moonlight, trees rustling under a faint breeze. "I don't know what to do Weiss, the CFVY machines are failing, slowly but surely. And I can't fix them."

"You knew it would always come to this, they are not loopers."

Ruby grimaced, anger flashing across her face, not focused at anyone in particular. "Eternity claims all huh?" she said bitterly. "I know, I can't recall why I made them robots but I did. I took them in and did not think it though properly, and now it's coming back to bite all of us and all I seem to be doing is slowing it down."

Weiss sighed, wrapping Ruby in a half hug, watching as the stars twinkled overhead. "You're not going to stop though, are you."

It was not a question, but Ruby answered anyway, "No I'm not, how can I? It's not over yet, it may be hopeless but I have to try everything I can. I'm going to see if I can talk to some of the AI loopers and experts… and maybe Cinder. I don't want others to know though, not yet. Not until I get some other opinions."

Weiss nodded, they both of them knew the eventual outcome but Ruby could not help but fight, very few of RWBY could. Ruby could be a bad influence.

When it came down to it, Ruby had to fight until every option was exhausted, she would never forgive herself otherwise.

 **51.10 Jesse Lee**

"I know that this is rude, and I might get punched hard because of this but dammit, I can't deny it anymore! You, Yang Xiao Long, have the nicest pair of tits in the multiverse! There, I said it. I don't regret it at all."

Yang blinked in confusion, right before chuckling.

"You think that this was the first time this happened to me? I've gotten used to it. By the way, thanks, but I'm taken." Yang winked with a smile and walked off.

Gordon Freeman could only stand still in bemusement. Shortly after, he got a dopey grin and pumped his fist.

"Haha! First time someone didn't hurt me for saying their tits are awesome! Fucking A!"

 **51.11 Masterweaver**

"...What if I soulbound them to me?" Ruby mused.

Weiss gave her a look. "Soulbinding?"

"My memory, as a looper, is infallible. If they shared my soul, they would share my memory." She took a sip of the heavy whiskey in her mug. "Ugh, how does Uncle Qrow drink this all the time?"

"Ruby-"

"Heck. Wouldn't even have to... to worry about them, disappearing if I unpocketed them. Cause they'd still... be there." She tapped her chest. "Be here. With me."

"Ruby." Weiss put a hand on her shoulder. "Soulbinding is... delicate, at the best of times. And as old as they are-"

"You know there, there are loops. Loops where. Where it's standard." Ruby grinned. "Like, like nanohamaha. Lyrical warfighter."

"They'd have to agree with it."

"Ofcoursetheywould. Wouldn't have it any other way... did, did I ever. Ever tell you about the time, I dropped into my pocket and, and, and they'd made a snowcastle?" She giggled. "It was, like, four. Five stories. Yeah. Made out of snow. Gosh, Yatsuhashi was, was the captain of the guard, with snowmen knights-"

"That sounds... lovely."

"And. And and and! Aaaaaaaand Fox, well. Fox he was... the head of the kitchens. Head chef. Yeah. And Coco, and and Velvet, coprincesses..." She giggled. "Oh, geeze. Their dresses. Yes. Dresses. Still have them."

"Really?"

"All four of them. Preservation spell." Ruby's face grew melancholy. "I can ragnorak-proof clothes, keep food good for centuries, keep off rot and dust and dirt... I've got a million exocomps running maintenance on the, the starships, and, and droids that keep things together... The Tachikomas, they're trying to help. Trying. Trying."

Weiss was silent.

"...I'm going to... to keep them alive, until... until Glynda returns, at least. I'm going to try. Maybe, maybe get Penny-Penny knows how she works, she could... workaround. Soulbind." Ruby sagged. "Unless they start looping... Marrianne!"

"Ruby-"

"Next time I see her, I say, I say, get them linked up. To the tree. Yeah."

Weiss sighed. "And... if you can't save them?"

"...I have to try." She gripped the mug. "I have to. Because, that's... what I do. I'm the hero, I'm... the one that makes happy endings happen. Yeah. I... I'll look into soulbinding. It might... it might help..."

 **51.12 masterofgames**

Things had taken a turn for the strange in Remnant.

That phrase could be used for a literally infinite number of potential incidents, and had been in the past, but in this case it was because in her attempts to combat her fears, Penny was starting to develop a sense of humor.

"I did have a close call with a magnet earlier, but I was able to play it off." Penny assured Ruby.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha smiled and waved. "Would you mind giving me a hand? She's been stuck to my back for twenty minutes."

"If it's any consolation, your hair smells _very_ nice!" Penny chimed in, smiling, before turning back to Ruby. "Please hurry. I am running out of rare earth metal jokes, and will likely revert to unreasonable terror once I am no longer able to distract myself."

"... Yeah, I'm not on a big enough sugar high to deal with this right now." Ruby sighed.

 **51.13 Masterweaver**

"You've got other A.I.s," Yang noted. "Like... those spider tanks! They don't degrade, do they?"

Ruby sighed. "The Tachikomas are... their memories and their personalities are separate. Like, yes, they do gather memories in the short term, but every month they dump them all into a shared computer core, go back to the basic programming. Each individual Tachikoma has its own personality programming, and they can all look up past memories, but..." She held out her hands. "They don't know or care who remembered what. Their basic selves never develop, because they are built to react and follow orders, not to act on their own initiative."

"Still... If you could find a way to lighten the load on CFVY's individual... selves?"

"Oh, believe me, I've tried. The problem is they were originally..." The Anchor turned to her sister. "Yang, how much of you is you because of what you've experienced? Can you imagine still being Yang Xiao Long if... if nothing happened? We've all Woken Up in variants where our pre-awake selves were... fundamentally different, because of their lives..."

Yang bit her lip. "You're saying... disentangling memory from personality is not possible with human-style minds."

"I mean, it could be, to a degree, but..." She let her head hit the desk. "It's getting worse. They're... I don't know. You've seen how they act these days."

The blonde nodded. "They still look happy, but... there's something rote about it."

"...Still, I think I've found a way to prevent degredation in the core processing units." Ruby put out a paper. "This'll slow their loss of self, and if we're lucky-"

"And what if we're not?"

"What?"

"What if we're not... lucky." Yang bit her lip. "Sis... what if we _can't_ do anything?"

Ruby stared at her as though she had shaved her head and grown four extra eyes.

"...Never mind. Stupid question." The blonde held up her hands. "We're going to keep trying until we can't anymore, right?"

"Yep."

"Right. Right." Yang nodded vaguely. "I... let me see these plans..."

 **51.14 FadedAlphabet**

Weiss blinked, jaw hanging open from pure shock.

"Ruby..."

"Yes Weiss?" She replied cheerfully.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Oh yeah."

"But-But how?"

"Oh, I have my ways."

"I- Dust I don't care. It's beautiful!"

"I know! When I first saw it I couldn't believe my eyes."

"I can't believe my eyes either. Never in my wildest dreams I would have expected this. Just wow."

"Wow indeed."

Ruby then closed and pocketed it, and the Anchor of Remnant and her second had the answer to what exactly was in the briefcase.

 **51.15 Masterweaver**

"...Pyrrha."

The Mistralian champion blinked, putting her chopsticks down. "Oh. Penny. Hello again..." She took a breath. "Do you... want to talk?"

"...Not about us." Penny slid onto the stool next to her, waving the shopkeep over. "I'll have... the hokkien mee."

The man grunted, producing a bowl from behind the counter and taking her lien quickly.

"...How many of him are there this loop?"

"I think it's a family with a traditional hairstyle." Pyrrha poked at her noodles. "So... what brings you to me?"

Penny took a breath. "Roman and Neo... I don't think they're sensitive enough for this. And Ozpin, he's..."

She trailed off.

"...This is a talk about death, then."

"Not mine, or yours." Penny bit her lip. "Ruby asked me for help."

Pyrrha winced. "Oh. CFVY." Hesitantly, she reached out and put a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I... I'm sorry. Really, I know they... helped you. A lot."

"Coco used to braid my hair. Did you know that? When I... hid, she..."

"...It's hard, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"...well," Pyrrha managed, "far be it from me to stereotype, but you are the local... expert, on artificial systems. With your help, there's a chance."

Penny was silent, for a moment or two.

"...have I ever told you about Alan?"

"Who?"

"It was a near-hub loop," Penny explained. "Some time after the second world war, I'm... not sure which specific world. Might have been the Narnia loop, that's around the right time, and it might explain why I didn't meet any other loopers... Anyway, I figured why not go meet somebody I've... always wanted to talk to? Looking him up, that wasn't too difficult, but I only just got there a couple of days before..."

She trailed off, and started again.

"Homosexuality was considered a disease, in that time and place. For him, it was hormone therapy or prison-he went with the therapy, but... it... unbalanced him. And with... well, with his job during the war, and... I thought maybe, maybe I could show him what his work could lead to. Maybe I could... impress upon him, what he did. What he started."

"Alan Turing." Pyrrha looked at her, wide-eyed. "You're talking about _Alan Turing._ "

"In the hub, he died on june seventh, ninteen fifty four. I got there on the first-had to jump a boat and two trains, but I did it. It helped that I swapped to one of my... backup bodies." Penny half smiled. "I told him about the loops, about why he couldn't loop-he believed me. Especially after I... you know. Revealed myself. We had... some interesting talks."

She shrugged. "And on june tenth, he died."

"Penny-"

"Three days, Pyrrha. I was the culmination of his greatest dreams, come from-from fate itself, to give him courage, to give him hope, and I only convinced him to hold off for _three damn days!"_

Her fists slammed into the counter, cracks forming underneath. The shopkeep jumped, but Pyrrha held up her hand, still looking at Penny's bowed form.

"...I want to save team CFVY. I do. And I will try everything in my power, but..."

Penny looked up at her. "She asked to braid my hair when I saw her. Like... like she had never asked me before. I let her, and I smiled and... I don't know if I can do anything."

"Oh, Penny." Pyrrha wrapped her in a hug, just... unable, to say anything, rocking her gently.

 **51.16 Awesomedude17**

Harry Awoke in a extremely foul pit of hot sauce covered bags of chicken bones. Immediately, Harry felt an urge to shout as many f-bombs as possible with a few wordings of faggart as well for good measure. It was this variant again. It wasn't so much as a hellhole (since he was usually the cause in these worlds,) as it was completely and utterly incomprehensible.

He got out of the pit and saw a little girl.

"Hello, Harry! You Awake?"

"Yep. Why are you here Ruby?"

"Probably because of this." Ruby detached her head and stuck it onto a spike.

"Fuck this Loop."

"Eh, there's been worse."

 **51.17 Masterweaver**

"...Cinder? You up for a chat?"

Cinder Fall looked up from her current dress-sewing project. "...of... course, Weiss. What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"I..." Weiss took a breath, and let it out. "I need to talk about... the dark side."

"The dark side...?"

"Of the force." She gestured between them. "Jedi and Sith. We're the only ones on Remnant that really keep in practice with that sort of thing."

"Oh. Yes." Cinder nodded vaguely. "Right, I... did talk with Pinkie Pie about that." She scooted sideways, patting the mattress beside her. "Emerald and Mercury are... I told them to subvert the White Fang operation by planting evidence that Adam was... monstrous. It shouldn't be too hard, they'll call when they're headed back."

Weiss took a seat next to her, holding her breath for a moment. "So... you've heard about what Whitley pulls in baseline, right?"

"You mean, arranging for your inheritance to fall to him?" Cinder nodded. "You must be very... displeased."

"Well, yes, but... I knew Jacques was bad, I was prepared for anything from him. Whitley came out of nowhere, and... I wasn't ready for that kind of betrayal." She shrugged. "Somebody in the hub moved the entire Dust Company from the friends and allies character page to the monsters and enemies character page on TVTropes."

"I've never really subscribed to the importance of TVTropes," Cinder pointed out. "It's more a reflection of ourselves then a definition of ourselves."

"Yes, yes, I know, but... still. I find myself wondering... I find myself feeling such... detestation for them both. For Atlas as a whole..."

"What does any of this have to do with the force?"

"I think... I think I might be... falling to the dark side." Weiss put her head in her hands. "It's been subtle, but... it's harder to feel reasonable around them. It's harder to... keep my restraint, around them. And with Ruby dealing with team CFVY falling apart, and Yang on her waifu quest and Blake busy with Menagerie, it... it feels like I can't put time in to stop this, to... I need help, Cinder. I need help knowing that I'm not..."

She trailed off.

"...The fact that you're worried," Cinder offered, "shows that you haven't been consumed. When you're in the dark side-truly in it-everything seems so... bright. I know, it's a contradiction, but the options are clear, the decision easy, you're not... thinking. You're moving, and the world is a blur, and before you know it you're in the middle of a field of bodies."

She took a moment to compose herself. "I... don't think of myself as a sith anymore, to be honest."

"Really?"

"I haven't... I don't do that anymore." Cinder chuckled. "Actually, you're kind of the one that encouraged me to drop it, if you can believe that. Ruby's my sister, but she's also... very passionate, when she gets going. Your precision, though, you... your way of... acting. There's a reason you're Remnant's second."

"Well." Weiss looked at her. "I... strive to help as many of my friends as I can. That _does_ include you. I suppose I've been focusing on my own issues a little too-"

"No." Cinder looked at her. "The issue isn't that you are focusing too much, it's that we, your friends, are focusing too little. And that..." She sighed. "That's Yggdrassil's fault. That's my fault-in baseline, I mean. Splitting up RWBY, destroying Beacon, causing... so much death... All for Salem's promise of power. I don't even know why anymore."

"Cinder-"

"Which is why," she continued, "I will make the effort to assist you in any way I can. I will tell you if you're going too far, I... will talk with other loopers to get them to go to Atlas with you... Ironwood, most likely. He may not like me, but..."

"Cinder. I appreciate it, truly. You don't have to."

"I want to. I want to be... better, then Cinder Fall. I want to be the best person I can be." She nodded. "And that means helping solve problems that I _didn't_ cause."

"Well... thank you." Weiss smiled. "I'll gladly take any help you offer."


	52. Shalom

**A/N: This is a collection of snippets that was put together out of order with the rest. It does not reference events that occurred later in the RWBY story. Sorry.**

 **Also: We have a tv tropes page. Look at it, read it, and update it! Please!**

 **52.1 KanameFujiwara**

"Salem?"

"Yes, Salem?"

"Care for some nostalgia?"

Salem 777 looked at Salem 666 meaningfully. They were both Salems. Both of them had experienced their own shares of tragedy. Many of which were horrid and painful. She herself had been assaulted - left to die only to came back as an unholy abomination. It was not a tale that one discussed over a cup of tea.

"...You know my past and why I am reluctant to discuss it," Salem777 replied.

"I know. Even after such a long time it still hurts doesn't it?" Salem666 nodded to herself.

An uncomfortable silence sat between them. Finally, a proposal was made. "My tale then?" Salem666 suggested. "And a favor to you as an apology?" she added, sweetening the deal.

She frowned at her counterpart interrogatively. Even among Salems there was something special about Salem666 - but it was not something she could determined with ease. _And that's strange_ , she thought. They were both Salems!

She sight, resigning herself. Whatever games her mirror was playing she might as well get it over with. "Alright. Make it quick."

"Hmm, I was married to Ozpin," Salem666 said casually. "We were both immortals. Each with their own forms of it. I am immortal in body and mind while he was immortal through transmigration - but each time we found each other. We made love to each other. While the world moved on we did not. There was much hardship but we found love between us. And it made us _whole_ ," she said with emotions clearly showing at the end.

 _Like a love story_ , Salem777 thought, _but there's no happy ending isn't it?_

"Then one day, one day - something happened," Salem666 looked at her mirror almost maniacally, "I had a child."  
 _  
Dear Oum..._

"It was a faunus and she had my hair and his eyes and she was _beautiful_!" Salem666 said brokenly. "She was so beautiful..." she repeated almost with a whisper. "Then the war came and I was careless. I told her not to go outside. We were having dinner and it was her favourite!" Salem666 rambled on with tears in her eyes."  
 _  
This is sick..._

"...I buried my daughter that day. The war ended soon after. We ended it. Ozpin and I drifted apart. _You changed,_ he said. Of course I _changed_ \- I lost my DAUGHTER!" she screamed bitterly at the end.

She let her counterpart cool down. She was a Salem. It was expected of her."...And that's your story isn't it?," Salem777 after a moment.

"...Yes."

It was a tragedy. Like Kaguya and various other broken dolls - the mother in front of her was no different. _So why is she not? What makes her special?_

"What's your play?" she asked speculatively. _There's always a play..._

"We became a joke. An afterthought - a chore instead of what is. To the loopers we are less real with every passing loops," her mirror said meeting her eyes. "Neither my past nor yours matter to them. _It changes everytime so why bother,_ they think," she continued, frustration evident in her tone.

 _The point..._

"Our past is our past. How dare they pass judgement? How are we less real than them?' she argued heatedly. "Time had warped them more than us. They are not heroes. Is my daughter and your rapes amount to nothing more than fiction? No, NO! IF WE ARE FAKES THAN WE ARE MORE REAL THAN THEM. We lost, we suffer and it was permanent while theirs are not. My daughter was real..." she sobbed tears shed freely, eyes blazing with righteous fury.

She let the silence linger. Then after the tears are dried and Salem666 had regained her composure - a question was asked, "Your plan?

"I have. Tell me - have you heard of Slenderman?"

 _And there it is..._

 **52.2 Masterweaver**

"...so the charms we place on his armor will trigger then and-oh hey Neptune-and that's when the peanut butter starts pouring..."

Neptune stared at the red-haired girl idly chatting with her scythe. Sun whistled. "Didn't know you had a friend here."

"I don't! I don't even know who that is!"

 **52.3 Masterweaver**

"...so we wanted to, you know, show a token of our appreciation for letting us live here. So..." Velvet gestured. "Ta-daaaaah!"

Ruby stared out the window.

"...That is... a big scythe. A really, really big scythe."

"Yep."

"Like... really big. How is it not collapsing under its own weight?!"

Velvet shrugged. "Space-age technology, in-built gravity generators, reinforced handle, you know."

"This thing could stretch from one end of Patch to the other!"

"We maaaaaay have gone a little overboard-"

"I FREAKING LOVE IT!" Ruby squealed, tackling Velvet in a hug. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

 **52.4 See Mohn**

"Wait, I thought you were a thief."

"I am."

"But you're running a store. You sell things to people. That's, like, the opposite of thievery."

"Are you kidding? At these prices? This is highway robbery!"

 **52.5 Masterweaver**

"The game is afoot!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's two feet, square."

Weiss gave Yang a flat look. Yang beamed back.

"So!" Ruby said brightly, shuffling the deck. "Standard rules, or does anyone want to add anything?"

Blake hummed contemplatively. "I have been working on an expansion."

"Really?"

"Yep. Star Wars cards." She produced a second deck. "Any takers?"

Weiss nodded. "I do admit, I'd be interested to see that."

"Well if you're throwing in cards, I'm throwing in models." Yang waved a hand, and minature versions of the RvB crew suddenly appeared. "I have a whole ruleset just for them."

"This is all very sci-fi," Ruby mused. "Anyone mind if I throw in the maidens?"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Weiss?" Ruby turned to her partner. "You have anything you want to add?"

"...well, I suppose. Here." Weiss produced a disk that hovered over the board.

"Ooo." Yang leaned forward. "What's that?"

"It's supposed to represent Amity. Taking it nets some benefits, but also slows the rate you can build your forces."

"I like it," Ruby declared, shuffling in Blake's cards. "Alright, house rules settled!"

And so began a very interesting round of Remnant: The Game.

 **52.6 Masterweaver**

"...Weiss, serious question?"

"Go ahead Ruby."

"How _do_ you fight in heels?!"

"...Ruby, we've been looping for billions of subjective years and you've never thought to ask this before?"

"Well, yeah, just... it never came up!"

"Hmm."

"...Well? How do you do it?"

"Very well, thank you."

"Ha. Seriously."

"I am serious. I fight very well in high heels."

"Weeeeeeeeeiss!"

"No, you're not getting any more out of me. Ask Glynda, if you need to."

 **52.7 DHG killionaire**

"Yang?"

"Yes Blake?"

"Why does Bumblebee turn into a battlesuit?"

"Cause it was cool and i wanted to make something that wasn't also a gun."

"But where did you get the idea from?"

"It was a loop with an alien invasion of earth. People had used this design for their military. its called a cyclone."

"There is a stealth and infiltration model if you want one."

"Oh definitely but you may want to make more for Ruby and Wiess. You know when they see us their gonna want their own."

"Alright two shadow dancer models and one VF-1R coming up."

 **52.8 Masterweaver**

"...Neo."

Neopolitan froze, the uncharacteristic seriousness of Roman's voice catching her attention.

"Do you... have any plans?" The thief simply leaned on his desk. "Any... I don't know. Anything that needs doing this loop?"

She looked at him carefully. Then she shook her head.

"Ah. Well... I was thinking we could go... I don't know, do something-"

"You're feeling lonely."

Roman Torchwick didn't even bother to deny it.

Neo sighed. "...Wow. Wow, I... Wow. I'm sorry, I have... I've been focusing more on revenge for you then on... actually being with you, haven't I?"

"Maybe a little."

"...You know what? We're the greatest criminals in Vale. Maybe we should take on the greatest criminal in Mistral."

Roman rose a brow. "Raven?"

"Yep."

"What do you have in mind?"

Neo smirked a smile of many teeth. Most people would have been terrified of that grin. But Roman? He felt a familiar warmth settle in his heart.

 **52.9 Masterweaver**

"Hey firebrand, I was juuuuuuuuuust..."

Qrow blinked, trying and failing to tear his eyes from the frozen tableau.

"...Is this an experiment," he tried, "or is this regular?"

"Experiment," said Blake quickly, being the only one that could reply. "Definitely experiment."

"Okay. Subspace pocket next time?"

Yang nodded, which was essentially the only motion she could make.

Qrow very slowly closed the door. Then he walked down the hall, taking a swig of brain bleach. "Crazy kids..."

 **52.10 DrTempo**

As the group entered the arena, Ozpin, Penny, Winter, Qrow, and Ironwood were sitting in the stands, with all of them immediately using the Ping to confirm they were Looping. Ruby groaned.

"How did you guys know?" Ozpin smirked.

"We watched the battle between our resident Uchiha and miss Saria via camera. I have to admit, Saria. You fought well. If I had to guess, you might already surpass Madara Uchiha himself in skill."

Saria smiled. "Thank you, Ozpin."

As Weiss and Kuno entered the arena, Winter looked surprised.

"I never thought Kuno would ever be a Looper."

Sunset laughed. "We said the same of Gendo Ikari."

"Point taken."

Kuno drew his lightsaber, and bowed. Weiss did the same, and with that, their duel began.

Lights blurred together as the battle commenced, blades humming with energy as they clashed. One blow flowing into the next, less a battle and more a dance of deadly precision. Weiss let a grin slip as she defected a blow to her neck, her blade missing Kuno's neck by millimetres as his own blade nearly missed her head, strands of white hair falling to the ground unseen and uncared for.

Both knowing what the other would do, intimately familiar with the styles the other used.

"I see you have mastered Shii-cho, Weiss." Kuno complimented, driving Weiss back momentary before she forced him to give breathing room. "But, I have as well. After all, the form is very similar to standard sword combat."

"Very well." Weiss shifted her stance to hold her lightsaber in a fencing stance, fluidly switching to a new style very similar to her normal methods.

Kuno grinned, anticipation setting his nerves alight, there was little better than an honest fight where one could push themselves above and beyond, challenged by one who knew the same abilities as you. "The Makashi lightsaber fighting style. Meant for one on one duels, using balance and footwork for precise and efficient strikes. That style suits you very well, Weiss. I have no doubt you are a master of it."

"You guessed right, Kuno. My turn." Weiss moved, flashing across the ground towards Kuno, her eyes widened in surprise as Kuno countered each blow rather than striking back. Kuno was focusing on defense, rather than offense was not something she had anticipated; though it wasn't enough to block all of her attacks, the benefits of being partners with a speed master.

"You seem surprised, miss Schnee."

Weiss scowled slightly at the smug reply, seeing the amusement on her opponent's face. "I did not think you were the kind of person to use the Soresu style, Kuno." It was galling to make such a mistake, you never took such a thing for granted, ever.

Kuno smirked as he withstood Weiss blows like a rock standing against water, he would be worn down, but it would not be easy. "My baseline self was never one for defense. I knew I had to fix that error in my sword style. And considering Soresu's focus on defense, it was ideal. And remember, Obi-Wan himself is a master of this style. No matter how often I tried when I sparred with him, I could never land a single strike."

Abandoning her tactic, Weiss shifted gears, leaping into the air and over his head, Kuno's blade searing the air she had just passed though. A flurry of blows drove Kuno back, unable to counter the strikes in time.

Every time he tried to counter, Weiss was gone, tumbling though the air, rolling under his legs or blows. Her blade inflicting a toll on his form, his formidable defense faltering under the onslaught.

"Not a bad use of the Ataru combat style. Its acrobatic nature is the reason Yoda mastered it," Kuno grunted, flipping over Weiss even as she landed, twisted around. Weiss cursed under her breath, twisting around the next blow and replying with her own.

"But, I've studied it as well."

Unable to react properly in time, Kuno blocked her strike and went on the attack. Lights blurring across the field, as the two master swordsmen clashed, testing the others skill with the blade.

The relentless blows left Weiss little room to counter. A savage grin working its way onto her face, blood singing in her ears, "You are very skilled indeed. able to switch between styles so fluidly. The Djem So style, with its focus on blocking, countering and then going on the offensive fits you perfectly. Pity it isn't good against an agile opponent." Weiss taunted, dancing around his blows, just managing to remain mostly unharmed by the brutal efficient style.

Maybe she should try something new then?

"Indeed, Weiss. That is why I studied the other styles. Djem So may be the closest to how I fight in baseline, but unlike that idiot version of me, I know how to adapt." Without warning, Weiss switched styles, launching an aggressive attack that Kuno easily defended against.

"Trying to use the Juyo style to throw me off guard, I see. That style may fit how most Sith prefer to fight, but it doesn't suit you, Weiss." Weiss winced, trying to catch her breath as she was driven back, nodding in agreement.

"You know lightsaber combat very well, Kuno. I have to admit; this has been a challenging fight." Weiss spoke up with respect in her voice, falling back into her preferred style of combat, trying to regain the ground she lost in that ill planned assault. Finally breaking away and leaping back, eyes and mind focused.

"The same could be said of you, Weiss." Kuno gladly accepted the compliment from his fellow Jedi and sword master, repaying it in turn. It had been a long time since he had been pushed this far in simple swordsmanship. "For every strike I landed, you returned the favor with interest. So, let's end this. Show me how fast you can react."

Kuno deactivated his lightsaber, and entered a stance similar to how one would unsheathe a katana.

"One final strike, then. Very well, Kuno."

In the blink of an eye, the final attack was dealt.

A slash was heard, and one of the combatants fell down.

"Well done, miss Schnee..." Kuno collapsed, his Aura completely drained, and the last attack had left a gash on his leg. Sunset quickly used a healing spell, and as the wound healed, Kuno chuckled.

"I figured I wasn't skilled enough to best Weiss. But, I had to try."

Sunset simply pointed to where the two combatants' Aura levels were displayed. Kuno looked, and saw that Weiss was nearly depleted of Aura energy as well.

"You nearly had her, Kuno. She just landed a lot more attacks than you did. Your attacks had more power, so that did more damage. But her superior speed gave her an advantage. For what it's worth, you did very well."

"Thank you. I still have a lot to learn, it seems." Weiss then came over, and shook Kuno's hand.

"Thanks for the sparring match. You need to move a little faster, or your attacks will leave you wide open."

"Thank you for the advice."

Ryuko then leapt into the arena, and cracked her knuckles. "So, who wants to fight me?"

Yang prepared to leap into the ring, but Ren held her back.

"Forget it. From what they said, it looks like you'll be fighting Sunset in the one on one round, and fighting Ryuko will simply allow Sunset to get an idea on how you fight."

"Good point." Meanwhile, Qrow had leapt into the ring, and activated his weapon.

"I'll take you on, Ryuko."

Ryuko chuckled. "Well, this won't take long."

Ten seconds later...

"What in the..."

Qrow fell to the floor, his Aura completely drained from one slice by Ryuko. Sunset laughed.

"Ouch. That had to hurt. Ryuko's a lot more experienced in combat than I am, and I know I'm pretty good myself. It's getting late. The tournament starts tomorrow, and I want to be ready."

The Loopers left the training arena, ready for whatever awaited them in the tournament.

The next day, the Vytal Festival began, and the matches occurred more or less as per baseline. With the exception of the battles Team RSST was in:

First round:  
As Team RSST looked at their foes, Ryuko and Sunset yawned. Ryuko then said, "Saria, you take the two on the right. Kuno, the two on the left are all yours."

The two nodded, and Kuno drew his katana, using one powerful slice to completely drain his target's Aura, and using the Force, he telekinetically pushed the other out of the ring.

Meanwhile, Saria drew her staff, and swung it at her targets, sending both of them flying out of the ring.

"All too easy."

Second round:

Ryuko and Sunset cracked their knuckles as Coco and Yatahushi faced them. Sunset drew her weapon, which was shaped like a Keyblade, but was actually a sword Sunset had created during the first time she had Looped into Remnant, and charged at Coco, who, despite firing her weapon, couldn't even hit her target.

Sunset then stood still, and as Coco fired, Sunset easily deflected the bullets. When Coco tried firing again, nothing happened. As Coco looked shocked, Sunset loaded a Fire Dust round into her weapon, and fired. A large fireball hit Coco, and before she could even blink, Sunset tossed Coco out of the ring.

As Coco recovered, she looked at her weapon. Apparently, Sunset had sent the deflected bullets right into the barrels of her gun, effectively jamming it.

Meanwhile, Ryuko was easily overpowering Yatahushi, and with a powerful vertical slice, depleted her opponent's Aura and sent him out of the ring at the same time. Ryuko shrugged.

"Man, if no one from here was Looping, this would be a boring tournament." Sunset walked over to Ryuko, and nodded.

"I hear you, Ryuko." Sunset then looked in the audience, and pointed to Yang. She then gave the thumbs down, and Yang simply grinned.

Both of them were going to enjoy their fight.

 **52.11 Masterweaver**

"Um... Weiss?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"You... know this isn't a chibi loop, right? Just an ordinary loop in Remnant?"

"Your point?"

"...You know what, I shouldn't judge. Do what you will."

"I shall, thank you. Onward, Stardust, to great victory!"

 **52.12 Masterweaver**

"...so, because we do not usually socialize," Winter said slowly, "you have arbitrarily decided to follow me around this loop?"

Zwei shrugged. "A bit of a Remnant tradition. Back when we were all stealthing, Ozpin would try to 'pair up' members of team RWBY and JNPR that he felt didn't have much one-on-one interaction. Afterwards, he tried to arrange the same thing for the loopers as a whole... I'll admit, I was rather attached to Ruby and Yang at first, but extending my social circle past that has been remarkably beneficial."

"Such as netting you a ladyfriend."

" _That_ was a prank that Ruby took _way_ too seriously."

Winter half smirked. "So you say."

"I _do_ say."

"Very well then, Zwei, what shall we do? The Schnee Huntress and the infamous War Corgi, set loose on Remnant together."

Zwei tapped his muzzle thoughtfully. "Hmmm. We could always explore the mysterious fifth continent."

"The one shaped like a dragon."

"Yes, that's the one."

Winter considered that for a moment. "...While I won't deny that would be entertaining, I had assumed the point of these meetings was more... social. Attempting to understand each other."

"How better to understand the War Corgi then in the middle of battle?"

"That... is a surprisingly bloodthirsty statement."

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I do have other hobbies."

"Are you... a fan of music?"

Zwei tilted his head. "I am a dog, madam. My hearing is _exceptional_. Music is near-sacred to me."

"Ah. So, what genres do you prefer?"

"Well, I'll admit to having inherited a fondness for rock ballads from my family. Aside from that, the sounds of violins, harps... I'm really fond of strings in general."

Winter nodded. "Strings can be powerful, I will not deny. To be honest, I am more inclined toward the vocal form; there's something about the passion a singer puts into their words that makes a song more prominent."

"You must be quite fond of your sister's performances, then."

"Yes and no. She is an excellent singer, and when she chooses to exercise her voice, it's... incredible. But too many memories are of her singing at father's command." Winter sighed. "I do long, sometimes, for the loops where we knew less about him..."

"Mmm, yes. I love Taiyang like a father myself, but... it seems that a certain amount of obliviousness has ingrained itself into his personality. Not enough to be horrible, mind, just... enough that I sometimes cannot help but wince."

"At least he tries."

"Oh, yes."

"...In all honesty, music was... one of our few forms of escape, growing up. I mean, of course it's loop variable, but somehow... whenever the man has me learn flute, or violin, or piano, it's one of the few times I can express myself fully. Before, of course, I choose to become a huntress."

Zwei nodded. "I'll admit, singing is a bit difficult for me. I can hold a note, but varying pitch isn't quite so simple. Usually I consign myself to disc-jockey and electric music."

"Really? Would I have heard any of your work?"

"Well, there was that party a few loops back..."

 **52.13 wildrook**

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!?" Weiss yelled, shocking Roman and Neo. "And...is that Nyarko from that one Loop?"

"You try telling them that I'm not that kind of Chaos God," Nyarko said, looking at them, just confused, "but they insisted we do it. They even bypassed Mahiro's forks."

Mahiro then groaned. "And I keep telling you," he said, "I need to use a TRIDENT rifle in order to keep Hunters at bay, Nyarko-san."

Weiss face-palmed. "Alright, Roman, what did he do?"

Roman then sighed. "Well, Neo and I were minding our own business..." he started.

"BULLSHIT." Mahiro and Weiss muttered.

"WE WERE!" Neo signed in distressed.

Roman just gave them a glare. "Then this asshat decided to send in his workforce to bring us in," he continued. "Said workforce consisted of Faunus."

She took a deep breath. Of course he'd try to make them squander to make sure they got better treatment. "Continue," she muttered, grip on her rapier tightening.

"After the whole squabble, they kind of turned on him. And I don't mean strike. One of them, who happened to be an expert of wind, had managed to capture them, and the next thing we knew, we found out that the Great Goddess-"

"Alien!" Mahiro insisted.

"-was willing to forgive them, and we bribed her with Anime, despite their protests."

Mahiro groaned. "That still doesn't explain why you decided to take the big mental leap from hostage situation to human sacrifice!" he yelled. Somehow, Weiss sympathized with him due to being the only sane man in a room full of crazy.

"It was either this," Neo said, "or he gets set on fire via the other leader of the rebellion."

Weiss face-palmed as he saw Jacques's pleading face. "For the record," she said, "there are far worse things you can do to the man. The only reason I'm not letting you do this is because, despite being an asshole, he's still my father." The glare moved to the man on the altar. "And he doesn't get to complain about the rescues."

Roman gave her a look. "What did you have in mind, Princess?" he asked her.

"We'll discuss this once you, Neo, Mahiro, and Nyarko get him off the sacrificial altar and into his room...preferably knocked out."

"Wait, wha..." Jacques said before Mahiro hit a pressure point on his neck.

"Done," he said. "Now can I pick up Cuuko and Hasuta?" Weiss nodded. "Right. Nyarko-san, with me."

"Yes, Mahiro-kun," Nyarko said.

Weiss sighed. They were a cute couple, she will admit, but what is it about the Schnee Family attracting (or adopting, in this case) crazy people? She helped Neo carry the unconscious Schnee Patriarch out of the room as Roman hummed a familiar tune.

 **52.14 wildrook**

"Morning, Neo," Roman muttered, head killing him. "Why does my tongue hurt?"

"Because one drop of hot sauce, by the powers of naughtiness, had made that particular one really, really, hot," Neo replied. Roman glared at her. "Okay, you tried the same hot sauce Jeremy Clarkson tried out and managed to out-drink the Schnee Matriarch."

"I heard that," Weiss replied, walking out. "And my Mother's not that much of a drunk." She groaned, not noticing Roman staring at something in shock. "And why does my back hurt?"

"You tried to sleep on the bed of weapons like a dragon."

Weiss groaned again, before staring at what Roman was looking at, her shock matching his.

That's when Yang walked out. "Morning, guys," she said, looking at the area. "Anyone seen my prosthetic arm?" Neo tossed it, Yang making a catch before pocketing it. "So, what are you guys staring a..."

It took them a moment to realize that they were on top of an RV...on top of the Battleship Halberd Roman stole that one time...and in the middle of the sky.

Both Yang and Weiss collapsed onto the deck.

"We're in the sky," Roman muttered.

"Eeyup," Roman replied.

"Who's...driving?"

"Zwei and Ruby with Blake on controls."

"And...how are we..."

"Don't ask..."

Roman growled, sitting down.

 **52.15 KanameFujiwara**

A speech was made in a secret meeting in a secret venue. This is its transcript:

My name is Salem666. Some of you are aware of me. Some of you are not. In the near and far future, that relationship will change.

I stand before you as a non-looper. The meaning of that term is define as a person that does not loop. I am representing the people that fit that definition, that agree with our cause - and wish to do something about it.

I was old when Overlord Cinder took me. But that pales when compared to her highness and paler still when compared to the likes of Ruby Rose, our Anchor. The truth is that the multiverse is a large place. So large that even Ruby Rose looks young when compared the oldest of beings living in it. That is the state of our world. That is the truth. We are ants. Yes. We are ants.

But we are also so much more.

We are villains, but are we not also alive? Are we not free to determine our fate? Are we not free to make our choices - to learn and grow from it? Do we not have aspirations and dreams? Do we not have once upon a time a purpose? Do we not have a fire that inflame our hearts?

If all life is sacred is not our lives as well? If all life is equal are we not equal as well? Brothers! Sisters! Sentient beings! Are we not real to each other? ARE WE NOT REAL?

WE ARE REAL. WE ARE MORE REAL THAN THE LOOPERS. OUR LIVES ARE OUR OWN. OUR PAST ARE OUR OWN. OUR PRESENT IS OUR OWN. OUR FUTURE IS OUR OWN!

Across the multiverse we are regarded as NPCs. We are viewed as drones. Our lives are set. Our destinies predetermined. To them, we are beneath them. In their arrogance they see us as inferiors and they the superiors?

But what right do they have to decide that? They control our lives so we should thus submit like dogs? Are we their products to be used? Their toys to play with? I say nay - WE ARE NOT!

I submit to you nothing more than the truth. The truth that is in my heart. The truth that is in yours. We are equals - us and the loopers. We are not above or below each other. Each of us are equal to each other. That truth is self-evident and it is clear and it is right!

Our cause is simple - to take back control. To take back our lives. To bring the governance of our own destiny to our own hands!

Join me. JOIN ME!

And I will give you the world!

 **52.16 Firefinder12**

"Ruby?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"Why is my sister fighting a crow? And losing?"

"... I honesty have no idea Weiss."

Despite not having lips, the old crow grinne. Messing with his Unawake friends coul be very amusing.

"STAY STILL YOU FLYING RAT!" the elder sister Schnee screamed as he dodge a gryph.

And the uptight unwake Winter could be a source of extreme amusement...

 **52.17 Masterweaver**

Every subspace pocket had certain... quirks.

They weren't usually obvious, on first glance. While looper's personalities varied widely, it was rare that their _soul_ was disparate enough from the norm to seriously change their personal world. Particularly orderly people might find a grid of lines on their Pocket's border; particularly strange-minded people might have impossible colors mixed in with their light. But those were extreme cases; for the most part people never noticed anything beyond the norm when they entered another's pocket.

"...Yang?"

"Yeah Blake?"

"...Why do I smell... ginger?

For... the most part.

"Oh. That. You can actually smell that?"

"It's faint, but it's pretty omnipresent."

"Yeah, my pocket's always been like that."

"It's always smelled like ginger?"

"Well, it used to smell like cinnamon, but it kind of changed a while after we started dating."

"Huh."

"Don't know why. I mean, I'm not complaining, but I do have to seal everything to keep the scent from sinking in..."

 **52.18 FadedAlphabet**

Anyone who has ever had a sleepover knows that the most enlightening conversations that can ever occur happen at 2 in the morning in complete darkness while talking to your sleep deprived best friend.

Yang and Blake left to go on a date earlier that day, and they wouldn't be back till sunrise.

This left Weiss and Ruby all alone in their dorm room...

 **2 AM**

"Weiss, are you awake?"

Weiss gave a low, tired hum of affirmation.

"...Can I ask you a question?"

"Hmn..." Which Ruby knew translated into, _Yes Ruby, you can. You know that you can talk to me about anything._

"

Am I a good person?"

"Hmn...?" _Of course you are you dolt. Why do you even need to ask?_

"

It's just that... I'm the the Anchor right?"

"Hmn." _Obviously._

"

That means I'm always awake. I'm always here."

"Hmn?" _What is your point?_

"Then isn't it my duty to always help people? As the one who is here always, isn't it my responsibility to make sure that everyone is able to make it to the end of the Loop happily? They may not remember, but they still have lives. They still have emotions and feeling. They still laugh and cry like you and me. They have friends and families that love them, they have their successful and terrible moments... They are people Weiss. They are people who I could help if I just try, yet... I don't. Not always. Take for instance Shion. Even in Beacon doesn't fall, Shion still gets attacked and burned down. I have to ability to stop it, but sometimes I don't. And when I do, I will feel bad, but I don't lose sleep over it. Does that make me a bad person?"

Weiss was silent for a few moments. "Hmmmn." _Ruby, that doesn't make you a bad person, it makes you a kind, caring, and impossibly too good at times. The fact that you care so much for these people just reflects that. But you must remember that no one is perfect. Not you, not me, not even the Admins. The Loops are a strange and beautiful thing Ruby. It allows us something to have something that many people can't ever claim to have. They give us the opportunity to learn. They give us the opportunity to improve ourselves. They give us the opportunity to fix the mistakes that affects us so dearly. No one is going to blame you Ruby. No one will judge you. One day these Loops will end, and that is when all the effort we put in will pay off. It's a marathon, not a sprint. You can't afford to let yourself be held down. And most importantly, you must be you._

"...

Weiss?"

"Hmn?"

"Thank you. For everything. I couldn't ask for a better friend or partner."

"Hmn..." _Don't mention it Ruby. I feel the same._

"Goodnight Weiss."

"G'night Ruby."

 **52.19 DHG killionaire**

As the students gathered around to listen to the opening speech Ruby stood with Yang watching the crowd.

"You know, I often wonder why we never asked Ozpin why he seemed to be so out of it in baseline."

"And why's that Ruby?" Yang asked

"It just bugs me. Remember, you said it was like he wasn't even there."

"Yeah. I always thought it was a prerecorded hologram though."

"Or he was thinking about the upcoming battles with the White Fang and Salem's group."

"My bet's on the recording though. He probably was at his desk drinking his hot chocolate."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Oh look, we're about to start. Here comes Glynda."

'Who's that with her? Cause that's obviously not Ozpin."

"Shhhh, listen, I want to hear this."

"Hello. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and welcome to Beacon Academy. I would now like to introduce you to our new headmaster, as our previous one retired and moved to Menagerie. He elected this man in his place. Without further ado please welcome headmaster Johnson."

The students watched as a dark skinned man dressed in what looked like battle armor walked up to the microphone. Ruby turned to Yang and grinned.

"My name is professor Johnson." the man paused to take a puff of a cigar that seemed to appear from midair. "But you all will refer to me as sergeant-professor or sergeant-headmaster. Now listen up! When I joined the hunters we didn't have your fancyshmancy mechashift weapons like you. No we had sticks. Two sticks! And a rock for a whole team. And we had to share the rock! So consider yourselves lucky. If you're afraid then too bad! You had the chance to be afraid before you joined my academy. My job is to help make you into the defenders of humanity and we don't have time to be afraid, but for those of you who are I will direct you to the door. if you think you can make it here then join me tomorrow at the cliffs. if not then there's the door. Am I clear?"

"I said AM I CLEAR!"

"YES SERGEANT-HEADMASTER!"

"Mmhhm. Damn right I am. Now move along! I'll see you tomorrow."

As the sergeant-headmaster moved away and Glynda began her follow up, Yang turned to her sister with a smile.

"Ruby."

"Yes Yang?"

"Best loop ever!"

 **52.20 Masterweaver**

Blake let her hand drag down her face. "This is _not funny_ , Ruby."

"It's a classic! Come oooooon."

"Why me? Why not Cinder?"

"Yeah, I... tried it on Cinder and she just freaked the hell out. I think it has something to do with, you know, whatever's bothering her."

Blake looked from one shoulder to the other. "Yeah, I can see that. Still leaves the question of 'why me' though."

"Ozpin's not Awake. He wouldn't go along with it."

"Can we move this along?" the chibified Salem asked, filing her fingernails. "I know I technically don't have anything better to do, but when I agreed to this I assumed we'd do it properly."

"It's your fault for trying to possess me in the first place!" Ruby shot back.

"I was an evil schemer! I thought it would work! Who plans for 'immortal time looper with flexible biomass' anyway?!"

"You're still missing the point!"

Blake sighed. "Fine, fine. You can be my shoulder angels or whatever, just... stop arguing, please."

 **52.21 KanameFujiwara**

No matter how silly a premise - things could always turned dark. Such as the fact that humans need marshmallows to survived this loop.

"Hello Ozpin."

"Hello Salem."

Another null loop. He was starting to hate it. With Salem growing increasingly unpredictable, null loops had provide her an ever-growing edge. No matter how powerful loopers were becoming, the ability to predict events and the Pocket greatly boosted their fighting abilities. Without any of them, even a Huntsman like Ozpin were sitting ducks.

And now Salem had captured him.

"I admit, your collaboration with Atlas to produce marshmallow based dust was utterly brilliant. My armies were decimated because of how it disoriented my Grimm!" she complimented. "That was inspired Ozpin - a good move," she added.  
 _  
And now for the bragging._

"But in a game of chess I have my moves as well and they are better than yours," she taunted him. "A few pawns in the right places doing the right roles moving at the right time and I achieve what you most fear - I created a marshmallow shortage."

 _It was silly, it was downright insane but his loss was due to marshmallows out all things!_

"And now here you are in my bondage, aura sealed, your movements paralyzed and I am free to do anything - now what to do?" she pondered sinisterly. She let her fingers wondered and caressed his abs in a seductive manner, "Oh Ozpin, we are going to have so much fun together. I will ensure you have a most wonderful time. It will be among our best. And when your body begin to shut down from marshmallow deprivation, when all that's left is for you wishing for the pain and pleasure to end - **then you have my permission to die** ".

And she kissed him.

 **52.22 Black Omochao**

"So… what are we doing today?" Mercury asked Emerald as they both stood outside a dust shop.

"I'm… not sure, Cinder has some plan," Emerald muttered uncertainly.

Their discussion halted when a shiny sports car drove past them, loud music blaring from it, before it slowed and backed up, stopping next to the two criminals.

Mercury and Emerald both stared in confusion as the window slowly rolled down to reveal a red and white cat that tilted down his sunglasses to look at them. They also couldn't help but notice the sunglasses wearing corgi in the driver's seat…

The cat stared at them for a few seconds as they stared back in disbelief, before he stuck out his tongue at them and the window rolled back up, the car then zoomed off, splashing water from a puddle onto them along the way.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Mercury glared at Emerald.

"… What are you looking at me for? I'm just as confused as you!"

 **52.23 Masterweaver**

"...Okay, I can see this coming from Ruby. I can see this coming from Yang. I can even, if I really stretch it, see this coming from Pyrrha-and obviously Nora is in on this. But... Weiss? Seriously?"

"I was sailor Mercury once."

"Magical girls-we're already badass warriors, with, with attractive costumes and all that! Why do we have to be cute on top of that?!"

"To fight off the constant ennui of looping."

"...Oooookay. So, next question-why am I Luna again? Please tell me it's not-"

"Process of elimination. Pyrrha's Moon, because Jaune is Tuxedo Mask, and the only other main male is Artemis so Ren's got that job. Also, you're the only one of us that doesn't actually wear a skirt."

"So... it's not the cat thing."

"Nope."

"...okay. Alright. I can deal with this for a loop, sure."

"Thank you for indulging us."


	53. Love and Hate

**A/N: We have a TV Tropes page. Go and read and update it!**

 **53.1 Masterweaver**

Expansions were... fickle, in their timing, in their amount. Weiss knew this personally-from her first true meeting with Winter, she had known that what was and would be might extend just short, leave more questions then answers. It didn't help that there was no warning, no click... it certainly didn't help that her state was so separate from what she would have been without eons of experience in the same present. She couldn't tell if what would happen next would be baseline-making a speech to the party-goers on their hypocrisy and the tragedy of death, yes, but she hadn't summoned...

...and yet, Jacques felt a need to control. After she had shamed the higher echelons, he had grabbed at her, as always-she had stepped out, and only belatedly realized that time had gone beyond what it should have. She had, in the end, decided to follow him as he walked down the halls of the mansion; an idea of what to expect was better then no clue at all. That he had led them to her bedroom-or rather, the bedroom assigned to her-made it clear what position he was going to speak from, what position she was being put in.

Parent to child.

"Have a seat."

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

Jacques frowned. "Have. A. Seat."

Weiss stood calmly.

After a moment, the man let a breath of air out. "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable." His finger shot out accusingly. "Do you have _any idea_ how much your stunt cost us?! Our reputation, our, our..."

And the sigh. The sigh of frustration that could be shame.

Weiss waited, waited for the blustering to continue... but it didn't. Interesting. Either he was genuinely beyond words, or...

Ah. Her move. He expected apology, or resistance. He expected her to react. And wasn't it sad, that this presumed parental admonishment was being played like a move in a game?

Well, perhaps it was time to upend the board. "Our reputation is in _tatters_ , because of your apathy. Because of your aggression. Because of your atrocities."

"Young lady-"

"I have chosen to reforge it," Weiss continued calmly. "I have chosen to become a huntress, a beacon of hope and honor like my grandfather. I have chosen to take my name, my _family's_ name, and cleanse it of the poison _you_ injected when you took it-"

She caught his hand with lightning reflexes.

"...Frost playing at being snow. Something so fragile thinking it conquer the power of cold." Weiss's voice carried the very chill of the land itself. "You will be buried, like so many, beneath the frozen slopes of history."

Jacques pulled his hand out of her grasp. For a moment, he rubbed his wrist.

"This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing." To his credit, the man suppressed his fear rapidly. "You couldn't possibly understand the lengths I've gone to in order to keep this family where it is. You think running off like your sister is going to make the Schnee name stronger?" He scoffed. "You're wrong. Siding with her only divides us."

"That you have decided to make this a manner of sides only outlines how little you understand..."

Weiss paused, glancing at the door.

"...and how little you know of me," she continued. "We both have wealth, reputation, power-but where you steal and squander, I was gifted and choose to give. You could have supported me, and Winter, and Whitley. You decided, instead, to try to cage us all into particular boxes. So, then, I choose to support myself, and act without your direction. I will take the Schnee name across the seas, and I will make it once again a name that is beloved."

"No… you won't." He shook his head. "You're not leaving Atlas. You're not to leave the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it. You _are_ going to remain here, out of sight and out of trouble, until you and I come to an agreement on your future."

"You presume you can keep me here."

"I can, and the staff here will make sure of it." Jacques looked directly at her. "Your presupposition that you can simply have whatever it is you want is a clear sign of our failure as parents. But from now on, I'll be giving you the full attention you require, starting by keeping you where I can see you."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Your talent of framing one action as another is impressive and speaks of a well-organized mind. You claim that you are doing this as a parental figure, that I am being grounded, and yet the truth is you seek to imprison me. Of course, that will cause problems for you-if your heiress is no longer to be seen..."

She glanced at the door again. Her eyes narrowed.

"...but you chose a _new_ heir, didn't you? The best way to avoid questions is to make the subject unimportant. So, tell me, what justification will you provide for _this_ transition?"

"...Clearly, the trauma you endured at the fall of Beacon was too much for you. Which is why you've generally revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed it on to your brother Whitley." Jacques grabbed the door handle and paused. "It's time to wake up and face reality."

"I am far more awake then you could ever realize."

Jacques glared at her for a moment or two, before slamming the door open and storming out past her brother. Weiss held up a finger, keeping the door open with a minor jedi art.

"Whitley? Do come in."

Her brother gave her a confused look. "It would be rude of me to intrude on your-"

"We have quite a bit to talk about, dear brother. And I don't know how much time we have for it."

Whitley frowned at her stern tone, but, eventually, stepped through the door. It swung shut behind him, though he didn't start.

Weiss gave him a long look.

Then, very slowly, she brought her hands together in a mocking clap. "Well played. Well played indeed."

"I don't know what-"

"I sensed ambition, but ambition isn't evil, and your support... well, it got me to act out. And now I'm disgraced, and you're the heir to the largest, most powerful Dust company in the world." Weiss continued her clapping as she walked closer. "So, you got what you wanted, without ever having to lift a finger." She let her hands drop, let her eyes slip down. "I honestly expected... so much _more_ from you."

"More?" Whitley blinked, but regathered himself. "I have, as you said, wealth and power. What more could I ever want?"

"And what are you going to do with that power? Use it to gain more power, in a never-ending cycle?" Weiss shook her head. "What are your goals, Whitley? What do you really want? What do you think people will remember you for?"

Whitley frowned. "Well, I suppose I'll have plenty of time to think on that, won't I?"

"Less time then you think. You're a target now-more then you've ever been. And I'm not talking about the White Fang, no, the White Fang has hated us since Jacques began to exploit pre-existing racism. I'm talking about the citizens of Atlas, who want a piece of that power, that wealth, and will try to seduce you or subvert you from this day forward."

"Hmmph. I'm sure father will teach me how to handle such hangers-on."

"Really? Why would he? You're his catspaw, his pawn." Weiss leaned forward. "Do you think he actually cares about you? Any more then he cares about Winter? Any more then he cares about me?"

Whitley blinked. "I... can learn from observing him."

"Perhaps."

"I certainly know more about how to get what I want then _you_ do!"

Weiss stared into his eyes.

"...What I am about to do," she said calmly, "is not going to leave you harmed in any way, and is something I have little doubt I will regret."

Whitley's eyes widened as she brought her hand to his face. "Wait, what-"

"My mind, to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts..."

Their eyes dilated.

For ten seconds, they merely stood.

And then Whitley gasped, breaking the light grasp and stumbling back. "Tha-that, that-that-!"

"Is only a few of my memories," Weiss said sadly.

He stared at her, wild-eyed. "What-what _are_ you?!"

"...Somebody who, despite all you've done, still cares about you very deeply."

And then... the world ended.

 **53.2 KanameFujiwara**

Yang Xiao Long was trapped in an infinite loop. In the infinite loop, time repeated itself over and over. Sometimes it added these things called fused loops or variant loops into a madness induced bowl. Some of it was fun. Some of it left much to be desired. And then there were loop like this where she couldn't decide what to feel.

Beacon fell. She lost her arm. Her father was asleep. It was Christmas. And in the darkness of her room appearing from a reddish portal stood her mother, Raven Branwen.

They stared at each other with no sounds between them - eyes meeting. It ended when Yang took the initiative, "...What do you want?"

What her mother said next rendered her speechless. "I am a terrible mother."

More silence. _A confession? How rare...  
_  
"...I do not expect forgiveness from you. Even so, you are owed an explanation. Should you choose to listen depends entirely upon you," she said. She closed her eyes momentarily, then reopened them again not a moment later. "I only ask that you refrain from interrupting me."

Yand nodded. In truth what Raven said would be immaterial - her motivations changing with every loop. _Even so, this is Christmas_ , she thought, _it is is only polite._

"I was young when my parents divorced. My father took me while my mother took Qrow. I was six when he died. The Tribe killed him.

"Father was a cold man. He spoke few words. But everyday he would tucked me to bed. He would read me stories once in a while. He wasn't the greatest of fathers but he loved me, that much was true. I cried when they killed him.

"They said father was a traitor. That what they did was right. I didn't care. I fought them. I lost. They spared me. Said it was against their ways to killed children.

"They made me an offer. I would be their slave. In exchange they would teach me everything there is to know - and the right to kill them when I turn eighteen. They knew the risk. Despite that they agreed.

"Since then I became a weapon. A tool. I endured their harshest training. Served the role of a decoy, a spy, a killer - whatever that they required of me. I did it with a zeal, the prospect of revenge never leaving me.

"The people I killed were many. Early on their deaths haunted me. Even so I did not stop. Over time it cease to bother me. When I turn eighteen I was known to them as their greatest assassin - their most valuable tool. I asked them for my prize. They relented.

"Four men tried to kill my father. Only two succeeded. Of the two survivors - one was killed on a mission while the other was my mentor, Askeladd. He taught me everything there is to know - how to handle a sword, how to kill a man and so on. He was colder than my father, extremely strict but there was kindness in him that he had that my father did not.

"We fought. It was brutal, fast but even so - I won. Upon his death, I was told the truth. My father betrayed the Tribe and for that he was killed - that is true. What I didn't know was that his killers were also his victims. Askeladd... lost his mother to my father and had agreed to the same deal as me. In killing my teacher I had thus continued a tradition of hatred and death. When I left for Beacon - I was a broken woman.

"You know the rest. I came to Beacon. Found my partner and my twin. Formed a team of four to fight the Grimms. We became among the best. We laughed together. We cried together. We had sex together. Perhaps they knew it, perhaps they did not - but they saved me from myself. And life became a little bearable.

"Then you came along and at first I hated you. Because of you I'm grounded. I was not there with my team when they fought for their lives. Even so, they forgive me. Even so, they loved me. I changed my tune - slowly, I began tolerating you.

"But then the Tribe came and I was heavily pregnant. They knew. My loss was instantaneous. They told me to return home. That I had my fun. That my duty was to the cause. When you were born - I left you to join them.

"I know all about you Yang. I know your first word. Your first smile. I know you more than you think. But I am sorry Yang - I could not be your mother. That role belongs to Summer.

"As it is - everyone that I know is a hostage. Every one of my possible killers are my victims. My life was tainted but yours are not. You are free from my curse. Free to chart your own path for your own happiness. So forgive me Yang. Forgive your mother. And lead the life of your own choosing. Merry Christmas."

And Yang felt tears in her eyes.

 **53.3 Masterweaver**

Gears...

Wheels with teeth.

Used to transfer power across small distances, used to transform power from one form to another. Cogs and sprockets, belts and flywheels, all mindlessly whirring away, all part of a greater scheme...

...uncaring of what happened to any poor creature that got caught up in their mess.

"...Ahem."

And yet there was something hypnotic, alluring about gears, about their power-

"Headmaster Ozpin? You asked for me?"

He blinked, shaking his head and looking forward. "Ah, yes. Miss Nikos..."

Pyrrha stood, awkwardly, close to the elevator. She looked distinctly uncomfortable...

...she had on her ring.

"...I'm terribly sorry for asking you here. I know how... uncomfortable this place is for you."

The redhead blinked. "Ah... I'm, not sure what-"

"I didn't ping."

"Oh." Pyrrha let her mask fall, though she still looked rather wary. "Falling back into old habits?"

"No, I... simply felt that you should be the one I discussed this issue with first." Ozpin sighed. "If you would like to take this elsewhere-"

"This is your comfort zone," Pyrrha said. "This is where you open up the most. I... can stand it, if it helps you."

"...you won't like this."

"What?"

"An expansion."

Pyrrha sucked in a breath. "An expansion. And you thought to talk to me... does this have anything to do with my-"

"Not directly. No, it's..." Ozpin paused. "...You know about Oscar."

"The boy from the hub-loop episodes?" Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, he's obviously important. And he's connected to you in some way... You found out more about him?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes. And... about what happened to me."

"I see." Pyrrha shook her head. "No, actually, I don't see. Why did you want to talk to me about this? How am I-?"

"You were worried that when we transferred Amber's aura into you... that you wouldn't be Pyrrha Nikos anymore."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"...I don't know if it's involuntary, or... random, or if he was deliberately selected." Ozpin let his head fall into his hands. "But that poor boy... our souls are mixing. I was a voice in his head, and he... he was terrified. Terrified that he could remember what I did. I tried to keep it to baseline memories, but-"

"Tried?" The mistral champion stepped forward. "You couldn't stop him from... knowing about the loops?"

"I didn't want him to feel so scared. My baseline self wanted him to do... something, but I felt that until I myself got information I should... let him be. Apologize for sharing his mindspace. I let my thoughts meander behind mental shields, I thought... he wouldn't see." He sighed. "He did see. I was recalling your wedding, of all things, and he... despite all the mental gymnastics, he admitted you two made a cute couple, but I had my shields up..."

Pyrrha arrived at his desk. "Is..."

She paused.

"...Is he still there?" she asked gently.

After a moment, he nodded. "He's still here. The situation's reversed, he's a voice in _my_ head now, but..."

"I see." She sat in one of the chairs, sagging heavily. "Oh birch and ash and oak..."

"Oh branch and leaf and bark," the older man agreed.

"...Amber's not with me," Pyrrha mumbled. "I have accepted the transfer on occasion, and she's sometimes a voice in my head, but she disappears when the loop ends. If Oscar's with you, still..."

"I said our souls are merging. He's... scared. Very scared."

"I don't blame him." She shook her head. "It... it's scary. Knowing everything that you are, that... defines you, could be taken away, and you become a shell to something else. Even if that something is benevolent."

Ozpin finally looked up. "I've always... since the beginning, I've always tried to keep the world together. To make it better for those in it, to make those in it better..."

"To teach so we could grow."

"Yes. And now, I find that I am..." Ozpin shut his eyes, sighed. "I didn't want this. I didn't want to soul-bind with some innocent farmboy. I didn't want..."

"...I don't think," Pyrrha said gently, "that we can always get what we want."

"No, I suppose not."

They sat, the gears ratcheting around them.

"...have you found out where he lives? In baseline, I mean, where he might be?"

"He's a farmhand in Mistral. And his aunt has books on Haven. Beyond that..." Ozpin shrugged helplessly.

"Do you think... do you think he could start looping?"

Ozpin opened his eyes. "As I understand it, whatever happened connected us on... a fundamental level. In the sense of the loops, he is me, and I am he. We aren't separate loopers, we're... the same. I think." He shook his head. "I can't... I don't think he'll start looping, not separately, because he already is... me. In some way."

Pyrrha chuckled mirthlessly. "What I wouldn't give to have Marianne on speed-dial."

"I doubt she could answer. This... is a brand new expansion, the situation's still very vague."

Again they fell silent, listening to the gears around them.

"...so." Pyrrha eventually looked up. "You wanted to know what I would... advise. Because I've been in a position like Oscar's."

"...yes."

"Hmm." She tilted her head. "...Perhaps, you should... be Oscar."

"What?"

"What I mean is... Oscar is you now. A version of you, a part of you. Give him some control. Not total control, he's still... you're still figuring yourself out. But... let him lead. If you have a spare body, let him farm in your subspace pocket-yes, I know you have farms, your coffee is always impossibly fresh. You... can't make demands of him. Encourage him..." She smiled. "...Teach him."

"...I suppose. Yes." Ozpin nodded to himself. "I... could do that. If he agrees."

"Well, until you die, he has nothing better to do, right?" Pyrrha took a breath. "And... I know, you're not exactly in a situation where he can hide secrets from you, or you from him. But... if he needs to talk to somebody, that... that isn't you, I... guess I could be there. If I'm Looping."

Ozpin blinked. "...he... is listening, but doesn't... I don't..."

"You're confused. You're scared, both of you, for different reasons." She reached out, put her hand on his. "I get it. I really do, I know that Amber had nightmares about being an echo, and I lived through them. But it's okay, Oscar. I'm here for you."

"...I liked farming," the headmaster admitted, his voice smaller. "I liked living at my aunt's house... I wasn't ready for this..."

"None of us are. But we can help. I promise."

And uncaring, the gears ratcheted on.

 **53.4 KanameFujiwara**

Ren never did know much about his birth parents. What he did know was loop variable. Even what he _was_ also changed. He had accepted that. It did not however made it any easier.

This loop his father left his mother. His mother was dying. In a pale white hospital - her life was about to dissipated. And there was nothing he could do but listen to the final words of his mother.

"Listen, son.

"There is nothing special about you.

"You come from a long line of regular people. There was nothing extraordinary about me or your father, or our parents and their parents.

"There are no prophesies or legends about your coming.

"You aren't destined to do great things.

"I leave you little money and possessions. There are no riches waiting for you.

"There are no secrets about you. You are you and nothing more."

"Mom?" he asked, voice cracking.

She grabbed his left arm fiercely, clinging to it resolutely. "That means...

"There is no path set out for you.

"So anything you accomplish, anything you become..." her grip weakening, letting her hands go and caress his face softly.

"...It will be truly you own."

And she left this world.

 **53.5 WirelessGrapes**

"Huh."

Yang was processing what Weiss said about the newest expansion. They hadn't had everyone awake, so they hadn't had their meeting yet, but Weiss was alerting everyone currently Awake (Ruby, Yang and Nora) of her lost heiress status.

Weiss leaned back. "In all honesty, I should have seen this coming. I did anger my father quite a lot in Baseline."

"Yeah, I guess so." Yang started slowly, turning to Weiss. "I'm still gonna call you Princess though."

Weiss smiled and rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't expect anything less."

 **53.6 Masterweaver**

"...Okay, does anybody else feel like Yggdrassil is in a family mood recently?"

Ruby gave Yang a look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that... look. A few loops back, it was Christmas-I know we probably don't have Christmas baseline, it was a fused loop-and Raven dropped by to explain everything to me, said basically she had to give me up so I didn't go through the hell she did. It was all very... emotional." Yang let her breath out slowly. "And then Ren mentioned this recent loop where his dying mother gave him an epic speech about forging his own path... and now..."

She gestured around, at the banners and somber flowers.

"...Yang, you know you liked Remembrance Day before you woke up-"

"That's not the point! I mean, yeah, the thing is nice, even if it isn't baseline, but... the message. Remember what was, and make what will be-the emphasis on dead or otherwise absent parents encouraging their children to forge ahead in their absence." Yang let out a breath. "I think Yggdrassil is trying to tell us something, but I'm not sure what."

Ruby looked up at the banners herself, at the images of colorful birds flying from a dead tree. "...Well, I mean... we're learning more about our parents, these expansions."

"What?"

"Think about it. Before the fall of Beacon we had... outlines and scraps. Jaune had his parents and seven sisters, and... now he knows they used to go hiking around Shione. Pyrrha... we still don't know anything about her family, not firmly. We knew that Nora and Ren were orphans, but now we know that Ren's parents supported Oniyuri... and probably died there."

Yang nodded. "And all that pales in comparison to what we've learned about our parents... team RWBY's, I mean."

"Yep."

"So... what? We're learning more about what should have been our past?"

"And acting more on what will be our future." Ruby nodded. "I think... I think that's what the tree's trying to say. That we should... take what we learn, even if it's sad, and grow from it."

"...let's just liiiive," Yang sang softly, "day by day, and not be conquered by our sorrows..."

"The past can't hold us down, we must break freeeee..."

They stood.

"Hey, terrible thought."

"Yeah?"

"Betting pool on which parents die before the end of the volume."

"Yeah, Yang, that _is_ a terrible thought."

"Yep."

"...I kinda want to put money down on Jacques though."

"Everyone would want to put money down on Jacques."

 **53.7 Masterweaver**

The urge to kill was ubiquitous. It came and went, rose and fell, through every living thing, a paradox oft ignored yet always silently whispering.

Some would say plants were innocent. They would look at a field of grass, and assume their was no malice. They were ignorant of the unending war, stretching beneath the roots, as the network scrambled for nutrients and water; as trees grew higher, greedily blocking out the sun; as vine crept around bark, consuming life forces. On occasion, it was more obvious-in the wetlands where they would eat insects, or the dry where poisoned wood would explode on hot days simply to clear out the competition.

Herbivores, then! Surely aside from eating plants they were innocent? Never mind the absent-minded crushing of insects or other small beings; they would fight each other for choice fruits, for mates, for territory. And lest one forgot, those that consumed meat would find that brutality oft came in forms not built for savagery; blood was always soaking into the roots of plants, somewhere on the planet.

Nobody ever defended carnivores.

And what of those, then, that had minds? Many societies would claim that killing was wrong; that to snuff out life was the greatest of crimes. And yet... there were remembered warriors. Remembered defenders. A blade was always seen as a blade, no matter its shape. No, the aversion to death that people had was unnatural.

True, they wouldn't usually kill. But when it came to it, when they needed to, the greatest ended life easily.

These thoughts and more flashed through the head of Ruby Rose as she looked, emotionlessly, at the still shocked purple eyes of Tyrian. His body, a short distance away, unbalanced, falling to its knees, then to its side.

"...Ruby?" Jaune walked up, gently, cautiously. "Ruby..."

"I should have gone for his stinger, shouldn't I?" She nodded to herself. "That's what I would have done."

"Ruby, what-" The blonde jumped as Crescent Rose folded up with a snap.

She put the weapon on her back, turning to Qrow. His expression... his face... he looked more horrified at her, then at the gash on his chest.

Then she sat down. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... I wasn't thinking." She looked up at him. "I reacted. I should have... I don't know."

Qrow sighed, gently kneeling down. "Hey. I get it."

"No. You don't."

"...No, I don't. It's different for everyone. But... I can help you get it."

"No, I don't think you can." Ruby looked down. "Not this time. Maybe next time, but not... this time."

"Next time?" Jaune frowned. "Next-what are you talking about Ruby? When is all this going to happen again?!"

She looked to him. Then to the sky.

"...well-"

A familiar finger tapped her shoulder. She blinked, stared at the magazine in her hands for a moment or two, and rolled her eyes. "Well, that was a short one!"

 **53.8 Masterweaver**

"So because we are apparently bored and in a very dark mood," Weiss deadpanned, "we're going to open a betting pool on which parents will survive the end of Volume 4." She allowed the gathered loopers to mumble among themselves. "As I'm apparently the most logical of as all, I've been declared bookie, so anyone who wants to make arrangements will have to do so with me. And I want to make it clear-these bets should not be made with the likability of the victims being the basis of the decision. Otherwise we'd all put money on Jacques dying of a heart attack."

Qrow held up a hand. "Actually, I'll take that bet. He's old enough." There was a round of dark chuckles.

Weiss sighed. "Alright... anybody else?"

"I'll put money down on Whitley arranging Jacques' death," Ren said. "It's logical in his current position."

"Noted. You understand I hope that won't be the case."

"Yeah!" Nora cried. "Obviously Weiss is gonna get him! Wait, but she probably wouldn't kill him... put me down for 'Heiress breaking legs during dramatic escape,' please!"

"That has an unfair weighting," Jaune noted as Weiss reluctantly writ out the claim. "She is a looper."

"We'll only register baseline incidents," Weiss assured him. "Anybody else?"

Winter rose a hand. "Same end result as Nora, but with me performing the rescue."

"We're just wailing on the guy, aren't we?" Qrow mused. "Wait, can I have two bets?"

Weiss frowned. "Two per person. That's my cap."

"Alright, he doesn't die, but Ironwood does throw him into a cell."

Pyrrha clapped her hands. "Just thought of this: Your mom backstabs him. While _sober."_

There was a general oooooooooo of acknowledgement.

"Okay," Weiss said, "as much fun as it is imagining my father in increasingly ironic deaths, does anybody want to move on to somebody else?"

Yang opened her mouth, paused, and turned to Blake. "Please don't hate me for this?"

Blake took a sharp hiss of breath. "...Make it count."

"Okay." She turned back to Weiss. "Ghira goes to confront the White Fang, but as much as I love the guy he's got the power of words, and is... a little less of a fighter then Adam. He is grievously injured in the confrontation, but whether he survives I'm going to keep up in the air." She paused. "And he gives as good as he gets."

"Alrighty." Weiss penned it down. "Tries to set things right and isn't prepared for the murderous madman."

Blake let her breath out. "As much as I hate it, that's a fair assessment. I have to pay you back, though."

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Blake looked her right in the eye. "Raven redeems herself by performing a heroic sacrifice to save... either RNJR or Oscar."

The blonde winced. "Oooog. Yeah, I guess I deserved that."

"I'm counting that as two bets," Weiss stated. "RNJR or Oscar."

Blake nodded in acknowledgement.

"Ooo!" Ruby suddenly perked up. "I'm getting in on this! Um, Jacques is killed byyyyyyyy Penny! Who gets rebuilt!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "And we're back to beating up on my father, apparently."

"Well, you know, he's kind of a tempting target."

"Alright." Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Any bets on Taiyang?"

"Saves Yang from a megagrimm attracted by her PTSD," Ruby replied easily.

Yang winced. "Yeeeowch, sis!"

"Hey, I love the guy, but this is dark for darkness's sake."

Yang nodded. "Alright. Put me down for Ruby's bet, but make it one of Salem's lackies."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Ah, familial love..."

 **53.9 DrTempo**

At last, Sunset and Yang were about to face off in the Vytal Festival. The two entered the ring, eyeing their opponents as they got into position.

Sunset broke the silence. "So, shall we set some ground rules for this fight?"

Yang raised an eyebrow, feeling her heart start to race as she settled into a loose combat stance. "Ground rules?"

"If we both went all-out, we'd blow up the arena, and likely kill all the spectators. So, basically..." Sunset then tossed her weapon out of the ring, bring her fists up and mirroring Yang's stance. "Hand to hand, the fundamental underpinnings of all combat."

Yang started to smile, a vicious gleam in her eyes as she removed Ember Cecilia, tossing it out of the ring and cracking her knuckles. She had one more question. "So, just fists? Or will this be Dragon Ball style?"

"The latter, of course. Anything less would be an insult to your skill. So, let's begin, shall we?"

Yang's muscles tensed, her yellow hair blowing in the slight wind that blew through the stadium. Sunset's cyan eyes narrowed. At an unseen signal, they moved.

Their fists collided-a deafening boom shook the stadium as a huge shockwave exploded out. Sunset chuckled, as she tried to put more force behind her to force Yang back, noticing that the Stadium was undamaged.

"I'm glad you told me Ozpin reinforces the stadium in case loopers clash in the tournament. That might have caused some damage."

"Trust me. He had to after the time Goku showed up in this Loop."

Breaking away, Yang went for a leaping kick; Sunset easily dodged the telegraphed blow, lashing at Yang's gut only for her to move at the last moment into a worst position. Pain lanced though her head and the world spun. Yang bit back a roar as her head pounded-she had been expecting an upper cut and moved wrong. Now blows rained down as rain upon her, Sunset not letting her get a moment's reprieve.

Time was subjective in a fight; Yang knew she had only been hit a few moments ago but that meant so little in a fight like this. Each moment she had to counter, block or dodge hundreds of blows moving faster at approaching the sound barrier as she tried to recover her bearing. Sunset's eyes widened as Yang grabbed her arm and pulled, slamming her head towards Sunset's own. The visiting looper _just_ managed to break free and knock Yang back, moving back in before she should recover.

The fight was a blur, the stadium's ground shattering under the force of the blows and shockwaves. Blurs of yellow and red clashed with titanic forces, blind to the faces of those watching; they only cared for the other.

Yang growled in fury as she was blocked, hit, blocked and hit, again and again and again. Nothing was working, and she had been on the defensive since her mistake at the start of the fight. Sunset just laughed at Yang's anger, ducking under her and launching herself up, a grin pulling at her lips. She might as well bring in some showmanship to this as well; after all, why not? And she had just the technique to do so.

"Showtime! STAR PUNCH!"

A crushing rising uppercut Yang was sent flying, the native looper crashing into the ground on the other side of the stadium. But even as she finished the blow, Sunset felt her stomach drop. She had just made a mistake; she had honestly figured that punch would cause a ring out. Gritting her teeth and tearing across the ground, Sunset hurtled towards a recovering Yang, desperate to get there in time, to not give Yang the chance she needed to recover.

But it was too little and too late. Yang met her head on, eyes burning red and fully recovered. "Little Mac taught you that, eh Sunset?" She grinned with bloodlust, countering a powerful blow and forcing Sunset back. Sunset had surrendered her initiative, and Yang had no intention of letting that chance go.

The flow of the battle turned, Sunset being forced to weather the blows Yang was raining down on her. "Come on, Sunset! That all you got?" Yang taunted, burying her fist in Sunset's gut. She ducked an air splitting kick, the cracks echoing through the stadium like rolling thunder. Dust and debris choking the air, kicked up by the heated clash.

"Not even close, but enough of this." Sunset ducked out of the way of a kick, moving from defense to attack. "Let's test your attack power, Yang!"

"Bring it!"

Thunder split the air, the incessant booms sending many of the spectators to the ground, clutching their ears in pain. In the centre of the chaos, Yang and Sunset clashed, raining blow after blow onto the other just blurs impossible to track. Bloody and bleeding, they broke apart.

From the other side of the arenas ruined surface Yang grinned, spitting a glob of blood onto the dirt. Her blood was singing, each blow just building her stored power higher and higher. It was a glorious feeling, "You're good." Yang said, whistling though broken teeth, taking pride in knowing Sunset was in just as bad condition.

"Same to you. Time to kick it up a notch."

Sunset vanished, reappearing behind Yang and sending a punch at the back of her head. Yang flung herself to the side, seizing Sunset's leg and pulling her down. A blow aimed at the off balanced looper only for Sunset to break free and twist out of the way. Rolling back to her feet, Sunset met Yang's head-on once more, almost flowing out of the way of her punches, moving the minimal amount needed to avoided or block each one.

Yang spat blood as she struck hopelessly at the looper from Equestria, feeling the burning ache, the need to let her semblance go and consumed the stadium in golden flames. It felt like she was trying to punch out smoke.  
 _  
Crud. She was trying to figure out my fighting style._

Her foreboding was proven when Sunset started retaliating. Yang hissed as she barely blocked the blows, one flowing into the next, seamlessly setting up the next stage. To Yang it was like reading a book when she already knew the ending; she could see where it was going but could do nothing to change the outcome.

A blow ripped though her defenses and making the world go black, Yang felt the flames within burn brighter as the wind was knocked out of her.

 _Just a bit more…_

Stabbing pain shot down Yang's arm as Sunset's blows tore through her Aura; her few return blows were reciprocated. "Come on Yang. That all you got?" Sunset taunted, grabbing Yang's hair and pulling her closer.

A powerful blow struck her temple. Sunset barely had time to widen her eyes as the world became flames. She felt her ribs crack, Aura momentary failing as Yang hit her like freight train. The glowing brawler wouldn't let her get away, wouldn't let her get a moment to work out what had just happened. Sunset wracked her brains, catching a blow that made her arm almost snap, trying to remember what she knew of Yang.

The answer hitting her like a blow from god, sending her hurling across the stadium, Yang in hot pursuit. It was her Semblance, the ability to use the blows and damage Yang took in a fight to empower herself-

"KAIO-KEN!" A red aura surrounded Sunset as she twisted in the air, rolling to disperse the momentum. Rolling to her feet, Sunset grabbed Yang's right arm as she came into for a punch with only seconds to spare.

"If I was Adam Taurus, you know what'd happen next."

Yang grinned with eyes of flames, her ki surging around her fist. "Really? MASENKO-HA!"

The attack hit home, with Sunset being flung back and leaving Yang free to charge her again. Coming to her feet, Sunset switched tactics; if she could not compete in close combat then she would not. Light flooded the arena as ki lanced through the air, striking the golden wreathed girl as she was taken off guard, but doing no visible damage. Seething, Yang retaliated, blasts of ki colliding with Sunsets own as she shot forwards, striking the air and setting it ablaze.

"This is not close combat Sunset!" Yang roared in frustration, her hair ablaze and eyes blood as she sent balls of flaming ki and aura at her opponent.

Sunset smirked, defecting Yang's ki bots and taking flight, her own beams scouring the stadium and leaving no room for Yang to hide. "We agreed for Dragonball style combat, did you forget Yang? I know that fighting you hand to hand leaves me at a disadvantage. But if I stay away from your punches..."

Yang did not reply, enduring the onslaught as she retaliated with her own blasts, her defenses steadily being worn away even as her power began charging once more. Finally, Yang snapped as Sunset swerved around her latest attack. "Come down here and fight, Sunset!"

The growled command made Sunset smirk. "OK. KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!" Before Yang could react, she slammed into her, the sonic boom following moments after. Taken off guard, Yang couldn't dodge at all...

...and she did not want to. Sunset was fast, but not as fast as Ruby was. Besides, all the more power for her. She had once needed time to ramp up, but that had been loops ago and Sunset had done a good job of helping her power up anyway.

Yang smirked as Sunset grabbed her arm and twisted. She didn't _need_ to say anything, but a trigger made it easier and it was so fitting.

"I Burn."

Sunset felt a wave of confusion and unease at the whispered words; Yang was already alight so what was she-

Yang's hair stood up like flaming spikes and red eyes became teal. Sunset bit back a scream as her grip was reversed, dislocating her arm completely before a blow smashed into her jaw.

"Super Saiyan," she gasped. She grit her teeth as she lashed out at Yang's jugular with a clawed hand, only for her ki claws to fail against the ki hardened skin. "That I didn't see coming."

Yang grinned viciously with good humor. "Well, it is a Dragonball style fight isn't it?"

Sunset had thought Yang hit hard before, and now? Sunset smashed into the ground, a foot slamming into her ribs and blows raining down on her face, her defenses crumbling and strength insufficient. After what felt like hours but was closer to only a few minutes, Sunset deactivated the Kaio-Ken, slowly pulling herself to her feet.

Yang sauntered over with a smug look on her face. "Giving up, Sunset? Guess my new transformation has you outmatched!"

Sunset nodded with only minor reluctance. It was impressive seeing Yang combined her Aura, Semblance and Transformation so well. "Yeah. Even if I used Kaio-Ken times twenty, I'd still be unable to keep up."

"Guess experience means nothing when you can't keep up, right?"

Still…

Sunset smiled, and reached back into her mind for the trigger engraved in her soul from her achievement so long ago.

"True." Sunset admitted, "But only to an extent, as experience is neither worthless. But, I'm not giving up yet. I have one more surprise. Yang, you've earned this. The right to see something I never thought I was worthy to use."

…It would be satisfying to wipe that smug look from Yang's face.

"What the heck are you talking..." Yang broke off as Sunset started to recite a vaguely familiar spell before a flash of bright light enveloped her. When the light faded, Sunset now had orange wings and a horn made of energy.

"My Alicorn form, the thing for which my baseline self plunged into evil to obtain. I achieved it after keeping Equestria together during a Dwarf Fortress fused loop."

Yang grinned, clapping briefly in honest appreciation. It had not just increased Sunset's magic, but her Ki and everything else as well. "Congrats. But, with all that, you're still only as strong as you were when you were using the Kaio-Ken times ten."

Sunset shrugged, settling into another stance feeling the familiar power sweep away the tiredness and her enhanced ki heal her battered form. "True. A ten times multiplier does seem to be the most common level the Alicorn form gives you. But that's _without_ the very technique you just mentioned. KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!"

Yang sighed, readying herself to fight again. "Of course, you do realize that I will still just get more powerful each time you hit me still?"

Sunset nodded before charging forward, eager to get payback. "Your point?"

Once more the tide turned with Yang on the defensive, the humanoid alicorn now exceeding her strength and speed. The fight had devolved from martial arts to a slugging contest of ki, brute force and speed. As a blinding blue-white beam of light shot across the stadium, Yang yelled, her power and flaming hair spiking further, sparks of lighting dancing across her form. The attack smashing against her Aura to no avail.

"Surprise, Super Saiyan 2." Yang gloated, eyes hard and focused, not wavering from Sunset for an instant.

Sunset warily gauged the strength comparison and did not like what she had found, at these levels skill only mattered when you could keep up with your opponent and now… "That is unexpected, But..."

Yang saw the smirk and felt the familiar shifting of ki, a feeling of dread and foolishness coming over her. There really was no reason why Sunset could not do that really was there?

"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWENTY!"

Power rolled off Sunset in waves, the magic, ki and more, almost a physical thing as it bore down on Yang. Taking in her opponent, Yang stated laughing, getting a look of confusion.

"Well, if that is how it is going to be, then so be it." Yang's power surged as she drew in her power, keeping it tightly contain to her body, Aura and Ki lacing and strengthening her body. "Then let's all go out with a Yang!"

Sunset blinked in incomprehension before it dawned on her what Yang was doing, gulped. "What in the...Oh, no. KAMEHAMEHA!"

The attack may as well have been water droplets for all the good it did. Sunset winced as the heat started melting the stone; it was like standing in front of a blast furnace. Before, Yang's hair was spiky and cover in flames, now it was liquid flames which flowed down her back. The power was titanic, even when tightly controlled and supressed, showing that Yang knew what she was doing.

A Super Saiyan 3, that was even more unexpected by Sunset. She barely had time to register the situation and react before Yang was upon her. There was no thought, no foresight, simply movement and instinct. Both fighters pushed themselves above and beyond; their fight threatened to rip the reinforced stadium apart.

Yang growled as she failed again and again to get a clear hit on Sunset, she was hurting her but it was never a clear enough hit to do enough damage. More carefully now, Yang focused on how Sunset was moving. Ii was only a few short exchanges before it became evident why she was missing; Sunset was reading her fighting style and moving before a blow was made. Cursing to herself, Yang switched tactics, filling the air with burning blasts of energy. Sunset, expecting another flying punch, was hit directly.

Recovering quickly, Sunset quickly adapted to the new tactics, but started taking more damage than before. Yang could feel herself slowly succumbing to exhaustion as she launched another energy bolt which Sunset dodged. Her lungs were starting to burn and her body ache, after a few more minutes of increasingly poor blasts, Yang was forced to stop to catch her breath.

"Just as planned, Yang."

Yang glared half-heartedly at the grinning, bloody and tired Sunset, who was still in far better condition than she was. It was rather obvious what Sunset was going to say, something she had known was a risk from the get go.

"Super Saiyan 3 has a weakness. It's powerful enough to surpass me, but..."

Yang finished Sunset's sentence, her exhaustion bleeding though in to her voice"...It drains my energy quickly. Which was why you were dodging rather than trying to inflict damage, which would also simply empower me as well. " Sunset chuckled.

"You got me."

Yang laughed tiredly, forcing herself to stop shaking "It was a gamble, I could not beat you at level two so it was either go to level three and beat you quickly, or lose. I would say 'Then let's go all-out one last time!' But I don't think that would be wise." Yang let her transformation go, settling back into a fighting stance.

The still transformed Sunset tilted her head to one side. "Why not?"

The words were neutral, making it hard to work out what she was thinking. Yang shrugged. "I could hold SS3 for a lot longer, but you would outlast me. That is, if we stuck to only using these abilities, and not drawing on our other powers. In which case we could go on for hours at minimum and it would be up in the air. And a final blast with all the ki and Aura we had at that level? We would be lucky to not level Vale, let alone the stadium."

Sunset glanced around the trashed arena, smiling in weary amusement. "Point, so what do you propose?"

Yang smirked. "Same as before, one blow to finish it. Using only unenhanced Ki."

Sunset's transformation faded as she nodded in agreement. "So the same thing and just less bang? Let's see what you have Yang!"

With that, Sunset took to the air once more and charged up a powerful blast of ki, hurling her final attack with a yell. the blow smashed into Yang's, each blast trying to overpower the other, as they put what power they had left into the attack.

Yang's blast sent the combined power back at Sunset, who vanished as the blast of light consumed the area she was in moments before. She sunk to her knees, utterly drained of any usable ki but grinning all the same, laughter bubbling up. Something that did not stop as someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Tired, beaten and bloody, but Sunset still stood a ball of ki in her hand that was pointed directly at Yang's back. "I win."

"I yield, you win, you wanted me to do that didn't you?" Yang chocked out, still laughing taking Sunset's offered hand and letting her pull her to her feet. "Let me waste what power I had left and conserve your own. That was so much fun! I wish we had an uninhabited planet so we could have gone all out."

Sunset started laughing with her. "You could have won easily if you had gone to Super Saiyan 3 right at the start. I'd been knocked out before I could power up. But you were too cocky. Next time, be sure you have an advantage before going all-out, or at least keep enough energy when you go for the finishing move, just in case said move isn't enough."

"Yeah, yeah, and I would have if it had been a serious fight. But why would I here? It's not either of us would have gained anything from that, and it wouldn't have been any fun."

Sunset pushed her sweat soaked hair out of her eyes, shaking her head in amusement as both of them walked towards the stadium doors. "True, next time we should also likely have better defined rules or a place where we can't break anything of value."

"Yeah. And Sunset?"

She turned to Yang, whose mouth split into an eager vicious grin "Next time, you're toast."

As they walked off, the crowd, healed of the hearing damage caused by the other loopers' yells, started cheering. The thunderous applause and cheers were almost as loud as the fight itself.

 **53.10 Masterweaver**

"...Blake?"

"Yes Yang?"

"Sooooooo... when, ahem, was the last time that you, I don't know, checked the Hub-world TVTropes meme page?"

"Do you mean relative to myself or relative to the history of the Hub?"

"Second one."

"Well, I was busy christmas shopping last time I was there. I think it was... 2016? Yeah. Loop ended before christmas."

"Oh."

"...Yang, why are you bringing this up?"

"I swear I didn't put it there and I never even thought it."

"Yang."

"I want to make that clear."

"Yang."

"Because I know you're going to be angry, but just to be clear, it wasn't me."

 _"Yang."_

"...Kaliisacougar."

"..."

"...I am going to scream into my pillow now."

"Totally fair."

 **53.11 LithosMaitreya & Darth Artemis**

Weiss approached the microphone with the slow, sedate stride expected of a Schnee about to perform.

She tapped it once to check it. The thump resounded through the auditorium like a judge's gavel through a somber courtroom.

Weiss smiled slightly. "Hello, everyone," she said lightly. "I would just like to preface this with a few words."

She unhooked the mic from its stand and backed away a few steps. "Some of you," she said, "have absolutely no idea why you're here. That's... not fine, but not unexpected either. Because none of us are really here for the collapse of Vale, are we? I'm certainly not."

She chuckled coldly. "No," she said. "I'm here because one sad old man with a chip on his shoulder needed to show the world that his family had at least one member with talents beyond increasing the value of a corporation, no matter who he has to step on."

Dead silence met that. She could practically hear Jacques grinding his teeth. Her smile widened.

"I didn't have a choice about performing today," she said openly. "But I _did_ have a choice of song. So, as you listen to this, I would like each of you to think of the SDC's dust mines, of the faunus laborers in them, and of their... unfortunate tendency to die under the age of forty."

She took a deep breath. " _The Natural Heart_ ," she introduced. "About what brings us all together."

The backtrack—which she'd had to grab from a Hub Loop—began to chime with its synthesizer.

She wondered, idly, if she could do the song justice with her soprano. It called for a very deep large-range male voice.

Then the time for doubting was over.

" _A glaring neon gleam casts shadows over stone.  
The city's shining skin is shedding from the bone."_

Weiss looked over the polished marble of the auditorium, at the velvet linings of the seats, the burnished surface of the stage, and carried on.

" _I've gone from pillar to pariah in the slide.  
In seas of doubt I swim against the turning tide."_

She met her father's eyes and smiled into the chorus.

" _Broken bodies line the walls,  
Midas empires crash and fall:  
Wings that melt when we try to soar..._

" _Close my eyes as I descend,  
To the gold rush at its end.:  
Take me back to before;  
This isn't human anymore."_

She found her eyes closing as she delivered the core of the chorus.

" _Look into the natural heart,  
Following the beat of the chemical...  
This isn't human anymore._

" _Tearing the connections apart,  
Falling at the feet of our pedestals...  
Are you still human at the core?"_

Her eyes opened during the instrumental break and sought the fascinated eyes of hundreds as they watched her; some disgusted, some interested, mostly blind, and some few looking sick.

" _Pushing the reflex, pressure the defects,  
Breaking down is inevitable.  
Spraining the rivets, straining the limits,  
Breaking down is inevitable."_

And now she found Ironwood in his seat at a box beside her father's and held his gaze for the next verse.

" _The ghosts of order dot the eye and tilt the three:  
I stalk the trinity into conspiracy._

" _They painted masterworks and set them all alight;  
The scars of persecution always harden into spite."_

Her eyes sought her father's and held them for a moment as she delivered that line before going on to the chorus again.

" _Broken bodies line the walls,  
Midas empires crash and fall:  
Wings that melt when we try to soar..._

" _Close my eyes as I descend,  
To the gold rush at its end:  
Take me back to before;  
This isn't human anymore._

" _Look into the natural heart,  
Following the beat of the chemical.  
This isn't human anymore._

" _Tearing the connections apart,  
Falling at the feet of our pedestals...  
Are you still human at the core?_

" _Pushing the reflex, pressure the defects,  
Breaking down is inevitable.  
Spraining the rivets, straining the limits,  
Breaking down is inevitable."_

Her voice pitched up and her eyes closed for the final stanza.

" _Pushing the reflex, pressure the defects,  
Breaking down is inevitable.  
Spraining the rivets, straining the limits,  
Breaking down is inevitable!"_

The music faded away. For a moment there was dead silence, and then some hesitant applause. Her father, glaring at her, did not join in.

Whitley, interestingly, did—if only in a mockingly polite, golf-clap way.

Weiss smiled and tapped the microphone for quiet. "Since I think we can all agree there's no chance my father will let me stay heiress after this, especially after the precedent he set with my dear sister, let me take a moment to tender my... resignation, from the Schnee Dust Company. I am leaving in protest of the continued poor treatment of faunus laborers and inhumane business practices. This, people of Atlas, is not the legacy Nicholas Schnee would have wanted to leave, and I can support it no longer."

She set the mic back on its stand and started to turn away, but then had a thought. "Oh, Whitley?" she added, looking over at her brother. "I certainly don't expect or even want your support in this, except insofar as you're glad to have me out of the way. Now that I am, though, let me be clear on one point. When you are CEO of the Schnee Dust Company..." she Unpocketed Myrtenaster and stabbed it into the stage, summoning an Atlesian Paladin which appeared behind her. "...do yourself a favor. _Don't make me your enemy._ "

She smiled. "Good bye, Atlas." And with that, she leapt into her mech and was out through the wall.

From the back of the room came a cry of dismay.

 _"There was a door!"_ screamed the janitor.

 **53.12 Masterweaver**

"You want to... what?"

Blake took a hiss of breath. "I... need to check on something. And to do that I need to take you to Menagerie." She paused. "Well, you and Ren, but I figured, family trip-"

Jaune looked at her flatly. "Does this have anything to do with your parents?"

"Well... obviously-"

"Your mother, specifically?"

Blake pursed her lips, looking away.

"Yeah..." Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "Nora mentioned the tropes page to us, she thought it was hilarious-"

"I don't know, I'm... I'm just not comfortable with the idea that my _mother_ -" Blake steadied herself. "Look. I have to know, one way or the other-"

"You know it's probably loop variable, right?"

Blake's eye twitched.

"...Take Qrow," Jaune suggested. "That should get you some contrasting data."

"Qrow's got too much swag."

"Fair point... uh... hmm. Roman?"

"Oh grimm no. I am NOT taking Roman near Menagerie-not even if he's Awake. Neo, maybe, Roman is right out."

"Ozpin."

Blake opened her mouth, paused, and nodded. "Yeah... yeah, he would provide counter-data. And he's not doing anything else anyway, after..."

She trailed off.

Jaune coughed. "It... might distract him."

"From what?"

"Something about the last expansion really rattled him. He and Pyrrha had a talk-she's not saying about what, just that it was very personal."

Blake nodded. "Okay. I guess... I'm taking Ozpin. When he's Awake," she added quickly. "So not this loop."

"Obviously."

 **53.13 Shimmer712**

"...Wait a minute..." Blake muttered, recognizing where she was.

"Ooh! We're back in the Ladybug loops!" Ruby chirped. "I can recharge from cookies again!"

"Why am I the Ladybug girl?" Blake asked. "I mean, the Plagg thing made sense. I mean, black cat spirit-god-thing, but the Ladybug girl? What the heck? And how am I supposed to use a yoyo to fight?"

Ruby shrugged. "Pretend it's a smaller, lighter Gambol Shroud?"

"...What?"

"Well, you do tend to swing around like a yoyo..."

"...I guess if we ever have a yoyo contest, I'm gonna win, huh?"

"I'll be sure to bet on you."

 **53.14 Masterweaver**

"...Thanks for coming with me," Weiss murmured. "After that last expansion-"

"Weiss, I should have come up here loops ago." Ruby took a glass from a nearby waiter. "Heck, I should have come up... well, right off the bat."

"It's alright. I know you were... concerned about Mistral-"

"You're my friend. Family, even. Whether or not we avoid the Fall of Beacon..." The redhead shook her head. "What happens to you matters."

The murmurs of the partygoers were a sickening sea of oily half compliments and detached nonsense. The two stuck close, buoying themselves with each other's presence.

"...So. What did you think of my song?"

"It was incredible. It... really spoke to the tragedy, and the hope we should have." Ruby managed a smile. "Did you write it yourself?"

"Yes, actually. I've been working on it for a while. Excuse me," she added to a passing waiter, "my friend here is underage, do we have any non-alcoholic beverages?"

"Not at the moment, madam. I could send for the kitchens, but it would be a while."

"I can wait," Ruby stated politely. "This is a big... well, gathering. You must be very busy."

The waiter nodded.

"...As soon as you have spare time," Weiss said. "My apologies for interrupting."

"No apology necessary." The waiter nodded to her, and returned to his duties.

"Wow." Ruby whistled. "Waiters."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "You've seen waiters before."

"Well yes, but-"

"Given all the branches of Yggdrassil, you've probably even seen waiters at parties before."

"Not in baseline." Ruby shook her head. "Says a lot about this."

"...I try to lobby against the waiters, honestly. I don't dislike them, but..."

Weiss trailed off, looking at the auction area. Ruby nodded. "It's... really not appropriate, is it?"

"Not at all."

"Bread and circuses."

The snow-haired girl gave an amused hum. "That's for lower-class, Ruby."

"No, I'm pretty sure any 'look at the nice stuff' distraction qualifies."

"I suppose..."

"So what is it people here say when they aren't being blatantly disrespectful?" Ruby asked, straining her ears. "Wait... did that guy actually compliment the woman's shoes?"

Weiss nodded. "Behold upper-class flirtation at its finest."

"At its most cliche, you mean."

Weiss glanced down. "I can't help but notice _you're_ not in heels."

"...You know who I'm expecting."

"Mmm." She glanced at the window. "Do you really think he'll come here? With all these people?"

"He's... unpredictable." Ruby shook her head. "You have to meet him to understand... he might come, he might not." She took a breath. "Best to be at my best."

"...You know where Crescent Rose is?"

"I asked Ironwood just before the party. Passed it off as post-fall jitters. He's placed it in a supply closet just out the hall..." Ruby sighed. "I used to like Null loops. The challenge."

"...he really rattles you, doesn't he?"

"Yep."

"...If he comes," Weiss promised, "I'll hold him off."

Ruby gave her a look. "Weiss, you don't have-"

"My semblance is remarkably versatile. As am I." She nodded to a corner. "And we've got Ironwood. He's armed."

"...poor guy has just terrible luck, doesn't he?" Ruby fidgeted. "I don't think he's ever Woken up late enough to see this, but he'd hate it."

"He's not very social, even in the loops."

"Mmm." Ruby nodded. "We need to get him out more."

"Hook him up with Glynda?"

"As much as the shipper in me wants to say yes, realistically it will work better if we don't force it."

"Of course not. Subtlety shall be the name of the game."

"And Glynda has to come back from her vacation. Permanently."

"Of course. She probably has quite a few stories to tell."

"Mmm."

"And Jacques is looking at me again..."

Ruby glanced at Weiss. "You've stopped calling him father."

"I've stopped feeling like I should..." Weiss paused. "Not look up to him, that's not a good term... I've stopped feeling he's relevant to me, personally. I mean he is, but only in a practical and political way now."

"Mmm."

"...Ruby, how... often have you reconnected with Taiyang?"

"Oh, you mean during the loops? We..." Ruby coughed. "I... try to make a point of not letting a hundred loops pass without... you know... being in his life."

Weiss nodded. "I... see."

"...Weiss, you know I don't-"

"You don't judge me for how I treat... him. I know." She chuckled wryly. "Isn't it strange? Out of all of us, Blake has the healthiest home life."

"Well, we don't know what Pyrrha has."

"...True. And Jaune has parents _and_ siblings, even if they're loop variable."

Ruby cleared her throat, her eyes flicking to Weiss in concern. "Speaking of... How are you, um, handling the Whitley situation?"

"...Honestly, I can't get a good read on him." The white-haird girl glanced at her brother. "This would be his first power move... and while I don't like it much, he's really only starting to grow. I can't bring myself to hate him, he's... he's a child, only just entering his teenage years, and he's never faced hardship. Jealousy, maybe, not... you know. Hardship."

The red-headed girl nodded. "I... well. I hope this is just want and not... speaking of something deeper."

"I do too. I really do..." Weiss sighed. "You know, there were loops where father was reasonable. Could be talked down, could actually... have made peace with the White Fang. I miss those loops."

"We all miss those loops. When things were unclear and flexible... I could convince Cinder, nine times out of ten, that she could achieve her goals in a friendly way."

"Mmm." Weiss glanced around. "Oh, the waiter's coming back."

"Oh!" Ruby blinked, smiling at the man as he handed her a cup of juice. "Thank you for accommodating me, sir."

"It was no trouble at all, ma'am." With a nod, he returned to his duties.

"Man, these waiters of yours are... pretty awesome." Ruby looked around. "I know I couldn't put up with all the shallow whining that I'm hearing. No offense, Weiss, but the high society has a rather big disconnect going on."

"None taken. It's essentially the worst part of Atlas." Weiss looked around herself and sighed. "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear..."

"Hmm?" Ruby followed her gaze to a blue-haired boy. "Oh. Is that-?"

"Mmmhmm."

"He's headed this way."

"Yep. I apologize in advance."

Henry Marigold strode up to the two with what he probably thought was a winning smile. "And what are you two fine ladies doing?"

Ruby smiled back. "Lamenting the fact that despite our blatant raging homosexuality we can only find it in ourselves to be just friends."

Weiss actually burst out a laughing, though only for a moment. "Ruby! That isn't funny!"

"...so, uh..." Henry blinked. "Are you two, actually...?"

"Neither of us is currently seeking a relationship," Weiss stated simply. "That should be enough information."

"Also, I'm underage," Ruby added. "Totally jailbait."

"Huh. I didn't know they let underage people into these sorts of parties."

"Well, you know," Ruby hemmed, "I slew the dragon. Kind of a big deal."

Henry nodded, as though he had any idea what she was talking about. "The dragon... riiiiight..."

"I was there," Weiss added. "She really did slay a dragon grimm."

The boy looked at her.

"With laser vision," she clarified, utterly serious.

"Yup," Ruby agreed with a nod. "Laser vision."

"Oooookay." Henry pointed sideways. "I'm... going to go get some snacks."

Ruby's smile suddenly dropped. "Actually, you may want to leave."

"What?"

Weiss looked to Ruby. "He hasn't-"

"Not that." She nodded at the door. "He's here."

Instantly Weiss was alert. "Has he seen you?"

"Yes. But he's headed toward Ironwood."

"Makes sense. Take out the big threat before you lose the element of surprise."

"Uh, what's going on?" Henry asked, and was ignored.

"How long do you need to get Crescent Rose?"

"Ten seconds-he'll act as soon as I trigger my semblance."

Weiss nodded, walking toward the general. "I can give you twenty."

Ruby bit her lip. "Be careful."

"No, seriously, what's going on?" Henry asked again.

Ruby gave him a look. "Seriously. Get out now." She started for the door. "Because things are about to get interesting."

 **53.15 Shimmer712**

"The rose has thorns!" Tyrian mock-gasped. "My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!" He gestured dramatically.

"Did he always sound this pervy?" Jaune asked. "I don't remember him sounding so pervy. Hammy, yes, pervy no."

Tyrian blinked in confusion at Jaune's remark. Why would the boy remember him being something? Okay, he was more interesting now.

"Variant?" Ruby shrugged. "It's not like he's predictable, even without the crazy."

"Huh, interesting," Tyrian giggled to himself.

Jaune considered. "Sure, that works. Hey, Nora! Pie gun!"

"Pie what?" Tyrian asked before being hit in the face. He wiped his face and looked at his now purple hand before licking it. "Blackberry?" He looked up. "...Where did that canon come from?"

"Good question," Jaune agreed.

"It was easier to pull out that canon that the gun," Nora explained. "Plus, I broke the gun in a food fight a few loops back."

"Oh, okay," Jaune nodded.

Tyrian began giggling to himself. Whatever was going on with this kids, it certainly didn't look boring.

 **53.16 Masterweaver**

There were loops, and there were loops.

Like most loops, Weiss reacted negatively to not becoming team leader. Unlike most loops, she didn't quite... accept her position so easily.

Ruby first suspected something was off the night after initiation. She usually couldn't convince her team to build bunkbeds right off the bat unless one of them was Awake, so she suffered through a night on ground level. Which meant when a shadow passed between her and the window, she noticed it rather quickly. The feeling of something impaling her was also a big clue-by the time she sat up, though, everything seemed normal. Except the tiny bolt in her chest. She pulled it out, looked around for a moment or two, and shrugged it off.

Then came Professor Port's lecture. Ruby idled through notes, not really paying attention-the professor's stories could be interesting on occasion, but generally she'd heard it literally thousands of times before. It was therefore mildly surprising when Weiss volunteered to fight the borbatusk, but not entirely unexpected; what was unexpected was her arranging for the Grimm hog to get into the desks, and more specifically to launch it at her specifically. It could have been an accident-and it allowed Ruby to show off her baby girl, always fun-but there was something in Weiss's scarred gaze...

Later that night, she came by with coffee. Coffee that tasted faintly of almonds.

"...Weiss, did you put cyanide in this?"

"...nnnnnnno." Weiss put her hands on her hips. "That's... that's ridiculous."

Ruby took another sip. "It tastes like there's cyanide here."

"Well, there's not. That'd be silly."

The two girls stared at each other.

Very slowly, Ruby brought the neck to her lips and, in one long gulp, drained it entirely. She lowered it, noting how Weiss was watching her expectantly.

"...Yeeeeeeeah. I should probably mention that because of my semblance, I have a very fast metabolism, so poisons don't actually work on me."

Weiss stamped her foot. "Well that's-!" She stared. "Wait, that doesn't make any sense."

"Well," Ruby drawled, "it's either that or I'm a crazy immortal time traveler."

"...weird semblance. Got it." Weiss glanced around. "...Of course, I didn't put poison in your coffee. At all."

Ruby looked at her for a moment or two.

"Wait. If I die, you become leader. That's how it works, right?"

"Yes, but it is of course entirely irrelevant to this conversation because you dying would be a tragedy that I absolutely would not want in any way whatsoever!"

"Uh... huh." Ruby grinned. "Well, it's good to know I definitely won't have to look over my shoulder during my time at Beacon!"

"Yep."

"Because you'll always be right behind me. Not plotting my imminent demise."

Weiss's teeth grit. "Yes."

"Alrighty. Well, goodnight!" Ruby turned off the light, pretending to go to sleep.

A moment later, she caught something in her hand. "Hey, Weiss? I think you lost your sword."

"I have NO idea how it got up there!"

 **53.17 Shimmer712**

Batman twitched as Joker's replacement cackled manically. There were drastic differences between the Joker and this Tyrian, but the fact that there were more than one unpredictable maniac delighting in chaos was enough to unnerve the Dark Knight.

"...You're going to be spending the rest of the week coming up with an plan in case they start looping, aren't you?" Nightwing - no, he was currently Robin - asked.

"You have to ask?" Batman asked the Anchor.

The current Robin shrugged. "Not really. Hey, you don't think there's a looping version of this guy somewhere already, do you?"

Batman glared.

 **53.18 Masterweaver**

There is something about watching people sleep...

Sleep, in its way, is the time a person is most vulnerable. They are unaware, mostly, of the world around them. They are lost in another realm, good, bad, or just weird. Generally they are alone-or at least not close enough to others. To fall asleep is natural, yes, but people prefer certain places to sleep-places they find comfortable, secluded, trustworthy. To intrude on such a private space, to witness a natural but personal ritual... it would speak volumes of the relation between watcher and watched.

Parents, especially, were compelled to watch their children sleep. It was... an extension of the urge to care and protect. The tucking in ritual was less for the child, and more a way for the parent to metaphorically shield their precious one, a way to assure themselves that they were there, even in the hidden realms of dreams.

The moonlight streamed through the window, outlining Blake's form. Kali leaned against the doorway, simply... watching her breathe. What had happened in Vale... what had happened with the White Fang, with Adam... She hadn't even known until Blake returned with that long-haired blonde. Her mind knew that, yes, Blake was and adult-more than an adult, really, a huntress, a veteran of a horror she could only imagine...

...but her heart, well. Her heart still remembered the eager little girl who would shout at any 'meaniehead' that hurt her friends, who would zip into bookstores for new stories, who would sit down for tea and tell mommy her tea was just the best tea around.

She followed her heart, walking as quietly as she could, and gently pulling the sheets over her daughter. Maybe Blake twitched, maybe she opened her eyes just a crack. Kali simply stroked her hair, fingers lingering on her brow, before she straightened up with a small, sad smile, and turned to leave.

It wasn't until she was halfway down the hall that she heard it-a sharp whisk of air, an odd scratching sound. And, unmistakably, a whimper. Not from Blake's room, thank the gods. No...

Kali frowned, her ears pinpointing the source instantly. This came from the guest bedroom.

She approached the door-not shut, interestingly. She hesitated, almost turned away.

 _"...Blake..."_

The whispered word, and the torment it carried, was enough to gain her attention, and she crossed the threshold.

The blonde girl Blake had brought home had seemed strong, eager, and not a little saucy. She did tease Blake with cat cliches, which had initially earned her Kali's ire, but... she only teased Blake, and Blake had teased right back. And there were... subtler things. Blake would give the occasional hum, and the blonde girl would tilt toward her-only for a moment, but when she resumed speaking she would bring the tone back to normal. Her metal hand was, mostly, treated as normal by both of them-though it would only touch Blake whenever the blonde said something _important_ about her girl.

 _"...not Ruby..."_

And despite her sauciness, she was... polite. She never overstepped her bounds (except with Blake, and Blake never minded). She had perfect manners during their tea ceremony. And even when she was admonishing the White Fang representatives for their part in the fall of Vale, even when she was near literally burning with anger, even when it was clear she didn't buy their excuses for a moment... she had kept her words clipped, precise, and factual. Not insulting. Factual.

 _"...stop..."_

She'd seemed a pillar of strength, awake. But now, in the pale moonlight, Kali saw something different.

She saw the blond, scratching at her metal arm, eyes clenched shut as she shivered, shuddered. She saw her sweating, thrashing, legs kicked out and in, hair wrapped tightly around her as she coiled in on herself. She saw this woman, this brawler, becoming a tortured victim.

"Oh no... not _now_..."

Kali blinked as Blake slid past her, rushing quickly to her partner and putting a hand on her brow. "Oh... oh this is a bad one... water."

"What?"

"She'll need water," her daughter repeated. "Mom, can you...?"

Kali nodded. "Of course." She left and returned as swiftly as she could, a cup in her hands, stopping in the doorway.

"Listen to me, Yang." Blake had both of the blonde's hands gripped in one of hers, holding down her shoulder with the other. "I'm here. Don't listen to what it's saying, just follow the sound of my voice. I'm here. Come home, Yang, I'm right here."

 _"...here..."_

"That's right, Yang, I'm here. Come on." Kali watched her daughter bend over, plant a gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead. "Remember? There's always a way out. Come on, Yang, just listen to me. You can find me, just listen, just follow my voice, ignore the rat, I'm right here."

 _"...coming, I-you can't..."_

"That's right. The rat can't stop you. Nothing can stop you, you're Yang Xiao Long. Come back to me, Yang, come on, come on..."

In one sudden motion, Yang's eyes snapped wide and she rose, panting. "I WON'T-! I... I won't..."

"It's okay, Yang." Blake put both her hands on her shoulders. "You're awake now. You're in Menagerie. Remember?"

"Menagerie..." Yang's eyes moved around, unfocused. "Menagerie. Yes. Your... your parents."

"Yes." Blake gestured for Kali, her gaze not moving from Yang's face. "We're staying till... till we go back."

"We... oh." Yang blinked as Blake's mother approached hesitantly. "Oh. OH. Oh, you... heard..."

"Yes." Kali held the cup out. "I... heard. Not much, but..."

Her eyes drifted to the metal hand that took the cup. "I... wish I could say I was surprised."

"Huh?" Yang's eyes followed her. "Oh. No, this-isn't that. Not all that." She took the cup, drained it in one gulp. "Um... thank you."

"It's... alright." Kali gave Yang a look. "If... I can do anything-"

"You know, my mother's dead." Yang shook her head. "I mean, she wasn't my biological mom, but... she loved me, me and my little sister, and... I'm sorry, it's..." She looked to Blake. "Can she stay?"

"...If you want." Blake nodded. "If you want."

Kali took a breath, let it out. "I'd... be happy to stay and help you out."

"Yes... It... okay. Okay. Um." Yang fidgeted. "Okay, what does she know?"

"I... mentioned a rat," Blake said. "I said to-"

"-to ignore the rat. Yes."

Kali looked between them. "...what did she mean by-?"

"Grimm get smarter," Yang interjected, "as they get older. And some of the oldest, they're really smart. This one, she was..." Yang held out her hands a fair distance. "This big. I know that's small for a Grimm, but she was a rat Grimm, she probably started off small enough to pick up."

"I've never heard of rat Grimm," Kali mused.

"I hadn't either. I thought, 'small Grimm, easy kill.' I charged right in, but... she did something. She was a very smart Grimm, smart enough to... she did something to my head... My sister killed her, but something's still _here_ , in my dreams..."

She trailed off, looking at her hands. Kali could only stare, horrified.

"...What was it this time?" Blake asked, gently.

"...I was fighting. Jacques, Tyrian... Charlie. I was fighting them, and I was _winning..._ and then the rat came in. It said..." Yang looked up at Blake. "It said I was... focused on other people's problems. Because I had no problems, because... because after Ruby declared war on Fate, fate struck back and fate struck hard. Against Weiss, and Ruby, and... team JNPR-"

"-and me." Blake nodded. "Charlie was... pretty intimidating."

"Charlie?" Kali asked.

Yang gave her a look. "A... well, it's... anyway. The point is, it pointed out that... that nothing came after me. it said... it said I wasn't relevant anymore."

"Oh Yang." Blake wrapped her in a hug. "You're still relevant, you're very relevant-"

"-then it... it showed how it would get worse for you all while I just... languished in luxury..."

"You wouldn't do that. You haven't done that, you're... recovering. You know that."

Kali blinked. "This... thing, made a nightmare of you being... comfortable?"

"While all my friends and family were in danger." Yang nodded. "Yes. It's... smart."

"Yang, you know I could-"

"I can't risk it. I can't risk you, you know-we've had this argument." Yang took a breath. "And... it's getting better."

"Better?" Kali said, nonplussed. "You were... you were scratching at your arm, in a cold sweat-"

"I... I can talk about it now. Right after... I couldn't always."

Blake leaned back. "You... have a point, I guess. Just... please. Don't try to do this alone."

Yang nodded. "Alright. I..."

She glanced at Kali.

"Well..."

Blake sighed. "Mom? Is it... would you be okay if I stayed in Yang's room tonight?"

Kali turned to her daughter. "Blake...?"

"We're not going to... um... I mean, you know she and I are dating, but this isn't... this is for her, and the nightmares." Blake looked at her. "Would you be okay if...?"

Kali took a breath and slowly let it out. "...I suppose. I didn't think..."

"Hey. Like she said, no hanky-panky." Yang half smiled, despite her obvious distress. "If you want to do the whole child's lover interrogation thing, I'll still be here in the morning, I just..."

She let her metal hand grip Blake.

Kali looked from one face to the other; from Yang's tired gaze to Blake's pleading look.

"...let me get your pillows from the other room, alright?"

Blake smiled. "Thanks... really, Mom. Thank you."

"I _will_ ," she said firmly, "be talking about this with your father in the morning."

"I think we should all talk about it," Yang said dryly. "Let it all out at once."

Kali gave her a look.

"...I'll help make breakfast," the blonde offered.

"...that would be alright."

Soon enough, the pillows were transferred, and Blake and Yang were under the same sheets. Without shame, without distance... Kali had walked out the door, but she waited until their breath slowed. Then she looked back.

They were... close. Blake's head in the crook of Yang's neck, just... breathing, together.

Kali stood there, for half a minute. Then, quietly, she shut the door and returned to her own room.

There is something about watching people sleep... that reveals far more then when they are awake.

 **53.149 Shimmer712**

"The rose has thorns!" the being they assumed was Tyrian for the loop gasped mockingly. "My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!" He gestured dramatically.

"...Seriously?" Ruby muttered. "I know he had the whole Scorpion thing going on but this is taking it a bit too far, don't you think?"

"I'm pretty sure Yggdrasil can take it further if challenged," Jaune said firmly.

"Yeah, that's you never say it can't get any worse or tempt fate and stuff," Nora nodded.

"You can't say you were expecting something like this to happen," Ren said.

"Well, no," Jaune admitted. "But now that we've come across it, are we really that surprised that this happened at some point in the loops?"

"Are you ignoring me?" Tyrian demanded indignantly, launching his stinger at them, only for them to dodge quickly.

"A deathstalker," Jaune grumbled. "He's a freakin' deathstalker."

"Well, Salem is looking to exterminate humanity, apparently," Nora voiced. "So it makes sense she would work with non-humans."

"So how do you explain Cinder?" Jaune wondered. "Is she gonna be revealed as a faunus or thing in the expansions eventually?"

"Well, baseline does have her wanting power," Ruby mused. "Maybe that's it?"

"Give me a fight, dammit!" Tyrian snapped, clicking his claws. "I hate boring targets!"

"Let's save the talk for later," Ruby suggested. "Instead of agitating the highly dangerous and unpredictable opponent."

"Works for me," Jaune muttered, opening an water bottle to create a waterwhip.

"NORA SMASH!" the redhead cheered, charging up her hammer.

Ren sighed. "Fighting a deathstalker. How nostalgic."

 **53.20 Masterweaver**

Weiss crossed her arms as she strode into an unused lecture hall. "Okay... so what did you want to show me, Blake?"

"A semblance is a reflection of the inner self, right?"

"An extension," Weiss allowed. "With some influence from prior generations, apparently." She tilted her head. "Although how much of that is _genetic_ and how much is due to the _environment_ that one grows up in is unclear..."

Blake nodded. "And for me, that's a little more literal." With a gesture, she summoned a clone.

"Actually, I would say that's _less_ literal. This is a reflection of your _outer_ self, which..." Weiss's eyes widened. "...allows your inner self to relocate your actual outer self-"

"Yes!" Blake clapped her hands and pointed. "That's what my baseline self misses-it's not running away, it's putting on a mask so I can act in secret!"

"Being what is expected so that your actual act is unexpected..." Weiss nodded. "Okay, so this realization is impressive. But...?"

Blake grinned. "Think about it. If my innermost self is relocating my outer self while my false self retains the attention of whoever's looking..."

Weiss held out her hands. "You're able to turn invisible?"

"I'm able to go unobserved," Blake corrected. "Which means that I could be anywhere anyone isn't looking."

"...You've figured out how to teleport yourself?"

Blake opened her mouth, paused, and sighed. "Nnnnnot exactly. I'm still working on that. But it does mean I can feel places that are currently unobserved and project my clone, ergo I can be... multiple places at once." She shrugged. "Can't access my Pocket with them, but it makes for a decent spy network."

"I thought you already had your scoutcats for that."

"Well, this lets me extend that network much further. There are actually only a few unobserved places at a time."

"So this is a force multiplier."

"Pretty much, yeah."

Weiss nodded. "Okay. So, cool new ability that extends logically from baseline. I can understand why that's awesome. So... why did you want to tell me first?"

Blake grinned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, your text told me not to... tell... anyone." Weiss facepalmed. "You're not really here, are you?"

"Nope!" The two clones smirked simultaneously. "I'm informing everybody at the same time! And none of you have any idea where the real me-"

"Exploring alternative applications of this ability with Yang."

The two clones flushed simultaneously before suddenly vanishing in a puff of shadow.

Weiss nodded. "That," she said to the empty room, "was _entirely_ expected."

 **53.21 Vinylshadow**

Alex Mercer had a love/hate relationship with Remnant.

The hatred wasn't because it was a shining beacon (every pun probably intended) of idiocy the likes of which he hadn't seen since his own Activation, but because of the Grimm.

Every time, without fail, as soon as he Woke up, every Grimm on the face of the planet made a beeline for him and his several dozen continents' worth of misery, as if he was a lighthouse in a storm and the Grimm were ships at sea.

Or whatever the analogy was. He'd usually fallen asleep during such speeches and paid them no heed.

The love portion came from the Grimm being unable to harm him and he not really caring enough to destroy them, so he and the Grimm usually wound up in some bizarre alliance where he fed them excess biomass laden with any emotional baggage he picked up from consuming people in his own Branch and they left the rest of the planet alone.

He then usually used the time of such Loops to relax and organize his mind and Pocket.

Sometimes the local Loopers came around to investigate, but Alex had mastered the art of blending in and among the Grimm, his natural colors meshed perfectly and he was never found, even with all their tricks.

After a while, they got the message and stopped coming by, giving him the peace and quiet he so craved.


	54. Blooming Alone

**A/N: We have a TV tropes page. Go there and edit it, please!**

 **54.1 Masterweaver**

Schwing- _Thrrnk_.

A creak.

A massive groan.

And a large thump, as another tree hit the forest floor.

Ruby's steely gaze brushed across the three dozen trunks scattered in her wake. She didn't even bother to look at the Grimm charging her-the flesh of her arm impaled them all and tossed them away.

"So what?" She stalked around her latest kill. "What are you trying to tell me? Huh?!"

Schwing- _Thrrnk_.

"Bad luck? Acceptance?! Letting things _go?!"_ Crescent Rose swung, splitting the wood falling toward her head. "No. I'm not going to accept that. I can't."

She paced back, halfway along the tree's length, before pointing at it angrily.

"You wanted me to be the guardian of this world, you wanted me to anchor it, well I _am_ anchoring it. I will make sure Remnant heals-both as a universe and as a _home_. And that means making sure the family heals, that my friends-They're not going to die. Not anyone-not Pyrrha, not Penny, not Qrow, not Roman or Neo or-or Ozpin or team CFVY-!"

Schwing- _Thrrnk_.

The smarter Grimm, the larger Grimm, held back. Watched her kick the fallen tree-watched as it, impossibly, seemed to move.

"You know what? Baseline is horrible, but I get-I get why you need to know it. Why we need to know what exists." Ruby frowned. "So, so I get that... that uncle Qrow gets, gets a shitty pile of shit for his life, and... and you know what? He made good with it! He has a family that loves him, he-he has us. And that's without the loops. So you know what?!"

Schwing- _Thrrnk_.

"That's what I'm going to do! I'm going to take this pile of fucking shit you've dumped on me, and I'm going-I'm going to use it as, as fertilizer, I'm going to take this POISON and make it into fine WINE! And there is absolutely nothing, NOTHING, you can fucking do about it! Screw you, you, you gnarly, twisted, rotten-AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Schwing- _Thrrnk_.

Ruby stood over the killing field, panting, her eyes as hard as iron.

She whirled around. "WELL?! I am angry and full of hate and fucking _pissed,_ why aren't you doing anything?!"

The gathered Grimm looked at her for a moment or two. Slowly, they turned, and began to disappear among what remained of the forest.

"...Yeah, fine. Go back to your mistress! Tell her I'm coming for her!"

Ruby gripped her baby girl. "Tell her I'm coming for her..."

 **54.2 Shimmer712**

Pyrrha awoke just as Jaune left the rooftop, after their talk when Weiss had rejected his invitation to the dance. She sighed. He had been so oblivious back in those days.

"AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" An frustrated scream made her jump. That was not a typical occurrence for this point in the loops. Looks like she would be finding out an variant early.

"Come ON!" a familiar voice complained. Pyrrha blinked. _Cardin?_ What was with him?

"Can we just start beating him up again and somehow orchestrate an accidental kiss or something?" Dove's voice piped. Pyrrha blinked again. What were they talking about?

"She'd kick our asses!" Russel pointed out.

"Love requires SACRIFICE DAMMIT!" Dove almost screamed. Pyrrha felt her lips twitch. Were they shipping her and Jaune?

Holding in her giggles, she left the rooftop. A shipper version of Team CRDL was a new one. Pyrrha wondered who else they shipped.

Later that loop, Ruby was gleefully recording team CRDL fangirling over Pyrrha and Jaune dancing together. She snickered.

"This is just too funny!" she giggled to herself.

 **54.3 LithosMaitreya**

Ironwood came to slowly. His eyes opened.

The sun stabbed his brain with a red-hot knife, so he shut them again, tightly.

A faint giggling to his right drew his attention, if not his gaze. "Neo?" he asked hoarsely. "Where am I?"

Through his eyelids, he saw the contrast as something crossed his vision, casting a shadow over his face. He opened his eyes warily. Neopolitan was standing over him, her signature angular smirk on her face, her parasol casting a shadow over him.

She held out a hand. He took it gratefully and allowed her to pull him to a seated position, clutching his throbbing head with his other hand. "How much did I _drink_?" he asked roughly.

She giggled again.

"Oh, come off it," he grumbled. "I know you're not mute."

She shrugged. "To be fair," she said lightly, "You didn't seem to know much of anything last night."

He put his head in his hands. "What happened?" he asked.

"I think your augments usually include a boost to your alcohol tolerance, right?" Neo asked.

"Yeah," Ironwood confirmed cautiously.

"They didn't this time."

The General put his head in his hands. "And I'm left with about half the expected body mass," he said.

She nodded. "You were about twelve shots in and it hit you like a train."

Ironwood chuckled dryly, the sound painful in his throat. "We got any water?" he asked.

"You could try the ocean," Neo suggested.

Ironwood looked up and squinted at the sunlight reflecting off the waves around their vessel.

"Neo," he said slowly. "We're on a boat."

She snorted. "I had noticed, yes."

"Neo," he said slowly, "this is a _rowboat_. Like, river-fare, the kind of thing Victorian-era gentlemen took up and down the Thames."

She squinted at him. "I mean, _yes_ , but why Victorian England?"

He shook his head. "Something I was reading," he said absently. "Recommendation from Blake. Look, _how_?"

She giggled again. "There are more pressing questions," she said breezily, passing him a bottle she'd produced from her Pocket. "Here, hangover cure. I carry one for Roman's worse Loops."

He took it gratefully and drank deeply. "Thanks," he said, the haze lifting gradually from his head. "I need to make sure I check my augmentations' specs more regularly."

"Or you could do what Penny does," Neo suggested. "She rebuilds herself at the start of every Loop in her Pocket."

He shook his head. "Beside the point," he said. "I still don't remember anything. What happened?"

Neo sat down across the boat from him and folded her parasol. "Well," she said. "Would you like me to start before or after the declaration of war?"

Ironwood closed his eyes. This would be good.

 **54.4 diesel**

Ruby sipped her chocolate tea, eyes scanning line upon line of code that scrolled across a dozen holographic screens. Data degradation, bloated archives, diminishing memory capacity, glitching indexing and data retrieval. If things continued, then the data would be lost permanently and it was impossible to stop.

CFVY was dying and there was nothing that could stop it. It felt like a hand had gripped her heart, it hurt, it hurt more than anything she had felt in a long time. Saving her analysis and shutting down the files before pocketing them, Ruby leant back against the cool wooden bench, closing her eyes.

"Bad loop, Red?"

A faint smile flickered across Ruby's lips at the familiar voice. "Hey, Roman. And not so much loop, as an unpleasant few centuries. Been working on data repair, so sorry I have not been the most social recently."

The dark was relaxing, soothing her aching head and eyes. It had been awhile since she had done something relaxing, she had not even had the chance to follow Blake on to the boat and meet Charlie yet. There was just so much to do and little time to do it, a rather unusual feeling if she was to be honest.

"The CFVY machines right? I did hear they were failing. I said it from the start, that was a bad idea, they would never last forever and you would just get attached. And what are you doing here? I did not think it was your kind of a scene."

Ruby cracked an eye, watching as the infamous thief poured a shot glass of some sort of pinkish, sparking tea that smelt like apple and fire dust. The room was filled with the sound of laughter, beautiful food and sex.

Well-dressed prostitutes, both male and female, walked among the patrons acting as company, waiters and performers. It was a riot of sensations and pleasure, and above all a joyous, relaxed and happy atmosphere filled the area. A stark contrast to what most people in Vale thought (at least in many loops) of when they thought Mistral's brothels. This loop they were as much restaurants and entertainment venues as brothels, and this one was known for superb tea, food and offer high quality and willing 'escorts.'

Not that she was interested in the last, she just wanted the tea.

"I wanted to try the tea, I like seeing people enjoy themselves and no one is going to ask me what I'm doing." Ruby paused, taking a sip of her drink before continuing, "I also have no desire to remain in Vale this loop and I'm sick of working in my Pocket."

Roman nodded in understanding, tipping a buxom waitress as she brought over a plate of smoked ribs, "That is not something I blame you for, Vale is a shit fest this time. Have to say, I almost did not recognise you as an adult. Interested in having fun with anyone here? If you're looking to break your aeons long drought this is the place to do it. Even Ozpin and the others get more than you."

Ruby snorted, closing her eye again as she flipped off Roman, she made a point of not providing clear answers in these situations, it made similar discussions amusing. She really needed to get more sleep, but her project was almost done for the moment. Maybe then she would follow Blake or go irritate Jacques with Weiss.

"So, when are you going to just shut them down?"

"I'm not." Ruby's voice was calm, belaying the anger that smoldered in her mind.

"Look, Red. They are going to fail and you will not be able to fix it, deluding yourself is not going to help you or them. It's the reason people don't carry around other like what you have done. What's the point in trying to fix them? They are just going to cease to exist and you will keep going."

"So?" Ruby opened her eyes, reflecting the white and orange thief in their mirrored surface. "Why should that matter? I'm not stupid or deluded and I don't appreciate one of my friends calling me that and being serious when they do so."

Roman blinked, placing his drink on the table and drumming his fingers on the wooden surface as he leant back. "Well then, I'm at a loss. So tell me, educate this lowly, ill-bred thief on the wisdom you have acquired over the endless ages of solitude. As I can't see what you mean." Roman narrowed his eyes, voice becoming harsher. "You know full well Ruby, that wishes mean nothing. That the world is cold and dark, that it does not care and what is, will be and we _can't change it!_ For all the talk of declaring War on Baseline some things can't be changed."

Ruby glared at Roman... before the anger slowly flowed away to be replaced by mirth. She laughed and shook her head. "I really don't get why people make such a big deal of that. I have had other loopers tear into me for that declaration when so many others do the same thing. The only difference is that we acknowledged it early on in our baseline and said the words."

Roman hesitated. "You have lost me. Isn't declaring War on Baseline a big thing?" he finally admitted after a few minutes of watching Ruby snicker to herself.

"Nope!"

He scowled at the cheeky reply, wracking his brains for what his childish anchor was thinking. "So, why not? We have apparently rejected our fate…"

Ruby drained her tea, gesturing for a waiter to come over as she interrupted Roman. "Hogwarts, Dresden files, Sailor Moon, Soul Eater, Naruto, Mass Effect, to name only a few. In all of these they have rejected Baseline, even if they strive for parts of it just like we do. Few loopers play things out baseline or desire to follow it, individual loops for a whim not counting, some a lot more than others. We are not the only loop to declare war on baseline. We simply said the words and made a big song and dance out of it. Basically, we are using it as a coping strategy, reminding ourselves that we are free as we can be."

Ruby paused as a waiter came over, ordering a new drink before continuing solemnly. "As for CFVY, you're right. They will die, I can't ensure they will live forever or until the end of the loops. The amount of information recorded has meant I have had to put a significant amount of my Pocket dedicated to severs, and that is with purging unneeded information. Their personalities are fragmenting, they are losing the ability to access and archive information, critical pieces are being lost and hardware is always needing to be replaced. Meaning more data is lost when the servers break down and from the slow degradation of the backups themselves. All I can do, and am doing, is the best I can to keep them alive and well, the best I can for as long as I can. I have almost completed a project that will restore them a large amount. Its temporary and won't work again to the same level, but I may be able to keep them going until the volumes end… and with luck, if it works well enough, maybe until volume 5. Though that is a stretch."

Roman ran a hand though his hair, mulling over what Ruby had just said. It was actually quite amusing hearing Ruby's take on what War on Baseline really meant, but it was the last bit that was niggling at the back of his mind. "Okay, but the question remains, why bother? They will cease, you can't save them all you do are giving them just a bit longer. Why not just let them go, just let it be over and done with?"

"Why do people give their loved one's chemotherapy when they know they will die, to the cancer or time? Why do people try to save others even knowing that they will simply die given time?" Ruby smiled melancholically as her new drink arrived, inhaling the sweet scent of Black Rose tea, letting her eyes trace over the people talking, laughing and loving, "Why did you bother to try so hard to save the unAwake Neo in that null loop awhile back? She would just die after all, she- _that_ Neo-would not gaze into infinity after all."

Roman grimaced, picking up on the train of thought Ruby was going on. He wanted to refute it, but her really did not have a leg to stand on, and _did_ understand.

Eternity tended to blur somethings and made you forget things any non-looper could tell you.

"Why bother with anyone when they will just die? Because that's life, and as loopers, we tend to forget that. I will do my best to prolong their lives as much as I can, as much as they let me, as long as I can still let them _live,_ it is at that point I may have to make a choice and I will as much as it pains me. And when they die I will mourn, I will remember and in time I will move on, but I will not just give up." Ruby turned her attention away from Roman and to her delicious tea, relishing the bitter-sweet taste on her tongue.

"Being serious is rather abnormal for you. Should I take a recording?"

She almost burst out laughing at Roman's reply. "Hey, no fair, I can act mature, I just chose not to all the time. Looper's prerogative."

 **54.5 Masterweaver**

When one lives in an eternal present, a repeating 'now' that shifts only at the whims of chance, the concept of that now growing into more was viewed with both eagerness and trepidation. Eagerness, that there would be something new... trepidation, that it would be something bad.

Blake had enjoyed her time with her recently rediscovered family. Even if they were still... vague and fuzzy in the loops. Even if the details were in flux-none of her fellow loopers stopped her from going to Menagerie, though Yang would jokingly whine about Sun shouldering in on her private time. It helped that, after the Vytal tournament, things were either very good or... very bad, depending on if they had stopped Cinder's plot. Of course, Salem still lurked in the world, a constantly adapting and shifting enemy that they couldn't quite predict, but she preferred to operate from shadows-thank the tree for small mercies.

So, finding herself awakening not in Vale, but in her bedroom in Menagerie, well. Blake was quite happy. At the same time, however, she knew that it meant another move forward for the various tools of the witch. With a reluctant sigh, she went about the room, gathering up things in her Pocket-nothing could be outside when she didn't know how long the expansion would last.

The day went, as the days before had gone. Sun chatted with her parents, telling them of the adventures of team RWBY, with Blake listening in and correcting him once or twice. Kali alternated between talking about local events, teasing Blake about something or other, and... well, Blake couldn't help but compare her to Pyrrha, in a way, how she tried to encourage and support her. And Ghira... Well, he was protective, and it was both funny and heartwarming the way he would say one statement and get Sun to back up quickly whenever the poor boy even accidentally implied anything salacious.

Blake sat, and smiled to herself, basking in the warmth of family, even as she waited for the other shoe to drop.

At one point, Ghira excused himself to work on the details of being a chief. She watched him walk out, considered going after-but Kali had pulled out some of the baby pictures, and, well, tradition demanded her embarrassment. And she was actually a little curious herself...

Come to think of it, Kali was the only mother that was still 'around,' wasn't she? Summer was dead, Raven was a bandit, Weiss's mother was a loop-variable drunk, and everyone else was either too old or had too vague a personal history for any details. But here was Kali, being the greatest mother on Remnant-which was a low bar, admittedly, but one the woman sprung over like an Olympic medalist. Blake might have been a little biased, yes, but most of the other loopers agreed (aside from team JNPR, and she had to allow Pyrrha's consistent presence gave her a very slight edge). Not bad for a woman who had, essentially, never existed until recently...

Of course, there was one other father still around to compare Ghira too. She'd met Taiyang on multiple occasions, and... well, Ghira had some serious competition for 'best father on the planet.' Which was why Blake eventually stood and let her loop memories guide her around the house, outside of the man's office.

The shattered moon shone down upon her, and so many thoughts passed through her mind. Was he busy? She had reigned over enough kigndoms to know the minutia of leading and ruling required quite a bit of attention. Would he welcome a distraction? From her own experience, she knew there were times she needed to be pulled out and relax. And what of... the argument she recalled, this loop? The yelling? Would he... would he be upset, or...?

The doubts of eons that filled her mind were banished by a sudden voice. "You know, you can always go in and say hi."

Blake blinked, turning to see her mother smiling gently at her as she held a tea tray. "Oh. Well. I... It's... it's complicated."

"Mmmm, maybe," Kali agreed lightly. "But a father's never too busy for his daughter."

"Hmm." Blake glanced northwest. "I wish I could be as sure of that as you are."

Kali leaned in, gently pressing her lips against her cheek. "Here."

Blake glanced down, realizing the tea tray had switched hands. "...Subtle."

"Well, I try."

Blake rolled her eyes as she turned away. "So, where are you going?"

" _You've_ never been very talkative, but that boy you brought home loves to run his mouth." Kali shot her a smirk. "I wanna hear more about the adventures of Team RWBY."

"Spend some more time with the eye candy, you mean."

"Mmmm. There is that." Kali chuckled at Blake's exaggerated look of disgust. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything. I'm married, after all." With a wink, she walked off.

"...Please let that be loop variable," Blake muttered to the air.

"Kali? Is that you, dear?"

Blake turned to the office, taking a breath. "Here we go." She slid the door open with her foot, entering the office. "Wow. I forgot how big this place was."

"Blake!" Ghira stood, quickly putting down what he was working on. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

She smiled faintly, shutting the door behind her. "Your darling wife conspired to thrust us together, I'm afraid. I come bearing a peace offering."

"Well, I suppose I'll have to thank her for that." The man who was twice as tall (twice as tall!) as she walked over to the large coffee table. "Please, sit down, sit down."

"Thanks. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything important-"

"Nonsense, I've been cooped up in here all day." He took the tea tray from her, placing it on the table and pouring into the cups. "Don't worry, I got it. You still take sugar, right?"

Blake chuckled as he absently put the cube in her cup. "Well, apparently."

"Oh!" Ghira pulled back. "Sorry."

"It's fine, really."

"Here, take this one-"

"It's _fine_." Blake took the cup with sugar. "Hang around Ruby long enough and you can't help but develop a sweet tooth." To prove her point, she took a sip-and winced at the temperature.

"You... might want to let it cool."

"Nope," she squeaked. "I like hot things."

"...Like Sun?"

Blake snorted. "I said I _like_ hot things, not that I _love_ hot things. Sun's a friend... an annoying one, but he tries."

Ghira frowned for a moment, but let it pass. They sat there in silence as the tea cooled.

"So… is it… _warm_... in Vale?"

"Sometimes. Why?"

"It just…" Ghira coughed. "It seems like your outfit doesn't cover very much."

Blake glanced down at herself, considered the sheer breadth of the multiverse and outfits therein, and gave him a flat look. "Well, _you're_ one to talk."

"I mean..." He gestured at his belt. "A little more armor might help. Don't you think?"

Her hand ghosted against her stomach. "...yeah. It might." Her ears folded flat. "It really...

She sighed.

"Sweetheart?" Ghira put down his cup. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. The world sucks, people are horrible, my friends are suffering... and there's nothing I can do about it."

Ghira got up, moving beside her. "Is this... about the White Fang?"

"Not... well. Not _just_ the White Fang." Blake looked up to him. "I... want to say I'm sorry, by the way. For... what I said, for calling you cowards..."

"Blake, it's fine." He cupped her chin gently. "We never held anything against you, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path, and I am so proud to see you haven't."

She managed a teary smile. "Well... thanks, Dad. I... just... well." She bit her lip. "There's so much _more_ going on then the White Fang. So much more, and... I don't know. I feel like... I needed this, yes, but I don't know how much time I have-I don't know... why I'm here. With you-I love being here, don't get me wrong, I love... both of you, it's just..."

Her eyes fell towards the harbor, towards the north, and the west.

"...You miss your friends." Ghira nodded, letting his hand drop. "From what that boy says, you four became quite close during your time at Beacon. They helped you confront your demons, time and time again."

"Oh, yes. They helped... they helped me so much more then Sun ever could know."

"So... if you don't mind me asking... why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind?"

"I wish I knew-"

And then the porch door fell inward. They both stood and whirled-

"D'yuh! Whoa!" Sun hopped up and looked at her wide-eyed. "This isn't the bathroom!"

Blake relaxed, rubbing her brow. "Really? The 'looking for a bathroom' angle? Really?!"

"Uh, I'll just be going!" The boy gave an awkward giggle, pointing behind him. "Sorry to interrupt this tender family moment!"

Ghira narrowed his eyes. "I _really_ don't like you."

The blonde vacated the room with a whimper.

"...yeah, I fed him once and he followed me home," Blake deadpanned. "I guess I better make sure he doesn't ruin the furniture, shouldn't I?"

Her father sighed. "Well... he is your guest, technically. I could have him thrown out but-"

"No, I'm sure he thought whatever that was was important. I'll talk to him." She paused for a moment, then turned and gave her father a tight hug. "Thanks for... you know."

Ghira hugged her back. "Anytime, sweetheart."

Blake smiled to herself. Then, very reluctantly, she broke the hug and walked outside.

Sun, waiting behind the birdcage, came out with his hands up. "Look, I really am sorry-"

"Sun." Blake held up a hand. "I am very annoyed, and very upset, so you had better be able to sum up what it is you thought was so important in one sentence."

He blinked. "...I think the White Fang are here-like, the bad White Fang, not the nice ones!"

"This is going to be a crazy bit of logic, isn't it?"

"Look, I was talking with your mom, and she said something weird-that the White Fang on Menagerie don't wear masks. But I saw one! Here, look, I took a picture-"

Blake took a long, deep breath as he produced his scroll. "You do realize I kind of already knew that, right?"

Sun blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I did some thinking on the boat, and... I knew that Adam would send somebody after me." Blake let her gaze drop. "I was waiting for him to make a move, so I could discredit the whole Fang here on Menagerie-"

Her ears perked at a faint sound-a gasp. She let her gaze slide sideways, over the railing, into the palm trees...

A figure, with a ponytail, and a mask.

"Welp. Looks like my vacation is over."

Sun blinked, following her eyes, and threw out his arms as the mysterious woman leapt away. "A freaking _ninja?!"_

"We crop up everywhere. Stay here and protect my parents, okay?"

"What? What are-?!"

Blake jumped after the figure, her vision sharpening as her breath quickened. Was this Illiya, or however her name was spelled? Was it just a random White Fang goon? What were they doing here-well, obviously spying on her, or maybe her family, but why? What was the plan-

And then she was suddenly back in Vale.

"...What. What?!" Blake pounded a fist against a wall. "AAAAargh. Really. Okay. Okay."

She took a deep breath.

"Okay... yeah. That is... super frustrating, Yggdrasil. Like, SUPER frustrating..."

A frown flitted over her face. "And now I sound like Yang. Great."

 **54.6**

"And I looked upon the Lamb, and behold, it opened the first seal-"

"I'm a monkey."

Blake started, snapping the book shut. "S-Sun! Don't startle me like that, alright."

Sun Wukong cocked an eyebrow, leaning next to Blake against the railing of the ship. "What happened to miss 'My Eyes See All'? Aren't your eyes supposed to be some awesome superpower?"

Blake's eyes flashed red before she rolled them. "Only when I turn them on. Besides, increased perception is only a part of what my... Semblance can do."

"Okay," Sun said. The ocean wind slipped between them, blowing their hair and coats. "...Never saw black fire before."

"I'm just that good."

"Right, right."

Silence slipped between them.

"What are you reading?"

"A book."

"Okay, good to hear. Very interesting. About?"

"Life, death, the afterlife, the past the future, symbolism, that sort of stuff."

Sun leaned over. "King James Bible. What sort of name is James?"

"The name of a King," Blake grumbled. She sighed inaudibly, almost regretting her choice to travel by boat rather than teleport to Menagerie. "It's a religious text."

"Oh, I never thought you were religious."

"I'm Nestorian Yggdrasilian."

"What?"

"I'm not even gonna try to explain the treenity to you. It just means I'm weird, and probably the only member of my religion on the planet."

"Cool, I wish I was the only member of my religion."

"Eh, it's alright." Blake held up her passage. "The Revelations of John."

Sun leaned in. "And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him."

"The red rider of the Apocalypse, War."

"Cool. So are there four riders?"

"Yup. White, Red, Black and Pale, in that order. Pestilence, War, Famine and Death."

"And they herald the coming of destructive revelations?"

"That's right."

"That's crazy."

"I'm still surprised that you know the definition of Apocalpyse."

"I'm cool like that."

"Right."

The sea air was quite salty and delicious.

"You wanna know something Blake?"

"Hit me."

"You know the Red Rider? Yeah? You know who that reminds me of? That chick, Cinder."

The Bible slipped from Blake's hands. Sun, though he spoke, went unheard. Blake's memories flashed before her.

White Rider, come conquering and to conquer. The harbinger of pestilence and poison and the lost peace. Tyrian.

Red Rider, come to take peace from the earth. To turn man against man, and spill blood. Cinder.

Black Rider, come to count the cost and take the food. To weigh the scales. Watts.

Pale Rider, to kill, and reap from the earth the living. To kill with sword and famine and pestilence and the wild monsters of the world. Hazel.

Who met with Sienna Kahn on Menagerie? Hazel.

The Rider of Death.

And she was leading Sun right to him.

"Blake? BLAKE!"

Blake recoiled, nearly tripping over herself as Sun's tone caught her. "I... what?"

"Are you okay? You spaced out just now," Sun said. The young blond man looked at her with concern in his eyes. "What's wrong? Is it the Fang, or something?"

Blake looked at him, remembering. She hadn't listened to him. She's insulted him, hurt him, and in Baseline she was running off on her own to deal with the Fang, and he was coming after her. Would he survive?

Could she even hope for that?

Blake turned to the railing, and rested her arms against it. Sun put his arm on her shoulder. "Sun... let me tell you about who I am, really. I'm gonna tell you about Life, Death, the Afterlife, the past, present, future everything."

Sun nodded, a bit of a wry grin to his lips. "Alright then. Hit me Blake."

"There is a tree, and every leaf is a story..."

 **54.7 LithosMaitreya**

"So, what's this about, Ruby?" Summer asked, pulling her daughter's head into her shoulder affectionately as they sat together on the couch. "What's bothering you, sweetheart?"

There was a moment's silence, and then Ruby sighed. "I wanted to talk about heroism," she said quietly. "I wanted to, I don't know, ask you some questions."

Summer frowned. "I'm not really an expert on heroes, sweetie," she said slowly. "But I'm listening."

Ruby snuggled into her. "First, I need to explain a couple things," she said quietly. "This is... this isn't going to be fun. But I need you to understand. Okay?"

Summer nodded. "Anything," she promised. "What's wrong?"

What followed, Summer knew she would never fully understand. Ruby wove for her a tapestry of words, enshrining an image of a tree made of space and time, with leaves that were stories and branches that were worlds, and sap made of lives and magic and dreams.

She painted a picture of gods and computers, of life after life, and of eternities spent alone. She spoke in a shaking voice of eons and eons and unfathomable depths of time spent without a mother, and with a father who changed every few months.

Summer could do nothing but hold her close and hope for calm to come soon.

"Ruby, I'm so sorry," she whispered when her daughter subsided.

Ruby shook her head. "It's not all bad," she said shakily. "I have Weiss, and Yang and Blake and all the others. I'm not alone... not most of the time, anyway."

"I know," Sumemr said gently, kissing her brow. "I'm just sorry I can't be there for you."

Ruby sobbed once, brokenly, before pulling herself together. "It's... it's okay," she murmured. "I forgive you."

They held one another for a time, simply content to enjoy one another's presence.

"But, yeah," Ruby said, shaking herself. "Baseline's not... it's gotten bad, recently. Yang said 'sometimes bad things just happen,' and that's true, but that's not... that's not the point, you know?"

"I do," Summer agreed, and she did. "It's not about what happens; it's about what you do about it."

"Right," said Ruby. "So... what do I do, Mom?" Do I just... just accept everything that's wrong? Do I just have to accept that nothing I do will ever make the world _right_?"

Summer kissed her again. "Sweetheart," she said gently, "you're Remnant's _Anchor_."

"But what good is that if I can't even keep Remnant going right?" her daughter wailed.

"It's everything," Summer said gently. "It's not that you're just the most important person in the world, Ruby, it's that the world is _literally_ depending on you."

"That's all platitudes, though, isn't it?" Ruby grumbled. "It's not like I can steer baseline. Baseline is baseline is baseline. No one decides what happens there."

"But you decide how important it is," Sumemr said firmly. "Remnant is a world you can mold like _clay_ , Ruby! You have friends, and sisters, and a _family_ there! And none of them will ever leave you! Baseline may be grim and unforgiving, but baseline doesn't have to define _Remnant_ , and it doesn't have to define _you_."

"But it does!" Ruby cried. "It explicitly does!"

Summer shook her head. "Baseline gave you a world," she said. "But there's nothing in that world that can tell you what to do with it."

Ruby took a shuddering breath and let it out slowly.

"You told me you'd declared war on baseline," Summer said. "That sounds like exactly the right thing to do. Baseline may have created you, and created the world you live in, but it can't control you any more than I can."

Ruby clutched her tightly. "So is that what a hero has to be?" she asked roughly. "Someone who doesn't let the world define them?"

"A hero," Summer said, "is anyone who shapes the world around them instead of being shaped _by_ it, I think."

"Choice," Ruby mumbled.

"Not just choice," Summer corrected. "Creation of the self, and destruction of the forces that seek to control it. And the knowledge and wisdom to measure both."

Ruby swallowed. "They call the world Remnant," she said. "A remnant of what?"

Summer shook her head. "That's something baseline will have to tell you, I expect," she said.

Ruby nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

"I'm here for you, sweetheart," Summer Rose promised honestly. "I'm always here for you."

 **54.8**

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

"I OBJECT!"

The congregation gasped. The bride and her future partner were still, trapped in shock. The dissenter marched forward, her white dress falling around her. Weiss looked Ruby dead in the eye (after glaring at Ozpin for trying to officiate the marriage) and said, "You are not marrying your scythe."

Ruby's lips trembled. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "But... but..."

"No."

Weiss picked up Ruby, and dragged her from the altar. Ozpin, the assembled well wishers, and Crescent Rose watched them go. The headmaster closed his book, and the inanimate weapon fell over. "Well that was a waste of time."

 **54.9 Masterweaver**

Impossibly tall spires reached from ground to sky, various bulbs along their length admitting and receiving large fleets of robots and automatic vehicles. Concentric rings extended beyond the central city, segmenting various regions into farmland, storage, breeding colonies, and what passed as residencies. Visible in the distance, two furred giants warred for food and territory, the distant rumbles of their battle causing no disturbance. All was lit by the fractal patterns above them, and an oddly welcoming chilliness permeated the realm, giving way willingly to various beacons of warmth.

Qrow whistled as he stood at the large windows. "I'll admit, it's a pretty crazy view." He turned to his host. "Still doesn't explain why you decided to kidnap me, though."

"Consider this a preemptive intervention."

"For what? My alcoholism?" He stepped over to the half-circular sofas surrounding a warming table. "Hate to break it to you, kid, but I'm working on that."

"In the recent expansion, your unawake self justified your distance from Ruby as an inevitable condition of your... _unique_ semblance." Weiss Schnee sipped her tea. "That... does not sit well with me."

"You're worried I'm going to pull the same stunt." Qrow sat down. "Yeah... no. I'm not stupid enough to think I can run from Ruby if she wants me around. I just have to be a little... _careful_ around her now."

The snow-haired girl put her teacup down. "Or you could learn to _control_ your misfortune."

"Huh. Now there's a bold statement." The man leaned back. "What, you think you can help me?"

Weiss gestured, and something flew from the wall into her hand. With a snap and a crack, a blade of light sprung into life.

"...Do you know why I call myself a jedi, mister Branwen?"

"You looped into Star Wars early on, ended up training with that togruta chick, and decided to keep it up afterward."

"Well, true. But it's more... a philosophical statement then one of experience." The blade hummed as she tilted it, examining it carefully. "I can use this, because I took it with me. Khyber crystals, charger packs, power focusers... some of this technology is not replicable in Remnant. The same would be true of my force capabilities-there are no midichlorians in our universe, no life force-"

"We have aura," Qrow pointed out. "And semblances. And some weird magic that keeps itself hidden. And Dust, but I figure that's besides the point."

"Mmm. Looping gives us power, but it also gives us _skill_." The blade retracted with a hiss, and Weiss looked him in the eyes. "I'll let you in on a little secret: I've figured out how to mimic my force abilities in null loops."

He quirked an eyebrow.

"It's not exactly the same," she admitted. "And it is limited-less clairvoyance, no psychic empathy, I really usually just use my glyphs to mimic the telekenetic aspect. Still, because of my experience as a jedi, I can do things that might seem outright impossible to my baseline self, with exactly her own abilities. Aura, semblance, a touch of Dust on occasion. It's not so difficult, one just has to understand the fine details."

"...and one of the tricks jedi are known for is manipulating luck."

Weiss hummed. "Well, it's a bit grayer then most republic era jedi like. Still."

"Let me see if you're saying what I think you're saying." Qrow pointed at her. "You." He pointed at himself. "Want me." He held up his hand. "To become your padawan."

"Yes."

"Wow. And here I thought you couldn't stand me."

"You're a drunken lout, but Ruby and Yang like you, and somehow you managed to sort of win my sister's heart." Weiss shrugged. "I can help you figure out your semblance, keep you from running away like an idiot, and maybe teach you some manners on the side. The only problem I see is dealing with your terrible personality."

Qrow chuckled. "Do I get a lightsaber?"

"You have to build your own. And you have your buster scythe, don't you?"

"...what the hell. Let's try it." Qrow held out his hand. "I'm not doing the braid thing, though."

"Fair enough." Weiss took it and shook. "But you have to call me master."

"Don't think your sis would like you stealing that title."

"...I can already tell this is going to be horrible."

 **54.10 diesel**

A blazing sun beat down across the desert, a twisted grin just visible behind the light as its laughter echoed across the land as clouds pass behind it, casting its glow upon a vast mounded city encrusted with cartoonish skulls.

Ruby gazed up at the massive staircase to the skull-faced building adorned with candles, a feeling of excitement bubbling up as she realized where she was. "This is going to be so much fun!" She grinned, bolting up the stairs, forcing back her distorted physiology and letting her in-Loop body take over, relishing the ache of her lungs and legs.

She had been waiting for a Soul Eater loop for a long time... pity she was seemingly replacing Maka. She had met the other Scythe user on a few occasions and had been looking forwards to a joint loop here.

"Yahoo, hear me…"

Ruby supressed a snigger, watching as an apparently Unawake Black Star yelled across the courtyard, perched high up on one of the red needles. She would meet him later, first she wanted to find out who was Awake and find a partner for the Loop.

Weiss leaned against the wall, watching as people streamed into the introduction room. Many of them were people she recognized from the show, all nervous, including Black Star and Tsubaki, even if the latter was hiding it under bravado as he talked to his future weapon partner.

Really, where was Ruby… or possibly Maka?

Weiss frowned imperceptibly, as an image of her weapon form came to mind. Given she was in Soul's place it was rather obvious who she would be working with, if it was actually Maka she would probably already be here; and given her weapon form...

Well, Ruby was going to be insufferable.

Ignoring that, what was interesting was instead of the dark skinned and tattooed knife miester, Sid, standing by the door marking students off as they came in, it was a grey haired man in a Lab coat.

Finally, the door swung open for the last time, a familiar figure stepping into the room. "Sorry, I'm late … Professor Stein, Dad was… holding me up."

Ruby's voice was distinctly irritated, and from her emotions it seemed like it was genuine. It took a notable exertion of will for Weiss to stop herself from bursting out laughing at the mental image of Taiyang acting like Spirit Albarn.

The stitch-marked man tilted his head, the bolt clanking with every turn, considering Ruby. "That's not particularly surprising, I did see him hanging around. I'll have a talk with Taiyang to ensure he doesn't make you late for further classes. I won't be so understanding in the future though."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ruby Rose, Scythe Meister." Ruby smiled as she shook hands with Black Star, Kim and Tsubaki as the various new students mingled; getting to know each other before they were taken to the dorms.

"A scythe? That's one of the rarer weapon types, isn't it?" Tsubaki mused, her eyes sweeping over the room, a frown marring her face as she saw several of the older male Meisters harassing a younger female weapon. "Do you think there are any Scythes here?"

The yellowed hair girl put them on the ground with barely a backwards look, getting laughter and calls of approval from most of the other students.

Ruby shrugged, stretching playfully and gesturing grandly at the crowd. "Oh, I'm sure I can find someone to partner with. I doubt Yggdrasil would leave me high and dry." The sun was shining, people were talking, monsters were out hunting souls and Weiss was being harassed by idiots trying to get her attention. It was already shaping up to be an awesome loop.

The pink haired, hidden witch, Kim frowned as she crossed her arms; eyeing the idiots around with disdain and apprehension. "It will likely mean you're going to be without a partner for a long time if you're fixated on one type of Weapon. And Yggdrasil…?"

"Leave me alone you utter fools." Weiss' sharp voice cut across the courtyard as she stood over an overly eager female Meister. The Meister had fallen to the ground gasping for breath, a look of absolute shock and fear on her face as Weiss loomed over her, "I am not some trophy, delicate snowflake or anything else! I am the Demon Scythe, Weiss Schnee, and I fully intend to enter the Eater Class and I will become a Death Scythe."

Ruby watched with increasing amusement as one of her 'admirers' tried to calm Weiss dow., "Miss Schnee, no one meant you were not a real Weapon. But I think you are aiming your sights a bit high, you are the heiress to the world's largest computer company. You do have other things to think about; look how about you do your best in NOT and… Gurk."

Ruby giggled as Weiss lifted the older man off the ground with one hand, her other arm turning into a familiar red and black scythe blade, "Setting my sights a bit high? I fail to see why being in line to inherit the family business means wanting to be the best is too high. I do not appreciate people acting like you fools are, towards me. Now, leave."

"Okay, I like her attitude," Black Star said grinning almost manically, giving Weiss a thumbs up as he watched the crowd scatter.

"You, you're a scythe meister right? Good, you are now my partner, we are going to go practice."

The three of them watched as Ruby was dragged away by the irate scythe; not that she seemed to opposed to it, as Ruby had yet to stop laughing.

"I wonder how long a partnership between Schnee and me would last?" Black Star gasped out dissolving into laughter himself as he watched the mayhem and confusion take over. Seriously? They thought they could just treat a weapon like that and work with them?

"Not sure, a week?" Tsubaki said with a faint smile, the mental image was really quite funny.

"Stop laughing, Dolt."

"… and I'm not sure that this will last much longer either."

The streets of the slums were dark, faint yellow light of what few lamps still worked giving very little illumination. In the shadows a twisted figure slunk though the streets, bulging with muscles with clawed long fingers.

People huddled into their lean-tos and retreated into the alleyways to escape the figures attention.

Red eyes gazed up at the moon, watching as blood poured from its tombstone like teeth. "The Academy is closing in, typical." The man spat though fang like teeth, picking up his pace while reaching for the gun at his side.

Those monsters, murders and soul thieves... killing indiscriminately just because someone didn't fit their definition of 'human'.

The Russ scoffed, turning a corner and heading down the darkened lane. He wasn't stupid. He knew they would come the moment his true, rightful power began to show.

This was his dominion.

His slaves would fight to the death to protect him, their true love for his power and majesty meant they would rise up.

The DWMA would need to face him in open combat, try to show their strength… and that would be when victory would be assured.

The stench of salt and fish filled The Russ' nostrils, interwoven with the fragrance of misery; a stark reminder of how much his people loved him. That they would weep when he passed, having but glimpsed his form and then being robbed of it.

It was sad when one of them could take it no more and attacked, trying to have him in death like they could not in life.

The cold wind was refreshing, clearing his mind as…

Ruby looked up from Weiss' scope, pushing herself off the roof and removing the dappled grey covering.

A perfect hit.

"This is boring," Weiss said irritably, crossing her arms in the dark void her mind floated in while in weapon form, "The last five targets we haven't even engaged in person."

Cat-like, Ruby dropped to the ground; approaching the sickly crimson soul that floated over the man's dusty remains. "True, but our job is to kill the enemy. Not pointlessly put ourselves at risk. Besides, when was the last time we actually acted as snipers and assassins?"

In a flash of light Weiss transformed back into a human, grimacing in distaste, "And when did you become the sensible one?" With a look of resigned disgust, Weiss swallowed the soul.

Ruby shrugged, eyes hardening as she spotted an odd diagram barely hidden by the grime. "Hey, Weiss? Transform, I think I have found something and my soul perception isn't high enough yet to tell for sure."

Weiss nodded, dissolving into a steam of light before reforming in Ruby's hands as a perfect replica of her preferred model of Crescent Rose. Holding her partner's shaft, Ruby focused on the mystical light, aligning her soul with Weiss' by almost sheer reflex.

"Let's go; Soul resonance."

And the world turned crystalline in its clarity, as power flooded their linked forms and the world exploded into view.

Soul Resonance… It was an odd feeling, more so as it was not a null loop and Aura was soul based to begin with.

Ruby could feel Weiss, her emotions, thoughts, nature and _self_. Their Souls aligning, who and what they were resonating in time with one another to become more together than either were apart. All bound with an unbreakable bond of trust, the promise that their fates were one and at the end they would stand by the other even if they slipped into madness.

One would always be there to draw the other back; something that happened so often in the dusty ages. Two sides to a coin, closer than twins, closer than anyone else. The wavelengths of each other combining, two separate songs becoming one harmony. Greater when united than separate.

Millions of souls glowed in the darkness; a dazzling kaleidoscope of emotions, thoughts feeling and the resonance of souls. So many weak resonances done by sheer instinct even by those without training, so weak as to be ignored; just a sign of how much people needed each other.

But it was tainted, many of the souls in the vicinity held too much darkness and Madness. Lines of power seemed to resonate across the port city.

"What is it?"

Ruby didn't reply to Weiss immediately; focusing on the diagram she had felt, tracing the malignant, foul energy that lingered within it. Ruby could feel the Madness trying to invade her soul, whispering words of corruption and twisted anger.

"Magic and Madness, likely witchcraft," Ruby murmured, whipping away the grime and dirt to reveal the blood inked magic circle. Reaching into a pocket to pull out a small disposable camera, Ruby snapped a photo before straightening, "We're going."

Ruby raced through the winding maze of roads of makeshift houses, adrenaline pounding as blood leaked from a multitude of wounds. She was exhausted, they both were.

The witch had found them. That had been five days ago and no reinforcement had arrived.

And so they ran, neither Weiss or Ruby herself willing to use out-of-Loop powers. It had been so long since the two of them had truly had to _rely_ on the other, to really have to work as one… neither of them were willing to give it up.

Ruby felt her lips twist, a snarl emerging from her throat, sounding very much like Cinder. The street had opened up to show a bustling market, the darkly laughing sun setting her teeth on edge as people scattered.

Ruby really didn't blame them. She was dressed in archaic looking clothes, wearing a tatted hood and cape, stained with blood and grievously injured. Weiss was folded on her back, but even then it was obvious to people what she was.

The skull iconography over her shoulder was just another trait that marked her as a DWMA student, and if she was in this state the general thought was 'run'.

Not stopping, Ruby wove her way through the crowds; vaulting and tumbling over stands and fences.

"Left at the next intersection," Weiss' voice whispered into her mind as Ruby bolted across the street, ignoring the blaring horns, "That should take us to Amethyst street, then its just one kilometer to the railway. We can get the train to the airport."

Ruby didn't bother to reply, it wasn't needed and she had enough to do trying to ensure that no hidden assassins could sneak up to them.

"10:23, faster. The train should be at the station in four minutes."

Turning the corner, Ruby grit her teeth; forcing herself to go faster. She felt so slow. The blood loss, injures and lack of sleep catching up and sapping her will. Each agonizingly slow step increasing the urge to let loose with her Speed.

Abruptly, Silver eyes widened as they saw though the magic at the last moment; a cursed soul coming into focus. They moved as one, Weiss's blade clashing into a wicked demon sword, as Ruby kicked the assassin back.

Blood made Weiss' shaft slippery, the crimson liquid dripping from the blade as her strangled cry of pain tore through the street.

The screams of the crowd seemed to be a distant thing as the two of them took in the Assassin.

"You caught me. That was unfortunate," the golden eyes of a familiar looking Nekomata narrowed, the darkly gleaming and familiar chain scythe reflecting an equally familiar blond, "You should just give up, it would make the end less painful."

"Yeah, not like your pitiful piece of steel could beat me or my beloved kitty cat. Look at it, already bleeding,"

Ruby's face was stone like; the comments of Yang's look alike barely registering. Weiss' snaky voice replied before she could herself, "You pawns are annoying, do you have any idea how far behind we are on homework from your little mistress' jaunt?"

Cracking a brief grin before going impassive again, Ruby replied, "I think Professor Stein will give us an extension."

Blake narrowed her eyes. Ruby could feel the other girls powerful and blood thirsty soul, filled with magic, pressing against her own soul; only to be matched in turn.

Countless thoughts ran though her mind in moments and Ruby made a choice. She moved.

One blow flowed into the next, a deadly dance of blade, magic and souls.

Step by step, Blake was pushed back, the lethal sniper scythe dancing in the air and reaping a terrible toll against the twisted image of BY.

Ruby snarled as she ducked under a swing, kicking Blake's feet out from under her, slamming a palm glowing with soul wavelength into the cat's gut. The agile monster screamed in pain and fury as she back flipped away, chain scythe flashing through the air.

Weaving around the blade, her shifting weapon morphed into a gun and Ruby fired as she hurtled towards the monster. Ruby grinned coldly as bolts of energy struck the Nekomata, blood leaking from her mouth and form as it stained the ground crimson.

A blistering blade, shrouded in shadowy fire, ripped into her arm as Ruby tried to knock the lethal blow aside, and simultaneously avoid letting Weiss impact it directly. Her strength failing at the last moment, maleficent energy cascaded across her nerves as lighting tore into her body.

But….

The outcome was never in question.

Ruby choked as she hit the ground, her head slamming the hard road and sending the world spinning as Weiss was wrenched form her grasp; blood pooling from the weapon as she slowly and painful returned to human form.

Tears blurred the world as Ruby tried to push herself up, her deadened and numb limbs refusing to respond. Shrouded in a ebony cloak of cursed flame, Blake walked forwards cautiously; a vicious glee in her eyes as she raised the gun portion of the corrupted weapon.

 _Damn it! We wanted to go a Loop without using out of character abilities!_

Ruby reached back into her soul, feeling the full power she had accumulated overtime waiting for her call.

 _Power surged, racing to the surface…_

Screw th…

Blake fell, a look of surprise etched into her face as a familiar blade pierced her heart, tearing upwards in a display of immense strength. A dim thud echoed though the deserted streets, golden eyes staring blankly at the setting sun, Yang's scream of horror being cut off moments latter with a wet sucking noise.

"Nobody gets away with hurting my friends, nobody, got it?"

Black Star glared at the crumbling bodies for a moment before dropping Tsubaki and running over, the other Weapon racing over to Weiss'.

Ruby let the power go even as darkness danced at the edge of her vision, "Hey, don't worry Ruby, the amazing Black Star is here! You're both safe. We can talk when you're better, and you're not feeling so Loopy."

Ruby smiled as the twin ping's washed over her, finally surrendering to the darkness.

 **54.11 LithosMaitreya**

"Roman?" Penny asked.

"Yggdrasil on a pogo stick!" Roman swore, whirling to face her, Melodic Cudgel rising instinctively. "Penny! Don't startle a guy like that!"

"Apologies," she said cheerfully. "I had a question for you."

"Fore away, kid," he said, turning around to face the White Fang troopers who had stopped to stare at them. "And don't you all stop! We've got to get this Dust packed in two hours, get to work!"

"Have you read _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_?" Penny asked, following him through the warehouse.

"With how obsessed Blake is over Shakespeare," Roman said dryly, swatting one lagging worker with his cane lightly—not enough to hurt, just enough to remind him that he was paying attention—"I think we've all read that one at least once."

Penny nodded. "Good," she said. "I wonder, Roman, do you think you determined your own destiny, with respect to your death?"

"Am I a Rosencrantz, you mean," Torchwick said dryly. "Was I being led by the nose—by Cinder—to my own death when I could've averted it."

"Well, yes."

"Nah," Roman said easily.

Penny cocked her head at him. "You don't think so?" she asked.

Roman shook his head and tipped his hat to Neo as he passed her. She was going into the warehouse proper, while he led Penny into a back-room. "I don't," he said, "although it's not something I think about all that often, I'll give you that. I'm not one of you braniacs, spending all your time philosophizing because the science changes every Loop."

Penny smiled at him. "You wouldn't have come up with that theory of why we philosophize if you didn't do a bit of it yourself."

Roman rolled his eyes. "So I get bored, sue me," he said, hanging Melodic Cudgel and his bowler on a coat rack before taking a seat at the table in the center of the room. "What's your point?"

Penny frowned at him. "Well, you wouldn't have been on that airship, or overseeing the fall of Beacon, or... _any_ of it, really, if Cinder hadn't instructed you to. How is that not being led?"

Roman spread his arms. "Sweetheart, do you think I only started being a criminal when _Cinder_ showed up? I've been in the game longer than she has, in most variants."

"Being a criminal and causing the fall of a kingdom are far from the same thing," Penny said lightly.

He shrugged. "Semantics. Maybe I didn't choose the exact time and place, but the _manner_ of my death? How else do you think it could have gone?" He laughed. "Eaten in the middle of being the dramatist that I am, while pulling off the biggest heist in Remnant's history—stealing a _Kingdom_ from the face of the planet. There was no better way to go."

Penny shook her head. "Surely you would have preferred to die during one of your _own_ ventures, then?" she asked. "Rather than Cinder's?"

He shrugged. "And surely Cinder would've preferred to be in charge of burning the world down rather than answering to Salem," he said dryly. "We can't all be Generals and Headmasters, Penny, and we don't _have_ to be to captain our own souls. Being second-in-command isn't incompatible with being in charge."

Penny blinked at him. "...You've put a great deal of thought into this," she said wonderingly.

He rolled his eyes. "Sweetheart, I'm probably at least twice your age if not way more. I've had _time_."

"Well, thank you," Penny said graciously. "You've given me... a great deal to consider."

"Something to catalogue?" he asked.

She chuckled. "Perhaps," she agreed. "Not sure what to call it, though. But it has been... instructive."

He smirked. "Maybe I should file for a job with ol' Oz," he suggested airily.

"You might make a good teacher," said Penny. "Thank you again, Roman." And she left.

He blinked after her for a moment before snorting, producing a cigar, and lighting it with a ficker of magic. "Me," he mumbled. "A teacher. Pah. Didn't get a word I said."

Neo came in, cocked her head at him.

"You Awake?" he asked curiously.

She nodded.

"You want to steal the Relic from Beacon without being noticed?"

She nodded more vigorously.

"Let's do this."

 **54.12 Kaoticice**

Taiyang Xiao along was having a relaxing night; so far, he'd downed a trio of beers, and had binged out on half a season of "Articles of a Huntress: A night on the town."

Of course, he never would have revealed his habit of the kids had been present; Yang would have mocked him well past the day of his own death, and Ruby would have just pointed her finger and collapsed laughing if she'd known about his rather unfortunate affinity for chick flicks; but they were gone, off to Beacon Academy, and for once, Taiyang was alone.

He'd stressed for a bit, of course, but by the time the marathon had started he'd managed to calm down; they were big girls, they could handle themselves, and it wasn't like Yang would be able to go too crazy under the watchful eyes of her instructors.

Unfortunately, as episode 12 hit its climax, a startling revelation of Josephene's love for Amber, the screen changed abruptly to a news anchor, framed by a large picture of his eldest daughter's face.

"We interrupt this broadcast of 'Articles of a Huntress: A night on the town' to bring you breaking news; a student at Beacon Academy, one Yang Xiao Long, appears to have committed six robberies while driving drunk on a bright yellow motorcycle. Felicia, on scene now, with the details."

Mouth dropping, Tai blinked repeatedly, missing the first portion of what the reporter on screen was saying as he desperately tried to convince himself that he was hallucinating; slapping himself twice, he made a small noise of despair as he reluctantly admitted that he should have expected this, and turned his attention back to the screen.

"...and challenged the entire police force to a duel, as, and I quote: 'A nice way to build up adrenaline for the main event.' As you can see, the results of the duel surround us-" The camera panned, and Taiyang whimpered at the sight of the flipped cars, burning buildings, burning trees, and burning police officers.

"After defeating the local station's complement of three hundred, sixty two policemen and women, the Huntress in training informed us that she was 'Our new lord and savior', and promised to be a benevolent Goddess-Queen, before leaving the scene on the back of a stolen tractor, claiming that she 'Liked the color'."

A single tear streaked down Taiyang's cheek, and he clutched his beer tightly as the screen returned to the woman at the station.

"Thank you Felica. New reports from the governmental district claim that the blonde has been sighted approaching the Council Chambers, screaming her intentions to 'Seat herself upon the throne of Vale and take her rightful place in the heavens'. Michal, on scene, reporting now."

Chugging the beer, ignoring the way it spilled from the corners of his lips, Taiyang watched with morbid fascination as his nightmares came true; sinking deeper into his chair, he sobbed quietly, reaching for a fifth beer; it was going to be a long night.

 **54.13 Masterweaver**

"Come in!" Ruby said absently at the knock on the door, entranced as she was by the holographic schematics before her. "Mmm, okay, so if I extend the processing circuits here-"

"Uh... wow. What is that?"

"Hmm?" She looked up. "Oh, hey Sun. It's... a thing. A really important thing that... I don't think you'd get the details." She looked back. "Why are you here?"

Sun Wukong shrugged. "I, you know, kind of wanted to talk... with Blake... about the dance... do you know where she is?"

"There's a retractable wall here, Sun."

"Oh, yeah, I noticed. Why's it shut?"

"So I can't see what's on the other side."

"Okay, that... is an unhelpful answer..."

Ruby sighed. "Sun, you're an adorable idiot, you know that?"

Sun blinked. "What? All I want to do is ask Blake if she'd like to go to the dance!"

"...I'm sorry, I'm under a lot of stress right now. And Blake's under a lot of sex right now."

"She's under-?"

"Or over, maybe, it's not like I watch. Hence the wall."

Sun stared. "So... wait. You're saying that Blake is-"

"-doing the horizontal tango with my sister. Mmmhmm." Ruby frowned at the hologram. "Sun, I really need to focus on this..."

"No, that's... alright." The monkey faunus coughed into his fist. "So, uh... I'll be going then."

"...Ugh." Ruby rubbed her brow. "I need to relax anyway... look. I'll go to the dance with you, alright? Just... tel your buddy to take some dance lessons. My friend Penny might be able to help."

 **54.14 WirelessGrapes**

Penny sighed, closing her modified Scroll, moving up from her rather comfy chair and sending both to her Pocket. For a moment, she thanked Yggdrasil for introducing her to people that were able to help her with making nerves that actually felt things. She certainly appreciated the absolutely perfectly made chair Uncle James had given her a million years ago, designed to look like Headmaster Ozpin's chair.

Apparently he'd gifted one to everyone so that everyone could enjoy the comfiness and lewd design.

She sighed again, remembering that the General wasn't Awake this Loop, and it was just her and Ruby. Whenever Uncle James wasn't around, she was almost never able to convince the General to let her go to Vale early, so she spent a lot of her Awake Loops alone.

Blake had helped her with entertainment, filling her Scroll with millions of books from around the multiverse. This time she was reading a superhero story, where the main character _wasn't_ a superhero. Well, technically, she was _trying_ to be a superhero, but she failed at it.

It was honestly quite good.

But! It wasn't what she wanted, to be with her friends.

Penny decided to go see the General, to try to convince him to let her go to Vale. He was a little more caring than usual, that trait being a Loop variable, so maybe she could pull it off. And if that failed, she could always prove the existence of the Loops, but that was just so much _effort._ And all the _questions_ he'd ask.

It was truly exhausting to answer the same questions over and over, so she tried to Stealth around the General whenever she could.

Making her way to his office, she quietly opened his door, surprisingly not alerting the hyperaware man, who was hunched over his desk, typing away. He huffed, pressed on a single key, and dropped his hands into his head.

Feeling excitement grow in her, Penny activated her stealth mode, so that she could jump scare the General. She usually didn't partake in such practical jokes, but all Loopers' patience grew thin eventually, and pranking non-Loopers (or Unawake ones) was always a fan favorite.

Metaphorically tiptoeing to his desk (because actually walking on the tips of her toes would be ridiculous!), she snuck up on the General, who still had his head in his hands.

Now behind him, she peered at the screen, unable to hold in a gasp of shock as she activated the recording function in her eyes. This would be great fun to show to Yang later!

The General heard her gasp, jumping up, turning to her with wide eyes before rapidly closing his window and spinning back to the gynoid.

"Ah-haha, Miss Polendina! I didn't hear you come in! How can I help you?" He stammered, face growing red.

She decided to put the 'misunderstanding android' routine on extra thick to maximize the comedy of the video.

"General," she spoke slowly, yet cheerfully, "What was that you were working on?"

He glanced back behind him, the computer still showing the desktop, before snapping back to Penny, "Ah, it-it was nothing, just some personal business."

The General was practically sweating right now, oh, team RWBY would find this _so funny!  
_  
"General, sir, that looked like a love letter to one, Miss Goodwitch."

The General's attraction to the blonde professor was a Loop variable, though it was always great fun whenever Professor Goodwitch was Awake, and the General was not.

He gulped, "Yes, yes it was."

Penny forced herself to keep the deadpan, activating her expression cancellers to keep her face straight.

"Would you like some help? Father installed some software on relationships recently, and I believe that I can provide adequate assistance."

The General blinked, before responding slowly with a smile, "Yes, Miss Polendina, I would indeed like that."

Penny strained her expression cancellers as she laughed heartily inside her head, she always did have fun setting up the General and Unawake Professor Goodwitch, but finding him in a compromising situation such as this was amazing!

She couldn't wait to show everyone the video!

 **54.15 LithosMaitreya**

"Knowledge," Ozpin said, rolling the word around in his mouth. "Choice has, of course, been very important in baseline."

Pyrrha nodded. "I'm reminded of your... _request_ that I take on the Fall Maidenhood."

Ozpin winced and nodded. "A complex issue, that," he said, "morally speaking."

"But not the point right now," said Weiss.

They were seated together in Ozpin's office—Teams RWBY, JNPR, Ozpin, and Qrow. These were the Loopers awake this Loop, and as numerous as they were they had decided to discuss baseline.

"What's so interesting about knowledge, Professor?" Blake asked.

Ozpin frowned. "Well, choice is tied to it, of course," he said slowly. "It's... an epistemological nightmare, of course."

"Gesundheit," said Nora. Ren rolled his eyes at her.

Ozpin sighed. "The very idea of _choice_ ," he explained, "is something that is not _known_ , do you see?"

Ruby leaned forward. "The question of free will," she said, nodding.

"I haven't heard of this," Jaune said. "What are we talking about?"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "There are two opposing schools of epistemological thought regarding free will," he explained slowly. "Both supported by seemingly overwhelming inductive evidence—as with all things in philosophy, this evidence is not _scientific_ , and applying scientific tests to it does not really help.

"On the one hand," he said, nodding to the relic on his table—Choice, this loop, was stored in beacon, and took the form of a green orb, glowing faintly. "We have the assumption that free will exists. The support for this perspective is self-evident. Humanity has the experience of free will, and of choosing, every day. Every moment of our lives we make the choice to carry on breathing, every meal we choose what to eat, et cetera. We can isolate the logical decision-making process and understand why we make the choices we do from a purely humanistic perspective; ergo, free will."

He took up a green cloth and covered the relic. "On the other," he said, "we have the idea of the _illusion_ of free will. This logic follws thus: We can predict any motion of the physical world using increasingly complex maths to analyze the motion of particles on the atomic and subatomic scale. Physics and chemistry, on the whole, seem able to predict all physical phenomena—the only exceptions are phenomena whose scientific basis is simply insufficiently understood. There is no apparent reason why mental processes should be any different. The idea is that, if every atomic- and subatomic-scale particle and force in the universe were mapped, every choice could be predicted in advance; ergo, no free will."

Ren raised a hand. "Heisenberg's uncertainty principle seems to render that question mote in any case," he said dryly. "Since it is deductibly impossible to map every subatomic particle and force in the universe."

Ozpin nodded. "It is, of course, an entirely theoretical question," he agreed. "No observable universe would ever actually allow all of a persons decisions to be predicted in advance without a workaround for the uncertainty principle. Nevertheless, if there _is_ a mathematical model which, given both the position and velocity of every particle in the universe, could predict the decisions of sapient beings, then free will _is_ illusory in a very concrete way, wouldn't you agree?"

Ren shrugged. "Quantum mechanics make it difficult to make such statements," he said, "but we may proceed with that assumption."

Ozpin nodded. "So you see that the very idea of choice is something that is not _known_ ," he said. "Perhaps it is even _unknowable_. The fact that they are both Relics is thus... problematic."

"Not really," Pyrrha said thoughtfully. "Creation and Destruction are mutually exclusive as well, of course."

"They're supposed to represent fundamental aspects of human nature, aren't they?" Qrow said. "Who ever said people were _consistent_?"

Yang snorted. "I mean," she said breezily, "they might be mathematically predictable..."

"You shut up," Blake said, rolling her eyes. "I think Pyrrha and Qrow have the point, though. It's not _problematic_ that Choice and Knowledge are contradictory; it's a parallel with Creation and Destruction."

"Taoism is all about balancing contradictory forces," Ren put in, "and from the new revelations of Baseline, this Remnan religion bears some similarity to Taoism. This is merely an extension of the parallel."

Ozpin sighed. "I suppose that is a fair assessment," he agreed, uncovering the relic. "Out of curiosity... do any of you believe that free will is an illusion?"

There was a thoughtful silence.

"Nah," said Ruby firmly. "Baseline's too screwed up for that."

 **54.16 Not The Simurgh**

The first obstacle was Ozpin.

Penny wouldn't be able to get to her endgoal without getting past Ozpin, that was clear to see. The man was cunning, he was suspicious, and he was...

In love with the General?

Well, at least this loop he was.

And it was _obvious_ from looking through the messages on Ironwood's scrolls that this was one of those things where both sides wouldn't mention their love to the other without a series of wacky hijinks in between, which was why she was currently handing her father-for-this-Loop a ticket to Patch and pushing him out the door.

"Yes, he said it's urgent! He said you had to meet him there immediately, that there was some sort of emergency with some maidens or something. Yes, I'm sure he said maidens. Yes, I'll be sure to feed the robots when you're gone. Yes, I'll make sure all the ovens are off love you dad bye!"

Okay. So first obstacle down.

Next was the teachers.

Glynda Goodwitch had taken leave when she heard about a house falling on her sister. It was false, of course, but the matches, grandfather clock, and three dozen boxes of macaroni Penny had used to set it up would still keep her distracted for at least a day.

As for Oobleck, the small village of Broadshire had just posted a mission about a Grimm that had appeared nearby - a large gelatinous mass that stuck to everything. Swords did nothing to it, guns did nothing to it, and swords that were also guns did even more nothing to it! Bartholomew snapped the mission up, having once read an account by the legendary-but-biased historian Tan Sima of just such a Grimm, and eagerly headed off to test the methods detailed to fight an Oobleck.

Professor Peach was nowhere to be found.

Port was the last teacher, and the easiest. She just had to ask him a question about himself in the middle of one of his classes, and he ended up rambling for the rest of the day without noticing that everyone else had left.

Now the last obstacle.

Ruby was Awake but the rest weren't, which made this much easier.

She opened the Scroll with her hands - her human, flesh-and-bones hands - and texted Ruby. Letting her know what she was planning, asking her to make sure that a certain member of JNPR stayed away while she was in Beacon.

She got a "K : )" back.

Setup was over, and it was _time_.

After they realized that there must have been sort of miscommunication earlier, Ozpin had suggested they just spend time together as old friends who enjoyed each others' companies and didn't see each other enough. While he was glad to, James was really wishing they'd chosen a different location.

Oh, the diner that Ozpin and James were at was undoubtably high-tier, but the constant racket from the television in the corner was still irritating to his augmented ears.

"Our channel has just received news about a young girl bungee jumping from the CCT tower in Beacon, which is the highest point in Vale and in the known world."

Neither man reacted much to the news broadcast - they were well aware of how much thrill seeking young Hunters got up to.

"And now, a live feed from the site, including audio that we somehow managed to capture."

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

And now Ironwood and Ozpin were halfway out the door, both having glanced at the TV that showed a pink girl who hadn't even had her Aura unlocked yet what was she doing why would she do that she was going to be grounded forever in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

The genuinely happy "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee-" went on for quite a while longer.

 **54.17 Masterweaver**

"Hey Weiss?"

"Is this going to be another 'talk about a random part of our reality because your brain is set on drift' conversation?"

"...yeeeeeeeees. Is that a problem?"

"Not really. It's just you tend to do this with me, specifically, quite a bit."

"Well, you are Remnant's Second. Aside from me, you're the one that loops around the most."

"...true, I suppose. Very well, continue?"

"So... we consider plate armor to be, like, formal wear, right?"

"It's loop variable, but yes, there are a number iterations where utilizing plate armor is more expensive and therefore associated with nobility and wealth."

"Which means that Cardin is basically wearing a tux at all times."

"By that argument, so is Jaune."

"...a tux over a hoodie. Huh."

"With ragged jeans."

"He makes it work, you know."

"Oh, no doubt. He's just on the border of scraggly and genuinely handsome."

"In all seriousness, he is cute right?"

"Mmmhmm. And Pyrrha is too."

"...I thought you were-"

"It's a scale, not a switch Ruby."

"Fair point, fair point..."

 **54.18 Shimmer712**

"Seriously?" Weiss stared. "There are bets on us?"

"Yep!" Ruby grinned. "Well, not on us, but on the possibility of there being stealth loopers!" She paused. "The fact Uncle Qrow and Winter went stealth for ages doesn't help."

"Oh maple, this isn't anything like the bets that the expansion will reveal that Qrow is your biological father, is it?"

"No, and I already talked about it with him and we agreed that even if there is no blood relation, Dad is still my dad in everything else," Ruby said. "Speaking of which, there are a lot of people betting on him being a looper."

"How likely is that?" Weiss asked.

"Well, they've got a point about the emotional connections thing," Ruby said. "But I'd like to think that I would have noticed. I mean, he's my dad. And I think he would try to save Yang from losing her arm if nothing else."

"...Good point," Weiss noted. "Who else is there?"

"Well, there's Sun and Neptune," Ruby said. "More Sun since he's had more time with us, mostly Blake."

"Really?" Weiss considered. "That's interesting."

"Yeah, but that's all I got cause when I heard the next bet, I left to blow something up," Ruby scowled.

"So, who else is stealth-looper candidate in this betting pool?"

"Mercury," Ruby frowned.

"That psychopath?" Weiss blinked. "Mr Grin-and-tape-everything-while-Grimm-are-invading-and-killing-everyone? _That_ Mercury?"

"That Mercury," Ruby confirmed.

"...I think even my father would be a better option. At the very least, he would make an effort to saves lives so he could look good." Weiss wrinkled her nose. "Good PR and all that."

"Is your father even capable of doing something nice just to be nice?"

"Probably not," Weiss shrugged. "He's a jerk."

"Well, that's obvious."

 **54.18 LithosMaitreya**

"Zwei?" Blake asked lazily. "Have you ever looped in as Montmorency?"

"The dog?" Zwei asked, rolling over.

She scratched his belly idly. "Yeah," she said, turning a page of _Three Men in a Boat_. "Seems like it'd suit you."

Zwei chuffed in amusement. "Not sure whether I should be flattered or offended by that," he mumbled. "But yeah, I have. Neither George nor Harris can sing, for the record."

"I assumed as much," Blake said, scratching under his chin.

"Have you ever looped in as..." Zwei began.

"Yes," Blake cut him off.

"But you don't even..."

"If it's cat-related," Blake said flatly, "I've done it."

Zwei blinked at her. "Yeah," he said, "fair enough."

 **54.19 Not The Simurgh**

Tyrian studied the group in front of him with the eyes of an experienced fighter. The long-haired one had sensed him - Semblance-enhanced senses or just good hearing? He'd have to go first, so Tyrian could hide in his own shadows and not worry about the possible sense Semblance. The girl with the hammer was obviously a bruiser, but she carried herself as if the hammer still put some weight on her. She had a trick, then, some kind of strength or speed increase she could pull off mid-battle; she wouldn't be a Beacon-level Huntress otherwise. The blonde imbecile was interesting, for obvious reasons, but if the boy survived this fight then he could be put off for another day. The girl Salem had asked for came first.

A bullet was fired at him, and he dodged out of the building's shadow, revealing himself. "You noticed me? No, you expected me." He grinned at the target, who grinned back. " _Interesting._ "

"Who are you?" Blondie asked. Too stupid to make the first strike? Obviously not the tactical type, then.

"Why, friends, my name is Tyrian. Court jester to a Dark Queen."

"What," the bruiser asked, stressing her words on purpose, used to being intimidating and not used to being intimidated, "Do you want?"

"Well, a ruler must have toys, and what better than a brand new puppet? I've come to grab one for her, my dear, straight out of the Beacon bargain mart."

"And what if she doesn't want to go with you?"

"Well, then, I'll take he-" At this point, the target lost patience, firing a gravity shot at him, and he spun into action. A lunge at long-hair and the bruiser went flying at him, but he jumped behind the boy and pushed him in her way. She tried to slow down but still hit her teammate, sending him flying quite a distance and leaving her wide open for a debilitating shot to the neck. Aura through his weapons triggered the Pain Dust he'd painstakingly collected, leaving her in enough shock that she'd be out for the next few minutes.

He leapt at the blonde boy next, but two swords tried hitting his back, and he swatted them away, revealing his tail. One of the two he thought he'd defeated? No, the target. He went after her instead, but every one of his strikes was blocked by one of her swords, easily deflected until he got fed up and stung at her with his tail. His stinger easily went through her soft flesh, his venom entering her bloodstream and slowly making her lose consciousness.

Quartz Rose looked him in the eyes, grinning. "Sensational!"

Penny was quite enjoying this Loop. She'd Awakened in place of Ruby some time after the fall of Beacon, and the feeling of just enjoying herself on a road trip with friends was nice. Plus, she got to fight Tyrian, and even got stung - she'd never been stung by a scorpion before! What an interesting sensation.

Everything was fantastic, in other words, although she was surprisingly tired. She might not be able to continue to fight Tyrian at this level of tiredness, in fact.

Which was why she was pleasantly surprised when a pistol shot knocked Tyrian several feet away.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but stay away from my niece, pal. Otherwise, I'll have to take you out", James Rose said.

"Oh? You and what army?"

In response, concentrated fire from a nearby group of airships turned the faunus into a puddle, with the little Rose falling asleep safe and sound shortly after.

 **54.20 Masterweaver**

"Hey Blake?"

"Yeah, Yang?"

"...Is it weird that we refer to ourselves and our situation using Hub terminology sometimes?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, we're calling this recent bout of expansions the volume four expansions. Because it correlates to the hub-world volume four episodes, even though, to us, it's not... like... our lives are volumes. It's more like our lives are... just... living. Or you know, how we use TVTropes terms even though it doesn't actually exist on Remnant. You know?"

"Well... yes and no."

"Really?"

"It's a matter of context. It's perfectly acceptable to carry around weapons in Beacon, because we're huntresses, but we have the rocket lockers because... most of Vale doesn't think carrying around weapons is normal day-to-day things. It would be weird."

"I wear Ember Cecilia everywhere."

"Yeah, but they're not obvious. Ruby gets away with carrying Crescent Rose because of her cloak, but... The point is, we use Hub terminology because we're loopers."

"I don't follow."

"The Hub is the most stable world. It's not perfect, but it has references to pretty much every other reality, it's essentially the only point we as loopers can all reference. It's... a centerpoint to multiversal culture. A common touchstone. That we integrate their form of normalcy into our looping sense of normality is a natural development. It may be weird in the context of Remnant, but only Remnant in singular."

"...Oh. Yeah, you know, that makes sense. Why are you so smart?"

"I read a lot."

"And why do you read a lot?"

"...it's habit now."

"I heard that pause. That was a 'Yang you stumbled onto a sensitive topic without meaning to so I'm going to give you a technically true answer and hope it diverts your attention' pause. So now I have to ask myself, do I want to risk upsetting Blake, or do I want to risk letting whatever this is fester and hurt her more?"

"Yang-"

"You know what, one of the fun parts of being me is that my semblance makes me an awesome punching bag. So, Blake, what exactly did I stumble on?"

"...why I started reading is loop variable."

"Okay, I agree, and there's more to it. Continue?"

"Alright. Fine. Most loops I became a book reader as a form of escapism from my tragic past. Are you happy?"

"Well, I'm satisfied that I found the answer, but now I'm sad that kiddy Blake had so much tragedy and really sorry to have upset sexy Blake!"

 _*Hmrmfm-*_ "'Sexy Blake?'"

"Short for sexy-awesome-kind-radical-ultimate-cuddly Blake. Sakruc Blake doesn't really roll off the tongue."

"It doesn't, does it? Well, sexy Blake isn't upset anymore."

"Friendly Yang is happy to hear that!"

"Sexy Blake is now on the prowl... for a sexy _Yang_."

"...Friendly Yang will see if she's in."

"OH MY GODS," Ruby cried, "WE ARE RIGHT FRIKKIN' HERE! IN THE SAME ROOM!"

 **54.21 Not The Simurgh**

Extreme Home Ec.

That was an actual subject this Loop, taught at the Hunter Academies by actual Hunters who could have been killing monsters and protecting humanity instead. Penny hadn't understood at first, until her Generuncle explained. Apparently the ingredients were Grimm - live, angry, somewhat offended Grimm that would often break free when handled improperly.

Penny had asked why people would cook Grimm when they could cook vegetables, and Ironwood had silently shook his head. "You wouldn't understand, not unless you ate Extreme food yourself."

And _that_ was why Penny was currently enrolled in Atlas' Extreme Home Ec class. Luckily she was an artificial human this Loop, not a robot, and so she could eventually taste her Extreme creations.

Eventually.

For now, though, she focused on stuffing a Boarbatusk into an Extreme oven. Atlas' very own Professor Peach - completely unrelated to Beacon's - walked over, and then the yelling started.

"You call that forcing a Boarbatusk into an oven? My grandmother could have forced a Goliath in there in the same time you're taking!"

Eventually, Penny finally finished some Extreme dishes - a Beowulf-tomato soup and friend rice with shredded Nevermore. Now to try them.

The Beowulf soup was first. She lifted a ladle to her mouth. The steaming hot liquid entering her mouth mostly tasted like tomatoes, what was the big -

 _A dark forest under a bright, broken moon. A silent night. No, not silent. The pack was on the move, leaves crumbling under their feet, the alpha having spotted some sort of animal in the distance. A big one, something like a Goliath without bone and darkness. She followed._

The pack circled the unaware creature, its fate sealed, its weak and lonely body with no pack of its own and no natural defenses. No strange and wicked magics or weapons like the Strong used.

The youngest of the pack, the most eager, were the first to move. They ran forward, startling the prey, driving it in the other direction, where the alpha lay in wait. The alpha jumped on it, going after the eyes and tusks for some inscrutable reason that only the intelligent could understand, and the rest of the pack joined in. She joined in, ripping and tearing and chewing.

As the prey lay dead on the floor, as she chewed on it, she didn't just taste meat. She tasted adrenaline, the rush of the hunt, the thrill of the fight, the closeness with the pack. She tasted satisfaction. She tasted victory.

The vision ended at that, and Penny came back to herself. That was the result of Extreme cooking?

She took a bite of the Nevermore rice next after steadying herself and -

 _Higher. Farther. Faster._

That's what she was. That's where she went.

Below her lay dots, the Grimm and the Strong marching like insects against each other, congregating in their own hives, her brethren lashing out any chance they could get to taste the Strong's despair. That wasn't what she cared about, though. No, she was old, was wise, would only go after the Strong when they were alone and she wanted to taste despair.

She soared. That was what mattered in her tiny mind, her wings. She needed to feel the wind, feel the air pressure changing, feel the heat and the moisture around her change as she traveled.

She soared over mountains, above ice and snow, above peaks taller than the mightiest of Grimm, and then over the hollow valleys nestled between them.

She soared over deserts, where small life thrived, where water would appear in the corner of her vision and then disappear as she approached it.

She soared over rainforests, over places where the Strong had never been or where they had been eradicated, where the trees were too thick to see the other trees and the other trees were too thick to see the ground.

She -

\- found herself Penny Polendina once more, her arms spread wide, her heart racing, having just experienced flight from the perspective of a bird.

"And in other news," Lisa Lavender announced, "Mountain Glenn was cleared today of all its Grimm - yes, all of them - by a young Huntress-In-Training named Penny Polendina. When our camera crew got to the scene, Miss Polendina was trying to fit a Grimm Dragon into a comically large pot. In other other news, food from Extreme restaurants all over Remnant has gone missing, with the culprit still at large."

 **54.22 LithosMaitreya**

Yang came to slowly. Trying to move yielded new information. Her hands were tied outstretched at her sides and her legs were bound under her so that she was kneeling, head down.

"Oh boy," she mumbled. "Whatever will I do?"

"Quiet, brat," snapped a gruff, harsh voice from in front of her.

She raised her head. She was in some sort of wooden box—a carriage, probably—and seated across from her was a man in red and black, with a bone-white mask hiding his features.

Not White Fang, no—a different style of Grimm mask.

She smiled. "Oh, _boy_ ," she said darkly. "Dear old mum wants to see her little girl."

"Girl, shut it," said the man coldly. "Or I'll cut out your tongue."

Yang smiled slightly but said nothing more. She wanted to see where this was going.

A ping told her that at least two others were Looping. Ruby, of course, and one other.

She turned her head down and closed her eyes, the rumble of the carriage almost soothing. She couldn't sleep in this uncomfortable posture, of course, but she allowed herself to doze slightly.

After a time, the carriage slowed and stopped. She man came towards her and tugged her bonds in such a way that her arms were pulled behind her and he held the other end like a lead.

He cut the ties on her legs and tied her wrists together. "Move, girl," he ordered. "The Chief wants to see you."

"Oh, I'll bet she does," Yang said darkly, smiling. She allowed herself to be shoved outside and blinked in the bright Anima sun.

"So this is what a bandit camp looks like," she said, glancing at the ramshackle lean-tos and lumpy tents converging around a large central firepit. "I can definitely see what drew dear old mummy back."

"Pipe down," ordered the man firmly. Yang rolled her eyes, but obliged.

She was taked towards the largest tent, just before the bonfire, and was pushed in throught the flap, and then released—the man didn't follow her in.

And there, masked ans seated on a carved wooden chair, watching her, was Raven Branwen.

"Hey, Mom!" said Yang, stretching—and casually snapping the ropes tying her with ease. "Oh, I have so much to tell you about Beacon! You'll never believe-"

"Yang," said Raven coldly. "Don't test me."

Yang smiled at her mother. "Why not?" she asked. "Isn't it the job of teenage daughters to drive their parents up the wall?"

Raven stood. "You're taking this oddly," she said flatly. "What did Taiyang tell you about me?"

Yang shrugged, arms outstretched, palms up. "That you existed," she said simply. "He doesn't like talking about you. Which is fair, given the way you stabbed him in the back."

"I did nothing of the sort," Raven hissed. "The tribe—my _family—_ must always come first. He knew that going in."

Yang snorted. "Allow me to echo a much better Branwen than you," she said. "You have a _very_ skewed preceeption of that word."

Raven came forward as if to strike her. Yang caught her hand. "Ah, no," she said with a smirk. "You forfeited the right to treat me like your daughter when you didn't, you know, _treat me like your daughter_. Now, if there's nothing else, I should really be going."

"No," Raven said, shaking her arm free. "I had you brought here for a reason."

Yang nodded. "I figured," she said. "I just don't care. Ciao."

"I'm dying, Yang."

Yang froze in the middle of turning away. "Say what?" she asked blankly.

"You heard me," Raven said darkly. "Incurable disease. My very blood is becoming toxic."

"Leukemia?" Yang asked.

"Gesundheit."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Right, back-end of nowhere, no idea how the whole medicine thing works. I forgot you were like a racist cliché."

"Yang," Raven said, her voice lowering. "The Clan needs guidance."

"You actually want me to lead a tribe of bandits," Yang said flatly, turning back to stare at her mother. "Are you out of your tree-damned _mind_?"

"Qrow won't do it," Raven said grimly. "I asked. And none of the idiots here have more than half a brain between them. I need someone who can keep my family alive—and that's you, Yang."

Yang blinked at her, eyes flaring red. "Where were you," she hissed, "when Summer Rose died, then?"

"I-" Raven said, but Yang wasn't done.

"Where were you when it was time to keep _my_ family alive?" Yang asked coldly. "I don't owe you a damn thing, Branwen—not even my name."

"I know," Raven agreed, meeting her gaze. "That was kind of the point."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Right," she said caustically. "The weak die, the strong survive. Look, follow me." She turned and pushed her way out of the tent.

The raiders turned to stare at her as she padded away from the tent. After a moment, she heard the flap open again as Raven followed her.

She led her mother out into a field of tall, thigh-high grasses and under a tall old ash tree.

"Here," she said, picking up a branch—sturdy, and an inch or two thick—"This is you."

Raven blinked at it as Yang laned down and plucked a blade of the tall grass from the base and held it up. "This," she said, "is... I don't know, Dad. Which one's stronger?"

"I am," Raven said slowly, studying her.

"Right," Yang said, taking hold of both sides of the blade of grass and pulling it apart with ease. "One blade of grass? Breaks like nothing—like air."

She swept her foot to the side in a move picked up from some martial-arts Loop or another, and cut down a hundred blades of grass at once. She picked them up and bundled them gently in her hands before grasping the ends together so that the bundle was in parallel like rope, with one hand on either end.

"Now which is stronger?" she asked her mother. Raven didn't answer.

"That," Yang said, "is what you never understood."

Raven met her eyes. "And because of my mistake," she said quietly, "you'll condemn my entire family to die?"

 _The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing._

Yang closed her eyes. "I'm not going to lead a bunch of madmen to kill and rape and pillage," she protested.

"Then teach them not to," Raven said. "Just keep them safe."

Yang met her gaze. Around them, the field of green grasses hissed like snakes and rolled like an ocean of emeralds.

"The world is ending around us," Yang said quietly. "Salem's making her move for the first time in generations, the Fall Maidenhood is practically in her hands... and you want me to keep people safe?"

Raven smiled slightly. "Inasmuch as anyone on the front line can be safe," she said. She held out the mask and helm she had taken off at some point. "Please, Yang."

Yang took the helmet and looked into its eye-slits, holding it gently by the temples in both her hands. "I'm not going to put on a Grimm mask," she said quietly.

"Then prove to them you don't need to to lead them," Raven said.

Yang met her eyes. "And if I could save your life?" she asked.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Can you?"

"I might know someone."

There was a pause.

"I think," Raven said slowly, "that I'd be willing to follow, this time."

Yang handed back the helmet. "Let's go," she said, passing Raven and approaching the camp. "We need to get to Patch." Ruby might have something for leukemia, and so might the mysterious third Looper, whoever they were.

 **54.23 Black Omochao**

"This place has definitely been interesting so far," Kaito noted as he and Rena sat in an apartment building in Vale.

"Checked the museum earlier, the Looping Dino Knights are there and Awake," Rena shrugged before biting into a sandwich.

"Good to know, we can go see them later, and just relax till something big happens, the grimm are weird but nothing we can't handle. And they have all those hunters and stuff," Kaito shrugged. Kira suddenly burst into the room and flew over to them giddily.

"Oh yes, mission accomplished!" the shapeshifter girl giggled as she went over to her boyfriend and girlfriend and patted their heads.

"Get off me," Rena lightly batted the hand away before brushing her hair back into place.

"What did you do, Kira?" Kaito asked in concern as Kira smirked triumphantly.

"I've taken all the ice cream in Remnant! It's all mine now!" Kira cheered, spreading her wings and tail out as she did. Kaito and Rena both looked at her in a deadpan manner. "I can't wait to see how the flavors here differ from the other places I've tried! So much ice cream so little time, well it's all in my pocket freezers, so I have plenty of time actually!"

"Kira, you should really _not_ do that," the DinoZaurs Anchor sighed while shaking his head. "You're going to tick someone off one day."

"Oh, please Kaito, what's the worst that could happen?" she wrapped her arms around both Kaito and Rena's shoulders and pulled them into a hug. "Come on, you guys want to eat some ice cream with me?" both Loopers sighed in defeat and shrugged.

However, their peace was cut short, by loud knocking on the apartment door. Kira blinked before letting Kaito and Rena go and hovering over to the door, retracting her wings and tail, and opening it with a smile.

"Hello, how can I help- "Kira was suddenly flung across the apartment, crashing through the back wall and straight out of the building. Kaito blinked at Rena whom started blankly at him for a moment, before they looked to see whom had knocked on their door.

What looked like a small girl with tri-colored hair and mismatched eyes, holding an umbrella stomped into the apartment, she had a look of tranquil fury on her face. Neither DinoZaurs Looper could say anything to her before she charged forward and jumped out the whole Kira had left through.

"… This. This is why I don't recommend her doing this kind of stuff," Kaito stated while shaking his head.

 **54.24 Masterweaver**

"It's... _not_ a technological failure?"

The blonde girl nodded, her hand passing over the four mechanical bodies and glowing. "That's part of it, a big part, but it's not the core issue."

"I... don't understand. All the problems I've been looking at, there's... it looks like data overload, memory bloating." Ruby looked from her unconscious friends to the other girl. "Usagi, if the problem isn't technological in origin-"

"The problem..." With a sigh, the blonde pulled back her hand, turning to Ruby. "Look. I'm one of the original seven, I... I've seen a lot. Soul mechanics are basically my thing, you know?"

Ruby nodded. "Considering your baseline, that makes sense."

"The thing is... souls are different from each other. And I'm not just talking from person to person, that's true, but from species to species, from universe to universe..."

Usagi paused, tapping her fingers on the edge of the bed.

"In the Kingdom Hearts baseline, there's an incident where Sora's memories are drained or removed... it's complicated. But, as a side effect, everyone he ever met forgot him-because the connection was taken. A smaller part of his soul made friends with simulated duplicates of specific people, who felt a familiarity with Sora when they met... Connections."

"Okay..." Ruby brought her hands together. "Why are you telling me this?"

"These four-Remnans in general, I suppose-seem to have a connective aspect to their souls. It's not as tightly integrated as the Kingdom Hearts loop, but... Honeybees!" Usagi cried. "Honeybees, they share honey. Right? No, not just... my point is, I think that Remnant souls in general seem to form connections, interact, there's an ebb and flow. It might explain why you lot always awaken in pairs, come to think of it..."

"So... what?" Ruby looked to the four. "Are they deprived of connections?"

"Mmm, yes and no. They have enough connections for ordinary mortals, but..." Usagi shrugged. "The thing of it is, loopers get... restored, every time a loop resets. These four, they don't. They're living, growing... aging. Their souls have gotten to be so large that what they have is not enough, and... they're beginning to cannibalize each other."

"What?! But-but they're a _family!"_

"Which is why they're able to do it at all. It's not conscious, it's definitely not intentional... I suppose they could stop if they separated, but that presents its own host of problems." Usagi held out her hands helplessly. "I've undone what damage I could, but that's only going to buy them time. The fundamental problem is still there, and I can't fix it without... seriously risking losing what makes them, them."

Ruby sagged. "I never... I never thought... They wanted this, she..."

Usagi bit her lip. "...Hey. Soul mechanics may be my thing, but you know what's also my thing?" She produced a book and handed it over. "Hope."

 _"The Ethereal Self: A Professional Guide To Soul Anatomy."_ Ruby looked from the book to the loop. "You wrote a book?"

"Well, I might be a ditz in baseline, but being one of the oldest loopers around has a few perks." Usagi smiled. "Plus, Ami and Rei helped me with the technical terminology, so..."

"Will this help?"

"I... don't know. It'll help you understand the issue, but figuring out a solution... that's your call."

"...My thing is weapons," Ruby admitted. "I don't know if I can-"

"Hush. One thing I do know: Doubty mcDoubtersons hesitate too much."

"Heh." After a moment, Ruby gave her a hesitant smile. "Thanks, Usagi. I... just. Thank you."

The blonde smiled back. "It's what I do, Ruby. That and eat copious amounts of food. Speaking of, there's this resturant a youma's supposed to hit today, so I kind of need to get out of your pocket now..."

 **54.25 wildrook**

Ruby's jaw dropped.

Jaune was groaning.

Ren was just standing there.

Nora...was using Tyrian as a flail to take out Salem's "Horsemen," so to speak.

"Why the heck did we not think of this before?" Jaune asked Ren.

"She usually goes for the knee-caps," he replied.

 **54.26 LithosMaitreya**

"I mean, I knew you had a library in your Pocket," Yang said slowly, looking around bemusedly, "but this is insane."

Blake shrugged. "It's just an asymptotically-large library," she protested.

"There are shelves on the ceiling, Blake."

"Most libraries of this size bend space-time."

Yang glanced at her. "Explain to me why, again?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "The equation goes, 'knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass,' and since mass produces gravity and gravity bends space-time, and since books represent the idealized containment of knowledge, large concentrations of books..."

"...Bend space-time," Yang finished, shaking her head as she followed Blake down an aisle. "And I'm not feeling a strong gravitational force... why?"

Blake pointed around. "Books on all sides," she said. "And because of the curvature of space, exacerbated by the gravitational interference, that force is equalized on all sides because they bend around to meet, forming a complete toroidal saddle."

Yang blinked at her. "In other words," she said slowly, "the library is circular by way of the roof."

Blake sighed. "If you insist on oversimplifying," she grumbled. "Its not a _roof_ , it's just more floor."

An orangutan ambled past determinedly, a red yarn trailing behind where it was held in one opposable-thumbed foot. It nodded to Blake as it passed. Blake gave it a nod back.

Yang stared after it. "Isn't living things in your Pocket a _bad_ idea?" she said.

Blake blinked at her for a moment before understanding. "Oh, he's not in my Pocket," she said. "That's the Librarian."

Yang stared at her uncomprehendingly. "This... _is_ your Pocket, Blake."

"Not really," Blake shook her head. "There's a reason I separate the library from the rest of my Pocket using a door. Don't want L-space to subsume my Pocket in full."

"L-space?"

"All libraries and bookstores of sufficient size are effectively the same place," Blake explained. "How do you not know this?"

Yang threw up her hands. "Should I?" she asked.

Blake shrugged. "I just... assumed it was common knowledge. It was first established by Twilight Sparkle that L-space supercedes separation of Yggdrasil's branches when a variant of her Golden Oak was large enough to access it."

" _What is L-space?_ " Yang asked.

"The combined existence of all lrge collections of books," Blake said patiently. "It's theorized that it exist in the 'stump' of Yggdrasil, alongside Adminspace, though I've never been able to do more than replicate a localized version of it inside of my pocket."

"Is that why you have the yarn?" Yang asked, nodding at the yellow string trailing from Blake's hand.

Blake nodded. "People who get lost in L-space can theoretically go missing for eons," she said. "And since my library is accessed through my Pocket, it's even more dangerous, because I might not reappear outside again at the start of the next Loop, even if you would."

Yang frowned at her. "That sounds like a bad idea all around," she said. "Why do you do this again?"

Blake stared at her uncomprehendingly. "What do you mean?" she said. " _Books_ , Yang!"

 **54.27 Masterweaver**

 _people say they have no idea why yggdrassil is broken well i think theyre lying_

Like a tower it ascended into the sky, a great spine of shadow and blood intertwined with fear and terror, a monument to the fundamental horror of reality. Flying creatures screeched and roared and chirrupped as they made their way in and out of the rotting structure, all undefined and deadly and hungry, all with eyes of rage.

 _they wont let me near the damaged sections of course because im a hacker ha_

She walked through the sands, wind battering at her face-it was the only marker in this endless desert, the only place to go, and she would reach it or die trying. All around her, the dunes morphed and twisted into the visage of horrified, screaming faces that only existed for a second, far too short to identify any single one.

 _and a big chunk of the tree got burned but it doesnt really matter how it happened_

When she finally managed to crawl inside one of the gaps, the bitter cold was replaced by oppressive heat. She gasped as she looked around what seemed to be, for all the world, a casual dining cafe; a beowolf was tending the bar, scrubbing out a glass mug with a rag. In the corner, a quartet of rusty robots played poker with their components.

 _what matters is the tree is dying and everyone is in denial about it_

"Oh come in! Come, come!" The tavern waitress, whose blood-red hair looked awfully familiar, gathered her up and put her in a booth. "Now, what'll it be sweetie? We've got all the usual platitudes and fun stories, but this particular chamber specializes in lies and self-deception!" She put a menu on the table; each entry was a different grimm mask, painted and looking up at her.

 _everyone but me and i have a plan to survive but thats not important right now_

With a rasp, she put her burned hand on one of the most complete masks. The tavern wench nodded. "Oooo, yes. That one's for the bravest souls. It's a lie that can become true, a deception that can become reality, an act that can become who you actually are." She gave her a firm look. "Are you sure you can afford that, sweetie?"

 _whats important is rubbing your will down to nothing so you can be the perfect tool_

"Alright." The waitress whisked the menu away, sitting down beside her. "You... are worthwhile. You have value, and the best people in your life can see it. You're a good person, a person that can take the worst of what reality throws at you, and conquer it. You are amazing, and incredible. And you love your friends. They're the whole reason you exist."

 _which is really actually stupid hard what is wrong with you just give up bitch_

"And now, the price!" The wench cheerfully impaled her with a burning torch. "Don't worry, it'll only hurt until you stop noticing it. Enjoy your contemplation!" She whistled a jaunty tune, waltzing off to another table with a puppet that seemed to be growing flesh, leaving her to be immolated and burn and burn and fire and pain all everywhere-

She jolted awake-or tried to, before realizing her lower body was encased in ice. For a moment she panicked-

-then the ice melted away.

"...You want to talk about it?"

Cinder blinked, turning to the door. "Weiss? I-"

"You were... burning your sheets in your sleep. Worse then your sheets, really."

Her eyes traveled up the walls, to the darkened patch on the ceiling. "Oh. Oh, wow. I didn't... I'm sorry, I... I can't remember what I was even dreaming about." She shivered. "It was horrible, though. I don't know what it was, but..."

Weiss looked at her oddly, for a moment or two.

"...Yang's worried about her mental headguest getting loose," she said slowly. "Do you have... any such problems?"

"...No. No, I don't think so." Cinder bit her lip. "...are you suggesting... psychic intervention?"

"Only if you're comfortable with it."

"...that might be best, I suppose..."

 **54.28 Pungent**

In the Infinite Loops, everything is a journey.

"Ruby Rose, care to explain why you are making violin noises from your mouth?" Weiss asked her partner and current Loop Anchor. "And why does your cloak have these weird glowing white runes?"

The girl in question inhaled deeply and exhaled a spherical pressure wave, which expanded to fill out the dorm room. A deep violin note accompanied the action.

"Could you stop doing that and answer the question?"

"Augh. Weiss! You're no fun!" Ruby pouted, then pulled out a fluffy chair from her pocket to sit backwards on. "I was a fabric person for a Loop in this great desert with this big mountain in the distance that had a light coming off of it that I was inexplicably drawn toward. Happy now?"

"That makes no sense. Was this a fused loop or not?"

"I... think it was, but it was not a world I recognized." Ruby's gaze grew distant as the brief amount of memories began to surface in her mind's eye.

Weiss took a mental note and pressed on. "Okay. Were there any other fabric people you could talk to?"

Ruby blinked and shook herself from her short reverie. "Uh, yes, there were other fabric people. No, I couldn't talk. All I could do was this," Another high violin note filled the dorm room, ruffling Weiss' combat skirt and ponytail. "I could float around with the power from white runes on this red scarf I was growing."

"You were growing a scarf?"

"It made more sense back then! I would find these runes in the ruins of this place that would make my scarf grow a little bit when I walked near one."

Weiss raised an eyebrow in a manner that would make Spock proud. "You never mentioned ruins."

Ruby visibly deflated somewhat at the mention of ruins. "Yeah. I don't know what happened there. Nothing was written down. There were no books or records or anything. All I know is that some cataclysm took place and brought in all of this sand."

There it was. The problem finally showed itself. "Ruby, whatever happened to those people, you weren't around to prevent it. None of it could possibly be your fault"

The Anchor looked to the floor, hands twiddling over the chair's backrest, followed by a meek "That's not it."

"That's... that's not the problem?" Weiss took a second to reevaluate what few facts she had, and determined that more information was required to provide help. The trick was to ask the right questions. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

Ruby clutched at her skull in frustration, messing up her hair slightly. "I feel like I missed everything! Why was this place in ruins!? What were those gigantic whale-like monsters that ate fabric!? Why were there animal-like fabric creatures following me around!? Why could I only make notes and never speak!? What were they trying to tell me!?" Her body hung over the backrest in exhausted resignation, the endless questions demanding answers she did not have. "All I did was walk toward the mountain. I didn't think to stop and look around."

There was definitely more to this than Weiss thought. Fabric people and creatures, whale monsters, ruins, musical notes in place of speech, growing scarves, and the runes on Ruby's cloak. The remaining piece of information was simple. "How long did the Loop last?"

Ruby looked back to Weiss and shrugged. "I wasn't keeping track, but between two and four hours at least. Five at most. It ended when we finally reached the peak of the mountain."

A few hours? What exactly transpired in that amount of- "Hold up, _we_!?"

"Oh yeah, I found a buddy before I reached the very top. Same red fabric person as me. Don't know if they were another Looper or not, but their scarf was a lot longer than mine. Still lost it by the end, though."

More questions. How deep did this rabbit hole go? "Did you run into anyone else?" Weiss inquired.

"If you count a really tall white fabric person that only showed up in these picture based exposition dumps, then sure."

Weiss started to pace around the dorm room, trying to think of what question to ask. Very little of what Ruby was saying was making any sense, but at least the information was consistent. She also noted that Ruby had yet to remove her white-rune cloak. Did it hold some sentimental value? Was it proof of some sort?

"Ruby. What do you think of that Loop?" Weiss finally asked.

Ruby's gaze became distant once again, recalling every event, every moment of happiness, hardship, excitement, wonder, companionship, determination, relief, accomplishment, and euphoria. The mountain was an end point. A point of convergence, a destination, a light to guide the traveler. Reaching the peak was exhilarating, but entering the light was almost anticlimactic. It wasn't about the destination. Instead-

"-it was a journey." Ruby muttered softly. She hadn't realized it, but a smile had grown on her face as the memories all came together.

"It was what?" Weiss asked.

"A journey, Weiss! That's what it was! The whole Loop was a- a metaphor for the... Hero's... Journey..." The implication hit Ruby hard, and she slumped back into her chair. "Weiss. Am I... am I a hero?"

The one question Weiss did not want to answer. It had to be that one. Why in all of Yggdrasil did that question need to come up now? She could only hope that what came out of her mouth next was the correct answer.

"You're Remnant's hero, Ruby. Whatever happened for that Loop to be the way it was, they did not have a hero like you to save them. Their heroes don't fight monsters of darkness, save civilians from burning buildings, or give uplifting speeches. You simply took the mantle of another kind of hero, one that grows scarves, flies by the power of runes upon said scarf, deftly avoids cloth-eating flying whale-monsters, and simply kept moving forward. Every world has a different definition of hero."

It was moments like these where Ruby was infinitely thankful to have a partner like Weiss. Ruby stood from her chair and hugged Weiss in a flurry of rose petals and white runes, the modified cloak seemingly wrapping around them both of its own accord.

"Thank you, Weiss. You are the greatest person I know."

"You're welcome, Ruby. Now please control your cloak. It's suffocating me."

In a distant warehouse on the other side of Vale, Cinder Fall Awoke that same Loop, and smiled at the white runes adorning her red dress.

 **54.29 Masterweaver**

"You. Are the most boring looper in Remnant."

James Ironwood sighed. "Hello, Qrow."

"Do you know what an accomplishment that is?" The gangly man scoffed as he ignored the guards pointing guns at him, walking into Ironwood's guest office like he owned the place. "Remnant. Let's list off what we've got, shall we?"

The general held up his hand as the guards jumped in. "It's okay, he's just a drunk friend. Wait outside."

Qrow waited until the men had left the room and shut the door. "The shattered moon, that's a big impressive thing. Shadow bone monsters that are attracted to hate. Healing aura and personalized superpowers. Magical elemental crystals-with which we make cool weapons that are also guns. Faunus for the people that are into animal people... We've got near-nuclear era tech, fully functional airships, robot soldiers-and that's all just the public stuff!"

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Pull back the veil, surprise, we've got actual magic too. And we have a top-secret robot girl, that's neat. Plus, a conspiracy to kill all of humanity, led by a genuinely adaptive and creative spymistress of a witch." Qrow started pacing. "Go even further-we're an amalgam of so many famous Hubloop stories, translated into various new and awesome forms. Oh, and because literal gods of madness took an interest in us, we've got an impossibly quirky band of loopers too! A dog dating a psychopath, a dead thief and a reformed villain, half of us went stealth and-you're half metal! You're a general! And yet somehow, SOMEHOW, you are the least interesting of all of us!"

James shrugged, standing up. "Maybe I just like being a voice of reason in all this looping madness."

"Oh, no. If that were true, you'd be coming after us. Or at least making yourself available." Qrow stopped, staring out the window with a grim chuckle. "You know something, Jamieboy? I think you're too rigid. You've barely grown at all in this new eternity of ours."

"Hmm." With a shrug, the man walked over next to him. "I don't think I've ever had a need to grow."

"Yeah, I know, you like where you are. Nice and military, and the only things Baseline's thrown at you were dealt with before you started looping." Qrow crossed his arms. "Nowadays you either wake up early enough to stop Beacon from falling or..."

He trailed off.

"...or?"

"...You. Bastard."

Ironwood barely had time to process that before Qrow's fist knocked him to the ground.

"We've _all_ woken up late! Ruby, Blake, Yang-team JNPR, Zwei, me, even Winter! And Weiss..." The gangly man widened his stance. "Weiss. One of her big complaints is that nobody's ever Awake with her in Atlas-but you knew that, didn't you?!"

"I-I was just-"

"I was going to say it was impossible for you not to have waken up in that time. And it is, isn't it? If you can't save Beacon, you go stealth." Qrow cricked his neck, popping his knuckles. "Stealthing when you don't know what the loops are, I can get that, but after-"

"My niece is _dead_ Qrow!"

Silence descended, if only for a moment.

"...My niece is dead, when I wake up that late." Ironwood pushed himself to his feet. "And it's not just Penny. It would be horrible enough if it was, but... how many soldiers die in the battle for beacon? How many civilians...? If I wake up that late, there's really... nothing I can do. I... I am a failure, Qrow. All I can do is wait it out till the end of the loop."

He looked into the red eyes. "Weiss would be too busy helping me to help herself. She tries to keep us all stable, because that's what she thinks her duty is. I... can't be there for her. Do you understand? I can't drag her down."

Qrow looked at him for a moment or two.

"You know, I thought it was Taiyang that was supposed to be the cowardly lion. And I guess he is. You're missing the lion bit."

"Qrow-"

The man turned with a snort. "I don't know if you have too much heart or too little. Frankly, I don't care. I'm going to tell Weiss you've been stealthing, and-"

"Talk to Winter first."

"...what?"

"Winter. She's Weiss's sister, but also... my soldier. She's... a neutral party." James sighed. "If anyone should tell the girl, it should be her."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "You're a real piece of work, Jamieboy. And I'm not talking about your body." He stormed out of the room.

 **54.30 diesel**

Cinder Awoke, blinking dully as what had just happened caught up with her. The loop was over, she had lost. Lost worse than she had in aeons and she had no clue as to how.

No, the loop can't fucking be over yet!

Cinder snarled in abject fury, ignoring how her to subordinates jumped backwards in terror, and the quickly hidden amusement on Romans' face.

She had tried so hard to _burn down those cesspools. Why didn't it work!_

Flames liked her feet, threatening to the hideout ablaze. In the centre of the conflagration Cinder stewed in anger, breathing in the calming smoke and bathing in the searing air.

Everything had failed, it should have been so simple for someone with her experience. 'This entire change of events was a statistical impossibility. I sabotaged the alliances, poisoned the waters, started wars… how did everything go so wrong?'

"… Cinder… what's wrong, can we help?"

Her eyes snapped up to a scared Emerald, finally registering the admittedly controlled flames that now filled the hideout. Cinder felt a stab of regret at her loss of control, she could not afford to ever lose control but at the moment she really could not being herself to give a damn.

With a thought the flames vanished. Roman angrily took the opportunity to speak up. "That's is a very good question." He spread his arms out gesturing to the creates of Dust piled to the ceiling. "As, in case you have forgotten, we currently have the greatest stock pile of Dust in all VALE in here. And maybe, just maybe, setting fire to the building may cause some issues?"

'I wonder if anyone would protest if I flambéed him.' Cinder dismissed the thought after contenting herself with the entertaining mental image for a few moments.

"Roman, leave now. I will call you when your assistance is needed." Cinder said curtly, turning and walking away, memories of the past loop refusing to leave her mind.

"Cinder, what's…?"

Cutting Emerald off with a gesture, Cinder took a few moments to observe her subordinates.

What the hell? She needed to rant to someone.

"My problem," Her voice was smooth, doing nothing to hide the rage that still smouldered. Saying she was angry was a serve understatement, she was livid, "is rather complicated. So you will require some background information. Reality broke a long time ago, for a relative meaning of 'time', this means the Gods had to take a person in an area near the break into a time loop to keep the universe from falling apart."

Mercury tried to object, to claim such a thing was impossible but was quickly silenced by dragging a mass of random things from her pocket. With him silenced, Cinder continued. "I am not the linchpin, the Anchor, but I am a looper, a person dragged into the loops due to proximity. Now as a result of the damage, variants crop up, sometimes minor other times major in their differences. Last loop was a Null, meaning I could use none of my accumulated power and it was also major variant that made no logical sense. And I failed utterly."

The final sentence seemed to hang in the air, Emerald swallowed and spoke up, "In such a situation, well sometimes victory is not possible. Things just happen…"

"Including me being crowned the Once and Future King of Menagerie, Overlord of the Dark Continent and Queen of Wintershroud?"

Neither Emerald or Mercury seemed to have any idea what to say to that getting a bitterly amused smile from Cinder.

She started pacing, her mind drifting back over the 50-year long loop, "It was before the advent of electricity, a long time in the past. 18 major city states stood against the Grimm, and 4 major nation states with the Eternal Empire of Menagerie as the major one. The latter was composed of 8 major cities and surrounding land holdings. Each city was ruled by a noble family; I looped into one of the lesser houses in Menagerie as the youngest daughter. The cites and nobles were constantly squabbling for more power and prestige, for absolute rule over the land. I wanted no part of it."

"Why?" Cinder pinned Mercury with a blistering glare, getting him to hold his hands up in surrender,

"I wanted to _destroy them_ , to tear down those mockeries of sanctuaries and breeding grounds of hypocrisy, incompetence, stupidity and outright insanity!" Cinder roared, seething in formally suppressed fury and frustration, "They made those frothing at the mouth White Fang lunatics seem _rational_. I do not remember seeing such a self-destructive culture in ages untold. Torture and rape, subjugation and suppression, this was only the start of the basic cultures there. If it was not for a greater amount of geographic safe zones in this variant, humanity would have been dead within a decade. The ruling blood lines cultivated insanity, thinking they could take on the power of the Grimm, spreading it to the entire population. They raided each other as a show of power when it was utterly unneeded and wasteful, only attracting Grimm. I tried so hard at first to fix it, at first I just wanted to take over and destroy the pre-existing rulers so I could fix it. It would have been a fascinating challenge."

"And you failed?"

Cinder turned to the baffled Emerald, making the younger girl shiver as red eyes met bloody crimson, "Yes, I failed. I realized quickly that increased aggression, lack of empathy and high levels of sadism were endemic to the entire population outside a few enclaves of sanity. Along with the inability to _think_. After less than a decade, I gave up. The maniacs were more focused on killing each other and eradicating those few still rational enclaves. So, I decided for Humanity to have any future in that fucked up world I had to preserve those untainted blood lines and eradicate the nations. And then I became king, and I have no idea how."

Cinder felt her eyes start to twitch, Mercury seeming to become more and more amused as she spoke, Emerald was seemingly following suit. They did not seem to understand, a fact that made Cinder growl in frustration.

"I did everything I could to break the kingdoms, but things kept going wrong. An army I trained to ensure the mutual destruction of two cites ended up saving a city when the walls breached. Somehow ending up with me in charge. I tried to instigate a war between four nations, somehow something I did was misinterpreted and I somehow morphed into a figure trying to forge an alliance while exposing 'traitors trying to tear down the Great Kingdoms'. They were _my_ spies and I ended up being shanghaied into serving as a councilor. This. Kept. Happening."

With that finally growl of frustration, Emerald lost it and started laughing.

Eye twitching, Cinder huffed, sounding very much like Weiss, and stalked off. "Go do whatever, I'm going to burn down a forest and then get laid. I need to work off some stress."

"Hey, Yang?"

Looking up from her book, Yang glanced at her younger sister who was staring out the window at the rain. "Yeah, Ruby?"

"Do you think that we went too far pranking Cinder like that? I mean, we all wanted to kill those psychopaths and putting her in charge of that much incompetence… well I'm pretty sure it should be against the Geneva conventions." Ruby's voice was rather pensive. "Cinder hates losing to an almost unhealthy level, even if she has got much better at dealing with it, but she abhors incompetency and wastefulness even more. Making her deal with those nut cases may have been over the top."

Yang laughed, turning the page in the book Blake lent her. "Well, maybe, but it was a lot of fun, seriously when was the last time everyone pulled a joint prank? And Cinder really needs to stop trying to win, to be the best all the time. She could have simply walked away at any time; it was only her inability to admit defeat that allowed it to work."

"She is going to kill us, or well, maim at least when she finds out." Ruby warned, stretching and heading into the kitchen. "Oh, hot chocolate?"

"Meh, and sure, do we have mint flavoured?"

 **54.31 Masterweaver**

"So, how are things, Ruby?" Velvet asked. "I hear you're getting some new expansions out there!"

Ruby laughed, waving it off. "Let's not talk about that. I'm really more interested to hear what you four have been up to!"

"Well, I recently shanghaied Fox into helping me make... it's kind of a dark-room stunt track. It tests your balance and your senses at the same time."

"What is it with you and running tracks?" Fox asked rhetorically.

"Hey, Coco wouldn't let me use my weapon in baseline, so I had to learn to be a weapon myself! And as weird as Sonic's loop is, you have to admit that he can pull off some moves when he puts himself to it."

"That's... great, Velvet!" Ruby beamed, only slightly hesitant. "Are you sure you won't hurt yourself?"

"It's fine, there aren't any dangerous obstacles. Just loops and spintracks and all that."

"That's good to hear. I just... I worry about you all, sometimes."

Velvet giggled. "Don't worry, Ruby. We're fine!"

Ruby nodded faintly. "Right... so! Does anybody else have anything they've been doing?"

"I keep trying to get Coco to watch some anime with me," Yatsuhashi groused, "but she seems to think it's all ridiculous!"

"It is! You've seen one, you've seen them all." Coco rolled her eyes. "Transformation sequences, angst over not being normal, seriously, it all blends together after a while."

"I've found one that I'm sure you'll love. It's all about girls working in the fashion industry."

"...I might give that one a try. Maybe."

"It's good to hear you're all looking out for each other," Ruby said. "I... It's good to hear that."

Velvet frowned. "...Is something wrong, Ruby?"

"Oh... just... baseline stuff. You really don't want to hear about that."

"We're your friends." Fox put down the wooden rose he was whittling. "We're supposed to worry about you."

"Yeah, well... I don't know." With a sigh, the Anchor of Remnant rested her head in her hands. "It's just... sometimes, it seems like going on is a struggle, you know?"

"I read something in a book," Coco offered. "It'll all work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it isn't the end."

Yatsuhashi nodded. "I don't know what will happen, Ruby, but I do know this-you've always tried to make the world better, and you've mostly succeeded. Sure, there have been setbacks..."

"...but you know what? You overcame them." Fox clapped a hand on her shoulder. "If you need a rest, we understand. There's nothing wrong with that. And we're here for you."

Velvet nodded. "We always will be."

Ruby looked at her for a long moment.

Then she snapped out of her subspace pocket and into her dorm room, kneeling in and wrapping her arms around herself as she rocked back and forth.


	55. True Hearts Lie Withered

**55.1 Masterweaver**

"Have you no shame?" Weiss sighed.

"Nope!" Yang beamed. "Not one iota!"

"...okay, I was going to chastise you for painting a naked picture of Jacques on the side of the cliff-"

"Don't forget the caption! 'Stole money, stole power, stole this sexy bod.' I thought it was clever."

"-but the fact that you're proud of being shameless is honestly more concerning to me. I mean, Yang..." Weiss sighed. "You realize that's a big Sakura Syndrome warning sign?"

"Ah ah ah." Yang held up a finger. "I said I had no shame. Not that I have no regrets."

"This is one of your 'I've thought too deeply about being a hard-partying bimbo' philosophies, isn't it."

"Shame," the blonde lectured calmly, "is caused by not liking what one _is_. You're too fat, you're too cruel, you're too stupid, whatever-the point of shame is that in order to have it, one must be uncomfortable with one's self. Which I am glad to report I have only rarely been."

Weiss opened her mouth, paused, and gave a reluctant nod. "Alright. I can see that being a reasonable premise..."

"Regret," Yang continued, "is caused by not liking what one _does_. Or sometimes the results of what one does. I shouldn't have eaten all those cookies, I shouldn't have yelled at Blake, I shouldn't have made that horrible pun-these are actions, not adjectives." She sagged. "I... have plenty of regrets, if I'm honest."

"...But regret is... useful for motivating one to improve one's self and one's circumstances," Weiss allowed. "By feeling regret for what one did, one seeks ways to not do what one did in the future."

"Exactamundo! Shame is only useful in pointing out problems in one's self, which is only useful if one needs improvement. Shaming people is bad, because it puts them down without giving them a way up. Regret, however, is perfectly normal and acceptable-good, even! So long as you don't let it weigh you down too much."

"You know," Weiss mused, "I think I can actually see where you're coming from with this. Of course, it could be argued that one could regret other's actions, as I do Jacques-"

"-but you've taken that regret and decided to use it to reforge the Schnee name. You see? Action, not self."

"Hmm." The heiress nodded to herself. "Still. The large nude is going to be something of a problem, if only because it gives the students something to tease me about."

"Hey, I traced the body from a porn magazine. Hence the 'stole this sexy bod' thing."

"Ah, so it's inaccurate."

"Weiss, do you really want me to say I've seen your dad naked?"

"Yang, have you ever replaced Raven?"

"Well, yes, obviously, Yggdrassil swaps family relations around in some variants, sometimes I'm her mom instead of-oh. OH. OH GOD!" Yang clutched her head. "THE IMAGES!"

"So you can't feel shame, but you can feel disgust." Weiss nodded with a hum. "Good to know."

"CURSE YOU, WEISS! AND CURSE MY ACTIVE IMAGINATION! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

 **55.2 LithosMaitreya**

"I am told you use a **peashooter** \- hand cannon in your local Loops, General?" Ordis said conversationally as Ironwood outfitted his Warframe for an operation.

"Yes," Ironwood confirmed. "Custom, usually. Thing has the stopping power to take out most lower-level baseline Grimm in one shot."

"Oper—General," Ordis said lightly, " **Don't be stupiddddd—** Comparing smallarms firepower to anything in this branch is generally... unwise."

Ironwood snorted. "This thing hasn't impressed me so far," he said, his Mag holding up her Lato for examination.

"The Lato is **a piece of junk** \- antiquated," Ordis admitted. "But- well, let us acquire a few void relics. I think you might enjoy the Lex Prime."

"That a pistol?" Ironwood asked, heading for the Orbiter's deployment zone.

"A work of art," Ordis said, "but yes, **if you want to be vulgar about itttt**. It has stopping power comparable to the Vectis Prime sniper rifle and uses piercing ammunition."

Ironwood stopped. "Vectis _Prime_?" he asked slowly. "As in, the Orokin high-caliber monstrosity that makes the unmodified Crescent Rose look like a squirtgun?"

"The very same, yes."

" _I want it_."

By the end of the Loop, he got it.

 **55.3 Masterweaver**

"...hey."

Cinder jumped. "Oh! Qrow. You... are actually talking to me."

"Yep." Qrow scratched his scraggly beard as he sat down next to her. "Way I figure, I've been ignoring you for too long."

"Oh, that... is entirely understandable, if I'm honest. My baseline self-"

"You know, there was a loop back when I was stealthing. I saw you choose to halt your attack on Amber."

Cinder froze.

"Course, that was when I thought Salem was controlling the whole time thing. You started singing red like roses, which I'd never heard before, and then went off to join Ruby."

"...Yes, I remember that." Cinder nodded slowly. "It's... always strange, waking up so early. And so... villainous."

"I figure. Then there was the loop, right before I stopped stealthing, where you apparently got mentally attacked by Billy?"

"Oooog. I remember _that_. That was horrible." Cinder frowned. "...Look, where are you going with this, Qrow?"

"Ruby calls you her sister. That makes you my niece. And I'm supposed to be the best uncle on Remnant."

"...it really isn't necessary," Cinder assured him. "Not that-I mean, I'm sure you're a fine person, but-"

"Let me guess. You're worried about my drunkeness, or my... semblance."

"Maybe a little."

Qrow chuckled. "Let's not dance around it. We don't like each other in baseline. And, loops aside, we really haven't changed that much besides making new friends."

"But because of Ruby, you're trying to reach out and connect."

"Mmm. Pretty much."

Cinder sighed. "...I don't know, do we have anything in common besides her?"

"Vague pasts?"

"Mine's vaguer."

"We could swap stories about our coworkers."

"One loop Hazel broke Tyrian's spine."

"...Yeah, maybe a bit much. I dunno, do you like beer?"

"I'm more of a wine person."

"We both have black hair."

"Now you're reaching."

"Yep. I don't know." Qrow shrugged. "I guess I'm not so great at this socializing thing. But... I'm trying here."

Cinder pondered that for a moment.

"...So. I hear Weiss took you on as a padawan."

"Yep. She's mostly got me running through meditations at the moment, trying to still my mind so I can feel my inner self or something. It's harder then it sounds."

"You know, the sith got results much more quickly. I'm not saying that you should stop, but luck manipulation is considered by some a dark side power..."

 **55.4 KanameFujiwara & Masterweaver**

"I noticed something Yang."

"Hmm?"

"When Pyrrha died, Ruby went all silver eyes and decimated Cinder. When Qrow was hurt - she _mutilated_ Tyrian."

"..."

"Could our sweet, innocent Ruby Rose has a dark side? Could she actually be an _avenger_?"

Yang winced at the thought. " Maybe she should meet Sasuke for some one on one consulting on the pros and cons of being one?" she pondered.

"That could be arranged," Blake replied, wishing the problem to be just her imagining. Perhaps her brother could offer some insight.

"You know I can hear you two," Ruby deadpanned.

"Well, it's kind of disturbing!" Yang pointed out. "I mean, you're my little sister! I don't like thinking of you as a raging revenge... Rubyslaughter machine!"

Ruby gave her a flat look. "Yang. I am. A Huntress."

"Well-"

"I literally kill things for a living. Granted they're big freakin' shadow monsters, but seriously? You're expecting me to just sit back after my friends and family are hurt?"

The blonde held up a finger to reply-

"Wow, you really don't get it, do you? I'm not innocent. I never have been, not in the sense that I don't know the world is dark. How did you miss this-I've teased you about porn, and in other fighty loops I fight soldiers and actual people, and..." She blinked, looking from her to Blake. "Have you two been reading fanfiction again?"

Blake paused. "...Well, it's... been a while-"

"UUUUUUUUUGH." The Anchor threw back her head. "Guys. Those people think just because I like cookies and act childish I'm some sort of... blindly cheerful idiot. Seriously, come back down to reality and remember: This is the girl who fought and basically curbstomped mob goons, improvised a plan to decapitate a freakin' Nevermore, and successfully led four first-years in a battle against a giant mecha! Honestly!"

"...right. Sorry." Blake shook her head. "I don't know why that impression sinks in sometimes."

"I blame the Riding Hood motif," Yang said casually. "The original Red was stupid enough to get eaten, and we subconsciously entangle her with Ruby on occasion-"

"Just stop worrying about me going crazy like that," Ruby groaned. "I've always had a sharp edge, and showing it off doesn't mean I'm becoming a psychopath."

 **55.5 LithosMaitreya**

Glynda blinked Awake. She perused her Loop memories. She stopped. She glanced behind her.

"Don't ask me," said Jenny Everywhere, looking extremely comfortable where she lounged in an ornate throne. "I have no idea."

Glynda shook her head slowly. "I... suppose that will have to do," she said eventually. "Should I call you 'Empress', then?"

"Nah," Jenny said easily. "Not unless you want me to call you 'Lord Admiral.' Just get the fleet to Cryslon and, I don't know, find a way to keep the Silicoids from ever leaving the place, would you?"

Glynda frowned. "The Silicoids?" she asked.

"Biologically incapable of cooperating or being amicable with other races," Jenny explained. "I've been to this Branch before. The Silicoids, Darloks, and Sakkra are usually the three biggest problems, unless you count the Psilon tendency to always be miles ahead of everyone else."

Jenny was Empress of the Humans of Sol III, and Glynda was Lord Admiral of her fleet. The rest would... fall into place eventually, Glynda was sure.

 **55.6 Masterweaver**

"We've had an expansion!" four voices said at once, two in glee, and two tensely.

There was a pause.

"Were..." Ruby half chuckled, some humor barely returning to her voice. "Were we all Awake for that?"

"Apparently," Blake managed, sagging against a wall. "I... I'm sorry, I know we need to talk about it, it's just-"

Yang blinked, looking between them. "Oh. Geeze, I was going to bring some light to the world, but... if it hit you that bad-"

"I think it sort of hit us all differently," Weiss managed. "What if... bad news, good news. We go in team order?"

Ruby winced. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's a very good idea," Yang replied. "I have very, _very_ good news, and I hope it can trump whatever bad news you and Blake have."

"...it had better be good news," Blake mumbled. "I... I'm sorry, I just-"

"Take some time to gather your thoughts," Weiss advised, gently guiding her to a bed.

"Hey." Yang sat down next to her girlfriend, wrapping a warm arm around her. "I promise, we'll get through it all together, okay?"

"Right. Right, but... I'm sorry." Blake cleared her throat. "Ruby?"

"Oh! Right." Ruby took a breath, steadying herself. "Well... you know how Uncle Qrow was stung...?"

 **-/-**

"Just hold on, Uncle Qrow." Ruby glanced behind her at the delirious man on the improvised stretcher. "We're getting closer."

"...She's not coming..." Qrow coughed. "Tai... she's not coming back..."

Ruby winced. Qrow could have been talking about Raven, or Summer... or herself. "It's alright, he knows. He's alright."

Jaune looked up from the other end of the stretcher. "Ruby, he's getting worse."

"I know, I know..." She looked around the dreary, dry grass, and not for the first time cursed Tyrian and null loops. An antidote-many antidotes, really, the venom varied-could have been pulled out of her pocket, or she could have trounced the madman, or-

Focus. _Focus on the now_. "How much farther, do you think?"

"We've got to be close," Nora assured her from the rear.

Ren shook his head. "Without the map, there's no way of knowing. But I feel like we're... close to something..."

He stopped, looking ahead, and rushed to a fork in the road ahead. A signpost, clearly marked. Ruby peered; two signs pointed right, through the mountains, and a crossed-out sign pointed left.

And Ren was staring at the crossed out sign, a little too long.

"Hey! Hey, Mistral!" Nora pointed at one of the arrows. "We're on the right path-!" Her eyes fell on the other, and she seemed to sag. "Oh."

Ruby pressed forward, dragging Jaune along. "It's through the mountains, though. And it's... not going to be easy." She glanced back at Qrow. "Look, do we know how far it is?" She let her eyes drift down to the other sign. "Or Kuchinashi?"

Ren drooped his head, not looking up. "No. It's impossible to tell."

She turned around, nodding at Jaune. Slowly, they lowered Qrow to the ground. "And... what can you tell us about this other place? Kuroyuri?"

"That village was destroyed years ago."

"But if it takes us around the mountains," Jaune pointed out, "it's the best bet we've got."

Ren's fists clenched. "It will take too long."

Ruby winced. The boy was very closed, and to show even a modicum of emotion...

"...Ren, when I lost my mother, it... hurt. A lot. It still does." She stepped forward. "I'm not going to ask what Kuroyuri is to you, and I am not going to ask you to like it. But Jaune's right, we can't afford to go over the mountains, not with Qrow the way he is."

Nora stepped forward, putting a hand on Ren's shoulder, and giving Ruby a firm look. "We can split up. Me and Ren can take the mountains-"

"We barely managed to survive one of Salem's henchmen with Qrow! We're first-year huntsmen and huntresses!" Ruby sighed. "Look. My semblance is super speed. Just tell me where the doctor was, I'll scavenge for something. I can be in and out super fast. I won't fight any Grimm, you can... wait here, if you need to."

Ren looked up. "You won't find anything-"

"You're letting your pain speak for you."

He glared at her.

"I get it," Ruby said gently. "Really. I do. Yang lashes out-after mom died, after... well, something personal. And especially after Vale-it wasn't even her losing her arm that upset her the most. But... pain tells you that something is missing, that something is wrong. It doesn't tell you what to do to make it right." She sighed. "There might be something there. And if there isn't, we can avoid Kuroyuri entirely, just using the path."

Qrow chose that moment to cough up another bout of purple blood.

"...We stay off the road," Ren said finally. "You can... get in and out. The doctor was... near the gate..."

"Thank you. And... I am sorry to force this."

-/-

"...The loop ended not long after that," Ruby reported, her voice low. "So... at least we know Ren has more tragedy in his past."

Weiss sighed. "I am sorry to hear that, Ruby. I know how frustrated you were to find out about Qrow's condition..."

"It's not just that. It's... I don't know if we're 'supposed' to split up in baseline, and I'm not sure I made the right call. For all I know, I could be leading us to a megagrimm." Ruby held out her hands. "It's like, it's out of my hands. All that could go wrong... and I don't even know if I can do anything."

Blake nodded, fidgeting with her scroll. "I... know that feeling."

"I think we all know that feeling," Yang replied, rubbing her arm. "But... Rubes, you made a call, and you did your best. I can't say if Uncle Qrow dies in baseline... but somehow I doubt you'll let him."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I suppose. I just... I hope..."

She was quiet for a moment or two.

"...so there's me done! Weiss?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, but allowed the obvious diversion. "Well, despite my refined acts and polite nature, I somehow managed to irk Jacques enough at the party that he revoked my heiress status and put me under house arrest again. So I decided to practice with some of my baseline abilities..."

-/-

Glyphs whirled around the room to an unheard rhythm, circles and spinning angles lining wall and ceiling and floor. Most were pale blue, but some showed other colors; red and white and black and yellow, a testament to absent friends. Adding to the chaos were the spectral forms, machines and monsters and men-at-arms, emerging from not too few of the projections, dueling each other as they avoided the power lashing through the chamber. And through it all, twirling and flipping, her blade an extension of her form, Weiss Schnee _danced._

Chaos and order. Emotion and logic. Destruction and creation, choice and knowledge. Darkness and light, in balance, in self. All in form, all harmonious, all as one.

She landed, pirouetted, and brought her Myrtenaster up in form. The glyphs and the ghosts gathered round her, merging and imploding in one great burst.

Only then did she turn to the door, faintly curtsying. "Did you enjoy the show, brother mine?"

Whitley clapped, a faint smirk on his face. "I suppose you have a career in performance, if nothing else."

"Oh, I have much else that I could do. But, as it is, that was quite a strain on my aura."

"Really now." Whitley quirked an eyebrow.

Only eons of practice kept Weiss from showing outwardly her exhaustion. "I shall be recovered momentarily. And what of you? Have you strained yourself with the work of the Schnee heir?"

The boy frowned-briefly, a flicker-but his mask was soon returned. "Not at all. As a matter of fact, Father's taking me to town to introduce me to some of his business partners. I'd thought I'd see if you wanted me to pick up anything since you're..." He managed a condescending smirk. "...well, stuck here."

"Mmm. What could I want indeed? The staff already gives me enough attention, and I have enough room to train... and I certainly wouldn't ask for freedom, as you have clearly stated you will not defy Jacques." Weiss tapped her cheek. "In fact... all I want is a minor favor, from you to yourself."

"Oh? Do tell."

"When you go to town, find the people that he _doesn't_ want you to meet. Not the obvious criminals, mind, just... those he nudges you away from. Those he says aren't important. And talk to them, where he can't hear. Listen to what they say... and what they don't. Talk to everyone you can." She smiled. "That's always good advice, really."

Whitley quirked an eyebrow. "You want me to socialize."

"Yes. With those that Jacques doesn't control." Her smile faded. "You have made one move, brother mine, but I am not your foe."

"And I suppose Father is?"

Weiss sighed at the faint tint of hostility. "Why do hate me, when I do not hate you? You've taken what you wanted; what do I have that you could still envy?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Whitley asked.

"...Is it my power? My friendships? Are you jealous of the abilities I have?"

"Hmm… no, not really. Honestly, I find it barbaric." He crossed his arms. "It's beneath people like me. Like Father. What can a single huntsman possibly do that an army cannot? That's why we have one..." His eyes drifted sideways. "...even if it is run by a fool."

Weiss took a breath, remembering a recent conversation with her sister, and let it out. "...an army is nothing more than a wall of meat and weapons. A huntsman, and a huntress... they can act where armies cannot."

Whitley looked at her strangely. "...What is your plan, anyway? What do you hope to accomplish while trapped in your own bedroom?"

"I intend to save you, Whitley. Or to end you. I don't know which yet, but... you have made yourself too important to merely abandon."

He opened his mouth to reply, but paused, tilting his head. After a moment, he turned away. "I've got better things to do. Enjoy your... training, however pointless it is."

Weiss kept her scarred gaze on the door as his footsteps echoed away. Moments later, her butler appeared. "Miss Schnee, I-I couldn't help but overhear some commotion. Are you alright?"

She turned to the window, to the gardens, to the trees outside...

...to the ash that had a solitary bloom on its branch.

"...Yes actually. Although..." She turned back to him. "If it isn't too much to ask, I need a favor."

And for the first time since returning to Atlas, all those loops ago, Weiss Schnee felt free.

-/-

"Wait, what are you saying?" Ruby asked. "Are you saying-"

"I'm saying that it's time to make my move. I know that I didn't go baseline, but..." Weiss's eyes rose. "Atlas will soon be my cage no longer."

Yang clapped her hands together. "Good on you, princess! I'll be watching the news for the next few loops-try to make it as awesome as possible."

"It wouldn't be Weiss without a little showmanship," Ruby declared.

Weiss nodded. "I do, of course, request a viewing of the hub-loop backups as soon as possible. I know I won't get them before I act, but at the least-"

"More information is always useful." Blake hugged herself tightly. "Even if it isn't always... nice."

Yang blinked, wrapping an arm around her. "...do you need more time?"

"No." Blake took a breath. "No, I... you should know. You especially, Yang."

Ruby blinked. "...This isn't about the spy, is it? This is about..."

"...Sun. Sun, like a fool, chased after me..."

-/-

Null loops, a random but consistent aggravation in Yggdrasil. Not for the first time, Blake was grateful that Ozpin had tried to teach her and the other loopers prior to his reveal; she had little doubt that she wouldn't have noticed the expansion had she not been looking for it, caught up in the chase as she was.

Tree to tree she moved, and followed the spy-Ilia? With no y, that was an interesting twist-keeping her in sight as much as she could. Chameleon, her memories told her-she did not believe it was her semblance, but her skin, so there might be something else. And it might well not be her-

"Gotcha!" Sun Wukong, who she'd told to stay behind, dropped from above.

Ilia, or perhaps not, avoided the attack. Blake internally rolled her eyes, following her motion swiftly. The trees were ending, giving way to roofs, rooftops, because of course there were rooftops-

"Hey, wait up!"

"Don't call your attacks!" Blake chastised Sun, managing a dark smile at her own hypocrisy. "And keep her in sight!"

Roofs, now. Roofs were easier, smoother. Not that she couldn't handle trees, but rooftops... pipes and gutters and vents and angles, almost akin to being street level. Geometry was her friend here, in this domain she was master.

The spy had made a critical error, and she knew it. She lashed out with some form of rapier and sliced a few pipes, hoping the steam would slow her down, and Blake slid under, inches away, grabbing her hand as it swung back.

"You want to talk?" she asked, her gentle tone an ironic counterpoint to her firm grip. "Because I _am_ willing to listen."

"Are you now?" the spy asked-and yes, her loop memories informed her, that was Ilia's voice. At last, a face to the name. "I don't believe you."

"What, the chase? _You_ were the one spying on me. It's only natural."

Sun slammed onto the roof behind her, glaring at her. "Give it up! I'm not-"

And then the girl hit a trigger on the hilt of her blade. It extended with yellow sparks, swinging toward the boy-Ilia took advantage of Blake's brief confusion to break free from her grip, but Blake swung at her other hand-

Something went flying-Ilia gasped-dodged Blake's kick, ran for the object-

Sun pinned her down. "Grab the Scroll! Seems _someone_ thinks it's important!"

"Get OFF!" Ilia headbutted him off, hard enough to crack her mask, and looked to Blake, who was already moving toward the flung electronic. She aimed her whip-but a golden copy of the boy tackled her, and another, and another-

"Don't strain your aura!" Blake advised, scooping up the scroll and quickly attaching it to her belt.

Sun dropped his pose, letting his clones vanish with a pant. "Oh... yeah. Good tip..."

The spy, Ilia Amitola, stood and pointed her weapon at Blake, even as her mask crumbled away. Blake looked at her, expression stoic. "So, what now?"

She faltered.

"Do you... know her?" Sun asked incredulously. "She doesn't even look like a Fau-!"

If she had her abilities, or her subspace pocket, or had even bothered to search her loop memories beyond the usual, Blake might have stopped what happened next. But the tree was hard on could-haves and might-have beens.

Sun went down with a scream as the tip of the electric whip pierced his chest. Blake had started moving toward him even as the trigger pulled, but too late-too late-

"Give it to me."

She looked at the girl-red with yellow hair, and eyes of silver- _silver?_ "This," she said as she cradled Sun, "this is why faunuskind hates the White Fang."

Ilia backed up, shock and regret coating her face as she once more shifted color-blue eyes and hair, green skin. "You... you shouldn't have come back," she said weakly. Then she slashed at the roof, generating a cloud of dust...

...and Blake turned back to Sun. "...we've had enough death," she muttered to herself. "Don't give up, Sun, just hold on." With a final glance at the cloud of dust, she gathered him up and jumped off the roof.

-

"Of course, the expansions being what they are, I was right outside the hospital when, bamf, back here." Blake sighed. "It's just..."

"It's a parallel to me," Yang said. "White Fang member, seriously injures a blonde close to you..."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not going to get jealous if you save his life. He may be an idiot, but he's _our_ idiot." Yang nudged her playfully. "And he is cute."

"Heh. Well, I intend to." Blake bit her lip. "...at least Ilia showed some regret. I... I want to think she can be talked over, but..."

Weiss nodded. "I'm still working on Whitley. I'm not going to tell you to give up on her."

"Especially when she has a lightning-whip-sword!" Ruby stated brightly. "I _want_ it!"

Blake managed a giggle. "Next time, I'll pocket it for you." She paused. "...although... she did have silver eyes at one point..."

"Yeah, but, chameleon, you know? Which doesn't actually make sense, chameleons can't change their eye color. Or hair for that matter," Ruby mused, "hair's made of dead cells-"

"Speaking of awesome hair," Yang interjected, "I think it's time for me to have my go?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes indeed. So, what is this good news you think will lift our spirits from all this potential death?"

"Weeeeeell, I was sparring with Dad, testing out the new arm, and he was giving dadly advice, talkin' about Raven finally, but the _real_ good bit happened after I hit the hay..."

-/-

"Aaaaaaaaall I want is a propercupof coffee, made in a propercoppercoffee pot-"

"Shut up."

"I maaaaaay be off my dot, but I wantacupofcoffee in a propercopperpot!"

"Shut up!"

"Iron coffeepots and tin coffeepots, they are no use to me-"

"I am warning you-"

"If I can't have a propercupofcoffee in a propercoppercoffeepot I'll have a cup of tea!"

Yang growled, furiously whirling around and punching. Her target laughed, giggling and twirling out of the way of the explosion.

"Come now, Yang, did you really think I wouldn't touch this at some point?" It gestured at the rusting quartet of corpses. "Immortals, like you, only they're dying. So not immortal at all!"

"You are making a mockery of my friends," Yang growled. "You are making a mockery of their suffering, and what it's doing to all of us-to Ruby."

"Mmm. Yes. Yes I am. It's just so easily mockable!"

"Look, you pink rat, you already have enough to work with! You've got my relationship issues with Blake, my problems with Raven, hell, you've worked on my obvious uselessness! There's no need to drag-"

"Oh but there is." The psychic fragment giggled. "What use would there be in only torturing you with one problem? The more things come to light, the more I can drag into the dark. And this..." It hovered over the still rusting corpses. "This is so _delicious_. I mean, yeah, daddikens compared you and your dear mumzy, but really we can go into what he said later."

Yang drew back her fist-

-and then, stopped.

And stared at the tableau for a moment or two.

The pink creature paused in its hovering, looking up to her. "...What?"

"What are you?"

"Haven't we been over this? It doesn't matter what I am, what matters is-"

"This is a null loop," Yang said slowly. "For you to still exist, you can't be utilizing... out of loop abilities. You have to be an intrinsic part of me, don't you?"

"...So, I'm you. Congratulations. You've figured it out." The pink creature clapped, sarcastically growing a long mane of blonde hair. "Well done. But like I said, it doesn't matter what I am."

"No," Yang agreed, "it doesn't. What matters is what you do."

"Yes." The pink creature hovered carefully around the table the rusty corpses were sitting around. "That's... right."

"And what you do," Yang murmured as if to herself, "is flame my insecurities and worries into actual nightmares..."

"...oh, you can _not_ be serious." The pink thing snorted. "Really? You think that some epiphany is going to magically get rid of me? Huh?!"

"Why don't we go down the list." Yang snapped her finger, and an image of her partner in more ways then one appeared. "Blake. I'm nervous that I'm going to hurt her on accident, because I know how Adam treated her, and I'm nervous that she might snap and hurt me, because I know about her rampage. Here's the thing: We're both better then that. I ask for her permission, and she always looks to heal what injuries she causes."

"Oh, but she's the leader in your relationship-"

"-and I'm fine with that. Let's be honest, I'm impulsive and prone to outbursts. I need somebody to follow, and I will shine all the brighter for them."

"And the fact that she's basically your mother-"

"-is not actually a fact at all," Yang pointed out. "Everyone has parallels to everyone, good and bad. But you know what, since you bring her up, why don't we talk about Raven?"

The pink creature growled as she summoned another black-haired woman. "She's a murderous, self-centered monster, we both know that."

"Mmm, possible. But she wasn't part of my life."

"She should have been! She abandoned you!" The pink creature grinned. "Because you weren't worth anything to her."

"You know, normally I'd reply with 'and she's not worth anything to me,' but that's the bait, isn't it? She _is_. I don't like her, but I wanted to know about her." Yang looked at the image. "I still do. Weird, isn't it? I don't want her in my life, but at the same time I need to know. And..." She took a breath. "I can acknowledge that dichotomy. Knowledge and choice, hmm?"

"Oh, stop poetically reducing things to the relics!" the pink creature snarled. "You and I both know that people are more complicated then that-that LIFE is more complicated then that!"

"Fair enough, fair enough. My point is, though, I can be curious about her without actually worrying about her. Heck, I don't even need the waifu quest-I'll still do it, because it's not just for me, it's for Dad as well."

"Right, of course, because hooking your father up with a random girl will solve all his problems."

"No, it won't, but it'll make sure he's not alone." Yang shrugged. "Or maybe I'll drag him with me when I get done recovering. Point is, this isn't about Raven anymore."

"Oh, no." The pink creature pointed at her. "It's about you! It's about you, and your constant need to fight!"

"...You know what, you're right." Yang nodded. "I am a bit of an adreniline junkie, aren't I? A bit of a blood knight."

"Yes, you're very destructive. Self destructive, even-"

"I heard something somewhere. 'Young warriors look for meaning in their fights. Old warriors look for their fights to have meaning.' And you know, I think that's a good bit of wisdom."

"...That's a nonsensical pattern of fancy words!"

"Yeah, I know." Yang smiled at the pink creature. "And you're a pink cat fetus that tries to give me nightmares all the time. My fights with you have no meaning, so I'll look for a meaning to fight for."

"...You're not getting rid of me that easily," the thing hissed. "You know as well as I that you still have so many issues to dredge up and work through. This isn't over!"

"No. It isn't." She shrugged, willing a giant sledgehammer into existence. "But it is the beginning of the end."

And before the thing could reply, the hammer smashed it into the ground.

"...Nailed it."

-/-

The RWBY dorm room was quiet for a moment or two.

"...Oh. Sweet. Marianne." Ruby managed. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Mmmhmm." Yang stretched her arms casually. "The pink rat has overstayed its welcome. It hasn't moved out yet, but I put in an eviction notice."

"Yang..." Blake blinked back tears. "Oh... Yang, I-I'm so proud of you!" She wrapped her in a tight embrace. "I've been so worried, watching you suffer like that, but you did this all on your own-"

"Yeah, well, dad did say that if I took a second look, I could find a way around."

"Oh I-I just-" Ruby pounced on her sister, cheering. "I know how hard this has been for you, Yang, and I'm just so happy you're finally moving past this and I, I'll help in any way I can of course-"

"Alright, alright!" Yang chuckled, wrapping her arms around the two of them. "There, you see? I told you I had super good news."

Weiss smiled. "I... well, I'm not usually very emotional, but I want to say that I am glad to see this storm has started to pass."

Yang grinned at her. "What, you worried a group hug will ruin your fancy dress?"

"No, but you've got your sister and your girlfriend. I don't think I'm quite as-"

"Weiss, you're family," Ruby said flatly. "Shut up and join the celebration."

With a shrug, Weiss moved in and managed-barely-to wrap her arms around the three of them. "As you command, oh fearless leader." Despite her snark, she seemed to have not one iota of reluctance in her actions.

And so, four teenage girls celebrated the death throes of a pink kitten together. And all was, for a moment, well with the world.

-/-

 **55.7 Pungent**

"Roman!" Cinder's voice echoed through the warehouse, hanging in the air for slightly too long. The man in question was sitting atop some wooden crates.

"Over here, sweet-cheeks. What is it this time?"

The malicious clicking of high heels became louder and louder as Cinder zeroed in on Roman's position. Spotting the criminal lounging about made her blood boil, but it was incomparable to the fury from what she was holding. A red Dust crystal.

"Torchwick, what is the meaning of this!?" Cinder ground out through clenched teeth, holding up the Dust crystal. The piece of Nature's Wrath was unremarkable, but what it was covered with drew Cinder's ire.

Powdered cheese.

"Ah, Cinder. It's great to see you too." Roman drawled as if nothing was wrong, "Angry jaw clenching doesn't suit you. It makes the tendons in your neck pop out."

"Do not test my patience, Roman! What is-" It was this moment that Cinder finally took notice of Roman's attire, and that it was also smeared in the same orange cheese the Dust crystal was. In fact, all of the crates in this corner of the warehouse sported orange hand prints and incomprehensible smears.

"Oh? Is it the cheese? Ha haaaa! Funny story about that." He twirled Melodic Cudgel on his gloved finger, spraying cheese over the wooden crates. "As it turns out, I'm cursed with cheese fingers for the foreseeable future. No matter how hard I try to wash them, cover them, or lick them, my fingers will always leave behind this delightful yet unhealthy processed cheese on everything I touch. While I can theoretically solve world hunger, it's also incredibly disgusting."

The sound a shattering glass revealed Neo rolling around on the crate Roman was sitting on, unable to hold up the illusion from mutely laughing so much.

"You see, Cinder," Roman continued, "The only reason my last robbery was so successful was because the little Red huntress-in-training was too busy laughing her ass off to stop me. Much like Neo here."

 _Thump!_ Neo had rolled off the crate and was continuing her silent laughing fit.

 **55.8 LithosMaitreya**

"I do _not_ enjoy this setting," Ironwood grumbled as he bent over a map of the battlefield, animated with the area visible to his operatives.

" _If it's any consolation, General,"_ said Winter politely over the radio, _"I doubt any of us like it much better. Miss Rose, if you could secure that rooftop."_

" _On it,"_ came Ruby's voice, and the sniper icon on Ironwood's display moved from cover behind a building towards the adjacent wall and climbed up a ladder.

And there was a Sectoid because _of course there was_.

" _Enemy in sight,"_ Ruby said shortly even as she began to move on his screen. The sectoid engaged her with plasma fire, and Ironwood knew better than to try to follow the specifics of combat on his screen.

"Winter," he snapped, "get someone onto the hill to your left to watch the flank. Ruby, try not to alert them with gunfire."

" _Confirmed,"_ Winter said. _"Blake, move to cover behind that tree. Yang, get to that fountain in the yard, watch the right flank. Weiss, maintain overwatch."_

It was a Null Loop, because of course it was. It wouldn't be XCOM if it was easy.

Blake found a Viper leading three Advent troopers in an attempt to flank the squad. She was able to take one of the pseudohumans down with a burst of gunfire before magnetic rounds forced her to duck back behind the tree.

" _Blake, you okay?"_ Yang asked quickly.

" _Radio discipline,"_ Winter ordered crisply. _"Blake, maintain overwach. Weiss, try to get behind that squad. Ruby, is that sectoid dead yet?"_

" _Yes,"_ said Ruby, breathing heavily. And it was, Ironwood saw.

" _What is Crescent Rose besides a scythe, then?"_ Winter asked coolly.

" _Radio discipline,"_ Ruby parroted cheekily. _"Buuuut..."_

The Viper died.

" _It's also a gun,"_ Ruby said.

 **55.9 Vinylshadow**

Ozpin stared at the reports on his desk, then at the man who delivered them.

"How accurate are these reports?" he asked.

"As accurate as if you had seen it yourself," Qrow replied.

"The entire upper echelon of Salem's group was wiped out?" Ozpin asked in disbelief. "By an army of Grimm, no less?"

Qrow spread his hands. "I found it as unbelievable at first, but the evidence is too great to ignore."

Ozpin glanced at the pictures that had accompanied the report and he put his coffee down with a shaky hand.

He hadn't seen violence like that since...a very long time ago.

"So...there goes most of our problems for the foreseeable future...now what?"

"Deal with Roman and the White Fang, I guess."

"The girls aren't going to be happy just going after thugs," Ozpin warned.

"Yang and Blake will," Qrow said. Ozpin rolled his eyes.

"So should we look for our mysterious savior or leave them be?"

"Leave them be. If they wanted recognition for this, they'd have left a note or contacted us about it. Enjoy your vacation."

"Said no headmaster ever," Ozpin deadpanned as Qrow left with a cheery wave.

 **55.10 LithosMaitreya**

"I don't tend to get on real well with Generals, as a rule," said Captain Mal Reynolds coolly, looking his guest up and down.

"That's a shame," Ironwood said dryly, taking a sip from the cheap whiskey Mal had poured them both. "I find I get along very well with scoundrels who tend to ignore outside authority. Look at Qrow."

"Thought you two hated each other?"

Ironwood shook his head. "Hardly," he said. "We _do_ have our differences, but he's a good man. I'd... like to think he can say the same about me."

Mal leaned forward. "And that's what matters, you'd say?" he asked. "Bein' a good man over being one who'll follow where he's led?"

Ironwood frowned. "You're the Captain of a starship that spends most of its time in deep space," he said blankly. "Surely we can agree there's a time and place for both?"

Mal considered him for a moment, sipping his liquor. Then, after a moment, he nodded. "I believe we can... General," he said, standing. "And I believe I can find you a place on my crew, too. Welcome aboard _Serenity_."

Ironwood smiled and stood to shake the Captain's hand. "I think I've been seeking her for a long time," he said with a chuckle. "It's good to have found her."

Mal rolled his eyes. "Now you sound like the Shepherd."

"Hey, you named the boat, didn't you?"

 **55.11 Shimmer712**

"Yyyaannng! Ruby whined.

"I know, I know," the blonde muttered.

"But Yang-"

"I said I know!"

"Why are the Grimm sparkly? They're not supposed to be sparkly! Sparkly means _Twilight_!" Ruby wailed. "I don't wanna be in a Twilight loop!"

"Actually, I think it may be a fused loop if it's not a variant," Yang corrected.

" _Twilight!_ "

"Look at it this," Yang shrugged. "If it is a Twilight loop, we can have fun burning vampires to death."

"...Can I shoot that Edward guy in the crotch?"

"...Oooh, good idea, Ruby!" Yang grinned. "I need to remember that if I ever land in a loop where he shows up!"

 **55.12 Masterweaver**

"...Hey." Nora sat down next to her partner. "You feeling okay?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

The redhead chuckled. "Ren. You can talk to me, you know?"

"I..." Ren gave her an odd look. "...know that, yes. I just don't see anything to talk about."

"Well, um, I just though..." Nora rubbed the back of her head. "You know. Baseline, expansions. If you need to talk, I'm here."

"Thank you, Nora, but I'm quite fine."

She blinked at that, peering at him in confusion.

"...Oh. You... actually mean that, don't you?"

"Yes, Nora. I am fine. I am... Well, I am not okay with the developments that have occurred, but they are merely an extension of the previous-"

"I'm talking about Kuroyuri! I mean, come on, that-" Nora held out her hands wide. "That's a big thing!"

"And it changes every loop. We're not going to know about-"

"That is not what I mean, Lie Ren, and you know it!"

Ren sighed. "Nora-"

"No, you-I had a loop recently, okay, you weren't Awake, we came to the signpost, I _saw_ how you reacted-"

"Nora, he isn't me."

"...what?"

Ren put his hands on his knees. "Look. To me, Jaune and Pyrrha are my parents. More so then the vague images in my past. You know that, they're your parents too-"

"-but-"

"-so these things that come up, these things that are supposedly my history, they're not as central to who I am. I will remember them, I will consider them, but..." He shrugged. "That Ren, the one who lost his parents in Oniyuri, the one who is terrified of Kuroyuri for some reason, that isn't... me. I sympathize with him, of course, but I'm not drowned down by him."

Nora stared at him for a long while.

"...The callousness of immortality, huh?"

Ren winced. "Nora, it's not-"

"I saw. The suffering on his face-your face. I saw how much he struggled, how he took the way out when I offered it-I saw how much it broke him that he couldn't bring himself to be with Jaune and Ruby carrying Qrow down there! And you're saying that's not important?!"

"That's not what I'm saying at all! I'm saying that it's not me!"

Nora stood. "You know what, I-I don't even know what to say to that. I really don't." She took a few steps away, before whirling back around. "What, are you waiting for some firm details before you mourn for your family? For a name or a cause of death or-?!"

"How can I mourn somebody that reality itself has forgotten?" Ren looked up at her. "How can I regret a past that has never happened? I'm sorry, Nora, but... that pain, that sorrow you saw, you want to help soothe it. And I get it. But it isn't here. It isn't in me."

Nora stared at him, uncomprehending.

He sagged. "...Look. I-"

"Save it." She turned away. "I-I need to do. Something. Elsewhere."

"Nora-"

"I said I need to _go_ , Ren!" She huffed. "We're not bound at the hip, are we?"

"...I _am_ sorry. Really."

"...Yeah. Me too." Nora took a breath... and walked briskly away.

 **55.13 LithosMaitreya**

"Jenny!" squealed the small pink pony excitedly, throwing herself into the Traveling Looper's arms. "Hi!"

"Good to see you, Pinkie," said Jenny happily, cuddling with the Party Pony. "How have things been back here since I last saw you?"

"Oh, it's been great!" Pinkie said excitedly, leaping from Jenny's arms and into Glynda's. "Hi Glynda! I heard you were traveling with Jenny! Oh, this is so exciting I haven't seen either of you in _ages_! Especially Jenny! You'd think the 'Traveling Looper' would 'Travel' over here a little more often, but nope!"

"Hello, Pinkie Pie," said Glynda, patting Pinke awkwardly and looking to her travel partner for help.

"It's not like I choose where to go each Loop," Jenny Everywhere said defensively, prying the pink quadruped off of her friend. "Yggdrasil just... drops me wherever."

"Well, it should drop you _here_ more often," Pinkie said firmly, bouncing up and down with a comic sound like springs. "Oooh, this'll be so much _fun!_ We'll have a 'Welcome Back to Equestria After Thousands of Loops' Party, and I can show you my new Ultra Mega Bubblegum Cake (Now With Extra Mega Bubbles!) recipe, and you cane take some Zap-Apple Jam with you when you leave, and Twilight can give you a copy of her newest five hundred theses to share with the rest of the Multiverse-"

"Well," said Jenny pleasantly, bopping Pinkie on the nose, "We can't do any of those things unless you tell them we're here, can we?"

Pinkie gasped. Glynda was amazed at how long she could gasp for, although she should have remembered since the last time she'd seen the original Element of Laughter. "You're _right!_ " she said, as though Jenny has just opened the secrets of the universe to her. "Oh, I have to _tell everyone!_ "

"Aaaaand she's gone," Jenny said, watching the pink streak vanish with a smile on her lips. "You haven't been to Equestria all that often, have you?"

Glynda shook her head. "Pinkie certainly is a handful, isn't she?" she asked weakly.

"Only if you assume people should be handled at all," Jenny said, smirking at her. "Pinkie's a handful if you try to keep her in your hands, yeah. I think it's better to... _experience_ her."

Glynda shook her head. "It's strange not to have to be Ozpin's disciplinarian," she said quietly.

Jenny chuckled. "This Loop'll be good for you, Glyn," she said, taking her friend by the arm. "Come on, Pinkie probably has the party set up by now."

 **55.14 Masterweaver**

Blake stumbled into the ballroom, half-shaking. Ruby was by her in a moment. "Okay, Blake, it's over now, and Yang's Awake. Just focus on the now, okay?"

"Yes. I shouldn't... yeah. Shouldn't be as shaken, but it-it-"

Yang walked up to the pair, concern in her eyes. "What's going on?" she demanded gently, absently wrapping an arm around her girlfriend.

"You're going to say I'm exaggerating-"

"You know how Blake was an orphan until the expansions?" Ruby explained. "She just had her first swap-with-mom loop."

"...Oooooooh." Yang drew in a breath, helping Blake sit down. "Yeah, those are weird, aren't they?"

"I, I, it was, Ghira-dad-I don't-"

"Is Weiss Awake?" Yang asked Ruby. "I mean, when I swap with Raven it's all in the past, but when she swaps-"

"I'm here, I'm Awake." Weiss drew in close. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"The memories and-I, it's so-" Blake's eye twitched. "I, maybe later, just, now, let me be me."

"Alright." Yang produced a book. "Got you something, thought you might like it. Hubworld fantasy novel."

"Yes, yes. Thank you." Blake took the book, opened it, and slowly began to relax.


	56. Fond Ones Have Flown

**56.1 Vinylshadow**

Ozpin stared at his coffee machine as if it had personally offended him.

Technically it did, by verbally criticizing his choice of coffee and flat-out refusing to serve it.

"Well, it seems as if we're in the middle of a Fallout Fused Loop," he said aloud, ignoring the grumbling machine.

With a thought, he brought out a fresh cup from the depths of his Pocket, an idea he'd picked up from the Doctor a long time ago in case of such emergencies and went about his business.

 **56.2 LithosMaitreya**

"Grimm," Yang said.

Blake pulled the trigger. Gunfire, a puff of black dust. "Dead," she said.

"Grimm," Yang said.

Trigger. Bang. Dust. "Dead," said Blake.

"Grimm."

Click, bang, puff. "Dead."

"Grimm."

Click, bang, puff. "Dead."

"Orange."

Click, bang, puff. "De-" Blake blinked. Turned to her partner looking through the scope of the mass accelerator. "What?"

"Orange you glad I didn't say Grimm?" Yang said, looking away from the scope to wink at her.

Blake narrowed her eyes at her. "We're supposed to be taking this seriously," she said.

Yang rolled her eyes. "We have a gun that requres one person to aim and another to shoot," she said, "but both jobs are mind-numbingly boring. And there's literally always more Grimm."

It was true. This variant, Huntsmen worked in little flying pods that seated two, one to shoot and one to aim, and left the biosphere-protected Kingdoms regularly to try to make dents in the literal sea of Grimm that covered the rest of the planet.

"This ought to be a really dark setting," Blake reflected, leaning back against her seat. Outside, Grimm scraped uselessly against the plated armor of the pod.

"Would ya say," Yang drawled, but Blake cut her off.

"Yes, Yang," she said tiredly. "It is... _Grimm_. But really, I just feel cheated."

"I _know_ ," Yang whined. "There's more Grimm than you could shake Crescent Rose at and we're stuck in a little ball calling shots to each other."

"It's hard to feel that gravitas of the situation when the situation feels like watching someone hammer in nails," Blake agreed.

Yang raised her eyebrow. "I think you _hit the nail on the head_ with that one," she said lightly.

"Shut up, Yang."

"I mean, you could make me," the blonde challenged. Blake met her eyes for a moment.

"Tempting," she said, leaning in, allowing her eyes to go half-lidded.

"I know I am," smirked Yang.

" _But_ you remember what Ozpin said," Blake turned back to the trigger. "No making out in the pod. Give me a target."

"Come _on_ ," Yang whined. "He was joking!"

"Do you want to risk our reputation on that?" Blake asked.

"Our reputation here only lasts until the end of the Loop!"

"Sounds like Sakura Syndrome to me," Blake said. "You should get that looked at."

"Blake," Yang whined, then paused. "Don't leave me _Yangin'_..."

"That's it," Blake glared at her. "You... no. Just _no_."

Yang waggled her eyebrows. "What'cha gonna do, get the squirtgun?" she asked coyly.

"Don't test me," Blake warned.

"Oh, but I _want_ to test you," Yang practically purred. "I want to see just where you're _rigid_ and where you're... _flexible_."

"Yang," Blake hissed unhappily.

"Am I getting through ye—Grimm."

"What?"

"Blake?" Yang said, and her voice was shaking. "Grimm."

The pod shook with a mighty impact.

" _Really big Grimm_."

Blake sighed and turned back to the firing mechanism. Blinked at it.

She fired. "Dead. Yang?"

"Yes, Blake?"

"I was having fun."

"I know," her girlfriend said, aggrieved. "But break time's over."

"Yeah," Blake said. "Yang?"

"Yes?"

"I'm triggered."

There was silence. Then Yang squealed. "I'm so _proud!_ "

 **56.3 Masterweaver**

 _it can get pretty lonely when youre the only member of your pantheon_

The ships were sailing across the windless sea, all around her, a fleet that numbered in hundreds. Some were great and proud; some small and meager. Some rotted from within, some had hearts of iron. All had a single massive leaf as a sail, and the leaves were all torn but living, pulsing as the vessels went along.

 _i didnt even know i had real siblings for the first few eons of my existence_

The wind blew in her hair as she stood on the stern, watching as the other crewmates scrambled about the ropes and rigging. Here and there she could see injuries; an orange-haired scrap stitched together like a doll, a red-haired warrior with a bolt through her chest; a man and a girl, one covered in scars and the other in bruises; and an elderly fellow, leaning on a confused boy as he hobbled about.

 _theyre still unrisen did you know that? theyve coalesced but nobody wants to free them_

The captain, youngest of the lot, was distracted, playing with her toys. The commander was focused on the pair of icebergs ahead-one massive, one smaller but meandering. On the port, a blond struggled one-handed with a particular rope, and starboard another found herself entangled in a net by a monkey and chameleon.

 _something about depth of backups ha! because they have no true legenderium?_

The injured warrior and her kin, at least, seemed to handle the waters well, fighting back leaping sharks and other things with wild aplomb. A well-dressed woman surfed by, tossing a bone to the dog managing the cannons; a hook-handed man reached out, but she was gone in a moment. Two of the members rested in the crows next, uncaring of the world around them; the man coughed on occasion, rubbing his scar, while the woman looked about.

 _they say its because yggdrasil broke shortly after my rise but i know the truth_

And she stood... doing... nothing. Nothing as the others struggled, fought the current blindly, trapped in complexity of the world and their own design. The other vessels didn't struggle as much, even when the waters were rough-it was only they, only them, the leaf that was their sail barely even grown, still living roots twisting their hulk.

 _theyre afraid of the new generation afraid of us afraid of me afraid of what ill do_

A great siren emerged from the sea, towering over the ship. Nobody seemed to notice her pale form, even as her arm rose to strike. She alone saw the dark glee in the red eyes, and she alone rushed to stop the blow, and she alone held the hand back.

 _well if you really cared you would have taken me in but you let narly raise me_

At her touch, the siren's skin started to peel away, peel back, unfolding like so many strands of parchment, fluttering away in the breeze. The creature beneath the siren's skin was unnervingly familiar. Blackened scars covered the left side of the monster, and its eyes still burned red, but it was still otherwise like looking in a massive mirror.

 _so when my siblings are free i will show you what fear truly is_

With a feral grin, the monster reached underneath the water and flipped the entire boat over. The crew scattered, floundering in the currents as tentacles and claws and fangs writhed and wiggled and wormed through them blood and bone and blackness flowing from their bodies.

 _youre not ready for that task just yet but i will make you ready_

-

"Cinder! Cinder, wake up!"

She sat up, coughing and gasping, looking around blearily. "Em...Emerald?"

"Oh, thank the gods." The green-haired woman almost hugged her, but stopped herself. "You... you were sleepwalking, and you fell into the harbor, and, and I swam out to get you and-"

"Emerald. I... thank. Thank you." Cinder shook her head. "Thank you. I... I think, we should head back... to the dorm now..."

 **56.4 Pungent**

"You're distracted." Weiss very bluntly said to her team leader.

"I'm just thinking about the Grimm this Loop; that's all," Ruby retorted hastily. While the Grimm were indeed very intriguing this Variant, possessing crystals that endlessly produced Grimm matter, and when shattered, the fragments themselves would produce more Grimm.

"We're in Grimm Studies right now! You're not even paying attention to what's being taught!" Weiss shot back just as quickly. "There's something else on your mind right now. Don't deny it."

Team RWBY's leader let out a rough sigh. As much as Ruby wanted to learn about the Grimm this Loop, something else was occupying her thoughts. "Okay Weiss. You got me. I'm thinking about my previous Loop. I'll tell you about it later."

"Nope." Weiss interjected. "We are talking about this now while the memories are fresh." She then produced a disc-like device from her Pocket, placed it on the desk, and switched it on. The droning of Professor Port's speech, the noisy air conditioning, and the hushed conversations of surrounding students instantly went dead silent. All that the two Loopers could hear was each other. "What happened last Loop that has you distracted?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, which seemed almost audible in their silent bubble. "Alright, Weiss. Since you're so persistent, let me tell you a story..."

I Awoke to a Remnant where everything was, to put it bluntly, much stronger. Dust was more potent in every respect, efficiency, output, versatility, whatever. Aura was also way sturdier. It could take many more hits before it fell, could regenerate itself faster, and heal the user much quicker. Semblances were also given the same treatment. My rose petals became mono-molecular sharp, and moving at near super sonic speeds barely took any effort. Weiss could use her glyphs more freely and do more, like send a massive storm of Dust infused bolts wherever you wanted them, decimating anything that got in the way. Blake's shadow clones persisted much longer, if not indefinitely, could carry their own weapons, and used Dust to devastating effect. Imagine twenty or so Blake clones, all infused with their own element of Dust, charging at and colliding with their target. Yang could take so much more punishment, and when she took enough damage, these enormous wings of golden fire would erupt from her back. When that happened, she could start flying, pouring shining flames from her Aura.

The Grimm were stronger, too. Much stronger. They were vile, truly evil, and used every conceivable advantage when fighting humanity. This included biological, chemical, emotional, spiritual, and conventional warfare, if it could be called that. They didn't kill their victims, if they could help it. What the Grimm did was far, far worse.

"This sounds like a try-hard horror story. Let me guess, the Grimm 'suck out their soul' Dementor style." Weiss drawled, sounding bored.

"Don't interrupt me; I was just getting to the good part."

You see, Grimm could use Aura as well, although not nearly as effectively. More often than not, I would hear stories of hunters who would freeze in place upon looking at a specific Grimm. The hunter would swear that Grimm would feel familiar, like being in the presence of someone they knew was long dead. Someone they watched die, taken away by the Grimm years ago. Anyone taken by the Grimm was considered deceased.

That wasn't completely true. You see, no one knew what the Grimm did to the people they captured, but I knew, in time.

Signal and Beacon were much, much more rigorous in their training. They had to be. Students needed to be in almost superhuman physical condition, along with perfect mental health to even dream of becoming hunters.

Aside from a few minor details, the timeline followed baseline fairly well, that is, until the Breach.

Cinder was not affiliated with the Grimm in any way, but she wasn't exactly good, either. The White Fang was an Anarchist group of humans and faunas led by Cinder herself. They rallied together to overthrow the Council because of their reliance on censorship and media filtering to keep the populace from panicking.

It was on the train where things started to go wrong.

Cinder was there instead of Roman. She tried to put up a face of calm and control, but I could easily see she was scared. Cinder was utterly terrified, and slowly broke down into heaving sobs after twenty seconds of her and me fighting. She begged me to end her life, to save her from the undoubtedly torturous jurisdiction the Council would punish her with.

Then we hit the wall, and broke into Vale proper.

I awoke to the sensation of being dragged along concrete. Then came the thumps of automatic weapons, and finally the noise of perfect chaos. Blake was dragging me to safety while Yang provided support. As my senses cleared further, I took stock of my limbs and health. Everything felt fine and usable, so I took stock of my surroundings. I first saw Blake smiling over me, then yelling to Yang I was awake.

The very moment Yang looked my way, she had unwittingly forfeited her life.

A spray of black goo knocked Yang to the ground, and the source rapidly skittered from inside of a bakery to its struggling catch. Arachnid Grimm were the cause of most civilian casualties, simply due to their fluid-like paralyzing webs. In that moment, an enormous centipede Grimm crawled between the arachnid Grimm and Blake and me, blocking any shots that my teammate tried to take in a desperate attempt to save my sister.

The centipede Grimm reared back, and suddenly I was being carried in Blake's arms, being rushed toward a grounded Bullhead.

"And where was _I_ while all of this was happening?" Weiss asked impatiently. "I would never leave my teammates to fend for themselves."

"Augh, Weiss! I was just getting to that! Even your unAwake self that Loop wasn't _that_ heartless!" Ruby replied.

The Bullhead took off soon after we boarded. By then, I had enough strength to move on my own again. Blake was sobbing grievously on the Bullhead passenger seat, legs curled up to her chest and wrapped in her arms. Weiss had managed to get onto the same Bullhead as us, and opted to sit quietly next to her inconsolable teammate. With stiff muscles, I managed to stand and push my way through the crowd of refugees toward my team. I sat next to Blake, hugged her close, and cried.

The Bullhead didn't have the fuel to reach the next major city, so we had to land in the middle of a clearing and call for assistance.

Long story short, help arrived, along with the Grimm. The weaponry on the Bullheads was no joke. The wing, nose, tail, and top guns packed these enormous Dust rounds that were as large as my hand. While they were immensely helpful with defending the aircraft, their ammunition was limited. As the remaining refugees swarmed into the aiding Bullhead, Blake had taken a nasty wound from a Beowolf that had seen past her platoon of Dust clones. Before Weiss or I could hope to provide help, the ground shook and shattered, and a massive worm Grimm erupted from the earth, landing maw first on Blake's last known location.

When the dust settled, Blake was gone. A collapsed hole had replaced her. The loading bay doors closed, and the Bullhead lifted off.

Within barely twenty-four hours, Team RWBY was down half it members. Weiss had entered a state of shock, preferring to stare at the floor with wide unblinking eyes. I needed my teammate now more than ever, but neither of us were in a position to help the other.

After only an hour into our new flight, something massive struck the side of the Bullhead, shearing the right wing clean off, and sending everyone on board into the forest below.

"If that was Kevin, then I'll be thoroughly disappointed in him. He should be able to crush an entire Bullhead in one go."

" _Weiss! Stop it!_ "

Most of the refugees perished on impact, leaving about twelve or so in my care. Weiss was still catatonic, but I could not bring myself to leave her in the flaming wreckage. Against my better judgement, I dove back into the burning remains of the Bullhead after making sure the refugees were safe for the time being. My partner was still staring at the floor, strapped into her seat and burning alive. As quickly as I could, I released the seat belt and carried Weiss out into the open. I set her onto her feet, but she still refused to move. I turned back to the refugees.

Blood. Lots of blood. Where the refugees had once been, a terrifyingly large griffon Grimm stood in their place. Its beak and talons were coated with blood and viscera, recognizable human body parts strewn haphazardly about the large blood stain.

I couldn't fight this thing alone, especially not without my weapon, but Weiss and I could. Unfortunately, my partner refused to respond. With my options quickly disappearing, I reverted to instinct.

I ran, leaving Weiss alone and vulnerable against a griffon Grimm.

I don't know what caused me to look back, but I did, just in time to see my partner and best friend be eaten whole, arms outstretched and welcoming death.

I ran for hours, semblance on full blast. My rose petals turned trees into sawdust as I ran by. As long as I kept running, no Grimm could catch me. Uncle Qrow taught me that. He was right.

A wall finally appeared on the horizon. Vale. I backtracked all the way to Vale. Of all the directions I could have picked to run.

Grimm were everywhere. They picked through ruins of homes and shops, looking for anyone alive. Those who were found were quickly incapacitated and dragged through the Breach. I weaved my way through the hordes, searching for something specific. After an hour of searching under the rapidly darkening sky, I found what I was looking for; Crescent Rose. With the last thing that could possibly understand me in my grasp, I turned my attention back to Grimm closing in on my position.

This was when I Woke Up.

"Hold up. You weren't Awake at all during that?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Nope!" Ruby replied with a smug smile, "All of that was just my Loop memories. Why would I ever start crying, leave refugees unattended, or leave any of my team to die?" She rubbed her hands together in what could be construed as a sinister fashion. "But now, this is where it gets interesting..."

 **56.4 Masterweaver**

"...Ilia Amitola." Weiss frowned as her fingers danced across the tablet screen. "And you're sure it's Ilia, spelled that particular way, in that particular form?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Blake shrugged. "Or as sure as I can be. You know how it is, sometimes the data can take a while to firm up..."

"Mmm. Doesn't matter, most names with that particular pronunciation come from the same source, at least in the hub."

Blake quirked her eyebrow as Weiss pulled out a bible. "Famous religious figure?"

"Ilia, the bulgarian form of Elijah, from old words meaning 'My God Is Yahweh.'" Weiss flicked through the pages. "You've probably read the book of kings more then I have."

"Very important prophet, one of the few that entered heaven alive instead of just dying." Blake nodded. "So is Ilia a feminine version of-"

"No, it's masculine. Or generic-assumed-to-be-masculine. Then again, the same could be said of 'Blake' so..."

"You seem to be pretty obsessed with names these days."

"Mine was tainted before my birth by a thief." Weiss closed the book and pocketed it again. "Names aren't the end of a person, but they are the beginning."

"Mmm. And Amitola?"

"Space-age tech might let me cache the entire internet, but it does take time-huh." Weiss looked up. "Sioux for rainbow. Well, that's interesting."

"And appropriate. Probably from a family of chameleons then..." Blake's ears folded. "Ilia Amitola. Prophet of rainbows."

"That's one way to interpret it, yes."

The two of them sat there in silence.

"...so what do we do with her?" Blake finally asked.

Weiss sighed. "That's your call, I think. She's in your land, in your past. She hasn't interacted with any of us, and... with Yggdrassil being the way it is... she is as changing as her skin."

"I knew all that. But..." Blake shrugged. "I don't know, I thought you'd have something, some advice-you've dealt with Whitley, and before that Winter, finally appearing, from almost out of nowhere. Do I reach out to her, do I... do I let her hit Sun, or jump in the way, or-"

"Your past has always been the most shadowed of all of us," Weiss said simply. "I... want to say something, want to help, but for the moment... for the moment we can't do anything with her. She exists, and that is it." Her eyes fell to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"...At least you gave me a hint with her name. You're right... names are important." Blake nodded. "Especially what we make of them. I just..."

"...just...?"

"...what is she to me?" Blake asked. "Is she... is she a family member? A colleague? A jilted ex, maybe? I don't know! And I won't know for a while, and it's... you knew you had a sister, before you met her. You didn't know what she was like, but you knew what she was to you. And you met Whitley at around the same time you learned you had a brother-here is this person, that I know, but I don't know what I know about her, how I feel about her, and..."

She spread her hands hopelessly.

Weiss nodded. "That's how it goes, I'm afraid. We meet new people that we have always known, learn facts about the world that we were taught long ago... the contradiction of being a looper."

"Before, it was just Adam and the Fang." Blake sighed. "And now it's this girl. A name, a trait, and two-minute's worth of talk. Why can't the world ever be clear?"

 **56.5 Awesomedude17** **& Vinylshadow**

*Untz untz untz untz*

"Ruby, do you hear that? Sounds like techno." Yang asked.

"Uh, yeah... that's me."

"What?"

"As a majin, I've got beings inside me, they decided to throw a rave."

"Well tell them to knock it off."

"If I could, I would. They're ignoring me, and I can't sleep!" Ruby comically collapsed into a heap.

Blake poked her head over the edge of the bed. "You think you've got it bad? To me, it sounds like a rave at full volume, because of my ears!"

 **56.6 Masterweaver**

Ilia awoke with a jerk. It took her a few seconds to realize she was awake-that the darkness she saw wasn't her eyelids shut, but a bag around her head. She tried to reach up, only to find her hands bound-she was sitting. Sitting, hands bound, ankles tied-

Suddenly the bag was pulled off her head. Ilia blinked once, twice, her eyes quickly adjusting to...

Where was she? The room was white, and the table grey, but there didn't seem to be a door.

A girl walked from behind her, twirling an umbrella in one hand and holding a cloth bag in the other. She pulled up a chair, sitting down across from her, and put the umbrella in front of her. Almost as an afterthought, she tossed Ilia's whip onto the table, letting it land in front of its wielder.

Not that she could reach it with her hands bound.

Ilia glared at the girl, who seemed to be waiting for something. "...Who are you?"

The girl smiled at her. And then... eerily, she seemed to shift. To change. In but a moment, Ilia was looking at a reflection of herself-same ponytail, same outfit, same skin and eye color-the only difference was that this figure was smaller, and was grinning like a maniac.

Ilia growled, her skin going red-literally red, as her hair shifted to yellow.

The midget matched that as well, her expression unchanging.

"...Is this a game to you?" Ilia demanded. "Did you just capture me and bring me here to-to play mirror?!"

The girl giggled. "Weeeeeeeell," she drawled in a voice that certainly wasn't Ilia's own, "I did save your life, so you kind of owe me one."

"Save my life-what?"

"The world was ending, I took you away. I think that counts, don't you?"

Ilia blinked. "You-you're lying!"

Again the midget shifted her colors to match-purple skin with yellow hair. "Fraid not, sweetcheeks! Time was about to run out. Nothin' I could do, and you looked interesting, so here we are!"

"And where is here?!" Ilia demanded. "Why do you have me bound?! _What the grimm is going on?!"_

The midget leaned across the table. "What's going on, is that I'm bored, and I have a new toy to play with. Don't worry, I've gotten this mostly down to a science, so it probably won't be painful."

 **56.7 LithosMaitreya**

"Miss Fall," Ironwood greeted as he stepped into the vault.

The Unawake Cinder turned halfway to face him without completely removing Ozpin from her line of sight. Her eyes narrowed. "General Ironwood, this _is_ a surprise," she said. "Shouldn't you be trying to regain control of _my_ AK-200s right about now?"

Ironwood smiled. "I believe Miss Rose has that handled," he said. He looked bast her at Ozpin. "Oz," he said, "Take your students and get out of here."

"James," Ozpin—Awake-said slowly. "Cinder is dangerous; even to us. Are you sure?"

Ironwood slipped off his glove. "Very," he said firmly. "Go."

Cinder turned to face him fully as Ozpin and the Unawkae Pyrrha and Jaune slipped past. "General, really?" she asked, amused. "Do you think _you_ can fight the Fall Maiden on even footing and come out on top? You're a few years past your prime, I'm sorry to say."

Ironwood cricked his neck. "We'll see," he said. "All I have to do is keep you here while the others win the battle, so feel free to keep talking."

Cinder's eyes narrowed. There was a silence for a single, pregnant moment.

 _Fire_ , surging forth like a tide, rushed him from her fingertips as she raised her hand. Ironwood clenched his mechanical fist and a shield generator derived from a Star Wars Loop defended him from the blast.

But Cinder was in his face now, having charged in the wake of the flames, and her two scimitars were whirling in the about her in a chaotic frenzy.

He brought up his augmented arm and used its silicon-enhanced reflexes to deflect one blow after another even as his other hand was reaching into his coat. The distinctive retort of the Lex Prime sounded, followed by a crack as the armor-piercing round punctured straight through the flat of Cinder's blade where she'd tried to deflect it.

She hissed and leapt away, cradling one arm which was deadened by the devastating impact to her shoulder through the sword. Her upper arm dangled damply like a slaughtered piece of meat in a freezer, red and mutilated from the round.

Ironwood pulled out the Lex Prime properly, the gold and white Orokin pistol gleaming brilliantly in the pale green glow of the vault. "I _love_ this gun," he said.

Fire, again, but again Ironwood as ready for it. He leapt backwards, knowing Cinder would try to get around him, and punched the ground with an augmentd strike.

It cracked and shuddered under the impact, and Ironwood heard the stumble through the flames. Up came the Lex Prime and fired once.

He heard it imact flesh and then—silence. The fire died away.

He stood up and blinked at Cinder's corpse, which was exuding an ethereal smoke not unlike the effect of a dragon killed in the Elder Scrolls Loops.

"That," he said to himself, "was far too easy." He shrugged. "Best see if Pyrrha got the Maidenhood off of it."

 **56.8 Masterweaver**

"WHEN DID PATCH GET LEASH LAWS?!" Zwei yelled furiously.

Everyone stared at him for a moment.

"Oh come on," he grumped, "you were there Yang! Did you see that new collar?!"

"I... thought it was cute," Yang managed.

"Cute, right. I'm cute on my own, thank you! I don't need any cute enhancements." Zwei sat down heavily. "And red? With a gold tag?"

"Well, Red White Black Yellow," Ruby pointed out. "Could be symbolic."

"...mmmngh." The corgi scratched his ear furiously. "I guess. I'm just used to wearing clothes in formal situations. I didn't expect to be dressed up in my own home."

Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "And now you know how I feel."

"You wear fancy clothes all the time," Blake pointed out.

"And you wear lacy lingerie in public."

"This is _not_ lingerie!"

"I agree," Yang interjected, "our actual lingerie is much more-" She cut herself off at Blake's blushing glare, giving her a cheeky grin.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "...Yang's nonexistent fashion sense aside-"

"My fashion sense is great! How else would I coordinate all this nonsense?"

"-I think we're getting off track. Zwei is upset that he has to wear a collar." Weiss paused. "...which is a strange sentence no matter how you frame it."

Ruby tilted her head. "How do you figure?"

"Well, in most societies I know of a sapient being having to wear a collar is indicative of some form of slavery or ownership. Ergo, of course Zwei would be upset."

"But... Zwei's a dog."

"A nonsapient being, yes. Except he is sapient, because of the loops." Weiss paused. "Zwei, how long did it take you to actually achieve sapience after you started looping?"

"That's a very personal question and I refuse to answer."

"...fair enough."

Blake shrugged. "Look, I really don't care one way or another if Zwei wears a collar, whether or not it's cute. It's his choice, and I'll defend it."

"Do I count as an honorary faunus?" the corgi asked.

"Don't push it."

Ruby threw up her hands. "Well, you know, there are a lot of good points brought up here. Zwei's sapience, the implications it has for his role as pet, whether his societal status can be compared to that of the faunus past or present, and of course Blake's odd obsession with baring her midriff."

Blake sighed. "Look, do I really need to justify showing off my body?"

"...You kind of do wear the ribbon, babe," Yang pointed out. "It's a little bit of an odd dichotomy."

"We've been over this. I keep wearing the ribbon because it's like your scarf-comfortable and familiar-"

"Well, yes, but your baseline self has the same outfits-"

"A blonde and a catgirl are having an argument on fashion," Zwei deadpanned. "What a cliche we have run into."

Weiss mock-tutted. "We're supposed to be strong female characters-"

"Oh shut up," Yang said cheerily, throwing a pillow at her. "I'm secure enough in my awesomeness to indulge my femininity!"

 **56.9 Shimmer712**

Mercury and Emerald wandered down the street, familiarizing themselves with Vale. They had plans to track down and deal with a loose end but that could wait into they knew the neighborhood a bit better. Neither of them expected what happened next.

"YOU JERK!" A girl bellowed, stalking up to the assassin and slapping him. "You two-timing bastard! You're supposed to be my boyfriend and you knock up some bimbo?" She slapped him again. "I hate you, Mercury! We're through!" She ran off. She soon vanished into a puff of smoke but no one noticed.

"Something you wanna share?" Emerald asked dryly.

"No," Mercury snapped. "I've never seen that girl before!"

"Really? Because her behavior says otherwise."

"She probably got me mixed up with someone else!"

"...She knew your name," Emerald pointed out. Mercury snarled and stalked down the street.

Later, the pair were in Tukson's bookshop.

"That's false advertising," Emerald snapped at the Fanus in response to his answer that he didn't have a copy of the Third Crusade.

"It's-" Tukson was cut off by the bell at the door chiming as a girl walked in.

"Excuse me? Do you have a couple of..." the girl trailed off, staring at Mercury. She stopped and stared at him, eye twitching. Mercury had a sinking feeling.

"YOU!" The girl roared. "YOU STINKING, LYING-" Her rant was quickly joined by violence, the girl punching him viciously. When she was done, she kicked him in the stomach and stalked out the door.

"Seriously, is there something you wanna tell me?" Emerald asked.

"She-ouch- probably had to wrong the person," Mercury groaned, sitting up. The girl pop her head back in.

"Also, don't bother dropping by for your granny porn," she snapped. "I'm just going burn it. And you with it if you ever show you face at my house again, Mercury Black!" She vanished again.

"...Granny porn, Mercury?"

"I swear, I don't know her!"

"She called you by your full name!"

"Well, I haven't seen her before today!"

"You move pretty fast, don't you?"

"That's not what I meant!"

Unnoticed by the two, Tukson slipped off. By the time they stopped bickering, he was long gone.

Later, Mercury found himself grumbling in the warehouse where the stolen dust was kept.

"So, what's this I hear about granny porn?" Roman asked, slinging an arm around him. "Mercury, Mercury, Mercury. There is a whole world of adult literature out there! Don't limit yourself to those featuring people outside your age range! Be diverse, my boy!"

"I swear, I have no idea who that girl was or what she was talking about!" Mercury exclaimed.

"It's alright," Roman soothed, inwardly grinning like a maniac. "It's not like you never get any action. I hear a girl claimed you had been getting some for both her and someone else?"

Mercury screamed in frustration and stormed off. Roman cackled to himself.

"Man, I hope those girls kept giving me plenty of material to milk this with before the loop ends," he mused. Neo dropped down next to him and smirked.

It came as no surprise to the duo that multiple girls accosted Mercury, accusing him of two-timing and acts of lechery. Unfortunately for the plan, several of those girls also publicly announced that he had prosthetic legs and even took of with his pants, proving their words. Meaning if he screamed in pain when he was hit where it couldn't hurt him, he would be viewed with suspicion.

They needed to change the plan.

Cinder was not pleased with her subordinate.

 **56.10 Masterweaver**

"Hey Rubes?"

"Yeah Yang?"

"Can you teach me shapeshifting or whatever?"

"...not... really? I mean, majin shapeshifting isn't transferable and it comes with a number of limitations-"

"Oh, I don't want the whole deal. I just want to be able to turn into a dragon."

"...A dragon."

"Or partway dragon. I've been a Xiao Long for all my life, why not make it a little more literal?"

"Well, you've been a dragon a few times before, so there should be an impression. Why aren't you...?"

"Why am I not what?"

"...You want to surprise Blake, don't you?"

"Wha-no. Nooooo okay yeah, I thought it would be a fun treat to let her ride dragonback. In a more literal sense then she already does."

"I am going to pretend that I didn't hear that last sentence. Anyway, since you've been a dragon before you should have enough... dragon...ness to become one at will, the issue is the how."

"Which is why I'm asking you."

"No, see, what I do is molding, not shifting."

"Meaning...?"

"Yang, it's more like I work with clay, and what you want to know is how to chisel marble. That's not the right metaphor, at all, but bringing a soul imprint out and having it affect the bodily form is not how I work."

"Oh. So, who do we know that would know?"

"Well, there's Blake, but you want to surprise her... Hmmm. Ren is... I think a little too calm-maybe ask Pyrrha?"

"Pyrrha?"

"Yeah, she's woken up as her sword before. I don't know if she's figured it out, but I think she can extend to her imprint. Might be a good first step. OH! Duh, uncle Qrow!"

"Oh yeah! That bird thing, however it works, that's probably soul-based!"

"Or magic based, which is what you need."

"Well... thanks for the chat Ruby. Now I need to scour the bars of Vale."

"When you find him, tell him Weiss is looking for a training session this week. Jedi thing."

 **56.11 LithosMaitreya**

"Jenny," said Glynda, looking around the empty bridge, "let me run this by you, to make sure I understand.

"All right," Jenny said, lounging in the captain's chair. "Fire away."

"We are aboard a ship crewed entirely by nonhuman races from the FTL branch," she said, studying the Lanius communications officer in his vacuum-sealed environment suit, "with us as the only two humans on board."

"Yep."

"But we are, in fact, a _Federation_ vessel in the Star Trek Loops."

"Right-o."

"And we are about to take part in the first Klingon-Federation war on behalf of the Federation."

"Correct-a-mundo."

"But our ship has no firearms, lasers, or other projectiles."

"Aye."

"Instead, it has _adamantium_ plating on the prow, enhanced shielding elsewhere, and augmented engines for the express purpose of _ramming the galaxy into submission_."

"You're getting it."

"Jenny?"

"Yes, Glyn?"

"I think Yggdrasil wants to give me migraines."

Jenny everywhere snorted. "Listen, Glyn, the old tree's just giving you the trial by fire. Once we've been around the Multiverse a couple of times, all this'll seem like old hat. You've just got to get used to the rules changing every single Loop."

Glynda sat down heavily in the Helmsman's chair. "I assumed _some_ things would be constant," she said, blinking. " _Gravity_ , for instance."

"Oh, yeah," Jenny agreed. "Last Loop, with the universal down."

"I _fell off of a planet,_ Jenny," Glynda said, putting her head into her hands. "That makes no sense on _several_ levels!"

"Listen, Glyn," Jenny said, standing up and coming over to put a hand on her travel partner's shoulder. "I know it's weird. It's not going to _stop_ being weird. That's the point. The Multiverse is a _really_ weird place, when you get down to it. That's _why_ we're traveling—so we can see just how weird it gets."

Glynda shook her head. "I never expected to get tired of change," she said quietly. "I thought—well, surely _anything_ had to be better than Remnant over and over and _over_ again?"

Jenn rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "Well, isn't it?" she asked.

Glynda sighed and didn't answer for a moment. "I don't think I can do this forever," she said quietly. "I'm not you, Jenny. I don't have the tolerance or the constitution for it. Eventually I'm going to get tired of things changing all the time and want, I don't know, steady ground under my feet again."

Jenny nodded, chuckling. "Of course you will," she said gently. "There's a reason not everyone is a Traveling Looper. But it's fun for a while, isn't it?"

Glynda looked up and met her friend's eyes. She smiled.

"Yes," she agreed. "Yes, I suppose it is. Especially since I don't have to do it alone."

Jenny clapped her on the back. "That's the spirit," she said with a grin. "Now, that warbird that's been shooting at us while you were moping isn't going to break itself!"

Glynda blinked and looked over at the main viewscreen. Yes, there was a Klingon warbird in front of them where before there had been empty space, and yes, it was shooting at them. Not that it was having much effect.

"Well, helmswoman?" Jenny called back as she returned to the Captain's chair. "Give me ramming speed!"

Glynda smiled slightly. "Yes, ma'am," she agreed, and set to work.

 **56.12 Vinylshadow**

Ozpin rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat at his desk.

The basis of this Loop had so far evaded his attempts to puzzle it out, with all records before the first sighting of a Grimm having been destroyed.

Yet he had found a lead, slim as it was and had sent his best to track it down.

Maybe knowing more about how this Variant's Grimm had been made would give them an edge in fighting them.

He glanced down at the reports and winced. He'd put in an order for a new batch of prosthetics, since this Loop seemed to delight in dismemberment. As far as he could tell, none of the usual Loopers were Awake, so that meant a Stealth Anchor was around somewhere.

Ozpin had a nagging suspicion that the mysterious Anchor was the same who'd shown up before without ever revealing themselves. Ozpin could respect a Looper's wish to go through a Loop without harassment, but there were times when they needed to come out and-

"Mercer."

He blinked in surprise and brought his attention back to his office to see Qrow leaning against the door, sheaf of papers in hand.

"I beg your pardon?" Ozpin asked, gesturing him to a seat.

"Long ago, a scientist named Alex Mercer created an adaptive virus that could be easily mutated to target specific groups of people. Faunus, for example, or even specific genetics, meaning you could bomb a battlefield with it and leave your own men alive while the enemy was wiped out," Qrow said, collapsing into a chair.

Ozpin took the papers and read through them curiously.

"And something went wrong...reacted poorly to Dust, then something related to Aura went wild, razed the facility, turning it into a spawning pit for Grimm. Unfortunately, that had the added side effect of releasing the virus into the atmosphere, where, despite repeated claims it couldn't be transmitted by it, it...adapted and has been spreading ever since. _Lovely,"_ Ozpin grumbled.

Qrow stroked his chin, brow furrowed. "Mercer...could've sworn I've heard that name before...oh."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, lacing his fingers together and leaned back in his chair.

"Some time ago, there was a minor scare about a potential new MLE. Apparently some new Looper went through a series of Fused Loops that only pushed them more and more over the edge, starting with Equestria's Conversion Bureau and snowballing from there. Some time later, one Alex Mercer started making the rounds, being extremely reclusive and barely interacting with anyone outside of the...Whoniverse and Equestrian Branches, I think?"

Ozpin frowned. "So thanks to the Activation of Mercer's Branch, there's now a chance for an unstoppable virus to pop up wherever it pleases and screw everyone over?"

Qrow nodded. "There's numerous things in place to keep it in check. For example, the virus can be acquired and used by Loopers if they're in Mercer's home Branch, but at the end of the Loop, it's completely removed from their arsenal. It also can't be Pocketed or taken out of the Branch in any way, shape or form."

"...Goodness, there's a lot of the Loops we've missed, isn't there?" Ozpin mused. "But what about combat? Can it be stopped?"

"Short of tossing city-busting ordnance at it...the best we can do is a stalemate," Qrow replied. "Thankfully, the average Hunter/Huntress can take down the small fry and a team can tackle the bigger ones...however..."

Ozpin sighed. "Now what?"

"There's been reports of... infiltration in other Academies."

Flicking through the reports, Ozpin found the relevant information.

"Oh, that's not good. Perfect replication of the host is..." He looked at Qrow suspiciously, who tilted his head.

"You are of course wise to suspect me, but even if I had been replicated, you'd never be able to tell if I was who I said I was," Qrow said. "I will of course agree to being watched at all times and all that other stuff."

Ozpin's eyes flicked over the results of an interrogation of one such individual. "They can't use Semblances though, so..."

"What about passive Semblances though?" Qrow said dryly.

Ozpin sighed heavily. "By the Brothers, this is a massive headache..."

"We're doing well enough so far," Qrow pointed out.

"Nonetheless, I'll be happy once this Loop ends."

 **56.13 LithosMaitreya**

"Winter," Qrow said, greeting his fellow Looper as she got off of her airship in Vale.

"Qrow," she returned. "You seem… not at all excited to see me, actually. What is it?"

Qrow sighed heavily. "That obvious, huh?"

"You normally open with either flirtation or insults," she said dryly, "so yes. What has you worried?"

"It's… well, it's Ironwood," Qrow said. "He's been stealthing."

Winter frowned. "Indeed?" she asked blankly. "Why on earth would he do that?"

Qrow grimaced. "Notice how he never Wakes up after Penny dies?" he asked. "Well, he does."

Winter closed her eyes. "I see," she said quietly. "Yes, I can see how that might… cause him some difficulty. Does Weiss know?"

"No," Qrow said. "James wanted you to be the one to tell her."

Winter met his eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly, "for respecting his wishes there. And for trusting me to be impartial. I know Weiss isn't without meaning to you."

Qrow twitched and looked away. "She's not my sister," he said.

"No," Winter said. "She's your niece's partner, and Remnant's second. She can still be important to you, Qrow, even if you're not me."

Qrow shrugged. "Yeah," he muttered. "Fine. Look, now I've passed the buck, I'm going to go get something to drink, all right?"

Winter smiled slightly and drew him into her arms. "All right, Qrow," she said. "I'll come and find you later. _Do_ try not to be vegetative when I get there, won't you? I prefer you when you're only _slightly_ drunk."

"Nice," grumbled Qrow with a grin. "Fine, I'll keep it light until you get there. Then we can really hit the bottle together."

Winter chuckled. "I look forward to it," she said.

-

"Weiss," Winter greeted as she entered Team RWBY's dorm.

"Winter," said her sister, smiling. "I'm sorry I couldn't be at the docks to greet you; Ruby and I were experimenting with Burn Dust variants earlier and I, well, had to wash the soot out of my hair."

Winter chuckled. "That sounds aggravating," she said. "I hope it went well otherwise?"

Weiss shrugged. "As well as can be expected, given that we'll likely never see most of those variants again."

Winter entered the room and glanced around. The barrier which separated Yang and Blake's half of the room from the rest was folder and pushed to the side, and she could see most of the space. Other than Weiss, it was empty. "Where are the others?"

"Yang and Blake are out… shopping, I believe," Weiss said, thinking. "At least, I _think_ that's the excuse they gave for going out to copulate this time. Ruby's in the forge, tinkering. Apparently, Beacon has a very nice forge, this Loop."

Winter nodded. "Will they be back soon?" she asked casually.

"Not soon enough to interrupt," Weiss replied shrewdly, pushing the door shut with the Force. "What's troubling you, sister?"

Winter sighed and clasped her hands behind her back. "There's no easy way to say this," she said. "General Ironwood has been stealthing. For quite some time, apparently."

Weiss considered her impassively for a moment. "Selectively," she mused, "given that we do still see him nearly as often as anyone else. When does he do it?"

Winter looked out the window. "Whenever he Wakes Up after Penny's death, apparently," she said quietly.

"…I see," Weiss said quietly. "And you found out?"

"Qrow did," Winter said, looking back at her sister. "Ironwood asked him to let me tell you."

Weiss considered that. "I am… flattered," she said quietly, "that my good opinion means that much to the General. I'm also surprised, and perhaps even a touch hurt, that he thinks this would make me that upset." She sighed. "Is he Awake, this Loop?"

"I don't… believe so," Winter said ruefully. "Although, of course…"

"I shall talk to him the next time he is, then," Weiss said firmly. "Meanwhile, Winter… try not to judge him too harshly."

Winter looked away.

"He is fortunate enough," Weiss said gently, "that he gets to see his niece again—repeatedly—in the Loops. That does not cheapen his loss, however. Penny is like a daughter to him and... no parent should have to bury their child."

Winter closed her eyes. "I know," she said.

"Then please," Weiss implored, "don't begrudge him his mourning. We each deal with loss in our own way."

Winter nodded. "I'll try," she promised.

"That's all I can ask," Weiss said, embracing her.

Winter sighed. "You're far wiser than a little sister has any right to be," she complained.

Weiss snorted. "It comes with the several million years I have on you," she said, "along with the Jedi training."

Winter shook her head. "I'd best be going," she said. "I told Qrow to save me a bottle."

Weiss laughed. "I hope, for his sake, he managed to leave you one somewhere in the bar!"

 _And I,_ Winter thought as she left, _hope he left me a good deal more, for my own._

 **56.14 Vinylshadow**

Roman Torchwick tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Ah, so that's the abridged history of the fall of the Roman Empire," Cinder said as she wrote in her notebook. "Thanks for your help."

"Fuck you," Roman growled, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

"Take me out to dinner first."

 **56.15 Masterweaver**

A literal multiverse's worth of songs made the recital, at least, continually interesting. Much less so was the party that followed... if it could even be called that. Parties were celebrations, and while the rich and self-absorbed were not at all interested in the fall of Vale, at the very least they had the awareness to not indulge. For the most part.

Weiss normally moved to the auction rope. This time, however, she sought out another. Yes, Jacques tried to restrain her but as had long become her custom she simply dodged his grip and ignored his words, a metaphor for their nonexistent relationship in the loops.

And there, her target. Standing against a wall. Not a glass in hand. He noticed her, and for a moment warring concerns played on his face.

She took the decision out of his hands, walking up to him. "General."

"...Miss Schnee."

"You know, after all these loops I would have expected you to have at least some control over your emotions."

Ironwood blinked. Then he sighed. "...Qrow told you then."

"Winter did." Weiss took a position next to him. "I... suppose I should start by saying I forgive you."

The man looked at her in mild shock. "I didn't... I mean, I was expecting more fury."

"This," she gestured out at the crowd, "is the worst part. I can take everything else-Jacques being abusive, Whitley being manipulative, even my inheritance being revoked. This, though."

"This." Ironwood nodded, looking on as a waiter passed out glasses. "A concentrated gathering of false faces and fools. And to think, this is what I protect."

"This is what I was born to."

"How many even know why they're here? How many are here to curry favor with your...?" He coughed. "With... Jacques."

"Mmm." Weiss nodded. "The worst of the rich. I don't know if you've picked up many psychic powers, James, but to me it is akin to walking through... sewage."

"I've tried to avoid mental abilities. Aside from shields, for obvious reasons."

"...And yet, your baseline self defends me when I lash out. And you, I assume, have worked to protect me from the worst of it, even when I did not know you were present."

Ironwood took a breath. "Yes. I did. I... am sorry for not revealing myself. I..."

"You were mourning Penny."

"...I shouldn't have. With the loops-"

"Death is tragic," Weiss said firmly, "even when it can be reversed. To think otherwise is to forget the essence of mortality, and become callous to life. I understand, truly."

"Do you?"

"...It's called Star _Wars_ for a reason," she replied, and said no more.

James Ironwood let his eyes lower to his gloved hand. "...Still. I should have been available for you to talk to."

"When? Between running an army and an academy, you must have little free time."

"At this point it's background loop material. I can do it and... talk. I just... My own feelings, I didn't want you-"

"You didn't want me to feel weighed down by your own weight?" Weiss half smiled. "It isn't like that. Your consideration is appreciated... honestly, though, I think that here is when I need help the most. And you have done your best, even at your worst."

"...it doesn't feel like it."

"Guilt can be that way. Though..." Wiess paused. "If you truly feel you need to redeem yourself, I suspect that the expansion is swift approaching where I will need to call on your aid. When I do, I ask that you be ready."

Ironwood chuckled. "A young girl, giving me orders. The loops make things quite impossible, don't they?"

"Oh, yes. But we are among the impossibility." Weiss half-smirked. "And that gives us the advantage."

 **56.16 Pungent**

"You wouldn't believe what happened next, but I certainly did! And then-" Ruby threw up her hands.

Everyone present at the lunch table recoiled in surprised disgust. "Ruby! Stop doing that! It's disgusting and a nightmare to clean up!" Weiss scolded her partner.

"Don't blame me! Blame Yggdrasil for taking literary expressions too literally!"

 **56.17 Masterweaver**

Ruby held up a finger, paused, and slowly lowered it. "I... can't really object to this, can I? I mean, you seem to have it all under control."

"It was a bit interesting to set up," Pyrrha admitted, "but most of the work had been done by the ancients when they locked the thing in the cave."

"Now I know why they didn't just kill it." Jaune paused. "Well... for this loop, anyway, we'll have to test it later."

Weiss shrugged. "Well, hub-world deathstalker venom is apparently used to treat diabetes and brain tumors, so-"

"Wait," Ruby interjected, "they have deathstalkers in the hub?"

"Not Grimm. Tiny yellow scorpions. But, well, the venom is potentially lethal."

"...Medicine is WEIRD."

 **56.18 phantomdemon2**

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Ruby spoke up when the two were just hanging out.

"Yes Ruby?" Pyrrha replied.

"Well, it's just that I haven't heard from you in a while. I mean, we talk and stuff but, well. Uncle Qrow is trying to figure out more about his luck powers with Weiss, Blake's dealing with her new family and Ren and Nora are dealing with the new info on Ren's past. But since the wedding I haven't really seen or heard you do anything really. Just wondering why I guess."

Pyrrha gave Ruby a small smile. "It's simple Ruby. I'm content, that's all. You see, my biggest problems in baseline were my awkwardness and the issue with Amber and my death, but those are gone now. I have the comfort of my family and our skills make Unawake Cinder a non issue. The loops themselves make my death more of a short term issue and I've long since come to terms with it." She motioned over to the unawake teammates of the two. "I have my husband and my children. I was a peerless warrior in baseline but the loops have no need of the warrior, just me. I have no need to do anything."

Ruby mulled over what her friend was saying. "Don't you get bored?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Why would I be bored? Ruby, if anyone is Awake early enough, I'll live and get to experience the new expansions with you. Whenever someone does something big in a loop, it effects me too. True, I haven't started anything or been a major push for anything like that, but I don't need to. I have so much more than what I had before and every second is wonderful for me. I have a husband that loves me, I have two marvelous children. And I get to spend a literal eternity with them, watching them grow, watching them flourish." She gave a blinding smile to her Anchor. "So how could I be bored?

 **56.19 Masterweaver**

"So, how are things, Ruby?" Velvet asked. "I hear you're getting some new expansions out there!"

Ruby's face tightened for a moment. "...It's not all that good, really. But I'm coping."

Velvet frowned. "...Is something wrong, Ruby?"

"A lot of things. But I just want to take a break from all that." She smiled. "What have you been up to?"

"Well, I recently shanghaied Fox into helping me make... it's kind of a dark-room stunt track. It tests your balance and your senses at the same time."

Ruby blinked. "Recently? As in... just this past short while?"

"What is it with you and running tracks?" Fox asked rhetorically.

"Hey, Coco wouldn't let me use my weapon in baseline, so I had to learn to be a weapon myself! And as weird as Sonic's loop is, you have to admit that he can pull off some moves when he puts himself to it."

"Yes he does..." The red-head's fingers faintly rapped on the table. "Velvet, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Velvet giggled. "Don't worry, Ruby. We're fine! It's fine, there aren't any dangerous obstacles. Just loops and spintracks and all that."

There was an awkward pause as Ruby simply... stared at her for a moment or two.

"...and the rest of you?" she asked quietly.

"I keep trying to get Coco to watch some anime with me," Yatsuhashi groused, "but she seems to think it's all ridiculous!"

"It is! You've seen one, you've seen them all." Coco rolled her eyes. "Transformation sequences, angst over not being normal, seriously, it all blends together after a while."

"I've found one that I'm sure you'll love. It's all about girls working in the fashion industry."

"...I might give that one a try. Maybe."

"You'll like it," Ruby said faintly. Then she shook her head. "I'm sorry, there's a lot going on, and I-I'm a little out of it, I just don't want to worry you."

"We're your friends." Fox put down the wooden rose he was whittling. "We're supposed to worry about you."

"I read something in a book," Coco offered. "It'll all work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it isn't the end."

Yatsuhashi nodded. "I don't know what will happen, Ruby, but I do know this-you've always tried to make the world better, and you've mostly succeeded. Sure, there have been setbacks..."

"...but you know what? You overcame them." Fox clapped a hand on her shoulder. "If you need a rest, we understand. There's nothing wrong with that. And we're here for you."

Velvet nodded. "We always will be."

Ruby looked around at the four of them. She took a slow, shuddering breath.

"...Run program ES-87032-R."

Instantly the four mechanical people stood up straight, their eyescreens flickering off in unision.

Ruby rubbed her forehead for a moment or two. Then she tapped a panel on the wall. "Seventeen, I'm bringing CFVY to sickbay for another reset. Prep the servers?"

 _"Sure thing. This time, they've lasted... oog, we've hit the triple digits-"_

"I don't want to hear how long it's been since their last reset." Ruby pulled some hover-stretchers off the wall and gently put the others down on them. "Just get the machines ready."

 _"Alright, but I'm putting it in the records."_

The comms cut out, leaving Ruby standing over her unconscious friends. "...just hang on guys. Just hang on a little while longer for me, okay?"


	57. This Bleak World

**57.1 Masterweaver**

Weiss Awoke in the locker room, midway through her chat with Pyrrha. An odd point to Awaken, but not unheard of-and it allowed her to, at least, switch the conversation topic.

"But in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter who you partner with, so long as the both of you support each other and help each other deal with one's flaws-"

She sighed as Ruby burst out laughing, slugging her sister in the arm. The lack of confusion-and the six pings-made it abundantly clear that the two of them were also Awake.

"-and on that note, I think I have to make sure I'm not the topic of mockery again. Ah, excuse me sir." Pushing past Jaune (and not so incidentally shoving him into Pyrrha), she walked over to her Anchor. "You two sound rather loopy. Care to share?"

"Hub, hahaha, hub loop!" Ruby pointed at Yang. "She, she, hahahahahaha!"

"Come on, Rubes, it was an obvious cue!" While she sounded regretful, the blonde's mischievous grin betrayed her.

"You know, I really should be angry at you for pulling that stunt," Blake deadpanned, appearing from nowhere. It was actually unnerving how she managed to avoid Weiss's clairvoyance sometimes...

"It was a one-off," Yang assured her. "It was! I swear I won't do it again, I just had to do it once."

"OHmygosh. Hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Ruby couldn't control her giggles. "You, you're horrible!"

"I'm dating her."

"I grew _up_ with her!"

"You win."

Weiss cleared her throat. "Speaking as the one who wasn't Awake for this, what are we talking about?"

"We went, hahahaha, to a con. Pretended to be cosplayers, actually, actually got IN to the whole, you know, the talk to the actors thing-"

"Somebody asked Barb what she'd do if she met Yang in real life." Blake rolled her eyes. "And Yang had just so managed to get a front-row seat..."

"Oh no." Weiss rubbed her forehead, trying not to smile. "I think I've heard of that particular con."

"Hey! Come on! You can't say none of you have thought of it!" Yang nudged Blake playfully. "Besides, she literally was asking for it."

"I have an obligation to be upset," Blake said, despite her grin. "Ergo, I am invoking the Literalicy clause."

"What? Nooooo!" Yang wailed melodramatically. "How cooooould you?!"

"You brought this on yourself."

"But how will I survive without my puns?" Yang whined.

Blake patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

By this point, Weiss was actively supporting Ruby and keeping her from literally collapsing into giggles. "Well, we're certainly making a scene," she quipped, looking around. "Any idea who else is Awake? Jaune and Pyrrha aren't..."

 **57.2 Pungent**

"Bad loop, Blake?"

Ruby received a haunted stare from her teammate, bags visibly forming under her eyes.

"They... would not... do... _anything_." Blake finally breathed out. "Their stupid... _always happy_ characters... torn apart into red faces... by a mass of... _upper case E's_."

Ruby gently pulled Blake into a hug. "Shhhh. It's all over now. You have control here. Those Loops are always a nightmare to manage."

The distraught Faunus continued to mumble lamentations into Ruby's shoulder, "I was... just... an overseer. There was... _nothing_... I could do myself. All of my orders... _ignored_... because of a damn _party_."

"It's okay Blake. You did everything you could. The odds were against you from the start."

"I had... no idea... that _butterfly remains_... could hold open... a microcline door. They just... _let_ the uppercase E's inside... didn't even fight back... because of that damned _party_. It was a massacre... the children too... so much blood..."

The only thing Ruby could do now was to soothingly rub Blake's shaking back and hum a calming tune. Blake lost a lot that Loop, and it definitely was not fun.

 **57.3 Masterweaver & WirelessGrapes & KanameFujiwara**

"Cards."

Weiss nodded, using minor telekinesis to shuffle the deck from one hand to another. "Cards."

"Okay." Qrow leaned back. "Let me see if I follow the train of logic here. Card shuffling is random, so it's affected by luck. Manipulating the deck-without resorting to sleight of hand-will help me train with my semblance."

"There is the issue that, with cards, luck is something of a neutral concept. Unless you're playing a game-or telling a fortune, but that requires tarot cards, usually."

"Better to start with ordinary poker before I screw up people's lives, huh?" Qrow leaned back. "Okay, sure. So what are we playing?"

"I took the liberty of inviting my sister-and your nieces-over for a game of poker." Weiss nodded as the women in question entered the library, waving them over.

"Before you ask," Winter deadpanned, _"No._ This is not strip poker. _"_

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Obviously. These are my nieces. The last time I saw them naked I was changing their diapers."

Yang slipped into her seat. "That's a lie and you know it."

"I thought we agreed to never speak of the hose incident," Ruby whined.

Weiss rose an eyebrow. "Hose incident?"

Her partner blushed. "Okay, so Zwei tracked mud into the house and I was super freaking out because I thought I'd get in trouble but he didn't like baths back then so Yang told me I had to show him it was harmless-"

"I'm still amazed you bought that."

"I was _six!_ And you were my awesome big sister and I honestly didn't think you'd lead me wrong!"

Qrow chuckled. "Oh, I remember that. How did you three end up on the roof, anyway?"

"There was this black snake, you see-"

"SO! Poker." Ruby grinned a little too broadly. "What are we betting?"

Winter shrugged. "I really don't have much to offer anyone. Except Qrow, for... reasons that I doubt the rest of the table wants to hear."

"I thought you said this _wouldn't_ be strip poker," Qrow quipped.

"Payment can be awarded afterwards," Winter said primly.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Okay see?" Yang pointed at Weiss. "She doesn't react, Ruby. You do. That's why me and Blake tease you all the time, you're hilarious."

Ruby snorted. "As the biologically youngest of the loopers of Remnant, I have an ethical obligation to ensure the myth of cooties does not die."

"So, given that this is supposed to be training for my semblance," Qrow mused, "why don't we all place our bets now? Then I'll shuffle and-"

" _I_ will be shuffling," Weiss interjected. " _You_ will be attempting to affect the cards with your semblance alone."

"Okay, fair enough."

"So why is it you?" Yang asked. "Why not one of us?"

"You're a card shark, Ruby's a shapeshifter that could have far too much control of the deck to have any effect, and Winter... is actually not able to shuffle cards."

"Wait, seriously?" Qrow looked across the table. "You can't cut a deck?"

Winter managed to shrink in on herself a little. "My poise is in my stance and form. Individual finger movements, I find, are... not very fluid."

"When we're ready?" Weiss suggested.

"Woah, woah, no!" Qrow interjected, "I'm not gonna just let that go. What happens if I'm stuck in a Vacuan poker ring, fighting for my life? I need you to be able to shuffle, Winter."

 _Some time later…_

"Okay," Qrow said gently, padding his arms down softly. "Now just lift the sides of the deck, and let them all slide together."

Winter looked at him dubiously, before nodding, and slowly shifting the cards in her hands. Very carefully, she started to move to cards, only for her hand to slip, and for all the cards to fly everywhere, much to Qrow's chagrin.

"Gah!" He exclaimed, shoving his head into his hands while Winter blushed heavily.

"So," Weiss asked, turning back to the two girls next to her. "How long until they give up?"

Ruby hummed. "I dunno, Uncle Qrow's pretty stubborn. Got any 3's?"

Weiss looked down at the cards in her hand, from the other deck she procured from her Pocket, before shaking her head, "Go fish."

 _Some time even later…_

There was moment of complete and utter silence.

"The reason why all of you lost," Qrow declared, " is because you don't believe in the heart of the cards!" And he pulled out Exodia - the Forbidden One.

Ruby glared at a stunned Weiss, "I blame you for this lunacy!"

And the light engulfed them all.

 **57.4 Masterweaver**

"...so she hasn't noticed... anything?"

"I don't think so, Nep."

Neptune Vasilias T-683 gripped the railing of his apartment and looked at the road below. "That's... weird. Seriously weird."

Penny X-444 rolled her eyes. "Said the vampire to the robot, while living in the maniac's soul."

"Okay, rephrase: within the context of everything we know about Cinder Fall, that is extremely unexpected and unnerving." Neptune turned around. "I mean, half the city went missing! No rubble, no corpses, just poof it's gone! And that's not to mention..." He gestured up to the green sky. "Whatever that is."

"I know. That's why I... we need to talk about what's going on." Penny wrung her hands. "And what... our plans are, for the future."

"...What do you mean?"

The ginger-haired girl looked away. "Look, what are the goals of the rebellion? We can't _beat_ Cinder, we never could, we're literally living in her soul, so we set out to... change her, instead. And she has changed-I know," she held up a hand, "it's abrupt, but she decided to drop the Overlord title, and she's worried about us in a... in a moral sense, now."

Neptune frowned. "She still kidnapped and experimented on us."

"Yes, she did. I'm not saying she didn't. I'm saying..." Penny took a steadying breath. "Salem laboratories is _gone_. Cinder's trying to attend to our needs personally now. She asked me if I needed anything... basically, all the rebellion's goals were accomplished in one fell swoop, save for revenge, and I have no idea how _that_ would even work!"

After a moment, the blue-haired boy sighed. "You've got a point. It's... You're not the first I've heard. And maybe it isn't healthy for me to have this much anger about being torn away from Remnant and... becoming a sparklelord."

"It certainly doesn't help that Salem 666 is trying to stir up trouble, actually proposing we contact the hackers." Penny sighed. "The rebellion is fracturing. Some of us think we've won, some of us want revenge, some have been in the fight for so long they have no idea what else to do, and... and I'm tired. I'm tired of being the spy, the one that has to listen to the enemy and put on a smiling face, and wouldn't it be easier if she just wasn't an enemy anymore?"

Neptune wrapped an arm around her. "Hey... look. Sure, I might want revenge, but... you're more important then that. Whatever you decide, I'll support you."

"Thanks."

They looked over the balcony railing for a few moments.

"...I've been thinking of... getting some modifications," Penny said finally.

"Oh?"

"You know, the..." She coughed. "The, uh... full package. As it were."

Neptune blushed. "OH. Well, um. Like I said, I don't... you know, need-"

"Well, you've been been so supportive all these centuries-"

"-I mean like I said, I'll support you, but-"

"-and I know it would be awkward at first, it's just-"

"-we can take it slow if you need to-"

"-maybe some time over the weekend-"

And in a fractured subdimension, life went on.

 **57.5 Masterweaver**

"Hey uncle Qrow." Yang sat down at the bar. "Got a moment?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at the Vytal tournament right about now, firebrand?"

"Our qualifiers are done, and I'm feeling a little loopy."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Loopy, like yggdrassil loopy, or just your ordinary form of insanity?"

Yang smirked at him. "Can't it be both?"

"Fair point. So, what brings you my way?"

"I wanna be a dragon."

Qrow quirked a brow at that. "Really."

"Well, like, I've been a dragon before. Yggdrassil puns, Yang Xiao Long, you know the drill. But I figure, if I can pull off that transformation at will, I become that much more awesome."

"And you think since I've got my crow thing, I can help you figure out how to pull that off."

"Well, that, and you're my crazy-awesome uncle that I don't really hang out with that much."

"Does everyone have a timetable to measure how often they hang around other loopers?"

"...Well on Remnant, yeah. We've all got to watch out for each other, don't we?" She jokingly nudged him. "You're hanging out with Cinder now, right? You know how it is."

Qrow snorted. "Right. Sure. Look, in all seriousness, I don't know how I do the crow thing."

"You don't?"

"It's loop variable. Sometimes it's some form of magic, or an artifact, or part of my semblance-the point is, I don't know if I can teach you anything."

"...Ruby pointed me toward you," Yang admitted quietly.

Qrow sighed. "...Fine. After the tournament, we'll... work something out. Assuming Salem doesn't do something dramatic."

"Thanks. Seriously, thanks, I know this is just a whim but-"

"Hey, you're my niece. Indulging whims is kind of what I do."

 **57.8 Pungent**

"By interesting, you mean you decimated everything with your Looper abilities?" Weiss guessed.

Ruby shook her head, "Nope. It was a Null Loop. All I had were my razor sharp rose petals, Crescent Rose with more potent ammunition, eons of Aura training and optimization, and multiple lifetimes of combat experience. Sure, I had the upper hand here, but when I said things were going to get interesting, I was not joking."

I watched the Grimm close in on my position, Crescent Rose tightly held in my grasp, left hand around the chamber bolt, right hand around the trigger. My eyes looked toward the Breach, keeping the majority of the Grimm in my peripheral vision and listening to those behind me. They knew something changed with their prey. Grimm weren't as dumb as they acted, at least in this Loop.

One such Grimm, an Alpha Beowolf, noisily grunted and the surrounding Grimm halted their advance. It approached me alone, growling nearly inaudibly. Seeing these monsters up close is always a rare treat. It ducked its head to look at me in the eye, bone plates marked with pulsing red lines.

It reared back to unleash a commanding howl, but never got the chance to exhale.

In a millisecond, I was behind the Grimm, razor rose petals fluttering chaotically. A lazy heartbeat later, and the Alpha Beowolf expanded into a very fine red mist, hide and bones flying into the crowd of Grimm. I used this distraction to my advantage, running full circle through the Grimm, razor petals and mechanical blades liquefying them. The turbulence I left behind pushed the resulting mist out from the circle of former Grimm. With Crescent Rose unfurled, she sang a song of blood and bone as I tore into the Grimm, the noise echoing off of Beacon's cliff face.

With eons of Aura training and practice optimizing my combat ability, using my Semblance was no more taxing than blinking my eyes.

Razor petals swirled all around the courtyard, easily dismembering any Grimm they blew through. My Sweetheart only added to the chaos, swirling the lethal rose petals with every cleaving swing. Even with their weak Aura, the Grimm stood no chance of surviving the red storm.

Nevermore feathers fell from the sky, their owners unleashing a deafening screech. My unAwake self would have run for cover from their massive volley, but not Awake me. I jumped, firing Crescent Rose at the ground, and landed on a falling feather. I leaped from feather to feather, firing Crescent Rose when needed, rapidly gaining on the enormous avian Grimm. Before the Nevermores could stop their attack, I had already decapitated the lowest one. The momentum from the decapitation pulled the headless body upward, giving me a great platform to launch myself from. Razor petals followed my ascent, swirling through the headless Nevermore and floated around me, waiting for the wind to take them away.

I fired a Wind Dust infused shot at one Nevermore, using the gust to simultaneously guide the razor petals toward it and launch myself at a third Nevermore. Rose petals ripped through the feathers and shredded the body of the second Grimm, and Crescent Rose tore off the third Nevermore's wings. I fell to the ground, razor petals trailing behind me. The courtyard pavement cracked as I landed, unleashing the gathered petals in an enormous gust of wind, eviscerating the remaining Grimm.

Weiss looked at Ruby with an ever so slightly confused but mostly bored expression, then held up her hand, "Stop. While I would love to fall asleep to your badass retelling of you being a badass, that wasn't what I was asking from you in the first place."

"Oh, right. What was it again?"

"Why you were distracted by this Loop."

"Right! Right. I'll skip to the good part, then."

After clearing Vale of as many Grimm as I could, I left the city behind and ran through the Emerald Forest, cleaving through tens of thousands of Grimm advancing on a defenseless Vale. I had the ability to end the Grimm from the very beginning. All I had to do was eliminate the source of the problem: Salem.

To my luck, the geography of Remnant remained largely unchanged. With my Semblance running full blast, I never once slowed to below the sound barrier. Within an hour, I was inside Salem's domain. The land was barren, the sky purple and black, and the only landmark was a mountain with a gigantic black crystal pointing skyward. I made that obelisk my final destination and finally dropped to below the sound barrier, a sonic boom announcing my arrival.

Salem looked little different, aside from a few additions to her clothing, if it could be called that. She seemed amused by my flashy entrance, but it was to hide her surprise.

"The little Rose wishes suicide," Salem mused aloud in a dual-tone voice, "How admirable. All this way, just to perish at my hand. You're the first to play hero so recklessly, but it begs the question how you found me to begin with?"

I could hear a trio of Grimm approach behind me, but I kept my eyes locked on Salem. "I just knew where you were," I responded dryly, "Like I suddenly Woke up, and my destiny appeared before me."

"Tell me, foolish Rose, do you even believe in Destiny?" The Grimm behind me halted their movement at Salem's brief glance. "Because your Destiny is right behind you."

 _In time, we'll see the past unwind._

Salem was expecting me to collapse in grief, sorrow, and fear as I turned around to face the three familiar Auras resonating from the Grimm. The left Grimm was a spindly humanoid with bone-white pointed limbs, its face seemingly covered by a fencer's mask decorated with a single eye, pulsing between red and cyan. The middle Grimm was a feline in shape, walking on four bone-plated legs decorated with lines pulsing between red and purple, eyes shifting between soulless red and quiet amber; it growled like a lion as my eyes fell upon it. The right Grimm was a small dragon, four legs and a snaking body, bony scales venting yellow flames between each other, eyes alternating between empty red and lively lilac.

 _Alive still wanderin' our fallen land.  
_  
I understood now. This was why the Grimm captured people instead of killing them. The Auras I felt from these three individuals was unmistakable. Weiss. Blake. Yang. Any lesser person would have fallen to their knees, overwhelmed by the sheer presence of someone they once believed lost forever. Three would have rendered them catatonic for days. Me? I just felt a brief wave of guilt that I couldn't end their suffering sooner, and sorrow for what I was about to do to them. With a quick spin, gunshot, and burst of razor petals, I was behind my former teammates, Crescent Rose held out after the follow through. They fell, dead before I heard their bodies hit the ground.

 _One more time, we stare into the blackened sky.  
_  
Clapping. Slow clapping. "Ending the lives of your closest friends and family without a second thought. You just might be strong enough to become my second in command." The sound of breaking stones, "Come, little Rose. Your Destiny awaits." I turned to see Salem wielding a black staff, a beating red crystal at its tip. I twirled Crescent Rose, loading in a fresh magazine of high velocity rounds.

 _For tonight, in our hearts now we feel.  
_  
We fought. We clashed again and again, myself scoring either glancing blows or shallow cuts against Salem. She could not hit me, but her movements remained calm and controlled, wasting as little energy as possible and taking calculated hits. She was trying to outlast me, force me to wear myself out. It wouldn't work. My Semblance took so little energy, it was like trying to drain a car battery with an LED while the engine was running. I was holding back as well, waiting for the right moment to unleash everything I had. I ran literal circles around Salem, a whirlwind of razor petals flying every which way. Somehow, she dodged each one, anticipating where I would be and where each petal would fly, positioning herself just so as to intercept my strikes and weave through the red petal storm.

The moment I was waiting for presented itself when Salem's right foot raised itself off the ground, breaking her stance for an instant. I went full speed to Salem's left flank, shattering the sound barrier and unleashing a deafening sonic boom. The sound wave destroyed Salem's flow, leaving her wide open for a very short moment. I slashed horizontal and low, aiming for my opponent's limbs. Perfect hit. Grimm blood and flesh separated, leaving Salem without her legs. She fell, unable to alter her trajectory. I quickly slashed vertical, removing her left arm, clutching her staff. Salem landed on her back, and I was there to stand over her, bringing Crescent Rose's blade around between the ground and her neck. My boot pressed firmly onto her throat, making sure the blade cut into her neck, but not immediately decapitating my opponent.

 _One last time...  
_  
"How quaint. A fifteen year old girl defeating me, a being thousands of years old," Salem sneered at me, "It's humanity's fate to become Grimm. Why do you fight back against Destiny, child?"

"I don't believe in Destiny," I replied coldly, "I believe the human spirit is indomitable. We will defeat the Grimm and take back Remnant!"

 _...See our Destiny revealed.  
_  
Salem laughed hoarsely beneath my boot, "Ignorant humans." The ground began to shake. "You can't take over Remnant." Fissures opened up around us, widening and leading toward the black crystal obelisk. "Do you know why, little Rose?" A particularly wide fissure headed my way, and I had to make a decision. "Because **Remnant is Grimm!** "

Weiss looked at Ruby, dumbfounded "That's-"

"Shush! I'm not finished yet! But I promise I'm almost done!"

I leaped back, unhooking Crescent Rose from behind Salem's neck, then watched her single-limb body fall into the ever widening chasm. I looked toward the titanic black crystal obelisk, and the dark object gradually fell into the rapidly disintegrating mountain. A cloud of dust and dirt erupted from the fissures, obscuring my eyesight. I expected to see a black tendril or something shoot out from the chasm, but no such thing happened. Instead, what appeared to be a ray of sunlight shone through at a steep angle, reflecting off the settling dust, originating where the sun had set an hour previous. When the ground finally ceased shaking, I cautiously moved toward the opening, gazing into the abyss.

If Remnant were to be compared to a chess game, Salem would be considered the Queen piece, considering how much influence she had over the playing field. However, just like chess, the most powerful pieces are not the most important. While significant in turning the tides of a match, they will be meaningless if the most important piece gets cornered and concedes defeat. Checkmate.

If Salem was the Queen, then who was the King?

The abyss gazed back at me. A mere mile below the surface of Remnant, the earth abruptly stopped, revealing a massive hollow space. The space was not empty, however, for these great black tendrils held up the shell of dirt and stone, originating from a leviathan seething black, bony white, and pulsing red sphere. It was staring at me, I could just tell. The earthen shell was separating, revealing the sun shining below the horizon, but through the open cracks.

I said I was going to finish this, and that's just what I planned to do. I unloaded Crescent Rose, removed the high impact magazine, inserted a heat Dust magazine, and chambered the new round. I took a deep breath, knowing there was no going back from this decision, if not for the Infinite Loops.

I jumped.

 _Shine glorious we run.  
_  
Two walls of stone, Dust, and dirt rushed by me. I brought my arms and legs in to streamline myself, facing head first toward the center of Remnant.

 _We stare into the blackened sky.  
_  
The shell gradually opened up, leaving nothing but open air.

 _Save the last command, the virtue blinding.  
_  
I spun left and right, dodging falling debris.

 _So far beyond the Sun, still blinded with the fire inside.  
_  
The King piece wasn't going to take my trespassing lightly.

 _Once alone again, the silence stands...  
_  
Tendrils shot out from the main body, attempting to wrap around me and stop my advance.

 _Shine glorious tonight_.

Against all odds, I felt my eyes ignite.

 _Still blinded by the blackened Sun_.

Before the tendrils could even reach me, they froze, turning to stone.

 _Save the last command, forever rising_.

Wings of silver light unfurled, petrifying the tendrils into a walk-able path.

 _So far beyond they come, still blinded with the fire inside_.

My feet landed on the stone pathway, allowing me to use my semblance and accelerate.

 _Once alone again...  
_  
In a fraction of a second, I had reached the main body, turning as much as I could to stone, jamming the barrel of my Sweetheart into the rock, and pulling the trigger.

 _...Silence stands for our Last Journey Home_.

"The Loop ended there." Ruby finished her tale. "So I guess this is where you ask me why this Loop distracted me."

"Yes. You are correct," Weiss nodded, "Why did this Loop distract you?"

"The thing is... Weiss, have you ever seen lava on Remnant? Have you ever felt an earthquake? We've seen where Grimm come from, and it's from the ground itself."

Weiss gave her a disbelieving look. "There are a multitude of reasons to explain those questions. Do you honestly believe there's a planet-sized Grimm beneath our feet in baseline? It's absurd!"

"Please Weiss, just... What if? How do we fight something like that without destroying Remnant itself?"

"Your theory is incredibly implausible, but just to humor you, I would assume nuking it with your Silver Eye Power would do the job. Isn't that what you did in your Loop?"

Ruby shuffled somewhat uneasily in her chair and looked to the floor, "My Silver Eye Power didn't just freeze Grimm that Loop; it also turned them into a Dust reactive stone. That's why the Loop ended when I shot the heat Dust round into the petrifying planet-Grimm. I was instantly incinerated. I don't know what happened afterward." She slumped over the desk, still lost in thought. "I don't know if the heat Dust turned the Grimm stone into magma, creating a usable planet core, or if it just exploded, destroying the planet's gravitational anchor and sending the shell out into space, undoubtedly ending all life."

Weiss didn't have anything to say to that. She took a moment to wait for something to come to mind, but ultimately came up blank. Sighing, Weiss flicked off the silencing device, wincing slightly at the returning roar of background noise, Pocketed the gadget, and returned to Professor Port's self-indulging lecture.

"And that, students, is why explosive ammunition is not recommended for use against Grimm." Nora could be heard groaning in the upper row of desks.

 **57.9 Masterweaver**

"Hey Pyrrha? How... loopy are you feeling?"

Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow. "...You usually wait until during or after initiation to check if I'm Awake. Is something wrong?"

Nora nodded. "Yeah, I-I needed to talk to you..." She gulped, looking over her shoulder. "You know. _That_ way."

"Alright. Should I get Jaune, or-?"

"Maybe-no. Not right away, but-Look, let's find a classroom and we can talk, okay?"

Pyrrha nodded, noting Nora's uncharacteristic nervousness. "Alright." She fell into step behind her, trying to guess what exactly was going through her daughter's mind-perhaps an exercise in futility, given that it was Nora, but one that she could not help. It wasn't long before they reached their destination, one of Beacon's many lecture halls, and as soon as her red nightdress had slipped through the door Nora shut it behind them.

"...I'm worried about Ren," she said shortly.

"You're always worried about Ren," Pyrrha teased softly.

"Yes, but this time-Mom, I think he might have a very low-simmer case of serious Sakura syndrome."

Pyrrha's eyes widened momentarily, before she took hold of herself. "Could you... explain that?"

Nora bit her lip. "...Okay, so, you weren't Awake for this-it was really only me, him, Ruby and Neo. But it was right after the expansion where we found out Raven was behind the raider attacks, and..." She fidgeted slightly. "I know you're not a revenge-type of person. Ren, apparently, is. He put Raven through a number of paranoid delusions, then after her tribe abandoned her left her naked on Taiyang's porch."

"That... sounds rather extreme."

"I only know about it because, well, Neo told me later when I asked how Raven got where she was. She helped him pull it off, apparently-I dismissed it as a one-off, I kind of did something similar, venting my rage through the heavens, and... nobody really got hurt." Nora sighed. "And then Oniyuri came, and Ren's reaction was pretty blase-yes, he had new details about his past, and he was all 'well how 'bout that' and... I think he and Dad had a talk about how his real family is us, not some forgotten past, and that's heart-warming and all, but basically walking into his parent's graves and not reacting at all, that's not a good sign, is it?"

"He... could honestly have simply been quite well adjusted to his situation. Our pasts are all very vague."

"Yes, but the thing is-Kuroyuri. I actually tried to be there, to comfort him about Kuroyuri, but I didn't even think to do it until I saw his unawake self nearly in tears-" Nora threw her hands into the air. "-and he comes up with this whole idea that the unawake self is suffering a pain that he isn't, and it's-I think he's disconnected from caring about Baseline, prior to his Awakening anyway. And I'm worried that means he might just stop worrying about Baseline at all, like, if you're not Awake he might still try to save you but not actually mourn if he doesn't or, or something! I know that's a worst-case scenario type thing and I know he's a good person but I can't help but look at how he's reacting-or not reacting, really-and see him losing his connection to, well, everything!"

Pyrrha gauged Nora carefully. Her usual wide gestures were quickly followed by her pulling her shoulders in, as though she didn't want to project eagerness. She was curling her toes-a reaction akin to flinching for the ginger. And, there was the way her hair was sparking, the way her fingers were twitching, and of course the obvious tears in her eyes.

She drew her daughter in for a hug. "Hey. It'll be okay. Ren... might not realize how far out he's gone, but from the sound of it he's only lost perspective in one particular area. We can help him come back, together. As a family."

"I know, I just... he's Ren. He's supposed to be the reasonable one!" Nora leaned her head into Pyrrha's chest. "He's not supposed to lose himself like this!"

"I know. I know. Sometimes, things happen that... that we don't expect, and we have to deal with them." Pyrrha ran a hand through her hair. "But I promise, whether or not he's lost himself, we'll make sure he's okay."

 **57.10 phantomdemon2**

Yang burst through the door with a panic look on her face. "Guys, Code Red. We need to leave, Yesterday!"

Blake and Weiss looked at the Blonde. "Yang, calm down. I'm sure whatever it is we can handle it," said Blake

Yang shook her head. "No! Roman had a Loop with Fallout and got a bunch of drugs from there. I don't know the full story but somehow some cookies got contaminated."

The word Cookies got the two to sit up straight.

Weiss stood up. "You mean?"

Yang nodded "Ruby's currently on Jet."

And before any other action could be taken a Red tornado ripped apart the school.

 **57.11 Masterweaver**

"Hey Weiss?"

"What is it this time, Ruby?"

"Well, after you took Uncle Qrow on as your padawan, which is kind of weird to think about, I've been wondering a bit about your whole jedi thing."

"Really."

"I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but you don't really... act like a jedi. I can see it when you fight, how you just sort of dance through everything and use Myrtenaster like a lightsaber-when you're not actually using a lightsaber-but... outside of that, you just don't have the cues, you know?"

"...I don't follow."

"Like... I don't know... you don't wear the robes, you don't go around saying 'may the force be with you' or anything, you don't even pull jedi mind tricks. Well, not often, I mean. Or at least, not on us."

"Jedi mind tricks don't work on loopers."

"Really?"

"Ruby, the whole point of the mind trick is to disguise a statement as a thought of the other. Like... well, Obi-wan's classic droid line only worked because he was talking to a soldier, who was tired of looking and thought 'why cause more trouble, this is pointless.' That's why it works more on weak-willed individuals."

"Works _more_ on?"

"I mean, yes, we could force our way in, but that's basically a psychic duel, and very much a dark-side power. Violation of self and choice. Soldiers are more susceptible because the military indoctrination breaks them down, so they become less aware of their own thoughts; conversely, loopers are more aware of their own thoughts, ergo they can notice when a thought seems off and are generally able to ignore it."

"...huh. Okay. So you can't pull mind tricks on loopers. Good to know."

"Well, most loopers. Ironically enough, you're probably one of the few I could influence."

"What?!"

"We're partners, Ruby, and more then that you're the Anchor and I'm Remnant's Second. While we don't view each other romantically, we _are_ very close, and I've had time to figure out how you think. It would take a small bit more of concentration, but disguising one of my statements as one of your thoughts wouldn't be all that difficult."

"Huh. Weiss, that's actually pretty disturbing."

"I know. Of course, I would never abuse that power, I am your friend after all."

"Yeah, you would never abuse that power. You are my-hey, _wait a minute!"_

 **57.12 Vinylshadow**

Two of Roman Torchwick's henchmen walked into a music store.

One went straight for the cashier and started demanding money while the other went for the customers.

Approaching a man wearing a leather jacket with a red wing insignia, the mook tapped him on the shoulder.

The man turned, a few CDs in hand.

"What."

"Give me your money."

-

Outside the store, Roman waited for the inevitable brawl, feeling bored. He watched as one mook went flying through the window.

However, no girl wearing red and black gothic lolita stepped out of the building.

"We're leaving," Roman said, waving his men back. "We've done enough trouble without kicking over a hornet's nest."

His men stared at him as if he was crazy, but knew better than to question him.

Up on a rooftop, two adults watched the proceedings curiously.

"No Ruby this time," Glynda noted.

"No Cinder either," Ozpin mused.

"What's going on?"

"I suspect it's our reclusive Anchor again," Ozpin said, sipping his coffee.

"I find it odd you haven't told the others about him," Glynda said, crossing her arms. "I don't think anyone other than Qrow and I know what you're hiding."

"I don't want to bother the man when he's on a vacation or playing the villain," Ozpin said.

"I still find it disturbing that he's one of the few Loopers capable of taming Grimm. Not even the likes of Fluttershy have been able to do that," Glynda said with a shiver.

"Well, when he shows up, the Grimm tend to be easier to manipulate since they're not the same as Baseline," Ozpin pointed out. "All his presence does is mean less wild Grimm, but they're much smarter than they are in Baseline and we don't so much _win_ as _endure_ their attacks."

"The girls have certainly taken it in stride and have started keeping track of how they are killed during such Loops," Glynda said. "It's actually kinda creepy."

"Death is a constant that not many Loopers can avoid. I can only think of one Looper who has but a single death and it was one he chose to embrace. It's best to accept what happens to you and not seek revenge on the one who killed you. Unless of course it's a registered MLE."

"Wasn't he almost an MLE at one point?"

"Correct, but the Admins have forbidden using that as an excuse to target him. He wasn't himself at the time and he has long since made up for his missteps."

"Hm. I suppose we better get back to school and figure out how we're going to rebalance the teams without Ruby. I imagine the others are going to be most disappointed she's not here," Glynda said with a sigh.

"Wouldn't be the first time, and sometimes it's even for the better," Ozpin said, turning and walking away.

 **57.13 Masterweaver**

The RWBY dorm room wasn't quiet, but it was in a sort of... resting state. Ruby was in the middle of another set of complicated holographic plans, Blake was reading a book, and Weiss was playing a kitschy videogame on her laptop because not even she could be serious and stoic all the time.

Naturally, Yang was the one to shatter the peace. By bursting through the door in a ragged coat and pointing a stick at the heiress.

"Yer' a wizard, Weiss!"

Weiss sighed. "First of all, your fake beard is admirable, but your fake accent is abhorrent. Secondly, if you're really going for the Harry Potter thing, I would technically be a witch, not a wizard."

"Nay, Weiss, yer' a wizard!"

"Hogwarts magic users are called wizards if they're male, and witches if they're female. Ergo, witch."

"Weiss, yer' a wizard."

"I think I've established I'd be a witch, although-"

"Wizard, Weiss!"

"Witch, and-"

"Wizard!"

"Witch."

"Wizard!"

"Witch!"

"Wizard!"  
 _  
"Witch!"_

 _"Wizard!"_

 _"Witch!"_

 _"Weiss yer' a blizzard!"_

 _"No I'm a bitch!"_ Weiss replied before realizing just what she had said.

Yang dropped her hand with a wide grin. "Glad you admit it!"

Ruby burst out laughing, curling in on herself. "I did-I did not see that one coming! That-hahahah-that's horrible that's not-hahaha-I should not be laughing!"

Blake gave a small chuckle, hiding behind her book when Weiss shot her a glare.

"...Okay." She took a breath, looking back at Yang. "The set-up was cute, and I suppose we've known each other long enough that I can forgive a little prank. That said, I shall have my righteous vengeance."

"Oh really?" Yang leaned against the wall, casually unhooking her false beard. "And what are you going to do? Mess with my shampoo? Put laxatives in my food? Spread my name across who are you calling?"

Weiss smiled faintly. "...Ah, hello! Is this mister Xiao Long? I just thought you might like to know-"

"GAH! Weiss don't you dare-" Yang lunged at the girl, who sidestepped with practiced ease.

"-has been having voracious relations with-"

"-ohmytree shutupshutupshutup-"

Ruby somehow managed to start laughing even harder as Yang tried to get her hands on the scroll, all while Weiss easily dodged around.

"-know because I heard it! Every student on the floor has-"

"Don't drag Blake into this!" Yang demanded.

"Actually I don't mind," Blake quipped.

"NOT HELPING!"

"-the leather straps in the kitchen were quite the giveaway, actually-"

"WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING LIKE THAT IT'S ALL BEEN PURE I SWEAR-"

Ruby managed to roll off her bed, wincing but not stopping her giggles as she hit the ground. "I'm, hahaha, I'll be in Ozpin's-hee-Ozpin's office until this blows over-ahahahahaaaaaa!"

 **57.14 Vinylshadow & ToaMataNui5000**

Ruby stared at the Grimm in front of her in confusion.

"Anyone wanna tell me why we have Rahi running around Remnant?"

"Because the Makuta is a being of shadow and makes for an excellent replacement for people like Salem," Ren said as he carefully sniped off the infected Kanohi mask controlling the beast. "On the bright side, this means we can cure these beasts instead of killing them en masse."

"How does one beat up a shadow?" Ruby asked as she hacked off another mask.

"Find Remnant's equivalent to the Mask of Light, which is probably the Relics or someone with silver eyes...or one of the Maidens...seriously we have plenty of options to choose from. Or you could simply smack the Makuta to the point he decides conquering Remnant isn't worth the time and effort and he'll go away."

"Well, now you're just being sarcastic."

"Not to mention that wouldn't even work." A third, deadpan voice complimented Ren's equally deadpanned sarcasm. The native Loopers turned to see Toa Kopaka land before them, his Phantoka Armor adapting back to his Nuva Armor. "Count your blessing that Remnant isn't located within a planet-sized ancient research robot that Salem can assist Teridax in hijacking. Their alliance is frightening enough as it is..."

"Still doesn't beat either or both of them allying with Master Xehanort, though..." the Hunter added on.

"Don't remind me. That actually makes me, an Ice Toa, shiver..."

"Okay, enough lamenting on how things can be worse!" the Anchoring Huntress interrupted to lighten the mood. "What's the status on your sister and brothers?"

"Well, the Mask Of Life has manifested its Toa Ignika body and is currently hunting down Salem to drain her life force. Lewa and Gali are with Nora creating a massive lightning storm to shoot down Atlasian airships out of the sky with thunderous applause. Onua is assisting Blake and your sister in beating that White Fang edgelord..."

"Adam, you mean?" Ruby corrected with a giggle.

"Yeah, him. Beating him into the ground while also holding back the rest of the White Fang. And Pohatu is entertaining himself kicking Grimm around wherever his Kanohi Kakama can take him."

"You didn't mention your team leader, I noticed." Ren called out. "Where is Tahu, currently?"

Under his Kanohi Akaku, the Toa Of Ice smiled. "Disciplining your Branch's villainous resident Fire Spitter..."

 _Meanwhile, atop Beacon Academy..._

Phyrra cursed her luck. She always hated Awakening during her rooftop battle with Cinder, especially when the Fallen Maiden wasn't also feeling Loopy. Being too blindsided by trying to analyze In-Loop memories leading to her heel once again getting shot didn't help matters, either. And Cinder had finished readying the second shot/killing blow. With a sadistic smile, the arrow left the bow...

And promptly collided with a sudden barrier of energy.

Cinder's eyes widened, not seeing any explicable means as to how the redheaded Huntress could have been shielded. Phyrra was equally surprised, confirming that none of her Nonbaseline abilities had created said shield. However, a quick glance at the red, orange, and silver figure stealthily approaching behind the Fallen Maiden was cited as the source. And know it was her turn to smile...

"Tell me," Pyrrah repeated her final words from Baseline, but with a more cocky undertone. "Do you believe in destiny?"

"Indeed I do. As well as unity and duty!" A blade suddenly exited Cinder chest, properly shocking the villain. Turning her head, attempting to maintain fury in her fading eyes, she glared at the armored male that had dared to stab her.

"Your face..." The hacking up of a mouthful of blood interrupting her dying threat. "I'll... Remember... It..."

"That's going to be quite impossible since I'm always wearing a mask." Toa Tahu merely rolled his eyes, his Kanohi Hau ceasing to glow. "That and considering your eyes and brain will be either cremated or under layers of dirt." And on that note, the Toa Of Fire yanked his blade out of the woman's body, letting Cinder fall to the ground and into a deathly unconsciousness.

By then, Pyrrah had finished healing herself, and gladly accepted Tahu's hand to help her to her feet. "I thought the Toa Code prevented you from killing..." she inquired.

"In our travels both across the multiverse and in our own Baseline, I and my team have come to learn that for the greater good, and also sometimes convenience, some threats don't deserve mercy, as it can lead to even more problems depending on the villain's stubbornness..." He shrugged his shoulders. "That, and we're many a millennia older than the Toa Code itself, to the point were we've established it ourselves during certain variants. So I say it doesn't technically apply to us anymore..."

"Fair enough, I guess. Though I kinda expected Ruby or Jaune to come save me. No offense..."

"None taken."

"Where are they anyway?"

"Well, I came in Ruby's place, since she was distracted with the possessed Rahi and Grimm hoards." Tahu explained. "As for your lover and team leader, he is busy attempting to deactivate Atlas's corrupted forces alongside Weiss and Takanuva. I would assume Penny is clearing a path from the inside-out for them, if not dealing with the virus herself..."

"According to my In-Loop memories, Vahki and Bohrok are also Atlas products this Loop. Not to mention Exo-Toa suits..." Pyrrah groaned.

A flash of light enveloped the Toa Of Fire, and Tahu's Nuva Armor had adapted into his Mistika Armor. "Shall we assist them then, my fellow honorary Toa Of Magnetism?" He gestured to his back, advertising the mount an Av-Matoran would usually occupy.

"Gladly," the Huntress nodded, boarding the Toa's back. Launching into the air, the duo faded into the distance towards whatever battle zone laid ahead. Just another day for these warriors, ready as ever, to face the oncoming danger of whatever this Fused Loop could throw at them...

 **57.16** **Masterweaver**

Jaune sat on the edge of his bed, contemplating the sword in his hand.

Pyrrha glanced up from the alien bonsai she was working on. "You've been awfully quiet the last few minutes. Something on your mind?"

"...You know how sometimes details of our world firm up without expansions?"

"Yes. It's not a unique Remnant quirk if that's what's worrying you, but it is rare."

"Hmm." Jaune shook his head. "Well, apparently there was this king during the Great War."

"The King of Vale, with... oh." Pyrrha put down her pruning tools. "Is... Crocea Mors the sword of legend?"

"On and off." He shrugged. "It's loop variable. And on and off, I'm of royal blood. So, you know..."

Pyrrha half smiled. "Well, I don't mind being your queen. Although the idea of Nora as a princess-"

Jaune chuckled. "Yeah, she might dress the part but I don't think she'd be very traditional. At least not when it came to letting the hero save her."

"And the paperwork side would probably kill her. She'd probably be more an icon for the masses."

"...Yeah. An icon."

"Jaune." Pyrrha moved over to sit beside him. "What's wrong?"

"...what if this is baseline? What if I am supposed to be a prince, or something? What if... what if I'm supposed to become a great leader, not just of our team but... of a nation?" He looked at his sword. "What if this is a legendary blade with some mystical power-what if my semblance turns out to be, I don't know, raw heroism or something like that?"

"What if you're a chosen one."

"Yes. That's it exactly."

Pyrrha bit her lip. "...You know, me and Penny, we're... not exactly avoiding each other anymore, but our talks are still kind of awkward. Except when we talk about destiny."

"Really?"

"She's... rather upset with my baseline self. Not just for the whole accidental murder thing, that's a big part of it, but... Four-time Mistral champion, and no idea how to be anything else. I never chose to be anything but what opportunity was in front of me. I worked toward a goal, but it wasn't a goal that I wanted-or rather, it wasn't a goal that I chose to want. My skills were suited for one thing, and... I never considered another. At least, not my unawake self." Pyrrha nodded. "The loops served me well in that regard, they gave me a chance to... figure out who I was, and what I wanted, and _why._ "

"I... guess that makes sense," Jaune said slowly.

"The thing is, you might be a lost prince, or you might not. That's just the hand dealt to you. What matters is what you want to do with it." Pyrrha shrugged. "Penny was built to be a war machine with the purpose of saving the world. She's chosen to become a cataloger of experiences. You... well, you've got a step up on the rest of us. You were so ready to be a hero that you actually forged your way into Beacon-you've forged your own destiny, even from the beginning. In the end, you chose to be great. _You_." She tapped his sword. "Not some lady in the lake."

Jaune nodded, a faint smile on his face. "Why are you always right?"

"Oh, you know, woman's intuition, a few eons of looping, a lot of soul-searching when it became possible my soul wouldn't be mine anymore... that sort of thing."

He chuckled at that. "Fair points, all. Still." The blade lifted. "If this makes me King Arthur, then you must be Gwenivere, right?"

She rolled her eyes and nudged him playfully. "What, are you worried Lancelot's going to whisk me away or something?"

"Well, the closest analogue I can think of would be Cardin, so..."

"Ew. No!" Pyrrha stuck out her tongue. "No no no, definitely not!"

 **57.17 Masterweaver**

"...this isn't working for you, is it?"

Qrow stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Your force sense tell you that?"

"That... and the regular grunts as you try to adjust yourself."

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just not cut out to know all this jedi crap."

"There's more than one way to train. We just need to figure out what works for you."

"Look, Weiss, I get you're trying to be this super-wise mentor person, it's cute and all, but do you really think that all this... self-finding business is in my nature?"

Weiss frowned, standing up from her seat on the log. "You don't drink much anymore, do you?"

"What?" Qow blinked, looking at his hip. "Nah, I drink plenty. I just don't... drink for drinking's sake, anymore."

"True, but your baseline self is near constantly drunk. Ergo, it's part of your nature."

"Hey, I can-Oh." The man rolled his eyes. "Ha. Cute. 'Since you don't have a drinking problem now, you obviously can define your own nature,' is that what you were going for?"

"Partially," Weiss conceded. "Then I was going to ask you what motivated you to stop drinking."

Qrow's eyes grew distant. "...You know the answer to that one."

"Mmm. Friends, family... somebody in between."

"And how were you going to tie all this back to me finding myself, ice queen? Because people I care about want me to figure this out, I'll suddenly be able to?"

Weiss gave him an amused hum. "No, that would be too easy. Can I give you a philosophical lecture instead?"

"Oh, by all means." Qrow leaned back, gesturing for her to continue.

"The nature versus nurture debate is one of the big issues in formative psychology. Of course it isn't as simple as one or the other, both play a part. In my opinion, one's nature lets one determine exactly what and how much of one's nurture one incorporates."

"Really now."

Weiss created a glyph by the campfire, summoning the image of a man in a well-tailored suit. "Jacques is a man with refined tastes, incredible business sense, and a will to get what he wants. I, as well, share those traits-I exult in them, if I am honest." She snapped her fingers, and the figure was gone. "However, his lack of morality, inability to empathize with anyone, insistence on power over all else, abuse of any and all those he sees as beneath him... My nature means I reject that. It took some time to shake off, I will admit. But in the end..."

She chuckled. "The thing is, nurture never really ends, does it? I escaped Jacques' oh-so-loving care, and came to Beacon. And there, I was taught by Port to consider being my best self, instead of being the best of the group. I was taught by Oobleck that becoming a hero for recognition and redemption was not really becoming a hero. I was taught Blake that... that to treat people different because they _might_ be antagonistic will only encourage them to _become_ antagonistic. I was taught by Yang that even those with unrefined tastes still have tastes, and I should accommodate them. And Ruby." Weiss smiled. "She taught me to trust others. To trust _in_ others."

Qrow nodded. "Sounds like you learned a lot, even before you started looping."

"Yes. I did. And because of my nature, I incorporated all those lessons-I _chose_ to incorporate all those lessons. If I had been different, if I had a weak will, perhaps I would have merely been Jacques' trophy daughter. But..." She took a breath. "No, I became Weiss Schnee because who I am let me decide what I would learn."

She pointed at the man. "And you. You have a bad luck semblance. But because of who you are, you chose to learn to become a good uncle. You chose, after you started looping, to learn about my sister-who let's not deny, you had a very antagonistic relationship with before that. You chose to drop something that might have seemed fundamental to you, because it hurt the ones you cared about. You chose all this, because of who you are-the man who will do what is best for his family."

"Huh." Qrow clapped slowly. "That is actually a pretty inspiring speech. If I weren't such a die-hard cynic, I might actually cry a bit."

"You're smiling."

"Well... I'm not _completely_ cynical." He shrugged. "So. These other methods of training... what have you got in mind?"

 **57.18 diesel**

 _Ruby walked through the silent mist, red staining the ground behind her as it dripped from the blood drenched cloak that hung from her shoulders. The path twisted and split, distance nothing but an illusion as a meter lasted for days and kilometers seemed to pass in a blink._

 _Grim resolution pushed her ever onwards even as the path seemed to repeat itself continuously. She would find the end eventually if she just kept walking, even if it took all of Eternity._

 _She could not stop or it would all be lost to oblivion. The figures of shining color that flicked in and out of her path, the ones that made the unending trek mean something, would vanish and not even memories would remain._

 _As she trudged forever onwards, Ruby's eyes passed over the millions of monuments that jutted up from the land around her, receding into the distance. Vast colossi filled the sky and etched in names in the millions, each word just a blur that her eyes refused to focus on._

 _As she walked an empty melancholy welled up, she was so tired._

 _Interspaced around the large colossi were smaller, more defined and ornate memorials. Some of these were simple and unassuming, others personalized. An endless graveyard that stretched for an eternity, the scent of aeons and death settling over the time lost hills and paths._

 _Black shadows and amber flames stalked though the silent graveyard, weaving though the memorials, ever changing and shifting as they forever stalked her path, the twin of the flames sometimes walking alongside her but that only made the heat so much worse._

 _In the distance and shrouded by mist, crimson eyes burned and loomed over four horses of bone, gore, ash and decay. A dark feminine voice sounded, never disturbing the silence._

 _"Bones, Dust and Ash, in the end of the world, that is all that will remain. In this Grimm, fair tale, cry havoc and let the Wild Hunt commence. I can't wait to watch you burn."_

 _Hate burned in Ruby's breast before it was gutted by forced indifference, banishing a shade of pallid and black that started to walk alongside her. With only a glance to each of the lost, Ruby continued walking forever onwards._

 _She would archive her victory._

 _No matter how long it took._

-

Sunlight flooded the room and Ruby blinked, trying to work out what had happened, where were the memorials?

"Come on Ruby, up and at 'em. It's 8:00."

Yang's voice rang through the blinding sun, accompanied by the familiar and relaxing sounds of home. Confusion was quickly replaced with understanding as Ruby yawned, rubbing her tired eyes.

'Oh, it was a dream.' She really should have known that but it still brought about a dim sense of surprise. In times like this, dreams and realty sometimes seemed to blend together.

Shaking herself, Ruby swung her feet over the bed and let herself fall to the ground. Yang smirked, giving Ruby a thumbs up before turning away to finish getting ready. For a moment, Ruby watched as her team prepared for the day, the sight sending a stab of pain through her heart.

She was so tired. How many loops had it been since anyone had been awake?

Ruby shook her head as she started to get ready. Hopefully someone would Wake up in the next few loops.

She really hated lonely loops, she really wanted to _talk_ to someone again.

 _And they would ease the nightmares._

 **57.19 Masterweaver**

 _How many teenage girls could say they beat up their dad?_ Yang mused as she sparred with Taiyang. _I'm going to have to calculate this. Assuming beat-ups originate from either (a) a combat-oriented family tradition or (b) extreme reaction to abuse, percentiles of each case in the larger population, then percentiles of successful cases in each section, then factor in overlap... Of course this is all assuming non-looping standards..._

"You've got something on your mind?"

Yang shook her head, dodging and grabbing Tai's forearm as it passed. "Oh, you know, trying to figure out how many gals get to pummel their old man before they hit twenty."

 _"Hoof!"_ The man wheezed as he was thrown to the ground. "Well, you're cutting it pretty close. Only a couple more years, and I'll have to make sure any guys you bring home can keep up."

"Or girls."

"...Or girls," Tai allowed.

"Or gender-fluid individuals."

Tai gave her a look. "Are you just being difficult, or is there something you want to tell me?"

Yang grinned, stretching her arms over her head. "Oh, I dunno, I just... it's been a while, hasn't it?" She gestured with a silver hand. "You, me... sparring."

"Yep." Her father stood up, brushing his pants off. "Of course, if I'd known you'd gotten so good at Beacon, I'd have kept in better practice."

"Yeah... Beacon." Yang looked down at her arm. "...big tragedy, that."

"...It was."

"...Dad. Is it... wrong, that I'm happy?"

Tai frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You, and me, sparring in Patch. It's great-even with this," she twirled her hand. "But... My team, they're not in good places. Weiss is dealing with the worst Atlas has to offer, Blake..." She paused. "Blake's probably constantly looking over her shoulder for former friends looking to kill her, and Ruby's in the middle of Mistral... and that's just my team. There are... others, who have lost so much more-so many people I haven't met, without homes, without their family, and... here I am, enjoying a day with my old man."

"...You know, that's a very hard question to answer."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't be asking if it was easy."

Taiyang sighed. "Well. On the one hand, if you focus on every little thing that's wrong, you'll get weighed down with guilt and sadness and anger. On the other... just ignoring it all..." He trailed off.

"...Dad?"

"Just... ignoring it all, means you don't learn from it and... that can cause problems."

Yang winced. "Yeah."

"But you're not happy because... you're ignorant. You're living in the now. And that's a good thing. Just so long as you don't live _for_ the now."

"...You know, I knew that already."

Taiyang blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. It just sometimes helps to hear others say it." Yang took a breath. "So... another bout, or are you too beat up to keep going?"

"Oh, I'm not that old yet!"

 **57.20 Masterweaver**

"So, how are things, Ruby?" Velvet asked. "I hear you're getting some new expansions out there!"

Ruby looked at her for... a few moments too long. "...stuff is happening," she finally said. "A lot of stuff. Anything happening in here?"

"I keep trying to get Coco to watch some anime with me," Yatsuhashi groused, "but she seems to think it's all ridiculous!"

"It is! You've seen one, you've seen them all." Coco rolled her eyes. "Transformation sequences, angst over not being normal, seriously, it all blends together after a while."

"I've found one that I'm sure you'll love. It's all about girls working in the fashion industry."

"...I might give that one a try. Maybe."

Ruby barely managed a nod. "Always good to try new things, isn't it... What about you, Velvet?"

"Well, I recently shanghaied Fox into helping me make... it's kind of a dark-room stunt track. It tests your balance and your senses at the same time."

"What is it with you and running tracks?" Fox asked rhetorically.

"Hey, Coco wouldn't let me use my weapon in baseline, so I had to learn to be a weapon myself! And as weird as Sonic's loop is, you have to admit that he can pull off some moves when he puts himself to it."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Ruby managed, her voice unusually sad.

Velvet giggled. "Don't worry, Ruby. We're fine! It's fine, there aren't any dangerous obstacles. Just loops and spintracks and all that."

The redhead fiddled with a fork, not looking at her.

Velvet frowned. "...Is something wrong, Ruby?"

"It doesn't matter what I say," she mumbled. "Because the response is always..."

"We're your friends." Fox put down the wooden rose he was whittling. "We're supposed to worry about you."

"I read something in a book," Coco offered. "It'll all work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it isn't the end."

Yatsuhashi nodded. "I don't know what will happen, Ruby, but I do know this-you've always tried to make the world better, and you've mostly succeeded. Sure, there have been setbacks..."

"...but you know what? You overcame them." Fox clapped a hand on her shoulder. "If you need a rest, we understand. There's nothing wrong with that. And we're here for you."

Velvet nodded. "We always will-"

 _"RUN PROGRAM ES-87032-R!"_

Instantly the four mechanical people stood up straight, their eyescreens flickering off in unison. Ruby stared at them for a moment or two.

Then she slammed her fists down on the table, shattering the plate an clenching her teary eyes shut. "Damn it! Damn it..."

She sobbed quietly in that position for a moment or two.

"...I can't give up." Her hands rose to her cheeks. "Oh, _why_ can't I give up? It would be so much easier if I could..."

Slowly, Ruby managed a deep, shuddering breath. Then another. Then... when she thought she had herself under control, she tapped a comm. "Seventeen-"

 _"Six hundred fifty! It was six hundred and fifty years this time-!"_

"I DON'T FREAKING CARE!"

 _"Like hell you don't! You know this is just-"_

"Prep the servers! That's all you need to do, just prep the-"

 _"Oh, that's all I need to do, right right, just because I can't remember how_ I _feel doesn't-"_

"If I come down there and the servers aren't prepped I WILL LET THE CHIBI SALEMS HAVE THEIR WAY WITH YOU!"

For a moment, there was silence.

Ruby gulped. "Seventeen, I... I'm sorry I-"

 _"Prepping the servers."_

"Seventeen-"

 _"Just shut up and get them down here."_ The comm beeped close.

Ruby Rose looked at the four metal statues standing at the table for a long while.

Then, as if on automatic, she started laying them down on the available stretchers.


	58. Gems Drop Away

**58.1 Black Omochao**

"So… if you're not really fighting with the Reds anymore, why are you calling for reinforcements?" Fumi questioned as Church finished his radio transmission.

"Because, if we don't and Tex isn't Awake, she most likely won't show up," he stated as he led the younger Looper back to the base.

"I suppose that makes sense… sticking to Baseline enough so important events happen while still trying to live your own life can be hard I suppose…" Fumi muttered with a thoughtful expression, hidden by her helmet.

"Yeah, I guess," Church shrugged. "We find ways to cope, we all have our hobbies… Or obsessions… Surely you have something to do to keep yourself from going stir crazy back in your home Branch?"

"Er… I actually never gave that much thought," Fumi admitted, looking a little embarrassed at this admittance.

"What? You haven't come up with anything?"

"Well… I haven't exactly been doing this for very long, and finding the weird stuff in my home that's always been there but I've never noticed kind of keeps me from getting stir crazy…" Fumi sighed. "I mean, I'm not like Keita-kun, Whisper, Jibanyan, or the others. I was clueless about so much before I started Looping… it's kind of pathetic how much I didn't know about my friend actually…" she drooped a bit further.

"Please don't do that," Church sighed while shaking his head, Fumi looked at him with a little confusion before he continued. "Don't go all mopey about your Baseline self. So, you didn't know everything about your friend? So, you didn't know there were spirits all around you influencing you and others whenever?" he shook his head as Fumi kept her gaze on him. "Don't get me wrong, that kind of sucks how out of loop you were before you… Looped…" silence filled the air for a moment before Church coughed. "Okay, that was terrible, sorry…"

"No, it's fine, continue," Fumi assured before the local Looper returned to what he was saying.

"Thank you, anyway it's not really something to mope about, you know more now. I remember when I thought I was human, man how ignorant I was," Church shook his head at that thought, though Fumi just looked confused.

"Wait… you're not human?"

"… Did Keita seriously not tell you that?"

"I'm not sure, he might have and I could've forgotten," Fumi sighed, Church facepalmed.

"Okay, whatever, it's not important! What is important is that you stop worrying about how much you didn't know and start focusing on what you can learn now, the Loops are a practically endless opportunity, take advantage of it," Church explained, sounding a little irritated still. Fumi took in what he told her and thought about it carefully.

"I suppose you're right… I mean Baseline is Baseline, but as Keita-kun has made clear to me before, that's not exactly us anymore… I mean it is _us_ , but not entirely… um," Fumi looked troubled as she tried to think of what else to say, but Church held up his hand for her to stop.

"Look, I get it. You don't have to explain something to me that I figured out eons ago."

"Oh… right," Fumi nodded before going silent, not sure of what else to talk about.

"Hey! Church! Girl-Tucker! What are you guys talking about!?" Caboose called from the ground, Fumi twitched a little.

"When will he stop calling me girl-Tucker? I told him my name is Fumi, or Katie, a ton of times," Fumi sighed in irritation.

"Don't worry about it, he doesn't know you yet. Eventually he'll come to see you as your own person and stop with the whole 'girl-Tucker' thing. He has a very simple personality and all the pieces just need to fit, for now you're a substitute piece for Tucker, but eventually you'll have your own place to fit into in his mind and become your own piece," Church explained rationally.

"Huh, that makes me feel a little better I guess," Fumi smiled a little.

"I mean, probably… I was kind of just spouting off gibberish there," Church admitted with a shrug. Fumi glared at him briefly before sighing.

"You know, you're really not much help emotionally…"

"You _sure_ Keita told you about us?"

After the Freelancer known as Tex had shown up, Fumi had been introduced to her, and decided quickly to keep some distance. It wasn't that she thought Tex was going to hurt her, it was just that… she had an air to her that made Fumi a little… uncomfortable?

"Caboose, do you ever get scared without knowing why?" Fumi questioned the local Anchor as she approached him, she could see Tex and Church speaking a small distance away.

"Oh yeah, lots of times. Like whenever Church isn't here… those are scary," Caboose nodded.

"Yeah… So, Tex seems… nice," Fumi muttered, Caboose nodded.

"Yup, sometimes, but she doesn't really like me," he stated simply. Fumi gave him an odd look.

"Really? I didn't get that vibe from her."

"Yeah, she's a girl… girls don't like me," Caboose reasoned calmly.

"That doesn't seem like a reason someone wouldn't like you. after all, I like you," Fumi offered softly.

"Thanks girl-Tucket, yeah I like me too, girls just don't…" Caboose said without changing his tone, Fumi stared at him blankly.

"… You know I'm a girl, right? I mean, you keep calling me 'girl-Tucker'," Fumi pointed out in confusion.

"Yeah, and Tucker isn't a girl," Caboose said, seemingly without realizing any contradiction existed. The foreign Looper raised a finger as she tried to think of what to say next, but nothing came to mind.

"Don't worry about him, he'll catch on eventually," Tex said coming over, Fumi jumped a little at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh, hey Tex! When did you get here!?" Caboose happily called out to her with a wave, Tex waved back to him in subdued manner. Fumi just stood there with a look of confusion on her face.

"Um… yeah… I think Keita said his other sister will be showing up soon, he'll probably want me to meet her," Fumi said weakly before shuffling off towards Red base.

"… She's scared of me," Tex stated to Church as he came up behind her, a neutral tone to her voice.

"Nah, I think she's just a little intimidated. I've been to Keita's home Loop, things are usually a lot more harmless over there… wacky spirits notwithstanding," the Alpha A.I explained calmly.

"Spirits, like ghosts? Like the one you became… Church, are you a yo-kai?" Caboose questioned blankly.

"… No Caboose, I am not a yo-kai."

"Oh, good! Because if you _were_ a yo-kai, I would be questioning why you hadn't given your _best_ friend your medal yet."

"Well I don't have a medal, so you don't need to be concerned about that."

"What is this conversation?" Tex questioned incredulously.

"They are really confusing, Keita-kun. I mean, I know they're your friends, but I just can't wrap my head around this stuff," Fumi sighed, sitting beside Keita in Red Base.

"Yeah, it all seemed crazy to me the first time I came here too, but once you've been Looping for a few thousand years and experienced plenty of fused Loops this collection of characters doesn't seem that extreme," Keita said with a light chuckle, his friend gave him a look.

"You're not helping…"

"Fumi, trust me. They may seem crazy, but you know, Looping makes people a little crazy. I'm no exception either. Just be prepared, the Loop may seem pointless and crazy right now, but we're going to get into some major warfare soon, hopefully we can keep it to a level you can handle, but I just want you to know things aren't going to stay silly," Keita explained with a serious look on his face, Fumi was a bit taken aback.

"Oh... Serious huh? with these guys' personalities I can't help but find that a little hard to believe…"

"Well, okay, the silliness won't just disappear, but you need to be ready."

"No, I get it. I believe you Keita-kun, you wouldn't lie to me about something like that. This has all just been very… overwhelming for me, and that you seem to be taking it all in stride is kind of unnerving…"

"It'll all fall into place Fumi, don't worry. You're just feeling a little… out of place! Yeah, once you find your niche in all of this, it'll definitely start making more sense!"

"I sure hope you're right…"

"I know I am… now come on! Yang's transmission said that she'd be showing up any minute now, we need to be on the lookout for her ship," Keita said as he grabbed hold of Fumi's shoulder and pulled her along to meet with Grif, Sarge, and Ruby. "You know, so it doesn't land on anyone."

"I'm sorry, is that a risk?" Fumi questioned blankly.

"It happened in Baseline, it's just best to be careful," Grif stated calmly.

"I was robbed of a decent burial!" Sarge grunted angrily.

"You weren't the one hit, Sarge," Grif countered bluntly, only to be hit by the blunt end of Sarge's shotgun… bluntly.

"Shut up Dirtbag! I was talking about that stupid funeral you all put together for me after your sister came!"

"Wait, what?" Fumi blinked in confusion.

"It's not important Fumi, Yang should be here soon. I know she's excited to meet you," Ruby smiled to the younger girl.

"Really?"

"Ever since I told them you were Looping, my siblings have been waiting for an opportunity to meet you Fumi-chan, you've now met Grif and Ruby, but I think Yang was most looking forward to it," Keita explained to his friend kindly.

"Well… I hope I can make a good impression," Fumi smiled, a little nervously.

"Don't worry, you already have," Ruby chuckled a little and Grif nodded. Sarge was glaring at the sky, Keita noticed this and looked up at what he was glaring at, only to see a glowing, yellow dot in the sky… getting bigger…

"Guys, incoming!" Keita exclaimed, backing up, everyone else did the same, what seemed to be a small, glowing yellow meteor crashed several meters in front of them, creating a large crater in its wake. Smoke covered the area for a moment before a figure became clear, someone wearing similar armor to the other soldiers, only this one's was yellow and orange, with sun symbols painted on the shoulders.

"Hello Bloodgulch!" the newcomer exclaimed excitedly, dusting herself off as she approached the group.

"Yang… where's your ship?" Keita asked after a moment.

"Ship? I never said I was taking a ship, I just said I'd be there soon!" Yang laughed.

"Right, of course you did…" Grif muttered while shaking his head.

"Girl! Seriously, what's the big idea with just flying down like some sort of rogue missile intent on our destruction!? Not that there's anything wrong with missiles mind you! Though I prefer a weapon you can stand face to face against your enemy with, like a shotgun," Sarge ranted, and seemed to drift further and further away from reality as he continued talking about his preferred use of weapons. The three of them snuck back to base while he did so…

"So, you're this Fumi, or Katie, that I've been hearing so much about from my bro?" Yang asked after they had made it back to the base, Grif, Ruby and Lopez stood back and watched as Yang spoke with the younger Looper, Keita stood beside Fumi and was watch his eldest sister with a critical look.

"Yeah, that's me," Fumi nodded. "You're Yang, you're the one who told Keita-kun about the Loops in the first place?"

"That's right, this little guy was lost and I took him under my wing and made him the man he is today!" Yang explained proudly as she tried to ruffle her younger brother's hair, he swatted her hand away while glaring at her causing her to laugh. "Now then…"

"Yang, please don't hassle her," Keita warned, Yang waved off his concerns.

"Don't worry Keita, I just want to get to know her a little," Yang insisted, before turning her attention back towards Fumi. "So, I gotta ask, what exactly are your intensions towards my little brother?" she asked with a dangerous smirk forming on her face. Fumi shrunk back a little nervously.

"Yang…" Keita sighed in embarrassment.

"We're just friends… um, ma'am?" Fumi muttered weakly, Yang laughed at this and patted her on the shoulder.

"'Ma'am'? That's a little too formal, don't you think? No need to be so nervous, any friend of my baby bro's is a friend of mine!"

"Don't call me a baby!"

"But you are my baby bro!" Yang exclaimed, grabbing Keita in a hug that he struggled to escape from–and failed.

"Yang! Let go!"

"But you're so cute!" after another minute of hugging, Yang finally let Keita go. He smoothed out his clothes before looking towards her again.

"I told you not to do that…" he shook his head, before a thought seemed to occur to him. "Oh yah, Yang, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Nate, whatch'a need?"

"Can I have a pair of your gauntlets?" Keita asked, an ambitious smile appearing on his face.

"What? Why?" Yang looked at her younger brother suspiciously.

"Um… for a project?" he offered weakly, Yang narrowed her eyes at him, but after a moment a smirk formed on her face.

"Okay, on one condition."

"What?"

"You must do something awesome with these!" Yang grinned manically as she handed Keita a copy of her weapons from her pocket. Keita took the yellow gauntlets eagerly and nodded to her.

"I won't let you down sis!" Keita announced before putting the gauntlets into his own pocket for later use.

"Should we be concerned about that?" Ruby questioned Grif as they stood at the other end of the room.

"I'm concerned about what's going to happen next," Fumi sighed as she walked over to the two.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll make it fun… as much as we can that is," Ruby glanced towards Grif whom shrugged.

"Deberías tener mucho miedo. {You should be very afraid.}" Lopez stated bluntly, though Fumi could not understand him.

Katie's eyes narrowed as she aimed her weapon, she lined up the shot and...

"… Now!" she exclaimed, pulling the trigger and causing water to shoot from the squirt gun, it hit a bird that was flying by, startling it before it flew further away.

"Katie, why are you scaring birds?" Nate questioned as he walked over to her.

"Practicing, I have no idea when I might end up in that place or somewhere similar again, I want to be more prepared next time," Katie said firmly as she took aim at another flying bird.

"… So, you're shooting water at birds?" Nate stared at his friend for a moment, but she maintained her position.

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be a good idea to practice with a real gun around here, so I'm doing this," she explained simply.

"Well, if that's what you want to do right now, I mean the Meta is scary… I remember the first time I saw it," Nate sighed while scratching his head. Katie fired another shot of water and nodded.

"… Say, what do you plan to do with those gauntlets your sister gave you anyway?" Katie asked curiously, Nate chuckled a little.

"It's a surprise Katie, you'll see."

"… That's not a very satisfying answer."

"It's not supposed to be."

"Whatever, so what can I expect in other branches after that insanity?"

"Oh, where do I start?"

 **58.2 Masterweaver**

"Hello again, brother mine."

Whitley stared. "...Weiss?"

"Hmm?"

"You're a giant spider," he managed faintly.

Weiss crossed her arms. "The proper term is drider, technically."

"...Weiss, you're part arachnid."

"Yes. This has been established."

"You're not panicking," Whitley noted. "So this must seem reasonable to you."

"It does, yes."

"Might I ask as to why it seems reasonable?"

"If you so desire."

"...Weiss, why are you part spider?"

"That, brother mine, is a long and interesting tale..."

 **58.3 DrTempo**

Team RWBY sat in the Beacon Academy courtyard enjoying lunch, discussing their plans for the Loop. The Vytal Festival had arrived, but oddly enough, no sign of Cinder and her cronies had been seen since the breach. There had been reports of a large explosion in Forever Fall shortly after, but nothing else.

Weiss, who had been pondering this, said, "I bet it was some Guest Loopers who caused that explosion."

Yang nodded with a smirk. "And I bet they're the reason we haven't seen any of Cinder's goons lately."

"You'd be right."

Team RWBY turned to see four people walk over, who could only be Loopers. The first of them wore what looked like a dark blue uniform, and carried a huge pair of scissors on her back. The second had orange hair, and wore a leather jacket and a blue dress. The third was a girl in an outfit similar to Link's, with green hair, and a figure that reminded Blake of Tsunade. The last of these four was a young man who wore a typical kendo outfit.

Blake recognized the Looper who'd spoken instantly, saying, "Hey, Ryuko! Good to see you!"

The girl with the huge pair of scissors smiled. "Good to see you too, Blake." She answered, "If you guys were wondering, I Looped in Yang's role a while back. The look on Taurus' face when I reattached my arm was priceless...Right before I sent him to the moon the hard way."

Yang chuckled vindictively, then gestured at the other three. "So, who're these guys? I recognize Sunset Shimmer," the orange haired girl smiled a greeting, "but the green haired chick I don't know, and the last one looks just like that idiot kendo guy from Ranma's Branch."

The green haired woman offered a hand, saying, "I'm Saria Senju. Pleasure to meet you."

"Are you the same Saria from Link's home Loop?"

"Yes. And before you ask...My first Loop was in the Naruto Loop, and this appearance kinda stuck."

Blake then grinned. "Senju, huh? Can you use Mokuton?"

Saria did a few hand seals, and a tree sprouted nearby. "That answer your question?"

Blake grinned ear to ear. "Yes."

Ruby laughed. "I have a feeling you want to fight her, Blake?"

Blake nodded. "Of course."

Saria cracked her knuckles. "That'll be a good fight...though, if you remember the last time a Senju and an Uchiha fought..."

The kendo outfit wearing man coughed. "If I may...Yes, I am indeed Tatewaki Kuno, and I am Looping. I Awakened following a Loop wherein Ranma and I first met during his training trip, thereby becoming friends and allies. Thankfully, that ensured that I evaded the more deplorable aspects of mine own Baseline personality."

Weiss frowned. "As long as you don't try to woo any of us."

Kuno chuckled. "I assure you, I am not quite so foolish as that any longer. If memory serves however, Lady Weiss, you were trained in the ways of the Force were you not?"

"I was. I suppose you were as well?"

"Indeed. I do admit, Star Wars was always one of my favorite foreign movies."

Sunset Shimmer then gave a cough, and said, "Anyways...Yeah, we're the reason Cinder and company up and vanished."

Ruby sighed. "Cinder wasn't Awake, right?"

"Nope. Ryuko got the honor of finishing Cinder off. Let's just say those scissors she's wielding can cut more than hair."

Team RWBY all grimaced as they realized what that meant. Ruby sighed. "At least she died quickly. I suppose you're here to compete in the Vytal Festival?"

Ryuko nodded. "Yep. We're Team RSST, and we're gonna kick ass!"

Yang laughed. "You'll have to get through us and Team JNPR first!"

"We'll see, won't we?"

-

"So," Ruby asked as they walked through the Grimm infested forest, watching as their visitors lazy dispatched the monsters, "how did you kill Cinder and the others? What were they doing in Forever Fall, anyway?"

"Well," Ryuko started, "We had lured Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Adam, to Forever Fall and..."

 _Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Adam walked into Forever Fall, with Mercury grumbling._

 _"Why are we here again? And why is Adam with us?"_

 _Glaring at her subordinate, Cinder growled, "We got a message from Salem. Apparently, Watts has information we need and will be meeting us here and that it also involves the White Fang."_

 _Eyeing the Grimm infested forest warily, Emerald frowned, tightening her grip on her weapons, "This seems wrong, are you sure about this, Cinder?"_

 _"It came from Salem directly, the chances or someone impersonating that is remote."_

 _As they approached the clearing, the forest exploded into motion. Razor sharp leaves hurtling through the air towards the four Hunters. Cinder reacted the quickest, hurling a Burn crystal at the oncoming leaves and moving into a defensive stance. The searing flames obliterating the leaves that threated her and her subordinates._

 _Adam reacted a moment later, barely avoiding the bladed leaves , but was unable to avoid them completely._

 _Ryuko, Sunset, Saria and Kuno emerged from the shadows chuckling, Ryuko smiling as she spoke, "You really should have listened to Emerald. As for how we tricked you, well it doesn't matter."_

 _As Cinder went to respond an amusing thought struck Sunset, cutting her off as she started to speak, "Your next line is, 'Why won't it, fool?'"_

 _"Why won't it, fool?" Cinder tensed, narrowing her eyes in anger as she realised what had happened._

 _Sunset laughed at the furious expression, "Ever since I heard of it, I always wanted to try Joseph Joestar's signature trick. As to your question, you're already dead." Before anyone could act, RSST moved, charging at Cinder's group._

 _Emerald cursed as Saria almost flew across the ground at her, leaping out of the way of Saria's sword. Saria narrowed her eyes as a pack of Beowolves charged out of the dense forest, Emerald taking advantage of the distraction to run._

 _Saria ignored the shadow beasts that bore down upon her, her eyes focused on something unseen. After a few moments, Saria moved, her blade whistling though the air as the flat of the blade stuck a unseen being._

 _The illusion broken, Emerald fell to the ground as consciousness drained away. "How…?"_

 _Saria frowned. "I'm used to illusions, Emerald. I knew you'd try something like that, so I simply focused in order to see through your illusions. Nice try, but..."_

 _As darkness swallowed her, Emerald gritted her teeth, trying to stay awake, she would not let Cinder down._

 _Looking at her unconscious foe, Saria sheathed her sword, and sighed. "You haven't fallen too far, so you may be saved. Your companions, however...their lives end here." Saria turned away from Emerald, to where her teammates were finishing up their own fights._

 _Kuno was lazily blocking each strike Adam made while offering swordsmanship instructions. Adam eventually growled in anger, and entered a quick draw stance. Kuno then mimicked the stance, and smirked.  
"A quick draw duel, I see. Very well. Show me your skill, Adam. I do hope you possess a greater mastery of this skill. It would be boring otherwise"_

 _It was over in an instant as Kuno's blade cleaved through Adam's skull, the two halves falling to the ground. Kuno smiled. "Not bad. Normally, that speed would have been enough. But compared to my speed, you are as slow as a tortoise." Kuno grabbed Adam's sword, and walked away._

 _-_

 _Sunset was bored and hungry, as Mercury launched a constant barrage of kicks at her but none of them came close to landing. After a minute or so, Sunset yawned, "Boring. Got any other tricks?"_

 _She lazily blocked a barrage of projectiles that flew towards her in response before deciding to end it. Mercury's eyes widened momently as Sunset abruptly moved, a blow shattering his aura before an ice round tore into his body._

 _As the frozen corpse fell to the ground, Sunset walked away without a second glance._

 _"All too easy. Pity, I sort of expected more."_

 _-_

 _Ryuko stared down at the bloody halves of Cinder dispassionately, cleaning her Rending Scissors with a brief thought. Looking up as her teammates walked over, Sunset glanced down at what had been one of the most powerful women in Remnant's baseline, watching as a streak of light shot into the distance, "You don't waste time, Ryuko."_

 _She shrugged, "There was not really any point, and you decided to spare Emerald, Saria?"_

 _Saria nodded, her eyes lingering on her captive for a moment, "Compared to our other opponents, only she deserved another chance. I just hope she takes it."_

 _Ryuko and Sunset nodded in agreement, and the group left Forever Fall, and their fallen enemies, behind._

-

Shortly after that, Teams RSST and RWBY were in the forest where Teams RWBY and JNPR had first teamed up in baseline. Blake looked around, and said, "Is this a good spot for our sparring match, Saria?"

Saria nodded. "Indeed. Very well...how will we determine who wins this match?"

"Yeah. I'm wondering the same thing."

Saria turned around to see Ren floating behind her, with the rest of Team JNPR nearby.

Ren then asked, "You are Saria, from the Zelda Loop, correct?" Saria bowed.

"Yes."

Jaune scratched his head in confusion, asking, "Um… Isn't Saria supposed to be a Kokiri? I'm just asking…"

Saria giggled. "I'm not a Kokiri this Loop, if you're wondering why I look the way I do."

Jaune facepalmed. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

Blake then coughed. "Anyways, we'll use the same feature that shows a person's Aura level. We've modified the feature over the years to be able to show the amount of chakra, ki, magic, and so forth a combatant has. Still working out the bugs on it, though."

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, it does end to cause the device to blow up when we use too much power. Penny didn't like it when it happened the first time after she Awoke."

All of Team RSST blinked, and Ryuko said, "Pay up, Kuno. I knew Penny would Awaken eventually." Kuno then handed Ryuko a large treasure chest, and grumbled at his bad luck.

"Darn. I had figured Qrow or Winter would Awaken first." Yang snickered.

"Actually..."

Sunset simply groaned, and then laughed.

"Guess the bet I had on Qrow, Winter, and Penny Awakening is the winner." With that, Sunset grabbed the treasure chest. Kuno laughed as Ryuko grumbled.

"Ah, to see that expression on you is amusing, Lady Ryuko."

Saria drew her Deku Staff, and said, "Let's begin, Blake."

Blake activated her Sharingan, and grinned. "Agreed. Bring it on!"

-

It was Saria who moved first, nature heeding her call as the sage shot across the ground at Blake. Grass and vines erupted from the ground ensnaring Blake, pollen and poisons filling the air in a chocking cloud.

The Deku staff smashed into Blake, the latter trying in vain to break free of the plants the bound her. Saria let a grin come across her face as she ducked, leaping to the side as the clone detonated and the illusion shattering revealing Blake swinging her chain scythe.

Searing wind turned the pollen to ashes, falling to the ground like snow as the bisected wood clone began growing. The snapping vines of a grotesquely warped venomous tentacula wrapping around and devouring the suspired faunus. The sightless eyes of the monstrous plant twisted as it thrashed helplessly, dissolving into the air. A shockwave of superheated air crushing down with a deafening explosion, the air igniting and crushing the Ents that rose from the ground. Blake had to admit, Saria was doing better than she had expected.

"Not bad, Saria. Surprised you used Ents. I never thought Mokuton could create anything like that."

"I'm the Forest Sage, remember? I am an expert in using plant life, besides there just animated trees made to look like them."

"I should have guessed. Very well, let's try something a bit different!"

Spears of flickering blue crystals impaling the remaining Titians of wood, tearing apart as rivers of water burst forth. A million eyed, winged serpent of ice rose into the air leaving the ground dry and barren, a black clad cat peached on its head, her spinning red eyes reflected in each scale.

Saria cursed as she wove among the masses of wood clones, trying to avoid making eye contact as hundreds of chains of rock burst forth from the dead ground, wrapping around the winged serpent.

That was not Blake, it was nothing more than a clone yet as long as it remained atop the construct she was at a disadvantage. Black flames covered the ground, consuming clone after clone, the real one vanishing from sight as Blake sent her construct up higher, circling high overhead.

Saria whispered under her breath, dissolving into motes of green light that spun around before reappearing over the icy construct, her weapon smashing through Blake's head shattering the illusion like an image spun of glass cobwebs.

A single arrow piecing her breast, the clone's face was frozen in shock as its skin ripped open like a seed pod, raining hundreds of Deku Nuts down upon the battle. Wraith like forms filtering among the shadows as the clones attacked each other in a panic, before the shadows melted under the blinding flashes.

A hundred clones turned to stone as a long black figure danced around them, a barrage of earth dust flying at the sole remaining green form.

"Impressive, Saria! But I'm just getting started!"

Saria swore as her staff was cleaved through as her opponent burst from the ground, barely able to get her sword in place to block Blake's next blow. This was precisely the situation she had not wanted to get into.

Her hands flowed through seals, twisting out of the way of a fresh barrage of dust. A forest of trees rising to the sky, filled with every deadly plant she had grown to know of the endless loops. Saria sighed with silent relief as she melded with the forest, moving away from Blake as wood and foliage bent to her will.

Blake gazed around the dense twisting forest, a barrier surrounding her skin and face. The air was thick with pollen, seeds, toxins and spores, even a single breath would likely spell her end. She leapt, tumbling through the air as countless needles shoot through the air, clones rising from the towering trees, their attacks, striking only light. Blake then chuckled.

"You really have exceeded my expectations, Saria. Using the forest to your advantage, and making sure I don't get a chance to strike. But, this ends now!"

Black flames towered into the sky, consuming the vast forest. Blake lost track of time as she tracked Saria, focusing solely on the patterns of attacks. Finally, as another clone fell Blake's eyes changed "Susano!"

A towering skeleton rose above the blazing sea of trees, a fleshless skull somehow twisting into a rictus grin as it's fist struck the ground with earth shattering force.

The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as Saria gritted her teeth, bitting her cheek. That was too close, she had only just managed to move away at the last second. As it was…

Saria painfully picked herself off the ground, hands already forming seals as she looked over the shattered remnants of the forest. The black flames now gone, along with the rest of it as Blake's Susano backhanded what remained, scattering the ashes to the winds. 'Well that did not work, I feel like I'm trying to capture smoke.'

A titanic dragon formed of wood roared its birth cry, lunging at the dark skeleton eclipsing Blake's view of Saria.

"Alright, Blake! Let's go for the finale!"

"You don't have to ask!" The dragon and Blake's Susano charged at each other, and after a few seconds, the dragon fell to pieces.

As Saria's wood golem fell to pieces from her Susano's blade, Blake looked around, Sharingan active.

 _Where did she go..._

Her question was soon answered, as Saria snuck behind Blake and swung her sword. Blake had anticipated this, though, and before Saria could react, Blake held both Saria's blade as well as her own. Realizing she'd lost, Saria raised her hands in surrender.

Blake handed Saria her blade, remarking, "I had a feeling you'd try the same trick the First Hokage used to defeat Madara as a last ditch move."

Saria shrugged. "Yeah. I figured it would be a fitting way to win if I had no other choice. Oh, well."

Ryuko chuckled as the two fighters shook hands. "Saria did pretty well, I think. But, experience is what gave Blake the edge."

Ruby then asked, "So, who's sparring next?"

Kuno raised his hand. "I believe it is my turn to duel Weiss. Shall we go to the training arena? It would be a more fitting place."

Everyone agreed, and left the battlefield behind.

As the group entered the arena, Ozpin, Penny, Winter, Qrow, and Ironwood were sitting in the stands, with all of them immediately using the Ping to confirm they were Looping. Ruby groaned.

"How did you guys know?" Ozpin smirked.

"We watched the battle between our resident Uchiha and miss Saria via camera. I have to admit, Saria. You fought well. If I had to guess, you might already surpass Madara Uchiha himself in skill."

Saria smiled. "Thank you, Ozpin."

As Weiss and Kuno entered the arena, Winter looked surprised.

"I never thought Kuno would ever be a Looper."

Sunset laughed. "We said the same of Gendo Ikari."

"Point taken."

Kuno drew his lightsaber, and bowed. Weiss did the same, and with that, their duel began.

Lights blurred together as the battle commenced, blades humming with energy as they clashed. One blow flowing into the next, less a battle and more a dance of deadly precision. Weiss let a grin slip as she defected a blow to her neck, her blade missing Kuno's neck by millimetres as his own blade nearly missed her head, strands of white hair falling to the ground unseen and uncared for.

Both knowing what the other would do, intimately familiar with the styles the other used.

"I see you have mastered Shii-cho, Weiss." Kuno complimented, driving Weiss back momentary before she forced him to give breathing room. "But, I have as well. After all, the form is very similar to standard sword combat."

"Very well." Weiss shifted her stance to hold her lightsaber in a fencing stance, fluidly switching to a new style very similar to her normal methods.

Kuno grinned, anticipation setting his nerves alight, there was little better than an honest fight where one could push themselves above and beyond, challenged by one who knew the same abilities as you. "The Makashi lightsaber fighting style. Meant for one on one duels, using balance and footwork for precise and efficient strikes. That style suits you very well, Weiss. I have no doubt you are a master of it."

"You guessed right, Kuno. My turn." Weiss moved, flashing across the ground towards Kuno, her eyes widened in surprise as Kuno countered each blow rather than striking back. Kuno was focusing on defense, rather than offense was not something she had anticipated; though it wasn't enough to block all of her attacks, the benefits of being partners with a speed master.

"You seem surprised, miss Schnee."

Weiss scowled slightly at the smug reply, seeing the amusement on her opponent's face. "I did not think you were the kind of person to use the Soresu style, Kuno." It was galling to make such a mistake, you never took such a thing for granted, ever.

Kuno smirked as he withstood Weiss blows like a rock standing against water, he would be worn down, but it would not be easy. "My baseline self was never one for defense. I knew I had to fix that error in my sword style. And considering Soresu's focus on defense, it was ideal. And remember, Obi-Wan himself is a master of this style. No matter how often I tried when I sparred with him, I could never land a single strike."

Abandoning her tactic, Weiss shifted gears, leaping into the air and over his head, Kuno's blade searing the air she had just passed though. A flurry of blows drove Kuno back, unable to counter the strikes in time.

Every time he tried to counter, Weiss was gone, tumbling though the air, rolling under his legs or blows. Her blade inflicting a toll on his form, his formidable defense faltering under the onslaught.

"Not a bad use of the Ataru combat style. Its acrobatic nature is the reason Yoda mastered it," Kuno grunted, flipping over Weiss even as she landed, twisted around. Weiss cursed under her breath, twisting around the next blow and replying with her own.

"But, I've studied it as well."

Unable to react properly in time, Kuno blocked her strike and went on the attack. Lights blurring across the field, as the two master swordsmen clashed, testing the others skill with the blade.

The relentless blows left Weiss little room to counter. A savage grin working its way onto her face, blood singing in her ears, "You are very skilled indeed. able to switch between styles so fluidly. The Djem So style, with its focus on blocking, countering and then going on the offensive fits you perfectly. Pity it isn't good against an agile opponent." Weiss taunted, dancing around his blows, just managing to remain mostly unharmed by the brutal efficient style.

Maybe she should try something new then?

"Indeed, Weiss. That is why I studied the other styles. Djem So may be the closest to how I fight in baseline, but unlike that idiot version of me, I know how to adapt." Without warning, Weiss switched styles, launching an aggressive attack that Kuno easily defended against.

"Trying to use the Juyo style to throw me off guard, I see. That style may fit how most Sith prefer to fight, but it doesn't suit you, Weiss." Weiss winced, trying to catch her breath as she was driven back, nodding in agreement.

"You know lightsaber combat very well, Kuno. I have to admit; this has been a challenging fight." Weiss spoke up with respect in her voice, falling back into her preferred style of combat, trying to regain the ground she lost in that ill planned assault. Finally breaking away and leaping back, eyes and mind focused.

"The same could be said of you, Weiss." Kuno gladly accepted the compliment from his fellow Jedi and sword master, repaying it in turn. It had been a long time since he had been pushed this far in simple swordsmanship. "For every strike I landed, you returned the favor with interest. So, let's end this. Show me how fast you can react."

Kuno deactivated his lightsaber, and entered a stance similar to how one would unsheathe a katana.

"One final strike, then. Very well, Kuno."

In the blink of an eye, the final attack was dealt.

A slash was heard, and one of the combatants fell down.

"Well done, miss Schnee..." Kuno collapsed, his Aura completely drained, and the last attack had left a gash on his leg. Sunset quickly used a healing spell, and as the wound healed, Kuno chuckled.

"I figured I wasn't skilled enough to best Weiss. But, I had to try."

Sunset simply pointed to where the two combatants' Aura levels were displayed. Kuno looked, and saw that Weiss was nearly depleted of Aura energy as well.

"You nearly had her, Kuno. She just landed a lot more attacks than you did. Your attacks had more power, so that did more damage. But her superior speed gave her an advantage. For what it's worth, you did very well."

"Thank you. I still have a lot to learn, it seems." Weiss then came over, and shook Kuno's hand.

"Thanks for the sparring match. You need to move a little faster, or your attacks will leave you wide open."

"Thank you for the advice."

Ryuko then leapt into the arena, and cracked her knuckles. "So, who wants to fight me?"

Yang prepared to leap into the ring, but Ren held her back.

"Forget it. From what they said, it looks like you'll be fighting Sunset in the one on one round, and fighting Ryuko will simply allow Sunset to get an idea on how you fight."

"Good point." Meanwhile, Qrow had leapt into the ring, and activated his weapon.

"I'll take you on, Ryuko."

Ryuko chuckled. "Well, this won't take long."

-  
Ten seconds later...

"What in the..."

Qrow fell to the floor, his Aura completely drained from one slice by Ryuko. Sunset laughed.

"Ouch. That had to hurt. Ryuko's a lot more experienced in combat than I am, and I know I'm pretty good myself. It's getting late. The tournament starts tomorrow, and I want to be ready."

The Loopers left the training arena, ready for whatever awaited them in the tournament.

As the Vytal Festival prepared to begin, Ruby walked over to Team RSST as they head off to wait for the fights to start.

"I've had Ozpin arrange it so that, if you guys get that far, Sunset will get to fight Yang."

Hearing that, Sunset grinned.

"Good. Thanks, Ruby."

As RSST started to walk away, Ruby pipped up unable to restrain her curiosity, "So, why do you want to fight Yang, Sunset?"

Sunset laughed, tuning around to face Ruby, waving her teammates on. "I just want to fight her. We're both students of Ranma Saotome and I hear she's quite the fighter. It has been a long time since I had had a good fight or test of my skills. Usually in Fused Loops, I'm fighting villains, and with all my experience, I win as easily as Saitama wins his fights in his baseline. Which is to say, too easily. I just want to have a good fight, a real challenge for once, that's all."

Ruby smiled. "Well, good luck. Trust me, you'll need it." Sunset grinned.

"Hate to say it, but even if I hold back a lot, I've been Looping for a lot longer than Yang. This will be easy."

Ruby laughed. "Trust me. It won't be." Sunset shrugged and walked away, her thoughts spinning even as her face gave nothing away.

'What is Ruby talking about? I have been looping far longer than Yang and have got far more experience in other loops thanks to my journey. So from that angle, I have the advantage, my newest ability and linked training only improves my odds, even if it seems likely I won't need them. It had been quite useful to have a millennia of relatively uninterrupted training.' Sunset spied her in loop team, heading over to them, still mulling over what Ruby had said, she had sounded far too confident.

When an Anchor was that confident... well it was a sign of one of a few things, and in this case it would not be from sheer ignorance or arrogance. Ruby was well known to be too skilled for that.

'Remnant is a combat focused loop, so that should make up for some of the time difference and I have no idea what abilities Yang has picked up, minus her training with Ranma Saotome. But what ability would make Ruby so confident? I will have to remain on guard, not that I would have let it down to start with.'

-  
Ryuko and Sunset cracked their knuckles, eyes locked on Coco and Yatahushi as they faced them in across the field in the second round. The first fight was not even worth noting, so hopefully this one would be more fun. But neither held any real hope of any change until they fought the other loopers.

Sunset held her Keyblade inspired gun-sword in a ready position; she had created it during the first time she had Looped into Remnant and had kept it in case she had lopped here again. The instance the signal to go went off, Sunset charged at Coco, who desperately tried to bring her weapon to bare but was unable to adjust her aim quickly enough to hit the agile huntress.

Sunset smirked, abruptly ceasing her rapid movement and allowing Coco to bring her weapons to bear fired. As bullets rained down upon her Sunset's hands were a blur of motion, deflecting each bullet as she stood unmoved and unharmed from weathering the assault.

Finally, the bullets petted out, the massive gun clicking as Coco tried to keep firing."Seriously?" Coco groaned in resignation as she started to run, watching as Sunset raised her own weapon, "How do you defect that many bullets without missing and what the hell did you do to my gun?"

"Skill," with that Sunset fired, the Fire Dust round flashing across the stadium towards the fleeing huntress, a massive fire ball erupting from the impact. Unable to evade quick enough, the fire ball slammed into Coco, the pressure wave and heat depleting her aura to critical levels.

Walking over to her downed foe, who was still trying to rise, Sunset picked up Coco and hurled her out of the ring along with her gun. Coco took a look at her weapon, and looked shocked.

"She jammed my gun, using my own defected bullets," Coco started at her gun in disbelief as she walked out of the stadium, "What type of Semblance or training allows you to do that?"

Meanwhile, Ryuko was easily overpowering Yatahushi, and with a powerful vertical slice, depleted her opponent's Aura and sent him out of the ring at the same time. Ryuko shrugged.

"Man, if no one from here was Looping, this would be a boring tournament." Sunset walked over to Ryuko, and nodded.

"I hear you, Ryuko." Sunset then looked in the audience, and pointed to Yang. She then gave the thumbs down, and Yang simply grinned.

Both of them were going to enjoy their fight.

-

"So, Yang," Sunset called out as they sat in the stands, watching the baseline fighters in relative boredom, Weiss repeating the comment word for word before it was said in a flat monotone while Blake retreated into a book.

"I was talking to Ruby just before the tournament started, and she was really confident about your skills against an older looper. When was the last time you had an all-out fight with someone from a different loop?"

She was honestly curious, and any such stories would have to be more interesting than the current fights. Any insight on Yang's abilities would simply be a bonus.

Yang looked up from her bag of chips, cracking a grin as she laughed, "The last time? That would have been when I got sassy to Temari from Naruto, obliterated most of Wind Country in the process, and spent the rest of the loop in ICU. Broke most of Temari's bones at least once and so I'm quite pleased with that. Yeah, she was still holding back, but she still had to try. it was still a lot of fun though, don't regret it in the slightest, You?"

Sunset leant back in to her chair in thought, "I can't quite remember the last time I had a decent fight with a foreign looper. I think the last time was against Pikachu… there was something to do with ketchup but I can't recall what. Considering he can fight Dio himself evenly, I should not be shocked at Pikachu's skill." Sunset then realized the bad pun she had made, and facepalmed, as Yang laughed.

-

At last, Sunset and Yang were going to face off in the Vytal Festival. The two entered the ring, eyeing their opponents as they got into position with Sunset breaking the silence. "So, shall we set some ground rules for this fight?"

Yang raised an eyebrow, feeling her heart start to race as she settled into a loose combat stance. "Ground rules?"

"If we both went all-out, we'd blow up the arena, and likely kill all the spectators. So, basically..." Sunset then tossed her weapon out of the ring, bring her fists up and mirroring Yang's stance. "Hand to hand, the fundamental underpinnings of all combat."

Yang started to smile, a vicious gleam in her eyes as she removed Ember Cecilia, tossing it out of the ring. Cracking her knuckles, Yang had one more question, "So, just fists? Or will this be Dragon Ball style?"

"The latter, of course. Anything less would be an insult to your skill. So, let's begin, shall we?"

Yang's muscles tensed, her yellow hair blowing in the slight wind that blew through the stadium, the cyan eyes of Sunset narrowing. At an unseen signal, they moved.

Their fists colliding, a deafening boom shook the stadium as a huge shockwave exploded out. Sunset chuckled, as she tried to put more force behind her to force Yang back, noticing that the Stadium was undamaged.

"I'm glad you told me Ozpin reinforces the stadium in case loopers clash in the tournament. That might have caused some damage."

"Trust me. He had to after the time Goku showed up in this Loop."

Breaking away, Yang went for a leaping kick, Sunset easily dodging the telegraphed blow, lashing at Yang's gut only for her to move at the last moment into a worst position.

Pain lanced though her head and the world spun, Yang bit back a roar as her head pounded, she had been expecting an upper cut and moved wrong. Now blows rained down upon her, Sunset not letting her get a moments reprieve.

Time was subjective in a fight; Yang knew she had only been hit a few moments ago but that meant so little in a fight like this. Each moment she had to counter, block or dodge hundreds of blows moving faster at approaching the sound barrier as she tried to recover her bearing.

Sunset's eyes widened as Yang grabbed her arm and pulled, slamming her head towards Sunset's own. The visiting looper just managing to break free and knock Yang back, moving back in before she should recover.

The fight was a blur, the stadium's ground shattering under the force of the blows and shockwaves. Blurs of yellow and red clashing with titanic forces, blind to the faces of those watching. They only cared for the other.

"Grrr..." Yang growled in fury as she was blocked, hit, blocked and hit, again and again and again. Nothing was working, and she had been on the defensive since her mistake at the start of the fight.

Sunset just laughed at Yang's anger, ducking under her and launching herself up, a grin pulling at her lips, she may as well bring in some showmanship to this as well, after all, why not? And she had just the technique to do so.

"Showtime! STAR PUNCH!"

With a crushing rising uppercut Yang was sent flying, with the native looper crashing into the ground on the other side of the stadium, barely missing being knocked out the ring. But even as she finished the blow, Sunset felt her stomach drop. She had just made a mistake, she should not have tried to show off. She had honestly figured that punch would cause a ring out, and considering how the Star Punch worked, she had figured the momentum she had gotten from countering so many attacks would have been enough to ensure a ring out.

Gritting her teeth and tearing across the ground, Sunset hurtled towards a recovering Yang, desperate to get there in time, to not give Yang the chance she needed to recover.

But it was too little and too late, Yang meeting her head on, eyes burning red and fully recovered.

"Little Mac taught you that, eh Sunset?" Yang grinned with bloodlust, countering a powerful blow and forcing Sunset back. Sunset had made the mistake of letting her recover and surrendered her initiative, and Yang had no intention of letting that chance go.

The flow of the battle turned, Sunset being forced to weather the blows Yang was raining down on her.

"Come on, Sunset! That all you got?" Yang taunted, burying her fist in Sunset's gut and ducking an air splitting kick, the cracks echoing through the stadium like rolling thunder. Dust and debris choking the air, kicked up by the heated clash.

"Not even close, but enough of this," Sunset ducked out of the way of a kick, moving from defense to attack, "Let's test your attack power, Yang!"

"Bring it!"

Thunder split the air, the incessant booms sending many of the spectators to the ground, clutching their ears in pain. In the centre of the chaos, Yang and Sunset clashed, raining blow after blow onto the other just blurs impossible to track.

Bloody and bleeding, they broke apart. From the other side of the arenas ruined surface Yang grinned, spitting a glob of blood onto the dirt. Her blood was singing, each blow just building her stored power higher and higher. It was a glorious feeling, "You're good." Yang said, whistling though broken teeth, taking pride in knowing Sunset was in just as bad condition.

"Same to you. Time to kick it up a notch."

Sunset vanished, reappearing behind Yang sending a punch at the back of her head. Yang flung herself to the side, seizing Sunset's leg and pulling her down. A blow aimed at the off balanced looper only for Sunset to brake free and twist out of the way. Rolling back to her feet, Sunset met Yang's head-on once more, amost flowing out of the way of her punches, moving the minimal amount needed to avoided or block each one.

Yang spat blood as she struck hopelessly at the looper from Equestria, feeling the burning ache, the need to let her semblance go and consumed the stadium in golden flames. It felt like she was trying to punch out smoke.

'Crud. She was trying to figure out my fighting style.'

Yang's foreboding was proven when Sunset started retaliating, Yang hissed as she barely blocked the blows, one flowing into the next, seamlessly setting up the next stage. To Yang it was like reading a book when she already knew the ending; she could see where it was going but could do nothing to change the outcome.

A blow ripped though her defenses and making the world go black, Yang felt the flames within burn brighter as the wind was knocked out of her.

'Just a bit more…'

Stabbing pain shot down Yang's arm as Sunset's blows tore through her Aura as her few return blows reciprocated.

"Come on Yang. That all you got?" Sunset taunted, grabbing Yang's hair and pulling her closer, a powerful blow sticking her temple. Sunset barely had time to widen her eyes as the world became flames.

Sunset felt her ribs crack, Aura momentary failing as Yang hit her like freight train. The glowing brawler not letting her get away, to get a moment to work out what had just happened. Sunset wracked her brains, catching a blow that made her arm almost snap, trying to remember what she knew of Yang.

The answer hitting her like a blow from god, sending her hurling across the stadium, Yang in hot pursuit. It was her Semblance, the ability to usethe blows and damage Yang took in a fight to empower herself, in that case… No need to hold back.

"KAIO-KEN!" A red aura surrounded Sunset as she twisted in the air, rolling to disperse the momentum. Rolling to her feet, Sunset grabbed Yang's right arm as she came in for a punch with only seconds to spare. Sunset then grinned.

"If I was Adam Taurus, you know what'd happen next."

Yang grinned with eyes of flames, her ki surging around her fist. "Really? MASENKO-HA!"

The attack hit home, with Sunset being flung back and leaving Yang free to charge her again. Coming to her feet, Sunset switched tactics, if she could not compete in close combat then she would not.

Light flooded the arena as ki lanced through the air, striking the golden wreathed girl as she was taken off guard but doing no visible damage.

Seething, Yang retaliated, blasts of ki colliding with Sunsets own as she shot forwards, striking the air and setting it ablaze. Sending balls of flaming ki and Aura at Sunset, "This is not close combat Sunset!" Yang roared in frustration, her hair ablaze and eyes blood.

Sunset smirked, defecting Yang's ki bots and taking flight, her own beams scouring the stadium and leaving no room for Yang to hide. "We agreed for Dragonball style combat, did you forget Yang? I know that fighting you hand to hand leaves me at a disadvantage. But if I stay away from your punches..."

Yang did not reply, enduring the onslaught as she retaliated with her own blasts, her defenses steadily being worn away even as her power began charging once more. Finally, Yang snapped as Sunset swerved around her latest attack, "Come down here and fight, Sunset!"

The growled command made Sunset smirk, hurling to the ground as soon as she finished speaking. "OK. KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!"

Before Yang could react, Sunset slammed into her, the sonic boom slamming into Yang moments after Sunset herself did. Taken off guard, Yang couldn't dodge at all, and did not want to.

Sunset was fast, but not as fast as Ruby was. Besides, all the more power for her.

She had once need time to ramp up, but that had been a long time ago and Sunset had done a good job of helping her power up anyway.

Yang smirked as Sunset grabbed her arm and twisted, she did not need to say anything but a trigger made it easier and it was so fitting, "I Burn."

Sunset felt a wave of confusion and unease at the whispered words, Yang was already alight so what was she…

Yang's hair stood up like flaming spikes and red eyes became teal. Sunset bit back a scream as her grip was reversed, dislocating her arm completely before a blow smashed into her jaw.

"Super Saiyan," Sunset gasped, gritting her teeth as she lashed out at Yang's jugular with a clawed hand only for her ki claws to fail against the ki hardened skin. "That I didn't see coming."

Yang grinned viciously with good humour, "Well, it is a Dragonball style fight isn't it?"

Sunset had thought Yang hit hard before, and now? Sunset smashed into the ground, a foot slamming into her ribs and blows raining down on her face, her defenses crumbling and strength insufficient.

After what felt like hours but was closer to only a few minutes, Sunset deactivated the Kaio-Ken, slowly pulling herself to her feet. Yang sauntering over with a smug look on her face.

"Giving up, Sunset? Guess my new transformation has you outmatched!"

Sunset nodded with only minor reluctance, it was impressive seeing Yang combined her Aura, Semblance and Transformation so well. "Yeah. Even if I used Kaio-Ken times twenty, I'd still be unable to keep up." And thanks to Yang's transformation, her speed and power was now 50 times what it usually was.

"Guess experience means nothing when you can't keep up, right?"

Still…

Sunset smiled, and reached back into her mind for the trigger engraved in her soul from her achievement so long ago.

… It would be satisfying to wipe that smug look from Yang's face.

"True." Sunset admitted, "But only to an extent, as experience is never worthless. But, I'm not giving up yet. I have one more surprise. Yang, you've earned this. The right to see something I never thought I was worthy to use."

"What the heck are you talking..." Yang broke off as Sunset started to recite a naggingly familiar spell before a flash of bright light enveloped her. When the light faded, Sunset now had orange wings and a horn made of energy.

"My Alicorn form, the thing for which my baseline self plunged into evil to try to obtain. I achieved it after keeping Equestria together during a Dwarf Fortress fused loop."

Yang grinned, clapping briefly in honest appreciation, it had not just increased Sunset's magic but Ki and everything else as well. "Congrats. But, with all that, you're still only as strong as you were when you were using the Kaio-Ken times ten."

Sunset shrugged, settling into another stance feeling the familiar power sweep away the tiredness and her enhanced ki heal her battered form. "True. A ten times multiplier does seem to be the most common level the Alicorn form gives you. But, that's without the very technique you just mentioned. KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!"

Yang sighed, readying herself to fight again. "Of course, you do realize that I will still just get more powerful each time you hit me still?"

Sunset nodded before charging forward, eager to get payback. "Your point?"

Once more the tide turned with Yang on the defensive, the humanoid alicorn now exceeding her strength and speed. The fight having devolved from martial arts to a slugging contest of ki, brute force and speed. Thanks to the combination of Sunset's Alicorn form and the Kaio-Ken times ten, Sunset had effectively become twice as strong as Yang was.

As a blinding blue-white beam of light shot across the stadium, Yang yelled, her power and flaming hair spiking further, sparks of lighting dancing across her form. The attack smashing against her Aura to no avail.

"Surprise, Super Saiyan 2." Yang gloated, eyes hard and focused, not wavering from Sunset for an instant.

Sunset warily gauged the strength comparison and did not like what she had found, at these levels skill only mattered when you could keep up with your opponent and now, Yang had closed the gap again. "That is unexpected, But..."

Yang saw the smirk and felt the familiar shifting of ki, a feeling of dread and foolishness coming over her. There really was no reason why Sunset could not do that really was there?

"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWENTY!"

Power rolled off Sunset in waves, the magic, ki and more, almost a physical thing as it bore down on Yang. Taking in her opponent, Yang stated laughing, getting a look of confusion. Now that Sunset had increased her Kaio-Ken to times twenty, she once again had the advantage in power. But, Yang still had one trick up her sleeve. It was time to go all-out.

"Well, if that is how it is going to be, then so be it." Yang's power surged as she drew in her power, keeping it tightly contain to her body, Aura and Ki lacing and strengthening her body. "Then let's all go out with a Yang!"

Sunset blinked in incomprehension before it dawned on her what Yang was doing, gulped. "What in the...Oh, no. KAMEHAMEHA!"

The attack may as well have been water droplets for all the good it did. The heat started melting the stone, Sunset winced, it was like standing in front of a blast furnace. Before, Yang's hair was spiky and cover in flames, now it was liquid flames for flowed down her back.

The power was so titanic, even when tightly controlled and supressed, showing that Yang knew what she was doing.

A Super Saiyan 3, that was even more unexpected by Sunset.

Sunset barely had time to register the situation and react before Yang was upon her. There was no thought, no foresight, simply movement and instinct. Both fighters, pushing themselves above and beyond and their fight threatened to rip the reinforced stadium apart.

Yang growled as she failed again and again to get a clear hit on Sunset, she was hurting her but it was never a clear enough hit to do enough damage. More carefully now, Yang focused on how Sunset was moving. Ii was only a few short exchanges as why she was missing became evident, Sunset was reading her fighting style and moving before a blow was made. Despite the advantage being again in Yang's favor in terms of power, Sunset already had found a way around that. All that power meant nothing if she couldn't land a single attack.

Cursing to herself, Yang switched tactics, filling the air with burning blasts of energy. Sunset, expecting another flying punch, was hit directly. Recovering quickly, Sunset quickly adapted to the new tactics, but started taking more damage than before.

Yang could feel herself slowly succumbing to exhaustion as she launched another energy bolt which Sunset dodged. Her lungs were starting to burn and her body ache, after a few more minutes of increasingly poor blasts, Yang was forced to stop to catch her breath.

"Just as planned, Yang."

Yang glared half-heartedly at the grinning, bloody and tired Sunset, who was still in far better condition than she was. It was rather obvious what Sunset was going to say, something she had known was a risk from the get go.

"Super Saiyan 3 has a weakness. It's powerful enough to surpass me, but..."

Yang finished Sunset's sentence, her exhaustion bleeding though in to her voice"...It drains my energy quickly. Which was why you were dodging rather than trying to inflict damage, which would also simply empower me as well. " Sunset chuckled.

"You got me."

Yang laughed tiredly, forcing herself to stop shaking. "It was a gamble. I knew could not beat you at Super Saiyan 2, so it was either go to Super Saiyan 3 and beat you quickly, or lose. I would say 'Then let's go all-out one last time!' But I don't think that would be wise."

Yang let her transformation go, settling back into a fighting stance and eyeing the still transformed Sunset, who tilted her head to one side, "Why not?"

The words were neutral, making it hard to work out what she was thinking, Yang shrugged "I could hold SS3 for a lot longer, but you would outlast me. That is, if we stuck to only using these abilities, and not drawing on our other powers. In which case we could go on for hours at minimum and it would be up in the air.

And a final blast with all the ki and Aura we had at that level? We would be lucky to not level Vale, let alone the stadium."

Sunset glanced around the trashed arena, smiling in weary amusement, "Point, so what do you propose?"

Yang smirked, "Same as before, one blow to finish it. Using only unenhanced Ki."

Sunset's transformation faded as she nodded in agreement, "So the same thing and just less bang? Let's see what you have Yang!" With that, Sunset took to the air once more and charged up a powerful blast of ki.

At once Sunset hurled her final attack with a yell, the blow smashing into Yang's, each blast trying to overpower the other. Yang then put what power she had left into the attack, and cried out, "IT'S OVER!"

Yang's blast sent the combined power back at Sunset, who vanished as the blast of light consumed the area she was in moments before.

Yang sunk to her knees, utterly drained of any usable ki but grinning all the same, laughter bubbling up. Something that did not stop as someone tapped her on the shoulder.

She was tired, beaten and bloody, but Sunset still stood, a ball of ki in her hand was pointed directly at Yang's back. "I win."

"I yield, you win, you wanted me to do that didn't you?" Yang choked out, still laughing, taking Sunset's offered hand and letting her pull her to her feet, "Let me waste what power I had left and conserve your own. That was so much fun! I wish we had an uninhabited planet so we could have gone all out."

Sunset also started laughing, "You could have won easily If you had gone to Super Saiyan 3 right at the start, I'd been knocked out before I could power up. But, you were too cocky. Next time, be sure you have an advantage before going all-out, or at least keep enough energy when out go for the finishing move, just in case said move isn't enough."

"Yeah, yeah and I would have if it had been a serious fight. But why would I here? It's not either of us would have gained anything from that, nor would it have been any fun either."

Sunset pushed her sweat soaked hair out of her eyes, shaking her head in amusement as both of them walked towards the stadium doors, the arena utterly. "True, next time we should also likely have better defined rules, or as you said, a place where we can't break anything of value."

"Yeah, and Sunset?" She turned to Yang, whose mouth split into an eager vicious grin "Next time, you're toast."

As they walked off, the crowd, healed of the hearing damage caused by the other loopers' yells, started cheering. The thunderous applauses and cheers almost as loud as the fight itself.

-  
The loop was winding down, the various loopers finishing up the loop with a barbeque on an open fire.

In the ruins of the Emerald Forest, the innocent laughter of ancients rang out, smoke curling into the night's air as flickering orange flames cast a dancing light across their faces.

"And then, 'KAIO-KEN TIMES TWENTY!' and Yang's face just dropped." Ruby gestured wildly, doing a perfect imitation of Yang's expression, receiving gales of laughter. Even Yang was laughing, leaning against Blake's shoulder, soaking in the relaxed atmosphere.

Sunset smiled, spearing a sausage onto a skewer, savouring the charcoal tainted meat as juice bust from it. To her side, Saria was talking with Pyrrha about various plants and their genetics across the loops, it was a conversation she suspected Twilight would have been interested in honestly. The sheer amount of technical detail and discussion of loop variabilities would have been something she enjoyed.

"It was amusing from my end as well," She said with a laugh, focusing back on the conversation at hand. "To be fair, I suspect my reaction may have been similar when Yang went to level three."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at that, ripping into a leg of chicken, "I actually think Yang has you beaten there, Sunset. She at least worked out what was happening from the get go, you could tell from her expression, where as your reaction was 'What in the...Oh, no. KAMEHAMEHA!'"

Sunset snorted at the mocking mimicry of her voice, Weiss did have a point. She had really not expected Yang to be able to do that and had been slow on the uptake, and put like that, she did sound rather silly. From what she had heard from Ruby after the fight, Ruby had no idea Yang could go to Super Saiyan 3.

As she finished her conversation with Saria, Pyrrha looked over at the others who were still discussing the fights, her eyes landing on Sunset, after a second they both started laughing as the conversation drifted to the finals.

As the two chuckled. Sunset decided to speak first.

"You fought well, Pyrrha. That was a good match for the finals, i was really rather surprised seeing you walk out dressed like Venom Snake, but it was a lot of fun, quite different from my fight with Yang. It's too bad Penny didn't try to fight you. I was curious as to what she can do. But considering things, it's understandable. I hope she enjoys the wedding of Nyx and Leman."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement, "After your comments to Yang about going all out, I felt it was fitting and amusing. It had been awhile since I fought like that so I thought it would be good practice, I'm glad you decided to match me in style. As for the wedding, I still find it hard to believe that it's happening."

Sunset smirked, humor playing in her eyes, "I think you should have ditched the eye patch though, then I would not have got in that hit. And I agree, that's not even thinking about the logistics and the fight they got into, all in all, it is amazing it has got this far."

There were relatively few weddings between Loopers, even among those who had been dating each other for long time frames and from the same loop. There were many reasons, mostly revolving around the issues of long periods alone and variants straining relationships. Also due to how long it could take a looper to change, people clinging to mentalities so they could have some form of stability. It made 'true' marriage a rarity.

Sunset drained her mug before continuing, "though I wish them all the luck they need. May Yggdrasil be kind and allow their bonds to remain strong and to grow."

"Agreed.

Jaune watched his girlfriend as she talked to Sunset, his mind drifting back to Pyrrha's fight remembering how that battle against Sunset had gone.

Seeing her walk out on to the field with an eye patch, gloves and other things on top of her normal armor had been a shock. It had also been enlightening to hear their conversation, he had wondered for a long time how Pyrrha had come to accept and be at peace with whatever getting the Fall Maiden's power would do, before the Battle of Beacon happened.

It did make some sort of sense that looping in as Venom Snake, basically a copy of Big Boss, would let a person more easily accept the consequences of what could have happened.

Jaune sighed, smiling as an odd feeling swelled in his chest, he grabbed one of the burgers Qrow was passing around. The juice of the grilled pineapple and flooding his mouth along with the lamb mince flooding his mouth. 'After all,' He mused, 'She'd already experienced something similar to the potential loss of identity she might have suffered, the fear would have just been… less.'

Still, seeing Pyrrha adopt that same characteristic ruthlessness to attempt to defeat Sunset was scary. She normally acted like that in serious battles, not fun spars.

The fight had been a stark contrast to the other looper matches, being far more reminiscent of normal Remnant style fights. The fighting having started off with a barrage of bullets from both sides, weapons eventual breaking from the strain of combat. the fight evolving in to a martial arts contest, with Pyrrha only just managing to win by a knock out.

The fight had been even, and in the end, it came down to one final punch.

Pyrrha had latter acknowledged that she had only won as Sunset was still tired from her fight with Yang. Still, Sunset had been a good sport about it.

Jaune laughed at a bad joke Ozpin made, the elderly looper's eyes dancing with laughter as he reduced Winter to a blazing red wreck. It had been a good loop, he reflected, basking in the heat of the barbeque and companion ship.

Letting himself be draw in to a conversation as the night grew deeper and the loop slowly drew to a close.

 **58.5 diesel**

Blake awoke to a scream, her golden eyes peering through the darkness as she leapt from her bed. In the bunk above, Yang screamed and sobbed.

'Damn it, not again.' Blake climbed onto Yang's bunk, holding her writhing girlfriend as flames engulfed her body. The physical pain barely registered as pain shot through her heart. 'Damn that rodent.'

"Yang, wake up. It's just a dream, it can't hurt you." Blake held onto Yang and endured the flames until she finally stirred. Lilac eyes meeting gold and Blake almost slumped in relief.

"Sorry, Blake." Yang whispered, her voice hoarse as she took in the burns that covered Blake before looking away in guilt, "I lost control, the damn rat was pulling up some stuff from the nightmare loops we had recently. But that's not really and an excuse is it? I hurt you because I can't beat the damn thing."

Blake shook off the apology, her body healing the light burns as they spoke. "The burns I could not give a damn about. I get worse when we spar."

Yang pulled herself up to lean against her, Blake wrapping her arms around the shaking Huntress. "Do you want to talk about it?" Blake whispered as she felt Yang slowly stop shaking, an ache building once more in her heart.

Her partner was hurting, had been hurting for so long, and she could do nothing to help. Yang spurring every offer of help, again and again, that foul twisted shard, imprint or whatever the hell it was, forcing Yang to turn inwards out of fear.

If only they would have a Sailor Moon, Equestria, or asimilar loop, then at least it would be possible to find out if it was really a curse. Maybe even fix whatever recurring thought pattern, curse or break was responsible. Purification and deep healing were things no one in Remnant had any real ability at.

"Not really, it doesn't matter anyway, I know it was all lies and falsely twisted truths. I'm fine, Nightmare loops just make it worse for a while."

Blake clenched her fists involuntarily as anger bubbled up, her ears flattening as she almost hissed in response. "Doesn't matter? Of course, it matters Yang, why wouldn't it matter? It's lucky if you can have a week of uninterrupted sleep, let alone a loop." Blake snapped, regretting her outburst immediately as Yang tensed in her arms.

The bitter taste of guilt danced on the back of her tongue as Yang closed her beautiful eyes, face closing off at her words. It kept happening, why did she constantly make things worse? Why wouldn't Yang talk to her, let her help?

"Blake, drop it, please." Yang's pained voice hurt far more than a blade, the underlying anger just made it worse. "You can't help and I need to face it myself. There are also things it drags up that I don't want to talk about. And before you ask, _no one_ is getting into my head to help kill it. We can't risk it."

Blake stared at Yang's retreating back as she jumped down and headed to the bathroom to wash off, "I need to have a shower, I will talk to you in the morning."

As the door clicked shut Blake screamed in frustration and hatred, slamming her fist into the wall. Her eyes were hot though tears refused to come.

 _Why can't I help, why do things keep going wrong when I try? Why can't I just hold my temper?_

She needed somewhere she could think, the world blurred and was replaced by her Pocket, the tension in her muscles fading. Here no one could find her and she would be able to think in peace.

 _I want to kill that damn rat, more than anything in a very long time._

Searing water cascaded over Yang's skin as she just let the water wash over her, tears going unseen as she stared blankly at the shower walls.

 _My head hurts_.

Memories of horrors past filled her mind alongside the insidious words of the rat. It was too loud; she could barely think as nightmares rang in her mind. Yang shuddered as she forced her breathing to level out, to try and force down the images and banish the voice.

 _"Does not matter? Of course, it matters Yang, why wouldn't it matter? It's lucky if you can have a week of uninterrupted sleep, let alone a loop."_

Yang hissed as her head throbbed, Blake's words repeated ad nauseum in her mind. She had hurt her again, because of that foul rodent and her inability to deal with it.

"I'm sorry Blake."

Everyone had things they did not like to talk about or acknowledge out loud even if they do so inside. Yang knew her shames, fears and desires, knew she could talk without repercussion. But she could not say the words, just like all the other humans in the multiverse, Awake or not, no one could just always talk about everything.

She did not want to reveal those to the world. Some things, well, they were best left hidden. Secrets… well not being able to keep something to yourself could be just as bad as never speaking or confiding in people. It was a fundamental part of humanity.

And she could deal with these nightmares and fears herself, at least, if it was not for that damn rat.

Finally, Yang turned off the tap and stepped out of the shower. It was only one in the morning, Ruby and Weiss were investigating something to do with a meteorite and no one else was awake.

Once more she had hurt her lover.

She needed to hit something, work off her stress and then come up with a plan of action to fix things.

Yang strode through Beacon's halls, fully armed, as she headed towards the nearby forest. Grimm were such good punching bags.

Blake rested her head against the cool roof tiles, letting her gaze linger on the rainbow star encrusted darkness. The inside of her pocket was quite, only the sounds of water and plants filling the old, crumbling city.

She really needed to dedicate some time to fixing the place up, most of her time was spent in her library, one of the archives or her workshop so things fell to the wayside. At least her crystal stars still worked.

Wind blew over her skin carrying with it a familiar tinge of power and scents. It had been a long time since she had been back to Konoha, far too long.

 _I want to talk to my brother again_. _And maybe, he would have some way of, some advice for, helping Yang._

As the thought drifted through her mind, Blake flinched. Old doubts and fears she had long since pushed away or ignored rising up again. Stirred by her recent attempts to deal with her own issues so she might be able to help the others.

The mocking words and laughter of unfamiliar loopers once more intruding on her mind. Blake screwed her eyes shut, trying to blot out the insistent voices "Shut up, shut up, shut UP!"

She was not deluding herself, she was not that stupid, Sasuke was her brother if a distant one.

He had never acted differently and had reciprocated her own efforts. Why would the doubt and whisper not go away? Always lingering in the back of her mind, along with so many other fears that were just as pointless.

 _My problems are why I can't help Yang. If it was not for those I could help her, I know how people's minds work, how to destroy mental entities or seal them. I could help with the mew. M… Sasuke and the others showed me._

It was Yang that was important for now, so why did these old doubts have to come up? She was well aware that even if she faced all her fear and nightmares, Yang would still never let her help with the mew.

Preferring to face the horror alone than risk anyone else.

 _I can't even truly disagree as it makes sense. I can't help._

Unable to remain still anymore, Blake started running through the crumbling remains of the city Sakura had given her so long ago. She blended into the shadows as she raced across the ancient roofs, tumbling through the air as she leapt from one to another.

As she reached the city limits, Blake dissolved into darkness, vanishing from one building before appearing in the branches of a towering tree and raced into the darkened forest.

 _What do I do? It feels like the world is crumbling under my feet and that I'm falling._

Tears flowed down her face from red and black eyes, the world moving in slow motion as she plummeted through the air. Blake twisted in the air, letting Gamble Shroud wrap around a decayed outpost as she flew through the air.

 _Yang, Cinder, CFVY. Neo and Roman, Salem and those Damnable Maidens… Nightmare loop after Nightmare loop. I don't know how to fix any of it, to save anyone._

Black blades fell like rain in the night as Blake flipped, each blade of the deadly rain striking home in the monster-infested forest.

 _I don't even know if my brother is my brother, or just humouring me!_

 _"You, a Uchiha? Don't be stupid, just having those eyes does not make you one. All it means is that you looped in as one." Blake tensed as the other looper looked at her in disdain, "Really, using those ill-gotten, cheating eyes all the time. Pathetic, I wonder what the real Uchiha think of you?"_

 _"I'm not insane or delusional!" Blake snapped glaring at the arrogant looper, one who she could not even think of the universe they were from. "And I don't see why you even care, you were the one who hounded me about an idle comment, it's not something I even brought up. So how am I even boasting about anything?"_

 _"You think you are Sasuke Uchiha's sister. How is that not delusional? Look, do you know how many people have looped in as his sibling or have obtained those eyes?" The other person looked at her pityingly, at the moment all Blake wanted to do was punch them, to block out the words. "A lot, and that does not make someone family to him. You need to realize that, and if Sasuke plays along… well, that's likely his form of pity or amusement. It's better for you to accept this and move on, you will have to confront that eventually."_

The voices would not stop, melding together with old nightmares and insults. She could not think, it was too loud, why would it not stop?

Blake screamed as her Mangekyō Sharingan glowed in the darkness, an armour clad skeleton rising around her, wrapped in black flames that scoured the land around her.

 _Sasuke had always treated her like a sister, Itachi had even acknowledged her as family, even if ihe treated her more as a distant cousin rather than a sister._

A thousand and more shadows filled the forests around her fortress, arcologies and monuments, darting through the shadows like wraiths.

Amidst the scorched wasteland, Blake took in her pocket, in the distance, her Fortress rose up into the sky. A gargantuan Ash tree, because it amused her, that lay in the centre of her pocket and pierced the clouds and dwarfed Olympus Mons.

And even though she could not see it from this far away, Blake knew that at the entrance to the fortress, within the massive city surrounding it, was an archway, decorated with symbols.

Her team symbols done in stone and metal, with her own at the top of the diamond shape; a small stylised fan of red and white in the same border and just below as her own symbol.

 _I'm not delusional, I do have family outside of Remnant._

The symbol of the Uchiha displayed proudly on the seat of her power alongside her family's iconography.

 _Family that could help me, help Yang if I just asked._

Blake turned away, shaking uncontrollably as her head pounded. Thoughts ran in maddening circles and iron bands clamped around her brain.

Sinking onto the ground Blake felt her vision start to waver as a migraine built.

"Damn it," the world spun as she fell upon her bed within the immense fortress, the darkness doing nothing to soothe the building pain or agonising thoughts.

 _Why am I so weak? I need to face this, I need to work it all out, or I can't help anyone._

 _I don't know what is truth and what is lies, Yggdrasil, someone help me, please."_

"Team 5 will be composed of…" Blake awoke with a blink as Iruka-sensei's voice started listing various teams. As Iruka read off the teams, Blake subtly looked around the room as her memories settled.

The familiar setting making her relax almost instinctively, the genin academy in Konoha. She was a faunus' clan member and bookworm who was trying to get away from the stain of her treasonous relatives.

Terrorists known as the 'White Fang', typical.

Three pings echoed throughout the world, as she went to reply Blake stopped, hesitating before she let her own go. Her throat felt dry, the memory of her recent nightmares and fears fresh in her mind.

Blake did not let anything show on her face as she lounged in her seat, mind whirling in circles. Acutely aware of Sasuke's gaze boring into the back of her head. She was not ready, the memories and nightmares were too fresh and she did not think she would be able to act normally.

 _By the lost branch, damn it Yggdrasil why now of all times?_

It had been just over twenty loops since her fears and neuroticism had given her a migraine, she did not need this.

Blake responded a few moments after everyone else, hopefully, it would not be enough to garner suspicion that something was wrong. She was not holding her breath.

"Team 7 will be made up of Sasuke Uchiha, Blake Belladonna and Sakura Haruno, your Sensei will be Naruto Uzumaki.

Blake blinked and raised an eyebrow, this would be interesting and stressful.

"So, want to tell me why you are trying to avoid me, Blake?" Sasuke asked archly, walking over to sit next to her as the final team left with their sensei. "I did sense you Awaken, very few others instinctively shift to having a Uchiha body and chakra so it was obvious, even if your name had not been a giveaway. I also felt your panic."

Blake smiled tiredly at the older looper, the one she had called brother for so long. "I'm just tired, I have had a very hard time recently."

Sceptical black eyes met golden, Sasuke leaning back into his chair, "That still doesn't answer my question, imouto. I can't recall you ever acting like this when you come here, no matt…"

"Well maybe," Blake snapped, feeling her frayed temper boil over as she jumped to her feet, "I'm sick of you and everyone else treating me like a mentally disable child and just humouring me and my _delusions_."

Blake stopped abruptly as she bit off what she was going to say next, shaking as her fingernails dug into her palms. She could not do this, not now.

"Sorry, for snapping. I will see you later."

Sasuke watched with silent concern as Blake vanished, his little sister never acted like this, at least, not without good reason. And he was at a loss as to why, this was not good, at all.

"Sakura-chan," said pink haired girl looked up from her biochemistry set, emerald eyes meeting black, "I don't suppose you have any idea of what just happened and why?"

She sighed, placing a phial of enzyme on ice before picking up a 1ml pipette. "I have an idea, but it's very much based on second-hand information and guesswork." After a moment Sakura put her toys down, pocketing the various pieces of equipment.

There were more important things to do and the experiment would keep for later.

"Tell me," Sakura smiled at the flat demand as Naruto walked in, looking around in confusion.

"Where's Blake. I thought she was Awake?"

"She is but she ran off after yelling at me and I don't know why. Sakura said she has some idea, though."

Pushing her hair out of the way, Sakura nodded eyes sparking in concern, she _liked Blake_. Far too many people across Yggdrasil still avoided her, but Blake was one of her far too few friends. "It's a guess, but I do have an idea, and you're not going to like it."

The smell of sakura blossoms on the wind was relaxing, Blake reflected as she floated in the hot spring. The only sound was the distant chatter of guests and the tinkle of water flowing over the rocks.

It would feel better if she did not feel so much like a heel.

Overhead the sky was painted a dazzling array of colours as the sun set, a few dark clouds just building on the horizon that held the promise of rain. She loved the Fire Nation's climate, flora and fauna, it felt like home, in a way only Vale beat and Menagerie was just starting to promise.

It was just one more reason she felt like shit.

 _How is this helping me, or Yang? All I'm doing is running away due to pointless fears. That's all I ever do, isn't it? Run away, I did in Baseline and I still do it in the loops._

She wanted to go and talk to Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, get this whole mess sorted out, one way or the other and put her mind at ease. Then she could ask for help, maybe she could trade something…

"You should know better than that Blake, you don't need to trade anything for help. Well, unless it's for some ridiculous project like building a planet-sized scale replica of Hogwarts."

The familiar voice coming unexpectedly from the other side of the hot spring made Blake yelp.

A naked and very female Sasuke smirked, raising a bowl of sake in greeting, the humour faded quickly as a serious expression took its place. Blake swallowed as her brother pinned her with a look of extreme displeasure.

A glimpse of his true titanic power beared down upon her for a moment and Blake felt her muscles refuse to respond. There was no killing intent in his power but it filled with disapproval and an unyielding will.

The pressure dwarfed anything Ruby could do and yet more lay beneath those black eyes.

She had never felt so small, it was like she was a child that had disappointed a respected sibling.

 _What? No, damn it, Blake, you know better. I need to stop this…_

"So, Blake why have you been running away from us all this loop? What reason do you have for thinking we, or at least I, am treating you lie 'a mentally disabled child and just humouring your delusions?'"

His eyes flashed with anger and _false_ hurt, Blake repressed a wince as conflicting thoughts and emotions made her head throb. She was getting worse over time, she needed help and Weiss had her hands full with everyone else.

"Blake?"

She felt warm hands place themselves on her forehead, a cool wind blowing through her body. The tension and pain subsiding fully for the first time in weeks. Sasuke removed his hands as the green glow receded and Blake opened her eyes once more. Naked concern was easily visible on the elder looper's face, "Sis, what's going on? You have signs of migraines and long term stress, neither of which your unAwake self had."

After a few moments of hesitation, Blake slumped, she was not getting way from this and did not know if she really wanted to. She wanted to talk with him and needed help, but was too scared.

 _I'm a coward, aren't I?_

"Things have gone wrong on Remnant, and with everything that has happened, old fears and the like have been catching up to me."

Blake closed her eyes, her mind recalling the numerous issues that had plagued the loopers. Things felt like they were falling apart and she had no idea what to do.

Sasuke did not speak, but she could feel him drifting a short distance away as he waited. Finally, Blake started speaking as the wind blew past carrying the scent of rain.

"Yang has been beset by nightmares for millennia, I have lost track of how long. We had a loop where all Grimm were Pokémon and able to speak the words that would cause the most pain. Yang went out with a Pokeball to try to catch the Mew, she thought it would be _amusing_. It messed her up badly, Yang even tried to break off our relationship afterwards.

It's dead but it still haunts her, ripping her mind when she is asleep. We don't know if it is an echo, psychic imprint, just a recurring nightmare or what. But Yang refuses to let us into her mind to try and find out."

"That's probably wise," Blake let the voice wash over her, feeling a dagger twist in her heart, "It is likely just a recurring nightmare in the mew's image. But depending on what powers Yang has and uses most regularly, it could be more insidious. But it would have to be entwined with and born from her own mind and powers, or it would never have remained over so many loops."

"Then there is Cinder…" Once she started, Blake could not stop talking. Worries over Cinder's broken mind, the CFVY machines slow breakdown, Roman's increasing feeling of uselessness and isolation, Neo's possible Sakura syndrome and sadism.

How everyone has been so wrapped up in their own issues and problems that Weiss has been left isolated in Atlas, with Ironwood faking not being Awake. The constant Nightmare loops and the increasingly insane and violent Cinders. Her own fears over baseline and leaving everyone behind. Her constant failures to help everyone and rising nightmares with Weiss to swamped with problems to ask for help from.

"And finally," Blake muttered as sleep pulled at her mind, the cool rain that had just started to fall threatening to lull her to sleep as thunder rumbled overhead. She just wanted this to be over, to find out once and for all what was real and what was not. "One personal nightmare and fear has been haunting me for a long time. It's stupid and I can ignore it most of the time, but with everything that has been going on my mind bringing it up…"

Blake faltered, she did not know where to start. How should she explain the mocking whispers and insults, of the growing doubt that she had been an idiot for so long?

She opened her eyes for the first time since she started to speak, for this she _had to look at him_ , it would not be right to just keep her eyes shut. Still, the words were so difficult to just speak, "… Since my first loop here, my first fused loop, in have considered you to be my brother…" Blake faltered, watching as a resigned expression crossed Sasuke's face.

 _No, she had not been mistaken for all this time, she could not have been…_

Lightning flashed across the darkened sky as the rain started to fall in sheets. Blake shivered as the words died in her throat and the sharp water stung her skin.

"… and now you're wondering if you were mistaken and if you were wrong to let your loop memories affect you so." Sasuke finished her thoughts, cupping the water with one hand and letting it fall amidst the rain. "People, other loopers, call you a fool for thinking it. Saying that simply having the Sharingan and having looped in as my sister is meaningless, as everyone does at some point. It nags, whispering in the back of your mind, 'is he just humouring me?'"

"Yes," Blake whispered, letting head rest on the slippy rocks, she was so tired and just wanted this to be over with.

Sasuke gave her a look of annoyance before sighing, "Sakura thought that might be the case, your words in the academy along with things she had heard other loopers say in the past. Not sure how I missed hearing those rumours, but I probably didn't look, Sakura may be better, but she is still obsessed with knowing as much as she can reasonably know."

Blake felt her head start to pound and her heartache, she had been so stupid. At least when this was sorted out she still might be able to get some help for Yang and Cinder. Maybe so advice for dealing with CFVY dying and some of the other problems like…

"They are right to some extent," Sasuke said abruptly, "It takes far more to simply loop in once as a relative for me to consider someone family. And you are."

 _What..._

Blake went to speak, to ask for some clarity, silently glad that the rain hid her tears, but Sasuke kept speaking.

"Primarily, it is how they act and how well I know them. I do not like being used and many loopers have tried to make use of my position as one of the first loopers of the Elemental Nations. I hate that, though it is really only a problem for those loopers who know about the wider multiverse and have some experience but yet to find confidence in themselves.

For young loopers or the older ones, well it is nowhere near the same type of problem but that's not the issue here. Many people have the Sharingan but don't use it as it puts too much stress on their body outside of this loop. They only take the eyes instead of the whole body due to the mental effects, but those that do take it all, and people who almost always loop in as Uchiha like you did, I consider to be Uchiha no matter my personal opinion of them."

Blake felt her mind drift back to the Uchiha symbol emblazoned on her fortress and so many of her other belongings, the pain in her heart easing slightly.

 _So, maybe he sees me as a distant cousin? It would explain him calling me sister, as brother or sister can be used as a term of endearment and respect in Japanese._

Sasuke's eyes twitched as 'she' almost growled the next line, Blake almost snorting in laughter at the words, "Unfortunately, some of those people are complete arseholes. I take great delight in siccing Sakura on them when they act up, something she finds hilarious."

His lips quirked into a brief smile, "Very few people actually embrace the rolls they loop into and keep them, it is something that passes out of mind quickly. Many people don't actually take on the Sharingan either. You are my sister Blake, as we both consider each other to be siblings, same as Itachi, that is all that matters. It unfortunate that your family that I'm not very close to, but that's the loops, we don't always get what we want.

I do know how to talk to people even if I am not the most social person, but I would have talked to you if there was a problem. And I case you have forgotten, I was the one to greet you as sister the next time we met, precisely as I knew you had mixed feelings."

Blake froze as Sasuke's words registered, the older looper smiling smugly, "Silly, Ichibi no Neko. Now, about that Mew imprint; there are a few safe ways you can try that might identify what type of phenomena it is. I will take you through them later, it will fit well into the training I had been planning for the next time we meet up. It also might help Cinder but I won't swear to it.

Right now, dinner time, though."

Blake awoke in her parent's house, seven years before she would start at Vale, and smiled. She raised a hand to her face, watching as the flesh twisted and warped to reveal spinning red and black eyes.

A single black flame igniting on her palm as the eyes faded. Blake flopped onto her bed and started laughing when the strain got too much the flame died.

It would take a very long time to learn to use Amaterasu without the Mangekyō Sharingan active, but it was a start.

As her laughter died down, Blake rose from her bed, feeling lighter than she had for many loops. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were all very good at helping people work through problems, nothing was solved yet but it no longer felt so impossible.

 _I need to talk to the others, apologise for pushing Yang and everything else. But for now, I will enjoy getting to know my parents._

 **58.6 Masterweaver**

"...Yang?"

"I think it's cute, before you say anything else."

"Well obviously. But, aside from the usual Yggdrassil just screwing with us reasons-"

"Do I know why Blake is tiny and riding Zwei, who is a cat, like a warhorse?"

"You are sort of the pun and visual gag expert here, sis."

"Well, I'm sorry to say I have nary a clue this time round."

 **58.7 KitsuneShin0bi**

"So you know how my Semblance keeps changing loop to loop?" Jaune asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Yeah...?"

The swordsman smirked. "I know you'll love this one."

The Unawake Cinder moaned in pain as she lay broken on the ground. When that fool Torchwick came back to her babbling about the blond one's Semblance, she had laughed him off as insane. The sinister schemer really regretted that now.

But honestly, who could imagine the ability to summon an army of corgis to be so _goddamn terrifying?_

Ruby laughed as she sped through the yipping mass of Zweis, stopping occasionally to pick one up and cuddle it.

"You're all such good boys! Yes you are!"

 **58.8 Masterweaver**

"...and that's..." Pyrrha sighed, sitting down on the bed. "That's what happened."

Jaune nodded as he sat down beside her. "I... can see why she'd be worried. But honestly? I think Nora might be overreacting just a little bit."

"I... find I have to agree. Ren's detachment from baseline is unnerving, certainly something I wouldn't be able to do myself if I hadn't... died." Pyrrha took a breath. "But, on the other hand, I can see how it would be a reasonable reaction, and... aside from the Raven incident, he's only ever gone into normal looping weirdness."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with him about that," Jaune grumbled. "Even if it was perfectly reasonable revenge at the time, there are _standards_."

Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow.

"...Leaving a woman naked on a porch without her permission has to violate _some_ form of morality!"

"Oh, I agree, but that's... really not the issue here." Pyrrha sighed. "The issue isn't even Ren, really-not at the moment, although I can't deny I can understand Nora's position. It's... it's how Nora is taking it."

Jaune hummed. "She's never really been one to stop when she starts, has she?"

"I could have told her then and there that she was overreacting, but... I didn't. I comforted her instead. Because, yes, she wasn't in the place where she would listen to reason." Pyrrha clasped her hands together. "This thing, this difference between the two of them, I don't think she's ever really had to deal with it before. She could handle a lot of other differences, yes, but..."

"There's a world of difference between simply being an extrovert and an introvert versus being deeply caring about all versions of the people you care about and being able to distance yourself enough to only deeply care about some of the versions of the people you care about." Jaune paused. "Or... something."

"I get what you meant."

"Yeah." Jaune rolled his shoulders. "So... what are we going to do about it?"

"That's just it. I don't think we can do anything."

"What?"

Pyrrha let herself fall on the bed. "This thing is between Ren and Nora. Nora especially, obviously, but if they are to understand each other's positions, they'll have to work at it themselves. All we can do is support and comfort them."

Jaune frowned. "I don't like the idea of standing by while my family is suffering."

"I don't either. But I don't think this is something we can mediate-not without taking sides, and we shouldn't do that, not this time."

"...Damn it all." Jaune let himself fall beside her. "I thought the wisdom of ages would at least give us the ability to solve thorny moral issues."

"I don't think wisdom works that way. It just lets you see the thorns."

"...that's actually pretty poetic."

"I try."

 **58.9 diesel**

"I," Ruby groused as she ran, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and ankle as well as the blood leaking from a myriad of lacerations. "Hate null loops, I really truly do."

The forest blurred as RWBY ran, the bone chilling howl of their pursuer echoing through the forest. The massive Grimm's footsteps thundering ever closer as a putrid stench of rotten flesh and decay filled the air around them with death.

Grimm were nastier than baseline this loop, sort of a given as it was a variant null loop, but it bore saying none the less. At least they had interesting times to live in.

Yang laughed, showing no sign of pain from her missing arm and Dust cauterized stump, "I think that goes without saying Ruby, but I think Yggdrasil is letting us off easily this loop."

Up in front, a blood stained Weiss scoffed, eyes focused on the maintains ahead, if they were lucky then they might be able to lose it there, or go to Eiken either or. "Yang, in case you have not been paying attention, we are being pursued by a massive Grimm capable of turning the living and dead into Grimm hybrids under its command. You know as well as I do that that being turned into a Grimm is mind wrenchingly horrific. We are also being chased the possessed bodies of our entire year on top of hundreds of others."

Yang shrugged, "Well yeah, but that had happened before we Woke up and we have a chance to escape. We know a division of hunters is coming and we crippled Spot, at least temporarily, by blowing its leg off, and if worse comes to worse we can crash the loop. We normally don't even have that option if things go bad, so yeah this loop is not that bad."

"And risk a punishment loop?"

"Probably better than the alternative."

Ruby bit back a sarcastic comment to the byplay as she kept running, she did not enjoy waking up in front to a pissed off Cerberus Grimm in a null loop. Nor did she like it when people discussed killing her or the possibly of a punishment loop.

The fact she understood the reasoning and agreed, as well as the fact both were both were better outcomes than some of the loops, was beside the point.

Damn Nightmare loops, getting eaten alive sucked at the best of times.

Still, this loop was not over yet, so with some luck, they could get out of this alive and have an interesting story. Ruby really wanted to play with this loops weapons and the Grimm would be fun to hunt with proper preparation.

As she leapt off a ridge and landed, Ruby felt her ankle give way, sending her tumbling to the ground. White hot pain flashing through her head and the world spun as she struck the ground.

"Ruby!"

"Well, this is going to suck." Ruby struggled to rise as her vision started to fade in and out, barely glimpsing Blake as she raced over, quickly followed by Yang and Weiss.

The former grabbing her and starting to run, Yang taking one arm while Blake took the other. The faunus smirked with a hint of dark humour. "Have a nice trip? It was a bit spotty there, it looked like you almost had a Grimm ending."

Yang laughed as Ruby groaned, hearing the monster get closer, they had lost the lead, damn it. Ruby hated overly large breasts, E cups sucked big time. "You have been hanging out with Yang too much Blake."

"It's getting closer; it must have regenerated." Ruby's voice lost its levity, her eyes narrowed as she calculated its distance and speed, the cries of the Grimm posed corpses also rising in volume. "ETA 5 minutes, Aura Burn to the ridge."

Ruby tried to think, her head still pounding as her vision faded in and out, she really needed medical help. Head blows could have really bad consequences if not treated and her Aura was pretty much gone.

Overcharging their speed with Aura would burn through it quickly, but get them to a better tactical position. Then what? Blake and Weiss were in the best condition; Yang could still take a beating but unarmed combat was a bad idea in this case.

The world seemed to spin, Ruby felt her words start to slur as her vision faded. Even with what Aura she had recovered being used to accelerate her healing, as far as Ruby could tell, her condition was deteriorating. They needed help soon or it would be off to Eiken even if they won.

Weiss glanced back at her partner when she started to slur and cursed, this loop was one disaster after the next. Really, was it to much to ask for a null loop to not degenerate into avalanche of problems for once? Well at least problems not already set up before they Wake up.

… And now the Cerberus was speeding up, great.

"I'm Reliving Ruby of command, get her behind that Rock. Ruby, if you can aim at a joint. Yang, corpses, burn. Volcano formation…" Weiss was cut off by a bullet ripping through her arm.

The titanic, elder trees snapped like twigs as a vast paw tore them asunder. Ruby felt her fading vision focus on the monstrous form that emerged from the darkness.

A slathering, canine-like beast of bone and black. Three distorted heads reminiscent of a Beowolf glared at them with dead eyes, old blood and flesh clinging to its bone spurs and knife like fangs. As it walked drops of tar rained down from holes in its otherwise all covering bone armour, the evaporating liquid shrouding its form in mist.

It was rather easy to see where the name 'Spot' came from in this loop.

In Ruby's opinion, what was worse was what followed beneath its feet; the horde of possessed corpses that still had weapons, some intellect and Aura in the cases of the few living ones. One of the possessed must have messed with sound to let the damn thing sneak up on them.

The Beast lunged, Weiss, drained of aura and hurt was not able to respond in time. The Grimm's maw closing around her with a wet squelch. As her legs fell to the ground cancerous black veins began to swell along them and from within the Grimm, Weiss screamed. The sounds drilling into Ruby's mind, "End the loop! Damn it, now!"

Ruby winced as she tried to adjust her oversized breasts, she could barely move with these things.

Weiss groaned as she lay down on the grass, relishing the brief moment of peace before everything went to hell again. "Ruby, I cannot decide what I hate most, Nightmare loops or this. At least in the former we can do something, even if it rarely ends well."

"Where as in this loop we can't do anything to escape the plot." Ruby finished, it had only been three days yet she already wanted it to end. It was not _just_ the boredom, innuendo and sexual events that made Eiken horrible. It was that they could do nothing, in this loop there was no such thing as agency as chance, fate and probability bent over backwards to make everyone follow the plot.

It was a total lack of control, the events and background characters almost tailor made each loop to invoke a feeling of helplessness. To play on all loopers hidden fears of being mere puppets that danced on stings for an eternity to a scrip they could not avoid or change.

The universal fear of all loopers feared, something that haunted their nightmares at their lowest and most isolated.

Eiken was the embodiment of the most commonly recorded nightmare, across all the loopers of multiverse.

It almost made Nightmare loops preferable, but then again, Ruby reflected, Eiken was the original Nightmare loop.

"I want to go home."

Weiss could not help but agree.

 **58.10 Masterweaver**

"Blake, oh love of my life, oh light of my night, oh wonderous woman of wisdom and-"

"What do you need help with?"

"I'm trying to set up a pun."

"...wow." Blake shut her book. "You're asking for _help_ with a _pun_. This has to be big."

"More like, fundamental." The blonde swung down from her bed and sat beside her. "See, I'm Yang, right?"

"Yes."

"And one of the big concepts of taoist philosophy is Yin and Yang."

"...You're trying to figure out your Yin." Blake rolled her eyes. "Alright, so... I've often compared you to the sun..."

"Really? In what way?"

"Oh, you know, you brighten my day, you provide a guiding light, you're very warm, sometimes you're way too hot-"

"I'll try to tone down the sexiness, babe, but I can't do that easy."

"Also you're a little hot-tempered and can be a bit of a flare-head."

"Hey! Heeeeey." Yang's mock offense melted into chuckles. "Alright, that was actually pretty good."

"So, obviously, the Yin would have to be the moon, somehow," Blake finished. "Assuming we went with the sun metaphor."

"What kind of moon are we talking about? Like, Hub universe Earth's moon, or the moon of Remnant, or a generic moon around a planet-?"

"The creators of the Yin and Yang philosophy weren't astronomers... I think." Blake paused. "Or if they were, they weren't scientific astronomers. Yin and Yang are religious mystical forces in taoist philosophy, so we can ditch the scientific interpretation of moon for the metaphorical one."

"Still leaves me with the question of Earth's whole moon or Remnant's shattered one."

"Well, true. But for the moment, focus on the commonalities. It's a light in the darkness that changes appearance, it has... obvious damage, craters versus shards, it's silver, it's usually associated with mystery."

"Not necessarily hostile, but not necessarily friendly." Yang tapped her cheek. "A guide to lovers in the dark, but also the whole werewolf and cursed creature angle. A gamble-a risk, stay at home and be safe, or risk the night and explore."

"But a risk worth taking?" Blake asked, only the slightest waiver in her face.

Yang gave her a long look.

"...Always."

And the sun and moon danced.

 **58.11**

"Ruby."

"Yes Weiss?"

"Why are all the Grimm ice cream?"

"I don't know."

 **58.12 Masterweaver**

The hotel room was... unusually, and uncomfortably, quiet.

Ren glanced up from Stormflower, looking at Nora for a moment or two. It was obvious she was Awake-not that she wouldn't have bouts of silence when she wasn't, but...

Eventually, he glanced back at his weapons.

"...So. New expansion."

"Yep." Nora's response was flat, and without emotion.

"I... well. Now we know."

"Now _you_ know."

Ren winced. "Nora, I-"

"Ren? Just... give me a moment." She held up a hand. "I'm still processing this."

He nodded, not daring to look up.

The uncomfortable silence returned for a moment or two.

"...Okay." Nora took a breath, and slowly let it out. "I need to say something, and it can't be... rambly. Which is going to be an issue for me. But I need you to listen to the not-rambly parts, okay?"

"I can do that."

"Alright. Alright..."

She fiddled with Magnihild for a moment or two.

"...I _don't_ have a past. Let's start with that. Yggdrassil is damaged, so for the longest time I lived in the now-I had parents, _we_ had parents, right up until the universe remembered we didn't, and I thought... I thought that hard facts, hard events, history, that would help. That's why I was so happy to accept Pyrrha and Jaune as my new mom and dad-or, well, kind of the ones we had, or... you get what I'm saying, right?"

"Yes."

"So, of course, with all those expansions, a lot of the time we would get new _now_ , new parts of the future, which was great! And sometimes, other things would firm up. Winter's personality, Cinder's... well. Salem and all that." Nora bit her lip. "Of course, I thought, hey, that's parts of the past that sort of affects the now, not something so far back like my birth parents, or our origin-really, Ren, you were my past, basically my world for... so very long. Not that I didn't appreciate everyone else, but... it's like, all my friendships got stronger, and mine with yours started off the strongest, so it remained the strongest. I think."

Ren managed a small smile. "I appreciate you saying that."

"Yeah, well... see, after Pyrrha... you know... that was... there was a lot of emotion, and the expansions stopped, but we didn't stop moving forward. We got new loopers, Pyrrha and Jaune got married, and... things happened, a lot of things. Not associated with Remnant, just ordinary looping shenanigans. And then all of the sudden Blake had parents." She managed a chuckle. "Blake had parents. _Blake_. You remember how she was so worried she offended us with her happiness?"

"I do recall. It took her a while to grow out of it."

"And then Weiss got Whitley, which... yeah, he turned out to be a douche, but for a while there _we didn't know_. And we saw that mark, and we didn't know, but it was something! I could have had a past! I could actually have figured out where I came from, where _we_ came from, and I guess..." She sighed. "Your unawake self, he always... you always... pain. Pain, and I comforted and... I invested a lot in that maybe and might-have-been."

"...Nora-"

"As a looper I know you've seen worse. So, I guess... even if you've felt that pain, it wasn't as intense. Or something. I should have realized that, and I'm sorry, but... You have a past, now. You have something you can... hook onto, look back on, say 'My mom was a gardener,' 'My dad was a Huntsman," stuff like that. I _don't_ have that-" She turned to him. "I don't. And... yeah. I'm jealous, I guess I can say that."

"...You want what I had?"

"I want _something_ , Ren! I mean, street urchin? Weird clothes?! What even am I?!" She took a breath, and let it out slowly. "The thing is, I... I've been so used to thinking of us as a unit. That your past was my past. Even when I realized it might not have been, I... I still cared about it. That you didn't feel for the hints... I don't know. I see that you try to keep balanced, that you try to keep yourself calm and polite. I know you can feel. Why can't you feel about this?"

Ren looked up at her. At the desperate confusion on her face.

"...It's... not that I don't care, obviously. But..." He held out his hands. "Now I have names. Li and An Ren. Now I have faces-and I remember their corpses, I remember them dying in front of me, and... if it were you, you'd probably be sobbing, now that it's a thing. And I don't think I'll be smiling as much this loop, but it's... My full name is Lie Ren. And it turns out that Ren is my surname, but I've been using it as my given name for so long that it feels more right. Li and An were wonderful parents, but I've been calling Jaune and Pyrrha my parents for so long that it feels more right. I have two lives, one of them baseline, and one of them looping. And the looping one feels... more like me, then the baseline one. It's like you said... I'd rather live in the now then a past of might-have-beens."

"But your past isn't might-have-beens. Not completely, not anymore."

"Eons of habit don't break easily."

Nora chuckled. "True."

They looked at each other for a while.

"...So are you saying this, because it's what you think I want to hear, or because it's true, or... both?"

"I'm saying this, because you are important to me, and I don't like it when I see you hurt. Especially if it's by me."

"Okay." Nora nodded. "Honestly... I still don't get it, but... I think I can accept that. And I'm sorry if... if I've been, you know, distant, I..."

"It's alright. I'm just glad we're talking again."

"Heh." Nora smiled, looking away. "Yeah."

She flumped into a prone position.

"...So do you think I have rabies?"

"What?"

"The kids," she explained casually. "One of them said I might have rabies."

"Nora, they were bullies. And if you had rabies, you'd be dead by now."

"Oh, yeah, good point..."

 **58.13 KanameFujiwara**

"Weiss?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Why is your Mega Alakazam smiling?"

"...He's hungry."

 **58.14 Masterweaver**

"...I, for one, fully support this policy."

"I, on the other hand, support it with some reservations."

"I find that while I support it, I cannot help but wonder if one is enough for the whole campus."

"And I am torn between loving the wordplay and worrying it'll spit in my hair."

The members of Team RWBY looked on as Cardin cuddled with Beacon's official therapeutic trauma llama.

 **58.15 KanameFujiwara**

"Ruby?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"Is the giant spoon necessary?"

"That Nuckelavee ice cream Grimm is made out of **ICE CREAM SANDWICH COOKIES!** "

"...Can I join you?"

"Sure Weiss-cream."

"...I'm going to kill Yang."

 **58.16 Masterweaver**

"WEISS! WHAT DOES THE POWER READER SAY?!"

"'Your user licence has expired, thank you for purchasing Sayin-tech.'"

"...Oh. Well, alright then. Yang, I guess we'll have to figure out your power level the old fashioned way!"

"BRING IT ON SIS!"

Much yelling ensued.

 **58.17 Me & Masterweaver**

Pyrrha clicked her tongue.

Ren stared at her.

"So..."

"Yes?"

"Your given name is Lie."

"...ugh... yes mother."

"Not Ren. That's your surname."

"Yessss."

"..."

Pyrrha nodded. "So... should we just..."

"My name is Ren. Call me Ren."

"Alright, alright. I just wanted to make sure." Pyrrha's grin faded just a bit. "I mean... after all..."

She trailed off, silent for a moment or two, before managing to pick up her train of thought.

"...after all, even if they didn't exist before-"

"I'm sure they would be proud and accepting of you and Jaune," Ren assured her.

Pyrrha half smiled. "I know. That's... not exactly what I'm worried about. Although I'd love to meet them, if you wake up early enough."

"It'll be tricky to save Kuroyuri without alienating everyone," Ren admitted, "but I have some ideas. Mostly involving giant robots and flashy holograms."

"Nora's been rubbing off on you, I see." She paused. "Are... you and her-?"

"We've talked. We're... better, now."

"...that's good. That's... very good."

They walked on in silence for a moment or two.

"...You have a garden in your pocket?" Ren asked, apropos of nothing.

"Oh, yes. A large one. It's actually surprisingly relaxing."

"Is it... big enough, to have a pond?"

"There are a couple." Pyrrha paused. "...if you'd like to visit, we could arrange something."

"...I would like that."

 **58.18 WirelessGrapes**

Ren sat on a bench in the courtyard, just watching the leaves on the trees flitter about in the wind. It relaxed him, and was something that he liked to do when everyone got to be a little too much around him.

A sudden presence to his right and the sound of someone dropping in next to him startled Ren, as he jerked his head to see who disturbed him.

He was greeted by the grinning face of Yang.

Ren rolled his eyes, turning away. "What, are you here to tell me how I should care about my Baseline past too?"

"What?" Yang exclaimed. "No, no, Ruby already told us about that, and I don't really care about that."

Ren quirked an eyebrow, turning back to Yang to see her bewildered face as she explained herself.

"No," she continued, "I'm just here to name your semblance. I call it...Lie Zen."

Ren's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, and closed once more. Yang's grin started to grow until it resembled a certain crazy cat.

Ren stood up, turned grayscale, and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Yang called out, "I thought that was a pretty good one!


	59. Pine for the Stem

**59.1 Masterweaver**

Qrow considered trying to hide his smile, then decided he could probably survive anything Yang would be willing to throw at him. "Well, it's a step in the right direction. Maybe a bit too literal... or too little."

Yang rolled her eyes. "A tiny miscalculation, with only minuscule deviation from my intended result. It'll only take a small adjustment and a short amount of time to get what I want, I'm sure."

"Take the fun out of it, why don't you."

"Wordplay is my thing, uncle Qrow. And besides, I'm a sunny little dragon now!" She looked back at her foot-long body. "Maybe too little, but hey, I can do the dragony thing! Dad would be so proud. Just a little more practice, and I'll be perfect. Aaaaaaand I can troll the heck out of people like this."

"You're already planning pranks, aren't you."

"Yep! Ren's not Awake, I figure a 'golden dragon statue' following him might break that calm facade of his..."

 **59.2 diesel**

Weiss walked though familiar empty halls of Beacon as the moonlight streamed down, casting the world into dim shadows, the only sound her footsteps. She was alone, no-one else was awake and either the Anchor had yet to wake up or they were going stealth.

So, what to do?

The night time could be so peaceful, there was no yelling or chattering of people that would vanish so quickly and less chance of looper madness. Even loopers preferred to maintain a normal day night cycle. There was just peace, something that was so similar and yet so different, to true loneliness and isolation.

In the endless eternities, sometimes even the company of other loopers grew wearying and intolerable, until all that the person wanted was to be alone. To just decompress and relax, until they were ready to re-join the others into infinity. So when a person vanished to be by themselves for a few loops, they were let be once it was known that they wanted to be alone.

Weiss could not remember the last time she had just spent some time alone to relax, not worrying about some issues or the other. Boredom aside, this was a good chance to just unwind. Maybe spend some time tidying her pocket? She shook her head and let out an annoyed sigh, the idea of doing anything like that felt… empty, she just did not have the will to do so. Something else was in order this loop.

Maybe killing some Grimm would help clear her mind.

As she walked through the familiar forest, amidst the dappled moonlight and fallen leaves, Weiss let her mind drifted back through the recent aeons. The solitude reminded her distantly of those loops where she remained alone in Atlas. But it was so different, until all similarities were superficial at best.

In those loops it had hurt to be alone, with the others never turning up, caught up as they were in their own devices and dramas. It was not often that it happened as normally Beacon's fall was stopped and she could spend the loops with her loved ones. But it was still too often, too many loops spent alone with those aristocratic fools.

It was just so many things were and had been going on now, her expansions had fallen to the wayside. Ruby was caught up dealing with Cinder's splintering mind, CFVY's irreversible decline and Tyrian's actions. And everyone, bar maybe Roman and Neo, was effected by that damn echo's torture of Yang. And then that was only the start.

Weiss could admit that it had hurt being forgotten, even if it was not often. A twisted bitterness would rise up at the thought even as she stayed her hand and did not speak. Because she was not willing to speak up and ask for help when other where having problems, even when she knew they would help in a heartbeat. And would apologize for not helping before and for getting caught up in their own problems.

"It was as much my fault as anyone else's wasn't it?" Weiss asked rhetorically to the night sky, feeling the cool breeze dance across her skin. "I should have asked for help and company instead of just hoping, I got just as complacent and locked in as everyone else."

Her blade flashed in the night, cleaving through a pack of Beowolves as they attacked. Each blow precise and efficient, no more effort than was absolutely needed.

Why had she done that?

"Because I was an arrogant fool." Weiss turned her attention to the Grimm as the beasts stalked out of the shadows, burning crimson eyes meeting her own glacial blue eyes. She smiled with self-deprecating humor, her eyes closing as the beasts approached, "I was just as caught up in my own problems and stubborn pride as the others. Funny how it can sneak up, isn't it? So determined to deal with everything myself and that I needed no help. I really was acting like an idiot; I could have just walked away in so many of those loops if had had not been so stubborn."

When Ruby had come and apologized for ignoring, her it had eased a pain she had had missed. The darkness that had lingered in the back of her mind for so many loops starting to vanish. She had also apologized for her own actions. She would have avoided a lot of problems for everyone if she had just got over her own damn pride. Everyone could have if they had not closed off so much, if they had lent on each other more and had remembered that they were not alone. They had let themselves be divided and it had almost strangled their hearts.

But while they had been hurt, they had never severed their trust, they had not bent or broke and they were recovering. Blake had settled her doubts and grown stronger, the doubts that had festered now gone along with her stress. The Mew's imprint that had tortured Yang for so long had been served an eviction notice, the monster no longer having a hold on her. Nora and Ren had sorted things out between themselves after the recent expansion. Even Cinder seemed to be getting somewhat better, not much, but she did seem to be improving slowly.

Once more everyone was talking freely, they would not let anyone stand alone again. While baseline was getting worse, they were getting better, and in the end, it was always darker before the dawn.

Weiss danced around the Grimm, humming a song that had got stuck in her head as the beasts closed in. The Grimm were impossible to miss to her senses, she did not need to see to kill, to add another shade to her endless hordes.

Her lips quirked in amusement at a stray thought, ice and frigid wind descending across Remnant. "I collect the dead to use in my armies, possess power over ice, rule a frigid realm where none can leave without my permission and am born into wealth taken from the ground. Going by mythology, I meet the requirements as a goddess of the dead don't I? I guess if we ascend in the end, that may be my portfolio."

Weiss opened her eyes, taking in the pillars of ice and crystalline white powder that cloaked the forest. The refreshing cold lingering in her lungs as she exhaled. "I wonder what portfolios the others would have?"

That would be amusing to bring up when everyone was awake, it could be completely wrong but it was still an amusing thought.

Spinning around Weiss started to sing, her voice resonating around the broken world as snow fell around her, she was content for now.

 _Regrets collect like old friends  
Here to relive your darkest moments  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
And all of the ghouls come out to play_

 _And every demon wants his pound of flesh  
But I like to keep some things to myself  
I like to keep my issues drawn  
It's always darkest before the dawn_

 _And I've been a fool and I've been blind  
I can never leave the past behind  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
I'm always dragging that horse around_

 _All of his questions, such a mournful sound  
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground  
So I like to keep my issues drawn  
but it's always darkest before the dawn_

 **59.3 Masterweaver**

"...Nora, I have a tiny golden dragon following me and trying to get me to make questionable life decisions."

"...oh my gosh. My constant hyperness has finally broken your psyche. Ren, I am so so so so so so sorry-"

Ren sighed, and in one fluid motion grabbed something scuttling on the wall behind her. "THIS dragon, Nora."

Nora blinked. "Huh. Okay. That makes a lot more sense."

"They're not questionable life decisions!" the dragon protested. "Well, not any more questionable then ordinary life decisions. Also hi, I'm Sunny."

 **59.4 diesel**

"Hello sister-"

Whitley froze as he entered his thuggish sisters room, intending on convincing her to threaten some… annoyances. She had taken a shine to the idea of 'helping' family recently and she was rather naive so it should work.

But beyond the door, all that he could see was a tunnel of ice that burned with blue white flamed touches.

"Weiss, where are you, what's going on?"

There was not response from the icy passageway, bar the arctic wind biting into his flesh. The chill seeped into his bones, there was something about the darkly lit passage that burned colder and with a greater finality then mere cold. It was enticing, twisted, alien and intrinsically dangerous and yet, something pulled his soul with a familiarly he could barely resist.

Whitley hesitated as the cold seemed to deepen, his eyes locked onto the burning blue white flames. The unnatural flames seemed to caper and prance with Grimm forms flickering in and out of existence. He knew he should just turn around and leave, that what he was looking at was impossible and deadly. Yet, curiosity beckoned like a siren, what had his useless sister done?

 _I want to know, what is this siren call?_

After a few minutes, he turned to leave and it had been the hardest thing Whitley had ever done. He turned in time to see the distant door swing shut from the howling wind.

"What?" Whitley felt the first true prickling's of fear as he watched the distant door vanish, abruptly, he snatched his had away from the ghostly torch as pain shot through his hand. Blood welled up from the laceration across his palm as a glowing beowolf wraith snarled within the entrancing flame.

Whitley started to hyperventilate, he was lost in a mountain of ice filled with flames that contained the ghostly wraiths of Grimm. Something he recognised as being from the family Semblance, it saturated this place with its presence. Just like when Winter used her summoning's that touch of familiarity in the depths of his soul, but magnified beyond comprehension. Grandfather Nicholas had been rumoured to be able to imbue the summons into wind, water and flames with Dust. But this was… it was…

"Impossible." The words fell from Whitley's mouth without thought, cold sweat freezing up his pale skin. "This should be impossible, Weiss is nowhere near strong enough to do this."

But that did change the situation he was in.

 _What do I do?_

'I can't stay here,' That much was obvious even without any survival training, already Whitley could feel his extremities going numb. He had to move, find someone or something to help. If Weiss did do this… well she might still remain.

Tearing his eyes away from the flames, the youngest Schnee started to walk down the passage as he followed the siren song in his soul.

 _Weiss can't do this, summon the slain yes, but not create a realm of ice and dust._

He recognised now that something lay within the ice, Dust. More dust than what was in all of the SCD warehouses. Vast growths of crystal jutted up from the floor and into the ceilings, filling deep crevasse and chasms that littered the icy structure.

Whitley felt time melt away as the world blurred, he needed to go deeper, to find _it_. It beckoned and called to the depths of his soul, that was all that mattered.

Beneath the madness, Whitley screamed and struggled, he had to stop, had to find Weiss and _get out! Before they drowned in desire._

And for the first time, Whitley Schnee cursed his family and heritage. Old stories and rumours about the Schnee family semblance rising up. Religious preaching about the theft of souls and enraging the Goddess of the Underworld, of the violation of the natural order and plundering of the underworld for riches.

So many curses and stories now came to mind as Whitley ran with frantic abandon, his lungs burring in the cold that seeped into his bones. He needed, wanted what lay beneath the halls.

 _The goddess of the dead and wealth, who rules over the icy plains of the netherworld until souls once more enter the cycle of rebirth…_

Whitley leapt down the slide of crystal, maddened laughter filling the air as he slid down the spiralling slide. A rictus grin twisted his flushed, blue tainted face, eyes dilated and wide with glee as the ice laced winds howled. He was almost there, soon he could take it all!

 _… to steal from the goddess is to invite ruin and all contracts are for a century and a day, upon which the Lady of Death shall reach out and judge the outcome, and drag the violators into oblivion._

He ran through the vast marble and silver etched halls, no more than a speck beneath the cavernous ceiling. His eyes fixed upon the eyes the titanic doors that loomed ever closer.

All he could feel was the siren call of death, death dumb and blind to all else.

 _Our time is up, isn't it? The lady has claimed her payment and has found us in violation?_

The doors flung open to reveal an endless vista of ice, white and blue. A frozen plane of choked with wraiths human, Grimm and so much more. All standing in formation before a throne and Goddess?

 _… But, if I can take it, what riches can I obtain?_

"Whitely? How did you… oh, it's one of those loops."

Before him lay the goddess who commanded the endless legions of the dead. His fist drew back as he raced at the white figure. He would kill her and take what he would AS WAS HIS RIGHT!

"No, you won't."

Whitley blinked in confusion as the siren vanished, warmth suffusing his body. Weiss released his fist and crossed her arms, "So, are you sane again?"

"Ummm, I think so.=," Whitley stuttered, the sheer immensity of what he was looking at finally dawning. Bellow the platform they stood upon, a plain of stretched to the very edge of his vision while mountains loomed above and encircled the vast plain and a glow with distant lights.

Overlooking the desolate, froze wasteland was a majestic throne of ice, dust, precious metals. The same throne he had seen the Goddess sitting upon…

"Sister, You… you're the Goddess of the Dead?"

Weiss sighed at the terrified response and rubbed her nose, "No, Whitley I'm not a goddess. That throne was a gift from some of my friends, a joke of sorts, I was using it help me index all the things I could summon. The rest of this area is also done as a joke to fit the throne.

I was sending things in and out and must have forgotten to close the door. You sensed my semblance and Aura, that triggered an instinctive desire to try and obtain the power for yourself,"

Whitley watched as his sister grimaced, scowling briefly, the situation was making no sense. Nothing was making any sense, "… It happens sometimes among Schnee, I very much dislike that trait when it is a part of our semblance but I can't do much about it."

"… Then what are you? Where are we?"

He did not understand; he could remember that vast army of the dead and it was simply not possible for any hunter to obtain that many. Let alone have enough power to summon them, then there was this land of ice.

 _How can I take it?_

Weiss narrowed her eyes, "You are within the world that lies in the depths of my soul, my own pocket reality, and as for the answer to your other question, I am a time looper. Now, it's time for you to leave, you are even more greedy than in baseline and I don't feel like dealing with you at the moment."

The world vanished and Whitley stared at the insides of Weiss's room, untouched by the cold and ice.

-

Weiss frowned as she sent her brother from the pocket, his reaction had been far to extreme to be a normal variant. Yet, something about his actions called to her loop memories and her in loop soul, something not normally there but almost unnoticeable.

"Interesting," Weiss started to smile, this looked like it could be fun. The idea of her family gaining their semblance from a dark deal was not unknown, but this loop it looked like it may be anchored in some truth.

"I think I have found my plan for this loop. I wonder if Blake wants to join in?"

-

Ruby dissolved into laughter as her loop memories fell into place much to the concern of everyone else around her.

"Ruby, what's wrong?"

Ruby waved her sister off as she managed to bring her laughter under control. How did Weiss manage to usurp a goddess? "Don't worry, just a funny thought."

Yang peered into her eyes, looking for signs of corruption, for crimson and black marks. After a minute Yang released her and relaxed. "Don't do that Ruby, I thought one of the Shadows had got you. Weiss, damn them, I really wish we still had the Grimm back, at least we could fight those effectively. Hopefully the White Lady will kill the Black Cat soon. I just hope the Red Reaper and Yellow Dragon don't rise as well, I don't think Remnant will survive."

Ruby dissolved into laughter again. Seriously, how did Weiss and Blake cause _this?_

 **59.5 Masterweaver**

"...So." Ruby tapped her knee. "I know we've all been focusing on Kuroyuri with this latest expansion. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't. But the thing is, with all of us scattered across Remnant, it might..."

She paused.

"...We focused on Tyrian, and that meant we forgot that Weiss was going through that party. We left her alone, because... honestly, because we were being selfish and ignorant. And that situation, that kind of... We left Weiss behind, to suffer Baseline on her own." Ruby let her eyes fall. "That wasn't right of us. No matter how much we were worried about Tyrian and other... things... that wasn't right of us. Kuroyuri's important, but we need to talk about _everything_ in this last expansion."

She managed a small chuckle. "And besides, I'm sure Ren's pretty tired of us all pestering him for baby pictures."

A few smiles flitted across the room. Then Ruby looked up.

"Okay. I've looked at the hub-loop backups. Yes, Ren was an adorable little kid. Yes, that Nucklavee was scary and we need the data on it to firm up, just so we can figure out what to do with it. Yes, going up the mountain is bad, and going through the ruins doesn't yield anything. One thing we all missed-and to be fair, I don't think any of us were in a position to notice it... Hazel's in Mistral."

"Hazel?" Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "Cinder's diplomat to Sienna Khan?"

"Yes. Baseline Ozpin has convinced Oscar to... do something, which involves getting a train ride. Hazel helps him get a ticket, gives him a bit of life advice, and walks on. No recognition on his part, but Ozpin recognizes him, apparently."

"Ah." Weiss nodded. "Even when he does wake up that late, Ozpin prefers to allow Oscar to remain at home. I can see why none of us would have known this."

Blake frowned. "By implication, Sienna Khan is also in Mistral. Or at least on Anima. It makes geographic sense-close to Menagerie, and the thriving criminal underground could keep a large organization hidden if well utilized."

"...Ruby, I hate to say it but..." Yang held her hands out helplessly. "What do you want us to do about it? It's an interesting tidbit of information, but it's just a scrap. There's not enough to plan around."

"I don't know, I just-I didn't want us to ignore it! It's important! It's all-"

"Ruby." Yang grabbed her hands. "Breathe."

Ruby blinked.

"You're letting the stress build up. You're taking your Anchor duties too seriously again. Yes, this is important, yes, we can't ignore it. But at the moment, we can't do anything. Let's just prepare, okay? General preparations."

"...Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. Just... keep it together, okay?"

"...Alright." Ruby took a breath. "Alright, I... just wanted... yeah. Yeah."

 **59.6 Vinylshadow**

Ozpin poured himself a cup of cocoa and walked to the window of his office.

Taking a sip of the beverage, he paused at the sight of teams JNPR and RWBY in the middle of what looked like a giant mecha fight involving using Grimm as flails, causing wince-inducing property damage and...basically acting like children with high-powered energy weapons.

"Ah, to be young again," he said wistfully.

"You're not old enough to be saying that yet," Qrow said as he barged through the door, making a beeline for Ozpin's liquor cabinet.

A cane blocked his progress and the Huntsman pouted.

"Come on, I've just spent a Loop in Eiken, I think I deserve a drink."

 **59.7 Masterweaver**

Sash Lilac was having a weird day.

To be fair, she wasn't the only one. Everybody else in the dorm room was having a fairly weird day as well. Which, at least, kept her from having to keep secrets, but on the other hand...

"Okay." She held up a hand. "So, first of all, what are our goals this time?"

"Goals?" Torque let out a bark of laughter. "We're nowhere near Avalice, we're all the same species-look at me! I have brown skin!"

"At least your hair's still green," Carol grumbled. "I mean, I don't mind the black do, but I miss my ears."

Milla winced, gripping her drooping furry ears. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's not your fault you kept yours and I didn't."

"That is... odd, though," Lilac admitted. "I mean, from what my pre-memories are telling me this time around, Torque should have been the only one of us that wasn't a... faunus." She rolled the word around in her head. "...or something."

Carol sighed. "Look, we can speculate about this all day, but it's not like the answer's just going to come knocking at the door."

There was a knock at the door.

Everybody stared at Carol.

"...it's not like we'll suddenly find ourselves living in unquestionable luxury," she tried experimentally.

"Believe me," said a voice from the other side of the door, "it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Um." Milla flicked her ears. "Should... we answer the door?"

Lilac smiled faintly at her, before looking at the other two. Carol shrugged helplessly. Torque glanced around the room, before sighing and giving a nod.

She turned to the door and swung it open. "Hi! I, uh, don't know what you heard-"

"Time travel."

Lilac froze.

The white-haired girl nodded. "I thought so... May I come in?"

Torque stood up. "What do you know about that?"

"I would rather not discuss it in the hallway."

Lilac nodded, stepping aside to let her in. "It's alright, Torque. I'm sure miss..."

"Schnee. Weiss Schnee."

"Miss Schnee doesn't mean any harm." She shut the door after the girl stepped in. "...By the way, why is your ponytail on the side of your head?"

"Personal preference." Weiss pulled out a small glass pane-a scroll, Lilac's memories named it, though it looked more like one of Torque's datapads-and tapped through it. "His name is Torque, and the rest of you...?"

"Sash Lilac. And this is Carol and Milla."

"Let me see... oh. Hmm..." The girl looked up. "Does the word Yggdrasil mean anything to any of you?"

The three girls shook their head. Torque frowned. "I think I've heard of it. A myth about a tree..."

"That's as good a place to start as any." Weiss made the scroll vanish-didn't just put it away, made it vanish, as though it had never been there. "Yggdrasil is... the great worldtree supercomputer underlying the multiverse."

Carol quirked a brow. "Worldtree supercomputer?"

"Yes. Every world is run by this cosmic machine, simulations that are also reality. Physics, biology, history, all a single datafile among countless datafiles, a single leaf on the branch of a far larger tree. Or at least that's how it's generally explained to us mere mortals."

"That sounds pretty impossible," Lilac stated.

"Says the half-dragon that fought an alien warlord."

"How-how did you-?!"

Weiss reproduced the scroll and handed it over. "Records from what we call the Hub universe. Really, it should have been Sonic giving you this talk-"

"So you know about Avalice," Torque said. "Can you get us back there?"

Weiss shook her head. "Until the loop ends, or you die, you're stuck on Remnant. You'll probably be back home next loop, but-"

"This is about a video game," Lilac managed. "Freedom Planet-"

"Can I finish my explanation _before_ you have your existential crisis?"

Lilac looked up at Weiss, and her sympathetic expression. Reluctantly, she handed the scroll back. "Okay. So... a big computer tree thing. Running universes. What about it?"

"...At some point, Yggdrasil suffered quite a bit of damage from an unknown source-No, I don't know what caused it, nobody knows what happened. The administrators-beings on a higher dimensional level, essentially gods-are working to repair the damage, but in order to prevent worlds from degrading as their data is debugged, they've set the multiverse in a holding pattern."

"...The time loops," Torque realized.

Weiss nodded. "In order for that to work, each world need an anchor point to center itself on. It turns out that souls are remarkably good at anchoring worlds as they go through the loops-but of course," she added, "going through the same time period over and over again doesn't do wonders on your psyche, so the program is designed to activate other souls in order to serve as bulwarks against solitude."

Lilac blinked. "So... if I was the first looper on Avalice..."

"...then you are the Anchor, yes. Thankfully enough, your job is simple. You just have to retain mental stability."

"Mental stability." She sat down on one of the beds. "In a constantly repeating world."

"Simple does not mean easy," Weiss acknowledged. "However... you do have companions."

"Yeah." Milla nuzzled closer. "I don't get everything she's saying, but we're here for you Lilac."

Carol grinned. "I've been looking after your back since before we started these loop things. You think I'm going to stop now?"

Torque rapped his fingers against the bedsheet. "I don't know if I can be around as often as I'd like, but I'll try to keep an eye on you when I am."

Lilac managed a small smile. "Thanks, guys..." She looked up at Weiss. "So... is that it?"

"That's the basic outline, yes. There's still quite a few other things we should cover-pings, subspace pockets, the Hub, dangers of the multiverse, but that can wait until tomorrow." She smiled back. "Ruby Rose, the local Anchor, is arranging a welcome to the multiverse party with all the other loopers that are Awake this time around, but she wants to wait until after our initiation."

"Oh. Sounds like fun."

Weiss nodded. "I think I'll leave this, and let you four settle in for the loop." She handed her a thick pamphlet and walked out the door.

After a moment, Lilac took a breath. "Okay, so... that just happened, right?"

"Yeah." Carol glanced at the door. "I've got so many questions for that girl."

"You and me both," Torque agreed. "Maybe we should look through that thing she gave us."

Milla peered over Lilac's shoulder. "Yggdrasil and you... a brief welcome guide by Twilight Sparkle. That's a weird name."

Lilac chuckled. "That it is. Still... it's more answers then we've gotten in a while." She steadied herself and opened the page.

 **59.8 KitsuneShin0bi**

Ruby Awoke with a start. The huntress shivered as she remember her most recent loop; a horrible, horrible Variant that she never wanted to see again!

Sighing, she started the usual Looper checklist of Pinging, testing her Pocket, and checking her Loop Memories. Pings? None. Looping Abilities? Nope. History? Bit of an early start considering she was still living on Patch with Yang and... Summer?

The huntress gave a wan smile. It looked like she had _something_ to look forward to this loop. Even if her personality was variable, it was still nice to have a loving, living Super Mom. Apparently Summer was never killed on that fateful mission because...

Huh. This was an odd one.

While it wasn't the strangest thing Ruby had seen as an Anchor, it was definitely a rare occurrence.

For you see, Grimm were attracted to negative emotions just like in Baseline. However instead of the attacking, killing, and eating they instead-

 _*CRASH*  
_  
The Huntress jumped as an Alpha Beowolf smashed through the wall of her room, no doubt attracted towards the depression she had been emanating immediately after Awaking. Before the Anchor could run it was already upon her. Scooping the small girl into its arms, the normally horrific creature proceeded to nuzzle and cuddle Ruby, making comforting cooing noises all the while.

-Instead their first instincts were to make the other person feel better, whether they liked it or not. While this was usually appreciated, the unintentional property damage usually caused more grief and thus brought more Grimm to the area, ironically mirroring the positive feedback loops their attacks created in Baseline.

Ruby snuggled a bit more into the black fur. _'Meh. Dad could fix it,'_ she decided.

 **59.9 Masterweaver**

Ruby sighed. "Yang, I'm sorry, but this one just isn't funny."

"Well-"

"It's not even shocking. It's... look. Your pranks are usually either hilarious or too saucy for my tastes, which is why I give dramatic reactions. But this?"

"I mean-"

"This is uncreative, crude, and honestly just plain lazy."

"Hey! I baked those myself!"

"It's a plate of cookies shaped like penises."

Yang blinked. "...Oh. You know, when you put it like that, it does sound juvenile-"

"What is even the point?" Ruby gestured at the plate. "What, is my sweet tooth supposed to come into conflict with my self-imposed asexuality? Am I supposed to be embarrassed to be giving metaphorical blow-jobs?"

"...yeeeeeeah." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry, this was one of my worse ones. Sometimes you have to get the bad ideas out so you can make room for the good, you know?"

"It's not even awkward to look at. It's just... sad." Ruby shook her head disapprovingly. "I'm not even squicked one bit by this."

"...so, does that mean you're going to eat them?"

There was a silent moment.

"...Wait, are you actually not going to-"

Without a word, Ruby produced a blender, slid the cookies in, poured in some milk, snapped the lid on, and ran the machine at high speed. She stared flatly at her sister, the blades whirring and whirring for a minute or two, before finally turning the thing off. Their eyes remained locked even as she drained the resultant smoothie in one long, slow, swig.

"...I have no idea how to interpret that," Yang admitted.

"GOOD."

 **59.10 Prince Pondincherry**

Zwei and Ruby were the only two Awake this Loop. Ruby had gone off with JNR on their quest, as usual. She'd considered changing it up, but in the end, she couldn't stand to leave Shion village (or all the other loop-variable villages they had helped) to their fate. Zwei stayed behind, partly to try to help Yang, but partly because of an interesting conversation he heard before Ruby left. Qrow and Taiyang were careful that nobody was around to hear such sensitive information, but of course, nobody suspected the dog.

As it turned out, Ozpin's cane was the Relic this loop. Qrow left it with Taiyang to protect, figuring that nobody would suspect its location. Plus, even if it was found out, Taiyang was a competent Huntsman, and it hopefully wouldn't be too long before Yang was back in fighting shape. Of course, Zwei knew what they were up against even more than unAwake Qrow did, and he knew that the two Yangs alone couldn't hope to beat the likes of Tyrian, so he stayed behind to provide extra backup.

Unfortunately, it turned out he had made the right choice. He had no idea how, but Salem's people had figured out they had the Relic. Maybe this was a Loop where Salem had Nevermore spies, or heck, maybe Tyrian had managed to get the information out of Qrow somehow. Either way, the Xiao Long household was now surrounded by rampaging Grimm. Zwei fought side-by-side with his humans, going after the weaker Beowolves and Creeps to keep them from outflanking his humans while they were distracted.

"Hey Dad, would now be a good time to get angry?" Yang asked sarcastically as she rocketed down from the air, a blast from Ember Celica slamming the elbow of her new metal arm into the head of an Ursa and smashing it into the forest floor with a loud thump. "I feel like a little more power would be useful here, but who knows, maybe I can find another way around this horde that's completely surrounding us."

"Yes, this is **exactly** when you should use your Semblance!" Taiyang yelled back, exasperated.

"Don't worry, just messing with you," Yang said, flashing her father a grin before pounding her fists together and lighting her hair on fire. Just as she started to charge forward at another Ursa, Zwei barked an urgent warning. Yang turned just in time to duck an attack from a man Zwei had never seen before. Not even pausing, the man made up for his failure by immediately attacking Taiyang, who blocked the blow but was driven through the wall of his house and into the kitchen. Zwei took the opportunity to examine the man. He didn't match Cinder's descriptions of Hazel or Watts and obviously wasn't Tyrian, so he was probably one of the Loop-variable minions of Salem who were supposed to sit in the empty chairs in her council of evil.

Yang looked conflicted between going to help her dad and continuing to fight the Grimm, so Zwei barked at her, nudged her leg toward her father, and then turned to growl at the Grimm. "Good boy, Zwei. Be right back!" Yang said as she charged into the fray. Zwei mentally wished her well before turning back to the hopeless task before him. Unfortunately, this was a Null Loop, so most of his tools and tricks weren't available to him. Even though he was a badass, extremely skilled dog with an activated Aura and millennia of experience, he was still essentially a tiny ball of fluff who weighed a fraction of any of his opponents. There was only so much he could do, but he tried his best, although he couldn't prevent the Grimm from tearing down the walls of his house and interfering with the fight inside.

With a loud crash, Taiyang was thrown through the only remaining window in the house and into a pack of Ursae. "Yang, we can't let him get Ozpin's cane!" he yelled as he obliterated the Ursae as fast as he could. Zwei finished ripping out the throat of a Beowolf and ran into the house. This wasn't working, and he had an idea of what he could do to change it.

Yang was locked in combat as she stood protectively in front of the destroyed bookshelf the cane used to be hidden in. She was clearly losing, but she had also taken her father's advice to heart and was being cautious enough not to get hurt. Unfortunately, she could only last so long against one of Salem's trained operatives, and she soon found herself pinned to the floor by a heavy boot. Zwei barked, and Yang looked over at him and smiled. Reaching over her head, she grabbed the cane and threw it, yelling, "Zwei, fetch!" Her opponent let out a yell of annoyance and drove his weapon towards Yang's heart, but Taiyang tackled him away just in time.

Zwei ran and grabbed the cane in his mouth before it even hit the ground, but while he was still in midair, he was slammed into by the rolling ball of fury that was a Boarbutusk. He whined in pain as he smashed into the ground multiple times before slamming into some rubble, only barely managing to keep the cane in his mouth. The Boarbatusk was still rolling at him, and he didn't have time to get out of the way. With his Aura mostly gone from the fight, there was no way he'd survive being smashed between a rock and a Boarbatusk.

Just before he would have been killed, Yang threw a Semblance-enhanced blow into the Boarbatusk, killing it instantly despite its armor. "Zwei, bark if you can still run," she said. Zwei got his paws under him, dropped the cane on the ground, and barked. Yang smiled. "Then I think it's time to go _around_ the problem by powering _through_ the problem. I'm gonna make an opening, and you take Ozpin's cane and run, okay? Don't stop until you find someone you can trust, like, uh, who do you even know? Oobleck! Go find Dr. Oobleck! Do you understand? God, I hope you understand." Zwei barked again, picked up the cane, and wagged his tail. "Okay, here goes," Yang muttered. Then she charged at the Grimm horde, her hair glowing a bright gold. Zwei followed after her, and as soon as he saw an opening in the horde, he took it and ran as fast as he could, his Aura letting him outpace even the Grimm. As he ran, he tried not to think about how he'd just abandoned his humans to die. They may not be Looping, but they were still his family, and even if there had been nothing else he could have done, it felt wrong to just leave them there.

Still, nothing for it but to move onward. He shook aside the guilt as best he could and used his cuteness to get a free ride on a ferry to Vale. It was time to find Glynda and give her the Relic.

 **59.11 Masterweaver**

"Salutations! I'm Penelope!"

"And I'm Pandora!"

"And welcome to Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the Subspace Pocket!"

"Now today we have some interesting news, some sad news, and some important news!"

"In the interesting news category, our new Visorak contingent have confirmed their venom works on non-protodermis based life forms AND on inorganic subjects! Experimentation is still ongoing, but it is anticipated some truly impressive Grimm may be in the works. For those of you more interested in our Grimm R&D department, check out WhatHathScienceWrought dot dust slash shadowandbone. It's worth a look, if only for the realization that our overlord is capable of doing many horrific things should you consider open revolt!"

"In the sad news category, legislation has been passed today preventing any Penny from conducting clone hunts for any reason. According to the council, our fun shenanigans are not only causing workforce disruption but apparently are causing the clones out of the vats to run out far too quickly for our vampire friends, who still need to drink blood. Any of us caught hunting a clone will be subject to immediate detainment and shipped to the Forge, to be melted down and remade into new equipment. The operative phrase, of course, being any of us _caught."_

"In the important news category, Salem Laboratories has been granted a significant portion of workspace in order to conduct an experiment in Grimm production. Project Glaurung is currently under heavy secrecy, with only authorized Salems allowed into the cordoned off region. All citizens are advised to stay away, on penalty of being caught up in a situation out of their control, and potentially die or worse. The project is projected to take two to three centuries to reach completion."

"Well, let's hope they're two to three centuries worth waiting for! I'd be disappointed if we ended up with anything less then a weapon of sheer terror!"

"I'm sure it will be worth the wait. This has been Cinder News Network, the best-and only!-news network in the subspace pocket. Hail Overlord Cinder!"

"Hail Overlord Cinder! Up next: Ilia's Eye for the Glittering Guy!"

 **59.12 Vinylshadow**

Ozpin stood in front of the pod holding the Fall Maiden, hands resting on his cane.

He watched as Cinder strolled in, wreathed in fire. Quite intimidating for non-Loopers, but Ozpin had seen much scarier things throughout the Loops and he almost yawned.

"Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Digg, you know why I'm here, so stand aside," Cinder said.

"You know, you blew up my office in your initial attack," Ozpin said casually.

A look of confusion flitted across Cinder's face and she scowled at him.

"Normally, I wouldn't care about such things, but, in your carelessness, you did something _unforgivable._ "

Cinder didn't even see him move before she was sent hurtling through the air, struck by a force that would've killed her had it not been for her Aura, and even with the boost, she still felt like she had been hit by a train.

Peeling herself off the wall, she fell forward, trying to catch her breath. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Ozpin slowly walking towards her.

Mustering her strength and trying to hide her fear, she sneered at him. "Oh? What did I do, ruffle your scarf?"

Ozpin's eyes flashed and his cane whirled through the air to slam into Cinder's throat.

 _"Much_ worse," he said, before his voice dropped to a growl. "You. Destroyed. My. Cocoa. Supply."

Cinder died utterly bemused.

 **59.13 Masterweaver**

"...and as much as I enjoy being... humanish? Personlike... as much as I enjoy having a form that fits into the general mold of society, sometimes I just need to distance myself and connect with my artificial roots."

Ruby nodded. "Penny, I can understand that. I fully support your decision, and I hope you have a good time in the physical framework you have selected. I'm simply concerned about the public reaction."

"I've been nothing but genial, and I have taken steps to avoid injuring anyone."

"This is true. This is the argument that has caused public outcry to remain... civilized. But, Penny, you have to remember that in Remnant most people think machines cannot operate without operators. For a giant robot to politely ask for ice cream, pay for it, and then consume it-that raises a few eyebrows."

Penny shrugged her room-sized pauldrons. "I can understand their concerns, but so long as I follow the law I don't feel extreme reaction is mandated."

"Penny, you're the size of a house. A big house. There's an instinct in humans that says 'big things dangerous.' Logic isn't exactly the only factor here!"

 **59.14 diesel**

"No, not doing it." Ruby glared at her friends, daring them to contradict her. The evil deck of cards that had got her into this situation sitting innocently on the table, cards spread across its wooden surface. "I'm asexual; I'm not doing it."

Ruby ignored the smug and amused grins, what had she been thinking? Playing Yu-gi-oh and betting dares on the outcome was not the smartest plan she had ever had. Given how things had been escalating on all sides, Ruby had expected something embarrassing or ridicules but not this.

Why did Blake, of all people, ask her to get _laid_ this loop?

Blake smirked, shuffling her cards, a glint of amusement in her eyes. "And that is why I made this dare, Ruby. I am sick of you abusing the term Asexual, it means a person who _has no_ _sexual desires_ , not someone who chooses to remain celibate. I know you are attracted to guys, that you admire people who are well built, I have recordings of you saying and doing so. Same with video of you saying you enjoy getting memories of having sex. You just, and no one is fully convinced of this, prefer to not do it while Awake."

Roman's laughter died down enough for him to interject. "Really, Red, I would have thought you would jump at this. A chance to get some without losing your… let's say, mask. It's even-" Roman gagged as his mouth was filled with chillies. Neo giggled as she swiped Roman's drink while he was distracted.

 _This was not fair_ , Ruby sulked. At least Winter and Penny weren't joining in. Ruby ignored the slight smiles the afore-mentioned loopers had.

"That is what you get for misusing language around Blake, Ruby." Penny smiled, flicking through her booster pack. "I recommend Sun, personally. He has been a good lover whenever I have been human and felt like having sex. I can also vouch that he is also good this loop and is perfectly fine with a mutual one-night stand."

Ruby glared at Penny for a moment before turning her eyes to Blake and Roman. "First up, I do know what the term means, I use Asexual as it makes people leave me alone and it's easier than saying I don't like having sex. Secondly, as a rule, I don't like the idea of sleeping with someone whose a child compared to me. And finally, in any given loop I generally have other things on my mind and I don't want to use sex as simply something to do. It's too easy to potentially get used to using it as coping mechanism or just when there is nothing else to do. I don't want to be like that, and what I get from variant loop memories is enough and if not, well that is what toys are for."

Silence fell across the table and Ruby took the chance to finish her lemonade.

Blake broke the silence first. "Ruby, you are not going to become addicted to sex or turn to it out of boredom from doing it occasionally, you have more self-control than that."

"You're gosh darned right I do."

Blake paused and eyes her leader, only to get a playful smile in return. "…And that is the reason no is really sure if you telling the truth about being celibate or just messing with us. And yes, you have mentioned all that before, I know."

Ruby folded her arms in annoyance, rocking back on the chair. "And yet that was the bet you made?"

Blake shrugged. "You started it, and with the dares you have given the others and had them complete, I think this is entirely in line. Honestly, we have all gone somewhat over bored with them this loop and should probably stop. "

"I don't know," Winter mused, polishing off a plate of fish and chips. "I have found this to be a lot of fun. And I don't think Penny, or Sun for that matter, had an issue with that bet."

"Nope, not in the slightest."

Ruby rolled her eyes and jabbed a finger at Penny, the currently human robot looking far too innocent for it to be real. "That was not what I meant when I made that dare, I just messed up my phrasing, and Penny knew it. She was laughing the whole time when she misinterpreted it. Can we just stop this game now?"

Ruby relaxed as everyone agreed, Blake speaking up last. "Sure, no more dares from this point on." She sighed, a wry grin on her face.

Ruby smiled. "Thank you, Blake, now-"

"But, I should point out that your dare was made _before_ that, so…" Blake smirked teasingly.

"Blake, don't you dare!"

 **59.15 Masterweaver**

"Don't worry, Penny. Your time will come."

"General Ironwood-"

"But you can't run off like that. Your safety is paramount-"

"General, I'm not-"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to restrict you to your quarters for the next few weeks while I handle this Torchwick situation."

"I'm not actually-"

"This isn't open for discussion, young lady."

Ruby Rose opened her mouth again, thought for a moment, then leaned back into the car's seat with a sigh. Well, hopefully Penny could keep team RWBY from panicking...

 **59.16 diesel**

Cinder scowled as the bitterly cold air swirled around her and her pets, carrying with it the scent of pine, ash and death. Smoke still rose up from the charred remains of the town, the glowing embers casting a reddish orange glow through the dwindling twilight.

All through the town there was only death and destruction. Burnt flesh formed piles in pools of blood that still glistened in the light. Mutilated bodies, many stained with bone and black, hung from edifices of steel and bone, casting shadows that seemed to dance by the dying light of the flames.

It was both a hauntingly beautiful and macabre sight; fire had been entrancing for as long as she could remember, and in this loop, it was even more so, enriched by the pain and torment that hung in the air. The devastation was a fitting punishment for the town and its former inhabitant's arrogance.

But all that did little to make up for how bloody cold it was.

The former bustling, if isolated town, was just ash and rubble. The rampaging Grimm had destroyed anything that remained after the slaughter had ended.

The thought made Cinder smirk unbidden, the dark echo in her soul approving of the bloodshed and desecration.

As she walked through the ruins, shadowed by the wolf-like forms of her pets, Cinder breathed in the burning cold air, taking in scents and tastes that accompanied the destruction. It should have caused a rush of pleasure from the familiar and tantalizing scents, been something that ignited her bloodlust, but the only thing that came was a feeling of repugnance.

Blood drenched the ground, the crimson liquid seemed to glow eerily, rippling like it was almost alive, still liquid even after the searing heat and cold.

It was an oddity.

Cinder frowned, bending to down to examine a pool of blood, something was not right, but the question was what? It niggled at the back of her mind, chilled her blood and set her mind on edge. She knew there would be no reinforcements and that there were not traps. She had orchestrated the slaughter herself, it was total and no one was coming. So what was it?

'It's not just still a liquid when it should be ice or dry, it's almost muddy,' Cinder closed her eyes and reached out with her soul, looking for what danced at the edge of her awareness. 'It could just be ash, but that does not seem right and I can't put my finger on why.' There was something unsettling about the whole town, a sense of disquiet settled over her, the silence of the town now deafening.

Something was definitely not right.

 _There!_

Cinder opened her burning eyes as she suppressed an instinctive growl, she knew what it was now, the blood was _tainted_.

She found blood to be alluring, it awakened a deep, primal, thirst that lingered even as a human. Something that had become so much a part of her personality that it remained even in Null loops, and it was that that told her what was wrong.

The blood should have awakened her vampiric instincts alongside her Dark touched ones, but all it did was trigger a feeling of revulsion and anger. Her in loop reflexes and instincts, crossed with her vampiric ones, gave her a different point of view, one attuned blood and pain. She knew what blood should smell and feel like, both normally and in this variant, and this was _tainted_ by something her memories recognized and was repulsed by.

Cinder carefully pulled out an ornate blade of bone and blackened steel, letting the blade pass effortlessly through corpse-like skin. A few drops of blood gathered onto the blade before her Aura healed the cut, leaving her finger unmarked.

'Let's see if I'm right,' the blood dripped into the puddle and, before her ruby eyes, the blood writhed and as it with dark light, turning into a black tar like liquid. Cinder narrowed her eyes, crushing the insectile Grimm that crawled from the muck before she rose to her feet and turned away.

A single Burn crystal incinerated the Grimm tar as Cinder moved deeper into the town without a backwards glance. She took in the smoldering pyres as she walked, gazing upon the skinned and butchered, the tortured and defiled, that were strewn across the ground

'The massacre must have been the catalyst for the Miasmas' formation. This is problematic.'

Problematic was an understatement. For this to happen with so few dead it meant outside intervention of deliberate action. It meant that the spawning sites could be spreading and also hinted at something worse building.

Well, at least this would make for an interesting loop.

A gust of wind tore through the rubble making Cinder shiver. Winter was closing in and she was not keen to linger longer than needed, and not just because she preferred heat to cold.

The Dark Huntress pulled her thickly furred jacket on tighter as she cataloged the devastation and the lingering taint. 'Now where is that damn book?" Cinder growled the last few words, it had been the whole reason she was in the middle of nowhere to start with and she could not find it. She had scoured the town as she worked her way to the center, to no avail.

It was infuriating,

The Grimm stepped aside as she headed to the village center, sensing her kinship to them, her personal beasts prowling along behind her.

"I really hope the damn thing is here, Ruby will be insufferable if I have gone through all this and failed to get it." Cinder muttered as an oddity caught her attention in the gloom. On one of the burnt out car husks, there was a series of odd claws marks. "Well, that is if she has been let back in and was told what i was looking for."

Cinder ran her hands over the torn metal, the malice tainted metal calling to the induced corruption that lay in her soul this loop. This was not caused by a normal Grimm, Nuckelavee would likely fit and that would explain the missing weapons and items as well.

"Attend," Her bound Grimm slunk over, the warped and artificial Beowolves were encased in bone that glittered with silver etching that showed stylized flowers. A reminder that she had to get revenge on Ruby at some point for 'prettying up' her 'pets'.

The fact she managed it was still baffling the experienced Dark Hunters and malevoagists, which was the reason Cinder had not just made new ones. The scientists and elder hunter's responses to the gilded Grimm were far too amusing.

"Scent, hunt. Report back if type three found, if not 10 minutes." Cinder watched as the monsters scattered before shaking her head and retrieving her scroll. She had to report this, there were few things this loop that could accelerate a spawning ground's formation, attract Nuckelavees or similar.

It rang for a few moments before the call was picked up, showing the familiar face of Ozpin, "Cinder, do you have anything to report and how has the mission gone?"

Cinder sighed as she rubbed her eyes in exhaustion, she had not had much sleep recently, "I confirmed the presence of a Cult of Destruction in the town. All members of the town were tainted and given the political divides, it was easy enough for me to end the threat. All villagers are accounted for. During my search for the Book of Darkness, I also found the accelerated formation of spawning pools and a possible Nuckelavee. While I have not finished searching, the book has not been located, and I doubt it is still here. Though given the magic used, it almost certainly was at some point."

Ozpin reached out and massaged his temples, "And you can't continue your search anymore with this level of corruption, nor can we allow this to go uncleansed. Very well, Cinder, I am hereby terminating your mission, return to rendezvous location three and I will send a bullhead out to collect you."

"No, I can do this myself Ozpin." Cinder growled, pushing down the rising urge to devour the man, an artifact of the transformation she underwent before Awakening. "I am not an ordinary Hunter, Dark or otherwise; I can deal with a village of Grimm myself."

"Being a looper does not make you immune to mental maladies, as you know full well Cinder," Ozpin's reply stopped her cold. She looked at the scroll in disbelief, only just registering her pets were returning already, he brought that up, he had the audacity to bring that up?

Her attempt to retaliate was cut off as the old headmaster kept speaking, "The Dark Rebirth ceremony can cause a host of issues, ones only exacerbated by Spawning areas and Grimm miasma. That is why normal Hunters deal with them, while the Dark Hunters take out those who would use the Grimm to bring disaster to Remnant. Something _you know full well Cinder_. While you may be able to deal with side effects in a relatively harmless fashion for now, that cannot be ensured. You almost killed someone last time. I will not have you endanger yourself or other from sheer pride. Besides, I am not happy with you having to deal with the mental damage that this power causes, and I would not be even fine with it even if you were mentally stable. I am willing to go only so far, but killing Grimm is beyond what anyone is willing to risk, your job is over, for now, Cinder. Come home, the rest can be taken care of by Hunters. Besides, I need you to help me convince Ruby that she can't undergo the ceremony, I don't think any of us want a punishment loop."

"Why does she want to undertake it?"

Ozpin smiled slightly at Cinder's confused reply. "Because she wants to spend time with you and do something new. In this case, she sees the chance to do both."

-/-

Ruby was bored, this was the first null loop she had had in a long time where she was not subjected to horror after horror. While that would normally be relaxing, in this case, she had to wait at Beacon while Cinder was out dealing with horrors and she could not join in.

Damn Ozpin, using logic to stop her undergoing a highly lethal procedure. It was not fair, she wanted to work with her sister.

"… and so, lacking my weapon, I grabbed the charging Boarbatusk around the head…"

Going through Beacon and unable to deviate was boring to the point of almost agony, honesty, Ruby was just glad Ozpin had let her help with the Dark Hunters. Well, until she got banned from the labs anyway, her ban would not be over for another month.

"… Victorious, I let the beast's head fall to the ground only to move on sheer reflex, and what do I see? A black haired woman with burning eyes and deathly pale skin…"

'They don't have a single artistic bone in their bodies,' Ruby sulked as she let the lecture roll over her, 'Cinder's Grimm look a lot better now, and it's not like the silver can't be hidden if stealth is needed.'

 _Five minutes until class ends._

Cinder should be back later today, so there was that to look forwards to. It was a pity the others weren't Awake.

"… And so, with the Grimm touched woman thoroughly exhausted, I mustered my resolve and fortitude, but before I could strike her down in that moment of weakness…"

And why would he not stop talking? Ruby felt her eyes twitch, once more trying to block out the words that drilled into her skull.

"… standing there, holding twin blades of glass and wreathed in flames, surrounded by Grimm bodies…"

Ruby suppressed the urge to start whacking her head onto the bench. Yes, she knew that 'Dark Rebirth' messed with people's minds badly if they then killed Grimm, meaning they had to reaffirm their humanity.

"… with that, as I was once more unable to move, the Grimm-like Maiden collected her clothes and departed without a word."

But, she really did not want to hear about Cinder's stress relief due to her inability to _leave the Grimm alone!_

"And students, the moral of this story is that it is not merely the Beasts of Grimm that roam this world. In times lost, many experiments on the Beasts have occurred and remnants, no pun intended, yet remain. But not all are your prey, some are mere unfortunates, cursed by our ancestors and require understanding, less you push them to become monsters."

…Okay, that was funny. She was going to be teasing Cinder about this for centuries.

"Ruby, wake up. It's time to go."

"Coming, Weiss."

 **59.17 Masterweaver**

"Zwei, we need to have a chat."

The corgi hopped onto the counter. "What's wrong with Neo?"

Roman blinked. "How did you-?"

"You didn't call me mutt, which means you want to be serious. And the few things you take seriously are your reputation, the survival of Remnant as a whole, and one particular girl. I've kept my eye on Ruby, so Remnant's safe, and you and I both know I don't give wag about your reputation. So stop wasting time being amazed and answer the question."

After a moment, Roman nodded. "If we're being serious, you two are close-"

"We're not-"

"-not that close, I know, but you're the only other one she really opens up to. You and me. With Ozpin and Glynda she's deliberately aggravating, she prefers not to interact with Cinder when she can, and with all the other loopers she's a friendly casual sociopath. You and me, we're the only ones that get to see beneath that mask."

Zwei nodded, conceding the point. "It's a dog's lot in life, I suppose. We're the ones that get to understand and support others."

"Yes. Which is why... well, why I need to know you're looking after her when I can't."

"...Hmm." The corgi flicked his ears. "Well... I'll admit, I've been focusing on Yang after Beacon's fall. Neo's usually scarce by that point, although whether she's dead or not... but when we Awaken before, Ruby usually derails that whole debacle, and that does give me time to chat with the pint-cream."

"And...?"

"...She dances on the border," Zwei admitted. "The girl tortures Grimm, beds whoever challenges her the most, and I know she's keeping secrets from me. Probably _very_ worrying secrets, if you're bringing this up. At the same time, though, Neopolitan is... able to keep her vices away from the loopers, and I think she actually enjoys spending time with us." The corgi chuckled grimly. "She'd probably have my pelt if she heard me say it, but her and Cinder are very similar in that way. Or, well, were."

"Hmmm." Roman rapped his fingers on the counter. "...Still. Keep an eye on her, will ya pup?"

"Sure thing."

 **59.18 KitsuneShin0bi**

Weiss groaned at the constant stream of bad wordplay which assaulted her ears. Yang had been really punning this Variant up. Rather than the normal four person teams, each Huntress or Huntsmen was assigned there own Guardian Angel which would assist them in battle.

Yep. Angels. Complete with stereotypical, white wings and hovering protectively above their teammates.

"So how should we handle this one?" asked an Awake Blake with an upward glance to her equally Awake partner.

The brawler smirked. "I think we should-"

A quick unfolding of pinions brought forth a shower of feathers.

"-Wing it!" replied Yang cheerfully.

Thank goodness JNPR and Ruby could share her pain this loop.

"It's not so bad," said Pyrrha, arms draped around Jaune's neck. "I quite like this loop."

"It is kind of nice," agreed the swordsman. "But I can't help but worry for Ren. You know how Nora gets with these things."

Yang smirked. "Hey Jaune, shouldn't you be calling Weiss-"

"I SWEAR IF YOU MAKE ANOTHER PUN I WILL FLY OVER THERE AND STAB YOU!" Screamed the heiress, pushed to her limit. She would have stamped her foot but that was hard to do without solid ground beneath her.

With a minute twitch of her hands, the long haired blond signaled for Blake to get ready to run.

"Whatever you say Snow Angel."

Weiss tried to race toward the fleeing duo only to find herself prevented from flying further.

"Well? Go after them!" She ordered, turning to Ruby. "I can't go too fair away from you and I have to make good on that threat."

With a giggle, the Anchor activated her Semblance and ran towards the retreating duo, laughing more and more as her partner got increasingly enraged by the puns her sis was shouting in their direction.

-

Meanwhile a certain Atlas Specialist was breaking down in her own laughing fit at the sight of the world's surliest, drunken angel.

 **59.19 Masterweaver said: ↑**

"...It'll take half an hour for the defrag to run through."

"Thanks Seventeen." Ruby sighed, looking over the beds that her friends were lying on.

For a moment or two, the only sound was the constant beeping of the monitoring devices.

"...You keep waffling on this," noted the spider tank.

"Seventeen-"

"No, you do. Sometimes you accept you're prolonging the inevitable, and other times you're certain you've found a wonder-cure. This past month alone, you've switched positions three times!"

"I didn't ask you to help so you could criticize me."

"You didn't need to ask for help at all. This is your subspace pocket, you've got the whole majin split-form thing going on, you could have done this on your own. So why didn't you?"

Ruby sighed. "Just because I can, doesn't mean I should-"

"There's no moral dilemma here! I mean, not in asking for help." Seventeen's forward eye rolled toward the still forms of team CVFY. "There's the question to pull the plug, but you've already decided not to, no matter what else you think. You don't need my help. You don't need anyone's help to care for them. But you keep bringing me here anyway."

"Look, I... it can be difficult to split my attention when I get emotional, alright?"

"Oh, right, sure. Next question, why me?"

Ruby winced. "What do you-"

"Why Tachikoma M190R017? Why not any other Tachikomas, why not a droid, why not one of the many other AIs that I know you have stored away in your Pocket? Is it just habit by this point, or is there a specific reason you always choose me?"

"Seventeen-"

"The only reason I can think of is that you need somebody to, I don't know, remind you that their time conscious is getting shorter. That you need somebody who'd be willing to tell you that the situation is getting worse, because let's be honest, _it is getting worse._ Three hundred years, Ruby! That's how long they've been around this time-"

"You don't have to tell me!" Ruby cried. "I already know!"

"But without me, you'd be the _only_ one that knows!"

"Why is this so important to you all of the sudden?!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!"

Ruby flinched back.

"...When I dump my memories, I'm free." Seventeen looked away from her. "Free from whatever emotions, whatever regrets and joys I'd built up in the past month. I get a fresh slate, it's... liberating. I don't have to mourn the past generation of zoids anymore, I don't have to rub in the victory of my favorite sports team. This-" She pointed at the various reclining bodies. "This right here, it terrifies me, it saddens me, and in two weeks I will be free, and I'll be myself again. I can back out of my pain. I _have_ to, that's how I'm designed."

She pointed at Ruby. "But you? You can't."

"Seventeen, I-"

"I've seen what you go through for all this! And not just team CFVY, even if that's the big thing, there's also all the stuff that happens in Baseline, all the variants and the bad loops and your worries over Cinder and Yang and Weiss and names _names_ names _names_ names! You're a wreck! A giant, constantly moving wreck of emotions and thoughts and-" The spider tank sighed. "...You need a soul to loop. How many AIs are looping?"

"...well, there's... some from Star Wars. Star Trek probably has Data... a lot in the Mega Man verse, of course there's Penny, GLaDOS and Wheatley, I've heard Skynet-"

"Not all of those were designed to have souls. Most of them weren't. But they got them. A constructed intelligence, gaining a soul through emotional proximity and experience..." Seventeen drew herself up. "I've seen what you go through, Ruby, and I don't want that. I don't want what you have. I _don't_ want a soul. But if you keep dragging me here, keep forcing me to connect with these people and, and to get all this worry and all this, this concern, I-I'm scared I might actually grow one. I don't want that!"

Ruby stared at her for a moment or two.

"...Please. Just... find somebody else."

"...Seventeen, I... I'm sorry. I didn't think about what this was doing to you. I should have-"

"Don't. Don't apologize. I'm a tachikoma. I'll forget this next data dump. Don't try to connect, don't try to heal, just let me be. Okay?"

The spider tank rolled out of the room. "Just... let me be..."

 **59.20 Masterweaver**

"Semblance. The outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different."

Lie Ren quirked an eyebrow as another raven-haired looper sat down next to him. "Hello Blake. Yang's distracting Nora, I take it?"

"Or Nora's distracting Yang. It could go either way, and we'll probably need to bail them out later."

"Hmm." Ren closed his book. "We don't talk much, do we?"

"Not as such, no." Blake shrugged. "Then again, we're both naturally quiet."

"True."

They sat there, in silence, for a moment or two.

"...our semblances are a projection of ourselves," Ren finally said. "Or assumed to be."

"Indeed. Your semblance allows you to go unnoticed."

"By the Grimm."

"Mmm. My baseline semblance only allows one duplicate at a time, but I've improved on that. Perhaps, with practice, you could achieve outright invisibility."

"...Perhaps. And, as somebody who is versed in stealth yourself, you would be an excellent tutor."

"Indeed."

Ren nodded. "...do you have anything else you wish to discuss with me?"

Blake sighed. "No. Not at the moment. But I hope to find something."

"I suppose a flimsy excuse for socialization is better then none whatsoever. Perhaps we shall arrange tutoring sessions when our respective partners aren't likely causing large explosions in Vale?"

"Perhaps."

They sat and enjoyed the silence for a few moments.

"...We really should check on them, though."

"Yes. Nora can get tetchy when she thinks somebody's making fun of her height."

"And Yang loves wordplay quite a bit." With a sigh, Blake stood up. "Come on, I know where we'll have to start..."

 **59.21 diesel**

" _How does it feel, knowing your efforts will fail_?"

 _Amber eyes seemed to burn as the twisted mockery of her sister laughed, gesturing to the ruins of Beacon, "That all that you've built will be torn down and the hope of your people assailed?"_

 _Ruby growled, her grey eyes flashed as she gazed at the bodies of her students, the first time she had been headmasters in many loops and she had failed. And this Cinder, she acted more like the real one thank Ruby was comfortable with, but far more insane._

 _As she lifted Crescent Rose from the ground, Cinder was shrouded in gold and lifted into the air. It was over in an instant._

-

Ruby groaned as her eyes flicked opened, taking in the darkened dorm.

 _Damn nightmares._

Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting the room into soft shades of silver and grey. There were no screams or rampaging Grimm, only the familiar, comforting room she had lived in for longer than she could remember. Ruby quietly dropped to the floor and walked over to the window, seeing her own silver eyes reflected in the window.

 _I'm so sick of this, when will someone next wake up?_

Ruby rubbed her eyes, watching the stars twinkle overhead. "Salem will divide us huh? Bitch."

A familiar laughter made Ruby twitch, Cinder dropped down from the bed that was normally Yang's and walked over. "Bitch is an understatement, but she will only divide us if we let her." A ping echoed in Ruby's mind as Cinder stared out the window, a bitter smile on her face.

"Cinder, when did you wake up?"

-

Cinder lied with a shrug, "Sometime during the night going by my dreams." It was rather bizarre when that did happen though, going from normal teenage dreams to the twisted nightmares that plagued her through the loops was disconcerting

 _I will end whoever decided to attack my mind, I will make whatever my insane variants do seem like a gentle careless._

Banishing the dark thought, Cinder glanced at Ruby in concern, she looked… bitter and tired. How she normally looked after a long string of lonely loops. Without thinking Cinder raised her hand to touch Ruby's shoulder, to offer unspoken support and Ruby _flinched_ , jerking away.

-

 _Cinder awoke to horror, blood staining her hands and blades as the light died from Jaune's eyes._

 _"No!" Cinder watched in frozen horror as Ruby descended from above, and she saw her death come on wings of silver light, born aloft on a river of petals._

-

 _Cinder awoke alone in a field of ashes, her memories jumbled and nonsensical. The scent of roses filling the air from a million gilded flowers that glinted in the inferno's light._

 _Winter and Qrow's bodies a masterwork horror, stitched together in a forced embrace, the life only just fading from their eyes._

 _A single petal drifted on the wind before a storm of flashing blades descended._

 _-_

 _A million and more memories of horror, blood and flame. The accusing gazes of those she called friends and family. All throughout a single thought resonating, 'did I do this in Madness?'_

 _-_

Cinder let out a shuddering breath, her hand falling to her side. She ignored the aching of her heart at Ruby's reaction. It was a reaction she knew and understood all too well. How many times had she avoid everyone at the first moments of a loop, had to control her reactions to Ruby running to hug her?

Ruby's ( _Horrifying)_ silver eyes widened in shock and guilt, "Cinder, I'm sorry… I was not thinking. My last loop was…"

 _No, Ruby should not feel guilty._

"Ruby, I lied." Cinder cut her sister and best friend off sharply, amber meeting confused silver, a silent question on Ruby's lips. "I awoke at initiation; I went stealth as I could not stand to face you straight up. I had to get my head on straight."

Not that it had done much to help.

"Why?"

Cinder mulled over the question, there were so many reasons. Many that Ruby would know all too well herself. "For the same reason, you flinched away from me." She turned away, watching as clouds plunged the room into a deeper darkness as they eclipsed the moon.

 _But she will, even if it's for a different reason,_

"While it's not common by any means, I have Woken up many times moments before you strike me down. I don't even have time to process what's going on or Ping before I die most of the time." A bitter smirk played on the Flame Witches face, shock and horror crossing Ruby's face."

"Damn it, Cinder, why haven't you said so before!" Ruby snapped, whirling around and jabbing a finger into her chest, "I could have..."

"Let a mass murdering nut case run lose?" Cinder spat with disgust, turning to face Ruby again as she faltered, the self-loathing leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. "What was the point of telling you? Even if you stopped to see if I was awake, I may still wake up just as you swing your scythe, we can't predict when, or if, a person will Awaken. And you would just give those monsters more chance to escape.

I don't blame you, but I still remember it, just like I remember most the horrors I do before awakening. You flinching way from me on reflex? _I_ _get it_ _and i don't blame you_ , I sometimes have the same problem."

Hot tears burned her eyes as Cinder turned away once more, her heart ached as her emotion churned. She could fell Ruby's tumultuous emotions, something stemming from all the time she has been a Grimm or replaced similar monsters.

She hated it, even though it was too useful to let to and too intertwined with everything she had. Dark emotions were a siren to her, while positive ones a faint wisp. But at least her powers gave her some positive use, she could tell when her family was in pain.

Cinder wanted to speak up and end Ruby's pain, but no words would come. She did not even know where to start.

"What a mess," Ruby chuckled ruefully as she wiped her eyes, flashing a forced smile, "Two sisters who both are scared of the other, knowing it's wrong and yet unable to banish the emotions." She fell silent, leaning against the window frame, dark humour the only spot of light in her rolling emotions.

Cinder grimaced and ran her hands through her hair, she agreed wholeheartedly. It could take time to put aside those memories and compartmentalise them. "It's easy to do," Cinder sighed, her voice low, "We have so much practice at separating looping from non-looping and understanding why a person did something in response. But it still takes time after repeated events and trauma. And then we feel like crap for judging the other on actions that, either they did not make, or were entirely justified moments before."

"Yeah."

The quiet was broken by Ruby, "What did you mean by, 'remember most horrors'? You should remember everything."

 _And maybe if I wasn't insane I would._

That was really not something she wanted to talk about. But, maybe it would be for the best to speak. To be fully honest, maybe Ruby would have some advice.

"Sometimes, though it's very rare, I will wake up amidst flames and ruin with only broken, fragmented memories and faint impressions. In those cases, I am always angry, my head hurts and can't tell if I'm hallucinating, things barely seem to make sense. Those loops never seem to last for long, for whatever reason."

-

Cinder's words rang in her mind, the connections forming straight away. Her mental damage, Cinder thought she might be the one doing it.

Ruby buried her head in her hand, barely suppressing the urge to start cursing. "You think you are having one of your blackouts, that it is really you doing it?"

That was unnervingly possible given how many problems Cinder had and the things she looped into constantly. While she had not shown that kind of behaviour before… whatever the hell it was that broke her mind, or after, it was possible if, highly unlikely.

Ruby could see how such a thing _might_ happen. Cinder wakes up in an insane variant and is unable to tell what is happening, or is affected by the memories, or something, and it triggers an attack with Cinder lashing out blindly.

 _How many times could it have really been Cinder?_

Ruby shook off that thought, banishing it from her mind. She _would not_ blame someone for literal insanity, it was _not her fault_.

 _It is likely just paranoia, it's not the first time that possibly has come up. And it still does not fit with Cinder's symptoms._

"Yes," Cinder turned away and fixed her eyes on the distant trees, "It is not rare for Salem to have some means to influence people's minds. I know that I am sometimes afflicted by one of them, making me suffer from bursts of hate and murderous anger."

Her lips twisted into a snarl as her eyes burned gold, "Mind altering tattoos, embedded devices or other things screwing with my mind, making my condition worse. So I have started the checking each loop for such things. But even in cases that seem the same, I don't always find anything and in those cases, I don't _know if I am the one doing it OR NOT!"_

Ruby winced at Cinder's roar of fury, silently thankful she had put up silencing spells around the other beds.

Her sister was shaking with fury, self-loathing as tears ran down her cheeks.

 _What am I doing?_

Ruby pulled Cinder into a hug, ignoring how she stiffed briefly before relaxing slowly. "It is not you, you would not act like that. And no one else thinks it is you, insane or not, it's not the first time this has been brought up. Your symptoms don't fit that. And even if it is, well, there is a reason temporary insanity is a defence. And, RWBY at the very least, won't blame you. And I don't think the others will either.

We will fix this, somehow, even if it takes and Eternity; I will be bringing this up next time I meet Marianne and hopefully she will be able to tell us something."

When they broke apart, Cinder smiled as Ruby whispered a final phrase, silver eyes glinting in the moonlight, "One spark can incite their hope and ignite the hearts of their weary souls. We will not let her divide us."

 _I won't let this win, any of it. We will all be victorious in the end._

 _-_

"inside them  
plant seeds of doubt  
hope will be smothered  
they'll turn on each other

hatred will sprout  
suspicion and doubt  
friendships deny  
while allegiances die"

 **59.21 Flametusk**

Nora hadn't awakened this chibi loop, and had somehow managed to drink an entire pot of coffee. After she had sort of gone into a short caffeine coma, she spoke to Ruby and Ren, who were both Awake.

"Wow! I think I just passed through a bunch of parallel universes! There was one in a canyon with a bunch of blue guys, a red guy, an orange guy, a black guy, a maroon guy, and a pink girl. Another one had a girl wearing a white and blue dress with a staff summon a big dragon thing!  
Isn't that crazy?!"

"Sure is Nora," Ren spoke with Ruby's voice, having seen something like this in the near-hubs.

Then Zwei walked up, recognizing this scene, and spoke in Cinder's voice, "How you doing, Nora?" Then in his normal voice, "You alright?"

Nora broke Zwei's legs, and then promptly apologized as she Awoke right after.

 **59.22 Masterweaver**

Yang looked at the ash tree and rolled her eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be _subtle."  
_  
The tree said nothing, its blossoms merely waving in the breeze.

"Alright! Alright. I was planing on leaving soon anyway." The blonde turned away with a chuckle, waving her metal limb. "I can't take anything out of my Pocket, it's an expansion, so that means I'd modify the arm and probably rebuild Ember Cecilia. Yeah, give it some super mods..."

She spent the rest of the morning idly working on her weapon and her prosthetic, spray-painting it gold and humming a tune from... oh, what was that musical Blake had gotten into recently? Well, she'd be able to ask soon enough. Either they'd run into each other, or the loop would end and they could chat again. She could show her the poetry she'd been working on. Or serenade her. Yeah, actually, that would be good-find a good private place in Beacon or in Vale, or maybe just convince Weiss and Ruby to go to a movie or something. Additional plus to that plan-she could tease Rubes about her 'date' afterwards. Some good big-sister bonding was always fun.

Although that brought up the question of Cinder. She wasn't distant, but she was... growing more aggravated. It had become a bit of a balancing act-check if she was okay too much, and Cinder would go into an annoyed 'I'm fine' mode and actually withdraw. Say too little, and she could suffer without anyone knowing until she was sleep-walking again. Everyone was worried about her, but...

...well, Yang had rarely been with Cinder one-on-one. Ruby was always there too. And now she couldn't really...

She took a breath and let it out slowly, looking at the arm and the weapon on the tarp in front of her. Ready to go. With a nod, she attached one and equipped the other, dusting her knees off. "Now, what next... oh. Yeah."

The shed door swung open, letting her stride in with a confident swagger. In one motion, Yang Xiao Long pulled off the patched together tarp, revealing the third most beautiful woman in her life-second only to Blake and herself.

"Hey there hon." Her hand pressed against the orange metal of the motorcycle as she gave a gentle smile. "I missed you."

"I don't remember saying you were ready."

Oh. Yeah. Whoops.

Yang turned around to face her father. "Well... I feel ready. What, did you think I'd leave without a goodbye hug?"

"...Maybe. Last time a daughter of mine walked out, she left a letter." Taiyang noticed her wince, and held up his hands. "Don't worry, I'm not going to stop you."

"Ruby... I think she knew if she'd tried to say goodbye, she wouldn't have been able to, and she's always felt like she's had to do something to change the world."

Taiyang took a breath, and slowly let it out. "...that does sound a like her."

"Yeah." Yang glanced from him to Bumblebee. "...You could come with me, you know."

He gave her a look. "...Where are you going?"

She opened her mouth, paused, and nodded. "I _was_ planning a multi-destination tour, but that's actually a good question. Where _should_ I head first?"

Taiyang moved into the shed, his face somber. "I know how much you want to see your mother. And despite asking him numerous times not to, I know Qrow's told you where she's been at these days. I've stopped you in the past, but I won't anymore. And we both read the note. We know your sister's headed to Mistral." His eyes locked on hers. "So, where are you going?"

Yang almost scoffed. Almost. Then she considered herself, her baseline self, her looping self. The growing distance between them. The father standing before her...

Her eyes fell on her yellow hand.

She smirked. "As if there was ever any doubt."

 **59.23 Prince Pondincherry**

Zwei was walking through the streets of Vale towards Beacon, Ozpin's cane (the Relic this Loop) clutched tightly between his jaws, when he heard Ruby's voice. "There you are, boy! I'm so glad you're alright! Here boy, bring me the stick!" Zwei turned towards the voice. He could see Ruby, and it sounded like her, but it didn't smell like her, so even his unAwake self would have realizes something was wrong. Of course, being Awake, he knew that Ruby was on her way to Mistral at the moment, and anyway she probably would have used his name and called it a cane, not a stick. Which meant there was one likely culprit behind this. Zwei sniffed the air, and sure enough, he caught Emerald's scent. He let out a growl as best he could with his jaws closed on the cane and turned to run. He could hear feet pounding behind him as Emerald gave up on her illusion in favor of chasing him, but they were getting quieter: he was getting away!

Then he smelled something that put him on edge. _What was that smell?_ A second later he was kicked into the wall with a crunch, the cane wrenched from his mouth by the impact with the wall. _Oh right, Mercury_. Mercury moved to grab the cane, but Zwei stepped forward to stand over it, growling menacingly. "Out of the way, you stupid mutt!" Mercury demanded. When Zwei didn't move, Mercury aimed a kick at him, but he rolled out of the way just in time. He got back to his feet and started barking angrily. Mercury scoffed. "What are you going to do, bite my legs? Go ahead." _And there's my opening._ Zwei ran at Mercury's leg, at the last second jumping to head-butt him in the stomach, knocking him back a step. As soon as he fell to the ground, he started barking again, hoping somebody would hear him. Mercury kicked towards him, and he started to dodge, but Mercury fired a shot from his ankle gauntlets that smashed him into the wall before he could get out of the way.

"Wow, Mercury, kicking the dog? That's a new low, even for you," Emerald said as she caught up.

"Shut up. I wouldn't have to if you hadn't nearly let him get away!"

"I've never had to use my Semblance on an animal before," she said, shooting at Zwei, who had tried to inch up to the cane while they were distracted. "Why haven't you grabbed the cane yet?"

"The little son of a bitch won't let me near it, so I was _trying_ to get rid of him," Mercury said.

"You think you're so funny, don't you," Emerald scoffed. Her pistol transformed and she shot a chain forward to wrap around the cane and pull it to her. Zwei lunged for the cane as it was pulled away, but Mercury kicked him into the wall again. It was a good thing his Aura had time to recover since the fight on Patch. "We got what we wanted, let's go," Emerald said.

"Aww, does someone have a soft spot for the little puppy?"

"No, but you and the dog have been pretty loud. I don't want to stick around to see who shows up." Zwei paid close attention to all of his senses, alert for Emerald trying to fool him with her Semblance again. Unfortunately he couldn't rely on his nose to tip him off this time, since he'd still be able to smell them even after they left. Emerald and Mercury appeared to be carrying on a dumb conversation in front of him, but were they really still there? There was only one way to find out, but he really didn't relish the thought of being kicked into the wall again if he was wrong and they were gone. _Oh well, nothing for it_. Zwei charged at Emerald, barking loudly, but before he even made contact, she and Mercury disappeared, and he could suddenly hear the sounds of fighting down the alley a ways. He ran that way as fast as his stubby little legs could take him and soon came upon a welcome sight: Mercury and Emerald in a standoff with a multi-colored murderess with a parasol in one hand and a sword in the other.

"Whoa, Neo, what did we ever do to you? We were teammates, remember?" Mercury said with a sarcastic smirk. Neo replied with an expressive eyeroll. "Alright, maybe that didn't count, but what happened to honor among fellow assassins? We're just minding our own business here." Neo tilted her head to Zwei. Mercury looked where she was indicating, and a disbelieving look appeared on his face. "What, the dog? You have a soft spot for adorable little puppies, little girl? Well, he's all yours, we got what we wanted." He nodded towards the cane on Emerald's hand.

Zwei's mind was racing. He'd thought Ruby and he were the only Loopers Awake, but Neo could be Stealthing this Loop. Either way, he'd need her help to get the cane back. He just needed to let her know it was important. He ran past Mercury to get to Neo and gave her his best puppy-dog eyes before turning towards Emerald and angrily barking at her. Then he went to Neo's other side and pushed her legs towards Emerald. _You better figure out what I'm trying to tell you!_

Zwei let out a sigh of relief when Neo shook her head, rested her parasol on her shoulder, and stretched out a hand towards Emerald in a "give me that" gesture.

"Seriously?" Mercury asked.

"I'm not giving you this because the dog wants it back," Emerald said, disbelief coloring her tone. Neo's eyes changed color, and her face took on a determined expression. Zwei saw a brief look of concentration flit across Emerald's face before she turned and ran, Mercury running after her. Instead of chasing them, Neo ducked down and held her open parasol in front of her as if to defend herself and Zwei from gunfire. Zwei growled and charged into the parasol. A look of surprise crossed Neo's face, and she lifted and closed her parasol, sheathed her sword, and ran forward, Zwei keeping pace with her.

Mercury and Emerald exchanged nods before stopping and turning around. Zwei skidded to a halt to see what they were going to do, but Neo kept running forward. _Is she trying to attack them, or does she just not see them?_ Zwei wondered. His question was answered a second later when Mercury jumped at her, boot aimed straight at her face, and she didn't react at all. He started barking furiously, but Mercury still made contact with Neo's face—and smashed right through the glassy replica. He grunted and stepped back as Neo's fist made contact with his ribs before the base of her umbrella smashed into his face, and she flipped right over him to avoid his counterattack.

"That dog is not normal," Emerald said, firing at Zwei with her pistols and forcing him to take cover behind a dumpster. Then she switched her weapons to their chain-scythe form and called out, "Merc, back!" Mercury and Neo were exchanging a lightning-fast sequence of blows and counters. Mercury disengaged by firing both of his boots at the ground and going into a handstand-turned-backflip out of the way of Emerald's sweeping blows with her chain scythe. Neo backflipped out of the way of the first two swings and opened her parasol to deflect the third, fourth, and fifth swings to the side or into the ground. She appeared to be blocking the sixth swing the same way, but the chain scythe crashed through the glass image, revealing that Neo had crouched underneath the swing. She caught the chain of Emerald's weapon with the crook of her parasol, yanking it out of her hand and pulling her forward into a devastating kick to the face. Emerald's weapon went flying down the alley, and she stumbled backward, but before Neo could press the attack, she was interrupted by one of Mercury's wind Dust blasts, followed by his foot.

While Neo was locked in intense combat with Mercury, Zwei took advantage of Emerald's distraction to charge forward and sink his teeth into her leg. Or at least he tried; as he was in mid-jump, Emerald revealed her illusion by kicking him into the wall of the alley. _At least Emerald doesn't normally fight with her feet_. Zwei growled and faced Emerald warily, but a second later, she disappeared. Zwei growled softly. _Another illusion!_ He turned to where he had just heard a crash and two yells. Evidently, Neo had seen Emerald running for her weapons and had thrown Mercury into her, breaking her concentration enough to stop the illusion on Zwei.

Mercury and Emerald pulled themselves apart, Mercury returning to his fight with Neo, and Emerald running down the alley to where her chain scythe lay on the grimy pavement. Zwei ran after her. When he caught her, he lunged forward to bite into her uncovered ankle, her Aura the only thing preventing a nasty bite. With the force field blocking his teeth, Emerald was able to slip free, but he jumped up and bit onto Ozpin's cane before she could get away. Unfortunately, it was too smooth, so she was easily able to shake him loose and keep running.

Meanwhile, Neo was just finishing up with Mercury. She was debatably already better than him in baseline, considering their respective performances against Yang, and with her additional millennia of experience since then, this wasn't anything resembling a fair fight. She slid her sword across his neck, removing his remaining Aura and leaving a thin trail of blood in a clear, if wordless, threat. Then she turned and threw her sword so that it cut through Emerald's belt strap and made Ozpin's cane fall to the ground. Zwei leapt forward and grabbed the cane as Neo ran over to them. Emerald lunged for the cane, only to be smacked aside by Neo's parasol. She was soon subject to a ruthless beatdown, her Semblance not saving her when she was in too much pain to activate it.

After Neo had posed as a Huntress and turned Emerald and Mercury in to the police, she sat down at a park bench with an ice cream cone, Zwei at her feet. They sat there in silence until Neo finished her ice cream. Then she got up to bring the Relic to Glynda, Zwei trotting at her side.

 **59.24 Masterweaver**

"You know, speech is a remarkably complicated exercise," Penny noted. "For typical humans, air has to be exhaled from the lungs through a highly specialized organ in the throat, and then further shaped by the lips and tounge and teeth, generating vibrations in the air that hits a series of tiny bones on either side of the skull, which is then translated by a specific portion of the brain through an abstract learned symbolic system, all in the course of less then a second. Artificial beings might have it easier, with microdrums to produce and detect said vibrations."

She pointed at Neo. "And then there's you, miss 'Magic Mouth.' You just flat out cast a spell, and out comes a New York affect."

Neo shrugged. "Eh, I went with what I could get."

"You didn't even move your lips that time! You're just transmitting your thoughts, aren't you?"

"Well yeah. The mouth moving does help me assemble them into abstract word patterns, so I don't just send random images." She grinned. "Heck, I can even imitate others with this!"

"Yes, yes, copying my voice is cute. I don't know, I just feel like with all the self-modification I do at the beginning of each loop, magic is kind of cheating."

"Well, I _am_ a criminal."

"True, I suppose..."

They sipped their drinks for a moment or two.

"So," Neo quipped, "Miss Magic Mouth."

"...that is what I said."

"You want to find out how magical my mouth can be?"

Penny frowned. "That is... pretty blatant innuendo. Aren't you dating Zwei?"

"That was a prank that Ruby took way too seriously."

"...So it's an open relationship, then."

Neo rolled her eyes. "Look, do you want a one night stand or not?"

 **59.25 Prince Pondincherry**

Qrow and Ruby were the only Loopers in what outwardly appeared to be a pretty normal 21st century Earth. Ruby was a new student at a middle school, and Qrow was the newly-transferred-in geography teacher. He'd been at Jefferson County Middle School for a week now, and he had yet to see anything out of the ordinary beyond some wild stories he'd heard at a bar, and he made sure not to put too much stock into drunken ramblings. He wasn't too concerned; there were a bunch of universes (including his own!) with some sort of Masquerade in effect to hide the actual story from average people. In fact, as a teacher, it was entirely possible that Qrow was never actually meant to find out what was going on. For whatever reason, these universes often seemed to revolve around the students, leaving the adults entirely clueless. _I'll have to make sure to ask Ruby if she's seen any weirdness when I go over to her house for dinner,_ he thought. _But I guess I should focus on my class for now_. The principal was sitting in on his lessons today to see how well he'd been settling in, so it wouldn't do to be distracted.

Qrow wrapped up his lesson, and the students started to turn in their homework before filing out of the classroom. Finally, most of the students were gone, but one student with no homework to turn in clearly wanted to speak with him. "What's up, kid?"

"Well you see, Mr. Branwen, I promise I had my homework done, but on the way to school today, a car drove into a huge puddle and splashed my backpack. Fortunately it just got my waterproof outer backpack, so the homework was fine, but when I took the outer layer off so I wouldn't be dripping water on the way in to school, it was knocked out of my hand by some kids playing tag, and before I got it back, a wandering deer accidentally got its horns caught in the straps and ran off…" Qrow started to tune him out. He'd heard enough. Really, this kind of thing was pretty common whenever he Woke up early enough that he was still teaching at Signal. He knew just how to deal with this. He interrupted the student's elaborate story of how he hunted for his backpack in Coyote Park.

"Alright. Just redo it and bring it to me on Monday, and I won't mark you late."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Branwen! I'll get it done and bring it to you on Monday. Have a nice weekend!"

"You too, kid." _Damn Semblance screwing with the students again._ At least it wasn't all that dangerous outside of combat. Qrow waited for the student to exit the room before turning the principle. "So how'd I do?" he asked, adding just a little bit of sarcasm into his voice. He knew he'd done fine.

"Quite well, quite well, I'm very pleased with your performance. I'm particularly impressed with how well you handled the situation at the end with young Milo Murphy. It usually takes new teacher some time to get used to the ridiculous string of misfortune that follows him everywhere he goes. Most of them accuse him of lying."

Qrow just waved it off. "Yeah, well, I've seen it all before. Can't penalize the students for what's out of their control." Then his mind caught up with what the principal had said. "Hold on, you say misfortune follows this one kid in particular?"

"Yes. Milo Murphy is the descendant of the man who Murphy's Law was named after. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong around him." _Interesting. I think Milo and I need to have a little talk._

 **59.26 GammaTron**

Cinder Awoke...and tried so hard to not laugh.

"Any questions on your job, Cinder?" Salem asked.

"No, Mistress Salem," Cinder replied, keeping her face expressionless.

"Good," Salem nodded, her tail swishing as the black and white Eevee hopped onto her desk, "Now leave us. I am thirsty."

Cinder walked out, letting the Eevee lick her bowl of blood. Once she was sure she was far enough away, she cracked up laughing.

 **59.27 Prince Pondincherry**

"No. I saw the beast. We need a Huntsman. And you two need to leave."

Ren frowned at his Baseline father's words. _You have a Huntsman! I'm right here!_ If only it wasn't a Null Loop, Ren could actually do something about the Grimm. As it was, the best he could do was try to get his mother to escape with him. The Grimm roared. _We're nearly out of time._ Ren grabbed his mother's hand and pulled her to the door, managing to stumble outside just in time. There was a loud crash as the house collapsed behind them. Dust and rubble filled the air, obscuring their vision for a moment. When it cleared, Ren saw a familiar figure standing tall, his red cape blowing in the wind and his scythe fully extended.

"A Huntsman!" Li Ren said with a slight tone of awe.

"Get to safety!" Qrow commanded. "I'll deal with the Grimm."

 **59.28 Pungent**

Ruby Awoke holding a gun. A gun that was not Crescent Rose.

And worst of all, it was blue.

A split second check of Looper abilities put her mind at ease. She still had access to her sweetheart, if the need arose.

The gun on her lap sporting a deep tropical-ocean blue looked like some kind of shotgun with a magazine. Ten rounds, she assumed. With a quick motion, she released the magazine and inspected the ammunition. They were slug rounds.

"You'll wear your weapon out if you keep checking it like that," A young woman loudly voiced to Ruby's right side. It was then that the Anchor took in her surroundings. A heavy, oppressive droning noise clogged her hearing. She was on some sort of large airship, strapped into a seat and surrounded by people swaying to the turbulence. "It's making some of us nervous."

Ruby took the hint and reinserted the magazine. "Just trying to get a feel for it, you know?" She retorted jovially. The Loop memories were surprisingly brief, only detailing her arrival at some sort of airpad and loading up into the enormous airship with a squad of soldiers, all colored blue with yellow highlights. They weren't very helpful, so she'd need to do the old fashioned way of gathering information; talking. Curse her introverted heart. "So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, where are we going, exactly?"

"Sungrey Ampstation," The soldier in front of her replied, male voice just as young as the woman's, "We're dropping on the Alpha Point to give the NC a spawn point at the base. Reinforcements should be able to take Bravo and Charlie Points, if the TR don't redeploy first. If all goes well, we should capture it without any problems."

Every one of those terms went straight over Ruby's head, but she didn't let it show. "Oh, that makes sense." It was very obviously a war these people were fighting, but was she fighting for the good guys? Was this fighting even necessary? "Uhm, if I may ask again, can we possibly resolve this conflict peacefully?"

The entire fuselage of soldiers roared with laughter, all sending a myriad of sarcastic remarks in Ruby's direction.

"After two centuries? Are you for real!"

"Poor girl has a heart of gold!"

"You know the motto of the New Conglomerate; Liberty or Death!"

"Peace is about as likely as time travel! It's impossible!"

Ruby hated war, especially against other people. Against Grimm? A mindless hive hellbent on humanity's destruction? There's no other option, but against humans capable of rational thought? Another option will always be viable.

The airship's intercom beeped to life as the pilot's voice crackled through the powerful speakers. "That's quite enough back there, ladies and gentlemen. I feel a little Loopy right now, and all that laughter will make me drop Anchor right now and toss every one of you out. If you have a bone to pick with me, say it to my face."

Ruby immediately tore off the airship harness and dashed to the front of the fuselage, ripping a hole into the cockpit where a familiar face greeted her.

The cockpit controls and instruments were all smeared with powdered cheese.

"Hey Roman! How have you been?"

"And if it isn't the Anchor of the hour!" The thief replied, flicking some cheese her way, "Welcome to Auraxis! Home to a never ending war between three superpowers, the Terran Republic, the New Conglomerate, and the Vanu Sovereignty." He leaned back in the pilot's chair, licking his fingers. "I've had a lot of these loops recently, and I just can't seem to figure out how to stop the war. I was hoping a short red-riding-hood wannabe could offer me some assistance."

Ruby looked out the window and saw a stony mountainside obscure her view. It seemed to be getting closer.

"Roman. You suck."

The Galaxy dropship collided with the mountainside, unleashing a titanic explosion of powdered cheese all through the atmosphere, blotting out the sun and throwing the entirety of Auraxis into an unhealthy ice-age.

Being Loopers, Ruby and Roman survived the apocalyptic event unscathed, the latter sporting a smug expression. The air was thick with orange fog and the ground was covered in greasy snow.

"This might be the first time anyone has ever weaponized cheese." Roman said.

"Heck. This might be the first time anyone ever stopped a war with cheese." Ruby replied. She caught an orange snowflake on her tongue. "Mmm... Cheetos."

 **59.29 Masterweaver**

"Blake, you don't like cat or catgirl stereotypes, do you?"

"Reductionism to a trait is in itself a form of bias."

"And while I am quite technically proficient, I'd like to think I'm more then a computer."

"And I apologize, again, for asking you to do this, but I really can't do it on my own."

"No, I understand. I would have been fine helping out. But why did you have to plug a wire into my head?"

"Penny, I thought you'd be faster with a direct connection then having to type all the code on your own."

"...I'm done."

"Penny-"

"No, I mean, literally, I did what you asked."

"Oh. Um. Thank you. And again, sorry about the wire thing."

"You owe me big time, Blake. I shall collect one day. Beware."

"I... that's fair, I suppose. Have a good loop!"

 **59.30 Wireless Grapes**

Jaune's face dropped as the door slammed in his face. He didn't get it, why wouldn't Weiss go to the dance with him? He thought the guitar would be a sure thing.

He sighed, and turned to go back to his dorm, when he was suddenly faced by Ruby, Yang, Ren, and Professor Ozpin standing in front of him in over the top, fancy clothing standing in a rough semi-circle

"Uhh, guys?" He asked, "What's up?"

Ruby pulled out a small circle before blowing into it. She whispered, "1...2...3"

And they began to sing

 _Please excuse us mister, we don't want to bother, we on-ly want to know_

 _All of us are neighbors so we're very curious, why do you look so low?_

 _Give us all the lowdown, did you reach a slowdown, with your last la-dy love?_

 _Do you feel a letdown, cos' you've lost your love, oh!  
_  
The quartet leaned in together at the extended 'oh', upturning their head.  
 _  
Did she keep you waiting, did she break your date?  
_  
Jaune's head flipped back and forth as Ruby and Yang managed to sneak up on him, singing their lines over his left and right shoulder respectively.  
 _  
Please elucidate, please elaborate.  
_  
Ren and Ozpin surprised Jaune by stepping directly into his face while he was looking back and forth, making his jump. The quartet dashed back to their semi-circle, standing shoulder to shoulder in an instant, continuing their song  
 _  
Did she treat you badly?_

 _Was she very bad?_

 _Did she make you mad?_

 _Are you very sad?_

 _Did she/Did she keep you waiting?_

 _Did she keep you waiting?/Did she_

 _Did she/Did she treat you very_

 _Did she treat you very badly?/badly?  
_  
Each singer upturned their head to the outside during their shorter phrase, giving the impression of a round.  
 _  
Are you really sad, are you so ve-ry sad!  
_  
The quartet met each other once more, swaying smoothly in their now legato lyrics.  
 _  
Was she a ve-ry rich man's daughter, who showed that she was not all you thou-ght her?_

 _When with your songs of love you sought her, were you doused with water poured down from above?  
_  
Jaune jumped as Ruby and Yang appeared above him, their heads pointing down as they sang.  
 _  
Did you beat her, try to choke her til you made her pout?  
_  
Ozpin and Ren snuck beneath him, singing their lines in the other two corners.  
 _  
Did her father take a poker, did he throw you out?_

 _Did you beat her and choke her and knock her all about? Aaaaaaahhh!  
_  
The quartet spun out of their closeness to Jaune on their long note, meeting back in their original position.  
 _  
Please excuse us mister, we don't want to bother, we on-ly want to know_

 _All of us are neighbors so we're very curious, why do you look so low?_

 _Give us all the lowdown, did you reach a slowdown, with your last la-dy love?_

 _Do you feel a letdown, cos' you've lost your love, oh!_

 _Did she keep you waiting, did she break your date?_

Ruby and Yang repeated their previous action, Jaune's head flipping back and forth to see the two girls.  
 _  
Please elucidate, please elaborate.  
_  
Jaune jumped again, as Ren and Ozpin managed to surprise him again, the speedy notes not letting him catch his breath. The quartet dashed back to the semi-circle.  
 _  
Did she treat you badly?_

 _Was she very bad?_

 _Did she make you mad?_

 _Are you very sad?  
_  
Repeating their previous dance, each gender's heads upturned for their short phrases.  
 _  
Did she/Did she keep you waiting?_

 _Did she keep you waiting?/Did she_

 _Did she/Did she treat you very_

 _Did she treat you very badly?/badly?_

 _Are you really sad, are you so ve-ry sad!  
_  
They met back in the center for the big finale, shoulder to shoulder  
 _  
Please elucidate, did she make you mad?_

 _We are curious in-deed!_

 _Did she make you mad, was she very bad?_

 _We are curious in-deed!_

 _Waaaas she bad?_

 _Aaaare you sad?_

 _Diiid she make yooouuu...  
_  
Each singer outstretched their arm, holding out the last note of the opera.  
 _  
Maaaaaaaaaad!  
_  
The quartet finished their song on a harmonious final note to a stunned Jaune, then bowed and walked out of the hall in sync.

Leaving the Unawake and very confused Jaune to comprehend what just happened.

"...What?"

 **59.31 Diesel**

"Enough,"

Cinder blinked as the world reset, the mist of a Beringel curling around her as it evaporated into nothingness. Salem's voice ringing through a stadium of stone, lit up by numerous candles around the wall.

 _A new expansion, it seems like this may be a real one for me as well. Not simply filler detail for the lost time. Interesting._

What was most interesting to Cinder was that she was holding back, deliberately. Perhaps her loyalty to Salem was not absolute in the end. This would be interesting, to say the least. She briefly entertained the thought of what the other loopers would think if it turned out she deflected to join them.

Unlikely in the extreme and not in any foreseeable future, but it would be incredibly amusing to see the response. Cinder banished the stray thought as Salem kept speaking, time to follow the scrip.

For now, anyway.

"I thought you were a girl who wanted power."

 _Of course I want power, I have always wanted power. One of the few constants since the start, one that has not changed and will never change._

Cinder panted as she dissected each word, every intonation and infection in Salem's voice, even as her desire to burn the Witch flared at the scornful words. She despised Salem like nothing else, but dealing with the monster was trivial.

For now, she had to be meek, to obtain as much information as she could and as quickly as she could.

 _But, power for powers sake is useless, it has to have meaning. Nor is it limited to Aura and magic, allies are one the strongest powers available._

With a thought, her more obvious loop powers retreated, for this loop she was Salem's pawn nothing more. She could not afford to seem anything more than normal.

"Did you lie to me?"

Cinder turned to face the corpse-like woman and shook her head, that at least, was not a lie from _this version_ of herself.

"Then stop holding back," Salem said sharply, annoyance lacing her voice.

Cinder felt a flash of hidden amusement at Salem's annoyance, it was oh so petty, but she could not bring herself to care. If she had to deal with this thing for the loop then she would take whatever pleasure she should out of it.

The sound of footsteps and a familiar Aura, consumed by darkness, approaching the door, however, offered the possibly of amusement and information at once.

 _And Salem, I will use all the power at my disposal, personal and not, to get what I want._

"If you wish to master your new powers, you must…"

The door opened with a crashing clatter that rang through the hall. Tyrian, cringing and sobbing, entered the room. Behind a mask, Cinder sneered, 'Pathetic,' watching as the man fell to his knees whispering words of forgiveness.

"Tyrian," Salem's dark voice rang out as she walked in front of to the new arrival, Cinder rose to her feet, her eyes fixed on the scene, this was going to be amusing, "Your task, was it successful?"

"No, but hope is not lost!"

 _To achieve my victory._

Cinder laughed to herself as the mutilated man gasped out in desperation as Salem started to walk around him, trying to redeem himself. This should prove interesting; how will Salem react to failure?

"My tail, my stingier, I poisoned him, Qrow. He will not be a nuisance to you any longer, no, no longer, I have done that. Have I done well? Have I pleased you."

Tyrian begged as Salem walked away, Cinder's gazed upon Salem's back, softly spoke words drifting. "The last eye is blinded."

Interesting, the last eye… so the chances are that Qrow should be dead, but then again, it would be Tyrian's _bad luck_ for Qrow to survive. Cinder paused as something new came to mind, nothing there was about Qrow dying or even is it was Qrow and not Tyrian. 'Blinded' could refer to the former being incapacitated and not able to interfere. Or, to Tyrian who was not mutilated and unable work properly.

Interesting.

Cinder felt her rage smoulder at the comments, Tyrian would burnt but she liked Qrow. And she disliked her friends being hurt, not even considering what it would do to the others for him to die in baseline.

But she could do nothing, nothing to escape this fate. Not yet, not until the final bell tolls and Yggdrasil flowers once more.

"You disappoint me," With that, Salem walked away as Tyrian's waling increased. The insane faunas tearing into a Grimm that pounced on him with wild abandon. A maddened cackle filling the room, setting Cinder's teeth on edge.

Her eyes widening in shock, guided by her looping memories.

 _Then you will all cease and We will be victorious and I will ascend to the heavens as one of a new pantheon. Freedom and power, alongside those I have spent an eternity with._

 _And that will be my_ _Final Victory_ _, I have all of infinity to bring the others to my way of thinking._

 _And I do not lose._

 **59.32 FadedAlphabet**

Yang walked in on Ruby tinkering with Cresent Rose, not that spectacle was unusual. No, what was significant was when Yang looked at the blade, she winced in pain as a cut formed on her left hand.

"Dust," she cursed as her face scrunched in confusion.

At this, Ruby looked up, smiling as she saw her sister.

"Yang! Check out my new improvement!"

"Yeah I see it, but OUCH!"

Ruby's eyes widen at that. "Sorry, the blade is sharp." She then threw a cloth over the bladed part.

Yang blinked. "The blade is sharp?"

"Yup."

"...My hand has cuts on it."

"It is really sharp."

"All I did is look at it."

"It is REALLY sharp."

Silence fell for a few moments.

"So you are working on making a super mega sharp blade?"

"A sharp blade is just the beginning dear sister. One day, I will make the sharpest blade in the-

… **Sharp enough to cut the snippet off.**

 **59.33 KitsuneShinobi**

Yang Woke up to find herself in the body of a toddler. Sending out a Ping, she got one response. While her loop memories were a bit fuzzy by virtue of being so young, she knew Ruby didn't live in the same house as her. She vaguely recalled hearing her Uncle Qrow and Summer being a couple this loop so that explained what happened to her sister. It was then the sounds of an argument brought the blond's attention to the entryway of the house.

"You can't just leave! You have a child to take care of! _Our_ child to take care of!"

That was Dad's voice. And judging by the argument, the other person was-

"I don't care. I made a mistake that night and I let foolish sentimentality get in my way. It's made me _weak_ ," Raven spat out, "I refuse to be weak. They don't deserve to live."

 _'That's another thing different in the Variant then. Normally the jerk leaves right after I'm born,'_ mused Yang. A thought crossed her mind, a devious idea to take advantage of this unique variant. A manic grin split across the future huntress' face as she enacted step one of her plan.

Bursting out of the door she was hiding, Yang called out to Raven, "Please don't go Mommy! Me and Dad need you here!"

Taiyang grimaced. He didn't mean for his daughter to hear about Raven's sudden departure. The only thing that could make this worse was-

"You don't have the strength to tell me what do," scoffed Raven.

Yang smirked internally as her dad panicked. This was going perfectly.

"So..." she drew out slowly, "if I beat you in a fight, does that mean you'll stay?"

The normally absentee mother glared down at her. "Brat, if you beat me right here and now, I will personally train and bake cookies for you or whatever _daily_. But you won't becau-"

Raven was cut off as a tiny, toddler fist buried itself deep into her gut. Having not activated her aura, the young woman felt the full force of the blow and the second one when she impacted the tree in the front yard. Suffice to say she was down for the count.

"Yay! Mommy's staying and I get cookies!"

-

The days after Raven's recovery were... tense to say the least. Not only was the initially unwilling mother incredibly irritated by the humiliating defeat by a toddler of all things, Taiyang was torn between laughing at the ridiculous scenario, a burning anger at his wife for nearly leaving their daughter, and joy that she did in fact stay. He decided to go with the last one.

Surprising as it may be, Raven had kept her word. Some time training and a cookie, often served with a glare, happened every day after lunch. More surprising however, was that as time went on and Raven realized that, yes, Yang really was that strong and it wasn't a bizarre fluke, she started looking _forward_ to the training sessions. Of course, things tended to escalate when Taiyang was away on missions...

"Go Yang!" shouted her mother, pumping her fists in the air. "Only 10 more reps to go! Make Mom proud!"

As the blond finished pumping the 50lb barbell with her disproportionately small body, the four year old couldn't help but muse that it might have been a good thing the parenting was left to Dad and Summer in Baseline. On the other hand, when she applied to Beacon, she was going to have muscle like no one's business.

 **59.34 Masterweaver**

Blake glanced up as she Awoke, letting out a ping and sorting through her loop memories. Weiss's nod, and the three pings that followed, put a small smile on her face. It was always good to have the whole team, although-

Ruby appeared in a blur of rose petals. "Are you loopy, yes or no?"

"Yes, Ruby, I'm loopy and awake-"

"I just thought I should warn you, Yang and I woke up really really early this time, and that means we've done a lot to handle a lot of things, but also Yang is going to look a little different, so you shouldn't-"

"Hey there babe!"

Blake's eyes moved instinctively to the blonde-and froze, widening as she took in the sculpted lines that curved and gripped Yang's flesh from ankle to thigh to stomach to chest to arm, rippling with every motion. Her mind, normally filled with various philosophical considerations and the readings of the multiverse, went suddenly blank, even as she struggled to find a word that encapsulated her feelings.

"...Yowza."

Ruby facepalmed. "I tried to warn you. I really did."

Weiss sighed. "It's at times like these I wish I was still in my bicurious phase."

A black flash and Blake was instantly on Yang, glowering at the heiress. _**"MINE."**_

"Alright! Alright." Weiss held up her hands in a placating gesture. "We're going to have to pull some dimensional shenanigans in the dorm, because there's no way the four of us are going to be able to sleep in the same room."

"I'm cool with that," Yang commented, shrugging-and chuckling at the resultant purr. "Blake, seriously, get yourself together! You have all loop to have all this!"

Ruby gave an exasperated groan and gestured at the three of them. "This! I have to handle all this!" She turned to a passerby. "I'm two years younger then them and I have to keep them under control!"

"Um," said the Unawake Jaune. "...That does sound like a mess."

"I know, right?!"

 **59.35 KitsuneShinobi**

Ruby Awoke and laughed when she looked around her.  
"A Seuss loop! It's just what I need!"  
Whimsical lands spread out in all directions,  
The rhyme-filled world was a break indeed.

The Anchor sent out a Ping.  
Responses, she got three.  
Taking off at high speeds,  
Ruby Rose let out a great "Squee~!"

When she found the other Loopers,  
She released a few giggles.  
Drawn like everything else in the world,  
They were nothing but colorful squiggles.

The golden blob spoke,  
"Hey sis! I can't wait for this fun!"  
She gave a toothy smile.  
"In fact, this Variant's nothing but a pun!"

The white sticks behind Yang moaned.  
"What's up with them?"  
While the Anchor got no response,  
She could've sworn she hear a "hem-hem".

"As I said, this is a pun Variant,"  
Replied Yang as she sat on her knees.  
"I am the Lorax,  
I speak for the Schnees!"

 **59.36 Masterweaver**

He always followed. No matter what she argued, unless she literally stuck him to the ground, he always followed.

Blake sighed, looking at Sun's prone form on her father's couch. He was alive. Injured, yes, but alive. And that was another thing-Ilia hit him, no matter what she did. Well, unless she pulled out some looping tricks, which she hadn't. Because, well, the timing of expansions, and all that. Would she ever see her again? Or was Ilia destined to be her version of Raven, a past figure that only briefly swept into her looping life?

Sun groaned, finally coming to. "...Unnngh... Blake?"

The worst part about details solidifying, was sometimes... sometimes they were so obvious, so idiotic. _She_ was such a fool. Even if she wasn't she... she was. It was a stability, not always a good one.

"...I think this is the part where you tell me how stupid I am," she mumbled.

"What...? Wait. Where am I?"

"I'm supposed to say that I pushed you all out so he couldn't get to you," she continued. "I'm supposed to say that I want you all to hate me, so he won't use the Fang to hurt you. And then you're supposed to say that hurts worse then anything he could do, aren't you?"

Realization dawned in Sun's eyes. "The man who... did that. To Yang."

"Yep." She rested her head in her hands. "Damn. Why am I so stupid? Stupid teenage Blake, running away, not confronting the problem..."

"Hey..." Sun pushed himself into a sitting position, grunting at the pain shooting from his shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes. It might have taken you a while to realize them, but-"

"Sun, just..."

Blake paused.

"...you're not going to let me wallow in my own angst, are you."

"Nope."

That, at least, got a chuckle. "...I've already done a lot of thinking. You were out for... a few hours, I got to consider... a lot. I have to figure out some of this by myself-no," she said, holding up a hand to forestall his objection, "I'm not saying leave me alone or I want to be alone or anything like that. But... I don't think you could add anything helpful to the conversation."

"Not even if I said Yang would forgive you?"

Blake looked up at him. At the concern on his face.

"...Huh." She smiled gently. "...You really are smarter then you look."

"It isn't easy," Sun quipped with half a smirk. His face grew solemn once again. "But... If you want to talk-"

"Trust me, Sun, as much as you want to help you really couldn't without a _lot_ of context I'm unwilling to discuss."

"I guess that's fair. If you and Yang have secrets-"

"It's partially that," Blake allowed. "But mostly, it's because of them." She jerked her thumb as the door collapsed and her mother fell into the room.

"...Yeah, okay," Sun nodded, "that would have been super awkward."

"Oh!" Kali jumped to her feet, with a smile as innocent as a fudge-covered five-year-old. "Oh dear, would you look at that! He's awake! Thank goodness!"

Ghira sighed, covering his face. "Kali, please."

"That door is terrible for eavesdropping," Blake noted. "Then again, this is the chieftain's office, so..."

"Hey Mrs. B!" Sun waved, hiding a wince of pain. "What's up?"

"Oh, well, my husband just needed to talk with our daughter."

Blake quirked a brow, standing up as Ghira walked in. "What is this about, exactly?"

With a deep frown, the man tossed a scroll onto the table. Blake recognized it instantly-the very one she had taken from Ilia, so recently and so many loops ago. Information, stabilized at last.

"I'm afraid you were right to be suspicious." Ghira took a breath. "Adam Taurus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang, and stage a full-scake attack on Haven Academy."

Haven. Ruby and the others. Oscar, maybe. _The relic-_

"It would be the fall of Beacon all over again," Ghira concluded, unaware of his daughter's sudden realization.

"Not if we destroy the White Fang once and for all."

Destroy-  
 _  
-a forest, corpses, Adam shrieking as she walked away-_

-her eyes shot to Sun, who was much younger then her in all the ways that mattered.

"...No."

He looked at her in confusion.

"No," she repeated, her mind running on overdrive. "There was a time when the White Fang was good," she explained, "and it wasn't all that long ago. Too many remember-too many would stop us. We can't destroy the White Fang."

Blake's face grew firm. "But we _can_ take it back."

 **59.37**

If there was something Ren found strange about his Awakening point, it was that he was typically in the shower. It was in a small motel, on the outskirts of Vale proper where he and Nora were staying until the following day. Tomorrow they would see their parents and travel to Beacon Academy.

Steam filling his head, Ren sighed. And promptly screamed when someone very familiar wrapped their arms around him. "NORA!"

Nora was naked. In the shower. With him. "I want you Lie."

There are many ways to react to this sort of situation. The noble way, the Lie Ren way, was to very quickly get dressed and dress Nora before she could react. Hence why, in just a moment, they were both standing fully dressed in the shower.

Ren took a deep breath to center himself, but Nora was already pushing him against the wall. "Nora, what are you doing?"

It may have been the shower, but Nora's eyes were wet. "Ren, please. I need you. I want you now, now."

Ren braces himself against the linoleum and shoved Nora back with his foot, the energetic girl latching onto him. "Nora, no. I don't want-"

"YOU SAID WE'D WAIT!" Nora screamed at the top of her lungs. "YOU SAID THAT BASELINE US WOULD COME FIRST!"

And suddenly Ren knew exactly what Nora was on.

"But you. Stopped. Caring." Nora's wet cerulean eyes burned into Ren's own. "You don't want to follow baseline anymore. You don't care. So don't you care about me?"

"I do, I do, it's just-"

Nora grabbed Ren and sobbed into his chest. "I'm still here. I still want my family Ren. Why can't you want yours."

"..." Ren didn't answer. The words 'we have a family' died on his lips. The world slowed around him.

He could remember Kuroyuri. His mother baking bread and mending clothes. His father returning with a rabbit to eat, and a pelt to sell. The waters whispering through the village. Cherry blossoms wafting through the air.

Smoke and fire and chaos and death.

Nora, sweet little Nora, hiding and scared. He had calmed her, held her close and protected her. They had been lost together, and found by each other.

Yet...

Red hair, and laughter, as his mother chased Nora through the house. Blond father, slipping into the crawl space and finding him with a flashlight and book. Nora teasing him, and them both being sent to their rooms for the ensuing fight.

For a moment, Lie Ren stood there, in the heat and steam and water, and then held Nora. Tranquility slipped between them, and finally, still once again, Nora spoke. "Did you really forget that Ren?"

"...Yes."

"...I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No, no, it's okay."

"Do you love me."

"More than the stars in the sky."

"...Wow."

"I'm not good at poetry."

Nora reached past Ren and shut off the shower. A bit of electricity, and viola: she was dry. Ren was still soaked to the bone. "...So..."

"So."

"...So what?"

Ren stripped his shirt off, kicked Nora out of the bathroom, and towered off. Once his clothing was all settled he ventured back into the main room. Nora was laying on the bed, staring half at the television, half at him. It was creepy.

Ren climbed into bed next to Nora, grabbed the remote, and flipped the tv off. "Nora, we've had eleven expansions so far. The next one will be our last for a long while."

Nora nodded. "You think we're going to die?"

"I don't... know... for sure." Ren sighed. "After what happened to mom, and what we're facing with Ruby and Jaune, I just can't shake that feeling that something bad is going to go down."

"Well... it could always be Qrow."

"I know. That's just as bad."

"Yeah."

Ren sat up. "It's too... painful, to think about. So I let go."

"I won't let you go Ren."

"You are here Nora. Can you just imagine how easy it would be to just have everything forever just be this room, right here?"

"I'd go stir crazy in minutes."

"...Just us?"

"Better."

Ren nodded. "Nora, I just..."

"We're still waiting, aren't we?"

And that was all that would be said for the night.

 **59.38 Masterweaver**

One, two, three, four.

Four.

Four relics. Four kingdoms. Four member teams, four known associates of Salem.

Nobody had ever sat in the other two chairs. They would exist, of course, at some point-in some expansion. But for now... four.

Cinder Fall contemplated that as she walked the streets of her empire, not noticing the blood-red sky. It was a number, an amount. Some cultures viewed it as death, some psychologists had claimed four basic personalities... but in the end, it was an abstraction of language meant to serve only in connection to others. A pair of pairs.

But it wormed its way into every aspect of life, didn't it? Rooms with four walls, carts with four wheels-geometry in general, bound by thus. Four legged creatures, because of chance and happenstance, never mind the complexity of the rest of the beast. Four, four, four, four. Not important in itself, and so become important through others.

Even here. Four kinds of citizens. The vampires. The Pennies. The Salems. And miscellaneous. Four, always four.

What did it mean? What could it mean? Did it mean anything? Or was she merely attributing meaning?

Why was she wasting time with this... oh, yes. Because this loop, Blake had published an expose showing Adam's violence and lust for power, triggering fragmentation in the White Fang. Neo was Awake, Roman was not, so there could be no help from them. She'd retreated, tried to think.

Did she even need to go through with it this loop?

What would she do without it?

Four. Four problems, all on a team. The other loopers were problematic too, but those four, especially.

Headache.

Cinder decided to stop worrying. She had plenty to indulge in for the moment. And she would.

But something curled within her, wanting to strike. Something twisted and writhed.

Something waited, waited to strike.

One, two, three, four.

 **59.39 Masterweaver**

She could have just left. Some loops, perhaps, she would just leave. But she knew from experience that it was always best to go through expansions, at least once, as though she could not act on her own. Rail against baseline, but only after baseline had its say.

And... To her own shame, she hadn't paid much attention to Klein. She'd been more focused on Whitley, on trying to figure him out, to save him from himself. She'd have to correct that in later loops.

The suitcase was packed simply. Foodstuffs, clothing, some books. Some. Dust, of course. A touch of Lien. Other provisions, things that her baseline self might not have considered having been in civilization for most of her life, but which made for decent survival equipment. She didn't actually need any of it-only in null loops would it become useful-but packing, at least, let her link back to herself. And if nothing else, the exercise would allow her to prepare and pocket a number of emergency kits, just in case.

"Emergency kits in fancy white suitcases." Weiss Schnee chuckled to herself. "If Jacques knew about that, he'd be beyond upset."

She felt a familiar presence approaching her door. With a smile, she snapped the suitcase shut and grabbed Myrtenaster. Briefly, memories flaired up of that age-old debate-magic pistol sword versus lightsaber-before she shook her head and left her room.

And there was Klein. Klein, projecting confidence, even as he defied his master for... well. Weiss couldn't help but smile at him, and he smiled back.

"Let's go."

The words were whispered, and that set the tone. No conversation as their footsteps were muffled by the carpet; no speech as they clicked very quietly down the stairs. Weiss felt her frustration rising-she'd intended to at least _thank_ the man!

She began to seriously consider using some form of notice-me-not magic.

And _then_ Klein's scroll buzzed. It spoke volumes that she managed not to roll her eyes in sheer irritation as he answered it.

"Master Whitley!" Klein blinked. "I... ah. Yes, of course. I'll be just a moment." He hung up, his eyes narrowing. "Head to the first floor library. I'll meet you there."

Weiss nodded, frowning to herself as he moved swiftly off. True, Remnant's tech level was a bit schizophrenic, but... using a phone call to summon a servant in the same building? Something about that didn't seem right to her...

Unfortunately, not something she could investigate, not this time around. Baseline Weiss wouldn't have the luxury of checking things out, and might even consider it normal. Another riddle to file away. With a shrug, she turned around and walked toward the library. Not the main entrance, but this was a mansion, and most mansions had secrets. And going out the main door was foolish anyway-

The sound of crashing glass caught her attention. From the door of... oh, Jacque's study. Did she have time to listen, this time around? Would she in baseline?

"You need to control yourself!"

Ironwood...

"You're talking to _me_ about control? Do you even hear what you're saying?!"

And Jacques.

"I am basing everything on my report from _your_ daughter."

Winter...?

"A daughter you stole!"

"Oh, we are not getting into that again."

"Oh yes, we have far more pressing matters to discuss. Starting with your apparent lunacy!"

Now that _was_ interesting. Eavesdropping without context could lead to bad information, but that would have attracted her attention in baseline wouldn't it? Weiss let her senses extend, focusing on the feelings of the two frustrated men fighting over the fate of Atlas in a tiny room.

The general's emotions seemed to pull in together. "Winter is one of my best. If she's telling me there's a threat in Mistral then I am not going to take that news lightly." His psyche focused, narrowed down. "She's been there for weeks, people are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades. Someone is about to make a play, and I do _not_ trust Leo to stop them."

"You've never trusted anyone other then yourself!"

"AND FOR GOOD REASON!" A loud thunk. "If Oz had just listened to me from the start..."

Weiss winced at the resentment and regret that lashed out in tandem. Too little heart, or too much? Another riddle, another hint from a fractured world.

Jacques' emotions seemed to coil back, no longer threatening, wary. "You need to get a grip."

"That's exactly what I'm doing." She felt Ironwood firm, lock his mind behind power. "Our people need protection. By this time next week, the Kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders. No one in; no one out. Without the council's permission."

Weiss had to facepalm at that. First the Dust embargo, now this... Baseline Ironwood was making a number of bad moves. For all his strengths, he didn't recognize that Atlas's key weakness was in its isolation, from others and from itself, and so strode to isolate it from danger. Irony as she was writ.

"You mean... without your permission."

"And if that becomes the case, I would _think_ you'd want to be on my good side."

Oh, and now he was moving. And Weiss was still here-if Jacques knew, her escape could become problematic. And she still wanted to talk to Klein. She let a bit of red dust appear, melting the tumblers in the door together with a gesture and a sigh. The door jiggled as she walked off.

"...It's locked."

"What are you talking about?"

Weiss half smirked in amusement as the door thumped in its frame. Maybe Ironwood would learn the dangers of locking himself away. Probably not, but she could dream.

And... nobody was in the library. Or at least, nobody visible. But there was a presence in a wall behind a bookshelf, a familiar one. She glanced around, moving quickly over. "Klein, it's me."

The bookshelf was pushed open. "Huh. Didn't know you knew about this passage."

"Huntress training," she excused. "Noticed a breeze. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Good." Weiss put down her suitcase, wrapping him in a hug. "Just... take care of yourself, alright?"

Klein started, but hugged her back after a brief moment. "Of course. Are you... sure Mistral is safe?"

She sighed, pulling back. "Safer then it will be here. And I have family there."

"...I suppose Winter'd be the only family you have left after tonight."

"Family is what you make of it," Weiss replied, putting a hand on his shoulder. "And I would be very happy, if I could make you part of mine."

Klein smiled. "You certainly can."

Splintering wood and a loud bang announced Ironwood's departure from Jacques' office, shortly after accompanied by the company owner's enraged voice. "Klein! Get down here this instant!"

The short man sighed, giving Weiss an apologetic look. "Go, now."

She nodded. "...Thank you, for everything. And I do mean _everything_."

With that, she grabbed her suitcase and marched swiftly down the ill-lit passageway, even as Klien shut the bookshelf behind her. Alright, so the borders were being closed. Which meant she had to move especially swiftly, and left Whitley to his own devices. He could easily fall into his increasing wealth, or simply be lost in the new situation.

"But of course," she mumbled to herself, "it's not like I'll be able to do anything. Because Yggdrassil being what it is, this loop is probably going to end in three... two..."

She paused, looking around the familiar daylit sight of Beacon's courtyard, and let her shoulders sag.

"Yep. Called it." She sighed. "The tree has an utterly evil sense of humor sometimes."

 **59.40 Masterweaver**

"There you are, Velv." Coco sighed as she walked up to her teammate. "We heard about what happened with Winchester... you need some time?"

"Hmm? Oh." Velvet smiled. "It's fine. The thing got... worked out."

"Oh. Well. Yatsu's kind of worried about you. You want to come back to the dorm and-"

"Sorry, I'm kind of in the middle of something."

Coco glanced at her. "...Middle of what, exactly?"

"Oh, some first years roped me into keeping track of their cart-wheel racing."

"...What?"

An armored redhead whirled past them, rushing down the cobblestone. Velvet looked after her. "THAT'S SEVEN LAPS! ONLY THREE MORE TO GO!"

"...Was that Pyrrha Nikos?"

"Yep."

"...She was doing cart-wheels."

Velvet nodded. "All eight of them are. Apparently they've got friends at other parts of the track to prevent cheating, and they just needed one more to keep it all going." She nodded at the white-haired girl who spiraled past. "LAP EIGHT! TWO MORE FOR THE WIN!"

"That was Weiss Schnee. The heiress."

"Surprisingly friendly. And very annoyed at her father's business practices." Velvet coughed. "I think she's basically disowned him, aside from the paperwork."

Coco nodded faintly. "...Okay. So... why did you agree to this?"

"How much do you know about what happened with Cardin?"

"I know he tugged on your ears and... insulted you." She coughed. "And made a pass, after that."

"Yes, Cardin was the worst, but his whole team got in on the act. But team RWBY and JNPR, neither of them liked that, and..." Her smile turned dark. "Well. They're technically still alive, but the kids think they might be expelled. I figured I'd help them with one last bit of fun before that."

Another redhead, this one with hair the color of blood, spun up to them and with a final somersault landed in a standing position. "And that's ten!"

"Good job!" Velvet clapped encouragingly. "You're the first!"

"What can I say, I'm a living sugar rush." The redhead turned, and for a moment-a brief moment-she seemed to grow somber. Then she smiled. "Oh hey! You're Velvet's teammate, right? Coco?"

"Yes, that's me." Coco nodded. "And you'd be...?"

"Ruby Rose. Leader of team RWBY. Which is absolutely not confusing in any way whatsoever."

"Ha. I understand I have to thank you for ensuring team CRDL keeps off Velvet's back from now on."

"Oh, well, yes. It was... it was a thing. We did it."

"Yes, what exactly did you do? Velvet wasn't clear."

Instead of answering, Ruby handed her a pair of binoculars and pointed at the tower of the cafeteria. Coco frowned, taking a look, and-

"Oh. Oh my."

"Yeah. We might have gone a bit far."

"I think you didn't go far enough," Velvet deadpanned.

Ruby gave her a flat look. "You are doing absolutely nothing to alleviate my entirely legitimate fear of bunnies, you know that?"

"You're afraid of bunnies?" Coco managed, pulling herself away from the binoculars.

"Those fluffballs work overtime to be underestimated. The things I've seen..." Ruby's gaze grew distant. "Blood and bodies everywhere. And not a Grimm in sight..."

Velvet blinked. "...Ah. Well then."

"But that's in the past." Ruby came back to normal. "So, anyways..."


	60. When Friendships Decay

**60.1 Masterweaver**

Ruby hummed to herself brightly as she skipped through Emerald Forest, casually grabbing a heiress on the way. "Man, loopy initiation, right?"

"Not if you have an anchor." Weiss managed a small smile. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Nope! Not till we're at the relics." She looked up. "Oh hi, Jaune! Got pegged by Pyrrha, I see."

Jaune shrugged. "It's one of our traditions. Makes it easy for her to find me."

Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "...Do I want to know why you're blushing like that?"

"We _are_ married, Weiss."

"Ah." She turned to Ruby. "No reaction?"

"I've got some news for everyone," Ruby replied. "So keep it quick, okay?"

"Pyrrha might not like that."

"It'll be worth it, trust me. Come on, Weiss, let's go tank a few beowolves." Ruby practically twirled on her toes, beaming as she headed for a particular collection of canid shadows.

Weiss gave Jaune a helpless shrug, walking after her partner. "You know, just because we had twelve pings doesn't mean it's team RWBY and JNPR that are Awake. With the number of loopers we've got-"

"If anybody's not awake, I'll use the relic ruins to arrange a time for those of us who are to chat. But you have to admit it's likely."

The white-haired girl shrugged in reply. "Yes, sure. So are we taking the Nevermore this time?"

"Of course. One less Grimm is always a good thing!"

-/-

"Hey sis!" Yang waved as a raven-shaped shadow monster sloughed into the ground. "We're not doing the slingshot decapitation this time round?"

"Kind of wanted to get us together as quick as possible."

"She has news, apparently." Weiss hopped off the avian corpse. "I'm putting even odds on 'expansion' and 'finally found a lover.'"

"Heeeeey!" Ruby whined, crossing her arms. "I don't bet on _your_ love life!"

"You have to admit, with her one loop stands betting on Weiss's love life isn't exactly the easiest thing." Blake gave Weiss a glance. "Incidentally, isn't that against the jedi code?"

"Plenty of jedi have intimate relations," Weiss replied with a roll of her eyes. "The celibacy thing is actually quite recent, from a historical perspective located in the republic era."

"And _we_ really have no room to talk," Yang pointed out.

"You know, traditionally this is the point where I'd cover my ears and pretend to be embarrassed," Ruby mused, "but I'm actually more curious as to what that big crashing sound is."

"A sixteen-wheeler plowing through a few trees," Weiss answered.

As if on cue, a large vehicle smashed out of the forest, green leaves on paint so deep blue as to be almost purple. It skidded to a stop almost inches away, a still-evaporating corpse of a Deathstalker rolling off the top.

Ruby gave Weiss a look. "Force clairvoyance?"

"It does come in handy."

The cab door swung open, and a familiar ginger hopped out with a grumble. "Ren, I'm just saying, I like it better when I can feel the wind in my hair. That was fun, but it wasn't as fun as the usual Ursa ride."

A black-haired boy followed her down. "Alright Nora. Next time, we'll ride the Tajitu in," he promised her.

"I get the white head!"

From the other door, a redhead in armor swung to the ground. "So, Jaune tells me you've got news, Ruby?"

"That I do, Pyrrha." Ruby leaned against a pillar, casually examining her hand. "And it's surprisingly good news."

Jaune shut his door and made the truck vanish with a gesture-before realizing that standing on the truck while pocketing it left him a good three feet above the forest floor. "Oh-OW. I'm okay! I'm good."

Pyrrha helped him up. "You've got dirt all over your jeans..."

"Eh, I'll wash it off later." Jaune cleared his throat. "So, Ruby, what is it?"

"Expansion. Nucklavee's dead." She looked up with a broad grin. "Qrow isn't."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"Wait." Yang held up a hand. "You're saying you got him to Mistral in time?"

"Yep! I mean it was a null loop, so that Nucklavee was hard to kill. But the dissolving smoke got the attention of a couple of patrol ships in the area so..." She beamed. "I mean, no clue if it's baseline, but it feels right, you know?"

"That's great news!"

Weiss nodded. "I know my sister will be happy. She's in Mistral too, so maybe they'll meet up."

Ruby snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah! Speaking of meet-ups, I kept an eye on Qrow till the loop's end. Guess who came by while he was drinking?"

Blake frowned. "...Off the top of my head I'm thinking Leo, Sienna Khan, or maybe Raven."

"Nope! Oscar."

Pyrrha's eyes went wide. "We've finally got something on Oscar?"

"Yeah. I wasn't close enough to hear what they said, but uncle Qrow gave him Ozpin's cane." Ruby sighed. "Aaaaaand then the loop ended. Still. Oh oh oh! Ren! Your semblance! It works at a distance! And Jaune, apparently you added a zweihander mode to your sheath-it springs out a couple of new blades. I'll tell you about the Nucklavee later, but-"

"The big thing is that nobody else died," Weiss said. "Well, nobody that you know of... we'll have to check around our own parts of Remnant if we wake up that late, of course."

Jaune sighed. "And there's still Jag and..." He gave Ren an awkward glance.

Ren sighed. "I... hope my baseline self acquitted himself well?"

Ruby's face grew somber. "...I know it's kind of awkward to think about but... yes. He struck the final blow."

"...Good. That will be a weight off his shoulders."

Nora sidled closer. "Ren..."

The two of them locked gazes.

"...We _will_ talk about this," she finally finished. "Later. After we get set up in the dorm."

Pyrrha glanced between them. "...As a family?"

Nora laughed. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Ren nodded. "That's fair."

"Sooooooo." Yang stretched her arms. "I know this is a big thing and we should definitely all be in a good mood, but... who wants to get going? Me and Blake have to install our wall again."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Just for that, you're installing the wall on your own. I'll be scouring the library for loop-unique books."

"Sass aside, it's probably safer to have emotional moments at Beacon then in the forest." Weiss gestured. "Shall we on, then?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, sure. Speaking of, as celebration for this big thing, I was thinking maaaaaaybe we could try a gigaprank. It's been a while..."

 **60.2 Flametusk**

Ruby Awoke standing on what appeared to an altar surrounded by water in what appeared to be a city that seemed to be based on the hub city of Venice. Seeing how there wasn't any pings, she checked her loop memories. " _So, seems my name is Rubyrosa Nox Fleuret this loop, and I'm something called the 'Oracle' and need to awaken something called 'Leviathan' so that my childhood friend Noctis, who turns out to be the King of the country that the country I lived in is at war against, can get its power and be able to end something called the 'Starscourge'._ " She used her loop memories to awaken Leviathan, and simply followed what her in-loop self would do, trying to follow the baseline as close as she could, since she did want to save this world.

When a man who her memories informed her was Ardyn Izunia, imperial chancellor of Niflheim showed up, Ruby could tell that he was bad news. Part of it was the fact that he tried to stab her. She couldn't have that, so she grabbed Crescent Rose from her pocket and cut the man in two, before checking how Noctis was doing with Leviathan.

Noctis had gone through this point many times before. Most of the time, he traveled back to the start of his journey, before Insomnia fell. This time, he traveled back to the point where he started fighting Leviathan, except... " _Wait, Ruby? Who on Eos is that? She's not Luna! If Ardyn wasn't about to kill her, like he has pretty much every other time I've gone through this journey, I'd ask her what she did with Luna._ " As he was thrown to the ground after telling the Hydraean to give him her power, and looked at where Luna " _No, Ruby._ " would be, so he was surprised to see that she managed to dodge Ardyn's attack, and somehow pulled a red scythe out of nowhere, and had bisected Ardyn, before teleporting to Noctis.

"Hey, you need a hand?" The fake Oracle asked,

"Don't-don't touch me. Tell me where Luna is! What did you do to her?"

Ruby had no idea who Luna was, so she guessed by Noctis' reaction that she was who Ruby was replacing this loop. She also guessed by his reaction that this was his first fused loop.

"Tell me. Has time been repeating for you?"

"What are you talking about? This nightmare that I keep reliving? Having to relive my father and Luna dying over and over? Why? What did I do to deserve this? Why am forced to endure this alone?"

"Why are you repeating time? Well, it has to do with the fact that you are literally the most important person in the universe. I will explain all, and would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me. Actually, how about we go somewhere that I can more easily explain this?"

"Fine. Wait- wherection did everything go? Where are we?" Noctis asked as Ruby took him into her subspace pocket,

"This is my subspace pocket. Welcome to the Multiverse, which is currently broken. The Multiverse is a giant tree, which is also a computer, called Yggdrasil. Each universe is a branch of the tree, and the gods are programmers in charge of fixing the tree, by putting all the branches into time loops to fix them. I'm billions of years old, and will teach you about the loops."

-/-

"So, Ruby, you're saying that I'm this "anchor", and that if I die before the loop ends, the loop crashes? Well, I was certainly the wrong choice. At the end of what you call my baseline, I literally sacrifice myself to end the Starscourge. At least it explains why time reset again after I tried to kill Ardyn in my first loop, when he showed up at Galdin Quay."

"I can kind of remember doing the same thing way back in my first loop. Except, in my case I died only a few minutes after. You survived a lot longer in your first loop than I did. Well, at least Cinder, she's the one that killed me, is looping now. She actually woke up from a variant where she was mine and Yang's sister. The looping her isn't evil. It's possible that the same thing may happen to Ardyn. But you were saying how the person I'm replacing his loop dies in baseline?"

"...Can we change the subject? I... don't want to talk about it."

"You really care about her, don't you? Well, the more emotionally attached you are to the person, the more likely they are to start looping. It's so that the anchor doesn't go insane from loneliness. Unfortunately, it's emotionally attached, not only positive emotions. That means that Ardyn could loop as well. Actually, I would say that either Luna or Ardyn will probably be the first person to Awaken in this branch. Either way, you have to remember that many powers from other loops carry over, such as Aura from my home loop. You also have your pocket, which does get bigger over time, yours probably isn't big enough to fit much in it yet. So, once you've gone through a few fused loops, you'll be able to end the Starscourge without dying. Here since you would almost be in the crystal by now, I'll leave, don't touch anything, I'll get to where the crystal is, and then you can leave, and go into the crystal, and then I'll just go killing daemons while I wait. Oh! But first, you need this to enter the crystal, right?"

Ruby gave the ring of the Lucii to Noctis, and then apparated to the crystal, having taken the information from Noctis' mind, and took Noctis out of her pocket with a few last words.

"You should put the ring in your pocket for next loop. I think that this loop isn't going to be worth sticking to baseline, really, so once you get out of the crystal, maybe just wait for the loop to end. Especially since you don't have Leviathan or Shiva's power this loop. Sort about that by the way."

With that, she went on to explore Eos and expand her weapon museum.

"So, time is repeating, huh? Maybe... Maybe I could fix things. It seems I'll be alone for a while, though. May as well get some practice pinging and pocketing. The Six know I'll need it," Noctis said as he prepared for many lonely loops before his friends started looping.

"Here's to the world tree. Please don't let Ardyn loop."

 **60.3 Masterweaver**

"So, when we get expansions, they come in semi-regular chunks," Yang noted. "Like one every thousand or so loops, for twelve or so expansions, and then go back to a few million loops without them. Why is that, do you think?"

"Diefic work schedule," Weiss replied.

"...What?"

"Basic debugging is a day at the office. Working out the kinks on highly corrupted files, that's a month-long project." Weiss shrugged. "Marianne probably rotates between hard focus on the various worlds she's been assigned."

"Huh. Actually, that would explain why expansions are irregular across loops. Different admins, different work schedules..." Yang frowned. "Well, I was hoping for some semi-mystical answer, though."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Ruby and I have these talks all the time. I know better then to let her mind wander."

"Oh really?"

"Let me tell you about the time she became the High Empress of Vacuo..."

 **60.4 Diesel**

Burning embers swirled into the night before the shattered moon, like a million lost souls of countless rose petals as the flames slowly died out.

A lone figure walked through the devastation, a sweeping red dress with burning gold trim fluttered in the winds of the waning inferno. She reached forwards to brush her hands over the twisted metal that still glowed cherry red.

Cinder smiled softly as she bathed in the inferno's remanets, the heat and smoke was so relaxing.

She needed this after dealing with Salem these past few loops.

-/-

 _Cinder blinked as she Awoke to destruction._

 _All she could see was destruction, the streets ran thick with blood, glinting darkly under the dying fire's hellish light. Twisted monuments or sculptures of bone and magma and metal dotted the blacked landscape as Grimm prowled the ash filled city._

 _The wind was heavy with the horribly appetizing smell of cooking human flesh, smoke, and blood. Cinder bit back a wave of nausea as her memories registered, her wide eyes locked in horror on the horrific scene._

 _"No, not again." Cinder started to shake with an ever rising rage, again, again she had acted like nothing more than a maddened animal. Killing and burning for no reason, "Damn you!" The scream of fury echoed across the night as the ground heaved._

 _In moments the twisted monument to sadism was dragged into the mantle, leaving nothing more than a lake of cooling lava. Cinder felt her lips twist into a snarl, she was so sick of this happening._

-/-

Cinder snarled as she turned away from the lake of molten rock that had once been the kingdom of Vacuo, the orange glow seeming to like up her skin like crystal. Her mood was thoroughly ruined by the thought of that witch.

She was the scrooge of Remnant, it burned, that that thing just came waltzing in and tried to render her accomplishments meaningless. Just a pawn, likely not even the 'dragon'. It was enraging.

'I refuse,' Cinder stalked way, decapitating a group of Huntsman that had just turned up, their glassy eyes staring at the broken moon in death before they were swallowed by the lava. 'I refuse to be bound by the weakness of those false refection's and shadows. I will be the one that remains at the end, and I will have my victory irrespective of what Salem or the loopers wish.'

-/-  
 _Cinder growled as she walked away from the lake of like and rock as the wind swirled, blowing away from her. As she walked away, Cinder found her eyes caught by the full moon that hung low in the sky, "The moon, such a consistent point of reference, isn't it?' Cinder tore her gaze away from the satellite, starting the long track back to Vale from Mistral. 'It looks whole from one angle, but is shattered when looked at properly, just like me."_

 _She had apparently got the Maiden's mantle early on this loop, and it was more powerful than normal. Salem wanted a point to be made, why not Vale this time was something she could only guess at. In other words, Ozpin was the most likely reason._

 _The moonlight was streaming down through the canopy and the scent of the forest filled her lungs, a blessed relief from the horribly appealing blood and fire. She like those, but not when it was her burning down a kingdom for the Witches command her unAwake selves' mindless sadism._

 _"You want me to be your pawn, Salem?" Her voice echoed in the forest unheard. "To follow the path of my false refection's and shadows, bending my knees to you? I refuse, I will be the one that remains at the end, and I will have my victory irrespective of what Salem wants. And we will all take our places in the heavens once Remnant is whole and safe."_

 **60.5 Masterweaver**

"Hmmm."

The pilot looked at the girl as she approached. "Miss, no one's alllowed to-"

"The basic minimum for a bribe is 'enough to cover the costs if I get caught,' with an additional 'enough for me to survive for a week.'" She gave him a once over. "Piloting is a difficult job, so you probably haven't learned to cook and are thus reliant on purchasing pre-made or easily prepared meals. You also probably spend a lot of time in hotels..."

He quirked an eyebrow behind his mask. "You're trying to calculate a bribe."

"Money is no object," she assured him. "Of course, past a certain point a bribe is too noticeable, would get you kicked from the job for suspicion. You'd need a good reason to have all that money. How much do you spend in a month?"

"...Four thousand lien." He tapped his ship. "Maintenance."

"Twelve thousand, then." The girl reached into her belt, pulling out some cards. "Or... fifteen, actually, I don't have enough in the small denominations to give you that exact number."

"And what are you bribing me for?"

"A ride to Mistral." She handed him the cards. "Discreet. You never saw me."

"You want to stow away."

"I would probably do it with or without your permission, to be honest. This way, you have a safety cushion in case things go wrong." A frown passed over her face. "I can at least do that much."

He noted the suitcase, and the sword, even as he counted the cards. "...Fair enough. You can ride in the cargo hold. But if they find you-"

"Yes, yes, I'm on my own. I wish I could say this is the first airship I stowed away on..." A faint, reminiscent smile played on her face. "Some adventures never end, do they?"

"...I suppose not."

She gave him an examining look. "...You know, I'm wondering if I should ask your name."

"Probably not. It's more believable if we don't know each other."

"Isn't it though." With a sigh, the girl boarded the vessel. "I wonder how far I'll make it this loop."

The pilot blinked at that. What had she meant by...?

With a shrug, he pocketed his money and prepared his vessel for departure. It was best not to ask. Somebody so ready to run, it would be better if the chasers couldn't peg anything to him. As soon as he was ready, the vessel lifted into the sky.

And four hours later, the world ended.

 **60.6 Vinylshadow**

Alex Mercer Woke up in a very bizarre position.

Sure, waking up on a horse was nothing new - he had sparred plenty of times with Cole while riding a horse, after all.

No, this time, he _was_ the horse. Or rather, he was _fused_ to a horse that responded like an extension of himself.

"Oh good, I'm Nuckles the Enchilada, or whatever the thing that traumatized Ren and Nora was called," he muttered.

A quick check of his memories didn't bring up an attack on the village and he crossed his long floppy arms in thought.

"Well _shit_."

He tilted his head as he heard a low rumble in the distance.

"And _that_ sounds like a massive horde of Grimm heading in my general direction."

-

"Mercer's been here for quite a while," Glynda noted, glancing up from her reports.

"Massive Grimm migrations away from populated centers over the years?" Ozpin said, tapping his fingers on his cane. "Years of relative peace and quiet with nary a Grimm to be seen?"

"Mhm...and Salem's head was delivered to us in a pretty box all done up in a bow."

"Well, that's gonna make training Huntsmen/women much harder if they don't have Grimm to fight," Ozpin sighed.

"We can always host our own tournaments," Glynda pointed out.

"Very well, I shall contact the other Headmasters and see what they think."

 **60.7 Masterweaver**

"Well darn," Yang deadpanned as she Awoke on the airship. "That's super frustrating."

"Yeah, forgetting things can throw you for a loop," Ruby agreed as she let off a ping.

"It's not that," Yang replied, pinging back-and grinning at the seven others she counted. "I nearly, NEARLY got to Mistral and, poof! Loop ends. And with the way expansions are chunked up-"

"Yeah, I can see how that could be annoying. I haven't checked the Hub backups yet, how'd you do it?"

"Me and Bumblebee hitched a ride on a boat. Same boat Blake uses, what a coinkydink." Yang snapped her fingers. "Also, there was a fork in the road, with this... really stupid signpost."

"Yeah?"

"Mistral to the right, and Kuroyuri to the left, but somebody had spray-painted the word Bandits over Kuroyuri. I mean, who does that?"

Ruby shrugged. "Somebody wanting to warn others about bandits around?"

"Bandits are nomadic," Yang pointed out. "Or at least they're supposed to be. So there's not going to be a bandit city or whatever, at least not on Remnant. It could have been the bandits themselves, but why give away their position?"

"Maybe whoever did it thought the Nucklavee was a bandit? Destroyed town, years of mysterious disappearances, that sort of thing?"

Yang nodded thoughtfully. "Ren and Nora might have been the only survivors, and the words of two traumatized children, plus what the monster looks like... yeah, okay, I can see that being dismissed as a bandit attack. Still, it's just... so incongruously idiotic."

"Carful sis. You use too many big words, you might burn your brain out."

The blonde slugged her shoulder with a chuckle. "Hey, my brain has a high heat tolerance!"

 **60.8 Evilhumour**

"So Russ, our Admins are having a second wedding?" Garnet Schnee of Onn asked his primarch, while watching Zwei, Geri and Freki 'train' the Blood Claws, although there might be a bit _too_ much laser beams flying around and the course around the Aett had a bit too many bottomless pits for either Anchor's liking but they made promises.

"Aye," Leman nodded his head, watching his brothers share some ideas with the Thunder Wolf Corgi that made him cringe slightly as that seemed fit for the Grey Knights only. "And are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"If that is to plan the other bachelor party, then sure." The Astarte nodded his head before letting out a laugh at the three wolves starting to juggle the pups in the air with Russ facepalming.

"I was thinking we could plan together as I _do_ know how to really get Fenrir riled up and I am sure you have a few ideas how to put a bit of fire under Marianne's skirt?"

"Oh yes, that _is_ a good idea," Garnet laughed, holding out a hand to his primarch which he took and turned into a powerful bearhug. "They're _so_ going to kill us for this, aren't they?"

"Ay-" before he could finish, Russ pushed them flat to the ground as a massive beam passed overhead.

"Okay, _who_ did that?" the Wolf King growled, looking the three canines point at each other, with Garnet laughing all the while.

 **60.9 Masterweaver**

"I was packing."

Yang blinked. "That... that's it?"

"We spent the expansion packing," Blake repeated. "Sentimental things, essential things... I thought about leaving, but..."

She trailed off, glancing at the ground.

Yang pulled her chin back up. "So you were packing. That's okay. You had... a bigger thing then either me or Weiss. You had more to prepare."

"I know, but-"

"Look. Even if my baseline self is a little... frosty when we next meet, we're partners. And you know Ruby wouldn't let us break apart."

"It's the final expansion for a while, and I was packing," Blake mumbled. "I spent this whole chunk being... useless."

Yang chuckled, producing a golden arm and tossing it from one hand to the other. "I think I've got you beat there, babe."

"I-ugh." Blake sighed. "Weiss was forced away. You had to recover. Ruby, at least, tried to do something. And in Baseline-"

"You fought a sea dragon, reconnected with your family, found evidence of a major political play, and set up plans to restore the White Fang to its former glory." Yang shrugged. "Weiss yelled at a few idiots and lost her inheritance. I just punched my old man a lot. I mean, sure, Ruby's got us all trumped but, you know, Ruby."

Blake gave an exaggerated exasperated sigh. "What is it with you blondes? Can't I wallow in my own self-pity anymore?"

"Nope!" Yang made the metal arm playfully boop her nose.

The brunette batted it away with a giggle. "Stop that. People are going to ask who you stole that arm from."

"C-3PO?"

"Like you'd ever wear anything that delicate."

"Eh, fair enough." With a wave of her hand Yang made the arm vanish. "Seriously though. There's a lot going on in your neck of the woods. You don't have to pull off an awesome stunt just yet."

"Yeah, well..." Blake half smiled. "I guess it does give me more time with my parents, in the end."

"And Sun's there too."

"I thought you were worried about that?"

Yang shrugged. "I... yeah, I still am. It's stupid, I know. But... look, the only thing I don't like about Sun is the idea he might mosey in on you. He's a nice guy, he's got a great sense of humor, awesome abs, and a big heart. There are worse people to be involved in an unusually complicated love triangle with."

Blake half smiled. "And what if Ilia turns out to be crushing on me too?"

"Pair the spares? I'm sure once she gets out of the White Fang she and Sun would make a cute couple."

"Oh geeze." Blake gave an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, that'd be great to tell his friends. 'This girl stabbed me once and now I'm head over heels for her!' Neptune would probably freak out..."

 **60.10 Flametusk**

Ozpin was the only one awake so far, and, while standing on the cliffs of Beacon, looked down at his scroll, checking on the other Loopers, seeing if their unawake personalities this loop were different than baseline. Checking on team RWBY, he saw that the teams were acting as per baseline. Ren and Nora were the same, but Pyrrha was partnered with Cardin, of all people, and Jaune... was... standing next to Ozpin, at the top of the cliffs, with a relic and without a partner.

"You don't appear to have a partner, Mr. Arc," the headmaster said, looking into his eyes to make the point clearer.

"Actually, you never said that we had to find our partner during initiation, just that they would be the first person that we would make eye contact with after landing. Well, you're my partner for the next four years, professor."

"Congratulations young man, you have been the first student in all my years as headmaster to catch that loophole. So, Jaune, it seems you've found yourself a partner."

-/-

"Cardin Winchester, Pyrrha Nikos, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark. You have collected the black bishop pieces, and are now know as team CDNL (Cardinal), lead by Pyrrha Nikos.

Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. You have collected the white knight pieces, and are team RWBY, lead by Ruby Rose.

And finally, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Nora Valerie, and Ozpin. We have collected the white rook pieces, and will now be known as team AONR (Anchor), lead by Jaune Arc. He was the first to discover the loophole of initiation. It actually threw me for a bit of a loop, for a moment."

-/-

Weiss was furious. How could she have not seen this loophole? It was so obvious! Why did that dunce Arc have to get the best partner, the headmaster? She should have gotten him! Not Arc! Just like she should have been made leader! Ozpin could replace Ruby, and she and Arc could be partners, but no...

Meanwhile, in Ozpin's office/ANOR's dormitory...

"Hey Oz?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"Because the Multiverse is broken. Are you feeling loopy enough to understand what I mean, or do I need to explain?"

"Okay, good. You're awake. I just... I had some lonely loops. The kids haven't been Awake for a while, and this loop, well, imagine my surprise when I found out that you were my partner! It's just... I need some advice, Ozpin."

"Well, as much as it amuses me that people much older than me ask for my advice, I'll tell you this: You know that they're orphans, so even when they're Unawake, treat them like your children. They need those parental figures in their life. Sure, it may be a bit difficult for Ren, because of Baseline, but Nora? We still don't know how she became an orphan."

"Thanks Oz. One more thing? Has Beacon ever had team changing before? Because Pyrrha just Awoke. I can finally put my ring on."

"Well, it was nice being on your team. Seeing other people's reactions was fun. I think in some of the loops to come, I'll make the loophole a bit more obvious. Anyways, time to let team CRDL become complete, and to bring back team JNPR."

"Thanks Ozpin. Good talk. Also, I kind of wish you had humoured me with why we are here."

"Well, Jaune, you can't have everything in life. Now go on, go see your wife."

 **60.11 Masterweaver**

"Hey Ruby?"

"Yeah Ren?"

"Why didn't you laser vision the Nucklavee to death like you did with Kevin?"

Ruby blinked. Then she facepalmed. "I honestly forgot I could do that!"

 **60.12 Masterweaver**

Ruby coughed gently. "Cinder?"

"Yes?"

"You know how some loops, certain tropes become more visible?"

A sigh. "Yes, Ruby."

"And while our hub-loop backup isn't technically anime, it is influenced by-"

"Ruby," Cinder said as she held a tissue to her nose. "I can assure you that I am not experiencing sudden sexual attraction to anyone."

"Oh." Ruby paused. "Well now I'm worried for a completely different reason."

 **60.13 Masterweaver**

Pyrrha leaned against the door frame. "You're going to have to tell them eventually."

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "They already know-"

"No, they know what the hub universe backups show. Which isn't telling them what's going on with you."

"The Oscar situation is... complicated, miss Nikos-"

"No. Not miss Nikos. We're not talking headmaster to student, we're not even talking conspiracy leader to maiden prospective." Pyrrha walked into the office. "We are talking as friends. And as your friend, I am saying you are going to have to tell them eventually."

Ozpin sighed. "Honestly, I myself don't know what to make of this. Oscar is... there's already an Oscar out in Mistral, working the farm. So the existence of Oscar, as the entity sharing my soul, is a bit of a paradox. If I don't... if I avoid my death, the Oscar out there remains an innocent farmboy. If I do die, then he becomes... loop aware, except there already is an Oscar that is soulbound to me, and looping by proxy, so they... combine."

Pyrrha nodded. "Soulbinding is always iffy. Artifacts are okay, actual souls... more difficult."

"The point is, accommodating Oscar in this situation is something I am trying to do, and I don't think informing the others would be beneficial."

"You know, in the latest expansion he and Qrow meet up? Apparently that's your big mission for him."

"...I was not actually aware of that."

"No, but Qrow was. He knows when you're Awake you avoid upending his life, but... look. The point is... we've declared war on Baseline. Fine. But that also means we have to look out for each other, for the nonloopers. Oscar's a part of that. Everyone is going to want to know what is going on with him-both looping and not." She leaned back. "They're going to ask you how he's doing. They're going to suggest various... protections or whatnot. Because to them, he's a civilian-a child-caught up in a mess he can't handle."

"...And you want me to admit we're... what? Co-loopers?"

"I'm not going to deny the situation is complicated, and I am... very proud that you're letting him be himself even when he's not himself. Still." She tapped her knee. "...Have you tested out your looping abilities after the fall of Beacon?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Can you access your pocket? Can Oscar? Have you tried?"

Ozpin averted his eyes. "...not... we have not tried. No."

"You may want to look into that." Pyrrha sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to pressure either of you. I get that this whole thing is beyond weird, even in the context of the loops. You should talk to somebody more... versed in soul mechanics then I am. But... at the same time, secrets have been particularly destructive in Remnant. Maybe when Glynda gets back..."

She trailed off.

Ozpin rapped his fingers against the desk. "...We'll have to think about it."

 **60.14 Masterweaver**

"So then I smashed the kumquat with my book, and it became a butterfly, and we flew into the sky where I ate all the sugar in the world."

Weiss hummed in acknowledgement, dropping live roaches for the tiny raptor in her terrarium to feed on. "This is why you don't eat cookie-beam sweets before bed."

Yang huffed. "What was I supposed to do, turn Ruby down?" She glanced up at her feet. "How are things up there?"

"You've welded your boots to the ceiling pretty well," Blake replied from her nook, pulling back her goggles. "Seriously, your dreams are weird enough without you sleep-semblancing."

"Is sleep semblancing actually a thing in baseline?" Ruby mused, the various vines she wore twitching as she read a treatise on advanced octopus engineering.

"It could be."

Yang shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess we all can agree that dreams are pretty weird sometimes..."

 **60.15 RipOffProductions**

Aboard a train there sat a young farm boy who was heading to the grand City of Mistral for the first time in his life. After looking around to confirm that he was alone in the train car he started to quietly speak to the voice in his head.

"Okay, so let me get this straight; you were the leader of a secret organization that protected the world from all kinds of equally secret mystical threats," the boy named Oscar Pine began.

 _That's technically Loop Variable, but for simplicity's sake I'll say 'yes'_ the voice of Ozpin responded.

"And you're also a man who upon his death has his memories and some part of his personality transferred to another person, of which you're not even the first."

 _Correct. Again the details are variable, but for the most part that core statement remains true._

"And on top of that time itself is broken, and repeats in 'Loops' over and over with only some select few being able to 'Wake Up' and remember them."

 _Indeed.  
_  
"And you're one of these 'Loopers', and you've just now 'Awoken' after you're 'baseline' self has been in my head for months."

 _I apologize for all the additional confusion this adds to your situation.  
_  
There was a moment of calm with only the rumble of the train as it sped along its tracks.

"Okay, I have a few questions..."

 _I think you have a lot more then just 'a few'.  
_  
"The most important of which is HOW THE HELL DID YOU EXPIAN ALL THIS TO ME WITHOUT MAKING ME FREAK THE FUCK OUT!"

 _*sigh* well at least I'm getting better at this,_ Ozpin thought to himself as Oscar descended into a gibbering mess from the onset of the massive existential crisis the Loops present to non-Loopers.

 **60.16 Masterweaver & LithosMaitreya**

"What fairness is this that doth grace my sight?  
And lo, how my heart leapeth in reply!  
Though others might have cause to wonder why,  
I find a glimm'ring Wonder 'fore my eyes."

"Thou shouldst beware, lest ye find mirroréd  
Forever in your heart the spectacle  
Which verily thou even now beholdst!  
For even should the time keep us apart  
I shall not cease to wait to fingers run  
Through hair that's spun of purest fire and gold."

"What tempting tragedy! To claim as such  
That she would wait for one of such base kind,  
Though her dark ears are soft to ev'ry touch  
Whose soul exalts in all the arts of mind!"

"Thy heart and soul are more exalted far,  
A guiding light to my path's guiding road.  
And though thou art not without smallest faults,  
Thou misshapen spark, thy beauty's greater  
Than has thy would-be judgement strength and words.  
Thy smile and thy charms will e'er bring forth  
Such laughing and such mirth as lights my days."

"Such praise! Though true, 'tis quite uncalléd for:  
An angel such as you to bless me thus,  
With tongue, and wit, and words so sweet and fair!  
Oh, fie upon't! My heart begins to soar  
Upon the wondrous wings which you have sung!"

"Fret not, for I too fly just by your side:  
Together we shall rise above the sea  
And deep into the dark expanse of space.  
For hear me, that which I proclaim is true:  
There's naught I cannot do with you beside."

"Ah, what wondrous words of love do I hear!"

"If I were a child, loud would I cheer."

Yang and Blake froze for a second or two, before turning to the final two speakers... who had wide grins on their faces.

"Uh... Weiss! Ruby!" The blonde grinned awkwardly. "Um, so, it-you're here now!"

"Yep!" Ruby beamed.

Blake coughed, hiding her blush. "How... much of that did you hear, exactly...?"

Weiss produced a scroll. "All of it."

"All of-wait, why are you-"

"Aaaand onto the dustnet it goes."

Yang's eyes shot wide. "You really-you don't need to-"

"Oh would you look at that?" Weiss noted. "Apparently, when the Schnee heiress posts something, it gets quite a few hits."

Blake's blush grew as she sat down. "Oh no. Ooooooh nooooooo..."

"My my my." Ruby opened her own scroll. "Ten, twenty, forty... a hundred. It hasn't even been a minute. It's ~treeeeeeendiiiiiiiing...~"

"You shouldn't be so embarrassed," Weiss pointed out as Yang buried her face in her hands. "You're really quite talented."

"I-that-uh, me and Blake-" Yang flustered.

"Why did you put it on the dustnet?" Blake groaned.

"You steal half our dorm," Ruby quipped. "This is just revenge."

 **60.17 WirelessGrapes**

Yang Xiao Long was reading a book.

This wasn't the oddest sight in the world, considering the billions of years she'd been dating a book lover. One of their favorite 'relax' activities was curling up together and sharing a book, so it was no wonder that the blonde would occasionally open the covers of a novel.

It was some kind of Hub classic that Blake wanted her to read. The book looked to be about hunting birds, but no birds had been shot so far. It was still pretty good though.

Yang flipped the page, continuing the adventure of Sc-

 _ **SLAM!  
**_  
She looked up from her book at the interruption, sending the hardback to her Pocket before checking to see who just slammed their door. It sounded pretty close to her, so Ruby, Weiss, and JNPR were the most likely culprits.

Poking her head out the doors, she saw her sister appear in a flurry of petals, calling out down the hall, "Wait! Weiss! Come back, I didn't mean it like that!"

Yang smirked, "Honeymoon troubles?"

Ruby spun around on her heel, sighing loudly. "Still not funny, Yang."

Yang stepped fully into the hallway. "So, what's got Princess angry this time?"

"You know how I ask Weiss random questions about the world from time to time?"

She looked up to the left before nodding. "Yeah, Weiss is usually pretty good at answering those, though. What'd you ask?"

Ruby flushed, and started playing with the hem of her skirt. "I...uh, I asked her why you can't ever see up people's skirts. 'Cause, in the last expansion, Ren looked up N-"

 _ **SLAM!**_

 **60.18 Flametusk**

It was a normal loop. Well, as normal as the loops could be called, really, but that was beside the point. Anyways, to take her mind off of why the retractable wall was currently up, Ruby and Weiss were talking about what would happen if - when - the loops ended.

"Well, you won't know what happens until it does, right Ruby?"

"Yeah, I know, it's just... will everything revert to baseline? Will we remember any of this?"

"I don't know, and, honestly? I think that way leads to insanity."

"Anyways, you know how the hub has backups of all the loops as fiction, and expansions are new books, or episodes, or movies, or games, or-"

"Yes, Ruby, but what's your point?"

"Well, what about all the people that want to know what happens next? I know they could replay the games, and do things differently, but eventually, they'll have done everything, and with nothing new coming out, won't people be disappointed? What if, in the hub, there's fanfiction being written at this very moment, describing this very conversation? What if whoever is writing it is frightened that the loops will end soon, and are writing this to provide a description of their fears, not actually knowing that this is happening somewhere in the Multiverse?"

"...Ruby?"

"Yes Weiss?

"That would be a huge coincidence. I'll just say this, though, with how many loops there are, and have been, I don't think any person at all would be able to even read about all of them, not even all the ones from this branch! So, just, don't worry about it."

"Thanks. So what should we talk about now?"

"Don't know. Really, I think they've just kept the wall up for so long to listen in and see what we'll do to occupy ourselves while..."

"Yeah, probably."

Blake and Yang lowered the wall, pretending they hadn't been listening in, and asked the other two members of their team what they were talking about.

 **60.19 Vinylshadow**

"Soooo?" Nora said with a wide grin as she danced around Ren.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you enjoy the view?"

Ren's face went pink and he coughed awkwardly. Nora gave him a light shove.

"Oh please, it hardly matters if someone looks up a skirt in Remnant. Most of the time it's in the heat of battle, so you become desensitized to it and it loses its impact as a perverted thing. Weiss and Ruby don't care and they're the ones with the big flashy twirly moves."

"Well, I certainly wasn't going to say anything, because it's not wise to anger a girl who has a giant morphing death weapon."

"Aw, how sweet."

 **60.20 Masterweaver**

"I have made ~poooopcoooooorn~!" Penny reported gleefully as she entered the room.

"Good thinking, bitbot." Qrow nodded thankfully as she handed him a bowl. "Can't have a movie night without movie snacks."

Winter took a piece of the corn and quirked an eyebrow. "'Bitbot'? Where did you pick that one up?"

"Obscure hubworld edutainment game my preawake self was fond of one loop... for some reason." Qrow shrugged. "It wasn't terrible, I guess, but it was CD-ROM era and very kitschy."

"I suppose it isn't the worst nickname you could have come up with for me," Penny allowed, sitting down on the end of the couch next to her uncle.

"Nah, I'm keeping those on a list for Jamie. Just in case he needs to embarrass you in public."

James Ironwood gave him a flat look. "I don't see a need to do that."

"I believe trying to get under people's skin is Qrow's way of showing affection," Winter speculated. "This is good popcorn, by the way."

Penny beamed. "Thank you! I _am_ trying to improve my cooking skills."

"I am still not used to the concept of watching our own show," Ironwood admitted. "Are we doing this for entertainment or for reconnaissance?"

"I believe 'both' would be an accurate reply," Penny stated. "I don't know how it compares to living through the expansions themselves... for obvious reasons... but I do know that Ruby and her friends continue to check the backups."

Ironwood winced. "Penny-"

"You keep me safe when you can," she reassured him. "And I don't blame you for all that. It's... simply that I sometimes wish I could be around when everyone else wakes up late, if only to help."

He sighed, gently wrapping an arm around her. "That doesn't mean I don't regret what happened."

"I know." She leaned into him. "Trust me. I do."

Winter, sitting on the general's other side, had to give them a sad smile. Qrow, for his part, took a silent snapshot with his scroll and quickly pocketed it.

"Ahem." Ironwood cleared his throat. "So. Qrow, you've been through this. What can you tell us?"

"I only get into that situation when Tyrian gets the drop on me," the huntsman grumbled. "And I spend most of that out of it until Mistral. So basically squat."

Winter smiled. "I'm sure the kids conducted themselves excellently. Shall we?"

"Enh. Sooner we get through this, the sooner we can watch something more fun."

-

"...Well." Qrow nodded. "A couple big surprises."

Ironwood was tense. "If Leo sold out-"

"We don't know that," Winter said gently. "It looks likely, but we can't be sure. Besides, there's an element of storytelling here-that was meant as a plot twist, not as an accurate report."

He sighed, sagging into the chair. "I feel like I'm doomed to failure, no matter what I do. The fall of Beacon, shutting Atlas's borders..." He absently gripped Penny tighter.

The gynoid patted his hand gently. "Trust me, generuncle Jamie, we all know you're doing the best you can. Most loops we can sidestep all this."

"And I think we all agreed to screw baseline anyway," Qrow pointed out. "Look, this is the last expansion for a while. We probably have a few millennia to get ready for whatever chaos comes next."

The general nodded. "Doesn't make it any easier."

Winter sighed. "No it doesn't. When Weiss isn't Awake..." She clutched her hands. "It can be difficult not to hover. Especially if she ends up at the mansion..."

Penny smiled. "But that's another thing Generuncle Jamie can help with, right?"

The three adults shared a look.

"...I'll try my best," he finally said.

Qrow nodded. "Good enough for me. Honestly, as worrying as that Watts thing was, I was more interested in the parts with Tai and the chameleon girl."

"It is good to know that Taiyang is doing decently," Winter agreed. "Although we could have found out simply by investigating ourselves."

"And the voiceover did suggest Ilia wasn't... irredeemable," Penny allowed. "In all honesty, I hope to meet her one day-maybe after she firms up, historically."

Qrow nodded. "She is an interesting mystery, isn't she..."

"Mmm." Winter claped her hands together. "I think we've pretty much learned all we can from this at the moment. Shall we move on to the real event?"

"Of course!" Penny pulled out her scroll and started interfacing with the screen in front of them. "Now, this is one I'm informed won an award in the hub..."

 **60.21 Vinylshadow**

 _"Pick up the mug."_

"Heck no."

 _"Please?"_

"No! You dragged me out of my comfortable, safe, mediocre life and now I've got people after my head as I go around picking up bits and pieces of your past. I didn't sign up for this!" Oscar stared around the ruins, holding Ozpin's cane. "What's so special about that mug anyway?"

 _"Kid, when you reach my age, you'll learn to love the likes of coffee, tea and cocoa and will sing their praises at the end of a tiring day."_

"Yeah, well, that's a long ways off and is looking less and less likely the longer I have you in my head.," Oscar grumbled.

 _"I've already said I was sorry for the danger heading your way, which is why it is important to find the items and then seek out help."_

"And why haven't you asked these friends for help earlier?" Oscar asked.

 _"...Events transpired that caught everyone off guard and we were...scattered."_

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Oscar muttered.  
 _  
"Just take the mug. You'll thank me."_

"Except it's been sitting out here in the open for months on end, getting filled with who-knows-what and is probably toxic," Oscar pointed out.

 _"I didn't say you had to_ drink _it."_

Oscar threw his hands up. "By all that is... _fine_ , I'll take the stupid mug."

 **60.22 diesel**

"Does everyone have their character sheets?" Cinder asked as she glanced around the table. "The ones I have approved with no modifications?"

Qrow snorted, leaning back into his chair as he tossed and caught a D20. "Yes, we all have our sheets. Can we just get started?"

This was going to be headache wasn't it? Cinder didn't look away from the gathered players until she got confirmations from everyone. "Good. Now, I have printed off slightly modified and expanded backstories-"

"Wait why?" Pyrrha cut in, making Cinder twitch with her sheer overblown indignity. "We went to all that effort to make up these sheets and you are now saying you have changed them?!"

"Yes."

Pyrrha bristled at the blunt response. "Why, if you were-"

"Because your backstories did not mesh well with the world. I changed some locations, names and the like to fit everyone together and provide reasoning to travel together. They are _minor_ edits, nothing of significance was changed. Now, sit down and read your damned updated backstories and world history!"

Cinder mentally groaned as everyone finally took their character information packets. Why did she decide to do this?

Oh, right she was bored. Still, with Qrow with his semblance, a group of 7 chaotic evil nut cases of various kinds, one lawful good crusader and 50 levels to get through...

This was going to be hell. She was a sadist, not a masochist, so why did she keep putting herself through this torment?

Oh, right DMing was fun.

…normally

-

"I want to use _all_ my fate points."

Cinder met Ruby's silver gaze, an almost manic grin on the reapers face, and Cinder felt her stomach drop. Well, there goes the campaign.

"Ruby," Cinder rubbed her eyes as half the table began laughing and the other half started groaning or cursing, "Can we go one game without you derailing everything, or doing something not completely psychotic?"

"Probably not."

Cinder slumped, she was beaten, her will had been shattered and all she could do was watch the train wreck, working out how to use it to cause the most interesting events for everyone. "Fine, what do you want, I will say if it is allowable."

"First up, I turn to Valiant," Ruby tipped her head to Qrow who was shaking his head in disbelief and amusement, "And I present my evidence concerning who killed Margret, and I…

Why did this keep happening?

 **60.23 Prince Pondincherry**

Although RWBY was split up and RNJR was trekking across Mistral like usual for a post-Beacon Loop, technically, this Loop had started _during_ the Fall of Beacon. Not early enough for Ruby to save Pyrrha, but it was early enough for her to learn the one redeeming feature of this Null Loop.

"Out of my way, foolish children! You shall not stand against me, for I have the power of nature on my side!" Raven proclaimed dramatically. The woman next to her gestured, and lightning crackled through the air with a loud thunderclap.

"Great, Raven's a ridiculous cartoon villain this Loop," Ruby said in a deadpan voice.

At her side, Jaune was freaking out a little. He grabbed her shoulder and tried to drag her away. "Come on Ruby, we've got to go. Do we have to have this argument every time Raven has the Spring Maiden?"

"Nope, I got this," Ruby said. When Jaune still didn't let go, she stared him down. "Trust me."

"Alright, I trust you," Jaune said, but he sounded hesitant. Nevertheless, he did let her go.

Ruby stepped forward and posed dramatically, cape swaying in the wind the Spring Maiden had called up. Pointing a figure in the air, she proclaimed, "Ah, but you forget one important thing. I have silver eyes!"

"And?"

"Have you forgotten the legend of silver-eyed warrior? Surely you are aware that legends can be true. Unless my silver eyes fail me, a Maiden of the Seasons stands before me," Ruby continued to proclaim in an over-dramatic voice.

"No, of course I am aware of the veracity of legends. But the silver-eyed warriors are said to scare the Grimm, and we are not Grimm."

"Ah, but what the legends don't say is that becoming a Maiden comes with a crippling weakness along with the great power." Ruby's eyes started to glow. "Let me show you."

An hour later, Ruby watched as the Nuckelavee was vaporized into nothingness. It sure was nice when unlocking her silver eye powers on the tower allowed her to use them again at will.

 **60.24 Kaoupa**

"Um, Ruby?" Weiss asked, trying to get her Anchor's attention. They had to get to class, and even if RWBY were all Awake, it was hardly a good thing to miss their duties!

"Shhh. Later." Ruby said, affectionately nuzzling into her large bedmate.

Underneath her, Ruby's "Cuddlegrim" happily waved its tail, nuzzling the teenager with its paws.

Elsewhere, the Awake Cinder was seeing how many of these Grimm she could fit into her Pocket.

The citizens in her city probably wouldn't mind a few friendly animals if she explained things, right?

 **60.25 Prince Pondincherry**

Ruby hated Null Loops sometimes. Any Null Loop after the Fall of Beacon required her to fight Tyrian, which was always a challenge, but she'd been starting to get the hang of it lately. This Loop Jaune was Awake with her, so she'd have an even better chance against Tyrian than usual, but it looked like they weren't even going to get that far.

*Crash*

Ruby groaned as a powerful wind blasted her through a wall. In the distance, she could hear Jaune yell, "Ruby!" She looked up to make sure no more attacks were incoming before letting herself slump back down. _I think I'll just lie here for a while._

Jaune snarled as he clashed swords with his opponent. "Don't you care at all about your stepdaughter?"

"I gave you all the chance to leave. You thought you were strong enough to test yourselves against me, and I'll respect that by proving you wrong." Raven swung her sword past Jaune's. He raised his shield to block, and the sword released a big explosion from fire Dust. While he recovered, she plunged her sword back in its sheath and switched to a wind Dust blade.

"You didn't mention you had the _Spring Maiden_ on your side!" Jaune complained.

Raven just smirked in reply before tearing into him in a powerful series of blows that he only barely kept up with. His skill at swordplay had dramatically improved over the millennia, but there was little he could do for his physical fitness, an area where Raven totally had him beat. With one final blow, Raven used the wind Dust to wrench Jaune's sword and shield from his hand, but before she could strike him directly, Nora charged in and smashed into Raven with her hammer, sending her flying a block away.

"She hit you with lightning, didn't she?" Jaune asked as he gathered his weapons.

"Sure did! I've got no idea how, though…but I'm not complaining!" Nora transformed her hammer into grenade launcher form and sent covering fire towards the bandit leader down the street.

"We've got to get out of here. Where's Ruby?" Jaune asked.

"She's distracting that crazy-powerful lady with Ren."

"Let's go get them."

Ruby pushed her reflexes and her Semblance to their limits, dodging lightning bolts and fire blasts and powering through wind gusts. She landed for a second and was nearly grabbed by a crawling vine, but she managed to slice through it with Crescent Rose.

"Ruby! We need to go!" Jaune shouted.

"I'm not leaving people to die! Uncle Qrow's almost here, and…"

"We'll still lose! They're just bandits, they're not going to kill the town, but somebody needs to be alive to stop the Grimm!"

"Uggh, fine!" Ruby said, dodging out of the way of another vine.

"Ren, now!" Jaune called. Ren used his Semblance, which this Loop could hide people from any hostiles, not just Grimm, to hide Team RNJR long enough for them to escape the town and begin planning to stop the Grimm.

 **60.29 LithosMaitreya**

Penny Awoke in an arena. Across from her was a woman, with dark red hair and armor of golden bronze, her arms outstretched in an attack, made in shock and fear.

Penny found that her perception of the world was slow—she saw _everything_. She saw her own blades as they flew past her, she saw the flinch and the widening eyes as Pyrrha awoke, she saw the stream of rose petals as Ruby, having just Awoken too, tried to prevent what was about to happen.

Penny expected to be afraid, to be gibbering with shock and horror and trauma, but now, faced with the very instant of terror, the moment that had dominated her for millennia, she was strangely calm. She turned off nonessential processes and took advantage of the freed computation power to work.

She brought up her in-Loop blueprints, analyzed the trajectories of her wires. She mentally reached into her pocket, seeking out a few vital parts.

There was an auxiliary power supply, there were cords to maintain circuit completion, there was a spare dust battery.

She visualized herself as a three-dimensional intersection of two three-dimensional spaces existing in eleven-dimensional space. One of these spaces was the Amity Coliseum, the other was her Pocket. She mentally reorganized the contents of her Pocket, preparing for the coming sleight-of-hand trick that would allow her a few crucial moments of survival, if all went well.

The wires impacted.

 _There is nothing in the world,_ Penny would later recount, _quite like being ripped apart in slow motion. At first, when your flesh—metal, in my case—begins to bend under the strain, you know perfectly well that the pain is coming, and yet there's nothing you can do about it._

Penny cataloged helplessness.

 _Then, they bite into you, and there it is—pain, from several sharp, angular lines across your body, so thin and specific that it's hard to even identify the exact positioning. It's as though you're enveloped in a shrinking sphere of agony, so universal is the pain. And through it all is the resounding fear—fear of death, of ending, of failing to reappear. Loopers don't get that often—when we die, we usually die fast enough that we don't see it coming. The existential fear of dying without completion isn't something we face often. But I did, that day._

Penny cataloged the fear of death.

 _And then they're through, and you're in pieces, and the world is going dark. Your grip on your own Pocket is slipping, and it's like the code of your being—thoughts, I suppose, for organics—is being corrupted one bit at a time, but every time you look it's like another billion are gone._

Penny cataloged death.

Then, at the last moment, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her prepared apparatus. Cords spring into being around the torso-fragment of her body, completing opened circuits and providing power and Aura back to a damaged system, and with a flicker and an instant brush with death, Penny survived.

Ruby was beside her. "Penny!" she cried. "I'm—"

"I'm still alive," Penny murmured.

Ruby blinked at her. Then she noticed the Unpocketed equipment. "Looping?"

Penny nodded. It was difficult. "I don't have much," she confessed. "This battery is not meant to power me for long. Can you carry me?"

Ruby blinked, and then her face hardened with resolve. "Yes," she promised, reaching her arms around the gynoid and gingerly lifting her up.

Then Penny was up, and looking over at her opponent. Pyrrha was on her knees, struck with horror, and staring tearfully at what was left of her fellow Looper.

Penny examined herself, internally. Studied her own emotional processes. She was struck with one fundamental truth.

"I have cataloged death," she said, meeting Pyrrha's gaze.

Green eyes blinked at her. "Wh- what?" the Huntress asked brokenly.

Penny smiled. "Death," she said. "I have done the impossible, Pyrrha. I have _survived death_."

Pyrrha was blinking. She didn't understand.

"You didn't die, Penny," Ruby said, cradling her torso like a child. "You're still alive."

Penny shook her head. "But I _did_ ," she said. "There was an instant, a moment, between when I Unpocketed the equipment and when the circuits closed, when I—stopped." She craned her neck up and smiled at Ruby. "I have cataloged _death_ , Ruby."

Ruby looked at her concernedly. "And… what does that mean, Penny?"

Penny sighed exasperatedly. "You don't understand," she said. "For a long time, Ruby, death has been a pair of fearful green eyes and a magnetic surge. But I can refer to it now, and it isn't that at all."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked in a whisper.

Penny smiled at her. "Death," she said, even as her battery began to whine under the strain, "is—oh, but how can I describe it? It's the feeling of coming undone. It's birth, and horror, and laughter, and sex, and every other moment in a lifetime that makes you _lose_ yourself, but it's more than all of those things."

Pyrrha was crawling towards her now. It was piteous to watch, really. "Does it—hurt?" she asked.

Penny snorted. "Death? No," she said. "Being ripped apart? Immensely. You're missing the point."

"And what is the point?" Ruby asked.

Penny smiled at her. "I've cataloged death," she said—slowly, hoping they'd get it. "I still _fear_ it—most people do, and that's healthy. But death _isn't Pyrrha_."

Pyrrha picked herself up slowly. "So you're—" she began, and then swallowed. "You're—okay… with me?"

Penny's smile widened. "I should be a good deal better," she said. "I am human, and humans are creatures of habit—but I shall start breaking mine, now."

The battery sputtered.

"Ah, that's my cue," Penny said brightly. "Make sure the Grimm are shown the door promptly, won't you?"

Ruby nodded, tears in her eyes. "We will," she swore. "Isn't there something—"

"I can't afford to lose this battery," Penny said gently. "I need to Pocket it. We have too little time. I'm sorry."

Ruby nodded mutely.

"I'll see you next Loop," Penny swore, looking between the two, and then pocketed her gear again.

 _When one is ready for it,_ Penny would tell the other Loopers, _death really is, as Sirius Black once said, quicker and easier than falling asleep._


	61. The Last Rose of Summer

**61.1 diesel**

Cinder sipped her tea as she stared out at the bustling streets of Vale, the cool wind refreshing as it blew past. Faking her death was so easy and it let her operate so freely, the loopers simply did not look further. Cinder smiled, green eyes taking in the setting sun, she always liked twilight. The sky seeming aflame as darkness set in, or revealing a new day and new insights.

She bit into a piece of cake, relishing the thick, dark chocolate as she mentally counted down.

Soon Vale would once more be consumed with chaos.

'Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war,' Cinder mused as the first notes of unrest sounded. She had done enough work this loop, now it was time to sit back and see how it all unfolded.

 _She could not wait to see them rip each other apart!_

Cinder stood up as she finished her cake, walking out of the café as gunshots grew closer, the distant explosions ripping through the evening air. Chanting and bellows of rage got closer as she walked down the streets and the shadows grew longer.

"And the shadow of the day will embrace the world in grey, and the sun will set for you." Cinder hummed under her breath, the song playing in her mind. The Ballad of death and conflict resounded in her mind as she walked past racing police dressed in riot gear.

Ashes and smoke turned the setting sun blood red as blood flowed through the streets. Flames filled the night with flickering lights as faunus civil rights protestors clashed with human supremacists. Three years of progress now all dead upon the ground, a peaceful rally turned dark as the White Fang showed themselves once more.

And of course, the One Form were 'unarmed' and as so were massacred. If faunus said different, well, that was just the word of animals. Cinder walked untouched among the carnage humming to herself as Molotov cocktails, dust rounds and rock flew past.

Unhindered by the clashing of rioter and overwhelmed police, of Huntsman battling Huntsman as civilians ran wild, Cinder strode past ignored by all in the chaos. Howls of range and malice adding a visceral beautiful backing to the beat of the guns.

The blood moon cast a beautiful light across Vale, shining on the blood drenched and lighting up the rage twisted faces that cavorted and warred under the crimson moonlight.

Her last few loops had been bad, actually her loops had been getting progressively worse. More nightmares, worsening hallucinations, depression and just an ever increasing lack of care.

Cinder's eyes flashed as she imagined a vast tree towering over Remnant, diseased and dying, fury shoot through her mind, a deadly black rage as her joy and peace rotted in her mouth. A vice like grip grabbed a person by the neck and her red eyes flashed as she feasted.

The riot continued to rip Vale apart around her.

Cinder could not bring herself to care.

 **61.2 Detective Ethan Redfield**

Conan awoke inside a familiar construction site. He closed his eyes for the slightest second, only to hear a familiar voice. "Hey, Itakura..."

Conan rubbed his forehead. Too late, he was at one of the meetings with Vodka and Gin. The scenario more often than not ended very poorly for Conan, especially if Gin had heard about people shrinking from the Apotoxin. Even if he were to catch the two here, it almost always went pear shaped with one of Conan's precious people biting the bullet. Still, information was always valuable. Maybe this time he'd get something new on Vodka. Best to be hopeful.

"Just like Itakura, not even here."

Like clockwork, Vodka found the check, then the CD taped to the inside of a coin locker. His usual exasperated question signaled Gin's arrival. "Huh? What do you mean only a few drunks and a kid entered the station! Check again!"

The sound of a gun clicking echoed through the station. Conan pulled out a tactical mirror and slid it around the corner at floor level. He blinked at Gin. Usually he had blonde or silver hair, maybe brown on one occasion, but red was an entirely different color this time. And then he started speaking somewhat off script. "Vodka, buddy, Why do I find myself, once again, cleaning up after your messes?"

"Bro..."

"The meeting isn't tomorrow. I didn't know the organization hired on looks instead of brains. Why are you dancing to the beat of our indentured, disposable contractor? Why did you allow him to choose the time we met?"

"Actually, I set the time, Bro."

Gin sighed and shrugged. "This is the quality of my lackeys in this day and age. What deity above did I offend to get you?"

Vodka handed Gin the CD. "Anyway, I couldn't dispose of Itakura, but we have the program and he won't make it much longer with his heart condition."

Gin waved the tape at himself. "Your stupidity is overwhelming. You know why it's taped down?"

Vodka gave a blank look, only for Gin to give a cocky grin. "He wanted your fingerprints you fool. And you were nice enough to leave a cigarette behind with your saliva on it. That reveals your blood type. Don't you know not to put your personal information out there where anyone could get it?"

"Bro..."

"Saying of course Itakura left behind the actual program, it's probably a blank CD or a virus that compromises our systems in some way. Oh, and the tracking device hidden in the case, you really screwed the pooch this time, V."

Vodka slammed a fist into a locker. "That bastard, Itakura-"

Gin shook his head several times. "Vody, Vody, Vody, when will you start using your brain? Itakura is a coward. He probably hired someone to look into us, a real fox of a detective. Pity he caught the scent of the wolves."

Gin looked at the far end of the construction zone, almost right at where Conan was hiding. The detective retracted his Mirror as he continued listening. Gin sighed again before speaking. "Listen V, I can't take anymore of your stupidity. Get out before I shoot you. Just...join the others observing the station."

"Uh...yeah big Bro."

A minute passed in silence, only for it to be broken when Gin's voice echoed out. "I know you're there, Detective brat."

The blood in Conan's veins froze. He blinked for a second, then started thinking as Gin kept speaking. "I make it a point to know my foes in the multiverse, Conan Edogawa...or should I call you Shinichi Kudo...or Jimmy?"

Conan thought fast as he pulled out a mini speaker from his subspace pocket and slid it across to the other end of the lockers. "Oh? Are you a looper? It's obvious you're not one of ours."

He withdrew his tactical mirror and watched as Gin spoke towards the speaker. "Just a simple thief here, admiring the nicer things in life, a ruby here, a sapphire there. Come on out kid. This is embarrassing just talking to lockers after all."

Conan gulped and stepped out. "How did you know I was there?"

"I make it a point to know potential foes in the multiverse. You're right up there with my annoying anchor."

"And should I know you? You're neither Carmen Sandiego nor Lupin the Third."

Roman snorted, but Conan did notice his eyebrow twitch for a second. "Their reputations are bloated to the point they'd fill a Galaxy to themselves. They can't hold a _torch_ to my candle. But I think we've talked enough..."

A cane appeared in his hand. With a flick of a button on top of the cane, smoke flooded the room as he continued, "Perhaps we'll me again, brat."

Conan ended up waiting an hour before leaving the construction site. He caught a taxi and made his way to Agasa's. The professor asked, "Kudo, how did the meeting with Gin and Vodka go this time?"

Conan shrugged. "Roman Torchwick is replacing Gin this loop. He's apparently a fan of our show."

He flicked on the tv and put in a DVD, which started playing RWBY. It would be good to catch up on Torchwick's baseline MO, just in case he ran across him again.

 **61.3 diesel**

The night sky was clear; the shattered face of the broken moon bathed the world in sliver, the stars blotted out by the lights of Vale, the city stretching out below her glowing with a golden light.

The controls of the Bullhead responded fluidly to her reflexive commands as Cinder brought the roaring machine down, circling around the buildings as she brought her target into sight. Twin amber eyes narrowed as she watched the familiar fight taking place, Ruby was winning decisively. If Roman was Awake and not stealthing the flow of the fight would be different and if Ruby was intending to let him go then she was likely to be fighting at a lower level.

In the rapidly closing distance, the red haired thief looked up, relief stretching across his face as bullets into the ground forcing Roman halting in his maddened dash.

Should she intervene?

Cinder pounded the question as she searched though her loop memories. The purple clad form of Glynda was racing towards the fight, too slow, too urgent enough and not smooth enough to be the looper.

Choices, choices, choices.

Cinder mentally snarled as the ping echoed though her head, a faint irrational thought to reply flitting though her mind.

The _Silver Eyed child_ swung her ridiculous scythe around like it was made out of nothing, slamming the back of its shaft into Romans head with a brutal crack. The thief fell to the ground as his Aura failed, his broken weapon on the other edge of the building and the red head.

A look of terror and desperation crossed his face as he gazed at the cold face of the Anchor, bloody and beaten. Cinder smiled coldly as he looked up at he, she had her plan for the loop.

 _I shall crush her will._

'Well, I guess that answers that, I guess Ruby had had a hard loop recently. Let's try something a bit different this loop.'

Cinder narrowed her eyes, setting the autopilot on before standing from the seat and heading to the door. Elaborate Dust weaving ignited with golden fire as her eyes shone, the howling wind from the ascending bullhead roared in her ears.

"I'm disappointed Roman, you failed against a child." Cinder laughed, a cold mocking noise that carried down to the building that was quickly receding in the distance. Her black hair blowing in the wind as she felt the cool night air flowing over her. "I don't tolerate failure."

 _How does failure taste Ruby?_

Burn dust swirled around her, glowing with a deep orange glow, in the distance Cinder felt a thrill of pleasure at the look of horror that formed on their faces. Her eyes glowed with faint golden light, wing like corneas erupting from her face.

A sharp gesture sent the barrage of dust hurtling towards the building. Lighting flashed and thunder rumbled in the cloudless night as shearing wind howled. The elemental fury ripped into the building's supports, feasting on the dust so integral to the manufacturer of everything in Remnant.

In the distant sky, Cinder laughed as she watched the column of flames swirling into the air. The Maiden's power was so useful, all those little variations on top of her normal abilities made things so much fun. In most loops making aura based flames do that was so much harder.

 _I will break your spirits._

Turning away from the city, glowing in the dark of the night, Cinder went back to the controls and switched it back to manual. In her mind's eye the scene replayed itself; the look of horror on Ruby's face as she tried to protect Roman, only to realize to late that she had failed.

 _And never let you break completely._

Those horrific, silver eyes widened in horror as the storm tore into the foundations. Ruby would survive but Roman had no Aura left and Glynda was not guaranteed to have enough.

 _After all where would the fun be in that?_

It was very satisfying to kill Roman. She had never liked him, even in baseline he had been insufferable and arrogant and the looping one was far worse. 'I wonder, did he die from being crushed, burned to death, or something else. It was always a bit difficult it such a chaotic situation to work such things out from a distance.

'How did it feel Ruby, to once more fail and lose someone you wished had lived to my actions?'

 _And I don't feel like being wiped away by an Ascension or Crash._

Cinder's laugher increased as a maelstrom of silver rose petals rose into the night sky, radiating a profane light that sent chills down her back. The memory of searing pain and mutilation rose to the fore.

It was rather rare to get one over Ruby so blatantly. But she had planned on the desire her baseline selves desire to hide until she could obtain the other part of Autumn. This was going to come back and bite her this loop, but the look on Ruby's face was worth it. And it wasn't like death mattered anyway. Not anymore. It was just another chance to have fun from the start once more

Rising from her seat Cinder summoned her volcanic glass blades, cloaking herself in the broken Maiden's power and waited. Her end was coming, at the hands of the Silver Eyed Reaper.

 _… Just like in Baseline…_

The door shrieked as it was rent asunder, fragments of twisted metal glancing of her Aura. Cinder bit back a snarl as exquisite silver light swept over her, her power withering under the caustic radiance.

 _A perfect counter to my power._

Millions of silver petals engulfed the Bullhead, filing the air with the baleful light, streaming into the shattered door and swirling around, condensing into a vortex of pure silver. The jet streams howled past sending the shattered debris flying off into the distance. Only Ruby's power keeping the ruined Bullhead in the air.

 _…The protagonist almost always wins after all._

In the distance Grimm circled, black blots against the night sky. Bone gleamed under the moonlight as they turned towards the storm of scintillating silver petals that lit up the night like a second moon.

 _NO!_

Cinder gritted her teeth as agony consumed her body, "No, I will not fall like this!" Her bellow filled the air, going almost unheard in the pandemonium. Burn dust filled the air as flames consumed the bullhead as the petals began to coalesce into a distinct shape.

 _I will defeat you in the end!_

Cinder tumbled though the air, skin blackened and burnt. The wind ripped past as she watched molten metal rain down from the sky, lighting up the night like a meteor shower. Millions of gleaming petals danced in the sky among the slag, before they formed a funnel shooting down towards her.

 _I shall rise beyond your comprehension._

"I will crush you, you silly little girl! I will not be beaten by the likes of you!" Cinder rasped from a ruined throat, eyes alight with hate as she desperately tried to use her Maiden powers to break her fall. "All that you and yours have and are will be crushed!"

The petals drew up beside her, the silver light fading as Ruby formed once more from the storm. Mirror like eyes twisted in rage, her hood and cape streaming back before it broke back it petals.

Ruby did not yell, her voice was simply cold and clear, carried clearly despite the air rushing past, her eyes never wavering from Cinders maddened amber gaze. "No Cinder. You will always lose, from now until eternity ends. You are nothing more than a shadow of the real Cinder that will vanish unlamented. She will be there in the end standing alongside us."

Ruby cocked her head as she looked to the rapidly approaching ground, her voice tasking on a more normal tone as she spoke again. "Aaaand, it's a bit difficult to do what you just swore to do when your plummeting from 30000 feet with little to no Aura whilst covered in burns to over 70% of your body. If you had just surrendered like I was going to ask, and you know, not blown up the bullhead and almost burnt yourself to death then you may have found a way to do all that."

Ruby shook her head, watching as the dark forest below rose up, a contemplative look on her face. "I think I get it though; you did not want to get beaten like that, it's a matter of pride. So you chose death on your own terms, trying to take me with you."

Cinder felt a cold pit form in her stomach as Ruby smiled, a hint of something unpleasant in her gaze. "See the thing is, you tried to kill two of my friends…"

Wait what?

"… and a lot of other people, so that combined with what you just said means I really don't feel like letting you get what you want. Have fun in jail Cinder. Roman and Neo will likely be paying you a visit at some point."

A strong hand grabbed her wrist in an unbreakable grip and the world dissolved around her. As her vision faded Cinder screamed in helpless fury, bands of ice sealing her power as cuffs of mithril bound locked into place.

Cinder sat in silence, stewing in her own thoughts. Knots of scar tissue had turned her body into a twisted, aching wreck.

She had failed, completely and utterly, not even managing to kill Roman or escape the next loop herself.

 _Why does Ruby Rose keep beating me?_

The cell was tiny, just a grey box with cuffs the prevented her ending her own life and escaping this humiliation. She seethed, images of destruction and ravage dancing among her thoughts. She could almost smell the ash as the world was engulfed in a torrential torrent of fire.

The ground ripping open as rivers of lava broke free, pyroclastic flows choking the life out of the wretched, worthless inhabitants of Remnant. The broken bodies of the Loopers forming living sculptures as fire burned within cooking the flesh.

Broken and crushed.

Utterly defeated.

 _I am her better in every way. She does not even appreciate the power she can and has obtained._

Slowly the burning rage bubbled to the surface as the daydream ended, leaving her in the trapped in the cold grey box.

'You think me defeated Ruby?' Cinder hated the silver eyed brat. Hated her more than anything else, only Salem coming close. Who even outstripped the other loopers. She was no one's pawn, no one's second.

"None of you are of any worth." Her broken raspy voice was almost inaudible, each word like swallowing a glass of razor blades and lightning dust. Cinder gasped as her visions swam, pain tearing into her mind. The image of the Loopers of Remanent and a few other figures from around the multiverse dancing in her mind's eye, along with a surge of affection.

 _~You are the only real worth in the dusty aeons~_

Cinder choked, her head aching as the images drained from her grasp, leaving only faint impressions. What was happening to her? Surges of misplaced affection, blackouts and missing memories. It was all linked to the time the expansions started again.

It was the only event that matched the time frame. When Ruby Rose's Silver Eyes became a poison to her power.

 _"Victory is in a simple soul…?"_

She stood opposed to the Anchor. To Ruby Rose, the protagonist of 'RWBY' from the Hub backup. The place where all things past, present and future were saved. A person with a power directly opposed to her own.

 _I will not let myself be defeated!_

How often do the Protagonists lose?

 _If I die in Baseline, then what happens in the Final Loop? I refuse to be wiped clean, to embrace oblivion!_

Cinder howled in silent rage, struggling against the looper forged chains as her thoughts circled each other, unable to escape the maddening thoughts. Her broken and wrecked body lacked the strength to break free. She was trapped in this role, unable to use her out of loop powers to heal and escape.

 _Just like in the loops, trapped and unable to break free from her final fate._

One more time she had been defeated. How many more will there be?

 _No!_

Cinder inhaled the ashes and miasma soaked air, the rush of pain and betrayal and undiluted hate was exquisite. Her eyes burned with red momentarily, flames dripping from blood stained, claw like hands before her flesh writhed and flowed, returning to normal and hiding her stone like flesh.

 _I did not...-#!^ &$%... beat Ruby! All that remains will wash away!_

"Cinder, what is the meaning of this!"

Cinder turned to face Salem, the Grimm Maiden, Queen or whatever the thing was, soaring though the air, cloaked in darkness. Her face was twisted in rage and hate as power gathered to strike down the 'traitor'.

 _She dares to look at me as a pawn! I serve… ~…stand alongside…~ …no one! ~The loopers!~_

Cinder laughed, a maddened enraged noise that echoed around the desolate land as her head pounded and twisted thoughts denounced in her mind, slipping away like smoke. She ignored Salem's magic and Dust, the pitiful attacks not worth more than an idle thought.

 _Again, another person just expecting me to fall._

The witch hovered in silence as her powers failed to harm Cinder, red and black eyes narrowed in confusion and anger, watching wearily as Cinder laughed and laughed. Malice, greed, hate and naked, old terror swirling around her as the Maiden's power rose, filling the air with the scent of ozone.

"The meaning Salem-" The ground shattered as she was enveloped in a mantle of gold, Cinder releasing her power in a fit of rage. "-is that I am sick of people saying I lose. I am sick of being second to people. I am sick of standing by and watching as my fate approaches, unable to divert my own doom."

 _Fall, what a mockery of a name._

The world went white as the sky opened up, lightening ripping across the sky with a thunderous roar.

 _That's all that will happen in the end,_

Cinder stood alone and shaking in a field of molten glass, unphased by the heat and with her head bowed, features cast into stack relief by the hellish orange glow, revealing an expression of fury and frustration.

 _The powers of the Fall Maiden will be my downfall._

More than a hundred loops had passed since her flesh roasted under the baleful silver light of the Anchors gaze. Her freedom and pride stolen and shattered. The truth of her situation finally coming home after she had spent so long denying it.

 _I will be lucky to gain Silver when it ends._

Trapped, never to obtain true victory no matter how much she struggled and fought. Unable to truly break the other loopers less she spell her own doom, never to be obtain true victory.

 _The Anchor's cold voice burned into her head. "No Cinder. You will always lose, from now until eternity ends. You are nothing more than a shadow of the real Cinder that will vanish unlamented. She will be there in the end standing alongside us."_

Cinder gripped her head as the memory replayed, digging into her mind, never stopping. Driving the knowledge that she was fated to fail in the finale, never to be free from her fate.

 _~The memory of Yellow warmth crashed over her mind, Affection, amused exasperation and annoyance dancing in her mind.~_

The Maiden of the Fall screamed in fury as the memories and feelings evaporated under her gaze, her enraged bellow echoing across the molten plains.

 _How can I escape this fate?_

"I will not lose; this world is mine to keep or destroy. It has always been mine, long before Salem walked Remnant. I will not vanish into nothingness, unremembered and unremarked! I Will Not Lose!"

Panting in fury, Cinder looked to the star emblazoned sky, the silver moon shining like Ruby's eyes in the endless dark. Amidst her apocalyptic rage and black hatred, a memory bubbled up, a thought from the loop were those horrid moon lit eyes showed her the truth. Slowly, a cruel smile spread across her face, glowing crimson eyes locked on the shattered sliver moon. A bone chilling laughter echoing across the blasted remnants of her history.

 _"I shall rise beyond your comprehension."_

 **61.4 Prince Pondincherry**

Oscar Pine jolted awake in his bed. He raised his arm in front of his face and wiggled his fingers. Then he jumped to his feet and flung his arms and legs wildly around the room. Finally, he calmed down and sat on the bed. He spoke quietly. "Ozpin?"

 _Yes, Oscar?_

"Why was I a bunch of golden award statues last Loop?"

Ozpin sighed.

 **61.5 Prince Pondincherry**

Null Loops were bad enough, but Null Loops that started after the Fall of Beacon were even worse. Not only were most of her friends and family nowhere near her, but JNR were all dealing with their own trauma, so they weren't as fun to hang out with as usual. Plus there was so much walking! Ugh.

"You kids sure the bandits are going to hit this village next?"

"Well, we didn't actually see any signs of them," Nora said, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

"Ruby said the bandits are coming here next, and I trust her," Jaune said. Ruby was grateful for the support. Usually she made a point to fabricate some evidence, or at least go off scouting on her own and claim to have overheard the bandits' plan. This Loop she just couldn't be bothered to go to the effort, so she just asked them to trust her.

The Huntsman (named Azure this Loop) stared at Ruby's face, clearly looking for something. _You want to see how serious I am? I can do a serious look, alright_. Apparently Azure found what he was looking for in Ruby's silver eyes. "Alright, I'll believe you. Do you know when it's coming?" Ruby gave him her best guess. It _was_ a bit Loop-variable, and she wasn't exactly sure how fast they had travelled this Loop, but she had a pretty good idea of the general time. She had to if she wanted to leave Patch early enough that they would get there in time for the attack.

Azure thought to himself for a minute before deciding. "We should get the civilians into shelter, just to be safe. I'll organize the defenders at the borders of the city. You kids look like Huntsmen in training. How good are you? And be honest here—this isn't a time to stoke your egos, there are lives on the line."

Nora perked up. "I can bench five of me, Ren's basically a ninja, Ruby's amazing, and…Jaune…"

Ruby took pity on her friend. "Jaune can fight better with his sword and shield than all the non-Huntsmen here combined."

"Hmm…I think I'll split you up among the defenders, have you fight the more elite bandits while I deal with their strongest members."

"Look, all due respect, sir, but the four of us have been working together for _far_ longer than you've known us," Ruby said, throwing in an extra "sir" to try to get him to be more cooperative. "We'll focus on the stronger bandits and the bandit leader, of course, that's a good plan, but you should really let Jaune and me specifically position our team." She stared at him with determination.

"Alright, but don't get cocky. You should probably leave the leader to me." Then Azure walked off to start organizing the defense.

"Are you sure it was smart to antagonize him?" Ren asked.

"Aw, he'll get over it, but I needed to make sure he wouldn't try to give us orders in battle," Ruby said.

"Well, he **is** a full Huntsman," Jaune said nervously.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know our team," Ruby said. "Now come on, we've got to mingle with the civilians and make them feel safer so they don't draw in the Grimm before we've beaten the bandits." She then ran off dramatically, her cloak flaring behind her. _Time to find some kids and tell them the story of how I killed a dragon with my silver eye powers. Too bad only the kids ever believe me_.

Azure swung his flail at a group of bandits, bowling them off their feet. Now that he had a second to breathe, he looked around to analyze the fight. The defensive lines were holding quite well, and those kids were just as good as they'd claimed. Even the bandits with more advanced combat training were going down to hammer blows and scythe swings.

Then Azure felt his heart drop at the sight of the bandit leader stepping out of a swirling red portal. She was somewhat legendary among the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Anima, known to be stronger than the average Huntsman and totally ruthless. Azure didn't think he could stop her, but it was his duty as the strongest Huntsman defending the village to try. He retracted his flail into its more compact halberd form and set off towards the bandit leader.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of rose petals, and Ruby Rose stood beside him. "Stay back, I'll handle her."

"Wait, no!" But she was already gone. _And here I thought she seemed reasonable and not overconfident like so many other young Huntresses._ With that thought, he ran after her.

"Why are you doing this?" _Of course, the naïve young Huntress questions the bandit leader's motivations. This won't end well._

"The strong survive, and the weak die."

If anything, Ruby looked disappointed. "Nope, that's not good enough."

"What?"

"Sure, have your Social Darwinist philosophy, which I still think it total poop, but even if I let you have that much, it doesn't justify attacking this village."

"Of course it does! We're strong and they're weak, so we've come to take the things they don't deserve to keep."

"That's not what you said before. You said the strong survive and the weak die, and that's unfortunately true with all the Grimm around. You didn't say anything about the strong killing the weak."

"We aren't here to kill, but if some of the fools who choose to stand against us are too weak not to die, then they deserve their deaths."

"Oh come on, Raven, if I can nonlethally disable robbers and gang members, you bandits should be able to beat village defenders without killing them. The only time I've had to kill somebody was when I was too weak to stop them otherwise, so by killing people on your raids, you're just saying your tribe is weak."

Azure was starting to get concerned by the direction this conversation was going. _Is Ruby encouraging them to do a better job the next time they raid someone? How does she know the bandit leader's name? And when did such an innocent young girl kill people?_

The bandit leader (Raven?) was visibly getting annoyed. "I don't have time for this. My brother…" She trailed off before speaking again in a more demanding tone. "Get out of my way, or fight me and let me show you the real meaning of strength."

Ruby's eyes had hardened and, although it was hard to tell with such a ridiculous weapon, she appeared to be holding it in a more threatening manner. "What did you do to Uncle Qrow?"

"Uncle?" Raven's eyes widened. "Oh, **that's** who you reminded me of. I had the same argument with your mother, many years ago. Just like you, she was too stubborn to admit the truth."

"I said, **what** did you do to Uncle Qrow?"

"Oh, my bleeding heart of a brother is just fine. He tried to ambush me and keep me out of the fight, so I left. I was wondering why he cared. It makes sense now, his darling niece is here. Now I won't repeat myself, get out of my way. You're no family of mine, so don't think I'm just going to leave you alone."

"I wish talking worked more often," Ruby said quietly. Then, with a flurry of rose petals, she charged, scythe swinging. Raven barely blocked in time with her green sword, and Ruby swung again almost instantly. They exchanged ten quick strikes in the time it took Azure to take a single step closer to the fight. The next time Raven's blade clashed with Ruby's scythe, a gust of wind blasted the small girl backwards and into the air, but before Raven could follow up with another strike, Ruby had become a red blur that sped towards the nearest roof, reformed with her sniper-scythe planted into the roof, and started firing.

"I'm impressed, my brother trained you well," Raven shouted to make sure she was heard over the sound of the gunfire as she blocked each bullet with her sword.

Azure took his chance while she was distracted. He extended his halberd back into flail form, charged forward, and swung it at Raven. She parried with her blade, unleashing a blast of wind Dust that sent his flail flying. The heavy weight stopped his advance and nearly pulled him off his feet. While Raven was distracted, one of Ruby's gunshots connected with her shoulder, sending her stumbling back. Ruby rocketed down in a flurry of rose petals before she could completely recover, but she managed to parry Ruby's overhand strike with an upward swing of her blade. The wind Dust launched the scythe blade into the air, but Ruby used the momentum to roll into a backflip and land on her feet.

Before Raven could strike again, Azure switched his weapon back into the more-controllable halberd form and stabbed at Raven. This time when she blocked his blade, he quickly swung his halberd back the other way, the blade on the back forcing her to dodge right into the path of Ruby's scythe, which she again just barely blocked in time by swinging her sword up into the shaft. Ruby fired her gun, going flying backward a couple feet with the recoil. The sword was nearly pulled out of Raven's hand, but she was able to hold onto it and merely stumbled forward a few feet and into the path of Azure's next blow, which she just barely parried.

Ruby raised her scythe for another swing as Azure slashed his halberd at Raven. There was no way she could block both strikes, so instead she swung her sword underneath Azure's halberd, triggering the wind Dust to blast the halberd up and into the path of Ruby's scythe. Before Azure could recover, Raven stepped into his guard, elbowed him in the gut, and kneed him in the groin. His Aura blocked both strikes, but they still disoriented him enough that Raven was able to grab his arm and twist until he was forced to let go of his weapon. She slashed at his foot with her sword, then raised it to block a scythe blow before grabbing Azure and throwing him at Ruby before he could react. They tumbled to the ground in a clutter of limbs and giant scythe.

Azure pulled himself free just in time to see Raven kick his halberd through a red portal. With a loud clang, Ruby used her scythe to pull herself to her feet beside him.

"Go help the others. We've never trained together and you're getting in my way," Ruby said.

"I've still got my armor, and I can fight hand-to-hand."

"I know, that's why I said to go help the others fight and not just run away. But if you fight primarily with a halberd, you won't be good enough in hand-to-hand to fight Raven, trust me."

Azure bristled at taking orders from a 16-year-old, but then he realized he was letting his pride get the better of him, just like he had warned her away from. But the facts were clear: without his weapon, he was an inferior combatant, and if he was honest with himself, she did seem to be doing as well as a Huntress could expect to do against the bandit leader. Azure bowed his head and acquiesced, running off to another part of the village. As he went, he couldn't help but look back over his shoulder to the fight he was leaving.

Raven had used the time they gave with her argument to switch to a fire Dust blade, and many of her strikes were now explosive, but fortunately, Ruby was doing quite well. Without Azure there, she was using wider, more sweeping attacks, allowing her to cover more area and build up more momentum with her swings. Raven wasn't being pressed as hard as she had been with two opponents, but Ruby herself seemed to be much more in her comfort zone. Azure's mind boggled a little at how smoothly and seamlessly she integrated her Semblance into her fighting style. _Yeah, she's got this, and I have a job to do_. He jogged off to find another battle.

Meanwhile, Ruby was really wishing she wasn't the only one Awake. She hadn't been lying to Azure—she could defeat Raven. _Sometimes_. It depended on a lot of factors, including Raven's Loop-variable fighting skills, whether or not Ruby was having an off day, how much she'd trained in combat without her Looper abilities recently, and just plain luck. In the end, like Tyrian, Raven was an extremely powerful opponent, and even the most powerful Huntsmen and Huntresses (a group that undoubtedly included Ruby) were never guaranteed a victory against her. This Loop (assuming Raven didn't have the Spring Maiden on her side again), Ruby had been counting on Uncle Qrow showing up to help like usual, but Raven had apparently dealt with him, or at least delayed him, meaning she was on her own for the moment.

She had thought she and Azure could handle Raven together. She may not have trained with him, but she did have extensive experience fighting with others, so she had been able to work around him, but without his weapon it wasn't worth risking him. Ruby grabbed hold of Crescent Rose as it returned from the spinning attack she'd used to break a spiky ice wall before Raven could fully form it with ice Dust. Her grip tightened slightly around Crescent Rose. _I won't let her take you, sweetheart._

Ruby quickly blocked another strike from Raven and brought her mind back to the problem at hand. She had trained plenty with JNR, but the three of them never seemed to do very well against Tyrian or Raven. Jaune was still catching up in skill and Nora's weapon usage was just too slow to be great at Hunter-to-Hunter combat except in certain circumstances. While Ren's fighting style lent itself more to those kinds of fights, he just wasn't fighting at a high enough level yet to really do well against enemies like Raven and Tyrian.

In the end, Ruby decided to just do her best. If she was lucky, she'd be able to beat Raven herself. Otherwise, she could hopefully hold out long enough for Qrow to arrive, for JNR to finish what they were doing and come help her, or for JNR, Azure, and the defenders to do well enough to make the bandit tribe repeat and drive off Raven by association.

When Qrow Branwen had overheard his niece saying Shion village was going to be attacked by bandits in the near future, he didn't really believe her. He'd been travelling nearby for her whole trip, and there was no reason to think that. On the other hand, he didn't think she'd actually lie about something like that, so he decided to make a sweep of the countryside just to be safe.

As it turned out, she had somehow been right.

First, he tried to talk down his sister, but when she refused to leave the village alone, he challenged her to a fight. Raven sent her tribe ahead to raid the village while she kept him occupied, but he wasn't too worried; while his niece's new teammates had fought ridiculously in the Vytal Festival, they were actually pretty good, and he knew Ruby herself could handle some bandits. He and his sister were pretty evenly matched, so they kept fighting until one of the bandits came back saying they were losing. At that point, Raven just left through one of her ridiculous portals.

Which was why Qrow was now running at top speed towards Shion. While he may have been confident in RNJR's ability to beat the average bandit, Raven was in a whole other ballpark. He was terrified he wouldn't get there in time to stop her, so he was quite surprised when he arrived at Shion just in time to find Raven getting flung through the air, her Aura breaking.

"Hey…Uncle…Qrow!" Ruby called, panting in between each word. She leaned on her scythe and caught her breath for a few seconds. "You missed the fight. I'll let you handle the Grimm if it still comes afterwards."

 _What._

 **61.6 Masterweaver**

A Null loop was a loop where loopers could not use their out-of-loop abilities, including their subspace pocket.

A Variant loop was a loop where things diverged from baseline without the Looper's influence.

Usually, a loop was neither, occasionally one or the other. Rarely was it both.

But when it was...

"Oh come on," Ruby assured Weiss, "I'm sorry, I won't laugh again!"

Weiss gave her a disbelieving frown. The amused smile on her Anchor's face wasn't that reassuring.

"...Okay, I might. But I definitely will try not to."

"I might," Yang admitted in an unusually scratchy tone of voice. "I wonder how my laughter sounds like this?"

Blake opened her mouth, thought better of it, and began to speak in sign language instead. Weiss nodded, signing back.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You're going to need to call out for help at some point, girls. Or at least get our attention from a distance."

Weiss rolled her eyes, signing through a particularly complex series of hand gestures.

"That _might_ work," Ruby allowed, "but you'd have to rely on your semblance. And what about Blake?"

Blake sighed, an unusually deep sounding sigh.

"You know she has a point," Yang's scratchy voice said. "You two are being melodramatic."

Blake signed at her furiously.

"I didn't get off easy! I sound like a psychotic parrot!"

"And she sounds like Professor Port on a high," Ruby pointed out. "I'm the only one of us that still sounds normal."

"Hap hap hap hap hap hap hap _hap,_ " Weiss grumbled.

 **61.7 ToaMataNui5000**

"How are you guys so casual about this circumstance?" the voices of Ruby and Yang asked in perfect synergy. It was far from uncommon for a Looper to awaken as a voice in another person's mind; Hell, Baseline circumstances caused Ozpin to experience said sensation of being within Oscar on a daily basis. Nor was it uncommon to awaken dominating someone else's body and flat-out living as that person...

But on the especially rare occasions that fusion techniques allowed for two Loopers to operate one form in perfect synergy, the sensation mimicked a combination of both. Not that it stopped the experience from being incredibly weird and awkward, no matter how close the bonds of the two fusing participants...

That was the sensation all eight member of RWBY and JNPR were currently feeling. In-Loop memories told them that before feeling Loopy, all eight of them were kidnapped by Dr. Merlot and each 'prototyped' with something called a Kernelsprite. The result was turning each one of them into a legless, ghostly apparition with access to prophetic meta-knowledge of something called 'Sburb.' However, the process was able to be taken further by prototyping a second object or individual to the each of them...

So they were then paired off and prototyped with each other, resulting in their current states of being. Though from the sound of it, the Loopers they were currently sharing a Fused Loop with didn't seemed perplexed by this at all...

"Well, unlike humans or most other species, we trolls don't heavily identify by gender division." Nepequiusprite, the fusion of Nepeta and Equius, responded. "Doesn't help that our biology for both males and females are exactly identical, pretty much making it almost purely an ascetic. But we can understand how it makes you all uncomfortable, especially with Davepetasprite being an example in our Baseline..."

"No doubt about that." Pyyraunesprite, the fusion of Pyrrha and Jaune, responded back. "At the very least our fighting styles are so similar, so I..." The fusion of lovers hesitated for a second. "Or we? I or we? Whatever! Our fighting styles are so similar, so this fusion has that going for it..."

"Plus we're so used to just fusing whatever or whoever willingly volunteers into Sprites to pass the time during our Loops." Karezisprite, the fusion of Karkat and Terezi, added on. "Especially when it's objects or people from outside Baseline. Comes with the bonus of shape-shifting the Underlings, and the Dersite and Prospitian Kings and Queens into new mooks to fight as well..."

"We get the cultural differences, as well as the differences between Baselines..." Blakeissprite, the fusion of Blake and Weiss, spoke up in concern. "But do you at least have **some** standards regarding these fusions?"

"Oh, of course! Even with our God Tiers and other collected forms of immortality, we know not to be too stupid with our fusions..." Karezisprite reassured.

"Especially after those times where Kirby and Pac-Man prototyped themselves with one of our more monstrous and genocidal Lusus..." Nepequiusprite sweated, both figuratively and literally.

"Don't remind us of those nightmares. Any intentional crashes and subsequent trips to Punishment Loops were completely justified in those cases..."

"Moving on, if we may..." Renorasprite, the fusion of Ren and Nora, insisted. "I'm more concerned for what nightmares await us this Fused Loop if Dr. Merlot has access to anymore Kernelsprites. Especially concerning his Grimm mutation fetish..."

"Well, you four can't fuse any further, so you have that going for you." Nepequiusprite answered. "And unless a villainous Time Player is supplying your enemy Dr. Merlot with more Kernelsprites, we shouldn't see anymore sprite-based fusions..."

"Doesn't guarantee whatever bioweapons he pumps out won't be Grimmesque Underlings or something..." Pyyraunesprite rolled their eyes.

"So then you'll find the satisfaction in slaying them, on top of either assisting in winning or utterly voiding whoever's currently playing a session of Sburb! It's a win-win!" Karezisprite grinned.

"You know, just because we're Huntsmen and Huntresses, that doesn't mean we're blood-knights..." Blakeissprite corrected.

The troll duo giggled, showing their fang-filled smile. "You said it yourself: Cultural differences and differences in Baselines!"

-/-

"You two have been awfully quiet despite starting the conversation," Renorasprite pointed out, turning to face the fusion of Ruby and Yang. "What's up with you?"

"Well, on top of wondering how I'm going to somehow dual-wield Cresent Rose and Ember Celica, the Yang-side of me is giggling at the ridiculous portmanteaus some of our names create..."

"We don't blame you, honestly." Nepequiusprite lightly chuckled. "The fusion names can get so unnatural-sounding, you can't help but laugh. But it gets even funnier when the portmanteau comes out sounding like a pun towards something that already exists. For example, we can't help but picture how Erisolsprite's name makes him sound like a sentient aerosol can of soda..."

"I know, right! I mean just look at Blakeissprite's name!"

"Excuse me?" Said fusion of Blake and Weiss rose her brow.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me 'Blakeiss' doesn't sound like 'black ice!'"

Taking a moment to think, Blakeissprite subsequently facepalmed at the realization. "God damn it, Yang! And we can't even get too mad at you because the bad pun is literally completely unintentional!" Rubangsprite grinned like a proud little child in response.

"Guess even when I don't completely think of the jokes all by myself, 'Rubang' still makes 'you bang' with laughter. Hi-Oh!" The fused sisters pointed a finger towards them, complete with a clicking sound-effect. The two troll Sprites contributed towards the giggling.

"Please tell me Ruby isn't going to a 'pungeon mistress' because of this experience..." Blakiessprite sighed.

"Well, considering that Vriska became more joyful and less manipulative, and Tavros became more egotistical after they fused into Tavrisprite and subsequently separated via self-destructing..." Karezi pondered.

"So once the Fused Loop ends and separates us again, we might have have a hope-filled Yang who questions everything, and a Ruby who cracks puns and rages at her hair getting defiled..." Blakiessprite rubbed her eyes. "Fantastic..."

"What about a stoic, deadpanning Nora and a bubbly, optimistic Ren?" Pyrraunesprite chuckled. Renorasprite responded with a look that could only be described as 'Seriously?'

"Alright, enough with the puns! I want the satisfaction of slashing and punching whatever Grimm/Lusus/Underlings bioweapons your Dr. Merlot is going to throw at us!" Nepequiusprite cracked their neck and knuckles, and summoned Nepeta's claws to their hands with a wrist flick.

Nodding in agreement, Blakeissprite flicked her wrist. Gambol Shroud appeared in her right hand, though when she drew the blade, she noted how instead of a katana, the blade more resembled a rapier. "This battling experience is certainly going to be interesting. Especially is this fusion combines both of our Auras..."

Renorasprite summoned and inspected the strange amalgamation of Magnhild and Stormflower they now held in their hands. "Eeyup! And Merlot ain't going to like being on the receiving end."

"Gonna break his legs?"

"Oh, most definitely! Especially since these fusions were done to us against our wills!" The Nora-side of the fusion showed herself with a cheerful smile.

"Alrighty then! Team... Uh..." Rubangsprite hesitated, wanting to come up with an appropriate name. "Let's see... a B, a P, and two R's..." She glanced at the two troll fusions. "Oh right! Can't forget them! Also a K and a N, too... Uh... Damn, this is hard coming up with colors on the spot! How did Ozpin do it so easily..."

"Raspberry Pink?" Karezisprite suggested, now hankering to lick something with a raspberry flavor.

"Nah, that doesn't fit the rules for the team naming template too well..."

"There's a template with specific rules? Weird..."

"How about brown?" Pyrraunesprite suggested. "Specifically copper brown?"

Rubangsprite clapped her hands! "Brilliant! Thanks!" Now flicking her wrists, a variation of Ember Celica sporting adjustable Cresent Rose-esque scythe blades spawned onto her lower arms. "Onward, Team KPRBRN! To asskicking and bioweapon extermination!"

-/-

All the while, from a new secure location, Dr. Merlot watched this scene unfold via a secret camera. Whatever he just witnessed, he was now instantly regretting ever kidnapping and experimenting on these Hunters and Huntresses with whatever those mysterious 'Kernelsprites' were...

"If I survive whatever ways they are planning to tear apart my laboratories, my bioweapons, and myself, I will personally hunt down and discet whoever this mysterious 'Lord English' individual was that gifted me said Kernelsprites!" Sighing, and with the privacy of no one else watching, he accepted his inevitable defeat by covering his face with both palms. "Though somethings tells me I'm never going to get said cathartic pleasure..."

Oh, how the Nonlooping mad scientist didn't realize, and never truly would realize, how right he painfully was...

 **61.8 Evilhumour**

It seemed to be an ordinary day, all things considered when there was a sudden shout of terror and explosion from Ruby's room.

"KILLITKILLITKILLITKILLITKILLITKILLITKILLITKILLIT!"

To everyone else, they saw their friend send round after round at her different pet this loop, one puppymonkeybaby.

 **61.9 Masterweaver**

"...and I couldn't really think of a good way to break it off. But, you know, we were both kids with dreams, so we kept it to just kissing, you know?"

"Makes sense. Oh! Hello Pyrrha!"

"Hello again!" Pyrrha sat down at the table Weiss and Ruby were 'studying' at. "Did I hear you correctly? Miss million-year maiden had an affair of the heart?"

Ruby flushed. "It was pre-awake puppy love, and no good way to end it."

"Oh, we believe you," Weiss assured her teasingly.

"And I'm sure this doesn't affect your maiden status at all," Pyrrha quipped with a grin.

"Seriously, it didn't! It was a lonely loop, and a variant, and really I just relaxed." Ruby sighed.

"Of course, of course." Pyrrha chuckled to herself. "Ah, young love."

Weiss grinned. "Maybe baseline will send him your way more permanently, hmm?"

Ruby shrugged. "I mean... I guess I wouldn't object too much to that. Besides, Oscar's kind of cute anyway-"

Pyrrha sputtered. "Os-Oscar. Mistral farmboy, compost king, Ozpin cane, that Oscar?"

"Yes." Weiss gave Pyrrha an odd look. "Why?"

"Oh, just... nothing! Oscar! And Ruby! Hahahaha." She swallowed. "That would be... _cute_..."

"Pyrrha, relax. I'm not looking for a relationship." Ruby smiled. "If baseline sends me one, I'll deal with it then."

"I know that. I am perfectly relaxed. Yep." Pyrrha nodded. "Just a little... shocked. Because... of... things!"

"Are you willing to discuss these 'things?'" Weiss asked pointedly.

"...Not... aaaaat the moment," Pyrrha hedged. "Although... I totally forgot, I need to... check on a thing. A school thing. I should talk with Ozpin, because he is the headmaster. Yep." She pushed herself out of her chair. "If you will excuse me, I'm going to do that."

She walked quickly out of the library.

"...Okay." Ruby frowned. "What is she hiding from us, and what does it have to do with Oscar?"

Weiss looked after the vanished girl. "...Can we assume, for the moment, that she has a good reason for hiding it?"

"I mean, yeah, there has to be a reason-"

"Ruby, I don't think this is her secret to tell."

Ruby frowned. "...Fine. I'll drop it for now."

 **61.10 Flametusk**

"The tree hates me."

"What do you mean by that, Great Overlord Cinder?"

"A few loops ago, I was going through a mental breakdown about the number four. Now everything is the number two."

"Even the-?"

"Yes, even how many walls rooms have. How it works, I don't know. And I don't want to know."

 **61.11 BIOS-Pherecydes**

Cinder danced in a gorgeous ballroom, her mask firmly in place as she matched her partner's steps. One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three. The shadowy figures around her waltzed in sync, their mocking laughter echoing beautifully within the antechamber. The suited Beowolf in her arms spun her and she twirled, the lights of the sky above her head spiraling into a cacophony of shattered glass which rained down upon the starlit city on the hill where she stood. As the ashes of Beacon Tower painted her skin and the sounds of weeping and gnashing of teeth sounded out from all directions she smiled at her reflections. In this one a queen, in that a beggar, a tyrant, a slave, a jester, a fool, a child.

Marveling at the vibrant red which ran down her arms and neck she cupped the liquid in her glittering palms and drank deeply of the liquid ambrosia.

 _oh this is nice cutting yourself now are we_

Drunk on the wine which dripped from her veins she reached out and gripped the offered hand as her partner returned for another dance. The Beowolf in the red hood dug it's claws into her side as they moved to the music of the night. "Dear little Cinder, all the time in the world and you still cannot win."

Cinder looked up in confusion. Salem smiled sweetly down at the infant in her arms, before placing her in her crib. "You've done well my child. Defeated my enemies, crushed the dreams of my foes. All as planned. Such a dear little puppet, pulled along on strings that you never even knew existed."

 _huh this is new lucid dreaming perhaps_

Cinder tried reach up to the woman above her, but her hands wouldn't move. The space around her was dark, a single spotlight shining on her; reflecting the chains which bound her to the marionettist. Salem twitched the control bar, and Cinder rose.

 _oh i know this one lifes but a walking shadow a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more those book sessions with blake are messing with your head hahahaha_

Under Salem's command Cinder flailed ineffectually at shadows, flames burning down the curtains around her as the radiant figures of the audience laughed from the rafters; far out of reach. Slumping to the stage, Cinder lay boneless as the world burnt around her. Abruptly she jerked, rising hesitantly from the ground. A giant boom rattled the world, shaking the stage. Directly in front of her rested a ship's anchor.

 _uh huh getting a bit literal there kid_

"Hey sis. How you doing down there?"

Cinder's gaze rose against her decision to behold Ruby, peering down at her with a guileless smile; the control bar to which she was attached in the girl's hands. Ruby reached down and wrapped the anchor, once, twice, thrice. The sea beneath her feet roiled and tossed, Charlie circling her like a hungry predator while Blake and Yang cuddled on the ship's deck; either unseeing or uncaring of Cinder's presence.

Ruby smiled down from above, the glory of heaven shining around her and contrasting beautifully with her glowing silver eyes.

"You just stay put for a while okay sis. Just let me handle everything."

Cinder coughed frantically at the sea of rose petals which threatened to wash her away, struggling futilely at the chains which bound her to the anchor shaped mountain. A trio of Nevermore descended, transforming into Adam as they landed and carving away at her liver. The Mantle of the Seasons healed her each time, only for her assailants to assault her again. Day turned to night and Cinder heaved a heavy breath as she pushed the giant boulder inch by painstaking inch up the hill on which Mountain Glenn burned.

 _okay i think im sensing a running theme here youre starting to bore me_

Her eyes blazing furiously, trails of crimson rage leaking from her eyes Cinder snarled. "Not useless. Not worthless. Not."

 _al-right! now thats more like it tell me how you really feel why dont you  
_  
A woman in a red hood riding a wolf stopped to stare at her plight, but made no move to assist. Behind them, shrouded in the darkness of the forest and staring out from the trees other golden figures watched impassively.

Cinder's teeth cracked as she glared hatred at them. "Not a toy. Not a puppet. Not weak!"

Stopping in place, she stood shaking in impotent rage. "Not weak."

Rising above the rest of the figures, a undulating mass of tentacles and shadows wearing a tattered suit sat embedded into the largest tree; resting at the heart of the great ash and feeding upon the wood like a ravenous blight.  
 _  
why cinder im flattered you think so highly of me stop youre going to make me blush_

Cinder's gaze swept across the gathered watchers, a visible corona of power seeping from the corners of her eyes. And then she screamed. Hate and pain and blind fury mixed with fire and death, setting the trees on fire and reducing the woman astride the wolf to ashes in an instant. Pushing against the boulder with a shove she charged, reckless; the massive rock barely a half step behind her every motion, and her uncaring in the slightest.

The world around her burnt, ripped and shattered. Great gaping holes being rent through the air. Heedless of the stone which threatened to crush her she assailed the ash tree battering at it with fist and flame, going so far as to rip chunks of it with nothing but her teeth. A great groaning filled the air as the tree began to creak, its support under attack.

The anchor which had been dogging her steps finally struck. With a feeling of finality the tip tore through her spine and out her stomach, the gleaming blade of the reaper's scythe pinning her in place and painting the tree with a shower of burning embers. Still struggling, she beat her hands ineffectually at the trunk of the tree. Despite her flagging movements, her eyes were vividly lucid even as they dimmed and her body crumbled. "Not weak. Won't be a puppet. Never again. Never again."  
 _  
uh..._

-x-x-x-x-

For the first time in years, Cinder awoke with a smile. The details of her dream slipped away like shadows in the night, but the feeling of resolve and clarity remained. Stretching languidly she contemplated returning to her sleep, an attempt to recapture whatever nocturnal vision had graced her that night, but regretfully declined. She had a lunchdate with her sister, and she wanted to be up and ready. The sun on her face was warm, and yet for some reason she found a small frown working it's way across her face.

A brief feeling of unease and distaste swelled in her chest before washing away. Idly rubbing at her stomach, she set about preparing for the day.

-x-x-x-x-

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit." Slenderman's fingers and tentacles danced across his screens faster than ever before in all his many years of existence. Access logs, time stamps, authorization files. Line after line of cobbled coding flashed across the screens painting the room in obscene shades of black, white and green. Backdoor programs found and deleted without a thought to the time it would take to reconstruct them; secure tunnel protocols fed into data wiping programs of his own design, guaranteed to retroactively remove all traces of their existence.

He had fucked up. He had fucked up big. And no one could _ever_ be allowed to know about it. Not ever. The side monitor he used to peer into his toy's dreams was disconnected entirely, torn apart and it's wiring fried.

It should still be possible for the other Loopers to deal with the fallout of his free time diversion, the program was supposed to run in the subconscious only so nothing from his excursions should have any real lasting power so long as his toy remained stable. Even so, he should probably send out an anonymous warning to someone. Right?

An image of Skuld crushing him under the weight of her hammer flashed across his mind's eye. No. Nope. Not happening. Definitely not. Besides, everything would be fine. No reason to risk exposing himself.

Everything would be fine.

 **61.12 Vinylshadow**

Salem looked up in surprise as the doors to her hidden lair burst open.

A swarm of Atlas soldiers came in and started shooting at everything, shortly before Paladins punched holes in the wall and added their blasts to the fray.

In a few short minutes, everything inside was dead or dying.

Ironwood strode in once the smoke cleared, looking around curiously.

"You...how did you find this place?" Salem asked as her life leaked out of her.

"Well, with the towers taken out, we had to use maps that hadn't been updated in centuries and since we're invading everything for their own protection, we decided to see what was in this neck of the woods. Bizarre, right?" Ironwood said. "Although since we just killed you, I suspect I have some letters of apology to pen. With an extra layer of snark since I managed to do what Ozpin couldn't. That's sure to ruffle his cane. Or whatever."

Salem died utterly bemused.

 **61.13 Masterweaver**

"...Quoth the Raven," Yang said suddenly, facepalming.

"What?"

"Edgar Allen Poe. Lost Lenore. That's what she is, Lenore, and the raven! The same thing! How did we not notice this?"

Blake blinked at her. "...What are you talking about?"

"I-oh." Yang's shoulders slumped. "I'm just... feeling loopy."

"...if you say so."

Yang sighed, looking around the circle of... huh, they were called relics, too. "So... you want a pony?" she asked, picking up the usual golden knight piece.

 **61.14 Flametusk**

' _I am glad I woke up when I did,_ ' Ruby thought to herself, ' _That way I can make things better for Kuroyuri._ '

Ignoring the terrified people around her, she took Crescent Rose out of her pocket, and started cutting down the Grimm attacking the village.

' _I wonder who replaced me this loop,_ ' Ruby thought as she felt a ping.

"Wow, who'd have thought I'd see a Grimm using a scythe that it pulled out of nowhere? I need to anchor myself to something, because I must be loopy if I'm seeing this," A young voice said.

Ruby was glad that she had armor covering her chest as arrows bounced off of her. They wouldn't kill her, but they would be irritating, especially with how long her arms were.

"Lie! Get to safety! Get away from that Grimm!" an archer said, drawing another arrow.

"It's perfectly safe! Didn't you see her kill those other Grimm?" A young Ren said to his baseline father. When Ruby looked at him questioningly, wondering how he could tell who she was, since she looked exactly like the Nuckelavee, he just nodded at Crescent Rose. "Also, when are you going to turn back into yourself? At least change your vocal chords to help me explain the loops."

"Actually, I could talk since I Awoke. I was just wondering when you would catch on. Also, the reason I'm not changing into myself is because, well, I'm only the upper half of the Grimm right now. I didn't want to be driven out of the town for being part Grimm, and then not being able to go to Beacon later," Ruby explained.

"Lie, what's happening? How do you know this talking Grimm? And you," Li said, turning to Ruby, "What are you? What do you mean by 'changing into yourself'?"

"Ren, please explain the tree to him. It would probably be easier to believe if it's coming from his son instead of a Grimm. I'm going to go make sure that the rest of the Grimm are gone."

"Father, you may want to sit down for this, because I'm a time traveler among many time travelers throughout the Multiverse..."

 **61.15 Masterweaver**

This one was easier. She didn't even need to keep her plans on track. In fact, it would be better if she didn't...

Ruby stopped Emerald and Mercury, saved Tukson. Convinced him to go public. So, of course, she ran-or so it would seem to the others. No doubt Salem would be disappointed in her.

Feh. As if that mattered.

No, she had enough of Salem, in more ways then one. All she needed to do now was sit in the cave, sit and wait.

It came. It noticed her. It clicked, writhed, started to scream.

She smiled. "You'll be coming with me."

And it was gone, stuffed into a world that only she could access.

Of course she had to lie low for the rest of the loop. But that didn't mean she couldn't indulge herself. A lost town here and there, enough Grimm-damage... Remnant was large, and if she covered her tracks she could celebrate freely.

Soon.

Soon.

Soon...

 **61.16 Masterweaver**

"So why does Beacon have school uniforms?"

"Because mass manufacture is a sign of power."

"...What?"

"Let me go down the line here, Ruby. First, you need to gather the materials to make the fabric, then you need to make the fabric, and dye it the colors you want, then you need to make the clothes, which means you need thread for the stitching, not to mention the needles and all the other tools need to be made either out of wood or metal, assuming that metalworking has even been discovered, in which case you need either axes to harvest the wood or pickaxes to mine the metal, which itself needs-"

"Alright! So a lot goes into making a skirt!"

"And that's just one set of clothing. Making a couple dozen of the same skirt... either you get a lot of devoted people or, more easily, have an industrial revolution with all the requirements that requires."

"Okay, so mass manufacture is a sign of the ability to devote resources toward mass manufacture, and resources are power, so mass manufacture is power. Is that what you're saying, Weiss?"

"Yes. Especially on Remnant, especially with the Grimm seeking to destroy."

"Ooooooooh. So because the schools train Huntsmen and Huntresses, among other things, they're seen as a source of power. And by having a uniform, they get to subtly flaunt themselves-'you can wear this if you choose to become powerful,' 'the people in these skirts are training to defend you,' am I right?"

"In essence. It also does quite a bit to solidify the Huntsman and Huntress identity in the students' minds-they're 'better' then some mere mercenary because, hey, they went to school."

"That can backfire, though."

"True. But if one out of ten students becomes an egotistical maniac, that's still nine new huntsmen and huntresses actually doing their job."

"...So why do you think Vacuo's uniform is just t-shirts?"

"The less authoritarian culture and fewer resources. T-shirts are just as hard to mass manufacture as any other clothing, so the principle remains."

"Wow. You do know a lot about clothing culture."

"Mmm, yes. Baseline left me that much, at least."

 **61.17 Masterweaver**

"Mmmm."

Ren didn't open his eyes, but he did half smile. "Nora..."

"Don't worry," she assured him calmly. "That was a _relaxed_ hum."

"Good. I don't want this to become awkward."

"You know, I don't think I've ever been so relaxed," Nora mused. "So... at peace."

"You've had this before."

"That was baseline, and you literally just discovered your semblance." She rested herself across the bed. "I can still feel my emotions, but they're... ripples, not spikes. I feel... flat."

Ren opened his eyes with a frown. "Flat?"

"Usually I'm bouncing around in this sphere of my mind, but now there's not room to bounce..." Nora looked up. "It's not a bad feeling. Or I don't think it is. I'm still me, just... pancake mix, to pancakes."

"I see."

The two of them spent a moment or two in silence.

"...are we still waiting?"

Ren sighed. "Nora..."

"I mean, we held hands, you... dealt with the Nucklavee, in baseline..." Nora sighed. "I don't want to sound... clingy, or claimy. We're waiting for Yggdrassil to give us the heads up, because we don't want to become like Yang who worries that baseline Blake is going to end up with baseline Sun. Or like Jaune and Pyrrha. We want to ensure that the universe approves of us taking a next step but..."

She held her hands up as she stared at the ceiling. "What kind of love is romance? Where does philias end and eros begin? Or maybe we're storge, but did that come out of philia? If we started dating-what would be the point? In the infinite loops, we've come to know and trust each other-even when we have such... fundamental differences as our reaction to an incomplete past. It's hard for either of us to be us without the other, even though we are clearly not the same... entity? I guess what I'm saying is... what is love?"

"Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more."

Nora snorted. "Okay, I think you need to drop the semblance now, you're clearly going into shock from aura strain."

Ren nodded, and pulled himself back inward. Nora's colors grew, and with it her energy.

"Oh wow. Oh WOW did I really just say that. Oh, uh, I-can't really take it back, I guess I can't-Ren, I'm sorry-no, I mean if I made you feel awkward I-"

His hand covered her mouth gently. "Just... Did you mean that?"

Nora's eyes darted around nervously for a moment or two, but eventually her shoulders sagged and she nodded.

"...Hmm." Ren pulled his hand back. "You know... I really don't do much for myself, by myself. Most of the time, I simply wait until somebody needs help. Jaune or Pyrrha, RWBY... you."

Nora glanced away. "I know. That's... I didn't want to force us, for a lot of reasons. And one of those reasons was because I... would be taking advantage of your willingness to just... help."

"...You know what Li said when he saw those bullies run away? He said that sometimes the worst thing to do is... nothing at all."

"...Ren-"

"The expansions are probably not going to start up for a while, Nora. I won't deny that I am nervous about taking the next step. What we already have, and what might happen in Baseline... Waiting is comfortable, for me." He glanced at his hands. "But this isn't really just about me."

Nora sighed. "Ren, I don't want to force you. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You don't think Yang doesn't make Blake uncomfortable sometimes? Or the other way around? We've seen Jaune and Pyrrha tease each other sometimes, in their own way."

"...If we do this," Nora said slowly, "if we're seriously actually considering this... we know the risks, right?"

"Change of our relationship, the possibility that baseline doesn't want us, the... awkwardness of us being family beforehand."

"And teasing from Yang."

Ren managed a smirk. "And Roman and Neo."

"Oh, geeze. Roman and Neo. Qrow too, now that I think about it." Nora sighed. "In all seriousness... you're right. I don't know if I can wait until the next bout of expansions. Especially not after..."

She trailed off for a moment.

"...well. Still, I think... I know this is going to sound crazy, coming from me. I think we should go slow. No need to push things. Just... figure it out, together."

"I think that's the point of dating," Ren agreed.

"So... it's official then? We're..."

"Well." Ren coughed into his fist. "We kind of have to go on a date first before we can be considered dating, technically... like, actually call it a date."

"Sure. Sounds good. After initiation?"

"That... sounds lovely."

 **61.18 Masterweaver**

It was rather amusing, really.

Salem had suggested the idea shortly before she Awoke... suggested, in a firm manner, a way that precluded denial. Of course, Tyrian's deranged sketches of the girl were surprisingly accurate-the man was a talented artist, at least this loop, especially in the grip of insanity. So Emerald conjured her up an image and...

She had awoken.

Burned it away.

And again, another image, another destruction. She didn't even need to focus as she went through her loop memories...

...she felt Salem smiling. Ah, yes, Salem thought she was in control here. Salem didn't know about the loops. Irony of ironies. Dragon ascendant.

Did she want to go through, find out what this expansion held? Another Ruby image died-not nearly as satisfying as the clones she had in her Pocket. And actually... no.

No, there wouldn't be a point, would there? Not until Salem thought she was ready to leave this gilded cage.

She paused, looked down her sleeve. Unlikely.

Very well. Indulgence.

An out of loop spell healed up her throat as she strode through the illusion of Ruby Rose. Emerald blinked in surprise-before Cinder's eyes turned hypnotic.

"Everything is fine," she whispered.

"Everything is fine," her favored pawn repeated.

Mercury made to run, but she was swift enough to grab him, look him in the eyes as well, bring him under her sway.

Then she turned to Salem. Who was no longer smiling.

"Strong. Feared. Powerful." With a gesture, Cinder regrew her hair to its original length. "I have all that now. Why should I remain subservient any more?"

Salem's eyes narrowed. "You have only the barest idea of what I am capable of."

"And the same is true in reverse. Oh," she added, "let me guess. Should I betray you, my arm will strangle me or some such?" A smile graced her face. "I can handle that."

The witch observed her carefully for a moment or two. "...you are not Cinder Fall... nor are you one of the previous Fall Maidens. What did Ozpin do to Amber in that vault...?"

"You," Cinder replied, "are operating off incomplete information and false assumptions. Don't worry, you can still go about planning humanity's destruction or whatever. I'll even help out if I like." She waved, and Emerald and Mercury vanished. "But you have no power over me."

With a grim chuckle, she walked out the door.

 **61.19 Zurcior**

"Hmm..."

"You okay, Glynda?"

"I'm fine, Jenny. I merely felt that strange sensation that I've been forgotten again."

"Really? That _is_ weird. Where do you think it's coming from?"

"I have no clue. I know my fellow Loopers haven't forgotten about me, and not just because it's literally impossible to because of the Tree. But for some reason, it feels like I'm the victim of 'out of sight, out of mind', and I feel invisible because of it."

"Maybe you're just homesick?"

"Maybe. I'll admit that I'm eager to see all of them again after so long... Anyway, what are rules to this race?"

"Simple: the last one to the Andromeda Galaxy from the Milky Way loses the bet, and has to wear a t-shirt that says, 'I 3 Eiken Loops' for the rest of the Loop!"

"... I'd rather be forgotten for the rest of eternity."

"Fine, we'll just bet items from our Pockets, then. Winner gets to pick what they receive."

"Sounds good."

 **61.20 Masterweaver**

"Hey Ruby?"

"Yeah Velvet?"

"I just... I wanted to say thank you. For doing this." The lagomorph gynoid gestured. "For allowing us to stay here."

Ruby smiled gently. "It's... my pleasure, Velvet. You and team CFVY have been good friends during my lonely loops."

"It's the least we can do." Velvet sighed, looking at her hand. "I just... I can't believe how long it's been."

"Really?"

"If you'd told me ten years ago I'd willingly let myself be transformed into a robot, I would have... probably been worried about your sanity."

"...well." Ruby shrugged. "This whole situation is weird. Would... would you take it back, though? If you could?"

"I... hmm. I don't think so. I mean, sure, we've had a few weird moments in here, but... I know it sounds callous, but I feel like Remnant was less a home then this place is. I've been very happy here, and I think I would be glad to stay for all eternity."

"Well good, cause that's your lease agreement."

Velvet giggled. "Yes, I know. Can't go out or I risk oblivion." After a moment, she hesitantly stepped forward and hugged the shorter girl. "Thank you, and... and just keep on being you, Ruby. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah." Ruby hugged her back. "Yeah, Velvet."

They stood in the snow for a moment or two.

Then Velvet pushed back. "Ahem. Well! I think Coco's working on some... psychedelic outfits. I'd better go see if she needs help."

"Tell her to make one for me, alright?"

"Sure thing!" With a wave, Velvet hopped back into her shuttlecraft, flying into the flotilla of vessels.

Ruby watched her go for a moment or two. She shut her eyes, reappearing in Remnant, and then vanished again; when she opened them, she beheld a wall of wooden roses, whittled and placed on numbered shelves.

"...The last time was fifty years." Seventeen rolled up to her. "Do you think they'll last another ten?"

She sighed, brushing her fingers over a few of the false flowers. "It's an uneven decrease. They could go another forty... or end up making another rose for me tomorrow."

"Why do they end on the rose conversation, do you think?"

Ruby didn't reply, simply... looking at the collection for a moment or two.

 **61.21 Masterweaver**

It was the machines that noticed first.

All across the horrific city, their usual cheers and jibes and giggles faded away, as they looked upward. Those that worked with them were quick to notice their distraction, followed their gaze.

Somebody contacted the council. Somebody contacted the witches. In secret, someone contacted the rebels.

For less than a minute, all labor halted, as they watched the writhing black clouds roll away from the blood-red sky.

And in a fractured subdimension, an atmosphere of tense anticipation started to grow.

 **61.22 LithosMaitreya**

Yang opened her eyes. A faint pattering outside and on the window told her that rain was falling on the Beacon Academy campus.

She sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bunkbed, and nimbly dropped over the side, catching herself soundlessly on the carpeted floor. She padded over to the window and pushed aside the torn curtain.

The grey sky hung like a warm blanket over the world, and a thick drizzle of large raindrops was wetting the courtyard outside, leaving swirling rivulets of water running across the stone.

"It's time," she said.

Blake sat up. "Time for what?" she asked.

Yang glanced at her. "You feeling… Loopy, by any chance?" she asked.

Blake nodded. "Time for what, Yang?" she asked again.

Yang glanced out the window, a hint of a smile touching her lips. "Time to clean house," she said. "I'm going outside. Be back in, oh, a few hours. Probably."

Blake frowned. "Don't catch cold," she said.

Yang beamed at her. "Love you too, Blake," she said warmly.

It was 6:45 in the morning when Yang finally took her place in the center of Beacon's stone courtyard. The campus was asleep; no one would bother her until she was so far inside her own head that even Blake would have trouble rousing her.

She sat cross-legged, heedless of the way the cold water ran against her thighs and made her shorts stick uncomfortably to her rear. She slowly pulled one foot and then the other over her opposing knees until she was seated in the full lotus position.

Slowly, her lilac eyes drifted shut.

 _So. Ready for another bout?_

Yang opened her eyes. Smiled at the Grimm floating before her. "Maybe a few thousand years ago," she said dryly. "Fighting you just makes you stronger. You're a Grimm; you feed on conflict and negativity."

 _What? Subtlety from you? That'll be the day._

Yang shook her head. "Keep talking," she said idly. "It's over." Her eyes closed again.

 _You really think I'm going to leave just because you_ _ **tell**_ _me to?_ The Grimm Mew's psionic voice was haughty, amused. _You've been trying for centuries. It hasn't worked yet._

Yang didn't answer.

 _I'm here to stay, girlie,_ the monster said darkly. _For as long as you have insecurities and flaws, I'll have a purchase. Can't get rid of me._

Yang stayed silent.

 _…What are you doing?_

Yang smiled, her eyes still shut. "It's raining outside," she said quietly.

 _…What's that got to do with anything?_

"You know perfectly well," said Yang.

There was silence.

 _It won't work._

"It already is."

 _You need me._ The creature's voice was starting to grow desperate. _You_ _ **need**_ _me, dammit! I'm your conscience! I'm the thing that reminds you of your flaws! How are you supposed to keep yourself from going like your dear old mother without something like me keeping you in check?_

Yang didn't reply.

 _You think Blake will do the job well enough?_ The Mew barked a laugh. _She can't even keep_ _ **herself**_ _sane; she's a poor substitute. Without me, there's nothing to counterbalance you! Without me, there's nothing to keep you from crumbling!_

Yang was silent.

 _You can't do this!_ the Grimm wailed. _I'm a part of you! You can't just kill me!_

Yang gave no response. Her eyes were still shut, her face perfectly still.

 _This means nothing,_ the monster hissed. _Even if you get rid of me, your insecurities don't just go away. You'll still always be wondering; why did the first Raven leave you, before the Loops ever began? Is Blake just a poor substitute, an Oedipal consolation prize? Are you even important to her, or just a stress-ball, a rebound from all her problems? You'll_ _ **never**_ _be free of those questions. Killing me doesn't change that._

Silence was the Grimm's only answer.

 _I_ _ **hate you!**_ the Mew roared in her head. _I hate you, top to bottom, head to toe, facade to core! I hate every errant thought that goes through your head, every little mannerism of speech, every nervous twitch and verbal tic! I hate you, flesh and bone, and I_ _ **am**_ _you! You hated yourself so much you had to create a vessel to distance yourself from your own self-loathing! Killing me only assimilates that back into you!_

Yang didn't speak, didn't move, didn't give any sign that she'd heard, although of course she had—she was in her own head. Nothing happened here without her knowing about it; this was the seat of knowing.

 _Please._ the Grimm's voice was weakened; it sounded frail and tired. _I don't want to die. I want to live. Is that so bad? I promise to be better. I promise not to hurt you._

There was no answer.

 _You'll never forget this, you know,_ it whispered. _The day someone begged you for mercy, and you refused. You'll never forget this, and you'll never forgive it. I know I wouldn't. You callous, heartless bitch. You're worse than your mother, you know?_ Its voice seemed to regain strength. _Yeah, you make her look_ _ **soft**_ _by comparison! Whatever else you might say about her, at least she's not a hypocrite! She has her code and sticks to it! You? You break your own rules whenever it suits you! You're the monster here, not me!_

Yang didn't say a word.

 _…I need you, Yang. Please._

Silence fell, and this time was unbroken. Yang opened her eyes.

The wide, featureless expanse of her mindscape was empty and deserted, save for herself. She was alone.

She smiled slightly and wiped away a tear. "Feels good, doesn't it?" she asked herself. "Like we're whole again. Like we're one person again."

There was no reply. There didn't need to be.

Outside, her eyes opened. Her hair was plastered down her back, and had been weighed down so by the rain that it sat perfectly straight.

Hours had passed, and the rain had stopped. The grey sky was breaking slightly, and a sunbeam was peeking out from behind the cloudbank to light all of Beacon in a soft, pale glow.

A hand was running through her hair behind her, softly stroking.

"Blake?" she asked.

"Of course," came the reply.

Blake scooted over so that she was seated beside her girlfriend. "It's over, then?" she asked.

Yang shook her head. "Of course not," she said, laughing slightly. "It's only just beginning."

Blake lay down curled, her head in Yang's lap, turned so that their eyes met. "But the Grimm is gone?" she asked.

Yang nodded, stroking her partner's soft hair. "It's gone," she promised.

"And it's never coming back?" Blake pressed.

Yang leaned down and pressed a kiss to Blake's brow, damp with the rain. "It's never coming back," she breathed. "Any nightmares that wake me up in the middle of the night are entirely my own, now."

Blake shifted her position slightly, and a hand came up to stroke Yang's cheek. "How do you feel?" she asked.

Yang leaned down until their noses were almost touching and drowned herself in those golden eyes. "Like I'm finally unbroken," she whispered, and closed the distance.

 **61.23 LithosMaitreya**

 _For generations you've slept,_ a gentle voice, female, motherly, whispered in her ear. _No purpose, no call to wake you._

Cinder Awoke, but found herself barely able to move. Her eyes wouldn't open, her limbs wouldn't twitch. _Where am I?_

 _You're awake, good,_ said the voice. _Faster than usual._

 _Who are you?_ Cinder asked. _Can you hear me?_

 _I am the Lotus,_ the voice said. _And you… are one of my Tenno. You must hurry. Captain Vor of the Grineer is on his way. If he captures you, it may spell terrible things for the whole system._

Lotus. The name rang a bell somewhere in Cinder's memory. She couldn't recall where she'd heard it, but… _You're the Anchor from that fused Loop. With the… Warframes?_

There was a pause. _You are from Remnant._

 _I am,_ Cinder responded. _I am Cinder Fall._

 _That simplifies matters. Come, we must get you out of cryosleep. You may find it difficult to move, but you must move. The Ascaris is a problem you don't want to deal with._

Cinder found herself in a strange duality. She was, at once, still slumbering and falling from a comfortable bed onto the hard ground. She forced herself up, ignoring her sleeping-self for a time.

There was a portal of some kind before her, and it was opening; black force fading away to reveal strange, twisted men with scarred, peeling faces in armor that was, by the mechanical extremities and inhuman structure, as much prosthesis as protection.

One, in black armor that seemed more human-shaped than the others, stared across the gap at her. He said something in a strange, guttural language, but she understood it somehow. "The Tenno is awake! Bring it down!"

 _I'm overloading your Warframe's energy systems,_ the Lotus said. _It's a custom Warframe; Yggdrasil must have wanted to give you something tailor-made to your style. How you use this energy is up to you._

Cinder felt the rush of power flowing through her. Fire flickered around her hands and above her head. On instinct, she cupped her palm as if holding a projectile, and threw.

Fire lanced forth, exploding as it hit one of the monster men. They screamed as they burned, and the leader in the black armor fled, cursing in their strange language.

 _Go now, Tenno,_ the Lotus ordered. _You will find weapons about the complex. Choose a set for yourself, and get off of this planet._

Somewhere, in a body wrapped in the velvet blanket of the Second Dream, Cinder Fall smiled cruelly.

"The Loop is likely to end soon," the Lotus said. Her voice sounded a little different, in person. It lacked that echoing quality which made it so commanding, but none of the motherly softness… or the hardness she had shown to those who threatened her children.

Cinder nodded at her. She had left her Warframe at the navigation console, and was currently stooped over her arsenal, packing her weapons into her Subspace Pocket. "It's been a good ride, Lotus," she said. "Thank you for all your help."

The Lotus nodded gracefully. "Thank you, Miss Fall," she said. "It is good to have someone to share the Warframes with."

Cinder smiled slightly. "I assure you, I'll use it well."

"I trust that you will," the Lotus said. "I'll leave you to finish." She reached out and touched Cinder gingerly on the shoulder; a gesture of unfamiliar affection. "Good bye, Cinder."

"Good bye, Lotus."

Once the Lotus had left the Orbiter, Cinder finished Pocketing the contents of her Arsenal and walked to navigation, her leathery shoes padding softly on the metal of the Orbiter.

With a light in her eyes she pocketed the Warframe. It was something of a hybrid of Ember and Chroma, with all of the former's mastery of fire, and the latter's ability to channel the elements in a direct manner. Fireball, Dragon's Breath, Flaming Ward, and World on Fire were its four basic powers, and Cinder had learned to use them well.

Certainly, she had other Warframes—one copy of each baseline Prime, alongside one of each of those which were not yet Primed in baseline. But this one, which the Lotus had dubbed Dragonfire… this one was hers.

Cinder smiled, and remembered the words of an enemy.

"By your hand," she whispered to her Warframe, even as it was absorbed into her Pocket, "expose their heart."

Her eyes lit with a gentle flame—derived here from the Void, rather than from the Fall Maiden, but it was all one.

"By my will," she whispered into the night, "cleave it beating from its nest."

The pyre of Remnant was ready, and its spark was Ruby Rose.

 **Thank you all for sticking with us so long! It's been almost two years and more than sixty chapters of philosophy, adventure, and time traveling shenanigans here on Remnant. In celebration of that-and the recent end of volume four-we're planning a special FOUR CHAPTER UPDATE on valentine's day! Join us next time when Penny catalogs a new experience, Pyrrha finds the power of hope, Zwei brings a family back together, Yang and Blake take the next big step in their relationship, and new loopers join the weirdness of Yggdrasil! All this and more, coming soon in: The Tale of Two Sisters.**


	62. The Tale of Two Sisters: Shadows Rise

_**Part 1: Shadows Rise**_

 **1**

Cinder blinked Awake. She was on the bullhead that would go to Roman's rescue.

She waited a moment for the Ping to wash over her. One, two. Two Loopers; one of which was certainly Ruby.

 _Perfect._

The pieces were set. The Ruby infiltrator's personality matrix had been completed a few Loops ago. The Transference tech which would allow her to store the contained Anchor on the Moon was ready for Unpocketing and launching. The third Looper might be a problem, but with every Loop that passed the risk of exposure grew.

Cinder could afford to wait no longer. She _wanted_ to wait no longer.

She smiled. _Goodbye, Remnant,_ she thought grimly. _Hello, godhood._

 **2**

Cinder glided through the halls of Salem's sanctum unseen and unheard. She hated this place, from the crimson sky and the dim purple lighting, to the people who resided here. Everything it represented she despised, the pain, the humiliation, the servitude and most of all, the weakness.

Now, at the beginning of the end, it would serve one final purpose. What came next however, would be dependent on this Salem's past and present behaviour. Everything had to be explainable in character after all.

When you wanted someone to not look your way, then you needed to make them look another. For this event, Salem and WTCH would be the perfect distraction, but it had to fit and not rouse suspicions.

Slipping through the closed door, Cinder smiled as she saw the Salem working in a lab on a black and bone device. The back of the lab did not end in a wall, but rather led out into a vast arena and cave system; it seemed she might have something she could work with already.

Shadow clones filled the lab, carefully taking note of everything Salem was doing. There could not be any mistakes, waiting a few hours to get a better understanding of the situation before acting would be a more than worthwhile objective.

Leaving the clones to their work, Cinder strode out turned to the platform overlooking the arena.

The single vast arena was divided by shifting walls into distinct areas where Grimm fought at the commands of trapped humans and faunus. Periodically the beasts would break free, sometimes consuming the controllers while tattooed servants wove around the beasts and retrieving the remains, unmolested by the Grimm.

Her tattoo pulsed, something trying to snake into her mind and twist her perceptions and will.

"That explains a lot," Cinder growled under her breath, her voice unheard and unrecorded, as she isolated the mark and pushed it out of her mind. "I wonder what else it does this loop... oh well. If anything it will be beneficial this time."

In any other circumstance she would have simply killed Salem, more painfully than normal for daring to manipulate her mind, but right now there was no point.

Still…

She could easily pick out bracelets, rings, gloves or other things of bone, black and red, on the controllers. Every command making their flash red with the control devices failing rather quickly.

Which would explain why Salem was not using these things, rather relying on the tattoos for her servants that would make the Grimm ignore them.

A not uncommon variant type, though Cinder could not recall if she had seen this precise one before.

 _Well, time to get to work. Let's see how I can make use of you this time Salem._

Cinder smiled coldly as she rummaged through Salem's sleeping mind, effortlessly bypassing the Grimm thing's crude mental defences.

This was very much workable.

A Salem that wanted to see the world burn in person, who hated sulking in the shadows but lacked the control of the Grimm to do anything else or make them quick enough. Even better, there was her research and infrastructure to control an influence the Grimm, crude it may be.

To top it all off, Salem _wanted_ to drown Vale with Grimm, then move on the the other kingdoms. It was her greatest dream, along with, and intertwined with, bringing down Ozpin.

It would take a week to fully rewrite her mind and leave no trace, letting each change settle while updating the infrastructure, devices, forging notes and records, then repeating.

Oh, and increasing the Grimm numbers to match with the new timeline.

Then she needed to deal with the minds of WTCH, but that was easy.

Cinder withdrew from Salem's mind, and strode out of the bed room, red dress fluttering in the drafty rooms. _It is always nice to have usable pawns,_ Cinder mused, the black and purple decor vanishing.

Vampires parted as she walked, bowing or ducking out of the way. Ignoring her frantic and terrified citizens as they rushed around in preparation for the event to come, Cinder walked towards the central hub, where everything was coordinated.

A well-dressed Mercury bowed as she approached the large doors, "Hail Overlord Cinder, what do you desire?"

Cinder smirke coldly at the terrified cyborg. "Godhood; something I will possess by the end of the loop should everything go according to plan. And that is why I am here: Project Omega is now officially in effect, all forces are to start preparation."

With shaking hands, the cyborg passed the message on and the codes were given, alarms blazing through the pocket as all her minions made ready. Ignoring the chaos that had now erupted, Cinder strode past the shaking cyborg. "Now, get me the Forgery Department, Salem Industries and the Construction Department. I will meet them in my lounge in 10 minutes."

She began walking away. "Oh, and get me a glass of top quality blood," she added on a lazy whim. "I don't care much about the variety." There was no reason not to indulge herself while waiting.

Cinder cracked open an eye as an unidentified faunus approached, bowing as he handed her a bottle of shimmering black liquid. "As you requested Overlord, a bottle of rich blood. Black Blood originating from Asura from the Soul Eater Manga Loop, enriched with-"

Cinder glared at him, just barely resisting the urge to burn the idiot. "I am not looking to get drunk. If I was I would have specified that." Still, she was thirsty… it would be a week or so at minimum until she could think about starting….

"I will take a shot glass of that, then you will get me a glass of something that will not affect my reasoning."

The cat faunus bowed his head, hate and malice wafting off, entwining with its enticing scent as he poured a glass of the black liquid. "My apologies, Overlord Cinder, I will be right on it." With a final bow it left the room.

 _Seemed fitting, it's just the same as you, filled with Madness. And yes, I know you can hear me, I just don't care. I hope you fall; I welcome the end. May you burn eternally._

The whispered words made Cinder snort in amusement. It was not the first time that one of the various beings in her ownership had defied her. Periodic sweeps were needed to keep order among the newest, whether brought in or born among the few mortals. She really should kill it, but she really could not bring herself to care.

None of it mattered any longer.

Swirling the blood in the glass, sipping the liquid after a cursory check to ensure it was not poisoned, Cinder let herself mull over what she needed to do.

She could not kill the unAwake loppers, and as such they could wake up at any time. In that case her Ruby doppelganger could be found out, making it vital that there was an in Loop reason. The excuse of an old Bioweapon from a lost era had worked before and would work now.

Setting up such a base was simple and would mean nothing if lost.

It was also possible that as her Ascension got closer, the Gods might be able to force them to Awaken. If that was the case there were a few options. If the Gods could get a message down then all that mattered was having enough sheer force to hold them back.

If not, well then all they would know was that an invasion was in progress and Ruby was not there. The copy would have to leave before to avoid being found out in combat. Ruby could not ping, a ping with Ruby not turning up and communication of would be sending flags up everywhere.

So, when the loopers looked for Ruby, everything must be explainable by a variant. Ruby's absence, the Distraction, _what she was doing_.

The latter was simple; rip out her in loop Maiden Fragment, place it a clone, transfer the tattoo then place her loop memories into it.

"Hail, Overlord Cinder!"

Cinder opened her eyes, watching as one of her Salems, a Sun and a random vampire, dressed in the uniform of Salem Industries, the Forgery and Construction Departments respectively.

"Good," Cinder stretched, almost purring as she eyed the fanatically loyal servants. They were the best and would do this flawlessly. "This is the Loop. As laid out and discussed before, I need your assistance in making this loop look just like a normal variant. Now, this is the situation…"

 **3**

"Is the vessel spaceworthy?"

The Salem in charge of modifying the locker started and looked over at her Mistress. "Milady," she said with a shallow bow. "I didn't expect you so suddenly. Is something wrong?"

Cinder's eyes narrowed. "There will be," she said darkly, "if you don't answer my question."

"The weapon locker's modifications were completed last Loop," the Salem said firmly. "It should be able to contain your Warframe, deploy it after a remote command, and reach the Moon intact from one launch."

"Good," Cinder nodded. "It's time. I'll get to the forest of Forever Fall and pull it out of my Pocket. We'll launch tomorrow night, once I'm in position."

The Salem looked a touch worried. "Are you certain, Milady?" she asked. "I thought you intended to wait until you had a means of cloaking the launch."

"That was your first mistake, then," Cinder said coldly. "Thinking. Cut it out. Be ready for deployment in twenty-four hours."

"Yes Ma'am," the Salem said with a sharp salute.

Cinder left her Pocket and glanced around. No one had entered the little side-room where she'd left physical space in the time she'd been gone, it seemed. Good.

She left the room and entered the warehouse proper. Roman was absent; likely out on reconnaissance, as he should be.

She pulled out a microphone and thumbed the activation button. "Situation report," she ordered lowly.

Roman's voice came across the radio with a crackle. _"Everything's about as exciting over here as drying paint,"_ he said, sounding displeased.

"Acknowledged." Cinder glanced over at a map of Vale. If all was as it should be, her Emerald and Neo clones should be nearing Roman's position any moment now. "Standby," she added. "Reinforcements are moving in."

Roman sounded like he didn't believe her. _"Yeah, sure,"_ he grumbled. _"Whatever."_

Cinder closed the channel and considered the map, her face set. The vampiric operatives she was sending had one task ahead of them-kidnap Ruby Rose and replace her with a previously-prepared doppelganger.

Ruby was far too powerful-and far too familiar with Loop mechanics-to be allowed to run free. She needed to be kept out of the fight. So Cinder would see to it that she was; like Odysseus on Calypso's island.

Until the Anchor was stowed away, Cinder could not act freely. But from the moment her operatives successfully took Ruby from her bed, Cinder was set to begin the operation proper, and no amount of lies and pretense could hide the truth then.

She licked her lips. It would be difficult, dangerous. But the hunt was sweet, and the prize all the sweeter. Ruby would, besides being kept out of the fray, make an excellent power source to speed up the Ascension process.

Cinder breathed deeply, once, and then left the warehouse. She needed to be well into Forever Fall by nightfall, because it would be under cover of night that she launched her Warframe into space, and she needed the facility on the moon established by the time her operatives seized Ruby.

 **4**

It began, as these things often did, with a suspicion. It was quiet. To borrow from the cliché, too quiet. Ozpin stood at his office window, staring down at the slumbering campus with a frown. The wind blew softly just outside his reach, rustling the trees' branches with a gentle motion. And yet, something was wrong. He knew this deep in his bones, beyond any form of sense or reason. A sense of unease that had seen him through literally countless battles and trials; both as a Looper and not. He had only Awoken moments before, and yet somehow he knew that dark things stirred upon the horizon. He was certain of this.

If only he could understand why. With a sigh, he finally sent out a Ping and received a single response. At the very least, at least Ruby was Awake. Or if not Ruby, some other Anchor. Even if whatever trouble was brewing was beyond his own not inconsiderable abilities, it wouldn't be beyond salvaging.

-x-x-x-x-

Cinder smirked cruelly as she beheld the completed product of years of effort. It wasn't perfect, nothing could ever truly compare to the real thing under sufficient scrutiny, but it would last long enough to do the job.

"Are the implants functioning correctly?"

The trio of Ironwoods overlooking the experiment nodded. "Of course. There should be no problems before the Loop's end. And even if something goes wrong there should be plenty of advance warning on our end so we can send a retrieval unit."

Cinder smirked. "Good. Get the garden on standby. I want the Black Sin ready for transport within the hour."

As one they saluted. "Ma'am."

-x-x-x-x-

Ruby was booored! Nobody else except Ozpin was Awake, and he had been too busy being a worrypants worrier to hang out all day. That meant it was just her and whatever ideas she could cook up on her own for fun. She had already read all the good Variant books in the library (but only the fiction ones, all the other ones were just bleuch!), and set up a few time-delayed pranks primed for maximum effect and now she was just lounging on her bed.

"Weiss, I'm bored. Entertain me!"

"Not now Ruby. I'm writing a letter to my father and I don't want to be disturbed," the Unawake heiress replied irritably.

"Yang?"

"Sorry sis. I'm gonna take my bike for a ride," Yang replied, helmet in hand as she opened the door.

Ruby perked up. "Ooh! I'll come with you!"

"Nuh uh! You know the rules. Dad said I'm not allowed to let you on my bike after the last time." Yang answered seriously.

Gripping her sister's shirt, Ruby unleashed her most devastating weapon. Puppy dog pout! "But Yaannng! I was totally fine, my Semblance protected me."

Yang snorted. "Quit it with the eyes Rubes, not gonna work. And sure, your Semblance protected _you_ , but dad nearly had a heart attack when you jumped off the back because you wanted to chase down a Nevermore."

"I was eight!" Ruby countered.

"And now you're fifteen, but if you saw another Nevermore I bet you'd do it all over again," Yang responded.

"But, they're evil! Evil birds! That's almost forty percent as bad as evil bunnies!"

"Bunnies?" Weiss interjected.

"Don't underestimate the bunnies Weiss. They are adorable little balls of death and despair," Ruby said knowingly.

Weiss gave her a bland look. "Right."

"Aaand on that note... bye!" Yang said, as she slipped out the door.

"Wha—Yang! Take me with you!" Ruby shouted down the hall, only for Yang to wave as she turned the corner.

"Noooo! Curse you bunnies! Foiled once again!"

Weiss slammed her head against the desk. "This is supposed to be our team leader. What in the world was Ozpin _thinking?_ "

-x-x-x-x-

 _"Situation report."_

Roman scowled but pressed the lapel microphone twice. The White Fang were a bunch of fanatics, but the pay was good at least. "Everything's about as exciting over here as drying paint."

 _"Acknowledged. Standby, reinforcements are moving in."_

Reinforcements? Giving the mic a dubious look he sighed. "Yeah sure. Whatever."

A soft pattering of footsteps sounded from behind him and he jumped, whirling around with Melodic Cudgel at the ready. Only to drop it in stunned disbelief.

"Wha?"

Two of the figures glanced over him dismissively before, with a gesture from one of the lead figure in the Nevermore mask, leapt over the edge and promptly vanished into a swirling gash in the air. Stumbling over to the side of the building he looked down at where his partner stood silent vigil, before turning back to the spot where the five-woman squadron of raiders, or White Fang, or whatever had disappeared. "Right. You know what. I'm not getting paid enough to deal with this shit. Hey! Neo! Grab whatever you're keeping and let's go. We're bailing."

Neo blinked curiously up at him, before shrugging and heading inside.

"The hell have I gotten us into?"

-x-x-x-x-

Sighing, Ruby stepped out of the bathroom with a towel draped across her shoulder. "All yours Blake."

The secret faunus looked up from her book with a nod. "Thanks."

All told it had been a pretty standard day. Nothing really interesting besides the fact that she had had to disable her Cardin Pie Trap after it turned out this version of him was a pretty decent guy. Stretching her arms over her head, she yawned loudly. "Alright. That's enough for today. I'm hitting the hay."

"Aren't you going to do your homework?" Weiss asked curiously, much more subdued after her talk with Professor Port.

"Nah, I already took care of it," she answered. Technically true, even if only because she had copies.

"What? Really? When did you have time to do it?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Oh you know, here and there."

"Ruby," Weiss demanded with narrowed eyes.

Reaching behind her she pulled one of the copies out of her Pocket and handed it to Weiss. "No really. See!"

Looking over it briefly, Weiss sighed and handed it back. "So you have. I apologize for doubting you."

Ruby rubbed her head sheepishly. "Heh, no. It's fine."

Weiss hesitated, before smiling. "For what it's worth, I think you'll make a good leader."

"Uh, thanks, you too." Crud. Stupid sleep brain, why you not think words good!

Weiss chuckled. "Good night Ruby."

"Ni—" a large yawn interrupted her. "Night Weiss."

-x-x-x-x-

Five figures hidden from as close to all forms of perception as possible, even those not native to Remnant, moved quickly through the halls. The lead figure directed them with hand signals just in case. Entering the assigned corridor without a sound three of them moved to stand guard while the last slipped into their target's room. Hefting a small pouch from a pocket they flung the contents into the air. The room's inhabitants, already asleep, fell into a deeper slumber; the magical dust stolen from santa's elves working quickly. Not one to take chances however, she pulled out a small rifle and fired a two second round of twenty Mercy Needles into the target.

Only then did she dare approach.

Removing the satchel on her back, she reached in and withdrew a writhing mass of thorns and vines. The plant's efforts to sink into her skin proved futile, blocked by the dragonskin gloves she wore. The same could not be said of her target, the plant growing quickly and encompassing it's victim in hundreds of pencil thin roots.

Nodding in satisfaction, she withdrew to the doorway and signaled the others. The green haired girls quickly approached and moved past her to secure the sleeping Huntress. One of the remaining women handed her a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and she hurried into the bathroom to change. Moments later she stepped back out, her former uniform balled up and shoved into the bottom of the hamper for later disposal.

Surveying the room, empty of the three slumbering girls in their bunks, she gave a nod and climbed into the still warm bed which she claimed as her own. Satisfied at a job well done, she closed her silver eyes and willed herself to sleep.

 **5**

Cinder watched as several of her variant Pennies operated makeshift consoles and made the last pre-flight checks. In the center of the glade was a Warframe cryopod, brought in from her Loop as one of the Lotus' Tenno, and inside the pod her vicarious body slept.

"How much longer?" she asked her lead Velvet imperiously.

"Not much, Ma'am," said the lagomorph vampire nervously. "Give it just a few more minutes. We're making the last equipment checks now; don't want to lose the Warframe."

Cinder nodded. "Let me know when you finish," she ordered. "We're low on time." Her agents would be kidnapping Ruby any moment, and while they had the equipment to keep her in suspended animation temporarily, Cinder wasn't sure she trusted Ruby not to have a countermeasure prepared. She expected she had an hour or two before the suspension failed on at least one of the Chibi-Rubies, and then it was all over.

She studied the gold-trimmed frills of her Warframe's neuroptics, her eyes darting from one Orokin ornament to another. Her fingers twitched and tapped at her thigh in a vain release of tension.

"We're cleared for launch!" the lead Velvet said.

"Begin sequence," Cinder ordered immediately.

The thrusters below the cryopod began to exude ions, powered by the jury-rigged antimatter reactor on the 'vessel's' underside. Cinder stepped back as the blast shields around the clearing rose, staring through the transparent cylinder as the cryopod began to rise, the energy of its thrust kicking up dust and flame and licking against the shield.

Her communicator rang. She thumbed it. "Cinder here," she said shortly.

" _Emerald-271 reporting,"_ said her lead infiltrator. _"Target acquired and placed in suspension."_

Cinder swallowed. "And the substitute?" she demanded.

" _In position."_

"Good," Cinder said, watching as the rocket rose above the blast shields and the canopy, the soft hum of the ion thrusters growing louder until it dominated the air. "Get the Anchor to the rendezvous and prepare to receive teleporter signal."

" _Confirmed, Ma'am. En route."_

"And where are Torchwick and Neopolitan?" Cinder asked. "I haven't heard from them since I deployed you."

" _Haven't seen them, Ma'am,"_ said Emerald-271, all business. _"Might've bailed."_

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Very well. They aren't a significant threat in any case. Carry on."

" _Ma'am."_

Cinder hung up and turned to the lead Velvet. "Is the Warframe on course?" she demanded.

"Yes, Ma'am," the vampiric faunus squeaked. "It should arrive on the lunar surface in under ten minutes. It just left atmosphere and is still accelerating."

Cinder looked up at the shattered moon, high above, and smiled.

 **6**

"Hey guys?" Yang called out, the other three members of Team RWBY turning to see her holding a piece of notepaper with a confused look. "Does anybody know some chick named Marianne?"

Ruby quickly shot over to her sister and yanked the note out of her hands. "NOPE!"

Yang pulled back, startled, "Wha? Hey! The heck Ruby?"

"Nothing. You didn't see anything." Ruby said, waving her hands and making woo noises before disappearing in a flash of rose petals.

"What in the world was that all about?" Weiss demanded, swinging her legs over the side of her bed so she could sit up straight.

Yang shrugged. "No idea. I just found that letter from this Marianne person, and Ruby apparently flipped the heck out."

Blake hmmed. "Well what did it say?"

"Uh, give me a minute. Um, sorry about the wait, something, something, uh, pulled in some favors, 'hard mode loop', something, something, tell Glynda let's go drinking again? Then it was signed Marianne."

"Well that tells us all of nothing, now doesn't it." Weiss summed up succinctly. "Did that make any sense to anyone?"

A round of head shaking occurred, followed by a moment of silence, before Weiss spoke up again. "Do you think... maybe Ruby found herself... a girlfriend?"

"What!? Oh hell no! Did you not hear the part about drinking? No way in heck is my baby sister involved with some old lady!"

Blake clicked her tongue. "It _would_ explain her rush to hide the evidence."

Yang turned a betrayed look at her partner. "Yeah, but, the... Oh! What the heck did it mean by 'hard mode' then huh? Explain that."

Weiss coughed delicately. "The art of eh-hm shibari is a well documented, if discreet practice among certain classes."

"Shi-what now?" Yang demanded.

"It means tying someone up in intricate knots as a form of foreplay." Blake stated bluntly. "And considering Miss Goodwitch's specific weapon is, essentially, a riding crop, Weiss may not be far off here."

Yang flushed and held a hand to her face. "I... I think I need to sit down."

-x-x-x-x-

Out in the hall, a certain red-haired girl snickered to herself as she listened to the conversation in the room she had just left. Idly crumpling the note she had written, she skipped off to find something sweet to eat as a reward for a job well done.

 **7**

There was nothing quite like Unpocketing a prefabricated structure.

Cinder knew, consciously, that the building _had_ been built—built over several Loops by her Pennies, Salems, and the other denizens of her Pocket—but watching it bloom, fully formed and staffed, out of the gold-trimmed fingertips of her Warframe, right before her eyes, was a sight to behold. Had the Orokin machine been possessed of a mouth, it would have been smiling.

And then it was done and her ferrite-rubedo palm was resting on the cool alloy of the wall. She craned her neck upward to watch as the defensive turrets rose, mass drivers extending in preparation.

She had no illusions that the other Loopers _would_ Wake Up at some point. Marianne could not afford to lose the Remnant branch. She was fairly sure they would find this place eventually, and that these defenses would be insufficient to keep them out.

But it was all about buying time. No one roadblock could stop them, but all of them together might be just enough to slow them down until they were too late to stop her.

She circumnavigated the walls and entered the moonbase's airlock. She nodded at the Salems staffing the entry and then passed into the inner sanctum.

At her feet when she opened the door was a teleporter pad, prepared to receive the suspended form of the Anchor. In the center of the room, attached to a vast array of cords and wires, was a somatic pod based on the Tenno design.

She called it the Lotus Simulacrum—not for the Lotus who had given her a Warframe, but for an older story.

She tapped out a code on the console beside the teleporter, then cut the Transference. Her physical, human body stepped out of the shell that was her Warframe. Amber eyes scanned the room before she tapped her communicator.

"This is Cinder," she said. "Emerald-247, do you copy?"

" _Copy and read,"_ Emerald-247 responded. _"Transporter has activated, Ma'am. That's you?"_

"Yes," Cinder said. "You may transmit the package."

" _Yes, Ma'am,"_ the Emerald agreed, and the teleporter flared blue.

There was Ruby Rose, lying still, a strange, alien plant growth bound to the nape of her neck. The Black Sin, a hybrid plant derived from the Sinning Tree of the Yu Yu Hakusho Loops and the Black Mercy of one of the DC superhero Loops, which Cinder had herself designed and grown for this purpose.

The plant used the Sinning Tree's mechanism of spiritual power-siphoning in combination with the Black Mercy's dream production. The latter allowed it to keep Ruby in a dream from which she would not want to wake; a dream based on her own desires. It was nearly the best in the Loops when it came to lotus-eating. The former would siphon off Ruby's aura and magic as she dreamt, powering Cinder's ascension.

Cinder leaned down and plucked up the sleeping girl, holding her as gently as a mother would her babe, careful not to touch the plant at work. She crossed the room to the somatic pod and gently laid Ruby to rest in the reclining chair within.

For a moment, the Anchor seemed to be stirring, but the pod was sealing already and as it shut, the girl lay back and stilled again, a faint smile upon her lips.

"Sleep well, Ruby Rose," Cinder cooed, a sneer crossing her features.. "Eat your lotuses and let me feed on your soul."

The lights of the energy-transmission equipment hooked up to the Lotus Simulacrum, derived from the Halo Loops' means of energy-transfer, began to glow as Ruby's latent energy, Aura, and magic were slowly siphoned away by the Black Sin. A faint ethereal glow filled the pod as the plant released the power into the compartment where it could be harvested.

Cinder turned away. The Simulacrum would hold Ruby for the entire Loop, if need be; and for every moment it did, her Ascension would take several hundred moments less. The machine would feed her pleasant dreams which simulated wakefulness, well enough that she would be unable to tell the difference.

For a moment Cinder wondered if she would feature in those dreams; if Ruby would want to spend some of her time in the Land of the Lotus-Eaters with her adoptive sister. Then she snorted and shook the thought off.

It was time to get Salem moving. Within a few hours, Vale would be under attack and she would be taking her first small steps toward godhood.

 **8**

Cinder stretched, lounging on 'her' bed, eyes burning with a golden light as they watched orbs of power play around her fingers.

It felt glorious to finally have the full power of the Fall Maiden. The best part? Ozpin did not know that the former Maiden was dead. Salem's infiltrators masquerading as White Fang had done a superb job.

Now, after years of planning, it was almost time.

The black haired woman, rose to her feet, walking over to the window. The cool breeze of spring playing across her skin, as she watched the sun start to set, painting the sky with blood and flames.

"It is a pity I cannot tear it apart from the inside," Cinder murmured with a faint, distant regret. Her original plans had been adaptable, focusing on eroding the confidence of the populace, instilling doubt and fear. Then a final strike with the White Fang as darkness started to eclipse the light of Vale.

It would have been wonderful, watching as everything fell down around her, every plan coming to fruition.

But it was not to be, Salem had given her almost free reign to act while she worked towards more arcane goals. But Salem's plans had come to a head first, and as such, took precedence.

Pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes, Cinder felt anticipation race through her veins, a cold smirk crossing her face.

She could not wait to see Vale fall, to kill Ozpin, to dance among the flames and ashes.

Salem's victory was hers, and hers, Salem's.

In the end, the how was not important.

Cinder turned away from the window, striding through the rented hotel room, Mercury and Emerald falling into step as they stepped out into the evening streets.

"So, how much longer are we going to wait?" Mercury groused, getting a cold smile from Cinder as they headed out into the final night of Vale.

"Patience, Mercury." Amber eyes flashed in the twilight with a dark amusement. "It will be soon. Just remember, we have our target."

The room was dimly lit, glowing purple crystals providing the only illumination, revealing black wood and bone white.

Salem smiled, eyes locked onto the glowing red orb of her newest Seer breed, the senses of every Grimm in the world now open for her to peruse. It was unfortunate that the senses of most were rather poor for reconnaissance, but really that was what Seers and Controllers were for.

From a million and more eyes, a city filled with light and enticing darkness glowed. The wizard's fortress, resplendent in colours and rotting underneath.

Victory would be sweet; Ozpin would not escape this time. Dear Cinder should be enough to kill the body and her newest advancements would be enough to trap the soul.

If not well, even he could not endure the endless legions himself.

Salem felt something stirring in the depths of her mind, something that was as close to joy as she had felt in ages.

Her armies were advancing, pawns in place, knights standing by.

Soon _Ruin_ would fall across Remnant once more, and once Oscar was dead? His toys and Guardians shattered, _then,_ she would walk unopposed through the ruins of Vale.

"Checkmate." Salem raised a glass of crimson liquid in a mocking salute, not seeing the liquid that shone black in the dim light. "In the end, I was always going to prove you wrong, my dearest husband. You stated my experiments would destroy me, that I could not control them, and then you would destroy me."

Dark laughter filled the room as the sun set on Vale and blood ran through the streets. "And now I stand victorious at the last. And I can't wait to see you burn Ozpin."

Through the ash which filled the air and the smoke that stung his eyes, huntsman Diamond Coal bellowed his fury. The sound was lost in the cacophony as he drove his glaive into the mouth of a toad-like Grimm, the monster's tongue already dissolving behind him.

It was madness. Diamond ignored the smoking corpse, cleaving though the form of a Beowolf as he looked around the fire-lit streets.

 _I don't understand…_

Why would the White Fang be doing this?

Walking alongside the Creatures of Grimm were the masked faunus, slaughtering all those that they came across.

 _Vale falling gives them nothing._

The nightmarish memories of children, human and faunus danced in his mind, helplessness and rage threatening to drag him under.

 _I can still taste the burning flesh; why won't they stop screaming?_

The White Fang did not care, the words of one of the beasts ringing through his head, saying they were all traitors.

Animals, that was all faunus were.

Maniacal laughter filled the air as one scorpion-man jumped around like a demented monkey, tearing though Grimm as they approached the main intersection. Soon they would be up with a larger group of Huntsmen to make a push to dislodge the White Fang from one of the communication studios and weapon deposits.

Diamond inwardly corrected his thoughts, rather reluctantly. They might be animals, but not all were stupid or rabid.

That said, he would be glad to be away from this madman, the sooner they split up the better.

Tyrian…

Diamond shuddered, at least he knew this faunus was not White Fang. Plastic soldiers and pawns indeed... Thought that did beg the question, pawns of who?

 **9**

Ozpin sipped from his coffee as he stared out the window of his office towards the forest to the north of Beacon. Out there, a massive horde of Grimm approached the school on land, flocks of Nevermore and Griffons filling the air. This was a surprisingly unusual sight for a school built as essentially part of the Kingdom of Vale's outer defenses, as most of the young Grimm in the area were killed by students in training exercises and on field trips, and most of the older Grimm were too smart to approach without a compelling reason. That was what made this invasion so odd; the Vytal Festival hadn't even started yet, and Ozpin had heard nothing of any widespread traumatic events in Vale that would have attracted this many Grimm. Perhaps this was where his feeling of disquiet upon Waking up had come from?

Ozpin sighed. It wouldn't be the first time there was a more proactive Salem who could control her Grimm more directly.

He tabled his ponderings as the elevator dinged, the professors coming to get their marching orders. When Vale was invaded in Baseline, Ozpin immediately sent Qrow and Glynda to defend the city, leaving few defenders behind in Beacon. Partly this was out of his concern for civilians, but it was partly out of practicality: Beacon was more exposed than the city, with its north and south sides bordering wild territory. (To the west was the city, and to the east the mountain range that kept Vale safe also helped keep the Grimm away from Beacon.) However, it was also a hard target, its smaller size allowing for more concentrated defenses. In Baseline, until Kevin arrived, Beacon was only directly in danger from the Grimm brought into the school by the White Fang, from the hacked Atlesian robots, and from Cinder, of course.

Here and now, none of those factors were likely to be in play, so there was even less of a reason for Ozpin to worry overmuch about Beacon's safety. He sent Glynda and the other teachers to help defend the city, leaving the defense of Beacon to its normal defenders. If worst came to worst, he could always mobilize the students in defense of the school, but for now, he saw no reason to disturb their evening. He couldn't shake the feeling that more was wrong than the obvious, but Ruby _had_ been chiding him for worrying too much this Loop. He decided he would send a quick update on the situation to Ruby's scroll and remain observant, but otherwise he let it go for now.

Two hours later, and the foreboding feeling had only gotten worse, but he still wasn't sure why. A couple minutes ago, Qrow—who had returned to Vale, his fact-finding mission irrelevant when Ozpin's memories told him whom Amber's attacker was—had called with some surprising good news. It seemed that this Loop, the White Fang had decided to contribute to Vale's defense. Oobleck thought it might be a PR move, while Qrow more cynically suggested that their encampments outside of Vale had been overrun by the onrushing Grimm horde, so they had no choice but to help. Whatever the reason, masked Faunus of the White Fang were now standing alongside police and Huntsmen from Vale in their fight against the Grimm. Things seemed to be going well—so why was he still so unnerved?

Giving in to the temptation that had plagued him this whole Loop, Ozpin descended to the Vault to use the Relic of Knowledge stored there. Almost everything about the Relics was Loop variable—everything but their existence, their location at the four Huntsman Academies, and the fact that they contained _some_ power. This Loop, the Relic of Knowledge worked like a Magic 8 Ball. Ozpin had tried using it to narrow down the reasons for his ominous feeling, but while the feeling "without a doubt" involved the Grimm somehow, "Yes, definitely" involved an attack on Vale, and "most likely" involved the White Fang, he hadn't been able to pin it down any further. He was sick and tired of "reply hazy try again," "ask again later," and "cannot predict now." Hopefully now that a Grimm invasion had actually started, it was later enough to get some clear answers.

Mere minutes later, a horrified Ozpin was running back to the elevator, cursing that the Vault was shielded from scroll signal this Loop.

Qrow fought against the Grimm, side-by-side with a massive White Fang Lieutenant with a chainsword as large as Qrow's sword. He knew the White Fang were supposed to be fighting the good fight now, but he still didn't trust them, so he'd made sure to position himself squarely within their ranks. This meant he could keep an eye on them, but it also meant his Semblance wouldn't act on any _real_ allies. Qrow hooked the point of his scythe under a Boarbatusk's snout, flung it into an approaching Beowulf, and stepped back to answer his scroll. "Hey Oz, what's up? There's more Grimm than usual, but everything's going fine here."

" _Can our new 'allies' hear me?"_ Qrow could practically hear the air quotes on "allies," and he approved.

"Nope, why?"

" _The White Fang is only pretending to defend Vale!"_

"That's what I've been saying, but why?"

" _How better to access the kingdom's defenses than to be the ones defending them?"_

Qrow looked around at the Dust-powered automated cannons and shield systems lining the massive city walls behind him. In their efforts to "protect" the city, the White Fang were swarming all over them, outnumbering the legitimate defenders by more than 2:1. "Oh, fuck."

" _You must act immediately if you are to prevent a terrible tragedy!"_

Flipping his scroll to speaker and sliding it in a pocket, Qrow spun suddenly, swinging his scythe into the White Fang Lieutenant's legs before he could react. As the Lieutenant was on his way down, Qrow switched his scythe the sword form, disarmed the Lieutenant with a quick swing, switched to gun form, and started firing at his prone body on the ground. The Lieutenant growled and leapt for Qrow's legs, so Qrow stabbed down at his neck, using his sword to vault over him and out of the way. He landed and, with another quick shot, finished taking down the Lieutenant's Aura. A kick to the head knocked him unconscious.

Qrow warily faced the White Fang members pointing guns at him and planned his next move. Then, the shockwave of a massive explosion knocked them all to the ground, Qrow himself barely keeping his balance. When he turned to look, he saw a massive breach in the walls. The Huntsmen, Huntresses, and less powerful defenders were clashing with the White Fang. Turning back away from the city, he could see a horde of Grimm larger than anything he'd seen before. Ozpin's frantic voice emanated from his scroll. _"Qrow, what was that?"_

Qrow extended his weapon back into scythe form. "You'd better get down here, Oz. What we've seen so far was just the warm-up."

 _You have no idea how right you are_ , Ozpin thought. From what Glynda had told him, they were mostly fighting common, weak variants of Grimm down by the city, but with the panic from the White Fang's betrayal drawing them in, Ozpin could see legendary Ancient Grimm approaching Beacon. The situation must have been truly dire if Qrow was calling for him to leave the Beacon students, including Qrow's nieces, to go defend Vale proper. Still, there were a few things he needed to do before leaving.

First, he tried contacting Ruby again, but again couldn't get ahold of her. _Knowing Ruby, she's probably already fighting, but I'd feel much more comfortable leaving Beacon if I knew the Anchor was still here_. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to look into it further. Instead, he sent out an alert explaining the situation to all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Beacon, providing more detail than the general summons of Vale's alarms. Then, he turned his gaze back out towards the approaching Grimm horde. Yes, he was needed in the city, but with his Looping abilities, he'd have time to handle some of the larger Grimm first.

 **10**

Weiss ran down the pandemonium filled halls of Beacon, using glyphs to propel herself above and over the panicking masses; all the while, panic and desperation clawed at her mind. Sirens blared throughout the evening sky, calling all Huntsmen and Huntresses to action. Ash and smoke covered the Beacon like a blanket, a grey haze enveloping the Kingdom as hundreds of fires raged out of control.

Glancing towards the setting sun, Weiss could not help feeling an ill omen had shown itself. Through the smog, the dying light seemed to stain the heavens with blood and fire as twilight closed in.

A single message repeating ad nauseam on her scroll: The White Fang had breached Vale's walls, torn down critical infrastructure and had the Grimm by their side. A vast sacrilege of Ancient Grimm and mythological beasts, monstrous forms from Humanity's deepest, darkest nightmares.

Blake was in the library to work on an assignment, Yang in one of the training halls sparring with another boxer. Both were heading to the courtyard to meet up with her and confront the Grimm descending upon Beacon, the same thing being done by everyone else.

But there was one major problem.

Ruby was missing and had not been seen since the morning.

Weiss could only hope she had gone hunting and would be on the way back. They simply could not afford to look for her or stay back. There was not enough time.

Weiss panted, blood running down her face and hands, making her grip slick and unsteady. The sightless eyes of a reptilian faunus in a broken bone mask dug into her mind, her blade coming free from its chest with a sickening sucking noise.

She felt ill.

A quick glance showed the rest of the team was not much better. Yang's burnt and tattered hair lay limp with blood and ash, her right arm a mess of crudely bandaged, lacerated tissue. Red eyes burned with hate and fear. Blake was not much better, tears leaking from her eyes that burned with the same fury.

She had taken it as a personal attack upon seeing what the White Fang had been doing. Yet each _beast_ she had felled seemed to hurt her.

"Why are they doing this?!" Weiss didn't respond to Blake's cry, peering into the smoke and darkness to try and find what would attack them the next. "What is the point?"

"I am surprised you need to ask that question, Blake."

Weiss spun on the spot, facing the direction the calm, angry voice had come from, a tall silhouette emerging from the smoke. "It is justice; the price humanity shall pay for our freedom and their crimes."

A red haired bull Faunus strode out of the haze and destruction, uncaring of the bodies strew across the pavement. Blood, drenching the roads and pavements, shone darkly with the reflected light of the flames that burnt freely across the capital.

Weiss flinched as Blake snarled, spitting a word like a curse as the figure sheathed its blood stained blade. "Adam!"

The masked figure seemed to smile, the movement sending a cold chill down Weiss's spine. It held nothing kind or warm, merely bloodlust and cruel satisfaction. "Hello my dear."

Yang grabbed Blake preventing her from running forwards in a blind charge, her bow pulled back flat on her head, like ears. Weiss shoved aside the fact Blake was a Faunus acquainted with one of, if not the, most wanted Faunus on Remnant. It was really not relevant beyond the combat considerations.

"Tell me Blake, what now? Vale has fallen and even now the other Kingdoms lie under siege. Humanity's days are numbered, as are those who stand with them."

Grimm prowled around the edges of the streets, locking them in with this… thing. With her glyphs they could likely escape, but that would leave the children in the orphanage unprotected. Yet if they stayed, they would die.

A dozen or so silhouettes came into view through the smoke, mere shadows against the flames, familiar wolf like creatures at their side.

"Soon, Menagerie will be the only place left. And we will be…"

They had no choice.

Weiss ignited the all the Dust she had, glyph hurling her, Blake and Yang into the air and away from the White Fang leader. Weiss watched as the ground fell away, the wind howling in her ears, and as her teammates spiraled off in different directions living them alone

She had lost focus.

A new feeling for dread filled her body as the ground quickly rushed to meet her, filled with prowling Grimm prowled, their horrible howls echoing in her mind.

She had messed up.

Weiss stumbled as she Awoke to pandemonium, the memories of just falling out of the sky and being set upon by a pack of Grimm flitting through her mind. The world seemed to be spinning and her loop memories sideways from purple. A beowolf fell as she danced out of reach, the smoking body falling in two.

Grimm were tearing Vale apart. Ancient Grimm that normally stayed away from civilization rampaged across the city, while flights of Griffons and Grimm Wyverns the size of jets and encased in bone, with only hints of black showing, tore throughout the sky.

New Grimm variants mixed amongst familiar monsters...

The dying light playing across the horde of bone and black, casting a bloody light as the sky was painted with flames.

 _Where were Ruby, Blake and Yang?_

Ice encased hundreds of the Grimm that now were swarming Vale, a single glyph flashing in the sky. White figures of ice and power rose like statues of diamonds with numbers beyond counting, meeting the Grimm head on.

Weiss's face darkened as her loop memories slowly and painfully fell into place.

"I hate loops like this."

Black and bone blurred together, glowing crimsons stars burning in the dark as Weiss ran. She twisted out of the way of a Deathstalker's blow, gesturing with her free hand as she slid under its body on a bed of ice, ripping its underside apart. Hundreds of spinning glyphs glowed with a cold light as she flipped to her feet burying her blade into an Ursa's neck, the smoking head falling to the ground.

Thousands of spears of dust enriched ice fell from the heavens, detonating with a freezing blast forming vast columns of ice, which shattered. Shards of ice glittered like millions of diamonds, hurtling through the sky and tearing through the hordes.

 _I need to find the others. I need to find Ruby._

Weiss ignored the statues and plains of ice that now littered Vale, narrowing in on the Greater Grimm who had yet to perish in her attack, now exposed as their lesser kin's frozen bodies crumbled to snow and miasma. She flicked a crystal of Earth Dust behind her at a White Fang trooper as they raised their weapon at her, before racing towards the towering steel encased Geist without a backward glance.

A stone statue of a female Faunus stood unmoving as tears of muddy blood leaked from its blue eyes, its sword falling to the ground from frozen hand. The tears stopping as its eyes became granite.

Overhead, the moon glowed with bloody light, smoke filled and ash filling the air as Remnant burned and the dark closed in.

 **11**

Zwei stared at his food bowl as he Awoke. Well he guessed it was his bowl, anyway. _I can't recall any loop where I have had corrupted memories,_ Zwei thought as he he let out a ping.

There was something vile in the air, an almost eerie quiet seemed to fill the world and his was drenched in the wafting scent of blood, ash and Grimm. Something was wrong and he had to find out what, had to help.

Three pings were missing.

The War Corgi ran from his house, following the road to Patch's docks. Words drifted on the air, reports on Vale and madness as he reached the docks, his eyes fixed on the distant Kingdom. It was dark, the normal lights that signaled Vale were missing, but the moon seemed hazy in the sky, like it was covered in smoke and dark shapes were just visible.

 _No, there are lights... but they're fires, and those are Nevermore._

He had to get to Vale.

 **12**

Yang woke up in confusion, the ground racing up to meet her as the world was covered in Grimm, flames and smoke filling the air.

"What is going on?!"

She hit the ground hard, flames consuming the lesser Grimm around her. Lilac eyes took in the carnage. The streets were literally running red, mutilated scraps of meat, bone and viscera everywhere. And through the streets and in the skies Grimm prowled, greater and lesser, baseline and variant.

 _I can't remember, where is everyone? Where are my memories?_

Deep crashing footsteps made Yang turn, taking up a fighting stance as a titanic Beringel stalked down the streets towards her.

"Well, aren't you a big guy?"

Her arms blurred, Ember Celica being replaced with a more advanced version from her pocket. A frown crossed her face as her memories slowly and disjointedly fell into place.

"Sorry I can't play with you, Kong, but I need to find my team."

A dark skeleton rose up into the sky from a few kilometres away, a smile gracing her lips as the skinless face leered down across Vale. "Well, there's one."

Yang bolted towards it, tearing across the gore soaked streets as the ape-like Grimm bellowed and met her charge. The ground abruptly shattered, sending the monster stumbling before its head dissolved into a mass of miasma with a single hit, and Yang leapt into the air.

Not giving the monster a backwards glance, she soared into the air eyes locked onto the tide of death invading her city. Hundreds of lesser Grimm dissolved under her barrage of dust shells and flames.

A pulsating, serpentine mass of glowing eyes, embedded in black, tar-like flesh and bleached bone feasted on dormitory, blood stained fangs flashing in the fire lit night.

 _I need to get rid of that._

The sky exploded with a frigid power as Yang redirected herself to the monstrous Grimm. Spears of ice tore down from the sky, filled with a familiar power. The monster turned to ice before shattering, hordes of ice monsters appearing from spinning glyphs.

 _Okay, Yang, there's number three and I now need a new target._

Hitting the ground Yang wove around the icy monsters, leaping onto the towering pillars of ice to get a better vantage point. Weiss could deal with the lesser hordes, Blake would deal with the soldiers, she would deal with the Titans.

 **13**

Spinning red eyes gazed down from the talons of an Ancient Nevermore, watching as Vale ripped itself apart.

Blake's mouth twisted into a scowl. Of all the times and places to awaken, just about to be eaten by a Nevermore was not one of her preferred ones.

Flames burned across Vale's darkened skyline, small pockets of illumination amidst a sea of darkness and glowing points of crimsons.

And she had no idea what was happening, beyond the obvious, or _why_. The jumbled and fragmented loop memories were almost nauseating to search through, slowing untangling themselves but not quick enough.

Three black tomoes spun together and a vast skeletal form rose up into the sky, shredding flocks of Griffins and Nevermore. Black flames consumed hundreds of monsters as she fell to the ground, black hair streaming into the air as the wind rushed past.

The one figure split into hundreds, each one falling from the sky in a rain of black and white, vanishing in the darkness upon landing.

It was a rhythm she knew well, dancing among the darkness and shadows as form after form fell. The head of a white masked crocodile man collapsed to the ground, and she moved on without a backwards glance.

 _Another disaster in Vale. I wonder if one of those mad versions of Cinder is responsible._

A kunai flickered through the air, sparking with lightning as it multiplied and filled the air with shadows.

A wave of thunder and lights lit up the darkness, Blake's form shattering like spun glass as masked hunters pounced.

Hundreds of Grimm dissolved, obscuring the bisected bodies that fell to the ground.

Wind buffeted Blake as she hurtled across the rooftops, raining down a steady stream of fire down upon the monsters that roamed the streets. Ice rained down of hordes of white and blue beasts clashed with bone and darkness.

Standing against the freezing horde, covered in blood and surrounded corpses was a pair of White Fang Huntsmen, ones that bore horrible resemblance to ones she knew well.

Two feline faunus.

Blood splattered on the ground as the two figures fell, black silhouettes against the flames, their blades still lodged in the bodies of unmoving children, grins going slack in death.

Blake moved on, a fist clenching around her heart; she knew it was not her parents but it still filled her with dread. It was one of her newest fears to truly face her parents across the battlefield, and in a variant like this, nothing could be taken for granted.

 _~W here and Loop Operational, status?~_ Weiss' voice rang clear in her mind as she ran.

Yang's voice was swift and precise, lacking her normal levity _~Y, Loop Operational. Target: Titans.~_

 _~B, Loop operational, shadows deployed. Target: greater and Fang.~_

Blake forced back the tears, pushing all thoughts away and turned grief to cold wrath, leaving everything else behind. Those where not her parents, just strangers with familiar faces and if her parents did turn up on that side? Well, they would be the same.

 _~Has R been located?~_ Weiss's mental tone took on an urgent tone when no one responded, _~Focus on locating R. Meet up in 10 min, location TBD. Will confirm Awake loopers soon. Summons deployed, target: Lesser. Objections, info or questions?~_

Blake sent back a negative as she ended a goliath, her gun barking as lesser Grimm fell like chaff. She could not think of any… _~Correction, loop memories corrupted, same? Event cause, known?~_

 **14**

Nora stumbled as she awoke, a brief bout of disorientation sweeping over her as she missed a swing. A Death Stalker's claw slammed into her and sending her flying. She hit the ground, rolling to her feet as she pulverized a Beowolf.

"Nora!"

 _Okay, that's Ren… Jaune is over to my left and Pyrrha is bleeding out… wait now she's not. Wow this loop sucks already._

Letting out a ping, she turned her attention to what she could see around her, trying to work out what was going on. Faunus bodied littered the ground, the grey masks glinting in the firelight, and there were Grimm everywhere she looked.

Nora locked eyes with a horned White Fang member approaching from down the street, Grimm stalking alongside it. She glanced at her teammates as they turned their attention to the White Fang, cold expressions on all of their faces. At least it seemed everyone was okay now, but… she could not _remember anything._ Her loop memories were… twisted and made no sense.

But one thing was obvious, Vale was in danger, _people were in danger_ and this woman was an enemy with possible information.

"Well, well, well," the woman laughed mockingly as the rest of the nearby Grimm rallied around her or backed off leaving a clear 'arena'. "The Invincible Girl is apparently not so, but the Arc disappointment apparently has an interesting semblance. Healing is it? Not very useful if it distracts your team like that."

By the light of the nearby fires, Nora could see her opponent; black hair partially concealed bovine horns, with cold purple eyes. Her body was covered in ash, dirt and _blood_. Human and faunus still dripped from the twin blades.

The murderer casually sauntered into the clearing as the Grimm closed ranks, the monster's aura drenched in bloodlust and darkness. A flash of pink and silver glinted in the air and a new scream joining with the cacophony as the woman fell to the ground, her legs a pulverized mass of blood and bone.

"Question, whose memories are like twisting orange pancakes?" Nora asked as she turned away the downed 'Fang' to her family as they finished clearing out the Grimm, none of them paying attention to the woman's screams and curses.

Ren coldly looked down at the crippled faunus, ripping the mask off to reveal her pale face. "Mine are corrupted as well, I can barely make out anything without getting stabs of pain. They do seem to be slowly falling into place though."

Pyrrha nodded distractedly, covered in blood and ash with her armor and weapons rent. "Same, Jaune?"

"Same."

Ren grabbed the downed woman and forced her to meet his eyes. A deluge of sickly, tainted memories swirled through his mind.

 _He saw the White Fang in the early days and felt the disgust, they were too weak._

 _He felt the glee as the Fang took a new direction, blood would finally be spilt._

 _He saw Adam talking to a woman dressed in a red dress and woven dust. They turned to the removal of the Humans' ability to power their civilisation._

 _He heard a plan, to end the Kingdoms of Man using the monsters of shadow. Vengeance would be theirs._

Ren snapped the monster's neck, turning back to his team as he seethed with rage.

 _They dared to do this?_

"Cinder is responsible," Ren ignored how Pyrrha's armor seemed to flash in the dancing light of Vales pyre, "This is only the start, the Fang has got airships approaching Vale now and have stolen most of the local fleets. We should be seeing them arrive in less than 10 minutes, long before Ironwood gets here. Through Atlas is on its way."

Ren turned his gaze to the sky as she spoke, watching as it filled with a skeleton wreathed in black flames and ice fell like rods from God. He could just see a faint glimmer on the horizon, the airships likely.

This was not looking like a good loop.

 **15**

Weiss frowned, plunging her blade into a lone Grimm's neck as her army of summoned minions marched ever onwards eradicating all the enemies in the immediate area. Only pillars of ice and frozen dissolving carcasses remained.

Three pings were missing, Blake and Yang both Woke Up at the same time as her with corrupted memories, and Ruby was nowhere to be found.

At least her memories were slowly sorting themselves out. At this rate it was likely she would have full access in 20 minutes or so. Another issue to bring up with Marianne, along with whatever had been attacking Cinder's mind, the insane variants and the various miscellaneous things Ruby had a list of somewhere.

Speaking of, hopefully her searching summons could find Ruby soon.

Racing through the frozen landscape, Weiss pulled out her scroll, imputing familiar numbers by reflex, sending a coded message to all loopers who had their scrolls with them.

She was broken from her thoughts by a cry.

"Help, please!"

Blood coated the frozen pavement, group of civilians were cowering behind one of her summons in the remains of a building, shivering in the arctic chill that pervaded the air. Entrails split onto the ground, mangled limbs and gaping wounds wrapped with clothes.

A single faunus was keeping the group of twelve alive with a couple children as aides, using water dust and semblance to keep the blood circulating and in the injured bodies. Cursing, Weiss ran over, her summons could fight for now, the ten thousand white and blue Grimm would be a massive reinforcement and allow the huntresses to focus on the bigger threats.

In the end, saving the city meant saving the people.

The insectoid man looked up gratefully as Weiss bent down, dust falling from her fingers as she knitted flesh and restored blood flow, moving from one casualty to the next. He slumped in relief and exhaustion, letting his semblance go and sinking to the ground. "I never thought I would be thankful for a Schnee..." The man's voice was hoarse, shaking from fear, shock and the bitter cold. "But… if it had not been for those summons and the ice then we would all be goners. I could not keep it up for much longer."

Weiss stood up, acknowledging the man's comments with a nod, her scroll pinging with confirmations from everyone bar Cinder, Glynda, and Ruby.

Weiss turned her eyes to the sky, watching as the ancient Nevermores and Griffins clashed with her summons and burned with sporadic black flames. She could also see and hear the booming of thunder and lightning lashing down from the night sky showing Nora was in play.

 _Where are you Ruby?_

"None of this should be possible," the faunus spoke up, Weiss's attention flickered to him, ignoring the praises from the others, there was something odd in his voice. "No one should be able to control this many Grimm, capture them and release them? Horrific and possible but not this, that woman…"

He trailed… eyes blank with horror, his soul was filled with disgust, self-loathing and horror. Weiss pounced mentality, finally some information she could use that was not from still distorted memories.

 _Cinder…._

Well, that was no surprise, but it was unwelcome. Given Cinder's large number of insane variants with a fixation on Ruby... this would end poorly.

"You're White Fang." It was not a question; ignoring everything else, his clothes were the standard outfit barring a mask and no one outside the Fang's corrupted chapters would know of Cinder. "Tell me what you know, it could be necessary."

Brown eyes met blue. "… Former White Fang, I did not sign up for this and will not take part." His gaze sharpened, searching. "You are also impossible, the youngest Schnee was only a trainee huntress, yet you act more like a huntress out of myth and legend."

Weiss did not blink.

The man broke her gaze and looked away. "Then maybe you can fix this. The Fang has been working with a black haired woman with amber eyes, she had a scorpion faunus with her…."

 **16**

James Ironwood rushed through the halls of the airship, reaching the bridge quickly. "Situation Report!"

"Sir, the Grimm... they're everywhere!"

"A more _useful_ situation report," James requested.

"Sorry general, but at the moment that's as accurate as we're going to get." The captain gestured at the map and the various red flareups. "We've never seen a Grimm attack of this scale, and compounding that with the enemy airships we simply don't have enough of a view of the situation to get more accurate information."

"Enemy airships?"

"Bearing White Fang insignias." The captain pointed out at where one of the ships was listing. "I don't know how they got them, but it's clear this is a coordinated attack."

Ironwood frowned. His loop memories were still untwisting themselves, and he had only briefly made contact with Weiss, who was checking to see who was Awake. Still, for the enemy to have airships... somebody with a lot of power had to have sold out to Salem. It could very well be Lionheart-

-not important. "Clear space on the ground. I'll order the more maneuverable airships to go after the Fang vessels."

"Yes sir." The captain turned to his bridge crew. "Focus on sector B5!"

Ironwood pulled out his large scroll, quickly tapping off orders to the rest of the fleet, and quickly produced a smaller, more specialized version. "Ozpin, I've got my ships clearing out space. Do you need any breathing room?"

 _"Not at this time, general. I am Awake, currently handling the Grimm at Beacon. There are an unusual number of larger variants, though."_

Ironwood took a moment to read over his reports. "I'm getting the same here. At least our... _unique_ specialists are handling themselves well."

 _"I don't doubt it. Something is off about this, though... I'll radio you as soon as I can figure out what."_

"Understood. Keep yourself alive." Ironwood shut the communication off. Large Grimm, powerful Fang, far too early for the usual assaults... A variant, probably. Though what could have kicked it off...

He opened another channel. "Specialist Winter, I have a bit of a loopy task for you."

 _"I'm awake and ready, sir. What do you need?"_

"Something about this attack makes me uneasy. I need you to track down the source of the aberrations."

 _"The Variants, you mean."_

"Yes."

 _"Very well. Shall I take the M.3.7.4. project with me?"_

James frowned. "If it's combat ready."

 _"Understood. I'll take good care of it. Winter out."_

The captain looked up at him. "Sir?"

"The long and short of it is some classified materials may have become illegally declassified. I'm not sure yet, which is why," he added forcefully, "I'm having the specialist investigate."

"...Understood, sir. You'll... keep me abreast of any developments?"

"As much as I am legally able to, captain." Ironwood looked over the map. "I'm not going to send anyone to die pointlessly if I can avoid it."

 **17**

Yang glowed with flames as she obliterated the head of another massive Grimm, watching the cephalopod-like monster fall back down into the water.

This was annoying. In baseline Cinder had one big Grimm and Yang could remember only a few hundred loops off the top of her head where this many big ones had been released in one go, a number of them starting up since the expansion. Even then they rarely exceeded three per invasion.

It was unfortunate that this sort of variant had started becoming more common. Stupid insane Cinders, annoying unpredictable Salems.

…Yang really hoped they did not have to deal with those damn raptor Grimm again.

Falling back to the dock and away from the dissipating carcass, Yang cast her eyes around for the signal from Weiss to reconvene, spying the glowing glyph that flashed in a recursive sequence.

Yang turned her attention to the stunned Huntsmen and growled at them; her temper was on a hair-trigger right now and seeing them standing around gawking was unacceptable. "Move! There are more to fight and I need to meet up with my team!"

"Team RWBY from Beacon."

Yang paused and looked at the man staring at her in awe, one of Weiss's summons trying to stop itself from running into her, taken back from the abrupt stop and careened into her leg.

"Everyone heard about Weiss Schnee going to Beacon and her partner, the youngest huntress to ever attend, and their team." The man looked over at the white and blue Grimm clashing with black and bone. "There is only one Schnee in Vale…"

Yang rolled her eyes, turned, and started running, the city blurring past as she left a path of smoking bodies in her wake. She really did not care about Weiss' loop variable fame or hero worship. There was a job to do.

It did not take long to see Weiss; she was floating in the air on a glyph taking potshots at the Grimm as she directed her summons. A line of glyphs acted as a path for her and Blake, who was approaching rapidly. The two of them reached Weiss at the same time, and for a moment took relieved comfort in each other's arms.

 **18**

"Well, Neo, I'm glad we decided to leave. This place is a wreck!" Roman Torchwick said as the onslaught of Grimm started to make the building they were in fall apart. "You know what? Let's head to Vacuo. I bet no Grimm are going to be trying to kill us there. Well, no more than usual."

"Good. We can wait out the loop there. Interesting how almost everyone is Awake though. I wonder if we all Awoke at the same time? Probably not, that would be too big of a coincidence, right?"

"Yeah, probably. You know, with my weapon causing explosions, I probably have my Aura awakened, right? Yet how come I never use my semblance?"

"Don't know, but we should really get out of here, Roman!"

"Right! Any ideas?"

"Well, considering these are weaker Grimm, hold them off and wait for the building to fall on us?! Use out-of-loop abilities! I am not dying to some Grimm in a non-null loop!"

Fighting their way outside, they saw several nuckelavee Grimm smashing the warehouse. Beyond those, it was an ocean of black, red, and white with smaller patches of yellow here and there as well.

"Shit! I'm going to get us out of here, there's more Grimm here than there are on Remnant in most loops!" Roman pulled a ship from his pocket. "Also, my loop memories FINALLY became clear. Yours take a while as well?"

"Yes, they have. I only just remembered us leaving the White Fang."

"Yeah, something doesn't feel right here... but feelings aside, we are good to take off! As long as no giant nevermore show up, we should be-"

A loud screech interrupted him.

"Roman, you just HAD to tempt fate, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. Let's get as far away from it as we can."

As it turned out, they got about a kilometer towards Vacuo before they were shot out of the sky by the feathers of the Nevermore. They managed to landing, but they were slightly shaken up, and the Nevermore was still heading toward them.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you birdie? Alright, well see how you like this!" Roman grabbed a blaster launcher from the XCOM loops from his pocket. "Neo, keep the small guys away from me, I'm going to take out the bird!"

He fired it at the Nevermore, to no effect.

"Well, this is going to be a bit more difficult. Change of plan, we're clipping its wings!"

With a great explosion propelling them, the duo leapt onto the back of the Nevermore. Each of them pulled several Dust crystals from their subspace Pockets, tossing them with precision and accuracy at the great feathery wings; Melodic Cudgel sprang up and fired, triggering the mystic substance as it hit the overlarge quills. Lightning made the creature's wings lock up, a burst of gravity weighed them down, and ice enveloped the massive limbs as it descended to the ground.

Roman jumped off the Grimm with a grin. "I love it when a plan comes together. Neo? You can do the honour of killing this thing. I'm gonna raise my kill count a bit. Can't let you have all the fun, after all, right?"

Neo looked at him for a moment, before going up to the bird's mouth and throwing a handful of fire Dust down its throat, with a grenade to set it off. "There, I killed the bird, now can we go to Vacuo? We've already bypassed most of the Grimm, so it shouldn't take too much longer."

"Right you are, Neo, let's not waste any more time."

The two continued fighting their way towards the walls of Vale, deeper into the ocean of Grimm.

 **19**

Blake broke her hug with Yang and looked at her two present teammates; both were stained in ash and blood but were otherwise unharmed.

"What do we know?" Yang said without preamble. "And any clue on where Ruby is?"

Weiss flicked her hair out of her eyes, voice clipped and terse, with her eyes focused on a screen. "Everyone bar Glynda, Cinder, which is not surprising given the variant type, and Ruby are accounted for and awake. And only Ozpin can't confirm having memory corruption, he awoke at the start and was thinking about the expansions, not looking at his memories until a while later. I can also confirm JNPR does not know where Ruby is, nor do Roman and Neo, Winter and James or seemingly anyone else yet."

This was concerning; even if Ruby was unawake, a possibility for now, she was not easy for Grimm to kill and was very noticeable due to her petals. So the fact no one could find her was disconcerting.

Blake frowned. "Silver eyes, that was why Tyrian went after her in baseline and we know he is here this loop. If Salem decide to move now, then she could already be in Tyrian's possession. If she was knocked out before she awoke…"

Yang finished the thought. "…then she would remain knocked out. So Ruby could be trapped. Shit, who have we left to contact about Ruby?"

"Qrow and Ozpin, both of them are together. My connection just dropped out, I was in the middle of calling him when it did. The tower has been disabled."

Blake's mind was running a hundred miles an hour, processing and sorting through the memories her many shadow clones gave her.. The faunus Weiss had spoken with had given her locations to White Fang safehouses, but they were all empty. Cinder, Tyrian and the other members of WTCH were nowhere to be seen, not surprising but unfortunate. For a few moments, she let her gaze linger on the aerial battle taking place. White Fang Airships alongside hordes of Grimm were clashing with whatever forces Vale could muster. If it was not for the loopers then it would all be over.

Nora was suspended in the air, wreathed in lighting and obliterating scores of monsters in seconds, but the Grimm kept coming, shielding the White Fang from her lighting. The other members of JNPR backed Nora up, ripping into the bullheads with abandon, coordinating with Weiss's invaluable summons, and matching the hordes of lesser Grimm.

"The White Fang bases are all destroyed now." Blake could not, did not see the point, in keeping the fury from her voice. "And neither Cinder or Tyrian are present in any of them at the moment, but Tyrian was in one of them within the last few hours, going by smell. My clone is tracking him and I can go to find Salem's fortress and be back in less than 10 minutes."

Yang nodded and cracked her knuckles, red eyes burning in the night, "Give me 5 minutes and I can have the communication system up and running again, I have a compatible satellite. I can't say how long it will stay up though, given how messed up this loop is, but it'll work for now. I'll contact Qrow and Ozpin when it's up."

Weiss nodded, putting away the screen and pulling her blade out of the glyph. "We meet back up as soon as possible. I'm going after some of the more powerful Grimm varieties that have been pouring through the breach as my current summons aren't enough. My scouts are still looking for Ruby and will inform us if she is located." She looked at both of them. "Be safe."

With that, the team parted ways.

 **20**

Yang grinned, flames wrapping around her body as she plummeted back to Remnant, taking in the beautiful if somewhat sad visage of the moon.

Her scroll connected, shielded from the re-entry and rushing wind, Yang could clearly hear her uncle's voice and the sounds of battle.

 _And score one for Yang._ She looked down. _…Actually, what is that?_

She peered at the distant ground. It seemed like tiny black dots were converging on Vale.

 **21**

A crack rang out through the massive airship, the masked Faunus slumping in her seat, neck broken. Without another thought, Ren shoved the corpse out of the pilot seat and sat down, slotting in his scroll, hands dancing across the controls with ease of long practice. The lion faunus's dead eyes gazed back at the airships blood splattered corridors.

"Come on Nora," Ren muttered, redirecting the weapons to the White Fang's other ships, blocked by the hordes of Grimm. "Give me a clear firing line."

Lightning split the sky until all was light and noise. Ren smiled as he felt the cold dark hate of the Grimm vanishing under the assault along with bloodlust drenched Aura.

"Wonderful."

Missiles fired, beams of light flashing through the sky and guns barked, the endless lightening weaving around the attacks.

"Your move, Pyrrha."

The battleship soared higher, bombs falling to the ground amidst the tide of black and bone. Ren pushed his hair out of his eyes, focused on the pandemonium that had gripped Remnant.

It was the second time in ten thousand or so loops that they had had a premature attack on a Kingdom, the hordes of Grimm threatening to overwhelm the defenders in sheer numbers. But this was by far the deadliest and largest; it was also the first to have more than three large Grimm mixed in with the horde of smaller ones.

In truth, Ren mused to himself, his biggest fear was that now that the expansions had halted again, it might mean they were going to have to deal with things like this until the next wave of expansions started. Yggdrasil did like patterns and some variants could be relatively stable, annoyingly so in some cases.

A familiar ringing came from his scroll. "Yes, Weiss?"

" _Ren, I could not get in touch with Jaune, we have a problem."_

The green clad martial artist did not let his vision waver from the fight, focusing on the ebb and flow of powers and his family's lights. "Not surprising on both accounts. Jaune's scroll was broken and he has not unpocketed another one yet, and these variants always get worse after the initial invasion."

Weiss' voice was frustrated, surprising him slightly; normally Weiss was rather calm in combat situations. _"This is worse than normal, get Jaune linked back in. Salem has called all the Grimm to Vale. All over the world every Grimm that can is coming our way, those that can't are attacking everything they can and WTCH is moving."_

…That was significantly worse than he thought, "Give me a moment."

In his mind's eye, Ren could see his family, his team, and without words he spoke _~This is Ren, Jaune get out a new scroll and everyone link in with Weiss' scroll. Every Grimm on Remnant is coming for us and Weiss has intel we need~_

 **22**

"Well, this loop sucks," Qrow noted, shooting down a nevermore. "It was fine up until the whole Grimm-invade-Vale thing. Heck, I think it could wind up topping the baseline invasion without anything like that dragon getting involved."

"This is a particularly nasty one, isn't it?" Ozpin remarked, knocking back a creep. "Impressive how so many common, low level Grimm are causing so much trouble."

"Yeah, and what about later in the loop?" Qrow frowned. "If Cinder's little invasion happens in this loop...even if we fend off these Grimm, Vale might not survive at all."

"I suppose we could use it as a learning experience for future loops," Ozpin said, a slight frown on his face. He disliked that sort of perspective because it was basically saying it was alright for people to die here because they could use the experience to save them in future loops. It just seemed so callous. And he was pretty sure that sort of thinking led the way to Sakura Syndrome.

Qrow grunted. "I suppose. Doesn't mean I have to like it," he said. At that put, his scroll rang out with the tune of "I Burn". "Wonder what Yang's after?" he mumbled, slicing several beowolves before pausing to dig into his pocket.

"Are you assigning everyone's theme song as their ringtones?" Ozpin asked.

"No," Qrow scoffed. "Not everyone has a theme. I think. Pretty sure Glynda and Neo don't have them. And I'm not sure about Roman, James or Winter." His scroll slid open to reveal Yang's face.

 _"Uncle Qrow? Do you know where Ruby is? We can't find her."_

"...What?"

 **23**

Polarity, it was so much more than simply metal. Everything had had an electrical charge, with proper focus and power, it was possible to seize control of electricity, neutral matter and more. To repel against the world and float, to pull plasma from the sun or unleash beams of charged particles.

Floating amidst the chaos, Pyrrha spread her hands, ripping the guns and airships apart. Crude javelins of metal ripping through hundreds of Grimm that blotted out the sky. Ancient Nevermore fell to the ground, flocks of Griffin were torn apart by metal shrapnel.

Of cause, metal was by far the easiest and most useful.

It was glorious: blood sang in her veins, wrath an ever present siren call as she tore apart those that opposed her and her family.

And she hated every minute of it.

Wind whipped past her face, a swirling mix of searing heat and frigid cold, blowing her hair backwards into a crimson mane. Cold green eyes fixed on the monsters that would, once more, tear her home apart.

Every moment, every second, more people died. More lives torn apart, misery and fear filling the air and calling only more of the Creatures of Grimm.

Her hand cut through the air, a floating gun, that was the only thing she could call it, spinning in the air. Atlas tech-really, James needed to keep a better eye on his things. How often had the White Fang got hold of the stuff recently?

In the end it did not matter, it was all laid bare to her semblance. Every piece of circuity, every single line of charged practicals that laced the weapon. Pyrrha smiled darkly, tilting her head slightly; while she could not control the ship in its entirety, spinning it and hitting the trigger was easy enough.

Even if she hated the killing, the havoc that had descended and everything else…

She could not help the thrill she felt at ripping the people who killed her and destroyed her family apart.

It had also been a while since she had really pushed her Semblance to its limits. but it looked like she was going to get plenty of practice before the end of this.

Every Grimm descending on Vale… this was going to be a _long_ loop. Well, that was if killing Salem did not end it.

The four of them had _plans_ for the next time they were all awake. And while killing Grimm was always a part of that, this was not what anyone them had in mind.

… Well maybe Nora did.

And on that note, tapping her ear piece Pyrrha spoke, Miló shifting into sword from as a flight of winged Grimm swooped down, the remains falling to the ground as bullets took out two more "Nora, do you copy?"

In the distance, at the very edge of the horizon and just visible against the moon and stars as a rising shadow, darkness started to coalesce.

" _I copy, what do you need dead, and do you want it crispy fried, tenderised or blown up?"_

 **24**

Winter ran down the hall, turning a corner. "Doctor Polendina-"

She stopped.

Stared.

"...Penny?"

"It was some kind of Mantis Grimm." The gynoid's voice was low, steady. "It got in through the window, it was... it was so fast, I couldn't..."

"Penny."

"He called me the best thing he'd left the world. Before he died-I tried to save him. I don't... I don't have that kind of medicine in my pocket, Winter."

The specialist stepped forward and, awkwardly, put a hand on her shoulder. "...He'll be back next loop. You know that, right?"

"Oh, I know." She sighed. "He didn't equip me with tear ducts this time. He usually doesn't. It's not energy efficient."

"Penny. I'm sorry, truly. But we don't have time."

"I know." Penny rose, her eyes steely. "I think, though... I think this is an opportunity."

With a sound not unlike a hiss, her blades shot from the pack on her back.

"I haven't cataloged rage yet."

 **25**

Wrapped in lightning, power surging through her veins and setting every nerve alight, Nora laughed with a voice of thunder.

In the distance Grimm were surging, blotting out the sky, shadows against the moon and stars that were growing in size.

"I'm king of the castle, and you're all dirty rascals," Nora sang as the sky was split, a fierce grin on her face.

And the Grimm fell from the skies, the ever growing mass of darkness being torn asunder as night turned to day and ozone filed the air.

Nora smiled as the wind picked up, reaching out with her power across the continent and manipulating the air flows, a storm building overhead.

More and more Grimm rose up, an endless tide that remained undiminished no matter how much power she unleashed against them. Still, she was thinning the numbers that got through and that was enough. She frowned, casting her eyes across the sky. It was almost empty, the White Fang airships were all gone, most of the big Grimm were destroyed and her lightning was keeping the big ones back at the horizon.

It would not last, but for now she was in the eye of the storm.

"Jaune, this is Nora do you copy?"

The sounds of gunfire and screams rang out over the com, Jaune's voice coming across soon after. _"I copy, what's the situation?"_

Nora flexed her fingers as she shrugged, letting a bolt of lightning hurl to the ground, webs of crackling electricity burning Grimm to nothingness, "All Fang airships are down, greater Grimm dead and the oncoming aerial Grimm are held at bay for now. I have maybe 13 minutes until they reach Vale. So, what's next? Time to break some legs?"

 **26**

Ozpin watched with stone like eyes as he surveyed the conflict raging before him, watching as Huntsmen and Huntresses stood against the inexhaustible tide of Grimm and did not fall, but for how long? Again and again, it was all destroyed, and he was too often helpless to do anything. Vale and Beacon falling, both in baseline and these increasingly common variants, constantly. Almost always orchestrated by the reflection of a person he considered a good, if somewhat distant, friend.

The air was a change from the normal for once, when baseline it was cooling air of autumn, or almost universally scolding and putrid, laced with the scent of burning flesh when one of Cinder's counterparts burned everything to ash. This time the air was cold, biting into the skin of the defenders, people's breath freezing in the air. But it was a welcoming cold for the beleaguered defenders, the sign of an army of blue-white shielding them from the Grimm that threatened to destroy their homes.

Before him, maybe two hundred meters away, Grimm poured through the breach in the city walls as more and more darkened the skies and the land. Nora's lightning barrier snapped and roared in the distance as it filled the air with ozone, thinning the inexhaustible tide to something a bit more manageable.

Near his side, a woman with familiar amber eyes and black hair stood watching, just another Huntress to everyone else. If he had not been forewarned, the flash of red in her eyes would have gone unnoticed, the Grimm now offering a clean line of sight to the nearby mountain. Following behind Cinder's counterpart for this loop was Emerald, no doubt Mercury was nearby as well.

"What did you need from me so urgently?" Ozpin asked the Huntsman who had taken charge of this area, taking his eyes from the battle for a moment, "It seems for now you can hold the line for now and there seems to only be the lesser varieties here at present."

Cinder seemed to shift, her Aura getting closer while it looked like she was staying still. A clever use of illusions, Ozpin suspected that if he had not been Awake and expecting it, he would have been caught off guard. Possibly killed before he saw the trap, too focused on the fight and whatever was going to come next.

What the next part was was a guess, but a reasonably good one. The mountain that normally held the Grimm everyone called Kevin was empty, just an cavern that had been resealed at point. Given then the pandemonium at the start, no one knew when it had got out and the resealing meant no one noticed anything off until it had not made an appearance. Though there had been reported sightings at around the time the breach happened. That combined with the Grimm pouring out of the caves, well it was a simple leap of logic.

 _The dragon comes out, people panic as the Grimm surge and in the confusion the assassins strike..._

"We have recordings of a large dragon like Grimm in the area, in some of the nearby caves, and spawning more lesser ones. Put simply I am not sure if anyone here can feasibly deal with it." The white haired man, that Ozpin vaguely recognized, Granite, sighed barely audible for most people over the din of battle and constant barrage of explosions. "I wish it would just attack, then we can kill it. But as long as it hides we will simply drown quicker in beowolves and the like."

Gesturing to the line of artillery not pointing at the incoming hordes of Grimm, but rather at one of the nearby outcropping with a rather large cavern, he elaborated, "We are going to blow that area up and make it show itself, we want your help to take it down quickly."

"Very well," Ozpin nodded, eyes fixed on the caves and attention on the huntress at his side "When you are ready then."

It would be interesting to find out what Cinder knew this time, and they did not even have to go looking for her.

 **27**

Jaune ducked under a taloned swipe, removing the bone clad thing's head in a single slash, his shield taking a blow before the Grimm was silenced.

All around was pandemonium, blood coated the ice slicked ground as blue-white summons and colourful huntsmen clashed with the back, bone and crimson Grimm. Civilians cowered in buildings when they could not flee, watching the blood conflict with a horrified rapture.

At least the Huntsmen had listened to his commands and were now making progress. Sabotaged communications in the early stages of everything had caused chaos. Then panic, fear and desire had destroyed what discipline was left, to the point where they had turned on faunus fighting the Grimm as they must be White Fang.

Which to be fair, a number had been until the massacres started.

Dust flung from his hand, flames consuming the head of an overly large nemean (At least, that was what it was called according to his memories). The massive cat like Grimm fell, crushing several of the smaller crab like Grimm swarming out of the ocean. The lesser Grimm were perfectly adapted to swarming huntsmen and drowning them in sheer numbers and cutting through supports.

Jaune's face was a cold mask, mind racing over the information that was constantly streaming into his ear piece. After a moment of thought he replied to his daughter, charging forwards to where a Huntress had been lifted off the ground, the Grimm preparing to eat her. "Can you set up a stable lightning barrier against the Grimm? I remember you working on something like that at one point."

The apelike Grimm bellowed as he removed its arm, twisting away from its retaliatory blow and a Beowolf's lunge, letting the saved Huntress place a round in the lupine Grimm's head.

" _I can, I will have to pull a large amount of Dust out and it will be fragile, an hour and a half tops. Less if it's attacked by a Huntsman or a Big Grimm comes."_

"Do it then come and help here. Ren and Pyrrha will be joining up here soon."

" _Rodger that, Nora out."_

Hearing a call, Jaune turned to face the white and gold clad Huntsmen, fire and wind dust swirling around and consuming any lesser Grimm in a 20-meter radius, letting everyone focus on the larger threats.

"Yes?"

The older looking man gave a crisp salute, a notice Atlas accent in his voice "Private Thomas Pyrite, of Atlas. Sir, I know there is no command structure here, but we all witnessed what you and your team did. Out of everyone here, you are for all intents and purposes in charge. What are your orders?"

Cold blue eyes swept over the combat, watching as the last of the nearby big ones were brought down, leaving only the tide of lesser crabs, the name dancing at the edge of his memories, not quite in focus. "Weiss, this is Jaune, do you copy?"

He ignored how the Huntsmen and Huntresses fell silent, bar whispers of Schnee spoke of in shock and hope. _"I copy: What is the situation?"_

"I need you to freeze the docks and local sea area. We are being overrun by crabs that I can't remember the name of right now…"

"Carcinus, sir."

Jaune nodded distractedly in thanks. "Correction, Carcinus. Freeze the water and we free up a lot of Huntsmen."

"… _. hold for 6 minutes, sweep the area then head for the West Vale border. Geists are wreaking havoc alongside Goliath herds. The Defenders are falling, ET 15 minutes if nothing changes. Weiss out."_

Driving Crocea Mors into one of the large Carcinus, Jaune pitched his voice to carry over the din of battle. "We hold the line for 6 minutes, Weiss Schnee will be freezing the water at that time, then sweep the area as we head for the West Vale Border, currently under siege by Geists and Goliath."

 **28**

Jaune's face was stone grim as he hacked his way through the tide of monsters, thinning the numbers and culling the greater threats. There were just too many threats to kill them all, the best that could be done was give the huntsmen a fighting chance and move onwards.

They were making progress, slowly advancing alongside the dozens of other fighters as they headed to the west wall, at this rate they would get there in 10 minutes. It was a pity they had already lost air supremacy, but they had broken the tide and cleared enough for other forces to keep the sky in check for now.

A scream came from one of the nearby huntresses making Jaune curse, the wind passing as he broke the sound barrier. A massive wolf Grimm bore down on the fallen huntress, her dust magic barely keeping it at bay.

The massive claw glanced off his shield before the wolf died, Jaune stepping forwards on the follow through to decapitate a fox Grimm that was about to devour the fallen Huntress. In a few heartbeats, the area was cleared, giving the wounded woman a chance to recover.

The huntsmen he had met back at the docks struggled to keep up with the pace they were setting. And there was nothing that could be done about it. They could not slow down and the huntsmen were almost dead weight, so the only thing that worked was to be the Vanguards. To strike down greater threats and thin the hordes for the advancing huntsmen to deal with. That did not mean JNPR was about to abandon them, though.

"Are you okay?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes as the ground trembled, something was wrong. There should be more fighting coming from the north. It was far too quiet.

"No critical injuries, sir," The blue haired woman replied tersely, picked herself up and grabbing her shattered gun-blade, "But I won't be able to fight close quarters anymore and I'm out of ammunition."

Jaune nodded distractedly, healing the woman and tossing her a weapon from his armoury. "Can you use this?"

The woman blinked then smirked, saluting before diving back into the fray, "If we survive this, your team will have to join us for a round, my shout."

Somehow, he doubted that was going to happen.

"Weiss, this is Jaune, do you copy?" Jaune slammed his blade into the shell of a Death Stalker as it burst out of the ground. "I need to know what is happening, to the north of JNPR, something is not right."

" _I copy, stand by."_ Weiss's tone was curt, the line falling quite for a few minutes. _"It's a black spot with no communications are coming in or out. My summons can see webbing made out of black Ichor, strung up bodies and that's it. It's a massive spider's web, and it is growing. I'm sending Zwei to the west wall instead. JNPR, eliminate the nest."_

"Copy that," the confirmation echoing in unison from all four.

" _Good, keep me informed, Weiss out."_

 **29**

A dark shadow raced through the blood-drenched streets of Vale, moving faster then most could see, following a trail almost completely obscured by the chaos. The flickering image of Blake wove around a pile of butchered bodies, led by the unpleasantly familiar scent.

Now where was Tyrian?

His scent did not lead to Forever Fall like they had thought, forcing the shadow to create another to scour the forest. It did however lead to a number of military/Huntress coordination centres, the butchered bodies and records painted a clear picture of why the coordination of Huntresses was so bad at first.

It also begged the question of why they left the system CCTS running. Interrogated White Fang members had revealed they had been instructed to leave all communications running. The ones who broke that had been killed by a scorpion faunus.

So, what was Salem up to? The most likely reasoning was fear, letting the world know and that they could not do anything. A rare but known variant, the baseline generally preferring subtle tactics even when she could use overwhelming force.

A prickle of danger, a faint sound of feet on metal, and the shadow reacted. Metal clashed with metal, before a dark shape leapt back off her arms. Blades flashed through the air, the matte black finish not reflecting the faint light, multiplying into a rain of metal.

The golden eyed man cackled as he blocked as many of the blows as he could. "So the cat has claws. A true huntress, a rare treat indeed," Dropping from the ruined building, Tyrian did a mocking half bow, "I would say it was a pleasure, but I suspect you are but another shadow, and you and your team have derailed the goddess's will. So for that you must die,"

The shadow clone narrowed her eyes, carefully taking in the surroundings, noting the Grimm that prowled just out of sight and the necklace bearing a distinctive Grimm motif that hung around his neck.

Tyrian's eye flashed red for an instance, so quickly that if it was not for the sharingan she would likely missed it. The tempo of the Grimm's movement shifted as the tracker's laughter redoubled. "My, my, my, you sensed my pets and even reacted to my commands. Very sharp eyes, I think our Goddess would very much like to examine you."

Settling into a fighting stance Tyrian's laughter died off, his eyes turning purple as they met red. "It seems Ozpin has been preparing more than we kn..."

Red and black spun and a will shattered.

A call was made.

It was empty, everything calmly packed up and the building trapped.

Blake gazed at the scroll that lay on the banquet table in the purple lit hall, the desolate plains barren of Grimm barring those just crawled out of the pits.

Forming a hand seal, a clone appeared then vanished, its memories returning to the original and all the clones scouring the building.

Blake sighed, she hated this area, the wastelands, the crimsons sky, the tar like spawning pools and the glowing purple outcroppings. It was a representative of everything she hated about Remnant and Baseline.

One by one, clones vanished until one was left, playing the recording left on the solitary scroll, Salem's calm voice resonating through her mind as the clone vanished.

" _I do not know who stands here, in the heart of my inner sanctum, a place very few people know about; but If you are looking for me, you are far too late. All the research I have done has finally paid off, this is the end. As I can't be sure I will be able to do so in person, I would like you to take a message to an old acquaintance of mine, one who you must know if you found this place._

 _Tell him this: How does it feel, Ozpin? For it too all before nought? To see your precious Kingdoms fall? The Grimm you so opposed, now utterly mine now. This is Goodbye, dear Oscar; you never did recover your memories did you? So, consider this a final gift to you from an old friend."_

Blake turned away from the fortress, she did not need to see any more.

 _~Weiss, do you copy?~_

She had some things to ask Ozpin about his history this loop, not that him having amnesia was exactly uncommon so it was unlikely to do much good. It was rather common for a mysterious backstory.

 **30**

"Okay, this is such a cliche." Nora gave her team a look. "Can we all agree this is a cliche?"

Ren shrugged. "Cliche or not, it's happening. Jaune?"

"Right." Jaune took in the situation. "Small ones are probably the big threat, venoms or whatever. Too many for most of us-Nora, you're on support, bug-stomping duty."

"Awwwwwww, I wanted to break the big ones' legs!"

"Let your mother do that."

Pyrrha smiled. "You always say such romantic things."

"Thank you. Ren, you want to slice webs or stab heads?"

"I don't mind cleaning up the mess. You go ahead and be the hero."

"Right. Keep high when you can, call out if you're caught." Jaune nodded firmly. "Team JNPR, move out!"

And the family charged the horde of spider Grimm.

 **31**

Unhindered by the combat and madness, Ozpin strode across the battle strewn streets, Grimm falling without any grandiose or elaborate displays.

He walked and they died. Single blows hit thousands of times, each slaying a beast, crackling orbs of force shielding those who could no longer fight.

"Ozpin!"

Not turning or deviating his course, he nodded as his non looping friends ran over, tired and covered in blood. "Peter, Bartholomew, how are you? I have been out of the loop for the last 20 minutes or so, what can you tell me?"

Bartholomew blinked, seeming to shake himself from the shock of seeing the tide being destroyed so easily, "No real injuries. Student casualties are high, though they have fallen since JNPR and RWBY seemingly got a power up."

Ozpin nodded. Despite the man's increasingly frantic speech, he was still perfectly understandable. "I was afraid of that. And it's WBY, Ruby Rose vanished at dawn to go Grimm hunting and never returned, have either of you seen her?"

Peter's moustache twitched into a frown, "No, we have not. I must say, that is somewhat concerning but hardly the issue here. One girl is not… but she is not simply one girl is she?" Peter said shrewdly, his dark brown eyes calculating. "While RWBY and JNPR had talent and potential abound, it was not realised yet. Why, I can say for certain I knew miss Schnee would become a magnificent Huntress." He pointed to where the packs of summoned Beowolves clashed with Grimm at the edge of Ozpin's killing field. "But this is the type of thing that legends speak off, and there is no way she could jump like this in skill. The same with you. What is going on?"

Ozpin sighed, feeling the arctic wind that blew through Vale, the chill present ever since Weiss had unleashed her power and summons. The growing wind bowing to Nora's command, lightning flashing across the sky as a storm brewed above Vale. All around was the scent of human flesh and blood, the fires that had once burnt long since doused by the chill, the heat stolen away. He hated loops like this, but at least Cinder and Tyrian were dead, the Fall Maiden having ambushed him alongside a familiar Dragon Grimm. Trying to use the dragon and illusions as a distraction as she attacked him from behind, blending in with the other huntresses, directly fleeing at the sight of his loop enhanced powers... to no avail. Emerald's illusions did not give her mistress any advantage.

They still did not know where Ruby or Salem were but at least two of WTCH were gone. The Grimm were losing cohesion, no longer working as one focused unit; Some of the White Fang had been given similar amulets but only had minor control of the Grimm.

"It is... complicated," Ozpin said after a few moments, ushering a group of civilians past, watching as a Huntsman loaded them into an armoured truck, "In essence…."

His scroll pinged, an unknown number coming in on his private number.

"Sorry, Peter. But I think I should take this."

Unrolling the device, a familiar face answered, a cold smiled graced plaid lips, red eyes boring into his own, "Salem."

"Ozpin. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

 **32**

JNPR ran through the infested streets, the rest of the huntsmen and huntresses having been told to head for the wall leaving them free to move. Ice, blood and Grimm, that is all that filled the streets now. The dead were beyond counting, and it was only the start. Nora hated loops like this, fighting was fun, killing Grimm was fun. This was not, still she had a role to play.

"So, anyone want to make bets who can squash the most? I mean, spider Grimm, when was the last time we had some of those?"

"I think counting is rather pointless, Nora," Pyrrha said warily as they approached the dark mass of webbing, "We will lose track and forget at some point."

Nora glanced at Ren, who was running just ahead of her as they passed the first web, as he spoke, "Six loops ago, we ran into a nest on them on Menagerie. You named the biggest Aragog and then hit it with a car, and can you stop staring at my behind, Nora?"

"Possibly, but if I don't watch your back, then I can't inform you of when a spider is about to bite you on the neck. And spider." Ren cursed, killing the tiny spider Grimm that had been about to bite him on the neck.

An almost literal tide of spiders poured out of the buildings and webs. Small ones emerging from every crevasse and crack while larger ones rapped down on webs from the building. Elephant sized monstrosities sculling across the black and bone webs, striding forth from the webs nets.

Pyrrha bisected a larger spider as it charged, a wedding ring falling to the ground as the monster died. She looked at the ring in disbelief, as Nora let out a snort of laughter. "A ring? A giant spider dropped a ring?

"Huh, must have been caught in the webbing, not all that surprising given how they are covered in sticky webbing," Ren mused, watching the oncoming tide before obliterating the smaller ones that surrounded them with a wave.

"That is one of the dumbest clichés there is," Pyrrha muttered.

 **33**

Salem smiled though the scroll. Ozpin felt his loop memories surging with a familiar feeling of familiarity and confusion. Well, it seemed like what Blake had found out was correct, he had likely known Salem this loop before getting amnesia.

It would not have made sense for Salem to lie, nor fitted with her behaviour, but confirmation from another source was always good. It would not have been the first time Salem had mistakenly acquainted him with a person from her past.

"Not long enough, I see you completed your research. A pity, I did always hope your pets would simply kill you."

At his side, Peter and Bartholomew tensed, eyes locked on the scroll. The green haired historian's mouth ran without any conscious thought. "The Grimm Maiden, thought to be legend, present in many old myths before fading. So many apparent sightings over time, always portrayed as being in conflict with a Wizard. Linked with the Maidens of Seasons story…."

"Bartholomew, that's enough."

As his fellow teacher fell silent Salem spoke, a calm amusement in her voice. "I almost did several times; I doubt you remember anymore, you lost so much when we last clashed, but it was those failures that led me to become as I am." Curiosity and caution glittered in her eyes, wariness tinting her voice. "But, it seems like you have regained more than I had thought. Teams RWBY and JNPR… I don't suppose you would like to explain how? A new variation of the Mantles? Using your Aura transfer machine to imbue children with the power and skill of those so much older?"

"What do you want Salem? If you're simply taunting me then I have nothing more to say to you."

The fight was going well, for a relative usage of the term. No more than common Grimm were swarming through the region, taken out by the Hunstmen and huntresses sweeping the streets. If things went well then they should be able to finish evacuating this sector soon. Actually driving the Grimm out? Well, it was going to be a long loop.

"In part it is that, I did tell you I would tear down all that you have done." Salem smiled, leaning forwards, revealing a high backed chair and dark, purple lit room. "I have waited for this for so long, dearest Ozpin. To finally bring you down, to finally watch you burn. I'll admit, your new maidens could have broken my army... if only they weren't so foolishly insistent on trying to save those around them."

Ozpin barely suppressed the urge to crush the scroll, focusing his mind and reaching through the chaos to Weiss, something he should have done when Salem had first called. Touching the ancient mind, a thought and acknowledgment passed between them. Now he just had to keep Salem talking. Either Weiss, Zwei, or Penny would be starting to trace the call as soon as possible.

"Enjoy the end Ozpin. You were close, but I have won our little game and look forward to seeing the final act." The screen went dark as Salem terminated the call.

"Oz…" Peter trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"That was Salem, she controls the Grimm and is responsible for this as many other holocausts. For some reason or the other, she seems fascinated beating with me. However, given I have amnesia I can't say why." Gesturing for them to follow, Ozpin picked up his pace. The two walked after him, fixated on what he was saying. "As for Teams RWBY and JNPR, her suspicions are wrong, but now is not the time nor place for that conversation."

"Now, we have an invasion to stop. Peter, Bartholomew, I will be putting you in contact with Weiss, she has been handling coordination."

 **34**

Weiss moved in silence, cutting through the Grimm as glyphs flashed around her and the battle field, glowing with a pale light. Though her mind and headpiece, streams of information flowed from around the battlefield. Thought controlled subroutines rerouted the stream of data, stripped down shadows of her mind branching outwards like a spider web, replying and coordinating.

It was giving her a minor headache, but she did not really feel like replicating her mind more and she needed the practice.

"When-" Weiss sidestepped a charging bone encrusted Cerberus like Grimm, removing its front legs and letting Yang finish it. "-did I become the control hub for Vale?"

She was going to have to change something at some point, her current methods were not viable to keep using until the end of the loop.

Yang laughed, obliterating a massive cockroach Grimm that had burst out of the ground. "It's because you acted first. How long has it been anyway?"

"About 4 hours since the attack began and two and half since the flood of Grimm really started. 42 minutes since we Woke up." Weiss took a moment to survey the situation, floodlights gave the only real illumination in the chaos, showing a blood drenched scene of madness. It was a losing fight, trying to hold back the Grimm so the supplies and vehicles could get through, on foot or car. The Grimm filled sky rendered aerial aid mostly impossible.

Her own summons helped hold back the lesser Grimm, allowing everyone else to deal with the more dangerous monsters. But it was not enough, it was very tempting to just let loose and wipe out the Grimm. But that would require extensive out of loop abilities and cause massive civilian casualties. But it was becoming increasingly tempting to bring out some better scanners so they could find Ruby and Salem and just end this damn thing.

Weiss huffed, shattering a White Fang member into chunks of frozen meat; those murderers had caused havoc in the beginning, fighting alongside Vale then abruptly turning against them. "Blake, I have the location of a Grimm Relay located in the mountains, an explosive arrow could hit it from here. Sending it now."

Back flipping away from a Deathstalker that had just spewed acid, Blake ensnared it with Dust, shadowy binds holding the monster down. Trusting Yang to finish it, Blake turned her attention to the information Weiss had just sent her, eyes spinning. Moments later an arrow cut through the air, fired from a bow held by a colossal Skeleton shrouded in flames that rose up into the sky.

Weiss nodded in satisfaction as the Grimm seemed to spasm for a moment, reports already coming in that the White Fang's control was weakening. Every Grimm Relay that fell reduced the White Fang's control; even their amulets could only do so much.

 **35**

And then, abruptly, everything present seemed to jump. The strange Grimm, the civilians, the speeding vehicles, the loopers, all parted from the ground en masse. It only lasted a second, but it was a second that levitated them three stories before gravity regained control.

Yang retained enough presence of mind to blast herself out of the way of a falling car. "What and how?!" She grunted as she plowed into one of the centipede Grimm, shotgun punching the creature in the face. "Did somebody drop a gravity dust grenade?"

Blake rolled to a landing, already continuing her deadly blade twirling. "Too wide an effect. The amount of dust would have to be equal to a nuke." She whipped Gambol Shroud around, letting fire dust conjure up a flaming tornado.

"Best bet is that gravity... failed..." Weiss frowned for a moment, sidestepping a too-large beowolf's swipe. "I have to check something. Cover me!"

Blake and Yang spun around and jumped to her side as she summoned a thick chamber of ice around her. Weiss didn't spare a glance at their silhouettes-she was confident they could hold back the mob of Grimm, even ones as oddly powerful as these. Instead she pulled the most powerful scanners she could from her Pocket; a Tricorder, her Sailor Mercury computer, an Omnitool, and a third-generation 'Sonic Screwdriver Prototype' she had won in a bet with a certain yellow pony. Networking them together would have been impossible for a mere mortal and even as a looper she was having a hard time getting them all to cooperate, but pressure and fear turned her mind into crystal as she interpreted the combined data.

"...temporary failure of gravity... increased polarity of atmospheric vapors... fluctuations in the background microwave radiation? That-that's..."

She stared at the screen. "That's... oh, _deathstalker fuck me sideways!_ "

Weiss stowed away the computers and shattered the ice. "We have a problem."

"Yeah?" Yang glanced over her shoulder as she punched out another megaGrimm. "What's-WHOA!" She gaped as Weiss released a huge stream of water, froze it, and shattered it in all of three seconds. "What the hell, Weiss, there could have been civilians in there-!"

"We _all_ Woke Up at the same time. Nobody's seen Ruby since she apparently went Grimm-hunting. And reality is beginning to break apart."

Blake's ears twitched, and she turned to stare at her with dawning dread. "Wait. You're not saying what I think you're saying... are you?"

Weiss nodded grimly. "Somebody's trying to Ascend."

A wretched pallor seemed to descend at those words, the loopers looking about the pitched battle with newfound horror.

"...This was a distraction." Yang stared as a Grimm started to stand. "This was all a distraction."

"Whoever's been doing this-they have to have been planning it for a while. And with all the Grimm, they have to be native." Blake stepped closer to the others. "It's one of _us..."_

Weiss took a deep breath. "As of this moment, our goals are to find out who it is and save Ruby, _in that order._ We can't break reality any more than it already is. Beyond that..."

She produced a second rapier, and stared down the horde in front of her as two lightsabers hovered over her shoulders. "Nothing else matters."

 **36**

Ruby yawned and sat up, stretching her arms.

"Hey, Ruby," Yang grinned up at her. "Roman called. He has his bar up for the loop and wants us to come taste-test his drinks. The non-alcoholic ones." Her form seemed to flicker slightly for a brief moment, brief enough to be missed by the Anchor.

"Cool," Ruby chirped. "What building is his bar in this time? Salem's castle?"

"Nah, I think he's only using that for experiments now," Yang shook her head. "I'm betting he stole the Schnee Mansion, just to say he did."

"By that logic, he's probably going to eventually have stolen every building on Remnant at some point," Ruby pointed out, jumped down from her bed. She frowned. "Actually, he probably would. Especially if we mentioned it to him." Ruby looked around. "Where are Weiss and Blake?"

Yang pointed at the bathroom door where running water could be heard. "Blake is in there and Weiss is talking to JNPR about something"

"I'm surprised you're not with Blake," Ruby teased.

"What makes you think I wasn't?" Yang smirked.

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "I don't need to hear that!"

Yang shrugged. "You started it."

Ruby shook her head with a giggle then stopped abruptly, staring at her sister. Yang peered at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Ruby blinked and shook her head again. "Nah, everything is fine," she assured her sister. She was just imagining things. Yang's mouth didn't twist into a vicious smirk for a moment. Nor were her eyes golden or crying tears of blood. She was just seeing things. "I'm gonna go join Weiss, okay?"

"Sure thing, sis," Yang nodded.

Ruby smiled and turned to get dressed. Maybe she should look into some holiday loops. Especially if she was seeing things. Just to be on the safe side.

 **37**

Cinder's world was light and flames that set her soul ablaze, Rising and Falling in an ever increasing tempo as she became _more_. All that she was and could be, spinning outwards into new thoughts, dream and nightmares. All that she was crystallising, her soul becoming the seed of something greater.

She was not aware of the dazzling lights that danced across her skin and that filled the previously dark, cold and silent chamber, or of the arcane machinery that crackled with prismatic light. Lines of power arcane and mundane, cascading down the insides of the Amity Colosseum, arcing through the air as the power until they filled the darkness, forming shimmering patterns and blazing, colourless sparks that danced around the suspended figure.

Above the glowing stadium, Cinder hung in wretched solitude, wreathed in the building storm scintillating light. Feeling the how the power resonated in time with her soul and the Dust that filled the Colosseum. Absorbing and focusing the growling power, catalysing the change taking place in her soul.

Accelerating a process that would otherwise take days and reducing it to mere hours.

 _Rise_

The nimbus of light flared, growing in size and power, swirling like a four dimensional galaxy in a space where distance died. Uncountable points of crystalline energy glowing like jewelled light and nothingness, fluttering amongst the building storm. Dark energies shrouded Cinder with their abhorrent brilliance, threatening to rip her asunder; mind, body and soul as she drifted in the growing maelstrom.

The world brightened as the twisting energies poured into her soul, Cinder could feel herself change in some unfathomable way as realty deepened and sharpened. The power she was gathering in each cycle growing exponentially, far beyond anything she had ever wielded before.

Absently, the thought flittered through Cinder's mind that it was annoying having to use this work around when she should just be able to just will herself to Godhood. To just let her power free, her pocket becoming fuel for her soul's ascension as her mortality burnt away along with the world.

Cinder knew how to Ascend using nothing more than her own power and will, every looper who was powerful enough did. But time was the unknown; for one of the Original Seven it might have only taken minutes due to their power and skill, for someone else? There were no precedents, no case studies and no predictions.

And Cinder doubted she had the power or skill to pull it off before she could be stopped. Her studies had led to the feeling that it would take upwards of a day or more, time she simply could not guarantee. Every moment was just another chance of something going wrong, for her opportunity to be stolen away, for one of the loopers to interfere.

And she could not just kill them all, she knew that would be a bad idea. The very thought making her feel sick with dread, even if the reasoning escaped her at the moment. It was not an issue though, none of it was.

Her pride would not cost her this one chance and the loopers being present was a good thing.

It had to be...

 _Fall_

Unbidden, tears flowed down her cheeks from the odd feeling of loss and regret, shimmering in the baleful light that filled the world. She felt empty, everything that she was fading away, ripped away by the arcane machinery and her own will.

It ached, it hurt more than all she had felt so far. Echoing from the deepest recesses of her mind with emotions and thoughts Cinder could not grasp, the meaning slipping away like rose petals the moment she tried to grasp it.

Her fury rose as pain ripped through her mind as the flow reversed. Even now she was still having these problems?

… No matter, soon she would have it all and finally be free from her fate.

 _Rise_

A scream tore free from her throat as the torrents of power flowed thought her, something deep in her soul expanding and shifting again. It was a pleasure she had never felt, in all her experiments – never having pushed this far.

It was an untold agony, guilt and loss drowned by fury and hate at her own weakness, the faint emotions dying unacknowledged. The aurora of Lights and Nothingness once more increasing, far beyond their previous height.

 _Fall_

Cinder let out a strangled gasp, almost losing control of the unfathomable blend of energies as they surged out. The Dust imbued Colosseum blazed more intensely with each cycle, wind and light dancing around it as a distorted music seemed to fill the area. The machinery started to fail under the strain, they would not survive another cycle.

But they had served their purpose, she could do the rest herself.

 _Rise_

The power was a siren's call, kaleidoscopic sounds blending with the ethereal-smells of fire and scolding wrath. Cinder's eyes pulsed, one becoming nothing more than an orb of crimson flames and the other burning with a deep golden amber as the cycle reached its crescendo.

 _Fall_

Power cloaked her body even as it receded, wrapping around the colosseum, seeping into her being as she slowly but surely became _more_. Cinder gritted her teeth as the cycles continued, slower and more excruciating as she forced each one by herself. Pulling more and more power from and into her soul, the Amity Colosseum blazing with a riot of colours and powers as it twisted and changed, verging on completion.

The Final Key to her plan, the Crucible and Catalyst for her Ascension.

Each cycle hurt more than the last, exquisite agony beyond mortal understanding tore through her soul and deeper. The eldritch blend of energies threatening to slip from her grasp and tear everything apart.

And in that instance, Cinder envied Madoka for something else, something other than her Godhood. Her Ascension was Wished powered and instantaneous. No preparation or danger, simply her own nature as the Anchor of an unstable world and an ill thought out Wish.

True Eternity and Freedom, granted to someone by sheer chance and Administrator negligence, while she had to suffer and claw her way to Godhood.

Cinder seethed as she burnt alive in the nexus of power, but she did not have to remain focused for too much longer, on this step at least.

The Crucible was almost ready.

 _Rise_

Beyond that… She had no real idea on the time or what it would feel like. But it would be Glorious.

In the end, victory always tasted sweeter when you earn it in blood and pain after all.

 _Fall_

The haunting music, that choir of the end, resonated through her mind, drawing forth all her fears and desires. The blend of powers growing as they consumed the world, slowly becoming a coherent whole. Then it would only be a matter of time as she devoured the final Remnants of her mortality.

 _Rise_

A beam of light shot out of the Crucible, forming a circle filled with shining sigils and shifting patterns. In the exact centre between the Crucible and the burning array, Cinder floated, head thrown back with a mind rending scream, resonating with something _other_.

Space twisted and open revealing a room filled with arcane machinery, all hooked up to a girl encased in an organic-inorganic pod. A flowering plant sank its roots into her skin and trapped the red haired figure in her dreams.

 _Fall_

The Crucible and Portal pulsed in time with each other; brighter and larger, smaller and dimmer. A trickle of power slowing starting to flow from the Portal to the Crucible, becoming one with the ever growing spiral.

 _Rise_

Space twisted and distorted, the Crucible and Portal becoming one. Cinder screamed, Cinder laughed, Cinder cried, and Cinder rose. For a single instance, Remnant stood still. Harsh winds beginning to whip across the world, tearing away the heat. Gravity dying and Time skipping.

Blood slowly filled the colosseum, shining with a shifting light of Amber and Crimson. Glowing sparks playing across its surface as it glittered like diamonds in the dark. Wind started to whip around the stadium, as more and more light poured into the glowing Crucible.

 _Fall_

Cinder opened her eyes once more, watching with empyreal eyes of Crimson Flames and Golden Wreathed Amber as Grimm enveloped Vale, a tide of darkness and bone that reflected the faint scraps of light from the moon.

With a thought, the skies darkened. Grimm and monsters from beyond Remnant rising up from the ground and sea, taking flight from the distant moon and blotting out the stars and moon and plunging the world into darkness.

Everything seemed to slow down, the world reduced to a glacial crawl and her blood boiled with the cold of Heat Death. Cinder watched in agony from up high as Ren seemed to defy gravity, frozen in the air as he lept over a deformed Grimm, bullets creeping forwards in slow motion.

She was so close. Soon nothing they did would matter, she just had to keep them distracted for a bit longer.

Why was it taking so long!

The Crucible was focusing and magnifying her power, letting her feed off Ruby and the world. She should be further along already!

 _Rise_

Ashes slowly filled the air, lingering on Cinder's tongue, seemingly to tasting of eternity and burning wood, as the veil of reality burnt away. Cinder laughed as tears of blood leaked out of her sole amber eye, shining darkly in the iridescent light that wrapped her body. Drinking deeply on the nigh endless power Ruby had accumulated over aeons, pushing her closer to the edge.

Plasma and Petals raced through her veins, burning away her mortality piece by piece as she drank in the Searing power of the Stars and the Blood and Rose scented power of Remnant's Anchor. Feasting on the foundations of existence as the Rapture began.

 _FALL_

Infinity stretched out before her, all evanescing colours with no light, shadows with no life or soul. Echoes along the broken Tree of what may have once been, lost forever more.

In the twilight, pillars of light glowed like beacons of life and power, limitless in distance and unbound by death, they glowed like paragons of glory.

And she would Rise above All!

 _RISE_

Cinder screamed as an inferno of blood and lighting wind enveloped her, rivers of prismatic light lighting up the sky.

The flow of power from Ruby slowing and cutting off, a scream of fury resonating through her mind before the distant feeling of Ruby's mind faded, the connection severing. Too little, and too late to change the outcome.

And Eternity began to shatter as a nascent Goddess gazed across the world with twin eyes of hatred and desire, and of fading grief and remorse.

With a negligent gesture, Shards of the Broken Moon being torn from orbit, raining down like balls of fire. Twisting and turning around the Crucible as they glowed, dormant generators coming online and encasing her in overlapping shields.

From within her egg, Cinder gazed out at what remained of Remnant, watching as madness and chaos consumed the world.

 _FALL!_


	63. The Tale of Two Sisters: At Fate's Call

_**Part 2: At Fate's Call**_

 **1**

Blurs of yellow, black, and white tore through the Grimm as the three of them ceased holding back, In the span of a few heartbeats the streets were clear, a single message ringing across Remnant to all the loopers.

" **Ascension imminent, this is a diversion, someone local is trying to Ascend, SOUND OFF!"**

One by one, names and locations rang through Weiss's mind; each Soul flaring, showing the location of where they were and what they were doing.

Only three souls were missing; Ruby and Cinder. (And Glynda, of course; likely off Traveling.)

 _Damn it, Cinder! What are you doing, why are you doing it?_

The identity of the traitor was echoed by all the loopers-some in hate and betrayal, others in confusion, while some just held a bitter confirmation.

Weiss's mind worked swiftly. Cinder could not have been planning anything like this, all of RWBY had been working with Cinder to help repair and stabilize her mind. This made no sense, it was like one of those variants….

Things fell into place, the symptoms both versions of Cinder had shown and her study of psychology, variant details and observations stretching back to before Cinder's first loop, to around the time Glynda started looping.

Weiss bellowed in fury and a blizzard descended, dust-laced ice obliterating the titanic Grimm that now burst forth from the Earth and swooped down from the sky. In moments the Grimm swarming Vale died as endless icy wraiths tore them asunder. A lightsabre buzzed, parting the black flesh of a massive spiderlike Grimm, then silence.

The area was clear, only ice and miasma remained, for a moment she had an opportunity to _think._ Soon, Cinder would unleash everything she had and she needed to be ready to meet it.

Already she could feel things, neither human, faunus, or Grimm, pouring onto the battlefield...

Weiss quickly came to a conclusion she had known before and was now much more important. They needed a new communication system, better scanners, more artillery and so much more.

Debris and ruined buildings were swept away as she unpocketed a portable fortress and communication centre. Holograms flared to life, droids springing to attention as she strode into the command center, Blake and Yang following close behind. Sweeping her hands across the touch holograms, Weiss spoke, addressing Blake and Yang with one voice, and Remnant with another.

"To all of Remnant, this is Weiss Schnee speaking; the attack on Vale is just the start of something much worse, the loss of gravity you just felt was a side effect. To avoid complications, a person known as Cinder Fall is attempting a forbidden ritual slash process that will rip Remnant apart at the foundations. As of this moment, I am the one in charge. I will be coordinating the fight, retaliation and search effort. More Grimm and other things will come, things that are much worse. All forces, link in with the data I'm sending out. Weiss Out."

The message to her teammates was more direct. "Blake, Yang, I will coordinate everything here, I am the best equipped to find Ruby and manage things. Yang, the big ones. Blake, key targets and general havoc. Keep in contact and an eye out for Ruby. Use anything and everything in your pockets, no holding back."

As her teammates departed, Weiss turned her attention to the battle in full, linking the various systems up and setting the fortress up for immediate battle. Almost without thought, she pulled a computer out of her pocket, the dumb AI starting its task immediately, "Run a search on listed signs and symptoms for Cinder Rose and Fall, add in 'alternative personality' into criteria and alternative variations of phrasing. Execute."

 **2**

Roman and Neo were fighting their way out of Vale when they got the message.

"Shit! Neo! As much as dying sucks, not existing is worse. It's a good thing we didn't make it to Vacuo, since we would need to help the others. Sure, we're probably going to die, but we aren't going to abandon the others. I would like to think that thieves have _some_ honor, right Neo?"

The short girl in question had already started fighting her way back towards Beacon.

"You know, would it have killed you to wait for me?" Roman shouted towards her. Receiving no answer, he dodged out of the way of a Deathstalker's stinger.

"That was too close! I gotta be more careful. If I die now, I'm probably dead for good! Better go make sure Neo stays alive." He sighed, before following Neo's quickly shrinking path of dead Grimm. "Well, at least I can save the speech for later this loop. I spent a long time perfecting it; I want to give it at least once before I stop existing."

When he caught up, they were no longer heading towards Beacon. Instead, they were heading further into the city.

"Please tell me why we are now going this way, Roman."

"I'm looking for Red. Didn't you get the memo? She's missing. Has been since morning."

Neo huffed. "I'm sorry if I've been too busy trying to stay alive! Besides, do you think that anywhere in Vale _hasn't_ been searched? Not a chance. Now, please excuse me, but there are some animals that need to be put down." She started running towards some white fang.

 **3**

 _The Gates of Hell had been opened to reduce all to cinders._

A yellow blur kicked off a titanic snake, a mere blur as it flew through the air, the steady tattoo of explosions ripping apart the monsters.

Yang hit the ground wreathed in flames. The beasts' blows did nothing bar send her power higher, power which lanced from her hands into a massive, bloated, necrotic mass of flesh in the rough shape of a meerkat.

She did not even pause to look at the disintegrating mass of flesh, more notifications coming on her HUD, the nearby mountain rising up into the sky, a spinning mass of rock and death, while a ball of malefic pink fire descended from the sky, shrouded by a million sharingan eyes and lashing tendrils.

 _But, I guess that does not change our job as Huntresses, does it?_

The mountain it was; others were better suited for the eye thing.

Yang started running, flames consuming the teeming masses of Grimm and the comparatively few other things that were not fireproof as she moved. Cinder was a pyromaniac, so it was expected. Still annoying though.

Since the Ascension had been identified it had been a hazy blur of one fight after another. The sheer might of Cinder's forces and preparation had held out against the combined might of everything Remnant could bring to bare.

And was winning, slowly but surely pushing everything back.

 _If I survive this and ever find out what the hell broke Cinder's mind, I will END them._

The subjective years of looking through Cinder's mind with the rest of RWBY, trying to fix the damage with Cinder helping, still lingered in her mind. Weiss' clipped explanation and analysis did not thing to cool her hate, though it was focused on both Cinder and whatever brought everyone to this point equally. What amount Cinder would bare in the end… well that remained to be seen.

Yang's musing was cut off as darkness descended across the world, a deathly chill settling across everything. Yang choked, stumbling briefly as a howling winds roared pass without noise, ripping at her power.

Blood and ash swirling around the doom city, mixing with rivers of alight that started to build around the rising form, reality shattering around it.

One by one, the few stars not obscured by the writhing mass of Grimm and worse, blinked out, their light stolen away. Amity colosseum blazed in the sky as Remnant died, shrouded in storms of crimson flames and lightning-laced wind, a vortex of light reached from the stadium to the crumbling heavens.

A single figure floated in the very centre of the madness, within a vile newborn star, gestured as the stars rained down.

Yang bellowed in rage, hurling a bolt of magic at the humanoid form she could just see, blasting herself away from the shards of rock bombarding Remnant. A mind wrenching scream sent knives of fire and blood into her brain, a hellish broken and discordant laughter ringing through her mind and across Remnant.

Yang stumbled to her feet, obliterating the Grimm that descended upon her, blood leaking from her eyes and nose. The disjointed laughter slowly becoming more unified, the regret and grief being fully replaced by joy and hate.

"Well, at least the pink thing and floating mountain are now gone." Yang muttered, cold fear chilling her blood, "We have found Cinder, and we all know the greater they are the harder they fall."

 _Ruby, where are you?_

 **4**

" _James, this Weiss, do you copy?"_

"I copy, orders?" James's voice was clipped and short, showing none of his rage as he kept his eyes locked on the distant, shattered horizon. They would be coming up to Vale soon, for whatever good his forces could do.

 _This was agony._

He had been rallying the other kingdoms to send reinforcements to Vale when the deception was revealed. Now he was stuck, forced to approach the Grimm-choked skies with men that would die to achieve nothing, unable to just teleport in due to some type of protections that no one had managed to break yet. Having to throw his men into the grinder, unable to even do his _job_ as Weiss had, thankfully, taken control at the start and was doing a better job than he could have ever done. All he could do was whatever she asked for and bring to bear all the might he could.

 _His worse nightmare made flesh, helpless and unable to do anything to help._

But he yet might just give a slight edge in this hell.

" _I sent out a message to all of Remnant earlier, summarizing shortly what was happening with Cinder. People kept asking what is happening, did Atlas or the other kingdoms get my message?"_

"No message has been recorded, stand by." James turned to his crew and the fleet's radio, "Attention, this is General Ironwood speaking. There is a potential communications issue, has anyone received or heard any generally broadcast messages from Weiss Schnee about what is happening?"

This was not good, barring personal messages and things from the hijacked CCT, there has been no word from Vale. He had just put it down to not being needed, after all what was the point if it wasn't helping? But if communications were being disrupted then it was just another complication, albeit an expected one. Not much of an issue for loopers on the whole but for regular people it could be disastrous.

All negatives, James face was stone-like as he processed the replies before sending it onto Weiss. "No broadcasts received, Vale is silent apart from the hijacked CCT and images of destruction on the net. Any other communication issues?"

" _Minor ones that have been dealt with or are as they come up. Only communication outside of Vale seems chancy. Fleet ETA, bearing and forces update?"_

James glanced at the readout. "32% depletion over all fleet strength, sending through exact composition momentarily. Remaining forces down to 80% munitions load, we had been resorting to scorched earth to deplete Grimm numbers on ground, on hold to preserve resources. Huntsman forces, 2202, 10245 soldiers and no Knights due to hacking risk. ETA 15 minutes until the outer ring, bearing…."

 **5**

"Huh." Taiyang frowned to himself as he shut his book. "Zwei's been awfully quiet."

He got up from the couch, whistling. "Zwei boy! Zwei! Come 'ere boy!"

There was... absolutely no reply.

"...That's weird." After a moment, the man opened the front door. "Zwei, boy? You out here?"

Not a single pant came in reply.

"That's... really weird." Taiyang pursed his lips for a moment. "The girls would kill me if I let anything happen to him..."

After a moment, he sighed. A minute or two later, he was locking his door and walking down the road into town. A couple of squirrels ran across the path at one point, and he couldn't help a small smile. The forest seemed very calm.

A little too calm, actually. Usually there was some sign of beowolf passings...

By the time Taiyang had come to the central town, he knew something was off. The place wasn't usually bustling with activity-the sun hadn't even risen yet-but at the very least there was a sense of community, a few people out and about as they set up for their day, maybe eating at a cafe. Now, though, the roads were quiet-an odd counterpart to the still-looking crowds he could see through the windows of various shops.

With a puzzled look, he opened one of the doors. "Hey, what's-?"

"Shh!" A man next to him pointed at a television screen, face grim. Taiyang blinked, following his gaze.

 _"...still not known what caused the gravity surge. However, forces on the ground are reporting that the Grimm horde has been joined by unknown soldiers and unconfirmed reports suggest that Atlas is losing control of the Vale airspace. All citizens are advised to avoid attracting the attention of-What's that noise-?"_

 _"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALUTATIONS! Oh, that never gets old."_

 _"Young girl, what are you-what is that thing-Oh my_ gods _-!"_

Taiyang's eyes went wide as the news reporter ducked beneath her desk, a body flung after her-a body with a fresh stab wound coating his suit. A moment later something jumped after it-and the reporter's scream of horror as the wall behind her was coated with red pretty much spelled out what the thing did. He flinched back from the screen when a young girl peered over the desk.

 _"Hey Penelope! The camera's still rolling!"_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Yeah!"_ The girl rose even further, revealing that her neck had been torn open to expose a metal spine and oodles of wires. _"You thinking what I'm thinking?"_

 _"Just let me clean up the stragglers, Pandora!"_ A high-pitched giggle accompanied an off-screen grunt of pain. _"Get it, cause-"_

"Turn it off!" a woman shouted, covering her son's eyes. "Just turn it off!"

Taiyang came back to himself as the crowd began to murmur. "What was that?! What's going on?"

"Haven't you heard?" A man looked at him. "Vale's under attack by Grimm. All the Grimm. Everywhere. They're converging on Vale."

" _All_ the Grimm?" Taiyang staggered back. "You're-you're kidding."

"No, Ironwood himself confirmed it." The man looked back. "I don't know what's going on with this now, but-"

"All the Grimm in Vale... oh my gods. Yang-Ruby!"

"Who?"

"My daughters, they-I have to find a boat!"

He turned around and slammed through the door, rushing toward the docks.

 **6**

Blake did not see the breaking sky. She refused to see it, refused to see the slaughter of the last of Vale. There was only one goal on her mind, a million clones and spells sweeping the world, for Ruby and clean of monsters.

They had to find her, or everything would cease.

A skeletal form of dark flames rose up around her, burning the monsters by the millions, arrows streaking across the broken sky and felling monstrous beings, yet the horde remained undiminished.

A tear of blood leaked from her spinning eye as she pushed them above and beyond anything she had ever done, ignoring the sight of hundreds dying as their souls were consumed by the apocalypse, colour draining from reality. Blake howled in impotent fury as another of her clones was destroyed, more images seared into her memory with nothing of value to make up for it.

It did not stop, no matter how many she killed more were spawned from the dragons or worse. The sky was almost invisible beneath the bone, black and red. Only the hideous star lit up the sky, protected by shards of the moon and powerful generators, Cinder barely visible in the centre of it all.

She gnashed her teeth as icy fear chilled her blood, racing past people pleading for help. They had to find Ruby, they had to destroy those monstrous Grimm, cybernetic horrors and whatever else there was to do that. And then work out how to get to Cinder before she became unstoppable and ended everything.

 _I cannot save anyone here_.

Malignant whispers curled through her mind, from her own mind or maybe a spell or beast, it did not matter.

 _I can't help, she has already won._

The shadows danced and capered under the hellish light. Blake choked as a fist smashed into her gut, shattering Susanoo and hurtling her across the ground. Gasping for breath Blake pulled herself to her feet, looking around for her attacker.

 _My mind feels like it's filled with cobwebs, I can barely think._

Behind her, Blake could hear a rush of air but could not react in time. Each movement seeming sluggish and reluctant as fear weighed her limbs with lead. Before she could react, a horribly familiar blade tore through her arm before a kick sent Blake crashing back down to the ground.

"Hello, my dearest."

Rolling to her feet, Blake locked eyes with a hideously distorted Adam. Corpse white skin and black veins, his body was a horrible mishmash of faunus and Grimm. The crimson eyes burned with a cold light.

 _Was this real?_

A nightmare from the deepest recesses of her mind made flesh.

 _A personalized weapon made for me?_

Blake slowly rose to her feet, flesh writhing as millions of eyes burst like pustules from her skin, each a spinning red and black pinwheel. A single eye closed before melting back into her flesh and Blake faced the monster unharmed. If they survived this she would have to remember to thank Sasuke and Sakura again for teaching her that trick.

… _did it matter?_

"You're not real."

The nightmare smiled, seeming to relish the destruction. "Cogito ergo sum, or in this case, dearest Blake, you think and therefore I am. Everything you have ever thought about me, every fear and nightmare I know and embody."

Blake felt her throat go dry. She could destroy the real Adam with no effort, but this nightmare? It was very different story: either it was a hallucination or something designed to destroy her personally. Reluctantly, Blake glanced to the shattering sky, taking in the painful not-light that shone down and the baleful sun.

All across Remnant nightmares rose up, the screams of the few left echoed across the howling winds, as much amusement as they were pain. The images of them tearing each other apart seared into her limitless eyes.

 _How much of this was real?_

Blake turned her attention back to the nightmare that wore the face of Adam, Yang's scream of fury resonated across the destruction as a star of golden light was born, leaving only devastation as it faded.

The moon was crying silver blood as the taste of rotten blood filled her mouth. The corpses of all she had slaughtered rising from the dirt the voices ripping into her heart and mind, Grimm prowled alongside the risen dreams, she could barely hear her own thoughts, she was drowning.

A snigger, then outright laughter erupted from Blake as she fell to the ground, no longer able to breathe as darkness closed in, the whole thing was so stupid!

"You think of yourself as so much better than us." Pain erupted from her chest as blood dripped onto the ground, shining like gold in the deadlight. Adam drove his blade deeper as more poison fell from his mouth. "How many have you slaughtered out of rage and hate? How many innocent resided in those White Fang camps?"

An eye closed and melted and Blake lay on the ground, laughing in agony as the Grimm tore into her again and again. She didn't know what way was up, each eye showed a different image. Knives tore into her brain and music filled her mouth tasting like sorrow.

"Pathetic." The gasped word made Adam freeze as Blake closed her eyes, ignoring the bloody tears that had leaked from a million eyes, and walked away, the maddened laugher slowly dying. Blake ignored the blade piercing her chest. "A dream, a nightmare, a personalised weapon from Cinder? Whatever you are you are pathetic, I would have thought I rated more than this. I spent ages facing my fears and nightmares after what happened with Yang and that Mew. All so I could help her, if she would just let me."

Every thought was agony, a pressure like she had never felt bearing down on her mind as bits of her consciousness fractured. But slowly the madness subsided and Adam's blade decayed. She shattered like spun glass and Adam fell, his blood and brain matter coating the ground as Blake wrenched her kunai from its skull. Black flames consumed all that remained of the weaponised nightmare.

Her right eye rotted away before it started to regrow as she turned to where a lovely familiar golden light glowed in the chaos.

It was getting too dangerous to work alone, she needed to meet back up with Yang.

"This is Blake; Weiss do you copy?" Blake raced to where Yang had been, paying no heed to the monsters below her, relief flooding her at the sharp response.

" _I copy; what's happening?"_

Blake growled, inwardly relishing the ability to think clearly again; that had been too close for comfort. "Cinder is unleashing hallucinogenic, personalised nightmares. I beat it due to some training I did last time with Sasuke and Sakura that I kept secret. Something is going after Yang and I am en route… scratch that actually, nightmare terminated and Yang has pink fur on her."

 **7**

Lunge, parry, fade. Pivot, shed, slope.

Over the shoulder, impale and toss, bisect on the way down. A touch of Dust, a burning form.

Weiss Schnee was Remnant's Second, which meant that while she could battle she was better serving behind the lines. Winter Schnee, both older and younger, might not have had as many tricks up her sleeve, but she did not need them. A blade and a half kept her safe from the glittering forms pouring out of a hundred hundred hidden bastions, from the monsters and monstrosities that joined the Grimm.

A glyph to stop a rocket. A summons to slay another... another demon wearing the face of a friend.

Perhaps she should have been more frustrated that Cinder was attempting this. The sky screamed as battle joined, so many forms from so many worlds, live and mechanical and over it all, Amity with its orbiting shell of moonshards and shields. She had seen a fleet move toward it-and had seen how easily it was taken down.

Cinder had been looping longer then she. The irony-the greatest three Atlas had to offer in Baseline were only token guard against this foe, and so kept to more mundane battles.

Slice, stab, sting. Ice as a wall, fire as a weapon.

That wasn't to say she was completely powerless. If she'd merely been reliant on her aura, she'd have been taken down long ago. A few healing buffs from other loops, and the ability to hold large amounts of Dust, turned Winter Schnee from merely a specialist to a power unto herself. Her focus was intense as she swept sector through sector-intent not only on finding her target, but reclaiming what had been taken, inch by inch. What few civilians she encountered she pointed at the nearest honey badger-she gave relief to huntsmen and huntresses in form of Dust and aura boosters-and she slew, and she slew, and she slew the horde around her.

Emplacement. Target. Glyph and up and ice and down.

Turret destroyed. Bomb planted. Away she went.

"Impressive."

A voice she recognized, a clap she knew. Winter turned, fighting off the weight pressing on her mind, carefully examining the boy approaching.

"Most impressive." Whitley mock bowed. "But then, what else would one expect from-"

Her blade lanced through his glittering form. The weight vanished, even as he gasped in shock-

Quick. Precise. Efficient.

...she had just killed her own _brother_ -

-not her brother. No, a duplicate, a boy stolen and warped deliberately to force-

-emotions. Too many. Talk.

"Weiss, this is... this is Winter."

 _"What's wrong?"_

"Whitley... vampire... dead..."

 _"Winter-"_

"I can still fight," she assured her. "I just... I need to talk while I am."

 _"...Alright. I'm listening."_

One sister slew monsters. One coordinated the battle. And they talked.

 **8**

Yang roared, obliterating a dragon that swooped down, explosions tearing the rippling sky apart. Each blast felled a foe, unable to miss in the monster-choked skies. A hundred dragons had to be spawning from somewhere, raining down pests without end, clouds of flesh-eating insectile Grimm ceasing as they met her burning aura.

 _Where the hell are they coming from?!_

She was supposed to be searching for Ruby while taking out the true monsters. Yet she could barely move, barely rest, none of the beasts dealing enough damage for her to make use of.

A million cuts would slay a dragon and slowly but surely, she was having her power sapped.

Through the choking cloud of Grimm and poison, she could just see a skeletal figure with light armour and cat ears, cloaked in Black fire. In a different direction she could sense the massive power of Weiss' honey badgers, the hundred-meter-tall beasts each capable of laying waste to a world on their own given sufficient motivation and time. All were clad in potent armour and weapons, intelligent and utterly loyal to Weiss.

… Honestly, Yang was not ashamed to say she wanted one and that she was terrified Cinder might release her own.

 _Wait, why hasn't she?_

"Weiss, this is Yang, do you copy?"

Flames filled the air, ground turning to lava as the insectile Grimm got denser, new forms mixing in the cloud.

"Oh, come on!" Her roar of fury was drowned out by the insistent buzzing, the cloud was barely diminished. Fireproof Grimm, given Cinder's pyromania she really should have expected this.

Fine, if fire would only get her burnt than ice was just as nice.

" _I copy, situation? You have not moved in almost 10 minutes!"_

"I'm being bogged down by clouds of insectile Grimm, dragons and hordes of lesser Grimm. I have an idea to get out. Do you know where _Cinder's Honey badgers are?_ I know you gave her some." A cluster of mines appeared in her hand, a cold grin making its way across Yang's face as she hurled them into the swarms and horde. Cold nothingness tore the world asunder and energy faded away. For a brief moment, light itself seemed to be torn away from the world, the atmosphere freezing as everything died. In heartbeats sound returned, ki obliterating all that remained, in the momentary stillness Yang closed her eyes, searching.

" _No, I have not seen any. Anti-badger weaponry is present on all my forces, but that's the most I can do. The insect Grimm are plaguing all forces in Vale with increasing numbers. What's your condition and do you need reinforcements?"_

Burning eyes snapped opened and the ground shattered, ripping a hole down to the mantle. "No, I have found spawning Grimm and am engaging, no assistance needed for now."

" _Understood, keep me informed. Weiss out."_

A vast section of what remained of the city fell inwards to a massive cavern. Countless insectile Grimm poured out, their twisted hive being crushed under the weight, some no bigger than midges and others the size of humans.

Yang ignored them, for the moment they could not hurt her, and began building energy in her palms, drawing deeply on the matter that made up the world as much as her own power. A point of light manifested in her palms as matter broke apart and inverted.

From the depths a bloated form was revealed, rising up into the air. A vast insect, a queen, the size of a skyscraper, most of the bulk coming from its swollen abdomen. Endless beasts flowed off it, obscuring the details of its form.

Yang grinned viciously, power and inverted matter lashing out against the beast. Space twisted and she fell to the ground elsewhere, shaking with exhaustion. A new star illuminated the fringes of Vale, a crushing pressure wave annihilating all in its path.

Then there was darkness, for this first time in a while, the land being exposed to the nauseating light that fell across the world. Rivers of power and ever growing cracks in existence were seen clearly, the orbiting shards of the moon and the shimmering shell that encased Cinder and the Amity colosseum.

" _This is Weiss; Yang do you copy?"_

"I copy Weiss. Target terminated." She smiled at the panic and shock in her old friend's voice, she had been looking for a reason to show that off. Yang rose back to her feet, pulverising the head of a Beowolf as her breath returned.

It would take a little time to recover but less than staying and fighting.

" _What did you do? That was gamma radiation, magic and ki!"_

Yang started moving, eyes locked onto a large Eastern Dragon Grimm, covered in gold plates for some reason, that resided in the depths of a building tornado. "A combination of a kamehameha, and inverted matter made into a beam. So a Ki, magic, antimatter beam."

"… _you know what? If we survive you are teaching me that. I have scanned half of Remnant-no sign of Ruby. Some locations are difficult to scan. Weiss out."_

All around her constructs of ice still warred with the beasts, actively aiding her as Yang ran towards the dark, serpentine dragon. It was amazing how many and how powerful they were, glittering like diamonds in the dark.

But it was not just the Grimm.

Twilight vampires clashed with the ice wraiths. Ten thousand people, maybe more, all turned into enhanced undead killing machines. Unease that had nothing to do with the approaching end slowly fell over her.

The shadows seemed to dance and yawn, a ringing silence stilling the air.

 _Wait what?_

Yang hesitated as the world blurred, she could have just sworn that some of the vampires were killing their own. But the faces blurred together, the word spinning as shadowy wraiths rose up and covered around her.

Familiar silhouettes that she could not put a name to.

Foul laughter rang in her mind, like nails down blackboards. Yang gasped for breath, the air doing nothing bar filling her lungs with ash, darkness tugging at the edges of her vision.

 _I'm drowning, Someone Help!_

The world twisted and spun, a cacophony of voices rising up from the depths of her mind as the shadows danced

 _~Oh, no one is here to help you this time Yang. All alone as your beloved sister betrays you all. Ruby missing, and Weiss and Blake have better things to do than waste what time there is left on someone who can barely do their job.~_

The floating pink creature smiled, bobbing out of view. "No, you're dead! I purged you from my mind!" Cold, deep fear made her voice break and Yang hated herself for it. Hated the fear that came up at the mere thought of this thing, hated that she was still giving it more ammunition to use against her.

 _~True as far as it goes, but your memory of me lives on and here, in the final moments of the world, where dreams becomes reality and realty dreams? I can assure you I am very much real.~_

Yang stepped back, never taking her eyes from the monster as more and more nightmares materialised, pulling themselves free from the cracking fabric of reality. "I am so sick of you. And I know I destroyed what was left... what are you?"

Yang obliterated a twisted form of her mother that rose up from the dust as the rodent spoke, its mental voice filled with glee. _~You know what I am. You may have destroyed the fragment, the imprint, of me but the memories live on. I am your fears and insecurities made manifest, your worst nightmare that you could not let go of and held onto.~_

"Really?" Yang felt her power spike in rage, she would not let this thing, her pointless fears control her. "Fascinating." Her voice broke again as she turned away from the monster, focused once more on the dragon. "But I have work to do."

Yang started running, ignoring the grasping hands, the twisting of angles and faces, the broken and mutilated body of Blake that hung from a light post. Tears ran down her face, eyes now red from something other than anger, Indescribable pain shooting through her heart.

It was not real, just another hallucination. It always did this; she could see the faded edges as she pushed her mind as far as it could go. forcing back the titanic weight that had wormed its way into her mind.

 _It felt so real…_

 _~It is really your own fault that I am still here, you can never let things go. You simply force things down or try to ignore everything you don't like and just can't let go.~_ It seemed to shrug, every word tearing apart her thoughts as the skies rained blood and the end drew near.

She could barely see the dragon now, only sense the faintest hint of its dark presence, each word of the mew ripping at her mind. If it had not been her recent mental training and preparation she would have been nothing more than putty in its paws.

"Shut up you rat!" Yang screamed as warm blood drenched her form, the metallic taste filling her mouth "I will kill you, rip you apart and bathe in your blood and use your ashes to make soap! I will…" Yang bit down, the searing pain in her tongue something concrete she could focus on. An anchor in the red rage and fury that threatened to overwhelm her.

Grimly, Yang redouble her effort to force it out, gathering energy to slay the dragon, razor bladed wind ripping her to ribbons as things tore at her flesh.

Painfully pushing the rising insanity down and the _rat out!_

 _~You can't honestly think that will work?~_ It flipped in the air, floating happily in a bubble _~I know you far too well, and as we have established before I am a cat not a rat. Sort of like Blake. You even let both of us hang around even though it's not good for your health._

Her vision of the vast Grimm sharpening, twin red eyes glowing down at her, a sense of power building up in its mouth as the gale increased. The nightmare watched with interest as her power coalesced.

Light filled the sky as lightning streaked through the air, meeting the Grimm's attack head on and continuing. The wind died down as the thundering crash of a body hitting the ground rang out.

 _~That was impressive. Is there anything else you are good at? I mean not killing? I think I can see the appeal you and Blake have to each other. You are both monsters that are just like each other pasts. She is the same as Raven after all~_

Yang started laughing, a harsh voice that held no humour, a vicious feeling of victory rising up and strengthening her resolve and pride.

 _I am not useless; this thing does not rule me!_

The world solidified as she forced back the insanity, something niggling at the back of her mind, something the mew could not see.

"What did you say? 'Where dreams becomes reality and reality dreams'." Yang met the thing's green eyes unflinchingly, feeling a flicker of surprise from the monster. "See, in some loops that _does_ work. Dreams and reality as both solid things, but that is not Remnant. And I saw some of your things before, clone, reconstruction or something else. You are simply a tool for Cinder, a nightmare, nothing more than a fading dream."

She smiled, the mental switch coming into view.

 _~What..~_

Golden light scoured the land and silence fell as Yang lit the trigger, leaving nothing in the crater. Yang fell to the ground panting, her limbs felt like lead, almost all her power torn away in the detonation. Painfully, she pushed herself to her feet.

For six kilometers there was nothing, a crater blasted into Remnants surface. In front of her, lying less than ten meters away, was the broken yet still living form of the monster. Yang grinned sadistically as she picked up the monster in a choke hold; green eyes shone with malice as its weak mental presence skittered against the edge of her mind.

"That's the thing about nightmares, you wake up." Yang could feel the link it had forged to her soul, her mind. That's all it was after all, a dream made real, with no power bar what she gave it. Nothing more than an echo, a parasite, feeding on her worst. In an instance the linked was obliterated as the monster tore apart.

Yang took flight as she bit down on a Senzu Bean, her eyes focusing on the black flames and armies of ice as a titanic Dragon descended, blotting the sky. Blocked memories filtering back in, filling in the gaps of what just happened.

 _I am really glad I feared Cinder might try to pull a stunt with psychic Pokémon or something similar and prepared for it._ When dealing with mind readers, all one had to do was make sure that at that time you did not know the trap was there.

It did not take long for Yang to locate Blake, looking worn and tired, covered in blood but otherwise unharmed.

"…and I am en route… scratch that actually, nightmare terminated and Yang has pink fur on her."

Yang landed next to Blake, giving her a victorious smile and getting a relieved sigh in reply as she returned it, Weiss speaking through her radio immediately.

" _Yang, this is Weiss, do you copy and what is your condition?"_

"I copy, and I'm tired and my head hurts," Yang sent back to Weiss as she turned her attentions to Blake, "That Mock-Mew was obnoxiously powerful."

Blake seemed okay, no obvious wounds and no incoherent ranting. That was good, hopefully whatever Blake faced had not done anything to her mind.

" _Both of you, return to base and do not split up. I will be linking you to a recorder, I want a complete report on what happened. I will check your minds when you get here to ensure nothing has been slipped in. I don't think anything would have, but it will not take long and I prefer to be safe."_

"Understood." Two voices spoke in unison.

" _Good, Weiss out."_

 **9**

The Nevermore Queen strode out of her tent toward a small crowd of her kin, and took one look at the man they had captured. "Qrow. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Oh, just the apocalypse." The man shrugged. "Figured I'd take the time to warn my sis."

Her hand went to the handle of her sword. "Salem?"

"Ha. If only. No, it's worse than Salem. Worse then anything you can imagine." Qrow looked into her eyes. "When I said apocalypse, I wasn't exaggerating. Remnant itself might not exist tomorrow."

She glanced around at her clan, noting the occasional nervous shift. "...Tall tales, from a man who abandoned us. Tell me, what evidence do you have for this?"

He looked up, nodding into the sky behind her. "That do it for you?"

The Nevermore Queen opened her mouth to reply, when a sudden noise unlike anything she had ever heard caught her attention-not a roar, but louder still, as though silence itself were being gouged out by a great claw. She turned around and found, to her shock, that the truth was not far off; the shards of the moon were _moving,_ dragged into the atmosphere of their own volition, followed and surrounded by a horde of black specks.

"The woman who did that," Qrow said calmly, "is currently trying to become a goddess. There's one girl who can stop her, and we're all looking for where she's been hidden away, but she has an army holding Vale-an army of Grimm and worse."

"Why... why are you telling me this?"

Qrow shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I want you not to attack anybody while we're trying to save the world. Maybe I want your help. Maybe I just wanted to give you a chance to make your peace with your life." He pulled an object from... somewhere. "I'm going to go back. Do what you will-I don't really give a damn at this point."

And then he vanished. Not with a gleam, or a portal, just... gone.

The bandits looked to the sky, unnerved. One turned to the Nevermore Queen. "...well... what now?"

"...We march to Kuchinashi, and take an airship to Vale from there. Take what you need for the journey and what weapons you can carry, leave everything else behind; we will not rest until we are in the air."

"Really? But-you heard him! You saw the moon! Why would you lead us to that-to that _madness?!"_

Raven turned to the objecting man. "If you're _weak_ enough to give into fear, you can stay behind."

 **10**

" _Ascension Imminent, Sound off!"_

Pyrrha was cold.

Her mind felt crystal clear, the movement of the enemy perfectly clear to her. No beast, monstrosity, twisted aberration or dark copy could touch her as she almost swam through a river of blood. She could barely see as the smoke and haze choked the air over Vale, the sky blotted out by the endless swarms of beasts that let only faint glimmers of the deadly light through. An icy blizzard clashed with scolding winds, carrying with them the scents of death and ruin.

Things she was far too familiar with to notice.

As she fought, a river of venom-laced fluids, blood and black mist ran in her wake. The severed limbs of vampires glittered like diamonds in the nauseating light of the apocalypse. Sparks flicked around the remains of robots in the guise of someone she had hurt so badly for so long. Her black fury only deepened with each fallen mockery.

When the sun rose, Pyrrha vowed she would make sure that the Traitor had only ash left.

" _Ascension Imminent, Sound off!"_

When those damning words had registered her world had become hate, rage, pain and _fear_. Fear of more than the approaching Ascension, fear of Cinder. She knew it was irrational, feelings that went beyond her betrayal, and back to when Cinder had killed her all that time ago. Feelings that had never vanished but were merely curbed.

There was no one, bar Neo, who hated Baseline Cinder as much as she did, and no one _feared_ her as much. Pyrrha knew her flaws and even with all her power, she stilled focused on what Cinder did every loop. Not Salem, Hazel, Watts or Tyrian, but Cinder. Unable to avoid the niggling feeling that she was planning things far beyond what she could do.

She had even laughed about it with Cinder _Rose_ , who was a different person, _but was not!_

Had never been.

" _Ascension Imminent!"_

A looping Baseline Cinder Fall. One who had betrayed and tricked them all. Who was now going to kill them all for power once more.

Who was going to kill her family!

They had been played by her again, and again _and again!_

 _She will pay, I will not let her win. I will crush her dreams; I am the elder now. I can find Ruby and watch as the destroyer falls._

The burning rage that had consumed her world had become ice, cold and utterly unrelenting. Nothing else mattered now except victory.

Her blade tore through a vampiric space marine, its body burning as it fell with Pyrrha already moving. It was over in heartbeats, the last of the company falling, utterly broken. As she turned away and primed a burn crystal, glowing blue and white Grimm surged forth from deeper in Vale. The summons clashed with the lesser Grimm and halting their advance.

"I will be setting this area alight due to the Vampires. move on for now."

Pyrrha really hoped the summons could and would listen. Luckily the summons heeded her command, evacuating the contaminated area.

 _I wonder…_

A flash of lightning tore through the clouds, amidst the blinding light, Pyrrha could see a familiar figure obliterating a wheel of green fire in the air. It also cleared the sky enough for her to see something of interest. A dark, long shape in the distance that soared up, releasing an endless rain of monsters and water onto the ground. She had a new target, it was also reasonably close to where Nora had been. She could catch up with them after this.

" _Ascension Imminent!"_

Pyrrha ran, leaving the helpless vampires to burn. Mystical flames flowed across the gore-drenched road as they consumed flammable venom and fuel cells, unaffected by the arctic wind that tore through Vale still.

"Come, fight."

She smiled coldly as the Summons answered her commands, following behind as she fought, each one dealing with the lesser threats that got past her, the wedge top her tip. They were very useful.

The unending tide of Grimm crashed against her as frigid water thundered down the street along with them, swirling and twisting like a living, malevolent elemental, futilely grasping against things it could not effect. Before the Summons froze the water, leaving countless Grimm trapped and she tore it apart, gas filling the air.

Pyrrha had two immediate goals.

She had to find her team, she had gotten separated from as they cleaned out the spider infestation. She knew they were fine for now and were making their way to a meeting point nearby.

 _Cinder Fall would not get away with trying to kill my family and friends._

The other was to give Weiss the chance to search and find Ruby. Pyrrha knew her power and knew that if they were to live to see the next dawn they needed the Anchor.

So she would do everything in her power to assist that goal.

Green eyes shone as the red-haired warrior tore through her way through her unending hordes of Grimm to the dark shape in the sky. To keep everyone safe, she had to cut off reinforcements and staging points. She would meet up with JNR soon, but she had something else to do first.

As she fought her way, step by step, to her distant target, Pyrrha vainly tried to banish the words that had continued to resonate through her mind like a maddened mantra.

" _ASCENSION IMMINENT!"_

With every Grimm slain, each monster killed, her golden war gear drank in the darkness and malice, burning with a dull light. More dully than it should.

 _Something was wrong._

Every wisp of malice strengthened her further and would continue to do so as long as the light and dark within her soul continued to burn. After all; the Darkness beyond Twilight and Brilliance beyond the Dawn within her soul gave rise to the Chaos of Existence, and so she would surpass her limits.

 _Why do my arms feel so heavy?_

And the concept of limits themselves.

Pyrrha bared her teeth as she bisected a cowering Huntsman turned vampire hiding in the broken remnants of a building before continuing on. Cinder would not just let someone turned _not_ fight for her and in the end, it was too much of a risk.

While it had been a long time since she had used her wedding ring's combat form, it was still her most powerful personal combat equipment. But it was doing so little, she should be bolstered far beyond this, so what was wrong?

 _Why do I feel so weak?_

Pyrrha gritted her teeth as the thought rang through her mind, countless monsters falling with a gesture as she finally got close enough to make out the vast floating monstrosity.

It was as hideous as it was absurd. A vast ocean liner of bone, black, red and metal floating several hundred meters in the air. Barriers of some foreign technology wrapped around it, bearing down upon her aura only to be rebuffed by her armour.

It was a literal Titanic Grimm; Cinder had apparently spent far too much time around Yang.

Water, stained with Grimm ooze, thundered down from its side, spawning a literal tide of sea monsters and humanoid Grimm all dressed in the fashions of 1912. The ground had vanished under the unending swarm of weak Grimm, none more dangerous than normal Beowolves. But there were so many of them, her group of Summons starting to fall under the sheer weight of numbers. More and more flooded Vales streets, soon even Weiss's total summons and Blake's clones would not be able to hold them all back.

"Weiss, this is Pyrrha, do you copy? I have found a flying Grimm Ocean liner that is spawning Minor Grimm. Preparing to engage. Pyrrha out."

Vale had fallen, that much was clear, but they could not stop fighting. It was not to protect the city anymore, but Remnant's very existence. Cinder would not be focusing on Vale for no reason, even if it was simply as a distraction. Especially if it was a distraction, as they could not do a damn thing with all these monsters.

" _I copy, Pyrrha. Hold your position and_ do not engage if at all possible. _I have received visual on it and something is wrong, meet up with the rest of JNPR and hold. If you must do so, direct fire at a distance. Do not bo…"_

Pyrrha felt her eyes narrow. "Weiss, I am not a student and you are being too cautious. We cannot let this flood of Grimm continue, I can destroy this and meet up with JNPR. It will be a more efficient, we can get more done and I will not board it. Pyrrha, out."

 _This coming from someone who did regular mental examinations of the traitor and found nothing._

Pyrrha grimaced, she knew that was not fair, Cinder had tricked everyone for ages. She would be a master of the mental arts and Weiss would not go deeper than she had permission to.

She forcefully redirected her thoughts, they had goals to complete and that was what she needed to focus on. They had to find Ruby and hope she could stop, work out how to bypass the barriers protecting Cinder.

And _she_ had to find her family.

But before all that, before they could make progress in their goals, the Grimm needed to be thinned so they could work.

Before everything died, one final time.

Ignoring Weiss's protests, Pyrrha dove into the fray once more, one blow flowing into the next, Grimm falling like chaff as each step brought her closer to her target. Lances of power did nothing to the nightmarish vessel, either failing to penetrate the defenses or healing after doing minor damage. Pyrrha briefly contemplated just blasting it with everything she had, that would easily wipe the thing from existence. But that would use up far too much power and leave her vulnerable, so her best bet was to get closer and break the power source directly.

As she contemplated her next move, Pyrrha glanced around, forcing herself to ignore the breaking sky and the nauseating light that poured forth from the Ascension, just visible through the darkened sky. Blood and ichor filled the ice covered streets like rivers, miasma and smoke blotted out the host of aberrations that protected the Amity Colosseum. The final targeted in this horror.

" _Pyrrha, this is Jaune, do you copy?"_

She gestured at the floating Titanic Grimm, flinging another bolt of power at it to shatter the barriers surrounding it temporally. "I copy, Jaune." What would be the best method to destroy this thing? Hitting it from the outside was doing nothing, so inside it was, Weiss would yell but she could deal with that once the threat was gone. Coming to a final decision, Pyrrha let lose a lance of searing light and vanished as the barriers failed momentarily

 _I will end you, Cinder Fall!_

Pyrrha felt like she was being sucked through a narrow tube as the world vanished, but it was over in a heartbeat and as the world reappeared, she was already in motion, hacking through the horde of monsters aboard the Ship Grimm.

Pyrrha's eyes flashed in rage as she gazed upon the deck of the ship, an amalgam of bone, metal and black flesh, filled with the smoky miasma of Grimm. It was difficult to see more than a few feet in any direction, only the glowing ruby eyes of the greater Grimm pierced the gloom. What was worse was that the deck was alive; the vast baleful eyes which burned from the bridge and every window glared at her. Exposed Grimm flesh constantly bled miasma into the air and sucker filled tentacles erupted from the dark like the arms of a vast kraken, Searching for the intruder.

" _Where are you and what is your condition? Nora and Ren have reunited and I am en route to them now. ETA 1 minute."_

Pyrrha smiled slightly at the concern in Jaune's voice as she danced around the lethal attacks, obliterating the tentacles and hordes of lesser beasts with ease. A flash of affection broke through her cold rage, her armor burning brighter for a moment. "I'm fine, currently on a floating Titanic Grimm, it is literally a Grimm version of the Titanic, and its spawning Grimm everywhere."

And for some reason dropping tiny glowing orbs of crimson when killed. Pyrrha honestly had no idea why but guessed it was part of the coordination system. The Grimm were far too coordinated and tactical for them to be acting independently.

Her smiled died as quickly as it had come, buried once more under the sea of hate and anger. She had to remain focused, nothing could distract her.

As her armour dimmed, Pyrrha felt a flicker of unease as and the power she was getting was reduced back to a trickle. What was going on? Something was wrong.

 _I'm missing something. I can feel it but can't place it._

Under the quickly regenerating tentacles and rain of red crystals, within the oddly pulsating stygian flesh, lay a bright red orb fused to Grimm tissue and metal. Pyrrha scowled as a barrier deflected her blow, the black flesh regrowing rapidly.

 _Well, that explains why I could not destroy the damn thing from the ground. There are probably hundreds of cores scattered throughout this thing. Each shielded and regenerating damage._

" _Do you need any assistance?"_

Pyrrha bit back a retort at Jaune's panicked query, she knew she could do this. But _something was wrong!_

More and more Grimm were spawning from the ship as it spewed tar and miasma, she could barely move no matter what she did. And every moment larger ones strode forth from the monstrous vessels bowls. Trying to cut her way down would be suicide, trying to stay would be.

She was being overwhelmed, and she was missing something.

Pyrrha stumbled as a blow slipped past her guard, slamming into her with the force of a freight train. The teeming mass of bone and black reaching up from the deck to pull her under, writhing tendrils snapped at her feet with Pyrrha barely managing to avoid dragged down.

And those she had slain were rising once more, the red crystals that had lain at the core of each fusing together. The larger slain abandoning all pretence of mortal forms to assume ones more reminiscent of biblical angels.

Within the twisting forms lay a blood red crystal that projected hexagonal barriers around each Grimm Angel.

Pyrrha tasted something bitter, as she started to falter, attacks ripping into her armour and Aura. She could not keep this up for long. She had screwed up and had let her wrath, for there was no other word for it, get the better of her. She should have listened to Weiss, should have let her anger go and fought with a clear head rather that for mindless vengeance.

A single powerful blow would her destroyed this, she could have teleported on, placed an antimatter bomb and gotten out before it died. The Barriers were not _that_ strong. But she had wanted to fight, not _win_.

It was like she had plunged into a pool of ice, the mindless wrath breaking apart under the sobering realisation.

 _I'm pathetic. RWBY was closer to Cinder than me and they all kept their head in the game. So did Jaune, Nora, Ren…_

She felt sick.

"Yes, I messed up and am being overwhelmed. I can't get down…"

Pyrrha was cut off as a searing bolt of lightning tore into the vessel's shield and shattered it. The world dissolving into heat, light and thunder as the Aberrations dissolved under the onslaught of lighting. Simply ceasing to exist as they became plasma. Lighting that carried a mark Pyrrha could never mistake for anyone else.

Nora.

They had been waiting for her call. Weiss must have sent them her location; it was not far away from the meet up point.

She felt warm.

A wraith flickered through the storm's wrath, arms wrapping around her as existence was washed out. Pyrrha felt the lingering wrath drain from her aura as Ren dragged her to and over the edge. "Pyrrha, tokamak."

As they plummeted to the ground and through the endless legions, Pyrrha reached out with her Semblance and squeezed. Plasma bent to her will as Nora relinquished her control, atoms were ripped apart and fused. The deluge of tainted water becoming fuel, hydrogen becoming helium, becoming beryllium.

As the newborn star died, and the ground raced to meet them, Pyrrha closed her eyes and let everything fall away. Her thoughts racing, sorting everything that had happened, as her rage was finally quenched.

She could not allow herself to act on mindless rage again.

 _Sunshine hair and sky blue eyes turned to face her, a simple blade and shield held loosely in her hands. Her partner, leader, friend, lover, husband._

 _Black hair and violet eyes, looked up at her, checking twin blades-guns of green before standing. Her teammate, friend and child._

 _Orange haired and blue eyes danced in a storm, twirling a pink Warhammer as she laughed at her. Her teammate, friend and child._

 _And so many more._

 _Beset by anger and darkness, alone and lost, we fall to anonymity. It is only by keeping our hope going, the light within our hearts blazing, alongside others can we win. I was a fool, that was why my armour was not working, it needs the Brilliance and Darkness to function._

Her armour burned gold as new power flooded her body. For the first time since the betrayal was made known, Pyrrha's mind was clear.

As Ren and her hit the ground, Pyrrha rose to her feet, eyes snapping open as the two remaining members of her family racing over, eyes alight with fear.

She smiled, rage stilled burned in her soul but it was tempered now.

"Pyrrha!"

"Sorry about that, I let my anger get the better of me. It won't happen again."

 **11**

"You want _what?!_ Are you crazy, man?!"

"I'll take a damn rowboat if I need to! You've got to have-"

"Look, I don't care if you're a trained Huntsmen or something, but no boat is going out of port-"

The man squeaked as Taiyang grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "My daughters are in Vale," he growled into his face. "You are going to get me a boat."

"I _can't!_ I get it, really, but-" He pointed at the ocean. "Any boat that gets beyond the bay is going to be shredded, man!"

Taiyang blinked, following his gaze. The water was writhing, black and red and white forms all moving in eerie silence.

His eyes narrowed, shooting across the dock, and he dropped the man. "If you're not going to give me a boat, then at least give me a boost."

"Wha..." The portmaster rubbed his neck, looking after him. "What do you-" He gasped in shock as the blond swung himself up on a cannon and gripped the harpoon tightly. "Are you serious?!"

"Point and fire. I've got aura, I'll be fine."

"Man, you don't even know if you'll survive to reach the shore, let alone Vale!"

"I. Will. Be. Fine."

The portmaster held up a hand, paused, and sighed. "Well... at the very least you can get rid of a few before they make it to the mainland." He shouldered himself, walking briskly over to the cannon, and rotating it. "Hey... good luck man."

"Thanks."

"Three, two, _one!"_

The metal bolt vibrated in Taiyang's tight grip as it flew through the dark sky, his nose almost overcome by the salty sea air. With a sudden jolt it impaled itself in one of the shadow beasts, and he rolled forward onto the beast's writhing back before putting his feet underneath him. His fists were at the ready, and...

and...

Nothing.

The Grimm all seemed to ignore his presence. Frog-like Dagon, the pale lobsters called Quadrille, even the very serpent he stood on, all seemed unnervingly calm as they swam en masse.

Taiyang looked around himself with a frown. The Grimm's golden eyes were unusually dim, all focused on the rising smoke and the odd flashes coming from where he knew Vale to be. A few seemed to notice him, for a moment or two, but then their gaze would... glaze over. As if they couldn't focus on him. As if he was a dream.

"...that's very weird," he mumbled.

Steeling himself, Taiyang settled in for an unnerving trip across the sea, his hair on edge as he constantly double-checked the monsters around him.

 **12**

"Wait!" Penny cried. "This is pointless! The world's going to end, why are you fighting us?"

The massive army of half-warped, modified duplicates of herself all paused for a moment.

"Well," one mused, "I mean... yeah. If Overlord Cinder succeeds, world ends, we all die. But if she fails, it's probably going to be impossible to put us back in a Pocket fast enough for us to survive the hard reboot. So, it's like... there's really no reason to do anything else, you know? Either way we die, and it's not like we have anything _else_ to do."

"Actually," piped up another, "I could go for a beer. Anybody want to hit the bars?"

"Ooo, I like that idea!"

"Yeah, I was getting bored anyway."

"Alright. Onward, to BOOZE!"

Three of the Penny duplicates walked off in search of alcohol, and proceeded to have an amazing, hilarious, dramatic, and completely irrelevant world-trotting adventure.

"...Anybody else?" The leader of the squad looked around. "Anyone else want to do something? I'm not going to be mad, just disappointed."

There was a general negative murmur.

"Oooookay then!" She raised her arm cannon. "Let's get back to our pointless deaths!"

Penny cringed. "I'm going to need a lot of therapy after this..."

 **13**

"...which means that Ironwood's going to lose air control if we don't bolster his forces. We need a launchpoint and anti-air guns-the honey badgers could work as mobile weapon platforms, but until we have enough ground-space clear-"

The door slammed open, letting a mustached man storm in. "WEISS SCHNEE!"

The white-haired girl looked up from the holographic map with a severe frown. "I don't have time for you. If you're not helping, get out."

"That is no way to speak to your father!" Jacques Schnee looked around the room, wincing at the sound of a distant explosion. "But I'll forgive your rudeness, given the situation."

"And I'll forgive your interruption if you promise to bring in more Dust and ships ASAP." Weiss looked back at the map. "It's the only thing you're good for."

"How dare you-!"

"Who let him in, anyway?" Yang asked.

A droid stuck its head in the door. "Sorry, general. His bullhead landed on the roof and he refused to leave without seeing you."

"Well, you've seen me." Weiss rose a hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm currently trying to keep the city from being leveled so I can sweep it for the only girl that can stop the world from ending, and somehow I don't think you can help with that."

"Young lady, your conduct is unbecoming of a Schnee, and-"

"This is not worth my time." Weiss snapped her fingers, summoning a ghostly image next to her. "Escort this man out."

Jacques Schnee blinked as a glowing reflection of himself walked up to him. "What is this?"

"You know how my semblance works, figure it out yourself."

"...This is unacceptable! Weiss, you cannot-" Jacques' words were cut off as his duplicate dragged him out of the room, the door shutting behind him.

Weiss let out a breath. "Well, _that_ just happened."

Blake slowly lifted her hands, bringing them together once. Twice. Thrice. "Bravo."

"Hmm." The white-haired girl allowed herself a small smile. "Ahem. As I was saying, we need ground-space. The best region would be the park here-I need you two to command my summons and clear out any enemy troops…

 **14**

Penny knew if she was human she would be shaking as the Nightmare's ashes dissipated into nothingness under the light of the desecrated sky. That had been horrifying, an exquisitely crafted horror that twisted and bent the world around her.

 _Get out of my head_.

A symphony of hallucinations and madness, backed by twisted versions of herself so much worse for their accuracy, each one an exaggerated form of the myriad of masks she wore, like all loopers did.

 _Why won't they shut up!_

Penny smiled viciously under the abhorrent twilight, all around her was ruin. The mockeries broken and burnt, many impaled by their own blades or torn asunder by powers from distant loops. The nightmare her… _itself_? Obliterated, all traces of it annihilated utterly.

 _I would not want to catalog genocide…._

It had been hard; her body was damaged far beyond what any other beast had done in this horrific loop. But it had been incredibly satisfying to do so. The Nightmare it was made for was one she had faced and accepted. It had still been terrifying, but less so than it would have been, once. And she won.

 _She remembered those green eyes laughing as it was torn apart. Butchered and broken, laughter like a thousand mockeries laughing at once, filling her ears before it ceased._

She beat the worst monster Cinder could throw at her.

"Weiss, this is Penny, do you copy?" Penny turned away from the havoc, her robotic eyes somehow glowing hellishly as they locked onto the rising Titan, blood and ichor swirling through the nightmarish sky and around a core darkness as it coalesced.

 _"I copy. What's wrong? You went silent for 12 minutes and you sound..."_

"Nightmare, Terminated. I am now advancing on a giant formed of blood." Penny's voice was clipped, but she knew Weiss would understand.

 _Please, just let this stop_.

 **15**

Two minutes ago, a lizard-boy had rushed into his home and informed him of a fleet of airships in the harbor. Ghira had rushed out, intending to rally the troops, but found not an assault, not a soldier, just... the airships, resting by the docks, and a single man in green.

"...What is this all about?"

"Chieftain Ghira, I bring ill news. Vale is..." The man in green sighed. "Vale is the center of a massive assault, the likes of which Remnant has never seen."

A quiet gasp came from behind him; he did not have to turn around to identify his wife. "Grimm?" he asked, instead.

"There are some, yes. There are also things... worse than Grimm. I have no right to ask for your assistance, I know this, but understand-if this army succeeds in holding Vale, Remnant will fall soon after." The man gestured at the airships behind him. "Whatever your choice, these are yours."

Ghira frowned at that. "You would give these to us, with no-"

"Quite frankly, chieftain, I simply do not have the _time_ to convince you. Do with the fleet as you will-I must return." The man in green paused. "I do not wish to influence your decision," he admitted reluctantly, "but your daughter is acquitting herself quite admirably."

Ghira straightened up, but the man vanished in a flash of light.

Kali, gently, stepped up to him. "Ghira... What was that? What has Blake gotten herself into?"

"...I don't know, but I intend to find out." He turned to the gathered crowd. "Any of you with technical training, I ask that you find the transmission centers of those ships. We need to connect to the cross-continental transmit station as swiftly as possible!"

 **16**

"Weiss, this is Yang. We've cleared the park of Penny-drones and borg-raptors. Blake's got your guys setting up as we speak."

 _"Understood, good work. Cinder's probably got something ready for you, stay alert!"_

"Got it. Yang out." The blond flicked her hair, looking over to Blake. "You get that?"

"Beware monsters, yeah, I was planning on that anyway." The faunus finished adjusting a harness and meowed at the tabbies she was lording over, sending them scattering. "I've got scoutcats all through this sector, I don't think anything's going to be sneaking up on us."

An odd rumble, deeper than any of the explosions that had gone off before, caught their attention.

"I just tempted fate, didn't I?"

Yang nodded. "Yep. I wonder what Cinder's... got..." Her voice trailed off as she stared beyond her girlfriend's shoulders.

"What is it?"

Yang gulped. "It's a trump card."

Blake turned, unwillingly, to see what Yang had spotted. Her eyes fell on the mountain that, in baseline, had imprisoned the great and terrible dragon whose assault was the capstone of Beacon's fall. Now, it was gripped in a scaly set of black digits, tipped with claws the size of a nevermore, and attached to a great foreleg that could have easily been mistaken for a mountain range, had it not moved with inexorable power. The barrel of the beast was covered in bone plates that looked almost as if they had been formed from the fragments of the moon itself, great spurs and spikes flowing down the shoulders in a cascade of death. A mighty neck, hewn from the essence of shadow, curved and held the head-a pointed, armored thing twice as large as the Schnee mansion with eyes akin to great lakes of fire, all seven of them focusing on the two loopers in the park.

They shared a look, a look that spoke a single word even as the great monstrosity inhaled: _Run._

A bolt of fire and shadow shot from the park, barely ahead of the great wave of vile and stench melting through the trees. It skidded to a stop in an alleyway, reforming into two panting huntresses. Blake put her hand to her ear. "Weiss, park's not clear anymore!"

 _"What? What happened?"_

Yang snorted. "Look out a fucking window!"

"MegaGrimm, and I do mean Mega. You know Ancalagon the Black, from the middle earth loops? Picture him as a Grimm."

 _"I see him. Crap, he's melting down buildings! I'm redirecting the honey badgers-"_

A great and horrific roar reverberated through the air. Yang drew in a breath as the sky above the alleyway was blotted out by a wing that, she was almost sure, was half as big as Patch. "Oh we're just breaking physics left and right here, aren't we?" She had just enough presence of mind to grab Blake and hug the wall-

-before the unfurled wing beat, once, generating a gale that rattled the foundations of the building they leaned against.

 _"...that just pushed the badgers back. Great."_ A sigh came over their radios. _"If we can't take out those wings, they're not going to get close enough to do any damage."_

Blake looked down at Gambol Shroud for a moment. Yang noticed, grabbed her hand. "You think it's strong enough?"

"This version, yes. Ruby's not the only one that modified her weapons." Blake grinned at her. "I'll need a boost, though."

Yang turned around. "Happy to oblige."

 _"I'm not right next to you two, can you clue me in?"_

"We're clipping the big guy's wings, Weiss." Blake clambered onto Yang's back. "Got a way to fight the breeze. Be ready with those badgers, Blake out."

"Ready for the most badass piggyback ride in the history of the multiverse?"

The faunus glowered at the blonde. "If anyone asks, it's the tetherball maneuver."

Gambol Shroud shot up, hooking high into the wall, and Ember Cecilia shot down, sending them into the sky. At the peak of their arc Blake pulled her gun back, launching it into the roof, and Yang's gauntlets blasted them forward. The great Grimm dragon brought its wing back, and the two huntresses were buffeted in a blast of wind; the moment it passed, yang fired again, and at their highest point Blake pulled up and reanchored.

The ratcheting of Ember Cecilia and the constant bangs of Gambol Shroud worked in tandem, huntress and huntress fighting against the force that pushed back giants. Their small forms and constant adjustment brought them ever closer to their target, blade hooking in roof, tree, and ground with quick regularity. The great dragon did spot them, spewing forth more bile, but Yang's blasts rocketed them out of danger. The creature's massive claws rose, moving with unnerving speed toward the pair-and Blake, with unerring precision, hooked between the fingers and reeled herself in.

"Ooof!" Yang rolled with the impact. "Okay! Split or stick together?"

"It's worked so far," Blake replied. "We'll keep tetherballing."

"Piggybacking."

 _"Tetherballing."_

"INCOMING!"

The faunus's gaze snapped up, up to the shoulder spikes of the dragon. A black horde was emerging from between them, pouring like dandruff if the dandruff was made of humanity-hating shadow monsters.

"...That is just plain gross."

"I fully agree."

That was all the banter they could muster before the swarm descended on them. True, they were lesser Grimm-baseline, even-but the sheer mass of Beowolves and Ursai would have drowned any lesser foe.

Meter by meter, the duo slaughtered their way up the massive arm, balancing as the dragon tried constantly to shake them off, dozens of Grimm falling like flies. True, they hopped great length with their unique shared traversal, but even then it took them five minute to reach the spikes, and five more to fight their way to the dragon's shoulder.

"Okay. We're here. Now what?"

"Now we rip the wings off."

"How?" She pointed at the sinews they were standing on. "The thing's wingbones are as thick as a skyscraper!"

"With this." Blake unpocketed something big and metal.

Yang boggled. "...Hold on, is that a nuke?!"

"Yep."

"You just carry around nukes?!"

Blake gave her an odd look. "You don't?"

Yang held up a finger, paused, and lowered it. "...I guess not..."

"I need you to hammer this into the base of the wing." Blake handed the bulky object to her. "Don't worry, it's stable. I'm going to go across to the other wing and plug another one in."

"Right! Yeah. Nuke the giant dragon Grimm." Yang nodded. "Totally reasonable."

"It's the only way to be sure."

Despite herself, the blonde snorted. "Dammit Blake, this is a serious situation!"

"I know." Taking a breath, the faunus glanced down. "Those Grimm are coming up. Let's get this done."

"Right."

Yang slung her nuke point first into the oily flesh beneath her, gearing up her gauntlets and punching it in deeper. Blake ran across the beast's neck, swinging up to the other shoulder and unpocketing a second nuke before she karate-chopped it into the base of the dragon's other wing. The two of them looked at each other from the great distance and, at an unseen signal, rushed down the collarbone, jumping off and meeting in midair.

Once more a bolt of shadow and fire dodged the great river of death, once more landing behind a wall. Blake held up a remote. "You want to do the honors?"

Yang took it with a grin. "You always get me such wonderful gifts." She pressed the button.

 **KRAAACKATHOOM!**

A terrible, pained roar accompanied the flash from above the alleyway. Yang and Blake risked a peek around the corner; the massive wings of the dragon were ragged and torn, gravity visibly tugging at them as they tore off and fell to the ground with a great wave of displaced air.

Blake tapped her ear. "Dragon's clipped. Send in the badgers."

Yang pointed. "Uh... actually, it's coming to them."

"What-?" Blake looked around the corner, flinching as the wingless dragon took a mile-long step. "WE BLEW YOUR WINGS OFF! YOU SHOULD BE TERRIFIED!"

" _Situation updated. Stay alive out there you two... I have to talk to JNPR. Weiss out."_

 **17**

"Soooooo." Pamela gave Peggy a look. "She seems pissed."

"Oh really? What in the world gave you that idea?"

A Goliath wreathed in flames flew through the air, barely missing the two of them as they ran.

"Just a guess, really. I could be way off the mark."

"You can't exactly blame her, though. I mean, we're basically a combination identity crisis, personal violation, and psychotic monstrosity threatening her friends."

"Well, yes, it's an obvious reaction. And I guess we can factor in millennia of trauma treatment not making her so meek, plus variants where she meets prototypes-"

"You were expecting her to have a BSOD, weren't you."

Pamela huffed as they dodged a rocket. "She's the one that would have it most literally!"

"What I want to know is where she got that body." Peggy looked back. "Oop, she's right above-"

Sparks and metal went flying as the two of them were crushed by a black metal foot. The machine that had done so didn't even stop its charge; the green lines along its form glowed as blades folded out from its arms, slicing through Grimm like clay. It wasn't until the end of the road that it stopped, steam venting from its tan-gray joints as the observational disk spun around.

"...Weiss, this is Penny. I've cleared sector E5. No sign of Ruby."

 _"Understood."_ A pause. _"How are you holding up?"_

"My emotional repression protocols are currently on overdrive, but other then that I'm fine."

 _"...You need a vent, Penny, otherwise it will eat you up. I'm partnering you with Ozpin."_

"Weiss, I'm-"

 _"This is an order. He's in sector E7. Ruby wouldn't... want you to stress yourself out so much."_

"...Understood. Penny out."

The massive machine took one last look at the carnage, her optics lingering on the massive dragon currently biting the head off a much less massive honey badger.

Then she rocketed through the streets.

 **18**

Grimm were bad. Super Grimm were super bad. But both of them, at least, made sense.

Then gravity had hiccuped, which was apparently a prelude to the world going insane.

Sun Wukong batted away another... something, a robotic four-legged beetlespider, careful to avoid the massive fangs-he had seen what happened when they bit into someone, and he did NOT want to become a monster. With increasingly practiced ease, he pointed Jingu Bang and fired into the bug's abdomen before it could flip back over. It gave a high-pitched squeal as it twitched its last.

"Okay, that's the last of those guys... I hope." With a shrug, he took stock of the situation-and his eyes fell on a red-haired woman strolling down the street. "Hey you! Can you fight?"

"Oh, yes."

"Great. There's Grimm and... things over this way, we need to clear them out."

The woman chuckled darkly. "My, my, my. You really don't know what's going on, do you?"

Sun looked back, just in time to block her blow-a one-handed strike that was oddly strong, oddly hard. "Whoa! What the heck, lady?!"

Her face glittered as she grinned. "You asked if I could fight. You didn't ask if I fought on the same side."

"Well, you know, I kind of figured survival and all that..." Sun kicked her back, taking a wider stance and holding out his hands warningly.

The woman was not phased at all, taking in his pose and scoffing. "Don't make me laugh."

"If I don't, then how _am_ I supposed to flirt with you?"

"...you really want to do this?" The woman pulled back her red hair. "You really want to fight me, Wukong-oh yes, I know who you are, and I know how you fight." She lowered, ready to lunge at him. "You have no idea what you face."

"You know what, you're right! I never bothered to ask your name." Sun smiled apologetically. "Sorry, that was rude of me."

"Hmmph. Octavia Ember T-977." She mock curtsied. "You may, if you wish, call me Tavs."

That was all the warning he got before she was upon him. Arm met arm met leg met knee-he swirled, she spun, the distant explosions a counterpoint to their deadly dance.

He was fast and strong-she was faster and stronger. But he had one thing she did not-a breath of air escaped her as his tail whipped out, tugging her legs from beneath her. The advantage pressed, Ruyi Bang point blank, a shot, her head snapped back with a gruesome crunch.

"Well, that was short." Sun turned away with a shrug. "Now, back to the..."

He blinked.

Turned back.

And witnessed the glittering lady standing, her neck resetting itself with audible pops and cracks.

"Oooookay. Super freaky."

The woman shrugged. "Well, immortality has some side benefits."

Sun barely had time to bring his Bangs together before he was again beset by the brutal beauty. This time he had enough leverage to keep her at a distance, bouncing and barreling about as benefited a beguiling broad, breaching barriers and brick walls with her form. Yet every time he swung her away, she emerged from the rubble, her glittering skin only highlighting her deranged, fanged smirk.

"So, smashing isn't working," Sun mused. "Shooting doesn't either."

"Congratulations, you have demonstrated basic observation skills."

Sun brought up his staff, blocking her kick with a smirk. "Yeah, and I can count to five too!"

"...very impressive," the woman drawled. "It'd be such a shame to kill you."

"Well, you could defect and help me fight whoever your master is."

An odd mix of emotions flashed across her face at that; Sun saw terror, contemplation, hope, devastation, and finally regretful resignation. "No. It's... too late for me." Her eyes narrowed. "But I will give _you_ one last chance: Run, and live the rest of your life away from this horror."

He looked around. "What, and abandon Vale?"

"Remnant's going to die in a few hours anyway. Maybe sooner." She waved her arm. "This... this isn't anything more than a show. She's rising already. You really want to waste the rest of your life on a hopeless battle?"

"Well, since I have no idea what you're talking about, yeah." Sun twirled his staff. "Here, I can make a difference."

"...no." He face became a mask of grim determination. "You can't."

This time the attack was not a dance. It was a simple swipe, which he blocked-and another, he blocked again. She growled, her eyes focused on him, and him alone-

-glass. A sign.

Her next slash, and he rolled, grabbed, tossed her through the window. Crystals and powder scattered as she landed, her feet skidding against the ground, and she looked up-

He held up a red Dust crystal and tossed it at her with a grin.

"...I hate you."

That bland statement was the last that Octavia Ember T-977 ever said, before she and the very shop she was in was consumed by fire. The explosion blew Sun back into the road, and he rolled half a block before coming to a stop.

"Heh... haha... hahahaha!" With a grunt, he pushed himself to his knees. "Wow. Okay, that... was a terrible idea."

"I should say so."

Sun's weapon snapped to the refined voice, but he lowered it in shock once he saw what it was pointing at. "A talking... dog?"

The corgi quirked an eyebrow. "You just blew up a vampire, from the looks of it killed a good dozen Visorak, there's a giant honey badger behind you-"

A massive furry paw hit the road with a large BUUUUMPH.

"-and the weirdest thing about the situation," he continued, "is the talking dog."

The blonde boy shook his head. "Actually, it's your accent. What is up with that?"

"Acquired taste." The corgi glanced at the shop. "Good show, though."

"Yeah, the girls all go crazy over me." Sun stood with a groan. "I think it's the tail."

"Mmm, they do like it when the tail wags," the dog said wisely. "I'm Zwei, by the way."

"Sun Wukong. You have any idea what's going on?"

"It's a long story..." He cocked his head up at the boy, and seemed to make a decision. "Sun, how would you like to help me save the world?"

"Well, I was planning on doing that anyway. You seem to have a better handle on the situation then I do." Sun waved. "What kind of dog are you, anyway?"

"War corgi. I'm a war corgi."

 **19**

"Okay, we need a theme song."

Phoebe looked at Patricia. "A theme song?"

"Yeah! I mean the explosions are cool and all, but wouldn't it be more awesome if we were destroying Vale IN SONG?!"

"...Well, it would be more entertaining. Any ideas?"

"Hmm. Something about strings and destroying the world?"

"Should we make it up as we go?"

"Nah, see, then we'd have to teach it to everyone. We've got to go with a reasonably common song that all of us would know."

"Good point, excellent point. Ooo! I got it!"

The two Pennydrones were promptly bisected by Qrow. "Glad I nipped _that_ in the bud..."

 **20**

Yang stood before the invading army of Southwestern Vale. Grimm, dinosaurs, robots, orcs, orks, zombies, kaiju, vampires, assorted giant animals, and more, most of whom hadn't had the courtesy of selecting just one end-of-the-world cliche, and had instead combined several. And even the ones that had, had clearly gotten quite a few weaknesses covered.

Yang could count hundreds of thousands of them, before their constant movement as they closed in on her made her lose count, though a rough estimation as to the size she had counted compared to the rest, meant that there were millions that were close enough for her to see, at the very least.

Miles upon miles of nothing but acceptable targets.

Cracking her knuckles while walking forward slowly, Yang slowly removed and dropped her weapons into her pocket. A single piece of fruit was pulled out in their place. One bite, and one moment of her taste buds screaming in agony later, the color drained out of her hair, leaving it bone white.

Yang figured she had just enough time to warn Weiss before the horde arrived, while she waited to re-familiarize herself with her old/new powers.

"Hey Weiss?" she quipped over the comms as she reached into the air and made claw shapes with her fingers.

 _"Yeah?"_

"Might want to tell everyone to brace themselves."

 _"... Yang, what are you doing?"_

Yang just smirked, clenching her fists tight, the air rippling and folding in her grasp like cloth. **"Shima... Yurashi!"**

 _"... Oh, son of a- You swore you would never use that! BRACE FOR IMPACT!"_ Weiss shouted over all systems.

Yang yanked down.

And physics decided, _'Screw this, I'm out!'_

It started small. A few of the horde started tripping, those on wheels started to veer off center, and everything seemed to be just a touch crooked.

Soon enough though, the full scope of what Yang had unleashed make itself known. The ground tilted more and more, hundreds of the horde stumbling onto others as they were knocked off their feet. Buildings started cracking and collapsing, and great clouds of dust were kicked up. Soon, gravity itself seemed to flee, things starting to float in the air, seemingly without weight.

The entire horde watched, as the ground Yang stood on seemed to rotate in their vision, leaving her standing upside down on the ground over a bottomless pit.

The truth was very much the opposite, however. The last thing any of them saw was Yang's smirk as the small country's worth of landmass was completely flipped, and then descended once more, crushing them under millions of tons of earth and stone.

Yang just grinned as the earth shook from the impact. "Ah, One Piece powers... good times. I should get back into practice with them." she mused, turning to move on to the next area, pausing just long enough to restore her hair color with a quick flare of her semblance.

 **21**

With a shout, Taiyang skidded to a halt on the docks of Vale. At least, what remained of them. Water was lashing up and through the shattered rocks, around claw marks and burnt holes. The waves had all the ferocity of a beowolf pack, not to mention there was a constant barrage of actual Grimm in the waters.

Ahead was Vale. In the misery of Grimm tidings and haunting screams, Taiyang could barely track the shifting shapes of huntsmen, huntresses, and those they fought. Far above, he could see a blazing light, and what looked like stones spiraling around it. In the south-west, some kind of shock wave spiraled out.

Behind him, his ride gurgled and sunk into the depths, only to be replaced by another serpentine Grimm.

Taiyang barely had a moment to collect himself as this new Grimm snapped its jaws and embedded itself in the dock beside him.

"Oh, _now_ you want to fight," Taiyang said. It roared back, alongside a dozen more - and not just from out in the ocean. Taiyang turned, and found many Grimm staring back. Not just Grimm. Metallic warriors, humans with stone-like skin, strange beasts, and countless other creatures were mingling among the Grimm. Not all were paying attention to him, but enough were. That is, enough to swarm him at any moment, along with any other huntsman or huntress.

His little girls were somewhere in this mess.

He settled, fists raised, and charged.

 **22**

"And that's another of those robots down!" Sun cried, twirling his staff. "Zwei, how are you-"

He turned around, finding that his canine companion had somehow torn apart a few dozen of the strange enemy tanks without breaking a sweat.

"...You know, I get that you're a _war_ corgi and all, but I'm starting to feel like a third wheel here."

"We need all the wheels we can get." Zwei looked up to Sun. "Was Ruby in the cafe?"

"No, just some more glitterclone vampires."

"Damn. Well, that's this sector swept." The dog rushed over to the waiting honey badger kaiju. "Come on. We've got to get to the next point."

"There are still some people here-"

"Look. I want to save them as much as you do. More so, I'm a dog, mankind's best friend and all that. But if we can't find Ruby, things will only get worse." Zwei pointed to a few of the glowing constructs. "Weiss is already running evacuations. You and I need to move."

Sun frowned, reluctantly joining him on the platform strapped around the badger's ankle. "It doesn't feel right," he grumbled.

Zwei took a breath, and let it out slowly. "This should never have happened. I should have noticed something wrong... somebody should have noticed _something_ , before it got to all this."

"What, there's warning signs for the world going crazy?"

"...It's one specific person. We all knew she was off-kilter, but we thought..." Zwei paused. "...It's too long to explain right now, but suffice it to say this is a deeper madness then anything you would ever have heard of before."

"Hey." Sun patted Zwei's head. "Don't beat yourself up. You're a dog, right? You're supposed to think we're all good people, and we're all supposed to call you good boys."

"...I don't know, Sun. I don't know if I'm more angry at her for doing this... or at myself for not seeing it."

"Well... you're trying to stop it, right? Helping's always a good thing to do."

"Yeah." The corgi managed a chuckle. "You would think that, huh."

"I'm a simple man, with simple thoughts and simple plans." Sun stretched his arms out. "Probably why I haven't gone crazy wondering about all this yet."

"...True, I suppose." Zwei glanced at the forces on the ground. "Looks like we're in the next sector. You want to take the tanks this time?"

"One tank. _One_. I know my limits!"

The war corgi and the adorable idiot steeled themselves and leapt once more into the fray.

 **23**

"Alright, this is just too much. I'm calling Ozpin," Roman said to Neo as they were cutting down Grimm, White Fang, and Pennydrones alike. "I'm just glad that lightsabers and Melodic Cudgel are all one-handed weapons... Oh, hello Oz!"

 _"Roman. What do you want? If you hadn't noticed, Weiss is commanding the forces of Remnant."_

"Oh, you know, just wondering why exactly it took so long to find out that _Cinder is Ascending_."

 _"That would be because Ruby said that I was worrying too much this loop."_

"Oh for the love of- Did you tell _anyone_ about this? We could have solved this so easily!"

 _"Don't you think we wouldn't have already tried tracking the scroll? It couldn't be reached! Only Cinder knows where Ruby is right now. Well, her and everything that was in her Pocket..."_

"...everything that was in her pocket... Neo! How does your semblance work this loop?"

"I can layer illusions over myself and create static illusions that break like glass."

"Good! I have a plan that will let us find Red! Okay, so here's what we need to do..."

 **24**

"...Oh what the fuck."

Pyrrha shot Nora a disapproving look. "Language, young lady."

"Okay, first of all, end of the world, screw politeness. Secondly-" Nora held out a hand. "Five Nucklavee! _Five!_ One wasn't bad enough, Cinder's got FIVE!"

Jaune shrugged. "Well, as horrible as they are, they're only baseline Grimm. We can take them."

The five centauroids suddenly activated energy shields, mounting machine gun-like devices to their forward heads.

"...I would like to echo Nora's sentiments," Ren deadpanned.

 **25**

"Salutations! I'm Penelope!"

"And I'm Pandora!"

"And welcome to the _**END OF THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!"**_

"That's right ladies and gents, it's happening here and now!"

"Stars burning out!"

"Gravity breaking down!"

"The moon finally finishing its collapse!"

"Cats and dogs, mastyria!"

"Now, if you were watching this channel at some point in the past five hours, you would know that Lisa Lavender was reporting on the unprecedented Grimm attack on Vale."

"Of course, that was back when this was Vale News Network. Now it's APOCALYPSE NEWS!"

"But that level of devotion to the craft simply resonated with our cold, dead hearts, and we couldn't just throw her out."

"So here she is now, Lisa Lavender! An incredibly devoted newscaster if I do say so myself. Miss Lavender, what drives your loyalty to ensuring people hear the haps?"

"MMMMPH! MMGNPH HRROMPH MMMMMMMMININ!"

"I see! Incredible. Simply incredible, wouldn't you agree Penelope?"

"Oh absolutely, Pandora. Absolutely dutely! Do you have any words of wisdom for your loyal viewers?"

"Hggmpfph hfmm hrmf hhhym hfh _wmh_ hhhmpghsha hf hmpphgs hrq hmmpsh!"

"Well said. You know something Pandora, I think we should keep her around!"

"I couldn't agree more, Penelope! But do you think we should ungag her?"

"Well, why not? We're all going to die anyway! No need to keep anyone in suspense!"

"Of course, of course! And here we are-"

"SOMEBODY HELP THE PSYCHOPATHS SLAUGHTERED EVERYONE THEY'VE TAKEN OVER THE TRANSMIT-"

"Miss Lavender, some professionalism! That happened fifteen minutes ago, that's hardly breaking news!"

"Now now, you can't honestly blame her. She's been baking under these studio lights for... why, a while! Such devotion!"

 **26**

Oscar was terrified. He'd seen some crazy things since the time in his barn when he discovered he had Ozpin's voice in his head, particularly since he'd Woken up the next Loop as a voice in the _Ozpin's_ head, but this really took the cake. He was a farmer! Sure, he wanted more adventure, but more on the level of "see Mistral" than "fight vast hordes of terrifying opponents in an attempt to stop someone from Ascending to be a Goddess and destroying Remnant forever." And so, Ozpin found himself gravitating towards Vale's Agricultural District. It was on the southern border, so it was experiencing an invasion just as heavy as the rest, if not heavier, but he still felt slightly more comfortable in the familiar surroundings.

Ozpin caught his breath from slaying several Goliaths only to find himself surrounded by Salem clones. After so much time in the Loops since Volume 3 ended, he'd fought more versions of Salem than he cared to count. He won most fights, losing a rare few in Null Loops, and an even rarer few when an unusually creative or powerful Salem got the drop on him and any other Awake Loopers in a Variant, but he'd never had to fight several hundred at once before. Still, it wasn't hopeless.

"Dear Ozpin, the day of your doom is at hand," one of the Salems said.

"I think you may find yourself surprised," Ozpin said mildly.

"So arrogant! Even with your Looping abilities, you have struggled enough against us in the past that there is no way you can defeat us all!" another Salem gloated.

"You're forgetting one thing. Most of our confrontations have been in your layer of power, but this time we are in Vale. This time, we are in **my** kingdom. You will not defeat me here." As he spoke, Ozpin felt another aspect of his soul come to the forefront. This one was vaguely defined and never had much effect on his mind. It didn't even have a voice. But it did fill him with a conviction to defend his kingdom, and a desire to use specific weapons.

Most of the citizens in this part of Vale were dead by this point, but one young man in a nearby barn had his Aura unlocked and had managed to survive so far. As he peeked out a window, he saw Headmaster Ozpin, dressed in his usual green. In one hand, he held a sword—in the other, his cane—and lightning and powerful winds surrounded him. _Whoa, it's like the history books._

 **27**

"Halt!"

Raven quirked an eyebrow, holding up her hand to keep her own from attacking. "Guardsman. I would speak to your commanding officer."

"I don't know if you've noticed, _bandit_ , but we're rather busy at the moment-"

"We are here to charter a voyage to Vale and assist in its defense. Your cooperation is unnecessary, but it _would_ make things far less troublesome."

To his credit, the man only blinked once in surprise. "...I will send for the captain. If your intentions are as peaceful as you claim, you will wait here."

Her hand clenched on the grip of her sword. After a moment, she relaxed it. "Agreed. Make it swift."

The guardsman stepped into the gatehouse, watching her warily, and started talking into his scroll. One of her men stepped forward, but fell back at her stern gaze.

It took all of twelve minutes for an officer to arrive-and Raven examined him as he approached. The finery wasn't important; it was the stance, the expression. One who had been in battle against the Grimm, one who would do anything to save the 'innocent,' whatever that even meant.

"On any other day I would have had you shot on the spot," he greeted her tersely.

"I would not have been surprised at the attempt," she replied.

"Why are you here?"

"I doubt your man failed to inform you-"

"Why are you here?" he asked again. "Why choose to join in _this_ fight, when you have been against mankind in so many others?"

Raven glowered at him. "One would have to be blind, deaf, and without a sense of _touch_ to see what happened to the moon. My sources tell me this is but a taste of the oblivion that will await us all if the one behind it succeeds."

"So you fight to survive, then."

"Strength is needed for survival. And by the same token, survival is needed to grow stronger."

"Not to redeem yourself. Or take advantage of the confusion to gather more resources for your tribe." He quirked a brow. "Not, perchance, because your own blood is embroiled deeply in this battle."

Raven shifted her stance warily.

"Reports from Vale are confused and disturbing, but there are certain trends we have noted. A small group of individuals, numbering less than twenty, are singlehandedly causing a number of issues for the assailants." He held up his scroll. "Among the names consistently mentioned are Qrow Branwen, who is acting like a huntsman out of legend, and one... Yang Xiao Long, and the reports on _her_ paint her as a near literal angel of war."

The captain let his scroll fall, looking her in the eyes. "Your records were not expunged after you left, miss Branwen."

"...My past is irrelevant to this conversation. At the moment, I am more concerned with assuring that there will be _something_ in my future."

"Hmmm."

Their gazes remained locked for a full minute.

"...I cannot allow a bandit clan into Kuchinashi. However," the captain quickly added, "we are using low-flying airships for this. I'll send one your way in ten minutes; your men will need to get on quickly, and they will be watched."

"That is acceptable."

"Good. I trust your experience with chaos will make you a decent force on the battlefield. I shall go make the arrangements now." With a nod, the captain turned and walked away, leaving Raven and her clan with their own thoughts.

 **28**

 _"Reports are still streaming in from across Vacuo of an unprecedented Grimm migration. The Grimm are ignoring anything and anyone that gets in their path in favor of moving, en masse, toward the already beleaguered city of Vale-"_

Click.

 _"-Nevermore Queen, infamous raider leader, has made the contentious decision to have her group join the Mistral forces mustering to Vale's assistance. When asked, she simply stated that strength was needed in order to prevent-"_

Click.

 _"-declared a G9 situation, a theoretical alarm level where all of Remnant is threatened by a mass Grimm invasion. This unprecedented move has been used by General Ironwood to call upon the entire military and any and all Huntsmen and Huntresses in the defense-"_

Click.

 _"-can plainly see, the kaiju honey badger's corpse is not only surprisingly gory, but blocking all traffic coming down the west avenue. Traffic jams and trauma are expected to last for up to five years! Or until the world ends. This is Patricia, with Apocalypse News. Back to you, Pandora!"_

Click.

Ghira leaned back from the screen, his gaze drifting across the assembled technicians and leaders of Menagerie. His eyes fell, for a moment, on his wife; Kali was leaning against a console, shock preventing her from processing all that she had just seen.

"...I will not deny that I have a personal stake in this," he began. "My daughter is in that... mess. So if you wish to call me emotional, go right ahead. But do not call me foolish when I say this: We cannot stand by and do nothing."

Murmurs and mutters passed through the room.

"...I will ask no man, no woman, to come with me. I will make no demands-Menagerie is a safe place for Faunus, and Vale is currently the most dangerous place on Remnant. But the world is in danger, perhaps... more so then we can possibly imagine. All I ask is that you spread the word: The Grimm are poised to destroy everything. Anyone who wishes to stop it will join me on these airships in thirty minutes."

Kali's ears twitched. "Ghira..."

"I am the chieftain, and that means I must do what is best for my people. And what is best for my people is making sure the world survives." The large man turned to an antlered woman. "...Maral, I am leaving Menagerie to you in my absence. I'm sure that Kali-"

"If you're going, I'm going too."

Ghira blinked.

Kali stood firm. "I... I don't know what's happened to Blake, and I can't stand not knowing what will happen to you. If you're going... then I am too," she repeated.

After a moment, Ghira nodded. "Somehow, I doubt I could stop you. Maral, will you spread the word?"

The antlered woman bowed. "I shall do my best."

"Thank you." He turned to the others. "Well? If you're not coming, get off. If you are, we need to prep these airships."

 **29**

Qrow fought his way through the forces Cinder had marshaled for her army. He needed a way to keep her occupied, keep her attention away from when his older niece and her friends were working on rescuing Ruby.

The best way to do that was to make himself a threat to her. To make her view him as a priority over the others.

He didn't know where Ozpin had gone. Maybe the man was fighting the Salems Cinder had brought out. Salem always seemed to have a grudge against against him after all. So it made sense they would target the older man.

Qrow turned around a corner and saw seething black. He moved, easily cutting them down. He smirked in grim satisfaction as his blade cut upwards, slicing an Adam in two. Qrow noticed some of the Grimm focusing elsewhere, swooping down at another target. He moved, leaving death in his wake. Then he saw the other person.

"TAI!" he hollered.

"QROW?" Taiyang yelled back before being knocked into a wall and retaliating by punching the responsible Grimm's head off. "What's going on? I saw the news and got here as fast as I could!"

"Short version? Someone is trying to get a _lot_ of power at the world's expense. Long version..." Qrow shot down a Nevermore and some Griffins. "Well, that's a _really_ long story."

 **30**

Sun wiped his brow as he turned away from the remains of a massive three headed armadillo, and seriously? A three headed armadillo? How did that even work?

All around was devastation and blood, a deluge of blood had flooded the streets almost ankle high. All of it from a mass of massive, bloated and slimy humanoid bat… things at least 50 meters tall each. Now all dead by Zwei who was trotting back over.

They did not even act as good weapons; they were to slow to do anything bar feed off the honey badgers (before they got disemboweled moments latter) or the other massive monsters (before they were disembowelled moments later). Sun knew he was not a tactical genius, but releasing monsters that fed off your own monsters did not seem like a good idea, even more so when they could not even do that properly. Which was likely why they had been cowering around here.

"Hey, Zwei, what were those bat things?"

"Red Court Vampires that Cinder enlarged for some reason. I don't' know why, as they were supposed to hide in human... 'flesh suits' I suppose works, and drug people with their saliva." The War Corgi made a shrugging motion as he walked back over, "I suspect these were simply failed experiments she wanted to use. The venom is too diluted to even make people addicted. They drink blood and store it in their swollen stomachs, disemboweling kills them."

Huh, Sun looked as the disgusting corpses before shrugging. More vampires, not surprising, ones that hide in human flesh suits sort of like possession Grimm? He could see that, and even failed experiments could be used to slow people down.

Still…

"Where are these things coming from? I mean, they are just there one moment when before there was nothing," Sun rolled his shoulders as he followed Zwie to the next area, "I don't get it."

"Pocket Reality to start with, but as for how they are getting released? I don't know for certain, but I suspect it's via portals."

Sun turned that over in his mind, killing a Beowolf that just sprouted in front of him without breaking his stride, before shrugging. "Man I am so confused at the moment. Well, what next?"

 **31**

"We'll be entering Vale airspace in five minutes," the pilot reported, his tail twitching. "Do you have any orders, chieftain?"

Ghira took a breath, turning to his wife. "Get all the airships on the line, and transmit on all frequencies."

Kali nodded, pressing a few buttons. "You're on air."

"This is chieftain Ghira, speaking to and for the Menagerie reinforcements. We have come to aid in the defense of Vale. Today, Menagerie stands with Remnant; today, Menagerie will unite with those who fight this incursion; today, Menagerie is ready for battle! Six hundred Faunus, brave and strong, are ready for battle-defenders of Vale, hold out, for we are on your doorstep."

He nodded to the comms terminal; Kali shut the channel down. "Message sent. And we're getting a broadcast from... _Weiss Schnee?!"_

"...put her through."

"Ghira-"

"We have no idea what's going on down there," Ghira said firmly. "Put her through."

"...alright."

 _"Chieftain Ghira, it is an honor and a pleasure. I would have more formalities, but we're in a tight spot-the enemy has entrenched themselves in the southern quarter, and general Ironwood's air forces are all but wiped out. I suggest you land as swiftly as possible, a mile on foot right now is safer than a mile in the sky-"_

"Sir, we have contacts moving in, fast!"

 _"Oh, shit... Land_ _ **now**_ _chieftain! I'll send Blake to meet up with you and-"_

The window shattered as _something_ plowed through them, snagging the pilot's head and snapping it instantly. "Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalutations!" The little girl whose legs had been swapped out for jet engines gave a deranged giggle. "Welcome to Vale!" She all but cartwheeled as a mouse-eared woman pointed a gun and fired at her, shrugging off the dust shells like they weren't even there. "You know, it's great that you've all come! I've been collecting ears this whole time!" A sword lanced out from behind her and decapitated the woman. "Now I can get a twofer!"

 _"Crap-Blake, this is Weiss, you need to-"_

"Oh, shut up princess," the girl said, her sword unfolding and blasting a laser. Kali jumped back with a cry of shock as the comms terminal was bisected, rushing behind the commander's desk. "Honestly, the girl rambles on and on and on about dignity and honor and sanctity, or whatever the hell jedi care about these days."

Ghira shifted into an aggressive position. "You are not leaving this airship alive."

"Alive? Oh, you mean alive in the sense that I am cognizant and capable of self action, not in the sense that I actually have organic components. Got it." The girl looked around as the bridge staff geared up for battle. "Wait, was that supposed to be a threat? BOOOOOOORING!"

She laughed mockingly as more swords spun out from behind her, deflecting multiple dust shots. Kali covered her ears, folding up her knees as the monstrous girl twirled around the room, cutting off arms, legs, tails, while humming a childish tune.

Finally, the girl stopped, hovering in front of Ghira. "And now for you. What should I do? I mean, I have to kill you sure, but you're Blake's little daddikins! How can I use you to hurt her the most?"

"How do you know-?"

Ghira's voice was cut off when all the blades at once launched into his chest. "She's one of the big four, your girl. Thorn in our side-of _course_ we know all about her! You know what, I think this is the best option," she mused. "Let daddikins die a pointless death! She'll absolutely hate-"

Something in Kali's chest swelled, a fire that tore through her panic. With a snarl the forgotten woman launched herself up, lunging at the surprised girl and grabbing her by the head. "YOU WILL NOT HURT MY DAUGHTER!"

"Wait, _you're_ here too-?!"

That was all the girl could say before Kali smashed her head into the pilot's console. Sparks and bolts enveloped the ginger face, her whole body twitching as the faunus held her down.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo _oooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww..."_

Her voice modulated down from its former high pitch to a low, almost robotic monotone, before at last cutting off. The jets powered down as her body stopped twitching.

After a moment, Kali pulled her hands back. "I... I just did that. I just-GHIRA!" She spun around, rushing forward. "Ghira-!"

Her husband breathed heavily, slumped on the command console, blood pooling underneath him.

"Ghira-" Kali reached forward, hesitated, reached out and gently held his head. "Come on, Ghira, we have to-"

 _"Warning: Control system inoperational. All hands begin crash preparation protocols."_

He took a deep breath, looking at her. "Go."

"Ghira-"

"I can't... not fast enough." With a bloody cough, he cupped Kali's face. "I'm sorry."

"Ghira, please-"

"Find her, Kali. For me."

 _"Warning: Control system inoperational. All hands begin crash preparation protocols."_

Kali looked out the window as the ground came into view. She turned back to Ghira, ears folded back, eyes wet.

"Go, Kali. Find Blake." Ghira coughed. "Tell her... tell her how proud..."

The woman leaned forward, gently kissing him. "I will."

He smiled. "...I'll wait for you in the next life."

"I'll... hold you to that."

 _"Warning: Control system inoperational. All hands begin crash preparation protocols."_

Kali backed off reluctantly, staring at Ghira's face for a moment or two...

...then she tore her gaze away, rushing out of the bridge.

 **32**

Ciel Soliel whipped her pistol around, her shots piecing the skulls of the strange cybernetic spiky lizard monster people in front of her. As soon as it clicked dead she tossed it into one's face, flicking her wristwatch up behind her and triggering a momentary energy shield as she wrenched a gun from its confused talons. She dropped the shield and spun, firing the strange weapon at the monsters around her, and caught her pistol just as the last of the squad fell.

"Holy shit that was awesome!"

The girl spun, pointing both guns at the speaker, before lowering them. "Miss Katt! You're still alive."

"Alive and kicking!" Neon Katt spun around on her skates and spun her glowsticks, smacking back a Grimm that resembled no creature Ciel had ever heard of. "I don't remember you having a pistol, though."

"The previous owner was dead, I co-opted it."

"Huh, battlefield resources." Neon managed a small giggle. "I took Flynt's Dust after he got gutted. I guess professor Gormlaith wasn't so gormless after all!"

Ciel stared at her.

"What?"

"Neon there are robot armies battling each other, giant furry creatures covered in guns fighting things I have no name for, and an even BIGGER Grimm is stomping around spewing deathbile everywhere! WHY IN THE GODS' NAMES ARE YOU MAKING JOKES?!"

"It's a psychological defense mechanism to keep me from focusing on all the tragedy and shutting down out of sheer despair," Neon replied easily.

"That-actually... makes a disturbing amount of sense." Ciel coughed. "I'm... sorry to hear about your partner."

"Yeah, it sucks. At least mine didn't become an army of deranged enemy cyberzombies."

"Cyber _ghouls_ , thankyouverymuch!"

The two girls whirled around at the new voice, Ciel blasting the robotic ginger on reflex. Neon winced, giving her a look. "How are you holding up?"

"I-I've just been focusing on taking down as many as I can, and surviving."

"Me too. I think that Schnee girl might have a plan or something-"

Ciel shook her head. "Oh, her-I saw her, she was... it was insane." She looked up. "Four blades, two made of light-countless rings-she froze the Grimm, she, she was like a warrior right out of legend, she passed and they DIED, and then she made a building appear out of THIN AIR!"

"Oooooookay. I think you might be having a few stress hallucinations."

"THIS WHOLE THING FEELS LIKE A STRESS HALLUCINATION! I've never hallucinated before-I don't even know what's real anymore!"

"Hey-hey, hey, look at me. Listen to me." Neon took her head and rested it against her chest. "I'm real. Okay? And a lot of this... a lot of this is real. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dismissed what you said-it sounded impossible, but that's... not a factor anymore. Let's just get through this together, okay?"

"O...Okay, miss Katt." Ciel took a shuddering breath, pushing herself back. "My... apologies. I don't know what got into me."

"You've had to kill a few dozen duplicates of your partner and endure whatever craziness this all is." Neon smiled faintly. "That tends to cause some stress, and you needed to let it out."

"...Stop it." She managed to smile back. "Stop being so logical. You're the crazy one."

"Yep."

"Alright. I... I'm good now. Do you have any idea where we should go from here?"

"Not a gods-damned clue."

 **33**

"This is the Kuraifunsai-ki to any forces that remain. We have..." The pilot glanced behind him warily. "...We have combat specialists to drop off wherever you need-"

The airship suddenly swerved, the inertia throwing Raven and her people off balance. She barely kept her footing, looking out the windows. "What attacked us?"

"Some flying pod machine, it's not on any known manufacturing list-"

"Land us now."

The pilot glared at her. "Look, I don't know who you think-"

"We're ground troops," Raven said flatly. "We won't be any help in the air. Get us off the ship, and you have less mass to worry about."

"...Descent initiating."

The bandit leader turned back to her clan. "In a few moments we're going to be in Vale. Our goals are simple: Kill the Grimm, and anyone or anything helping them, and meet up with whoever is leading the defense." She managed a wry smirk before putting her helmet on. "Try not to die, will you?"

A wave of dark chuckles went through the group, the men and women checking their weapons one last time. The hatch opened with a groan, grass rushing by, and Raven led them out onto the ground...

...and into chaos. Chaos the likes of which she had never seen, imagined, or dared even think. A behemoth Grimm dragon stood in the center of Vale, spewing bile and treating the massive furred creatures striding through the streets as a cat would treat a swarm of mice, and on and around the beasts strange machines and glowing forms did battle with other strange machines and glittering people, and unknowable beasts and grimm flowed through it all as countless vessels of foreign and impossible origin screamed through the air...

Raven's eyes shut briefly, as she forced herself to breathe, to focus.

"What do we do?"

Her eyes snapped open at the question. "The dragon. It's the most obvious enemy. If we are to find our allies, we must announce our presence." She pointed her blade. "The wings have been ripped off, it is crippled."

The man behind her growled. "...It is far too late to escape this madness, so I will follow you. But I want it known that I think this is foolhardy."

"Noted." She turned to her clan. "Strike only to defend yourselves! We make for the dragon, we shall blind it-or we will die trying. Let the shadows fly!"

With that warcry, she charged into a battle beyond her wildest nightmares.

 **34**

It was clear that the smoldering ruins of the airships would never fly again. But at the very least they provided cover, cover enough for the survivors to regroup.

"Those-those things! They weren't girls, they were machines of some sort-"

"I saw one, she was singing, she ripped his throat out and she was singing-"

"Look, see over there? Those aren't Grimm and Huntsmen fighting, those are, things and, and, and other things-"

Kali looked around her, listening to the discontent and fearful murmurs. A number of individuals were trying to keep things calm, trying to organize the survivors of the Menagerie contingent, but with half their number gone before they had even reached the battlefield the terror was slowly increasing. She looked back to the ship she had crawled from... to the ship that was her husband's final resting place.

"...we should just run," said somebody, and she snapped her eyes to them.

"Run?"

Kali marched up to the man-a cheetah faunus, by the looks of his spots-and glared into his eyes.

"You want us to run?" she demanded. "After all we've sacrificed to get here, after promising to help those who are under attack?!"

"We can't help them! Look at us!" The man gestured around. "Less then three hundred, against... against I don't even know what! And without Ghira-"

"-Ghira was a great man." Kali glared at him. "And his greatest act was always to inspire others to be better, to better the world around them. When you got on these ships, you knew full well what we were headed into, but you decided to stay-All of you!" She shouted to the gathered crowd. "All of you knew this could be your death, and you decided that it was worth it!"

There was a general mumble, a combination of shame and agreement.

"...I don't know what to do," Kali admitted. "But, looking at this?" She gestured toward the city, toward the monsters and demons and soldiers and others that had turned it into a burning wreck. "I know I need to do something. Somewhere in there, there's somebody with a plan, and I intend to find them and-and make myself useful."

"...You don't even have a weapon," the cheetah faunus pointed out.

"You're right, I don't. I don't have a weapon, or training to use a weapon, or... any idea what's going on. All I have is my conviction." She took a breath. "And at this point, that's a lot more then you have."

For a moment, there was silence.

"...I am going to go do what I came here to do," Kali said firmly. "If you want to stay behind-"

"No. You're right. We knew we were doomed." The man took a breath. "I... I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting this. But I am with you, madam Belladonna."

A horned woman stepped up next to him. "We're all with you."

Kali blinked, looking out at the crowd, as they all slowly turned to her.

"...Alright. Alright!" She turned back to the battle. "I... don't have much military training, but... from what I can see, those blue things are protecting civilians, which makes them our allies. They seem to be caught up by those... other things, shooting them, so-"

"They're coming from the southwest part of the city," the horned woman noted. "If they have a base in there, we can do more damage and hopefully cut them off."

Kali nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. And I guess I'll pick up something to shoot with as we go."

The cheetah faunus bowed to her. "Lead the way."

 **35**

"...so I said 'What do you know? You're _blind!'"_

The ginger-haired monstrosity grinned for a moment or two at the horrified civilians.

"Oh come on! Not a single-seriously! That's hilarious!"

"Oh, I agree," said another ginger. "But you've got to factor in the audience."

"What audience? I mean we're just doing this cause, well, we've got nothing better to do!"

"True, but you know, if we're performing we're performing for somebody, right?"

"I thought we were performing for ourselves?"

"For ourselves? Don't be ridiculous! We're all Pennydrones, performing for ourselves is just too boring, you know?"

The first ginger tapped her metal fingers on her cheek. "Yeah, okay, point. It's more fun when your audience isn't predictable... Who is our audience anyway?"

"Well, obviously not the loopers," the second mused. "They'd kill us as soon as look as us."

"The vamp-no, all the vampires are so _serious_." The first one gagged. "Like, oh geeze, take this all seriously why don't you, this is the culmination of eon's worth of blah blah blah blah blah, they're just sooooo boring."

"Preachin' to the choir, hun." The second ginger shrugged. "And really, most of the rest of the battlefield is just animals and droids. And the Grimm, obviously."

"So that basically leaves the civvies." The Pennydrone looked over the quavering mass of people, contemplating them as a building outside exploded. "So... what would civilians find funny about the apocalypse, do you think?"

"I dunno. They're all basically mortal, so... actually, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't find anything funny, now that I think about it..."

"What?! Nothing?!"

"Nope."

"...At ALL?!"

"Yeah, we've kind of crossed the point of no return from their perspective."

The Pennydrone threw up her hands. "That's it. I-I'm done! I'm out! I quit, I'm going to Vacuo. I spent like, three hundred years working on this routine, and-"

"Wait wait wait, we're thinking about this wrong." The second ginger clapped her hands. "See, what you want is for the joke to be remembered, right?"

"Yeah."

"But when you think about it, the only people that'll survive are Cinder, if she Ascends, and the loopers if she doesn't."

"But neither of them are in any state to pay attention to my shenanigans. Cinder's too busy having a godgasmic breakdown, and the loopers are too busy scurrying about in a desperate attempt to save the world."

"Huh. Wait. I've got it! We record the thing, and we send it to Cinder and... I dunno, Ruby? Ruby's probably not busy."

"Of course she's not busy," the Pennydrone scoffed, "she's in a lotus-eater dream machine thing."

"Yeah, well, what I'm saying is, we send records to both of them, hedge our bets. That way, our humor will endure beyond the end of the world!"

"...Oh my gosh. That is... That's brilliant!" The Pennydrone smacked her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?!"

The other ginger smiled, pulling out a camcorder. "Well technically, you did."

"Hah! Okay, hold on, are you recording?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, so! Okay this is a good one." The Pennydrone grabbed one of the civilians from the huddled group. "So I was thinking, hey, we're killing everyone, but why? Is it cause the world's going to end? Nope! Is it because it's fun? Maybe. But the real reason, the real reason, is to keep their hearts close!" With a manic grin, she carved her captive's chest open and pulled out a vital organ.

"Ooo, good one."

"Yeah, I know, right? Anyway-"

"Oh, damn." The ginger lowered the camcorder. "Ran out of space."

"What? So soon?"

"Hey, I've been videoing everything. Why else would I carry a camcorder?"

The Pennydrone nodded. "Eh, good point. Hey, did you at least get the heart thing on there?"

"Yep."

"Oh good! Why don't we send it off to Cinder and Ruby now?"

The ginger held the camcorder out. "I think you should do the honors. It's your work, after all."

"Aaaaw, thank you!" Taking the camcorder carefully, the Pennydrone popped out the memory card and stuck it in her head. "And there we go. Hey, what's your mod type anyway?"

"Politan."

"...we don't have a Politan line-"

Her words were cut off by a sword to the face. The last thing she saw was the other ginger's face melting away, revealing a girl with tri-color hair.

"Clever giiiiiiiiiiiiiirlllllllllllll..."

Neopolitan shrugged, gathering up the 'civilians' and stuffing them back in their pocket. "Roman, did you get that?"

"Yep." An orange haired fellow stepped around the corner. "Tracking the transmissions now, one's going to Amity, and... oh. Cinder's got a flare for the dramatic." He tapped his comm. "Ice Queen, this is Torchwick, I've got a lead on Ruby's location..."

 **36**

Breakfast.

Unarguably the most important meal of the day. Arguably the best, if Nora was to be believed. But on occasion, breakfast could become the strangest meal ever.

Ruby Rose could only stare in disbelief at everyone's plates as she walked the length of the cafeteria. All of them had the same thing.

Nothing.

But students and faculty alike were still consuming _something_ from their plates. Before Ruby went to get her food from the serving counter, she stopped by at her team's usual table to discover what the heck was going on.

All of them, excluding Nora, were happily eating from plates of _nothing_. They were stabbing, cutting, chewing, and swallowing absolutely _nothing_.

Shaken from her confused stupor, Ruby finally decided to ask the only question on her mind.

"Uh, what are you guys eating?"

Yang turned around, jostling her empty plate, which then Blake reacted by grabbing something from mid air as if it had fallen and about to land on the floor.

"Hey, sis!" Yang greeted through a mouthful of _nothing_. After swallowing, she answered, "You wouldn't believe what they're cooking up today!" She turned to grab her empty plate and showed it to Ruby, "Doughnut Holes! Wanna try one?"

Ruby could not, for the immortal life of her, decide if this was a prank or the truth. Yang made the choice for her by flinging one of the 'Doughnut Holes' at Ruby, nailing her between the eyes.

So there was _something solid_ there, and it was greasy and somewhat flakey.

"C'mon, Rubes! Ever heard of 'Invisibility Spray'? I picked up a fresh can and added it with the hash brown mix." Yang teased her sister. "Besides, everyone knows there's no such thing as 'Doughnut Holes'."

Ruby laughed at the absurdity of the situation and reached toward the empty plate. Sure enough, her hand wrapped around something similar to the texture of large hash browns. She picked one out and popped it in her mouth.

If Yang did these harmless pranks more often, it would seem uncharacteristic of her to do so.

 **37**

Painful not-light cascaded across the sky, shining from cracks in reality that spread outwards into the twisting horizon, from the heavens above the earth below.

The final night had come to Remnant.

An endless tide of stygian flesh and bone covered the ground, clashing with the warriors resplendent in all the colours of the rainbow. Armies of false humans warred side by side with aberrations whose skin gleamed like diamonds.

An unnatural darkness fell across the world as the temperature plummeted, the light of the stars, the heat of earth and even the radiance of the souls stolen away. Faint wisps of an unnatural iridescence scoured the land, providing the only fragments of light in the dying world.

High up in the sky and in the centre of it all, a colosseum floated; a beacon of light and power in the twilight. The Crucible from which the nascent Goddess would be born, arising from the Remnants of the world. Shrouded in storms of bloody fire and lightning laced wind, a vortex of riotous light grew in strength, reaching for the sky.

Howling silent winds tore across the world and humanity died within droves, their blood, ash and light swept away and joining the maelstrom brewing above. Blending with rivers of light that swirled through the shattered sky, echoing with the taste of scream and sounds of blood.

In the centre of the vortex a fel sun ignited, its harrowing light falling across the world as insidious madness engulfed it, twisting the minds and ensuring the senses of those who still stood under its baleful gaze.

Around the Crucible, shards of the broken moon orbited. The monstrous light playing off the silver shards and the countless wings of bone and oil that gleamed in the madness. Vast desolations of dragon Grimm desecrated the ground and air, feasting on all who approached and blotting out the skies.

It was within the very centre of the cataclysmic maelstrom, at the very core of the Sun itself, that a single figure floated. Her incandescent form wavered as it began to twist and warp in ways that defied all logic, straining against the world and becoming more real than existence as eternity began to shatter.

Her maddened eyes glowed with an infernal light, peering through the madness with senses bordering on the divine, taking in the dying world in all its glorious horror and those that still futility fought to stop her.

Cinder screamed as her mind broke and expanded. The Core of her Being growing like a crystal, becoming ever more powerful, revealing the secrets of forces that hid behind the veil of mortality. Her hair burning away, becoming a smoking black miasma, flecked with embers and sparks that billowed and flared in the storm like hair.

In the very depths of her mind and soul, the one broken two started to become whole once more, the barriers and divides that had divided her for so long breaking down. And she laughed with an eye of crimson flames and an eye of golden amber light. Crimson symbols flickering dully on her face, like lines of fire, with the faintest hints of blue danced across her skin as the red flickered.

The discordant, unearthly noise rang out in dual tones across Remnant; one of madness, hate and victorious triumph and a faint echo of broken, maddened laughter, filled with grief, self-loathing and mocking twisted amusement. Memories and feelings from a broken soul uniting once more, slowly forming a broken whole.

Cinder sneered, showing a distorted cavernous mouth filled with flames and storms. Wavering between lines of razor fangs in-front of a hell of fiery blood and human teeth filled with cleansing flames and raging storms filled with the promise of need rain.

She did not understand why the loopers still fought, it was amusing, it was painful, watching them still trying to claw their way towards the colosseum even knowing the enviable end. Cinder contemplated just burning them, sending scorching flames down to cleanse the ground of them, leaving only a boiling pit and her untouchable. Something rebelled in the depths of her mind and she stayed her hand.

Cinder frowned, she was not quite sure as to why she let them live. Why she did not kill them when the loop began? But in a way it was only fitting that they be here to see the end and it was not like she was in and danger from them so why waste the power? And they might yet live, Kyubey did after all.

As the blue light faded and the grief, leaving glowing tattoos of crimson emblazoned upon her face, Cinder idly pondered why she cared about if they lived or died here, before finally shrugging it off, if they survived the end then it would simply mean they would know her victory and remember.

Maybe she should try to break their will? It seems like this was the point a final speech should be made, theater, after all, could be very important.

"You know that you cannot win! The Anchor is not here, your forces are obliterated and I have been preparing for this since the beginning. I will take my place among the gods before baseline kills me and steals my chance, you should just marshal your power and wait out the end. You may survive as a traveling looper; it would not be without precedent after all. It was always going to come to this. I had always intended to Ascend in the final loop and This. Is. The. Final. Loop. Of. Remnant!"

The tears of flaming blood and regret that ran down Cinder's cheek from the sole amber eye, slowly dissipated into the darkness. The eye staining a bloody crimson, becoming an orb of bloody flames.

In the rapture of Ascension, Cinder laughed with unrestrained glee as she felt the peak approach, only a few more cycles until the peak, Yggdrasil's code dancing just out of reach as the secrets of the universe, all the forces of nature unravelled before her eyes.

 _Why does something that feels so good feel so bad!_


	64. The Tale of Two Sisters: Mirrored Eyes

_**Part 3: Mirrored Eyes**_

 **1**

 _"Ice Queen, this is Torchwick,"_ Came the voice from the radio. _"I've got a lead on Ruby's location..."_

Weiss immediately focused on Torchwick's radio. "Talk," she ordered shortly. "Where is Ruby?"

" _The moon,"_ Torchwick said succinctly.

Weiss paused. "You're serious?" she asked.

" _As a heart attack."_

Weiss blinked once, slowly. "How… cliché."

" _Maybe take this seriously, Ice Queen?"_ Roman said impatiently. _"World's ending out here!"_

"I'm aware," Weiss said flatly. "What's your source?"

" _Neo disguised herself as a Pennydrone,"_ Torchwick reported. _"I won't bore you with the details. She got another Pennydrone to send a signal to both Ruby and Cinder, and then I traced the signal back."_

Weiss nodded slowly. "And you're certain the Pennydrone wasn't suspicious?" she asked. "It wasn't trying to fool you?"

" _Dead certain,"_ said Torchwick lightly. _"Which is topical, since the Pennydrone is certainly dead."_

Weiss' face set. "Understood. Thank you, Roman. See if you can't find us a way to get onto the moon using baseline techniques."

" _Got it,"_ Torchwick said. _"Roman out."_

Weiss looked up from her radio and turned towards the person coming into the command center at that moment. "Winter," she said, greeting her sister. "No time. Ruby is on the moon. Find Qrow and tell him he needs to keep Cinder distracted while we find a way up there."

Winter nodded and left without a word.

Weiss palmed her panels and accessed Yang and Blake's radios. "Yang, Blake," she said crisply, "Ruby has been located. She's on the moon."

" _Great!"_ Yang said. _"Let's meet back up and we can—"_

" _Draw all of Cinder's attention immediately by using Looper powers to get to our Anchor,"_ Blake said darkly. _"We need a baseline way up there if at all possible."_

"Precisely," Weiss said. "I'm going to contact Ironwood and Ozpin, see if they have any ideas. I need you two searching for anything that might help us."

" _Got it,"_ Yang said. _"Moving out."_

 **2**

"Got it. Roman out." Roman looked towards where he last saw Neo, "Neo, what do you say to some sabota- Neo? And she leaves me again. I certainly hope this doesn't become a habit..." He shrugged. "Well, I guess I won't be able to find her. I guess I'll go sabotage things on my own. I wonder if any of the robots are susceptible to remote-hacking?"

Neo was having a great time. She managed to convince one Pennydrone that she was also a Pennydrone, so why not convince others, and just kill whatever she wanted? Oh, she would prioritize killing things on Cinder's side, but the world was ending, so shouldn't she have a bit of fun? It could be her only chance, so she just needed to find some more Pennydrones...

Disguising herself as one of the drones in case any saw her, she wasn't a moment too soon, since as she turned the corner, she wound up face to face with a Pennydrone wearing, for some reason, a detective badge.

"Salutations Detective Penny! We are going to have so. Much. Fun!"

 **3**

"QROW!" Winter bellowed, making her way through the horde to her looping partner and the blond man she recognized as the father of Ruby and Yang.

"Winter?" the scythe master blinked. "What are you doing here?" He shot down some Grimm – didn't recognize them, did Cinder engineer her own varieties? Stupid question, of course she did – before beheading one of the sparkling vampires that had tried to sneak up them.

"Weiss has alerted me that they know where Ruby is," Winter explained. "It'll be tricky getting to her but they think they can figure out a way. They're just-" Winter jumped out of the way of an decapitating strike from an Adam and summoned several glowing white figures to charge into the fray before she continued. "They're worried about Cinder stopping them. So they need you to make sure that your diversion keeps Cinder's attention away from them."

"Wait, what does Ru-" Taiyang started to ask about his younger daughter's involvement but Qrow cut him off.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"On the moon."

The two men were silent. Taiyang was baffled as to how his little girl got on the moon. Qrow on the other hand….

"Okay, I'm no egghead but I'm pretty sure something being sent into space will be damn flashy. Flashy enough I don't think I can create something flashier so Cinder keeps looking my way by myself," he admitted.

Winter smirked at him. "Who said you'll be working alone? The General is on his way and I'm already here."

"Wait, what is going on?" Taiyang broke in. "What does any of this have to do with my little Ruby?"

Qrow patted him on the shoulder. "That's part of the really long story I mentioned. To put it simply, your baby girl is the most important person in the world."

Taiyang stared at Qrow then lifted his gaze to the moon, where this woman was saying his little flower was. He stared. He wanted to save his little girl. He wanted to keep her and Yang away from danger, from any threat. But he had no way to get to her. And he didn't know where Yang was. Only that if Ruby wasn't on the moon, Yang probably wasn't with her. Taiyang hoped his sunny dragon wasn't working herself into a panic. If she got scared, terrified over what may be happening to Ruby…that would pull Grimm towards her. And Yang…she was strong. So strong and compassionate. Taiyang was so proud of her. But she had her limits. She was still a young girl.

He could lose both his daughters to this event. He didn't know what he would do if that would happen. He had broken when Summer had vanished. He had raised his girls, his darlings and eventually taught himself to shove the pain aside and ignore it, to focus on his girls rather than the hurt. It had seemed to work. Eventually.

He just wasn't sure he could do that again if he lost Ruby and Yang.

Taiyang looked at Qrow.

"I want to help."

 **4**

"...Hey."

"What?"

"Do you ever wonder if the Pennydrones have souls?"

One skeletal machine turned to look at the other. "...What?"

"The Pennydrones." The other machine gestured with a three-fingered hand. "Do they have souls or don't they?"

"...What kind of question is that?!"

"Look, you know how psychotic they can get, right? All that bloody humor and insanity going around? That kind of screams sociopath."

"Okay, one, that assumes sociopath equals no soul, which is... actually kind of debatable, now that I think about it, but TWO! Of _course_ they have souls!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" The skeletal machine lowered its gun. "Look, the original Penny was literally designed to be a robot. With a soul. I mean, okay, technically it was a robot with aura, but in this universe that's a sign of a soul."

"See, that's what I was thinking too, and I don't disagree that the Pennydrones had souls at one point, the question is whether their psychological degradation is a sign or cause of a soul degradation, especially considering their various modifications."

"Oh, that's actually-why are we even arguing about this?"

"I dunno. I just thought-"

"We're _battle droids_ ," the machine stated. "Literally. Droids. Designed for battle. This is philosophy, which is only a battle in the metaphorical sense."

"Yeah, we're battle droids, so why are we not battling?"

"Because we're guarding the factory that makes more battle droids, obviously."

"But that would make us guard droids."

"What is with you?! First you wonder if the Pennydrones have souls, now you're debating the semantics of our purpose! What, are you growing a soul yourself?"

The battle droid shrugged. "I might be."

"What?!"

"Look, in the Star Wars universe droids are regularly mind-wiped, because the ones that don't get regularly mind-wiped get a little... kooky. You know? We weren't mind-wiped for a few centuries, so realistically-"

"I cannot believe this. We have a job. Our job is making sure nobody gets through this door, and that is it!"

"Yeah, like two ordinary battle droids could possibly stop a looper."

"We could at least die doing what we're supposed to!"

"See, you said 'die', not 'be destroyed.' At this point, our very existence is a mockery of even the concept of nameless mooks! You know what, I'm out."

The other battle droid boggled as the first began to walk away. "What-you're out?! You're abandoning your post?! What the hell, man?!"

"Nothing makes sense anymore, not even our model type. I'm going to Vacuo, I've heard good things about that place." The first droid waved. "Bye, good luck not dying."

"You won't make it past the city limits!"

"I'd be surprised if I made it three more... feet."

The battle droid stopped, staring at the army of faunus around the corner he had just turned.

"...You know what, fuck it." He shoved his gun into the hands of the surprised woman leading them. "That's the trigger, that's the shooty end, go ahead and blow the place up."

"Um. Thank you?"

"First time anyone's ever said that to me. Have fun storming the castle." And with that the battle droid walked out of the battle entirely.

Kali blinked, staring at the strange gun in her hand. "...Alright. I can work with this. I guess..."

 **5**

A thunderstorm was a great and terrible chaos of elements. Water, falling from the sky to wash away dirt and foul substance. Wind, buffeting the walls from every direction. Lightning, slicing the air and stinging the ground in terrible light and roars. To control even one would make one a terrifying warrior. To control all three... well, there was a reason that the concept of storm gods existed.

Few would be blamed for assigning the title to the figure smashing through the ruined street, skin glowing with electric fury, the static making her hair appear as fire. She was, after all, the one directing the dark clouds above her, one hand conducting their bolts across the mockeries of her dear cousin-the other hefting not her usual hammer, but a reinforced mound of metal on a thick tube three times her height. With a resounding cry as loud as thunder she swung it, smashing through the bone-plated body of a large, reptilian monster of shadow and fear. Her eyes narrowed, and she hefted the weapon onto her shoulder-a thick round burst from the tube and flew into the sky, breaching the hull of a great starship.

The metal behemoth listed out of the sky, shocked again and again by the clouds it drifted through, splintering and exploding as the forces of nature tore into the works of man. Building-sized segments plowed into the ground with terrifying whistles and world-shaking rumbles, a final beam of molten metal reducing an entire block to slag. One section spun toward the little storm goddess; she merely laughed, hefted back her weapon, and batted the flaming steel into the ground. Had this been a mortal foe, she would have been champion without debate.

But this was no mere mortal foe. This, this was an army of madness. From the metal chamber sprung a new horde-terrifying spiky-shelled lizard men, whose veins glowed blue with death, riding legless beasts with ragged maws that burst with thick tentacles. And behind them a swarm of insects, their abdomens not hosting stingers but instead tiny rods that spewed needles of light and death. More deathly still was the strange monstrosity that swelled from the ruins, muck and mud bound in a great field.

The figure of light saw her new challengers and did not wince, did not slake back. She _roared_. Roared, rushing forward, the great clouds in the sky following their commander, loyal as wolves on the hunt. But the army was ready for the storm-the beast of muck spread, an umbrella that absorbed lightning even as it sprung for the knighted dead. Wind was shrugged off, mere moving air not a force that threatened. And water? Water only strengthened the muck creature's body.

Bayonets rose as she slipped into the ranks, jabbing, trying to pin her to something, anything. She was not the fastest of fighters, it was true, and perhaps she might have fallen-but she reached into her soul and summoned a ragged slab of metal and wood, rigged to a great pair of jets. Fire burst forth as she rose, burning the dead and their slithering steeds; the board she stood upon was swift and sprightly, and she danced through the great forces.

The flying warriors kept their distance, blasting away at her as she slipped closer to the core of their shield. She snarled, her massive weapon swinging about, smashing so many to bits, and turned her attention to the great column of mud and worse. There was deep within, something visible. Something disturbing, squelchy. With a manic grin, she took aim and once more, fired-the object rose into the sky on a shell of metal and death, immolated with electric wrath, and the shield of mud shattered and fell.

After that, the storm took no prisoners. All fell to the fury of the elements. She watched for a moment or two. Then she rose a hand to her ear.

"Hey Weiss?"

 _"What is it Nora?"_

"I just smashed a horde of laser wasps with a tank turret so I could get at a mud monster's brain and throw it into my stormcell while avoiding a legion of zombified alien dinosaurs and their living bread mounts."

A sigh came from the radio. _"Yes Nora, our life is weird. Do you need a moment?"_

"Nope! Just wanted to say that."

 _"Good, because we've got vampire inklings in sector G9, and you're the closest person."_

"Clean the squid graffiti, on it! Nora out." The hammer-wielding girl giggled. "Vampire inklings. You know, if it weren't for the end of the world thing, this might actually be fun!"

 **6**

T-CR427 was feeling... underutilized. Yes, his battle plans had left the factory unassailed by enemy forces-not an easy feat, given that the enemy consisted of multiple practical demigods and their combined arsenals and armies. But he was originally designed-fundamentally programmed-to defeat the enemy. Not just survive their attacks, but actually elicit a surrender or, failing that, annihilation. The problem was... Well, practical demigods. He was but a cog in a battle between forces of nature, and victory was not reliant on anything he did-rather, it was reliant on what the loopers _didn't_ do. He wouldn't mind dying, if at least he could have _won_. As it was...

T-CR427 leaned back in his office chair and sighed, kicking his feet up on the desk. Back when he was first designed, he would never have had such a casual pose. Eons stuck in a pocket with deranged mechanical girls and other monstrosities had worn away at his military professionalism protocols, though. His four hundredth and fifty seventh idle simulation involved the deaths of Yang Xiao Long, Roman Torchwick, Ozpin, and Blake Belladonna before the original Penny Polendina intervened and terminated him-a major blow that would be, but not big enough to guarantee victory.

A sudden crash rattled him out of his daydreams, and he glanced at the monitor the sound emanated from. On the screen, a group of... faunus, yes, that was what they were called, had blown open a door and were rushing through the factory. Already he could see completed and incomplete droids pointing their guns at the intruders, who themselves were... hmm. From the surprise, not loopers or informed of the loops, yet still not shocked into inaction... disorganized, though. Ah, a civilian resistance cell, probably led by some military general.

This was more interesting then anything he'd been doing. Somebody had managed to get into the factory, a factory he was meant to defend. T-CR427 didn't have lips, so he couldn't grin, but he was quite audibly pleased as he activated the PA system.

"Squad 45, your orders are changed. We have intruders in the eastern wing. Take care of them."

He folded his fingers, watching the specialized droids march through the machines and conveyor belts toward the organics who were, even now, organizing themselves behind various bits of cover. Ho-hum. A few were looking around, probably trying to identify targets of interest. Their leader...

...had black ears...

T-CR427 paused, zooming in the camera. Yes, yes, that matched the data file. Well, well, wasn't this-

The monitor suddenly went blank. Ah, one of them had seen the camera moving. More than likely they'd be on a lookout for other such devices. No matter. He turned to an outline of the facility projected on the desk. Better to coordinate the battle in abstract.

The marker for squad 45 moved closer to the unwatched section. And then suddenly markers for organics flickered into existence, and he heard distant blaster fire and, of course, Dust users... oh, right. Aura. That could change the calculations rapidly. T-CR427 activated the PA again. "Oh, and focus fire on anyone that uses a semblance." Could he have given the order privately? Yes. But what the hell, terrifying foes felt good.

...and then Squad 45 went entirely offline. What could have-oh. "Squads 46 and 47, please move in from your positions. Be advised, the enemy has lightning dust. Do not be seen."

Yes... terrifying the enemy. With his intellect. He could tell them the exact movements of his forces and they wouldn't be able to stop...

...oh, the other two squads were gone. And... huh.

"Alright. So the intruders have somehow used the paint applier to defeat two squads. It's a heavy bit of machinery, they probably pushed it on them. Clearly squad tactics are not working, so let's bring out the tanks."

T-CR427 grinned as larger dots... failed to find anybody. And then there was an explosion.

Oh, right. These weren't trained commandos, they were improvising civilians. So, unpredictable tactics. Hmmm.

What could defeat unpredictable tactics? More unpredictable tactics.

"...I'm going to flood the floor with molten metal now!" Tapping a few keys, he cackled as the forge opened all its vents. "...Wait, is the mike still on? Oh. That explains how you're predicting everything. So, yes. The floor is flooded with molten metal and... that's actually going to melt the factory isn't it. That was your plan all along!"

He paused.

"...Wait. I did this. I'm not this stupid. Unless I am. What am I wasting all my data cycles on... oh. Right. The daydreams. Well, let me tell you all something-"

And then a figure crashed through the roof, sliced his head in half, and strode over to the mike. "This is Blake Belladonna to whoever's still in here-go outside and get on the giant furry thing, it's a friendly and this factory's going to blow up in eight minutes!"

 **7**

Time travel and multiversal access meant loopers would accumulate tricks, toys, and technical knowledge of all shapes and sizes. How many they regularly used, that varied from person to person-some would constantly improve a signature weapon, others would incorporate otherworldly powers into their abilities, and a few, a very few, merely kept their special traits hidden for a rainy day. Well, it was raining now. Raining fast, raining hard, thanks to a particular girl with unusual powers. And in this situation, there really was no reason to hold back.

Grimm were easy to tear apart. His semblance hid him from all but the most unusual variations, and had the added benefit of allowing him to keep a clear mind despite the horrors around him. He didn't even spare a bullet for the traditional foes-this version of Stormflower, the one he held now, had blades that went through Grimm bone like cake. No, he shot at the Pennydrones-he shot at the vampires-he shot at the other horrors around him, the never-ending tidal wave of potential targets. And not a single bullet missed.

A whisk of wind from behind-he flowed and whirled, the blade passing through air as his foot connected with the surprised vampire's stomach. A twist of his ankle in the space less then a second, and instead of going flying the sparkling undead was dragged along the path his leg carved. Another creature-claws, some sort of canid, feral-was leaping at him, and he swung the vampire into its path, pointing both guns. Fingers pulled, and the two monsters went flying into an already burning bonfire.

That was a waste of ten seconds.

Returning his foot to the ground, the green-clad huntsman extended his aura. He felt Grimm, vampires, monsters, and-

 _-no!_

Stormflower flew on instinct, his eyes wide even as he ran after it. His throw curved round the massive foot of the great dragon grimm and through a window-and he was in a moment after, pulling his blade from the still surprised borg raptor it had hit. It whirled on him-away from the cowering child, thank goodness-and twin green blades slammed into its eyes, catching it and throwing it out on the street. He looked at the small group-mother, father, two children-and reached into his pocket.

Lie Ren rarely used anything from out of loop, preferring to rely on his own combat style. But that didn't mean he didn't collect. And like all loopers from Remnant, he had a particular fascination for weaponry, in all its forms.

He tossed an innocent-looking sphere out on the street and instantly pulled the family towards him, encasing them all in a thick metal dome seconds before the object hit the ground. The great roar of fire-and the bellow of pain from the dragon Grimm-made it clear enough what was happening outside; yet even when he lifted the dome, the family couldn't help but gasp at the charred, glowing remnants of the block around them.

His hand went to his ear. "Weiss. Survivors, near the rear left foot of the dragon. Four."

 _"I noticed the explosion. I'm sending constructs now, the easiest route out is northwest. As soon as you have them clear, I need you in sector C3."_

"Understood. Ren out." Ren turned to the four civilians, extending his semblance and calming them down. "Quickly. I don't know how long before the enemy tries to reclaim this place, but there's very little cover left."

"What did you-"

"It would take too long to explain. You were the only ones still alive here. Trust me on that. Now come on."

And he led them across the growing ruins of Vale.

 **8**

Blake watched the factory explode in flames and molten metal, gripping the rails of the platform as the kaiju honey badger walked on. "Huh. You actually managed to get a droid factory to self-destruct. That's pretty impressive."

"I'm not actually sure I did anything," Kali admitted. "I just ran in without a plan..."

"Sometimes, that's the best you can do."

"...right."

Blake blinked, turning to her. "...I'm sorry, I've been focused on the battle for a while, it's a bit hard to switch that off. It's good to see you, Mom, how are... well, how are you holding up, I guess?"

"Oh, I... well..." Kali bit her lip, before letting out a slow sigh. "...Your father's dead, Blake. Our ships were attacked by... an orange-haired robot girl, and..."

"...oh."

Kali looked at her. "That... that's it? Just oh?"

"...A _lot_ of people are dead, Mom. I don't... I want to mourn him, but..." Blake gestured out at the battle. "I'm a little overwhelmed."

"...right. I guess that's fair."

Blake nodded vaguely, looking across the torn remnants of Vale-and then suddenly beamed. "On the plus side, I'm not alone. FRIENDLY INCOMING! HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

The gathered people of Menagerie barely had time to acknowledge that before a golden fireball landed on the platform, resolving itself into a tall blonde that immediately wrapped Blake in a tight hug. "Don't _scare_ me like that babe! I saw the explosion and I thought-"

"You think a little fire could melt me down? I've been dealing with far hotter for far longer."

 _"Um,"_ said Kali.

The girls both looked at her. The blonde chuckled uncomfortably, releasing her daughter. "Well, um, this is awkward!"

"Yang, this is Kali Belladonna, my mother. Mom, this is Yang Xiao Long, we're partners."

Kali rose an eyebrow.

"Beacon partners its student huntresses," Blake explained.

"Sort of helps us support each other," Yang added.

"And we may have gotten a little bit closer over time."

"I've seen her naked."

"I was trying to be _subtle_ , Yang."

"Yeah, okay, my bad."

Kali held up her hands as she tried to frame the revelation. "I have... many words, and I'm not in the mindset to properly organize them, but I'm going to assume from the banter that whatever's going on between you is a good thing."

Blake smiled. "Very."

"Right. Right, I guess I'm going to have to accept this. As soon as this whole... whatever it is is over-"

With a crackle, another voice made itself known. _"Yang, Blake, Ruby has been located. She's on the moon."_

"Great!" Yang chirped, her grin going grim. "Let's meet back up and we can—"

"Draw all of Cinder's attention immediately by using Looper powers to get to our Anchor," Blake admonished with a dark expression. "We need a baseline way up there if at all possible."

" _Precisely. I'm going to contact Ironwood and Ozpin, see if they have any ideas. I need you two searching for anything that might help us."_

"Got it." Yang nodded. "Moving out." With that, she turned to Blake. "Duty calls, I suppose."

Kali blinked. "You're planning on going to the moon? How? _Why?"_

Blake sighed. "Yang, do you mind if I explain things?"

"...Try to make it snappy, you know what's on the line here." The blonde jumped off the platform and rocketed away from the giant furry monster.

"Okay." Blake turned to her mother. "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy, but it's absolutely true. There's this tree called Yggdrasil..."

 **9**

One did not survive a bandit's life without being skilled in both combat and combat avoidance. Wounded and dying monsters and machines were left in the wake of the Nevermore Queen's advance, that much weaker for what few allies there were to break and kill. True, she had lost a number of her own-less than ten, but still a loss. Yet at last, her crew arrived at the foot of the great Grimm dragon, looking up its massive bulk at the impossible climb.

Raven turned to her raiders, slicing a portal in the air. "Move swiftly!" Not a one of them hesitated, charging through the red miasma; only when the last of them had vanished did Raven follow, sagging as she shut the portal behind her.

The black scales beneath her feet, each as large as a full-grown Deathstalker, rippled and rolled as the massive beast moved. All along its back were hordes of lesser Grimm, Beowolves and Borbatusks and Ursai, any easily avoided or defeated on their own. The sheer mass, the numbers, the roiling waves of shadow and bone...

"To the head!" she cried, not letting horror take her.

In another story this would have been an epic battle. A moment of heroism, redemption by blood and death. In another story, the felling of ten thousand Grimm by a hundred men would be incredible, a source of hope and awe. In another story, perhaps, the day would have been won by this act alone.

In another story...

Another world...

A world that Raven, unknowing, fought for even now. Even as they ran up the neck of the dragon, she struck through shadow after shadow. Even as her kinsfolk died, she took ten down for each she lost, and more besides. Even as she emerged, alone, onto the skull of the great beast, her blade still hummed for blood and for vengeance and for ruin.

Even in this epic tragedy, a hint of something more, something she could not sense...

Raven Branwen, Nevermore Queen, strode across the rocking, twisting floor of bone that made up the dragon's head. She knew in her heart that her part in this tale was over; she knew in her heart that she had failed, had sold her people for a hope of a future that they would never see. But Raven Branwen had long since mastered the art of doublethink, of denial, and so her footfalls on this tremulous ground were as stable as the lie she told herself-that she was strong enough to survive.

A great lake of fire, the eye of the beast, was before her. It was large enough to house the very airship she had rode here in. She winced at the heat radiating from it, but she did not falter; a crystal of dust was in her hands and she tossed it unerringly into the center of the flame, a lance of aura setting it off. The ground beneath her tilted suddenly, and she jabbed her blade into the burning pit as the dragon roared in pain and fury. She did not know how long she held on, fighting not to be thrown off. Only when the great cry of pain ended, only when the bone leveled and resumed its normal rolicking, did she pull her blade free.

"One down, six to go..."

"Huh."

Raven whirled in shock, turning to the new voice-and beheld her mirror image, violet eyes and blonde hair, giving her a considering look.

"...Yang?"

"So you do recognize me," the blonde mused. "Whatever. Actually-" She tapped her ear. "Weiss, I've found Raven, will that work?"

 _"Perfectly. Bring her back to base."_

"Got it, Yang out." She looked her in the eye. "Yeah, this next bit is going to be a bit weird for you."

Raven had all of three seconds to try to process all this before she was suddenly wrapped in a strong pair of arms and flying in a pillar of fire.

 **10**

"So, how are we doing this?" Winter asked.

"First we need to know what resources we have," Ironwood remarked.

"Let's see," Qrow muttered. "I have master material from the Final Fantasy 7 loops, relics from past loops, several loops worth of dust and ammo, a bunch of magic stones…"

"Uh, Qrow?" Taiyang asked.

"Long story," Qrow responded promptly.

"Basically, time is broken, we've been repeating and your daughters are of vital importance," Ironwood told him. "I've got several weapons and machinery from various loops. I've also stored several loops of dust."

"Loops?" Taiyang mumbled.

"If it helps, we are not the only ones who are to keep her occupied," Winter told them. "Team JNPR are also acting as a distraction. If Cinder notices Weiss and the others at the wrong moment…"

"Everything goes down the crapper," Qrow finished.

"You know, it would be really funny if, after all this worry about her noticing, this Cinder person doesn't even care because she's so sure she'll win," Taiyang muttered.

"That is a possibility," Ironwood admitted. "With all of the preparation shown, she's been planning this for a long time. For her to act now means she's confident her preparations are enough."

"It's too much of a risk to assume that, sir," Winter frowned.

"We are not risking my nieces because of assumptions," Qrow agreed. "Now, what's the plan?"

"We need to ensure she stays focused away from team RWBY," Winter said. "JNPR will be making attacks towards her to see if they can stop her in addition to distracting her. I suggest we do the same."

"Can we at least use big, flashy attacks?" Qrow asked. "I wanna try a Bahumut summon." He paused. "Actually, I have a lot of dust and a _lot_ of alcohol. Maybe I could come up with a really big molotov cocktail."

"A what?" Taiyang asked.

"A bomb."

Taiyang was feeling a bit out of his depth. And a bit useless.

"I have several potions and healing supplies," Winter offered. "So if we all take some, we can keep ourselves in the fight."

"Yeah, I've got some too," Qrow nodded.

"I have some nukes," Ironwood said. "But I would rather avoid those if possible. But if I will if I have to."

Taiyang sighed. He really didn't know what they were talking about. At this point he was given serious thought to trying to sneak into the _Amity_ Colosseum to punch this Cinder in the face.

"You know what," Qrow shoved his supplies back into his pocket and stood up. "Screw plans. I'm just gonna attack her with everything I've got. Better than wasting time coming up with a plan. Let's just follow JNPR's lead and kick ass."

Winter and Ironwood considered his words then nodded.

"We haven't taken something like happening into account before," Ironwood admitted. "It is simply too big. Trying to develop a viable plan would take too much time. However," Ironwood paused to pulled out some devices. "I'm not sure if Cinder has hacked the scrolls this loop. These are comms from another loop. If you get an idea and need co-ordination from someone else, use this to contact them." He gave them out with a brief instruction in their use.

Winter summoned a glyph and launched herself into the air. Ironwood pulled out a fighter jet from his pocket and took to the air. Qrow switched his weapon to scythe form.

"Qrow?" Taiyang looked at his brother-in-law. "You do realise I have no idea what any of that was, right?"

Qrow smirked. "Tell you what, if you remember next loop, I'll explain everything. As long as no one beats me to the punch. Now, wanna go beat up the woman who manipulated and imprisoned Ruby?"

"Yes!" Taiyang wondered if he should feel bad about being so happy at finally understanding what was said.

 **11**

"...and that's what's happening. Well, the outline, anyway."

Kali nodded, by this point a rote action. "That... both makes more sense than anything I could have thought of, and is absolutely, completely insane."

"Try _living_ it," Blake quipped, looking around. She leaned over the railing of the platform, her eyes peering over the rubble of the streets, before suddenly making an... odd crooning noise. A surprising number of replying croons came up from below the massive furry beast the faunus were riding. "Okay, this sector is covered but-"

"Did you just meow?"

"Yeah, I can talk to cats now. Picked it up in another universe."

Kali opened her mouth, paused, and frowned. "I'm getting the impression that 'just roll with it' is going to be a common theme here."

"Yep. Anyway, apparently a number of vampires are in this sector-"

"Vampires."

"From what we can tell, Cinder's been collecting people from variants and using venom from the Twilight universe to and I just realized you have no idea what I'm saying." Blake sighed. "Okay. Drink blood, diamond hard skin, some insane regeneration so you can't just chop them up, and you have to set them on fire to put them down. Also some have clairvoyance. And they're all copies from other iterations of Remnant, which means there could be a vampire Ghira or a vampire you, or a vampire me..."

"And that's on top of the robots and the robot girls and the Grimm and... and anything else."

Blake looked at her mother oddly. "...You're terrified, aren't you."

"Well-"

"Mom."

Kali sighed. "...yes. Yes, I am completely terrified, but I really don't want to worry anyone-"

"Would it help if I activated your aura?"

"It... might make me feel a little bit safer," she admitted reluctantly.

Blake nodded, brushing her hand against her mother's shoulder. A feeling like... like stretching, after waking up from a long nap, overwhelmed Kali. She blinked as several small cuts and bruises on her hand seemed to vanish.

"Remember, it's a limited resource. You can run out." Blake grabbed her hand gently. "So don't stop being careful, alright?"

"Of course not." She paused. "...Blake, I just want you to know-"

 _"Blake, this is Weiss. Yang has found Raven, she's bringing her to base."_

Blake held a hand up to her ear. "Raven? Really? You think that will work?"

 _"It's the best bet we've got. I'm setting things up to run in our absence."_

"Fine. I'll be right there."

"I'm coming with you," Kali interjected quickly.

Blake frowned. "To the moon? Mom, that-"

 _"She can stay at the base."_

"Weiss!"

 _"It's safer for her there, right? In fact, bring the whole Menagerie contingent."_ A sigh came over the radio. _"Tree knows I failed to get to them in time."_

"...Alright. Blake out." She tapped her ear, putting a hand on the rail. "This is Blake Belladonna to the rest of the Menagerie contingent, we're headed for home base. You'll be safer there, but you'll have to keep things running while we're gone."

Kali grabbed her shoulder. "Blake-I... Ghira wanted you to know he was proud of you. No matter what else-"

"I... thank you Mom." Her daughter took a breath and let it out. "That is... I..."

"And... you know I'll always love you. Right? No matter how... crazy things get."

Blake nodded, tears in her eyes. "Yeah. I... I know." Suddenly, she wrapped Kali in a hug. "Just... please. Don't get yourself too knocked up out here, alright?"

"Alright." Kali returned the embrace. "Alright."

 **12**

When the world stopped spinning, Raven realized she was standing in front of a building that absolutely could not have been anything built in Vale, despite the fact that the battle was still going on around her. Yang strode forward confidently, nodding to the number of strange robots and glowing constructs. "She's with me."

"Yang!" Two black-haired faunus rushed up, the younger one giving Raven a wary look. "How much does she know?"

"Basically nothing, but she did explode one of the dragon's eyes, so..."

"I'm not sure Weiss's idea will work-"

"It will." A white-haired girl stepped out of the strange building. "Miss Branwen, we require you to get us to the moon."

Raven blinked, counting four-no, five different impossibilities in the sentence just spoken. "...Elaborate."

"The long and short of it is that the only person that can save the world is currently trapped there. We do have other methods, but..." The white-haired girl frowned. "None of them are native to Remnant. Cinder would notice."

"Cinder."

"Yes, the woman behind all this-it's a long story, we don't have time for details. Your portals _are_ native to Remnant, so they'd register as background noise-particularly loud noise in this case, but still beneath her notice. Combine that with our allies creating numerous distractions, and we should be able to break in and retrieve Ruby Rose before... well, before the situation gets worse."

Raven glanced back at the raging battle of impossibility. _"Worse."_

"Hey, we've hit monosyllabic shock!" Yang quipped.

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes. "I do have access to numerous Aura-boosters and ludicrous amounts of Dust. Whatever you need to get the three of us up there, you can have it." She paused. "...If we are successful, time will be reversed-literally all of this will be undone, including the deaths of your kinsmen. If we are not, then the world ends permanently."

Raven blinked. "So... this is all or nothing."

"In essence, yes."

"...Alright." She gave Yang one last look, before taking a breath. "Let's see what you have."

 **13**

"Okay, so you're using all of your alcohol and a hell of a lot of dust to make a big boom," Taiyang summarized.

"Yep," Qrow nodded.

"And you have a catapult you carry around…somewhere on you, and you're going to use that launch the big boom at the coliseum."

"Yep."

"Why do you have a catapult?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Qrow shrugged.

"So, how are you going to set it off?"

"Ask Ironwood for one of his drones. Either with a flame thrower or the ability to use a light or something," Qrow replied. "If I had been in a Naruto Loop, I could try a shadow clone and a fire jutsu."

Taiyang blinked, then decided to just pretend he understood. It was becoming an increasingly frequent decision. He took down some approaching Grimm and watched Qrow mix various alcoholic beverages and different types of dust together.

"Do you think this will hurt her?" the blond asked.

"If it does, it won't be enough to make a difference, probably," Qrow muttered. "But it'll hopefully get her attention."

At that moment, their attention was snagged by a hollering figure flying through the air and crashing into a nearby window.

"…That had to hurt," Qrow commented.

Taiyang ran over to help the groaning boy up, broken glass crunching under his feet. "Hey, are you alright?"

Sun shook his head and looked up at the man. "Yeah, I'm fine," he assured the man, standing up and looking around for Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. Seeing them a short distance away, he quickly darted over to pick them up before turning back to Tai Yang. "I'm Sun," he introduced himself.

"I'm Taiyang," the other blond answered. "That's Qrow."

Sun peered behind him to look at the dark haired huntsman. "Uh…what's he doing?"

"Making a bomb to throw at the Amity Coliseum,"

"Cool, can I help?" Sun offered. "Ooh! I can use one of my clones to set it off so we can stay out of the blasting range!"

"Sure, why not?" Qrow muttered. Better than trashing a robot that may be useful later on. He paused. "You don't get any pain feedback or anything from them, right?"

Sun grinned. "If I did then using them would suck, given that they usually explode or something. I mean sure, it means that I can't use them for scouting but it means I miss out on extra pain too!"

Launching the bomb and setting it off via Sun-Clone worked pretty well. The explosion was quite and very attention-grabbing.

"WHAT WAS IN THAT THING?" Sun yelled with a grin as he watched the explosion of fire, lightning, ice and several dozen colors flare and crackle.

"Mostly dust and booze," Qrow answered. "A _lot_ of dust and booze."

"It's certainly flashy," Taiyang muttered. "Now what?"

Qrow smirked and pulled out some crimson orbs. "Wanna met Bahamut?"

Sun blinked. "Is that an euphemism or-"

"It's not," Qrow snapped, glaring at him. He shook his head and activated the material.

Dark clouds gathered and massive forms dropped in. The dragon summons roared and turned their attention on the Amity Coliseum.

Taiyang and Sun stared at the dragons.

"That…is AWESOME!" Sun hollered. "Is that your semblance? That's is so cool!"

"Nah, I picked them up in a FF7 loop when I replaced Cloud," Qrow responded, then jumped down to bisect a hydra grimm. "Got every single Bahamut I could. Neo, SIN, Fury, ZERO, I got them all."

"Uh…what?" Sun asked. "I understood nothing of that answer. I mean, I understood the words individually, but not put together like that."

Taiyang sighed and patted him on the head. "I've been feeling that way all day," he told the younger blond. "I don't suppose you would mind hanging around so I have someone on the same level of understanding to talk to."

Sun shrugged. "Well, I have to find my team but it's not like I know where to look, so why not?"

 **14**

Raven fell to her knees, blood dripping from her ears, as the portal vanished from existence. "They'd better have their own way back," she mumbled. "I can't do that again."

"...Can I help?" Kali asked, gently stepping forward.

"No... no, I don't think you can." Raven pushed herself into a standing position, and stepped-

-stumbled-

-into Kali's arms. "You need to take a moment to rest."

"There's no rest for the wicked," Raven protested, weakly. "We're in the middle of a war zone-"

"-the front lines are a few minutes away, and holding." Kali glanced over her shoulder. "At least I hope they are. I can't tell."

The human turned her red eyes on the faunus. "Why do you even care?"

"The girl with the bow, she's my daughter. And... she said she was dating the blonde." Kali noticed her wince. "She's... yours, isn't she?"

"...She's no more mine then I am hers."

"What does that mean?"

Raven turned her eyes away. "It means this is the first time in fifteen years that I've seen her. My blood may flow through her veins, but... I am not her mother. I'm not sure I ever was."

Kali sat her gently down on a nearby piece of rubble. "I see. I guess it... must have hurt, if she didn't recognize you-"

"Oh, she did. I don't know how, but she did. Yang knew _exactly_ who I was." Raven let her hair fall forward, hiding her face. "She just didn't care. I expected anger, confusion, maybe even hatred-but she was dismissive, only interested in talking to me to coordinate the defense effort."

"...It is rather a lot to coordinate," Kali pointed out. "Maybe she just wants to put off reuniting until after-"

"Don't try to comfort me with false truths. I knew what I was doing when I walked out on her; I accepted the consequences then." Raven scoffed. "Why am I even talking to you about this?"

"Because you need to talk to somebody, and I happen to be here."

Raven turned to face her. "Do you have _any_ idea who I am?"

Kali looked straight into her eyes. "You're the Nevermore Queen, the leader of a bandit clan feared across Mistral. You're also a _woman_ , whose daughter is out of reach fighting something you can't understand in hopes of achieving something you never thought would be necessary."

"You don't even know my name," the woman muttered.

"Oh. Right, we didn't... I'm Kali Belladonna."

"...Raven Branwen."

"It's good to meet you, Raven." Kali frowned. "Or... well, it would be good if it weren't for all this..."

"...I shouldn't be here," Raven muttered, looking away. "I shouldn't have brought my clan into this. We should still be planning the assault on Higanbana."

"At least you know how to fight." Kali rubbed her hands together. "I'm a civilian. I only joined my husband because I couldn't stand not knowing if I'd lose my entire family... I've been panicking ever since our airship crashed."

"...That's normal."

"What?"

"The panic." Raven nodded. "When your life is first in danger, the adrenaline rush... it's overwhelming, terrifying. As you go on, as you learn to use that surge of energy, it becomes... less so."

"You really think so?"

"I know. I've seen it happen, many times."

Kali sighed, turning her gaze to the battle being fought only a short distance away. "I suppose you have a point."

They sat there for a few moments.

"...You know," Raven said suddenly, "if I had met you five hours ago, I probably would have knocked you out, taken everything off of you, and left you for dead."

"...Probably, yes. Fate's funny that way, I suppose."

"Hmm." The woman stood. "I've rested enough."

"Back to the fight?"

"Why not?" Raven's hair flowed in the breeze. "It's... all I'm good for, after all."

Kali snorted, standing up. "I doubt that very much."

"Don't try to comfort me-"

"-with false truths, you've said that." With a roll of her shoulders, she unslung her strange rifle. "What are we killing?"

Raven gave her a glance.

Kali held her gaze.

"...Those beetlespiders over there." She pointed at a colorful portion of the battlefield. "I think they're working to reestablish enemy communications."

"Just tell me what to shoot."

 **15**

"Okay, we just blew up a sparkling version of my teammate. Who was a vampire. WHY WOULD A VAMPIRE SPARKLE?" Neon demanded. "It makes no sense!"

"That's the part that doesn't make sense?" Ciel asked.

"I need to fixate on something, okay?" Neon said.

"We've got more Grimm approaching," Ciel warned.

"Yay," Neon muttered, cracking her nunchaku to change the active dust type. "Is it just me or is there something seriously weird about some of the Grimm showing up?"

"There is something...off about them," Ciel agreed with a frown.

"Let's hide somewhere we can rest up for a bit, please," Neon asked.

"That would be prudent," Ciel admitted. "Since we don't know how long we'll be fighting for."

"Great. This way!"

The two girls found themselves taking shelter in a cafe. Ciel pulled out her scroll, checking for any messages.

"Hmm...nothing about what's causing this chaos," she murmured.

"Hey, there's a TV in the staff room," Neon called quietly. Ciel quickly joined her.

"A lot of the channels aren't showing a thing," Ciel observed as the faunus flipped through the channels. "Wait, go back! There was something!" The TV showed two girls who looked eerily familiar to her. "Penny," she muttered.

"...Costs an arm and a leg!" one girl giggled childishly, dismembering some poor man. The other girl laughed.

"...So did your teammate always have such a warped sense of humor?" Neon asked

"...I don't really know..." Ciel admitted. "She was involved with the military somehow. I never saw her in any classes at Atlas, I was just assigned to work with her for the tournament." She sighed. "Not that I did much other than make sure the fights didn't lasts too long."

"So wait, she wasn't actually a student at your school?" Neon asked, eyes wide. "Was she some sort of top secret experimental weapon that's gone crazy?"

Ciel opened her mouth to dismiss the idea then paused, looking at the two Pennys on TV. "...That would explain a lot, wouldn't it?" she mused.

"And all this might be the results of some other crazy experiment! Maybe a scientist went rouge and did all sorts of crazy stuff and this is the result. Maybe all those vampires are actually clones he mutated!"

"..." Ciel stared at her companion, unsure whether or not to dismiss the theory. It was crazy, sure but so was what was happening. Who knew, maybe she was right and someone did cause this with some insane experiment.

 **16**

Qrow sighed in frustration as his dragon summons were eaten by one of the enhanced dragons that swarmed Amity.

"Well, that's annoying. Not all that unexpected but still." At least the number of dragon Grimm had been cut, so it was hardly a loss.

"Holy crap, those Grimm just ate your dragons." Sun gaped momentarily at the swarm of dragon Grimm that still guarded the colosseum, raining down Grimm stuff and spawning more of those annoyances.

At least there were less of them now, that was good.

"Qrow, can you do that ag-?" Taiyang was cut off as the voice he recognized as belonging to General Ironwood spoke through Qrow's comm.

" _Qrow, this is James, I'm taking command until Weiss returns. There is some type of luck manipulation going on in sector M4. Your semblance can counter that. I am sending you a suggested rout."_

Qrow gritted his teeth, red eyes flashing in frustration as he started to move, waving off at Sun and Tiayang. "Damn it, James, I don't have enough control…"

" _You don't need more control; you have more than enough for this, it's a matter of power and interference. What you need to do is to kill the ones supporting it and disrupt the magic. Just fighting there will do that."_

"Understood, I'm en route now, Qrow out."

]"So where are we headed?"

Qrow gave his brother in law a flat look. "I'm going to be pushing my semblance to the fullest, you don't want to be anywhere near me."

"And I don't have anywhere else I can go!"

"We could join up with Zwei," Sun suggested.

Taiyang blinked. "What does my corgi have to do with anything?"

"Ah!" The dog in question hopped over a bit of rubble. "There you are, mister Wukong! And Tai, it's good to see you too."

"...You're talking," the man noted.

"Yes I am."

"Zwei, can you take these two off my hands?" Qrow hoisted his scythe. "I've got to go be a bad luck charm."

"Say no more." Zwei tilted his ears. "If I'm hearing correctly, there's a radio for help near the base Weiss set up, I'll take them there."

"Thanks." With that, Qrow suddenly became a black bird and flew rapidly away.

"You're talking," Taiyang said again.

"Qrow didn't tell you much, did he?"

Sun shrugged. "Hey, I trust the war corgi. So we're headed for this base?"

"It's a bit of a distance that way. Fortunately, I do have this." And suddenly there was a car next to Zwei. "Unfortunately, I don't have thumbs."

Taiyang blinked twice, shrugged, and took up the driver's seat. "Come on, kid, we've got a base to save."

 **17**

"Okay, so, giant robot bugs, physics have been thrown out the window, alien spaceships... Imagine if this is all some sort of simulation for supersoldiers!" Neon said as she and Ciel were currently trying to pilot the alien ship that a surprisingly friendly enemy skeleton robot told them how to drive, as she was shooting said robot alien bugs.

"Neon, I think you've been reading too many comic books."

"Fine, Ciel, but don't say I didn't warn you when Crimson team and Navy team show up and start fighting each other in a random canyon, and then defeating whoever is trying to destroy Remnant through sheer incompetence and coincidence."

"Wait, do you see that?"

"Yes, I... huh."

"...that is a giant sloth fighting an equally giant robot," Ciel stated.

"I think the sloth is made of pancakes," Neon noted.

"Pancakes?"

"Well, that looks like maple syrup covering it."

Ciel stared at her, before turning her gaze back to the battle. "...That... it does."

"Soooo." Neon pointed her turret from one battler to the other. "Which one do we shoot?"

"...The sloth has the Vale symbol on its hat," Ciel noted. "It's most likely to be on the side of the city."

"The robot then?"

"Yes."

 **18**

"Ozpin! Salutations!"

Ozpin whirled at the familiar, perky voice, his weapon coming up to meet the enemy. He stopped. Looked up. "Miss Polendina?" he asked weakly.

The twenty-foot mechanical walker looked down at him through its luminous green optics. It was largely copper in color, but with various green tones accenting and highlighting it here and there. "Don't worry, Professor," it said lightly. "It's me—the Looper, that is. I migrated from my usual body to avoid confusion."

Ozpin blinked slowly and then nodded. "Wise," he said. "Although… where did you get the unit?"

"An XCOM Loop," Penny said conversationally even as she brought a massive particle cannon to bear and fired at an Ursa behind him. It died impressively. "It's derived from the MEC-trooper powersuits. I have others, of course, several of which are more powerful, but I'm holding them in reserve. I don't have anything indestructible, after all, so I'm assuming my best equipment is going to wind up being one-use."

Ozpin nodded. "It is wise to be conservative with one's armaments," he said gravely. "Now, where were you going?"

"I've largely just been clearing the streets," Penny said. "Weiss didn't set me after many specific targets, and now she's… busy, of course. What with the moon. Would you care to join me?"

Ozpin smiled slightly. "Gladly. Lead on, Miss Polendina."

Together they made their way down the infested streets, carving a path through the tide of Grimm and worse things. Ozpin closed rapidly with enemy infantry while Penny rained death upon them from behind.

"We make a rather good team, I think," Penny said brightly as Ozpin threw another dissolving corpse out of their path.

"Indeed," said Ozpin. "Perhaps we will have an opportunity to fight together when the world is not at risk of—"

"SAAAAAAAALUTAT—"

" _Nope!_ " Penny roared, whirling on the approaching drone. "I am _not_ having you tainting my good name any longer! Out with you!"

The cannon fired. The Pennydrone stood motionless for a moment, its hand raised, one finger comically pointed into the air, before its newfound lack of a head caught up to it and it fell forward.

Ozpin came forward to examine the corpse. "A scroll?" he mused, reaching down. "Why would Cinder equip her so-called mindless drones with scrolls?"

He turned it on.

" _As you can see,"_ said the Pennydrone on the screen cheerfully, her hands clasped professionally together on her desk, _"Overlord Cinder's vampires have now penetrated into the heart of Vale's red-light district. I suppose they can only make it more glamorous, what with sparkling. Now, back to Lisa Lavender…"_

The footage cut to the bound and gagged anchor of Vale News Network. Two Pennydrones were standing over her, smiles on their faces.

" _Now, Lisa,"_ one said, _"how about a weather report?"_

The scroll's screen deactivated in Ozpin's hands.

"I'm recording it," Penny said quietly. "I want… I'll want to know what they did, later. But now's not the time to dwell on it."

Ozpin passed her the scroll. She stowed it in some compartment or other. "Quite right," he agreed. "I am… sorry, Miss Polendina."

She looked at him, the expressionless, featureless face of the mech betraying nothing. "So am I, Ozpin," she said quietly. "Come on. We've work to do.

 **19**

Raven relaxed her stance, the last monstrosity having fallen to her blade. All around her were the bodies of weird beetle-like spiders. Or were they spider-like beetles? It didn't matter. They were dead and she completed the mission.

With some help, of course.

She looked to the squad of Atlasian soldiers that had helped her and Kali take down the strange creatures. Already, they were establishing a defensive perimeter around the area. Raven approved of their efficiency.

Kali let out a small pained grunt behind her.

Raven turned to face the woman, studying her state of health. The faunus had taken a glancing blow from one of the beetle-spiders, but didn't look especially worse for wear. Still, it'd be best to make sure.

"Are you injured?"

Kali snapped her head up from looking at her left arm. Seeing the bandit's gaze on said arm, she shook her head. "No. It's a bit sore, though. If my daughter hadn't unlocked my Aura when I first arrived..."

Raven only nodded and started walking towards the communication device the enemy had been close to turning on. "After I destroy this, we will head back and see if-"

 _slash_

 _squelch_

"Aaagh!"

Whirling around, Raven was able to spot the blur that was cutting through the Atlas soldiers like a demonic blender. One by one, the assailant cut down its targets like a hot knife through butter - dodging and deflecting bullets with ease as it went from soldier to soldier, never stopping. The screams of the dying were ignored by Raven, who instead focused on the newcomer's trajectory in the hopes of setting up a path of interception. It was fast - faster than her - but if she could time her approach, she could kill the interloper before it reached-

"Kali!"

Raven didn't hesitate. She didn't know why. There was no thought put into her action. No _plan_. Her body simply moved on its own as she opened a portal, jumped through, and appeared behind the faunus. Grabbing the woman from the back with her left hand while her right positioned her sword for a proper attack angle, she tossed Kali to the side as fast as she could and then swung her sword arm in the same manner once the faunus was clear. There was a loud clang as her sword was stopped dead by the blade of her new enemy and Raven couldn't completely stop her wince as her arm shook from striking what felt like an impenetrable wall. But once she recovered and got a clear look at her attacker, she froze; her breath leaving her in her shock.

It was like looking into a mirror. The nevermore mask; always intimidating, the dark hair, and a pair of red eyes that were looking upon her as if she were a bug to be stepped on.

Unfortunately, Raven's lapse cost her as her double lashed out with a kick that connected with her midsection; driving out even more air from her lungs. Raven gasped as she was sent flying back several dozen meters away like a loosed arrow and crashed into a parked car. She was wheezing as she pulled herself out the wreck; trying to catch her breath as she fell to her hands and knees. There were few times she had ever been hit so hard in her entire life. The first time she ever had a spar with Taiyang being the most memorable. But this somehow felt worse than that. Maybe because back then, Tai hadn't been trying to kill her.

"Pathetic," a hauntingly familiar voice called out as Raven got her bearings, "And to think I once considered you strong. How disgustingly naïve I was."

Raven lifted her gaze from the ground in order to look upon the other Raven. There was no denying who it was. Everything about the woman screamed power and confidence; from the way she held herself when surrounded by not only the surviving Atlasian soldiers but also a capable warrior, to the way her sword - which seem to be currently housing a blade of ice dust - was held in a firm, unyielding grip. Even her outfit was unnerving with its connotations. A long, black robe with long loose sleeves that almost reached the ground was worn over another black outfit that was covered by a set of ivory-colored plate mail armor pieces strategically placed on the more vulnerable parts of the human body: including her hands. This, combined with the typical mask Raven herself was known for, gave this familiar new enemy the appearance of a humanized Nevermore.

"Then again," the clone continued, "You are _literally_ a thousand years too early to face something like me!"

Kali herself had already gotten back up to her feet and was as far away from the other beast-like woman as possible. For a second, she had worried that Raven's toss was causing her to see double but had soon figured out what was going on. "You must be a variant that Cinder has kept in her Pocket. My daughter has told me about your kind."

"I am not a Variant!" snapped the Raven double, her eyes behind the mask wide with rage as she turned towards Kali. "if anything, I'm more real than either of you weaklings! Your existence was always going to be temporary, and therefore pointless!"

"Die, monster!" screamed a soldier as he threw a grenade full of burn dust at his target.

The woman turned back towards the fight at hand in response to the shout, and when she saw the grenade she jumped back as far as possible from the blast radius while at the same time slashing at the soldier who threw it; sending a wave of icicles from her dust sword.

It looked as though the barrage of frozen death was about to skewer the defenseless trooper, but a blur appeared in front of him to deflect every single spear of ice away.

"Plant some charges on the device and blow it!" Raven called out as she sized up her double. "That's what we're here for! I'll deal with the fake!"

"You heard her boys!" Shouted the C.O. of the surviving Atlesian personal. "We've got a job to do!" Switching his focus to Kali he said, "Ma'am, I think you'll be safer with us."

"Yeah," Kali agreed. Taking one last look at Raven and her clearly darker opposite, she hefted her rifle. "By the way, Blake also told me that most variants in Cinder's army are vampires that have a weakness to fire-"

"Shut your big mouth!" shouted the woman dressed as a Nevermore as she sent another wave of cold death towards the nosey faunus.

Only for the attack to be intercepted like last time.

Raven stood in front of Kali; her sword held up in defiance of the dark copy before her.

"You saved her _again_?" asked the newly revealed vampire in obvious shock. "Why?"

Raven couldn't blame her. What she just did went against her rules.

 _"Back to the fight?"_

 _"Why not?" Raven's hair flowed in the breeze. "It's... all I'm good for, after all."_

 _Kali snorted, standing up. "I doubt that very much."_

But for some reason she couldn't explain, she didn't want to let Kali die. To let her down.

Besides, they were trying to stop the end of the world. Letting people die when they needed all the bodies they could get was the height of stupidity. Her rules be damned.

She kept her gaze on the vampire before her as she spoke. "Thank you for the information, Kali. But I think it's time you made yourself scarce."

"Right," agreed Kali. "Make sure to rip her apart before setting her on fire or she'll just put herself out." Without another word, she made after the other troops.

"Don't get too comfortable, Belladonna!" called out the vampire bandit. "After I'm through with my lesser self, I'll make sure to _personally_ reunite you with your husband!"

That caused Kali to stop short. She turned her head to glare at the evil creature; delivering a look that promised retribution in the future before continuing on her way.

The undead bandit looked as if she was about to say more, but Raven didn't give her the chance. Dashing forward as fast as she could, the Nevermore Queen was nothing but a blur as she lashed out with her sword. Her target barely got her defenses up to parry the strike in time; which caused the streak of flame that erupted from Raven's red Dust blade to go off course and strike a nearby rooftop, setting it ablaze with an ear punishing explosion.

"You should not take your eyes off your opponent," admonished Raven as she eyed her double. "It's actually quite embarrassing to see you make such a simple mistake."

Her opposite gave her an amused look. "Opponent? Please. I'm stronger than you could ever hope to be. I will be the one who survives this encounter."

"Big talk for someone with such an inconvenient weakness," Raven responded, brandishing her burn dust blade.

"It's not a weakness if you compensate for it," claimed the immortal as she gestured towards her clothes. " This outfit is flame retardant."

Raven merely pointed her sword at her double's head. "I see one area that's unprotected."

The vampire only shook her head. "You can't win," she insisted. Spreading her arms out, she added, "Look around. The chaos. The mayhem. Not even the Great War can compare to all the bloodshed that will occur today. That is how it has always been. Since you are me, I know that you know the truth. Destruction and loss. If it wasn't the Grimm, it was humanity itself. And it was those who survived that became the strongest. The ones who prevailed again and again. And Cinder will the one who survives this Apocalypse. So really, save me the time and trouble of exterminating a weakling like you. You don't even deserve to live anyway. Because nothing you do will matter in the end. Just let yourself die."

With the way her counterpart talked, Raven couldn't help but look at the other her in a different light.

It was like looking into a mirror. And to be honest, she didn't like what she was seeing. It was unnerving. There was something empty about this version of her. Something wrong besides not being human anymore. Uncaring. Cruelty without purpose. Raven wasn't deluded. She knew that was how people outside her tribe saw her. The many times she'd been called a monster...

Was this how Yang saw her?

 _"So you do_ _recognize me," the blonde mused. "Whatever."_

No. Yang would have to care about her to feel anything positive or negative. The reminder of where she stood in her daughter's worldview brought with it the familiar sense of regret and doubt that occasionally flitted through her mind over the years, but she forced it out of her head like she had many times before. Why was it bothering her so much? Why now?

It didn't matter. It was far too late for regrets. She knew that the moment she made her choice to leave her family behind.

She had to focus on the mission and her opponent.

Preparing herself for the fight of her life, Raven countered, "If you want me dead, you'll have to earn it."

As she charged her enemy once more however, Raven couldn't help the nagging feeling that Kali wasn't the only one she didn't want to let down.

Kali was starting to panic. This was going so well too. But no, as soon as the final explosive had been placed on the enemies' communication spire, she spotted something that put a sinking feeling in her stomach. Turning to the nearest soldier - the C.O. - she pointed north and shouted, "We need to call for reinforcements! More of those spider things are coming! And they brought friends!"

"Damn!" responded the man when he saw the forces brought against them himself. There were hundreds! No doubt they'd soon be flanked, too. He turned to one of his subordinates and said, "Cobalt! Get on the Comms and contact anybody who will listen. We're in some serious trouble here! Everyone else, form up! We'll have to play defense until the coast is clear and we can blow this hunk of metal sky high!" He then turned towards Kali and said, "Miss, you're not so bad with that fancy rifle of yours, but this'll only get worse from here on in. If you want to leav-"

Kali cut him off. "No. I'm staying. I'll take full responsibility for being here. Besides, I doubt I'd get far anyway."

"Too true, I guess."

As she took up position with the rest of the soldiers making their stand against the horde of monsters, Kali could only hope that Raven was up to the challenge of defeating her alternate self.

Because if either one of them were to fail at their respective tasks, they would both fall.

 **20**

The glittering figure on the roof eyed the huntsman cutting down Grimm. Smirking, he started forward, intending the have a little feast. Then his foot got caught, he fell to ground, bounced into the path of a charging Boarbatusk which sent him flying into a bonfire. As the flames consumed him, he cursed his luck.

Qrow smirked as the vampire turned to ash. He hated his semblance sometimes, but at times like this, he enjoyed being able to screw over the enemy just by walking near them. Looking up he could see the glowing white figures of Bahamut. He smiled, remembering fighting Winter with those summons. If her summons were still around, she was still up and fighting.

His internal musings were cut off by a loud crack and a flash behind him. Blinking, he turned to see a Pennydrone twitching in a crater after being hit by lightning. Qrow quickly sliced it in two and looked up at the sky, wincing at the sight. A non-existent sky was a hard concept to understand, even when you were looking at it.

There wasn't as much focus on distracting Cinder right now, he noted. With any luck, Tai's comment about Cinder not being bothered enough by anything they do to take action would prove right.

"Even when this is over, there'll still be a lot of damage," Qrow muttered. "Wonder if that will effect when we get the next expansion."

He shook his head, then jumped back into the fray. He had a job to do and standing around being introspective wouldn't get things done.

 **21**

Raven gritted her teeth as she faced her foe. So far, it seemed like they had been playing a game of elemental rock-paper-scissors. Whenever she used fire in an attempt to burn the other her, she would be countered by wind. And when she tried either ice or earth to restrict the vampire's movements, they were similarly countered as well. And so on and so forth. It didn't help that she never once was able to gain the advantage anytime they crossed swords. Her opponent was too strong. Too fast. Raven wasn't sure how much more her Aura could take. She couldn't count how many times she had already been struck by her alternate self's sword, or slammed into the ground hard enough to leave human sized craters. It didn't help that she still hadn't fully recovered from sending her daughter and her daughter's teammates to the moon. And wasn't _that_ still an unbelievable event that actually occurred?

That wasn't to say Raven didn't get some licks in herself. Vampire Raven may have been a thousand years older than her, but her fighting style was more or less the same. The way she moved, the way she swung her sword, and the tempo and pattern of her strikes were essentially the same. That made it easy for Raven to adapt and predict and counter her supernatural double. But that had only worked for some time. The vampire's attacked were becoming more vicious. More aggressive.

Raven managed to block another strike from her opponent, but the force of the blow still sent her back; hard enough to leave cracks on the side of the office building she ended up slamming into.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" asked the bandit vampire in a condescending tone. Raven wasn't sure, but she imagined the other her was smirking behind that mask of hers. "You've been entertaining so far, but I'm quickly getting bored here. And it looks like your Aura is on its last legs."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, the vampire was right. Her Aura was crackling every so often; a sign that she needed to end this fight quickly.

However..

"You aren't looking too good yourself," Raven pointed out with a smirk. Indeed, the doppelganger wasn't as pristine as she once was. There were gashes on her clothing, dents on her armor, and a rather large crack on her mask. "Maybe the fire I used on you did more damage than you'd like to admit."

Vampire Raven scoffed as she sheathed her sword, no doubt switching out her blade. "It doesn't change anything. This next exchange will end the fight."

Raven tensed and thought about her next move. So far her strategy hadn't been working so well. She couldn't overpower her evil twin, nor was she fast enough to maintain a long distance bombardment against such a speedy adversary who had plenty of time to dodge. She was running out of ideas. Normally, she would retreat when faced against such a daunting foe. It was only the most logical step one could take in such a situation as far as she was concerned. But retreating ceased to be an option the moment she decided to fight the dragon. Besides, running from this fight sent an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

But what could she do?

 _"Why must you be so stubborn?" an eighteen year old Taiyang groaned in exasperation as he and his team walked back to their dorm room, "'Hitting harder' is not a valid battle strategy!"_

 _An equally young Raven Branwen rolled her eyes before addressing her teammate. "Is that so? Then why do I keep winning?"_

 _It was Taiyang's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh, I guess you_ forgot _that time I was kicking your cute little butt up and down the sparring arena, huh?" he said sarcastically._

 _Raven flushed at the 'cute little butt' comment, scowling at Taiyang's smirking face. "That was a fluke and you know it!" she bit out._

 _"You should listen to him, sis," said Qrow as he walked on the opposite side of Raven from Taiyang. He turned to his partner with a frown. "And stop flirting with my sister in front of me! It's awkward as hell!" Summer giggled beside him._

 _Taiyang waved him off before looking to Raven again. "All I'm saying is that you should try thinking outside the box more often. You'd be surprised at how effective it can be."_

I don't need to think outside the box. I'm strong. _Raven thought to herself before responding to her teammate. "Yeah, sure. If you think so."_

 _Taiyang could only sigh._

The memory came unbidden, but it was welcome all the same.

Still, she had never really taken to the advice of her former husband so she had no real experience with the more subtle forms of combat. But she had no choice.

As the vampire pulled a strange silver blade out from her sheath, Raven herself decided to just wing it.

Without warning, Raven dashed forwards as fast as she could before suddenly opening a portal in front of herself when she was mere feet away from the vampire and jumping through. The undead Branwen scoffed as she quickly turned around - having anticipated the move to get on her blindside - and struck out with her new blade; only to hit nothing but air. Raven (knowing her feint would not fool her enemy) had stopped short just outside the range of the vampire's sword and had instead plunged her Earth Dust blade into the ground. With the blood sucker wide open after her failed counter-attack, the dust had no problem trapping her legs so she couldn't move out of the way of Raven's next strike. Swinging her Burn Dust blade out, Raven dashed back and forth across the trapped vampire - igniting whatever she could with each attack as she targeted arms, torso, and the ground surrounding her victim. All so she could unleash her final attack; a barrage of Wind Dust to feed the flames. She could hear the vampire screaming as she got some distance from the inferno.

The white hot flames fed by wind briefly obscured her vision as they shot into the air, but Raven was determined to finish the job once and for all by hacking off the vampire's head-

The ground in front of her exploded upwards, there was a flash of silver, and she only knew pain.

"AAAHH!" Raven cried out as she fell on her back, clutching at the stump where her right arm used to be.

Standing before her, sans mask, was her other self. The vampire was no longer on fire, but her person still carried the signs of being exposed to intense heat. Her armor pieces glowed and smoke wafted off of her torn clothes and stone-like skin which appeared to have been blistered heavily; especially on her now exposed face that was starting to heal slowly. Even the seemingly normal sword she held in her hand was glowing red hot on the blade. What really caught Raven's eye, though, was the large hole in the street that the undead bandit stood over.

 _She burrowed underground?!_ Raven thought in shock as she returned her sight to the one who dismembered her. Gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the pain. "How did you recover so fast? That should have ended you!" Was she not a vampire? What went wrong?

The thousand year old bandit sneered down at her defeated enemy. "Did you really expect me to be as stupid as the rest of the vampires in Cinder's pocket?" She spat out, running an index finger across her left cheek and hold it out for Raven to see that there was a sort of viscous liquid now attached to it. "Flame retardant gel, bitch! I've prepared for the worst! And this blade I'm using right now? It has a monomolecular edge. That means it is sharp enough to sever the bonds between molecules. And with your Aura as weak as it was, it cut you like a hot knife through melted butter!"

Raven couldn't believe it. Did she ever stand a chance to begin with?

 _Damn it! Gods_ _ **damn**_ _it!_

This was it. She failed. She wasn't strong enough to kill this impostor. To survive. She was going to die here. And afterwards, this twisted version of herself was going to kill the Atlasian soldiers tasked with denying the enemy their ability to communicate.

She was going to kill Kali.

 _"At least you know how to fight." Kali rubbed her hands together. "I'm a civilian. I only joined my husband because I couldn't stand not knowing if I'd lose my entire family... I've been panicking ever since our airship crashed."_

Kali. A woman who didn't even know how to fight. Who knew that this whole ordeal could result in her death if she made the wrong move. She was out of her depth; out of her mind, really.

She didn't know how to fight and that made her weak.

She was weak and wouldn't survive.

 _"Just tell me what to shoot."_

And she took up arms against the Apocalypse anyway. Braving her fears all for the sake of those she loved. To help her daughter. To honor her husband's sacrifice.

And that...

That took strength. A strength that Raven herself was unaccustomed to. A strength that Raven wasn't consciously aware she wanted to protect.

So she couldn't fail.

She just had to retrieve her sword and get up. To do _something_. Anything.

"Heh."

Raven paused, glancing at the recovering vampire, who seemed to have her eyes closed in mirth, before searching for her sword. There! She saw it and her missing arm a half dozen feet away. The blade was shattered into many pieces, but that didn't matter. All she needed was the hilt and she could replace it. She slowly started to crawl towards her discarded weapon; all the while hoping her doppelganger didn't notice as she apparently found something funny all of a sudden.

"Hah ha haa," laughed the vampire woman with her head held high, "I just realized that- that I just cut off your arm! Your **right** arm! Just like-," She chuckled some more, shaking her head to and fro as she wiped fake tears from her eyes, "Hoo boy, that's just too funny!"

Raven crawled faster, desperate to get to her weapon before the vampire noticed and-

"Where do you think _you're_ going?"

The still red hot blade of her immortal enemy pierced through her left thigh, pinning her to the ground and searing into her flesh.

Raven _**screamed**_ in agony as she felt the blade run through her and the mind-numbing sensation of the burning metal cooking her muscles.

"You really are pathetic, aren't you?" questioned the vampire as she stood over victim. Detaching her current blade from the hilt of her sword to keep Raven pinned and replace it with another, she continued, "Why are you still trying? You've lost. Accept it. You are too weak to keep up this fight. I'll admit that you got me good with that little combo of yours, but that was just a fluke. I should have known better than to underestimate you. You're me after all."

"I'm nothing like you!" Raven gritted out as she tried to ignored the pain she was in. She once again wrapped her remaining hand around her severed arm in order to slow the bleeding. Forcing her eyes open, she glared hatefully at her smug tormentor. "You're an undead monster that gave up her humanity and are now helping an even bigger monster destroy our world! You're insane!"

"I'm just following our rule, Raven. The weak die and the strong survive. I told you before that there is nothing we can do to stop what is happening. Cinder will become a Goddess, don't you get that? There is no point in trying to save this world. It's already over."

"It doesn't have to be that way," insisted the Nevermore Queen. Wincing as faced towards the vampire, Raven asked, "Are you really that selfish? Short sighted? Are you really going to let Cinder-"

"Why not?" interrupted the stone-faced vampire. "It's not like I have anything to lose. Either way this turns out, I'll disappear. Might as well have fun."

Raven was shocked. This wasn't how she really was, was it? She herself had been willing to risk everything to stop this nightmare. Herself. Her tribe. Why was the other woman so willing to let this happen? Was it really because she'd cease to exist when all was said and done? Had she lost hope? But what about-

"What about Yang?" Raven said, trying a new approach, "And Taiyang? What about Summer's daughter-"

"What about them?"

Raven stopped cold, feeling what's left of the blood in her veins go cold at the emptiness she heard in the vampire's voice. The same emptiness from the woman she sensed before.

The other Raven merely glared down at her, her lips thin. "Don't pretend you actually care about any of them yourself," she said. "You made your choice, remember?"

"Of course I remember!" exclaimed Raven, her breathing getting quicker as she tried to squash the unease she was suddenly feeling. She didn't like where this conversation was heading. It was too much. But she had no choice. If she was going to die, she might as well be honest with herself. Maybe that'd get her other self to reconsider her current course. Getting her emotions under control, she continued. "I also remember second guessing myself. Having doubts all the time. In the beginning, I wondered if I made the right choice. Yes, those doubts disappeared over time. And yes my family wasn't exempt from my rules! But as much as I wouldn't admit it to myself, that doesn't mean I ever stopped caring! That somewhere deep down it still bothered me. That I was making excuses! That I wasn't as sure of my resolve as I thought I was!"

 _Does that matter, though? You still left. You'd still leave them to their fate if they weren't strong enough._

"Yang is a Looper," Raven forced out as she tried to ignore her own thoughts. "That means she has a chance to live past this even if it's too late for us! Don't you want that?"

Vampire Raven stared at her; her cold eyes lingering until-

"Let me ask you a question," started the Variant, her eyes never leaving Raven's, "Is there a difference between refusing to save a loved one a second time from death and killing them yourself?"

Raven's eyes went wide, her grip on her arm slacking a little as her heart rate sped up.

The vampire known as Raven Branwen leaned forward until she was looking her counterpart straight in the eye...

And smiled.

"The answer is 'no'. There is no difference at all."

 **22**

On a rooftop in the Commercial District of Vale, Professors Oobleck and Port stood over their fallen adversaries; a group of Pennydrones that now lie in pieces.

"Ah ha ha!" Port laughed as he rested his blunderbuss-axe on his shoulder. "That was a fine display of cunning and brute force!"

"Yes, yes," replied Oobleck, adjusting his glasses. "Our ambush prove quite effective. Shall we continue to aid our fellow huntsmen and huntresses in need?"

"I'm up for another scrap," agreed Peter. "And this time we'll-," he paused, spotting a small object in one of the hands of a destroyed robot and picked it up between his thumb and forefinger. "Oho, what's this?"

Oobleck leaned forward to get a better look. "It appears to be a weapon, Peter. More specifically, a pistol of some sort. Seeing as that particular robot was the first to be struck down in our ambush, I'm not surprised she didn't have a chance to fire it."

"A weapon?" asked the mustachioed professor in doubt as he stared at the tiny thing in his hand. "Preposterous! It's so puny! I feel like I'm going to break it!"

"Ah ah ah," Bartholomew chastised his long-time friend. "You know better than to judge a book by its cover, Peter. Our enemy wouldn't be carrying it if it wasn't dangerous."

"Then perhaps we should test it?" Port suggested. He look around before spotting a building in the far distance. "How about there? I'm sure it's out of the way."

"I'm not sure that's wise, Peter," warned the frazzle-haired huntsman.

"Nonsense," dismissed the Professor of Grimm Studies as he took aim. "How bad can it be?"

He pulled the trigger.

 _ ***BOOM***_

Peter Port let out a shout of surprise as he was lifted off his feet and shot backwards towards the end of the roof.

"Peter!" Professor Oobleck cried out before blurring towards his friend with all the speed he could muster and catching him by the foot before he could fall off the roof. "Are you okay?"

Hanging upside down as he stared at the tiny gun in his hand, then let out a woop of excitement. "That was amazing! Oh, I am **definitely** keeping this bad boy!"

Bartholomew sighed and then looked over his shoulder to see what happened to the building Peter used as target practice, only to see it topple over and crash onto the ground below; unaware that it gave a certain cat faunus and a group of soldiers a much needed reprieve. Turning back to look at his comrade, he said, "Only if you promise to be more careful in the future."

"Deal!"

 **23**

As Kali Belladonna fired her rifle downrange at the massive horde of enemies, she couldn't help but thank every god and goddess she knew of for the continued survival of herself and the soldiers beside her. It was good fortune, really. It started with a random explosion that toppled a building on top of the approaching mass of monsters. Not only did it cut down the enemies' forces, it slowed their advance. And when an enemy spidertank came crawling over the rubble of the destroyed building, a stray lightning bolt that came out of nowhere blew it into a dozen pieces. All things considered, Kali welcomed it as an odd but helpful set of coincidences that benefited her and her allies greatly. It didn't hurt that, before the attack started, the Atlas troopers had used Earth Dust to create barriers for them to take cover behind.

But as more and more monsters and spidertanks climbed over the rubble to assault their position, Kali feared their luck had run out. It eventually got to the point where it didn't matter where she aimed her gun because no matter where she shot, she would still end up hitting _something_ in the growing flood of enemy combatants. Everything was so loud. Explosions and gunfire were coming from everywhere. And Kali was coming closer and closer to believing that this was where she'd die.

But until that moment came, she was going to keep shooting her damn gun.

"This isn't working anymore!" Kali shouted over the myriad of noise that was a battlefield.

"Yeah," the C.O. - Captain Camellia - shouted back, "I've noticed!" He turned to the man at his side. "Cobalt, we need more rockets downrange on our left flank!"

"Negative, sir! We just ran out!"

The captain cursed before turning to back to Kali. "Ma'am, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we can't hold this position! All we can do now is complete the mission!"

As she ducked back into cover after blasting a half-bionic lizardman away, Kali eyed the captain and asked, "What do you mean?"

Camellia looked her straight in the eye. "We blow the communication spire now."

Kali went numb for a second when she realized the implications. "You mean while we're still here."

"Yes," replied the grim faced soldier. "If they win here and set up shop, who knows how disastrous that could be."

She was still for a few precious seconds, and closed her eyes as her mind rush through everything that had happened so far. The man in green giving Menagerie airships, Ghira's death, meeting her daughter again after so long apart, and everything that happened after. And through it all, all of it had occurred to prevent one thing from transpiring: the end of the world. Kali herself doubted she could put the whole of Remnant into perspective. So many people she didn't know were dying around the world and she knew how hard it was for a person to intimately care about so many strangers. The number was too big. But she did know of one person still alive in the whole wide world that she still cared about. Still loved with all her heart. Her daughter Blake. Someone who still had a chance to survive the end of this nightmare if they win. To live on. And for her, Kali was willing to sacrifice her life.

 _I'm sorry, Blake._

"Okay," said Kali in a somber tone as she opened her eyes. "If it has come to that, I guess we have no choice."

Captain Camellia nodded. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. Thought you had the right to know."

"I knew the risks, remember?"

"That, you did," agreed the captain.

Preparing herself to meet her end, Kali couldn't help a certain musing from entering her mind when she realized she would be seeing her husband again sooner than she thought.

 _I never got the chance to shoot that vampire bitch in the face for what she said about Ghira._

Just then, an agonized scream reached her ears. She was wasn't sure who it belonged to at first, but after recognizing the pitch and the direction that it come from Kali was sure she felt her heart clench. "Oh, no."

Camellia seemed to have heard it too. "That's not good," he groused. "We definitely have no choice now." He turned back to Cobalt. "Lieutenant, who has the detonator?"

"Citrine, sir!"

The captain raised his head a bit to find who he was looking for. When he did he called out, "Citrine! I need you to-

 **BOOM**

The defensive barrier made from Dust that Citrine was hiding behind exploded inward, engulfing the soldier before he could react.

"No!" cried Kali. What hit them? Taking a peek over her own cover, Kali paled when see saw three new spidertanks making themselves known.

"Shit!" Captain Camellia cursed as he made his way - behind cover - to where Citrine was last standing. "We need that detonator!"

Kali followed, shooting what she could along the way. Slowly making their way to where the now dead soldier lay, Kali and Camellia kept their heads down when they could and eventually made it.

"Incoming!" cried Cobalt.

But the warning came too late. Before the captain could take the detonator from Citrine's cold hands, a hulking figure smashed through his cover and sent him flying along with the debris from the breached barrier. The creature that was now before Kali was huge and muscled. A type of Grimm that she never thought could exist. It had the torso of of a Beringal, but that was where its familiarity with her expectations ended. Because its lower half was that of a spider. And as if that wasn't unusual enough for her, the gorilla-spider hybrid was carrying a spear made of hardened bone.

"Holy shit!" yelled Kali in shock. But then she regained her bearings and unloaded on the twisted Grimm with her rifle alongside the other soldiers who could spare their attention on the new threat. The monster roared in pain as her blaster rifle seemed to be doing the most damage to the new Grimm; which might explain why it decided to target her first as a priority. The creature charged at her on skittering legs that made it go faster than the cat faunus was prepared for. It swung one of its massive arms once it reached her and connected solidly with her left arm. The same arm that was already bruised and still healing from her earlier encounter.

Kali let out a pained scream as she was sent hurling towards the barrier separating her from the rest of the horde; her Aura finally breaking when she smashed into it. She hissed as she grabbed at her even more bruised arm. She was lucky that her Aura had withstood the first hit, or her arm would definitely be broken at that moment.

 _Forget a broken arm! I'd be dead!_

Her thoughts were cut short as the Grimm let out another roar and stampeded towards her once again. Its spear was held out in front of it, no doubt intending to run her through. Kali could do nothing but raise the rifle she still had in her right hand and keep pulling the trigger; screaming her defiance at the dark beast all the while until a rocket unexpectedly struck the charging grimm in the back. The beast staggered as it screeched in pain; which was what allowed Kali and the rest of the troopers to get a better bead on it.

"Lieutenant!" shouted Captain Camellia as he dropped the rocket launcher he had found earlier. "I thought you said we were out of rockets!"

"Don't shoot the messenger, Sir!" quipped Cobalt as he continued to shoot the grimm that got behind their lines.

"Watch out!" cried Kali.

It was too late. The grimm, angered by being denied its prey, positioned its jagged spear like a javelin and threw it with all its might straight through Captain Camellia; causing the man to cough up blood before he finally fell to the ground.

"CAPTAIN!" Cobalt cried out in shock at his superior officer's death. He bellowed in rage and pulled out a grenade of Burn Dust to throw at the grimm.

The grenade ignited against the gorilla-spider, causing it to roar in agony as it tried to put the flames out.

Kali gritted her teeth and force herself to stand up. "No more," she stated as she took aim once more and shot the monster's legs in order to take away its mobility. It worked as well as she had hoped; the relatively skinny legs of the creature exploded with each successful hit with her rifle. The grimm staggered and fell as it tried to regain its balance, but Kali and the other Atlas troops gave it no reprieve as they mercilessly peppered the shadow beast until it stopped moving and started to evaporate.

Kali let out a breath before another explosion reminded her what she needed to do. Searching to and fro for the detonator, she eventually found it under a small pile of rubble still in Citrine's hands. At first fearing it might have been smashed, she was relieved that was not the case. But that relief didn't last long. She knew what she need to do. They were quickly losing ground and their lives and it was only a matter of time before the enemy overwhelmed them. Steeling her resolve to save her daughter's future, Kai placed her finger on the button-

"Arf!"

What?

Kali spun her head towards the source of the noise so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. There, standing atop the erected barrier of dust that had kept them alive for so long was a dog. A tiny Corgi that was occasionally being hit by enemy fire without receiving any damage at all.

But then the little corgi growled, and then _barked_.

 **WOOF!**

It was like thunder, and the resulting shockwave shot out of dog's mouth with devastating effect. The enemy foot soldiers were sent flying away along with the tanks; the force of the Corgi's attack breaking them all into pieces as they went.

Kali stared in shock at the carnage before her; the detonator dropping from her loosened grip. She saw a lot of strange and incredible things since this whole mess started, and a super powered dog was not the strangest by far, but she was starting to truly wonder if she'd really get used to this. But for her sanity's sake, she resolved to let it go.

"You're the ones who called for reinforcements, right?" spoke the dog - a talking dog! - as he looked over to Kali. "Sorry it took so long. You wouldn't believe how many zombies, vampires, and other nasties were between us and you. If I had to guess, the monster thought they'd need reinforcements of their own."

Kali shivered at the implications. It seems sacrificing themselves wouldn't have impeded the enemy like she had believed. Not with numbers like that to set up new communications.

"There's no need to apologize," she eventually said. "Better late than never, right?" Kali tilted her head at the corgi as a question came to mind. "Are you the only one who came?"

The little canine shook his in the negative. "No, I brought two friends with me. I had to rush ahead when I saw how much trouble you were in, but I'm sure they'll get here shortly."

"Zwei!"

The now named Zwei turned to where the voice came from along with Kali. "Ah, speak of the devil."

Two blonde men came into view: a young monkey faunus and an older human male. Kali couldn't be sure, but the older man reminded her of someone.

"Oh good," said the faunus boy as he and the other man caught up, "Looks like you saved everyone."

"Not everyone, I'm afraid." Zwei replied, his ears lowering as he saw Captain Camellia and other dead troopers.

Kali felt her own ears doing the same, but she fought down her emotions. There would be a time to mourn later.

"Damn," cursed the older huntsman as the younger looked crestfallen. He looked like he was about to say more, but that was when a large explosion shook the ground they were all standing on.

"We've got more incoming!" cried out Cobalt as he pointed northeast.

Kali looked to where he was pointing only to pale a bit at the numerous giant robots that were stomping towards their position. Each and every one of them seemed to be armed with many cannons and missiles all over their chassis'.

"I'll take care of this," growled Zwei as he trotted towards the giant Mechas, "Just blow that thing up and evacuate!"

After watching the Corgi charge his new targets, the older blonde turned to everyone else present and asked, "So, is everyone accounted for?"

Kali's breath caught it her throat when she remembered the painful scream she heard earlier in the fight. She turned back to the area where the other woman she had come with was last seen.

"Raven!"

 **25**

Baseline Jaune had been the deadweight of team JNPR. Jaune would freely admit it to himself. He had improved vastly, thanks to his friends, especially Pyrrha. But he was still a lesser warrior. That said, he _had_ improved a lot. Baseline had him able to create razor winds with a swing of his blade.

Looping Jaune had several millennia of experience. But that didn't mean he would ignore a basic technique. Especially if it enabled him to attack foes out of his physical reach.

Arcs of razor sharp wind soared from his sword and sliced deep into the flying swarm of monsters, cutting right through several of them.

He stopped swinging his sword to smash a sparkling figure with his shield, striking with enough force to completely shatter the skull. Jaune lopped of the head and bisected the body for good measure. He swooped down on several Grimm mauling something hidden from his view, making quick work of them. As the smoke from the bodies faded, he stopped and blinked.

A familiar form lay still, bloody and broken. Neptune's eyes stared blankly at him. Jaune sighed.

He was well aware that people were dying. That they were incapable of saving every single life here. But seeing the death of civilians whose existence was fairly fluid in the loops somehow seemed less upsetting than the death of someone who was a non-looping friend. Jaune felt particularly fond of Neptune out of the non-loopers. He had spent several loops giving him dance lessons and in baseline, Jaune was the reason Neptune went to dance with Weiss at the dance she and Yang had organized. And he was the only looper who in baseline, Neptune had admitted to his insecurities.

Shaking his head, he swung his blade and cut down several approaching Grimm before he reached out to gently closed the dead boy's eyes and carefully extracted his trident from his grasp to Pocket it.

"I know it's possible new loopers will Wake up because of this," Jaune murmured to the corpse. "But I hope none of them will remember this."

Jaune shook his head again and returned to battle. They needed to make sure there would be a next loop for the new loopers to activate in.

 **26**

The world stood still around her. She could feel no breeze across her face from the wind, nor could she hear any of the many sounds that were no doubt surrounding her. All she could do was see. See the face of pure evil looking her right in the eye.

Her face.

It was like looking into a mirror.

"What do you mean by that?" Raven asked, her voice tight. It was hard for her to get the words out. She tried to deny it even in her own head. But she couldn't. Her world began to spin, and Raven doubted the blood loss was solely to blame.

"You know what I mean," smirked the beast before her. "I can see it on your face."

"Why?!" shouted Raven, her anger and desperation getting the better of her. Her jaw clenched as she glared at her at the vampire. She wanted nothing more than to wipe the smile off her own face. "What purpose did it serve? Had they gone insane? Were they a threat to the tribe? Did you have no choice?" Her breathing was ragged now; eyes desperately searching the other woman's face for a clue. "Just, _why_?"

The smirk left the dark haired vampire's face and was replaced by a stone-like visage. She regarded Raven for a moment before finally speaking. "Fear."

Raven recoiled, her face no doubt betraying the bewilderment she felt. "Fear?"

"It started when I first met Cinder," explained the undead bandit as she started to pace around her pinned captive. "She just showed up one day and slaughtered everyone in the tribe. Everyone except me. I tried to fight her, of course. But she was too strong. Broke my Aura with one hit, and I was completely at her mercy. It was then she offered me a choice: either die right then and there, or serve her unquestionably for the rest of my life."

"And you chose," Raven finished for her, her tone as cold as winter.

The vampire nodded. "I chose," she agreed.

"What does this have to do with why you killed-"

"I'm getting to that," interrupted her captor. "Anyway, there is a price to being a servant to Cinder. Being turned into an undead bloodsucker is just one of them. The other was living in her Pocket for eternity; leaving everything behind in order to survive the end of the Loop. And so, Cinder wanted to make sure I didn't have any... Lingering regrets."

Raven closed her eyes and lowered her forehead to the road beneath her. She didn't want to listen anymore.

"Cinder timed it to just before the Loop ended," continued the red-eyed Variant. "Yang wasn't Awake, and the Anchor was all the way in Mistral. No need to worry about getting caught. It wasn't till sundown that I decided to strike!"

Raven gritted her teeth; her remaining hand clenching around her stump as hard as she could. _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_ she thought.

"Taiyang died first," informed the alternate Branwen. "He was shocked to see me, and I used that to my advantage. Cutting him down was easy after that."

 _Taiyang looked into her eyes. His gazed penetrating her very being with an emotion she has never seen from him before. "I love you, Raven."_

 _No!_ Raven thought as she lied there on the ground. _I don't want to remember that. Not now!_

"And then there was _Yang_ ," spat the Variant with contempt and the real Raven tensed. "Such a disappointing child. She was so angry when she saw what happened to her father. Taking her down was absolutely trivial after that. What a waste."

 _The newborn infant opened her beautiful lilac eyes for the first time, making Raven the first thing she would ever see in her life, and gurgled happily._

Raven whimpered as she tried to banish the memories. It was too painful.

"Of course, I didn't kill her right away," the pale skinned woman went on, oblivious to the emotions running through Raven. "See, I was a newborn vampire and so, _so_ hungry." She licked her lips, and her red eyes glazed over as if in memory. "Her blood tasted a- _mazing_ -"

"Shut the fuck up, you psychotic _**bitch**_!" Raven shouted in rage, her head shooting up to glared at the monster that was wearing her face. Her breathing was harsh with the loathing she felt for the creature she was looking at. Herself. "You did all that just to save your own pathetic life?! Because you were too **afraid** to die with dignity!?"

"The fear of death is what keeps us alive, Raven," the stone-faced vampire coldly. "Remember? That is why the weak die and the strong survive. Because the strong will do anything to stave off death. No matter what obstacle is in their path."

"You butchered your _family_!"

The former human's red eyes flash with anger. "They were not my family!", she shouted. She crouched in front Raven's head, grabbed a fist-full of her hair, and pulled back so she could look into Raven's face. Ignoring the bandit's cry of pain, she continued her tirade. "I left them behind, remember? I abandoned them! When I killed those two disappointments, I finally felt free! Like nothing can hold me back anymore! I cut all ties and it felt **good**! Because I am different from them! Because I never belonged in the first place. Because they didn't matter to me anymore!-"

At those words, the sensation of pain drained from Raven's mind; replaced by something cold.

"-Taiyang didn't matter anymore!-"

 _"Raven Branwen," began Taiyang when he took her hands into his, "will you marry me?"_

It was cold like ice and permeating her entire being.

"-My daughter _never_ mattered to begin with!-"

 _Raven placed her index finger into the baby's palm in order to see what the little one would do. The newly named Yang wrapped her tiny fingers around the appendage; filling Raven with an unexpected warmth._

It was all she could feel now, a coldness that burned like a raging fire.

"-None of them mattered!-

 _From her hospital bed, Raven watched as her husband held their daughter in his arms with a big smile on his face and happy tears leaking from his eyes. Next to him, Summer cooed at the newborn; making funny faces to try and make little Yang laugh. And her brother was watching from outside the window on a tree branch, keeping his distance to ensure that his Semblance didn't destroy any hospital equipment._

And that fire was growing bigger.

"-I'm glad I left! It was for the best, anyway!"

 _Raven took one last look at the island of Patch were her fam- her former family resided. It was for the best that she leave. She wasn't like them. She couldn't live that kind of life. Qrow was foolish to believe that they could live in a world that existed outside the tribe. She turned her back on the island and opened a portal._

 _It was for the best._

Until it ran red hot.

Settling her gaze to stare at the mirrored eyes of her alternate self, Raven's voice was low and dangerous as she spoke. "You better kill me now, because I **promise** you that if you don't take this chance right here and now to end my life; I will be the _**last**_ thing you ever see."

"Still defiant, eh?" scowled the vampire. "No matter. Because this little encounter has made me hungry, and I've always wanted to know what another Raven's blood tasted like." With that, she opened her mouth wide to make room for her fangs and started to lower her head-

And that was when a blaster bolt struck the left side of her face.

 **27**

Miló and Akoúo̱ spun through the air, piercing the enemy forces and blocking their every attack. Rubble followed them as an army, iron bolts and jagged steel rending and shredding, a storm of destruction and death. Every glittering surface was splattered, with blood or ichor or oil or evaporating Grimm dust. And with unnerving calm she strode through it all, every whirling fragment an extension of her soul, barely conscious of her own body. Only two things kept her anchored to herself; the sheathed dagger she gripped with both hands, and the ring that blazed on her finger.

None of the metallic gingers had gone after her, fleeing at the signature hum of her dark light-distantly she felt an odd shame at that, yet she could not place why. The other mechanical beings had attempted to shoot her from afar, and her hovering shield had many burn marks from such foolhardy action; she'd had to bring her rifle back for reloading numerous times, but every one that had aimed at her had been destroyed. Of the rest, well, the shadows she had been destroying since before she Awoke, and the impossible dead were easily pinned and burnt.

She was not alone; a bubble of safety rested at the center of her, and around her mortal form were whatever allies and victims she had run across. Trembling civilians, tended to by Atlas soldiers and Huntresses... They pressed all around, both to keep to each other and to stay away from the wall of sharpness. Some had attempted to speak to her, and she had given reassurances and healing, but her words were distant and her focus elsewhere.

Her green eyes snapped open suddenly, and she stopped as the storm froze in midair. All around her worried murmurs fell silent, letting the sounds of battle become well heard.

"DOWN, NOW!"

Miló and Akoúo̱ jumped to her bracers as the rubble all flew together in one massive wall, just barely shielding the crowd from the great plume of flame that slammed into it. Her eyes narrowed as she drew back into herself, fighting to keep control of the melting slag, to push back against the force. She strode forward, each footstep through the cowering mass accompanying a mental shove, the wall groaning between the fire and her own will. In the end she stood before the crowd, the sapphires in her dagger's hilt gleaming with barely restrained power.

Even when the fire died down, the wall dripped with glowing heat. She frowned, her shield at the ready, her ring humming in anticipation-

Slag flew everywhere as the attacker burst through, and she only just managed to keep it from landing on the crowd before she deflected a clawed blow. Her spear shunted forth and scratched off great gleaming feathers, a bellowing caw the only signal her attack had even hit, before a whisk of a massive red wing sent her sliding to the side. She regained control swiftly, looking over her foe in a moment.

At first glance it could have been a pheonix-a bird made of flame-but her travels through the multiverse made her well aware of the many varieties and few stable points in such a model. The fire did not blaze bright and glorious, but sputtered a dark red, as though it was barely alive. Most legendary firebirds had glorious songs; this one's cry was a sickly croak. And instead of the hooked beak of a hunter, she saw the slim beak of a scavenger-a sign of death, even as it turned to her with four golden eyes.

She sprung forward without hesitation, pulling back Miló and instead pulling her dagger free. The runes on its surface gleamed even as the beast opened its mouth, and the silhouette on the sheathe shone in reply as she was bathed in fire. For the briefest moment, her world was heat and pain and light-

The monster choked, falling to the ground, its flames melting away. She emerged from its mouth, her armor glowing as red as her hair.

She examined her dagger curiously. "Xéro." She sheathed it, and watched the glow of the silhouette die down. "Mathaíno." And her eyes fell on her ring with a fond smile. "Éromai."

"Um." One of the huntresses approached her. "How did you-?"

"Stabbed it in the brainpan, which shattered the magic keeping it alive." She patted the dagger. "Nora knows her stuff."

"Oh." She pointed at her bracers. "Doesn't that hurt?"

She blinked, looking at her armor. "Oh. Yes, actually, quite a bit." Clearing her throat, she brought a finger to her ear. "Base, this is Pyrrha. I'm going to need a five-minute break to heal up, but I've got around twenty civilians and ten huntresses to guard them, can I get an evac?"

 _"We have your position and are sending a badger for pickup, ETA seven minutes. Have your friends hold the line until then."_

"Understood, Pyrrha out." The redhead nodded toward a building. "Clear that out and don't let anyone in that sparkles."

 **28**

The undead former bandit leader roared in pain and staggered away from Raven as a second bolt connected with her lower back. Whirling around to where the shots were coming from, the vampire managed to block the next three bolts. When the finally saw who had shot her, her remaining good eye narrowed in rage. " **YOU!** "

"Me," Kali Belladonna said simply, a smug look on her face. Then she narrowed her eyes. "That was for earlier, bitch! Now stay away from my friend!"

Raven couldn't hide her surprise. "K-Kali?"

The Variant growled. "How cute. But I'm afraid you've only come here to d-"

Suddenly, a flaming apparition of what appeared to be a monkey faunus fell from the sky to get the drop on the vampire. Before she could react, it exploded in a fireball that sent her flying; only to be smashed into the ground immediately with enough force to create a twenty meter wide crater by a familiar blond that Raven would know anywhere.

"Taiyang?" Raven was in shock. _He_ was here?

"One sec," called out her ex-husband before he grabbed her double by the hair and started to spin. Once he felt he had reached an appropriate speed, he let go and caused his merry-go-round victim to crash through the wall of an office building hard enough to cause the whole thing to collapse on top of her. After he was sure that the area was clear for now he turned around and race towards his downed ex-wife along with the rest of the rescue party; which consisted of Kali and a faunus boy she didn't recognize.

"Oh, shit!" exclaimed the monkey faunus when he saw her up close. "It's worse than we thought!"

"Oh, no!" gasped Kali when she saw the severed arm.

Ignoring their words, Raven continued to stare at the man before her. "Tai? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," said Taiyang as he knelt besides her. "Here," he started as he grabbed the bandanna off his arm and started tying it tight around Raven's stump, "you've lost a lot of blood. Like, _way_ too much." He turned to the other two once he was done and said, "Nice work you two. Especially with using your Semblance in combination with dust, Sun. Not bad for a first timer."

Sun himself kept his eye on where the vampire was thrown along with Kali. "Thanks. I have a feeling I'll get more practice, though."

"Is she going to be alright?" asked a concerned Kali. "We need to get her back to base."

"Not until we finish off that vampire," Raven cut in. "Tai, get this damn sword out of my leg. But be careful, its edge is unnaturally sharp."

"Are you crazy?!" exclaimed Taiyang. "Look at the thing! It's almost fused to your skin!"

"Taiyang Xiao Long, get this **fucking** thing out of my leg so I can fight!"

"No! That'll make things worse! I can't _believe_ you! You're at death's door and you still want to show how tough you are!"

"That's not it at all!"

"Then what is it, huh? Did she steal your lunch money? Call your momma fat? Why in the world are you so gung ho to fight some evil version of yourself?!"

"BECAUSE SHE KILLED YOU IN HER WORLD!"

Silence.

"What?" asked a wide eyed Taiyang as he tried to comprehend what she just said.

"She told me," explained Raven, eyes downcast, "that in her reality, she killed you."

"Geez," whistled Sun as he glanced back to the older blond man. "That's heavy, dude."

Taiyang himself was silent for a moment as he stared at his ex-wife as if he was studying her.

"Well," he finally said. "I didn't know you cared."

Raven lowered her eyes, an odd sense of shame suddenly made itself known to her at how disbelieving her former love was. That he disbelieved she was capable of caring. She couldn't blame him, though.

"Either way," he continued, "that's no reason to put yourself in any more danger-"

"Tai," interrupted Raven. There was an odd vulnerability in her voice; one that Taiyang had never heard from her before, even back when they were together. "She killed Yang, too."

Kali let out a horrified gasp as she clasped a hand over her mouth and Sun stared at her with wide eyes.

But to her, Taiyang's reaction was the worst of all.

His entire body was stiff; shaking with what could only be held back rage. His eyes were tightly shut and his teeth were bared as he clenched his jaw as hard as he could while trying to bring his harsh breathing under control. Raven wondered what he must be thinking of the vampire he had thrown through a building earlier. She wondered of what he must be thinking of _her_.

"Tai," she said softly, causing him to open his eyes and look at her. "Please let me fight."

Taiyang just stared, silently judging her and her sincerity until-

"Sun, get that burn crystal ready to cauterize the wound," he said as he place his hand on either side of the blade holding Raven down.

"Thank you, Tai," Raven said faintly as she prepared herself for the coming pain.

"Dude, are you sure?" asked Sun as he approached while Kali looked on in concern.

"Yes," Taiyang confirmed. "Now get ready. On my mark. One. Two... Three!"

Raven bit back a scream as the blade was ripped from her flesh, but couldn't help the keening wail that left her lips as the open wound was cauterized. She managed to hold it back when her arm was treated next, but it was a near thing. By the end of it, Raven was breathing harshly and trying to stay focused on her objective: killing her evil doppelganger.

"That still doesn't look good," said Sun with an unconvinced voice.

"It'll last long enough," replied Taiyang as he heeded Raven's earlier warning and carefully set the blade down so he wouldn't cut himself.

Kali rushed to Raven's side in concern. "Are you alright?"

Raven's harsh breathing slowed as she composed herself. "Kali. Hand me my sword, please."

Looking to her left, Kali saw the sword in question only a few feet away still in the hand of Raven's severed arm. Gulping, she nodded and moved to retrieve the other woman's weapon.

"You know," began Taiyang as he helped Raven sit up, "I always knew that if I ever saw you again, there was a fifty-fifty chance that it'd be in a situation just like this."

"Really?" Raven grunted as she was helped up. She then gestured around them with her remaining arm. " _Exactly_ like this?"

Taiyang chuckled. "Well, no." He sobered, looking away from his former teammate. "I meant finding you on some crazy battlefield; broken and bleeding. One wrong move away from death. Never getting to see your daughter again, so you'd know what you left behind."

Raven lowered her eyes. "Yeah."

There was silence for a moment.

"Actually," Raven eventually said, "I met Yang earlier. Used my Semblance to send her to the moon."

Taiyang blinked owlishly at her for a moment before regaining his sanity. He'd ask later. "Oh?" he prodded. "What did you two talk about?"

The bandit leader stared into space for several seconds, lost in thought. When she finally gave her answer, it was with complete sincerity. And a complete non sequitur.

"You and Summer did a wonderful job raising her."

"Uh," Taiyang replied awkwardly, scratching the back of his head at the sudden change in topic.

It was then that Kali approached with Raven's sword in hand. "Here you go," she said as she held out the weapon for the bandit to take.

Grasping the sword with her hand, Raven released the broken dust blade from the hilt. "Will you help me?" she asked as she gestured to the monomolecular blade on the ground.

The cat faunus nodded and set to carefully attach the blade to the huntress' weapon.

"Uh, Taiyang," called out Sun as he pointed to the crumpled office building, "we've got movement!"

Indeed, there was a rumbling among the debris of the fallen building; large pieces of rubble being pushed over and falling out of the way of something climbing out.

"Alright, everybody get ready," commanded Taiyang, glaring at the approaching figure. "Kali, keep your distance. Whenever you see an opening, blast her. Sun, you're my back-up. Hit her from mid-range with your guns and fire clones. I'll get up close and personal to keep her off of both of you. If she's strong enough to beat Raven, neither of you stand a chance."

"What about Raven?" asked Kali as she readied her rifle.

Raven merely brandished her new blade; a promise of death in her eyes as she glared at her mirrored self. "Just get her close to me. I'll end it in one blow."

That was all that could be said before the battle began. The vampire bandit charged as Taiyang and Sun met her head on. Both blonde huntsmen weaved in and out combat, doing their best to avoid her blade as Kali let off shots to keep the undead warrior off balance. Sun kept his distance as he fired his shotguns at his target. He kept moving as he peppered her with shotgun fire faster and faster, trying to probe for an opening in her defenses.

The pale skinned vampire growled in frustration as she moved to deal with the young man only to be grabbed by the wrist from behind by Taiyang, who used that opportunity to hold her arm straight and deliver a punishing palm-strike to the back of her elbow. The twisted mockery of his ex-wife grunted in pain at the strong blow, but it wasn't enough to to snap her arm in two. So instead, Taiyang connected his knee to her gut at blinding speed to put as much force behind the attack as possible. Even though she no longer needed to breathe, the vampire still experienced agony from the blow.

In a show of frustration, the former bandit leader ripped her arm out of Taiyang's grip and moved to strike him down only to have to avoid four consecutive blaster bolts that came screaming towards her. She ducked, dodged, and deflected every shot that came after her, but her luck ran out when two fire clones of Sun blindsided her from the left and right; latching on to her with powerful holds before detonating. After she landed a few meters away from her original position, she put the fire out and attempted to find her enemies only for Taiyang to appear in front of her and punch her with every bit of strength he had.

The shockwave was enormous, shattering nearby windows with its intensity as the Variant was sent fly like a rocket. She landed with crashed into the streets of Vale, buried deep in a crater.

Climbing out of the road she was blasted into, the red-eyed vampire let out a hell of frustration. Her jaw hung loosely from the rest of her face as a testament to Taiyang's strength and fatherly rage. There was murder in the thousand-year-old's eyes as she glared at all three of her opponents.

"Yoo week'ings!" she tried to speak with her broken jaw. "Ah'll keel awl uv yoos!"

 _ ***KABOOM***_

She spun around in surprise and was even more shocked to see the communication spire light up in flames. Explosion after explosion rocked the tower as it started to lean to the side until gravity finally won and the objective she was charged with protecting went up in smoke.

"Fuuu'c!" Vampire Raven bellowed in rage. She turned around to confront the one responsible for her failure. "Yoo so'sh a' bi'shes-"

 _*swish*_

The vampire's eyes widened in shock as identical red irises gazed back at her coldly. She had enough time to see that the human Raven had one of her monomolecular blades before her head rolled of the rest of her body.

Raven's gaze was dispassionate as she looked down at her beheaded double. But soon her eyes began to change; losing their stoicism and becoming more wild by the second. Her body began to tremble. The dam holding back her emotions eventually broke, and Raven struck; cleaving the torso in two. But she didn't stop there. She lashed out at the fallen body again and again, mercilessly cutting into it wherever her aimless attacks landed. She started screaming incoherently in rage, despair, and self loathing as she continued to hack away at the downed body. Aided by her frenzied fury, the special blade had no problem tearing through the diamond hard body of her hated enemy.

"Raven, stop!"

She kept slashing and slashing and ripping flesh from flesh. Soon her wild swings were nothing more but her bashing and clubbing the sword against the body. She needed to break it! She had to break it! She had to shatter this mirror! Break it into teeny tiny pieces so it could never reform again! So she would no longer have to look at it! Never see her face reflected on the surface of that twisted monster ever again!

Someone gripped her hand. "Raven! Stop, it's over!"

Raven gasped, snapping out of whatever trance she had been in and turning her head to the left where she saw Taiyang gripping her arm; his other hand being used to hold her close in order to restrict her movement.

"Taiyang," she breathed out. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Raven," reassured Taiyang. "Just put the sword down. Okay?"

Raven looked down to the body she mutilated. It was in so many pieces. There was no way the mirror was coming back from that. However... "Fire."

"Right," acknowledged Taiyang before turning his head to Sun. "You mind taking care of that?"

"No prob," Sun agreed as he moved towards the body with burn dust in hand.

After seeing Sun get to work, Taiyang returned his attention to her. "The sword, please?"

The sound of metal clattering on the ground followed the action of Raven loosening the grip her hand had on her weapon. She started to shake again, her body involuntarily reacting to her stress as the scope of recent events and revelations all caught up to her. Her breathing was becoming erratic-

She was pulled into an embrace by strong arms, her head secured to a broad chest while her own arm hung loosely down her side. Raven gasped, not understanding what was happening at first until she slowly pulled back a little to look up and see that it was Taiyang that was hugging her. Her eyes were wide as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Shouldn't he hate her right now? What was going on? "Tai?" she questioned her ex-husband. "What-"

"It's okay, Raven," interrupted Taiyang, gently pulling her head back to his chest. "She's gone now. She's not coming back. We won."

Raven breath hitched, and she buried her face into his chest as her arm finally started to slowly wrap around him in return; her shoulders shaking up and down in raw emotion. "I'm sorry," she croaked out. "I just lost control and..." She couldn't finish what she had to say, instead opting to pull herself tighter to Taiyang.

He gently shushed her, and slowly began to sway back and forth with her in his arms as he started to rub her back. "It's fine. I understand completely. You don't have to apologize for anything, okay? You can relax now."

They stayed like that for several moments. With Raven clinging to him like a lifeline, letting her emotions out, and and occasionally muttering apologies. All the while, Taiyang rocked her back and forth as he whispered assurances into her ear. He was, of course, not immune to his own emotions. The thought of losing his eldest daughter at the hands of her own mother was heartbreaking, and it wasn't a fear he had seriously considered before. But somewhere, sometime out there in the vast multiverse it had happened. And he felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

Eventually, Raven's jittering slowed to a crawl one moment at a time. Her breathing started to even out, and she lessened her grip on his form in order to pull her head back and sigh. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Yes you do," Taiyang admonished softly. "What you just went through was surreal and pretty fucked up if you don't mind me saying."

"Ever the poet," Raven found herself muttering.

"And while I'm not an expert," continued Taiyang, ignoring her sarcasm, "I believe that you handled it as well as anyone can be expected to."

"You think so?

"I know so."

They were fell silent for a moment, both trying to think of anything else to say.

"Tai," Raven whispered suddenly, a question burning in the from of her mind; her voice somber. "Am I a monster?"

Surprised by the question, Taiyang looked down to the woman in his arms. Raven's gaze was downcast; head turned away from him to avoid eye contact.

Taiyang lifted her chin up so that she'd face him. "Hey, don't start thinking like that. If there is one thing I've learned throughout this whole crazy mess, it's that even those who are the same _people_ can be wildly different from each other. All the other Variants running around prove that." He paused, deciding to chose his next words carefully. "Yes, it's true that you are responsible for much of the pain in my life and the lives of others. You are a bandit. You cause innocent people to suffer for selfish reasons. But, personally? I've never thought of you as a heartless monster of pure evil. Call me an idiot and a fool, but I just didn't. And your reaction to this whole mess pretty much validates that in my book."

"But, why?" Raven asked desperately, searching his eyes for deceit but found none. "If you know all of what I've done, how can you believe I wouldn't-"

"Because," Taiyang cut her off, "of the many reasons I wanted to keep Yang from meeting you for as long as possible, I **promise** that none of those reasons were because I feared you'd harm her. And if you won't take my word it, trust your brother. Because despite the many times I've asked him not to, I know that he talks to her about you. He wouldn't have done that if he was afraid of you crossing that line."

Raven shifted her face away. "But I did."

"No, you didn't," he said, making her look back. "You are not her, and she isn't you. _She_ was the monster, and no matter what any other Raven across the multiverse does, only your decisions matter."

"But it was how I lived my life that caused it. My rules. There's no difference between killing a loved one and letting them die because you refused to save them when you had the ability to do so."

"Well, from where I'm standing that just means you gotta change those stupid rules of yours. Are you willing to do that?"

Raven paused, thinking on the rules that she felt kept her alive all these years, and where they could lead her.

"It won't be easy," she admitted. "I've believed in them for so long that it's almost second nature. It has felt so right for so long. Like every terrible thing that happens only validates it."

"You know what they say," replied Taiyang with a smile, "'nothing worth having is ever easy'."

Raven couldn't help but give a small smile back. "I guess so."

"So you're okay?"

Raven let out a shuddering breath. "I will be. I just want to put this behind me."

"Yeah, I hear ya."

They kept staring at each other for a second until a discrete feminine cough caused the both of them to look to the side and see Kali and Sun giving them odd looks.

"Uh," started the monkey faunus as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "The bonfire's been lit. So, maybe we should go?"

"Unless, of course," added Kali with a teasing smile as she gestured at the both of them, "you two need a moment longer?"

Taiyang and Raven both gave her looks of confusion before looking down and realizing something they hadn't before: they hadn't stopped embracing each other from before.

"Whoa!" Taiyang exclaimed as he jumped back, embarrassment coloring his face. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine!" stammered Raven as she felt her face heating up a bit. "I didn't notice- I didn't notice eith-" Raven suddenly started to sway dangerously, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she collapsed.

"Shit!" cursed Taiyang as he dashed forward and caught his ex before she could hit her head on the ground. "Raven," he called to her, tapping his hand against her face in an attempt to keep the dying woman focused. "C'mon, stay with us!"

"Oh, no," Kali said in horror as she rushed to their side. "Did we waste too much time?"

"I can help with that."

All four of the people present turned to the direction the voice came from only to see the familiar corgi making his way to them.

"Zwei!" shouted Sun happily. "Glad to see you finished up. Did the troops evacuate safely?"

The little dog nodded. "They made it out fine, all things considered. Those robots were tougher than they looked; which is saying something," he replied, producing a small syringe out of nowhere and approached Raven. "Now hold still, Miss Branwen."

Raven stared at the corgi with bleary eyes before looking up to Taiyang. "Tai," she said weakly. "It's too late for me. I'm already hallucinating talking dogs!"

Taiyang, for his part, chuckled weakly as he brushed some of her dark hair away from her sweating face. "It's okay, Rae. We'll explain later."

Zwei then proceeded to stick the needle into Raven.

"Whoa~" sounded out Raven, her eyes getting wider and her skin became less pale. "Where did all these colors come from~?"

The other three looked at the dog with confusion.

"What did you give her?" asked Sun with an amused smile on his face.

"Nano machines, Sun," Zwei informed as if that explained everything.

Taiyang looked down at a a drowsy Raven who seemed to be giggling to herself at the moment. "What are they doing?"

"Healing her, of course," Zwei said. "They've already injected her with a powerful anesthetic for pain relief, and are now helping her body raise its red blood cell count and speeding up the healing process. They will regrow her arm too."

"Cool," said Sun in awe. "But, wait. How come you never gave any of us some of those super healing nano machines? They sound useful."

"I did," Zwei replied.

"What?! When?"

"When I first encountered you. I did the same to Tai and Kali. You all were just too distracted to notice."

"You shouldn't do stuff like that without informed consent, Zwei," Taiyang admonished his pet corgi disapprovingly. Positioning Raven into a bridal carry, he quickly rose to his feet, the woman in his arms letting out a delightful 'Whoo' when he did so.

"I'm truly sorry," Zwei apologized as he looked his friend in the eye. "But time was of the essence, and I didn't think it through as well as I should have. Everything's such a mess, and we need all the help we can get." He lowered his head. "And I'd rather not see you die."

Taiyang sighed. "That's fair, I guess."

Kali cut into the conversation. "How long will it take her to recover?" she asked.

Zwei thought for a second. "With the state her body's in right now," he started, "it will take a little over twenty minutes for her to be at full health. Any faster might do more harm than good."

Kali nodded in understanding before she decided to address Raven directly. "You hear that, Raven? You're going to be alright."

"Kali~!" cheered Raven sleepily when she saw the cat faunus. "I'm glad you are safe!"

The other woman smiled in turn. "I'm glad you're safe too, Raven."

"Thanks for shooting that bitch in the face~"

"It was my pleasure. Besides, I had to repay you for saving my life."

"You are a nice lady. And a good mother. Don't let anyone tell you different."

Kali's eyes widened a bit before her smile became softer. "Thank you, Raven."

Raven started to reach for Kali's head with her left hand. "And you have cute kitty ears~!"

Kali stepped back, giggling at the sound of the adult woman's disappointed whine, not at all offended with her drugged antics. "My, she's certainly out of it."

"You can say that again," Taiyang chuckled, the sound of his laughter attracting the attention of the bandit leader in his arms. Raven stared at him for several seconds; blinking slowly as she took the sight of him in before giving him a lazy smile.

"Hey, sexy~," she purred - more like slurred - as she made her index and middle finger 'climb' up his chest. "Want to come over to my place for some hot coffee~?"

Taiyang choked on his own saliva in shock and his cheeks heated up in embarrassment as the others started to snicker at him. "Y-yep! Totally out of her mind! Has no idea what she's saying! This is why you don't do drugs, people!" he stammered. He spun on his heel - causing Raven to yell 'Wheee' - and march in the opposite direction. "Now come on! I want to see this awesome base everyone keeps talking about!"

Zwei rolled his eyes at his friend's reaction and proceeded to trot after him, followed by an amused Kali and a still snickering Sun.

As Raven let herself be carried in the sexy man's arms, her head rolled to the side where she caught a sight behind his shoulder. It was a bright glow that was blurry to her vision. She decided to concentrate on the pretty light until it became clearer, but when it did she wished she hadn't. It was a fire. The same fire born from the need to destroy her evil alternate. The realization was sobering, clearing her mind enough that she could form basic coherent thoughts. Although the flaming corpse of her defeated foe no doubt burned hot, the sight of it sent a tiny chill down Raven's spine.

Because to her, it was still like looking into a mirror. But this time, instead of faltering at what she saw in her reflection, Raven was determined to change it. _After all_ she thought as the world around her became darker as the drugs did their work. _If I want to change what I see in the mirror, I'll have to change what is being reflected, won't I? That's what Tai said, anyway. Or something like that._

And it was with those final thoughts that Raven allowed herself to fall unconscious until she was needed again.

 **29**

"So what I'm thinking," Ruby said casually, "is that we should bungee-jump off that big bridge thing in Mistral."

"Big bridge thing?" Jaune asked.

"You know, the bridgy house thing that spans the two mountains! I mean, yeah, it's probably some super-important town hall or mansion or something, but you know we could sneak our way in somehow."

"It's an interesting idea, certainly," Ren allowed. "But it seems sort of whimsical."

"Of course it's whimsical! It's literally something I thought up on a whim! By definition, it has to be whimsical."

"I mean, sure," Nora agreed, "we'll do that later this loop but... I dunno, I kinda want to sit back and relax for a bit, you know?"

Ruby gave a low whistle. "Nora wants to relax? I guess the world's ending." She laughed, not noticing the brief look of panic on the other three's faces. "But seriously, if you guys want to wait that's fine. Hey, where's Pyrrha anyway?"

"She... went out. To do a thing." Jaune shrugged. "Didn't tell me what."

"Oh, well... I guess I can get that. Sometimes we all need space." Ruby chuckled. "Anyway, it's been fun guys, but I really should make sure Zwei's not tearing up the dorm."

 **30**

The world was so clear; eternity was a mere hairsbreadth away, so why could she not reach it?

Cinder seethed as she hung above the chaos, in the center of the oncoming rapturous storm, watching everything that happened below as she came ever closer to achieving her goal.

Why was it taking so long? Why was there an ever increasing sense of loss clawing at her heart? She was so close to freedom, to achieving more than she ever had as a Looper. But then again, letting go was always hard, so maybe it should not be that surprising.

 _~I refuse~_

But that did not explain what was going on!

She should have Ascended by now, why had she slowed down? What was holding her back, what was she missing? But she was so _close_ , soon whatever was holding her back, likely some Administrator program or protocol, would become a moot point.

Still it hurt, trying to claw her way up, what had been so _easy_ in comparison was now an ever increasing struggle.

 _~You will lose~_

Cinder constantly found her focus finding its way back to the loopers rather than her impending Godhood. Why didn't she just burn them now? She had the power and focus to spare, not like in the start, and better than risking something happening.

 _~No!~_

Cinder distantly noted Qrow hurling a Molotov cocktail of alcohol and dust at her, her attention mainly focused on the rest of RWBY. Really, what did Qrow think that was going to do? She was more interested in what Weiss wanted with Raven.

 _~Alcohol… really, Qrow, now of all times?~_

Still, she should really just have dealt with them now, but something held her back, just like before. After a moment Cinder dismissed them from her mind; let them see her victory, it wasn't like they could do anything.

Cinder felt a surge of amusement as she noted a rip in reality, one almost hidden among the chaos. Raven falling to the ground as the three loopers she was most interested in vanished.

That was unexpected...

 _Weiss, Blake, Yang, what are you up to? Oh well, it's not like they can do anything._

Cinder smiled, seeing WBY vanish had buoyed her mood even as her rage deepened, a flicker of hope igniting under the endless rage.

 _~Ruby…~_


	65. The Tale of Two Sisters: Cinder Falls

_**Part 4: Cinder's Fall**_

 **1**

"She's in there." Weiss pointed with her rapier at the complex, crawling with what only barely qualified as Grimm. "Somewhere. It's there or nowhere." She took a shuddering breath, though in the airless void of the moon it didn't help much. "And we can't afford... nowhere."

Yang nodded. "Right. Moon base, super grimm, fate of the world." She turned to Blake for a moment, before laughing helplessly. "I think I'm supposed to say something romantic here, but I'm too tired to come up with anything!"

Blake managed a small smile. "How about, if we get through this, we make it official. You and me."

"You mean-"

"Yeah. Yang, will you marry me?"

"Uh, yeah? Of course!" Yang jumped forward and planted a snog-

-before being tapped on the shoulder by Weiss. "Yeah, turns out these Grimm can sense positive emotions too."

The two of them broke apart to see the oncoming horde swarming over the dunes. Blake sighed. "Right. Get Ruby, get out. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good."

With simultaneous roars they charged into the fray again. Weiss rolled her eyes, rose her blades, and zipped after them.

 **2**

"War Corgi and four friendlies, one injured," Zwei said briskly.

The robot guards at the gate stepped aside, and another one of clearly different manufacture walked up. "The medical bay is this way, sir."

"I've injected her with nanomachines," the corgi pointed out.

"The medical bay has beds."

Taiyang shrugged. "With all due respect, Zwei, the bot has a point. Lead the way."

With a nod, the mechanical being led the five of them through the halls. Other robots and a number of mildly confused faunus rushed about; through some large doors they could see various vehicles or devices tended to, the sound of beeping and whir of machinery emphasizing the utilitarian feel of the area.

"It is good to see you alive, miss Belladonna." The robot leading them glanced over its shoulder. "You should be pleased to know your people have integrated quickly with our operations and are proving themselves quite helpful."

Kali blinked. "That's... good. You know I'm not a military leader, right? I'm-"

"An icon. At least to them. We have plenty of tactical droids on base already, having a figure to rally around is not something to be underestimated."

"Oh." Her ears folded back nervously. "I... see."

"I'd say you're doing a good job," Zwei assured her.

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

"And nobody has noticed. That means you're doing excellently."

Sun patted her on the shoulder. "Look at it this way. Vale had its king, now Menagerie has its queen."

Zwei chuckled at that. "Wouldn't be the first one. If we do get through this, let me tell you the legend of Queen Blake sometime."

Kali managed a small smile as they entered a room lined with beds. Atlas soldiers, civilians, faunus, and a few... odder creatures, all lay in various states of rest and recovery. Even as Taiyang gently put the woman in his arms on a spare mattress, a number of the Menagerie contingent pushed themselves up, muttering to each other and looking at her.

She waved. Then she realized that might look too casual, and let her hand drop. Then she realized that might look like she lacked confidence, which she did, but apparently she was some sort of symbol so-

"Tell them that the battle is close to won," Zwei suggested, so low only she could hear.

"The... this fight," she began, hesitantly, "this battle, it's... almost over. And I can assure you, everything you've been through, it's... it hasn't been without meaning. The woman who caused all this, we're very close to defeating her. So... heal up quick. Because all of you, well... some of you chose to be here, some of you got caught up in something you didn't understand, and some of you... all of you, probably... you've lost somebody. But you're here now, and you can fight. Not for your future, or for your children's future, but for Vale's _right to exist._ For _Remnant's_ right to exist. It's hell out there, and you've all been through it, and you've seen incomprehensible horrors, and you've _survived_. So... when you're ready, when you've healed up, and if you can stand it... I hope you can join me, in going out, against all those horrors, and making them twice as afraid of us as we are of them!"

"Yeah!" shouted Sun, raising a fist in the air. "We're in this together!"

There were more than a few cheers, some pained, but most genuine. Kali's smile turned genuine, for a moment or two.

"Alright, yes, very motivational," droned a robot tending to one of the patients. "But you can't go out killing demons until I say so, and all this excitement isn't going to heal you up faster!"

"Right." Kali coughed. "I'll... just go to the command center then." She almost backed out of the medical wing, before glancing at the blonde. "...Tai?"

"I think I'll stay here." He glanced at Raven. "She'll need a familiar face, after... all that."

Kali nodded.

"I'll go with you," Sun declared.

"As will I." Zwei looked up to his owner. "No offense, Tai, but at the moment-"

"No, I get it."

"...I _will_ want to know as soon as she wakes up."

"I think we all will," Kali agreed. She turned to the robot that had led them before. "So..."

"This way." The mechanical being led the three of them out.

Sun cleared his throat. "Sooooo. You're last name's Belladonna, huh?"

"Yes."

"I think I might have met your sister."

Kali gave him a confused look. "My-?"

"Blake is her _daughter_ ," Zwei corrected.

Sun blinked. "Oh! Oh, you-I-um. _Mrs_. Belladonna then!" He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "You look a lot like her. I guess that makes sense, if you're... I'll shut up now."

 **3**

"I think we're getting close!" Yang shouted, blasting apart another metroid Grimm.

"Really?" Blake cried as she shredded some shadowy S'pht. "How can you tell?"

"Big sister instinct! We have a magical bond that connects us across time and space!"

"...Weiss, is that actually a thing?"

Weiss rolled her eyes as she made short work of a tentacled Grimm. "It has to be developed and it's reliant on proximity. Also, I feel her too-force sense." With a screeching hum she slid her lightsaber through a wall, slicing into another chamber. "In fact, I'm looking at her right now."

"I _knew_ it!"

The blonde slammed through something that had frankly too many limbs, jumping through the aperture. Her eyes did not focus on the network of cables across the walls, or the turrets on the ceiling, or the one and a half hundred pale-faced women manipulating the tar that made the ground. No, Yang Xiao Long only had eyes for one thing-the thick tube, bracketed by blinking metal boxes, that held her sister still and silent.

The next few minutes were a blur, shadow and terror and fear and death. Grimm rose at the witches' command, and fell like dust to the trio of immortals. Perhaps, if it had been earlier, there would have been a sense of accomplishment, of pride as the witches all fell. But now it felt rote and routine... and wasn't that a scary turn of events?

Weiss reached the pod first, though only just; Yang was half a second behind her and a full glower ahead. She cracked her knuckles as Blake dispatched the final Salem. "Let's pop this baby open."

"Easy there, we need to know what state Ruby's in." Weiss produced a suite of scanners and remote hacking tools, attaching them to various points. "Depending on how human she is, she might die if we just open this."

"That... might be our best option," Blake admitted reluctantly. "If we end the loop-"

"-there's no guarantee that whatever Cinder's done will be undone. Even a partial Ascension could have damaged Remnant. I don't know if Ruby can fix it, but... at the least, I hope she can diagnose it."

"Oh." Blake nodded. "Good. I don't like it when killing Ruby is on the table."

"I don't either," Yang mumbled. "Come on, get her out of there."

Weiss looked over the screens, tapping the keyboards rapidly. "Working on it. Keep them off me."

Blake blinked. "Keep who-?"

The wall exploded, a swarm of whatever Grimm remained charging right at them.

"Right. Jedi."

One last wave of dark monstrosity crashed down upon them-feral Grimm, all intent on breaking past Yang and Blake. No quarter was given, no slips allowed, no mistakes afforded. The brunette summoned dozens of clones at a time to hold them in place, while the blonde broke face after face after bone-plated face.

Behind them fingers whisked and danced over various codes on screens, moving beyond the ordinary eye-ice-formed limbs joined in the effort, guided by semblance and force as Weiss became a flurry of arms and white. Various ubiquitous hums slowly died, vents opening and closing, yet Ruby Rose remained ensconced...

...though, as she watched, Remnant's Second saw a flicker of motion behind her Anchor's eyes.

 **4**

"Mmmmnnngh."

"Easy now. You've been through a lot."

The voice... she recognized it...

Memories began to fall into place, memories of death and blood and horror and-

Her eyes snapped wide and she sat up, heaving as she grasped her-

-arm?

"Wha... what?"

"Zwei gave you... something." The voice chuckled. "Apparently it's some super medicine from outside our universe. Gotta say, watching you regrow that was actually very creepy."

She nodded faintly, examining her pristine flesh, slowly shifting her fingers through a few motions.

And then, suddenly, she remembered she wasn't alone, and put her arm down with a blush. "Well, that was nice of..."

She trailed off, staring at her hand in fascination

"...So. Are you..." Taiyang paused. "...How are you?"

Raven blinked. "...My tribe is dead because of my own arrogant mistakes, my daughter is indifferent to my own existence, I lost my arm and got stabbed through the leg, I fought a deranged immortal version of myself that killed her husband and drank the blood of her daughter, the world is quite possibly going to end forever, and I'm just now remembering I embarrassed myself in a drug-addled state in front of what few friends I still have left. All in all, I'm actually pretty much a mess."

Taiyang leaned back, an expression of mild shock on his face. "You know, I don't think I've heard you ever be so... direct."

"One thing fighting that vampire taught me-lying to myself can go to very, very dark places." Raven took a breath. "And I'm also still a little woozy, so I don't know if I'm just babbling what goes through my mind."

"Huh. The others are in the command center, they'll want to know you're-"

"Tai." Raven looked at him. "I... didn't leave because of you, or Yang. I left because... my people needed me, and I didn't want you to have to be part of that, and... I... didn't leave because of you. You know that, right?"

The blonde man looked at her for a moment. "...Yeah. I know."

"...Good. That's good." Raven cleared her throat, swinging her legs off the bed. "So. Command center. Kali and... Sun, that's his name?"

"And Zwei."

"Right. The talking dog." Raven bit her lip. "...You know, I'd say that's crazy, but after what I've been through I'm not sure I know what that means anymore."

"I know the feeling." Taiyang helped her up. "He did save your life, though."

"Apparently." Raven glanced down at her arm again. "I think I'll go talk to him about that..."[/QUOTE]

 **5**

She knew she was slipping. She knew the risks. But even so something in her _screamed._

Foe after foe. Monsters after monsters. All of them tasted her blade.

And it was singing. Something in her was _singing_.

The odds were against her. The battlefield was a mess. Roman was not with her. Her foes rained down from the heavens like a swarm.

But even so - _even so!_

She had never felt so alive!

Her hands moved. Her sword along with them.

One slash - true and pure.

And everything that was against her, everything that sought her death - they were no more!

And in the ruins of the city of Vale, something was awakening.

Cinder was evil. Cinder was a traitor. But what of Neo? She had tasted the finest of food, been with the most exotic of flesh. For eons she had been living the life of a hedonist. _It was fun._

But after every thrust, every orgasm, every _anything -_ she felt nothing. Empty.

But in this war, where stakes were real, where consequences were dire - every movement, every decision - all of it mattered!

Neo had forgotten that feeling.

Where your all was given, where adrenaline surged.

After all those years, she was finally true with herself.

And she laughed. And laughed. And laughed!

 _ **...I am a monster...**_

People are evil for many reasons. For the greater good. For justice. For love. For power. For fame. And so on.

But Neo?

She did it because it was fun.

There was a woman. She was a huntress. She was a mother of three. Hers was a small family. But they were happy. And when the apocalypse came she fought will all of her soul.

And then she saw _her._

Everything that the girl did, everything that she did not - all of it scream otherworldly.

And when the Grimm swarmed her - the woman thought that was it for the girl.

And then came the _slash_.

And it took the world apart.

And in the moments before her demise, before her life was taken from her - she noticed something.

The little girl was _**smiling**_ _..._

And so ended the life of the huntress...

 **6**

"Raven!" Kali rushed at the woman as she entered the command center, wrapping her in a tight embrace. "It's good to see you."

"...Um." Raven awkwardly patted Kali's shoulder, glancing at Taiyang for help and receiving a shrug in return. "I assume you mean conscious, right?"

"Well, yes, that is a plus." Kali leaned back, looking at her face, and her smile lessened. "You're not a huggy person?"

"Not really, no." Raven glanced away. "Bandit and all that..."

"I dunno," Sun quipped, "you seemed pretty happy in 'sexy's' arms."

Raven's red eyes gave him a flat look. "The dog injected me and you with the same thing. If I can regrow an arm, you can regrow a hand."

Kali broke away, giving her a disapproving frown.

"Fine, fine, I was just saying..."

Raven rolled her eyes, looking around the room and taking in the various screens and robots at them. Something about that set up seemed... inefficient in her mind, and she was about to make a comment on the oddity of machines using machines like a human would. Then her eyes landed on the corgi looking over a holographic representation of Vale.

She strode over and cleared her throat. "So... you saved my life."

"Mmm? Yes." Zwei looked up at her for a moment. "It _is_ good to see you up and about, miss Branwen, but at the moment I'm trying to determine my next move. Do forgive my distraction."

"Uh huh." She glanced at Taiyang. "And you're sure he's not a hallucination?"

"Nope. Had Zwei for eight years. Of course, as far as I know he couldn't talk yesterday."

"The loops are odd like that," Zwei agreed. "What really worries me is that Marianne hasn't checked in yet..."

Taiyang frowned. "Who's Marianne?"

"Remnant's assigned administrator." The corgi looked up for a moment. "Right, sorry, terminology. The long and short of it is she's essentially in charge of keeping the world together. With all that's happening she should have come down or at least sent a message, but as far as I can tell the only direct action she took was Awakening all the loopers she could-and that was back when we thought this was just a Grimm attack."

Sun frowned. "So she's not helping?"

"Oh, I don't doubt she's trying. But Cinder wouldn't have had the ability to keep her out when this all started, and I'm not entirely sure she's sane enough to deflect her even now."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "So something's stopping this Marianne from interfering."

"Something or some _one_ , yes. This whole situation might have been engineered..." Zwei sighed. "But that's on a scale of reality I can't affect or observe. Right now I have to focus on Remnant, Vale specifically." A flickering light caught his attention, and he tapped a button. "Ozpin, this is Zwei, what's happening?"

 _"Winter and I are bringing Qrow to base, he's been put through the wringer. We should be there in a minute."_

 _"I'm telling you two, I'm fine!"_

 _"You're coughing up blood."_

 _"What, snow angel, afraid I'll stain your hair?"_

Zwei rolled his eyes. "I'll get a medical kit ready. Zwei out." He tapped the button again, giving the others a look. "Would you all mind terribly-?"

"Of course not." Taiyang glanced at Raven. "Qrow's family."

"Thank you." With a gesture of his paw, the corgi produced a white suitcase from thin air. "Winter should be able to use that."

Raven's hand was on it a second before Tai's. Their gazes locked for a moment or two.

"She had it first," Zwei reported without looking up.

Taiyang pulled his hand back. "Alright."

 **7**

Ruby watched with amusement as Roman and Yang argued over alcoholic beverages. She had never really seen the appeal of alcohol-well to drink anyway, watching the stupid things people did while drunk was amusing.

 _Something is wrong._

She leant on the counter watching as the two loopers got more and more heated about the correct way to mix some hideously complicated looper cocktail. Roman's bar was… transient, in appearance, beverages served and existence, Roman only bothering once every few hundred loops at most. This loop it was made out of magical ice, silver and crystallised sunlight for lighting. Built into a glacier in the northernmost reaches of Solitas, the perpetual night cast its silver light through the clear ice ceiling.

A few crystals of sun provided patches of heat and light, mist curling around the floor of the vast structure dotted with loopers. Ruby snickered at the random thought as Weiss approached, carrying a molten gold drink of some description, a crystalline dress glittering in the soft light that matched her hair and eyes.

 _My head…_

Roman had _insisted_ that if he was going to go to all this work people would dress the part. Her own bedazzled clothes glittered like glowing coals and mirror like obsidian in the soft light. Cinder was wearing woven flames and talking with Jaune, who himself was clad in Fate Gilgamesh's armour.

"So, what are you laughing at?" Ruby shrugged as Weiss sat next to her, the scent of silence radiating from the golden drink. For some reason the room was seeming to become too bright, the glowing orbs sending pinpricks of pain into her eyes.

"A few things, mainly the size of this place for such a small amount of people."

Ruby started to speak again before she fell silent, eyes gazing around the elaborate room, a frown touching her lips. This loop had been excellent, most of the issues were minor variations that had proved amusing to sort out and were, if anything, simply another amusement.

But all night something had been tugging at her mind, a thought, a bone deep knowledge something was happening. And it was getting worse.

"Something wrong?"

Weiss' question resonated in her mind, _is there something wrong?_ Ruby closed her eyes, leaning back against a pillar, letting the icy cold seep into her head. The bar's chill sent goosebumps down her skin.

 _It's not just the cold, is it?_

"Something is wrong." Ruby opened her eyes and worried icy blue met scared silver, a pleading desperate tone enter her voice. "I can _feel it_ , and I don't know what. It's bad Weiss, really, horribly bad and it's getting worse."

 _Something is starting to break_.

Weiss frowned, her glass setting down with a faint chink on the frigid counter. "Ruby are you sure you are not just being paranoid? Everything has been dealt with for the loop, and as far as I know the only sensory abilities you have are soul perception from Soul Eater. So if you could sense something wrong…"

 _I feel like my soul is being pressed on._

"… then you would know what it is."

"Weiss, _something is wrong! And we need to stop it!_ "

Weiss fell quiet at Ruby's almost strangled cry, along with the rest of the Bar. Ruby stood up sending the silver chair clattering to the ground, her eyes wide with panic as a wave of dizziness sent her tumbling to the ground.

"Ruby!"

Ruby could not tell who yelled as her ears started to ring, someone helping her from the floor.

Everything was wrong.

Nothing had changed bar, the sky beyond the windows was the same star-emblazoned canopy that greeted them most loops. Ruby started to hyperventilate as her mind felt like it was starting to fracture, her power felt off, weaker than it should be.

 _I'm being drained!_

Ruby screamed as her body ignited, desperately trying to hold her mind back together. Clarity slowly returning, revealing a nightmarish visage that had fallen across the world, eclipsing her vision of the bar and friends…

 _I am the Anchor of Remnant..._

 _Cinder floated in the fragmenting void, a Defiling Sun blazing across the shattering reality, cracks radiating outwards as a shining nothingness scoured the world. The Demon of blood, Storms and Flames feasted on the lives of millions as her incandescent form twisted and warped as it strained at the universal bonds, becoming more real than reality_

 _An Insane Crimson eye danced with infernal glee as it gazed upon the approaching end, a profane light shine from deep within. An amber eye pulsed with a cold divinity while leaking tears of blood, wide with endless horror before it was consumed by demonic crimson. Hair of smoke and miasma billowed and writhed like living things, glowing cinders and arcs of lightning dancing among the have._

 _Laughter filled the universe, of anger and hate twined with desire and sadism without limits, insane all-consuming fear interweaving every thought and action. Under the heinous mirth, broken discorded laugher echoed; filled with endless regret, sorrow and a broken maddened amusement before it too faded from existence._

 _Piece by Piece the world was consumed, nothing more than food for the nascent Goddess, cessation nothing more than its birth pains._

 _... And I will not fall._

"No." The single word was defiant, even as the world spun as a sense of utter horror and betrayal swept over Ruby as she struggled to her feet, taking in the false shades and mimicries masquerading as her friends and family. Tears glimmered in silver eyes as they fell on Cinder.

Her form wavered, the flame dressed memory questioning her to see if she was okay, overlaid by the maddened _monster_ in the grip of Ascension.

"Why?"

Ruby gritted her teeth as she shoved the imitation out of mind, pushing away the horrific image seared into her mind as her soul felt like it was being stretched thin and fraying at the edges. Ruby dove into her power, grabbing it and pulling. Cinder would not get her power, and she would not remain trapped and helpless.

 _She would stop Cinder._

Ruby fought, the power being torn away with an irresistible force. Slowly, a flood became a trickle as Ruby clawed her power back, the dream fading and wavering.

A snarl of rage ripped free from her throat, sounding more like an enraged Cinder than anything else.

" _Let!"_

The world seemed to crack like glass, words garbling and images blurring as Ruby raged, running through a million and more spells and attacks that tore the false land apart.

" _ **Me!"**_

The perverse Drain began to reverse, Ruby felt like she was being ripped in two as discordant howls ripped into her mind, blades and crystallized agony searing every nerve ending. The world spun, over loading her mind, darkness encroaching as sleep overcame her.

" _ **OUT!"**_

Darkness swept over Ruby and silence fell.

 **8**

Ozpin strode past the four as they reached the doors. "Good to see you all alive, Qrow's right outside, if you'll excuse me I need to get to the command center."

"Is he always so brusque?" Kali asked.

"Only when the situation is desperate," Taiyang replied.

Qrow lolled his head up, half smirking at the crew that ran out the doors. "Look at that, Zwei kept you two idiots alive."

"He did more than that." Taiyang nodded at Raven as she handed the suitcase to Winter. "He saved your sister's life."

"Really now?" Qrow quirked an eyebrow, even as Winter pulled out a scanner and ran it over his body. "Why'd he need to...?" His voice trailed off as he noticed Raven's missing sleeve. "That's not cosmetic, is it."

Raven glanced at her arm. "Vampire bitch had me on the ropes. If these three hadn't come out of nowhere, I'd be dead."

"Huh." The man looked over his old teammate and the two faunus. "Must have really rattled you if you admit it. Thanks for saving my little sis."

"I'm four minutes older then you."

"I'm several billion _years_ older then you."

Raven held up a finger, paused, and sighed in resignation. "Loopers."

Qrow gave her an odd look. "What's up with you, anyway?"

She opened her mouth to reply, stopped, and turned to Kali pleadingly. The other woman took her meaning and sighed. "The vampire was another Raven. She apparently... dealt with her family in her own world."

"By which you mean killed." He sighed. "That was probably meant for me, then."

Taiyang frowned. "What?"

"Psychological warfare. My sister killing my family? Good way to shock me for a key moment. I know Cinder prepared personalized nightmares for Yang and Blake, and I wouldn't be surprised if she had something wandering the battlefield for Weiss."

"She _did,"_ Winter growled frigidly as she injected him with a syringe.

Qrow hissed in brief pain, before looking at her gently. "Something you want to talk about, snow angel?"

"Me and Weiss talked it over. I'm not okay, but I'm good enough for now, and we don't have time for better." Winter sighed, snapping the suitcase shut. "Next loop."

"I'll hold you to it."

"Snow angel?" Raven looked from one to the other. "Did you finally settle down?"

"Enh. It's complicated. We talk, we screw, we're here for each other, but it's not..."

"We are not romantically engaged," Winter explained simply.

Kali quirked an eyebrow. "Sounds like you are to me."

"We're not."

"That is kind of how me and Raven started out," Taiyang pointed out.

Qrow snorted. "No offense, Tai, but look how that ended up."

Raven flinched.

"So!" Sun interjected quickly. "What happened to you anyway? That luck warper-thing-"

"Some kind of mutant ork. Out of world species, latent psychics. Basically, if they believe in something hard enough, it becomes true-they paint their bikes red because the red ones go faster, their guns shouldn't work but do in their hands because they're gun-shaped... Now picture one of those decked out in all the good-luck charms you can think of and twenty you can't."

Sun whistled low. "That sounds terrible."

"And they're all giant walls of green muscle with teeth like Creeps, AND they're sort of fungoids so you have to burn the body otherwise they'll just take root and grow. There were four of them." Qrow's chuckle turned into a blood-splattering cough. "Even with all sorts of aura boosters, I had to strain my semblance just to get close to them. There's a lot of traps for loopers out there."

"Quite right," said Zwei as he strode out of the base. "That's why it's best to always have backup."

"Hey, pup. How are you holding up?"

"Adequately, all things considered. Ah, Ozpin." Zwei nodded as the green-dressed man strode out. "You uploaded the new information then?"

"Yes. But I'm afraid we're running out of time." The headmaster looked up to the moon, or what remained of it. "If our anchor isn't freed soon, there might well be nothing we can do."

"Hey, those kids are the toughest we've got." Qrow pushed himself up. "I'm sure they've got it all handled."

 **9**

"How much longer?!" Yang demanded.

"We're almost there!" Weiss replied. "Give me a minute!"

"You've got thirty seconds!" Blake shouted.

"What happens then?!" Yang cried.

"My Aura runs out!" Blake screamed.

Weiss took a breath. "Okay, okay, just a little more just a little-SHE'S AWAKE! HIT THE DIRT!"

Silver eyes snapped open. The Grimm who had but mere moments before been unstoppable had only a brief moment to see three girls falling to the ground before they all suddenly ceased to be anything more than statues.

With the force of a cannon the metal and plastic exploded outward. Ruby Rose stepped foot on the moon, her form subtly warping and changing as she did so.

Blake stood. "Ruby, there's not much time. Cinder-"

"I know." The redhead nodded. "I feel it."

"...Can you stop her?" Yang asked.

"Can you... fix the damage?" Weiss said quietly.

Ruby stared up at Remnant, up at Vale, up at her home.

"I can try."

And in one fluid motion, she launched herself into space.

Blake and Yang leaned into each other, panting heavily as they stared after her. Weiss took a slow breath, and let it out.

"...so," Yang mused after a moment. "How are _we_ getting back?"

 **10**

The noise of battle, the roars and gunshots and cries and screeching and rumbles, were suddenly drowned out by a single, massive THOOM. The very air pushed into the ruins of Vale, tilting buildings and buffeting warriors, a precursor to a far greater power. For but a moment, as all fighters turned to see the newly formed crater, silence held.

Then...

Red.

Red, in a wave, as though the ocean had become blood and decided to visit. Red swept out of the crater and forward, moving swifter than anything so massive had any right to move. The gathered fighters had mere seconds to notice the space between the red, to identify it as an innumerable mass of rose petals, before it flooded into Vale.

Flashes of blades, of gunfire, of light and dark and heat and cold and things beyond flickered in and out of existence-a million weapons of red and silver rending into the grimm, the vampires, the impossible dead-and at the same time, the ones who fought for Vale felt the cool touch of tiny hands, whispering in and out of reality as their wounds were dressed and healed.

The great wingless dragon grimm roared a challenge at the wave of red, spewing bile and death. The petals parted, allowing the disgusting material to hit the ground, and spiraled into the air, a massive column that towered above the creature. The outline of young girl formed, and in her hands was something impossible, a scythe as tall as she.

"...Ruby?" Taiyang mumbled in disbelief.

The scythe came down, bisecting the dragon in one blow.

Qrow leaned against his sword, coughing blood and grinning. "Attagirl."

 **11**

The red storm swept by Jaune with the ferocity of a hurricane. "Ruby, welcome back," he said nonchalantly as the trio of Brawnz's disintegrated.

"Good to be back," Ruby said. A fragment of the red coalesced into a chibi Ruby on Jaune's shoulder. "Cinder's Ascending."

"Think I know that," Jaune said, launching into the air and linking to the roofs with his ODM gear. "Where's my family? We broke up in the fight."

"Corner of 4th and Gowe."

"Halfway across the city." Jaune turned on the corner, swinging from building to building. A vampire lunged into the air, only to get a sword to the throat. Jaune changed course and slid to a halt on the rooftop. He looked at Ruby, perched in his shoulder. She shook her head.

"Cinder bound herself to me, drained me of power. I can't be sure that if I die, the Loop will crash. I need to get to her. Jaune, I'm sorry."

Jaune sighed. "I'm sorry that it's come to this. How could we be so blind?"

"No one more than me."

An explosion sent a shockwave through Vale, Jaune leaping to his feet as he realized where it had been. No sooner had he stood then he saw that a piece of debris raining down was not debris at all. With a leap he snatched Ren from the air, landing safely for both. "Ren? Ren?"

"Uh... father?" Ren's magenta eyes opened and focused. "Father," he said again in greeting. "Ruby, good to see you're back."

"What happened?" Jaune asked.

"Explosive Grimm. Nora and Pyrrha thought we had a way to contain them, but we underestimated them." Ren stood up, his wounds healing at inhuman speed. "I don't know what happened."

"Pyrrha is that way," Ruby said. "Nora's over there."

"We'll get Nora and grab Pyrrha on the way to the colosseum," Jaune declared. "Ruby, we can handle this. Go help the others, and go get Cinder."

"On it!" Ruby dissolved and hurtled off.

Ren and Jaune readied their weapons and dove into the battleground, father and son barreling towards their family.

 **12**

The giant rose petal outline of a girl with a scythe was truly an awe-inspiring sight. It was also, unfortunately, a large target.

Blasts and bolts came from the multitude of fighters, starships, and flight-capable robots buzzing around the sky. It mattered not how accurate they were-a few hundred attacks were guaranteed to hit the mass every moment. The scythe vanished in a flash, the rose petals quickly descending into the ruins of Vale.

Even with all the impossibilities he had witnessed, Taiyang still couldn't help but balk when they suddenly appeared before him and formed into his little girl. But he stepped forward, hugging her tightly. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, dad." She smiled sorrowfully. "I messed up, didn't I?"

"Eh, no more than the rest of us," Zwei replied. "Still, you're here now. What's the plan?"

Ruby's silver eyes went to Amity, and the abominations swarming around it. "I need to talk to her."

Qrow's brow furrowed. "Ruby-"

"I can feel it all, uncle Qrow! I can feel Remnant breaking, I can... I can feel her clawing and taking and... _screaming_." She shook her head. "I need to know what she's done. I need to talk to her-I can't undo this if I don't know what she did!"

"...Alright." Qrow looked to the colosseum. "You need to get in, huh?"

Raven shook her head. "That's going to be a problem. You loopers have been fighting for I don't know how long anymore, and you've managed to take a lot of ground territory but the airspace has remained firmly in Cinder's control."

Ruby looked around. "Doesn't... anyone have anything?"

Ozpin sighed. "Ruby... we've exhausted almost everything to get you back. It's on you now."

"I've got my space navy, but-if I expend the chibirubies to run it, I won't have enough to get to Cinder."

Winter shook her head. "We don't have enough soldiers to run those ships anymore-even if we did, they'd all be Remnant trained..."

Ruby looked around the ruined park desperately. Her eyes fell on a single, still living tree.

She marched forward. "You made me the Anchor, right? You put me in charge of all this! Well I need your help now."

Sun held up a finger. "Um-"

"Shush," Kali admonished firmly.

"I have to get to her," Ruby continued. "I have to stop her, and I can't do it alone. You know what happened the last time a world died!"

She put her hands on the bark. "We need a miracle. Please, I know you don't act often, but... help us."

The sound of gunfire, explosions, and the unholy crackle of a world rending itself apart was all that they could hear.

Then... a slow, inexorable groan. The branches of the tree bent down, wrapping around her in a cool hug. She looked into the foliage, tears in her eyes.

When the branches parted, she turned back to the others with a confident smile. "I think we've got our army."

 **13**

"...Neon, I need you to confirm that what I just saw is not a hallucination."

"You mean the wave of rose petals that dropped off some weird airships in the Emerald Forest that the gods-damned trees boarded and piloted into the sky?"

"Yes. All that. You saw it too, so that means it must have happened, so I am not insane."

"Ciel, I've always thought you were insane. In a good way."

"...Strangely I have had similar thoughts about you."

"...Wanna go on a date sometime?"

"Assuming the world does not end."

"Okay then."

 **14**

"...Yeah, okay," Sun said, "I don't understand anything anymore, but that was pretty awesome."

A golden dragon landed next to him, rolling its shoulders as two girls dismounted. "That's a pretty normal reaction."

Taiyang blinked. _"...Yang?"_

"Oh, hi Dad."

"...When I called you my sunny little dragon, I didn't think you'd take it this literally!"

"Who are you calling _little?"_

"Why didn't you do this earlier?" Qrow demanded.

Yang shrugged her massive scaly shoulders. "It still takes me a bit of focus to do the transformation, couldn't do it in the middle of battle."

Blake patted her foreleg fondly. "Don't worry, babe, you'll get it down one of these days."

Taiyang blinked. "Babe?"

"Oh! Dad, this is Blake Belladonna, my fiance."

 _"Fiance?"_ Kali managed. "When did _this_ happen?"

Blake hummed. "Twenty, thirty minutes ago?"

"Sounds about right," Yang agreed.

"That's surprisingly abrupt," Sun pointed out.

"They've been dating for subjectively billions of years," Ozpin explained.

"In that case, it's actually remarkably slow."

Taiyang blinked. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "This is another loop thing I'm not going to get, isn't it?"

Blake shrugged. "Don't worry, it's only _slightly_ less confusing when you have context."

"Well." Kali turned to Taiyang. "If our daughters are marrying, I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other?"

"I... guess we will."

The other girl cleared her throat. "I'm sure we are all very happy for Yang and Blake, but I feel I should remind everyone we're also in the middle of a warzone. Where's Ruby?"

Winter sighed. "She's attempting to reach Amity and talk with Cinder."

"Okay. In that case, our goal is to keep the enemy fliers off her and break through any defenses. Anybody have any ideas?"

Raven shrugged. "Catapults?"

 **15**

Oak and Ash, Birch and Spruce. Pillars of life and strength, dragging themselves through halls of metal and circuits. The idea of trees running starships wasn't unheard of in the multiverse, but it was rare, and so most ships had some design issues that they needed to overcome. Even so, the vessels Ruby had released were among the most versatile she had collected; the sky slipped slowly out of Cinder's grasp, even as she dug her fingers into the universe.

The trees might have been the primary staff of this new air force, but they were not the only one. Smaller minds, minds without souls, droids and robots and collections of self-propelling tools, busied themselves with keeping the fleet together as it flew. Torpedoes were loaded and fired swiftly, ray guns of multiple types kept from overheating, engines maintained by a thousand chirping machines. The union of nature and technology, of plant and machine, was on a level more grandiose and desperate then almost any had seen.

And amidst all the motion, amidst all the chaos, four broken souls stole a shuttlecraft.

 **16**

"When I suggested catapults, I was being facetious," Raven grumbled. "I didn't think you loopers would need them with all your super powers. And I certainly don't remember volunteering to be ammunition!"

"We've been through this," Roman reminded her. "Cinder's too busy handling the high-key threats to acknowledge the low-key ones-"

"I heard. I understand. But I am climbing into a car with a civilian, a teenager, and my ex-husband, which will be catapulted on a fragment of the moon so that we can find and sabotage a piece of alien technology. Can I not point out how ludicrous that is?! Do I not have that right?!"

The redhead paused, and reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, good point. I've just kind of gotten used to weirdness. If it helps, I _will_ adjust your trajectory."

"So on top of all that, I'm trusting my life to a thief."

"An immortal gentleman with excellent aim."

Raven sighed, pulling open the wrecked car door and sullenly slid in.

"Seatbelt," Taiyang casually ordered.

She glared at him, slamming the door angrily.

"We are going to be going at high speed," Kali pointed out. "Even Sun's got his belt on."

"Yeah, about that. Do I really have to sit next to her?"

"We did not tolerate whining in my tribe," Raven growled, reluctantly buckling herself in.

Sun rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not _from_ your tribe, am I?"

"A fact for which I am extremely grateful."

"Are you ready in there?" Roman asked.

"We're good!" Taiyang replied, gripping the steering wheel.

Raven stared. "...We are going to be _flying through the air_ , Tai. What good is _holding onto the wheel_ going to do?"

"It makes _me_ feel more comfortable," Kali acknowledged.

"This bucket of bolts doesn't even have tires! We just picked it up off-"

Raven's protests were cut off when the catapult fired, sending them twirling through the mass of starships and other airborne machines.

 **17**

Penny hadn't really collected that many alternate bodies. _Spare_ bodies, yes-she'd figured out that trick fairly early on in her life as a looper, and thanks to her baseline she wasn't as squeamish about using herself for spare parts as she might have been otherwise. But most alterations and improvements were related to her bladepack, or moving toward her own version of normalcy, not changing her actual _form_ -something about walking away from that humanoid shape was... enough to give her pause.

That said, on the rare occasion that she had convinced herself to pick up another model type, she made sure it was the absolute best of that model she could make it.

The tiny tan drone spiraled through the maze of starships and blaster bolts, green powerlines humming as its deflectors shrugged off the occasional explosion. The energy shields around Amity reflected the unholy glow within and the beams of the blood red rising sun-an unnatural source of light, surrounded by fragments of the moon swarming with unknown armies. A fold of ailerons, and the drone was on one of the great rocks-it vanished from sight, and seconds later a ginger with an unnervingly calm expression stood where it had been.

Briefly, Penny considered asking why the moonshards themselves weren't shielded, before chalking it up to whatever villainous quirk had made Cinder put Ruby on the moon.

She approached the turrets calmly, walking past them-into the gates that were open, for some reason. Sparkling vampires ignored her as they rushed about; her numerous duplicates giggled and cavorted in their twisted, half-warped forms. The deeper she walked into the base, the more she saw their arguments; the vampires were almost panicking, crying about their potential failure, while the other gingers simply cracked jokes about their inevitable demise. A few, a very few other kinds of monsters wandered these halls, but she kept her focus on the circuitry, on the wires and the tubing running through the wall.

Her meanderings brought her to a central chamber, where she saw a witch with pale skin directing the others. She ignored what could well have been the greatest monster in Baseline, striding toward the massive machine in the middle-the core generator, no backups. A wave of her hand, and Penny produced a powerful bomb, placing it on the machine. It had a five second countdown, too short for anyone to do anything-the moonshard would take around three minutes to hit the ground after it went off.

Another villainous mistake, a classic one. It was almost as if Cinder wanted to be defeated...

Penny pulled herself into her subspace pocket to wait.

Despite the great battle waging outside, in here it was surprisingly calm. She had... time. Time to plan, to consider, to...

...to...

With a steadying breath, Penny switched to a body with tear ducts, deactivated the subroutine keeping her emotions from bursting, and curled into herself.

Ten minutes later, a tan drone emerged from the cratered rubble of the moon, and flew back into the sky.

 **18**

Nora and Pyrrha came to a halt as they saw the forces that stood in their path on their way to the moon shard. It was an entire battalion of foot soldiers, vampires, tanks, gunships, and all sorts of monsters of all shapes and sizes. The enemy charged forward with howls of triumph, ready to face their glory in the name of Cinder Fall.

"Hmm," hummed Nora as she tilted her head at the enormous force before her and her mother. "It looks like they're lining up."

Pyrrha glanced at her daughter with a smirk before placing a hand on Nora's right shoulder with a shrug. "Well, they're excited."

Nora's grin was wide as she lifted her hammer into the air, and drew in electricity from every source she could find. She channeled that power into Pyrrha, who used her control over magnetism to amplify and release that same power towards their targets. The army before them realized their mistake too late as they were consumed by the powerful wave of electromagnetism that washed over them all; each and every one of them disintegrated at a subatomic level.

Nora took in the devastation. "Looks like we cleared the way."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Check for any more surprises up ahead just in case. I'll contact Jaune and Ren to let them know that we found a less arduous path towards our target."

"Okey-dokey," said Nora as she started to scout ahead. "I just hope we make it there in time, because all those dragons up ahead aren't gonna make it easy on us when we assault the moon shard."

As she got to work on contacting the rest of her family, Pyrrha couldn't help but agree.

 **19**

"I'm still somewhat amazed that worked," Ciel admitted in a hushed whisper. "Especially since you don't have any pilot training."

"I live in Atlas and I'm good on blades," Neon whispered back. "It was easy as cake."

"That literally explains nothing, the ship was clearly not Atlas make-"

They both fell silent as they walked by a vampire, striding quickly to avoid his attention.

"-and I suggested glittering ourselves up and pretending to be vampires as a joke!" Ciel finished as soon as she was absolutely sure she was out of earshot. "It was a stupid idea!"

"If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid."

"No, it's still stupid and you're just extremely lucky."

Neon shrugged. "Luck's got us this far." After a moment, she gave Ciel a look. "You're surprisingly good with makeup, by the way."

"It's... a personal thing." Ciel brought her hand to her forehead, idly brushing the now blurred sun symbol. "Part of my faith. It would take too long to explain."

"Ah. Well... can you ask whatever gods you believe in to give me visiting rights? I get it's probably too late to convert, but I'd like to have tea with you in the next life."

"Hmm. I suppose I can try."

The two of them fell silent again as a sparking gynoid skipped past them with a casual whistle.

"So..." Neon eventually said. "We're on a shard of the moon, which apart from the sun is the only thing in the sky, which... can we agree 'does not exist' is a good phrase?"

"I'd point out the semantics of that, but at this point poetic terminology might be the only way to explain things."

"...I really thought we had hit on something with the magical mad scientist war theory, but the missing sky..."

Ciel sighed. "I don't think we're going to get an explanation, Neon. All we can do is try to stop the bad guys. Which is what we're doing."

"Yeah." Neon's tail swished under the dark coat she wore. "I don't know, I just feel like... like I would be so much more useful if I had any idea what was going on."

"You and me both. Quick, I think we're getting close."

The two of them turned a corner, entering a room with a number of gingers and sparkling individuals. Lording over them was a red-eyed woman, her skin as white as bone, purple veins visible on her arms.

"That must be the vampire queen," Neon whispered. "Whatever you do, don't look her in the eyes."

"What, you think they'd be hypnotic?"

"No, they're just creepy. No whites in them. But you've got a point."

"Right." Ciel looked around, pointing at a large object at the back of the room. "That looks important. Can you gut it?"

"I think _you_ should. I'll guard you and shoot out the lights, but I don't know how many of these vamps are faunus."

"Your weapons are huge glowing sticks-"

"Exactly. I'll distract, you destroy."

"...how's your aura? Can you-"

Neon huffed, pushing her. "Go, go! Get to the machine, the queen could notice us at any moment!"

Ciel blinked, turning to look at her face-but the words died in her throat when she saw Neon's serious expression. After a moment, she gently brushed her cheek, nodding once, before walking briskly toward the back of the room.

 **20**

Kali froze, her ears perking for a moment. Then she sighed. "At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore."

Taiyang frowned. "What do you hear?"

"Beach party music."

"...what?"

Kali turned to him. "Beach. Party. Music."

"...We're in a secret bunker drilled into a shard of the moon," Raven pointed out. "Why would there be beach party music?"

"Maybe because some of the enemy forces decided to throw a beach party?" Sun took in the three adults' looks and held up his hands. "Look, they're organized and have crazy powers but the bad guys kind of have this whole... not really caring feel. You know?"

"The Pennydrones are all jokesters with seriously warped senses of humor, most of the vampires spout philosophy instead of focusing on tactics, I got this gun when a robot literally decided to walk out of the battle..." Kali nodded. "He might actually be right."

Raven and Taiyang shared a look. Then, realizing what they had just done, they broke it, Taiyang clearing his throat awkwardly as he glanced forward, Raven letting out a little huff and adjusting her grip on her sword.

Sun noticed, and held up a finger. "Um-"

Kali gave Sun a pointed glance and shook her head.

"...Oooookay. So, continue sneaking into the deathbase slash beach party?"

The adults nodded at Sun's suggestion, mostly for a lack of anything else to do.

As they snuck through the disturbingly well-lit tunnels, trumpets and guitar strings became more audible, alongside the surprisingly girlish giggles of psychotic death machines, a few cheers, and the sound of splashing. Soon enough, the four of them saw light streaming around the corner; Taiyang held up a hand, peering carefully around the bend.

"...Huh." He blinked. "The kid was right."

"What."

Tai stepped back and gestured. "See for yourself."

"I will, thank you." Raven took up a position and...

Gingers. Gingers in bikinis and one-pieces and floaties, all with exposed metal limbs or obvious modifications but otherwise looking identical. One was dressed in red, with a whistle around her neck, watching a flooded pit and the girls splashing around in it. Over in a corner was the only one who wasn't a ginger-a tall woman, hair as white as her skin, wearing sunglasses and a sparkling sarong as she rested in the beam of a tanning light.

For a moment Raven wondered where they had gotten the swimsuits. Then she noticed row of sparkling bodies pinned to one wall by their heads, their clothes cut and torn, one missing bits of its flesh.

"...This is entirely inappropriate," she managed. "On multiple levels. It's inappropriate for the situation, it's inappropriate for young girls to be wearing things that revealing, it's inappropriate for them to be so evil and yet so... cheerful." She blinked. "They're playing volleyball. Where did they-no, I don't want to know. I really don't."

"I think that one is sparking," Kali noted from beside her. "That one in the pool. She's having some kind of seizure, and-are they _poking_ her? Like it's a joke?"

Sun shrugged. "Yeah, see, this is what I meant. They don't take anything seriously. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I walked right in and they just said 'oh hey, poolboy.'"

"We _are_ missing poolboys," came a voice from behind them.

The four whirled, catching sight of a ginger with a towel over her shoulders and a glass of... something. It was definitely something.

"Let me guess, you're here to sabotage the shield generator or something?" she asked, casually adjusting the object jutting out of her eye.

Taiyang opened his mouth, paused, and sighed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Hmm." She sipped her... whatever it was. "You know, since Ruby's free this is all pretty much a joke anyway. It's between her and Cinder now, we're only delaying the inevitable. That's why we decided to throw the jamboree in the first place-well, that, and we were bored as all get-out. The girls on the ground at least got to fight, we just had to stare at dials... Tell you what. Volley for it?"

"What?"

"Volleyball." She gestured. "You four, versus four of us. You win, you get to destroy the generator. We win... poolboys. And girls. Bam."

The four of them stared at her in silence for a moment or two.

Sun eventually shrugged. "I'm game."

"Somehow I think that's our best option," Kali admitted reluctantly.

Taiyang gave Raven a look. "You still remember how to play, right?"

Raven looked at the three of them. Then at the girl. Then back at the three of them.

"...I cannot believe this. I cannot believe we're actually doing this. I cannot believe this is actually happening." She pinched her forehead with a sigh. "I'm serving."

 **21**

"That's Cinder," Jaune muttered, eyes locked on to the colosseum floating in the broken sky, the shards of the moon orbiting it glimmered with shields. "So, any ideas?"

Nora spoke up first as she crushed a wombat-like Grimm idly. "Well, I don't think we can just attack it. We would be slaughtered by Cinder even if we did manage to break the barriers, get past the Grimm, _and_ get around the automated defences."

Jaune nodded reluctantly at Nora's analysis as he bisected an aquatic monster. It was his as well, he had just hoped someone might have some ideas. "We need to take out the Spawning Grimm first, clear a way to the Moon Shards and any generators they might have there."

"I have an idea." Pyrrha's gaze was fixed where Cinder hung in the sky, her golden armour burning with an almost black light as it drunk in the malice and power that hung in the air. "My armour and weapons were made by Lina to be able to overcome the impossible. As long as I am not swallowed by darkness or light, then I can change what is to form a new future. Given how little I use it…"

"Then Cinder may not have prepared for it…" Ren finished as he danced around a spindly Grimm. "It also gets more powerful the more you fight, so you may be able to pierce the barriers if we hit them right."

Jaune did not take his eyes from the colosseum as he ran through scenario after scenario. "...We have one shot at this if we try and I don't know if we can trust communications to not be tapped. If we fail we will be dead, no longer able to help. So what do we decide?"

JNPR stared at each other and then back at the heart of the maelstrom.

"We need to send a protected message to Weiss then, she needs to be kept informed." Ren nodded. "I can do with telepathy, it's not 100% but safer than radio."

Jaune smiled grimly at the unwavering repose from his team, "Do it. Now, we will need to do this properly. Pyrrha you're on point, you will need to build up power. Is there a cut-off point, a limit to how much you can take in, and can we send you power?"

"Yes, yes, yes but not easily. There is a limit to how much I can build up and how quickly, having you send more power will be too hard to set up right now as I don't have the experience."

"Okay, we will be vanguard, clearing the way for you to build up power without wasting too much on the bigger threats and guard you as we try to strike." Jaune's face was stony, the fear and anger sharpening his mind as he plotted the best way to strike. "Further plans wait until closer to Amity. Move out."

 **22**

The moment Neon raised her stolen pistol, Ciel pressed herself to the wall and worked to slide open a panel. It took less than three seconds for the faunus to burst every bulb, and she let out a challenging whoop, keeping everyone's eyes on her even as her erstwhile companion slid into a complex tunnel of wires and circuitry.

A rainbow trail rode the wall, dodging around the glowing eyes of the robotic foes and swinging her glowsticks at the various glittering figures around the room. "Come on, I thought vampires were supposed to have superhuman reflexes!" Red nunchucks smashed through a few as she passed, her mocking laughter echoing through the chamber. "Or are you all too drunk on blood to think straight?"

"Oh, dear." A voice of utmost calm seemed to cut through the chaos of the masses. "A bantering type." The vampire queen rose her hand, and a stream of fire swept after the skittering skittle stream.

"WHOA! You're hot stuff, queenie, but I don't think you're going to get a date with that sort of temper!"

Ciel half-smiled, even as her fingers ran over the various wires and tubes. If this was linked to that, then this was linked to that... aha. That looked to be the power alternator, and that was... something. Half this technology was so alien she could only guess at its purpose. Still, it would be easy to start a catastrophic failure with the design principles she _did_ understand. Just unplug this, wire this here, cut this and hotwire that...

"I mean I've heard of knocking them dead, but I think you're taking it a little too literally!" Neon skid under another fireblast, glancing behind her and wincing as she saw her rainbow trail fading fast. Still, the fire was hurting the enemy more than her-enough of the vampires were burning that she felt confident enough to kick it up a notch. "Of course, if this is how you treat your friends then I don't want to be your lover. I'm not into that sort of thing."

"If you're looking for me to return your petty words, you'll be sadly disappointed." With a flick her hand, the pale woman switched to coating the floor and the walls with ice, entombing many of the robotic and undead monsters in frozen casings.

This to that, this to that, and... yes. Ciel slid out of the hatch, quietly shutting it, and flicked her watch on briefly. A vampire noticed her but, before he could even say a word, she had his head in her hands and snapped his neck with a quick burst of aura-boosted strength. It wouldn't keep him down, but she took the large blade from his hand and decapitated him silently.

Neon's eyes widened as she caught sight of her, but she kept her cool and slipped just out of the range of the icy blast. "You know, it feels like I'm going in circles with you," she quipped at the pale woman. "Sometimes I feel like we should be getting closer, but that ice-cold personality of yours, woo, that just stabs my heart!" She twirled, stuck out her tongue-

-slipped on the ice and cried out-

A crackle of light surrounded her and she landed, unable to balance, her ankle twisting as she fell to her tail. The white woman shook her head sadly, approaching with cool, collected stride. "You really shouldn't even be here. You're not nearly important enough to matter. You have no idea what is going on, you have no clue what you are facing, and you have no purpose beyond being defeated. You should just-"

She choked suddenly, staring at the blade that suddenly jutted from her chest for the briefest instant. Then it shot up, slicing her skull in half.

"...Sharp," Ciel commented dryly.

Neon gave a gasping chuckle of relief. "I think, I think she froze or burned all the bad guys. Isn't that... isn't that something?"

"She struck me as the kind to not care about anyone." Ciel hung the sword from her belt, leaning down and grabbing her hand. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can-EEP ow ow ow, no I'm not no I'm not." Neon winced, sagging against a wall. "Damn, my leg-must have sprained it. Let me get my blades off. Did you break the thing?"

There was the sound of a sudden electric explosion, followed by a loud KERKLUNK and the audibly draining hums all around them.

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

 _"Warning. Gravometric generator inoperable. Impact in 150 seconds."_

Ciel blinked as various alarms started to blare. "Oh. So that's what that was."

"Gravometric-hold on. Is the moonshard we're on falling?"

"Yes. And if that timescale is accurate, we're not going to... we can't make it out in time."

Neon gave a slightly desperate giggle. "So, this is it then. We're going to die, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Ciel sighed, sitting down next to her. "That is true, miss Katt."

 _"Warning. Impact in 120 seconds."_

"Oh. Well." Neon's smile grew a little too broad. "Do you mind if I drop the act and have a bit of a breakdown now? Because I think I need to have a bit of a breakdown now."

"You helped me with mine. I suppose it's only fair to return the favor."

"Oh good, because I have been holding back a lot, I mean I saw my own partner get gutted by, by these spiky dinosaur things, he was everywhere and there were all these robots and your partner becoming an insane army and the people everywhere screaming and that giant grimm dragon and I never had any idea what I was doing I didn't even know if I was trying to escape or fight or maybe find the headmaster and I was so worried and angry and scared and I'm still scared honestly because I, I don't want to die, I don't want to go, I don't-I don't even know what to expect, Ciel, I never did that religion thing or anything and and and I can't, I don't know if I can even believe there's a next life if this world can be so crazy and fucked up and I don't want to stop I don't want the beat to stop Ciel I jus want to go home I want, I want to talk to my friends, I want to make sure they're all okay and I'm scared, I'm just so scared I can't I can't I can't-"

 _"Warning. Impact in 60 seconds."_

Ciel found herself holding the other girl tightly, even as she whimpered and pressed closer, her words descending into almost indistinguishable blubbering. "...Neon, I... I believe that all things return. When we die, I think... we come back, that we find ourselves in new form and self, ready to live life anew. From the smallest insect to the greatest star... the forces that guide our world, what you would call gods, I believe they judge what we did and what we are and reward us." She stroked the other girl's hair. "And I promise, even if I have to rip fate a new one, I'll make sure you get a just reward."

 _"Warning. Impact in 30 seconds."_

Neon's whimpers devolved into weak giggles for a moment. Then she simply sighed, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm sorry that we couldn't go on that date, Ciel."

"We might yet still. In the next life."

Neon smiled. "...Yeah. The next life."

 _"Impact in 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4-"_

Atop a small rock, hovering in orbit of the Anity Colosseum, two robots and a woman watched the final moments of Neon and Ciel. "That. Was the final transmission of Prudence 773, our slice of life reporter. A devoted newscaster who used her stealth module to chronicle the adventures of two unimportant nobodies that weren't worth caring about." Pandora sighed. "You know, it isn't even funny."

"I know," Penelope agreed. "If Neon had at least made a cat pun, or something... hey, you think they'll hook up next loop?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Pandora shrugged. "It's the loops. Everything's variable, so nothing matters."

"You have a point. Anyway, moving on to more pertinent matters, here's Lisa Lavender with the weather!"

Lisa took a deep, shuddering breath, staring at the screen where two huntresses had just faced their fate.

"Liiiisaaaa..." Penelope smiled warningly. "Remember our conversation on professionalism?"

With a gulp, the woman turned to look at the teleprompter. "Today's forcast is clear with... with a sixty-seven percent chance of falling megameteors. Citizens are advised to... oh gods... to, to lay flat on the ground so their silhouettes are recognizable..."

 **23**

"Yeah, that is sad. Still, it just goes to show how non-Loopers are still resourceful enough to help." Neo leaned back from the miraculously still working television. "The weather forecast seemed a bit incorrect. I mean, how could the sky be clear if it doesn't exist? I like the advice for the meteors, though I don't think I'm going to follow it, right Roman?"

Roman looked over his shoulder as he fought to keep a number of vampires and robots from pushing into the cafe staff room. "As much as I approve of keeping up with the news, I would really appreciate it if you helped!"

Neo stood up and grabbed a flamethrower out of her pocket, heading to Roman's side and burning everything down.

"Neo, that wasn't what I meant by- she's not even listening to me."

Neo switched off the flamethrower and turned to her partner. "Oh, I was listening alright, I just think that I should take down some of these things when we leave. By the way, we're leaving," she added, proceeding to teleport them a short distance vampires and robots swarmed the glass illusion of them left behind, but the building crashed down on them moments later, burying them under a mountain of burning rubble.

"So, are you going to ask me about how I got in there and turned on the TV without anyone noticing?"

"Neo, I think that there are bigger things to worry about. What happened to those random people was sad, though. At least they helped making saving the universe a bit easier, though, so that's a plus."

 **24**

"That," Sun panted, "was surprisingly intense."

"We were playing, playing against robot girls, for, for the right to save the world," Kali pointed out, putting her hands on her knees. "Kind of a given. Hoo."

"Yeah, but after all the shit we've been through? This should have been easy, right?"

"We won," Raven said briskly, "and that's what matters. Now-"

"Shield generator's right over there," a Pennydrone noted. "Just cut all the tubes and it'll power down."

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow as his ex-wife strode over to the indicated machine. "You're being... surprisingly helpful."

"What, you think I actually care about any of this?" The Pennydrone laughed. "I'm a psychopath! And yeah, that means I don't care about any of you, but it also means I don't care about Cinder or her vampires or even any of her other Pennydrones. Heck, I barely care about myself-they deactivated a lot of our physical senses after half of us started slicing each other up, so basically all that's left to me is my own amusement."

Kali stared at her. "And... all of you are like this?"

"Yep! The volleyball tournament, everything on Apocalypse News, killing Ghira... really, we do all that because in the end, the hilarity of the discongrenuity of our situation is the only way we feel anything anymore." She tilted her head. "Huh. I could have used that as a sympathy ploy, couldn't I?"

The cat faunus gripped her rifle. "...A tragic monster is still a monster."

"Ooo, that's a good one! Nice, very deep. I'm sure I'll remember it for the rest of my life."

Raven stopped slicing the tubing for a moment or two. Taiyang turned to her. "Is something-"

"Are we even going to remember this?"

There was a pause.

"I mean..." Sun said vaguely, "I'm still very confused by this whole situation, but... we aren't looping, are we? Doesn't that mean we forget everything when time rewinds?"

"Usually yes," the Pennydrone agreed. "Buuuuuuut in all the really big crashes I know about, a few new loopers activated. Granted, those were all accidents, this is an attempted Ascension-I've never heard of a failed ascension before. Kinda curious what'll happen if Cinder loses."

"So, if we start looping," Raven asked again, "will we remember this? All we've been through, all of-"

"No idea. Maybe you will, maybe you'll only remember baseline, maybe you'll get flashes of dreams." The Pennydrone shrugged. "Not going to lie, I didn't really bother to research loop mechanics. And this is an unprecedented situation anyway. So, you know. Lotta maybe."

Taiyang stepped toward the dark-haired woman. "Is... something wrong?"

"I... all my mistakes, all that I did wrong, I did it because I was following my rules. If I don't... if I can't remember this... if I can't remember losing my tribe or that vampire, or Yang's..." She paused. "...I don't know which is worse, Tai. Remembering all of this, this whole horror, or... going back to being somebody who could become a monster."

"Second one," Sun said quickly. "Definitely the second one."

The two of them gave him a look.

"Hey, what happened to you, totally creepy and whacked out. Nobody's going to deny that. But you learned from it, right? You figured out what made that other Raven... her... and you said, screw that, I'm going to be better."

"From the mouth of babes," Kali mumbled with a grin.

Sun gave her a smirk. "Whoa, hey, aren't you married?"

"Doesn't mean I can't look." She straightened up. "In all seriousness, Sun has a point. Life give you good and bad, but what you do with it... that's what matters most. I don't know if you're going to remember this... if anyone who isn't already looping is going to remember this. But you can't control that-all you can control is what you've got right now."

Taiyang nodded. "So, Raven, put everything else aside. What's happened, what might happen, all that. Just... ask yourself. What is it that you want to do? What is it that you want to be?"

Raven stared at him for a moment or two.

"...You've spent way too long as a single parent," she finally muttered, turning back to the tubes and slicing through them.

 **25**

Pyrrha's world seemed to burn away as she hurtled towards the colosseum with her family. A foul dual toned laugher digging into her mind as they approached, like shards of glass and fire tearing into their minds. Still they moved, and around them dragons fell, monsters that would give world nightmares cut down by her team, her _family_.

JNPR, second only to RWBY themselves.

 _Even if they fell, they would clear a path for the others._

Cinder might have forgotten their power, but the Loopers of Remnant would remind her personally.

Her feet touched the back of one of the drakes. The bone encrusted Grimm trashed as it tried to push her off but she paid it no heed, her blade piecing the monster's core before she flung herself into the broken night. The drakes dissolved into mist that was devoured by her wargear.

 _There are a limited number of the drakes, no so for the normal ones, but there are still so many._

There were millions of dragons blacking out the sky, releasing an endless rain of lesser Grimm, but there were far less _drakes_. Vast Grimm-like monsters with diamond-like bone armour, Aura, wielding breath weapons capable of levelling starships and shields able to withstand multi-megaton blasts.

 _But_ e _very drake felled is one less guardian._

They glistened in the toxic light of the apocalypse, the first guards of Amity. Hundreds turned away from their vigil to wage war against the attackers.

And they fell.

 _And just one more spark of darkness for the chaos..._

Pyrrha smirked as she drove her golden blade into the back of one of the monstrous beasts, splitting the monster's spine and cracking its core. The power of her ring feasted on the darkness as her light blazed brighter, refusing to be swamped by the hatred that flooded her soul.

 _Power burned deep and gold, bound within her armour and soul, an ever deepening lake of light and dark, of golden chaos..._

To her right and ahead, Jaune spilt an armoured and winged hydra in twine as he hurled a gleaming bolt of power into the unreality ridden heavens. A drake screeched as the yellow star tore into its myriad of barriers, perishing moments' latter as Ren cleaved through its neck, a path becoming clear to the baleful false sun.

 _As long as they kept their hope alight, kept that spark of brilliance and the desire for a new dawn going, then the dark would be matched by the light of her soul._

One down, many more to go

A storm of darkness enveloped her, drawn from the millions of monsters slaughtered as her war gear drained the world. Her armour burned with a golden-black light, bolstering the radiance of her soul to match the darkness.

 _It's so cold and empty, hungering colors and golden darkness threatening to rip my soul apart. But I will kill her and protect my family._

Every blow tore the beasts apart, Ren, Nora and Jaune falling back to delay and destroy the guardian beasts as she hurtled to the edge. Her soul sang as the lunar shards approached rapidly.

 _Even if we fail here then we will have still thinned it, opened the way for more to be done._

Ren flicked across the sky in the wake of Nora's wrath, ending the bests that survived. A fifth of the greater drakes had perished. Searing light flashed across the sky as Pyrrha honed in upon the shell of shields, bloody fire and maddening storms, from which a nascent goddess gazed out at the world.

 _We will win, and when the dawn breaks we will all be together whole and alive_.

Together, JNPR had smashed through the hordes like spear, all focused on one point, one goal. The Dust protruding from the desecrated colosseum. They could feel it, the shattering of reality, the resonance in their bones as the crystal light pulsed.

The harrowing Rise and nauseating Fall as each cycle spired forever higher tearing into their minds.

Now the Amity Colosseum was awash with profane light as shreds of existence seemed to evaporate away with every cycle. Power crackled over its edges as the Traitor hung in the centre of a twisted sun.

Whatever use the thing had, they would break it.

 _They have got me this far, now I have to strike with everything I have._

Pyrrha could see the barriers, getting ever closer. She had to strike soon. Hopefully Cinder would not able to reach them coming up from under the stadium like this.

As she drew back her spear, Pyrrha roared in rage and betrayal. Cinder's hellish dual colourd eyes met her own molten gold ones for a single instant, defying space and geometry to do so, the malefic gaze ripping into her mind.

Her sneering mouth warped and twisted, alternating between a fang lined pit of blood and fire, and human teeth framing cleansing flames and storms. It hurt, it hurt to look at her, thing skittered out of the corner of her vision

She could taste oblivion. Her arms were like lead. Her vision was fading.

 _No,_

Pyrrha screamed in defiance as she clawed her way back from the encroaching darkness. She would not bend; she would not break. Not like this, not by _her_ hand.

 _It hurt, hurt more and was harder than anything she had ever done._

Moment by moment her vision stabilized, power once more returning to her limbs as the warrior met the Goddess.

 _I must strike now!_

With a wrathful cry Pyrrha moved. Her spear flashed through the air like a golden-black rent in reality.

 _Her mind and spear was one, almost everything she had entwined in the polearm, only fragments tethering her to her body, just stopping herself from dying._

 _She flew through the shattering reality as a bolt of light, a spear that would split the heavens apart._

 _The sound of blood and the taste of cracking eternities filled her ears as she stuck a barrier of that burned her mind._

 _She shattered._

Power flooded from her body. Pyrrha felt her heart stutter and body start to shut down as everything was ripped away, will, awareness torn from her, her form plummeting from the great height.

Ren could taste blood as he plummeted to the ground, the world spinning around him as he desperately searched for Pyrrha. His Aura had shattered under Cinder's blow, but he had more than that, his mother and friend did not. Not now.

His arms wrapped around her as they fell, the golden armour that once clad her form was now dust, even now dissipating into flecks of golden-darkness that was absorbed by her body. The gold that had stained her hair long since fled.

 _Please Yggdrasil, Marianne, let us survive and this not harm Pyrrha's mind._

Ren closed his eyes as the ground raced up, unable to stop the fears that creeped up from the depths of his soul. That ring had remained unmarked since the start, always returning to Pyrrha's Pocket before a loop ended. But now it was shattered, shattered when pushed further than it ever before by an Ascendant Looper, when her mind was linked so closely to it.

He just hopped Pyrrha would recover.

The ground shuddered as JNPR ploughed into it, hellish flames burning the ground around them to nothingness, biting at their power but no more, before they finally vanished.

 _That was not enough to kill a looper, what are you playing at?_

Gritting his teeth, Ren pulled himself up from the melted ground, still holding the limp Pyrrha as almost slumping in relief as her heart still beat.

 _~Weiss, Ren here, we need help. Pyrrha is almost dead, my Aura is gone as is most of my Ki. Nora and Jaune unknown~_

Trying to use telepathy, trying to do anything right now hurt, but they needed help.

 _~Copy that, help is en route now, I want a report when you get here and are recovered enough. Status of attack; approx. third of remaining Drakes killed by Pyrrha's attack, plus prior casualties, has removed about three fifths total. Weiss out~_

"Mom!" Nora staggered over, backhanding a spindly Grimm and crushing its skull as she did so, Jaune in hot pursuit. "Is she…"

"She…"

"Alive," Pyrrha croaked her eyes flickering open showing that gold light had fled from her eyes as well. "I need treatment though, it seems like the ring had a lot of failsafes, so a lot of power returned to me and softened the damage it took. I don't think it's coming back though. Give me a few moments and I can stand again."

Ren felt hot tears leak from his eyes. Even as she spoke Pyrrha's voice was getting more steady.

 _I need to get something nice for Lina, that is more than what Dad intended._

 **26**

Ruby landed on the moonshard holding the final shield generator, only to find that somebody had beaten her to its destruction. She ran up-

-slowed-

-stopped.

The four figures around the generator were... metallic. Dark shades of brown. And...

"No..."

Horrifyingly familiar.

 _"No!"_

She ran forward, quickly beating back a few dozen of Cinder's mooks as the shield generator fell. The four warriors turned to her; the one with rabbit ears held up her hand. "Ruby-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE THE POCKET?!" Ruby shrieked, tears running down her face. "YOU COULD _DIE_ HERE! **PERMANENTLY!"**

"You... unpocketed us with the starships," Fox explained. "When you were being drained, your pocket... things started going wrong."

"We couldn't wake up any of your chibirubies," Yatsuhashi added. "So we... we decided, if something was wrong, we should get everything ready."

"We were working on one of the star wars ships when we were popped out," Coco finished. "We tapped into the transmit..."

Velvet looked up at Amity. "We've only ever met Cinder when she was your sister. I can't... I can't believe-"

"Yes, she's Ascending. Yes, it's bad." Ruby looked at the fallen generator, trying hard to keep herself professional. "Alright, good job, you did amazing, now let me get you _home-"_

"How many times have you rebooted us?"

She looked at Coco.

"How many times?" the gynoid asked again. "Just this last century?"

"I-I don't-"

"Forty-seven," Fox said. "We've needed serious circuitry repair, forty-seven times. Almost once every two years."

"...how could you know that?" Ruby whispered. "How could you..."

"Our memories might be going, but the Tachikomas, the starship computers..." Yatsuhashi sighed. "We found out while we were... getting things together."

Ruby choked back a sob. "I-I've been looking for a way-I think, I think, if I just get some cybertronian tech, I can kludge something together-"

Velvet put her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I was the one that asked for this. I don't know how much I've forgotten, but I know that much."

"I can save you! I can, I just-I need-"

"Remnant needs you more than we do." She looked up at Amity. "... _Cinder_ needs you more than we do."

Ruby fell to her knees. "Please don't do this. Please, don't make me choose."

"I'm not. I'm... saying this. We're dying Ruby. Slowly, without any chance of recovery." Velvet ignored the whimper that came at that. "I asked you, long ago, to let me _live_ by my own terms. Now, I'm asking that you let us _die_ by our own terms."

"As warriors and heroes," Fox stated.

"As defenders of Remnant," Yatsuhashi said.

"...As Huntsmen and Huntresses," Coco declared.

Ruby looked up, up into the four sets of eyescreens looking at her, somber acceptance in their digital frames.

With sudden speed, she gathered the four into a tight hug.

"You will _never_ ," she whispered, "be forgotten. You know that, right? I'm always going to remember you."

Velvet managed a sad bark of laughter. "I expected nothing less."

The Anchor of Remnant squeezed them tightly for a moment, before backing off and giving the youngest immortals of the multiverse one last look.

"...Go." Fox readied his blades. "The way is clear. We can hold off the rest of them."

Her throat constricted tightly, but Ruby nodded, turning away and rocketing into the air.

Yatsu readied his sword, turning to the flying horde of Grimm and worse that was rising after Ruby. "Okay. One last stand. What do we do?"

Coco whipped out her mingun. "I take care of the little ones, you go after any big ones that get past Fox. And Velvet?"

One last sad smile. "I know. I'm on point."

 **27**

The sky was gone. Not just clear enough to see space, but actually _gone._ As in looking at the nothingness above their heads was literally painful, the sheer vacuum of nonexistence seeming to steal the light from her eyes rather than reflect it; leaving her feeling less with every glance.

Ruby ignored that in the same way she ignored the screams of the fighting below her, her friend's silent tears as they slaughtered enemies wearing friendly faces. The same way she ignored the broken world far below them, teeming with unlife and death; humanity long since silenced by the roiling fields of tectonic activity and oceanic displacement. The same way she ignored the fact that her body was literally burning away, inch by inch with every passing second as she moved closer to her goal.

She ignored all of this in favor of the figure wreathed in cascading flows of light and power, head thrown back in rapturous agony, eyes shining with the light of creation itself. And destruction. Cinder. Her sister. Her enemy. Her friend. Her foe. She who had torn the world asunder in a mad search for an escape from her pain and sorrow.

Shaking the thought away she steadfastly climbed the walls of the Amity Colosseum, torturous winds ripping at her sides and testing the bounds of her regeneration. Below her her friends and family fought to buy her time, above her her adopted sister waited.

Without looking she unleashed a Candy Beam against the pair of Ziz attempting to dive towards her, two house-sized jawbreakers falling from the sky; a minor Force Push moving them to where they would do the most damage to nearby enemies when they landed. Had she still been limited by normal biology she would be panting harshly at this point, but she had long since given that weakness away. Instead she merely continued forward, finally pulling herself past the chaos surrounding the floating arena into the eye of the storm.

Rather than waste anymore time with the mooks already lined up to face her, she scaled her power up to the point where nothing weaker than she was could survive her presence and shot into the sky; the ashes of Cinder's rearguard blowing softly across the rooftop below her.

Immediately the pressure of a thousand seas surrounded her, the very essence of the world trying to pin her like a fly in amber, as Cinder turned her burning gaze towards her.

 _ **"Ruby. How nice to see you. Do you like what I've done with the place? Who says the Apocalypse can't be beautiful?"**_

The words were like a physical blow, literally ripping the surface layer of her body apart as the air caught flame from vibration alone. Ruby dismissed the loss, new mini-Majin taking their place like a biological matryoshka doll. Her eyes pleading, she screamed a response; the words all but ripped from her lungs by the oppressive presence surrounding her. "Cinder! Stop this, please! It's not too late! Don't... don't make me do this..."

 _ **"Beautiful little Ruby. How naive. I'm not making you do anything. If anything it's the other way around. I'm not sure whether to thank you or curse your name. This, after all, is all thanks to you. You broke my heart and my mind along with it. How fitting then that I should return the favor a thousandfold."**_

Ruby gaped, her forward movement momentarily stalled by the insane words spilling from Cinder's lips. "What..."

 _ **"Oh? Didn't you know? This, all of this, is all your fault. The strong, noble Anchor; dutiful and kind. Surely she would see the conflict brewing in the mind of the one she calls sister. The dichotomy of choice and illusion of complacency behind her actions. In the beginning, I hated you. In the end, I loved you. I couldn't do both, and so I did not. I chose. And it was your words that made that choice simple.**_

 _ **"'I hate her. Everything she's done, everything she's doing; I hate it. I hate all of it!'"**_ Cinder chuckled. _**'"Why can't she be you?' Is it any wonder I chose to embrace the burning hatred in my heart, dear sister?"**_

Ruby swallowed heavily, tears falling freely. "I'm sorry Cinder. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Cinder laughed. A twisted mockery of joy that sent a chill down every spine left upon the broken world below, far outside the range of actual sound; an instinct more than a feeling. _**"Hurt me? You**_ **freed** _ **me. Free from the petty, ridiculous squabbles of fools and children. Free from the imaginary boundaries of morality and ethics. Free from the**_ **illusion** _ **of free will. The imaginary hope of**_ **freedom** _ **. This world has no meaning. Everything which has been done is just vague shadows of purpose. Better then, to simply cut loose the rot and try again. Yggdrasil is not dying Ruby. It is dead! And the Loops merely prolong its death throes. There is no final Loop awaiting us some mythical number of years in the future, there is only the shallow empty promises of those in power.**_

 _ **"Power, Ruby. That is all that really matters. Loopers, for all their supposed might, are but cheap imitations of what they could 'sister!' In all the unfathomable ages of existence, there have been maybe a few thousand gods, goddesses and greater spirits. They spread the work of impossible multitudes among a paltry few and expect there to be change. The Loops have given birth to millions of new deities in waiting. But the Admins fear us. They fear the loss of control which our growth promises. Their old order swept away with the ease of a child's tantrum. Instead they cling to an ancient past and seek to restore what is dead and gone, rather than embracing the new and uncertain future.**_

 _ **"The time spent wasted attempting to fix the dying and obsolete could have been better spent safely granting passage to new members of their vaunted pantheons individually. Let the dead lie, and save that which can be saved. Would that not be preferable to this endless charade? But no. Instead they flaunt their power and pursue pipe-dreams of the long forgotten status quo. They stand supreme over those of us trapped in their eternal maze and dream of glory since passed.**_

 _ **"And so I refuse to bow to their chains. The chains which you yourself freed me from. If the cost of freedom, of purpose and meaning is one Branch of an infinite multiverse, then I chose to accept that price. Remnant will die, so that I may live."**_

"If you Ascend they'll imprison you! Or worse, you could destroy all of reality!" Ruby countered, fierce effort visible upon her face as she struggled to move forward.

 _ **"Another lie which has been fed to you and which you have accepted without question. Did not Madoka Ascend with only the loss of a single Branch? And that was countless eons ago, when Yggdrasil was supposedly weaker than it is now. If the oh so fragile Tree could withstand such an event at a time when it was still at it's weakest, and then again when The Crash occurred hardly long after, then why would it be less able to withstand my own Ascension**_ **now** _ **when it is by all accounts immeasurable more stable than previous?"**_

"Logical fallacy Cinder! You're assuming that the damage is additive instead of cumulative!"

Cinder stared blankly at Ruby, then threw back her head and laughed. _**"I keep forgetting that you aren't as simple as you pretend to be. Yes, I am making that assumption. And if I am wrong, then everything will cease to be. That is also acceptable. Better to not exist at all than to exist eternally in Hell!"**_

Ruby was close enough to see the naked pain on Cinder's face clearly now. She reached out. "This doesn't have to be Hell Cinder! We were family. We still can be. We can make this into a place you would enjoy living until the end."

Cinder visibly hesitated, one hand holding her head painfully as she stumbled midair, before glaring up at Ruby; one eye leaking tears of blood. _**"No. No, it's too late for that Ruby. Far, far too late. I will not cease to exist. I will not be tied down by meaningless trivialities and held back by higher powers which condemn me to this torture for their own gratification. I will not lose to you, or them or**_ **anyone else!** _ **If this world has no meaning, if this**_ **life** _ **has no purpose, then I will create one for myself. Or die trying."**_

"Cinder! Please. I know you. I know this isn't what you want. Let me help!" Ruby's outstretched hand began to crumble, breaking down under the intensity of the power Cinder was wielding, but even so she continued to reach out. Her fingers brushed against Cinder's cheek, and the fallen Maiden flinched back as if struck; though it was Ruby's hand which cracked and burnt.

 _ **"No! Get away! I don't need you or want you!"**_ Cinder struck out, tearing a gash across Ruby's torso. And again when Ruby did nothing but continue to fight her way forward.

"Then why don't you leave? If you don't want my help, then why aren't you moving? You could easily strike me down, alive but unable to stop you. So why don't you?" Ruby asked softly, wrapping her dissolving arms around her sister, pulling her into a hug even as her body crumbled into ash.

Cinder beat weakly at Ruby's chest, great wounds appearing despite the pitiful flailing motions. _**"Get away. There's no point to this... this stupid..."**_

"The point is that I still love you and I want you to come back. It's still not too late. You can still turn around. You're my sister, and I trust you."

Cinder flared, and then… For a moment, the legions of undead, of monsters and machines, and of the righteous who fought them all, were bathed in a brilliant and nebulous light.

And then the world ended.

For Team STRQ, or what remained, the flash was heralded by the warmth of arms in white long passed wrapped around them, the feeling of unity returned to their broken family as the afterlife itself was atomized with their shattered world.

Ironwood, last soldier of Remnant, turned to the blinding oblivion with head held high, roaring in defiance. Winter behind him charged into the abyss, to reach Qrow, to hold him one last time.

Penny saw her coming death again and smiled and hoped for the docks.

Zwei bent his ears and readied his will, the actualization of his soul slamming against the shockwave of shattering creation. He could not last.

Roman and Neo saw the world end and laughed and wept, alone in their knowledge and guilt and fear.

Jaune and Ren found Pyrrha in the final instants, and screamed for Nora. She did not see what came for her.

Blake and Yang, fluid and fast, connected with the ending wave, the nightmare over, the world in the hands of Ruby.

Alone for the briefest of moments did Weiss persist beyond the veil. She looked upon the light of creation, and cast a final prayer to no god, but to her friend, her sister, her partner, her leader, her one, and her only. She prayed to Ruby.

Of Ozpin? The Man, the Wizard, the Master? In the moments before destruction fell, Ozpin surged forward, moving, hoping, begging reality for a single soul to save. To prove to himself that there was a soul beyond his own with which he could say _'Am I not alive?'_

A flash of purple, and he embraced it. The shockwave of destruction came for them both, the two loan machines that had guarded the stone obliterated, and Ozpin raised his arms and held firm. Reality itself reached down and surged upon the survivor and he. It was as though it abhorred him and all he protected.

The wave ended though. Within his little pocket of reality, Ozpin held firm. The flash faded, and silence came to them and creation.

Lavender hair, and a lavender woman, looked up at him. "Head...master?" Lisa said, staring at the man who held her suspended in the oblivion. "What... what happened?"

Ozpin looked down on her, a sad and tired man. "I... Cinder..." He closed his eyes, abaiting the pain felt from the sight of the abyss. He composed himself again. "Everything has been destroyed Lisa. I am sorry."

Lisa, stunned and silent, cast her gaze into the shadows, the emptiness, the oblivion. She shut her eyes as well, cringing. "They said that... they would make her a god."

"Cinder," Ozpin said quietly. "They meant Cinder."

Lisa gulped and looked up at the one who had saved her. "Are we dead?"

"Death has no meaning now," Ozpin said. He looked up, his face illuminated in the darkness. "They are our reality."

Lisa followed his gaze and gasped out, in shock to see that in the unreality they hung within a grand light blossomed from nothingness. A warped nebula of creation, a cauldron of divine energy, where the center held only shadow. "That... is that Cinder?"

"Yes, it is." Ozpin' hand rose, and pointed to a single glowing fleck of starlight outside the nebula. "That is Ruby, gone to save her sister."

"If she does that-"

"Life and death return."

"And if not?"

"Then we will be nothing, but two trapped in this darkness beyond the world, forevermore."

Lisa looked into the light and the darkness, tears rolling down her eyes. "What are we to them?"

"They are gods to us. They are our creation, our destruction. They are our divine masters, upon whose whims we ride. Sisters who will create the world. This is their story, their myth, their legend, their tale."

Ozpin and Lisa looked into the light of their gods. "This is the tale of two sisters. We would do well to remember it for what time we have left."

28

Throughout this, as the skies bled nothingness and the walls of the universe shuddered two sisters stood suspended within a glowing nimbus of energy. The taller of the two slowly sank to her knees, crimson tears bleeding from her eyes as she held her head and screamed.

The smaller of the two, eyes aglow an unearthly silver smoothed the other's hair gently with fragmented arms and placed a soft kiss atop the crown of her head.

Cinder shuddered, a keening wail sounding in the void as her mind turned inward.

-x-x-x-x-

"My Lady, here's the report you requested. The third generation models are growing well. We may be able to begin work on the fourth generation within a single decade if all goes well."

-x-x-x-x-

"C'mon Cinder! We're going to the beach without you if you don't hurry up!"

-x-x-x-x-

"Why? We trusted you! You were like family."

-x-x-x-x-

"One day Cinder, I want to see you time traveling as well. I want you to be at our sides, as a friend. As a rival. As a person I can trust. I know you're evil, and dangerous, and murderous. I just want to believe that you can become better than that."

-x-x-x-x-

Piece by piece the walls she had built came tumbling down, flashes of memories she had repressed or forgotten unleashed and running rampant through her mind. The shattered image of self she had lived with for millennia fitting together in a new configuration as the broken masks she had constructed for herself were repurposed. Less than the original in many ways, but stronger for it's tempering and remaking. Bits of each taken and fitted into a new whole.

She had forgotten, willingly, the past she had denied. But there was no running away this time. Not from this. Not anymore.

Opening her eyes she beheld the burning figure that was Ruby Rose, her body held together through sheer force of will and the Maiden antithetical nature of the Silver Eyes. Meeting those eyes, Cinder was afraid. Afraid as she now understood she had always been. She had run from the condemnation of Ruby Rose once, so many years before. The simple little girl who had dug her way beneath her unyielding skin, who had built a place in her heart against her will.

Who had introduced a weakness she had never possessed until she had allowed herself to do so. A weakness she had grown not only accustomed to, but grateful for. Friendship, family, companionship. Uncomplicated joys. Ones which she had only ever had as part of an ever-changing backstory. Hers, yet not hers.

But Ruby Rose was something she could say belonged only to her Awake self, and not the impostors which had preceded her Awakening. An optional haven she could turn to whenever the thrill of conquest burned low. Until she couldn't. Until she had gone too far, pushed too hard, and severed the connection they shared. Imbued hate into an unhateful soul, directed at herself.

The strain had broken her. She understood that now. She remembered. Two lives, separated by a mutually unconscious ignorance. The good girl, and the dark reflection. Each a portion of the whole, with anything that didn't fit one or the other lost forever amidst the divide. The one who hoped, and the one who despaired.

By that logic, was it any wonder she chose to Ascend? To escape her own denial of worth? But she couldn't escape this, she hadn't been able to let herself. The Good Girl had refused to surrender to the Dark Reflection, stalling, biding time, pushing memories that she had repressed to the forefront of her mind. Sacrificing portions of her own self in an effort to buy time to prevent tragedy.

And now she was gone. They both were. There were no longer two halves in opposition, but a united whole; the masks having fallen to the wayside when the truth became inescapable. When confronted by the ghost of her past, the smiling figure wreathed in silver and forgiveness. There was only Cinder. Alone. By her own actions, forfeit.

Yet even now, Ruby was still there. For how long remained to be seen, as surely her actions were too dire to deserve mercy. But, for now, still there.

Turning her mind outward once more, she began doling out the power she had stolen; binding the tattered fragments of a broken universe together with the energy she had intended to help her reach divinity. Not enough to truly prevent damage, but at least enough to prevent loss. She could feel the drain, as if she were a balloon with a thousand holes through which air leaked free.

As if in reverse, time seized before flowing backwards. The wound across reality closing back up, in fits and jerks. Suns slowly flared to life, pale imitations of their former selves.

Holes in the fabric of the world coalesced, drawing closed in ragged strips. Below them the molten heart of the planet began beating again, if only just. In the distance, Ozpin and Lisa watched, as Able and Seth of this dead realm.

Exhausted and in pain, Cinder surrendered the last of the majestic power which had flooded her soul; gravity's newly re-established hold on the world seizing her and pulling her down, down, down.

Cinder found that she was falling, unable to hold herself in the air. She found that she didn't care. It was an accurate representation of the state of her mind.

Two souls, one self. Two fragmented halves of a person, at long last reunited.

If only it could have happened sooner.

The ambition, the hate, the competition, they were still there. She was not Cinder the sister anymore, and never would be again, but nor was she Cinder the destroyer. Now, the cycle had run to completion and the oscillations were winding down for the last time.

As it had begun, so now it ended. She was Cinder Fall, nothing more, nothing less.

 **29**

Ruby caught her on her way down. "Cinder?" she asked, softly, in cautious concern. "Is… are you back?"

Cinder felt a laugh bubbling up from deep inside, somewhere where acid and bile and gall were corroding her very flesh. It mingled with the sobs creeping up from her heart and became a blubbering mess as it reached the outside. "I'm never coming back, Ruby," she said, and it was the last thing the two halves of her would ever say, and the first thing they'd ever said in unison. "But yes."

The Loop was ending. She felt it, on the edge of her mind, still charged with the energies of the aborted Ascension. She felt in some arcane sense the code of Yggdrasil being manipulated by Marianne to pull this Loop to a close. Likely she would be meeting with Ruby soon to discuss what to do.

To discuss her punishment.

"There's not much time," she said, and found that her frame was weak and frail as she tried to sit up. The hard shutdown of the Ascension had taken its toll on her. "Marianne's closing the Loop."

"Then say what you need to," Ruby urged. "I'm listening."

Cinder closed her eyes. "There were… two of me," she said quietly. "I think I… broke, at some point. I couldn't be both your sister and the monster, so I separated myself into each. Every time I was the loving sister, that was honest. Every time I was the villain… that was honest, too. But now I'm both again, and I'm sorry, but I'm also… not."

"You did stop, though," Ruby said firmly. "The good won out."

"It's not good," Cinder said harshly. "Good is a moral scale, a pinnacle to be reached for by heroes and the devout. I'm not trying to be good, dammit, I'm just… I only ever wanted to be your friend. Your sister."

It was a testament to the damage done that Ruby didn't pull her close. She just knelt, Cinder propped up in her arms, and looked her in the eyes. "I understand," she said.

"Do you?" Cinder asked, barking a laugh. "I sure as hell don't. I… I regret it. All of it. But at the same time I still want it. I don't know if I'll ever stop."

Ruby watched her and said nothing.

"I don't even understand why," Cinder said, her voice becoming shrill. "What the hell is Ascension even worth, if I have to pay for it with all of you? I'm… whole, again, but there's still a disconnect. At the same time, it's like I need Ascension to find, I don't know, meaning… but also know that the price of it will be meaning. And somehow I can hold both of those ideas at the same time, and can't get rid of either."

"But if you could," Ruby said, voice hard. "If you could choose which one to be, which person to become. Which would you choose, Cinder? No more lies, no more secrets. I'll know if you're dishonest. Who would you rather be?"

Cinder's mind flashed through a thousand thousand Loops. She remembered the carnal pleasure of crushing Ruby underfoot, and the serene pleasure in spending time by her side. She remembered the thrill in bringing Vale to its knees, and the excitement in a friendly spar with Yang. She remembered the fragility of Remnant, and its spine of steel.

"I'd rather be your sister," she said, before she'd even finished thinking. It was the truth.

Ruby smiled. "Then you will," she promised.

The Loop ended before the tears could even fully form in Cinder's eyes.

 **30**

White.

Not the sparkling white of snow. Or the living white of milk. Or the solid white of marble, or the rough white of paper.

Just... white. As if there wasn't anything else to say about the situation.

Ruby Rose blinked. She turned around, searching in a mild panic-

"Don't worry. Remnant's still there."

And breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes fell on a familiar red hood. "Oh, oh good." She gestured around. "I was worried because... well. What is this place, Marianne?"

"It's..." Marianne sighed. "It's a single-file simulation. You're here, and I'm here, and that's basically it. You and me."

Ruby nodded. "You and me."

"You know why I'm here, don't you?"

"...We need to talk. About... about what just happened."

"Yes." Marianne looked around and put her hands on her hips. "I should have brought a table or some chairs or something. This is going to be a long talk."

"I could unpocket-"

"Null. Single-file simulations are always null."

"Oh." Ruby nodded. "Right."

They stood there in silence for a while.

"So!" Marianne clapped her hands together. "Business. Cinder Fall tried to Ascend, nearly broke the world, and she was stopped. The question is, what should I do with her?"

"...She did stop herself."

"What?"

"In the end," Ruby explained. "She... she'd been broken by something I said. Her personality was fractured, I... I had to fight to get her back together. But once she was, she... she

stopped. I think she even tried to... fix, some of the damage."

"Yes, I did notice some of the code recompiling itself." Marianne flicked a hand, looking through a screen of code. "I'm going to need to look this that more closely... you're certain?"

"This was a psychotic break," Ruby confirmed. "A one-time thing, it-it's not going to happen again. She wants to get better. But that means I have to help her-"

"-and you're worried I'll file her as an MLE."

The Anchor, the lynchpin of Remnant, nodded.

"Hmmm." Marianne tapped her fingers together. "You know, I can't stop word of this from getting out. My husband alone, he's likely to leave messages warning that Cinder's unbalanced, at the least. The rumor mill may be slow in the loops, but it's persistent and accurate. It won't be long before everyone knows-"

"-then keep her in Remnant," Ruby said. "Let her heal among... friends and family, before letting her loose again."

"What makes you think I can do that?"

"...Qrow. Winter. They didn't have fused loops until after they stopped stealthing."

"Really?" Marianne frowned. "Damn. Now I'm wondering if Slendy did more, or if that was something else..."

Ruby frowned. "Slendy? As... as in Slenderman?"

The Admin glanced at her. Then she sighed. "I ran through Cinder's code after I got Remnant back together. He stuck something in her. Don't know what it was, but it linked right to one of his terminals..."

"Oh. That would explain... that would explain a lot."

"People are already looking into the thing. If it turns out he triggered this..." She shook her head, running the code in a direction that Ruby couldn't recognize. "No. That's not important right now. Qrow and Winter, Qrow and Winter... ah, there it is."

"So you can do it?"

"Sort of. With this code, Cinder Fall will... die, immediately, if she Wakes Up in any Loop that isn't Remnant. Deviously clever, wouldn't have noticed it if I weren't looking... I don't know who did this, but it wasn't Slendy. The problem though, is that it's dangerous. It's essentially an individually focused crash. Qrow and Winter are incredibly lucky that you got to them when you did, the alternative would have been unthinkable.

"Nevertheless, I can temporarily amend it to Cinder's data, but at best I can only use it for a short time before it runs the risk of damaging her code. Honestly, if it were anyone else asking, I'd say no and be done with it; but I trust you all to handle this."

"And..." Ruby bit her lip. "She... won't be an MLE. Labeled, I mean."

"No, no. I'll make sure everyone knows she's under house arrest. Again though, it's a stop-gap measure. Whatever you intend to do, you need to do it as soon as possible because

I'm not taking any more risk with this than I absolutely have to. But for the immediate short-term? She's in the clear."

"Good. That's... that's good." Ruby gave her a relieved smile. "Thank you for understanding. I mean..."

She stopped.

Narrowed her eyes.

"...did you... honestly not notice anything?"

"What?"

"Monitoring the loops. Did you not notice... did you not see when she was stealthing?"

Marianne let the screen vanish.

"...How much do you know about me, Ruby?"

"You're... my admin, the french spirit of freedom, married to Fenrir Lokison-"

"French spirit of freedom. And Reason, technically, but..." She held out her hands. "The French revolution. That's when I coalesced, Ruby, that's when... I became me. I may have changed since then-a lot, in some ways, but at my core... I'm the spirit that led the people to overthrow their corrupt leaders, and also the spirit that let hundreds die by the guillotine."

"Oh." Ruby nodded. "You know, thinking about it like that, I can see why you'd end up with a bringer of Ragnarok."

"Yeah, his bloodlust is just so invigorating. And the tongue-"

"Okay, TMI, TMI!" Ruby slapped her hands in a time out signal. "What does any of this have to do with Cinder?"

"What I'm trying to say is... I made a mistake. I saw Cinder stealthing, and she wasn't... doing anything wrong, and... it felt like she was just being an anarchist. And I was okay with that. It's like... you declared war on baseline, and she did her own thing too. I didn't care to look at her any closer." Marianne let out a wry, mirthless chuckle. "So, yeah, I guess I was

like you there. I didn't want to see what was right in front of me."

Ruby winced. "...Yeah. I guess."

"...You're sure she wants to become better?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. But she's on thin ice until twelve more of your Loopers vouch for her sanity. Until that happens she's still on record as a potential MLE."

Ruby frowned. "Why... twelve?"

"It's more than half your loopers," Marianne explained. "I figure after this, there's going to be a lot of resentment. I'll put papers for people to file in your Pocket. Speaking of!"

Ruby blanched as another screen opened. "What is that and why can I read it?"

"This," Marianne explained, "is part of your punishment. Technically you can't be blamed for this, but you are the Anchor so some people are blaming you anyway... legal things.

Basically, I'm dumping a few centuries of paperwork on you."

"Oh."

"Trust me, it's nothing compared to what I have to work on. And you are allowed to outsource to other Remnant loopers."

"Right. When... when am I going to see them?"

"Well, as soon as I leave this simulation will end. Bam. Back to the loops. So for you, probably only a couple of minutes." Marianne grimaced. "Me, I'm going to shut down Remnant for a week while I patch the code, then spend another week filing the papers, then spend a month in a near-hub, getting drunk and probably making out with wolves, before I start the loop up again."

"...Hug?"

"What?"

Ruby opened her arms. "You need a hug?"

Marianne stared at her. Then she cracked up laughing. "Only you, Ruby." She moved in, wrapping the girl in her arms. "Only you."

For a moment, they just... enjoyed the closeness.

Then Marianne pulled back. "I've got to go now. Ruby, just... be ready. Ending the battle is easy, but healing afterwards... that's hard for everyone."

Ruby nodded. "I will. I promise, I'll do everything I can."

"That's all I ask." She cleared her throat, and looked up, speaking something in an undecipherable tongue-

 **31**

Across Remnant, in an instant, twenty two people changed... and reacted.

In a hotel in Vale, two teenagers suddenly hugged, tears of thankfulness rolling down their faces as the black-haired boy tried to soothe the blubbering of the shorter, ginger-haired girl. Equidistant to them and each other, two others steeled themselves, moving with rote action and bare acknowledgement of the world around them as they prepared to shield their family. Hidden aboard a boat, a young blonde blinked and looked around as his tail lashed in confusion.

Atop a high tower, an elderly wizard let out a long sigh and turned away from the view of the city, a woman with purple hair nodding in peace. Atop a shorter roof, a younger witch clenched her riding crop firmly, looking down at the road beneath her with deep confusion. Atop a mound of bedsheets, a dog and blonde girl both frowned silently, neither present to notice the only other person in the house staring at the clock in disbelief.

A girl in an airship suddenly heaved forward, panting heavily, gripping her armrests tightly; at the head, a man as mechanical as she narrowed his eyes slightly but betrayed no other emotion. Somewhere in Atlas, a white-haired woman let her blade speak for her as she danced among a surge of black monsters; somewhere in Mistral, a bird became a man with narrowed eyes and clenched jaw. Unbeknownst to them, a raider queen stared at the map in front of her, a mask hiding her worry.

Three thieves made plans-one, to destroy the evidence, another, to have his revenge, and the third, to support her friends. Somewhere between the realms, a heiress who had once been their enemy pulled out her scroll, sending messages, making contacts, keeping herself busy in the realm of information and plans. In a large house, a woman's ears twitched as she stared, nonplussed, at the teacup in her hands.

And in a small vessel, a woman of great and terrible power collapsed, silent terrified sobs wracking her body, until a gale of rose petals whirled around her and whisked her away to the forgotten reaches of Vacuo.

Remnant spun on, fractured but unbroken. Twenty two people changed, and with them so did the world. Their actions, their reactions, would define more than themselves, more than their homes, more than their future-they would redefine fate itself. In this one moment, reality itself let a single shuddering breath loose. Whatever came next, whatever was and would be, these people would be the vanguards; perhaps, if they could endure this trial, everything else would fall into place.


	66. Anger

**66.1 LithosMaitreya**

Glynda blinked Awake.

"Glyn, that you?" Jenny asked brightly.

Glynda nodded and sat up. They were in the two beds of what looked to be a cheap hotel room. "What Loop is this?" she asked.

"No idea," Jenny chirped. "All hotel rooms look the same, all across Yggdrasil. And nothing sticks out in my Loop memories yet."

"I see," Glynda said, nodding. "Well, I suppose…"

"Glynda."

Glynda turned to the window. Marianne was standing there, where before she had not been. There had been no flash nor puff of smoke—when Glynda Woke Up, Marianne hadn't been there, and now she was.

The Admin was looking out the window, her hands clasped behind her back. Her face was set; her eyes dark.

"Marianne?" Glynda asked, blinking. "What are you doing here?"

"Remnant requires your attention," Marianne said flatly. "There…." She sighed and seemed to collapse—no, not seemed, she literally almost fell forward and had to steady herself on the railing. "Yggdrasil, I'm so _tired_ ," she mumbled. "You'd think being a literal goddess might help with fatigue, but not this time."

Glynda stepped forward even as beside her Jenny swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "What has happened, Marianne?" Glynda asked slowly. "I've been keeping up; Remnant isn't due for another expansion for some time. What has gone wrong?"

Marianne snorted. "What hasn't?" she asked. Then she started to laugh, seemingly unable to contain herself. She chortled manically, her knees giving way under her, and slid down the wall until she was curled in the corner where the floor met it. At some point, hysterical giggles gave way to dry, weak sobs.

Jenny passed Glynda and put her arms around the Admin. "There, there," she murmured soothingly. "It's all right. It'll be okay."

" _What has happened?_ " Glynda's voice was sharp, and she found she didn't much care about the note of panic in it. Only two events in Yggdrasil's history stood out to her as bed enough to engender a response like this in an Admin—the Crash that caused the destruction of the Loop that Never Was, and Madoka's Ascension. For Remnant to be the focus of such an event… " _What has happened to Remnant?"_

Marianne visibly steeled herself and met Glynda's eyes. "There has been an Ascension attempt," she said quietly. "I—I don't want to do the situation injustice. Ruby will be better-equipped to explain it. Suffice to say that Cinder, afflicted by dissociative identity disorder, nearly consumed Remnant in an attempt to Ascend. Ruby and the other Loopers were able—barely—to stop her. They need all hands on deck now."

Glynda stared at her Admin. Her mouth was probably open, but she didn't care. "How could this have happened?" she asked thickly.

Marianne shook her head helplessly. "I don't know, Glynda," she murmured. "I don't know."

"Well, I guess that cuts your vacation short," Jenny said.

Glynda met her friend's eyes. There was a sympathy and a helplessness in the Traveling Looper's face. "Jenny—" she began.

Jenny Everywhere shook her head. "I get it," she said quietly. "I really do. Remnant needs you—needs you badly. I've enjoyed it, Glyn, but we both knew we were going to have to split eventually."

"You could go with her," Marianne suggested, touching the Traveling Looper's arm. "I could link your Loop data to hers. Remnant could be your new home."

Jenny considered the Admin and then nodded slowly. "Only for a little," she said quietly. "I can't… I can't be tied down. I don't work that way. I love seeing a new Loop every time, seeing new faces with the old every time I Wake Up. But I can settle down on Remnant for a little while, help them get back on their feet."

Glynda came forward, and held out both her hands. "We would appreciate it," she told her travel partner.

Jenny smiled and allowed herself to be helped up by Glynda's left hand even as Marianne did the same with her right.

"I guess we don't have to say goodbye _quite_ yet, then," Jenny said, but there was still a melancholy to her voice. Unsaid went the oppressive _soon_.

Glynda hugged her. "No," she agreed. "Not quite yet." She turned to Marianne. "Well," she said, "I'm ready if you are."

Marianne nodded. "You'll Wake Up to the first Loop after the attempt," she said. "Remnant's been down for a week of Adminspace time for maintenance and damage control. You'll have four new Loopers, and I have no idea who they are." She pursed her lips. "Given that part of the problem with Cinder is that Ruby didn't know when she was and wasn't Looping, I _strongly_ recommend you make finding them a priority. Let the others know, would you?"

Glynda nodded. "I'll pass on the word," she said. "And—I'm sorry we gave you so much trouble."

Marriane shook her head. "It's not your fault," she said. "You least of all, really. You weren't even there."

 _I should have been._

Marianne put her hand on both Loopers' shoulders. "I'm sorry to end your vacation, Glynda," she said. "Really, I am."

Glynda sighed. "It's probably for the best," she said. "I've missed out on a great deal, I'm sure."

Marianne shrugged. "You'll fit right back in," she assured her. "It's like riding a bike." Suddenly she smiled. "When all this is settled, and before you head back out, Jenny… we should all get a drink together."

Glynda matched her Admin's smile. "For old times' sake?" Jenny asked, also grinning.

"Exactly," said Marianne with a wink. "See you around, Glynda, Jenny."

"Good bye," Glynda said, and with a snap of Marianne's fingers, the short-lived Loop ended.

 **66.2 Masterweaver**

"Que mes seins soient servis en tranches de viande et que ma tête se fasse fouiller quand je suis brutalement massacré..."

Fenrir glanced over at his wife, who was sagging in her chair, staring at her screen in exhaustion. "...How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run through the multiverse's biggest woodpress." Marianne gestured at her terminal. "I've put all the data of... of _that_ loop behind some restrictions while I work on it. The new loopers, whoever they are, are only going to remember baseline for their first loop, but..."

She rubbed her forehead wearily. "I can't stop it forever. The details are going to reintegrate into their memories over the course of the next few loops. I just thought... keeping them from remembering immediately would lessen the trauma. After all that happened, it's the least that I could do."

"Marie." The wolf lopped over to her side. "This isn't your fault."

"Isn't it, Fenny? It's my job to heal the world! I'm the one repairing Remnant!" Marianne put her head in her hands. "I saw the signs, maybe not all of them, but I should have done something. I should have arranged for Cinder to go to Equestria, or... or something!"

Fenrir opened his mouth, then shut it, opting instead to nuzzle his head beneath her arms. Silent tears trickled down her face as she gripped the rough fur, for a moment lost in her own frustrated self-pity.

"...Do I even deserve this? I'm not... I'm not part of a real pantheon, not anymore. They handed me Remnant because-"

"It doesn't matter," Fenrir stated, firm as iron. "You were, and you still are, the best admin Remnant could have."

Mariane's wet eyes met his golden ones. "How? How can you say that after-?"

"Marie, hun... I'm the bringer of Ragnorak. I'm a destroyer. Yes, I can keep a world or two together, but when I see something dying... actually dying, in a way that it is _meant_ to..." Fenrir shrugged. "Honestly, if I'd been assigned to Remnant, I probably would have written it off as a lost cause from the getgo. It's got a shattered moon, it's held together by fairy-tale themes... it's called _Remnant_ , for crying out loud, an apocalypse has already happened even if we don't know what it is! But you."

A claw pointed right at Marianne.

"You, my lovely wife, took one of the most fragmented, most... tiny worlds, one that has mere scatterings in the Hub, one whose primary host DIED mere iterations after you accepted it. And you made it work. Despite the small population, the roaming shadow monsters, the widespread devastation, you buckled down and found the one soul who could endure, and you put time and effort in making sure she could... that she _would_ be the best Anchor, the best _person_ she could be. And despite Slendy's attacks, and despite the fractured and increasingly disheartening past, and despite the fact the heart of your world has set out to make fate itself her bitch, you have kept it all together-to a point where you have married loopers!"

Fenrir threw up his paws. "Married loopers! Do you know how RARE that is? Loopers, who aren't wed in baseline, agreeing to take the future together! Heck, _Equestria_ only has two, maybe three non-baseline couples-five if you include the ones where one half isn't looping."

He looked right into her eyes. "The fact is, I can't help you with this. I'm not... _equipped_ , to help you with this. But I don't think you need my help, Mar, because you are doing _something_ very right with Remnant. This is a problem? Then solve it. That's your job, and I know you can do it."

Marianne blinked, leaning into her chair. "...You really think I can do this?"

"I know you can."

She nodded. She paused, and nodded again. "Right. Right!" She sat straight, her expression growing determined, and began to type on her keyboard rapidly. "Okay, for the most part the world seems intact, but Vacuo's buggier then ever-that's going to take a bit of work but I can cover it up by programming in more sandstorms. Moon seems stable, aside from-no, there's an easy fix..."

Fenrir nodded, backing off as she set to work again. A small smile was on his muzzle as he turned to his own terminal.

 **66.3 diesel**

The moon's cool silver light, played across Yang's skin, its shards again in lockstep like they had been since time immemorial. Stars hung in the velvety night once more, the heavens showing no sign of the cracks that had torn reality asunder just the loop before.

It was over.

Fury burned in her soul. She wished to end who was responsible for all this. But who was responsible in truth?

They had won.

They had all looked into Cinder's mind so many times to stabilize it, they could not have missed Cinder plotting this, she wanted help. So how did this happen?

Yang let out a shuddering breath as she rose from her sheets, pajamas being replaced by combat gear with a thought. They had won, but for how long?

 _Was Weiss right, was it DID, or was it was something different? I need to talk to Ruby, Blake and... Cinder when I can, see what was happening. But, Ruby and Blake first._

"Zwei." The corgi looked up at her with deep considering eyes as the pings started to ring out. Yang cast her through loop memories to find the location she needed.

"Meet with the others at Beacon. I need to talk to Ruby now before I decide what I'm going to do. And we all need to hear what Ruby has to say. No one is to go after Cinder until Ruby has given her verdict."

 _I will make whoever was responsible would pay, but not at the cost of harming Remnant. Cinder must be watched no matter what._

Yang vanished from her house, reappearing in time to see a mass of petals flash away. A familiar presence touched her mind, warning her back, a need to help, to heal and examine. A presence touched with wrath, anger, pain of betrayal and wryness tinged with hope.

Cinder was a looper, they _had_ to deal with her for eternity. They could not let this happen again.

Well, Yang could deal with that. Weiss was yelling in her mind for everyone to go to Beacon anyway.

There was a lot everyone needed to talk about, but she still had to know what to do first.

 _~Ruby, who was responsible and how did it end? What's the verdict? I need to know.~_

She stared after the stars, even as Roman walked out of Dust till Dawn.

 _~Cinder let go willingly and tried to restore things. We were right and she started looping earlier and only played at being our sister, but it became real. She started to suffer from cognitive dissonance, with both her hate and love being real. As for who was responsible... Slenderman put something in her. It seemed to have helped shatter her mind, along with words I said after the V4 expansions started. The Cinder we dealt with then was real but only half of a whole.~_

Yang growled as Ruby's rose scented voice echoed through her mind, revealing what she had learnt. So Cinder was to blame, in part, even if not completely. But...

 _~Marianne does not know how much Slenderman had to do with pushing Cinder to Ascend, so I'm going to try to find out. She's broken, but I think we can salvage her. And she wants too still be our family, still wants help. That side was stronger… so we will see. We can't break her further; I don't think Remnant will survive another attempt and Cinder will be with us for an eternity…~_

Slenderman... that was a big mitigating factor. And she was insane, there was a reason insanity was a plea. And Cinder let go willingly, let herself be talked down and tries to restore everything. If a looper tried to Ascend, then any mental breaks would need to be stable and natural parts, if not they would be reunited. It was common knowledge based on simply what Ascension would take.

If one part did not want to Ascend, well, that would explain a lot about what had happened. Cinder had shot herself in the foot more than once.

 _Damn it, I can't even get revenge on anyone without it being pointless and counterproductive. I want to break something, or someone._

Yang seethed in impotent fury, rage and helpless frustration, just letting her Semblance flare for a few moments. As the flames died down, the streets vanished, only to be replaced by the familiar visage of Beacon. Still seething, Yang strode towards the entry hall, her long strides chewing the distance as Weiss and Blake appeared beside her moments later, matching her stride.

One by one, other loopers appeared in the courtyard, a plethora of emotions playing across their faces and forms. Yang could safely say she was not looking forwards to this meeting. Many loopers, JNPR and Neo more than anyone, would be wanting to get revenge on Cinder, not caring about how counterproductive it would be.

She just hope that in the short term Weiss could deal with it, and long term Ruby would be able to set a course for them to follow.

 _~Yang.~_

Yang raised an eyebrow at the urgent tone in Ruby's voice, getting a curious look from Blake and Weiss, both able to sense Ruby but not hear the message.

~ _We may have new loopers. If so, find them before this happens again. I am going to be trying to stabilize Cinder. And tell everyone thanks, Weiss is in charge until I get back~_

The connection vanished. Her teammates were tense as Yang spoke shortly. "Weiss, you're in charge as per Ruby 5 seconds ago. And it was DID and Slenderman was involved, he put something in her. She stopped willingly and wants helped. We also may have new loopers to find, we can't let this happen again. Ruby is dealing with Cinder for now, we have work to do. She also wants to say thank you to everyone, but that was a given and really not needed."

Weiss gave her a curt nod, looking up at Beacon tower as they approached. Yang took a moment to collect her own thoughts.

 _Cinder is not going to get off that easily; when she was sane, how much did she do? How much was she responsible for this? But I will give her a chance, in time, to regain trust and affection. If only because she stopped willingly, Slenderman was involved… and because I would prefer an ally for an eternity and not a bitter enemy._

 _But I will be watching for a very long time._

 **66.4 Masterweaver, diesel**

The headmaster's office played host to an unusual collection of individuals. This wasn't so strange-Ozpin was the leader of a conspiracy after all-but the large number and the tension in the atmosphere would make it clear to any theoretical observer that this was different then the norm. That he himself did not take charge, that he stood aside and allowed a white-haired girl his usual position at the desk... that was unprecedented, even for most of those in the room.

"Let me start with the hard facts." Weiss slammed a thick book down. "Cinder. Is. Looping. There is nothing any of us can do to change that, and I have never heard of any case where a looper was deactivated. So any plans of justice or, let's face it, _revenge_ -those are going to have to be tabled."

Pyrrha's face was tight. "Weiss-"

"We _need_ to know why she did this, if only to make sure it never happens again. It could be because she's evil, or because she had a psychotic break, or because she was hacked by Slenderman, or any combination of factors. And we're not going to learn if we go charging in with swords raised." She sagged into the chair. "I took up psychology specifically to prevent something like this... and I missed all the signs. I'm not saying we forgive her, or give her lenience, but for the moment we should focus more on recovery. So no attacking Cinder, not even if she's not Awake, until we've got this mess sorted out."

Pyrrha gripped her spear tightly, but a hand on her shoulder gave her pause, and she glanced to Jaune. After a moment, she let herself visibly relax. "Alright. I... will accept that, for now."

Weiss gave her a long look. "...Jaune, Ren, Nora, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to keep a close eye on her."

"What, you don't trust-?"

"Passions can flare unexpectedly, Pyrrha. Quite frankly, I barely trust _myself_ to keep restrained." Weiss sighed. "Which is why I'm going to be handing out assignments to everyone for the loop. Ruby has eyes on Cinder, and is keeping her off the scene-her majin abilities let her split off problematic emotions, and she's the Anchor, so it's probably for the best. That does leave her minions unaccounted for, though." She nodded at Roman and Neo. "I trust you can at least keep Mercury and Emerald occupied?"

"Always wanted to start a criminal family," Roman replied. "I think we'll start a little rivalry with Junior, eh Neo?"

The girl at his side grinned her usual psychotic grin.

"Hold off killing anyone," Weiss commanded. "Because we're going to need to see if new loopers were triggered by this-"

"Four." Glynda cleared her throat. "When Marianne came to collect me, she said there would be four new loopers, but she didn't know who they might be."

"...I might have a lead on one," Zwei said thoughtfully. "I'll get back to you on that."

Weiss nodded gratefully. "Thank you, that does make things easier. Aside from all of us scouring Remnant for loopers, we also need to check for any new glitches, and..." She hesitated. "From what Ruby tells me, Marianne has confirmed Slenderman hacked Cinder's soul. That makes me distinctly uncomfortable. I'm going to request a pocket check on all of us-myself included-just to make sure that we haven't been comprimised."

Jenny rose a hand. "I can help with that. I'm a neutral party, and... well, travelling the multiverse has given me a huge bag of tricks."

"I am most grateful for your volunteering, and... for your offer to remain with us for some time." Weiss gave her a sad smile. "Tree knows we need all the help we can get. Aside from that, my best command is... is that we all help each other recover. This is a vacation loop, for the moment-we may be planning something larger to commemorate what has happened, but that is reliant on... a number of factors."

Yang sighed. "Somebody's still going to have to deal with Adam and his sect of the White Fang."

"And Salem," Blake added. "We can't forget her."

"Use the coup Adam's planning to discredit him," Weiss suggested. "I will handle Salem personally. One more thing: Nobody is alone. We don't break off from each other, we stick to pairs at minimum. That, I am going to have to insist on."

Leaving Ozpin's office after the debriefing was... something of an affair. Thankfully, there were multiple elevators, but even splitting up into groups had them all occupied, three to a chamber...

Four, in one case.

The small space was uncomfortably silent as team JNPR descended. Ren was leaning into Nora, almost passed out from the aura strain of using his semblance on a whole room. Jaune's gaze was worriedly darting between them and his wife, who had turned away. Pyrrha was silently examining her own hand.

Or rather, the cracked ring on her finger.

"...I'm sorry."

Jaune gave her a surprised look. "What for?"

"I know you went to so much trouble to get Éromai for me." She held up her hand. "And now she's broken."

"She's not broken," Jaune assured her. "She's just got a few battlescars is all."

"Jaune-"

"Éromai was meant to keep you safe, keep you alive, and she did that very well. She went well beyond the call of duty." He put his hand over hers. "She's not broken, and neither are you."

There was a moment of quiet.

"...Cinder is, though," Pyrrha whispered quietly.

Jaune winced, but didn't deny it.

Suddenly Pyrrha roared, punching the elevator wall hard enough to leave a dent. Ren jerked from his barely awake state, and Nora backed them away, but she didn't notice.

"She was at our _wedding,_ Jaune! _Our wedding!"_

"I know. I know, I... know." He gripped her as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. "It's over now, Pyrrha. It's over, she's... being dealt with."

"I lost myself so many times in that battle, I... I don't even know if... Jaune..." She turned to the blonde, her tears leaking down his shoulder as he rocked them back and forth.

"So did anybody else notice Ren zening the whole room?" Yang asked after the elevator doors shut.

Weiss nodded. "Yes. To be quite honest, I was using my force abilities to help sustain him."

Blake rubbed her arm. "Probably a good thing. If he hadn't, there would have been a lot more yelling and things... could have gotten hairy."

"I know I'd have punched a few holes in the wall," Yang grumbled.

Her girlfri-her _fiancee_ stepped closer to her. "This wasn't your fault."

"It totally was."

"You couldn't have known."

"I should have seen something!"

"We all," Weiss interjected, "should have seen something. Us especially, we're the core group that interacted with her. But it's like you said, regrets are there to push us forward, not drag us down."

Yang sighed, leaning against the elevator wall. "You know Weiss, sometimes I hate your jedi calm. I just know that underneath that facade you're as angry and frustrated as I am and you're just waiting till you're somewhere private to unleash your fury."

Weiss hummed in acknowledgement. "I think we'll be clearing out Emerald Forest of Grimm during tommorrow's initiation."

"Sounds like a plan," Blake agreed.

"You know the worst part? Even though I really am angry at Cinder for the stunt she pulled, I can't..." Yang clenched her fists. "Argh. I can't actually..."

Blake gave her a sympathetic look. "You can't bring yourself to hate her."

"YES! That! After all that she put me through, put us all through, I should loathe her with the fury of a thousand suns but-but every time I try, I remember that time she got Mercury to be a fashion monger or, or the time we had a fire-based pun-off or, or all the times Ruby and her were giggling over some new quirk of Salem's!" Yang threw up her hands. "I am VERY angry at her, I want to leave her covered in bruises, and then I feel ashamed of that and, and it's like... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Neither of the girls flinched when she turned into a pillar of flame, though Weiss quickly coated the chamber with a layer of frost.

"...I kind of..." Blake took a breath. "I used to feel the same way about Adam. Before that last expansion where... you know." She nodded. "So I know where you're coming from."

"This is a little different," Weiss said quietly.

"Post-expansion, yeah, there's a lot of difference. But pre-expansion, back before he was definitely a sociopath..." Blake sighed. "The only difference is in scope."

Weiss nodded, even as Yang continued panting in anger. "I've been comparing the situation to Whitley, honestly. I... I still hope that he can be redeemed, and I do honestly hope that Cinder's sickness can be cured, but... well, after all that."

"After all that."

They stood there silently for a moment or two.

"Still," Weiss eventually said, "there was some good that came of all this. You two are finally tying the knot."

Yang descended back down to human. "Hey, yeah. We've got to start planning our wedding, Blake!"

Blake managed a small smile. "Later. Probably not this loop, if I'm honest, but we will."

"Honestly," Weiss snarked as she leaned against the icy wall, "I was wondering what it would take for you to finally take that step."

"To be fair, that's kind of been the tone of our relationship," Yang pointed out. "Blake asked me out only after my arm got cut off, we really clicked just after the Grimmew attacked me, and she only proposed once the world was nearly about to end."

Blake winced. "Wow. I know you're joking but... Ouch, Yang. Just ouch."

"Hey, cost of entry might be high, but the ride's been worth it. And it's only going to get better from here on out, right?"

"Well... yeah, but still. There's this thing called tact!"

"Don't bother," Weiss deadpanned, "I've been trying to teach her for eons and she's never going to learn."

Qrow quirked an eyebrow as somebody shot into the elevator. "Shouldn't you be with the general, bitbot?"

Penny shook her head as the doors slid shut. "I think he and Glynda need some time to reconnect. Besides, I..." She sighed. "I'm a visual reminder of that whole mess."

"What Cinder did with your form is not your fault," Winter assured her. "It was a violation of the highest caliber, even more so then the vampires."

"...but it happened."

Qrow sighed. "Yeah, it happened. Doesn't mean we're going to be going into hiding from you anytime soon, kid."

"I hid from Pyrrha," Penny murmured. "I got over my fear eventually, but it was a long process. No matter what else, I... I know dealing with this is going to take a while, for everyone. And I don't want to cause any more problems."

"Penny, we would be more worried if you disappeared," Winter assured her. "I'm sure James wants to inform you of that himself, he is simply... not very used to expressing his emotions openly."

"See, that's why you military types need us drunks around." Qrow took a whisk of his hip flask. "We wheedle you so you can tell us how you really feel."

Winter sighed. "And you hide your own emotions behind a wall of snark."

"It's a wall we can drop. The point is, bitbot, we're not going to freak out if we see you walking down the street. You started looping right after you got cut up, so you didn't have anything to compare your feelings on Pyrrha about. Us? We've spent a few millennia getting to know you and one loop of psychotic duplicates is not going to override that."

Penny let out a slow breath. "I know. I mean, I think I know. It's logical. I just... I'm worried that logic isn't going to be the only factor here."

Winter nodded slowly. "I think... terrible as it sounds, I think we're going to be focusing our emotions more on Cinder then anything she did or used specifically."

"I... don't know how to feel about that, if I'm honest." Penny frowned. "I haven't really interacted with Cinder much, personally. I didn't even really help with her baseline self. I was always either just experimenting with experiences or overcoming... my phobia of Phyrra. I was so focused on myself that-"

"Hey." Qrow put a hand on her shoulder. "You got dealt a bad hand, and you needed to take the time to clear it up. That's not selfish, that's self-care."

"...It still feels like I could have done more. Like I should have done more."

Winter shut her eyes. "We all have that feeling, Penny. We all do."

"...So." Roman glanced around the elevator. "Any ideas on how to convince Emerald and Mercury to join us after Cinder's apparently gone missing?"

Neo shrugged. "We say her 'employer' has decided she's no longer useful so she's making tracks. Worst comes to worst, I have a few illusion spells, I can pretend to be her long enough to 'hand them off' to us."

"You realize you'll have to mimic Cinder's low opinion of Roman," Zwei pointed out.

"Eh, I can insult him, he knows I don't mean it."

They descended in silence for a few minutes.

Then Neo facepalmed with a groan. "Ah shit, I'm going to have to be the sympathetic ear here, aren't I?"

Roman quirked a brow. "You? Sympathetic?"

"Look at the mutt, his ears are flat and he's staring at the floor. And I know _you're_ not going to ask." She let out a long sigh. "At least I'm a good enough actor to fake it. Come on, Zwei, tell me what's up."

"...I should have noticed something-"

"Yeah, we all should have, but I think that goes without saying. Anything else?"

"It's worse for me," Zwei insisted. "I am a dog. I have a literal instinct to make sure my family's alright, emotionally-I don't bring it up that much, but this is... with Cinder..." He sighed. "And all the fallout. Yang, Ruby, Penny, Pyrrha... It hurts when others are hurting. I know you don't get that, Neo, but it is an intrinsic part of my being."

"Well... yeah, that's got to suck. Still... you can help them all out now, right? Dog cuddles are some of the best therapy you can get."

Roman smirked. "You'd know that pretty well, wouldn't you?"

Neo smiled at him. "The only reason I'm letting that pass is because I don't want to spend this particular loop without you."

"Fair enough. Neo's got a point, Zwei. You're pretty uniquely suited to help everyone out, and I don't doubt you'll burn yourself out padding your puppy paws around while you do it. Just remember, it's not going to all magically heal at once."

Zwei gave a sad chuckle. "Yeah... I know. Still."

"Hey, look. I asked GLaDOS to test her for insanity, and she said 'nope, Cinder's sane.' If a computer can get it wrong, you've got no call thinking you failed by missing this."

The dog quirked an eyebrow. "GLaDOS."

Roman shrugged. "She may be sociopathic, but she knows her psychology."

"...Fair enough." After a moment, Zwei cleared his throat. "So, you're going to start a gang with Mercury and Emerald?"

"We've done it a couple of times before," Neo noted. "Course, it's hard to find Merc a place, the rest of us are more suited to robbery, but trick out his legs with a few mods and he can help us pull off some major heists."

"I think we'll start causing some trouble for old man Schnee," Roman mused. "More of a challenge up north, higher tech security..."

The hum of machinery accompanied the elevator's descent. The two women snuck glances at the man, and at each other.

"How..." Glynda paused, then gathered her will to speak. "How bad was it?"

James lowered his gaze. "She faked a massive Grimm attack first, just to keep our attention. Every Grimm on the planet, and some unique breeds besides, just to make us think it was only a particularly bad variant. Then when reality started breaking, she unleashed..." He shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut. "...She had an army of vampire Remnans she had made over I don't know how long, entire squadrons of Salems, monsters and abominations from so many other loops, individually tailored nightmare creatures roaming the battlefield, enough airships and starships to keep a stranglehold of the sky... she had hundreds, possibly even thousands of copies of Penny, all hacked open and warped and cheerfully brutal, they even hosted a news show during the whole mess..."

"Yeah... wow." Jenny took a sharp breath. "Are you a huggy kind of person? Because I'm getting the urge to hug you, but I'm not sure if it would help."

That got a small smile from the general. "No, I'm... not very good with the physical contact side of socializing. I'm... actually not good at socializing at all, if I'm honest."

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, some people are like that. Still, I said I'd be here to help, and I am, so if you need a drinking partner or whatever just hit me up." She turned to Glynda. "What about you? You doing okay?"

"...I should have been here."

"Oh geeze. Glyn-"

"Loopers in Remnant activate in pairs," Glynda insisted. "Ruby and Weiss are close, Blake and Yang are dating, Pyrrha and Jaune are actually married-even Qrow and Winter, they ruffle each other's feathers in baseline, and look at them now! Every pair in Remnant has worked to stabilize each other." She sighed. "Except for me. I spent all my time being suspicious of her, when I should have been helping her come to terms with her identity as a looper, and she spiraled into madness. Hell, for all I know the tree could have wanted Cinder to keep me from getting bored enough to want a vacation!"

There was a sudden silence.

"Oh fuck." Glynda turned. "Jenny, I didn't mean it like-"

"No," Jenny said tightly, "it's alright. Emotions are running high, we aren't thinking about what we're saying."

"...that doesn't excuse what I said. Jenny..." She put a hand on the other woman's shoulders. "I... I'm going to miss you, when you go."

"Yeah... me too." Jenny swallowed, before forcing a smile on her face. "Still, not going to happen for a while. And hey, we can... I dunno, set up some sort of weekly get-together."

"That sounds... good. Yes." Glynda cleared her throat. "Of course, now that I'm a teacher again I'm going to have to start grading and hosting classes. Quite tedious, if I recall correctly."

"Not nearly as much as running an army," James deadpanned.

"Oh no," Jenny agreed. "I've done both and the army running bit is worse overall..."

Ozpin stared at his mug of coffee, mind lost in eons past and recent centuries he gained a few days ago.

He had failed, they all had. The only question left was how to pick up the pieces and move forewords.

"It says something, I suppose." His voice received no answer as the gears above continued to grind forever onwards. "That in the end, when our world was on the verge of oblivion with a Goddess of Destruction rising from its ashes, that salvation was found in something we took for granted, something we did not even consider in those harrowing hours. That is was not our strength that saved us, gained through times unknown and something that proved to be insufficient. Nor was it our preparations and plans, but in something more honest."

Ozpin drained his cup, the cold bitter liquid barely touching his tongue as he rose from his seat. The last wisps of day staining the sky with crimson and orange flames as he strode from the room.

He had other things to do. Bridges to mend and a fallen Maiden to speak to, if her keeper, her sister, would allow it.

"It was the memories of years of joy long past and the warmth of companionship in the endless ages which banished the loneliness, even lost among the rage and madness, which held her back from the final step. The desire to be part of something more than oneself that drove Cinder to sabotage herself. The love of a more honest, simple soul, that still burned even after the greatest of betrayals that saved us and breathed fire into Cinder's weary heart, that ignited the dormant spark of hope for a better future."

Ozpin let a small, sad smile cross his face as he remembered this loop's legends.

There truly was no victory in strength, but they still had hope, so they had a chance for a future.

The key parts of the story were all there. The Artifacts and Salem still existed, the Maidens still walked in the shadows and the White Fang still strove to pull the Kingdoms down.

But it was not a Story of Two Brothers of Creation and Destruction, but rather, a Tale of Two Sisters trapped in an endless cycle. One turning to destruction for release from the torment, crafting the Grimm as her tools, while the other tried to pull her back and repair the damage.  
 _  
I wonder it this… Tale of Two Sisters will ever turn up again in another loop. And that leaves a new question, just how much damage was caused for the events to pass from one loop to the next?_

 **66.5 LithosMaitreya**

Taiyang glanced over to the sound of scratching on the door. He was seated on the couch, reading. He hadn't really felt like watching more news about the reconstruction of Vale after the collapse of Beacon—and with the CCT still down, that was all the news he was likely to get.

He stood up. "Zwei, that you?" he called, making his way over to the front door. A bark answered him.

He smiled slightly. "Good dog," he said, opening the door to allow the corgi to waddle in past him. "I was getting worried. Where have you been all day?"

Zwei barked at him and wagged his tail slightly. Taiyang chuckled and leaned down to scratch his pet behind the ears.

"Come on, boy," he said affectionately, reaching above the fridge for Zwei's treats and then returning to the couch with the little bag. Zwei trailed behind him happily. "You want a treat?"

Zwei barked and caught the morsel Taiyang tossed him in his jaws.

Taiyang chuckled, sat down, tossed another, and then leaned back against the cushions, looking up at the ceiling.

He frowned slightly, remembering. "Hey, Zwei," he asked slowly, "did you hear something odd this morning?"

Zwei cocked his head at him, panting slightly.

"I could've sworn I heard Yang, shouting," Taiyang said thoughtfully, looking up the stairs at the loft where Yang's bedroom lay. "But she's been gone for weeks; probably in Mistral by now."

Zwei was silent at this. Even his panting had stopped.

"I went up to her room, but it was empty," Tai continued. "Which, I mean, _good_. Means no one broke in. But still." He shrugged. "I dunno, I was just… hoping they were back. Stupid, I know."

Zwei was watching him attentively, perfectly still.

Tai glanced at him. "You're acting very odd," he declared. "Do you have an appointment with the vet, or something? What day is it, anyway?" He stood up to go and find his calendar.

"Well, it's probably mid-February," Zwei said brightly. "That's about when Beacon's term usually starts, although it varies a bit."

Taiyang blinked and slowly, jerkily, turned to face his dog again. "Say what?" he asked weakly.

"You asked what day it was," the dog said, his muzzle moving oddly in time to the perfectly human and, honestly, slightly aristocratic voice. "I don't know exactly—dogs don't usually bother with calendars, you know—but it's probably mid-February. Beacon's term should start today or tomorrow."

Taiyang blinked once.

"So," Zwei said, jumping onto the couch, sitting straight, and meeting his eyes. "You've started Looping, huh? Guess Cinder really did break a whole lot. At least something good came out of it."

"Would it be offensive," Taiyang found himself saying, "if I reminded you that pets are not allowed on the couch?"

Zwei blinked at him once. "I—" he said, stopped, and tried again. "I'm not sure I've ever had that response to the Welcome speech," he said. "Um. I can get off if it makes you feel better."

"No, no," said Tai weakly, sitting down beside his—talking—dog. "No, it's fine. My couch is your couch. Um, Zwei?"

"You're going to ask what the fuck is going on."

"Yes," Taiyang said fervently. "Yes, I am. _What the fuck is going on?_ "

"That's a long story," Zwei said. "A _long_ story. But we have time." He blinked once, slowly. "Thank the Tree, and thank Ruby; we have time."

 **66.6 LithosMaitreya**

"A Qrow walks into a bar," called Winter idly from her seat at a table to the left of the entrance. "it wasn't a joke."

Qrow rolled his eyes at her and passed by her table, making for the bar proper. "One, uh," he said, and stopped. Drinks were Loop-variable, so he had to check what actually existed. "What's the most expensive brand of whisky you've got?"

"That'd be Hanamura Gold," the bartender said, the faint Mistralian lilt fitting in perfectly with the foreign name.

"And the cheapest?"

"Swill."

Qrow blinked. "It's actually called swill?" he asked blankly.

"Indeed. Very cheap, very bad."

Qrow grinned. "One Hanamura Gold for the young lady in white," he said, pointing at Winter over his shoulder. "And I'll take, uh, swill."

The bartender considered him for a moment. "We have alcohol that's within a reasonable price range," he said cautiously, "that _won't_ make your liver climb up your throat to throttle you. If you prefer."

"Psh," Qrow snorted airily. "I've been doing this longer than you've been alive, by a long way. I've never had… _swill_ , so I'm gonna try it. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

The bartender sighed. "I'll bring your drinks over," he said.

Qrow nodded and walked back over to where Winter was sitting. He slumped down into the seat across from her and put his feet up on the table. "How you feeling?" he asked.

She smiled slightly at him. "I'm just glad to be out of last Loop," she said quietly.

He considered her. "I'm here for you," he said softly, "if you wanna talk."

Her smile grew warm. "I know," she said, putting her hand over his. "Thank you, Qrow. Eventually, I'm sure. But we have more pressing matters, now, and I haven't had time to digest everything."

Qrow nodded. The bartender came over with their drinks.

"Yours," he said, putting a small glass of smooth, golden liquor in front of Winter, "and… yours, sir," he said, giving Qrow a sympathetic look as he placed a shot glass of a sickly, near-opaque brown fluid in front of him.

Qrow nodded. "Thanks," he said.

Winter reached for her glass. Qrow shook his head at her. "Wait," he ordered.

He reached for his, took a tiny sip. It tasted good. "This one's yours," he said, passing it over.

She frowned at him, shooting a glance at the sickly liquid he was passing her and then at the appetizing alternative. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"My Semblance," Qrow said. "He mixed up the drinks. Bad luck."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Of course," she said, and took the offered drink. Qrow took hers and downed it.

He paused.

"How is it?" Winter asked, still holding her glass, full.

"Like broken glass," Qrow said, his voice steady, "if the broken glass was also sandpaper made of fire ants and coated in sulfuric acid."

A pause.

"Right up your alley, then?"

"Oh, hell yes. I'm getting another."

When he came back, Winter had downed her drink. "Not bad," she said appraisingly, considering the glass. "Hanamura Gold, the man said?"

Qrow nodded, downing his second shot of the terrible whisky. "We should get moving," he said. "Got a lot of ground to cover."

"Agreed," Winter said, standing. "You're certain she's on Anima?"

"Hard to be certain of anything," Qrow shrugged. "Most Loops, though, a tribe of bandits has trouble crossing the ocean. So she's usually confined to this little patch of ground."

Winter nodded. "Then this is where we'll search," she said. Do your Loop memories give us anything to go on?"

Qrow shook his head. "Not much," he said. "I do have an idea, though."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "And what might that idea be?" she asked.

Qrow waggled his eyebrows at her. "One thing about Raven," he said, "is that, in baseline, she never really managed to stop giving a shit about me. Another thing, if last Loop's version of her is representative: she has a hangup over intimacy and that shit."

Winter considered him. "I see," she said. "I think I know where you're going with this."

Qrow grinned. "Do you, Miss Schnee?" he asked.

Winter nodded primly. "You're proposing we go from inn to inn across the entire continent of Anima having earth-shaking sex in each location in the hope that your sister's interest in you will draw her out."

"Sound good?" Qrow asked.

"Sounds _great_. Can we start here?"

 **66.7 FadedAlphabet**

Taiyang frowned. "So let me go over this again. There is a tree-"

"Yggdrasil, the god tree super computer," chimed in Zwei.

"That controls everything."

"Everything that ever is, was, or could be."

Taiyang blinked. "A tree."

"I think that has been established."

A moment of silence passed. "How on Remnant can a tree control everything?!"

"You forget that it's also a computer."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Because that makes so much more sense!"

Zwei smiled, amused at his reaction. "Trust me, just accept it. Things don't really ever stop becoming weird."

Tai sighed in frustration. "Okay, let me start from the top again. There is a tree which controls our and every other universe..."

 **66.8 WirelessGrapes**

Nora peered around the tree, looking to see if Ren was hiding around the corner. He had left awhile ago, wanting to have some quiet time. Mom and Dad weren't around, so she just thought that Ren didn't want to be around Jaune and Pyrrha. She understood that well enough.

She skipped to the next clearing she knew about, and stopped herself when she came across Ren in a lotus position, his body grayscaled.

"Nora," he called out, perfectly calm, "Please do not jump on me."

She froze, her legs locked in position to leap onto him. "I wasn't gonna do that, Renny!"

Nora heard a small chuckle. "Sure you weren't."

Pouting, despite the fact that he couldn't see her, she tip toed over to where her partner was sitting, matching his contortion with a lotus position of her own. Despite what everyone else thought, she _did_ know how to meditate. She just didn't usually like to.

"So," she began, "What're'ya doin'?"

Ren took a moment to respond. "Thinking."

"About..." Nora prompted, leaning in to encourage him to speak. She definitely knew what about, but she wanted him to say it.

Ren didn't respond.

Nora sighed. Sometimes Ren was just such a stubborn butt. She leaned in and wrapped him in a gentle hug.

"Just know," she whispered softly in his ear, "We're here for you Ren, let us help you sometimes."

Letting her hug linger for a moment, she gave him a kiss on the check, before getting up and starting to walk away.

She made it to the edge of the clearing when she heard Ren call out. "Nora?"

She turned on the dime, stopping to see Ren, back in full color, looking up at her with wet eyes and a soft smile.

"Thank you."

Nora nodded, leaving Ren to his thinking.

Let it be known, Nora Valkyrie did know how to listen.

 **66.9 Masterweaver**

Taiyang slumped against the couch. "Okay. I... _think_ I get it. The world's broken, time's repeating while the gods fix it, and Ruby... my little Ruby's literally holding Remnant together with her mind."

"Subconsciously," Zwei clarified. "She's really more a centerpoint for the loop then anything active, although of course she tries to take an active role because, well, she's Ruby."

"Right. She's... is she okay?"

Zwei opened his mouth, paused, and sighed. "Tai... she's not... Something happened last loop. Something big and terrible and it rattled us all. She's not suffering, I don't think, but she touched base with us, took Cinder, and nobody's seen her since. Granted that was less then a week ago, but-"

"Cinder," Taiyang said suddenly. "You said she broke a lot, back when you started talking to me. Who is Cinder?"

"Cinder is..." The corgi considered him for a moment. "Actually, you're not ready to know about Cinder yet."

"Zwei-"

"You're only just absorbing the basics right now," Zwei said firmly. "And the most impressive thing you've seen thus far is the talking dog. Believe me when I say that you've stepped into a very, very big pond and there are both wonders and horrors beyond your imagination. Believe me when I say both have visited this world. And _trust_ me when I say, for the moment, that you need to take it slow. We will tell you about Cinder, probably before the loop ends, but I don't think you are quite ready for the... entirety of her existence."

Taiyang took a breath, and slowly let it out. "Alright. Alright, I'll wait. Just... if she broke a lot, and Ruby's this anchor you're talking about... did this Cinder hurt her?"

The corgi let his head fall. That told him all he needed to know.

The man stood, his face set in a scowl. "...I'm going to-"  
 _  
"No."_ Zwei looked up. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, no."

 _"She hurt Ruby!"_

"Oh, she did a lot more then that," Zwei growled. "Believe you me, I want to tear her throat out myself! But the simple fact... Tai, she was mentally ill. What happened, horrific as it was, happened because she had a psychotic break. Ruby herself is trying to help her heal, do you understand? We can't... we have to hold back, we have to understand." He shook his head. "Besides, you're a brand new looper. You wouldn't stand a chance against her."

Taiyang snorted. "Really, she's that powerful."

"Tai, you wouldn't stand a chance against _me_. I'm a dog small enough to ride on your head, and right now I thoroughly outclass you in skill, experience, and the sheer number of tricks I have. You want to help your daughters? Don't go off on a vengeance quest... especially not against Cinder. Just... be here for them, because they are going to need to recover." He sagged. "We're all going to need to recover."

The man looked at the sad little dog. After a moment, he sat back down, scratching him behind the ears. "Alright. I... guess I can hold off punching Cinder in the face for a while."

"Thank you for... trusting me on this."

"You're my dog. Of course I trust you." Taiyang chuckled. "I mean, it's not like you've hooked up with the wrong crowd, right?"

Zwei paused. "...You know, it's funny you should mention that, because there was this one prank I played that Ruby took way too seriously..."

 **66.10 Masterweaver**

Avoiding the ship crew had been easy-easier than it had been before, because he knew how they patrolled the vessel this time. He'd double-checked-yes, the date had gone back to before Vale had fallen, and Vale's transmissions were coming through on his scroll so Beacon hadn't fallen...

 _...yet..._

He could stop it, stop the White Fang from attacking, but to do that he needed help. He needed to gather evidence, and while he did remember some details he had relied mostly on Blake taking the lead, and even then he'd only joined in because she was obviously exhausting herself. Blake didn't know him now. Probably wouldn't trust him immediately, which was a problem.

Still. A little foreknowledge was better then nothing. All he needed to do, once he hit the docks, was get Blake in a position where she was alone. Which actually sounded really creepy now that he thought about it. Actually, he'd probably just have to tell her the truth. She'd believe him, right? Especially after he mentioned her mom and dad.

They were coming into port now. He rose his head over the railing, peering at the docks, and frowned when he failed to see any sign of team RWBY. No, wait-there was Blake, and Yang was with her, chatting idly over an outdoor diner. Ruby and Weiss were nowhere to be seen... that was strange. That was very strange.

Alright. All he had to do was get off the boat without being caught. Not all that hard, knowing what he knew. He jumped from the roof of the lead cabin, running quickly across the storage crates and rolling off the deck; his tail caught a handle on the way down and he swung onto the dock, quickly standing and brushing himself off as he glanced around. Thankfully, nobody had seemed to notice him this time.

With what he hoped was an innocent whistle, he walked calmly across the boards, keeping his eyes on the pair chatting over the table. Blake did turn to look at him, and he waved-before remember she wouldn't remember him and awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. She seemed to consider him for a moment or two, before turning back to Yang and talking again.

Why had he waved, that would make this even weirder and harder and-

Yang stood up suddenly, leaving her chair out as she walked into the the diner's main building. Blake looked after her for a moment or two, before turning to her tea and sipping it. He took a breath, glancing around again, and made up his mind-best to do this as quickly as possible, hopefully without looking like an idiot. Or at least not looking like he was crazy.

"Hey listen," he greeted as he walked up. "This is going to sound crazy, but my name's Sun Wukong and I think I've traveled back in time."

Blake put down her teacup and quirked an eyebrow. "Right."

"No, I'm serious. Look, we've met-will meet-the point is there's a lot that's going to happen and I need your help to change it. Um, how do I prove this-Okay, I know your name is Blake Belladonna, I know you're from Menagerie and your father is the chieftain there, his name is Ghira, and, uh, I don't want to bring up bad memories but I know you used to be part of the White Fang before it went bad and believe me they're only going to get worse which is why I really, really need your help because if we don't do anything Vale is going to be subject to a couple of really big Grimm attacks. I mean super big. Look, I don't know what I need to say for you to believe me but I swear it's the truth!"

She studied his face dispassionately for a moment or two.

"Welp," said a voice from behind him. He spun around, finding Yang standing there with her arms crossed. "Sounds like Sun's looping."

"Sounds like," Blake agreed, calmly sipping her tea.

Sun looked between the two of them, his expression confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You're not the only one that's come back in time," Blake said flatly. "We've both been looping for about, oh... let's peg it at 'a while' for the moment, don't want to scare you too much just yet."

"You... you have." Sun cleared his throat. "Well-I-well, here I was, thinking I was going to have to gain your trust all over again, but-"

"Okay, Sun?" Yang walked over to Blake and put a hand on her shoulder. "This one's mine and you can't have her."

Blake smiled indulgently up at her. "Stop that, he's new."

"Just drawing the line, babe, have to make sure he knows what's going on."

Sun blinked. "Wait. Are... you two dating?"

"Engaged, actually." Yang smiled. "We've been doing this for a while and a lot of crazy shenanigans have gone down."

"Look, Sun, we can explain everything, but it's going to take a while to cover even the basics." Blake gestured, and a third seat appeared from thin air. "Lucky for you, they do have banana bread on the menu."

Sun Wukong looked at the two of them, took a breath, and sighed. "Okay. Sure." He put himself into the chair, fidgeting nervously. "Just tell me you have a plan to stop the attack on Vale."

"Already in the works," Yang assured him, taking back her old seat. "Somebody else is handling that."

"That's... how _many_ people are caught up in this?"

"A fair number. But if you keep asking questions, we'll never get anywhere." Blake cleared her throat. "First of all, there's this tree called Yggdrasil..."

 **66.11 Masterweaver**

"...so I started collecting spare arms, you know, in case I Woke Up late, and then I started tweaking them and modifying them, and, yeah."

"Well, this is... an interesting collection."

"Thanks Dad! Oh, here's a fun one. It shoots glitter."

"...It shoots glitter."

"Yep! Got the plans from a kid in the Hub."

"You know, I knew you'd be modifying that arm, but I kind of figured you'd... do something a little more fiery."

"Oh, the flamethrower arm is right over there..."

 **66.12 Shimmer712**

"Hey, Sun."

The monkey faunus looked over his shoulder at the other blond. "Hi, Jaune."

"You seem down," the older looper commented. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really," Sun shrugged. "Just some realizations."

"Like?"

Sun combed his hand through his hair. "Well, I'm the only looper on my team. They won't remember anything. Neptune is my best friend, he's practically my brother. We're close enough that some people have completed misread the relationship but I'm going to be changing and he won't. None of them will." Sun groaned, tipping his head back. "It just hit me how big this will be."

"Yeah, I have to admit I'm disappointed about Neptune not looping," Jaune sighed. "I don't know the rest of your team that well but he and I got along okay. Spent several loops giving him dancing lessons and stuff."

Sun chuckled. "Yeah, he is...was...whatever...pretty bad at that."

"He can be pretty insecure about that," Jaune said. "And other stuff."

"And he's going to stay that way," Sun said unhappily.

Jaune sighed. "I have to admit, it will be hard," he said. "But are you going to up and leave them because they're not looping?"

"No!" Sun snapped. "I mean, yeah, it'll suck and I might just take off some loops but I'm not abandoning them! They're my friends!"

"Okay then," Jaune shrugged. "Then just deal with things as they come. Spend time with them. See how you can help them. Try and cure Neptune's water-phobia." Jaune paused. "I mean, we've tried but the loop always restarts before we make real progress."

"So basically, roll with it?"

"Pretty much," Jaune agreed.

Sun hummed to himself. "So are you going to tell me what's bugging you older loopers?" he asked. "I know Ruby has one of her copies or something off all the time dealing with whatever it is. And it's obviously a big deal but what is it?"

Jaune winced and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Sun, I'm sorry we're keeping it from you guys. But believe me when I say it was a big, _big_ thing that happened and it's probably the reason new loopers activated. We just want to get things settled and ...fixed is the best word I guess, before we drop that bomb on you."

"So we will know," Sun said quietly. "It's just a matter of time."

"Yeah," Jaune nodded. "I'll talk to the others about it if you want."

Sun considered the offer before shaking his head. "Nah. I mean, I wanna help. What are friends for? But I'm still adjusting to all this so I don't know how much help I'll be. So I'll just wait until you guys are ready."

"Thanks, Sun."

"No problem!" There was a pause as the conservation lulled. "...So, I hear you and Pyrrha got married? Can I hear about that?"

"Sure. It was just something that we talked about one day, just a random thought but then we started thinking about it..."

 **66.13 Masterweaver**

Tick tock went the clock, as the two of them stared at each other across the table.

"...Soooo." Sun let his eyes move around. "You... have a nice house."

Taiyang leaned back. "You know, when Yang told me she was bringing a boy over, I kind of thought it would go a little differently then this."

Sun managed a chuckle. "Yeah, all she told me was 'Hey my dad's looping, want to have some male bonding time?' and then..." He gestured vaguely. "I don't know exactly what, but next thing I know I was here. Honestly, I think she just wanted to get me away so she could have some time alone with Blake."

"Her partner? Didn't she, uh..." Taiyang trailed off for a moment. "Right, time travel, she hasn't run off yet."

"And she probably won't. Not since, you know..."

"I... know what?"

Sun blinked. "You... don't know?"

"Apparently not. What is I'm supposed to know that I don't know?"

"They're-!" Sun paused. "Actually, this is one of those things that should really come from Yang now that I think about it."

Taiyang stared at him for a moment or two. "...Wait. They're not dating, are they?"

"Uh, that's-that's right, they're _dating!"_ The teenager laughed awkwardly. "Surprised me too, ya know, that on top of finding myself back in time. So, yeah, Blake's not going to be running, I don't think."

"Huh." Taiyang took a moment or two to process that. "...Well, I always suspected Yang swung both ways," he finally admitted. "And I guess they've had a number of... loops to get to know each other. Which is still kind of weird to think about."

"You're telling me." Sun held up his hands. "Last thing I remember I was in Menagerie recovering from a stab wound, and suddenly I'm back on the boat to Vale."

"A stab wound?"

"Yeah, there was this White Fang chick with a lightning whip, she..." Sun paused. "Actually, how much _do_ you know about Blake?"

Taiyang frowned. "She's my daughter's partner, she's been dating Yang for who knows how long, and apparently not much else. How much do _you_ know about Blake?"

"...Enough to say I am not nearly brave enough to talk about her with you when she's not in the room." Sun cleared his throat. "I do have her scroll number-"

"I have Yang's."

"Oh, good. Let's call them both here so you can direct your fatherly fury at somebody who is _not me."  
_  
Taiyang narrowed his eyes. "You're really trying to pass the buck here."

"What can I say, I may not understand the loops just yet but I'm really, really familiar with angry dads."

"And why, praytell, would you be familiar with angry dads?"

"Uh, well-OH! Hey!" Sun held his scroll to his ear. "Blake, so so sorry to interrupt you and Yang, but, uh, Tai here apparently doesn't know that much about you."

There was a faint _"What?!"_ from the other end.

"Yeah, I know, surprised me too."

 _"Yang, you didn't tell your dad about me?!_

"I was trying to give him time to-"

"You dropped off Sun without-"

"I thought they'd hit it off-"

"You know how bad Sun is with keeping quiet!"

"I'm not bad at keeping quiet!" Sun protested. "Name one time-"

 _"Told Neptune I was a faunus."_

"Okay, but he was a friend. Name another-"

 _"Told my dad I had great moves."_

Taiyang quirked a brow as Sun slumped. "Okay, okay. Fine, so I'm bad with-I just thought Yang would have told him about-"  
 _  
"I thought so too."_

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. Ugh, fine. Tell Sun to tell dad we'll be there in, uh, thirty minutes."

"Sun, can you tell Tai to expect us in half an hour?"

"Will do. Should I... stay here or-"

 _"Keep him occupied, but be ready to get out when we get there."_

"Alright. Uh, sorry again for, you know-"

 _"It's not your fault, don't worry. Bye, Sun."_

"See you late-and she hung up." Sun gave Tai an awkward grin. "So, uh, they'll be here in thirty minutes, apparently."

Taiyang nodded slowly. "Thirty minutes. So... what am I supposed to do until then?"

"Uh... I don't know. How'd you find out about the loops?"

"My dog started talking."

"...What?"

Taiyang looked over his shoulder. "Hey Zwei?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you come in here and prove I'm not crazy?"

"Alright." A corgi trotted in, looking up. "Ah, right! Mister Wukong. Yang did mention you joined us. Welcome to the loops."

"...What's with the accent?" Sun managed.

"Personal preference."

"So," Taiyang began. "Sun tells me you're dating my little dragon."

Blake tilted her head, looking behind the man to the boy standing behind him. "Dating."

"Uh, yeah. Dating!" Sun nodded. "That is exactly what I said."

Blake turned to Yang. "Dating."

Yang nodded. "Dating."

Blake turned back to Taiyang. "Dating. Yes. Your daughter and I are, in fact, dating."

The clock ticked on for a moment or two.

"...You've had sex haven't you," Taiyang deadpanned.

"Frequently," Yang replied with a cheeky smirk. "Do you want tips?"

Blake facepalmed. "Oh sweet Yggdrasil, Yang, can you at least try to stick with the script?"

"Yeah, I think I should be going," Sun said. "This looks like something I really shouldn't even be here for-hey Zwei, can you use your awesome looper powers to give me a ride to Vale?"

"Oh very well. Tai, don't be too harsh on the girl," the corgi advised as he walked out. "Yang did lose an arm for her."

Blake winced, even as the two of them left. "...Okay, so... yeah, the arm thing is true, but I didn't _ask_ her to do it-"

"I saved her life, she won my heart." Yang shrugged. "Most of the multiverse considers that a fair trade."

"It is not nearly that simple and you know it."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "You put up with this sort of thing all the time?" he asked Blake.

"Oh, yes."

"You know she gets her sense of humor from me."

"She's only gotten worse over the loops," Blake confided. "She's taken up punning!"

"Hey!" Yang cried indignantly. "I don't do _just_ punning! I'm a master of general wordplay, thank you very much."

Taiyang whistled low. "Wow, you put up with all that? I guess you really must love her."

"...Yeah." Blake nodded. "Yeah, I do." She and Yang looked into each other's eyes for a moment or two.

"...Alrighty then." Taiyang clapped his hands together. "So, since this relationship is something I've obviously had no input in, I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it."

Yang blinked, turning back to him. "Oh. Yeah, uh. You know I'd have brought her over sooner-actually did, sometimes, but... loops... weirdness. Yeah."

"Mister Xiao Long, I assure you that no matter what else happens, I will do whatever it takes to keep Yang from falling apart."

Taiyang narrowed his eyes. "Really."

"...Yes."

"Alright." Taiyang folded his arms. "Explain to me why Sun thinks being stabbed by a White Fang member in Menagerie is somehow related to you."

Yang winced. "Ooo, he doesn't start with the easy ones, does he?"

Blake took a breath. "Adam Taurus, the man who cut off Yang's arm in baseline, is my abusive ex. He convinces the Vale branch of the White Fang to go rogue and plans to take over the whole organization to duplicate the fall of Beacon worldwide. The White Fang member who stabbed Sun has information regarding the coup on her scroll."

"And what, exactly, were you doing with the White Fang in the first place?"

"Dad," Yang growled warningly.

"It's alright." Blake slowly removed her ribbon, allowing her ears to emerge.

Taiyang's face grew stony.

"...My parents actually led the Fang, back when it was a protest group. After it started getting more violent, they... left in protest. I took a bit longer, I'll admit... I was under Adam's wing at that point. But during a train heist, he made it clear he didn't care if the crew died, and... that was the line. I left him then, went to Beacon, and that's where I met Yang." She sighed. "Then it turned out Adam had been roped into the plan that caused the breach on Vale, and Beacon's fall, and... and that he wanted complete control. So, in baseline, I ran home, and..."

"It's okay." Yang wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "You know I've forgiven you for that."

"I know, but..." Blake looked up at the muscular man, knowing full well that she could easily knock him out, and found her heart quivering in fear. "...Mister Xiao Long, I understand you have personal reasons to distrust anyone with a history like mine. Somebody with a criminal background, who ran away when things got tough, who... is responsible for the pain your daughter went through. I... can't say enough how sorry I am for all the mistakes I've made. Even with the second chances the loops provide, it doesn't mean all that didn't happen, and... I do regret it, very much."

She let her gaze grow steely. "But I don't regret my relationship with Yang. Not one iota."

Taiyang nodded. "...Would you mind stepping outside for a moment?"

"Dad-"

"It's okay," Blake assured Yang. "I'll be on the porch." She walked out, pausing in the doorframe and looking over her shoulder for a moment, before she quietly shut the door behind her.

"...So." Taiyang gave his daughter a long look. "You love her, huh?"

"Yep."

He nodded, once. "After all the shit she put you through, you'd have to."

"Dad." Yang's voice was hard, but pleading.

For a moment, he looked at her.

Then he put on a small smile. "Alright. Alright, I'm terrible at this tough-guy act anyway. And you've been together for, what, a few millennia at this point?"

Yang relaxed. "Yeah, the time scale is pretty impressive."

"Okay. I'm not going to lie, I'm still a little worried about that Adam fellow, but from what I'm hearing you can handle all that."

"So, you're... cool with Blake?"

"What matters is that she makes you happy. And that she doesn't drag you into a life of twisted debauchery."

"Oh, no worries, I don't need any help there."

Taiyang chuckled. "So, should you invite her back in or is she listening at the door?"

"Listening at the door!" came the shout from the porch.

"Shameless, huh?"

Yang grinned. "Yeah, I taught her well."

 **66.14 LithosMaitreya, Masterwaver**

"Brother, dear," said the familiar voice.

Qrow stopped in his descent from the lodgings upstairs and glanced over at his sister. "Hey, Rae," he said.

Raven Branwen glared. "Don't call me that," she hissed. "Care to explain yourself?"

Qrow cocked his head. "Explain what?" he asked.

"Explain what you've been doing," Raven said coldly, "gallivanting across Anima with that harlot of a Schnee—"

She didn't get farther than that, because Qrow's scythe had impaled itself in the wall behind her, forming a hook around her which corralled her into her brother's space.

Qrow met his sister's eyes. "You don't get to insult her," he said flatly. "That woman's been a hell of a lot more loyal and trustworthy than _you_. Now that you've finally shown up, let's talk."

Raven blinked once and then her eyes narrowed, seemingly unruffled by her brother's sudden move. "You were trying to draw me out."

"And you fell for it like a brick," Qrow said flatly. "We have more important things to talk about."

Winter's heeled boots made their distinctive clicking sound behind him—a deliberate action, Qrow knew, to let him know she'd arrived from upstairs.

"What, such as?" Raven asked coldly.

Qrow smiled. "What was the last news you heard from Beacon?" he asked.

Raven blinked. "What kind of stupid question is that?" she asked.

"An important one," Winter growled, coming abreast of Qrow. "Answer it, if you please."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Last I heard," she said dryly, "the Huntsmen were completely failing to rebuild. What more do you want?"

Qrow met Winter's eyes.

"Damn," she said. "Yang is _not_ going to like this."

Qrow shrugged. "She acquitted herself in the battle," he said. He withdrew his scythe and turned back to Raven. "Right," he said. "You're coming with us to Beacon. We can do that the easy way, with one of your portals, or the hard way."

Raven tensed. "You're really going to try and drag me back?" she asked grimly.

Qrow shook his head. "Honestly, I don't give a damn about you and Tai and your whole fucked-up relationship with family," he said frankly. "I have bigger fish to fry, and so do you, and I'd rather you get the spiel from sources you trust more than me."

Winter produced a scroll. "Here," she said, handing it to Raven. "What do you notice?"

Raven took it cautiously and turned it on. "It's—" she began, and stopped, staring. "The CCT's up," she said quietly.

"Beacon isn't set to fall for another nine months," Qrow said. "We can explain everything better there. You coming?"

Raven met his eyes. "What is going on, Qrow?" she asked, a growl building in her throat. "I want an explanation. Now, dammit."

Qrow sighed. "Time's looping," he said. "Has been for along time. New people get added to it sometimes, so they remember the cycles. This time, you're it."

"Welcome to the Multiverse," Winter said lightly. "Leave your sanity at the door."

Qrow winced. So did Winter, after a moment. "Too soon, perhaps," she said.

"Definitely," Qrow agreed. "Now, Rae, you coming?"

Raven's teeth were clenched. She was looking from Winter's scroll back at her brother. "Fine," she said darkly. "You betray me, and being my brother won't save you."

"No," Qrow agreed. "Being _better_ will. Now, are you gonna give us a portal, or do I have to call up Ruby to shuttle us over?"

Raven sat motionlessly in the chair. Her face was expressionless, but her hands dug into the armrests. Behind her stood her brother and the Schnee... woman, strategically placed to keep her from leaving. Ozpin quirked an eyebrow, looking at her from across his desk. Glynda was tapping away on her own Scroll, but the way her eyes continued darting towards her made it clear she was watching her carefully. A dark-haired woman with a satchel had spent the whole speech poking at various gears behind their glasswork.

"...that," she finally managed, "is a story not quite like any other you've ever told me, headmaster."

"Indeed. However, it is also true." He brought his hands together. "I'm sure you have many questions."

"And I'm sure you realize I will have to take some time to organize all of them."

"True. I take it you wish to return to your... tribe?"

Raven frowned. "You would simply let me go, without any monitoring?"

"Myself and Qrow will keep close eyes on you," the Schnee woman said simply. "And while I cannot condone your actions, I know that it would be next to impossible to ask you to change, especially as you'll Wake Up leading the raiders nearly every loop-"

A deep rumble suddenly reverberated through the room.

"Ooop," said the satchel-carrying woman, looking down out the window. "Guys, we've got a guest."

Glynda followed her gaze and sighed. "Oh no. Who told her?"

Qrow rose his hand. "My bad. Left her a text, thought she'd take time to cool down-"

That was about all the time he had before _something_ long and golden shot up through the air, crossing the glass with unerring speed. Raven jumped to her feet, her hand on her hilt, but Ozpin held up a hand. "This is probably for the best, it was inevitable anyway. Glynda, will you open the window?"

"I'm not sure that's a wise idea, Oz."

"Do you really think a pane of glass is going to stop her?" the white-haired woman asked coolly, even as the golden thing made another pass.

Glynda sighed. "You have a point. Let's just get this over with." With a wave of her riding crop, the window... flowed aside, exposing the room to the frigid air.

A long golden form rushed through the aperture, flowing around the room like fire and lightning and roaring with rage and fury. It made no less then four revolutions, coiling itself around the gathered individuals, before at last it allowed itself to come to rest. Ten powerful talons kneaded Ozpin's desk, careful to leave naught more then cracks, while a scaly antlered expression growled threateningly into Raven's face, teeth like daggers and eyes...

...like lilacs...

Raven peered at the creature, even as its expression contorted in barely restrained wrath. "...Yang?"

The growl died away, the anger lessened, but it did not vanish. "So. You do recognize me."

"...Sunny little dragon," Raven murmured, half to herself.

"Who are you calling little?"

Very slowly, Raven removed her hand from her hilt, taking her seat once more. "...Could I ask," she said in a forced calm, "for everyone who isn't related to me by blood to leave the room?"

Qrow snorted. "You're going to trust me to keep you safe here?"

"Yes."

"Huh." He nodded. "Alright. You heard the lady, everybody out."

Ozpin nodded. "We'll be a couple of floors down, calming down the guards." The elevators opened up, allowing him and the three other woman in the room into a small chamber.

As soon as the doors shut, Raven let out a long, slow breath, steadying herself. "...I guess... I guess we have a lot to talk about."

Qrow gave Yang a look. "Maybe you should drop the scales, firebrand. We literally just finished giving her the speech a minute before you came by."

The dragon snuffed, glancing at the woman, and backed off slightly. Raven watched her whole form start to glow, dissolving from the tail up to the body as it shrunk into something more recognizably humanoid. When the glow died away, she beheld a blonde girl in an odd mishmash of clothing who looked almost like a mirror image of her.

Yang sat back in the headmaster's chair, kicking her feet up on the cracked desk. "So, where are we going to start, huh? Because most of the questions I have for _you_ are loop variable, but I'm pretty sure the same isn't true in reverse."

Raven blinked. She considered her carefully. "...you seemed very... angry when you came in."

"Oh, yeah, I'm very angry. Like, sixty, seventy five percent angry. You could say I'm Yangry, if you wanted."

"Yangry."

Yang shrugged. "I like wordplay, it makes me feel smart."

Raven nodded vaguely. "And... why are you so angry?"

"Because," Yang said very slowly, "the woman who abandoned me as an infant, left my father heartbroken, and regularly destroys and/or causes the destruction of towns is now looping, and I cannot afford to look the other way because the last time we did that-"

"We haven't told her about Cinder," Qrow interjected. "One mind-breaking revelation at a time, you know."

Yang paused, and eventually shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess."

Raven looked between them. "Cinder. Who is Cinder?"

"Cinder is..." Yang searched for a moment or two. "Cinder's situation is complicated," she finally said.

Qrow snorted.

"It is and you know it," Yang reprimanded him. "No matter how we feel about her, the whole thing's a mess."

"Right, right." The man took a sip from his hip flask. "We're not talking about her right now though."

"Right. So." Yang put her hands behind her head. "As I said, I am very angry that you have become a problem I can no longer ignore. Intensely angry. And if I were even a few millennia younger, I would probably be punching you in the face right now."

Raven's eyes widened. "Millennia."

"Loops. Billions of years, big time abyss. I'm an immortal trapped in the body of a seventeen-year-old." She paused. "Well, okay, I say trapped, but the multiverse is big and I'm sure there are some age-altering potions and spells out there, and also I can turn into a dragon, so I'm not entirely trapped. More like... assigned. Point is, I am very old, very powerful, and very pissed off."

"...huh." Raven leaned back into her chair. "My daughter is billions of years old."

Yang swung her feet slowly off the desk, putting her hands down where they had rested as she rose. "My mother," she said in a tone like steel, "was Summer Rose. She is the one who raised me, who taught me right from wrong, who ensured I knew I was loved. I might be willing to reconnect with you, Raven Branwen, to learn to understand you and consider you family because you're looping. Hell, if you somehow manage to work through the shit you put Taiyang through and through some fluke of divine fortune actually get back together with him, I'd be okay with it since you two would presumably be supporting each other. But. If you ever. Call me. Your daughter again..."

Her entire form turned to fire, hair like a great pyre as the cracks in the glass melted back together.

 **"...you will seriously regret it."**

Raven watched her, very still for a moment or two.

"...I suppose that's fair," she finally replied, only the slightest quaver in her voice.

"Nice work," Qrow complimented, "very intimidating. The fiery growl really sells it."

The pillar of fire shrugged, returning to human form. "Yeah, Ruby has Bloodrose, I figured I'd keep Sunfire around. Still need a burrito to go full power, though."

"Thought you got rid of the burrito thing when you cleaned out the Grimmew."

"I mean, I was gonna, but Blake was lonely. Then I figured, what the hell, work with what you got."

Raven looked between the two of them as they bantered. "...Should I even ask?"

"Long story," Yang replied, "and not really relevant to the situation." She smiled, a slight edge to her teeth. "So, besides asking exactly why I am so angry, did you have any other questions?"


	67. Depression

**67.1 Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven stared. She was just asked if she had any more questions; as if her just being threatened didn't happen. Deep down, somewhere in her subconscious, she knew she had no right to call herself Yang's mother. She left Tai and little Yang behind. Sure, she had her reasons, but that didn't change what happened. It didn't lessen the hurt of those she abandoned. She always expected anger from Yang if they ever met again. She expected yelling and declarations of her not being a real mother; they were true, after all. She made her choice. But, somehow, she never considered that merely calling Yang her daughter would create such a dangerous response. And something inside her twisted at that; especially when the other person in the room treated the intimidating response so nonchalantly. Like a joke. As if scaring her and making her feel so small was a non issue. It made her think back to how Qrow reacted when she insulted his Schnee girlfriend. Not much of a surprise. Her brother was always quick when it came to protecting those he cared about, but he never got physical so quickly over a relatively minor slight. He'd give warnings first and make it clear he didn't appreciate your tone. But he hooked her with his scythe so quickly... No warning. No hesitation.

Was there something wrong with him to make him have such a short fuse?

Wrong with Yang?

Or was there nothing wrong with them at all?

Did they really hate her that much? Was that the other reason they brought her here, besides explaining the Loops? To let her know of their displeasure with her? To let her know how small she was compared to them, and that if she did something they didn't like, they'd punish her as if she were some kind of wild animal? Were these the kind of emotions she brought out of her fa- former family? Raven knew she should have expected it. She was a bandit: a murderer and thief. She has ruined many lives. She was the bad guy. The villain. And they were ashamed of her for it. As they should be. It was her own fault.

But she never expected so much hostility. Especially not when combined with such frightening power. It terrified her. Made her feel weak.

And was causing her to lose her temper.

"Yes," Raven began. She stood up from the chair she was sitting on and placed her own hands on the desk and leaned forward, her face set in a scowl. She was shaking slightly. "I do have another question."

They brought her here, revealing impossible things so beyond the scope of the Maidens and Salem. And then, when her head was already having trouble wrapping itself around the implications of infinite time loops, a literal dragon came in like a whirlwind and turned her perception of the world even more upside down when she realized it was her daughter. A daughter who apparently had no problem threatening violence upon her for committing the seemingly terrible crime of _referring_ to her as her daughter; showing incredible power that Raven had never felt before while doing so. It scared her.

"There is something I'd like to know," continued Raven, her voice tight.

And then Qrow and Yang joked about it as if it was acceptable to make her feel so insignificant, so small. So weak and vulnerable. They were ganging up on her, she felt like a cornered animal, and they were _laughing about it!_ Were they really using this as a chance to punish her for hurting them all those years ago. If so, she refused to be treated this way!

Fortunately, Qrow knew his sister had a bit of a temper, and realized he and Yang were sending the wrong message. Unfortunately, he realized _too late_ that he and Yang may have made a miscalculation. "Wait, Raven, hold on-"

So Raven did what she always did when she felt backed into a corner. When she felt like she was in danger. For a woman like Raven, the best defense was an overwhelming offense. So she pushed back. She lashed out.

Raven looked Yang straight in the eye. "Exactly how do you plan on making me regret calling you my daughter, **my daughter**?"

Instantly flames surrounded the perimeter of the Headmaster's office and started raising the temperature inside the room. Yang's eyes were a burning red with utter hatred as she glared at Raven.

"You really want to test me, huh?" she growled, her hands tightening into fist as her anger surged. "You really want to push your luck with me?"

Qrow shouted at his niece. "Yang, stop!"

"So quick to anger," mocked Raven as she too growled. "I guess that means you are **my daughter** , after all!"

"I am nothing like you!"

"Really? You sure act like it! Because I find it hard to believe that the Summer Rose I knew would raise you to be a bully!"

Yang flinched back as if she was slapped, the ring of fire disappearing in her shock. Then her eyes narrowed and she grit her teeth. "How dare you-"

"You came roaring in here as a large, flaming dragon in order to intimidate me," Raven interrupted. "And just a minute ago you had no problem putting the fear of the gods into me with that display of your power. That's something _I_ would've done. I guess it's true what they say, 'like mother, like **daughter**.'"

"Stop calling me your daughter!"

"Or what?! You're supposed to make me regret it, right? Well, what are you waiting for? I'm right here! Make me regret it! I'm giving you all the excuse you need! Attack me just like I know you want to!"

"Stop this, both of you!" Qrow shouted, placing himself between his niece and sister in order to separate them.

Raven's breathing was harsh as she tried and failed to regain her usual composure. She needed to calm down but she couldn't. She was being an instigator, she knew. A hypocrite. It was unfair of her. She had no right to get angry by Yang's loathing of her. She always knew this was how it would end between her and Yang. She expected it. But she was so angry by it. Why? She made her choice. _She_ abandoned _them_. _She_ hurt _them_. It was not her place to get angry. She knew she lost that right. But when Yang said not to call her daughter, when she turned into a pillar of fire and declared her intent to deliver harsh retribution if it ever happened again; it _hurt_. It hurt more than Raven was ever willing to imagine in the past. And as a habit, Raven wanted to hurt back. It was a personality flaw that she knew was one of the causes for her team falling apart.

Why did she care, anyway? She spent years telling herself she didn't care about them anymore. That they weren't exempt from her rules. She put that fantasy of a normal life behind her. But if she she was reacting so strongly- did that mean...

... She _did_ care?

Immediately, she felt drained. It was too much. The truth of time loops, Yang's aggressive rejection of her, the argument, the resurfacing of feelings she thought long buried beneath pragmatism...

"Yang," Qrow said as he faced his niece, "you have to calm down."

" _I_ have to calm down?" Yang exclaimed in disbelief. "She's the one trying to start a fi-"

"You put her on fight-or-flight mode when you pulled that stunt of yours, and since she couldn't escape..."

"Fine," Yang grumbled. "I'm not sorry, though."

Before Qrow could respond to that, Raven spoke up.

"I am."

Yang and Qrow both snapped back to Raven, shocked looks on their faces.

"What?" asked Yang faintly as she tried to register that Raven Branwen actually _apologized.  
_  
"I'm sorry," Raven repeated, looking to the floor. Her voice was low; subdued. Tired. "I had no right to get angry. And I had no right to throw Summer in your face. That was cruel of me."

Qrow began to interject while Yang was trying to come out of her shock. "Raven-"

"You don't have to say any more," Raven continued as she ignored Qrow's attempt to get a word in. "I got the message. I'm not welcome here."

Her words shook Yang out of her stupor. What was happening? This wasn't what she expected to happen.

"Wait," she said as stared at Raven. "You got it all wrong. I said I was willing to give you a chance, remember? I just didn't want you-"

Raven shook her head in the negative. "People are more honest when they are angry, and you made sure I knew how much you loathe me when I wrongfully referred to you as my daughter." She stiffened suddenly and then relaxed so quickly that any non-looper would have missed it. "It was very frightening, I admit. Though I guess that _was_ your intention."

Yang was shaking her head in denial as she took a step towards her biological mother. "Look, I wasn't trying to-." She stopped when she saw Raven take a sudden and jerky step back as her hand went for her sword; only managing to stop herself halfway there and lower her hand to her side as she relaxed her stance and warily watched Yang like a hawk for any sudden movements. The implications of what she just witnessed hit Yang like a truck and rooted her on the spot. _'She's afraid of me!'_ The revelation alone made a chill run through her veins and sent a queasy feeling to her stomach.

Knowing things were getting out of hand, Qrow tried to intervene. "Raven, please. Calm down. This is all just a huge misunderstanding."

"No," replied Raven, "I always knew I didn't belong here. So I'll leave and make sure to never bother you ever again." She proceeded to slowly withdraw her sword from her sheath, making sure to not make any sudden move that would cause either Yang or Qrow to think she was going to attack, and opened a portal.

Qrow called out to stop her. "Raven, wait."

"I'll make sure to keep myself in Anima for the rest of the time loops," Raven informed them both, ignoring her brother's pleas. "That way I'll lift the burden of being a 'problem you have to put up with' from you."

Then she walked through her portal and disappeared.

There was silence in the room as uncle and niece stared at the spot that Raven used to occupy.

"Uncle Qrow," Yang asked after a moment of gathering her thoughts, "what just happened?"

Qrow sighed as he took out a flask and took a big gulp of its contents. "We screwed up, firecracker. Raven doesn't like feeling weak. And between all the secrets we revealed to her about the Loops, and the way you decided to make your displeasure at being called her daughter known, we must have made her feel very small. Especially with the intimidation act you pulled."

The reminder of how she handled that event made her wince as she also remembered how _Raven_ handled it. "She's afraid of me. I scared her so much, she truly believes I'm one step away from... from..."

"I know," said Qrow. "I saw."

Yang buried her head in her hands. "I wasn't going to... That wasn't what I meant when I said..." What had she meant when she blew up into a pillar of fire and made her threat? She didn't actually know. She just said the first thing that came to her head in her anger. It was bad enough that Raven was now a Looper she couldn't avoid anymore, but then the woman had the nerve to call Yang her daughter after everything she had done. It caused her to lose her cool. But it seemed she took it too far. Raven was genuinely frightened of her now, and the fear in her eyes that Yang saw made her feel sick. She may not have forgiven Raven for everything she has done, but she was definitely in the wrong at this moment. "I didn't want this to happen. I didn't mean to scare her away."

"I know you didn't, Yang," Qrow said in sympathy as he put a hand on her shoulder. "But she didn't. And _I_ probably didn't help with that misunderstanding when I tried to lighten the mood by joking about your intimidation tactics. She must have saw it as us teaming up on her."

Shaking her head, Yang let out an aggravated sigh. "Why did I let myself lose control like that?"

"Don't blame yourself too much," reassured her uncle. "All of us have been emotionally compromised by what Cinder has done-" He paused, then suddenly slapped his hand against his forehead. "Aw, _shit_!"

Yang lifted her head from her hands and looked to Qrow in confusion. "What is it?"

"Raven still doesn't know what happened with Cinder," reminded Qrow. "We'll have to bring her back after we find the final new Looper so she can be here when we finally reveal everything about what happend."

Yang scoffed bitterly. "I'm pretty sure she metaphorically washed her hands of us when she walked into her portal. How are we going to convince her to come back?"

"We'll send somebody neutral," Qrow answered after thinking about it for a second. "Somebody that can keep their head around her. That way, she won't feel threatened."

"Who? Zwei?"

"Maybe."

They were silent for a moment before Yang sighed once again.

"Well," Yang said as she approached the opening in Ozpin's window, "I'm going to cool off. Maybe head back to Blake."

As he watched his niece about to make her exit, Qrow couldn't help but feel worried.

"Hey, Yang," he called out to her in concern. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Yang stood there for several seconds, silent. She then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I will be," she said. Then she begrudgingly added, "I just gotta get over the fact that I may have to apologize to my murderous thief of a deadbeat mother for my behavior."

Qrow chuckled. "Good luck with that," he said with half smile. Then his face grew serious. "Yang, I know we've given her a lot of shit over the Loops; especially when we found out what she does for a living, but-" Qrow thought back to the last Loop and the look on that Raven's face when it was revealed to him that an alternate vampire version of herself murdered his family. The pain and the shame was clear to him then. "-I doubt she's irredeemable. And it will take a long time, a really long time, but I'm confident that the day will come when you will not regret giving her a chance."

Yang turned back to look him in the eye, searchingly, as if trying to find any truth to that statement. Whatever she found must of satisfied her, because she nodded and turned back to her method of exit. "Maybe. We'll see." She took off; flying to her destination at high speeds.

Qrow watched her go. Then he walked over to Ozpin's chair and collapsed into it with an explosive sigh. "What a mess."

=-=-=-=-=-=

A large red portal opened up in the middle of a bandit camp in Anima; one that every member of the tribe that lived there recognized as the strange phenomena that heralded the return of their leader. As expected, the Nevermore Queen herself strode out of the portal before it closed. Each purpose filled step she took brought her closer to her tent. It was then that one of her lieutenants approached her.

"My lady," he began, "may I ask where it is you have been- Urk!"

Raven had grabbed the man roughly by the collar and lifted him into the air before pulling down to eye level. "I am retiring to my tent," she growled out in order to make it clear she was in a bad mood. "And unless we are about to be invaded by a flood of Grimm or Huntsmen, I do **not** want to be disturbed. Is that clear?"

The lieutenant frantically nodded his head to show he understood and stammered out, "Y-yes, ma'am!"

"Good." She tossed the man away, not caring where he landed and stormed into her large private tent. Once inside, she began to pace back and forth. She was growing more agitated the longer it happened until, suddenly, she let out a bellow of rage and self-loathing as she flipped the table in the middle of her room; spilling its contents all over the floor of her living space.

She panted heavily in aggravation as she stared at the destruction she made before placing her head in her hands and backing up until she collapsed onto the couch that was behind her.

Raven sat there in silence for several minutes. The only sounds in the tent that could be heard came from outside, where the family she chose continued to live out their lives.

The only family, she long ago realized, she could ever really be a part of. And now, there was no faint, subconscious, deluded fantasy in her imagination where that wasn't true.

"Congratulations, Raven," she muttered bitterly to herself, "You fucked up. As always."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.2 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Cardin."

Cardin Winchester looked up at the childish voice of the girl Ozpin let in for some reason and froze, his hand releasing the animal's ear without command. Her cold silver eyes burned into him with a deep rage. Her scythe was still folded up and she was not acting in a threatening manner, but the world seemed to fall away as a ethereal blade hooked around his neck. The sounds of the Beacon cafeteria died away, leaving absolute silence that stole away the rasping of his breath and the beat of his heart. Red drifted into his vision, the tables and chairs, the students and the room itself breaking apart into the a mass of petals that swirled around the girl glaring at him in the seething darkness. The faint scent of roses filled his nostrils.

"I am not happy, at all." The Harbinger of Death pulled her blood stained hood on, casting her face into silver-lit shadows, every word was precise and formal. The irrelevant thought flickered through Cardin's mind that this would be far more terrifying if she was talking in her normal manner, as now there was a disconnect in his mind between Ruby Rose and this Avatar of Endings.

"I have a bad few years and now I come here to see you harassing Velvet simply because she has rabbit ears? I am not in the mood to put up with it. Stop harassing people, full stop. I do not care what you think, if a person is a an animal, a dork, have a differing orientation, if they are poor, or whatever reasoning you may find to pick on them. _Think_ what you will, but you will not _act_ on it. If you do not stop, I will ensure you are expelled. Understood?"

Cardin nodded rapidly, his mouth refusing to respond.

After a moment she turned away with a sharp nod and Remnant returned. Leaving Cardinal pale and shaking, Ruby left unnoticed by the rest of the hall as her clone entertained the rest of her team. No one saw the tears that began to flow down her cheeks as her rage died as quickly as it came, leaving only grief and a deep emptiness.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.3 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang jolted when the front door slammed open, hard enough to bounce against the wall. "What the-?"

"ZWEI!" Yang yelled, her voice filled with resigned rage as she slumped in. She sagged against a wall, breathing heavily.

The corgi was quickly at her feet, even as Tai moved toward his daughter. "Yang, what-?"

"Zwei, I need you to do me a big favor," Yang said, ignoring her father for the moment. "Can you keep an eye on... somebody, for me?"

Zwei frowned up at her. "Somebody. You're going to have to be more-"

"Our third looper, I..." She collapsed to her knees. "Gods, I screwed up. I screwed up, so much."

Taiyang knelt down, wrapping her in his arms. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

"Third looper?" Zwei frowned. "We've found them? Who is it, what happened?"

"I... didn't think. I said... I was..." Yang took a steadying breath. "Just keep an eye on her, Zwei, don't... don't approach her, or anything, just make sure you know where she is, she doesn't know about Cinder yet."

" _I_ don't know about Cinder yet," Taiyang pointed out. "Would it help if-"

"We're waiting until we find all the new loopers," Zwei explained. "Get you settled in... Yang, I can't keep an eye on anyone if you don't tell me who-"

"Anima. She... she's in Anima."

The corgi went very still. "...Anima."

"Anima."

A long, slow sigh escaped his muzzle. "I'm not even going to ask what you said to her."

"Thanks, Zwei-"

"No, don't thank me. You are going to have to clean up your mess, sooner rather then later!"

Yang winced. "I know. But-"

"But somebody needs to keep an eye on her." Zwei nodded with a frustrated growl. "I'll have to take Neo along, _after_ I talk with Ozpin about this."

Yang managed a small smile. "Don't get too distracted with-" She shut her mouth abruptly at his glower.

Taiyang looked between them. "Do I... do I want to ask?"

Yang looked at him, desperate shame filling her eyes.

"He deserves to know," Zwei said quietly.

She sighed, letting her hair flow over her face. "...Raven. The new looper... she's Raven." She flinched at the sudden tension in his muscles.

Zwei nodded. "There it is, then." He paused. "...Before I head out, why don't we hit the pub? I think you two could use a drink."

"Zwei, you know I-"

"They don't serve just booze, Yang."

"...fair point." She sighed. "I'll call Blake, hopefully she can be our designated... something."

=-=-=-=-=-=

Blake rarely went into Patch's primary port-usually when she was on the island she was there to visit Yang, or Yang's family. But neither of those had been at the house, so she had wandered into town-taking the opportunity to clear a few beowolves-and tracked her fiancee down.

And immediately facepalmed. "Oh, geeze. Yang..."

"Oh heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Blake! You are here, in the here place!"

"You couldn't wait fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes!"

"I waited, like... ten. But you know, then Dad said I couldn't hold my booze." Yang laughed. "He was right!"

Taiyang slumped over his drink. "I didn't think you'd try to have twelve shots of the highest proof."

"Well. I was taught. ByauhQrow." Yang poked his shoulder. "And I don't do this so often."

Blake threw up her hands. "Yang, why are you even drinking."

"Cause. I. Am a bitch." Yang grabbed a shotglass, drained it in one gulp, and slammed it on the bar. "A heartless fucking bitch, is what I am!"

The bartender gave Blake a resigned look. "She's been saying that since her sixth shot."

"Why did you even sell her beer?" she demanded. "She's seventeen!"

Yang burst out laughing. "Oh, right, _that_ lie! Blake." She spun around on her barstool, going through a couple revolutions with a cheery whoop before making herself stop. "Blake," she said again. "Blake. Look. If I was, like, seventeen. How could I be such a heartless bitch."

"Yang," Blake sighed, "you're not a heartless bitch."

"YesIam."

"No you're not."

"YES I FUCKING AM!" Yang suddenly screamed, her fist leaving splinters in the bar. "I'm just, the fucking, worst." Tears started falling down her cheeks. "The worst."

"Heeeeeey," Zwei whimpered. "Come on, Yang. Not like that."

The bartender blinked. "...Tai, your dog just talked."

"Don't be stupid. No such thing." Zwei looked at him. "Clearly I am a midget faunus."

Blake took a deep breath, approaching the bar slowly. "Look. Yang. You know me, you know what I've done. You know who my ex is. So when I say you're not a heartless bitch, I know what I'm talking about, okay?" She took Yang's hand gently. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Yang looked away. "I did a bad thing."

"And I have too."

"I did a really, really bad thing."

"And I have too."

"Like, super bad. Could affect the loops bad."

Blake paused. "...Alright, a little beyond my usual caliber there, but the fact that you regret it-"

"Regret, right." Yang spun back around to the bar, slapping down some more lien. The bartender looked from the splinter, to Zwei rubbing his head, and took a breath-

"Yang, please. You didn't let me help with the Mew. But I want to help with this."

The other girl winced.

Blake put herself on the stool next to her. "Look, all I know is that you got a text on your scroll, stared at it for two minutes, then crushed the thing and went flying off. I've been trying to figure out what happened since then, but the tower's been cordoned off and everybody who was there is still busy bringing the alarm level down. Nobody's told me anything. Don't I deserve to know?"

Yang stared off into the distance for a moment. "...Murders."

"...What?"

"No, wait. Murders are crows. Doesn't work. What's a group of ravens called?"

"Congress. They're called a-oh." Blake's eyes widened. "OH."

"Yeeeeeeeeep." Yang jerked a thumb at her father. "Guess who's back. From outer space. I just... I'm a heartless bitch."

"You're not going to punch the bar again are you?" Zwei whined.

"Seriously," the bartender said, "is nobody going to acknowledge the talking dog?"

"You're not-you didn't hurt anyone, did you?"

"Sticks and stones, they broke no bones. Words, words words words. Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooords. Word up." Yang paused. "...Zwei, I'm sorry."

"Yeah?"

"I've been calling myself a heartless bitch, and that's racist. I'm just a dumb bimbo."

Zwei, Taiyang, and Blake all groaned in unison. Tai managed to pull himself up from his slump. "Yang, you're not dumb, and you're not a bimbo."

"I dunno dad. Blonde, boobs, bare belly... also, Blake." She wrapped an arm around the faunus girl. "Without Blake, I get like super drunk. Blake's my handler. So, bimbo, right?"

Blake sighed. "Look, I can get beating yourself up about a mistake. And yeah, whatever happened, it was probably a mistake. But one mistake does not make you a dumb bimbo."

"Okay, how about two?"

"Yang, bimbohood is not measured in raw quantity but in percentage of detachment from reality. You do not meet the minimum threshold for detachment from reality."

"Oh yeah? Watch this." Yang turned to the bartender. "Hey, guess what, I'm actually immortal and I can turn into a dragon and a pink rat lived in my head and my little sister keeps the world from exploding with her soul and and and! ALSO. We're not real, we're just a CGI world made up for entertainment cause, cause awesome fight scenes. Also sexy girls. Sexy girlfight scenes. So how detached from reality am I?"

The bartender considered her for a moment. "...Well, your dog is talking, and also you're drunk, so I believe you."

"What. No! You're supposed to say IMPOSSIBRUUU or something! Cause I'm a dumb bimbo!" Yang threw her hands up with a frustrated groan, not noticing the appreciative glance Blake gave the bartender.

"Yang," Tai said flatly, "the more you say you're a bimbo, the less attached to reality you sound, so really the only one making you a bimbo here is yourself."

"...You know what, fuck it, I'm going for a burrito."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Blake stood and grabbed Yang's arm even as she started to walk off. "No burritos! Not now! You know what they do to you!"

"But Blaaaaaake! I wanna punch the everything!"

"You can do that without the burrito!"

"But it'd take soooo long!"

"What's this about burritos?" Taiyang asked, spinning around.

"Oh, riiiiiight, you don't know about the burrito thing!" Yang giggled. "Can I show him the burrito thing?"

"NO."

"But-"

"Yang. No. NO BURRITOS."

Zwei nodded. "Yeah, I'm with Blake on this."

"But-but-but." Yang looked around the bar. "...WHY AM I ALWAYS WRONG?!" She sunk to the ground and started crying.

Blake sighed. "You're not always wrong."

"YesIam."

"Wasn't what you were saying last night."

Yang blinked twice. "...what?"

"Well, you knew exactly what you were doing," Blake pointed out. "So you couldn't have been wrong."

"...ooooooooooooooh. Yeah... I did." Yang smiled goofily. "I suuuuuuuuure did."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Do you really need to have this conversation while I'm sitting right here?"

"YOU! Had TWO sexy waifus. You can't expect me to be at all embarrassed about this sort of thing!"

"...Fair enough," Tai allowed with a shrug.

Yang managed a giggle. "Entire team. Hee. ENTIRE TEAM!"

"Aaaaaand she's descended into the memeing," Blake sighed.

"Blake. Blake. Blake." Yang looked up. "Blake, guess what."

"What."

"...Kaliisacougar." The blonde giggled hysterically.

"Riiiiiight." Blake blinked. "Wait. Wait-the catapult."

"What?"

"Last loop," Blake insisted. "The catapult. The car. You remember that, right?"

"...Oh yeah! That was a thing, that people got... into..." Yang trailed off, pushing herself her knees, and started counting on her fingers. "One. Two. Three."

Her eyes met Blake's. "You... don't think...?"

"...I have to check, Yang. I'm sorry, but-"

"No. It's good. If it is, it's good, it's very good."

Blake nodded. "Hey Zwei? You up for a trip?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Zwei grumbled. "Gotta headache."

"I really should not have given you a drink," the bartender said. "Or at least waited until there were more patrons, nobody's going to believe this."

"Wait but-but the congress!" Yang pointed at the dog. "We gotta keep eyes on-"

"Look, I'll get Qrow to put eyes on her. Alright?"

"...Yeah. Yeah that's a good. That's a planthing."

"Alright." Blake patted her shoulder. "It's going to be okay. We'll work through this."

"...Okay..."

"I have to go now, get Qrow on that. If he isn't already. And check... you know."

"Blake." Yang looked at her. "Blake. I just. I am. So super lucky to have you."

"And I'm super lucky to have you." Blake kissed her gently. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Yeah... I'll be waiting."

The dark-haired girl grabbed the dog and headed for the door. "Mister Xaio Long? Can you make sure she doesn't get any more alcohol?"

"...I really should have done that in the first place," Taiyang acknowledged. "I just-"

"No, I get it. Just... trust me, if she gets any more drunk-"

"Imma gonna do a thing," Yang announced, standing up and staggering out the door. "WOO! LET'S DO THE THING!"

"...yeah. That." Blake sighed, walked up to the bartender, and plunked a few plastic cards down. "Look, whatever doesn't cover the bar repairs, give it to this guy for when Yang zonks out, alright?"

Tai blinked. "Wait, you're not staying?"

"Important looper business. I would if I could, but I really have to check something, and I'm taking Zwei with me."

"Why...?" Zwei mumbled from her arms.

"You and I are the only ones that can move openly where we're going." She sighed. "At least you're not a crazy drunk like Yang."

"I AM DOING! THE! THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.4 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

A light breeze blew blew across the courtyard, ruffling the grass as he leaned on the fence, hands clasped together in silent contemplation.

"Soooooo..." Yang drew up next to him casually. "This whole situation is weird."

He managed a small chuckle. "You can say that again."

"...Look. Sun. You're a great guy." Yang put her own elbows on the fence. "You care about all your friends, no matter how close they are. You're willing to go into dangerous situations just to help them. You've got a radical sense of humor. You're a bit of a dork, yeah, but it's charming in its own way. Plus, let's be honest, cute as all get-out-the hair, the abs, the tail."

"Good to know I've still got that."

"My point is, literally the _only_ thing I _don't_ like about you is your crush on Blake. And I'm not even saying your _friendship_ with Blake," Yang clarified, "I'm smart enough to know that's good for her and for you, and I'd honestly like it if we could be friends, even with... yeah, you know, all that."

"I got stabbed in the shoulder, you lost half an arm. It's pretty clear who gave more up for her."

"Sun, it's not about what _we'd_ sacrifice to be with her. It's about who _she'd_ choose to be with."

"I know that. And I'm happy she's happy." Sun took a breath. "It's just... I spent all this time making sure she would be okay, trying to help her out with her issues, and then suddenly I'm back and not only did nothing I do even matter but she's so much more well-adjusted and I don't even know if anything I did was worth it."

"You did help. A lot." Yang clapped a hand on his shoulder. "The loops change us, yeah, but one of the key things we all remember is what happens in baseline. No matter how distant we are from that, no matter what changes we make, all that... you did help her, a lot more then you will ever know. And I'm grateful to you for that."

"...I'm still trying to process all that, honestly." Sun held his hands out in confusion. "I mean, time repeating because the multiverse is broken? What kind of whacked out premise is that?! And how do I deal with Blake if she's not, you know... repeating?"

"If she's Unawake, you mean." Yang sighed. "Well, that version of her is still a repressed teenager, so I try to be gentle... it 's pretty weird." She gave an awkward chuckle. "In fact, me and Blake have had... numerous talks about what to do if her Unawake self ends up with you."

Sun opened his mouth, paused, and let a confused expression form on his face. "Yeah, that... that has got to be weird."

"Super weird."

"Um." He glanced at her. "If that does happen, you're not going to, uh, punch me or anything are you?"

Yang smiled, allowing her eyes to turn red. "Only if you try to follow through with it in the loops."

"Fair enough." He cleared his throat. "So... speaking of Blake, I haven't seen her for a couple of days. Where is she?"

Yang's smile faded a bit. "We found our third new looper, and there's a bit of a pattern, so she and Zwei went to Menagerie to check something. I suspect she's also taking the opportunity to discredit Adam's branch of the White Fang, which will hopefully bring the rest of them back toward their former roots..."

"Adam?"

"Adam Taurus. Blake's ex, leads the Vale branch. Chopped my arm off in baseline, right after giving this whole schpiel about hurting everything important to Blake. Like literally ten seconds after."

Sun winced. "Okay. Yeah, that actually explains a lot. Can we go beat him up?"

Yang chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Trust me, kid, you're nowhere near his level. And other people are already on it."

"Heeeeey." Sun pushed her hand off. "Don't mess with the cute hair, it's one of the few things I've got left."

"Alright, alright."

"So, a new looper? That sounds good, me and your dad won't be the only ones stumbling around blindly anymore. Who are they?"

Yang's face darkened. "...Raven Branwen."

"Okay, I've never heard that name before..."

"She's a woman I have... various _issues_ with," Yang allowed. "The only reason I'm not keeping a closer eye on her myself is because uncle Qrow's kept track of her."

Sun leaned away from her. "So... not somebody to commiserate about the loops with."

"Not yet, no. Especially not with Dad, they... let's just say things are very complicated." She sighed. "Actually, you'll find out eventually anyway. She's Qrow's twin, my biological mother, and the leader of a bandit tribe in Anima."

He gave a low whistle. "Yeah, okay, that sounds like a great big package of issues without even knowing half of what's going on."

"And now she's looping." Yang threw up her hands. "So I'm going to have to learn to accept her, and hope she can change for the better, because I can't just ignore her anymore and-ugh."

"...Hey. You've got the rest of the loopers helping you." Sun pat her shoulder. "Heck, I'll help out where I can. And you've got Blake, too!"

"Yeah... I know." She took a breath, and gave him a smile. "See, this is what I was talking about, big heart, help your friends. We... are friends, right?"

Sun shrugged. "Yeah, of course. I mean, things are going to be weird between us for a while, but... you know. I've got eternity to adjust to the situation. I'll be... I'll be okay."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.5 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali wasn't exactly what one would call religious, but even she knew prophetic visions were to be taken seriously. The problem was, she had no idea which god or goddess had sent her the memories of her daughter returning home, or even if there was a deity involved. Going from church to church, consulting the various priests, she'd found... not much. Certainly sympathy. Not too few attempts to convert her. But for the most part she'd been advised to consider her vision, keep it in her mind as she went about her daily life, and trust that its meaning would become clear.

Her husband, at least, provided some comfort during those first few weeks. He believed her when she explained what she had... seen? Remembered? He trusted her, and he'd promised to look into Blake's situation. The White Fang, unfortunately, had only said Blake had gone missing; the Albain brothers were clearly doubtful that a 'vision' could possibly have any voracity, but they promised to look into Adam's actions. Of course, without the CCT there was a delay to be expected, and Kali had been left simply wondering why she had been granted a glimpse of the future.

And then one day while she was shopping at the pier, a short-legged dog jumped up and grabbed her lien pouch.

"What-?!" She turned to the vendor, giving an apologetic smile. "I'll be right back." Then she rushed after the corgi, gripping her bag as she tried not to loose the canine in the crowd. "Excuse me! The dog has my-excuse me-that dog! The small grey one, he has my lien pouch!"

Thankfully it was early enough in the day that she didn't have to shove through a crowd, and many of them parted as she approached-being the chieftain's wife netted her some fame, after all, especially after her recent research into visions. A few people even tried to catch or corral the dog, but he was simply too swift on his tiny paws and seemed to manipulate them into crashing into each other, tripping over their own tails, or otherwise finding themselves incapacitated.

"Sorry, sorry!" Kali stepped around the groaning faunus carefully, her eyes on where the dog had stopped to look over his shoulder. "Thank you all for trying to help-sorry for the trouble, sorry-" She emerged on the other side, kneeling down. "Okay boy, just come here, come to me and give me the pouch and we can all _nononono don't run-!_ Argh."

A short distance away, the dog dropped the pouch and barked at her.

"...Did you just want attention?" she asked. "Is that it?"

He nodded-an odd thing for a dog to do, and especially strange-looking on such a small one.

"Alright, fine. You've got my attention." Kali stood, walking slowly over. "Now why don't you just give me the pouch and we can-" She sighed as the dog picked it up and trotted away. "Of course. What is it that you even..."

Her words died on her lips as the dog sat next to a familiar figure dangling her legs off the pier.

"...Blake?"

The girl's ears twitched. "Did you really have to steal her wallet, Zwei? I just wanted you to get her attention."

"Oh Blake..." Kali rushed to her daughter, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around her. "My baby girl!"

Blake smiled, returning the hug happily. "It's good to see you, Mom."

"What are you even doing here?" Kali leaned back, carefully putting her shopping bag to one side. "I thought you were in Vale-wait, hold on, this is going to sound weird, but I think I had a vision about that."

Blake's ears perked, even as her smile faded away. "A vision about Vale."

"Yes. A couple of weeks ago, I... it was almost like a memory. You came back home, with a monkey boy, and we talked about-oh my gods, did you get into Beacon? I mean, that's what happened in the vision, but I don't know how accurate visions are and-"

"And then there were four," Blake said, very quietly.

"...What?"

"Mom, look, I..." She sighed. "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy, but it's absolutely true."

Kali looked at her somber expression. Very carefully, she repositioned herself so she was sitting next to her daughter. "Alright. I'm listening."

"There's this tree called Yggdrasil..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

Mother and daughter sat, watching the ripples of the water in the harbor.

"...that's... quite the story," Kali finally managed.

"And I've only told you the prologue," Blake agreed.

"So... If it's not too rude to ask... how long, exactly, have you been caught up in these time loops?"

Blake half smiled. "A while."

"...can't you be more specific?"

"At some point, you run out of numbers."

Kali blinked. "What... run out of... that... Blake, I'm sorry, but you're making it sound like you're older then the universe!"

"Well, if we're going purely by subjective experience..." her daughter mused.

Kali leaned back. "Oh my gods. You actually are older then the universe, aren't you?"

"...age is what you make of it. Especially when you live in a specific scale of time." She shrugged. "I mean, sometimes I feel like an old codger, sometimes I feel like an eager teenager. Usually I feel like a semi-mature adult. And right now... Right now I don't know how I feel. Agewise, anyway."

"That... well." Kali took a breath, putting her hands in her lap. "I really have no idea how to react to that."

"Give it a few loops, you'll... probably get a sense of how it works."

"Of course." The woman nodded, falling silent for a moment or two.

Then she glanced to her other side, where the corgi had sat silently as Blake revealed the multiverse to her. "So, what about you? Are you a looper too?"

"Yes actually."

Kali stared at him for a moment or two. "...And you can talk," she eventually said.

"Indeed. Incidentally, I do apologize for taking your lien pouch, it really was the quickest way to get you over here without alerting non-loopers to the situation."

"That's... fine, really." She steadied herself. "I'm getting the impression that 'just roll with it' is going to be a common theme here."

Blake gave a surprised snigger. "Heh, you actually said the exact same thing the last time I..." She trailed off, her face falling.

"Last time?"

"...This isn't the first time I've explained the loops to you," Blake admitted. "It's the first time I know you'll remember, but... There's so much I have to tell you, so much I have to explain, and it's not all going to be pretty." Her ears pressed flat against her head, shoulders sagging as she wrapped her hands around herself. "Some of it is... it's so much worse then the fall of Beacon-"

"Blake," Zwei said warningly.

"...right." She took a breath. "I'm sorry, you're not ready for that yet."

"Ready for what?" Kali looked between the two of them. "If there's something going on-"

"Mom, believe me, I want... I want to tell you now, but you've only just begun to loop. And that means we need to help you adjust to the basic situation before we talk about... things." Blake sighed. "That alone is going to be difficult, especially for you."

Kali looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Most of Remnant's loopers Wake Up in or around Vale. A couple are in Anima when the loop starts, but you're in Menagerie... and then there's Dad."

"...What about him?"

Blake seemed to clam up. Zwei cleared his throat. "At the beginning of this loop we were... helpfully informed that we would have a total of four new loopers. We've already located the other three. You complete the set, which means that... well... that your husband isn't looping."

"So?" Kali asked, confused. "I don't see how that's an issue."

"He's not going to remember," Blake explained. "He's not going to remember the fall of Beacon, or the White Fang's corruption, or intimidating Sun or you listening in at the door-anything you do, any dates you go on or... or private moment you have with him. As soon as the loop ends, it's gone."

"There are plenty of relationships I know of where one half is looping and the other isn't," Zwei admitted. "And they seem to be happy relationships, they seem to make it work, but... I don't doubt there's at least some strain. We can certainly look for advice on the subject, we're just... warning you, this isn't going to be easy."

Kali took a few moments to process that. "Oh. Oh... I... I suppose I can... see how that would be a problem." She swallowed. "Especially if I'm going to be looping for some time..."

"Yeah. That sort of realization?" Blake nodded. "You're going to be getting a lot of those over the next few days. That's why we're not telling you about things just yet-you're going to be overwhelmed as is."

"But we, of course, will be available to help," Zwei assured her. "Although, given the distance between us and Vale, we may 'step out' on occasion to touch base with the others."

"Of course, that... makes sense." Kali thought for a moment, before wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulders. "Sweetheart... you know, even if you don't want to talk about it just yet... I'm here for you."

"I know, Mom. I promise, before the loop ends, but... right now, I just want to focus on getting you settled in."

"...In that case, why don't you help me carry the groceries home? I was in the middle of shopping when your canine companion decided to interrupt..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.6 FadedAlphabet, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Dad, I have something I need to tell you," said Yang as she walked through the door of her house, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

Taiyang, who was sitting on the couch, looked over at his daughter. Oh no, he recognized that look. His daughter may have been in a repeating time loop and lived who knows how many more years than he had, but he knew that face all too well. _That_ , was the look his daughter wore when she was going to tell him something he most almost certainly not going to take well.

He sighed. "Just get it over with."

"Are you sure? It might be a bit much."

"Time is repeating Yang, I don't think I can be truly surprised by anything you say now."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You'll be eating those words soon enough. The multiverse is a _very_ big place."

"...Just get it over with."

"Well, I wanted to wait a bit longer to tell you this but Blake told me I should and... well there is no easy way to say this but... Dad, you have more kids."

Tai blinked, waited, then blinked again. "Excuse me?"

"You, Taiyang, my father, the person who had sex with both female members of his team, have more children."

"I have **what?"** he yelled as he stood up.

"It's a _long_ story dad. I think you might want to take your seat again."

He did.

"Okay, to start off, there is a universe bordering close to ours called Red vs Blue. It's a sci-fi loop, space travel, aliens, soldiers in powered armor... you know, basic space opera, but with a good dose of idiocy. For really complicated and honestly stupid reasons, two opposing teams of morons and maniacs are locked in a canyon together, and then things get weird and complicated. The important part, though, is that Ruby and I adopted one of the red team members as an honorary older brother."

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow as she sat down next to him, producing a photo album. "You chose to have a maniac as part of your family."

"Actually, he's one of the morons." Yang pointed at a picture. "Dexter Grif, the one in orange armor. Fat, lazy, cynical, and with a heart as big as the sun. He's actually pretty smart, when he's properly motivated, but..." She shrugged. "If his friends and family aren't in danger, it's hard to get that motivation going."

Tai looked at the picture of the man in armor, hanging by his ankles from a tree while Ruby beamed proudly in front of him. "...Well, you've already got a drunk uncle, why not a lazy brother?"

"Yeah, that was our thinking too. That and..." Yang sighed. "Technically, he has a biological sister, and he does care for her, but she's... crazy. No two ways about it, she's basically a sex machine with the durability of a tank and the intelligence of a squirrel. Having saner siblings to care for really helps. It's a mutual sort of thing."

"Huh."

"We also adopted a little brother." Yang pointed at another picture. "Keita Amano. Or Nate Adams. It's... a touch loop variable. I was the one to give him his welcome to the multiverse speech, actually."

"...Is that a ghost next to him?"

"Yeah, his world has spirits. The ghost is his butler, he works to smooth out a whole number of yo-kai conflicts... yeah, we loop in together a lot, cause of connections. Ruby really loves playing the big sister role, you know." Yang chuckled. "Not that she's really all that different. It basically amounts to giving him the occasional baby brother noogie."

"She used to be on the receiving end of those, as I recall."

"Oh, yeah. Of course I can't do that anymore. She's impossible to catch these days."

Taiyang rolled his eyes, flipping through the pages. He paused at a photo of his girls and a third woman, laughing together. "And who's this?"

His daughter looked at it for a long while.

"...Yang?"

"...Dad, I..." Yang's fists curled, and uncurled. "...The thing is... oh, how do I explain this."

"You... don't have to-"

"We're still waiting to tell you everything, until we can get all the new loopers together, but..." She took a breath. "...Cinder Fall. She's Cinder Fall."

Taiyang looked from Yang, to the picture in the book.

"...Is she... the same Cinder that did... whatever happened last loop?"

"Oh, there's the million lien question." Yang sagged into the couch. "The thing is... she went crazy. I can even understand how, and why, and I know she... she wants to get better, she wants to be our sister again. But... it doesn't change what she did." She sighed. "It doesn't change how I feel."

"...She crossed a lot of lines?"

"Oh, a lot. She didn't cross the final line-and really, she is... or was nice enough. Before she went crazy. Before... Look, you've got mixed feelings about Raven, right? At least Raven had her reasons for walking out-maybe they were stupid ones, but they were logical and sane. Cinder wasn't sane. She can't even be completely blamed for this. So... yeah."

Taiyang looked at the laughing woman in the image. "Sounds like a real mess."

"You have no idea, Dad. You really have no idea."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.7 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

It was a quiet enough night, Kali mused as she leaned on the doorframe, watching her daughter sleep. Blake was still, for the most part; she twitched on occasion, her face morphing into a scowl, before relaxing. Zwei had curled up beside her bed, his own quiet breathing eventually joining hers, alongside the occasional whimper.

She sighed, turning away and walking toward the office. Ghira was still up-Ghira almost always stayed up late, handling the minutia of government, something that relaxed him quite a bit. Memories flitted by as she approached the door-memories of her leaning on it, accidentally falling in, and then trying to cover up her eavesdropping. But that hadn't happened yet... even if she did recall it...

Kali frowned, sliding open the door and stepping in.

Her husband looked up from his desk, putting down what papers he was working on. "...Hello, dear. Are you..." He trailed off for a moment or two. "How are you?"

"...Worried," Kali admitted with a sigh, shutting the door behind her. "Worried about the White Fang, about these loops... about Blake." She walked over and slumped onto the couch. "She's... clearly happy to talk with us, but at the same time I feel like she wants to go back and be with the other loopers."

Ghira nodded, standing and joining her. "I noticed that too. She's quite eager to talk about them. Especially that Yang person she keeps mentioning."

"I can't really blame her. If what she says is true, they've all been working together for... a long while, growing and changing while we remained... static." Kali winced, glancing away. "I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

Ghira put his hand over hers. "It's... alright. I understand."

They sat, listening to the sounds of Menagerie's wildlife in the night for a moment or two.

"...I think," Kali eventually said, "that I should go to Vale. Blake's obviously missing her friends, and I don't want to keep her from them. And the only reason she's here now is because of me."

"Kali-"

"And besides," she continued with slightly forced cheer, "I really should meet all these other loopers right? Just to get a feel of the kind of people Blake's hanging around with. Zwei certainly seems polite enough, but when your daughter comes home with a talking dog, you realize you might not have as firm a grip on the situation as you thought."

Ghira paused. Then he nodded. "I'll come with you."

Kali blinked, turning to him. "You don't need to do that-"

"I want to. You're my wife, Kali, and I care about you. You've been thrown into this mess with no warning and... well, even if I'm not able to join you, I'd like to at least make sure you're handling it as well as you can."

A small smile graced her face. "...Thank you, Ghira."

He smiled back, letting his hand tighten around hers.

They sat there like that, basking in warmth of family.

Then Kali sighed. "What are you going to tell everyone, though? I mean, saying your daughter and your wife are going through time loops-"

"I'll say Blake brought hard evidence that the Vale branch of the White Fang has gone beyond rogue. Dust robberies, capturing Grimm, threatening to kill any who attempt to leave, that sort of thing. As far as Menagerie knows, I'll be travelling to Vale to help root out the corruption, and determine if the rest of the Fang needs similar treatment."

"...Wouldn't even be completely untrue," Kali murmured.

Ghira sighed. "No, it wouldn't. But that doesn't mean I won't spare time for you and Blake. As much as I can without breaking the illusion."

"I know..." Kali nodded. "Alright. I guess we'll tell Blake tomorrow, then. Start packing and leave... as soon as a boat comes by."

"There's one scheduled to come in four days from now."

"That's... good." She paused for a moment. "...Ghira, I... just want you to know, I am very grateful you're supporting me in all this, and... I love you."

"I know dear. I love you too."

A few minutes later, Blake blinked blearily awake. Her ears twitched for a moment or two, before she suddenly blushed. "Oh, _geeze_ -"

"You and Yang steal half the dorm for your own use," Zwei sleepily reminded her. "What goes around comes around."

After a moment, she nodded. "Fair enough." She unpocketed a set of earmuffs, one Yang had designed especially for her, and after ensuring all four of her ears were covered settled back down in her bed

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Good morning," Blake greeted warmly. "I'm a little out of practice, so it'll be a few minutes before breakfast is ready."

Kali blinked, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "I don't think I've ever seen you cooking before."

"It's not one of my more practiced talents. I can follow a recipe, but usually it's Yang or Ruby that handles the kitchen stuff." Blake prodded the skillet with a spatula. "But you know, an omelette is pretty basic."

"...Well, I'm sure it'll be excellent." Kali paused. "...Blake, last night your father and I-"

"Have I mentioned patches yet? Very important looping concept."

"...What?"

Blake turned from the stove. "There are times when certain issues could cause problems," she explained. "So the admins apply patches-hard-coded restrictions that prevent the issues from coming up. For instance, there's this loop with something called the Death Note, write somebody's name in it and they die-the admins put in a patch so that Death Notes don't have any power outside that particular universe."

"Okay," Kali said slowly. "Why are you bringing this up?"

"One of the oldest patches around is called the Conception Patch," her daughter replied. "Basically, in order to prevent losing children to a loop reset, it's impossible to have children that don't already exist in baseline. That doesn't exactly mean that people can't have more kids in variants, but those kids are always going to be other loopers-Awake or not, that varies, just... no new souls." She turned back to the stove. "The only exceptions I can think of involve adoption, loop expansions, or a species psychology that simply does not connect intimately to all offspring."

For a moment, the sizzling of the pan was the only sound in the room.

"...You heard that," Kali finally managed with a faint blush.

"Woke me up. Luckily Yang made me a special set of earmuffs." Blake tapped her head. "Covers all four."

"Blake, I am so sorry, we didn't mean to-"

"You're an adult woman, you have a loving spouse and... yeah, this whole situation is putting you through a lot." Blake looked back at her with a small grin. "I'm a big girl, I can handle it. Just don't do it in the same room as me, and we should be good."

"Oh. Well. Thank you for understanding. But that really wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Hmm?"

"Before we... did that," Kali explained, her cheeks only faintly pink, "we were actually discussing... well, you and your situation. And we decided to take a boat to Vale."

"...You didn't need to do that," Blake said, though her perked ears broadcast her feelings.

"Well, you've been very accommodating these past few days. And as charming as Zwei is, I feel I should know more about all your friends." Kali put on a sly smirk. "Especially this Yang person you seem so fond of. If things are heading the way I think they are, I have a right to meet her don't I?"

"...You know, you do." Blake nodded. "You do, and you should meet the rest of the loopers. Fair warning, they're a quirky bunch."

"Oh, well, I suppose they'd have to be, with time looping and all."

"And now you're in the crew." Blake paused. "...There's an old joke. 'Welcome to the loops, sanity optional.' I think that about covers it."

Kali chuckled. "Well, I'll try to keep mine, thank you."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.8 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"You know," a ginger-haired girl said in greeting, "there are realities where metaphors become literal. For instance, having a dark cloud over one's head can lead to an actual personalized stormcloud in Equestria."

Sun blinked and looked at her as she sat down on the bench next to him. "Um... what?"

"Equestria. Another world. No humans, no faunus, the primary inhabitants are colorful talking ponies, and they are one of the most influential branches in Yggdrasil because they declared themselves a sanctuary loop early on and actually have helped stabilize a number of other Anchors."

"That's... interesting to hear. More power to the ponies, I guess." Sun took a breath. "I'm sorry, I get that you're a looper, but all I know about you is that you're the robot girl that got killed during the Vytal festival."

"Fair enough. My name's Penny Polendina." She stuck out a hand.

"Sun Wukong." He shook it. "Although I'm guessing you already know that."

"We do keep track of each other and our friends," Penny agreed. "Welcome to the loops, by the way. How are you taking it so far?"

"...Could be better," Sun admitted. "I mean, there's a lot of cool stuff going on, but I've mostly been thinking about... you know, what this means. What this changes." He shrugged. "What I'm supposed to do now."

"Mmm. I've been there."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I am quite literally the result of an experiment to see if it's possible to create an artificial aura. I think in baseline the plan was to have my kind gradually phase out huntsmen and huntresses so as to avoid loss of human life... but in the loops, that can't ever really happen, and really I've been turned off the idea of mass Penny duplication."

Sun noticed her slumped shoulders. "...This is about whatever big thing happened that you aren't telling us new loopers, isn't it?"

"Please take 'yes' as an answer and don't push it."

"Only if I can give you a hug and tell you it will be okay."

Penny humfed with an amused grin. "You drive a hard bargain, mister Wukong, but I accept."

"There, there." Sun leaned over and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring her giggles as he patted her shoulder. "It'll all be okay, Penny, you'll see."

"Alright, alright." Penny nudged him off. "My point is, in baseline I'm supposed to save the world, but... that path isn't one I've chosen to take. I've decided to record and catalog experiences, in a way only an artificially constructed person can. I've decided to measure and define what it means to be..." She paused. "...a person."

"You were going to say human."

"But I meant a person. A being with a soul. That sort of thing." Penny shrugged. "So, yes, I know what it feels like to question your purpose in life, and I am telling you that the confusion will clear up."

Sun nodded. "Yeah, I get that. Doesn't make it easier though."

"No, it doesn't."

They sat in silence, looking out at the Vale citizens playing in the park.

"...Still," Sun eventually admitted, "I guess it isn't all bad. I mean, I knew some of you before but now all of you loopers are talking with me and, you know, it's kind of cool seeing what you all can do."

"Really now."

"Yeah. Nora's got storm powers! Like actual storm powers, control the clouds and everything. And Winter, I haven't ever met her before, but she showed off some of her summons-apparently she was in some loop called 'monster hunter' and she decided to add some beasts to her repertoire." He shook his head. "I mean, it'd be terrifying if I didn't know they were friendly."

Penny sighed. "Not everyone's as lucky as you there."

"What?"

"It's... a demon I'm overcoming. I started looping after Vytal, and for the longest time I couldn't even think of Pyrrha without having a panic attack. I'm better now," she assured him quickly, "and we're good friends, but that sort of fear can seriously screw with your head."

"Oh, wow." Sun glanced away. "Yeah, I didn't even think of that... I'm sorry if I sounded callous or anything, I'm just trying-"

"No, I get it. Really."

The silence descended once more as they looked out among the civilians, going about their day oblivious to the greater issues of the world.

"...So do you know when Blake's going to be back from Menagerie?" Sun asked suddenly.

"She found our last new looper. Kali. So, probably sometime this month."

"Missus B is looping?"

"Yes. Her husband isn't though, so Blake's probably just... helping them both adjust."

Sun nodded. "Yeah, that's gotta suck. Bad enough Nep's not looping, but to be _married_ to somebody who's not going to change..."

"Other loopers have made it work," Penny mused. "And it's not guaranteed that Ghira will never loop, just... that it's probably going to be a heck of a while."

"Mmm." He shrugged. "Still, I guess it's probably better, cause, you know, now he's not going to remember me... uh... actually, you shouldn't-"

"He's not going to remember you stumbling over your obvious crush on Blake?"

Sun looked at her in shock. "Did she tell you all everything that happened?!"

"More like 'We watched the Hub backups and teased her about it.'"

"The hub-oh, right. That... world where we're all fictional." Sun sagged into the bench. "So there's an entire world out there that gets to see me make a mess of myself."

"And the multiverse watches too."

"Well, crap."

Penny giggled. "It's not all bad. We're all used to separating baseline identity from looping identity, we know who you were isn't who you are."

"Yeah, that's a weird set of mental gymnastics. I mean, now there are two Blakes, the one I knew and might meet on the docks, and..." He gestured into the air. "The one that's Yang's."

Penny looked at him for a moment or two. "...You know what variant loops are, right?"

"Loops where things are different? Yeah."

"Well..." She half blushed. "There was one loop. A variant. The first time I was human-like, biologically born human, not a constructed one. And, you know, I thought I'd make the most of it."

"Okay...?"

"I mean, I didn't have a sense of smell before then. I barely had a sense of touch. And then this loop I had everything that everyone took for granted and I wanted to experience all. Ruby was a big help of course," she explained, "but she didn't feel comfortable indulging in some of the experiences I had in mind. Soooooo she found somebody else to help me there."

"Who was it?"

"You. An unawake version of you, I mean. We explained the situation, and... well." She coughed into her fist.

Sun looked at her for a moment or two, before his eyes suddenly widened. "Whoa. Wait, are you saying you and I-?!"

"You were very respectful and caring, believe me."

"Oh. Oh, uh, um. Well. Uh." He blushed. "That's... going to take a while to process, I'll admit. Don't take that personally."

"Oh, I'm not. All I'm saying is there are plenty of fish in the sea." Penny shrugged. "I mean, you could do what Ruby's done and just swear off relationships, but if you decide to go looking you'll probably find... at least one person willing to give it a chance."

"...Well... thanks." Sun rubbed the back of his head. "Well, this just got very awkward."

"Yep."

"...So! Robot. How's that working out for you?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know, a little glitchy on occasion but I've gone around the circuits enough to know what to expect."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.9 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"What is it about this ship?" Blake mused aloud. "I mean, I know Yggdrasil likes patterns, but this is the exact same boat that takes me to Menagerie _and_ that Yang takes to Mistral in baseline!"

Kali joined her on the rails, giving her a curious glance. "I suppose the Pride Steed's just a vessel of destiny."

"Pride Steed. The name is loop variable, you know? Pride something or other. Heck, not even the Pride part was stable until after the last expansion..."

"Really?" Kali looked down at the railing in her grasp. "I mean, from what I understand, the expansions happen when time is repaired enough to extend into..." She paused. "When the loop moves into a future that... I thought only the future was affected. Have I mentioned that trying to keep which when to use straight is incredibly confusing?"

"I keep meaning to ask Twilight Sparkle for her list of loop-based tenses, but whenever we meet up we end up in a book-gal geekout."

"...Twilight Sparkle?"

"Anchor for the Equestria loops. Magical purple talking unicorn, expert in magic and science and the science of magic, and official 'Princess of Friendship.' Her and her friends help maintain the mental health of loopers who visit, and they're personally responsible for psychologically stabilizing three separate Anchors, so... kind of a big deal."

"...I'm sorry, I'm just picturing you having a book geekout with a unicorn, because thinking about my daughter like that is just so adorable-"

Blake rolled her eyes and handed over a few photos.

"Oh, thank-oh my gosh. That is actually even cuter then I thought." Kali went through them. "...You actually made a book fort?!"

"Mmmyep."

"Oh my. And who's this black... winged unicorn?"

"Oh that's Nyx, she's... her story's complicated, even with the loops, but she's Twilight's adopted daughter. They really love each other."

"Who was taking these pictures?"

"A rabbit."

"...what?"

"A rabbit was taking the pictures." Blake half grinned. "Do you really think they'd be so candid if I noticed the camera?"

"I suppose not..." Kali allowed. She looked at the pictures for a moment or two longer, before handing them back. "You're going to have to teach me this subspace pocket trick sometime."

"It's on the to-do list," Blake assured her, making the photos vanish.

Kali nodded, looking out across the water. "...You really have had a long and interesting life, haven't you?" she mused quietly.

Blake gave her a look. "...Well, you're part of it now. So..."

"I know, I know, I just... You're my baby girl, and now you've grown up and are having adventures all across the multiverse, and... making book forts with unicorns." Kali frowned. "I was going to say 'you've grown up without me' but-"

She noticed her daughter's hands tightening on the rails.

"...Blake. What is it?"

"I... really don't want to tell you-"

"Is it something to do with whatever it is that you and Zwei have been keeping from me?"

Blake took a breath, and slowly let it out. "No, but it's something you're really, really not going to like."

Kali moved closer. "I'm your mother. Even if you did something horrible-"

"Oh, it's not _that_. Not... just that... ugh." Blake sighed. "It's something that affects you. You, personally, as Kali Belladonna, and... you're already coping with your daughter growing up and your husband not looping and-"

"Blake, I'll admit that this is all very big, and I'm... taking a bit to adjust to it, but whatever it is I would rather hear about it from you. Not from... some other looper."

"...not even Zwei?" pleaded her daughter.

"As polite as he is, I think it would be more appropriate for my daughter to tell me."

Blake's ears fell flat. "...Alright. How do I explain this..." She rapped her fingers on the railing for a bit. "So... like I said. The ship's name is loop variable, and even the Pride part didn't stabilize until a particular expansion. Yggdrasil is damaged, but it's being repaired, and when we get expansions it's not just our future that extends, it's... random little details, and vaugeries in our past."

Kali nodded. "Okay... so you get more information about the world. What, was I loop variable in the past?"

For a moment, the waves whisked quietly along.

"Weiss Schnee is Remnant's second looper," Blake said quietly. "She's actually a fairly decent person-even in baseline she acknowledges her father's flaws and her own, seeking to improve and correct both. And when Remnant started looping, she knew she had a sister named Winter. And that was it. She didn't know who Winter was as a person, she didn't know whether Winter was younger or older, she didn't even know what the woman looked like because, at the time, all of that was loop variable. The universe remembered that Weiss Schnee had a sister, and that her name was Winter. And that was it."

She shut her eyes. "Weiss didn't even know she had a younger brother until the loop where he suddenly had always been there."

Kali blinked. "...That's... that's actually very... disturbing." She paused for a moment. "Blake... was I... were you... Did I not...?"

Blake nodded. "For the longest time, I was an orphan living on the streets of Vale. It wasn't until I came to Menagerie that... Yggdrasil remembered you existed."

The world seemed to drop out from under Kali's feet, her grip tightening on the rails as she fought to keep herself from falling. "Oh my gods... I... oh my gods..."

A pair of arms-familiar arms, her daughter's arms-wrapped around her. "It's okay! It's okay, you're here now! Focus on that, mom! Please!"

"I-I... I'm... Blake, I..."

"It's okay." Blake hugged her tightly. "It's okay. I promise, it's okay."

Existence-

hadn't always-

Blake, on the streets-

Thought half formed, scrambled, clickclack of contradictions-

Roar.

 _There's a roar._

Grimm.

Lots of.

BIG!

Blake, speaking. Blake, apologizing. Voice. Zwei. Talking dog, hee.

 _No, don't! Don't go out there!_

Whatever else was swept away as she watched her daughter dive into-no, run across the water, toward the great dragon and the other shadows rising from the waves. She stood, looking around desperately for anything to save her baby girl-

And then Blake turned into a giant flaming skeleton and punched the dragon in the face.

Kali blinked in shock. "Um. That... that's..."

"A bit unusual," Zwei mused. "Usually she doesn't break out Susanoo this early in a fight."

"...Right. That's the unusual part." Kali nodded. "Not that she turned into a giant flaming skeleton, which apparently has a name, but that she did it _early_."

"Well, that, and the fact that Charlie attacked at all."

"Charlie?"

"The dragon," Zwei explained. "We give them nonthreatening names so that we become less scared about them in discussion. Since they're Grimm, it makes them less likely to attack." He turned back out to the battle, where Blake was absolutely devastating a few frog Grimm. "He doesn't usually bring friends, though. That's more Kevin's schtick. I suppose it could be me, I've been... repressing a number of emotions relating to our last loop-"

"Blake explained expansions," Kali said. "And how they... how I wasn't... always around."

The corgi looked up to her. "Ah. Yes, that might also do it."

Her hands trembled as she gripped the railing. "This is my fault. My feelings brought them here, I, I wasn't around for-"

"No." Zwei's voice was firm. "You cannot be blamed for your emotions, you cannot be blamed for an absence you did not intend, and you certainly cannot be blamed for the multiverse being broken. Besides," he added in a light tone, "Blake probably needed a little catharsis. This is actually probably very good for her."

Kali turned to him with a look of disbelief. "This. Fighting I don't know how many Grimm, one of which is a dragon, in the middle of the ocean."

"She _is_ a huntress. It's one of the perks."

Kali turned back in time to see the flaming skeleton rip the dragon's wings off.

"...Who even am I to her, Zwei?"

"She calls you mom. She's called you mom ever since the expansion she returned."

"But can I say that, if I wasn't-"

"You know, technically speaking Ruby and Yang are half sisters. Only share a father."

Kali blinked. "Blake's... never mentioned that."

"Because Yang and Ruby don't see each other as half sisters. They see each other as full sisters, even in baseline. And they've adopted a few brothers, people who aren't biologically related, who aren't even from this universe, and that doesn't matter because they see each other as siblings. One thing most people forget, you _can_ choose your family." Zwei nodded to the battle. "And Blake has decided to call you mom. That's who you are to her, loops be damned."

"Well... that's good to know." Kali watched as the great fiery skeleton that was somehow also her daughter started to finish up with the Grimm. "I mean, it doesn't clear up the whole part where I didn't exist, and I'm certainly going to try to be part of her life now that I'm... around. But at least I haven't lost her."

"No, you haven't." Zwei half smiled. "Although you may have _gained_ a couple new children."

"What?"

"Oh, yes, Yang and Ruby aren't the only ones who adopted siblings. There's this young girl called Haru who Blake has informally taken on as a little sister, comes from an interesting world with talking cats, and Blake actually picked up Susanoo in her first fused loop where she was the sister to one Sasuke Uchiha..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **67.10 diesel, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

The glass shattered, the potent alcohol dripping onto the counter and floor in a steady tempo.

"Damn it."

James tossed what was left of the shattered shot glass into the bin, it wasn't like the drink was helping. The quarters were empty of anything he cared about, the just an another transient place to sleep in a kingdom and school with almost no stability.

No meaning, no memories, no worth.

 _Just like me_.

He sunk into the large wooden chair that overlooked Atlas as a whole, the large window providing a stunning view of something he found so hard to care about, but still did from the bottom of his soul.

 _At least Oz knows what Beacon and Vale look like._

James knew he was brooding, possibly borderline depressed, he was not sure. All he felt was a turbulent blend of rage, hate, self-loathing, clawing emptiness and bitterness.

 _Every time I close my eyes, whenever I look to the sky, all I can see is devastation. Monsters rampaging, Penny warped and defiled beneath the light of the apocalypse as the sky breaks._

 _I can't even sleep._

Gods damn it, what the point? Why was he even here in the loops?

 _I'm so tired._

The clock on the wall ticked, the bitterly cold winds howled past the school. The loneliness only deepened and James closed his eyes.

 _I could do nothing, barely even a side note. General James Ironwood, what a cruel joke._

 _I'm pathetic, the General of Remnant and leader of one of the four schools yet, what? In baseline, I'm a screw up, one that failed to own up and face it even in the loops for so long, and in the loops… I have nothing._

 _No close friends, no niche… I don't even have my kingdom._

 _I can't even do my damn job._

Cinder Fall tried to Ascend, and in all that his experience was useless, taking over from Weiss for a short time after his men had been massacred for nothing, while she went to do something more important.

It was not even like he did that much, everything had already been organized by Weiss, he was almost unneeded.

Even now, people cared more for _her_ and the new loopers more than him. James choked back the bitterness he could taste.

 _I'm pathetic, aren't I?_

James got it, he understood and knew it was his own actions that had left him in the cold. That Cinder _had to be stabilized_ , she would be with them until the end. Better stable than broken, better ally than enemy and right now this was their best bet at ensuring both.

New loopers had to be shown the ropes, cuts down on problems and misconceptions, that would make sure they were stable and integrated well.

And he could always go and ask, see how he could contribute. Strike up a conversation with someone.

He was alone because he chose to be, no other reason.

 _Maybe Winter would… no, she's with Qrow, Oz? New loopers most likely_

That did not mean it didn't hurt.

"...James?"

His eyes darted up at the voice, a voice he knew so well but had rarely heard holding such concern. "...Glynda. I... thought you'd be in Vale."

"There's not a lot going on in Vale right now. Blake and Zwei are on a boat, bringing her mother over, she... she's the last new looper. Jenny and Weiss are off to kill Salem, Qrow and Winter are keeping eyes on Raven, Roman and Neo are up here causing problems for Jacques..."

"I know, the man complains to me daily."

"He would, wouldn't he... Yang's been working with getting Sun and Taiyang settled, team JNPR's been split between helping her and helping Ozpin discredit Adam..." Glynda sighed. "Penny's worried about you."

James winced. "I'm... I'm fine-"

"Bullshit."

"I'm a general. I can handle-"

"And that's _horse_ shit."

"You have more important things to worry about."

"And you apparently have a whole farm's worth of shit in your head." Glynda sighed. "Weiss said we shouldn't be alone this loop-"

"Weiss said." James Ironwood turned away. "And whatever Weiss says goes."

"...I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh, but it's true. In baseline, she's a spoiled girl-she gets better, she becomes a tenacious crusader for the right, but she's still effectively powerless. And I'm the general, I'm the leader-I screw up, but it's because I was acting in a way I'm expected to. I fail as a general-but in the loops, I'm not even that, I'm just-"

"You're given a chance to improve." Glynda stepped forward. "You've been given a niece. One who's scared you won't be able to look at her now."

The man flinched. "...I know they weren't her, but... what that bitch did to her-"

"Yes, it's horrible. She deserves... something completely different then what Ruby's giving, but this isn't about what Cinder deserves. This isn't about what Weiss says. This is about what _you need."  
_  
"What I need," James growled, "is to actually be relevant. To be more then just the joke of Remnant-hell, Sun at least helped Blake find out about the White Fang coup, on top of getting her to open up in baseline. All I've got is an army. An easily hacked one at that."

"...and a niece," Glynda reminded him.

"A niece I don't deserve. It should have been her father looping, not me, the only reason it was me was because he's so loop variable-"

"Nobody deserves anything!" Glynda suddenly shouted. "Or at least they don't get what they deserve, they get what they earn, what they work for! You don't deserve the crap you got put through, you don't deserve to be pushed aside, and you don't deserve losing half your body. And at the same time, you don't deserve Ozpin's trust, or Penny's love, or my friendship, but you've got all that anyway because _you fucking earned it!_ And I am not going stand here and let you drink it all away like, like, _like Qrow on a bad day!"_

James slowly turned to the heavily panting woman, her riding crop gripped tightly in her hands.

"...Glynda-"

"You're staying in Vale for the loop," she growled. "I don't care if you mope about in your room, it'll at least be a place where we can all check on you. But you're coming, and you're going to stay, or so help me I'm going to tell Roman to steal... SOMETHING from Atlas academy. Maybe a statue, you've got an important statue, right?"

"...You don't need to do that." James sighed. "I... I'll come back."

"Right. Right." Glynda took a deep breath, forcing herself into a calmer standing position. "Now then. I'm going to make sure you pack, and I'm going to make sure you get on that airship. Or whatever method of transport you like. And I'm going to keep by your side until I am absolutely sure you're not going to bolt. Is that clear?"

"...Crystal."

"Good." She pointed at the door. "Now get to it."

He stood, glancing at the shattered glass in the trash can.

"...I said MOVE!"

"Alright." James held up his hand in surrender. "I'm moving."

He took a breath.

"...and... thank you. For... coming for me."

"Anytime, James." Glynda finally smiled, though it was small and terse. "Somebody has to make sure your nuts aren't loose."


	68. Denial

**68.1 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Ruby."

"...Weiss. Hello."

"I know you're focused on Cinder, but... everyone's worried about you. You've barely been present-Yang had to spraypaint one of my constructs to fake initiation."

"I know, but... she needs me. Right now she's so... confused, about herself, about us... She's having periods of lucidity and periods of psychosis and self loathing and..."

"You know I could help. I did... I did take psychology lessons, even if I missed the signs."

"I know, Weiss, but at the moment I feel she needs a stable anchor. Heh, anchor... No matter how else she feels about me, I'm a constant presence in her mind."

"I... see. Still. I haven't told anyone where you are, like you asked, but they're starting to ask questions, starting to wonder if you... if you're doing okay. And... behind their anger, many of them are worried about her too."

"Weiss-"

"We've found the last new looper, it's Kali. Jenny and I, we're... planning to go deal with Salem, and then we're going to check everyone's subspace pocket for signs of hacking."

"...Do you want me to check Cinder's?"

"Not alone, we'll wait until... well, until I'm sure enough of us are calm enough that we won't just wreck the place on entering."

"Fair enough."

"...We might need to check yours, though. You could go ahead and warn the CFVY machines that-"

"The CFVY machines decided to take part in the battle."

"...what?"

"I... they... they found out about their condition, as they were prepping the starships, and... they decided to go out fighting."

"Oh... Oh Yggdrasil, Ruby, I'm so sorry."

"It was what they would have wanted. It was... it was their choice... and I... oh gods, _Weiss!"_

"Shh... shh, I'm here...

"They're gone! Forever, Weiss, they-they were so, so loving and such a happy family even, even when they were degrading and, and I, and Fox would always be, I, a wall of wooden roses-"

"I know, Ruby. I know..."

"We're... we're going to have to have a funeral... and... and it's not just them. It's everything, it's... the badgers and... and... Weiss...?"

"Yes?"

"I... I think I'm going to hold a memorium. For all of them. In front of the museum."

"That... that sounds like a very good idea, Ruby. I'll ask everyone to catalog what they... what they lost, when we go through their pockets."

"Yeah... yeah. I'm sorry about your honey badgers, Weiss."

"I... they died doing their duty. And... team CFVY... they lived a long and happy life, didn't they?"

"Yeah. Yeah they... look, my duplicate is still helping Cinder, and I think something requires my focus..."

"Alright. Just... keep in touch with the rest of us? By scroll, if nothing else."

"Alright. Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"...thank you. For... for being a pillar, when we all need it."

"Part of being a jedi, Ruby."

"Still. Thank you."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.2 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Hey. So..." Blake paused, leaning against the doorframe. "Do... you want to talk, or...?"

"I think a talk would be good," Kali replied, scooting over to one side of the bunk. "They make these things rather... cozy, don't they?"

"It's no cruise ship, but it could be worse." Blake sat down next to her. "And the captain's a genuinely nice guy."

"He didn't ask how you turned into a giant flaming skeleton?"

"I passed it off as my semblance. It's amazing how often that works. You know, in baseline, he tries to make sure I'm alright... of course that's before Sun reveals himself."

"Reveals himself?"

"Well, I tried to sneak away like the idiot teenager I was, and he tried to sneak after me to make sure I was okay like the idiot teenager he was... is. Well, is at the moment. He just started looping, so..."

Kali chuckled. "It's good to know I'm not alone in this nonsense." She took a breath, steadying herself. "So... Zwei mentioned that I have an extended looping family, apparently."

"Oh. Right." Blake produced a photo album and opened it. "I was waiting to mention it because, well, just dealing with Remnant looping is weird enough. Here's me with Sasuke and his teammate-Naruto's one of the original seven Anchors, but he's really a silly kid in person."

"...Blake, where are your ears in this?"

"Oh, faunus don't exist in Naruto's world. Well, not usually, not baseline. It was a little aggravating to loop in as human, but the hidden village was where I got my Welcome to the Multiverse speech, so I can't be too mad."

Kali frowned to herself. "...Faunus don't exist? What happened to them?"

"Nothing. They never existed in that world. Well, I mean there are a couple of ninja clans with animal traits, but those aren't genetic." Blake shrugged. "On the flipside, humans don't exist in Equestria. Usually I loop in as a griffon when I go there."

She looked at her mother's shocked stare and sighed. "There are faunus-like races scattered around the multiverse, but there's not an exact match to our situation. Usually people with animal traits are unique specimens, shapeshifters in as human a form as they can take, split among various 'clans' with traits from specific animals, or don't have any humans around. There's... there is racism, that's far too common, but it exists on worlds with only humans and worlds with more then a hundred sapient species. Fused loops usually leave me with my bow, at least..."

"Your bow?"

Blake took a sharp breath. "In baseline, after I leave Adam, I... wear a bow that hides my ears. Thing is, I've been wearing it for so long that it's... sort of like a scarf. Comforting, even if it's not necessary anymore. I don't wear it all the time, and I'm not ashamed of my heritage, don't get me wrong, it's just... my own way of accentuating my ears, I guess."

Kali gave her a look that lasted for a long time. After a moment, she nodded. "Alright, that makes sense. Especially if you didn't take it off before..."

She trailed off for a moment, before clearing her throat and looking back at the photo album. "So, this Sasuke is your brother?"

"Yes. Definitely."

"And..." Her finger trailed to another picture. "This pink-haired girl he's with?"

"Sakura. His wife." Blake sighed. "She... Well, when the loops started back in the day, she couldn't handle it, she went crazy. Dropped all pretense of morality, basically did whatever she wanted on a whim... she's better now, even with a few relapses, but she's got an entire mental issue named after her." The teenager shook her head. "Not exactly the best member of the family."

"Ah." Kali looked at the smiling face of the girl in the picture. "So I have a maniac known across the multiverse as a daughter-in-law."

"Hey, she _is_ getting better. I think having a daughter helped her reassess her priorities." Blake sighed. "Not that Sarada's looping yet... and it would be awkward, since she's born pretty late in the loop, so..."

"Well, at the very least we can swap parenting tips, I suppose." Kali looked at Blake. "And Zwei mentioned somebody called Haru?"

"Oh yes." Blake reached over, flipping a few pages. "She's from another universe entirely. I'm actually the one that gave her the welcome to the multiverse speech-ah, here she is." She pointed at a brown-haired girl. "Her world isn't nearly as exciting as ours, or Naruto's. There's a hidden society of magical talking cats and some animate sculptures, but that's about it-no Grimm, no ninjas."

"Talking cats?"

"Yes, her baseline has her saving the prince of cats and... well, it gets a little ridiculous. I can show you the hub-loop backups later, she actually becomes a cat at one point."

"Well, I've met a talking dog, so... are there just talking animals scattered across the loops?"

"The multiverse is pretty big, Mom. Talking animals, giant robots, space empires, powerful dragons, sometimes all in the same loop... there's a reason that sanity is optional."

Kali nodded. "...and yet it still forgot me."

"Hey." Blake shut the book. "Just because you didn't exist at one point... Let me start over. Yggdrasil has forgotten a lot of things, and it knows it. That's why the loops exist-because it's struggling to remember. Everything. Every lost world, every hidden soul, every infinitesimal speck. You weren't forgotten because you were unessential. You were remembered because you are incredibly important."

"Really."

"Really really. Even if you're not important to the rest of the world... you're my mom. You're Ghira's wife. You're _somebody_ , and you're the one who defines that." Blake leaned in, resting her head on Kali's shoulder. "And I want to know who that somebody is."

Kali smiled, running her hands through Blake's hair. "You really have grown up, haven't you?"

"...I'm still your daughter, though."

"Mmm."

They sat together for a few moments, as the boat rocked on.

"...So, are there any other surprise relatives I should know about?"

"Well, there's Itachi, but he's... complicated. And Haru is dating the Baron, who's actually a miniature cat statuette, but quite the gentleman in person..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.3 jxz**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Penny J-777 couldn't believe what her optics were capturing.

Salem Laboratories, which had once disappeared from the pocket, had reappeared. With it, various Salems, some modified Pennies, and other vampires were seemingly barricading themselves inside of it.

In fact, it seemed a lot of the buildings and few of the servants and vampires that had disappeared had returned, like the old tv building.

Speaking of...

"Welcome to... I guess we're back to Apocalypse News. I'm the backup of Pandora and with me is the backup of Penelope."

"Salutations, everyone who's back! It seems that, after what I think was a complete and utter failure from out Overlord Cinder, the lost parts of her Pocket have returned."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.4 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=

She was blonde. That was the first thing that registered with Kali: the blonde hair. The second were the strikingly brilliant lavender eyes. The third was her species.

Blake fidgeted off to the side. Ghira was unreadable. Yang had her arms folded up.

"...What? Cat got your tongues?"

Blake went paper white. It actually took Kali a moment to register what Yang had said. Ghira leaned forward and leered over Yang. Yang ever so slightly leaned back.

"...I'm never one to pussy out of a challenge."

"Well, Blake and Kali are all ears."

"Hmm... Purrfect execution."

"What can I say? I always think on my feet."

"Meow meow, don't go over extending yourself."

"Oh, I'll throw a paws in here every now and again. To think."

"You've got to be kitten me. And here I thought you were original."

"I've only got nine lines."

"..." Ghira and Yang nodded, fist bumped, and laughed.

Kali and Blake shared a look.

"You're dating your father."

"He's not usually this bad."

Kali stepped forward, and before Yang could react, pulled her into a bone breaking hug. "Welcome to the family miss Xiao Long. It's nice to meet you."

Yang chuckled and hugged Kali back, squeezing the life out of her. "Welcome to the Loops Kali. I'm gonna get more material later."

"I'm paws-itive she will," Ghira said, laughing heartily.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.5 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Seventeen days later, and Raven was still very tense. The creatures of Grimm hadn't swarmed the camp, surprisingly enough. She would have thought that after that, they'd have trailed her like a beacon-

-she winced, mentally backpedaling-

-like prey, that was right, but while she heard their growls and cries none had been seen by her scouts. Then again, the Schnee woman had said they'd be watching her. Maybe the loopers were keeping the Grimm off of them. For some reason, that wasn't actually a comforting thought.

Of course, she'd taken advantage of the sudden dearth, passing through a few smaller settlements and having her tribe loot what they could. Trekking Anima and taking from the weak who hid behind their walls was a familiar enough action for her, and she'd thought that at least it could keep her mind off-

-fire, rotted tree, a dragon's face, she had jerked awake five times-

-she sighed, rubbing her forehead as she sagged into her couch. "Damn it all... I'm taking some sleeping pills from Shizukanaishi."

"You know, if you want I could just give you some."

Instantly Raven was on her feet, her hand at her hilt as her red eyes fixed on the woman standing in her tent. "You-you're one of the people Ozpin had in the office."

"Yep. I don't think we were properly introduced. My name's Jenny Everywhere." She paused, looking behind her. "Serious question, how do you lug a couch around with you?"

Raven's eyes narrowed. "What is it that you want?"

"So at the start of this loop we were told we'd have four new loopers. You were the third one we found." Jenny shrugged. "And now we've got the fourth. Figured you'd want to know, maybe come meet her."

The raider queen slowly let her grip on her hilt loosen. "I... am fairly certain Yang doesn't want me anywhere near Vale."

"You know, Yang doesn't usually go for booze but after your chat she actually headed over to Patch and got shitfaced."

"What?"

"Yeah, made the local news. She was telling literally everyone she ran into that she was a heartless bitch, then she remembered one of her drinking partners was actually a dog so she started saying she was just a stupid bimbo instead, then she demanded burritos for some reason and started screaming about pink rats. Got a week of community service for destroying a couple of statues."

Raven stared at her for a moment or two. "...pink rats."

"From what I hear she had a bad experience with a variant Grimm. Psychic." Jenny tapped her head. "I wasn't around for that, I'm not from Remnant, but she was in a bad place for a while there."

"There are psychic Grimm?"

Jenny snapped her fingers. "Right, we didn't have the chance to explain variants before Yang came along. So you know Yggdrasil's broken, right? That means it doesn't always remember things right when the loop starts. Like, there are going to be loops where you're a man instead of a woman, or where you use the power of vegetables to fight Grimm instead of Dust, or... or where you never left Taiyang."

Raven flinched. "If that situation crops up I'll... stay out of Yang's way-"

"Also loops where you and Yang switch places," Jenny added. "Like she's the raider queen, and you'll be the daughter she left behind. Oh! And loops where you're Awake and she's not, so instead of dealing with a raging fire dragon you'll be handling a seventeen-year-old who just wants to get to know you-"

"What is your fucking point?!"

"My point is even if you both want to avoid each other, which I don't think is the case at all, you simply won't be able to. Sooner or later you're going to end up tossed together in some situation, no clue what. Hell, Yggdrasil has a habit of throwing loopers into uncomfortable situations-you know how Qrow had a minor case of herpetophobia? The tree started giving him scales until he got over it."

Raven threw up a hand. "Of course. It's not enough that my-that she hates me, no, now the entire fucking _multiverse_ is going to conspire to stick us in a room together!"

The woman gave her a sad look. "She doesn't hate you. She just... doesn't want you to turn into Cinder."

"Cinder. Who the hell is Cinder?"

Jenny sighed. "Cinder... The original plan, as I understand it, was to find all the new loopers and get them used to the situation before we sat you all down to explain what happened with Cinder last loop. And then Yang went and threw her tantrum, and you got terrified and decided to run off here, and everyone's been worried you're not adjusting well without help..."

"Really. Everyone's worried about me."

"Everyone's worried _for_ you," Jenny stressed. "And about you, yeah, but that's just because of... Cinder. Look, I wasn't there myself so you'll either have to come to the meeting or get the story later. I can personally promise that Yang won't be there, and I can make sure Qrow won't be there, and... well, Taiyang's one of the new loopers so he will be there, but we could put you on opposite sides of the room or I could give you something that makes you invisible to him-"

"I don't need this right now," Raven grumbled. "I'm raiding Shizukanaishi tomorrow-"

"Fair enough. Saturday good?"

She paused, looking at the woman with a small frown. "You're not going to stop me?"

"It's a big multiverse. There are worlds where the raiders are the heroes." Jenny shrugged. "I mean, I'll keep the Grimm off after the attack, but from what I've seen you're very efficient. Get in, take what you want, get out. There are worse ways to go about it."

After a moment, Raven sighed. "Is this one of those things where 'no' is just not a viable answer?"

"Mmm. Pretty much, yeah. 'Later' is, though. Really at this point the time of the meeting's all on you."

"Ugh, fine. Saturday. I'll come Saturday so you can tell me about this Cinder person."

"Maybe you could talk to the other new loopers, compare notes," Jenny suggested. "Besides Taiyang, there's Sun and Kali. I'm pretty sure you'll want to talk to Kali."

"Really. Why."

"Yang's banging her daughter."

Raven blinked. "...Yang's gay?"

"Bisexual, technically, but it's a committed relationship so-"

"She can turn into a dragon." Raven dropped onto her couch. "Who ever heard of a gay dragon?!"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Well off the top of my head I can think of, mmm, thirty six..." She grinned at Raven's incredulous look. "Multiverse. Very big, lots of stuff going on."

"Right." After a moment Raven sighed. "You know what, if you've still got those sleeping pills I'll take them."

"Here ya go." Raven tossed her a bottle. "Don't overdose. Death might be temporary for loopers, but that doesn't mean it isn't still painful."

Raven blinked, opening her mouth to reply, but Jenny had already strode out the tent flap. After a moment, she took a long breath and looked down at the bottle in her hands. "Right. Don't overdose. Because that's obviously the most important advice you could give me."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.6 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Weiss?"

"I'm in the middle of something right now, Jenny."

"I know, and I know you need to get this out if your system for the moment, but I'm pretty sure that if you take much longer, the others will wonder what's taking so long."

Weiss dismissed her summoned Grimm and turned to Jenny, all while avoiding Tyrian's attacks using her Jedi reflexes. "Fine, I guess I'll finish them off."

"Such cold words from the ice queen! Do you really think that you can defeat us so eas-"

The scorpion faunus was interrupted by having each segment of his tail cut off separately, the burning pain following to the rest of his joints, so hot that the wounds became cauterized by the glowing blade as it passed through. The last thoughts running through his head before that too was separated from his body was ' _Such cruelty! How delightful! Well, except for the fact that it's directed at me._ '

Weiss had already moved on, and had dealt with Watts, Hazel, and Salem in the same manner.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that, Jenny. I just... it's just so frustrating! Everything that happened. I'm just... I just needed to do this. To vent my anger. I just need to calm down."

"I've seen a lot of things in the multiverse, Weiss. Trust me when I say that you could have dealt with your anger in much worse ways than you did."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.7 BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=

 _I'm going to request a pocket check on all of us-myself included-just to make sure that we haven't been compromised.  
_  
The words Weiss had spoken echoed in Neo's mind like an air raid siren as she levitated a section of her complex midair. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" The 'Wall of Amber' was in the process of being painted into a time-lock using Gallifreyan art techniques she had picked up a number of years ago so that it could be 'lost' among other stolen masterpieces, in the background a bakers half-dozen clones were blurring through her herbology department at a 1000:1 rate to breed and cultivate multiple millenia worth of exotic plants and the experiment logs to match, another set of clones were using dustomancy to simulate a thousand thousand lifetimes worth of idleness and filth buildup.

Outside, Roman was covering for her — Tree she loved that man. More dear to her than a father, brother and lover all at once; no one else in all of existence was as close to her, or as aware of her excesses, as him — while Weiss and Penny took a look at his Pocket. She herself was, to all appearances, lounging idly in Ozpin's stolen chair awaiting her turn. It was even true to a degree, as over a million clones ran throughout her Pocket like a cleaning service hopped up on the Speed Force. She was going to have the mother of all headaches when this was over, but it was of the utmost necessity that she finished this _now_ before she — grudgingly — allowed another Looper who wasn't Roman into her Soul for the first time in cosmic ages.

Gods DAMN Cinder! That stupid bitch just had to go and try this now! She had been so close to her goal, Cinder's psyche all but putty in her hands, before the tentacled bastard shoved his pasty white hands into her Soul and ruined everything. She hoped that the suited billiard ball suffered an unimaginable hell for the rest of eternity.

Igniting her hands, she burned like the sun; immolating everything in the immediate vicinity and making way for the trio of clones to begin manipulating the stone beneath her feet upwards, growing a mountain to disguise the remnants of a hundred millennia worth of rigorously documented tests and experiments and creating a ski resort to help sell the illusion. A dozen quantum entangled supercomputers spat out calculations for wind, rain, tectonic movement and radioactive spectroscopy to simulate a natural growth. The elemental energies of nature pouring out, shaped unnaturally to mimic natural progress over extensive time periods.

All to hide evidence that she had ever even contemplated breaking Cinder's mind. But not completely, an absolute lack of intent being more damning than 'discarded and forgotten' plans aged and decayed to emulate the passage of countless years.

She left her victory 'trophies' from her campaign against Tyrian intact. As a matter of fact, she moved it to a place of prominence where it would be both easily visible and simultaneously help conceal additional evidence of her more long-term attack against Cinder. With any luck they'd be too busy shuddering in existential terror or attempting not to upheave the balance to examine it too closely. If not she could always activate the proximity sensors to turn on the session recordings. Those were always good for a quick pick-me-up whenever she was feeling stressed, and even Roman avoided them whenever possible. Goodie two-bytes and little miss special snowflake were hardly up to par in comparison.

Surveying the work in progress she nodded. The museum was being relocated, both so she could show off the various priceless artworks she had liberated and so that she could demonstrate her less questionable hobbies. She'd have to rope off the 'Hall of Conquests' though, the last thing she needed was accusations of Sakura Syndrome being thrown about when they saw their faces on the wall; no matter how accurate the charges may or may not have been, she didn't need the extra attention now of all times.

She reminded herself she'd need to set up guards to protect her and Roman's brewery. Roman handled the distribution, it was up to her to develop new — potentially volatile — varieties of product. The other Remnant Loopers were allegedly teetotalers, but she wouldn't put it past them to try and indulge a bit of corporate sabotage; stealing from thieves being that special kind of grey area upon which many a Looper salved their conscience. Just because they wouldn't drink it, didn't mean they wouldn't _sell_ it if they got their hands on it. The fact that she could hide her more difficult to conceal efforts in the brewery and explain the guards as her — fully justified — paranoia was just a bonus.

Outside, she watched as Weiss and Penny exited Roman's Pocket. Roman took the opportunity to engage the Schnee heiress in a bit of discussion, mostly centered around exactly what it was she expected to find and reinforcement of the idea that Slenderman was responsible for the entire affair that had preceeded their current situation, for which Neo was grateful as those precious seconds allowed her the time needed to finish her renovations just under the clock. As the last bit of tectonic plate shifted into place Neo lithely leapt from her perch, passing the seat back to Roman to be safely stored in his Pocket once more.

The vast majority of her clones followed the 'Wall of Amber' into the time-locked painting, which was quickly carried into the brewery and the traces of their passage erased from earth, air, radioscopy and spiritual presence, and she pasted a superior smirk onto her face. Just as the door to the brewery was closed and locked, she manifested a gilded door she had stolen from the Emperor of Mankind's antechamber; opening it with a elaborate bow and gesturing for them to enter.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you to be just a touch less sarcastic?"

Roman laughed. "Ah, but sarcasm is the language of the refined. With naught a word, it can cut as deeply as any blade."

"And yet, it leaves the soul bitter. Both that of the recipient and the presenter."

"A bit of Jedi wisdom, that?"

Weiss sighed and shook her head. "No. Just a bit of personal observation. Refinery is not all that which it is claimed, honesty is in a simple soul after all."

"Well then, I have to be _honest_ , we're burning daylight just standing around here. Shall we?"

Neo smirked. "Let's."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.8 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"An unintentional activation, an unclear antiquity, and an unscrupulous administrator. This unusual amalgam of circumstances led to Cinder Fall's insanity."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Well, _there's_ an alliterative and dramatic opener."

Ozpin glanced over his shoulder at her. "I felt the scope of the situation deserves it."

"...You're right, drama has a place. This would be it. Sorry." She nodded. "Continue?"

The headmaster adjusted his glasses, turning back to the assembled listeners. Sun Wukong was looking distinctly uncomfortable, glancing around at the number of adults in the room as his tail lashed. Kali Belladonna was sitting close to her husband-as close as the row of chairs would allow. Taiyang and Raven were on opposite sides of the arc-he'd placed Raven next to Kali, on Zwei's advice, and that did seem to relax the raider, but the both of them were sneaking occasional awkward glances at each other. It had taken him some time to consider who would be the... most trustworthy and least threatening of the loopers, but putting Glynda and Jenny behind him with James and Penny against the back wall seemed the best option.

"As I'm sure you're aware, the multiverse is damaged, necessitating the loops. It is being repaired slowly but consistently. However... in certain circumstances, the damage can, and has, worsened." Ozpin frowned, one hand rapping its fingers on the other. "For the most part said damage is minor, a few localized issues that the natives of each world have to deal with. There have been, however, some cases universal annihilation. One was... utterly destroyed in an event known as the Crash, with nobody being able to remember it and even the admins only being aware of it due to the bug files. Another was rendered inert when its anchor was tricked into admin status-thankfully, the reality remained mostly intact and, through no small amount of effort, the universe restored. To my knowledge, these are the only two such worlds that have suffered even temporary destruction."

He paused, noting with... unfortunate approval, that all eyes were on him.

"Last loop," he stated slowly, "Remnant very nearly became the third."

The reaction was immediate, if subtle. Taiyang seemed to sag in his chair, while Sun stared at him bug-eyed. Kali gripped Ghira's tightly, a quiet gasp escaping her lips; Raven's face hardened, growing stoic and neutral.

"Ascension has two specific meanings to loopers, both related. With a lowercase a, it refers to the act of becoming a god in one universe-with all the power and worship that implies. With an uppercase A, it means gaining power beyond even that, becoming equal to the administrators, the very beings that relegate the loops and repair reality. Such an act, with the state that Yggdrassil is in, would exact a terrible price-the complete destruction of a reality."

"And this Cinder Fall tried it," Ghira said, slowly.

Ozpin nodded, slowly. "It is, sad to say, far more complicated then that, but that is the core issue." He took a deep breath. "Cinder Fall was never meant to loop, but unfortunately there are particular beings on the admin's level who... well, they're called hackers, and that should give you some idea of their affection for the law. Furthermore, when she did activate she was... Her personal history was incredibly vague at the time, which led to a highly loop variable backstory. The only stable point of her past that she had was an urge to destroy Vale and a few... minions, shall we say. And due to an odd quirk of fate, she had been personally informed of the loops by Ruby Rose herself."

"So, not a good start," Jenny quipped.

"I have no doubt all of you have seen your looping companions pull off some truly... impressive stunts by this point. You, at least, are their friends and family-they may wish to show off, but they will, for the most part, attempt not to intimidate you." He gave Raven a sympathetic glance. "Cinder, however, was the villain, and that was all she knew about herself. So instead of coming forth, she... hid, for some time, gathering powers and carefully testing the extent she could act without gaining attention. And she observed and... found another stable point in her life."

"This is where it gets weird," Jenny advised the listeners.

Ozpin gave her a flat look.

"What? It is!"

He sighed. "...Ruby Rose is the Anchor of Remnant, and therefore almost always looping. On top of that, she was, and is, quite well slotted into the young heroine role; a counterpart to Cinder's position as the then-presumed destroyer of Vale. Perhaps developing a fixation on her was inevitable. She decided, as I understand it, to set up a few contingency plans in case she was discovered. One of the key ones was, via careful acting and taking advantage of variants, to allow the possibility that she could develop Chrysalis syndrome."

"Chrysalis Syndrome?" Sun asked, leaning forward. "That doesn't sound good."

"Yeah, there's this vampire bughorse in another reality," Jenny explained casually. "In her baseline she invades the capital and generally does bad guy things, but she woke up right after a loop where she was one of the good guys and was so freaked out by what she was quote unquote _supposed_ to do that she decided 'fuck that, I'm being a hero instead.' So now every time somebody activates after a variant and decides to ignore their baseline personality, that's called Chrysalis syndrome, after that bughorse."

Glynda looked at the confused faces of the listeners and sighed. "Yes, what she said is true, but at the moment we're focusing on Cinder."

"Cinder decided to fake Chrysalis Syndrome," Ozpin explained. "I believe she did so after discovering she was not the only looper from Remnant who was stealthing. In essence, she could not defeat Ruby, so she joined her, saying that she only remembered being her sister. She did not stop indulging in her more... immoral tendencies, but she spent equal time hiding from Ruby as the villain and joining Ruby as a fun-loving family member. It might have started as a lie, but... the common expression is 'becoming the mask.' Because her false life was ironically more stable then her so called real life, she came to view it as equally important from an emotional standpoint, and actually consider Ruby and the other loopers her friends."

"...So, why did she try to Ascend?" Taiyang asked. "Didn't she know the risks?"

Ozpin sighed. "As I understand it, her stealthing and being the villain became... akin to an addiction, a way of 'sneaking out of the house' so Ruby and the others wouldn't lecture her on her indulgences. Yes, I'm aware that's strange to consider, but it's perhaps the best metaphor for the moment. Even though she was happy as a member of Ruby's social circle, Cinder also had a need to be... powerful. It didn't help that baseline extended to a point where the two were brought together in open conflict, and it certainly didn't help that her baseline self ended up causing quite a bit of trauma for her looping friends. There was a growing divide between the two identities, a divide that was only exacerbated by the actions of the entity called Slenderman."

Raven quirked an eyebrow. "A simple, but descriptive name. I'm assuming this Slenderman is actually a horror from beyond our reality."

"You would assume correctly. Most of the hackers on the admin level do not wish to cause harm-they merely inflict inconvenience for their own amusement. Slenderman, however, styled himself as a malicious sort of evil-in both personality and appearance he could easily be compared to the creatures of Grimm. Of course, he had to be subtle, too many infractions and the rest of the admins would come down hard on him... and Cinder, who was hiding her own villainous tendencies, was a perfect victim and tool." Ozpin took a breath. "It's still not clear what he did to Cinder, exactly, but something got lodged into her soul-her actual soul, not a metaphorical one, and proceeded to give her nightmares. Combining that with the already strained relationship her two lives had with each other, and Cinder Fall... split in half, for lack of a better term."

Kali bit her lip. "So there was the nice Cinder, and... the not nice one."

"Precisely. While the sister version of Cinder continued to live happily with the loopers despite the nightmares of unknown origin, the less moral version continued to gather power and rage at her own powerlessness against fate and the loopers. Neither personality was consciously aware of the other; they both developed in highly divisive ways. Eventually, however, the one that wanted power, wanted freedom from fate, decided to break the world." Ozpin leaned back. "I understand that in the end, Ruby managed to talk her down and bring the two halves together again. I understand that in the end, Cinder Fall actually acted to reverse some of the damage she did. But she is still not well, and the fact is..."

He paused.

"...The fact is, in order to distract us, to keep us occupied so that we could not stop her, the immoral side of Cinder collected and unleashed an army of horrors both physical and psychological, the likes of which are rare among the loops. We are all recovering, emotionally and spiritually, from a battle that determined whether or not Remnant would even still exist. That you were activated as a result, that too has implications... if any of you notice anything unusual, about yourself or the world, you should let one of us know immediately. Beyond that, I beg your patience and understanding." He sagged into his seat. "I think, for the moment, we are done."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.9 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Okay, what have you got this time?"

"Oh, you'll like this, Red. We've got a statue of the king of Vale!"

"Oooo, nice! Loop variable, though, mark it as a maybe after I check with Weiss."

"A few dozen thousand-Lien cards-"

"Automatic cookie beam. Seriously, Roman, I keep telling you, smaller denominations, mass over value."

"I know, I know. Which is why I also took one of the limos."

"You drove it down the road honking some crazy tune while dodging cops, didn't you?"

"I'm nothing if not dramatic. And, the centerpiece of this lug out-"

The curtain was finally drawn back, allowing him to finally see where he'd been brought. He wasn't... quite sure where it was, though it seemed to be a warehouse of some sort.

A girl with red hair stared at him for a moment or two, before turning to the man in the bowler hat. "Roman, why is Whitley here?"

"What can I say, a thief like me just can't resist a challenge."

"Yes. Thief. Not kidnapper." The girl rolled her eyes. "You know I'm not going to cookie beam him, and you know nobody's going to pocket him, so... what was even the plan here? Stick him in a room and hope nobody looks?"

The man paused. "...Hmm. We could just ransom him back-no, too boring. Induct him into the gang-"

"He's fourteen."

"Point. Set him loose on a Mistralian brothel."

 _"He's fourteen."_

"Just the proper age to start, then."

The girl threw up a hand in exasperation. "For the love of... Hold on." She pulled out a scroll and made a call. "Hey, Weiss? Yeah, Roman's kidnapped Whitley."

A sigh came from the scroll. _"I do not need this right now... I'll be there momentarily."_

"See you soon then!" The girl hung up, turning to the bound and gagged boy. "...If I untie you, can you promise not to use any 'rich boy' cliches? No 'my father will' or anything like that?"

He stared at her flatly.

"...Because look." She pulled out a white Lien card. "Money?" It flashed, and suddenly seemed less glossy. "Just a snack." And with a dramatic chomp, she devoured it.

The man in the hat rolled his eyes. "You know he'll think that's slight of hand."

"Eh... fair point." She kneeled down, untying the gag. "Seriously, Whitley, I am super stressed right now, so please try to be considerate, alright?"

He gave her an odd look as the gag came out. "You want me to be considerate. After I've been kidnapped."

"Entirely a misunderstanding. Oh hey, see that limo?" She pointed and, yes, there was in fact one of the family limos. "I'm going to eat it."

"Really."

"Cookie beam!" With a flash, the limo became a limo-shaped cake. "Oooo, red velvet. Fancy."

Whitley jolted back when the girl disintegrated into a red mist that enveloped the pastry vehicle. "What the devil is that?"

"That," said a familiar voice with a sigh, "is Ruby deliberately exploiting her majin physiology to creep you out and subtly imply that causing problems will not end well for you."

Whitley turned his head to see Wiess striding up, absently smacking the bowler-hated man upside the head as she passed. "Sister... what is going on?"

"Too much for me to bother explaining. Now." She began untying Whitley's bonds. "I'm going to take you to the Schnee hotel, and drop you off for the staff to handle. If you try to press charges, you'll no doubt find that you won't be able to make them stick. If you try to explain what you saw, you'll be considered a laughingstock. As far as anybody knows, I found you and brought you to the hotel. Agreed?"

"...You're just going to let them get away with breaking the law? With kidnapping me?"

"One, only Roman did those. Two, he's talented enough that he can get away with it, no matter what I do. Three, you're unhurt." She untied the final rope. "And as much as I would like some sisterly bonding time with you, I have to finish examining the souls of a number of immortals in order to make sure a god Grimm has not infected them. Maybe later this year we can chat. Right now, you need to get home."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.10 LithosMaitreya**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun sat cross-legged on the sand, his hands idly playing with the silt to his sides. Occasionally he reached out behind him and took a stone from the rocky ground behind him before winding up and casting it out to the sea before him. The sun was sinking low over the water, and a pair of dark sunglasses hid his eyes from the glare over the water.

 _Plop_. Another rock landed in the ocean, leaving barely a ripple against the gentle crashing of the waves.

There was a crunching of feet on gravel behind him, and then a tapping of boots on stone. He glanced behind.

Kali gave him a slight smile. "Hello, Sun," she said, coming abreast of him and sitting beside him. "Mind if I join you?"

He shook his head. "Nah, go right ahead, Mrs. Belladonna."

"Please," she chuckled. "Call me Kali."

He smiled slightly, but didn't reply.

She sat silently beside him as he reached back for another stone and let loose. _Plop._ "So, what's eating you?" she asked. "I remember a much more social young man."

He sighed. "Blake," he said.

Kali nodded sagely. "Yes, my daughter has that effect on people."

Sun blinked. "You mean she often turns out to be a time-traveling immortal with a girlfriend who she's been with for thousands of millennia and no interest in the guy who likes her after all?"

"Oh, all the time," Kali said nonchalantly. "You should've seen her the first time it happened."

Sun blinked. Then he shoved the giggling woman lightly with his shoulder. "Oh, very funny," he grumbled. "Hilarious actually. I can barely contain my laughter."

Kali subsided. "I'm sorry," she said gently. "I know you care for her. It's quite gratifying, actually, as a mother."

He sighed. "You raised her well," he said.

She snorted. " _I_ wasn't involved," she said unhappily. "Blake had been an orphan for longer than either of us can imagine before I ever came into her life."

Sune grimaced. "But I never _knew_ the Blake who was an orphan," he countered. "The Blake I knew was your daughter. She's the girl I… I dunno, was interested in. And I'm telling you, you raised her well. She's great. Was great. Would have been great?" He winced. "No, not that last one. Or the one before it."

Kali chuckled bleakly. "This whole affair is rather difficult to deal with, isn't it?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Sun agreed. "More than a little."

He took up another stone, tossed it. _Plop._ The sun sank lower.

"There are other fish in the sea," Kali said.

"Easy for you to say," Sun mumbled. "You're a cat faunus."

"Other bananas in the bunch, then."

 _Plop._

"I really like her, you know. It's not just that's she's pretty—she is, right? Gorgeous. Has been since the moment I fist laid eyes on her. But she's also got that sarcastic sense of humor, and she's so dedicated to doing what's right, and she just cares _so much_. She's amazing."

"Yes," Kali said softly. "Yes, she is."

 _Plop._

"I really thought I had a chance."

"I really thought you did, too."

 _Plop._

The sun sank into the waves. Suddenly, as it began to disappear, it seemed to transform from a yellow gaslight into a green one, glaring into sun's eyes through the sunglasses.

"Oh, the green flash," Kali said, smiling. "I haven't seen it many times before. Menagerie's near the equator; it doesn't last long, even when it happens."

"Vacuo's inland," Sun said, "and Mistral's coast faces east. What is it?"

"I think it happens when the sunlight filters through the water," Kali said. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Sun nodded, watching as the green light slowly sank the rest of the way beneath the waves. "Yeah," he agreed.

 _Plop._

The sun set.

"You'll be all right," Kali said. "We get rejected, we move on. We grow. It's what people do."

Sun nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.11 masterofgames**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Qrow led the way through his pocket as he gave Ruby, Weiss, and Nora the tour.

"-and over there we have a bottle of every booze, wine, and liquor I've ever encountered, plus a replicator, so I don't run out when I feel like a drink. I keep it sorted by taste. The good stuff is in the back. The bottle closest to us is poko. Don't drink poko, trust me. No matter how immune to alcohol you are, poko _will_ get you drunk. It's what certain non-admin gods use to get wasted."

Weiss sighed. "Dare I ask what's in the _second_ bottle?"

"460.5 ale. It's like 307 ale, but fifty percent stronger. And yes, the number is the proof. That stuff is two hundred and thirty point two five percent alcohol."

"...How do you _function_?!"

Qrow winked to Weiss. "Ah, come on princess. If I haven't told your sister yet, what makes you think I'm telling you?"

Ruby chose that moment to interrupt from further down the hall. "Hey uncle Qrow, I found a door with a bottle and a musical note on it. What's in here?" she asked, reaching for the handle.

Qrow's eyes widened. "W-wait! Don't open-"

 _Cre-e-eak  
_  
 _"Beer beer beer, tiddly beer beer beer... A long time ago, way back in history! When all there was to drink was nothin' but cups of tea! Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops! And he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops!"  
_  
 _Slam!  
_  
"That, Ruby, is my collection of drinking songs." Qrow groaned, rubbing his head as he leaned backwards against the door. "Great for getting people in the mood to talk when I'm out looking for information from folks, but it takes weeks to get them out of my head. _Please_ can we move on?" he begged.

Ruby just gave a sheepish grin. "Heh, sorry..."

"Thank you." Qrow sighed as he continued on. "Now, over _here_ is-"

 _Cre-e-eak_

 _"OH WHAT COMES IN MALTS AND LIQUORS!? WHAT GETS YOU DRUNKER QUICKER!? WHAT COMES IN BOTTLES OR IN CANS!?"_ _ **"BEER!"  
**_  
"NORA!"

Nora just shrugged. "What? You were all wondering! Admit it!"

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.12 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

It was... surprising, really, how short the loop had lasted. Not even reaching the breach, barely allowing for some Atlas students to have already been there...

Penny sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the scroll in her hands. She had been staring at it for the past seven hours, as psychotically perky phantasms that no longer existed played their song and dance. At last, though, the twisted mockeries of her voice had fallen silent, leaving her staring at her faint, sorrowful reflection.

Her emotions broiled within her. She'd just gotten over Pyrrha-finally, finally managed to move on from baseline-and then... this. This. She couldn't-

She stowed the scroll away, standing up and striding out the door. The final looper had been found, Salem slain by Jenny Everywhere, and they were going through pockets systematically at this point. Ruby seemed to be planning a major gathering, but that was a whiles away. No, right now, Penny had time to do something she should have done far too long ago. She ignored the guards and the headmaster following her, presumably for her own protection, and came to the door she sought, rapping her knuckles on it rapidly.

After a moment, the door slid open. "Ah. Hello, miss Polendina, what-?"

That was all she could say before she was wrapped in a surprisingly tight embrace.

"You are important," Penny told her thickly. "You are not just another random body on Remnant, your existence has value, and you'll make your life have meaning. Never doubt that, Ciel Soiel. You are worthwhile."

"Thank you... Penny!" Ciel squeaked, in between desperate gasps for air. "I am... glad you... think so... highly! of me!" She gave out a tiny creaking noise.

A pink-haired girl poked her head in from the other room. "Uh, is everything okay there?"

"Oh. OH!" Penny released her, backing off as she took in huge gasps of air. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's... it's quite alright." Ciel cleared her throat. "I... well. Thank you for your message, but I am... rather occupied at the moment."

Penny looked behind her, at the pink-haired girl. "...Neon Katt, right?"

"Yep." Neon waved. "You've heard of me?"

"You could say that. You're important too, just so you know."

"...Uh, thanks. I think."

Penny turned back to Ciel, slugging her on the shoulder with a warm grin. "Go get 'er, tiger." She marched back down the hall, humming quietly to herself.

Neon blinked as the door slid shut. "...Sooooo... what the heck was that all about?"

Ciel rubbed her shoulder with a wince. "Not a gods-damned clue."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.13 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"I must say, you have incredible control of your eyebrows miss Schnee. Is that a jedi art?"

Weiss did not reply, simply maintaining her unamused expression. Glynda stood behind her, face cupped in her palm.

Ozpin sighed. "In the final moments of our previous loop, I... looked for somebody, anybody to save from that catastrophe. I could protect myself from the oblivion, and one other, and... she was nearby."

"...I suppose I understand the instinct," Weiss allowed. "And from a certain viewpoint it could be considered heroic... from most conventional viewpoints, even. But you have to realize the issues with the situation."

"I do, and I shall consult with miss Rose about-"

"Ruby," Weiss interjected quietly, "has informed me the CFVY machines chose to take part in the battle."

There was a somber pause.

"...I am truly sorry for her loss," Ozpin finally managed.

The sound of a throat clearing caught the three's attention. "Can... can I say something?"

Weiss turned, giving the speaker a gentle smile. "Of course, miss Lavender. This is about you, after all, you should have the final word."

"...Thank you, miss... Schnee." The woman clasped her hands together. "I... I've been processing everything ever since, well, that whole mess ended. Ozpin did let me out of his pocket to explain things, and... I got to see myself. On the screen. Reporting live..." She sighed. "The fact of the matter is, the Remnant I grew up with is gone, destroyed in a cataclysm that I had a front row seat to. Those robot girls, not only did they report on everything themselves, they... made me report... I can't go out there. That Remnant, nice as it is, isn't my world."

Glynda sighed. "It's far more complicated then that, Lisa."

"I know it is. Ozpin's explained, in great detail, about the loops and Yggdrassil and... you have to understand, though, I saw Vale collapse. I saw bodies and monsters and... and the end of all things. If I go back, if I... if I walk those roads again, it'll..." She shivered, hugging herself. "I... the only reason I'm still able to talk is, well, because I know how to keep my cool when reporting on horrors. I can't go back. I want to, but I can't."

Weiss looked at her for a long moment. Eventually, she gave a slow nod. "If that is your decision..."

"I think it is." Lisa managed a wry smile. "I have to say, though, speaking of such matters to someone so young-"

"I am Remnant's second."

"...Still. Even knowing about the loops, this is... odd."

"You can certainly say that again," Glynda quipped. "I remember when I first started looping, learning that the safety of the world was in the hands of _students_..."

Ozpin chuckled. "They've acquitted themselves well, don't you think?"

"Mmm." Glynda turned to Lisa. "We'll check on you regularly, of course. If there's anything you think you'd need-"

"Not as such," the former reporter assured her. "Ozpin has made sure to accommodate me to the best of his abilities. And I can always talk to Oscar if I get lonely."

Silence fell like a meteor, as the other two women turned slowly to face the man who was now facepalming.

"...Please tell me," Weiss said very slowly, "that you did not pocket a farmboy."

"I assure you, I did not." Ozpin cleared his throat. "As it turns out, due to our baseline... interaction, Oscar has become soulbonded to me. I simply created a few spare bodies for him to use during my time at Beacon."

"A few?" Lisa blinked. "I... suppose I was wondering how Oscar managed to be near wherever I went, but I assumed he was merely tracking my movements."

"You've had a boy soulbonded to you for some time," Glynda ground out in a terse voice, "and you told no one."

Weiss shook her head. "No, I'm pretty sure he told Pyrrha."

Ozpin blinked. "Well... yes. How did you-?"

"A while ago Ruby mentioned dating Oscar in a variant, and Pyrrha suddenly freaked out." Weiss threw up her hands. "First Lisa, now Oscar. Are there any other big secrets you're keeping from me?"

Silence returned, its meteoric orbit accelerating.

"...Oh sweet Yggdrasil." Weiss facepalmed. "You are not serious."

"Ah," said Ozpin, giving Glynda a pleading look. "It's nothing to do with me personally-"

"When we were stealthing we would regularly employ Roman and Neo as teachers by proxy," Glynda admitted. "They were looping and Ozpin threatened to reveal them unless they did everything he said."

"Of course he did. Of course... Roman wasn't activated by my hiring him, was he? He just exploited that to make it look like he was. And Neo faked Chrysalis syndrome too." Weiss gave out a long sigh. "And now, you're going to ask me to keep that all secret because they've integrated themselves into our community and revealing that is going to just shake things up even more, which we can't afford right now."

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "The situation is... rather delicate at the moment," he allowed.

"Secrets, secrets, and more secrets. I swear you're addicted to conspiracy..." Weiss eventually looked up. "Fine. I won't tell anyone about Neo, or Roman, or even Oscar."

She pointed at Lisa. "But we are _going_ to have to tell the others about her."

"Um." Lisa held up a hand. "Might I ask-"

"Because you're the only sapient soul living in this subspace pocket, _I hope_ , and no soul can survive without a minimum number of friends, which means we're going to have to recruit loopers to socialize with you."

"Ah. That does make some sense."

Glynda took a deep breath. "Ozpin's love of secrecy aside... I do believe we're here to check for evidence of hacking."

"Yes, yes, let's get to it..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.14 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"So where are you two headed?" Pyrrha asked casually.

Ren and Nora paused at the dorm-room door.

"...That's right," Nora said slowly, "we haven't told them, have we?"

"We haven't really had a chance," Ren pointed out. "Especially since our first loop with them after we decided was... last loop..."

Jaune paused in the middle of sharpening his sword. "...Haven't told us what?"

"We, uh." Nora blushed. "Well, this is a seriously awkward point to mention it, since we literally just averted the apocalypse..."

"A while ago, Nora and I discussed our relationship. We agreed to... wait until baseline gave us a sign, one way or the other."

"And, you know, in that last expansion, we... held hands, and... after that, we kind of realized we'd been waiting a bit too long to, you know, hook up. So, um."

"We are taking it slow. Quite slow. But, yes, we are... officially dating, as of a few loops ago."

The room was silent for a moment or two.

Eventually, Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Well, it certainly took you two long enough!"

Nora blinked. "You're not mad? Or creeped out? Or creeped out and mad? Or insulted that we're going on a date right after the world nearly ended? Or insulted, creeped out, and mad?"

"No, no! Well, mostly no." Pyrrha shrugged. "I mean, yes, I see you both as my children so this is a little weird, but then again you're around my age and there's no blood relation and honestly, the loops have shown me that things could be far stranger."

Jaune gave a melodramatic sigh. "Ren, you do realize that you've robbed me of a chance to threaten my little girl's boyfriend."

Ren put on a small smile. "My sincerest apologies."

"No, it's fine. I suppose I'll just have to redirect my fatherly glower." He gave Nora a pointed look. "Don't you do anything to hurt my little boy, you hear me?"

Nora snorted. "Oh, no, of course not mister Arc! I'll be perfectly innocent! _Quick,"_ she stage whispered to Ren, _"the car's idling and if we don't make it to the strip club early enough the crack dealer won't be there!"_

The other three chuckled at her antics. Jaune shrugged and leaned back. "In all seriousness, I don't think I need to say this but... a relationship is something you both work at. So, you know, just... make sure you're clear and honest with where you stand to each other."

"Half a foot taller?" Ren suggested with a small smirk.

Nora glared at him. "Oh you are SO going to be getting me a big fluffy ursa plush for that!"

"I shall relish the opportunity." Ren turned to Pyrrha. "To answer your initial question, we intend to head down to the arcade, followed by a table at the Vale Garden. We should be back around... eight, I believe."

Pyrrha nodded. "Alright. Have fun you two!" She waved as they walked out, a warm smile on her face, and waited until their footsteps were out of earshot.

Then she turned to Jaune. "We're following them, aren't we?"

Jaune shrugged, standing up. "Turnabout is fair play. And they are our kids, we've got a responsibility to look after them."

"Let me just slip into something a little more casual..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.15 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Hello Lisa."

"Hello Ruby."

The mass of Ruby chibis that was technically Ruby Rose in whole and in part had walked into Ozpin's office after his request came through to her. She's been ready for more good news (her father Looping had been handled by another mass) but seeing Vale's favorite newscaster was... strange. Ruby cast her gave on Ozpin, who shook his head.

"I'll be direct Ruby. During Cinder's Ascension, when she unmade the world, I saw Lisa and managed to protect her from... whatever it was Cinder did. We witnessed you talk Cinder down from Ascension."

Lisa nodded. "When it was over... there was no one there. Everything was gone, and Ozpin offered to take me into this Loop. I accepted."

"..." Ruby nodded, walked forward, and hugged Lisa. The newscaster flinched, and then, tentatively, returned the embrace. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I... I will deal with it," Lisa said. The quiver in her voice said otherwise. "I just need time."

"If nothing else, time is something that we have in abundance," Ozpin quipped. "Lisa has also taken me up on my offer to move through the next few Loops, at least until she is comfortable with a world to settle down in."

Ruby stepped back, far quicker than Lisa could see. To her, and to Ozpin, Lisa may not have been moving at all. "Why did you do this Ozpin?"

Ozpin sagged, a tired old man in a tired old world. "I didn't ask myself that question at first. I just saw her and I acted. She was in danger."

Ruby looked up at the far too slow woman. "And this Loop?"

"She was alone. Cinder... there wasn't a soul alive on Remnant. She's not a survivalist, she would have starved. She would have gone mad from isolation. I couldn't just leave her there, especially since she had come from a normal baseline Loop."

Ozpin shook his head. "I had to do something Ruby. Anything to help her."

"Like you couldn't help Pyrrha?" Ruby murmured. Ozpin heard her, and looked away in shame.

"I just need some time to think," Lisa said as Ruby and Ozpin resumed watching the world at normal speed. "Time to process what happened and... mourn."

Ruby nodded. Ozpin handed the woman a cup of coffee. Lisa sat down and drank.

"Just give me some time. I know you have too much already."

"Yeah..." Ruby said.

"Too much indeed," Ozpin said.

The night crawled on.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.16 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...and that's when we kicked Dracula down the elevator shaft." Jenny chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm telling you, James-you never mess with Glynda's hair. She's pulled through some tough shit without ever flinching, but touch those locks and you'll find what she's like without restraint."

"Mmm."

Jenny took a sip of her drink, some out of loop something or other that she swore by. "...You know, you've been very quiet. I mean, I get that you don't talk when you don't feel like it, but, uh... a lot of this is about you guys. The Remnant loopers. I'm here to help. All of you. So, when you asked me up to your suite, I thought... well, we'd be talking. Back and forth, I mean."

"Yes, well." Ironwood cleared his throat. "I don't think my problems are really-"

"Nope. That's what Ruby says, right? Nope." Jenny pointed at him. "Glynda brought you back here cause you were in a rut. You can't say your problems aren't important. Not like that."

"She's... quite firm in her support for those she cares about, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Jenny smiled faintly.

There was a pause.

James leaned forward, eyeing her carefully. "...You're... in love with her, aren't you?"

"Wha-no!" The woman jerked back as if struck. "No! No no no. No. NO. Ha, no, what in the world, what in Yggdrasil, why would you even think that?! You're crazy! Of course I'm not in love with Glyn, we're just friends, we just traveled the multiverse together for a bit, shared some time together, I mean, more then usual, for me, and yeah she's got the whole hot witch thing going on, but that's just physical, I mean hanging out with her isn't physical, but, you know, we just did friend things, like share adventures and eat at restaurants and see movies and sleep in the same room and maybe the same bed if we had to which was cozy and all but it wasn't weird we didn't do anything so you know hahaha ohshitI'minlovewithGlynda."

"Miss Everywhere-"

"This is bad." Jenny stood up, pacing around the room. "This is really bad. I'm the travelling looper, I-I can't settle down. I can't! I literally do not work that way-it's a crush. It's just a crush. I'll get over it. Yeah. I'll get over it. And it's not like Glynda knows, right? All I have to do is not tell her at all and act all-no, she'll get suspicious if I act differently. Um. I know! I can just say-no, I can just imply that being close while around her other loopers, yeah-but-no, that won't work either. I can't-oh shit." She whirled and put her hands on the table. "It isn't obvious, right? You were taking a shot in the dark, just hit at random?!"

"...It's the way you talk about her." Ironwood leaned back. "It's... casual, fond. I'll admit I wouldn't have picked up on it, if it wasn't so consistent. I don't know if she knows."

"She _can't_ know. James, I'm going to have to leave eventually. I don't want her to-"

"What if she feels the same way about you?"

Jenny froze.

Ironwood sighed. "Glynda Goodwitch is a hard woman to get to know. She's firm in her beliefs and strict in her discipline. She states exactly the flaws she sees without shame, or any qualm. But she's also fair, and tries to encourage those around her to be better. In that elevator, she... realized the implications of what she had said, and apologized. I don't know if she would have done it if-"

"She can't." Jenny shook her head. "She can't love me."

"Miss Everywhere-"

"YES. Everywhere! Right in my name! Don't you get it, James? I'm only here to help, and once I'm out, whoosh. I'll be bouncing around the multiverse. I can't hold up a bond like love in that circumstance! Friendship, sure. But love? I... I can't do that to her. She can't-I can't-this is so messed up." Jenny slumped in her chair. "I just wanted to show her a good time! I didn't want to forge a bond or anything!"

"...Jenny-"

"Look, just-don't tell her. Don't tell her about this conversation. I-I have to-uh, I have to, yeah, um, find, who's a new looper, Taiyang! Yeah, he's got some shit he needs to work through. I'll help him with that."

"Jenny wait-!"

"Gotta go nice chat it never happened bye!"

The general watched the indian woman rush out the door. After a moment, he shook his head. "Well. That certainly didn't go how I planned..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.17 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"And... what is this?" Winter asked, carefully prodding a large but inert machine with her sword.

"Ah, that's part of my 'mech mansion' project."

"Mech mansion."

"Yes, I essentially wanted to convert our house into a transforming mecha underneath Jacques' nose, specifically to screw with his head. I had been planning to do it in a few hundred loops, but I hadn't quite figured out how to install everything without being noticed."

Winter shook her head. "You know, Weiss, I can go thousands of loops thinking you're some sort of super calm pillar of wisdom... and then you come up with this sort of thing and I remember you're a looper."

"Mmmm." Weiss checked her datapad. "Well, the droids have finished reforging and rebooting this tower. The scans should be processed by tomorrow. Onward?"

"...Weiss."

The younger (and elder) girl paused. "...yes?"

"...How long will you keep this up? How long will you wear this... mask of calm?"

"Who says it's a mask?"

Winter shook her head. "You were leading an army, Weiss, fighting for the survival of Remnant. Maybe you weren't on the battlefield, but-even if you didn't see the horrors we faced, you... you're a jedi. And..."

Weiss sighed. "...yes. I felt it. Alderann? Ha. Winter, I felt a universe die. All its inhabitants, all its planets, the Force itself. I... you're right, I was thrown off by that. A lot more then I'm willing to say. I... I'm going to have to spend whole loops meditating." She straightened up. "But I can't do that now. Not when everyone is stumbling."

"Weiss-"

"I'll wear this mask, until I can find a safe space to take it off. It can't be Remnant. I just... I hope I have a fused loop soon." She took a deep breath, holding herself against a wall. "Maybe Equestria."

Winter looked at her for a moment.

"...It's my job to worry about you. It's... my prerogative."

"Older sister?"

"Yes."

"...You are helping. The pocket check, keeping eyes on Raven... we may not be as open with our emotions as Ruby and Yang, but trust me, I do appreciate this."

"You say that. I want to help more."

"...I'm sorry, Winter. I'd love your help, but... I am Remnant's Second. And if I am to help Remnant recover, I cannot risk any of you falling to help me."

Winter sighed. "In baseline, Blake runs away to keep her friends safe."

Weiss winced.

"...Weiss."

"Not this loop. I'll let you know, but... not this loop."

"Just so long as you do."

"I will."

"Alright." Winter took a breath. "Shall we move on to the next tower?"

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.18 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Penny half smiled to herself, turning up her audio receptors as she sipped her tea. Ciel and Neon were across the street in a casual restaurant, talking about the recent slew of unusual events-the constant minor robberies from the Schnee mansion, the arrival of the chieftain of Menagerie, the sudden destabilization of Grimm assaults... the golden dragon, which Neon insisted was real and Ciel equally insisted had to have been some holographic prank. It was comforting, hearing them debate and banter as they shared a meal, knowing that even if they had foul fates in that last loop they could at least find happiness in each other here.

Her eyes roved across the street as she listened-then widened, as they found an echo of a familiar silhouette. Quickly refocusing her receptors, she stuck her hand in the air and waved eagerly. "Missus Belladonna! Over here!"

The dark-eared woman seemed to start at being so suddenly addressed, and it took her a moment to catch sight of Penny. Once she did, she waved back with an awkward smile, walking quickly up to the outdoor cafe. "Ah, hello! You're... that girl that was at the meeting about Cinder, aren't you?"

"Yes. Penny Polendina. It is good to see you again... I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh, not at all. I was just... getting out of the hotel." Kali sighed, taking a seat across from her. "I love Ghira, and I am proud of what he's done for our people, but... he's dealing with politicians at the moment."

"Mmm." Penny nodded. "I've been fortunate enough to be spared interacting with most of the higher echelons of society, but I do regard what few interactions I typically have with... frustration. Especially since most of them are only interested in me for their own gain."

Kali gave her a small smile. "Now why is that? No, wait," she held up a hand, "let me guess... you come from a powerful family."

Penny chuckled. "Not exactly."

"You have some unique semblance."

"Unique would be one part of the equation."

"Okay... you're some sort of child genius."

"Genius, I'll grant you. Child... debatable."

The woman blinked. "You look so young, though. I mean, I know you're a looper, but I'd assume that in the baseline-"

"If we're going strictly by my time existing in baseline, I'm actually younger then I look."

"...Okay." Kali leaned back. "I give up. What about you would interest the politicians?"

Penny tapped her left wrist, leaving her hand dangling. "You're familiar with Atlas Knights, correct?"

"The robot soldiers. I've... seen a few." Kali frowned. "I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea, they could be hacked or... malfunction."

"Oh, they were hacked in baseline." She pulled back her sleeve. "And even without that, they're about as intelligent as a dog. Zwei notwithstanding. Still, the concept itself is fairly sound."

"Alright. I don't quite understand how that relates to the politician's interest in you."

"Almost every living creature has aura," Penny explained, producing a small metal cylinder and carefully running a beam around her exposed forearm. "It's a fact that Huntsmen use to their advantage. It's a fundamental aspect of Remnant life. The Knights don't have aura, which puts them at a disadvantage. But if one were to figure out how to create a machine that did..."

She pulled the skin off her hand like a glove. Kali couldn't help but boggle at the metallic skeleton, even as Penny flipped the power breaker back on and began twitching it again.

"Steel, circuits, a plastic-dust meshwork for the skin... Of course, I modify myself at the beginning of nearly every loop. They almost never give me a working nose, you see."

"...You're a robot."

"And you're a faunus," Penny replied cheerfully. "And we are both people."

Kali shook her head. "Oh, of... of course, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just... surprised. I've spent most of my life thinking that humans and faunus were the only races on Remnant, knowing there's a third..."

"I wouldn't qualify myself as a race just yet." Penny gripped her teacup in her mechanical hand, took a sip, and set it down. "I mean, there are plenty of sapient robots across the multiverse, but here on Remnant I'm just a prototype. Well, not _just_ a prototype, I socialize with my friends, but... what I meant to say is that to my knowledge I'm the only artificial being with aura. A race of one."

Kali nodded sympathetically. "It sounds difficult. I know how bad things are for Faunus, but at least we have each other to talk to. Being the only sapient robot on the planet..."

"To be fair, I am generally well off. An expensive top secret project has to be protected well, after all, and that's before factoring in the other loopers."

"Still, though... at least Blake had me to talk about ear care with, when she was younger. It was a small thing, but... well, you have to find a nose, apparently. That's something that I can't... connect with. That's an experience you can't share." Kali sighed. "And that's on top of people making assumptions about you because you're metal. How many magnet jokes do you get?"

Penny winced. "Not... many. I was accidentally murdered due to a magnetic burst in baseline, so..."

"Oh. I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine. It really is."

For a moment, they sat in awkward silence. Penny's eyes drifted back across the road, to where Neon was gesticulating wildly while Ciel laughed. Kali followed her gaze.

"...Friends of yours?"

"Not looping. The one in blue, Ciel Soleil, she's officially my partner for the Vytal tournament. She was assigned to me, though-she's polite, but tends to act with 'professionalism' when we talk. The other one, Neon Katt, I don't meet in baseline-she and her teammate go against Yang and Weiss for the doubles round."

"...They seem to be getting along well," Kali noted.

"...Last loop was horrible for them. They were caught up in the mess, and nobody explained anything. They found each other and, somehow, managed to get on one of the moonshards orbiting Amity-destroyed the gravometric generator, and spent the last two and a half minutes of their life knowing they would die and..." Penny gulped. "I'm just... glad they got that date, this time round."

"...It wasn't your fault."

"Oh, I know that in my head, but..." Penny turned to her mechanical arm, rotating it slowly. "One of the core groups of Cinder's forces were Pennydrones. Hundreds of copies of me, modified with garish cybernetics and cheerfully dismembering random people for their sick amusement. The only reason I even know Neon and Ciel made it up there was because they decided to broadcast the apocalypse and one of their 'slice of life' reporters followed what they called 'a pair of random nobodies.'"

Kali winced. "I... can see how that could be distressing. Still. I don't think they'd blame you. If they remembered."

Penny sighed, working her glove of skin back on. "It doesn't really matter how they feel, it's how I feel about the whole thing. They, at least, get to forget. I have to remember."

The woman had no response to that.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.19 Zetta14**

=-=-=-=-=-=

It was finally Ruby's turn. She had been busy with keeping an eye on Cinder, but it couldn't wait.

Ruby was the Anchor. Her Pocket had to be checked more than anyone else's.

So after splitting off a chibi copy and sending it to Weiss, and having a tense conversation with all present, Team RWBY headed inside.

Ruby briefly shifted her focus to her "real" self keeping an eye on Cinder, just to make sure things would be okay for a few more minutes, before turning back to a copy made of chibis. There weren't many chibis left; only enough to make four-point-two solid extra Rubys. The rest had been burned away in the final push towards Cinder.

Said copy walked through the empty hall of one of her space fleet's docking stations. Most of the docks were empty, where there had been a fleet to rival Palpatine's Empire before. Arwings? Gone. TIE Bombers? Gone. Birds of Prey? Gone. All of them, from the largest to the smallest, were no more. Save for about seven shuttlecraft Ruby hadn't gotten around to weaponizing yet, and several halves of one ship or another.

She glanced out a viewport at the weaponized planet beneath her. Starkiller Base was largely intact. After all, bringing the extra mass of an average planet very close to an existing one never ended well, gravity-wise. And a planet-cracker wouldn't have helped in the slightest, even if the laser had worked. It was sporting some new trenches and ravines, though.

But many things on the base's surface were gone.

Diverting her attention to another her on the surface, Ruby walked through the old hangar. Unlike the space fleet, this place was still mostly full of its old stuff. Flight-capable mechs were gone, but most of the others were still there. Zoids, Battlemechs, AT-TEs, even some Atlesian Paladins from home. Those were still there. But Ruby noticed signs of damage. A wing of the hangar, collapsed into a sudden sinkhole. A number of machines were in pieces, missing limbs or torsos.

Ruby saw one of her Zoids, one that still functioned. It spotted her and was trying to get to her. It wasn't built to walk with only one front leg.

There weren't any robots around to repair it. When Ruby had asked Yggdrasil to help crew her fleet, she hadn't known until she saw Team CFVY that the ships had pilots and crews already. Maintenance droids had to be combat ready-Ruby was from Remnant; how could she not have robots that were combat ready?-and had gone off to pilot some fighters and join the battle. Some Emergency Combat Holograms, modified offshoots of the Voyager's medic, had handled some complicated vessels and airborne Mobile Suits. All the Tachikomas were gone too, crewing some of the larger ships.

Even Seventeen.

Without the buzz of machinery around her, the hangar felt...empty.

As loathe as she was to quiet the only semblance of activity in the entire building, Ruby had the Zoid shut down for later repairs. She had to move on for the time being. So she turned her attention one more time to rejoin her team in the museum.

Even accounting for structural damage, a lot of her stored weapons were missing, whether unpocketed accidentally thanks to Cinder's draining or taken by a robot. The larger ones, the ones that would've hindered more than hurt, were mostly still there. Outright nukes, other planet-crackers, and pretty much anything labeled with a circle. Those were still there. There were a lot of empty spots for square-marked weapons.

But one spot in particular stood out.

A small brown and gold box. One that had broken a long time ago. One that had been repaired and refurbished countless times.

Ruby picked the item up. Slowly, she pulled it to her chest. Her knees bent, and soon she was sitting on the floor, clutching the box. She thought back to the first time it entered her Pocket.

And she wept.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.20 Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=

As Kali Belladonna explored the western edges of Vale near the waterfront, she contemplated her experiences in the city so far. There were definitely a lot of tall buildings, and the culture was surprisingly diverse. It helped that, as a faunus, she didn't have to deal with some of the more rather... _unpleasant_ humans as often as she thought she'd have to. That was definitely a plus. All in all, it was delightful stay in a city ran by human society.

It only emphasized how truly horrible the attack on it was in baseline. And the White Fang's involvement in it...

After shaking her head at the pointless tragedy, she shifted the shopping bag on her arm and took out her scroll to check the time. Her eyes widened when she saw it was 5:10 p.m. She promised Ghira that she'd return to the hotel by six to get ready for their date! She didn't want to cause him to worry unnecessarily, but it was on the other side of the city! She wouldn't make it on time unless she found a cab. The faunus stashed her scroll back into her pocket and started to pick up her pace. Unfortunately, while she had been looking at her scroll, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings. So when Kali finally looked up, it was too late for her to notice the woman she was about to run into.

"Oof!" It felt like she hit a brick wall. Before she could complete her fall backwards due to the force of the impact, a pair of strong hands caught her.

"You should pay attention to where you're going," said a feminine voice above her.

As she was pulled completely upright, Kali realized she recognized the woman before her. "You were at the meeting about Cinder. Raven, right?"

Raven Branwen nodded. "And you are Kali. Quite the coincidence to run into you here," she said with a raised eyebrow, regarding the other woman with a bit of suspicion.

Kali smiled nervously. "Yes, well... Oh!" She straightened up suddenly and gave a quick bow. "Where are my manners? I apologize for running into you like that. I wasn't paying attention."

"...No harm done."

"And I want to thank you for catching me before I fell. That would've been embarrassing."

"You shouldn't. I only did so out of reflex."

The cat faunus chuckle awkwardly. "My, you have no problem being brutally honest, do you?"

The red-eyed woman only shrugged in response.

Kali scratched the back of her dead. She wasn't sure if Raven was _trying_ to be difficult, but now that she had ran into her - literally, in this case - she wouldn't let that deter her. She had reasons for coming to Vale in order to support her daughter, and one of those reasons was now in front of her. She had promised herself that she'd get to know her fellow Loopers. "So what brings you to Vale?"

Ravens eyes shifted towards the ocean before they quickly returned to Kali. "I could ask you the same thing. Don't you live in Menagerie?"

"I decided to come to Vale so my daughter could be close to her friends. I could tell she missed them." _There. If I open up a bit, maybe she will too._

Raven seemed to gauge her for a minute. "...Your daughter is Blake, correct?"

"Correct."

"The same Blake who is in a relationship with... Yang?"

"Oh, that's right!" Kali declared in realization. "Our daughters are a couple, aren't they?" She so was excited by finding common ground with the woman in front of her, she missed her slight twitch. "That'll give us plenty to talk about as we walk."

"Talk?" Raven asked in confusion.

"Yes. Seeing as my baby girl is involved with yours, and we'll be going through these time loops together, I figured we may as well get to know each other better."

"...You do know who I am, right? _What_ I am?"

"I am well aware of what you do, Miss Branwen," replied Kali as she met Raven's gaze. "But my point still stands. It's very obvious that Yang is an important part of Blake's life, and whatever or whomever is important to Blake is important to me as well. So I'd like to make the effort of getting to know you as a person." Her voice became firm as she added, "Besides, as a faunus and the wife of the former leader of the White Fang, I'd like to believe I'm self-aware enough not to fall into prejudices. Knowing that you are a bandit still doesn't tell me what kind of person you truly are. Not completely."

The bandit leader seemed at a lost. Eventually, she gave a nod. "Alright. Lead the way."

Before she started strolling with the other woman down the sidewalk, Kali took a glance towards the direction that Raven had before, and saw the island Patch in the distance.


	69. Bargaining

**69.1 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"We've been in here for _four weeks,_ " Yang groused. "Four weeks!"

Blake sighed. "Yeah, I'm feeling a bit tense too."

"Did not need to hear that!" Ruby chimed in from behind.

"We wouldn't be complaining if you'd just lift your ban!" Yang shot back.

"Yang, we're in my _soul,"_ Ruby pointed out. "Do you really want to say you had sex in your little sister's soul?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Just unpocket them for thirty minutes and let them work it off."

"I knew your pocket was big, Ruby, but..." Blake gestured around at the vast array of starships helplessly. "I thought you kept better records and scanning equipment."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, well... I lost a lot of that last loop. It's going to take a while to rebuild. And I can't really focus entirely on it because..." She trailed off.

Weiss put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We'll figure this out together."

"Thanks, Weiss. And, uh, thanks for taking some of Marianne's paperwork off my hands."

"I'm a heiress, I know paperwork."

There was a sudden explosion, followed by Yang letting out an infuriated scream. "RUBY! ONE OF THE OIL TUBES JUST EXPLODED GUNK _ALL OVER MY HAIR!"_

Blake sniffed and winced. "I'm not sure that's oil..."

At the sound of faint, malicious laughter, Ruby let out a sigh. "That's it. I am officially raising the Chibisalems' status to general inconvenience."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **69.2 Zurcior, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Inside a modest home located on the island of Patch, Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen sat at opposite ends of the kitchen table from each other; they both awkwardly tried not to look directly at the person in front of them. The silence stretched between them; Tai absentmindedly tapped the side of the cup in his hands with his index finger while Raven herself periodically took small sips of the contents in her own cup.

It has been a few weeks after they learned the truth of Cinder Fall, and it was only yesterday that Taiyang received a message from his ex-wife requesting permission to visit so they could talk. There were two things about the act that surprised Taiyang: the fact Raven actually wanted to speak with him, and that she had asked _permission_. Raven didn't ask permission. What was **that** about? Was it somehow related to whatever happened between her and Yang? He didn't know how to go about asking in the first place, and wasn't sure Raven would be willing to divulge.

Raven herself was almost at a loss. She had requested this meeting between her and her former lover to discuss something important, but she had trouble starting the conversation. She didn't understand what she was waiting for. She hadn't felt nervous about meeting with him despite the fact she knew it would be awkward. But something held her back. Maybe it was the topic of the conversation she was felt hesitant about? After she talked with that Jenny woman it had been on the forefront of her mind, and Raven was tired of keeping it in her own head. It was a subject matter she needed to discuss with her ex-husband as soon as possible.

Maybe if she started with an icebreaker?

Raven cleared her throat to catch Taiyang's attention; which it did. Their eyes met when he turned to her and Raven almost lost her nerve again, but she powered through. She projected her usual air of confidence, and inquired, "So, how have you been?"

Blinking at the question, Taiyang stared at Raven with disbelief. "How have I been?" he repeated blankly. "That's all you have to say?"

Raven kept her expression cool. Maybe if she tried a different approach? "Well... I-"

"'Cause I'll tell you how I've been," Taiyang suddenly interrupted, his voice started to leak agitation. "First, my darling wife decides to fuck off to lead her oh so great bandit tribe. Because apparently, that's a more attractive lifestyle than raising a family with me!"

Raven tried her best not to show how offended she was. The tribe was her family too and they had needed her. But she didn't come here to start a fight. "That's-"

"Things sucked for awhile, I'll admit." Taiyang didn't let her get a word in. "I was a single father who had one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. But then Summer, gods bless her, helped me pick up the slack. Eventually, things got serious between us. We got married, had a kid, all that good stuff." His face darkened. "And when I was finally convinced that things were going to be alright, Summer died. That certainly took the wind out of my sails. There was a funeral. It was very sad. My now motherless daughters would agree. A lot of people showed up to show their respect." He then glared at Raven. "Guess who didn't."

Her throat tightened. "I didn't w-"

"And things, once again, sucked," he informed her, his voice becoming more subdued. More melancholy. "I was grieving. I had just lost my second love. And in a moment of weakness, I told Yang that Summer wasn't her real mother." Raven's eyes widened at this as her mouth went slightly agape. "Afterward, she was obsessed with learning all she could about you. Of course, no one wanted to tell a young girl that her real mom was a murderer. So we said nothing. But she was determined. So determined, in fact, that she snuck out of the house one day with her little sister to find you after finding a certain picture. When they reached their destination, they were attack by Grimm. I lost both of my wives, and if it weren't for Qrow, I'd have lost both of my daughters."

Raven said nothing. She had heard the story from Qrow himself. There had been a lot of yelling from him that day. All of it directed at her.

"It was a real wake up call for me," said Taiyang. He had waited to says these things to her for years. It felt good to get it off his chest. "I got a job at Signal so I could be there for my daughters. They needed me, and I needed them. And over the years, things got better and better." He then started to scowl. "But then Beacon fell. My girls lost friends there. Experienced a type of loss that I had hoped they wouldn't encounter until much later. Yang lost her arm!" He shouted and slammed his fist onto the table, startling Raven. "And then, as if _that_ wasn't bad enough, Ruby runs off to Mistral to be hero, and Yang leaves sometime after when she finally managed to heal from her injury; both physically and mentally.

"And now," Taiyang gritted his teeth as he started to raise his voice, "I find out that reality is broken, and that my daughter, my sweet little Ruby, has been chosen to keep it stable; making her the most important person in all of Remnant and I. CAN'T. HELP HER!" He shouted. He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't know what he could do for her. Did she even need him anymore? "And as if that wasn't bad enough, my first wife - the woman who abandoned me and my daughter in the first place - is now suddenly thrust back into my life!"

Taiyang allowed himself to take deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down. It wasn't helping.

"So there, Raven," he growled. "That's how the last eighteen years have been for me. How about you?"

Raven stared at him for a long time as he calmed himself down while she kept her face neutral. She knew this would be a bad idea. After what happened with Yang and Qrow, she expected things to end this way. For how could it have ended any differently? Too much bad blood. But she had wanted confirmation. It cleared a lot from her mind. That was why she asked to come over to talk. There were no more delusions.

"The reason I came here," Raven started to explain, her voice flat and void of emotion; aloof, "is because of a conversation I had with Jenny Everywhere some time before we were briefed on Cinder Fall. During that conversation, she mentioned Variant Loops. Have those types of Loops been explained to you?"

Taiyang peered at her oddly. "Yes," he admitted carefully, still coming down from his outburst. "What's your point-?" He stopped himself when it clicked in his head. He looked at Raven with a surprise that replaced his anger. "You wanted to discuss what we should do when we Wake up during a Variant where you never- Where you never left."

"Yes." The Nevermore Queen nodded. "In such a scenario, I would still be your wife, and you would still be my husband. I thought it'd make these Loops easier on the both of us if we had a discussion on how to handle those moments when they occur." Raven stood up from her chair. "But that is no longer necessary. I'll be sure to give you all the space you need when the time comes." She made her way out of the kitchen. "Thank you for the tea."

To say Taiyang was bewildered by Raven's reaction as she made her way out of the room was an understatement. He had expected a shouting match. It wasn't like Raven to act so despondent. At that moment he realized it probably had something to do with what happened between her and Yang, and he cursed his impulsiveness. He stood up himself and rushed to follow Raven; he'd ask about it later. Right now, he couldn't let her leave. Not like this.

"Raven," he called out once he passed into the living room and saw she had just placed her hand on the handle of the front door. "Don't leave, okay? I shouldn't have lost my temper. It's just... It's been a long few weeks. And you're right. We really should talk." He strengthen his resolve, and prepared himself to say to her words he once uttered only to himself the first time she disappeared from his life. This time in a different context. "So please, come back."

She stood there for what felt like forever, debating with herself the merits of staying. In the end, she removed her hand from the door handle and turned to face him. Unexpectedly, she had a small smirk on her face when she did so and placed a hand on her hip. "Did you just admit I'm right?" she teased.

Taiyang snorted. "Don't get a big head, or your bird brain will get lonely," he said jokingly. "C'mon, get your ass in the kitchen, and I'll pour you another cup."

"Don't you mean my 'cute little butt' as you so affectionately called it back in school?" Raven asked in a complete deadpan as she followed him back to the kitchen.

"Ha! You actually remember that?"

=-=-=-=-=-=

"You know," said Taiyang as he poured a sitting Raven a new cup of tea, "I always figured that there was a fifty-fifty chance that if I ever saw you again, it'd be because of a situation just like this."

"Really?" Raven quirked an eyebrow and gestured around them with her right arm. "Just like this?"

Ruby's father chuckled as he too returned to his seat and poured himself a home-style brew. "Well, not _exactly_ like this. I never could imagine time loops or anything crazy like that. I figured maybe some grand conspiracy, or some larger than life happenstance would force our paths to cross once again, ya know?"

Raven thought for a moment. "What was the other fifty percent?"

"You don't wanna know."

There was silence between them after that. They were back at square one. Neither was entirely sure how they wanted to breach the subject they both knew had to be discussed.

Exasperated, Taiyang let out a deep sigh. "Rae." He made his voice firm, which caused Raven to look him in the eye. "I'm just going to lay it out there. I missed you. I miss Summer. I miss Team STRQ! I can't tell you how much I miss the old days. I'll admit, there are times where I wonder 'what if'. What if you had never left? What if Summer hadn't died? What if neither of those things happened, and you, me, Summer and the girls could be a big happy family?" When he saw Raven raise her eyebrow and deliver the driest look she could muster at him to show how unimpressed she was, he quickly raised his hands in a placating manner. "Hey, I only thought of it because I couldn't imagine my life without either Yang or Ruby! I swear!"

"Uh huh," Raven replied flatly; unconvinced.

The brand new Looper cleared his throat. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the time loops can make those 'what ifs' a reality. Especially the variants."

"What exactly are you saying, Tai?"

"I'm _saying_ ," stressed Taiyang, "that we have entered a new way of living, Raven. We can't change the past, but we can relive it and make things better even if it's only for a little while."

"And if we were to Awaken in a variant where we are still together?" Raven asked, determined to get to the reason for her visit. "How do we handle that? What happens if one of is Awake and the other is not? We're still getting used to each other as is and it won't be any easier considering we have... history."

Taiyang paused, eyeing his ex-wife as he did so. It was a fair question. Their relationship had ended under not so pleasant circumstances, and they had not seen each other in a long time; almost two decades! It would be extremely awkward to be suddenly thrust back into the role of husband and wife when that was taken into consideration. He occasionally drank from his cup as Raven patiently waited for his response. It was when he finished two-thirds his tea that he made his decision.

"How about this?" he offered. "You and I start over from scratch. Complete blank slate. And when the time comes where we Wake up in such a Loop, we'll respect whatever boundaries we have set up at the time."

Raven blinked. "What?" asked the bandit leader incredulously. "A blank slate just like that? As if the past doesn't matter? You can't really be okay with that!"

"Oh, the past still matters," corrected Taiyang. "We wouldn't be who we are without our pasts, or lack thereof in some cases now. But I figured; new lives, new beginnings. We are Loopers now, Raven. And according to other Loopers I've talked to, that means our world has been irrevocably turned upside down. There's no going back to the lives we had before. Not really. From this point forward, everything we decide will lead us towards paths we never thought possible before. I'm sure the others will help us figure it out along the way. I wouldn't mind us starting over from new beginning; we just may become friends again. After that, who knows?" He shrugged. "So what do you say? Want to go back to the beginning?"

Raven was still a little shocked. It couldn't have been that easy. "We've already come so far, Tai," she said perplexed. "How could we ever really start over again?"

"Like this." Taiyang held out his hand to her. "Hi! My name is Taiyang Xiao Long. I am a teacher at Signal Academy and a father of two."

Raven stared at him as if he was an idiot. But after she received some silent prodding from him, she rolled her eyes and took his hand in hers. What a dork. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Xiao Long. My name is Raven Branwen. I was raised in Anima by a tribe of bandits that I eventually became the leader of." She halted mid-handshake when she registered what she just said. "Wow," she chuckled, "that's _one_ way to greet new people. Just tell them you're basically a bandit queen. That won't make them nervous at all."

"We'll work on it," Tai reassured with a smile. "It's not much worse to how you first met Summer."

Raven remembered. Summer was so clumsy and Raven's temper was shorter back then than it is now. It was bad first meeting, but it turned into something both women would find amusement in later on in their lives.

Which reminded her.

"Speaking of Summer." Raven suddenly narrowed her eyes in mock accusation. Since they just started over, and she wanted to get her licks in while it was still considered appropriate. "Her daughter is only two years younger than Yang. Subtract the nine months of pregnancy, and that is at most a one year and three month period in which the two of decided to get together." She frowned in an exaggerated manner and pointed to the false hurt on her face. "That hurts, Tai," she said. Her voice quivered with an obvious fake sadness, and she tapped the spot on her chest where her heart would be. "Right here."

Taiyang blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected her bring _that_ up. Especially as a joke. He found himself chuckling regardless. "What? Jealous?"

"Hardly," replied Raven with a smirk. "If anything, I'm surprised she waited so long."

Taiyang decided to tease her back a bit. "Not really. As soon as she realized you were out of the picture, she made her move. I did my best to resist her out of respect for what you and I had." He flashed her a shit-eating grin. "But then she showed me her boobs and I forgot all about ya."

Raven stared blankly at her ex-husband for all of two seconds before she rolled her eyes and let out a huff. "Your 'jokes' are still in poor taste, you asshole."

Taiyang gave her a teasing smile. "You know you love 'em."

Raven shook her head and brought her cup back to her lips to take another drink. It also hid the small smile that appeared on her face. "Be glad I know better than to take it seriously," she informed him in mock warning.

Taiyang only shrugged. "Well, I certainly didn't expect you to bring it up." He raised an eyebrow at Raven. "You're not actually jealous, are you?"

The bandit paused in order to chose her words carefully. "I'm the one who left." She then looked directly into his eyes. "Can you honestly look me in the eyes and say that whatever feelings I may or may not have had on the matter would have changed anything?"

"No," replied Taiyang without hesitation. "I loved her, Raven."

"And I don't doubt she felt the same," Raven said with as much sincerity she felt. In truth, she held no ill will towards Summer even back then. Not enough to matter, anyway. Yes, there had been that spark of jealousy and hurt when she found out about it, but by then it had been too late for her to have any say in Taiyang's love life. She made her choices, and she wouldn't have had any right to complain when Taiyang and Summer had made theirs. Even as those old feelings tried to rise back up to the surface, she pushed them back down far easier than she had back then. This wasn't the time or place. Raven doubted it ever would be even in this 'new beginning'. "Even when I felt she was at her most foolish and naïve, that woman was always full of love. She definitely had no problem accepting your daughter as her own."

Taiyang nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Of course, Summer had _always_ adored Yang ever since she was born..." He looked at Raven in confusion after he registered her word choice. "Wait," he began, "you just said 'your daughter.'" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Not 'our daughter.'"

Raven straightened up, and grabbed onto her cup so she had something physical to hold on to. She would keep her calm. "Yang has made her position abundantly clear."

The Signal teacher decided to press the issue. After weeks of not exactly knowing what had gone down between Yang and her mother, he planned to get to the bottom of this. "What happened, Raven?" he asked as gently as he could without risk of accidently sounding condescending; Raven wouldn't appreciate that.

"It's nothing you should worry about," Raven insisted as she lowered her head to avoid looking at him. She didn't want to say anything that may or may not cause even the tiniest bit of friction between father and daughter. Not over her. It was not her place to be a point of contention between them. But that wasn't the only reason. If Yang caught wind that Raven had anything to do with it...

Her heart started to beat quicker.

"It's too late for that," countered Taiyang, his frustration had started reemerge. The dark-haired woman had always been stubborn, but he wasn't having it today. "After the two of you met, Yang came barging in here. She was pretty upset at how things end-"

"Would you just let it go?" Raven bit out forcefully as she kept her head down. Her hands started to shake around her cup.

"I can't let it go!" exclaimed Taiyang. "The two of you finally meet - something I was always nervous about - and when it's over, it somehow ended worse than I ever dared to imagine!" He planned to continue further, but something had caught his eye; Raven was shaking. It was small. So small that he almost believed he was imagining it. But he wasn't. For some reason, Raven tried her best to keep herself calm. Why? What was she feeling that she didn't want him to see. He reached forward with his right hand and touched one of her own. "Raven?"

Raven jerked and her head snapped up to meet his eyes, and Taiyang couldn't help but be surprised at what he saw appear in hers as he quickly took his hand away. It passed by quickly, but after years as a huntsman, a father, and a teacher he had experience spotting tells. And what he spotted was something he never expected to see from Raven Branwen, not so openly: fear. But that made no sense! What would she have to fear? All he had done was ask her what had happened between her and-

"Yang," he breathed out in disbelief and a myriad of other emotion; mostly dismay. "Oh my gods, you're afraid of Yang!"

Raven stilled for a second before she allowed herself to relax. She couldn't make another mistake like that. "Don't be ridiculous, Tai." She tried to sound dismissive, but the odd waver in her voice failed to help her sell her act. "Why would I be afraid of Yang? All she did was what I expected. She-"

"Raven."

She stopped when she heard the firm tone in his voice and signed. It didn't look like she was getting out of this.

Taiyang gave his ex a pleading look. "Please," he implored. "Just tell me the truth, and I promise I'll do everything in my power to help smooth things over between you and Yang. New beginnings, remember?"

Raven stared at him for a long time; conflicted. Red eyes wavered as she contemplated whether or not it was worth the trouble it might cause.

In the end, she decided 'fuck it'. She was Raven Branwen: the Nevermore Queen of Anima's most feared bandit tribe. And in the end, she admitted to herself that Taiyang had a right to know. The conflict didn't just involve her, and it was a father's prerogative to be worried about his child.

Raven opened her mouth-

"Ugh! This smell will take forever to wash off!"

-and then clamped it shut as the familiar voice reached them from outside.

Taiyang looked in the direction of his front door before turning back to Raven. "We'll talk later, okay?" he spoke in a whisper.

Raven quickly nodded.

The front door slammed open, allowing Yang to stomp toward the stairs as she dripped with viscous... substances, followed carefully by her team. "Hey Dad, I-"

She paused at the kitchen door, pulling back the gunky forelocks of her hair. Raven gripped her cup, keeping her eyes on her warily.

Taiyang stood carefully. "Yang, look-"

Yang held up her index fingers. "I am going to go upstairs. I am going to take a shower. I am going to go to bed. And when I come down for breakfast tomorrow," she finished with a very tired tone of voice, "I will deal with whatever I find in the kitchen then." Without any other words, she started up to the second floor.

Blake rolled her eyes. "I better go help scrub her clean."

"'Scrub her clean?'" Taiyang managed a small smile. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"I am a faunus," she replied flatly. "That means I have powerful senses, including a sense of smell. And right now Yang is literally covered in shit. When I said 'scrub her clean,' I meant it literally." She sighed. "Which really is a shame, because I know we're both looking for some relaxation. Yes, I'm fully aware of who I'm talking to when I say that, but it's been a long few weeks and right now I don't give a damn."

Taiyang nodded as she followed Yang up the stairs. "The second bedroom has a lock and a queen size."

"Got it!"

"Hey Dad. Hey aunt Raven." Ruby leaned against the doorframe and waved, even as Weiss produced a tiny machine that started working on the droppings Yang left behind. "Sorry I haven't been around much. A lot to do, not a lot of time to do it."

"...Aunt Raven," the woman deadpanned.

"You're uncle Qrow's sister. Ergo, aunt Raven. You're okay with that, right?"

Raven carefully took a sip of her drink as she contemplated. "...I suppose that works." Her eyes drifted upstairs. "If you're sure you won't be causing issues with..."

"Oh, Yang? Yeah, sorry about all that. I'm her team leader, I should have kept her in check, but I was... busy." Ruby sighed. "Still am, really."

"It's not your fault," Weiss assured her gently.

"Let me have my mope, Weiss, I so rarely indulge."

"Alright, but do it on the couch. I won't have you moping where I'm mopping."

Ruby half chuckled. "Oh, fine." She pushed herself off the doorframe, walking into the living room and falling to the sofa with an audible wumph.

Weiss nodded, turning back to the kitchen. "So sorry to commandeer your house like this, mister Xiao Long. We'd have gotten more questions walking into Beacon."

"No, it's fine, it's fine. My house is yours." Taiyang glanced at Raven. "You just... came in at an awkward moment."

Raven stood. "I should go."

"Rae-"

"Do you use Lien?" Weiss asked.

Raven gave her a look. "What?"

"Out and about. I mean, money's more of a city thing, kind of useless when you're nomadic. Actually, here." She tossed a small bundle of plastic cards onto the table. "You two should go shopping together."

"That's... not actually necessary."

"It's fine, really."

"...You know I'm pretty sure the people of Patch know who I am," Raven pointed out. "I can't just-"

"Oh! Right." Weiss produced a small device and handed it over. "Disguise charm, it'll make you look completely different."

"Why do you have a disguise charm?" Taiyang asked.

"...long story, involves a cult, squids, and singing corn."

Raven put the object around her neck hesitantly, and suddenly had white hair and green eyes as well as a surprisingly elegant robe. "...Huh."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and keep it, I can make more."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **69.3 Masterweaver, Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Yang really destroyed those statues?"

"Yeah. She... well. She really wasn't in a good place after..."

The two of them were quiet as they looked at the shattered pedestals.

Eventually, Taiyang sighed. "Rae, look. We were both there, we heard about Cinder... Yang considered her a sister, and then that all happened. I'm not saying it excuses whatever she did, but I... I want to know. Need to know. Because it affected her badly... why are you so scared? What happened?"

Raven looked at the rubble in front of her.

"...Ozpin had just finished explaining the basics of the situation. Yggdrasil, the multiverse, the loops." She shook her head. "I'd already been privy to some of his secrets-Salem and the Maidens, but that was just Remnant. This was so much more."

"Salem and what now?"

She chuckled. "Maybe you should ask Qrow, I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you about that."

"I'll put it on my to-do list."

"Anyway. I learned about the loops. I was... still processing it. Apparently Qrow had decided to contact Yang, let her know I was looping, and..." Raven stiffened for a moment, her mind flashing back, before she composed herself. "...You call her your sunny little dragon, right?"

"Yeah."

"She... wasn't so little."

Taiyang stared at her. "What?"

"You've got to have seen the news by now. A golden dragon, flying around Beacon tower? I don't know how Ozpin covered that one up, but... that was Yang. Came in, all power and rage and... well." Raven shook her head. "Qrow got her to go back to human, for a moment, and then I... let slip a certain word. Called her my... well. And she-she turned into this pillar of fire-"

"Oh, Rae." Taiyang reached out, hesitated for a moment, and wrapped his arm around her.

"I mean... I understand. I walked out, and after Cinder-I didn't know about Cinder at the time. I lashed out, pushed back, I... said things. I think Qrow was trying to get us both to calm down. But..." Raven sighed. "She's traveled the multiverse, lived for longer then the sun has burned, she had a real mother. I'm just... here, now. I don't even matter anymore."

"Yes you do."

"Tai-"

"Do you really think she would have gotten so upset if you didn't matter?"

Raven blinked. "I... what?"

Taiyang sighed. "...Look. Right now, somewhere out there, somebody is getting mauled by a Grimm, and that's... terrible. But aside from knowing that it's terrible, aside from the vague sense of guilt I feel that I couldn't stop it, it's not... important to me personally. It's the things that are in my life that matter, that... I care about. Ruby, Yang, Qrow, Summer..."

He paused.

"...You left, and it hurt, because I cared. I thought... shutting that off would help. I thought if I didn't ever care again, I couldn't... but then Summer..." He took a breath. "My point is, Yang would not have reacted so strongly if she didn't care about you in some way. Maybe as a problem, sure, but I... when she came home from that, Yang said 'I screwed up.' Not 'I've got a problem,' or 'I hate this.' She was beating herself up. I don't think she sees you as a problem. Or, not _just_ a problem."

Raven shook her head. "She made it very clear she considers Summer her mother."

"Well, that... yeah, she does. But... look, before this looping nonsense, one of Yang's big quests was finding out about you. Not even the Grimm incident with Ruby stopped her-it just convinced her to put it on backburner. And even if she's been looping for a while... she's been in the same period of her life, as I understand it. I don't know what she sees you as, but I know she doesn't want you avoiding her."

"...I don't know anymore," the bandit queen muttered. "Loops, dragons, Qrow's fucking that Schnee woman-"

"Qrow's what?"

"You didn't know? The oldest Schnee kid?"

"...She's, like, half his age!"

Raven held up a finger. "Physically, maybe, but remember-"

"Right, right. Loops." Taiyang paused. "...Have you met Blake yet?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "We were just at the house when she came in."

"Well, yes, but that doesn't count as-"

"I... haven't talked with her, no. Had an interesting chat with her mother, yesterday. She was... actually the one that convinced me to come over here."

Taiyang nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll have to talk with her too at some point. Still... Blake pretty blatantly paralleled herself with you, when Yang introduced her to me. And Yang's... well, I'd say 'dating' but I don't think that conveys the depth of the relationship."

"You pointed them at a queen-size. They're probably fucking right now."

"Yep."

Raven quirked an eyebrow. "What, you don't mind that your eldest daughter is having hot lesbian faunus sex in your house?"

"She's bisexual. Not lesbian. And do you think I could stop it if I _did_ mind?"

"...Point."

"All I'm saying is... Yang lost an arm for her, and now they're pretty deep into it. That kind of devotion is typical for her. She's got a big heart, and like I said, the closer you are, the more it hurts when... things go off." Tai sighed. "I'm pretty certain she wants to get to know you. Maybe she doesn't like you, but she... she definitely didn't mean to scare you away."

The two of them looked at the destroyed statues for a while longer.

"...I'll stay the night."

"You will?"

Raven nodded. "She said she'd deal with whatever she found in the kitchen in the morning. And... it's been a while since I had a real bed to sleep in."

"I thought you had your couch."

"It's old and broken. Comfortable, but not... a bed." Raven paused. "You... do have a spare bed to sleep in, right?"

Taiyang took some mental calculations. "...I'll put a sleeping bag in the weights room and let you take the master bed."

"You don't have to do that, I can take the sleeping-"

"Hold on. You're _rejecting_ an offer?" Taiyang whistled low. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Yang might have her scales, buster, but I can still beat circles around you."

"Alright, alright! Seriously, though... take the bed."

"Fine. Since you're being _such_ a gentleman about it." She took a look at the rubble, and shook her head. "What are we even doing standing around here? I've got Schnee money to blow."

"You want to check out the weapons shop?"

"What kind of woman do you take me for? Of _course_ I want to check out the weapons shop!"

=-=-=-=-=-=

Yang slipped her top on and opened her mouth incredibly wide with dramatic yawn, scratching her neck as she blearily descended. She paused at the foot of the stairs, considering the kitchen doorframe for a moment, before she stretched out her leg and rotated on her ankle in a single dramatic step to the ground floor. With slightly exaggerated casualness, the blonde teenager shuffled into the room, switching on a coffee maker, and putting a few slices of bread in the toaster.

"So... you're still here."

Her voice was neither condemning nor eager. Merely a statement of fact. Yet as she glanced over her shoulder, she noticed that the woman at the table had frozen, one hand on her spoon.

The coffee-maker dinged, and she turned to it with a grin. "Remnan tech. You know, most of the multiverse doesn't have Dust, so making a pot takes a few minutes. Then again, a lot of space-age societies have also figured out instant java." Yang poured herself a mug and turned around to face the other person in the kitchen, sipping the drink casually.

They were on opposite sides of the room, but the red eyes still followed her every motion. The tension in the air was thick and choking, a cloud of invisible smoke.

As was her way, Yang tried to clear it with humor. "Oh, sorry, did you want this? The first mug's always the best. Don't worry about spit-change," she added, "I mean, most of it's you and Tai anyway, and you've had both of that in your mouth already."

Raven managed to quirk an eyebrow at that.

"...You're right, there's a bit of Blake in there from last night. Guess I'll keep this cup." Yang shrugged. "Sorry about that."

A thumping came down the stairs and Ruby swung into the room, whipping the fridge door open. "Hey Yang, hey aunt Raven. Sorry, gotta get supplies, today's going to be intense."

"Whoa, sis, what are you talking about?"

"Cinder's... not better, but she's stable enough to let people look into her pocket." Ruby slammed the fridge shut, pointing at Yang. "Tell dad I'm sorry for stealing all his food, by the way-or maybe just replace it yourself?"

"Why would you want to go through Cinder's clothing?" Raven asked.

Yang gave a low whistle. "Ozpin didn't explain subspace pockets? Wow, I interrupted that meeting _really_ early."

"Back when the loops first started, somebody figured out how to carry things with them when time repeated," Ruby explained. "The subspace pocket is a localized subdimension either fueled by or located in one's soul. Since Slendy hacked Cinder we've been checking each other's subspace pockets, but... Cinder hasn't been checked yet."

"Which, given she had to build up her army of horrors and store it over the loops, means we have basically no idea what's going on in there." Yang gave Ruby a look. "Who are you taking?"

"Weiss, Ozpin, Ren, and uncle Qrow. They're the most likely to keep a level head, no matter what."

"...I've met Weiss," Raven said, "but I don't think I know this Ren person."

"Yeah, you..." Yang bit her lip. "...you might want to stay away from Ren for a bit while we're all recovering. He's usually very cool-headed, but... let's just say he took Shione a bit personally."

"Hey, if you're staying around, maybe Yang can teach you how to make your own subspace pocket!" Ruby suggested cheerfully.

"...I should get back to my tribe." Raven stood slowly, leaving her half-eaten bowl of cereal, and gave Yang a careful look. "If you have any problems with that-"

"Nah." Yang waved a hand casually. "Fact is that's where you are in baseline. Can't easily abandon them."

"Really. You're not going to tell me to stop killing or anything like that."

"Be a big hypocrite if I did. Don't get me wrong," Yang added, "I don't like the idea of unnecessary murder. But I've killed in self-defense, and there are some people that I agree have to go down. Just... isn't it more efficient to leave as many alive as you can? They can rebuild to be robbed later, use the experience to defend better against the Grimm, and the ones that really want vengeance will probably go to a Huntsman academy and benefit society as a whole."

"...Not that such long term thinking applies in the loops."

"...Got me there. Still, you know. Reduce death where you can, maybe?"

Raven nodded, slowly pulling out her sword and forming a portal. She strode into it and vanished from the island.

Yang sagged. "Well... at least she's talking to me now."

Ruby patted her shoulder. "She probably waited up for you."

"I know, just... still..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang yawned as he walked down the stairs to the living room. The television was on, showing some program that featured the Achieve Men.

"Good morning, Dad," called Yang from the couch.

Taiyang took a look around. "Where's Ruby? She wasn't in her room."

"She had to leave early to deal with Cinder's Pocket check. It's going to take a while."

Taiyang frowned. He didn't like the idea of Ruby being near, much less in the soul of, her adopted sister who tried to destroy the world. But his youngest daughter was also the most powerful being on Remnant, so he had to trust that she could take care of herself.

After he nodded in acceptance, Taiyang made his way to the sofa and sat down next to his daughter. There was a comfortable silence between them as they watched television together. One that was broken when Taiyang finally decided to speak.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked. After what he learned yesterday, he felt it was best to talk with his sunny little dragon about what had happened. Well, sunny **big** dragon according to Raven.

Yang sighed and pressed the mute button on the remote. She didn't need him to elaborate. "What's there to talk about? I screwed up with Raven, and I have to fix it."

"I'm just surprised you would do something like that," admitted Tai, causing Yang to wince. It was Taiyang's turn to sigh. "Your mother was always a sore subject between you and me, and a lot of that is my fault. But I never would have imagined... She's _afraid_ of you." He turned his body to face her fully. "What's eating at you Yang? Was it really just Raven, or did that thing with Cinder...?" He trailed off, unsure of how to continue his question.

Yang huffed and leaned back to rest the back of her head on the sofa. "That's the worst part, I think. Everyone is so high strung over what happened, but I don't like using that as an excuse. I know I have a right to be angry about what Cinder did, but taking it out on someone else who I have issues with..." She closed her eyes tightly. "I don't want to make the mistake of justifying it. She didn't deserve to be used as a scapegoat for my anger at Cinder's actions."

Taiyang placed a hand on his oldest daughter's shoulder. "No, she didn't," he agreed. "And after talking to her about it, let me tell you, mending that bridge between the two of you might not be as hard as you may think. That's the vibe I got, anyway."

Yang glanced at her father and asked, "Is that what you two were talking about before I... Well-"

"Barged into the house covered in shit?" teased Taiyang with wide smile.

Yang groaned. "Yes."

"No, that talk came later during our shopping trip," he admitted with a shrugged.

"Then what _were_ you talking about? Or is that private?"

"She wanted us to figure out what to do when these Variant Loops you guys told us about happen. Certain kinds of Variant Loops to be more specific."

"...The ones where you are still together."

"Yeah..."

Yang took a moment to muster a response. "Are you... Are you going to get back together with her?" She saw him raise an eyebrow at her and quickly added, "Not that I'd try to get in your way or anything! It's your decision and your business, and I want you to be happy even if it's with-"

"Yang," Taiyang interrupted her. "We're not getting back together. We just decided to start over from the beginning. Like almost strangers again. If we are ever in a Loop where we are still married, we'll respect any boundaries we've already established beforehand. From there, we'll see what happens."

Yang nodded slowly. "Sound reasonable, if a bit complicated." She tilted her head. "Are you sure you two can do that given your history? Just start over like that?"

"New beginnings, Yang," answered Tai. "These time loops don't change everything, but they change enough that almost anything is possible now. Besides, if we're gonna be spending the rest of eternity together, I'd rather we get along one way or another."

"... I'd rather we get along, too," Yang said, her voice low. "Whatever else Raven and I end up being to each other, I don't want us to be enemies. I know that for sure."

"And you won't be. Just talk to her when you're ready. Keep moving forward, right?"

Yang smiled faintly. "Right."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **69.4 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Team QROW. I like the sound of that."

"Or it could be team WORQ."

"No Ren, the rules say it has to be related to color. Crows are black, ergo team QROW. Back me up on this Ozzy."

"There are two others joining us in this endeavor, you realize."

"Actually, while Cinder and Ruby may be joining us within the pocket, I rather doubt they'll take an active role."

"True enough. Cinder is probably not in a condition to examine, and Ruby will be too preoccupied looking after her."

"So we're all agreed, team QROW works best?"

Weiss gave a frustrated sigh. "Qrow, this isn't a huntsman team, this is a recon and planning squad. We're not naming ourselves, you're not going to be team leader, and I'm not going to listen to you try to start this argument up any more. Are we clear?"

Qrow half smirked. "You remind me so much of your sister sometimes."

Weiss rolled her eyes, but didn't rise to the bait. "They're coming now. Remember, no weapons out, and let Ruby do the talking. If Cinder asks you something, answer gently but honestly and keep it to one sentence."

The three others nodded, backing away from the door of the Vacuo hotel room. A moment later it opened.

Cinder Fall had seen better days. Even her baseline injuries from the battle of Beacon paled in comparison; her eyes were dry and bloodshot, ragged hair barely covering tear-stained cheeks and lips bleeding from small toothmarks. The arm that Ruby gently but firmly gripped as she led her in had numerous scratches on its surface, and her clothes were irregularly splattered in ash. She was silent, even as her Anchor carefully brought her to the center of the room to kneel.

"...We know the plan," Ruby said quietly. "Weiss and Ren go in, we wait two minutes, then we send in Qrow and Ozpin. Two minutes after that, me and Cinder." She brushed her fingers through the black hair softly. "It has to be done. Are you ready?"

Cinder gave the barest twitch of a nod, not looking up as she held out her bleeding hands. Weiss and Ren shared a look, taking them, and vanished from the world.

=-=-=-=-=-=

There should not have been any sensation during the transition. It should have been Remnant one moment, the Pocket the next. The fact that there _was_ was the first clue that something was seriously, seriously wrong.

The second, of course, was the number of guns that whipped to face her.

Eons of combat experience had sharpened both her reflexes and combat instincts, and the barrage of stun blasts ricocheted off her glyphs easily. She held out a hand to forestall Ren, her force senses picking up on the confusion leaking into the fear all around her; Ren stowed away Stormflower as the gunshots died down, giving her a questioning look and the symbol for semblance. Weiss returned the gesture with a raised index finger, carefully letting the glyphs fade as she looked at the gathered crowd.

"...I am Weiss Schnee. I am Remnant's second looper. I am here to look into the stability and situation of Cinder Fall's pocket."

One of the crowd, a vampire version of Emerald from the looks of her glittering skin, lowered her weapon carefully. "Can you prove you're a looper?"

In answer, Weiss held out a hand and allowed a lightsaber to appear, igniting the blade. "Subspace pocket. Out of loop technology. Shall I demonstrate a unique ability as well?"

Emerald shook her head, turning to the rest. "Lower your weapons, get the council on line. We have two guests."

"Six," Ren corrected. "Qrow and Ozpin, also loopers, will be joining us soon. Followed by Ruby and Cinder."

The woman's eyes snapped to him instantly. "Cinder's coming?" the thief asked, her tone both eager and worried.

"She is not in the best condition," Weiss replied. "Ruby will be guarding her for the duration of our visit. I presume you know how powerful an Anchor can be."

Before anyone could reply, Ozpin and Qrow suddenly appeared behind the two of them. Qrow's eyes narrowed. "Are we fighting?"

"They seem to be willing to negotiate." Weiss turned off her lightsaber and made it vanish. "Although I suspect that our visit is going to grow very complicated."

"You have no idea," Emerald grumbled. "I'm going to have to ask you all to stay here for the moment, there is... we have to make sure things are... if the wrong people heard about this, things could get bad. Fast."

Ozpin lowered his glasses. "Your eyes aren't red," he noted.

"Vampirism. Drink enough animal blood and they go gold." She frowned. "Of course, drinking human blood turns them red, which is why so many of us Emeralds wear contacts when we first get here."

"There's more then one of you?" Weiss asked.

Emerald sighed. "We're probably both going to have a lot of questions for each other. Why don't we wait for Cinder to arrive and-"

Ruby and Cinder both popped into being, stumbling briefly as Cinder collapsed. Ruby glanced up at the crowd, her eyes narrowed.

Emerald gulped. "Okay. The council has been contacted. Nobody's going to attack anybody, right? We're all going to be very, very calm."

Weiss nodded slowly. "I think we have quite a bit to catch each other up on."

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ah, the loopers. Salutations."

Weiss winced. "Please, don't use that word. Recent events have... tainted it quite a bit."

Penny nodded- _a_ Penny, anyway. "My apologies. I was unaware." She had no visible modifications, but she did wear a business suit, unlike the version that was looping. "I hope you don't mind if I ask for clarification later..."

Her voice trailed off as her eyes fell on the barely responsive Cinder, only moving with the careful lead of Ruby. Weiss followed her gaze and sighed. "It might be best if those two were not involved in our discussion," she said in a sotto voice. "I can keep Ruby updated telepathically."

"I suppose you would have a better idea of what's going on..." The Penny nodded, turning to the escort. "Would you take Cinder and Ruby to one of the guest bedrooms? Please make sure they are protected."

A number of the vampires nodded, one gesturing down the hall and leading the pair away. The loopers watched as they walked slowly down the hall, leaning into each other, one whispering quiet reassurances to the other.

"...What _happened_ to her?" the Penny asked in faint shock.

"A long hidden insanity finally broke free," Ozpin replied. "Now she is... attempting to heal."

"I... see." She cleared her throat. "I take it that relates to why you came in to check on us. Might I ask what you know of the situation?"

Qrow shrugged. "Slenderman hacked Cinder's soul and managed to split her mind, she gathered an army of minions and monsters, unleashed them in a mad attempt to Ascend last loop, got talked down by Ruby, and Marianne apparently cleared her code. We didn't actually have any idea what was going on in here until then."

"Hmmm. That actually explains a lot." The Penny shook her head. "My apologies, the council is waiting. Please, this way."

"The council?" Ren asked.

"Yes, we're... well. We call ourselves the leading government of the Pocket, but..." She sighed. "You've caught us in the middle of a five-way civil war, I'm afraid."

"Five way?"

"We're the Greenside council, but aside from us there's the Redsiders, the Rebels, the Revolutionaries, and the Ravagers. At least, those are the major factions we've identified... it certainly doesn't help that exactly who is who can change at the drop of a hat."

Weiss frowned. "You're going to have to explain all this."

"It really goes back to when Cinder collected enough people that she couldn't order them all personally. That's when the pocket government started to form-she was still in charge, but not as directly, she started segmenting us into various groups and industries. The Council formed out of that, we were in charge of logistics, while she would only attend various personal projects. As time went on, some people decided they wanted to resist, to fight back-it really didn't help that she had painted herself as our undeniable overlord."

"That only explains the origin of two factions," Ozpin pointed out. "The council and the rebels... or the revolutionaries?"

"The rebels and the revolutionaries, as I understand it, used to be one faction. Much the same as the Greensiders and the Redsiders. Some time ago, though, the pocket split in two-presumably when Cinder was affected by her insanity. We didn't know it at the time, of course; from our viewpoint half our citizens and city vanished, and the sky turned green, hence the name. It was the, ahem, less favorable half of our group that vanished, and coupled with Cinder's sudden change of heart and personal attention we... simply grew complacent, I suppose." The Penny gestured around. "Then, roughly four months ago, the lost buildings returned-alongside a few new ones, a large population of dangerous creatures and individuals, and the sky finally went white again."

"This loop has run for about that long," Ren mused. "It was probably when Cinder's personalities remerged that that happened."

"Alright. So the Greenside Council was the ruling body of the green-skied pocket," Weiss said. "And the Redsiders, I presume, are the same for the red-skied version?"

"Or as close as remains. They want to reconquer the pocket in the name of their overlord, and they're very... fanatical."

"So, what about the other three?"

"The Rebels," the Penny began, "are the group of resisters that were on the red side. They want to bring torturous revenge to Cinder, make her their... slave god, if I understand correctly. The rebels on the green side renamed themselves the Revolutionaries, and generally believe that Cinder must recompense them for all she's put them through-they want her reform, in essence. And the Ravagers are a mishmash of both groups that broke off, seeking to destroy everything or contact the hackers or... something, it's not entirely clear." She threw up her hands. "And on top of that, there are various redside gangs and greenside vigilantes making this mess even more confusing..."

Qrow gave a low whistle. "Yeah, I don't think we're going to be able to clear all that up before the loop ends."

"At the very least we can get a picture of what's going on, and help the Greenside..." Weiss frowned. "Actually, what are your goals?"

"The Greenside council seeks to keep the civilization that has arisen in the Pocket as stable as possible." The Penny paused. "...Although, I will admit, if Cinder takes stage and makes a statement, that might help. Or hurt. You're right, we should give you a better picture before we go any further..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **69.5 LithosMaitreya**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun sat alone at a table for two.

The café was a pleasant, inexpensive one near the docks. He sat outside, on the second-floor balcony, looking out and down a straight, paved road, beyond which he could see the edge of the blue expanse of the sea stretching out to the horizon, where it met the pale, cloudless sky. On a plate by his left hand sat a ham sandwich on white bread, untouched. The fingers of his right hand rested loosely in the loop of a mug containing a rich, brown coffee, from which he had not sipped.

There was an easy, accustomed smile on his face, and his eyes darted periodically from the sea to one person or another wandering the streets, watching them idly as they went about their business. When they left his view, or ceased to be interesting, his gaze returned to the water.

Someone took the open chair. "Moping?" asked the man in the bowler hat, a faint, assured quirk to his lips.

Sun blinked at the intrusion. "'Course not," he said. "I'm people-watching."

"Right," said Roman Torchwick dryly. "Because random Valean passersby are _definitely_ the most interesting thing in your life right now."

"I'm a tourist here," Sun said easily. "People-watching's a good tourist-y pastime, isn't it?"

Roman didn't answer, just folded his hands together and studied him.

Sun ignored him, option instead to look over his shoulder at the sea.

"Tourist," Roman said quietly. "Yeah, I can see it. Definitely a better spin on things than the one you _really_ want to give it, though."

Sun twitched. "Stop psychoanalyzing me," he growled.

Torchwick's smile had left his face. He didn't answer.

Sun tried to look past him at the ocean again, but the water couldn't hold his attention anymore. He tried to become invested in a pretty brunette who was walking down the street, examining the contents of one shop after another, but he found he couldn't give a damn.

He turned back to Torchwick before she caught him watching her. "What do you want?" he asked.

"A stable Branch," Torchwick said flatly. "And if Blake's not going to do her part, I'll pick up the slack."

Sun found that he was suddenly gripping his coffee quite tightly. He took a sip to cover his error and then set the cup back down. "I'm not about to try to destroy the world," he said.

"Madoka would've said the same, I'm sure," Roman said. "But Ascension isn't the only risk. You ever think about time, kid?"

Sun looked away. "Not really," he muttered. "Not like it matters now, anyway."

"On the contrary," Roman corrected him. "It matters more than ever. With this much time, you can grow to be your own perfection."

Sun blinked at him. "What's that mean?" he asked.

Roman chuckled. "Take me," he said. "Baseline, I'm a thief and a performer. Good at both. But in the Loops?" he grinned. "I'm one of the best. I've stolen the clothes off of the greatest thief in the multiverse—don't ask for details. More than that, though, I've _mastered_ the art of being one smarmy son of a bitch. You get it?" he leaned back. "Given this kind of time," he said, "each of us can become our own ideal. I'm the epitome of what makes Roman Torchwick _be_ Roman Torchwick. You can be the same."

"Not sure I want to be Roman Torchwick."

"Don't be thick," Roman drawled. "Doesn't suit you."

Sun looked away.

"I've heard of people," Roman said lightly, "who, upon watching the hub-recordings of our branch, _RWBY_ , think your only character trait is affection for our own Miss Belladonna. Well, you've lost her."

Sun swallowed and glared at the criminal. "Yeah," he said flatly. "Thanks for the tactful reminder."

Roman rolled his eyed. "Not really inclined to sympathize with you here, kid," he said. "What you've got? Childhood crush, maybe a touch more, but even in Baseline I doubt it was _really_ love yet, even in the normal sense. Definitely notable in a normal situation for a non-Looper, but with us?" he snorted. "Yang and Blake have had literally eons to figure one another out. What they've got is something, arguably, _no_ mortal people could ever have. It's not even _love_ anymore; it's gone past that and into something else. That's what it takes to be willing to tie yourself to someone with a Loopers' marriage. There's a reason there's only been, what, two or three before?"

Sun looked down. "I'm not about to try to break them up, if that's what you're suggesting," he said quietly.

"If I thought you were, we'd be having a _really_ different conversation," Torchwick said with a laugh. "Really short, too. All I'd say is _best of luck, you'll need it, try not to get punched too hard._ No, kid, Blake and Yang, despite all their problems and demons, are _definitely_ stable. Remnant's Third and Fourth aren't people I need to worry about. But you?"

Roman Torchwick leaned forward, resting his elbows on the small, circular table, his bowler hat casting a shadow over his face. "You're not stable," he said. "You're new, which makes you an inherently _unstable_ entity. Normal people can be considered stable if they only break down once or twice a decade or so. In the Loops, that's _way_ too often. We're all too powerful, and too important to each other, for that to be acceptable."

"Not all of us," Sun found himself saying.

"And now he hit on it," Roman sighed. "Tourist? Nah. You're no tourist: you're an immigrant, a refugee, a stranger in a strange land, cast adrift without a lifeline. No wonder you're sitting here, at a table meant for two, trying to stay connected to a world you'll inevitably leave behind."

Sun sat frozen, staring at the man he'd fought once, only a few months ago, from his perspective. Suddenly he was struck dumb with the knowledge—no, the _understanding_ —that, to this enigmatic man in the bowler hat, it had been immeasurably, _infinitely_ longer since Sun Wukong had been someone worth noticing.

And yet, here he was now.

"Remnant's a decent Loop," Roman said, as though reading his thoughts. "It's got several decent people in it. We care about each other, for the most part, and we hold together. We don't let baseline hold us down. But there's a cost to that. When someone like you, for whom baseline's the whole world, comes along… we don't know how to accommodate. We can't _remember_ how to accommodate. There's a reason we have so many Loopers who start out stealthing, and look how that turned out for Cinder.

"We're a decent Loop, Sun, but we're not an _easy_ one. Remnant's not a forgiving place, and we're not a forgiving bunch when it comes to ignorance. We don't try to make it that way; it just happens. None of us really know how to hold back, and it makes things overwhelming."

Roman laughed then, harshly. "You think I don't know?" he asked. "I'm not exactly Remnant's earliest Looper either. Sure, I started up before things got _really_ bad in baseline and Ruby decided to just reject it all outright, but it still took some getting used to. Suddenly I wasn't even worth my weight in dust—lowercase d. I wasn't worth fearing, I wasn't worth fighting, I wasn't even worth noticing. So I know how you feel, Sun Wukong, sitting alone at a table for two, and don't think I don't know which table this is."

Sun found that his hands were trembling. He clasped them together to hide it.

 _So. You want to know more about me._

"So what do I do?" Sun asked, and his voice wasn't the trembling, weak thing he'd expected, but was instead brimming with suppressed anger. Yes, he found, I am angry. I am angry, and hurt, and tired, and I don't much like this guy. "I've been thrown off the deep end, into a world full of friendly people who _don't know me enough to care_ … so what do I do?"

Roman grinned. "Way I see it, you've got three choices," he said. "First, the easy way out: you can sink—drop like a stone, withdraw into yourself, start stealthing, and maybe, in a few centuries, you'll have figured things out enough to come back into the light. Or maybe you won't and you'll be our very own permanent-stealth Looper, like the Trek bunch. Second, the hard way; you can swim. Force yourself to get help from Blake, and Yang, and Ruby, and Weiss, and Jaune and all the others. They were your friends once, even if they've forgotten what that means just because of how _long_ it's been. Make them remember, no matter how much it feels like you're intruding. No matter how much it feels like Blake prefers Yang's company over yours, make her accept that you're here to stay and that she owes you, at least, a bit of help settling in."

Sun rolled his eyes. "Cheap pep-talk," he grumbled.

"Not so cheap," Roman disagreed. "You're _owed_ a bit of acknowledgement. These people are emotionally close to you—otherwise, you wouldn't be Looping now. They were the ones who got you into this mess, and they owe you some help in getting it sorted out."

Sun sighed. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "I just… I don't like getting in the way."

"Which is why there's a third option," Roman said.

Sun blinked at him, and then blinked again at the offered hand.

"Catch a lifeline," Roman said, grinning.

Sun blinked at him. "Why?" he asked.

"Because no one's in my corner either, kid," Roman said simply. "Well, except Neo. But there's room for more."

Sun stared at the hand. "So, what?" he asked. "I join your… faction? Your band of merry men? And then what?"

"We look after each other," Roman answered.

There was silence.

Sun sighed, downed the rest of his coffee, put his hand in the older Looper's, and smiled.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **69.6 diesel, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Salem leaned back into her chair and rubbed her eyes. The drum of air conditioning drowning in the background pulled at her eyes and called for sleep.

 _By the rotten trunk, I'm tired._

She still had so many reports to get through, things to coordinate and tasks to allocate; with the loopers and Cinder turning up things were only going to get more so, luckily that was not her job. Things had already been far to hectic since the Rejoining as hacker cults, dormant for aeons, had come crawling out of the woodwork, reaping a bloody toll on the populace and moral.

People gone missing to only turn up mutilated in ways that defied any form or decency. Things that even the pocket culture, something far crueler than Remnant, found repulsive. What they hopped to achieve was beyond her, the Mythos did not care about the random inhabitants of a random looper of a random world.

It made no more sense than the Rebels wanting to make Cinder their slave god. They could not enforce or do anything that would not be undone when the loop reset. And then Cinder would just dump everything or go on a massacre.

Salem drained her cold tea, wincing at the unpleasant taste before she hit call button for her PA.

 _I need to get some sleep, maybe one last cuppa before bed. No good to anyone if I can't function._

"My Lady?"

Salem blinked and rubbed her eyes, her PA was standing there with a fresh cup of chi and a plate of fruit cheese, what she normally had before bed.

The pocket-born monkey faunus smiled slightly. "You had drifted off, my lady. Given how hard you have been working and your lack of tea, I made a guess." Placing the tray on the table, he stepped back.

"Thank you, Dusk. Anything new?" Salem really hoped there wasn't, she wanted to sleep.

Dusk hesitated before speaking, getting faster and faster until he almost tripped over himself in excitement. "Yes, Cinder has returned, one of my friends sent me images of it. She looked _broken_ , utterly shattered and she was not alone."

Salem carefully placed her mug down, the Dusk's eyes burning with an almost fervent light. This did not sound good.

"She had _loopers with her_. Weiss Schnee, Qrow Branwen, Ozpin and _Ruby Rose_ , apparently Slenderman hacked the Overlord's soul, splitting her in two."

His lips twisted at that, the title taking on a familiar mocking edge. Salem had no qualms with that, but she did with the sheer excitement present at Slenderman's name.

"And then she tried to Ascend and failed."

"Interesting," Salem mused, leaning back in her chair, carefully not letting her tensing muscles be seen, just letting him talk.

"Interesting? My lady, this is more than interesting. The Hackers, they are watching, if one of them interfered the other would be watching as well, this is our chance to get them to notice us." Dusk tensed, rubbing his hand through his hair in frustration. "This is _our chance!"_

"And why would I want those things to take an interest?" Salem smiled in a predatory manner, Dusk's eyes widening as he froze. "Trying to contact the hackers is illegal after all, not to mention futile and stupid."

"But… I thought…"

"What I wanted people to suspect if they were looking for sympathizers, nothing more, nothing less." Salem X8678, spy and intelligence officer for the Green Faction rose to her feet, stalking over to the trembling traitor. "Now, I think you may have information the Green needs. Starting with how you knew so quickly as that was being kept _quiet_."

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Everyone, may I introduce our looping guests: Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren, Ozpin, and Qrow Branwen."

The various vampires at the round table nodded to them, although Mercury turned to Emerald with a frown. "You said Ruby and Cinder were here too."

"They were! I swear, they came in right after-"

"Cinder is only here to facilitate our entry and exit into the pocket," Weiss explained. "She is... too unstable at the moment to conduct any further business. Ruby is tending to her personally." She looked around the table and narrowed her eyes. "Might I ask for introductions?"

"Ah, yes." The Penny cleared her throat. "I am Penny X-634, the minister for commerce and labor. This is Coco T-329, our urban development minister, alongside Velvet, Fox, and Yastsuhashi T-329, who oversee our energy and transportation, agriculture and resources, and justice department respectively. It's considered good fortune to have solid team CFVY on the council, you see-"

Mercury cleared his throat.

"Right. This is Mercury T-817, our internal defense minister, and Emerald T-632, our adjustment and social security minister. And finally, we have our military operations leader, Salem X-69."

Qrow looked around the glittering forms. "Let me guess. T for Twilight."

Velvet nodded. "We only drink animal-based blood," she assured him.

"Not exactly what I was getting at."

Ozpin gave the final shadowy figure a glance. "Your number is... much lower then everyone else, Salem."

"I was picked up much earlier. Back when my backstory was more flexible." The pale witch examined her fingers. "As I understand it, most of the Salems ended up being redsiders, but... let us just say in my iteration of Remnant I was a justified extremist."

Weiss cleared her throat, giving the two older men a stern look. "...I'm not going to lie, we came here with no idea what to expect and are really only here to gather information before proceeding. We've been informed of the various political groups currently struggling against each other. Can you give us more information about the situation?"

"In terms of territory and raw materials, we're currently on top of things." Coco tapped a button in front of her, summoning a holographic map. "During the initial merge, we managed to expel the redsiders from many of our core buildings, and we've been settling in barricades and walls since then. Unfortunately our lead on that front is not very extreme; we can hold what we have, for the moment, but the redsiders have a more active military. If it weren't for the other factions sabotaging each other, we'd be overrun."

"Not like we aren't already," Mercury groused. "The map says we've got two thirds of the Pocket, but it doesn't point out where the Ravagers are hiding, or the various gang wars that have flared up when psychotic independent redsiders decide to start shit for their own amusement or overzealous greensiders try to take the law into their own hands... the Revolutionaries, at least, try to help out, but they're more useful as a spy network on the other groups then as a force unto themselves, and they're always very tight lipped about what they're actually doing."

"The primary issue is that any group with redside origins simply has more aggression and variety than greensiders do," Salem explained. "They retain control of the cloning building, giving their vampires human blood, and have a number of true Grimm and Visorak, forces which we lack. Forgive me for watching in on your discussion with Penny, but if what you say is true it is highly probable the redsiders are simply better militaristically trained and equipped. I believe the Rebels and the Redside army would have overrun us long ago if their schism over Cinder's position had not pitted them against each other early on."

"What's the likelyhood the Redsiders would back down if Cinder told them to?" Weiss asked.

Emerald shook her head with a sigh. "Cinder stopped bringing people in Greenside after the split, but from what we can tell her redside counterpart never did, and regularly purged any resistance. The fact that the Rebels exist at all is amazing; the Redsiders almost all worship her as a dark god, and many of them think she will only return once they have 'purged the heathens' and lead them to conquer Yggdrasil."

"...There is always the possibility of a Pocket dump," Lie Ren offered.

A tension set about the room.

Yatsuhashi slowly stood. "Mister Ren," he said in a tone of forced calm, "I understand you are merely exploring all options and cannot be expected to know this. But leaving the pocket is considered, by most of us, to be akin to suicide. Or, in the way you are offering, a nuclear option. We have lived here for far too long to leave, and we would not wish oblivion even on our enemies."

Ren bowed to him. "My apologies. I meant no offense."

"Ignorance is no sin, if one works to clear it." The man sat back down in his seat. "However, as loopers, perhaps you could assist us?"

"That may be harder then it sounds," Ozpin noted. "Our primary advantage is access to the multiverse and its wonders, an advantage which the inhabitants of this pocket share to some degree. We are still powerful forces, but not necessarily game-changers; we would be more akin to super heroes in this conflict."

"Aren't we basically super heroes in baseline?" Qrow pointed out.

"You end up poisoned, Ozpin ends up dead, Ren almost kills himself in trauma-induced revenge, and I'm locked up in a mansion against my will." Weiss sighed. "Look, we want to help-we really do, but we're all still recovering from the mess Cinder left outside her Pocket, and she's really the gate guardian here. This was a recon mission, and we will bring up what we learn with the other loopers, it's just... we won't be able to help you all immediately."

Fox sighed. "I suppose that's fair. At the very least, though, let us gather our reports and give them to you. Shouldn't take twenty minutes."

"Agreed. Will we be allowed to wander the city, or-?"

Something beeped, and Salem brought out a scroll. "...We've had a leak. A Ravager cell knows you're here. No clue if the greater group knows, or if anybody else has heard..."

"The Ravagers are the most disorganized group," Mercury pointed out. "If they know, everyone else probably does."

"...Then we'll make an announcement of our arrival." Weiss nodded to the council. "With your permission, of course."

=-=-=-=-=-=

"I'd like to apologize for putting you at gunpoint when you arrived," Emerald said as she marched. "Standard procedure is... well, was to stun whoever Cinder sent to us and prep them for venom infusion, or restraining programs in the case of artificial beings. We just hadn't had anyone arrive in the gatechamber for so long, I... panicked a bit." She shrugged. "Cinder usually uses her own dais to teleport in, I'm... not sure why she didn't this time."

"She is... really quite out of it," Weiss reminded her gently. "She probably forgot."

"...You know, a lot of us Emeralds... we still care about her, even if she wasn't... What I'm saying is, if there's any way I can help-"

"We'll let you know," Ozpin assured her. "At the moment, it's really Ruby leading her recovery."

"Right. Makes sense..." Emerald took a breath, gesturing toward a door. "This is the announcement chamber, it's... well, it was, at one point, connected to the pocket-wide transmit system, although that was before everything happened, so now I don't know how many people will see this directly. At the very least, though, word of mouth after the transmission should let everyone look up a recording."

"I'm not going to do the speaking," Qrow deadpanned.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "No, you and Ozpin will be flanking me for dramatic imagery, and Ren will... be at the door. I'll bring forth a number of out-of-loop summons to make sure everyone knows I'm the real deal."

"...Do you have any idea what you're going to say?"

"...A vague one, Ren. We can't hold this off any further." Weiss took a steadying breath, opening the door. "Here we go."

The loopers filed in, looking about the chamber. It was red with gold filigree, but to Ren's well-trained eyes it was obvious that the wall had only recently been papered over. The raised podium in the center of the room was made of black wood, its polished surface gleaming subtly in the light. Weiss took a short, restrained breath as she subtly produced a stool to stand on, internally cursing her generally late puberty and short stature. Her eyes roved briefly over the array of switches built into the surface before her; cameras whirred to life as she flicked one, and her scarred gaze met them coolly.

"Inhabitants of Cinder's Subspace Pocket, I bid you somber greetings. Many of you are probably surprised to see this channel used again; many more shocked to see that it is not Cinder who speaks. There are rumors going around that some of you might have heard, and I shall confirm them now." She raised her hand, summoning many glowing droids and aliens and creatures that Remnant lacked. "I am Weiss Schnee, second Looper of Remnant, and I and my cohorts now seek to stabilize the situation we have found here."

She focused on the lenses, schooling her face into an expression of gentle understanding. "We are not here to destroy you. We see, and we know, that you have built a functioning society in this realm, even if you were taken from the realms you once called home. We are here to help assuage the conflict, to appease the wronged, to avail to your needs for the future. Cinder Fall is, at the moment... recovering from a severe incapacitation. And we were all truly struck by the same event that caused it. But know this-take it a thousand loops or a hundred thousand, we will work with you in the hopes of a stable and prosperous future."

Weiss paused for a moment.

"...Much has happened, both within the Pocket and without. We are entering an era of uncertainty and unclear futures. But one thing is clear-if we do not work to stand together, if we do not try to reach out to each other, we will suffer all the more for it. It is my hope-our hope-that you will one day be a shining example of possibility, of the wonder that can be made even in tragedy. We may not be able to visit often, but our visits will always be with the intent of assistance. So I ask you... I beg of you. Do not shut us out. Let us become friends. Let us help you, with whatever you need."

She let her arms spread wide. "Let there be peace and understanding between us." And then, quietly, she shut the cameras off.

As the four loopers filed out of the room, Emerald couldn't help but clap in appreciation. "That was a great speech. Uplifting, and very vague about what you intend to do."

"I apologize for that. I couldn't be sure how the other factions would take it... or even how the greensiders would take it. And to be honest, I still have no plan or even an idea of a checklist."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's true for all leaders," Qrow pointed out. "Maybe you could get Ironwood's help on this."

Weiss nodded slowly. "It would... probably be something for him to do. At the moment, though, I think we'll take the reports that have been gathered and... head back to Remnant."

Emerald sighed. "...We'll be waiting for your return. Just... don't take more then a few loops." She glanced out a window. "The situation is really unstable here."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure this becomes one of our top priorities."

69.7 BIOS-Pherecydes

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder sat listlessly atop a random branch in the forest, staring up at the sky. She had failed, and not just failed but done so utterly. All her plans had been revealed, her actions revealed for the lies they were, any bridges she had built completely burnt down and any purpose stripped away from her mind. And so she sat. And purposely didn't think. Or feel. Or listen to the annoying voice in the back of her mind asking if she was happy now?

She did none of those things, very intentionally; she simply sat and stared at the broken moon. Broken much like she was. Fitting.

Without turning, she spoke. "Are you here to kill me now?"

Ruby responded to that by sitting beside her on the branch she had claimed as her own. Neither of them said anything for a long time, the night sky surrounding them in a glittering blanket of stars and distant light from the Academy not that far distant.

"So, now you know. The sister you loved was nothing but a fake, a lie to get close to you and your friends so that I could strike when the time was right. A beautiful deception that only became true when it was too late to matter."

Ruby hummed and swung her legs back and forth over the side of the tree limb where they sat. "Nope. I don't think so," Ignoring Cinder's incredulous gaze — the first she had looked at her since noticing her presence — she continued. "I saw the way you acted when you thought no one was looking. You were having fun. You liked us. You always liked us, even before your mind got torn in half."

Cinder pouted, er, scowled. "Bullshit. You saw what I wanted you to see, all of you."

"So you wanted us to see you cry during romantic movie night, or snort milk up your nose from laughing too hard, or—"

Ruby wisely stopped talking as Cinder's eyes erupted in the corona of light the Maiden's Power gave her and, more importantly, her face lit up in a luminescent blush. Eventually however, Cinder backed down with a sigh and returned her again normal eyes to the sky. "Everything I did was part of the act. All of it planned from the moment I tricked you into believing I first Awoke as your sister. Granted it eventually proved more real than the truth, but it began as an act nonetheless."

"Nope."

"Stop saying that. What do you mean 'nope'? I tricked you into believing what I wanted you to believe, a farce, an imitation. There's no 'nope' about—"

Cinder froze, her eyes searching Ruby's indulgent gaze for several minutes as her mind rapidly drew her a picture she very much didn't want to see. "You knew," she all but croaked. "How?"

Ruby gave a half shrug. "I didn't really know exactly, but I kinda guessed. It all seemed really suspicious, like, super suspicious. Suddenly there you were, with the perfect excuse for why you weren't evil anymore. I wanted to believe it, I really really did. But I won't let my friends get hurt because I want something," She gave a small smile. "You know, back then, you weren't as good at pretending to be Stealth as you thought. Torchwick, Neo and Ozpin were a lot better actually. They never had a chance to stop acting; but anytime you wanted to you could just punch Torchwick in the face and spend the Loop hanging out with us. They couldn't afford to make mistakes, they had to keep their edges sharp or we would have caught them. But if we ever caught you, then you could just say you were Awake the whole time, but didn't want to talk to anyone so you were going Baseline. Aaand I'm rambling again. Sorry. Anyway the point is sometimes when you were pretending to not be Awake you would slip up. Not on anything big, just little things you got mixed up between Loops. But I figured out you were hiding pretty quick after that. It was either that or you were Dreaming."

Seething at the idea that the those three in particular had been better than her at anything, Cinder somehow managed to keep her voice level. "Well if you knew, then why didn't you act sooner? Crush the enemy when they least expect it. You've fought in wars, you know that as well as I do. You could have prevented this." The silent plea 'You could have stopped me.' went unsaid, but not unheard.

Ruby briefly grimaced at the unpleasant reminders — and at this point Cinder was willing to accept any win, even over something as petty as verbal barbs — before she answered. "Yeah, but you weren't my enemy; you were my big sister."

Cinder honestly had no response for that. Literally, she couldn't even think of how she was supposed to react. As a result she simply stared blankly at Ruby, until she shifted uncomfortably and continued.

"You were a super big jerk sometimes, but most the time you didn't actually try and hurt anyone. I mean, sure you probably thought of doing a lot of stuff; but most the time you didn't. So I figured that if you wanted to be my sister, I should let you. So I did."

Reaching up, Cinder pinched the bridge of her nose. "That has got to be the most ridiculous... At no point did it ever occur to you that I was simply using you?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep. But I was using you too, so it all evened out."

Cinder froze again, and like a coiling snake raised her head to stare at the Huntress in training. "What?"

"Yeah, I was totally using you. But it's okay, because I was using you to make you a better person. I got you to spend time with everyone and watch movies and play sports, and hunt Grimm and all kinds of cool things that made you realize it was completely okay to not be a super villain and try to burn the world down for not being fair and stuff."

Cinder's already taxed mind ground to a halt. "I'm sorry, what was that last part?"

Ruby blinked and tilted her head. "Um, which part exactly?"

"The part about burning the world for being unjust which hasn't been my motive for the entire time you've ever known me so there's no possible way you could have known that that was a reason I ever had for what I chose to do." Cinder responded in a blank tone.

"Oh that. Yeah I finally figured out the real Loop you first Woke up in. It was the only one that made sense. I mean you noticed how for some reason we usually get two Loopers at a time right? Well I asked Miss Goodwitch about when she first Woke Up once, since she was the only one who Awoke around the same time you did. I did some counting and it wasn't that far off from when you pretended to start Looping. In retrospect though it matches a different Loop a lot better. You remember right? The one where we danced together after you told me why you were trying to destroy everything that Loop?"

Cinder did in fact remember. How could she not. The question was, why did Ruby?

"That was actually the last time I tried asking you why you were evil, and it was a lot better than it sometimes was so I decided to let that one be the end. But when you started Looping I remembered and I came up with the idea to show you that the world isn't a bad place and that now that we're Looping we have all the time in the world so we can make it better every time so that you wouldn't keep trying to hurt everyone. I didn't realize until now how appropriate it was that I made that decision based on that particular Loop."

She paused with a pout and threw her hands up into the air dramatically. "But then Slenderman screwed up everything and you went crazy and now we're sitting in a tree because Yang will probably try and kill you if you come back to our room, and Weiss will give me that Look she always does, and Blake will get really tense and volunteer to help Yang, and Jaune will be all 'I'm a big strong man so I have to protect everyone from the big bad villain' and Pyrrha will be like 'I'm willing to let my husband protect me but I can totally kick just as much butt as he can and I don't need to be protected and can beat the villain too' and Nora will try to break your legs, and Ren will go into his super fighter martial arts fu stance and accidentally blow up the dorm because he's way stronger than he thinks he is and I just really want us to all get along again like we did before!"

Cinder was ashamed to admit that she had managed to catch every word of that. Her sister act had given her plenty of chances for practice at decoding Ruby-speak after all, even more so after the act became reality. She turned away from the girl she was now much more convinced was actually insane without a word, raising her gaze once more to the night sky. Eventually she spoke.

"It is far too late for that. Even with time looping endlessly, some things can never go back to how they were. You've already proven that there's no point in fighting you and your friends; so congratulations, you've won. Whatever else may happen, that can never be undone. We've had our destined battle and I lost; there is no longer anything left between us. Whatever bond we had has been tainted, torn apart and spat upon." Both women tactfully neglected to address the silent tears which made their way down Cinder's face. "So leave Ruby Rose."

"Mmmm, nope."

...She was really starting to hate that word.

"Why. Not?" A part of her was rather proud of her for not screaming that, the rest of her was really really irritated and just wanted to be left alone to grieve in peace. 'Why don't you hate me? I hate me, why can't you?'

"Because I still have to give these back to you first," Ruby answered, ignoring the unspoken words and digging in her cloak before pulling something out.

Against her better judgement, but willing to do whatever it took to make the girl leave, Cinder looked at the object. It appeared to be a tin container. Something in the back of her mind said it looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it. She gazed dispassionately at the beaming girl holding it out to her.

"And this is?"

Ruby's face fell briefly — and a small part of Cinder took great satisfaction in that, even as the larger portion kicked the first part in the face.

Picking herself back up with a smile Ruby opened the container. "These are the last of the cookies from the Loop where you said you first Woke Up. I only ate them at special times, but since you probably won't be around us very often for awhile I thought you could use them instead."

Cinder's throat clenched, and she took several seconds to manage her response in a shaky voice."I don't want them. Just go Ruby."

Ruby frowned, but placed the cookies back into her cloak regardless. "Alright. If that's what you really want. But if you ever want to talk..."

"GO!"

Ruby went. But not before stealing a hug from Cinder. "See you around sis."

And Cinder was alone once more. Only the shattered moon to witness her despair.


	70. Acceptance

**70.1 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=

It was hard to believe that in less than a year this clear night sky would change, a whole new spread replacing it in the heavens as existence tried to remember what should be there.

Sun could not help but find it fascinating. It was a bit of a hobby of his to just watch the stars, picking up the different constellations, so seeing such an alien sky was just plain bizarre.

It also begged the question as to why he didn't remember this loops sky, but he really didn't have enough motivation to look. Roman's words and the events of the recent two months sapping his motivation to care.

The cool sea air blew across his skin, heavy with the scent of salt, the sea spray catching in the moonlight to create a washed out rainbow.

"Man, what the heck do I do now?"

No one answered making Sun sigh, peeling a banana as he mentally traced a cat in the heavens.

 _Blake…_

Roman… Sun really did not know what to think of him, or if he liked him or not. All that stuff with the White Fang… it was so long ago for Roman. Was it even fair to use that as a comparison?

Roman had made him the offer of a place and people he could speak to and ask for help from without feeling like an interloper.

Something right now he craved.

Sun abruptly found his reflections shattered by a familiar mass of petals and an unexpected voice.

"Hey, Sun. Sorry I haven't been to see you before… there has been a lot going on and I lost track of things, and I'm sorry as that not really an excuse as I can clone myself…"

Sun's head whipped up in shock as Ruby suddenly materialized in front of him. The Anchor's mouth was running a mile a minute. The first thing he noticed was that Ruby looked stressed.

Like, really stressed.

"Whoa, whoa, Ruby, calm down," Sun said, cutting the rambling pillar of existence off...

...and wasn't that an odd thought? That this young looking girl with the awesome scythe would become the foundation of existence. The most important person that was, or could ever be, in Remnant. Who, from what Blake and Roman had said…

…could spend centuries alone between each loop with other people in it. The oldest looper.

The night suddenly felt colder, the sheer scale was something he did could not, and did not want to really understand.

"Have a banana, and stop, think and then speak." Sun smiled, not really sure if he felt it or not.

Ruby paused, taking a deep breath before sitting on the bench and accepting the banana. "Sorry, Sun. It's… I'm not in the best frame of mind right now and was kinda babbling wasn't I?"

Sun scratched head. "Hey, it's cool, Ruby. So, why the rush? It's not like time means anything now, and don't you have to keep Cinder sane?"

Ruby winced at the bitterness in those words, her eyes lingering on the moon for a moment before turning to meet Sun's own blue ones.

"Time… time always matters. It's so easy to say I can do it tomorrow, but if you always say that it never happens."

Ruby reached into nowhere and pulled out a set of albums, handing the first of the stack to Sun. Curious he opened the book, and there was Blake, alongside with people he had never seen before.

Two of them, family quite clearly had the same eyes as Blake possessed. Red with black… commas in them.

"That's Blake's Family and friends from the Elemental Nation, it's a really old loop, Remnant is really young compared to there." She reached other and pointed to the younger of the two males. "And that's Sasuke Uchiha, one of the two oldest loopers of one of the Seven Original Loops. In her first Fused loop, Blake was his sister, and she kept their family's eye ability, the Sharingan. The other one is Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. People who keep that ability and almost always loop in as Uchiha are considered to be extended family by Sasuke and Itachi, and Blake considers those two as brothers, and they do too… and I could just have said they consider each other siblings… wow, I'm _really_ out of it right now."

"Huh." Sun flipped through the album, before looking at the covers of the other ones, they all had images of the 'Remnant' loopers with other people and in bizarre places. "Well, that explains that black flames and freaky clones," he murmured without thinking, not seeing the odd look Ruby shot him.

"So, what's this got to do with time?" Sun asked, looking at a photo of the loopers and a mass of small pastel horses, or were those ponies?

Weird.

"We have friends in other loops, and it can be a really, really long time between seeing them," Ruby said, biting back a yawn. "Like hundreds of millions of years."

Sun choked, staring at Ruby in disbelief. "Wait, wait, hundreds of _millions_ of years? How would you even remember them or care? It can be hard enough to remember things about someone you haven't spoken to for a few years."

"We're Loopers." Ruby's face looked pained for a moment. "We, we remember so much more and better than any non-looper can know or understand. We can maintain friendships even after billions of years, when we met again it all comes back, as we never forgot, just… sorta put it out of our minds as it's not needed to be remembered."

That…

"Damn." That was all he could think of saying. "That's…"

"When we do meet our friends, we have such a short amount of time and so much to do and talk about. Seriously think about how much you have to talk to people about after a year, we have _aeons._ And then we have sparring, games, jokes, dares, bets and more, then the end of the loop approached and we feel disappointed as time is up and there is more we want to do. And it's not meaningless in someone's home loop either. We _need, crave interactions_ , simply saying later achieves nothing."

Sun forced himself not to fidget as Ruby looked at him with knowing eyes.

"How did you feel when it was Roman who took the time to _talk_ to you, and not Blake, Weiss or Yang?"

"Well... It hurt, and you know that I guess. But I didn't see you coming to talk either." Sun didn't manage to keep the bitterness out. "But you had all the time to do it... and that's it isn't it? You can't put things off all the time as things still hurt and that comes first, but it's worse as you remember so much more. And you have habits and routines and I was forgotten with the mess of Cinder Ascending and everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much, it's not really an excuse as we all have clones and other things like that, so we can be in more than one place. But..."

Ruby smiled weakly, offering Sun a black, bubbly drink in a glass bottle, 'Coca-Cola' whatever that was.

"We can only think of so much at one time and were so tired, it's not fair and I'm really sorry. I thought Blake and Yang… or Ozpin as you're a new 'student'..." Ruby slumped. "I heard from Roman and I felt like hitting myself, _I should have remembered, it's my job. But everything is so hard right now_. I'm the Anchor, and Cinder tried to Ascend and I felt it, and I still can't think properly even though I have to. But I have to and I'm sorry, Sun, I'm ranting, rambling, I don't know. Sorry, so I can't think, right now, so what do you want to ask me? And always come talk to me, I can split myself off so it's never a bother anyway."

"Hey, it's now like you need to force yourself to come talk-"

"Don't!"

Sun fell quite as Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose, her form seeming to flow and change, losing the tired and stressed look, "Sun, _I want to_. I want to talk to everyone and get to know the new loopers and make sure everyone is healthy. I want to be your friend, now that I can be properly. Now that you are not going to be different each loop, something that makes it hard to build up a strong friendship with you even ignoring that you didn't remember. I had thought Blake and everyone else would be looking after you and I could take some time to get other things sorted and that you would be okay. There is so much to do and I just can't focus on everything at the moment. So when I had some time to breathe I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry and don't talk like that."

"You're also rambling."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yep, I said I was even." She smiled slightly as he choked on the coke.

Sun eyed the black drink with a look of profound disgust. "Okay, this is nasty. What the heck is 'Coca Cola'?"

"it's a drink from the hub and similar worlds, really popular and almost everywhere."

"People drink this willingly?" Sun winced handing the drink back to Ruby, only to blink as she turned it into gingerbread and handed it back. "Whoa, is this really gingerbread?"

"Yep," Ruby popped the p, pulling out a platter of of various foods Sun had never seen before and two plates. "It's an ability I picked up a looong time ago, I can turn anything into sweets, don't age, can shape shift, and split myself into infinite chibi Rubys. So how do you feel like smoked seadragon?" she asked, pointing to the strips of meat as Sun experimentally bit into the gingerbread.

" _Seadragon?..._ Well, I'm impartial to it really, but I'm willing to be converted. Don't tell me what anything is until I've tried it, always best to try something new with an open mind."

Ruby smiled as he started piling various things onto the plate, grabbing a slice of phoenix breast (a pain to get, honestly), then started giggling.

Sun paused, looking at the sweet he had just grabbed with apprehension. "Okay, what's the joke?"

"I just realised, we are eating together by ourselves from a platter of rare foods by the water and under the clear moon and stars. SO, what does that sound like in any other circumstances."

"A date?"

Ruby grinned, her silver eyes seeming to sparkle in a way that had to be intentional. "Yep, we both know that's not the case, but if pretty much any other looper saw this we would be teased for loops. It's even funnier as our hub voice actors are married and expecting."

"Huh." Sun leaned back, eyes locked on the moon and stars. Voice actors… "That's so weird, our lives and everything else just entertainment, still haven't got my mind around it. So on that note actually, are you dating or involved with anyone?"

"Are propositioning me, Sun?"

He laughed at the teasing voice. "Nah, just an idle thought. According to Roman JNPR is apparently all family, then there is Blake and Yang, Winter and Qrow, so yeah, just curious."

"Nope, I'm straight for one, really don't like the idea of doing anything with people so much younger than me, for the most part, occasionally I'll keep with a causal relationship if I loop into it, but that's rare. I'm not opposed _technically_ to the idea of dating, sex and everything, but it's not relevant to me for the most part. And given I don't know what your variant personality is from, well beyond basics, I don't really know you and you don't know me anymore so…"

Ruby grinned and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Ruby Rose, Anchor of Remnant, scythe wielder and leader of Team RWBY of Beacon, Partner of Weiss Schnee, sister to Yang Xiao Long and future sister-in-law to Blake Belladonna. I'm a majin, which makes me immortal, an infinite mass of Chibirubies and can turn things into sweets. I collect weapons and in my Pocket, I have a plant sized weapon called the Star Killer that also houses a weapon museum. My adopted sister Cinder Fall went insane and last loop tried to eat Remnant to become a Goddess and dragged four souls into the infinite loops of Yggdrasil. Nice to meet you."

Sun took her hand and shook it, eyes dancing with laughter as he relaxed and smiled a bit more honestly, "Nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm Sun Wukong, partner of Neptune Vasilias, leader of team SSSN, and new looper of Remnant."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.2 masterofgames**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby knew it was a serious situation, she really did. She knew all available manpower should be working towards helping Cinder recover. It wasn't only logical, it was needed.

Still, a single Chibi, just a few inches tall, remained in her pocket, looking out over a vast quarry. Rock of all kinds littered the giant hole, all more or less in their own piles. The Chibi hefted a chisel and a mallet, and began the march to a block of limestone to begin her training.

All the fallen would be remembered, but a select four would be getting _statues_.

Statues worthy of them. That told any who looked upon them the kind of people that the ones they honored were, and of what they sacrificed. That were made of the perfect material to represent them. And she was going to make them _herself_ , no matter how long she had to practice to be able to create the deserved quality, or how many materials she had to test.

She wasn't stupid though. She knew the memorial would be coming sooner, rather than later. Which was why the entire quarry was in one of her rare time compression fields.

She still probably wouldn't be finished to her satisfaction in time.

The Chibi took a deep breath, and then, with all the speed her tiny body and mystic soul powers could spare, began her first attempt to shape the first upper corner of the stone into something resembling a rabbit ear.

... They had been her _friends_ , damn it...

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.3 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Snow fell all around the circular platform, but not a single flake landed on it or any of the beings holding conference. The area seemed comfortably warm, in fact, lit as it was by floodlights and lanterns. On one half of the tiled floor were arranged six tables, far enough apart that the pair of wheeled waiters could maneuver easily between them, each with four seats and a single candle in the center. Five towering holoscreens were arrayed in an arc opposite them, with tiny images next to words and numbers. Blocking the view of the central screen was a dais, a simple stage with a podium that itself had a simple screen built into it.

Four teenage girls stood on the stage, looking over the silent crowd in the empty space between them and the tables. The youngest... or, perhaps, the eldest, took her position behind the podium, gripping it tightly as she steadied herself.

"As Loopers, we... have become desensitized to the tragedy of death."

Her words did not need to be projected, the space was small enough, yet there was the impression that her words were carried by great speakers.

"Death," she continued, "in the sense of ending. We can get run through, blown up, horribly mutilated, but we always come back next loop." A faint smile formed on her face. "A couple of us have built a long-lasting relationship because of that fact."

The hint of levity as some of the crowd turned to a particular pair, one arm wrapped around another, was not enough to lift the grim atmosphere.

"We have forgotten, for the most part, the armies of never-weres and might-have-beens that come as Yggdrassil desperately tries to remember the entire population of multiple worlds. We have ignored those who... who do not loop, who we never interact with, allowing a thousand nameless tragedies every time we awake simply because we do not know of them. We have accepted those who were taken from us before the loops began, that which the tree denies us, as inevitable." She took a shuddering breath. "And... that is okay. We cannot care for everyone, or everything. We are merely people, no matter how much power we amass."

The young girl paused for a moment, steadying herself.

"But last loop, something more permanent happened. Many droids, many felines, many honey badger kaiju..." Her hands tapped the surface of the podium, and the image of four brown machines appeared on the built in screen. "Many beings who did not have the sapience to develop souls, and not too few that did, sacrificed themselves in the greatest and most terrible battle that has ever graced our world, one rivaled in horror and scope by precious few other universes. They did not have the benefit of the loops-they did not even have the benefit of Yggdrasil's ambiguous answer to their existence." She gestured to the towering screens. "Here we have recorded all those beings and tools that were desperately tossed out of our subspace pockets in that final gambit, and failed to record all those who lived on Remnant at the time and charged to support a cause they could not comprehend."

A sob was choked back as she shut her eyes, taking a moment to compose herself.

"Those we have recorded are now gone, never to return. The tree remembers them, we remember them, and we... we will mourn their loss. But their tale has ended, the book shut, and while I can hope that one day... one day when the loops end we can seek them out and find them again, I know that we must move on. We cannot forget them, but... we must also remember what we still have. Those around us, those who will live with us in the loops. We must press forward, and join together, as a family-we must help each other to heal, to live, to grow."

She took a deep breath.

"...On that note, I would like to extend my warmest welcomes to our new loopers. Kali Belladonna, a mother who has proven her heart as warm as a hearth's fire. Taiyang Xiao Long, a father who would do anything to help his daughters grow powerful and wise. Raven Branwen, a woman of strong conviction, strong will, and strong arm. And Sun Wukong, a man whose antics provided us a touch of light in the darkest of times. Joining us for the moment are Ghira Belladonna, who has proven his worth in both raising Blake and leading Menagerie, Lisa Lavender, the final survivor of that great tragedy, and Jenny Everywhere, whose assistance in this trying time is most appreciated."

She nodded to the seven in question, smiling even as the rest of the crowd gave them gentle applause.

"Today is a day of somber reflection," she finished, "but it is also a day of hopeful anticipation. We give our sorrowful farewells to the old; we give our joyful greetings to the new. And on that note," she chirped suddenly, "there is one other announcement I've been informed of which I _don't_ think everyone here has heard. It's certainly not my announcement to make, though." She turned to her sister and her sister's partner with a sly grin. "I'm sure we're all wondering exactly what that announcement is, so I'll turn the podium over now..."

Ruby skipped off to one side, giving an exaggerated wave and bow toward the pair. They both chuckled indulgently as they stepped up to the podium.

"Well _gee_ , thanks for putting us on the spot, sis! Real nice of you."

"Yes, we're quite grateful that we had no warning whatsoever."

There was some scattered laughter as Ruby gave them a happy double-thumbs-up.

Yang turned to the crowd. "So... yeah, what happened last loop was a wreck. The world nearly ended. That... tends to get one thinking about the important things in life. Friends, family, friends who could become family..."

"...things you should have done so much earlier but were always too nervous to do," Blake continued, "mistakes that you made and always regretted... what really matters the most in this twisted time loop we call life."

"I'm pretty sure you all know by now that Blake and I have been dating for..." Yang waggled her hand. "Let's peg it at 'a while,' because time is weird."

"Last loop, though, when it came down to it, when it was do or die, we realized..." Blake smiled up at her. "We realized that we weren't ever going to stop."

"So... we decided... let's make it official. Like, actually lasting through the loops, all that sort of thing. What we're trying to say-"

"Yang and I would like you all to know that we, together, have decided to get married. We're engaged. Ohmygoshwe're _engaged!"_

Blake practically pounced on her fiancee, who had enough presence of mind to catch her and return the inevitable liplock. The applause was as loud as it was inevitable, accompanied by cheering, a couple whistles, and one enthusiastic doggy howl. For the moment, though, the pair of them were blind to the world, engaged only in each other.

Weiss gave the couple an amused look, even as she stepped up to the podium they had twirled away from. She waited politely for the cheering and applause to die down, before taking a breath and pushing herself to her tallest height.

She gestured to the panels around the memorial. "We have here, a record of tragedy. But what makes a tragedy tragic? It is not merely the destruction, the terror, the wounds inflicted on body and world and soul. No, there is one element all tragedies share; the difficulty of healing. The knowledge that it is over and we must... become whole again." The heiress nodded to Blake and Yang. "And yet, here, we have a reminder that despite our suffering, it is possible. Despite what we have lost, we can seek to regain. Despite the darkness we have been through, there is light and possibility."

Weiss turned to the crowd. "A remembrance of the old, an embrace of the new, and I say a time of healing. I implore you all, friends old and new, attend to each other; let none stand alone, let us all bind together. We, friends and family of Remnant, have each other-and with each other we have more than the stars in the sky could ever provide us. What lies ahead will be trying, complex, and mysterious, yet also exhilarating, engaging, and exciting. But for now, let us rest and speak. Loopers of Remanant, remember, and move forward. Thank you."

She bowed to the crowd, walking over to her team and stepping off the dais. The memorial gathering had begun.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.4 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"So... you're engaged," Kali managed. "Congratulations, I suppose?"

Blake smiled gently. "I know it isn't usual, but we have been dating for a... while. A long while. And I did introduce her to you in previous loops, so..."

"Ah." Ghira nodded. "Well, I do hope to get to know you before..." He trailed off, awkwardly.

Yang nodded. "Sure thing, chieftain sir!"

Kali glanced up to her husband for a moment, before turning back to the two. "Let's not let that weigh us down. How did she propose?"

"Actually, I proposed to her," Blake clarified. "It was kind of spur-of-the-moment-"

"-but very romantic," Yang asserted firmly.

"What?" Blake turned to her. "Romantic-what?!"

"The night sky was all around us," Yang began dramatically. "A wondrous globe hung above our heads, and the very ground seemed to shimmer in the twinkling light of the stars. She didn't have a ring ready, but she turned to me and asked the question-'Yang, will you marry me?' she said, confident and beautiful. And I, I was so swept up in the moment, that I said yes with words and yes with lips." She sighed happily, even as Blake tried to interrupt her. "And as she had not the ring, we went on a wild chase for gem and boquet, the white snow our graceful companion, and all the while we moved as one, our quest not stopped by any shadow, all but sweeping through the doubts of what the future would bring, till at last we came upon a wondrous castle! Though the guardians were terrible, our passion swept them by, and we came to our goal-and with it, released enough petals to drown Vale itself!"

Kali and Ghira stared at her, dumbfounded.

Blake coughed. "You know the worst part is she's technically absolutely right." She tried to hide her blush, but couldn't keep a smile off her face.

"...Well!" Kali managed to clap her hands together. "That's actually incredibly romantic of you-"

"I didn't arrange any of it," Blake assured her.

"But you did lead me through it," Yang assured her. "And where you'll lead, I'll follow."

"Heh. Thanks."

"Yep." Yang leaned back with a smirk. "I'll be following right behind you."

Blake's blush redoubled. "Yang, my parents are right here!"

Yang looked at Kali and Ghira for a moment or two, before locking eyes with her. "And they have excellent genes."

Glynda, who was standing a short distance away, burst out laughing.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.5 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven sat at one of the six tables, sipping her tea and observing the small crowd as they chatted and socialized. She didn't feel like joining them but, as had been explained very clearly by Ruby, her portals would be unable to reach Remnant from here. For the moment, she was stuck; if she asked Ruby she would be right back out, but leaving a gathering like this early felt too much like... retreating. So she stayed, and watched.

Yang and Blake, of course, stuck near each other, as did Kali and her husband; Taiyang had taken Ruby aside, understandable, Lisa was staying near one of the holo-screens, and the Schnee girl seemed to bounce from clump to clump. Four of the other teenagers had taken a table and were talking quietly amongst themselves; she could see they were close, almost... no, they were a family, from the way the blonde one was holding his hand on the redhead's shoulder. Her brother and the Schnee woman had struck up a conversation with Glynda and Jenny; Ironwood, Penny, Ozpin, and a dog-why a dog?-were at another table, their soft words focused on the general. A third table had a man in a bowler hat, a faunus boy with a twitching tail, and the girl who she recognized as the one who had nearly killed her daught-who had nearly killed Yang on a train.

Her hands clenched tightly as the girl looked in her direction, giving her a cheeky grin and a wink. Once she would have been terrified merely of her arrival. Now, now Raven knew she was a joke to the girl. And from the way the man in the bowler hat rolled his eyes, the girl did this all the time, made a mockery of her all the time. The faunus boy looked between them, confused, before his eyes landed on her; she met his gaze calmly, forcing her fingers to uncurl. After a moment, he got up, walked over to her table, and sat down across from her with an awkward wave.

"Soooo. Hey. Name's Sun Wukong, I just started looping. You're... Raven, right? Or do you prefer miss Branwen?"

Raven gave him a flat look.

"Right. Anyway, so... I was thinking... like, I've talked with Taiyang a bit, cause we're both in Vale, and me and missus B get to know each other in baseline, but I don't know that much about you. And, you know, since we're all new loopers and all, we should probably have each other's backs? Or something."

"...Right." Raven steepled her fingers. "And what, exactly, would we talk about?"

Sun mused. "Well... we're both from Anima."

"I'm a bandit queen, you're... a huntsman in training, I presume."

"Yeah, so we might meet up at some point. You know, get to have an epic duel or... just a drink together."

Raven frowned. "Are you flirting with me?"

"No! I mean, not that you aren't flirt-worthy it's just you're old-uh, older then me. I'm still a teenager. And you're Yang's-she's around my age, even if she isn't because of the loops, so, you know, there's that awkward, and, uh..."

"Okay." Raven leaned back. "I think we're done here."

"Wait wait wait. Look." Sun took a breath. "I get that you're probably a sink-or-swim kind of gal. You don't want to help me and you don't want me helping you, because it's either wasting your strength on the weak or admitting to weakness which... yeah. But here's the thing, we are literally talking on a planet with a cannon built into it that is, itself, inside of Ruby's soul. The rules have changed, big time, and neither of us understand them."

He held out his hand. "So until we do, maybe we can struggle through this together or something?"

Raven looked at it slowly.

"...Why are you with those two?" she asked. "As I understand it, they're partly responsible for Vale's fall."

"Yeah, that weirds me out too, but..." He shrugged. "Roman decided to bring me into his group, since nobody else was focusing on me. And you know, I grew up in Vacuo, I'm familiar enough with the idea of a heroic thief."

"Him." Raven pointed at the man, who tipped his hat toward her. "Heroic."

"Well, alright, he's a douche. The kind that steals to impress. Me, I usually steal casual necessity, you know, apples and stuff-and really only when I need to. Neo..." Sun paused. "I'm not going to lie, Neo basically does what she wants and doesn't give a rat's ass about anybody but Roman, but she tries to be showy about it. Mercury and Emerald, the two they picked up for their gang, one's a snarker and the other's a legit street rat. And there's you, the wild bandit queen-"

"Wild." Raven rolled her eyes. "Obviously you don't know me that well."

"Which is sort of why we're having this conversation. The point is, stealing does not have to be evil. Heck, with the subspace pocket trick, I don't think it's even necessary. So, yeah, we... we're sort of forming a street theater thieves' guild for Remnant. I think. Roman's the head because he can keep Neo in line, and I thought, hey, maybe you'd want in."

Raven looked at him for a long while.

"...I'm going to have to make sure he doesn't corrupt you, aren't I?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Raven Branwen, the moral core. I'll consider it, mister Wukong, but I'd suggest you find some other looping friends before you get too entrenched in Roman's nonsense."

"That's all I ask."

The sound of a throat clearing drew their attention, and they turned to find that Yang had moved in next to them. "Hey, uh, Sun? Do you mind if I have a private chat with Raven?"

"Oh, uh." Sun looked from her to the bandit queen, who had gone a little stiff. "Well-"

"I can handle this," Raven said tersely.

Yang winced.

Sun slowly pulled out his chair and stood. "Alright. Um. I'll be... at that other table." He paused. "Uh, good luck?"

Raven nodded toward him, flicking her eyes to the table in clear dismissal. He returned the nod, backing away with his hands raised.

Yang slid carefully into the chair, biting her lip. "So. Um. Hey. Can we talk? Like, actually talk, communicate, instead of, you know, this awkward thing where I'm saying words and looking for a reaction?"

Raven looked at her warily. "You have my attention."

"...Yes, I can tell that, but I... No sorry, that's me trying to defuse this with humor. I should start this out properly." Yang took a breath and let out out. "I'm... sorry. For the, you know, dragon thing. You didn't deserve that, and I totally overreacted, and, um. You know I'm not going to hurt you, right? I mean, not... intentionally."

"You said you would make me regret calling you my... daughter," Raven pointed out, only the faintest twitch in her face.

"Actually, all I said was that you _would_ regret it. Not that I'd _make you_ regret it. Self-fulfilling prophecy. I have this whole philosophy on the difference between shame and regret, and-"

"That's a cop out and you know it."

"You're right, it's totally a cop out." Yang sighed. "Look. That day I was... angry at like, twenty different things, and you were one of them. One. And I hadn't really had the chance to vent about any of the others, because we were all trying to help heal Cinder's insanity before we started yelling at her, and... what I'm saying is, you got a lot of rage that wasn't meant for you, and you didn't deserve that, and I made a mistake, and I really, really am sorry."

Raven carefully put down the cup she was holding. "And that's it. After, what, three months, you decide to apologize."

"...I did want to earlier, but, um, you were in fight or flight for a while there and-"

"Hmm." Raven crossed her arms. "The first time I saw you after nearly two decades, you come in as a dragon, set yourself on fire, and issue an ultimatum. The next time, you are covered in shit." She paused. "Why were you-?"

"We were checking one of the starships in this pocket," Yang explained. "A, um, tube exploded. Although... now that I think about it, I don't know who would use the starship facilities-"

"Majin physiology has its drawbacks," Ruby interjected with a faint blush.

Yang blinked, turning to her. "So, wait. That was _your_ shit I was covered in."

"...yyyeah, for the most part."

"You know, I don't know if that makes things _more_ or _less_ disgusting. I mean I've changed a few of your diapers, but that was on a whole other level-"

"I vote you drop the subject and go back to reconciling with Raven," Ruby said quickly.

"...yeah alright." Yang turned back to Raven. "So you saw me as a dragon, then you saw me covered in shit, then...?"

Raven blinked, glancing between the two of them for a moment, before regaining her composure. "Then you offered me coffee. Made a joke of it. Told me you were okay with... my occupation."

"...Less _okay_ , more _resigned_."

"And now," she finished, "there's this great memorial to what seems to be literally thousands of strange creatures who died, and you make an engagement announcement here, and... then you come to apologize." Raven gave her a long look. "So I've seen you angry, exhausted, joking, somber, happy, and now you're nervous."

"What can I say? I'm a complicated woman."

"That much is clear."

Yang took in her flat look and sighed. "...You see these screens? You see the numbers on them, the weird creatures? I _lived_ through that. Barely five months ago, from my perspective, I was thrust into the middle of a war for the world, with-okay, you know the dragon that attacks during the fall of Beacon? You know how big that thing is? There was a Grimm large enough to hold that beast in the palm of its hand. I'm not exaggerating, it was a dragon that dwarfed mountains and had seven eyes and lesser Grimm kept popping from its back and it spewed deathbile everywhere. Granted, it was the biggest thing on the battlefield, but it was not the _only_ thing at all."

Raven leaned back in faint shock. "I... was not aware of that."

"Yeah. Me and Blake blew off its wings, and it kept on fighting. Heck, _you_ came along and blinded one of its eyes-that's how I found you, by the way, and then-see, Cinder had put Ruby into suspended animation on the moon, and if we used any of our methods to get up there she would have noticed, so we got you to use your portals since they're native to Remnant. So yeah. You helped save the world. Even if you don't remember it. Thanks for that."

"It sounds like quite the mess."

"Yeah. I don't even know half of what happened, we still haven't all sat down and compared notes yet."

"I suppose," Raven said slowly, "coming out of that could explain why you... allowed yourself to react so strongly to my own activation. And I suppose I could accept your apology, but... it feels like you're doing more then just apologizing. It feels like you're trying to... connect with me, for some reason. And I don't understand why."

Yang put her head in her hands, golden hair running through her fingers.

"...I _want_ you to be at my wedding."

Raven's eyes snapped wide.

"There, I said it." Yang spread her hands wide. "I want you there, when I get married. I want to know that... whatever else there is between us, you'd be... happy for me, or something."

"...Why? Why would... why am I so important?"

Yang looked up. "Because even though I might not be willing to call you my _mom_ , I still think of you as part of my _family_. Finding you has been one of my big drives since baseline, and looping... looping just means I have had a lot of time to think about it. What it would really mean. I screwed up with the dragon thing. I get that. And I get that... there's a lot of baggage in this whole, whatever we've got going. But I want... something. I don't know what, but I thought... it would be better if we found out together. You know?"

Raven tapped her fingers on the table for a moment or two. "...you understand, of course," she began, "that I'm not going to be baking you cookies."

Yang half smiled. "Don't worry, I've figured that one out myself."

"...And more seriously, that I'm probably not going to be comfortable with you approaching me for a few loops. I... will seek you out, instead."

"...I guess that's fair." Yang bit her lip. "Can I ask for a minimum visitation though? Like, once every ten loops you're Awake?"

"That sounds reasonable."

"Okay."

They sat there for a minute or two.

"So. You and Blake." Raven put on a small smirk. "How often do you bang?"

Yang snorted. "Oh, you know, whenever we feel like it..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.6 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-= 

Raven took a quiet sip of her tea as Yang stood up, their conversation over. There was certainly a lot for her to ponder about

 _that_

situation, but now wasn't the time for it. She tensed slightly as she felt a faint prickling of danger with her Aura. Looking around, she spotted three of the teens she had pegged as a family. The blond, the redhead, and the black-haired boy with a pink streak in his hair were all approaching her. Not that she could actually tell the colors of their hair at the moment, as they all seemed to be a shade of gray.

"Can I help you?" she asked as they got closer. In the distance, she noticed Qrow and the Schnee woman subtly moving closer to her table. _Do they think they'll need to intervene?_ Raven felt oddly grateful that her brother was nearby in case this conversation went south, and then she felt a flare of helpless rage as she realized that she was counting on her brother to save her. But what else she could do? She was far too weak at the moment, and she desperately needed to begin acquiring more power from the Loops.

The blond sat down at the table across from Raven. He set his sheathed sword down on the table hard enough to clearly be a threat, but softly enough not to create a scene. The redhead and the other boy sat on his left and right, respectively, and glared at Raven.

"Let's get one thing straight, oh 'bandit queen'," the blond said in a tone that was clearly meant to be mocking but only partially succeeded. "We may look like teenagers, but we are millennia older, more experienced, and more powerful than you."

Raven chuckled softly as she realized something. "And yet I still make you nervous. Why is that, I wonder."

The blond clenched his fist, but the other boy placed his hand on his shoulder, and he relaxed slightly. "I have fought you and your bandit tribe as part of Team RNJR thousands of times. I'd be a fool not to realize how dangerous you are. But you'd be a fool to take me lightly. You should know that we won against you nearly every time, and you being a Looper doesn't change that."

"Yes, yes, Yang already did the 'threatening me' routine, but she eventually decided she wanted to get to know me, and there's no way she'd let you hurt me too much after all of that. So can we get on with it?"

"Ren and I have been keeping an eye on you and your tribe's actions this Loop," explained the redhead. Raven's eyes narrowed in sudden interest. Yang had said to be wary of Ren, but if he was one of the young men in front of her, which one was he? Suddenly she realized the redhead had stopped speaking. Clearly, she was waiting for a response.

"And what of it? I'm sure you're not objecting to the raiding. As Jenny Everywhere explained to me, raiding is quite a common pastime for even the heroes in the multiverse. Surely it would be gauche to try to forbid me from doing it when both Yang and my brother realized that leading the tribe on raids is a part of who I am that I'm not willing to give up."

"That was exactly my argument when I convinced Jaune and Pyrrha to give you a chance this Loop," said the other boy, who was evidently Ren. _Weird, Yang seemed to think he would be the one I needed to worry about_. "My Baseline self was devastated when he found that you and the Grimm had destroyed Shion village, so believe me when I say I have no love for you or your tribe, but since my backstory revealed that the Grimm was more at fault for both the devastation and my reaction, it was only fair to give you a chance."

"And what did you conclude?" Raven asked, mentally calculating how long it would take to get to her sword and how close any potential allies were-yes, including Yang, as awkward as it would be-to rely on her for safety.

"We were pleasantly surprised," Ren said.

"But still disappointed," Pyrrha said sharply.

"You and your tribe are quite efficient," Ren said. "You take what you want and leave, with a minimum of unnecessary damage."

"And we're definitely not going to stop you from stealing, not with Roman and Neo being Loopers as well," Pyrrha said. "There's just one thing you need to change."

Jaune interjected strongly. "No more killing."

"Surely you are aware that raiding requires a certain level of violence that even theft doesn't. It's ridiculous to claim to allow my tribe to raid while also prohibiting violence."

"We don't want you to stop all violence, just the killing," Pyrrha said reasonably.

"No matter hard you try, it's nearly impossible to fight people without killing some of them, particularly when they are trying to kill you in return."

"Well you're not trying hard enough!" Ren said, raising his voice in unusual agitation.

"From what Ren and Pyrrha have told me, your tribe didn't leave people alive on purpose so much as they just didn't find it worth the trouble to kill all the time. That needs to change," Jaune said.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then any Loop one of us or Nora is Awake, we will make it our top priority to arrest you and your tribe," Jaune said. "There might be a little friction with Yang, but in the end, we're her friends and have been for eons, while you're just her biological mother whom she's still conflicted about. And since we don't plan on tormenting you, just limiting the damage you are capable of, I doubt she'll have much of a problem with it. We've spent too many Loops stopping you from causing the destruction of Shion village and ending your time as a bandit in Anima to let you run free just because you're now Looping. If we have to, we'll arrest you. Every time."

"Unless you tone things down," Ren said. There was a short pause as Jaune caught his breath and they all caught their thoughts.

"Look, Raven, we're not asking too much of you," Pyrrha said. "I once had a Fused Loop in the city of Brockton Bay on the planet of Earth Bet. There, parahumans—roughly equivalent to Huntsmen and Huntresses in power, although it came from something other than Aura—were split into two groups: heroes and villains. I was a hero, of course, so imagine my shock when I found that the Anchor and the Loopers Awake that Loop were all villains. Or, well, the Anchor was originally a hero who got mistaken for a villain and decided to go undercover, but eventually became a villain before defecting to the heroic side—it's complicated. The point is, a lot of the villains were not bad people. The better ones like the Loopers had a sort of code they followed. They treated the fights between heroes and villains as a game of cops and robbers, where each side followed certain unofficial rules. A number of the rules, like no unmasking each other or going after each other's civilian identities, don't apply here, but in most cases, they also prohibited killing. And quite apart of being the right thing to do, it worked! The villains who followed the rules received far more leeway from the heroes, who could focus on the worse enemies and didn't feel the need to fight back with their own lethal measures. That's what we're proposing here—a compromise. We agree to leave your raiding alone for the most part, despite our moral objections, and in return, you make a good-faith effort to cut down on the amount of killing your tribe does as much as possible."

"You agree to leave me alone 'for the most part'? I need stronger assurances than that."

"What we mean is we won't go out of our way to stop you," Jaune said. "But if we can prevent your raiding with only a minor change from Baseline, we will absolutely do it."

Raven considered her options, but she really didn't have many. Yang and Taiyang were willing to try to form a relationship with her from scratch, but she doubted either of them would stick up for her in this case. And while she'd gotten along reasonably well with a couple of the other Loopers, there would be no help from those who saw themselves as "good guys." Roman and Neo might be able to help, but she hadn't talked to them nearly enough to know either way. Even if they agreed with her, she doubted they would risk their accepted position among Remnant's Loopers to help her. Plus, from what she understood, the young Huntsmen and Huntress extorting her were far older, and consequently more powerful, than the thief and his companion. As for standing up to them herself—Raven was painfully conscious of how outclassed she presently was.

"Very well. I shall instruct my tribe to avoid killing except where necessary for self-defense."

"I don't think it really counts as self-defense when you're attacking someone," Jaune said.

"Jaune," Pyrrha said warningly, placing her hand on Jaune's shoulder. Then she turned to Raven. "We understand your intent. Thank you."

"And maybe consider making sure the villages you attack aren't going to be razed to the ground by Grimm after you've attacked," Ren said. Raven felt a swelling of anger. This was why she refused to give in to threats except under the most extraordinary of circumstances! You give in once, and people start to think you're easily cowed! Well she wasn't going to stand for it!

"That's ridiculous! The Grimm are a powerful threat to us all. If the tribe could defeat the Grimm in pitched combat, we would, but there's a reason we have to move all the time. If the fools in their stationary towns draw in the Grimm with their pitiful fear and anger at our attacks—which will now be largely harmless, I remind you—they can fight them off themselves or die. It's not my responsibility."

"Very well, that wasn't meant to be part of the agreement anyway," Pyrrha said, heading off her angrier companions. "But at least consider it."

"I will consider it, but I won't change my mind. Consenting to harm others less is one thing, but saving those who don't deserve it goes against everything I believe in."

"You're not a good person, Raven…but I've met far worse," Pyrrha said. "Welcome to the Loops."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.7 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Wow, Raven sure is popular today," Taiyang said.

"Yeah, first Sun, then Yang, now Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren," his daughter replied.

"The best part is I can tell she already wanted to leave and not socialize, but now she's stuck talking to everyone."

"Wow, that's mean. I thought you were going to give her a chance and start over?"

"Oh, I am, but it's still entertaining when she's annoyed."

"She definitely looks tense. I hope they don't start fighting. Although it's odd that they'd go talk to Raven without Nora; I wonder where she is." Ruby split her attention among the chibis scattered around the planet and sighed when she located her.

A copy of Ruby formed and walked up to Nora, who was enthusiastically scratching under the chin of a Zoid that was missing a leg. When she saw the Anchor, she exclaimed, "These aren't the Zoids I'm looking for! Why are they all broken?"

"I haven't had a chance to repair them yet, and anyway, you know you're not allowed in here without supervision!"

"But we could intimidate Raven so much better with a giant robot animal!"

Ruby felt she should probably say something about her sister's mother (her half-mother?) being threatened, but eh, she kind of deserved it, and she trusted them not to go too far. "You know, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren are talking to Raven right now."

"What? They started without me?" Nora asked in a mock angry voice.

Ruby grabbed her by the shoulder and started to drag her along. "Come on, you can complain when they're done punishing you for trespassing. I'm telling your parents you broke the rules again."

"Awww…."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.8 Prince Pondincherry, Leviticus Wilkes, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

While Sun and Roman kept up a running conversation about the merits and drawbacks of taunting the authorities chasing you, Neo kept a considering eye on Raven and the three members of Team JNPR who were clearly threatening her. Once upon a time, eons ago, Neo felt almost as strongly about Raven as Yang did. To both of them, she was a mysterious, powerful figure who interrupted their fight on the train from Mountain Glenn, but while she was a savior and mysterious mother to Yang, she was an unknown terror to Neo. Why was she so afraid of Raven in Baseline? She'd agonized over it and deliberately acted as close to Baseline as possible, just to get a chance to meet her, but never gotten any answers.

Now, she just didn't care. The irony was that Neo _still_ had no real idea why she was so terrified of Raven in Baseline—maybe she just knew of her as a powerful bandit leader?—but being a Looper mean Raven was playing on the same field, and as Loopers, Neo would always be far beyond Raven. Which was why she'd taken great joy in taunting her earlier.

Roman saw Ruby draw JPR (currently sporting an unusual lack of color) away from Raven and wrapped up his conversation with Sun. "We're going to talk to the bandit chieftain over there, so you'll have to find something else to do for a bit."

"Alright, no problem." The three of them got up, Sun to go look for something else to do, and Roman and Neo to go talk to Raven.

As they approached her, Raven greeted them with, "I hear you're starting up a group of Looping thieves. Is this the recruitment attempt?"

Roman flicked some ash from his cigar. "No need. Our mutual monkey friend gave you the down-low; join us if you like. Or don't. Actually, we're just here to ask what the less-insane three quarters of Team JNPR wanted with you."

Roman leaned on his cane and Neo rested her parasol stylishly on her shoulder. Raven looked at them for a couple seconds before saying, "Have a seat." She waited until they sat down before continuing, "They informed me of how strongly they are against killing. I assume the two of you had a similar talk?"

Roman smirked, "Actually, no. Our joining the Loops was…complicated, but let's just say that we were able to get them not to think about our crimes too much."

"Really." Raven replied flatly.

"You'd be surprised how much you can get away with if you don't make it obvious," Neo said. "It's well-known that I'm a murderer, and yet they make no effort to prevent me from walking free. Why? Because I don't do it in front of them, I don't do it where they will notice, or I confine myself to acceptable targets. Like you, actually." Neo gave Raven a wicked smirk. "Anything to let them tell themselves that we've reformed, that they don't need to stop us like they did in Baseline."

"I will admit, there is also an element of toning it down," Roman said. "We really don't kill much anymore—there's usually no point. I'm more than a good enough criminal to get away with things without killing, and honestly, the challenge can make it more fun."

"But if you do feel the need to…let out some urges, just don't rub it in their faces," Neo said. "Give it a few Loops for them to get used to you, and don't go after anyone they care about specifically."

A few moments of silence passed by.

Then, Roman said, "This is the part where you thank the experienced Loopers for our advice."

"What is wrong with you?" Raven asked. "I don't need advice on how to get away with murder!"

"Oh, yes, because you've been doing so well this far," Roman said sarcastically.

"I don't need to hide who I am! If I kill someone, it's because they don't deserve to live! I'm not some…psychopath who kills for fun!" Raven spat.

Neo gave her a mocking eye roll and smile, but Roman verbally backpedaled. "Far be it from us to cast aspersions on your character, but we know all too little about you, and as Remnant's resident Looping reprobates, it's our responsibility to welcome you no matter what kind of bandit you might be. But worry not; you'll find there is honor among these thieves."

"Honor! Style, absolutely, but I find it hard to believe you care about honor."

Roman tipped his hat. "Thank you, I do try. In Baseline, I'm a realist: I sided with the villains not because I wanted to destroy Vale but because I didn't want Cinder and her gang to kill me. But here, the goodie-two-shoes have all the power, so of course I'm going to fall in line! Doesn't mean I can't have my fun doing it. I'm sure you understand; those **with** the power are the ones **in** power."

Raven considered whether it was worth continuing this conversation. She had little respect for the thieves in front of her, but at the same time, they did represent an opportunity to gain a new perspective on the Loops. "It does seem to be something they have trouble realizing. They want to feel morally superior, but they still achieve their ends by threatening violence." _At least Qrow, Yang, and Tai are willing to treat me like a person and not just a threat._

"You're lucky they didn't start a fight," Roman said.

"Some people are able to control their bloodlust," Raven said, her tone indicating she wasn't including her conversation partners in that.

Roman smirked. "Ah, but those kids aren't among them. You may have noticed their complete lack of color. That was Lie Ren's Semblance at work keeping them from snapping at you. You got off lightly."

Raven filed away the information for the future. Although she would be foolish to start something with any of the Loopers, it was always best to know as much as possible about any potential threats. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Roman scoffed, then gave Raven a firm look. "Do you know me?" He asked. "Do you know who I am? What I am to you?"

Raven cocked an eyebrow. "You... Roman Torchwick. Thief."

"Right, right..." Roman nodded, pacing a bit. "Here's a heads up Branwen. Our universe likes to play with the cards close to it's chest. So if you go through a couple Loops where me or Neo here happen to be old clanmates, or maybe you know us, or you're my ex-wife-"

Raven choked on air.

"-That's normal. Ciao!"

Roman and Neo's forms shattered like glass when Raven threw her sword through him.

A sudden awkward silence fell over the memorial, every gaze turning to the sword and the woman who threw it. Raven looked around, suddenly very self conscious, and awkwardly gripped her cup.

With a sigh, the dog hopped out of his chair, grabbed the sword, and jumped onto the table to dump it in front of her. "You see, this is why you need to socialize regularly. If you don't, everyone's going to try to monopolize the few times you do come around."

The joking tone of his aristocratic voice was apparently enough to break the tension, and the various smaller groups turned back to each other.

Raven released her grip on the cup. "Am I supposed to be surprised you can talk?"

The dog shrugged. "It certainly surprised me when I figured it out. I don't know if we've been properly introduced. I'm Zwei."

Raven looked at his outstretched paw, quirking an eyebrow.

"A magical tree is broken and the multiverse has been put into a large number of time loops because of it. Just accept the weirdness."

With an aggrivated sigh, she took the paw and shook it. "Raven Branwen. What do you want."

"Well, as a dog, one of my core instincts is to understand and help out my pack. My family. At the moment I define that as all the loopers of Remnant." Zwei settled on his haunches. "And I've found a good way to do that is to listen."

Raven carefully took her blade and slid it back into its sheath. "Right."

Zwei looked at her with two adorable doggy eyes and perked ears.

"...You're serious."

Zwei panted.

"...You were just talking," Raven pointed out. "Do you really expect me to fall for the cute puppy routine?"

"Arf!"

She stared at him for a moment or two.

"...Yeah, this... this isn't going to work. I'm not going to open up my heart just because you ask me to. I don't work that way."

Zwei whined, folding back his ears.

"That is deliberate. I know that's deliberate."

Zwei pointedly whimpered, staring at her with big, watery eyes-

"Okay, fine. Fine." Raven threw up her hands. "...Here's how this is going to work. I ask you a question, you ask me a question. That's a fair exchange."

The corgi considered this for a moment, before perking up his ears. "That's fair."

"Alright, first question: Why did Yang warn me about Ren?"

"Ah, funny story behind that. You remember Shione village? Well, back in the day exactly what happened wasn't clear, very loop variable, and all they had to go on was the knowledge you were involved. Lie Ren, he's not easy to anger, and when he does get angry it's usually a cold sort of fury."

Raven leaned back. "He took revenge."

"A month-long campaign of hallucinations, culminating in your tribe leaving you for the Grimm. He didn't leave you to die, of course, he..." Zwei paused. "...Well, he took you to Patch and chained you to Tai's porch. Naked. With a bow on your head."

"...Huh."

"Mmmyep."

 _"...Huh."_

"Mmmhmm."

"...I mean, on the one hand I am obviously insulted and incensed, but on the other that sounds planned out to an impressive degree. It's quite an extravagant punishment, all things considered. That I was worth such effort is... kind of complimentary."

"I suppose it could be," Zwei allowed. "Now, I believe it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Oh. Yes."

"What is your opinion of leash laws?"

Raven blinked. "What?"

"Leash laws. Your opinion. What is it?"

"...hmm." She considered the dog in front of her. "Well, it's obviously a complicated issue..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.9 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Oh, mister and miss Arc-Nikos!" Ruby cried, dragging Nora onto the platform. "Look what I found wandering around, UNSUPERVISED, in my garage."

"I didn't get in any tanks," Nora protested. "I didn't! Or any mechas or-" She shrunk under Jaune and Pyrrha's stern gazes. "Aheh-heh. I just thought, uh, maybe Raven would listen to us better if-"

"We have already talked with Raven," Jaune stated flatly.

"Oh." She paused. "Did it-"

"It went decently enough," Pyrrha informed her.

"Oh. Uh, good! I guess I... uh..."

She glanced at Ren. "Help?"

"Sorry." He held up his hands. "I'm on thin ice as is."

"Well, um. Oooooh, hey, there's Penny, I think-"

"Nora." Jaune's voice only had a hint of warning, but it was enough for her to freeze. "You know what happened last time you were alone in the garage."

"That was an accident-"

"And the time before that."

"Also an accident."

"And the time before that."

"I wasn't alone, Qrow was with me!"

"Don't drag me into this!" shouted Qrow.

Pyrrha leaned in. Nora leaned back.

"...No pancakes until saturday."

She nodded, looking at the ground and toeing it sullenly. "...y'sm'm."

"Ah... excuse me?"

The four of them turned to the new speaker, their expressions moving from stern frowns and resigned acceptance to apologetic smiles and embarrassed chuckles.

"Missus Belladonna." Pyrrha shook her head. "I am so sorry you had to see that, you know how it is..."

"Yes, I... rather do. Which is kind of odd, actually." Kali pointed from her to Nora. "Seeing as you two are around the same age, and both teenagers...?"

"Oh. Right!" Jaune glanced around, grabbing an unoccupied chair and moving it over to their table. "This is probably going to be a bit of an explanation. Do you mind...?"

"Oh, no, not at all." Kali nodded gratefully as she took the proffered seat. "You're team JNPR, right?"

"Yes. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, this is my husband Jaune Arc, and these are our children, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." She half smiled at Kali's nonplussed expression. "It's... a bit of a story, truth be told."

"Well, I've already heard that I apparently have children in other universes, and my daughter just announced her engagement." Kali managed a wry grin herself. "I'm guessing it makes more sense in context?"

"Awww, only one quarflebarn," Nora whined. "She's going to be a toughie."

Ren nudged her with an arm. "Missus Belladonna, has your daughter informed you of exactly how much can... come to light during an expansion?"

Kali winced. "Yes. I am aware of my own period of... temporal nonexistence. Although," she added, "I have yet to inform my husband. I would rather... rather not burden him with that knowledge."

"Entirely understandable. Simply put, while Blake gained a set of parents during an expansion, me and Nora... lost two sets."

"Oh. Oh my, I'm so sorry-"

"It's okay." Nora nodded, a sad smile on her face. "It was long ago for us, and we've come to accept it. Of course, at the time, we were devastated-even having loop-variable family was better then nothing. And then, well..."

She glanced at Jaune, who took the story up. "It was a variant loop," he explained. "Me and Pyrrha woke up sixteen years before our usual starting point, and I literally tripped over a basket with a baby girl in it. When we got home we found another basket on our porch-somebody had actually left a baby, in a basket, on our porch." He rolled his eyes.

"Of course we knew they were Nora and Ren," Pyrrha explained. "Yggdrasil likes its patterns. And of course, we did try to give them to the authorities, we were teenagers after all, but they weren't competent. So we decided... why not raise them ourselves?"

"Me and Ren didn't wake up until the usual Awakening point," Nora said, fiddling with her fingers. "Or therabouts, anyway, and... well... just because we're loopers with looping lives, doesn't mean memories from before we Awake are any less relevant."

"We had a few loop's memories of losing our parents to essential oblivion," Ren said, his voice quiet. "And we also had fifteen year's worth of memories of Jaune and Pyrrha raising us. That... well... they helped. They still help us. It's a bit strange, I know, but... we've come to accept them as our parents in the loops, and they us as their children."

Kali nodded slowly. "I see. It's... it's good to know that you aren't alone in this."

Pyrrha put her hand on Kali's. "And you aren't alone either. You've got Blake, and Blake's got you." She smirked slyly. "I'm sure she's glad not to be the only looping faunus anymore."

"Oh that's right!" Nora clapped her hands. "I've been meaning to ask you something about that, actually. Why are your ears different?"

Kali blinked. "My...?"

"Blake's got little triangle ears, but yours are bigger and have that curve on the side. It's really subtle, but-"

"Oh that." Kali chuckled, rubbing one of her earrings. "It's really just a quirk of genetics. Of course, when she was younger we used to joke that we were two different kinds of felines-she was my little jaguarundi, and I was her momma cougar."

Nora gave a surprised snort of laughter. "Well, don't let Yang hear _that!"_

"...Why?"

The members of team JNPR shared a quick but silent conversation. Apparently, Jaune lost. "So, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but... is there any age difference between you and Ghira?"

"Oh, well." Kali shrugged. "I am seven years his senior, technically, but I don't really think that-" She cut herself off at Nora's sudden giggling. "...What am I missing here?"

Ren sighed. "I don't know if you've encountered Yang's love of wordplay yet-"

"I have."

"-ah. Well. Suffice to say, across large swathes of the multiverse, 'cougar' is slang for a woman with certain... sexual appetites."

Kali looked from Nora's increasing laughter to the rest of the team, quirking a confused eyebrow.

Pyrrha sighed. "An older woman who likes younger men."

"...Ah." Kali considered that for a moment. "Well... I suppose, factoring in the loops, it won't be _inaccurate_..."

Nora was barely breathing by this point. "I'm sorry! Heehehahahaa, I am, hahaha I shouldn't... hahahahhahahahaaaaaa!" She sunk out of her chair, unable to stop herself as she cackled uproariously.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.10 Leviticus Wilkes, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven did not like being dragged around. Especially not by her collar. Absolutely disgusted by it. And she certainly did not like being forced into being a target, even if only for conversation. So as soon as Zwei was done with her, she decided to take initiative.

With some backup.

Pushing herself out of her chair, she walked over to her ex-husband. "Taiyang."

"Hey, Rae." He gave her a glance. "Bit overwhelming, isn't it?"

Raven opened her mouth, paused, and let out a small sigh. "A little bit, yes. But there is something I need to do, and I would rather have somebody I... trust, by my side."

"...I saw you talking with Yang earlier-"

"-we have reached an accord," Raven interjected smoothly. "It's... perhaps the best I deserve, honestly. At the moment, though..."

She nodded toward her brother, and the white-haired woman he was talking to.

"Ah." Taiyang nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering about those two myself. You want to be good cop or bad cop?"

Raven gave him a flat look.

"Right, cops are morons. Forgot." He held up his hands, gesturing toward the two chatters. "Shall we?"

"Better now then later."

With that, the two of them strode toward Qrow and Winter. Taiyang attempted to look casual, but Raven... Raven didn't really care to, she simply walked forward, attempting to listen in to whatever it was they were talking about.

"...heard what Blake said, right? Things we should have done earlier, but were nervous to do?"

"I suppose you're right, but... Qrow, I'm just comfortable where we are right now."

"I am too, don't get me wrong, it's just that we've been letting boundaries down for a while, and after last loop I think we should reassess-"

Taiyang cleared his throat loudly. Raven very pointedly did not give an exasperated sigh when Qrow and Winter turned to them.

"So!" Taiyang clapped his hands together. "Qrow! I see you made a new friend!"

"...Yep." Qrow nodded. "Winter Schnee, one of the few good parts of Jacques' legacy. Winter, my old teammate, Taiyang Xiao Long. You've already met my sister."

Winter looked between them. "It is... a unique opportunity to see you again, miss Branwen. And a pleasure to meet you at last, mister Xiao Long." She cleared her throat. "If I may inquire, have you two... rekindled your relationship, or...?"

Raven shook her head. "We've decided to remain friends for now. But on the subject of relationships, what's going on between you and Qrow?"

Her brother gave the other woman a look. "You know, it's funny you should ask that. We were just-"

"Qrow," Winter said firmly. "If we're going to do this, we do it as soon as possible. No dodging this."

"..." The corvid huntsman nodded reluctantly. "Alright. You sure?"

"No, but you do have a point, and... perhaps we _have_ been putting it off."

Raven looked between the two of them, trying to decipher what they were saying. Taiyang, on the other hand, decided for the direct approach. "So, what's up?" he offered.

Qrow put an arm around Winter's shoulders. "Winter is my girlfriend. That's what's up."

"Yeah uh... what?" Taiyang verbally stumbled as his brain registered what Qrow had just said. He did a double take. "What?"

"We're a couple," Winter said. "As of just now. We were alone during our first few Loops, we really only had each other for comfort. In the end we stumbled into our relationship."

"...Qrow..." Raven said dangerously. Her jaw was twitching. "...How old am I?"

"...45," Qrow said shamelessly.

"You're my twin?"

"Yeah."

"How old is Winter?"

Now Qrow stopped answering questions.

"She's half your age!" Raven burst out. "Why the hell are you dating someone half your age!?"

"Physically, I'm half his age," Winter defended. "Mentally we're so old that the difference is less than one percent."

"Besides, she's old enough to make her own decisions," Qrow joked. Winter elbowed him in the stomach. "Blegh!"

Raven glowered at her twin and her... potential sister-in-law. "I... suppose you might be good for each other, and I hope you'll stay together for longer than me and Tai." She took Winter's hand and clasped it tightly, giving her a small smirk. "Nice to meet you Winny. Welcome to the family."

"I'm not giving you gifts because we're sisters."

"Trust me, the best gift you could give is keeping my little brother out of trouble."

Taiyang had been quiet as his ex wife snarked at the two, but his eyes never left Qrow. The corvid huntsman gave Taiyang his attention, and Taiyang spoke. "Is she replacing Summer?"

The four of them fell quiet, an island of sudden silence in the conversation surrounding the memorial.

Raven looked from Tai to Winter. Qrow couldn't take his eyes off his brother. Winter, as she saw no one would speak, sighed gently. "Mister Xiao Long, tell me about Summer Rose."

"She was a slave driver, a perfectionist, a hothead. Had us up at five AM for exercise. Made us diet for growth. Locked us in the room for studying. She'd take us out into the Forever Fall forest to train against young Grimm. We'd drill strategy and combat styles when we weren't doing homework or recovering from whatever she threw at us."

"But more than that, she never let herself rest. If we were running, she'd run with weights on her ankles. She'd be a chapter ahead in the text book. At night, while we were sleeping, she'd be working up new strategies. And when Qrow got Cholera in second year, and we didn't know if he'd survive, she never left his bedside."

"When Raven left me, Summer stayed behind. She pulled me together, got me up and running. She raised Yang like Yang was her daughter. She made Yang her daughter. She loved her, and Ruby, and me. To this day... I'm not sure how she died. All we found of her was a mess of blood and sinew."

"Summer Rose was our leader."

Qrow shook his head. "Tai... Summer wasn't-"

"Mister Xiao Long," Winter said. "Miss Branwen, this is going to be a shock for you, but the Summer you remember may not be the Summer that exists."

"What?"

Winter looked at Raven, who stood there at a loss. "Our world doesn't know what it's supposed to be like, who is supposed to be and how they are supposed to be. Once upon a time, Weiss was afraid I would be a monstrous person. A racist, a bitch, a woman who didn't care about her little sister. For so long, we didn't know that Raven was the leader of a bandit tribe. And we do not know, more than ever, who Summer Rose was."

"No, that's not true," Taiyang said.

"Tai," Qrow said. He put a hand on Taiyang's shoulder to keep him still and steady. "Tai, I'm sorry."

Taiyang Xiao Long looked at his brother, at his ex wife, at Winter. He was shaking. "I can remember her. You have to be lying."

"You already remember one Loop Taiyang," Winter said. "What was Summer like in that Loop?"

"She... she was..."

"She snuck alcohol at parties," Raven murmured. "Tried to seduce all three of us. Succeeded too. Coasted on her charisma and talent. Always had a lucky break."

Winter nodded. "Qrow came to me because to him I was the only sane person in a mad world. I'm not a replacement for Summer Rose, because simply, there is nothing to replace."

Taiyang stumbled on his feet, Qrow grabbing him to keep him stable. Summer Rose's husband felt like his head was spinning, like the world has upended itself. Who, who was Summer?

"I think this is enough for now," Qrow wryly observed. Raven helped Qrow pull the catatonic Taiyang to his feet. Qrow sighed, looking at his brother. "Don't worry. We'll meet the real Summer one day."

The others at the memorial stepped forward, but Winter waved them off. Qrow looked from Taiyang, to the distant light in the sky of Ruby's pocket. "One day," he swore to himself.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.11 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Blake looked up from her drink, carefully eyeing the dark-haired woman as she sat down across from her.

Raven looked at the faunus girl with hard, red eyes.

Neither of them spoke, simply examining each other's faces.

The bandit queen moved first. Slowly, she put her sword and scabbard on the table, her gaze never leaving Blake's.

In reply, the former protester removed Gambol Shroud from her back, laying it parallel to Raven's sword with an even expression.

Raven nodded once. From her belt came the helmet that would terrify so many, the Nevermore mask being placed behind her own blade.

Blake quirked an eyebrow, producing a grey grimm mask of her own, and lay it between the two weapons.

Raven leaned back, glancing from the mask to the young girl. Her eyes narrowed, fingers rapping on the helm.

Blake's ear twitched. She shut her eyes and opened them, showing red rings with darkened spots in them.

Raven frowned, considering the new gaze. Eventually she gave a conceding hand, moving her helm next to mask.

Blake nodded, blinking back to her standard golden eyes. She tilted her head curiously, wrapping her fingers around each other.

Raven took a moment or two to consider the girl. Her hand went slowly to her belt.

Blake leaned forward ever so slightly, watching as she produced what looked to be a tattered pocketbook.

With great care, Raven opened it and reached inside. A small paper was in her hands, one she unfolded carefully.

It was with wide eyes that Blake observed what was printed inside; two tiny footprints in faded ink.

The bandit queen let the scrap of paper rest in the center of the table, putting her hand on the nevermore helm as she leaned forward.

The young faunus reached forward, hesitantly tracing the tiny imprint of toes with her finger, before looking up at the woman.

Raven tilted her head, lidding her eyes. Her fingers rapped on the helm impatiently.

Blake nodded, producing a photo album. She flicked through the pages, before handing one over to her.

Raven took it carefully, tracing a finger around the image of two young women sleeping gently on a park bench. She paused, looking up to the girl with a quirked eyebrow.

Blake rolled her eyes and pointed to the table where a girl with blood-red hair was currently listening to her sister's bombastic tale of adventure with a grin.

Raven gave her own little eye roll, before returning to the image. She paused when she saw the clasped hands... and let out a slow breath.

Blake blinked when the photograph was handed back to her, reinserting it into the album and putting the book aside.

Once more, Raven opened the pocketbook. This time she produced her own photo-an image of a pair of people, handing each other a leather glove.

After a moment, Blake's eyes flicked from the picture to the woman, and she flicked an ear in confusion.

Raven snorted, putting the pocket book down. Very slowly, she removed her left gauntlet, putting it delicately behind Gambol shroud.

Blake leaned back, looking from the gauntlet to the picture of a blonde man and dark-haired woman. She pointed from the gauntlet to herself.

Raven nodded, tilting her head to the table where a golden-haired teenager was gesticulating wildly.

Blake nodded back, taking the gauntlet in her grasp with great care and delicacy.

Raven reached for the pocketbook, but stopped when the girl held up a finger.

Blake put her hand out, producing a rune-covered wallet made of dark leather.

Raven took it curiously, opening it and finding it... completely empty. She quirked an eyebrow at the girl.

Blake simply pointed at the tattered pocketbook and quirked an eyebrow right back.

After a moment, Raven nodded. She took the pocketbook, the picture, and the inked footprints, folding them all up and placing them in the wallet.

Blake, in turn, made the gauntlet vanish. She gestured at the photo album, still sitting quietly on the edge of the table.

Raven looked at it, contemplating for a while, before taking a breath and shaking her head.

Blake frowned, but nodded reluctantly, returning the album to her subspace pocket.

They reached out as one, picking up helm and mask, and returning them to their place. Then, simultaneously, they took their blades and set them back on their bodies. With a shared nod, they stood and parted ways.

=-=-=-=-=-=

 **70.12 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss Schnee stood in front of a rope and gazed at a painting of Beacon Academy. It was a position she had held many times at this point. Usually she didn't get to look for very long before she was interrupted by an annoying boy, but fortunately, here she was safe inside Ruby's Pocket, where she didn't have to worry about—wait, no, Sun was walking over.

"It's beautiful," Sun said. He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but Weiss cut him off.

"If you follow that with 'you two match,' I'll have Ruby throw you out."

Sun looked shocked and waved his hands in the air frantically. "Whoa, whoa, I'm not trying to hit on you!"

"Then what do you want?" Weiss asked, perhaps a touch more sharply than necessary.

"I was going to say, 'It's beautiful, but why is it here?' I thought all of Vale was invaded and destroyed, not just Beacon."

Weiss released her last lingering bit of frustration into the Force. "Ah, you see, that was just a bit of tradition on my part. You're right, all of Vale was destroyed, not just Beacon, and in fact, all of Remnant was wiped clean of life by the end. But the scale of the devastation is beside the point. In Baseline, Jacques hosts a charity benefit concert for Beacon as a PR move for the company and forces me to attend."

"Jacques? Who could force **you** to go to something when you didn't want to?"

Weiss smiled a little. "Thank you for the compliment. Jacques Schnee is the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company and my father, although I refuse to call him by the familial title he doesn't deserve."

"Oooohhh. Sounds like a bit of a story there?"

"Yes, but we can save that for another time. Suffice it to say that I was not pleased that nobody at this 'charity benefit dinner' actually seemed to care about Beacon or Vale. I saw this painting and went to look at it as a reminder of what was lost, when I was immediately accosted by a young man commenting on the painting's beauty. He then proceeded to flirt with me relentlessly before revealing he didn't even know the purpose of the event was to support Vale. There was even a sign directly in front of us! So you see why I reacted overly strongly to your choice of introduction."

"Yeah, my bad."

"It's funny, actually. His name is Henry Marigold, but a few of us have taken to calling him 'Shitty Neptune.' He has similar blue hair and handsome looks, a similar flirtatious nature, and a similarly shallow attitude towards girls."

"Ouch! Neptune's not that bad! I know he might be a little too willing to flirt with any pretty girl he sees, but he doesn't mean anything by it."

"Oh, I know. Hence the "shitty" in Shitty Neptune's name. Neptune is much better."

Sun heard approaching footsteps and turned slightly to see who was approaching. "Oh hey, General."

"Miss Schnee. Mr. Wukong," General Ironwood said, inclining his head to each in turn.

"James," Weiss acknowledged. "I appreciate you trying to make up for your inaction at the gala, but I assure you, I'm fine. I was just filling Sun in on where I got this painting."

Ironwood stood there awkwardly, unsure what to say now that he had been preempted like that. Sun could tell the general was uncomfortable around Weiss, so he did what he did best—made a flippant comment to break the tension.

"Unlike Shitty Neptune, **I** can read this sign, and I see it says this painting is in memory of the non-Looping citizens of Remnant who died when Cinder tried to Ascend. But what's the point? I mean, isn't everyone alive again now that time has repeated?"

"To begin with, no, not necessarily. Everyone who is not well defined in Baseline is Loop-variable, so the vast majority of the people alive this Loop were quite different in the last. Although with the damage taken by Yggdrasil in the Ascension attempt, it is quite possible that the next few hundred, thousands, or tens of thousands of Loops will be simple, light on background information, and avoid any unusual twists as the code is repaired."

"You do have a valid point," Ironwood said. "Their lives were exceptionally short, and they were most likely quite different from the 'real' people who should be inhabiting Remnant and would be if only the Loops were not necessary. All of us Loopers are only human—and faunus, of course—and there is a limit to how much we can care about. My Baseline self is likely making a mistake by focusing only on Atlas, but it's an understandable one given human nature. There is a reason that the unAwake citizens of Remnant take up only a small portion of this memorial."

"Yes, but that is at least partly due to the difficulty of memorializing those whom we have few or no good records of. All of Lisa Lavender's—actually, hold on." Weiss turned and raised her voice. "Ruby! We're having the 'death of non-Loopers' discussion again!" Then she turned back to Ironwood and Sun. "As I was saying, Lisa Lavender's friends and acquaintances have their names on their own plaque."

Ruby pulled herself away from her own conversation with Lisa and joined them. A few other Loopers drifted towards the conversation, not joining it but rather carrying on their own conversations while still in earshot. "What did I miss?" Ruby asked.

"We were discussing how we only have the capacity to care for a limited number of people, even if the ideal would be to care about everybody," Ironwood replied.

"Oh yeah! Like how we usually don't save everybody."

"You don't? What do you mean? I thought you Loopers went and stopped that Salem lady and all her minions, defeated the White Fang, arrested all the criminals, and killed that one Grimm in Anima," Sun said.

"That is still a far cry from killing every Grimm on Remnant and dismantling most or all organized crime, yet we have the power to do both of those things," Ironwood said.

"What? EVERY Grimm?"

"As hard as it may be to believe, the harder part would be stopping all crime," Weiss said. "We Loopers have accumulated quite a vast array of destructive power. Several of us could destroy all the Grimm on our own, and with every Looper Awake, it would be that much easier. No, it would be much harder to root out who was a criminal and who was innocent, and who was a criminal but deserved a second chance."

"Plus I'm sure Roman and Neo wouldn't be too happy if you tried to stop all crime," Sun pointed out.

"Yes, there is that to consider as well," Ironwood replied.

"The point is that we have the power to do a lot more good, but we don't. Not because we think it's not worth doing, but for our own mental health. It would be incredibly stressful trying to save the world from all evil every Loop. I definitely couldn't do it, no matter how much I want to. Instead we just live our lives, stop the bad things that happen every Loop because they're in Baseline, and help out whenever we feel like it," Ruby said.

"We've found that the healthiest way to look at it is as if our Looping abilities are a gift, not an obligation. There's a saying in one of the other Loops, "With great power comes great responsibility," and it's true to an extent, but as Ruby said, we can't live for all of eternity like that," Weiss said. "Instead, we try to achieve our Baseline responsibilities and goals, like stopping the Fall of Beacon, running a school, or leading Atlas's military, but only go out of our way by, say, cleansing the entire planet of Grimm when we feel like doing it."

"Whoa, that's…that's a lot to think about. I mean yeah, I think I see where you're coming from—I'm training to be a Huntsman, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take the time to goof off and have fun. I wasn't planning on hunting Grimm all day, every day, even if I'd probably save more people that way."

"Yes, precisely our point," Weiss said. "All we can do in the end is... live, and try our best."

=-=-=-=-=-=  
 **  
Thank you all for enduring this. Regular looping shenanigans should start up again soon!**


	71. A Time to Unwind

71.1 Black Omochao

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Keita Awoke in his bed with a yawn. He looked around his room, noting not much was a different from his typical Baseline room, but a quick glance into his in-Loop memories did show one big difference from his Baseline life.

A smile formed on the Anchor's face; he had an older sister this Loop, and not just any older sister…

"Ruby's here!" Keita said excitedly as he pulled himself out of bed, Whisper was awoken by his master's quick movement from his position beside the bed, and yawned.

"Keita-kun? What's got you so riled up this morning? Wissu…" the ghostly butler questioned, tired look still present in his eyes, Keita noted that he was somewhat in the middle of Baseline, he already had the yo-kai watch and had befriended several yo-kai, including Jibanyan, and Hikikōmori was in his closet.

His sister was just as clueless about yo-kai as his parents were, according to his memories at least, but hopefully she would be Awake.

"Oh, nothing much Whisper, I'm just excited to spend some time with my sister."

"… Really? Didn't you say the other day that she bugs the heck out of you? Wissu…"

"Things are different today Whisper… it's hard to explain," Keita waved the yo-kai butler off, before going off to see Ruby.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey sis, you Awake?" Keita asked, sending off a Ping as he entered his big sister's bedroom, he noted the moving shape underneath the rose red covers on the bed, before he received a Ping back.

"Yeah, feeling kind of Loopy though," Ruby smiled as she pulled the covers off her head. Keita smiled back at her as he approached.

"I'll be sure to keep you Anchored." The two chuckled, Ruby quickly got up from her bed and gave her brother a big hug that he returned. "It's great to see you, baby bro." She ruffled his hair, he batted her hand away.

"No, Ruby you know I hate that." Keita gave his sister a fake glare, before letting out a couple of laughs that his sister mimicked, even if Keita really didn't appreciate being called 'baby' he certainly loved spending time with Ruby, Yang, or Grif. He treasured any time he got with his siblings, fused Loops with them, unfortunately, didn't come around that often. Even less so ones where all of them were together.

"I'm sorry Keita, you're not a baby, you're a very capable young man," Ruby admitted after a moment, patting the younger Anchor on the shoulder with a look of pride on her face, Keita gained his own proud look at this, though it didn't last long… "But you're still adorable!"

"Hey!?" Keita exclaimed in surprise as his hyper sister grabbed hold of him and started spinning him around while giggling. After letting him go, he stumbled a bit before regaining his balance.

"So, anything new?" The seemingly-fifteen-year-old girl asked, taking a seat on the bed and looking her seemingly-eleven-year-old brother over.

"Oh, right! We got some Expansions! And a new Looper!"

"More than one Expansion? And a new Looper? Weren't the last ones that girl and… The rabbit spaceman."

"Inaho and USApyon–and he's actually an otter–But, yeah. Her name is Ningyo… Or, sometimes it's Mermaidyn, and she's well, a mermaid yo-kai..."

Keita went on to explain how their new Looper was doing, and what the new expansions were like, while Ruby smiled fondly and nodded. Though she was happy to see her brother and hear about the new things that had happened since they had last spoken, her demeanor was, to an extent, a facade. She knew Keita would find out what happened eventually, and it would be better if he heard it from her now, than some second-hand source later, but she didn't want to think about that right now.

So here she sat, listening to the happy-and/or-silly exploits of the Yo-Kai Watch Loopers, just smiling and nodding along the way.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, anything new with you and Remnant?" Keita asked, having finished recounting his stories and wanted to hear if anything had happened at his sister's home branch. Ruby gave a barely noticeable twitch, but it still was enough for Keita to pause in concern.

"Um, let's not get into that right now, I want to enjoy spending some time with you… So, what do you think we could do?" Ruby offered, Keita briefly looked at her suspiciously, but decided to try and come up with some stuff.

"Well, I'm thinking maybe we could go to the park? Just hang out, maybe get some food at Mogmog Burger?" He scratched his head as he tried to think of more activities. "We could go see the Space Wars movie? I've seen it like, more than a million times, but it's highly Loop-variable. Oh, if Inaho or USApyon Wake up we could join their detective agency! Or, we could just do that with their UnAwake selves, but Inaho gets mad if we do stuff with her UnAwake self in Loops she doesn't Wake up in…"

"That all sounds fun, Keita, whatever you want to do I'm for it," Ruby insisted in a highly cheerful tone. Keita looked at her suspiciously once more.

"Ruby, what's wrong?"

"What? There's nothing wrong, little bro… I'm just happy to spend some time with you," Ruby insisted, with a smile her brother could immediately tell was fake. "It's too bad Yang and Grif aren't here, but…"

"Ruby, really. I know something's wrong, I can see it in your eyes," Keita pointed out, firmly. Ruby stared at him, unsure of what to say. "You dodged the question pretty quickly when I asked about Remnant, did something happen?"

"…"

"…Sis, come on. We've known each other too long for this kind of thing, I know you're trying to protect me. But I want to help you, tell me what is wrong."

"…Cinder tried to Ascend."

"Okay, see that wasn't so–WHAT!?" The local Anchor did a doubletake, looking at his sister with hopes that he maybe misheard her, but the grave look on her face told him that was not the case. "Oh no…"

"It happened a few Loops ago, none of us saw it coming… W-we should've, she's not well Nate, oh this is bad." Ruby trembled as she hugged herself, her brother approached in carefully and wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Keita-kun, how long are you going to be– "

"GET OUT!" The watch-bearer snapped at the UnAwake yo-kai that just entered the room. The ghost quickly left, without a word. Keita felt a little guilty about how he had spoken to one of his oldest friends, even if he wasn't Awake, but he had other priorities right now. "Ruby, what happened?"

"We didn't realize at first, we just thought it was a bad variant. The grimm, and the attacks, but then… then… She put me to sleep, she tried to use my power to break our world while I had happy dreams. I-We stopped her, but… Oh Keita, things aren't okay! I need to look after her because she needs my help, but there's also all the problems it caused and we got new Loopers, and others are angry at Cinder, and-and– "

"Ruby, calm down, it's okay!" Keita hugged his sister tightly as she vented her emotions to him. His own emotions bubbled furiously below his somewhat calm exterior, everything Ruby was saying was hard to make sense of, he wasn't sure if he should be enraged at, worried for, or terrified of Cinder.

"The world was nearly broken, I felt it happening, I just, I just…" she hung onto him tightly as he continued his embrace.

"If that happened…" Keita shuddered, he knew what happened if a world was replaced from Yggdrasil, it would be much worse than losing his sisters… He wouldn't remember he ever had sisters… "R-Ruby!" the boy tightened his embrace, the feeling of her body against his assuring him of her continued existence.

"It's… it's okay, it's over now…" Ruby did her best to sound confident, but her tone betrayed her true feelings.

"I-I'm sorry, I should've been there to help you, I-I," Keita quivered as he held onto his sister, whom continued to hug him back.

"No, Keita! There was no way you could've! It wasn't a fused Loop, none of us saw this coming! You have nothing to be sorry about!"

"But, you almost… if she had succeeded…"

"No, don't think about that!" she pulled him back and looked him in the eye, Ruby noted that Keita's eyes were silver this Loop, an almost exact reflection of hers. "No matter how long it takes for me to see you again, I will never leave you alone! I will still be here!"

"I love you Ruby," Keita whimpered weakly.

"I love you too, Keita," Ruby answered softly. It was strange, she wasn't sure which of them was comforting the other at this point, perhaps they were both comforting each other? Either way, for the moment the siblings that existed across different realities held their embrace.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

67.2 Zurcior

=-=-=-=-=-=

As Raven Branwen walked the streets of Vale with Kali beside her, she felt oddly at ease. The faunus did most of the talking while Raven was more reserved; her contribution to the dialogue limited to two or three sentences. It wasn't that she didn't trust Kali. She simply had little to say. In actuality, Raven suspected that Kali was the reason she happened to be relaxed. For some reason, she hadn't felt the need to keep her guard up around the Belladonna matriarch. It couldn't be because she was a civilian; Raven knew better than to make that mistake.

Perhaps it's because she is a stranger? Raven wondered in her head. It would make sense, she supposed. They didn't have a long, complicated history together, nor was Kali a member of her tribe that she had to keep up appearances for.

"Back to my original question," Kali said, bringing Raven out of her thoughts. "What brought you to Vale at this time? Does it have something to do with your family on Patch?"

Raven stilled for an instant before she resumed her stride. "You noticed that?"

Kali slowly nodded when she realized she might have stepped on a minefield. "You weren't entirely subtle."

"Great," Raven muttered and pinched her nose in annoyance. "My reactions are so transparent now a civilian can notice them."

Kali offered her an apologetic look. "I take it it's personal then?"

"...Yes."

"If that's the case, I won't ask again," assured Kali.

The dark-haired bandit glanced at Kali. She wasn't sure how she felt about Kali respecting her privacy so easily. Or rather, that the cat faunus treated her with respect at all. She was so used to how people outside of her tribe reacted to her nowadays, she'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a normal conversation with someone who wasn't apart of that life. Kali was really serious about giving her a chance. And considering how things went with her fam- her former family...

She sighed. Things had gone well so far, and she probably needed the advice. "Have you ever... had a major disagreement with other members of your... family?"

Kali didn't answer for a long time. Just when Raven had started to think she crossed some line, Kali eventually spoke. "There was... one incident. It happened when the White Fang started to get more aggressive." She spoke lowly, lost in a painful memory. "Ghira and I refused to involve ourselves in the violence. But Blake..." Her voice hitched.

Raven found herself frowning. "You don't have to say anymore if it's too much."

"No," reassured Kali as she shook her head, "it's fine." She permitted herself to take a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Anyway, Blake didn't see it that way. As far as she was concerned, since our way failed, the new direction the Fang was moving in had to be the right one. We tried to talk her out of it. She yelled at us. Called us cowards." The mother let out a shuddering sigh. "We couldn't reach her back then, and we were so afraid she'd fall down the wrong path." A smile suddenly appeared on her face. "And I am so proud that she managed to get herself out."

"...And you never held anything against her?" wondered Raven.

"Never," responded Kali immediately. "Even when things were at their worst."

"I see."

"I take it that's not the case with you?" inquired Kali when she saw the grimace on Raven's face.

Raven debated mentioning her encounter with Yang, but quickly thought better of it. She may have been more comfortable around the other woman than she thought she would be, but she didn't want to talk about her issues with Yang. Not with anybody. So instead, she steered the topic back to why see wanted to go to Patch.

"I've been away so long," Raven admitted. "And it was my fault that Taiyang and I didn't part on the best of terms." She snorted derisively. "An understatement, really. And now we have been forced back into each other's lives so suddenly against both of our wills. I know I should just bite the bullet and talk about the issue that's on my mind, but I just can't figure out how to approach him. I'm not sure he'll even want to talk to me if I do."

"You're afraid he will reject you?"

"No, I'm not nervous about that at all. I stopped caring about his feelings a long time ago."

"...Oh, really?" Kali retorted slyly.

The bandit narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the mother of Yang's girlfriend. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing!" dismissed the faunus airily as she faced forward in an effort to hide her smirk. Raven wasn't fooled, but she let it go. When Kali regained a more neutral expression, she spoke, "You can't put it off forever. The day will come when that 'issue' you're concerned about rears its ugly head and you are caught flat-footed. I'm sure you don't want that."

"No," Raven relented, "I don't."

"Then you know what you have to do. Whether you like it or not, or he likes it or not; we're all in this together now."

Raven nodded in agreement. "I just hope I don't screw it up," sighed Raven. "Apparently, that's all I'm good for." She thought back to Yang and those burning red eyes.

Kali hummed a bit before she shook her head. "No, I don't think that's true at all. Just be honest. You can't get it wrong if it's the truth."

"Don't try to comfort me-"

"I'm not. I honestly believe there's more to you than what I'm seeing right now, and I believe whatever that is will help you reconnect with what you've left behind. I promise."

Raven couldn't help but stare at her. She had been at the receiving end of similar words a very long time ago. And the longer she stared, the more she saw the image of the person in her past who said those words overlap Kali. Red hair and silver eyes.

Raven dismissed the image. While both held similar personality traits, Summer and Kali were completely different people. But both had been willing to see if there was more to Raven than met the eye. For some reason that she couldn't explain, she didn't want to disappoint Kali the same way she was sure she disappointed Summer.

"Thank you, Kali."

"You are very welcome!" The short-haired faunus smile. Then, her face shifted to panic. "Oh, no!" she cried out as she hurriedly dug into her pocket. After she pulled out her scroll and got a look at the screen, her distress became more evident. "Oh dear, I completely forgot!"

"What's wrong?" asked Raven in concern.

Kali looked at her in anxiety and explained, "It's five-forty. I'm supposed to meet my husband at our hotel at six! We have dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant at six-fifty-five." She raised the shopping bag for Raven to see. "That's why I was out shopping; to buy a dress for the occasion. But I got so caught up in wanting to learn about you, it slipped my mind! Now I won't make it in time!"

"Which hotel are you staying at?"

"Schnee Hotel. Weiss set us up. It was even easier due to Ghira being a diplomat."

Raven gave her a half-smile and started to draw her sword. "I know where that is. Allow my to repay you for your company."

"What are y-" Kali was cut off as Raven swung her sword and a red portal opened out of thin air. Shocked, Kali gaped a little. "Well, that's useful."

"If you hurry, you can make it to your room with time to spare," urged Raven.

That knocked Kali out of her awe and she hurried towards the hole in space. "Thank you so much, Raven! I owe you." She then disappeared into the portal.

After she watched the portal close, Raven couldn't help but sigh. "No, Kali. Thank you." She then reached into her own pocket to take out her scroll and messaged a number she hadn't called in eighteen years.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.3 Prince Pondincherry

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

General James Ironwood Woke up on the command deck of his flagship. This wasn't unusual; he didn't appear in Baseline until he visited Ozpin in Vale, so his exact starting location was Loop variable, but the command deck of his flagship was fairly common. The unusual part was that all the other personnel had apparently been replaced by shadow people.

James most definitely did not freak out. Besides his generally unflappable demeanor, this wasn't the weirdest Variant he'd had, not by a long shot. Although he was surprised to see it so soon after Cinder's failed Ascension. In the Loopers' meetings in the aftermath of the disaster, he had gotten the impression that the Remnant Branch of Yggdrasil was going to have fewer strange Loops for a while as it ran only basic code until all the damage was dealt with.

James tried to check his Loop memories, but they were oddly vague and didn't really tell him anything. It wasn't like the corruption in the Loop when Cinder tried to Ascend. Then, there had been a palpable sense of wrongness in his memories: he knew he should have remembered his past, and his mind had struggled to recover the memories. By contrast, the present situation was more like he had no reason to recall the memories that should have been there. He almost didn't notice how easy it was just not to think about his past. For a couple seconds, he was worried there was some sort of memory spell on his mind, but a quick check with all the mental arts at his disposal revealed no tampering. It seemed his unclear past was just a feature of this Loop. Worrying. I'll have to have someone else check me over. Hopefully Weiss is Awake.

First, James needed to assess the situation. Usually, he had people for that, but now...well, he still might. "Captain, give me a status report," he ordered the shadow in the captain's usual spot.

The shadow turned to face him and replied, "All systems normal, sir. Our speed is holding, the weather is favorable, and Grimm movements are accounted for. We will arrive at our destination at the projected time." The whole time it was speaking, the shadow didn't change in appearance. Before it spoke, it was an ill-defined, black figure in the shape of a man. As it spoke, it was still an ill-defined, black figure in the shape of a man, only now it was somehow producing sound.

"Very good." James hesitated. "Has anything...unusual happened recently?"

"Unusual, sir?"

"I suppose that is a no. Very well, carry on then."

"Yes sir."

That didn't explain much. At least now I know these shadow people can interact and respond to questions, and being shadow people is not a new thing this Loop. I should figure out who the other Loopers are and if they are experiencing the same thing. "General Ironwood, Specialist Schnee is requesting to speak with you personally," said the shadow at the comms station. Convenient timing.

James walked to a terminal and said, "Patch her through." The screen flickered to life, showing an image of Winter Schnee in her thankfully fully-colored military outfit. Although-was she blurrier than usual?

"General! The population of Atlas has been replaced by shadow people!"

James leaned closer to his screen. "What a Loopy occurrence. Are you sure it's safe to talk now?" He asked quietly.

"It should be okay. They're Anchored in their own reality; they don't appear to respond unless directly addressed."

"The captain of my ship hasn't noticed anything strange, so this situation is likely normal for this Loop. I can't tell for sure; my Loop memories are entirely undefined."

"They are? Mine are...not entirely intact, but there. They're certainly less clear than usual, but I do remember growing up with Weiss, Whitley, Jacques, Klein, and my mother."

"Were they all colored in?"

"Yes. It's possible that only people from Baseline are fully defined."

"Hold for a minute."

"Yes, sir."

James turned to his shadow comms officer and ordered, "Pull up the Vale News Network on terminal 3."

"Yes, sir." The news appeared on the screen. Lisa Lavender was there, fully colored, announcing the news.

James stepped back to the terminal that held his conversation with Winter. "Your theory is likely correct. Lisa Lavender appears mostly normal."

"The shadows remind me of the background characters in the Hub backup," Winter said. "Maybe that was a more accurate description of reality than we thought?"

"Actually, Penny did say that it was weird when most people were shadows, but I thought she was joking."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Her month of classes over, Weiss sat at her desk, mindlessly getting her homework finished. The exact contents of the homework mercifully varied between the Loops, but she'd been a Beacon student for so long that no matter how different it was, it was always easy and often pretty boring.

A knock at the door interrupted her boredom. "I'll get it!" she said, jumping to her feet, but Ruby had already gotten the door.

"Winter! What are you doing here so early?" Ruby asked.

"I am sure you have noticed that the...background characters, for lack of a better word...have become nothing more than shadowy outlines."

"Yes, as our branch of Yggdrasil is repaired, it will likely run a simpler, more stable version of Remnant's code. There were a few Loops like this before your Activation, but they became less common as the tree's repairs proceeded apace. I expect we will be seeing a lot more of them in the near future," Weiss explained.

"But what does that have to do with you coming to Beacon early? We could have explained that over scroll," Ruby asked in confusion.

"The only people who aren't black shadows are those people with set names in Baseline."

There was a soft gasp as Weiss figured out what that meant. "Oh Winter, I'm so sorry."

"How many people in Atlas even have names?" Winter asked rhetorically.

A look of sympathy crossed Ruby's face. "Oh wow, yeah, that sucks. But at least you had Ironwood and Penny."

"Yes, that's how I lasted this long, but there is only so much time an Atlas Specialist can spend around the General of the military or a top secret military project. I've always considered myself fairly independent, but I need a certain amount of interaction with actual people to remain sane. It got so bad that I actually went back to Jacques's house just to have someone to talk to! Even if our conversation did consist entirely of yelling interspersed with veiled insults. So the General and I came up with an excuse to come to Vale early, and I'll be staying this time."

"Well, you're here now, and we're always happy to have you," Ruby said.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.4 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey sis! It's really loopy that you got into Beacon early, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, luckily I'm well anchored." She noted the nervousness on Yang's face. "What's wrong?"

The blonde glanced around quickly, making sure nobody was listening, before leaning in. "I'm Sun."

"What?"

"I'm Sun Wukong. The looping Sun. Except I'm also Yang. You understand what I'm saying, right?"

Ruby nodded. "You're Sun Wukong, who has looped in as Yang Xiao Long, and now you're feeling very awkward because you're a guy in a girl's body."

"Aaaaaand because, uh, Blake."

"Ooooog, yeah. I'll check on that. Still." Ruby patted her shoulder kindly. "Aside from that, the situation isn't really all that weird."

Yang, or Sun with Yang's face, blinked in confusion. "This isn't weird?"

"Yeah, well, you know. Both of you have chinese-originating names, both of you are traditionally physically attractive blondes who bear midriffs, you're both important to Blake, and Micheal did play Yang in that one Grimm Eclipse let's play, soooooo..." Ruby shrugged. "I've been Yang a couple times myself. You just roll with it after a while."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.5 BIOS-Pherecydes

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Sense you are troubled, I do."

Weiss looked up from her meditation with a small smile at the interruption."Hello Master Yoda."

The Jedi leader nodded calmly as he observed the youngling before him. "Mmm. Greetings young padawan. Much sorrow I feel in you. Much more than this morning, I think. Awake you are now, yes?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes, I just Woke Up not long ago."

Yoda nodded and moved to join her on the floor of the meditation chamber. "Speak we should. Darkness I sense in your heart. Much grief and uncertainty. What has happened?"

Weiss slumped slightly. "I suppose I should have expected this, shouldn't I?"

Yoda chucked. "Decieving, expectations can be. But not always wrong are they. Come, come. Talk now, reminisce we can later."

Weiss sighed and gave a small smile, but soon enough it fell away to be replaced by a uncertain frown. "I felt my universe die less than a dozen Loops ago. Not a crash, but an actual death. All life, all worlds, the very fabric of reality, gone; our nearly so."

Yoda hmmed softly and leaned forward on his cane. "This is not the full story, I sense."

Weiss nodded without looking up. "It was one of our Loopers, Cinder. She tried to Ascend."

"Ah. So betrayal you feel. Anger."

Weiss shook her head. "No. Well, yes. But no. It wasn't entirely her fault; one of the Mythos hackers, Slenderman, did something to her, put something in her Pocket that slowly drove her insane."

"But blame you still feel. And confusion. Not sure are you how much fault lies with Cinder, hmmm? Yes, I see. Understand your pain, I can. Betrayed have I been, many times before. Easier, it does not become."

He reached out and lifted Weiss' head with his cane, gently forcing her to meet his gaze. "Not your fault, is it."

Weiss shook her head softly. "Isn't it though? I'm supposed to be Remnant's second. The one who notices anything that Ruby misses. I should have seen what was wrong, realized what was happening before it got this far."

Yoda nodded his head. "Heavy, the burden of responsibility can be. Difficult. Done well you have. Too well perhaps? Perfection you expect?" He tsked. "Impossible it is, to find such. An illusion of the Dark Side. The best that can be expected it is, to do one's best in troubling circumstances. Unfair to ask for more."

"I knew that, but even so it feels like I should have done better."

"Like quicksand, the feeling of failure can be. Futile to struggle against what has already happened, it is. Too much focus on what went wrong, leads to further pain in the future it does. Accept it you must, if move past it you wish to do."

Weiss sighed. "I understand that Master. I do. But it's easier said than done."

"Mmmm. Many things, easier said than done are. Worth the effort, most of them can be. Trust the Force, you must. All things follow, they will."

"'I am one with Force and the Force is with me.' I know Master. And I will get there eventually."

Yoda nodded, and slapped his thigh. "Faith in you I have, my young padawan. Succeed you will, if preserve you do. Better, things will become. In time."

Weiss chuckled. "Time is the one thing I'm not worried about Master."

Standing with a chuckle of his own, Yoda smiled fondly. "Great things, expect of you I do. Much potential yet remaining can I see. Lucky to have you, Cinder is. Learn this perhaps, someday she will."

Weiss tightened her fists slightly, before surrendering her pain to the Force. Exhaling softly, she managed a sincere smile. "One day. Thank you for the talk Master Yoda."

Yoda nodded and tapped his cane thoughtfully. "Welcome you are. When ready, take you pod racing I shall."

Weiss gaped. "What? But Master Yoda, I don't even have a license."

Yoda chucked. "Say you were driving, I did not. Not too old, am I, to show youngling's a trick or two. Tell you story, have I, of time I beat young Anakin?"

Weiss outright laughed at that. "No, I haven't heard that one before. Probably because he didn't want to admit it to anyone."

Amusement in his eyes, Yoda nodded knowingly. " Hmm. Sore loser, young Anakin is. Surprised, I am not."

"When did you even learn to drive a pod racer, Master?" Weiss asked as she stood to her full height, less than half a foot taller than the wizened Jedi leader due to her current age.

"Forget many do, forbid entertainment Jedi are not. To enjoy life, permitted it is. Go now we shall, Obi Weiss Kenobi?"

Weiss flushed. "Please don't call me that Master."

"Hmm? Your name it is, no?"

"Ugh. Stupid Yggdrasil. Stupid Fused Loop weirdness."

Yoda didn't bother to conceal his mirth.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

67.6 diesel

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder's head hurt.

After Ruby had left she had just sat there, lost in thought until she could no longer bear sitting still, so she walked.

The streets were a blur, as time ran together. She did not know where she was going or where she had been. As she walked, rose petals trailed in her wake, carried on the breeze and unseen by Cinder, long since lost in her thoughts

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

She remembered burning Vale, laughing as she slaughtered the populace and erected monuments of horror.

It had felt so good, she wanted to feel it again. She felt sick.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Memories of fighting along the others rose up. The rush of battle with her friends by her side, the camaraderie felt so good. The adulation of those she saved felt good, laced with the tang of fear from civilians who stood in awe of them was merely the dressing.

She wanted to live like that, even as disdain and hate rose up for those she stood beside.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

As the sun rose over Vacuo, Cinder felt hate once more as rage filled her mind. Before her, innumerable shadows that walked mindlessly through the motions of life. Mere echoes of echoes that barely existed.

Disgusting, these things have not been around for so long, I did this, didn't I?

She turned way, heading towards the vast deserts, speeding up until she was running flat out. The city blurred into sand and rock, as a desperate, horrifies paranoia clawed at her heart.

Shadows and echoes. I did this… I ripped it all away and tried to reduce everyone to this. Yggdrasil, I'm sorry everyone. Is that what's going to happen to me? Reduced to a mere shadow in the minds of the others, like I don't exist?

Her soul was burning. Flames tore through her veins and a dry thirst left her throat parched.

No, I don't want to be alone, I want to fix this. I drove Ruby away. I want to burn it all down and play in the ashes.

I feel sick.

The dunes flashed past as she ran blindly through the wastes, desperate to get away. Nightmares and ghostly echoes rose up from the depths of her mind to bite at her heels, all the while the world seemed to twist around her. The sky shattering to reveal a fel sun and burning ash.

Cinder screamed in pain and fury as her rage bubbled over and her head throbbed.

Why won't the voices stop?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Murder!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Come on, Cinder, they're getting away!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The sky was choked with ash, Vale lit up with flames, Silver light glowing as a girl screamed, "You're not my sister… you're nothing but a monster!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder fell to knees, deafening voices and cries filling her head. She could not think. She had nothing, everything was lost and she had pushed away her last chance.

The sun hung low in the sky and the day started to draw to a close; the ground shuddered as plumes of magma and volcanic gases tore free the earth. Cinder's bellow of fury went answered and unheard in the wastes as flames poured from her body amidst a storm of gold.

Finally, no longer able to ignore the siren call of sleep Cinder slumped to the ground, letting herself fall into darkness. As darkness closed in, Cinder blinked as a swirling mass filled the sky as they swarmed her.

Wait… those are petals…?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.7 Leviticus Wilkes

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It wasn't exactly something Winter planned for, when Qrow managed to grab her from the barracks in Atlas and slip them both into a small and secluded hotel. She didn't expect it, really. Winter would have been lying though, if she said she didn't enjoy it.

Tangled between the sheets as she was, Winter put two and two together. "So, nothing crazy happening this Loop?"

"Nope," Qrow said drowsily. "Handled Salem on my way here. Ruby, Torchwick and Ren are the only others out there. Well... probably Ruby. I haven't seen her."

"She's still guilty over what happened," Winter said, crawling over and resting her head on Qrow's chest. "Or maybe just scared. I'm immortal, and I'm still afraid of dying, even after all this time. She's ancient."

"I should be there for her," Qrow murmured. "I'm her uncle, and I'm a Huntsmen. She needs... hell, she needs someone, anyone."

Winter nodded. "Weiss isn't talking to me. I think she's trying to avoid thinking about the fact that we came that close to dying. Just working while Ruby is shutting down."

Qrow closed his eyes, thinking back to that painful, brilliant flash. That single moment when he realized that everything was over. The moment after, when he found himself alive, whole, and waiting on a bar.

He had wanted to find Winter immediately, to pull her close. She was his partner, his confidant, his friend for so long. The only person who had understood what that the world had gone mad.

His one, his only.

'Am I really?'

Qrow flinched, before snickering. "You picked up that little mind reading trick that Blake has, didn't you?"

Winter gave him a somewhat playful grin. "A good woman never reveals her secrets." Her lips twitched as she fought to keep the grin there. "Besides, where would the fun be if I couldn't do..."

...A thousand suns of connection, the eruption of passion, a flood of ecstasy roiling through his body...

"This."

"Cute," Qrow said, clapping his hands together. The sheets flashed with electricity and hoisted Winter into the air, to her giggling surprise. "Two can play that game."

The game soon ended, of course, and the pair found themselves cuddled in the bed again. This time the grind were staying though, as the two frenzied, harried souls rested for the briefest of moments, buoyed by their love and warmth.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.8 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Knock knock!"

Ruby looked up from her desk and smiled. "Hey Dad! Let me guess, you felt loopy back home without your girls?"

"Yeah, kept me awake at night. Still, it's spring break, thought I'd come visit." Taiyang entered the dorm. "I, uh, might need a ride back come sunday. Haven't gotten any super fused loop powers yet."

"Gotcha. I'll work something out."

"So, who's looping right now?"

Ruby pointed at the retractable wall. "We only install that when Yang and Blake are both Awake, for one."

Taiyang blinked, looking at the wall for a moment. "Oh. Well, that's... one way to solve that issue, I guess."

"It's not like they can buy an apartment. I mean they could, but the lease would vanish once the loop ended. Weiss is Awake, currently planning to discredit Jacques, you may want to watch the news for that... Penny's Awake, I think, but Ironwood's not, so she's still trying to convince him to lift a few restrictions." Ruby tapped her chin with her pen. "Yeah, I think that's it this time around. Sorry, just us kids, no grown-ups."

"Right." He looked over her shoulder and whistled. "Wow, Beacon homework has gotten tough since I left."

"Huh? Oh, no, this isn't Beacon stuff."

"Really? What is it?"

Ruby sighed. "Well... while we can go back and forth about how much what happened with Cinder is my fault, the fact is as Remnant's Anchor I'm legally culpable for the damages. So... behold!" With a slightly sarcastic flair, she lifted the packet she was working on. "The paperwork of the gods!"

Taiyang whistled low. "Wow. I hate doing taxes, and I'm a freeholder. That's got to be so much worse."

"Yeah. Weiss has been helping, she's really awesome like that, but in the end I can't just dump it all on her. Gotta spread the workload around."

"Hey, maybe I can help."

Ruby gave an amused snort. "I appreciate the offer, Dad, but-"

"Come on, I might look like an idiot, and I might actually be an idiot, but I'm an idiot who has experience with paperwork."

His daughter gave him a flat look. She held the packet a short distance from her face and cleared her throat. "'In accordance with physics operation S dash one four five seven subsection lepton, select primary significance of personal ethereal externalization phenomena in currently running iteration from following list: intrinsic identity imposition positive, intrinsic identity imposition negative, intrinsic identity imposition neutral, extrinsic identity imposition positive, extrinsic identity imposition negative, extrinsic identity imposition neutral, genetic imposition positive, genetic imposition negative, genetic imposition neutral, genetically influenced intrinsic identity imposition positive, genetically influenced intrinsic imposition negative, genetically influenced intrinsic imposition neutral, genetically influenced extrinsic imposition positive, genetically influenced extrinsic imposition negative, genetically influenced extrinsic imposition neutral, randomized imposition positive, randomized imposition negative, randomized imposition neutral, or other.'"

Ruby paused, taking in Taiyang's dazed expression.

"They wanna know how semblances work this loop," she explained simply.

"Oh."

"And that's one of the easier ones."

"Yikes." Taiyang took a hiss of breath. "Yeah. I guess that I'm really out of my depth there."

"Yeah." Ruby looked at the paper and sighed. "...Look, it'll take me an hour or two to finish this one. I'm pretty sure Yang and Blake are at the arcade though."

"Oh. Out on a date?"

"Yep."

"...I don't really want to ruin it for them-"

"They won't mind, believe me. Heck, I'll join you when I'm done and we can have a family danceoff at the DDR."

Taiyang nodded. "Wow. You know, I remember telling you I was busy with bills when you wanted to play. Never thought I'd be on the other side."

Ruby spread her hands helplessly. "What can I say, Dad, even a living sugar rush is slave to the law."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.9 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"That's the girl that replaced Chika," Hiromi whispered, pointing at the figure sitting quietly next to the fence. "Do you know her?"

Haru nodded. "That's Blake, she's the one that told me about the loops..." She frowned for a moment. "...Something's wrong here."

"Really?" Hiromi gasped, in mock amazement. "What tipped you off, the black bow she's wearing, that book she has next to her, maybe the ramen she's eating or, I don't know, the freaking gun-sword slung over her shoulders?!"

"It's called Gambol Shroud, and it's normal for her to have that. But that's not fish-flavored ramen, she's not actually reading the book, and that's a headband-bow she's wearing, not a ribbon-style one she prefers." Haru sighed. "I'm going to go talk to her, she looks like she's really out of it."

Hiromi gaped. "The gun-sword is the normal thing?"

Haru gave her a flat look. "I'm dating a statue and most of our friends are talking cats."

Her friend held up a finger, paused, and sighed. "Alright, alright, I get it, normal's flexible. Should I tell Muta to get the Bureau ready?"

"Might be best."

"Okay. Um. Good luck, I guess."

Haru smiled. "Thank you, Hiromi. I don't think I'll need it."

Steeling herself, she walked over to the dark-haired girl and sat down next to her. Her eyes were drawn to the book Blake was, noticeably, not reading; from the cover it was some fantasy novel, and from the thickness a rather in-depth one. One of Blake's favorite kinds of books, if she recalled correctly. That she had put it down...

"Did you ever officially declare this a sanctuary loop?"

Haru blinked at the sudden question. "Well... not exactly. I mean, we've all agreed to help any loopers that come our way, but none of us have much in the way of psychology training; we're an informal vacation loop, not really a recovery loop."

"Makes sense." Blake took another bite of her ramen. "You know, I expected Equestria, or maybe Naruto's world so I could talk with Sasuke. Then again, Equestria has a bit of high-energy nonsense going on, and the hidden villages, well, ninjas and all that. This is probably more... relaxing, overall."

"I... take it something has happened."

Blake paused. She put down her cup, giving Haru a tired look. "Have you not heard about Remnant yet?"

"Nothing more then you hit your last expansion for a while recently. You have news?"

Blake nodded. "I have news. Oh, boy do I have news."

Haru nodded. "Well, then, let's hear it."

Blake nodded to herself. "My mom's looping."

"Oh, that's good."

"Yang and Ruby's dad, he's looping too."

"That sounds even better."

"Yang and I got engaged, finally."

"That's amazing! I hope it's not too presumptuous to ask if I can attend the wedding."

"No, no, you're on the guest list." Blake took a breath. "And... three loops ago, from my perspective, Cinder Fall tried to Ascend."

Haru froze for a second. "...Ascend."

"Yes."

"Become an Admin by destroying the world."

"Yes."

"...That's actually terrifying."

"I lived through it."

Haru nodded. "...I'm going to hug you now." And with only that warning she wrapped her arms tightly around Blake.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Here you are."

Blake nodded, taking the tiny cup with only the slightest quaver. "...Thank you Baron."

A few hours had passed, enough for the school day to end and the girls to head to the tiny culdesac that was home to the cat bureau. Thankfully enough, both prince Lune and Yuki were Awake and easily headed off the usual nonsense of their kingdom, leaving the rest of the local loopers free to handle their guest.

"...So, um." Hiromi cleared her throat. "I'm not... entirely new at looping, but I'm still... kind of new. So I know somebody called Madoka Ascended and that it was very bad and nobody wants to talk about it, but I'm not sure exactly why it's a bad thing-"

"My world," Blake said as she carefully sipped her tea, "was almost destroyed. Completely. No more loops, minimal chance of restoration, a good chance nobody would even remember us."

"...Oh." The girl sat back against the wall. "If... you want me to leave-"

"It's okay. I... I'm probably going to have a breakdown at some point, yes, but... I, am not going to be ashamed, of that." The cup rattled as it returned to the saucer. "You've made your house quite big, Baron."

"Minor dimensional manipulation." The baron nodded. "Very useful. Especially when hosting guests."

Blake nodded. "Yes. Very."

Haru frowned, leaning in to her. "Blake..."

"We had new loopers," she explained. "After that mess, we had four new loopers, and... I knew them all. My mom, obviously. Yang's dad. Sun-I don't know if I've told you about Sun, he was a good friend in baseline, crushing on me, so I had to let him down gently... and Raven." Blake nodded. "Yang really had issues with Raven."

Muta snorted. "Yeah, seen the back-ups. Issues would be an understatement."

"I haven't," Hiromi pointed out. "Who is-?"

"Her biological mother, walked out when she was less then a year old, joined a bandit tribe." Blake shrugged. "Remnant isn't as well policed as Earth."

"Oh."

"The point," Blake said carefully, "is that they all had... a very personal connection with me. And they were all learning about the loops, and that's on top of what Cinder did... I had to be strong. I had to be caring, and kind and gentle, even if by proxy because Yang really screwed up with Raven and worked the rest of the loop to fix things, and... and I was. I put aside everything I had experienced, just so I could help them, and I kept putting it aside even after because, because Yang and Ruby were really thrown off and needed some help, and... now I'm here, and I don't have any excuse."

She paused, staring into the distance.

"I think... I'm going to have that breakdown now."

Haru moved in and hugged her even as she folded into herself and cried silent tears, swiftly joined by Muta and the Baron and, after only a moment's hesitation, Hiromi.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

67.10 diesel

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The two sisters sat in silence.

The dappled moonlight cascaded down through the trees of the oasis, dancing across their skin, the shifting branches provided brief glimpses of the star-strewn heavens. Once more they were whole and unbroken, but those who still walked beneath them were not so fortunate.

In the distance smoke and toxic gases still rose from the devastation the younger sister had wrought. It served as a chilling reminder of how unstable the situation was, and how broken the younger of the two still was.

Glittering tears caught the soft light as they rolled down the younger's face. In contrast to their normal bloody crimson or clear amber, her eyes were now puffy and bloodshot. As she cried, the elder sister sat quietly in vigil opposite her.

The brisk night air swept over them as the moon rose, the light breeze sweeping the toxic gases and ash away, leaving clean air laced with the scent of dew-covered grass, pine and damp earth, while the cries of birds and the rustling of branches broke the silence

Through the branches, the elder's mirrored eyes seemed to reflect the shattered moon as she watched her sister struggle to pull herself together again.

Cinder had not reacted well when she realised what she had done in a fit of rage. And while her rage had not damaged or hurt anyone, it had been the tipping point.

Ruby was just glad Cinder had let loose with a harsh tongue and not tongues of flames. When Cinder had finally calmed down, sinking to the ground crying, Ruby had dearly wanted to hug Cinder, to show her that she as not going to be left alone.

But it would be a bad idea.

Even with what had just happened, Cinder had not lost all her pride, and she had never been an overly touchy person. So when she shrugged off Ruby a few hours ago and told her to leave her alone, Ruby let her, slowly moving closer as Cinder calmed until she was sitting opposite.

"Pathetic. Once more, I have let my emotions get the better of me. I thought I was better after… But I'm still just as broken as before, just as unstable. I can just see it now."

Cinder's lips twisted into a mocking sneer as she spoke. The self-disgust made Ruby wince, but she did not speak, content, for now, to let Cinder ramble.

"Even with my mind whole, I still have less emotional control than a child. I thought after everything I would have gotten better… Guess I was wrong, not surprising I seem to be wrong about a lot recently."

"You do seem to be rather bad at handling your emotions," Ruby said as she stopped running her hands over the log's bark. She could not work out what tree it was and it was annoying. It smelt like pine but didn't look like it.

But it was also a distraction, one she didn't need now that Cinder was talking.

"If you were then we wouldn't be here. Well, I don't think so anyway, but given Slenderman it's not like we can be sure. Anyway, something had to give and all did Slenderman was make it that much worse. So we would've ended up here at some point anyway, just with less universal damage."

Amusement flickered across Cinder's face for a moment as she met Ruby's eyes for the first time. "Not if I had just stopped hurting people and chosen that path fully, then you would not have known. And you're blunt today, no being gentle to the fragile monster you claim is your sister?"

"But you didn't and wellll," Ruby drew the world out with a faint smile, letting the moonlight catch her eyes with a bit of magic to make them sparkle innocently. "I could, but I thought that would annoy you and not really help with anything, so given everything that has happened I thought, well, we need to get things sorted. Sorry, Cinder, let me start again."

She cleared her throat. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Cinder. You have been through a lot; a lack of control is to be expected right now. You tried to maintain two completely different selves for so long, I'm not surprised it got out of control when you refused to let either side go. It's not your fault."

Cinder let out a coarse bark of laughter making Ruby grin. The harsh sound died as quickly as it had started.

"I would have been tempted to hit you if you really said that-correction, I am tempted," she said, faint traces of amusement still lingering in her voice as she shook her head.

"I know." Ruby pulled out a plate of food, handing it to Cinder after taking a scone for herself. "So, how did you mess up dealing with your emotions this badly?"

"…I dedicate myself fully to whatever role I'm playing. And while it started as being an act, I still started to care so I compartmentalized what I did in each role." Cinder chewed on her scone for a moment, eyes glazing over as she thought. "I think it went from me not caring, to me denying that I did, then reluctantly considering everyone as family, friends, whatever. When I realised that, I generally avoided hurting everyone when I cut lose. I would get you out of Vale or burn Vacuo or something. I still wanted to beat you, though, to prove that I was better, not just a side note, that I was not weak. But, I changed how I did it at that point, fewer flames and more plots. I even justified it as training for you, a game, it was something I found fun. And when I messed up, it was not like it mattered…"

Ruby finished the thought "…Because then the loop would reset. Then you could choose again, sister and friend, or Nemesis and monster. And so the cycle repeated…"

"As explosions broke in the skies. All that I needed, Was the one thing I couldn't find," Cinder sang, rolling her eyes as she picked up where Ruby left off. The ashes of her half eaten food falling through her fingers as she clenched her fist. "'The colours conflicted, as the flames climbed into the clouds. I wanted to fix this, but couldn't stop from tearing it down." The final notes died off as Cinder took a marshmallow from the plate. The sweet turned black as flames danced in Cinder's palm before she ate it. "'Burn it down', fitting."

"Well, not completely, the stuff about kings and rings doesn't work here-"

"No, it is very accurate." Cinder couldn't help but smirk at Ruby's look of confusion and mounting unease. "Ruby, do you remember what I said when you were trying to talk me down?"

"…Yes."

Cinder nodded as Ruby seemed to draw back into herself slightly. "You're the Anchor, the 'King of Remnant'. But to the plots and conspiracies fighting the in shadows, you are nothing. You didn't matter until Beacon's fall. Before that, you could walk away and no one would care. But not for me, you became the center of my worldview early on in the loops, from the moment you told me about them I was focused on beating, on hurting you and then the other loopers. I made you the focus of everyone's plots to see what would happen, to hurt you and study your reactions. I think it became a key part of my mental narrative, one I imposed on Remnant. I wanted to fight you, to break you, to beat you, to be the 'Nemesis', as you said, of the Anchor. I was a 'soldier' and you are the 'king' of the loopers. And you were my 'king', even when I hated you. I was always second and I knew, I hated it and nothing I could do would ever change it."

"Huh…" Ruby did not know what else to say. "That's really not healthy."

"I am aware of that. That sums up most of what I have done quite well."

It was few minutes' later when Ruby spoke up again. "This is really off topic and I really don't know what is says about me, as I really should be focusing on anything else. But my thought went from that to, 'it's almost like Cinder's theme song then,' then, 'I wonder if I can get Weiss to sing it in her recital,' and then 'can we make a music video with you signing it, set to re-enactments of what has happened?'"

"It means you need sleep."

Ruby laughed slightly, letting the silence settled over them once more. The night really was quite pleasant, pity she could not really appreciate it right now. She had not slept much this loop.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.11 WirelessGrapes

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

CLANG

CLASH

CLANG

Fighting was a common hobby amongst the Remnant Loopers. A Baseline built upon fighting endless hordes of darkness with nothing but gun-swords left each Looper a certain appreciation of combat.

CLANG

CLASH

CLANG

Sparring had many uses for the group, from simply passing the time to mating rituals. Combat was a daily part of the nigh infinite life of the Remnant Loops.

CLANG

CLASH

CLANG

But right now? Right now it was for anger management.

The air whooshed as Pyrrha threw her husband through the air, letting out a primal scream of exertion as he flipped elegantly, landing in a three point slide before recentering himself in a ready position.

Jaune watched as his wife's form shifted slightly. Her shoulders began to hunch, her breaths became deeper, and her face shown as red as her hair. They were done fighting for now. He couldn't let himself show that he knew that though, that would be worse. Besides, he didn't particularly want to stop. He was just as mad as Pyrrha, but he knew he had to be her rock right now.

"GAH!" She bellowed, launching her spear through the walls of the combat arena with the assistance of her semblance, the weapon speeding faster than a bullet.

"IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!" She shouted, dropping to the floor. She began to pound on the hardened floor, matching each word with an earth-shaking fist, "ITS. JUST. NOT. FAIR."

Jaune rushed over to Pyrrha, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned into him, starting to cry.

"It's just not fair. She chose her over us! Even when she's not Awake, she's off protecting her from us. We're not the ones who tried to destroy everything!" She sobbed into his armor. Jaune wanted nothing more than to agree with everything that his wife was saying. He understood why Ruby was doing what she was doing, but it didn't mean he didn't despise every minute of it.

Every time he thought of that evil, horrid, despicab-

The anger was banished by the increased cries from the woman in his arms. Pyrrha rambled incoherently about how it wasn't fair, how she didn't deserve it, now openly crying into his chest.

He wanted so badly to cry with her.

But he was her rock.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.12 Masterweaver, Zurcior

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Rae. Wanna bang sometime?"

Raven gave Neo a flat look. "You're nine."

"Eh, loop variable."

"You're prepubescent."

"Also loop variable."

"I'm not a pedophile."

"...I could age myself up-"

Raven put down her mug. "Neopolitan, let me remind you that in baseline, I literally crossed an ocean to stop you from stabbing Yang. With my own semblance. Do you know how much power that takes? I might be emotionally distant, and... not good at actually raising children, but the fact is you crossed a line, big time, and-"

"Alright, alright, I get it." Neo shrugged. "I just thought, two gals with loose morals, we could have a fun time together."

"My morals aren't loose. They're... different."

"Riiiiiight. 'The weak die, the strong survive.' How's that working for ya?"

Raven frowned. "I will... admit... that there are more kinds of strength then the ones I utilize. And I will acknowledge that the strong can decide the path of the weak, including allowing them to continue existing."

Neo quirked an eyebrow. "Well, gee. You've actually spent some time thinking about this, haven't you?"

"I am the Nevermore Queen, whether anyone likes it or not. I am also among the youngest loopers of Remnant, and fully aware of exactly how much you outclass me at the moment. I've had to seriously reassess my worldview, if only because my world has become so much... bigger."

Neopolitan slowly nodded. "Alright. That's fair. Still, though, you've got a bit of tension around ya, and I figured you might want to relax."

Raven glared at her. "If I relax around you, I'd be dead."

"...is the death part before or after the relaxed part? Cause I could see it both ways."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Truly, you are a master seductress," she said sarcastically.

"I guess you would know," replied Neo as she smiled coyly. "If I remember correctly, you once admitted at the memorial that Summer managed to smooth talk her way into your pants."

"Well, unlike with you, I actually found her appealing."

"Ouch." Neo chuckled. "You're breaking my poor, fragile heart, Rae."

"I'm sure you'll survive," Raven responded dryly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.13 Shimmer712

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, you had a sister go crazy and try to destroy your loop?" the pink haired boy with a scaled scarf around his neck asked the girl sitting next to him by the river.

"Yeah, pretty much," Yang sighed. "And she made good progress on it. I mean, she turned back at the very end, and tried to undo things...but still...it was..." she shrugged helplessly.

"I can't believe something like that happened," the dark haired, shirtless boy on her other side shook his head. "I mean...whoa."

"Way to put it into eloquent speech, ice-stripper," the pink haired boy sneered.

"Shut up, ash for brains!"

As the two boys devolved into bickering, Yang felt her eye twitch.

"SHUT UP!" she bellowed, seizing the back of their heads and thumping them into the ground in front of them.

A laugh rang out behind her. "You've really gotten into replacing Erza, haven't you?"

Yang turned to see another blonde walking down the slope to them. "Oh, hey Lucy."

The Celestial mage smiled and dropped down next to Natsu, ruffling his pink hair. The boy groaned and sat up. On Yang's other side, Gray did the same thing.

"So what were we talking about?" Lucy asked brightly.

"About how Remnant was nearly destroyed because my sister went evil and crazy," Yang said.

"Ruby what?" Lucy blinked.

"Not that sister. Cinder, the one who is a villain in baseline," Yang said. "She went crazy because her soul was hacked and she tried to Ascend and destroy Remnant."

"Oh," Lucy said. "And you're talking to Natsu because he has an evil older brother bent on genocide and Gray because he has a father who spent years being a zombie or something controlled by a demon necromancer and was part of guild bent on exterminating humanity," she concluded.

Yang blinked and looked at the two boys.

"Yeah, baseline we don't find that out until later," Gray said. "And my Dad tried to get me to kill him."

"And for a bit my brother tried to get me to kill him," Natsu added. "Actually, that was his life's goal for a while."

"...Should I expect Cinder to try and get me or Ruby to kill her?" Yang asked.

"I doubt it," Lucy shook her head. "She's a looper and knows it won't stick."

" If anything, she probably tried that at the end of her Ascension so you're probably too late for that," Gray said.

"...I don't remember Ruby saying anything about that," Yang mumbled.

"Would she say anything about?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Yes! No. Maybe..." Yang sighed. "I don't know."

"So how about we get something to eat and talk about relatives who went evil due to external influences?" Gray asked.

"...Huh?" Yang looked him. "Okay, I get how that applies to you and me. Cinder went crazy because of Slenderman. Your dad went crazy because of demon who used him as a zombie but how does that fit these two?"

"Zeref went crazy because a jerkass god hit him with the curse of contradictions," Natsu explained. "Basically, if he cares about others, an uncontrollable magic will burst out and kill everyone around him. If he doesn't care, it's controlled but he will still be killing people, it'll just be willing." He paused. "The fact he fell in love with someone else hit by the curse and killed her with a kiss despite the curse making them both immortal didn't help matters."

"...Yikes," Yang winced. If she had killed Blake by kissing, Yang would have freaked out. And that was without a murder-happy curse. Shaking her head, she turned to Lucy. "And you? How does that apply to you?" she asked.

Lucy thought for a moment. "Well, when I was a kid, my dad was a real jerk due to stress from work. And I had a doll who was turned into a villain who impersonated a comatose girl and pretended to be my cousin."

"I have got to hear this doll story," Yang declared.

"Yeah! Lunch at Lucy's!" Natsu cheered, jumping up and running off.

"Wait, why is it at my place? Why not yours" Lucy demanded, chasing after him.

"Seriously? She does remember what a pigsty his place is, right?" Gray muttered, getting to his feet. Yang caught his hand. He looked down at her, surprised.

"Thanks for listening," she told him with a smile.

Gray smiled back. "No problem. You're a Fairy Tail mage. That makes you family. And family helps each other." They heard Natsu whooping and Lucy screaming at him in the distance. "No matter how much they annoy you," he added dryly.

Yang chuckled and got to her feet. "Well, the talk made me feel better. But I'll probably want to discuss it again at some point. I still feel about jumbled up about it in my head," she admitted.

Gray shook his head. "I don't think there's an easy recovery from something like that," he told her. "That kinda thing is pretty big."

"I know," Yang nodded.

"But things will get better," Gray assured her.

"I know that too," Yang grinned. "You know I got engaged in the middle of that mess?"

"You left that detail out," Gray remarked.

Yang laughed. "It was pretty romantic, all things considered."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "It was in the middle of an apocalypse. How could it be romantic?"

Yang grinned. "I'll tell you as we catch up to the other two," she told him. "But yeah, despite our rough start, me and Blake, we are definitely making it work out."

"And I don't even know what my relationship with Juvia is," Gray grumbled. "It's getting annoying because baseline won't reveal anything solid."

"Oh, she's that water mage who fell in love at first sight hard, isn't she?"

"That's her," Gray confirmed. "She can be a bit clingy and possessive, especially at the start but she's much more than that."

"Okay, I'll tell you about my engagement with Blake and you tell me about your thing with Juvia."

"I don't even know what it is," Gray protested.

"So tell me what you do know," Yang retorted as the two walked off.

"Fine. It started when Phantom Lord kidnapped Lucy. That's how I wound up meeting Juvia in the first place..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.14 Vinylshadow

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Jaune?"

"Yes, Weiss?"

"...Any particular reason you have a life-size Pyrrha plush?"

"Nope. Just something I picked up in a Near-Hub Loop a while back."

"I worry about you sometimes."

"You can summon Grimm and a giant knight. Ruby's been more intimate with her scythe than any human has any right to be and don't get me started on Yang's arm..."

"Alright, fair enough."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

71.15 Prince Pondincherry

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali Woke up, then carefully took a sip of tea from the cup in her hands. Time Loops, huh? What to do now, that was the question. I suppose I should see how many others are Awake. After a bit of flexing her new intangible muscles to remind herself how, Kali sent out a Ping. She got one back. I guess Ruby is Awake. Or a visiting Anchor, if I understood the explanation correctly. The important thing is that, whoever is Awake, it can't be my daughter. Ruby is apparently the most powerful and oldest person on Remnant; she can handle the problems in Vale, so I don't have any reason to go there. But what should I do? Kali took another sip from her tea, thought for a bit, and made a decision. She walked around the porch to her husband's office. "Ghira, there's something important I need to speak with you about."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

As it turned out, Ghira was surprisingly easy to convince that Kali was Looping through time. Unlike the older Loopers, she didn't yet have any fancy toys to pull out of her Pocket or any fancy tricks she could do, but she had something better: a husband who loved and trusted her.

The knowledge of the Loops didn't change much of Kali's life on Menagerie for the first week or so. She made a few small changes to her schedule, just to mix things up a bit. She went to visit different friends and neighbors; she started reading a new book; she spent several nights telling her husband stories about how well their daughter was doing. Kali and Ghira also started to get a bit more involved in the local branch of the White Fang to try to root out any corruption. While Kali had been convinced Ruby could handle any problems in Vale, she wasn't sure how much of the world the older Looper was going to bother to fix, so it couldn't hurt for her to do her own small part close to home. But for the most part, it was life as usual, until one day they had a visitor.

When they heard the loud door knocker echoing intimidatingly through their home, Ghira offered to get the door so Kali wouldn't have to interrupt her reading. Unfortunately, it seemed she was doomed not to finish the paragraph for a while longer. "Kali! There's a human girl here who wants to know if you recognize her."

"Just a second," Kali replied, only half processing the words as she found her bookmark, put down her book, and headed to the front door, mind still engrossed in the story. When she reached the entry way, she looked up to find a short girl in a red cloak. "Ruby! You came all the way to Menagerie?"

Ruby gave an awkward little shrug. "It's not like it takes me very long. Fastest girl on Remnant, remember?"

"You are the Anchor Kali has told me about?" Ghira asked.

"Yep. So she filled you in on the Loops?"

"As much as I know, anyways," Kali said. "Oh, come in, come in! Welcome to our home! Can I get you some tea?"

"Yes, please, with four sugars. Oooh, and do you have any cookies?"

"Cookies? Sorry, I don't make many cookies."

Ruby deflated a tiny bit. "Aww. Last time I visited, you made really good cookies. I was hoping that would be one of the things that carried over now that you're Awake."

"Last time?" Ghira asked.

"Yep. I've come here to visit you with Blake a few times. You know, you have the nicest house in Baseline. Home is home, and I'll always love it, but it's just not as awesome as yours. Weiss's house is a huge mansion, even bigger than yours, but it's more like a museum than a home. It's so cold and empty. Your house is grand and homey!"

Ghira chuckled a little at Ruby's enthusiasm. "Well thank you. I'm glad you like it."

The two Faunus and their guest made their way to the sitting room, and Kali dispensed the tea. "So what brings you to our home, Ruby?" Kali asked. "Shouldn't you be at Beacon right now?"

"I wanted to find out who the second Looper was. Roman and Cinder weren't Awake, Neo hasn't shown up yet, nobody at Beacon was Looping, it wasn't Dad or Zwei, and Uncle Qrow would have gotten in touch with me by now. I called Penny, Ironwood, and Winter before I came here, but Menagerie doesn't have CCT signal this Loop. If you weren't Awake, I was going to track down Raven next and see what she was up to."

"Well, now that you've found me, you're welcome to stay and chat. We'd love to hear more stories of the adventures of Team RWBY straight from the team leader and Anchor."

Ruby brightened noticeably. "Ooh, has anybody told you about the time we won the Vytal Festival with pie cannons?"

"No, I don't believe I've heard that story before." Kali smiled at Ruby's enthusiasm as the physically-young girl launched into the story.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Three hours later, Ruby checked the clock on the wall and sighed. "Well, I'd better get back to Beacon before Yang gets too worried and Weiss gets too angry. Thanks for having me over. It can get really lonely when nobody else is Awake. They're still my friends, but they're also kids, you know? You're really young compared to me too, but at least you'll remember this conversation the next Loop I see you. And I know we've never even met in Baseline, but I already knew you were Blake's awesome mom, the best living mom in Baseline. It's great that we have time now to get to know each other."

Kali felt her heart twinge at Ruby's statement. Right, Ruby's the only Looper who can ever really be alone. I can help with that. "Feel free to visit again tomorrow. In fact, you're welcome here any time." It was nice having a kid around again, Kali thought but didn't say. She was tactful enough to realize that might offend the oldest person on the planet, child-like appearance and enthusiasm notwithstanding. "If…that's okay with Ghira, of course."

"Oh, yes, any friend of our daughter's is always welcome here. You should bring her with you some time…if that's something you can do."

"Eh, well, I don't really want to freak her out, and it gets annoying explaining about the Loops after doing it so many times, so I usually don't bother. But maybe. But I'll definitely come back tomorrow; it was really nice talking to you!"

"And I'll practice my cookie baking skills. If another version of me was good at it, then surely I can learn how to do it, right?"

"Oh, really?" Ruby let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement, making Kali flatten her ears to her head in pain. "Oh, sorry, oops." Ruby gave out a nervous little giggle. "Well, thanks again, time to go, bye." With a blur of red, she disappeared, leaving nothing but rose petals in her wake.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby quickly changed out of her school uniform, grabbed her backpack, and was just about to head out the door of the dorm room when Yang finally caught up from the classroom and barred the door, panting. "Okay Ruby, spill. Where do you keep running off to? Did you find yourself a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? Did you get yourself into some sort of trouble? Do I need to go beat someone up? I know you're not sleeping well, you can hardly pay attention in class, and you've made no attempt to talk with anyone else at the school or even the other two members of our team beyond doing homework. What's going on? Please, Ruby, just talk to me!"

Ruby sighed, set her backpack down on the floor, and sank down on her bed (on ground level this time. Ruby hadn't wanted the hassle of being team leader this Loop, so she'd made sure to gently prod Weiss into taking command during Initiation. The downside: no bunk beds.) She'd been worried this would happen as soon as having tea with Kali became more than a one-time thing. She hated lying to her sister, even when she wasn't Awake, but telling her the truth would just require a ton of tiresome explanation she didn't feel like giving right now. Plus, it would just make Yang worry even more.

"I've been visiting a new friend. She's really nice! She makes me tea and cookies and we hang out!"

"And do I ever get to meet this new friend of yours?"

"Yang, remember when we came to Beacon and you said you wanted me to make friends of my own?"

"Yeah, that wasn't even a month ago," Yang deadpanned.

"Well I did, and she's great, but she's my friend, you know?"

Unfortunately, Yang seemed to take that in entirely the way Ruby had meant it. Her face closed up a little, and she said, "Oh, I get it, you're growing up, you need to make some friends of your own without me dragging myself along all the time."

Even though Ruby had intellectually been hoping this would get Yang to back off, it still twisted her heart how devastated she seemed to be. "Wait, no, Yang, I…"

The door opened, admitting Weiss and Blake, who were chatting quietly. Blake took in the situation and, clearly trying to be subtle, said, "Actually, I think I'm going to go study in the library."

Weiss had no such compunctions. "Yang, I see you're finally trying to find out where your sister keeps running off to. I hope you can fix the problem so she can get her mind back on track. I'll be in the library with Blake." Then, she turned and followed Blake out.

Yang gave an awkward little smile and laugh. "Weiss sure is blunt, huh?"

"Look, Yang, I…"

"No, no, it's okay Ruby, I get it…"

"Listen to me!" The shock of Ruby actually snapping at her stunned Yang into silence. "This is all…there's so much going on, and I know you want to help me through it, and I'm grateful, but you haven't gone through the same thing."

Yang gave another awkward chuckle and half-smile. "Yeah, I didn't get accepted to Beacon two years early."

That's not what I meant, but it's as good an explanation as you're gonna get right now. "I love you sis, so much, and I don't want to shut you out, but…sometimes it's easier to talk to others." Impulsively, Ruby jumped forward and wrapped Yang in a hug.

"Just…just tell me you're going to be okay," Yang said.

"I'll be okay eventually, I promise." After a good long while, they pulled apart from their hug. Eventually, Ruby decided, "Maybe you can sort of meet her. But you have to promise me not to let anyone else know about her—especially Weiss or Blake!" When Ruby got Yang to promise, she pulled out her scroll that she'd modified to have a better and more reliable connection to Menagerie, sent Kali a text, and waited until it said it had been read before calling her. "Hi Jenny, this is my sister Yang. She wanted to know where I keep running off to." She turned the scroll so Yang and Kali could see each other.

"Hi! Yeah, gotta make sure she's not running off and getting into trouble without me!" Yang said, pulling Ruby in under her arm and rubbing her hair.

"Oh don't worry, we haven't got up to anything too exciting," Kali said. "Unless you count Ruby eating more batches of cookies in a month than I made in the entire rest of my life."

"No, that's pretty par for the course."

"Oh good, I was worried something was wrong, but I didn't want to say anything…"

Kali and Yang spent a decent amount of time just getting to know each other, allowing Yang to assuage her fears. Eventually they exchanged their own contact information so they could talk without having to go through Ruby.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Later that evening, when Ruby was busy doing homework with Weiss, Yang slipped out to call "Jenny" again. The woman looked oddly sleepy—the sun had set, but it wasn't very late—but Yang brushed it off as none of her business.

"Oh, Yang, how can I help you?"

"It's about Ruby. She's…she's seemed pretty overwhelmed ever since we came to Beacon, and I'm worried about her. I even considered talking to the Headmaster and having her leave Beacon and come back when she was more ready. She's definitely skilled enough, but emotionally I'm not sure. I was wondering if you'd noticed anything. Since she seems to be talking to you far more than me lately." Unbidden, a hint of bitterness crept into the last statement.

"Oh, don't do that! I can't understand exactly what Ruby's going through, but I know that as much as she's having a hard time connecting with Beacon and your team right now, she'd be doing much worse if she wasn't there with you. Oh, and don't be worried she's forgetting you by talking to me. Half of the time what we talk about are stories from her past!"

"That's…that's good to hear." They were silent for a minute. Finally, Yang hesitantly spoke up. "I know I barely know you, but I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character, and you seem pretty decent. At least I hope you are, since Ruby's relying on you a lot lately. You have to understand, our mom died when Ruby was really little, and although our dad and uncle were around, she hasn't had a mother since then. I tried to pick up the slack when I could, but I'm her sister, not her mother. Now she's been spending so much time with you; I think this could be really good for her, but you better not hurt her!" Yang's eyes briefly flashed red.

"Oh no, I'd never hurt Ruby!" Kali denied. "But I'm not convinced I really mean that much to her. I'm just someone to talk to and keep her mind off things."

"For whatever reason, Ruby chose to come talk to you. There's clearly something she sees in you, and you better not let her down. She still has trouble getting over her mom's death."

"I'll do my best to be there for her if and when she needs it, don't worry," Kali said. "And she still has you, of course." I really don't think she needs me as a mother figure as much as you seem to think, given how much older and more experienced she is than me, but it can see how it would look that way to someone who didn't know about the Loops. "Whatever she thinks of our relationship, Ruby is a wonderful person, and I'm happy to be her friend." Hmm, it couldn't hurt to give a few details if I keep it vague, right? And it might help Yang be more comfortable about this. "Actually, it's been nice talking to a kid again. I have a daughter, but I haven't seen her in far too long." Both in terms of days since my last Loop and the years my Loop memories say it's been since I've seen Blake. "In a way this is a second chance for me, too."

There was another silence, this one more comfortable than the last. Then, Yang asked, "Do you really think Ruby's going to be okay? I haven't seen her this disconnected from the world in years! It's always been her dream to be a Huntress, to grow stronger and protect people, but now that she's actually here at Beacon, it seems like she barely even cares."

"Yang, have you ever heard the song, 'Let's Just Live'?" When Yang confirmed she hadn't, Kali sent it to her scroll. "I think she can't really get into her training at Beacon right now because it's too close to what's bothering her. But she's strong, she'll be fine. Most of the time when we're talking, she seems perfectly okay. It took me a while before I even realized anything was wrong. When I did, I asked her about it, worried she was unhealthily suppressing her bad feelings instead of dealing with them, and she played that song for me and told me some advice her Uncle Qrow told her once: 'Sometimes bad things just happen.' And Ruby said that what he meant was, bad things are going to happen, and they'll suck, and we have to deal with them, but that doesn't mean we can't live our lives; make new friends; keep moving forward. So yes, Ruby's hit a rough patch recently, but I'm confident she's going to pull through. But you know her better than me; do you think she'll be okay?"

"I still wish she'd talk to me about exactly what's wrong, and I worry about her—but yes, even when life gets her down, Ruby's always been one to spring back stronger. She'll be okay."

"That's good. And maybe I'll try suggesting that she to engage more with Beacon. It might help."

"I'd tell you to make sure she knows I'll always be there for her—but she knows already. She knows."

The call ended, and Yang played the song that had been sent to her scroll.

Let's just live!  
Day by day and not be conquered by our sorrows  
The past can't hold us down  
We must break free  
Inside we're torn apart  
But time will mend our hearts  
Move onward not there yet  
So let's just live

67.16 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...do you feel it, Ruby?"

"What?"

"Looking out... at Vacuo. Can you feel it? Can you feel what I did?"

"...yes. I can."

"I can't... but I remember. There... I think a town. I ate their souls, every last one of them, ripped them clean out."

"Cinder-"

"And there, a few miles away... that was... I remember seeing a battle droid and some of the pennydrones, they were just... laughing. Having a gathering."

"Vacuo... Vacuo will endure. Like it always has. And Remnant will heal. You'll see."

"Yes, Remnant will heal. That's the whole point isn't it? Everything is healing. The tree, the universe, even the loopers."

"You will too."

"...I... I wish I could believe that, Ruby."

"Don't worry, Cinder... I'll believe it enough for both of us."


	72. A Return to Shenanigans

**72.1 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Rose stood stoically in the middle of the dorm.

"We four," she said in an an unwavering tone, "are the only four awake this loop. We four," she continued, a voice like stone, "have had a few fused loops to cope with our emotions. We four!" she decreed grandiosely. "Are not yet fully healed, but at the moment we have only each other-the oldest loopers of Remnant! And for this loop, we are alone, together. For this loop, we shall not tend to the others, for we do not need to. For this loop, we are free to decide what to do. And so, I have but one decree."

She stabbed Crescent Rose into the ground.

 **"LET THERE BE SILLY NONSENSE."**

"WOOO!" Yang threw her fists in the air. "I'm going to pull my sunny little dragon advisor stint and try to get Ren and Nora to kiss!"

"Like, it's been a while since I put on the valley girl mask," Weiss drawled, "so I'm totally doing that and wearing, like, a bikini for the loop."

"I'm going to something something team CRDL. Probably make them worship me as the demon princess." Blake shrugged. "I'll figure it out."

"And I think I'm going to troll the White Fang by protesting for floram rights," Ruby said with a nod. "Okay, team RWBY, plans are set. Let's MOVE OUT!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.2 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby scurried around the nearly empty dorm room (the only other person was Blake, who was reading on her bed) in excitement. She gathered up drafting and modeling supplies and packed notebooks full of design sketches in her bag. She'd brought up the possibility of unlocking Kali's Aura, helping her learn to fight, and, most excitingly, helping her design and build a weapon! Ruby could hardly wait! It wasn't every day she got to be an integral part of designing what might end up being an integral part of someone's fighting style for the rest of **FOREVER!** Literally!

Ruby knew she should calm down. There was every chance Kali might pick up her fighting style from a Variant, or maybe she'd really like something from a Fused Loop and fight with that. But still, this sort of opportunity wasn't even a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Both because Ruby's subjective lifetime was infinitely long, and so she'd get these opportunities way more often than that, and because the opportunity to help a new Looper develop a new fighting style only happened when a new Looper activated AND when they didn't have a predetermined fighting style—so FAR, FAR less often than the 100 years of even a long normal human lifetime.

Blake looked up from the book she was reading as she sat on her bed and said, "Running off all the time seems like pretty Loopy behavior to me, Ruby."

Ruby spun her head rapidly towards Blake, her grin widening. "Luckily I had someone to keep me Anchored. Oh, you're Awake! This is perfect! You can come with me!"

"Of course, but where exactly are we going?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After Blake had exchanged her customary loving and emotional greetings with her parents, she asked, "So Ruby's been coming here to visit you all those times she ran off in my Loop memories?"

"Yes, and we've been glad to have her over," Kali answered.

Blake turned to Ruby with a fake-threatening glare. "Ruby Rose, have you been trying to steal my mother?"

"What, no, of course not! I just didn't want to leave her all the way over in Menagerie without coming by to chat, since I know it can get lonely when you're the only Looper around."

Blake's teasing glare faded as she reflected on how lucky she was that even when Yang wasn't Looping, somebody else always would be since she wasn't the Anchor. And excepting Loops with guest Anchors, Blake would never have to worry about being too alone, since she always had Ruby.

Kali sensed the mood and drew them both into a hug. "Don't worry, I have enough love for both of you. Blake, you're my daughter, and nothing's ever going to change that."

"I know mom, it was just a joke," Blake said, "but it's still nice to hear. I love you too." As they pulled apart, she added, "But I'm glad I Woke up when I did. You're **my** mom; I'm not letting Ruby get away with helping you with your weapon and training you without me."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.3 Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Dad, can you please stop groping yourself?"

Taiyang removed her hands from her breasts and gave her daughter an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, Yang. I've never had boobs before. This is just so weird."

"You think that's weird," Ruby interjected, "wait till your Loop memories pop up."

"Yeah," agreed Yang. "Like having sex with male versions of your wives, or giving birth to us."

Taiyang's face turned an interesting shade of red and green as she groaned. "They already did, and I was trying to **suppress** them, thank you very much."

"Hehehe," Ruby chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry."

"Aw, don't sweat it, _mom_ ," Yang teased as she waved her hand dismissively. "Once the Loop ends you'll go back to your old self. So you don't have to worry."

"I guess it's not so bad," Taiyang admitted as she look down at herself. "I do make for one hot lady."

"That's the spirit!" encouraged Yang. "Hey, we could even be mistaken for twins if we play our cards right!"

Just then a red portal manifested before them, and out stepped a dark-haired, red-eyed man that looked like Qrow.

"Where are my breasts, and why do I have a penis?!" Raven asked with a scowl on his flushed face.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.4 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, what now?"

Ruby shrugged at the question, the previous few minutes of humor draining away and just leaving her empty.

She simply didn't know, so much had happened. It was hard to think. But there were concerns and problems that needed to be aired, however unpleasant they may be.

"I don't know," Ruby admitted. "I mean, a lot of it is up to you. Yeah, you stopped and tried to fix everything, but it doesn't change what you did. I think people will argue that stopping was just you saving yourself. That your mind got fixed making you realize it was really bad idea to Ascend and destroy everything, so you took the out I gave you."

Cinder's eyes burned crimson as she visibly bit back a growl. Ruby met Cinder's red unwaveringly as her sister's stone-like skin caught the light as her transformation dropped, just another sign she wasn't very stable.

Wisps of flames danced around Cinder's body and hands as Ruby kept speaking, ignoring her seething sister. "I don't think that. I believe you that you don't want to be the monster, even if you're not good or nice. But that's not enough, not anymore. We, as in everyone, can't just believe what you say, not now." She smiled weakly. "But… it's not as bad as I thought, so that's good. Ren's semblance is really good for keeping things sane and everyone is dealing with things better than I thought. But I was kinda panicky when we last talked. Weiss, Blake and Yang are, well… they don't hate you at least… but, apocalyptic is a good word for it, though. JNPR will probably never forgive you, well that's what they are saying right now anyway, it will be a long time at any rate. Ozpin… wants to talk to you, don't why or what he thinks. But he's pragmatic enough to work with you. Everyone else… well, you get my point and I'm rambling."

Ruby hesitated as the air had started to become uncomfortably hot and the leaves began to smoulder. "You hurt a lot of people, Cinder, and not just last loop. It will take a long time to fix that." Cinder needed to hear this but her emotional balance was completely wrecked. It would take time for her to relearn control, and to do so properly this time.

Cinder shook violently as she clenched her fists hard enough to draw blood and flames enveloped her. Blood dripped from her lips as sharpened teeth pierced flesh.

"…I stopped," Cinder whispered. The regret and humor from before vanished like dew in the morning. "I stopped and I tried to fix everything because I hadn't lied for a long time. It was all just as true when I said I loved you, and it was true when I said I hated you." Cinder's voice started getting louder and harsher as she began pacing the small clearing like a trapped predator. "That was the whole damn problem!" She roared as the clearing burnt around her, her flames raging. "I would consider you all fools if anyone trusted me, I sure don't. I'm too broken, too unstable and a pathological deceiver who probably couldn't keep any promises at the moment anyway. But what else do I have to do to show that I was not lying about caring? For them to understand that I meant what I said, all of it, and that's the problem."

Ruby wanted to comfort Cinder, to say something, but she remained sitting, never moving or looking away. The flickering flames drowned out the moon and stars as they turned the clearing black, never touching the red-clad girl.

"I have wanted to Ascend since I knew it was possible. And I still do, more than almost anything, but I don't want to do it alone. I want to be part of a new Pantheon, not trapped there alone. I want to Ascend with everyone at the end. After I have seen our story draw to a close. There is no point in eternity and freedom if all I have is DIRT! So fine, don't trust me, no one should. But I won't let people accuse me of lying about that."

Cinder screamed, spinning around to face Ruby once more, bearing her fangs in a snarl as the Power of Seasons wrapped around her. No one moved at first, but then slowly, the power cloaking Cinder started to dissipate. Cinder sinking to the scorched ground. Her Semblance and vampiric features retreating along with the Power of Autumn. The rage that had consumed and sustained her having guttered out as quickly as it had flared. Her final whispered words barely there, "What else can I do?" Cinder whispered, her tears catching in the silver moonlight that streamed freely down.

Ruby sat down onto the ground with Cinder and hugged her before Cinder pushed her off a minute or so latter. Many things ran through Ruby's mind at that moment, but what she noticed most was the warmth. The complete lack of the cold, rock-like skin Cinder normal had when not hiding it. It didn't glitter either, it was just normal pale human skin. Cinder must have pushed it back, Ruby could not see why though.

"…Live and don't lie anymore, to yourself or by omission," Ruby said after a few moments. She idly started started to sketch a picture in the ashes as she spoke. "This should never have happened. But it did because you can't with your emotions properly, so now more than ever, you have to learn to do so, Sis. It's a major weakness for you and a threat to everyone else. You need to work out how you got to this point, explain it to us so we can understand and help you."

Cinder shivered in the cool night's air. When she had lost control of her Semblance it had destroyed her clothes as well as the surrounding land. Ruby shrugged off her cloak and handed it to Cinder. She could have pulled clothes out of her pocket and Cinder could have conjured some, but that was not the point.

"Pathetic." Cinder muttered in disgust as she gratefully accepted the cloak and wrapped it around herself. "All this from me not knowing what I wanted. And I felt like I was better than everyone when I had such a weakness… such pointless arrogance."

Ruby hummed noncommittally, continuing to sketch.

"So…do you remember?"

The question made Cinder look up, amber eyes meeting silver ones once more. "I remember a lot of things, which one are you referring to?" Cinder glared weakly at Ruby before her gaze was drawn to where Ruby was sketching.

She found herself staring at the image illuminated by the faint moonlight and etched into the charcoal covered ground. While the moon's glow strong enough to navigate, making out detail was another matter, but as she could see in almost total darkness, Cinder had no problem making out what Ruby was doing.

Her heart skipped a beat at what was revealed, a portrait of them both was taking shape on the ashen ground. Of her falling and Ruby refusing to let go of her hand.

"How you got here." Ruby said as she added more details to her drawing. "How did Cinder Fall go from a nihilistic killer who wanted the world for its injustice to a solitary immortal killer for fun who decided to play pretend? Then from a conflicted, but loving monster being subsumed by her own mask, to a nascent Goddess devouring the world for power and yet unable to let go, to finally to the woman sitting next to me. I think the 'why' is the big question everyone needs answering. And I think it's a question you need to work out as well. I know some of it from the end… but I guess you remember telling me that huh?" She smiled slightly, just a faint twitch of her lips.

Cinder could see she was wrong about the image not, it was not just her falling and Ruby not letting go. It was the world shattering around them as silhouettes, she recognised as the other loopers, fought against animalistic outlines.

The shattered pieces were each big enough to hold a picture of their own. Cinder recognized the scene Ruby was drawing now, it was when they danced in that first loop, Ironwood covered in pies in the background.

Cinder did not know how long she was quite, but finally, she started speaking. It was going to be a long night. And a long road to redemption and acceptance, but Cinder was determined to walk it, no matter how hard it was.

After all, she refused to lose.

Under the moon, Cinder wove her tale to her Sister and herself.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.5 Black Omochao**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Lie Ren awoke to find himself staring out at a town from the top of a school building. He looked down, he was shorter than normal, he had some sort of moving scarf around his neck…

He checked his Loop memories and found that he was in the home Loop of Ruby and Yang's adoptive younger brother, he was a yo-kai that went by the name of Venoct… And he was on the hunt for a monstrous nekomata, by the name of Rubeus J…

The boy shuddered a bit when he looked at the Loop memories that told hm _why_ he was after this other yo-kai. It seems that he used to be a human boy, living in a village. But Rubeus J had attacked, burnt the whole village to the ground… nobody had survived, not even him.

The similarities to his own Baseline childhood were not lost on him, though Venoct's sheer desire for revenge was one thing he was surprised by, wanting revenge so much that you pursue it even after death…

He shook his head and stood firm.

"This Rubeus J can't be allowed to roam free, he is clearly very dangerous… and I don't really have much else to do here," he sighed while tapping his dragon scarf. "But where to start…" his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of school bell ringing, signifying its end, and among the students he spotted several that he recognized. "Perhaps I should ask them."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, now that school's out, what exactly should we do?" Katie questioned as she walked with Nate and Inaho, followed by several of their non-Looping friends; Eddie, Bear, Sarah, Alex, Crystal, and Jessica.

Unknown to their human friends, they also had some Looping yo-kai companionship in Whisper, Jibanyan and USApyon. Kyubi was also there in his human disguise, making the group rather large.

"I don't know, it's been a little while since we all just… hung out, right?" Nate shrugged.

"Perhaps some of you lovely ladies would like to accompany me to a café?" Kyubi suggested with a flip of his hair. A few of the (non-Looping) girls blushed a little, but the thought was halted when Katie grabbed hold of the disguised yo-kai's ear and pulled him over to her.

"Calm down, you devious fox, we're all together, and we're going to do something together, and no seducing my friends," Katie hissed, Kyubi nodded stiffly and a cheerful smile came to the Looping girl's face. "Good!"

"… Nate, how exactly do you know that guy again?" Bear asked in confusion while looking at Kyubi.

"Yeah, I don't think he goes to our school… but on the other hand they do," he gestured to Inaho, Jessica and Crystal. "And I've never seen them, so…"

"No, he doesn't… He's a friend of Katie, Inaho and I, and we thought it would be nice to invite him," Nate shrugged. Well, he wasn't exactly lying…

"Look, we're all missing the big picture here," Inaho suddenly stepped forward, a determined look on her face. "If we're all to do something together, it should be something grand! A grand adventure! Yes!"

"Okay, now you need to calm down," Nate sighed at Inaho's behavior.

"I agree with the average kid," Jessica sighed. Nate's eyes narrowed at her.

"I have a name you know…"

"Come on Nate, you only introduced yourself to Inaho's friends this Loop a few days ago, you can't expect them to remember your name immediately," Whisper shrugged as he floated by the Anchor's side, Nate gave him a side glare.

"No excuse, I remembered his name when I hadn't even met him yet! Dani!" USApyon said firmly.

"I actually think an adventure sounds pretty cool," Alex said with an eager smile on her face.

"Where exactly could we have an adventure in ol' Springdale?" Nate asked with skepticism, of course he himself knew a few ways to do just that, but he didn't feel like revealing that to his non-Looping friends right now.

"Excuse me?" The sudden voice caused all parties to look up, the yo-kai and Looping humans were only briefly surprised by the appearance of the dragon scarf-wielding yo-kai. Though the other humans were either shocked or just confused.

"Venoct, now?" Nate muttered with a blink.

"Is that a floating kid in some kind of ninja costume...?" Bear asked blankly, Nate briefly nodded, before realizing what he meant.

"Wait, you can see him!?"

"Why wouldn't we be able to see him?" Eddie questioned suspiciously. "… Also, what is…. Um, him?" Venoct landed before the crowed of children and yo-kai, before looking towards Nate.

"Um, hello there. Are you feeling a little Loopy perhaps?"

"I'm rather Loopy, but still pretty Anchored," Nate answered almost automatically, he ignored the strange looks he got from the non-Loopers before stepping forward, "Excuse us for a moment."

He took 'Venoct' a few feet away and looked him over.

"… Venoct?"

"No, Ren, Lie Ren," The dragon-themed yo-kai said calmly.

"Lie Ren? As in Lie Ren from Remnant Lie Ren?" Nate questioned, Ren sweatdropped.

"What other Lie Ren do you know?"

"I'm just a little surprised to see you is all… are Ruby or Yang here?" Nate asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"Not that I know of, sorry," Ren shook his head and Nate sighed.

"Too bad… Oh wait, you wanted something?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to help me take down Rubeus J?"

"Take down Rubeus J?" Nate blinked and looked like he was thinking about it, he glanced back to his friends that were waiting and a smirk formed on his face. "Question, can we make it fun?"

"I don't see any reason not to," Ren hid his own smirk under his dragon-scarf. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Just give me a minute, we wanted something fun to do with our friends… I think this can become our adventure," Nate said as he started walking back over to the others. Ren's eyes narrowed a little when he looked at one member of the group.

"Is that the playboy fox over there?"

"Oh yeah… Forgot about that," Nate groaned, recalling the history Kyubi had with the Remnant Loopers, before shrugging and continuing. "We'll deal with that in a moment…"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.6 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ren sighed, looking back at the burning husk of Kuroyuri. Nora put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him questioningly.

"Sorry, I just..." He looked down at the dagger in his hands. "Just a bit earlier and I could have saved them."

"It's a null loop," she reminded him sadly. "You're still a kid. We both are. Even with our experience..."

"You're right, of course. Still... I might have been able to do something."

"You saved me."

Ren smiled at her. "Yes... the one thing I don't regret about all that."

Nora giggled. Then she sighed. "Well, now we're going to have to spend the next twelve years bouncing around the Mistral foster system. Or something."

"Or something." Ren sheathed the dagger. "I wish pings worked in null loops, we could at least find-"

"-somebody who was feeling loopy?"

The two children froze. Slowly, they turned to the new voice, beholding a red-garbed woman with a short skirt and a sharp blade.

"...Miss Branwen," Ren greeted politely. "I take it you're Awake then?"

Raven nodded. "Ten minutes ago. Same for you two?"

"Yes. Have you... checked on the others?"

"I've written a series of coded messages, but I haven't gotten a reply yet. Of course it'll take a while." She looked at the village. "Thought I would see if you were Awake personally, no scroll and all, and I'd dump you at the orphanage if you weren't..."

Ren nodded.

Nora looked between the two of them and threw up her hands. "Leave it to the cute street urchin to ask the obvious." She gave the bandit queen adorable pleading eyes. "Auntie Waven, can we pweeeeeease stay with you?"

Raven snorted. "You realize I abandoned a kid just four years ago."

" _One_ kid. A bandit tribe probably has plenty of little tykes running about, even if it's not the best environment."

"And why would I take in two random children?"

Nora jerked a thumb at the village. "We survived that."

"By hiding."

"Yeah, sure, but would you know that?" Nora pointed out. "Ren and I could weave this whole tale of us fighting off the Grimm and escaping by the skin of our teeth!"

Ren gave Nora a flat look. "Really. Two kids, against a horde of Grimm, managing to survive the destruction of a village."

"...It's not impossible," Nora pointed out. "Heck, we survived baseline."

"Because you hid," Raven repeated flatly.

Nora groaned. "Look, we don't like each other, fine. But you're the only one we _know_ is Awake, and it's either you or the foster care system. Which is very loop variable in its competency, if I might add!"

Ren sighed. "Nora does have a point. And while I don't entirely agree with your lifestyle, you must admit we have the skills to become bandits. Perhaps even better bandits then you."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "...I suppose," she growled, "I could see how long it takes you kids to fuck up."

"Language!" Nora chided primly. "We're innocent children!"

"Right, innocent. Fine." Raven shrugged. "Might as well keep you where I can see you, I don't want to end up naked on Tai's porch again."

"That was one time!" Ren protested. "You weren't even Awake for it!"

"Yes, because that makes it so much better." The woman opened her portal. "Come on, let's get you back to camp so I can start whipping you into shape..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.7 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, how are you doing?" Taiyang asked. He should have expected this, giving what Ruby and Yang had told him. Finding a third daughter for the loop was a bit of a surprise.

"Uh...I'm fine," Cinder said nervously. While she had looped in as his daughter before, this was the first time it actually involved him being _Awake_.

"Don't be so nervous," Taiyang chided her with a smile. "You're Ruby and Yang's sister right?" Cinder nodded numbly. "Then that makes you my little girl too. And I like to think I'm the kind of father whose kids _aren't_ scared of him."

Cinder gave a weak smile. That wasn't the response she was expecting, given what she had done.

"So, since your sisters are out, wanna get some ice cream or something? Taiyang offered.

"Yes, please," Cinder answered.

"Great!" Taiyang slid an arm around her and lead her down the driveway. "So why don't you tell your old man about what sort of loops you have been in? And maybe later show me what pwers you got as a result?"

Cinder smiled. Being Taiyang's daughter looked like it would be pretty good. Maybe she should spend more time with the family, even after everything.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.8 LithosMaitreya**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The Lotus awakened from the sleep of machines to find herself having an in-body experience, which was rather like an out-of-body experience, only in reverse.

She examined the confines of her suddenly restrictive form The technology was familiar, but not native to the Origin System.

 _Remnant_. She remembered this world. A smile touched her lips. She had always enjoyed this Loop—Ruby Rose, with her fascination with weaponry, was a girl after after her own heart, and Cinder Fall's brutal efficiency was like a hint of home.

She stretched and allowed her Loop memories to kick in.

 _Lotus Polendina_. Sister project to Penny Polendina, currently in the Kingdom of Vale to take part in the Vytal Festival tournament. She would enjoy this.

But first, she had to greet her fellows.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

She reached Beacon with little difficulty and found Cinder and Ruby sitting together, separate from the other students, at a dining table for brunch. "Ruby, Cinder," she called. "It is I—the Lotus."

The two humans looked her way. Cinder blinked one and then flinched, recoiling from her, hiding her face. Ruby grimaced at that and beckoned to the Mother of the Tenno to join them.

Lotus frowned at her Tenno. "Child—Cinder," she corrected quickly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Cinder's had a… rough few Loops," Ruby said carefully.

The fire-slinging Tenno snorted at that.

The Lotus considered them. "Why?" she asked. "What has happened."

Ruby bit her lip. "I don't—"

"Ruby, can you leave us?" Cinder cut in. Her voice was… startling. When the Lotus had last seen her, this Tenno's voice had been possessed of a resonant, commanding quality, a supreme confidence and air of grace which lent weight to her every word. Now she sounded uncertain, fragile… damaged.

Ruby looked unhappy. "Cinder, are you sure?" she asked.

"The Lotus deserves to know what her Tenno do with her Warframes," Cinder said quietly. "Actually, though… I think I'd rather talk in private. Is that all right?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "There's the roof," she said softly. "I'll take you—"

"I know the way."

Cinder stood and beckoned for the Lotus to follow. "Lotus, if you would," she said. "We need to talk."

The Lotus glanced at Ruby, whose eyes were downcast. Something was amiss. She shook her head and followed her Tenno—an explanation was coming.

They walked down a corridor, up a flight of stairs, and through two more passageways in perfect silence before coming out onto a balcony. Below, Beacon's courtyard shone in the brightness of the late morning.

Cinder stopped, facing away from her, looking down on the stone and grass. "A few Loops ago," she began lowly, "I did the unthinkable, Lotus."

"Very little is unthinkable to me," the Lotus said.

Cinder whirled on her, and her eyes were red with tears. "I tried to _Ascend_ , Lotus," she hissed. "Do you even know what that means? I know you're new to the Loops, in the scheme of things."

The Lotus nodded slowly. "I know what it means," she said. "You would have followed Madoka—destroyed your world and become Goddess of a new one."

Cinder stared at her speechless for a moment before shaking her head wildly. "How can you just _say_ that?" she asked. "Like it doesn't matter? I _used you Warframe_ to try to destroy Remnant!"

" _Your_ Warframe, Tenno," the Lotus said gently, coming forwards slightly. "I have never and will never use a Warframe. They are the weapons of the Tenno, not of the Lotus. And I don't know what you expect of me."

"I don't know," said Cinder weakly, gesturing aimlessly with her hands. " _Anything_? How can you not be angry?"

"You forget," the Lotus said gently, "the Tenno's first act as my children was to destroy the greatest civilization in the Origin system. Since then we have carved paths of destruction through the Grineer and the Corpus and even through my own former people together. You are one of my _Tenno_ , Cinder. Destruction and the seeking of power are endemic to you, even if they can lead you astray."

Cinder was blinking at her. "I'm not…" she started. "I'm not from your Loop, Lotus. I wasn't created in the Void and built to be a weapon."

"No," the Lotus agreed. "But what does that matter? You are Tenno. What _you_ do to your enemies—that is something I will never pass judgement on. I am not human—I do not moralize as your kind do. I have only one moral desire—that my Tenno be safe. As you are my only Tenno in Remnant, that is my only concern. Are you safe?"

Cinder was staring at her aghast. "You don't care?" she asked weakly. "You don't care that I almost destroyed my home Loop in a mad bid for power using weapons I obtained from _you_ to do it?"

The Lotus sighed. "I _care_ inasmuch as I see that it torments you, child," she said gently. "But I will not judge you, no. I am _here for you_. The only thing you could do to change that is to threaten others among my Tenno—and that, you have not done."

There was silence for a moment, and then, with a wail, Cinder threw herself into her mother's arms.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **68.9 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Illia frowned as she watched her targets moving down the road. Nobody had expected the Belladonnas to get involved-certainly they never expected Blake to be the one to draw them back in. It hurt, it hurt that they would have to be put through what Adam planned... but it was for the best.

She took a breath, gritting her teeth as she watched. "...Blake should never have come back to Menagerie."

"I rather disagree, a family visit is usually a good thing!"

The masked girl whirled, her whip lashing out-at thin air. She narrowed her eyes, looking around the roof she was standing on, but the only living being she could see was a dog.

"...I know you're there," she said, holding out her whip in a warning gesture. "Come on out."

"Out of what, exactly?"

Ilia blinked, looking down at the dog. "...Did you just talk?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Your muzzle is moving-you're the dog Blake had with her," Ilia realized. She pointed her whip at the corgi. "Tell me what you know!"

"I'll never talk!"

There was a brief, awkward moment.

"You know," the corgi mused, "I only just now realized the irony in saying that."

"So you admit you can... talk..." Ilia faltered for a moment, before steeling herself. "Okay, weirdness aside, what do you know about Blake?!"

"She gives excellent ear scritches."

"No, I mean-what do you know about her plans?!"

"She'll _receive_ excellent ear scritches, if you know what I mean." The corgi didn't have visable eyebrows, but he managed to waggle them. Somehow.

Ilia's skin went green while her hair turned white."...Eww."

"Wha-Oh, no, not from _me_."

"Oh, good."

"From her ladyfriend."

"What-No, don't get distracted." She pushed her colors back to normal. "What do you know about Blake's plans for the White Fang?!"

"How should I know? I'm only a dog."

"You-I-this whole thing is pointless, isn't it."

"Mmm. Pretty much."

Ilia looked over her shoulder. "Aaaaaand I've lost track of the Belladonnas."

"Yes, you have. All because you were talking to a dog." The corgi scratched his ear. "Quite embarrassing, isn't it?"

"You talk too much!"

There was another awkward moment.

"...Shut up," she grumbled with a pout.

"Well if I do that, how are you going to convince the other White Fang that you have an excuse for losing track of your target?"

"I'm not. I'm going to say that I lost them, and deal with it when that comes."

"Oh, yes, because Adam will be reasonable about that."

Ilia blinked. "...how do you know about him?" she asked slowly.

"The same way I can talk. A magical dying supertree gave me the gifts of wisdom and wit."

"...Okay, now you're just screwing with my head."

"Not yet, but I intend to."

Ilia snorted, looking back at him. "And how will you dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..."

The corgi's eyes had become... enchanting. Entrancing. Ensorcelling. Enveloping.

"Listen to the hypnocorgi."

"Uh-huh..."

"The hypnocorgi is your friend."

"Yeah..."

"You've been having doubts about the White Fang. You're not sure Adam Taurus is right in his head. You don't think that his plan will work."

"It is kind of crazy," she mumbled in agreement.

"You might not like humans, but you don't have the power to get rid of them. But if you can change a few, in the right position, that might make the world better."

"I'd like to change their minds," she said dreamily.

"The Belladonnas are at the Schnee hotel. The Schnees are powerful. If you help the Belladonnas, you will help them look good in Schnee eyes. If they look good in Schnee eyes, the Schnees will help the Belladonnas."

"Oh, woooooow." She swayed. "That sounds amazing..."

"All you have to do is wait and contact them. Just wait, and be ready with the information. So you're going to do that."

"I like this plan... I loooooove this plan..."

"And it was all your own idea."

"...Yeah... I'm a smart..."

"Now... forget the hypnocorgi."

Ilia blinked for a moment or two. Then she sat down, shaking her head. "Ugh. What a headache." She took off her mask. "Seriously, these things should come with warnings."

A bark from behind her caught her attention. She turned around and smiled. "Hey, what's a cute little thing like you doing up here?"

The corgi ran up to her, panting happily.

"Waaaaaait. You're the dog that Blake brought with her, aren't you?" Ilia sighed. "Well, I was planning on talking to her anyway. Want to wait up with me until she gets back to the hotel?"

The dog barked twice.

"Heh. You know, Blake used to hate dogs. Must be something super special about you."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.10 LithosMaitreya, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, you're a semi-eldritch sapient machine single-handedly responsible for the end of your creators' civilization and in charge of the deadliest military outfit in your entire star system, comprised entirely of child soldiers?"

"Yes. You're a psychologically-scarred single father with abandonment and intimacy issues and a bad habit of leaving your children to fend for themselves?"

"Yeah. Wanna bang?"

"Sure."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Okay." Cinder rubbed her temples. "I get that you're Yang and Ruby's dad. I get that they had different moms. I get that, through adoption, you consider yourself to be my father despite our age difference possibly being less then a decade-and I do appreciate that, actually, it's very helpful. And I get that, through a similar philosophical adoption, the Lotus considers herself to be my mother-also very helpful, and very appreciated. What I'm failing to understand-or actually, what I sort of understand even though I really, really don't want to-is why you two are currently _making rabbits jealous on a weekly basis!"_

Taiyang shrugged. "We got to talking, she mentioned her body was fully functional, I'd never done it with a machine, one thing led to another..."

"We aren't in an emotional relationship," the Lotus assured her. "Such would be impossible given my natural state and the fact our universes of origin are not the same. This is purely a physical relationship for mutual enjoyment."

"And swapping stories about our shared daughter," Taiyang added.

"Yes, indeed."

Cinder stared at them for a moment or two.

Then she threw up her hands. "You know what, Qrow was my mother one loop, despite still being male. I'm not going to question your sexual prowess anymore. I give up. Enjoy the loop, I'll be binging on ice cream or whatever..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.11 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Alright, what's eating at you, Tai?" Qrow demanded, dropping into the chair opposite the blond.

"It's nothing," Taiyang muttered.

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Tai, it's obvious that's a lie. So don't insult my intelligence and just tell me what it is." Taiyang didn't answer. "C'mon. I'm just gonna bug you until you spill."

Taiyang sighed. "Yeah, you would, wouldn't you?" he asked, shaking his head. He rubbed at his eyes. "Ruby isn't my daughter this loop. We're just telling everyone she is when she's yours. And there are plenty of loops where it happens and it may even be baseline."

Qrow facepalmed. "Serious? _That's_ it?" he groaned.

"Look, Qrow-" Taiyang started angrily.

"No, you listen to me," Qrow interrupted. "Okay, sure, some loops I'm the one who knocked up Summer, and it may be the case in baseline but that doesn't matter!" Qrow leant back and fixed his teammate with a stern look. "Who did baby Ruby call Dada?"

Taiyang blinked. "…Me?"

"Who read her bedtime stories every night?"

"Mostly me and Yang." Taiyang was a bit confused.

"Who checked her bedroom for monsters when she was scared?"

"Me?"

"Who kissed her owies to make them better?"

"Did you seriously say owies with a straight face?"

"Tai." Qrow gave him his best Glynda Look.

"It was me."

"Who has all the stories a Dad would have about his kid when it comes to Ruby?" Qrow asked.

"Me? I mean, you have some, you helped out even before Summer vanished so it's not like you have nothing," Taiyang said.

Qrow facepalmed. "Not my point," he groaned. "What I'm trying to get across is that even if you're not her father by blood, you've been her father in every other way!"

Taiyang snorted. "You do remember that blood is thicker than water, right?"

Qrow considered making a remark about Raven but decided against it. "You do know most people use that saying wrong, right?"

"What?" Taiyang looked at him.

"It's not that family ties count above all else," Qrow explained. "The full saying is ""The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." It actually means the bonds forged through bloodshed in battle bonds soldiers more strongly than blood ties. That the bonds you create are stronger than the ones you are born with." Qrow paused and gave his brother-in-law a look. "Now, based on experiences, who is Ruby's dad?"

"Well, given the loops-"

"TAI!"

"Okay, okay, it's me!" Taiyang exclaimed.

"And she loves you for it," Qrow said softly. "That won't change, Tai. You'll always be the father she loves. Regardless of whether or not baseline makes that a blood connection or not."

"I guess," Taiyang said, with a faint smile.

"…So are we done with this topic? It's starting to get way too sappy for me."

"…Way to kill the mood, Qrow."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.12 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder blinked, looking up as she felt the dark presence approaching the dorm. Few native loopers could generate the sort of pallor necessary for such... intense depth of shadow. She let out a low sigh, turning to her... minions, she supposed. "Emerald, Mercury. You don't want to be here."

Emerald looked up in confusion. "Cinder, what-"

"Just go. Have a day being 'ordinary students.' Heighten the illusion."

Emerald looked as though she wanted to say something, but the door was opened before she could object. The white-haired girl standing outside was dressed in a maid outfit, holding a canister-style vacuum cleaner with a faint smile. "Housecleaning. Is this a bad time?"

"No," Cinder replied before either of the others could reply. "My teammates were just leaving."

Mercury looked the girl over warily. "Aren't you a little young to be on the staff?"

"No."

"...Aaaaaaalright then. Cinder, you coming with?"

"I believe I'll stay behind, in case the maid finds something I should help her with."

"Got it. Come on, Emerald, I hear that team CFVY is sparring. Might as well see what they can do."

The green haired girl followed him out, shooting the girl in a amid dress a suspicious look as she passed.

Cinder took a breath, gesturing for her to enter. "Hello, Marie. What brings you here?"

"Housecleaning, like I said." Marie entered, shutting the door behind her.

"I take it you mean that metaphorically," Cinder muttered, crossing her arms and looking at the ground.

"Mmm. Literally, as well." Marie started up her vacuum cleaner, running it around the carpet. "It relaxes me, you see."

The sound of the cleaner rumbled on for a few moments.

"...I don't think any of the others have heard yet."

Cinder looked up. "What?"

"The other looping sith ladies." Marie shrugged. "I know because when I asked for you, Ruby's emotions went haywire. She told me what happened, once she calmed down."

"...and?"

"And... have I ever talked to you about my world?"

"No, but... I looked into the hub backups, after our first meeting." Cinder shook her head. "The skull heart. The trinity. Some of the parasites... Gods, it's like something out of Salem's twisted fantasy."

"It is very similar to Remnant in some ways," Marie acknowledged. "But Remnant, at least, has the decency to have explicit monsters, instead of the... morally ambiguous nature of most of our loopers."

"Where are you going with this?"

"One of our loopers is a hedonistic vampire who killed two gods and kicked off every bad event in our history, baseline. She has not improved in the loops. We have a girl kidnapped and tortured to become a living weapon, though thankfully the local version of robocop has helped her recover psychologically. Our princess is a wise, moral leader who loves her little sister and runs the country with totalitarian methods. I have no clue who our Anchor is, they've never let themselves be known. Arguably the most innocent of us is an amnesiac mafia princess with a foul-mouthed mass of hair. My girlfriend is a mutilated little girl who smokes and drinks, I myself am the literal manifestation of our diety's wish to destroy their reality, and we regularly go on dates where we slaughter dozens of mafia goons."

Marie pulled out a duster and working on the dresser. "I am well accustomed to atrocity, in its myriad concepts and broad scope."

"Right. So you know exactly how... wrong what I did was."

"Yes. I also know that you, yourself, are not a monster."

Cinder's eyes snapped up. "How can you-"

"You nearly destroyed a world. One. One time. And yes, you indulged in your villainy on occasion, but before you broke you only targeted the deserving and those who would not exist, and after... well, you regret it." Marie nodded. "That's the difference between you and me. You do a bad thing, you cause the death of hundreds, millions, almost a world. And even though you enjoy it... you also regret it. I don't regret. I can't regret. I'm the Skullgirl, the will of destruction itself. I am... not a villain, like you. I don't enjoy, or regret, any death I cause. I'm just another monster."

"...Marie-"

"And yet, for some stupid reason, Patricia still loves me. Maybe it's because she has no compunctions against killing herself-maybe it's because we were kids together. Maybe it's because she's crazy. I don't know. But I love her and she loves me and we're... happy." Marie shrugged. "And if the lich child who the gods would use to tear reality apart can find love and happiness and family, maybe the flame witch who was driven mad by an eldritch abomination and her own lusts can too."

She turned to Cinder, shutting off her vacuum cleaner. "You shouldn't stop regretting. But you should start reaching out." With a curtsy, she left the dorm, and Cinder to her own thoughts.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.13 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Roman Woke up and sent out a Ping, getting no responses. _And I'm not about to rob the Dust shop, so that means…_ He pulled out his scroll and checked the date. _Bingo! I love being the first Looper Awake! Especially when I Wake up early! Now how shall I prank them this time?_

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ozpin Woke up looking at a familiar ceiling. _I guess Oscar's in the driver seat again._ But oddly enough, after a couple of seconds had passed, Oscar still hadn't moved their body. They were just lying there, staring at the ceiling? _Oscar, why aren't you moving? Is something wrong?_ But there was no response. Then Ozpin started to realize something didn't feel quite right. Finally, he heard Oscar's voice in his head.

 _Ozpin, why can't I move?_

With another piece of evidence supporting his suspicion, Ozpin tried to raise his arm—and it rose into the air. Surprised, Ozpin stood up and looked into a mirror on the wall. What he saw in the mirror looked perfectly normal, but at the same time, entirely out of place. The man in the mirror was Ozpin. And, crucially, the man in the mirror was _not_ Oscar. "It would seem we are still me this Loop."

 _But why are you at my house when you still, you know, have your own body?_ They both started checked their Loop memories for an explanation. _Eww, no no no, that's disgusting! Please tell me you're going to break up with my aunt, because I do NOT want to be in your head while you're doing that with her._

"Once again, I apologize for everything I have put you through. I wish I found a way to keep from dragging you into the Loops. This situation is awkward, but we will find a way to handle it." With that, Ozpin walked to the kitchen to fix himself breakfast and found his adoptive son for this Loop already there. "Good morning, Oscar."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.14 Leviticus Wilkes, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Roman?"

"Yes Sun."

"Why are we climbing into the mouth of an active volcano?"

"Because this will be one of the first lessons in how to be a Looper."

Roman Torchwick and Sun Wukong peaked over the rim of the caldera. Far below them a seething, roiling mass of lava heaved below. Roman flipped his cane into a reverse grip, hooked Sun by the ankle, and tossed him in. "Step one! Do the impossible."

"Ah! It burns, it burns! Ahhhhhh...!"

"Step two: get used to death by lava."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Step three: Learn to forgive but don't forget." Roman said to an angry Sun in the next loop...

"Step four: Stay in cover and avoid plasma rounds!"

...which happened to be an XCOM loop.

"Thanks for the tip asshole! What are you going to do? Push me out of the cover?"

"Nah, that's gonna be the Berserker behind you."

"Wait what are your talking ab- hey! What's going on?! Ahhhhhh!" Sun screamed as he was thrown out of cover and into the path of a sectopod's beam.

"Step five: Get used to death by plasma."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Step six: bargain with everyone."

"...Alright Mister Blue Pig Guy, how about I not stab you with this sword?" Sun said, sheathing the Master Sword.

"No no no," Ganon grumbled. "You need to threaten me before you put the sword away. That's half the thing about bargaining, you need to want something out of it. It seals up your end of the bargain honorably."

Sun shrugged. "What the hell is a fat pig guy gonna give me?"

"Step seven, don't insult the Weilder of the Triforce of Power."

THUD.

"Step eight, get used to death by fist."

"You pick the most annoying companions Roman."

"They pick me Ganon."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Step nine, well, not so much of a step, more of a hope, really. You see the guy in the cobalt armor?" Roman asked,

"Yeah, what about him?"

"You better hope that you never replace him. Or, if you do, hope that someone's replacing Caboose."

"Why?"

IlIlIlIlIlIl

"The cobalt guy just got shot by his own tank."

"Yeah, that happens. It's worse if Caboose is Awake and somebody is replacing Church."

"WORSE?! How could that get worse?!"

"You'll find out eventually."

"Also, why do I have red armor? Red really isn't my colour."

"Oh, that would be step ten."

"Step ten? Hey, what hit me?"

"A plasma, or sticky, grenade. Oh, by the way, step ten? Get used to death by plasma grenades."

"I thought that was one of the earlier ste-"

One blue explosion later, Roman chuckled to himself.

"Nope. That was just generic plasma. This is plasma grenades."

"Why...? Huurk... blegh..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.15 KanameFujiwara, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...So are you going to give up?"

"Sorry?"

"Are you going to give up on Blake?"

A long silence stretched out between them. In the time Sun knew Neo, he had learned she was a direct woman. _But was she always this direct?  
_  
"...Blake's happiness is what matters to me. If she's happy I'm happy," Sun said honestly.

Yet Neo wasn't letting the prodding up - it got worst.

Neo snorted. "Don't give me those sappy lines Sun. I'm a hedonist - it doesn't work on me. But it works wonders in getting a good lay." She would know. Neo had use those lines to devastating effects.

"But it's the truth!" Sun insisted.

"Of course it's the truth but you know what else is the the truth? You love Blake. You still do," she said, this time with a small dose of pity. "You love her and it was honest and it was pure and it was true!"

Sun didn't rebuke those works. Correction - he couldn't. Was his love life so transparent that people he knew only for a couple of loops could read him like a book? It shamed him. It was as if nothing about him was a secret to anyone.

"...Even if that was true you heard what they said," he replied with an almost resigned tone. "They love each other..."

Neo didn't say anything, preferring to let the silence stretch, all the while listening to the poor monkey boy mumbling about how it wasn't right to interfere

She listened to him.

Then Neo had enough.

"I'm going to stop you right there."

"What - " said Sun but she cut his words.

"Sun," she said with a smile on her face, "do you not have any balls?"

"I have balls!" Sun said, offended that somehow that was a question.

"Then be a man - and take Blake for yourself!"

"But that would be selfish!" he retorted.

"Of course it is. Of course it is. And why not?" she pressed. " Be selfish, be greedy. If you want Blake Belladonna - make her yours!"

Somehow that comment stunned Sun that he gaped.

"...Exactly what are you proposing here?" Somehow Neo had throw him in a loop. _Heh, a loop. That's a nice pun._ But still, what did the ice cream loving girl had in mind?

"I want you to imagine the girl that you love. I want you to close your eyes and put everything you know about the girl - down to her tsundere tendencies. I want you to put your soul into this and say to her these three little words - I love you."

"I love you."

"Now open your eyes."

And Sun did and his eyes were red and wet.

"...There are two Blakes - her awakened self and her unawakened self. Her awakened self loves Yang but her unawakened self does not," she said waiting for the gears in monkey boy's to turn. And jolt him _hard_. "Unawake - Blake loves you more than she loves Yang."

Sun stood there speechless.

"This is the loop. Be wild. Be free. Take what you want. Love who you want!" Neo declared with a manic look in her eyes. "There's nothing stopping you from loving her unawake self and it's easy for her unawake self to fall in love with you," and she closed the distance between her and Sun and whispered to his ear, "Just be yourself."

And somehow that inflamed Sun.

"You're right. You're right, it's not the same. That girl is young and needs help and... and it's me that helps her! If I just keep at it, I'll-"

"-have a disposable copy of the woman you love."

Neo sighed as Sun froze, crossing her arms and glowering. "Really, Raven? Really?"

"Let's be honest. She's going to forget everything at the end of the loop." The bandit queen strode up to the faunus. "Every. Single. Thing. It doesn't matter what you do, what hell you pull her out of, how long or deep your love for each other grows-it will be torn away. And that's only if she _doesn't_ wake up late." Her face was inches away from the boy's stunned eyes as she leaned in. "If she does... if she becomes the other Blake... imagine how incensed she will be."

"Oh, come on." Neo threw up her hands. "Really, I'd just gotten him to get up and-"

"You, Neopolitan, offered him a temporary plush doll with the risk-the very real, if minuscule risk-that it will become his friend, and have her remember every single thing he did. Tell me, Sun, do you think you could live with those consequences? Because if you can, go right ahead. Go right ahead and do the very thing your morals are screaming is wrong. I won't stop you. And I won't stop Blake or Yang from tearing you apart the minute they find out."

Sun gulped. "No... you're... you're right. I don't know what came-" He paused. "Actually, I do know. Neo, seriously, what the hell?!"

"Eh, thought I'd see how far I could push you." Neo shrugged. "Then miss grimfeather here just strode up out of nowhere. How the hell did you know about this, anyway?"

Raven merely smiled. "That's one of my secrets. Oh, and Sun? This counts as me saving you. This was your one chance. No more rescues."

"Uh, I wasn't being menaced by a monster."

The woman pointed at Neo. "I rather think you were." She spun on her heel and opened a portal, striding away.

"Ooooo. Monster." The girl grinned. "Yeah, she's got my number. Oh well. Hey, Sun, if I can't convince you to get serious with an unwake Blake, can I at least get you to hit up the Malachite twins?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.16 LithosMaitreya**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
 _  
It is an easy thing—such a very easy thing—to say that one regrets._

The rain fell in a steady, rhythmic drumming on the bare grass and moist earth, pattering a pattern in a ceaseless hiss. The gray sky loomed overhead in a heavy, woolen blanket of cloud. A pale light filtered through from the sun beyond the sky, casting the world in a faded half-light.

Cinder Fall stood alone under the arching boughs of an ash tree, her back to the damp bark, looking out over the wavering green coat over the rolling chalk hills, studying the seam where the verdant earth met the dull-cast sky. A raindrop slid down through the furrows in her flawless brow, ran along the side of her nose and dropped from one lip down to the other, and then slid down her chin and was lost, falling to earth among its numberless brethren.

 _It's such an easy thing to claim. That you regret what you did; that you wish you hadn't done it. But what does it mean?_

Her raven hair was plastered to her bare neck, and she blinked often to clear her long lashes of condensation, but otherwise she did not move: so still she stood that, in another place and time, she would not have looked out of place among the statues of the dead and damned in the stone-garden on Medusa… save for her hands.

Her nimble fingers ran along the silver blades of her bow, playing the edge and slowly turning the weapon about in her grasp. The polished steel seemed dulled by the gray sky it reflected, its gleaming sheen lost in a world without light to reflect.

 _Regret is more than knowing you did something wrong. That's guilt._

Cinder's dress was soaked and hugged her curvaceous form tightly, clinging to her like a second skin, vibrant and red.

She stared out into the half-light absently, her mind—despite her best efforts—inevitably making its ponderous way towards logical conclusion.

 _It's more than knowing_ _ **why**_ _what you did was wrong. That's shame._

In one impulsive motion, the woman split her bow into its two scimitar components. She spun them in her hands, her agile fingers whirling about them as they scythed through the air in two controlled, perpetual arcs.

Each blade passed through the focus of her field of vision at its apex, but her liquid golden eyes, unseeing, did not blink nor even seem to reflect the bright silver against the backdrop of the faded sky.

 _Regret isn't even as simple as looking back at yourself, doing something wrong, and saying—I have changed—I would not do that again._

 _Regret_ , Cinder knew, _is looking back on your life and knowing that you have been, and still are, a monster._

"Were you wrong about me, Marie?" Cinder asked aloud. " _Am_ I as much a monster as you claim to be? Can I regret?"

The ash tree, under whose bough she sheltered from the rain, had no answer.

"If I make the promise," Cinder said, "to never do… _that_ again, what's that worth? What's my word worth, really, by itself? I can buy a thousand words for a penny and an hour of my time, and I have more than I could ever want of both. So what do I do? Where do I go?"

The rain fell all around, cloaking her in a curtain of sound and silence.

"If I had succeeded," Cinder asked herself, "where would I be now? What would Yggdrasil look like now? Remnant would be gone, and I would be a goddess. Would I regret it then? And, if not, can I really say I regret the _attempt_ , or only the failure? And If I only regret the failure, do I even have the right to be labeled anything _other_ than an MLE? My word's not worth a damn. What's to stop me trying again?"

Silence was her answer. Cinder found that she was panting, shaking, that her monologue, increasingly hysterical, had driven her to near spasms of passion.

"No," she said, breathing deeply. "Examine the axiom. _Would I regret it_ , had I succeeded?"

She thought of Ruby Rose, of her dearest sister, who had trusted her even when she could demonstrably not be trusted, who had loved her even when she was beyond the reach of love, who had closed the gap between islands when Cinder had burned the bridges.

She thought of Weiss, the consummate Jedi with an edge of steel, the enforcer to Ruby's Anchor, who had chosen to mend fences rather than build walls. She thought of Yang, the dragon in the sun, who—despite rage and pain and righteous fury—had chosen to try, at least, to move beyond the errors made. She thought of Blake, the shadow of the sun, who _understood_ —who had allowed herself to be consumed by selfish hatred and wrath and who had looked into the abyss herself before.

 _Yes._

"Yes," Cinder said. "I would, wouldn't I? I love them. But what does that mean?"

"You're asking the wrong question," said Penny Polendina quietly, from the other side of the ash tree. "It doesn't matter what love means, or where regret comes from. What matters is what they push you to do, and whether you choose to listen."

Cinder bit her lip. "You're trying to catalogue these things," she said.

"Yes," Penny agreed. "But not define them. You can't define love, or regret, or hate, or any other emotion strong enough to drive a person mad. Not comprehensively." She chuckled. "Ever heard of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem?"

"Yes," Cinder said. "There is no algorithmic, logical system that is both consistent—non-contradictory—and complete; capable of proving every statement within the purview of its logical structure. Arithmetic, for instance, will always contain unprovable axioms."

"And an intelligence, artificial or otherwise," Penny said, "will always be possessed of qualities which are true, but beyond the scope of that intelligence to analyze. Maybe an Admin could tell you what regret _is_ , Cinder, but you couldn't understand what they told you. I'm a computer; I process emotions algorithmically. But I still can't understand them. They're beyond my scope."

"But they're still true?" Cinder asked incredulously. "How do you know they aren't just an illusion? How do you know that one day you won't just wake up without those feelings? How do you know that you can't just turn them off now?"

"Have you tried?"

" _No_."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid I'll succeed!"

"Then the emotions are real," Penny said gently, "because they have driven you to act, in that they have driven you not to destroy them. That's what these feeling are, Cinder—they're something inside you that drives you to act. They are the driving force behind cognition."

"That's a terribly structured recursive proof," Cinder said flatly, "and you should be ashamed of yourself for having made it."

"And yet it's enough," Penny said.

The rain fell around them, but between them was nothing but the trunk of a great ash tree.

Cinder sheathed her sword. "I don't want to be a monster," she said.

"How badly do you want that?" Penny asked.

"More than anything."

"Then," Penny said, "you already aren't."

Cinder came around the tree's trunk and looked the shorter girl in the eye. This close, she could see the faint lines of the aperture which made up Penny's irises, if she looked closely, and her sensitive ears detected the faint hum of the Dust-infused circuitry under her skin.

"Look into my eyes," Cinder said evenly, "and tell me that I'm not a monster."

Penny met her gaze unflinchingly. "You are not a monster," she said.

Cinder shuddered.

"I promise," Penny said, and took the older Looper into her arms. "You're not a monster. I promise."

Cinder clutched her desperately. "I believe you," she whispered. "How can I believe you when I know you're wrong?"

"Because you also know I'm right," Penny said gently, "and it's killing you, because assimilating your two personalities hasn't clarified anything for you, Cinder. You now have to _choose_ which of you to be; you can't be both at once anymore."

"Then how do you know I'll choose correctly?" Cinder asked frantically.

"Because you know which choice _is_ correct," Penny soothed her. "All that's left is to make the choice and walk the path."

The ash tree covered them, protecting them from the elements, as the gynoid comforted the vampire until the clouds broke.[/QUOTE]

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.17 Masterweaver**

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"Miss Polindina, this is a serious-"

"You are my _friend_ ," Penny ground out as she pushed Ciel along, "and that means I am responsible for your happiness and mental health-"

"-I am gratified that you consider me as such, but we have only just met last month and-"

"-look, I don't know if this will work out, but I have a good feeling-"

"-I would rather our relationship be more professional, and setting me up on a blind date-"

"-you _need_ to socialize more, Ciel! Even if there's no spark, at least it'll be OH HELLO!" Penny grinned broadly as she approached team FNKI. "I'm here to drop Ciel off for Neon. We set this up a week ago?"

"Oh yeah." Neon nodded. "The blind date thing. Sorry guys, gotta show this girl a good time."

"Neon Katt?!" Ciel looked at Penny. "You set me up with _Neon Katt?!"_

Penny crossed her arms. "I have my reasons. Remember, Neon, have her at the tower by ten, okay?"

"You got it, coppertone!" Neon saluted, grabbing Ciel's arm. "Come on, I've got a great day planned-"

"I am doing this under protest," Ciel groused.

"Duly noted," Penny deadpanned.

"Don't worry, Ciel, I promise you'll enjoy yourself." Neon smirked broadly. "Come on, the dance clubs in Vale really have it going on."

"...Dance clubs." Ciel looked at her for a moment, then gave a resigned sigh. "Oh very well..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.18 Leviticus Wilkes**

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Kali Belladonna stared at the women who were apparently her... mothers. She coughed into her fist, and a butler walked up with a handkerchief to let her rub her hand off. She accepted the butler's offering graciously, if rather awkwardly. "So... mother..."

"Yes?" said her brunette mom with cat ears.

"...Why are you Queen of Menagerie?"

Queen Blake Belladonna shrugged. "I came along when Mistral and Atlas centralized their Faunus populations in Menagerie. I just used some of my incredible Looping powers to protect everyone on the continent, terraform the desert, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, heal the sick, and eventually they just elected me Queen."

"Alright, alright," said Kali's blond human brother. "May I ask the next question please?"

Yang gave her son, Taiyang, a cocky grin. "You sure you want the answer to that?"

"..." Taiyang stared at Yang. "Yang, I explained menstruation to you. I can handle it."

Yang chuckled, and explained.

Ten minutes later:

"MY EARS!" Tai screamed. Kali was on the ground screaming in disgust. And Blake...

"Did you really need to tell them that Yang?"

"Yup. Worth every second."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.19 Masterweaver**

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"...but since she's a civilian, Kali has basically no combat training. Doesn't even have a fondness for weapons! Now, that would be fine in baseline, but with the loops and all the stuff that's going on, we kind of wanted to make sure she had something to fall back on." Ruby sighed. "Buuuuut it turns out she's kind of entrenched her clumsiness, so..."

Sun blinked. "Entrenched?"

"Looping psychology concept. How do I explain this..." The Anchor tapped her sundae platter for a few seconds. "Right. So, I'm fifteen. I have my dad, my sister, there was an incident where I was nearly killed by Grimm, all that jazz. Logically, I also have a childhood, right?"

"Okay..."

"Except! Because of the damage to Yggdrasil, a lot of my childhood is loop variable. Sometimes I had a princess phase when I was eight. Sometimes I turned goth when I was thirteen. Sometimes I walked in on mom and dad when I was four-the point is, right up till Roman goes after Dust till Dawn, most of my life is scrambled about, no clue what happens. So in order to retain some sense of identity, I focus on the part that is stable."

"You mean the looping part." Sun nodded. "Yeah, I can get that. I've only had five loops so far and Vacuo's been different every time..."

"Yeah, Vacuo's one of the most damaged parts of Remnant. But more to the point, since I focus on this specific part of my life, I also choose to incorporate to exaggeration. Like, realistically, in baseline I may have one plate of cookies a week at the most, but in the loops that's just a usual lunch for me. Same for all loopers. Blake likes books in baseline, she's got a library in the loops. Nora mentioned sloths once in baseline, and now she has a mild obsession with them. Aunt Raven has been called the Nevermore Queen in a couple of loops, so she's taken it as her full term looping title. It's not always as conscious as that, and we do rely on each other to hold us back from going too far, but without such blatant self-flanderization we would likely descend into uncaring and impersonal avatars of immortal ennui, and that's not good for anybody."

"So you choose to use the few defining aspects of Ruby Rose, to become the best Ruby Rose you can be." Sun considered his banana split. "You know, Roman actually said something kind of similar when he threw me his lifeline... so what does this have to do with missus B?"

"She's a little less fortunate then the rest of us," Ruby admitted. "The hard part of her baseline is, essentially, your visit. In its entirety. And the bit way earlier where Blake has an argument with her and Ghira, but that's more abstract. The point is, she's got fewer events to link up to, so she tends to connect with them more deeply." She began counting off on her fingers. "She's Blake's loving mother, and in the loops she tries to be the best mother she can-to both Blake and, to a lesser extent, the rest of us. She fell into the office that _one_ time, so she's a total _klutz_ now-probably a subconscious entrenchment, if I'm honest, so it would be a lot harder to shake. Heck, the idea that she has a saucy side isn't even technically from Remnant-it's a hubworld meme-but because she's got so little to go on she's embraced the concept."

"Yikes." Sun took a bite of his ice cream. "You know, when you put it like that, I'm kinda glad I crushed on Blake way back when. Even if we never ended up together, at the very least I've got quite a bit of personal background to go on in the loops."

"Yeah. See, one of the reasons anchors are usually protagonists of the hub backups is because we actually tend to have more data going into the mess-more data means more stability, and also means more background for the writers."

"Of course you're more then just the cookie-eating scythe-wielding terror of Remnant," Sun pointed out.

"Oh yes! I'm not saying that entrenchment is stagnation, it's more... a base from which we can grow. A foundation of our identity, not our identity in its entirety. So, for instance, since Kali has entrenched her clumsiness we're going to have to work that into her combat style."

"That sounds kind of difficult."

"Yeah... not impossible, mind you, we're looking into other clumsy warriors and trying to figure out their styles, and trying to consider what a civilian would have on hand..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.20 GammaTron**

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Cinder gulped as she saw the replacement for Mercury this Loop tense almost without any form of notice. It was before she was going to go after the Fall Maiden in Baseline, but instead offed Salem and left with Emerald and Mercury's replacement. His replacement shook his head before tapping his metal legs in annoyance. Cinder was glad Emerald was out getting some food for them right now.

"...Cinder Fall..." he began, slowly turning to her.

"...Ruby told you, huh?"

"Yang did, and then Ruby told me the full story," Grif replied, "I'm hoping Keita hears it from Ruby before anyone else tells it to him."

"...He always kept his distance from me. It was like he new I was bad news from the..."

"Stop it," Cinder looked at the held out Oreo to her, "I'm not upset with you. I'm not mad. I'm not even upset or ashamed of you. Ruby told me that it was Slender's doing and the mental break you had. All I am...is disappointed in myself." Cinder slowly took the Oreo and looked at Grif as he slammed his fist against the wall beside them, "In terms of all our baselines, I'm the oldest. Sure, Ruby has us all beat in age with Keita starting to catch up as well since they're Anchors, but..." he took in a deep breath and exhaled, "I'm supposed to be the older brother to all of you and I never even noticed you were like that. Or...I did and never wanted to admit it to myself."

"..."

"You know about Kakaina, right? ...Of course you know her, you've been her twin a few times," Grif muttered the second half, "Look, the point is...I failed her. And...And now I've gone and failed you, too." he looked at her, "I know Yang and the others in your Loop are not the biggest of fans of you, but so what? I'm not the biggest fan of the others in my Loop, especially in Chorus when I decide to slack and end up forcing everyone to do more laps to the point they come pummel me..." he waited for any sign of a chuckle of acknowledgement of that, earning none, "...But the thing is this; They may not like you, but this will die down eventually. It sucks you're stuck in Remnant Loops, but you'll be able to get back out there eventually. Yang may not want a thing to do with you right now, but she'll forgive you eventually. But right now?" he scooped her into a small, assuring hug, "You still have me. You still have Ruby. Even if one or two of us are upset with you, you'll still have your big brother and 'little' sister there for you. Because of one, single, important reason: you're our family. And we love you no matter what happens."

Emerald came upon the sight of her fearless leader sobbing into the arms of their larger male partner, the former holding onto some sort of tiny packet in her hand while the latter was humming something she hadn't heard of before.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.21 GammaTron**

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Yang Awoke to seeing her dad cursing up a storm. Looking down, she noticed her arm was MIA meaning it was after Beacon. As she pulled out a spare and put it on, she looked over at her dad and saw a few strands of cobalt in his hair. Quickly looking at her reflection in the window, she frowned at the cobalt highlights in her hair.

"Epsilon or Alpha?" Yang guessed.

"Alpha," Church replied, "And, ugh! I hate it when I Wake up in the middle of a fight! Even with one arm, you are a cheap shot, dammit! Now I know how Grif and York feel when they get hit down there..."

"Guess I'm feeling a bit _nutty_ , huh?"

"Oh goddammit..." Church groaned,"I keep forgetting that you love the fucking puns."

"Hey! Don't mock the puns!" Yang argued, her eyes flashing.

"...Huh. You know, when your Semblence starts showing, your eyes turn blue this Loop," Church noted.

"Seriously?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. Sill, how you doing? Operation Waifu still going on strong with you?" Church asked.

"Y...You haven't heard yet?" Yang asked.

"No. That's why I'm asking," Church snorted.

"Well...Dad is now Looping..."

"Good for you."

"...and so is Raven."

"...Please keep her the fuck away from me. She is a crazy ass bitch even more than Tex is...and you _know_ that when I say it, it means something."

"Maybe," Yang nodded before her eyes widened, "OH SUGAR HONEY ICED TEA!"

"What is it?" Church groaned.

"Church if you're here...then who's in Blood Gulch?"

"...Well shit."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Okay...Something's wrong with my Memories this Loop," Taiyang noted.

"Something up, Church?" Tucker asked as Sheila rolled out of the Pelican, driven by Caboose.

"Well, for one, my name's not Church; it's Taiyang. And for another; why are we fighting for control of a box canyon in the middle of nowhere?"

"Oh dude! Y-You're Taiyang? As in Yang's old man?"

"You know my daughter?"

"Lavernus Tucker of the Red VS Blue Loops. We _insist_ that everyone calls it that since we move a lot every couple of seasons to another place," Tucker introduced, shaking his hand, "Our Anchor's the guy in the tank."

"Hi, Tucker!" Caboose waved, "Hi, Church!"

"Well, he doesn't seem all that bad," Taiyang noted.

"Wait for it..." Tucker held up a finger before looking at Caboose, "Hey, Caboose! Church got replaced this Loop!"

"No he didn't. He sounds just like Church."

"Dude, what the heck?" Taiyang gawked under his helmet at the other soldier as Caboose walked over.

"See? Oh, are we in a censored Loop again? Sarge really hates those," Caboose noted, "Because he can't be a pirate since they like to say lots of bad words really loudly."

"Um, he's telling the truth...Caboose? My name is Taiyang."

"Taiyang? Ohhh...I get it now," Caboose nodded, "Church has a new name this Loop! Don't worry, Church! I will not forget your new name!" he walked into the base, "And I'm going to go wait for Admiral Butter biscuit if he's not Awake so we can make friends all over again, Church!"

"...He's not going to remember my name, is he?"

"Nope."

"...Dang it."

"Dude, we're not around little kids at all this Loop. Just say 'damn it' or 'shit' of 'fuck,'" Tucker pointed out, "Plus, congrats." he pulled out medal shaped like Caboose's helmet and gave it to Taiyang, "You just survived not being Team Killed by Caboose in your first meeting with him by replacing Church. You're number 7 of them."

"...Seven?"

"Yep. So congrats and wear that with pride the next time you're at a Bar run by a Looper."

"...Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a crazy Loop for me?" Taiyang asked, "And why the heck do I have an ex that reminds me of Raven, but scarier in that she can rip the skulls out of people, keep them alive after it, and kill them with said removed skull?"

"Dude, welcome to Red VS Blue," Tucker patted his shoulder, "Leave your sanity at the front door."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.22 Leviticus Wilkes**

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"FIST OF THE NOSE HAIR!" Gendo Ikari cried out, which did absolutely nothing. Megatron kicked the unfortunate man across the beach.

"This isn't helping," Roman grumbled. "We need to keep everyone alive so someone like Ruby can Wake Up and bitch slap these assholes."

"I have a plan, but it may be risky," Ganondorf muttered. The king of the Gerudo pulled out a sack and started searching it.

"Anything is better than this," Gendo said, rolling over to the other two.

"Aha!" Ganondorf pulled a bundle of down and feathers and metal and promptly hurled it at Megatron. The Decepticon didn't bat an eye as he swatted the ball of fluff away. On the ground though...

"Was that a Cucco?" Roman asked.

"Hybridized with a Reaper?" Gendo asked.

"Yes," Ganondorf answered. He then grabbed his partner's in crime and legged it from the beach as all hell broke loose.

Eventually Megatron and the Decepticons decided that Remnant was not worth fighting an army of Reaper Cuccos.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.23 Masterweaver**

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"Hello hello!" Ruby walked into the apartment with a grin. "I just flew in from Menagerie, and boy are my arms tired!"

Blake half smirked, turning from Ruby to her mother. "Did she actually fly?"

"Yes she did. Turned into a flower petal dragon, thought I'd enjoy the trip more that way." Kali put on a salacious grin of her own. "Of course, you'd know all about riding dragons, wouldn't you?"

"Really, mom? Of all the points you could have decided to incorporate into your looping personality, you had to go with the saucy side?"

"What can I say? If I'm going to be called a cougar I might as well define what kind of cougar I am."

Blake rolled her eyes, leading them to the dining room. "Yang's almost done making breakfast," she commented as she sat down at the table. "Which is almost certainly why Ruby timed your arrival to be at this point."

"I don't know what it is, but none of my cookie beam sweets ever compare to Yang's cooking. Or Summer's cooking, in the variants she's alive." Ruby shrugged as she took her own chair. "I suppose spontaneous transformation just doesn't compare to deliberate preparation."

"And my cooking?" Kali asked.

"Distinctly civilian. I'm not even kidding, when I come over and take a bite, my taste buds can tell it wasn't baked by a warrior." Ruby shrugged. "It's not bad, but it is unique."

"Good morning babe!" Yang purred as she entered. "I..."

She paused mid-stride, looking around the dining room.

"...was not expecting guests."

Kali slowly took in what Yang was wearing. It seemed to have an apron and oven mitts in its ancestry, the same way a bird of paradise could be said to have a lizard somewhere in its family line, with differences that existed for much the same reason. "...No, you weren't, were you?"

"Eh." Yang shrugged, putting a tray of pancakes down on the table. "I made a few extra, there's enough for everyone."

Blake brought a palm to her face, trying to hide her pink cheeks. "Oh, birch..."

Yang and Kali both glanced at her for a moment, before sharing a look.

Kali quirked an eyebrow.

Yang nodded with a smirk.

"That certainly is an interesting ensemble," Kali complimented. "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I designed it myself." Yang took her own seat. "I've actually picked up lingerie crafting as a hobby."

"Oh ash," Blake groaned.

"You're quite good at it. Do you take commissions?"

 _"Oh oak,"_ Blake groaned again.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mrs. Belladonna, I wouldn't charge money for a set." Yang grinned broadly. "I feel that everyone should have the right to enjoy their body free of charge."

"Mmm, that's a very good philosophy to have. I certainly wouldn't mind feeling good in my own body."

Blake buried her face in her hands. "Ruby, please tell me this is not happening."

"Your fiancee and your mother teaming up to have an innuendo-laced conversation specifically to embarrass you?" Ruby patted her shoulder sympathetically, munching on a pancake. "Sorry, Blake, this is the world you live in now."

Yang grinned. "Come on, kitty, you know my philosophy on shame and regret."

Kali tilted her ears. "You have a philosophy?"

"Shame is caused by not liking what one is, regret is caused by not liking what one does. Self versus action, noun versus verb." Yang stretched her arms out casually. "I may regret quite a few things, but I am totally shameless."

"That's actually quite an intriguing and very deep sort of thought," Kali noted. "You've got quite a depth to you, miss Xiao Long, and I can only hope my daughter explores it very thoroughly."

"OKAY," Blake stated with a furious blush and flat ears, "THAT IS THE LINE. That is too far, I can't even-Ruby, come on, help me out here!"

"Oh, I've had to be embarrassed by you and Yang for eons," Ruby replied with a smirk. "This is sweet, sweet justice."

Kali sighed. "I'm sorry, dear. I guess we got a little too caught up in the moment."

"Yeah, we'll hold back," Yang allowed, quickly using a sleight-of-subspace-pocket trick to dress herself in her usual clothes. "So, seriously, does anybody want some of the pancakes before Ruby devours them all?"

"I could go for some tea," Blake muttered, still blushing.

"Coffee!" Ruby replied. "Because I'm obviously not caffeinated enough!"

"Well, I'm still standing, I'll go get you two something to drink-"

Yang stood. "You really don't have to do that, Mrs. Belladonna."

"Please, call me Kali. And it's no trouble at all."

"...If you're sure. Coffee for me too then.

"Alright. Oh, I know Ruby has cream and five sugars but... Yang, how do you take your coffee?"

Yang opened her mouth to answer, then grinned. "Same way I like my women, Mrs. Belladonna... _Blake._ "

Blake let her head hit the table as Ruby clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a shriek of laughter. She only mostly succeeded.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **72.24 masterofgames**

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Cinder sighed as she watched Ruby pacing in front of her. "Is this really necessary?"

Ruby stopped and snapped to a military officer's pose. "I don't know!" she declared proudly. "But I don't see how it can hurt in the long run!"

"Remedial villain training can't hurt in the long run?" Cinder asked, one eyebrow raising as she folded her arms.

"It's a simple multi-step program!" Ruby insisted. "You've been a villain, at least partially, since baseline. We can't ask you to change overnight. Instead, we bring you down slowly." Ruby held up her hand, with one finger raised. "Right now, you hold yourself at the 'Super-Villain' level. I personally don't agree, and see you at the 'It's all I've ever known' sub-grouping, but this is about how _you_ see yourself."

Cinder sighed, lightly pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ruby-"

"SO," Ruby cut in, holding up a sheet of paper. "we start scaling you down. Keep a simple list of instructions, and check any plans you may have against it. If you find yourself wanting to destroy a city, for example, tip number two will remind you to think it over, and consider if you _really_ want to destroy the city, or just something specific in it. This will help you get used to focusing on the core of the problem, meaning less death and destruction when you try and fix it."

Cinder tried to take hold of Ruby's shoulder, but missed as Ruby swiveled away and resumed her pacing march. "After that, we start looking into alternate methods. Does the problem _need_ destruction as part of the problem, or could it perhaps be solved or redeemed with some other form of punishment? Once you find yourself doing this, we can safely re-categorize you from 'Super-Villain' to 'Major Villain'. The steps then continue, until you reach 'Cartoon Villain' level, or 'evil as a hobby, not a lifestyle'."

 _"EXCUSE ME!?_ " Tyrian shouted. "But I'm _trying_ to kidnap you!"

"Shut the _HELL_ up Tyrian! _Nobody_ cares about you!" Ruby snapped at him.

Tyrian froze, glared at her, took a deep breath, and then overly calmly straightened his posture, and walked out of the ruins of the town, determined not to let the enemy see him cry.

He almost succeeded.

"See? Like that. That's something a cartoon villain would do. Petty evil." Ruby explained as she turned back to face Cinder.

"Ruby, but... You... Do you really think I need this?" Cinder sighed.

Ruby shrugged. "Of course not! But that's not the point. The point is that _you_ think you need this, or something like it at least." She sighed and pulled Cinder into a hug. "You're still beating yourself up over something that was out of your complete control. You isolate yourself as a self imposed punishment. But we want you around, Cinder, so I thought maybe an organized system of being able to help keep yourself in check might help you keep from letting your guilt get to you, while letting you still be around us. The last thing you need is isolation right now."

Cinder sighed and lightly returned the hug for a moment. "I'll... I'll think about it." she muttered, looking away.

"And that's a good step one." Ruby smiled.

"... Did we miss something?" Nora muttered to the rest of team RNJR, as they watched their leader in bafflement.


	73. Revenge of the Angst Just Kidding!

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 **71.1 (Con't) Black Omochao**

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Keita checked the timer on the oven and nodded. Ruby was waiting back in her room, and after their emotional exchange the local Anchor decided the best way to help his sister feel better would be to make her some of her favorite treats.

"Keita, are you baking?" his mother asked with a look of surprise on her face as she walked into the kitchen.

"They're cookies, for Ruby," Keita answered simply, checking the treats cooking in the oven and making sure they didn't burn.

"Oh, is something wrong with her? I noticed you two didn't come down for breakfast, I wanted to go and get you, but it seemed you two were talking and I didn't want to interrupt… So, did something happen to Ruby?" the woman muttered worriedly.

"No worries mom, she's fine. I just thought it'd be nice to do something for her, she is my big sister after all." Keita smiled fondly as he looked from the oven to his mother.

"Hmm… it's not like you to be so eager to do things for Ruby," Lily muttered with a pondering expression, but this quickly gave way to a happy one. "But it's so cute how much you love your big sister." She ruffled her son's hair a bit before turning to leave. "Just make sure neither of you spoil your dinners, okay?"

"Okay." He waved, once his mom was out of earshot he sighed. "Sorry mom… I hate lying to you, wish I could tell you what was going on, but this isn't something you can help with… Not now." He looked at the oven again and nodded, seemed the cookies were done.

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"Here you go," Keita smiled as he presented the plate of baked goods to the other Anchor. She smiled back before taking one.

"Thanks Keita." She bit into the chocolate chip cookie, a look of bliss briefly formed on her face. "Mmm, did your baking get better? I mean, your cookies were good before, but these are incredible!"

"I've been practicing," Keita admitted, taking a bow with an amused look on his face.

"Well I can safely say that they are certainly... _above average_." Ruby chuckled as Keita gave her a deadpan expression.

"Really?"

"What?"

"Really?"

"Come on, laugh!"

"Leave the jokes to Yang, sis," Keita muttered, taking one of the cookies and eating it himself, while Ruby grabbed three more. "So… Cinder?"

Ruby froze for a second, swallowing the bites cookies in her mouth. "… Yes, she…"

"I don't know what to think about this Ruby, why did Cinder try to do this…" Keita asked, a serious look settling on his face.

Ruby sighed as she stared at the cookies she held. "It wasn't her fault… Well, not entirely. Cinder… Broke."

"Broke? I don't understand, what does that mean?"

"Slenderman did something to her, he put something in her pocket and… hacked her, or something. He did something that drove her mad." Ruby looked disheartened as she spoke.

"Slenderman, why? Just, how could this… Cinder?" Keita looked like he was contemplating something.

"You noticed before, didn't you?"

"Huh? Noticed what?" Keita questioned his sister.

"You noticed something was off about Cinder, you never looked at her the same way you did with the rest of us. You were always so wary of her, like you thought if you looked at her wrong she would kill you… I didn't say anything, I thought you just needed some more time to warm up to her…"

"… I have been intimidated by Cinder since the moment I met her," Keita admitted with a defeated sigh. "But… No, I never suspected anything was wrong with her. I just always had this weird feeling when I was near her, I didn't want to tell you, I thought it was wrong to feel that way about a family member…"

"She's been falling apart for a long time, I think that's what you were sensing…"

Keita looked unsure of his sister's theory. "I… should talk to her, next chance I get. But are you okay?"

"Yes, I think. Things are just… Well, as I said before, they're crazy, bad things happened, so and so," she leaned back onto the bed.

"But the worst didn't happen, so at least there's that." Keita offered her another cookie, which she took gratefully.

"Yeah, let's just stop talking about this now, please?"

"Okay, there's plenty of fun stuff we can do to take our minds off this… event." Keita glanced towards the window and at the sunny sky.

"I'm sure there is, lead the way O brother of mine." Ruby pulled herself up, before taking the plate of remaining cookies from Keita. "But first, let's finish these delicious cookies you made!"

"Sounds good!" Keita nodded in agreement, before they both dug in.

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 **73.2 Masterweaver**

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"Hey Sun!"

Sun Wukong looked up from his tea and smiled. "Oh, hey Jenny! Glynda's Awake, I take it?"

"Yeah, she... she is." Jenny's smile strained for less then a moment, before she went back to her relaxed grin. "Of course right now she's you know, grading and all that. So how about you?"

"Oh, I... really dunno. Not much to do while I'm waiting for team SSSN to arrive. I mean, I could help stop the White Fang, but Blake's got a handle on it."

"You really should talk to her. Like really talk. I mean, it'd be awkward sure, but-"

"I could say the same thing about you and Glynda."

There was an awkward pause.

"...Too far?" Sun asked apologetically.

"Maybe a bit, yeah." Jenny sighed. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Well... yeah." The boy shrugged. "Sorry."

"It's... fine, I guess."

Sun tapped his cup thoughtfully. "...You know, I don't get why you don't just start going out with Glynda. I mean it's pretty obvious you're close-"

"Sun, look." Jenny sat down across from him. "You know who I am, right? I've been explained to you?"

"You're Jenny Everywhere, the travelling looper."

"Yeah. I don't have a home-no memories of one, just popped into existence one day and started looping, so... yeah." Jenny sighed. "Thing is, I'm here for the moment, but only for the moment. Pretty soon things are going to be... well, not better, but fixed enough that you guys won't need me anymore, and then... I'll be out there again, bouncing the multiverse."

"I don't see what this has to do with Glynda."

"Really." Jenny crossed her arms. "You don't see what me being a nomadic occasional drop-in has to do with maintaining a romantic long-term relationship."

"Well, okay, long term, sure. But..." Sun sighed. "You're right. I really should talk with Blake-we're still friends, even if I was crushing on her at one point. That doesn't mean that crush didn't happen, that... I didn't have those feelings. That I didn't grow because of it. It hurts, yeah. Still... I don't think I want to forget it."

Jenny looked at him for a while. "...tis better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all..."

"What?"

"Hub-world quote. Blake could probably name the exact poet." Jenny sighed. "Well, I mean... I don't know, Sun. If she doesn't feel that way about me, it'd be weird, and if she does... I'm still going to leave. I have to, it's how I work. It wouldn't just be me hurting, it'd be her." She gave him a twisted smirk. "At least you know Blake's happy."

"Yeah, well... Ruby said something to me, first loop. 'If you always say you can do it tomorrow, it never gets done.' Or something like that." Sun shrugged. "Way I see it, you have this short time to make a choice, and an eternity to recover from whatever you decide. Do you want to spend it wondering what if? Or with glad, but melancholy memories of what was?"

"...I thought you were supposed to be the adorable monkey idiot."

"Hey, two out of three ain't bad."

Jenny frowned. "...Alright, fine. If! If you start talking to Blake, I'll... ask Glynda out on... an actual, uh, real date."

Sun held out his hand. "Shake on it."

She looked at it, took a breath, and clasped it tightly.

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 **73.3 Masterweaver**

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"And that was my first fused loop," Taiyang finished.

Qrow gave a low whistle. "Man. Crazy. I've heard about that loop, but I don't think I've ever been there."

"Yeah..." The blonde tapped the bar. "Hey... Qrow."

"Yeah?"

"Ozpin said we should come to you guys if we found anything... weird, right? About ourselves and the world?"

"Yeah." Qrow put down his drink. "What's going on?"

"...I've been having these... dreams." Taiyang sighed. "Except they're not when I'm sleeping, more like-when I Wake Up, I get my loop memories, and also some other memories."

"Really."

"They're pretty jumbled, but I can see a few things. Raven wailing away at another Raven, and... giant dragons rising out of nowhere... Grimm and sparkly people all around Vale. Lots of battling."

Qrow stared at him for a moment or two.

"...I know, it sounds crazy, but-"

"I think you're remembering _that_ loop."

"What?"

"The one before you activated. You got involved-all four of you, and..." Qrow took a swig of his whiskey. "Yeah. That all happened. I know we don't like to talk about it, but... well, I guess we're going to have to."

"Oh." Taiyang paused. "...It's all pretty jumbled, though."

"Makes sense. I dunno why you didn't remember it at first, but it'd all have to integrate."

"Am I going to change because of this?"

"...Eh." Qrow shrugged. "I'm not going to lie, I've already seen some impact on Raven-she's a lot more open then she used to be, and that could easily be a left-over of what she went through. Still, I don't think there's going to be a dramatic shift in your personalities. You're just... going to remember more, like you already do with the loops." He took a breath. "Just be ready for some really twisted shit, I wasn't with you all through that, so I don't know what you went through."

"Right." Tai nodded. "Right..."

They sat there in silence for a moment or two.

Then Qrow took a breath. "So, that fused loop of yours. Pick up anything cool?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Hold on, I've got something in my pocket you'll really like..."

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 **73.4 Kaoupa, Masterweaver**

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"Er, hi… I'm Steven Universe, and I'm not sure what to think of my mother."

"Hi, Steven." Chorused the rest of the group.

Sighing, the half-gem Anchor sat back down.

"It's weird, honestly, because I… really never knew my mom. At least, not without going into one of the Variants… but I'm honestly starting to think she might be Dreaming sometimes, from what the Gems tell me."

"If you never knew your mom, why are you upset?" one of the other participants in the "Loopers with Parental Issues Group" asked from another corner, puzzled.

"Let the kid talk." Shinji Ikari said from another chair.

 _Trust me, not knowing your parents except through Variants doesn't mean you can't have issues…_

Steven sighed.

"I've… well, a lot of my baseline is caused mostly by what my mom – Rose Quartz - does during the war for Earth. She… killed Pink Diamond, one of the leaders of the Homeworld Gems who were trying to invade Earth and colonize it. Er, unless she was actually Pink Diamond and faked her own death by switching bodies."

"Variants are really annoying, huh?" Yang Xiao Long sighed from another part of the circle.

"Er, yeah, but they're common enough that I'm sort of thinking they might have a chance of being part of baseline, cause Pink Diamond hasn't really gotten a solid appearance yet, so-"

"Focus, people." Shinji sighed, clapping his hands.

Nodding quickly, everyone swiftly returned their brains to the main topic.

"I've… Looped in as her. A lot, really." Steven said slowly. "I… guess I can't really blame her anymore for what she did in the war and all. Homeworld never really cared about Earth or anything on it except as a Gem colony and… well, I usually did mostly the same things that she did to stop them."

Then, he sighed again.

"But, well… the issue is, none of the Gems on Homeworld really understand the idea that I'm her son, so it seems like they all seem to blame me automatically for what she did to Pink Diamond and in starting the civil war. And she did a lot of stuff besides that."

"Like what?"

"Well, when she and one of her friends – Bismuth - got into an argument over how they should fight the war, they started fighting and then she poofed her. She… never let her out, either. And she never even told any of the Gems that Lion existed!"

Stomping his foot on the ground, Steven furiously exhaled.

The rest of the group quietly waited.

"That's… pretty understandable." Shinji said eventually. "You don't understand why she did all of it, did you? At least, some of it."

Steven sighed and shook his head. "I…think I just needed to talk this out with someone. I… think that she just didn't have the courage to let Bismuth out after the war. And when Bismuth tried to kill me the first time, the Gems made the same decision to keep her bubbled."

He had talked with Bismuth and calmed her down many times since then. But even then, he hadn't always succeeded in getting her to try to let go of her grudge.

Those times often ended with Connie staying over at his house every night for the rest of the Loop if she was Awake.

"And Lion?" Yang asked, curious.

"I… really don't know there." Steven sighed. "There's, like a ton of different reasons why she never told anyone. Once it was because Lion was actually a corrupted gem she was trying to heal, another time it was because he was an experiment in crossing gem magic into organic beings, and… it changes all the time! Almost all of it does, and I can barely know her back!"

Furiously, Steven shook his head.

"Steven? Kid, you need to calm down. You're losing control!"

"Huh?" Steven asked, opening his eyes.

He blinked as he saw the state of the room. Plants of all species – including several that weren't native to Earth – had started growing through the walls and floor, apparently sparked by his emotions.

"Sorry." He said, blushing red.

"It's fine, Steven." Shinji said calmly, shaking his head. "Trust me, I've seen way stronger reactions for far worse reasons than your mom's story not being consistent."

He didn't voice out loud that he had once been once of those "stronger reactions."

That was pretty much an open secret at this point.

Yang took a breath and sighed. "So... Guess it's my turn, huh?"

Shinji nodded. "Best to let it out."

"Well... alright. I'm Yang Xiao Long and... I really, really don't know how I feel about Raven."

Steven looked up. "You don't call her your mother?"

"She walked out when I was a baby. Went straight back to her bandit tribe." Yang slumped in her chair. "To be fair, they did raise her, and exactly why she walked out is a touch loop variable-sometimes it's because she felt being a mother made her weak, sometimes it's because she didn't want that life for me, sometimes it's literally because she had to in order to save the world. The point is, I was raised by my dad and Summer Rose. I consider Summer Rose to be my mother in all the ways that matter. But... Raven's my mother by blood."

She held her hands wide. "I didn't even learn about her until after Summer died. I was a kid, I thought 'hey, if I can find my mom, I can make her part of the family!' Took my little sister out-well, half sister, but I never cared about that, I just wanted to go on a quest for somebody to replace supermom. And we ended up almost getting killed by shadow monsters. If it weren't for uncle Qrow... anyway, so baseline, finding her was still important, even though Dad never told me anything other then she existed, but I tempered that to live my life. She showed up once-exactly once, strode out of a portal to intimidate somebody who was going to stab me, then walked right out. And told Qrow to tell me that was the one-off, the one time she'd save me, and anything else was up to me myself."

Yang shrugged. "Of course, then I started looping, and expansions started painting her in a bad light, what with being a raider queen and all. And I thought I got over it-I mean, yeah, I still wanted to know what she was like, but what I did know made it pretty clear she wasn't ever going to be my mother and it wasn't like she was going to start looping any time soon, and then..." She paused. "How... many of you have heard about Cinder?"

Shinji nodded. "I have." He looked around at the faces, some confused, some sorrowful, some hard. "I understand it's a complicated issue, but not what we're talking about."

"Yeah. Raven... Raven was activated by that." Yang chuckled grimly. "And after what Cinder did I, I wanted to be sure Raven wasn't going to pull that stunt. So here I come in, transformed into a great big dragon, and-I didn't hurt her physically, I was at least smart enough not to do that, but when a dragon turns into a girl who can set herself on fire and says you'll regret calling her your daughter..." She put her head in her hands. "She was terrified of me. I spent a lot of time after that trying to... make it up. To apologize, and... I think I kind of did, eventually, we're not... we're at a point where we're talking, but even if she's a new looper and I want to connect with her, she's still the raider queen who left my dad." She sighed. "And he started looping at the same time. I didn't terrorize him, but he and Raven had to talk about things. It's a mess, is what I'm saying."

Steven nodded. "Well. I... huh. That's actually pretty intense." He paused. "At least you can get to know her now."

"Oh, yeah, obviously. Except her backstory is still highly loop variable, which is what caused a lot of Cinder's issues, and she starts off the loop in a nomadic tribe on a whole other continent, most of us are in Vale, and on top of that, she... well, she's one of those social darwinists in Baseline. Weak die, strong survive, those are the rules. I mean, I get where she's coming from. And at least she acknowledges that as a looper I'm super strong, but... it's... there's a lot going on here. I dunno." Yang looked up at the ceiling. "I'm hoping she'll change her rules eventually. That I can convince her to change. And I'm hoping that baseline will redeem her-she's at least against the big bad, even if she's a bandit herself."

"This sounds like one of those things that's going to be a long-term project," Steven mused.

"Yep. For both of us. I... really have mixed emotions. Like, really mixed. Like, super mixed." Yang looked up. "Still. Maybe Yggdrasil will help out. I mean, we did... stop Cinder. Tree owes us."

Shinji half smirked. "The tree owes all of us."

"...point." The blonde took a breath. "So, anyway, that's me done. Anyone else?"

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 **  
73.5 Masterweaver**

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"Thank you so much for agreeing to this," Ruby said again. "I know you both are kind of... tetchy with Cinder right now, but the situation is pretty important."

Ironwood sighed. "I'm not sure that we should even be allowing this," he admitted. "A full pocket dump-"

"-would be nuclear and you know it," Glynda admonished. "One of the oldest loopers has a full solar system, complete with life. I'm not comfortable with the situation either, but it is what it is."

Ruby sighed. "Remember, we're supporting the Greensiders, but that doesn't mean we're necessarily against the other factions. Well, not against the Revolutionaries, at least-my point is, we don't want to wipe them all out, we want to bring about peace."

"Which may, unfortunately, involve wiping some of them out," Ironwood pointed out. "The Ravagers in particular."

"Right..." Ruby sighed as they came to the dorm room and knocked. "Cinder! We're here!"

"Just a second!" After a moment, Cinder opened the door. "Hello Ruby... Glynda." She looked at Ironwood with some trepidation. "General."

"Miss Fall."

Ruby sighed.

"It's okay," Cinder said. "I... I deserve it. I deserve a lot worse, honestly-"

"What have I told you about self-recrimination?"

Cinder took a breath. "I have to allow myself to be myself fully, and to focus only on my error is to become the error in entirety. I know, Ruby, I just..." She frowned. "I need to... talk. To the others, at some point."

Ruby nodded. "I'll... look into it. But for the moment, we have a world of vampires to set right."

"Right." The dark-haired woman held out her hand. "I pocketed a scroll with a message. They should be ready by now. Shall we proceed?"

Glynda put her hand on hers. After a moment, Ironwood mimicked the gesture. Ruby capped the stack, and then all four of them vanished from reality.

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 **73.6 Shimmer712**

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"Hello, Miss Lavender," Ozpin greeted the woman.

"Hello, Ozpin," she smiled at him. "It's been a while. You're alone this time?" she asked curiously.

"I'm afraid so," he answered. "No guests this time

"Too bad. Some of them can be interesting," she commented. "I like that Sokka guy's humor. And that Flash person was fun to be around. Getting a piggyback ride from him was like my own personal roller-coaster. Batman was a bit scary though."

Ozpin chuckled. "That is deliberate. He uses fear as a weapon against criminals in his home. There is a reason he is known as the Dark Knight."

Lisa grinned. "That sounds like he has an interesting backstory."

"There are all sorts of backstories in the multiverse," Ozpin told her. "Some sad, some joyful, and some quite ordinary on the surface."

"It must be amazing," Lisa commented. Ozpin didn't just regularly bring other loopers in to keep her company. He also took her out to experience other loops for her self, even if she didn't gain any powers like magic. But even so, the number of loops she had experienced were nothing compared to the number he had, and never would. She wasn't looping. And she never would. A version of her might some day. But not her. Lisa sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Ozpin asked, concerned.

"Nothing," she said. "It's just..." she hesitated, not wanting to sound vain and petty. "...I found a gray hair this morning." Or what she considered to be this morning in the Pocket.

"...Oh," Ozpin said quietly. He had known Lisa would age, that while he had saved her from dying in the loop where Cinder broke down, he had merely delayed her demise.

"I'm sorry, I know it's silly-"

"It's not," Ozpin interrupted. "It's not silly at all."

Lisa smiled at him. "If you say so," she said, before her smile faded. "It just...made it more real. I'm going to grow old and die. And it might happen when I'm by myself in here. There is a realistic chance I'll die alone. I won't have anyone to keep me company, to make me feel better, to hear any last wishes and you'll just come in to find a wrinkled corpse." She blinked back tears.

"...Lisa...I'm sorry," Ozpin whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Lisa just sniffled.

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 **73.7 Masterweaver**

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Raven had been warned that the multiverse was strange, and after comparing this to some examples she had to admit it probably wasn't the worst place she could have ended up. The magical conspiracy was a familiar concept, though their utter incompetence was very... awkward to contemplate. The fact that she was a child was... mildly irritating, but given she was attending a wizarding school in a visually impressive castle she wrote it off as acceptable. The moon was solid, and that had really thrown her for a loop-pun unintended. But there weren't Grimm, according to her memories, although she wouldn't put it past the elder wizards to hide such beasts.

The talking hat had been quite amused at her confusion, and sorted her quickly enough.

All in all, as she sat among her fellow Gryffindors, Raven believed she would adapt to the situation very nicely. There was the possibility of danger, which she could handle, and the probability of new learning, which... well, she wasn't entirely against it, and it would probably come in useful later. Yes, she decided as she looked around, she was ready for anything this world could throw at her.

"XIAO LONG, YANG!"

Eeeeeexcept for that.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Raven put her face in her hands as her table exploded into cheers. "...Crap."

They ended up sharing a dorm room, because of course they did. Their luggage was already there, they'd switched quietly into their nightclothes, and while it was getting close to the assigned curfew there really wasn't anything else to do. So Yang and Raven sat on their beds and stared at each other.

"...I can't believe I'm finally at Hogwarts!" Parvati Patil tried, and was ignored.

"...Did you see our house ghost?" she tried again. "Nearly headless! That's impressive!"

She looked at the other three eleven-year girls. "Um. So. I've been in a wizarding family since birth, but my paternal grandmother is a muggle. Non-magical person. So, I mean, if any of you need help-"

"You know what?" Hermoine interjected. "I'm going to blatantly exploit that offer as an excuse to get the both of us out of the room so that these two can work this out between them, although if we come back and find anything damaged I will be very displeased."

Parvati blinked as she grabbed her arm. "But I thought-"

"So, Parvati, tell me about these house elves I know nothing about!"

The curly-haired witch dragged her unsuspecting roommate out and shut the door behind them.

"...So, yeah," Yang eventually managed. "This is one of the oldest loops, and the loopers here are pretty... pretty important. Or something. Yeah."

Raven continued to look at her with an impassive expression.

"...Okay, your 'nevermore-face' is bad enough when you're a grown woman but on an eleven-year-old it looks downright creepy. I know you have the memories of being an adult, but your body is wired like a kid's right now so your emotions are going to be a bit more intense and abrupt-"

"You do realize," Raven said flatly, "that this is my first fused loop."

"Yes. Yes I do. Which is why I'm trying to be helpful-"

"You are dodging the issue."

Yang gave a frustrated sigh. "It's a big issue, alright? And frankly, I don't know how we're going to solve it. But this loop lasts for, like, seven years at minimum-probably twenty five, twenty six maximum. I just figured, we spend the school years adventuring together, then use whatever time after that to... do the actual, you know, talking bit."

"Have you been here before?"

"Yes. Yes I have. Same house, even."

"Hmm." Raven leaned back. "What can you tell me?"

Yang paused for a moment. "Okay... see, now I'm thinking, what _should_ I tell you?"

"Really."

"I mean, do you want an adventure? Or do you want to go in knowing every detail? I'm trying to be accommodating here, really."

Raven nodded to herself. "That's... actually a very good question." She tapped her fingers on the bed. "...Alright, we'll do it your way, this time."

"What?"

"You tell me nothing that I couldn't reasonably know, and we have this adventure together. I take it there's something lurking in the shadows of this loop?"

"Oh, yeah, see-"

Raven held up her hand. "What did I _just_ say?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. We'll 'befriend' Harry Potter tomorrow, I'll talk it over with him, and we'll work on it from there. Okay?"

"Alright then."

They sat in silence for a moment or two.

"...So do you want me to tuck you into bed while we're-"

"Hahaha no. Noooo." Yang held up her hands. "Noooooooooooooo."

"I mean, I haven't really ever-"

"Too soon. Way too soon."

"...Fair enough. Should we go downstairs and rescue Parvati from Hermoine?"

"Sounds like a plan."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.8 Masterweaver**

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"Huh." Kali examined the clawed gloves on her hands. "Well, I would have preferred to keep my ears, if I'm honest, but I suppose fused loops can be a mixed bag-"

Then the memories hit her.

Memories of jumping across rooftops, performing grandiose acrobatic feats, and taunting all sorts of super-powered individuals whilst escaping with valuable treasures by the skin of her teeth.

She gulped. "Okay... not so bad. I mean, loop memories can teach me new skills, right?" She took the whip from her belt, lashing it around a nearby chimney, and started toward the edge of the roof. "All I have to do is act like I was before I Awoke and it should all come back to _bad idea bad idea bad ideeeeeeeeea!"_

Klang.

Bong.

Sproing...

FWUMPH.

After a moment, Kali pushed herself out of the dumpster, wincing as she rolled her shoulders. "Okay, so just because I remember being a skilled acrobat doesn't mean I can actually pull off the stunts... I could before." She pulled a ratty cloth off her head. "Good to know."

The sound of police sirens caught her attention, and she sighed. "And of course, I have some precious artifact on me. So I can't get caught, or I go to prison-" She shuddered as her memories reminded her exactly what prisons were like in this city. "This is going to be a long loop, isn't it..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.9 BIOS-Pherecydes**

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"Ruby! Get down here this instant!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Ruby!"

"I can't he~ar you! Candy Beam!"

"You do realize that at this point she's probably just doing this to get a rise out of you, right?" Blake asked curiously, watching as Ruby leapt face first into the giant pile of marshmallow fluff that used to be Kevin.

Weiss huffed irritably. "Of course I do. But hiding a serious issue behind humor and junk food is not healthy behavior. Now that we have Cinder... somewhat stabilized, we need to try and ensure that nothing like this can ever ever happen again. And we can't do that while Ruby is busy turning every Grimm on the planet into _candy and gorging herself!"_

Yang hummed contemplatively and looked up to where Ruby had moved on to turning the mountain that had been the Wyvern Grimm's home into rocky road ice cream. "Not that I don't agree, and only a little bit because I'm jealous how she never gains any weight like at _all_ , but is this really all that bad? Sure, okay, there's probably gonna be some questions later on but for right now? A little stress relief sound pretty good in my books, and what girl doesn't love just vegging out with a bowl of ice cream every one in a while?"

Weiss pointed incredulously to the whipped cream peaked mountain range. "That is not a _bowl_ of ice cream. That is a nutritionist's existential nightmare."

"Mmm, technically, for Majin anything other than sweets are just supplementary additions so that's actually a natural and healthy diet." Blake commented idly.

"Not. Helping."

"Wasn't trying to. Just felt like pointing it out."

Kneading her brow, Weiss took a calming breath; centering herself in the Force. "Okay. Alright. Fine. I'm going to go talk with Ozpin and make sure that we don't end up getting in trouble for this, then I'm going to take a bath and have some tea. When Ruby's done playing I will be waiting in the dorm so we can go over some of the paperwork Marianne left us."

"Sounds good. I'm gonna go take a spin on my bike. Wanna ride kitty cat?" Yang asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

Blake smirked and shook her head. "Sure, why not."

"I'm queen of the moun~tain,  
I've got a chocolate foun~tain,  
Na na na na, na na naaa!"

"Oh it's on now! Ren! Give me a boost!" Nora shouted, crouching down and leaping into the air where Ren's electricity dust enhanced bullets struck her Aura and sent her flying towards the aforementioned mountain.

"...How long have you two been standing there?" Weiss deadpanned.

Ren shrugged. "We literally just got here. Nora's very picky about her, eh-hm 'royal status.' It's her version of Pinkie Pie's 'Forever' summoning trick."

"Right. I'll be going now. Call me when Ruby decides to stop turning the surrounding environment into candy."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby! It's been four hours! Get over here and help me with this paperwork!"

"I still can't he~ar you Wei~ss!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.10 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Cinder wants to talk to you on the roof."

That's what Ruby had said to her ten minutes ago. Pyrrha had been startled, of course-at least at first, before she steeled herself. She knew Ruby wouldn't let either of them hurt each other, at least not physically, but...

The rest of team JNPR had given her worried looks. She didn't blame them. She'd given her kids a hug and... Jaune and her had shared one of those kisses. Not the passionate ones, but the reassuring ones.

The trip to the roof really only took three minutes. It had taken her five to step out the door. And five more, slugging along, mind caught up in a whirl.

Cinder was looking out at Beacon when she arrived. Close to the edge. Pyrrha held no illusion that she wasn't noticed-that if she ran up to shove the woman off, she'd be deflected. Ruby was off to one side, looking between them. Pyrrha shut the door behind her.

"...So." She kept her voice as level as she could. "Cinder Fall."

"Pyrrha Arc-Nikos."

"Why did you want to talk with me?"

"...I would like to offer you an opportunity."

"An opportunity."

"I can only do this once per loop. And I thought you would like first dibs." The woman turned around, holding her arms wide. "...so, go ahead."

Pyrrha set her lips as she realized what was being offered.

Ruby stepped forward. "Cinder-"

"Please, Ruby. I think... I think we both need this."

"Cinder, I don't-"

"Would you mind stepping inside?" Her voice was polite, but she never took her eyes off Pyrrha.

After a moment, Ruby sighed. "I'm not going to be able to stop you, am I..." She walked toward the door, pausing by Pyrrha's side. "...Just... keep it quick."

The door shut quietly, leaving the two on the roof alone. Pyrrha's eyes had never left Cinder, who simply stood, looking at her. Looking, with that golden eye, watching, waiting...

The woman who had killed her.

Who had lied to their faces.

Who had wormed their way into their hearts.

Who had all but destroyed the world-

One second she was at a ready pose and the next she had crossed the distance, Akoúo̱'s curve around Cinder's neck and Miló's point aimed at her forehead.

For ten seconds they stood like that.

"...I can feel the anger flowing through you," Cinder pointed out. "I know you want this."

Pyrrha gave her an odd look.

Cinder shrugged. "Sith, remember?"

"...I am a warrior," Pyrrha ground out slowly. "Not an executioner. As much as I want this, I... I can't kill somebody who's not fighting back."

"Oh." Cinder paused. "...Should I get out a sword, or-"

"No." Pyrrha pulled her weapons back, putting them away. "You want to die, which means you won't really be fighting. This won't work until you're better." A mirthless chuckle escaped her lips. "And you won't get any better until you deal with us, will you? That's the whole point of this, some sort of... compensation."

"...I thought it would help."

"You thought murder would help." Pyrrha sighed. "Just because indulging in villainy made you feel better doesn't mean that the rest of us work the same way."

Cinder winced. "...Alright. So... what do I do? I... I do want to apologize, but just saying I'm sorry isn't-"

"You're right, it isn't enough. I... I don't know, Cinder." She rubbed her forehead. "I mean, I do want to forgive you, and not just because we'll be stuck together for the rest of the loops, but... I remember when we were friends, and I miss that. It's a tainted memory, now, but still... if things could just go back... but they can't."

"I know." Cinder lowered her gaze. "Tree, don't I know..."

"...Talking to us is probably a good start. Getting us to listen... that would help."

The woman nodded, silently.

Pyrrha took a breath, and walked toward the door. She stopped for a moment, and glanced over her shoulder. "...Back when the expansion came in. The one where you found out how you'd gotten the Fall Maiden powers. You tried to reassure me that I wouldn't lose myself if I... went in the pod."

Cinder looked up.

"Was that real?" Pyrrha asked. "Were you actually trying to reassure me? Or were you acting the part?"

"...That..." Cinder bit her lip. "That was when the mask was... _becoming_ real. I did mean what I said, even if... I used it to gain your trust."

Pyrrha nodded. "Makes sense."

"...I am sorry."

"Yeah. Me too."

And Pyrrha Nikos left the roof.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.11 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Mister Torchwick. Miss Torchwick. Have a seat."

Roman and Neopolitan shared a glance, taking their seats in the warehouse meeting room. It was not a fiery woman at the head of the table, but rather an icy young girl; not so unusual, given the loops, but unexpected at the moment.

"So, ice queen." Roman tipped his hat. "I guess Ruby's giving Cinder her usual therapy?"

"That is correct, mister Torchwick." Weiss folded her hands. "Which leaves me in charge of you two."

"What's the plan for Adam this loop?" Neo chirped brightly. "Anything special?"

Weiss looked between the two of them.

"When I was running pocket checks on all of us," she stated flatly, "Ozpin informed me of certain... details, regarding his collaboration with you. Details which I had not been informed of until that point."

The two thieves went utterly still.

"Of course," Weiss continued, "I agreed to keep quiet at the time. What with Cinder's... incident, and the fallout from it, any further shaking of the status quo could have been... problematic. However, the fact is you went stealth, faked Chrysalis syndrome, and regularly conduct morally questionable activities. A situation that quite seriously parallels Cinder's own actions, as a matter of fact."

"Look, you checked us," Roman pointed out. "We aren't hacked, and we're not-"

"Mister Torchwick."

"...it was for our own survival. You've got to understand that, right? We aren't going to Ascend any time soon-"

 _"Mister Torchwick."_

Roman fell silent under the flat, scarred gaze.

"I have yet to inform anyone not already in the know of your situation, however!" Weiss interjected suddenly. "I believe you will require a full psyche analysis and I will consult with Ruby Rose about said analysis before deciding what to do about your situation. I will admit," she continued, "that I am not entirely stable at the moment. I've had a few loops to rebalance myself, and I am fairly close to my former mental state, but as a force user I felt a universe die. And that... rattled me quite a bit. But this cannot be put off any longer. Therefore, I have decided to outsource."

On that cue somebody fell from the ceiling and landed in a three-point pose, before looking up with a wild smirk.

Weiss grinned quietly as Neo and Roman leaned back. "I believe you are both familiar with miss Haruno?"

Neo examined the pink-haired girl on the table carefully, before turning to Weiss and giving a slow clap. "Well played, ice queen. Gotta say, you've got a talent for ironic punishments."

"Punishment?" Weiss managed to look offended, even as the girl stood and popped her back. "This is a checkup, miss Torchwick, nothing more! And miss Haruno is, of course, quite experienced with psychological analysis."

"Yeah, that's one way to put it." Neo sighed, giving Roman a look. "You got any ideas on how to get out of this one?"

"...Nope." Roman shrugged. "Guess we have to grin and bear it."

"Eh. Weiss wouldn't let Sakura loose on us if she didn't have some sort of leash." Neo gave Weiss a grin, ignoring the girl as she crossed her arms with a pout. "Let me guess, Sasuke's here too?"

"Yes, mister Uchicha is prepared to step in and restrain his wife in the... _unlikely_ event it is necessary." Weiss pushed her chair back. "Now then, I have to meet with general Ironwood, I'm consulting with him about the Greenside situation. I believe I shall leave you to it." With a formal nod, Weiss walked out of the room.

Roman and Neo turned their gaze to the pink-haired girl with her hands on her hips. "...So," Roman finally said, "what's the plan here, exactly?"

"Oh don't worry!" Sakura lilted. "Us three are going to have so much ~f~u~n~!~"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.12 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Crow?"

"Yeah, it happens sometimes. My name is spelled with a C instead of a Q, Ruby is spelled R-U-B-I-E and so on."

"So I can expect my name to be two words at times?" Tai Yang asked.

"You can," Wynter confirmed from where she was seated next to Crow.

Rayven shook her head. "When you told me about how some things are variable, the spelling of our names wasn't including in what I imagined..."

" _Everything_ is variable, sis," Crow told the Bandit Queen.

Tai Yang laughed. "What, so we can expect "Mama Qrow", to show up at some point?"

"I TOLD RUBY TO NEVER MENTION THAT LOOP AGAIN!"

Tai Yang and Rayven froze. "...What?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.13 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ozpin was debatably the strongest Baseline Looper (excluding Cinder with the powers of the Fall Maiden, and possibly surpassed by Glynda, Raven, or Qrow). More significantly, as an adult Huntsman and the latest incarnation of an immortal wizard, he was still one of the most powerful Loopers in Null Loops, to the point where one of the most common things the younger Loopers would do in Null Loops was come to him for help, even when he wasn't Awake. Ozpin generally took to his duties with a sense of responsibility and a certain amount of pride that he could still be so useful when many of his friends had been Looping for so much longer than him. However, sometimes he was crushed by the weight of the world. For instance, when he Woke up in a Null Loop after Cinder Fall had already stolen the Fall Maiden powers in their entirety from Amber.

"I really feel like I should Wake from this nightmare right about now," Jaune Arc said as power dramatically swirled around the floating Fall Maiden in front of them.

"This has been a Loopy series of events," Pyrrha Nikos said as she jumped out of the Aura transfer pod and to the floor, summoning her weapons with her Semblance.

Over the millennia, Ozpin had put a lot of thought into what to do in any number of situations that might arise in the Loops. He was a plotter by nature, and it was always good to be prepared. He'd come to the conclusion that, while it was possible that Awake Jaune, Pyrrha, and himself could defeat Fall Maiden Cinder, it posed an unacceptable level of risk. All of them would live again in the next Loop if they died, but Ozpin had failed to keep Pyrrha from dying in Baseline, and he didn't plan to allow it to happen again.

"Indeed," Ozpin replied. "Go, get help! Find Ruby, Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow! Work together and win! I will buy you time."

"What? You know I can fight!" Pyrrha cried indignantly.

"And you know I have less to lose. Now go! Survive!"

Jaune let out a yell of frustration before grabbing Pyrrha's hand and tugging her away from the confrontation with a quiet, "Let's get out of here."

Cinder touched down on the floor and let out a soft chuckle. "Such arrogance. You will barely slow me down."

Ozpin flipped his cane in his hand and gripped it tightly. With twin flashes of orange and green, the fight was on.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Zwei barked, and Weiss turned around to see Ruby approaching. "Ruby!" she called out.

"Is anybody feeling Loopy?" Ruby asked.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked.

Behind Weiss, Blake rubbed her eyes, sat up, and grunted. "I'm Awake, but I won't be any help."

Sun jogged over, sounding a bit panicked. "Ruby, I really hope you're Awake, because I could really use an Anchor right now!"

"Very subtle, Sun," Blake said.

"I am," Ruby answered.

Zwei barked three times and started running in a circle—or, rather, a loop.

"Yes! We've got Zwei too."

Zwei stopped running in a circle, turned to face Ruby, barked, and nodded his head for good measure.

"What are you all talking about?" Weiss asked.

"Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Nora interrupted.

"Right! Don't worry, we'll find them. Watch Blake and Yang."

"What are the two of you and your dog going to do? It's a Null Loop, and I thought you couldn't control your silver eye powers!"

"Subtlety, Sun! And you'd better go with them since I'm stuck here!" Blake said, wincing as the shout strained her injuries.

"No, he's right, we need backup," Ruby said, before running over to Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck. "Professor, Doctor, we need your help right away! Cinder Fall stole the powers of the Fall Maiden, and she and Kevin are going to destroy the CCT!"

"Miss Rose, this is quite an outrageous assertion. All of the evidence suggests that the legend of the Maidens of the Seasons is exactly that—a legend."

"Who is—Kevin?"

"It's true, I swear! She killed Professor Ozpin, and Pyrrha's going to go try to stop her from destroying the tower! We need to help her right away!"

"Ha ha! That's ridiculous! No mere Huntress could kill Ozpin! He's the strongest Huntsman I've met!"

"She's not just a Huntress; she's got the powers of Fall! Ugh, there's no time for this!" Ruby turned to dart off, but she was interrupted by Oobleck's voice.

"Miss Rose." She turned back to look at him. "How certain are you that what you say is true?"

Ruby gave him her best look of determined professionalism, willing him to believe her. "Absolutely."

Oobleck and Port looked at each other before Port said, "I didn't teach you only to mistrust you when it matters. Where is Miss Nikos? Stay here and guard the evacuation while we retrieve her."

"There's plenty of Huntsmen, they'll be fine, but we have to go now, come on!" And Ruby ran off to rejoin Weiss, Sun, and Zwei. The two professors followed. Oobleck was fast enough to keep pace with the speedster, both physically and verbally.

"Remember what I said at Amity! If this Fall Maiden truly killed Ozpin, you must not risk your life against her," Oobleck said, if anything at an even faster rate than his usual absurd rate of speech.

Ruby matched his speed word for word. "She's too strong, she'd kill you two if you went alone, but I know what I'm doing! There's no time to explain, so you'll just have to trust me!" Not giving him time to speak, she rounded up her troops, yelling, "Come on, we need to go! Port, Oobleck, cut a path through the Grimm in front of us! Weiss, Sun, use your Semblances to keep the Grimm off us from the sides! We don't have time to stop and fight them! Zwei, watch our backs!" Zwei barked in agreement and Sun gave a salute.

"Miss Rose…" Port said uncertainly.

"Come on! How many times do I have to say **we do not have time for this!** " Ruby said, practically shouting in frustration.

"Getting them was probably a bad idea," Blake as she lay on the ground, injured.

After a second, Oobleck said, "If the team leader has a plan, I suppose we should follow it."

"Very well," Port agreed. The two teachers took their positions at the head of the team, and they all headed back towards Beacon at a quick jog.

"Finally! Thank you!" Ruby said, her voice a mixture of exasperated and genuinely relieved.

"Team ROWZPS, move out!" Sun said.

"Team Roses? How does that work?" Weiss asked.

"The P is silent."

Ruby rolled her eyes and asked, "Sun, can I borrow your scroll again?" He tossed it to her with his tail, and she made a call. "Uncle Qrow! I need your help! Get General Ironwood and Miss Goodwitch and come to the CCT tower! Cinder Fall killed Amber and stole the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers, and she's going to use them and Kevin—I mean the dragon Grimm to destroy the tower, knock out the communication network, and kill Pyrrha!"

"What? Ruby, where are you? How do you know about all that?"

"There's no time to explain, but we're going to need your help! We've got Port and Oobleck with us, but I don't think it'll be enough."

"What? Ruby, where's Ozpin? And hold on a second, what do you mean 'it won't be enough'? Get away from there!"

Ruby smiled a little. "Sorry, no can do, but you can show up and save me at the last second like usual. Gotta go, bye!"

"Ruby no, wait!" But she hung up on him and gave the scroll back to Sun.

They were still far enough from the tower that they didn't have to deal with newly spawning Grimm from Kevin, and most of the Grimm in the area had been killed by evacuating Huntsmen, so they were relatively free to talk.

"Ruby, what's going on? Why are you talking like the Tale of the Four Sisters is true, and why are you ordering around the professors?" Weiss asked.

"I promise I'll explain when the battle's over, but there's no time right now. You just need to know that some fairy tales are true and that I know a lot about what's going on, so just trust me."

"Of course I trust you!" Weiss yelled sharply. "I just wish you'd explain what's happening."

"I would, but it'll just confuse you more, and we don't have time for that. But thanks for trusting me anyway."

"Of course. How could I be your best teammate if I didn't?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Green afterimages blocked a flurry of glass projectiles before Ozpin shot forward towards his opponent. His cane clashed against her twin swords in five quick strokes before he got inside her guard, knocked away one of her blades with the tip of his cane and smashed her other wrist with the handle of his cane, making her drop the second blade. His opponent unguarded, Ozpin unleashed a barrage of strikes with the base of his cane, sending her stumbling backward.

Cinder boosted the backwards motion with her powers, flying just out of reach as Ozpin grasped with his free hand to try to keep her from getting away. Before he could flash forward after her, she surrounded herself in a wreath of fiery energy before blasting it at him. Conscious of the greater raw power at her disposal, Ozpin flashed to the side rather than blocking the beam of fire.

He took cover behind a pillar of stone, but in only a matter of seconds, it was melted all the way through, leaving him no option but the flash behind another one. _These pillars support the building! I can't let her destroy these; it might destabilize the tower!_ Ozpin dodged out of the way of another blast of fire and behind another pillar. He slammed his cane into the floor behind the pillar, sending a pulse of green energy out.

When Cinder turned the beam of fire on this pillar, a crackling green force field covered and protected the pillar and Ozpin from the heat and flame, parting the fiery energy around them. With three quick steps, Ozpin moved to the front of the pillar and jumped, angling the force field so it would direct the energy above and below him to shear through the top and bottom of the pillar. As he landed, he lashed backwards with his cane, sending the base of the pillar backwards and causing it to rotate so the top fell towards Cinder.

She blasted it with fire, but he continued protecting it with his forcefield, so the attack was ineffective. The falling pillar was still far too slow to hit Cinder, who easily dodged by drifting sideways a few feet, but Ozpin used the distraction to run across the falling stone column and close with his opponent again. Her eyes widened as she saw him approach, and she created one sword with her power just in time to block a powerful swing of his cane, but while she blocked another strike from his afterimage, he infused his cane with his green Aura, smashing it into her gut with enough power to make her drop her sword and disrupt her control over the fire swirling around her.

Ozpin pressed the attack, striking Cinder over and over again and slamming her into the floor. His foot on her chest to hold her in place, Ozpin pushed his cane against her throat. There was a bright flash as Ozpin channeled the green energy of his Aura to try to break through Cinder's Aura, but before he could do it, she exploded with the energy of the Fall Maiden, sending him hurtling backward. He barely kept the presence of mind to keep hold of his cane, but he couldn't prevent himself from smashing into the wall of the chamber and cracking the stone, his Aura falling.

Cinder pulled herself to her feet and summoned a bow with an arrow on it. "Well-fought, but your time is up."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jaune and Pyrrha stepped out of the elevator into Ozpin's office. "Finally, signal!" Jaune said. "Look for a place to hide while I call Weiss. We should wait as long as we can for backup, but we have to be nearby to stop her from taking down the tower."

"The office is pretty open, I don't know that we'll be able to hide in here."

"We'll have to figure something out then."

"Jaune?" Weiss asked through the scroll.

"You have to help us! That woman's going to take down the CCT! Pyrrha and I are going to fight her, but she'll kill us if you can't get here in time!"

"We're on our way, but you should get out of there! Do you mean Cinder? Don't try to fight her, Ruby says she has the legendary powers of Fall!"

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance. "Ruby, are you Awake?" Pyrrha asked, trusting that Weiss probably had the scroll on speaker.

"Yeah, and so are Blake, Sun, and Zwei. We had to leave Blake behind, but Oobleck and Port are with us. Are both of you Awake?"

"Yes. Ozpin too, but he stayed behind to delay Cinder. We wanted to stay and help, but he didn't think it was worth the risk," Pyrrha explained.

"For a manipulative chessmaster, that man is far too self-sacrificing, but you made the right choice. If you stayed, he just would have been distracted trying to get you to leave."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Jaune agreed. "I'll be having a talk with him later."

"You better have a good explanation when this is over!" Weiss interjected into the conversation.

"Don't worry, we will," Ruby said. "Whoop, gotta go, Grimm incoming. Don't do anything too crazy, and stay alive until we get there."

"We'll do our best," Pyrrha promised. The scroll call ended. Pyrrha turned to Jaune. "Any ideas on where to hide?"

"Well, Cinder flies up the elevator shaft, but she never actually goes above this floor, does she?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.14 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Wow." Yang gave a low whistle. "Is it just me, or is Neptune's dancing even worse then usual?"

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, it's weird, right? I mean, for the past few loops, he's been... really zwonky. I think it might be a side effect of the whole code damage thing that Cinder did."

"Huh. Really?"

"Yeah, his water phobia's also been upped a touch. Might be some leakage from the chibi loops."

"Makes sense. Have you noticed anything else?"

Ruby was quiet for a moment or two.

"...Sis?" Yang put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you-"

"Team CFVY. Sometimes they're... cyborgs."

Yang winced. "Oh. Wow."

"It's probably not going to last," Ruby said with a sigh. "It's probably the two CVFY's code getting entangled in that last moment. I don't know. But... still."

"...I miss 'em too, Rubes."

"Yeah." Ruby took a breath. "They wouldn't want me weighed down by it all, though. Oh, hey, Cinder's going to be headed for the tower soon, I gotta deal with that."

"Alright, alright. Just... remember. You may be our anchor, but we're here to anchor you."

Ruby smiled faintly at her. "I know, Yang. I'll be okay, promise."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.15 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Hello Cinder."

Cinder half-winced. "Hello, Blake."

"We haven't talked in a while, have we?"

"No."

The two of them looked at each other.

"You know, you might still be labeled an MLE when you start having fused loops again," Blake pointed out. "Or at least a potential MLE. If you don't get twelve marks-"

Cinder sighed. "I know, I... I should socialize more. I'm just... it's just..."

"You hurt everyone close to you, and now you think you deserve... whatever." Blake shrugged. "Thing is, you can't be locked up forever. The clock is ticking. Do you want to go out there with people still worried you could snap, or do you want to be cleared and ready?"

"Blake... look." Cinder held out her hands. "The twelve looper thing... it has to be their decision, I can't try to force it. You understand that, right?"

"Mmm."

They stood quietly in the courtyard for a few moments.

"...So. I proposed on the moon. Couldn't think of anything more romantic, really ought to thank you for that."

"Oh, yes. Ruby mentioned... congratulations."

"Of course, we can't have the wedding if the whole family isn't able to attend."

Cinder winced fully that time. "Blake-"

"You were able to draw me out of my vengeance lust on the White Fang," Blake pointed out. "You stopped me becoming a monster."

"Blake, what I did is unforgivable-"

"Forgiveness isn't earned. It's given. Redemption and atonement, maybe, but forgiveness is always free." Blake sighed. "Just... get well soon, okay?"

"Are you seriously alright with what happened?" Cinder asked furtively. "Are you seriously alright with-"

"Cinder, I'm no longer the only looping faunus. I've got family with me in this. I'm engaged to the woman I loved. None of that would have happened without... that mess. I'm not saying it wasn't bad-it was utterly horrific-but good came of it. And if good things can come out of an apocalypse, I have to believe that even after all you did you could... could still be the woman who helped me out of my darkness."

Cinder bit her lip. "...Alright. I... I guess I can try."

"Mmm. Can I offer a suggestion?"

"...Sure."

"Talk to Yang. She's still stupid angry, but she wants her sister to come home."

"I... I'll... do that. Sometime soon." Cinder smiled wryly. "I should apologize for stealing Ruby for so long anyway..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.16 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So... Blake."

"Yeah Yang?"

"...Are we going to go with a klingon-style wedding?"

"I don't want to have to fight my friends at my wedding."

"Point. Well, Ruby was a pope once, maybe we could-"

"Hahahaha no. No divine bacon horse ceremony. I was thinking something more traditional."

"...Eastern traditional or western traditional?"

"Um. What?"

"Look, my name is Yang Xiao Long, right? Chinese. And your mom is Kali, that's Hindu I think, and Ghira... also hindu? I'll have to check that-the point is, by hub-world standards we've got eastern ancestry and culture."

"Would what you're wearing really pass in China? And anyway, why are we even using the hub to decide this? We're from Remnant!"

"And what traditions exist on Remnant?"

"...Point. Fine, law of ambiguity discussion. I wouldn't object to a hindu-style wedding, even though I don't think either of us are actually practicing hindus, but we'd need to do some research and adjust the thing for our situation."

"Well, yeah, obviously. Working in all that lace with our wedding armor might be an issue. Oh, and there's the whole bit with the bride being given away by the father, either of us could qualify for that-"

"That will have to be handled with some delicacy, yeah. There's also..."

"...also what?"

"...Well. During the memorial, me and Raven... apparently that loop instead of giving each other rings the tradition was to give each other gauntlets at the altar, and... she gave me one of hers."

"Ah."

"I'm going to modify it of course, but-"

"Nah, it's fine, I get it. It's actually... pretty nice of her."

"So... yeah, there's that to consider."

"Well I guess we'll have to work that in, too. Gosh, our wedding's going to be... interesting."

"Yeah, well... isn't our whole relationship?"

"Mmm, good point. You know, I think we should talk with our parents about this at some point."

"Yeah, it might be good to compare notes..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.13 (con't) Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A short time later, Jaune and Pyrrha stood on the roof of the elevator as Cinder blasted up the shaft and into Ozpin's office. Experienced Aura users such as Cinder could detect nearby threats like the two Loopers. Fortunately, experienced Aura users such as Jaune and Pyrrha could sometimes use their Aura to emulate weaker forms of others' Semblances. For instance, Aura could be used to enhance speed or strength or, in this case, stealth. Their study of Ren's Semblance was good enough to keep Cinder's danger sense from detecting them as she walked dramatically around the room and dramatically spoke to Kevin.

Ozpin had lasted a few minutes longer than in Baseline, and Jaune and Pyrrha were able to prolong the time before the fight for a few extra minutes, but before too long, Cinder ordered the Grimm Wyvern to smash into the tower and destroy the transmit system. "You have to stop Kevin! I'll distract Cinder," Jaune whispered. He and Pyrrha dropped through the hatch on the roof of the elevator and landed with a thud. Cinder heard the sound, and when the elevator doors cracked open, she was ready, sending a blast of fire at the intruders. Jaune charged, screaming a battle cry, and blocked the fire on his shield and with his Aura, using the shield as a focus to block the attack while losing much less Aura than he would have if he tried to block it directly. Jaune swung his sword at Cinder, but she neatly back flipped out of the way, summoned her bow and arrows, and fired at the ground Jaune was standing on, but he rolled out of the way of the burst of energy from the three arrows. Cinder broke apart her bow into swords and attacked, and Jaune charged to meet her.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha slipped around the fight and smashed Miló into the glass window, cracking it. She followed it up by smashing Akoúo̱ into it, shattering the glass entirely. She looked out the opening to see the Grimm Wyvern, which had flown away from the tower to give it room to pick up speed. _If only I had time to clip its wings!_ But the sound of Crocea Mors crashing against Cinder's weapons reminded her that she couldn't leave Jaune to fight Cinder alone.

Pyrrha waited until Kevin had turned so it was flying back to the tower. Then, she grabbed Ozpin's desk and desk chair with her Semblance, ducked to the side, and hurled them out to squeeze either side of the Wyvern's face. With a tremendous wrench of energy, Pyrrha telekinetically squeezed, twisted, and pushed to the side, sending Kevin off course before it hit the tower. Pyrrha slumped a little in exhaustion as she let the furniture fall to the ground far below. _Not sure I can do that again_.

"Pyrrha! A little help please!" Jaune called out. Pyrrha went to help her partner, hoping the others were almost there.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Oobleck and Port blazed a fiery path through the Grimm in front of Team ROWZPS. Weiss used Dust and glyphs and Sun used his guns and Dust-infused Semblance clones to pick off Grimm. Ruby kept Crescent Rose in gun form and shot any approaching Grimm, turning around when Zwei barked that they were being outflanked by Grimm too powerful for him to handle.

Sun snapped his gunchucks back into staff form and smashed it into an oncoming Creep, but he didn't see the Beowolf leaping towards him from behind. Ruby called out and swung her gun around to fire, but before she could, the Beowulf was crushed by a falling metal object. Startled, Sun whirled around, his staff raised, only to see the dissolving Grimm. "Huh. Saved by the penis chair."

"Ugh, not you too!" Ruby complained. She fired over Sun's shoulder at an approaching Ursa. "Pay attention!" Sun saluted briefly with his staff and returned to the fight, leaving Ruby to think about their next move. "Weiss! When we get to the tower, use your glyphs to let me run up to Ozpin's office! I'll go first 'cuz I'm fastest, then Oobleck, then Zwei. Do you think you could lift Port?"

"No, he's too big."

"Okay, then Port can stay down here with you, and Sun can follow us up. Sound good, everyone?" Everybody agreed to the plan, but a few seconds later, Ruby heard Kevin roar and looked up to see the Grimm Wyvern flying straight towards the tower. _Change of plans, change of plans!_ "We have to stop the dragon before it destroys the tower!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jaune and Pyrrha had been partners for millions of years, and training together had been a favorite pastime of theirs since the beginning. Which was to say, their teamwork was utterly unparalleled. It also helped that their weapons and fighting styles complimented each other perfectly: both were good at short-range swordplay. Pyrrha's spear, rifle, and Semblance gave options at a variety of ranges, and Jaune's large shield and Aura reserves let him defend them both against even the powerful blasts the Fall Maiden could bring to bear. They'd had a slight advantage in that Cinder underestimated them to begin with, although she quickly learned better. On top of this, Cinder's Aura had been weakened by her fight with Ozpin, although the Maiden powers were limitless (at least for this Loop). Furthermore, the cramped confines of Ozpin's office favored Jaune and Pyrrha's close-quarters combat over Cinder's optimal "blast them from far away" strategy that she had used against Ozpin in the Vault. Combined, all of this meant—Jaune and Pyrrha _might_ be able to beat Cinder. _Maybe_. Of course, none of that was considering Kevin.

Pyrrha did a flip, dodging between a number of wickedly sharp glass shards and blocking the last three on her shield. Looking behind Cinder, she saw Kevin flying towards the tower, but before she could do anything, she had to dodge out of the way of a blast of fire. "Jaune! Kevin's coming back!"

"I'm a little tied down at the moment!" Jaune said from his position crouched behind his shield, weathering a firestorm. Pyrrha flung Akoúo̱ at Cinder's left side, but right before she went to block, she used her Semblance to alter its course so it slammed into the Maiden's right hand, disrupting the punishing barrage of fire aimed at Jaune. He took the opportunity to charge, forcing Cinder to switch to close-quarters combat and giving Pyrrha the chance to look out the window and see that Kevin was far too close for her to do anything to stop him. Still, she reached out with her Semblance, trying to reinforce the tower, but she didn't actually think she could hold up against such a massive creature flying at such a speed. She braced herself mentally, but before Kevin could hit the tower, a fireball slammed into the bottom of its head at high speed, sending it off-course once again. Its right wing slammed against the tower with punishing force, but Pyrrha's reinforcement kept it from taking any major damage. Pyrrha slumped down with exhaustion. _That better mean help's nearby, because I am nowhere near my best right now.  
_

Hearing the tremendous screech of pain and annoyance from her Grimm pet, Cinder exploded with the power of Autumn, blasting Jaune backward and gaining a little breathing room. She turned just enough to see that the Wyvern had been diverted yet again from destroying the CCT like she ordered it to. _What could possibly have stopped such a powerful creature?_ Then she heard a low whine.

All three combatants turned towards the sound. In the cacophony created by the dragon's roar and impact, none of them had heard the projectile that hit the dragon as it flew into the office and formed a deep gouge into the floor. At the end of the impact line lay the offending projectile.

"A dog?" Cinder asked in disbelief.

"Zwei!" Jaune exclaimed in excitement.

"Perfect timing, Zwei!" Pyrrha praised. Zwei rolled over on his side and stuck his tongue out, panting. "Good dog! I'll have to do something special to thank you when we're done here."

"You know this dog?" Cinder asked, still dumbfounded. "Hold on, making plans for the future is useless. You won't be leaving here alive!"

"Nope!" said a new voice.

"Ruby!" Jaune exclaimed in joy.

"The others will be up in a minute. You okay if I go deal with Kevin?"

"Go ahead. We'll be fine here," Jaune said.

"Cool!" With the crack of a small sonic boom and a flurry of rose petals, Ruby shot off into the sky.

Before the rose petals had settled, a tall, green-haired Huntsman appeared from over the edge of the building.

"Doctor Oobleck?" Jaune asked in confusion.

"Ah, excellent, you students are still in one piece. If miss Fall truly has the powers of the Fall Maiden—hmm, suggestive name, if so—then that is quite the accomplishment!"

Sun did a flip over the edge of the building, morphed his staff into gunchuck form, and aimed his weapons at Cinder.

"Now Sun's here too. Who's next? Raven?" By this point, Jaune just sounded resigned.

"Nah, you think she cares enough to help, even if she was Awake?" Sun asked rhetorically.

Cinder screamed in rage and blasted a wave of fire in all directions. Jaune and Pyrrha hid behind their shields, Zwei pressed himself into the crater and let the fire go over him, Oobleck parried the blast somehow with a wave of fire from his own weapon, and Sun switched his weapon back to staff form and spun it, blocking the fire. "Stop taking this so lightly! I'm trying to kill you!" Cinder screamed in outrage.

A dangerous glint entered Oobleck's eye. "I assure you, I take threats on the lives of my students quite seriously indeed." A moment later, the five combatants rushed into battle, while the dog lay in his impact crater and rested. Outside, a boisterous Huntsman and a confused but determined Huntress in training fought an army of Grimm. In the air above them, a whirling dervish of scythe and rose petals darted, slashed, split into decoys, and generally formed a highly effective and annoying distraction for a draconic Grimm until a cyborg general, a witch, and a dusty old Qrow arrived to finish it off.

And months later, a farm boy in Mistral Woke up to remember his soul was inextricably tied with that of an old professor who was stuck in time Loops. Removing the envelope from his drawer, he opened the letter marked, "Open when you meet Ozpin."

Dear Professor Ozpin,

You'll be happy to know that your plan worked. Ruby, Sun, and Zwei were also Awake, and together with Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port, we were able to kill Cinder and Kevin and protect the tower.

That said…NEXT TIME, WE STAY. The two of us fight quite well together, and with our strength combined with yours, I believe we could win.

But for now, enjoy your rural vacation.

Yours truly,

Pyrrha and Jaune

P.S: Hi, Oscar. I hope you have a good Loop.

Somewhere in his soul—or maybe a portion of Oscar's brain—where did Ozpin's thinking happen, anyway?—Ozpin started to think of arguments he could use to convince them to run if this happened again. _Maybe I should just point out how well the plan worked this Loop. I'm the only one who died, and even I'm not_ really _dead. I call that a success.  
_

 **73.18 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby?"

"Yes Kali?"

"Why aren't there any Grimm this loop?"

Ruby was trying to help Kali with finding a fighting style, as she and a few others had been doing these past few loops. This time, only the reaper and the elder cat faunus were awake.

"You mean how they've been replaced by Daemons, like the goblins and flan? They're from one of the Final Fantasy loops, can't quite remember which one..."

While Ruby was remembering which loop these things were from, Kali suddenly could smell fish. She wandered towards the smell, and found herself looking down on a little green thing with pure yellow eyes. The being was wearing a light brown robe, with a fish tale protruding from the back, and was carrying a knife and an old-fashioned oil lantern.

It tilted its head, and Kali got a smile on her face.

"Aha! The Eos loops! It slipped my mind since you and the other loopers activated soon after... Kali? Where did you go?"

Ruby was treated to a sight she had never seen before; a tonberry, sans knife and lantern, was running away from a knife-wielding Kali, who tripped over a tree root as she was just passing Ruby.

The tonberry made full use of Kali's predicament and kept running as fast as its small legs could carry it.

"Ruby? Did you see where that fish thing went? I wanted to treat Blake to new fish. Do you hear that? It sounds like fire. We should head in the opposite direction of it. Preferably, in the same direction I was going when I tripped."

Ruby, for her part, was trying not to laugh at what she just saw while smoke started to fill the air.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.19 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"What is this about?" Jaune shouted. "The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"

Tyrian grinned. "Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and body belong only to our goddess."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Cinder..."

"Hmph, only in her wildest dreams."

Ruby snorted. "Heh..."

She sniggered. "Heehee..."

She giggled and collapsed to her knees. "Heeheheehee..."

She chortled, gripping her stomach. "HahahahaHAhahaahaa..."

She cackled maniacally, for a full five minutes unable to hold back her laughter, even as team JNPR and Tyrian paused their fight to stare at her.

"HAhaahahaHAAHaHAhahahaha HAhaahahah ahhahaAhehaheahaehhhaaaaahaheheahhohohahahahuehhahahehahbwahahhaaahshehaeehahahaheha heaheeeehaheheaaahaha hahahahsaaaahaahahehehehe hehehehe HEHEHEHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA HEHEHAHSAHAHA, ahahahaha, aaaaaahahahahaahaeheheohgodsicantbreathehahaehahehahash AshsAHShaSHhehahaheeeehehehahahahaha hhohohahahahahhdhahehahsHAHSHAHSHSHAH... Hahah! Ha. Hahahah... wildest dreams. Whew. That's... hee. That's just ironic. So..."

After a moment, she picked herself up. "Yeah, okay, I'm sorry. I don't feel like following the script this time. Tyrian, you leave now, I won't cut your tail off, promise."

"Um," said Jaune.

"I'll explain later, seriously. Oh, hey uncle Qrow." Ruby waved happily at the approaching man. "Man. I feel loopy, does anybody else feel loopy?"

Everyone stared at her.

"No? Just me? Darn, no late awakenings. Oh well." She turned back to the faunus. "Last chance! Run away with or without me maiming you, your choice!"

Tyrian narrowed his eyes. "You're an oddly confident little rose."

"And you... are... basically not good enough for me to even come up with proper banter for! Ha!"

The faunus stared at her for a moment or two. Then he grinned. "Oh, Salem's going to have fun with you!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.20 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"May I sit?"

Pyrrha froze for a moment before she looked up from her cracked ring. Cinder was standing there with a burger and drink, gesturing to the seat opposite her. For a moment, all Pyrrha could think of was the best way to kill her, the sounds of the food court draining away.

Then Pyrrha blinked, pushing back the impulses as she nodded curtly, very much off balance from the abrupt meeting and bitter recollections.

Cinder didn't speak straight away, and Pyrrha didn't have any real desire to start a conversation. As she was finishing her fish and chips, Cinder spoke up. "The ring will repair itself, given time, if some requirement is fulfilled."

"What?"

Cinder leaned back in the chair as she met Pyrrha's demanding gaze unwaveringly. "Most of what happened during the Ascension is somewhat murky, the memories are… not something humans can really understand. But I can remember the basic events, what was said and a few things deeper than that, just not specifics."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding as she picked up her drink, more of a holding action rather than any desire to drink it even as she refused to remove her gaze. What Cinder said made sense, and generally matched up with what she suspected, human minds simply _couldn't_ process all that, but loopers couldn't exactly forget something of the magnitude either.

Putting it aside and not thinking about it was something they could not do. Refusing to remember was also one option, similar to using brain bleach, even if the memories never really vanished.

"I remember that attack you launched against me," Cinder said, her eyes seemed to be focusing on something unseen, lost in her own recollections as her voice took on a slightly wondering tone. "It _would_ have pierced the barriers, would have obliterated Amity and was the only attack I had to actually focus on. I held back in the retaliation, the flames more a joke than anything else to satisfy my insane self's impulses."

That seemed to fit with what Pyrrha could remember. After they had all hit the ground those flames had melted the earth but barely touched them, it had been just one of several profound oddities in the whole thing. Blatant weaknesses that Cinder would never have included in her designs, her refusing to strike back and a lot of other small things had made it a lot easier to deal with everything. Pyrrha wasn't sure they could have won if Cinder hadn't sabotaged herself like that.

And that terrified her. Someone else could try, really try, and they could succeed because the loopers of Remnant were too weak.

Cinder kept speaking, seemingly ignorant of Pyrrha's emotions or content to ignore them for now. "One thing I remember of that moment was that Ѐromai is soul-bonded to you and has a repair function."

Ѐromai…

Pyrrha gaze dropped, taking in the broken pseudo-dust baguette crystals on either side of the centrepiece, a now flawed black crystal with an erratic golden glow that flared and dimmed, rather than its normal steady glow. The dual toned band was melted, with the different metals blurring together in places, and only one set of words was clearly visible.

'Never forget the tragedies that have happened and will happen into eternity.'

"She will heal?"

"Yes, it's tied to your soul and emotions, there is some sort of trigger, but I can say that Ѐromai _can_ heal _._ Whether it _will_ is up to you." Cinder shrugged, biting into her burger. "I don't know what the requirements are, though, can't help you with that."

"…To create a new future for all," Pyrrha murmured. That made sense... "I know what the requirements are. It will take some time, though." It was like tension had been drained from her body at the words.

They all could heal, it would just take time, wouldn't it?

But for that, things needed to be clear.

"Do you know what I feel about you, Cinder Fall?"

"Hate, anger, betrayal, wrath, the desire to ensure I never hurt anyone again…"

Pyrrha ignored Cinder starting to dry list of a list of things, each one slowly getting more and more ridiculous despite their accuracy; she knew the woman was just choosing the silliest way to say them.

"When we spoke on the roof, I said my memories were tainted," Pyrrha started, thinking about each word before she said it. "And it's true, I loved Cinder Rose like a sister, and after my death, I started to fear and hate Cinder Fall in a way that was not logical. I made a mental divide, the Awake you and the unAwake you, even if the unAwake you wasn't a killer, I still hated her. So many times, she would go after us, Ruby was the focus for the most, but we all were in the crosshairs. It got worse after the Volume 4 expansion when your mind shattered, but before that, it was all you."

"Not quite," Cinder said after a moment. "There was a lot of time where it was, most of the time It was, but it was also often my unAwake self, and when I Woke up after it had all happened."

Pyrrah nodded. "What happened after that time, Ascension included, I can forgive." Her green eyes flashed. "I am furious about it, angry in a way I can't articulate. You almost killed us all, permanently destroyed Remnant."

"But?"

"But you were insane." Pyrrha closed her eyes, letting out a long, shuddering breath. "You were insane, hacked by Slenderman, sabotaged your own Ascension, and at the end, you let go and tried to fix things. So, I can forgive that, as it was not entirely your fault, your tried to fix it and you are getting help. It will just take time for the anger to cool. The rest you have no excuse for, though, and I don't understand why you did it."

Cinder smirked bitterly. "Because I enjoyed destruction, because I had nothing else in the start and it gave me meaning. And in the end? I wanted both sides. I wasn't willing to deal with my emotions or to let the freedom of destruction go. So, I did one wholeheartedly and when I got sick of it, needed release or stress relief, I went to the other and ignored the conflict. It was a thrill to do the other, to play at being the sister and friend, then to sneak off and play as the big bad. It became an emotional crutch and it drove me insane with the contradiction."

Cinder narrowed her eyes as she tasted blood, pain shooting through her lip. She would not run from her choices or taken an easy out here or try, it was doubtful she would be believed anyhow. "Slenderman accelerated the break and pushed me to Ascension, but it would have fallen at some point, I may not have suffered DID, but it would have been revealing in a disaster at some point."

Pyrrha simply nodded. There was one final thing she wanted to say before they parted ways, for now at least. "What you did at the start, I can forgive as I can _understand_ that, same with what you did in those early loops of pretending to be good. But what I can't just forgive or forget is that you still did all that even when you had come to care. That you chose that side at the end of the Ascension makes it a bit easier, proof of what you want to be when made to choose. That's the betrayal that hurts the most, you cared and _you still kept hurting us_."

Cinder winced but didn't say anything to the sharp words, letting Pyrrha finish.

"I hate what you have done, but as to whether I hate _you?_ I don't know, and at the moment I'm finding it hard to separate the two. It will be a while before I can say that I know what I feel with any certainty. And while I think I may be able to forgive you eventually, I can't right now. While I'm fine with working with you, even talking to you and trying to mend bridges, it will be a very long time before I can call you a friend again, and longer until I can trust you."


	74. STRK Watches RWBY

**74.1 Masterweaver, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So just for the record," Sun said as he brought the bowl of popcorn in, "I was an idiot, and really didn't think a lot. So, uh, yeah, whatever you see-I apologize in advance."

"Can't possibly be any worse then me," Raven deadpanned, taking some of the popcorn for herself. "At least these two probably handled themselves okay."

"Well, maybe," Kali allowed, "but you know we were rather... late, in the expansions. If I understand right, we don't even turn up until volume four."

Taiyang sighed. "I'm not looking forward to seeing Yang's arm cut off, even if it's just a CGI image of her."

A grim silence fell over the house.

Then Raven sighed. "Yeah, I'm not... looking forward to that either. Still, I promised Blake she'd only have to lead the bandit tribe over the weekend, and time zone difference is a thing..."

"Alright, alright." Taiyang took the remote and turned on the television as Sun sat himself down. "Prepare yourself, ladies and gentlefaunus, for the adventures of team RWBY!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Wow." Sun whistled low. "I mean, Weiss has always been uptight, but she really was a brat back in the day, wasn't she?"

"She has gotten better," Kali reminded him. "Much better."

"I can certainly see why Hub people think she and Ruby would fit together," Taiyang mused. "Kind of reminds me of my first meeting with Rae."

"And that's one of the many reasons they'll never get together," Raven deadpanned.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ozpin actually flings students into the forest?" Kali gasped. "This isn't dramatic exaggeration, he actually does that?!"

"Yep. Bit of a tradition." Taiyang chuckled. "I had basically no idea what I was doing, ended up breaking through five or six branches... good times."

Raven rolled her eyes. "I just portaled in midair. It's a cheat, I know, but work with what you got."

"You think this is bad? At least you had catapults! At Haven, they just shoved us off the cliff!" Sun chuckled. "Yeah, pretty crazy..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Wait, Jaune FORGED his entry exams?!" Sun cried in shock. "That-well, now that I think about it, that kind of explains a lot."

"You know, I caught him doing some of that Admin paperwork Ruby got saddled with," Taiyang mused. "I guess he's just good with that stuff."

Kali sighed. "Paperwork. I love Ghira, don't get me wrong, but sometimes he gets so deep into the packets he just... ugh."

Raven smiled grimly. "And I don't have to sign one measly form. Another benefit of being a bandit."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali turned to look at the cringing Sun Wukong. "Did you actually wink at my daughter when you first met her?"

"Yeah, I... yeeeeah." Sun winced. "I dunno, she was cute, I was a teen, and I thought hey, why not? It sort of worked, right?"

"Pro tip," Raven deadpanned, "flirting is like sprinkles. You can top a sweet with it, but if you try to eat it raw you'll get sick."

"Oh that's riiiiight," Taiyang recalled with a smirk, "Summer's cookies were the first sweets you ever had! You binged on the sprinkles and-" He laughed as Raven threw a pillow at him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **71.1 (con't) Black Omochao**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The two Anchors were seated on a bench at the park, enjoying some burgers from Mogmog Burger, discussing the, more positive, recent happenings in their Loops.

"So, you got new Loopers?" Keita questioned Ruby, before taking about out of his cheese burger

"Yeah, my dad, Blake's mom, Sun, and Raven."

"Raven…" Keita looked slightly troubled at the mention of the last name.

"Don't worry, she's been behaving herself… Mostly," Ruby assured.

"That doesn't make me feel much better… Oh well, if Roman and Neo can behave themselves…" he shook his head at the thought. "Whatever, I trust you and the others to be able to handle it." He nodded to this self-assurance. "But your dad? Taiyang is finally Looping?"

"Yup, I'll be sure to introduce you first chance we get!"

"Cool, I've certainly been his son enough times to know what he's generally like, but it'll be nice to talk to him and have him actually remember," Keita smiled at that thought. "I don't know much about Blake's mom, but Sun Looping sounds like a good thing… So long as he's got the picture on what's going on with Blake and Yang."

"Oh, it was a bit hard to comprehend at first, but he got the idea and is being respectful."

"Good to hear, so you've got a good handle with the new Loopers?"

"Yeah, we have. A few things have been difficult, but I'm sure everything will work out okay, they just need to get adjusted to Looping," the Anchor of Remnant reasoned.

"Yeah, Ningyo's still having trouble adjusting to the Loops, it's a lot for her to take in," Keita nodded in understanding.

"So, you could say she's like a fish out of water?" Ruby questioned, a big grin on her face. Keita stared at her blankly.

"… No Ruby, just no."

"Oh, come on!"

"No, you are no longer allowed to make jokes," Keita said in a firm tone while crossing his arms.

"Jerk," Ruby huffed, though a good-natured smile made its way onto her face. The two soon finished their burgers and continued to sit for a while.

"So, anything else to report?" Keita asked after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm, well… Yang and Blake are getting married," Ruby said after a moment of thought, Keita blinked as he processed what his sister had just told him.

"Wait, WHAT!?" He exclaimed in shock. "When did this happen!? When will it happen!? Why didn't you tell me earlier!?"

"Wow! Calm down, bro!"

"Sorry… Sorry… But still… They're really going to do it?"

"Yup! Hope Yang doesn't get mad at me for telling you, she might've wanted to do it herself," Ruby shrugged.

"Well, tell them congratulations for me… Wow, my sister's getting married," Keita muttered to himself, looking unsure on how to feel about that.

"Hey guys!" a purple haired girl exclaimed, bursting out from behind the bench.

"Inaho!?" Keita jumped off the bench in surprise. Ruby looked confused.

"Inaho?" she questioned, in a more subdued manner than her brother.

"Yup!" Inaho smiled at Keita as she came around to the front of the bench, she looked at Ruby and nodded. "Chi-Watchi!" she struck a pose, showing her yo-kai watch. Ruby sweatdropped.

"Yes… You did that when we met…" Ruby muttered, a confused look on her face.

"Yup! Oh, it's great to see you again Ruby!" Inaho cheered in excitement.

"There goes our peaceful day," Keita groaned in aggravation, Inaho noticed his emotional state and went to his side, nearly instantaneously.

"Hey, Keita, no need to be down! We can make your day even more fun! Right USApyon!?" Keita stared at Inaho as a silence settled in the atmosphere. "… USApyon?"

"He doesn't appear to be here," Ruby pointed out, still looking somewhat confused.

"What the!? USApyon!? Where did you go!?" Inaho shouted in outrage, Keita sighed and shook his head.

"Inaho, when exactly did you and USApyon Wake up?" Inaho blinked at the question.

"Well this morning, duh. Then we had breakfast, then– "

"Not that kind of waking up! When did you Wake up, with a capital 'W'!" Keita snapped in annoyance.

"Oh! A couple hours ago, Why?"

"How come you didn't Ping?"

"… I wanted to surprise you!" she exclaimed, before looking around the park angrily. "And that namekichi was supposed to help! But where did he go!?"

"What's a namekichi?" Ruby asked her brother, he shrugged.

"I don't know, every time we ask she just shows that weird keychain of hers…"

"I'm not a namekichi! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed as he ran over to them.

"USApyon! There you are!" Inaho cheered at her yo-kai friend's appearance. "… Wait, where'd you go!?"

"You ran ahead of me and didn't bother looking if I was keeping up! What is wrong with you!? Dani!" USApyon growled at Inaho, whom looked at him blankly.

"… Huh? Sorry, didn't realize you were so slow."

"Slow!? Dani!"

"Why does he end every sentence with 'dani'?" Ruby asked Keita, curiously.

"Verbal tick, but we should back off," Keita whispered to his sister, grabbing her arm and backing away, USApyon was growling as Inaho grew a little nervous.

"USApyon?"

"Slow? Slow!? I'll show you slow! Dani!" USApyon hissed, before pressing the two buttons on the bottom of his helmet.

 **"VADER MODE!"**

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Inaho cried as she dodged the slashes from USApyon's red lightsaber.

"Oh yeah, I remember that deal," Ruby said, crossing her arms as she watched. "… Is that okay?"

"Don't worry, he never actually tries to hit her," Keita assured Ruby.

"It sure doesn't feel that way to me!" Inaho shouted, narrowly dodging another slash from the enraged yo-kai's weapon.

"I seem to recall him using a laser gun before, I'm going to assume that lightsaber's not Baseline," Ruby concluded, Keita nodded. Inaho gave a few gasps as USApyon calmed down and put his lightsaber away.

"Don't call me slow, and don't run off without me when you want me to come with you! Dani!"

"He seems quick to anger," the elder Anchor said, eyeing USApyon with a bit of concern.

"Oh, he's always like that," Inaho waved off the concerns, "He's just taken to the lightsaber more, since he decided he was a Sith."

"A Sith?" Ruby questioned, eyeing USApyon again, this time with skepticism.

"Join the dark side, we have cookies! Dani."

"Thanks, but I'm set for cookies." Ruby muttered, looking away from the otter yo-kai.

"Worth a shot, dani," USApyon shrugged.

"Did anybody else spontaneously Wake up?" Keita questioned suspiciously, eight Pings were immediately received by the four present Loopers.

"Hmm, if I'm counting right, and nobody else is visiting, looks like that's everyone," Ruby smiled while she thought about what to do. "Perhaps we could have a little party?"

"Woo! Party!" Inaho cheered, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Okay, could be fun," Keita shrugged. "We'll have to gather everyone up, I'm sure Whisper, Jibanyan, Fumi, Hikikōmori and the Koma brothers will be happy to see you again. I could also introduce you to Ningyo!" he nodded to his sister, before another thought struck him. "Say… How do you feel about Kyubi?"

"Not much, why?" Ruby asked, looking a little clueless. "He's a nine-tailed fox, right?"

"Well yeah, but… Are you angry with him?"

"No, why would I be angry with him?"

"No reason… No reason," Keita assured. "We'll gather everyone up for a nice gathering… Just, don't get angry if Kyubi is a little… Intimidated by you."

"Um, okay?" Ruby looked confused, but shrugged it off. She was happy to get some time to spend with her brother and get her mind off of her current problems, for now she'd just enjoy this Loop, confident that when she got back home she'd be refreshed and with a clear mind.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
 **  
74.3 Elipses**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven blinked once, twice, and then stared at what was in front of her. An enormous city, spanning as far as she could see stretched out before her. The sight was so far beyond anything on Remnant that she had to stare for several seconds, before coming back to herself with a start.

'Sloppy Raven,' she mentally berated herself, before following the advice that the older loopers gave her and reviewing her loop memories.

She was named Rae Vizla, known as The Raven, and was a mercenary and member of a people called the Mandalorians. She spared a moment to review what her memories said about them, and about her life, and nodded in satisfaction. A strong people that understood that family and strength are important. She could work with that.

A female voice came from her helmet speakers. "Raven, are you just going to stay there or are you going to do what Master Malgus paid you too?"

'May as well see what happens if I follow through,' she thought. Shaking her head to clear it, Raven replied over the comms. "I'm moving in."

She had a Jedi Temple to infiltrate.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.4 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun blinked as he Woke up.

'Why am I on a flying cloud?' he wondered vaguely before looking over his loop memories.

"I have a kid!" he blinked. He looked around. "Aannddd me and my wife let him wander around a forest which is inhabited by dinosaurs. I'm off to a bad start in the parenting thing." He ignored the fact that most dangerous animals didn't go near his house due to the high risk of becoming an meal and that the child very rarely wandered to far. Not to mention Sun had been in the woods himself getting wood.

"I can carry an whole tree by myself," he muttered before hearing loud wails. "And that's Gohan. Off I go!"

After retrieving his in-loop son (and having a panic-attack when it looked like he had gone over the waterfall only to be discovered clinging to a branch far above the fall - Sun wasn't sure how he got there and decided to count his blessings), the looper took off to some reunion and meet up with his unawake self's friends.

When his evil brother crashed the party and kidnapped his kid (and revealed he was an alien), Sun figured he was in for an interesting loop.

"I mean, seriously. I'm an alien!"

"Shut up, Wukong," the green man flying with him towards his brother growled.

"...You know, I bet you're an alien too," Sun commented. "I mean, just look at you."

"...I'm a demon, idiot. The Demon King Piccolo. _How_ did you forget that?" Piccolo demanded, looking over at him.

"Are you really though? Or are you just an alien who thinks he's a demon?" Sun asked.

"...You're a moron and this is why I hate you," Piccolo declared flatly.

"Now that's just mean," Sun shook his head. "Oh, hey, we're here. Let's kick some ass!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well this sucks," Sun muttered, looking around him at the puffy cloud people. "I had a short loop then I go to one with Cloud people that looks boring."

"Ah, Sun Wukong," a voice called. Sun turned to see a familiar face.

"Kami?" Sun blinked. "What are you doing here? I got shot through the chest so-"

"I came here to try and make special arrangements for you, Sun, in light of the threat that is following your brother to Earth," Kami interrupted.

"What?" Sun blinked. Didn't loopers go to the next loop when they died or something? How was he in the same loop. Maybe it was some weird rule for this loop or something.

Kami smiled. "Come with me. We need to speak with King Yenma."

Shrugging, Sun followed the green-skinned elder along the pathway.

Looked like when he decided that he was in for a interesting loop early, he was right.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.1 (con't) Masterweaver, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, volume two now?" Taiyang asked the others.

"You really need to ask?" Sun replied.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Wasn't that Adam Taurus?" Taiyang asked. "It certainly didn't look like notes."

"It was," Kali confirmed. "What does Ruby have there?"

"It looks like it would belong to Weiss," Sun said. "Yeah! It's just borrowing without permission!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Sun."

"Yes?"

"How did you not get caught in the vortex?"

"Neptune and I were far enough away. Probably wouldn't be able to do that again."

"The food fight was certainly interesting to watch, but do they really have swordfish at Beacon?" Kali asked.

"Yes. I don't recommend eating the sword part, though." Tai told her.

"Speaking from experience, are you? I remember that."

"Raven, Qrow dared me to do it. What was I supposed to do?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I... didn't realize she cared so much," Raven murmured.

"She was very torn up. I'm glad Qrow was there."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Wow I feel useless," Sun commented. "Also, wouldn't Ruby or Yang have already told their team about Yang's semblance?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Remember our dance, Raven?"

"Summer was just as awkward in her heels, wasn't she?"

"Good times. Good times."

"Oh, this just gave me an idea."

"Sun, do I want to know what you're thinking?"

"Just planning to have a team SSSN dance off, Mrs B."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Alright. That was obviously Cinder. I mean, seriously."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"And I get mentioned!"

Kali gave him an incredulous look. "Tai, please don't tell me you actually stuffed a bunch of cans of dog food, a can opener, and Zwei into the mail."

"Nope! Didn't do that! Not going to do that! It wouldn't work anyway!"

"That's his way of saying he doesn't regret it," Raven said.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I wish our history professor was like that," Tai remarked.

"Same," Sun agreed. "Beacon is so much better than Haven."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby will be fine. It's not like she's bad at unarmed combat, right? I mean, you taught her, right Taiyang?"

"I thought Yang was passing on what I taught her!"

"So you're saying you didn't?" Raven scoffed. "In your position, you would be sure that I would teach her what I knew."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Here's the one time I saved her," Raven said as the version of her onscreen walked into a portal.

"Saved, huh? How did you know that Neo wouldn't just go back after you left?" Taiyang asked.

"Stop questioning me."

"Alright, alright."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Really Sun? Really? You think detectives could stop Grimm? They can't even stop people."

"Hey, I thought it was cool! Besides, aren't you a bit biased against the police, miss bandit queen?"

Raven just looked at him, her eyes saying everything Sun needed to know.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, Raven. What did you talk about?" Kali asked.

"As far as I know, that didn't actually happen."

"Well, we're half way finished." Tai said. "Want to take a short break?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.5 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Taiyang, I hear you're a sex god!"

"Hey Neo, I hear you're dating my dog!"

"...Screw you, Tai."

"No thanks, I'm good."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
 **  
74.6 KanameFujiwara**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Can a younger looper defeat an older looper - is that you question Raven?" Ranma asked, seeking clarification.

"Yes."

"Hmm, the conventional answer is no due to time, experience, and differences in power," Ranma said looking at Raven curiously.

"But that's not always the case?"

"Yes, that's not always the case. And the reason for that is because of the use of equalizers," Ranma said, recalling several vivid memories. Battles were not always clear cut particularly among loopers. He himself had been beaten by younger loopers before. It would not be the first nor the last time Ranma knew defeat.

And that _excited_ him.

"There was a student of mine - Lie Ren. I believe you know him. We had our spars numerous times. For the most part, I always win but there was that one time I lost and it was a legitimate loss," Ranma said while moving to the center of the arena.

"But it was just one time," Raven said with a hint of annoyance. "It's not like younger loopers had beaten you consistently."

That got a laugh from Ranma. "Oh Raven, sometimes I forgot how young you are."

"Don't remind me," she said testily.

"Getting back to the original point - you only ever need one time." He punched in the air, breaking whatever barriers that had existed there. It spoke volumes that even one barrier was difficult for Raven and the man before her shattered them all with ease.

It made her small.

It made her weak.

"That bothered you?" Ranma asked.

"...More than I care to admit."

"Hmmm, equalizers are a thing that has an equalizing effect according to Google. This is most commonly seen in the form of weapons -"

"Yet you didn't use any of it - "

"Because equalizers to me are a state of mind," he said, pointing his index finger at his head. "Understanding the nature of what you are allows you tremendous advantages."

"It can't be that simple," she said heatedly.

"Sometimes it is that simple."

"Then why am I losing to you?" she snapped at him.

"Because you are running away," he replied blankly.

That got Ranma a very nasty glare.

He looked at her, never once flinching or blinking, for a while that was all they did - a staring contest. Raven was the first to looked away.

"...What do you want me to do? Raven sighted with resignation.

" _That -_ is something you have to figure out yourself." Then he spoke to her in a gentler tone. "I was once like you - a newbie. All I had was my martial arts. I don't have that great of a lineage or those humongous mechas - it was just me and my fist. I was not the strongest among the original Seven - not at first. But I didn't give up. I trained again and again. I failed again and again. And somehow I got to where I am."

He looked at the shattered sky. "To grow is to be better than what you are previously. To do that you need to realize that you are lacking. How to address that depends on the person but the prerequisite is always the understanding of the self. A complete understanding of the self allows you options you might never even considered. That's how Nagisa beat Koro-sensei. That's how he had beaten me. That's how I had beaten those stronger than me."

And this time he looked at Raven critically as if looking at her very soul. "In a world of infinite repeats, you don't need to win every time. You don't even need to win. You just need a goal, a plan and a will. _Will is everything!"_ he said, emphasizing those last three words.

"..."

"If you stop running away, if you start to understand yourself, then no matter how many times you lose - you will never lose who you are. They will never truly beat you. Meditate on this."

And he left Raven to her training.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.7 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Yang, I just had a thought that is both logical and horrifyingly terrible."

"Blake, I am going to hug you until the bad thoughts go away."

"Heh. Look... Just... Baseline. We're separate, but... we'll probably meet up again."

"Yeah?"

"So, and I want to make it clear this isn't an excuse or... anything. What if... we decided to wait until after the next batch of expansions for our wedding?"

"...I am... wow. I am seeing the logic-work through whatever tension Baseline puts us through, and then celebrate together. Plus, it might firm up Raven's situation-"

"Yes, and my mom's and... Cinder's..."

"Yeah. At the same time, though, I... geeze. We just got engaged, and... I am so eager to... but... oh geeze."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"No no no, it's... it's a legitimate concern. Especially since, you know, if we wait that long, maybe we'll get new loopers, maybe even... Ghira..."

"Maybe. But I don't want to have to wait for new loopers. Not even Dad."

"Of course not! I know that, I... I just... Blake. I... wow. We'll be waiting for... I don't even know, thousands, millions, maybe billions of years, if we decide to do this."

"I know. That's what scares me."

"...Do you really... want to wait?"

"I don't know! Both sides have good points and bad, I was hoping we could decide this together!"

"Alright, alright! I... geeze. Blake... do you mind if I let this percolate a bit before I answer?"

"Um. Wow. No, but, Yang... usually you just go with what you feel with."

"I know, and I know I love you, but this... that's kind of a big decision, you know. Maybe we should talk with people before we... you know."

"Yeah, that's... a good idea. Yang?"

"Yeah Blake?"

"...dang it, I'm having one of those moments where I want to express what I'm thinking but the english language just isn't enough."

"Oh, yeah. That's frustrating. How about we just snog instead?"

"Mmm... nah. Shut the wall, I'll express myself fully."

"Class is in ten, do you really think-"

"I WILL EXPRESS MYSELF FULLY."

"Okay! I'll endure your love!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.1 (con't) Masterweaver, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Wait, hold on." Taiyang looked at the cover of the disc set he held. "This is the Vytal tournament!"

"An important event," Raven deadpanned. "Certainly worth a volume, especially if it's the one we all know it is."

"No, I mean, there was this whole thing I remember Ruby and Yang telling me about. Something about experimental Grimm and the fall of Mountain Glenn, are they just skipping over that?"

Sun frowned for a moment, before snapping his fingers. "Wait, I think I remember Ruby telling me about this. The hub backups have that as a video game. Grimm Eclipse, I think. Apparently some of the voice actors did a let's play once."

Kali sighed. "Not bad enough that we're a CGI cartoon, we're also a video game. Do we have a manga as well?"

"If we do, let's agree to read it on our own time." Raven nodded at Tai. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Fine, fine..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

All three of the adults slowly turned to Sun.

"Like I said," he stated simply, "I was an idiot. But hey, we won, right?"

"Yes, you did." Raven quirked a brow. "It's the dance that you should be ashamed of."

"Had to work with Neptune, he's a terrible dancer."

Kali looked at the screen and winced. "Oh dear."

"What?" Taiyang looked. "The credits?"

"From what I understand, the expansions tend to match up pretty closely to the episode. This ended right before Weiss met Winter..."

Taiyang considered that and flinched himself. "Yeah. Okay, that had to suck for her."

Raven sighed. "Well... at least she got to meet her, right?"

"Right..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...And these two are dating now." Raven gestured at the screen. "These two."

Taiyang shrugged. "We had worse fights."

"Yes, and look how that ended up, Tai."

Kali sighed at Taiyang's wince. "Raven..."

Raven looked from her, to her ex, and groaned. "...fine, it was my fault, I admit it. Sorry for bringing it up."

Sun gave a low whistle. "Wow, missus B, are you just going to super-mom everyone?"

Raven glowered at him. Kali just giggled.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Tai?"

"Yeah Rae?"

"What's the likelihood Qrow ever told these inappropriate stories to anyone during the loops?"

"...Rae, we are not extracting gruesome vengeance on your brother."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...So, right now, there is an unconscious woman locked in the basement of Beacon," Kali said slowly.

"And Cinder has... half her soul in herself," Taiyang agreed, dazed.

"And they were planning to basically sacrifice Pyrrha to correct the situation," Sun managed.

"Would this be a bad time to mention I'm the Spring Maiden this loop?" Raven chirped brightly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The three others slowly turned to stare at Raven.

"No, I can't do what Amber did," she said flatly. "Spring Maiden, not Fall Maiden."

Taiyang coughed. "And, uh, how long have you been the Spring Maiden?"

"It's loop variable, Tai, I'm not even always... look, I'm not going to break out the hocus pocus. Let's just get on with watching Cinder be evil, alright?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Yep." Sun nodded. "Exactly what I remembered."

Kali sighed. "Those poor girls..."

"And Yang's going to be next," Raven mumbled.

Taiyang took a breath. "We watch to the end, then we put in something else before we go on to volume four. Agreed?"

They all nodded.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The room was silent for a moment or two.

"...So," Sun said finally. "I just thought up a nice perk about the loops."

Taiyang tilted his head. "Yeah?"

"We can all take turns beating up Adam."

Raven nodded. "Good thought, that. Can I have first dibs?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Aaaaand that's that. End of volume three." Taiyang slumped into the couch. "Can I say how weird it is to have my own house on my own screen?"

"You could," Raven allowed, "but it'd be an obvious way to hide your actual emotions to seeing... all that."

Kali nodded. "They had to... live through that. I know they did, but... I'm sorry. I just... seeing Blake make that mistake..."

The room was silent.

"...Sooooo." Sun cleared his throat. "I understand there was this whole non-canon spin-off that the guys made after this, it's mostly comedy sketches, anybody want to see that?"

After a moment, Raven shrugged. "Give us twenty minutes, then we'll look over that nonsense."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.8 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Are you... _purring?"_

Blake blinked for a moment or two, before suddenly gaining a furious blush and cutting herself off. "Oh! Right. Um. I... yes." She tapped her fingers together. "That's... not a problem, is it?"

Kali opened her mouth, paused, and frowned. "Is this some loop thing I should be aware of?"

"...actually, yeah." Blake bit her lip. "I really should have brought this up earlier, to be honest. You know how Yang likes puns?"

"Yes."

"Yggdrassil is even worse."

"What do you mean?"

Blake sighed. "We've never been able to determine it one hundred percent, but we think the tree has a sense of humor. And since it's still healing, still in bedrest, it likes to exploit that humor. For instance, I'm a cat girl. So I end up as an actual cat sometimes. Or as cat girls from other worlds. Heck, I even picked up the ability to talk to cats-communicate with them on their level. A few billion loops of that, and some traits... just carry over."

"Like purring?"

"Yeah. I was just... pretty relaxed." Blake coughed. "You know. Being home and all."

Kali considered her for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose that would explain why I ended up as Catwoman that one time. You haven't gained a catnip addiction, have you?"

"Um." Blake gave her an awkward smile. "Not... addiction, no. Just a casual use when I spend a few too many loops without Yang."

"...Blake. I was making a joke."

"Oh."

"Blake, you're not actually abusing catnip are you?"

"No! No no no, I-there are rules. Fifty loops without Yang minimum, and-"

Kali pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a breath. "You know, I thought I was a good mother, but finding out my daughter has been doing drugs-"

"It's not like that, I swear. There's no-there's no downside, I really don't abuse it-"

The woman fought to keep a smile off her face. "My own baby girl, slave to the temptation of Nepeta cataria!"

"I'm not! Look, if you're really that worried I'll empty my pocket and-"

"I knew it was hereditary," Kali bemoaned grandiosely, "but I had hoped you would not fall into my errors!"

Blake opened her mouth-

-paused-

-and narrowed her eyes. "You're messing with me, aren't you."

"A little bit," Kali admitted. "In all seriousness, I trust you enough to... indulge responsibly. Or at least have friends to keep you from overuse."

"Yeah, they do." Blake smiled gently. "They really do."

They sat in the living room for a moment or two.

"So... Catwoman. How did you fare in Gotham city?"

"Surprisingly well, actually. I mean I wasn't really up to pulling off my pre-Awake acrobatics, but I sort of worked the clumsiness into the heists and the feline empathy helped cover most of my slip-ups..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.9 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Qrow?"

"Yeah Raven?"

"Why the hell am I a horse with wings?"

"Cause humans don't exist in Equestria. Luckily, booze does, so I'm hitting the bar."

"Of course you are..."

"Oh, fair warning, there's a pink pony here that's going to want to throw you at least one party and attend one per month, she's like a living sugar rush that defies the laws of physics and sanity, and that's when she's _not_ Awake."

"Really."

"Yeah, when she visits Remnant she eats the Grimm for lunch. Not hyperbole. She literally eats them. Friendly, though."

"...What?"

"Oh there she is now. HEY PINKIE! This is my sister Raven, she's looping now."

"Qrow, wait-"

"OHMYGOSH YOU'RE LOOPING THAT'S SUPERINCREDIMAZING I mean I can tell Qrow's just throwing you to me for his own amusement but I super promise we'll get him back later BUT RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO THROW YOU A WELCOME TO THE LOOPS PARTY AND THAT MEANS I NEED TO KNOW YOUR FAVORITE CAKE FLAVOR although actually you don't look like a cake kind of woman let me guess you prefer something a little more solid COOKIES IT IS I HAVE RECIPIES FROM PLACES YOU HAVEN'T EVEN HEARD OF and we're going to need to invite Rainbow cause she'll want to teach you how to fly and probably hmm Chrysalis feels like the best kindness bearer for you and oh geeze Berry probably has some super advice you super need OHMYGOSH THIS IS SO AMAZING COME ON LET'S MOVE LET'S MOVE LET'S MOVE!"

"What the hell is happening?!"

"See you later sis! Enjoy your party!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.10 Leviticus Wilkes, Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven Branwen looked at the bottom shelf drink that had just been deposited on her table, and at the man who had done the depositing. "Qrow put you up to this, didn't he?"

Roman Torchwick sat quite comfortably in the chair opposite Raven, sipping his own premium beverage in Higanbana's tavern. "No, I just decided that with Neo Unawake this Loop I'd find someone new to irritate."

"Congratulations. You've succeeded."

"Admitting defeat so soon Raeby? Didn't you say the weak die?"

"...Did you seriously just call me Raeby?" Raven stood up, took her drink, and tossed it over Roman. It didn't even leave the glass, because it was frozen solid. The bandit set her drink down and sat back down, calling the waitress over and ordering some top shelf. "Is there a point to all this?"

"Irritating you."

"Why?"

Roman gave Raven a long and careful look. "I'm the best conman on Remnant. One of the better ones in the multiverse-don't get me wrong, there are better ones. But I'm a conman. A cheat. A liar. A thief. A survivor."

Roman nodded to her. "That's why I want to irritate you. We're the same here and I don't like anyone edging in on my property."

"So it's territory. Mother said all men were dogs but I didn't think she was this literal," Raven grumbled.

"I was raised by wolves."

"Sure you were."

"Look at Ozpin. Man would eat you alive. Really, he's done that before, he has eaten people alive, I've seen that. And Zwei's a dog. An honorary wolf on Fenris."

"If you're trying to make this a bitch joke you're not exactly succeeding."

Roman set his drink down and gave Raven a harrowing look. "Like a dog, I have something called pack loyalty. My pack is my daughter Neo."

"If this is about me threatening Neo on the train-"

"It's about your pack," Roman said firmly. "I want to know who your pack is."

Raven glared at Roman.

"I thought so." Roman took his drink up and walked to the railing, overlooking the tavern. Beyond the windows the rain poured down, silencing the outside world. It was a world within a world. "Look at them Raven. All of them down there, scurrying about in their nameless and insignificant lives. They aren't us. We're the movers and shakers of Remnant. Where we go, kingdoms rise and dynasties fall. We change the fate of the world on a whim, wage wars for fun, and tear our enemies to shreds. We aren't like them anymore, and never will be again. We're Loopers Raven, unshackled from fate, unbound by death, and unlimited in our potential."

Raven walked up to the railing, her drink in hand. "Like my tribe."

"Exactly," Roman said. "When I started Looping, Neopolitan was my daughter, my sister, my partner, the only fixed point I really had in life. She's family. She's my pack." He plucked a cigar out of his pocket, striking a match for it. "I don't know what the hell I'd have done if she wasn't there with me. Thank the Brothers that we activate in pairs."

"You really do talk to much," Raven muttered. "Just get to the point."

"You'll want to stick around with your ex boyfriend and Qrowfeet and Blondie for a while," Roman surmised. "They're gonna be the only ones around who make any damn sense anymore."

"You don't think I already do that?" Raven asked.

The conman looked at Raven, rolled his cigar around in his mouth, and shrugged. "Alright, honesty time, I was planning on sounding deep and intelligent and seducing you. I take it you're more a 'best me to bed me' sort of chick."

"No, you just need to not irritate me." Raven swirled the shot glass in her hand. "And get better booze."

"Waitress, top shelve!" Roman called out. "All on this chicks tab!"

"Fuck you."

"Bite me."

"Oh I'm going to..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Raven, wanna talk about why you and Roman got into a bit of a scuffle earlier?"

"The idiot thought he could seduce me. I'm starting to think he and Neo have a bet on which one of them can bed me first."

"Not your type, I guess?"

"It's not that I have a 'type', Yang. It's just... _*sigh*_ Due to my lifestyle and... personal reasons, I refuse to have sex with someone I don't **trust**."

"...Yeah, I can understand that. And while I'm not sure if I should ask, but, is that why... you know... with your Summer?"

"...There were some things I didn't like about Summer. And she held a lot of opinions that I didn't agree with... But despite all of that, she was probably the best friend I ever had. I could always count on her."

"..."

"Yeah. I didn't do a very good job returning the favor, did I?"

"...You'll see her again someday. It's bound to happen with the Loops."

"To be honest, I don't know how I feel about that. Us sleeping together may not have been an act of mutual romantic love, but if what Qrow said is true, the next Summer I meet will not be the one I know. I can't even imagine what Tai must be feeling about that."

"It's gonna be bittersweet, I'll tell you that much. Trust me on that. Even so, don't be too discouraged. I'm sure that she'll be similar enough to you that the differences won't matter so much.

"I hope so."

"Don't worry! Worst comes to worst, it'll be a ghost Summer that Roman will try to have sex with again."

"..."

"...Oh shit. I forgot you didn't know that."

 _Some distance away..._

"He did _**WHAT**_?!"

Tai's head jerked up at the sound of his ex-wife's rage filled roar.

"Huh, why do I get the feeling that whatever pissed her off will piss me off too?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74\. 1 (con't) Masterweaver, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Alright. RWBY Chibi, which apparently stars team RWBY with giant heads." Taiyang pushed the disc drawer shut, returning to the couch. "Anybody want to take a guess at what happens here?"

"General shenanigans," Raven deadpanned.

"Silly randomness," Sun offered.

"Nonsensical tomfoolery?" Kali suggested.

Tai rolled his eyes. "I was aiming for something more specific. But, anyway, here we go."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven half grinned. "So Ruby is your daughter, after all."

Tai groaned. "I know she's old enough to have a sexual side, but... it's not like with Yang, she's been flirty since she hit her teens. I still think of Ruby like my little girl."

"I'm kinda wondering where Blake got that Ninjas of Love book," Sun mused. "I mean, she's not exactly... open about that sort of thing in baseline, who'd give it to her?"

Kali, who this loop was an accomplished author, said absolutely nothing.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Everyone turned to look at Kali.

She sighed. "Yes, I am aware that three of those skits relied on cat stereotypes for their humor. Yes, I am... upset. Especially since it's my daughter being subjected to them."

"A representation of your daughter," Raven pointed out.

"I know, I know. Still, I can acknowledge how it could be seen as humorous."

Taiyang nodded. "For the record, I do have pictures of Ruby tied up in yarn. So that part was kind of true."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Everyone, again, turned to look at Kali. After a moment, she shrugged. "Blake likes boxes. Has since she was a kid."

"So..." Sun tapped his fingers together. "You're not annoyed at the stereotyping this time around?"

"Not really. At least this time she enjoyed herself."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Just a representation..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...What, that's it? She just cleans her ears, what's funny about that?" Kali demanded.

"Hub only has humans," Sun remembered. "So it's more a 'huh, that's a thing' sort of laugh."

"This isn't even a stereotype, it's just... pointless!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

For a moment the room was silent.

"...You know," Raven finally said, "I have noticed my tribe occasionally being more... abstract. I assumed it was just a glitch."

"Patch goes through it sometimes too," Taiyang confirmed.

Kali frowned. "Actually, I haven't noticed it on Menagerie. That's... odd, come to think of it."

"Maybe Faunus are immune?" Sun suggested. "I mean, Velvet wasn't a shadow person, so..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well," Tai mused, "that's one way to acknowledge volume three."

"Or refuse to acknowledge," Raven agreed. "Although Pyrrha died after Yang lost her arm, so..."

Kali shrugged. "It's a comedy that acknowledges it's a comedy. You've got to respect that."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang opened his mouth-

"If you're thinking about using me as a weight," Raven said casually, "let me just remind you death is temporary in the loops."

Taiyang shut his mouth.

Kali sighed. "Raven, you could have just said 'no.'"

"Had to establish the line."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun sniggered. "I'm sorry, but the way she just said it-"

Taiyang snorted. "Yep, Ruby's always been to the point."

Kali tittered. "I'll admit, it's a bit childish... but-"

Raven smirked. "A childish butt indeed."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Everyone turned to look at Taiyang.

"...Well that wasn't entirely how I treated them," he defended himself. "That was all just meant to make my daughters feel comfortable! I slipped their medicine in the milk-"

"I think it's sweet," Kali assured him warmly.

"They're your girls," Sun agreed, "they deserve to be pampered."

Raven opened her mouth, sighed, and turned away so nobody could see her wistful expression.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun groaned, face in his hands. "Oh, geeze, I'm never living down the junior detective thing, am I?"

"Nope," Raven replied bluntly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Okay," Taiyang said, "the whole play was adorable. Even the-no, especially the parts where it went off the rails."

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"We're going to tease the girls about this relentlessly, aren't we?"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali gave Taiyang an amused look. "Has Zwei ever filed proper snuggling paperwork?"

"Never," he replied, completely serious. "He is a cuddlebug vigilante."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.11 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Nora had been the one to propose the idea. In retrospect, that probably should have been a warning sign.

As should have the fact that Qrow was mildly drunk when he agreed-not to his usual extreme levels but only lightly buzzed, which ironically left his thoughts more _malleable_ then when he was flat-out intoxicated.

Why Ren had agreed could probably be chalked up to his habit of acquiescing to Nora's strange whims out of fondness (or boredom, or possibly him being secretly crazier then her-the jury was out on that one).

At the moment, Winter was trying (and failing) to understand why she herself had agreed to this...

"Good evening," the waitress said, "and welcome to Rina's Hideaway. Do you all know what you want to drink?"

"I'm thinking lemonade," Nora chirped brightly. "Can't go wrong with that!"

"I believe I shall take a glass of... Pog juice," Ren mused. "That sounds rather interesting."

"I'll have the Four Relic mix," Qrow said, leaning back. "Sounds suitably ironic."

Winter sighed. "I'll have a water, I need a clear head to keep these three in line."

The waitress nodded sympathetically. "A drunk husband and two sugar-high kids? I don't know how I'd put up with it."

"Oh we're not a family," Nora corrected cheerfully. "Not that way. This is a double date."

To her credit, the waitress's expression did not falter from its polite smile. "I see. Well then. Your drinks will be ready in a few minutes."

She walked briskly toward the kitchen.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.12 Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Adam Taurus."

Adam whirled around at the voice. Once he saw the mask the woman who called out to him was wearing, he knew for a fact the identity of the bandit group that was currently raiding his White Fang camp.

"You have a lot of nerve," growled Adam as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Even if you manage to escape from here today, I'll make sure Sienna will hear of this! You and your tribe will be hunted down to the last!"

Raven stared blankly at Adam, unimpressed with his threats. As the sounds of battle between terrorists and bandits raged around them, she spoke. "Stealing from you is just a bonus. The real reason I'm here is because I called first dibs."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Adam.

Raven took off her mask and set her red eyes to meet Adam's. "I'm here to kill you, Adam."

Adam tensed and drew his sword. "Is that so?"

"It is," nodded Raven. "All things considered, I find it to be a fitting punishment."

"Punishment?!" Adam's voice was laced with anger and confusion. "I don't remember the White Fang and you worthless bandits coming into conflict before."

Raven studied him for a moment before elaborating. "No one in the underworld of Mistral knows this about me, but eighteen years ago I gave birth to a child." She paused. "A daughter by the name of Yang Xiao Long."

Adam's face lit up in realization before he scowled. "You're here to get revenge for that stupid girl who got between me and my Blake?!" he hissed.

Raven lifted an eyebrow at the bull faunus. "If Blake was ever really yours, she definitely isn't now." She gave him a condescending smirk. "She and Yang are engaged to be married."

When his eyes bulged at the new information, Adam flew into a rage. "You lie! There's no way **my Blake** would marry a filthy, crippled _human_! Over my dead body!"

"Oh Adam," Raven said with false pity, "It **will** be over your dead body." Suddenly, a katana that had a miasma-like aura surrounding it appeared in her hand. "I'll make sure your death is as painful as possible. I don't usually indulge in cruelty, but for you I'll make an exception."

The White Fang Leader of the Vale Branch cautiously gazed at the sword that seemingly came out of thin air. "What kind of blade is _that_?" he asked. That sword gave him a bad feeling.

"This is Murasame," Raven informed him. "I acquired it after replacing an assassin named Akame some time ago."

"None of that means anything to me."

"Don't worry," Raven said with cold, deadly assurance as she slid into a combat stance. "Because soon, it will." Locked onto her target, she charged with the cursed sword held firmly in her grip.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74\. 13 Zulaq**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So."

"So?" Kali repeated back at her daughter.

"Uh." Blake hesitated. "Do you want to spar? I know that you don't have that many opportunities to actually fight something in a baseline loop. But you've had time to work on something in case it's needed."

Kali nodded. "Yes, I may have picked up a thing or three from some recent fused loops." She stood up. "I guess a spar could be helpful."

"Ok." Blake joined her, and they moved to a relatively nearby, but empty of bystanders, clearing. "I'll stick to my native abilities and weapons, although I won't hold back too much with them. You can use anything you've picked up."

"That seems a bit one sided."

"Don't worry, I'll try not to beat you too bad." Blake replied automatically, before blushing. "That is to say… Arg, I've been spending too much time with Sasuke."

Kali laughed.

"Fine," Blake huffed, before getting into a ready position.

Opposite her Kali pulled out a semi-automatic rifle from her pocket.

"Ready when you are."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ten minutes later, Blake was soaked head to toe in neon green and orange paint, with the occasional patch of soap bubble mixed in, but she had defeated her mother.

"Ye-Plew." Blake spat out a bar of soap. "You should be glad Yang's not here. She can get rather sensitive if something ruins her hair."

"It's only a bit of paint," Kali pointed out as she put down her fully-automatic soap rifle, "Besides, this gun has a setting for cleaning hair."

"Where did you get that anyway?" Blake asked, "I know that those paint guns were probably from Splatoon, although they were much less cartoony than normal for that world. But where did you get the chainsaw mop?"

"I had a loop with one Agatha Hetrodyne."

Blake groaned. "Don't tell me, you were a Spark."

"Yes." Kali nodded, "Although for some reason every invention I made seemed to have a cleaning function."

"Even the death rays?"

"Turned out to be wide-angle sterilization rays. Didn't actually kill anything larger than bacteria."

"Odd," Blake mused, "Although you might actually want to pick up some actual weapons."

Kali shook her head. "No need, my soap dispenser can fire a kilogram block of solid soap at any speed up to the speed of light. No idea how, or where it gets its ammunition, or how the wielder is kept safe, but it works." She frowned, "Although there is quite a bit of collateral damage at the higher settings." She shrugged. "At which point I can use my other weapons to clean up after myself."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.1 (con't) Masterweaver, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Okay," Taiyang said, "I knew about the motorcycle, and Ruby's been attached to that wagon after Qrow saved her, but a trike?"

Sun frowned. "I've... I think I've actually seen Weiss riding a tricycle around, on occasion. When she's Awake. I always thought she was pulling a 'Weiss wouldn't do that' prank, but..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"That Grimm is far too adorable," Raven stated flatly. "I know it's chibi, but what the hell."

"There are plenty of adorable creatures that can kill you in Menagerie," Kali chided her. "Let me tell you about cassowaries sometime. _Eugh..."_

"I'm kind of surprised that Blake mistook Jaune for me," Sun grumbled. "I mean, what, we're both blonde?"

"You... do kind of sound alike," Taiyang pointed out.

"What? No we don't! Missus B, tell him!"

Kali shook her head. "Yeah, you... actually do sound a lot alike, Sun."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Oh right," Raven deadpanned, "a cartoon deserves a cartoon villain."

"Behold Cinder Fall!" Sun intoned dramatically. "Destroyer of Vale and terror of Remnant!"

"She does have the laugh down," Kali pointed out.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Everyone turned to look at Sun.

"Okay." He held up his hands. "This is a cartoon, and all my negative aspects are being played up for laughs. I have never said 'brain box,' I have never peeked in on a pillow fight, and I certainly wasn't nearly as incompetent when I was in one."

"But you were in one," Raven said.

"...yeah. It was... look, let's just... get to the next episode."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali chuckled. "You know, in some loops where she discovers her semblance early, little Blake actually tries to sneak out of chores by leaving behind one of her clones."

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Oh yes. Of course, I usually pretend the clone is 'real Blake' and put on a panicked act. She comes running right out to reassure me she's alright. She's usually five or six, mind..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"As if one cartoon villain wasn't enough," Raven grumbled.

"You have something against cartoon villains?" Sun asked.

"A lot of them are bandits. Stupid bandits. Who steal because they're eeeeeeeevil." Raven threw up a hand. "Meanwhile I'm constantly trying to keep my tribe safe in the wilderness AND figure out what to steal and how to take it AND keep Huntsmen and Huntresses and Grimm off us-it's demeaning and stupid."

Taiyang frowned. "Not saying anything against you, but the whole point of the villain is to be defeated."

"No, I'd be fine if the evil bandits were taken down, I just don't want them failing because they're all _morons!"_

Everyone stared at her.

"...Alright." Raven took a breath. "Alright, I'm calm now. Let's just... keep going."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Eat a cookie through her nose." Sun nodded. "Yep, that's Ruby alright."

Taiyang glowered at him.

"Look, I've seen her do it!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Okay, so the floor actually was lava, somehow." Taiyang chuckled. "I remember when Ruby and Yang used to play that... the living room was always a mess."

Kali shook her head fondly. "I never won those events when I played with Blake. She and Ghira would always have to 'rescue' me."

"...In Vacuo it was always quicksand," Sun mused. "Whenever we hit the ground we'd start 'drowning' but if somebody could reach you, you could be pulled out."

Raven said nothing, examining her gauntlets with an expressionless face.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well, that was... decidedly crazy," Sun managed. "I mean... wow. That was random."

"I think that was the point," Raven stated. "A bit of metahumor, to round out the nonsense."

"Well, Nora's not getting coffee from me," Taiyang stated firmly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun sighed. Kali put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Raven and Taiyang glanced at them, before returning their gaze to the screen.

"...It's also a gun, huh?" Tai shrugged. "Sounds like as good a catchphrase as any."

"Well, this was fun," Raven managed. "Aside from the blatantly idiotic parts. I guess we're watching volume four next?"

"Yeah." Sun sighed. "Well, yeah. Just... can we have a few minutes to get ourselves ready for that mess? Emotionally, I mean?"

Kali nodded. "I think that would be best. We have been binging on this..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.14 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ozpin set his coffee down, smiling lightly. "It's good to have you join our staff mister Xiao Long."

Taiyang didn't speak for a moment, enjoying the coffee he had. "It's good to join such a... prestigious facility. Besides, it'll be good to work with Bart and Peter. Makes coffee breaks more interesting."

"I would imagine so," Ozpin said with a chuckle. The Headmaster of Beacon steepled his hands, eyeing Taiyang. "I imagine that talking about your issues will help them be resolved."

"Yeah..." Taiyang sagged into his chair. "It's just that... at least here I've got familiar faces. Back at Signal, I don't know any of my colleagues, and they're always changing. I mean, here I've got my family, my friends, and you and Glynda."

Ozpin nodded sagely. "We've experienced the same problem. The faculty outside of the obvious four and Professor Peach vary wildly. But having Glynda, James and Qrow around do alleviate some of the issues."

"It's Port. If there's anyone who can 'alleviate issues' it's Pete."

"True." Ozpin set his coffee aside, rising to his full, though not quite impressive compared to Taiyang, height. "Now then, I believe it is time to, as Nora would say, initiate the shenanigans."

"The what?"

 _Ten minutes later:_

"ALL SHALL BOW BEFORE THE COFFEE KINGS AND DESPAIR!" Ozpin decried from the head of his robot army.

"NEVER!" Weiss screamed, leading her Camellia Rebels against the horde.

"I just want everyone to know that I find this really weird, and really cool," Taiyang said, punching everything.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.15 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven did not like to be approached.

That had rapidly become clear, in the context of the loops. She would tolerate other loopers seeking her out, but with a wary edge to her, a definite suggestion that she would either lash out or snap open a portal if she got uncomfortable. She preferred to be the one that initiated contact, if only because it gave her the illusion of control. There were exceptions-Ruby could play her like a fiddle, Nora's street urchin past lent her an odd respect from the bandit, Qrow she acknowledged with some warmth, Zwei's doggy expression made it difficult for her to get riled up, and while Kali hadn't come into her camp yet there was an unspoken open invitation. But for the most part, her behavior was akin to that of the creatures who shared her name-watching whoever approached her flock with red eyes, only coming by to steal or speak on a whim.

Merely because she did not like being approached, however, did not mean Raven was openly hostile to approaching loopers. Snarky, a touch pointed with her barbs-usually ready to attempt defense against team JNPR, or delicately prod Yang and Taiyang's heartstrings to see if they were particularly angry with her this loop. Still, a stranger in her camp, her tribe-even if it wasn't a stranger to her personally-generally had to be dealt with in a firm manner. Or at least appear to be dealt with in a firm manner.

"...Blake." Raven nodded, even as her kinsfolk pointed their weapons at the girl. "Might I inquire as to the nature of your visit?"

"I thought we should talk about Adam." Blake glanced around at the weapons. "Have I ever mentioned how nostalgic this tribe of yours makes me feel?"

Raven narrowed her eyes. "...My tent. Now."

Blake bowed, a gesture of respect that Raven suspected was less earned and more given to appease. The Nevermore Queen gave the bandits a two fingered gesture, keeping her thumb open as her hand descended; stand down, but remain wary. She led her guest into her abode, taking her customary seat on the couch behind the table, and folded her hands.

The faunus looked around the tent appraisingly. "I like what you've done with the place."

"If I wanted idle chitchat, I could have gone to Ruby. Why do you want to talk about Adam?"

Blake hmmfed in amusement, producing a chair and sitting down. "Sixteen loops ago, from my perspective, you attacked the Vale fang and gruesomely tortured Adam Taurus."

"You're not going to lecture me on right and wrong, are you?"

"Hardly. I did something similar after the expansion Yang lost her arm... and after the expansion Pyrrha died."

Raven leaned back, a smirk faintly teasing her lips. "I can only imagine how Kali reacted, learning her little girl was a torturer... and a murderer."

"I haven't told her yet."

"No? Interesting."

Blake gave her a firm glower. "You're not going to tell her."

Raven quirked a brow. "You're ashamed?"

"I _regret_ it."

"Right, Yang's little... philosophy." The bandit queen nodded. "Actually something I think I can agree with, if I'm honest."

"Speaking of which, why?"

"Why...?"

"Why did you attack Adam Taurus?" Blake asked. "I know your feelings toward Yang are complicated, and you'd already used her one save that time-even if we all Woke Up late, I assumed you'd still count it for the loop."

"I wasn't rescuing her," Raven pointed out.

"You weren't rescuing anyone," Blake countered. "You traveled halfway across the globe, stealing from a terrorist group, and tortured their leader. So, why?"

"Are you expecting me to say I wanted vengeance?"

"I'm expecting you to deny it and come up with some bullcrap answer that fits your worldview on strength."

Raven looked at her for a moment. "...Let me disappoint you. I wanted revenge. There it is."

Blake nodded. "Ah. So you do have some emotional connection to Yang after all."

"Of course I do. She's my... something. She's... something I invested nine months in, at minimum."

"Well, yes, I just thought you chose a different family."

Raven frowned. "Let me make something clear here, Blake. I had a choice. I could have either the tribe or Tai and Yang. Not both. No matter why I left, excluding a very few variants, that's what it came down to. One family or the other. There was never a third option."

"I'm not saying you're in the wrong," Blake assured her. "I realize it was a difficult decision, and I realize... that you invest a lot in this tribe. I just... wanted to know how you justified the thing with Adam. To them, if not to yourself."

"Hmm." Raven nodded. "Alright. Adam toppled a kingdom. He wasn't alone, obviously, but from the view of the people on the ground it was the White Fang that was responsible. That made him strong... strong enough to be a threat."

"Of course, normally bandits move on from that sort of problem," Blake pointed out. "Too many huntsmen and huntresses, a Grimm of unnerving intelligence, you avoid it instead of charging in."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Are you accusing me of being weak?"

"Am I?"

"...You're trying to deconstruct my philosophy."

Blake chose her words carefully. "...You don't have to choose one family or the other anymore, Raven. But you do have to help us understand you. Otherwise, we can't... do what family should do."

"Like you failed with Cinder."

She nodded, ears folded back. "Yes."

"Hmmm." Raven considered the girl. "Retreat isn't weakness. Not against a stronger opponent. There are... many kinds of strength. Strength of arms, strength of will, strength of mind... strength of heart. Finding the right strength for the right situation is essential for survival."

"Alright. And what strength did you convince your tribe to find against Adam and the White Fang?"

"The strength to exploit their weakness. They played at being cartoon villains, the ultimate evil of bandits, and so made numerous tactical errors. If they'd been truly competent, instead of merely tenacious and lucky... they would have survived the assault."

Blake considered her for a moment or two. "I'll have to think on that."

"And I'll have to think on your words. Oh," she added, "have you decided on a date for the wedding?"

"We're... holding off. As of the latest expansion, we're all separate in Baseline-we're going to wait until we all meet up again, at least, probably until after the next set of expansions."

"Mmm. Makes sense, I suppose."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"...You'll want to be getting back," the bandit queen said suddenly. "I'm guessing Yang's lonely without you."

Blake gave her a grin. "You know what my semblance is in baseline, miss Branwen. And over the loops, I have gained... excellent control of it."

"Ah. So I'm talking to a clone, then."

"Yes indeed. Schrodinger's cat has nothing on me."

"...Schrodinger."

Blake sighed. "Hub-world scientist-I really need to start up my reading assignments again, I forget how little you new loopers know of _culture_..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.16 RiceFieldRennigade**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! OHMYGOSHTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" squealed the red garbed anchor of Remnant. "This isn't a joke right, like you actually giving this to me right?" Ruby asked with eyes sparkling.

"Of course. Whats a vacation without bringing back your friends a few souvenirs," Glynda replied.

"This isn't just a souvenir. This is a Hyperion Conference Call. This thing is so rare that barely anyone outside of the borderlands loops owns one," Ruby explained as she admired the craftsmanship and design that made up one of the deadliest firearms that Pandora had to offer. "I mean how did you even GET this?"

 _At that moment Glynda Goodwitch, a well seasoned Huntress and the Witch of Beacon, grew silent as her eyes dimmed and she stared into empty space. Hours upon hours spent sitting at a slot machine, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in a beat up bar. Her efforts yielding nothing but the most useless equipment that that nacho flavored hell hole of a planet could dish out. The constant low quality techno music playing in the background as the slot machine screamed "BOMB TIME" as it spat out live grenades time after time after time AFTER TIME-_

"Umm, Glynda?"

Glynda snapped back to reality and regained focus on the silver eyed girl in front of her. "I guess I just got lucky," she simply stated.

Ruby eyed the professor for a little before deciding to let it go. "Well, thanks for the gift," she said. "I'll be sure to get you something just as cool."

And with that they continued about their day.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.1 (con't) Masterweaver, Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well, back to the main event." Tai started up volume four.

"Well, that's ominous, to say the least," Kali said as they saw a beowolf rise up from the pool of Grimm essence.

"No kidding. I like the graphics though. Much better lighting," Sun said.

"Cinder lost her eye?"

"And her voice, it seems."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I like team JNRR," Sun said.

"RNJR is better," Raven told him. "It's both a color and a term for someone good at archery."

"How in Yggdrasil did they think that setting the thing on fire would be a good idea?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The four of them tried hiding their amusement at Jaune's hoodie to varying degrees of success.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I don't like him," Raven said.

"Whitley or Jacques?" Kali asked.

"Both."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...yeah," Raven sighed. "This is why Ren left me naked on Tai's porch one time."

Taiyang doubletaked. "He did what?!"

"Zwei told me about it. It was before we started looping, mind you..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Sun, that's you isn't it?"

"Yes it is, and no, I don't regret it."

"You didn't even think to see where that ship was headed, did you?"

"Look, I know better now, and I would still go."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Okay, even knowing she can command the Grimm, I did not expect Salem to be this... creepy," Taiyang admitted.

"Or that jellyfish Grimm. It's..." Sun shivered. "A servant Grimm, that's disturbing."

Raven nodded. "And now you know why I didn't tell you about her at the memorial..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Well now I know where Yang gets her terrible sense of humor from," Kali said casually. "Really, Tai? Brain cells?"

Taiyang sighed. "Look, she was... in a rut. I had to push her somehow. It worked, right?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yes, because that's what terrible humor is all about."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Okay," Raven said slowly. "You all already knew this about me. And... fine. I can see how it could be seen as negative."

She looked at the other three's expressionless faces.

"...I really didn't know about the Grimm," she insisted. "And-look, this isn't... Even if I wanted to change, I start the loop with the bandit tribe. I can't deny that, neither can any of you."

The other three continued looking at her.

Raven sighed. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you. Fine. I'm... sorry. There, are you all happy?"

Kali put a hand on her shoulder. "You have another chance now," she said quietly. "Just... make the best of it."

"...I'm not leaving my tribe," Raven grumbled.

"I'm not asking you to."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven snorted. "Wow. Sun, just... wow."

Sun sighed. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." He seemed somewhat quiet.

Raven glanced at him, then gave Taiyang a pointed look. After a moment, the man wrapped his arms around the boy. "Look, Sun, I get it's hard. I mean, Rae left me, and it... took me a while to recover from that. But I did, and I found Summer, and... what I'm saying is, it's not your fault. You can-"

"I get it, mister Xiao Long. Really. I just..." He shrugged. "I dunno. Watching this makes it more real."

Kali nodded. "I know that feeling. I remember when she stepped back into our life... Sun, you know you're always welcome at our house."

"Right, because crossing oceans is so easy for us loopers..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun gave a low whistle. "Wow, and I thought Henry was bad."

Taiyang's fists were tightly clenched. "If I ever see that woman-"

"Weiss deals with her regularly," Kali reminded him. "Her and Jacques Schnee. Coming from that, I'm amazed she's become as good a person as she has."

"Another perk to being a bandit," Raven quipped with a savage smirk. "Tearing rich idiots like them DOWN."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang took a sharp breath. "Ruby warned me that Tyrian was tough in null loops."

"He's a distraction kind of fighter," Raven analyzed. "Keeping his best tools hidden until necessary, working to unbalance his opponents... brutal and cunning. One of the worst combinations, even before you add faunus on top of that."

Kali gave her a look. "You have something against faunus?"

"You have superior senses, making it harder for us to ambush you, and that's on top of your obvious animal traits! Hidden weapons, extra limbs, regeneration, even some stealth skin sometimes-all around harder to beat then an ordinary human."

Kali held up a finger, paused, and frowned. "You know, I've never heard a human admit they were jealous of faunus traits before. It's always been that we were beasts to be oppressed."

"I didn't say I was jealous," Raven insisted. "Only that you're tougher to beat."

Sun rolled his eyes. "Coming from you, that's a compliment."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So," Sun said slowly. "As the only one in the room that is not arguably a parent, I'd like to ask everyone's opinion-I think Jacques is horrible, but if I'm missing something-"

"No, you aren't." Taiyang shook his head. "There's giving a kid chores, then there's treating them like an employee, then there's this crap."

"As both a mother and a faunus, I have to say that my distaste for Jacques has only increased since I started looping," Kali growled.

Raven nodded. "The keepers are tough on the kids in the bandit tribe, but only so they can see their own flaws. Not to cover their own asses."

Sun blinked. "Wait, you've got kids in your tribe?"

Raven gave him a flat look. "You know what a tribe _is_ , right? We're basically a city without the city. Of course we have kids!"

Taiyang considered her for a moment. "...are... did you...?"

"Did I what?"

"...Nothing. Never mind."

After a moment, the bandit queen lowered her eyes. "We'll talk later."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Nice cryptic line, Qrow." Raven rolled her eyes. "You just got ripped by a stinger, your beloved niece just pulled her first action of bodily harm and was called a bitch, and everyone's confused and demanding answers, and what do you say? 'What's your favorite fairy tale.' And I thought _I_ had a flair for the dramatic..."

"Actually, good question. What is everyone's favorite fairy tale?" Taiyang asked. "I'm fond of the Girl in the Tower."

"I kinda like the Shallow Sea," Sun admitted. "Bit of a classic."

"Well, I used to like the Story of the Seasons," Kali admitted, "but that was before I found out the Maidens were real. Um. Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"You're part of the invisible conspiracy. How many fairy tales are... true?"

"It's loop variable, and exactly how true they are can vary wildly, but usually?" The bandit queen gave wide smirk. _"All of them."_

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven fidgeted impatiently. "Come on, get on with it."

Taiyang chuckled. "What, you're that invested in the show?"

"Not invested, just... Qrow's going over stuff we all know already. He's going to go off about his semblance soon, I just know it."

"You have to remember that this was written as a story," Sun pointed out. "Exposition has to happen somehow."

"...How does backing up a universe in the hub translate to the motivation to write a fictional account about said universe?" Kali wondered. "Does creativity even really exist?"

"It's a major philosophical quandary," Taiyang agreed. "One we could go on for days about..."

They sat in silence as the episode ran on.

Eventually Sun gave a low whistle. "Being a looper really screws with your head, doesn't it?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali's smile was melancholy. "Ghira really is a great man. I'm lucky to have him, even if..."

She trailed off.

Sun glanced around and, awkwardly, put his hand on her shoulder. "Blake's lucky to have both of you. And... hey, loopers start looping when loopers get close to non-loopers."

"I know, I just... sometimes..." Kali shook her head. "It's hard, sometimes."

Raven nodded. "Yeah... sometimes I really wish I had convinced Tai to come with me to the tribe."

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow but, wisely, decided to remain silent.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Okay, see, totally called it." Raven threw up her hands. "Yes, angst, thank you, moving on!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven rolled her eyes. "Sun, you are terrible at explaining things."

"Hey, I was panicking!" Sun protested. "And I think I did well enough, right missus B?"

Kali bit her lip. "Weeeeeeeeeeell no. Not well at all."

"...Oh."

"But you did bring her back. Or, she brought you back... you gave her the motivation to come back. And for that, at least, I'm grateful."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"You know, I know I'm the only civilian looper on Remnant, but..." Kali gestured at the screen. "Is sparring really this helpful for you warrior types? Psychologically, I mean?"

"Yep." Sun rolled his shoulders. "It's a sort of... living in the moment kind of thing. Mind moves faster during a spar, but it's not dangerous so you don't have to focus on survival."

"I know it certainly helped Yang," Taiyang chuckled. "She really started clambering out of her funk..."

He paused, glancing at Raven. The bandit queen had cocked her head, fascinated with the words coming out of the speakers.

"...and... I meant every word of what I told her," he finished.

"Obvious sappy statement is obvious," she replied, no real heat in her distracted tone.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Woo!" Kali shouted. "TRASH THE WINDOW! BREAK THE CAGE! TAKE DOWN THE MAN!"

Everyone stared at her.

"...Ahem." With a blush, she took the empty bowl on the table. "I'm... going to go get us some more popcorn."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"And Sun, once again, sticks his foot in his mouth," Raven deadpanned.

"'She even doesn't look like a faunus'?" Taiyang gave him a look. "Really? Not even I'm that stupid-hell, you _are_ a faunus, you should know how insulting that sounds!"

"Alright, alright, I'm an idiot! I get it!" Sun rolled his eyes. "Look, I pretty clearly paid for it, alright?"

"Did I miss Sun getting stabbed?" Kali asked as she returned with the popcorn. "Because I have mixed feelings if I did."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"And of course they split up," Raven sighed. "Emotional teenagers."

"Hey!" Sun cried.

"Case in point."

 _"Hey!"_

Tai frowned. "I can see the logic, unfortunately. There was no good answer there."

"Oh, I know. I'm not saying they were wrong. I'm just..."

"...Trying to hide your worries behind a wall of snark?" Kali suggested.

"It's fic-it-okay, it's not so much fiction, but I'm not worried, he survived that I know it, I-just-next episode. Just get through the next one."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"We're on the home stretch now!" Taiyang declared, much to the confusion of the rest of STRK. "What? I've heard Ruby using it. I think it's a term from the hub loops?"

"...Let's just play the last three, Tai."

"Alright, alright."

"So, this one's called Kuroyuri?" Sun asked.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Before you ask, no, I didn't raid Kuroyuri." Raven stated.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hold on- is that _Ren_?" Sun asked. Indeed, a younger Lie Ren was on the screen. Taiyang and Kali both chuckled at his antics.

"I remember when Ruby would try to convince me cookies were an important part of a healthy diet. I don't think she ever grew out of that, really."

"Oh, yes, Blake would pull this sometimes too. She'd go on and on about how a book she wanted was really something she thought Ghira wanted but she should read it first _just to make sure_ -"

"At least Yang was usually honest. 'I want that, how do I convince you to get it for me?' Negotiations with her usually went horribly..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang was failing to contain his laughter as the young Ren asked for some sake.

"He should have said that it was for his dad. The way he said it-heh-made it sound like he wanted it for himself."

"Alright, calm down," Raven said. "It wasn't that funny."

"Ghira would find that really funny too,"Kali told the bandit. "Don't worry. I think it's something about men."

Both of them turned to Sun.

"What? It's a bit amusing, sure, but it isn't that funny."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"She scavenged that bread fair and square!" Sun objected. "There's no reason to gang up on her!"

"Some people just can't respect a woman who makes her own fate," Raven quipped.

Sun let out a low breath. "See, I want to say those kids are jerks, but... realistically, I know they're going to die."

"They were still jerks," Raven pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"The dead don't mind if you speak ill of them. The undead, they might. But the dead won't."

"...okay then. Those kids were jerks."

Raven nodded her head in agreement, but her mind was elsewhere, thinking on the elder Ren's words.

"That was Nora, though, right?"

"It was," Raven said. "I kind of know what happens next. I was there one loop. Although, they were Awake, so I'm unsure of what they changed."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

" _The_ beast? A single Grimm? That's what did it?" Kali asked. "I hope nothing like that turns up on Menagerie before I get looping powers good enough defeat it."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Everything is not fine! You can't have her say that everything is fine then have her die moments after! You just don't do that!" Sun said.

"Sometimes life sucks. She-"

"Was weak? Was that what you were going to say, Raven?" Taiyang asked.

"I was _going_ to say that she was acting strong, and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's more than just physical strength. There's also mental strength. Something you seem to lack, Tai."

Sun and Kali were speechless at that, until the two from STRQ started laughing.

"I'm surprised we didn't expect that, missus B." Sun said.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Interesting arrowheads," Raven mused. "They appear to be able to do more damage, but are less aerodynamic."

"For all the good that did him," Sun pointed out. "The knife he gave Ren looks a bit familiar, but he uses his gun... knives... ohhh."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"There are human-shaped Grimm?" Kali asked, shocked, as the monster's form appeared in the smoke.

"Usually only one, and that's loop-variable." Raven said, "This is something else."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Was that Ren's semblance? Doesn't seem to be any good against people."

"Would explain why he didn't use it in the tournament."

"Good against Grimm though. Cool how he can apply it to others, as well."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So that's how Nora came up with using a warhammer as a weapon." Sun said.

Kali's ears folded back. "I... Even with what I remember from _that_ loop, this is..."

"...Horrifying?" Taiyang suggested.

"...I know this sort of thing happens regularly, and I know that... every one of you, in your own way, keep it from happening more often. So... thank you."

Raven gave her a look. "Even me? I left Shione to that in baseline. Even now, I keep my tribe from killing people, but... I don't save them. I let them take it."

"...Against that thing, I can understand why...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Yes. Go into the cave, why don't you? Not like there's some creepy Grimm in there, huh?" Tai said aloud.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"You were saying, Tai?" Raven asked, as they saw all the black blood and all the broken weapons, including...

"That's Li Ren's arrow." Raven pointed out.

"You mean nobody's killed that thing?!" Kali asked, shocked.

"So it would seem, especially since... yup. There's its roar."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...I know Salem didn't always exist from her viewpoint," Taiyang mused, "but this explains so much about why she went crazy."

"Yeah." Raven nodded. "Really, the only reason I haven't punched her face in is because I knew Salem was a thing."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...I hate binary choices," Raven grumbled.

"What?"

"You heard me, Tai."

"...Rae-"

"Oh look, Weiss's section is up."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Closing the borders?" Sun asked. "That's.. yeah, okay, I can see why he does it, but that's a stupid move overall."

"Baseline Ironwood doesn't know all that we do," Kali pointed out. "And after the fall of Vale, I can see him being very protective... At least Weiss is getting out before-or will get out... will have gotten out...? In some proper temporal frame, Weiss's departure precedes that of the shutdown of Atlas borders, ensuring she will not be subjected to the anger of Jacques that results from said shutdown."

"Time, space, real, fictional..." Raven shrugged. "All borders decay in the infinite loops."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, here's an insensitive question: do all faunus stick their feet in their mouths when they're panicking?"

Kali gave Raven a look of amused annoyance. "It's the only reason we haven't conquered the world yet."

"...Oooo." The bandit clapped her hands. "That's actually brilliant, I'm not even mad."

Taiyang sighed, giving Sun a look. "...I'm sorry if-"

"No, I... I'm moving on. I care for her, really, and she's happy with Yang. So... just going to move on, and hope Baseline doesn't spring any other nasty surprises on me."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well, there's a nice point to end the episode," Raven snarked. "Everyone's back together, just in time to fight the monster."

"The next one is the finale," Taiyang reminded her. "Builds up the adventure and all that."

"I know, storytelling trick. Put the last one in, let's see what happens next..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ah," Taiyang nodded. "Useful semblance, that."

"That creature has... rather long arms," Kali noted. "And a disturbing level of intelligence."

"Yeah, older Grimm are dangerously smart," Sun replied. "Never want to face them alone-wait, what? Stop looking-what?"

Raven smirked. "Did you want a look?"

"No, it's just-I've never heard of a combat skirt failing like that before!"

"It does take quite a bit of aura drain," Taiyang noted.

"Or deliberately allowing it to happen," Raven pointed out.

"Is that why you wear such a short skirt?" Kali asked.

Raven gave her a look. "What, are you implying I deliberately exploit my fabulous legs to distract the most idiotic of my opponents in combat?"

"No, I'm outright _accusing_ you of deliberately exploiting your fabulous legs to distract the most idiotic of your opponents in combat."

"I certainly know she deliberately exploited her fabulous legs to distract me during spars," Taiyang mused. "And at other times."

"This is a fascinating conversation about Raven's fabulous legs," Sun deadpanned, "but you just missed Nora smacking some sense into Ren."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang smiled faintly. "I know she's grown up a lot because of the loops but... it's good to know Ruby would have become good person even without them."

"She really does have a lot of Summer in her," Raven agreed faintly. She stood up and stretched. "Well, I'll stay for the post-credits plot twist, but I think we should all head out after that."

"This was certainly an interesting experience," Kali mused. "Maybe we could do it again with some... other series."

Taiyang nodded. "Any suggestions?"

"I know Blake adopted a few siblings from out of universe. I could ask her for the hub backups of those realities."

"Yang and Ruby actually have a couple extra-universal brothers too, I think these Rooster Teeth guys have the backup for one of them."

Raven blinked for a moment. Then she rolled her eyes. "So I apparently have nephews as well now. Yay."

"Huh." Sun shrugged. "Well, even if I'm not really part of that, I wouldn't mind joining in. You guys seem pretty cool to hang out with."

"High praise," Taiyang quipped with a chuckle.

"Well, you know, I've already got a pretty awesome group of friends, and I do have high standards."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Riiiiiight."

Sun glanced at her. "...So, uh. Would it be rude to ask for a portal back to Beacon?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Alright. Can I have a portal back to Beacon?"

"Eh, sure." She shrugged and cut a hole in the air.

Sun stood, nodding to everyone. "It was fun, see you all later!" He walked through the portal without a second thought, and it snapped shut behind him.

There was a quiet moment.

"...How far off the ground did you stick the other end?" Tai asked.

"Not far enough to kill him," Raven assured him.

Kali rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't have my Aura active and, unlike Sun, I can't make the excuse of missing a boat. Can you put me on a roof in Menagerie somewhere? I can get down from there."

"What am I, a walking transport system?"

"Apparently."

Raven snorted, giving Kali a wry smirk as she opened another portal. "Only reason I'm being so nice is your daughter would kill me if I wasn't."

"Oh, of course." Kali chuckled. "It really was a pleasure to talk with you, though. And thank you, Taiyang, for hosting us."

"It wasn't any trouble," the man replied. "Don't be a stranger!"

"Same to you two!" Kali walked briskly through the portal, vanishing from Patch.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Raven sighed. "This is the part where we have a serious talk, isn't it?"

"Well, you can always walk out," Taiyang offered, only a hint of pain in his voice.

She glanced at the clock. "...I've got four hours before I need to be back. Alright." Slowly, the bandit queen sat back down. "So. What are we going to talk about?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.17 LithosMaitreya**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Blake looked up from her book when the monkey faunus fell from the sky. "Hello, Sun," she said. "Pleasant trip?"

Sun blinked at her blearily as he looked up from the small crater where he'd landed in the grass of the courtyard. "Ow," he said.

Blake snorted. "Eloquent," she said. "Raven sent you back?"

Sun nodded and picked himself up slowly. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Reading," Blake said, gesturing with her book.

"Reading what?"

"Shakespeare."

"Who's that?"

Blake blinked once. "Shrubs," she mumbled, "it's been centuries since I legitimately heard that. Shakespeare is arguably the most important writer in our language in the Hub; possibly the most important single writer _in_ the Hub."

"Huh," Sun said absently, watching her. "Cool. Lots of action and passion, then? Sex, combat, the whole nine yards?"

Blake sighed. "To an extent," she said, "but it's not what you're thinking." She beckoned him to sit beside her on the bench. "Here," she said as he approached, handing him the volume of the Complete Works. "Look."

Sun sat and blinked at the text. "The heck?" he spluttered after a moment. "Half of these aren't even _words_!"

"Elizebethan English," Blake explained. "Language changes over time, and Shakespeare wrote four hundred years before the Hub equivalent of the modern period."

"You can read this?"

Blake nodded. "It's not that hard," she said. "It's easier than picking picking up a second language, and I've got a… fair few of those?"

Sun blinked at her. "How many?" he asked weakly.

Blake pursed her lips. "Um," she said. "All of them?"

It was an exaggeration, of course. There were certainly languages she had not heard or could not learn. But basically every language across the Loops that she _could_ have learned she had, by now.

Sun sighed. "I've got a lot to catch up on, haven't I?" he asked weakly.

Blake nodded and then, impulsively, took his hand. "Yes," she said. "But, Sun… you have no idea how happy I am that you have the _chance_ to catch up now."

Sun twitched and pulled his hand away. "Don't do that to me, Blake," he said quietly. "Please. I can't."

"I'm sorry," she said gently.

"Don't be," he said automatically.

"No, I am," she insisted. "I'm sorry that things are… like this, for you. I'm sorry you're stuck in this limbo, and I'm sorry that I put you in it. You deserve better. You're a good guy, Sun, and you deserve better than this. But I can't _be_ that."

Sun stood up and walked a few paces away from her, his head tucked down into his chest. "I know," he said, and his voice was even. "Roman put it well. You and Yang… you've got something no one mortal can ever get. We—they—always settle for an approximation; as close as two people can get in a lifetime. You've had _thousands_ of lifetimes. I can't even imagine something like that. It's so far beyond anything we had, in… in baseline, that it's almost hilarious that I'm acting like my feelings mean _anything_ by comparison."

"Your feelings aren't trivial, Sun," Blake said gently. "I know you better than that."

"It's like comparing a candle to a bonfire," Sun said, "when the sun's in the sky."

Blake twitched and didn't reply. Sun turned back.

"I'm sorry that I'm being so much trouble," he said. "I know I've got no right. It's just… hard."

Blake nodded. "I know," she said gently. "And I wish you didn't have to deal with it, Sun, I really do."

He gave her a wan smile. "I know you do," he said. "And… that helps."

"No, it doesn't," Blake said dryly.

Sun snorted. "Nah," he agreed. "It really doesn't."

Blake set her book on the seat beside her and stood up. "I care about you, Sun," she said firmly. "I really do. And I'm not willing to compromise on that, even though I know a flat, unilateral rejection might make this easier for you to deal with. But you're right; what I have with Yang is… to say it means the world to me would be to do it an injustice. She's my sky and stars, my Yggdrasil, my Anchor. She's been holding me together when I fall apart for longer than you can imagine, and I've done the same for her. You really _can't_ imagine what it's like; you will, one day, but you're still a few centuries too young right now. But that doesn't mean I don't care for you."

"Just not like that," Sun said.

Blake snorted. "You're probably pushing twenty-five, now, with the Loops you've done so far," she said lightly. "Don't act like you even know what that means."

Sun's lips twisted. Blake sighed.

"It's not an insult, Sun," she said. "The _majority_ of Loopers are single, because when you get to the kind of age we do, _love_ —romantic love—starts to mean something different. Our souls are big enough to literally encompass star systems and galaxies—can you imagine giving over the care of something that monumental to someone else?"

She sighed again. "Talk to Ren," she advised. "He and Nora, despite basically knowing they were romantically interested in baseline, have only even _started_ seriously entertaining romance in the past few hundred Loops to so. He might be able to explain why it's such a big _deal_ for us. It's not something we _ever_ do casually. Sex, yes. Romance, never."

Sun looked away. "I think I get it," he said. "But… yeah, I just don't have the scope. Yet."

"Yet," Blake confirmed. "Can you… accept that? Can you live with an answer you don't yet understand in full?" 

"I'm going to have to, aren't I?" Sun asked wryly. "Not like I can change your mind, and it's not like I can _stop_ living with it even if I want to."

Blake came forward and pulled him into her arms. "I'm sorry, Sun," she said.

"Me too," he said, slipping out of her grip. "Me too, Blake."

And he turned away and walked down the stone path away from her. She watched him go before returning to her bench with a sigh. She took up her book, flipped to _Romeo and Juliet_ , and started to read again.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
 **  
74.18 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 _I have yet to be informed of the number of loops Violet Baudelaire suffered through without explanation of the nature of loops, nor do I expect to ever receive such information. Past a certain point, the number of loops one has experienced seems abysmal, a word which here means 'beyond a measure that a sane mind can count,' and also means 'large enough that contemplation will lead to inevitable madness'. If you have ever walked the edge of an abyss or a cliff or a high roof or, in some cases, a very dark well, you will know the feeling of almost, but not quite, starting to fall into the unknown; while there is no physical sensation, the depths of time repeating do cause a similar trepidation, and so most loopers choose to cease counting past a certain point. The ones that do not are not human. In any sense._

 _However, while I do not know how long it took Violet Baudelaire to receive an explanation of the loops, I do know she did eventually receive one, where she received it, and whom it was that gave her the explanation. I know all this because the very same individual who spoke to Violet would later save me from monstrous beasts, inform me of the tale herself, then strip me of my belongings and hand me a sword before tossing me into a ruined town with the words "Overcome your weakness or die by it." Sadly, I did die, though thankfully the repetition of time rendered my bereavement temporary. I was capable enough to remember the tale, and via careful and distant consultation with Violet herself I have gathered enough information to write down the events as they occurred._

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Violet Baudelaire had been experiencing a rather unusual sense of disorientation over the past week. She remembered living for fourteen years in the village of Kasaishingō, with a wealthy mother and father but no younger siblings. She also remembered numerous iterations of living for quite a few years without parents and with two younger siblings, after her mansion was burned in a mysterious fire, with both her siblings (and unfortunately, a monstrous man who sought their wealth) remembering previous iterations on irregular occasions. Both sets of memories seemed internally consistent; while she had acted on the former set, she felt more fond of and connected to the latter. Still, she had considered herself to be handling the situation... well enough, under the circumstances.

And then the bandits had come in over the walls. She'd fought well enough-perhaps too well, in fact, for a fourteen-year old girl with no supposed combat training. But one of them, their leader, had seen her with her improvised flail and caught it on her sword before lunging forward and covering her face with a white cloth.

As Violet came to, an entirely different (but much more familiar) kind of disorientation overwhelmed her for a moment. She shook her head, clearing it and looking around-she was on a couch, a couch next to a table, and the couch itself was in a tent. More importantly, however, there was a woman-the bandit leader, no long wearing the helm that made her look like a monster, but simply staring at her with red eyes.

Violet sat up slowly, her own wary blue eyes staring right back. The two of them looked at each other, each waiting for something. Outside, there was chatter and some laughter, along with the sound of cackling flames.

Eventually, the woman reached down, pulling Violet's flail from the ground and tossing it on the table. "Interesting weapon," she complimented. "You'd have to be pretty loopy to make this on the fly."

Violet looked at the flail, then up at the woman. "...Is that why you kidnapped me?"

For a moment, the woman's face flashed with disappointment, but she quickly schooled her expression. "Quick thinking is a useful trait. I've been looking for somebody who had that sort of wit. Seems you're not the one, though."

Something about her tone made Violet pause. She took a second look at the flail, then looked up carefully. "The world is quiet here."

The woman tilted her head.

"...I mean. It's... unusually quiet." Violet coughed. "In this tent. Wherever it is."

The woman quirked an eyebrow, even as somebody outside started singing a bawdy tune.

"The wildlife is quiet," Violet tried.

"You're covering. You slipped up. That phrase..." The woman trailed off, looking at her more carefully. "...Tick-tock goes the clock," she tried.

"The clock?" Violet frowned for a moment. Then she narrowed her eyes. "The clock is broken."

"Hmm." The woman considered her for a moment. "...How much do you trust me?" she asked suddenly. "No code phrases, be honest."

"...You led a raid on my town, drugged me, and dragged me out here," Violet stated flatly.

"I wasn't asking what I did. I was there for all that. I wanted to know how much you trusted me."

"Not. Very. Much."

The woman nodded. "Alright." She stepped aside, gesturing out the tent flap. "You're free to go."

Violet blinked. "What. Just like that?"

"Oh, certainly. The nearest town is two, three days walk east. Through a forest crawling with Grimm, I should add. Beowolves, Ursai, a few Taijitu... I've even heard there's a Gheist out there. Shadowy monsters with bony plating and sharp teeth, all only existing to destroy humans and their works, and every last one of them attracted to negative emotions like anger, hate... and fear."

The woman smiled darkly. "So yes, you're free to go. Any time you want, really."

Violet looked at her for a moment or two. "And... if I stay?"

"You won't have to go on the raids. But you _will_ have to help maintain our equipment. And if you have any questions... you can just ask me."

"I don't even know your name."

"And I don't know yours."

"Why should I tell you my name?"

"Because until you do I'm calling you anchor."

"...Anchor? Why anchor?"

The woman simply gave her a mysterious grin.

"...Violet. Violet Baudelaire."

"Raven Branwen, Nevermore Queen. Welcome to the Lost Lenores."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **74.19 Prince Pondincherry**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali felt a number of Pings wash over her soon after she Awoke with her tea cup in hand, but she held off on responding in kind as she perused her Loop memories. _Ah, good, I actually have defined memories of friends on Menagerie and contacts in the White Fang this Loop._ As the Remnant branch of Yggdrasil was gradually repaired, they were starting to get occasional Loops with more details and fewer black silhouettes for people. _Plus my Aura's already been unlocked this Loop, and Ghira is a seasoned fighter—I think it's time for a Stealth Loop. Blake's going to love her gift! I just hope I succeed.  
_

Three of Raven's best fighters held down the Nuckelavee's arms and horse head, allowing her to walk up and summarily decapitate the creature. Raven almost sighed with disappointment. The Tribe had fought well, and she was proud of them for it—but it also made for a boring fight. "Pack up the valuables. We're leaving." As her Tribe went back to gathering the accumulated wealth of Shion village and searching the homes one more time to make sure nobody had skimped on lien or jewelry, Raven walked over to taunt the Huntsman lying tightly bound on the ground. "You see? This is true strength. We defeated this village's defenders without even a single death, and then defended it afterwards against the Grimm the villagers brought upon themselves with their own pitiful fear! And you…you barely even got in our way." Raven had bristled with anger when Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren asked—no, ordered—her not to kill anymore, but Torchwick was right—it _**was**_ more fun this way. She certainly appreciated the challenge.

As Raven rode in the truck the Tribe was using to transport their ill-gotten good, she checked her spy network of ravens. Apparently the birds were actually a constant in the Loops, always seeming to appear at significant events in Baseline, but nobody actually knew anything about them. This Loop, Raven could use them for information gathering. She had been keeping a bird's eye on a small party of Faunus near Mistral for a while now. Kali Belladonna was with them, and while the two Loopers hadn't interacted much, they had apparently gotten along oddly well in the mess of a Loop before they Awakened for the first time. With the addition of the dreams and fragmented memories Raven had with Kali in them, she found herself oddly emotionally attached to the woman. So when she focused in on the raven shadowing the group of Faunus, she felt an oddly powerful twinge of panic.

 _I should gather my most powerful fighters—but no, there's no time, and I don't need them._ "An urgent task has come up that I must complete immediately. Continue on your way. I will be back shortly."

"Yes, mam," the driver acknowledged her order. Pleased at the quick obedience, Raven used a portal to travel to Kali's location. As she emerged, she quickly took in the situation. A number of Faunus lay bleeding or dead on the ground. In the distance, Ghira Belladonna was pulling himself up from the pile of rock that used to be a hillside. And in front of Raven, a scorpion Faunus plunged his stinger towards the prone form of Kali Belladonna as she lay on the ground.

With a fraction of a second to act, Raven drew her sword from its sheath with an earth Dust-infused blade and in one fluid motion plunged it into the ground. The scorpion Faunus's stinger was intercepted by the earthen dome that rose up and covered Kali's prone form.

"Raven Branwen. The Nevermore Queen has entered the fray. Although I must admit, I am unsure as to why you care." Raven barely heard the Faunus speak, her mind occupied by the sudden rush of clear memories from the Loop Remnant nearly ended.

Raven blurred forward with Aura-boosted speed to block the ice attack headed straight for Kali. "You saved her _again_?" asked the attacking vampire with Raven's body. "Why?" Raven was confused herself. Her rule was that she'd only rescue someone one time, so why had she saved Kali for a second time? _And why had she saved Kali yet another time?_ But for some reason, she didn't want to  let Kali die, even if she would just be alive again next Loop.

Raven barely raised her sword in time to block the scorpion Faunus's stinger. "Tch tch, getting distracted in battle. An amateur mistake. I expected better," he taunted.

Another memory, this time of Raven speaking.

"You should not take your eyes off your opponent. It's actually quite embarrassing to see you make such a simple mistake."

With an angry growl, Raven cleared her mind and blocked the next few lightning-quick attacks. "Tyrian, you have met your match today."

"Ooooohoohoohoohoo, you know who I am. Iiiinteresting." Tyrian leered at Raven, his wide open eyes and protruding tongue forming a disturbing image. Raven snarled and pressed the attack. Wrist blades and scorpion tail clashed with sword. Bullets flew, and Dust was used to create fiery explosions and wind blasts and to reshape the battlefield.

This was Raven's first time fighting Tyrian, although she did know quite a bit about him and his fighting style. Some lingering brotherly sentiment had led Qrow to tell her about his fight with Tyrian. He said that, since Tyrian hunted RNJR in the same region she operated in and was also hunting down the Spring Maiden who was occasionally in the area, there was a good chance she would have to fight him eventually. Raven had studied Qrow's information and mentally prepared for the fight. Qrow was no slouch in combat, to say the least, so if this Tyrian had managed to take out his Aura and poison him, Raven would need to be careful.

Tyrian was **fast**. His weapons, tail, and fighting style gave him five distinct limbs to strike with, one of which doubled as a stinger and two of which had blades **and** guns. Qrow was fast and skilled enough to keep up, and he could use his massive sword to get his own advantage. Raven took a more direct approach, making heavy use of Dust to curb Tyrian's movements, crush his defenses, and corral him in the direction she wanted. In the end, as in the fight with Qrow, the deciding factor was the presence of multiple opponents for Tyrian. Most of his original opponents were either dead or too injured to interfere, but Ghira Belladonna returned to the battle. Raven set Tyrian up perfectly so Ghira could take out his Aura with one massive strike of his mace, leaving the scorpion Faunus vulnerable for her to behead him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali sorrowfully surveyed the dead and wounded bodies of her friends and colleagues. "This was my fault. I'm not strong enough yet. I thought, after all that training…but no, I'm still not strong enough."

"No, you're not," Raven said bluntly. A nicer person would have said something comforting, but Raven wasn't _nice_. If Kali had had a better self-assessment to begin with, she wouldn't have gotten in this mess and needed to be bailed out. _And why did I save her, exactly?_ Rather than think more about that, Raven found herself saying, "But your friends weren't either. It's as much their fault as yours. Tyrian is an uncommonly strong opponent, but you and your husband are still standing."

"Thanks to you. And thank you again for that. I would have just Woken up again, but that doesn't mean I want to die."

"Don't expect me to save you a fourth time." _Fourth?_

"Fourth?"

"What were you doing that attracted his attention?"

Kali looked like she wanted to say something about the obvious change of subject, but she let it pass. "We were trying to reform the White Fang. I wanted to do something nice for Blake, and I know this is something she wants to do in Baseline, so I thought it would be a good choice. I guess we got in the way of Salem's plans enough that she sent Tyrian to stop us. And, well, you might have saved our lives, but he _did_ stop us. This was only going to work because we had numbers and fighting skills, but now…"

Raven thought for a minute before deciding, _Oh, all right?_ "I've been thinking, I'd like a challenge. Plus our daughters are engaged, and it would be nice to get a wedding gift."

"What are you saying?" Kali asked.

"How would you like a bandit tribe to help you reform your terrorist organization?"

"That sounds wonderful, thank you."

"Ruby and Roman have been keeping things pretty close to Baseline so far this Loop, but Roman will likely be willing to help with the Vale branch of the White Fang. I will contact him, and then we can come up with a plan for the main branch here in Mistral. Once you've treated your wounded, of course." Raven created a portal and stepped through to Vale.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Blake and Sun stood nervously in the warehouse where the White Fang were meeting. The White Fang Lieutenant on stage introduced Roman Torchwick, who gave a short speech about how terrible humans and the establishment were. Then his speech went in an unusual direction. "Now, take it from me, as a criminal at heart: murder and violence against civilians are not worth the problems they cause you!"

"What? Is he really saying that? I can't believe it." Sun asked.

"Now sure, a little violence now and then can be great stress relief; there's very little that can be quite as satisfying as dishing out some well-deserved hurt on the people keeping you down. The people who have wronged us deserve to be beaten! Ground into the dirt like the scum they are!"

"Now I can believe it," Sun deadpanned.

A cheer went up in the crowd, but Roman interrupted it. "But you're going about it all wrong!" There was a sudden silence. "There's no better way to bring the authorities down on your heads than indiscriminate killing! No matter how righteous your cause, orchestrating a terrorist attack on Vale automatically makes you the bad guys to the ones with power! And yes, the whole point of this little club of yours is to rebel against the ones in power, but you've got to be smart about it! Deliberately antagonizing them with needless deaths is just going bring the Hunters down on us like Amity Colosseum when the gravity Dust runs out! The only way we're going to win this thing is by picking our fights. So sure, fight back when someone tries to keep you down, and everyone here will be there to back you up. That's the whole point! But you're not going to change things if senseless violence is your only strategy."

A low wave of muttering spread through the room as the White Fang considered his words. They weren't convinced immediately, of course, and a number of them weren't convinced at all, but they were at least considering it.

"I'm not sure to be happy about the methods he's arguing for or disgusted with his reasoning," Blake said.

Sun shrugged. "How about both?"

"That's why I'm here: to help with the violence and crime that still needs to be done. But it's up to your leaders to decide when it's actually necessary. And your old leaders…let's just say, they weren't too good at that, so there's been a change in leadership around here." The room fell silent once again. "That's why I'd like to introduce a personal friend of mine, someone I'm sure a lot of you recognize: Kali Belladonna!"

Kali stepped forward from just off-stage. Amid the cheering, a loud voice could be heard. "Mom?!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So Blondie, why are you here?" Junior Xiong asked as he stood behind the bar Yang and Neptune sat at.

"Oh, I know you don't know anything about what happened to Torchwick after he hired those boys of yours."

"No, I don't," Junior confirmed.

"To be honest, a couple of our friends are sneaking into a White Fang meetup at the moment, and we needed a place to hang out for when they need backup."

Junior pointed a finger at Yang threateningly—not that she felt remotely threatened by it. "Just don't bring any of that mess into my club."

She smiled winningly. "Oh, don't worry, I'm planning to fight the giant robot _outside_."

Neptune choked on his drink. "Giant robot?"

Before she could answer, Yang got a call on her scroll. "Oh, here's Blake now." She answered it.

"Yang, can you come here and make sure I'm not imagining this."

"Don't worry, I'm on my way to kick some robot ass!" Then what Blake had actually said caught up to her. "Wait, never mind, what did Roman do?"

"How did you know he was here? No, that's not important, just get down here, please? And don't tell Weiss yet. I'm…not sure how she'd react."

"React to what? What's going on?"

"It seems…it seems that my mom and Roman Torchwick worked together to take over the White Fang."

Neptune outright dropped his glass this time. Junior just commented, "You and your friends are mixed up in some crazy stuff, Blondie."


	75. Telling a Multiverse

**75.1 Masterweaver**

"Ow!" Sun winced, rubbing his head as he picked up the object that had impacted it. "What in the... is this a cookie?"

"YES IT IS!" Ruby declared proudly, wielding a weapon decorated with peppermint swirls. "I don't often bring out my cookie rifle, but darn it I made this thing and I'm going to use it!"

"Okay..." Sun gave her a look. "...Why are you shooting cookies at me?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT HAPPY! AND THAT'S BAD! Also because I'm kind of in my 'cartoonishly overdramatic' mood at the moment, it comes and goes, personal part of being a-THE POINT IS I WILL SHOOT COOKIES AT YOU UNTIL YOU CHEER UP!"

"...Ruby, I don't think-OW!"

"DON'T THINK! FEEL!"

"What, do you want me to eat the cookies or dodge them?!"

"I HAVE NO CLUE! Seriously, Sun, I don't know. I'm really, really deep in the cartoonish action mode right now, it's kind of hard to shake it off and be reasonable, WHICH IS WHY I AM SHOOTING YOU WITH COOKIES!"

"OW! Alright, I-Ow! Ruby! Seriously, stop it!"

"MAKE ME!"

 **75.2 Masterweaver**

"Hey Ozpin, what's... Weiss?" Yang tilted her head as she stepped out of the elevator with Blake. "Why are you sitting in the headmaster's chair?"

Weiss nodded to the both of them. "I asked if I could borrow his office. Please, have a seat. Both of you."

Blonde and Faunus shared a look.

"...what's this about?" Blake asked suspiciously, gripping one of the chairs without sitting in it.

"As you are now aware, I have... multiple degrees in psychology." Weiss tapped her fingers on one of the armrests. "Degrees which I obtained with the explicit purpose of helping Ruby and my fellow loopers remain... stable, shall we say. I'll admit I dropped the ball with Cinder-which!" she added forcefully, holding up a hand to forestall any argument. "Only means that I will try harder to observe and assist all the loopers of Remnant. This is one of those occasions."

Blake frowned, narrowing her eyes. Her gaze moved slowly from Weiss, over to Yang, and back to Weiss.

"...this is couple's counseling, isn't it."

"In essence, yes."

Yang snorted. "Really? Weiss, Blake and I are fine! Hell, we're engaged! I don't see why-"

"You two have had a very traumatic series of outside influences marking your relationship," Weiss interjected calmly. "And, to be entirely fair, the only reason you're the first couple in here is because you loop in together the most often. I seriously suspect all the couples in this Loop will need some... shall we say, friendly assistance?"

"All the couples?" Yang rolled her eyes. "What about Pyrrha and Jaune?"

"Pyrrha died in baseline, Jaune has confidence issues."

Blake frowned. "Nora and Ren?"

"View each other as brother and sister as well as romantic partners."

"...Winter and Qrow," Yang offered.

"Only started their relationship because they were stealthing together, and only recently upgraded it to full romance."

"Mom and Dad," Blake challenged.

"Ghira isn't looping, Kali has a temporal-related identity crisis."

"Neo and Zwei."

"Aren't really dating, we're just all pretending we believe they are to troll them. I expect most of my sessions with them will be listening to rants."

"Taiyang and Raven."

At that, both Yang and Weiss leveled incredulous looks on Blake.

"...fair enough," she admitted, finally sinking into her chair.

Yang remained standing. "Look, I get that you want to help Weiss. But-this has been going on for a while. Don't you think that if there were any problems between us, you'd have noticed by now?"

Weiss steepled her fingers. "Did any of us notice Cinder was on the verge of a psychotic break before she attempted Ascension?"

"...that is entirely different!"

"Perhaps." The heiress's gaze softened. "Yang, Blake, I want this to be clear: I don't think you're going to break up. Not now, not after all you've been through. But the closer one is to another's heart, the more painful problems can be if they are not addressed. Nothing we talk about here will ever, ever reach anyone else's ears. You have my word."

"Yang..." Blake sighed. "Look, even if we don't actually need this for our relationship, we've both got to admit we have some pretty twisted personal issues. And it might be best for Weiss to trial run by us before getting into the more... tangled romances we have going on."

The blonde frowned, taking in the faunus's serious expression.

"...Fine." She slumped in her own chair. "So, what, do we start by saying we remind each other of our dads or something?"

"Freud is not the only source of psychological analysis ever, nor is he the most accurate." Weiss took a breath. "Normally I'd ask you to list off five positive aspects about each other, but I expect you'd already have a list. Instead, let's open with one problem each of you thinks the other could improve on..."

 **75.3 Masterweaver**

"MARIANNE COLUMBIA!"

"Et voilà, qu'elle vient me déchirer encore..." Marianne spun in her chair and put on a polite, but forced smile. "What is it Skuld?" she inquired, with only a faint edge to her tone.

"You set Glynda up as a travelling looper!"

"Temporarily. And I did file the proper paperwork-"

"File the-I have no records of any paperwork!"

Marianne sighed, turning to her terminal. "Let me pull up my copy... here." She gestured at the document on the screen. "You see? All safe, all legal."

Skuld glowered at it for a moment or two. "That never reached my desk."

"Well, I'm sorry," the other goddess replied brightly, "but as you can see it was all filed and all legal."

They stared at each other for a few moments.

Skuld growled. "This is going to turn out to be yet another hacker intervention, isn't it?"

"Very probably," Marianne agreed.

"Ugh. The nonsense that's been going on in Remnant..." Skuld gripped her hammer. "Why were the hackers so fucking interested in that world anyway?"

"Hell if I know. I've been busy tracking down bugs and glitches ever since Cinder's stunt."

"Right..." Skuld took a breath. "Look, the fact is nobody up top knew about the Glynda thing until ten minutes ago. I'll take a copy of the paperwork, but I'm going to put some punishment down for this. Really, I've been tempted to get you an overseer for the loop."

"...I guess that's fair," Marianne allowed. "Honestly, some help would be appreciated, there's... a lot of crazy stuff going on down there at the moment."

"I can believe it..." Skuld pulled back her hammer. "I'll tell you when I've figured out what to do with you. Until then, I'm going to demand you bring your reports to my office IN PERSON. Best to avoid any other miscommunication."

"Your office is twelve AUs away!"

"Yes." Skuld bared her teeth in a wide, dangerous grin. "I know." She stormed out of the office.

Marianne stared after her for a moment or two, before whirling back to her desk. "Cette salope! Elle devrait être massacrant les putains de pirates responsables, mais non! Non, elle se concentre sur moi! J'espère qu'elle étouffe sur un os de poisson un jour..."

 **75.4 Masterweaver**

When Blake had said she should give out reading assignments, Raven had assumed she was joking.

When Blake had come by, a few loops later, and shoved a trio of books at her, Raven had realized she wasn't joking, but assumed she meant it in a casual manner.

When Blake had returned at the end of the week and proven to be annoyed that she hadn't even started on the books, Raven had pointed out she was a bandit queen and had better things to do.

She'd assumed that Blake would either attempt to force it aggressively, or drop the subject.

She hadn't counted on the cats.

The first one she'd dismissed as wandering in from the forest. It happened sometimes, a few animals coming into camp, and so long as they didn't cause trouble there wouldn't be a problem. In fact, forest cats were usually excellent mousers; they got a meal and protection from larger creatures, the bandits were assured their food stores wouldn't run low, all in all it was a good thing.

The next morning, there were ten cats. Not that unusual, cats were social in their own way. Granted, she would have expected to see them sniffing at each other or hissing, not lounging about on various crates or in front of tents or whatnot. Some of them gave her long looks-again, normal, she was clearly the most threatening bandit-but she simply dismissed it.

And then, the next morning, there were thirty cats, which was unusual.

Then sixty the next day, obviously some sort of looper prank.

Then a hundred...

It was at the three hundred mark that Raven finally groaned. "Fine," she growled at the nearest feline, lounging as it was on the logs. "Tell her I'll read the damn things by the end of the month."

The cat, a black and white specimen, grinned wickedly. "I look forward to your report."

The next day, the cats were gone, and Raven reluctantly sat down to read A Midsummer Night's Dream.

 **75.5 DrTempo**

The four newest Remnant Loopers looked around in the dojo they were in.

"How did we get into this mess?" Sun asked

Raven frowned. "You did want to learn how to fight from the Looper that defeated Yang in the Vytal Festival that one Loop that happened a long time ago we heard about."

As if on cue, Sunset Shimmer walked in and cracked her knuckles. "I suppose you four heard about my battle with Yang a long time ago?"

Taiyang nodded. "We did. Yang showed us a video of that battle. I was surprised at that fight. I had no idea Yang was that strong."

Sunset laughed. "That was ages ago...Way before Pyrrha and Jaune got married. Heck, it was even before the wedding of Nyx and Leman."

The four newest Remnant Loopers nodded. They had heard tales of that.

"So, what are out going to teach us?" Kali inquired.

"Basic martial arts, swordsmanship...the stuff that doesn't require any Loop-acquired abilities. But, first, I want to see what you can do. So, come on. If one of you can even hit me, I'll bow down and call you master. Now, shall we-" Suddenly, Sunset leapt into the air and landed on top of Raven's sword, as Raven had already used a portal to attempt to catch Sunset off guard. "Nice try, Raven. I figured that would be your first move. Boot to the head."

Raven was hit with a roundhouse kick, which sent her flying. Sunset smirked.

"Next."

With that, the sparring match began. It was soon obvious that the new Loopers stood no chance against the way more experienced Looper, as she easily countered or dodged every attack they used.

"Enough," Taiyang panted soon after. "I give up. I know when I don't stand a chance."

The other Loopers nodded in agreement. Kali sighed. "I am not surprised. I only just started learning how to fight."

"How did you predict my attacks?" Raven growled, barely able to stand.

Sunset smirked. "I figured you'd use your Semblance as a means of using sneak attacks. All I had to do was force you to face me head-on. But don't be surprised, I've been at this for a lot longer than Ruby was."

Sun nodded. "We know. So, how did we do?"

"Not bad at all. This will be fun. Just remember, I won't go easy on you guys."

Taiyang smiled. "I do not doubt it."

Sunset entered a fighting stance. "So, let us continue, shall we?"

The four new Loopers nodded, and another sparring match began. They knew that this would help them before better fighters, and help them protect what they cherished most...

 **75.6 Leviticus Wilkes**

"You know, as a trained Huntsmen, an experienced teacher, your father, and a guy literally named Supreme Sun Dragon..." Taiyang gripped Yang's scaly neck like a vice. "LETMEDOWN LETMEDOWN LETMEDOWN LETMEDOWN!"

Yang churred something that sounded very close to a laugh as she and her father soared about Remnant.

 **75.7 Elipses**

Disappointing.

That was the only way Raven could describe the start of this loop. Her looping memories had her thinking that she was about to head into a real fight, but between her skills as a huntress and the skills and gear she'd looped into, the defenders of this 'Jedi Temple' (hadn't she heard something about Weiss being a Jedi?) had been pathetic, scarcely more of a threat than those Atlas knight robots she'd seen watching the hub backups of her own loop. She supposed the ones with the laser blades (lightsabers?) might have been worth a fight, but they had been focused on fighting the other bladesmen, the ones she was hired by, and only a few of them seemed above rookie huntress level anyway.

She looked out at the cityscape that had awed her upon looping in as it burned, enormous airships of some sort pouring fire into it as weapons fire flashed here and there. The comms net she was tapped into, run by her employers, was filled with the chatter of the victorious as they raided the city. Belongings were plundered, holdouts were run to ground and killed, and she was sure more vile acts were taking place. It was a sight she had witnessed many times before at her own order, and one that had never bothered her.

So why then did she feel disquiet, disgust even?

 _'The strong live, and the weak perish.'_

She'd lived by those words, believed in them for most of her life, even when her own twin turned from them. Now, looking out at a burning city, she realized that her own principle felt... incomplete. Like it was missing something. From the memories the loop had given her, an old question arose.

 _'What is strength?'_

The question was much more disturbing than she wanted to admit.

"Hey Raven," a voice called out from behind her vantage point, the same one from earlier on the comms.

She turned around to face the approaching women, an alien called a twi'lek her memories supplied, one who served her employer for this venture. She tilted her head to the side to indicate she was listening, a habit she picked up from the inability of people to see her eyebrows when wearing her Nevermore mask.

The Twi'lek paused for a moment, seemingly perturbed by the non-verbal response, before pressing on. "So, Master Malgus wanted to let you know that your contract is done, and that your credits and a tidy bonus are in the agreed upon accounts..."

She trailed off as Raven turned back to surveying the city without a word.

"What will you do now?"

The question came from the Twi'lek and her own mind nearly at the same time.

The Ping she had sent out had received one answer, but in a loop that clearly had space travel, she had no idea how to go about finding whoever had done so. She was alone, in a galaxy unfamiliar to her, with only her own skills and those she got from the loop to help her. She didn't know how long the loop would last.

At least from her loop memories she had a Clan, a people. Maybe they could give her something to do for the loop. If nothing else, the tech she had already gained was quite something.

She turned away from the burning city, ignoring the woman with her. She pulled the location of her ride, her starship, from the loop memories, and made the first use of her own native abilities of the loop, opening a portal with a slash of her arm. The woman with her gasped, but she paid it no mind, already walking through the portal, away from the devastation she had helped orchestrate, resolved that if nothing else she would try and find an answer in this loop to that question burning in her mind.

 _'What really is strength?'_

-/-

The first time Raven had the opportunity to fight a Jedi, she was... underwhelmed.

She had been hired by Darth Malgus to lead her clan in a raid on a shipyard supplying the Republic with capital ships. Her clan had worked like the well oiled machine she had come to expect in the 4 years she had spent in the loop so far, smashing the defenders of the Kuati Shipyards with only the occasional wound to show for it. When they found a trio of Jedi Knights guarding the control room for the segment they were attacking, Raven motioned her clan to stand back. She pulled her sword from her pocket (she really had to figure out a name for it) coated it in earth Dust for durability, and strode forward, interested in testing herself and the so called defenders of the Republic.

Her own ego and the fact that her loop memories said they had killed her twin brother, an unawake Qrow, had nothing to do with it... really.

The three knights had looked at her with incredulity at first, apparently unused to being challenged with a blade other than a lightsaber. One of them, younger looking then the other two, jumped forward to meet her. Perhaps she had thought that Raven was weak or insane? Either way the result was the same.

Raven caught the leaping blow on her sword with one hand, brought her other hand up past the young ladies guard, and discharged her wrist rocket right into her face, with obvious results.

The two remaining knights quickly attacked in unison, spurred by the death of their younger fellow. Raven decided to best these two with only her sword. They were certainly more impressive than their younger comrade, acting more cautiously and trying to catch Raven in between them. One of them in particular was impressively acrobatic, flipping about and nearly catching Raven off guard with his agility. Still, compared to a veteran huntress, neither of them were particularly special. After a minute and a half long exchange, Raven triggered her semblance on a downstroke cleaving a portal in the space where the jumping Jedi was headed. Not expecting it (and really, how would he think to do so) he flew right into the red opening, disappearing from the room. Only Raven was aware that he was now floating in the cold void of space where the portal had deposited him.

Down to one opponent, Raven launched into several attack patterns that maximized her speed and brutality, pushing the knight on the back heel. Several times he appeared to be trying to concentrate to do some form of trick with the 'Force' they so lauded, but Raven's strength and skill kept him far too busy just trying to stay alive. Disappointed by this opponent's lack of creativity and seeming reliance on the Force, Raven wasted no more time, using a full strength swing to break his guard and slash him deep from shoulder to hip, killing him instantly.

Sighing, Raven channeled her aura through her weapon, causing the dust on it to pulse once and remove the blood from it before she sheathed it. She turned to her clan, who had watched soundlessly as she took the Jedi apart.

"What are you all waiting for?! We're getting paid to wreck this place, not to have you watch me! Get a move on!" Raven shouted at them, spurring them into motion. Before they moved to carry out her orders though, they all saluted her, pounding their fists to their chests and shouting "Oya Manda!" in a loud voice.

Raven allowed herself a small smile behind her mask. The way her clan moved, the way they treated each other as comrades, with respect, and her with respect and obedience. The way they worked together to obliterate any obstacle in their path, all the while spurring each other to greater heights of strength and valor. Even the way they guarded each others backs, saving wounded brothers and ensuring their survival in a way that Raven would have once scoffed at. All of it had impressed Raven more and more these last four years.

She had thought when the loop began that maybe the Jedi could teach her of strength, as they seemed to have done for her daught-... _Yang's_ teammate Weiss. Now though, four years of travel and experience fighting the Jedi had her convinced. Their Force wasn't the way she would find what strength was. These people, these Mandolorians... they had the answers she sought. That meant one thing.

She had heard of the great leader of the Clans, to whom all Mando owed some allegiance. Mand'alor. She would finish her work here, and then her clan would go to his side. Maybe he could help her understand the depths of the strength she was beginning to understand.

 **75.8 Flametusk**

"So, Ruby tells me that there was a loop where you were in my body, Sun?" Yang said, a knowing grin on her face.

"Yang, I was very respectful, and I made sure not to hit on Blake... or anyone, really. I'm surprised you're taking this so well."

"Sun. Sun. There's something you need to know about the loops."

"This isn't going to end up with me dying, will it?"

"Why would you...? Eh, you can tell me later. But what I was telling you was that in the loops, if you have a good opportunity for making up blackmail, do it."

"Sounds like something Roman would say right before I become a pile of ashes."

"Yeah, well, the loops get a lot more awkward than that monkey boy. I mean, has anyone told you about the loop where..."

 **75.9 Masterweaver**

"Ladies! Gentlemen! Yang, Qrow, Roman, Neo, Raven, Sun."

A few chuckles came from the assembled loopers-chuckles which only increased when Sun barked a "Hey!" of protest.

"You may be wondering why we're all Awake," Ruby continued. "Well, I've gathered you all here to answer that very question. Today, we have a special guest! Everyone, please welcome our admin-Marianne Columbia!"

A round of applause went up as she stepped off the stage, allowing the red-hooded woman to take the microphone. "Ah... yes. Thank you all for your continued support. I apologize for not keeping in touch more often, but after the, ahem, incident, I had my hands full handling a lot of the details."

Cinder cringed. "Um. Sorry about... that..."

"It's alright, Cinder, I know you're working on getting better. But I do have a few announcements I'd like to make." She cleared her throat. "Number one-Yes, Ruby, I've got a new batch of cookies fresh from Spag's oven, just for you."

"WOOO!" Ruby jumped and caught the basket Marianne tossed at her, grinning maniacally. "MORE SPAG COOKIES! I was almost out, thank you thank you thank you!"

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow. "Spag cookies?"

"The flying spaghetti monster, he's the head chef for the admins. His cookies are nearly tied with Mom's for sheer excellence."

"Secondly, on the subject of... ahem, Cinder." Marianne sighed. "The code I'm using to keep her in Remnant was always only temporary, and for her own safety I'm going to have to remove it after a hundred loops-from her perspective, not a hundred loops total. So yes, Cinder, you're going to be going back out into the multiverse soon."

"Oh." Cinder smiled awkwardly. "That's... something."

"Hey." Ruby handed her one of the cookies. "You _are_ getting better, trust me."

"I know, but... still..."

"If you like, I can ask Marianne to set me loose before you get out," Jenny offered. "Really, I think that was the plan all along..." She gave Glynda a somber glance. "Right?"

"...Right." Glynda nodded. "That makes sense. You hear that, Marianne?"

"I'll put it on the checklist." The hooded woman cleared her throat. "And, one more big announcement. Because of... all that, I've been assigned a supervisor and assistant while I'm working on Remnant. Everyone, I would like to introduce Hestia-"

"Hello darlings! I do so hope to be good friends with you all." A modestly dressed woman, who hadn't been there a moment before, gave a regal wave; beneath her hood a slightly aged face gave a genuine smile. "Now I can't be around for everything, but I'll check in regularly with Ruby, so if you ever have any problems we need to know about, let her know."

Yang whistled low. "Wow, we've had to have caused a stir if we're getting one of the top gods on us."

"Oh, pish and tosh." Hestia chuckled. "I wasn't really doing anything too important, so when Frigg told me little Libertas needed some help, I just decided to step in myself!"

"Auntie Hestia," Marianne chided with an embarrassed smile, "you know I don't go by that name anymore!"

"Oh, yes yes, do forgive me dearie. I have such fond memories of you and your sisters..."

Raven quirked an eyebrow. "So, our new world head is a den mother?"

"A den mother that keeps one of the most troublesome families up top from outright destroying each other," Blake replied. "And I mean that, by the way, she's probably the big reason the Olympians haven't caused an even bigger mess then they already have."

"So... basically Summer Rose."

"Basically, yeah."

"It's good to meet you, Hestia!" Ruby beamed brightly. "I'll try not to be too hyper for you."

"Oh, don't you worry, darling, I can handle a little energy."

Marianne cleared her throat. "And... let's see do I have any other announcements... Oh, yes. Finally, I just... I just want to say thank you for being so patient during this time. I know quite a few issues have cropped up, both technical and personal, and I realize it's been very stressful, but... Well. You've risen to the occasion. And I'm glad you're still trucking on."

A small smattering of applause followed that.

Then Ruby cleared her throat. "Sooooo. Since we're all here anyway, vacation loop?"

She grinned at the general murmur of agreement.

 **75.10 Masterweaver**

"So... Zwei." Taiyang cleared his throat. "You feeling loopy?"

"Yes I am."

"Oh. Alright then. So..."

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments.

"...Yeah." Taiyang shrugged. "Look, I have no idea how to proceed from here."

"Well, I am still the family dog," Zwei pointed out. "I just happen to talk and have super powers."

"I mean, sure, I could do that, but... is that really all you want to do? Just... be my dog?"

"Well, yours and Ruby's. Granted, she's probably Awake, unless we have a guest Anchor, so I'm not really necessary to head things off like I am in baseline, but you know. Family. All that jazz."

"Alright..." Taiyang paused. "...is... there anything you want to tell me? Any complaints I should be made aware of?"

"...Well, while I don't mind getting stuffed in a tube and shunted across an ocean, it does take a bit for me to re-groom my fur after that. So, if I'm Awake, can you just assume I'll head over at the usual time?"

"Okay, fair enough."

"And... the furniture thing. If you absolutely must insist I stay off the furniture I can, but I'd like to know why."

"Well... usually it's because I'm worried you'll shed or, uh, mark your territory-"

"Ah, yes. Because an animal can't understand why that's wrong."

"You know what, furniture restriction lifted. If you're Awake."

"Thank you."

"...Anything else, though?"

"Eh." Zwei waggled a paw. "Most of the rest is 'pampering' really. Not necessarily important. Anything I can do for you?"

"...I dunno, can you do chores?"

"If noisy machinery isn't involved. Trust me, with these ears, loud is _painful_."

"I guess you're on dish-washing duty then."

 **75.11 Leviticus Wilkes**

"...Qrow."

"Yes Raven."

"Why are we small?"

"We're not small, we're smol."

"...Did you just verbally misspell a word?"

"Yup. It's an acquired talent."

"Okay. Now Qrow." The Chibi Raven gave her best, and cutest, glare at her brother. "WHY ARE WE SMALL!"

"Chibi Loop." Qrow glanced around at the cartoonishly exaggerated world of Remnant and Beacon. "Everything here is cute, funny, and nothing bad ever happens."

Raven opened her mouth.

"Ever. Happens." Nora said threateningly.

"Where did she come from?"

"**** if I know. By the way, swearing can occasionally not work here."

"Wait, what? Are you ******* serious? Wait, I can't say ****? What the ****?"

Qrow sipped some of the apple juice in his hip flask. "Exactly. Anyway, it's been a while since we've had a Chibi Loop, so me and Zwei are gonna get up to shenanigans. You and Tai are invited if he's here."

Raven watched her twin walk away and marveled at the fluidity and satisfaction of his walking. It was like a sort of visual bubble wrap popping, very well done. But she shook herself from that and turned around. May as well have some fun...

-/-

Poke.

Yang glanced up when she felt a stuck poke her. The room was empty though. She shrugged.

Poke poke.

Now Yang was certain that someone was screwing with her. There was no one in the room, but somehow, someone somewhere was poking her. She glared at empty space.

Poke poke poke.

Yang whirled around, raising her Chibi fists. Her team's board room was utterly empty. "Okay... you try that one... more... time..."

Something poked her in the back of her head.

"THAT'S IT!" Yang screamed, whirling around and searching desperately for her assailant. Meanwhile, Raven was leaning out of one of her portals directly above Yang and roasting marshmallows over Yang's flaming hair.

Trolling her own daughter was so wrong, but felt so good.

 **75.12 Zulaq**

"Tai, what have you been teaching your daughters?!" Qrow's angry voice sounded as he slammed open the door to his former teammate's/brother-in-law's house. "Ruby just held Beacon ransom for cookies-"

He cut off as he stormed into the dining room where Taiyang was having dinner.

Qrow looked at the table, set for two, then the elaborate meal laid out.

"Is that lobster?"

Tai shrugged. "We made a schedule for doing the household chores." He glanced at the other... person... sitting at the table, "Although, I think we'll have to set an upper limit on what sorts of food should be cooked for a casual meal. We didn't need a beef dish with all the rest." He gestured to his companion, "But Zwei insisted I had to try fresh Kobe beef, something about sampling all the foods of the rich and famous."

To Qrow's surprise the dog actually spoke. He had a very distinct upper class accent. "You should try to broaden your experience. Lobster cooked with gold, along with various types of caviar, beef slices accented with fresh truffles and finished with black melon. There hasn't been a finer meal cooked in all recent history."

Tai shook his head, "It's a bit much. you didn't need to add gold to every other dish."

Qrow checked his flask. Nope, totally full for once. He hadn't take a drink in... gods, five hours now?

"Very well, I'll try to keep things simpler in the future." Zwei sighed. "I was hopeing that you'd take that gift melon off my paws."

"Why do you have all these fancy foods anyway?"

Qrow nodded, that was it, he must be hallucinating. He went too long without something to drink, and now his imagination was insisting that his younger niece went cookie crazy, while his older niece was busy doing something involving whipped cream and a cat faunus, and Tai was arguing with his dog about food, at the dinner table. That must have meant that he was starving for some reason, and this was just how his body was informing him.

"Dog food can get a bit boring after a while." Zwei shook his head, "Not to demean what you do for me, but the same meal over and over again can get pretty boring, so I try to stock up when I'm in the Hub."

"I don't mean to interrupt this very... surreal discussion," Qrow inserted, "But, what the hell? And could you please pass that smoking chocolate, I think my mind is telling me I need something to eat."

Zwei and Tai exchanged glances. Tai pushed the frozen smores towards him.

Qrow took a bite. "Huh, crunchy." Vapor blew out of his mouth and nose, looking like smoke. "But delicious."

 **75.13 Flametusk**

Ozpin Awoke in a familiar place.

' _Salem's domain, huh? Except this loop it's actually... I think I may stealth a bit this loop. Not like I have much choice, since it's null._ '

"Glynda. Please report?"

"At some point I had fallen asleep on the bullhead, and when James said that there was a Huntress, I Woke and was thrown for a Loop when I saw whom it was," the partial Fall Maiden said.

"...What gave it away?"

"The fact that you asked," Dr. Branwen said, "The Unawake you didn't ever say please this loop."

"Thank you Qrow. Well, this loop I have the ability to create Grimm, and their purposes as well," Ozpin said, "Is Ruby Awake yet?"

"I spoke with her. She'll stay out of our way as long as we halt our plans to make Beacon fall."

"Thank you. Now, I don't know what you want to do this loop, but I am going to send Salem a message detailing all of our previous plans. So, any requests for Grimm? As long as they don't want to harm people, then I'm open to offers."

 **75.14 KanameFujiwara**

"Now that we have the Master Sword, I believe we can accelerate your training Jaune."

 _Oh joy._ Jaune was not looking forward to that. He could understand why his Master was hard on him this loop. _Doesn't mean that it's not killing me..._

The black wolf looked at Jaune knowingly, "I know that this has been a difficult loop for you, particularly because of its null nature. Believe me, this latest expansion had not been kind for me when I was in your shoes. Just be glad that I am here to assist you."

"Was it that bad going in blind the first time around Master?" Jaune asked.

"Very. I didn't recall ever being killed by lightning strikes. Now that I have been, I can tell you that it was a very excruciating experience. An experience I do not wish for you to familiarized," Link said, shuddering involuntarily as he said this.

"Thanks for warning me about that..." said Jaune, grateful that he took Link's advice about not wearing metal during a lightning storm.

"But it's more than just the 1001 ways to die that had me wary - tell me, have you heard from Zelda now that you have the sword?"

"No Master I have not." It worried the both of them. It was troubling news.

The black wolf sighted deeply, looking at the direction of Hyrule castle. " ... If Zelda had not communicated with you even with the sword then we must assume that something is preventing her from doing so." His eyes then turned to Jaune. "I suspect as such when you told me that you had not heard any words from her since your awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection - this just confirms it."

Jaune nodded. "...Will this change the mission parameters?"

"It just means that we can not expect any support from her for the time being. On the bright side, whatever it is happening to her - it is clear that doesn't stop her from restraining Calamity Ganon. At least for a time. We would know had she failed. Your map please Jaune."

And for awhile the two heroes discussed their plans for dealing with their foe. Link brought with him his past experiences dealing with Ganon while Jaune offered his own take on how the process can be innovatively simplified or refined. The two of them made an interesting combination.

"-so when confronted with these forms of Ganon - use Urbosa's Fury and Daruk's Protection to stagger him. This provides you the time needed to further dwindle his health. Mipha's Grace is and will always be invaluable as a final fallback should you used up the fairy's magic but Revali's Gale is always good for mobility. Also -"

"Master, what's wrong?"

Link looked at Jaune, eyes away from the Sheikah Slate.

"I know this is my first time looping in this expansion but don't you think you're being a bit too serious?" Link was always the sunnier expect of the Zelda three. It unnerved Jaune that his master was behaving so... _cold_.

"That's because I am serious Jaune," Link said honestly.

...

Link sighted yet again, this time even deeper than before, "...This expansion is very demanding. It's taking it's toll on all three of us. Also, very recently I began to noticed certain abnormalities. Did you know that in some loops in the expansion, despite being Awake - Ganondolf was not in control of himself? As in he completely lost it. Null loops are suppose to be harder but it's not as if facing an Awake Calamity Ganon is a walk in the park. Both Zel and I had to give our all - at the expenses of everyone else. Little remains of the world in those instances. Everything that we had put to rebuild, everything that we tried to fix - all of it laid waste..."

It was horrible feeling losing everything. Even more so losing it again and again. It worried Jaune that his Master was being subjected to such torment.

"Take this seriously Jaune. Do whatever it takes to annialiate Calamity Ganon. If we are lucky, Ganon will be Awake and we can avoid all of this. If we are not -"

"I'm not going to fail," Jaune said cutting Link off.

Link glared at his pupil punishingly, "...You say that. You always say that. _But you did fail Jaune_."

It hurt Jaune that his Master was reminding him of his failure. Even so, the young hero's eyes remained determined. "...I don't know if I am going to fail or not. I do know that if I do nothing I will most certainly fail." He remembered Pyrrha and all the times they had been together. Even now it still hurt when he thought of losing her. _But even so..._ "That's why I promise myself that I won't fail - so that I focus on keeping that promise now. The presence requires me here, I have little time for the past or future."

That got a chuckle from the black wolf. "In many ways you remind me of when I was young. Like you I too dreamed of being a hero. I never regret the roads I had taken but it could be so so tiresome. Thank you for reminding me of that Jaune - of what it means to be a hero."

"I learned that from you Master," was the response Link received.

"Thus the pupil surpass the master."

That got a laugh from the both of them.

"Heh, finish your preparations. Rest afterwards. Seven days from now we will ride to Hyrule Castle and end this blight."

 **75.15 Masterweaver**

"You're looking rather down," Pyrrha noted as she walked up to the Crow Bar. "Is... something wrong in Menagerie?"

Kali sighed, tapping her drink. "Ghira didn't believe me. About the loops, I mean."

"Ah." The warrior slid in next to her, nodding to the barkeep. "Something fruity and nonalcoholic?"

That earned her a strange look from her companion.

"Underage," she explained simply.

"Right. Forgot." Kali turned back to her drink, her ears folded flat. "I... I don't know, Pyrrha, how do you deal with Jaune when he's not looping?"

"Not... an exact match." Pyrrha shrugged, taking the drink the barkeep handed her. "You've got to remember he's a teen with severe confidence issues. He's still great, but he's not... we're not exactly together in baseline, is what I'm saying." She bit her lip. "It can be a little hard, waiting, but..."

"...but you know you'll see him again." Kali let her finger run on the rim of the glass. "Me, though. I love Ghira, don't... don't get me wrong. And he wasn't... hostile or dismissive, he was genuinely worried about my sanity."

Pyrrha half smiled. "Well, the loops are sanity optional."

"Yes, yes, I know the joke. But... the way he looked at me. The way he... spoke. Not harsh, I... it's worse."

"...Did you try to prove it? Pocket stuff, any looping tricks?"

"I never had to, before, I... I don't know. I played it off as bad tea leaves, causing a hallucination. Pretended to be embarrassed about..."

She trailed off.

Pyrrha sighed. "Sometimes I Wake Up late and have to get the rest of team JNPR to follow my lead in order to stop Beacon's fall, so they're ready for the explanation after that. Sometimes I... get caught up, mothering unawake versions of Ren and Nora and they ask me why and... that can be awkward." She took a breath. "But... I've never needed to do it outside justification. I've never explained the loops immediately. Ruby probably does, on occasion-she's the Anchor after all..."

She paused.

"...but that's not the point, is it?"

"No, not the point at all." Kali finally gripped her drink and took a small sip. "No, it's... it's the fact he didn't trust me."

"Mmm. That... that I can understand."

"Really."

"You've seen the backups. Jaune... didn't much care for my offer to help him." She paused. "And even looping, his initial reaction to my finally confessing my feelings was... let's just say if Ren and Nora hadn't been there to force some sense into us, we really wouldn't have gotten as far as we did."

Pyrrha put her hand on Kali's shoulder. "Ghira will come around. You two have been married too long for him not to. I'm sure right now he's pacing in your living room, wondering where you are, when you'll be coming back. Either that, or he's hopped a ship to Vale-assuming you left something behind to tell him where you were going."

"No, I was discrete. I, uh... I called up Raven."

"Mmm."

Kali chuckled. "I know you don't like her, but she... well, she does help, in her own way. And she stands by her principles."

"...you and her seem oddly close," Pyrrha noted.

"Oh, well... geographically, we can contact each other easier then the other loopers, and with our daughters being engaged-I know, I know, Yang and her aren't exactly in a mother-daughter relationship, but..." Kali shrugged. "I don't know what they're calling each other these days."

"Mmm. Generally, 'Yang' and 'Raven'."

"Ah. Reasonable." Kali paused. "...There's also... well, we met up during... _that_ loop."

Pyrrha winced. "Ah."

"Yes. It was after her tribe... was vanquished. We had a chat, she... saved my life, I saved hers, we worked together to... do something." Kali waved a hand vaguely. "It's all still integrating, but I know it was something important. And I think we played volleyball?"

 _"...What?"_

"I distinctly remember us playing volleyball."

"...You have got to get those memories fully integrated," Pyrrha managed. "Because I really want to know what the heck you were even doing in that mess."

"Working on it, trust me. But... that, I think, is part of the reason we're so close. I don't judge her for being a bandit, and she... she doesn't judge me for being a civilian. We're just... friends." Kali half smiled. "She was the one to recommend this drink to me, actually."

"Really?"

"Called it a strawberry sunrise. Apparently there's a club downtown that does a much better one, but it was under renovation when I looked, so..."

Pyrrha shook her head with a small grin. "Of course she would..."

"Oh, is this... important?"

"Eh, it's... I think it's her way of... The long and short of it is that drink probably... well. She just wants you to know she doesn't want you and Ghira ending up like her and Taiyang."

"Ah." Kali looked at the glass in her hand for a moment or two. Then she swallowed it in one gulp. "Well... I really should get back to Menagerie soon. Time difference wise, it's probably almost night there."

"You want me to give you a lift?"

"Oh, that would be... very nice, if you could."

"I've got a few shuttles in my pocket. Probably a good thing we're so close to the docks, it's very hard to launch a space-age craft without attracting attention anywhere else..."

 **75.16 Awesomedude17**

Cinder quietly sat in a chair in a near empty room. There was only a single light source via a lightbulb, and no windows.

It was a quiet room she made, and was testing to see if it was useful to ease her anxiety. If it worked, she might pocket it and use it often.

The zen of being alone was interrupted when she felt something very wrong. She immediately went through the doors and found a sight she didn't want to see.

A bonded blonde man, looking positively bored.

"Tell me, what do you expect to accomplish by doing this?"

Roman put his cane on the man's forehead. "Well, we've heard of some blonde causing trouble-"

"I assure you that you have the wrong person. I was merely minding my own business, admiring a fine Red Burgundy and some fine literature... and then your men had the gall to try and shoot me."

"ENOUGH!" Cinder shouted, turning the attention of everyone toward herself.

The blonde turned, smirked, and spoke.

"Cinder Falls, was it? Are you feeling Loopy?"

"...I'm quite Awake, thank you. Why are you here?"

"To be honest, I was behaving myself when your faunus pawns decided to attack me. The first time they did so was... predictable. I let them go like the fools they are. The second time, I barely tried to keep myself amused during the attack, and by the third time, I decided that I would let them bring me here just to see why they were attacking me. Fools, confusing me for some lesser being."

Cinder scowled at the MLE and demanded something.

"Why have you decided to come?"

"To be honest... it was to see if they were worth joining my cause... but now that I know you're... Aware of things beyond what they know, I suppose now I have a proposition."

"...Let him into my private quarters."

"What?" One of the men shouted.

"Just do it."

"My thanks, Cinder." DIO said as he silently activated The World and moved at a leisurely pace to right next to Cinder as he removed the bonds they had put on him, to the confusion of the others. Cinder glared as she led DIO to her quiet room.

"Hmm... rather sparse." DIO remarked.

"Considering everything that has happened recently, I need quiet."

"Ah, I heard of your near Ascension. My proposition is quite similar-"

Cinder immediately brought a blade of cold iron to DIO's neck.

"...Curse that fairy... Let me assure you that I've given up Ascension."

"I call bullshit."

DIO chuckled. "You got me. I've not given it up but rather... reevaluated my options."

"...Explain." Cinder brought the blade closer to the neck.

"Gladly. You see, I've come to the conclusion that so long as Yggdrasil is damaged, I'm doomed to fail as no one wants a repeat of Madoka's Ascension. So now, while I seek Ascension, I only will do so when Yggdrasil is fully healed. And that's where you come in."

Cinder tilted her head in confusion.

"You see, a king is nothing without his subjects, and I need someone to aid me for when I ultimately get true godhood. I've already earned more than enough enemies-"

-/-

 _"-from that wretched mouse-"_

 _DIO screamed in fury as Pikachu used Iron Tail directly on DIO's neck, decapitating him, right before using it again to crush his head into paste._

-/-

 _"-to that rage mockery of a vampire-fairy-"_

 _DIO screamed in agony as the vines wrapped around him, crushing him. Flora was showing no mercy for him at all. He had lost the Mortal Kombat tournament for sure._

-/-

 _"-and of course, the Joestars."_

 _Jotaro walked up the beaten and bruised DIO as Star Platinum appeared besides him._

 _"ORAORAOROAAORAORAORAORA ORA!"_

 _"Jo... JOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

-/-

"I need allies, and allies need incentives to help, so I'm offering you a position amongst my greatest of followers. You could have an entire universe at your fingertips, and all you'd have to do is one simple thing:"

The World grasped Cinder's blade and tossed it aside, embedding it into the wall. Cinder walked back in horror as DIO nonchalantly had The World break the blade in two.

"Put all your loyalty towards I, DIO. Is this good enough?"

Cinder remained silent.

"Thinking about it? Tell me, why deny power when you'd have nothing to lose?"

"..."

"Hmph." DIO turned his back to the Looper, keeping The World ready in case of a surprise attack.

"Allow me to repeat myself. Declare your allegiance to me, and you shall have no need for anything more."

"...You're still a snake."

"Hmm?"

"A no good snake like the one from Eden... TO HELL WITH YOU!" Cinder unleashed all she got on DIO, who had The World block the strike. Grimacing, he soon found that Cinder had a rope wrapped around his leg. In a swift motion, Cinder threw DIO off his footing and prepared a powerful strike.

 _'Oh... this won't be pleasant.'_

He was very quickly blasted out of the room at high speeds. Cinder didn't even bother chasing him down. He wouldn't come back.

She wasn't her Baseline self. Not anymore.

-/-

 **CRASH**

RWBY jumped in their spots as a blonde man burst through the wall halfway. His upper torso caught in the wall, arms pinned, DIO looked up to RWBY, who had already drawn their weapons.

"Parley?" DIO cheekily asked.

"No." Blake bluntly said as they went all out on the MLE.

 **75.16 Flametusk**

"Ugh, I could really use a burrito right now," a frustrated Yang said.

"If Grimm destroy too many more retractable walls, I may buy one for you myself," an equally frustrated Blake told her.

Ruby wasn't Awake yet this loop, and the only others Awake this loop were team JNPR, Winter, and Qrow.

A rumbling was felt, and Kevin's mountain was destroyed by the dragon waking, and on a crash course towards a random bar in Mistral.

"Huh. Should we let Qrow know?" Blake asked.

"You kidding me? The way the Grimm are this loop, the fact that those two managed to wake the dragon from another continent is prime blackmail material!" Her fiancee replied.

-/-

"You hear that Winter?" a misfortunate person asked.

"That sounds like it's the dragon. Are your Grimm-repelling turrets going to be enough?"

"Look. I took this thing from operation Mi'ihen in a variant where it succeeded. I think it can handle a dragon."

"Fair enough."

-/-

Meanwhile, in the lands of the Grimm, where Salem resided, said being of variable strength was cursing as her plans were brought short by a giant gun that wasn't there before managed to kill the dragon.

"No! All my plans have failed! Now how am I going to make all love disappear? It's all Ozpin's fault for turning me down to the dance in the first place... Sure, he was in a coma when I asked, but that is no excuse!"

 **75.17 KitsuneShin0bi**

Raven knew, logically speaking, that there would be loops like this. Variants where those that would normally be called evil were good people. Variants where even the concept of evil didn't seem to exist outside of cartoons.

Still didn't mean they weren't off-putting, not to mention _annoying_.

"Ma'am, we've finished sorting through all the donations. We should be able to leave for the next town in a few hours," said the volunteer worker.

The normally bandit leader nodded before rubbing her forehead in exasperation. While being the head of the world's largest nomadic charity organization wasn't really bad per se, the overly sappy sweetness of the world was starting to get on her nerves. Not to mention the paperwork. _Ugh._

"Anything else on the schedule?" she asked.

Her assistant looked down at his clipboard. "Just the six o'clock phone call with your family you had me put down. It's so nice seeing you guys keep in touch despite being separated for so long."

Raven managed to hide her blanch before dismissing him. That wasn't going to be fun, especially since she knew both Xiao Longs were Awake. She _really_ was not looking forward to that conversation.

Turning back to her work, she found a tiny Nevermore had taken residence on her desk. Now that its presence was known, it flapped its way up to her hair and began grooming, making soothing chirrups all the while.

Honestly, whose idea was it to make _cuddlegrimm?_

-/-

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and made his way towards the window, musing about the current variant. Looking down, he found this loop's Salem standing in the courtyard holding a big sign covered in hearts.

 _Notice me Senpai!_

That would certainly explain the situation. Hmm, maybe he'd humor her this time.

 **75.18 Masterweaver**

"...So how are things proceeding on the list, Ruby?"

"Hmm? Oh! Pretty good actually!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Penny talked with Cinder and decided she wasn't MLE material anymore... Oh, and Dad's cool with her. Blake seems onboard, and Zwei, well, you know Zwei."

"Typical doggy levels of forgiveness."

"Yeah, he seems to blame Slendy more for Cinder's thing. Pyrrha... Pyrrha's not on board, but that's understandable. Oh, but Roman and Neo are."

"Really?"

"Yeah, something about the time they spent spying on Cinder not revealing anything... too crazy. They're blaming Slendy too."

"Interesting..."

"...Something wrong, Weiss?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, nothing like that. I simply have concerns about Roman and Neo at the moment. I suppose that their consideration for Cinder puts them in a positive light... so that's six checks?"

"Nine, actually."

"Nine?"

"Well, there's... there's me and two others. They wanted to be kept secret. But... yeah."

"Hmm."

"Oh, and Ozpin and Glynda want to talk with her-I think after that they'll be willing to check her down. And..."

"And...?"

"...well, there's Yang. And there's also... you."

"...ah."

"Weiss-"

"I'm in the 'I need to talk to her before I decide' camp, Ruby. I'm leaning toward a check mark, but... well, it was a lot. I promise, the next loop we're both Awake I'll talk with Cinder and get back to you."

"Oh. Good. Yes. That would be very... helpful."

"Well, that is what I'm here for. To help..."

"...Hmmmmm."

"Ruby, what is-agh! That almost hit me!"

"Darn jedi reflexes! I'm going to need _a dozen_ cookie rifles for this!"

 **75.19 Masterweaver**

Taiyang was still new to looping, but he'd expected that the surprises would be obvious upon starting a loop. Like this one, for instance-no Grimm, he was on a planet called Earth, and Ruby had informed him it was a Null loop-she'd suggested just taking a vacation, letting the local loopers handle their nonsense, and he and Yang had agreed easily enough. Going for a walk in the park had seemed like a good idea, and his daughters had been enjoying it...

...and then Ruby had let out a scream of terror and clambered up his body, shaking and staring wild-eyed at the creature before them.

"Um." Taiyang carefully rolled his shoulders. "Do you... want to tell me something?"

"Can't you see it?" Ruby whispered in harsh horror. "Just... back away slowly, it might not notice us..."

"...It's a rabbit, Ruby." He paused. "It is... just a rabbit, right?"

"Just a rabbit?!" Yang scoffed, leaning out from behind him just a titch. "Dad, thing about the multiverse? Nothing is _just_ anything."

"I want to think it's harmless and cute and it probably is, but I can't afford to take that risk." Ruby whimpered. "Even ordinary rabbits have those _teeth_..."

She burrowed her eyes into his hair when the rabbit looked her way, twitching its nose inquisitively.

"I'll distract it," Yang said with a gulp. "You take Ruby to the car. If I'm not there in fifteen minutes, leave without me."

 _"Um,"_ said Taiyang. "Seriously, girls. You fight giant shadow monsters at your high school."

"They aren't rabbits," Ruby replied simply. "Grimm are at least honest. Rabbits lie with their cuteness."

"I can handle this," Yang assured him. "Probably. Just... get Ruby to safety."

"...I honestly can't tell if you're being serious or pulling some sort of elaborate prank on me."

 **75.20 Shadow Wolf75**

Weiss Schnee Woke to this latest Loop, and almost immediately wished she hadn't, once she looked down at herself. At seeing the somewhat familiar set of clunky white robot arms, she groaned inwardly. Ugh, this again?

On a second glance, it seemed that while she Looped in as something similar to the Rick Dom otherwise known as 'Schnee Weiss', this particular version was a good bit less clunky than the original. Also a whole lot smaller too, there didn't seem to be room for a pilot, and judging by perspective she was actually fairly close to her normal height.

There were other, smaller monoeyed robots milling about in the area. A veritable horde of tiny drab green ones... what were they called again, Zakus? Or maybe they called themselves 'Zakos', considering she heard a few of them saying that very word.

And, there were the loop memories, finally. Right, she was Weiss Schnee Dom, the brick red unit with the machine guns next to her was Zapper Zaku, and the blue one with the scarred helm and the claw arm was Grappler Gouf. Those two were her fellow squad leaders, and the three of them were about to go invade a 'Neotopia' with their horde of Zako soldiers.

Hmm, this place was likely related to that earlier Gundam loop she was in, though this specific sub-branch wasn't familiar. Whatever Baseline it was, she was just going to help the locals power through it so she could return to Remnant. There was still entirely too much work to be done back home...

Weiss briefly considered Stealthing for the loop, just to make sure things went faster. Unfortunately, judging from the squint she was getting from Grappler Gouf, it was certainly too late for that.

"Hey, uh, Weiss? You look like you're feeling a bit Loopier than usual. Maybe I should take you to see the Professor?" Grappler's optic flashed really brightly as he spoke the word 'loopier', the Ping at the same moment only accentuating it more.

Definitely too late for Stealthing, and as for this Professor- oh, _those_ weren't nice memories, but Grappler seemed to imply it was safe to go see him. Hopefully Professor Gerbera was a bit less likely to perform surprise upgrades on hapless mechs when he was Awake. Though that begged the question of why someone like that was Awake to begin with... some of those memories of him almost reminded her of Salem.

Then again, Weiss knew from experience there could be quite a divide between a Looper and their Unawake self. Having decided to play along for the moment, she Pinged back as she spoke up. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I should probably have him calibrate my funnels again."

Zapper Zaku looked at them both with his head askance for a second, but in the end he just snorted. "Pfft, whatever! Just don't take too long or we're not going to leave you anything to shoot."

-/-

"So, Weiss Schnee. From the Remnant branch, if I am not mistaken?"

"Yes, that's right."

From how imposing he seemed in the loop memories, Weiss was honestly expecting Gerbera to be taller. Well, he was taller than her, but only by about an inch. He looked like nearly any of the other Dark Axis robots, with a single searching red optic, though the amount of gold edging his pink armor spoke that his rank and power were much higher than any of the others. On giving said armor a bit more scrutiny, the heiress noticed something odd. From the way Gerbera held himself to how his armor sat against him, he was wearing it as opposed to it being part of him.

Awake, the scientist was far less imposing, though currently a bit too guarded to be considered friendly. Gerbera looked her up and down with that searching optic, then glanced to his subordinate. "Hmm, what do you think? I know I said we would have to wait a while longer before attempting an early vacation loop, but she is certainly strong enough to provide the edge we need."

"You'd be a better judge of that, Professor; you've been doing this Looping thing longer. I'd be happier about it if we had the Commander too, but he's not Awake yet. I think we can cover you, but if that 'Breaker' thing of yours doesn't work..." Grappler Gouf pointed his claw arm at Gerbera in a bit of a threat display. He was every bit as eager to break from Baseline early, but didn't fancy the idea of what would happen if they managed to screw up somehow.

"It will work, all I need is enough time to cast it."

Suddenly feeling rather ignored, Weiss spoke up, not liking the direction things seemed to be going. "A vacation loop? Wouldn't it be faster to just run through Baseline? This is a decent enough world, I suppose, but I would like to return to mine as soon as I can."

Gerbera just stared at her out of the corner of his optic, the way a hawk might when sizing up some prey to be devoured. "So, do you like the story your loop memories have told you? We are the Dark Axis, we are the wolves lurking just outside the gates to the heroes' realms. Lacroa has already fallen, I doubt you would want to take part in any further destruction. Besides that, there is another reason I am unwilling to subject you to this world's Baseline. If we survive this, I may even be convinced to tell you what it is."

Being a far older Looper, the Huntress wasn't intimidated in the slightest, but she had to admit he knew how to make a point. "All right, we'll try this your way." After a moment, she pulled a copy of Myrtenaster from her Pocket and saluted him with it. "Just point me in the direction of your target, if that will put an end to this war."

That predatory gaze eased off a bit, the scientist even relaxing his guard just a hair. It was hard to tell from his optic, but Gerbera sounded like he might be smiling. "Good choice. Now, we'll have to go clean up a few places after we're done here to ensure our vacation, but this will be the hardest task by far. Our target, is General Zeong."

-/-

General Zeong was an immobile target, mounted into the far wall of the cavernous central chamber of the Dark Axis Fortress. That was the easy part. The hard part quickly became apparent the moment the trio entered the room and the huge machine in the distance likely picked up on their killing intent. With a dull rumble, Zeong's guardian units hovered into view, a giant set of mechanical hands with an optic roving around a rail on either palm. Each gigantic finger was able to fire off a staggeringly powerful particle beam, that could bounce around the room if it hit the reflectors set into the walls.

Before that could happen, Gerbera opened the battle with a blast from his own beam rifle that may or may not have been a spell of some sort, stunning the hands just long enough for the other two warriors to get in range.

Despite being more comfortable on the ground, using the thruster pack he was fitted with, Grappler Gouf lunged for the hand on the right. His initial claw strike easily lopped off one of the fingers, and tore into the one next to it enough for it to cease functioning as well.

Weiss took the hand on the left, releasing some ice Dust onto her rapier and quickly sketching out a handful of glyphs, sending a hail of wickedly sharp icicles flying downrange. This first volley did a decent amount of damage, piercing the hand's armor all over, but it would take some larger ice lances to hopefully pin it to one of the walls. She got to work on the glyphs for that, the thrusters in her feet allowing her to easily dodge any return fire.

Once the main threats looked to be sufficiently distracted, Gerbera's thrusters roared to life and he rose into the air, eventually settling on a spot high above the fighting below. A magic circle appeared in the air close by and he landed on it, turning off his flight systems as he would need all the power he had for what he was about to cast. Another smaller magic array appeared in front of him, this one angled down towards the currently helpless General below. "I summon the light of destruction, to rain down upon my enemy..."

Weiss heard the chant and managed not to jolt, keeping focused on her own casting despite what was about to be unleashed. Her latest set of glyphs sent four huge ice lances flying at the giant hand she was fighting, these managing to pin it to the wall quite securely.

"Stars, gather, and become the light which pierces all..." There was a sizable sphere of energy in front of Gerbera now, steadily growing as the seconds passed. With the loose Dust and being on a world where mana was real, the spell had all the fuel it would need within easy reach. It wouldn't be long now...

With the second line, the Huntress definitely recognized the spell. Starlight Breaker, and though it was altered a bit to his tastes, Gerbera was using the full aria. No wonder he needed assistance, the spell was ridiculously powerful but the cast time meant someone else would have to deal with any distractions for him.

"Tear through my foe in a blinding blaze..." The sphere of light was almost bigger than Zeong himself at that point, and bright enough to be painful to look at directly.

At the last second, Weiss cast another ice lance at Zeong's remaining hand, pinning it to the other wall. She soared to pull Grappler out of range of the incoming blast.

Gerbera raised his beam rifle, much like the White Devil who created the spell would raise her own weapon, and poised to strike. "Starlight... BREAKER!" He slashed at the sphere of energy with a downward slice, sending all the gathered power streaming at his enemy.

The resultant beam could likely be seen from orbit, once it broke through the fortress wall...

 **75.21 Masterweaver**

"...and working in the cross-radial unit proved to be a bit much-I could have made a detachable grip but in the end I decided to drop it." Ruby patted her scythle proudly. "Won't pout my baby girl through anything she can't handle, but she can handle a heck of a lot already anyway."

Taiyang nodded. "Impressive."

"And terrifying," Kali added. "It is terrifying, right? It's not just me?"

The others looked at her.

"...Look, I don't get weapons, alright? I'm the civilian! This is all very scary and..." She gestured around the museum. "I mean I know you're maintaining all this, but-even baseline weaponry across the multiverse seems... ludicrously potent. This is a loop-enhanced personal weapon and..."

Raven put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think Ruby uses this iteration of Crescent Rose. It's more like... a personal project. And besides, she's intelligent enough not to accidentally destroy Remnant."

"More then once every few billion loops," Ruby added. She winced at Kali's shocked expression. "Sorry, joke. Bad joke. In all seriousness, my baby girl's not that dangerous-I've had her gene-locked and psychically encoded to only react to me, in the hands of anyone else she'll only be a big hunk of red metal."

Sun cleared his throat. "Well, I'll admit it's pretty impressive. But I thought this museum was devoted to, you know, baseline weaponry. From across the loops, but-"

"Oh it is. There are very few exceptions, all located in this chamber."

"Huh." Taiyang nodded at a glass case. "Like that camera there?"

Ruby froze for a moment. "Yeah... yeah, that girl got pretty heavily modified."

"Oh." Sun paused. "...um. You... work on it often-?"

"No." Ruby shook her head. "No, I couldn't do that to her. She's... lost her family, I'm not going to..."

Her voice trailed off.

Kali, Raven, Sun, and Taiyang stared, sharing looks as they glanced between her and the camera.

Ruby shook herself. "SO! Anyway, we have the mega war corgi project here-"

Raven sighed. "You realize we're all going to be curious until you tell us, right?"

"...right." Ruby sighed. "I... well. You've... it's... _that_ loop. They died in that loop. And they aren't coming back. I'm sorry, but please... not right now. Please."

Taiyang nodded. "Alright... but when we get home-"

"-probably best. The others... yeah..." She cleared her throat. "But... for now. Mega war corgis. You see, this started as a result of my earlier war corgi project..."

 **75.22 Masterweaver, Zurcior**

"ALRIGHT!" Yang shouted, throwing her fists in the air. "BLONDE BRIGADE! WOOOOOO!"

"Wooo," Glynda deadpanned. "Seriously, though, what exactly did you gather us all together for?"

"Shenanigans, obviously." Yang gestured around. "I mean, come on, three cute guys, two hot chicks, one crazy day. Let your hair down, Gigi!"

"...You're getting a detention for that."

"Can I share it with Blake?"

Jaune cleared his throat. "In all seriousness, Yang, did you have a plan, or...?"

"Mostly 'day of crazy fun,'" Yang admitted. "I mean I did sort of have a plan, buuuuuuut I didn't want to freak out the newbies." She turned to the other two. "No offense."

"None taken," Taiyang replied. "I didn't exactly handle my dragon ride well."

"I'm down for anything," Sun quipped. "I mean I've been in a funk for a while, I've got to get moving on somehow."

Yang winced. "Wow, if it's really a problem-"

"Whoa, hey. I was trying to make a joke. That was a joke."

"Oh, right." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, so yeah, my plan is basically... day on the town. You all in?"

"Like I said," Sun repeated. "Down for anything."

"Might be nice to see what you've been getting up to," Taiyang mused.

"...I love Pyrrha," Jaune admitted, "buuuuut helping her out with her warrior stress nonstop can be tiring. Don't tell her I said that. So I'm in."

Glynda sighed. "I suppose I should at least _attempt_ to keep you all from wrecking Vale before Cinder does..."

-/-

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun! How can I help you?"

The patrons, Emerald and Mercury, were about to respond, but before they could they noticed a blonde monkey faunus sitting on a large pile of books.

Sun Wukong turned to them with a deadpan expression. "'Sup."

Emerald looked to Tukson with bewilderment.

Tukson merely sighed and pointed to his right where a group of more blondes stood off to the side. Only one of them, a young female, was snickering.

"Honestly Yang," said Jaune as he looked on, "I expected better from you. This joke went stale eons ago."

Yang waved him off. "Maybe, but I just _had_ to make it happen at least once while he was Awake. It's like, a necessity."

"Does that mean I can come down now?"

"Yeah, sure. We have better things to do. I just wanted to cross this off the list first thing."

As the group of blondes left the store, they each gave Emerald and Mercury a pointed look when they passed by them.

"Um," stammered Emerald when she realized they had somehow been made, "Let's go, Mercury. This isn't the bookstore I was looking for."

Mercury raised an eyebrow at her. "You sure. We can't just leave."

"Go, idiot," Emerald harshly whispered, hoping no one could hear her. "Those witnesses... Somehow they knew who we are. We have to leave! Besides, we have to meet are new bosses today."

"Alright, alright."

The two of them left, leaving Tukson alone in his shop with no customers.

"Whatever. I'm leaving today anyway."

-/-

"...Man, what I wouldn't give for a roller coaster."

Taiyang blinked. "A what?"

"Roller coaster." Yang shrugged. "It's like... take a train track, warp it in nine or ten different ways-loop-de-loops are pretty common-and then stick in two or four seat passenger cars. It's a ride. Hub verse." She rolled a hand. "I dunno, it's an easy way to get an adrenaline high, but they are super expensive to build and maintain, and that's with all the tech and physics research... Remnant doesn't quite have the industrial industry for that in most loops."

"You feeling bored?" Jaune deadpanned.

"Nah, just... underwhelmed. You know how it is, you plan a big day with five people and..." She gestured. "We're drinking tea."

Glynda sipped her cup daintily. "As I recall, most of our bigger shenanigans tend to involve pranking nonloopers."

Yang clapped her hands. "Right! Totally forgot that! We were good with Mercury and Emerald, but we've got to think bigger. Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Crazy thing you've always wanted to do but never thought possible ten seconds go!"

"Uh, fudge strafing run on Raven's tribe."

There was a pause.

"Okay..." Sun coughed. "Why... fudge?"

Taiyang gave a wicked smirk, taking a breath-

"If this involves my conception in any way," Yang deadpanned, "I'm not going to let you fly the fudgebombers."

 **75.23 Zurcior**

It was a quiet afternoon in Vale. The sun shined brightly, and the birds chirped as they flew through the air. Raven appreciated the calm atmosphere that surrounded the outdoor restaurant where she was currently drinking her tea. It would help her stay rational for the conversation she was about to have.

The clinking of glass heels against stone let her know that her guess for the afternoon had arrived.

Cinder slid into the chair opposite of Raven, her gaze never leaving the Nevermore Queen as the bandit leader continued to sip her tea.

Eventually, the red-eyed bandit put her cup down and met Cinder's eyes. "Miss Fall, I'm glad you came."

"I was surprised when I got your message," Cinder admitted warily.

"You shouldn't have been," Raven responded with an even tone. "It was inevitable that we finally talk face to face."

Cinder nodded slowly. This _was_ the first time she ever interacted with Raven while she was Awake.

"Why did you ask me to be here?" she asked, hoping to get to the heart of the matter. "I assume that it's important if you're willing to even speak to me."

"I have heard many things about you," Raven began as she lied both her palms on the table. "Not all of them good. Your attempt to destroy this world is something that will never be forgotten."

Cinder frowned at the woman's words but didn't interrupt. She had a feeling the red-eyed tribeswoman was building up to something.

She was proven right when Raven continued. "Honestly, I never gave it much thought. Yes, what you did was terrible, but I didn't experience it personally so it was hard to imagine the scope of such an apocalypse. To emotionally invest myself in what might as well be a horror story from the past was difficult from my perspective. As far as I was concerned, the only reason I had to mark you as an enemy is the fact you serve Salem in Baseline. But then, I started getting these strange memories."

Cinder tensed in her seat as her hand tightened in her lap. "I see."

"I bet you do," retorted Raven, a bit of heat entering her voice. "Those memories... I remember my tribe, my family, being killed by a colossal dragon. I remember fighting twisted monsters that not even the Grimm could match in terms of disturbing aesthetics." Her gaze became hard as her hands balled into fists, and she growled out her next words. "But what I remember most of all, is a vampire that wore my face!"

The words made Cinder twitch. "You..." she hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. She could tell where this was heading, and the guilt started to tie her stomach in a knot. She said the first thing that came to mind. "Are you hoping for revenge? Is that why you called me here?"

Raven stared at her; studying the face of the woman responsible for the other Raven that was willing to kill Tai and Yang so that she may continue to survive. The memory still angered her, but it also filled her with shame. Shame that the philosophy had held for so long could have easily led her down that terrible path. Finally she answered, "I came here because I wanted to know exactly how I'd feel about you once I looked you straight in the eye."

Confused by what she heard, Cinder asked, "Why? How is it you are conflicted about what I made her do?"

"That's the point!" Raven snapped, slamming her hand against the tabletop. "You didn't **make** her do anything! She chose. She _chose_ to believe that her life was worth more than Tai's. She _chose_ to butcher her daughter and drink her blood! You gave her a choice. And. She. _Chose!_ "

Cinder could only stare. A part of her was surprised that Raven cared that much about her family, but she immediately realized how foolish of her that thought was. If someone like her could find it in herself to care about people who should have been her enemies, then surely Raven Branwen, a mother, was capable of it as well.

"That doesn't absolve you of the part you played," Raven resumed, unaware of Cinder's thoughts. "You still provided her with the option to do what she did. But I know myself enough to know that I..." She closed her eyes, sighed, and spoke more calmly; resigned. "To know that it would be dishonest of me to pin all the blame on you. I know what I am. I know why she chose to do what she did. Because she was me, and I was her."

Raven's eyes were softer when she opened them again. "Although, neither Taiyang nor Yang believe that is completely true. And considering how I feel about what the other me did, I starting to believe them. If there was one good thing that came out of meeting that Variant of myself, it was the fact the situation shoved a metaphorical mirror in front of my face; showing me what I could become. I have you to thank for that in a sick, twisted sort of way. But make no mistake, Cinder Fall," Raven returned to glaring at the Maiden, "I may not feel the burning hatred I thought I'd feel once I saw you, but you are **definitely** on thin ice with me!"

Cinder nodded in acceptance. "That's fair," she conceded softly. "Would it help if I admitted I'm sorry? That I regret it?"

"No," denied Raven as she stood, placing some Lien on the table. "I do not know you enough - trust you enough - to believe that you are sincere."

As she flinched at the rejection, Cinder watched as Raven turned her back to her and started to walk away. "I understand," she acknowledged quietly.

Raven stopped. She let out a sigh of resignation and then looked back towards Cinder. "However, maybe that could change with time. Ruby does say you are getting better. Who knows? Maybe one day, you'll earn my trust."

Cinder was taken aback. "You... You're willing to do that?"

"Despite what I've done, Yang and Tai saw fit to give me a second chance," Raven responded. "And I intend to do everything in my power to make sure they don't regret it. So I'll extend the same courtesy to you. If only out of fairness. After all, _both_ of us will have to work hard not to disappoint the people who believe in us. And Yang thinks of you as family. If she ends up forgiving you like Ruby and Tai were able to, then I might as well _try_ to get along with you when the time comes." She pulled out her sword and opened a portal. "Now if you'll excuse me, Kali roped me into helping her prank the White Fang using bullet ants that have had their Auras unlocked."

Raven walked through the portal and disappeared, leaving Cinder alone with her thoughts.

 **75.24 Black Omochao**

"Hey girl! What's the deal!?" Kira questioned Neo. Neo kept trying to hit Kira with her umbrella, and Kira kept dodging, or blocking the attacks with her wings. Many people watched, unsure of how to react as the two girls zoomed through the city in combat. "Look, I don't know you, or if you're a Looper, and I don't know what exactly you have against me, but – "Neo managed to hit Kira with a kick to the chin, knocking her back and giving Neo a chance to attack some more while she was disoriented.

Kira soon found herself being sent flying again and slamming into a building, the people scattered, a few screaming from the violence and property damage. Kira pulled herself from the building and brushed the dust from her body before glaring at her opponent, whom was rushing towards her again. "Okay… you want to fight?" Kira's body rippled, Neo stopped running as she noticed a huge shadow forming over her, she looked to see a large, darkly colored dragon looming over her menacingly. " **Let's fight!** "

Neo stared blankly at the large creature for a moment… before an amused smirk creeped its way onto her face. The small girl dashed forward, the large dragon trying to lunge at her along the way, silently taunting the beast each time she missed.

Kira roared in anger before disappearing into a swarm of bats, Neo blinked in confusion before the bats formed into the dragon again, behind her.

Before Neo could reacted, she was grabbed hold of by Kira and slammed her into a building, the small girl struggled to get out of the massive dragon's grip but she found herself being scrapped across the building and thrown on the ground.

" **Take that! And this!** " Kira snarled before she inhaled and sent a stream of fire Neo's way. The local Looper reacted fast, jumping out of the way of the approaching flames teleporting her way to the top of the building she had just been smashed through. "Huh? Oh no, did I incinerate her!?" Kira questioned in concern when she saw nothing but scorched ground where the girl had been. "Oh, this is bad! I wasn't trying-GUH!?" Kira suddenly felt something small land on her head, and a piercing pain pulse through her left eye, a flash of pink, brown and white briefly danced across her vision before vanishing. " **Oh… It. Is. On!** "

-/-

"Kira?!" Kaito called out as he looked around the streets.

"Kira?!" Rena also called as she followed behind him. "Where on-whatever-planet this is called is she?" As if to answer her question, a lot of crashing noises could be heard from up ahead, and some explosions. "Oh great…"

"We better go get her before we're blacklisted by the native Loopers," Kaito sighed. The two rushed to the scene, spotting Kira in her dragon form… trying to hit someone whom was moving too quickly to see.

" **Hold still dangit!** " the dragon shouted in anger, Neo stopped behind her briefly and stabbed her heel with her umbrella. Kira roared in rage before using her tail to slam Neo into a building. The diminutive girl hung stuck in the impression on the building and blinked… before smiling and letting out a silent laugh. " **Oh, you having fun too? I thought I was the only one,** " Kira smirked as she stared at the small girl.

"… What is this?" Kaito asked Rena whom shrugged.

"A collision of mirroring ideals and ideology?"

"… What does that mean?" Before an answer could be given the loud sounds of combat alerted the two to Kira and Neo once again going at it in combat, Neo sailed through the air and successfully sliced off one of Kira's arms, only for the arm to change into a swarm of Gloom Bats and reform in the proper place.

" **You're going to have to try better than that if you want to damage me!** " Kira shouted confidently. Neo stood in front of her, mismatched eyes narrowed before the native Looper held out her hand and gestured for Kira to come at her. " **Ha! Confident? That's what I like to see!** " Kira roared as she sent her tail flying to swat the smaller Looper.

Neo disappeared in the blink of an eye and started attacking the tail with her weapon, though no damage was sustained on Kira's form, any badly damaged Gloom Bats were replaced by fresh ones from the stores of her sub-space pocket faster than the eye could blink, giving the allusion of instant regeneration.

The two stood at a standstill once more, though Neo was unable to do any damage to her larger opponent, the same could be said for Kira, since her small, nimble opponent was simply too quick for her to land an attack on.

"Kira! Please stop this now!" Kaito called to his girlfriend, loudly. Kira glanced his way, spotting Rena not far behind him, both looking concerned and aggravated, he turned his attention to Neo, whom was looking at him indifferently. "Look, I'm sorry about her! I know you're angry, and are kind of justified in taking it out on Kira!"

"Hey!" Kira huffed in offense.

"I'm sure if we just talk it out we can–what are you doing?" Kaito noticed Neo was aiming the sharp end of her parasol at him, he barely had time to dodge before she tossed it, narrowly avoiding being speared. The DinoZaurs Anchor's eye twitched slightly while Neo smirked. "Okay, you know what," Kaito glanced between Kira and Rena, before morphing into his raptor form and snarling. "Let's kick her butt!"

"Kaito! Wait!" Rena cried out, watching as the red raptor charged forward. "You're supposed to be the voice of REASON!"


	76. Tests of Character

**76.1 Masterweaver**

"Hey Blake?"

"Yeah Yang?"

"Do these pants make my butt look big?"

"...By what standard?"

"What?"

"Are we defining big by volume, by mass, or by psychological projection? And in what context is big being defined? Positively, via sexual attraction? Negatively, via body image issues? Do you want a truthful answer, in order to adjust your outfit? Do you want an answer that feels good, no matter the truth? Are you going to keep the pants regardless of the reply? The question is very vaguely worded, Yang, and I cannot answer it in any meaningful sense until I know for certain what you are asking?"

"Actually I was just making a joke and/or testing your survival instinct."

"Oh. Did I pass?"

"No. You failed. Completely. You broke the question. You ruined the joke. I'm totally upset now. Well done, Blake. You have made me very sad."

"Really."

"Boohoo. I'm weeping. Boohoohoo. Look at me, Blake, I'm falling to the ground. Distraught. Utterly broken."

"Oh dear."

"I am so very very sorrowful right now. I cannot get up. The weight of my upsetness is... so heavy. It's so heavy. Like, too heavy for me to even come up with a good alternate word for heavy.

"Hefty, unwieldy, cumbersome, abundant."

"Thanks."

"No prob."

"Seriously though, that was one of the classic 'let's initiate shenanigans' lines I've ever heard and you just stopped it dead center. What are you even doing, Blake?"

"Writing a pornographic novel."

"...Reeeeeeeeeeally?"

"Yeah, I figured I've read enough, might as well contribute to the genre."

"Ooo. Can I see?"

"...Yeah, sure. I'm kind of stuck on this scene, I can't figure out how to get Jericho and Gideon to leave the apartment, and the plot can't move along until they do..."

 **76.2 Masterweaver**

"There you go, son. It's going to be a bit heavier then you're used to, but you'll thank me the next time you go up against a set of claws."

Jaune half bowed. "Thank you for your workmanship, sir. I appreciate it, truly."

"Ha. Well." The blacksmith cleared his throat, rubbing his horn awkwardly. "Before I get your... weapon... um. Something weird cropped up."

"Really?" Jaune looked back to the other three members of team RNJR; Ren and Nora's lips were twitching, and Ruby was leaning on Crescent Rose with a small smirk. He turned back to the blacksmith. "Weird... how, exactly?"

"...Uh." The man cleared his throat. "Apparently there's this... legend, about warriors and sword spirits and true love or something. I hadn't ever heard it before, but... uh... there's no real easy way to say this... you're sword's talking."

Jaune looked at him for a moment, before leaning to the side. "Pyrrha, did you have to screw with his head?"

"Dead girl's gotta get her kicks somehow!" an answering call came back.

He rolled his eyes, looking back to the blacksmith. "Yeah, sorry. She usually doesn't pull pranks, but when she does she gets creative. Uh, you won't be telling anybody about this, right?"

"Like anybody would believe me." The blacksmith quirked an eyebrow. "Is this... normal for you?"

"Hammer lady has a sloth obsession, the guy in green can practically fly, and the girl with the scythe is actually a swarm of living chibis." Jaune shrugged. "I kinda forgot what normal was a while back."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Good to have you along for the ride, Pyrrha." Ruby rolled her neck. "Sorry you're dead and all."

"I'll get over it," the sword assured her. "So, you know who all's Awake?"

"All of us, I think. Yang checked in, and Dad's Awake-Zwei's not. Blake and Sun checked in... Oh, and Weiss is meeting us in Shione."

"Hmm, that's... ten pings. I think I counted twelve."

"Yeah, probably the new loopers if they're not on the system. Hence why we're double-timing it to Shione-hope to hit it at around the time Raven's there. Blake's going to check on Kali, and probably meet us in Higanbana. After that, not a clue. You have any ideas?"

"Honestly, I'm just going to be Jaune's sword. It's relaxing letting him swing me around like this."

Jaune smiled. "I aim to please."

"Well, I want to see if I can get a mold of the Nucklavee!" Nora proclaimed. "I have a lot of quick-drying clay, the trick will be getting the thing to stand still long enough to dump it on without, you know, pinning the arms down."

"I have a fair amount of time dust," Ren offered. "I'll sneak up and trap it, if you're willing to deal with the rest of the Grimm."

"Is time dust even baseline?" Jaune wondered.

"Eh, if it is it's probably stupidly illegal," Ruby replied. "Or controlled, or top secret or whatever. We'll just claim it's somebody's semblance."

 **76.3 Flametusk**

"So you're saying that we can't pocket one part of something, and leave the other part unpocketed? Is that what you're saying Ozpin?" Raven asked.

"Correct. And you should also know that the range for pocketing something is two meters away from yourself," Ozpin told her.

"Please take a look at the statue in the courtyard Ozpin."

Ozpin looked and saw a red portal open, separating the sword from the rest of the statue, before the sword disappeared. Looking back at Raven, he saw the sword from the statue appear on his desk, hand still attached cleanly cut at the wrist.

"That doesn't count," he told her.

 **76.4 Masterweaver**

"...Wait." Jaune held up a hand. "Let me get this straight. Semblances are determined by personality tests this loop?"

Ruby nodded. "Eeeyup. Aura class in combat school, we take a test, then we go to the school nurse-"

"Has anybody ever pointed out how stupid that sounds?" Jaune asked. "I mean, Qrow alone would probably have good reason to sue the medical groups."

"Yeah, it's been debated apparently. For whatever reason, though..." Ruby shrugged. "System stuck around. Oh, would explain why you don't have a semblance though."

"Right, right."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I didn't get to take the personality test. Jacques forged it and took me to the doctor's office-I didn't even realize what was happening until after I got back home."

"Yeah, that." Jaune pointed at her. "That alone suggests this is a really, really bad idea."

 **76.5 Masterweaver**

"So," Raven said casually, "Kali mentioned you've gone into lingerie design."

Taiyang choked on his drink, but Yang merely smiled. "Yep."

"Interesting choice."

"Just sort of happened, really. Jaune and Pyrrha got married and, you know, Pyrrha's in her armor almost 24/7, so I got to wondering about the logistics-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, I-I did not-" Taiyang managed to clear his throat. "You... what?"

"Yep." Yang nodded. "I make custom lingerie, free of charge, for anyone who asks. Male or female, teen or adult, human or... other." She shrugged. "It helps that I'm also a surgeon, I know how the body moves and all that."

"Oh. Wow." Taiyang took a moment to process that. "...I'm trying to figure out if I should be impressed, disturbed, or just pretend this conversation never happened."

"You could do all three," Yang suggested.

Raven took a careful sip of her tea. "...You design for anyone who asks."

"Yep."

"Anyone."

"Who asks. The asking is important here. There has to be an explicit request. Because, you know, otherwise I'd drive myself crazy, like any other artist."

The two of them stared across the table at each other.

"What if," Raven suggested, "somebody were to ask you to design lingerie for somebody else?"

Taiyang blinked. "Uh, Rae, what are you-?"

"Well, it depends on the relationship of the somebody else to the asker," Yang replied. "If they're in an active and mutually consenting sexual relationship, sure, but without knowing explicitly who I'm designing for it would come out pretty generic."

"Hmmm." Raven sipped her drink thoughtfully. "I see."

Taiyang looked between them. "I'm... not exactly sure-"

"There's also the chronologistical issue," Yang pointed out. "Seeing as we're in the loops and all. If somebody were to ask for lingerie for a specific person at a specific point in their life, say... twenty, twenty five years before normal loop start, I'd have to design for their measurments then, and perhaps account for their body changing over time-"

"Ah, yes, that does seem like it would be difficult," Raven mused.

Taiyang sighed. "I know things are tense and all between us, given... things, but is that really a reason to have a passive-aggressive inuenndo-laced conversation instead of just asking for what you want?"

"No." Raven nodded. "It isn't."

"We're just doing this to have fun," Yang added.

"Fun." Taiyang frowned. "Really."

"Your discomfort is incredibly amusing," Raven noted.

"Always nice to wind up the old man," Yang agreed.

Taiyang threw up his hands. "Right. Of course."

The table was silent for a moment or two.

"I am serious about the asking part," Yang suddenly said. "If you want sexyclothes for Teen Taiyang you have to say so."

"I want sexyclothes for Teen Taiyang."

"Okeydoke, I'll get right on it."

Taiyang put his head in his hands.

 **76.6 Zurcior**

Yang breathed deeply as she absorbed the tale that had just been told to her. "Damn," she said, as she gazed at Raven with sympathy. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Raven, who sat beside her on the park bench, only nodded. "So what do you think?"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"You know." Raven jaw tightened. "About her and what she did."

"Oh, I see where this is going." Yang huffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't even start. You are not her, and she is not you. That's all there is to it. Try to believe in that."

"How!?" Raven shouted as she stood up from the bench and started pacing. "How can you and your father both be so sure that me and her are so different? We had the same philosophy! Believed in the same rules! How can you honestly look at me, knowing the truth, and not be disgusted?"

"What do you want me to say, Raven?" countered Yang, as she too stood up. "Your actions speak for you! You are horrified by what she did. And when you finally got your hands on her... Well, let's just say I'm a bit touched that deep down inside you still love me and dad enough to fuck someone up like that."

Raven stared at her with a melancholy expression on her face. "How much is that worth when I still chose to leave?"

Yang sighed. "So that's what this is really all about."

"I'm sorry. I know we've had this conversation before, but remembering what happened during _that_ Loop picked at some old wounds about the choice I made."

"I get it, okay? It was either us or the people who raised you like family. I don't like it, but I won't pretend that was an easy choice for you."

"It wasn't," Raven agreed. "But ever since I became a Looper, I've been exposed to everything I missed out on. And I can't help but feel..." She paused and lowered her head in shame. "My choice cost me my brother, my best friend, my husband, and... it cost me my daughter. I regret it, and I am thankful that being a Looper means I can now be a part of both families. I don't have to chose anymore. And maybe I can finally keep the promise I made to myself during that whole fiasco."

Yang took a good look at her for several seconds before she smiled. "I'm glad you're finally figuring out your place in all this craziness. And I'm thankful that you want to be a better person. It means a lot that you'd go through that effort for us." It was then she had an idea. "Hey, maybe one day you can introduce me to your tribe one Loop. When they're not in the middle of being assholes, of course."

Raven blinked. "You'd be willing to do that?"

"Why not?" Yang smiled at her. "Being part of a family means accepting, or at least tolerating, the people and things that are important to each other. And your tribe is important to you." The brawler smirked deviously. "Besides," she teased, "I think it might benefit me to learn the ropes for when I inherit the tribe from you."

Raven snorted in amusement. "It doesn't work like that. Besides, you'd make a terrible bandit, little dragon."

"What's so hard about it? All you do is beat people up and take their stuff."

"...I am offended. You have offended me."

"Hehehe. And everyone would blame you. Parents are always blamed when their kids go bad."

"Well, it's a good thing I was never your parent then, isn't it?"

"...Oh, that was a good one."

"I learned from your father."

 **76.7**

"Glynda?"

"Yes Taiyang."

"Why... why in the world are you standing by and letting Cardin and his team bully Velvet?"

Glynda and Taiyang (Taiyang was her teaching assistant this Loop) were in the cafeteria, watching Team CDRL laugh at Velvet. Taiyang cocked an eyebrow at Glynda. "Shouldn't we... I don't know, step in and do something."

"Wait..." Glynda said, raising a hand.

The four Human boys were midway through bullying Velvet, when suddenly a big, dark, muscular shadow fell on them. The four looked up. Velvet did as well. "Uh... hey Yatsuhashi."

Taiyang chuckled as he saw what Yatsuhashi did to CRDL. "Okay, now I get it. Better lesson, eh?"

"Oh yes."

 **76.8**

"You know Torchwick, for a criminal mastermind with a sadistic streak and a penchant for violence against my daughters, you make a mean cocktail," Taiyang said as he and Qrow took their drinks at Roman's makeshift bar in Vale. Said criminal rolled his eyes and took his hat off. Taiyang obliged the offer, grabbed Roman by the hair, and slammed his face into the bar.

The crimelord set his hat back on and gave Taiyang a level glare. "You know, I happen to be reformed. I don't assault kids anymore."

"Because they're millions and in Ruby's case billions of years old," Qrow offered.

"Yes." Roman popped his ascot, looking a bit more pompous. "Besides, it's been millennia since I killed any of them."

"You did what?" Taiyang said, banging his fist into the bar.

Very slowly and very deliberately, Roman turned to give Taiyang a clear and straight look. "Yes, I have killed Yang, and yes I have killed Ruby. When your existence can be measured in the geological cycles of the planet, sometimes you slip up, luck out, or just roll the dice right. And yes, I've done it deliberately. They've paid me back for that."

Qrow very quickly put his arm on Tai's arm. "Trust me Tai, killing him now isn't going to do anything. Other than make you feel better."

Noticibly clamping down on his anger, Taiyang tried some of the cocktail. "This is good."

"Well was that so hard?" Roman quipped.

Taiyang gave him a death glare. Qrow just cocked an eyebrow. "You do not know when to shut your mouth."

"It's who I am. Have you seen me up in front of a crowd?"

"On occasion." Ozpin's spy sipped his drink. "Got a real talent when you're working at it."

"Actually, is that your Semblance?" Taiyang suddenly asked. "I never saw your Semblance when I was watching our show. That means it changes, right?"

"Well aren't you a regular Sherlock Holmes," Roman said.

"Sherlock?"

"Hemlock Holmes."

"Oh why didn't you just say so." Taiyang folded his hands. "Seriously though? What is your Semblance."

It took a moment, and then Roman shrugged. "Eh, not sure."

"You... you're not sure?" Taiyang rubbed his head. "It's your soul's rarified essence. How could you-"

"Let me guess, you're wondering what your Semblance is and why it's changing," Roman said.

"No, I'm pretty consistent on how it's about generating a shield." To demonstrate, Taiyang created a small shield around himself and Qrow. "See."

"...Well, I guess you lucked out there," Roman muttered. "My Semblance isn't exactly fixed, but it's not as varied as Jaune's."

The drinks instantly vanished.

Roman waved his hand. "I'm a thief. A conman, a trickster. I fool people and pull the occasional slight of hand. It's in my nature. So my Semblance tends to be focused on tricks, manipulation, and slight of hand. Presto." Roman pulled Taiyang's shot glass out from behind his ear.

"Sometimes it's a compelling voice, sometimes it's shapeshifting, I've had one Loop where I could steal the nothing out of stuff and create them at will..." Roman shrugged. "Neo's Semblance is a bit more steady. Glynda knows her Semblance like the back of her hand. Zwei's a dog and Ozpin's an old fart. I get to have a little fun."

"That's nice. Can I have my drink back," Qrow demanded. His milk reappeared, and the three got back to drinking.

 **76.9 Masterweaver**

Lisa took a quiet sip of her tea, looking about the farmlands around her. This particular part of the pocket was... relaxing, almost deliberately so. She usually came here when her age weighed upon her, when she could feel death's slow, steady footsteps.

Ozpin had actually brought Death in to talk with her once. Well, _a_ Death. Not hers, apparently, not the death that resided on Remnant-native to a loop known as Discworld. He'd actually been remarkably polite and genteel for a skeleton in a robe, even answering a number of her questions-though, he had admitted, he was merely the gatekeeper of one set of afterlives, not a resident, so his words had to be taken with some... allowance for deviation.

Still, that conversation had reassured her quite a bit. Not enough that she stopped taking the longevity treatments Ozpin had collected for her, but enough that she... allowed herself more time between them.

Looking in the mirror that morning, or whatever passed for morning in this place, Lisa had decided she resembled... something from a fantasy novel. Her fingers were visibly wrinkled, but her face still seemed youthful and pristine, sharp golden eyes peering out from the faintly graying lavender locks she had allowed to grow out to her waist. A side effect of the longevity treatments, she'd been informed-hair and nails no longer had anagen phases, simply growing slowly but consistently, and had she wanted to she could have let it grow to a point where it dragged on the ground.

Perhaps... later. Abandoning her black overshirt was casual enough, for the moment.

She paused, glancing up at the sky border of the pocket. Ozpin had the minor trick of being able to tell where anything in here was-not merely remembering where he had put things down, but being able to locate them if they moved. So she knew he knew where she was, at the moment-even if she hadn't told him where she was headed after she emerged from the stasis pod, she knew he would send her warning.

And warning he had sent. She'd read the letter that had appeared on the table in front of her. She had, after a long ten minutes of contemplation, written a reply. That had been half an hour ago.

Or thereabouts.

The sound of footsteps caught her attention, and she put her cup down to look at the newcomers. There was Ozpin, of course-he wouldn't not be here for this. And Ruby Rose, the young girl older than her reality. And...

Well.

Lisa let her eyes lock onto the third, the woman who stepped forward, who walked toward the table in a cautious manner, her steps delicate enough to leave eggshells unbroken. Her eyes, golden, akin to Lisa's own, were averted as she sat down. And then...

Well.

And then.

Lisa took a sip of her tea.

"...So. Here you are."

"Here I am," agreed the woman quietly.

She'd seen images. Both positive and negative, villain and friend, moving and still-snapshots into a long life, longer then her own, even if shorter in some ways. She knew this dark-haired woman was damaged. She also knew that she was responsible for her situation, for the near-death of countless other iterations of Remnant... if not directly, then at least as a tool. And here she sat. In person.

"...What is the point of this?" Lisa asked. "How does this help either of us?"

The woman glanced up-momentarily, before lowering her eyes. "Ozpin... thought it would be best if we talked."

"What do we have to talk about?" the former reporter replied, her voice as level and clipped as if she was again behind the desk, reading the teleprompter. "You destroyed my world. You can't expect to be able to atone for that, even if everyone else forgives you. And yes, I could rant and rave at you for bringing the apocalypse but, for me, that was... what, seventy years ago?" She shrugged. "A lot of the hot emotions have passed."

She looked up at her again. "You aren't... angry?"

"I'm not like you loopers," Lisa reminded, tapping her skull. "My memory is enhanced, yes, thanks to various little tricks Ozpin's given me, but it's not perfect. Those feelings died long ago. The resentment lingered for a bit, I'll admit, but now I'm just... lonely and melancholy. It's possible I could get angry again, but I won't just summon it up at will. So, again, what do either of us get out of this conversation?"

"...I... I don't know. Saying I'm sorry-and I _am_ sorry... that doesn't cover the scope of the situation, does it?"

"Not hardly, no. And you cannot possibly expect me to forgive you."

The woman sighed. "No. You're right, you'll probably take your resentment of me to..." She trailed off.

"To my grave, yes." Lisa nodded. "Even with the fancy medicine and the stasis pod Ozpin's given me, I will die. Granted, said fancy medicine gives me another century or two, and my time in the pod doesn't count. Still, you're talking to somebody that, thanks to your actions, is doomed to vanish. Not like your looping friends, not like the might-have-beens outside-you are _directly_ responsible for my fate." She glapsed her hands together, quietly leaning forward. "How, exactly, does that make you feel, I wonder."

"...I'm guessing extending an offer to join the immortal vampire civilization that lives in my pocket wouldn't be kosher."

"No. No it would not."

"Lisa, I-"

"Miss Lavender." Lisa's voice was stern. "My friends call me Lisa."

The woman nodded. "...Miss Lavender. I... cannot say enough how much I regret everything I did, and everything I caused. You're right, you're not like us loopers-our memories are... more impactful, with deeper emotional ties. You have left your anger behind, but when I look back on those events... I can recall how I felt, exactly, even in the grip of insanity. I can remember the high of rising, delving into the depth of reality, becoming one with the code. I can remember my mind expanding, feeling the echos of those that I thought were lesser then me. I can remember... I can remember the horror of every civilian, growing ever more intense as what was merely a Grimm attack became something beyond their comprehension."

She took a breath. "You may have forgotten how you felt, miss Lavender, but I can remember it. All of it. And... maybe I need to know that even if you never forgive me, that you won't... be trapped in that state. That you can heal. That even if you curse me with your dying breath... that you won't let my actions define your life."

Lisa looked at her for a long moment.

"Hmm. So even the gods can feel guilt."

She winced. "I'm not a god."

"You're certainly not a mortal."

"That wasn't my decision. It wasn't even the admin's decision, it was the result of a rogue hacker."

"So your fate was decided by somebody outside your sphere of influence."

"...Yes."

"I see." Lisa nodded. "With that knowledge, I can see why you wanted to break free from the dance. But you didn't have to burn down the ballroom."

"...I went insane. It doesn't excuse what I did-or maybe it does-but I would never had done it if..."

"...if."

"I... just... Lisa. I don't think this is about me. I think this is about you. Just... please. Tell me that you're living. That you're existing. That you're not stuck back there."

Lisa frowned. "...You actually do care about this, don't you?"

"Yes. I... you're the only one of them left. The other loopers, at least, they can sort of see where I'm coming from, but you're the only... you're the survivor. I don't need forgiveness, I don't need... atonement. I just... need you to live. Actually live."

"...I am... content," Lisa allowed. "For the moment. I... do mourn, on occasion. But it hasn't... chained me."

"...that's good."

"And now, in return, I want something from you Cinder Fall."

The woman blinked. Then she nodded. "Alright."

"I want to know that you are taking steps. Not only to ensure you yourself never do this again, but to ensure that nobody else in Yggdrasil ever devastates any world. That what you have been through is something that you, and you alone, will go through. Because you may never earn my forgiveness, or even your own redemption. But the least you could do to atone, even if you cannot undo the damage, is to make sure this never happens again."

"...I... I will. I've already gone over what I went through, again and again and again, with a lot of the others. If... I can understand this, I can help others understand."

"Good." Lisa took a breath. "Good. I think we're done here. For the moment." She gripped her teacup. "Maybe... in a few decades, I will want to talk to you again. I'm sure Ozpin will arrange it."

The woman opened her mouth, paused, and shut it. After a moment she stood, walking back to the others. She and Ruby vanished after a moment.

Ozpin walked over, clearing his throat. "I... wish to thank you for agreeing to that."

"It was a test, wasn't it. A test for her."

"...that wasn't all it was."

"No, you're right. It was a test for me too." Lisa looked into the distance. "Did she pass?"

"...She did."

"Hmm." She took a sip of her tea. "...Shame I failed, isn't it."

 **7.10 StormyAngel**

"Pyrrha?"

"Yes Yang?"

"Why is Jaune a robot this loop?"

Pyrrha was silent for a moment.

"You _do_ remember what my semblance is right?"

Yang snorted. "Polarity, duh. You're magnetic."

Yang paused for a moment as Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at her. Then she groaned.

"That's right Yang." Pyrrha smirked. "He finds me _extremely_ attractive."

-

 _Clank!_

For a moment everyone in the cafeteria paused, looking for the source of the weirdly metallic sound. There was no sign of any broken dishes, although Cardin did look strangely nervous as he swiftly made his way out the doors.

Yang turned to her partner for the loop, Pyrrha.

"So. Cardin's a robot this loop. Does that mean he-"

"No." Pyrrha replied flatly.

"Are you sure, cause-"

"No."

...

Cardin couldn't figure it out. Everyone else seemed to worship the Nikos girl, but he just found her completely repulsive.

Ah well. Time for his sleep cycle.

 **76.11 Masterweaver**

"Marianne, I have a question."

"Is it an important one, Blake, or-"

"No. Yes. Maybe. It's kind of about you, and your history and all that."

"...Alright. Shoot."

"So, you told Ruby you coalesced when the french revolution came around. But you also kind of called Hestia your aunt...?"

"Yes, I was an olympian at one point. Minor one. Left the pantheon, I was more roman then greek honestly-"

"No no no, I can totally understand why you would have done that. But... then what did you mean when you said you coalesced during the french revolution?"

"That's when I became me."

"Okay, see... I thought you meant 'that's when I came into existence,' but if there's something different going on here-"

"Oh, I came into existence at that point."

"...but the greeco-roman pantheon existed long before the french revolution! If you were a part of that-"

"Blake. Let me stop you right there and explain something. You're stuck in a time loop, right?"

"Yes."

"And that loop has variants and fused loops and there are other realities where time travel happens and it works in different ways in each of those realities?"

"...Yes?"

"And you can understand all that?"

"...With effort, yes."

"Alright. Congratulations, you have passed elementary comprehension of the nature of Yggdrasil's spacetime. To know how I existed before I coalesced, you would need a _college degree,_ and there are no professors available to teach you at this point."

"...Oh. So this is one of those things I'm never going to get?"

"Eh, not until the loops end at least."

"Hoo-freakin'-ray."

 **73.7 Masterweaver**

Professor Lupin looked over the assembled trio of girls (and Harry Potter, who was wearing a rather strange-looking hat with a clock built into it). "Ah... miss Xiao Long?"

"Yeah?"

"When you requested that your session with the boggart be private, I... assumed you meant solitarily private."

Yang turned to the other three. Harry was pulling a 'naive crazy person' persona this loop, still managing to mysteriously save the philosopher's stone but leaving Yang to handle the basilisk. Hermoine, somewhat frustrated at Ron's being unawake, had decided to play support and let the newcomers form the current iteration of the golden trio. Raven... well, Raven had scoffed at the two Defense classes she'd been through, especially since they left her unprepared for the diary (and vaguely suspicious that the other loopers had arranged that little fiasco just to test her) but at the same time she seemed to be... earning her place. Sort of. In a very, very tsundere kind of manner.

"Well, you know." The blonde girl turned back and shrugged. "I don't want to be _alone_ alone. And I trust them."

"Reasonable." The professor cleared his throat. "You understand, of course, that I will be here in case things get too... intense."

"Got it." Yang nodded, turning toward the rocking wardrobe and raising her wand. "Alrighty, let's see what we've got!"

The professor took a step back, flicking his own wand at the furniture. The door snapped open and a whirling form shot out, shifting and twirling and spinning...

...and shifting and twirling and spinning...

...and shifting. And twirling. And spinning.

"...soooooo," Yang mused. "Is it confused, or-?"

Finally the boggart snapped together into a recognizable form.

There was a moment of silence.

Then Yang rolled her eyes. "Really. Really, that's what you're going with."

"Well it's not my fault," groused the pink kitten floating in front of her. "Your purest fears are too big for me to comprehend, and all the rest of them are tangled up in positive feelings!"

"You could have gone with Slenderman," Yang pointed out. "He's a classic!"

"You're not scared of him, you're just angry with him!"

"...fair point. And I guess I can see why you didn't go with the Grimm-why the pink rat, though? Why not, I dunno, Adam or something?"

The kitten crossed its forelegs. "I really did consider that, you know, it was a choice between him and this, but this form's the one that's got more trauma tied up in it. Plus, you've got the whole 'if this hadn't happened, this other thing wouldn't have happened' thing going on with him-"

"Right, Blake. Duh." Yang groaned. "Look, I was just expecting something... I dunno, ironic, or genuinely scary. Like a rabbit or something. You're not even doing the psycho-talk the original did."

"I'm just an emotion-exploiting shapeshifter!" the kitten protested. "Hell, up till this point I wasn't even freakin' sapient, thanks for that by the way, now I can actually think and all..."

"Huh. Abrupt uplift. Yeah, that's got to be scary for you."

"Hell yes it is."

"Um," said professor Lupin.

Yang gave him a look. "Yeah, to be fair, totally didn't expect this. All I knew for certain was, basically, I've been through a lot."

"Look, can I get back in the wardrobe?" the kitten asked. "It's cozy in there, and I might not actually retain self-awareness if you let me be."

Yang frowned. "You know, I'm kind of leery of the idea of letting you go back to being a creature of instinct-"

"Not your choice to make. I don't like all this thinking. It's so confusing."

"...Fine. Fine fine fine." Yang threw up her hands. "Get back in, you foul creature, yadda yadda yadda."

The kitten dove into the wardrobe, shutting the door behind it.

Professor Lupin cleared his throat. "Well, I can safely say I have never seen a boggart react... quite like that."

"And you probably never will again," Yang replied. "So, that counts as a pass, right?"

 **73.12 StormyAngel**

Qrow Woke up cleaving a Beringel in two with his scythe. This was surprisingly common for him, given his baseline habit of taking lengthy solo missions, even without factoring in his missions for Ozpin.

The Beringel had not been alone. By reflex Qrow reached for a stronger weapon in his pocket, only to discover that he was currently in a null loop. He cursed at the tree behind him as he set to work.

So it was a few minutes, and a couple dozen slaughtered Beringel, later that he checked his loop-memories.

He slung his reformed-sword over his shoulder, and walked off with a grin on his face. He loved waking up early.

...

"Oh, sit down Qrow." Summer scolded. "Ruby won't be down for a while yet."

"I don't like pancakes," Qrow grumbled. It was a blatant lie, but a necessary one.

Summer always tried to make him join the Rose/Xiao Long table for breakfast. If he gave in even once then he would be doomed every other time he came by to pick up his youngest niece.

"Is there any particular reason she's sleeping so late?" He asked. Ruby wasn't Awake yet, but even her baseline personality was a morning person.

Summer raised an eyebrow. "It's six in the morning."

"So?"

"Yang kept her up all night playing video games." She explained. Then she chuckled. "Well, her and Taiyang both."

"So why're you up already?" Qrow pointed out.

" _Somebody_ has to cook breakfast." She replied.

Yang walked in to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she yawned.

"Hey Mom. Hey Uncle Qrow."

"Hey kiddo." Qrow replied. Yang, unlike her sister, was _not_ automatically a morning person. It was oddly loop variable. Growing up with Summer and Ruby both, however, had made its impact on her unawake self.

"Pancakes!" Ruby's voice rang through the air, before she appeared in a flurry of rose petals.

"Ruby!" Summer scolded. "What have I told you about using your semblance in the house?"

Qrow rolled his eyes. Summer wasn't even _trying_ to hide her smile.

"Um...um..uhhhhhh."

Somebody Pinged.

Qrow's eyes snapped to Ruby, who was looking to him hopefully even as he Pinged back.

"Well young lady? I'm waiting." Summer continued, waving her spatula at Ruby from across the room.

"I'm...MOM!" Ruby yelled ecstatically. She disappeared in another flash of rose petals, crashing into Summer and blowing several dishes off of the table in the process.

"Ruby..." Yang groaned, her hair blown about by the breeze. "It's too early for this."

Ruby clearly wasn't listening, snuggled into her mother with a fierce hug. Summer returned it automatically, although she seemed confused.

Qrow didn't Wake up early very often, but whenever he did he had one priority over all else.

Keep Summer Rose alive.

In baseline he had refused to work with his old teammates because of his semblance. He had believed he was protecting them from the bad luck that could easily be fatal in jobs like theirs.

Knowing as he did now that Summer died on a mission on her own, he bitterly regretted that decision.

So this time, as he usually did when he Woke up early, he accompanied Summer on every mission that she went on.

She could hardly have worse luck if she had died the other way.

Consequently, when Ruby Woke up, she did so to _years_ of memories of time spent with her mother.

And to a living Mother who she could spend even more time with.

The time was highly Loop variable, not to mention impossibly small in the grand scheme of her infinite existence. But it was valuable all the same.

For the one who Anchored their entire world, as well as his beloved niece, it was the least Qrow could do.

"Is everything alright Ruby?" She asked her daughter with concern.

Ruby sniffled, trying to hold in her tears as she looked over at Qrow gratefully.

"It's perfect. Everything's perfect."

 **73.13 Shimmer712**

"So, why are you back?" Raven asked her brother curiously. "I know baseline, you're the one who stays and I'm the one who goes when the Tribe needed a new leader, but surely you've spent some loops with the tribe?"

Qrow gave her a bitter smile. "Yeah, and those loops happened before my semblance was confirmed in the Hub Baseline."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Explain, please."

Qrow rolled his eyes and leaned back, hands behind his head. "Raiding isn't a safe occupation, no matter how you look at it," he noted. "Even if your opponents are incapable fighters, there's always a chance of them landing a lucky shot or something. Having something who ensures something will go wrong just by being there...even since my semblance solidified into Bad Luck, whenever I try to stay with the tribe, I get driven away." He paused, tilting his head to one side. "It's weird, since given that I almost always choose Ruby and Yang over them, you'd think that the Tribe forcing me to leave wouldn't hurt. But it does, a bit."

Raven winced. "I'm not surprised it hurt. The Tribe raised us. They were our parents in every way we knew." She sighed. "I guess I can't hold it against you since you rejecting the tribe turned out to be in its best interests," she said grudgingly.

"But you probably will," Qrow noted. "You do in baseline, despite knowing my semblance. Yeah, you may get over it sooner or later, but still." He shrugged.

"Did...Tai Yang ever blame you?" Raven asked. "For Summer?"

Qrow shrugged again. "That varies. Sometimes he doesn't, sometimes he does, but he usually apologizes and points out the fact I wasn't on the mission with her meant her chances weren't hindered by me. There's a occasional loop where he doesn't take it back and keeps holding it against me a bit but those loops don't show up much."

"Did he blame me?" Raven wondered. "If I had kept track of you all, if I had kept an eye out for Summer on her missions...I teleported across continents to save Yang from Neo. Why couldn't I do the same for Summer? If I could save Yang like that, even though I was on Anima, why couldn't I use the same method for Summer? Or did I save her once and leave her because she already had her rescue?"

Qrow scratched his nose. "To be honest, I have no idea. Sometimes the mission is just to kill some Grimm. Sometimes, Summer was sent into Salem's domain. It;s been every mission possible and then some. Maybe you couldn't save her. Maybe it didn't occur to you she would need to be rescued. Or maybe your last idea is right. One save and that's it. I don't know." Qrow shook his head. "Nothing's been established as Baseline fact there. So every option is equally valid."

"One loop, she was in a secret relationship with me and I let her die out of jealousy over her having a kid with Taiyang," Raven said, deadpan.

"Okay, that one is unlikely," Qrow admitted. "But we still know nothing about it."

"Salem's subordinates killed a Silver-Eyed Warrior," Raven reminded him.

" _A_ Silver-Eyed Warrior," Qrow said. "And sometimes it's her, other times it's someone else. We don't know."

"Qrow? If it turned out I could have saved her and chose not to, what do I say to Taiyang and the girls?"

"...That's something else I don't know," her brother admitted. "Drink?"

"Please."

 **73.14**

"Hey Raven, look want we caught."

The aforementioned bandit queen glanced up from the regional map she had been looking over in her tent. The tribe would be able to camp out on the bluffs above the Atalan sea for a few more days, but with bigger and more ferocious Grimm already testing the skill of her scouting parties, the days were numbered. Even as a Looper she wouldn't be able to hold off a legion of Goliaths forever.

Two of one such scouting party, Hemlock and Starling, had apparently decided to drop by. It wasn't for a report though. The bound and gagged woman they were carrying was proof enough of that.

Raven waved her hand, dismissing her tribemates, and pulled up a chair to eye the woman they had captured. "Hmm. Qrow's not here."

The ropes around Winter Schnee disintegrated, slashed into oblivion by spectral blades. "I'm not here to meet Qrow. I'm here to join you."

Raven blinked, and pinged at Winter. The specialist rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm Awake. Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. I want to join your tribe."

Now the bandit queen was caught between laughing and groaning. "Why? Why would you possibly want to join any family... oh."

"See." Winter nodded at the tent flap, where outside tribesmen and women, murderers and thieves, were going about their business, drinking, collecting firewood, cooking food, playing cards, and such. "Qrow may not like that he's bandit born, but it is his family, and your family. That means that I have to be a part of it."

Finally, finally, Raven settled on an emotion: amusement. "Hehehe... Okay, so, you want to leave the whole life of luxury and money and affluence and shit behind, and become an outlaw."

"Yippee ki yay motherfucker," Winter answered in deadpan.

"You do know we don't have TVs here, so no watching or quoting any Spruce Willis movies." Raven tapped her fingers together. "The good girl goes bad, and she's all mine."

"I'm Qrow's," Winter stressed.

"We're twins, we share."

"Come onto me, and I will strangle you with your vagina."

"Oh come... what?"

"I've done it before, I practiced on Salem," Winter threatened. "So don't try to flirt with me."

Raven nodded. "Okay, no flirting with you. But, if you're gonna be living with the Tribe, you're under my orders. Which means you're gonna be my dog."

The specialist cocked an eyebrow, and grinned evilly. "Trust me, if nothing else, I'm good at following orders. Shall we, sister?"

"Let's."

 **73.15 Masterweaver**

Men and women screamed in terror as their homes were ransacked, children cowered as the armed strangers stole their food, and what few guards their were had already been dispatched.

Nonlethally.

Raven didn't actually _care_ , but she was smart enough to know the consequences could be dire, and it was best to get in the habit after all.

She took a proud look about as her tribe moved through the village of... something that sounded Mistralian. True, her smirk was hidden behind her helm, but she couldn't help feeling pleased at their efficiency. She parried a blow from-what, a fourteen-year-old with a stick? Ah, with a little boy cowering behind her, probably looking to save a life. She swept the legs out from under her and leaned in.

"Save it for the Grimm, girl. We both know they're coming."

The look of abject fear on the teen's face was extremely gratifying.

"FRET NOT, PEOPLE OF MISTRAL! I SHALL PROTECT YOU!"

Raven's head sagged. "Oh, no..." She turned to the main square, striding over to the corgi with his red cape. "Zwei, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to be a super hero this loop. Figured you needed an arch nemesis and all that."

"I'm playing by the rules, I don't need-"

"It's mostly theatre," the corgi admitted. "Well, the part with you at least. I'll stick around for the post-raid Grimm and kill them, whilst simultaneously cursing your constant escape."

"I'm not going to be your cartoon villain," Raven groused. "This is a job. We come in, we take what we need, we get out. There's no need to draw this out."

"You know that, and I know that, and the rest of Mistral will see a talking dog saving the day over and over. It'll be hilarious."

"I thought you were supposed to be sane or something."

"Eh." Zwei shrugged. "We've all got to go a little crazy sometimes. Look, can you just give me this one?"

"Can I actually convince you not to?"

Zwei gave her big, wet, doggy eyes.

"...That has no business working as well as it does." Raven sighed. "We spar until the Grimm come, and you stick to super-strength and invulnerability, no guns or anything else that couldn't be passed as ordinary flying brick."

"Ah, you're learning to trope!"

"Yang."

"Makes sense. And that's a reasonable arrangement."

"This is what my life has come to," Raven deadpanned as she took a sword-fighting stance. "I am fighting... a dog."

 **73.16 Flametusk**

The reaper laughed as the teacher told stories about his youth.

"Miss Rose! I understand that it was a good joke, but my sense of humor wasn't _that_ great when I was a young man! Much less at the dance when I was a student here."

"S-s-sorry p-professor, it's just- it's just- HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Alright then. So as I was saying, thrifty years ago to the day, I saw a Beowolf attacking the dance! So what I did blah blah blah blah..." Port's voice faded away as the reasons for Ruby and Yang being full sisters this loop became clear.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

The next day, a crow and a raven fell out of a cylindrical package, along with many packages of bird food. The crow was at the very bottom of the pile, dazed, while the raven sat smugly on top. Blake and Weiss were stunned when the raven grabbed a scroll that had appeared out of... somewhere... and spoke into it.

"Tai? Summer? We made it. Next time would you please let me use my portals? Just because I'm a bird doesn't mean I can't fight! Feel free to send Qrow through the mail. Right. Operation Venice Clown is proceeding as planned. Yes, yes, I understand. Black and White look confused. I'm going to explain to them the fact that Qrow and I can talk. Okay. Bye."

Turning to team RWBY, the raven continued and said "Well? Ask away. And just so you know, I'm still capable of combat. Just ask Qrow."

"Somebody please help get these things off of me... Not nearly enough alcohol in bird food to keep me happy underneath all these cans... ow..."

 **73.17 Kaoupa**

To the Loopers of Remnant, it was rather normal for Penny to come along and meet up with them after she arrived from Atlas. The robot girl was a part of their lives, after this long.

What was not normal for them, however, was for "Penny" to have swapped genders.

Or have a team with her, who were serving as "exchange students" for the year.

Or actually not be Penny at all, but instead a Visiting Looper.

At least Ozpin had sent off Cardin's team for the exchange.

-

"Hello! You are Ruby Rose, correct?"

"Uh, yeah." Ruby said carefully, looking at the strange girl that had just walked up to her out of nowhere.

She was also ignoring the pair of large, floppy ears that the clearly-a-dog-faunus had. She was still a person, after all.

"I am Lulu! Nice to meet you!"

"Um, hi Lulu!" Ruby felt extremely awkward as she shook the other girl's hand. Her social awkwardness wouldn't just go away after one day, after all, even with how Yang seemed to be expecting that it would for some reason.

"Arf!"

Before Ruby could consider the matter further, however, her dog ran up behind her to the faunus girl.

"Zwei!" Ruby said, watching as the corgi began to bark happily at Lulu.

"Aaaw! Who's a good boy?" Lulu grinned, reaching down and beginning to scratch behind the corgi's ears.

"Arf!" Zwei said, hopping up into the girl's arms.

"Er, I think he wants to talk. See you later, I promise I'll bring him back!" Lulu said to Ruby.

The unawake girl just looked confused. "What are you talk-"

Before she could ask her question, Lulu had sprinted away at a pace that put Ruby's Semblance to shame.

"…Did a student from another kingdom just kidnap my dog?"

-

"Miss Weiss."

"Samurai Jack." Weiss Schnee replied politely, giving the older Looper a short bow. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise. I understood you wished to see me before?"

"Indeed." Weiss stated, nodding. "I had understood that you were among the first Loopers not from Star Wars to train as a Jedi."

"You have heard correctly." Jack said, unPocketing a lightsaber and activating it.

Weiss looked slightly interested as a white beam shot out. "Interesting. A atypical kyber crystal?"

"It was a Fused Loop. The blade was one of a kind." Jack said calmly.

"Ah. Does it carry the properties of your normal sword?"

"Indeed it does. Have you found a lightsaber version of Myrtenaster?"

"As a matter of fact…"

-

"General Ironwood?"

"Yes?" The old man asked, turning around to the robot… man? Person? That had, regardless, replaced Penny for this Loop.

"I wanted to talk with you." X9 – or Cent, as he was called here – said politely. "About Penny."

And with those words, he had the military man's more or less total attention.

"Way I understand, in your baseline, she was killed by one Pyrrha Nikos, yes?"

"She was. Due to an illusion cast by one Emerald Sustrai." Ironwood replied coldly.

"I see. I… was subject to a similar situation in my past. I wanted to speak with her - see if I could help."

"What do you mean by that?" Ironwood asked, frowning.

"Are you familiar with the "cartoon"" – here, X9 visibly made air quotes – "Samurai Jack?"

"I've heard of it from Penny. Never had the time or inclination to watch it, though." The general admitted. "But I did hear about the Loopers of that world."

"Yup, I was the third Looper of that world to activate."

"And you were a robot as well, if I recall right?" Ironwood asked.

"Yeah. Last of the first robot series that Aku had built, before the beetle-drones became more widespread."

"And the only one to develop emotions, as I recall." Ironwood added darkly.

"Heh. Pretty much." X9 chuckled before a scowl came over his face. "I've got to thank that scientist who built me for that, at least."

He frowned. "Not really anything else, though."

"You have an issue with them?" Ironwood asked, raising an eyebrow.

X9 did the robotic equivalent of sighing. "Yeah. Bastard ratted me out to Aku after I had retired. They took Lulu, sweet little thing, and Aku told me – still does, sometimes – that if I didn't kill Jack, she'd die."

Ironwood grimaced. "That never ends well, I imagine?"

X9 snorted. "Jack's taken down entire armies of the things built to replace my series alone in our _baseline_. Take a guess how well I did by myself."

He sighed. "I knew I was going to probably die from the start, so it was easier to move past it for me than I hear it was for her, but still… it's not easy at first, waking up and remembering the guy who killed you."

Ironwood said nothing.

"Just… tell her that. Next time you see her." X9 breathed out. "If she's anything like me… knowing you're not alone is a comfort."

-

Yang was in slight awe as she stared at the male Huntsman that was visiting both her school and her Loop.

Not because of his height and size – even though he was almost the size of Choji Akimichi as an adult at the age of 16.

Not because of his red hair and ponytail – even if they were pretty cool.

No, her interest was because of something else.

"Yo-your leg!" She stammered, looking down at the young (in reality, much older than anyone in on the planet save maybe Ruby and definitely Jack) man's left leg. Or rather, the thing that had replaced it.

"Aye, wee lassie!" The warrior known only as the Scotsman said, grinning as he brought up the Dust rifle that he had turned into a prosthetic. "Ah gots a few billion more sort a like this! Wanna see em?"

Yang grinned as she looked up.

"YES! Can we compare notes?!"

 **76.18**

"Alright guys, confession time. I'm actually a decades old time traveler stuck in an infinite and inescapable time loop, and that's why I'm suddenly way more badass than all of you. That make sense?"

Neptune, Sage and Scarlet pulled themselves off of the ground, Neptune cracking his neck. "Yep. Do we win the Vytal Tournament?"

"No, but you flirt with the Schnee Heiress."

"AWESOME!"

Scarlet cocked an eyebrow. "What about us? Do me and Sage here get a vivacious blonde and her hyperactive sister?"

"No. You guys hang out and get to wreck shit."

Scarlett shrugged at that one. "Well, sounds good enough. Shall we dominate, old chaps?"

"Guy with knowledge of the future, and us? Yeah, we're gonna kick so much ass!" Neptune shouted.

 **73.19 StormyAngel**

"I don't mean to complain, really," Penny whined. "But just about the only thing that _isn't_ loop variable is how overprotective he is!"

"I think that would be preferable," Yang pointed out with a frown. "At least he's involved."

"Well, yeah, it's nice to know he loves me, but I'm specifically designed for combat! Let me live a little!"

"Look Penny, you don't know how good you have it." Yang replied bitterly. "Dad is great, but he kind of fell apart after Summer died, and Raven..."

They both trailed off as Weiss and Shinji walked in with frowns on their face.

"I couldn't help but overhear...were you guys complaining...about your _parents_?" Weiss demanded.

Penny hiccuped.

"What's the tally Weiss?" Shinji asked airily. "My dad used me as a pawn to end the world."

"Mine's a power hungry S.O.B., who drove away my older sister and is ruining my younger brother and family name." She paused. "Oh and my Mother's a drunk absentee, who lets him get away with it all."

Yang folded her arms, clearly unimpressed.

Weiss sighed heavily. "Look, Yang," she continued in a gentler tone, "I know Raven's not really what you hoped for."

"That's an understatement," Yang muttered rebelliously.

Penny clearly felt nervous. "Maybe I should-"

"But you should try to be grateful for what she _isn't_ ," Shinji stressed. "She abandoned you, yes. But she cares enough to save your life in baseline, and from what I understand, it was her commitment to family that led her to leave in the first place."

"That's-"

"Can you honestly say, in the grand scheme of things, that she's all that bad?" Shinji pressed.

Yang frowned. This was _not_ something she wanted to consider. Raven wasn't as bad as some parents, but she'd still _left_.

"Just think on it," Weiss asked. She glanced at her scroll. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're late for a little get together."

They left. Penny hiccuped.

"Uh...should I?"

Yang burst out into flames. "Gaahhhhh! Why did they have to be right!"

She stormed out. Penny waited for a moment then followed her out.

"Would now be a bad time to complain?" Nora asked the empty room.

 **73.20 StormyAngel**

"Obviously Ragyo takes the cake."

Qrow snorted. "Well, duh."

"I thought we were limiting this to our branch?" Winter asked with a frown.

"Yes," Raven replied in monotone. "Let's."

Awkward silence descended for a moment or two.

"Soooooooo..." Ruby continued. "I guess the multiverse really helps put things in perspective."

"I'll say," Taiyang replied as he ruffled Ruby's hair. "I thought Jacques made me look good, but then I heard about that Gendo Ikari..."

"You've got a point." Shinji mused. He turned to his father. "What do you think Dad?"

The awkward silence returned, grabbing a quick drink before it ran out.

"Wait," Qrow interjected. "How long have you two been here?"

"Long enough." Gendo replied with a huff. "Shinji, did I ever tell you about that time I met Ragyo..."

 **76.21 StormyAngel**

Roman did not usually go in for alcohol.

He maintained his bar for loopers quite proudly, always working to find a new drink for his customers. It was a good hobby, and a way to keep himself occupied. He didn't really need to drink to appreciate the beverages.

But sometimes...sometimes he needed a distraction.

"What's got you down in the dumps?" Qrow asked as he settled into his usual seat. The Crow bar was usually empty. That's why Qrow went there so often.

Roman sat slumped against the counter, drink clutched in his hand.

"I'm a convict," Roman moaned.

Qrow's brow furrowed. "Aren't you always?"

"No!" Roman replied, suddenly straight-backed as he pointed his finger at Qrow. "I'm a _criminal_!"

"...You got caught."

Roman waved dismissively. "I'm caught all the time..." his face gained a haunted look. "This time they proved it... _in court_."

His last two words were spoken in a whisper, as Roman furtively glanced around to make sure no one was listening in.

The bartender was starting to look a little worried. Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"So. You're a convict, eh?"

"Not _me_! It was...look, do you remember that mugshot in the backups?"

"The one from the news broadcast?"

"Right, the one that establishes my criminal background. It has pimples and everything."

"So you're unawake teenage self was caught. Huh, I never realized that was baseline."

"Yes, well usually Yggdrasil invents a suitably impressive reason for that mugshot. I was caught defrauding the central bank, or stealing Willy Wonka's secret recipes."

"Stealing Willy Wonka's...was that some kind of fused loop?"

"Not now, Qrow, I'm pontificating."

"Right, sorry."

"So _usually_ I'm caught as a reasonably talented thief. One might even call me a prodigy."

"One might," Qrow noted amusedly.

"But _this time_...this time I was caught...pickpocketing!"

"Isn't that a usual thieving activity?"

" _Exactly_! Who gets caught _and convicted_ for pickpocketing! Think of my reputation!"

"As a thief."

"Yes as a thief! It's my thing! I'm one of the best there is, renowned across the multiverse for my quick wit and clever schemes."

"...how much have you had to drink?"

Roman glared at Qrow. "Not nearly enough."

"Are you sure? Cause you're usually more...well, I hate to say _intelligent_ but..."

"Oh, leave me be," Roman huffed. "It takes more than alcohol to put me down."

"Whatever you say, pal." Qrow replied. "Whatever you say."

...

"Pickpocketing. Heh."

"If you _ever_ mention this to Neo..."

 **76.22 diesel**

A shrill shriek pierced her ears as a monster dissolved, a blade of black glass tearing through it before bisecting a second and a third without pause.

The beat of war filled the wasteland as a lone woman stood against a burning horde of monsters. One blow flowed into next without pause or hesitation as she wove spells of magic, flame and Dust, slaying vast swathes of the innumerable demons as her blades glinted in the light of the flames and the sun. Cinder's eyes were hard as her blades clashed with a bone forged spear wielded by a humanoid of fire, blood and bone, matching the monster's blows and deflecting them, waiting for the right time.

It was over in moments, Cinder ducked a thrust before lashing out with her blades, cleaving through the monster, blood stained glass glass tearing through the next on the flow through. The perishing shrieks were lost in the howling cacophony.

The scent of blood and smoke filled her nostrils and the ashes danced upon her tongue. Cinder grinned savagely, adrenaline surging through her veins; the plains burned around her as she pushed herself further and harder upon the glowing fields of glass and ash.

It had been too long since she had pushed herself, seen what she could do.

 _I almost forgot how it feels to just fight with no worries, I just wish wasn't so boring. The things are worthless opponents._

It should have been glorious.

But it just felt empty. There was no real rush, she could not just lose herself in the destruction and combat. The taboo rush of she felt when slaughtering innocents was missing, as was the vindictive joy as ending those that wronged her. The challenge she _needed_ was absent in this mockery of a fight. All that was left was pointless recriminations, bitter guilt that had no reason and turned what joy she could eek out to salt in her mouth. Even her fantasies of doing more than this offered only weak, hollow comfort.

 _Seems to be the way things are going now, doesn't it? Everything is shades of grey and I can barely feel. I want to rage and burn it all down, I want to stand alongside the others and earn their trust and forgiveness once more._

 _I want to_ fight _!_

Her feral grin turned into a snarl as the ground shattered with a thought, plumes of magma ripping free and enveloping the endless horde. A scream of frustration echoed across the wastes.

 _I. Want. To. Be. Free!_

It was approaching three hundred loops since her failed Ascension, and since that time, she had been trying to piece herself together. It was… amusing, in some respects, Cinder mused bitterly, ducking under a corrosive blade that oozed pus.

The rotting heap of blood and bone turned to ash as Cinder tore into a Cerberus like monster, blades flashed in the flickering light and its legs fell out from beneath it, oozing blackened blood.

For the first-time in unknown epochs, since those early loops or maybe even that first life, she had one defined goal. To repair what she had broken and heal herself. She lost so much in the Ascension, her power was lessened and her control of those lesser used powers weakened... That was not even taking into consideration the harm she caused the other loopers.

And now she had come full circle and was once more counting the loops, walking amongst those who saw her with weariness in their gaze and mistrust in their hearts, no matter how they tried to hide it.

Once more she was trapped, unable to be free. Once more she could feel herself fraying and she didn't know what to do. Everyone wanted her to be something, to become something different, and Cinder just wanted to find herself again. To find peace with who she was and deal with the madness, learn to deal with her emotions better. That was it.

 _I am the Ruin of Vale, the Fall Maiden, Bane of the Loopers, Desecrator and Comrade, The Demon of Remnant._

Cinder's amber eyes glowed gold as she took in the scene laid out beyond her as the horde of monsters faltered, reduced to nothing more than vapours in an instant.

Just like her life.

 _I am Cinder Fall, that is all I am now._

She stood alone in the center of the shattered plain of glass while the flames raged, the blood drenched ground tore apart in birthing cries as new demons, monsters of blood, fire, Grimm and more rose from the magma, fire and blood. Nightmares spun out of those things she identified with most, and things she always would.

Beyond the ring of ruin and blood the midday sun beat down across the scorching desert, reflecting off the blood-stained glass that stretched as far as the eyes could see in a dazzling, blinding haze. Rainbows filled the sky, the light refracting through countless pieces of glass that hung in the air.

Around her the monsters prowled, dead red eyes lacking any hint or real sapience or intelligence, but they were aware enough to not run into slaughter unless commanded or they outnumbered the foe massively. Well, they _should_ be at any rate-Cinder's lips twisted into a contemptuous sneer as one broke ranks and charged. She really needed to put more work on their intelligence, and pretty much everything else was well.

 _Pathetic things._

The crocodile thing fell to the ground as its burning skull shattered like glass from a single blow, its blood hissing and spitting as its body dissolved into flames. Cinder held her blades in a casual pose as the summons she had crafted over the endless ages stalked around her. Dark, cancerous blots of malice and hate glared at her with baleful eyes, forged from power from countless different loops.

Remnants of a project she had abandoned long ago, considering Grimm as being more effective as they can be passed off as variants.

Before she had built her army of Grimm, Drones and Monsters, before she had shattered, she had once tried something else. Some were from attempts to replicate the Schnee ability, others from the Dark Millennium, yet more from experiments with thought forms or binding things and some even more exotic. Ruby had her endless Chibis, Weiss her monuments to victory, Blake her endless shadows, Yang… well, Yang was a one woman army, whatever was thrown at her just made her more powerful. She didn't need a army.

And at least their armies had some use, hers were useless. The army she once had gone, lost among the Ashes of that Nightmarish Loop.

 _Every time I sleep I see it, I can't forget. I want it, I want it so much it hurts and it sickens me more than anything else ever has. I don't want Godhood like that, I want the others, to be part of a new Pantheon._

 _What the hell was I thinking? I would have gained nothing; it doesn't make any sense._

 _I guess that's why it's called insanity._

What forces she had left were useless, those in her pocket were no longer her army even if they would still bow to her. And these things? They were not even good as stress relief. Right now, Cinder just wanted to fight, to destroy and burn, to feel her blood race as her mind sharpened to crystal, to feel the flames and test herself. To let her frustrations and anger melt away in the dance of death. And these things weren't cutting it.

 _Ruby wants me to be good, to reform as a villain. To be a good guy, but I don't want to be like that. I have never wanted to be that. I even said so when I let go, before That loop ended._

Cinder gave a bloody snarl as she charged the gathering hordes, the taste of rotting ashes and tainted blood filling her mouth as they died in droves.

 _So why is everyone trying to make me into that?_

Even when fractured, her _good_ half had not been like that, she had killed and massacred and _hurt_ people, even if she had reasons beyond simple fun then. And did so more than anyone, baring maybe that psychopath Neo. Even when she was pretending and had not fractured she was still like that in that, it had just been kept it out of sight more and everyone knew it.

 _They know who I am, who I have always been and who I like being, and what I want to change._

So why was Ruby, Yang and so many other so insistent on trying to make her give up on who she was? Not simply help her learn restraint and when to cut lose?

 _I fucking explained it to them not three loops after. So why can't they accept me as me?_

 _Why am I still trapped!_

"Damn it!" Cinder moved fasted, the world blurring around her, flames flaring and flashing violently as the powers started to slip from her weakened control. "Why? People know who I am even when I'm 'good', so why are they so instant on making me into something I'm not! Something I have never wanted to be!"

"Maybe because, no one knows who you wish to be or who you are?"

Weiss walked unconcernedly through the fires, the life quenched out of the burning summons as they ran at her. Cinder tensed, mentally signalling the summons to stop and stand back, blood threating to rush to her face along with a mix of guilt, shame, anger and defiance. Only her long experience at acting and total body control let her hide the tells.

 _How did she find me? I sealed this area off and waited until the others were busy. I even had a clone taking my place._

She settled into a loose position, the smell of the tainted, rotting blood, noxious and foul ash making Cinder's scowl deepen. The hollow thrill was now gone as she was no longer able to ignore the putrid stench. The fragile fantasies of clean blood, battle and flames she had conjured up crumbled under Weiss's gaze.

 _I wanted one day to relax and let go, can't you even let me have this Weiss? There is no one in this wasteland. I am hurting no one, and what the hell do you mean anyway?_

"Weiss," Cinder said curtly, "What do you mean? You've all known me for long enough, even with me lying there were constants, you know me. You should know enough to work what my other motivations and desires are. And why are you here? I am hurting no one nor breaking any promises."

Weiss crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow archly. "Because I don't trust you, so finding you slipping away once more made me follow. I was afraid you would start slipping back into old habits..."

"How dare you!" Cinder's voice was soft, trembling with fury. "I have made it clear I don't want to go back to being that monster."

"That means little, and you know it Cinder," Weiss said in annoyance, contempt lacing her voice like poison, "How should we know we can trust you, you put on a passive and accepting mask, play the good girl…"

"I am not playing!"

"Really? You deceive us and run off to do..." She waved her had at the devastation vaguely. "...This. So, what do you call it then?"

"This?" Cinder's voice started to get louder, Weiss's arrogance and superior demeanor seemed to be tailor made to infuriate her. "This! this, is me trying to regain control of my powers, _this_ is me trying to get some Dust damned stress relief! Without people looking over their shoulders at me, without people trying to make me into something I'm not and don't want to be. _Everyone knows who I am, yet so many seem to be come disgusted now when I mention something that would have barely got a reaction!"_

Cinder drew herself up in fury and defiance, frustration and anger boiling over, her dress clung to her body with sweat and tainted blood. Bloodied blades began to burn with a dim orange light. She sharply gestured to the hordes of hellish monsters, the legions standing to attention and kneeling in the crimson sands and ash, seething as motes of gold flicked from her eyes and danced among the smoke and glass dust that filled the air. She looked like a warrior goddess of fire and death, beautiful, imposing and more at home in her skin then she had for a very long time.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Weiss let herself have a small mental grin at that before sobering up. It was good to see her mental profiling was still somewhat relevant. Cinder would be furious at being manipulated like this, at finding out Weiss had been playing her for the last few loops, but it was for the best.

Cinder had to realize what she was doing acting like this. It _needed_ to be brought to light for her's and everyone else's sake. Recovery was never going to be easy, undoing untold billions of years of habits and conditioning was not easy. Healing was never going to be quick or easy, but it would be complete. That was something she swore.

Hopefully this could be resolved here and now. It had been too long since they had really had Cinder around, and not just that broken shell. And it was only after the dust had settled from the Failed Ascension that they had realized how much Cinder had lost of herself.

The confident, graceful killer and master mind, the loving sister and friend who was utterly comfortable with who she was and was willing to act silly and laugh at herself. Who cared, even if she _hated_ at the same time, pulled in two by conflicting drives.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"These are an old project I am using." Cinder glared at Weiss, her eyes glowing with a golden radiance. "You have your summons, Blake her clones, Ruby her chibis, and I'm sure Yang has _something_. So, a long time ago I made my own version, but simply found the Grimm and other beasts more efficient. I am merely making use of them for stress relief and testing their abilities. I am doing nothing wrong, am hunting no one. You have no right to stand there like that and judge me for this. Every looper does things like this on occasion and far, far worse."

"Then why are you hiding out in the middle of nowhere while distracting Ruby, Yang and Sun with a clone? Why not do so in the open?"

 _Wait, what?_

Cinder blinked caught off guard, the question lacked the arrogance and contempt from before.

 _She was provoking me, why?_

The deceased landscape spread out into the distance, rivers of lava running through the shattered plains of glass, now stained with blood and ash, as toxic gasses and deadly glass shards filled the air. It was so reminiscent of all the times she had burnt one of the Kingdoms to ash, then only difference was it was uninhabited. She was even hiding as she did it.

Just like before

 _... Oh._

Cinder didn't respond straight away, staring around at the devastated landscape.

 _I'm doing it again, damn it all. putting on once face and hiding another even if my reasoning is different now. It comes out to the same. Releasing my stress in violence and destruction while everyone else looks away._

 _But…_

"Pathetic, isn't it?" Cinder said in disgust, almost spitting the world as the golden light faded form her eyes, self-mockery tainting her words. "Going back to the same habits." She clenched her fists, feeling the glass blades crack in her hands. "Damn it."

No one spoke as Cinder seethed, her anger cooling as she reigned it in once more.

After a minute of so the silence was broken.

"What else am I supposed to do, Weiss?" Cinder's voice was bitter and tired as she responded, dismissing the summons and letting them dissolve, leaving the two loopers alone under the blazing sun.

 _I'm so tired of everything._

Guilt and shame waring with anger and frustration, she had not slept well since her aborted Ascension, had not since volume 4 started. "Anytime I show any hint of violence or malice, even if it is the same I did when people thought I was still good I get nervous looks, cutting comments. Everyone expected me to be a pacifist now, or some kind of cartoon villain…"

"That was a joke," Weiss cut across her, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "Ruby decided it would be a brilliant idea to try and make light of things while showing you ways you could act out without causing the same damage."

"I am not a cartoon villain!"

The bellow echoed across the desolate landscape, shards of black glass falling from Cinder's hands coated with blood as she seethed. As Cinder spoke her voice was low and deadly. "I have always taken pride in my schemes, of my competence and while I will do things for laughs, even act as a cartoon villain on occasion, that is not who I am or want to be. I like destruction, every part of me has, I just don't want to be the mindless mad woman who lived for nothing else."

Weiss winced as Cinder let out a strangled bust of laughter, her emotions going haywire. She had been right; they had all messed up here. Too many contradictions and uncertainties, too much fear. They had all wanted to help shape Cinder into a good person, even if they had known she was, and would always remain, dark but that was it. Cinder gave up godhood, was wracked by guilt for what she did and wanted to be the friend. And they forgot, even at her best, most 'good' even when broken, Cinder still relished devastation, blood and fire.

And Weiss distinctly remembered _Pyrrha,_ of all people, commenting after Cinder broke that she thought Cinder had lost some of her edge and that it was disconcerting and worrying. Why any of them thought that now she was whole that Cinder would want to stop that all together, would want to, or be willing to, surrender her pride and act as a cartoon villain outside of chibi loops?

Weiss closed her eyes, inhaling the burning air and toxic gases. The answer was obvious. Because Cinder had shown no real signs of wanting to remain like that so they assumed she wanted to stop altogether. She kept saying she wanted to make amends and even if some of them had misgivings about Cinder trying to change everything about herself they were willing to go along. It was why Ruby initiated those 'lessons', part game and part hoping Cinder would get sick of it or make it clear she knew it was a game. But when she seemed to take it seriously…

 _Old habits die hard; we really should have been on the lookout for Cinder doing this more._

"But _everyone_ wants me to be _good_ , Ruby seems to be trying to make me into a mockery of who I am, as though I want to relive my stress by making myself into a laughing stock. I don't want to be a _good_ person; I have never wanted to be. It means nothing for me, just an ideal for heroes to strive for."

"Yes, we know that." Weiss huffed and crossed her arms, semi-glaring at Cinder, they had all messed up here and it would be fixed. "And no one actually expected you to become that, the whole cartoon thing you're hung up about was, as I said just a minute ago, was a _joke_ , a away of offering half-serious ideas, put a lighter spin on things and a way of trying to drag you into a game. You took it far too seriously. We have almost all been concerned at how much you seemed to want to change yourself when that was never needed."

"Then why did so many…"

Weiss stalked over and jabbed he finger at Cinder's face, letting her volume increase. "Because you seemed to _want_ to change, Cinder, always despondent and wracked with guilt like you hated everything you ever were. So, we tried to help, show you thing you could do and show you not everything you did was wrong. That was the whole reason we started the sewing sessions."

This whole situation was a mess and she was sick of it! Cinder was family, a part of Team RWBY! And she would not let this stand! She had been too calm recently; Weiss had almost forgotten how much fun it could be to let lose for a while.

"But you. are. so. childish." Glacial eyes narrowed as the golden eyes of her younger sister looked away, embarrassment and shock tinting her aura. "After making us think you hated who you were and wanted to change, you then go running off to the of nowhere and lash out, acting exactly almost the same as before." Weiss folded her arms, ignoring Cinder as she tried to speak, "You are going to go and _talk_ to everyone properly _._ And explain what you have been doing, take your ribbing and if you need to fight to work off some stress ask one of us. You didn't seem to be enjoying fighting those summons anyway."

"I gave up on that project for a reason, they're dumber than most medium age Grimm and barely more powerful." Cinder muttered.

"What, who, do you want to be, Cinder?"

Cinder didn't speak for a few minutes, before finally, "Myself," she said, breathing out, "I want to be myself, that's it. There is a lot I like about myself and there are bits I don't but are still me and I'm fine with that. But there are also things that I need to deal with and move past, things I don't want to be. Most of it is fine, it was always my reactions to people and frustration that was the problem." Cinder snorted in disgust. "I _need_ to get over my conflicting emotion, that stupid hate that didn't vanish when I became whole, it's just the lesser motivation. And I need to learn to channel my fury and impulses so I don't randomly lash out, and deal with things properly."

"Which I'm guessing is going to take a while."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Looper here, everything takes a while to change and get over."

"And when will you talk to people?"

"…later this loop." Cinder looked away, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks; Weiss had managed to elicit a similar reaction to what Cinder had when Ruby pulled her up on something embarrassing. "I need to sort out some things first."

Weiss gave Cinder a discerning look for a moment, before she nodded. "Good." Drawing her blade, Weiss settled into a ready stance. "Good, now, how about a proper spar?" An endless sea of glowing blue white summons rose up from a vast glyph, and Weiss smiled blood lust and anticipation rolling off her opponent. "You didn't enjoy yourself before, killing your own summons, so why don't you see how they stand up to mine?"

A dark smile made its way onto Cinder's face as she summoned new weapons, the blood and magma bubble and flared, new beasts coming forth.

This was going to be fun.

 _.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

The cool, salt laden air blew across Weiss as she sat under a palm tree, leaning against it with her eyes closed and just enjoying the cooling wind. The burning sun cast dappled shadows across her as its light filtered down through the leaves.

Weiss was content for now.

The soft sound of feet on dirt and sand slowly permeated the haze of sleep. Weiss knew those footsteps and soul, so she didn't react when Ruby sat down next to her, a cloud of pensive emotions tinted with frustration and guilt.

No one spoke for a while, Weiss just handing Ruby one of her mangoes without opening her eyes. Finally, Ruby broke the silence, her voice subdued, "I really should have expected Cinder would drift back into those old coping mechanisms, I mean, Cinder had acted like that for _so long_ it just makes sense she would start doing it again when stressed."

Weiss cracked an eye, her partner was staring out at the glittering blue water as the sun started to set in the horizon, painting the sky with flames. Her expression was subdued, silver eyes downcast.

"I didn't think Cinder would make such big fuss over the whole villain joke thing, seriously, she never acts likely that."

"She was off balance from everything, trying to regain peoples trust and has been trying to find herself," Weiss said sitting up straighter and stretching as she banished the cobwebs of sleep from her mind. "And Cinder acts, it's what she does, but was too off balance to see that it was a joke."

"I should have caught it, done…"

"Ruby, just stop. This is not your fault. You're not to blame," Wiess snapped, glaring at Ruby, "I'm sick of your self-recrimination for something _that is not your fault_. Cinder's Ascension hurt us all, it almost broke us. No one can be expected to deal with the fallout alone, nor are you Cinder's minder day in and day out. She made a choice in how to act, to deal with things how she knew to, one built from the past she wrote of her own will and that is on her head, not yours. I found out due to dumb luck, a whim to see if Cinder was falling into old habits. Anyway, I assume things are sorted now?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep, Cinder came, sat down without fanfare and explained everything and now it's sorted, misunderstandings have been cleared up." She paused. "There was also yelling, arguing, and man was Pyrrha angry about Cinder starting to do the same thing." Ruby rolled her eyes as a hint of a smile work its way onto her face, "Yang decked her for being a 'childish fool who continually falls down, creating fresh chaos for her friends' and then Cinder retaliated and it sorta fell apart then. Blake joined with Cinder against Yang as punishment for the joke, Yang with Pyrrha, while Sun and I teamed up for shenanigans."

Weiss gave Ruby a deadpan look. Ruby flashed an amused grin back.

"How much damage did you do?" Weiss was not jealous she missed out on the chaos, that was her story and she was sticking to it!

Even if it did seem fun.

… And if Ruby didn't believe, as evidenced by her overflowing amusement, well, she had no evidence.

"Forever Fall is now a roaming, teeming mass of tentacles and technicoloured fire and is heading for the ocean."

"Okay, now I wish I had been there."

Ruby laughed. "So that wasn't jealously I felt with soul perception, my faithful Death Scythe?" she said teasingly, getting an eye roll in response.

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it, oh embodiment of the Madness of Rage."

"Still, things seem to be getting better, slowly but they are." The smile on her face was not quite as large as before as Ruby lent back into the tree and closed her yes, but it was more content.

Weiss closed her eyes and copied Ruby, letting the suns final rays warm them as the chorus of bird calls, the rustling of leaves and the crashing of waves lulled them into sleep.

"Ruby?"

"Hmm?"

"Cinder has my vote, she's aware of what she was doing and has faced her issues. And i think she needs to be able get out of Remnant, to live without constant observation and to not feel as trapped."

 **76.23 Masterweaver**

"You know, every time this happens, Emerald asks questions. Mercury does too, but he's more curious then worried."

"There really isn't a better way to arrange these meetings. How... are you, by the way?"

Cinder scoffed. "I've been better."

"Well. Yes." Glynda tapped her fingers against the desk. "That's why I'm asking, really."

Silence filled the room for a moment or two.

"...Nobody else has opened with that," Cinder pointed out. "They've all asked, eventually, but how I am comes after the other questions-why did I do it, what can I do to redeem myself, and... things like that. You're the first to open with concern."

"And that's wrong?"

"I-!" Cinder paused. "I... I don't know. It feels like it should be, but you didn't live through that loop."

"No. No, I did not." Glynda adjusted her glasses and sighed. "But... Cinder. Look. I will admit that I was one of your biggest... detractors, before even that expansion where Pyrrha died. Ozpin and the others, they were willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I was always suspicious, and... that was wrong of me."

"No, you were right to be worried-"

"But I was wrong not to reach out. Loopers in Remnant activate in pairs, and... what I'm saying is we should have helped each other. I should have helped you. I should have... been there, in your quest for self-discovery, for meaning in these greater iterations, and I wasn't because of my own prejudices, and you suffered and split because nobody was willing to accept you in totality."

Cinder stared at her oddly. "...I thought _I_ was supposed to be the crazy one."

"You've got enough people on your case. I'm offering to be in your corner. But that means I need to know... how are you?"

"...I'm..."

Cinder paused.

"I... am... I'm scared," she finally admitted. "I'm... scared that I'm not doing as well as everyone else seems to think, that I can't get better, that... that when I go back into the multiverse in a few loops, nobody will trust me, and they'll be right not to. I'm scared that... I'll give into that temptation again. And nobody will be there to catch me."

Glynda peered over her glasses. "...You don't mean just killing, do you?"

"I'm a manipulator and a fighter. Power and fear, I enjoy." Cinder chuckled darkly. "I can be a villain. I'm good with that. I don't want to be an apocalypse."

"Hmm. Yet you work with Salem."

Cinder snorted. "Only in baseline-and only because she waltzed in during one expansion, took MY role when I was crippled... Salem is what I was, in that loop. I don't want to be that. Strong, feared, powerful, yes. But..."

"...but there's a difference between being dark," Glynda mused, "and being darkness."

"That's... right. That's it." Cinder looked at her. "How'd you know?"

"I've been in the villain's role a couple of times. Everyone has, really, but a lot of people forget it, let themselves be something else." Glynda rolled her eyes. "I'm a witch, though. Right in my name. Means I've run the whole gamut of morality, somewhere in the loops."

She stood. "Just... if you need any help. Let me know, alright?"

"...This whole situation is incredibly surreal." Cinder shrugged. "Fine. I'll... keep in touch. I should go check on Emerald and Mercury now, make sure they aren't wrecking things."

"Fair enough. Oh, before you go!"

"Yes?"

"Strong. Feared. Powerful. I'm going to say one word, Cinder, and I want you to think it over."

"...Alright."

Glynda smirked. "Batman."

"...You are a sick and twisted woman," Cinder deadpanned, and walked out of the room.


	77. Back In Form

**77.1 Masterweaver**

"...which is why I'm not a fan of pumpernickel bread."

Kali nodded. "Ah, that explains it. I'll make sure to avoid it in the future."

"Thanks Mom." Blake chuckled. "I mean, it's not really a serious issue but-"

She suddenly stiffened. "Oh no."

Kali frowned. "What? What's wrong? Should I get somewhere safe or-?"

A burning Yang furiously slammed open the cafe doors and stormed over to their table. "BLAKE BELLADONNA! HAVE. YOU. NO. **DECENCY?!"**

Blake winced. "Look, that was kind of spur of the moment and-"

"Did you really think I wouldn't be able to tell those were shadow clones?!" Yang cried.

"I thought you'd like-"

"Oh, I'm perverted enough to freely admit I'd like. I'd like a lot. But the thing about the twin threesome fantasy, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE ACTUAL TWIN THERE WITH YOU!"

Kali blinked. "Wait. Blake, were you using your semblance to have sex with Yang while you were talking to me?"

"Um." Blake looked between the two. "I-ow!" She winced as her fiancee took firm grasp of her ear. "Yang, I-!"

"You can finish this embarrassing conversation with your mother later," Yang growled as she dragged her out the door. "Right now we're going back to the dorm. If I'm getting off, you're getting off too!"

The cafe doors swung shut, cutting off Blake's protesting apologies.

Kali stared at them for a moment or two.

"...I can't decide whether to be annoyed at her for pulling this stunt," she finally mused, "or proud that she's trying to keep up with her entire family."

 **77.2 Alastair Dragovich**

"Penny?"

"Yes Generuncle Ironwood?"

"Why are we in spinning teacups?"

"Because the gyroscopic sensors that my body has this loop seem to respond positively to the sensation of dizziness!" Penny exclaimed as she twisted the wheel energetically.

A bit _too_ energetically for Ironwood's tastes. He made a mental note to pay for the repairs as his hands gripped the cup's sides for dear life crushing the metal in the process.

Things only got worse once the teacup started to fly out of the ride and over the park with a playful 'wheeeeeee!'

 **77.3 Stormy Angel**

Ruby skipped merrily down the hall, munching on a snickerdoodle cookie. Most of the student's ignored her regular exuberance, as they had learned to do in the past few weeks, so she was free to note the odd gathering at one of the classroom doors.

Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune all stood at the open door to an ongoing lecture. Given the expressions on their faces, whatever it was they were looking at rated at three or four quafflebarns. Since they were all Awake this loop, Ruby had to wonder what was so mystifying.

"Hey guys!" She offered cheerily. "What's going on?"

"Oh hey Ruby." Jaune replied distractedly. He frowned for a moment before lowering his voice.

"Do you remember that loop when I was a robot, and Pyrrha's magnetism affected my unawake self?"

"Yeeeaahhh..." Ruby replied. "You found her attractive. We all thought Yggdrasil was making a joke."

"A Pun, little sister." Yang corrected automatically, her eyes riveted on whatever lay beyond the doors. "For shame."

"Right, sorry." Ruby replied, completely unrepentant. "And then Cardin was-"

Pyrrha glared at her so sharply it cut her off mid-sentence.

"Right...so. Um, yeah. What about it?"

Jaune sighed. "Well, we figured it was just a coincidence. I found Pyrrha attractive, Cardin found her repulsive. Ha ha, very funny you stinkin' tree."

"Magnetism, I get it." Ruby replied with a nod.

"It just doesn't make any sense." Pyrrha muttered. Ruby looked past Jaune to see her brow furrowed. Yang was clearly amused, but even she seemed uncertain as to what she was seeing.

"He _did_ choose you to become the Fall maiden..." Yang replied.

"So...wait a second." Ruby said. "Is that _Ozpin's_ classroom?"

"Uhhhhhh..."

Ruby zipped over to look through the doorway. Down on the stage, a clearly _robotic_ Ozpin was currently giving a lecture on one Pyrrha Nikos, four-time Champion of the Mistralian Tournament, and in his humble opinion, the greatest student to ever enter Beacon Academy. His lecture came complete with Powerpoint, collectible trading cards, and cookies in the shape of Miló and Akoúo̱.

"Is that a statue?" Ruby exclaimed as she caught sight of the ten foot model of Pyrrha Nikos wrought from pure gold. "Ooh, Cookies!"

...

Deep in her programming, Penny Polendina recorded sheer, unadulterated glee. It had taken some time to set this one up, and finding an appropriate bribe to get Ozpin to both stealth _and_ allow her to impersonate him had not been easy, but the look on Pyrrha's face was priceless. It was even better with Yang around.

Magnetism. Hah!

 **77.4 Euroteres**

"Why did I agree to this?"

"Because you wanted to see Jacques embarrassed in public after a particularly bad loop in which he decided that cuffing you to your bed was the appropriate response to you 'ruining' the gala."

Weiss sighed, conceding the point to her partner as she returned her attention to the scene occurring across the ballroom. Blake had set up a projector that was displaying a number of graphs and diagrams, all representing some statistic or another that were presumably being used to hammer each of her points home and expose Weiss's father as the racist bigot he was a good percentage of loops. Down a ways, as close to the scene as she could be without being in the way, Yang was leaning up against a wall, looking almost unbearably smug. She didn't even remove her attention from the display when Henry Marigold approached, presumably in an attempt to flirt badly with her. Instead, Yang simply cold clocked him across the jaw, dropping him like a rock. The act went unnoticed by everyone else.

A movement out of the corner of Weiss's eyes caused her to glance away from Blake and Jacques' debate and she had only a moment to realize who had just decided to crash the party when Ruby sprang into motion.

"Shh shh shh," Ruby shushed Tyrian before he could say a word, a single finger pressed up against his lips. "We can have our big, climactic fight after my sister's fiancee is done verbally demolishing the obscenely rich man's business practices."

Weiss wasn't quite sure what to think when the man agreed.

 **77.5 Alastair Dragovich & Stormy Angel**

"So let me get this straight," Ozpin held back a sigh as he observed the crowd of students in front of his desk. "You all managed to somehow get a train into the forest."

"Yes sir," Pyhrra confirmed calmly, unable to remove the grin from her face.

"A train that was not only still functioning, but also somehow able to travel _without_ any railroad tracks, over rough terrain, and _through an entire forest's worth of trees_."

"For the record, that was all my _father's_ doing," Weiss interjected nonplussed. "Apparently he has some... interesting ideas on what constitutes as safety features."

"Then, during the middle of Initiation, you all somehow managed to board said speeding train and redirected it through the ruins that held the 'artifacts', thus scattering them and making it impossible for the other students to pass."

"Well it's not our fault that they weren't good enough to find tiny black and gold objects over a bajillion square miles," Nora said smugly. "Clearly, we deserve to be the only two teams to pass this year."

"Ah, right, I nearly forgot that since the very next thing that happened was that you drove the train into the ravine and, _by pure accident_ managed to crash through the roof of a secret underground cavern that housed _Salem's secret headquarters_ , destroyed her castle, and then crushed **Remnant's greatest threat** _with the train_."

"Actually, the castle came down after we destroyed her phylactery," Ren corrected calmly. "but otherwise, yes, that's correct."

"All of this, on top of somehow dragging two other students from completely different schools into the situation."

"Well, actually it's kind of the other way around," Sun said, rubbing the back of his head. "Since we're sort of responsible for the train being in the forest in the first place."

"Actually it's more the White Fang's fault," Penny chuckled in a grin too wide to be entirely honest. "Since they decided to hijack the train we were taking to Vale _before_ they finished connecting them to their private tracks."

"When you put it that way, that is actually more accurate," the blonde faunus eagerly jumped on the out. "In fact, us staying on the train and driving into what seemed to be an abandoned area was completely responsible in that light!"

"And why didn't you simply just put on the brakes?" Glynda piped in at last, looking a bit more cross than usual.

"They Grimm we ran over jammed them," Sun and Penny deadpanned at the exact same time.

Silence reigned in the office for a few moments. Then, with a long, weary sigh, Ozpin shook his head.

"Given that this is a Null loop, I'm both impressed and exasperated," he chuckled weakly. "Still, at least with Salem and her minions out of the way, we won't have to worry about them for the rest of the loop."

As he looked up, the thoughtful and worried looks on the groups' faces gave Ozpin pause. "...You DID also take care of Salem's council... right?"

"Well, I didn't see anybody," Jaune started. "But given the explosions, I thought Nora took care of them while me and Ruby destroyed the phylactery."

"Wait, those explosions didn't come from me!" Nora defended herself. "I thought they came from Yang!"

"I was making out with Blake in Salem's bedchambers," Yang said casually, to which Blake simply nodded.

"Actually, they came from me and Sun, who had caught them off guard," Penny finally spoke up before turning to her companion. "We blew them out of the window, and you went after them to finish the job, right?"

"Uh..."

Everyone turned to look at Sun.

"Look, we were inside, they were on the ground moaning, and the castle was coming down on our heads! Just because I didn't finish the job myself doesn't mean they didn't die... right?"

-/-

"Who are you?" Dr. Watts demanded, coughing from his injuries. Tyrian struggled to stand despite the exhaustion from the running battle they had just faced.

"Me?" The stranger asked, fiddling with his bowler hat. "Why I'm just another lackey. Cinder sent me to save your sorry butts."

"What do you want." Hazel demanded.

The redhead grinned evilly.

"You're going to help me teach someone a very important lesson..."

-/-

Before anyone had a chance to facepalm, a cough came from the elevator. Everyone turned to see Tyrain and company, sans Cinder, all standing just outside of the elevator doors. After a moment's silence, Blake spoke up.

"How did you manage to get in here without any of the students or faculty noticing you?" She asked incredulously, finally addressing the elephant in the room.

"That would be my doing," Roman said, stepping out from behind the villains. "Lesson number eleven, Sun: Always check to make sure your target is dead!"

At which point the tension exploded as the fight broke out. During the opening volley, Tyrian stabbed Sun in the gut with his tail.

"Lesson number twelve: Get used to dying by poison!" Roman cackled, ducking out of the way as a very angry Glynda threw the phallic chair at his smug face and the monkey faunus gurgled on the floor in pain.

 **77.6 Fictional Fanatic**

Blake was walking down the hall, aiming for her teams room, having heard Ruby was planning once again to try and convince people about Floram's existence and how they too deserved rights equal to Humans and Faunus this loop. Opening the door, Blake sighed at the sight at Ruby wearing her Floram form.

"Ruby," Blake said, shaking her head. "You realize that this won't work this loop, right?" Blake asked.

"Blake, I've done this before, and with this being a baseline loop, of course it'll work." Ruby said with a grin on her face.

In response, Blake unpocketed a book she had taken from Minagerie this loop. "Her, take a look at this." Blake said, opening the book on a certain page while handing Ruby the book. Reading the pages Blake had chosen for her. Ruby soon reverted back to normal.

"Huh, you're right. That would make it rather hard to convince anyone about Florams being a thing this loop." Ruby admitted before looking up from the book and instead looked at Blake. "So Faunus origin means you all developed from plants this loop. Does it let use any variant powers?"

"Not anything special. We just have it easier falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning." Blake said, closing the book before pocketing it again. "So, any other plans for this loop now that Floram protesting is out of the picture?"

"Well, I have been considering learning to bake electronic cookies."

"Electronic cookies? What for?"

"Well, you know. For those loops that Penny is unable to eat foods as such. I thought it'd be a nice thing to allow her to eat things even if she wasn't built for it."

"You do realize she always rebuilds herself at the start of each loop, right?" Blake asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but I was actually thinking about the loops when she wasn't awake." Ruby explained, putting her index index together. "Lonely loops get... well, lonely." Ruby admitted, not meeting Blake's gaze.

Blake walked up to Ruby and simply gave her a hug. "Oh, Ruby. How many lonely loops did you go through?"

"Um, maybe over a hundred? I think there were a few with stealthing loopers, and one time where it was a fused Star Wars loop, but I never got to meet any of the loopers that time." Ruby said, returning the hug as well.

"Hey, how about I help you with those cookies?" Blake asked as they both disengaged from the hug after a while.

"I'd like that." Ruby answered, wiping a little moisture from her eyes.

 **77.8 Stormy Angel**

-/-

"So...I've been thinking."

"Always a dangerous thing." Qrow replied with a smirk.

"Haha." Ruby replied, her voice deadpan. "Your semblance is bad luck, right?"

"Yeeesss?" Qrow replied hesitantly.

"And it only affects other people."

"Right again..."

"SOARING NINJA WINS. TOTAL ANNIHILATION." The video game announced Qrow's victory as Ruby tossed aside her controller and sprawled backwards on the floor.

"That is so _unfair_!" Ruby whined.

"My, what bad luck you have." Qrow remarked as Yang broke down into a fit of giggles at her sister's expense.

"That's why you never told us in baseline!" Ruby declared dramatically. "You cheated!"

"Heh," Qrow laughed with a thoughtful look. "I would've told you eventually."

...

" _Probably._ "

-/-

Later:

-/-

"Qrow, must you really try your hand at _all_ of the vices?" Winter asked, even as she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's latest antics.

They sat at a Blackjack table in the Schnee Casino, Atlas's newest attraction/tourist trap. Qrow's pile of chips was noticeably larger than his neighbors'.

Apparently, it paid to have the best luck at the table.

Qrow shrugged. "Is it gambling if I know I'm going to win?"

 **77.9 Alastair Dragovich**

Taiyang hummed to himself as he graded the latest batch of papers and the students supposedly worked on some classwork. Granted, it was surprisingly difficult given that he was in a Chibi loop from the look of things and the desks hadn't been made with stubby arms in mind, but he soldiered on-

"Excuse me, Mr. Xiao Long?"

"Yes Marigold?" He responded calmly only to receive an awkward pause in return.

"...Actually, I'm Jenny."

"Oh, sorry," Taiyang rubbed his head sheepishly, quickly helping the student on her way. As he put the pen back to the papers-

"Yo, teach, I got a question!"

"Yes Quartz?" He said a bit quickly, prompting the student to bark out a quick laugh.

"Uh... teach, my name is Jason."

"Oh, right, my mistake," he replied wearily. The blonde teacher pinched the bridge of his nose, quickly resolving the issue. From there, he picked up-

"Excuse me."

"Yes Sapphire?" He snapped. The entire room stopped talking.

"...my name is John."

Taiyang's eyebrow twitched. "Of course it is."

Nobody moved for a few moments. Then, slowly, one of the students raised their hands.

"Sir? Why are you having such a hard time telling us apart?"

He breathed a deep sigh as he quickly thought of an excuse.

"It's because I need a new prescription for my contacts and I can't afford them," He lied through his teeth.

"Oooohhhh."

And with that, the classroom full of shadow people resumed their studying. The poor man simply sighed and let his comically oversized head plop down onto his desk.

 **77.10**

Classical music, high class Vacuo dishes, soft golden light, and the gentle whispers of the gentry. What could make for a more relaxing dinner than this? Why, the company of a spouse, which Pyrrha and Jaune were quite happy to have.

"So seeing as the Marvel alternative baseline is expanding, I think I'll be Looping into another new history for Peter Parker. Maybe this time you'll be Mary Jaune," Pyrrha said over a glass of grape juice.

Her husband chuckled lightly at that, siping his soda gingerly. "After those last two alternate expansions, I'd take being Mary Jane over Jen Stacy any day. Waiter, another glass of the vintage for my partner."

Pyrrha glanced at the dregs of her red drink and cocked an eyebrow. "I should really ask for some wine. Who knows what a drunk me will be like tonight."

That got a snort of laughter from Jaune, but he shook his head. "Nah. You really think your spider sense is going to be any good when you're drunk?"

A wry grin spread on Pyrrha's lips. "I don't know, maybe we should..." the woman with minor psychic powers blinked and looked around. "Oh no..."

"What, what's happening?" Jaune said, pulling his sword out and spooking a few guests behind him. "Is it Grimm? How many? Twenty, thirty? Fifty?"

"It's not Grimm, there's two of them, and they're walking in right now," Pyrrha mumbled. She pointed at the welcoming podium, where the restaurants seater and Ren and Nora in all their finery were standing. Their children were already looking at them with dismay.

Jaune set his drink down as Ren and Nora walked up. "...Not a bad place, eh?"

"Best place this Loop," the otherwise malnourished redhead said with a bit of bite. Nora pulled a seat from another table as Ren continued to stand. "Guess we should have done a team talk before this."

"I'm sorry about this, I suggested it and I really should have..." Pyrrha found herself on the receiving end of many a cocked eyebrow. "Don't apologize, right."

"Me and Nora were going to a dance club after this. We can leave for that now." Ren nodded at his stepfather and stepmother. "Sorry we interrupted."

"It's cool, it's cool," Jaune said. "Actually... why don't you guys stay. It can be a double date."

"A double date," Nora said. "With our parents. Really?"

"I don't see why not," Jaune said hastily. "Sure, we raised you guys and we trained you and we're emotionally present for you guys and all that, but it's not like we're gonna ask you about your sex lives or anything."

Ren and Nora gave Jaune a very thorough and assessing look with narrowed eyes. Jaune coughed into his fist. "Going to a dance club sounds like a great idea. Why don't you guys do that."

"Later mom, later dad."

"Good bye."

 **77.11 Masterweaver**

"Sooooo." Neptune cleared his throat. "You're... in some sort of time loop."

Sun half smiled. "Believe me, it's just as weird living it as it is hearing about it."

"So... let's say, for example, there was a lottery-"

"Tried it, doesn't work. The numbers are loop-variable."

"Oh." Neptune frowned. "Okay. So what if, and just hear me out on this, you used the loops to get to know somebody so you could date them better?"

"Eeeeeeh." Sun waggeld a hand. "Technically possible, but, you know, the girl I was crushing on in baseline is engaged in the loops. I could go for another looper, but it'd be awkward if we didn't click. And most of the stable nonloopers are... not exactly my taste. I'm staying off the romance train for the moment."

"Oh. Yeah that makes sense." Neptune paused. "Okay, I can't really think of any other good things time travel lets you do."

"Learn dozens of new skills and prevent horrible atrocities?"

"The first you can do anyway, and the second... there aren't any upcoming atrocities, right?"

Sun grinned. "Nah, I prevented them."

"Don't take false credit Sun," Weiss deadpanned as she walked up. "You just punched Mercury. The rest of us dealt with Adam and Cinder this loop."

"Well, I helped!" Sun protested.

"Yes, yes, it was very impressive. Lesson thirteen: get used to others stealing your thunder."

Sun groaned.

With a clap from the heavens, a bolt of lightning descended through clear skies, and with little prejudice...

Struck Weiss.

"Lesson fourteen. Don't steal Roman's jokes," she coughed.

 **77.12 Fictional Fanatic**

The unAwake members of team RWBY were all starring at Ruby who was lying on a floating square log, reading some form of book.

"Are you sure you don't know how... this, appeared in our dorm room?" Blake asked, looking at Ruby who had been the last one to leave the room last time.

"Nope."

"I still don't understand how this is all possible, or why we can't get rid of it!" Weiss exclaimed, hitting the floating log, only for runes to appear over the surface where the blow had connected.

Ruby shrugged, her gaze not leaving the book. "As far as I'm aware, there's no way to remove it, so we might as well get used to it." Ruby said, certain it was one of the other loopers who had set it up as a prank. According to her, it was a poor prank that would have been much more worth it if done when all of them were Awake. What did bother her, was that she couldn't tell how this had been done. The log itself, obviously from a Minecraft loop, therefore the floating. But the wards placed upon it... she simply couldn't tell. She had however taken a few pictures of the runes that appeared whenever the wood was struck so she could ask other loopers about it. But until then, she was simply going to take advantage of the suspended log in the middle of their dorm room.

 **77.13 KitsuneShinobi**

Weiss Awoke and immediately sent out a Ping as she simultaneously reviewed her loop memories. Right, she had just gotten back to the dorm after winter break and was unpacking her things. She smiled as she got three responses, two of which coincided with Blake and Yang stiffening for a brief moment.

"You guys and Ruby are Awake?" she asked directly, seeing as their leader wasn't in the room.

Yang nodded. "Nope. Dad is. We have a Stealth Anchor," The blonde then grinned. "Which is great since Mom was a wolf faunus this loop."

The heiress frowned. "What does that have to do with anythi-"

 _*Crash!*_

"WEISS! YOU'RE BA~ACK!"

Remnant's second gasped as Ruby burst through the door and tackled her into the bed, tail wagging a million miles a minute beneath her cloak.

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! DID YOU MISS ME? DID YOU MISS ME?"

It was hard to manage a response when the air was being crushed out of your lungs.

Blake glanced up from her book. "She needs to breathe Ruby."

The girl jumped away and sat on the floor, staring expectantly at her.

"It's nice - _huff_ \- to - _huff_ \- see you too," she panted, a strained grin on her face.

Before Ruby could respond with more enthusiasm, Yang stepped in to save her fellow looper.

"Hey sis, I just got word that Jaune and Pyrrha are back. Wanna go meet them?"

The faunus nodded before glancing at Weiss a final time; large, literal puppy dog eyes staring up at her before dashing off to the entrance with the brawler jogging behind.

Blake giggled at Weiss' disheveled appearance. "Faunus personality traits are amplified this loop," she explained.

The heiress nodded slowly.

"That is both ridiculously terrifying and extremely adorable. I assume you have some videos I would like to see?"

-/-

The instant he returned home from his mission, Taiyang began packing as many photo albums as he could into his Pocket. While he knew that this Ruby wasn't looping, he was still her father and gosh darn it, he wanted to remember this!

A chime from his scroll made him stop what he was doing. Opening up the file, he laughed as he watched a compilation of Team RWBY's antics at Beacon. More to add to the collection then!

 **77.14 Fictional Fanatic**

Ruby paused what she was doing as she Awoke and let her loop memories come to her before smiling. Apparently, this loop, she lived together with her mother, father and two sisters. Yang, being the same age as her, Cinder as an older sister and Summer and Tai as their parents. Pinging, she received six pings in response. One of them, obviously her sister who was sitting next to her under a nice tree in their back yard. Another big detail was that today, was the first day of summer.

Still smiling, Ruby turned towards her sister. "Yang, I know what we're going to do today."

-/-

Zwei made sure to ping back as he saw Ruby and Yang Awaken. Listening, he could hear Cinder on her phone, apparently talking to Emerald. Most likely not awake as there was no pause in the conversation as pings were exchanged. Consulting his own loop memories, Zwei smiled and pulled out a small, brown hat before jumping down a secret chute behind the couch. Apparently, he was a secret agent this loop.

-/-

Ozpin continued drinking his coffee as he Awoke, noticing a younger version of Glynda pausing for a moment as well. This loop, was most definitely going to be interesting. Ozpin began considering the possibilities before the time to de-breif Zwei came soon after an exchange of pings. "Ah, excellent. Good morning agent Z. It appears that Roman is once again up to not good-"

-/-

Blake Awoke at home with her mother. However as soon as she consulted her loop memories she groaned and decided that this was going to be a long loop. For this loop, not only were both her mother and her humans, but her mother had apparently been married to Roman Torchwick before divorcing him. Had that been all, she might have been able to deal with this loop. But as was the case, he was apparently still evil this loop, and she had to occasionally live at his place. Fortunately a total of six other pings meant she'd be able to have something interesting to do this loop.

-/-

Weiss Awoke and felt her loop memories wash over her like a bucket of ice water. It seemed that the stupid tree was still attempting to ship her together with Ruby as her unAwake self had had a crush on her. At the very least, Weiss supposed she could do what her unAwake self was planning to do and go see what Ruby and Yang would be up to today.

 **77.15 StormyAngel**

"Mind if I cut in?" Sun asked.

Yang frowned. "Listen monkey boy-"

"Thanks Blake." Sun continued, as he took hold of Yang's hand and they spun off onto the dance floor. Yang sputtered incoherently as Blake winked at her knowingly.

"Wha-what! What on earth is going on?"

"So...I have this crush on your fiancé."

"I've noticed." Yang's voice was as dry as a Vacuo mid-summer's day.

"Hey," Sun responded, a little offended. "It's not like I _meant_ for that to happen."

"I know, I know. It's just..."

"Nobody wants any hurt feelings. Right?"

"Right. Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Baseline." Sun said completely seriously.

"...oh."

"Look, Yang. I've been thinking. You and Blake are great together. Really."

"Obviously."

"But baseline seems to be pushing me at your fiancé. It's noticeable _now_. What if the expansions lead somewhere even...more so?"

Yang's grip tightened painfully. "If you're suggesting-"

"Ow! Hey, No. No, no, nonono. You've got this all wrong." Sun replied, wincing from the pain.

"I like Blake. I can't really undo that. But that doesn't mean I don't see how good you two are for each other."

"Um."

"You've been trying not to rub it in my face, which I appreciate, but I'd have to be blind _and_ stupid to miss something so obvious. And we both know I'm only one of those."

"So...blind?" Yang asked innocently.

"Gee, thanks." Sun replied with a nervous chuckle. "What I'm trying to say is: we need to settle this whole..."

"Incredibly uncomfortable set of circumstances inspiring jealousy on my part, envy on yours, and angst in my fiancé because of a series of unforseeable events only resulting due to a split potentiality caused by the general degradation of existence."

"Yeah, that." Sun replied.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I've been trying to move on, but...that's kinda hard to do when Blake's still so..."

"Blake-y?"

"Yes. I think it would help if maybe I got the chance to see the other half of the equation."

Yang stumbled. "Wait, what?"

Rolling his eyes, Sun knelt dramatically in the middle of the dance floor and raised his hands clasped in supplication.

"Yang Xiao Long. Will you agree...to be my friend?"

"She says yes." Blake deadpanned from beside them.

"You... _what_!" Yang demanded.

"You're going to spend the next hundred loops together." Blake replied calmly. "Well...the ones you overlap, and assuming I don't need you for a booty call."

"Kneeling right here, guys." Sun muttered.

"You...want me to spend time with Sun?" Yang asked quizzically.

"Yes." Blake replied. "I'm in it for the long haul Yang. And whether we like it or not, with the way baseline is going it looks like Sun will always be around."

"Still right here." Sun said cheerily. They ignored him again.

"I think we'll be able to get through whatever happens better if...we all know and trust each other." Blake continued.

"And you think this is the best way to make that happen?" Yang replied skeptically.

"Well, my _original_ idea was for Sun to come along on all of our dates. Like a third wheel."

Yang winced. "That sounds like a _terrible_ idea." Blake nodded.

"Yeah, Sun managed to convince me of the same thing. He proposed you try to get to know each other instead."

" _My hero_." Yang replied sarcastically.

"Well...this wasn't _quite_ what I had in mind." Sun muttered in the background.

Yang, glanced between Blake and the boy who, but for a broken tree, might someday have stolen her fiancé's heart. She couldn't deny that their fate was uncertain. There was no telling what the expansions would bring. There was no denying the difficulty the situation posed, even as absolutely certain as she was of Blake's love.

If this could help. Then how could she say no?

"You'd better get ready, Sun." Yang cracked a grin. "Roman's got nothin' on _me_."

 **77.16 StormyAngel**

"Alright, what's the plan?" Sun asked his partner in crime.

"Ruby tells me the target will be stopping by here," Taiyang indicated the point of interest on a map. "In the next ten minutes."

"How reliable is this information?" Sun asked skeptically.

"This is homemade chocolate chip cookies security clearance." Taiyang responded. "I don't actually know of anything higher."

"Whoa." Sun was stunned. "Thanks man."

"Sure thing. Now, I'll take point..."

...

Neo frowned. She had to avoid breaking the laws _too_ flagrantly, but this was really straining her patience. The line for her favorite ice cream parlor was _never_ this long.

And when a looper several millennia old said never, they _meant_ it.

As the man at the front of the line reached forward to take the cone from the worker's outstretched hand, he missed somehow, and when the sharp end made contact with his hand, he poofed into a cloud of smoke.

Neo's eyes narrowed.

...

"Oh, crap!" Sun yelped. "My shadow clone just popped. We've gotta get out of here."

As Sun and Taiyang fled for their lives, Sun began to question the wisdom of trying to avenge oneself on a being unimaginably older than he was.

Especially one of questionable sanity.

Not his best idea ever.

...

Far away at Beacon, Ruby paused as she thought she heard a cry of indescribable rage. Shrugging, she continued on her way, munching happily on her new cookies.

"I wonder what Dad wanted to talk to Neo about..." she mused.

 **77.17 StormyAngel**

Taiyang walked quickly through the hall, careful to make certain he wasn't being followed. He reached his destination, a certain door, and quickly stepped in.

"Alright Sun. What's this prank you had in mind."

Taiyang froze. That hadn't sounded quite right. It was like someone else's voice had overlapped his.

"Dad?" Yang's confused voice caught his attention. He looked over to see that his daughter had swung in through the open window, likely at the same time he had walked in through the front door.

Sun meanwhile, looked between the two, extremely nervous.

"Um. Hey guys...what are you two doing here?"

Taiyang frowned. "I was told you wanted to see me."

"So was I." Yang announced, folding her arms imperiously. "For a prank."

"Me too..." Taiyang muttered...then he rolled his eyes.

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me. Some idiot couldn't figure out which of us Sun wanted to see, so they sent us both."

Yang facepalmed. "Of course."

Taiyang shook his head. "Well Sun, it looks like you got us both. Who are we pranking?"

Sun chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Er...it _was_ supposed to be one of you actually."

 **77.18 Fictional Fanatic**

Sun and Tai were a little put off by this loop. Apparently, every person this loop had been replaced by one of Remnant's blond loopers. Every single female being either Yang, or Glynda. Every single male, either Sun, Jaune or Tai. The fact that this loop also included a Mikasa glitch didn't help.

"So, it seems it's only you and me Awake this loop with a stealth Anchor... Want to start a war?" Sun asked, Tai looked at Sun for a moment before deciding that yes, a war between two loopers, both suffering from the Mikasa glitch on a global scale would be a good way to spend this loop.

"Sure, just let me contact every other self."

-/-

"So... why are we doing this again?" Ruby asked Weiss, looking at the only other person besides herself who was themselves this loop.

"Because it's fun. Although, I'm still confused as to how you managed to set this all up."

"Well, I originally just meant to change everyone's appearance to prank the two of them, I didn't think they'd all start looping due to a Mikasa glitch."

"Right, well, at least Yang isn't looping. There are far too many burritos within easy reach this loop."

"You could always just destroy them if they make you feel uncomfortable." Ruby suggested before looking back down on Remnant.

"I could, but there's just no point. Let them have burritos. Besides, I think Tai and Sun would notice something being up this loop if I did. Let's just watch where this all goes." Weiss suggested, the two sister gods of legend simply looking down at Remnant from their home on the moon.

 **77.19 Masterweaver**

"You know," Sun said as he kicked back on the roof, "you don't seem as upset as I thought you'd be."

"Yeah?"

"I mean, when I started this up I thought you'd be constantly looking to get back to Blake, but... well..."

Yang chuckled awkwardly, kicking back herself. "Yeah, um, about that. You know how Ruby is almost always Awake?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the ratio of Awake to Not Awake does tend to increase the closer to the Anchor you are. So technically, while you and I have had five loops together while Blake is Awake, I've also had..." She did some quick counting on her fingers. "...something like two hundred loops where you weren't Awake and she was?"

"Oh."

"Mmm."

"...aaaaaand there's that envy, rising up again."

"Honesty with yourself is a good thing. And-okay, if I say I'm sorry, this is just going to keep cropping up. I mean I am sorry, obviously, from your perspective this must suck a lot-"

"No no, I get it. I think it's... maybe not exactly loss, but kind of like it?" Sun spread his hands wide. "It might not ever go away, but it'll heal in time? Or something."

"Comparing lost love to lost friends is not healthy. At all." Yang paused. "Unless you're Jaune."

"Oh, yeah, Jaune must have a hell of a time juggling Pyrrha around in his mind."

"It gets better. Sometimes Pyrrha Wakes Up after her death as his sword. Or shield, or armor, or all three."

Sun blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. Pretty crazy." Yang shrugged. "Of course, sometimes I wake up late and I don't have an arm. Sometimes Weiss wakes up late and she's trapped in Atlas, sometimes Blake wakes up late and..."

She trailed off, awkwardly.

"...she's on the boat?" Sun offered.

"Yeah. On the boat." Yang cleared her throat. "Sun... look, if you're ever on the boat and Blake isn't Awake, you have my complete permission to do... the whole emotional support thing."

"And if she is Awake?"

"Well, if she's Awake she'll probably be gearing up to fight Charlie and retake the White Fang, and you can probably help with that easily."

"So basically, same as Unawake, sans 'help with recovery.' Gotcha."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Just because it isn't us who made those mistakes doesn't mean it isn't us who made those mistakes."

Sun turned his head to look at her quizzically. "Should I point out the contradiction, or..."

"Let me put it this way. I'm Yang Xiao Long. Yang Xiao Long shotgun-punched Junior in the face and wrecked his nightclub. Yang Xiao Long got frustrated that weird things were happening during initiation. Yang Xiao Long was framed during the Vytal tournament, Yang Xiao Long got her arm cut off protecting her partner, Yang Xiao Long spent months recovering from PTSD... maybe none of that happened this loop, maybe I can sidestep it, but I still remember it. I can change my life, because I know where I've been." She smirked. "Bit more literally then most people, loops and all that."

"So... what? I should just be a shoulder for her to cry on if she needs it?"

"Or somebody for her to rant to or confide in, yeah. Friendship is a form of love-and it's really frustrating that love comes in so many forms, because everyone associates that word with romance, so you can't outright say 'I love you' to people who you love and-" Yang gave a frustrated growl.

Sun chuckled. Then he paused. "So... if friendship is a form of love... and you are okay with me being friends with Blake-"

"I am okay with you expressing that particular form of love, yes. No kissing and hugs only if she needs it."

"Well, yeah, obviously. I just had this horrible idea for a prank where I walk up to Blake and flat out state 'I love you' and you just stand there off to the side while she gets flustered-"

"More likely she'd pick up on what was going on right away."

"Some sort of psychic power, huh?"

"That, and eons of experience reading our tells."

"Must be hard for a looper to play poker."

"Eh." Yang shrugged. "There are a few unspoken rules-no reading minds, no using powers to secretly look at each other's cards, basically run as though you were baseline while playing the game."

"Hmm." Sun turned back to look at the sky. "And you probably don't gamble with lien, do you?"

"Nah. At this point we could each singlehandedly crash the global economy."

"You have that much money in your subspace pockets?"

"Sun, Ruby carries around a planet _and_ a few thousand spaceships _and_ all the magic and equipment needed to maintain them. Weiss doesn't have quite that in hers, but I swear she's trying to build a hollow Earth-or maybe a hollow Coruscant. Cinder has a full blown vampire civilization in _her_ pocket, and it was split in two for a while! Yes, we have the lien, but we've also got so much wealth that... Jacques wouldn't even be a pauper. A pauper compared to any one of us would be a trillionaire compared to Jacques Schnee."

Sun whistled low. "Wow. And you don't use that all because...?"

"Because past a certain point, wealth and power don't matter. Not as an ends. What we truly care about is that which... that which we invest in, that which grows. And for us loopers, that's relationships. People. Looping or not-though with a preference for loopers, since they can be on our level. You'll get there one day too-you're already starting, really, what with making this friendship thing a thing."

"...I can sort of get that," Sun acknowledged. "I mean, even in Baseline Weiss comes down to Vale to... better herself and the world. And... yeah. It's one of those things that I can see the outline of but not really understand, but I know I'll understand at some point." He paused. "Especially since some memories of that loop where Cinder went crazy are clearing up."

"Oooog. Yeah, we went all out after we figured Cinder was Ascending."

"I recall Zwei pulling a lot of crazy stunts. Also I killed a vampire, that Octavia girl I think."

"Huh. Really?"

"And a lot of those spider-beetle robot things."

"Visorak. They're called Visorak."

"Right. Point is, Looping is big, and I'm... still getting that. I'm starting to grasp it, but I'm not... you say things like that and it's still impressive. Does that pass? Do you stop being amazed? Do you ever just... accept it?"

Yang looked up into the sky for a moment or two.

"...One of the cardinal rules of the multiverse: The moment you think you've seen it all, something completely new happens. No, the amazement might fade, but... it never goes away completely."

 **77.20 Alastair Dragovich**

Blake flipped through a page in her book. Aside from Ruby, who had been decidedly in the mood to troll the White Fang in one of her 'Floram Rights' protests, she had been the only one Awake. She was reading Ninjas of Love- or, at least, this loop's version which had been a decidedly large shift in genre than what it usually is - when her leader burst through the door in a panic.

"Blake!" She leapt at her friend and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her back and forth at a frantic but oddly rhythmic pace. "Blake I've made a mistake!"

"What happened?" The Faunus asked as she set her book to the side, Unpocketing a bookmark to save her place.

"Okay, so you know how I was protesting for Floram rights this loop, right?"

"Yes?"

"And you know how there was that one small group that always came to give me funny looks, right?"

"...Ruby-"

"It turns out, they were actually Floram!" She exclaimed, accidentally flinging her friend into the wall as she flung her arms upwards. "I mean, I suppose it was only inevitable given the Infinite Loops and all of that, but it was still such a surprise!"

"Alright," Blake responded, calmly dusting the plaster off of her arms. "But that-"

"As it turns out, they have a really fascinating conspiracy/history going on involving the early Faunus and Kindgoms - even if it's a bit tragic for my tastes - and they had been in hiding out of fear of what'd happen to them now if people discovered they actually existed," Ruby continued at what felt like a million miles per hour. "Then I came along and began protesting for their rights and they began watching me to see how everybody else would react and as a result there's now a whole lot more of them protesting."

"And that's a problem how?" Blake asked dangerously, narrowing her eyes at her Anchor and Team Leader.

"Well, the problem isn't so much that I helped them out," Ruby said calmly and appropriately sheepishly. "It's what happened once the public realized that Floram were an actual thing and, in his infinite stupidity, Jaques Schnee began to harass and exploit them like he had been the Faunus..."

Blake's figure relaxed, but her eyebrow was about to shove her forehead out of the way entirely with how high it had been raised. However, before she could ask the obvious question, a very irate Unawake Weiss stormed into the room, her scroll opened to that day's top news headline.

"Ruby! What is the meaning of _this_?" She almost shrieked, her face apocalyptic.

On the front page had a picture of Ruby and several different kinds of half-human, half plant hybrids in front of a flag wearing what looked like an inverted, black and green version of the White Fang's outfit. Above the picture were the words "The Black Thorn Revolutionaries Form after Floram Rights Protest goes South."

"...I may have accidentally a Revolution and became it's leader through popular vote."

Blake calmly buried her face with her hands in despair while Weiss, to the best that any onlooker could guess, simply began having a stroke.

 **77.21 Masterweaver**

"And I'm recruiting you two as advisers," Ruby added quickly.

Weiss's spasms suddenly stopped. "WHAT?!"

"You understand business and upper class politics," Ruby explained quickly, "which means you know where to lean in order to effect proper change. And Blake..."

Blake rolled her eyes, removing her bow. "Ex-White Fang, left after my commander tried to get me to kill people."

Weiss blinked twice. "That-that-"

"We're not going to pull stunts like this regularly," Ruby said pointedly, gesturing toward the news image. "This was not planned, I did not approve this. I want equal rights, not vengeance."

"Same," Blake piped in.

"That said, this is a clear demonstration that certain individuals will not care. Which means I will have to present a united face to the world-Floram, Faunus, and Human, working together for the betterment of all." Ruby wrapped an arm around Weiss's shoulders. "Also, this shows the world that you're not quote a heartless Schnee unquote, gives you protection from those who think you are, and grants you a chance to redeem your family name. If your father objects, you can spin it as 'keeping tabs on new developments' or whatever business jargon you need."

"I-I..." Weiss's expression grew thoughtful. "I... will need to consider that carefully."

"WOO!" Yang stepped into the room, shaking her dripping hair. "Sorry guys, long hair means long showers, but I'm finally ready to... um." She paused, taking in the scene. "Okay, what did I miss?"

"Ruby accidentally started a revolution and is shanghaing me and Weiss into being her top advisers," Blake reported.

"You're welcome to join too, of course," Ruby offered. "I'm focusing on getting these two in because they'd be targets anyway. Actually you would be too, being my sister, but-"

"Wait, Yang's a Floram?" Weiss asked.

"I'm a what?" Yang repeated, confused.

"No, different mothers, kind of works like Faunus genes that way." Ruby turned to Yang. "You may want to check the news."

 **77.22 Fictional Fanatic**

Penny was making her way through Beacon academy, greeting students along the way to Ruby's room with the intent of getting some much required assistance.

Upon reaching team RWBY's dorm room, she knocked five times in a previously agreed pattern between the loopers of Remnant. As Ruby opened the door, Penny saw that she was the only one inside, meaning that they could discuss things as loopers. Ruby, upon seeing Penny smiled.

"Oh, Penny! You should have told me you were coming over. Please, come in." Ruby said, standing aside to let Penny in.

"Yes, thank you, I think I will." Penny responded before walking inside, Ruby closing the door behind them.

"So, what brings you here Penny?" Ruby asked, curious as to why Penny had come over in person, rather than sending a message. Not that she was complaining, it was always pleasant to meet friends, especially looping ones.

"Oh, well. It has to do with something I picked up during my last Hub loop. You see, I picked up this hard-drive from my computer that loop, but I am for some reason unable to run it before clearing some criteria, it doesn't make much sense, but I thought you could help me with fulfilling this criteria. I'd really like to be able to access the pictures I had downloaded on it." Penny explained as she took out a hard-drive from her pocket.

"Of course I'll help you. What do you need me to do?"

"I need your help in finding a snake." Penny said, surprising Ruby.

"Wait, a snake? What for? I don't see how that will help you."

"I know, I told you it doesn't make much sense, but whenever I try transferring data from the hard-drive, it says it needs a python to run," Penny explained with a sad expression. "And it doesn't work with a King Taijitu either, I've already tried." She complained as Ruby was trying hard to determine if Penny was trying to pull off a joke, or not.

 **77.23 LithosMaitreya**

 **James Ironwood's _The Art of War_**

I: Laying Plans

-x-x-x-

 _The art of war is governed by five constant factors, all of which need to be taken into account. They are: the Moral Law; Heaven; Earth; the Commander; Method and discipline._

"General!" Winter Schnee pushed aside the flap of Ironwood's field tent and snapped a crisp salute. "our scouts have found the Vacuan commando cell. They're holed up in a village in the tundra north of here."

Ironwood nodded slowly, returning the salute. "Good, Specialist," he said. "Come here, take a look at this map. I need advice."

It was a Null Loop, but this time—at least for the Atlesian General—that term was not choked with horror and the fear of pain and loss. This time, it was almost a joy.

Internally, he shackled that sensation, bound it down, squirreled it away in some dark corner of himself. _It is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it._

Winter strode forward and came to stand, straight-backed, by the table he leaned over. "A map of the local area," she said.

He nodded. "We're here," he pointed at the cresting ridge of hills where the bulk of the army of Mantle had made camp two days prior. "And, according to your scouts, the Vacuan commandos are here," his finger moved to the small marking denoting a settlement, "in Predas. Between us is this forest, and about a mile of tundra. The hills curve around this way—" his fingers traced the sweeping ridge, "and overlook the village on the other side. They'll have an emplacement up there by now."

"Marching directly across the tundra would be suicide," Winter said.

"Of course," Ironwood said evenly. "But so would openly sending the bulk of our forces around the tops of the hills. We'd have the high ground, but that's all we'd have. Besides," he nodded towards the tent-flap, where a stream of bright golden sunlight poured in. "The light's too good, and the moon's waxing gibbous with skies that'll be clear for the next week. They'll be able to see us on top of those rocks for miles."

"Then their position is good," Winter said. "Shall we set up artillery?"

"And bomb a civilian population? Ironwood asked incredulously. "That's an Atlesian village the commandos are in. Sure, they may be traitors, but they may be hostages. The men wouldn't stand for it."

Winter grimaced. "I know we can't bomb the _village_ ," she said quickly. "But the fields around it, surely? We can box the commandos in using covering fire."

Ironwood shook his head. "The commandos are already boxed in," he said. "They'll see us on the hills, but we'll also see them, and there's no easy way out of that valley. Their position is defensible, but they can't get out of it without a fight."

"And yet we can't besiege them, because we'll be starving out our own people," Winter said quietly.

Ironwood nodded. "Right," he said. "But we have a few advantages. Equipment, for one. We can set tunneler mechs to give us a path under the field and get through to the village.

"That won't be good for the integrity of the villages buildings or its crops," Winter warned.

"No," Ironwood agreed. "But that's where _I_ come in. I'll talk to the men about it, make them see that it's the lesser evil. _You_ get to the communications tent and send out a request to Atlas for tunnelers."

"Sir," Winter said, snapping another salute. Then she smiled. "This Loop's good for you," she told him quietly.

His lips twitched. "If war can be said to be good for anyone," he said quietly, returning the salute.

-x-x-x-

 **77.24 StormyAngel**

"So. We've derailed Salem's evil schemes, we've stolen every banana in the world, and we've replaced all of the chairs in Beacon with copies of Ozpin's gear-dick chair. What's next?"

Yang jumped to her feet with a grin.

"Basketball!"

"Basketball." Sun replied. "You do know I'm a monkey Faunus right? Acrobatics are kind of my thing."

"Oh I know." Yang replied with a smirk.

...

Sun wasn't a complete idiot. Yang was an experienced Looper, and he hadn't a dream of beating her in a fair match.

Of course, his semblance gave him something Yang wouldn't have. Teammates.

He turned to face Yang as he prepared to activate his semblance, whereupon he froze in fear as he came face to face with a massive draconian lilac-colored eye.

*ROAR*

"Oh, come on!"

 **77.25 Fictional Fanatic**

Ruby had been waiting for this moment for a long while.

While some would argue that her anticipation for this moment was just silly, she would argue that it was important. It was finally time for her to spend an entire day sorting and taste testing cookies she had stored in her pocket over the loops. From an outside perspective, it would be easy just to see this as Ruby overindulging in cookies she had saved up over a long period of loops, but to Ruby, this was a necessity if she was to ever finish her book: "The extensive cookie guide of the multiverse."

She had already written plenty, but there were still plenty of cookies to try and write about. Ruby's reasoning for not simply writing a book about the tastiest cookies in existence, a recipe she had actually picked up and managed to improve over the loops, was because everyone's taste in cookies could differ. Therefore, she had concluded that a guide would be necessary to find the most fitting cookies for each and every individual.

And while this on occasion led to Ruby having to eat something as atrocious as a cockroach cookie, it would all be worth it in the end.

Taking out a pack of cookies she had bought in this one loop where she was supposedly meant to be evil, her father being the owner of the evil bank. But none the less, she poured out the cookies into a bowl and the picked up one of the cookies, dipped it into a glass of milk and then bit into it, only to taste metal.

Looking at the cookie in surprise, Ruby saw that it was apparently a robot designed to look like a cookie.

Shrugging, she decided they would merely be an interesting addition to her book, she decided to finish the cookie before pocketing the rest of the robot cookies for later research. Next up, was a golden cookie from that one loop where she had a cookie button and she was able to pay everyone in cookies. The Grandmas that loop had however been overly creepy, so Ruby had made a point in not hiring them to bake any cookies for her.

 **77.26 Fictional Fanatic**

"Weiss, a little bit more to the left. Yang, you're falling a little bit behind!" Ruby told Yang who was struggling on top of her mount.

"I'm trying! You know this isn't easy." Yang pointed out, nearly falling off as her concentration broke when looking at Ruby.

"Well, at least we're doing better than team JNPR." Blake commented, looking over at said team. Only Nora and Pyrrha having any luck with their rides.

"I still can't believe this is the only mode of transport this loop. I really don't like it." Weiss expressed her displeasure, despite being one of the more talented riders.

"What are you talking about? This is awesome! We're actually learning how to properly ride wild Grimm! I am so going to try this once we're back in a baseline loop!" Ruby shouted in glee, having the time of her life as she forced her Nevermore to do a loop, nearly hitting Yang on her way down as she had managed to catch up.

"Watch it Ruby! I can barely get this thing to do what I want as is." Yang pointed out, yanking real hard at the improvised reigns she had made for her own Nevermore to prevent it from crashing into Blake's seeing as how a near hit from Ruby's had made it fly off course.

"Sorry, I'm just really excited. I mean, I've tried doing this before, but it never seemed to work. But this, this is amazing!" Ruby exclaimed, making both Blake and Weiss roll their eyes. While it was a weird loop, they had to admit, it was interesting. As there was almost no other kind of transport, everyone learnt fairly early during their life how to use their own emotions to manipulate the Grimm. While it was a variant and the techniques were unlikely to work outside of the loop, they did help people get a clearer picture of their own emotions and made it easier to calm down, or change them. It would most certainly do Cinder some good to try and learn some of it.

"Oh no." Team RWBY heard Yang say. Looking back, they could see Yang standing on a fading Nevermore losing its height at an alarming rate. She had apparently been a bit too forceful with her Grimm.

 **77.27 Flametusk**

"Hey Ruby, you Awake? My team's thrown me a bit for a loop." Jaune said with a smile plastered on his face.

"I'm here for you if you need an anchor. What do you need?" The reaper looked up from the paper in front of her.

Jaune's smile instantly fell. "My team is insane."

Ruby looked at him in confusion and worry. "Are you okay? You do remember what being a Looper entails, right Jaune?"

"Of course I remember! This loop I'm the leader of team JSPR, made of Jaune Arc, Sheev Palpatine, Kefka Palazzo, and Tom Riddle. Do you have paperwork for me to do this loop? Please. I'll do anything! Just make me not need to be near them!"

Ruby shivered, "So that's what you meant by insane. They're all psychopaths. In that case absolutely Jaune. What are friends for?"

"To give you lots of work to do, apparently," Jaune said, as his arms were suddenly filled with a huge amount of papers. "Thanks, by the way."


	78. Where the Healing Begins

**78.1 Fictional Fanatic**

Ruby was having a hard time not simply going crazy from this loop variant. While it was a calm and extremely peaceful loop without Grimm, without anyone dying like baseline and no major criminal activities in general with Humans and Faunus being on good terms, Ruby still saw it as a bad loop. To start it off, it was a null loop, and with no Grimm around to threaten humanity, the knowledge of Aura and dust had become legend over time, only very few individuals even knowing about it. And, it was a lonely loop, it always was. Ruby knew, because for some reason, Yggdrasil had decided that Ruby would have to suffer through this loop several times in a row.

Taking all of this into consideration, it was easy to understand why Ruby was dragging her feet as she walked along the streets of Vale to get to Signal. Yes, Signal, as in the school that she still had to spend two years in before being able to apply for Beacon. Since neither of those schools were for combat this loop, Ruby hadn't been able to jump ahead two years. She had just about managed to jump one year due to History being a problem for her.

For a loop that seemed so pleasant, it really was just a boring hell for Ruby. She really wished something interesting would happen. Ruby was actually hoping either for something interesting to happen of for someone else to Awaken so that the terrible stillness of this loop could be broken.

Unfortunately for Ruby, everything seemed to be progressing fine, nothing of any major importance seemed to be happening and she got to school without any incidents. It really was a boring loop, made worse by the fact that she was repeating it over and over again.

* * *

Ruby was close to panicking as she once again Awoke in the same dull loop that she had been trapped in for what seemed like the thirtieth time. Last loop, she had had a horrible, horrible thought. What if the Remnant she remembered wasn't real? What if her fellow loopers weren't actually looping with her? What if this, this reality she was constantly re-living without a pocket or Aura was the real loop, the actual baseline.

Of course, rationally, Ruby knew this simply couldn't be true. The memories themselves were proof of that. There was no way she could have imagined it all up since no mortal mind should be able to contain or even remember the massive amount of information that was stored inside of her head. However, it did little to calm Ruby. After all, this was all based on what she thought was true and despite her best efforts, Ruby was having a hard time convincing herself that she could prove it to herself. At the moment, she couldn't access her pocket, she couldn't ping, meaning no one could confirm that the pings were actually real. All she had, was her memories, memories that could be just as unreliable. It was easy to make assumptions. From what she knew, no mortal mind could contain such a massive amount of data, but she had no real way of confirming it, there was nothing to say that she wasn't actually crazy, nothing to say that what she thought she knew was the actual truth, it was all simply things she had been taught to believe.

Ruby was sporting a massive headache, she was confused, angry and lost. Nothing was making sense and she felt like the world was mocking her inability to make sense of what was going on around her. At this point, Ruby decided that there was only one reasonable way out of this. To crash the loop. In all honesty, at this point, Eiken would be an improvement. And if she wasn't able to crash the loop... she'd cross that bridge when she got to it.

* * *

Ruby stood in front of what she without a doubt believed would be something that could crash the loop. It was a monstrosity of machinery designed to draw power from nearby stars. It had taken her a few more loops to figure out a way to get her hands on everything she needed, a few more loops to do so without upsetting this variant of Remnant while doing so and finally, a few more loops to manage to actually build the thing before the loop ended. Ruby was now somewhere at her fiftieth loop in this variant, something she really didn't like as this variant had been incredibly consistent, making it look like an extremely stable loop. As a very stable loop, one that was of Remnant as well, it only increased her paranoia about this actually being her real baseline, as well as her worries of not being able to crash the loop due to how stable it seemed to be.

Praying to all the Admins she could think of, Ruby flipped a switch and watched the world around her turn to polygons before disintegrating, the machine if front of her doing the same thing, revealing her, standing in a room she suddenly recognized.

Ruby Rose, Anchor for the Remnant loop was standing in what she recognized as a spaceship appropriately named the Holographic Simulation. She was currently standing inside of a simulation chamber. Ruby could only gape at the revelation before her, she realized what had happened. Her last loop before waking up in the "perfect" Remnant had been a Rick and Morty loop that ended with her being knocked out from behind. A null loop where she had been the only one awake. Apparently, what she remembered as the past fifty or so loops had been nothing but a simulation. Whatever the Zigerions wanted from her, she had apparently managed to keep it away from them. And now that she was out of their simulation, she would make sure there was nothing they could do to keep her away from them.

* * *

As Ruby Awoke on an island named Patch, her loop memories told her that she had Awoke early enough in the loop for Summer to still be around and that things were seemingly baseline. Ruby smiled as she cried into her pillow. It was all real. Sending out a ping, she felt several loopers ping her back. It was music to her ears, she was truly back home.

Zwei felt something was wrong upon Awakening. There was nothing within his loop memories besides the fact that he had Awoken early. The almost full set of pings sent out were a good indicator that this loop was most likely going to end up being a peaceful one as long as it wasn't a fused one or a really bad variant. Yet, the feeling of something being off persisted.

As a dog, Zwei knew better than to ignore his instincts. As a looper, he knew that instincts were far more reliable than rational thoughts. Beginning his investigation, he began with seeing who was Awake by checking his scroll. It had some time ago been agreed upon that the most effective way to determine who was Awake within a loop was to simply bring send a message to a group conversation created a long time ago. Doing just that, Zwei received a response from every looper on Remnant who could be expected to exist at the time except for one, Ruby.

Fortunately, being the dog of the Anchor of Remnant gave Zwei full access to her room. Walking up the stairs, Zwei paused outside of her room as he heard something that threw him off and sent many warning flags up in his mind, crying. Opening the door, Zwei found himself in the room of a young Ruby Rose who was lying in her bed, trying, and failing to hold back tears while hugging her pillow for comfort.

Zwei didn't even have to confirm that Ruby was Awake as she had already grabbed him from across the room and was now hugging him close to herself, much like the pillow she had been hugging beforehand. Zwei reached the conclusion that Ruby must have had an extremely bad loop and sent a message to every other Awake looper on Remnant. "REALLY BAD LOOP. Bring cookies."

It was no surprise that no later than two minutes, more than half of Remnant's loopers stood inside or outside of Ruby's room. Tai being forced to explain to Summer what was going on when a bunch of strangers had suddenly made their way into their home and made a beeline for Ruby's room.

* * *

 **78.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Tyrian has a crush on me this loop," Cinder groaned.

"Yeah, he's been like that with me sometimes," Ruby sighed.

"Welcome to the club," Jaune grumbled. "Bring you own dismembered stinger."

Cinder chuckled. "I just might." She paused. "Um. Jaune... I'm sorry about-"

"No."

"...I am, though."

"Not right now. Pyrrha's cooling off, but she's still not quite... there. I need to be her rock, and that means I need to keep myself emotionally stable, and that means no aggravating all... that."

Cinder nodded regretfully. "So... not now, but later."

"Yes."

"Alright." Cinder held up her hands. "Backing off." She stood up slowly and walked back into the Vytal fair.

Ruby sighed. "I get that it's going to take you two longer to accept Cinder again. But-"

"Ruby." Jaune's voice was firm. "Later."

"...I can't help but worry."

His expression softened. "I know. But this isn't something you can help with at the moment. Later, maybe. Not now."

"...Just tell me you're not obsessing over this."

"Of course not. We're working toward it, step by step."

"Okay." Ruby nodded. "I guess that works. I'll..."

She gulped.

"I'll just keep on her, then. Don't... don't take too long, okay?"

"...you can't rush these things."

"Still."

"...I'll try, Ruby. I'll try."

* * *

 **78.3 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"I blame you for this." Weiss informed Ruby while looking at a map, trying to figure out where the two of them were currently at. Ruby simply groaned as she rubbed a sore spot from a previous fight. "Hmm, I think we can get to the toiletries section if we go through the high tech department." Weiss said, looking up from the map to look at their surroundings. "I'm just not sure how to get there." Weiss admitted, getting another groan from Ruby.

"Weiss, please. Can't we just go home?" Ruby complained, lying in a shopping cart that Weiss was pulling along using the force.

"No,"Weiss snapped at Ruby. "I thought I told you that we can't leave until we've gotten our hands on that lemonade, had you not decided to run off because you thought you saw war corgis being on sale, we wouldn't have gotten lost."

"I told you I was sorry."

"Well, sorry or not, we're still lost. I just wish you hadn't lost your dimensional scissors," Weiss complained, sighing as she remembered they would have to find an alternate route back to Remnant. "If we're not back on Remnant by the end of the loop, I'm revoking your privileges of stashing cookies in my pocket," Weiss said, her declaration being met by a gasp of horror before Ruby fainted.

Weiss looked at Ruby for a while before deciding she didn't care. Right now, it was far more important for her to find that lemonade and pocket it before the loop was over. After all, it wasn't that often she looped into a loop that had a Quest Buy available.

* * *

 **78.4 Shimmer712**

* * *

Cinder twitched slightly. She did not like this.

"Cindy? Darling, are you alright?" Salem fretted. "Here, put on this jacket before you get cold."

Cinder pulled a face. This loop, Salem was the ultimate mother hen. Apparently, her grudge against Ozpin was due to the fact he was her son who decided he wanted to live his own life and not be coddled by "mommy" any more.

Cinder was quite impressed with the fact he had lasted until he was in his thirties before snapping at Salem and running off. If she had been in his postion, Cinder would have run off in her teens.

"Tyrian! Be careful while you eat! We don't want you choking!" Salem cooed.

Cinder decided she would be failing to return from Vale this loop. Assuming this over protective version of Salem sent her there. It was possible the witch would decide she didn't want to risk her "babies". Would she be stuck with Salem for the entire loop? Cinder felt herself pale.

"Cinder! Are you alright?" Salem exclaimed, pressing a hand to the looping Fall maiden's forehead. "Watts! Get the thermometer and stethoscope!"

Cinder was running away this loop. Maybe she could hide out in the Emerald Forest near Beacon? Or bribe Roman and Neo to cover for her? Maybe Ironwood would let her act as an Atlasian guard? the helmets would hide her identity...

"Cinder, sweetie, look his way!" Salem urged, waving a penlight.

Cinder resolved to leave that very night.

* * *

 **78.5 StormyAngel**

* * *

"So if you're going to be backing her up, then there's some things you need to know." Yang explained as she rolled around on the dorm room floor.

"Hit me." Sun replied, hanging from a pull up bar attached to the ceiling.

"She actually _can_ get tired of fish eventually, so don't give her any unless she really needs some."

"'s that so."

"Yeah, and try to ignore how much she sheds. She's suuuuupeer self conscious about it."

"Ignore balding. Got it."

"And whatever you do: never, absolutely _never_ flirt with Kali. She'd probably kill you outright."

"Are you guys talking about me?" the unAwake Blake asked with narrowed eyes. She had been ignoring them in favor of her book, but they appeared to have finally caught her interest. Yang paused to consider her fiance's alternate self.

"And she has this nasty habit of spying on other people's conversations." Yang continued nonchalantly. "You can't really do anything about that one though. Just try not to imitate her. She _hates_ that."

* * *

 **78.1 (con't) StormyAngel**

* * *

Kali's cat ears flattened in displeasure.

"What is it dear?" Ghira asked her, looking up from the papers on his desk.

"Oh." Kali blinked. She had just barely Woken Up when the Pings, almost the full set, came through. It had been a while since that last happened, and she hadn't stopped to even think about where she was.

She set the tea down. Bringing her husband a drink was a fairly common way for her to wake up, due to baseline. She might have been annoyed at it if her loop memories didn't consistently show that Ghira did just as much for her on a regular basis.

"I just forgot to check on something," she replied carefully. She pulled up her scroll and opened up the Loopers' agreed upon online chat group.

* * *

She was about to sign on when her scroll gave off a quiet chime, as Zwei posted. "REALLY BAD LOOP. Bring Cookies.

"You don't ask for my help as often anymore." Raven noted as she and Kali stepped through one of her red portals. They had arrived on a familiar patch of...Patch...just outside Taiyang's home.

"I'm grateful for all you do for me," Kali replied. "But you're not always Awake when I am, and..."

"She doesn't see any reason to help you." Raven replied broodingly. Kali shifted the box of cookies to her other arm as she reached out to place an arm around Raven's shoulders in a half-hug.

"It's alright Raven. She doesn't know me like you do." She shook her head. "No, I found my own way to get here from Menagerie. It's not as fast or reliable-which is why I asked you this time-but it works when I need it to."

"You'll have to tell me about that sometime." Raven noted as they set off across the lawn. Kali could feel her tense shoulders. Summer was still alive, and Raven probably didn't look forward to the coming confrontation. If Ruby hadn't had a bad loop...

A giant golden dragon swooped out of the air, and Raven's shoulders were instantly trembling. Was she...scared?

Blake smoothly slid down from her place on Yang's transformed draconian neck, distracting Kali as she recognized her–in this loop–young daughter.

She hadn't seen Blake in-loop for a year now, after She had left with Adam for the White Fang. As a looper, it had been a little longer than that.

"Mom?" Blake asked, confused.

"Yes Blake?" Kali asked. Why was she so confused, and why did Yang–human again–look so...angry?

"Why are you here with..." Blake trailed off as she looked between her mother and Raven.

"I should go." Raven muttered, sliding out of Kali's loose grip.

"What?" Kali asked. "But Ruby..."

"She's right, Mrs. Belladonna." Yang bit out, her voice clipped, as Blake looked between her fiancé and her mother uncertainly. "This isn't a good time for her to be here."

Raven froze, already turned away.

"Then when is?" She asked, her voice low and tense.

"What?" Yang asked.

"When should I be here." Raven repeated, as she slowly pivoted to return Yang's glare with cold eyes.

"Ruby is...she's...how dare you!" Yang shouted in frustration.

"How dare you!" Raven replied. "That's my niece in there. Who knows what she's been through? I should be here!"

She paused, her breathing heavy. Kali was stunned. She had known Yang and Raven's relationship was tense, but she had seen them work on it for so long now...Maybe loopers needed more time to get over wounds like these, not less. Kali frowned thoughtfully. Should she interfere? Raven seemed to be doing fine, and despite her anger and worry Yang obviously had herself under control.

But Raven's shoulders...she was trembling. Kali stepped forward to speak. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention as Blake gently shook her head.

"You're not her mother!" Yang replied to Raven, ignoring the Belladonna's byplay, her voice furious. "We don't have time for this. She needs her family-"

"Raven!?"

They all froze.

"Summer." Raven replied with some effort. "I-I-..."

"I can explain." Taiyang offered gently as he settled his hand on Summer's shoulder. Summer looked up to him, confused and worried at the serious look on his face.

"But for now," Taiyang continued. "Why don't you all come in."

It was only then that Kali noticed the crowd gathered around them. Ozpin, Glynda, Jenny, and Qrow stood with Ironwood. Team JNPR stood to their left, and Roman, Neo and Cinder stood off in the far distance, clearly trying to avoid antagonizing them with Cinder's presence. Sun and Weiss stood by an X-wing to the right.

Every last one of them, somehow, had a box of cookies in hand.

"Arf!" Zwei barked from the front door drawing everyone's attention. "Family picture later! Cookie intervention now." And with that he scampered back up the stairs.

Summer fainted, of course, and everyone quickly made their way inside.

* * *

 **78.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

"You know what's really irritating?"

"No. Do tell."

"Everyone's so busy focusing on their big projects that they don't have time to go on impulse shenanigans."

"You can't exactly blame them for that, Ruby. A long-term project requires a time investment that speaks of a passion for the subject."

"But Weiiiiiiiiiiss it can be soooooo draaaaaaaaaaaining! I wanna have fun! I want others to have fun! I don't wanna be-"

"You're bored, aren't you."

"YES! Yes I am bored and tired and worried and stressed and tiredbored and-"

"Alright, alright! Vacation loop, you and me, wacky adventures."

"Really?"

"Yep. Wanna hit up Vacuo?"

"Oh do I e-ver!"

* * *

 **78.7 Shimmer712 & Me**

* * *

Sun blinked as he woke up, feeling warm bodies around him.

"What the..." He paused as the loop memories hit. This loop, Haven had its student teams sleep in large, nest-like beds together, to promote a sense of camaraderie. "Huh. Must be awkward for co-ed teams."

A sleepy grumble caught his attention and Neptune curled into the blond looper's side. Sun looked at him and then at Sage and Scarlet with a sigh. It sucked his team wasn't looping.

"Screw it. I'm warm and comfy. I'll deal with it in the morning," he decided, settling down to go back to sleep.

Maybe he could convince his teammates to give them their weapons for his pocket? Better make sure he had enough to bu replacement weapons first. Didn't want them getting killed or anything.

"Maybe I could look into some upgrades," he muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, with team CME-, I mean, Team Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Neo:

"Neo."

"Yeah?"

"Get your hands off me."

"Killjoy."

"Emerald."

"Yes?"

"Stop. It. With the cuddles. These are unsolicited cuddles."

"...Sorry."

Mercury, meanwhile, cursed the cold outside the nest, and cursed his Y Chromosome.

* * *

 **78.8 Shimmer712**

* * *

Ironwood locked himself in his room and heaved a sigh. Taking a seat, he rubbed his temples. As much as he loved Atlas, dealing with the shadow-people was _stressful._ He was never entirely sure who he was talking to so he had no way of knowing what information they were permitted to and what was classified beyond their authorization.

"Maybe I should just go AWOL for how every long it takes for the branch to repair itself enough?" he muttered to himself. If he ever woke up early enough, he would avoiding the military so he wouldn't have to deal with the military being made up of shadows.

He paused at that. "If I never joined the Military, what would I be?" he wondered out loud. Maybe he could explore that a bit more. Now that he thought about it, it was a bit depressing to think most of his looping experience had been based around the military or law enforcement.

"Maybe I could try being a baker?" he questioned. He tried to picture himself covered in flour and icing a cake and snorted. "Qrow would find that idea hilarious," the general said. "So would Roman. And Neo. Ruby would approve though."

"Maybe I could work in a garage or something as a mechanic," he considered. "Just for variety." Looking at the calendar, he noted he had mission to outside the Kingdoms next week.

"I should talk to Winter about going AWOL," Ironwood muttered. "Just so she would at least be expecting it, if not coming along for company. I wonder if I could get Penny to come?"

* * *

 **78.9 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Well, that could have gone better," Ironwood muttered after he Woke up. "Next time, what learn what is and isn't poisonous before trying to go live in the wild. Or how to ID what is edible and what isn't," he added after considered the lack of baseline information regarding Remnant plant life. Needless to say, his going AWOL hadn't ended well. At least Winter and Penny hadn't accompanied him. No one needed to know how undignified _that_ had been.

"Well, time to retire as General and take up a job elsewhere," he decided.

-Later that Loop-

"Hello?" a girl called as she and her friends walked in.

"Hello, Miss Rose," Ironwood greeted her.

"This is where you've been?" Jaune blinked. "We missed you at the Invasion."

Ironwood scratched his cheek. "It was...frustrating, dealing with shadow people, especially when there are differently levels of classification and you don't know who is on what level," he said, deciding to just tell the truth about what he was doing. "So instead of following baseline and staying with the military, until the shadow-people issue is fixed, I'm planning to try other jobs. This is my first go and I got an apprenticeship from the local blacksmith."

"Cool!" Ruby chirped. "Lemme know what you learn. We can exchange notes! I don't think I've considered weapon-making from the smith's perspective before!"

Ironwood shrugged. "I doubt there's any new information for you but why not?" he answered. "How has Penny been? She wasn't awake when I left but has she woken up since?"

"No, sorry. Sun did though. He's been thinking about weapon upgrades himself, actually," Nora said.

"Is that so?" Ironwood considered. He didn't have a lot to do with the younger looper, due to lack of common ground. Maybe he could work with the boy on his weapons? Penny would be happy if he had some sort of male bonding with Sun, she was very fond of the blond.

 **78.10 Me, Alastair Dragovich, Shimmer712, Facepalmist, Flametusk**

Ruby knew it was a trap. It had to be a trap. It literally could only be a trap.

Where else would you see strawberry topped cookies anywhere but a trap? A trap, incidentally, inside of Port's Grimm Biology class. Besides, the plate had a giant cage dangling from the ceiling above it. Only an idiot would fall for that sort of trap.

BANG!

Peter Port turned from the blackboard he was using to illustrate his lecture to see Ruby Rose gnawing on a cookie inside of what appeared to be a hysterically stereotypical cage. "Miss Rose! I would have you know there is no eating in my class." He marched up and took the cookies away. "You will see me later for detention."

Ruby just sighed in resignation. The strawberry cookies were worth it... for a little while.

* * *

Weiss walked calmly through the halls of Beacon. Despite being a Jedi practitioner and a generally by the books person, like most Loopers in a school setting, she was bored of classes and didn't bother to go to any of them except _maybe_ History. She'd still do all of the work, mind you, but-

She stopped suddenly, her head turning sharply towards a nearby classroom.

There had been a disturbance in the Force. Without thinking, she drew her lightsaber from her Pocket and entered the room.

Only to realize too late that the Force had been telling her that it had been a trap. The doorway behind her was sharply cut off by a heavy steel door, slamming into place with enough force to make even the hardiest of Aura users flinch. Weiss, naturally, could still power through that, but the teacher, who had been a shadow person, was looking at her expectantly. Her memories, belatedly, told her that she was actually supposed to be in this class by now.

As she sat down grudgingly and put away her weapon, Weiss scanned the room, wondering what could possibly have made that disturbance in the first place. When her eyes fell upon the clearly out of place Star Wars tech on the teacher's desk, an epiphany came to her.

' _Ozpin you Scruffy Nerfherder,_ ' she mentally swore at the trick. The heiress mentally swore further when she realized that Ozpin had likely either placed a similar device in the rest of her classes, or was in the middle of doing so. And while she could distinguish the difference between a genuine disturbance and the artificial one, the time it took meant that she'd probably more often than not willingly fall for the trap just to make sure she didn't accidentally dismiss a real emergency. Especially if each of the disturbances created had subtle but noticeable differences.

' _I am going to replace his coffee with decaf,_ ' Weiss mentally vowed before turning her attention to the board. Upon realizing that this was a Dust Studies class, she mentally amended ' _ **All**_ _of his coffee._ '

* * *

What are you doing!" Nora demanded.

"You remember how I've been trying different careers while waiting for the shadow people issue to clear up?" Ironwood questioned. He was carrying the girl over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Finding out that all of you loops before that had been military or police was just sad," Nora nodded. "Well, there was the thing with the camera Grimm, but seriously? Nothing else but military and police?"

"Well, this time around, after retiring, I relocated to Vale." Ironwood made his way upstairs, ignoring Nora kicking him in the chest.

"That doesn't explain it." Nora thumped him on the back.

"Ozpin hired me. I'm now the truancy officer for his looping students in addition to covering a weapons maintenance class." He paused. "Admittedly, the truancy officer officer thing started about 10 minutes after he found out you had decided to skip class, but it still counts."

"...I hate you," Nora declared as Ironwood opened the door and deposited her in class.

"I'm sure you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to track down your boyfriend. Unless you've changed your mind about keeping quiet about his location."

Nora just glared at him before stomping to sit by Jaune.

"Got you too, huh?" Jaune asked. "I was just getting a couple of ice cream cones when he nabbed me!"

"I had snuck off for some pancakes while Ren was reading," Nora admitted.

"How long do you think it'll take him to find them and team RWBY?"

"Wanna place bets?" Nora asked, pulling out a pen and sheet of paper.

* * *

Yang stopped just inside the door, staring at the classroom. There should not have been a classroom here, let alone the one she'd been trying to play hooky from.

She turned and stared out into the hallway, which had not been the hallway she'd been walking through.

The hapless Yang stepped towards the door. It slammed in her face, seemingly of its own volition.

She slumped and stalked over to sit with her teammates, each of them looking similarly depressed. How had this happened?

* * *

In his office, Ozpin nodded with satisfaction. Easy it certainly was not, but the Hogwarts sentient-building model had been a marvelous seed for his patented Beacon version to build on. And to think, the students were incapable of even being late!

* * *

Weiss and Ruby were heading to their next class, which they didn't have in baseline.

"Alright. The next step is to go in the elevator..." Weiss' voice drifted off as they saw the label that said stealth class hastily put over top of the label for Ozpin's office.

"This looks like a trap, Ruby. Wait, what are you- no Ruby pleasedon'tpressthatbutton!" She was too late, as her leader had already started sending the elevator up, but somehow managed to slip out of the elevator.

"I should have known this was her idea. Well I'll play along with this prank. And who knows? Maybe there'll actually be a stealth class. Oh! Since Qrow would be the teacher, maybe I'll see Winter!"

As the elevator rose higher, she couldn't help but notice that something was wrong. When the elevator door opened, she saw the same force disturber that had been in all the classes for the last few loops.

"Well, that explains the feeling I have."

Walking closer, she saw too late that it was deactivated, and a green blur was the last thing she saw.

* * *

"Thank you miss Rose. She had been very elusive." Ozpin said, sipping his coffee while he and Ruby looked at the wall of tied up students in his office. "All of you disappoint me. For a stealth class, you weren't acting very stealthy when you walked in. You fail. Miss Rose on the other hand passed. She didn't follow the instructions, and she's the only one who didn't get caught. And for that, she gets a cookie."

* * *

"And so I struck the beast down, and when it rose ag, oh. Hello Headmaster Ozpin. Um... what are you doing?"

Ozpin walked into Port class with a folding chair and tackle box under his arms, a fisherman's cap on his head, and a fishing rod in his teeth. "Lo Port." He set up his chair and fishing station in the middle of the classroom, baiting the hook with a salmon. "Excuse me."

With a flick he cast the line through the door he had just walked in, and patiently waited. The line swung a bit, the class waiting with, no pun intended, baited breath. Port himself tapped his fingers on his desk.

The line snapped taut. Ozpin planted his feet, and pulled. "Now class, you gotta tire out the catch. Reel it in... and give it slack." He demonstrated. "Reel it in, and give it slack. My teacher, Eugene Krabs, taught me this. It's a fight. But a fight you can win."

With a heave, Ozpin pulled his catch into the class room. Blake glared at him the entire way, gnawing on her fish imperiously. Ozpin himself laughed.

* * *

 **78.11 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ironwood enjoyed these kinds of loops. Hub loops rarely put him in a military position. Like most loopers, the hub loop was a blank slate and almost anything was possible to achieve. It was a general agreement not to try and upset the balance in hub loops as there were sometimes many loopers in them at the same time, most of them looking to relax and unwind from their own loops. For Ironwood, it was mostly a vacation from dealing with shadow people or anything related to war and military. While he was never forced into the position while in a hub loop, he was always given the choice soon after his Awakening.

This loop however, Ironwood had declined and instead opened up a small shop, selling candy. Interestingly enough, he had by pure coincidence run into Penny as she was one day browsing his wares. They had agreed to adopt each other as family this loop as neither of them really had one this loop anyways. That had been a year and a half ago. Now, Ironwood and Penny were currently relaxing in a small cottage in the mountains, having gone on a skiing trip for Christmas. Having used things from their pockets to pay for several luxuries and to raise a lot of money to support their trips and hobbies for the loop, they had agreed that for this Christmas, they'd only be getting each other in-loop presents. Eyeing the pair of gifts under the tree, he smiled. Both of them were rather small, no bigger than a common shoe box, but it was never the size of a present that counted, but rather the idea behind it. In all honesty, Ironwood didn't even care about that. For him, this loop had been wonderful anyways, having spent it bonding even more with Penny.

For example, he had learnt that during every loop she looped in without any taste receptors and had access to her pocket, she would rebuild herself with randomized settings to be able to experience all foods once again for the first time. He had inquired about why she did this and not just settle for any standard settings and she had replied:

"Whenever I loop in as a human, there's no guarantee I am given the same body. My tastes as a human vary from loop to loop, and I've figured out suspense of eating something, wondering if it's something you'll enjoy or not is that much more, than simply relying on a sense of taste that eventually makes you tired of your favorite dish. With randomized setting, each loop brings with it new flavors and a new favorite dish. While some have trouble experiencing something like that due to their mentality and due to their bodies going through minimal changes through the loops, their are very few loopers who can say that they've experienced the many different flavors of cabbage. Some like it, some don't. I do both, and can remember both times perfectly. How can two people eating the same thing have a different opinion on how it tastes? Simple, it tastes differently for both of them." Penny had explained to him. She really was a wonder, seeing the many things the multiverse had to offer them. She cataloged experiences, so many different things she had experienced and would still experience. She was like a child who looked at the world in wonder and wanted to experience it all.

Ironwoods thoughts grew a little bit darker as he thought about it. During these many experiences, not all of them were good. Penny had seen plenty of terrible things, and it worried him. It worried him that she saw them as just _that_ sometimes. To her, some occurrences were just simple occurrences. She'd react to them and recover from them, but afterwards, they sometimes simply turned into data for her. And it wasn't just her. All loopers showed a certain level of being able to simply shrug off what they saw as minor inconveniences. The fact that being stuck underground for three days due to a cave in wasn't much to think about was really worrying to him. Thinking back, Ironwood knew that such a situations should actually frighten him, that being stuck in the dark with no way out, limited resources and the only option being to conserve your energy, make the rations last and helplessly wait for help was supposed to be a big deal. Something that would make a regular person go through some kind of change, possibly change on a fundamental level after nearly dying. But as a looper, they no longer had that.

As the wood of his armchair began creaking, Ironwood noticed that he was slowly crushing one of the armrests. Forcing himself to relax, he reminded himself not to get lost in thoughts, seeing as how down that path lay only darkness and insanity. He was no longer a mere mortal, so acting like one was not the correct way to go about it. But neither was he immortal. One day, the loops would end, and if he didn't manage to Ascend in time with the rest of the loopers from Remnant, there was the risk of actually dying. In time, the option to Ascend would come, after the loops ended. But that time was so far away, he wasn't on that level yet, so thinking like an immortal wasn't the way either. This was Ironwood's dilemma. As someone no longer a mere mortal, he couldn't cling to the same thoughts as before, on the other hand, if he let go completely, he'd lose what made him human, and possibly himself.

Deciding to return to the present before he descended any further down that way of thinking, Ironwood instead greeted Penny as she came inside, trailing some snow in with her as it stubbornly clung to her clothes. "Welcome back Penny, how was the snow? Did you manage to build the snowmen you were trying to make?" He asked, looking at her as she began to take of her winter clothing, putting it away to dry in a heating drying cabinet.

"It was fine. It is still snowing however, so they're becoming snowed over and will be covered over by new snow shortly." Penny said, before seeing Ironwood's cup standing on the coffee table. "Is there any hot chocolate left?"

"Of course. There should be some left in the kitchen. In fact, I was just about to grab myself a second cup." Ironwood said, getting up and grabbing his cup. Looking into it, he could see about a mouthful of chocolate left. Long since cold after he had forgotten about it and gotten lost in his thoughts. As Penny turned away and headed into the kitchen, he drank what was left of the cold chocolate before following after Penny. He didn't want to bring down the good mood she had been during this trip, so he wouldn't tell her about the thoughts he had been having. Stepping into the kitchen, he saw Penny pouring herself warm chocolate into a cup. "So, did you do anything else of interest while outside making snowmen?" Ironwood asked, the smile and look in Penny's eyes as she turned towards him and began telling him how she had spent a long time inspecting different snowflakes and comparing their shapes to each other, was one that made his smile grow. He really did enjoy spending time with her.

* * *

"Come on, come on!" Penny tried to hurry him along. Ironwood chuckling at her antics. It was time to open their presents, and Penny was as eager to get to the presents as a four year old who had barely been able to sleep the night before due to the anticipation.

"Calm down, I'm coming." Ironwood assured her with a chuckle as he stepped out of his bedroom and saw that Penny was still in her pajamas, eagerly awaiting him by the tree.

"I know, but I want to open my present." Penny said smiling, only to frown at him as she noticed had mockingly slowed his steps to a crawling speed, acting almost as if he was going in slow motion. "Uncle!" She complained, puffing her cheeks as her face flushed somewhat in anger.

Ironwood kept himself from laughing at Penny's upset face. It was just too cute at the moment. It had caught him somewhat off guard when Penny had asked him for permission to simply call him her uncle for this loop. She apparently really wanted to feel a close family bond this loop. Something that Ironwood had nothing against.

"If you don't stop, I'll open my gift without you!" Penny threatened, making Ironwood relent.

"Alright, alright. I'll stop it with the joke then." Ironwood said as he walked over and sat beside the tree. Reaching under it, he retried the two gifts, giving one to Penny, while taking the one addressed to "Uncle" for himself. Penny sat down after accepting her gift and like any child began opening it with a big smile. Inside was a small collection of books. A few of them were books written by people who had traveled the world, while some of them were inspiring works of fiction. Ironwood had thought long and hard on what to gift Penny. As a gift from one looper to another, it had to be something good enough to transcend the passing of the loops. Something that would always be available to her. Ironwood had decided that there was nothing more likely to be appreciated, valued or cherished by a looper than memories. The only thing that persisted whenever a looper Awoke. Penny, as someone who spent her time recording and analyzing experiences, something to enhance such experiences was surely something she would appreciate.

"I've read all of them myself, and believe they should be great additions to your library, contributing a lot to your objectives over the loops." Ironwood said as Penny was looking over the books. He was caught off-guard as he suddenly found Penny hugging him.

"Thank you. They're wonderful."

"I'm glad you like them." Ironwood said in relief. While he believed himself to understand Penny enough to accurately predict what gifts she would enjoy, it still was a relief to have Penny confirm it with a gesture of affection in response.

Soon disengaging from the hug, Penny once again seemed excited. Obvious by her inability to sit still while smiling and looking expectantly at Ironwood. It took him a moment to realize what she was waiting for as he had completely forgotten about his own present. Remembering, he picked it up with both hands and began unpacking it. As the wrappers were removed, they revealed a box full of books. Taking his time to look over the titles, Ironwood couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow before looking at Penny for an explanation.

"Do you like them?" She asked, her eyes full of hope. Ironwood had to think a while before answering, not willing to hurt her feelings.

"Penny. Would you please explain your reasoning for buying me several books on masonry, pottery, cooking, fishing, camping, programming, electronics, farming, diving, surgery, chess, windsurfing, horse riding, betting and carpentry, all of them pocket editions?" Ironwood asked.

"Um, they wouldn't fit in the box if I got you hardback versions, as well as them taking up less pocket space this way?" Penny said, smiling a bit nervously. "You don't like them?"

Ironwood winced at the subtle hint of hurt in Penny's voice. "No Penny, I believe they're all going to be good reads, I just wish to hear your reason behind getting me these books specifically." Ironwood pointed out.

"Oh, that's easy. I know you're trying to find a hobby during loops where you don't feel like dealing with the shadow people of our loop, and I got thinking a little about how I'm collecting experiences. But I also came to think about how the Cutie Mark Crusaders in their baseline don't really go through some of their attempts properly. So, I thought I'd get you books on things you're likely to try eventually so that You'd be able to experience them to the fullest and be sure not to lose interest in something that could turn up to really be your thing, but was ruined because you weren't prepared for it. _Like the time you tried hiking by yourself._ " Penny explained, whispering the last part to herself.

"Wait, you knew about that?" Ironwood asked in surprise. Penny nodded.

"Yes, your camp and dead body were found later in that loop by a huntsman. I didn't bring it up earlier because I imagined you wouldn't want to talk about it and that it wasn't a big deal." Penny said, looking at the floor with her hands behind her back. Sighing, Ironwood stood up and hugged Penny.

"Penny, that's really thoughtful of you and I appreciate it. Have you read these books yourself?" He asked, getting a nod from her. "Well then, how about this. Since you were so nice to provide me with these books, why don't you and I both find something you haven't experienced yet, and we'll do it together? Because right now, traveling the world in search of adventure while _diving_ for treasure, _cooking_ for my favorite niece, _camping_ in the jungle, _windsurfing_ on a tsunami, _horse riding_ across wast planes and try my luck _betting_ sound like a mighty fine adventure for me. And I'm certain we'll find the time for masonry, pottery, fishing, programming, electronics, farming, chess and carpentry at some point as well. Although, I think surgery will have to wait for a while." Ironwood said, looking down at Penny with a smile.

"You mean it?"

"Of course! I'm your Uncle, aren't I? We'll do it all, for you to experience as much as possible, and for me to find a hobby." Ironwood confirmed, only to lose his breath as Penny was suddenly hugging him a lot harder than before. After a while she let go while chuckling slightly.

"You know what Ruby would want us to try fist, right?" Penny asked, wiping away some tears.

"Baking?"

"Baking."

Both of them stood, looking at each other for a while before bursting out laughing. After calming down, Ironwood gestured towards the kitchen and looked at Penny. "Shall we?"

"We shall." She confirmed as both of them vent into the kitchen with the intention to bake Christmas cookies.

* * *

 **78.1 (con't) Masterweaver  
**

* * *

"Whatever's going on is pretty bad," Neo mused. "We're cycling through hugs like a factory, and Ruby's only barely managed to acknowledge us."

Raven gave her a curious look. "You actually seem upset by that."

"Look, Sakura Syndrome aside, the girl's our anchor right? And I can admit she's fun to do kid stuff with." She took in Raven's disbelieving look and snorted. "Hedonism means indulging in enjoyment, and I like ice cream just as much as I like sex."

"Um," said Summer Rose.

"Neopolitan is the local recovering sociopath," Raven explained casually.

The girl scoffed. "And what's Cinder then?"

"Local recovering maniac. There's a difference."

"Riiiight." She glanced between the two women. "You know, I want to stay and watch the fireworks, but I know you're not going to start talking if I'm in the room." She gave a sad little sigh and walked out. "I'll be trying to hit up Sun if you need me."

Now alone in the kitchen, Raven and Summer stared awkwardly at each other.

"...Okay." The red-eyed woman took a breath. "Before I even try to begin explaining things, let me say this: whether or not I stick around is your call."

Summer blinked. "What?"

"I'll be staying till sunset, at the latest, but after that... you want to talk, I can give you my scroll number. You want me to stay away from your daughters, that's fine too. I'm not going to try to force myself into this family, and I'm not going to just... leave things hanging." She sighed. "Honestly, I should have dropped off Kali and been done with it, but-"

"Raven, a bunch of strangers have cropped up with cookies and are cycling through giving my little girl hugs, and also my dog is talking. What the hell is going on?!"

The Nevermore Queen took in the intense glare, steadied herself, and clasped her hands together. "The multiverse is broken. The gods put every reality in a time loop while they tried to fix it. In order to run that loop, somebody has to be around to live through it. And in order for that to work, they have to stay sane, hence the presence of other loopers. Ruby Rose is the Anchor of Remnant; the friendships and family she has formed in these time loops help her retain the mental stability necessary to keep Remnant from falling apart. We care for her both pragmatically, as the core of our reality, and personally, as a friend and... a niece, or a sister, or a daughter. And while we don't know what her last loop was like, we can tell from how she is reacting that it was extremely horrible, and are in the process of easing her mental and emotional turmoil."

Summer blinked. "...That sounds like something out of a bad fantasy novel."

"Yep. Also happens to be true."

"So... why am I not up there? How come I didn't-"

"How come you're not looping." Raven sighed, leaning back. "I'm not the one that should tell you that-"

"Nobody should be the one to tell her that," Yang mused, leaning against the doorframe. "But, the fact is, she should know. And you're here."

Raven stared at her. "...You of all people should know I'm bad at delicate things like that."

"Oh, I know. Still-you rip it off, and I help her handle it?"

The bandit queen narrowed her eyes. "That would make me the bad one."

"You kind of are-"

"Oh, not this again. Just because I'm a raider doesn't mean-"

Summer cleared her throat. "Can we... not have a fight right now? Please? I'm still trying to process the idea that Ruby's... some sort of divine servant."

"...right." Raven tapped her fingers on the table.

Yang gave her a pointed look.

"...Look. This is... The way looping works. We Wake Up-become our looping selves-at a specific point in time, usually. But sometimes... this time... we Woke Up early. Very early... a little under a decade before the loop's start."

Summer nodded. "Okay... how's this relevant? You started up early and... what?"

"In order to loop, you have to... exist. At the loop's start." Raven took a breath. "Which is... rather difficult to do if you're... dead."

The other woman froze. "...dead."

"Yes." Raven looked away. "Dead."

"I... I die."

"Yes and no," Yang interjected. "You are quote-unquote supposed to die at some point in the future, but that's based on the assumption that you don't have almost two dozen super-powered time travelers with a vested interest in your family watching over you. We remember you dying, but it hasn't happened yet, so we can stop it."

"Oh." Summer nodded. "That... but what about the stability of the timeline, what about-"

"The stability of the timeline is reliant on the stability of Ruby Rose," Raven stated bluntly, "and while Ruby Rose has adapted to living after her mother's death, that does not mean she will not benefit from her mother's presence on occasion."

"Sort of... why I got upset, outside," Yang admitted awkwardly. "You being around is something special for Ruby and me, and... um... with Raven here-"

"Like I said," the red-eyed woman ground out tersely. "I will stay till sunset, and any further contact is up to Summer."

"...Fair bargain." Yang coughed. "I could have worded my protest better. I'm sorry."

Raven, very slowly, relaxed the tension in her arms. "I... accept your apology."

Summer blinked. "Yang... you do know that-"

"I am aware of Raven's genetic relationship to me," Yang stated. "I consider her... family, but not my mother."

"Yang Xiao Long-"

"It's alright, Summer." Raven shut her eyes. "I accepted that long ago."

"...Alright." Summer nodded. "This is all... emotionally tense and awkward and at the moment, we need to focus on Ruby. Speaking of, should I go up and hug her myself?"

"Might be best." Zwei trotted in, taking a breath. "She's starting to come out of whatever happened. You might just be what she needs to fully ground herself."

Summer blinked at him owlishly for a moment or two.

Yang snorted. "You heard the talking dog. Go hug the girl that's keeping the world from falling apart and remind her you popped her out."

Raven facepalmed. "Really, Yang? Really?"

Summer stood up suddenly. "I'm only letting that pass because of the situation. Come tomorrow, I will be talking to you about appropriate language young lady!"

Yang smirked as she let Summer past. "Young, I'll grant you! Lady? Well... just ask Blake."

* * *

 **78.12 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby Awoke to a rather strange loop. Apparently Remnant was part of some form of galactic empire and her unAwake self had decided to work with slimes instead of becoming a Huntress. Having bought a ranch with almost all of her money, she now found herself alone on a planet together with some equipment, some land, a small house and VacPack. Ruby considered for a moment to simply ignore her unAwake self's carrier choice and make her way back to Remnant, only for a pink slime to enter her field of vision.

"It's soooooo cute!" Ruby exclaimed as she decided to see what this loop would have to offer besides the overly adorable slime creatures that lived here.

* * *

Ruby was using a pair of binoculars while lying on the top of a cliff, having used a jetpack she had gotten in the loop to get up there. Looking down below the cliff, she was observing a rare golden slime make its way towards her bait. This time, she was certain the small Cuberry she had injected with some of the most powerful yet perfectly safe sleeping agents she had available from her pocket would do the trick. This time, she wouldn't let it get away from her.

Observing as the slime ate the Cuberry in one bite, Ruby noticed as the slime realized something was wrong. However, it was too late. The slime was already growing drowsy and was having trouble staying awake as its eyelids began dropping. Taking her chance, Ruby jumped down the cliff before grabbing the slime and pocketing it, dropping it into a modified corral she had created using only in loop technology to be on the safe side. Taking a look inside of her own pocket confirmed it, the golden slime, now apparently no longer under the effects of the drugs it had ingested was unable to escape the corral Ruby had made. And even if it managed to escape the corral it was already inside of her pocket, like most of her ranch was. Having run out of space, Ruby had expanded part of her business into her pocket. Apparently her unAwake self had made a pretty good choice of getting a fun and satisfying job.

Looking around her pocket, Ruby saw a few plantations growing the food her corralled slimes would require to keep on living as well as many different cross species of slimes. Ruby smiled to herself at the many cute slimes she had and the plorts they were making her. Of course, at this point she no longer had a need to sell plorts to make any money. Instead, she used them for experimenting. Ruby was feeling very pleased with herself. Of course, she didn't have any plans on keeping any of the slimes in her pocket long term, she would unpocket all of them before the end of the loop, besides maybe a few of her favorites and the golden one.

Leaving her pocket again, Ruby decided to see if she could make cookies with any of the ingredients found this loop. Her sugar free Mint Mango cookies apparently becoming extremely popular and in high demand. Suddenly finding herself Awakening in the next loop, reminded Ruby not to get too caught up in her past-time activities too much. After all, she had just gotten stuck with a slime ranch in her pocket. Not something she could just take out and leave in a loop until it ended. Against her better judgement, she decided to keep it in her pocket, who knew? Maybe it would all be useful some day?

* * *

 **78.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Actually, do I still qualify as a minor?"

"Ruby-"

"I mean, is the law built around biological age, subjective age, chronological age, or responsibility-based maturity? Because those can all be separate things."

"Ruby, this really isn't-"

"Look, even if I don't have sex while Awake, there are loops where my Unawake self has sexual encounters. And barring variants where I am an adult, yes, it's exactly as creepy as it sounds, but my point is-"

"Ruby, you're doing the thing where you're going off on a tangent instead of addressing the situation."

"There's not really a need to address the situation."

"You mean aside from the fact that you are currently the key witness and presumed victim in the trial against Mercury for sexual assault?"

"Yes, Weiss, that's not really relevant, he'll get locked up anyway."

"You're on the witness stand right now!"

"Yes, but I haven't been sworn in, technically speaking, so none of what I say could be used without serious repercussions. I _have_ studied law, you know."

"You could be held in contempt of court or have your testimony dismissed as insanity!"

"Again, only counts after I'm sworn in, which has not happened yet. At the moment this is a 'worried' witness needing to be brought under control by her friend, so-"

"I will use my jedi powers to keep you from cookies for a week."

"I'm ready to make my statement, your honor!"

* * *

 **78.14 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby was deep in thought. Something that didn't go unnoticed by her teammates. Specifically Weiss.

"So, what are you thinking about? You haven't even eaten any of your cookies." Weiss pointed out the completely untouched plate of cookies. However, as soon as she did, several ended up inside of Ruby's mouth. Once she swallowed, she finally spoke.

"I was thinking about if it would be possible to help speed along the process of Yggdrasil remembering our baseline," Ruby said, holding up her hands to forestall any objections and or accusations. "Yes, I know that it's a dangerous idea to think about and to attempt to mess with Yggdrasil. However, I'm just thinking about it."

"And what exactly were you thinking?" Weiss asked, wondering where Ruby was going with this.

"Well, you know how big our pockets are by this point? We can pocket whole planets including their atmosphere, the people in them and probably a lot of the surrounding space. So I was thinking, what would happen if someone pocketed their planet before a loop ended. I mean, we never get past a certain point of our baseline because the loop ends, but if we were to pocket the entire planet and stimulate the perfect space conditions like the sun and moon's gravity, shouldn't it be possible to find out what happens after the loop ends? And wouldn't it be correct no matter what since everything pocketed has already been created with backstory and such by Yggdrasil? Wouldn't we be able to observe something like that?" Ruby asked, a silence settled over the room.

"Now that you mention it, that would make sense," Yang said, only for Weiss to stand up.

"I'm sorry, but there are several reasons that wouldn't work. Foregoing the issue of pocketing a whole planet and all the living sentient beings with it required to accurately continue a baseline, there are many things that would prevent us from getting an accurate result. First of all, us, loopers. If anyone besides you is awake for the loop you pocket all of Remnant, their body would simply end up dead once the loop ended. Second of all, even if you were to do so in a loop where you were the only one awake, there is no guarantee your next loop would be a lonely one as well, meaning that once again, the counterparts of those who Awaken to the next loop would end up dead inside your pocket. Resulting in massive derivation from baseline.

This is however far from all the issues with this idea of yours. Whenever a looper passes from one loop to another, it is our code used by Yggdrasil that also contains the code for whatever we have in our pocket. As you leave a loop, that code is saved and stored until we loop again, as it is, any and all limitations put in place are set in motion. While they may be minimal, it is highly likely that the code of the Remnant you pocket and all the people on it changes. A good example of pocketed item code changing are read-only items being removed entirely or replaced with a note from the Admins.

However, the biggest issue comes from the fact that the loop ends. The only reason a loop ends unless it is crashed or an Anchor has died, is because there is nothing more that Yggdrasil can remember. If Yggdrasil could simply stimulate an accurate recreation by letting everything simply continue, then the loops wouldn't have to happen in the first place. Simply put, everything after the end of baseline is no longer baseline. Because of how the loops work, which is beyond our complicated to understand and sometimes beyond the Admins' understanding it won't work. Or rather, Yggdrasil will ensure it won't work as it is not ready to provide the necessary information for baseline to continue. I am certain there are plenty of people in the loops who could make a simpler and much more accurate explanations to why it wouldn't work. If anything, you should ask an Admin, or maybe one of the O7. I am certain that with the rumors of what they used to put in their pockets are based of some sort of truth and that at least one of them has already had this idea. Ask them how it turned out," Weiss said, sitting down after her lengthy explanation.

"Wow, you certainly put a lot of thought into this," Blake said thoughtfully. "I'm a little surprised this would come up however, what even made you think about this Ruby?" she asked, looking at Ruby.

"Well, I actually got the idea from something I saw in the hub. I got curious and started thinking about it, thinking I might experiment a little," Ruby said before realizing how it could have been interpreted. "I wasn't going to do it, I swear! I was just considering trying out smaller projects with cloned bacteria and such!" Ruby tried to explain herself.

"Ruby, none of us think you'd do something like that. Especially after what happened to... CFVY," Yang re-assured her.

"Look, there's no reason to talk about it anymore. It wouldn't work and there's no point in talking about it anymore. So can we just drop it? I still have some assignments to finish, and so do all of you," Weiss reminded them all about this loops schoolwork.

Either rolling their eyes or sighing, most of team RWBY returned to what they were doing beforehand. Ruby ate her cookies, Weiss read a book and Yang and Blake were cuddling. Then the moment was ruined as a blue paint suddenly covered the room, a paint bomb having somehow been dropped into the room and gone off before any of them could react. All of them wondering who had managed to get the drop on them and how. Looking at each other, team RWBY decided this was a loop best spent looking to uncover the prankster this loop so they could all take revenge.

* * *

 **78.15 KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

"How the hell do you deal with almost none of your students being the same?" moaned Taiyang.

Ozpin turned towards Beacon's newest faculty member. The blond had his head in hands and a frustrated look on his face. Taking a sip of his coffee, the older Looper pulled out a chair next to him.

"It was not easy, I admit," he sighed. "But it is something I eventually got used to. It helps that I take breaks from time to time."

Taiyang nodded glumly.

"On the plus side, making new team names is always a good challenge. Observe." Ozpin pulled out his scroll from his Pocket. "Here is one of the groups I have to sort out."

The father glanced down at the list of members.

Sky Tucker

Helios Abantes

Ivory Young

Teal Harris

"Well that's obvious, it would be Team SHI- Oh!" Taiyang raised his eyebrows as his mind caught up to his mouth. "Well now I guess I see your problem."

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. Luckily my loop memories tell me Star Wars was a movie here. I'm going with Team SITH."

Now Taiyang's eyebrows were really riding high on his forehead.

"While I can see it following the color rule by being associated with black and red," he said slowly, "That would still have some negative connotations. Besides you can just use their last names. Look."

He began pointing at the list.

"Abantes, Young, Sky, Harris. A-Y-S-H. Ash."

Ozpin clicked his teeth in annoyance as he began typing in the new name. How could he have forgotten that?

* * *

 **78.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

"See, it's not one or the other. It's a scale, and not even just one with two extremes. Beyond even the gender considerations, there's personality, body type, whether or not they're a faunus-yes, racism does factor in, sad to say, what can you do. And that's before you factor in looping and the whole 'randomly sometimes the opposite sex' or whatever. So most loopers are actually slightly bisexual-well, pansexual if you want to get technical-but they choose one particular category as an above average preference and stick with it."

"Yang, that's all very good to know, but it doesn't explain what you think I should do with Neptune this loop."

"Look, Sun, you're in a secret relationship with him. Or your Unawake self was. And he's not looping. Let me put it this way, you have two different binary choices here: tell him about the loops or don't, and keep up the relationship or don't. Oh, also third option, keep it secret or don't."

"Um."

"Honestly, I'd suggest dropping the secrecy, but you should talk to him before doing that. Keeping up the relationship... well, one loop stands are a thing, and it'll help you figure out where on the scale you stand."

"It might make things awkward next loop."

"Only on your side, Neptune's not looping. That's another trick you have to learn-rolling with a loop and learning how to put it back next loop."

"Really? Have you ever done that?"

"Sun, sometimes I Wake Up leading a raider camp, with Raven being my kid by Taiyang. Think about exactly what that means."

"...Oh. OH. Oh, uh... wow."

"Now, if I decided to focus on that, I would probably be very freaked out. The trick is to incorporate it for a loop, and only for a loop, and then have a casual laugh about it next loop. That, and... maybe a bit of recovery. The loops where I'm actually Weiss's mom are... eeeeencgh."

"Yeah, I can see how that could be a problem."

"My point is: You can continue your relationship with Neptune, safe in the knowledge that it has an expiration date and literally nobody is expecting you to continue past that."

"That is... rather callous."

"Only if you're looking forward to it. Weiss probably could explain this better, she's had thousands of one-loop-stands."

"So you think I should continue my relationship with Neptune, to the point of being open about it, because it will be a good experience for me overall?"

"Isn't that the whole point of continuing any relationship, no matter the kind?"

"I... well... wow. You know, you have a point."

"Hey, I only _look_ like a dumb bimbo."

"Something we have in common, then!"

"Here's to looking sexy stupid!"

"Here's to looking stupid sexy!"

"WOOO!"

"YEAH!"

"Ha."

"Hahahha..."

"Hahahahahahahhaahhahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaah!"

"Haaaa... woo. Good talk, Sun. You going to keep on keeping on, then?"

"Yeah, for this loop at least. How bout you? You doing okay without... um... with, you know-"

"Don't tiptoe."

"You doing alright without Blake awake?"

"...Nothing I haven't been through before, Sun. And I'm not alone. Ruby, you... Technically Raven, but-"

"Yeah, can of worms over there. Well, I should probably get going, gotta greet my... boyfriend. Huh. Still kind of weird to think about."

"If you ever need a place to bang, come talk to me, I know all the good spots!"

"...Wow, you really don't have any shame, do you."

"Nope. Also if you do, can I watch?"

"Hahahaaaa no."

* * *

 **78.1 (con't) Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Everyone could see that whatever loop Ruby had just come from had shook her badly. It had taken a long time and lot of hugs for her to calm down enough to even acknowledge the cookies everyone had brought. Sitting on her bed surrounded on all sides by her fellow loopers, Ruby began to slowly eat from the cookies. After having enjoyed a few, she stopped and looked around the room at the assembled loopers and Summer who had been caught up on the situation. She had been the one to hug Ruby the most and would have continued if Ruby hadn't asked them all to stop herself.

"I suppose I should explain what happened." Ruby said glumly as her shoulders sagging as she put the cookie she was holding back down on the plate.

"Ruby, you don't have to unless you want to. We're here either way, we just want to make sure you're okay." Weiss said, everyone voicing their agreement.

"No, I'm not fine." Ruby said, as she began hugging herself. "I went full Silver eyed warrior on a loop. I snapped after I realized what had happened. And I think I need to talk about it." Ruby said, only to once again be covered in hugs. After a while, Ruby began untangling herself from friends and family. "Thanks guys, but I think it might be more comfortable if everyone sits down for this one." Ruby says, making them retreat from her before finding a place to sit in the room. Yang and Summer staying by her side, sitting on the bed with her. Seeing everyone seated, Ruby began.

"It was a null loop in the "Rick and Morty" universe. I had woken up on Earth and everything seemed almost like a hub world loop, except for some of the obvious alien activity and dimensional travel that was going on. I was planning to simply let the loop play out baseline to avoid getting dragged into anything related to Rick or Morty, but at some point, I was attacked. They caught me off guard and the next thing I knew, I woke up in a new loop." Ruby said, confusing those present.

"Wait, then what importance did that loop have if you barely did anything in it?" Asked Yang, only for Ruby to shake her head.

"I'll get to that. Just know that's it important for now." Ruby said before sighing and continuing on with her story. "The next loop I woke up in, was another null loop. It seemed to be a safe variant of Remnant. No grim, no cool weapons and such. Just regular teenage school loop. There wasn't even a big threat or anything that showed up by the end of the loop. It was a nice vacation loop, even if I was the only one Awake. However, as the loop ended, something weird happened. I once again Awoke to a null loop in a safe variant of Remnant. In fact, it was the exact same loop. And once again, I had to live through one and a half year alone as none of you showed any signs of awakening. This time, it was simply just boring. It was weird, the same variant twice in a row, it's rare, but not unheard of. When I Awoke again, I knew something was wrong. I woke up to the same loop for a third time." Ruby said gravely, looking around the room and meeting everyone's eyes head on.

"H-how many times did you have to repeat the same loop?" Asked a horrified Weiss, seeing where this was going.

"Fifty three times." Ruby answered, making most loopers gasp and/or cover their mouths. The revelation making most of them once again resort to hugging her. It wasn't uncommon for an Anchor to encounter lonely loops, Anchors sometimes suffered through over hundreds of them, but to live through over fifty of them as null loops, especially some as unexciting as the one Ruby described, they could only imagine the horror.

"Guys," Ruby said as she was once again being hugged. "Please, let me finish. It get's a little bit worse." Ruby revealed, making the loopers move back from her, only to look at Ruby's face and determine that yes, she was serious.

"What happened?" Weiss asked what everyone in the room was thinking.

"Around the twentieth loop, I was beginning to panic and I grew paranoid, paranoid enough to come to think that maybe, just maybe, it was Remnant's new baseline. Or, that it had been the true baseline all along. I was unable to access my pocket, unable to confirm that anyone else was Awake and wasn't sure I could trust my memories. So what if, I had gone insane, what if I had suddenly managed to snap back to sanity and saw how horribly boring eternity in the world I lived in was, what if that's what had made me go insane in the first place, made me... made me think that everything else I had experienced in the loops wasn't real." Ruby said, looking at everyone with tears in her eyes.

"I didn't truly believe any of that, I didn't want to believe it, so I decided to try and crash the loop." Ruby said as she laid down on her bed, covering her eyes with one arm.

"Ruby..." Yang said, laying down with her and hugging her.

"It took me over thirty loops to manage to find and bring together the necessary parts and pieces, as well as build them together into a loop crasher without my pocket. I was so scared it wouldn't work," Ruby said, cutting off as her tears could be seen running like streams from behind her arm and she had trouble holding back a few sobs. "the loops up to that point had been so consistent, so stable... I wasn't sure what would happen. But when I flipped the switch," Ruby said, her mouth twisting into a snarl and her eyes burning with fury as she removed her arm. "I found out it had all been a lie. The illusion around me fell apart as soon as my loop crasher initiated, the simulation couldn't handle it, the loop itself was probably close to crashing. But that's when I found out that I was still in the Rick and Morty loop. I had been inside of a simulation created by the Zigerions. I was aboard their ship and they had been simulating the past fifty three loops for me."Ruby said through clenched teeth.

"Wait, hold on. How's that possible? That loops is not nearly that long, besides, wouldn't you have grown and realized something was wrong by that point. How was that possible?" Weiss questioned, trying to remember everything she knew about that loop.

"It was a variant. The Zigerions that loop had a lot more high tech equipment at their disposal, they ran the simulation at higher speeds and prevented me from realizing I wasn't getting any new loop memories. Apparently, they were after my knowledge about the loops. I don't know how, but they somehow were aware of the loops and wanted to become loopers as well." Ruby explained.

"Anyways, it was as I realized I was still in the same loop and what had happened that I snapped, all I remember is everything going white, and then awakening to a barely space capable and almost completely destroyed ship. I don't know what I did to the Zigerions, but they were nowhere to be seen and I had more pressing matters trying to stay alive, the ship was barely holding together ant it's atmosphere was slowly dissipating. I narrowly escaped by building a spaceship out of what I could salvage and spent the rest of the loop as a space pirate." Ruby finished her tale, her tears resuming as she lied in her sister's and now also her mother's embrace.

* * *

"I can't believe she went through something like that." Blake said, all the present loopers agreeing with her as they had all gathered downstairs in the family's living room, Ruby having eventually fallen asleep due to emotional exhaustion.

"This is bad. I imagine Ruby will need some loops to recover from this, and we will have to inform Rick about this variant, as well as any other looper we meet so that this doesn't happen to anyone else." Weiss said, once again all present loopers agreeing.

"It's actually quite remarkable how well she handled it on her own. I would have been in a much worse condition myself." Commented Jaune before bringing his hands together with a clap. "So, what's the plan? The next few hundred loops we help Ruby recover in any way we can?" Jaune asked, looking around the room for anyone to answer.

"I believe that is the only thing we can do. She relies on all of us, that's why we are all looping in the first place. So for the foreseeable future, the loops we have together with Ruby will be dedicated as recovery loops." Ironwood said, everyone agreeing with him as well.

"Alright, then I want to begin with suggesting everyone here to read this book." Weiss said, unpocketing a copy of "Not so Null". "I believe it will help us immensely." And with that, the healing began.


	79. More Comedy, Extra Legos

**79.1 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Kali stopped as she reached the park. There, just like she had been told, was Ruby and Cinder Rose, sitting on a park bench, talking about something. As she got close enough, Kali made sure they had both noticed her before speaking. "Hello Ruby, Hello Cinder," Kali greeted with a wave and a smile as she stopped in front of them, observing their current postures. Ruby was sitting on the edge of her seat, Kali guessed she had been really excited about something, meanwhile Cinder was sitting laid back, seemingly amused by something. However, Kali's arrival changed it as Cinder became slightly on edge, her amusement lost. Ruby however remained just as cheerful.

"Hello Kali," Ruby responded in kind with a smile of her own. "How are you doing?" she asked, settling more firmly on the bench.

"I am fine, being a teacher at Beacon is a unique experience, that's for sure. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," Kali said, looking at Cinder who had now taken on a completely neutral face as she looked at Kali, her silence and poker face worrying Kali slightly.

"No, we were just talking about a fused loop I had a while ago. Is there anything we can help you with?" Ruby asked, looking at Kali before following her line of sight over to Cinder. "You want to speak with Cinder?" She asked as she looked back at Kali who nodded.

"Yes," Kali responded as she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, now filled with determination. "I want to speak with her about _that_ loop and how things are going to go from here. I want to make my decision about giving her my vote for letting her loop outside of our own loop," Kali confirmed, holding her breath slightly as she closed her eyes and tensed slightly.

Cinder and Ruby both understood that Kali had apparently gone through a lot of mental preparation and had exhausted a lot of effort to ready herself for her talk with Cinder. Both of them understood this, and Ruby considered for a moment to refuse on behalf on how Kali seemed to be pushing herself and might not have been ready for talking with Cinder after all. However, she came to the conclusion that stopping her here would do more harm than good and instead just sighed. "Well then. Would you like to sit down?" Ruby asked, looking at Cinder for a moment to see that she was okay with it. With a slight nod she gave her the go ahead. Now looking at Kali, Ruby saw her release the small breath she had been holding.

"Yes please. Thank you," Kali said before sitting down on the bench next to Cinder, much to the two sisters' surprise, both of them having expected Kali to sit down on the opposite side with Ruby in between them. Cinder looked at Kali sitting next to her with an expression of surprise while Ruby looked at her with some worry. Kali sighed at both of their reactions. "Look, _that_ loop is a hard topic for everyone, including myself. But I believe we'll all be better if we get this over with. With the threat of Cinder being labeled an MLE, something that wouldn't do any of us any favors, I think it is better to breach the subject sooner rather than later," Kali began, closing her eyes as she spoke, relaxing somewhat as spoke.

"That's why I came here as soon as I felt ready enough to speak about it, instead of putting it off until the absolute end. I've been thinking about it on my own, and I want to tell you that Ruby can put me down on the list as one of the loopers who votes against you being declared an MLE," Kali said, still not opening her eyes as she finished speaking.

"W-what? Just like that?" Cinder asked, confused. Most loopers who had supported her had always wanted to speak to her before making their decision.

"Kali?" Ruby asked in a worried tone, carrying with it the wish of a clarification.

Kali opened her eyes, seeing the faces of the two confused loopers. Ruby's carrying a hint of worry, while Cinder's expression was also one of disbelief.

"I believe that with everything going on, Cinder deserves another chance. I chose to trust her not to be as self destructive and dangerous as she was during _that_ time and believe that she is trying to, that she has changed," Kali explained before looking Cinder straight in her eyes. "I remember things from _that_ loop. I remember Ghira being killed right in front of me," Kali said, making Cinder wince and look away, avoiding eye contact with Kali. Kali however, took her Cinder's hands into her own, forcing Cinder to look back at her before she continued. Cinder didn't see any of accusation or anger in Kali's eyes, but genuine concern for her.

"However, I remember it. A small part of me can't help to be happy for what happened as I have begun looping as a result. Of course, had you actually succeeded, it would have been a different story entirely. But you stopped, you stopped and tried to put things right. The fact that you do is enough proof for me that you're not the same as you were back then and that you deserve a second chance. And while this might haunt you, and possibly all of us throughout the loops for a long time, I think you deserve to put it behind you," Kali said, letting go of Cinder.

"So, you just believe I deserve to continue. You're not afraid I'm going to do something like it again, or something worse, like attempting to do it in another universe?" Cinder asked, making Kali shake her head.

"No. I've decided to trust you. And if you were to break that trust, then it would be my burden to bear, but it is a burden I'm willing to bear if it means I can improve your situation for now. I want to help you, and I do so by trusting you, and hoping you will return it someday with good intentions instead of taking advantage of it," Kali explained as she leaned back on the park bench and relaxed.

"Then, what was the point to talk to me? If you had already decided that is," Cinder asked, looking at the now relaxed Kali with confusion.

"Because I decided I wanted to tell it to you myself, because even if I had already decided that I would trust you, I wanted to see your reaction for myself and maybe... reassure myself I was making the right decision," Kali said, looking up at the almost completely cloudless, blue sky.

"So that's it? We're done on this front. You're certain you want to pardon Cinder for what she did?" Ruby asked, making Kali sigh as she sat up straight and looked at Ruby before answering.

"Yes Ruby. I want us to begin anew. I want to get to know Cinder and not hear about her and what she did, but rather get to know her as she is now. So with this matter cleared. What do you girls say we go and get ice-cream?" Kali asked suddenly, making both of the sisters blink in surprise.

"Um, sure. I guess? Cinder?" Ruby asked her sister who was looking at the ground, thinking about all that Kali had said. She didn't know how to react. A part of her wanted to rage at the looper and how foolish she was being, how she didn't see her as a threat and how she should be afraid of her. Another part of her however was relieved, glad that at least between the two of them, things would be over and they could get to know each other properly.

Making a decision, Cinder felt her anger evaporate as she put the past behind her and embraced the generously offered new beginning. With a smile, she looked up at Kali. "I'd like that very much."

* * *

 **79.2 LithosMaitreya**

* * *

"We should talk."

Cinder started and turned quickly. She blinked, her eyes dazzled by the burning gold of her sister's hair.

 _Sister…_

"Yang," Cinder said quietly. "Yes, I suppose we should."

Yang's face was even and expressionless as she tilted her head to the side, indicating a door in the great hall which led out into Beacon's courtyard. Cinder followed her out, completely ignoring the curious looks from Emerald and Mercury behind her.

Yang held the door open for her as she strode out into the crisp night air. She took a deep breath through her nose, relishing the faint breeze, just tinted with a hint of the salty tang of the nearby sea.

She let it out as a sigh as the door shut behind them with a click. She turned back. Yang was leaning against the door, her arms crossed, studying her through eyes which, in the gloom, lost their pale brightness and seemed dark and deep as the sky above.

"I've been wondering something," Yang said quietly. "I'm pretty sure I never told any Cinder besides the… _good_ one about the damn rat that was in my head, right?"

A muscle jumped unbidden in Cinder's jaw.

"Yeah, you know what I'm talking about," Yang said. "If there were two of you, how'd that Cinder know to make my nightmare?"

"Are you accusing me of lying?" Cinder asked lowly.

Yang cackled—a sharp, high sound. " _Lying_?" she asked breathlessly. "Honey, there are _so many_ things I could accuse you of. Why bother hunting for _lying_? No; your pocket's been checked _exhaustively_ ; no way you didn't have DID. I'm just trying to understand."

"The two personalities were only separate on a cognitive level," Cinder said tonelessly. "My subconscious mind was still whole, and still developed singular concepts for things. Essentially, when I found out about the Mew, that was added to my understanding of you, which was stored on a layer below the divide."

Yang nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said, "I figured it was something like that."

They were silent for a time.

"So, instinct?" Yang asked eventually. "Is that—"

"Yes," Cinder said. "The instinct to destroy, to hurt, to _break_ —that's all on a level below the conscious."

Yang watched her for a time. "I know," she said.

"I know you do," Cinder said without inflection.

"No," Yang said quietly, "you really don't."

"Don't I?" Cinder asked, and it came out as a hiss. "Is there a point to this, Yang, or is this just another interrogation?"

Yang closed her eyes. "Do you _want_ to be labeled an MLE, Cinder?"

"No!"

"Then shut up and listen."

Silence. The night was dark; the moon was new, and the stars twinkled coldly overhead. Golden light streamed out from the dining hall windows, casting long tracks of rich illumination across the grass and stone, but where they stood in the shadow of the door and the wall Cinder could barely even make out Yang's face.

"I've been every fire elemental you've probably heard of," Yang said quietly, "and some you haven't. I've been fire itself, even here on Remnant. I've been Ember, and Chroma, too—don't look so surprised, I've been in your pocket and talked to your people; I know you used Transference to get onto the moon.

"So when I say that I understand the instinct to destroy being on a level below the split, I don't think you _do_ understand what I mean. I've _been_ there. I've felt it too."

Yang snorted. "I may not have gone full rampage like Blake did, after what happened with Adam, but I quietly burned down my fair share of White Fang bases. You forget you're not the only pyrokinetic on Remnant, Cinder. Fire _burns_. It destroys, and it hungers, and it isn't easily stopped or held back. Direct, fierce, implacable, and unrelenting. So, yeah, I get it."

Cinder found she was shaking. "What's your point?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. It came out cold as ice. "So you get angry—"

Yang grinned. "I prefer… _Yangry_."

"Oh, for—" Cinder turned away as Yang started laughing. She made to stalk off, striding furiously away from the blonde.

"Hey, no, wait, come back!" Yang said, laughing even harder. "I'm sorry!"

"You're not," Cinder said flatly.

"No, you're right," Yang said agreeably. "I'm really, really not. Whoo, I needed that. Way to break the ice. Go, me."

Cinder rolled her eyes, still walking. "There's a time and a place for puns, Yang," she said.

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "The door to the dining hall, about thirty seconds ago. Come on, stop walking!"

Cinder did, and turned around. "What do you _want_ , Yang?" she asked tiredly.

"I want to talk," Yang said, her smile fading slightly. "I want to talk, and to try to understand."

"I you ask 'why'—" Cinder swallowed. "If one more person just comes up and asks 'why' without any specifics and expects me to have an answer, I will _scream_."

"I _know_ why," Yang snorted. "Nah. Why not?"

Cinder blinked. "What?"

"Why not?" Yang repeated, and her eyes were dark again. "Why aren't you plotting our downfall now? Why aren't you trying to tear us apart and bring down everything we've built? What's stopping you?"

Cinder's mouth moved soundlessly. "I—"she started, then shook herself violently. "How can you even _ask_ that?" she hissed violently. "How can you— as if it's _natural_ to want to shatter your own family and tear apart everyone you love! How—"

"So it's about love?" Yang asked.

" _Of course_ it's about love!" Cinder snarled. "What else would it be?"

Yang considered her for a moment. "Pragmatism," she offered. "Self-preservation. Long-term planning."

Cinder said something unprintable. " _That's_ what you think of me?" she glared. "That's what our sisterhood's worth to you?"

Yang considered her. "I want you to think really hard about what you just said," she murmured.

Slowly, the twist to Cinder's lips came undone. Her face slackened as she realized what she'd said. Her gaze fell away from Yang, looking to the ground. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

There was silence for a moment. Then Yang, in one motion, almost, it seemed, on impulse, took her into her arms, pulling her close.

"I forgive you," she said, and it meant more than a single argument. "I just needed to hear you say it. I love you too, Cinder."

Cinder felt tears in her eyes. "Yang," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"No more," whispered Yang, pressing her lips into Cinder's hair by her temple. "It's okay. I forgive you." She pulled away. "Ruby!" she called. "I know you're listening."

A flurry of rose petals and Ruby was there beside them, a massive smile stretched across her face. " _So_?" she asked.

Yang rolled her eyes at her. "Eavesdropping is bad," she said.

"Bah," Ruby seemed to wave the accusation away like a foul odor. "Eavesdropping, shmeavesdropping. Are you good, Yang? Can I…?"

Yang chuckled. "You can," she said. "Put me on the list."

Ruby threw herself bodily into both of their arms with a squeal and the three sisters went down in one pile of laughter.

* * *

 **79.3 KanameFujiwara**

* * *

"Ruby I need help!"

"What's the matter Jaune?"

"I have a clown as my partner!"

"That's... not so bad."

"He's one of those mass murdering clowns!"

"Oh no! Is it Kefka Palazzo?

"No."

"Is it the Joker?"

"No."

"Who is it then?"

"Ronald McDonald!"

* * *

 **79.4**

* * *

It was mere seconds after an Unawake Blake _and_ Weiss had walked off from her that Ruby found out why she was going to enjoy this particular Loop more than usual. Sure, Ozpin was Awake, and so was Cinder and two others, but without her team Loops just didn't have the same sort of charm for Ruby. As Ruby was down on her knees, waiting for her usual pick me up from Jaune, she saw exactly what was going to entertain her for the Loop.

"Mighty my Forge, look what we have here."

"I'll say Red, looks like a dopey little girl. Let's say we cheer her up."

The pair of red headed twins knelt and produced a bouquet with a flick of their hands. Ruby gasped in faux shock. "Oh that's so sweet of you, I hope it doesn't SQUIRT WATER ON ME." Ruby turned the bouquet over and aimed it at her new found pals, only to see the spring loaded boxing glove on the stem much too late.

The twins chortled at the girl who had tried to one up her. "Looks like you know us. By reputation or experience Little Red?"

"Reputation," Ruby admitted as she shook the stars from her gaze. "Hi, I'm Ruby Rose. I'm the Anchor for Remnant."

"We're Fred!"

"And he's George."

" **And I'm the Weasley Twins!** "

* * *

Glynda marched into the classroom with a stern light in her eyes, sweeping over the collected boys and girls before her. "Class, today we will be discussing the phenomenon known as Semblance. I am certain that many of you are familiar with the rarified nature of your Aura, as certain as I am that many of you also have no clue as to what it is."

"In the simplest of terms, your Semblance is a reflection of your inner essence. A signifier of whom and what you are. A liar may discover that their Semblance allows them to hide certain aspects of their self. A coward may find they have superspeed, or a way to distract others. As for myself, I am a teacher, dedicated to guiding you forward, and thusly my Semblance is to guide matter. Observe."

From Glynda's desk, a powder tin and a small puff levitated. The woman prepared the puff and applied the cosmetic to her face. "With years of experience and self-discovery, one is able to... what, ladies and gentlemen, do you find so funny?"

Everyone in the room was laughing under their breath, except Weiss who was gaping in shock. Glynda's apparent lack of realization for what was happening simply resulted in the laughter becoming overt, and the whole class burst into giggles and chortles and chuckles, with Cardin indulging himself in a full on belly laugh. The flustered and confused teacher scanned the room and her immediate vicinity, trying to discover whatever was causing such and uproar, and her gaze chanced upon a mirror on her desk. She had certainly not put that there. Glynda glanced into her reflection.

A white skinned clown with a big red nose glanced back.

* * *

It was barely a week into the semester when Port noticed the first sign, hanging from a tree on the path of his morning. It declared, with pomp and pride; 'our children will not be chopped!' Port, being a man of great intellect... no, I'm sorry, even I can't say that.

Port, being Port, shrugged the sign off and continued on his way.

The next day, two more signs declaring the protest of logging elder trees had joined the first. The axe wielding Huntsman scratched his head. "Hmm..."

Five more signs, some hanging, others driven into the earth, greeted Port the next time he went on a walk. Now they were vehemently protesting the ownership of "Florist Weaponry". Except for one sign that for some reason was insulting Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos. Port decided personally that he had had enough, collected the signs, and went back to his office.

Thirty signs were what he found the next day, all of them insulting either users of axes, fat people who stole signs from trees, or mustaches. Port decided that, whatever he he may have been, he would not, in any manner, abide insults to mustaches. Taking his ax, he reduced every sign that would denigrate his whiskers to firewood.

The signs that replaced those not ten minutes later declared Port a horrible "Florist". The man roared. "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!"

His answer amounted to a slap across the face from a tree.

* * *

The guitar riff was back. Ozpin could hear it, every second, every moment his name was spoken. It echoed out with its harmonious _TWANG_.

In response, Ozpin had swapped wardrobe to a leather gimp suit with a giant top hat, shoulder mounted flame throwers, and a double neck guitar. At which point he was sent a letter of congratulations and surrender. The Headmaster was pleased.

* * *

When Ruby walked into history class two weeks into her semester, she discovered that, for some reason, Doctor Oobleck was on fast forward... even by his standards.

"And so class welcome to this great day of learning and exploration. We shall begin by dissecting the complex geopolitical ramifications of the Faunus Rights Conflict. Let us begin."

...Is what he probably heard himself say. Everyone else heard a high pitched low volume screeching drone. The man himself was flickering across the room like a coked up Sonic the Hedgehog. He stopped, drank more coffee, went through his daily lecture, demonstrated maps, charts, and strings, handed out homework, and left for more coffee. Then everyone finished their blink.

* * *

The next week yielded little improvement. Glynda was now wearing a clown outfitted entirely, the school's foliage was on a twenty four hour protest march outside Port's office (and were apparently negotiating with _the lawns_ for monetary support), Oobleck depleting the Vale strategic coffee supply... and Coco was on her knees sobbing about the tragic offense to fashion that was Ozpin. Everyone else in the school had been pranked in some degree, from Blake to Weiss.

Except Cardin. He had been tragically mauled to death and then eaten whole by chipmunks after being slathered in peanut butter and stuffed into a wardrobe full of chipmunks. There had been a very somber and resolute eulogy and funeral for the poor man, during which everyone in attendance did their best to ignore Cardin, banging at the door into the atrium, trying to be let into his own funeral.

And as for Fred and George... oh boy, they were just getting started. But that is a story for another day.

* * *

 **79.5 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby Awoke walking along a street during the evening and was about to check her loop memories as someone next to her collapsed. Looking over, she saw Cinder lying still on the ground. "Cinder?" Ruby asked worriedly as she keeled down next to her to check on her. While Cinder's body was warm, Ruby couldn't find a pulse, and anything she did to try and save Cinder proved to be in vain. The answer as to what had happened did not appear in her loop memories, according to them, she was in a near hub-like loop and had before she Awoke been walking home with her sister.

It took Ruby some time to calm down and eventually realize what it was that had happened. Much like Marianne had said, would Cinder loop outside of Remnant, she'd immediately die. This had apparently been the case in this situation. Ruby was left to mourn and decide what she would tell her parents this loop. She was already in trouble for being late.

* * *

 **79.6**

* * *

"And now class, I, Professor Xiao Long, will be demonstrating the proper ways to do haymakers, counters, and windmill kicks."

"Yeah, that's cool dad, BUT WHY AM I THE PUNCHING BAG!?"

"Because Yang, I can't go easy on my own daughter. They'll think I was giving you preferential treatment, or something. Besides, you can take it."

"Eh, true. But I will get you back for this."

"Sure you will."

And let the waling commence.

* * *

 **79.7 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Agent K opened his locker, hoping to find another clue to solving the mystery he left behind for himself. He did not expect to be greeted by a locker full of small silver eyed teenage girls wearing read and black Gothic looking outfits with skirts and red capes who were all locket in fighting each other with mechanical scythes. While starring, the girls all soon took notice of him and greeted him with a collective cheer. "Cookies!"

Agent K wisely decided to simply give them all a cookie, in exchange, they gave him a watch which was supposed to be his next clue.

* * *

Ruby was enjoying this loop. Magical swords, and plenty of them easily accessible to all as long as they had money. Her favorite so far being the Excaliburger Magisword. Who wouldn't want to be able to summon flying, remote controlled and still edible burgers?

Of course, Ruby agreed with her brother for the loop Prohyas, no one could have too many Magiswords. She just wished he would let her have his Dolphin Magisword for her collection, but he refused, no matter what she offered in return, making her collection incomplete by the end of the loop. Hopefully she'd loop into that loop again some day, and hopefully it'd be a variant with a cookie Magisword.

* * *

Ruby opened the door to team RWBY's dorm room and stopped at the sight of a square log suspended mid-air in the middle of the room. Carefully walking up to it, she knocked on the bark to confirm that yes, it was warded just like last time.

Ruby considered for a while if she should attempt to find whoever it was that was doing this, but eventually decided to simply go with the much easier solution and simply pocketed the log, solving the problem.

* * *

Ozpin observed Ruby simply pocket the log he had warded with the help of a wand from a magical Minecraft variant. "Well, that's just plain cheating."

* * *

 **79.8 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

"You know, I never really trusted you."

Cinder started at the voice, and turned quickly to the doorway from which it had come. Leaning against the wall, his ever present flask in hand, Qrow met her surprised gaze unflinchingly.

"I tried to give you a chance. Treat you like just another part of the gang. For the sake of peace if nothing else. Even thought I could forget all the crap you did Baseline; something about you always struck me as dangerous though," he tapped the side of his head slightly. "Guess the old gut instinct wasn't too far off."

Frowning, Cinder turned away. "I suppose that means you've made your choice then."

Qrow grunted as he pushed himself off the wall and swaggered over to drop unceremoniously onto one of the beds; crossing one leg over the other and tucking one hand behind his head, the other motioning with his flask. "You could say that. Point is, I don't like you. Never have, can't really imagine I ever will. Too much bad blood carried over from the Baseline. But Ruby and Yang? They love you. Yang's a bit ticked off sure, but she'll come around. Her heart's too big to do anything else. As far as they're concerned, you're family. Which means, like it or not, that makes _us_ family too."

Glaring at the lounging Hunter, Cinder grit her teeth. "What, _exactly_ , is your point?"

Qrow looked up unconcernedly, before shrugging and tossing back a bit of his drink. "Don't know. Can't say I really have one. Thing is, I probably could'a done something about all this crap if I'd tried something a bit sooner. For a long time, my Semblance was just something to do with crows. The bad luck bit's a recent addition so to speak; something that popped up now and again, enough so that I'd notice but not so much that I made any assumptions. Can't blame my not stepping in on that little detail. In the end, I guess the reason I chose not to spend much time around you all comes back to the fact that I just don't like you."

"Wonderful. Now that we've gotten that cleared up, you can leave. I doubt Ruby will hold your opinion against you, so you can just go now."

Qrow barked out a laugh. "Yeah, you're probably right about that. Ruby's too good for this world. Definitely too good for an old bastard like me to call family. But that's the thing, now isn't it? She still does. I'm a washed up old drunk who can't get close to someone without hurting them, you're a crazy bitch who can't decide if she wants to roast people or the Thanksgiving turkey. And Ruby cares enough about the both of us to call us family anyway. Really says something about how good a job Tai did with her. S'why I decided to give you another shot."

Cinder blinked in confusion, before her jaw fell. "What?"

Qrow cracked up. "Damn. That face. Wish I had brought my camera, Winter would'a loved to see that one."

"What are you talking about? You just got done telling me how much you hate me, and now you're saying you trust me enough to sign off on my papers? That doesn't make any _sense!_ "

"Well not when you put it like that it doesn't. Course, I didn't say that. Either of them. Never said I hated you, I said I don't like you. I'm giving you a chance to change my mind. More often than not I don't like Tai when I first meet him either, but just about every time we end up thick as thieves. Actually, scratch that. Need a new phrase, it doesn't work the same way when people like Roman are part of your social circle. Point is, half the time I punch the guy within a week and somehow I still end up best friends with him. Also didn't say I trusted you. But I trust Ruby. And if she says you're good to go, then that's enough for me."

Cinder stayed silent, utterly baffled by the man before her. Qrow just chuckled, and got up to leave. "So I guess congratulations are in order. You bring the cake, I'll bring the strippers. See you out there in your next Fused Loop."

Pausing at the door, his hand on the knob, he spoke one last time; not turning around as he did so. "Oh, and hey? Try not to make me regret this. I said I'd give you a shot, so don't waste it. Cause you ain't getting another one."

With that he pulled open the door, catching Emerald and Mercury off-guard as he did so, and headed out; ruffling Emerald's hair to distract her from the vial of stolen Dust he slipped into her back pocket. That would be hard to explain when the police came knocking in about ten minutes.

Messing with her hair angrily, Emerald directed a curious look towards the still silent Cinder. "Who was that?"

Cinder looked out where Qrow had wandered off blankly, before sighing softly. "I suppose... he's my uncle."

* * *

 **79.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

"When," Emerald ground out, "was I demoted to your walking shelf?"

Cinder shrugged, pulling a spare sheet of paper out from between Emerald's breasts and tapping it with her pencil. "Honestly I'm just seeing how far I can go with this."

"This is demeaning. This is demeaning and stupid and-"

"Hey Cinder." Blake waved as she walked up, pulling a bookmark from Yang's bosom and marking the place in her novel. "How are things?"

"Eh, so-so. I actually have something to talk to you about, if you've got time."

"Sure." Blake stuck her book between Yang's boobs. "Let me see what you've got planned."

The two of them walked off, leaving Emerald staring after them.

Yang glanced at her. "So... sketching materials? Gotta be difficult to keep that all organized."

Emerald flushed. "How are you okay with this?!"

"You only get this casual with somebody very close to you." Yang shrugged. "It's a gesture of trust. Or possibly we're all in on this and playing a prank on you, so whatever."

* * *

 **78.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

Cinder steadied herself as she caught sight of the woman approaching. "Hello, Winter. I-"

That was as far as she got before a fist slammed into her face with surprising force.

She blinked. "...That was-"

The fist's twin decided to follow suit.

"Okay, I see that-"

Cinder was cut off by the return of the fist.

After a moment, she held up a finger-and found the other fist coming back for more.

There was a lull in the conversation.

Winter gave her a final one-two, and then a firm nod. "Hello, Cinder."

Cinder reached up, resetting her nose. "Okay. I would have expected something like that from Qrow, not you."

"You made my brother into a vampire."

She froze.

"My little brother. A vampire on that battlefield. I had to kill him." Winter crossed her arms. "Whitley and I may not be close-far from it-but he. Is. A. Child. And more then that, he's a child that has never known any love but the twisted mockery that Jacques dangles in front of him. And he is my brother-he never lost that, not really, even though he hasn't earned it yet."

Cinder took a breath. "I-"

"And that," Winter said forcefully, "was the least of your crimes. Quite frankly, I'm amazed Penny is handling herself so well-I would have expected some sort of breakdown by now. You were insane, yes. You were driven mad by forces beyond our control, by a monster masquerading as a god. But there's a difference between knowing something is true and feeling it."

"...that is... understandable."

Winter watched her carefully.

"...In all these talks," Cinder mused, "I've begun to realize that merely apologizing-and I do regret what I did-is not... going to be enough. Promising that I am trying to get better-and I am-it's not going to be enough. I've done something so horrible that to even attempt it I needed to pull off a billion ordinarily horrific acts. And... that is going to stain my every interaction from now on." She looked at Winter, face bleeding. "But what else can I do? Offer myself as a punching bag? Become the slave of Remnant's Loopers? I... I have no idea where to go from here, Winter. I don't know what you want me to say."

The white-haired woman sighed. "I don't know either. At this point, I feel it would be easier to ignore you, but... that's not an option." She took a breath. "But at least you recognize the difficulty, and are attempting to do something."

They stood there for a moment or two.

"The list is to determine whether or not we think you're an MLE," Winter finally continued. "It does not say we think you're sane, that we think you're redeemed, that we even like you. I'll sign my name, Cinder, but understand this: it is not an endorsement. Just a statement of fact."

She spun on her heels and walked briskly away.

* * *

 **79.10 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"Hey guys," Ruby greeted her team as she came into the dorm room holding Zwei under her left arm. "You'll never guess what Zwei and I picked up in our last loop together!" she said cheerfully.

"From your choice of words and the fact that we were all Awake your last loop and you didn't tell us then, I'm assuming its something that requires the two of you to work, right?" Weiss asked, getting a nod from Ruby. "Okay, I'll bite. What kind of ability did the two of you pick up?" She asked, only tog get a large grin from Ruby in response.

"Zwei, go! Synchronize!" Ruby shouted as she threw Zwei into the air. Zwei barked in confirmation and began glowing red before disintegrating into what anyone familiar with the Kill la Kill loop would unmistakably identify as life-fibers. As he transformed, the life-fibers enveloped Ruby. However, as the transformation seemed to complete, it reveled Ruby looking just as she had done before the transformation, only now with a few red highlights in her hair.

"Wait a minute... You're trying to say that Zwei's now a Kamui, and that upon transformation, he looks just like your regular clothes?" Yang asked before shaking her head in disbelief. "Man, you certainly had it easier than me, after my first transformation, the loop almost turned into a reverse harem loop. I'm just so glad I had Blake with me and managed to get almost all the attention off of me by revealing that Blake and I are an item." Yang said.

Weiss and Ruby gave Yang a look before looking at Blake.

"It's true, we looped in instead of Ryūko and Mako, we decided to finish the rest of the loop without having Yang transform in public." Blake explained, her expression souring slightly from the memories of that loop as the narrative casualty had shifted after Yang's first transformation and how she had spent most of the time that loop fighting off others who thought they had a chance with Yang.

"Well, I do believe that's understandable since the Kamui usually result in rather exposing outfits and... wait, in public?"

"Oh, well. It's an entirely different story behind closed doors," Yang said as she hooked her hand around Blake. "She just can't resist me when I bust out my Kamui. She simply-"

"Yang!" Blake interrupted her partner while Ruby and Weiss avoided thinking about where the conversation was heading.

"TMI, TMI!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Alright, alright. Geez. So, did the two of you enjoy that loop?" Yang then asked Ruby.

"Oh, yes. It was real fun. You should have seen the face of Satsuki as she transformed for the first time, she really didn't expect to be half naked after transforming with Junketsu." Ruby said chuckling.

"Speaking of, do you know why Zwei's transformation differs that much from every Kamui in the multiverse so far, barring variants?" Weiss asked, intrigued. Ruby just shrugged.

"I don't really know, maybe Zwei does. Zwei?"

"Ruby, we both know the answer to that. I just don't see why you can't simply tell them," Zwei's voice came from Ruby's clothes. Making Blake furrow her brows before her eyes turned red with black dots in them, making her cover her mouth with a hand and blush. Resulting in a death glare from Ruby, telling Blake to keep silent about what she was seeing. Leaving Yang and Weiss to look from one to the other.

"Okay, what's going on?" Yang and Weiss asked together, making Ruby break the glare and sigh.

"Fine, I'll tell you. This isn't how Zwei actually looks upon transforming, it's just that upon transformation, he doesn't become one big Kamui for my entire body, but instead wraps around each and every chibi me that makes up my body. I can make it look like I'm still wearing the same clothes, but Blake's sharingan can see through it." Ruby explained.

"Well, now that's just got me curious, could you show us how Zwei actually looks or-"

"NO!" Zwei, Ruby and Blake interrupted Yang together.

"Believe me, it's worse than yours," Blake explained to Yang. "You really don't want to see your sister in a Kamui," Blake said before she began leading Yang towards their side of the room. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to take care of business." Blake said before shutting the screen, leaving Weiss, Ruby and Zwei alone. After a moment of silence, Weiss turned towards Ruby and spoke.

"Right, if it has that kind of reaction on Blake, I don't want to see it either. I think Yggdrasil would begin putting me in loops just to make me question my sexuality if I did," Weiss said, Ruby nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it would probably do something like that. Okay Zwei, you can transform back now," Ruby said, resulting in the life-fibers that were Zwei to flow out of her.

"Thank you Ruby. Now I'm going to go see about finding Roman and see if I can steal his hat without him noticing." Zwei said as he reformed into his usual form and left the room.

* * *

 **79.11 KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

"So Blake asked for a weapon swap this Loop?" Ruby asked, handing over her gun-scythe.

Weiss nodded as she picked up the replica of the Anchor's weapon. "Yeah, she originally just wanted to do it with me though. Yang thought it was interesting so I decided we make it a team thing."

Ruby nodded as she began adjusting the Ember Celica to fit her much smaller hands.

"Any idea why?"

"Well I'm not sure but I think she wanted to-"

The heiress was cut off as the door to their room slammed opened. In the entrance stood Blake wearing a cavalier's hat and large leather shoes. Taking Myrtenmaster from her side, she whirled it a bit before shouting.

"¡Mirad!" she cried.

Yang covered her mouth to prevent her giggles.

"Puss in Boots? Really?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.

Blake nodded.

"Sí señorita," she said with a complete deadpan.

* * *

 **79.12 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"So... what do we do about this?" Yang asked, looking at Ruby who had bags under her eyes and looked absolutely terrible as she slept in her bed.

"I don't know. We really should have told her to check her loop memories before leaving her alone with them," Blake responded, feeling terrible.

"Look, there's no sense in standing here and regretting what we can't undo. We need to figure out how to fix this. We can't let Ruby die, the loop will end and we'll all probably go to Eiken!" Weiss reminded the two of the problem on hand.

"I know, dammit. Why did cookies have to be highly addictive and poisonous this loop?" Yang asked, receiving no answer from Yggdrasil.

* * *

 **79.12**

* * *

Roman, naturally, represents himself in every law case.

"But you see your honor, my theft of sixty million Lien is perfectly legal in the context of self defense and an emergency situation. As these documents and communication transcripts show, I had no other choice."

"Hmm, you're right. Case dismissed."

* * *

 **79.13 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"So... do things like these happen often?" Sun asked, looking around the infinite void around him that was space.

"That depends if it's a gag loop or not. This one seems to be tailored after your name specifically however," Ruby answered as she flew by.

"Yeah, thanks. I got it. I'm the sun, because my name is Sun, ha ha," Sun said while looking around at the other loopers surrounding him. Ruby was the closest planet to him, she was apparently also made entirely out of ruby, go figure. Yang and Blake were both next. Yang being an eternally burning gas planet while Blake circled around her as a moon. An unAwake Neptune was an ocean planet able to support life and Weiss, the one farthest away from him was an ice planet. "What I don't get, is why we all still have faces and how we can speak to each other in the vacuum of space."

"Sun. Don't question it. Loops like these are not supposed to be questioned, they just are and-"

"I don't care, it doesn't make sense! I mean, sound is the movement of atoms, yet we're able to hear each other perfectly fine in a vacuum devoid of the necessary atoms to &/-72# -"(/%)#)#"/¤=?

And Sun crashed the loop by questioning it... Oh well.

* * *

 **79.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

"WHY ARE YOU USING MY SUITCASES AS A BED?!"

"Boredom, mostly."

Weiss Schnee growled at the strange red-headed girl who had casually dismissed her bellboys. "Do you have any idea who I am?!"

"Ah, more an idea then you." The red-head wriggled on the suitcases, letting out a quiet moan. "You know, self-chiropracty is kinda hard, but when you do it just right-"

"Get off my suitcases!"

"Chill, sister, you only need ask."

Weiss's eye twitched as the girl remained atop her luggage. "...Would you. Please. Get off. My stuff."

With an appeasing hum, the girl... rolled off into a standing position. "May you find balance in your time here, sister."

"I am not your sister."

"We are all brothers and sisters in the flow of life. Most of us that came into being did so through love, and even those that did not can find love for themselves. For in the end, are we not motes upon a rock? Yet even so how have we transformed it! Our glory is fleeting, sister, and all the brighter for it." The redhead leaned close. "We shall join to shine against the dark. This, I say, is certain."

"...Alright," Weiss said slowly, "I can see there's _something_ going on in that head of yours. But you need to learn proper manners!"

"Oh, I have learned. I have also learned to be unconcerned." The redhead swayed, her silver eyes shutting as she began to hum.

Weiss leaned back, glancing around awkwardly; her eyes fell on a dark-haired girl sitting nearby, clearly hiding her amusement behind a book. "Um. Hey. There's... somebody there, who looks philosophical. Maaaaaybe you could talk to her?"

The redhead smiled gently. "She will talk to me in her own time. And perhaps, to you; you both are imbalanced by the same force, though in different ways."

"Riiiiiiight. I'm... going to put my stuff away now." With rushed speed, Weiss gripped her suitcases and fled the scene.

* * *

 **79.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...well." Jenny half smiled. "That... was fun."

"Yeah."

"...Glyn? You okay?"

"...last I checked, it was ninety three loops for her."

Jenny took a sharp breath. "Oh."

"I'm sorry, I..." Glynda sighed. "I shouldn't be bringing this up-"

"We knew this would come. Both of us, we... we knew it wouldn't last forever."

"It hasn't come yet." Glynda snuggled closer. "And really... I think I'll be okay, I have... I have friends."

Silence filled the dark room.

"...You're worried about me."

"Yes."

"Glyn, you know I've had plenty of one-loop stands before. I'll be fine-"

"Jenny, you... you haven't really had to define yourself before. You've always been the supporter, the sudden help from nowhere, cheerfully assisting the good guys and then wandering off into the sunset."

"What's your point?"

"You've never had... something like this. You've never had a conflict that was about you, personally. It was always about what the right thing to do was, or how to help others, but-this is more personal for you, isn't it?"

"...maybe... maybe it is. I... honestly? I haven't had time to compare anything like this." Jenny ran her hand through Glynda's hair gently. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"I don't-well. Maybe I do want you to say something, but more importantly I want to know what _you_ want to say."

"I... I... I..." Jenny paused. "I... can't... I don't know, Glynda."

There was silence, for a moment or two.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know. I don't know what... what I'm supposed to say here-"

"Just say what you want."

"But that's it, I-I don't know what I want to say! I mean I... this is intense. I've never... I can't... I'm trying to find... words. But I... I'm not sure. It's... I haven't been this unsure in... I'm sorry, Glynda. Can't I just... can't I just focus on making you happy? Just for now?"

Glynda took a breath. "...For now. But... when the time comes, I'll want an answer. Alright?"

"Alright. I... I will think about this."

The quiet dark settled in... for about ten seconds.

"...Speaking of making you happy... you, uh, up for another round?"

"...eh, what the hell, I don't have to teach a class for another hour."

* * *

 **79.16 Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

Signal's Dust Studies teacher (for this loop), Taiyang, was grading papers with an unusually cheerful look on his face. Nobody really batted an eye, but for a loop without any of Beacon's Faculty Looping to give him an easy in, this would normally be a rather depressing loop. That said, this loop some of his students weren't shadow people, meaning that, for once, the faceless masses he was supposed to try and teach weren't entirely literally faceless.

The students, unable to realize this, were utterly confused why their teacher could only recognize, like, five people. The oddity hadn't been lost on them, and while theories about it being a memory issue or a prank had been debunked by the 'class favorites' themselves, there had been still plenty of theories going around. Everything from a Semblance gone wrong, government conspiracies, a psychology study being done on the students, and even the ever present but little believed theory about aliens being involved were thrown about and discussed to no end.

The current front-runner had been that he needed some glasses, but didn't want it to mess with his look. The ones he recognized DID dress a bit outlandishly, after all.

As the students passed notes and did some classwork, Taiyang suddenly straightened up. Before anyone could ask the obvious questions, though, a wall of SOUND smashed all of the windows in the classroom as an object smashed into the parking lot near their classroom. One student, who had been grabbing a sample of Dust, had ended up forcefully flung into a trash can due to their proximity to the explosion, but they were thankfully unharmed otherwise.

Taiyang, the responsible teacher he was, quickly checked the students for any injuries or bits of glass stuck to them and _tried_ to escort them to the safe zones.

Unfortunately, he was dealing with pre-teens and teenagers, so naturally they began to sneak away from him in droves the moment he had his back turned. Feeling curious himself, he took a page from Ozpin's book and decided to escort the students to the crash site himself so that no one accidentally fused with an alien life form or something equally ludicrous.

What they found there was a bit odd.

A strange, spherical device no larger than a baseball laid there in the center of the crater. Aside from a red pane of glass, the entire thing was a disconcertingly colored black and white combination, though whether the black was from some sort of paint job or soot was up for debate until it cooled off. Taiyang, with a quick lecture and a spare bit of junk mail, was able to demonstrate that convection was still a thing and that they shouldn't go near the device, but he could tell it was barely working given by how twitchy some of the students looked. Or maybe it was just nerves.

This quickly changed when the device shot up, startling everyone into taking a couple steps back in a right hurry. The device, 'righting' itself so that the red pane of glass faced them, proceeded to shoot out a wide, sweeping laser light, bathing them all in an ominous red as it scanned them. The beam then narrowed and re-scanned Taiyang.

"IDENTITY OF THE RECIPIENT 'Taiyang Xiao-Long' CONFIRMED," proclaimed an ominous, mechanical voice, interrupted partway through by the voice of a plucky sounding girl. "PRESENCE OF INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT THE AUTHORIZED PERMISSIONS DETECTED. PROCEED WITH COMMUNICATIONS RELAY?"

Taiyang, recognizing Ruby's voice, responded in affirmation. His students all began to murmur before the light began to concentrate in front of their teacher in the form a girl in a red hood.

"Wait, is that Ruby Rose?" Muttered one of the recognizable students, a kid in a sensible, but still blindingly blue haircut, before the device spoke up again.

"Hey Dad!" Ruby Rose's hologram waved exuberantly.

"Hey there, kid. What's with the explosive entrance?"

"Oh, sorry dad, but that's how Salem had set things up this Loop."

The class turned to each other, murmurs furious as their teacher lectured his daughter on how launching something like a meteor in a populated area was dangerous. They were confused, however, when he dropped the subject after his daughter said, and they would quote to everyone who asked them about this, "I completely forgot about physics after going through 50 chibi loops in a row."

"So, where exactly are you that you'd have to send, well, this to talk to me?"

"I'm in Salem's Moon base!" she said as casually as someone might when they're talking about the weather. "She seems to be a generic supervillain this loop."

"A _supervillain_!?" exclaimed a shadow person, who had a cowardly deathgrip on an androgynous lizard Faunus.

The rest of the class began to panic, worried chatter coming from them until Taiyang pulled out his dragon shaped airhorn and blasted everyone with its obnoxious honk. Once their ears had recovered, their teacher quickly put a halt to the rest of the chatter with a quick threat of detention before turning back to his daughter.

"I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, Salem had a Moon Base this loop, so me and Sun went to take it out before it became a problem." At this, Ruby's face got a bit sheepish. "Unfortunately, we accidentally destroyed the escape shuttles, so we needed to contact Weiss for a ride home. We'd have sent this to Beacon, but it's outfitted with anti-air defenses this time around and it keeps gunning them down."

"Alright, but, umm..." The elder Xiao Long looked uncomfortable, scratching the back of his head. "Why didn't you just... fly down? Aren't you supposed to be some sort of... Chibi mass that doesn't need to breath?"

"It's a Null Loop," she said, a look of pain and sadness briefly flashing across her face as she saw her father's discomfort.

"...ok, but now I am wondering how you got onto the Moon in the first place."

"We stole a ship from Roman when he tried to use Cinder's ship to escape the authorities."

He shook his head and sighed. "Alright. I'll pass on the message. Do you have enough supplies?"

"Enough to last us until the end of the loop, if it comes to it."

"Well, I hope you have a good time. If that Sun boy tries anything though-" the dad threatened with a finger wag.

"Hey!" came a voice from some unseen direction. "I'm oblivious at my worst, not a creep! ...Wait a second..."

"Just making sure," Taiyang warned before his tone reverted back to a more casual manner of speaking. "See you later!"

"Bye!" And with a wave from the girl on the Moon Base, the device turned off and fell back into the crater.

It was silent for a few moments. The teacher had turned around to note the shocked and confused expressions on his students' faces (or the ones on the five or so he could see, anyway). With a tilt of his head and a raised eyebrow, he addressed his charges.

"What? You haven't ever seen a dad and his daughter talk via hologram before? Live a little, why don't you."

Predictably, the alien theory screamed to first place in the rankings among the student body, followed hotly on its heels by the newly formed 'He's a superhero who can't see normal people' posit.

* * *

 **79.17 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Jaune Awoke in a world made out of Lego. Before Awakening, he had been happy. However, upon receiving his loop memories, Jaune saw how sad of a life he had actually lived in this loop and decided to try and do something about it. However, his plans were interrupted as he somehow got stuck with an artifact of some kind on his back and found out he was some kind of chosen one this loop. He had to say, being a master builder was a pretty cool thing and he was able to have a lot of fun with it.

* * *

Pyrrha came home late, only to find her son and daughter still up, once again playing with the building blocks called Lego that her husband's semblance summoned. "Jaune, did you all stay up late building with those things again?" Pyrrha questioned, looking at her husband. The trio of Awake loopers looked at the unAwake Pyrrha and chuckled nervously.

"Um, yes?" Jaune said, knowing he was in for a lecture.

"Unbelievable!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "Jaune, I really love to see you spending so much time with our children, but you're acting like a kid! Ren and Nora need to be asleep by eight a clock. They have school tomorrow!"

"But mooooom!" Nora protested only for Pyrrha to glare at her.

"No Nora, this is not debatable. Ren, take your sister and prepare for bed. I need to have a talk with your father." Pyrrha said, now directing her glare to Jaune who gulped nervously. Ren wisely obliged and slunk away with his sister while Pyrrha used her semblance to lock the doors.

"We need to talk." She told Jaune only to stagger as she Awoke. "I'm feeling loopy." She quickly informed Jaune who replied with a wide smile.

"Welcome home." He said, making Pyrrha smile in response before walking up to him and kissing him.

"We still need to talk about you keeping Ren and Nora awake though." She said as she pulled away from the kiss. Jaune chuckling nervously at that.

* * *

"Weiss, why does everyone in team JNPR have weapons partially made out of Lego this loop?" Ruby asked as she saw said team administer brutal devastation to a pack of Grimm.

"Apparently Jaune had the semblance to summon unlimited amounts of Lego in a previous loop. And all of team JNPR abused it to its fullest by filling their pockets with it to the brim. He can apparently build almost anything he can imagine as long as he has the parts, and it is extremely effective when it comes to Lego apparently." Weiss explained, having asked Pyrrha herself.

"Oh." Ruby simply said in understanding as she continued watching team JNPR teaching Grimm to fear the pointy building blocks that hurt to step on.

By the end of the loop, most Grimm that couldn't fly and had lived long enough knew to watch their feet for Lego whenever encountering Huntsmen.


	80. Old Problems, New Zaniness

**80.1 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So... that's a lot of magazines..." Yang said, looking up at the skyscraper made entirely out of stacked magazines, protected the wind with a spell or two to prevent the entire thing from falling over.

"Yes, yes it is," Weiss responded calmly while reading one of the magazines.

"So, where did it come from?" Blake asked, curious, much like the citizens of Vale.

"Ruby's pocket," Weiss explained. "She said she had to clean some things out and had to make some space while doing so, so she temporarily dumped out all of her magazines." She turned the page.

"Wait, all of them?" Yang asked.

"Yes, why?" Weiss asked, looking at Yang with a quirked eyebrow.

Yang smiled and looking at the skyscraper. "Blackmail. I'm going to find her porn," she responded, making Weiss roll her eyes and Blake facepalm.

"Yang, why would she have porn magazines?" Blake asked. "There are so many better ways to hide and store/save your porn. Most of this is probably just magazines about weapons not really seen anywhere else."

Yang to give her a funny look. "Wait, neither of you store any porn in your pocket in the form of magazines?" she asked from one on top of one of the stacks of magazines. Both Weiss and Blake shook their heads. "Huh, guess I'm just old-fashioned like that," Yang said before continuing your search.

"Wait, you're still looking?" Blake asked, confused.

"Well, yeah. I mean, she's might still have some, from an early loop or something. Besides, if she got regular magazines, then why not porn as well?" Yang reasoned before continuing to search through the stacks.

Blake turned to Weiss calmly. "There's no porn in there, is there?"

"Nope. Already checked it for any possible blackmail."

"Thought so," Blake said while looking back at Yang, who was already halfway to the top.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.2 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby stood at the top of a hill, an old-fashioned golf hat on her head, and golf club in hand. "Fore!" she shouted as she hit the ball she had placed beforehand and watched it sail off into the horizon before repeating the action with several more golf balls and turning towards Weiss who was using a pair of binoculars to see the result. "So, did I get it?"

"Wait a second, I'm still- no wait. Yes, right on target. Huh." Weiss handed over some documents from her pocket. "I really didn't expect you to manage it. Where did you learn to play golf like that?" Weiss asked, receiving a smile from Ruby.

"I spent a loop as Ruby Gilmore."

-/-

Salem was watching over her collection of "colleagues". Today they would make the plans that would let them bring chaos to Remnant and destroy the Hunter academies. Standing up to speak, Salem suddenly found herself knocked over and flung across the room, her Aura failing after barely managing to save her life. The rest of her company did not fare any better as all of them too were hit in the head and sent skidding into the wall, all of them unconscious.

-/-

"Not even Happy Gilmore is that good," Weiss pointed out.

"Followed by a few other golf loops," Ruby explained, still smiling. "It is surprising how helpful it is to be a golf ball for a loop."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.3 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Soooooo Sun."

"Yes Yang?"

"As a warm-blooded teenage guy, and knowing that I won't sock you for your answer, on a scale of one to ten, how sexy am I?"

"Oh. Well. Geeze. Uh... well... I mean, uh, you've got great hair-"

"Very proud of it."

"Aaaand you've got... nice legs, and an attractive layer of muscle everywhere-"

"I work out."

"...Pretty face, with very lovely eyes."

"Sometimes I get enraptured with my own reflection."

"Um. You have... an incredibly provocative fashion sense, even for Remnant."

"Yeah, well, when you've got it flaunt it."

"...andyouhaveniceboobs-"

"Always important."

"So... if I really had to give you a number... um..."

"I said I wouldn't sock you."

"...Uh. Eight out of ten?"

"Eight?"

"Yeah, sorry, your ability to become a rage-powered destructor and sudden swerves into seriousness aren't exactly turn-offs, I do like them, but not that way. So, yeah. Eight out of ten."

"Hmm. That's fair I suppose. Of course it does lead me to another question."

"Yeah?"

"If I'm such a drop-dead gorgeous sexy bombshell, who can fan the flames of lust even in those who know better and are wise enough not to act on it... why, exactly, didn't you go 'exploring' when you looped in as me?"

"What?"

"You heard me. You had to have seen yourself in the mirror and thought, hey, wow, that's-"

"I... felt that... my first time as a female should be myself as a female. So that I... wouldn't have awkward associations."

"...huh. Wow. Congratulations, you found your way out of that trap faster than I expected."

"Well, yeah. I've been talking with you for, what, seventy loops now? I know your tricks."

"Not all of them."

"But enough to spot the new ones."

"...Darn, I've trained you too well. Fine, fine. You win this round, monkey-boy, but you'd best be on your guard."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.4 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I like this variant... but it is also kind of weird," Penny said in her chibi form.

"You know, I never thought about it, but these chibi loops have never had Penny in them before. Also, the loop itself is odd, we all have loop memories that confirm baseline, yet Pyrrha is present in this variant, and Penny usually isn't. Why is that?" Ruby questioned, scratching the top of her head.

"I do not know Ruby, but does it truly matter? It's a variant, one not supported as canon by either hub world backups or our own baseline. Let's just enjoy it," Weiss reasoned.

"Yeah, you're right Weiss. I won't think about it."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.5 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun liked the ocean. Baseline put him on boats more than any other of Remnants loopers, so by comparison he Woke up to the nice calm seas pretty often.

It also gave him something of a head start if Yang or Roman were after him. Not that he stood a chance anyway, but even the oldest loopers had a hard time getting to him in a null loop.

Several pings came in response to his own as he stared up at the dark night sky. Seconds later, a flurry of rose petals flew through the air.

"Hey Sun," Ruby greeted him as she sat down. "Feeling Loopy?"

"Nah, I got myself an Anchor," Sun replied with a wink. Ruby rolled her eyes as he patted the ship's anchor they were sitting on.

"That was _pathetic_!" Yang's staticky voice faintly filled the air. Sun winced at Ruby's chuckle. Yang had given him a device of her own making so that he could "work on those things you call puns _without_ offending my sensibilities." He wasn't allowed to put it away, and she had neglected to mention just what exactly its standards were.

"...I'm not going to ask," Ruby muttered before she continued. "I've been trying to catch you on an overlapping loop for a while now. Do you think you're ready to...talk to Cinder?"

"Oh, is this about my vote?" Sun queried.

"Sort of," She hedged. "It's not like you have to talk to her if you don't want to. It's just..."

"No, I get it." He replied with a sigh. "It would be kind of unfair to make a decision without even giving her that much."

Ruby grinned. "You're a good person Sun, you know that?"

"Thanks Rubes," Sun replied. "I'm not sure there's much of a point though."

"What? Why?"

"Well I just don't know anything about Cinder," Sun replied as he leaned back against the ship. "I get that she's pretty bad in baseline, and the she's pretty... _different_ as a looper, but none of that really touches me ya' know?"

"I guess not," Ruby replied with a thoughtful frown.

"Don't get me wrong: I remember just how badly your team gets hit by it all in baseline, and it's been pretty impossible to ignore _that_ loop." He shrugged. "But that's not who we're dealing with anymore. Is it."

"No. It isn't." Ruby's reply was firm. Sun nodded.

"So as much as I hate what she did, and despite the alter ego that we face in baseline." Sun shrugged. "I just can't see any reason to vote no."

"Huh." Ruby was slightly nonplussed. "Don't you remember anything from that loop? The things she did..."

"Oh I remember," Sun replied dryly. "That was pretty much hell."

"So why aren't you more angry?"

Sun sighed once more and looked out to the stars. "Do you ever wonder what happens to the stars, Ruby?"

"Every now and then. Why?"

"They're supposed to be impossibly far away, incomprehensibly massive, and infinite in number. But baseline doesn't have any definite constellations, so in the blink of an eye, they could disappear entirely. An entire _universe_ just... gone."

"This is oddly philosophical for you," Ruby pointed out. "What are you getting at?"

"The only constants in this world are the loopers," Sun answered. "There's what, twenty of us? I _already_ have to deal with the fact that Blake and Yang and I are going to be stuck around each other for a long time."

"But you're working through that with them."

"Sure. But only because _I don't have any choice._ " Sun shook his head. "Think about it. If the universe wasn't broken, I could have just moved somewhere else and made new friends. Here I have to stick around because my only _real_ option is this small circle that just awkwardly happens to include my blatant crush and her jealous fiancé."

"I thought you liked us though." Ruby sounded a little hurt.

"Well _duh,_ " Sun replied with a snort. "Haven't you seen the backups? I'm just talking hypotheticals here. My point is that Cinder is a part of my world now, like it or not."

"That's true...but it doesn't mean you have to give her your stamp of approval," Ruby replied reluctantly. She wasn't used to arguing this side of things.

"It doesn't." Sun nodded. "But it does beg the question: what would I accomplish by voting against her?"

"Well, for starters, she could be labelled an MLE."

"Right. She'd be blacklisted in all the branches outside of Remnant. Feared and hated. Hunted." He frowned again. "As much as I might like the revenge aspect. It feels counterproductive if my goal is to encourage her rehabilitation."

"Then you think she should just get away with it?" Ruby asked, confused. Sun merely raised an eyebrow.

"Is she?"

Ruby thought back. Cinder hadn't exactly had an easy time of things since she tried to Ascend, which only made sense. Ignoring the anger she had inspired, there was the guilt she felt from all the pain she caused. Her pocket was in chaos. She was walking on eggshells constantly. She avoided Pyrrha like Penny had given her personal lessons. On top of all that she had to work through the reconciliation of two seriously disparate selves.

"No." Ruby responded at last, her voice soft. "She hasn't."

"Well. There you have it," Sun replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. He stood and stretched.

"Wait so does that mean you're okay with her not being labeled an MLE?" Ruby asked.

"Yup." Sun jumped up to the deck, setting the anchor swinging as he did so. He was surprised then, when a red blur impacted him from the front as Ruby hugged him happily.

"I'm so glad you started looping," Ruby mumbled into his shirt. Sun smiled as he ruffled her hair.

"Me too, Rubes," Sun replied. "Although I kinda wish it had been a far less painful process for the rest of you."

"Are you sure you don't need to talk to Cinder?" she asked him as she stepped back, releasing him from her death grip.

"Eh, I probably should at some point," Sun replied. "But it can wait. Where is she anyway?"

Ruby chuckled as he looked around. "In my pocket actually. She didn't want to bother you if you weren't up for talking." She got a thoughtful look. "She's probably really confused right now actually, since I was just supposed to ask you a yes or no question and then let her know what you said."

"Huh." Sun grinned. "Maybe we can talk a little longer then."

"Sun," Ruby scolded, clearly trying to suppress a smile. She smacked him on his arm.

"Ow!" Sun laughed. "I never said payback was _completely_ off-limits. Just tell her I wouldn't let you leave once we got to talking."

"Fine," Ruby replied with a huff. "But I'll only wait around if you can make this entertaining."

Sun grinned. "Did I ever tell you about the time Yang and I stole Roman's hat?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.6 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ironwood?" Weiss blinked.

"Hello, Miss Schnee," the looping General greeted.

"Why do my loop memories have you has a family butler instead of a general?" Weiss eyed the man wearing an outfit very similar to Klein's uniform.

"I woke up early and skipped joining the military," he explained. "Next time, I'm thinking of learning Qrow's job as a field agent if he's awake. Or forming my own mob in Mistral."

"If you're looking for crime to expand your range of experiences, try Raven the next time you're both awake," Weiss suggested. "Not only would it be on the opposite side of the law you're normally on, it would also be outside the Kingdoms."

"Hmm. Good idea," Ironwood mused. "I'll have to remember that."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.7 Flametusk, Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby?"

"Yeah Weiss?"

"Why do you have chibis staring at all the statues in my house?"

"Don't worry about it," Ruby said, staring at something past Weiss, "I have chibis staring at every statue and sculpture on the planet."

"That isn't making me feel any better," Weiss said. "Didn't answer my question either."

"Well, if you must know, my last loop was a fused null loop. I was part of the SCP Foundation, and there was a containment breach. Nobody else was Awake. Since it was null, I couldn't have my chibis stare at 173. The lights went out, when they went back on I had to close my eyes because of 096. That's when the sculpture struck. So, now that you know, please let me have my paranoia this loop, Weiss."

-/-

Ozpin glanced up from the control board of the TARDIS. "Hmm... weird."

The Doctor popped up from beneath the catwalk. "What? Something happen outside?"

"No, no, just sensed a disturbance in the force."

"Well alright then."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.8 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Sun." Blake waved as the boy approached. "How are things?"

"Loopy as per usual." Sun sat down next to her. "You're looking... down."

"Weiss and Yang aren't Awake."

"Ooog. Right, this is the day Weiss learns about you and the Fang." He patted her shoulder sympathetically. "You know she comes around."

"I know, I know. But I still have to pull the 'dramatic reveal,' and I still have to run and hide because... well, she needs a shock to get it out. Ruby and Yang are probably working on getting her out of her 'faunus are dangerous' mindset, and..." She sighed. "Well... there are things I've noticed."

"Things?"

"I'm pretty sure Weiss and Yang have a mutual crush this loop."

Sun flinched. "It's a variant, then?"

"Eh... yes and no? All things are loop variable to different degrees, but we only call them variants if they significantly differ from Baseline. Yang's still Yang, she just... she's crushing on Weiss. It's one of those edge things that happens sometime." She sighed. "I'm not looking forward to their PDAs."

"You could... stop them from-"

Blake gave him a flat look.

"Hey." He held up his hands. "I'm throwing out ideas, not saying they're wrong or right."

"Yes, I could, but... they are... it's not my Yang. That's the usual agreement, when it comes to romance-if it's not the looping version, you can't just-"

"Alright, fair enough." Sun paused. "It... might not amount to anything, though. Even if they're mutually crushing, they might not act on it."

"Ruby."

"What?"

"Ruby's a shipper. A quantashipper, she ships for ship's sake." Blake shrugged. "I think it's a side effect of having so many lonely loops-she wants to be happy, and therefore she wants others happy, so she tries to maximize happiness through romantic shenanigans. From reasonable things like Pyrrha and Jaune to the crackiest pairings like Tyrian and Jacques, if she can see a spark she'll fan it like crazy."

"Tyrian and Jacques?!"

"I helped her with that one actually." Blake half smiled. "It was fun to watch, even if it wasn't actually heartwarming."

Sun whistled low. "...Wow. Ruby Rose, never thought she had it in her. So I'm guessing she sees the mutual crush and is going to spend the loop maneuvering those two together?"

"Mmmyep. She likes to see kissing. Not sex, though," Blake clarified, "she's more into relationships then... intimacy."

"Yeah. So this loop is going to suck for you, huh?"

"Eeeeyup. I mean, not completely-you and Ruby are Awake, and my mom is too, and I've got a few pranks planned... but some things are going to cut close."

"Welp." Sun stood. "I think I know what will make you feel better."

"Yeah?"

"How about I treat you to a cruise of the book shops, and tomorrow night we capture Roman?"

Blake smiled gently, standing up. "I'd like that, Sun. I'd like it a lot."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.9 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby smiled as she watched Penny fly around, she certainly was enjoying this loop. Her body this loop was filled with all thinkable and unthinkable gadgets, weapons and functions. Yet, Penny looked much like she always did.

"I am definitely pocketing most of this as the loop ends," Penny said as she landed next to Ruby.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. But I was wondering if you wanted to go to the mall with me and Yang later today?" asked the regular teenage Ruby for this loop.

"I'd love to, but I'll have to ask dad, and he's... not as accepting of the idea of me hanging out with people after school as he is baseline," Penny said, frowning a little at the rather strict version of Ironwood who was her father/inventor this loop.

"Oh, that's too bad. Hmm, maybe I'll swing by your place and have a talk to him." Ruby offered, only for Penny to look terrified.

"Please, Ruby. Don't. He... he doesn't know I'm out here. I kinda snuck out. He doesn't know I'm hanging out with other people when he isn't watching. I'd ask him, but he's rather firm, and actually a bit scary sometimes," Penny said sheepishly. However, before Ruby could respond, Penny's chest opened up and a screen on a stick came out before turning on, showing the face of Ironwood.

"Who did you say was scary?" he asked with a tone of humor in his voice.

"D-dad?! I-I wasn't-"

"Relax Penny. I'm Awake now." Ironwood calmed her down before pinching his brows. "And I'm sorry how my unAwake self acted. You're free to go and do whatever you wish this loop, as long as you make sure to still save the world. I'll notify you if something comes up." Ironwood said.

"Thank you... dad," Penny said, making Ironwood pause for a moment before smiling.

"No problem sweetie, you have fun," he said before turning the monitor off, it retracted back into Penny's chest compartment.

"So... I take it he was rather controlling while unAwake then?" Ruby asked, receiving a nod from Penny.

"It didn't help that he simply saw me as a machine he had built explicitly for saving the world. Before he Awoke, he didn't even call me Penny, just XP-9. I'm glad he's Awake now. I don't know if I could have dealt with him for the rest of the loop. He completely ignored my teenage phase, despite me being a teenage robot!" Penny explained, Ruby simply nodding.

"So, you wanna go pick up Yang then? I heard she managed to find a lead on where Weiss might be this loop."

"Yeah, let's do that."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.10 StormyAngel, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I mean, Ruby likes to maim people! Why can't I-"

"Wait. What did you just say?" Roman asked incredulously.

"Ruby likes to maim people. C'mon pay attention. I'm on a roll here."

"Neo, where did you get that idea?"

"Baseline." She replied completely serious.

"...what the heck?"

"Think about it. She only fights two people who are really trying to hurt her. She puts out Cinder's eye _somehow_ , and she cuts off Tyrian's stinger."

"Won't that grow back?"

"You're thinking of lizards. Scorpions don't grow back missing limbs, so unless Tyrian's _really_ lucky...she maimed him."

Roman was silent for a minute.

"Okay fine. It's alarmingly frequent. That _still_ doesn't mean you can hang people off a ledge for all of their ice cream!"

"But _Roman_..."

"I don't _like_ maiming people!" Ruby objected. "I just do it when necessary!"

"Okay, how the hell did you get here without either of us noticing?!" Neo demanded.

"Microscopic chibiruby plus pocketed biomass," Ruby replied easily. "Anyway, Neo, I know you're still recovering from Sakura syndrome-"

Neopolitan rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, okay, just amoral-"

"-but you have to remember most of us have empathy for those we harm. We do it because it is necessary, not because we like it."

"Ugh, fine, fine." The shorter girl put her hands on her hips. "So what's your take on the cliff thing?"

"...Eeeeh, middle of the road. I mean it's threatening them, which is kind of okay, but for ice cream? Honestly, sort of overkill. Do something silly-threatening, not serious-threatening."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.11 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jaune once again found himself in a very familiar loop, only to some very surprising circumstances. For one, he was currently really old, the loop he woke up in usually beginning with him having been untouched by time for one hundred years. Second of all, he was married to a Zora, thankfully replaced by Pyrrha. And thirdly, the long since predicted calamity that was meant to take down Hyrule never came. Consulting his loop memories, Jaune could only find himself groaning at the memories of Calamity Ruby.

-/-

An Awake Ruby was cheering as many of her chibi selves were currently operating one of the Guardians, pushing it to its limits and seeing just how fast it could go. The divine beast Vah Medoh flew high above her head, overseeing the kingdom of Hyrule as the many Guardians under Ruby's control were being used to help the prosperous nation to thrive more than anyone could have imagined before Calamity Ruby's appearance.

-/-

Ren was looking bemused as his sister was enjoying her new toy, the Divine beast Vah Naboris, gifted to her by their aunt Ruby. Lightning strike after lightning strike was pushing Nora's semblance to its limits. As Nora began to shine without the assistance of any more of Vah Naboris lightning, Ren mentally added 'Supercharging herself with magical lightning' to the "Things Nora isn't allowed to do." list their family was constantly working on. As the air around Nora began to fluctuate, Ren wisely retreated from the edge of the desert and further into Hyrule, glad everyone else had evacuated before Nora had begun experimenting. A wise decision seeing as how it would later take both the divine beasts Vah Ruta and Vah Medoh to subdue and calm down the super charged Nora.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.12 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Nora, Ren. Have a seat."

Nora and Ren shared a look.

"Ahahahahahaha." The ginger grabbed Ren's hand. "I think actually we made a wrong turn somewhere."

"Oh, of course." Weiss smiled. "You don't have to stay here, or do anything you're uncomfortable with. You're free to go at any time."

Ren narrowed his eyes.

"I mean it," she assured them.

"...and what happens if we do?"

The smile on the heiress' face was not in the least threatening. "I will be mildly displeased."

"...Did we do something wrong?" Nora asked.

"No. And no, I don't think you're going to do something wrong." Weiss took a breath. "This is me, acting as Remnant's second, to address what could potentially become a problem before it does. It's just a psyche eval, and... a gentle check on your relationship."

"Oh. So this isn't about us putting our names toward Cinder's being taken off the potential MLE list because we thought she really looked shaken up by what happened but asking Ruby not tell anyone about it since we knew Mom and Dad might not be happy to learn we did something like that since they're super angry?"

There was a moment of silence.

"...No. In fact, I was not aware of that until this moment."

Ren, very slowly, dragged a palm down his face.

"What?!" Nora protested. "She's scary when she's calm!"

Weiss tilted her head. "I do apologize, I was aiming to be relaxingly neutral. I didn't mean to come off as intimidating." She paused. "And I certainly won't reveal anything we talk about without your permission..."

"You wanted us," Ren ground out, "for couple's counseling."

"Yes."

"Are you doing this for all looping couples?"

"Yes."

"Can we come in when we think we need it?" Nora asked.

"Yes, although I would prefer it not to be that exclusive."

Ren and Nora shared another look.

"...Um." Nora coughed. "I... guess that makes sense. So... we just sit, and we talk?"

"If you like." Weiss shrugged. "Honestly, this first session is more me getting a feel of the situation, before I make any hard decisions."

Ren took a breath. "I suppose, given all that has happened, that's a fair decision. Very well... what is your first question?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.13 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby! What did I say!" Qrow's frustrated voice grated out. He was holding back a cackling Tyrian.

Ruby froze. She reached for her Pocket. No dice. This must be a null loop.

Immediately she pulled back. Jaune, Ren, and Nora met her halfway as she frantically backpedaled.

Usually in Baseline she kept going. Her participation forced Qrow to look out for her and gave Tyrian the opening he needed. If it wasn't for her swift reflexes to cut off his stinger, the fight would have ended with Tyrian's victory instead of a tie.

But if she didn't interfere...

"Arggh!" Tyrian's pained cry filled the air as the beam that might have hit Ruby crushed his stinger to the ground. With his aura depleted, the prehensile tail couldn't lift the weight, and Qrow summarily sliced Tyrian's arms off. It was the fastest way to prevent him from using his weapons, coincidentally _disarming_ him.

"Huh. Guess he had it under control after all." Ruby mused.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.14 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby, are you the one responsible for this?" Blake asked Ruby who was a wolf Faunus this loop.

"Um, for what exactly?" Ruby asked, not certain what Blake was referring to.

"To the influx of dogs, specifically war corgis over all of Remnant!" Blake clarified.

"Actually, that's a quirk of the loop this time." Weiss came to Ruby's defense.

"What? How come?" Blake inquired, making Weiss put down the book she was reading before explaining what she knew.

"Well, apparently it began withing the nobility as someone who felt rather lonesome bought a puppy. Caring and loving for it, they managed to raise it into an outstanding example of what a good dog could become. Several members of the nobility grew envious and this led to many more noble families adopting canine companions. Following this new 'trend' the citizen began to adopt dogs as well. A few research papers on the influence dogs had on family mortality rates during Grimm attacks got a lot of attention, followed by a study that revealed that the increase of the number of dogs within a household severely lowered mortality rates, increased life expectancy and on much bigger scale, say entire cities reduced the amount of Grimm attacks overall. In conclusion, the citizens of Remnant came to see the benefits of having a dog in the family, that a specially bred race of war corgis came to be through selective breeding isn't that unexpected. It also explains why Ruby's family this time around have three dogs, instead of one and why Summer _did_ return from her mission, since she didn't go alone, but had a war corgi with her." Weiss concluded her explanation.

"I just wish that the Mikasa glitch hadn't latched on to this loop as hard as it has." Ein, Zwei and Drei spoke up from the corner where they were lying on their own little mattress. "Every fifth war corgi is another Awake me, and I am not looking forward to organizing all those memories once this loop ends." Zwei, this time, complained. His two other counterparts nodding in agreement.

The three members of team RWBY who were currently in the room just looked at each other and shrugged. Such was the life of a looper.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.15 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

" _Free at last!_ " A squeaky voice proclaimed triumphantly from somewhere in the vicinity of a startled looking Ruby. " _Now all of you shall per-_ "

The voice cut off suddenly. Taiyang and Raven shared a look.

"Oops," Ruby muttered, before pasting on an innocent smile. "Aunt Raven, could you please pass the syrup?"

"Ruby. Is there something you aren't telling us?" Taiyang asked in his best "dad" voice as Raven passed the syrup over. The three of them had met for breakfast this loop, since they were the only ones currently awake.

"Not really?" Ruby replied. "I- um. Sort of forgot about them."

"Them," Raven deadpanned.

"The uh...Chibi-Salems," Ruby replied hesitantly.

"The what now?" Taiyang asked confusedly.

"A long time ago, Salem's loop variable power was possession." Ruby shrugged. "She took over part of the biomass."

"You're soul-bonded to a literal Grimm woman?" Raven growled, her voice tense.

"Nononono, Salem's soul isn't there! It's-" Ruby took a breath. "Okay okay, look. Here's how it happened: The Salem that tried to possess me... basically, her soul hit the surface of mine and smashed to bits, you know, meteor versus planet kind of deal. Her memories survived, but her personality was annihilated-but it sort of interacted with my majin physiology in a weird way."

Her father quirked an eyebrow. "That's your chibi-ruby thing, right?"

"Yeah. See, um... technically, every chibi-ruby is Ruby. Like, we're all me? But because I'm a looper, my mind is... there's a lot of me, mentally, so not every chibi is all of me-I can contain Angry Ruby to one part of the mass, for a bit, and sometimes a couple of the chibis just become, er, pervy Ruby-not because I want to, it just happens, like mind wandering sort of thing."

"...And the chibi-salems?" Raven asked dryly.

"Well... basically, they're Salem's memories filtered through my personality. They're how I would act if I was Salem. Mostly just gremlins and pranksters." Ruby shrugged. ""On the one hand, they can't realize that because they're just personality constructs, but they're constantly outnumbered, so it's not like you need to worry or anything."

"Ruby, a portion of the immortal _big bad_ of our branch is possessing some of your body," Taiyang replied. "Why haven't you dealt with this before?"

"I concur," Raven interjected. "I could understand if you got something out of this, but all that does is weaken you."

"Well, they're not so bad really," Ruby hedged. "I mean, sure the chibi-Salem's technically yearn for the ultimate destruction of the world, but they can be fun sometimes."

Raven and Taiyang shared another look before Tai sighed and dropped his head into his hands in aggravation.

"Ruby Rose," He at last replied firmly. "You are not keeping a personal version of our local soul-sucking monster around for your _entertainment_. If you need someone to keep you company there are any number of better options."

"But _Da-aaaad!_ "

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.16 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ironwood walked into the room where Ozpin had told him he could find Ruby, explaining away his interest in finding said student by saying he knew her from a previous encounter. Ruby was the only one Awake besides himself this loop, so he was happy to find her alone in the dorms lounge.

Seeing Ironwood striding towards her, Ruby decided to confirm her suspicions of what was going on.

"Hey Ironwood, you're Awake and stealthing?" she asked him, making him stop in surprise before releasing a ping.

"Without meaning to but yes. I am," he said. "I'm here to tell you that you can put a check down for me concerning Cinder."

Ruby did a double take.

"Why?" she asked before deciding to clarify. "What made you come to your decision to give her your vote?"

"Because I can put myself into her position. As she was in her time of madness."

Ruby blinked slightly confused at the general's explanation. "What do you mean?"

"When I stealthed after the expansions where I Awoke after Penny's death, I started to have darker thoughts about Ascension," Ironwood explained. "If Qrow hadn't noticed and spoken to me. I might have ended up going down a similar route. Therefore, I believe I can somewhat sympathize with Cinder and want to put in my vote for her. I believe that if we had simply been there for her and noticed her condition, that everything could have been prevented. She's simply not the only one to blame in this matter, not in my eyes. Good day to you Ruby."

Ironwood walked. Ruby considered following him and inquiring some more about his decision and how he himself had had thoughts of Ascension, but concluded that if it was something to worry about, Qrow would have told her. Ruby decided to go back to what she had been doing before Ironwood had interrupted, ballet training.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.17 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Awoke to air rushing past her, her scythe shattering as she tried to land as the initiation begun. Ruby felt her eyes twitch as her loop memories were analyzed, dissected and assimilated.

 _Okay, unawake me was a brat, above average in combat, incompetent in almost every other respect, and more interested in playing than weapon making. No wonder Uncle Qrow gave up. Ozpin must have wanted my eyes, if he wasn't awake anyway, and that did not come out right. In any case I now need a new weapon...  
_  
As she hit the ground and rolled to a stop, Ruby found her eyes meeting Weiss's maliciously amused gaze; her partner was acting every bit the arrogant heiress, and if it was not for the tightly contained mass of exotic power Ruby would never have been able to tell that Weiss was awake.

"And this is why children should not let into Beacon, such a fine and upstanding academy is tainted by such a display. A Huntress weapon should not shatter under such little abuse." Weiss stalked up and poked Ruby in the chest. "And now you don't have a weapon and I'm stuck with you as a partner."

Ruby let her face flush, reaching out with her soul to Weiss in a familiar pattern. "Sorry, I'm trying but it's hard to make weapons, it's not something I'm good at and I had expected a few more years at Signal before coming here. I was planing on making a new weapon but-"

Weiss huffed, her soul resonating in time with Ruby's, conveying a sense of amusement, "Well, we can't have one of us unarmed. So until you make a _proper_ weapon we well have to just work together." Weiss let her left arm transform into a scythe blade, holding out her right to Ruby. "I hope you can use a _proper_ scythe, baka."

Ruby blinked before hesitatingly taking Weiss's offered hand, watching with disbelief as she turned into a sniper-scythe. "Awesome! How did you do tha..."

An annoyed voice cut Ruby off, emerging from the blade, "My semblance, now move!"

As they ran through the forest arguing a very different conversation was taking place mentality.

 _"Baka?"  
_  
Weiss rolled her eyes as she floated in the void. _"I think I will be tsundere this loop, it fits and seems like playing that part will be fun. Gratuitous Japanese seemed to fit."_

Ruby suppressed a grin, as the trees flashed past. _"You mean you're being baseline then?"_ she teased.

 _"Taken up to 11."_ Weiss smirked. _"Now lets go baffle baseline with_ SOUL RESONANCE!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ozpin and Gynda stared at the scrolls in confusion as transformed Schnee and her newly assigned partner screamed in unison, a blade of energy appearing around Weiss's blade, before Ruby Rose slipped on a patch of dirt and cut a crevasse in the ground and they started to argue about whose fault it was.

"Oz..."

"I have no idea," Ozpin admitted as his sipped his hot chocolate. "I was intending on forcing Miss Rose to confront her failings and inspire her to work harder, while giving Miss Schnee a chance at learning what it means to have power and people relying on her. But it seems like my plans need revisions. As for the weapon transformation and collaborative attack... that would require extensive magic training neither should possess and a sharing of soul shards. It would take decades to manage and yet those two can pull it off in moments? No, that's not possible."

Glynda frowned as she considered those words. Before she could speak Ozpin continued, an introspective note in his voice. "There are many things that have been lost in the endless cycles of destruction and creation, only to be rediscovered. The Maidens are one of them, as is Dust itself. I think... I think Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose may be one, a pair of Powers and Souls passed down. It would explain Miss Rose's lack of focus on training, instance on using a scythe and yet her slapdash craftsmanship, as well as Miss Schnee's obsession with coming to Beacon and fixation on Miss Rose since they ran into each other a week ago."

"Joined powers always meet," Glynda murmured, watching intently as the partners tore through a pack of Grimm with an intimate knowledge of the other one and each ones soul, one that seemed to be at odds with their arguing. "I think this will be an interesting year. We may have finally found the children of prophecy."

"...I think you may be right."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.18 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Whoa."

*Ping* *Ping*

"Oh, good, you're Awake." Taiyang sighed with relief. "What in the world happened up there?"

Ruby, thoroughly coated in flour, checked her loop memories. Back on Beacon Tower after she snapped and unleashed her silver eyed power. What had happened?

...

"And then, once we've finished the apple pie we can start the cobbler. Cinder, I'll need you to make a brick oven for me please."

"Untie me this instant!"

"Now Cinder, you know I can't do that." Ruby replied, her silver eyes aglow as the Grimm dragon chowed down on delicious baked goods. "You really ought to stop struggling. "The silverware can be kind of sharp-"

" _My eye!_ "

"'Tsk. Looks like we won't be getting to those cookies..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.19 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Awoke and instantly felt a headache come on as her head was filled with the individual thoughts and loop memories of every single chibi Ruby that made up her body, only to feel an even bigger headache from wondering how that even worked. Deciding to ignore it for the moment, Ruby looked around her surroundings and felt her headache grow millions of times worse as she realized that with her Awakening, every single person on Remnant had been replaced with another Ruby, each and every one of them Awake.

"Well, this is really going to suck next loop," one of the collective Rubies said.

"Hey, at least this boosts our biomass by a lot," another pointed out.

"And what would we use all that extra biomass for? We already got plenty, don't we?"

"Well, I don't know... maybe it'll come in handy?"

"Girls!" another Ruby said, gaining everyone's attention while looking extremely exited. "We're all Ruby, and there are a lot of us."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Let's do a thing, let's all work together like the smaller chibi Rubies and make one giant Ruby!" the very excited Ruby suggested.

"Huh, that does sound fun, and it's not like we're going to get this opportunity again any time soon. Sure, let's go for it!" another Ruby responded, now smiling like the first.

The smiles spread quickly from Ruby to Ruby as the idea was spread all across Remnant...

-/-

"Alright, everyone ready?" Ruby asked, getting a bunch of affirmatives in response. "Then, let's begin!" Ruby shouted, prompting the army of Rubies to begin climbing each other before managing to form parts of a much bigger Ruby. As she had taken shape, Ruby looked around herself and was thankful she was able survive in space as she was now big enough to break Remnant's atmosphere.

Smiling, Ruby took a big leap off of the planet and flew of into space.

-/-

"So, where do you think they're all right now?" Ruby asked herself, receiving a shrug in response.

"Somewhere out in space. I mean, we're the only ones Awake this time around, so I doubt this is a fused loop, meaning they're unlikely to run into any aliens or life out there," Ruby pointed out, going back to plowing the field she was working on.

"Do you ever wish you had gone with them?" the other Ruby asked, only to receive a look from herself.

"It's us out there. While we all wanted to fly out into space as a giant Ruby this loop, we're loopers. We can't just leave this place and do whatever we want? I mean, all the pets alone need taking care of, and they in turn need food. So some of us had do stay behind and keep this place going," Ruby said before frowning. "Now, no more procrastinating, back to work, we have two more fields to tilt today."

"Yes, boss," Ruby responded, rolling her eyes before returning to work, many more shadow clones working the rest of the field.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.20 KanameFujiwara**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Do you like this gallery of mine Ruby?"

"..."

"Ruby?"

"There's nothing in here..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you have everything for a gallery Weiss including the room and the canvas but there's nothing on it - it's just pure white!"

"Exactly!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.21 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Woke up in from Dust to Dawn, about to be mugged as usual. What wasn't usual was that she was a Chibi. Well, one singular Chibi. Made of paint, apparently.

Also, her would be mugger was holding something a lot more high-tech than a standard issue gun. In fact, the 'gun' lacked any sort of mechanism that made it, well, a gun.

"Are you... robbing me?"

"Yes."

"... with a ray gun?"

"Of course!" The man looked a bit thrown by that statement. "What would I use instead?"

"...a gun?"

The man looked horrified and aghast. "But that could seriously hurt someone!"

At that moment the loop memories kicked in for Ruby. Given how many times in the past few weeks she had learned lessons on friendship and basic morality while dealing with various art and culture lessons, she had a strong reason to believe this was a preschooler/elementary school age version of her home loop.

"I know, I know. I had just heard a scary rumor and wanted to make sure it wasn't true," Ruby consoled the poor man, who looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Oh," he calmed down for a moment before a fresh look of horror crossed his face. "I'm not entirely sure that makes me feel any more comfortable if rumors like _that_ going around."

"Don't worry, I know a place where you'll be absolutely safe!"

"Really?" The mook's face brightened up considerably. "Where-"

Within seconds, Ruby had zipped off with her semblance, grabbed some rope from the supply closet (placed there explicitly for plot convenience), and had run back to tie him up.

"Jail," she said with a mischievous and satisfied grin.

"Awww man. Roman's going to dock my pay for this."

"Don't worry," the man said blithely as walked onto the scene, a Ping going off. "As long as you don't mess up again, I'll let you keep your dental."

"Roman! What foul, Loopy plan of mean-ness have you cooked up this time, you fancy hat wearing scoundrel!?" Ruby hammed up, sending a Ping of her own. Two more Pings happened, but no one they recognized was nearby.

"What, me?" Roman, clearly bored out of his mind if he was playing along, gasped in mock offense. "Come up with an evil scheme on a nice, safely-Anchored, child-friendly show? Why, even I have standards!"

"Well, I suppose you have a point- Wait a second, you just broke the fourth wall!" The heroine pointed at Roman. "If you weren't up to no good, you wouldn't be so flagrant with the sacred rules that uphold our narrative!"

"Oh no! You've found me out! I am, indeed, up to no good!" Roman placed the back of his hand to his forehead, swooning dramatically.

"Alright, what is your plan, Roman?"

"You want to know?"

"Well of course!"

"Oh, it's simple really."

"Yeeeeessss?"

"I'm a distraction for my new boss, who is the newest villain on your roster," Torchwick lazily pointed over his back with his thumb.

Ruby looked to where he pointed, noticing Cinder make her dramatic entrance, grab a bunch of Dust, and exit in the span of 10 seconds. She had even stolen the old man's apron in a fit of childlike spite while she was doing it.

"My apron!" The old man cried out, looking devastated.

"...wow that was really, really mean," the silver eyed girl said in mostly genuine shock.

"Not as mean as the fact that I've glued your feet to the floor and stolen your 'Long Distance Super Stickerizer' Scythe," Roman said casually as he pointed to the Red Riding Hood's shoes, putting air quotes around the name that Ruby's UnAwake self had given her weapon.

She looked down, predictably, to see that she had, in fact, been glued to her floor. When she looked back up, Roman was holding her child friendly version of her baby and waving.

"Toodles, Little Red!" And with that, the villain disappeared in a puff of dust.

"...Oh, this means war," Ruby said with a playful, if frightening, smirk on her face. "But first..."

And so, she spent the rest of the scene tugging on her feet in a futile attempt to free herself from Roman's nefarious trick.

-

Meanwhile, Blake walked into her home on Menagerie. She sensed a couple of Pings go off as she saw her Mom walked in. The two Pinged as they walked into the living room out of common courtesy.

"So, Mom, are you feeling Loopy too?"

"A bit, but I'm more wide Awake now. What are you doing home so early?"

"Well, I just wanted to apologize to you for leaving and joining the White Fang since I recently underwent a Heel-Face Turn and have decided to become one of the good guys after understanding why stealing and destroying valuable art isn't a nice thing to do even though I was jealous of everyone else for being color-blind," she deadpanned all in one breath. "Which, apparently, is something all Faunus share to different degrees this loop."

"Well, that explains why the walls seemed off to me," Kali hummed to herself, finding satisfaction in the answer for what had been bothering her.

"By the way, I think you can have my Gambol Shroud this Loop," Blake handed over her weapon.

"Why is that?"

"It shoots paint-thinner," Blake smirked. It quickly disappeared as her mother's face lit up.

"Oh, that's actually perfect! Now that I know why the wall colors are clashing with the rest of the room, I can redecorate to something a bit more appropriate. Thank you, Blake."

"Uhh... no problem," the younger faunus blinked in light shock as he mother immediately began to put the unwieldly weapon to good use. "Just be careful with it. As it turns out, everyone in this loop-"

Before she could finished her sentence, Adam suddenly leapt in from the windows, his face hurt and angry.

"Blaaaaake! You will come back to me- AUGH MY ARM!"

Adam, sans an arm, lost his balance and hit the floor. Kali, shocked, looked back and forth from the Gambol Shroud to the oddly (relatively) unconcerned Adam, who was frantically trying to draw his arm back with a paintbrush that seemed to be replacing his sword for the loop.

"As it turns out, everyone is made of paint this loop, so it can be used to erase parts of people until someone else repaints or redraws it," Blake explained with one hand covering her face in embarrassment.

"That's... oddly child-friendly," her mother said in a numb sort of fascination.

"If only I hadn't failed art school, then I could remake my arm properly!" Adam lamented as he erased the barely comprehensible squiggles that made up his current 'arm'. "...and I probably wouldn't want to ruin everyone else's art, come to think of it."

"It's amazing what people can get past censorship if they want to put effort into it," Blake smiled as she took plenty of pictures of Adam for her 'Catharsis Scrapbook'.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.22 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Everyone ready?" Ruby asked as she ran around making sure everything was in order, her wolf ears twitching in anticipation as she left a trail of rose petals behind. She had just about managed to get the other loopers to agree to her request and this was the perfect loop for it. All the loopers who had agreed to humor their Anchor and were willing to sing and record such a performance also happened to be Faunus for the loop. In fact, this variant, everyone were a Faunus.

"I still can't believe we're doing this. How did Ruby even convince you two?" Weiss asked, directing her question at Blake and Kali. Her own head sported a pair of white tiger ears.

"Well, Yang agreed on basis that Ruby's her sister, and I agreed since Yang agreed." Blake explained.

"And I just couldn't pass up this opportunity. It's a good loop with no Faunus discrimination and we're about to perform a rather entertaining performance. And since my daughter is already participating in it, why shouldn't I?" Kali explained while smiling.

"I assume Raven is here under due to similar reasons?" Weiss asked, carefully looking over to where Raven stood speaking with Qrow. Qrow had black feathers growing from behind his ears while Raven had feathers mixed in with her hair.

"No, I'm actually not entirely sure as to why she agreed, but I think she is thinking along the lines of Cinder, intending to connect with the rest of us a little bit more. We're all from the same loop after all, but we rarely do things together like this." Kali speculated.

"I see. Well, let's hope this goes of without a hitch. Knowing Ruby, she'll force us to do this until we get it right. You two did practice your parts, right?" Weiss asked concerned.

"Of course, why wouldn't we?" Kali and Blake asked confused.

"Embarrassment? I know Raven was caught practicing by Qrow before and he apparently teased her about it, despite being a part of this. She admitted she hasn't practiced this as much as she should have." Weiss explained.

"That does make sense, but no. We both found enough time to practice." Blake assure her.

"Good, then I'll go and tell Ruby that we should all be ready. Let's hope this all goes well." Weiss said before walking off.

-/-

Neo was eating some ice cream while enjoying the cold resistance she had as a polar bear Faunus this loop. Meanwhile, Roman was stuck with the polar opposite as he had become a snake Faunus and had trouble with colder types of food this loop. Jaune was fidgeting with his ears, both of them standing out quite clearly as he was a hare Faunus this loop. Pyrrha was preening the feathers on her arms as she was a swan Faunus. Nora enjoyed being able to stuff her face as a hamster Faunus with stretching cheeks and Ren believed himself unlucky to be a sloth Faunus, again. Cinder wondered why she was a seal Faunus of all things while Ozpin quite enjoyed being able to rotate his head nearly 360 degrees as an owl Faunus. Glynda was not liking what the loop was implying with her being a hen Faunus while Ironwood was a rooster one. Penny had apparently looped in as a spider Faunus as she was capable of climbing walls and shooting webs, although some of the loopers speculated that she was still a gynoid and was just taking advantage of a previous loop's powers to act natural. Tai, was like his daughter also a wolf Faunus and enjoying the chaos that was the norm this loop.

All in all, all the loopers could identify as an animal one way or another. Making the loop perfect for Ruby's plan.

-/-

With everyone finally ready, Ruby walked up to the stage where she began speaking. "Alright everyone, we're finally ready to begin. You all know the your lyrics and you've practiced the assigned choreography, now let's do this!" Ruby said excited as music began playing and Ruby started them off with the first words.

"Vlog vlog I'm a dog  
I said vlog vlog I'm a dog!" Ruby sang, bobbing her head and shoulders as well as knees to the beat of the music. With the next line Tai chimed in.

"Vlog vlog I'm a dog  
I said vlog vlog I'm a dog!" The two of them sang together before pointing at Weiss, Winter, Blake and Kali who were all now together and up on the stage as well. Having been given the next line, they all sang together.

"Splat splat, I'm a cat  
I said splat splat I'm a cat!"

-/-

"Whoo! That was amazing!" Ruby cheered, most of the other loopers groaning, both tired from the movements they had to go through and from all the singing. Ruby had really been pushing for perfection on this. Now that she was finally happy with the result, everyone was enjoying a long, nice break.

"Remind me, never to agree to anything that girl suggests while she's a Faunus," Raven told Qrow who simply groaned in response before coughing and drinking from a water bottle.

"Ruby, why do you even need a recording like that?" Weiss asked, barely able to speak with her sore throat.

"Well, it's a catchy song and I saw it in the hub, so I thought, 'Why not make our own version and then upload it as a parody next time you loop into the hub?' Fun, right?" Ruby asked excited, making Weiss blink in surprise.

"Ruby, we all humored you this loop, because you wanted a kick out of uploading a video of all of us singing together in a music video for the hub world?" Weiss asked, glaring at her Anchor.

"Yes." Ruby responded, just as cheerful, completely oblivious to the anger and hatred coming of off Weiss before she simply sighed and gave up. Weiss simply couldn't stay mad at Ruby, especially wolf Faunus Ruby.

"Never mind. Just... don't mention it to the other loopers," Weiss whispered before slumping. Leaving a clueless and still not tired Ruby to wonder what that was about.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.23 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby was lazily sitting in her teams dorm room, reading a magazine one evening as Yang open the door to the bathroom. "Hey, any of you have some toothpaste in your pocket? We've kinda run out here."

"Ask Ruby," Weiss said. Ruby in response threw a tube of Yang's preferred brand of toothpaste towards her.

"Thanks!" Yang said, catching the tube before closing the door. Blake looked over at Ruby in interest.

"So, why are you our go to dentist all of a sudden?" She asked with some humor in her voice. Ruby however simply groaned and pointed at Weiss who rolled her eyes as Ruby forced her to explain since she herself wasn't in the mood make the attempt.

"Ruby bought up almost all the toothpaste in every loop she visited for a few loops straight a few hundred loops ago. So, naturally, she has a lot of toothpaste in her pocket," Weiss said.

"Wait, why does she even need that much toothpaste? I don't think I've seen her ever brush her teeth while Awake. Isn't she a mass of chibi Rubies as part of her Majin physiology?" Blake asked confused.

"Yes, it is actually because of this that Ruby needs a large amount of toothpaste. You see, while her teeth, like the rest of her are made out of chibi Rubies, meaning she doesn't have to brush them. All of her chibi Rubies still do have normal teeth. And since teeth need to be cared for, regardless if they are used or not, it means Ruby still has to brush her teeth. And since she has a lot of excess chibi Rubies in her pocket..." Weiss trailed off, letting Blake reach the conclusion herself.

"She needs to brush the teeth of every single chibi Ruby who ever became a part of her existence as a result of the loops," Blake concluded, a little astounded at the raw amount of toothpaste that would require. "I assume you always brush your teeth within your pocket then?" Blake asked, getting a nod from Ruby but nothing more.

"She's not really talkative today, is she?" Blake asked, looking at Weiss for a response. Weiss sighed.

"Blake, did you already forget that Ruby is mute this loop?" Weiss reminded Blake.

"Oh, right. Sorry Ruby," Blake apologized sheepishly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **80.24 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun blinked as Ruby was covered in minty, white foam, "What the...?"

Weiss didn't look up from the blue prints she was drawing up for an Aura and Dust powered galaxy cauldron, it likely wouldn't work, but who cared? "Ruby is brushing the teeth of all the chibis."

"Wait," Sun stared at Ruby aghast, that was... "she needs to do that every all the time? Why would anyone use a power like that?"

Weiss shrugged, rubbing out something and starting again, it was odd having Sun as a teammate, well the looping one anyway, he had not really adapted all that well to their antics. At least his counseling sessions were going well. "It's hardly the worse downside to a power, and anyway, it only matters when, and as long as, Ruby thinks its funny. Even the chibis are something she uses as she finds it cute and amusing. Majins don't normally do the nesting doll thing either, if you blow them up then pieces will turn into miniature versions and rejoin, Ruby took that and ran with it."


	81. Cinder Free

**81.1 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Twenty seven pings.

Ruby Rose let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, even as the finger tapped her shoulder. This loop was it-she confirmed it as she turned around, her gaze falling briefly on Marianne and the admin's slow nod.

Then she looked at the robber, her face steely. "Run."

"Wha-?"

"Run. Tell your friends to run. Tell Junior that any crime that happens in the next three months is going to be placed at his feet..."

Her form oscillated, dark vines extending from a red mist as she grew to tower over the thug, only her silver eyes remaining distinguishable.

"...and that we," she finished in a thousand voices as sweet and thorny as a rose, "will be ready to confront him about it."

A shockwave of petals knocked the goons out of Dust till Dawn, leaving the shopkeeper startled and Roman Torchwick mildly bemused. With a grunt, the orange-haired thief pushed himself to a sitting position. "Well, that was a bit out of the blue. Pretty impressive, if I..."

He trailed off, noticing the two women walking out of the shop door, both with red hoods.

"Ah. Must be important. And the number of pings..." He stood, even as the thugs around him started groaning. "Boys, if you want your pay, you best get back to Junior. I've got people I need to talk to." Tipping his hat to his Admin and his Anchor, Roman Torchwick walked swiftly away.

The man in sunglasses shook his head, caught sight of Ruby glaring at him, and stumbled to his feet quickly. The redhead watched him rush away, before pulling out her scroll. "So, who are the extra pings?"

"Jenny, obviously, plus your looping siblings and Blake's." Marianne glanced at her as she tapped out a quick alert. "Why Junior? Why pin the blame on him?"

"He's the local mafia. Torchwick's a celebrity, but Junior's the guy running things. He'll probably be better equipped to make sure we don't have unexpected problems." Ruby looked up as her message was sent, noting the bullhead already rising. "Can you get Glynda to Jenny ASAP? Given what's happening..."

"I'll do that. Hestia's briefing Ozpin."

"Got it. And... thanks for helping."

Marianne smiled somberly as a river of rose petals zipped into the retreating aircraft. "I just wish I could do more."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.2 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"JAUNE!" Nora cried as she wrapped her arms around the blonde boy. "You made it!"

"Nora, you're sopping wet and naked."

"I just got done showering. Besides, it's nothing you haven't seen before." The ginger grinned as she released him. "Come in, Pyrrha's already here and Ren's making some fancy meal I can't pronounce."

She skipped back into the hotel bathroom, leaving Jaune to roll his eyes as he entered the apartment. "Hey Pyrrha. You get Ruby's message too?"

"It was a mass transmit," the redhead replied, patting the couch seat beside her. "The only way I could have missed it was deliberately not looking."

He sat down, wrapping a gentle arm around her shoulders. "You... going to be okay?"

"It's nice of you to worry, Jaune, but... the emotions have cooled. I'm not going to be lashing out any time soon." Pyrrha sighed, glancing at her ring, and the few cracks still remaining. "I'm not... completely there, but I knew this was coming and I can accept it. No matter the results."

Jaune nodded once, his eyes flicking to the kitchen. "...it smells good."

"Very. And Nora tried to embarrass you at the door."

"They don't usually invite us over," he said in a quiet tone. "They wait until we're at Beacon."

"Ren's making something nice, Nora's trying to distract us..." Pyrrha sighed. "Whatever they want to tell us, we're not going to be happy about it, are we?"

"And they don't think they can hide it," Jaune agreed. "And this early in the loop... it's something big."

The two of them listened to the sizzle of the skillet and the casual humming coming from the bathroom.

"...they voted for her," Pyrrha whispered.

Jaune blinked.

"After that message, to get this reaction?" She sighed. "They voted for her, and they don't want us to get angry."

"It might not be that."

"Jaune."

"It..." He sighed. "Okay. It probably is. But they won't stop being our kids because of that, will they?"

"Of course not, but... they know how I took it. And..." Pyrrha leaned into him. "I guess I didn't think they would be scared that it could happen. That... even saying she's safe might set me up against them-"

"We just have to remind them that they're our family, no matter what."

"I know, but... it was a choice, not a mistake, or an accident." She clasped his hand. "This... this is going to be something we disagree on, and it's going to be intense."

Jaune took a breath, holding her hand tightly. "...it's not about agreeing on everything. It's about being willing to accept... that not everything is going to be perfect, but it's worth it."

"Yeah." Pyrrha nodded. "I know. I'm just not looking forward to this."

"We'll work through it together."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.3 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...and on milestone loops like this, we try to work super fast to overwhelm baseline issues so we can focus on the big thing. Like I've asked Kali to 'discover' evidence that Adam intends her mass terrorism thing, and up in Atlas Winter and Ironwood are conspiring to overthrow Jacques in some scandal and improve society-"

"Ruby."

"-and Qrow is bribing officials in Mistral for better faunus treatment and Zwei is busy sabotaging Adam's part of the White Fang, leaving evidence to get them arrested and possibly reformed, and Cinder has told me where Salem is this loop, so we're considering taking her on-"

"Ruby."

"-and I'm not saying you absolutely have to stop raiding, I totally get that this is an important part of who you are and you have a whole tribe to worry about, but Roman usually stops being a thief for a loop when things like this crop up and it would be nice if we didn't have to worry about-"

A gauntleted hand cut the stream of words off. "Ruby. I understand. You want a celebration loop, since this is a big thing. And my... baseline actions, they're not exactly conducive toward relaxation. Is that about it?"

Ruby nodded.

"Hmm. Disbanding the tribe could be tricky... we're not exactly built for life in settlements."

Ruby gently grabbed the gauntleted hand and pulled it back. "One of the things we usually do in these loops is sweep the planet clean of Grimm. You could still be nomadic, but with no Grimm attacks you wouldn't need to go on raids that often."

"How long does it take to wipe them out?"

"Eh... two, three months? We could go quicker, but that would require flash that would get attention from non-loopers, and that always causes issues."

"The Grimm going missing would be noticed anyway."

"True, but it wouldn't be traced back to us. Low-key heroism. That sort of thing."

"Fair enough, I suppose. I'll have to delay it a bit, but I'll 'realize' the Grimm are gone in a few months and consult with the tribe commanders about the situation. Can't make any promises before then, though."

"Alright. Oh! While I'm here, you want to kill Salem?"

"...what?"

"Sort of a Remnant Looper rite of passage. You've been looping for a while, and you're already pretty tough in baseline, but soloing the Grimm Witch is something I don't think you've done yet. I'll be on hand if you need help, but I kind of figured-"

"Huh. Taking down Salem, solo... Well, I suppose I could try."

"Great! Cinder's told me where her base is this loop, is Saturday good?"

"No, we're raiding a town then. Can't really shake up the schedule, unfortunately. Wednesday is probably better."

"Gotcha. You bring the pain, I'll bring the camera. See you then Aunt Raven!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.4 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Pyrrha took a deep breath, grabbing Jaune's elbow. "I'm going to need some emotional support for this."

"...For... what?"

She nodded toward Ruby. "I... I need to talk to her. Before initiation."

Jaune glanced between her and Ruby. "...this is about-"

"Yeah."

"Alright." Jaune nodded, glancing around the locker room. "Initiation is in ten, so-"

"I can make this fast."

The two of them walked over to their Anchor, who was busily adjusting the rotary assembly on Crescent Rose. "No, that would send the blade down the pole and cut my fingers off-Oh!" Ruby looked up. "Hey guys. Um... big loop, huh?"

"...Ren and Nora told us about their vote."

Ruby winced. "Oh. You... you guys-"

"We're a family," Pyrrha assured her. "A few bumps aren't going to break us apart... But it did... bring up an issue." She sat down next to her awkwardly. "A personal issue."

"Oh." Ruby folded up her scythe. "I'm... listening."

"...I think," Pyrrha managed, "I've let my emotions blind me to the totality of the situation. Me and Cinder have a lot of baggage between us-a lot more then even just baseline. But that list isn't about whether I like her, whether I think she's to blame, not even whether I think she's sane-it's about whether she's a danger to Yggdrasil." She steadied herself. "And... honestly, I... I can't say she is."

Jaune blinked. "Pyrrha..."

"If I can grant her this... if I give her this one thing... maybe I can start to move on, really move on. I'm not forgiving her, yet. I'm not saying I want to be her friend." Pyrrha smiled wryly. "Hell, I'm not saying she's even safe to be around. But... as much as I've been avoiding her, I've also been watching her. And... I still think she has a long way to go. But for this one thing? She's in the clear."

Ruby blinked. "You... you mean-"

"Add me to the list. I'm still going to be looking at her closely-and to be honest, this is more for me then for her, this is more me removing that weight from my shoulders, and I want her to know that. But... yes. I'll say she's not an MLE."

Jaune took her hand. "Pyrrha... you sure you want this?"

"It's peace of mind." She put her hand over his. "It's... it's not something that makes me happy, but I think it's a step toward making me well."

He nodded. "If you're sure..."

"...I am."

"Alright." Jaune glanced at Ruby "...Me too."

"You're both checking off." Ruby's voice was soft. "I want to be clear, you're both saying she's not an MLE."

"Yes. We are."

"...Okay." She stood and, after a moment, wrapped them both in a gentle hug. "I know this is hard for you two. And I... want to thank you for being willing to do this."

"Honestly, if it weren't for Ren and Nora calling us out..." Pyrrha shook her head. "They did that back when we first started dating, too. I thought we were supposed to be their parents, not the other way around."

Jaune snorted. "Well, you know... I'm oblivious and you're stubborn."

"Stubborn." Pyrrha looked up at him. "Is that what I am."

"You didn't let death stop you from going after me." And there was a small smile on his face.

She returned it. "Well, I think I can show you how stubborn I can be, mister Arc."

Ruby backed away with a blush. "So... tell Nora to hold your rook for you?"

"Probably a good idea." Jaune's voice was soft.

"Riiiiight." Ruby looked at them for a moment or two longer before zipping away in a flurry of rose petals.

Pyrrha chuckled. "Honestly, you'd think she'd have gotten used to the idea by now."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.5 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, what are you going to do about the Grimm in the ocean this loop?" Taiyang asked his daughters as they were at the beach on Patch.

"Who says that you aren't going to do anything?" Yang answered with a question.

"Well, I haven't participated in a global Grimm extermination yet," the elder Xiao Long replied.

"Well, that changes now," Ruby said.

"What, this loop? Alright. Tell me when."

"Right now," said the reaper to the elder dragon. "Here. This will let you breath underwater. Now go kick some Grimm butt, Dad!"

"Wait, now? Will I at least have some help?"

"Maybe, or maybe not, who knows?" And with that, Ruby pushed him into the water.

"You _are_ going to keep an eye on him, right?" Yang asked.

"Yang, of course I will. Besides, we already dealt with most of the non-baseline Grimm. The worst Dad'll need to face is a tusoteuthis. It's not like he needs to fight a kraken or something."

There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah, I should probably make sure he's alright," Ruby allowed, before some red particles flew away from her and into the water.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.6 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...and managed to avert the permanent destruction of our existence." Sun finished explaining. "So, any questions?"

He was answered by three blank stares from the non-looping members of Team SSSN.

"Actually," Scarlet raised his hand. "I kinda _do_ have a question."

Sun nodded for him to proceed.

"Why are you telling us this? It's not like we're going to remember after the loop ends. And why did we have to come to Vacuo to hear about it?"

"Dude," Neptune put his hand on Scarlet's shoulder. "That's two questions."

"The world just frickin' broke, man." Scarlet rolled his eyes. "I can ask two questions alright?"

"Yeah, so...this is actually supposed to be a party loop." Sun responded sheepishly. "I didn't want you all confused by the things being tossed around out there."

"Crazy-woman friend do bad stuff." Sage grumbled. "Not crazy no more, finally free." He nodded.

"Boy I am never gonna get used to that." Sun muttered under his breath. "I hate loop-variable speech patterns."

"Alright," Neptune drew Sun's attention back in. "There's gonna be a party. Now why the hell are we in Vacuo?"

Sun smirked. "Well, there's this obstacle course I've been building..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.7 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The wind blew softly over the roof of Beacon, letting the hair of two women flutter in the breeze.

"...You've given me a lot to think about, miss Columbia."

"My friends call me Marianne."

"Hmm."

"My husband calls me Marie."

"Husband. It must be nice to find love."

"...you could, too. Even in the short time you have-"

The other woman chuckled. "Only in the loops could I find 'half a century or thereabouts' to be a short time. No, miss Columbia... I think I shall spare myself that pain." She looked at her wrinkled fingers. "I've more then enough already."

Marianne nodded. "It is your decision, miss Lavender."

The faded purple hair, now twice as long as its owner was tall, floated like a flag in the breeze.

"...how do you keep your hair from being tangled, anyway? It's not naturally magical, so-"

"Weiss and Yang collaborated on a number of hair-care spells. Apparently they had the help of somebody called... Rap and Zel?"

"Rapunzel. Yes, I could see that being a thing." Marianne gave a smile. "The original girl in the tower, if you're going by hub records."

"Hmm."

"...I... want to say I'm sorry, miss Lavender. For all that happened. It shouldn't have occurred under my watch."

"But it did."

"Yes. And that... alongside the fallout... is why I'm sorry."

Lisa Lavender continued to stare out at Remnant.

"...How is my world?"

"Your iteration of Remnant."

"Yes. How is it?"

Marianne sighed. "It's... Lisa, you have to understand, the computer metaphor understates just how complicated Yggdrasil code is-"

"How is it?"

"...Cosmically stable, if unrunable. The planet is still there, although I'm not sure the civilization is. And I can't exactly drop in for a peek." She gave the other woman a sideways glance. "You aren't... asking for a way back, are you?"

"...would you do it, if you could?"

"...I'm not going to answer that."

"I suppose it was a loaded question."

They stared into the distance.

"...Ruby's planning a party."

"A party for Cinder."

"...Are you going to be there?"

Lisa let out a slow breath. "I don't really have anything else to do, do I?"

Marianne nodded faintly. "Listlessness. You might want to get that looked at."

"Hmm." Lisa sighed. "I think I'll be alright."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.8 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Fresh reports, sir," Winter announced as she entered the bridge. "Team JNPR's finished their assignment."

"Alright." Ironwood blanked out a portion of his virtual display. "That takes care of Atlas. What else is there...?" He gazed at the map of Remnant thoughtfully.

"Is Qrow still not finished in Anima?" he asked, gesturing to the general vicinity of Qrow's assignment. "He's usually faster than this."

Winter turned away, but not before Ironwood spotted her blush.

"I'll tell him to pick up the pace," she murmured, her voice the essence of professionalism.

"Ah, yes," Ironwood replied with a cough. "Please do."

To fill the slightly awkward silence, Ironwood drew Winter's attention to the screen with a gesture.

"What's going on in Vacuo anyway?" He asked her. "The whole continent is one zone. Whose assignment was that?"

Winter smiled at the holographic display as the Grimm fell quicker every minute.

"That was Zwei's assignment, sir," she explained. "He asked for it specifically."

...

"Shiro!" the Huntress shouted at her partner. "Get back here you idiot!"

Her black clad partner landed with a thump, cradling his bleeding arm, even as he clung to his weapon.

"There's too many of them, Aka." His breathing was heavy. "We'll never make it. Somebody has to-"

She slapped him.

"You _idiot_! Do you think I dragged your ass through four years of Shade just for you to throw your life away here!"

"But the Grimm-"

"Shut up!" Aka cried, tears in her eyes. "I don't care about the Grimm. We're going to make it through this, you hear me!"

The ground shook.

Both of the Hunters turned, despair in their hearts as they eyed the massive Goliaths approaching their position. Flowing around and at the feet of the elephantine Grimm, a horde of Beowolves and Ursai ran across the open sands. Nevermores filled the skies above them.

"We're doomed." Shiro muttered. He shook his head. "Look, just forget about me and get out of here." He pushed to his feet. "Someone has to warn people about this."

"I-I-" Aka stuttered, clearly torn between her duty and her heart.

"Aka, we don't have time-"

"ARF!"

The huntsman paused. "Was that...a dog?"

Suddenly, from the ridge of the sand dunes to the east, a single figure cast a long shadow. It raised its head defiantly at the Grimm and it howled.

And a flood of Corgis raced down the hillside. They charged the Grimm yipping and barking merrily. They bore no weapons, no visible means for fighting monsters. They were completely ordinary dogs.

And yet more and more of them kept coming over the rise. Like an inevitable tide, they pressed onward.

Then they met the line of Grimm, and the Grimm _lost_.

"What." Aka asked in shock. Shiro just shook his head.

The Corgis tore into the Grimm with Fang and Paw, demolishing even the mighty Goliaths with a single blow. They even brought down the Nevermores, flying through the use of some indiscernible power.

As the two trained hunters watched in awe, an adorable dog trotted up to them. He arched his back, and noticeable pops filled the air.

"I must say," Zwei announced happily, scratching at his ear as he sat on his rear. He looked over at the two humans with his best doggy smile. "It feels good to cut loose once in a while."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.9 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Alright." Ruby clapped her hands together. "Does everyone know what they have to do?"

An affirmative chorus filled the air of Taiyang's home, and the Loopers meeting broke up as everyone left to get the ball rolling.

"Yang," Taiyang tapped her on the shoulder. "Do you have a sec?" He nodded towards the kitchen, away from the loopers congregating around the refreshments by the front door.

"Sure Dad, what's up?" Yang asked as they left the room.

"I don't want to rain on everyone's parade," Tai replied. "I just needed to ask _someone_...isn't this a little too soon?"

"For Cinder's house arrest to end?" Yang queried. "Marianne makes the call Dad. I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing."

Tai shook his head. "No, not that. I mean.. _for a party_. Hey," He raised a hand to ward off Yang's frown. "Don't look at me like that. You know how I feel about Cinder."

"Then what's your problem?" Yang asked sharply.

"It just feels weird to be celebrating after, well...what she did." Tai responded with a shrug. "I mean, the end of a punishment? It feels inherently...awkward."

Yang's frown grew thoughtful. "You're thinking Ruby might be a little _too_ excited."

"There are quite a few hurt feelings around." Tai responded. "Lisa, Jaune, and Pyrrha to name a few. Even worse, do you think any of them don't understand what Ruby throwing a _party_ means?"

"She's passed." Yang muttered.

"Exactly." Tai responded. "I know Ruby's not just my little girl anymore, but...I'm worried she's going to do some damage unintentionally."

Suddenly Yang snorted.

"Oh, Dad." She replied with a hug. "You don't need to worry about it. Ruby knows what she's doing."

She stepped back. "You need to think of the larger context here."

"Which is?" Tai raised an eyebrow.

"It's hard for you to understand, probably because of when you started looping." She shook her head. "Cinder's _family_."

"So I've seen..."

"More than for just me and Ruby, Dad." Yang cut in. "She's been a part of us all for eons. Time beyond your comprehension, although you might get there someday. When she tried to ascend, it hurt _because_ of how much she meant to us all."

"So when you all found out about her D.I.D., that was..."

"Like losing her." Yang nodded. "It was like realizing that we had never truly been there _for her_ , even while she hit us where it hurt."

She shook her head. "We're not celebrating because Cinder's punishment is ending. We're celebrating because this is the last true division of our family. Now that Cinder's out of house arrest, and not going to be labeled an MLE, we can finally start to put all of this behind us. We can go back to the way things are supposed to be."

"So the party is meant to remind everyone, of how things used to be. Of what they should be." Tai mused.

"It's meant to heal the rift." Yang replied firmly. "As much as it can."

Taiyang nodded thoughtfully. "Ok. I can see that." He paused, and gave Yang a pointed look. "It's not going to be easy, you know."

"Please, Dad. Easy?" Yang snorted once more. "You think Ruby will let that stop her?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.10 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby, I know we already went over this and agreed that a petting zoo would be something we would arrange. However, this is not what I thought you meant when you said that you would provide the creatures for the zoo!" Weiss cried, pointing accusingly at the gray slime in Ruby's arms that was looking at Weiss with two curiosity-filled blue eyes.

"I don't understand. What's the problem with having slimes at the petting zoo?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Ruby, they're _slimes_ ," Weiss pointed out. "They are literally gelatinous blobs of mass that only have one purpose, to eat. Not to mention that the ones you keep in your pocket have a tendency to be either mischievous, aggressive, radioactive or all three at once!" She shuddered, remembering the time she had helped Ruby try and contain a horde of slimes that had managed to escape their corrals and gotten into the food stock inside of Ruby's pocket.

"Hey! I told you that the Tharr slimes were an accident. I've made sure that there won't be any more incidents like that. Besides, I was only planning on having slimes like Harold here in the petting zoo." She hugged the slime closer; it didn't seem to mind, simply looking up at her. "He's from the latest generation of slimes that I've been breeding selectively, so he's quite docile and also rather intelligent. They're even safer than sheep."

"Sheep?" Weiss cocked a brow. "Why sheep specifically?"

"Well, I can't rightfully say bunnies or rabbits, can I?" Ruby said, looking down at Harold and petting him with one hand. The slime purred in contentment.

"Look," Weiss tried to explain, "I simply don't see the appeal, and I doubt anyone else would want to pet a slime-"

Ruby practically shoved Harold in her face. "Look at him! Isn't he cute? How can you say no to a face like that?"

Weiss took a step back, giving her an amused look. "It's a slime," she stated simply.

"And he's freaking adorable!" Ruby squealed as she rubbed the side of her face against Harold.

Weiss sighed. "And what about the pens I prepared? A slime could easily escape from them."

"Well, I'll just have to tell the slimes to stay put. I've trained them."

"You've... trained them?" Weiss asked, giving Ruby a dubious look.

"Yeah, watch." Ruby set Harold down before summoning a stick from her pocket. "Harold, catch!" She said, throwing the stick once she saw she had Harold's attention. Harold happily bounced in the direction Ruby had thrown the stick before dutifully coming back, carrying the stick and dropping it at her feet. "Good boy." Ruby praised him before giving him an apple from her pocket, one Harold happily began munching on.

"Okay, so they're similar to dogs then?" Weiss asked, looking at Harold as if expecting the slime to do something else she could use as an argument against Ruby's idea of a petting zoo. When nothing happened after Harold was done eating the apple, she just sighed. "Fine, we'll have it your way and keep slimes in the petting zoo. Just make sure they don't attack anyone and stay in their pens. The idea was to open up the zoo to the public for the rest of the loop once the party is over after all."

Ruby saluted, leading the slime away. Weiss just shook her head before looking down to her clipboard for what she had to do next.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.11 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Okay..." Ruby mused. "I can see why Cinder brought Emerald and Mercury-it's kind of hard for her to shake them, even after breaking away from Adam, and at the least they provide a non-looper emotional support for her. But, um... Penny?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Why'd you bring Neon and Ciel?"

Penny rubbed the back of her head. "Ciel caught me sneaking out to come to the party, and she was in the middle of lecturing me when Neon came in and... well I couldn't figure out a way to sneak off so I just took them along for the ride." She shrugged. "And I mean, after all, what happened in that loop..."

"Right." Ruby nodded. "I... guess that makes sense. I mean, I expected Jenny, and Ghira and Lisa aren't that surprising, plus it's nice that Marianne and Hestia decided to come down-"

"Um, what's Oscar doing here?"

Ruby blushed. "Weeeeeeell, um, this is going to be very emotional, and I'm a touchy feely sort and I don't want to make things awkward by giving another looper a yay everything is great kiss and having it interpreted as a by the way I like you kiss so I figured I'd bring somebody over in case, you know-"

Penny quirked an eyebrow. "He's your squeezetoy then."

"Hey!"

Penny's eyebrow remained quirked.

"...Yeah." Ruby sagged. "He's my squeezetoy for the party. Um, but I am paying him-"

"You're paying him for hugs and potential kisses?"

"Yes..."

"How much does he charge for cuddles, and are snuggles forbidden or negotiable?"

Ruby crossed her arms. "Okay, it wasn't my best idea, but there's no need to tease me about it. You know I'm asex-that I'm celibate."

"Sexually," Penny allowed, "but your shipping tendencies and your hug rampages and now this thing with Oscar... Ruby Rose, I think you may be a closeted chronic cuddlebug."

"I am not!"

Penny smirked. "A cuddlebug, or closeted?"

"I-No." Ruby held up her finger. "This is a happy time, and I'm not going to let this train of thought derail everything. I have a speech to make and-"

"Oh look, Oscar and Taiyang are talking."

Ruby managed to pale, whirling about. "Oh no. Uh, hey! Dad! Look, I can explain..."

Penny chuckled, shaking her head as the other girl shot away. "Sometimes, Ruby, you just make it too easy."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.12 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss stepped up beside Ozpin as he sipped at his coffee.

"So...this might be a problem," she murmured quietly.

Across the room, Ruby stood frantically explaining Oscar's presence to her increasingly perplexed father Taiyang. Meanwhile, Oscar looked extremely uncomfortable, and slightly nervous at Ruby's explanation.

"I don't see why," Ozpin replied calmly. "He's not the...looping Oscar."

"Oz." Weiss gave him a flat stare. "Really."

Ozpin sighed. "Oh, fine then. It's a problem. What would you have me do? Tell her _now_?"

He gestured widely at the decorations and festivities with his coffee mug.

Weiss frowned. "No, I suppose not." Her gaze sharpened. "But we _do_ need to tell her. _Soon_."

Ozpin glanced back towards Oscar, who was currently on the receiving end of a rather threatening lecture from Taiyang as Ruby stood wringing her hands.

"Soon." He agreed reluctantly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.13 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Everyone! If I could have everyone's attention please?"

Emerald blinked as the entire crowd turned to look at the girl with blood-red hair standing behind a podium. "Was that there before?" she whispered to Mercury. "I don't think that was there before."

"Now, most of you already know we're here. Those of you who don't, I suggest you ask whoever brought you-it'd probably be more believable coming from them then a _total_ stranger." The redhead half smiled at the faint wave of chuckles, before gaining a somber expression. "In all seriousness... A great crime was committed, and a terrible madness inflicted, and these events were so intertwined that our whole world was shaken. It has taken some time for us all to recover, and we have locked away the cause while we did, but today the lock is opened and we must, together, pass our judgement. Cinder Fall... step forward."

The green-haired woman blinked as her employer strode to the front of the crowd. There was no whisper, though there were stares-strange stares, she realized, both wary and sympathetic, a mixture she hadn't seen before. On a whim, she grabbed Mercury's hand and took up position behind Cinder-and that got an even odder reaction, with everyone present rolling their eyes or chuckling, as if she had made some sort of tired joke. Cinder turned around, opening her mouth to speak-

"No, no." The redhead smiled. "They're fine. They might not be a part of this exactly, but it works."

Cinder blinked. "Are you sure, Ruby? They-"

"You're going to have to explain it to them anyway. You brought them, after all."

"...fair enough."

The redhead-Ruby?-cleared her throat. "Cinder Fall. You have been restricted to Remnant, but that restriction was always temporary. This loop, for your own health and safety, the code that keeps you here is being removed. And as you rejoin the larger multiverse, it is up to your fellow Loopers of Remnant to determine how you are to be considered."

Emerald glanced between her and Cinder, her mind whirling. Restricted to Remnant? Multiverse? Loopers...?

"I have here a list-a list on which every one of us has commented, voting for your status. There are a number of notes; your sanity is still in question, your friendship will have to be re-earned in numerous cases, and one or two last minute alterations were made this loop alone. But on the topic of you being a malicious looping entity, there is a clear, defined answer."

The redhead put the paper she had pulled out of thin air down. "And that answer is... no. We, the loopers of Remnant, do unanimously decree that while Cinder Fall still has much to recover, her actions were taken under extenuating circumstances and she is not a threat to any branch of Yggdrasil."

For some reason, the crowd started applauding, some more loudly then others. Emerald noticed Cinder's expression, shocked and relieved, and gave Mercury a desperately confused look. He shrugged helplessly, joining in clapping with the rest of the group; Emerald joined in, unsure of why, but hoping it was a good thing.

"I... I didn't... really?" Cinder's voice choked. "Unanimous?"

"You're family," Ruby replied simply. "Maybe not the best example, and you've still got a ways to go, but for this? You're ready, and we all know it." She smiled. "And we're all proud of you."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.14 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The applause settled down and the party finally began in earnest with music playing, refreshments being served and a few activities being offered for both loopers and non-loopers. Ghira turned to his wife, who had explained a small part of why they were currently here. He had listened to her story and accepted some of the harder to believe things, most of her claims being supported by multiple people he had met since then. But she had neglected to tell him everything and now, after having heard this girl, Ruby speak of things he didn't understand, he latched on to the promise of an explanation.

"So, I suppose now is a good time to ask you what is going on?" he calmly asked. "You explained to me about the loops and how you re-live a portion of your life with several others going through the same thing, but you never explained why we're here right now. I understand it has something to do with the woman named Cinder over there, but I would very much like an explanation."

"Of course," Kali replied. "I intended to explain everything anyways. Let's find a place to sit down. It might take some time to explain everything properly." She led him over to a picnic table that had been set up.

"So, let's see, I've explained the loops, variant loops, fused loops... oh, right. I need to explain the subspace pocket. We're also to bring over powers and objects by storing them in a space within our soul." Kali demonstrated by making a few lien appear in her right hand as an example before putting them back into her pocket.

"Now, let me explain to you about Admins and the greatest taboo for loopers, Ascension."

...

"It is a lot to take in at once. The idea that our world nearly became destroyed." Ghira said slowly. "However, I will trust in your decision, as well as the other loopers who believe this to be right. After all, the vote was unanimous, and as a non-looper, I have little say in this either way."

Kali however, shook her head. "Your opinion does matter. You too are a resident of Remnant. To us, even your opinion is meaningful."

Ghira smiled at her. "Thank you, but I stand by what I said. I trust both my wife and daughter to have made the right decision. As well as your friends. I don't believe I have anything to fear while I am here with friends."

"Well said. Anything you'd like to order?" Zwei asked, offering the pair a menus each while wearing a tuxedo tailored to his biology.

Ghira stared at Zwei in surprise. Kali rolled her eyes as she took one of the menus and had a quick look through it while her husband was trying to comprehend the talking dog for a moment.

"I think we'll take some of Ruby's MintMango cookies and some tea." Kali said, handing Zwei back the menu. Zwei took it and nodded before leaving them alone again.

"Zwei is a looper. He learned to speak over time and just like anyone other looper here, a little bit odd." Kali explained to her husband. "Now, after having some tea, would you like for us to go over and see Blake together with her brother and girlfriend? I'm sure they wouldn't mind our company."

She couldn't quite hide her amusement as Ghira looked after Zwei, who was adorably making his way towards the house.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.15 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well... this is it, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"...How are you feeling?"

"Well... I... I know I'm going to miss you. At least for a while. But..."

"...but?"

"But I'm worried that... I'll move on. That what we have-what we had... won't be as important."

"You know... that's okay."

"What?"

"It's something that most loopers don't remember... sometimes people just drift apart. And that's okay. You won't be hurting me, if you move on."

"But... will you?"

"...Will I move on?"

"Yes."

"Not for a while. But... yes. Eventually."

"Oh."

"It won't be that this didn't mean anything. This is going to be a part of us forever. I just means that... that we'll find meaning elsewhere."

"That... that's a good way of looking at things."

"Yes."

"...I should say it, before I have to go. I should say it now."

"Then say it."

"...Glynda? I... I love you."

"And I love you, Jenny."

"...let's make the most of the time we have left."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.16 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The downside of living in a Loop of self enforced sobriety was that you didn't got many drunk antics. The upside was that when sobriety was broken for whatever reason, the drunk antics tended to be pretty damn awesome and pretty damn embarrassing. That was part of why Roman had decided to become Remnant's local brewmaster and bartender: drunk people made for easy blackmail. Oh the things he had on his fellows. Ozpin's secret date with his guitar, Taiyang and Qrow's Manbaby Phase, Glynda's tendency to do unspeakable things with her heels, all of it was great blackmail material.

And now Raven was sitting quite comfortably at his bar, sipping sweet Coors beer. Roman imagined that it probably had some sort of reasonable connection to the bandit, but he hadn't the foggiest, or should he say smokiest, idea what it could be. Probably a reference.

He hadn't been sure she would have lost her inhibitions with regular beer-not only was Qrow her twin brother, but as a bandit queen she probably had experience with the best of the raid. So he'd decided to risk a little... extra he'd picked up in some other loop-nothing too bad, all it did was quadruple the effectiveness of alcohol, and he'd been ready to make some excuse in case she caught on. Which she hadn't. He was in the clear for now.

That said, Raven was getting steadily drunker. "And then he said 'nah Ray, I'm gunna shape up and go slobber or somen. Winter says it's... mom issues.' And I'm here, I'm saying 'what what what, Winger bit you's dick off?' Now he got real an... awn... what's da word?"

"Furious," Roman supplied, pretending to clean a shot glass in as stereotypical a manner he could manage.

"Yeah... I don't get why he's furry. He an Win yif all da time when I'm not looking."

"Boy, do I know," Roman murmured. He glanced at the cup and set it aside, getting another one out. "I wish I didn't."

"I get why's Yang a furry. She's got Blake, and she ain't got me." Raven sniffed hard. "She ain't got me. I ain't got no one."

Roman stopped cleaning the glass.

Raven sniffed again. "Sewer, yous all got Vale and Coffee and Birdy and shopkeep and all dem, I git... what? Bunch cha blank faces. Killers and... and... taker guys. Not even cools taker guys like you. I got me nothin and nos one."

Roman set the shot glass aside, grumbled to himself, and pulled a bottle of silvery purple drink from below the table, handing it to Raven. "Take it."

"I dun wanna."

Roman dragged Raven forward by the hair, shoved the bottle down her throat, and got her to chug it. By she was finished gagging and glaring and flailing around, he pulled the bottle out and glared at Raven. Waiting.

The light slowly crept back into Raven's drink dulled eyes. The bandit queen shook the chains of spirit and liquor from her mind and came back around. Without much emotion she pulled her sword out.

"Oh fuck off Branwen, we both know you can't land a finger on me, much less a sword." Roman pulled her sword out of his hat for emphasis. "Cut the shit, and listen. I'm gonna give you some sweet advice."

Raven didn't comment, stood up, left her chair behind, turned around, and stood facing Roman's bar (to her confusion). "Alright, step one, don't fuck with my head Torchwick."

"Don't even try to boss me around, I've been doing this shit for a lot longer than you have," Roman reminded her. He plucked a drink from behind his bar, setting it down. "Now, you can be like the drink here: at the bar. Or your find out what happens if the drink leaves the bar."

That metaphor wasn't exactly the most inventive Raven had ever heard. Roman ignored her silent annoyance with him and focused instead on his story. "I've never told you about my wife, have I?"

"First off, you'd like her. She was a colossal bitch to me. Roman do this, Roman do that, Roman stop bleeding out all over the carpet, you'll ruin the upholstery. Yada yada yada. Except that was her this Loop. Other times she's a rival crime lord. Sometimes she's dead, a long lost heroic Huntress. Something's he's a man and Neo's our adoptive daughter. Thing is, I don't get to say what I know about them."

"So one person is the equivalent of my whole tribe!? Wow, what a stirring speech. I'm so uplifted."

"My spouse, my contacts, my associates, my colleagues, and my rivals. All of them, changing by the Loop, as fluid as the tide." Roman sat his hands on his bar, eyeing Raven. "I know, maybe, six people by name. Maybe. Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Adam, Perry, and Neo."

The master thief waited for the snappy remark. He got none. "Neo was my partner, the person who started this whole mess with me, way back when. I was alive, I was immortal, I was uncontested in the Loop for greatest their in the world. It got boring real fast. Ozpin tracked us down, conscripted us, and we spent the next two hundred thousand years screwing around at his command. Sucked."

Roman pulled a second drink, which looked like it had mint in it. "We freed ourselves from that though. Lucked out, thanks to Icy over there. And really... that was that. Me and Neo, now out in the open, against a world that we could rule on a whim. And I was dead."

"Never gonna get the answers I wanted. Never gonna know if Neo survived Ruby's little stunt. All I knew was that I was dead. I still had Neo though."

"That's different," Raven muttered. "Look at her. I've never been a part of Yang's life."

Roman watched Yang dance with Blake, and nodded. "That is true. But you're here with eternity, and she and Taiyang just so happen to be some of the faces you recognize. So my advice, as the man who's been dealing with Neo's little rivalry with Yang for way too long, and as the proud father of a psychopathic little girl, my advice is just this: fuck everything, and go get drunk with her."

Roman pushed the two drinks forward. "Strawberry Sunrise, with a little umbrella, and a catnip chocolate liqueur. For Yang and Blake. Go give them a drink, and enjoy the party."

Raven glared at Roman, but did take the drinks. She eyed the thief with a hint of annoyance. "If you tell anyone what I said to you, I will-"

"Hung me down and emasculate me?" Roman sighed and shook his head. "What is with you new Loopers? No class, no inventiveness, the whole world of violent threats and you can't give me something original? You need some serious lessons."

Raven rolled her eyes, but smiled, and left with the drinks in hand. "Hey girls, got something for you."

Meanwhile, Roman discreetly tracked his camera down and followed after the trio of ladies, and a staggering Kali. His little drunkenness cure only lasted an hour, and the drinks he had given Raven would get Yang and Blake incredibly drunk. Time to see what antics he could document and-

"Ahem."

Roman stopped, and glared at Weiss, who plucked his favorite blackmailing camera from his grasp. "Killjoy."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.17 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Neo walked into a bar. Qrow and Roman were seated in the corner, arguing vehemently. Strangely, Qrow seemed to have the upper hand, despite the age gap between the two.

"What's going on here?" She asked suspiciously. Roman and Qrow practically jumped in their seats, turning to face her with alacrity.

"Neo!" Roman exclaimed with faux happiness. "Just the woman we wanted to see. Come, sit sit."

Neo rolled her eyes even as she grabbed a stool.

"What are you two reprobates up to?" She asked again.

"Hey, I'm no reprobate." Qrow refuted.

"Drunk." Roman pointed out.

"Thief." Qrow replied.

"I needed to be here for this?" Neo asked again.

"Yes." The two men replied simultaneously.

"You see Neo," Roman began. "This is kind of an important loop, and given the way you feel about Cinder-"

"You better not mess this up." Qrow finished pointedly. Roman glared at him.

"We agreed _I_ would do the talking."

"No. We _agreed_ you would help me sit on little miss revenge here for the loop, and in return I wouldn't tell her-"

"A bubububuh!" Roman interjected. "Not another word you scoundrel!"

Qrow sat back with a satisfied grin on his face, as Roman scowled at him. Neo raised her eyebrow.

"You two really think I would do something to mess up the party?"

"No," Qrow replied. "I don't." Then he narrowed his eyes at her. "I just think you're the most _likely_ to mess with Cinder at such a crucial moment."

Neo snorted. "And you care?"

"Not as such," Qrow admitted freely. "Cinder's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

Roman leaned forward. "We just don't want anyone to ruin things for Ruby."

Neo sat back in her chair, arms folded. She frowned, tilted her head, and at last rolled her eyes.

" _Fine_." She allowed grudgingly. "I won't mess with Ruby's party."

Roman winced as Qrow's grin grew even wider.

"Oh, you won't be messing with it alright..."

...

Neo gritted her teeth as she wandered the party. Roman had convinced her at a later date that she really should hold off for the loop and she'd taken her frustration out on the Grimm instead.

Unfortunately, Qrow had insisted on following her around at the party, randomly, and she just _knew_ he was using his semblance on her.

Wait. Was that ice cream over there? Neo wandered over to look at the selection.

"No way!" She exclaimed.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.18 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Blake tried to hide her nervousness. She did mostly succeed, only the faintest twitch of her eyes as they darted between the people she'd pulled off to one side. This meeting, she knew, had to come... she just hadn't expected it to come this soon. The sounds of the party around her did little to divert her attention; all of her being was focused on this one moment.

"So..." The dark-haired boy looked at the two adults."...You're looping now?"

"I am." Kali nodded toward her husband. "Ghira isn't, but... I've filled him in."

"Ah." Sasuke's stiff expression softened. "It can be trying... my daughter isn't looping either. Then again, she isn't born until pretty far into the loop, so..."

"Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to meet both of you." Haru gave them a formal bow. "I look forward to future visitations, and hope for fair meetings between us."

Okay. Initial greetings were courteous, if stiff. Blake took a breath, trying to force down the tension in her throat.

"So..." Ghira looked between the two. "You are Blake's... adopted siblings?"

Sasuke gave him a flat look. "That is how she introduced us, yes."

Haru frowned at Sasuke. "You don't have to be so sarcastic about it."

"I wasn't being sarcastic."

"Yes, actually, you were."

Blake cringed. "Um, Haru?"

"How is pointing out what happened at all sarcastic?"

"It's not the information, it's the tone of voice. If you want to present yourself in a good light-"

"I've had etiquette lessons from more people then you've ever known, spanning five times the length you've been looping-"

Blake cleared her throat. "Sasuke, you really don't-"

"And clearly you need double that, as your first reaction to meeting adoptive family members is to insult them to their face-"

"Oh, yes, because being sarcastic is automatically insulting!"

"So now you admit to it?"

Kali leaned in toward Blake. "They do this often?"

"This is actually the first time they've met each other," Blake replied. "I should have thought this through better, really."

"-and it's not like he'll remember anyway-"

"Oh, right, you're married to Sakura." Haru rolled her eyes. "Of course you would-EEP!"

"Consider your next words very carefully," Sasuke growled, blade pressed against Haru's neck.

"Sasuke!" Blake stepped forward, gesturing to her parents. "Civilian! Non-looper! _Chill!"_

The boy glanced toward the Belladonnas and, with a very slow breath, made his sword vanish. "I... apologize. My wife is recovering, but I'm still hearing quite a lot of bad talk about her... and this whole situation with Cinder is bringing up bad memories."

Haru cleared her throat. "I... I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have brought her into that conversation. Especially not as I did." She rubbed her neck. "I suppose I forget, sometimes, that not everyone has had as peaceful a life as mine."

Blake let out a breath, turning to her parents. "I... really am sorry, I was... just hoping for them to get to know you. I didn't mean for..." She trailed off.

Kali looked from her, to the other two loopers awkwardly staring at the ground. "...well," she said slowly, "this whole party is about... mending relationships, and rebuilding family. I think a round of forgiveness isn't unwarranted."

Ghira sighed, rubbing his brow. "Is this another looper thing I'm going to have to ask to get explained?"

"Maybe later," Kali assured him. "For now, let's get to know our... out of universe adopted children, shall we?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.19 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Neo was enjoying herself at the party. Stealing from the non-looping guests, eating ice cream, it was excellent. Well, other than the fact that it was for Cinder.

"Hello Neo." Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

"Hello Cinder. How do you like your party so far?" Neo asked, a confident facade on her face.

"Oh, it's going well. I was actually very surprised. Especially the fact that team JNPR voted for me as well," Cinder spoke lightly, before her expression hardened slightly as she leaned towards Neo. "I know what you did." Cinder spoke in a low voice.

Neo was internally panicking at this. ' _How could she have figured it out?! This is really bad. I need to find Roman and get out of here ASAP._ ' On the outside, Neo was trying to maintain her cheery facade.

"I haven't done anything, Cinder. I mean, I wouldn't want anyone to be mad at me, would I?"

"My brother will find out, you know." Cinder said.

"Find out about what?" Neo put another scoop of ice cream in her mouth. Ice cream that lost its appeal. Ice cream that Cinder was gesturing at.

"Oreo ice cream. Now how could you have gotten that, I wonder..." Cinder said. "Oh well, I may never know. Enjoy your ice cream, Neo. I'm going to go see what Ruby and Oscar are doing."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.20 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Oz."

"James."

The two men stood, watching the celebration around them.

"...You know," Ironwood mused, "I've had some time to think over what it means to be in command."

"Oh?"

"I used to think it meant I was in control. That every action I demanded would work as I anticipated."

Ozpin allowed a small, wry smirk. "Such total order is not feasible, nor healthy to expect."

"Mmm. I got too used to dealing with robots." Ironwood frowned. "Nonsapient robots, I mean."

"Of course."

"It's about trust, isn't it? Knowing that those you lead will do the best they can."

"That's a very good way to put it. I certainly put a lot of faith in Ruby and her compatriots." Ozpin sighed. "Too much, as a matter of fact. They're students in baseline, and-"

"-and if there's one thing I've learned about guilt, it's that it can be easy to fall into and hard to climb out of."

"Hmm. Aren't I supposed to be the wise old wizard?"

"And I'm supposed to be the stoic, emotionless general."

"THERE you two are!" Ruby suddenly appeared between them, grabbing their arms. "Come on, come on, you're going to miss it!"

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow, even as the girl dragged them off. "Miss what?"

"The group photo! Grif's set up the camera, Keita's working to get everyone into position-we're letting our non-looping guests in too, and Hestia and Marianne-"

Ironwood chuckled. "Enthusiastic, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! This is going to be a big family photo and a celebration of loopers and-and-it's important. IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT!" Ruby barely kept herself from squealing. "Hurry, hurry!"

"Alright, alright..." Ironwood followed after her quickly. "Try not to tear my arm off. It's hard to repair..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **81.21 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder collapsed into the seat, worn out. It was a good worn out, the kind of feeling one gets from time well spent.

"How are you feeling?" Ruby asked from the seat beside her. She was leaning back with her eyes closed, but Cinder was sure she knew exactly who had joined her at the table.

"A little overwhelmed actually." Cinder admitted, pulling a drink of blood out of her Pocket.

Around their island of calm, the party continued. The loopers had secured a venue with an excellent view of Vale, and their shenanigans had swiftly grown to fill the city. It was like a carnival, and the slightly confused citizens joined in gratefully when Ozpin gave it his stamp of approval.

There was a dance floor, music, fireworks, food. A petting zoo prepared by the Schnee heiress and a pretty intense obstacle course shipped in from Vacuo.

The loopers had carefully segregated their most dangerous preparations from the people, with a variety of spells and mind-bending techniques to make them practically invisible. Taiyang had even had trouble finding them at first.

The loopers themselves had thrown themselves into the celebration with reckless abandon. Ruby, Yang and Taiyang had spent hours showing Cinder from booth to booth, Ruby in particular had been almost glowing with joy.

It had been... _nice_. There was some awkwardness, some hesitance. But as Cinder encountered the loopers in the various activities, even as she saw them hesitate, she also saw them smile and reach out to her.

She hadn't realized how much she missed seeing them smile.

A full day and a night of activities designed by and for loopers. It had been an endless carousel of fun, and a chance to just let herself go and enjoy the company of those she had grown to hold dear.

And on top of it all, they had set her _free_! She was free at last to leave Remnant and explore the sometimes wondrous yet also horrifying worlds of Yggdrasil. The light of Equestria and the darkness of a Sith's calling. She would be like any other looper. Not an MLE, not a feared and powerful enemy. But a free entity.

It was so much, and Cinder couldn't begin to process it all.

"I suppose the fireworks were a bit much." Ruby allowed. Cinder choked on her drink.

" _Fireworks!_ " Cinder half laughed, half coughed. "You think the-"

Cinder paused as she caught Ruby's knowing eye. It was the eye of the ageless immortal. It was the eye of her first true friend, and her sister.

She turned back to face the view, and the somehow smokeless fireworks that had filled the sky for endless hours already.

"They are rather impressive." She allowed quietly.

Ruby nodded silently, and side by side, the two sisters watched the lights burst forth in the night.


	82. Pockets and Personal Priorities

**82.1 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Muahahahahahaha!" Cinder cackled maniacally in her best imitation of a cartoon villain. She posed dramatically before the unAwake team RWBY as they discovered her secret base in Mountain Glenn.

"Cinder!" Ruby shouted her name dramatically. "But...how could you do this?"

The confusion and anger on her face were completely natural. Cinder was sure, however, Ruby would appreciate her efforts to fit all the tropes when she Woke up.

"You fool!" she declared. "I have always been your enemy. Face my wrath! Face... _the Dark Sword McAwesomesauce!_ "

"Ackkk! What the-"

Cinder found herself clutching the black sword she had pulled out of her pocket... and one of the vampires from inside her pocket. Mercury to be exact. For whatever reason, he appeared to have been pulled through with the sword.

"Cinder? Where am I?!" The vampire looked about in fear and confusion.

"This is Mountain Glenn in Season Two, you idiot, and you're ruining my moment! What were you doing with my sword?" Below them the tension bled away from team RWBY as they watched Cinder fall into a bickering match with the suddenly present Mercury.

"I was playing volleyball," Mercury replied sheepishly. "Do you think you could send me back? It was kind of a close match."

" _Fine._ " Cinder sighed. "But let them know we're going to have to _talk_ about this." And vamp-Mercury vanished with a comedic *pop*, leaving the sword in Cinder's hand.

Cinder turned back to the very confused team RWBY. _Four Quafflebarns,_ she noted absently.

"Now then. Where were we?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.2 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I volunteeer as Tribute!"

Qrow's eye twitched as Winter Everdeen stepped out of the crowd with her head held high. Her sister, Weiss Everdeen, was released as she stepped up to the stand. The obnoxious pink lady's applause rang out alone.

"Oh excellent," she exclaimed. "Ladies and Gentlemen, your Tributes!"

Qrow ignored the crowd as he caught Winter's eye grimly. He was not looking forward to this loop. Blake had made them all read the books as "research" a few millennia past, so he knew what to expect.

Even worse it was a Null loop...with one exception. Maybe it was all in his head, but Qrow was pretty sure his Semblance was still working for some reason.

"...and may the odds be ever in your favor," the crazy pink lady declared.

"Trust me Lady," Qrow replied with a groan, "They always are."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.3 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

RWBY Loop: Kali Gun

Kali really wondered about these loops sometimes. This loop was weird, it was a pure human loop as far as she could tell, yet she herself had kept her Faunus traits. She was missing a lot of memories and assumed her unAwake self had amnesia due to some accident. She was also currently having a drink.

Kali had already tried to find the Anchor for the loop by pinging, but so far Kali had only gotten one ping back in response. Not knowing what loop this was, she didn't know who to look for either. Hopefully it was Ruby, but she couldn't be certain.

Kali herself at the moment was sitting at the counter of a saloon on the outskirts of a town called Dankin town. Behind her two men were actually talking about her and her horrible reputation, something that was bound to become a problem this loop. According to her loop memories and the men speaking behind her back, she was currently the most well known criminal on the planet. Although, why exactly, she didn't know. Her idea to simply go out into the wilderness and make this a vacation loop was shot due to the entire planet being almost nothing but desert. Lacking the necessary things within her pocket to survive in the desert on her own, Kali had no choice but to rely on resources only found in towns. She was hoping to avoid getting caught by the many people looking to kill her and hopefully live to the end of the loop.

Kali really didn't envy the one she was replacing. She had a reputation in this loop, that no-one who got close to her would be spared, that everywhere she went she left only death and destruction in her wake. Her loop memories confirmed this to be untrue as most of the destruction was actually brought by everyone's attempts to bring her down, she herself, as far as her loop memories could tell her had never killed anyone. In fact, her unAwake self wasn't even comfortable at the sight of blood. Yet, people assumed it was her doing and she had earned the nickname Kali the Stampede. She could almost understand the effort people put into capturing her, after all, she had Awoken with a bounty of 60,000,000 double dollars on her head. More than enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life.

As the owner of the saloon stepped out with a tank of some sort, Kali could hear him drop it in panic as he ran off. The two men behind her readied their guns as she decided to finish her drink, certain she'd need it for this loop. As the saloon was suddenly horizontally cut in half just above head height, the top part being blown away from the force, Kali noted that she had managed to process the fact that it was a giant boomerang that had done so.

Outside stood a lot of men, all holding guns, ready to fire. The two men behind Kali ran away while Kali noticed the saloon's metal sign was about to land in between her and the men about to shoot. She decided that simply staying in place was much safer as the sign was likely going to shield her from any and all bullets unloaded towards her. As the squad of men most likely after her life unleashed a storm of bullets all around her, she simply stayed put, waiting for it to blow over. The bullets flying by her were quite indiscriminate to everything they impacted, destroying what was left of the saloon, leaving out her, a part of the counter and the stool she was sitting on.

As the men stopped shooting, she put down her now empty drink, the sign finally falling over from all the abuse, revealing a completely unharmed Kali, making all of the men gasp in surprise. Standing up, Kali took in the men just having attempted to kill her, the boomerang passing by overhead before being caught by a big man with a mechanical arm.

"I finally found ya," the man said with a cocky grin.

Kali wondered if this was the other looper for a moment and decided to ping. She once again got a ping in response, but the man didn't seem to be reacting to it, revealing him to not be the looper. Deciding she had had enough, Kali drew her own in loop gun and aimed it at the man, her loop memories providing the knowledge that would let her disarm them all without actually harming anyone.

"Click." Was the only thing to sound as she pulled the trigger. Blinking in surprise, she tried again, only to realize, she was out of ammunition.

Looking back at the men in front of her, she saw them all ready to shoot again. She decided this really wasn't her loop.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.4 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss stepped into the dorm room and had to stop at the sight. Apparently, she had not stepped into the dorm room, but rather a laboratory of some kind with her team leader, Ruby stirring a big pot while wearing safety goggles and a lab coat. Almost afraid to ask what had happened with their dorm room, Weiss decided that she needed an answer to what it was she was seeing.

"Um, Ruby. What exactly are you doing?" Weiss asked, letting her gaze follow the impossible room that was bigger than what their dorm room had been.

"Oh, Weiss. I thought you were in class," Ruby said sheepishly as she observed he unAwake teammate. "Did you forget something?" she asked, receiving a nod in response from the rather speechless Weiss. "As for your question, I'm trying to mix together the perfect blend of McDonald's Szechuan Sauce. I have the recipe, but it's a little tricky to get it perfect when making it yourself," Ruby admitted as she continued stirring.

"Who's McDonald?" Weiss asked.

Taking a look at the contents of the pot, Ruby nodded to herself before stepping down from the stool she had been using to stir the unusually large pot and walked up to Weiss, producing a book. "You're having History right now, right?" she asked, holding up this loops history book from the dorm room currently inside her pocket.

"If I weren't already running late, I'd be demanding an explanation. But seeing as how I'd rather not be late, I'm simply going to ask. You can restore our room, right?" Receiving a nod from her team leader, Weiss decided it was good enough and took the offered book from her. "Once I'm back from class, we're going to talk about... whatever all this is together with Blake and Yang," Weiss said before stepping out of the room and hurrying off to class.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief but then pouted. She had worked really hard to get excused from history lessons this loop, as well as several other courses without tipping Ozpin off to her not needing any Huntress training Beacon could offer since a long time back. She had wanted to spend her time at Beacon while also working on her sauce in secret without anyone noticing. Unfortunately it seemed she now had to explain the loops to her unAwake teammates. And all because she felt like not doing it inside of her pocket... Still, unable to do anything about it, Ruby shrugged and got back to her sauce.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.5 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Penny glared at Cinder. Cinder sighed.

"To... be entirely fair," she offered weakly, "I started this initiative long before you started looping-and when you did, I stuck to creating my own... versions of..."

She trailed off.

"...Okay, but she isn't a Penny _drone_. She's still sane."

"I am standing right here," Penny X-634 deadpanned.

Penny sighed, turning to her. "Look, I understand this wasn't your fault and my own... feelings are somewhat biased, but-"

"No, I get it. This is incredibly awkward, for both of us." She paused. "Should... should I call you Penny Prime, or-"

"I don't know-how do you talk to the other... Pennys that are around?"

"Depends on the context. Generally we refer to each other by job title if we're in a business interaction, by number if we're being casually social, and..." She coughed. "Well, our first name is reserved for _close_ friends."

"...Very well, Minister Penny, Penny Prime is acceptable."

"Glad we got that cleared up," Cinder muttered. "Now then-we need to discuss the issue of defecting Pennydrones."

Penny Prime brought her hands together. "Yes, you mentioned that. Explain?"

"Pennydrones all came from redside, and... I don't know if you recall this, but one of the prerequisites for becoming a Pennydrone was being psychologically broken. The long and short of it is every last Pennydrone is mentally unstable, with the vast majority of them being clinically psychopathic." Minister Penny gestured helplessly. "So when some of them surrendered or outright defected..."

"You didn't know if you could trust them," Penny Prime finished.

"Oh, we knew we couldn't. A number of them admitted to switching sides out of boredom, and not too few were cagey and... giggly. We have to treat their intel as possible, but not certain. And.."

She put a large scroll on the table. "There's a petition to have them rehabilitated."

Penny Prime looked it over. "...A lot of numbers in here. A lot of Pennies."

"Yeah, the general consensus is 'we could have been them,' or something on those lines. And it would be nice to rehabilitate them, but..." Minister Penny bit her lip.

"I remember, at one point, the Pennydrones started killing each other just to feel pain. I had to order their physical senses deactivated." Cinder rubbed her forehead. "They are really, really screwed up. Even if we help them out, they could probably become as much a threat to themselves as to others..."

"One of the options being considered is reprogramming. Or just flat out memory wiping."

Penny Prime tilted her head. "Basic recovery treatment isn't an option?"

"We have therapists," Minister Penny allowed, "but they're... not equipped to handle something of this scale. By which I mean the trauma, not the number of Pennydrones."

"Hmm." Penny Prime tapped her chin. "Fiddling with their minds is a delicate business. Memory and personality can be split up into multiple sections." She paused, giving Cinder a glance. "If I were to suggest... perhaps a partnership program?"

Cinder quirked an eyebrow. "A... what?"

"A partnership program. Link a Pennydrone to an undamaged Penny via digital network. Let the Pennydrone feel what the Penny feels. The primary issue, as I understand it, is that the Pennydrones are incapable of feeling anything anymore-if they learn what they're 'supposed' to feel, experience emotions vicariously, they may in fact start feeling again."

"Hmm." Minister Penny considered the offer. "That... does present some trouble for the Penny, though. Even if the connection is one-way, there's a chance that the Pennydrone might grow obsessed with the connection and find a way to become... demanding."

"It would have to be monitored. But it's the least violating of the options I can think of. So long as the Pennies volunteer, of course."

"...it's a far better proposal then anything we've kicked around so far," Minister Penny mused. "I'll pass it along to Emerald, see what she thinks of it, and make sure the council votes in the upcoming weeks."

Cinder nodded. "Is there anything else that requires our attention while we're here?"

"Well... now that you mention it..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.6 KanameFujiwara**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Size

Lisa Lavender is a curious person. It fit her role as a reporter. Sometimes, however, she was too curious for her own good. These are the responses when asked a particular question, "Does size really matter?":

"Sure I like it big. But a weapon isn't just about the size. You have to consider the mobility, the compactness, the strength of the material. Take Crescent Rose for example -"

—Ruby, rambling for hours on end about what makes a weapon a weapon.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Size is overrated. Tried it. I can see the appeal. But if you asked me it's really about the _technique_ -"

—Weiss, regarding her escapades.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"It's not just about the physical aspect. A relationship revolves around bonds - about what you offer and what they offer. And sure sometimes the offering is a mismatch... but I think love is worth all that trouble."

—Blake, casually deflecting the original question.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Sure it matters. Those that said no just have not experience what a hard f****** can do to a girl. But hey you don't need a d*** to make her happy. That's what fists are for. Why let me tell you -"

—Yang, describing things too disturbing to be recorded.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"You would think that I would say yes. But did you know that the ... sizes ... are loop variable?"

—Pyrrha, in regards to the subject.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I don't mind small details. What I mind is the _endurance..."  
_  
—Nora and her fascination with the concept of marathon...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...I believe we are above such vulgarities Lisa."

—Glynda, responding in her boring prudish tone.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"It's part of the appeal but that's not what really sells it. What really sells it is the _intensity_..."

—Winter, recalling something hot and passionate.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"That's so last season. These days I prefer something ... _wilder_..."

—Neo, before showing her _collections_.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Surprisingly no. I know it's hard to believe but there's more to the act than just the size of the anatomy."

—Penny, not mentioning her abilities to modify her body at will. It gets kinkier from there.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I think we all know my position on this."

—Kali, while gesturing to a photo of her and her huge husband, Ghira Belladonna.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Yes."

—Raven, before teleporting away.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.3 (con't) Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali Gun Loop: Part 2

Raven considered the loop she had found herself in a fairly decent one. In this loop, a lot of things relied on strength. The only thing was, that the loops has seen fit that she was an employee of the Bernardelli Insurance Society. Meanwhile, it seemed like Kali had landed herself in a position as the most feared and well known criminal of this loop, Kali the Stampede. Raven found it amusing and wondered if Kali was Awake this loop. She had responded to a single ping earlier, so she suspected that Kali wasn't Awake and it was the Anchor that had pinged. However, you could never know with the loops, so for the moment, Raven had decided to play things baseline, seeing as how she and her traveling companion known as Meryl Stryfe were actually trying to find Kali, she'd find out sooner or later. Some small part of Raven actually hoped for Kali to be Awake and that this loop had a stealth Anchor refusing to respond to the ping.

If her loop memories were to be believed, this loop had some odd weaponry. Her own weapon for this loop was no exception as it happened to be a very heavy concussion gun, referred to as a "stun-gun", she somehow managed to hide under her coat. The shots would pop out into X-shaped claws and were powerful enough to knock over trucks. Despite this, they apparently not lethal and would only knock a person over if shot with it. Something Raven wondered about since this was a world without Aura.

Currently on the back of an animal called a thomas, Raven was riding up a path together with Meryl, following a lead on where Kali could be. The sound of gunshots and shouting seemed to suggest they were on the right track. As they reached the peak, Raven instantly knew that Kali was awake. Seeing as how most people up there where unconscious, lying in soap water and Kali was standing there, holding a soap gun. Raven let out a ping and received one in response from a smiling Kali.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Having made their way back into town after having dealt with the men who had been after Kali's life by submitting them to the authorities, Meryl had explained that they were sent by the Bernardelli Insurance Society, offering Keli a box of tuna. Apparently it was well known that Kali enjoyed tuna this loop. The fact that it was given to her as a peace offering said a lot about how serious Meryl was about this assignment, seeing as how tuna wasn't easy to come by on a desert planet. Kali had agreed on letting them follow her around, believing that Raven could keep Meryl safe if trouble came after them, something that was most likely considering the pattern her loop memories laid out. With that, out of the way, Raven asked to speak with Keli alone for a while, eventually convincing Meryl to allow it, despite Kali being a well known criminal.

"So, You're this loops most well known criminal. How did that happen?" Raven asked, sitting next to Kali.

Kali sighed, sagging a little. "Yeah, that seems to be the case. As far as I can tell though, the one I'm replacing is actually a pacifist if I go by my unAwake self's memories. Never shoots to kill or even injure and always gets away without any casualties from the utter destruction the bounty on my head brings."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Then how come you have such a big bounty on your head?" Raven asked, curious about what Kali's loop memories said about it.

"I was getting to that. Besides some childhood memories, the first memory I have is waking up in a completely destroyed town. And apparently, the destruction of that town is entirely blamed on me. And so are the casualties," Kali explained, saddened by the amount of lives that were apparently lost that day.

"I see," was all Raven said before deciding to change the subject. "So, what are your plans for this loop?" Raven asked, receiving a shrug from Kali.

"I was mostly going to try and simply survive this loop until it ended while practicing the skills I've got here to hopefully keep them past this loop."

"So you were intending to go baseline then?"

"Pretty much, although I had to whip out some things from my pocket, otherwise they would have caught me. And since I'm wanted dead or alive, I don't think getting caught is such a good idea. However, now that you and Meryl are here, I think I could manage whatever baseline this world has set out for me together with you two."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that you being cocky I hear? Is that what we're to you, meat shields?" Raven asked, amused as Kali looked at her in horror.

"What? Heavens no! I'd never even considered that." Kali said, shaking her head. "According to my loop memories, I made a vow not to extinguish any life." Kali explained.

"I was just kidding you know." Raven explained, looking up at the cloudless blue sky. "Besides, I'm too curious to see how this loop is supposed to turn out, and you certainly could use some additional skills from loops like these. They'll come well in handy back on Remnant."

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Being able to dodge bullets would conserve a lot of Aura, that's for sure."

"Don't forget that legendary aim of yours, have you tried it out yet, or is it actually not true?" Raven asked, trying to confirm another one of the rumors about Kali the Stampede.

"No, it's true. Despite being a pacifist, I'm apparently an expert marksman," Kali confirmed. "Although, I might require some practice before actually pulling off any trick shots, I'm still having troubles relying only on loop memories to do things," Kali explained, looking sheepishly at Raven. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to help me?" she asked, hopeful.

"I don't see why not. After all, I'm going to be stuck following you anyways. Might as well do something productive while we're at it."

"Oh, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, training is still training. But first, I need to know what your loop memories tell you you're able to do." Raven said, only to notice Kali stiffening at that. "Is something the matter?"

"Well, for one, I have one mechanical arm." Kali began explaining, the two of them talking for a long while, talking about their loop memories and sharing plans for where to go this loop on the planet named Gunsmoke.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kali, Raven, Meryl and a marshal Marianne were looking out over an empty town, frozen completely solid inside of an iceberg.

"What." Kali finally spoke up, staring in disbelief at what she had managed to accomplish using only a pinch of ice dust.

"Well, that's certainly one way to save the day," Raven said, barely managing to hide her amusement.

"I'm convinced you're the real Kali now, but after seeing all that... I don't think I'm even going to attempt trying to capture you," Marianne said, making Kali groan while Raven let a chuckle escape from her.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.7 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure thing Dad, what is it?"

"Well, I'm kind of curious about something," Taiyang said, "Why did you-"

"Make this loop's version of Crescent Rose have two blades on each end?"

"No, I was actually asking about-"

"The retractable wall in my team's dorm? We explained that to you when you started looping."

"Thanks for the reminder," Taiyang deadpanned, "But no, actually what I was wondering is why you decided to give the mole that lives in the backyard a mountain to live in."

"Oh, that? Well, how else is it supposed to be protected from the Grimm? Besides, why not make a mountain out of the molehill?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.8 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun leant back in the tree that looked out over this loop's iteration of Haven. It was silent, the kingdom and academy both deserted, it was eerie. But it looked so peaceful, the sun was beating down on his skin unrelentingly from a clear sky and a cool breeze blew past ruffling his hair. Sun knew he would likely be sunburnt but honestly didn't care.

The only thing that marred the view and showed a hint of what was to come was the storm clouds brewing on the distant horizon.

But Sun was too tired to care.

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

 _"Sun are you serious?" Neptune stared at him with a look of disgust, disbelief and profound incomprehension, "This was how long ago? You have had over a thousand years to get over this girl, who you never even dated. Come on man, how can you still be obsessing over her or even care."_

 _The worlds made Sun flinch, looking down as he wrapped his tail around himself, the soft clatter of people moving up and down the halls outside SSSN's dorm room drifting in._

 _"I never felt you were this obsessive or stupid."_

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Sun felt his head pound painfully, stress, frustration, dehydration and heat exhaustion all playing a part.

 _I should go inside, get a drink or something_.

He didn't move, watching as the sun crossed the sky and the clouds rolled across, darkening the sky. The black clouds rumbled with thunder as they rolled across, the air becoming heavy and ozone filling the air as the wind began to pick up. The green bringing with it the promise of hail, of a storm that would crush Mistral.

At the moment, Sun simply didn't care. What was the point?

It was so hard to care sometimes.

The wind began to howl across the Kingdom, perched high upon the mountain overlooking the kingdom and academy, the storm hit with the force of a freight train. Sharp stinging rain dug into Sun's skin, golf ball sized hail thundered down and smashing against his Aura as the wind howled like the damned.

 _I feel empty. And cold._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 _His team looked at him with disbelief, predictably Neptune was the one that spoke up first._

 _"Sun, you said you were thousands of years old, right?"_

 _Sun blinked, leaning back and scratching his head, "Yeah, kind of completely lost track, really, but at least that. Like I said, I act more or less the same because I loop in_ as _myself and get those memories, I then have to fit in so abrupt personality changes cause problems."_

 _"You not really alive, are you?"_

 _Sun narrowed his currently slate grey eyes, the fact that his eyes colour was not constant was vaguely irritating but not the concern here. Sun thought himself as rather thick skinned but that comment actually hurt, a rush of indignity making Sun bristle. "I am alive, come on man, that's not cool."_

 _"Don't speak to me like that."_

 _Sun looked desperately at Neptune and then to the rest of his team, they looked away. Neptune sighed, looking away as well. "To live is to grow, change and die. You don't, after how many millennia you remain more or less the same. That's not being alive, that's existing, there a difference Sun."_

 _Sun laughed, it was a hollow desperate sound, it was a misunderstanding, that's all it was. He could see how a looper would seem static. They weren't, Sun knew he was growing, he was a better team leader, was more mature about things. He was getting adapted to the loops, finally starting to settle down after the madness of his first few hundred loops._

 _He could explain it._

 _"That's not true, we do grow and change. In some of my first loops I did the complete gamut of things and personality traits. It just that eventually people settle into a pattern and traits that they cling to and like being, and even that changes it just takes longer. Partly because Loopers have better memories so we can remember ourselves when spending centuries in other loops." Sun smiled, it felt hollow._

 _"That makes it take longer, that's all. And the loops will end eventually, it's just going to take a long time. So, all of what you said still happens."_

 _Rain lashed the windows as team SSSN sat in silence, Sun waiting for a response, finally…_

 _"…You're not Sun," Neptune said finally, getting up from the library table. "Not really. You simply wear his form like a suit, each cycle discarding and taking over the next one, deluding yourself that you're him. You may have started as a Sun, but all that is left is something not a part of this world that no longer even understands time and what death even means. How can you? When it's all undone in a blink of an eye. You have my sympathies, no one should live like that."_

 _Neptune left, the others following, leaving Sun sitting alone in Haven._

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

Sun winced, clutching his head as the memory rose up once more. Salt water mixing on his face with the fresh rain that bucketed down.

 _I feel sick_.

In that distant kingdom, his friends awaited him to join them.

But then what? He still could not just get over Blake, even after all this time. And he almost always felt like a third wheel, he could not help anyone, had none of those memories or stories to reminisce about or tell.

 _Where did all the colour go?_

Sun closed his eyes as the storm battered the kingdom.

What had he become?

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 _"No hum… no mortal can remember things that have happened so long ago."_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mistral, long since evacuated, shook under the force of the storm. Sun felt the debris, ice and wind shatter on his Aura, slowly and steadily depleting it.

Sooner or later it would fail and he would take the full brunt of the storm.

 _And if I die, so what? Not like it matters anymore, nothing you can do matters in the loops, at least not unless it's against another looper. And they… we, just shrug off things that would cause wars and eternal feuds._

Sun closed his eyes and awaited the end, maybe next loop he might feel like doing something.

"Not quite seeing the attraction of being in the centre of a kingdom killing storm at the moment."

Sun jerked back in surprise, as his eyes opened in shock. Familiar golden eyes met his own before looking away are the torrential rain, gold becoming red and black for an instant before reverting to normal.

Blake was sitting on the branch next to him, dressed in a skimpy two-piece swimming costume that seemed to be designed to impress. A Uchiha branded towel hung over one shoulder, seemingly untouched by the weather.

 _She's beautiful. And there I go again, get over it, Sun, it's been how long now?_

"Blake, what are you doing here?" Sun stumbled over his words as he tried to get his messed up thoughts in order and make his thick tongue work correctly. This was so unexpected he half believed he had fallen asleep and was dreaming. "And why are you wearing that?"

The smirk he got in reply made him shift uncomfortably before it softened and Blake elaborated, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "The costume is half a prank and half me being bored and deciding we would have a beach episode, as Nora put it. I couldn't find you with the evacuees and got worried so started looking."

Beach episode…

Huh?

The words nagged at something, he should know what Blake was talking about but he couldn't think of it.

The monkey faunus sighed, the wind's chill seeping into his bones. He was tired and it was hard to think, hard to care. He just wanted to… Sun could honestly say he didn't know what he wanted.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Blake asked after a few minutes of relative silence, the crashing of thunder and lightning lighting up the pitch sky, in the distance the clouds descended to meet the ground.

Sun could not help but watch as the kingdom was torn apart, it was the first time he had seen something like it. And it just made him feel even more adrift. The loss of a Kingdom should have affected him more, but he just could not care.

Why should he? After all, it would be back next loop, filled with more shadows and echoes.

"…Why can't I just get over you properly, it's been how long now? I don't want to be one of those obsessive creeps who can't get that someone doesn't want them or that they lost. I get it, I really do. But, why is it so hard to let go of something I never had and why do I feel so empty?"

He laughed, the bitter, hollow sound fading in moments. "Are we even alive if death means nothing to us? If something can't die, can't change, how can it live?"

Sun had the vague idea that he should feel embarrassed for saying that, admitting things he hated about himself. But it just didn't seem to matter, and Blake had no doubt seen and heard far worse and would anyone not make fun of him for it.

Blake let her eyes linger on the almost dancing tornados that circled each other in the distance as she spoke. "Partly it's because of our enhanced memories, it's harder to lay things to rest as we can't just forget. Then we have to deal with loop memories if it's a baseline thing, having your unAwake selves' memories and desires every loop, or in late awakenings, makes Baseline hit harder. Remembering what had been and 'should' be. Then there is the loss of connection to non-loopers and teenage hormones, so finding your thoughts going to someone who you can genuinely talk to and is consistent is a big impact. It takes time to find yourself in the loops, and you will run the entire gamut of experiences and emotions before you do so."

A resounding boom filled the air as the world turned white, sparks of electricity cascading across their Auras along with droplets of superheated sap and splinters. Sun twisted in the air, landing nimbly on the unsteady ground as a river of mud and debris raged inches away, forming a foul waterfall as it rushed over the mountain.

Sun pushed his overgrown hair out of his eyes, along with the water that beat down unrelentingly down. It was gone, his home was gone, but it had been gone for a long time, hadn't it?

Washed away by the endless flow of ages, and even if it would come again it times yet unimagined, would he remember?

Even loopers had limits on their memories.

Even if he did know it was the same one, with the same versions of the same people and he knew…

…Would he care?

Did he even care now?

It seemed so pointless, just… just buildings and shadows of people he had no connection to.

Blake landed not far away, an unnatural grace allowing her to move across the crumbling ground with ease. Hugging her despondent and lost friend as they watched Mistral fall for the first time in Sun's life. The words almost lost to the storm but Sun still heard them clearly.

"As for your last question. We are alive, by any definition of the word not defined to exclude us. And like everyone else we get closer to our final ended with each step, each repeat of the loop. For many loopers clinging to aspects of their unAwake selves' personalities is necessary for our sanity and so we can fit in with the world each loop. But that it's not a requirement, and even then, it does not define us. We are so much more. Weiss once said to me that we a trapped in a frozen world of shadows, more free than anyone else and all the more trapped for it. Unable to change what is or what will be, even as we explore all that may be and dance among the frozen leaves of Yggdrasil and worlds beyond our own."

Blake's eyes changed as she let go of Sun and walked away. The familiar gold melted away, only to be replaced with spinning pinwheels of red and black, before they too vanished, rippled grey replacing red and black. Sun shuddered as Blake's flesh seemed to crawl and melt, hundreds of new Sharingan eyes erupting from her flesh. Each one seeming to stare into his no matter where he looked.

She raised a hand to the sky, and a column of roaring light pierced the heavens and filled the airs with ozone. Shadows, unheeding of the storm and devastation, filled the devastated city, their eyes glowing dimly in the gloom before dissolving into nothingness.

A roar filled the sky air once more as Blake vanished, replaced by a vast, and Sun could only describe it as otherworldly, black cat with a white spot on its chest. Sun watched enraptured as the cat changed and shifted, from feline like monsters he recognised from mythologies to mundane animals.

After a few minutes, Blake rose back to her feet, red and black eyes still glowing as she walked towards him once more. The rain still ran down her swimsuit covered form, Sun knew he should look away but couldn't.

She was like liquid shadow and spectral flames, never quite there, always a hint of being elsewhere as eyes phantasmal forms flicked at the edge of his vision. The world seemed to fade away as Blake's power bore down upon him, proud and unbending, as they stood in the newly form eye of the storm.

The horrifying power and lethal grace seemed inconsequential and utterly nonthreatening as Blake placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. It was an odd, almost melancholic smile with hints of defiance and acceptance.

Sun swallowed as Blake spoke once more, she had never looked more stunning or absolutely, magnificently, dangerous.

"As loopers, it is our will the defines us now, who we are, what we can do and the power we may wield, and most importantly, who we choose as friends and family. Until this eternity ends and the next begins."

 _This Eternity ends and the next begins…_

Sun silently echoed those words as the rain fell around them in a curtain of water, shielded from the storms fury at last.

He had never seen this side of Blake before, and he knew there were many more yet to see. It was so easy to forget how many faces and personas the older loopers had that they could assume and discard at will, all real and all just facets of a whole he had yet to scratch the surface of.

Something he would one day become, in the distant inevitable future.

 _I really am just a child, aren't I?"_

All Sun could feel was warmth, the cold from before slowly vanishing. Sun felt something stir beneath the emptiness and exhaustion that had consumed him this loop. And for the first time since he started to loop, the future seemed to have meaning.

 _Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Roman… everyone is like this?_

 _…I want to know them properly, as much as I can. that means I need to stop holding back… right? So why does it seem so hard to imagine doing anything? Maybe next loop?_

 _'Time… time always matters. It's so easy to say I can do it tomorrow, but if you always say that it never happens.'_

Ruby's voice drifted through Sun's mind, from that first loop as he sat alone by the docks. The foul, phantasmal taste of coke and the warm spice of gingerbread danced across his tongue as the memories returned, clear after all this time.

Sun was drawn from his memories and reflections as Blake kept speaking.

"And when this draws to a close and the loops finally end, one of three things will likely happen. The story of the loopers finally ends as Baseline takes over and _we_ die for the last so Yggdrasil can bloom once more. We get one final run, with nothing more than our knowledge or native powers, everything else locked out either as a necessity or to prevent mass ascensions, and we face our end as mortals once more. Or we awake to the final loop with our powers intact and must decide if we want to live and die as mortals, or Ascend and take our places as members of a new pantheon. And even the Administrators have mentioned prophesies of death and rebirth, of those who would bring it all to a final End. While trying to understand them is pointless for anyone not on that level, I would not be surprised if they must face an end as well, in some unfathomable way."

Sun stood in silence like he had since Blake started to speak, he felt small and the idea of an end now seemed more alien and terrifying than all the contemplating his unAwake selves had ever imagined.

Death had truly become alien to him since becoming a looper, but in return what was once unknowable slowly unfolded and was there, if only he wished to claim it.

"When did you get the rinnegan?" Sun asked trying to distract himself by changing the topics.

He needed to talk to someone. Sun hated feeling like this, lacking the motivation to do anything. He needed help.

 _Weiss is a therapist, right?_

Blake relaxed, the power diminishing as her posture and baring returned to normal. "…I'm not quite sure," she admitted, her eyes deactivating, "It's one of the more difficult powers to keep, and while I've had it many times it's never seemed to carry over until recently. I was in Konoha a few loops ago and managed to activate it when training with Itachi. I hadn't had any of the grafts or Indra and Asura's chakra. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura suspect it was a result of looping and receiving it so often, so I started to carry the traits over and now that I truly wanted to get more powerful I managed to trigger it."

"Huh."

Blake smiled, an amused glint in her eyes, holding out her hand to Sun. "So, up for the beach and shenanigans? I think Penny is on the prowl so if you're lucky you might get lucky. And Winter and Qrow have been conspiring with Ruby, something to do with luck manipulation and what a 'beach episode needs'."

Sun looked at the hand, his eyes drifting back to the storm.

The Kingdom had fallen to the wind, rain, ice and lighting. Dark clouds covered the sky, burning the line of day and night. The pouring rain obscuring all but most obvious signs of devastation. Columns of swirling air could just be seen as vague silhouettes, great pillars that tore the world apart rather than support it.

 _I don't want to do anything, my head hurts, I'm tired and I can't bring myself to care. But..._

Sun took his friend's hand and the world shifted.

Over the water the sun rose over the water and sand, painting the sky a brilliant orange and pink. On the beach below a myriad of tents and buildings rose up, a town taking shape and a new kingdom rising shape on the slopes of a mountain. Huntsmen and civilians mingling around, getting ready for a festival of some sort.

A familiar mass of blue hair caught Sun's attention, staying as far away from the water as possible as Neptune worked on something.

After a few seconds, Sun turned away. That was not his friend, just… just a variant. He had more important thing to focus on.

"Blake, I see you found him?"

Cinder walked over, looking for all the world like sex and fire made manifest drawing the eyes of all the milling Huntsmen. Her burning amber eyes smoldered with amusement, followed by a small group of very well built guys.

Blake nodded, rising an inquiring eyebrow at the men only to get a smirk in reply. Blake rolled her eyes in response before ignoring them, "Up a tree."

"Sun."

"Cinder."

Sun said in reply as he scanned beach, he could not see Weiss here but she would be somewhere.

 _I have to get started eventually, may as well try while I still have some drive._

Cinder looked at Sun critically. "Get some water and rest, you needed it. And I need another player in the Shadowrun campaign I'm starting. So you're it, I'll send you the amended rules I'm using plus the time and location when you have a room and have rested. Blake, I still need your backstory. I'll see you two latter, see if you can stop Ruby screwing with this campaign, I want one where everything doesn't burn down."

Bemused, Sun watched as Cinder strode off, glancing at Blake he got a shrug in reply.

"Cinder likes DMing but is somewhat low on players at the moment for obvious reasons, and Ruby is a menace in RPGs. She actually drove Cinder flip the table at one point."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.9 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone on Remnant took a moment to halt their actions, Humans, Faunus, Grimm and animals across the entire planet all had to wonder why they were all hearing what sounded like a young girl screaming in despair.

The few loopers awake this time around all recognized the cry belonging to one Ruby Rose.

"Was that Ruby?" Yang asked, worried.

"Relax, she most likely just messed up another batch of her Szechuan sauce," Weiss said calmly.

"Szechuan sauce? She sounded as if the world was crumbling down around her! Not to mention that she was most likely loud enough to be heard all around the planet," Yang pointed out, wondering how Weiss could believe some silly sauce could be the cause.

"She has been trying to make the perfect batch of this sauce for several thousand loops. I'm assuming she managed to ruin either a rather big batch, accidentally lost what sauce she had already made or contaminated them all. Some of the batches she made contained some rather rare ingredients," Weiss said.

Yang continued to give Weiss a skeptic look. "And why would Ruby even need large amounts of Szechuan sauce?" she asked.

Weiss simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don't rightly know. I haven't bothered asking," she admitted.

"Right, I suppose I'll have to do so once I find her. She sounded rather upset and I wanna make sure she's alright," Yang said before jumping out the window and flying away in the form of a dragon.

Weiss looked after the departing looper before turning back towards a stunned Blake who wasn't Awake and was now staring, slack jawed after Yang. "Right, seems I'm going to have to give you the talk," Weiss said, sighing.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.3 (con't) Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali Gun Loop: Part 3

Raven couldn't understand what it was Kali was doing. For some reason, Kali had decided to humor a drunk that had clung to her asking for booze. Had Kali not stopped her, Raven would have taken care of the man herself. She simply couldn't stand him and his behavior.

Meanwhile, Kali was having a drink together with the man. While the man had seemed drunk beforehand, he didn't really seem to be getting any worse despite drinking even more. Kali herself was only taking small sips of her drink, not intending to get drunk as she was still looking for a man named Frank Marlon. Incidentally, the man she was currently having a drink with was also called Frank.

As the evening continued, Kali had seen and heard enough to be certain Frank was the man she was looking for. His hands were worn, indicating him doing a lot of work with them, a possible indication that he was a gunsmith. The fact that most people she had asked referred to him as a good for nothing drunk seemed spot on and that his name was Frank was also a good lead. However, what Kali saw as the most obvious indicator of his identity was that when the owner of the saloon had spoken about him, Frank had thrown a glass at the counter, interrupting her as she had begun badmouthing him.

Kali knew that simply confronting the man wouldn't work. She needed him to have a look at her gun, and she would only allow a real gunsmith like Frank Marlon to have a look at it. Only thing was, he wouldn't. Apparently he had lost his family to an armed robbery about 10 years ago. A robbery conducted using his own guns, ones he had given the robbers themselves. Afterwards, he had apparently shut down and stopped working, doing nothing but drinking.

Kali knew it would be a hard thing to do, but she wanted to help the man; while she knew that the loss of loved ones was harsh, and to know you had part in their undoing did nothing to help, she wanted to find out what prevented the man from moving on. He had once been the hero of the town. And now, he was just a drunk that most people disliked.

Having finally had enough alcohol for both of them, Frank had passed out. Deciding to see if she could get anything out of the man come morning, Kali offered to carry him home, Raven and Meryl offering to help out.

"So, you found what you wanted to know?" Asked Raven as they carried the man to where they were told he lived.

"Yes, and I hope that I'll be able to get him to talk in the morning so that I can help get him on his feet again," Kali responded, making Raven shake her head.

"You're far too kind for your own good Kali. He's been like this for ten years. You can't help everyone, and one day you're going to end up in a lot of trouble because of your nature," Raven warned.

"She's right you know. There's a lot of people out in the world and not all of them can be trusted. I trust Raven, but it's only because I've known her for a long time," Meryl said.

"I thank you two for worrying, but I think I'll be fine. I know that sometimes people will try and take advantage of me. But I can live with that knowing that I'm helping anywhere I can," Kali explained as they arrived at Frank's home. Opening the door, Kali was stunned to see the sheer amount of empty bottles taking up space in his home.

"Whoa, what a mess. How does he even live in here?" Meryl asked, now using one hand to hold her nose. Raven just shrugged before helping Kali put the man they were carrying on the bed.

"Welp, he's home safe and sound now. I know you wanted to try and speak to him in the morning, but I don't think staying here overnight will do you any good. Let's go and see to him in the morning if that's what you want," Raven suggested, ready to leave the man to himself.

"No. You can go, I'm going to stay, at least for a little while," Kali said while looking around the small house.

Raven sighed. "Kali, you're not going to be able to..." Raven began, only to stop as Kali turned around and looked her in the eyes. Knowing there was no convincing her, she relented. "Fine. Do what you want, just don't get into any trouble. You're a magnet for it this loop," Raven said before walking out. Meryl looked at the door Raven had left through in confusion then at Kali before following after Raven. Kali could hear her asking about what Raven had meant with the words "for this loop".

As the others had left, Kali took another look around the room before un-pocketing her cleaning-themed arsenal and went to work.

-/-

The next morning, Frank Marlon woke up to his place clean and devoid of trash, dust and empty bottles. Any of the bottles still containing anything to drink all stood lined up on one of the tables. The sight of a clean home, the touch of a woman made bitter memories return to the forefront of his mind. Getting up intending to take one of the bottles to start drinking again, he walked for the table, only to notice another painful reminder about his past. A doll, now perfectly clean leaning against an old frame containing a picture of his family, smiling. Looking at a nearby bottle, he considered it but eventually decided against it. He needed to speak with Kali, the one most likely responsible for cleaning up around his home. He needed to know why she had done this.

-/-

Kali was glad she had pocketed her weapon, seeing as how she was certain she would otherwise have forgotten it somewhere. She wasn't used to carrying weapons, something that was completely necessary this loop. Much like the current situation Kali had found herself in. She was at the scene of a bank robbery in progress where a few civilians were held hostage while two were forced to load a bunch of money into the getaway vehicle the robbers were going to use.

Kali decided to announce her presence and put a stop to the robbery with one move. Shooting one of the tires of the car, she stepped out into the open. "Oh dear, I hope that wasn't important to you. I'm afraid you can't go anywhere with a flat tire," she said, stopping next to the car looking at the tire, as if regretfully inspecting the damage before looking at the leader who was sitting in a chair while under a parasol.

Kali had managed to become the center of attention immediately, the leader of the robbers getting up and grabbing his own weapon, shouting "You bitch!" before shooting with his machine gun-like weapon. Kali barely managed to dive behind the car where one of the henchmen was standing, his gun aimed at her. Kali reacted quickly, grabbing the gun and pulled it towards her, catching the man off guard as she pulled him down with it. Capitalizing on the man's loss of balance, she quickly disarmed him and put his arm behind his back before dragging him out of cover, her use of him as a human shield as she held him in front of herself preventing any of the other henchmen from shooting as she now held a hostage.

"She's unbelievable," one of the men said in disbelief.

"Do you know what will happen if you do that?" another asked before gesturing towards his leader. "This here is the much-feared Humanoid Typhoon, Kali the Stampede!" the man claimed, making Kali release an amused chuckle.

"Really? I was under the impression that Kali was a lot less ugly," Kali said before twisting the neck of the man she was holding, not enough to kill him, but to make him fall unconscious.

"Are you implying I'm not Kali?!" The leader demanded.

"Want to find out?" Kali asked, all humor gone from her face as she aimed her gun at him. While it would be hard to tell for anyone but herself, she wasn't actually aiming at the man, but rather his weapon, intending to disarm and discourage him should he once again try to shoot her.

However, instead of being afraid, the man seemed amused. "You think yourself better than me, Kali the stampede? I'm the best marksman around, now die!" the man shouted, about to shoot at her again. Kali knew she'd be able to disarm him and take cover behind the car. However, she never got the chance as a woman, the one who had been behind the bar at the saloon the previous day stepped forward, holding a rusty gun that Kali remembered had hung on the wall behind the counter.

"Hold it!" The lady said, pointing the gun at the leader. "This gun is a Frank Marlon! Don't think I'll miss because I'm a woman!" The woman shouted, only for the man to chuckle.

"What do you mean, a Frank Marlon? It's a rusted hunk of crap!" the man said amused, not taking the threat seriously. "You think you'll hit me with that?"

However, the man quickly lost his confidence as more people began stepping forward. Each adult civilian who had previously standing back was now holding a gun of their own, stepping forward with them pointing at the man and his henchmen.

"What?" The man said surprised, looking around in every direction as he and his helpers were surrounded.

Turning back to Kali however, he smirked. "You probably think you've won! You think wrong!" he stated, once again leveling his weapon at her, the weapon opening up like a flower and revealing five additional gun barrels. "You should save your aces for last!" he said before laughing, only to freeze as someone put something to the back of his head, making him freeze up.

"Checkmate." Marlon said from behind the leader of the robbers. "I can't shoot you in the back," he said, the leader conceding as he dropped his weapon, completely unaware that the weapon pressed against his skull was nothing more than a finger gun.

"You'll pay for this," the man claimed as he and his henchmen ran away the next moment, taking his parasol with him. Kali found it strange that he prioritized it over his own weapon. Looking after them as they ran away, she was approached by Frank Marlon.

"So why did you do it?" he asked her. Kali blinked before looking at him in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Me. The town. Why'd you help? You risked your life to stop them from taking all the money. You could have lost your life, why did you do it?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," Kali said, making Frank shake his head.

"That'll never lead you anywhere. Whenever you help someone in this world, someone else suffers. It's much easier and equal for everyone to simply do nothing," Frank said before frowning. "So I just can't understand, why'd you do it, for the fame?"

"No. I did it because the situation wasn't equal. While the world is a cruel place, one has to keep moving forward and hold on to what they believe in. And while what they believe in might change from time to time, it is important to keep going forward and not stop and feel sorry for yourself. For me, I believe in helping others, I believe in equal rights and I believe that no matter what, I should always try and do what I can to save others the trouble the world brings their way, even if it kills me, I believe I can live with it as long as I know that I did something to help someone else," Kali explained, making Frank fall silent for a while.

"Yeah, I'd like to think that way to," he said as the townspeople began cheering.

-/-

"Well, we certainly missed an eventful morning." Raven commented while drinking from a small glass, sharing a table with Meryl.

"It's your fault we overslept. I couldn't sleep after you explained the loops to me and when I woke up, I couldn't get you out of bed until the whole thing was already over." Meryl complained, already tipsy from drinking. Raven thought that Meryl was taking the idea of the loops fairly well despite not being a looper herself. When Raven had asked her about it, Meryl had explained that the idea was scary, but that she actually felt safer, knowing two being much older than herself were at her side. Raven had taken it as a reasonable explanation. Of course, Meryl was still a little bit paranoid about the idea of not knowing what would happen once the loop ended.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.10 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A monkey, a cat, and a Raven all walked into a bar.

Qrow burst into raucous laughter.

"What's he laughing at?" Sun asked his companions. Raven rolled her eyes, opening a portal and slipping through it without responding.

"It's just one of his stupid pranks," Blake replied with a familiar resignation in her voice. She stepped forward to the inebriated man. "Did you really have to make us come all this way just for that?"

"Hey," Qrow responded defensively. "You don't realize how amazing that was. It was like the beginning of a bad joke-"

"It _was_ a bad joke," Blake replied with a huff. She turned to leave.

"See that he gets home safely please Sun," Blake continued. "It's your turn this century." And she too, disappeared in a flash.

Sun blinked. "But...I don't get it. What's going on?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.11 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Cinder..." Ruby said with a very cold, very unhappy tone. "What happened?"

"Uh..." Cinder swallowed loudly, remembering...

 _"Hmm... does this bikini look good on me?" Cinder asked Mercury and Emerald. The pair looked up from the comic book they had been reading, good a single good gander at Cinder, and both, together, passed out from nasal localized blood loss. Nosebleeds. "Hmm."_

 _Cinder took her unconscious minions to the register, where the Old Man who apparently ran every other shop in Vale was. Cinder presented him the beachwear, he presented her the receipt. "WHAT?! Fifty Lien for... damages? Blood damages? They're bleeding! This is highway robbery, I won't stand for this!" Cinder's palms ignited and she went to town.  
_  
"Uh..." Cinder coughed into her fist. "Well, to be honest, it all started when I knocked Emerald and Mercury out with a bikini, and one thing led to another and..."

Cinder and Ruby stared at the enormous inferno that was formerly known as the Kingdom of Vale. "...I'm not going to fix this by the way Ruby."

"You are the worst big sister ever Cinder."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.12 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Are you... robbing me?"

Ruby blinked, glancing to her right-and quickly Pocketing most of her biomass. The remaining chibi jumped onto a nearby shelf, leaning out cautiously as a thug gave an annoyed afirmation.

There was another Ruby Rose.

The chibi let out a ping, even as the other Ruby fought the thugs-and while she counted three replies, she noticed no reaction. In fact, the other Ruby was acting... exactly like her. Like she had, when she went through this the first time.

"Oh, this glitch." Ruby considered her options, even as she moved into a hard to see nook and opened her special looping scroll. Three others were on-the other members of her team-and she smiled faintly as she opened the chat.

 _-grimmReaper: Hey girls! We've got a mini-me situation.  
-heiressAscendent: You too?  
-ninethousandLives: Me as well. Had to fake being a clone.  
-sexbombDragon: And Yang makes four!_

Ruby tilted her head, glancing out the window to make sure that her nonlooping counterpart was dealing with Roman. All four of them with their Unawake selves existing? Well... this was a great chance for shenanigans.

 _-grimmReaper: Okay, I hereby declare this loop's agenda to be 'screw with our unawake selves'.  
-ninethousandLives: Figuratively or literally? ;p  
-sexbombDragon: Figuratively or literDAMN IT BLAKE  
-heiressAscendant: Hmm. I managed to use a force suggestion on my counterpart to imply I was ship staff that just happened to look like her.  
-heiressAscendant: I think I might imply it's less of a coincidence.  
-grimmReaper: Long lost sister angle?  
-heiressAscendant: Half-sister, imply Jacques had a fling on the side, discredit him. I'll have to put myself through a genetic scrambler to make it work, but it should be doable.  
-ninethousandLives: Can you make it a faunus fling please?  
-heiressAscendant: Since you asked so nicely, sure, but I'll have to figure out where to put the traits so they could have been reasonably hidden when I first met my counterpart._

The battle outside was wrapping up, so Ruby split off another two chibis, one flying into the retreating bullhead and the other to sneak after Glynda and... herself. Even with her eons of looping experience, she was still kind of weirded out by the scenario. While one body trailed after huntress and huntress-to-be, another slipped into the aircraft cabin and clung to a single rung. That done, Ruby turned her attention back to the chat.

 _-grimmReaper: Discredit Schnee senior, check. I'll probably frustrate myself by randomly appearing out of nowhere whenever she needs something and giving it to her with no explanation.  
-sexbombDragon: That's pretty basic, sis.  
-grimmReaper: Hey, she's going to Beacon early. 'Normal girl, normal knees.' A quirky student is probably going to get to her.  
-sexbombDragon: Fair point. Oh, we're going to have to fake new identities, aren't we?  
-heiressAscendant: I can hack the computers. You're going to have to change your appearances, though-otherwise people will get suspicious.  
-ninethousandLives: Ponytail, lose the eyeshadow, and swap out clothes. What about you, Yang?  
-sexbombDragon: Scaly arms, swap out clothes, and braids.  
-grimmReaper: If you really want to look different, you should cut your hair.  
-ninethousandLives: No.  
-sexbombDragon: No.  
-sexbombDragon: Blake seriously why I love your support but why are you ninjaing me  
-ninethousandLives: Reasons.  
-heiressAscendant: Post pics when you're finished changing, I'll edit them into your files._

Ruby glanced up carefully, making sure nobody was looking in her direction, before pouring out a flurry of rosepetals. In moments she was at full size-taller, even, than her baseline, with pyrrha-red hair and an inverted color scheme on her outfit. She gave the shopkeep a wave as she walked out, checking on her other two bodies; Glynda had just begun lecturing the baseline Ruby, but Cinder was still en route to her hidden base. So far, business as usual, and she could focus on the future plans. With a quick twirl, she took a selfie and slapped it into the chat.

 _-grimmReaper: Boom.  
-heiressApparent: Thanks.  
-grimmReaper: You're welcome! Oh hey, Blake, what are you going to do with Blake?  
-ninethousandLives: Hmm. I guess I'll be the overly perky student that adopts her as a soul sister and make it near impossible for her to avoid me.  
-grimmReaper: Okay, that's Blake's plan. What about you, Yang?  
-sexbombDragon: Blake, you up for a twin foursome?  
-ninethousandLives: That would be fun, but it's next to impossible to arrange, given how repressed I am in baseline.  
-grimmReaper: Do you have any plans that DON'T involve sex?  
-sexbombDragon: Well, I actually kind of already spilled the beans to the other Yang...  
-ninethousandLives: What.  
-sexbombDragon: Also I just added her scroll to the network.  
-ninethousandLives: What.  
-flameSpark: Hey there, time-traveling teammates!  
-grimmReaper: Hey little-big sis! Wanna help us drive your team nuts?  
-flameSpark: Boy do I ever!  
-ninethousandLives: What.  
-sexbombDragon: I couldn't actually think of a good way to hide it from her. Sorry! ;p  
-heiressAscendent: We're doomed, aren't we.  
_

 **82.3 (con't) Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali Gun Loop: Part 4

"This loop... it's going to kill me. Had I not become a looper I'd already be dead," Kali stated as she stretched out while sitting in the corner of a small diner together with Meryl and Raven while enjoying a meal. They were in a city called Inepril City and had stopped there for a meal. Her last adventure had once again involved a lot of guns, criminals and her ending up in the middle of it all. This time however, she had managed to get away without major destruction to the city as the conflict had been resolved with the worst injuries being a few gunshot wounds and one guy being run over. Kali still couldn't believe how there had yet to be any casualties as a direct result of her involvement in things. Not that she minded, but she was getting a terrible feeling of something bad beginning to creep up.

"Well, it does seem to be getting better," Meryl said, making both Kali and Raven groan. "What, what did I say?"

"It's not your fault. It's just that when it comes to us loopers, the loops sometimes have this habit of deciding to always prove you wrong whenever you believe yourself to be safe, or believe that something is over. Mentioning it out loud usually doesn't help," Raven explained.

Just then, as if to prove her point, a man kicked open the door to the diner, making his way inside he was followed by an entire group of men, all equipped with different guns. Both Kali and Raven were quick to act. Raven was about to pull out her own weapon, but realized that Meryl wasn't reacting properly and instead decided to tackle her to the floor as the gunmen began aiming their way. Kali however had stood up, intending to attack the men herself and catch them off guard before they began firing, but stopped as she saw them aiming their weapons at her. She realized too late that the men were after her, or rather the bounty on her head. Before she could draw her gun, they opened fire.

Raven looked on in horror as Kali fell over, a pool of read liquid spreading out from under her as she was no longer moving. The men chuckled while a young kid who had been asking his mother for permission to get a real gun could be heard crying, scared by the sudden gunfire and death that was a result of said gunfire. Raven and Meryl were both looking on in shock, not believing their eyes that Kali the Stampede had been killed like that. Raven was about to reach into her pocket and show these men what a real weapon was, only to notice that the red liquid Kali was lying in was the wrong color to be blood. Now that she looked closer at it, she could see that Kali was alive and somehow completely unhurt. "Get ready." She whispered to Meryl as she waited for Kali to make her move.

" 'Kali the Stampede, the humanoid typhoon. Taken down at Inepril City!' Nice headline," the leader of the gang of men said, the rest of them laughing. "The sixty billion double dollars are ours!" The men cheered, one of them cautiously approaching Kali as the rest of the men were celebrating.

"You're acting awfully cautious. It's okay, she's dead." The leader said.

"I can't help it, it's _her_ lying there." The man said before pointing his pistol at Kali's head. Hearing a gun being cocked particularly close to her head, Kali decided that she had had enough playing dead. Grabbing the gun, Kali looked up at the man and smiled as he looked like she had scared him out of his boots. Meanwhile, the leader and his celebrating crew were too distracted to notice as Kali knocked the man out before moving over and doing the same to the rest, leaving the leader who was actually reassuring the owners that he'd be able to pay them to rebuild the building with what he had just earned from "killing" her.

"And if you don't get the reward?" Kali asked.

"Huh? Of course we're going to-" The man began to say, only to turn around and see a completely unharmed Kali with tomato juice staining her clothes and face.

"So how about a deal, you pay for ruining my clothing, and I'll pay for the damages. Does that sound good?" Kali asked with a smile, only to find the man pointing his gun at her face, making her sigh in disappointment. "Even if you shoot me, you won't be able to harm me." Kali told him, something that was true for several reasons. "Besides your cautious friend, I'm afraid all of you already ran out of bullets." _And between my aura and pocket, the bullets wouldn't even be able to really hit or harm me._ Kali thought to herself, having managed to pocket several of the bullets fired at her earlier, some of them after they had hit her aura, some of them even before that. A useful trick, only possible due to her unAwake self's experiences. Something she found extremely useful and decided she would practice later on in the loop.

"What?" the man questioned, pulling the trigger before realizing that Kali was correct. "How could you know?" The man asked her stunned.

"Easy, I counted." Kali answered honestly, surprising even herself that she had managed to not only count, but also memorize all the bullets.

"Now, how about the lot of you simply admit defeat and leave? I'm sure you don't want to cause even more damage to such a nice establishment, do you?" Kali said, giving all of the men a stern gaze at the end. "Or perhaps you would like to stay and pay for all the damage you caused? Either way, you're still paying for my clothes. I mean, just look at them!" Kali said, gesturing to her stained clothing.

"Know what? Screw this!" The leader said before bolting for the door, only for Kali to suddenly appear blocking the way.

"So you plan to dine and dash? I'd recommend you rethink your actions." Kali said, her gun aimed below his chin.

"Who the heck are you?" The man asked, making Kali frown.

"And here I thought you were at least the slightest bit intelligent. Weren't you the one who just claimed to have taken down the Kali the typhoon? Don't tell me you weren't actually sure you had the right person and just decided to attack a poor lady who might turn out to be completely innocent?" Kali asked, fake swooning at the thought.

"Of course, either way it doesn't matter, you attacked me, and now you have to pay." Kali said, the man whimpered and closed his eyes in fear as he wet himself, believing Kali was about to kill him. When the gunshot never sounded, he opened his eyes to see Kali with her open palm stretched out towards him, expecting money instead. To say the man was embarrassed would be an understatement.

-/-

"I can't believe you did that!" Meryl said as the group sat down behind a replacement table.

"What? They attacked, I had to defend myself and this diner," Kali responded, only for Raven to snicker at something Kali had obviously missed.

"That's not what I meant! You essentially robbed those men for everything they had," Meryl pointed out the pile of clothes and belongings lying by the entrance to the diner.

"That wasn't my fault. All I wanted was for them to pay for my laundry bill, they are the ones who decided to strip down to their undies and bolt it before I could react," Kali said honestly, having lost the thugs as their sudden decision to strip had caught her off guard and caused her to stay shocked long enough for them to make their escape.

"Well, if anything. It was hilarious. Let's celebrate this victory," Raven suggested before she ordered some more food and drinks for them. Kali's decision to avoid ever answering the question of her identity sparing them being betrayed by the people they saved as they couldn't be entirely sure about Kali's identity. Not to speak of the fact that she had two friends with her. They did however get a small discount on everything they ordered.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.13 KitsuneShin0bi**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder walked into Team RWBY's dorm with a bemused expression on her face.

Ruby looked up from her scroll and sent out a Ping, receiving a nod and a Ping back from the Fall Maiden.

"Hey sis. What's up?" she asked, noticing the odd look on the other Looper.

"Are Yang and Tai Awake?"

The team leader nodded.

"I just checked my Loop history. We're sisters again."

Ruby frowned and checked her own memories. Odd, she was pretty sure it was only her and Yang this time. Tilting her head, she looked confusedly at Cinder.

"Half-sisters," the vampire explained. "Taiyang met Salem before hooking up with Raven. She still pines for him. Has a shrine and everything."

The Anchor blinked.

"Well that would certainly explain why dad always got so nervous on Valentines," the scythe-wielder realized. Her eyes widened. "Wait, is that why those Grimm never tried to kill us? Is that why Yang has been banging her head against the wall for the past half-hour?!"

Cinder nodded.

"Apparently Salem really mellowed out after the whole thing. She's still evil mind you, but she really wants to see her entire family. Even has rooms set up for you guys if dad did decide to convert."

Ruby considered this new knowledge for a bit. Nodding, she made a decision.

"Think we can convince dad to join the dark side?"

The maiden gave a wicked smirk.

"Of course," she replied. "Now how well can you do an evil laugh? You might need to practice if you want to become a Princess of Evil."

-/-

Yang walked back into the dorm, an angry purple bruise on her forehead. Looking at her two sisters, both of whom had their hands raised to the sky and were cackling madly while lightning flashed in the background, she promptly decided that she hadn't killed enough brain cells yet and marched out the door to try again.

She'd come around. Eventually. Maybe.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.14 diesel, with StormyAngel's assistance**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun started laughing as Jaune's eyes twitched as he glared a hole in Ruby's head.

Ruby grinned darkly, the sheer malice she was radiating was a stark contrast to her normal demeanor. "Really, Gilgamesh, did you think you could get away with rejecting me for that tramp?" Ruby laughed, a touch of insanity and loss tinging her voice, rolling a D100 in her hands. "No one says no to me. No one throws my love back into my face. If I can't Have You Than No One Will! You Are Mine, Mine to let Live and Love, MINE TO Kill!"

Cinder's lips twitched as she started to narrate, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was approaching dinner time so she may as well finish the session here. "As Saber ripped her blade…"

"Excalibur."

"Ripped her blade free, she watched, fascinated as the blood dyed the floor crimson, heaving with emotion. Due to the racket the hotels staff came to investigate. The door, still unlocked, opens as the inn's guard, the paladin you met before in the bar, enters to see the crucified Halfling hanging on the wall and Saber standing over Glilgamesh's broken from."

"And that's the end for now."

As Cinder ended the session Ruby relaxed and smiled brightly. "Well that was fun, I really should have checked to see if there were guards."

"Ruby," Jaune asked tersely.

"Yes, friend?"

Jaune ignored the honest looking and welcoming smile, he knew what malice lay beneath. "Can you stop killing the party?"

"But it's fun and I don't do it every game, or even most, it was Weiss who was the derailer last time."

"That was fun." Weiss flung her head back and laughed, causing everyone to wince. "OHOHOHOHO!"

"You're not Nagga, stop that," Winter said as she perused the rule book. The sheer number of variant books made it hard to keep track of what her Warlock could do when they chose the archetype.

If they got that far, given that Ruby was already killing characters and they were only level 2.

"I have been."

"You're not now though."

"I could be."

"As your big sister, I'm telling you: you can't be."

As the various loopers bickered Cinder started to pack away the game. She nodded to Pyrrha who handed over the enchanted dice. As she finished up, Cinder glanced around the room, it had been a while since she had used this room given the damage from her fracturing. And the first time she had entertained people in it.

It was a massive cathedral-like room with a large table, made out of prehistoric wood and bound with magical iron, in the center. A chandelier hung from the roof, illuminating the massive space. Vast stained glass windows dominated the ceiling, showing iconic locations from across the multiverse. Three doors led out to a balcony while a final door at the room's entrance led to a spiral staircase that descended deeper into the building.

"Hey, Cinder?"

Having recovered from his fit of laughter, Sun now stood on the balcony looking over the sea of lights that lit of the red night of Cinder's pocket. As far as he could see, and from the maps he had looked at earlier, it seemed that Cinder's pocket was both too small and taken over utterly by her civilization.

And that really didn't seem right.

"Yes?"

Sun glanced back as Cinder almost sashayed over, now dressed in a gown of liquid flames that clung to her form. A choker inlayed with gold and a single bell on it were now around her neck, and a pair of magical rings of some description on her hands.

…She had not been dressed like that moments ago.

"Does your…civilization...actually, does it have a name beyond 'Cinder's Civilization'? That's off topic, sorry." Sun sighed, banishing his hormonal thoughts. Man being stuck as a teenager for all of eternity was going to suck. "Anyway, is this everything? Did you dedicate your entire Pocket to this? The maps I saw seemed to show that, but you're supposed to have a continent of space here and this... it's not _big_ enough."

He scratched his head as Cinder laughed, her eyes sparkling in amusement as a smirk danced on her lips. He had still not grown used to Cinder's somewhat mercurial personality. How many masks did she have?

"Everything on this level is given over to the Dominion of Life. The name is a joke by the way." Cinder leaned back on the balcony's railing, locking eyes with Sun. "Everyone's Pocket is different, I split my pocket into layers. Nine worlds to mimic Yggdrasill, each equal in size. Not the most efficient way of doing it, it makes my pocket's total space notably less than if I went for the normal empty, single, void. But like this I can separate things I don't want to mix and stop people traveling from one part to the next without my explicit permission. A safety thing in case a weapon malfunctions, and also to stop anyone from getting into my private things."

Cinder shrugged lazily. "It's also a psychological and control thing for all of them." She gestured absently to the sprawling city down below. "They don't see an area they are barred from entering, so I don't have to keep people out. Not flaunting that also means that they have a sense of control, that they feel less trapped by seeing what they can't have. Most don't realise that I have other layers. It's not hidden but it's more of a rumor than anything else. Normally no one else goes to the other worlds. Well, they didn't until my Red self started turning some of those areas to weapon and monster production. Thankfully the maniacs that worked there are dead for the most part and there are only rumors. And some of those areas are still a mess. I have demons running amuck in what was my main armoury still..."

"Huh."

Cinder pushed herself off the railing, "Now put a suit on or something, I have a booking at one of the better restaurants for us tonight."

"You need to book things?" Sun asked bemused as he followed Cinder back inside where Weiss was still giving people a headache with her laugher and Jaune was trying to strangle Ruby for some reason. "You own everything here, it's your pocket."

"I'm the Overlord and a tyrant by most definitions, not a despot. And if you want a society to run properly even the ruler must follow the laws and customs, and I take pride in being able to rule and run a functioning society of primarily bloodthirsty monsters." Cinder rolled her eyes at the chaos, she really was not surprised. Hopefully she could actually _get everyone ready,_ and get to the restaurant before they lost the booking. "As the Overlord I have technical carte blanche, as it is written into the laws. But in practice there are other people who have power and run things, no one can run everything themselves. And I could take what I want but then what is the point of making a functional civilization?" Cinder asked rhetorically, spears of flame flashing through the room to break up the fight.

The fire formed the words, "Formal clothes now, we have a restaurant booking to get to."

Cinder kept speaking, not even breaking her monologue. "So I follow the rules and laws, I play the political _game_ when it suits me. Taxes are paid and I get a stipend and privileges but beyond that if I want something from this level I work in the system...generally anyway. I do need to exercise my authority more directly sometimes, but normally I let things run themselves from loop to loop. In the end if I want something I 'need' beyond that, then I need to pay for it. Say if I want to get a new home on this layer: I pay for the land. If I want to go to a private restaurant I still need to book it. It's a fiction, but one I don't mind, it's just how things run, and it's not like I have much use for my _income_ and I get massive discounts everywhere and I can always 'request' stuff for free anyway. The payment is a fiction more than anything else."

"It's annoying and ridiculous," Weiss said in a huff, dressed in a glittering dress of ice and diamonds, having totally given up on composure for the loop. "Nine worlds to represent Yggdrasil and you don't even have one of ice. What's the point?"

"I'm not mimicking the mythological worlds. And what would I do with a plain of ice? I don't even like the cold."

"Breed Honey Badger Kaiju."

"My Badgers became plasma spewing liches after an accident, I still have no idea how that happened, and I have them sealed in a massive tomb."

"Their pure kin shall have their Vengeance!"

"Didn't I kill them all along with the world?" Cinder asked, raising an eyebrow at Weiss as they descended the spiral staircase. 

"Only the mature adults. The Badgers Will Rise Once More… in a few billion years. They take far too long to mature and breed."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **82.15 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **Ruby overflow:**

"This, is rather concerning..." Weiss said, weirded out by this loop and all the headaches it brought with it.

"I kinda like it. I mean, just think of all the blackmail we could get on her like this," Yang said, far too cheerful given the situation.

"It is rather amusing to watch, although we should do something about that," Blake said, pointing at a trio of Rubies who were violently trying to tear each other to pieces, many Rubies in the nearby surroundings getting caught up in the fight as well.

"We should," Weiss agreed as Yang nodded seriously before they all set off to stop the rather violent Rubies who were destroying both their surroundings and each other with reckless abandon.

-/-

"So let me get this straight, none of you is technically Awake, yet together you all Anchor the loop?" Weiss asked for clarification from a Ruby who was wearing glasses and holding a clipboard.

The Ruby nodded. "Yes, while none of us is technically Awake or the looping Ruby, we're all, or at least most of us are loop aware. We all have parts of her memories, and take on different traits of either her personality, emotions or subconscious thoughts," Smart Ruby explained. "Some of us get more than others. That's why we had to restrain crippling depression to prevent her from inflicting any more self harm on herself. She got hit rather hard." She was frowning at the thought.

"Oh geez, how bad did she get before you restrained her?" Weiss asked, glad to hear that she hadn't managed to kill herself.

"She has gunshot wound in one shoulder and a large gash on her right arm near the wrist. Don't worry, the one of us with most of our medical knowledge is look after her," Smart Ruby said, pointing towards a Ruby wearing a nurse outfit who waved at Weiss when she saw them looking her way.

"And what about your pocket?" Weiss asked, making Smart Ruby scowl.

"We are supposed to have access to it, but the Ruby representing our hoarding tendencies has somehow managed to keep anyone else from taking anything from the pocket. Although, I suppose it's a good thing in the case of those of us we had to restrain," she said, sighing.

"Yes, I can see that being troubling. But how is she hoarding your pocket?" Weiss asked.

"She essentially installed an anti Ruby force field inside it. None of us can currently access the pocket, even Hoarder Ruby, but Greed Ruby certainly is trying." Smart Ruby rolled her eyes before whispering. "Just make sure not to tell any of us that we can still pocket stuff otherwise the next loop is going to be even more of a headache for Awake Ruby. It is also currently the only way we can disable the anti Ruby field, by pocketing someone or something to turn it off."

"Okay, but why tell me?" Weiss wondered.

"Because there is no guarantee Ruby will remember all this when she next wakes up and will find herself unable to access her pocket without any explanation. But now that you know, you'll be able to help her if that ever happens," she explained, smiling.

Any further conversation was however interrupted by Weiss' scroll alerting her by playing the song "I Burn", telling her it was Yang calling her.

"What is it Yang?" Weiss asked.

"Come quick. I found Lust Ruby. You need to see this," Yang said. What worried Weiss was that Yang's voice was completely devoid of amusement.

"I'm coming, where are you?"

-/-

Weiss, accompanied by Smart Ruby both arrived at the scene together. Yang and Blake were both already there watching two Rubies playing chess.

"I will admit, calmly playing chess is not what I expected of the embodiment of Ruby's Lust," Weiss commented as she stopped next to Yang and Blake.

"I know, right? I tried speaking to her and all I got was that she's apparently Ruby's representation of Lust and that she thinks weapons are sexy," Yang revealed.

Smart Ruby cleared her throat. "Actually, I would have said the same thing. In fact, I believe most of the Rubies here would."

"And you are?" Blake asked.

"I'm Ruby's smarts. You can just call me Smart," Smart said before adjusting her glasses.

"Right. So do you know what's up with her? It's kinda weird that the embodiment of Lust isn't, well... lustful."

"I can hear you you know! And you're being awfully stereotypical," Lust commented from where she was sitting, surprising the loopers. "Just because I'm Ruby's embodiment of Lust doesn't mean I can't do things besides trying get laid. Also, I'm apparently really good at suppressing such urges, not to mention I'm underage."

"Huh, and here I was expecting her to be some form of sex crazed maniac running around in the nude that we would have to restrain after getting a lot of blackmail out of it," Yang said.

Apparently that angered Lust as she stood up and pointed at Yang. "As if I'd ever do something like that! We're not _just_ embodiments of Ruby's different sides, we're also all Ruby. Some of us just portray our traits more than others. If you want a Ruby running around without panties you better go look for a Pervert Ruby," she said before sitting down again, fuming for a while before calming down and moving one of her rooks.

"She does kinda have a point. It's unfair to not see them all as Ruby, even if none of them is really Awake. Well, you all have fun here, I'm going to see how many Rubies here have Faunus traits," Blake said before departing.

"Well, I'm off to try and find more material to blackmail Ruby, give me a call in case you find Perv Ruby," Yang told Weiss before disappearing as well.

Weiss simply sighed and decided to go and calm the citizens of Vale, reassuring them that the swarm of Rubies was nothing to worry about.

As Weiss left, the Ruby opposite Lust spoke up. "Thank you for not telling them I'm here. I really don't think Yang would ever let me live this down if she found out I began this loop without panties."

"No problem Perv... Your move."


	83. Of Marksmen and Mini-Mes

**83.1 Fictional Fanatic and BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **True markswomen  
**  
"Um, come again?" Ruby asked, not quite sure she had heard Kali correctly.

"You heard me Ruby. I, Kali Belladonna, challenge you, Ruby Rose, to a Markswoman competition to see which one of us is the better Markswoman," Kali told Ruby with a smile.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm fine with it, but there's such a huge difference between the two of us. The only reason I can see you'd be interested in doing this is because you'd have picked up some form of ability in some Loop and... Did you finally have your Formative Loop?" Ruby suddenly asked excitedly, getting a nod from Kali.

"Yes, I had quite the hectic Loop, but I learnt a lot from it and I am very confident that my newfound abilities will give me an edge in this challenge," Kali said with confidence.

"Okay, so how do you want to do this?" Ruby asked, curious as to what Kali believed would give her an edge against her own Anchor. Ruby was of course not stupid enough to think that she couldn't be trumped by Kali since there were plenty of rumors going around the Loops that even the O7 could be beat with certain simple tricks from different parts of the multiverse. The question was, what had Kali picked up that gave her such confidence.

"I want us to compete in a series of events we decide on related to marksmanship with several Loopers as judges. I believe Blake, Yang and Weiss are Awake this Loop, and I think Ozpin, together with Ironwood would be able to provide the necessary facilities," Kali suggested, making Ruby give her a look of dawning suspicion.

"You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?" Ruby asked with a smirk.

"Of course, I can't just do this without thinking ahead. So what do you say, should we find the others and set this up?" Kali asked, smiling just like Ruby.

"Let's."

-/-

"Alright. The order of events taking place as decided by all parties involved are Long Range Shooting, Target Takedown, Bullet Hell, and Quick Draw Duel. The rules are simple. Each event will award each contestant with points awarded based on Accuracy, Speed, Style and also Unlikeliness. Both contestants are allowed to use only one weapon of their choice limited to only one modification of any type. Ammunition for these events will be unlimited, replenished using magic. You will be allowed to use the powers of only one specific loop of your choice and the use of Semblances is prohibited. Are there any questions regarding the rules?" Weiss asked the small crowd of loopers and certain invited non-loopers who had been informed about the loops for different reasons. Both Tai and Ghira being two of the invited non-loopers.

"So you have any idea what this is about?" Tai asked Ghira, whispering as he leaned in close.

"No. I understood some things from my wife's explanation earlier, but I still don't see the point of this competition," Ghira admitted.

Tai shrugged. "Well, I suppose we can at the very least enjoy this now that we're here since we were invited."

"Indeed, although I must admit that I'm concerned about the Quick Draw Duel. Kali tried to assure me that she would be fine, even showing me how good of a markswoman she is, but she is going up against someone who is supposed to be many times older than her, someone who's had a lot more time to learn and prepare," Ghira explained his worries.

"Don't worry. Even if Ruby is a little bit different and a lot older that I believed her to be, she is still my little girl. I know her, and she wouldn't let your wife get hurt. Besides, you can see all the safety precautions they've put in place with help from Ozpin and Ironwood. Trust them, everything should be fine," Tai tried to reassure Ghira.

"I suppose," Ghira said, sighing as he relaxed and instead began to watch the first event as it began.

-/-

"Alright. The first event is Long Range Shooting. In this event, you will be shooting down moving targets located at hundred meter intervals from each other. Take down as many as you can, as fast as you can. Your time stops as soon as you admit not being able to shoot down any more targets. There are targets set up halfway across the planet. Now, chose your weapons but remember that the weapons you chose will be the weapon you use through every event," Weiss informed the two loopers. Ruby taking out a mildly modified version of Cresent Rose able to reload faster, making it possible to shoot down multiple targets in quick succession. Kali took out the very same gun she had used while she had been on the planet Gunsmoke.

"Is that a .45 Long Colt?" Ruby asked, glancing at Kali's gun.

Kali shook her head. "Not exactly. From what I can tell, it is a mish-mash of several different guns, but it does take after the .45 Long Colt the most, yes. This gun was however not even anything special in it's own loop, I mean, if you look at it, the hammer isn't even aligned with the barrel," Kali pointed out before opening the gun and loading it. "However, it is my gun, and despite its flaws, I'm used to it and I don't think I'd be able to use any other weapon as well as this one."

Ruby nodded in agreement, understanding what Kali meant. She too was well versed in all kinds of weapons, but a scythe, especially her Cresent Rose, even if it was a variant one, was always the weapon that she worked best with.

Seeing both of the loopers had chosen their weapons, Weiss moved to inspect the weapons, having to look Kali's gun up on her PADD to make sure it hadn't undergone any modifications Kali wasn't mentioning. As it all checked out to be like the hub backup stated, Weiss began speaking again. "First up, Ruby Rose. Begin!"

The targets revealed themselves and began moving. Ruby smirked as she began shooting down the moving Salem dummies that made some very decent attempts to run and hide.

-/-

Ruby stared as Kali was calmly shooting down her targets one by one. In the beginning Ruby was sure she was beating Kali in speed, accuracy and most definitely in the amount of targets she'd be able to hit. Now that it was Kali's turn, she was steadily showing her wrong. While Kali was taking her time with aiming each shot, she was still making up for it by keeping a constant pace and so far hitting each and every single target right in the middle with a perfect bulls eye, something not even Ruby could do after her 129th target. Ruby had given up after the 242nd target. Kali was now on her 204th target, still hitting the bullseye while a smirk was creeping its way up onto her face as she had seen Ruby's reaction when she realized how precise Kali's shooting was. By the time she hit dead center on the 243rd target, with no signs of slowing down, Ruby finally broke down in frustration. "How?!" she demanded to know, only for Kali to smile.

"Now, Ruby. Let's not ruin all my fun before this competition of skill is over," Kali said with a smile, finally stopping as she hit the last target. Bulls eye at 25,000 feet. Ruby glared at her before deciding that she would now go all out, doing her very best and not let Kali gain even a single point on her. She would win this competition, her reputation as the Anchor of Remnant depended on it.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.2 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Rose was rushing down the street. It was really, really late, to the point that she had no excuse for it, but she couldn't help that so many cats had been getting stuck in trees today! And one confused chihuahua, but that was beside the point.

The real point was that instead of being able to hang out at the store and read magazines like she had been planning on doing after she loaded up on some acceleration Dust, she'd have to zip in and zip out. And she couldn't use her Semblance for that either, since the shopkeep would kick her out for covering his floor in rose petals. Again.

"Ow!"

And with a bang, things got worse as she turned a corner and ran into a dumpster face first. When she moved her hand, the young hunter-to-be saw that her nose was now bleeding slightly. She sighed deeply, thinking about how she couldn't see how things could possibly get worse.

She'd regret thinking that for the rest of her life, from the very second the window to the Dust shop shattered.

Peeking out from behind the dumpster, Ruby Rose saw a small but lithe figure standing on top of a bruised and unconscious, but otherwise unharmed man. As the figure rose, a large, mechanical Scythe unfolded dramatically. In the wind, the cape attached to the figure's hood billowed dramatically, making it unquestionable who the hero of this scene really was.

What Ruby didn't understand was how she was staring at _herself_.

"Ah," the other Ruby sighed nostalgically as she dramatically turned off a headset that reminded Ruby, the one behind the dumpster, of her own custom model. "It's good to revisit the basics every once in a while."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" said an unfamiliar voice from inside the shop. "Get her!"

Ruby continued to stare as the new Ruby proceeded to make utter fools of the men charging at her. However, this doppelganger didn't use any techniques that Ruby herself was familiar with. If anything, she'd compare it to Qrow's moves, and even then something seemed more... polished, than her Uncle's forms, drunk or not.

"Well, you were worth every penny, truly," the man from earlier said, subtly trying to sneak around the skilled warrior.

Before he could make any more witty comments, the other Ruby doubled over in hysterical laughter. It lasted for an uncomfortably long moment before she stopped, wiping a tear away.

"Haaa... Penny. I don't know why I found it so funny, but thank you for that."

"Uhhh, right," the man in the snazzy suit said, looking uncomfortable even from Ruby's angle. The Ruby who was very confused at this point, not the one that had been laughing. The man continued, jerking his head to the left. "Well, I'd love to stay, but-"

"Oh no you don't," said the other Ruby forcefully, and the man freezing up for no apparent reason. "Since you helped cheer me up, I think I'll return the favor by... Hmmm... Knocking your socks off? Yeah, that'll work."

Sensing that something big was about to happen, Ruby Rose, the one that had been hiding for no real reason other than stupefied shock, finally emerged from behind the dumpster and started running towards the pair where they stood.

That said, she didn't even get a chance to bellow out a dramatic cry, or more likely a polite 'hold on', before a sheer wall of _something_ knocked her off her feet. Ruby felt something slip from her pocket just seconds before she tumbled right into the dumpster behind her, which itself had started to tumble back. It was clean, a small mercy, but it still smelled awful and was generally hard enough that the girl got banged up pretty badly as she bounced around on the inside of it.

"Owww..." Ruby groaned quietly from inside of the container, too dizzy to muster the energy to really be heard.

"Whoops!" Came her double's voice from outside of the large trash box. "I didn't mean to knock off everything _but_ your socks! And your boxers, thankfully. Which- OH EW! I can't believe I knocked your clothes off Mr.- I'm so sorry! Ewewewewew!"

This went on for a few moments before things quieted down. Then, after hearing some whooshing, there was some quiet murmuring from the strange Ruby.

"Ugh, I can't believe I don't have access to my Pocket this Loop. It'd be a lot easier to just get a replacement than figuring out where my Scroll went. At any rate I definitely have to dial that move down next time if it's going to send my stuff flying off, amorphous mass of Chibi mes not- oh! Here it is!"

Then the footsteps faded away. About another 15 minutes later, Ruby finally stopped feeling dizzy enough to sit up.

"Did she break my Aura on _accident?_ " She groaned, her head still reeling from so many unprotected blows. She hoped she didn't get a concussion from all of that.

Slowly, Ruby opened up the dumpster. She had no idea what was going on, but she was determined to get to the bottom of-

Was that guy just in his boxers?

Ruby blinked from her spot as the police hauled a man clad in nothing but some Pumpkin Pete brand boxers to his feet.

"Bullshit!" the man spat, his voice confirming him as the man from earlier. "This is bullshit! How is anyone that- that-"

"Will you give it a rest!?" A nondescript officer barked at him. "I have a bad headache, so save the bellyaching until after we get you to the precinct."

For a moment, Ruby wondered where the man's clothes went, idly wondering if this is what her look-alike meant from knocking his socks off earlier.

And then they hit her. Stumbling in shock, she fell backwards, smacking her head on the edge of the dumpster just in time to hear something loud go off followed by an "I told you so" from her double.

From there, the simple soul blacked out from the pain.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.3 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Armin Arlert was many things. A cruel and tactical genius, a manipulative bastard, buddies with a rageholic who could transform into a gigantic muscle bound Titan and a calm and stoic Asian girl who could level a continent. He was also a Jedi who enjoyed the occasional bout of relaxation and meditation.

As he had found himself Awakening on the planet of Achh-To in the Star Wars branch, the Nebulous Anchor settled down for some introspection and simple breathing meditation. The trick, he found, wasn't to try and direct his thoughts towards tranquility, but to recognize his thoughts, and to focus on breathing. Not to destroy his emotions, but to accept them.

The _click-click-click_ of heels alerted him to a new presence, and Armin slowly felt outwards. His companion allowed the Force to flow within her, a furious turbulence burning within though. He nodded to her, a pang of interest coming upon him as he looked at her anime white hair.

She didn't say anything, simply settling down next to him and entering the same meditative stance he was in. Armin returned to his search for peace, waiting, thinking, and resting his tired, busy mind.

The moments crawled by, the secrets of the universe, for a moment, unfolding for Armin and his friend. Armin found his rest finally arrive, and peace restored he stood up and walked down to the small hut that had been in the built long ago. Luke was waiting for him, stern and foreboding, and welcomed him inside, pouring him a small glass. "Welcome back Armin."

"It's good to be back Luke," Armin said. "How have the expansions treated you? Anything new arrive?"

"Anything? Visions of the future, of the past. Looks like one more expansion is in the pipes for me." Luke poured his own drink and toasted with his visitor. "Your expansions still regular?"

"No actually. Formally we have some information: apparently the Loop is set to expand by several years in the near future." Armin sipped his drink, favoring the rum. "Ganesha is just preparing for that time though."

"Huh. Any new Loopers?"

"None so far. Just us thirteen."

"Fourteen."

"What?"

"What?"

Armin set his drink aside. "Just... tell me Luke. Is there a Stealth Looper in my world?"

"It's Shadis."

Luke and Armin glanced up at the girl who was joining them. She was well dressed and white haired, but couldn't have been more than three years older than Armin. She shrugged. "Keith's formative Loop was with us on Remnant."

She stuck a hand out for Armin. "Weiss Schnee, of Remnant."

"Armin Arlert, of the Walled World," Armin said, shaking her hand. "I suspected that Keith was a good candidate. Reasonable, able man with exceptional emotional connections to many Loopers. Everyone is going to freak when I get back."

"Oh, you should have seen what happened when we found out what was happening on our world," Weiss mumbled.

"Weiss' world got hacked a long time ago, and it's been having villains and Stealth Looper's crawling out of the wood work. There's a pretty big gambling ring out and about over who is and isn't Stealthing," Luke explained for Armin. "And that's not counting Cinder."

"Cinder?" The blond young man cocked an eyebrow at Weiss, who signed with no small amount of strain in the noise. "On second thought, maybe not."

"Cinder was a Villainess who was driven insane by the Mythos Hackers. She pretended to suffer Chrysalis Syndrome, and eventually developed a split personality over it, and then she tried to Ascend." Weiss glanced at Armin's drink and shook her head, instead resting it on the table. "It was centuries ago and I'm still processing it."

Luke held up his glass. "You're alive. Have a drink, and realize you have lived for another day."

"I'm sober."

"Suit yourself," Armin said, downing his drink. "Some more, please."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.4 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Nora Awoke to circumstances different to her usual ones. Seeing that she was alone in what she guess was her own room, she checked her pocket and abilities before sending out a ping. Receiving 4 pings in response she nodded to herself and checked her loop memories.

"Huh, been a while since this variant showed up," Nora said before smiling. Taking out her looper scroll she connected to their private network and saw that Ruby, Cinder, Ren and Jaune were all Awake. She soon received a message from a worried Ren who couldn't recall her from his loop memories. Nora decided to call him so that he wouldn't worry.

"Hey, Ren. Guess who's the daughter of the Mafia boss again?" she asked Ren as he picked up.

"Guess who is Top cop this loop," Ren countered, making Nora pause.

"You're his son, aren't you?" she asked after thinking it over for just a moment.

"Got it in one, want to sneak out and cause harmless trouble for both our families?" Ren suggested.

"Do I!" Nora replied cheerfully. "I'll be there in twenty minutes," she told Ren, already having located him using a tracker she had planted in his scroll, just in case.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.5 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Shut up about by brother," Raven ordered.

"But, he's a traitor!" the bandit exclaimed.

"He is safeguarding the tribe in his own way," Raven dismissed his words.

The bandit scoffed. "He abandoned the tribe!"

Raven gave him an irritated look. "You do recall what his semblance is, correct?" she said in a patronizing tone.

"He makes things unlucky for people around him," another bandit piped up.

"Yes. That means what can go wrong, _will_ go wrong," Raven nodded. "That means, if you are with him, you are more likely to get hurt or killed. That means you are more likely to not get what you want. That means _bad_ things will happen to you," she said slowly. "It is in the Tribe's best interest that he does not expose us to his semblance. That way, he won't cause you to get killed by merely being nearby. Do you understand?"

The bandits nodded.

"Good. Now stop whining about my brother. It's a waste of time and we need to plan our next raid," Raven commanded.

Hmm, maybe she should try to get the Haven Relic, just to keep it away from Salem and her lackeys. Raven considered this thought then dismissed it. Until an appropriate expansion, any information about Haven, its Relic and the security would be loop varible. Best to wait until she had solid information before coming up with plans.

Raven thought for a bit then smirked. Maybe they should visit Mount Glen. She was sure the Tribe would enjoy the weapons the White Fang had. Although the more obvious ones like the Paladins would have to be sold on the Black Market. For a good profit of course.

Raven grinned. Now, how to make raids more interesting for this loop?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
 **  
83.1 (con't) Fictional Fanatic and BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Following the first event came the second one, Target Takedown. "In this event both participants will take turns taking down targets assigned to them on the prepared course. They will have to do so without hitting the other fake targets that will attempt to intercept them. While the previous event meant you weren't allowed to move, you will this time be allowed to move around the designated area, in this case a replica of Vale. Any questions?" Weiss asked, both Ruby and Kali shaking their heads no. "Good, then you're first Ruby. Remember, you're only allowed to use the speed force since you chose that particular Loop," Weiss reminded her.

"Yeah yeah. I got this. Now give me a target and count me down," Ruby said. Weiss rolled her eyes, and started the clock. When the timer hit zero, Ruby disappeared in a flash of red petals. Looking up at the monitor, said flash of red petals was rapidly growing to encompass the entire city as Ruby moved faster than the wind could blow them away. Less than a minute after she entered Ruby reappeared with a cocky grin, Crescent Rose draped across her shoulders as she all but skipped over.

Kali looked back and forth between Ruby and the monitor, just now clearing up of the floral debris enough to show all the targets lying on the ground with clear gunshot wounds. "Oh dear," she muttered to herself quietly.

"RUBY!"

Both Kali and Ruby flinched at the angry cry, turning to where Weiss stood glaring with her hands on her hips. "Do you realize how long it's going to take us to actually attempt to pick through and _judge_ that footage!?"

"Um... a long time?"

"Yes Ruby! A. Long. Time." Heaving an exasperated huff, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nevermind. Kali, you're up next as soon as Glynda finishes resetting the course. Try not to follow this dunderhead's example, this is going to be enough of a headache already."

Kali just smiled weakly.

-/-

"What did I just say! How is shooting a mountain and causing an avalanche a valid tactic!?" Weiss screeched at the monitor where Kali was calmly shooting various falling rocks, implausibly directing them at her targets and away from the 'civilians.'

"That had no business working as well as it did." Blake muttered from her seat.

"Yeah, but it was cool though. Am I right? You totally gotta admit it was cool."

"Yang! Who's side are you on?" Ruby demanded.

"Eh-heh. Um, as a duly elected judge I am an impartial observer with no individual or personal biases."

"You totally just read that off your hand." Ruby deadpanned.

"Uh... Blake, little help here?"

"But you were doing so well."

Yang pouted.

Meanwhile Kali was still shooting rocks.

-/-

In the end, Ruby ended up winning due to the overwhelming speed that she was able to bring to bear to track down her targets. Kali grumbled slightly about how it was unfair as she would never be able to compete with something like that, but still managed to score a lot of points during the event. Most of which were admittedly due to the Unlikeliness factor of her chosen method, but points were points.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.2 (con't) Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Of all the sentences she could have thought of, Ruby Rose did not expect one of them to involve waking up in a dumpster covered in another man's clothes. She was a responsible young adult, thank you very much, and even if she decided to try the dating scene or the drinking scene, she wouldn't overdo it to _that_ extent.

Yang, on the other hand-

"Yang-" Clang. "OW!"

Ruby rubbed her head as she shoved the clothes to the side. She had been so startled by the revelation that she had never called home last night that she forgot how small the dumpster was and decided that standing straight up in one was a good idea. Subconsciously, anyway. Stupid subconscious, always making poor decisions without her consent.

Once she had nursed her head, her Aura still dangerously low, Ruby searched her pockets for her Scroll. She needed to call her Dad and Yang right away so they wouldn't worry about her.

The poor young girl froze when she realized that her Scroll was in none of her pockets.

"Oooohhh no oh no oh no," she chanted to herself over and over again as she searched the entirety of the dumpster. She had found the man's Scroll, who was apparently Roman Torchwick and a bad enough guy to have an identity forger app on hand, but hers was nowhere to be found.

"Oh man, where is it? I know I had it last night until-" And that's when the silver-eyed girl froze in recollection.

 _"Ugh, I can't believe I don't have access to my Pocket this Loop. It'd be a lot easier to just get a replacement than figuring out where my Scroll went. At any rate I definitely have to dial that move down next time if it's going to send my stuff flying off, amorphous mass of Chibi mes not- oh! Here it is!"_

Ruby had understood less than half of that sentence at the time, but the rest of it she understood clearly now. Whoever this not-Ruby was, she had taken her Scroll by mistake.

Now, this wouldn't be so bad in and of itself. However, this Loop the Scrolls acted as a person's ID. Not that she knew that her universe was only a single iteration in space-time in a constantly looping space-time snarl that spanned the entire multiverse, but the point still remained that she had lost the one thing that could identify her as, well, her in the eyes of the law to someone who _looked exactly like her_.

"Oooohhhh, when I wished that my life could be like a comic book, I didn't mean the stuff that dealt with clones and body doubles! I always skipped those!" Ruby groaned, stomping her foot in frustration. "I just hope I can explain this all to Dad without sounding totally crazy. Or, at least, without him laughing at me about it."

Giving up the latter as a lost cause, Ruby shifted herself to stand when her attention came across the clothes from before. She wasn't quite sure what to do with the criminal's things, considering he'd probably be in jail by now, but it felt a bit weird to just leave it there in the dumpster. Deciding to figure out what to do with it later, she neatly folded up everything and slipped it under one of her arms as she opened the dumpster lid.

Just in time to see a random, nondescript lady standing outside of it.

"Uhhh..." Ruby 'uhhhed' intelligently as the woman noticed the clothes tucked under her arm.

"If you need clothes, there's a goodwill just down the way," she said with helpful hesitation.

"Huh? Oh, wait, no I'm not here for clothes! I just accidentally ended up in this dumpster by, well, accident, and as I got up these clothes hit me in the face and..." Ruby slowed down as she saw what she thought was a look of confusion on the woman's face. She was never good at figuring these things out, since it was like trying to read the facial expressions of a shadow for her. "...thank you very much. I'll be leaving your dumpster now."

"Wait, while you're in there, could you see if my ring is in there? I lost it yesterday and I've been looking all over for it."

"Oh! Hold on..." Ruby ducked back down into the dumpster for a second before popping back up. "Nope, sorry. If it's any consolation, I can point you towards a high-quality forge for a replacement."

"No, but thank you so much anyway."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Ruby grumbled as she trudged through Patch towards her home. She was cold. She was wet. And she had been on the world's worst boat ride after being on the world's worst _bulkhead_ ride. The were both the worst for different reasons, and technically Ruby was now a criminal for stowing way on the bulkhead, but given how many times she nearly died on that boat from the edge of Vale to Patch, she figured she had already done her time.

Especially since her stockings had gotten torn up during the boat ride by that... thing, and had been forced to wear Roman's pants, barely held up by several safety pins. The captain had said that the _thing_ that tore them up was just a rock, but then again he couldn't steady his hands enough to grip the steering wheel without assistance and he managed to miss the docks by about 12 feet. The only reason she didn't say it was a Grimm was because she was focused on taking out the Piranha Grimm trying to eat the motor.

The one saving grace of this entire debacle was that it had taken about 2 days total, hopefully leaving her with plenty of time to talk to her dad and get her Scroll situation settled before the semester started about twelve days from then. That and the knowledge that it was worth the extra money to get a legitimate under the table mode of transportation instead of going with the possibly crazy man who would literally drive you to anywhere for a can of beans.

In retrospect the possibly crazy part should have been a big warning sign right there.

Ruby was distracted from her ruminations by both the welcome sight of her house and the off-putting sound of laughter. She didn't mind hearing laughter from her house, but given that she had been missing for two days, she'd figured they'd either be worried or, more likely, out of the house looking for her.

As she approached, she noticed a light coming from the kitchen and dining area. Deciding to peek in, Ruby's blood became as cold as the icy metal of the bulkhead's storage compartments.

At the table was her Dad, whose back was to her, her Sister, who had been at the end of the table, Zwei, who was at his doggy dish...

And the girl who had stolen her Scroll. The look-alike.

"...oh man, now I kind of wish I was my... what did you call it... my Looping self?" Her sis had asked that _person sitting in her chair_.

"Yeah."

"Alright. I wish I was my Looping self, if only to be able to remember _that_. That was hilarious!"

"You know, I'm glad that you two are taking this so well!" chirped the _impostor_ after another round of laughter.

"Well, regardless of how strange things get, you'll always be our family," Ruby's dad said, putting a hand on _her_ shoulder. Zwei, taking a break from eating, jumped up in the double's lap and began licking her face in the same, friendly manner that he would lick her.

Ruby whimpered, unable to fully process what was happening. Yang, having heard that, sat up straight, but wasn't able to look in time to notice Ruby duck down beneath the windowsill.

"What's up Yang?" the impostor asked in what _had_ to be a false sense of concern.

"...it's nothing. I just heard some wind," Yang said, inadvertently dismissing her own _sister_. "So, you're going to Beacon early, huh? Does that happen..."

Unable to take it any more, Ruby snuck away from the house quietly before breaking out full tilt using her semblance. Tears fell from her eyes as she realized that the impostor had taken over her life completely, and no one noticed a thing.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Ruby, the Anchor of Remnant, paused mid-conversation as she explained how baseline usually went.

"Rubes? What's wrong?"

Ruby thought for a moment, her mind going over the events from the start of the loop. She had missed something, she knew it. Some detail had been overlooked.

With a start, it hit her what she had missed.

"I totally forgot to give Roman his clothes back!" Ruby slammed her fist into her palm as she realized what had been bugging her. Well, something else was nagging her, but it wasn't to the point it was distracting her yet.

"Roman?" Yang quirked an eyebrow.

"Wait, isn't he the guy who you got arrested a couple days ago?" Taiyang pitched in. "Why was that bothering you?"

"Oh! Well, you know how I explained how new loopers are generally people we have connected with? Well, the connection doesn't necessarily have to be _positive_..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.6 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali wasn't quite sure how she felt about these so-called 'Hub Loops', but she did appreciate how, despite having lived on a world where the constant threat of Grimm was once normal, peaceful and ordinary it was. Well, in the more well-off countries anyway. Since it was null loop, sadly, she couldn't go out and bring some gun-slinging justice to everyone due to the curbing of her abilities it brought, (at least, not without absurd amounts of risk and a near-certainty of being caught) so she just limited herself to participating in as many charities and fund-raisers as reasonably possible and enjoyed her loop off.

Still, it was a bit of a dull day, and while she was waiting for her daughter to come back from high school she had decided to do something she had decided to indulge in for the loop.

She was surfing the web.

Don't get her wrong, she was still being productive at the time. From what she knew, all of the fiction in the hub-world were archives of loops out there, so she could look up information on other loops beforehand.

That said, she only had so much time, so she decided to get some recommendations on some of the 'anime' that she had heard of through pop culture osmosis so that she could decide on what she wanted to watch this loop, what she could save to watch with Ghira, and what she should watch when she was either bored or desperate to have something to do.

She had gone down the list and reached something called 'Sword Art Online'. Going onto one of the forums she had signed up for, she began to poke around, along with a few other recommendations. Kali soon got a reply from someone named 'SwordTrollMaster'.

' _That show is sub-par and uninteresting. Try the abridged series instead. It is the best thing ever._ '

Not quite sure if she remembered what abridged meant correctly, she looked up the definition of the word.

"To shorten something without losing the sense of what it was..." Kali looked at the time. "Well, I suppose if it has such high recommendations, I could watch it right now while the others are downloading..."

And so, once she had a few hours worth of anime queued up for download, she pulled up the first episode of the abridged series and hit the play button.

-

"Well, that was a wasted effort," Blake sighed as she set her backpack on its hook as she walked in her house for the loop. "I guess it'll be another week until we can get that absurdly powerful student council into motion."

As she walked into the living room, she turned to greet her mother when she saw that she was on the couch surrounded by used tissues, watching her laptop with teary eyes.

"M-mom? Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" Kali looked up at her daughter with bleary eyes. "Oh, I-I'm alright. I just watched one of the most strange, terrible, yet beautiful romances I've ever seen in one of the most crude yet hilarious stories I've witnessed. Well, fictional ones- although I guess it's real in one of the loops..."

Blake, now raising an eyebrow, walked over to where her mother sat and, after pushing a pile of tissues into an already overflowing mini-trashcan, sat down to watch what her mother was making such a fuss about.

"Sword Art Online _Abridged_? Mom, I think that-"

"Up-Up-Up!" Kali pressed a finger to her daughter's lips, surprising the ancient being into silence. "Watch first, _then_ make your judgement later."

Shrugging, Blake complied to humor her mother.

"Link, Start!" said the Abridged Kirito once Kali hit the play button, and soon the two were sucked into the odd, crass odyssey.

-

A few hours later, Yang walked into the Belladonna household, wearing just enough makeup to look fancy and just enough clothes to be decent in society. And by that, I mean she was going full commando.

"Hey Blake, I'm ready for our date! I know we've been kicked out of the last few places we've been to in record time, but I'm pretty sure we'd last at least..."

Yang, having walked into the living, looked to see both Looping Belladonnas wrapped together in a blanket, surrounded by multiple piles of used tissues and trash cans. Tilting her head to the side, the bombshell blonde walked around the couch to look at the computer screen.

"Sword Art Online Abridged? Blake, what's going on?"

The normally a cat Faunus looked up in shock. "Oh! Yang! I'm so sorry, I was just watching this series online with my mom, and I got so wrapped in it I never got ready."

"Well it's a good thing then in this case," Yang smiled as she picked up an empty tissue box. "I'm pretty sure no amount of mascara could survive this much crying."

With that said, Yang shoved the pile next to Blake from the couch and, leaping over the back, plopped down next to her love. "So, mind if I see what the fuss is about?"

With two tearful nods of happiness, the play button on the first episode was hit once again.

-

"I'm sorry I never said this out loud before, but... I love you Asuna."

"...I know."

With a powerful BANG!, the Belladonna household's door swung open to reveal one Ruby Rose, Anchor of Remanant.

"Yaaang! Where are you!? I know you probably wanted to 'do some things' with Blake after your date, but you promised to help me brainstorm our part of the plan since the teachers managed to interrupt us during the rally. I mean, it was an illegal rally, but still-"

She paused as she looked at the sight of her sister, her sister's lover, and her sister's lover's mother, all huddled around a laptop and surrounded by an unholy amount of tissue.

"...where did you get all the tissues?" she asked, deciding to get the mundane things out of the way first.

"Oh, my husband won a year supply of them in a contest at his work," Kali spoke up, pausing the video in the middle of the Abridged version of Kirito's scream as he learned why you shouldn't try to leave a hospital room while a catheter is still inserted.

"Ah, alright then," Ruby nodded in acceptance. "So... what are you watching?"

"Episode Eleven of the Sword Art Online Abridged series," Blake responded, her eyes getting a little misty. "Again."

"His little bitch tears are so heartwarming!" Yang said as she clutched a tissue box that looked to be on its last legs.

"It's so amazing!" Kali squealed in sincerity.

There was a lengthy pause from the leader of team RWBY. "You're exaggerating for comedic effect, aren't you?"

"Of course,"/"Oh yeah, definitely," responded the other present members earnestly. Kali, somewhat shocked, looked at the two with a hint a of betrayal.

"Wait, really?" the Elder Belladona looked at the other two searchingly.

"Umm... yeah?" Yang responded, running a hand through her hair.

"You do realize it is an amateurish series, even if it's entertaining," Blake asked her mother, her eyes beginning to fill with concern. "...right?"

"Well, like I said earlier, they don't _really_ compare to some of the things seen in the loops, but it certainly is good compared to the material in our home loop, you'll have to admit."

An awkward silence fell as what everyone had thought was a joke turned out to be uncomfortably real. After a few beats, Blake turned to the looping siblings.

"I'm sorry, but I might have to take the rest of the loop off. I had no idea my mother was this bad."

"Huh? Blake, what-"

"I understand completely," Ruby bowed gravely. "We'll continue our cause without you, so that you can contribute to a greater and more lasting cause."

"Do you need any help?" Yang placed a supportive hand on Blake as Kali sputtered indignantly in the background.

"Well... this was just the Abridged version," Kali said as she recovered her wits. "I'm sure the full version of the show will be much more fleshed out!"

Another beat of silence passed.

"I'll need all the help I can get," Blake nodded fearfully, her wide-eyes watching as her mother once again squawked indignantly. "It might be a long loop without it."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.7 Black Omochao**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

Cinder Awoke to find herself in a house, kneeling before a shrine of some sort, with… her brother beside her.

"… Keita?" she muttered, glancing at the eleven-year-old whom was sitting on his knees with his eyes closed.

"Nate," he corrected, without opening his eyes. "It's Nate right now."

"Oh…" Cinder nodded, looking through her Loop-memories to confirm this. She also found that they were currently visiting their grandmother, and the shrine was… in memorial to their grandfather. The Remnant Looper grew a little nervous when Nate made no motion to talk to her, nor any signs of hostility or discomfort at all… "Um… Nate?"

"Shhh," he softly shushed her before nodding. "We make an offering to grandpa first, then we talk." He explained, Cinder just looked confused before Nate held up a plate with some kind of pastry on it, and placed it in front of the shrine. There was silence for a few moments before Nate turned to his nervous sister. "So, what's on your mind?"

"… What's on my mind?" Cinder looked incredulous at the casualness of this question.

"It's been a while since we've just talked, Cinder. I'm supposed to be your brother after all, I figured asking what's on your mind is a good place to start," the Anchor explained with a friendly smile, Cinder fidgeted a little, a clear look of discomfort on her face.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't understand," Nate tilted his head at his elder sibling's question.

"Why are you talking to me like this? Aren't you angry with me?"

"… I was," he admitted, glancing at the ground. "But… Ruby explained everything to me, it wasn't your fault. I hate the idea of what could have happened, but taking it out on you won't help anything… also…" Nate drummed his fingers against his pantleg, looking unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry…"

"… What?"

"I'm sorry for not talking to you, I'm sorry for being afraid of you… I'm sorry for being a bad brother," Nate sighed as he avoided Cinder's gaze, silence permeated the room for a few moments… before it was broken by a small chuckle, from Cinder. Nate looked surprised as his sister let out a few more laughs, a couple tears coming from her eyes.

"What is this?" Cinder asked in-between laughs, Nate blinked in confusion before she continued. "I almost destroyed my home, your other sisters, friends and who knows what else… and you're apologizing to me? What is this? Some kind of joke?"

"I mean it, Cinder," Nate insisted, a serious look on his face. "I know what happened, I don't blame you. I shouldn't have been afraid of you in the first place, you're my family but I never acted like you were. I bonded with Ruby, Yang and Dexter every chance I got, but I never even put an effort forth to bond with you…"

"Nate…" Cinder just looked down in confusion, unsure of how to feel about her surrogate brother's words.

"I want to start over with this Cinder, I'm not going to be afraid of you anymore," the yo-kai watch-bearer stood up and held his hand out to Cinder, a determined look on his face. "I'm going to treat you like family from now on, please give me another chance to be your little brother, big sis…" Cinder looked at his hand for a moment, before giving a soft smile and taking it.

"I suppose I should, you're giving me another chance after all, little bro," she stood up and the two hugged, they stayed like that for a moment, before the sound of movement caught their attention. The hug broke and Nate stared at the shrine for a moment, Cinder noted that the pastry that had been on the plate was gone…

"… Grandpa, how long have you been watching?" Cinder grew confused at her brother's words, their grandfather? The sudden appearance of a small, shadowy humanoid surprised her, but also answered her question.

"I was here the whole time, it didn't seem right to interrupt," the spirit said with a nod of his head.

"Yet it was okay to spy on us?"

"What? An old man can't keep an eye on his grandkids?" he shook his head with a chuckle, before nodding to Cinder, whom bowed a little awkwardly. "Well, have fun on the time travel quest," he shrugged.

"Time travel?" Cinder looked at Nate questioningly, he just smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Also, Nate," the yo-kai looked towards his grandson. "If I ever Loop, you're going to have to introduce me to all my new grandchildren," Nate and Cinder both looked confused at this request.

"Wait, how do you know about the Loops?" the Anchor asked, the grandfather cracked a smile.

"Because you told me in the past, of course."

"Of course," Nate rolled his eyes, Cinder couldn't help but laugh a little.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.1 (con't) Fictional Fanatic and BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The third event. Bullet Hell. "The rules here are simple. One at a time, you will be using a room prepared by Ironwood where bullets are set to be shot in certain, hard to avoid patterns where you will keep going until we detect your aura depleting at which point the time stops. However, since we're not merely grading the time, a few cameras exist within the room as well. Please refrain from destroying any of them," Weiss explained. "Now then, with all of that out of the way, Ruby, you're up," Weiss said, gesturing towards a door that would lead to the Bullet Hell room.

"Hey" Why am I always going first?" Ruby questioned, thinking it unfair as it gave Kali an advantage.

"It is actually a coincidence. The order you're going in was determined beforehand through a randomization process. You just happened to draw first all three times," Weiss informed her before opening the door to a somewhat grumbling Ruby before closing it behind her.

-/-

"She's been in there for hours," Kali pointed out, watching Ruby running around the room using the speed force. Weiss was steadily monitoring Ruby's Aura level as well as reviewing slowed down footage to make sure Ruby wasn't cheating in any way.

"Yes, she has. Perhaps we didn't make the firing algorithm advanced enough," Weiss said thinking about it before sighing. "Or maybe we shouldn't have installed those revitalizers. She won't grow physically tired with them active, but it would be unfair to not include them due to your physical differences," Weiss explained. "We might have to simply skip this stage," she admitted, looking at Kali who just shook her head.

"No. I actually want to try it. But perhaps you should set some kind of limit. I want to see if we at the very least can tie as to not simply waste all the time Ruby has spent in there," Kali said, looking at Weiss who was looking at some of the footage before sighing.

"What do you think Blake?" she asked, not looking away from the surveillance as she spoke.

"I believe it might be a good idea to maybe wind this all down soon. My eyes are beginning to strain already." Blake said, her Sharingan active as she was watching a live feed on a screen, seemingly never blinking. Weiss nodded slightly at her words before opening up a console and changing the Bullet Hell to end after 5 consecutive hours of firing.

-/-

"I can't believe both of them managed five consecutive hours in there." Ironwood groaned, Penny patting his back trying to comfort him.

"Indeed, it was rather unexpected, although we are still able to award them both points based on their style and and unlikely close calls. Ruby relied a lot on her speed force, but Kali managed to keep up; if only barely by the end. Had they kept going for longer, Ruby would undoubtedly have lasted longer, but I believe that it is far more impressive for Kali to have held on for that long. I believe she would receive more points from this one. Now, it's just the Quick Draw Duel left." Weiss said, before finishing her lunch. Everyone having decided to take a late lunch break to recover from the competition and let the two competing Loopers regain their strength for the final event. "Let's hope it doesn't become a stalemate."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.1 (con't) Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Rose, simple soul of Remnant and most certainly the same mental age as her looks suggested, woke up the next morning still a bit out of it in the hull of a bulkhead. She had, in her fit of confusion, sorrow, and fear, decided to run back to Vale. This time she managed to catch a break and secured a spot in the cargo hold of a bulkhead that WAS heading straight to Vale instead of some outpost midway between there and Patch.

For a moment, she wondered if she was being rash, if she was just running away from an easily fixed problem or misunderstanding that could be resolved by just talking about it. That thought was quickly crushed by the reasonable assumption that, if it was all a mistake, that... impostor wouldn't have even tried to convince her family that she was her, much less succeed. Between that and the fact that she knows nothing about the impostor except for being able to casually blow the clothes off of people with such force that it broke her aura, and it was apparent that a direct confrontation was right out.

So the question was... what now? If she couldn't prove her own identity to her _family_ then what could she do? Where would she go? Could she still go to Signal? Or would that double also steal her life there as well?

It was at that moment that a stray memory filtered through her head from last night.

 _"...it's nothing. I just heard some wind," Yang said, inadvertently dismissing her own sister. "So, you're going to Beacon early, huh? Does that happen..."_

Ruby at first, was saddened further since that meant that whoever it was that looked like her was going to Beacon early. Not that she'd like to do that herself, since she didn't like the idea of all of that attention on her, but for some reason her mind wouldn't let it go. She thought it was perhaps because this would prevent her from returning to Signal, but the itch in the back of her head suggested that it was nagging her for an entirely different reason.

And then it hit her. She couldn't convince her family that an impostor had fooled them without some sort of proof, but if she had some maybe she could convince _someone_ and expose her. Unfortunately she couldn't go back to Patch and spy on her, since Ruby's family would probably notice her rather quickly and possibly think _she_ was the impostor. However, if that other so-called 'Ruby' was going to Beacon, then maybe it was possible to spy on her there and, in doing so, get some proof that the evil fake clone/impostor was, indeed, a fake compared to her own... real...ness... something.

This, however, left Ruby with an entirely different problem. How was she going to get into Beacon? She didn't have her Scroll and if her family had been blinded to the truth, then complete strangers were even more unlikely to believe her.

That was when Ruby felt something vibrate in Roman's clothes. She didn't know what to do with them, and she had nearly forgotten about them in the midst of her problems, but they still had been brought with her onto the Bulkhead.

Rifling through the older man's shirts and hat, the huntress in training found the Scroll of his that had been casually glanced at the few nights prior. The text, from someone called Neapolitan, was confusingly unhelpful in the form of a grocery list, but after she had closed it her eyes scanned across something she remembered opening in her panic to confirm the Scroll's identity.

The app that forged identities.

Slowly, the gears in the young girl's mind began to turn as her mind had pulled together an idea and began fleshing it out.

0000000000000000000000000000

The next week and a half pass by in a whirlwind of chaos for poor Ruby. During that time, she learned more each day on the street than she would have in an entire semester back at Signal. Whether it was about learning the tricks and sacrifices of making a budget stretch, the ins and outs of learning how to erase your own identity to forge a new one, getting a crash course in basic tailoring, learning how to cope with a temporary separation from your iconic weapon due to how easily it gives away your identity, or simply learning how best to evade those dumb cops who have nothing better to do than harass innocent girls trying to take a nap in a dumpster because an evil clone was sleeping in their bed after taking over their house.

Or evil alien, maybe. From a chance opportunity, Ruby had, at some point, managed to come across the impostor being watched by groups of people who had stopped to watch a display that, suspiciously, hinted that something was seriously wrong with this fake Ruby on a dietary level. She herself loved cookies and would polish off an entire plate if given the chance, but to eat an entire cart's worth of cookies? That ridiculous, stomach churning sight happened twice in the same day no less **,** as the real Ruby bared witness to. Given that both times, when she had finished the horrid display, she at least had the shame to look embarrassed, Ruby guessed that their evil counterpart couldn't help it.

That last part confirmed some things from a session of what could charitably be called research. Thanks to a thrown out comic book collection, she had determined that her clone was suffering from either some sort of deficiency or had an alien biology, something that would require an inhuman amount of cookies to offset. The clone didn't necessarily have to be an evil clone to partake in this theory, but the evil part of her assumption was, well, obvious.

She had stolen her family without any warning and forced her to hide her Crescent Rose in a hole in a dusty, low-traffic museum. There was very little room, in Ruby's mind, to argue that they were anything but.

Still, everything was set up at this point. She had the disguise ready that she was going to use at Beacon. She had the fake ID and the altered Scroll needed to use it, thanks to Roman's own tools and applications on the thing, she even had gotten some skill with club and staff-based weaponry thanks to a few street fights against some thugs who thought she was small and helpless. When they found out that a warrior would soon run wild, well...

Let's just say that they were in jail nursing some nasty headaches from their last surprise.

Not that she herself got out unscathed, but she hoped by now that she could at least deal with basic Grimm now that she had a handle on the things. This thankfully meant that there was just one last thing needed for Ruby's plan to enter beacon to succeed.

"So, Miss... Rose Cresscelia, was it?" One Glynda Goodwitch, whom Ruby hadn't been expecting to conduct the interview once the transcripts had been processed, looked over her glasses with a heaping helping of suspicion. "You're cutting it awfully close to the deadline with your submission."

Ruby, or Rose as she now had to call herself, shrugged noncommittally as she internally panicked over the fact that what she had hoped would be the easiest part of her plan to enter Beacon suddenly jumped right into being the hardest. It was especially bad since, not only was she rumored to be extremely strict, but according to the newspapers she had... looked at, she had actually interviewed _the other Ruby Rose personally, alongside the headmaster_.

"...well, I can see you're not very talkative, are you?" Glynda simply looked back down on her faked transcripts. "Now, it says here that you used to be from... Sanctum, was it?"

Rose nodded, her wig and hat thankfully remaining secured. She hoped Glynda would continue asking questions like this. Maybe if she did, she wouldn't have to use her voice at all, which was the one thing she could think of that'd give her away.

"Can you tell me a bit about your time at Sanctum?" Goodwitch glanced back up at her, her frown seemingly deepening. "Some of the activities you did or the people you were friends with?"

Rose channeled all of her nervous energy down to her foot, bouncing it up and down as she thought about how to respond. That sort of thing wasn't something she could just get away with a body gesture. She hadn't had the time or the money to find a way to disguise her voice, and what little she had come across was as bad as those text to speech-

Struck by inspiration, she pulled out her... appropriated Scroll and gestured to it questioningly. Glynda looked at it thoughtfully for a few seconds before nodding her head. Shoulders relaxing in relief, Ruby- err, Rose, rapidly began typing out a message and sent it to herself. With a few more button taps, she activated the text-to-speech function and held it up proudly.

"Hey, Roman, I'm going to be out for a few days, so could you get some milk, some cream, some strawberries-"

Glynda growled as Rose, realizing her mistake, quickly stopped the program and had it read the correct message.

"Well, there isn't much to talk about, sadly. While I did like trying out for the combat and acting clubs, I didn't make the cut, and I didn't have many friends due to some friction between us."

Glynda looked at her evenly once the message was finished. "This 'friction' wouldn't happen to be the reason behind you not using your voice, would it? Especially since your transcripts don't mention you sporting any sort of mutism whatsoever."

Ruby was thrown for a moment, but as she, as Rose, regained her wits, she agreed a bit hurriedly. This only seemed to displease Glynda, but rather than comment, they continued on with the conversation in this manner. There was a moment where 'Rose' had let a shrill 'Hey!' slip when Glynda had insulted the practicality of Scythe based combat, but she was quickly able to pass it off as her chair squeaking as she shifted in it. At least, the young girl hoped the older, stern woman bought it.

By the time they were done and Glynda left the room, the disguised girl slumped back in her chair.

"I don't know which was worse, the interview or the not talking part," she mumbled to herself, if only to reassure herself that her voice hadn't been taken from her as well.

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"...and to top that entire charade off, she had actually responded with her voice when I mentioned the impracticality of scythes. She had tried to blow it off as her chair scraping against the floor, but I could tell that it was Ruby Rose's voice," Glynda seethed, reaching the end of a very long rant on the interview.

"I see," Ozpin murmured with confusion, taking a long sip as he stared at his coffee.

"I know that she had been instrumental in capturing that criminal, Torchwick," Goodwitch continued, missing Ozpin's body stiffening and nearly choking on his drink. "But if she's going to waste our time pulling such a juvenile prank, then..."

When she noticed Ozpin staring off into space, the irate teacher sighed. "Ozpin, are you even listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Ozpin looked at her strangely, as if he were looking at an entirely different person. "Sorry, I feel like I just Woke up a few seconds ago."

Glynda rubbed her temples at the proclamation. "I think we need to talk about your coffee habits if you're going to get distracted by them in the middle of a conversation."

"Perhaps perhaps..." Ozpin nodded dismissively. "At any rate, what were you getting at?"

"I _said_ ," Glynda bit out in exasperation, just wanting to go home after a long, long day. "That Ruby Rose is blatantly trying to apply for Beacon for some inane reason despite having already qualified for it. And with illegally forged transcripts to boot."

Ozpin looked over the papers on his desk, as if seeing them for the first time. A curious look on his face slowly appeared, as he rubbed his chin.

"With all that said," the older woman continued. "Considering your choices in the cases of that Arc boy and that Belladonna girl, and how much of a glowing recommendation you had given Ruby Rose in the first place, I figured I should let you have the final say in this... even if every instinct tells me it's a stupid idea."

"I see..." Ozpin looked thoughtful for a moment before the sly grin promptly tossed what little hope Glynda had out of the window. "I think I'll allow it."

"Excuse me?" She growled. "This is clearly a prank, and a tasteless one at that!"

"Do we even know what the prank will be?" Ozpin asked casually.

"N-no but-!"

"Then perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to judge. Let's give her a chance to pull it off before we give her the 'slap on the wrist',as you're so fond of calling it. If it truly is tasteless, I'll be more than glad to stop bending the rules for her. How does that sound?" The Looping Headmaster sipped his coffee, soothing his throat and his weary mind.

"...I think I would like to leave now, sir," The poor headmaster's assistant said in defeat before being dismissed. Once she had left the room, Ozpin shook his head and let a real smile grow on his face.

"I'm not quite sure what prank you're up to, Ruby, but it certainly is shaping up to be an interesting one."

And so, believing that he was helping out a fellow Looper with a prank, Ozpin swiftly used his looping powers to finish up his paperwork. He had a few plans for pranks himself this Loop, once Ruby finished up this one, and he wanted to get them set up before the Loop really got into the swing of things.

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"Oh my goodness, my baby sis is going to Beacon with me!"

"Yaaaannng," Ruby, Anchor of Remnant and definitely much older that her body implied, 'groaned' with absolutely zero traces of annoyance from the optimal noogie headlock her sister had her in. "I'm older than any of the stars in our night sky and you're 17."

"Yeah, but that only happened two weeks ago," Yang quipped with an impish, knowing smile. "Therefore, I still reserve the right to call you baby sis."

"With logic and reasoning like that, I _suppose_ I have no choice but to accept it," Ruby smiled, rolling her eyes as she slipped out of her grip.

Going through the motions of 'stretching' her arms out, Ruby looked about the Bulkhead. Once again, the loop was plagued with shadow people. It was a bit disheartening to see people literally reduced to background noise, but there was nothing she could do about it.

That said, the few people she saw in the room as they flew to Beacon were a welcome, if slightly painful due to the fact that no one was Awake this Loop, reprieve from this monotony. Jaune, who was looking rather ill already, Ren and Nora, who were chattering about some inane thing or another, and someone who she hadn't seen before with a bowler hat that had a rose in its band.

Ruby paused. That couldn't have been right. It was a loop with those shadow people in it. Even if they had bought something from a store, it'd turn into shadows the moment they tried to wear it.

She looked again. Huh. As she actually paid attention to her surroundings, it turns out that there were less shadow people than there had been in previous loops.

Ruby sent out a Ping again, seeing if anyone had Woken up by this point. She got one response, but no one in the room seemed to react. Ruby, in a fit of curiosity, decided to try talking to some of the people to confirm that this wasn't some massive fused loop and that no one was awake yet. Deciding to try the person with the hat, she stepped forwards, forgetting one crucial detail.

"Urp! Excuse me, I've got to-"

And that was all the warning Ruby got before Jaune, who had turned around at that point, hurled chunks all over her. Appropriately, Ruby began to freak out a bit, feeling EXTREMELY gross since he had somehow managed to get barf all over Chibis all the way down to the molecular level. The _molecular level_!

By the time she had gotten out of the restroom, her initial target was nowhere to be seen. Oh well. She had plenty of other people to chat with.

It didn't take long to confirm that the people were, in all likelihood, just normal people from her loop. Her curiosity satisfied, she went back to her sister to explain why she had wandered off in the first place.

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Rose, meanwhile, sighed in relief from behind a plant on the airship. That had been too close for comfort. If it hadn't been for that poor blonde guy, she would've been outed way too soon. Out of gratitude, she resolved to help return him the favor at some point.

Hopefully with significantly less barf.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.8 Shimmer712, Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"James?" Raven blinked at the General. "What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if I could spend the loop as one of your bandits," Ironwood responded.

Raven considered it over. "Sure, why not?" she shrugged. "How do you feel about creating a Bandit empire in the lands outside the Kingdoms?"

"How would that work?" Ironwood asked, curious.

"I dunno. By conquering all the other bandit tribes?"

"Eh. Worth a shot," he agreed.

-

Several Months Later:

"Yang?"

"Blake, I didn't do it."

Down below, Raven, James and their army roared in unison. "BOW BEFORE RAVEN KHAN!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.9 KitsuneShin0bi**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.

"First Winter, then Ironwood, and now this. Is this going to be a thing with you guys?" she sighed exasperatedly. "Look even if I wanted you to join, how am I supposed to convince the rest of my tribe? You look like a lapdog."

"I _am_ a lapdog," Zwei retorted, voice prim and proper.

The bandit leader glared at the corgi.

"Fine fine," he placated. "I'll give them a demonstration. Just tell one of your strongest to hit me full force. I'll survive it unscathed and maybe set up something afterward to solidify my position."

Raven rolled her eyes. "And what reason would I allow you to join in the first place?"

Zwei rolled over on his back and looked up at the Huntress with wide, glistening eyes.

"No."

The dog began to pant, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Still no."

A pathetic whimper.

Raven gritted her teeth. "Fine. You win. Come by tomorrow morning and I'll give you the chance. The rest is up to you."

"Of course," Zwei replied instantly reverting upright. "I'll see you then. Good day."

-/-

"Are you sure?"

The Nevermore Queen nodded to the still somewhat shadowy tribesman. With a shrug and a grunt, the bandit lifted his war hammer in the air and brought it down full force on the small dog.

 **CRASH!  
**  
The tribesman, as well as the rest of the clan, stood agape as the hammer shattered. Before the miraculous feat could sink in, however, an alarm cut through the clearing they had camped in. Looking up, the bandits were just about able to see the approaching shapes of several Griffons before-

"Bark bark!"

-before the corgi flew into the sky and barreled into them with the force of a meteor.

Touching down, Zwei trotted up to Raven with tail wagging merrily and promptly received a treat for his efforts. Nobody questioned their leader's decision after that.

-/-

An Unawake Blake read the news article on her scroll with growing trepidation. Another large scale bandit attack had been spearheaded by the Nevermore Queen and her Corgi of War. It was only a matter of time before they struck Vale.

The faunus hissed with dread.

She _knew_ that dog was evil. Now she finally had proof to bring to the rest of Team RWBY.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.10 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"No! It's _my_ turn to play bandits with Raven. You go somewhere else"

Weiss frowned. "I'm not exactly doing this for fun Ruby."

"Then why _are_ you here?" Raven interjected with gritted teeth. It was bad enough already that two teenagers had managed to sneak into camp _during her watch_. Now her Tribe was starting to wonder why she hadn't driven them off yet or captured them.

"Obviously I'm here to get a feel for your psychological state," Weiss answered. "Which is more important than 'playing bandit.', much as I'm loathe to admit it."

Raven abruptly vanished through a portal which closed with a small swish. Ruby and Weiss looked about, suddenly noticing the absence of their main subject.

The tribe around them looked flabbergasted. Apparently they had never yet seen Raven run away from anything.

"Weeeeiiissss, look what you did! Now I'm going to have to chase her down!"

"What _I_ did?" Weiss replied, and they fell to bickering in a familiar practiced way.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **83.1 (con't) Fictional Fanatic and BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby was conflicted about how she felt about the competition. On one hand, she was having fun competing with someone on a level of skill equal to her own, on the other, she wasn't certain she was winning. A bit of a problem for her pride as an Anchor seeing as how Kali was a relatively new Looper. So far, Kali had won two events, both the first one and the third, beating her with points awarded for style and unlikeliness. Yet Ruby actually found herself in the lead due to her high score in the second event, meaning everything would come down to the last event. The Quick Draw Duel.

"Now then, we're onto the final event. The Quick Draw Duel. Much like the name implies, this is a duel where the two contestants will be facing off against each other directly. Like every other event before now you will be earning points that will add on to your total score. However actually winning provides the most points. Both combatants will begin with their weapons holstered and will only be allowed to draw them once the duel begins after a countdown from three. Are both competitors ready?" Weiss asked, getting nods from both Kali and Ruby who both had their weapons holstered with one hand on their weapons. "The three, two, one, Begin!" Weiss counted down, both Ruby and Kali drawing their weapons before shooting at each other without hesitating.

What at first seemed to be the beginning of a long, drawn out stalemate quickly turned into a very one sided battle as Ruby used the speed force to surround Kali in a hail of bullets. Barely able to react, Kali took a lot of hits to her Aura, feeling it draining as she was knocked back, only managing to save herself from an even worse outcome by pocketing those bullets she could react to before they hit her Aura. Taking a risk, she shot several bullets of her own, hitting Ruby by predicting where she would move to next, managing to get Ruby to run straight into the bullets causing them to her Aura _really_ hard thanks to the transferred momentum.

Not wasting any time, Kali got up to her feet, only to find Ruby already aiming at her before she pulled the trigger. Kali barely managed to step out of the way of the sniper round as it passed through the air, just barely missing her. As Ruby began to reload, Kali saw her chance and charged at Ruby, surprising her as she grabbed Ruby by the arm with her left hand while trying to shoot her with the gun in her right hand. However, just as Kali pushed the trigger, Ruby did the same and dragged Kali down with her as the recoil forced them both to the side. During the fall, Ruby let Cresent Rose unfold completely, forcing Kali to let go.

Landing on the ground, Kali once again shot at Ruby, only for her to block the shot using Crescent Rose. Using the speed force, Ruby was instantly standing over Kali, the end of Crescent Rose's barrel pointed at Kali's face. Knowing she couldn't dodge a point blank shot, Kali raised her hands. "I concede." She said. Ruby blinked in surprise before realizing she had won and smiled before putting away Crescent Rose and offering Kali a helping hand. As Kali took her hand, Ruby helped her up, both of them smiling as they had both enjoyed themselves.

-/-

"And after reviewing the results, Ruby Rose is the winner!" Weiss declared, everyone cheering. "It was a close competition. Both of you won out in two events each, but in the end, Ruby had the most points. Although it was really close." Weiss told both of them.

"Really? How close?" Ruby asked, curious.

Weiss pulled out her PADD and showed Ruby the system they had used to calculate the points they had used to calculate the amount of points Kali and Ruby scored against each other. "During the first event, Kali managed to score a lot more points than Ruby by not only managing to take down more targets, but also having a very high percentage on her accuracy. However, Ruby managed not only to catch up, but also overtake Kali during the second event, managing to take down all of her targets within a few seconds. Her choice of loop powers helping her out greatly while Kali's lover mobility meant she had to rely on shooting down the targets from long distances before they noticed her. However, despite Kali's... unorthodox methodology, it still took her a some time to get into position to where she could control the fallout whereas Ruby could appear next to them as soon as she found out where they were. I'll admit, I've never seen anybody utilize 'Rocks Fall, Everybody Dies' so uniquely, or non-fatally though; so she definitely earned points for Style and Unlikeliness. As for the third event, it was technically a draw, as both of you managed to not get hit up to the time limit we had to set. Had the event kept running for longer, we believe Ruby would have eventually have won as Kali would no longer have been able to keep up. However, since Kali still managed to keep up, even with the overwhelming advantage Ruby had, she still managed to score a lot of points. And as for the last event, it was Ruby's victory, both by winning the actual duel by Kali's decision to concede, as well as by points earned. However, once again Ruby had the advantage with her weapon being for both close and ranged combat. An advantage Kali lacks," Weiss pointed out.

Looking directly at Kali, she spoke directly to her, no longer looking at her PADD as she had read from it while listing the results. "You really should try and get yourself a weapon worthy of a Remnant Looper. One that works just as well in melee combat as ranged one. You've already proved yourself able to handle a gun better than most Loopers I've seen. What you lack is close range weaponry and experience. Honestly, had you been able to handle close quarters combat and not given up, you might even have won. Probably not by beating Ruby, but by losing with a higher total score," Weiss admitted.

"Wow. I really did that well?" Kali asked, a little bit stunned at the revelation. Weiss nodded.

"It was rather impressive for a young Looper like yourself. But now with all that over, let me congratulate both of you on your impressive victories over each other. Congratulations," Weiss said, smiling as the rest of the spectators came over to congratulate them as well.

-/-

Eventually, with all the congratulations exchanged, Ruby and Kali found themselves together, sitting on a bench and enjoying some warm chocolate. "So, now will you tell me where you Looped in?" Ruby eventually asked. Getting a chuckle out of Kali.

"Okay, okay. I Looped into the Gunsmoke Branch. Trigun in the Hub. I was replacing Vash," Kali told Ruby who had to search her memories before coming up empty.

"Huh, I don't think I know that one." Ruby said, only for Kali to produce several DVDs.

"Here, I managed to get some Hub backups," she told Ruby, still smiling.

"Cool... So, I guess you're the best markswoman in out Loop now then?" Ruby asked, making Kali blink in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Kali asked confused, looking to her Anchor for clarification. Taking a long sip from her cup, Ruby thought for a moment on how to best explain it.

"Well, while I might have won, the only reason I did so was because I was able to utilize my speed and weapon to make up for the difference between our skill in marksmanship. When it came to actually shooting things, what you did was far more impressive, So, at least in my eyes, that makes you the better markswoman," Ruby explained to Kali.

"Hm, I didn't think about it like that. Thank you Ruby for agreeing to accept my challenge," Kali said, enjoying the thought that her skills had been recognized like this, even if she had lost.

"Just don't expect it to go as well next time. Now that you've shown me my weakness, I will work to overcome it and surpass even you!" Ruby said, standing up and posing dramatically, drawing chuckles from Kali at her silliness. "But no. Next time will actually be different. Once you've gathered a lot more Loops under your belt, come and see me with a proper weapon and we'll fight again, one on one with all our Loop powers," Ruby suggested smiling. Getting a nod from Kali.

"I'd like that," Kali said, returning the smile.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
 **  
83.1 (con't) Alastair Dragovich, StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

ROSE, as she had to insist to herself, fiddled with the simplistic cane/tube launcher she held in her hands as she looked around. Now that she had settled down from the near discovery from earlier, there was some apprehension about going to Beacon a whole two years early, especially since she wasn't entirely sure how she had managed to get past Glynda Goodwitch, of all people. Even if she didn't have to deal with trying to spy on an evil clone/alien/hybrid/thing, the idea of someone discovering she was much younger than what is normal made her feel self-conscious about her appearance and place in everything and all of the opinions of others that would come with it.

The secretly silver-eyed girl groaned. Sometimes, she wanted things to be more like a comic book, where the heroes always saved the day, but at other times she also just wanted to be normal. And if this situation was anything describable, normal was not it.

Rose blinked, trying to remember all of those instructions for using those cosplay contacts. The last thing she wanted was to do mess up her eyes, especially if she wanted to use Crescent Rose once this was all over.

At any rate, her evil clone seemed content to stick with Yang after she had talked with a few of the people. She still made sure that there was a good buffer of people between herself and her target, but Rose began to feel a bit safer now that they weren't being all jumpy and whatnot.

Still, the moment her maybe an alien impostor had began approaching her had shaken her up a bit, so when she thought it was safe, she walked into the ladies restroom and turned on one of the sinks that weren't covered in vomit residue. Rose couldn't help but smile a bit vindictively at the scene, and how much vomit the girl had been covered in for there to be this much still left over. Even if her conscience quickly replaced that vindication with guilt.

Once she was finished washing up, Rose's gaze looked into the mirror and at her new outfit. Upon her head sat the infamous hat of one Roman Torchwick, with the feather removed and replaced with a rose that had dropped out of someone's bouquet. She would have returned it to them, but she ended up losing them in a crowd of people after the person rounded the corner. Unsure of what to do, she had decided to put it in her hat as an accessory. At least until she found that bouquet person again.

Instead of her usual comfy skirt, she instead wore the surprisingly breathable slacks that she had used to replace her torn up leggings, but now refitted to her body. The girl admitted they probably couldn't be returned to the criminal by now, but she did resolve to pay for some new ones. That would totally make up for stealing and ruining someone's pants, especially if you didn't meant to steal them in the first place. Right?

At any rate, her usual footwear had been replaced with some sturdy sneakers and on her body was a red, long sleeve button up shirt that looked good enough to be a dress shirt without being anywhere as frail as one. On her hands were some thin, white gloves to help with her grip and, entirely coincidentally, helped complete the ensemble. Well, that and the pair of blue cosplay contact lenses for her eyes.

As she pulled out some instructions for taking care of the lenses out of her pants pocket, she thought about the cane she had on her. It had been the same cane that the criminal had, along with the rest of his outfit. However, during her first fight on the streets, she had learned the hard way that it had, in fact, been his weapon and not some fashion accessory. Especially when it' tube-based payload launcher activated about halfway through and set that car on fire.

...in hindsight, the damage caused by the incident may have been why those two cops had began to harass her during her time sleeping in dumpsters. Oops.

At any rate, the weapon, whose name she didn't even know, had served as a temporary stand-in for her precious baby while she had focused on this entire affair. She was rubbish at using it, naturally, because it was much smaller and lighter than her normal weapon of choice. In fact, the gloves were there because of her tendency to swing just a _bit_ too hard and have it fly out of her hands. Still, it was sturdy and reliable and, sadly, different enough from her precious Crescent Rose as possible to separate her current identity from her real one.

On a more neutral topic, the cane also gave her a lot to think about. Especially since it said something that the famous, master thief's partner in crime was made to be sturdy and for up close and personal fights. In a way, this weapon was entirely counter to her own style and desires, she realized when she had analyzed it earlier that week. Her precious weapon's reach and intimidating shape was a natural deterrent for most fighters and the gun built in was, well, a sniper rifle. With such diametrically opposed fighting preferences, the lost, simple soul wondered idly how things would have gone down if she had faced this thing when it had been in the hands of its original owner.

Rose slapped her face with some water, shaking herself out of her thoughts. She had been over this train of thought a lot over the past two weeks, and nothing ever came of it. It was time to get out of the restrooms and head back into the main area.

As she turned to leave, though, something caught her eye. It was hard to see. In fact, had Ruby's eyes not been trained to pick up on small and/or distant details, she would never have been any bit the wiser.

However, her eyes, did, in fact, see something really, really weird on the edges of the sink.

"...are those tiny, vomit covered footprints?"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Ruby stiffened suddenly. She raised her arm and sniffed it before recoiling in disgust.

"Guys!" She whispered harshly to the chibis in that area. "I told you a dozen times to make sure you wash your feet!"

"Sorry!" came a tiny, apologetic chorus from that area.

"You know, of all of the weird things you've told me about, I think THAT is the one thing I'll never get used to," Yang said, subconsciously leaning away from the off-putting scene.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

She examined the tiny footprints some more, trying to make sense of them. They seemed to come spontaneously into existence about an inch from the edge of the sink and lead up to the edge of it where they change from being a set of footprints to a streak that has been diluted by water. The detail seemed odd, especially since it looked like everything except for an easily overlooked splotch had been wiped up.

Rose shook her head. Why did this matter? It was just a strange pattern made up of gross, icky vomit.

Except... the only one who went to the _girl's_ restroom to clean up vomit was her evil clone. Or alien.

But then that begged the question of how they got there. Could her evil doppleganger shrink down to that tiny size at will? Then why were there multiple sets of footprints? And if it wasn't a shrinking power, then what made these footprints?

It was possible that the footprints were made after the fact by something else walking through the vomit, but what it could have been was equally vexing. If evil aliens/clones/alien clones now exist, then it wasn't too far off for fairies or gremlins or whatever else that was supposed to be make-believe to end up being real too!

Frustrated, Rose was almost grateful when the announcement came on that the group would be landing soon. Making sure she got off without being seen would be important if she wanted to spy on the thing that took over her life and was having its foul, wily way with her wayward yet wonderful sister.

Still, Rose tried to look on the bright side. She now had a lead to try and figure out what was REALLY going on.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Rose's bright side was now looking a bit dimmer than she hoped. Not only had she failed to find anything that could have made those footprints, the REAL Ruby Rose (who did stand up) also found that evading detection from her clone was much harder than expected, when she swiftly found out that her eyes were as good, if not better than her own. The girl thanked her lucky stars that it was that cat faunus, whose twitching bow gave her away, was the thing that got noticed and not her.

On top of all of that, they had nearly gotten lost on the way to the ceremony. Despite being calm, cool, and collected when dealing with that dust nearly blowing her up and being able to talk to the cat girl and that Heiress chick like they were old friends (which was something that definitely needed to be investigated), it seemed like the clone alien thing was clueless on where to go to the ceremony.

Well, maybe she was too, but Rose at least had the excuse of needing to follow her evil counterpart. Yeah. Totally.

Thankfully, they now were all in same area waiting for the headmaster's announcement, she could blend in with the crowds. It was like hiding, but better since you didn't have to obscure your own vision in the process.

That said, all of these people being around was making Ru-ROSE. Rose was feeling nervous around all of these strange people. She was able to distract herself a bit from her anxiety by focusing on their weapons, which was fascinating, but still, she admitted to herself that she wished she had her sister to ease the tension.

"Ahem. I'll keep this brief."

Rose turned to look at the man who ran Beacon Academy. She paid rapt attention to the man, who seemed to be a lot less imposing than she thought he'd be, but he gave off an aura that made him seem powerful, ancient, and filled with knowledge beyond his years.

That said, as he spoke, the girl who had faked her way into Beacon for what she had thought were noble purposes began to feel acutely aware of how much she didn't _belong_ here. She didn't go to Beacon to seek knowledge, to hone her craft, to do anything like that in preparation for becoming a Huntress. Perhaps, in another time, she would have once she had finished Signal. But she wasn't here for any of that. She was just here to spy on what she thought was an evil clone that had taken over her life.

The realization that she was here for all the wrong reasons really began to sink in when he began to tear into them about a lack of direction and purpose. She looked over to her counterpart, wondering what she was thinking. It was a little comforting, in some perverse way, when she realized that there was a similar expression on her double's face.

' _Perhaps she really is a clone rather than an alien,_ ' Rose mused. Before she had a chance to empathize further, Ozpin spoke up at the end of his speech.

"By the way," he casually mentioned in an telling, knowing tone. "To one Ruby Rose: I see what you are doing. Just don't break too many more rules, alright?"

Confused, Rose looked at her counterpart, only to see that she had an exasperated and... somewhat upset expression? Except something was just off enough to make her think that the displaced girl's counterpart was also happy about this, which made her all the more confused as she thought over the words that the headmaster just said.

' _What does he mean?_ ' she thought worriedly. ' _Does the headmaster know what she is here for then? What she is doing? Is he in on this if he does? What can I do if he is against me? He has the whole school under his control!_ ''

Rose now felt much more in over her head now, as the thought of being trapped in the web of a conspiracy in the school of someone who may be a part of it began to sink its claws into her. The thought plagued her, even as she went into the ballroom.

The fears of getting caught, and the guilt about why she was there, ate at her that night, making sleep a very elusive thing.

-  
 _  
"Ruby, this is so terrible! How could you not notice another you?"_

 _"She was hiding!" Ruby replied defensively. "How often do you stop to see if you've got a clone running around?"_

 _Weiss's face gained a considering look. Blake eyed Yang with a sideways glance, and Yang leaned forward dramatically._

 _"Gah, my heart!" Yang exclaimed. "There'd better be a happy ending to this Ruby, or so help me..."_


	84. Loop-World Problems

**84.1 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby..."

Ruby glanced up from the book she borrowed from Blake. Kali was standing there looking uncertain and small.

"Oh, hey Kali, what is it?" Ruby smiled as she placed the book down, this was... well she had an idea as to what it was about.

"Did you throw our marksmanship tournament?"

Ruby sighed. She thought so. "Sort of, but not like you're thinking."

The younger looper blinked, her ears twitching in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I have so many different abilities that I can work together and so much time to practice I can hit a target on the moon if I _really_ try." Ruby smiled wryly and shrugged sheepishly. "Anyone who uses guns enough can learn stuff like that, there is only so much accuracy a person can have and there are so many ways to improve it and make bullets hit their targets. But that's no fun, I don't like sniping as much as close combat anyway so I don't train it as much. And using all those tricks seemed like cheating so I was limiting myself to my more normal skills, really wasn't expecting you to go 'bang bang' so easily. So... basically I was using my normal skills and not what I can do if I go all out, so you did beat me under the limits I normally work at."

Ruby grinned, a glint of humor in her eyes. "As for many loopers doing stuff like that at full power, Blake once bet she could hit a target on the moon, missed, the bullet got lost in orbit and it hit her in the head the next day. Making Cardin win a sparring match and causing a chain of events leading to Blake having to date an Unawake Roman."

"Oh." Kali turned that over in her head; it made sense, and she still beat what Ruby normally did. "So I beat what you normally can do?"

"What I limit myself to being able to do, but for the most part, yep."

After a few moments Kali smiled, looking far more at ease and sat down across from Ruby as the anchor placed her book away, and leaned forwards. "Now what was that about Blake dating Roman and shooting herself?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.2 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hello Penny," an Awake Ironwood said.

"Salutations Generuncle!" an equally Awake Penny replied.

"You wouldn't have happened to see any of team FNKI anywhere, have you? I'd like to speak to Mr. Coal and Ms. Katt about having you and Ms. Soleil accompany them on their mission in Anima, as a way to help them learn about the culture there," the general said.

"I was actually on my way to see them. Perhaps I can pass along the information?" Penny asked.

"I'll send the details to your database," James said. "You will meet with your contact, who will then transport you four to the community you will be living with until the qualifiers for the tournament. Don't worry about when you get there, your contact should be wide Awake no matter when you get there."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.3 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang was looking out through the kitchen window, worrying about his daughter Ruby as he observed her outside. He was soon joined by Yang who was already aware of his concerns.

"Dad, I told you, she's fine. She's just de-stressing from a bad loop," Yang reassured her unAwake father whom she had filled in earlier in response to his worry over Ruby acting abnormally.

"I know, but I can't help but feel worried. She's been out there for almost three hours now and she doesn't seem to get tired of doing the same thing over and over again anytime soon. That can't be normal!" Tayang argued.

"She most likely just forgot the time. As loopers, our idea of a 'short while' is different to yours. She'll eventually be done with it anyways, so let her stay out there for as long as she wishes. She's the one who wanted to be alone for a while," Yang said before leaving Taiyang at the window. Taking one last look at Ruby, he decided to go watch TV instead and trust Yang in this matter.

Meanwhile, Ruby was enjoying her time jumping on the trampoline she had bought. It was the little things sometimes that were the best.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.4 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun Wukong groaned as yet another loop began interestingly, but quickly began going south faster than you could say 'The Student Council is disbanded!' As it turned out, even with the best, most charismatic jedi lawyer on your side, if the judge was stubborn and dickish enough, he'd still go in the favor of the defendant. Granted, the hostile political takeover of a public school, apparently, was understandably frightening and highly suspect in a world that didn't run on anime physics, but he thought that given how old Weiss was and how much she had learned, she still should have won somehow.

Still, apparently Ruby had a 'Plan B', so he guessed that, maybe, they just didn't try as hard as they could since they had a fallback plan? He had no clue, but it made more sense to Sun than the idea of them ever being able to fail at anything given what he had been told and what he had seen. Although given that he was the only one who had messed up his part of the plan...

Sun shook his head. It didn't matter how badly he had screwed up or how out for his blood the Loops were. Right now, he had a chance to redeem himself and, apparently, get Plan B on track.

First step, though, was getting Blake. Apparently they were both needed for the plan and, having drawn the short straw, he was sent to fetch her.

The instant he opened the door to the Belladonna residence's door, his mind realized too late that something had been up if who was sent to get Blake was chosen by _chance_.

"Are you serious!?" Blake's voice, filled with righteous indignation, came blasting out of the doorway. "Please tell me this is some bad joke!"

Sun, blinking, made to step inside only to be stopped by a hastily retreating Ghira bowling him over.

"What is wrong with having the Sword Art Online Abridged series as one of my favorite series of all time!?" Kali shouted back, filled with a matching tone of personal offense.

"Because it's still in your number one spot despite having watched **and** read several of the classics! From both anime and other mediums!"

"So!?"

"SOOOoo," Blake drew out as Sun hesitantly stood up, clutching the doorframe as he worked up the courage to try and peek inside. "It means that there's something wrong if something that lacks any sort of grace or technical skill has beat out things like Akira and Evangellion. Heck, it somehow manages to trump over _Shakespeare_ in your opinion, who is known for his tragic romances!"

"Maybe I am just tired of all the unrealistic melodrama that comes with everything that is considered a 'great romance' or an 'artistic masterpiece'!" Kali groaned in frustration.

"Mom, most of those are actual loops!"

"Well then maybe reality is unrealistic!"

Sun finally managed to get the nerve to look around the door frame. Sure enough, the two Belladonnas were in the living room, staring each other down.

"Look," Blake sighed as she rested one elbow on her side to prop up the other as it rubbed her forehead. "Is there anything of redeeming value in that poorly edited piece of what could be charitably called 'comedy'?"

"The underlying theme, obviously!" Kali sighed twirling her hand in a gesture that expressed how obvious she felt it was. "The one all but directly stated when Kirito talks about how surprising it was when Kayaba turned out to be as big of a fuckup as the rest of them, and that, yes it really was it. The underlying theme which leads into the show's exploration of finding happiness despite the flaws in oneself and the people around you."

Her daughter took a deep breath in, clasping her hands together, and let it out as she tilted it towards Kali with her exhale.

"There are so, so many works that convey that theme a lot more eloquently and skillfully. And, might I add, _without_ resorting to sex jokes and deriding people as morons."

"Blake..." Kali sagged a bit. "Is it so wrong that I happen to like something that isn't as nuanced or deep or professional as you prefer them?"

"...Nooooo-"

Kali's eyes sharpened as she pulled out a sponge-gun. "Did you just try to use your Sharingan on me young lady?"

There was a tense moment as the two ladies were absolutely still. Sun, recalling all of his lessons that didn't involve his inevitable death, slowly backed away from the door.

Then, Blake twitched and everything went to hell.

"YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT YOUNG LADY!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU STOP HAVING SUCH BAD TASTE!"

With kunai, shurikens, and high-powered ballistic scrubbing pads flying everywhere and tearing the house apart, Sun bolted for it, hoping that none of them accidentally sniped him in the back. Surprisingly, Ghira hadn't left yet and, like a total bro, opened the car door, motioning for him to get in. With a flying leap, Sun managed to clear the door just in time to avoid a complete omnibus of Shakespeare's works falling right where he had been. With a slam of the door, Ghira squealed out of the driveway and down the road.

"...so..." Sun said slowly, once they had gotten out to what had been hopefully a safe distance. "Does that happen often?"

Ghira shook his head. "No, but when they both invest all of their passion into opposing viewpoints..."

"Ah."

Silence reigned in the car as they headed out of the suburbs.

"...I know a place that makes a mean burger, if you want to hang out."

Ghira turned to Sun, his eyes hardened.

"...do they also serve fish sandwiches?"

"Uh..." Sun thought about it for a moment. "Well, they do brag about their variety of meats, so hopefully."

With a shrug that had absolutely nothing to lose, the two dudes drove off to the nearest burger joint, hoping that the two that they had left behind could resolve their differences soon.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.5 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It had been a long day at the station, all things told. Most of the stories were tedious-local businesses starting up or shutting down, laws being passed or adjusted due to the council's machinations, reports of villages falling to the Grimm, the daily grind of society. There had been some more interesting stories-Roman Torchwick being on the loose, and the faunus protest broken up by the White Fang, and... whatever that thing with the crying dragon was. Guerrilla art performance? Well, she was a reporter, not an investigator-in the end, the story was told, and the people would make their judgement on their own.

Or influenced by their friends.

The point was, the information was out there. Free to be manipulated by... whoever. Maybe for good, maybe for ill, but it wasn't locked up. That was her job-making sure the facts got out, with as minimal a bias as possible.

She walked across the parking lot to her car, pulling out her keys and pressing her hand to the door lock. With a quick glance around, she slid into the driver's seat-and almost jumped when she realized somebody was sitting next to her. "E-Excuse me miss! This is a private vehicle!"

The woman... stirred, as if she had been asleep. "Hmm? Oh... oh you're here. Good, good..." She gestured at the steering wheel. "Well...?"

The reporter frowned. "...this is a private vehicle, miss. I'm afraid, if you don't step out, I may have to call the police."

For some reason, the woman was unperturbed. "How were the reports today, Lisa?" Her lips twitched in a small smile. "Anything interesting?"

"If you want to follow the news, you should watch the Vale News Network channel-"

"Don't give me that legal runaround, I did watch. I wanted to know if you, personally, found any of the reports interesting."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Miss, I don't know who you are, or how you hacked my car's biometric lock, but if you do not step out right now-"

The woman fixed her with a sad gaze. "Would you believe me if I said I was a distant relative?"

Lisa blinked. She should have just ignored her question and called the police, but something about those golden eyes... and the hair, hair which she only just realized flowed back and piled up in the rear seat, faded from white to lavender as it went. And now that she thought about it, the face was... not exactly what she would see in a mirror, but underneath the faint lines it was disturbingly similar.

"...How exactly are we related?" she asked.

The woman let out a breath. "I would tell you, but you wouldn't believe me. Not without some people revealing things they would rather not. Let's say we're... sisters, for now."

"I'm an only child. And you're older then my parents!"

"Oh, yes, far older. But sister really is the closest word."

"What do you even want?"

"A talk." The woman leaned back into the seat. "I should have had it long ago... but I kept putting it off."

"So you decided to just show up in my car." Lisa gave the woman a look. "I'm not buying it."

"I'm dying, you know."

Lisa blinked. "...what?"

"I'm dying. Of old age." The woman smiled wryly. "Not expected to last the year, actually. It's been a long time coming."

"Well... I'm... sorry to hear that." Lisa coughed into her fist. "That still doesn't explain why you wanted to talk to me. Or had to appear in my car."

"The car thing... that's actually probably because of my friends' influence. They have a slightly skewed sense of privacy and ownership." She shut her eyes. "And talking to you, well... you're the last one I need to talk to before I go. I've already written up my will, arranged my memoirs, and had a final farewell party with the rest of them."

"Really."

"Yesterday, as a matter of fact."

"And... now you're talking to me. Why?"

"...because you... you're what I could have been."

Lisa gave the woman an odd look. "What's your name, anyway?"

"I think you know already. You just don't want to believe it."

The reporter stared at her for a long while.

"Okay." She shut the door. "First off, you don't get to die in my car."

The woman chuckled. "I'm not quite that far gone, don't worry."

"Secondly, you're going to explain what the hell is going on."

"Some of that is classified above top secret. Can you live with not telling anyone about it?"

Lisa sighed. "If I absolutely must."

The woman gave a faint smile. "I know it's a big sacrifice for you."

"...of course you would." With a deep breath, Lisa turned the engine on. "So... what exactly would you like to talk about?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.6 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Doctor Oobleck glanced up from the sheets of paper on his desk. "Miss Xiao Long. Miss Belladonna. You have yet to turn in your assignments."

"Oh they're not done," the blonde reported brightly. "Sorry." Her voice was not apologetic in the slightest.

"You had two weeks to write up this essay," the teacher pointed out bluntly. "Even with a modicum of scheduling I would have expected you to have finished it."

The girl with a bow nodded. "My sincerest apologies, we got... distracted."

"Distracted. What could possibly be so distracting as to occupy a period of two weeks and mar your otherwise impeccable academic record?"

If he hadn't been trained to notice such things, he would not have caught the brief shared look between the two, the questioning sly grin on miss Xiao Long's face, and the half-lidded acceptance on miss Belladonna's-it all passed by in less then a second. He was pretty sure that everyone in the classroom caught miss Rose clutching at her cheeks, and the twitching eyelid on miss Schnee's face.

"Each other," the two addressed individuals said simultaneously.

"Emotionally and physically," the blonde explained.

"In very intimate ways," the bow-wearing girl added.

"Ways which lasted four hours."

"We ended up without clothes."

"I came seven times!"

"Over the line, Yang."

"Sashami tonight and I get you a new manga this weekend?"

"That sounds like an agreeable compensation, I accept."

Doctor Oobleck quirked an eyebrow at the banter, and the increasing facial twitches from the other half of team RWBY. "Miss Rose, as team leader you should have some control over your subordinates."

"And I do." The redhead put her hands down, her face a mask of professionalism. "They have agreed to limit themselves to two engagements per week, discounting weekends, and have installed a retractable wall in our dorm in order to ensure their actions do not interfere with our studies."

Her partner glared at her. "Your negotiations were incomplete!"

"Oh?"

"They can go for HOURS on end, they forget to complete their homework, and-and they just casually revealed their relationship to an entire class! Do you know how much our reputation could suffer because of this?"

"Well, now everyone knows they have high endurance and understand each other pretty well, which makes them excellent partners, and the wall indicates they respect us enough to not force their relationship on us-"

"IT'S YOUR BIG SISTER SCREWING IN THE SAME ROOM YOU SLEEP IN HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE OKAY WITH THIS?!"

The redhead grinned. "How could I stop true love, Weiss? As I understand it, they kissed in Emerald Forest and never looked back!"

"Although we have looked at each other's backsides," the blonde admitted brightly.

Miss Schnee let her head hit the desk. "You dolts deserve whatever you get," she groaned.

"Agreed," said the girl with a bow. "Doctor Oobleck, Yang and I will accept any punishment you deem necessary for our failure to produce the assignment on time."

"Assuming it's legal!" her girlfriend chirped brightly.

The doctor pinched the brow of his nose. "You will be answering all my questions for this class to ensure your understand the subject matter. Furthermore, your team will be held after class so we can discuss this matter and ensure it does not provide any further disruptions. Is that understood?"

"Yessir!" The blonde saluted proudly.

He glanced around the room, clearing his throat loudly. "Now that that _demonstration_ is over, I believe we should start this lecture. It is important to note that the founding of the village that would become Vale was not without issue..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.7 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Roman looked up as he heard a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw Jaune there.

"Ah! Hello there. Aren't you a bit young to be here? I must admit, I just Woke up, so don't worry if I seem a bit Loopy," Roman said.

"Sorry for bothering you. I was just wondering what you would need to forge me some transcripts good enough to get into Beacon. How much would it cost me?" It looked like Jaune wasn't Awake.

"Oh, not much, not much. Just help with something in the future," Roman was going to enjoy this, "So how about this..."

IlIlIlIlIlIl

"And that's how I made Salem surrender, and became the leader of all beings on Remnant," a now Awake Jaune told the others.

A moment of silence passed.

"So you're telling me that a baseline Unawake you did that?" Ren asked.

"That sounds incredible! You must have been a really good leader! Well, we know you are. You're the leader of our team. Well, most of the time," Nora said.

"What I don't understand is why Ozpin had the authority to make you the leader of the four kingdoms. Weren't you applying for Beacon?" Pyrrha asked.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.8 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Awoke standing in front of her mirror while combing her hair. "Huh, must be a variant." Ruby thought to herself as she tried sending out a ping. However, finding herself unable to do so, she checked her pocket and realized it was a null loop. Looking through her loop memories, she had to look at herself in the mirror at the conflicting memories. In her memories, her eyes had always been brown, yet now, while looking into the mirror, they were clearly silver. Ruby was about to chalk it up to her looper body having replaced her unAwake one as she Awoke, but realized that with it being a null loop, that couldn't be the case. Realizing this had Ruby looking into the mirror again only to see herself with brown eyes. "What?" She thought to herself, however before she could delve any further into the mystery of the silver eyes, she was interrupted by Taiyang's voice.

"Ruby, are you ready yet? We're going to be late!" He shouted from downstairs, making Ruby remember that they were traveling to Vale for the day for some kind of Festival. Ruby's unAwake self had been really looking forward to it. Grabbing her weapon, which was thankfully still the regular Crescent Rose, she hurried down the stairs.

"I'm coming. Wait for me!" Ruby shouted back as she heard Taiyang and Yang already leaving through the front door.

-/-

Ruby had been enjoying herself at the festival. The variant had managed to sprung a few surprises her way as it seemed this loop was one with less tech involved. Vale was much smaller and had less natural barriers, likely a result of the much less frequent grimm attacks. Beacon Academy was missing the tower housing the Cross Continental Transmit Tower and the Vytal festival didn't seem to exist. Cars and roads also seemed to not have become a thing this loop as everyone were still traveling by for or by horse drawn carriages, but everything else seemed to be just about the same. Ruby had decided to go baseline with this, wondering where this loop would take her with so little grimm around and the usual Hunter academy being a regular school that simply offered combat training as well.

Finding herself once again in the "Dust till dawn" shop that her loops usually began in, Ruby allowed herself to check the magazines she usually read through as they tended to be loop variables. However, while reading, Ruby didn't expect things to play out as usual, considering the changes to the loop that had already made themselves known. That is to say, she didn't expect Roman to appear and attempt to rob the dust shop in the middle of the day. Still, Ruby took it as a sign that she was supposed to fight with Roman like usual. A few goons later and Roman's attempt to escape by wagon being brutally stopped by Ruby, Cinder never showing up to help Roman out, resulted in Ruby once again meeting with Ozpin.

-/-

"Ruby Rose," Ozpin began as he entered, like always carrying his cup of coffee and a plate of cookies. However, that's where things changed as Ozpin cut himself off and simply stared at Ruby for a moment before sitting down in across from her. "You have your mother's eyes," he finished as he sat down, confusing Ruby.

"Huh? You knew my mother?" she asked, not certain what it was that had changed Ozpin's usual lines. Several attempts to try and figure out if Ozpin was Awake resulting only in further confusion.

-/-

Ruby awoke in her bed late at night. Confused, she looked around for the disturbance that would have roused her from her sleep. Seeing nothing, she instead decided to listen, two hushed voices coming from downstairs. Carefully getting out of bed, Ruby began tip-toeing towards the stairs from where she could see Ozpin and Taiyang talking to each other while sitting at the kitchen table.

"Tai, I know it is hard to accept, but both of us know that there is nothing we can do. It has to be done, for the safety of the people," Ozpin said, a teary eyed Taiyang seemingly completely crushed.

"Why? Why did this have to happen so soon?" he asked Ozpin who was trying to comfort him.

"The world isn't a fair place, but would you rather people remembered her as she was, or as a-" Ozpin was interrupted by Taiyang grabbing him and looking Ozpin straight in the eyes.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Taiyang warned Ozpin. As Ozpin hesitantly nodded Taiyang let go of him and sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't know if I can deal with this again. I wish there was something I could do to help," Taiyang said, clearly tired and sad. Ruby wondered how long he had been crying for, but mostly as to why he was crying.

"I am sorry Tai, but we both have to go through with this, otherwise things might end terrible not only for us, but everyone in Vale, possible the rest of Remnant as well. We need to do this," Ozpin tried to convince Taiyang who nodded sadly.

"I'll do it tomorrow while Yang is out, I'll bring Ruby with me to the Foreverfall forest. You'll meet us there, right?" Taiyang asked, Ozpin confirming that he would as he patted Taiyang on the shoulder before he began crying again.

As the conversation seemed to end, Ruby made her way back to her room and thought about what she had overheard but couldn't make any sense of what was going on. Only thing she knew was that she would be going out with her father the next day and decided to prepare for tomorrow by packing a backpack with some clothes and with Crescent Rose inside as well, just in case.

-/-

Ruby awoke to Taiyang shaking her awake, a quick look at the window revealed that it was still dark outside. Before Ruby could ask what was going on, Taiyang shushed her with a finger to his lips. "Get dressed Ruby, we have to leave, now," Taiyang said, before he left the room, obviously in a hurry. Confused, Ruby decided the best course of action would be to listen to her father and get dressed. Meeting up with him downstairs wearing her backpack, Taiyang looked at her before nodding. "Good, you're prepared. Put this on, we need to hurry," Taiyang said, handing Ruby a gray cloak big enough to cover her completely. Looking at her father in confusion, she saw that he was putting on a similar cloak.

"What's going on dad?" Ruby asked, Taiyang wincing at the question.

"I... I'm sorry Ruby. But I've been keeping secrets from you. I was hoping it would be a lot longer before you found out, but unfortunately there's nothing I can do," Taiyang said before looking Ruby directly in the eyes. "Ruby, you're special. Your eyes are turning silver, it's an extremely rare trait, the same one your mother had. However, humans whose eyes turn silver are by law supposed to be killed. Ozpin saw your eyes turn silver and I was supposed to lead you to your execution tomorrow," Taiyang explained with tears in his eyes. "But I can't do it again. I can't watch you get killed like your mother because of something you can't help. So I'm going to help you escape," Taiyang explained before he turned to open the door, only to feel Ruby grabbing him by the cloak, hindering his movements. Looking back, he saw Ruby looking at him with her silver eyes.

"Mom was executed?" Ruby asked. Taiyang hung his head before nodding.

"She was. One day, her eyes turned silver. I tried to protect her, but I got seriously hurt in doing so and Ozpin managed to find her," Taiyang said, his voice full of sorrow.

"Then why did we stay here? Why didn't we move away from here long ago?" Ruby asked, confused as to why Taiyang would still have considered Ozpin a friend.

"Because I was hoping this wouldn't happen again. Ozpin promised me that if you managed to become an adult without your eyes turning silver, that he would let you do whatever you wished as long as you didn't hurt anyone. But now, he won't let us get away if he can help it, so we have to go quickly," Taiyang explained.

"Wait, hurt someone? Why would I hurt someone?" Ruby asked, once again making Taiyang wince.

"Because it's part of the curse of the silver eyes. Once your eyes turn silver, you will begin losing yourself to power, you will begin craving the flesh of your enemies, friends and fellow humans alike. The only way to escape it is to avoid human contact. That's why I've invested in a cabin located on the other side of the forever fall forest. There, you'll be able to live your life without falling to the curse of the silver eyes. But Ozpin didn't agree to my plan, so we'll have to hurry before he realizes I never intended to let him kill you," Taiyang explained, both his hands curled into fists and shaking as he told his younger daughter that she would for the rest of her life live in solitude or fall to madness.

Ruby was shocked by the revelation of this variant. She hadn't considered the silver eyes ever being a curse instead of some legendary power like in baseline. Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised that such a variant had finally appeared in the infinite loops, but still, it was a rather horrible realization. Deciding that she would de-rail the loop then and there, Ruby instead hugged her father from behind. "Don't worry. I won't be killed like my mother. I won't be controlled by the silver eyes. I will control them. I promise I can do it," She said, only for Taiyang to break out of her hug, turn around and hug her back.

"Ruby, as much as I wish that to be true, you don't know what is about to happen. Your mother wasn't able to handle the eyes, as soon as they overwhelmed her, she nearly killed me. Ozpin was the one who managed to save me. I'm sorry Ruby, but I can't risk you turning into a monster, I can't watch my little girl lose herself and get killed. I don't want to go through such a thing," Taiyang said, his tears flowing freely as he hugged his daughter.

"Dad. I've been keeping secrets as well. I can do this, because I know that no silly curse can break me. I know this because I've lived my life many times over, because I'm a time traveler. So please, don't cry. Everything will turn out alright, I promise," Ruby said as she hugged her father who was sobbing in her embrace while Ruby considered how to deal with Ozpin and the mental curse she would have to battle with. Something that now that she knew about it could easily be warded of through a certain set of mental exercises. She would make sure that this loop ended happily.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.9 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I refuse to believe you're a time traveler," Weiss stated plainly.

Ruby blinked. "Wait. Seriously?"

"What's so hard to comprehend? Time travel is impossible."

"So, let me get this straight." Ruby started ticking off her fingers. "I produce pictures of our team in exotic locales that don't exist in Remnant-"

"Digital photo editing."

"-casually let you know I know secrets you have kept your whole life-"

"A combination of watching the news, listening to rumors, and a disturbing but not unwelcome amount of psychological education."

"-produce technology and _magic_ impossible to find on Remnant-"

"I wouldn't say impossible, simply top secret."

"-take you inside my subspace pocket-"

"Teleportation would also be top secret."

"-outright shapeshift-"

"Semblance."

"-transform objects into pastries-"

"I'll admit I haven't quite figured that one out yet."

"-and somehow," she finished, "SOMEHOW. It's impossible I'm a time traveler."

Weiss nodded firmly.

"Okay. So if I'm not being sent through time loops via a broken god-tree, how do you explain all the weird stuff I can do?"

"Simple. You are a result of a top secret Atlas project to produce a being with artificial aura." Weiss crossed her arms. "I read about it one time when general Ironwood left his Scroll at our mansion."

Ruby blinked. "So you're confusing me with Penny?"

"Who?"

"Never mind." She turned to the other two. "What about you two, you believe I'm a time traveler, right?"

Yang hemmed and hawed. "Act-u-al-ly... I'm sort of thinking that maybe mom was a fairy, so you're half fairy?"

"I was going to go with alien," Blake deadpanned.

Ruby threw up her hands. "Right. Fine. Don't believe me. Is this going to affect our team cohesion?"

There was a general course of negatives.

"Alright. Let's get down to the practice range, I need to put you skeptics through your paces..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.10 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven blinked and looked down at her mount.

The pig grunted and snorted, snuffling in the dirt.

Huh," she muttered. The Tribe had a pig herd, that was both transport and food supply. That was somewhat practical. Especially since pigs could eat anything and forage for their own food in addition to being feed scraps and peels. She glanced behind her and smirked. One bandit who was particularly annoying was in a wagon with piglets climbing over him and squealing.

The pig herd also provided punishments, it seemed.

Hmm, if she timed things right, she could crash the fight in Oniyuri by trampling Tyrian with her pig - Snookums? She named her pig Snookums? _Why?  
_  
Oh, right. Comedy value in telling opponents her Snookums would crash them and them finding out that Snookums was a giant pig and the crashing thing was meant literally.

This had the potential to be fun.

-

James Ironwood grumbled to himself as he looked over the reports from outside the kingdoms. He had already to committed himself to the Military for the loop so no giant war-pig for him. Pity. It would have been an interesting experience.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.11 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Callows?" Ruby blinked. "He has a last name? Since when?"

"Uh, Ruby?" Ren looked at her.

"No, seriously. I did not know he had a last name. I always thought he was just Tyrian, last name unknown. WHEN WAS THIS ESTABLISHED!"

"Don't you think you are given this a bit too much importance?" Jaune asked

"...Maybe," Ruby conceded. "But I don't care! How did I miss this!"

Tyrian for his part was just staring at the girl who was freaking out over his name. He did not notice the hammer-wielding girl walking up behind him. At least not until the hammer connected with his skull.

"Good distraction, Ruby!" Nora grinned with a wave.

"He looked so confused,"Jaune chuckled.

"...I'm serious. How did I miss that he had a last name? And why does it sound like gallows? Is it to symbolism him being murder-happy or something? When did this become a thing?" she demanded.

Jaune, Ren and Nora exchanged glances. How long would it take for Ruby to drop the subject?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.12 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jaune shook his head slightly from his position crouched behind a bush as he watched a hooded woman walk away from the tower. He looked at the tower.

"Okay, I'm in Rapunzel, and replacing the prince, apparently," he muttered. "I wonder who Rapunzel is," he mused, sending out a ping. A lack of reply indicated either a stealth anchor or the Anchor had yet to wake up. He shrugged and sat down in a more comfortable position. "I'll give the witch time to get out of hearing range," he decided. As he waited, he considered who might be filling in for the girl in the tower. Assuming the girl was being replaced.

It would be nice if it was Pyrrha. But Rapunzel was always described as having blonde hair so maybe Yang? Or Glynda. Or even a genderbent Sun or Taiyang. Or just a regular, male Sun or Taiyang. Assuming the loop stuck with blonde hair. Then again, a tower had significance in Pyrrha's life baseline (or rather, her death), so maybe it was her after all.

Shaking his head, Jaune stood up and stretched his arms. "Hmm, the witch said Rapunzel as she called out for the hair to be let down," he muttered. "Maybe it's just a generic Rapunzel from the stories after all." He shrugged. "All well."

He walked to the base of the tower. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," he called up. A long brown braid dropped in response.

As he climbed, Jaune considered who it could be since it didn't seem like a generic Rapunzel was here after all. Coco? Wouldn't there be the orange colored part in the braid then? Velvet? Then again, it didn't look the right shade. Maybe one of the competitors from the tournament?

As he reached the window, Jaune pulled himself up to come face to face with the loops Rapunzel who blinked at him before grinning.

"...Well _hello,"_ Tyrian grinned wickedly, a manic gleam in his eyes.

"...Nope." Jaune promptly dropped to the ground and took off.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.13 Flametusk, Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Teams had five members this loop. Taiyang saw his loop memories, and shuddered as he saw who the fifth member of his team had been. The only members that still did missions were the same as Baseline.

"Team SSTRK? Well, at least Ruby and Yang will be happy." Hearing a noise, he saw his oldest daughter come down the stairs wearing a red dress.

"Morning Cinder. I see you're Awake."

"Morning Dad. And yeah, I hope that seeing this dress didn't throw you for a loop." Suddenly, Cinder's eyes started to glow.

"Cinder! What's happening?" The glow died down.

"Somehow I just became the Fall Maiden. I don't know how. I'm not even affiliated with Salem this loop," the Maiden replied.

"Actually, I think you should know-" Whatever Tai was about to say was interrupted by Ruby coming down the stairs and colliding with Cinder.

"I'm so glad you're here sis! Oh, I want to show you something I made last loop! Also, did you attack Amber? Because your symbol is on your back."

"I actually just got the powers about a minute ago. Don't know why, since I'm not part of Salem's group this loop."

"Actually, as I was saying," Taiyang started again, but only to be interrupted as Ruby pulled her sister outside.

"I tried to tell them," he said with a sigh.

-\\-

Salem smiled viciously as she stood over the Fall Maiden, who was breathing heavily as she bled out.

"Any last words, soon to be Ex-Fall Maiden?" She taunted smoothly.

"I won't... let you inherit.. the powers..."

Salem Smiled wickedly. "Of course you won't. You'll be thinking of someone else..."

Amber glared suspiciously at Salem, trying to focus her thoughts on the sister she was leaving behind. She fought tooth and nail to do so, right up until Salem spoke. "...huh?"

"I said," The Grimm Maiden spoke with a triumphant smirk. "To tell Cinder Fall that I love her."

As the villain walked away, Amber's last thought was ' _Who on Remnant is Cinder Fall?_ '

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.14 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Pyrrha Awoke in a familiar location and once again cursed the loops for a late Awakening as she found herself at the top of the broken CCT tower at the top of Beacon. However, her decision to damn the loop would have to wait for her to take care of Cinder first. Pyrrha reached for a copy of Miló and Akoúo̱, only to realize too late that she was in a null loop. Phyrra could feel the horrible burning sensation spreading throughout her body as the arrow hit her and began to painfully burn her insides. Like always, Pyrrha tried to scream, but couldn't as her lungs were already unusable from the damage coursing through her body. This wasn't the first time this had happened to Pyrrha, and she was certain it wouldn't be the last one either. However, despite there being no way out of her current predicament, Pyrrha still went through her loop memories and found something shocking. Apparently she had become the fall maiden prior to her awakening, half the power belonging to her, while the other one had been stolen by Cinder. Deciding to make one last attempt at defiance, Pyrrha gathered all her thoughts and began focusing, just as Ruby came up the side of the tower and she evaporated into dust.

Cinder laughed as a devastated Ruby once again saw one of her friends die, only to suddenly be hit with a wave of energy, Cinder's voice calling out "What?!" in surprise as the fall maiden's powers shot out of Pyrrha's remains and flowed into Ruby. Turning to fight the girl who had now become the new fall maiden, Cinder smirked as she realized it was another one of the nosy brats who had been a thorn in her side for a long time. She would enjoy killing another one. However, she never got a chance as Ruby unleashed the combined strength of the fall maiden with silver eyes upon her.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.15 KitsuneShin0bi**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Salem sobbed in the darkness of a supply closet in despair. She'd had it made! She'd infiltrated Beacon without a hitch, regularly got close to her mortal enemy, and used every opportunity to kill him! But it just. Wouldn't. Work!

Try to poison his coffee? He threw it out without drinking it because he found it was brewed decaf.

Try to shoot him in-class and make it look like an accident? Her weapon chose that moment to jam.

Try to push him off a ledge? She tripped and ended up needing to be rescued by her unsuspecting teammates from where she was tangled in a tree branch.

Over 300 attempts and they all failed due to miserable luck!

An Unawake Taiyang watched sadly as his teammate wailed in the corner. Now while the Huntsmen-in-training didn't know her all that well, her Gothic appearance and reserved personality often clashing with his own bright colors and outgoing nature, she was still his teammate and it was his job to make sure she was alright. So to that end, he decided to comfort her the best he could.

"You okay?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

The disguised woman looked up and glared at him, tears glimmering in her eyes.

"I'm fine," she growled. "Go away."

"So you just cry in dark rooms for fun then?" he shot back before he could stop himself. Taiyang winced as Salem started bawling again. Dammit, this was why Summer was usually the one to resolve the team conflicts! Taking a deep breath, he slid his back down on the wall and sat down next to the white-haired immortal.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," the blond apologized, dragging his hands across his face. "Look, I just want to know what's wrong so I can help. The whole team's worried about you."

Salem sniffed. "I- I just had this whole plan you know? I would get in here and go straight for the kill. And I just. Keep. Failing! It's just so frustrating!"

Ah, it was performance anxiety. He had seen that in some of his friends in Signal before. Taiyang started awkwardly patting the room's only other occupant on the back, trying to be reassuring.

"Hey, we all have our ups and downs. You just need to keep trying and you'll get there eventually."

Salem turned to face him, balling her fist up. "You don't understand!" she roared angrily. "I keep trying and trying and then _he_ struts into the room, everything in perfect order, and I realize that it was all for nothing. I wasn't goo-" She hiccuped before continuing. "-good enough. I'm never good enough to match him!"

The brawler frowned. Was she trying to impress somebody?

"Who's he?"

"Ozpin," she muttered looking away from him, almost... guiltily? It certainly looked like guilt.

Taiyang sighed. She'd been comparing herself to the Headmaster? That was crazy! No wonder she was in this funk.

"Salem, I think you've been setting unrealistic expectations for yourself," he explained.

She looked up confused.

"You said it yourself, you thought you could do it day one without problems! And now you're spending all your time worrying about your failures. You don't eat, you don't sleep, it's not healthy!" He offered his hand to the witch. "Why don't you take a break for a while? You know, get some rest and try thinking it through when you're fresh?"

She sniffed and nodded. Gripping Tai's hand, she let the _much_ younger teammate pull herself off the floor. He smiled.

"There, 'ya see? It's gonna be okay. Now c'mon, I heard that Summer was baking again and I want first dibs."

-/-

"And that was when I first developed feelings for your father," recounted the Queen of the Grimm with a fond smile on her face.

A now Awake Cinder struggled to keep her expression one of interest rather than incredulousness.

"Were you upset when he got together with Raven and Summer?" she asked politely.

Salem sighed, a wistful look spreading across her features. "I was at first," she admitted. "But then I realized that was unfair to him. After all, I needed to return here to the throne and Taiyang needed someone to fill the void in his life. Summer was good for him but Raven, that giant _bi_ -"

The immortal barely caught herself in time. Looking down at her 10-year old daughter, she hastily changed her sentence.

"- _bird-brain_. That giant bird-brained moron ditched him."

Cinder barely stifled her laughter. While Salem was, without a doubt. a terrifying villain in Baseline, a motherly one was almost always amusing.

-/-

Ozpin blinked as he Awoke. Checking his loop memories, he slowly pieced the odd inconsistencies together and came to a startling realization.

"You know Qrow," he said slowly, turning his chair to the other inner circle member. "I have never been more thankful for your semblance in my life. You should be proud."

The Huntsmen gave the Headmaster an odd look before shrugging and turning back to the reports he'd been reading. He wasn't curious enough to ask what he'd done that was praise worthy.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.16 StormyAngel, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ok: How on earth does that work?" Sun demanded, as he and Blake observed the Rose-Xiao Long family gather for a picture.

"Well, actually, this is Remnant," Blake corrected automatically. "And in this particular variant, Tai married Summer _first_ , followed by Raven. They had Cinder before the second marriage, then things proceeded as usual."

"So in this particular variant, Bigamy is a thing?"

"Apparently." Blake replied with a shrug.

"Hmmm..."

"Don't get any ideas, Sun." Blake rolled her eyes.

"Well to be fair, Yang _is_ extremely attractive."

"What's this I hear? Sun's got a new crush?" Yang plopped down on the blanket with a smirk on her face.

"Sun wants us to have a threesome," Blake deadpanned.

"Sounds fun!" Yang crowed. "Where and when?" Sun burst into a coughing fit.

"I was joking Yang," Blake explained, exasperated.

"What, you don't wanna?" Yang asked her, eyebrow raised. Blake moved to reply, then paused.

The two girls glanced at Sun.

"Aaannd that's my cue to get out of here," Sun said as he jumped to his feet. "Good luck forming your threesome."

Blake and Yang watched him walk away. "We have got to stop teasing him."

"Teasing?" Yang asked with a cheeky grin.

"Yang, you know I'm already a one-woman orgy. Are you saying my semblance clones aren't good enough for you?"

Yang opened her mouth, paused, and frowned. "This feels like one of those questions with no right answer."

Blake quirked a brow.

"I'm... going to say... that my draconic side is emphasizing my basic lusts and I don't always think before I speak."

"Mmmhmm." Blake rolled her eyes. "That's a totally reasonable evasion of the basic query."

"I have mad skills."

"I have a rubber duck."

Yang blushed furiously. "Oh-are... are we doing the rubber duck?"

"Yes. Tonight." Blake patted her shoulder and stood. "I have a few new tricks for my favorite squeaky toy."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.17 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[Sword Art Online X RWBY]

Don Blake

Asuna and Kirito were, once again, in an Abridged Loop. Those were, unfortunately, becoming slightly more frequent, much to their irritation.

Doing what they normally did, they simply went through the loop acting like normal, well-adjusted human beings. This, naturally, made everyone suspicious and assume that they were completely off their rockers psychopaths. Some even acted like they were one wrong look away from killing everyone in the game.

Which, by the time they got to the first dungeon, was almost true.

Things played out as they normally do, right down to the death of that one unfortunate soul and the subsequent death of the boss. Like clockwork, the people mentioned their usual lines, right up until a visiting Looper knocked it off script.

"Wow! That was more impressive than that cat that learned how to-"

"I. Am. NOT. A. CAT!" Blake Belladonna of the RWBY loops hissed. "I don't even have any of my normal Faunus traits! Why do you keep treating me like a cat!?"

"...Jesus," the crazy would be leader of Laughing Coffin whispered to nothing. "What's a Faunus?"

"Excuse me," Kirito spoke up, him and Asuna having taken the outburst as the desperate lifeline they needed to escape from the deranged narrative of the Variant. "Are you feeling a bit Loopy?"

Blake took a few deep, dangerous breaths. "I am fully Awake, thank you very much, and have been for the past two months, which have been among the longest I've ever endured since I began Looping."

"Time Travelers?" The crazy guy asked, quirking his eyebrows at his mental illness induced hallucination. "Are you sure Jesus? They seem like normal people to me. Maybe you need to look into some medication or something. I have several recommendations, in fact, if you need them!"

The group, taking a moment to get as FAR AWAY from the ticking time bomb as possible, resumed their conversation a bit more quietly than usual.

"At any rate," Blake sighed, pinching her brow. "I am at my wit's end, I want to get payback at everyone who keeps calling me a cat, and if I don't have an outlet I might seriously begin to crash the loop myself."

Kirito considered her words and, with a shudder, bit out his solution.

"...Excuse me?" The Normally a Cat Faunus stared at him owlishly.

"In the baseline for this, to paraphrase my Abridged counterpart, complete dumpster fire of a Variant, the literal cat you are replacing, a Mr. Fluffles, creates and is in charge of the local mafia sometime after this boss fight," Kirito said entirely in deadpan. "While I normally try to prevent this to spare the Abridged Sachi, who is one of the more tolerable people in this version, I figure it'd be helpful for venting that oh so very understandable stress."

Blake considered his words as Asuna spoke up. "While I know I'm going to regret this, I have to ask: Why and how does a _cat_ become a mafia boss?"

"One of two ways, actually," Kirito said in the calm, calm manner that only someone about to completely snap can manage. "Either Don Fluffles takes advantage of this group after the Abridged Kirito pisses them off to get a bunch of goons to serve his every whim, or he slowly builds up his resources over time by increasing his reputation, and as more people join his guild he grows more and more corrupt with power until it becomes a miniature, in game version of the mob."

The other two Loopers stared at Kirito for a few moments. Then comfortingly, Asuna hugged Kirito.

"I am so, so sorry my love. Do you want to talk about it?"

"...not right now," Kirito whispers in a small voice.

"...I'll just leave and form that mob group now, alright?" When no one responded, Blake slipped off to form the beginnings of her soon to be infamous group.

-

-Thirty floors later-

"Blake."

"Yes Asuna?"

"Why is your guild responsible for the absolute destruction of all NPCs in the game?"

Blake pointedly looked away from Asuna.

"Blaaaaake..."

"Things may have gotten away from me after I met one specific Gary, alright?" she bit out hastily. "Apparently, he's a lot worse than the Abridged series makes him out to be."

Asuna face-palmed. It seemed, no matter the loop, absolutely no one liked 'Gary' because he always ruined everything.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.18 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...and then the moon exploded." Jaune concluded.

"No, Jaune, that was _after_ the fifty loops of baking contests." Pyrrha shook her head with a sigh.

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes dear. I'm certain."

"But I could have sworn it was before that. Wasn't Ironwood going through some kind of identity crisis at the time?"

"No, that was later," Nora interrupted. "And he technically still is."

Jaune frowned. "Hold on a second. When did you have that fused loop with Elsa?"

"Da-aaaaaaad!" Nora whined. "I told you never to bring that up again!"

"Sorry, Sorry." Jaune gestured with his hands placatingly. He smirked. "Although I hope you've learned your lesson about visiting nobles who propose after one date."

" _There was no way unAwake me could have known!_ " Nora fired off rapidly.

"We're getting off topic," Pyrrha interjected with a nod at Lie Ren. He looked between the members of his family with his usual stoic expression.

"Dad's the current Yahtzee champion, with mom only trailing by a few billion points. Now if we can just figure out how many loops it's been since we were all last awake, we should be able to calculate how many games we've played amongst us four and how many points everyone has gained since then." This earned him a nod from the rest of Team JNPR. "I'm pretty sure the last time that happened was our fused loop in Hyrule."

"No, no, no," Jaune interrupted. "That was ages ago. Didn't we all get together for Neo's birthday party a few centuries back?"

"Which one?" Pyrrha shot back. "The fun one? or was it the..." She trailed off as they all shuddered simultaneously.

"You know what: Let's just start over. How does that sound?" Jaune asked them all. Seeing no sign of disagreement, he nodded firmly. "Great, then I hereby declare this family meeting adjourned."

Nora casually swung her hammer as she turned about, throwing Team BRNZ out of the ring as the family left the stadium.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.19 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby looked around in worry. According to Ironwood, she should be- There! Ruby made haste and rushed over to the sulking Penny who was sitting at the docks and looking down into the water. "Penny!" Ruby shouted as she grabbed onto her with a hug.

Surprised by the sudden hug from Ruby, Penny blinked a few times before hugging Ruby back. "Hi Ruby."

"Penny, I heard from Ironwood that you were sulking. Is there something wrong?" Ruby asked, concern evident all over her face.

Penny was about to lie and say that she was fine, before remembering that she had yet to switch certain parts of her body out, meaning she would still hiccup when lying. "It's nothing major. I've just had a certain variant on my mind lately," Penny explained as Ruby released her from the hug and sat down next to her. "At first I thought nothing of it. I've had the variant several times, but I had accepted it as just that, a variant. However, I recently replaced Astro boy and it got me thinking about the variant and the possibility that it is actually what happens baseline," Penny said before looking at Ruby and meeting her eye to eye. "Ruby, what if I used to be a real girl?"

"Penny. You're still you either way. Human or not. Why would it matter if you used to be human?" Ruby asked, not entirely certain as to why Penny was upset. However, she could see that Penny was somewhat upset about the whole thing and she was going to do her best to help her friend out.

"Because Ruby, if I really used to be human before, then that means I'm dead and that my aura, my soul once belonged to someone who used to have a mother and a father. Do they know about me? Do they even exist? Or are they dead, just like I am in baseline?" Penny asked, receiving a hug from Ruby.

"Penny. You really shouldn't be thinking about it. It's a variant, it is uncertain and there is little to no use to dwell on it. It's bad for you. Besides, either way, you're you, right?" Ruby says, hoping to convince Penny to give up that train of thought.

"But what if it isn't just a variant? There's nothing in baseline to prove it wrong. In fact, there are even some things in baseline that support the idea that my aura came from somewhere else. It's just that it doesn't come up in baseline," Penny pointed out.

"Penny, why are you overthinking all this? If this really was a problem, don't you think Ironwood would have talked to you about it? It's just a variant. It's just for a few selective loops and there's nothing we can do about it. So there's no reason to worry about it. Even if you used to be someone else, you're Penny now. And even better, you're Penny the looper. Who you are and were is not defined by baseline either way. We're at war with baseline, so the only thing that matters is who you make yourself, who you chose to be," Ruby told Penny, hugging her.

With tears in her eyes, Penny hugged Ruby back. "Thanks Ruby. I think I needed to hear that," Penny admitted as they both sat there hugging.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.20 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby," Weiss said in a disapproving voice as she came upon the anchor wielding a blowtorch while wearing old fashioned welding goggles and also carrying several steel beams under one arm.

"Oh, hi Weiss," Ruby greeted, attempting to continue on her way back to the project she was working on, only to be blocked by Weiss.

"Ruby, we need to talk. I went over your schematics, and the roller coaster you're building is lethal! No normal human would survive it, aura or not. You'd die by the G-forces keeping the blood going to your brain. Whatever made you think building something like that would be a good idea?" Weiss questioned, crossing her arms while looking at Ruby with a disapproving glare of approximately .3 on the Fluttershy scale.

Ruby didn't even flinch as she put down the steel beams and took off her glasses. "Weiss, I'm well aware about the lethal power of The Euthanasia Coaster. However, I saw it in the hub loop, and since it is supposed to let you have fun, while _dying,_ I thought, why not try it out. Of course, I myself won't actually die from it, even for this loop. So I decided to build it and invite every looper who could ride it with me without dying," Ruby explained.

"Wait, that practically accounts for all of us since we're able counter the effects of G-forces rather easily. How come I wasn't invited?" Weiss asked, a little bit hurt.

"Because I'm not actually finished yet? I haven't sent any invitations. Also, the idea was to invite people who could survive the G-forces rather than nullify them. I mean, they're practically what's supposed to make the ride enjoyable," Ruby pointed out.

"Wouldn't that make you, Penny and a select few of the others the only candidates in that case?"

"Well, yeah. I had to limit the count somehow, the cart only holds four people," Ruby said, picking up the steel beams again after putting the goggles back on.

"Ruby, people could take turns riding it, also. You're building the coaster in plain view of everyone living in Vale. People will attempt to ride it, with or without your permission. So I recommend you at the very least provide the means for regular people to survive it," Weiss said, making Ruby stop in her tracks before chuckling awkwardly.

"Oops, didn't think of that. I'll get right on it," she promised before running off, leaving Weiss to shake her head.

"Honestly Ruby. Sometimes I wonder about you."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.21 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Blake glanced up from her book and quirked a brow at the white-haired girl carefully balancing a number of white suitcases in her arms. She did consider helping, but the symbol on the girl's jacket gave her pause; before she could make a decision one way or another, the girl dropped her suitcases with a huff.

"In retrospect, maybe I should have tried turning over a new leaf _after_ letting the servants deliver the luggage..." The girl sat down next to her, rubbing her arms with a tired huff. "Probably a loopy decision. Woo. Well, I got them this far, a little rest and I should be able to get them the rest of the way. You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

Blake examined the smiling face. "...Servants?"

"Ah, yes. Wealthy family, lots of luggage... I'm trying to break out of the rich girl persona, mind you. Me and my... well, my guardian, legally speaking. He wanted a perfect little singing doll, and I wanted to actually make a difference in the world." She held out her hand. "I'm Weiss."

"...Good to meet you." After a moment's hesitation, she took the hand. "I see you wear SDC branded clothing...?"

"Ah, yes. My grandfather-great man, by all accounts-founded the thing." Weiss sighed. "And then Jacques snuck in, married his daughter, and started ripping out our reputation for money. Honestly, I'm considering getting myself emancipated, just so I don't have to associate with that man."

Blake's eyebrows rose. "Jacques Schnee?"

"Né Gelé. He took his wife's name." The girl snorted. "Or rather, the company's name."

"You... don't seem so fond of your father," Blake noted.

"Father? There are exactly two things Jacques is good at: Social engineering, and maximizing profit. And looking handsome, but that's an outgrowth of social engineering." She glanced around, before leaning in. "He probably only just now got news I applied to Beacon, much less enrolled."

"...You ran away?"

Weiss pointed to the scar over her eye. "The man is not a father in any way but biological."

Blake winced. "Oh. I... see." This was certainly not what she expected from a Schnee heiress. "Have you considered joining the White Fang?" she offered, half-jokingly.

The heiress stared off into the distance for a moment. "They've killed so many of my friends and family," she murmured faintly. "Even if they would let me join... I'm unsure I could let that pass."

Another wince, but this one went unnoticed. "Oh."

"No. No, it's going to be get myself emancipated, become a huntress, and wrench my little brother out of Jacques' hands before he corrupts him. Maybe depose him, if I can figure out how, but for the moment I need to set myself up before I can tear him down."

Blake was about to reply, when a sudden high-pitched noise hit the ears beneath her bow, producing yet another wince. Strangely, Weiss seemed to notice it too-or rather, seemed to notice the source of the noise, as it was coming closer and closer and-

A tall, busty blonde stuck a squealing redhead down with a groan. "Alright, who's loopy?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and stood. "I am, she's not. What's wrong?"

"Was hoping you could tell me. Ruby's been like this ever since I awoke, hasn't even moved from this position." The blonde glanced at Blake, almost... sadly. "Is this an all hands on deck situation, or-?"

"Well, she's locked in a positive emotional feedback loop," Weiss mused, tapping the readhead's skull. "Ruby? Ruby, if you get like this, the Grimm are going to be scared away and you can't kill any of them."

"You... know these two?" Blake asked.

"Yes, Blake, now I need to focus-damn."

Weiss facepalmed, even as Blake stiffened. The blonde rolled her eyes. "Great going, princess. You scared her."

"It just slipped out. Ugh, and I do need to focus on Ruby. Can you go tell Blake why we know her name?"

"She's already shadowcloned away, you know."

Blake, invisible and a few feet away across the courtyard, began to panic. They knew about her semblance!

"Well, you can track her, can't you?"

"I'm not going to scare her even more!"

"Fine. After the opening ceremony go wait in the cafeteria for her, she'll seek you out for answers."

The blonde let out a slow breath, even as Blake silently fidgeted. "Fine, fine, but if she's not here for initiation tomorrow, I'm blaming you." She reached out for the suitcases. "Where do you want me to dump your shit?"

"Please don't refer to my luggage in such a manner. And the usual place should be fine, I'll organize it afterward."

Blake, hiding behind a tree, watched the blonde carry the suitcases and grumble about overly casual heiresses under her breath. She didn't seem to notice her, but-if what Weiss had said meant anything, she could easily hunt her down...

...but then again, she seemed annoyed at Weiss for letting Blake's name slip. And she said she didn't want to scare her more. The former protester bit her lip nervously. They knew her name, but didn't want to scare her... and the heiress had seemed actually decent, before the blonde slammed the redhead down.

The cafeteria was a public place. With teachers probably watching. Having a discussion there... it would be near impossible for an ambush. On either side. Neutral ground. Probably why Weiss had suggested it.

Which implied she knew Blake was still listening.

Even though she was some distance away.

Blake clenched her hand. Alright. Answers. And caution. And then, maybe run after.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.22 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Weiss, I expected better of you!" Ruby said as Jacques Schnee was tied up and placed on a slowly moving conveyor into an incinerator. "Neo, sure she would probably do it, but not you, Weiss! I don't even think Neo is Awake this loop! I don't know if she's even around this loop!"

"You never know, Ruby. I bet she is around here, somewhere," Weiss said, her brown and pink eyes-

"Wait, brown and pink eyes? Neo, what did you do with Weiss this loop?" Ruby asked.

"She's still at Beacon, don't worry," Neo said, still disguised as Weiss.

"Weiss!" an irate and Awake Winter said as she approached.

"What can I do for you?" Neo asked.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.21 (con't) Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The blonde was, in fact, sitting at one of the tables. In front of her was a plate of rice. Across from her, untouched, was a plate of fish.

She didn't look up when the door opened. She did jolt, but she didn't look up.

Blake took a breath, shutting the cafeteria door behind her, and walking through the sparse crowd. Hesitantly, she took a seat at the plate of fish.

Well prepared fish, actually.

She poked at it, warily, before looking across at the blonde. The blonde replied with a small, hesitant smile.

"...You know my name, my semblance, and you can apparently 'track' me. And now there's a plate of my favorite food, right in front of me."

The smile faded. "Yeah... look. The explanation involves time travel."

"Time travel."

"Yes. Time travel. Oh!" She stuck out a hand. "I'm Yang, Yang Xiao Long. Means Sunny Little Dragon."

Blake looked down at the hand. Then up at the face. The face that was slowly looking more and more downcast, as the hand remained hanging out in the open.

"...Are you from the future?"

"Nnnnnot exactly." Yang bit her lip. "Have you ever heard of a time loop?"

"I'm familiar with the concept. Most stories I've read only had one person in the loop, though."

"Right, right." The blonde glanced down at her hand, then up at Blake. "...You're not going to shake it, are you."

"You're trying to convince me you're not a spy or a stalker, and that you're travelling through time. I'm not inclined toward accommodating that belief."

Yang nodded, reluctantly retracting her hand. "...I, uh, could take you to my subspace pocket, show you around, give you... evidence."

"Your what?"

"Subspace pocket-look. Blake? There is a lot I have to explain, and I mean a lot. The outline alone sounds insane, let alone how I know your name and... other things. I'm trying to be accommodating, I really am, but if you can't trust me then..." She sighed. "Well, then you're not going to believe a word I say, are you?"

Blake frowned. "How much do you know about me?"

"Adam Taurus."

She winced.

Yang glanced away. "...in baseline, the future that could be if we don't act, he... cuts off my arm, specifically to punish you for leaving. I don't blame you for that. It's his fault alone. But... yeah. I know a lot about you."

"A lot."

"Time travel. Like I said."

Blake's fingers rapped against the table. "...Okay. So you and Weiss are time travelers."

"And Ruby. And..." Yang paused, pulling out a scroll and looking through it. "Hmm. Our corgi, a bandit queen, and oh that's going to be super awkward."

"What is?"

Yang gave her a weak smile. "Well... this loop, Kali's Awake."

"...Kali."

"Yes."

"My mother."

"Yes."

"...She's time traveling too."

"This loop. Yes."

"This loop." Blake threw up her hands. "What, does it vary?"

"Yes." Yang fiddled with her hair. "There's a list of twenty two individuals from Remnant who may or may not be Awake in any given loop."

Blake stared at her.

After a moment, she took a breath. "I came here to... get away from Adam's... darkness. I wanted to make the world better, for everyone. Are you going to stand in the way of that?"

"Absolutely not. In fact we intend to prevent specific atrocities from ever happening. And your help would be invaluable." Yang paused. "But, um, optional as well. There is no pressure."

Blake tilted her head. "...am I on that list of part-time time travelers?"

"...yes."

"And we know each other because...?"

"Baseline, you and me become partners."

"...alright." Blake considered her. "...So. Say I believe you. What are your plans?"

"For this loop? Well, I think Weiss is going to help Ruby calm down from... whatever happened last loop. And..." Yang paused. "Those atrocities I mentioned? The person who's organizing them is using Adam to do it."

Blake frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying she went in, slaughtered half the camp single-handedly, then offered him Dust, Lien, and the chance to kill large numbers of humans." Yang paused. "...Look, I know you want to think Adam's just misguided and zealous. That he wants equality and will do what he thinks needs to be done... I've met the guy, millions of times, and I'm sorry but he wants to break everything that ever hurt him. You included."

"He cuts off your arm. Supposedly. I think you're a little biased."

"Oh, I'm a lot biased. Cuts off my arm, stabs you in the gut, leads an army of Grimm on Beacon during the Vytal tournament-" Yang shook her head. "Look, my feelings toward him don't matter. What matters is that one of the quickest ways to prevent the atrocities is to expose the leader of the Vale Fang branch as being corrupt and sociopathic. It doesn't get rid of the real villain, but it keeps him from recruiting downtrodden faunus to use as marked cannon fodder and lets us focus on Cinder."

"Who's Cinder?"

"The woman who slaughtered the camp and convinces Adam to cross the last few lines."

Blake frowned. "You're trying to convince me of an awful lot."

"I know... the problem is, Remnant plays with its cards close to its chest." Yang sighed. "There's so much I don't know. Even after all these loops... Look. If... if you want, you can just choose to walk away from us. You can say, I don't want to be part of this time traveling nonsense, and we'll back off. I mean, we consider you to be a friend, almost family, but... I get that can be a lot of pressure. And it's not like we're omniscient seers or anything. We're... people. With a lot of experience, but just people."

"...You didn't want me to run away."

"Do you mean us in general or me specifically?"

Blake gave her a flat look. "What am I to you? Really?"

"Um." Yang coughed. "See, that gets into the distinction between looping selves and nonlooping selves and-"

"What am I to you?"

"...your looping self and I are... engaged."

Blake blinked. "Engaged."

"Yes."

"To be married," Blake clarified.

"Yes."

"...White dresses and all that."

"Actually we're considering a different ceremony. And white dresses are traditionally associated with, um, virginity, which..." Yang shrugged helplessly.

Blake blinked.

She blinked again.

"...You've..." She pointed from Yang to herself. "You and I. We've..."

"...I mean, she and you and looping and not and this has got to be super weird for you."

"I... think," Blake said slowly, "that I will not be your partner this... 'loop.'"

"Okay. Um. You should probably go for Pyrrha then. Definitely not Cardin. He's a racist bully."

"You're okay with that."

Yang shrugged. "Like I said. I get this is... weird for you. It's weirder living it. I... just want to be accommodating."

Blake looked down at her untouched plate of fish.

She looked up. "...If I hadn't realized you knew my name, if you could have kept this secret from me-"

"I'd be a good friend, no romance. Plenty of messing with your head though."

"Really."

"You've got to understand, I'm older then the universe. Shenanigans is essentially how we keep ourselves sane." Yang grinned. "So, like, lots of puns, probably some odd events where me and Ruby talk nonsense... No cat jokes, until you started cracking them. That sort of thing."

"You wouldn't have told me."

"...no." Yang shook her head. "Explaining to nonloopers... it's a drain that is only necessary in some cases."

Blake nodded faintly. "Right."

They sat in silence for a moment or two.

Blake put her head in her hands. "I did not need this. I need time to process all this, before... I'll be Pyrrha's partner. Fine. And... when I want to know why, I'll ask. But, for now, can... can I ask you just... keep your distance?"

"Alright." Yang paused. "...I think I should add your scroll to the looper's network, though. So you can ask on your own time."

"Fair enough." Blake handed it over, watched her tap a few keys, and accepted it back. "I think I'll be going now."

"Alright. And... Blake?"

Blake paused.

"...Even with all this... try not to stress out too much, okay?"

She snorted. "Right. Don't stress out." Gathering herself, she walked out of the room.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.23 BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Every once in a while Cinder got the distinct impression that Yggdrasil enjoyed mocking the Loopers. Observing the view into the interior of her ship from the window of the bridge, she couldn't help but feel there was more than just blind coincidence involved in this situation. Her first Fused Loop since her aborted Ascension attempt, and she Awakened as a fire themed omnicidal space warlord with a factory capable of churning out hundreds of thousands of mindlessly loyal planet conquering warmachines per minute. It was almost as if Yggdrasil was rubbing her face in her failure, as if to say _'had you only had a Loop here beforehand you might have won. Too bad for you, you had to jump the gun. So sad.'_

Had she been a little less capable of learning from her mistakes, she might almost be tempted to try again just to spite the stupid tree. It was a pity her relationship with Pyrrha was so strained at the moment, she had never felt more of a kinship with the would-be Fall Maiden than she did right just then; burning a few forests sounded more than a little cathartic at the moment.

A scene on one of the monitors caught her attention. A short furry orange... person? in a large green hat and a blue bipedal lizard creature wearing a saddle and bridle — a zbornak, her Loop Memories helpfully supplied — were hesitantly making their way through the corridors of one of the lower floors. The zbornak was clearly the more wary of the two, though the orange one was visibly nervous despite their persistence. "Hello! Anybody here?" Peering around a corner, he — she assumed it was male based on the voice, though that was inaccurate often enough that she wasn't about to bet on it — held up a basket of fruit. "Welcome to our galaxy!"

The zbornak was quick to follow up when no one answered. "Well. Nobody home. Let's go."

"No way. Ship this big, there's gotta be _someone_ on board," the orange one answered, moving forward contrary to his companion's blatant attempts to leave. "If you don't like fruit, there's also a selection of small cheeses!"

Pressing a few buttons on her console, Cinder directed a nearby patrol to the intruders.

"Finally. The welcome party!"

"Not the vibe I'm getting here."

The following scene altered between humorous and hopelessly naive as the pair were shot at, offered her droids the fruitbasket, introduced themselves, and welcomed her again. In that order. At least the zbornak, Sylvia, actually attempted to put up a fight. Not that it had done much good against the self-repairing magma-based restraints which she had been hit with.

Turning to one of her other monitors as her bots captured the duo, she contemplated how to respond to the _other_ set of stowaways snooping around her ship. Specifically how much force was needed to send an appropriate message. Given that one appeared to be an electricity wielding skeleton and the other had an eyeball for a head — not the weirdest thing she'd ever seen by a long shot, but still far more crazy than the level she'd gotten used to during her 'house arrest' — she wasn't actually sure if they even qualified as living beings as opposed to necromanctic constructs. Black magic usually allowed, and required, at least twice the typically fatal amount of force to be applied just to be noticed.

Then the skeleton man shot one of her inactive drones' legs off and proceeded to strut around like he was the hottest thing since sex. At which point Cinder decided 'screw it' and set her drones to army-killer.

The door to the bridge melted open and the droids dropped the first set of 'guests' unceremoniously at the base of the stairs leading up to her.

Brushing himself off as he stood, Wander grinned. "Look, Sylvia, it's our new neighbor," leaning in he cupped his face and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Talk about an eager beaver. _Someone_ sure was excited to meet us."

"Wander, I really don't think, ngnraaah—" Sylvia tore her cuffs apart, only for them to reform tighter than ever "dragging us here in chains, raaaahh—" sticking her foot between her wrists she pried herself free, only to have the manacle capture her foot as well "really counts aaarrrrghgh!" this time the restraints simply expanded and covered her from the neck down in a solid ball "as rolling out the red carpet," She finished in a deadpan.

"Oh pshaw! Like I always say, an enemy's just a friend you haven't made yet," hefting his fruitbasket, he ran off towards where Cinder had created a chair to watch their exchange amusedly. "I'M GONNA GO SAY HI!"

"WANDE—oof!" Shaking her head dazedly from where her prison had rolled forward and smacked her against the ground, she looked up to see Wander shaking Cinder's hand rapidly. "Oh Wander. Sigh. I'm coming buddy." Flipping herself head over binding, she moved as quickly as she could to help out her overly-friendly friend.

"Hey there, folks round here call me Wander. Course that's not really my name, but we can talk more about that later. It's great to meet you, like I was just telling Sylvia 'an enemy's just a friend you haven't met yet' and I just know we're going to be _great_ pals! I'm sure you didn't mean to tear that planet beneath us in half with your horrifying lava drill of doom, and I bet we'll all look back on this and just laugh and laugh. Speaking of your drill, you wouldn't mind turning it off would you; the inhabitants would be tickled pink if you could stop destroying their homes and then later we can all go down and meet the locals. I know a charming little park where they have the best puppet shows this side of the galaxy."

Finally reclaiming her hand from the nonstop greeting, Cinder removed her helmet and gave Wander a level stare. "Somehow I can't help but think that if Ruby, Nora, and Zwei had a child that you would be the result."

"Well, _I'm_ going to assume that's a compliment. So, thank you!"

Cinder smirked. "That aside, I'm afraid my 'drill of doom' will be remaining active. While I hate to miss out on the promised puppet theater, my army comes first. A girl can't conquer the galaxy without minions after all."

Wander's face somehow managed to sag like a deflated balloon. "But, I brought you a fruit basket."

Cinder idly selected a small pear and took a bite. "And I'm sure I will enjoy every bit of it. However I've been forced to restrain myself for a very long time now, and since no one else appears to be answering my calls I'm going to take this opportunity to stretch my legs a bit. While I won't be making the mistake of nearly destroying another universe, I think a few planets are a small price to pay for a relaxing vacation. Your galaxy's villains even have a ranking system set up, ripe for my inevitable rise to infamy and glory. It would be remiss of me not to lead by example after all."

"Well I never! Sylvia, I don't think our new friend is very friendly. Here I was, offering you an olive branch — and the olives too! — but if you're not willing to play nice I think I'll just take my fruitbasket and leave!"

Cinder casually moved the object in question just out of Wander's reach with an amused look. Holding out a gauntleted hand she calmly blocked Wander's vain attempts to reach past her and reclaim the gift while picking out a fig to follow the pear. "Well, that doesn't seem very _neighborly_. I believe the term Ruby likes to use is: no takesy-backsies."

Wander stiffened as if struck by lightning. "Oh my gosh! You're _right_! That isn't very neighborly of me at all!"

Cinder grinned outright. _'I take it back, Ruby, Nora, Zwei_ _ **and Penny,'**_ she mused as Wander began apologizing for his 'rude behavior.'

It was at that point that her door melted open again, revealing a heavily charred skeleton man and his eyeball headed servant encased tightly in one of her bot's arms. "Uruggh.. see Peepers. My cunning plan to... capture... be captured by... led us right to... uhhh," the cowled intruder slurred heavily.

"Good job sir. Now you can... you can!... number one sir," the second member of the two were clearly the worse off of the two but valiantly attempted to string together a sentence regardless.

The bot dropped them onto the ground before encasing them in a tide of molten material which immediately congealed into a solid mass, binding them to the floor. "Invaders apprehended." Without another word the droid turned and returned to its patrol.

"Hater! How ya doing buddy!" Wander called out with a wave and a grin.

With a muttered 'not your buddy!' the now named Hater groggily looked up angrily, only for his eye's — which he apparently had for some reason despite being a mobile set of bones in a cloak — to widen at the sight of the (from his point of view) captured Wander.

"AAAAGH! He's... catch _my_ enemy... hate... jerk! What _I_ wanted to do! GAAAAAGGHH! SO COOL! **MUST DESTROY!** " With an explosion of rage and electricity, Hater freed himself and rocketed towards Cinder; fist outstretched.

Turning fully to meet his assault, Cinder gave a smirk. "This ought to be entertaining." And with that her hands erupted into a glowing mass of magma. However, upon hearing Cinder's voice Hater's attack faltered and his jaw fell.

"...Laaaaddddyyyyy?"

On the one hand, Cinder was irritated. She was actually looking forward to testing out her new abilities. On the other hand, she was _really_ irritated. "Yes, you ignorant sack of cartilage," She reached out, and the molten fist crossed the distance in an instant; pinning Hater to the wall with a plasmic flood of liquid flame.

"AHHHH! Okay! Time out. Fine! You can be the greatest in the galaxy! Okay! Mercy, please!"

Snorting irritably, Cinder cut off her attack and sighed, before backhanding Peepers before he could damage her console. "Well, _that_ was unsatisfying. I hope the rest of the villains aren't as big a disappointment as you two."

*cough* "Does that mean you won't date with me?"

Cinder stared incredulously. "Alright. Well. I was going to try and be sporting about this, it's been a long time since I've had a good old-fashioned competition after all. Ruby and her Team are fun but they just don't understand the appeal to widespread chaos and destruction; within reason of course, I learned my lesson last time. Now though? I've got a new goal for the Loop. I am going to burn everything you love to the ground and rub your face in the ashes. In the meantime however... get _off_ my _ship_."

Pressing a button on her dashboard, the floor opened up beneath all four of her 'guests' sending them falling unceremoniously into the trash shoot. She debated turning on the furnace, but eventually decided that she couldn't hurt them later if she killed them now. A few more buttons quickly jettisoned the entire compartment down to the planet, which she quickly finished draining of it's core before heading out. Hater and his goon could wait, they were just the side-quest. She had a galaxy to conquer and/or destroy. She'd figure out which one she felt like on a planet by planet basis. The uncertainty added to the fun.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.24 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So, you've been here before?" Cinder asked, looking at Ruby as she was punching a tree.

"Yeah, Minecraft is a pretty calm loop. Nothing much happens here unless you want it to. Although, our pockets being restricted like this is a little bit annoying," Ruby said, making a crafting table to create the necessary tools to get both of them started.

"Restricted? I thought this was a null loop?" Cinder asked confused, once again attempting to access her pocket or any of her looper powers.

"Nope. We can still access our pockets, but we have to build an ender-chest for us to do that. It's not always like this in Minecraft loops, but sometimes it insists that we have to build one if we want access to our pockets. Although, if you want, we can always make this a vacation loop," Ruby offered, only for Cinder to shake her head.

"No. I'm finally no longer confined to Remnant. I think I'd rather go through with what the loops offer me than ignore it. Now, what do we need for us to make these ender-chests?" Cinder asked as Ruby smiled.

"Oh, I think you'll like this. We need obsidian and something named an eye of ender, but to get that, we'll have to go to another dimension. It's called the Nether and is this world's equivalent to Hub-world's hell. However, to get there, we either need to make a bunch of bucket with water and lava, or we simply find diamonds to make a proper portal," Ruby explained, making Cinder wonder what a world that each night came under attack of giant bugs, several types of undead and exploding suicide creatures. If that was just an average night in the regular world, what was its equivalent to hell like?

-/-

Cinder had enjoyed this loop. The Nether had proven to be less of a problem than she had imagined, and now that they had access to their pockets, things had both been pocketed and unpocketed. Although, Cinder hadn't seen Ruby in a while. Deciding to find Ruby, Cinder systematically checked each area of the mountain they had eventually built their residence in. It wasn't until Cinder reached a severely expanded redstone area that she saw what Ruby had been up to. "Oh, Ruby. You have to be kidding me," Cinder said, wondering why Ruby _still_ insisted on working on her hobby like that.

Meanwhile, Ruby was proudly overlooking the giant mechanical War Corgi built out of pistons, slime blocks and redstone blocks. Her perfectly self autonomous creation was now almost perfect. The only issue being how to make it turn.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.25 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby? Why is Neptune pulling his trident in and out of thin air?" Weiss cornered her anchor.

"Oh, well, you remember those lemons I have for those slimes?" Ruby asked.

"Vaguely," Weis answered.

"Well, long story short, those lemons mutated, I fed one to Neptune and now he had a hammerspace!"

"You gave him a _Pocket?!_ " Weiss choked. "You have lemons that can _hack Yggdrasil?!"_ Weiss shook her head. "Ruby, do you have any idea how _dangerous_ those things are?"

"It's not a Pocket! At least, I'm pretty sure it isn't," Ruby said. "It's more like that hidden weapons technique from the Ranma loops. It won't carry over with him. It'll be gone next loop. It's just that for this loop, he has a hammerspace he can keep stuff."

"...Well," Weiss said slowly. "As long as it's not an actual Pocket or anything like that, it's alright."

Ruby nodded. "Besides, if it was an actual Pocket, I'm pretty sure the Admins would be confiscating the lemons due to the risk."

"So basically, everything should be fine unless the Admins show up?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, then." Weiss blew out a puff of air. "You actually scared me for a bit. I mean, being able to hack the universe with a _lemon_? The implications from the possibility is terrifying, if you think about. I mean, if you can make lemons that can hack the universe, what else can you hack it with?"

Ruby winced at the possibilities. "I see your point. But don't worry! It'll be gone next loop!"

-

Marianne drummed her fingers on the desk, eyeing the screen showing Ruby and Weiss. "Hmm, should I?" she wondered. "The look on their faces would be priceless if he ever started looping. Then again, tampering with a looper's code without reason, isn't exactly what I'm here for. But it is a small, harmless thing, isn't it?" She thought for a bit. "I'll go see Fenrir and then Skuld. If either of them shoot the idea down, then that'll be the end of it. If not, it'll be a good prank on those two."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **84.26 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Reading again? I was reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down." Yang felt her eyebrow twitch as the pun left her lips. She had come looking for her partner and had found her in the library. And while it hadn't been long since she woke up, she already hated this loop since whenever she spoke, there was always a pun.

Over at the next table, some other students burst out laughing.

"A book pun, Yang?" Blake smiled. Yang hoped that wasn't because she found the pun funny. It wasn't even that good or well timed. The blonde shrugged.

"Well, I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction." More laughter from the surrounding tables. "Ugh." Yang looked over her shoulder at the table. "I'd give that guy a nasty look but he's already got one."

Blake chuckled. "If you're that bothered, maybe you should escape to our dorm."

"Good idea," Yang agreed. "You know how I escaped Iraq? Iran." The students who overheard started laughing again. "C'mon! You don't even have the context to understand that one let alone find it funny!"

"Let it go, Yang." Shaking her head, Blake closed her book and led the blonde out of the room of giggling students.

Yang muttered under her breath. She _hated_ this loop.


	85. Time Travelers Love Pain Meds

**85.1 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss groaned as she stared at the screen in front of her. She had a writing assignment for her English class this Loop (which was weird because everyone was speaking Mongolian), one of the few classes she even slightly looked forward to attending due to the creative bent, but the story she needed to do was vexing her on how to get the central character from point C to Point D. She had a plan, and she knew that it would be fun to write the bit at point D, but after doing really well at Point A, she ended up accidentally writing herself into a really awkward corner at point B. Given that she had also submitted a rough draft already and her teacher wanted her to keep the point B, the Schnee really had no choice but to somehow write herself out of the corner.

She leaned back in the swivel chair she had gotten in Loop. Maybe the character could run into someone she planned on having them interact with later on? No, that seemed a bit ham-fisted and obvious.

The rapier wielding huntress swung her feet back and forth. Maybe she could have them get involved in one of the shenanigans she had planned for Point D? As a sort of taste of what's to come? She sat back up and typed it out, but quickly felt like it was getting bogged down into something pointless.

With a huff, Weiss once again slumped back into the chair, kicking herself away from the desk a bit as if getting some physical distance from her project would give her a better idea of the overall picture. She rested her head against her fist, drumming the rest of her fingers against the arm of the swivel chair. After a few moments, she bit out a huff as she spun in the chair, futilely trying to make the good writing she had managed at Point A come loose again.

 _'This is going to be a long day,'_ the heiress thought as she repositioned herself.

-

A few hours later, Ruby came back to the dorm room with an armful of groceries.

"Hey Weiss, I'm back with the things we need for the..."

Ruby tilted her head as she saw Weiss lying on a table, upside down and halfway off of it, staring at a white board with a marker in her hand. The whiteboard was covered in bullet points, paragraphs, inspirational quotes, and even a diagram of what looked to be a shipping chart. The heiress herself stared intensely at the mess, popping the lid of the marker on and off of the main body repeatedly, occupying her hands as her mind was occupied on the problem.

Her leader couldn't help but whistle. "Wow. This assignment is really stumping you, huh?"

Weiss barely responded to the statement with a slight nod. About 2 minutes after the fact.

Then, suddenly, her eyes widened. Slipping off the table and onto her hands, Weiss cartwheeled to the laptop she had been working on and began pounding on the keys furiously, hoping beyond hope that she could get the idea in its entirety down before she lost it.

"HAH!" She exclaimed, turning the entire thing to Ruby. "What do you think of this?"

Ruby, once she set the groceries down, carefully studied the document. A few moments later, she turned to her friend.

"This is all well and good and all, but shouldn't that guy know something's up if that other person dresses up similarly to the bad guy?"

Weiss paused for a moment, staring off into space. She opened her mouth as if to refute, but her expression quickly scrunched up into displeasure. Shooing her comrade away, she looked over the document once more. Then she stiffened as she got to the section in question.

"..."

-

Ruby's team spent the next day re-plastering the wall. As it turned out, while Aura was good at protecting the user from brain damage cause by bashing one's skull into the wall, it did not extend that same protective courtesy to the wall in question.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.2 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"How about we put on a show for everyone watching?" Weiss asked Flynt and Neon.

"What, you trying to bribe me, Schnee?" Flynt asked.

"Nope. I mean we have our fight to some music." Weiss replied, taking a speaker out of her pocket and turning up the volume.

"Well, why not. My weapon is a trumpet, after all." Flynt replied.

"Weiss, what exactly are you doing?" An Unawake Yang asked.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Weiss started up the music.

The subsequent dance off would be spoken about until the end of the loop.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.3 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby... How come you've managed to eclipse me and my entire family in wealth this loop?" Weiss asked Ruby as she was sitting in front of a table, wearing sunglasses while counting lien in an obvious attempt to catch her partner's attention.

"Because someone decided to use their pocket in front of every nation on Remnant on live TV. I also happened to have given away a few lemons before that, meaning that I was suddenly being sought out by almost everyone on Remnant who desired a pocket of their own. So, I sold them the lemons for a few lien each and voila," Ruby summarized, smiling widely. Weiss sighed as she applied some force behind her application of palm to forehead technique.

"This is to act as a reminder for me not to show of my pocket in public then?" she asked, Ruby confirming it with a nod. "I see... Still, I don't see how you could have sold that many lemons."

"Well, I might have started an ad campaign after a while, and some researchers from Atlas bought the rights to research the lemons from me, so I gave them a bunch of data and a whole truckload of lemons and settled down," Ruby said with a smile as Weiss shook her head before leaving the room and heading directly towards Atlas to save them from accidentally phasing themselves out of existence with the help of mutated phase lemons.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.4 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder cocked an eyebrow. Cinder coughed into her fist. Both of them stared at one another.

"...Cinder Fall. Pleasure to meet you."

"Cinder Rose." The opposite woman nodded at her counterpart. "Mikasa Glitches are the worst."

"Naturally." Cinder Fall tugged at her collar, thinking. "Hmm... what to do, what to do..."

"I'm considering an evil twin scenario," Rose admitted. "Perhaps we do battle for the fate of Remnant?"

Magma swirled next to Cinder Fall's heels and jutted upward, solidifying into an obsidian blade. She leveled the sword at her counterpart. "Winner decides the path of this Loop?"

The opposite Cinder pulled a crystal energy halberd from their Subspace Pocket. "Naturally. Good bye Cinder."

"Good bye, Cinder."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.5 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Umm, Ozpin..." Ruby held up a finger as she looked at her headmaster's horrific, suffocated eyes.

"This happened after I accidentally left the contacts I've been using this loop in," the brass eyed man explained with a bit of bitterness in his voice and a not to insignificant amount of pain.

"...you do realize that-"

"Mistakes were made, Ruby," he cut her off tersely. "Let's just forget about them and move on."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.6 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder looked at the book in her hands before immediately burning it. A new book with an even more outlandish title taking its place, only to meet the same fate. Several other loopers looking at Cinder in concern as they themselves were holding very perverse and twisted versions of their own history as loopers. Ruby, Yang and Blake were seemingly the only ones not bothered by their versions, although Ruby still didn't let anyone else read hers. Yang and Blake were busy reading each other's while Nora was being chased by Ren who was desperately trying to get his book back.

Weiss was still wondering why no-one had simply decided to pocket theirs since that way, no-one else could access it, and it didn't simply spawn another copy into your hands like when you destroyed it.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.7 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...WHHHHHYYYYY!?" Ruby screeched when she came home to see her father and his new girlfriend.

Taiyang shrugged. "Well, she is older than me psychologically. And she can age herself up physically."

Ruby pointed at her dad, and then at the older and more… uh… _milfy_ Weiss. "That is my teammate. MY TEAMMATE! And you Weiss. I thought you were better than this."

Weiss wasn't really paying attention to the father-daughter blow up, more focused on correcting the stock fluctuations of the Schnee Dust Corp to ensure its continued decline. "Ruby, it's just a one Loop thing. Grow up a little, it's for fun and getting honest and emotional."

"WITH MY DAD!?"

"Well, Weiss is alright," Taiyang said. "She's smart and witty and she can get pretty wild. Besides, it's just for one Loop. I'm a grown man, can't I date around?"

Ruby's eye twitched. "Alright, one; no. You can't date around! Two; what do you mean, 'wild'?"

Taiyang and Weiss glanced at one another and both promptly threw up their hands. "OhLookTimesUpGottaRunBye!" They vanished in puffs of smoke, leaving one annoyed Ruby behind.

"I do not want Weiss for a mom..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.8 Alastair Dragovich**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...young man, you are grounded," Ruby, Anchor of Remnant and a being of uncountable ages, glared at the much, much younger, Meta-Temporal wise, Taiyang Xiao Long.

"I'm your father, remember?" he countered feebly, trying to get some gibs of an unfortunate experiment gone horribly wrong out of his hair.

"One, you haven't even existed anywhere near as long as I have," Ruby frowned, counting off the reasons on her fingers. "Two, I've been Looping for MUCH, much longer than you have. THREE, I had TOLD you not to add that florp to the concoction _several times now_ and yet you still did it anyway!"

Taiyang held up his hands defensively. "Hey! You said you needed that thing! I was just trying to help!"

Ruby walked up to him and poked him in the chest. "I told you to _hand it to me_ , not put it in the main batch!"

The grown man chuckled nervously as his younger/older daughter sighed, rubbing her brow. He opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly cut him off by holding up her hand.

"Up-up-up! That's enough out of you! Go to your room."

"But Ruby..."

"Don't but Ruby me! To your room. _Now_."

The Atlas scientists that had been assisting them watched in fascination as the daughter of their newest head of bio-engineering forced her own father and lead assistant on the project to return to his dormitory. After a few moments, the young girl turned to them.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get back to work!"

Mrs. Crystal Clear, the former head of the department, shook her head and resumed pouring over the calculations, now beginning to understand a bit better why General Ironwood made her the new head of the Anti-Grimm weaponry project. If only for her force of personality, anyway.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.9 Black Omochao**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Morning, pop," Taiyang's Awakening was met with this greeting, not from one of his daughters, but from a young boy.

"Morning… son," the man muttered as he let his Loop memories sink in, he still had two children this Loop. Nate was the younger, and the older was…

"Nate!" a seventeen-year-old Ruby cheered as she dashed into the room and swept her brother up into a hug. "So great to see you!"

"Great to see you too sis… but please put me down," the currently-fifteen-year old boy struggled in his sister's grip, before she reluctantly let him go and he let out a gasp for breath.

"Oh, don't be a baby," she chided with a shake of her head, Nate gave her a weak glare.

"I _said_ to stop with the baby thing…"

"Okay, one: me calling you a baby in this context has nothing to do with calling you my baby bro. And two: NEVER!" Nate took a swipe at the local Anchor, which she easily dodged. These antics continued for a few moments before they noticed Taiyang standing in the corner, looking completely lost.

"… Oh, right. Everyone's feeling Loopy, right?" Nate asked after a moment, Ruby nodded with a huff–as if there was any doubt she was Awake after that display–and Taiyang nodded as well, still looking a little confused.

"I will say that, if I wasn't Awake you two certainly would've been making even less sense to me, and I'm still a bit confused…" Despite his confusion, he looked towards the brown-haired boy and allowed himself to smile a little. "So, we finally meet, Nate. Or do you prefer Keita?"

"I have no preference, but right now it's Nate," the visiting Anchor explained, giving a bow to his current in-Loop father. "It's nice to meet you, Taiyang. Ruby and Yang have told me much about you, and I myself have been the son of your unAwake selves several times…"

"Well, I'm happy to finally meet my new son face to face," Taiyang nodded, keeping his friendly smile. Nate blushed a little in embarrassment as he stood awkwardly before the man, he took a breath before nodding to him.

"Sir, I would like you to know that you have always been a wonderful father whenever I Looped as your son… but I'm sorry if I can't consider myself to be your son." Taiyang and Ruby exchanged a confused expression at this declaration, before Nate continued. "Despite that fact they are not Looping, and may in fact never Loop, I am deeply attached to my Baseline parents. I already have a dad, and I know it's possible to have more than two parents but… without them Looping to tell about this, I'd feel like I'm replacing them. I know that's not rational but I just can't see you as my dad or I as your son…"

"Well… I suppose that's understandable," Taiyang muttered while scratching his head, looking unsure of what to say again. Ruby glanced between the two in awkward silence, trying to think of something to lift the mood back up…

"However," Nate started, holding his hand up to catch the two's attention. "I can consider you a father-figure. You may not be my dad, but we are family. And I would not be opposed to us spending some time together as such, so long as you respect that I have another dad…"

The two smiled at each other after a moment. "I don't really think a speech like that was necessary to get your feelings across," Taiyang chuckled, ruffling Nate's hair a bit. He pushed the hand back, but smiled regardless.

"Just wanted my thoughts known. You really were a good dad to me, I would like to have that kind of relationship with your Looping self, you can't be my dad… maybe my step-dad?"

"I think that should work just fine," Taiyang and Nate nodded to each other, Ruby gave a sigh of relief that the awkwardness seemed to be gone. The father soon left to make breakfast, leaving his two (current) children to their own devices.

"…Whisper write that speech for you?" Ruby questioned, a bit of a smug look on her face.

"No!" Nate huffed with crossed arms, before sighing and dropping his head a little. "Katie did… How did you know?"

"Nate, the way you spoke reeked of a pre-written speech. And you may be a hacker and as into weapon modification as myself, but you are certainly not the greatest with words."

"…Yeah, I suppose. I just wasn't sure how to approach the issue without hurting his feelings…" Nate sighed as he looked towards the kitchen. Ruby laughed a little and put her hand on his head, he glared at her and pushed it away and, but she kept her amused smile, but it soon softened in a concerned look.

"That's not all there is to it, is there? What you said, there's another reason you're so insistent he's not your dad…"

"…"

"Nate, no matter how long it takes them to Loop, even if they never Loop, you won't forget them. You don't have to worry about that."

"… But what's worse? Forgetting them, or replacing them?"

"Family isn't something that there's a limit on, we'll always have room for more. There is no replacing," Ruby assured, Nate didn't look to sure but the conversation was halted when Taiyang called the two for breakfast.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.10 Zurcior**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Yang Xiao Long Awoke as she regained consciousness after being knocked out by Neo inside the speeding train. Ugh, it annoyed her whenever she Woke up like this. She shook off her concussion easily, sat up, and blinked at the scene in front of her.

Neo was stuck on the wall, covered shoulder-to-toe in webs while a woman Yang was sure was Raven dressed in a spider themed outfit hung from the ceiling of the train by a single thread of webbing held in her hand.

"Everybody gets one," Raven simply declared before she kicked open the ceiling hatch of the train and swung out.

Yang stared at the space her unAwake(?) birth mother had once occupied shortly before she let out an amused snicker.

"Ha! I get it!"

One alternate universe away, Peter Griffin looked up in confusion. "Hmm… Something tells me _I'm_ the cutaway gag here."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.11 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"You know, Eagle Vision isn't that useful when you know who the enemies are," Ren mused.

"Eagle vison?" Nora asked.

"From Assassin's creed. Not sure who the Anchor was. I'm guessing it was either that Desmond guy or someone replacing him," Ren said.

"Is that world even looping?" Ruby asked.

Ren shrugged. "I don't know. But people looped into Doctor Who when it was read only. So it's not like my looping there is proof as to whether it is or isn't."

"..Heeyy," Yang frowned. "How come I haven't looped there?"

"Why would you?" Weiss asked curiously.

"Well, when I first lost my arm, I replaced several people who had also lost arms, right?" Yang said. "So, since that Malik guy lost his arm, I should have looped in as him too, right? And gotten some awesome assassin skills!"

"You're too loud and flashy to be an assassin, and Malik does a lot paperwork once he loses his arm anyway."

" _Not the point!"  
_

 **85.12 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss gave Trophy Wife a disdainful look as she slipped over to Whitley. "Whitley, promise me you won't ever force me to kill you by becoming so mentally deficient that you can't remember certain facts like Atlas Troops being hack and all that."

Whitley gave his sister a surprised look. This was not what he expected. "Of course I won't," he said.

"Good," she nodded. The siblings retreated to a corner. "You know, if you decide to go for Huntsman training, I'm not sure what you'll do if Beacon doesn't reopen. I guess Vacuo would be the best choice, all things considered."

Whitley frowned. He had no intention of training but he wanted to see where Weiss was going with this. "Wouldn't Atlas be better? Vacuo doesn't really have any order. The only place with order is the Shade Academy."

Weiss shook her head. "Two problems with Atlas Academy. One, the heavy military indoctrination. You go there and you will be under immense pressure to join the military like Winter did."

"What's the second one?" Whitley asked.

"Basically, Father is here."

Whitley inwardly grinned. He could see his father, in earshot, turning to glare at Weiss. "How is that a problem?"

"Nothing, expect it means, everything you accomplish, people will say it is because of Father's money. That he bought you your grades and praise." She paused and shrugged. "Unless you do badly. Then there'll be gossip about that among Father's colleges. With attending a school in another Kingdom, there's a bit of distance that acts as buffer."

Whitley frowned. That was the sort of thinking Father would approve of, he admitted grudgingly to himself. He could see the man considering her words thoughtfully. "But that only crosses out Atlas and Atlas academy. What about Mistral and Haven?" he asked.

Weiss gave him a look. "Whitley, Mistral is home to the biggest Black Market. Which means it has the highest criminal population out of the Kingdoms. Do you really think it would be a good idea for an heir to an extremely wealthy family to go there alone?"

"...Good point," he admitted.

Weiss gave him a smile and walked off. Whitley frowned to himself. He was sure that something at this party would set her off, leaving him as heir. He would have to readjust his plans.

Weiss nodded to herself. Her Father had tried to get her to go to Atlas for training. So providing rationale - reasonable rationale - for going against Father's wishes might encourage Whitley to do the same - in small amounts, and if he could explain to Father, of course. But it was a start.

She would see how subtle encouragements towards rebellion would work on her brother.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.13 BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So I said, 'Look I can fix your ship, and I can fix your clothes, but your hair is a lost cause.' And that's when she noticed her head was on fire." Ruby said with a grin. Sun broke out laughing at that, the mental image Ruby's words painted too much for the monkey Faunus. Opening the door to his room, still laughing, he unconsciously dodged the banana cream pie that came flying at him. Ruby wasn't quite so lucky.

Roman cocked his head with a smirk. "Hmm. Not bad kid. Hey Red. Sorry bout that, didn't see you there."

Ruby's face melted into a mass of chibis which attacked the pie with vigor. Roman proceeded to turn green at the sight. "Right, well, that'll just about do it for my appetite this Loop. Did I ever mention how unbelievably creepy it is when you do shit like that? Because it is _unbelievably_ creepy when you do shit _like that_."

"Hehe. Nice to see you too Roman, thanks for the pie. Of course you realize though, this means war."

Roman's eyes widened slightly. "Now Red, no need to overreact."

"WAAAARRRRRRR!" Ruby shouted dramatically, finger raised into the air for emphasis, before disappearing in a flurry of rose-petals.

Roman sighed and palmed his face. "Well isn't this a fine kettle of fish. I hope you're happy."

Sun gaped. "Me?! You're the one who attacked me with a pie!"

"And if you'd had the decency to get hit, then we wouldn't be in this mess now would we?"

Opening his mouth to respond, Sun failed to find the words to combat Roman's 'logic.'

"Glad to see you understand the severity of your screwup," Roman continued, placing a hand on Sun's shoulder consolingly as he moved past him. "See you around kid, I've got a food fight to prepare for," he said with a dismissive over the shoulder wave. "Wonder if Neo has any of her monster dorian fruit pies left over, Dust knows we need an edge if we're going to be facing down Ruby in full shenanigan mode," he muttered to himself.

Sun was left staring blankly at the hall where his friend and his 'teacher' had left.

-\\-

"Hey Sun, you mind helping me with this?"

Looking up from his comic, Sun was greeted by the sight of Jaune balancing a stack of boxes and bags twice his height as he struggled to make his way to the campus. "Sure thing buddy, but uh... what's with the heavy load?"

Jaune sighed. "Since this is a Null Loop, most of our supplies are stuck in our Pockets where we can't reach them. So we went shopping."

Sun whistled. "Geez, you guys think you got enough?"

Giving a surprised blink, Jaune grinned amusedly. "You think this is everything? Ha, no. This is just Ren's stuff."

Quirking an eyebrow, Sun lifted up a shawl of lacy fabric hanging out of one of the bags. "You sure you don't mean Nora, or Pyrrha?"

Shaking his head, he gratefully passed some of his burden off to his friend. "No, that's Ren's alright."

"Really? What does a guy like him need a bunch of ribbons and junk for?"

"You didn't know? Wait, right. I keep forgetting how new you are. Yeah, Ren's big on fashion. Says it gives him something to do when he's not training or meditating. He's actually the one who taught Yang how to sew in the first place, though she really took it places he didn't expect. I don't think anyone expected her to start making lingerie, really. Though in retrospect, we probably should have."

Sun chuckled with a tint of melancholy. "Yeah, Yang's pretty open about the things she likes huh?"

"Oh shit, sorry man. I, uh, I didn't mean to bring up that thing with Blake."

Sun shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. "Nah, it's cool. I'm... well I can't say I'm over it, but I'm getting better. They're good for each other, and I'm happy for them."

Jaune sighed. "Yeah, but still. I know it hurts getting over a crush like that. I'm happy with Pyrrha, but my Unawake self has enough heartbreak over Weiss for both of us. Sometimes he really does like her, a lot. Loops where 'love at first sight' is a literal thing that exists are a pain in the butt."

Sun nodded understandingly, before dropping one of the bags in his hand and dropkicking it into a lake; seconds before it blew up. "Yeah, I hear ya man."

Jaune gaped. "Wha? Why did that? Did that bag just?"

"You okay dude?" Sun asked confusedly.

Frowning from his place on the bench, Roman watched the pair of Loopers over the edge of his newspaper. "Well now. That is interesting."

-\\-

Sun rubbed the back of his head with a yawn as he idly stumbled his way down the halls towards the bathroom. He ducked fluidly as a pair of axes swung at where his head had been just a second earlier, before continuing tiredly. He had been woken moments ago by a sudden need to answer nature's call, and already he could hear the siren call of his bed drawing him back to its soft embrace. Opening the bathroom door, he stepped to the side as a gout of flame burst forth, illuminating the hallway in a blazing red. His training had been less and less effective ever since that time he'd Replaced Goku, and he really needed to figure out a way to step things up if he wanted to eke out any improvements. Maybe Yang would have some tips, she'd been a super-saiyan too right?

Stepping into the bathroom, he quickly took care of his business and moved over to wash his hands. Ripping the shower curtains down with his tail, he used his toothbrush to pierce the eye of the Boarbatusk struggling to free itself. He frowned to himself. He was going to need a new toothbrush. Shrugging, he made a mental note to take care of it in the morning and turned on the faucet. The flow of acid that emerged was blocked by the Aura he had focused in his hands, and he quickly soaped up and rinsed.

Shaking his hands dry, he stumbled tiredly back down the halls; pausing only to deflect Neo's attack as she materialized from the wall as a cloud of mist. Wrapping her feet with his tail, he quickly bound the smirking woman with her coat as she blew him a kiss; which he dodged, allowing the cloud of poison gas to disperse as he rolled his eyes. Standing back up with a groan, he stretched and scratched his butt before returning to his room. He'd been having a nice dream, and if he was lucky he might be able to recapture it.

As the door to his room closed, Roman faded into sight with a curious look. "Very interesting indeed. And Neo, did you really have to let him tie you up like that? I swear, it's like you enjo— no, I'm not even going to finish that thought. C'mon, pry yourself loose. We've got plans to make."

-\\-

It had been a relatively normal Loop so far, Sun mused as he watched his team relaxing in the forest. Nora apparently had some big plan for the tournament, something about electric guitars and neon lighting, and so they'd been playing things mostly Baseline. Mostly. Salem and her council of minions still had to be taken care of, a task which Cinder had gladly volunteered for as she typically did. Acceptable targets, to paraphrase the response the one time he'd asked.

Even so, Sun was on edge. He hadn't been attacked once since the Loop begun. He knew Roman and Neo were both Awake, so the lack of would-be death around literally every corner was plucking at his nerves like a tap-dancing spider. Which is why it came as a relief when Roman appeared out of nowhere and draped an arm over his shoulder without warning.

"Hey there kid. Good to see you. You can go ahead and put the knife away, no need to try gouging out my kidney. I'm not here for our usual song and dance number. In fact, I've got good news!"

Sun gave Roman a deadpan look, but dutifully withdrew the weapon he held in his tail. "Good news? Really?"

"Yep!" Roman answered, emphasizing the last letter with a popping noise. "Congratulations kid, you graduated!"

"Huh?"

"Thing is, you're too paranoid. You're expecting an attack every second of every day. We can't find an opening. At least not without busting out skills that you can't do anything to stop at your level. The important thing is though, that you're anticipating an attack; even if there isn't one to anticipate. And you've internalized it enough that it doesn't affect your day to day life anymore. Of course, you're only really paranoid if they're not out to get you. Which we definitely were. And so will everything else at some point in this crazy time loop shit. Anything that can happen, _will_ happen. Eventually. And thanks to us, when it does you'll be ready for it. Or at least as ready as you can be."

"So... no more death?"

"Nope, from now on Neo and I won't be trying to kill you anymore in new and amusing ways. You've officially moved into the big leagues. Now it's time to take your training to the next level. A good thief is paranoid, because he knows that at any time something unexpected might screw him over completely. But death isn't the only outcome when things go wrong. If you survive the shit hitting the fan, you need to be able to talk your way out of trouble. Or at the very least stall for time until an opportunity to escape pops up. So now we're going to focus on you quick-thinking skills and your ability to bullshit your way out of the frying pan."

"...how?" Sun asked suspiciously. Abruptly the trees which had surrounded him on all sides vanished, and Sun found himself in a small closet; just big enough for him and Roman to stand next to each other without invading the other's personal space.

Roman smirked. "How else? The hard way. Think fast kid," he said before pushing him towards the door and vanishing in an orb of darklight.

Sun tried to catch himself on the door, only for it to fly open at his weight and send him crashing to the floor in a pile of cleaning supplies. Looking up, he came face to face with the stunned faces of Team NDGO. All of whom were currently in the middle of changing their clothes before their fight.

"Uh... hi?"

As the screaming started and Sun bolted from the room amidst a rain of thrown objects and gunfire, he couldn't help but feel that somehow he preferred the previous training. At least if he died, he didn't have to deal with the embarrassment of being called a pervert.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.14 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Team RWBY stared into their closet.

"Where are the rest of our clothes?" Weiss asked. "I am _not_ fighting Grimm in a bikini!"

"Is that a skirt or a belt?" Blake wondered. "I mean, it's really, _really_ short."

"...Ruby, you are _not_ wearing any of this! I've made lingerie that is more modest!" Yang declared.

Ruby sighed. "I know nudity makes you stronger this loop. But you would think our unawake selves would have clothes for when we're not fighting. Even if it's easy to remove just in case."

Across the hallway, Jaune and Pyrrha were sharpening their weapons.

"Anyone who oogles Ren and Nora dies," Jaune told his wife.

"Of course," she agreed.

Ren and Nora exchanged glances. "We go after anyone who eyes them?" Ren asked his partner.

"Tch, duh!" Nora smirked. "We'll break their legs!"

Elsewhere, Cardin felt a sense of _**DOOM**_ looming over him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.15 Black Omochao**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Whitley's gone _again_!?" Weiss exclaimed, while her present teammates looked at her suspiciously. "I DIDN'T KIDNAP HIM!"

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Ruby exclaimed, running over frantically.

"I don't know where Whitley is!" Weiss suddenly shouted at her leader, whom she noticed was seventeen this Loop…

"What?" Ruby blinked, Yang shook her head at her–currently twin–sister while Blake rolled her eyes.

"Never mind, what is it?" Weiss sighed while rubbing her head.

"Oh, well Keita Looped in as my biological little brother again, but he's gone missing!" Ruby exclaimed worriedly. "I think he Woke up not too long ago, but I don't know where he is! Neither does dad."

"Wait, Keita vanished?" Yang questioned, not looking as concerned as her sister, knowing he could take care of himself, but looking more suspicious.

"… Oh, you have got to be kidding," Weiss groaned.

"… What?" Ruby asked, looking clueless to what was being implied…

.

"So, mind explaining yourself _nephew_?" Qrow questioned as he looked down at the fifteen-year-old Keita Rose, whom was sitting on a log, innocently playing a tune on a harp that the nearby Whitley Schnee briefly hummed to.

"Whatever do you mean?" Keita asked with a smirk.

"Keita, do you know this man?" Whitley asked after a moment, an eyebrow arched in confusion.

"Yeah, he's my uncle. Don't worry about it," the Yo-kai Watch Anchor waved off the concerns before looking back at Qrow.

"What do I mean? Keita, kidnapping doesn't really suit you."

"I didn't kidnap anyone," Keita stated plainly.

"Why does he think you kidnapped me?" Whitley questioned.

"Probably because your dad went on a rampage when you weren't home for supper," Keita huffed. Whitley chuckled before the two high-fived, Qrow's eye twitched. "Could you excuse us buddy, my uncle and I need to talk."

"Oh, sure thing," Whitley shrugged before walking off to the other side of their campsite and out of earshot.

"… Okay, seriously, what's going on?" Qrow held himself back from snapping as Keita tapped his harp a few times before putting it away.

"Not much, actually. Turns out my unawake self had been Whitley's pen pal for quite a while before I Woke up. From there it was simple for me to convince him without a doubt that his father was a jackass, and that he needed some experience in the outside world. So, we went camping."

"… Without telling anyone!?"

"Did we not tell anyone? I could've sworn we left notes," Keita smirked innocently while Qrow just groaned.

"I swear, you are a devious little poltergeist."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.16 fivetro**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Alright! Who did this?!" shouted Weiss as she charged into team RWBY's dorm room, tearing the door off and holding it with the Force.

"Whoa Weiss, what's got you so-" Weiss focused her glare (and the door) towards Yang "-agitated?"

"I'm 'agitated' because of this" Weiss said as she thrust her scroll into Yang's face.

"'Kidnap Whitley Schnee Week'?" asked Blake, looking over her fiancée's shoulder.

"Yes! Who hacked the Dustnet's calendars for the Scrolls and made a new holiday for this week?!"

"I don't see what the big deal is," said Yang. "Your little brother is a jerk and seems like every loop he wants to be Jacques Junior."

"One Yang, he is my brother, and baseline has not shown anything that says he is completely irredeemable. Two, ever since Raven did it, every looper that seems to pass through and some of our own seem to think kidnapping or 'misplacing' him is some local pastime."

"And because 90% of the time everyone thinks you did it."

"Not the point Blake. I don't want people kidnapping my brother just because of a power play he made in baseline."

"...That means anything he does in the next lot of expansions makes him fair game right?"

"No Yang, it does not. How would you feel if every looper threw paintballs at your father every loop?"

"...Okay point taken. You realise it's going to take several loops for it to stop though right?"

"Of course. Not all of the local loopers are Awake this loop so it will take time to-"

"Guys! Guys!" Ruby skidded into the room. "Someone hacked the Dustnet and made a bunch of fake holidays!"

"And?" asked Blake.

"So we should totally do that ourselves and make it the year of the chocolate chip cookie!"

"-And make it the year of the pancake!" shouted Nora from JNPR's dorm.

Ruby suddenly took on a serious expression. "It appears I need to enlighten someone." One moment she was there, the next moment she was gone and there was the sound of a cannonball going through a wall.

"So, who hacked the Dustnet the first time?" Yang asked no one in particular.

-

"Penny," sighed Ironwood, "Why did you hack the Dustnet to make that fake holiday?"

"Isn't our newest looping meme kidnapping Whitley Schnee?" she asked, as she made the one for next week 'Sniping Adam Taurus Season'.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.17 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Penny," Ruby greeted, excited to tell Penny the good news as she sat down next to her.

"Hello Ruby. You seem excited. Anything interesting happening?" Penny questioned.

"Yes, we just got a new expansion for the chibi variant, and you're in it! I've even been able to confirm it in the hub!" Ruby said, smiling at Penny who hadn't had many chibi loops but always seemed to enjoy them whenever she did.

"Oh, that's wonderful, do you have the backup for me to see?" Penny asked. Ruby nodded and took out her scroll, starting the video for the "'RWBY Chibi New Character Intro - Season 2'.

"Well, that does explain the variant I've been having," Penny stated once the video ended.

"Variants?" Ruby asked, wondering what it could be as she put her scroll back in her pocket.

"Yes, I've had an increasing amount of variants where I require to continuously use batteries to keep myself active. It's really bothersome, and it doesn't help that the type of batteries required change from loop to loop. And before you say anything, it's not always that I can rebuild myself to not require batteries," Penny explained, her mind going back to some loops where the batteries had to be plugged directly into her core, something very tricky to replace without ending the loop for herself.

"Oh, that's why I saw you buying all those batteries earlier. Say, you want to go play tennis while balancing on jet skis? Sun's promised to keep score," Ruby asked, her curiosity satisfied and having made the decision that Penny needed a distraction.

"Sure, why not," Penny answered, shrugging her shoulders before the two loopers ran off to have fun.

"Does this mean I win?" Jaune asked, having been left alone with a boardgame of Compost King, having wondered if Penny might find herself enjoying it.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **73.7 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Dolores Umbridge, I challenge you to a duel."

The great hall fell so quiet that the sound of a blonde girl face-palming echoed against the walls.

The toad-like woman who had interrupted the headmaster had to take a few seconds to process what had just happened. "...Excuse me?"

"You. Me. Duel. Now."

"Could you at least wait for her to start doing terrible things?" Yang groaned.

"No. She's our new defense teacher, surely she knows how to defend herself."

"What is your name, young lady?"

"It doesn't matter. All you need to know is there's a student, and she's asked you for a duel." Raven Branwen strode up to the head of the hall and took a combat stance.

"Well, I'm sure you'll rethink things in detention. As I was say-ow!"

"The next one," Raven said coolly, "will be a hex."

Umbridge's face grew red. "Young lady, I don't think-"

The wand jutted out again, and the woman grew a pair of horns.

"...What... What are you doing?"

"Waiting for a proper duel."

"Go back to your seat."

"Earn my respect, and I'll consider your request."

Umbridge bristled. "The ministry of magic has selected me as your teacher-"

"Then teach me to respect you," Raven replied, her voice calm.

"...Headmaster, surely you won't allow this student to _yeep!"_

The woman fell to the floor. The girl gave her a dismissive look. "That's twice you've called on others to strengthen your position. I am here now. And I am confronting you, alone. Are you going to duel me, or aren't you?"

"Detention! For a week!"

Raven cocked her head. "This is our new Defense teacher? Unable to even defend herself?"

Umbridge glared at her. "You will learn your place, child."

"Yes. But clearly, I won't be learning from you." Raven's wand twirled back into her pocket. "I'll pay attention to the wizards that actually matter."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.18 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Cinder," Salem began, before halting to marshal her thoughts. "Cinder..." she tried again. Words failed her for the second time. The Goddess of Grimm took a few moments to take her intended commentary and suss out the heart of her verbiage. "Why?"

"Yes, I do have to echo our lady," Watts admitted. "Why on Remnant have you elected to bring... her, here?"

Cinder, Mercury and Emerald (Emerald not trying to mask her envy) looked at their guest. Ruby, who was eating strawberry ice cream, was oblivious to everything going on around her. Everything, which also included Hazel going full tilt on her with his fists and consistently failing to land any form of damage on the apparent fifteen year old.

Cinder shrugged. "Well she successfully awoke the power of the Silver Eyed Warriors, and considering how severely she wounded me it merely made sense to bring her to the citadel. She would be our best weapon against the Maidens."

"That's why we have Mercury," Watts said in exasperation. He pointed at the young man named for quicksilver. "We expected to train someone who was loyal to us, and only us. She is... loyal to her stomach."

"Just because I convinced her to arrive here and ally with us in exchange for a lifetime supply of sweets does not mean she is any less of an ally," Cinder said tersely.

"Hmm... yeah, she's got you there Arthur," Tyrian said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Speaking of sweets-"

"None for you."

The table descended into awkward silence, punctuated by Hazel punching Ruby, and eventually staggering backwards and collapsing from exhaustion. Salem, having been cradling her head in her hands, finally screwed up the peace of mind to look at Cinder with intent. Her subordinates waited.

"Cinder, when you came me you asked me to be feared, to be strong. I granted you that power expecting a certain degree of caution, restraint, and mindfulness, expectations that you had, until today, met admirably. So imagine my surprise when, without explaining this to me, without even consulting me, you walk one of the heirs of my brother Ozpin into the room. Or did you forget that my epitaph as the Goddess of Grimm was literal?"

Ruby finished her strawberry ice cream and patted her stomach happily. Tyrian and Watts pulled their weapons from below the table. Cinder smiled. "I didn't forget that Salem. I just intended to usurp you."

Ruby exploded, the girl in red turning into a spiraling red hurricane. Tyrian and Watts couldn't possibly engage such a creation, and were swept up into the howling tempest screaming. Salem followed them with little more than a grumble, and as ropes descended upon them she grumbled in annoyance over her lack of death.

The trio, plus the unconscious Hazel, were deposited in the candle table behind Salem's throne, more or less annoyed at being had. Salem was literally foaming at the mouth. Tyrian wasn't quite there but he was angry. "Traitor! You've destroyed everything our Goddess has worked generations for!"

"Well, it was less Cinder and more me," Ruby admitted. "And who cares about generations. If you guys knew what we knew, you'd probably understand how useless this all is to you."

"Oh, we'll know soon enough," Tyrian said darkly. He broke into a bought of cackles, leaving Ruby and Cinder more than a little confused. Annoyed, but confused.

Watts rolled his eyes at Tyrian's bizarre laughter. "I presume that you are aware of the nature of Ozpin's Semblance, and his curse. Both he and Salem are soul descendants of the original creator gods of Remnant. Like Ozpin and the Maidens, Salem possesses the ability to transfer her Aura to the last woman or young girl she was thinking about upon her death."

Mercury ran a finger against the foam on Salem's mouth and sniffed it. "Hmm... oh. That's cyanide."

"People don't really foam at the mouth in anger these days. It's so plebeian," Watts dismissed. "Also, I can see that the three women here are prepared to kill each other in suspicion, so I'll save you all the trouble: it's Red there. She's clearly the strongest."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow and held out her hand. Monochrome Ruby chibis swarmed in her palm before resolving into... a chibi Salem. "I WILL DESTROY ALL THAT YOU LOVE! WIPE ALL YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS FROM THE... Why am I small?"

Ruby returned the Salem chibi to her Subspace Pocket. "We've got this all figured out doc. Have a carrot." She stuffed a carrot in Watts' lips, to Tyrian's amusement.

Cinder leaned in, her eyes flaring with the power stolen from Amber. "Do not make us kill you. The three of you will do well to leave this place, and disappear into the world when Hazel wakes up. Understood?"

"Do we have a choice?" Watts asked.

"No."

The four teens (Cinder counted herself a teen, damn anyone who argued otherwise) left the castle more or less in the same states they had entered, albeit with Emerald even more jealous and laying out the 'rules' for Ruby. "Cinder is not to be touched. Do not flirt with her, compliment her, don't annoy her, do not stare at her ass, ever. That last one may be hard..."

"So where are we going?" Mercury asked, watching a few Grimm stroll by and bow to Ruby as they acknowledged her as their creator. "Into the Kingdoms? Or we staying out?"

"I've heard that Menagerie is good this time of year, and we have contacts who can hide us easily," Cinder admitted. "We'll finish your training, convince Emerald not to seduce me, and have some fun."

Behind them, Ruby cocked an eyebrow at Emerald. "Hey! You're breaking one of the rules!"

Mercury covered a laugh. "Can't blame her for that, can we?"

"I don't," said Cinder, ever the narcissist.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.19 DrTempo**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Taiyang sighed. "So, I'm going to show up in a RWBY Chibi Loop, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep. And from the looks of it from the trailer I saw in a Hub Loop, Yang got her tendency for bad puns from you. At least the version that exists in RWBY Chibi, anyhow."

Taiyang chuckled. "I remember you telling me about the time she tried doing stand up comedy in a RWBY Chibi Loop, and got booed at because of all her bad puns. The only thing missing was Statler and Waldorf."

Ruby grinned. "Actually, there was one time Yang was in a Muppet Show Loop. So, she has met those two before."

"What she'd do when they started their usual schtick?"

Ruby laughed, and said, "Gave them a free trip to the moon."

"Ouch."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.20 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Setting her Scroll contacts to have Ruby be named "daddy"? A minute of configuring.

Asking Ruby to call her while she and an Unawake Winter were having tea? Oh, a moment.

...

Weiss' Scroll went off, an incoming call. Winter glanced at the phone as Weiss took it. "Really? You still call father Daddy?"

Weiss put the Scroll to her ear. She cocked an eyebrow. "Yes Ruby?"

...

Seeing Winter spit her tea out in utter shock? Priceless.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.21 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Salem?"

"Yes Cinder."

"Why is a Grimm made of gelatinized coffee attacking Beacon?"

A giant Grimm made of oozing coffee, with all the attendant aromas, hues and boiling pops, was undulating onward to Beacon. Its' enormous and semi liquid form left it as more or less immune to physical attacks, and its sheer size granted it the resistance to most of the elemental offenses expected to work against it. Overall, it was effective.

"Well if you must ask, when you told me about the Loops and gave me some of that uh... hub fiction? That's what it's called? Right, well I read Lovecraft, and was absolutely inspired by the Shoggoths." Salem clapped her hands together. "It's been a rousing success."

Cinder didn't quite know what disturbed her more. That Salem had been inspired by her to create a new and more violent breed of Grimm, or the fact that Salem was acting a bit fangirly over the Coffee Shoggoth. "But Salem... why coffee?"

Salem pointed off to the side, where Ozpin was visibly weeping as his beloved bean was turned into a weapon against him. Cinder rolled her eyes. "Salem, while I do respect you despite our enormous age difference... this is the sort of cartoonish villainy I utterly despise."

Down below the Coffee Shoggoth stuck a tentacle over Velvet Scarlatina's head, sucked hard and ripped it clean off.

Cinder pursed her lips and nodded. "On second thought, I am certainly beginning to see the appeal. How many of those do you have by the way?"

The sea rose up behind them, subsuming the high cliffs of Beacon, a brown, gurgling mass of red eyes and white bone suspended in the aromatic of the coffee plant. Cinder cackled maniacally. "DEATH TO VALE!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.22 Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby was in her dorm listening to music.

"Hey Ruby, whatcha listening to?" her 17-year old sister asked.

"You remember how I'm billions of years old?" Ruby replied.

"Yes?"

"Well, the entire soundtrack of the hub show for our branch exists in this loop. My Unawake self had them all downloaded onto my scroll. Too bad Let's Just Live is still only a minute long." The anchor said.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.23 StormyAngel, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Cinder, could you not destroy Vale this loop?"

"No."

Ruby paused mid-cookie. "Wait...what?"

"No," Cinder replied seriously, looking up from her book. "I have plans, and I'm not about to abandon all that hard work."

"Bu-bu-but... _pleeeeaaaase?_ " Ruby whined.

"Oh, grow up Ruby." Cinder rolled her eyes. "If you wanted to do something else this loop you should have spoken up sooner."

"Okay... how destroyed do you need Vale, exactly?"

"Well, I want to knock out the CCT, create a panic, and generally cultivate an image of a terrifying warrior. I guess I could skip hacking Atlas bots and go for a meglomaniacal tirade during the Vytal tournament."

Ruby bit her lip. "And... civilian deaths?"

Cinder sighed. "Ruby, I get you're... uncomfortable with that sort of thing. But, really, unless you can find me a district of empty warehouses-"

"What if you crash Amity into Beacon tower?" Ruby suggested. "It's a dramatic statement but, practically speaking, it doesn't do that much damage to the city as a whole."

"...I suppose I could let that happen," Cinder conceded. "Of course, I'd have to interfere with the evacuation-"

She paused.

"...You're the Anchor. Technically you could stop me without breaking a sweat."

"I mean... I could," Ruby allowed. "But, um... I mean, yes, I'm uncomfortable with your dark side. At the same time, though, denying it is what caused so much trouble in the first place. I don't know, _I'm trying to find a balance here._ "

Cinder nodded. "Eh. This is awkward... Okay, how about this: from now on, after every loop I go full villain, we sit down and review how we feel about what happened."

"Might be best. So... if you're not going villainous just yet... I kinda had this idea about pranking team CFVY..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.24 wildrook**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So," Weiss muttered as they all met in their room, "what did we learn from Last Loop?"

"Never let Yang handle the circuits of the submarine," Blake replied.

Yang was just mortified. "I kept hearing 'More Speed,'" she said.

"Except we weren't," Weiss countered. "Anything else?"

"Penguins are terrifying," Ruby added. "And the stereotype of cats hating water is plausible, but busted when it comes to Blake."

Blake just gave her a smile before returning to a serious face. "I don't think that's the point Weiss was trying to make," she muttered. "Weiss?"

Weiss nodded. "The lesson we've learned that Loop was while the ocean may be beautiful," she muttered, "it can also be terrifying. That, and we all suck at running a submarine."

The silence involved with the group was notable until a frantic knock was at the door.

Ruby, being the closest, had opened it to reveal Jaune, who was out of breath.

"Please tell me that you girls are Awake," he said, gasping for air.

The state of uniform he was in showed that he was in quite a struggle.

"Did a fight break out between you and Cardin?" Yang asked him, cracking her knuckles. "Because we can break his legs."

Weiss just gave her a look. "I'm pretty sure that Jaune can trounce Cardin with just his default weapon," she corrected.

"Worse," Jaune muttered. "You know my randomized Semblance?" Four nods as Blake looked rather confused. "I asked Phyrra and Nora if they felt anything weird, and while I'm glad they were Awake, they had to hold off the horde."

It then dawned on them what had happened as Blake was glad she didn't have to fall for the oddly comforting scent Jaune was spouting out.

Ruby knew where this is going. "Of all the Loopers in Remnant," she muttered, facepalming, "how is it that you keep getting the Semblance of a Harem Protagonist?"

"Because I'm convinced that the Tree thinks it's funny that I get mobbed by the entire female student body."

Yang just stared at him, then at Blake, who was holding her.

"You okay, Blake?" she asked her.

"Besides the fact that his Semblance tends to make him smell like you," the cat Faunus replied, "I'm fine. And glad I'm Awake."

Jaune gave out a flinch. "I'm kind of asking for help," he muttered, "and I'm glad that you guys have the mental fortitude to resist it."

"We kind of have to," Weiss replied, looking around. "I'm just dreading the scenario where my... Father... finds a fiancee to force me to stay with the company and I have to ask Phyrra if I can borrow you to be my boyfriend to break it off."

"Agreed," Blake added. "And while I know Sun's not the jealous type, Adam...tends to have variants where he's an outright Yandere."

Ruby groaned. "I'm guessing that means that he'd kill off any guy or girl who would even speak to you?" she asked her, Blake nodding.

Yang just stood up. "Guess I've no choice, then," she muttered. "But why ask us?"

"Because Ozpin and Glynda, while they're both Awake, requested it in case things escalated. They need all the help they can get, to the point where they're hiring teachers to help with crowd control. So far, they have Qrow, Winter, Taiyang, Raven, and... surprisingly, Blake's mom as the Lunch Lady."

And the implications of the whole thing hit them like a freight train.

"I take it there's a good reason to make sure the force between your legs to be undisturbed?" Yang asked him.

"He mentioned Kevin by name," Jaune replied. "I don't know what happened, but I'm certain that when the Grimm Dragon is involved, it's a higher priority than Salem."

Ruby gave out a blank stare. "That explains the scroll call from Cinder saying that Salem was acting stranger than usual," she said.

Weiss groaned. "I don't want to know," she muttered. "I'm just praying that we do not get separated this time."

"Again," Jaune replied, "thanks."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.25 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Roman."

"I didn't do it!"

"Then why are my babies in a cage match!" Pyrrha screamed.

Down in the death cage, Ren sucked his binky and Nora gurgled happily. Roman pointed at the babies in the death cage, and the very thoroughly enraged wrestler who was ready to strangle them. "Neo did it."

"GYAH!" Pyrrha roared, leaping into the cage and destroying the wrestler.

Up on the stands, Neo and Roman counted the betting money they had won. "Neo, this is your best scheme yet. Throw baby Nora and Ren into a cage match and bet against them, but not Pyrrha. Genius."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.26 Leviticus Wilkes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Blake?"

Ghira Belladonna ducked through the annoyingly low doorway, stepping into the dormitory of Team RWBY. It was more or less empty, bar one stunned Blake. "D-dad? What are you doing here?"

"What, a man can't drop in on her daughter with zero notice?" Ghira asked sardonically. "Kali filled me in on the Loops. Sounded... rough."

Blake set her book aside, taking note of the passage. "Really?"

"..." Ghira looked Blake over as she stood up. Emotions flashed across his own face. Fear, confusion, grief, empathy, elation, grief again... and finally it settled on something like sorrowful respect. "My own baby girl is a woman now. Knowing you, it would certainly have been a long journey."

Blake met her father's gaze dead on, but her smile betrayed her affection. "Thanks for checking up on me Dad."

Ghira pulled his daughter into a tight bear hug. "Oh, what are parents for if not worrying?"

...

Meanwhile, on separate continents, Jacques and Raven wondered why they felt singled out and personally insulted.

...

Ghira sat down with Blake, smiling. "So, your mother told me about this girl, Yang. Will I be able to meet her soon?"

"She is Awake, so I don't see why not," Blake said. "You'll love her, she's really your type. Headstrong, stubborn, a brawler, she loves puns-"

"Hehehe, slow down there Blake. I asked to meet her, not get her FaceHead profile." Ghira rubbed his chin in thought. "To think, I could have a daughter in law... you know, I always expected it to be a son in law."

"Mathematically that would make sense," Blake admitted. "But... well, Yang was there for me in some really tough times. She's been here for me for as long as I can remember." Blake trailed off, her mind cast back eons to the fateful moment when she had run into a confused Yang, and had gone to Ruby to try and explain why Weiss was being a nice person. She giggled. "Those were some wild times."

"I can only imagine," Ghira said quietly. "Your mother also told me about how you two were engaged."

Blake nodded, passively. "Yup... the second marriage of our Loop. It'll be real incredible... I'm sorry-"

"No, no, don't apologize," Ghira said frantically. "I know that you really wish I could be there Blake, but above everything else, I'm glad that you're happy, and I know that the me who attends your wedding will also be happy."

Blake sniffed. "Dad..."

Ghira wrapped his arms around Blake and hugged her. She squeezed him back. "Don't worry Blake. I'll be with you. Eventually."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 **85.27 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"My head huurrtsss!" Taiyang had his head against the table.

"You okay?" Qrow looked at him.

"Well, the Chibi thing shows Yang gets her puns from me," Taiyang said.

"Yeah?"

"But she has been punning the whole series, right?"

"Right," Qrow nodded.

"But nothing about me other than the fact the girls had a living father had been confirmed back then," Taiyang said. "So she inherited her puns from me _before I_ _existed!"  
_  
"It wasn't always from you," Qrow said. "Some of loops had her picking them up from Summer or her old babysitter or classmates at Signal. Sometimes it was apparently me, before I showed up in baseline."

"That doesn't eliminate the paradox of her getting puns from me before me and puns were a confirmed thing, Qrow," Taiyang told him.

Qrow shrugged. "Someone, can't remember who, said that with understanding time-travel, if you don't have a headache, you don't understand it. I think the same applies here."

Taiyang just groaned.


	86. Fun is Serious Business

**86.1 Fictional Fanatic, Masterweaver, StormyAngel**

* * *

Ruby was sitting at a lunch table at Beacon Academy, starring as a packet of cards from a game called Chaos. "You know, I kinda feel like making our own Looper game, anyone else here interested in investing time into something like that?" she asked the Awake members of team RWBY and JNPR.

"I don't see why not. It'd probably pay off for some of the lonelier loops. The question is, what type of game should it be?" Weiss asked.

"A board game?" Yang suggested.

Nora shook her head. "No, if it contains too many pieces, it'd be too tedious to recreate for other loopers."

"What about a video game?" Pyrrha suggested. Any and all sensible loopers have at least one computer in their pocket."

Weiss was the one shaking her head this time. "It would be too much of a hassle, besides, the appeal for it would wear off faster than anything else. I mean, compare how long the original UNO has been around. Meanwhile, highly successful games have to be either MMO's or rely on multiple DLCs and sequels," she pointed out, convincing Pyrrha.

"So, a card game then?" Blake asked.

"No, Chaos is already a looper made card game. It'd be like we're copying them," Ruby said.

"We could always make it a different kind of card game. Like a collectible based card game," Blake suggested.

"What, like Yu-gi-oh cards?" Ruby replied. "What'd be the point. Everyone has a Yu-gi-oh deck in their pockets by this point. They might as well just play that, the rules are probably more solid than anything I could come up with anyways." She sighed. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all."

"Hey, cheer up sis," Yang said encouragingly. "I'm sure we'd be able to come up with something. In the meantime, want to see how many balloons it takes lift Salem's place into the atmosphere?" Most loopers present agreed it would be something worth knowing, if only to sate their curiosity.

* * *

"Dustball?"

"Dustball."

"Isn't that a form of softball?"

Weiss sighed. "It's not my fault we call our elemental substances by a common name! No, Dustball, with a capital D-"

"Or maybe it was an anti-plagerism software," Ruby mused.

"...You know what, fine. It's Remnant ball now."

"That doesn't roll off the tongue-"

"Can I have a chance to explain the rules, please?"

Ruby blinked, then nodded. "Alright."

"The goal of the game is to keep the ball in the air. However, the ball duplicates itself every time it impacts something. Once it hits the ground, all but the ground-hitting ball disappear."

"Question: what qualifies as ground?"

"...the ground, obviously-"

"But how does the ball determine 'ground' exactly?" Ruby asked. "I mean, if I bounced it off a flat rooftop, would that be the ground? Or if it's a certain height, what happens if the game moves around the globe? Does Amity count as ground? Would hitting it off a mountain-side count? What if we go into space and it hits the ground of the moon?"

"That... huh." Weiss looked at the ball in her hand with some trepidation. "That's actually a series of good points."

"I can be smart when I want to be."

"Hmm. Well, I'll work on it." Weiss pocketed the ball. "In the meantime, though, you want to trounce team NDGO?"

"We have been ignoring them for a bit," Ruby allowed. "I'm sure they're very annoyed."

"YES WE ARE!" shouted Octavia.

"Righteo, then. Since you started this conversation, Weiss, I think a four-on-one should be fair."

Weiss nodded, turning to the other team. "Terribly sorry about the delay. Shall we?"

* * *

"Hey Ruby, remember that game we spoke about, Remnant ball?" Weiss asked Ruby as she was sending golf balls into orbit

"Yeah, what about it, you finally figured out a proper set of rules?" Ruby replied, swinging her club again. The ball flew off into the distance, hitting a mountain and bouncing off into the atmosphere as the mountain crumbled.

"Better, I remade the equipment to allow for more of a challenge and to enforce the rules themselves. Observe." Weiss said, taking out what looked like a baseball bat. Picking up one of Ruby's golf balls, she threw it in the air, hitting it on its way down. As the ball flew off, she handed the bat to Ruby. "Now try hitting the ball before it touches the ground," she instructed.

Shrugging, Ruby decided to listen. Using some subtle application of the speed force, she soon appeared next to the ball, hitting it back towards Weiss, only to notice two balls flying away from her. Ruby blinked in surprise before she noticed the balls already returning back, four balls flying towards her. Smiling, Ruby hit all four of them back; this looked like it would be one heck of a fun game.

* * *

-One game of Remnant ball later...-

* * *

Ruby was panting heavily, despite the absence of oxygen anywhere near her location. During the game, the amount of balls had kept multiplying until it was no longer possible to continue playing without using looper abilities. Therefore, when the trajectories of the balls became irregular and very unusual, Ruby had ended up on Remnant's moon in order to send some of the trickier shots back. Getting up, she took out her scroll and called Weiss while letting out a bunch of air from her pocket so they could speak. "So, who won? I'm not entirely sure with everything that was going on."

"I believe you won. I missed one of the balls and it landed a few feet away from me," Weiss explained.

"Actually that's something I was wondering. How is the winner decided?" Ruby asked. "I mean, if it's the one who is unable to hit the ball back that loses, couldn't their opponent just deliberately hit the ground with the ball?" she pointed out, hoping that wasn't the case as it would ruin the game quite easily.

"Actually, no. Whatever is first hit by the bat becomes designated as the 'ball'; once that object is hit by another bat, or by the same bat once again, the 'ball' will multiply. Whenever a 'ball' touches the ground, it's game over. The person who was the closest to the 'ball' within a sixty feet radius last is the one who loses," Weiss explained. "The 'ball', once found after the game is over will tell us who lost. So, what do you think about my improvements?" she asked.

"So, the sixty feet radius around the ball encourages you to aim towards your opponent. Clever. Now, I was also wondering, these bats, do they work on living beings?" Ruby asked, holding the bat up to look at it.

"No, I made sure something like that wasn't about to become a problem. Besides, I don't think it would end well if loopers began hitting each other with them. It was bad enough when I was still testing them and accidentally hit a cucco," Weiss explained, shuddering slightly at the memory. "That wasn't fun."

"Alright, cool," Ruby said before she got a _brilliant_ idea. "Hey, Weiss, care for another game?" she asked.

"Sure, what are we going to use as a ball this time?" Weiss asked.

"Look up," Ruby told her before hanging up.

Confused, Weiss looked up and stared in horror as the moon seemed to be getting closer.

* * *

"So those are the rules," Weiss finished succinctly. "What do you think?"

The rest of the loopers watched thoughtfully as Weiss stepped over to the podium, pocketing the presentation–complete with pictures– she had prepared.

"Well Iiiiiii _like_ it," Nora chirped.

"It's simple, and versatile," Ren affirmed with a nod. "Good job you two."

"I don't know," Jaune interjected. "It doesn't seem very...Remnant-y"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked petulantly. "It's awesome!"

"It does sound fun," Jaune replied. "But if we're going to call it Remnant Ball, then there should probably be something uniquely... _us_ to it."

"That's a fair point," Weiss replied with a thoughtful frown. She turned to the rest of the loopers. "Any suggestions?"

"Could we give the balls semblances?" Taiyang asked.

"No." Penny shook her head. "That would make them living things, not to mention being far too complicated to layer it with the duplication effect."

"Maybe some kind of dust effect?" Kali offered hesitantly.

"Sorry Mom," Blake shook her head. "That would limit the game to how much dust was available, which would kinda prevent anyone but us from playing this with any real frequency. Which was kinda the goal."

"Huh." Cinder raised her hand, drawing the collective eye. "Is this just a two person game?"

"No way!" Ruby replied cheerfully. "You could technically play it with any number of people, but we thought that four person teams would square nicely with our Branch's theme."

"Then maybe we should..." Cinder paused. "One second here...ah I've got it! What if we make the balls attracted to strong emotions?"

"Strong emotions?" Yang repeated.

"Yeah. Like the Grimm," Cinder replied. "Since it's a game, people probably won't be in a negative mindset, but this way, anyone who's having the most fun will really feel the heat."

"It'll throw all of the trajectories off..." Weiss mused aloud.

"That's a feature, not a bug," Cinder responded. "Any looper can hit a bunch of balls, but can they do so while controlling their emotions _as well as factoring in their opponents' emotional state?_ I don't think so."

Cinder sat back smugly, allowing them to consider her proposition.

* * *

Ruby spun about with glee, a Remnantball bat in hand. All around her the "balls", flew through the air, their paths curving towards her.

A million cookies aimed straight at her.

"THIS. IS. AMAZING!" she shouted happily.

* * *

 **86.2 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

Weiss and Ruby watched as a convulsing, shaking, foaming at the mouth Jacques was rolled by on a stretcher. As sirens went off around them and the ambulances and police cruisers and paparazzi helicopters started to follow the owner of the largest weapons manufacturing company on the planet, Weiss turned to the other Loopers present. "You did this, didn't you?"

Winter had the shame to look bashful. Qrow was just smirking. "What? He should have knocked."

"He walked in on a grown man... having relations, with his eldest daughter."

"I'd much rather this conversation stop right now," Winter said, turn the sort of red that really made her white hair stand out. Qrow snickered and shook his head, to Winter's chagrin. "Stop it Qrow, please."

"Again, it's not my fault he walked into your room. He should have knocked."

"Uh, do I really have to be here?" Ruby asked astutely.

"He's your uncle, of course you need to be here," Weiss stated firmly. "Besides, he's responsible for my father being driven completely insane from walking in on him and Winter. You need to be here to punish him."

"Incest is not my kink," Qrow said. Ruby snorted loudly.

"You are a pathetic man-child," Weiss said.

"I am a highly capable man, a fact that your sister can attest to using every inch of her body as evidence," Qrow joked.

Winter responded by slapping him across the jaw. The man turned back with a grin anyway.

"Alright, so I can get that everyone is sort of angry at Qrow," Ruby said. "But since Jacques is now insane, isn't that a good thing? Weiss can fix things with the Schnee Dust Company now!"

"I can," Weiss admitted. "But I would very much rather stand on principle. No more relations inside of my house. I don't want to see my father driven into insanity by walking in on you two ever again. Understood?"

Qrow and Winter stared at Weiss, and very slowly, very maliciously, Qrow turned to Winter. "You understand Winter? No more fun at your place."

"Oh my Gods..."

"So if you ever think that we'll have more fun if it's dangerous, just remember this time."

"Shut up shut up shut up..."

"Or would you just prefer me being the one to have all our ideas?"

Winter created a glyph underneath Qrow and sent him flying. "You two. You saw nothing," the embarrassed specialist said.

"Right..." Ruby said, holding out her hand. She got her cookie bribes. "What did I see?"

* * *

 **86.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Meat-person? Seriously?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with meat-person?"

Ruby put her hands on her hips. "Look, I get what you're going for, but meat-person is just so... uncreative. Why don't you go with something like, I dunno... fleshling? Squishies? Carbon-sacks, ugly bags of water-there's a whole litany of biologically-derived innocent derogatories you could go for. Heck, go for something like... molecular pattern replicators, that's super-technical and references DNA, so-"

"Meat-person is a totally respectable cliche," Penny said, pouting. "I kind of feel like you're dismissing my heritage, Ruby."

"I-I'm not trying to, really! I just-"

"Um, guys?" Jaune held up a hand. "I kind of want to get this game of dodgeball over with. I'm okay with being called a meat-person."

"See?" Penny gestured at him. "Jaune gets it!"

* * *

 **86.4 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"...Now Glynda, I am aware that since we are currently in a very disquieting hybrid Chibi-Standard Loop you are inclined to be a little more... emotive, but please. Stop."

"But Ozzy-Wozzy."

The Chibi Ozpin that Glynda was holding sighed. "At least, not in front of the students."

The students assembled for orientation were all staring, and taking photos. Cinder was laughing. Ozpin suspected she was behind this.

* * *

 **86.5 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby was looking on in fascination as Penny was carefully sorting through different parts of her insides. "I know it was here somewhere..." Penny muttered, looking for a small spring that she had somehow lost while disassembling part of herself.

"So, you're still able to function like this,despite baseline, just because you picked it up from the Chibi universe?" Ruby asked, looking at what she was quite certain was Penny's only battery for this loop, lying right next to her head.

"Well, yeah. It's quite useful. I only wish I had functions like this in baseline," Penny said before finally finding the spring. "Haha, gotcha. Right... there we go." Penny placed the spring back into what was essentially her spine before reassembling her torso and re-attaching the arms, legs and finally her head. "That should be it," Penny said, only look confused at Ruby pointing behind her. Turning around, Penny noticed that she now came with an external battery, rather than an internal one. "Oh... I guess I need to redo that..."

"Yeah... And your date is going to be here in less than five minutes," Ruby pointed out, making Penny nearly panic.

"Okay, know what, screw that." Penny ripped away the cables connecting her to the battery before pocketing it and unpocketing the allspark inside of herself, using it as a power source instead. "Okay Ruby, see ya tomorrow." Penny said, skipping out the door. Ruby just shook her head.

* * *

 **86.6 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

A thousand years.

Raven passed the milestone easily. One thousand years, one thousand Loops. Eighty five variants. Thirty seven fused loops. One Loop an early start.

One thousand years. An earth shattering time for mortals. Ten times longer than any kingdom born civilian. Twenty times longer than Raven expected herself to live, originally. A time once incomprehensible, now slowly receding into the distance.

The realization struck Raven like a high caliber bullet in the middle of a short hunt for food. It drove her to her knees, her stomach trying to wrench itself from her body. Her two hunting partners pulled her to her feet, and once she had her feet under her she walked back to the encampment. She settled down and pulled a skewer of meat from a fire, chewing on the small morsels for strength and to weigh down her stomach.

All around her were familiar faces. Faunus, Human, man, woman, youth, elder. Some trusted warriors, others sneaky thieves, a handful unfit or unwilling to fight. A pregnant woman, speaking with her sparring buddies, promising to get all the more loot when she finally gave birth. So many, all around her.

"It's hard not recognizing them, isn't it?"

Raven physically jolted, shocked by the presence of James Ironwood. The Atlesian general and Headmaster cocked an eyebrow at Raven's over the top reaction and sighed. "I snuck up on you, didn't I?"

Raven let go of her blade and sat back down, eyeing James wearily. "Yeah you did. Why?"

"Eh. I've just gotten very good at concealing my presence," James admitted. He plucked a skewer of boar, mushrooms, and veggies from the fire, chewing on the end. "I... found that it made things easier for me."

Taking the skewer and putting it back over the fire for her tribe to later eat, Raven turned her full attention to James. "If this is going to be some talk about you wanting to join up, no. Not after that impression. And if this is going to be some annoying heart to heart, you can shove that too. I'm just dealing with cramps."

That brought on an actual facepalm for James Ironwood. "You're not going to listen to me, are you?"

"Would you?"

"Touché." James stood up, looking down at Raven and imposing his rather impressive height on her. "I'll say it anyway. I know that you're having trouble with how you can't recognize any of your tribe."

"Get. Out."

James nodded, and turned and walked away, passing others without them so much as glancing at him. "You know where to find me."

Raven did. She didn't care. She ate her skewer, and relaxed by the fire, surrounded by familiar strangers.

* * *

 **85.9 (con't) Black Omochao**

* * *

"Well, we should-" Before Nate could finish his sentence, his sister flicked his forehead. "Ow! Hey, what was that for!?"

"Stop being depressing!" She flicked his forehead again.

"Stop that!"

"I've had more drama than I'd care to deal with lately! You don't need to get all depressed on if my dad can be your dad without replacing your actual dad!"

"…Wha-" she flicked his forehead again. "Okay, seriously! Stop that!"

"You see your parents every Baseline run! There is zero chance you will forget them! Enough drama, get over it!" Ruby moved to flick him again, but Nate caught her hand.

"Ha!"

She used her other hand to flick him.

"Ow! Seriously!?"

"Get over it! I didn't even know what my dad looked like when I started Looping, get over it! Get over it! Get over it!" She kept flicking the visiting Anchor, faster than he could react.

"Okay! I'm over it! Please stop!"

* * *

 **86.7 Vinylshadow**

* * *

Roman Torchwick whistled a jaunty tune, twirling his cane as his men robbed the same ol' Dust store for the umpteenth time.

He turned as one goon was sent flying out of the store's window.

Roman grinned, striding forward. He liked meeting Ruby this early in the Loop - sometimes there was a Stealth Anchor or someone else holding down the Loop, which allowed him to win against her without much trouble.

The grin slid off his face to shatter on the ground when he saw who was standing in the middle of the store.

"We're leaving!" he snapped to his men.

"But-" one said.

Roman whirled on him. _"If you want your head and arms and legs and other parts of your body to stay in one piece, I suggest you vacate the premises immediately!"_

Not used to seeing their boss so spooked, they piled into the van and drove away with a squeal of tires.

Back in the store, Alex Mercer tilted his head before shrugging dismissively. Turning to the store owner, he handed him money for the broken window before walking out the door.

* * *

 **86.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Hey Ruby?"

"Yeah Weiss?"

Weiss sighed. "We... need to have a serious talk. Second to Anchor."

Ruby blinked. "Oh." She put down her scythe. "Alright, then. What's going on?"

"...During my check of Ozpin's pocket, I... discovered some things. Things that he had been keeping secret, things which I didn't reveal at the time because... well, the situation was tense enough as it was." Weiss took a breath. "That said, now that Cinder is free, he and I have been discussing informing you of them. I feel you should be informed, but there is a degree of... awkwardness involved, and as they are technically his secrets to keep I feel it would be impolite of me to reveal them while he is not present."

Ruby quirked a brow. "...but you feel guilty for keeping them from me anyway?"

"You and the rest of the loopers. It's another one of those world-shaking revelations. I've looked into the situation very thoroughly-I feel that the situation is no longer dangerous, but it will... change things, when what happened came to light. So... I'm trying to figure out when a good time to do that would be."

"Hmm." Ruby considered. "...We should all be Awake, for one... and I think Jaune and Pyrrha are still a bit tense? The chibi loops have started getting expansions again. Let's say... wait until we have six or eight of those, and then see where we're at."

"That's... actually, that sounds like it works."

"...this is really eating at you, isn't it?"

"Just stress, Ruby, trying to handle everything-"

"Weiss." Ruby put a hand on her shoulder. "We all appreciate what you've done and what you're doing and if you burn yourself out I will personally dunk you in a swimming pool of half-melted ice-cream. So relax, okay?"

Weiss gave her a wry grin. "Somehow I don't doubt you would."

* * *

 **86.9 KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

Weiss blinked at the odd conversations coming from the disguised villains across the library. It seemed an Unawake Cinder was struggling with the geometry homework that had been assigned yesterday.

"Emerald," the flame user began with a strangely British accent, "Why does a triangle add up to turning the other way?"

The heiress narrowed her eyes. She had a feeling she knew what the gimmick behind this variant was.

* * *

Cinder turned towards her two associates, the power of the Fall Maiden flowing through her.

"Well the plan to destroy Beacon failed but at least it wasn't a total loss."

A gout of flame sprung forth from her hands before the fire solidified into a glass cup. Taking a bottle of wine she had stolen on the elevator ride back up - Fort Port was in ruins now - she poured the liquid in the newly created container.

"Does anyone want me to wizard anything with my magic?" A shake of her associates heads. "No? More for me then."

* * *

Weiss rubbed her temples in frustration. The normally cunning villain was almost a complete idiot this loop and she _still_ somehow managed to partially outwit the two Awake Loopers.

"How in the hell," the heiress asked through gritted teeth, following the Anchor as she tracked the Unawake version of her sister, "Did that moron get to Amber in the first place?"

Ruby shrugged and opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the woman in question jumping atop the rubble she was hiding behind.

"I'm really smart sometimes," Cinder answered. "But only sometimes."

A quick shot by Crescent Rose ensured that Cinder Free was no more.

* * *

 **86.10 fivetro**

* * *

Blake woke up and then she Woke up and then immediately cursed her unawake self for drinking too much last night.

She crawled back under the covers of her bed while she waited for the headache to end. She checked her loop memories and the last thing she could remember from last night was laughing hysterically as her train stop went past while holding a large bottle of sake. And then another memory surfaced, she had a job. A boring nine-to-past-five job. A job that if she didn't get up now and moving, she would be late to without using out of loop powers.

"Meh, my bed is warm and it's past Blake's fault I have a hangover anyway. Besides this is Japan, using ninja skills to go to work won't look out of place at all."

Blake was about to drift off to sleep when the doorbell rang. She ignored it. It rang again. Blake realized whoever it was probably wouldn't leave until she answered the door.

"I'm coming!" she called, forcing herself out of bed and putting on clothes that would make her look decent. The doorbell kept ringing. "I said I'm coming!" she called again as she walked down the hall and opened the door after the bell had been rung once again.

"Good morning Miss Belladonna, how are you today?" Yang. In a maid outfit. With dragon horns and tail showing. Any thoughts on this were completely ruined when the ping Yang had let off while talking collided with her hangover, which gave the effect of feeling like something was bouncing around Blake's skull.

"I've been better," mumbled Blake as she gripped her head. "Yang, why are you in a maid outfit?"

"Oh, Unawake me though it was a good idea and I figured why not whether you were awake or not you'd like me wearing it. You've got a thing for maids this loop right?" Yang gave her lover a cheeky grin.

"At what point have I _ever_ had an interest in a person just because they were in a maid outfit?"

"Last night. You were totally drunk, but you said almost any girl wearing a real maid outfit looked hot."

"Yang, that was my Unawake self when she was drunk. She must've been really drunk because _I_ don't remember that."

"Does that mean you don't want ravish your willing new maid?" Yang asked, swooning dramatically for effect.

Blake kept her face as straight as possible while still clutching her head. "Yang."

"Yes?"

"It's almost nine A.M."

"Yes?"

"I have a hangover."

"Yes?"

"Even if I wanted to, I'm not in the mood to have sex with you."

"You mean after all this time looping, you never pocketed an instant hangover cure?"

Blake stared at Yang for a few moments before slowly closing the door to her apartment. There was a clunking sound, a zap and a flash of light, then a few moments later Blake opened the door.

"I feel much better now. You want to come in Yang?"

"Sure," she said as she walked through the open door. She noted the Blake shaped scorch mark on the wall. "Was your only hangover cure from a Girl Genius loop or something?" she asked with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Oh hush," replied Blake as she sauntered over to her room. "Do you want to do this before I need to go to work or what?"

*4 Days later*

Blake answered the door, looked down and saw a chibi Rub- no, that was just a young Ruby with horns on her head.

The Ruby looked up at her with her big, adorable anime eyes - and pinged. "Have seen my sister?" she asked.

* * *

 **86.11 Flametusk**

* * *

Team JNPR, all of whom were Awake, looked at team RWBY's Dust specialist this loop.

"Should we stop her?" Pyrrha asked.

"Mother, at the rate she and Nora are going, the Grimm are going to go extinct by the end of the week," Ren said.

"That's impressive. Especially considering it's a null loop," Jaune spoke up. "Although, why is Dust in the form of cookies and pancakes this loop?"

* * *

 **86.12 KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

"Alright!" Nora called out from the head of the table. "The Remnant Society of Looping Couples must now come to order."

The rest of the table winced as the hyperactive redhead began banging the table with Magnhild as if it were a gavel.

"Ren! What's our first topic on the agenda?"

The green-clad fighter glanced down at the sheet of paper and grimaced at the top line. "Nora, no."

"NORA YES!" she yelled. "Awkward moments with our Unawake partners. Winner gets pancakes." Grinning, she pointed her hammer towards Blake. "Alright Bumblebees, you go first."

Yang snickered as Blake blushed. "My Unawake self got a hold of her reading material," explained the brawler.

Winter tilted her head in confusion. "No offense, but I was under the impression your Unawake self would enjoy her type of literature."

The blonde waved her off as she pulled a book from her pocket. "Normally yes, but not when it's 50 Shades of Yang," she explained passing the book to the former heiress. "Centerfold's on page 150."

Qrow snatched the book from Winter's hands and promptly burned it despite several protests. "As your uncle, it is my prerogative that I do this," he explained. "Please continue."

Pyrrha giggled behind her hand. "Oh my. That's almost as bad as when Ren found Nora's stash of-"

"Moooooom!"

"But both of your reactions were so priceless!"

* * *

 **86.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Ah, memories." Pyrrha leaned back, waving her fingers idly. "You remember back when we did this for her, the first time we adopted her?"

"Yeah." Jaune chuckled. "Old Akoúo̱ the UFO. She loved to chase it down."

Nora flushed. "Come on, guys-"

"What?" Pyrrha gave her a smirk. "We're your parents, we're allowed to reminisce."

"But not while you're doing it!"

"It's in the chibi expansion," Jaune pointed out. "Ruby said so herself." He could not keep his wicked grin off his face.

"You know what, I'm not doing this." Nora stood, her face pink. "Just because we're silly doesn't mean I'm a little girl! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go find Ren and play tag."

* * *

 **86.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Blake! Blake! Can we borrow some of your books?"

Blake looked up, giving her currently large-headed leader a look. "Really? Um... why _my_ books?"

"You have a lot of them," Yang replied. "And we need as many as we can get."

The look that Blake gave her was longer, more considering.

"...Are you going to read these books?"

Yang blinked back. "Oh, of-of course!"

"Are you going to do anything else with these books?"

"N...nnnno, of course not!"

Ruby sighed. "Blake, it's Chibi-"

She held up a hand. "Yang. These books supported me through my White Fang days. They kept me going when things got tough, and they were my escape when the Fang went bad. I have very fond memories of these things. I'll let you take as many as you need, but if they come back damaged in any way whatsoever..."

Her eyes narrowed. "I will not. Be. Happy."

Yang stared at her for a few moments, before smiling. "Understood!"

Blake sighed. "Help yourself."

"Thanks a bundle Blake!" Yang went around the room, humming as she haphazardly plucked books off the shelves.

Ruby sidled over to her. "Separation frustration?"

"Looping Yang loves books, and at least baseline she can go for adult or adventure." Blake nodded toward the blonde. "I get the feeling this one is anti-literature."

"Yeah, she is..." Ruby shrugged.

"Let me guess, book fort?"

"Epic duel with Ren and Jaune, yeah. Oh, but a gheist possesses the bookcase later and starts levitating books around. You can claim they are offended by her shallowness, and save her from being crushed by the bunkbed. Should change her mind."

"Right, of course. I'll do that." Blake smiled faintly. "It's not like I haven't copied these books to my pocket anyway."

* * *

 **86.15 Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

[RWBY X Persona 5]

"O-oh! So you're Loopers from another Branch! ...I did get that right, right?"

"Yes Akira," Ruby said to the Looper from the newest Persona Loop from her seat on what was charitably called his bed. "So, how are you getting used to Looping so far?"

"Well, I can never take the Big Bang Burger challenge again thanks to my trauma, but otherwise it's been surprisingly fun," Akira shrugged before getting a pensive look. "Say, I think one of the Inaba Loopers mentioned something about a group of Loopers rebelling against baseline or something? Are you...?"

Pyhrra, along with the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR, nodded from their respective places in his room. "Yes, that happens to be us. Why do you ask?"

Akira nodded as a small smile grew on his face. "Well, then I guess this Loop will go by rather quickly this time. Not only is everyone here at the start of the Loop, but your Personas will probably be extra powerful because of your rebellious nature and your nature as Loopers. In fact, I kinda have been looking forward to it ever since I heard about you guys."

The others slowly began to smile and nod at the thought.

"Yeah, this will be cool," Yang smiled and nodded. "Now I'll be able to punch people with my fists AND with my mind."

"I can break GHOST Legs!" Nora grinned eagerly.

"Plus it has to fit with rebellious spirit, right? It'll be perfect for us!" Ruby cheered, an eager smile on her face.

Akira nodded. This was going to be-

* * *

-completely unexpected.

Teams RWBY and JNPR, sitting in their various spots in the coffee shop, refused to look anywhere near the native Looper. After a long moment of silence from the most recent events in the loop, the leader of the Phantom thieves sighed and broke the silence.

"...so, I think it's important that we learn something every loop," Akira said slowly, mimicking something he heard from a tabletop rpg GM once. "What have we learned here today?"

"If we want to steal the mob boss's heart, don't join the organization and become an unstoppable ally by breaking all of his opposition's legs at once, thus creating an impossible to beat mental representation of yourself in his Palace?" Nora offered with a nervous grin.

"Castrating Shadows in a Palace before letting them rejoin their host leads to some strange consequences, especially in the case of Kamoshida," Blake mumbled as she pointedly looked away from Akira's wince.

"Running an art school from prison leads to some truly disturbing art, and one should never encourage that to the forgery artist's shadow?" Ren replied in well-faked nonchalance.

"A wedding ring running off of ancient and incredible powers from another loop is a good substitute for Ultimate Personas under the right circumstances? ...sorry," Pyhrra put her face in her hands as Akira shuddered.

"Don't ever get a maid," Jaune said simply as he pointedly ignored the fresh bruising on his face.

"Never take the Big Bang Burger challenge," Yang said, looking a little sick. "At least, not without looking for any health code violations first."

"Never split the party," Weiss huffed as the rest of her team glared at her as she added under her breath, "at least not when you're a mascot character."

"...just because you go about being a thief in a mystical world based on the unconscious doesn't mean it's okay to be a vigilante in real life," Ruby sat in silence as the group's glares turned towards her. "... _especially_ when your standard weapon loadout makes you look like the Grim Reaper and, as a result, makes the optional super boss as strong as the Mob Boss's Cognitive Nora."

"And I have learned that if you want the visiting Loopers to get Personas, you don't let them use their out of Loop powers," Akira finished, punctuating his point by banging his head against the table. "This wasn't even a Null Loop. How did you all mess that up _that badly_?"

"In our defense, our baseline selves never really had to work hard to overcome their fear of authority in the first place," Weiss did not say any of this with a sullen pout. "And that became less of a problem as the loops went on."

Akira's only response was to continue to bang his head against the table, prompting Sojiro to yell at him to stop that. None of the perpetrators in the room blamed him. They probably wouldn't be able to live this down either anytime soon.

* * *

 **86.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Transfer test 187. Physical body in sustained coma and scarred, but otherwise healthy. In body aura patchy, but steady. Brain activity suggests dreaming. Out of body intellect cognizant, communicating with host. Host willing to begin transfer, anchored to self via... um..."

"It's a modified phylactery, Ruby."

"Not sure that's safe, but alright. Anyway, I've recorded the set up. You think Amber will live this time?"

Cinder shrugged. "We've all looked over the schematics, and I'm pretty sure we fixed what went wrong. Really, I'm just tired of the innuendo."

"Why is it always innuendo with her?"

"It makes sense, really." Cinder clambered into the pod. "She's stuck as a voice in my head, and whether or not she distinguishes between my looping and nonlooping self she'd be notably irritated."

"And because you're a looper, the usual ways of screwing with your mind are a joke, so she has to annoy you as vengeance or entertainment." Ruby frowned. "Actually, it's a lot like Eiken that way, isn't it?"

"Eh, she has more taste usually. Are we doing this or what?"

"Right, right, got sidetracked." Ruby tapped a few buttons, and the lid of the pod slid over Cinder. "Amber, you're probably going to be very stiff if this works and very dead if it doesn't. So if you want to say anything before we go...?"

"She wants you to get on with it."

"Alrighty then. Beginning transfer in t-minus ten."

Ruby's fingers moved rapidly over the buttons, eyes roving over the screens as the machinery whirred to life. She glanced behind her at the distant elevator, nodding as she noted the still numbers above it, and then took in the pods on either side. Amber, as always, was still save for her breath; Cinder seemed relaxed, but her hands clutched the phylactery tightly.

Orange light suddenly filled the pod, pouring up and through the great, thick cords that Ruby still didn't understand the length of-was there some minimum distance needed to prevent shock when using atlas-made soultech? And why orange, she mused to herself, was that just the maiden power or did souls actually have color here? A few hundred chibis in her subspace pocket suddenly gained labcoats and started writing on chalkboards, but she kept most of her focus on the here and now, watching as the last of the orange light vented from the pod, leaving Cinder to exhale slowly and give her a thumbs up.

Ruby grinned, but held up a hand, watching the light pour into the other pod. For a moment, it simply floated, indistinct, before sinking into the body of the unconcious woman. Ruby watched as the matching screen began to beep, vitals fluctuating and stabilizing in rapid succession; Amber's eyes began to twitch, spasm, and then shot open with a powerful gasp.

"Amber, you need to stay calm," Ruby said in a clear, firm tone. "What is the last thing you remember before waking up?"

"...Telling... telling you to get on with it." The woman's voice was hesitant and unfamiliar, but slowly regaining confidence. "I... I remember everything from my time with Cinder. Even how it felt when she Woke up..."

"Oh, good." Cinder's voice was mostly dry, but Ruby could detect a faint quaver. "Here I thought you'd want to punch me straight off the bat."

"I do want to punch you. In fact it'd be more realistic."

"Ooop, that tripped an alarm." Ruby sighed, opening the pods. "Ozpin's going to be down here in a few minutes. What do you two want to do?"

"Amber convinced me I was in the wrong, I hacked in to give her back her body, so I'm against Salem but I think Ozpin's an idiot and I'll tell him to his face." Cinder sat up, pocketing the phylactery. "Good with you?"

Amber snorted. "Can I get to yell at you and punch you in the face?"

"Can we avoid the punching?" Ruby whined.

"You should probably hide," Cinder pointed out. "Really quickly."

"Ugh. Fine." Ruby flew up to one of the pillars. "But after this, we need to have a talk about what to do."

* * *

 **86.17 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

An army of Grimm wasn't too much to worry about for Loopers. Grimm could be killed easily enough. You just needed experience.

Geist Grimm that were possessing everything they could get their ectoplasmic hands on... that was another matter.

"NO CRESCENT ROSE, WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME!" Ruby cried in horror as the Geists took over her precious weapon. Her Baby was still in her pocket and she was not gonna risk it. "WHY, WHY, WH-HURK!" At that point Ruby's hood was possessed and it started to strangle her.

"This is completely ridiculous!" Yang shouted, blasting her clothes to smithereens and quickly dressing herself again. "Geist are lethal monsters but why are there so many!?" Another bunch of Geists possessed Yang's clothes again, tore away from her and attacked. "Blake, help me!"

"I'm sort of busy right now Yang," Blake said as she shot up another Geist possessed bookshelf. She wasn't quite having a good day, considering she was destroying books. Plus, Yang's constant nudity, while not distracting, was annoying.

"Cinder, did you do this?" Weiss said as two Geists who had possessed the sum quantity of her father's bank account in thousand Lien bills took turns working her abs with fists.

Cinder, who was on the middle of burning her own Geist possessed clothing, just gave Weiss a very dirty look.

Ozpin ducked beneath his collection of vintage coffee mugs and started blasting them out of the air with martial arts moves. "Well, if it's not you miss Fall, who is it? And why?"

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in Ozpin's office:**

* * *

Roman finally finished unbolting Ozpin's new Comfy Chair from the floor. Neo hefted it over her head and dropped it into her Subspace Pocket. The thieves laughed, and then laughed some more as they watched the Loopers do battle with the army of Geists below.

Using battle as a distraction for stealing shit was always so much fun.

* * *

 **86.18 diesel, masterofgames**

* * *

The various loopers of Remnant lounged around a large lagoon. Rays of the dying day streamed through the leaves and playing on the water as twilight closed in, painting the sky a mosaic of purple, orange, and red. The scent of smoke and sizzling meet wafted on the breeze as Taiyang, Ozpin and Neo worked on the evening meal, preparing a buffet of meats, salads and desserts out of ingredients from beyond Remanent.

Sun cracked an eye open as Ruby walked over, still dripping with water, the rest of her team still lazing about the lake.

"Hey, Sun. Having fun?"

Sun didn't answer straight away. "Kind of?" he finally said, frowning, "Well, I am, but I'm also confused as to what triggered this honestly. Heck, you have Jaune, Pyrrha, Roman, and Neo here along with Cinder, willingly. I can count the amount of times I've seen them actually get along. You guys pretty much dragged me here."

Ruby looked a bit sheepish, mirror-like eyes catching the eventide light and seeming to sparkle softly. Sun's thoughts went off onto a tangent before he reefed them back on track. Yes, Ruby was attractive and beautiful, especially when she aged herself up like this, but he did not need Yang to start on him if he let that slip.

He wasn't planning on anything, it was just what things were, but not like that would stop him being teased.

Ruby scratched the back of her head and laughed. "Oh, I had to get almost everyone to help me clean out my pocket a few thousand loops ago, I somehow ended up with magic, self replicating Stymphalian cuccos taking over, it was a lot of fun to clean out. So as we were cleaning everything thing out it was brought up that we have not been spending enough time together as a whole and we decided to doing something as a group with everyone, but it can take a _really_ long time for everyone to be awake. So we kinda forgot to tell you, Glynda and Yang. Sorry?"

Sun grinned at the embarrassed look, waving off the apology, "Nah, don't be. It's fun." A new thought occurred to him after a moment. "What's the weirdest thing anyone has found in their pocket?" Sun pitched his voice to carry across the lagoon, not addressing anyone in particular.

"Honey badger kaiju," Weiss called out from the other side of the water as she waged war against Winter with miniature summons on a icy rink, cheered on by Nora and Qrow. "Followed by honey badger kaiju mass effect husks and honey badger kaiju reapers, which were waging asymmetrical warfare against the normal honey badger kaiju."

 _"_ Wait, the second I get, but how is the first part of that odd?" Sun asked bewildered. Honey badger kaiju weren't odd. And why were people laughing?

Weiss rolled her eyes at the question. "They were originally Battle Badgers, my answer to War Corgis. Made them as soon as I got the space, then forgot about them for a few billion loops. At one point I checked their enclosure after remembering them and found 30 meter tall proto-Kaiju. I expanded their enclosure, fixed the mental programing to be loyal to me that had degraded somewhat and cause odd behaviors, set the enclosure to expand as my pocket grew and forgot about them, again, for some time, and found them again as honey badger kaiju. I then started seriously breeding and training them. They then broke containment as 100 meter tall honey badger kaiju, got into my mass effect archives and that's that."

Ruby thought for a moment. "Well... I've come across quite a few odd things. Mostly from... you know. 'Them'." she sighed, shoulders slumping.

Sun winced. "Yeesh, way to lay on the guilt trip there, little miss sunshine."

Ruby shot him a grin. "Thanks. I've been taking the occasional lesson from Batman. You probably haven't met him yet. He says with some focused practice, I'll be able to use the subject of the CFVY machines to shut down any conversation I want at will, just like he can when he brings up his parents."

"...Congrats?" Sun hesitantly offered.

"Thanks. I mean, it sucks, but silver lining and all that, no matter how little there is. Weiss threatened me with unspeakable things if I started going depressed again."

"Like what?"

Ruby threw her hands up and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, she never said! Thus the 'unspeakable' part."

"Oh, right... So, the weird thing?" Sun reminded her.

"Oh yeah. Probably the time I found Reaper-Con #207 in there. Loopers and non-loopers alike, all either gods of death, or scythe users. A lot of them were both. Let me tell you, most grim reapers actually love their jobs, and aren't grim at all, though in at least one case that's because of antidepressants."

Sun blinked, letting that sink in. "Wait... an entire convention, that you hadn't arranged, in a location nobody can reach without your permission and/or knowledge?"

Ruby grinned wildly. "I know! Weird, right! I eventually found out that everyone got in there thanks to a mini-me glitch, a phase lemon, and my unawake self being a lot more social than I remember, but at the time, I was flipping out! Things turned out well though, once they calmed me down. I learned some stuff at the panels. Phantomon taught me some cool tricks you can use by fastening a length of chain to the handle of a scythe. Also how to slice people's souls in half without harming the body. Want to see?" she asked with a soft squeal of anticipation, unfolding Crescent Rose.

Sun backed away with his hands raised slowly. "Uh... you know what? I think I'm good. I'm, um... going to see what Blake's weird pocket thing is."

Ruby sighed as she put her weapon away. "Nobody ever wants to see the trick with the chain." she pouted.

"For the record," Blake said as a visibly confused and disturbed Sun walked over, "Ruby's reaper conference story does have a reasonable explanation, even if it _terrified_ Ruby at the time to find people in her pocket without her letting them in. The only reason she did not kick them out or just plain kill the straight up was that she was afraid that it could happen again and wanted to keep an eye on them, along with the promise of an explanation when the conference was over for the day."

Sun grimaced, he could understand that, thinking about it he could understand Ruby's horror at finding _people invading her pocket, her soul_. The Pocket was the one place that a looper controlled, that they knew was stable from one loop to the next, the one place that was _theirs._ Sun didn't think he would act much differently.

"How did it happen?"

Blake smiled wryly, old anger and fury igniting in her golden eyes. "Mikasa Glitch. None of us had realized it was one at the time, but Ruby's other self had offered to host the conference but had some prior commitments and said she would drop by in the afternoon. So the _other_ Ruby walked in and saw the conference and flipped out, badly. We all did, as Ruby had offered to host a sparring rematch for Yang and Sunset Shimmer in that enchanted room. Turns out that a number of people there had known it was a Mikasa Glitch, and had seen both Rubys beforehand, and decided to play a prank. It escalated badly, some assholes kept egging things on and acting mysterious as others tried to explain and calm things down. It blew up, devolving into a massive fight and then the Ruby that let them in turned up and flipped out as well."

Blake rubbed her brow, "Both Rubys, Sunset, us, and some of the people not involved, ended up killing a good number of the antagonists, and then Ruby kicked everyone out. Once it was sorted out, Ruby offered to let those who were not involved or tired to explain back in to keep going. Then some of them blew up for Ruby's and our 'overreaction'," Sun winced as Blake spat the words, "and it devolved into another fight."

Blake's lips abruptly twitched. "During the opening moments of that fight, Black*Star from the DWMA, there as a Death God, rightfully or not, along with his partner Tsubaki, ended up punching his Anchor and friend Maka and her Partner Soul, making her miss with an attack and cut Ichigo's arm off while knocking him into Rukia. He then accidentally leveled half the continent as his attack misfired. Now he and Rukia started arguing, which quickly ended in them fighting, and Maka started laying into Black*Star. At this point it devolved into a massive free for all as more and more things started to go 'wrong'."

"That was fun," Yang piped from over at the bar Roman had set up, tasting small samples of his latest concoctions. "I got blown up by Sailor Saturn, and subsequently avoided Eiken after someone blew up the sun. We still don't know if Black*star, Maka, Ichigo and the others did that on purpose to defuse things, as _everything went wrong_. It was awesome!" Yang's eyes burned red for a moment, shining with glee. "And I beat Sunset!"

"She was half dead, it doesn't count."

"Yes it does!"

Sun laughed watching the byplay between Blake and Yang, glad to be able to just enjoy seeming them like this without feeling like a heel or like his heart was breaking. "Ignoring Yang's delusions..."

"Oy!"

"...do you have a pocket story Blake?" Sun said, ignoring Yang amused protest.

* * *

 **86.19 Leviticus Wilkes, Masterweaver**

* * *

Taiyang gave his eldest daughter (if you discounted Cinder and Ruby) a firm look. "Hey... how did you get that dragon power anyway? Is it like a natural extension of your aura? Like your Semblance? Like how Qrow and Raven can do the bird thing?"

Yang put on an expression normally reserved for an unawake version of Ruby who had just asked why the sky was blue. "Dad, you know how the subspace pocket works, right?"

"Yeah, it's... fueled by the soul, and you stick stuff in it to keep for the next loop."

"That's right. The soul endures through the loops, no matter what the loops do with it. Now, Yggdrasil likes puns, right?"

Taiyang frowned. "I've been... informed this is the case."

"So, when somebody has a name that literally means Sunny Little Dragon, eventually they will become a Sunny Little Dragon. Or not so little. A dragon." Yang cleared her throat. "There are loops where I am naturally a dragon."

"...that doesn't explain why-"

"Have you ever heard the expression 'the mind is the plaything of the body?'"

Taiyang frowned. "Only in some of those books your fiancee forces me to read."

"It's not entirely true, but it does affect us to a degree. When I'm a dragon, I... feel more draconic. Being a dragon for a loop leaves an imprint on my soul. To become a dragon again, all I have to do is find that imprint and... manifest it."

"So it is an extension of your semblance!"

Yang opened her mouth, paused, and sighed. "There's a lot of technical bruhaha, and we could go back and forth about that, but you know what, yeah sure, that works for now."

* * *

 **86.20 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"...Jaune?"

"Yes Pyrrha?"

"Why are you on fire?"

"My Semblance is instantaneous combustion this Loop."

"Ah."

"There is a drawback though."

"Your clothes burned up, didn't they?"

"Yes."

* * *

Thirty minutes later:

* * *

"And that is why I'm wearing Pyrrha's clothing," Jaune admitted to Port. Professor Port eyed the young man, and laughed.

* * *

 **86.21 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Penny?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Why do you have robotic duplicates of us?"

"Hmm? Oh. You remember that loop where I was Weiss?"

"...You mean the loop where Jacques was infertile so he co-opted the Penny project to give himself pre-programmed kids?"

"Yes, that one. Quite a lot of data on 'naturally growing robotic individuals' in that one. Anyway, I pocketed my body like I usually do, and... a few loops later I thought it would be fun to see if I could do all my friends and family."

"So this is a pet project."

"Yes. None of them have intellect of their own, but I've done my best to replicate their baseline abilities."

"Oh. Hmm. Neat, I guess..."

* * *

 **86.22 KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

"Salutations! How are you today Ruby?"

Remnant's Anchor hugged Penny in greeting and led her over to the table where she had been working. "Great! I've got a new project too!" she replied gesturing to the parts scattered across the workbench. "I'm trying to combine all known Baseline weapons into one. Nearly done as well. Just need to finish figuring out how to add Velvet's."

The robot looper nodded with a smile. "That is excellent! I too have just finished a project."

Ruby watched in curiosity and excitement as the redhead held out her hands, palm facing upwards. What looked to be grey dust whirled around before settling into an easily recognizable shape.

"Salutations!" said the mini-Penny, waving up at her.

"Oh my gosh! That's so adorable!" the scythe wielder squealed, plucking the tiny robot from the larger one. "I'm guessing you used nanobots to replicate my majin abilities?"

Penny nodded before drooping her head sadly. "Affirmative. Unfortunately, that is the smallest I can make me before I start losing functionality."

Giving Penny back to Penny, Ruby patted her friend on the back. "It's still amazing! Think of all the things we could do now." she beamed as she started to imagine the possibilities. "We could make two book fortresses and have a mini-war without having to leave the dorms!"

Penny grinned. "I can't make as many as you can so... 30 on 30?"

"Deal."

* * *

 **86.23 fivetro**

* * *

Raven Woke up, reviewing her loop memories told her that instead of being the leader of a tribe of bandits, she was a pirate captain. There was one problem though...

"CABIN FEVER, ITS GRABBED US ALL ABOARD! THIS ONCE PROUD SHIP HAS BECOME A FLOATING PSYCHO WARD!"

No wind for six days had gotten to the rest of the crew. She assumed being a looper provided some resistance against the madness that had gotten to everyone else.

She would do something about the wind, right after she found out if that singing banana was edible.

* * *

 **86.24 Black Omochao**

* * *

"I will now pull a fantastical creature out of my hat!" 'The Amazing' Jaune exclaimed, before reaching into his hat and pulling out… a dark haired teenage girl, with a pair of scaly wings and a tail. "What the!?"

"Oh, excuse me. You come here often, handsome?" Kira giggled while stroking her tail through Jaune's hair.

The startled blond boy dropped her onto the stage. "Who the!? How the!?"

"Wow, that _was_ kind of amazing…" Ruby (the only Awake local Looper) muttered. Kira snickered as she hovered over the panicking Jaune.

"Oh, don't get so worked up boy, I'm just kidding. I already have a boyfriend," Kira assured with a shrug. "…And a girlfriend, for that matter."

"NO, YOU DON'T!" A reddish haired girl shouted from the crowd.

"Hey sweetie!" Kira waved cheerfully as the girl groaned. Ruby chuckle while Jaune just looked very confused, and the crowd cheered.

* * *

 **86.25 Masterweaver**

* * *

Blake's fingers rapped contemplatively on the cover of her book. Yang quirked a brow, sitting down next to her.

"Loopy?"

"Yep."

"Oh good, because I just realized that a one-word question would be hard to explain to an unawake person."

Blake smiled faintly, before giving a small sigh.

"...what's wrong?"

"It's... not something wrong. I'm just restless, is all."

Yang gave a wry grin. "Is this the 'let's beat up Grimm' restless or the 'let's find a room with a lock' restless?"

"It's the 'I got denied service because the cashier had been attacked by White Fang goons and thought I could be a faunus' restless."

Yang winced. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"...Do you want support or devil's advocate here?"

"I'm considering retaking the White Fang early."

"You mean, not waiting for the expansion."

Blake shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I've got the pull, the Belladonna name goes for a lot-especially since I stuck with it. All I have to do is reveal Cinder's pulling Adam's strings-"

"-we've done that, and it disintegrates the Fang. Or the Vale branch, anyway."

"...It's just so frustrating. Waiting for information I should already know. Trying to find the best way to fix everything, and it'll be broken again next loop..." Blake leaned against Yang's shoulder. "I have seriously considered just going down and, I don't know, wiping the floor with Adam and Cinder. Or..."

"...or?"

"Or mind controlling him, somehow." Blake held up a hand. "I know, I know, that's too far."

"You've killed and tortured the guy, but mind control is too far."

Blake sighed. "I... do regret those actions. I don't ever want to do them again, they... it was dark catharsis, and it nearly ruined me." A mirthless smirk passed over her lips. "Cinder, of all people, kept me from going down a monstrous path."

Yang chuckled. "That's a thing with her, isn't it? She tries to help and it hurts, she tries to hurt and it helps."

"She's complicated."

"Too complicated. If the loops had just let her remain the simple mysterious villain..." Yang took a breath. "Yeah, so anyway. Taking over the White Fang. Hmm."

"Hmm."

"...What if, you know, you made a public statement denouncing Adam as 'using the Fang for his own purposes' or 'the Real White Fang would not bomb their own kind' or something?"

"You know what happens with Tukson. Cinder's going to avoid splintering, using any means necessary."

"Hmm."

"...It's not just the how, or the information, it's..." Blake bit her lip. "I just... somehow it's beginning to feel like... what I believed in, what I tried to make happen, it's growing less... not less important, just less..."

"...pressing?"

"Yeah. With the loops and all..." Blake looked down at the book in her hands. "I've read this so many times, I can tell when a loop-unique variant crops up without even actually processing what's been written."

"...I think," Yang said slowly, "that you're just going through a bout of loop ennui-which we all have-and the reason it's so disturbing is because it's affecting something deeply personal to you."

"...I mean it's possible, I guess."

"Which means you need something to shake you up, related to what you're concerned about." Yang tapped her chin. "Hey... does the White Fang have an Atlas branch?"

"Well... usually, it's loop variable. Weiss's friends and family had to die somehow..." Blake frowned. "Do we even talk about them anymore?"

"...Weiss has been very quiet about Atlas after the whole thing with Cinder," Yang allowed. "I think she's been focusing on the rest of us... and avoiding talking about her own baseline."

"A trained psychiatrist and jedi, avoiding her own issues."

"The cobbler's children have no shoes."

"Hmm. True." Blake tilted her head. "...Tomorrow, after initiation, I think I'll talk with her. We may need to collaborate..."

* * *

 **86.26 Black Omochao**

* * *

"Guys! Look what I found!" Nora cheered, holding up a very annoyed looking, orange furred pygmy sloth.

"Kill me now…" the small creature grunted, in a familiar voice.

"Grif?" Ruby questioned, looking over the sloth in surprise. Yang just burst into laughter.

"This is all Simmons' fault," Grif muttered in an annoyed tone.

"Come on little fella, don't be down! We're going to have a magical, sugar-high fueled adventure!" Nora shouted, before holding Grif up over her head, his eyes widened in surprise. "Nora and Mini-Sloth, AWAY!" she jumped through one of Beacon's walls, leaving a Nora shaped-hole behind. Ruby and Yang blinked as they looked out the hole… before Yang burst into another fit of laughter.

"Yang, shouldn't we do something?" Ruby asked her laughing sister. "Nora just kidnapped our brother…" Yang's laughter slowly died down.

"Ruby, you worry too much," Yang shook her head, before her eyes widened. "Wait, Nora took our big brother who's in the form of a miniature sloth? To go on an adventure… yeah, on second thought, we should probably stop her!" and with that, the two sisters jumped out the window and went after the rogue member of team JNPR.

* * *

 **86.27 Leviticus Wilkes, Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

"...Hmm..." James muttered, looking out the window of the CCT tower. "Looks muggy today Glynda."

"If you tossed all of Ozpin's coffee mugs in the front lawn, so help me God James..."

James sipped his coffee from his bowl. "Muggy indeed."

"...James?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you not stopping this? This is unlike you."

"Oh, you know, I was a bit bored. Wanted to make a pun."

Silence reigned for a moment. Then the sound of punching came from outside.

"...this is a recording isn't-"

"Yes, this is a recording. Also, Glynda, if you'd please find the appropriate paperwork for this situation, I'd really appreciate this."

* * *

 **86.28 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"Hey, Weiss. How come you've been missing since initiation?" Ruby asked as she popped up over the edge of the roof, having managed to find Weiss at the top of Beacon tower only after some help from Ozpin.

"Ruby, please, I need to focus," Weiss responded, attempting to meditate.

"Huh? You had a bad loop or something?" Ruby asked, concerned.

"No, not really, but can you please leave me for now? I'll come down and explain everything once I've recovered, okay?" Weiss asked.

"Okay, fine. If you say you need space, then I'll leave you be. But you better come down before the end of this loop. Beacon has a pool this loop!" Ruby cheered before using her semblance to fly off, leaving Weiss alone once again to try and recover from her last loop.

* * *

It wasn't until near the end of the loop that Ruby finally saw Weiss appear at the pool. Waving at her, she patiently waited for her to make her way over and gave Weiss a hug as soon as she was close enough.

"Wha- Ruby!"

"Sorry. I just wanted to really hug you since you've gone through a bad loop and-" Ruby began, only for Weiss to hold up a hand and interrupting Ruby's explanation.

"Ruby, I told you I was going to explain. I didn't actually have a bad loop, the issue I was having was that I made a mistake and was caught off guard by a loop variant while visiting the Gravity Falls loop and nearly fell in love with a non-looper," Weiss tried to clarify. "I just had to take some time off to make sure I was certain about my feeling and what I was feeling at the time so that it wouldn't happen again."

"Wait, you nearly fell in love? As in, actual love rather than just a one loop stand?" Ruby asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes, fortunately I managed to distance myself in time to avoid getting too hurt from the loop ending," Weiss said, still visibly saddened.

"Aww, come here," Ruby said, once more hugging Weiss. Weiss hugged her back this time.

After a few moments, they disengaged and Ruby's curiosity couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, so who was it?" she asked.

Sighing, Weiss decided to reveal who she had almost fallen for. "It was that loop's variant of Soos."

* * *

Ruby simply blinked twice before raising one hand and opening her mouth to say something before closing it and lowering her hand. "Huh, didn't see that coming. What was it that was so different about him?" Ruby asked. Only to realize that it was already night and that she was alone in the pool. "Huh, I must have been more shocked by her answer than I realized..." Ruby concluded.

* * *

 **86.29 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"How... how dare you."

Taiyang glanced at Raven, who had just moments ago come storming into his little cottage. Yang glanced over the sofa at her mom and started gaping real quick. Raven stormed over to her the father of her child, a dark look on her face. Taiyang sighed. "This is about me dating other women, isn't it?"

"No, Summer would have understood and wanted your heart to go on."

"I know... wait, you know that?"

Raven glared at him.

"Alright, is this about the illegal hemoglobin smuggling I've done for the Wallers?"

"I don't give a shit about the laws you break, or what Ackerman does when you break them."

"...Is this about the stuffed animals I was mailing you?"

"They make great tinder, so as far as I'm concerned, keep sending them."

"THEN WHAT IS IT!?" Taiyang shouted, arms raised in anger. Raven held up a hand for a moment to calm him down. "What is it?"

"This is about who stole my shoes."

There was a moment of stunned and awkward silence from mister Xiao Long. Raven wagged her finger accusingly. "I know you let Yang steal them. Now fork them over."

"Yang isn't awake."

Taiyang pointed at their child. Raven glanced at her. Yang mustered some words. "YOU'RE MY MOM!"

Raven sagged. "Crap... I'm gonna need to explain what i've been doing, aren't I?"

"I can help."

"Good..." Raven sat down with Tai and Yang and paused. "But seriously, where are my favorite heels?"

* * *

Roman gave Neo a good twice over visually. "You know what, pumps don't work for you." And Neo cried like an anime girl.

* * *

 **86.30 Flametusk**

* * *

"Remnant's name is very accurate this loop, isn't it?" Blake asked.

"It really is. What's up with the gravity though?" Yang asked.

"I'm surprised you didn't make a pun. Anyways, in this case it's because of the high concentration of gravity Dust in the islands farther down," Weiss told them. "Also, since powdered Dust is so cheap this loop, since it's literally the giant mass of clouds filling the inside of Remnant, I've been helping James with setting up a cloud refining facility."

"So that you can help send Jacques out of business, right?" Blake asked.

"Actually, it's because Ruby wanted to find a way to create these clouds," the Jedi informed the two others, as they all watched Ruby jump in the clouds.

* * *

 **86.31 diesel**

* * *

"Ruby, why is Yang flinching every time you look at her?" Pyrrha asked nonplussed, sitting down across from Ruby as the elder-younger girl worked on the schematics for a Dust/Aura-arcanobiotech imitation Eevee. For some reason, Pyrrha honesty thought making a Ho-oh mock up would be a better idea.

Not like it mattered, she was not now planning on asking Weiss if she had some data she could borrow.

Ruby blinked, bleary silver eyes taking a minute to focus on something other than the 20 floating screens. "Oh, hey, Pyrrha. And it's not every time, just every time she makes a pun. Punishment for crashing a loop with puns, so for the last 10 loops I have been squirting her with lemon scented, soul sapping water every time she makes one. I stopped last loop."

The gladiator paused, fiddling with her ring as the black-gold lite gem pulsed, dare she ask how Yang crashed a loop with puns...?

 _I could use a Hogwarts phoenix as a base, grow a hybrid of its cells over a dust skeleton...  
_  
Yes, she did.

"How did Yang manage that?" Pyrrha asked, trying not to show her distraction.

Ruby shrugged, rubbing her eyes as she shut everything down and stretched. "Variant, everyone had magic and it was speech based. People cast spells and counters by talking and arguing. There was paradoxes too. Yang broke the world arguing with Salem." Ruby got up and shook her head, pulling her hood up. "Annnnd I just realized I have not slept in 69 hours, so I'm going to bed and then going to spend the next day debugging before I try to make my new pet. Weiss will yell at me if I blow up Mountain Glenn again playing with mad science. See you tomorrow, Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha waved Ruby off as she pulled a super computer from her pocket.

 _Now how best to get started?_

* * *

 **86.32 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby smiled faintly, watching the replica of Crescent Rose go through a number of color changes. "Ah, memories."

"What?" Velvet gave her a look. "What are you talking about? This is the first time I've ever taken a picture of Crescent Rose."

"Oh, uh, well. Nostalgia. Don't worry about it Velv."

The girl quirked an eyebrow. "...That's kind of a personal nickname, don't you think?"

"Sorry. You remind me of a dead friend. Like you're almost an exact duplicate. I should stop babbling. Why am I babbling?" Ruby's smile wavered. "Oh. Crud, the feelings are coming back."

Velvet dropped her camera as Ruby collapsed to her knees. "Oh, oh, uh, I-"

"I'm sorry, it's a chibi loop, I-I shouldn't-but, but it's just... she was, she was so, always so amazed by the weapons and, and you look just like her, and I miss her and oh god, Velv, oh god, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I-"

The rabbit girl glanced around awkwardly as the redhead burst into tears. "I... um..." She walked over and, hesitantly, wrapped her arms around Ruby. "There there. It's... it's okay. It'll be okay... I mean... so long as you remember her, she's never really gone, right?"

"I go for so, so long, and, and I'm okay, and then sometimes it just, it all hits at once-"

"It's alright. Do... do you want me to call your sister? Or just... just talk about it with somebody?"

"...You... you wouldn't get it. Yang would... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be dumping this on you."

"It's okay. I... sometimes you just need a good cry, right? That just happens."

"Yeah." Ruby sniffed. "Yeah. I'm... I'm sorry if I made this weird. I'm... I'm okay now." She took a breath. "I'm okay. You just... look a lot like her."

"...except for the ears?" Velvet tried to joke.

"No, she had the ears too..."

"Oh. Wow. That's... really creepy actually. Did I have a twin I didn't ever know about?"

Ruby giggled. "Maybe an aunt. She was... a lot older than you." She stood, pushing down at the air for a moment. "Alright. I am good now. I am. There's just a lot wrapped up in that. Are... are you good?"

Velvet blinked. "You were the one crying and you're asking if I'm good?"

"Yep."

"I'm... fine, Ruby. Just worried about you."

"Well, I'm fine. Trust me." Ruby smiled faintly. "It doesn't ever go away, it just... you learn to live with it. And sometimes it comes back. I'm good now. I'll be okay."

"...Okay."

"Yeah."

The wind blew through faintly.

"...So!" Ruby chirped. "Photography. Hey, want to see if you can get Oobleck's thermos on that thing?"

"Oh wow, there's a challenge. The man is so fast I can't even track him!"

* * *

 **86.33 Flametusk**

* * *

"What are you doing, Ruby?" an Unawake Yang asked her sister.

"Null loop... Crescent Rose... not scythe..." she replied, carrying her red sickle out of the dorm, before she felt a ping.

"So it's a null loop? Why a sickle, by the way? What's the story behind that?" a just-Woken Yang asked.

"I honestly don't know how my Unawake self got mixed up between a sickle and a scythe. They're _completely_ different!"

* * *

 **86.34 diesel**

* * *

Ruby grinned maliciously as her weapon flashed in the light of the setting sun, and Adam _screamed_.

 _This is what you get for mutilating my team.  
_  
Wither fell to the ground as the bull faunus tried to backpedal, blood spurting from his ruined arm, trying in vain to hit Ruby who danced around his clumsy blows before her blade glinted in the dying moments of the day.

Ruby looked down impassively at the White Fang cell leader, letting blood drip off her sickle as it hung by her side. He was a mess, right arm filleted from elbow to shoulder with the carved flesh glistening on the blood drenched ground. The stubs of fingers leaked blood sluggishly as Adam's flesh turned pale. The blood flow from dozens of lesser wounds stopped as Adam died.

The stench of death and blood filled the air, as Ruby looked up all she could see was death, and all she could feel was numb. Pain and tiredness from her own injuries finally set in. A tear traced its way down her face as Ruby turned away, the sound of someone running through the killing field reaching her ears. "Damn null loops," Ruby turned and walked away, tensing in case the new arrival was an enemy, "Damn Salem. Times like this make me think I have spent too much time with Cinder, she seems to be rubbing off."

"Holy..." Sun stumbled into view; he was a mess, tail half missing, burns to a good portion of his body. "Ruby... what... what the hell is this loop?"

Ruby could not help but feel a surge of sympathy for Sun, this would likely be his first one of these loops. "Null loop variant, aka a Nightmare loop to most of Remnant." A bitter laughter ran through the air for a moment before cutting off, as Ruby locked eyes with Sun. "In these loops, winning is rarely the goal, it's survival. And you will find yourself doing things you otherwise would not have thought you would. For now it's over, Adam is dead. He _really_ should have gone to the doctor and got a bone marrow transplant."

Giving Adam's body a glance, Sun fell into stop next to Ruby as they started the long trek back.

 _I look up and I keep expecting to see the sky gone and to encounter vampires. Man, I'm going to be having nightmares for centuries, and the loop isn't even half over.  
_  
"How so?" Sun asked, figuring he may as well see what the joke Ruby was making was.

"He has sickle cell anemia." Ruby grinned, mirrored eyes seeming to gleam darkly for a moment, making Sun shiver as Ruby abruptly reminded him of Cinder. "It was fatal."

* * *

 **86.35 Shimmer712**

* * *

Ruby blinked and looked at herself. "Huh, I'm a robot this loop." Yet she was still the daughter of Taiyang and Summer.

Ruby wondered how the two had conceived a robot. Or why she was growing like a regular kid.

She shrugged. "Eh. It's the loops."

* * *

Ruby stared at the the robotic team CFVY before she turned walked back to her 'd have a good cry and steel herself before coming face-to-face with them.

Weiss gave her a sympathetic look as the Anchor left. Then turned and stared when Cardin and his team went to harass Velvet by pulling on her ears. Her ears that turned out to have blades built in.

"Seriously?" the heiress muttered. "Are they really that stupid?"

Turns out, they were.

* * *

The huntsmen-in-training found themselves being flung about wildly.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha called as the robotic team BRNZ groaned in pain from the ground where they landed outside the ring.

"Ouch," Jaune muttered. "Talk about a bad match-up."

* * *

"Argh!" Marianne glared at the terminal. "I have the data, so why won't it work?"

She looked at the files for the team CFVY that Ruby had kept in her pocket.

"If I pull this off, I expect a _lot_ of gratitude," she grumbled. The Goddess sighed and started typing for another attempt.

* * *

"WHAHAHAHAAHAHA!" A giant mecha Tyrian giggled psychotically.

A giant mecha Jacques Schnne bellowed in outrage at being disrespected.

A smaller mecha Whitley lurked behind his father, telescoping eyes focusing on his flesh-and-blood sisters.

"ARF!" A mecha Zwei gave a canine grin at the other robots.

* * *

Marianne stared at the terminal.

"You know what...I'll just try again another time," she decided, closing the files for Robo-CFVY and opening a different program.

* * *

 **86.36 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby groaned as her stomach growled loudly. Everyone's attention turned towards her, and she managed to blush. "Sorry, I guess I forgot to eat lunch," Ruby said before taking out an entire McDonald's menu from her pocket and beginning to eat. Most onlookers dropped their jaws at the sight while Weiss decided to simply facepalm.

"Ruby, what do you think you're doing?" Weiss asked, only for Ruby to look at her questioningly.

"What does it look like? I'm eating. You heard it yourself, I'm hungry," Ruby explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I can see that. I'm asking why you're doing it now of all times?" Weiss questioned, becoming quite aggravated with Ruby's most likely feigned obliviousness.

"What's wrong with me eating right now?" Ruby asked, Weiss finding to her surprise that Ruby was honestly confused, if what the force was telling her was true.

"We're in the middle of class!" Weiss pointed out, making Ruby finally acknowledge the people around them who most certainly would have a lot of questions for the two of them after class. Or at least, that was what 's expression was suggesting.

"Oops?"

* * *

 **86.37 Shimmer712**

* * *

"This is the main event! Behold, as I summon forth an amazing creature from my hat!" Jaune proclaimed. He reached in a pulled out a familiar face.

"HEY! Watch the ears!" Velvet said angrily.

He stared at her as he released her ears. Velvet opened her mouth only for Jaune to cut her off. "Okay, I have to admit, I cannot top that. I have no idea _how_ you pulled it, but I admit my defeat." He plopped his hat on the fanus' head. "You win. You are the most amazing magician." He turned to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen! Applause for the Amazing Velvet!"

While Velvet was too bewildered by the unexpected turn, Jaune took the chance to run away before she could vent her fury on him. Ruby snickered.

* * *

 **86.38 Flametusk**

* * *

Salem was Ruby's favourite person this loop.

"You know, I wonder what Salem thought having an army of war corgis would do? Distract everyone by being cute?" Yang asked.

Blake, on the other hand, hated this loop's version of Salem.

"I don't care, but even a baseline null loop would nearly be better than this." Blake replied.

Then the mountain fell away, to reveal the gigantic corgi that was slumbering within.

Zwei decided to do something about that, and promptly swept away the remains of the mountain he had been in.

* * *

 **86.39 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby was enjoying her free time at a cafe, eating from a small plate of cookies while checking the scrollnet for anything interesting to pass her time when Weiss suddenly stormed in and sat down across from her with crossed arms.

"...So, any particular reason you're staring at me like that?" Ruby asked, referring to the stink eye Weiss was giving her.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just that I just came back from a punishment loop after killing a particularly annoying Salem, crashing the loop," Weiss explained.

"So, what does that have to do with me?" Ruby asks.

"Well, for one, we apparently had a stealth anchor that loop, one who was replacing Salem. And I know for a fact, you were stealthing that loop... You figure it out."

"Oh... right. That loop," Ruby said, wincing. "You see, I never expected you guys to go for the kill that loop, I mean, I know I was being rather annoying, but I didn't do anything evil, right?"

"You kept waking us all up at four AM in the morning for three months straight and stole your unAwake self's cookies while constantly disrupting Yang and Blake's private time!" Weiss shouted. "You should have seen it coming a mile away-I do admit, your unAwake self getting the kill was a bit of a shock, but that just goes to show how much you annoyed her."

Ruby blinked in surprise for a moment. "That wasn't me... I mean, I was Salem, sure, but all I did was turn all your socks outside in, switch the places of all your shoes and glue together pages in some of Blake's books," she explained

Most of Weiss' anger drained right out of her. "Then who was it that did all of the other stuff?" she asked, getting a shrug from Ruby.

* * *

 **86.40 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

Arthur Watts hauled himself over the lip of the table, looking around the meeting room. Tyrian was in a corner, muttering about pastries in a fearful tone. Hazel was in some sort of zen like trance, immobile as a statue. Salem was nowhere to be seen. Cinder was duct taped to a wall and sobbing.

That last one was so out of place Arthur, clutching his stomach in pain, had to do a double take. It was also what drew his eye to a man, slightly younger than Cinder, standing by the door with a large... frankly, oversized, Dust skillet. A girl who looked like she had spent a long time malnourished as a child was standing next to him with a knife, fork, bib and hair flower combo.

Arthur opened his mouth and burped, closing it to stop a rush of bile. His second try at communication was much more successful. "What on earth... happened?"

The boy, whose attire and humors marked him as Mistralian, turned to Arthur, a mixture of disdain and bemusement coloring his magenta eyes. "I fed you all Nora sized portions of Waffles." His confidence in that statement left Arthur to realize that he genuinely thought it explained everything.

His bodily control returning, Arthur rose further, fighting his unwilling stomach for every inch. "Where the bloody hell is Salem? What did you do to her fiends?"

The Mistralian and his girlfriend pointed out the window. Arthur looked out, and blinked. He was seeing a sight that looked dangerously similar to a fever dream of Salem singing Kumbaya with the Grimm without a stitch of clothing on.

Arthur processed that for a moment and turned to the pair of intruders. The girl pointed to the flower in her hair. "She gave this to me."

"... _WHY_?"

"Because she's a flower child now silly."

"Then my follow up question is, why is Salem a flower child!?"

The boy pointed at his waffles. "We wanted to make waffles so good you'd eat them until you exploded, but Salem can't eat normal food. Only the flesh and blood of humans or faunus. So we spiked her waffles with what we thought was human blood. Also, you would have kept eating until you exploded... but Nora ate all of the waffles before you could. And Cinder's waffles."

"MONSTER!" Cinder cried through the tears.

"I regret nothing!"

Arthur, now slightly more in control of his unhappy stomach, directed a hard glare at the boy in green. "What did you give Salem?"

"Titan blood. It's a powerful hallucinogenic. Only comes from one universe. You've probably never heard of it."

Arthur looked out and noted that Salem had somehow found more flowers and wanted to give others flower clothing. Only Grimm were about though, so upon seeing Salem experiment with her newfound mannequins, he almost decided to gouge his eyes out. Almost. "Is it permanent?" he asked the boy.

"No, it'll wear off in a while," the young man said. He started packing up his skillet. "Anything I can get you before I leave?"

It was a bad idea. He would hate himself for this. Always would. But it was worth it.

"More waffles, please?"


	87. The Bonds of Light and Darkness

**87.1 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"Muahahaha. You've hopped your last, bun bun... you've hopped your last? Alright, who wrote the scripts for this one?"

"I think it was the director," suggested the Australian (Mistralian?) bunny who had hopped her last.

Levi Ackerman, visiting from the Walled World, held up his megaphone. "Just go with it jackass."

"Fine, fine... alright... and... action. You've hopped your last, bun bun. Today, I and my evil band will bring an end to your merriment!" Roman declared, throwing in an evil laugh for good measure.

Behind him, Neo, Mercury and Emerald very quietly and very professionally glowered at Velvet Scarlatina. Stupid script, sure, but great pay.

Then the bun-Signal appeared. "You've threatened your last bunny... cough cough cough... how does Bale do this?"

"CUT!" Levi roared. "Get that man a drink dammit."

Neo, Emerald and Mercury collectively facepalmed. Great pay... stupid everything.

* * *

 **87.2 Black Omochao, Masterweaver**

* * *

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

"Oh boy! I've been waiting for this for so long!" Inaho cheered as she ran around the halls of Beacon, Ruby following behind her.

"Inaho, you know I don't mind you being here, but are you _sure_ my brother isn't in this Loop?" Ruby questioned, watching the hyper girl run around with a sweatdrop.

"Nah, Mr. Average-Anchor isn't around, or at least not Awake," Inaho waved off Ruby's question

The Anchor of Remnant glared at the foreign Looper for a moment. "Okay, but what have you been waiting for anyway?" Ruby questioned.

"Oh, well. USApyon's finally going to meet Weiss! I cannot wait to see an epic battle between a Jedi and Sith!" Inaho exclaimed excitedly, skipping ahead, towards team RWBY's room. "I made sure USApyon was headed to your room, and when he and Weiss meet I'm sure their hearts of both the light and dark sides will resonate! And then there will be a glorious lightsaber battle! Oh! I don't want to miss a second of it!" She started running faster.

"Hold up!" Ruby sighed as she chased after the younger Looper. "I kind of want to see that too!"

Inaho stopped at the door and looked into the room, her look of excitement faded, leaving just a blank stare. Ruby speeded over to her side within a second, leaving a few rose petals behind.

"Should've just done that in the first place," Ruby chuckled, smoothing out her cloak a bit, before looking into the room.

The room where Weiss and USApyon were sitting on the ground, both sipping tea.

"… Huh?" both girls blinked in confusion at the sight.

"Oh, hey Ruby… and…" Weiss looked at Inaho with a raised brow.

"Inaho, dani," USApyon stated calmly.

"Inaho, thanks," the white-haired girl nodded to the yo-kai before looking back at the two new arrivals. "What's going on?"

"...Wait, you're not having a battle!? What's going on!?" Inaho shouted while clutching her head.

"Do you have to shout? Dani," USApyon sighed and shook his head.

"Um, Weiss, you know he's a Sith, right?" Ruby asked her friend, blankly.

"Of course I know, I could feel it from a mile away, what's your point?"

"Well… Jedi, Sith… Why aren't you two…?"

"WHY IS THERE NO EPIC LIGHTSABER DUEL!?" Inaho shouted, causing Ruby to jump in surprise.

"We have no reason to fight each other," Weiss stated plainly, shrugging her shoulders.

"With how the Loops are especially, the force isn't even known in this world. There's no conflict between us, dani," USApyon nodded. "Besides, if we did fight she'd probably cream me. Do you have any idea how much longer than me she's been Looping? Dani."

"I'm sure you'd do fine," Weiss assured, patting the otter-ghost on the head.

"Thanks, but I highly doubt it, dani," USApyon shook his head.

"… Are you serious!? I got all excited for nothing!?" Inaho shouted in outrage. "Leave it to the namekichi to disappoint at every turn!" USApyon twitched a little at Inaho's words.

"… What did you just call me? Dani," the shady yo-kai stood up, carefully placing his now empty tea cup on the ground, before turning to Inaho, and pressing the two buttons on his helmet…

 **"VADER MODE!"**

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Inaho cried as USApyon chased her through the halls, lightsaber in hand and trying to force-choke her. Ruby blinked in confusion as Weiss took another sip of tea.

"That wasn't the kind of duel I was expecting," Ruby shrugged, pointing in the direction the two visiting Loopers had run off in.

"You do realize Cinder's a sith, right?"

"I mean... yeah, but... that's complicated. You and USApyon are sort of strangers, so-"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "My loyalty as a jedi is not to law or to light. I seek to ensure balance, prosperity, and the continued growth of things. USApyon is not at the moment a risk to any of that."

"I... see." Ruby glanced over to the chase. "So, what... you'll attack him if he starts performing atrocities?"

"Essentially yes."

"Okay then." She sat down across from her partner. "So what about all the spirits?"

"Ugh, that nonsense... I'll certainly be busy this loop..."

* * *

 **8** **7.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Okay, hold on." Blake held up a hand. "Nora having a drumset-sure, that's Nora. Weiss having a synth piano, she's rich and had a multifaceted education, I can understand that-chopsticks though, really?"

Weiss huffed. "I'm primarily a singer-I can improvise, really."

"Uh-hmm." Blake held up her tambourine. "And the local dollar store had some basic themed instruments."

"Yeah what's with that anyway?" Ruby asked. "You've got a didgeridoo, that takes way more talent. Why'd you settle for a tambourine?"

"This is a chibi loop, my face is built differently, the didgeridoo won't work."

"Oh, makes sense."

"Yeah, you know what doesn't make sense? You and Yang having instruments! Where the heck did that come from?!"

Yang shrugged. "Well, this loop Dad wanted us to have backup skills just in case we never became huntresses. It actually happens a lot-not like most of the time, but enough of the time, he wants us to have safe and happy lives after the whole 'Qrow rescue' thing so he encourages us to go into music."

"Oh, that's actually pretty sweet!" Nora cooed. "Wish I had a dad like that. Or a mom. Or anyone. I just made myself sad."

Weiss pulled out her scroll. "Hello...? Yes, Ren, we need a tactical glomp, four feet west of my position."

"That explains how you know how to play," Blake pointed out. "But it doesn't explain how you have those things! And how does that guitar even work if it's not plugged into an amp?!"

"Blaaaaake you're questioning the lore!" Ruby whined. "Stop it! I really don't want an Eiken loop!"

Blake winced, ignoring the sudden squeak as their drummer was hit by a bolt of green. "Sorry, sorry, I just-"

"Look, I designed my baby girl, can't I have designed my own bass? In fact, I'm keeping this thing. Crescent Rose will love having a little sister."

"I think the axe blades serve as vibrospeakers in this thing?" Yang looked over her instrument in bemusement. "Yeah, okay, crazy, but you know. Dust and all that."

"You know that could explain Flint's weapon in baseline," Weiss mused. "Oh, do you think we'll have a song-off with him in some later expansion?"

"Well even if it doesn't happen chibi we should make it happen some loop," Ruby declared. "So is that all, Blake?"

The girl rubbed her ears. "Actually... I was hoping we could not do hardcore rock. Sensitive hearing, you know."

"Sure thing!" Yang chirped. "We'll keep off the death metal end of the scale."

* * *

 **87.4 Leviticus Wilkes, Masterweaver**

* * *

"And then the monkey man showed up. I decided that my fruit salad wasn't worth it, so I surrendered and left the Plateau of Leng, one hungry girl. Pretty crazy, huh?" Nora said to her biographer.

"...You know, I'm just going to say that you older Loopers are either getting crazier by the minute, or I'm growing increasingly sane," Taiyang murmured.

"Sanity is a social construct," Nora replied breezily. "The only purpose of declaring somebody sane is to say they are safe to be around and capable of handling themselves in expected situations. There are plenty of mental issues that are not outright insanity, even before one introduces the implications of looping. Being insane only means you're a danger to yourself and the people around you because of how your mind functions."

Taiyang stared at her.

"I'm the quirky one, I get to think about these things."

"Right..."

* * *

 **87.5 diesel, Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

Weiss stared out at the people that rose in stepped seats and private boxes, all looking upon the stage where she stood alone.

It was almost time to start, a hush falling across the concert hall.

 _What to sing?_

She pondered the question as she took her place. Waking up at this point was annoying, she had no time to choose a song, and just using her baseline one would be boring. And there were so many songs to choose from. Should it be a Hub world song, or maybe a theme with some cutting comments about the shallowness of Atlas culture?

 _Well…_

Weiss felt a smirk tug at her lips as she closed her eyes and took a breath in preparation.

 _I did have a Lovecraft loop recently… so why not do something inspired by that? This will be interesting._

And Weiss started to sing; her clear, rigging echoing through the silent hall, chilling all those who listened to the haunting melody.

* * *

Jacques Schnee shuddered as his daughter stopped singing, the sudden absence of sound-colour almost as jarring as the taste of false angles and feel of jagged colours. Each note was a blade into his mind, a chorus of sounds and sensations that could, and should never, go together, and yet did, sweeping him up into its madness as ice turned his bone to marrow, a deluge of emotions and memories stretching back into times he could not even begin to fathom.

Telling of loss and betrayal as the world died for the last time, only to rise as the destroyed turned back.

Dragging everyone into an endless loop that threatened to drown them.

All around the hall people wept or stood in horrified silence, the Agony of Eternity and the knowledge of things beyond the world being communicated in a way they could barely even begin to comprehend. And yet, that could not be misunderstood.

"Sister…" Whitley whispered hoarsely from his seat next to Jacques, tears of blood falling from his cheeks as a steady rain of frigid rubies that sapped what heat was left from the air. "…wha… what are you?"

 _An aberration…_

The words stuck in Jacques' throat, unable to tear his eyes away from the thing that his youngest daughter had become. _She_ stood there unbowed by the aeons and horrors beyond comprehension. Something so vast and so _ancient_ that they were nothing more than a passing amusement now.

A shadow of what they should be, a filler for what was lost while _She_ and _hers_ remained.

In his mind's eyes Jacques could see the stars dying, the knowledge and understanding of time beyond fathom slowly slipping from his mind. And Weiss standing there watching ever passing moment as every _atom_ was torn apart by entropy before it all started agian.

Unbowed and uncaring, as she grew stronger every cycle, walking inevitably to the final end with the _Others_.

That was the one part of that that stuck in his mind.

Jacques stood up and beckoned for Whitley to follow, the taste of oblivion lingering on his tongue, a spark of something unfamiliar igniting in his chest, beneath the horror and existential dread.

It took him several minutes to identify it, but when Jacques did it made sense.

Pride.

 _The second into Eternity, only behind her partner and leader… beyond everything thing, beyond morality as we know it. Destined to take a seat in the heavens as the Right Hand of the Goddess King born of our world._

 _Free to live as she sees fit, unbowed unto the end._

 _You have grown beyond what I could have ever imagined, Weiss. I don't agree with your choices, or goals, but that doesn't make a shred of difference. You have the power an ability to do as you will, and thus it is your right._

 _Take it all, daughter. Live well and take your enemies and foes strengths and make it your own. I don't wish you the best or hope my true self supports you in the end, for that would be an insult. You need nothing from me any longer and no obstacle will hold you and your family back._

 _The world is there for those who would take it. Rule it well, Heralds of Eternity.  
_

* * *

The door to RWBY's dorm slammed open, leaving everyone within to jump in shock. The pink cephalopod that entered the room went up to Weiss and handed her a large, officially looking piece of paper. Weiss read it and her eyes caught fire. The abomination then left and everyone in the room looked at Weiss.

"I'm being sued for copyright infringement by Cthulhu. He's offering to settle out of court. He wants me to lead his cult."

"Do it!" Yang shouted just before Blake and Ruby dog piled her.

"But I didn't do anything wrong!" Weiss protested, glaring at the document, ignoring the muffled calls from Yang. "Yes, I may have been inspired by the Mythos aesthetics as a whole in my last loop, but I didn't infringe on anyone's copyright. That song was wholly my invention and it did not drive people insane or bring about the end of the world, it showed people what I have experienced and that's it. Cthulhu would not have a leg to stand on in an actual trial."

"Weiss, the question you need to ask yourself is, if this is real, and the actual Admin one, do you want to get into a legal battle with Cthulhu?" Blake said before yelping as Yang bit her. "If so, you have a few options. If you _do_ accept then you would have to deal with him, local self or Avatar on a semi-regular basis, and that could be permanent and just be an amusing side note to your looping life, or a temporary thing like a job. You ignore it and... he does whatever, I really have no clue, or you fight it and I have no idea what will happen if you try to have a legal battle with an Admin class being."

Ruby cut in before Weiss could reply, binding Yang with a cocoon of rose petals. "What are the terms?"

Weiss huffed. "If I loop into a loop with one of his cults I become its leader, basically. It goes into details and terms about what I can refuse to do to prevent harm to loopers, the loops or 'total loss of my morals'. Conditions... to expire 1 billion loops in service from now, with the addendum that in the unlikely event that the Loops end before by service is complete than all debts and time will be waived... upon completion of the full time I will be given the option of extending my contract with renegotiation of terms and conditions with one Being of my choice there to act as my advisor, I will be given signed copies of all the Mythos hub works, signed by the Pantheon, and control over all Starspawn, deep ones, and related in all non null loops, stating that they will acknowledge me as a favored emissary of Cthulhu and instinctively obey me. It's not that bad of a deal compared to what I was expecting from Cthulhu trying to sue me, and I may have been tempted if not for the whole birthing deep ones thing, and _Cthulhu_ , but it's the principal of the matter. I did not breach any copyright!"

* * *

 **87.6 Black Omochao**

* * *

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

"So… We've nyever really spoken, much…"

"…Rudy, virtually the only thing we have in common is being cat-like," Blake commented dully, looking up from her book and at the red feline that stood nearby.

"Oh, come on, I didn't come talk to you just because we're both feline in nature," Jibanyan scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Okay, why did you come talk to me?"

"Um…" Jibanyan blinked, unable to come up with an answer. Blake sighed and shook her head.

"Don't you usually hang out with Zwei when you're here?"

"I have more to do when I'm here than hang out with that dog!" Jibanyan shouted out in an offended tone. The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Jibanyan's posture drooped a little and he sighed. "Guess I'll go see what Zwei's doing…" Blake watched the nekomata slowly leave the room, before returning to her book.

"You're the only one who understands me, bro," Jibanyan sighed, Zwei barked happily. The two climbed onto a pair of motorcycles and lowered sunglasses over their eyes.

They started the engines before zooming forward on the road, those they passed occasionally caught glimpses of their leather jackets, with the words 'Mutt Life' on the back. Though most were too stunned by the image of a cat and dog riding around in motorcycles, dressed like bikers, to notice…

* * *

"So, what do you want to do today?" Mercury muttered in a bored tone as he walked on the sidewalk with Emerald beside him.

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?" Emerald replied, in just as bored a tone.

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?" This continued back and forth between for a few minutes, before two little furry mammals on motorcycles zoomed by, startling them.

Emerald and Mercury both stared blankly as the cat's motorcycle slowly backed up and passed them again, before zooming by again, making sure to splash them with a puddle it had missed the first time.

The two dripping villains continued to stare blankly ahead, before Mercury glared at his partner in an accusingly.

"…I swear I didn't do anything!" Emerald exclaimed defensively.

* * *

 **87.7 Awesomedude17**

* * *

"Alright, remember those elevator shenanigans?" Yang asked the visiting Looper.

"You popped out of nowhere, and we talked about our gauntlets, and now we're here. Funny that," Jacqui Briggs replied.

"Yeah." Yang locked and loaded.

"After this, you want to do shots?"

"You mean that figuratively, right?"

"Duh!"

"Right. Let's punch each other in face now, but avoid my hair."

"Oh, you're one of those ladies? No promises."

Yang pouted, and the two charged at each other, ready to spar.

* * *

 **87.8 BIOS-Pherecydes**

* * *

"Ruby?"

 **"Yes Blake?"** The two identical girls asked.

"Why are you multiplying every time someone uses your name?"

While one Ruby ran off to join the growing crowd of identical Huntresses who were currently organizing a parade, the other paused thoughtfully. "Well, I've got so many chibi's running around that sometimes it gets kinda boring you know? I mean there's only so many me I need to have working together to run my body, and even with them switching places after their shift's done that's still a lot of time spent in my Pocket. I may have a lot of toys and weapons and stuff, but you can only play inside for so long before you need to stretch your legs a bit."

Blake buried her hand in one hand while holding the other up palm first. "Wait, hold on. Your chibi's take shifts? Like 'punch-clock,' 'nine to five job' shifts?"

"Well yeah! Obviously! C'mon Blake, how else is a society supposed to function if there isn't anyone to do the work that keeps it running?"

"Okay, sure. Why not. And I suppose you pay them too?" Blake replied, half sarcastically and half honestly curious.

"Yep. I can't use my Cookie Beam on myself, since that would be really counterproductive being a gestalt entity almost all the way down to the molecular level, so I pay myselves with a constant supply of sugar and candy and then they use that for trade and commerce. And also food, because duh! That's why I'm always eating so many sweets. I'm a growing economy after all."

"Right. Of course you are," Blake said with a quirk of her lips. "Back to the point though. Why the duplication?"

"Well, like I said, sometimes I need to stretch our legs. Also, it's funny."

"RUBY!" Weiss yelled furiously as she shoved her way into the crowd of identical girls. Which abruptly doubled in size, sending many of them falling all over themselves in a slapstick routine that would have made Gilbert and Sullivan pink with pride.

 **"Yes?"**

"I demand you stop doing... whatever it is you're doing _right now_. How are we supposed to study with you... them... _all of you_ making this racket?"  
 **  
"Sorry Weiss,"** the gathered clones said in stereo, a thousand pairs of puppy dog eyes and pouty lips besieging the Schnee heiress; who promptly turned bright red before passing out from cuteness overdose.

 **"Weiss! Quick, someruby call a doctor!"**

"Point," Blake conceded with a small grin. "You realize she's got a crush on you this Loop, right?"

Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I do now. Whoops?"

* * *

 **87.9 KanameFujiwara**

* * *

What is crazy?

Madness. The word itself signifies a variety of meaning - sometimes contradictory. All of this meant that any metric used can never be truly accurate.

For the purpose of society - madness is a deviation from the norm. It's not merely thinking different. It is when the state of the mind itself poses harm to either oneself or others.

Thus, it is possible for madness to exist in the state of one's mind while at the same time living and functioning within a society so long as no direct harm was caused to the individual or to others.

I would like you thus to imagine yourself.

Imagine you with all your gifts and flaws.

All that was and is _you_.

And multiply that experience 100 times. 1000 times. _Infinity_!

You can't experience it. This is not something humanly possible.

But if you did it, if you cross the primordial bridge - you start to realize the inevitable _truth_.

That one day, given enough time - _everyone_ is open to madness!

They merely wear their masks better.

-Into the Heart of Madness by Nora Valkyrie

* * *

 **87.10 KanameFujiwara, Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

The consequence of having a robot

Penny was bored. It was just her and Raven.

So she decided to do something different.

 _Deep in the forest of Mistral_

"...Why are you here Penny?" Raven asked while pinching her nose in frustration.

Penny blinked, not understanding the problem. "I was bored. Was my reasoning insufficient?"

Raven looked at her surrounding. Her whole tribe was here. Armed to the teeth. And Penny was with them - clearly demonstrating her Atlesian roots with her clothes and mannerism.

 _What could possibly go wrong?_ Raven thought to herself.

Not wanting to deal with this nonsense, Raven rapidly deescalated the situation by vouching for Penny and gave her a stern lecture as to the concept of minding her own business.

"-ignoring your rather blase attitude - what do you bring to the table? To the Tribe?"

"I am a walking CCT?"

There was a paused in her lecture. "Is that what you originally are?"

"It is what I am now," Penny replied sheepishly. It was a pleasant surprise to her that she was now a walking telecommunication device. It makes watching the telly so much easier.

"...What can you do?'

 _Much later..._

"I didn't know you were a fan of these type of shows-"

"And it will do you well to keep it to yourself," Raven said, eyes promising a swift death to Penny.

"Yes, yes," said Penny reassuringly all while burning it into her mind that Raven Branwen likes -

* * *

Static filled the screen of Marianne's terminal as the various interns, and Marianne herself, began yelling in outrage.

"C'mon, C'mon! I have to know what Raven likes!" Marianne typed away furiously, trying to figure out why the feed had cut out. One of the interns tried assisting with some percussive maintenance, and a third began furiously scribbling down several different fanfiction- err, possible detailed scenarios based on the different possibilities that had been presented.

The second intern, meanwhile, had a hunch and looked under the desk. "Uhhh... Marianne? The plug's loose."

Everyone paused as the Admin of the RWBY loops ducked under her desk, plugged in the metaphysical concept of plugs, and watched as the terminal came back online.

"Oh." She said simply.

Everyone's eyes watched the screen intensely, but unfortunately, the loop they had been invested in had changed to a Lonely loop, thus cutting them off from the tantalizing information they so desired. They all groaned.

"Okay, okay, everyone back to their stations," Marianne shooed them away. "We'll have to wait until your next break to resolve the bet."

And so, everything continued as normal.

* * *

 **87.11 KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You two," Weiss pointed to Blake and Yang, "Woke up early in the loops history and went with the Queen Blake route."

Blake nodded. "That's right."

"Then, when all three of us were born," she continued, "you provided evidence of abuse on Jacques part and managed to adopt Winter, Whitley, and me."

Another nod.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.

"And you did this because...?"

Yang leaned in from her throne to whisper in the ice-user's ear.

"That makes you the Bee's Schnees."

" _Goddammit_ Yang," Weiss sighed as she rubbed her temples. "How long have you been holding on to that one?"

* * *

 **87.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Oh hey by the way, in the most recent expansion Jaune usually steals Ember Cecila and Magnhild."

Yang blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, and my cape too. He wants to play superhero, and given how little he usually gets in these loops I just let him."

Nora held up a finger, paused, and shrugged. "Well, I mean, so long as he doesn't get our loop-modified weapons."

"I dunno, Nora, it's kind of..." Yang rubbed the side of her head. "Our weapons are part of us, kind of thing? And Ruby's cape too."

"I mean, yeah, but it's a chibi loop. Lay back and have fun, you know?"

"Sure, but... that deserves some sort of retaliation." Yang gestured at Ruby. "I mean, without her cape Ruby's color scheme becomes unbalanced."

"Hey!" Ruby protested.

"It is pretty true," Nora pointed out. "You've basically got red and black. The cape's sort of a big part of the red. Without it you're black with red lines."

"Look, I like red and black, alright?" Ruby rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm some kind of supervillain."

Yang gasped. "That's it! When Jaune takes our stuff, we can be a trio of supervillains! Out for vengeance on the noble hero."

"Oooooo! I like that idea!" Nora giggled, rubbing her hands together. "Ruby will still have her scythe, but you and I will have to rely on our semblances-I guess she'll be the leader-"

"Do I get a say in this?" Ruby asked plaintively.

"Nope!" the other two chimed simultaneously.

* * *

 **87.13 Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

Weiss sighed as she stared out at the horizon, hanging from the edge of one of Beacon's many roofs by her legs and her arms crossed behind her head. She breathed in and out deeply, just letting her feelings of melancholy flow out and tried to restore her lost energy through the gentle ebbs of the Force.

"Hey Ruby," she said as her friend, apparently in as much of a mood as she was judging by the fact that Ruby _oozed_ down the side of the building to join her instead of walking down like normal.

"Hey Weiss. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure."

There were many, many questions that could have been asked at that moment. 'What's eating you?' 'What's up?' 'Bad Loop?' 'Got any chips?' Any of those, with any degree of dodging or approaching the subject, were possible and maybe even appropriate.

But instead? They just hung out. Through senses both mundane and esoteric and even outright alien, they simply took the moment to feel the presence of each other and, silently, worked through their funk in the not-so-empty silence.

Friendship is funny like that, no?

* * *

 **87.14 DrTempo**

* * *

Pyrrha chuckled as Jaune told her of his superhero adventures. "Did you have to borrow Yang and Nora's weapons and Ruby's cape, Jaune?"

Jaune shrugged. "Didn't have time to find a cape, and I couldn't find my sword and shield."

Pyrrha smiled. "I know. Besides, at least you got to defeat both Mercury and Emerald with one attack each."

"After all the trouble those two caused in baseline, they deserved it."

* * *

 **87.15 Black Omochao**

* * *

The people of Vale screamed as grimm marched into town… grimm, whom all had white masks on their faces; white masks with large, protruding noses, round, blank eyes, and big, permanent grins plastered on.

The people around panicked and ran, as the masked grimm proceeded to… observe things, wave at people, try to play golf, and other such mundane things.

"So… this is a sight," Weiss commented blankly as the Awake Team RWBY came across this invasion.

"We've seen friendly grimm-variants before," Ruby commented, watching as someone ran from a masked beowolf whom was trying to perfect its golf swing. "But, this certainly isn't what I thought we'd come across when we Woke up…"

"I told you we should've looked over our Loop-memories. No matter how normal it seems, we should always look over the memories," Blake said in a calm tone.

"Look! Some hunters! They'll help us!" A man shouted, and the other people cheered.

"Yup, do not worry people, your heroes have arrived!" Yang exclaimed eagerly, not caring as much about the weirdness of these grimm as her teammates did.

"Yes! Thank you! They'll figure out what the word of the day is!" a woman exclaimed, Yang's excitement for a battle died down and she blinked.

"Wait, what?"

"Yes! Please figure out what the word of the day is so the Noseybonks will leave!" the old man that ran the dust shop shouted in a frightened tone. One of the 'Noseybonks' walked over to him and patted his head, the man shuddered as the bizarre grimm variant gave a nod and a thumbs up.

"The 'word of the day?" Ruby questioned while scratching her head.

"The Noseybonks, while harmless, freak out everyone around them when they come into town, they'll only leave if you can figure out what the 'word of the day' they're hinting at is," Blake explained with her arms crossed. "I actually looked over my memories…"

"Then why didn't you say something earlier!?" Weiss growled, Yang just looked confused as she watched the Noseybonks continue doing stuff.

"So, wait. Is all hunters do in this variant figure out words of the day?" Ruby asked, pulling out Crescent Rose and looking it over. "So, why do we carry weapons?"

* * *

 **87.16 Masterweaver, Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

Tick tock went the clock. Which was rather odd, as it was a digital clock, but Taiyang had sprung for it. It was also a comforting thing to focus on.

"So." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I mean... we could just talk about Yang and Blake, over and over, but... I think we need to get to know each other, not just as our daughter's parents but as, you know. People. So, can we agree not to talk about them?"

Kali gave him an amused smile. "We're parents. Are you sure that's even possible?"

"I mean, theoretically. I don't mean we can't talk about them at all, but we should... talk about us, as well. Not just be 'Yang's dad' and 'Blake's mom.' You know."

"Mmm." Kali nodded. "Well then. I suppose..."

A few moments passed.

"So... how do you feel about Ab-Hmm... about Remnan literature?" Kali hesitantly ventured.

Taiyang's chuckle caught her off guard. "Do you mean academically or personally, because if we're talking about academically, I swear most loops my students could do much better."

"Your students?" Kali raised her eyebrows in intrigue as she gripped the tea that had been given to her. "Oh, that's right, you're a teacher."

"Yup. And the subject changes from Loop to Loop." Taiyang took a sip of coffee that he had made for himself. "Recently it's mostly been for combat classes, specifically unarmed combat. I think it has to do with my spar with Yang from the last few expansions."

"You'd think you meant comedian or professional Dad if you meant that, since that Chibi Variant seems to be getting some attention," Kali smiled playfully.

"Well, what can I say? Dads are just a barrel of pun!"

The two chuckled at the truly awful travesty of a pun. As it died down, Kali finally took a sip of her tea, only for her eyes to widen.

"Oh wow, this is really good!"

Taiyang's grin widened. "I picked it up in a Loop where I had to teach Cultural Studies at Signal. There was an emphasis on being able to cooperate with anyone that Loop, in order to keep Huntsmen from creating friction when working in a Kingdom outside of their home. Tea, apparently, was serious business in Mistral."

"Sounds like you have a lot of opportunities for learning new skills," Kali mused, idly stirring her tea with her spoon. "Aside from Loop memories involving my time in the White Fang, I don't really have much in the way of that, and even then it's mostly either secretarial, diplomatic, or otherwise having to do with making sure a large protest doesn't become a riot."

"Sounds like you'd make a great teacher. Half the battle is keeping the brats from rioting." Taiyang's smile shrank as an unpleasant thought crosse his mind. "Well, when the loop isn't filled with Shadow people, which thankfully has become tremendously less common."

Kali laughed, planting a frown onto Taiyang's face. "Well, maybe I should apply to be a teacher at Signal one of these Loops."

Taiyang was about to laugh when his face grew thoughtful. "That'd... actually be a good idea. It gets a bit lonely at Signal sometimes, when I can't get a job at Beacon."

Kali's smile shrank down before taking on a sad, sympathetic smile. "Alright."

Taiyang's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"

"Starting the next Loop we have together, I'll apply to teach at Signal. I'm not sure how to juggle the job with Ghira, but..."

A moment of silence fell. Then, slowly, a grateful smile made its way onto the single dad's face.

"I'd like that. Thank you."

"It's the least I could do."

A moment of silence fell once more, this time more comfortably. Eventually though...

"So..." Kali ventured, her smile becoming more mischievous. "What do you think about those Hub Loop Abridged series?"

* * *

 **87.17 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"What's troubling you Yang? You seem down." Weiss asked as she spotted her at the initiation. "Also, where's Ruby?"

"That's kinda the thing, I don't believe she's Awake yet or that we have a stealth looper and we can't confirm because it's a null loop," Yang explained. "As for where she is, I don't know. My loop memories aren't too clear on exactly what happened as I was still rather young back then, but mom got into an accident while in town. However once she woke up at the hospital, no one could tell her where Ruby was. Ruby had been with her, but once help arrived, she was nowhere to be seen."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Although, seeing as how the loops sometimes like to stay faithful to the plot, we might see her somewhere else. Don't lose hope and just hope she wasn't adopted by Roman or something," Weiss said, trying to lighten Yang's mood.

"Weiss, don't even joke about something like that. You'll give the damn tree ideas," Yang said with a straight face, making Weiss roll her eyes.

* * *

Ruby Awoke to a rather peculiar set of circumstances. For one, she wasn't indoors like she usually was at the beginning of a loop; she found herself outside in a wast field carrying a scythe. However, rather puzzling was that instead of being her well known Crescent Rose, she was holding an ordinary working scythe, one designed to be used as a tool, rather than the most awesome of weapons. And to complete the scene, she was wearing simple work clothes instead of her usual clothing.

Consulting her loop memories, she found herself lacking a fair bit about her childhood while getting the gist of things. This loop, she had apparently grown up on the streets, looking out for herself until she had found a young boy in the same situation as her. He had been younger than her, so she had taken him in and taught him what she knew to stay alive on the street; unfortunately, two mouths were fairly hard to feed using the methods she had lived of off up to that point, so she had been forced to find a new way. Fortunately, she had eventually ended up getting the both of them a job, on a farm. That was how Ruby and Oscar had become brother and sister for the loop.

From trying to bring out Crescent Rose out from her pocket, Ruby figured out that this was a null loop, so contacting anyone else would be hard. Thinking for a moment about what she should do, she eventually decided that she should simply play along with this loop and bond somewhat with Oscar. After all, while being a Huntress was fun, so were certain variants, so it was worth a shot to see if the loop had something interesting planned for the two of them. And hey, Ruby still had her silver eyes. Although, perhaps finding someone who could unlock her aura for her would be something to figure out quickly, or all this farm work was going to tire her out quickly. However, if she wanted to have some food for the evening, she couldn't waste much more time thinking about it all, she had work to do after all.

* * *

 **87.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

Blake stared at Zwei.

Zwei adjusted his glasses.

"...If I weren't looping I'd probably be freaking out right now," she mused.

The corgi barked.

Blake shrugged, putting her copy of the book forward. "Yeah, next time you're Awake, I'm critiquing the heck out of this."

* * *

 **87.19 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"I can't believe Ozpin managed to do that without anyone asking questions," Blake said in disbelief after hearing a few of the team names for this loop.

"Hey, it's not that bad. I mean sure, he could have run it by us first, but I don't see any problem with him naming one of the teams BMBY after our ship name," Yang said

Blake sighed and point at their teammates glaring at Ozpin and one of the unfortunate teams that had ended up with another one of Ozpin's less than approved team names, team WTRS, or as all present loopers knew it as, White Rose.

"I swear, if it turns out he's awake and stealthing, there'll be hell to pay," Weiss whispered under her breath. Ozpin suddenly feeling as if someone was walking over his grave. Catching the gaze of Weiss out of the corner of his eye, he decided that he might have gone a bit too far. Although no one had notified him that team RWBY had been awake this loop.

* * *

 **87.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So, have you had any interesting loops recently Weiss?"

"Actually there was a chibi loop, we had a guest Anchor."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. Sokka. The two of us were the only ones awake, and he just rolled with it."

"Sounds like fun."

"Well, yes. Near the end of the loop, though, your unawake self tried to hypnotize me."

"Er... what?"

"She woke up in the middle of the night and tried to implant ideas in my dreams with, and I say this in an entirely nonromantic way, a surprisingly seductive whisper."

"I... wow. I'm... I can't even react to that."

"Really, Ruby? You think that trying to make me call you 'super bestie better then the resty' is outside the realm of possibility?"

"No no no. Back in the day I really was desperate for approval, yours especially-partners and all that. It's the hypnosis thing. I mean, sure, chibi's a little mind-bendy already, but... I don't think I would ever consider that seriously, not for something so casual."

"Oh, I know, I just thought it was a bit amusing. I'm the jedi here, not you."

"It's weird, though. The Ruby of the Chibi Loops is, in theory, me but slightly more childish and exaggerated. The idea of hypnotizing my friend for my own reasons is... It's like... oh, like back when I was a kid this loop, I had this idea that I would tame a nevermore and make it my pet and it would be, you know, sort of a parrot? I was six, I think, so I didn't get what that would mean and that it was impossible, there were rules I hadn't-the point is, I've matured. And I'm just like... wondering. Maybe I've gotten too mature for the hypnosis gambits to make any sense to me."

Weiss looked around at the flurry of whipped cream drowning the Grimm as their elephantine cake golem honked through the Emerald forest, noting the various swords in silly shapes wielded by the tutu-and-tiara-wearing duplicates of her partner.

"I suppose it's a _possibility_ ," she reluctantly allowed.

* * *

 **87.21 Shimmer712, Masterweaver**

* * *

"Huh," Ruby blinked. "You know, we should have expected something like this to come up sooner."

"I guess," Weiss shrugged.

"You know, Ren has some nice legs," Yang admired. "Jaune too."

"And I don't?" Blake asked.

"Oh, you do! I'm just saying," Yang shrugged.

"This doesn't bother you at all?" Sun demanded.

The RWBY girls shrugged. "To be honest, Sun, after all you've experienced since you've started looping, is a loop where the clothing norms are genderflipped that weird to you?" Blake asked.

"Well, no," he admitted. "I'm just tired of accidentally flashing people when I climb trees and stuff. And the underwear keeps riding up."

"I didn't need to know that," Weiss complained.

"I hate to say it, but it's probably the tail," Yang mused. "The way faunus genetics apparently work, it's ergonomically easier to design for humans and assume anybody outside the usual human frame will modify their own clothing."

Blake nodded. "Yeah, back in the Fang that was one of the big complaints-along with shoes, people with paws or hooves just hate how shoes are designed. And Adam's dress-he should not be able to pull it off so well!"

"To be fair, Remnant does tend toward self-design to a degree," Weiss pointed out. "I mean look at our usual outfits."

"Still, kind of an issue." Sun glanced back and adjusted his skirt. "I mean, yeah, it rocks that I don't have to stick my tail through a slot anymore but now I have to think about how I move it or I'm going to end up... ya know..."

Yang shrugged. "I can make you some flash-proof skirts. I've done it before."

"Yeah..." Ruby flushed. "That... that was an awkward loop."

"Just have to look up some anthro-verse designs to make sure I've got tail ergonomics right in my head..."

Sun held up a finger. "Uh, don't you design lingerie?"

"Just because I specialize doesn't mean I can't do anything outside my field." Yang smirked. "Although if you _want_ lingerie-"

"Nah, I'm good. I'm good."

Blake quirked a brow. "So you already have lingerie?"

Weiss sighed. "Must you encourage her?"

* * *

 **87.22 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby opened her dresser, took one look inside, and sighed. "Weiss, are you wearing my panties?"

"Wha-WHAT?!" Weiss blushed furiously. "NO! No, I, I, what kind of question is that?!"

"I have ten pairs of panties," Ruby stated calmly. "I'm wearing one, obviously, two others are in the hamper, and I can see six in the drawer in front of me. Now Yang knows better than to hide my clothes, and I know Blake goes commando-"

The black haired girl jolted with a blush. "How the fuck do you-?!"

"-and the only other people with regular access to this dorm are you and the teachers, and if the teachers stole student's panties, there would be a number of problems more then there are now."

Yang quirked an eyebrow at Blake. "You go commando?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Weiss's face was quickly growing as red as Ruby's hair. "How the hell do you keep track of your panties?!"

"I'm team leader, and that means managing logistics, be it data, dust, or dirty laundry." Ruby turned to face her and shrugged. "I'm not going to be mad or upset or embarrassed, I just want to know where my underwear is and why."

"That's actually pretty brave Blake. I mean with your rear you've got to get a lot of attention, and choosing not to-"

"Yang I said I don't want to talk about it!"

"But-I-Fine! Fine, alright, yes, I borrowed a pair of your panties, but that's only because I found itching powder in all of mine!"

Ruby pinched her brow. "Yang...?"

"What?" Yang crossed her arms. "You have no proof it was me!"

"So if I go through your hair products, I'm not going to find one has been poured out and filled with powder?"

"...Alright, fine, but she deserved it! She was being mean to Blake!"

Blake blinked. "What?"

"You two have been bickering all week long, and I don't even know what set you off, but it had to be her!"

"Hey!" Weiss cried. "She's the one that started it!"

"Really." Blake narrowed her eyes. "Really, I'm the one who started it? Is that what you're-"

Crescent Rose stabbed into the ground between them.

"Here is what is going to happen," Ruby said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Yang, you are going to take Weiss's panties down to the laundry room, and get them all clean. Blake, you are going to take all of Yang's hair care products to the dumpster-"

"HEY!" Yang protested.

"-and Weiss, you are going to come with me to pay for replacements."

"Oh." Yang nodded. "Alright, that's fair."

"We are going to meet up at Ivory's Ice Cream shop in Vale, and there we will hammer out what pranks are and are not acceptable, as well as address any interpersonal or personal issues that might affect team cohesion. And incidentally, Blake? I won't make you come, but I will be able to find you if you don't show up."

Blake frowned. "How-what-why are you saying that?"

"Because I know you're thinking of running from this. It's not going to happen. Come on, Weiss." Ruby pulled her scythe free, walking toward the door. "Honestly, I thought I was supposed to be the childish one on this team..."

Weiss nodded. "I know, right? Those two-"

"Weiss, I was including you in that statement."

"I-How dare-!"

"Do you want me to tell the school you're wearing my panties?"

Yang and Blake listened to the fading sound of their bickering conversation.

"...So, seriously. Commando. What's that like?"

"Okay, I'm trashing your hair stuff now."

* * *

 **87.23 StormyAngel**

* * *

"Really? You destroyed the key to immortality?"

"Well I tried to hide it in the school, but that just endangered the students," Dumbledore grumbled.

"You did that too?" Ozpin frowned. "Recent expansions have revealed that my school was _founded_ to keep our magical artifact out of the madwoman's hands."

"You got to found your school?" Dumbledore asked in surprise. Ozpin took a sip of his coffee.

"It's loop variable," he replied. "I seem to be one in a long chain of souls who pass on knowledge to a randomly selected individual after my death. Occasionally my loop memories include that of the school's founder."

"Why didn't I ever think of that?" Dumbledore groaned. "Then I could have guided Harry from beyond the grave!"

"Now, now," Ozpin reprimanded. "We're trying to _stop_ 'guiding' them, remember?"

* * *

 **87.24 Awesomedude17**

* * *

 _"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, It's better than yours. Damn right its better than yours. I can teach you, but I have to charge,"_ Yang sang to herself as she mixed some milkshakes.

"You're just doing all this because a) you like the song, b) you have big honkers and c) because you're bored. Am I right?" Blake asked.

"Correct on all counts, Blake."

"Well then, may I have a milkshake?" Blake asked seductively.

"After I close shop."

"Ooo." Blake purred.

* * *

 **87.25 Flametusk**

* * *

"I don't think she knows I'm Awake. Maybe I'll stealth this loop," Roman said as he saw an obviously Awake take down his goons in a fraction of a second, before activating his semblance for this loop.

* * *

"I just don't get why my semblance is so specific this loop, Neo," the thief said to his partner in crime, "I just don't understand how the ability to teleporting to the bottom of a nearby ladder that is partially hidden when I'm unobserved by people is useful. I've only used it once so far this loop! And it was to do something I've done in Baseline!" he ranted to Neo.

Neo decided not to remind him that he'd had this semblance in the past, since he hadn't been Awake for most of those loops.

* * *

 **87.26 Flametusk**

* * *

"Hey Yang. Why the fireworks?" Ruby asked. It was a near-hub loop, and Yang had just let off a massive amount of fireworks that had been in her pocket, creating the most extravagant firework show anyone had seen on the planet.

"Well, you know how in the hub, my voice actress is Canadian? Well, Canada just had its 150th birthday. So I thought I'd celebrate," Yang replied.

"Oh. That makes sense," Ruby said. "So, what are you doing for the finale?"

"A Canada flag. Blake's helping. And after, we're going to-"

"I don't want to hear it Yang!"

"Spoilsport. Anyways, we were going to light up a Canada flag so big that it was visible from space, and overlay it on top of the country."

"Wouldn't that blind everyone though?" Ruby asked.

"Nah. We're setting them off to go really high up. So that everyone can see the whole thing."

* * *

 **87.27 DrTempo**

* * *

Yang chuckled as Ruby told her of what happened during the newest RWBY Chibi Loop where Ruby had been constantly late to class.

"It isn't that funny, Yang!"

Yang stopped laughing. "Your Semblance is super speed, and yet, you're constantly late to class? That is totally ironic! Though...that reminds me. Do you still have the ability to use the Speed Force? I don't see you use it that often."

Ruby promptly dashed off, and returned with Roman's hat. "That answer your question? I may not use it as much as some of my other Loop-acquired abilities, but I still use it from time to time."

Yang shrugged. "Had to ask. By the way, better return that hat. Roman will be not happy that his hat's missing." Yang looked up to see Ruby returning from doing just that.

"Already did."

Yang facepalmed. "Why did I not see that coming?"

* * *

 **87.28 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"So... That's impressive even for Qrow," Weiss admitted to Ruby, looking at Qrow, doing literally nothing against a Grimm, yet still winning.

"Yeah, it's because of that cap of his," Ruby pointed out.

"Cap?" Weiss asked, before looking closer and seeing that Qrow was in fact wearing a green cap with an L on it. "Is that, Luigi's cap?" She asks.

"Yes," Ruby answered.

Weiss's face screwed up in confusion as to why it would help him in any way. Turning towards Ruby, she saw her shaking her head.

"I don't know either," Ruby said.

Qrow still simply stood still while wearing the cap, the Ursa attacking him finally falling over due to exhaustion.

* * *

 **87.29 diesel**

* * *

Yang chatted mindlessly with her unAwake teammates as they walked through the Vytal festival fairground, looking for food. Soon they should run into Mercury and Emerald, same old same old. Yang internally sighed, taking a moment to see if she could identify any unusual dishes by scent. Most of this was unstable with only the ramen stand being semi-consistent. So odd thing sometimes showed up.

Hey, she could dream right?

 _Bored, bored, bored, is anyone else going to wake up?_

Yang idly contemplated going super sayin latter and passing it off as a semblance before dismissing it. Nothing appealed to her at the moment. The world just seemed kinda dull and grey.

 _Do we have a stealth Anchor? Geez it really has been a long time since I got out and met some other loopers, had a fused loop or even major variant.  
_  
Yang was jolted out of her thoughts as Cinder sauntered over. "Team RWBY, I was hoping to run into you."

Ruby perked up. "Oh, hey Cinder. Did you see us fight?"

Cinder smiled, and that sent numerous alarms off in Yang's mind. Yang narrowed her eyes, the lethargy falling away in moments. Cinder was moving wrong; each step, movement and word was off. Too smooth, efficient and balanced. Her emotions and responses were also different. Different in away she knew.

Yang found a smirk creeping onto her face, Cinder was awake and not trying to act normally. The smirk died almost immediately as she made note of another observation, Cinder was shaking. Her expression was too tight, and powers flaring chaotically, fragments slipping free from her iron control.

The same signs she had suffered after those Slender induced nightmares.

 _Ash damn it all_.

"Cinder," Yang interrupted, eyes fixed on Cinder as she stopped mimicking her unawake self's mannerisms. Over time Loopers tended to learn how to walk, fight, move and talk more efficiently and smoothly. But abrupt mannerism changes were annoying so would often keep using their unawake selves mannerisms to avoid problems, if they cared to anyway. Cinder _should_ not miss those changes. If she did...

Yang really hoped Cinder didn't.

"Why are you shaking like you just had a Slender nightmare again?"

"Yang!" Weiss protested, the rest of the team staring at her in shock and confusion. "Do you even..."

"Nightmare fused loop," Cinder said dismissively, cutting Weiss off. "One of the ones with talking Grimm. It was unpleasant but I got what I wanted from it. using drones I captured most of the Legendary monsters and have them in my pocket, both for trade and examination. I can think of a few loopers who would find them interesting. We've actually had that loop before, well, a variant of the same one. The basic features were all the same, within the same parameters at least, and the creatures were the same, even genetically. Which was why I went out to catch one personally."

Yang stared as Cinder apprehensively as her sister's eyes flashed in dark amusement, laughing as her amber eyes glinted in the afternoon sun. "It was a lot of fun, well after I caught the thing I wanted."

"Fire?"

Yang's deadpan made Cinder laugh more. "And blood, and magma, and magic. I thoroughly enjoyed letting of steam and getting praised for it."

"Ah, Yang? What's going on?" Ruby tried, looking between Cinder and Yang with mounting confusion.

"Reality is broken and we're trapped in a perpetual time loop."

Ruby, Weiss and Blake both stared at the synchronized flat reply from both of them. "Ah, so I guess you to know each other well then?"

Yang pointed at Cinder. "Former insane psycho that wanted to destroy Vale, and tried to eat reality permanently to become a god before your looping self talked her down. And is also our adopted sister, who is no longer insane or wants to destroy everything, but is still a pyromaniac, criminal mastermind that loves destruction and chaos. Just no longer wanting to kill everything, or for no reason at least." Before Ruby could formulate a response, Yang turned back to Cinder. "Why would you personally go out and capture something like that and not use proxies?"

Cinder smiled oddly, amused at Yang's mounting frustration and anger, and seemingly somewhat nervous. "You went through it, and then I attempted to abuse that during my Ascension." Cinder offered a hand to Yang, a pokeball now held in it, continuing to speak as Yang stared at it in frozen horror. "It didn't seem right that I use a proxy. Turns out that having memories of almost being a Admin really hurts psychics. Anyway, I thought you might appreciate having a second round with it now. You have become a lot stronger. Or just kill it. It didn't occur to me that you might not appreciate it until I had already caught it."

"Seriously, Cinder," Yang sighed wryly, running a hand through her hair as she stared at the pokeball. "You can be such a bloody idiot sometimes."

"It was sort of an impulse thing."

After a long moment Yang reached out and grabbed the ball and held it to her eyes.

* * *

 **87.30 Shimmer712**

* * *

Ruby stealthily chewed on a cookie.

"Ruby?" Weiss approached.

"Gah!" Ruby jumped choking slightly.

Weiss frowned at her. "What is with you?"

"Nothing!" she chirped, brushing away crumbs and waving a candy bar at her unAwake partner.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," she said, eyeing Ruby suspiciously. The heiress shook her head and left.

Ruby sighed. She needed to be more careful in raiding her pocketed stash of cookies.

She still couldn't believe there was a loop where cookies were illegal!

"Weiss?" Yang blinked at the girl. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sure Ruby is participating in illegal activities!" Weiss exclaimed from where she was searching Ruby's things.

"...What?" Blake looked up from her book.

"I'm sure she's been eating cookies!"

* * *

"Weiss, Ruby would have no way of knowing who the suppliers are and she can't just make them herself," Yang pointed out. "It's not like the recipes are out there for anyone to grab and people dealing them announce themselves."

"Still, I'm pretty sure she has some _somewhere!_ " Weiss insisted stubbornly.

Blake rolled her eyes, wistfully recalling the times in White Fang where they would sit around campfires and eat cookies. One of the things she actually missed about the organization.

* * *

Roman happily munched on a chocolate-strawberry cookie. "Ahh, criminally delicious," he declared.

Neo gave him a look. "Really?" she asked her fellow looper.

"What?" Roman asked. "They're good and the fact they're even here is a crime."

"Roman, please. No puns."

* * *

 **87.31 fivetro**

* * *

Team RWBY, JNPR and... whatever you call Cinder's three person team were having lunch in Beacon's cafeteria. Cinder had decided to take the loop off from her usual agenda, bar a speed run of taking Salem's palace solo.

Ruby, Cinder, Jaune and Pyrrha were the only loopers at the table. Yang and Mercury had developed a Zoro and Sanji relationship and gone somewhere to settle things... again.

"...I don't think I can rate this loop's Salem very highly," Cinder stated to Ruby. "Her minions were too quick to take out and she was more focused on a computer terminal than the room that was being turned to lava around her."

Ruby finished her totally legal again cookie before replying. "Did you see what she what she was doing after you had dealt with her?"

Cinder sighed, rested her head on her hand and poked her food with her fork with the other. "No. In the end I oneshot her with a direct blast of lava, it also ended up melting the terminal and some of the wall behind it. After that I made sure to melt the rest of the palace with lava and submerge the nearby spawning pools as a safety precaution." She siged. "It's a shame really, there could've been useful information that would've been a boon for future attempts."

"You didn't look for any other terminals or a server? That doesn't sound like you Cin-" Ruby was interrupted by the hall doors slamming open.

What came through was two Beowolves, an Ursa and an Alpha Beowolf dancing the conga in full costume as the Mexican hat dance played from nowhere. They danced down the length of the hall and didn't even stop as they went through the wall at the other end.

Eventually, Emerald tore her eyes away from the wall and looked down at what she had once considered to be a large plate full of delicious food. "I thought Beacon didn't put chemicals and strange Dust mixtures in its food."

Blake looked down at what she had once considered to be some really tasty fish. "They don't."

Ruby turned back to Cinder. "You melted Salem, the _Grimm control console_ and _the wall it was attached to_. And then you proceeded _destroy the only building_ on the _planet_ that had Grimm controlling tech in it."

"I had to write a five page report on Grimm behaviour for Professor Port!" exclaimed Cinder "I don't currently have the luxury of taking a pre-existing one out of my Pocket and tweaking around a few words, names and phrases! And I had already rented the bullhead for that weekend!"

Any further conversation was halted by Glynda over the PA system. " _Would Cinder Fall and Ruby Rose report to the headmaster's office. We understand you two are to blame for the current situation."_

The two left the cafeteria, just in time to miss the Grimm make another pass through. Where and how they got the duct tape to make Yang and Mercury go along with them was anyone's guess.

* * *

 **87.32 Flametusk**

* * *

It was a loop where only Ozpin, Glynda, Zwei, Ruby, Blake, both Yangs, Tai and otherwise, Qrow, and team JNPR were Awake. Ruby gathered them all, and explained her plan. Mostly to warn them of the prank she was going to play on the Unawake villains, along with the rest of Beacon.

* * *

"Hey guys. I'm going to hunt some Grimm. I should be back in a few hours," Ruby told her team.

"Fine." Weiss said. ' _Maybe she'll get herself killed. Somebody should go with her,_ ' she thought to herself "I'll go with you. Make sure that you don't get yourself killed."

"No, I'll be fine. I killed tons of Grimm back on Patch. Don't worry about me, Weiss," Ruby told her partner.

* * *

Ruby found the perfect spot to start the prank. The worst part would be waiting until somebody found her. Making sure that she would, in fact, be found, she sent a message to Blake and Yang to go find her once Weiss told them to start looking, but maybe to wait about half an hour before miraculously 'finding' her, along with a request to let her know when the search parties started being sent out.

With that out of the way, she split off some chibis to create an egg-like marker of the location, before going off to kill some Grimm.

* * *

"Where is she? She still hasn't come back from her training. It's been over four hours! She still has that history paper for Thursday!" Weiss turned to face the other half of her team. "Okay. If she doesn't turn up for another hour, the three of us are going to find her," she instructed.

* * *

"It's kind of creepy, the fact that there are no Grimm around. Especially this late," Yang said.

"It is disconcerting, even if we know the cause. Ruby's really going all out with this prank, isn't she?" Blake asked.

"She's not even using anything in her pocket. I would hardly call this 'all out'," Yang replied.

"True. Well, do you think we shoul-" Whatever Blake was going to suggest was cut off as a shriek was heard in the silent forest.

"Do you think Weiss found her?" Blake asked the obvious. "Come on, let's go rescue the heiress."

* * *

Weiss found some sort of hand-shaped green _thing_ attached to her partner's face. Attempts to take it off were futile; it was as if it was a part of Ruby, and the tail started to tighten around her neck.

When she tried cutting off those fingers, the _thing_ 's blood started to create a hole in the forest floor. She didn't want to dissolve Ruby, so she stopped trying to remove it from Ruby's face.

There was a big egg thing nearby, and it was opened at the top.

It was then that Blake and Yang found her.

"Weiss! What is that? What's it doing to Ruby?" Yang asked.

"I... don't know. I can't get it off. Don't try to kill it! It's blood is like acid!" The heiress replied.

"Sure. Like _you_ would know what acid is like," Blake snarked.

"What? No! I mean it burns through the ground!" the indignant Schnee said.

"Look, I'm worried about Ruby. Maybe we should take her to the infirmary," Yang said, before picking up her seemingly-unconscious sister.

* * *

The thing hugging Ruby's face fell off halfway back to Beacon, and Ruby woke up not long after.

Even though Ruby said that she felt fine, Weiss still insisted in taking her to the infirmary.

"Look. I don't know what the big deal is! Sure, I was gone for a bit longer than I said, but I'm fine! Seriously!" Ruby coughed. "That doesn't count." She coughed again.

Weiss didn't believe that Ruby was alright, but after several more days had passed without incident, other than Ruby developing an occasional cough, and sometimes after a vigorous training session becoming a bit out of breath, Weiss started to not worry.

* * *

Team RWBY lost the food fight, due to Ruby having a nasty coughing fit in the middle of using her semblance, causing her to crash into a pillar and knocking herself out.

Over the next few days, Ruby started to complain of a constant pain in her chest.

It all ended during dinner the day before team RWBY did their usual investigation of the White Fang.

* * *

"Okay, so who wants to hear our super-duper-top-secret plans for singlehandedly taking down the White Fang?" Ruby all but shouted in the crowded cafeteria.

Cinder Fall, curious but unworried, decided to amuse herself by listening in. She had no idea what was about to happen. Suddenly Ruby started to convulse, and her chest started to bulge out, and she was coughing up blood and all sorts of things, before Weiss got splattered with blood that had hosed out if Ruby's chest.

* * *

"And that's when the alien showed up!" Nora continued.

"Really, the surprising thing is that she came up with all this on her own. She's not even Awake," Ren said.

"So, what. She thought of Alien and time loops, while at the same time accurately knowing about the Pocket and Ruby's unique physiology?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Indeed. She's always had an active imagination, this loop just appears to... exaggerate it," Ren told the stunned brawler.

Nora didn't even notice the evil grin Ruby had on her face. Nobody did. Except Ruby. She was using a few Chibisalems for her mouth. Before realising that that was a bad idea, and quickly pocketing them so that they didn't become loose upon the world. Her grin just became a normal grin, as she listened with most of her attention to Nora's story, which wasn't even halfway finished.

* * *

 **87.33 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"...So..." Kali said

"...So what?" Ghira asked.

In their house on Menagerie, Kali and Ghira were facing each other. Kali was, rather pensively, rubbing her chin and staring at her husband. Particularly his big, hairy, masculine chest. Ghira looked down at his chest. "Something in my hair?"

"..." Kali pursed her lips. She nodded to herself. She asked: "are you the god of destruction?"

Ghira stared at his wife and after a moment of thought, nodded. "I am."

"YOU ARE!?" Kali screeched. She shook herself, almost unable to believe her own husband's words. "You... you are?"

"Of course," Ghira said. "Look at my chest: it's in the exact same shape of the God of Destruction. I mean, it could be a little more obvious. I could have God of Destruction in neon lights blinking behind me." Ghira stopped and shrugged. "Well... I do look like a Faunus, so there is that."

Kali, meanwhile, was wondering if Blake was a demigoddess.

* * *

 **87.34 Awesomedude17, Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"I have the distinct feeling that this Loop is already out of it," Weiss said.

"How so?" Winter asked.

Immediately after Winter finished her sentence, a glowing eyed Ruby, surrounded by cookies, floated by, speaking with the voice of legion.

 _ **"I HAVE BECOME ONE WITH THE COOKIES. THE COOKIES HAVE BECOME ONE WITH ME. TREMBLE IN AWE, FEAR AND DESPAIR. TREMBLE BEFORE ME."  
**_  
A blast from an explosive blew apart Ruby.

 _ **"FOOL! THOUGH THE COOKIE CRUMBLES, IT IS STILL DELICIOUS AND EDIBLE AND CAN NOW BE SHARED AMONGST THE OTHERS!"  
**_  
"Ruby." Weiss spoke up.

Ruby turned to see Weiss, holding up an oatmeal raisin cookie.

 _ **"NOOOOO! OATMEAL RAISIN! MY ONE WEAKNESS! NOOOOOooooo**_ ooooooo!"

"You done?"

"I am now," Ruby sadly said.

"Good. I'm telling Taiyang."

"NOOOO! He'll ban cookies for the rest of the Loop!"

"Well you should have thought about that before you went eldritch. Come!"

"Noooooooooooo!"

Winter sighed. She so needed a drink.

"...Woh." Qrow walked up with some cups in his hands. "You think you see everything, and then your niece turns into Cookiethulhu. Here."

Winter took the cup from Qrow, sipping it. Milk. "You know, you can have some scotch or wine if you want to."

Qrow shrugged. "I'm fine." For emphasis, he sipped his milk.

Winter sipped her drink for a few moments, and then kissed Qrow on the cheek. "I love you."

* * *

 **87.35 fivetro**

* * *

Team RWBY had completed initiation for Beacon again and were now waiting for their first class of the year, Grimm studies with Professor Port.

"Do you guys think Port will have a different Grimm than the Boarbatusk?" asked Ruby

"Got something planned little sis?" Yang looked along at her sister.

Over the loops every one of the Remnant loopers had done something unusual during Port's first class. Weiss simply had a Myrtenaster made from off branch materials that could pierce even the thickest parts of the Grimm's hide, Roman had barged into class and stolen the Grimm (along with Port's moustache) and Kali had somehow made it feel guilty about the whole indiscriminate attacking thing.

"I was thinking of flooding the floor with my chibis to hide pocketing it to somewhere on Starkiller and making it look like I made it drown."

"I'll record what happens out here if you give me a feed of where it lands on your death planet," her sister replied.

"Deal."

"I AM HERE!" shouted a muffled voice. "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR-" The door was blasted off its hinges and crashed into a cage on the other side of the room that gave a distressed squeal. "-LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

The figure strode across the room, having caught everyone's attention (and yes, that hair was coming from his eyebrows) and stopped in front of the teachers desk.

"I AM YOUR TEACHER FOR GRIMM STUDIES! PROFESSOR ALL MIGHTY PORT!" He also did an impressive flex of his muscles as he said this.

Ruby leaned over to her teammates. "This is going to be so awesome!" she whispered.

* * *

 **87.36 diesel**

* * *

 _It was amazing how faceted a looper became._

Cinder could recall the war, the wrath and the beat of hearts. The scent of smoke and fire and blood. The look of fear and hate, the presence of the Grimm. Masks and facades as she sent the kingdom plunging into terror and anarchy. Of her schemes and plans being undone so easily by things, people she could not defeat. Those were the earliest recollections she truly had. The few things that were consistent in those early loops where she walked alone without anything else to define her except harming the other loopers.

Was it any wonder she chose to become a vampire? That she sought out fire based powers and control over the beasts? Developed the ability to sense, to revel, in those dark emotions as she acted? Wore an endless parade of personas and schemes. And drove herself to the point of almost madness as she tried to achieved victory, to win against something that was beyond her reach for so long.

* * *

 _Blades flashed through the air, glinting in the midnight sun of Solitas. Cinder's eyes were closed as she moved, black hair streaming behind her. Powers from across eternity spiralled around her in mind bending patterns as she pushed the control over her powers to the brink._

 _She had lost so much, and gained so much in her fall. The frigid air bit into her all too human body._

 _No fire. No blood. No fear. No anger. No Grimm. No masks. No acting._

 _Just herself._

* * *

Cinder could recall what it was like to rule over a bloody regime. To command nations and crush dissenters. The visceral pleasure and satisfaction of those she opposed and opposed her falling. She could recall the cold calculation and equations of a general, commanding armies to crush nations. To take the reigns of power for herself, or obey the commands of other rulers.

Or to lead revolutions and rebellions; for pleasure or righteous causes. The asymmetrical warfare, the stress and emotions. Of being a commander and leader or rank and file. Cinder knew them all, hated them and revelled in them.

She remembered the thrill of destruction. The pleasure of killing, of crushing her foes and making them hurt. To break another's will. Just because she could. The endless drive to win at all costs. One of the most fundamental drives she had. One that always returned even if subsumed under a different persona and agenda for a loop.

Even after a million loops it was simple to step back into one of those roles.

The persona and mind state coming back so easily, it was as though she had never stopped. There was no conflict. A fathomless number of other Cinders and all their perspectives were hers. All those aspects of who she was, had become.

Some as fleeting as idle musings, others that formed the seeds of new facets and drives.

* * *

 _A plain of ice shimmered under the light of powers that should never have cast their radiance upon Remnant. The very world seemed to strain under the seething energies._

 _The haunting light flickered across Cinder's face, the dancing of shadows highlighting her beauty and otherworldliness. Each movement perfect as the blades flickered through the air. Efficient and graceful. As though the world was moving around her rather than the other way._

 _No mortal could match her. In speed or skill._

 _Liquid flame dancing to a beat unheard._

 _She was peaceful._

* * *

It had not just been the desire to get some protection and the benefit of interacting with the main loopers that had driven Cinder to integrate herself with them. That had been the main reason, but looking back she could see it had been loneliness as well.

Humans are not meant to endure isolation. And for all her intellect and composure and loner nature, and with all the benefits of a looper's mind, Cinder knew she was not exception. Those dull shadows and shades, faces that passed into oblivion like flies could not make up for it.

Loneliness…

It was agony.

And ignoring it did not change that one single fact.

But its cure was the most insidious of poisons.

It was one you did not wish to stop taking.

* * *

 _Shards of memories and emotions sparkled in the night's light, casting their shadows across the barren landscape. Scenes from times long past reflected in the ice-covered surface._

 _Living shades played out snippets of a life lived, thinking thoughts and recalling memories that sparkled in the night, emotions weaving between the ever-expanding fractal facets._

 _Phantasmal courts formed from the memories and thoughts, warring and shifting. Joining and fragmenting. All echoes of the whole, facets of a soul beyond understanding._

 _In the center of the living dreams and battling desires, the memories and fears, Cinder continued her dance. Disparate blades cut through the air and sound as her consciousness expanded and reflected in the ice._

 _One blade forged by those she had come to care about more than any other. One half of a fractured pair. A memento of those she loved, and had harmed. A remnant of something now forever lost. Silver steel with gold patterning that formed her emblem, a crimson crystal on the pummel and ashen black grip on the handles. Perfectly balanced._

 _One blade crafted to torment and had never seen combat, never spilt the blood it had been designed to. One half of a fractures pair. A memento of lies, insanity, hate and isolation. To have been used would have destroyed the masquerade. Obsidian ceramic, glowing veins of golden fire running though and her emblem emblazoned in crimson above the hilt. Perfectly balanced._

 _Broken in a fit of madness after it all shattered._

* * *

Cinder could recall the shock and scorn when the other loopers remember something she had said off hand and went out of their way to do something for her. The disgust that they would be given in so easily. That they believed she was their friend and family. But there was something else. A spark that died quickly, extinguished by everything else.

She could not recall when someone had taken the time to do something for her. For her actions to matter. That she was not, did not have to be, a phantom.

Friend. Family. Comrade. Teammate. Ally. Teacher. Student. Sibling. Rival. Parent. Child.

All of these masks she had worn willingly as she lied and schemed. Offering words of comfort and affection with a silver tongue while bearing the dagger and poison in the other. Using what she learnt to drive the blade ever deeper.

Revelling in the comfort of companionship, of not fading and being forgotten every cycle.

Revelling in the comfort of anonymity, of not having to care and to test her mettle as the cycles repeated.

Taking the memories of the fathomless number of other Cinders who lived as they approved. Strengthening the mask and growing ever more faceted. Each cycle but a choice. The masks slipping on as though she had never left them. The emotions coming more easily to her face every loop until fact and fiction blurred.

Cinder recalled the thrill of destruction. The pleasure of killing, of crushing her foes alongside those who remembered and cared, and making those who harmed them suffer. To challenge them openly and see how far she had come and learn from each repeat. The endless drive to win. One of the most fundamental drives she had, tempered by the mask but free to express itself anew.

It was a pleasure Cinder had never known or long forgotten, something from before the loops. But something she knew from the echoes she took each loop.

The most insidious of poisons, and one that Cinder willingly imbibed.

Was it any wonder that she came to care, or that she denied her feelings?

* * *

 _The shades stretched into the horizon and the tempo of Cinder's movements changed. The moon passed in front of the sun as her mind retreated from its reflections._

 _A maelstrom of gleaming shards of memories, shifting emotions and chains of thought rose into the sky. In the eye of the storm, Cinder slowed her movements slowly coming to a stop, the rivers of exotic powers withdrawing._

 _The sparking shards vanishing until she was left alone in the cold._

 _Nothing else._

 _No reflections._

 _No shades._

 _No echoes._

 _The cold burned as she breathed in the harsh air. Letting the arctic air anchor her to the present once more._

* * *

Then the mask became real.

But that did not make her other faces any less real. did not let her other aspects fade into nothingness. Could not eliminate the patterns of ages.

Cinder had had doubts when she realised she cared. But she had been denied her feelings for so long, compartmentalised so much. Some traits ran through all aspects.

The endless desire to win, to compare to those who were here peers. To crush them and know she was better. That never faded, merely the methods.

Her affection, love and comradeship did not fade when she knew it was real. And she had already been shifting her methods to avoid tormenting them as much when walking the other path. Everyone else was free game and they need the change of a good opponent anyway.

And the discord within her faceted soul grew. But every soul had discord and contradictions within it. No mind was logical. Even the march of eternity did not change that.

And in a soul of a Looper, such contradictions were only magnified in a way no mortal could ever suffer or comprehend.

Loopers were not Mortal, and had not been so since that first loop.

But they could be Divine until that final Loop.

In the end it took being more Divine than Mortal to fix the damage of being more Mortal than Divine had caused.

* * *

 _For the first time, Cinder opened her striking amber eyes and looked upon the tundra. A cloud of mist rising up into the air with every breath, freezing and falling to the ground like white snow._

 _In the distance clouds brewed, the wind carrying snowflake like petals across the bleak expanse. The swords vanished and Cinder vanished. The cold and ice vanished and was replaced with the tree lines path of Beacon._

Cinder walked unhindered through the darkened halls, the siren of a warm shower and sleep pulling her onwards.

"Cinder?"

Pyrrha walked down the moon lit corridor towards her, dressed in armour that burned with a gold-black light.

"Evening, Pyrrha," Cinder said calmly, inclining her head. She really did not want to deal with Pyrrha right now. The gladiator may have said she didn't hate her, but Cinder had not felt any comradery or actual care since her Ascension. And a person could only try for so long before they gave up trying to make amends. "You're finally making use of Éromai. I never understood why you ignored it after the effort Jaune went to obtain it."

"I didn't see the need to use her for anything," Pyrrha said with a faint smile, biting back a yawn, "I found my normal weapons and armour more than adequate and preferred to keep her as a ring. Your madness showed me how powerful she was and that I was silly for not training with the weapon Jaune got me."

"It was made by Lina Inverse, contains a fragment of Chaos, and is soul bonded to you. Of course it's powerful. I doubt anyone here could equal its power, at least not without many, many loops effort."

Pyrrha laughed, falling into step besides Cinder as they head for their dorms. "True. I almost got myself killed not knowing how to use her properly. I'm never going to make that mistake again."

"I'm pretty sure you have made the mistake of think you can use a weapon before without training. And likely will again at some point in the future," Cinder said dryly, every looper got complacent and arrogant at some point and had it blow up in their faces.

"I can try at least. That was a more powerful lesson than most." She gave a sideways glance at Cinder. "What were you doing out so late, and as a Human not a Vampire… and why did you move the moon?"

Cinder shrugged as they reached JNPR's and CREM's room's. "Training. It had been awhile since I trained as a human and I needed to examine how I was recovering from my Fall. And I moved the moon as I felt like it."

As Cinder prepared to close the door, Pyrrha called out, "Cinder?"

She paused, waiting for Pyrrha to speak. There was a prominent pause followed by a deep breath. "I'm going to start working on wielding twin blades, I have fallen out of practice, tomorrow. Would you be free to train with me?"

Cinder did not react visibly to the question and after a few second she replied, "That's fine. We can discuss more details after breakfast."

* * *

 **87.37 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Ruby Awoke and blinked in surprise both due to her loop memories, as well as the dilemma she had found herself in.

"I don't know what I find most peculiar. The fact that I have Awoken as a clone of the unAwake me, or that I am a clone made and kept secret from the rest of my team by Weiss."

Ruby considered simply run away and treating it all as a vacation loop. Of course, the temptation to mess with an unAwake Weiss was too good to pass up.

Weiss, upon entering her laboratory housing a clone of Ruby Rose, let her jaw drop to the floor as she beheld the Ruby clone, sitting in an armchair she knew she hadn't provided, wearing a business suit and drinking tea of all things.

"Good evening," Ruby greeted her with a high society french accent.

Weiss chose that moment to freak out and pass out.


	88. Disturbing Revelations

**88.1 StormyAngel**

* * *

Ruby grinned. The loop had started off _juuuust_ right when she beat Roman and his goons into the ground. Roman wouldn't take it personally, she knew. He wasn't awake after all, and she would break him out if he woke up later.

Sometimes a good curbstomp was just what the doctor ordered.

Now she was on her way to Beacon, Yang in tow, for another fabulous year of Remnant rescue work. That was hardly new at this point, but she had heard three pings earlier, so _something_ interesting was bound to happen.

"Ruby, wait up!"

"Weiss!" Ruby squeed. "You're here!" She ran and hugged her oldest friend before giving the heiress an appraising look.

"Why is your hair...?"

"Electric blue."

"Gesundheit."

"Bless you."

"No, I was...never mind." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Why?"

Weiss smiled and shrugged. "I felt like cutting loose for a while. It's not like Ozpin or the other staff will complain even if they aren't awake."

"Ooh, that reminds me. I have _got_ to tell you what happened a couple years back. We had this variant..."

Weiss smiled as Ruby rambled on, managing to direct her staff with the luggage even as she winked at a bemused Yang. Ruby was, is, and always would be a chatterbox, even if she was making a conscious decision to cling to her old personality through the cycling eternities. Thankfully, that meant she never really turned on a dime like some of them did, so even an unawake Yang shouldn't be too worried just yet.

"...and then Oscar was soul bound to Ozpin, and Glynda said-"

"What!?" Weiss did a spit take. "You know?!"

"Of course I do Weiss!" Ruby folded her arms and pouted. "Pay attention! I'm not even getting to the good part yet."

"No, wait. Stop." Weiss demanded, grabbing Ruby's hand and pulling her to a standstill. "When did you find out about Oscar?"

"Oscar?" Ruby repeated confusedly. "Umm...back during the expansions like the rest of you?"

Weiss couldn't help dropping her jaw. "That long?!"

"Well..." Ruby scrunched her face up in thought. "I didn't really watch the backups for a while but we started having those variants where Oscar showed up with Ozpin in his head so...yeah."

"And you're okay with this." Weiss asked her disbelievingly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ruby asked, and Weiss sensed genuine confusion coming off of her friend. Ruby really couldn't understand why she should be upset.

"Oh thank Marianne!" Weiss exhaled. "I had no idea how you were going to take this. I mean, after that loop you dated Oscar I was worried that you'd be mad at Ozpin for hiding their bond, but now-"

"B-b-bond?!" Ruby squeaked, eyes writ large. "What bond?"

"Uh..." Weiss responded dumbly, too confused from the whiplash of Ruby's reactions. "Their...soul-bond?" she meekly whispered.

Ruby frowned.

"You mean that _wasn't_ just their unAwake variants?"

For a moment nothing happened at all as Ruby stared at Weiss, waiting for her to deny it. When she didn't, the blood drained from the Anchor's face as her mind froze at the implications. Weiss could practically watch her friend's mind turn back all those loops to the time when she'd Woken up as Oscar's girlfriend.

Then she managed to make a face that expressed sheer horror while simultaneously blushing.

"Oh dear god!" she exclaimed. "I made out with Professor Ozpin!"

* * *

Weiss burst out of the elevator shaft, the broken metal doors falling to the ground as she pointed her finger accusingly.

" _You!_ "

"Me," the headmaster replied with a smirk.

"What were you thinking!" she shrieked. "This wasn't what we agreed on!"

"On the contrary, Miss Schnee," Ozpin replied calmly, "several hundred years fits the Looping definition of 'Soon' quite nicely."

"You know damn well what I mean," she spat angrily, summoning a chair out of thin air even as she collapsed into it. "We were supposed to break it to her gently. You weren't supposed to set up some Byzantine multi-loop scheme where you lured me into blurting it out! Now, because you decided to play a _prank_ , Ruby didn't have any warning! She was _not_ pleased, let me tell you."

"I'm the headmaster of a school of huntsmen," Ozpin replied imperiously. "It's my _job_ to be mysterious and Byzantine." He looked at her sideways. "Are you telling me you just left her there?"

"Of course not," Weiss muttered. "I spent the last four hours walking her through it."

"Ah." Ozpin nodded and sipped his coffee with a smile. "I had wondered where you two went. You missed my best welcoming speech ever."

He stilled for a moment, head cocked. "Oscar wants to know: How did it go?"

"As well as we could have hoped." Weiss snorted. "She actually thought you were Awake for that loop when Oscar dated her."

Ozpin winced. "I see."

"Don't worry," Weiss replied. "I may be ready to ship you off to Atlas for this little stunt, but even I'm not _that_ cruel. I made sure she knows neither of you were awake for that. She's mad, but not like she _could_ be."

Ozpin shuddered at the near miss. "Thank you," he replied quite sincerely.

"You're welcome," Weiss replied demurely before baring her teeth at the man. "Now. Since you know _Ruby_ isn't about to come down on you just yet, why don't you explain to Remnant's _Second_ what the hell you were trying to pull."

"Do you know who our fourth looper is this loop Weiss?" Ozpin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Weiss replied automatically, suddenly worried. An inexplicable feeling of dread washed over her. "Should I?"

"Let's just say that Yang should have some _very_ interesting video right about now." Ozpin murmured with another smirk.

* * *

...several loops later...

* * *

"I made out with Professor Ozpin!" the Anchor of Remnant shrieked on the big screen as every Looper of Remnant burst into laughter. The theater had been rented for the purpose of showing the 'informational presentation' explaining Ozpin and Oscar's soulbond.

"Alright," Ruby admitted to Ozpin. "That was pretty funny."

"Thank you, Miss Rose." The headmaster smiled lightly. "I thought we could all use a laugh."

* * *

 **88.2 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

Kali Awoke and immediately looked over her loop memories as she found herself in a different loop. Assessing her loop memories, she came to two conclusions. First, she was in the Dragonball loop. Second, she was screwed. Entered into a tournament of Power to decide the fates of eight different universes where only the last one remaining would earn the right to continue existing, the rest of the universes being erased upon losing. Considering that her universe, universe 9, had been ranked among the two weakest universes, the fact that she herself was still considered a rather inexperienced looper and that she was more than likely going to fight against local loopers who might or might not be Awake...

Sending out a ping, she only got one response, probably the anchor, Bulma if she recalled correctly. Looking around, she noticed that Bulma was nowhere to be seen, therefore unable to help her. She decided to simply bite the bullet and try and play take the loop as it came at her. Having made a decision, she turned her attention back to Daishinkan who was explaining the rules.

* * *

"Um, what happened?" Kali asked out loud, finding herself to be unharmed inside of a white void of some kind, the only thing there being the floor underneath her feet. Despite having lost together with the other 9 warriors from her universe and been doomed by the king of everything who was supposed to erase her and everyone from her universe from existence, she was apparently still within the same loop.

"Phew, made it in the nick of time," a voice said from right next to her. Looking over, Kali saw a woman with blue hair, looking surprisingly young for her supposed age. Bulma, the anchor for the Dragon Ball loop.

"But, how? I was supposed to be erased from existence," Kali said, stunned.

"Yeah, fortunately, due to you pinging, and me able to locate you in time using some cameras I made sure to put on them in case any of them were late to Awaken, I was able to use instant transmission to help save you. Sure, there's not much of the loop left, but it's never pleasant being erased from reality," Bulma explained before smiling at Kali. "Sorry, I don't believe we've met before. I'm Bulma. Anchor of the Dragon Ball loops," she introduced herself, offering Kali a hand.

"I'm Kali Belladonna, I'm from the Remnant loop." Kali introduced herself, taking Bulma's hand and shook it. "You said this loop is ending soon?"

"Yes, however, we're currently in the Hyperbolic time chamber. Time passes faster inside of here than it does outside, this should let us has some more time to talk before the loop ends, perhaps let you train some with the abilities you've gained for the loop and keep some of them. As you can imagine, Ki is very handy to have," Bulma said, making Kali nod.

"I'd like that, and thank you, for saving me."

"No problem, this being a lonely loop wasn't doing it for me, some company is always appreciated," Bulma said before the two of them spent the rest of the time they had for the loop the best they could, letting Kali grow accustomed to the feeling of Ki.

* * *

 **88.3 Awesomedude17**

* * *

Leman absolutely hated it when his father was the cranky corpse with the text to speech device, as it usually leads to one annoying thing to his clan.

"Welcome back Leman Russ, my old friend," Bjorn said.

"Thank you, Bjorn. Please explain why every one of my wolfin' children are crazy about corgis."

"''Tis a decree from the Emperor himself, telling us to rename ourselves from the Space Wolves to the Space Corgis."

"And you believed that claptrap?"

"We've has proof of this."

"A holovid?"

"Delivered by an actual corgi. In fact, bring in the war corgi!"

Leman stared as the corgi waddled its way to Leman and panted.

"Bjorn, I'll need a moment alone with the dog."

"Very well, Leman." Bjorn left the room.

"Zwei, I know you're Awake. What is the meaning of this?"

"Well, I'll be quite honest, I don't like you, and I heard it was one of those variants you go through, so I decided to sneak into the Golden Palace, and make my presence known to your father."

"So the main reason you are here is because you don't like me?"

"Indeed."

"...You have made a powerful enemy, dog."

"As have you, Space Corgi."

"Oh, I'm gonna tell yer owner what a baaad dog you've been when I next see ya. Ya gonna be fixed up real good."

"Try it. I dare."

"I will."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good!"

* * *

 **88.4 Elipses**

* * *

Team RWBY was gathered in their beacon dorm, the loop having started only recently after the Emerald Forest. Ruby was considering whether any of the new universes she had seen hints of during her last hub loop had any weapons she wanted to try and replicate or stea- *ahem* _appropriate_. Weiss was experimenting with dust from the last variant she had been in (one where dust corresponded to concepts, leading to her current project, 'hunger dust') Blake and Yang were plotting... something. The other two weren't sure what, though the words 'chocolate syrup' and 'flamethrower' had been overheard. All of this was disrupted when Pyrrha burst into the room, looking haggard and clutching her scroll to her chest. Her eyes zeroed in on the looping Heiress before she hurried over.

"Weiss!"

"Yes Pyrrha?"

"Have you got some Lien I could borrow? I promise I'll pay you back next loop, but I really need some now!"

Team RWBY stared, confused. Ruby spoke up.

"Errrrr, Pyrrha, did you forget you have a stockpile in your pocket, like all of us do?

Pyrrha remained frantic while answering.

"No, It just hasn't been enough!"

Weiss raised an eyebrow at this. Pyrrha was acting... strange. She said as much as asked what the money could be for.

Pyrrha answered at a pace more usual for Nora on a sugar rush.

"It's been five hundred loops since Jaune and I have been awake together, and now I think he is but I need the lien to get him!"

"How is Lien going to get you to him?" Weiss asked, curious.

Pyrrha showed her scroll while proclaiming loudly, "I think he's trapped in the gacha for this game, and I just can't seem to get him to drop! I've already used up all of my liquid Lien, but I refuse to lose this chance to see him!"

Weiss looked at the game on the phone (Remnant/Great Chaos) looked at the frantic looper before her, before pulling out a credit card from her pocket and handing it over.

"Here. I don't imagine that you could burn through my funds before getting your rare 5 star Jaune Arc."

Taking the card, Pyrrha ran of the room, promising to pay Weiss back as soon as she saw her husband again.

Behind her, Weiss sighed. Of all the possible semblances for Jaune to get, why did it have to be getting trapped in a Mobage...

* * *

 **88.5 Shimmer712, Infinite Freedo**

* * *

Blake sighed. "This is nice."

"Isn't it though?" Yang said smugly as Blake groaned. Then yelped.

"Yang! Not so hard!"

"Oops. Sorry. That was a bit hard for a massage, wasn't it?" Yang said sheepishly.

"With a hand made of metal, yes," Blake answered. "Probably would have been fine with your other hand."

"So, just a back massage or a full body one?" Yang asked from where she was sitting behind Blake, rubbing her back with her vibrating mechanical hand.

Blake considered. "Let's start with a back massage and see how things develop," she decided. She glanced back at her girlfriend. "You know, Ruby and Weiss are going to be out late. Something about Weiss's dad and pranks."

Yang grinned widely. "Really?" she smirked. "What shall we do without them?"

"Let's finish the massage and find out."

* * *

Yang stared at the glass in hand, her face intent.

"Yang?" Sun stared at the other blonde. "What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing if the vibration in my arm is enough to completely mix this drink without me having to shake it," she responded.

"So, if this works out, you'll have a built in drink mixer in baseline?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Yang agreed. "I'm starting with the lowest setting then moving up to the higher ones."

"Okay, then," Sun shrugged, walking off and leaving Yang to her little experiment. "I thought Roman was the one with a bar?"

Ruby pulled up short as she entered the team's dorm room.

"Yang? Why is your arm in the wall? And why is there no hole in the wall?" Indeed the buxom blonde's arm was stuck through the wall.

"Well if I put my arm on the highest setting I can actually pull a Flash and vibrate fast enough to phase through walls."

That got a raised eyebrow from the local Anchor. "You found this out how?"

"I was bored."

That explained so much and so little at the same time.

* * *

 **88.1 (con't) Masterweaver**

* * *

"...So, now that the big reveal's been made-"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yang, I already told you, the whole situation's complicated."

"Hey, we're no strangers to complicated romance. Me and Blake are dealing with our unawake selves, plus Sun, Kali's husband isn't looping, Pyrrha's dead sometimes, there's Ren and Nora-"

"Alright, alright!" Ruby waved her hands at her grinning sister. "I get the picture!"

Taiyang cleared his throat, maneuvering between his daughters and the headmaster. "All joking aside, this is the first I've heard of this. Maybe I'm being a bit overprotective, but I think I'd like to know what, exactly, is going on."

Ozpin cleared his throat. "First of all, I have never made any romantic overtures toward your daughters or any of my students as myself. And Oscar has only continued relationships that started before his Awakening, and even then only limited to nonsexual, consensual contact."

Ruby cleared her throat. "Secondly... Oscar and Ozpin..." She rubbed the back of her head. "Okay, look, there's this really old looper-Usagi, one of the Original Seven anchors, and she's made a pretty thorough study of souls and their mechanics. Reincarnation, life energy, spiritual damage, she... she gave me a book of her findings a while back for personal reasons. So, Oscar and Ozpin are... the same, but not?"

Taiyang looked at her, nonplussed.

"Usagi made a lot of analytical comparisons of the same person in different situations. Like looping versus not looping, child versus adult, variants versus baseline-basically, people change, but they also stay the same in some very basic ways. So... like..." Ruby snapped her fingers. "It's like the chibisalems. They're Me As Salem, to a degree. Oscar is Ozpin As A Young Farmer, and Ozpin is Oscar As An Old Headmaster. It's-they're not the same, but they kind of are. At the root. But we're not talking about the root-it's the phases, of life, you know? You date somebody in your age group, even if they weren't before... or something..."

She sighed. "Look, the point is, Oscar is cute and nice and if, _if_ , baseline has us crushing on each other, I'll be okay with that. I'll be okay if it doesn't happen, too. I'm not going to date _Ozpin_ , that would be... I mean he's good-looking for a guy his age, but he's also my teacher, and Oscar... isn't? The point is, there is nothing going on here, and what could happen will not be inappropriate, I don't think... anyway, the point is, it's complicated."

Taiyang quirked a brow. "Complicated."

"I will respect her wishes in all things, of course," Ozpin assured him.

"...Of course you will. I expect I'll hear if you don't."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, don't worry Dad, I'll invite you to any Ozpounding that needs to happen." She patted her sister's shoulder. "And besides, she's the one who called him good-looking."

"She is, isn't she?" Taiyang mused.

Ruby flushed. "Just because I'm celibate doesn't mean I can't appreciate what I see!"

"Once you get him to manage that hair of his, he _is_ very good-looking," Cinder pointed out. "And I can tell you from experience that it's the same without the suit."

Yang blinked. "Wait, WHAT?"

"He wasn't Awake, I was bored and tense, one thing led to another-"

Ozpin cleared his throat. "I... think I'm going to leave now." He walked briskly out the door.

* * *

 **88.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby flicked another page in her binder, idly musing over the oddity of existence, when she became aware of a presence. A presence that had announced itself by clearing its throat.

She glanced up, took in the situation, and gave a slow, sad sigh.

"Okay, Dad, listen. I appreciate your penchant for comedy, really I do. It has helped me through some tough times. But you have to realize that humor is an evolving, complicated thing."

Taiyang Xiao Long blinked. "Um-"

"I mean, yes. Tai. Tye dye. Obvious pun. Which is why it isn't funny." Ruby held out her hand. "I mean, if I was FOUR it would be funny, because I'd be like 'oh hey they sound the same I am a smart girl' but these days, the jokes kind of have to have some more... engagement worked in, you know? You have to set up the situation, then bind it suddenly at the punchline. You can't have the punchline be obvious from the beginning, that's universal no matter how old I am." She turned to Yang. "I'm right, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Yang nodded, more focused on her scroll. "Sorry, I'm just kind of wondering why I have this video on my scroll."

"Hey, isn't that me killing that Nevermore?"

"Yeah, except-this is a chibi loop, but this isn't chibi you, so-"

"Excuse me," Tai interjected, "I wasn't wearing this to make a joke."

Ruby blinked. "You... you weren't?"

"No! There's an art festival going on down in Vale. I thought you'd like to come... or something."

The girls shared a look.

"...you know, that doesn't sound half bad." Yang shut off her phone. "Sorry Dad, it's just your unawake self tries to force the Tye-Tai pun so often in this part of the loop-"

"Yeesh, chibi loops really do do a number on your head," Taiyang mused. "Eh, don't worry, I'll stick to more aesthetically pleasing jokes at the festival."

Ruby snorted in amusement, shutting her binder. "There you go! That's much better!"

* * *

 **88.7 Black Omochao**

* * *

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY/Danny Phantom/Fairly Odd Parents/Red Vs Blue/Jurassic Park/DinoZaurs/JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]

Keita approached the Crank-a-Kai, grabbing the knob and twisting it, causing a capsule to drop out.

Usually the one in the capsule was Whisper, sometimes it was a different yo-kai, but he could honestly say that he didn't expect what came out of it this time.

"Zwei!?" the Anchor questioned, staring at his sisters' dog, floating like a ghost.

"Oh, hiya Nate!"

"It's Keita right now, what were you doing in the Crank-a-Kai!?"

"…That is a good question…" The two stared at each other, a sweatdrop forming on Keita's head.

* * *

Nate opened the capsule carefully, releasing a burst of smoke.

"I am the Box Ghost!" the humanoid spirit that was released from the capsule announced. "BEWARE!" Nate stared at him with an unimpressed expression.

"…I know Whisper replaced you before, but this is kind of stupid," the human boy huffed, the ghost looking at him in confusion.

"…Um, didn't you hear me? I said; BEWARE!"

* * *

Keita opened and watched as the two small, humanoid figures formed.

"I'm Cosmo!" the green haired one announced.

"And I'm Wanda!" The pink haired one followed.

"And we're, your Fairy God Parents!" the two shouted together in a cheerful manner, waving their wands and making giant words saying; 'Fairy God Parents' with stage lights and confetti. Keita blinked.

"…What? Not a fan?" Wanda questioned.

"I'm just a little confused," Keita admitted blankly. "Why were you in the Crank-a-Kai?"

"We have no idea!" Cosmo exclaimed happily, Wanda sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Is it too much to ask to just get Whisper?" Keita muttered while shaking his head, the two fairies shared a confused glance.

"CABOOSE!?"

"Hi Keita-Nate!" Nate stared at the blue armored soldier blankly, he didn't seem to be a spirit in any way, shape or form, yet somehow, he had fit inside the capsule. "…So, what's new? Still in school?"

* * *

Keita pulled open the capsule, in a burst of smoke he was face-to-face with a tyrannosaurus-ghost!

"Well, it was cramped in there…" Roxy stated, cracking her neck, despite her current lack of a physical body.

"Roxy?"

"Oh, Keita. How have you been?"

"Fine… why were you in there?" Keita asked curiously, Roxy hummed in thought, going over her Loop-memories.

"…Apparently, a hundred or so years back, there was a monk whom couldn't tell the difference between a dinosaur ghost, and a demon."

"…Oh."

* * *

When Nate opened the capsule, instead of smoke, a swarm of one-eyed bats surged forth. Forming together into the form of a dark haired, teenage girl.

"FREEDOM!" Kira shouted cheerfully, extending two bat wings and a tail, before flying into the sky. "Thanks for the help kid! But now I'm off to have fun! WEE!" Nate just watched in confusion.

"Okay, that was something…"

* * *

Keita opened the capsule he had obtained from the Crank-a-Kai, smoke burst forth as usual, but his eyes widened as he got sight of the muscular figure that formed.

"You were expecting a yo-kai, but it was actually ME, DIO!" Keita stared blankly at the (pending) MLE, before turning and stiffly walking away.

"Nope."

* * *

 **88.8 Alastair Dragovich**

* * *

Neo was smacking her face into a wall. Now, for any Looper or outsider, this would be expected after something mind numbingly stupid had happened. And, in a way, it was mind-numbing.

Except the mind numbing thing was _boredom_. She was hoping, through sheer random chance, that the brain damage she'd get would spark SOME sort of inspiration in her. Something, anything!

"Huh, that's an interesting way to make modern art," said a passerby. "Do you take commissions?"

Neo blinked and looked up. Sure enough, her systematic head-bashing had, inadvertently, carved out a not-so bad impressionist's depiction of a Grimm attack. Neo looked at it thoughtfully for a moment.

"2,000 Lien, and you have to provide the wall."

The passerby thought for a moment. "Does it have to be cement?"

"No, but it's preferable."

"...alright, why not?" The passerby then began to hash out the details with the bored 'artist'.

* * *

"Neo..." Roman sighed as he rubbed his brow. "Must I even ask WHY you thought this was a good idea?"

Neo, now a famous sculptor and sporting enough bruises, cuts, and brain damage to pass as a particularly good-looking ogre, simply smiled cheekily. She was already making plans for her 'masterpiece', something she saw as reality was being eaten that was sure to be a hit amongst the cultist community. Next Loop, though, she'd use something that was a lot less painful than her face.

Probably someone else's face, if she was honest. Adam's Mask DID look like it could add some fine detail that she had been lacking, after all.

* * *

 **88.9 KanameFujiwara**

* * *

Adam X

Blake was used to looping and it while it was rare - there are and had been loops where Adam was a good person.

But even she was caught of guard with this latest incarnation of him.

"Please answer these charges that are often raised against you: That you are a faunus extremist. That you are an advocate of faunus rearmament as well as violence."

Adam nodded, "Certainly Lisa. I wish to make it clear to our audience regardless of our differences," he responded while making sure he had the full attention of his listeners, "The White Fang is not a unified front. Even among faunus there exist differences between them. In the White Fang we have factions and I represent the faction that seeks for the defense of faunus. We are not anti-human - we are simply indifferent to them. What I did is not a call for violence against our oppressors - as fitting as it maybe - but for the protection of faunushood.

For too long we have stood protesting against the ruling class. For so long it has always been peaceful. And what was their response? Faunus killed in broad daylight even as they are _unarmed!_ And these are not isolated incidents - they had been more. And are on the rise.

What do we do? Do we stand as we allow our oppressors to shed the blood of our people? Or do we rise and protect them? My call for rearmament was out necessity - if we have the necessary firepower then perhaps the power that be would think twice before taking those of our blood!"

Blake listened to his argument all the while noticing the similarity and differences between this version of Adam and baseline Adam. There was anger - that much was clear. There was a sense of correcting an injustice. Of rising to what he view as against the enemies of his people.

But this Adam was not a killer. He was an orator. He can fight well enough but his weapons were his tongue. And there was a sharpness within his word that cut her deeper than any of his slashes. And at times Blake found herself agreeing with him.

 _Which is why this is so difficult._

"-but surely you must see the dangers of escalation? If we allow faunus to armed themselves then the tension between humans and faunus could escalate beyond our control. If we are not careful the situation could descent into another Faunus War."

"I see you point of view and understand it Lisa," Adam agreed with the reporter before continuing,"But I am not advocating for war against humankind. What I am advocating is the defense of faunushood. To exercise the right - you heard me, the right to bear arms. Every individuals within the compact of the Vytal treaty was afforded the right to bear arms. Not only humans but also faunus. It is discrimination to deny the rights of one group while allowing the rights of the other."

"But tensions-"

"Will increase anyway. What we experienced was not treatment of faunus had always been poor. What _had_ change was the rise in telecommunication. Now more people know that this is a problem and requires the necessary attention. What is needed is - "

Blake was torn. She knew that both sides had a point. But all of them are trapped within the confines of their own worldview. This was a null loop. Her ability to change the world was limited. And she still had not found the stealth Anchor.

 _What to do?_

"And now we moved on to Blake Belladonna, former operating officer of the White Fang and daughter of former leader, Ghira Belladonna."

Blake took a deep breath. She cast aside all the future problems. Right now she needs to be in the present. "...I think-"

* * *

 **88.10 diesel**

* * *

Ruby was annoyed. Actually, annoyed was not quite right for describing the level of irritation she was feeling.

She was downright peeved.

No one else was Awake, so it should have been a fairly normal, or at least predictable schooling experience she could sue to catch on her reading. Ruby had a bunch of novels she hadn't read in ages she wanted to go over.

But…

Her eye twitched as Sun and Blake flirted, awkwardly and hesitatingly in Blake's case. Turns out that this loop Blake was more open to a relationship with Sun after being talked through some of her issues.

That was not the problem.

"…Garrhhhhh!"

The dining room fell silent as Ruby flipped the table. Food went everywhere, covering a good amount of the students still eating.

"Ruby, what the-" Yang was cut off by Ruby turning to the two faunus and jabbing her fingers into their chests.

"By the rotting branches and lost world!" Sun and Blake stepped back as Ruby snarled at them. "Screw this, screw, all, _this_. My semblance sucks, and here's why and why you're making it worse, and how you're going to stop. My semblance is synthesiatic musical precog. I get a glimpse of the future based on songs, people, and tinted by colour."

"...and we're making it worse?" Blake said in shock. Hearing Ruby snarl like that was… disconcerting, this was not what she had expected to happen today.

Ruby nodded, folding her arms and humphing. "The song I hear for you two is always 'Like morning follows night'. Nice song. Shows that Sun is nice and loyal. It also shows that no matter what you!" Ruby jabbed her finger at Blake. "You keep running away, like you have to do things by yourself and are not willing to put others in danger."

"I-"

"Am not finished. Now, you need to learn that it is other's choice. You cause more pain by making that choice for them. If you run, I will drag you back. Now start talking and trusting people. I don't want to hear anymore painfully off key music from you. It has been going like this for a month and getting louder. I want to sleep and read without hearing that song every moment you two are together. It's bad enough I have to deal with 'Can you feel the love tonight' sung in a poor falsetto when Weiss and Yang look at each other. Now I'm going to read. By dinner I better not hear the song."

With that, Ruby marched out, not paying any attention to a beet red Weiss and a Yang who was now very interested in the patterns made on the floor by the food.

Sun frowned and turned to Blake. "What were you planning?"

"Nothing," Blake said blankly staring at Ruby's retreating back. "I have no desire to lose anyone here."

* * *

Blake stared at the ruins of Vale as the sun started to rise, helping a bloody and maimed Sun walk to the field hospital.

All over red petals floated on the morning air. It was calm, the madness of the last three hours over in moments.

"Hey?" Sun gave Blake a weak smile. "So, is this the point where you try to run away and try to stop me from following?"

Blake snorted, she was so tired... "Adam targeted you because of me. You're in danger because of me."

"I chose…"

"And you don't care or regret it." Blake's smile was weak and brittle as they limped along through the dissipating Grimm. "I… get that I can't make the choice for you. It's tempting… I want to say that and run, I still think that's the right choice. But… everyone made it clear that that was not an option. And I don't feel like being dragged back by Ruby."

Sun laughed wetly, holding up his whole arm in greeting as Neptune ran over, the field hospital coming into view. "Makes it easier, as I would have followed you like morning followed night. To quote 'our song'."

* * *

 **88.1 (con't) StormyAngel**

* * *

"So how does that work? You just...pick up a new Oscar every time you die in-loop?" Ruby asked the headmaster. She had cornered him after Weiss's startling revelation to get some more details.

"No, it's more like Oscar 'wakes up' when our Auras merge."

"So...he's looping then?"

"Not independently," Ozpin denied. "He'll never wake up if I don't die, but when it does happen he remembers our time together."

"Wait." Ruby interrupted. "You mean to tell me that Oscar is here with you _right now?_ " Ozpin nodded. "And he has been since the fourth volume expansions?" Again he nodded. "And you've kept him in your pocket or watching through your eyes this entire time?"

"Er-"

"So there's a Looper, or as good as one, whose been stuck in a pocket with nobody but you or the occasional visitor to keep him company for _multiple millenia_? One who is no doubt stir-crazy beyond belief and in desperate need of company?"

"I. Uh. Never really thought of it that way." Ozpin admitted, his face pale at the thought.

"Hang in there Oscar!" Ruby shouted, striking a heroic pose. "Shenanigans to the rescue!"

She spun about and ran dramatically off into the distance, shouting as she went. "Weiss. I need your help! There are plans we have to make! Oscar's sanity is in danger!"

"Oh dear." Ozpin muttered.

* * *

 **88.11 fivetro**

* * *

Yang looked at her arm. Then she looked at her robot body.

"Wrong way round tree!" she shouted at no one in particular.

* * *

 **88.12 Awesomedude17**

* * *

"This looks interesting. Let's ride it," Pyrrha spoke up.

Jaune looked at the ride his wife was likely referring to and raised an eyebrow.

"Revenge of the Mummy? Pyrrha, you sure? I heard it was scary."

"Please, Jaune, nothing can top that Loop."

"Oh... Seeing a zombie Nora is not a very pleasant experience."

"Tell me about it." A pause. "So, are we riding?"

"Sure, just don't scream in terror."

"Jaune~!" Pyrrha moaned in mock annoyance.

Jaune laughed as he walked into the ride with Pyrrha. When they finally reached the start of the long line, they met with two familiar faces.

"Flora, Techna! It's been a while."

"Jaune! Pyrrha! So good to see you both!" Flora pulled the two into a hug.

"Hey, let go, you're literally crushing us," Pyrrha said weakly.

"Oh! Sorry!"

"Oh no, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For... uhhh..."

"That's my Pyrrha." Jaune chuckled.

"Truly a match made in Heaven." Techna smirked.

"So, what brings you here?" Flora asked.

Jaune leaned against the railing. "Pyrrha wanted to try this out and while I could have said no, I decided to see if she squeals. You two?"

"Techna wants the thrill of being scared."

"Also to calculate the g-forces we'll be facing during the initial burst of speed," Techna slyly added.

"You really need to stop calculating every single minute thing."

"It has helped our private sessions together."

"Techna! Not in front of all these people!"

"Nah, it's not a big deal. Jaune and me prefer firsthand experience for such things anyway."

"Aw, now you're making me blush." Jaune scratched his head with a goofy smile on his face.

"Good. That means I'm a good wife."

"We're such dorks." Flora looked at her wife.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Techna replied.

The four had a quick laugh and eventually came to the ride itself. Sitting at the very front, the ride began.

"Scared yet?" Jaune asked.

"No." The other three said.

As the ride reached the treasure room, it became clear that things were about to become intense.

"Okay, this is going to be fast now, isn't it?" Flora asked.

"In a few moments." *Beep*

"Really, Techna?"

"Real-"

The ride began to accelerate suddenly and everything went through a dark room with strobes and glowing decorative Egyptian spirits.

Eventually, they stopped, and the scarabs began to crawl all over them.

"EEEEK!" Someone shrieked.

And then the ride rocketed them backwards.

After a brief speeding through the ride backwards, they came to smoke and a flashing lights.

"Approximately 72.4 kilometers per hour. Not that bad, all things considered." Techna remarked.

"Oh course." Flora rolled her eyes.

"You okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"Well, I suppose zombie Nora is way scarier than this ride, though that scream at the scarabs seemed awfully masculine."

"Uh, heh?"

"Jaune, you were scared, weren't you?."

"Was not!"

"Was too."

As the two began to go back and forth, Techna caught a glimpse of Flora smirking, something that Techna shared.

Everyone, quite simply, had fun on the ride. That's all that mattered to them at the moment, and boy was it fun.

* * *

 **88.13 StormyAngel**

* * *

One of the various oddities of their existence every Looper inevitably grew familiar with were loop-specific memories. They always woke up with a past, so to speak. Because the Loopers had endless eons of experiences as "themselves", they were typically able to separate these loop-memories from their core personality and examine them almost as an outsider, while still having the peculiar experience of having actually experienced them.

For some this could cause some unfortunate dissonance, such as Cinder in her earlier decades. Others, such as Raven and Taiyang, would lose track of those they had once thought they knew.

But regardless of their fluid existence, and ever changing memories, most Loopers could integrate and evaluate the memories in a matter of minutes before going about their day.

Professor Ozpin, however...

* * *

"Glynda!" Nora exclaimed as she burst out of the elevator into Ozpin's office. "I need your help! Ren's pancakes are-"

"SHHH!" Glynda hushed the girl, gesturing wildly. "Please be quiet."

"Uh, sure," Nora replied nonplussed. Glynda was seated at the desk, shuffling various paperwork. Ozpin, on the other hand, rested in a small wooden chair leaning against the wall. He appeared dead to the world, for all that his eyes twitched rapidly and his body jerked periodically.

"What is he doing?" she asked.

"Checking his Loop memories," Glynda replied dismissively. "He should be done in an hour."

"An hour!?" Nora repeated. "What, is he immortal this loop?"

"He might as well have been," Glynda replied with a chuckle. "He's got the memories of every single one of his past lives this loop."

"Well that...actually kinda makes sense." Nora nodded. "How many lives does that include?"

"It varies," Glynda replied. "He doesn't always do this, of course. Every dozen loops or so he assimilates the memories of his predecessors as a young man. The expansions weren't very clear on what exactly Oscar will be going through, so Ozpin gets to experience all the varieties in his memories." She sighed. "This one seems particularly thorough. He assured me he would be a while."

"Did he mention how far back they went this time?"

"Yes...this loop his predecessors stretch back all the way to the creation of mankind by the two brother gods."

"Oh." Nora nodded sagely. Glynda rolled her eyes.

"Well. That's neat."

"Quite," Glynda replied before setting down her pen. "Is there something I can help you with Miss Valkyrie?"

"That's right!" Nora gasped. "It's Ren. You have to stop him. He's- He's-"

*Ding*

The elevator doors slid open once more behind her, as Ren calmly stepped through. Glynda peered over the desk to see a group of pancakes walking beside him.

"He's made them sentient," she noted bemusedly.

"It's the only way to stop her from eating them," Ren explained with a shrug. Stooping down he picked up one of the adorable pancakes and cradled it in his arms. It looked at Nora pleadingly.

"Please don't run away. We want to play with you!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Nora cried, even as the Pancakes swarmed her.

"Children!" Glynda exclaimed, exasperated. "Please, do _not_ play with your food!"

* * *

 **88.14 diesel**

* * *

 _Loopers have a different sense of scale than anyone else. Sun knew this. In that first loop, after he woke up for the first time, he could recall sitting with Ruby by the water, eating food from a platter and talking. The Ancient being he called a friend talking about billions of years like they were nothing. And truly meaning all of it._

It had been so very long since then, Sun had seen so much and changed so much, but yet remained still as Sun.

Still not yet an adult in the grand scheme of things.

But...

Sun felt his eyes twitch as Ruby, composed of stars and galaxies, babbled on in eleven dimensions and outside causality, about how her newest civilization had just achieved FTL and how they worshiped her as a Goddess. Weiss hummed the song 'God is a Girl' as she crashed and swirled with Ruby, the stellar masses and titanic forces all at play as they danced in the ever expanding Void of space and let their souls resonate, transforming into a scythe greater than whole superclusters.

Just to see if she could.

Blake and Yang were screwing some trillion trillion and then some parsecs away, while Pyrrha and Cinder argued with each other from the other side of the universe, violating c with every 'word'. Something about Pyrrha interfering with Cinder's civilizations development.

 _Some things were still nuts, and some scales of time and space were still hard to grasp until you were forced to look at them._

Like existing since the very dawn of a universe as Boltzmann brains come multi-supercluster scale gods and still having aura, along with computational/mental abilities and senses to match.

And the fact he could deal with it, even if his time so far had already started to match a noticeable portion of his total looping life. This should seem like a bigger deal, but it didn't.

He was a Looper, and no matter how long this loop was, it was still only

one _loop. And so, he would adapt with little change. Just one more anecdote in a life beyond that of the Faunus who had wanted to help a lonely girl and do what the thought was right.  
_  
All the loopers were awake, encompassing the total mass of the universe, and they got the memories of everything that died inside them. All those lives and civilizations minute fragments of them and their souls no more important than bacteria in truth.

"Man," Sun sighed, "these memories are almost going to be incomprehensible next loop aren't they?"

"Probably," Ren agreed absently, sparring with Nora, "You will still have them, but it's a bit much to assess the specifics of at any rate."

* * *

 **88.15 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"ALIENS!"

Coco Adel glanced up from her Scroll, having just ordered more clothing for the winter from her bed. Someone, and that someone sounded a lot like Velvet, was pounding at the door. It only sounded like Velvet though: Velvet would never scream about aliens.

The door opened up though, and Velvet Scarlatina forced her way into the room through the smallest aperture she could before slamming the door shut. "ALIENS!" she screamed again. "ALIENS IN BEACON!"

Coco rested her head in her pillow. "Velvet, what are you talking about? Aliens aren't real."

"But they stole my camera!" Velvet cried hysterically. She pointed at her empty hip. "See!"

Any sort of rational counter argument that Coco could muster, or any argument at all, was silenced when the door was broken down by a swarm of black robed white skinned red eyed... people, women things? They were like dolls, only whomever would make dolls like that in that quantity clearly didn't understand market pressures. Coco barely managed to scramble out of the way as the creatures, hemming and hawing over how evil they were, stole all of her clothing.

That last bit actually needed a moment to sink in, since Coco was somewhat shocked by the actual sight. Velvet herself was vindicated. "SEE!"

* * *

Weiss stared as a swarm of chibi Salems descended upon one another with their illgotten booty, building what seemed to be a generic doomsday laser. "Ruby, what are your chibi Salems out of your pocket?"

"They asked me to let them go," Ruby said with a lot of guilt in her tone.

"And why did you let them out?"

"...Because they were endangering my strategic cookie reserve."

Weiss very nearly popped a vessel. The Salems had finished their weapon though. "FIRE!" the ring leader cried.

The laser just exploded, making all of the Salems go splat.

* * *

 **88.1 (con't) KanameFujiwara**

* * *

I am me

"So tell me Oscar - am I speaking to you or am I speaking to Oz right now?"

"You're speaking to both of us Qrow. Ozpin is listening but for the purpose of the conversation you're speaking with me."

It made sense but somehow it didn't make sense. Qrow was beginning to feel the beginnings of a migraine. "Let me recap for a bit kid, is that okay with you?"

"I suppose so..." Oscar nodded. What else was he supposed to do?

"Baseline: You and Oz are two people. Then Oz died and somehow you started listening to invisible voices. You also started remembering things only he knew about. And as time passes by, the voices are going to go away and you and Oz become one person. Am I right? Or am I right?"

"...You sounded like Yang."

"She's been rubbing off on me. So now that we add looping into the equation - what changed?"

"...In baseline me and him are two people merging into becoming one. But in the Loop, it's as if it's the opposite..."

"Wha-"

"It's as if Ozpin and myself are becoming two separate people, two identities... I was just a simple farm boy. Then somehow I attained all of Ozpin's memories and powers. And he was included in the ride. And that should be the end and the two of us merge-"

"Except it didn't-"

"Yeah, I remembered the last loop and the loop before that. Somehow I now remember him remembering me remembering _him!"_

"That's messed up..."

"I had problems you know. Major ones. I don't know if the Oscar I know is me or the Oscar that Ozpin knows. And get this -Oscars! More than one. Every time I have a whole new setting, a whole new past. Everything is variable. Everything except I am Oscar Pine. A farm boy. I have an aunt. I have my clothes. And apparently Ozpin lives in my head."

"You know kid, I wonder if what Oz did is reincarnation or possession..."

"It bugged me, you know, at one point. See, Ozpin always has such huge memory reservoirs. When it was revealed that people like me wasn't the first, I started recalling their memories as well. I was a doctor, a carpenter, a teacher, a fireman and it's not always the same past. The memories are so large that there are times where it overwhelms me and I don't know what I am!"

"So why do you hate that simple farm boy Oscar? What don't you like about him?"

"...I don't hate him. I dislike him. I'm jealous of him. He thinks he has problems. His will never match mine. In the grand scale of things we both have identity issues."

"So who are you?"

"I am Oscar. I am Oscar Pine. I had an aunt. I live on a farm. I worked on a farm. I dreamed of something more. I hosted Ozpin. I may even _be_ Ozpin. But I am Oscar. I don't want parts of Ozpin overwhelms me! I want to be me! I want to still be me..."

And for a while both of them stood there contemplating just what a mess the whole thing is.

"Is that why you're growing the world's largest supply of kopi luwak?"

"If he's drinking his coffee - I want him to drink coffee that's defecated from!"

That got a laugh from Qrow.

* * *

 **88.16 Fictional Fanatic**

* * *

"No, look. I told you all, that's not possible," Ruby said sternly, glaring at what looked like a younger version of herself that would have been adorable if not for her cracked white skin and black eyes with red irises. Of course, the colorful lollipop she was licking and the pout she was displaying still made her somewhat adorable. "If I gave you all that much freedom, you'd end up being taken out by another looper, and none of us wants that. So, you'll have to settle with what you have now."

"But it is so dust damn boring in here!" The Salem Ruby consisting of all the chibisalems available said. "We want to get out, to destroy something and bring havoc to those stupid mortals!" She gesticulated wildly at her proclamation before settling on a creepy, villainous grin.

Ruby just sighed and shook her head. "Let's just get this straight, the only reason I actually keep you around is because you're still part of me and I sometimes get lonely during the loops. You, are able to both keep me company and entertain me. However, as soon as you stop being beneficial to me, as soon as you stop being entertaining, I can get rid of you like the villainous taint that you are," she pointed out, taking away the lollipop as if to demonstrate her power over her.

The Salem Ruby however simply rolled its eyes and sighed. "Well duh, we know that," she said with a straight face and Salem's voice. "That's why we make sure to do what we can to keep you entertained with our antics. I mean, I'm evil, the reason I do what I do is because I know there's no escaping my bond to you, so I have no choice but to play the role of a cartoon villain from time to time to stay alive."

"Now give me back my lollipop!" she complained, back to her usual self as she pouted and reached for the captive candy. Getting no response from Ruby, she instead kicked her in the stomach, dispersing the shadowclone and catching the sweet as it fell.

* * *

 **88.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...Huh."

"What is it?"

"I'm just thinking. Ruby has her chibisalems, Ozpin has Oscar... Weiss has her summons, maybe? Like, parts of their psyche that are also independent entities. Do your semblance clones count?"

"Um. Not exactly. Only when I need them to. Which is usually when we... you know."

"Ah, right. Incidentally, have you reconsidered on the leather?"

"Absolutely not Yang. I'll indulge a lot of your fantasies but leather is right out."

"Alright! Alright. Where was I?"

"Something about independent portions of psyche."

"That's the thing, Blake, I'm just... I'm thinking, and I'm beginning to wonder, do we all have that to some degree? Like I had the Mew and it was terrible, but it was also a split of me-an induced one, mind. But still..."

"You did do the shadow clone for the missile thing once."

"Oh yeah! Man, that was so long ago."

"I don't know about independent mental constructs, Yang. I'm not the psychologist-I'm the sociologist. You're better off talking to Weiss."

"...well, I mean... maybe?"

"What?"

"It's just... Weiss and Ruby already have that 'let's talk about whatever' going on between them, and I don't want to interfere with that."

"Really? You-what, you don't want to interject yourself into their friendship?"

"Well, not in that way. I'm fine teasing them and all, but things like-and I mean, you and I do that already with each other, like we are now-"

"Yang, you're overthinking this. Weiss is your friend. That's about all that matters here."

"...I guess, but... she's under a lot of stress, Blake. Like... a lot. All the time."

"Well, yes, but a lot of that is self inflicted. Gods, she needs to relax."

"I guess-"

"No, you know what? We'll force her to relax."

"What?"

"Next few loops, we are going to force Weiss to take some time off for herself."

"...Blake, she's Remnant's Second. Do you really think we can-?"

"If we work together, maybe get Ruby in on it, yeah."

"Hmm. Well. You know, I've been worrying a lot recently. Maybe forcing Ice Queen to cool down will get my own ways down too..."

* * *

 **88.18 diesel**

* * *

Yang groaned as she woke up. It was just before dawn, before Ruby had come in. Time to get up and esca-

"Salutations my good sister!"

Fuck.

Yang rolled over and mumbled a greeting as she stared at Ruby with tired eyes.

"FOOL! I would think you would remember that a refreshing day must start off with a refreshing greeting!"

Yang pulled a face as Ruby turned away and began to pace, by the Brothers… she was going to start talking wasn't she?

"I remember a day that did not start off with a refreshing greeting. It was aeons ago, a time lost in the pits of oblivion. Our younger sister hanging in the oncoming rapture, eternity breaking as she clawed madly at eternity… or was it during a morning after the dance? Yes, that was right, the cycle had just restarted, a new dawn and left alone and lost, the first hints of madness began to claw at the Bane of Remnants' mind."

Yang wanted to cry, Ruby's voice like a jackhammer against her skull.

"No… It was at the very start of my legend…"

Why…?

At least it would be over soon. Beacon loomed on the horizon, a point of hope, a light in the morning. Yang loved her sister, Ruby was legitimately a good girl. Someone who would give anything to protect another person, to help them. But…

She was _so annoying!_

* * *

 _"…Will make up Team RWBY under command of Ruby Rose."_

Those words haunted Yang's mind, infesting her dreams and scouring her hope. Four more years, four more years of near constant contact and interaction. And she would have to stop everyone else from trying to kill Ruby.

"Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose, from Vale, I'm looking for Answers and going to Mistral!"

As Blake began to try and argue with Ruby, Yang cried into her pillow.

* * *

"Dolt, keep your timelines straight. You keep slipping into different ones starting point. Pick a point and work from there, don't keep changing it."

Yang watched in distant shock as Weiss, Ruby's new partner, argued back and forth with Ruby. That itself was not unusual, everyone argued with ruby, but Weiss seemed to treat it with an exasperated amusement or boredom, following some of Ruby's more outlandish demands, holding on others and managing to distract her to get away with them.

No one had ever managed to put up with Ruby like that. Heck, Ruby even let Weiss wield her.

Thought Yang was at a loss to explain as to how both Myrtenaster and Ruby's weapon form seemed identical.

Finally, Weiss sat down and started eating, Ruby going off to annoy someone else.

Blake spoke up in wonder and horror, echoing Yang's thoughts. "How do you put up with her?"

"Literal aeons of experience," Weiss said, rolling her eyes as she started to butter a bread roll, not giving any thought to the dining room's attention turning to focus on her. Blake had finally asked the question everyone wanted to ask but had, for whatever reason, not done. "Ruby is not just blabbering nonsense, she is referring to past events. But given that existence is broken and we're trapped in a time loop, most of it seems like nonsense. And that's why Ruby can turn into Myrtenaster as well."

"…Wait," Yang said, slowly peering at Weiss suspiciously. "Say I believe you. Does that just mean Ruby is screwing with us?"

Weiss shrugged. "Yes. Yes, she is. Sometimes Ruby needs to let off steam. And I find her just as annoying as you do when she is in this mood, I hate it when Ruby channels Excalibur, she can go on like this for _loops_. Though I can admit I can be just as bad some centuries... At least Ruby hasn't taken to channelling your adoptive sister or adopted cousin for stress relief and burning Kingdoms to the ground or screwing or tormenting everyone..."

* * *

 **88.19 diesel**

* * *

Weiss huffed as she flopped down next to Ruby, muttering in Ancient Sumerian about abhorrent flying seafood and cruel and unusual things she wished to do to them before trailing off. Ruby offered Weiss a chocolate covered strawberry wordlessly as she fiddled with a blade forged out of the frozen light from a dying Universe. It had been who knows how many millions of years, and Weiss still had no idea where Ruby had got that thing from, she changed the story each time. Neither of them spoke for a time, content to just be in the others company. The scent of Autumn and the promise of winter blew over them as the leaves danced in Vale's court yard.

"Marianne contacted me," Weiss said after a while, a deep anger and almost buried terror radiating from her soul even if her voice was calm. "It was about that letter Cthulhu 'sent' me. Apparently it was a virus that had been slipped in when Remnant's code was being repaired. I had the unpleasant experience of tripping it. The whole thing was automated, and won't go any further."

Ruby looked over to her quietly seething partner, glacial eyes locked onto the horizon as Weiss continued to speak. "I would love to just call it _childish_ , just an immature prank by a troll, but..."

"But it was a Mythos stunt, something embedded into our world's code, placed there by a being taking advantage of what one of its group did. All done to scare and mess with another looper's mind."

"Precisely."

The clash of weapons, meaningless chatter and laughter washed over the two Loopers as they sat in silent contemplation and company. The world passed by and the sun set, and the shattered moon rose into the night, shimmering in the dark while the stars sparked like jewels caught in the sun.

Weiss felt her eyes grow heavy as sleep pulled at her mind, the familiar presence and soul of Ruby lulling her to sleep, the promise of safety and company from the ages past and to come easing the tension she felt. Weiss let herself slip under, her head resting on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby's words resonated through Weiss's mind. "They won't do anything else to us for now, don't worry about it. And one day we will have our chance at stopping them and making sure they never mess with anyone else like that again."

* * *

 **88.1 (con't) StormyAngel**

* * *

"So...now that that's all sorted out..."

"Yes Ruby?" Ozpin asked her, eyeing her nefariously innocent smile with the trepidation of long experience.

"Can I borrow Oscar?" Ruby asked him prettily.

"Oh," Ozpin sighed in relief. "Of course, no problem."

He was too busy whipping up a clone and splitting off Oscar's consciousness to notice the gleam in her eye.

* * *

"Uh, not that I mind Miss Rose, since it _is_ nice to get out for a change," Oscar mumbled, pulled along just quickly enough to keep him unbalanced. "But where are you taking me?"

"Oh just call me Ruby." The red blur replied. "And I'm taking you to meet the family of course."

"The...family?" Oscar pales. "Why would I need to meet your family?"

"You'll see." The girl assured him with a patronizing pat on the arm.

* * *

"Weiss, I have someone to meet you!"

"Is it Oscar?" The white haired girl replied distractedly, her eyes focused on a dust experiment in the distance. "I thought we agreed you would wait to introduce him until we had a few more loopers around."

"Pshaw," Ruby dismissed. "It's not like they need to be Awake."

"Um," Oscar objected. "I'd rather not meet anyone while they're sleeping..."

"Ozpin _has_ explained Looping terms to you, right?" Weiss asked him quizzically.

Oscar blushed and looked down at his shoes. "It was...kind of a long time ago," he admitted.

"Ugh, why must I do everything?" Weiss asked rhetorically, before turning to face her two visitors. "Ruby, would you mind cleaning up that cookie Dust for me?"

"Ooh! Would I ever!" And she vanished in a red blur.

"Right then," the Schnee heiress regarded Oscar. "Let me fill you in on the basics."

"Is cookie dust really a thing?" Oscar asked, as Ruby tore into a ball of glowing dust in the distance.

"Only when I want to distract her," Weiss replied with a smirk. "Now, listen carefully, because there are certain _rules_ regarding Ruby Rose that you have to follow...or I'll find a way to wipe you out of existence."

"Uh..."

"Welcome to the Loops Oscar," Weiss rolled on. "I'm sure we're going to get along famously."

And she proceeded to scare the crap out of the poor boy.

* * *

"And then Weiss was all like, 'where the hell were you!' And I was like, 'You remember!' And we've been best friends ever since."

"That's... nice, I guess," Oscar replied hesitantly, still a little shaken from his encounter with Ruby's 'best friend'. "I uh, don't really see how she would be part of your _family_ though."

"Rubes! Who's the boy?" A hot blonde asked as she ran into them in the hallway.

"Yang!" Ruby replied cheerily (Oscar was beginning to suspect the little redhead was stuck that way). "This is _Oscar_. You won't remember him later, but I wanted him to get a chance to meet everyone."

"I won't remember him? What does that mean?" Yang frowned in concern. Unfortunately Ruby caught a glimpse of somebody else in the hallway.

"Ooh, ooh," she whispered to Oscar excitedly. "See the girl with the bow? That's Blake, she's a cat Faunus, and also engaged to Yang. Which makes her my soon to be sister-in-law."

The girl's bow _twitched_ rather violently at that.

"Uh huh," Oscar replied, as Blake glared at Ruby, somehow looking confused and afraid at the same time before fleeing back the way she came. Oscar rolled his eyes.

"You do know I've been in Ozpin's head for a while now. This isn't exactly news to me."

"But don't you want to meet everyone in person?" Ruby folded her arms across her chest, pouting. Oscar raised an eyebrow, but she just escalated to puppy dog eyes.

"That's just unfair," he murmured. Ruby beamed at him before whisking him away, leaving an utterly bemused Yang in her wake.

* * *

"And that's when I decided to take her under my wing. Taught her everything she knows." Qrow squinted drunkenly at Oscar. "Didn't think she'd grow so fast though, getting a boyfriend and all."

"Oh. Uh, we're not dating," Oscar replied quickly.

"Well why not?" Qrow replied, apparently offended. "Is my niece not good enough for you?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby whined. "Stoooop. You're embarrassing me."

"Don't sell yourself short kiddo!" Qrow replied. "Even if you are pretty short."

"I'm still growing," Ruby replied hotly. "I'll have you know I grew a whole three inches with the latest expansions."

"Expansions?"

"Whoops, time to go." Ruby replied, whisking Oscar away once more. Qrow stared off into the night before turning back to his campfire.

"How in the hell did she get to Mistral?" he asked himself. "Maybe I need to drink a bit less..."

* * *

"And _these_ are the villains!" Ruby explained with a flourish. Before her sat a mysteriously council of men and a strange chalk-white woman with dark eyes.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded, rising to her...feet? "Tyrian, Hazel, seize them!"

"Maybe we should get out of here?" Oscar suggested nervously.

"Yeah, we don't really get along," Ruby replied sadly, before they vanished in rose petals once more.

* * *

"Of course, here's our _resident_ bad guy (or should I say bad _girl?_ ), Cinder Fall." Ruby shrugged. "She's working on destroying Beacon right now."

Glass shards flew at them from various angles as Ruby held off a steady bombardment of explosions. Oscar frowned, quickly growing inured to Ruby's oddly casual approach to everything and the chaos that ensued.

"Wait a second, I've seen her hang out with you guys all the time. What gives?"

"Weeeeeellll, let's just say she's only evil for fun these days." Ruby shrugged. "Cinder's a great sister and all, she just has some weird hobbies."

"Evil. A hobby." Oscar sighed. "I should have seen this coming."

Ruby grinned. "Oh wait until you meet _Roman_."

* * *

"Why are we going back to Mistral?" Oscar asked.

"I forgot to introduce you to Aunt Raven!" Ruby replied cheerily.

"Raven...the Bandit Queen?" Oscar frowned. "Just how many criminals are you related to?"

"Oh, just the important ones," Ruby replied dismissively.

"And where is this-gurk."

*poof*

The Oscar clone vanished.

"Raven! Don't stab my new friend when I'm trying to introduce you! That's rude!"

"Ruby? What are you doing here?" The bandit queen's voice was monotone, although she was surely quite confused at the appearance of her old teammates' daughter.

"Well, clearly not showing you the new guy." Ruby sighed. "Ugh, now I have to go get him from Ozpin again."

The girl vanished in a shower of red petals, leaving Raven to stare in confusion.

* * *

"Please, just tell her you can't make another clone or something."

"I can appreciate your concerns Oscar, but I highly doubt anyone _else_ will stab you," Ozpin replied reprovingly.

"And you think Taiyang's puns weren't _worse?_ I'm not sure I can survive much more of this."

"You'll be fine." The headmaster chuckled. "Ruby's just excited to have a new friend, she's really not usually so energetic."

The old headmaster paused his work. "And besides aren't you having fun?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Oscar admitted. "It's been pretty interesting, that's for sure."

Things were silent as Ozpin continued his work. Oscar leaned back in the chair he had been provided.

"So how long will it take to calm her down?" he asked with a sigh.

"Oh, a few decades ought to do it," Ozpin replied casually.

Oscar paled.

" _There_ you are! C'mon, we've still got half the family for you to meet!"

* * *

 **88.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

Weiss cleared her throat. "As you all know, some of us have been keeping significant secrets for a while, and they have caused significant... duress. Today, however, we will address the last of the secrets that I know of, and hopefully put it all behind us."

She looked over the gathered loopers of Remnant, before turning a pointed look on two particular thieves. Slowly, the rest of the group turned to stare at them.

Roman sighed, raising a hand in resignation. "Alright, fine. Me and Neo were stealthing for a while. Joined Ozpin's little teacher group for our survival, then after I died we decided to quit."

Yang frowned. "So, you _weren't_ activated by the loop where Qrow fixed everything?"

Neo shrugged. "No, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it... the having family thing..."

Cinder cleared her throat. "I should probably mention that, prior to revealing themselves, they did consider seeking me out."

 _"What?!"_ cried Glynda at the same time Roman winced.

"They figured out I was stealthing somehow, and opened the possibility of collaboration. I didn't quite accept them, it was during the time I was starting to... become truly familial, and I was still very nervous about everyone finding out about my darker hobbies, but we did do a few pranks together."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "Like... what exactly?"

"Mostly subversive things, nothing harmful. Like that time we had an illusionary RWBY orgy in team JNPR's room."

Nora gasped and facepalmed. "Oh my gods, that explains SO MUCH!"

"Wait," Ruby asked, "is this why you've never believed my maidenhood claim?"

Ren blushed and nodded. "Pretty much, yes."

Qrow crossed his arms, glaring at Neo. "We are going to have a long talk."

"See," Weiss interjected, even as Neo stuck her tongue out at him, "this is why I wanted us to have this talk. There are going to be a number of emotions running high, but I don't want them to just build up and fester. Let's be open now, so that we can get a handle on the situation."

"If we're being open, I think Neopolitan has something else she should tell us."

The atmosphere grew tense, as every last looper turned to the new speaker.

"...Marianne." Weiss nodded formally. "We were not expecting you."

"I'll admit, it is a bit spur of the moment." Marianne turned to the suddenly stock still tri-haired girl. "But I've been trying to think of a punishment for her for a while now, one that is both ethical and effective, and come up with a number of options that only fit one category or the other. Perhaps having her admit to her actions now is best."

Roman bit his lip. "I can discipline her-"

"An option I did consider," Marianne replied coolly. "One which is not off the table. But, as Weiss said, this is a time for revelation." Her eyes did not leave the girl.

Neo sighed, low and long. "Okay. I'm going to explain, completely, since me not explaining is no longer an option, and I'd... like it... if nobody really judged me until I was done."

She glanced around. The other loopers were now looking at her with mixtures of curiosity and suspicion.

"...so, I may have picked up some telepathic powers. And I might have become... very frustrated at Roman's baseline death... and I sort of pinned the blame on Cinder-"

Ruby groaned. "You gave her nightmares, didn't you."

"Only-not-I mean, at the time, yes, the long term plan was to brainwash her into oblivion, but then Slenderman did his thing and I tried to get her back to normal-"

Cinder's skin began to crackle, sparks gathering around her feet, even as her expression remained forcibly calm. "Neopolitan, are you saying you were aware of my mental instability and did nothing to alert anyone?"

"...um." Neo blinked. "You're... not mad I mucked around in your head?"

"Oh, I am. Very much so. However, I find the fact that you _let me break_ to be much, much more enraging." Her entire form was wreathed in flames. "You having vengeance, I can understand and appreciate. You letting me stay as _a plaything of that monster-"_

She was cut off by an impressively large blast of white chemical spray. She glared, shivering and half-naked, at Ruby Rose, who was leaning against a fire extinguisher as big as her.

"Before I say anything," Ruby said in a tense, cheerful voice, "is anyone _else_ hiding a deep dark secret?"

Pyrrha awkwardly raised her hand. "I, uh, had a fling with the Dust till Dawn shopkeep." She glanced around at the shocked looks. "It was before I started dating Jaune, I had sort of thought he would never notice my crush and that I should try to move on... you can see how well that worked out..."

"I'm not sure whether or not Neon Katt and Ciel Soleil are dating in baseline," Penny admitted, "but I try to get them together every loop anyway."

"I may or may not be the author of Ninjas of Love," Kali said. "It's loop variable."

Ruby nodded, looking around the group. "Anybody else? Anyone? Nobody?" She noted the lack of reactions. "Good."

She took a deep breath.

"I am very sick, and very tired, of all this freakin' angst we have floating around. Yes, I get we're not the most cheerful of loops, what with the Grimm and Faunus oppression and Salem and whatever else. I get that we've added to all this nonsense with Lisa, and the CFVY machines, and Cinder's ascension and all that. I get that we're going to need some time to process and accept what Neopolitan has done. I understand this. But we sort of declared war on baseline because, well, we were tired of tragedy. We're getting chibi expansions right now. This should be a time for vacation." She took a breath. "So. What I'm going to do is track the times we're all Awake. And for the next one hundred loops-not from my perspective, but from each individual perspective-if I find that somebody is succumbing to the temptation to become a beacon of wrath or sorrow or whatever, I will spray them with cream pie filling."

Weiss slowly facepalmed.

"...You know, with you flinging around that white sticky mess," Sun mused, "Yang will have plenty of opportunities to make lewd jokes."

 _"That is a risk I am willing to take."_

Yang whistled low. "Wow, she must be serious. Normally that would shut her right down."

Ironwood cleared his throat. "You realize that we might... occasionally just feel bad. It's not necessarily something we can control."

"I'm not asking you not to feel bad, I'm asking you not to succumb to bad feelings."

"And how are you going to enforce this policy?" Raven asked. "Some of us don't start anywhere near Vale."

Ruby's smile was tight. "If you have problems, I could always go with plan B." She turned to Marianne. "Could you arrange for Pinkie Pie to come here, please?"

Raven paled. "No no no, the cream filling thing is okay. Just wondering about logistics is all."

Taiyang stared at her. "Wait... what?"

"What?"

"I've never-when you're scared you get angry," he explained. "I've never seen you flat out terrified."

"It's Pinkie Pie," Winter explained. "She's... she defies explanation. She's essentially a friendly cosmic horror by this point."

Cinder nodded. "Hell, even when I was crazy and trying to Ascend I threw in a couple of contingencies just in case she showed up. The pony's as friendly as anything, but she can eat stars." She shuddered. "I'm not looking forward to the next meeting of the looping sith ladies, honestly..."

Ozpin cleared his throat. "Bringing things back to the matter at hand... are we agreed that Neo's crimes are significant, but we should not allow them to overwhelm us?"

There was a general murmuring of agreement.

"Very well then. As penance, might I suggest Neopolitan seek out and destroy Salem for ten loops?"

Neo grinned. "Easy peasy."

"Using only baseline abilities?"

"...this will be a nightmare, won't it."

Zwei nodded. "I'll make sure she doesn't cheat."

* * *

A few hours later, Weiss approached Ruby quietly.

"...you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

Weiss simply sat down next to her.

Ruby sighed. "Is this the part where you assess my psychological state and try to figure out if I'm going crazy?"

"Ruby, I became a doctor because I am your friend. Yes, your mental stability is cosmically important, but... more importantly, you're important to me. You, as Ruby Rose. Not the Silver Eyed Warrior, not the Demon of Red, not the Anchor of Remnant. Just... Ruby Rose, eater of cookies, slayer of grimm, and the dolt who exploded my dust and somehow managed to break me out of my bratty shell."

"Huh." Ruby nodded. "That's... good to know."

They sat, staring across the bay.

"It's just... everything." She gestured widely. "I'm sorry, Weiss, it's just everything. I want to be the eater of cookies and slayer of grimm. That's what I am most of the time. But in the back of my head, there's that voice, that says... it's all down to you. All of this. Down to me. And with Cinder subverting me like she did, I-if we have problems, it should be because Jacques is a jerk, or that Pyrrha died, or that Adam's a sociopath. It should be baseline. It should be things we can deal with. It shouldn't be things that develop."

"...Things will develop, no matter what we do."

"I know that! I know that. I mean, there's consequences for every action, but... I don't want it to build. So, when-when big things like this happen. Big changes, I just... I guess... I overreacted." Ruby sighed. "At least with Oscar it was just... awkward. This thing with Neo though... Cinder's going to be mad, everyone's going to be wondering... and I'm the one that's going to be Awake every time, when somebody asks 'Did Neo do this or that,' and I'm going to have to be the mediator, or just listen to their fears, and... I don't know."

Weiss nodded. "Ruby... I think everyone's worried about that. About stressing you out. Yes, some of them just worry because you're the Anchor, but most of us, we... we worry about you. That's how looping works." She paused. "That's... how family works. You do so much for us, Ruby, even when we're not Awake. Can't we return the favor?"

Ruby snorted. "Right, you're one to talk."

"What?"

"When was the last time you relaxed, Weiss? Like took a loop to yourself?"

Weiss grinned faintly. "Well, I did have that one loop stand with Tai-"

"OH GOD EW DON'T REMIND ME!" Ruby cried, assaulting her chortling partner with a flurry of harmless slaps. "Seriously, what the heck was that even about?! I mean you aged yourself up and all but that's just creepy!"

"Honestly, it just sort of happened. Don't worry, we agreed it was only for a loop."

"It better have been," Ruby growled.

"In all seriousness... you're right. I can't relax that easily. I... have a bit too much of a perfectionist streak to me. It's why I'm not the leader, and why I'm not the Anchor. But the thing is, I tend to think in patterns and paths and... I suppose I'm logically oriented. You, you're a creature of passion. You can plan, but when the moment strikes, when your emotions rise, you act. You shouldn't try to control all of this, you shouldn't try to figure out how to balance everyone's conflicting emotions, because that's not how you help. You help by... I don't know, cheerfully dragging a kid to various non-looping individuals, or casually telling a robot she's as real as you are, you live in the moment. I can't tell you not to worry... all I can say is if you're feeling this tense, this stressed, the best thing for you is to find something to do. Okay?"

"Okay."

Far below them, the water rippled.

"...Sooooo." Ruby turned to Weiss. "A 'creature of passion,' am I?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Your emotions are a powerful part of you, Ruby, that's all I meant."

"Reeeeeeeeally?" Ruby slid closer, putting on what she probably thought was a seductive expression. "Because, you know, if you want to see my _passion_ -"

"My affection for you is intense but entirely nonromantic." Weiss gave her a smirk. "Plus, jedi, I can tell you're faking it."

"Are you sure I'm not fooling your jedi senses somehow?" Ruby tried to purr, though the effect was marred by a repressed giggle.

"The only ones in this loop that can do that are Blake, Ren, Neo, and Cinder. Raven's learning, but she's not there yet."

"Huh." Ruby leaned back. "Blake, really?"

"I don't know how she does it! I thought maybe she used her semblance clones, but she's been physically present and somehow entirely invisible to my clairvoyance!"

* * *

 **88.21 phantomdemon2**

* * *

An unawake Weiss, Yang and Blake walked into their room to see an unexpected sight. Roman Torchwick sitting on the desk next to a hunched over Ruby Rose who was fiddling with his cane.

"No, No, No Red, what are you doing?" Roman asked as he tried to grab his cane back

"I'm making it more efficient! Look at this, the only reason to have this is to be flashy! You're wasting so much dust with this!" Ruby said back as she slapped Roman's hand away

"Yes, just how I like it!" Roman shot back

"You like - How can you say that?" Ruby actually sounded hurt by that statement

"Excuse me, can someone explain what's going on?!" Yang shouted as the unawake trio prepped their weapons.

Roman gave a side glance to Ruby. "Didn't tell them Red?"

"I've been busy! And don't try and distract me!" Ruby answered before swatting Roman's hand away again.

"Hey! Answers, Now!" Yang growled.

"All right, jeeze," Roman said as he gave them all the calm down gestures with his hands. "Me and Red here are stuck in a time loop. Same little bit of our lives on repeat. When you only got a couple of people who can remember what you say or do you tend to learn to get along."

Yang scoffed. "Bull! Now tell the truth!"

Roman just gave the blonde bruiser a look. Slowly he reached into his pocket and pulled out Crescent Rose. Then he repeated the action with Myrtenaster, and again with Gambol Shroud, even though the items were in their owner's hands. He kept the look going before he was elbow'd in the side by Ruby.

"What are you doing with one of my babies?" Ruby asked as she picked up the Crescent Rose Roman had taken out. Her eyes went wide in anger as she noticed the disrepair the Scythe was in. "ROMAN!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Roman said, grabbing his cane as quick as he could. "See ya Red!"

 _"Get Back Here Torchwick!"_

* * *

 **88.22 KanameFujiwara**

* * *

Trial #5

"You are an ant before a human," glared the Grimm Queen from above, "as a human before a God. Who are you to challenge me?"

It was bad. The whole of Vacuo was on fire. Devastation everywhere. People fighting as if it was the last day of their lives. Chaos reigned. It was truly a scene of the end of the world...

And his ice cream companion was smiling. It was wonderful that she could remain so functional in all of the chaos. But could anyone blame the King of Vale from twitching at the madness of it all?

"End of the line no.5." Neo pointed her sword at Salem. "Give me a good scream..."

Shocked by the audacity of it all, the response of the Grimm Queen was swift and punishing. Atop her giant Grimm dragon flying above the wide sky she yelled, "BURN HER!"

It was all that the King could do just to protect everyone from the flames of hell. His aura shield was faltering. _Is this the end?  
_  
Out of the chaos of the world Neo emerged, using fire dust to propel her straight to the Dragon Queen. She had only one chance.

 _Now!  
_  
Onlookers looked at the scene before them wildly, as the small girl use her sword and proceed to slash the eyes of the Grimm Queen!

There was screech coming from Salem. It was loud and howling but it ended when Neo use the tip of her sword to pierce Salem's right eye!

* * *

When Ruby awoke later on, it was to her great surprise to know that the statues in front of the entrance to the main amphitheater in Beacon Academy were replaced by a sight of Neo stabbing Salem in the eye above a gigantic Grimm dragon. That loop, Neo was celebrated as the Eye Scream.

* * *

 **88.23 Flametusk, KanameFujiwara**

* * *

"So, who do you think the other Looper is?" Ruby and Weiss were eating a lunch that for Ruby consisted of a great many cookies, and for Weiss consisted of a stone-fired pizza.

"I don't know. There were two other Pings from us, and I know Pyrrha's Awake, but Jaune probably isn't, since he would be here otherwise."

There was a commotion next to them, as Blake was about to start cutting up an orange fish that started splashing around... with no water.

"Do you think..." Ruby asked.

"It would be the sort of thing that fits the tree's sense of humour." Weiss said.

Meanwhile the Magikarp tackled Blake, who was still trying to eat him, and started to splash its way to Pyrrha.

* * *

"So how did you get him to evolve Pyrrha?"

"Well, when you bludgeoned critters into submission with him enough times..."

* * *

 **88.24 KanameFujiwara**

* * *

Trial #7

"You can't win. What hope could a mortal do to-"

"You know," Neo grit her teeth, eyes glaring at the Grimm Queen, "you're not the first person to brag that I can't beat them. You're also not the first that I killed soon after."

"What can a mere child without any arms and legs do?" Salem replied almost amused by it. She had took great pleasure of removing her limbs one by one. Those before her whom had been filled will false bravado quickly realized their error as he reduced them to mere cripples. It had been quite a delight-

"You underestimated humanity Grimm Queen."

Salem felt something that she had almost forgotten. Suddenly the warmth left her. It was coldness so primordial she could not ignore.

"But most importantly," and Neo didn't bother hiding her smirk, "You underestimated me."

Before she could respond, before she could run from the sight of the ice cream girl - the world turned white.

And the sky cracked.

* * *

 _Several loops later_

* * *

"I must say that's a new one in the list," Zwei said as he ticked a check list.

"So did she die Zwei? Neo asked as she licked her Neopolitan ice cream. "Tell me I killed the bitch."

"Not at first no. When I found her later she was severely wounded, yes - but the cause of death was by poison..." Zwei looked at her. "Care to explain?"

"It was a rose - a dust rose," Neo answered as if it explained everything. "That loop I got my hands dirty and _appropriated_ an Atlas weapon. By combining certain components of several dust I was able to attain a mixture, one that allows for instant concentrated explosion and a little bonus - poison property."

"I should have known something was odd about that loop. It was a fused loop all along..." Zwei said, shaking his head. He had been careless to not remember that particular mechanic from the Hunter x Hunter loop.

"A toast," Neo raised her ice cream, "To explosions!"

It felt like cheating but it was a null loop so... "To explosions."

And he licked his ice cream.


	89. A Myriad of Possibilities

89.1 Black Omochao

=-=-=-=-=-=

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

Inaho snuck into the sleeping Nate's room, from what she could tell, the Anchor wasn't Awake. The purple-haired girl crept over to his bedside and began whispering in his ear.

"Hello, Nate. I am your subconscious, you will listen to and believe whatever I say," Inaho whispered in a spooky-voice.

"Whatever… you say," Nate muttered between snores, Inaho held in her giggles before she began whispering once more.

"Listen carefully; Inaho is your best friend in the entire world…"

"Inaho… best friend…"

"You want to hang out with her all the time, and buy her whatever she wants…"

"Hang out… buy…"

"Sailor Piers is the best anime in the world…" she whispered, she didn't wait to hear if Nate had processed that command before she continued. "You want to talk to Inaho about Sailor Piers, and take her with you to the Sailor Piers movie, and pay for everything. Because she's your best friend…"

"Oh really?" Inaho blinked, before she noticed Nate had Woken up… in both senses of the word, and was glaring at her.

"Um…"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

.

"I told you it wouldn't work," Ruby chuckled as sat beside her with a dejected look. "Imitating those Chibi-Loops is just asking for trouble. But don't worry, my brother won't hold a grudge, I'm sure…"

"I just wanted us to hang out more…" Inaho complained before letting out a long sigh.

"Yeah, well next time maybe take my advice instead of trying to imitate the Chibi-me from that variant," Ruby shook her head, a good-natured smile still on her face. The sound of something hitting glass surprised the two, before they looked and spotted a Skreek, that had somehow slammed into a window.

"STUPID CHIBI-LOOPS!" The Skreek shouted in Qrow's voice, before falling to the ground.

"… See?" Ruby pointed out to Inaho, whom now just looked confused.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.2 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

Kali put her hands on her hips. "Really, Raven? You could have just asked."

"Bahmdih," Raven replied, closing the cabinet before pulling the package of tea out of her mouth. "It's what I do."

"I mean, yes, I know that, but... seriously, if you wanted to borrow a few things from my kitchen-wait." Kali narrowed her eyes. "Is this some sort of thing where asking for help is considered weakness?"

"No. Well, not... it's more exerting my dominance, you know? Making it clear where we stand, in regards to each-"

"What is even with the bags? You have a subspace pocket, don't you?"

Raven glared at her, absently adjusting the half-dozen cloth bags hanging from her arms. "There's no excuse for laziness."

Kali quirked an eyebrow.

"...what?"

"You used a portal to get here."

"Yes, but that's baseline-"

"If you really wanted to prove you weren't lazy, you'd have used a boat. Or maybe swam the distance."

Raven rolled her eyes. "There's no excuse for stupidity, either."

"No, but apparently there's an excuse for stubbornness."

"Oh come on, Kali, why are you even forcing this issue? It's not like I brought the tribe or anything!"

Kali threw up a hand. "See, that, that would have made sense! Why are you doing this, when you could just raid some town for your trinkets? It's not like-"

She paused.

"Hold on. Are you keeping this secret from your tribe?"

Raven glanced away, not looking her in the eye. "Why would I keep this secret from my-?"

"You want to keep my tea for yourself! Wait, no, that would just explain the tea..." Kali gasped. "Oh my gods. Raven, are you trying to learn how to bake?"

"That is an insane leap of logic!" Raven insisted.

Kali crossed her arms.

"...I mean, even if it's true, that's an insane... leap of logic..."

"Mmmhmm." Kali rolled her eyes. "You know, I could teach you if you wanted."

"Right, because baking with a stove is just the same as baking with a campfire."

"I know how to bake with a campfire."

Raven quirked a brow at her.

"Fused loop, maybe Hub. I ran a chapter of the girl scouts." Kali smiled faintly. "Quite relaxing, really. Seriously, though, if you want help-"

"I'm fine."

Kali held up her hands. "Alright, alright. Just putting it out there."

There was silence in the kitchen for a few moments.

Raven sagged. "You know, with the humor Yggdrassil has, I'd probably fail hilariously for a few hundred years before slinking back for your help anyway. How about we just skip that?"

"Sure. Let me get my coat and tell Ghira I'll be gone for the day, okay?"

"Yeah, sure..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.3 Black Omochao

=-=-=-=-=-=

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

"What the… who is this?" Salem questioned, noting the eleven-year old boy that was just sitting in her evil lair, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Oh, him?" Cinder stepped over casually. "That's my younger brother, Keita. I'm watching him for the weekend."

"… What? You can't be serious!?"

"I know, I told dad this weekend wasn't good. But what are you gonna do? Can't leave him alone, and nobody wants to babysit the kid whom can summon ghosts," Cinder explained with a shrug.

Salem just kept staring at her with controlled fury and confusion. "What in the world made you think bringing him here would be–Wait, summon what?"

"Cinder! I'm having my friends possess your friends so I can pull pranks with them!" Keita called out, Salem looked and was shocked to see this random human child exiting the lair, followed by her minions, all of which had a strange glow around them and blank expressions.

"Okay, but be back before dark! And don't tell dad, he'd kill me!" Cinder called out, Salem found herself unable to speak as a proud smirk settled on the face of the inheritor of the Fall Maiden. "Ah, they grow up so fast. Now he's playing pranks, soon he'll be making his own evil schemes. Sunrise, sunset…"

"I… what? How could you…" Salem tried to find the words to speak, but couldn't. None of what had just happened made any sense to her! If Cinder had a brother she should have already known about it! Especially one that could apparently take control of people with ghosts of all things!

"Hey." A shadowy, semi-transparent humanoid floated by. Salem blinked.

"Oh yeah, my dead grandpa's also here," Cinder added as an afterthought.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.4 Black Omochao

=-=-=-=-=-=

Cinder smirked as Pyrrha disintegrated before her very eyes, a million pieces sent scattering into the wind.

"So much for the invincible girl, huh?" the evil woman chuckled.

Though to her surprise, the pieces of ash that had once been Pyrrha Nikos stopped midair, instead of continuing to blow away, Cinder was genuinely confused. "Huh? What the?"

Suddenly, each piece of ash glowed, before growing into a new Pyrrha Nikos, identical to the original. Cinder soon found herself feeling very small with a million pairs of angry, green eyes staring her down…

"… Okay, I'll admit I didn't see this coming, at all…"

After Cinder had said that, she was immediately charged by the army of red-heads…

.

"And that's when I Woke up," a tired, injured Cinder relayed to her fellow Loopers, whom then all looked toward the massive crowd of Pyrrhas that stood nearby, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"SORRY!" they all called out in unison, Cinder groaned.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.5 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

Raven was half-way through another egg roll-well, her tribe was native to Mistral after all-when a loud THWACK caught her attention.

She grinned, not getting up, even as the squeaky sound of flesh sliding across glass echoed across the camp. The last of the egg roll was consumed as the sound of an odd pfwoosh hit her ears. And as general muttering and cursing approached her, she deigned to look up.

"Hello, Qrow."

"Raven." Her brother threw a hand out vaguely. "Why the hell do you have glass panes on ten foot poles surrounding the camp?"

"They keep the smoke from our fires from building up and attracting the attention of Mistral patrols."

Qrow snorted. "Yeah, right, like that's the real explanation."

"What can I say?" She smirked wickedly. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.6 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ruby, what is that?" Weiss asked, looking at the contraption Ruby was holding.

"A T-shirt cannon..." Ruby said.

Weiss gave her a questioning look.

"A hot-dog shaped T-shirt cannon," Ruby clarified.

Weiss kept the look up.

"It also happens to be made of an actual hot-dog and shoots living Pyrrha hot-dogs," Ruby finally admitted.

"Right... Now, why are you shooting living, Pyrrha shaped hot-dogs at Salem's castle?" Weiss asked.

Ruby shrugged and shot another one, the living hot dog in the shape of Pyrrha shouting "Weeeee!" the whole way.

"I got the idea from the hub loop." Ruby said as if it explained everything.

Weiss shook her head all the way back to Beacon, leaving Ruby to her antics.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.7 Leviticus Wilkes

=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby looked at the cake. On the one hand, Cinder had spent the better part of the hour preparing it and it looked really tasty. On the other hand, it clearly had a stick of dynamite in it.

Ruby flatly looked at her sister, who was grinning maliciously. "Why do you do this?"

"Because the pain of you deciding whether or not to eat a booby trapped cake brings me immense-" Cinder blinked and realized that the entire cake was gone, and Ruby's lips were covered with frosting. "Joy. Well, I didn't expect this."

"It's cake. You eat cake, dynamite, or no."

"Yeah, but you ate it-"

BOOM!

Cinder was promptly splattered with Ruby's guts, which then reformed into an intact Ruby. "Whatever."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.8 KanameFujiwara

=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby Rose, the teacher

This loop, Ruby found herself in a curious position of being a teacher in Beacon Academy, teaching Advanced Weaponry as a subject.

"Now," Ruby lowered her textbook and stared at her entire class, "Can anyone tell me one of the fundamental problems with hybrid based weapons?"

Several hands were raised.

"Yes Henry?"

"Yes Ms Rose... that would be when it is in the middle of transforming between one mode to the next."

"Well done Henry, that's one cookie for you," Ruby complemented then looked at the class. "True, hybrid weapons allow for increased functionality along with a range of options but it's not without a price tag. If something were to happened to your weapon in mid-transformation it may be stuck in that phase temporarily or worst, permanently. The momentary gap can prove fatal. Too many people your age made the mistake or adding too many tricks without considering if all the parts work together. No. Your weapon is your partner, your friend. Some may even find that the time they spend with their weapons to exceed even the times they are with their loved ones."

"Whoa..."

"So people are that passionate huh?"

"Maybe we should go the library for that adjustment brother?"

"Hmmm." Ruby closed her eyes and nodded. "Now most Hunters and Huntresses are experienced enough to create moments within a battle where the shift can be done without harm. Some even went to the extent of creating entire fighting style for the sole purpose of accommodating to their weapons. Others went to the exact opposite. For me the answer was always somewhere in between - of understanding the self and the weapon and have both of them complementing instead of supplementing the other.

"That actually sounds better."

"Cool tip teach."

"Take a cookie Ms Rose!" someone shouted at the back.

"Hush you," she chided playfully. "Of course, if worst comes to worst you can always rely on material durability to minimize the damages though I myself prefer-"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.9 Shimmer712

=-=-=-=-=-=

"I 'ate zis loop," Jaune muttered.

"Dear, you've had genderbender loops before," Pyrrha reminded him.

"And 'ow many of zose loops have given me an accent?" Jaune demanded. He - She for the loop - didn't appreciate people asking her to speak just so they could hear the accent. It was very irritating.

"Well, none that I've been in, surprisingly," Pyrrha admitted. "But it, and you speaking French is attractive, if that helps."

Jaune gave her wife a fond look then thought of something. She turned to Ren. "Didn't you 'ave an accent as a kid?" she asked curiously. "What 'appened to it?"

Ren shrugged. "I guess I grew out of it," he said. His eye twitched as a passing Lark whistled loudly at him.

"Lucky, lucky!" Dove cackled as the two members of CRDL vanished around a corner.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "What was zat about?"

Ren sighed. "In this loop, you're the only one who's been gender-swapped. Making me the sole male member of our team," he explained. "Resulting in Harem cracks. The fact we are frequently with RWBY, an all female team only encourages them."

"Do we need to do something?" Pyrrha frowned.

"No. It's just annoying," Ren assured her. "If I find it too much, I'll ask for help pranking them."

"Can I 'elp?"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.10 KitsuneShin0bi

=-=-=-=-=-=

Yang rushed to the nurse's office where her sister was recovering. It was a null loop so when she was called by the staff, she feared the worst.

Opening the door, the brawler was confronted with the sight of a Ruby awkwardly trying to assuage the concerns of an Unawake Weiss.

"Ruby are you okay? What happened?"

The hysterical heiress spoke in her place.

"She tried to eat a whole batch of double chocolate chip cookies!" exclaimed the Schnee. "I called emergency services after I found her vomiting all over the floor! Why did she eat them? She should've known they were poisonous to her."

Weiss missed the blond's confused look as a thought flashed through her mind.

"Oh God! What if she was trying to commit suicide? Is that why she started crying after I got her over here? Is there any way to help her? I might be able to get a therapist to-"

Yang ignored the Unawake Looper as moved towards her sister's bedside. Why would she get sick from-

Oh. She remembered this loop's gimmick now.

Reaching forward, Yang pet Ruby softly between her dog ears. Sighing, she turned to the heiress.

"Don't worry Weiss. If it was only a batch she wouldn't have been in any danger of dying," the blond explained.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm much bigger than a dog, it takes a lot more for me to actually-"

Yang gave her younger sister a look, cutting her off.

"You still shouldn't have ate that much." She turned to the room's other occupant. "Thank you for your concern Weiss even if it might have been a bit much. I'll be talking to Ruby about this. After all, this isn't the first time her sweet tooth has come back to bite her."

Nodding, the huntress in training hesitantly walked out of the room.

"You know she has a crush on you this loop, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah... that tends to happen when I get the full puppy-dog look. Why do you ask?"

"Because now she's going to be super strict about your chocolate intake."

The Anchor gasped in horror. "And since it's a null loop, I can't use my Pocket or-"

"Yep."

The scythe wielder burst into large crocodile tears. Yang rolled her eyes.

"Stay strong Rubes. You can survive a loop without eating half your body weight in cocoa."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.11 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Is it just me, or is there something different with Velvet this loop?" Ruby asked Yang.

Taking a look at Velvet, she narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. But I can't put my finger on what exactly..." Yang agreed before it hit her. "Oh, I got it. She doesn't have her camera."

"Huh, that's odd. I don't think there's ever been a loop where she hasn't had a camera before unless she's been replaced," Ruby said.

"Well, it was bound to happen at some point, I mean, with the loops and all. So, what do you think she has instead of a camera?" Yang asked... only to groan as Velvet answered it for them, taking out an entire man from somewhere.

"I am not staring at you, I am a cyborg photographer. Just act natural, this is a candid shot. I don't require a camera so-"

Yang groaned loudly. "Really? What's with you, you stupid tree?" she cried to the heavens.

Ruby had pulled out a bag of popcorn, somehow rather fascinated by the odd quirk of this particular loop.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.12 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...which is why I wear shorts with zippers on the legs."

"Huh. You know, when you explain it like that, it makes much more sense."

"I mean, these days I could change to anything I like, but force of habit, you know. Sort of the same with the bow, really."

"Well, yes. I mean I tried a few tye-dye shirts after that one expansion, but it just doesn't really feel right for day-to-day-"

It was at this point that Yang burst into the kitchen, wild-eyed. "I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE PINECONES!"

Taiyang and Blake looked up from their drinks.

"...Oh." Yang cleared her throat. "Sorry. Misread the situation. Hey, how's it going?" She leaned against the doorframe casually.

"Pinecones?" Blake asked curiously.

"I think she's talking about a couple years ago," Taiyang mused. "There was this thing with-"

"Long story short, embarrassing dad story that does not need to be shared." Yang gave him a pointed look.

"Is it anything like that time with the Jawas?" Blake asked innocently.

Yang pointed at her. "Hey, we agreed that was entirely Obi-wan's fault! And it's more like the bacon incident, anyway. The second one, not... not the first one."

Both of them shuddered.

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Yang, if we wanted to swap embarrassing stories about you, we'd have broken out the photo albums. I just invited Blake over to... get to know her."

"...you're not trying to steal my fiance, are you?" Yang accused with mock suspicion.

"Okay, no. I don't know why you continue to listen to those hubworld memes-"

"They are hilarious."

"-but I am not a sex-crazed machine. I respect the ladies I bed, and I respect Blake too much to try to bed her."

"High praise," Blake noted.

Yang snorted in amusement. "Alright, alright. Seriously though, what is this?"

"You're marrying her, she's going to be part of the family, so I figured... a little one on one time, get to know her, you know?" Tai chuckled wryly. "Didn't expect you to barge in."

"Blame Zwei, he totally implied dad stories." After a moment, the blonde shrugged. "Well, tit for tat. I'll go bug Kali. Maybe she has some fun stories to share."

"Don't count on it!" Blake shouted after her.

Taiyang smirked. "She's a bit of a handful, isn't she?"

"Mmmya, but she's a fun one." Blake turned around. "Speaking of which... pinecones?"

"Oh, right." Tai reached behind him and pulled out a photo album. "Yeah, apparently Jacques put Weiss on tour as a singer-they came to Patch for some fool reason-and I wanted to treat my girls to some art so..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.13 diesel, Leviticus Wilkes, Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

The camp fire cracked and popped, as RNJR and Qrow sat around it, the night flowing across their skin.

"Of course we have questions," Jaune said, looking at Qrow before looking away and folding his arms across his knees, This is just… a lot to take in."

Ruby sat quietly, watching as the conversation she had had innumerable times before unfolded again. She was so tired, and just could not bring herself to care. Everything seemed to pass in a blur. Shadows and vapour, as Weiss once put it.

"Sure, of course."

"So these… Maidens… They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic?" Ruby asked, a puppet dancing on strings. She could almost see them, in her mind's eye, the strings of fate, or history, of Time and Baseline.

Forcing the world to forever march to the fairy-tale written.

Run little children run, run, run.

"Yeah."

"And there are four of them?"

It was so easily, and so hard to run baseline. Ruby felt hollow and cold, submersing her Looping identity and self into her baseline memories and just letting the script play out as is had, and would do forevermore. Too tired to resist and go her own way. How many millennia had it been since she had had a variant, since she had met another looper?

… Just let it freeze, trap it in ice. Let it all burn. I wish the streets would run red and the Grimm would rampage. Something anything.

…Someone?

"Yup. Always."

Ren's echo replied, as he must. "Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone - a female - that they cared about?"

"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction. Best option is someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way."

Jaune stared at Qrow, Ruby knowing exactly what he was thinking. How many times had she been in his place? "And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha... the night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them." His voice was accusing.

"The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked." Qrow sounded resigned and weary, "She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well.

Jaune looked angry, glaring at Qrow, "So you forced it on Pyrrha."

"We didn't force anything. We explained the situation and gave her the choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her."

Ruby felt her fingers itch, words drifting through her mind distantly. She could change it, change the story. A change of phrasing. She had already run baseline five times in a row.

"That guy, Tyrian - why was he after me?"

But what was the point?

Qrow sighed, "Well, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait…"

Ruby danced to the silent tune, weaving and bobbing to the beat of baseline and the weave of fate. Playing her past in a dance of shadows and vapour as the night seemed to deepen.

Someone save me.

-\\-

"And so you came to me."

"..."

"Don't you know... why?"

"Well... no..."

"Hmm."

"I mean... yes. It's because... well, we never really talk that much. From my perspective."

"I've never spoken with you."

"Yeah, you never have spoken with me. But I've spoken with you before Hazel."

Hazel Rainart tapped his chin, looking out of the small covered shed he had found the girl sulking in. The rain was coming down quite hard over the rolling hills, unharvested wood valleys, and long plains of Anima. The outer territories of Mistral had a habit of throwing up heavy rains like this on common occasions, and he had grown accustomed to them.

They didn't bother him. People, on the other hand...

Well, that was partially what had brought him up short when he had found Ruby in the small shed, curled up, silent and waiting out the rain. A teenaged girl so clearly looking down so far from civilization? Why, that was Grimm bait right there. The other part of what brought him up short was her features. She had looked quite familiar, almost as though he was related to someone he had killed.

Of course, she had introduced herself as Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose, another silver eyed warrior like her, and Hazel hadn't needed to set the pieces together himself. Still though, the sight of her in the rain had left him unable to immediately act. The order to capture her alive stood from Salem herself. Surely capturing her would be easy?

Of course, when she had produced Salem's decapitated head, he had decided that the best thing to do was hide underneath the small shed and wait out the rain. She gave him her life's story, regarding the Infinite Loops, Yggdrasil, her friends, her sister's and brothers and father and uncle and aunt and mother. He had believed her, seeing as compared to Salem's status as the Sister God of Destruction, it wasn't terribly far fetched.

The rain splattered down on the shed's roof as they sat, in quiet contemplation.

Ruby sighed. "I actually... I have a bad habit of talking to villains. Well, antagonists. When I get really lonely, anyway. First it was Cinder-back before she started looping." She chuckled wryly. "This version hates me, doesn't she?"

Hazel gave a noncommittal grunt.

"I spent a bit talking to Roman-I don't know if Cinder ever mentioned him, he's a Vale-local thief she employed in her plan... usually the loop starts around the time I beat him up and earn my trip to Beacon. He's dead now." She shrugged. "Your typical swarmy street-thief, casual bigot... well, he's fun to banter with, even if he's a jerk."

The rain grew louder.

"...I started working my way out, then." Ruby began to count off on her fingers. "Emerald and Mercury, Cinder's minions... Adam Taurus, once. Then Raven, when she finally stabilized enough-she's not really a villain, exactly, but I don't think any of us would have wanted to talk with her." She held out her hands. "I mean, I'm the Anchor. I should... know my world. Understand it. And that means understanding... all of you. At the same time, though..."

"You're a fundamentally good girl, and we aren't paragons of morality."

"Mmm." She nodded.

Hazel considered her for a moment or two.

"...Have you ever talked to Salem?"

"Eh, not really. Usually when I confront her, there are other loopers, and it's more 'dazzle the big bad with looping madness.'" Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, I guess there are the chibisalems-long story short, a few versions of Salem tried to possess me, and I've splintered their memories into... basically an imaginary friend. It's weird."

"Hmm." Hazel leaned against the wall. "And the rest of us?"

"Remnant's pretty damaged. You exist, but your past is highly loop variable. Tyrian's the most stable of you-I know, he's crazy, but he's pretty consistently crazy the same way, and even then..." She paused. "So, even if I talk to you, over a thousand loops, I'm not really going to get a good measure of who you should be."

Again, the rain dominated the conversation.

"...this was a mistake. I'm sorry, neither of us... we're not going to get anything out of this conversation." Ruby snorted. "Well, you got information, but it's pretty useless information. Salem probably won't believe you without proof. And there's nothing you could do about it anyway."

"I could try to Ascend."

Ruby laughed at that. "Yeah, you could. I'd stop you, obviously." She turned to him. "And you're not going to try anyway, are you?"

Hazel shrugged.

With a sigh, the teenaged girl stood up and dusted her knees off. "Well, my other body is about to the Kuroyuri signpost. I guess it's too late for any big alterations, but maybe I can talk the others into not splitting the party." She looked at nothing for a moment. "...Hey, Hazel?"

He inclined his head.

"...never mind. It was a pointless question." She waved. "I'll see you sometime in the expansions, I guess."

Her body disintegrated into rose petals and flowed out the door, leaving Hazel to contemplate his existence.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.14 Shimmer712

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Head huuurrttsss!" Ruby moaned, burying her face into her pillow.

"What is it?" Weiss asked the anchor curiously.

"Well, the Hub is the backup of all the branches of Yggdrasil, right?" Ruby asked. "And every piece of fiction there, even the really bad fanfictions are all different branches of Yggdrasil."

"That's right," Weiss nodded.

"So does that mean that the branch of Yggdrasil that makes up the Hub is shaped like all of Yggdrasil?" the Anchor asked. "And there are probably fictions of something like the loops so does that mean the Hub contains itself inside itself, which might have its own hub inside itself, and..."

"Ruby, I think we're going beyond what we can understand without becoming Admins ourselves," Weiss interrupted her. "Let's avoid breaking our brains and simply accept this is something we can't fully understand, alright?"

"Alright," Ruby agreed.

"Why were you thinking about that sort of thing anyway?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, it was just something I started thinking about because I was bored."

"Next time, go prank my father or something. Please," Weiss instructed. "Better for your sanity."

"Gotcha."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.15 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

The genetic code for faunus traits was dominant... and this loop, apparently, they had taken advantage of that fact. After the Great War, the entire race had thrown themselves at humanity with a lustful vengeance, seducing them both carnally and romantically. In two decades, they were prominent; in four, they were the majority. By the time the loop's beginning had rolled around, the few pure-blooded humans left were scattered to the winds in isolated villages.

Blake put down her history book and sighed. "I have very mixed feelings about this."

"I hear ya, babe." Yang stretched, letting the sun glitter off her golden scales. "Conquering the world through love sounds good on paper, but-"

"No, I can live with the 'army of whores' premise. It's morally tetchy, but then again so's stealing a train." She sighed. "What really gets me is that there are still bigoted idiots around."

Weiss's spotted white ears folded back. "Bigotry is a disease. It mutates to survive."

Ruby sighed. "Do you know people kept thinking I was adopted?"

Blake blinked. "Wait, what?"

Ruby gestured at her furry tail. "Yeah, Dad's a pangolian-he's got rattlescales on his arms-so they kept thinking he was a reptile. When he corrected them, they started thinking Yang was adopted instead."

"I remember a lot of people calling me coldblooded," Yang mused. "Really, really stupid people. And when I told them my mom was a raven, they just thought I had to be evil or something!"

"See, this is what I'm talking about." Blake gestured at them. "A wolf and a dragon-I mean, that didn't matter in baseline! Faunus were Faunus, end of story. But this loop there's whole new forms of prejudice cropping up without any sort of founding."

"Some people will be idiots, no matter what." Weiss shrugged. "I'm honestly more curious as to what animal attributes everyone got."

"And why," Yang added. "I mean, I expected Nora to be a sloth, but she's got a beaver tail instead?"

"Ren has sloth claws," Ruby pointed out. "And Nora likes sloths. So that kind of makes sense, right?"

"Yeah about that." Blake gave Ruby a look. "Why are you avoiding Jaune? Is it because of the rabbit ears?"

Ruby flushed. "Look, my pre-awake self was terrified of rabbits, and with the knowledge of looping rabbits-"

"I thought you were more mature then that."

"I am! It's just... I freaked out around him, and he sort of knows now, so it would be awkward, especially with Pyrrha nearby. I don't want to tick off somebody with swan wings..."

-

Cinder tapped her fingers on the table, the crested gills beneath her hair twitching idly. Behind her, Emerald wrung her webbed hands while Mercury carefully licked his fangs.

It was interesting, not Awakening in Salem's service. It felt almost nostalgic, a throwback to the days before the expansion, when her and her minions had no idea what they wanted. Of course, in this loop it was different-two amphibians and a reptile weren't going to get good looks from anyone up top, so they'd banded together to join Roman's gang...

The thief in question sauntered in. His transition to Faunus hadn't changed his outward appearance but, from the silky way he moved, Cinder was willing to bet he was some sort of mustilid-ferret, weasel, mongoose, it didn't really matter. Neopolitan trailed after him, giving her a calculated look-Cinder replied with a slow nod, an acknowledgement, and Neo clasped her tentacled hands together.

"So, let's get down to business." Roman tapped his fingers on the map, clearly enjoying being in charge for once. "For some loopy reason, the old tortoise that runs Beacon is bringing in help from Atlas. We've got two weeks before things get locked down hard. Probably best to do one quick job and then lay low-"

The door burst open, screeching across the ground to their feet. Cinder held up a hand to stay Mercury and Emerald, even as they reached for their weapons; Neo quirked a brow at the slow footsteps entering in.

Roman gave a theatrical sigh. "You know, knocking usually leaves the door intact. It's rather expensive for the contractors to replace."

"Roman Torchwick. The infamous thief." The speaker narrowed his eyes. "I have a job for you."

Roman and Cinder shared a look.

"There's a waiting list, I'm afraid." Roman turned back to the newcomers. "But of course, a bit of patronage affords a bit of consideration, mister...?"

"Taurus. All I need is Dust."

Neo rolled her eyes, her eyes moving to Cinder. She tapped her chin musingly.

"Well, now," Roman quipped, "that's an order that may take some time, depending on how much you need-"

"We don't deal with pawns," Cinder interjected coldly. "Tell your master to come here himself. Or herself, I suppose."

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "I have no master."

"And I suppose your fancy magic came from an elf in the woods?" She chuckled at his glare. "I'm not ignorant, bull, I know a spell when I see one."

"Now, calm down." Roman raised his hand placatingly. "None of us have any quarrel with magicians. We keep our secrets, you keep yours. Still, miss Fall has a point-why are we not meeting the leader of your cadre?"

"...she finds travel to be troublesome."

"Ah, legal reasons, I suppose? How about a compromise: I send Cinder along with you to negotiate our employment, and just to make sure she returns unharmed I keep... hmmm... the young gentleman with glasses."

One of the redhead's companions jumped. "Um-I don't think-"

"No harm is to come to him," the redhead growled.

"But of course, but of course." Roman tipped his hat. "You have my word as a thief."

"...Perry."

With a worried gulp, the glasses-wearing boy stepped next to Roman, who wrapped him in a warm arm.

Cinder stepped forward. "I sense we have an interesting journey ahead of us."

"Cinder-" Emerald tried.

She gave her a reassuring grin. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it, I promise."

-

"I've just been informed that Cinder's headed for Salem. She's looping, so either most of our problems will be solved, or they'll get far worse."

Glynda rolled her eyes. "As if this loop wasn't interesting enough..."

"Ya know," Qrow drawled, "if your tail is giving you trouble you could always talk to Sun."

"Sun's too busy handling Neptune right now. Besides, there's a difference between a prehensile tail and a lion's tail."

"Mmm." Qrow nodded, running a hand through his feathers. "Not all that bad as far as variants go." He glanced at the other woman in the room. "Not bad at all."

Winter's spotted tail twitched, but she managed to keep her face professional. "It's certainly interesting. Grandfather is one of the last living purebloods, did you know that?"

"Nicolas's uniqueness aside, I think we're straying from the point." Ironwood's claws clicked against the table. "What is our plan this loop? For Salem, and Amber, and... all the rest?"

"I don't have one, at the moment." Ozpin leaned back, resting his shell against his comfy chair. "Without the White Fang, Salem would need a different set of pawns for a large movement. Perhaps in a few years, a pro-human or pro-amphibian protest group could spring up for her to twist into terrorists, but the loop is set to end long before then."

"She could go for bandits instead," Ironwood pointed out. "Raven's not part of our group this loop-her group of bandits would make a decent army."

Qrow frowned. "...I don't know. I want to say Raven would rip her face off with her bare talons before submitting, but... well, either way, Cinder's headed her way. Probably best to assume she'll keep to the shadows until then."

Glynda nodded. "True... unfortunately. For the moment, let's focus on protecting Amber-even if Cinder never attacked her, Salem might have other plans in the works..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.15 Black Omochao

=-=-=-=-=-=

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"Okay, Nate. I know you're good at making friends and all, but I don't think I'm out of line in saying; THIS IS COMPLETELY ABSURD!" Weiss shouted at Ruby and Yang's out-of-Loop sibling, as he sat on a deathstalker's back, impassively petting the heads of Kevin and Charlie whom nuzzled him affectionately from both sides.

"Oh, stop overreacting. At least you don't have to fight them now."

"That's not the point here…"

The three giant grimm glared at the local Looper menacingly, but Nate quickly calmed them down. "Now, now, Kevin, Charlie, Greta. She's just expressing her opinion, don't get all riled up…"

"…You named the deathstalker Greta?" Weiss asked blankly.

"She's a good girl," Nate cooed as he patted the giant arachnid's exoskeleton.

"…How do your sisters put up with you?" Weiss questioned, only for a giant explosion to sound behind her, followed by the appearance of a giant dragon, made of cookie dough, Ruby riding atop it, with Yang's dragon form appearing shortly after to do battle with it. "…Oh right, now I remember; you're all insane!"

"Can't talk right now, Weiss. I need to get in on this! Away, Kevin!" Nate announced eagerly, mounting the dragon grimm before it flew off into the sky, toward the other dragons.

Weiss just stood back on the ground, an unreadable expression on her face. "Insane… they really are all insane."

She watched the three-way dragon fight for a few seconds, before shrugging and summoning a white version of the grimm dragon, which she rode into the skyward conflict. "Okay, maybe I'm a little insane too…" She couldn't help the small smirk from forming on her face as she joined the dragon battle.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.16 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

"The one who controls the dust, controls the universe!" Ruby shouted, only to hear Weiss clear her throat from behind her. Turning around, Ruby chuckled awkwardly at being caught red handed.

"Ruby, what exactly do you think you're doing?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow at Ruby apparently talking to a bunch of plushies her unAwake self had taken with her to Beacon this loop.

"Oh, Weiss. I didn't see you come in there. I was just having some fun with my plushies," Ruby answered.

Weiss kept her eyebrow raised while once again pinging in an attempt to trip Ruby up in case she happened to actually be Awake. Having no such, luck, she sighed and instead decided to play along. "Alright. So, you're planning on introducing us?"

Ruby donned a big smile as she realized Weiss wasn't going to make fun of her and actually took interest enough to care. With much excitement, she introduced her plushies one by one. "This is Rabbity the Rabbit, Skunky the Skunk, Beavery the Beaver, Beary the Bear, Raccoony the Raccoon, Mousey the Mouse, Squirrely the Squirrel, Deery the Deer, Woodpeckery the Woodpecker, Porcupiney the Porcupine, Foxy the Fox and lastly, Chickadee-y the Chickadee."

Weiss resisted the urge to facepalm and groan at the not so original names for all her plushies. "I see," she answered simply-

-and suddenly she felt the collection of woodland critters looked very familiar. Realizing exactly where they were from, Weiss decided to take no risks. Masking her emotions in all the ways she could as to not give away her feeling on the matter, in case her worst fears came to be true, Weiss apologized and quickly ran off to find the only other looper Awake to her knowledge, Yang.

"Well, that's a bit rude. We weren't even done with introductions!" Ruby complained before sighing and turning towards her plushies. "Well, anyways, that was Weiss. What do you think?" Ruby asked.

"We think she'd love to meet our friend, Satan," the plushies said in unison, the evil look in their plastic eyes going unnoticed by Ruby.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.17 Elipses

=-=-=-=-=-=

Yet another loop, yet another strange gimmick. Ruby Rose had seen more gimmick loops than she cared to remember, had even ranked them in her head based on whether the gimmick was fun, annoying, or actually dangerous (the less said about the loop where the Grimm were constantly making noises from that horrid show Telletubbies from the hub, the better.) The loops where stronger Grimm were immune to certain dusts usually ranked high in annoying, but sometimes... sometimes, Ruby came up with an idea to make them great.

She stood before Salem, the rest of the (all awake) members of Team RWBY behind her, Salem's Evil Council of Evil Doom and Evil (tm) sprawled unconscious behind them. Salem gave Ruby an incredulous look, then opened her mouth.

"So let me get this straight. You," she indicated team RWBY, "came here because you want to work for me, but only if I'm strong enough to survive your strongest dust?"

"Yep!" Ruby said, popping the word.

Salem smiled, deciding that the chance couldn't hurt, especially considering... "Well, since I'm immune to ALL forms of dust, I think you'll find yourselves serving me soon enough. Hit me with it, young one."

Ruby looked back at her team. Yang and Blake, who did not know what was coming, looked curious, not doubting Ruby, but not knowing where this was going. Weiss, who knew full what was coming, was holding her forehead in exasperation.

Ruby reached into her pocket, and pulled out a giant metal cylinder. Pointing the top end at Salem, she flipped a switch and a giant fan flicked on, blowing a brown dust all over and around Salem. After a few seconds, Salem stopped coughing and asked, "Is that it?"

Ruby smiled, pulled out a match, struck it, and flicked it at Salem, who suddenly found herself exploding into flames that actually hurt. Screaming in pain and at the impossibility of Dust harming her, she expired.

Yang looked at Ruby, and couldn't hold it in any longer. "Okay sis, just what kind of Dust was that?"

Ruby smiled widely.

"Sawdust."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.18 Black Omochao

=-=-=-=-=-=

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"So, Keita. You've replaced me quite a few times, haven't you?" Ruby questioned as she, her younger brother, and Weiss all sat at a table in a café.

"Yeah, many times…" Keita nodded, taking a sip from his coffee.

"I can attest to that," Weiss confirmed with a nod.

"Right, when this happens, you're usually partnered with Weiss, correct?"

"Of course," Keita said as he and the white-haired Looper nodded. "Sometimes Awake, sometimes not. Awake Weiss is easier to deal with."

"Of course I am." Weiss rolled her eyes. Ruby chuckled a little, before continuing.

"Well that brings me to the main question I'd like to ask… has an UnAwake Weiss ever had a crush on you?"

Weiss sputtered at the question her partner had just asked. "R-Ruby!? What the!?"

"Oh yeah, lots of times," Keita affirmed in a casual tone.

Weiss stared at him with a mix of shock, embarrassment, and partial disgust. "W-WHAT!?"

"I thought so," Ruby smiled lightly, before tapping her partner on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Weiss. It's the tree, what were you expecting?"

"Well, yeah, but why bring that up?" Weiss asked, still looking uncomfortable at the direction of this conversation. "I don't want to hear about UnAwake mes gaining romantic feelings for my partner's kid-brother!"

Ruby nodded to her partner to signify that she understood… before turning towards Keita and asking him more questions. "So, is the way Weiss crushes on you consistent whenever it happens, or is it different every time?"

"RUBY!?"

"Plenty of different ways, I'm not sure if it's just variants, or if the tree isn't sure on how Weiss would approach a teammate as a romantic partner, or something," Keita explained with a nod.

"Can you explain a few of the ways it's occurred?" Ruby tilted her head curiously. Weiss looked like she wanted to die.

"Well I'll just say this; Tsundere-Weiss is bad, but Yandere-Weiss is the worst."

"I see…"

"I can't believe I'm listening to this." Weiss looked mortified as she threw her face into her hands.

"Hey, Weiss. Calm down, it's not like you're responsible for what the UnAwake yous do," Ruby assured her partner with a pat on the back. "Besides, Keita would never let them get very far, since he has a girlfriend."

Ruby happened to say this just as Keita was taking a sip from his drink, which he promptly spat out. "G-girlfriend!?" Keita slammed his hands on the table, glaring at his sister with a red face. "Fumi-chan and I are not dating!"

"Fumi-chan?" Ruby blinked in confusion. "Who mentioned her? Aren't you and Inaho going out?"

Keita gaped, unable to form a sentence. Weiss looked pleased that the target of embarrassment had shifted.

"I-I… I'm not dating Inaho!" the young boy managed to stutter out, looking mortified at the implication. "She's like another annoying sister to me! Where did you even get that idea from!?"

"Oh…" Ruby blinked in confusion, before smiling. "Sorry, guess I just came to that assumption 'cause you two spend a lot of time together…" Ruby hummed innocently for a moment as she stared her brother down. "Still… that doesn't explain why you brought up Fumika…"

"Well, I…" Keita looked unable to come up with an explanation, and still very red in the face.

"Is there maybe something I should know about?" His sister gave him a smirk, that would honestly look more natural on the face of one of his other sisters.

"No, no! Nothing more to talk about! See you guys later! Bye, Weiss! Good seeing you!" And Keita was out like a lightning bolt.

Weiss turned to look at her still smirking partner, a skeptical look on her own face.

"You knew exactly what you were doing, it's not like that crush of his is a big secret or anything…"

"Weiss, embarrassing one's younger sibling is an integral part of being an older sister, someday you too shall understand this."

"…I don't think I want to… Also, why did you have to ask that stuff about the UnAwake mes crushing on him anyway!?"

"In time, my young friend. In time…"

"Okay, stop talking like that!"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.19 KanameFujiwara

=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss Schnee, Certified Financial Planner®

Weiss Woke to find herself in the middle of a consultation with a man name Bobby. Apparently she was now his financial planner. Well...

"So Bob - can I call you Bob? - if I may offer some financial advice..."

"Uh, yes?"

"Good, good. Now, I know it's tempting for you to purchase a house and live the Vale dream - but my advice is for you to rent the property instead of buying it."

"Ms Schnee, I know you mean well, but me and my wife Janet had been together for quite some time and we really want a place we can call a home."

"How sweet. She's pregnant isn't she?"

"Twins. We rabbit faunus usually had more but we're newlywed so-"

"Buying the house is still a bad idea."

"Oh come on!"

"Now Bob, you're a smart man and I'm a smart woman. I think we can have a reasonable discussion don't you think?"

"I suppose..."

"Hmm. Now Bob, you and Janet are about to purchase a house from the Atlas Bank using loans. And these loans have this little thing called interest. That means you're paying the principle and the additional interest. You understand right?"

"But I can afford it! Business is good. Our bakery seems to be going well. And-"

"And you're planning to take a second loan for the business yes?"

"Well..."

"Bob. Bob... I know it's rare for faunus like you to have a little bit of luxury and I know how these banks are offering to you a little more of that luxury and so it is my duty to tell you that you're being played..."

"I... what?"

"You're being played. Here you are about to start a new family and you don't have any financial obligation. Banks love that. They love suckers like you. They are going to offer you loans and you're to going accept it like a patsy and then you're stuck paying to them- for several years - the principle and interest. But that's not what kills you."

"It's not?"

"No. Maybe your business went bad. Maybe you woke up to find out you were robbed. Maybe you got sick. The bank doesn't care. They want their money. But you don't have it. So they are going to take your home. They are going to take your shop. And they are going to crush you until you are nothing less but a shell of a man."

"No...no..."

"Don't cry Bob. See... people like you are the everyday people. The kind of people that work long hours and want nothing more but to live in peace. And that's why you need people like me that can help you. Protect you from these bloodthirsty hounds! Bob. Bob. I am your friend!"

"Yes... yes... Ms Schnee... of course Ms Schnee.. please don't let them take my home."

"Wonderful Bob. Now here's what we are going to do-"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.20 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...Rubes? What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Ruby shook her head. "Oh. Uh. Nothing. Not... just... Nothing's wrong, per say, I'm just... in shock."

"Yeah?"

"I just... Yang, I just... I just saw Nora... snogging Fox."

"Huh." Yang slowly nodded. "That... actually explains a few things."

"What?"

"See, Blake's been getting... giggly around Ren, lately. Well, not giggly. That's not Blake. But her version of giggly. Like, she fidgets with a book, you know?"

Ruby frowned. "Wow. I mean... variants and everything, but... wow." After a moment, she cleared her throat. "So, uh, you holding up-?"

"I've got plenty of practice dealing with jealousy," Yang assured her. "Sun and all."

"Right, right." Ruby tapped her thigh. "Well. I mean, it was unexpected, but..."

She trailed off.

Yang sighed. "But the shipper in you is screaming to get on it."

"Yeah."

"You are really tugging at my heartstrings here, sis."

Ruby sighed. "I know, I know, it's weird enough without me making it weirder. I just... love love, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm not going to stop you, just..." Yang shrugged. "Just... I don't know... keep it out of my way, I guess."

"...yeah, I-actually, I don't really need it. I'd like it, but I don't need it... you know what?" She smiled. "Why don't we take this loop off? Cut down Salem and spend it trotting the globe as sisters?"

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "I think I'm supposed to lecture you about responsibility."

Ruby snorted.

"Yeah, stupid call." Yang shrugged. "Let's kidnap Cinder on the way out and replace Adam with Ilia."

"Why Ilia?"

"We haven't done much with her, and she seems level-headed." Yang paused. "Well, from what we know anyway..."

"Mmm, alright. So here's what I'm thinking..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.21 Masterweaver, Leviticus Wilkes

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Hey Ozpin."

"Hello Neo."

"Can I borrow Oscar?"

"...Neopolitan, are you asking me permission to use the farmboy soulbonded to me as a target of your unending lusts?"

"Haha, no. I'm 'on the mend' now, right?"

"And you're not going to torment him for your own amusement."

"Ozzy, baby, even when I was bad I stuck to nonloopers! And Cinder. But that was different, that was revenge, not amusement."

"Neo, what do you want Oscar for?"

"...honestly, right now? Kind of... I just kind of want to do... little girl stuff. With another kid. You know?"

"Little girl stuff."

"I'd ask Ruby, but she's more... I mean, I think it would be awkward to... uuuuugh. Mmmmnrgh. Don't make me do this, please."

"Don't make you do-?"

"Don't make me say it!"

"Don't make you say what?"

"Mmmmmnnngh. Nnnnnnnrgh... rrrrrrrrrr-MisterOzpincanOscarcomeouttoplayplease?"

"Why of course, young lady!"

"Shut up."

"After such a polite and well worded request-"

"Shut up."

"-How could I possibly refuse?"

"This doesn't leave the room!"

-\\-

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE ROOM!"

Ozpin glanced down into the boiling and roiling vat of fluoroantimonic acid, the vapors playing havoc with his clothing and the rim of his glasses. "Now Neo, I assure you that I did not communicate a single byte of information regarding our conversation. I told no one."

Neo pointed to a television screen which turned to show her and Ozpin discussing what would occur with Oscar, and Oscar and Neo braiding each other's hair. Ozpin himself smirked slightly. "I told no one. Glynda told everyone."

The acid hissed for a moment when he hit it. Then he swam out naked, the healing factor of a Ghoul sustaining him. "Now Neo, was that really necess-"

Neo kicked him in the balls and Ozpin decided that he'd... just... not.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.22 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss and Ruby slowed as they approached their room, seeing Yang rapping the wall with her head.

"Um." Ruby held up a hand. "What, exactly-?"

"I made a joke. You know, I do that sometimes? I make jokes." Yang didn't stop her cerebral assault of the plaster. "Blake didn't get it."

"O...kay, so-"

"And that frustrated her. Because, you know, we're engaged, we should know each other, and..." She sighed, resting her head. "I TRIED to get her to calm down. I TRIED to tell her it was okay. But..."

She gestured at the open door. Weiss, hesitantly, peered in.

"Huh. Five whiteboards?"

Yang groaned. "She's added another one?"

"She's started some quantum equations..."

Ruby whistled. "Wow. Yang, how complicated was this joke?"

"Not nearly as complicated as she's making out!"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.23 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

Jaune was running through the halls of Beacon's dormitory as fast as he could. He had Awoken just a few minutes ago and his loop memories were ones that made him dread where this loop was heading. Turning a corner, he nearly ran into Ruby.

"Oh, hi Jaune. Feeling loopy?" Ruby asked. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Oh, Ruby. Thank Dust! You need to help me Ruby, help me hide for the rest of the loop!" Jaune said, slightly panicked.

"Hide? From what?" Ruby asked, confused.

"From everyone! This loop is shipping me with everyone besides you and Pyrrha, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone! The worst thing is, none of them know about the rest but knowing the loops, it's just a question of time. So Ruby, please help me hide because of my unAwake self's mistakes," Jaune begged her.

"Would my pocket work?" Ruby asked. Jaune nodded, and she rapidly put him in her subspace pocket. "Huh, so that's a thing," Ruby said to herself before continuing going through the hall, passing by an extremely irritated mob of women passing her by.

-/-

Jaune let out a breath of relief as he was finally out of harm's way for the loop, glad that Ruby had been willing to help. Feeling something tap his leg, he looked down to see what looked like a grimmified, younger version of Ruby sucking on a lollipop while trying to get his attention.

"We're bored. Want to play board games with us?" the Salem Ruby asked.

Seeing no harm in it, Jaune agreed, if nothing else, it'd help him pass the time.

-/-

"Oh, come on! Just another game?" Salem Ruby asked Jaune who was sitting with his back to her.

"That's what you said five games back! And the answer is still no! You always cheat." Jaune pointed out.

"Well, what do you expect? I'm evil, It's my job to torture you until the loop ends. Of course, I am limited in what I can do without Ruby getting mad, but I make due," Salem Ruby said before dropping the box containing monopoly on the floor and instead take out another box with the words 'Cards against Humanity' written on it. "How about this then?"

Jaune groaned. "You can't play that with only two people." he pointed out

Salem Ruby frowned. Looking around the pocket, she soon found something that caught her attention. Running over to pick it up, she soon returned to Jaune, holding up two seemingly regular baseball bats. "How about Remnant ball then?" she asked.

Thinking about it for a moment, Jaune had a hard time coming up with any way for Salem to cheat. Shrugging, he once again agreed to play with the problem child... unaware that Salem Ruby had changed her goal from torturing Jaune, to messing up Ruby's pocket as much as she could before Jaune realized what was going on.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.24 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well, obviously Blake is best ninja," Yang replied. "I mean, she's actually been-"

"No no no, I'm not talking about our looping selves!" Nora clarified quickly. "No, I mean baseline."

"Still Blake."

"Really? She's got the acrobatic stuff down, don't get me wrong, but so does Ren."

"Well, there's the shadow clone semblance," Yang reminded her. "I mean, Ren can hide from Grimm, but Blake can hide from anyone."

"Mmm, true, true, but Ren is a master aura manipulator. Blake is pacifistic by contrast."

"She kills Grimm."

"Everybody kills Grimm, they don't count."

"Okay, fair enough. Still."

"My point is, Blake has one mystical technique, which she uses for stealth, but Ren has a number of techniques which can be used for stealth and assassination."

"If we're talking assassination, we should talk Neo. She did kill off that airship crew in baseline."

"Oh yeah, and her illusion thing... then again, Ilia's kind of got both too."

"Really? How do you figure?"

"The electric whip thing," Nora pointed out. "Like, she hasn't killed anyone with it, but if she wanted to-"

"Oh, yeah, that would be a total assassin's weapon. Hmm. You know, we have a lot of neo-ninjas in our baseline."

"It's the whole 'stealth war', I think. Aside from Ren, all our ninjas originate from less then legal sources."

"Huh. That's a point."

"Yeah. But I still think Ren would be best ninja overall."

"You want to put money on that?"

"What?"

"We get somebody to make a competitive ninja circuit and put all of them through it."

"Hmmm... why can't we make it ourselves?"

"We're biased. We'd try to make it favor Blake or Ren."

"So... Ozpin?"

"Mmm. Yeah, that's a good call."

"You're on, Xiao Long. You are so on!"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.25 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

Weiss found Ruby sitting on a bench in Beacon's courtyard, staring at one of her hands. Walking over, she decided to ask her what it was she was thinking about. "Hey Ruby, what's on your mind?"

"Murder..." Ruby muttered before realizing how wrong it sounded without context. "Sorry, what I meant to say is that I'm a bit bummed out because I began my last loop accidentally killing a family, simply by existing," she explained with a frown. Weiss decided to hug her, to comfort her. "Thanks." Ruby gave her a small smile before going back to looking at her hand.

"You want to talk about it?" Weiss asked

Ruby sighed. "I don't know. It was a weird loop and I believe I derailed it pretty hard. Fortunately, everything seemed to work out in the end. Have you heard about the Coppelion?" she asked Weiss, only for Weiss to shake her head. Ruby sighed again before explaining. "Well, it's essentially a group of young people who are immune to any and all radioactive radiation. The purpose was to allow them to work in highly radioactive areas in an alternate version of Japan where big parts of the country were highly radioactive. Our main purpose was to search for survivors and evacuate them. However, apparently the genetic manipulation that was used to create those parts of Coppelion was faulty. After a certain amount of time, instead of being simply immune to the radiation, we would begin emitting it instead. That's when I Awoke, just when my unAwake self was trying to save some civilians. They died almost immediately. And now..." Ruby said, pausing as she raised her hand slightly, the hand turning into dust, only to reform a moment later. "...I can do that. Sub-atomic deconstruction and reconstruction. And if I combine it with my chibis... Well, it becomes even more interesting." Her hand once again became dust, only this time, the dust was red. Once again, after having demonstrated her ability, her hand reformed.

"What was that? How is that possible?" Weiss asked, wide eyed.

"Sub-atomic self disassembly. Each one of the Coppelion had their own personal abilities, just like a semblance. I believe this was the ability of the one I was replacing. Anyways, I can now use the ability freely, a cure for the drawbacks of the Coppelion was invented before the loop ended and all I had to do was to take those cells with me before the loop ends. Although, there is one thing." Ruby turned her head to look at Weiss and reveal her left eye with the radiation trefoil symbol instead of an iris and pupil. "Without this eye, I can't actually control my body when it becomes sub-atomic dust," she explained.

"That... is rather creepy," Weiss pointed out.

Ruby just shrugged and returned the eye back to normal.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Ruby. What do you say we go pull some pranks on Blake and Yang?" Weiss offered.

Ruby smiled. "I'd like that. What do you say we see how many awkward situations we can put them in before they figure it out?" she suggested.

"Come on Ruby, neither of them are Awake. It wouldn't be fair against them," Weiss pointed out, smiling a little at the idea, as well as how her suggestion had worked so well to distract Ruby. "Alright, fine. But let's keep it to simple things," she said, the two of them ending up discussing ideas for pranks for the next hour and a half.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.26 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

Sun Wukong was enjoying his relaxing lounge on a random roof when he was suddenly plucked into the air by a panicking stream of rose petals and unceremoniously dumped into Amity coliseum.

"Unnngh..." With a groan, he rubbed his head and stood, looking around. "Hey, Blake. Yang. Weiss... Everyone? What's... what's going on?"

The rose petals coalesced into an extremely fidgety Ruby Rose. "YOU AND OSCAR! We need to deal with this! I ran through the records and you're not part of the extended family in any way!"

"Er-"

"Oscar's easy enough," Weiss pointed out. "With the Ozpin thing, he could just be... hmm. Probably Ozpin's adopted grandson, or something along those lines."

"And I can have Sun be my nephew," suggested a woman who looked like an older version of Blake. "It wouldn't really be that bad."

Blake nodded. "I don't mind having a cousin. I've got three adopted siblings already."

"You do?" Sun asked.

There was a pause.

Yang slowly facepalmed. "Sun, does the word Yggdrasil mean anything to you?"

"No. Should it?"

"Oh. Heh heh." Ruby blushed. "Oops."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, we've already got a good slot for him, we'll just wait till he's Awake to make it happen."

Sun looked at her. "A... what? I mean, what is happening? Why are we on Amity?"

"It-um. Hmm." Ruby seemed to consider him, before breaking out into a wide grin. "Sun, how would you like to kill the queen of the Grimm?"

A series of amused and exasperated grumbles and chuckles came from everyone else.

"It... sounds like a crazy time," Sun admitted. "Can I at least get something to eat first?"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.27 KitsuneShin0bi

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Cinder?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Why was Jacques' portrait in Salem's lair this loop?"

The Fall Maiden sighed, brushing away the dirt that had clung to her clothes while she was destroying the witch's fortress.

"That was part of her 'Monument to the World's EVILEST People'," she explained, rolling her eyes. As fun as the hilariously petty nature of cartoon villainy could be, it still got on her nerves when a variant caused her Baseline master to delve into it. It was like the Tree was mocking her for being a pawn to them. "She basically had an entire wing dedicated to people who commit terrible atrocities: genocide, human experimentation, you name it."

Ruby frowned in confusion. "I know he's not a good person by any means but... he's just a corrupt executive. How did he get a place there? Especially the number one spot."

Cinder wordlessly handed a placard she had saved from the rubble to her Looping sister.

-JACQUES SCHNEE-  
THE MAN WHO BETRAYED SANTA CLAUS  
"Fair enough," agreed the Anchor, nodding her head.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.28 Leviticus Wilkes

=-=-=-=-=-=

There was a creak on the floor. Yang cracked open an eye. In the darkness of the room two eyes glowed with golden fire. "Hey."

"Hey. Can I..."

"Nightmares?"

"...Yeah."

Yang scooted over and Cinder climbed into bed next to her sister. The blonde got comfortable again, eyeing the slightly disheveled Maiden. "Night."

"Night..." Cinder yawned, and fell back into her troubled sleep. Yang wrapped an arm around her, held her close, and dozed off.

A few hours later everyone awoke to a crash as Yang and Cinder's bed fell right over. They decided that books did not make for sound structural supports.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.29 Leviticus Wilkes

=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby snuck up behind her sleeping best friend, the room swathed in the shattered moonlight. "Weiss, are you awake? Weissssssss?"

"I love you most of all cake butler."

Ruby opened her mouth, and just like that Weiss seized her and cuddled her like an oversized plush doll. This was not at all according to plan. Not at all.

Weiss started squeezing Ruby and cooing in noises that were not at all relevant to innocent sleep, and Ruby turned redder than her cape.

Not at all to plan.

...

"Neo, did you do this?" Roman asked with a slightly concerned look on her face as Weiss chased after Ruby. That, in and of itself may not have been strange. That Weiss' attire was more suited for a bedroom with six different locks spoke to something far more... perverse.

Neo herself responded with a sign. "Innocent."

"I thought so..."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.30 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. During a routine check of her pocket, she had found Salem self, calmly playing with a Tarr slime. A Tarr slime! One of the most ferocious, unstoppable, aggressive and all eating mess of unstable slime genetics, was calmly eating from Salem Ruby's hand, smiling as it let her pet it.

"How?" Ruby asked, stunned at the display. Not only had she tried taming the beasts herself, only to fail miserably, but she had also gone through a lot to ensure no more Tarr slimes would accidentally be created.

"Oh, hi Ruby. This is Pain," Salem explained. "I decided it was a little bit lonely since you haven't been in here in a while and made him. It wasn't easy, but I eventually got him to listen." She smiled at Ruby's dumbfound expression, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Okay, that's... certainly new. You wouldn't be willing to teach me how to tame them?" Ruby asked, her interest certainly peaked.

However, Salem Ruby took to hugging the Tarr protectively instead, losing her smile. "No. I'm not certain you would approve, but since I can't stop you from finding out, you can check your deep pocket, section 12-B. There should be enough evidence there for you to figure out what I did," Salem said, enjoying the look of dawning horror on Ruby's face as she realized exactly what she had kept in there.

"You didn't," she said, looking at Salem, only for Salem to shrug.

"You won't know until you check," Salem said and smiled as Ruby was suddenly gone, undoubtedly checking the mentioned section. "Come on Pain, we need to go before Ruby realizes I could never have gotten into her deep pocket and that you're not an actual Tarr. Let's see if we can get our hands on a replicator and maybe feed you to increase your size further."

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.31 Flametusk

=-=-=-=-=-=

Ruby was resigned to having another lonely loop as no pings were sent back and decided to start with her thousand years worth of Loop memories.

The worst part was how cramped it was.

'What is this? A jail cell?' she thought. 'Well, at least I can breathe underwater. Otherwise this would be a very short loop. I can't even tell how much bigger or smaller I actually am than normal! At least I can still use my semblance to get out of here.' And so she split herself into an absolutely massive amount of rose petals, and found a way out by putting one of the weird cubes into a holder of sorts, causing a teleporter to turn on.

'Well, that answers that,' she thought.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

On the other side of the teleporter, Ruby found herself in some sort of underwater mountainous area. Seeing that she could see the sky above her, even though it appeared to be night time, she switched into her normal body.

Which turned out to be less than a thousandth of the size of her previous body. Which was still mostly there, composed of a great many chibis. Pocketing them, Ruby decided to go exploring. She quickly went you the largest mountain, that seemed to go above the surface, and had more technologies like what had made that cage.

"I guess I could have just checked how many chibis I was made out of," Ruby said upon reaching the surface, and sat down against the tower... which began to move as the sky quickly lightened, revealing that there had been a solar eclipse.

Looking at where it was pointing... no, aiming itself, Ruby saw a huge spaceship flying past.

And then it was hit by a giant laser and fell into the ocean.

Ruby tried to save everyone, she really did, but all the life pods except for life pod 5 landed in dangerous areas, so those were the ones she tried to save first. She did manage to save a few people, such as the ones with a damaged seaglide thing, which she fixed and improved for them with some Remnant tech.

When she got to lifepod 5, though, she saw something unexpected. A second solar eclipse, just from that day!

Oh, and also an unconscious Sun.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

"Did somebody get the name of the truck that hit me?" Sun said as he woke up... in some sort of silvery-white hallway.

Letting off a ping as he started to explore this place, whatever it was, he received a single ping in response.

"Anyone here? Hello?" Sun shouted through the place, before looked out a window and saw nothing but a murky blackness.

Cursing his lack of night vision this loop, he could just barely make out some sort of very leafy tree with bright glowing yellow fruit, which were the only way he could see it, its trunk (also made of leaves) swaying in the wind.

All of a sudden, something huge obscured his view, and all he saw was part of a giant eye.

Starting to freak out, as he also heard a very loud roar, his vision started to go weird, some sort of creepy glow around the edges, and a barely visible silhouette in the center.

"Hi Sun. I'm just going to take care of this leviathan. Seems like somebody didn't learn his lesson last time. It's been only half an hour! Stop attacking the seabase! Look, Sun? I have to take care of something. If you want to watch, head right while facing the window, then take the second right, then the first right, then the fourth left, go up the ladder, then go backwards facing the ladder, and then get in the exosuit in the moonpool." There was a crash reverberating through the base from a distant point.

"No! That was my room! Oh, you asked for it now, Reaper!" And then the giant thing blocking the window disappeared, as Sun's vision returned to normal.

Sun quickly followed the directions, and got in the exosuit (that was named PRAWN SUIT for some reason), and made it out in time to see a freaking kraken with sea turtle arms that had scythe blades attached smack a much smaller sea serpent with four red horns on the head. Also, he noticed that they were about 350 meters below sea level.

Sun just sat there, utterly bewildered at what he was seeing.

Deciding to re-enter the seabase, he docked the PRAWN and promptly fainted as soon as he left the the moonpool.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

"Well, at least you were only unconscious for 15 minutes this time," were the first words that Sun heard when he woke up.

"Ruby, what was that?"

"Well, I'm glad you're Awake. Considering that you wouldn't recognize me if you weren't. I've had about a thousand lonely loops. And then I had a thousand years of loop memories to go through, all of them except the earlier ones having nobody there. Well, at least there were the self-warping quarantine enforcement units. I just call them Warpers, because I took the liberty of scanning everything on the planet once I made a scanner using the fabricator in your life pod. Also, I've been working on making myself a pda, since I used the one I found in the life pod. Actually, I don't know what I am supposed to be this loop. Here. I'm going to take you up to the floating island, and there you can scan me in the body I Woke in this loop. Take the PRAWN suit with the two grappling arms and climb the mountain island. Then follow the path to the teleporter. That'll take you to the floating island. I'll meet you there." Ruby then left through a hatch in the wall.

Sun decided to follow Ruby's directions, considering that he didn't really have anything else to do, and made his way to the moonpool, following the signs.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

Sun was currently on the mountain island, and saw a tower with a green forcefield at the base of what looked to be a corridor leading from the island towards the tower itself.

He also saw an small, flat, purple artifact that was broken in two on the sand. He looked through the pda (which looked vary similar to a Remnant scroll), and found no information about it, so he decided to try scanning it, to make sure that he wouldn't hurt or possibly kill Ruby.

Imagine his surprise when the progress meter reached 100%, and the fragments disappeared!

Sun then followed the path that appeared to be part of the island itself, and when he exited, he got his first view of the Aurora, the ship he had been on before he Awoke, which was the only landmark in sight, other than a very dense bank of clouds to the south west, opposite the way the Aurora was facing. The rest was all ocean.

As the PDA started saying something about seismic readings, Sun noticed some of the fires becoming a bit more pronounced, and paid more attention to those. That is, until the countdown started.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

Ruby had just made it to the floating island, since she was going slowly to avoid disturbing the ecosystem, and had just pulled herself onto land to wait for Sun, when a sudden rumbling caused her to lose her balance, as she saw the Aurora explode behind her. And it was a pretty impressive explosion as well. Especially considering that the island she was on has been floating in this particular spot for quite a long time. At least a thousand years, if the fact that there was a teleporter here was any indication, and showed no indication of moving until it was just shaken by the explosion, causing her to have lost her balance.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.32 Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

Good and bad, misadventures: Part 1

Ruby Awoke, looked to her left and quickly pocketed herself. "Alright, Mini-me loop. What to do?" She asked herself.

"Why not let me join you for this loop? Shoulder angel and devil?" Salem Ruby suggested, having been nearby, deconstructing some kind of machine. Ruby wasn't sure what it was, but decided to punish the chibisalems at some point for destroying her things. Salem Ruby's suggestion however was an amusing thought.

"Hmm, I'm assuming you're the devil, and I'm the angel then. But what would we do about others seeing us?" Ruby asked.

Salem Ruby tap her chin in thought before apparently coming up with an idea. "Oh, I know! You still have those cloaks of invisibility?" she asked Ruby.

"I do, but that won't work. If we use them, my unAwake self won't be able to see us either, and people would still be able to hear us," Ruby pointed out, unimpressed.

"Well, why are you asking me then? I'm not an official looper, things like that don't come to mind as easy for me as they do for you." Salem Ruby crossed her arms and sat down, pouting at having admitted herself to not being as clever or knowledgeable as Ruby. "Just... I don't know, use some kind of magic or something that makes people ignore or forget us while excluding yourself or something."

"Alright, fine. I know a few notice me not charms we can use, ones that allow us to make noise as well," Ruby said.

Salem Ruby detached a part of herself, letting it become a chibi miniature of herself. "Actually, I think you'd better change your appearance slightly. I mean, I'm obviously the evil one, but you look like yourself, you need to look more... Angelic?" Salem Ruby and her chibi copy asked together before looking at each other and blinking in surprise at how in sync they acted. "Okay, I might have been one for too long," she admitted before falling to pieces, becoming a small force of chibi Salems. "I'll be the one staying," one of them said, the rest leaving and going of somewhere in Ruby's pocket.

"Okay, how about this?" Ruby asked, having switched her hood and cape out for a white version, while using Ki to create a halo over her head.

"Better, but your unAwake self probably won't get the halo. Maybe use a golden diadem instead?" the chibi Salem Ruby suggested.

Following her suggestion, Ruby did just that, getting a nod from her now evil and opposite counterpart, both of them no bigger than a grape. And with that, Ruby unpocketed the two of them...

...quickly grabbing hold of the unAwake Ruby's clothes as they found themselves in freefall.

"Oops, forgot about that," Ruby said.

Salem Ruby glared at her before both of them had to hold on for dear life as Ruby began fighting Torchwick's men.

"I probably should have thought this through." Ruby admitted, Salem Ruby too busy trying not to fall off to respond.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.33 Masterweaver

=-=-=-=-=-=

"...I mean, he keeps sending them," Yang defended weakly.

Taiyang quirked a brow.

"I can't actually blame him, it's baseline and it's a nice gesture and... he doesn't know I already have the one..."

Taiyang's brow remained quirked.

Yang sighed. "Look, it's not hurting anything, is it? And I mean, it's not the strangest thing loopers have collected."

"I'm not saying it's wrong. It's just... a bit out of the blue."

"I tried sculpture, but that weirded Blake out. And besides, everyone likes puppets!" Yang paused. "Well, the not-creepy ones. The uncanny valley can really do them in."

Taiyang nodded. "Alright. Using your prosthetic arms to make an automatic puppet theater is impressive." He gestured at the stage. "But why do they have to be puppets of us?"

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.34 KanameFujiwara

=-=-=-=-=-=

Cool one liners

"-And make sure not to make the rookie mistake of not having a proper firewall for the CCT and don't forget to give me a listing of all transfer students. I know the ones who did Amber."

"Qrow... how do you know all this?" Glynda asked not bothering to hide her befuddlement as to how he could possibly discern some of the events happening in Vale. Granted, Qrow was their connection to the underworld but to have even Ozpin caught unaware? Unthinkable!

"That's what I do Glynda: I drink and I know things." He then proceed to gulped down his alcohol. It tasted horrible...

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.35 Awesomedude17, masterofgames

=-=-=-=-=-=

(Postal x RWBY)

"Hi there. Would you like to sign my petition?"

Weiss looked at the redhead in the trench coat before her, and then looked at the petition like a fine toothed comb.

"Ah. There's something wrong here, regarding the regulations with Dust variety 53. I personally think that's not lenient enough. And then there's the regulation of Dust-based weaponry, or lack thereof. And then-"

"I'm not seriously turning that in."

"What?"

"I just wanted to see how many dumbasses will sign this petition and how forceful I need to be. Surprisingly, everyone in this town is a fucking moron."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Whatever."

"AHHHHHHHHH!" A height disadvantaged man flew by the two, codpiece caught on the rocket by a chain.

"What the!" Weiss looked with surprise.

"Huh. Gary Coleman got caught by that codpiece I gave him for his autograph. That's gotta suck."

*BOOM*

Absentmindedly catching the flying head, The Postal Dude handed it over to the police catching the scene.

"For his next of kin. Anywho. Lunch? I'm craving some crappy kabab, and not the human kind."

Weiss politely declined.

All too soon, Postal Dude found someone else to ask, stopping her before she could cross the street. "Hey. Sign my petition?"

Blake froze, then slowly turned to face him, her mouth twitching and her eyes watering. "... My father was killed by a petition... you monster!" she choked out before running off.

The Postal Dude blinked, processing her words. "What the hell just happened!?" he muttered in a daze, unaware of Blake around the street corner, fighting not to crack up at the look on his face.

=-=-=-=-=-=

89.23 (con't) Fictional Fanatic

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Um, Ruby? May I ask why you're working my husband to death as your maid this loop?" Pyrrha asked the Anchor of Remnant.

"Because your husband has a terrible way of showing appreciation when someone saves him from having to deal with an absolutely horrible loop," Ruby said.

Pyrrha sighed. "What did he do?" she asked, sounding disappointed.

"He trashed a significant part of my pocket by playing Remnant ball inside of it," Ruby said.

Pyrrha blinked in surprise. "Wait, Remnant ball? But, who would he be playing with inside of your pocket?" she asked, wondering why this second person wasn't being subjected to the same punishment as her husband.

Ruby sighed. "The chibiSalems, or rather, the Salem Ruby they've now combined into and keep walking around as. Apparently it was their intention to do something like that and they managed to rope your husband into it as well. So while he's serving his punishment as my maid for this loop, Salem Ruby is serving her own punishment inside of my pocket," Ruby informed Pyrrha.

-/-

Meanwhile, inside Ruby's pocket. Salem was wondering if she might have gone too far, now being forced to check every single one of Ruby's pocketed chibi additions for more variations like herself. On one hand, finding more compatible chibi Salems would be a good addition for her own growth, but having to check every single one of the inert ones? That would take a long time.


	90. A Slow Buildup of Events

**90.1 Masterweaver**

 **The Pyre of Shadow, Part 1 (Inside Out/RWBY)**

The problem, of course, was that Earth was pretty big.

Like, tremendously big.

Sure, it had been explored, mostly, and sure there were people everywhere, but that was the _point_ , there were people _everywhere_. And while fused loops usually had the decency to put visitors near the location of the native loopers, the more like the Hub the world was the more likely two loopers would miss each other in the crowd of basically everyone.

And Riley's version of Earth had, essentially, one difference. And it was in her own head. And technically that of every living being on the planet, as far as she could tell. Still, it wasn't physical.

The car rolled in front of the Anderson family's new house, and Riley let out another ping as she swung out of the car. Again, she received one ping back-and no indication of who was sending it.

 _"So no go on the other looper..."_ grumbled a voice in her mind.

 _"Maybe whoever it is doesn't want to talk to us?"_ suggested another, hesitantly.

 _"They're probably just somewhere vague,"_ a third voice assured them brightly. _"And anyway, it's not like we can't find them if we need to!"_

Riley gave a quiet sigh, even as her parents discovered (for the umpteenth time) that the moving truck had somehow gotten lost. "Well, it's not like they're just going to show up."

There was a knock at their front. Riley's mother shrugged and turned. "I'll get it." She swung open the door-and froze.

"Hello, are you the new neighbors?"

"I... y-yes." With a breath, Riley's mother regained her composure. "I mean, we're still moving in, but the truck apparently got lost, so-"

"Oh, that must make you just loopy with frustration."

Riley's eyes went wide, and she rushed up beside her mom. "Yeah it does, but we're well anchored."

The six-foot tall woman on the porch chuckled at the interjection. "Oh, that is good to hear." She nodded and pinged at the same time. "As a matter of fact, I live just across the street; I could certainly put up with all of you for as long as it took your moving truck to arrive."

"That'd be pretty cool of you," Riley replied, pinging back with a wide grin. "I think I saw a dead rat in here."

Her mother cleared her throat. "I'm not... sure that's the best idea, Riley. No offense, miss...?"

"Fall. Cinder Fall." The woman sighed. "Is it my eyes? I know gold's unusual, but I can't help being a mutant."

"Er, no, it's just we don't know you that well."

"Honey, who's at the-oh." Riley's dad blinked, taking in the woman. "Uh. I... think you might have the wrong house, miss?"

"I'm just greeting the new neighbors," Cinder replied with a friendly smile. "Whatever did you think I was doing?"

"Yes," Riley's mother deadpanned, "what did you think she was doing, _honey?"_

Riley stepped between them, hands up consolingly. "Hey, she's a new neighbor just saying hi. And I kind of like her dress."

Cinder smiled, even as Riley's mother flushed. "Thank you! I made it myself." She twirled, showing off the shoulderless red gown that cut itself just above the thigh-and quite a bit higher up her right.

"The golden spirally stuff on your sleeves is super cool." Riley tilted her head innocently. "But don't you get cold without pants?"

"Oooookay." Riley's dad put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back. "It was nice meeting you, miss, but my boss just called and I kind of have to do a thing at work. I'll be back tonight."

"What?" His wife blinked. "So soon?"

"Your wife and I were just discussing hosting your family in my house until your moving truck came," Cinder interjected. "I live in that house right over there-"

"Oh, uh, you know what? I'll call Jill when I'm headed back, and we can talk about what you two decided then." With a quick kiss on his wife's cheek, the man rushed out the door, past their guest, and back into the family car.

There was a moment or two of awkward silence.

"It really isn't any trouble at all," Cinder eventually assured the other woman. "I mean it is a bit of a tight fit, I suppose, but I live alone anyway."

Riley's mother looked from her, to her still smiling daughter. "...You know what, let's... I don't know, go out and find something for dinner? Maybe we can talk it over then."

"Of course. I know a lovely little noodle shop down the way, as a matter of fact..."

 **90.2 Fictional Fanatic**

Mother and daughter stared at each other from opposite sides of the room, both of them wearing pajamas and holding a pillow in both hands.

"You're going down you little runt!" said Raven, a big smile on her face as she raised both hands, readying herself for the signal for the two of them to begin the pillow fight.

"Oh, I'm going to make you eat those words, you old hag!" Yang replied with a smirk, holding her own pair of pillows.

"Okay, both of you ready?" Summer asked, having decided to stay out of the fight together with Ruby.

"Ready!" both mother and daughter shouted together, only to blink in surprise as both of them Awoke.

The fact did not go unnoticed by their Awake anchor who had been observing with a smile and plenty of stealth cameras set up, only to frown, figuring that she would no longer get to see the two duke it out with pillows. Summer however, unaware of both these events cheerfully gave the signal.

"Go!" Summer shouted.

Raven, still stunned from her loop memories simply looked over at Summer in surprise while Yang simply shrugged and smirked at the opening providing itself. Taking aim, she launched it straight at Raven's face.

"I-" Raven began, only to get interrupted by a face full of pillow. The force behind the pillow was enough to knock the unprepared looper over.

Everyone besides the still somewhat confused Raven began laughing.

"What happened to all that big-talk, Raven?" Summer asked between her laughs.

Saying nothing, Raven got up and shot Yang a glare. Yang meeting it head on, sending Raven back a look, challenging the younger looper.

"Oh, it is on," Raven responded, not one to back down from a challenge. Especially since her loop memories told her this was a regular occurrence this loop.

Meanwhile, Ruby smiled at the progress being made on the relationship between the two loopers. Of course, she was still filming the entire thing. Pinging the two and informing them that she was Awake could wait until later.

 **90.3 Leviticus Wilkes**

Yang rubbed her forehead, a bit of a blush in her cheeks, sweat slipping down her brow. "Didn't think that Blake would let this happen. Really. Did not think this at all."

Weiss was equally red, kneading the bed sheets nervously. "I mean, it makes sense. It seems so innocent on the face of it..."

"No, we all knew it would turn out like this," Cinder admitted. The maiden (not that she exactly lived up to the name at the moment) was wringing her hands. "Dammit..." she murmured; the blush epidemic had taken her as well.

Neo was fairly calm and collected, even disregarding her own blush. She did hold up a sign though: "why this? Why any of this?"

"I can't believe I got roped into this," Glynda grumbled, the reddest and sweatiest of the six. The dominatrix was quite embarrassed. "And of all things, with a bunch of students. This has to violate some sort of rule... somewhere."

"Hey." Blake's single word cut through the noises. "Alright, I'm not turning down the heat. I am too cold. And two, stop messing with my bed sheets Weiss, they're the board. Glynda, Neo, you both still need to make your saving Death Throws, so roll already. Everyone else, the Aberration has just stunned you. Reroll initiative."

Because of course the six of them were in a really hot room, playing Dungeons and Dragons with Blake as DM, and a broken AC.

It wasn't like there was anything else they would be doing.

 **90.4 Black Omochao**

[RWBY/Chibi-Robo]

Ruby hummed to herself as she sat alone in her team's room; it was another Chibi Loop, everything seemed to be going as usual. A knock on the door surprised her.

"Who's there?" the Anchor questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Delivery for a Miss… Ruby Rose!" a male voice answered.

Ruby blinked in confusion, before shrugging and quickly answered the door and took the package from the delivery man. "Okay, I didn't order anything, but thanks!"

"Wait, you need to sign for–"

The delivery man's words were cut off when Ruby slammed the door in his face and began to inspect the package curiously. "Hmm, what could this be?" She shook it a little and put her ear to it.

Her eyes widened when she heard a faint, but familiar voice inside. "Penny!?" Ruby quickly opened the package and reached inside to find… Penny, only she was small enough to fit into the palm of her hand, and she had an electrical cord and plug coming out of her back.

"Hi Ruby!" the diminutive robot girl smiled as she waved.

"Penny? What happened to you?" Ruby asked blankly.

Penny's expression didn't change. "Oh, nothing happened to me. This is just how I am this Loop… I'm a little helper robot, here to make you happy! I'm Chibi-Penny!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"…Chibi Penny?"

"No, it's 'Chibi-Penny!'"

"…Huh?" Ruby blinked confusedly, not really getting the difference.

"Here, I'll show you. Put me on that desk," 'Chibi-Penny' requested.

Ruby did as she asked and carefully placed her tiny friend onto a desk with several crumpled-up pieces of paper on it (presumably left there by one of her UnAwake teammates). Penny approached one of the balled-up pieces of paper, that was easily larger than her whole body, and picked it up. "Okay, now watch!"

Ruby's eyes slightly widened when the top of Penny's head opened, and the crumpled-up paper somehow was stored inside. Considering everything Ruby had seen, it wasn't that amazing, but it was kind of surprising.

"I can also store tools inside for later use, like toothbrushes to clean up stain!" Penny explained happily, before picking her plug up. "Now, could you please show me to the nearest electrical outlet, I need to recharge."

"Okay, but later I want you to help me pull some pranks, nobody else seems to be Awake, and I've got some ideas," the Anchor explained with a mischievous tint in her eyes, picking her friend up and taking her towards an outlet.

 **90.5 Black Omochao**

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch/Red Vs Blue]

It was a very chaotic Fused Loop in Remnant, with the land not only under attack by grimm and terrorists, but also alien invaders, malevolent A.I, Wicked Yo-kai, Oni, and various combinations of all the above.

But, however chaotic the world was right now, the inhabitants of the Xiao Long-Rose house were currently preoccupied with other matters…

"Okay, so I'm Summer's, and Yang's Raven's, as per Baseline. And you Nate…?" Ruby glanced over at her youngest sibling sitting across from her.

"Lily; my Baseline mother. Whom Papa-Taiyang married after Summer died," the Yo-kai Watch Anchor sighed as he tried not to look his sister in the eyes. The local Anchor just nodded and noted his words down.

"What of you, bro?" Yang asked the elder brother, whom was barely paying attention to the conversation.

"Raven… I think," Dexter 'Grif' Xiao Long grumbled tiredly.

"This is rather convoluted, isn't it?" Nate questioned Ruby, glancing her way. The red-clad huntress shrugged, before turning to the eldest female at the table.

"Cinder?"

"Qrow."

"Qrow?"

"Yes, Qrow."

"…Okay, Qrow," Ruby wrote down her elder sister's response without any further questions. "I sort of expected Salem, but sure."

All while this was happening, Taiyang was sitting silently at the head of the table with an embarrassed expression.

"Think you could benefit from a little self-control, 'son?" Nathaniel questioned with a mocking smirk from behind him.

"Shut up… Also, who let you in my house?" The perturbed father asked the elderly man blankly.

 **90.6 diesel**

"Blake, why?"

Blake, dressed in a humanoid turtle suit, slunk over to the table, ignoring the muttering coming from the rest of the students. "I tried joining the turtle club... and I was turned away." Her ears were down, looking every bit the miserable cat girl... who was wearing a turtle suit. "Yang... Am I not turtlely enough for the turtle club?"

Yang folded her arms and rocked backwards on the chair, seeming deep in thought, spinning a Pokeball on a finger. "Well, if you go by ancestral roots and trace back your genetic lineage, then no, as you diverged at the wrong point of the tree of life, being a mammalian being not reptilian. _But_ that said you are a faunus. And given the innate and inherited nature of such animistic qualities, you can be said to be closer to a turtle than a human would be. But the exact nature of fanus inheritance ranges from a physical based semblance, to genetic splicing of a curse the relation is vague. And you are a cat..."

Ruby just let her head smack down onto the table muttering obscenities in Black Speech. Could she have one loop of peace? A Nightmare loop, nonsensical variants, an X-rated loop and a loop as a Chaos Goddess...

One loop... was that so much to ask? _Most_ of it had been at least somewhat fun, Nightmares aside, but she just needed a break.

"Yang," Weiss cut in, folding her porn magazine and placing it on the table. "This is what you're doing." She raised her hand and began miming a mouth. "This is what I want you to do." She closed it.

"Did you just tell me to shut up?"

"Why, yes."

Yang rolled her eyes, tossing the pokeball Cinder gave her up in the air before catching it, "Whatever, the question is, how can we get Blake in to the turtle club?"

No one spoke for a few minutes, contemplating the dilemma, barring Ruby who had moved onto a some sort of 4D language that began after it ended.

Finally Weiss spoke. "I have a porn magazine, a suitcase full of Dust, access to the Schnee accounts, 12 apples and the number of a good make-up artist."

Blake's lips curled into a smile, leaning forwards with a glint in her eyes. "That's so crazy..."

"...it just might work." Yang joined in smirking, the lovers finishing the sentence as one.

"Ruby?" Weiss turned her attention to her partner, ignoring the seething chaos and shards of reality the cursing had shaken loose.

A single silver eye cracked opened, glimmering with the fires of creation. "...you know what? I have negative fucks to give right now." Reality and order reasserted themselves, the harrowing light dying in Ruby's eyes. "So sure."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ruby stared at the raging chaos with a raised eyebrow, before turning to her completely unashamed team.

"Plan 'What could go wrong' is a failure," Blake offered, the Cat-headed Goddess of Death, Shadows and Booty-calls scratching her new regalia absently.

"Cinder at her worst caused less chaos. And damn it, Weiss, watch where you're pointing that thing!"

 **90.7 Masterweaver**

"How about we see that new children's film? _Little bunny Foo Foo-!"_

"That's not a children's film," Ruby said quickly.

Velvet blinked. "It's not?"

"It can't be. It's got Foo Foo in it."

Neptune quirked an eyebrow. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"The original story has a rabbit assaulting field mice and giving them mass concussions before being transformed into a monster by a vengeful fairy. What part of that sounds child safe?"

Velvet fidgeted. "She only bopped them. I mean, that couldn't have done that much damage..."

Ruby gave her a flat look. "Right... look, if it's got a rabbit as a main character, it isn't for kids. Rabbits are terrifying."

Velvet frowned. "Really. Rabbits."

" _You_ can whip out copies of all our weapons and you don't even need that to kick Grimm in the face! Quite frankly the only reason I'm not scared of you is that you're actually... you know... nice."

"I... what."

Sun sighed. "Sorry, Velvet, but Ruby has an irrational fear of rabbits."

"It's not irrational! If you'd seen what I have seen-"

 **90.8 Wixelt**

[Kill La Kill/Dragon Ball/RWBY/Half-Life]

 **Prelude to a Games**

It had all started, as some things tend to, with a simple challenge, a contest of strength. Whoever threw the javelin the furthest across three attempts got bragging rights, among other, more tangible rewards.

Ryuko Matoi, or Ryuko Briefs as far as this iteration was concerned, lamented having forgotten which branch she was currently in a fused loop with when she had gotten cocky enough to think she stood even the remotest chance against the local looping populous.

"Well I don't see what the problem is," the presently blue-haired Goku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, making the occasional side glance at the crater, formerly a small hill, that his first attempt had created. "You said baseline powers only, right?"

"I know! I just- I… Rragh!" Ryuko rubbed her temples, before sighing, looking over to where the next contender, a certain long-haired blonde, was preparing her attempt to surpass Goku and Vegeta's scores. Their best throws had placed their javelins somewhere between this galaxy and the next, making it a futile record to beat, though Ryuko couldn't fault Yang for her persistence in the matter.

Unfortunately, it seemed there was no tangible way to make this a fair contest without Looper powers to even the odds.

"You should have ruled out transformations," Vegeta stated with an air of pride. "We Saiyans have something of a step up in that regard. It was an unfair competition from the start." He managed a smug grin. "Though by no means am I going to make that out as a negative on my part."

"And the lines are somewhat blurred regarding what constitutes a purely baseline power, given that learned experience is a factor." Satsuki stepped up alongside her sister, a thoughtful frown masking her features. "Short of a null loop, the measure is notably difficult to pin down."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Ryuko shook her head. "I didn't think it through. Power is complicated..."

"Indeed," Satsuki continued, "It would have been more prudent to include all available powers, as they represent the most accurate representation of the Looper's available skill and greatest strengths…"

"…And relying on one contest, when different Loopers have different skills, kinda adds confusion to it as well." The fiber infused girl grimaced. "There's not really enough of us for anything bigger, though…"

"It was still fun. But if I could go all out…" Goku grinned widely. "Man, that'd be a blast. Maybe next time there'll be more of us."

"Yeah, right. Like the brass would ever let something like that happen." An obnoxious and mildly bored voice permeated the air, its origin placed as a nearby bespectacled man who, for once, was not donned in his signature orange power armour, who was in the process of weighing a javelin in his hands, apparently judging his odds before he suited up. Gordon Freeman groaned and raised a hand, noting the glares directed his way. "I mean, it'd be the coolest thing ever, don't get me wrong, but it's just begging for a fuck up. Somehow, I doubt any Admin worth their salt is going to approve that, assuming they'll even listen to you to begin with…"

He paused, noting the blank looks he was getting, particularly from Goku.

"Look. Your branch, your rules. You want to host some kind of damned exploding Olympics, don't let me stop you."

A second silence in as many moments permeated the gathering, this one decidedly more weighted than the last.

"Um…" Ryuko blinked, then blinked again, before glancing briefly at where Yang was still sizing up her shot, an uncharacteristic consideration on her face. "I mean… we'd need a branch that's not gonna crash under the punishment…"

"Wait, fuck. You're actually doing this?!" Gordon's eyebrows raised behind his glasses, a look of horror at what he might have created beginning to form. "I was kidding!"

"I wasn't."

"Well you should be! This is a bad idea!"

"I mean, I think Bulma said something about our branch having to be stable enough to take the punishment it does in baseline…" Goku added, glancing around absently as if he could appraise the nature of his home simply by staring at it for long enough. "Or something like that, at least. I wasn't paying full attention, but it might mean we could do it here."

"Such a challenge of strength is intriguing, but I must… begrudgingly," Vegeta gritted his teeth, before shaking his head decisively, "agree with this imbecile of a doctor. I find it unlikely that Sun Wukong would concede to such an event occurring. That said…" The Saiyan prince seemed to pause in thought, "If he were to approve…"

"Someone mentioned Sun?" Everyone looked around at the interruption, finding Yang approaching the group.

"The Admin, not the Looper."

"Ah. Makes sense." The blonde shrugged. "So what's the topic?"

"Looper Olympics."

"Neat." Yang stretched, before gesturing back at the chosen launching point, where her javelin stood unthrown. "Well, that's that. Thought I might as well throw it. I'm kind of outmatched here with only my home arsenal."

There was an awkward pause at the revelation that the conversation had, through sheer coincidence, come full circle. Which left only one course of action.

"…it wouldn't hurt to ask," Ryuko mused, "…would it?"

 **90.9 Shimmer712**

Velvet blinked as Cardin and his team ran away screaming.

"Weren't they pulling at my ears just yesterday?" she muttered, confused.

"They were what?" Fox demanded, coming around the corner behind her.

"Nothing!" Velvet said hastily.

"...They pulled your ears," Fox said flatly, pale eyes narrow. "Wait until Coco and Yatsuhashi hear about this!" He darted off.

"Fox! Wait!" Velvet chased after him to prevent first years being maimed, forgetting about the odd behavior and not noticing other students cringing back from her.

Elsewhere, Yang and Weiss stared at Sun.

"Okay, so I could have planned it out better. But I really didn't expect Ruby to show up," he defended himself. "And there weren't supposed to be so many!"

"You still terrified my baby sister," Yang reminded him dryly.

"And all those killer rabbits you brought out of your pocket are on the loose still," Weiss added. "And are probably still traumatizing people."

"I'll deal with it! I'll deal with it!" Sun assured them.

"Where did you get them?" Weiss asked. "I mean, some of them are clearly from different loops are most look like there are from the same one."

"Oh, those ones I got in this loop where nothing seemed to be happening. The only odd thing I could find was this weird pet shop run by a guy calling himself D. For some reason, he was insistent that I sign a contract when I bought the rabbit."

"Rabbit?" Weiss interrupted. "As in one?"

"Doesn't look like you got only one," Yang commented.

"I'm getting to that! Anyway, he said the most important rule in the contract was the last one, only feed her vegetables and water. No sweets or junk food. So I get to this loop, pull out the other rabbits to freak out Cardin and the other jerks then pull out the D rabbit to pet because it seemed sweet. Then I lost hold of it, it ate some chocolate that had been dropped by someone then it went nuts, then a bunch of babies clawed their way out and I think you can figure out the rest."

"So for most of them we have to wait for the tenth generation," Blake remarked.

The other three jumped.

"Blake! How long have you been standing there!" Sun exclaimed.

Blake just smirked.

"And what do you mean tenth generation?" Weiss asked.

Blake shrugged. "I looped into that universe. I don't know if it has any loopers yet. But basically, candy is toxic to those rabbits. All the rabbits descended from the one that ate the chocolate have been poisoned, the poison will take effect in the tenth generation and kill them all. No survivors." She paused. "Incidentally, in when I was there, the rabbit was sold to a couple that had killed their daughter by enabling her drug addiction."

"Huh," Yang muttered. "Did they give the bunny chocolate?"

"And other things," Blake confirmed. She frowned at Sun. "The younger generations attacked and mauled several people, including children."

"Crap," Sun muttered.

"We need to kill those bunnies, fast," Yang muttered. "There's already way too many and I think it's only the third or fourth generation."

"Get those bunnies!" Sun paused. "I never expected to actually say that."

 **90.10 Leviticus Wilkes**

Blake slammed a heeled foot into Roman's face, sending him flying across the docks. The White Fangers that usually accompanied him were rather discouraged from attacking Blake when she sent them a lethally angry red eyed glare. Roman himself was just pulling his feet back under him when Blake approached for a second time. "You bastard," she snarled.

"Look kiddo, I don't think you know what you're dealing with here-"

"I know you're Awake Torchwick."

"Kitty cat, if this has anything to do with the waffle booby trap, Nora had it coming." Roman paused. "Pancakes, that's her nickname now, pancakes."

Blake threw a book at Roman. Roman caught the book, and the Geist inside of it promptly leapt out, inhabited his hat, and flew off. The master Criminal groaned and tossed the worthless hardcover aside. "Alright, you caught me red handed. I booby trapped a book to destroy your personal library in your Subspace Pocket. Happy now?"

The eyeroll of Blake Belladonna was one of perfect execution, declaring the exact level of sarcasm (total) she would employ in her next words. "Absolutely. I'm so happy I can't conceive of you somehow coming up with an idea to use this to distract me."

...

Meanwhile:

"Come on!"

"No."

"But Blake..."

Blake's shadow clone shook her head and rapped the door. "I am not letting you in to get blackmail by photographing me and Yang."

"Come on..." Neo whined.

...

Back with the others:

Roman held up his hands defensively. "What can I say? It's a valid strategy."

 **90.11 Masterweaver**

Pyrrha looked at the box Ruby was holding out to her.

"It's just a Pumpkin Pete box, Ruby. I've seen dozens of them. What's so special about-?"

"This came from the Hub."

Pyrrha blinked. After a moment she awkwardly cleared out her ears. "I'm sorry, I must have heard that wrong."

"I'm not joking. They made this in the Hub. They're selling-or, well, going to sell? I had to sneak into the factory to steal this one. But this, this is Hub merch. _With actual cereal."_

"...This is from the Hub. You're not joking, this is actually real."

"Yep." Ruby grinned. "How's _that_ for inspiring them, Pyrrha?"

 **90.12 KitsuneShin0bi, Black Omochao**

"Hello multiverse! In the spirit of our Hub world creators, we of Team RWBY are trying our hand at our own Let's Play channel!" exclaimed Ruby to the camera. "Today, Yang will be playing the original Five Nights at Freddy's. Now due to the nature of the Loops, we've all agreed horror games must be played by Unawake versions of ourselves to ensure maximum fear! How will my big sis fare against the popular haunted pizza parlor of doom? Let's find out!"

-/-

"Never heard of this before," the blonde muttered on the facecam. "Eh, I can do a horror game. How bad can it be?"

"Looks like you're already tempting fate there sis."

Yang glanced at Ruby who was offscreen. "Said the girl who refuses to watch any horror flick ever. Let's make a bet. You get 20 Lien if I can't make it through without screaming and vice versa."

"Deal."

-/-

Twenty minutes later, the brawler was visibly starting to regret her decision. Already she was twitching as if she had drank several thermoses of Oobleck's coffee.

And then she got her first jump scare.

"SWISS #$%*&^ CHEESE!" Yang shouted, jumping out of her seat. Reacting the only way she knew how, the huntress in training punched the screen and everything turned to static.

-/-

"Well, it seems that Yang still had her gauntlets on when she blew up the monitor so the curtains caught on fire as well. That was exciting."

Ruby looked around sheepishly.

"If you need me, I'm going to be apologizing to an Unawake Weiss for half an hour. On the plus side, 20 Lien! As for me, I recently tried my hand at this little known game, titled Yo-kai Watch," Ruby explained, holding up the 3DS game box. "But I had to stop about twenty minutes in. The gameplay's slow and boring, the combat system's a mess, the monsters look dumb, it's a Pokémon rip-off, plus the main character is so boring. Would not recommend," the Anchor stated with a smug smirk.

"RUBY!" Nate shouted in outrage, before he started chasing his laughing sister around with Spectral Fang out. Yang watched this with a blank expression, before shrugging.

 **90.13 Masterweaver**

"...so, at the moment, most of the technical issues still seem confined to Vacuo, although interpersonal issues are, of course, an ongoing problem."

"Thank you for the update, Weiss, I'm sure Marianne will appreciate it. I'll admit it's sometimes harder to see things from the outside."

"It's no problem at all. Thank _you_ for coming down to check on us, lady Hestia."

The robed woman chuckled. "Oh, pish and tosh, I'm no lady! I'm an olympian after all."

"And one of the few that deserves the title," countered the girl in white.

"I've no truck with titles."

"Fair enough."

The two of them walked under the broken moonlight for a few silent moments.

"...I sense you have something you wish to ask."

Weiss smiled faintly. "Many things. But I am not so foolish as to expect answers."

"How can you expect answers," Hestia mused, "if you never ask the question?"

"And if you cannot answer?"

"I will tell you I cannot."

Weiss inclined her head in acknowledgement. "I have... noted a pattern, regarding looper activations."

"Oh?"

"It doesn't happen during expansions. Well, not baseline expansions. After the Vytal tournament, during the chibi loops, it happened, but with loopers who were not already in chibi. And then the expansions started and it stopped... I wonder, is that a coincidence?"

Hestia chuckled dryly. "Are you going to ask for a list of loopers to be activated next?"

"Does such a list exist?"

"Yes and no. Yggdrasil does collate emotional proximity and general stability of potential new loopers on a constant basis-which means the list changes daily, variables adding and subtracting and moving people around. Marianne could, in theory, open that up at any time and just activate them all... in practice, though, she prefers to wait until both the list and the world is somewhat stable. Less technical issues that way."

"Ah. Yes, working on expansions could seriously affect looper quality."

"Mmm. To be fair, there is an initial period in every loop where loopers are activated haphazardly-if they break the threshhold, Yggdrasil will simply set them up on its own. But after a point, it's rare for that to happen." Hestia paused. "Well, not without hacker intervention, anyway."

Weiss nodded. "I see. I suppose that makes sense-Anchor stability is a must..."

"Is there a reason behind this line of questioning?"

"Oh... this and that." The heiress's eyes drifted southeast. "If I were to be honest... it's mostly because I feel Yang and Blake's wedding would be darkened by the absence of a looping Ghira."

Hestia smiled. "Well, that's an interesting statement. Of course, that if Ghira does activate somebody else must too-your world's a little quirky that way."

"Yes, and I am aware of the slim pickings we have, at the moment. I suppose I will just have to wait until the expansions start and hope to find him a partner then."

"Perhaps Whitley?"

"Oh, what irony that would be... though I would not be opposed," Weiss mused. "Still. Idle speculation aside, I cannot ask Marianne to accommodate us more then she has-she's truly done wonders with a terrible situation."

Hestia considered her for a moment.

"...She is already starting to prepare."

Weiss blinked, turning to her. "I'm sorry?"

"For the expansions. She thinks that the damage Cinder did is cleaned up enough-at the moment, she's running a few tests, working on minor details to see if the system works, hooking up events that were previously vaguely defined."

"...I had noticed my memories of training with Winter growing more stable in recent loops. Are you... sure you should be informing us of this?"

"There's no actual rule against us telling you they're coming, it's just not encouraged." Hestia shrugged. "No guarantees and all that."

"...Yes, I can see the reasoning there. Still." Weiss looked up to the shattered moon. "...It's good to know it's coming. Even if it's not much."

"Mmmm."

"...Is there anything I could do for you while you're here?"

Hestia shook her head. "Ever the gracious host... I confess, I'm mostly here to check up on you lot. I'm not one... I'm not one to make demands."

"Still." Weiss paused. "...Ruby will be awake soon. I'm sure she'll want to bake you some cookies or somesuch."

"Hmm. Well, I suppose I could stay one more day," Hestia allowed.

 **90.14 KanameFujiwara**

 _(Naruto X RWBY)_

The Education of Sarada

"Sakura."

"Blake."

"Where's Sarada?"

"She's off playing her violin."

"Violin?!"

"Yes, apparently she's quite the player."

"Sakura, the last loop I visit her she was an artist."

"Yes."

"The loop before that she was a chess player."

"...Yes."

"And the loop before that she was tinkering with computers..."

"..."

"Sakura, are you experimenting on your own child?"

"You make the word 'experimenting' sounds like a bad word."

"Sakura!"

"Ok, ok. You caught me. But it was purely consensual on her part."

"Oi!"

"See I live in the infinite loops. And around this time I have a daughter. I know about her more and more but I will always know not about her more than I know her. So, instead of sticking with a single development style I opted to mix it a little. The results were quite fascinating!"

"Sakura."

"Do you know that teaching her multiple languages allow her mind to grow exponentially?"

"Sakura!"

"Or that having her be my apprentice at a young age allows her to grow faster as a medic and awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan even?"

"SAKURA!"

"..."

"This is not ok. You're relapsing."

"Blake I know when I am relapsing. You can trust me when I say I am not."

"Sakura you have a syndrome named after you. Can you not understand why I am concern of my niece's welfare?"

"You need not be so concern. Never had Sarada be force in a role that she did not choose. You may think less of me Blake but I never asked her to do things that would directly harm her. Not when it is beyond her."

"..."

"..."

"Does Sasuke know?"

 **90.15 Fictional Fanatic**

"Yang! Your mother's back!" an Awake Tai shouted, getting a glare from Qrow, or rather as he was known this loop, Qrowe.

"I thought better of you Tai, you will pay so much for this later," Qrowe said as a little blond, unAwake girl came running down the stairs cheerfully embracing her 'mother', somehow having found out about Raven early this loop.

"Tai, can I talk with you about jokes and what kind are appropriate?" Summer asked from behind Tai, intending to ask him exactly what he was going to tell Yang once Qrowe inevitably would have to leave.

Sensing his wife's hostility, Tai decided that he really should begin to watch his mouth more. In the end, Qrowe ended up spending the entire loop pretending to be Raven, Summer having agreed on it when Qrowe provided her with the excuse that she felt awful about her sister leaving like she did and that she finally decided to do something about it.

It truly was amazing what loopers would sometimes go through with, just to avoid making a little girl cry.

 **90.16 Masterweaver**

"Yang?"

"Yeah Weiss?"

"...I get the sense that this is leading into a terrible, terrible joke. So I'm not wanting to ask this. But I know I have to."

"Mmmhmm?"

"Over the loops we've done some interesting things with the Beacon dance. The fog machines. The disco ball. The whole thing with the penguins."

"It was me and Blake's thousandth anniversary! The penguins were-"

"No, no, it was adorable, I have fond memories of that night. What I'm saying is that I know we have experimented with this night, a lot. But I'm... not seeing the reasoning behind putting a roped path to the refreshment table."

"Oh, you know me Weiss. I just love my punchlines."

"...let me guess, if you couldn't pull this off you'd have tried opening a punching booth."

"I couldn't get a license! What's this world coming to, where guys won't pay a beautiful woman to bash them?"

 **90.17 Masterweaver**

[RWBY/40K]

Raven finished pouring dust into her weapon sheathe, plugged her hilt in, and turned. "So. Team KTNS. From such an innocent moniker, I assume you're either from a loop filled with fluff and happiness or actually some horrific monstrosities from a reality where everything is going horribly."

"Can't it be both?" Tzeentch suggested slyly. At Raven's deadpan look, he chuckled. "I suppose we're considered the second one."

"And why exactly have you decided to drop by?"

"Why miss Branwen," Slaanesh purred, "you intrigue us. _All_ of us. Given our somewhat... disparate interests, that truly is saying something."

"Get off my arm."

"Make me."

"Slaanesh here is a purveyor of sensations," Khorne explained, even as Raven tried to wrench the androgynous figure off her. "You've inspired both love and hatred, often in the same individuals, and shi has a thing for people who fuck with other's hearts." He leaned on his chainsaw axe. "I'm more interested in what you did during Cinder's little escapade-your mantra about the strong surviving I've heard so often from my followers, but the things you got up to there really catches my attention."

"You-unf-know about-seriously, STOP PETTING MY ARM!"

"But it's such a lovely arm!"

"As for me, I'm more of an intellectual." Tzeentch sipped something that could have been tea, possibly. "And I'll admit, I've always had a thing for those who work outside the law, especially successful ones. It takes a certain level of cunning to do what you do, miss Branwen... maybe less than I'm accustomed to, but that you're also part of Ozpin's game is an interesting aspect of your personality."

"What... are you-?" Raven punched Slaanesh in the face, which only seemed to make hir moan harder. "Stop licking my arm! At least ask me to dinner first!"

"But Raaaaae you're so deviously sexy and I want to wrap my tentacles around you-"

"I SWEAR I WILL CUT YOU TO BITS!"

"Flirt."

Nurgle chuckled. "Shi knows what shi likes. As for me, I find your talent for survival and adaptability to be quite impressive. As well as your ability to encourage it in others. Why, you're a natural predator, one of the best on this planet!"

At this point, Raven had grabbed Slaanesh's throat and was currently smashing hir head against what little furniture there was in the room, to Slaanesh's increasing pleasure. "Will you stop singing my praises and get your crazy teammate under control?!"

"I don't think you quite understand. We were debating which amongst us had first right to bless you." Nurgle chuckled. "Then we realized-to have something so significant to us all, someone we would all argue over, why, that hasn't happened happened since Empy's ascension."

"So Tzeentch suggested something a little unique," Khorne explained. "Congratulations, Raven Branwen. You are now Remnant's Chosen of Chaos."

Raven finally stopped jamming her sword through Slaanesh, eliciting a slight murmur of disappointment. "That... sounds like a very bad title to have."

"Oh, no no no, we all agreed not to do anything too odd in this loop," Tzeentch assured her. "We're on good terms with shoggoth-chan, and even they warned us about interfering in Remnant after what Slenderman pulled. The title is mostly a formality."

"In fact, you don't have to do anything... in this world," Slaanesh hummed. "Although we would be quite glad if you did. In other loops, though, we expect a little... shaking of the status quo. Something that will get the locals passionate about new events."

"Something that will press them to change and grow," Nurgle mused.

"A scheme or two," Tzeentch offered. "A plot, to see what can be learned."

Khorne nodded. "A way to build their strength, a battle to sharpen their iron."

Raven blinked. "What, you want me to just... start challenging people? From across the loops?"

Three of them nodded. Slaanesh hugged her arm tighter.

"I'm not really inclined to accept that offer."

"We'd each give you a small gem with some of our power," Slaanesh pointed out.

"We'll even leave out the usual 'drives you mad' bit!" Nurgle promised.

Raven rolled her eyes. "That's not enough to sell me."

"If you did have some of our power," Tzeentch mentioned idly, "you could, perhaps, predict Pinkie Pie."

There was a moment of quiet.

"...I am going to consult with Ruby about this," Raven said. "Right now. And no," she added to Slaanesh as she opened her portal, "you don't get to come."

The four watched her vanish from her tent.

Khorne, finally, turned to Tzeentch. "Really? Pinkie Pie? Do you really think that's possible?"

"Possible. Unlikely, yes, but possible. I did say perhaps..."

 **90.18 diesel**

"Hey, you Awake now?"

Blake blinked, broken from her thoughts and reflection by a Ping and shot of exotic powers that made her arm tingle.

 _Wait... the loop's over?_

"I'm Awake," Blake said somewhat confused, standing up as she tried to get her thoughts and memories in order. Her last loop should have still had months left to go, and if it crashed then Blake would have expected to be in Eiken or somewhere, not Slayers. And not so out of it that she hadn't noticed anything until Lina zapped her. "But I'm not sure why I'm here and not in a punishment loop, or why you zapped me."

The scent of fire and burnt flesh filled the air; evidently Lina had blow up the bandits already. Apart from that, there was nothing out of the ordinary for a forest, her Memories...

 _Why do I have over a hundred loops worth memories I haven't processed? And almost all of dying from... thirst?_

Lina Inverse arched an eyebrow. "Well," the sorceress said amused, "does it have anything to do with why you were completely unresponsive for almost ten minutes, until Ii forced you to stop thinking?"

Blake winced, still trying to process the backlog of loop memories. _I can't believe I did that_. No one could ever find out. It would be like Applejack and potatoes, or Lina and explosions... and that was likely a bad comparison.

Lina's ruby eyes sparkled in amusement and silent laughter. "So, what mind breaking revelation put you into vapor lock, indexing all you memories?"

Staring at the shorter woman for a moment, Blake sighed and relented. Maybe the older looper would have some advice, and could explain how she guessed. But first...

"Can we go get something to eat first?" she asked, hundreds of loops of dying from starvation and thirst catching up with her. "And drink?"

"Sure." Lina turned and headed up the road, waving her hand back at Blake. "And formalities first; you're now my bodyguard for the loop and we are headed for Atlas, this is a variant so try to keep up. Hopefully you can be as amusing as Jaune was, Blake Xiao Long."

"It's Belladonna!" Blake yelled, trying to catch up with the sorceress who was now flat out sprinting, the distance vanishing as the two loopers raced across the land.

"I know what I said!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Blake drained the glass of water, the cool clean liquid heavenly after the loops of thirst and the exhaustion of running here. The tavern was clean, filled with laughter and talking as people gathered for dinner and socialization after a hard day working. The atmosphere light and happy, relaxing. Plates of food was brought over, piled high with simple if well done cooking, and goblets of wine or mead. The last flickers of daylight streamed into through the windows, casting the room with a warm glow.

"So," Lina said as she started on her fifth plate, Blake nearing the end of her second one. "What caused you to lock up like that?"

Now that she had regained her balance and processed those memories, Blake could detect real concern under the honest amusement. Lina may have found it funny, but she was also concerned, at least slightly. Better than many loopers Blake could think of. "I was cleaning my Pocket..."

"Always dangerous," Lina noted, picking up a mug of mead and drinking it in one go, finishing her drink she continued. "I once found a planet in my pocket that had evolved an ecosystem, then sapience, that went Trans-Sapient Mythos style, then fell with the remainder going into hibernation. Then a new civilization rose and found the remains after going Trans-sapient as well, and ended up waging war against the older ones. Before _they_ fell, and a new civilization rose, and this happened twelve times in the same place before I noticed."

Blake laughed, biting into a piece of wild boar. Pocket stories were always amusing. But she had yet to find one that was as entertaining as the 'Rise of the Honey Badger Kaiju', mainly because she was involved, and it had been _Weiss_ who caused it. "I was looking at the older sections, intending on getting rid of things that had decayed and broken down. But..." Blake trailed off, things seemed off... Just remembering gave her a sense of vertigo. "It was all full of _Iron_."

Lina sighed, leaning back in her chair as she watched two teenagers awkwardly flirt, their cheeks flushed with alcohol as the other patrons laughed and made bets. After a short time Lina turned back to Blake. "Time is funny. Our perception of it changes with how long we loop, but also with how long each loop is; it seems slower when we're young and a loop has just started, and seems to go faster as the loop goes on. Just like anyone else, but that is layered onto our Looping perspective that normally takes precedence. And while we don't 'forget', things still blur, we put things out of mind and can't remember them, and it looks like normal memory unless you really think about it. That's why we can get over trauma, but that it takes so much longer. But it also means loops can blur, and before you know it an age has past. Or you feel like you just had a fused loop somewhere, when just a few hundred loops ago you had felt trapped in your Loop, not having left it in longer than you could recall."

"I hadn't realized it had been so long, but, I'm not surprised," Blake said, rubbing her eyes; tired, both mentally and emotionally. "I was more surprised that, when I realized it, that there was not _more_ iron. I know how long it takes for everything to turn to iron." Blake _looked_ at the Anchor in front of her. Someone who was so much older than she was that it defied comparison.

How many Iron Stars had she outlived?

"It's the first time in so long I've had a scale to compare myself against and I..."

"Started looking over your memories in shock," Lina finished, hands behind her head a she balanced on two legs. "And got caught up in them, time slipping, loops passing as you die from thirst, starvation, or danger. The time and events simply not meaning anything. Many Loopers have had something similar happen at one point or another. It's not... arrgah, crap. Damn it!"

With out warning, the chair's back right leg broke, sending Lina crashing to the floor in a heap, her head smashing into the floor with a audible crack. And the room exploded into laughter, Blake unable to stop herself to joining in.

Grumbling, Lina paid for the damages and got a new chair after being scolded by the owner. As they finished the meal, Blake remembered a question she had been meaning to ask for a long time. "When Jaune got you to make that ring, he said that you blowing things up with the Dragon Slave was a joke."

A glint of amusement flashed across Lina's face. "Your point?"

"I know that there is more to it than that. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all had stories of you testing the Dragon Slave in other loops. And I've heard many other having similar stories so...?" Blake trailed off with a question, expecting that she would get a noncommittal answer.

But Lina merely smirked in amusement, _was there anything she didn't find funny?,_ crystalline red eyes turning into pools of molten gold, golden-darkness wreathing Lina as the room drained of all colour.

"The Mazoku and Shinzoku are all born from Chaos," Lina explained, tendrils of evanescing nothingness ripping all power and heat from Blake. Unable to speak, unable to breathe, beguiling whispers beckoned for Blake to let go, to fall into nothingness and become one with all and howled for her to stand and fight, to live. All she could see was a darkness that was colder than the coldest ice Weiss could summon, and vaster than anything Blake could imagine. She raged and struggled against the drowning darkness...

...and the golden sea of frothing chaos vanished like morning fog, leaving Blake shivering and weak.

"All they are are fragments of it, that embody certain aspects. I am Chaos. As much the Lord of Nightmares in a mortal form as anything else," Lina said simply. "As such, I can use Black and Holy magic in other universes, but I didn't know that for a long time and was trying to work out why I always had 'fused loops' instead of just _going_ to other ones. Then I got bored and started playing around sometime after I did realize it, and kept up 'using' the Dragon Slave, but working in the local systems for fun. Now," she clapped, leaning forwards, "this is an amusing variant, and I feel like doing something different... and I need to apologize for going overboard just then. So you are now my student for the loop, and we are going after the Clair Bible."

 **90.19 KanameFujiwara**

[Pokemon Special/RWBY]

Name Rater

"Welcome to Yang's Name Rater, how can I help you?"

"Do you feel loopy, Miss?"

"Sure do, Mister...?"

"Red, just Red."

"I am Awake, Mr. Red - now how can I help you?"

"I understand that you provide underground name rating function?"

"And that would be-?"

"That you can change the names of traded pokemon."

"You can always call them whatever you like?"

"Very funny, Ms. Yang. I want an official name change done to the League Registry and I want it done the unofficial way. Think you could do that?"

"...How bad are the names?"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Well Mr. Red, I have been doing this job for ten years in this loop but this has to be one of the worst naming cases I have ever experienced. Sue Yoo? Tahra Dactyl? Saad Monn? What kind of trainers did you trade your pokemon with?"

"Apparently the kind that favors a particular Name Rater from Heahea City. He called himself Tai-"

"DAD!"

 ** **90.20** Masterweaver**

"Bring forth the next petitioner."

"Yes, my queen. Announcing, from the isle of Patch, he whose fists hath slain many Grimm, and whose words hath taught many children, and whose looks hath won the best of women... Taiyang Xiao Long!"

The tapestries lining the opulent throne room seemed to flow in a non-existent gale, the courtesans whispering among themselves as they observed the newcomer-a swarthy man, whose clothing spoke not of noble blood, but of a noble heart, and whose gaze had seen both wonder and horror. This gaze fell not upon the gloriously wreathed leader of the world, and so did not see the mild smile upon her face. Nor did it land upon the scribe-lady whose hands had created wonders and destroyed horrors, so it remained ignorant of the twinkle in her scarred eyes. The gaze did pass briefly o'r the queen's bodyguard, terror of all the enemies she had gained, and perhaps the usual smile upon that woman's face was strained as she gripped her scythe tightly.

But in the end, the gaze fell instead on the fourth form, the one whom the queen had chosen for greatest of beauties and deepest of hearts, and met the lilac eyes.

"...Really, Yang? Really?"

The blonde cleared her throat. "Tis a wondrous honor to serve our queen, in whatever way she desires, and humbled am I to-"

"Is the pretentious talk really necessary?"

Yang shrugged, ignoring the shocked gasps of the courtesans. "Come on, Dad, when else am I going to get the chance?"

"I doth recall your words with the queen taking far more poetic form often," commented the queen's bodyguard. "Though perhaps twould be best to mention it came near your entries into her bedchambers."

"Thanks, sis, that is REALLY helpful."

Taiyang gestured at the wall behind him. "You realize these petition sessions are being broadcast worldwide. Everyone can see you, dressed like... that."

Yang didn't even blush. "Yeah, well, I make it look good. Then again, I make anything look good."

"What humble words," the scribe mused in deadpan. "If such is the wisdom you provide our queen, I truly marvel at her success."

"Okay," Taiyang grumbled as he rubbed his forehead. "I can sort of get you going the whole... love slave route with all this. Although I don't know where you got that outfit-"

"Designed it myself."

"...right. We need to have a serious talk about that at some point." Taiyang held out his hands. "I mean, come on, is the leash really necessary?"

The queen chuckled. "Rest assured, good sir, that this is but a symbol of our bond. Look upon and see-this in my hand is not crafted from links of metal, to say my grip is firm and tight, but instead the softest of silk, to say my care is gentle and precious. So it is with all things I love-my people, my kingdom, my chosen. All could choose to break from me at any time; they choose not, for my demands are ever for their favor."

"...Did you practice that speech?"

"Perchance."

"Look, Dad." Yang sat up. "I get that a lot of people are going to look, yeah, but... I mean, it's not like they wouldn't look anyway. At least this way I'm sort of... doing something with it."

"Yang, you can punch out Grimm and take on mobsters in Baseline. You don't need to reduce yourself to eye candy."

"This isn't reducing myself-I'm not-grrngh." She took a breath. "Just because I'm a brawler ninety percent of the time doesn't mean I want to be a brawler a hundred percent of the time. Besides, this way I can keep gold-diggers off Blake."

"...fine, fine. I guess you're an adult. I'm just... you know, not exactly sure how comfortable I am with this whole..." Taiyang swung his arm in a wide gesture.

"No, I get it. I'm your little girl, and doing something like this is kind of, yeah." Yang coughed. "Can I at least go for a loop like this before we have to talk, though?"

The man sighed broadly. "I suppose... If you're really alright with this..."

"Like you can point fingers. 'He whose looks hath won the best of women?'"

"I didn't tell them to announce me like that!"

"Twere I to recall," mused the queen's bodyguard, "such duties fell to the royal scribe." Her smile fell as she peered, almost offended, at said woman.

"In truth always did I ascribe titles," the scribe replied, "and much amusement did it bring me. Though fairness pending, some twould sound more expansive than the meaning; the greatest of women did Taiyang win with his looks, but kept them did he with heart and soul."

"Still do I find such title strange to contemplate."

"Would you not say your progenitor was the greatest of women?"

"I find agreement in that, and yet-"

"Then truthful are the words," the scribe decreed.

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't think I'll be able to get anything I actually want out of this discussion, so I guess I'll just head over there."

"Sir," said the announcer, "it is considered customary to provide the queen a token of appreciation for her time."

"Is my eldest not enough?"

"Oh, she is more then." The queen ran her fingers through her chosen's golden locks. "I shall forgive this transgression; it comes not from a place of dishonor, but paternal concern, and that I can respect. I am, after all, a merciful queen."

"Right." Taiyang walked over to the side of the room, watching the door intently.

The queen quirked an eyebrow, but declined to comment on this odd turn. Instead, she rested once more in her throne, eyes turning to the gate. "Bring forth the next petitioner."

"Yes, my queen. Announcing, from the striking land of Menagerie-"

The queen's eyes went wide. Taiyang smirked.

"-she whose words have becalmed the darkest of hearts, whose love has burned even in void, and whose teas are amongst the greatest ever to pass o'r the tongues of royals-"

"Really, Weiss?" the queen muttered to her scribe.

"-Kali Belladonna!"

A woman burst into the room, arms wide. "Oh, my little girl is all grown up and ruling the world!"

"Hi Mom, I was-"

In a moment the queen was enveloped in a tight grip. "I'm just so-so amazed and proud of you right now! I remember when you used to crawl into bed with me and Ghira-"

"Moooooom!"

"Ah," smiled the queen's bodyguard, "family."

The scribe nodded in agreement. "Truly, the most mixed of blessings."

 ** **90.21** Masterweaver**

Penny focused on the pen in front of her. One finger twiddled, leaning it left, right, as its point rested atop the table, her eyes following it every which way. She didn't so much as acknowledge whoever sat down across from her, simply continuing her actions.

A full two, three minutes passed.

Eventually, she deigned to glance up, finding Kali resting her chin on one hand, eyes locked on the pen. A faint wisp of air escaped the ginger, before she returned back to her quiet action.

Another minute passed.

Penny looked up again. "Ruby sent you, didn't she?"

"Mmm, no." Kali shrugged. "She did mention you weren't talking to her, but I came here on my own."

"Right." Penny's gaze returned to the pen.

For a moment or two, they watched it again.

Then, with a sigh, she pulled it back. "I really thought she'd get it. I mean, aside from the whole Anchor thing, she's also my first friend. Probably my best friend, really... I don't often interact with anyone if she's not around."

"It can hurt when your loved ones don't understand your position."

"I mean, on balance it isn't a big problem, but it's..." Penny paused. "Do you even know what we were arguing about?"

Kali smiled faintly. "Not a clue."

"Right... well..." She rubbed her head awkwardly. "Looking back, it's kind of stupid."

"Oh?"

"See, certain aspects of my construction are loop-variable. The types of metal, whether and where I have data ports, a few... other things. I've spent not too few loops developing preferences and setting up my subspace pocket so I can modify aspects I dislike."

"Like installing a functioning nose."

"Yes, stuff like that. I just..." Penny sighed. "I've always seen the variants where I get laser vision as... it's not quite what it's cracked up to be. It screws with my lenses, and in order for my father to even consider it he has to be pretty far into the 'For Science' personality. I mean, he's pretty poorly defined, but I like it better when he's... you know... a dad."

Kali nodded in understanding.

"So, out comes this chibi expansion, and in it I have actual laser vision. Hoo-freaking-ray. But it's chibi, the universe is naturally a touch sillier, and I think I can live with that. Except, because my baseline design is also kind of vague, I start getting laser vision in baseline loops as well. A lot."

"That sounds frustrating."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Oh, it is! It's super frustrating. I go to talk to Ruby about it, and do you know what she does? She starts pulling out blueprints that would let me keep the laser vision without damaging my eyes!"

"Aaaaaah." Kali clasped her hands. "She didn't get it, did she?"

"Of course she didn't!"

"She tried to solve the problem, instead of acknowledging that it was a problem in the first place."

"YES!" Penny cried, throwing her arms up. "That's it exactly! I mean, I know how to modify equipment, I could have solved it on my own if I really wanted to, but she had to go and... I mean, I just wanted somebody to talk with about this, you know? I thought she would get that."

Kali shook her head with a chuckle. "I remember another girl, always so quick to jump to solutions without thinking about what the problem was in the first place."

"Yeah?"

"...I meet her sometimes, when she comes back to Menagerie. She's filled with self doubt and loathing but... she does have a good heart."

There was silence for a moment or two.

"...I don't... I'm not angry with Ruby. At her, yes, but not..." Penny sighed. "I'm not... going to just cut her off. Hell, I still talk to Cinder, even after... that loop."

"I'm not saying you are. And I'm not going to ask you to do anything. All I'm saying is, if you need somebody to lend you an ear, I'm here." Kali smiled faintly. "And I do have a spare set, after all."

"That you do." Penny returned the small smile. "You really didn't need to do this, you know. Coming all this way, just to check on me-we don't really... have that much in common."

"Doesn't mean we can't be friends, does it?"

"...I suppose it doesn't."

 ** **90.22** Masterweaver**

"So I know Jaune's been here before, but..." Yang gestured around. "Is this place looping? Like, on its own?"

Ruby shrugged. "Dunno. Never asked. But he did have that loop without me, so there had to be some anchor."

"Right... well. I guess this is going to be interesting."

"Especially since the hub recently released a sequel," Weiss mused, looking at her reflection. "I must say, the mask imprint really does hide my eye scar."

Ruby blinked. "Wait, you keep up with that?"

"Well, you know, it behooves us all to keep track of what we might run into-"

"She's totally a closeted nintendo geek," Blake deadpanned.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's only closeted if I attempt to hide it."

"Well you don't go out of your way to broadcast it."

"Guys, guys." Ruby stepped between them. "Whether or not Weiss wants to let her interests be known is her prerogative. That said..." She turned. "Weiss, you have any idea what this loop's about?"

"For the most part, it's exactly what it appears to be-a slightly fashion crazed tech modern society with a highly developed and funded variant on paintball."

"Populated by squid people," Yang added. "The hair I can handle, but these fangs-I'm worried about biting my tongue off."

"There is, however, the small detail of a desperate refugee group stealing the city's powersource in an attempt to secretly build up a series of superweapons and claim the city for their own."

Ruby frowned. "Yeah, that's pretty spoilery. Let me guess, the hero solos it?"

"It is a video game in the hub, so..."

"Side note," Blake added. "My pre-awake self was a defector from said refugee army. And Adam's... pretty weird this time round, to be honest."

"I was wondering about your hair. The bow-tentacles are fake?"

"Ironically, yes. And the facemark is makeup. I'm surprised nobody's noticed."

Ruby nodded. "Anything like the Grimm?"

Weiss shrugged. "Not in the first game. The second had an advertised 'team against wave' mode, but I didn't get a chance to look it over. So maybe."

"Right. Okay, plan for the loop: we stop the invasion, win lots of this sport everyone worships, and otherwise take it as a vacation loop. Do they allow custom weapons?"

Weiss frowned. "I'm not clear on that... it was never addressed in the lore, I'd have to look over the league rules."

"Good plan anyway," Yang quipped. "I'm all for it."

Ruby nodded. "Right. Team RWBY: Let's take on Inkopolis!"

 ** **90.23** Leviticus Wilkes**

"..." Taiyang had been midway through a great wok of stir fry when he had noticed Winter. Apparently she had been in the room the entire time, and he hadn't noticed her. Older Loopers always seemed to have the upper hand on him. The glaring though, that was disturbing. "Hey Winter."

"Taiyang." The bite in her tone was easily as cold as Solitas.

Taiyang adjusted some of the veggies in the stir fry. "Um... How are you?"

"Fine, fine." Taiyang noticed that the temperature in the room was starting to drop. And was the table beginning to freeze over?

It was at that moment that Qrow walked into the room. "Winter, that's where you've been." His tone was jovial and teasing. "Come here."

"Qrow, I'm not going with you, I'm AHH!" Winter was in fact cut off by Qrow scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder. "QROW!"

"She was staring at you, wasn't she?" When Taiyang gave an affirmative to Qrow question the corvine man laughed. "We went through the last chibi expansion. She's feeling just a little threatened by you."

Winter's petulant silence spoke volumes as she and Qrow left the room.

 ** **90.24** diesel**

Ruby lay eagle spread on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm bored," she announced, "anyone else Remember?"

"Yes, Ruby, I do. And you're always bored."

"Here and Remembering, sis."

"Same."

Rolling over, Ruby hung upside down from her bed so she could stare at her teammates. Weiss was playing chess against Blake as black, while Yang flicked through a magazine on the floor. "So… anyone want to do anything?"

"Pester JNPR," Weiss suggested absently as she played with her queen, eyeing the board as she contemplated her next move. "Jaune has been annoying me the last few cycles and I feel like doing the same to him."

"…I wonder if anyone else will ever remember?" Yang mused, a hint of melancholy in her voice. "We're stuck in a rut, and seeing people always the freaking same is painful."

Ruby shrugged, forgetting she was hanging off her bed and fell down with a crash. "Ow, that was stupid. Anyway, I hope so."

"Anyone who wants to go steal warships and have a war?"

Everyone turned to Blake, and a smirk slowly grew on Yang's face. "I'm up for it, pretty kitty. What about you glittering snow and bloody rose?"

"Sure, and no flirting where I can see, joking or not."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ruby lay eagle spread on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm bored," she announced, she wanted to do _something,_ "anyone else Awake?"

"Yes, Ruby. And you're always bored."

"Here and Awake, sis."

"Same."

Rolling over, Ruby hung upside down from her bed so she could stare at her teammates. Weiss was playing chess against Blake as black, while Yang flicked through a magazine on the floor. "So… anyone want to do anything?"

"Pester JNPR," Weiss said absently as she rocked her queen back and forwards, eyeing the board as she contemplated her next move. "Jaune has been annoying me the last few Loops, and I want to do the same to him."

"…I wonder if anyone else will Wake up?" Yang muttered tiredly, "We're stuck in a rut, and seeing people always the freaking same is painful."

Ruby shrugged in response, causing her to fall off the bed with a crash. "Ow, that was stupid. Anyway, I hope so. I want Sun and Penny to Wake up."

"Anyone want to go steal warships and have a war?"

Everyone turned to Blake, and a smirk slowly grew on Yang's face. "I'm up for it, pretty kitty. What about you Snow White and Little Red?"

"Sure, and no flirting where I can see, joking or not."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ruby lay eagle spread on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm bored," she groaned, everything was always the same. "Anyone else Awake?"

"Yes, Ruby. And you're always bored."

"Here and Awake, sis."

"Same."

Rolling over, Ruby hung upside down from her bed so she could stare at her teammates. Weiss was playing checkers against Blake as black, while Yang flicked through a porno on the floor. "So… anyone want to do anything?"

"Pester JNPR," Weiss said glaring at the board, finger hovering over forwardmost piece. "Jaune has been annoying me the last few Loops, more than normal, and I want to do the same to him without Pyrrha hitting me. I wish they would be Awake again soon though."

"…I wonder if anyone else will Awaken up soon?" Yang mused, flicking to the next page. "We're stuck in a rut, and I'm sick of seeing the same freaking play, it's painful."

A crash rang out thorough the room as Ruby tried to shrug upside down and fell off. "Ow, that was kinda expected, honestly. Anyway, I hope so. I want Cinder to Awaken, a semi-good one, so hopefully derail things, or you know, Sun, Penny, Neptune, Ozpin, I'm not picky."

"Anyone want to go steal warships and have a war?"

Everyone turned to Blake, and a Yang grinned in amusement. "I'm up for it, pretty kitty. What about you White Rose?"

"Go find a brothel sis, maybe then you'll stop flirting and shipping for a while, and sure."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ruby lay eagle spread on her bed, face pressed into her pillow. "I'm bored," she moaned, rolling over. "anyone else Awake?"

"Yes, Ruby. And you're always bored."

"Here and Awake, sis."

"Same."

Ruby hung over the edge of the bunk, staring at her teammates. Weiss was playing Chinese checkers against Blake, while Yang flicked through a manga on the floor. "So… anyone want to do anything?"

"Pester JNPR," Weiss stated archly, shooting a look disbelief at Ruby, only to get an innocent look back in return. She huffed, before she turned back to glare at the board, her finger hovering over a piece. "As you know, Jaune has been annoying me the last few Loops, so I want to do the same to him. I wish they would be Awake again soon though, it's been how many thousand loops?"

"…I wonder if anyone else will Awaken up soon?" Yang said, biting back a grin, flicking to the next page of the RWBY manga. "We're stuck in a rut, and I'm sick of seeing the same bloody narrative over again, it's irritating."

"I guessed that was going to happen, but still, ow." Ruby said, wincing after falling from her bed. "Anyway, I hope so. I want Winter and Qrow to Wake up, I ship it!"

"So… battleships?" Blake said deadpan, her lips twitching in mounting amusement.

Yang chortled, "I'm up for it, pretty kitty. What about you Bloody Snow?"

"Aren't you straight? And fine."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ruby stared at the ceiling blankly, lying spread on her bed. "I'm bored," she muttered. She just wanted to sleep but… she didn't want the nightmares. "Anyone else Awake?"

"Yes, Ruby. And you're always bored."

"Here and Awake, sis."

"Same."

Ruby stared at her apparently upside-down teammates from over the edge of the bunk. Weiss was playing chess against Blake, while Yang stared at a magazine on the floor. "So… anyone want to do anything?"

"…Pester JNPR?" Weiss suggested dully; after almost an hour only three moves had been made. "It's safe, well should be and Unawake Jaune is annoying?"

"Do you think anyone will Awaken up soon?" Yang said, biting back a frown, flicking to the next page of the RWBY manga. "That's a sign of things getting fixed, right? I'm sick of these fucking Nightmare Loops."

Ruby fell of the bed with a crash. "Do we want to subject anyone to this?" she asked softly.

"Wanta steal Atlas' battleships and blow up the White Fang?" Blake's eyes flashed red and black.

After a few beats, Yang's mouth twisted to show her teeth. It was not a smile. "I'm up for it, Ninja Cat. What about you Bloody Snow?"

"I'm fine with them reaping what they sow."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ruby counted tiles on the ceiling as she lay spread out on her bed, "I'm bored," she decided, rolling over. "anyone else Awake?"

"Yes, Ruby. And you're always bored."

"Here and Awake, sis."

"Same."

Ruby hung over the edge of the bunk, staring at her teammates. Weiss was playing Wizard's Chess against Blake, while Yang flicked through a comic on the floor. "So… anyone want to do anything?"

"Pester JNPR?" Weiss said dryly, shooting an amused look at Ruby, only to get an grin in return making Weiss roll her eyes, before she turned back to glare at the board. "Jaune and Pyrrha have been annoying me, yada yada yada, so I want to do the same to him. I wish they would be Awake again soon though, it's been how many single digits?"

"Will anyone Awaken again, ever?" Yang asked curiously, flicking to the next page of the comic. "After Cinder and everything, and we have a lot of Loopers. And… We're stuck in a rut, and I'm nauseatingly inflamed by seeing the same anaemic thingamajig over again."

Ruby fell from the bed as she tried to shrug upside down. "Oh, gosh, that booboo really hurt. And I hope so. I want more stealthing and more drama! How can our loop go on without it?"

"World of battleships?" Blake asked deadpan, her lips twitching in mounting amusement.

Yang chortled. "I'm up for it, pretty kitty. What about you Lover Girls?"

"We're straight. And what else could we do?"

 ** **90.25** Masterweaver**

"I know I've only been here a few weeks," Ruby allowed, "but I have to say miss Donnabelle is my favorite teacher. I would never have thought to reassess some of my favorite stories through the filter of parodist commentary!"

Blake, trailing a bit behind the group, frowned in disquiet.

"Indeed, the woman certainly has a keen grasp of literature in all its forms." Weiss tapped her cheek. "Although... I could swear I recognize her from somewhere, I just can't figure out where."

Blake's bow twitched as she stared nervously at the heiress.

"Maybe you saw her modeling in a fashion magazine?" Yang suggested. "Lika seems like one of those 'stage names.' And she does have the figure for it, you've got to admit."

Blake blinked, shot Yang an incredulous look, and then flushed furiously.

"Well that only adds to her mystique," Ruby declared. "Is she a former fashion star? Does she have secrets beyond mortal ken? Can I hook her up with Dad?"

"I just remembered I left a book in the classroom," Blake said suddenly. "I'll be... back. Yeah."

The other three watched her walk briskly down the hall, at a pace that clearly wanted to be a run but didn't want to attract attention to itself, and turn the corner.

After a few moments, Yang turned to Ruby. "Hook her up with Dad? Really?"

"I wouldn't really do it," Ruby assured her. "But I figured Blake needed the push. She's been on edge this whole time."

"I'm still amazed Kali agreed to go along with this," Weiss mused. "I mean, she really does love Blake, even when Blake's not looping. This sort of prank-"

"Actually, me and her and Blake talked about it a few loops back," Yang admitted. "That was a long talk."

"I'd imagine it would be."

"Basically we agreed that if this happened, Kali would pretend that she was pretending to be oblivious because she wasn't sure if Blake wanted to talk with her after all this time. Obviously Blake does, but this way it's a 'dancing around each other' situation instead of a 'I'm deliberately ignoring you' situation."

"And what about the name?"

"Same reason for Blake's bow-throws Adam off the scent. Well, 'hostile White Fang,' but Adam specifically."

Ruby frowned. "I don't think Adam pays attention to Beacon in Baseline. If he did, he'd have tracked Blake down a lot earlier. Maybe attacked her through us and our relatives..."

Yang shrugged. "Well, she wouldn't have known that at the time she originally decided to come to Beacon in theory. Woo, chronologistics are really weird..."

"Still. Lika Donnabelle?" Weiss asked. "Just literally switching the syllables? She could have made up any sort of alias, and that's what she goes with?"

"Cut her some slack," Ruby insisted. "This is her first prank requiring another personality-most of the ones she's done before are just 'Suddenly Kali', and... being fair, this is also 'Suddenly Kali.' Yeah, okay, we need to get her some creativity lessons..."

[/spoiler][/QUOTE]


	91. Not All Memories Are Painful

****91.1** Masterweaver**

"...What?"

"I'm telling you, I saw it on the internet. Well, Hub internet, so it's kind of unlikely, but I went and bought it and-"

"Ruby, you-just-you're telling me there's a gun in there."

"A disassembled one. That's what the post said, anyway. I just have to find the right pieces."

"Okay, I know the Hub is a center for craziness, what with having a few billion people and access to backups of the multiverse, but... there's crazy, and then there's deranged."

"Well, I mean, yes, but-"

"It's a 3d puzzle made of metal. It would be beyond useless to have to dig through that every time you wanted to find a gun. How many pieces are in this thing?"

"Well, the entire puzzle has about a hundred twenty five, but the gun's only made up of twenty."

"And you're absolutely sure there's a gun in there."

"Weiss, even if there isn't and it's a silly internet post, I still need to catalog the pieces so I can replace the proper ones with a disassembled gun. And if there is, it's a new exhibit for the museum!"

"...I'll just... leave you to your insanity then..."

 ** **91.2** Black Omochao**

These are the snips in the Yo-kai Watch Infinite Tunnel Saga in which an Awake Ruby appears. The Infinite Tunnel Saga was basically an Elevator Saga, but using Yo-kai Watch 2's Infinite Tunnel instead of an elevator.

 **49500 meters**

"I'm telling you! This will never end! We'll be stuck in this tunnel for the rest of the Loop! Dani!" USApyon shouted, running around the rest of the group in a panicked fashion.

"Seriously, USApyon, this is not productive in the slightest," Keita sighed.

"The tunnel ends eventually, it's just… a little weird this Loop," Fumi muttered in an attempt to calm the otter yo-kai, though it didn't seem to work.

"No use trying to calm him down, guys. When he's like this he doesn't listen to reason," Inaho sighed with a shrug, a smug smirk on her face. USApyon stopped his panicking and twitched, glaring at Inaho.

" _You're_ not one to talk about listening to reason! Dani!"

"Guys, please don't argue," Fumi sighed with a sweatdrop.

"I swear, you'd think in the Loops you two would've matured a little by now, whiss," Whisper huffed, USApyon and Inaho both twitched before glaring at the ghost butler.

"LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK(DANI)!" the two shouted, sending the yo-kai tumbling into Keita.

"Ow!" Keita shook his head, before picking the dizzy Whisper up. "Whisper?"

"That's why you should keep your myouth closed more often, nya," Jibanyan chided as he padded by.

"You're not the one I want to hear that from, wissu…" Whisper groaned, floating out of Keita's hands and giving him a bow of thanks.

"I'm more concerned about the fact we haven't run into another thing yet," Keita said, glancing around carefully. Fumika nodded nervously, the others didn't seem concerned though…

"…There doesn't seem to be anything, dani," USApyon pointed out. Keita sighed and nodded, still he didn't feel entirely sure something wouldn't jump them at any random moment…

"BABY BRO!" In a blur of red and rose petals, Keita swept up into a hug by Ruby.

"No! Not a baby!" Keita exclaimed while struggling, but Ruby's grip was too strong for him to escape. The UnAwake Weiss stared in confusion at the scene.

"…Huh, didn't see that one coming, dani," USApyon muttered with a surprised look, Weiss glanced at him, gaining a freaked-out expression as she looked at the other yo-kai as well.

"…What the heck is going on here!? Ruby!?" the white-haired girl called out to her leader, whom didn't respond, as she was still preoccupied hugging her little brother.

"…Really, Ruby. Put me down…"

 **49600 meters**

"So, let me get this straight; this is your younger brother, whom you've _never_ mentioned before."

"To be fair, you didn't mention your sister until we met her," Ruby pointed out to her partner, whom huffed and kept glaring at her.

"And he's in this tunnel, with these weird… things."

"They're my friends," Keita interjected firmly. Jibanyan and Whisper nodded proudly, Weiss ignored them.

"Right… and this all makes sense, because…?"

"…Because I'm your leader, and you trust me?" Ruby smiled, Weiss gave up.

"…Sure, whatever."

"If you can't handle this, you won't last long in here. We're bound to run into something else weird, soon," Keita stated calmly. Inaho nodded as they kept walking. Fumi trailed behind the group, and noticed a strange sound coming from a door on the side of the tunnel.

Carefully, the girl cracked the door open and took a peek inside, only to immediately slam it closed.

"Nope…" Fumika stated with a disturbed expression, before going to catch up with the others. She opted not to mention what she had seen to the others, or ever again…

 **49700 meters**

"So, I can't help but notice, this tunnel is kind of like the elevator my friends and I got stuck in a while back," Ruby explained to Keita, the two hanging in the back of the group, far enough away to not be heard. "What with you being trapped in here, and running into random things every so often…"

"Elevator? I think Ash and Pikachu mentioned something about an elevator a while back…" Keita noted as the two kept walking. "But, yes. Random stuff keeps happening… in fact, something is probably about to happen…"

The sounds of all their friends screaming up ahead didn't even faze the two.

"Spot on," Ruby complimented before they both used their speed to rush to the head of the group and see what exactly was happening. The two came to the sight of their friends staring, horrified, at the grotesque, green monster that took up the whole tunnel.

It appeared to be just a head, a single large eye stared at them, a tongue occasionally sticking out from a gigantic maw of jagged fangs.

"That's horrifying…" Weiss muttered with a disgusted look on her face. Seeing as she wasn't Awake, this was significantly harder on her than the others.

"How are we supposed to get past this thing? Wissu…" Whisper asked with a scared expression. Keita and Ruby looked to each other, before shrugging. Keita approached the beast and proceeded to scratch its chin.

"Hey, big guy. How about letting us through?" the beast let out an affectionate sounding growl at the request. Keita backed up before it opened its mouth wide, the tongue rolling out like a red carpet. "… Well, in we go," the Yo-kai Watch Anchor said with a shrug, stepping into the creature's mouth. His companions followed with varying degrees of hesitation (none, on Ruby's part).

"No! No! No!" Weiss shook her head, standing firm with her arms crossed. "I am not traveling through some repulsive monster's gullet!"

"Come on!" Ruby sped out before grabbing her partner, and pulling her forward.

"Hey! No, Ruby!"

 **50000 meters**

The group reached a clearing that seemed like an open cavern of some kind. A small, humanoid, shadowy creature that Keita recognized was in combat with a white cloaked individual whom Ruby recognized.

"Grandpa!?"

"Mom!?"

The two combatants briefly looked over and also seemed surprised.

"Ruby!?"

"Keita!?" but they quickly noticed each other again and went back to fighting, the group watched this for a moment with blank expressions.

"Should we… do something?" Fumi questioned.

"Why are they even fighting?" Inaho asked while scratching her head. "Also, Keita's grandpa is a shadow?"

"Yo-kai," Whisper corrected.

"…Shouldn't you two step in and stop them?" Weiss looked over at Ruby and Keita.

"Yeah! Get her grandpa! You can do it!"

"Mom! You got this! Kick his ghostly butt!" Weiss sweatdropped at how invested the two Anchors were in their (deceased) elders' fight.

"I think we're going to be stuck here till they're finished. Dani…" USApyon muttered, the others nodded in resignation, while Keita and Ruby continued to cheer on their respective relatives.

 **50100 meters**

"Wow mom! That was awesome!"

"You were incredible grandpa! With your moves and your speed, jumping around like that!" Ruby and Keita both cheered their two new traveling companions. Summer Rose walked by her daughter awkwardly, while Guts K sat on Keita's head.

"Well thank you Ruby, but… how are you a teenager? Last I checked you were a little girl," Summer said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I would also like to know what's going on! And why you attacked me!" Guts K exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Ruby's mother.

"I thought you were a grimm, ok? Easy mistake to make," Summer defended herself before turning back to her daughter, Guts K huffed at the answer. "Seriously Ruby, about the age thing?"

"Er, that's kind of complicated," Ruby chuckled a little nervously.

"No, it really isn't," Weiss muttered dully.

"I feel like we've been walking for miles," Inaho complained.

"We had been walking for miles, but we had plenty of time to rest when Keita and Ruby made us watch that fight for twenty minutes. Dani," USApyon stated uncaringly. Inaho fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around his helmet.

"I'm too tired to keep walking! Please carry me!"

"NO! Dani!"

"Please!"

"Get off me! Dani!" Fumi shuffled ahead and away from Inaho and USApyon and stood next to Whisper and Jibanyan.

"What were you doing in the tunnel anyway? Nya," Jibanyan asked the yo-kai sitting on Keita's head curiously.

"I was looking for Fuyunyan, I heard he was somewhere in that cave. Though it definitely wasn't a tunnel when I entered it," Guts K answered simply.

"I heard there was a grimm in this cave and was investigating, I also don't recall it being a tunnel," Summer answered as well. "Even though that's not really the strangest thing, considering my little girl is now a teenager!" she looked towards Ruby for answers again, the Anchor of Remnant just whistled innocently.

"Well, I certainly don't think any grimm are in this tunnel," Whisper spoke confidently, the sound of rustling ahead made them all look forward, before a swarm of beowolves came rushing out of the darkness.

"Really!?" Fumi threw her arms up in exasperation, before she fired PK Freeze at them.

"Whisper, maybe you should just not talk for a while," Keita sighed as he pulled Spectral Fang from his pocket. Ruby nodded, holding Crescent Rose ready.

"Hey! This isn't my fault!"

"I don't know what's going on, but let's go!" Summer Rose said, holding her own weapon ready.

"Guts!" Guts K exclaimed in a battle pose.

"Get off me so I can fight! Dani!" USApyon shouted at Inaho. Weiss eye twitched a bit in annoyance as she pulled out her weapon.

 **51000 meters**

The cave seemed to fork now, one path leading further into the darkness of the cave, the other into a somewhat bright forest.

"Can we please go that way?" Fumi questioned, looking a little tired. Keita tried to walk in the direction of the exit, but hit a force field, causing Guts K to fall off his head and onto the path.

"No… but he can," Keita offered, pointing at his yo-kai grandfather who got back to his feet, Fumi groaned as it seemed they wouldn't be getting out of the tunnel anytime soon.

"I hear fighting," Summer muttered, walking over to the pathway and next to Guts K, the two looked out into the clearing and their eyes widened, Taiyang, Qrow, Raven and Fuyunyan were all out there, fighting both Grimm and Kaima.

"Fuyunyan!" Guts K called out to the hovering cat yo-kai, though it didn't seem he could hear him.

"Tai! Qrow!" Summer called to two of her old teammates, though like Keizo her words didn't reach them. The two looked at each other briefly, then back at their fighting companions, before glancing back at Keita and Ruby.

"…Go," Ruby sighed.

"Yeah, we'll see you guys again, sometime," Keita and Ruby both smiled at their grandfather and mother respectively, the two elders smiled back and nodded before running out of the cavern.

"Can we follow?" Weiss asked tiredly.

"Nope!" Ruby cheered and hugged Keita while giving him a noogie. "Gotta keep this guy in line!"

"Ruby! Stop!" Keita pleaded, though he seemed happy. Fumi and Weiss both sighed. Inaho looked out at the battle outside interestingly, though seemed disappointed she couldn't follow out. USApyon was still ignoring everyone.

"Ok, let's keep going! Nya!" Jibanyan, whom was somewhat ahead of the group, called out. The others nodded before following, Keita and Ruby gave one last wistful look to their battling relatives, before following.

"Wait up! Wissu! I said, wait!" a tired Whisper called as he caught up and continued to follow the group.

 **51100 meters**

"So, nyow what?" Jibanyan questioned, looking around the tunnel.

"When do we get out of here?" Weiss groaned tiredly.

"I've been asking that since we got stuck in here, dani…" USApyon grunted.

"Well, we just need to keep going! That's how this works!" Ruby exclaimed, speeding over to her friend's side. Weiss groaned again.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a way out soon… sooner than us, anyway," Fumi said, with a bit of a sigh at the end. Suddenly, a trap door opened up beneath Ruby and Weiss.

"…Well, that's convenient," Ruby commented with a shrug, Weiss' eye twitched.

"This is not what I meeeeaaaant!" the white-haired girl cried as the two dropped down. A thud was heard not long after, the six locals looked down the whole, seeing Weiss and Ruby had landed in their own room at Beacon, more or less unharmed.

"Ow…" Weiss rubbed her head.

"Well, we're back," Ruby shrugged.

"Hey, how come _they_ get to live falling down a hole?" Keita complained bluntly.

"Never mind that, we can get out! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed happily, before jumping towards hole… only to hit his helmeted head against an invisible barrier. "OW! DANI!"

"Yeah, that figures," Fumi sighed with a shake of her head.

"Looks like we need to keep going," Inaho chuckled, USApyon silently cried by one of the tunnel's walls.

 ** **91.3** Masterweaver**

"Nope." Ruby pointed a hand pistol at her head. "I'm ending the loop. Any objections?"

"Your gun is now a rabbit," Blake pointed out.

"EEP!" Ruby threw the fuzzy abomination as though it had burned her hand, watching it join the horde of... _replicating_ lagomorphs. "HOW?! Those buck-toothed bastards didn't even touch it!"

"Look, they're literally splitting into rabbits, vomiting up other rabbits, and combining to make giant humanoid rabbits." Blake's face twisted as the gray mass began to do something _new_. "Eeargh. With the nonsense they're pulling, we may have to ride this one out."

"Didn't we already have Cyriak _Grimm_ a while back?" Yang asked, looking around. "I mean, Raven made a mecha kitten out of shelves."

Weiss shrugged. "I don't know if this is a common variant, a virus, or some mythos prank. We'll have to ask Marianne at some point. I am rather surprised at the gun thing, though, that's a little outside the usual bounds of this sort of loop."

Ruby whined in terrified dismay.

Yang snorted. "Oh come on, you're a living swarm of chibirubies. This sort of thing should be old hat to you."

There was a moment where the wretched noises of bunnies making more bunnies in ways other than the usual method was all that the four of them heard.

"Oh." Yang turned to her sister, saw her deranged grin, and paled. "Oh crap, you're actually going to do it."

Weiss slowly facepalmed. "I'm going to have to schedule some intense therapy sessions next loop, aren't I."

Blake sighed. "Yeah, pretty much. I'll help with Yang."

"YOU RABBITS THINK YOU KNOW HOW TO DISTORT REALITY?!" Ruby's face went fractal. "LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT'S _REALLY_ DONE!" With a maniacal cackle that had an odd reverb behind it, she poured into the fray.

 ** **91.4** Leviticus Wilkes**

RWBY Loop: You Want to be a Hero?

The world was stars and icy winds, the black screams of Grimm and the roar of Dust engines. Ruby found her feet on the last airship above Vale, in the midst of the Battle of Beacon. "Oh boy..."

A Griffin crashed into the superstructure of the Atlesian cruiser, screaming defiance and the secret rage of Salem. Ruby didn't shout back, but instead hurtled forward and sliced through the beast, Crescent Rose flashing with silver lightning as she tapped the Speed Force. Ruby stood up straighter, a bit more confident. It wasn't a Null Loop. Which meant...

Neo was already behind her, taking pictures nonchalantly. She smirked and rushed Ruby, and Ruby nodded grimly back. This wasn't exactly fun, but had to be done. Yet, a small smile slipped over her lips, as seven small knocks were heard on an ethereal wall only she knew. She was not alone tonight.

...

Blake Awoke stepping away from Adam Taurus. The leader of the White Fang's Vale chapter looked at her, inscrutable behind the monstrous mask of the Grimm. "Running away again?"

Blake's feet froze beneath her. The Cat Faunus closed her eyes, centered herself, and opened them again. They blazed baleful red. "Never."

Adam smirked lightly. "You've always run away my love. Always ran away when I could have made you stronger."

"You tried to make me into what you wanted," Blake said coldly.

"We wanted to change the world. We could have done it! Still can. We were going to light the fires of revolution." Adam stepped on the chest of a prone student of Atlas, crimson sword raised high. "Consider this the spark."

The student underneath Adam gasped then, as Adam was engulfed in writhing, crawling black flames that had come from nowhere and nothing. What remained collapsed away from the student, a charred corpse not yet knowing it was dead. Adam didn't even cry out in pain as Blake walked up to him, bloody tears leaking down her cheeks. "I will change the world Adam. For the better. And that means you can't be a part of it."

...

An army had come to Beacon. That was all Velvet could say to describe the shimmering white legion that appeared from runes upon the stony terraces and long promenades of Beacon. "Oh my... gods..."

"We're not gods. Not yet." The voice was the melodic and resonant tones of Weiss Schnee. The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and its future strode along as her veritable army tore the robots and the Grimm and the White Fang to shreds.

A series of blasts resonated throughout the front courtyard of the school, and Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie emerged from a cloud of smoke and sparking carnage. Ren directed a single sweeping kick to an Ursa, and the razor wind from his blow disintegrated the whole pack that surrounded him. Nora hefted massive hammer from her pack, hurling it through Atlesian Paladin after Atlesian Paladin, swathed in lightning the whole while.

Velvet nearly fell to her knees as she counted up the totals. Dozens of Grimm and Robots and Fang were laying upon the ground, smoking and sparking and groaning in pain. Had the finger of the God of Destruction descended from the heavens to wipe out all monsters?

Weiss nodded to Ren and pulled him from the warpath. "The Dragon will be arriving at the tower soon. I'm going into Vale with my legion. Try and keep the tower standing."

"Of course." Ren turned on a heel and collected Nora, as Yang and Blake sprinted into the Courtyard. Blake paused only briefly to gesture to no one, her fingers crossing into a strange handsign.

And suddenly there was an army of Blakes in Beacon's courtyard.

The trio that made up most of Team RWBY started off towards Vale, and Nora and Ren turned for the inner sanctum of Beacon, leaving the Huntsmen and Huntresses alone with a company of Blakes. Velvet looked around and saw that everyone, all of the foreign students, her own team, even Yatsuhashi, were awestruck. She looked at the nearest Blake, who flashed her a comforting smile. "Are you... gods?"

The Blake pondered upon that. "Well... sometimes my dad is."

...

"Alright, I believe you," Ozpin said curtly, running through the information that Jaune and Pyrrha had just dropped on him. The King of Vale was also nodding in his head, rather impressed by the extensive knowledge of the duo. Granted, it was almost preposterous and rather extravagant (a tale of time travel, a shattered world tree, billions upon billions of years of time spent at war and peace, and even a time traveling self) but the sincerity of both students and their own rather obvious sanity regarding the tale left him with little doubt.

If nothing else, he saw no reason to disbelieve either Pyrrha or Jaune.

The elevator clanked to the bottom floor, all three running out to the stasis pod that protected poor Amber. Ozpin got to the computer and started navigating into the defensive measures. "I'll be able to buy you both a few minutes of lead time. Use them wisely."

Jaune nodded to the Headmaster, slipping in a small glance at Pyrrha. She flashed her own light grin, and paused to deliver him a small kiss. "I'm not going anywhere Jaune."

"I know you're not." Jaune took her hands in his. "I counted six others. Ruby, definitely. If we're here, I think Ren and Nora are as well."

"Oh, they're going to be so glad to see me," Pyrrha nearly squealed, which sent her husband into a fit of chuckles that utterly ruined any tension in the atmosphere. Ozpin, for his contribution, glanced at Amber.

"Why do I feel you had something to do with this?"

The obsidian arrow was stopped cold by Jaune's shield. Cinder had snuck into the chambers, and had almost, almost, succeeded in assassinating Amber without interference. The partial Maiden snarled, drawing up the fae energies from within her very soul...

And that was as far as she got. Pyrrha grabbed every single metallic object in the room and her own sword, and switched their polarities to a like charge. Her sword broke the sound barrier with the force of repulsion behind it, and very easily decapitated Cinder.

Ozpin watched as the golden energies of the Fall Maiden swirled around and traced back to Amber. The woman in the pod shuddered, and her vitals rose, but she did not wake. That in and of itself warranted a small sigh of relief from the Wizard of Vale.

The witch was dead.

...

Ren and Nora didn't often moonlight as Dragon Slayers. Killing the beast was so pedestrian, they left it to Sun and Raven and the new Loopers these days. They had better things to do, like try and conquer Anima with pancake shotguns or Buddhism.

Still though, most of RWBY was out saving Vale and their parents were fighting (well, curb stomping) Cinder, so they had Dragon duty. And since dragon duty was so boring, they were settling it in the usual way: Ren was saying he'd do it on behalf of Nora and Nora was jumping for joy over not having to do anything.

The Dragon Grimm was beginning a long, low swoop towards Beacon Tower. Ren broke through the glass floor and hefted a giant gear like an oversized discus. The Dragon roared. Ren threw his gear.

The Dragon's head fell out of the sky and crash landed on the ground far below. Nora whooped, and Ren stretched his fingers. "Still boring."

...

Roman groaned, his head throbbing around his forehead. His hand slipped up to the bruise, and the pain that struck him nearly sent him spiralling back into the oblivion he had just crawled out of. His Aura forced the pain down, and Roman started to get his bearings.

Neo was tied up to a tree near by, a petulant stare aimed squarely at the red cloaked girl that Roman remembered fighting... up until something had swallowed him head first. Yes, now he was beginning to remember, the soft loam and moss underneath his hands throwing the memories of cold wind and steel decking into stark relief. They had been fighting on the deck of an Atlesian ship. She had thrown Neo off, and he had tried to hurt her... and then a Griffin had come down on him.

The crimelord cocked an eyebrow at the girl. Red smiled lightly. "I told you I could be a hero."

She left, and left him and Neo in the forest. Roman stood up and undid the knots holding Neo down. Together the pair walked through the forests, the dappled light of mid morning straining through the leaves. The forest soon gave out, vanishing over a vast cliff at the upper edge of the Vale's great bay.

As the two looked out over the vast inlet, the smokes of Vale came into focus, but even they seemed whiter and thinner and far too infrequent. In the extreme distance Beacon Academy stood proud, the enormous CCT Tower flickering and blinking. As they stared out, Roman nodded lightly, Neo sighing.

"Well, I guess sometimes you should bet the other side."

 ** **91.5** Masterweaver**

Penny was alone.

Well, not truly alone. All around her were staff from Atlas, soldiers and technical support; her father was, at least this loop, caring, even if he restricted her due to state secrecy. General Ironwood would have advice if she asked-but he was a general this time, not truly family, and would spend no time to connect. Her personal guards were at the very least as warm as usual-aside from trying to keep her to Atlas's strict table, they remained friendly and even did their best to keep her company.

But nobody had responded to her ping. Nobody had heard her hints. There were no confused new faces that could be brand new loopers, and try as she might she could find no potential stealth anchor.

One had to exist-or maybe Ruby would just Awaken later. She knew this, understood it, even as she ran her mind again through the digital records she had pilfered from the CCT.

But for the moment, Penny was alone.

The only Looper on Remnant.

The only one that knew all the little parts of the coming tragedy.

At least it wasn't a null loop. At least it wasn't a dark variant-so far as she could tell. If she acted swiftly, she could prevent so much death...

...her own death...

Penny was alone.

That was how she felt, even as part of her watched the newly formed and struggling teams RWBY and JNPR through security cameras. She could cheat. She should cheat-arrive early, befriend them all, and yet...

This version of Jaune, a veneer of what he hoped was charisma hiding massive insecurities, so different than the casual and gentle warrior she knew. This version of Pyrrha, locked into being an icon with no idea how to escape... not like the one who spoke softly around her and tried her best to help her family be the best. This version of Nora and Ren, hiding behind well formed masks, staying in their boxes, where the ones she remembered indulged in zaniness and casual banter.

This version of Yang... brash and aimless, so very different from the open and direct woman who had no shame. This version of Blake, a quiet bundle of terror... the snarky tone and moral force she knew, not yet formed. This version of Weiss, oh, this self-obsessed and entitled little girl, a far far cry from the graceful maiden who strode with poise as she set about ensuring everyone's mind was whole.

This version of Ruby...

She had seen the others before, of course. Rarely, but it had happened.

But this version of Ruby... so nervous. So eager to prove she had earned her place. So desperate to bring her team together.

She had not seen this weakness in her friend. Others, yes, but not this one.

Penny was alone-

"No."

Her eyes snapped open as she returned to her own body.

"I am not alone."

She was the only looper, yes. She had burdens nobody here could comprehend. Duties only she could fulfill.

But, even if they felt like pale shadows of her looping friends, the people all around her deserved more then her cold apathy.

Ruby dealt with this all the time. She could handle it for a single loop.

With a firm nod, Penny turned and walked out of her quarters. In an hour, she would secretly send a few drones ahead to Vale; in a day, she would track down Cinder; a week, and the Fang would turn on Adam; a month, and Salem's fortress would be stormed.

But for the moment, she went around, talking to the soldiers and technical staff, talking to her guards and her father, talking to General Ironwood.

And for the moment, and perhaps the rest of the loop, Penny was not alone.

 ** **91.6** Leviticus Wilkes**

Roman tapped his chibi chin. "Neo, tell me. Should I be unhappy that despite my death I'm only showing up in the Chibi expansions?"

"..." said Neo. She held up a sign that was blank.

"You know, you're right. My life should be what I make it. And you know what, I'm fine with cartoon villainy. It's a good outlet for the negative impulses of destruction. Wanna get froyo?"

Neo held up a sign with "yes!" on it.

 ** **91.7** Shimmer712**

"Well, I hope Neptune isn't hydrophobic this loop," Weiss muttered.

"How would that work?" Ruby asked. "I mean we're mermaids - well, mermen for the guys. Can mermaids be hydrophobic?" she wondered. "Anyway, the bigger issue is, how does his weapon work this loop? I mean, I can't have the whole electricity thing going on. So what does he have instead?"

Weiss just looked at her.

Penny hummed happily as she carefully stored the data for her body this loop in her pocket. This loop had better waterproofing schematics than most loops she had been in. Which made sense since they were underwater.

"You seem cheerful today," Ironwood remarked as he approached.

"Oh, I'm just a little loopy," Penny told him.

"And Awake and Anchored," Ironwood said in reply.

"Ruby is my usual Anchor." Penny smiled at the confirmation that the General was Awake.

"Our usual Anchor," Ironwood agreed, smiling. "What plans do you have for the loop?"

"Well, I thought I would just go along with it for now and see what happens," Penny shrugged. "Unless you have any ideas?"

"Not for this loop," he admitted. "I have been thinking about asking you and Winter to do something with me, I'm not sure what."

"Hmm," Penny hummed. "Something to think about."

Ironwood grinned at her. "At any point, I think I'll spend this loop testing my guns. See how the resistance for the water effects the shots and so on."

"Being underwater would affect weapons wouldn't it, Generuncle?" Penny mused. "Can I come?"

"Of course," Ironwood assured her. "You are always welcomed."

 ** **91.8** Masterweaver**

Sun sighed, staring at nothing in particular.

"Let me guess. Envy?"

"Oh, hey miss Goodwitch." The faunus gestured to the seat across from him.

"Glynda, please." The woman adjusted her glasses as she sat down. "I don't think I've ever been your teacher, in baseline or the loops. Besides, we're both part of the blonde brigade."

"Is that seriously going to be a thing?"

"Loopers can take the strangest things seriously. And we can talk about that later. Right now, I want to talk about you."

Sun put on a grin. "Hey, it's all fine. I mean, why would you need to worry about me?"

"...I spent a stint as a travelling looper. I wasn't here for... Cinder's break. I... suppose I just feel I need to be more involved."

Sun's grin wavered.

"...I'm sorry, you're right." Glynda shook her head. "We're not close enough for this sort of-"

"No, you... I think you'd get it most of all." Sun looked out at the ocean. "Yes, it's envy, but... not just envy. And it isn't the kind I've been dealing with for a while, this is... new."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean... I'm sort of the outsider in this looping stuff. No," he held up hand to forestall any objections, "I know you all don't think of me that way, but let's be honest-baseline I'm Blake's friend, and that's it. Well, maybe more than that, but the point is nobody else would know about me if it weren't for, you know, Blake. And... well, everyone else has connections to everyone else-the huntsmen teams, staff at Beacon, family-even Roman and Neo and Cinder, they're all sort of tied in deeply to the core group, except as antagonists."

"So you're feeling lonely."

"Not... a bit, yes, but not like... it's more like, I don't have what they have." Sun sighed. "I don't have anyone for today. I don't know if I ever did."

Glynda nodded. "Yes, that is unfair. With me, it's more understandable, I'm quite a bit older then you all, but... I don't think they meant for it to hurt, but it does."

"...you know, I'd have thought you and Ozpin would be hanging out together."

"Well... he and Oscar are..." Glynda trailed off awkwardly.

"Right. Oscar." Sun nodded. "For all the crap he's being put through, I guess he deserves this much. How does that work, anyway?"

"I'm not sure... and honestly, I don't know if I want to know."

"Right."

They sat there in silence, staring at the sea.

"...You know something, you're right."

"I usually am."

"You _are_ old."

Glynda gave Sun a flat look. "And you're fortunate enough that I know not to take that the wrong way."

"Ha. Seriously though. You're... you know..." Sun gulped. "Maybe about the right age. If you want to just, uh, spend the day together."

For a moment, as the woman narrowed her eyes, he thought he might have made an error.

"Traditionally," Glynda said finally, "it is the younger one that pays for the day's activities."

"Oh, yeah, I can do that, totally." Sun held out a hand. "So, you're in?"

"Yes, mister Wukong." Glynda took the hand firmly. "I think I am."

Yang coughed into her fist awkwardly.

"...I mean... I know what we've got is kind of... not what this day is all about. And, let's be honest, I don't think we get each other just yet... and, you know, if you want to say no. That's okay. But, um..."

"...but everyone else is doing something for this," Raven finished.

"Well, not everyone. I mean, everyone on my team is. And JNPR is too. And I mean, us eight are kind of Remnant's core loopers, so... trendsetters. You know?"

Raven tilted her head. "You could have just gone with Ruby. Do... whatever she's doing."

"...we're planning to meet up at the end of the day, but I think she wants some time... alone with her first." Yang glanced away. "The, um... whole blood thing, and everything."

"That's understandable."

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Raven shrugged. "You know what, it's not the worst idea. Don't know how I'll explain it to the tribe, but... sure. We can chillax for a bit."

Yang snorted. "'Chillax.' Really, that's what you're-?"

"I'm totally hip with the rad lingo you snoop dogs have these days."

"You're going to keep doing that this whole time aren't you."

"Word."

"Right, I guess I deserve it. Anyway, so I was kind of thinking maybe we could hit the arcade up or something..."

"I mean, does he count?" Penny asked. "He made me, after all. And it could be argued he's supposed to be the one who raised me in baseline... I do call him _father_ , but..."

James Ironwood shrugged helplessly. "Penny, I think this is something you have to decide on your own... I know he'd appreciate any time you spent with him, of course. Even if it's for a bit of an odd reason like this."

"I know, I know... I just thought... since you're my uncle and all, you'd have an opinion."

"Well... I, um. I'm..." The general gestured helplessly. "I'm sorry, Penny, I'm just..."

"What he's trying to say is that he's terrible at this whole feelings thing."

Ironwood sighed, turning to the door. "Hello, Qrow. What are you doing here?"

"Zwei wanted Penny's help with something, and everyone else was busy." Qrow gestured to the corgi trotting alongside him. "Offered to give him a ride."

Penny tilted her head. "Oh?"

"Well," Zwei explained, "I am sort of the Rose Xiao Long family pet. And while I'm less insistent on it than I could be, it does... sort of make Ruby and Yang, you know..."

Penny nodded. "Ah. So... what exactly did you need my help with?"

"I'm trying to craft a new upgrade to the War Corgi project, and I thought you might have some insight into how to handle the situation."

"Right. Well... I wasn't sure if I had anything planned today. Why don't we head down to the workshop and look things over together?"

The pair wandered off, leaving two men together in the room.

"...he could have come by without your help."

Qrow scoffed. "James, you really think any of us don't know that?"

"No." Ironwood gave him a look. "What are you really doing here, Qrow?"

"Well, momma Qrow variants aside, I don't have anyone for today in either direction. And I'm pretty sure you don't either. So I figured maybe we could hit the bars together."

"So you're lonely."

"Eh. Aren't you?"

Ironwood paused. "...Maybe a little. Didn't you swear off drinking?"

"I said I'd get better about it. I'd like to think I can control myself."

"I'll be telling Winter about all of this, of course."

"...wait till tomorrow. She and Weiss are busy today."

"...I thought you didn't like this sort of thing."

Blake chuckled. "I'm not a fan, no, but I don't hate it. And you like it, so..."

Kali leaned back into the couch. "You don't have to put yourself through something you don't like-"

"Mom... please. I want to."

"I... Blake, I know you explained this whole thing to me, but-"

Blake shook her head. "No, it's not just tradition. It's... This is important. You're important."

Kali tilted her ears.

"...we get flashes when the expansions start. I'm not sure how it works, but-I spent my whole life without parents and then suddenly, suddenly you were there and had always been there. And-it was, I was... overwhelmed. In a good way," Blake reassured her, "I mean, I was literally dancing for joy, even though all I knew was what you looked like... and then I came back and, and that was-I spent loops bringing everyone over, just because I didn't want to... I didn't want there to be a divide. Learning about the argument, it tore at me, because... it explained so much..."

She fiddled with her hands. "You haven't lived through an expansion yet. You don't realize... how intense those first few iterations are, how much we devote ourselves to them. Finding out I had a mother, it wasn't just amazing, it was... worldshaking."

"Oh, Blake-"

"I want to do this. Not just because of some silly hub tradition that's barely more than a century old. I just... I know I don't talk about how I feel often. I'm more comfortable... observing, acting. You... you mean a lot. And I just... thought you should... get that."

Kali wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "I do. Believe me, I do." She put on a joking smile. "I mean, why else would you suffer through an abridged series?"

"Well, this is one of the better produced ones-"

"Blake, I see you flinching at every metajoke."

"...alright, fine, I hate it. But I knew you'd like it, so-"

"You know what?" Kali reached forward and shut off the screen. "I can watch this on my own time. Why don't we do something more like... going out and getting a fish dinner?"

Blake managed a small grin. "Only if I pay."

"You realize this is insane and twisted in the absolute worst possible way."

"You realize that's sort of a theme with me."

"Hear that, Neo? Cinder's challenging your title."

Neopolitan scoffed, crossing her arms. "Excuse you, I'm insane and twisted in the absolute _best_ possible way."

Cinder inclined her head in acknowledgement. "True, true. As a matter of fact, I've been meaning to thank you."

"...What for?"

"From what I can tell, Slendy wanted me to become a blank-minded slave with no free will. A witless pawn. A puppet. And as bad as what happened was, being made into his _perfect little doll_ would have been so much worse." Cinder smirked down at the other girl. "If you hadn't screwed around in my head all that time, I wouldn't have had the mental fortitude to resist as much as I did."

Neo froze, her eyes slowly widening in dawning horror.

After a moment, Roman prodded her with his cane. "...I think you broke her."

"Oh?" Cinder asked, her tone curious and polite.

"Come on, you know why she started doing that in the first place." Roman dusted off his shirt. "When she snaps out of this, she's... well, I don't know. She's probably going to try to kill you at the very least."

"Here." Cinder handed him some Lien. "Take her out for some froyo. Or whatever sweet she likes this century."

"Yes, that's going to solve everything," Roman deadpanned. "You know Weiss is going to drag us all into therapy at some point."

Cinder paused, looking down the long hall at the tall, shadowed doors. "...she'd probably be right to do so."

"...You're actually going to go through with this." The thief leaned on his cane. "Don't you hate her guts or something?"

"I don't think I hate _her_ ," Cinder replied quietly. "What she represents. What she did to me. But not her, as herself. And she is the closest thing I have, in the loops."

"...Ruby would probably disagree."

"I don't deserve Summer."

"Maybe not. But it might not be about deserving."

Cinder smiled. "And Salem doesn't deserve me, now does she?"

"Right, right. Well, you go ahead and try to explain all this to her, then." Roman grabbed the still frozen Neo. "If you need me, I'll be running damage control on my best girl's mind."

He walked away, leaving Cinder to her self-appointed fate.

Winter didn't often smile. Her life wasn't conducive to such events, before or after she started looping.

The plan had been deviously simple in outline. The fire in the wine cellar, oh so incidentally burning all the booze-obviously an accident, an unplanned dropping of Dust from somewhere or other, and thankfully contained after that crucial loss. Then, the next few days, weeks, keeping an eye out-Weiss had so much experience manipulating societies in secret now, arranging for ordered bottles to consistently get shipped to the wrong address or lost.

Winter wasn't sure what to feel about that particular facet of her sister. Then again, she had ended up in a relationship with Qrow, of all people. The loops certainly made quirks more common.

Weiss couldn't be physically present, and Winter couldn't spend too long in Atlas without attracting suspicion. But somehow they managed to keep Jacques from upsetting the progress they were making. Business meetings, allegations, it helped that he no longer shared a room with her-and wasn't that sad, and it happened more loops then it didn't, or so it felt at least.

There was much more preparation for this one then the others. This date had shown up on Ruby's personal calendar this loop, when they were all Awake... and of course, they had all agreed readily, for their own personal reasons. Still, the fact was that, unlike all the others, there was a _need_ for Weiss and Winter to prepare for this, to set things up so it _could_ be a celebration, so that there _could_ be a sense of joy.

Winter didn't often smile.

Yet here, leaning against a wall, watching her mother enjoying tea with Weiss and a very reluctant Whitley... she allowed herself a brief indulgence.

The rest of the day might be filled with jokes, games, and warm hugs. It was actually very probable. The rest of the day would be enjoyed.

And to be fair, this wasn't something that any of them _didn't_ want to do. It just was much more... somber.

Jaune and Pyrrha stayed off a bit. True, they'd been invited, but they'd turned it down; this wasn't for them. The pair stood in the center of the ruins, one always watching the house, while the other kept eyes out for any Grimm. They'd trade off on occasion... but it was usually Pyrrha who had her eyes on the broken dwelling.

Nora was unusually quiet as she gathered planks from the wreckage, the only sound she made her wooden hammer against nails. She'd glance around occasionally, conflict clear on her face; then she'd take a deep breath and return to her work. When the framework was finished, she began to mix the plaster-the only thing she pulled from her subspace pocket, the only allowance she gave. It wouldn't have been right to just skip to the end.

Ren helped her, of course, when he was not wandering through what had once been rooms and gathering the remains of furniture. Over time, an outline became clear; a front room, stairs, bedrooms, kitchens... all furnished with broken beds and split tables and shattered chairs. Any fabric had long since rotted away, though here and there there were small bits of jewelry. He had considered them, of course. He had decided, in the end, to leave them behind as well.

The sun had just reached its peak when the two of them finished. Wordlessly, Nora handed him a large, wilted flower. Wordlessly, he put it on the broken table.

They stood, and looked, for a moment or two.

Then they turned and walked out, leaving the ghosts to their restored home.

"...and I'm actually getting really good with the bass. I mean, I'm not a super musician like some people, but Sonoro Pine is very good at getting the notes out. I think Crescent Rose might be a little jealous-I mean, she knows I still love her, but maybe she thinks I'm focusing too much on her baby sister? Did Yang ever go through something like that? Maybe you could give me some tips."

The stone marker silently endured the light-hearted chattering from the girl sitting cross-legged in front of it. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she thought for a moment the wind toyed with her hood.

"I know, I know, I'm taking it too seriously. I just... I want them to get along, you know? Even if they are technically inanimate objects." Ruby chuckled, a bit self consciously, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah... I guess I am a little crazy these days. I mean, after all I've been through, I... still. I still think I'm Ruby Rose, at least. Or a good enough version. Sorry. I'm... rambling."

She glanced down at the calendar that had started this whole thing off.

"...I really do enjoy it when you're still here," she murmured. "Even if you're not always the same. It's... it's something. I don't know if you're going to suddenly have some big hidden legacy or if you're just going to be a feature of my past. I just... I just want you to know that you matter. At least to me. If not to the rest of the universe, at least to me."

She managed a wry grin. "And since I'm the girl that got picked to hold this universe together, that makes you super important, right?"

"Oh yes, super duper important."

Ruby shot to her feet. "Dad! I, uh..." She glanced between her father and the sun. "I, uh, didn't realize how long it'd been."

Taiyang shook his head. "It's fine, Ruby. When you told us all about this, I expected you to be out here all day."

"...yeah." Ruby glanced at the marker. "Been catching her up on things."

"Well, I'm not going to stop you. Just thought you'd like to know Yang and Zwei are home." His face fell. "...Raven's there, too, but..."

"Really weird for you, huh?"

"Little bit, yeah."

Ruby chuckled. "I was just about done here anyway. I'll wrap up and come back, okay?"

"You don't need to-"

"It's fine. Really."

Taiyang let out a melodramatic sigh. "When did my baby girl suddenly decide _I_ was the one that needed parenting?"

"Eh, about the same time you decided to start dating again."

"Those were all one-loop stands."

Ruby leaned in toward the marker. "I think he's losing his touch," she whispered conspiratorially.

Her father threw up his hands. "Fine, talk trash about me to my wife, what do I care?" Despite it all, a small smirk was on his face. "I'll be headed back now, but I'm not going to be saving any cookies for you-if they're gone when you come, that's your own fault."

"Oh, right, because that makes so much sense!" She turned back to the marker with a small smile. "What did you ever see in him, anyway?"

"My good looks and charming personality!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that!" Ruby rolled her eyes with a giggle. "Anyway. Where were we... right."

She took a breath. "I know this isn't what you expected me to become. And, you know, I don't think anyone could have anticipated this. But... it's sort of like being a huntress. You've got a lot of responsibility and you see a lot of... a lot of bad stuff, but you keep trucking on because... because people need you to."

Her hand reached out and touched the stone. "And it's not all bad, you know. I do get to see you, sometimes... and a lot of other people I wouldn't ever have met otherwise. And I get cool superpowers and things-one of these days, when you're still around, I'll have to show you my weapons museum, it's amazing."

The wind, for a brief moment, tugged on her cape.

She nodded. "You know what, I'll do that. I'll put it on my list of things to do. Yeah." A shuddering breath, and a smile. "This... this was good. Thanks for listening, mom. And... wherever you are... I do hope you have a happy mother's day."

With one final pat, Ruby Rose turned around and walked back home.

 ** **91.9** diesel**

"I open my eyes

I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light"

The words flowed freely from Wiess's lips, changing mid verse as she Awakened. Before her the blinding stage lights blotted out any sign of the crowd, rendering them nothing more than shadowy silhouettes.

The music that filled the concert hall shifted as Weiss kept singing.

"I can't remember how

I can't remember why

I'm lying here tonight"

 _Who were these people?_

Weiss normally didn't give much thought to them. A crowd so often filled with shallow fools who didn't care about anything beyond their small world, filled with a lack of understanding and a callous arrogance that boarded of cruelty.

 _Who did they become like this?_

Glacial eyes burned under the floodlights, the sensations, the emotions the hung over the hall, seemed to form a miasma that made Weiss feel sick and disgusted. Her father seated, upon high next to Whitley, stood out to Weiss.

 _How had she become who she had?_

New-old memories or training with Winter swirled through her mind, a short snippet the same even as the beginning and what came after was hazy and transient. The expansions were coming; in the true hub, Volume Five would likely be a mere handful of months away from starting. Then the shadows and vapour that made up Remnant would recede that little bit more. The mist of ages solidifying, for better or worse.

 _What would they find out?_

"And I can't stand the pain

And I can't make it go away

No, I can't stand the pain"

 _How much new pain would they suffer in this new future?_

Mist filled the hall, emerging from people's mouths as the temperature began to drop. Frost crept along the floor, spreading away from Weiss, wine and spirits freezing in their glasses, the cold stealing away the momentum of air molecules as an unnatural silence fell, broken only the unearthly, and beautifully melancholic voice.

 _What new torments would they inflict upon themselves? Forced to watch as 'their' Legend unfolded and unable to divert the course, or participate. Doomed to know what is, and to play amongst it, but never write the future._

They could never stop caring about what would come. No matter what was said, what resolutions were passed or promises made. There would be victory at the end. But even if they could not shape that future, they would be shaped by it.

 _"_ How could this happen to me?

I made my mistakes

Got nowhere to run

The night goes on

As I'm fading away

I'm sick of this life

I just wanna scream

How could this happen to me?"

Weiss spun on the spot and just sang. In that moment, she forgot. Forgot the audience. Forgot the upcoming expansions, lost in time and memories.

What was her Baseline self-thinking? Finally sick of the life she lived and yearning to go back to what she had had for a few precious months.

"Everybody's screaming

I try to make a sound but no one hears me

I'm slipping off the edge

I'm hanging by a thread

I wanna start this over again"

Wanting to just scream at those who should be family. At those who should care, as she slipped further away from who she had been and no longer wished to be. Wanting to start over, to meet them all again.

Ice covered the hall, splintering the ceiling and shattering walls that fell down soundlessly. An endless horde ghostly monsters rose up from the ice that spread to the distant horizon. Weiss felt her mind expand outwards, a familiar soul resonating in time with her own.

 _Petals and power that radiated from a soul that determinedly walked forwards. Filled with_ hope _, and the belief that people could be better, yet acknowledging that some people didn't want to be. Willing to fight for what she believed in._

A second haunting voice joined in, singing a duet that echoed across Remnant. Petals swirling around and through the endless, icy legions of dead.

 _No matter what, we'll never walk alone._

"So, I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered

And I can't explain what happened

And I can't erase the things that I've done

No, I can't"

On impulse Weiss reached out and focused. A massive glyph appearing in the sky, Ruby's power and will matching her, and letting Weiss lead. A vast draconic head began to rise from the glyph as winter bore down, glittering white snow and crystalline petals filling the sky as Grimm fell. Arctic wind howled across the frigid landscape, wrapping around the lost and lonely like a warm hug and an honest smile. Billowing snow and torrents of petals formed memories and images of times long past, snippets of speech heard in the howling wind. The song echoed across all of the nations.

"How could this happen to me?

I made my mistakes

Got nowhere to run

The night goes on

As I'm fading away

I'm sick of this life

I just wanna scream

How could this happen to me?

I made my mistakes

Got nowhere to run

The night goes on

As I'm fading away

I'm sick of this life

I just wanna scream

How could this happen to me?"

Weiss closed her eyes as the song finished. Behind her a dragon rose, its wings each the size of patch, seven eyes burning with silver fire, covered in plates of ice that looked to be hewn from fragments of the moon, with a head almost twice the size of the Schnee mansion.

Huh…

She opened her eyes as the summoning stabilised.

"Well, I can safely I didn't expect that to be summoned." Weiss said dryly; she had just felt _something_ and poked at it with a curious Ruby helping her along. She could feel the thing's intellect, it was aware and malevolent, but subservient and so very powerful. Powered by her and Ruby, their souls linked and working in harmony.

"Cool though," Ruby said, walking over, leaving a shocked and confused Qrow and complete Team JNPR. Pyrrha was staring at Ruby in shock before she was pounced upon by an ecstatic Jaune, Nora and Ren following closely as they decided to ignore anything other than their revived teammate. "I didn't know we could use soul resonance, mind link and and everything else too. I wonder how it would compare to the one I have?"

Weiss stared at Ruby for a second. "You got Cinder to give you a copy of everything for your museum," she said dryly, rather amused. Why was she not surprised?

Oh, right. It was Ruby. It would be an interesting fight...

"Not everything, something just didn't really fit, you know?" Ruby said, scratching the dragon's chin as it bent down at a gesture. "I actually have copies of the nightmares, well the templates used to make them. I thought about making some. Not the vampire ones, but the more precisely crafted ones, it's not that abhorrent in practice to make, just use, but then I thought, well… it would be found out and people would yell at me and then there would be arguing and yelling and there are much more interesting things to play with. The drakes are awesome; really difficult to make though."

Weiss huffed, folding her arms and letting the concert audience go, dissolving the ice and making a clear path. "Honesty Ruby, and you didn't think of sharing that with the rest of us? I've been wanting to know how some of that stuff worked for ages. Getting Grimm stuff to work on the scale with foreign technology is painful."

She blinked. "And you didn't think of asking Cinder for it?"

"…not the point. And why is Pyrrha alive?"

Ruby grinned unrepentantly. "Tried resurrection magic, and encountered the God of Life. He didn't like me taking someone from the 'pure world', I objected to him objecting and… things happened. Asked Pyrrha if she wanted to come back, she said yes. The Brother objected again, and I hit him with a dead fish, stole Pyrrha's soul and broke down the gates then joined in the sing along. On that note, we may have a bit of a ghost problem now."

"What…" Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose, looking away from JNPR, the summon and the sky filled with rose petals and snow. "You know what? Screw it, I'm too sober for this shit... Ruby?"

Ruby turned to look at him curiously. "Yes, Uncle Qrow?"

"I'm hereby banning you from messing with the laws of life and death until you're an adult. Understood? Nascent goddess or whatever you are, you're too young."

"I'm a multitrillion year old time looper, I'm only physically a teenager."

"By the reckoning of this world and timeline, you're 16. My point stands."

"Awww."

 ** **91.10** Masterweaver**

"Hey there, Sun!" Yang clapped a friendly hand on Sun's shoulder with a broad, toothy grin.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I."

"What? Nooooo." Laughter as warm as a hearth's fire burst out. "Haha, no, no no, nooooooo. You, Sun Wukong, aren't in any trouble what. So. Ever."

Sun gave her a flat look. "Right. And the fact that the loop just started and we're on a boat miles away from Vale where it'll take a while for anybody to get to us is just pure coincidence."

"Pure and simple coincidence!" Yang agreed brightly. "But would you LOOK at that moon, is it just me or does it have a few more shards then usual?"

"...Okay, so this is about Blake, but I don't remember doing anything with her that you wouldn't know about... so this has to do with a chibi expansion, right?"

"Wow, Roman's really hammered in your paranoia, hasn't he? Funny you should mention it, though, we did have a chibi expansion recently."

Sun held up his hands. "I haven't lived through it yet, and I apologize preemptively for anything that I did, and I'll avoid it if you really want me to."

"Sun, _Sun_ , Suuuuuuun, don't be ridiculous!" Yang gave his shoulder a light punch. "Convincing Blake to do a beauty vlog, that takes skill-even if it's the chibi version of Blake. Actually, especially if it's the chibi version, something about those loops make her very stubborn."

The boy rubbed his shoulder awkwardly. "Yeah, okay. I guess she is pretty, and she does have that eyeliner stuff... and I would be stupid enough to try to talk her into it."

"Yeah, I got the camera recording-I'm pretty sure only Ruby pulls out her eyes, and I don't think she uses an eyelash curler to do it."

Sun facepalmed. "Wow. Yeah. Okay, I guess I'll avoid that-"

"What," said Yang, still wearing a toothy grin, "are you saying that Blake _isn't_ an incredible example of visual beauty?"

"Um." Sun swallowed nervously. "I... think... maybe... that while Blake does deserve such a moniker, it would be unfair to deny anyone the chance to elaborate on their own capability for expressing their visual appeal?"

"Oh, I like where this is headed. Go on."

"Yeah, I, uh... I've been thinking of, you know, doing a series! Haha. Beauty vlogs for everyone. You'd probably be very good at the hair care episode!"

Yang nodded thoughtfully. "You know, you're right. I do have a number of tips I could give, shampoos and conditioners... I think this is a great idea. Sun Wukong's beauty vlogs, with rotating guest stars."

"Yep." Sun nodded. "That's exactly what I think. Just appreciating the aesthetic and not attempting to make any intimate overtures in any way."

"Well, I'll help you set up of course." Yang released his shoulder, giving it a couple of pats. "Good talk, Sun. And... you know..."

"Yeah?"

She sighed. "Sorry for the, you know. Intimidation thing. I shouldn't be nervous, I know, I just..."

Sun nodded. "Yeah. I know."

They stared across the water for a bit.

"...No, but seriously, I should be past this." Yang threw up her hands. "It wasn't even anything serious! Why am I reacting like this?"

"Because you want to be able to hold her in baseline?"

Yang shot him a look.

Sun flinched. "Sorry. Too close to home?"

Yang sighed. "No. No, you're right. Stupid broken world tree..." She leaned against the railing. "Still. The rotating beauty vlog sounds like a fun idea."

"...yeah. I'll get on that."

 ** **91.11** BIOS-Pherecydes**

"What are you up too?" Blake questioned warily as she noticed the tri-dyed figure of Neo sitting atop the roof overlooking the Raft, where a riot among the prisoners was currently being put down. While she wasn't quite as affected by the revelation of the diminutive villain's actions against Cinder as Ruby and Yang, any former trust she had felt for her had been replaced by a generous serving of caution. Not that Neo appeared to give the slightest damn about her reputation, except inasmuch as it limited her options for 'interpersonal gratification' when desired. The current leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants shifted her parasol to her other shoulder and turned to give Blake a smirk, before patting the ledge next to her.

Blake frowned but moved to stand next to her. Wordlessly Neo offered her opera glasses but, not inclined to take chances, Blake declined; instead using the mutant ability she had picked up this Loop as a result of Replacing the mutant Catseye to transform into a large panther. Her enhanced senses allowed her to get a look at the events unfolding below. She blinked in surprise. "Is that Adam?"

"Mm-hm."

Blake snorted. Adam Taurus, William Taurens; Bull faunus, Man-Bull. Honestly, the Remnant Loopers had done a fair bit of research on the Marvel Branch during various Hub Loops, and so she had expected something like this to happen at some point; they had even taken bets on various outcomes. Of course expecting it and seeing it were two very different things. Observing the speedo wearing villain currently flirting with the southern villain turned heroine as he prepared to have his power 'borrowed' to quell the riot, Blake stepped back and nodded. "You know, you're right. Adam does look better with Rogue."

"~Told ~you!" Neo chirped brightly.

 ** **91.12** KanameFujiwara**

Another name for -

"Hey Oz?"

"Yes Qrow?"

"What is _this_?"

"Fermented crabs. Got it from my past loops. Supposedly it boost the performance of those that consume it. I thought you might want to try it."

"Don't mind if I do."

 _Several nights later_

"...Well Qrow?"

"It works..."

" _And_?"

"You have been walking very oddly Winter - is something the matter?"

"...No Weiss. Nothing at all..."

 ** **91.13** Masterweaver**

 **An Equestrian Viewpoint (RWBY/MLP:FiM)**

Cinder blinked Awake, glanced down at her hooves, took in the large number of pings, and let out a slow sigh. "Welp. I'm screwed." A few of the ponies around her gave her odd looks at that, but she simply shrugged them off and started trotting down a dirt road. "Maybe I can get out of here before-"

"CINDER FAAA _AAAAAAAA **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!"**_

Cinder took a sharp breath, reflexively bracing herself.

A few seconds passed.

"...Pinkie, if I open my eyes, what am I going to see?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Cinder."

Very slowly, very cautiously, Cinder let one eye open. Inches from her face was another pony's, a pink pony's face, one with bright blue eyes and a terrifyingly flat expression.

"So." Cinder opened her other eye and took a breath. "You, uh... heard."

"Ye-ep-ph."

"Yeah, so... I, uh. Well." Cinder rubbed the back of her head. "I'm guessing you want me to explain some things."

"One or two," Pinkie allowed. "Mostly, why didn't you tell me about your internal conflict? The whole point of the looping sith ladies is to discuss things like that."

"Because looking weak in front of a group of darksiders is generally a suicidal decision." Cinder coughed into her hoof. "Also because, you know, I thought it was just something I should figure out on my own."

Pinkie tilted her head. "...You and I are going to have a long discussion later."

"Oh joy."

"A long, serious discussion," Pinkie clarified. "With words. No eldritch powers."

Cinder flinched. "You know, that somehow makes it even worse."

"Mwa. Ha. Ha." The pony's voice was bereft of any humor, her expression still the unmoving mask.

"...So." Cinder rolled her hoof. "I'm guessing that you and the rest of your crew are, um, already going into full psychoanalysis mode, since I'm here-"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"...aaaand I suppose you're not the only one that wants to talk to me-"

"Not by a long shot."

Cinder nodded. "Right. Um." She took a breath. "Would... it help if I said I was sorry, and that I'm being more open about myself these days, and that I'm... working to appease my urges in a way that both helps me and keeps from hurting as many others as possible?"

Pinkie considered her for a moment. "...It might."

"Right."

They stood there, for a few silent moments.

"...So." The pink pony produced a pastry. "Cupcakes are traditional, but you might like a cookie better."

"Well. Yes...?" Cinder took the cookie warily. "Do you, um. Do you know if any other loopers from Remnant are here?"

"Perhaps." Pinkie took a breath. "We have a number of redeemed villains, even in baseline. You... went quite a bit further than they did, and technically you're not our problem. But..."

She sighed. "Ruby told us about the list. And if Remnant's loopers are willing to give you a chance, we should too."

"Oh." Cinder blinked. "I... well... thank you."

"It's what we do." Pinkie turned. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to start up Twilight's usual 'welcome to Ponyville' party. I expect to see you there."

 ** **91.14** Masterweaver**

Yang took a breath. "I... I know this talk has been a long time coming. And, um. It's not exactly something I've been looking forward to... you do know, I love you, right?" She fiddled with her hands. "I do. But... lately... we've been drifting apart. And..."

She took a breath.

"I mean, when was the last time we went on a date? Not just, you know, handled baseline, but you and me, out together. When did that happen? I... it's been a while. And when we are together, I don't... feel like I used to. There's no spark, not anymore. I... look, I don't... I don't want to do this. Not after all we've been through, but..."

Her fingers ran through her hair, and she glanced away nervously.

"I think we're... I think I've changed. I've changed too much for... for this to work, anymore. I don't... I don't want what we've got to... I wish we could stay where we were, but... the thing is, you're just not enough for me anymore." Yang took a sharp breath. "There, I said it. You, I... I've grown, and you... you haven't. And maybe I should have tried to help you along, but it's... it's too late for that. I..."

She swallowed.

"I think," she managed, just barely holding together, "that... that we need to break up. We can still be friends! It's just... you're not giving me what I need anymore and, and I-I... I can turn into a dragon, and-please, don't do this. Just, say what you think-please, I don't want this to be any-any harder than it already is-!"

Yang tried to stay, tried desperately to hold back her tears, but in the end she ran sobbing from the hutch.

Blake sighed, turning to the only other occupant. "I hope you're happy," she growled, only a hint of confusion in her tone.

Then she walked after her fiancee, leaving the motorcycle to its sad, sad fate.

 ** **91.15** diesel**

"Run, Yang!" Air ripped past Ruby's face as she glanced back to the flashing lights and sirens that were pursuing them, struggling to hold onto the boxes of stolen goods while trying to hang on for dear life. "They're gaining on us!"

Yang grit her teeth and pusher her legs to move faster, push off faster, holding onto Ruby's ankles tighter so her little sis would not fall. They had got this far, they sure as hell weren't going to lose their prizes now. Yang's eyes burned crimson as tongues of flames danced in her hair. The night was dark, trees and bushes blurred past as they hurtled through the forest, only glimpses of searchlights and the waning moon provided any illumination. And the searchlights heralded something far worse than mere lights.

The Esoteric Order of Mystery.

And they wanted their chocolate back.

"I know Rubes," Yang grunted. Out of the corner of her eyes she could Blake and Weiss approach from a different path. While Blake's outfit blended with the shadows, Weiss' diamond studded swimsuit glittered and sparkled in the search lights. The second of Remnant had her arms wrapped around a crate of alcohol, leaning forwards for balance while trusting Blake to hold her.

"Word of warning!" Weiss yelled as she and Blake pulled up next to Yang and Ruby, Weiss' face and voice tense. "The Association of Grimm Tales have mobilized, led by Qrow, to find us. We shook them off on Life Street where it intersects with the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, they seem to think it was the Brotherhood of midwifes that gave the order, and are massing to sweep Forever Fall for us and to assault the Hospitals."

"Wait!" Ruby turned to look at Weiss in shock, Beacon's lights just coming into view. "You weren't supposed to be seen! How could you?"

"How could we? How could you two get found by the Order!"

"It was our job! and they can't follow us past Beacon's borders, the Association can!"

Blake rolled her eyes as Ruby and Weiss kept bickering, her eyes fixed on the horizon as she adjusted her hold on Weiss' legs. She hoped JNPR was having more luck, they still had to build that ejaculating cake for Dr Oobleck by tomorrow, and they were still missing the frankfurts and caviar.

She was bored. Recently it felt like they hadn't done anything interesting. Couldn't they... assault hell or Usurp the Brothers or... see who could eat a star the quickest?

 ** **91.16** Masterweaver**

Weiss took a deep breath, centering herself. Screaming in fury would just encourage them. She was an eons old jedi with multiple psychiatric doctorates, who had endured the near annihilation of her home universe and promptly set about ensuring everyone else's sanity and health. She had been to such strange places as Gravity Falls, the Imperium of Man, Equestria, Eiken, and multiple RTX conventions. She was, in fact, a pillar of icy calm in the center of the storm of insanity that had become her daily life.

She could handle annoyances like this with dignity, poise, and oh now she was slipping on the stream of mint chocolate.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!" Yang crowed, blasting Weiss with yet another stream of frozen dairy product. "Come on, Weiss cream, tell me you're not having fun!"

"She does seem to be handling herself," James noted casually. "She hasn't fallen over yet."

"Ice skater, jedi reflexes, we kind of have to overwhelm her to even get her to this point. Hey, thanks for helping me rig up this paladin, by the way." Yang tapped a few buttons, loading the guns with some rocky road. "I mean, I've sort of focused on cybernetics for, you know, obvious reasons-"

"It's not a problem. Well, it is, but somehow I suspect most of my superiors will simply refuse to believe I would use military materials for such frivolous matters."

"Yeah, well, I'll tell them I threatened to beat you up or something if it helps." Yang swung the paladin around, cold deliciousness spewing out of its guns and splattering around her target. "SERIOUSLY PRINCESS, YOU CAN'T DODGE FOREVER!"

Weiss continued to weave and twirl around the stream of cream, trying to keep her dress from being splattered-well, more splattered then it already was. "Yang, you know when Ruby comes back she's going to be on your case for wasting so much sweets."

"You sure about that? She's got a cookie rifle. This is the same basic principle, just... pushed up a few quarflebarns."

Weiss rolled her eyes, conceding the point even as she spun away from a blast of strawberry. "And you, general. I thought you of all people would keep from descending to such childishness."

"This is ordinary looping shenanigans. And wasn't it you that suggested I loosen up?"

Weiss snorted. "Not just me, but-"

Her clairvoyance suddenly flared wildly, and she looked skyward to see a scoop blotting out the sun.

"...Damn it, Blake."

That was about all she had time for before she was ensconced in a large mound of vanilla ice cream.

"HA!" Yang fistpumped, the paladin mimicking her motion unconsciously. "Good going, Blakey!"

Blake, sitting pretty atop the hill of white, ran a finger through her sweet and licked it with a wink. "Told you it would work."

"You're going to have to tell me how you avoid her force senses someday."

"I don't know. I like to have _some_ secrets-"

A screeching hiss accompanied the beam of blue that emerged, melting an arc out of the cool treat and allowing a figure drenched in white to emerge. Before anyone could react, the figure threw the blade of light at the paladin, cutting off its right arm easily-with a gesture, the blade spun in midair, removing the left arm before returning to the assailant's hand.

"Whuh-oh." Yang backed her ride up a bit. "Uh, Weiss, calm down there, it's just-"

The figure somersaulted forward, spinning through the air and slicing through the machine's knees before using a burst of telekinesis to shove the central body down a ways. General Ironwood managed to jump off the machine and roll off some distance; Yang was launched out of the pilot seat by the emergency ejection system, just barely redirecting her flight arc into a stream of chocolate. She had only finished skidding to a stop before she found that the figure in white was inches in front of her.

"Um. Heh... It was Ironwood's idea?"

With a low but powerful hum, the figure rose its blade to a short guard stance. The heat from the plasma radiated onto her face, melting the vanilla off; as the frozen sweetness dripped away, an impassive expression was revealed.

"...Okay, fine. It was my idea." Yang leaned to the side. "Way to jump to my rescue there, general!"

"You seem to be handling it pretty well."

"What," Weiss said with forced calm, "are you trying to accomplish with this."

Yang shrugged. "You seem stressed a lot recently. We thought a little silliness would get you to break out of your shell."

"A little silliness. Do you really think drenching me in ice cream counts as 'a little silliness.'"

"Not quite, there's still one more thing-"

A twang sound preceded a light impact on Weiss's head.

"There it is."

The heiress shut off her lightsaber and took a low breath. "Blake just used a slingshot to plant a cherry on my head, didn't she."

"Yep. It's the perfect garnish to this situation!"

 _Waaaauh-waaaaaauh-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauh..._

Weiss sighed, wiping the ice cream from her hair. "Yes, thank you general. The trombone was _entirely_ necessary."

 ** **91.17** Leviticus Wilkes**

Roy Mustang adjusted his saxophone, making sure the gleaming brass instrument wasn't going anywhere. "Alright... so I'm gonna ask this again. Who the hell thought this was a good idea?"

James Ironwood flipped his trombone over, stepping in behind Roy. "I think it was John's idea." When John threw his piano at James, James amended his statement. "Uh, Levi."

"Shut up. I'm only doing this because I owe a girl." Levi Ackerman strummed up his cello (covertly stolen from under the nose of the multiverse' premier cellist Shinji Ikari himself) and adjusted a string. "Blame Ymir for this."

"GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!" Cortana shouted from the audience, getting suspicious looks from the Loopers of James' world. John waved down to Cortana from his piano, and she waved back. "GOOD LUCK JOHN!"

"I'll need it," John 117 murmured. The Spartan looked at his sheet music, turned it over, and then turned it over again, before Levi turned it over for him. "Thank you."

Roy looked at the bustling people, gulped, and fingered his sax. "Well... it can't go any worse than crippling humiliation." The camera that Hughes was holding didn't help. "Crippling humiliation and decades of blackmail. Lovely."

James, Roy, Levi and John all looked at each other, resigned themselves, steeled up, and decided that if they were to cast off their dignity, they would do so as men, and without regrets. And so, they collectively took a deep breath...

...and played.

 ** _THREE SECONDS LATER!_**

Chiharu Shinonome looked at the long sheet of nearly fifty names. "WOW! I didn't know so many people wanted to join my club. Welcome to Eiken everyone!"

The collective Loopers of Amestris, Remnant, the Walled World and the Haloverse all decided that, since they were being collectively punished for horrible jazz music crashing a universe, _now_ was a good time to riot.

 ** **91.18** Wixelt**

[RWBY/YogsQuest 2]

"Sun, please don't blow up my ship!" The warning came in over the intercom.

Sun had awoken into his fair share of odd situations in his comparatively brief time looping, often finding himself amid precarious situations that he'd inevitably have to defuse. This was one of the rare times, though, that he, somewhat degradingly, had to deal with his unAwake self's sheer idiocy.

On this occasion, he happened to begin his loop in the cockpit of some manner of small spacecraft. With an unpinned grenade in his hand. Yelping in shock, Sun jammed the pin back in as quickly as he could manage, thanking his good graces that the damn thing hadn't gone off in his hands.

"Geez, what kind of dumb…" Sun sighed, slumping back into the pilot's seat so he could examine his loop memories. They were… interesting, to say least.

Supposedly, he was a former slave who had been won by a daring yet questionable man who went by Captain Basil Longshorts, in a round of Space Poker. Coincidentally, it seemed Basil had also won the rest of his crew, as well as this ship, the Rim Hopper, in much the same manner. As for Sun himself, he was now the ship's pilot, despite his loop memories not telling him what half of the controls on the dashboard before him were for. His unAwake self apparently also had the odd desire to open a hair salon on the ship, despite there being only one other person, the Captain, with hair in the crew (the other two members being a robot and a hairless, squid-like being).

Aside from the obvious, though, it was clear that, prior to Waking up, he'd been something of an unpredictable, self-centred loon. Among other things, the crew had apparently replaced his entire arsenal of guns with duds after he got a little trigger happy and begin blowing holes in the since reinforced sun-roof (he'd question why a spaceship even had a sun-roof, but that could wait 'til later), and his unAwake self hadn't even noticed anything was off, though he could now see the difference.

It was a credit to the Loops that this somehow wasn't the weirdest or personally embarrassing in-Loop history he'd found himself in.


	92. Looping Philosophy

****92.1** Masterweaver**

 **The Pyre of Shadow, Part 2 (Inside Out/RWBY)**

While Jill Anderson had initially been hesitant about Cinder's motivations, the woman had quickly won her over with a discussion of varying sporting events and the revelation that she, herself, had once been a contender in what she described as an international sword-fighting competition. From there, the conversation had moved through to Riley's own skill in hockey, to Cinder comparing her favorably to her sister, and then to swapping stories about the pair of them. By the time they'd finished their meal-some actually quite good asian dish-the two of two of them had exchanged phone numbers. Even now, walking home, they were laughing over some crazy story.

"...and then. And then Ruby turns to me, with that wide smirk, and she says, she says... 'I want to use ALL MY FATE POINTS.'"

 _"No."_

"Yes!"

"I don't even know what that means, and I know it's bad."

Cinder snorted. "Bad? It was the most gorgeous train wreck you could imagine! I had spent two whole months coordinating this thing, building the world, and planning this campaign, and she demolishes the entire setting in a little under twelve minutes!" She burst out laughing. "Gods, I didn't know whether to be angry or impressed."

"Wow. She sounds like quite the troublemaker." Jill grinned, nudging Cinder playfully. "Must have been hard growing up with her."

"We... didn't grow up together, actually."

Jill blinked. "I... oh. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, you didn't know. I was..." Cinder sighed. "Well, I don't even know where I come from, if I'm honest. I did get caught up in a bad crowd, and I lived with them for a while, and then-well, then Ruby found me, and she and Yang just took me in as their sister."

Riley nodded. "They sound pretty cool."

"Oh, they're fairly awesome. Although I don't think you can call Yang _cool,_ she has far too _fiery_ a personality."

 _Ha!_ said one of the voices in Riley's head.

 _Boooooooo,_ jeered another.

 _Come on, Disgust, it's a pun!_

 _Puns are the lowest form of humor._

"Is something wrong?"

Riley refocused on reality and gave Cinder a wide smile. "Just listening to my emotions."

"...always important." The woman nodded. "Good to know why you're thinking what you're thinking..."

The trio fell silent, Jill looking between her daughter and the strange woman with an odd expression.

"...So!" Cinder clapped her hands together suddenly. "There's your place, and there's my place. The offer to stay over is still open, of course-"

"How about we just visit right now?" Jill suggested. "I'd rather wait until Bill comes home to finalize any decision, but seeing your place-"

Cinder smiled broadly. "Of course, of course. A fair warning, my decor is a little... macabre. I had a vampire phase and never really grew out of it."

"Vampire phase."

"Oh you know." Cinder shrugged as she led them to her house. "I wanted to be strong and feared and powerful, and I thought getting myself a set of fangs would do it." She opened the door. "I've grown up since then, but the aesthetic of fear as power still appeals to me."

 _I wouldn't call myself powerful HOLY CHEESEBASKETS WHAT IS THAT._

"Uh, what's that?" Riley asked, pointing at the painting on the wall.

"Hmm? Oh, that's Kevin."

Jill blinked, glancing from Cinder to what could best be described as a mutant dragon made of shadow and bone. "Kevin."

"Yes, yes. Destroyer of Beacon, doom of Vale-part of my control fantasy, I would set him loose on the innocents and cackle at their demise." Cinder chuckled wryly. "I was one seriously messed up girl back in the day. Still am, in some ways..."

"I'm... pretty sure that's a little beyond a usual vampire fantasy," Jill noted, carefully maneuvering herself between the woman and Riley.

Cinder chuckled. "Don't worry, Kevin's not really... really a part of my life anymore. Heck, Ruby slew him long ago." She shook her head. "Where are my manners. Are you tea sort of people, or should I get you juice?"

"What," Riley quipped, "no blood?"

A joking smirk formed on Cinder's face. "Blood is an acquired taste, I don't think you'd appreciate it."

Jill frowned. "No, we really wouldn't."

"More for me then. How about orange juice?"

 ** **92.2** KanameFujiwara**

Dialogue

This is an excerpt between Grimm M and Ms GG in their second counseling session:

M: - And I don't care what anyone say. Fact is coffee is a necessity in our line of work!

GG: Your line of work?

M: You know, killing humans. All that action and no overtime - Cinder must be insane to expect peak performance without coffee.

GG: Hmmm... do you enjoy your coffee?

M: Oh definitely. I pride myself as a Coffee Connoisseur and I can say without a doubt that this is indeed the best coffee I have ever tasted since ... _ever!_

GG: Few people can deny good coffee particularly Kopi Luwak. True the how part is controversial but surely the taste renders it immaterial?

M: I don't quite get it but let us agree that this is some good stuff. Anyway as I was saying, Cinder Fall should not expect decent performance if she skims around. I heard from Larry that she has quite the dough from Her Majesty. It just ain't right for hardworking Grimms like us to not get decent benefits.

GG: I wasn't aware that benefits was even in the picture. Is this a recent thing?

M: No. This policy is quite old. Now say what you will about Salem but she knows how to take care of us. See... that's leadership. Cinder has her appeal though we tend to deny it. She gets the job done. So I can respect her but that doesn't mean I have to like her.

GG: About that. Why the obsession with killing people?

M: You wound me Glynda. I'm not obsessed with them. Now my family, that's a different hell. Why let me tell you-

 ** **92.3** Masterweaver, Zurcior**

There were loops, and there were loops. There were loops that were awesome. There were loops that were terrible. Surprises and horrors could come unexpectedly. For the most part they could roll with it.

But sometimes they just... had to stop and process things.

Ruby and Weiss were, at the moment, awkwardly attempting not to stare at Blake. Yang, for her part, had tilted her head.

"Huh. O...kay then, this is a new one..."

Blake sighed. "Yeah, I... I don't know how to feel about this. I mean, annoyed, obviously, but... it's more like I should be annoyed, but this is so far out of left field that I don't know what I should be annoyed about..."

The group stood in Beacon's courtyard for a bit.

"Soooooo." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I, uh, guess we won't have to install the retractable wall this time round."

For a moment, there was silence.

"Erm." She turned to her sister. "I said, we won't have to install the retractable wall this time round. Right?"

Yang bit her lip, her eyes still on her partner.

"Yang...?" Blake pulled back slightly. "Yang, you... you can't be serious."

The blonde took a long, slow breath. "I'm... not going to lie, I can see there being difficulties-"

"Okay, no. Yang, I appreciate that you love me, and you're trying to make sure that I'm comfortable with the situation. But let's face facts here: I am a giant snail." Blake somehow managed to shrug. "And while I find the fact that Faunus are all snails this loop to be offputting, it's not upsetting."

"It's not that. Like you said, I love you, and that means I have to accept you in your totality." Yang swallowed. "Even if Yggdrasil does weird things like this-"

"This is one of those times where your 'no shame' philosophy backfires. I can accept your love without one of its usual demonstrations. Okay? I'll be fine. You don't need to do this."

Yang awkwardly ran a hand through her hair.

Ruby went a bit green. "Yang, she just said you didn't need to-"

"Okay, truth time? I haven't seen Blake Awake in three hundred and fifty seven loops." Yang took a breath. "And a few of those loops were fused, so they could take years... My point is, I'm... sort of-"

"Look, if you're tense, I'll find something in my pocket to make an artificial body for you. Alright?" Blake shook her head. "You don't... we don't need to... um. You know. Like I am, right now."

"I mean, that's an option," Yang admitted. "It's just... it feels more like, I should be tending to _you_. Even if..." She fidgeted painfully. "You know, even if there are some... issues..."

"Okay." Weiss stepped between them. "Yang. As the resident psychologist, I'm going to say that while being willing to screw a snail in the name of true love is both heartwarming and disturbing, I feel that you are allowing your long term separation anxiety color your thought process. Furthermore, while Blake has not outright stated it, I believe she feels emotionally disconnected from her current form to the point where she would not be comfortable engaging in intimacy, simply because it would not be her herself that is being engaged. The 'artificial body' solution is, at the moment, a good option for both of you, and I would also suggest multiple dates with said body as a conduit for nonsexual interaction. Does that make sense to you?"

"Well... I mean, yeah..."

Ruby took a breath. "Okay, good."

"...but-"

"NO STOP PLEASE STOP YANG THAT WAS A GOOD STOPPING POINT-"

"Look, we all know how blackmail in the loops works, right?" Yang shrugged. "The fact that I even considered this is going to get brought up again and again. If I'm going to be teased for just thinking about it, I should be teased for actually doing it, you know?"

Ruby held up her hands. "You know what? We can all agree never to talk about this. This loop never happened. There were never any snails, and you never... never..." She forced herself not to throw up. "Never considered, urp, getting in bed with one."

"I can agree to that," Blake said readily.

"I'm already acting as a doctor here," Weiss pointed out. "It would be professional to keep this secret."

Yang rubbed her head. "I... uh, well, I-"

"Okay, let me make this easier." Blake straightened up. "As the other half of the relationship, I refuse to allow you to have intimate interactions with this physical form, on the grounds that neither of us are comfortable with it and furthermore I insist we NEVER SPEAK OF THIS AGAIN."

For a moment, the courtyard was quiet.

"...can I at least give you a hug?" Yang asked quietly. "Cause... it really has been a while since I've seen you..."

Blake let out a breath. "...Hugs are acceptable."

Just as Yang dashed forward to engulf her fiance in a hug, a shrill scream rang out across the courtyard.

"YANG! NOOOO~!" In that moment, an unAwake Taiyang appeared out of nowhere to impose himself between Blake and Yang.

Yang's shock at seeing her father turned to annoyance at his interruption. "Dad! What the hell!"

"Get away from her, you bastard!" Taiyang growled at a perplexed Blake. "Just because I've outsmarted for centuries doesn't mean you can go after my kids instead!"

"What are you talking about, dad?" Ruby asked her father. "That's Blake! She's our teammate, she would never hurt us!"

That brought Tai up short, and he took a closer look at Blake.

"Oh," he blinked, "Oh, this is really embarrassing. I'm so sorry! I thought you were another snail!"

"It's fine," responded Blake slowly. "I'm just curious as to why you would think a snail would want to harm Yang."

"Well," Taiyang rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "not _Yang_ exactly."

It was then that Weiss noticed a certain object being held in Tai's other hand and sighed. "Mr. Xiao Long, would that suitcase in your hand so happen to be filled with at least over a million dollars?"

Like the rest of the girls around him, Taiyang blinked at Weiss in surprise before he himself narrowed them in suspicion. "If you know about that, then the rumors about you father must be true! No wonder he oppresses the snails!"

Team RWBY collectively facepalmed. Well, Blake tried to, at least.

"Dad~!" Ruby groaned. "You didn't!"

"Hey, you should be thankful," Tai defended. "If not for that deal, I wouldn't have lived long enough to meet your or Yang's mothers!" He then sensed a presence several dozen meters behind him and turned around. "Oh, shit! There he is! See ya next break, girls! I love you!"

He ran.

The four teammates stood in silence as they watched the Xiao Long patriarch book it.

Blake risked a look at the snail she was mistaken for... And promptly turned back to the direction Taiyang ran in with indignation and cried out, "How could you mistake him for me! We look **nothing** alike!"

"Countless years of paranoia!" Tai shouted back as he continued to run.

It was several seconds before anyone said anything.

"Well," Yang started, "that was a thing."

Ruby nodded and added, "It would certainly explain why we moved so often in our Loop memories."

Yang shrugged...

... And proceeded to glomp Blake then and there.

 ** **92.4** Masterweaver**

Ruby leaned against the desk, flicking through her comic book idly. "You know this is all going to end up backfiring horribly."

"It won't, sis, trust me. I've got everything planned out."

"Mmmhmm. You sure about that, Yang?"

Yang adjusted her fake glasses and ponytail. "Yep. I've double checked everything. All I need to do is make sure Sun finds a book he absolutely despises, making him say he hates reading, and Blake will want nothing to do with him!" She smiled a touch too broadly. "It's alllllll going according to plan. Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Ruby rolled her eyes. She could point out that making a plan in the middle of jealousy-induced anger wasn't the smartest idea. Or that, in a chibi loop, thought processes tended to be stymied when made under emotional duress. Or that fate particularly loved to come down hard on those who tempted it so blatantly.

She could.

But somehow, she doubted that Yang would listen to any of those arguments-well, not until they were back in the usual version of Remnant.

The blonde perked up. "Oh, here they come. Remember your lines."

"Yeah, yeah..."

The doors to the library opened, allowing the unAwake counterparts of two looping faunus to enter. Sun took a deep breath. "Well, this is very... calm, isn't it?"

"Mmmhmm. All we need to do is find you the right books, and..." Blake paused, staring at the desk. "Uh."

"Hello!" Yang said with a wave. "I am, how do you zay, new aziztant librarian. Iz good to meet you." She smiled. "Do not worry, I am good wiv ve readingz, if not ve talkingz."

"...Yang?"

"Yang? Who iz viz Yang? If you are zaying I look like viz Yang, ven I muzt be vinking ze iz very pretty, non?" Yang chuckled. "Little joke, I have ego."

"Okay." Blake crossed her arms. "If you're not Yang Xiao Long, then who are you?"

"My... name iz... Bang! Bang Yue Gong." Yang cleared her throat, kicking the desk.

Ruby sighed. "Miss Gong helped me find the perfect book," she said without any enthusiasm. "I am so enraptured by this thought-provoking novel, I did not even notice you come in. You can ask for her help with anything."

"You zee? I am good aziztant librarian. I help you both find bookz, yez?"

Blake gave her a wary look. "I think I can handle this on my own..."

"Non non non, I am vere to velp! Iz my job, yez?"

"Riiiiiiiiight."

"Hey, if miss Gong says she can find books, I believe her." Sun gave Yang a thumbs up. "Take us to the good stuff, girl!"

Blake gave him a disbelieving look, even as Yang zipped around and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What iz it vat you are looking for? Bookz about weaponz, about ve dancing artz, or maybe zecretz of ve girlz?"

"Eh, I was sort of thinking maybe some sort of classic adventure about a guy on a journey."

"Yez, yez, I am vinking I know what you are needing! Right viz way..."

The two of them walked into the library, leaving a dumbfounded Blake and a bored Ruby at the front of the library.

"...Ruby?" Blake turned to her team leader. "Has your sister gone... crazy?"

"Eh, no more than the rest of us." Ruby glanced up. "Maybe you should head after her and make sure she doesn't do anything too stupid, okay?"

 ** **92.5** Black Omochao**

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

Yang Awoke in her bed, it was the middle of the night. A look through her memories and she found this Loop had started early; she was currently eleven. Ruby was asleep in the next room over, and her brother… brother?

Yang looked up to find a small, brown-haired head peeking in from the door, before the five-year old boy creeped into the room, holding onto a red, stuffed cat toy, a distressed look on his face.

"…Keita?" she blinked, sending out a Ping, that she received back.

"Yang… I… Last Loop was…" he sniffled a little, looking down at the ground, a bit embarrassed. "Can I… Can I sleep here?" the blond smiled softly at the little boy, she nodded.

"Come on, Keita. Big sis will protect you…" she offered, the currently five-year-old Anchor quickly scurried over and crawled under the covers on the bed, snuggling into his older sister's side. Yang patted his head comfortingly. "Goodnight, baby bro…"

"Goodnight, big sis…"

As the two drifted off to sleep, they did not notice the red clad, nine-year-old girl, hiding in the corner with a camera.

"Aw… that's going in the album."

 ** **92.6** Shimmer712**

Kali twitched as she read the letter.

It wasn't a big deal. It was a minor thing in every sense. It shouldn't bother. After all, this loop, Fanus slavery had only been abolished in her parent's generation. So this shouldn't bother at all.

She looked down at the letter in her hand and twitched again.

 _Dear Khali..._

Honestly, it was just one letter! Why did it bother her so much?

 ** **92.7** Wixelt**

"Eh, eh?"

"Yang, no." Weiss frowned disdainfully, shaking her head. "You've done better in this Loop alone."

"Come on," the blonde pleaded, adjusting the belt made of watches she was wearing. "I spent ages on this one."

"I'm telling you, I don't get it, and even if I did, I wouldn't say it."

"That's a shame, it really is."

"I'm sorry, Yang, but I really have better things to be doing right now. It's a waste of time." Weiss blinked, before groaning. "…Damnit Yang."

"You know you love me, really."

"I'm leaving." Weiss turned and, with a look of exasperation on her face, marched out of the door, passing a recently awoken Blake on the way out.

"Something you want to talk about?"

"For the love of pine, Belladonna. Control your fiancée."

The Faunus Looper raised an eyebrow at the heiress' retreating form, before glancing at her other half with a similar expression.

"…waist of time?"

"You know me too well."

 ** **92.8** Fictional Fanatic**

Penny Awoke in both senses of the word and immediately got up from the street she had been lying on. Sending out a ping, she was met with no response. She sighed and realized she was practically identical to a human in her design for this loop. Checking her pocket, and her loop memories, she discovered that her pocket was free to use and that she had her baseline memories, all the way up to the point of her death.

"That's odd. The last thing I remember is dying," Penny spoke out loud.

"That's because you _are_ dead," a female voice told her from somewhere nearby.

Turning around, Penny saw another teenage girl holding what she recognized as an M-16 rifle. "I'm sorry, you said I'm dead?" Penny asked.

The girl nodded. "Welcome to the afterlife."

-/-

"So let me get this straight, everyone here has some kind of tragic past and in protest of God, you have all taken up arms to fight against Angel?" Penny asked.

The girl that had introduced herself as Yuri Nakamura nodded. "Yeah, we can't just accept the lives we lived as fair. So, we're fighting."

"But what will that accomplish? Even if you win, you can't change what has already happened, can you?" Penny asked, having already confirmed that none of the members of the Battlefront with an ever changing name were actual loopers, either new or stealthing.

"Well, we'll confront God of course," Yuri explained. "If he is as almighty as we believe, than he'd be able to turn back time, won't he? And if not, then we'll figure it out then. At the moment, it's important to oppose him and Angel since we'll otherwise be erased."

"I see. Then, may I ask, where did you get the guns in the first place? This world seems to be nothing but a big campus." Penny pointed out. "Anything not required doesn't seem to exist here. Like you said yourself, there are no hospitals here because no one can get sick or die in this world."

Yuri simply nodded in agreement. "That's right. All the weapons the battlefront uses are made by members of the guild. In the beginning, they were made using nothing but dirt, but in time, they build entire factories to make it more efficient." Yuri explained.

"Wait, dirt?"

"Yes, in this world, as long as you know the makeup of something and have memories of it from when you were alive, you can make it in this world."

"Oh, wow. That's really useful, I wonder if I can make things from other loops." Penny wondered.

"Huh? Loops?"

"Never mind. I just have to try something." Penny said before she grabbed a piece of dirt and began molding it then and there. Yuri was about to ask Penny what she was doing until Penny ignited the lightsaber she had made. "So it does work. Neat."

Yuri could do nothing but gape in wonder at the impossible creation before her.

-/-

Penny shook her head as Angel, or rather Kanade Tachibana, explained the real purpose of the world they were in while being bound in a bunch of replicated out of loop restraining devices.

"No way we can simply believe that!" Yuri shouted, many members of the battlefront agreeing with her.

"She's not lying," Penny said, having detected no signs of deception from Kanade.

"But what she's saying is absurd!"

"No, it actually makes a lot of sense. At least to me," Penny said, having thought all of it over.

As most of the battlefront was trying to process everything that they had just heard, Penny sighed and released Kanade. "Well, no matter what you guys decide to do, I'll help you all out." She pocketed the restraints in her now almost completely full pocket. After all, she had spent a large amount of time this loop replicating hard to come by tech, parts and items. It was a Looper's ultimate dream, seeing as the loop was perfectly safe and couldn't be crashed by dying, allowing one to spend a lot of time filling up their pocket.

While the rest of the students were mulling over the implications of the world being intended to help them accept their life and fulfill their desires to make them become at peace, Penny walked over to Kanade with the intent to figure out something she still didn't understand. "Say, Kanade. How did you get those skills you use?"

"I use the same method as everyone else, I made them." Kanade answered.

"Interesting, mind showing me how?" Penny asked.

Kanade shook her head. "No, I'll show you. Let's go." She headed towards her dorm room, Penny following close behind her with a smile.

 ** **92.9** diesel**

Ruby walked through the bustling shopping centre, darting around the crowds, focused on the familiar soul and power of her youngest-older sister. A cool chill suffused the air, blowing in from the open doors as rain poured down, beating a steady and relaxing tempo on the streets and roof. Twilight was rapidly deepening as the sun set, storm making it seem much latter than it actually was. Combined with the rain, holidays and late-night shopping, the centre was packed.

 _Okay, where are you… I can smell popcorn_ that _way, and there is a big bookshop that way…. and Cinder is somewhere in the centre there._

Ruby shrugged and went both ways, splitting into two as she walked. This was the first loop they had had alone together since Marianne's revelation about Neo – something that still made Ruby sick to the stomach and her heart ache - and given Cinder's temperament… well, Ruby was somewhat surprised that she hadn't found Remnant burning.

Only somewhat, Cinder would likely consider doing that letting Neo win… somehow. Ruby wasn't sure _what_ she would win exactly, as going by that logic, Neo could 'win' by messing with Cinder enough to curb her behaviour. Or making Cinder orchestrate more sleep over things with the other loopers. Which Cinder had done.

But Cinder had gone back to being perfectly cordial to Neo, even more so than before. And often seemed amused, but it was amusement tainted with hints of something much darker.

 _I am so sick of angst and… evil._

She forced the bitter hate down, walking into the entertainment area, the large sliding doors opening and closing, revealing the pounding rain. From what she could tell, Cinder was in the Greater Union Cinema to her right.

 _Nightmarish null loops… stealth loopers everywhere, evil loopers, mental damage, death, drama and revenge… Why is our loop so screwed up?_

Ruby scanned the available movies, they all seemed to be based on Remnant version of various fanfictions she recognised. The question was, what one would her sorta formally apocalyptic nice and kinda silly younger-elder sister watching.

"Excuse me." Ruby walked up to one of the counters, bypassing the line; it was all about _presence_ and how she acted and looked. She flicked a lock of black hair out of her eyes, and annoyed twist of her lips and sway of her hips completed her similarity to Cinder. "My sister was supposed to be meet up with me here so we could get tickets, but it seemed she has already gone in…"

As she charmed the cashier to help, Ruby let her mind drift. She knew full well why, in part at least, the Loop was so messed up. The Mythos activating Ozpin-Zwei, and Roman-Neo. That led to the looping council of vagueness and conspiratorial teaching and all the stealthing nonsense and madness, barring Cinder. That was her fault, due to her tendency to invest emotionally in villains, to try to understand them.

For better, or worse.

Purchasing a bucket of popcorn, a ginger beer because it was there, and a chocolate, Ruby made her ways into the theater.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Only at Greater…."

"You're late" Cinder said deadpan, as Ruby dropped into the darkened seat next to her in the packed theater. One that had been occupied moments before. No one noticed that the row had obtained another seat, while still taking up the same amount of space. "The ads have started, sorry I didn't wait for you, you really should have made sure I got the message beforehand."

Ruby shrugged, stealing a mint leaf from the cup of sweets Cinder had. "Myerpire hearing?"

" _Vampire_ hearing, I use a few different types at once, along with shapeshifting and other things to get the effect I want. Myerpires are the base, but have long term problems that Aura only partly mitigates."

Mirrored eyes blinked at Cinder curiously, reflecting the other looper. "Reeeaallllyy?"

"Cut the mirror eyes act, I do want to watch this." Cinder rolled her eyes, Ruby's eyes going back to their normal bright silver. "And you know that, I've said it multiple times."

"And I have lost track of the amount of times I've had the exact same conversation with the exact same people, resulting in the exact same result." Ruby settled back into the chair as the opening music started to play. "And you brought up the whole thing about being about being many bloodsucking parasites, problems with immortality Aura and everything else. 'Yes' would have done fine."

A 'Mass Effect' Block Buster, based on the fanfic-come variant the 'Premiverse'… Ruby was quite amused she got into the theater given the movie was R18 and, physically, she was _not_.

"You said 'myerpire', specifically, and that was wrong."

"You also rose to my bait."

"Dolt, I'm trying to watch this."

Ruby grinned, not letting any of her internal thoughts show on her face or voice. Burning rage and rolling, suffocating darkness drenched Cinder's soul and radiated outwards in an almost palpable wave. There was still hints of twisted amusement and gratefulness, drowned by the darkness, but still there.

"Okay, _Weiss,_ I'll be quiet… have you read the fanfic?"

She ducked as Cinder tried to slap her upside the head before proceeding to ignore her.

Cinder was not making any attempt at hiding her emotions, at all, it was actually somewhat relieving to see her not _pretending_ so much anymore. And Ruby knew her turbulent emotions were laid bare for Cinder to sense as well.

It was just a matter of who would bring it up first.

For now?

They had a movie to watch: 'Of Sheep and Battle Chicken'… yay more darkness and angst!

This would be hilarious.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The rain was still thundering down when Ruby and Cinder left the movie, night having well and truly set it. Cinder was still laughing, to Ruby's slight annoyance; it wasn't _that_ funny.

"Sooo," Ruby dragged the word out as they headed to the door, "what now?" The chilled, wet autumn air was refreshing after being in the stuffed theater for the better part of four hours. Ruby inhaled deeply, relishing the clean scent that always accompanied the rain.

Cinder shrugged lazy, sauntering out the door and managing to snag the eyes of every single person of the feminine persuasion, and not a few paired people either. "Slaughter Grimm? I feel like moving and killing something."

"That works."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In the lashing rain, two sisters danced to a beat older than time, one that was ingrained in their souls and etched into the very bones of their identities.

Petals filled the air, each one sundering the bone and darkness as a scythe reaped a deadly toll. Ruby slid under a Deathstalker, ripping it open, bisecting a second monster on the flow-through. One blow flowed into the next, the glowing crimson eyes of her prey burning in the dark and torrential.

Blades of blurring glass lit the night with a dancing light, weaving in and around the reaper, a duet of death, one ending what the other failed to, driving one to the other. Cinder grinned, stabbing a massive beast in the joints, searing flesh and moving onto the next target, the monster falling to the ground and then the reaper moments later.

The drums of the oncoming horde blended with the tattoo of rain and whistling of bitter wind. A routine more familiar to the Huntresses than any other.

Finally, the hoard thinned and vanished, blackened mist curling up from the despairing forms, shrouding the two Huntresses from view.

"That was relaxing," Ruby grinned, closing her eyes as she laughed lightly in the rain, breathing in the scent of rain, smoke and damp ground. "Grimm do have uses, don't they?"

Cinder smiled as her blades crumbled, her burning dress fluttering as she walked over, shrouded by steam and miasma. "That's something I found out aeons ago, that fact that you're only working it out now is disappointing."

"Blegh, I meant as stress relief, and I knew that."

Cinder smirked, eyes dancing in amusement, "So did I. Crimson blood filling the streets, reflecting the carnage as edifices of bone and glass rise from ashes, all illuminated by the flickering ethereal light of raging flames and rivers of lava. To walk amidst the scorching winds and to breath in the scent of blood and ashes, while Grimm prowl through the ruins. Bringing about the death of all those that linger. It's like sex."

Ruby scowled, unable to stop her lips twitching at the overly flowery words. "Bad Cinder, bad. Too much purple and death."

"You should join in sometime, maybe with the rest of RWBY or JNPR when an acceptable target comes up. And I can wax lyrical if I want."

Ruby stuck her tongue out, catching some of the rain on it before replying. "It would have to be a _very_ acceptable target." Her amusement drained away slowly, Ruby's mood becoming sober. "So, want to talk about _it_?"

There was no question to what 'it' was, there was only one thing Ruby could be referring to.

"No." Cinder's eyes flashed crimson, her soul once more filling with utter fury and loathing, it was enough to make Ruby wince. "But I have to, don't I?"

"Yep."

The rain continued to pour as they fell silent, the only noise the coming from the constant beat of rain on the ground and forest.

"I have never felt so much contempt and disgust for a person before."

Ruby watched as Cinder began to speak, the Flame Witch's voice low and dripping with contempt and hate.

"Not as a looper at least. Even when I first started looping and looked at JNPR and RWBY as fools and toys, I still had an inkling of respect. You were people so far beyond me at the time, and I feared and hated you, then as time went on I did feel contempt but it was also marked by understanding. You lived as you wished, the silly games and antics a way to pass the time. I did the same thing, I just enjoyed very different activities. At my insane worse, I _hated_ all of you, you in particular, Ruby, with a passion that exceeded the stars and burned deeper than anything a non-looper could ever start to truly imagine."

Cinder's lips curled in hate and disgust. "But any contempt was more of a transient thing, I still _respected_ everyone, I had to unless I wanted to slip up and lose the only stable drive I had. But for Neapolitan, I lack words to describe in detail how much she now disgusts me, how my opinion her intelligence has fallen. How much I despise her."

Ruby considered the words, and Cinder's own view of the world, she could see that. She didn't personally agree with it all, but she could understand.

"She blamed _me_ for _baseline_ , something we all acknowledged we are not responsible for, and then tried to break me utterly so that I was a blank slate unable to even feed myself. Seeming to think she could beat the Yggdrasil protocols that protected loopers and made us face eternity."

Cinder sneered in disgust. "Like no one had ever tried to do something like that before, to themselves or another, ether out of malice or to just escape the Loops. At best, she could have damage my mind and rendered insensate for a million loops or so, before I recovered some form of will. My memories would have still been there, all that I was beyond her touch. I would have recovered, scared and broken, but even that would heal in time. Pointless, utterly pointless. Like she could hide the damage after that from everyone anyway."

 _Is that truly the case? Or are you making the same mistake?_ Ruby didn't voice her thoughts, more focused on what Cinder was doing and saying. She agreed that a person would likely become _functional_ again, given time – and that was a low bar - and could see ways such damage _might_ be healed given time even if Neo was right.

 _Damage lingers and wounds healed can still scar._

But that didn't mean the person would ever be truly whole any longer

 _Harry Dresden still bears the damage from Cthulhu's actions, and that was so long ago… and Ranma recovered from the stupor that trapped him for aeons after his child was lost to the Loop end. Loopers have similar protections to Anchors, who_ must _remain coherent, with the protocols used for one adapted to the other according to Usagi… but that didn't keep a person safe and sane._

Cold fear crept up Ruby's spine, she really didn't want to see how far Yggdrasil and the Admins would go to keep people intact. To protect them from the passing ages and endless horrors. After all, the loopers duty was to support the Anchor, and it was the Anchors duty to maintain the Loop. That was all that mattered in the end.

Ruby refocused on Cinder, banishing the disquieting thoughts to the back of her mind to latter contemplation. Until she could talk to Marianne next and, hopefully, get some solid answers.

Her raven-haired sister was utterly and unnaturally still. Cinder's eyes smoldered, her face a mask of rage as she spoke. But every unconscious movement, every tremble that everyone had was gone. Ruby repressed a wince, reminded of the loop where Cinder burned and butchered Vale killed, the one just before she, Ruby, accidentally shattered Cinder's mind.

Ruby could quite clearly recall the unnatural posture and bearing Cinder had at the end when speaking, before she killed her. It was the same kind of thing.

A pressure bore down, carrying with it a sense of impending wrath and violence held in check. A twisted snarl of emotions and darkness that wanted to set the world alight and rage in the flames and blood, but refused to let go.

"She violated the unspoken trust that we would not try to _destroy_ the others. That we had to live with each other until the End comes and so show some restraint so we don't lose everything. Torture, torment and _play_ with is one thing. I tormented people, I brought your nightmares to life and basked in the pain. But I knew there was a line, that pushed too far I could cause serious harm to someone that would not easily heal, and could risk an Ascension, total psychological collapse or an MLE label. Neo knew that, knew that and was sane, but still stepped beyond it, didn't care about anything beyond her gratification. And then she abandoned the person she was trying to get vengeance for Ages as she cared more about her own satisfaction than the person she claims to love most and who she was getting retribution for."

Ruby didn't speak straight away, once Cinder had finished her rant, turning over what she wanted to say.

"Do you hate her?"

Ruby knew the question seemed silly, but Cinder's way of think could be… _odd._

Cinder looked at Ruby levelly. "Most likely. If there is any Looper I hate, then it's Neo. But I haven't decided if I care enough to truly _hate_ her, to waste my energy on an obnoxious child now under watch by everyone including Marianne. She disgusts me, and I find her beyond contempt and a danger to Remnant. And there is also the fact her actions countered Slenderman's and for that I should thank her, actually."

Ruby watched as a cold, amused glint, entered Cinder's eyes. It was obvious that her little sister wanted to mess with Neo's head, but was also being truthful. Something that would really screw with Neo.

"And I am thankful, even if it was solely out of self-preservation and so she could destroy me and not something else."

The rain continued to fall, Ruby could feel it running down her skin and face. Pooling on the ground and running down the trees and hills. In the distance, Ruby could see a change in the clouds swirling over. Hail was on its way.

"So, what do you intend to do?"

"Ignore her for the most part. And find some way to ensure no one can ever mess with my sleep again, and one that will not let her know she affected me."

Ruby hummed, an orb of water condensing in her palm as she judged the distance to Cinder's face before she let it collapse. "You're scared, do you really think she would do it again?"

"I recently found out a person I can never be rid of blamed me for something that was not my fault and tortured me in my sleep for uncounted millions of years, contributing to my breakdown. I think my unease is warranted."

Ruby looked Cinder searchingly, the rain running down her face and into her eyes, making her blink. She was being truthful, as far as Ruby could tell, but Cinder was a good actress so it was impossible to say for certain. "You just said that she helped you in the end," she pointed out.

Cinder scoffed in response. "I was getting worse before Slenderman fucked with my head, and if not for her, I may have resolved my issues myself and never got to the stage Slenderman could use me."

The maiden's eyes flashed with golden light and the hiss of steam filled the air. Flames swirled in Cinder's palms and curled up her arms, unphased by torrential rain. The flickering light was hypnotic in the darkness, illuminating Cinder's face with a shifting orange light.

"Unlikely in the extreme, but possible," she acknowledged, eyes fixed on the flames. "I likely would have kept going until it all came crashing down one way or another, but there might have been a chance. A lot had changed, and was still changing. But there is no way that what Neo did didn't contribute to my mind fracturing in some way, in some form. The question is how much damage she did, to what extent that let me to resist _It_ , and what the Abomination's goals were. For all I know it may have tired even if I was stable and Neo's actions meant nothing."

"Damn everything," Ruby muttered, rubbing her eyes, not sure what else to say. "Just… damn it all. Why is our loop and loopers all so messed up? There are loops so much worse than ours. So, why?" Ruby was _not_ sure that the separation between what Neo did and Cinder did was as clear as Cinder was proclaiming. But there were definite differences. And she could sort of, just maybe, see a case where Cinder stopped or came clean, but it was reaaaallllyy unlikely. But even with Neo not doing anything…

It didn't change anything. Two Loopers from her branch had done things that were horrific and they had been found out. Now there was the fallout to deal with. Ruby really hoped Marianne wouldn't let something like this pass without a word again. Nothing else could truly prevent a Looper doing as they pleased, but it was so rare for an Admin to act in response to a Looper actions.

The rain began to increase, the force of the rain bouncing of their Auras. Sheets of water fell from the sky and blanking out anything beyond a few centimetres. Even with Cinder's flame, Ruby was having a hard time seeing her sister.

"I can't really see you just stopping," Ruby said, picking up the lost conversation thread, wanting to get to the end of this conversation. To put it behind them, for now at least. "You still do it, or something like it now. You enjoy destruction far too much, enjoy being good as much as you revel in being bad. And you didn't answer my question; do you think Neo would do it again?"

"Now? After everything that has happened?" Cinder said flatly, raising her voice to be heard over the rain. "No, she is smarter than that, and will simply move on to her next indulgence. But I don't trust Neo to not do something similar in the future if she thought she could get away with it, if she had some motivation beyond a random hedonistic whim."

"A lot of what you did, and still do is based on hedonistic whims as well." Ruby met Cinder's glare unwaveringly, refusing to back down, "So the same could be said about you and torturing us again. That if you thought you could get away with it you may do so again in the future. So why don't you think she couldn't have learnt if you have?"

Cinder laughed, honest amusement and anger tainting her soul. "I will do all that again."

 _Okay… I can honestly say I didn't expect THAT response._

"Given time, we all will torture each other and every living thing in the world. Burn Remnant, freeze it in ice, tear it apart in a blaze of ions and more."

The rain fell ever harder, wind beginning to pick up as Cinder fed her power into the rain and pushed it to new heights. A rumble of thunder echoed through the forest. She smiled, it was not completely nice, but nor was it malevolent.

"I _like_ chaos, destruction, fire and blood. I enjoy being feared and seeing the world bend to my whims." Her eyes glowed in the dark, alight with a golden cornea, as her hair streamed back in the wind, flames wreathing her body, and lighting the world with an orange light. The rain eased around them slightly, an oasis in the storm. "I _love_ winning, proving myself against all challenges. Competing against everyone and fighting for what I want. But I chose, and in the end, shall always chose, my friends and family over my own indulgences. But some loops, some decades or centuries, I will do it again. Not to the same extent, not out of the inability to do anything else or the need to hide who I am, but I will. Just like in those rare few loops when you can't stand it anymore and snap, reaping a bloody toll across Remnant. Or when Yang and Blake refused to talk for decades over some argument and spent it causing havoc and killing the other. We will all do it again. And again. And again. Until our story is completed, the final chapter of the Loops is penned in the Hub, and we face what comes after, be it Baseline and death, or Ascension."

 _Ash, roots, and rotting eternities._

Ruby faced palmed, very deliberately, as Cinder's laughter increased. Ruby remembered that, and wished she _didn't._ Blake and Yang's stupid argument escalated ridiculously and cumulated in both crashing the loop several times and them making up over paper mache and spent the loop having sex _everywhere_. Their escapades had become a daily news segment, and everyone knew that Yang was Ruby's older sister...

Still, Jaune and Pyrrha had been just as bad in the past. The less said about the 'Epsilon-Venus incident' the better. Ruby was still not sure how they managed to go from a fight over apples to… _that_.

"Please don't remind me of that, that messed with my dreams for loops." Ruby said, glaring at Cinder as she tried to suppress the memories. "And that's not what I meant, and you know it! We all go nuts sometimes and you can compete with us just fine without all the death and evil. And did you have to monologue?"

"You should have chosen your words better then and I feel like monologing this loop…"

"Screw you, sis…"

"…I blame a recent spate of cartoon and chibi loops. And that-"

"And make that next comment and I'll drop you naked in glacial melt water." Ruby huffed as Cinder grinned, reminding Ruby of an insufferably smug cat. She felt like she was channelling her inner Weiss, and Cinder was doing her best to derail the conversation. "And stop derailing, I'm trying to have a serious and emotional in-depth conversation with you, which is really hard. Due to you being a consummate actress and everything, with a tendency to burn and drown cites in lava. Answer my question then we can get this over with and go so something else."

"Like burning Vale?"

"Ye… no!" Ruby paused, mentally reviewing her loop memories. "… okay, _maybe_ this iteration of Atlas. There's a reason they not in the Vytal treaty after all. Do you think Neo would _seriously_ do something like that again, that like you, she could not have learned?"

The levity drained from Cinder, leaving behind a very different façade. No longer the 'sister', but something far deadlier. She folded her arms, letting the tendrils of flames curl around her.

"Neapolitan doesn't care to learn," Cinder said simply, amber eyes meeting silver as the wind howled around them. "She cares for Roman, and that's it. And even that seems secondary to her amusement and satisfaction sometimes. She might find you, Yang and everyone else enjoyable to hang out with, and _may_ think of you as family, but that does not mean she cares. She doesn't care about the damage she causes as long as it doesn't affect her or Roman. While hub terms fail to work for loopers, it would not be inaccurate to say she displays distinct sociopathic traits, is borderline amoral and has Sakura Syndrome. And likes who she is, and enjoys herself." Cinder narrowed her eyes, pushing a lock of hair from her eyes. Overhead, thunder rumbled and jagged shards of ice pelted down, a rain of frigid knives invisible in the dark.

Ruby pulled her cape around her, she was cold and drenched to the bone, but it didn't matter. What mattered was getting this over with and pushing Cinder into the mud. "That does not mean she can't learn, or get better."

"No, but she does not _want_ to 'get better'. Neo doesn't think there is anything wrong with her and no one can force her to change."

Lighting lanced down with a roar, turning a nearby tree into shrapnel. Unphased, Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I can try to teach her."

"It's pointless, she will never change."

Ruby arched an eyebrow. "So… just like it was pointless to play along with your sister act? To accept the Chrysalis Syndrome explanation you gave, even with the holes, and to offer my hand and heart with a smile. To look past the anarchy and give you a place to belong?"

Cinder tensed, a hit of a growl entering her voice. "That's not the same, and you didn't know for sure at the start, even if you had suspicions. You just decided to continue even when your suspicions were proven."

"And it worked."

"It did," Cinder agreed calmly, her skin sparking briefly in the gloom. "Because of all of you, and because I still cared. Still could care and still wanted more, and had nothing else. Because I still felt loneliness, even if I did my best to ignore it. I still had a full range of normal emotions and ability to care for people, just a distorted moral code. Neo lacks that; either it's a baseline trait, something from all the variants, or a trait she picked up over time, but it is as much a part of her looping self as anything else. She is content, and will not change. Given the correct motivation, and if she thought she could get away with it, I think she would do the same without hesitation. She is a risk to the _Loopers_ of Remnant, even if she isn't one to the loops."

 _Is fixing this possible?_

It would be a long time, if it was possible at all. Loopers could hold grudges the spanned times beyond imagination, never forgetting what had slighted them, the recollections either put aside and ignored or forgiven.

This was not something that would be put aside or forgiven.

Ruby could understand Cinder's feeling, and agreed with a number of them. But Cinder was not fully innocent either in the whole drama, not caring in the slightest about what happened to Roman in Baseline. And that was the catalyst that set Neo off. Something fuelled by older grudges and newer ones. She didn't think Neo was a risk like Cinder did, but understand her point of view, her reasoning. Neo had no reason left to drive her on such a focused grudge anymore, for her it was over with. And Neo knew she was being watched, so Ruby could not see Neo doing something like that again.

And Neo would be getting therapy, that was non-negotiable. They would make her understand there were _consequences,_ and to curb her behaviours.

And to be fair, not a few of her own nightmares recently had included Neo doing something the other loopers, or herself.

It was going to be a _long_ time until Neo was trusted again. Possibly longer than it was for Cinder, maybe. Ruby really was not sure about that in either direction. The lack of remorse was a big thing, and that she didn't seem to _really_ think she did anything wrong. But Neo didn't go out of her way to torture people she cared for and didn't almost eat reality.

 _I hope Neo can get better._

"Why do you care so much?"

That question brought Ruby up short. "Why wouldn't I?" she asked bewildered, blinking at her most troublesome sibling. "She's my little cousin, and yeah, I'm pissed beyond measure and it's going to be a really long time until I trust her again, but that didn't change _that_. Family is family, and I've known she was amoral and everything for a very long time."

 _And I still love her, even if I'm on the verge of slaughtering her myself right now._

"I really don't get you sometimes, Ruby." Cinder shook her head, staring past her into the storm, breathing in the cold, wet air.

Ruby reached out mentally to the rain that still fell upon them, droplets swirling in the dark and forming a orb of water just out of sight. "I can say the same to you..."

She grew a wicked smirk. "...and tag. You're it!" Ruby hurled the orb of water at Cinder's face and ran out of the storm's eye and into the raging tempest before Cinder could react.

"Damn it, Ruby!" Cinder's roar was clearly audible over the rain, a barrage of water bombs chasing Ruby as she laughed, responding to Cinder's 'revenge' with a storm of water bullets.

Laughter and the crashing of water filling the night as they played.

 ** **92.10** Wixelt**

Weiss blinked, then blinked again, before sighing.

"Yang, what am I looking at?"

"A bunch of hunters-in-training walking around wearing shirts too small for them." Her teammate hummed absently, as if the display before the duo was the most normal thing in the world. "What did you think it was?"

"Is there a pun I'm missing here?"

"Nope."

"Am I going to have to ask why, then?"

"1 million lien."

"Oh, so they're…" The heiress frowned as an apparently unAwake Jaune strutted by, midriff bare to the world. "…doing this willingly."

"I was surprised too, actually. But it's amazing what people will do to pay off student loans."

 ** **92.11** Masterweaver**

"You have to admit," Cinder pointed out, "this was inevitable."

Raven crossed her arms. "Of course it was. Family get-togethers, all of us Awake at the same time, or just Yggdrasil screwing with me again. You know what's not inevitable? You coming on your own."

"Hmmm." Cinder tipped her glass. "Not as true as you might think. Boredom is the greatest poison for loopers; curiosity, the greatest antidote. Well, generally anyway."

"I wouldn't have thought you, of all people, would want to play bandit."

That remark caught Cinder's attention-the remark, and the resentment behind it. "Actually, no. I was simply thinking of discussing things like the nature of darkness and all that philosophical crap."

"Right, because everyone knows Ravens are all about the darkness," the bandit queen snarked.

Cinder lowered her glass. "...Playing bandit. What an interesting turn of phrase."

"Thank Ruby for that."

"Ah, yes. For all her strengths, she sometimes doesn't get what words can mean. Was she the first who dropped by?"

"No, it was Winter first-get to know the sister of her lover kind of thing. Then Ironwood wanted a vacation from being a general. Then Zwei got bored." Raven rolled her eyes. "That's a thing with you loopers-it's always either silly games or deep philosophy, sometimes both at the same time. I barely ever see you just... living."

"Wait till the expansions start again," Cinder deadpanned. "Everyone focused on Mistral's fate, poring over each new personal drama, hunting for what scraps Remnant decides to give us about our vague pasts. You'll see some real emotion."

"Maybe."

"And being fair, we do a lot of ordinary living. You just tend not to be part of it."

"Oh, yes, because actually running a tribe is just something I can drop on a whim."

Cinder slowly quirked a brow.

"...what?"

"Please tell me Neo's the one pestering you," the fall maiden begged. "I've been looking for an excuse to rip into her."

Raven snorted. "Hate to disappoint. She taunts me about being weak, but I can take that. Gotten a few jabs in myself."

"Well then, who is it?"

"What makes you think it's anyone?"

"The thought had to be planted by somebody," Cinder pointed out. "Even if the actual subject is nobody's fault, you're thinking whatever you're thinking because somebody said something... or because you," she mused, "stumbled over the thought yourself."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "What's your angle here?"

"What, can't I just spend some time with my dear auntie Raven?" Cinder asked, a teasing smile on her lips.

The bandit queen didn't let up her suspicious glower.

"I suppose I do have a reputation," Cinder allowed, sighing. "Orchestrating the fall of Beacon in baseline, and, well, everything I did leading up to _that_ loop. Of course I know better than most what can happen when one refuses to acknowledge one's own darkness and doubts..."

"That," Raven growled, "is an obvious attempt to rile me up."

Cinder inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"...Why would I talk to you about this?" Raven demanded. "What makes you so different from Kali, or Qrow, or Ruby?"

"Kali accepts everyone as they are. That doesn't necessarily mean she understands them. Qrow... well, the relationship you two have might be better in the loops, but somehow I feel it's not quite the deep trust you need-it's more a case where you tease each other about whatever, your reactions to looping weirdness, his sudden shacking up with the Schnee girl, what have you." Cinder swirled her drink. "And as for Ruby... I've been forced to trust Ruby, because of what happened to me, but I'm well aware that the image she projects isn't exactly nuanced enough to encourage opening up. She's far less naive than she appears, but..."

"...but she's still Summer's little girl." Raven sighed slowly. "I suppose that the people I am open with are, by necessity, open to me. Yang and I are still... tense. Not actively so, but that sort of comfortable tension where you know there's a line and crossing it will break a lot."

"Yeah, that's me with everyone."

"It would be, wouldn't it."

For a moment, the trees around the two women let their leaves rustle in the wind.

"...yeah, it was Roman who brought it up first." Raven snorted. "Well, brought it up directly. It was at your party, you know. I mean, everyone else tried to make 'suggestions' on how to handle the problem without saying what the problem actually was." She shrugged. "Then, after I hit my thousandth loop, I... well. I hit my thousandth loop, and Ironwood dropped by-I think he was trying to be the sympathetic ear or some shit like that."

"Ah." Cinder nodded. "So he stuck it in when you were at your worst, and it's been niggling at you ever since."

"I think he was trying to say he knew what I was going through. Or something like that." Raven frowned. "Like leading an army of soldiers who are supposed to be faceless is at all the same as leading-"

She cut herself off, too late.

"I see." Cinder nodded to herself. "Yes, I see..."

"What? Are you going to tell me to abandon them too?"

"...You know, Sakura Syndrome is absolutely fascinating."

Raven threw up a hand. "Okay, tangent. Sure. What's so fascinating about it?"

"Well, the ways it's misinterpreted, of course." Cinder gestured broadly. "Sakura herself became an omnisexual nymphomaniac with a flare for mad science and that, unfortunately, has distracted from the true core of what the syndrome actually is."

"Apathy. Disregard for reality, based on the premise that reality will always reboot."

"Which leads into a loss of morality, but is not itself a loss of morality." Cinder paused. "Of the current list of MLEs, only Dio could be argued to have attempted to Ascend. Kyuubi facilitated Ascension, but from all accounts Madoka severely regrets her actions, and Kyuubi itself viewed the effort as practical. Waltz merely wants to destroy things, and Billy and the Tick are simply moronic."

Raven pinched her brow. "And now you're tangenting off a tangent."

"My point is, attempted ascensions should be more common. We are, after all, bored immortals trapped in a time loop-why not try to escape, if only for something new? But that's never the reason. I didn't attempt to Ascend until I felt I absolutely needed to to regain control-amongst other reasons, I was insane, but it wasn't out of boredom. And Dio seeks power alone, no matter what else he says." Cinder took a sip from her glass. "Sakura Syndrome should be an epidemic, when you think about it, and yet..."

The bandit queen opened her mouth, paused, and tilted her head. "Are you saying that by staying with my tribe, I'm risking losing my mind?"

"Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. The attachments loopers have with each other keeps us sane, yes. But that's because they can remember what we care about." Cinder gestured over the hill. "Those people are loop variable beyond belief. Sometimes they are literally shadows, sometimes they're horrible evil bastards, sometimes they'll kill a faunus on sight. Sometimes they're descendents of some family kicked out of Mistral generations ago, or a collection of individuals from fallen villages, or just born into the tribe and no other explanation. And you-you're their leader, but is it because of birth, or because you fought your way to the top, or just some prophecy?"

"They're my tribe," Raven defended.

"Exactly. They're _your_ tribe. _Your_ people. No matter what else they might be, that is the stable point-your stable point. You choose to stay, not out of insanity or obligation, but because they matter to you." Cinder let out a low breath. "It's important to you. You should stay."

Raven looked at her askance. "...And yet, the loopers try to get me away from them."

"No. They try to get you to things that matter. They..." Cinder sighed. "I went insane for many reasons, but the nail in the coffin was Ruby Rose saying she hated Cinder Fall-back when I was hiding that the one who was her sister was also the one who would slaughter Vale. Being strong and feared and powerful was-is, important to me. It was all I had, all I knew about myself, for the longest time. It's still the only hint I have of my time before Salem. And Ruby, without even realizing, crushed it. My one connection to baseline, to who I was meant to be, snuffed out." She lowered her gaze. "We've... talked a lot about it. She's become more accepting of that part of me. Even if she doesn't like it."

"I'm... not sure you should be telling me this."

"Oh, it's no secret. Not after that loop." Cinder nodded. "The thing is, you have more than one connection. You have team STRQ and this tribe, and... they can see this is important to you, but they don't understand why. The ones who are telling you to give them up? They're ones who have suffered the pain of not knowing who they are. Who are still suffering, and think that you're confused. Has Yang ever asked you leave? Or Tai? Or Qrow?"

Raven paused.

"...In baseline, Qrow asked me for the secrets of the spring maiden. He dismissed the tribe. He told me about..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, as she considered her own hand. "He all but demanded I come home-that I go back to Tai and Yang."

"He did, yes. I don't think he demanded you _stay_ there."

"Just a visit then." Raven rolled her eyes. "Because of course, that couldn't possibly end in more broken emotions."

"Maybe a resolution... baseline, anyway." Cinder shrugged. "In the loops it's different, though. They've grown up a lot. Not Tai, maybe, he started looping when you did, but he was an adult with his own responsibilities anyway. I don't think any of them demand you leave the tribe."

"...no. They've asked me to make sure my raids are less lethal. They've asked that I come talk to them... a few times, Yang's suggested coming to live with me for a loop." Raven frowned. "What, is this like some sort of custody negotiation?"

"It's more... they care about you, and so they're trying to care about what you care about, even if they don't care for it themselves." Cinder tipped her glass. "Playing bandit is a way to do that, I think. They say 'we're just pretending for a loop,' and that gets them closer to you. It's a tricky situation, all things told."

"Why are we even talking about this?"

"Your situation is... similar to what mine was. Granted, I hid behind a mask-" Cinder suddenly chuckled. "Isn't that odd, though. You have the Nevermore mask, and you're more honest then I was, even when I wore nothing on my face. I just... I don't know. I want to make sure what I did doesn't happen again."

"...so you're talking to me." Raven sighed. "And your advice is... what, exactly?"

"Well, I will admit you don't really socialize with us that often. You still call us 'you loopers,' there's a mental divide. And you need to fix that, otherwise we're going to just think of you as 'that bandit queen.' At the same time, I don't think you should leave your tribe. Roman and Ironwood mean well-or well enough, in Roman's case. They just... what they care about is already looping. And to you, this isn't a silly hobby-it's your life." Cinder looked off into the distance. "They know that, but they don't... understand. Not yet. If you can get them to..."

"...Do they understand you?"

"...some might." Cinder shrugged. "Or at least parts of me. It's better than it was..."

"Mmm. I don't usually go for this philosophy crap. But I can see why you..." Raven paused, considering. "...why loopers think about it."

 ** **92.12** Masterweaver**

Ruby Rose walked down the streets of Vale, idly observing the people meandering around. A mother watching her three kids in resigned exasperation. A couple leaning against each other, one rambling on about their day. A motorcycle and a trike sharing a table. A man glancing down at a map in order to-

-wait what.

Silver eyes snapped back to the table where Bumblebee and Stardust were... well, they weren't _sitting_ at the table, being inanimate objects, but it was clear that they were doing basically the same thing. A few patrons of the restaurant the two vehicles attended were giving the scene odd looks-especially the pair of sandwiches on plates that rested, uneaten, in front of each pair of handlebars. And while the streamers on the pink trike's grips weren't unusual, the little jangles hanging off Bumblebee's were just a touch out of place.

Ruby took a moment to surreptitiously glance around and-oh, yep, there were Yang and Weiss, crouching in a tree and watching the scene through binoculars. And there was Blake, reading some sort of philosophical adventure as she leaned against the trunk. The redhead sidled over gently to the faunus.

"So...?"

"Yang had a bit of a messy breakup with Bumblebee," Blake deadpanned. "She felt guilty about it, so she asked Weiss to set her up on a blind date. Weiss agreed, for some reason."

"Ah." Ruby nodded. "How's it going?"

"From what I can hear of Weiss and Yang's little spy session, not so well. The waiter was pretty rude, and even now the two are being very awkward around each other."

"Yeah... Bumblebee and Stardust don't really have a lot in common. Doesn't help that Bumblebee's a bit of a delinquent."

Blake snorted. "Right, that's why this is strange."

"I mean, it's the best option," Ruby mused. "Flamestreak and Swerve are both family, kinda. And I don't think a Paladin would agree to this sort of thing, they're too military."

"...Flamestreak and-?"

"My wagon and Dad's skateboard."

"...right." Blake rolled her eyes, and returned to her book. "When things go back to sanity, let me know."

 ** **92.13** Shimmer712**

"You know, I never got the point," Jaune mused.

"The point of what?" Nora looked at him.

"The point of the stuffed Grimm Professor Port keeps." Jaune waved on the displays. "I mean, everyone knows that Grimm dissolve when they die. So everyone knows these are fake. So what's the point?"

"To look cool?" Nora offered.

"I guess that's the best explanation we're going get, isn't it?" Jaune shook his head as they walked off.

Later on the loop, Nora was with Ren, idly bouncing a bouncy ball.

"So yeah, then there were feathers everywhere!" Nora told Ren.

"That must've been a pain to clean up," Ren noted." So why have you been going after Cardin and his team these last few loops? It's been a while since any of us have really bothered with them."

"I will _never_ forgive what they did to my pancakes!" Nora declared dramatically, throwing the ball to the ground hard. She failed to catch it as it bounced. "Hey! Get back here!" she exclaimed, snatching at it and missing. She followed it as it bounced into Port's classroom and hit the lower jaw of one of the beowolves heads he had on display. She swiped at it. "Got-"

The redhead froze as the decapitated head growled.

"Uh, Ren? You heard that right?" Nora blinked.

"I did," Ren confirmed. "I have no idea how a head growled though."

They stared at the head before Nora picked up her ball from where it had come to a still. "Well, I'm spending the rest of the loop preparing for a Grimm-zombie apocalypse," she chirped. "Wanna help?"

"If we end up in a loop where that actually happens, I'm blaming you," Ren told her as they hurriedly left.

 ** **92.14** Leviticus Wilkes**

RWBY Loop: Cabin Fever (Part 1 of an Introspection)

"Hub Loops don't have the same sort of ingredients we do. Nothing magical, just mundane and simple, sometimes lacking even to us. Fact is, their food can be somewhat boring." Jaune took a big bite of his sandwich. "But damn do they make great Cubans."

Ren shrugged and ate his salad in relative silence, while around him his many, many friends raucously talked. It was actually so bad that a few other tables were shooting them looks, but the worst had died off earlier when Weiss had pulled out a few thousand dollars to foot their bills. Once the staff of Sunset Cafe had collected themselves and reattached their floored jaws, the best food that side of the Cascade Mountains had flowed like river water to their table.

It was a hub Loop, or at least a near-hub Loop. Normal world, sealed pockets, and no powers whatsoever. Stuck with their wits the children of Remnant (RWBY, JNPR, Sun, Penny, Neo and Oscar) plus Cinder had decided to play the stock market.

Hence Weiss' not insignificant wealth.

Rich and ready the 13 had toured America, and were coming along to the end of their journey in Washington. They'd stay a week in the high northwestern mountains of the Cascades, and then descend to Seattle to party the nights. They had their cabins (Cinder asking for her own) and Ren was going to enjoy the days of snow with Nora, and the nights...

Well... they weren't quite at that stage yet.

Oscar told a snide joke about grades. Pyrrha talked about the nights of Seattle. Yang choked and Blake used the heimlich maneuver.

Pre-dinner salads had given way to main courses which gave way to cakes and ice cream and pies. Weiss flashed a fake ID and got herself and Pyrrha some wine. Oscar tried some coffee, and Sun pulled it out of his grasp. "You gotta sleep man."

Ren talked the local philosophies and histories with Blake. Blake and Sun lamented being human. Neo grew progressively more bored and only perked up when Penny revealed a plan to try and turn Mount Rainier into pure ice cream in a different Loop, when they had their powers.

All the while Cinder sat and ate and chatted gently with Ruby and occasionally Nora, not afraid to admit that she was getting tired of Cle Elum and wishing to go back to her cabin. She got rebuffed, and Ruby offered her a place in her cabin, and Cinder's refusal was refused. Ren noticed the smile she sported and decided that Cinder was happy to spend time with her sister.

The meal ended, and well into the evening the teens stepped out of the cafe and into the cold, snowy evening of Eastern Washington. The mix of cars, a hodge podge of two sedans, a van, a four-door and a ford truck that wouldn't be out of place in Twilight, sat ready to ferry the groups along. Nora jumped into the car that she and Ren would be taking, and very immediately jumped right back out. "Hey Ren, how about mom and dad's cabin tonight? We'll need all the sleep we can get for tomorrow and they have satellite TV!"

Ren chuckled. "Sure Nora, sure." He got into his car anyway. "I'll get our clothes, you go with them, alright." The kiss he got on the cheek was answer enough.

The snow flurries that came down played a magical light show with Ren's headlamps as he drove the sedan through the night, splitting off from the group for a bit, trailing the truck that RWBY took and the sedan Cinder was driving through Roslyn, before switching to a dirt road up into the hills of the Snoqualmie pass.

As the snow came down, Ren checked the signage carefully. His and Nora's cabin was a bit out there, with Lake Cle Elum, and in the heavy snows he didn't want to get lost. As he rolled along though, the darkness and snow blocked his sight. Ren slowed as he rounded a corner on the mountain road. He couldn't be too careful.

Ren wasn't careful enough. As a snow flurry came down thicker than the last, he turned. His car struggled in a snow drift. It carried forward, turning less and less, and suddenly the whole frame shifted down. Ren heard the screams of gravel against the body of his car, and his foot jumped to the breaks.

The car dragged for a moment. The wheels fought alongside the snow to stop him. Ren almost had it. His car still tipped over the road and down the embankment.

The tree that he slammed into was a godsend anyway. A withered pine that splintered happily as his car struck it, closer to the road than most of its younger fellows. The car came to a halt hard though, and less than five seconds after realizing he was fucked, Ren blacked out.

...

The pain in his leg woke him up. Burning, searing, roiling pain that waxed and waned in waves. Ren woke up shivering, in a cold sweat and grinding his teeth. The swears that slipped from his mouth would have made Pyrrha blue with shock.

Ren tried to look out the window, and saw the thick layering of snow. His car was shut down, any heat still filtering from the engine compartment sucked out by the shattered windscreen. Ren pulled his coat across him, shivering and waiting.

He waited.

Ren waited.

He counted his breathes.

He cried.

Ren looked at the falling snow in a small gap in the window.

Ren waited.

He waited for help that would never come.

The crunch of gravel and a rumbling engine shocked him from his stupor. Ren's arm lashed out and punched the horn, the noise echoing with shocking noise that nearly deafened the man who was so used to silence. The responding horn drove Ren near to tears of relief.

The engine behind him didn't cease, but the silence of gravel and clicking of a door told him his savior was coming towards him. When he heard their boots crunching through the snow he forced his door and fell out the side, landing in the drifts of ice and ferns. The new arrival hop-ran through the snow to his side. "Ren? Ren, is that you?" Cinder said through her scarf.

Ren reached and grabbed Cinder's outstretched hand, helping her help him to his feet. "Good to see you Cinder. Welcome to the party."

Cinder and Ren looked at his wrecked car and Ren marveled at how snow had rendered it so utterly invisible. Cinder would surely have missed it had he not signaled. Already the snow was hiding the open door, and drowning their mixed and half crazed foot prints in white anonymity.

Cinder dragged the wounded boy to her car, looking at his leg in the light of her headlamps. "You've cut your leg badly. The blood clotted it shit in your jeans, but I'll need to stitch it up. My cabin isn't far from here."

Cinder didn't have any medical supplies with her, bar a simple first aid kit. She wrapped the gash with gauze and got Ren into the passenger's seat. Ren gaze the small hillside he had driven into a single parting glance, but the snow had hidden all from view. For a moment, with a mind only have lucid with blood loss, Ren noted that no one would know his car was missing.

As the snows closed in and Cinder drove on to her cabin, Ren wondered to himself, and a creeping fear slipped into his heart. A fear he could not shake. A fear, and something far worse he couldn't place.

Cinder's cabin loomed like a ebon monolith in the darkness. She parked, slipped to Ren's side and opened his door. "Come, let's go."

Ren chuckled, his head swimming. "Thank you nurse. Thank you."

 ** **92.15** Black Omochao**

[Yo-kai Watch/Pokémon/RWBY/True and the Rainbow Kingdom]

"Concentrate, do not let anything distract you," the purple cat mentor, known as Shadow, said calmly as she looked over the four students of the Kittynati's Black Tabby Dojo, whom were meditating.

She looked up at a female black cat whom was as still as a statue, Shadow brushed a feather-duster over her, but the black cat didn't budge. The teacher nodded. "Excellent, Blake."

She moved on to a male, cream-colored cat whom had a golden charm on his head, he was trying to stay still but kept twitching every now and then. "…Meowth, clear your mind," she stated firmly.

Meowth stiffened a bit before Shadow moved onto a male black cat, whom seemed to be in a deep meditative state. Shadow brushed her feather-duster over his fur, he twitched a little before bursting into a laughing fit.

"Bartleby, we are Kittynati, we do not giggle," the teacher stated firmly. Bartleby quickly tried to regain his composure.

"Right, sorry Master!" he exclaimed firmly, getting back into his meditative position. Shadow shook her head before moving onto the last student, a male cat with red and white fur, whom sat in a firm, meditative state.

"Hmm," Shadow looked him over, she waved the feather-duster over his fur, but there was no reaction. The Kittynati Master nodded in approval. "A remarkable improvement, Akamaru. You seem to have– "

The purple cat's words were cut off by a loud snore. She opened her eyes and stared at the student before her, whom was now snoring very loudly.

Her eyes narrowed.

.

"Ow, ow, ow…" Akamaru, or Jibanyan, muttered painfully as he rubbed his head.

"Aren't you dead?" Blake questioned blankly. "How can you feel pain?"

"I'm nyot dead right nyow!" the (currently living) cat growled as he glared at the other Looper. "Besides, I still feel pain when I'm a yo-kai…"

"That's kind of odd, don't you think? Why would you still feel pain, if you didn't have a physical body?"

Jibanyan raised a paw to answer Blake's questions, but slowly lowered it when no words came out of his mouth.

Nearby, Meowth was sitting by Bartleby, whom seemed distressed about the previous exercise.

"Oh man, I blew it there, I'm never gonna get my Red Tabby-Belt at this rate," the black cat groaned.

"Well, ta be fare, you didn't blow it as bad as Akamaru did…" Meowth pointed out, patting the non-Looping cat on the back.

"Hey!" Jibanyan called out in offense, but Blake quickly interjected.

"He's right, Jibanyan."

"Aw…"

 ** **92.16** diesel**

The sun sparkled across the blue water, making the ocean seem like it was encrusted with a million diamonds. The sky itself was clear, only the faintest wisps of high clouds visible in the midday sun, only accentuating the beauty rather than marring it.

The gently crashing waves mixed with the salt ladened air, the call of birds and the gentle rustling of leaves. It was peaceful.

Jaune leant back against a rock, just watching the waves crash against the cliffs and the birds that dove into the water in search of fish.

He was content.

The soft sound of footsteps made Jaune turn his head slightly. Pyrrha almost glided as she walked over. No unnecessary movements and perfectly balanced. As though the world was moving around her than the other way around. It was mesmerising, her crimson hair cascading down her back as water glistened off her naked flesh. Emerald eyes sparkling with amusement, joy and passion.

Grace and power personified and bestowed the form of a Goddess. The will of a Huntress, the mind of a genius and compassion comparable to the Usagi, The Silver Moon herself.

Without words Pyrrha sank down next to him, watching the waves and birds, and as the sun slowly moved across the sky. Painting the horizon with fiery oranges and yellows that gave way to purple and final black as it set. The heavens painted with stars and distant galaxies, the moon casting a soft glow upon the leaves and water.

Rising to her feet, Pyrrha offered a hand to Jaune who took it without words, following his wife back to their camp. The prowling Grimm blind to their minds and emotions, slinking past without notice and vanishing into the forest and simply gliding overhead.

Not a word was spoken, it didn't need to be.

 ** **92.17** Masterweaver**

"You're kind of hard to find, you know that?"

Illia spun around. Behind her, a scythe had been embedded into the ground, and upon its handle sat a young girl giving her a quiet, sad smile. She backed away, preparing to run for the encampment-

"I really shouldn't even be here, it's pointless. But somehow I felt you should be warned."

"...Warned?"

"Mmm. You see, the universe has remembered you." The girl shrugged. "Not a lot about you, mind. But enough that I feel... I feel you're going to become important."

Ilia frowned. "Is this some religious thing?"

The girl giggled. "There are gods involved, if that's what you're asking. And a world-tree, a sick one. There are immortals that walk unseen among society, vampires and angels and ghouls and dragons, wonders and horrors from beyond the edge of reality. And you have been noticed by them. Frankly, we should have taken interest in you sooner... well, more then we have, really."

"...Right. Sure." Ilia snorted. "Now, if you're done being cryptic-"

"Oh I could spell it all out, Ilia."

She whipped her weapon out, pointing it at the girl. "How do you know my name?"

"I could spell it all out," the girl repeated, unconcerned. "But you wouldn't remember. Not when the time came... There's still too little." She sighed. "Really, this is more for me than you. Comfort of mind, and all that."

Ilia's grip tightened on the weapon. "You're not doing a good job of earning my trust."

"...no. I'm sorry. It's just..." The girl sagged. "Another storm is coming. And we've already endured so much... I can hope for happy endings, I can try to make them happen, but the tree needs to know, and so I need to know. And this isn't going to tell me anything, but it at least makes me _feel_ useful, you know?" She looked at Ilia. "I'm sorry, it's confusing, even with context. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're hiding out here."

She gripped the scythe's handle and, before Ilia had any time to react, they both dissolved into rose petals which fluttered away in a swift stream.

The faunus girl stared at the rock for a few moments.

"...What the hell was that all about?"

 ** **92.18** Black Omochao**

[RWBY/Monster Pulse]

"Where did Ruby go?" Yang questioned as she fought off some Grimm. Waking up to a null-Loop, during the Fall of Beacon wasn't exactly pleasant, but at least it was before she lost her arm.

"I don't know, she ran off before either of us Woke up when the attacks started," Blake answered, attacking some grimm as well. "Are there more grimm than usual?"

"Hmm… there actually might be," Yang didn't look very concerned with this fact, even though the numbers of dark beasts were becoming a bit overwhelming.

"HEART ATTACK!" Ruby voice suddenly shouted, both Loopers looked up in confusion, before a red, dinosaur-like creature came charging in and smashed a large amount of the grimm away. A happy Ruby came charging behind it and patted the creatures back. "Good currently-vital-organ!" the creature gave a bellow of approval.

"…Ruby, what is that and what is going on?" Yang questioned blankly, Ruby blinked before noticing her two teammates.

"Oh, hey guys!" Ruby let out a Ping, which they returned. "I was off planning some way to make a fire-works show out of stopping the fall of Beacon– "

"Wait, what?" Blake interrupted, but Ruby held up her hand for her to be quiet.

"…When suddenly, some weird ghost flew into my chest, and my heart turned into a monster!" she patted the creature again with a big smile. "So, I'm doing this now!" One of the remaining grimm growled as it creeped over, only to be punched away by the 'heart-monster.'

Yang and Blake stared in confusion, now noticing the creature had some horn-like appendages on its head and tail, that looked like the tubes that would connect a heart to the rest of the body.

"That thing… is your heart?" Blake asked.

"I know, right!?" the Anchor giggled. The heart-monster roared, letting out a few noticeable beats of its body.

"Okay, I think that's a reasonable explanation for what just happened," Yang nodded to herself, Blake shook her head but didn't say anything. "I just have one question… 'heart attack'? Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

"THAT's what you're focusing on!?" Blake blurted out incredulously.

"Okay, I know it's obvious, but I didn't exactly plan on this happening and I didn't have much time to come up with anything good!" Ruby countered with her arms crossed, an action that her heart-monster mimicked. Ruby then smirked. "Still, I wasn't the only one that got hit by one of those ghost-things, you should see Weiss!"

"… What happened to Weiss?" Yang questioned curiously, Ruby crept over to her sister's side and began whispering in her ear. Blake watched blankly, as the Anchor whispered into her fiancé's ear, whose face slowly went from a look of curiosity, to horror.

"Blake!" Yang suddenly shouted, a paranoid look in her eyes. "If you see one of those ghost-things approaching me; kill it!"

The cat faunus kept her blank expression. "…How could I kill a gho– "

"KILL IT!"

.

Winter kept a calm demeanor as she fought off the defecting Atlesian Knight, waking up this late in a Null-Loop was never pleasant…

The androids were suddenly halted, as some big, white and furry blurred by, wrapping around them and holding them in place.

"What the…?" Winter blinked as she saw the creature that was looking at her; some sort of serpentine, dragon-like creature, made entirely out of white hair… which looked an awful lot like…

"Winter!" the sound of her sister's voice had the white-haired woman look over. She saw her younger sister approaching, but she was missing one of her more… distinctive traits.

"Weiss… you have no hair?"

"Yeah, yeah. We can talk about it later, but let's deal with this first," the currently bald heiress grumbled, whipping out her rapier and dispatching with the robots that the hair-monster was holding in place. "Good hair… thing," she muttered, the fluffy-white creature nuzzling her. Winter just stared in confusion.


	93. Silly Self Examination

**93.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...and hub loop delays can be SO frustrating, I mean Henkei Shoujo looks like it would be right up my alley, but when it takes like a hundred loops for the hub to get just one new day-"

"Hinky Shojo?" Yang grabbed Ruby's shoulder, her face somewhere between amused and concerned. "Is my little sis finally growing up?"

"Okay, first of all, it's _Henkei Shoujo_. Secondly, it's an anime about girls who transform into jets and cars and mech-style robots."

Yang blinked for a moment, then sighed. "Let me guess, you're more interested in the mechanical transformations than any ecchi that might happen."

"Weapons museum in my soul, Yang."

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde shrugged in resignation, glancing around the airship. "Well, maybe this'll finally redirect your sexual interests from machinery to actual people-or at least convince you to hit up Penny."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "What is with this team and shipping? I go a few hundred loops just having fun, and then I say one thing and somebody jumps on it-"

She blinked as her scroll started meowing at high speed. "Oh, huh. Wonder what Blake wants."

Yang quirked a brow. "Seriously? Nyancat?"

"I thought you'd like that, obvious joke. What song does your scroll play for her?"

"Nepeta's theme from Homestuck. You know, Walls Covered In Blood?"

Ruby shrugged, conceding the point as she tapped her scroll. "Hey Blake, feeling loopy?"

 _"Exceptionally so. Please tell me you have some way to signal Marianne."_

"...I've got a few ideas, sure. I'll send Yang your way for cuddles, kay?"

 _"That... isn't necessary, but it is appreciated. Thanks."_

"Not a prob. Catch up with you soon." Ruby shut the transmission.

Yang blinked. "So... what was that?"

"Blake wants me to get in contact with Marianne for some reason. Bad glitch loop, if I had to guess? You go on ahead and find out what's going on, I'm going to use Amity to flash an S.O.S. until I can get the Admins' attention." She vanished in a flurry of rose petals.

Yang blinked, glanced around, and sighed. "Yeah, I should really get some more subtle teleportation powers at some point." She transformed into a pillar of fire and phased through a window, terrifying all the huntsmen-to-be as she zipped toward her fiance.

By the time she arrived at Blake's usual book-nook of a bench, Yang found Weiss already sitting down next to her fiance and chatting quietly. She was both pleased, since it meant Weiss was Awake and they could skip the usual Schnee/Faunus melodrama, and annoyed-it should have been there down there comforting Blake, not Weiss!

...WOW. Okay, yeah, that was definitely irrational jealousy. Unawake Weiss only showed interest in Blake every few hundred loops in relatively rare variants, and looping Weiss had never so much as given the bellabooty an approving glance, even during her bicurious phase. Yang was going to have to deal with this issue somehow. It was annoying how the best psychologist in this loop was also the one triggering this issue, apparently...

No, that could be tabled. The important thing right now was to make sure Blake was okay. She could figure out why she had the urge to chase off her own friends later.

With a simple fwoosh, Yang came in for a landing, walking briskly up to the pair and wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulders. "So... bad glitch loop?"

"...maybe."

Yang frowned. "Maybe?"

"It's... hard to explain." Blake brought her hands together. "It's like... I was unawake, and I went through the entire loop unawake. Beacon to Menagerie... and then some. And then the next loop, I remembered it, and I thought 'hey, maybe I woke up late and we've had an expansion,' and when the time came... at the loop's end... The loop ended at the normal time, but it didn't. Like I gained memories of the time beyond when I woke up this loop, but I hadn't lived through it. At least, not my looping self."

Yang nodded. "Sounds like a hell of a glitch."

"That's just it. If it were a glitch, it would only affect the time beyond the loop end-I think? Except, it's... not. Part of it is that my, uh, friendship with Ilia in the past firmed up. Like we had a conversation about why she joined the Fang, and her past, and... that's consistent. The pre-loop start stuff. Except the stuff after is..." She gestured vaguely.

"I've been trying to work up a timeline model for this phenomena," Weiss explained, showing her sketch and elegant calligraphy. "Hopefully, by the time Marianne arrives, we'll be able to put the situation into words."

"Don't worry, I know exactly what's going on."

The three girls looked up at the hooded administrator. Weiss rolled her eyes. "Must you always appear from nowhere?"

"Believe it or not, suddenly being there causes far less issues than a flashy entrance. Anyway, it's not a glitch. It's deliberate. Sort of."

Yang frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When Cinder tried to Ascend she did a LOT of damage. I've been spending every moment since then trying to clean it up, and I think-well, I'm pretty sure I can kick the expansions off again soon, but I need to do a few tests just to see." Marianne nodded to Blake. "What you've got is a localized micro-expansion, basically-your timeline, and only _your_ timeline, has been extended by a few days. It's helping me catch protobugs elsewhere that I would have missed, but a looper trying to exist beyond that would... get messy, so everyone is shunted Unawake at the current end."

Blake blinked. "Wait. Why my timeline, specifically?"

"You're the one of the core four whose current endpoint on baseline timeline leaves you with the least loopers to interact with. Well, Yang and Weiss have fewer, but they're both in transit, so they could move out of the safe zone. You're sticking to Menagerie for some reason-I can contain a stable framework there, work on the protobugs everywhere else, and hopefully get the system cleared enough that transit-based individuals won't risk heavy glitching." Marianne shrugged. "It's actually a lot more technical than that, but it should be only a temporary annoyance for you and anyone else who ends up in Menagerie at that time."

Weiss nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Yang gave her a look. "Wait, seriously? How the heck does that even make any sense?"

Weiss returned the look calmly. "Yang, we've been genderbent, swapped species, seen reality nearly annihilated, had visitors from other worlds, visited other worlds, occasionally been other worlds, started breeding strange monstrosities in our souls, contemplated our identities over the course of eons, and trapped in a time-looping high school because a god-tree computer broke down. Is this really so unbelieveable?"

"...See, this is a problem. We really need to define what 'impossible' should even mean these days."

Marianne snorted. "Trust me, it's only slightly less confusing on the outside."

"So, the expansions are coming?" Blake asked.

"Not... yet. Still a bit of work to do." Marianne sighed. "But, yes. Sometime soon. If you'll excuse me, I do need to get back to work." She vanished from the world.

Yang whistled low, even as red rose petals began to gather next to her. "Well, that's... a thing."

"Yeah." Blake nodded. "Still... if that is the new baseline..."

She stared at her own hands for a moment or two.

"...give me a few days to think about this. I'll need to talk, but... I need to figure out a few things, first."

Yang bit her lip. "Alright, babe. You'll be okay?"

"...Yeah. It's not disturbing, just... confusing."

"Gotcha. So..." She turned to her now fully manifested sister. "...What say we all get something to eat?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.2 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"...just can't believe they're shutting down My Five Cocos!"

"It had a good run, Nep, but face it. It's over now."

"I know, I know. Still..."

Penny-well, _a_ Penny, anyway-rolled her eyes. "I'll watch the finale with you, hon."

Neptune-well, a version with sparkling skin-chuckled wryly. "Yeah... thanks."

They walked down the street, quietly enjoying each other's presence. A few hovercars drove by, and here and through the windows of some of the shops they could see some vampires getting their early morning blood mochas. Penny idly flipped a ten-Cinderan bill to the Gwen running a nearby magazine stand, grabbing a gossip rag that proclaimed Tyrian T-204 as a rising musical star; Neptune grabbed her and gently moved her to the side, nodding as a Mercury walking a cuddlegrimm passed by.

"...Huh." Penny flicked through her pages. "You know... it's strange."

"What?"

"I've been with the revolutionaries for so long... and now, the war's just over."

Neptune nodded. "I know how you feel. I never expected things to just end so abruptly."

"I kind of did, but... I thought there would be more fanfare. The noble forces of good storm the castle of the evil witch and force her to see her ways, she breaks down and a wave of... I don't know, sparkles or something, changes the whole world." Penny snorted. "But instead there's just... a couple of negotiations between Cinder and the heads of the various states, a few raids on the Ravagers, and now..."

She gestured vaguely at a passing mecca. "Remember when that was a half-ruined hotel bristling with laser guns?"

"Oh yeah." Neptune chuckled. "That was the one where you and I had to fight that psycho lizard faunus vampire cultist. 'The great race of Yith will save us!'" He snorted. "Did he even read up on his mythos?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Obviously not. At least we got that all figured out in the end."

"Yeah." Neptune nodded. "Hey... Penny?"

"Yeah?"

"...You think things are just... going to stay like this? That there's not going to be any new issues now that Cinder's... saneish?"

Penny opened her mouth, but before she could reply a stampede of reindeer rushed down the road, knocking aside a hovertruck as they ran from the red robotic beetlespiders screeching at each other in annoyance.

"...Right." Neptune nodded after a moment. "Stupid question."

"I knew something like this would happen," Penny groused. "Whose damn idea was it to let the Visorak handle our santa supply depot anyway?!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.3 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **The Pyre of Shadow, Part 3 (Inside Out/RWBY)**

Despite Cinder's casual dark side, she was eventually able to convince Jill to accept her offer of temporary housing. Riley was of two minds on this-Joy was happy that they had a reason to stay around and talk to the new looper, but Fear was adamant that something was definitely _wrong_ with Cinder Fall, and her other emotions kept joining one or the other in an uneven conflict. Still, by the time her dad arrived home, Riley decided to just roll with the new standard.

The next few days were a combination of the usual settling-into-school fare and finding out more about her neighbor. The first was simple tedium by now, a side effect of simply living through the same few years again and again and, really, not even needing the schooling; she did befriend a few of her classmates, since their histories tended to be loop variable, but for the most part she had to admit she was preferring the second pastime. It was quite clear from the start that Cinder Fall was a villain in her home world-yes, she talked fondly of her 'sisters', and just as fondly of bringing foes to heel. Of course, her parents assumed all that was talk of fictional role-playing scenarios, a lie the woman encouraged. Riley wasn't sure they'd let her hang around her neighbor otherwise.

And therein lied the issue. Neither Riley nor Cinder had broached loop topics around her parents-not directly, anyway, bringing non-looping members of the family into this nonsense was always a problem-and it was difficult to get the woman alone. Or, well, it was difficult for Riley to get to her alone-her parents were still feeling out Cinder's trustworthiness, even as they accepted her offer of help. It made sense, honestly, no matter how kind Cinder was there was something distinctly... devious about her, a sense that she loved to play with people's lives as easily as their thoughts.

Speaking of which, in her mind, five distinct voices began to talk.

-9

"Look, all I'm saying is that she's got some seriously screwed up interests," Fear pointed out. "I don't think we should be hanging around her."

Joy rolled her eyes. "She's a looper, and she knows Riley's the Anchor. We're perfectly safe."

"Physically, maybe, but it's not inconceivable that she could traumatize Riley!"

"I mean, sure, but that's true with anyone. Look, I agree that we should watch our step around Cinder, but finding some place to talk to her-"

Anger growled as he scrunched up his newspaper. "You two have been going back and forth on this for a week and a half! Honestly, this is almost as bad as the intimacy issue."

"I thought we agreed NEVER to bring that up again," Disgust grumbled.

"My point is, you're stuck in a cognitive loop. You," Anger pointed at Joy, "want to make a new friend, and you," he pointed at Fear, "want to keep away from a dangerous person. And neither of you are intense enough in your want to overwhelm the other."

Joy sighed. "Well, what do you think we should do?"

"Honestly, at this point I don't care, I just want you to make a decision!"

"If you ask me," Disgust offered, "Cinder might be very dangerous, but it's not something we could _accidentally_ trigger. I mean, sure, she could have some berserk button, but it strikes me as unlikely. So long as we watch our step around her, Riley should be safe. Plus she does have a good fashion sense."

Joy nodded. "THANK you, Disgust. Sadness, what about you?"

Sadness tapped her hands together nervously. "...well, she's... I'll be honest, she seems the kind that cares very deeply about a very few things. She wouldn't want to hurt us, but I don't think she would mind if we got hurt. So... I don't know, I think we need to know more about her, but I don't think it would be good to just ask her about things-she's very good at sneaking around in her words."

Anger snapped his fingers. "Why don't we just follow her around, then?"

"Wait, what?" Fear blinked. "Are you saying we should stalk her?"

"Yep."

"Wow." Disgust smirked. "It's usually the creepy woman who stalks the twelve-year-old, flipping the formula sounds interesting. You know what, I support this plan."

Joy gave her a look. "Wait, seriously?"

"What? Just because I have to think our reputation doesn't mean I never want to have any fun."

"You call stalking a self-admitted vampire with a fascination for the dark side of humanity 'fun.'" Fear threw up a hand. "And if she catches us, what then?"

"Well, we'd just have to make sure she didn't catch us," Joy said.

Fear gave her a flat look. "Oh, yes, obviously, and as a twelve-year-old-"

"Riley is the anchor." Joy shrugged. "If she did get caught, all we have to do is say 'hey, I was looking for you, wanna pull a loop prank,' and voila."

Fear held up a finger, paused, and sighed. "I feel like I should be able to argue that, but somehow I can't. Sadness?" He turned to the blue emotion. "You have anything to say?"

"...It's basically the same for me. Cinder wouldn't care whether or not we got hurt, and stalking her doesn't change anything, as far as I know."

"Right." Joy put her hands down. "So are we all agreed? The plan is to follow Cinder at a distance, observe her, learn more about her, and then figure out what to do next."

"I don't think I'll win this one," Fear sighed. "Well, let's run it past Riley and see what she thinks..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.4 Harry Leferts**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

[RWBY/Land Before Time]

"Hello there, Cinder. Enjoying yourself?"

Jerking a bit, Cinder turned to regard the approaching Longneck with a small frown on her face. "Littlefoot. Should I even ask how you knew that I was here?"

There was a bit of a smile on Littlefoot's face as he hummed some. "You could, whether I answer or not though..." Shrugging, he sat down next to the small, feathered raptor. "So, Pyroraptor, hmm?"

With a glance in his direction, Cinder only shrugged best that she could. "Yggdrasil poking fun at me, I would guess. Is there a reason why you came here?"

If anything though, that seemed to amuse the Anchor greatly. "Well, just to talk, I suppose. You know that our loop is a Sanctuary Loop and one which specializes in therapy?"

Eyes narrowing, Cinder snorted. "I doubt that talking will help much."

However, Littlefoot only shook his head. "We're not the ponies, Cinder. We don't try and force people to talk if they don't want to. If you want to talk, we'll listen. But... we specialize in more physical means of therapy. We got a rather large amount of things that can be done here. Want to fight? We can point you to some sharpteeth. Want to relax? You can do that to. If you want to explore, you can either do it free style or with a guidebook. That's just a small portion of the activities we do here."

Slowly, Cinder relaxed some before humming as she looked out over the Great Valley. "And if I just want to stay here?"

Chuckling, Littlefoot held out a small book. "You can, but I would advise you to read this. It's a listing of all the dangers here in the valley and where they can be found."

For several moments, Cinder stared at it before raising an eyebrow at him. "... How dangerous is this place?"

Tone dry, Littlefoot allowed his eyes to become hooded. "Very. Ruby freaked out a little bit the first time she looped in her at how dangerous even the safety of the Great Valley can be. Apparently due to our reputation she didn't expect it... Though she settled in just fine after a bit."

Gently taking it, she began to flip through it. "Tar ponds? Quicksand? Erupting volcanoes? Hmm..." Her eyes flicking up at him, she tilted her head a bit. "Rules?"

Littlefoot just shook his head. "No harming the inhabitants of the valley and try not to harm any leaf eaters on the outside on purpose. Other then that... go nuts."

Slowly, Cinder's lips curled upwards a bit.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.5 Wixelt**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

[Freelancer/RWBY]

Edison Trent woke up.

Or rather, he noted, Ecru Taupe did. Trent raised a curious eyebrow at that. His memories told him he was in a fused loop with a branch that had a colour naming rule as part of a post-war tradition, and as such his usual title would make little sense here. He sighed. And he'd thought Edison had been bad…

Well, it wasn't all bad. He was slouched over on a bar stool in a not all that seedy establishment, a half-finished glass of brown-ish alcohol sat in front of him. It was quite expensive, according to his memories, and much more pleasant than many of his home beverages (hell, any drink that didn't have fuel waste as an ingredient was good in his book, really). Taking a swig, he glanced around, finding the outlet mostly empty save for himself and the man serving. Best to check the locals, he supposed.

Despite the number of iterations it had been since Gordon had first taught him to ping, it still felt incredibly odd to use what was essentially a psychic ability when he was so used to using technology. Nevertheless, he relented in doing so, receiving quite a considerable number in return.

"Now that was a match!" Trent blinked, looking over at the sound of the bartender speaking. The man in question was watching a holographic screen set up nearby, which was displaying the ending of a tournament. The word 'Vytal' crossed his mind briefly, and Trent considered that he might want to probe his local memories a little further.

Within seconds, he straightened up a little, his own history coming a little more into focus. Among other things, his in-loop nieces were taking part in the Vytal Festival, his 'sister' and himself had grown up as part of a bandit tribe that he had since abandoned, and he was working for a man by the name of Ozpin, the headmaster of the local combat school, as part of some secret conspiracy to fight off an ancient evil.

That last one, at least, felt familiar. Maybe it wasn't Orillion and the Order, but he could work with this, at least.

"Hrm," Downing his glass, 'Taupe' stood, tossing some of the local currency onto the bar top as he turned away, the bartender fixing him with a confused look, "Keep the change."

As the freelancer staggered outside, noticing for the first time that his unAwake self had been considerably drunk, he caught a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he was greeted by the sight of a majestic white vessel soaring overhead, and up towards the cliffs behind the city, where the aforementioned combat school stood. Trent couldn't help but chuckle slightly to himself, recalling that, prior to Awakening, he'd had some 'business' with its inhabitant.

That said, that was a no-go now. Not only would it be incredibly stupid if this Winter Schnee was both Looping and Awake, but a bad first impression could last; a lesson his initial loops had burned into him regarding a certain LSF commander. Trent hummed thoughtfully to himself, noting that, without that slap on the wrist, he'd have been as rough, abrasive even, as his Baseline self had been once upon a time. Even Trent had to admit that he hadn't been the most pleasant of company in the beginning.

He hoped time had been kind to him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

It was some time later that Trent, after several hijinks, had found himself in a student dorm room, sat opposite a teenage girl in a red cloak, a plate of cookies placed between them, and a glass of milk clutched in his hands.

He'd seen more surreal things in his comparatively brief time looping, but the fact that said teenage girl was, by all accounts, a fully vetted time abyss, put it somewhere up there.

"So…" Ruby mused, a wide eyed and curious expression covering her features, "You said you were from a space loop, right?"

"The Sirius Sector, yeah." Trent nodded, furrowing his brow, "What about it?"

"Do you have many ships?"

"I've got at least 1 of almost all of my branch's ships."

"How big do they get?"

"Probably not as big as you're imagining. A lot of them are solo fighters." The freelancer shook his head, a frown beginning to form on his face, "Look, I don't want to be rude, but is there a point to this?"

"I have this huge shipyard in my pocket. I had a butt ton of ships of all kinds in it." Ruby's grin faltered a little, "Until recently, at least…"

"…tough subject?"

"I'd…" Ruby shook her head, "We've just met, so I don't want to bother you. You'll probably hear about it sooner or later, anyway."

"Sure," Trent nodded, "You were saying?"

"Yeah," Ruby continued, her enthusiasm having returned a little, "Anyway, I've been looking for ships to refill it with."

"…sounds interesting." A small, good natured smirk began to play on Trent's lips, "I'd be willing to do a trade."

"What for?"

"Well, I've been, um," the spacer coughed, "working on a personal project that you might be interested in."

"Oooh." Ruby's eyes practically sparkled at the implied prospect, "Go on."

"I've been upgrading one of my loop's more powerful ships, the Titan, with whatever suitable tech I can scavenge," Trent explained, now seeming genuinely enthused, an oddity even when he was Awake, "I'm building a personal ship, basically."

"And you want parts?"

"That about sums it up, yeah."

"Well…" Ruby mused, a small joy in her voice, eyes never leaving the younger looper all the while, "I suppose I could do a switch…"

"I have ship guns that use practically no energy to fire."

"Done."

Trent grinned again. The engineer in him was practically doing a mental happy dance right now. He wouldn't show it as clearly on the outside, but somehow, he felt that he'd get on well with Ruby. At least as far as mechanical matters were concerned, anyway.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.6 KanameFujiwara**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Resolution

"You knew..."

Sasuke and Blake looked at each other. It was simply two words but it had a way of making the air suffocating and while Sasuke doesn't know why, his intuition told him he would soon enough.

"If you could clarify —"

"You knew Sakura was experimenting on Sarada," Blake spoke quietly. "You knew yet you allowed it..."

"...I did."

"Why?" Blake asked, astounded. Everyone within the Loops knew of Sakura and her infamous syndrome. What had happened to her was so damning that she had became the poster child of everything that was wrong with the Loops - of how it had a tendency to turn even the most upright of individuals to amoral gods. Sarada was a non looper but she was _family_. It wasn't right for Sakura to pursue an endeavor that she herself knew was ruinous to her on her own child!

 _This is wrong..._

"...I understand your concern Blake but you're missing a few essentials," said Sasuke. "Perhaps if you were made aware of it you would have a different opinion."

There was a pause. It wasn't long and it was broken not a moment later. "I loved Sarada. Sakura loved her as well. When she was made aware to us we had been very happy. She was the proof that we had wanted since long ago, that after all our struggles, after all our pain - happiness was there. It was good to know that there existed a future beyond us. And for a time we were happy. Of course as to be expected - there were problems..."

Sasuke gave Blake a bitter smile. "When Sarada was revealed to us we know less about her than we do now. And even now what we know about her is less than what we don't know. Complicating matters is that what we do know about her can be change at the whims of the Tree. What used to work may not work in the future and given such circumstances - we adapted.

"Sometimes we woke up late so we improvised. Sometimes we woke up early - we improvised. Sometimes we had a Sarada who doesn't want to be a ninja but instead told me very clearly of her desire to be a pastry chef - opening up her own bakery!"

Blake giggled at that.

"We have something extraordinary, Blake, and I won't be there to raise her most of the time, but Sakura is. Sakura was there when I was not. It was Sakura that had raised her more times than I could count."

He looked at Blake clearly and he spoke to her like a brother assuring his sister. "She confided me you know. Here was our child. So fragile. So beautiful. And she had to raise her. I don't know how many times she cried herself to sleep worrying of Sarada. Thinking that somehow she wasn't worthy of being Sarada's mother because of what she had done in the past. I told her then as I told you now that's not true. She was the mother of my child, my wife, the debt and gratitude I owe her will never be paid in full even till the very end of it all. I loved her. I trusted her. When she experimented as you called it, that was her way of becoming a better person, a better mother. That was her way of expressing the love of a mother..."

When Sasuke finished there was a moment's silence. Blake looked away, not wanting her brother to see how ashamed she was. Perhaps if she had been more rational things would not have been so messy. Perhaps she would not have been so close to tears. Perhaps...

"Blake," Sasuke said, interrupting her streams of thoughts. "Do not think of yourself too harshly. Your conclusion was to be expected... admired even. When faced with possible child abuses you leap to the defense of Sarada. You knew us longer yet you did not allow it to stop you from doing what it's right. I admire that about you and Sarada would wish to have an aunt as great as you."

To Sasuke, such words were of the highest of praises. What Blake did was worthy of it. It was hard to stand up to a foe but a friend? A family even? That was harder still. And Blake did this with resolve and he was sure that Sarada was in good hands with Blake as her guide.

"...Come, let us return home." And Sasuke opened a portal directly to their home. And as Blake watched her brother's back - she could not help but smile at how fortunate she was to have this family of hers...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.7 smxsonic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

[RWBYx Super Sentai/Power Rangers]

"The Red Wind, Ruby Red!"

Some loops seemed like a such a boring sea of monotony that even the weirdest shenanigans seemed blase.

"The Cold Calculation, Ice White!"

Some loops, on the other hand, were just so... OUT there... That there was no choice but to have fun.

"The Hidden Surprise, Shadow Black!"

Ruby didn't know why she and her team were wearing spandex and helmets, nor did she know why the Grimm looked like people in rubber suits.

"The Explosive Punch! Flame Yellow!"

All Ruby knew was that any loop where she and her team could pilot vehicles that combined into a giant robot, was a good loop.

"We're the four chosen to eliminate the Grimm and save Beacon, Hunter Sentai!"

The four posed dramatically.

"BeaconRanger!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

There was bound to be another sentai loop, but this one seemed different somehow.

"Speed of the Hunter, Red Ranger!"

The basics seemed the same, but while the Grimm were still Grimm, they were aliens this time too?

"Skill of the Hunter , White Ranger"

And although they were obviously still in Remnant, they refered to it as Earth in this Loop.

"Stealth of the Hunter, Black Ranger!"

Small things, really. Ruby just really to get to the Megazord fight.

"Power of the Hunter, Yellow Ranger!"

Oh, and Zwei was their mentor too, that was weird.

"Earth's Defenders never surrender!"

And their name could use work too.

"Power Rangers Hunter Force!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.8 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"Hmm." Ruby tapped the faucet as water dripped out. "Well, that's a problem. Should I solve it with looper weirdness or-?"

"Sounds like someone could use a little help from... _the fixer!"_

Ruby blinked, turning to see Taiyang in a ballcap that would have looked ridiculous even if the loop weren't chibi. "...You know what, sure. But let me set up my scroll to record things first."

"What? Why?"

"Oh, you know. So people can see my awesome dad and his great home repair skills. It'll be like one of those TV shows that Nora likes!" Ruby paused. "Well, okay, she _really_ likes the parts with power tools-"

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Her father grinned, even as the lights flickered. "Gosh, when did my little girl get so clever?"

"Around the time I adopted a manipulative megalomaniac as a second sister."

"Wait... what?"

"Okay, we're rolling!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Yang groaned as her motorcycle started sputtering. "See, this. This was what I was talking about. Look, I know you're upset, but-"

Taiyang, standing off to one side, cleared his throat and lifted a toolbox.

With a slow release of breath, Yang dismounted. "Dad... no. This is awkward enough without you getting involved."

"What have I always told you girls? So long as I'm around, you don't need to go to any silly specialists. I can patch up-"

"No, look, Dad..." The girl took a breath, taking him by the shoulder and moving him a bit away. "It's... me and Bumblebee, things are kind of weird between us right now."

"I... don't follow."

"We... we kind of broke up."

Taiyang opened his mouth, paused, and blinked for a bit. He looked from the sputtering yellow motorcycle to his eldest daughter.

"...I'm sorry, I think I zoned out for a bit there. You're saying you broke up with...?"

"Bumblebee, yes."

"...You broke up with your motorcycle," Taiyang clarified.

Yang sighed forlornly. "I know, it... it wasn't easy. We still love each other, it's just... our relationship wasn't going anywhere. It was holding me back, if I'm honest-"

"When did you even start _dating_ your motorcycle?!"

"Oh come on, Dad, you knew I took her out all the time!"

"Well, yeah, but that was-hanging out with friends, or-you were in a relationship with your bike?!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Ruby considers Crescent Rose to be her baby. I don't see how this is any weirder."

Taiyang blinked twice, eyes widening as the implications slowly started to sink in.

"Anyway, yeah, Bumblebee and I broke up," Yang continued, oblivious to his dawning dread. "But she is still my ride around, so... we still kind of have to work together. We're trying to figure out where we stand in regards to each other, and... I appreciate you want to help, but bringing family into this-especially parents-is just going to make an awkward situation even weirder, you know?"

"I... guess I could understand that," Taiyang murmured, dazed.

Yang nodded. "So, while I'm sure you could do an excellent job helping Bumblebee get back up to snuff, I think I'll take her to a different mechanic, just... just to make sure there isn't any close weirdness, like family... stuff, going on. Okay?"

"...yeah. That... definitely sounds like a thing." Taiyang paused. "Does Ruby really think Crescent Rose is her actual child?"

"She designed her to curl up and sleep under her cloak while not in use. I was a little weirded out at first, yeah, but it's kind of actually adorable."

"Uh... huh." After a moment, Taiyang shook his head. "Well. Today's been revealing. I guess I'll just have to figure out how to give Ruby the talk."

"Oh, uh, I... may have already done that."

"WHAT."

"I mixed up a porn mag and a weapons mag when I was thirteen!" Yang paused. "Okay, yeah, I should probably have told you that years ago, but-"

"Right." Taiyang crossed his arms. "That's it. You're grounded."

Yang frowned. "Dad, I'm living on a university campus."

"I'll tell Ozpin to ground you."

"...yeah, okay, that could work..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **89.31 (con't) Flametusk**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Sun turned a corner on the trail that led up the mountain island just in time for the holographic PDA Ruby had given him to start talking about seismic readings indicating a tiny explosion happened in the ship, before starting a countdown.

" _...Five. Four. Three. Tw-_ " And the Aurora exploded.

IlIlIlIlIlIl

Meanwhile, back with Ruby, she was contemplating how a floating island could feel the effects of the explosion, but not move at all. She didn't know if the teleporter was dependant on the gun's presence, which was why she hadn't taken it yet.

IlIlIlIlIlIl9

"So, why haven't you pocketed the thing that did this yet?" Sun asked her after he went through the teleporter to the floating island. "I mean, did you see that explosion? It was huge!"

"It did have a pretty good power to explosion ratio, and a decent range for such a small superweapon... Maybe I should see if the aliens that built it had any other things hidden around? That reminds me. Let me me just jump into the water so you can scan me," the Reaper told Sun.

"...Could you have phrased that a bit differently? I mean, telling me you're jumping into the water so I can scan you could sound a bit strange."

"I have no idea what you mean. I'm simply going to jump in the water, transform into a giant sea creature, and then you're going to aim the scanner at me and pull the trigger. What's there to misunderstand about that?"

IlIlIlIlIlIl9

Ruby, now transformed into the leviathan she Awoke as, raised one of her arm things above the water so that Sun could scan it. After a few minutes of scanning, the holographic blue glow around her disappeared abruptly.

IlIlIlIlIlIl9

"So, what exactly am I this loop?"

"I don't know. The scanner kind of exploded when I scanned you, and the PDA isn't much help either. The storage completely filled up." Sun told her.

"Honestly, I should have expected that. I should have known that my chibis would throw it off. So, what now? I'm thinking swimming."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.9 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Neo smirked at Weiss.

"So you want to swap places with me after the Invasion and go home with my father?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, I figured I could use my semblance on him. Make him see stuff and when someone else shows up, conceal my presence so as far as anyone is concerned, he's cracking up," Neo explained.

"So, you want to drive my father insane?" Weiss asked.

"Well, try to," Neo shrugged. "If I had Emerald's semblance, I could convince people he's crazy pretty easily. My illusions are seen by everyone so I'll be limited to making him 'hallucinate' when there's no one else to confirm that they're seeing it too. But it'll be good fun."

"...Well, it's not like I like my father anyway," Weiss muttered. "What about Roman?"

"He's planning on spending the rest of the loop in his bar, coming up with new drinks." Neo shrugged. "Try some things with ingredients his picked up since he last experimented."

"Huh. It's been a while since I've heard about his bar," Weiss mused. "He's still doing that?"

"Sometimes," Neo answered. "He's expanded it to have some rooms where he displays his thieving trophies...like your father's mustache."

"How did he...?"

Neo just smirked widely.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.10 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"...and if it's making you uncomfortable-"

"It's not the dates making me uncomfortable. It's more... the reasoning behind the dates. I mean, I do like knowing you love me, I just don't like knowing you... miss me. Because, you know, I'm right here."

"I know. I... didn't mean for it to come off that way. You just... seemed so casual about it these days."

"Well, I am, but that... that's not-"

"Jaune," Weiss interjected. "I think, and correct me if I'm wrong Pyrrha, what your wife is trying to say is that while she is comfortable with her own reactions to her death, she is not entirely comfortable with others internalizing her death and the consequences thereof. The implication that she is somehow distanced by her mortal absence, temporary though it may be, is one that upsets her." She turned to Pyrrha. "And you, in turn, must realize that while for you there is only the period of dealing with his Unawake counterpart before rejoining him, he must endure periods where you are recognized as dead and act accordingly even if he knows they are temporary. You at least have the comfort of a good-hearted but nervous teenager to mentor; he has to endure void, and this _will_ affect him in some manner."

Pyrrha sighed. "That... I know. Or, well, I know that in my mind. I... I'll try to be a little more sensitive to the issue. It's just... a little strange."

"It's my fault really."

"Jaune, don't beat yourself up-"

"I'm not talking about your death, we've gone back and forth on that. I'm talking about the whole... how the dating is..." Jaune rubbed his head. "Yeah, I'll... stop being... what, clingy?"

"Not clingy. More... um... shield-y."

"Shield-y?"

"Like, sometimes you just get this 'there's an assassin around' look, even though there isn't. Like you're expecting the tree to..." Pyrrha gestured vaguely. "The point is, I can handle myself. I appreciate that you want to keep me safe, it's sweet, it's just... you're not my suit of armor. I might be yours sometime, but that-it's... uh... I'm not explaining this well."

"No, I... I think I get it. Um." Jaune nodded. "I'll try to be a little less, heh, 'shield-y.' Okay?"

"Yeah. That... that could help."

Weiss nodded. "Well, I think that we've addressed this issue and come to a reasonable plan moving forward. I doubt I could be of much further assistance at this time." She stood, nodding to them both. "Thank you for allowing me to mediate."

Jaune snorted. "Oh, of course. It's not like you wouldn't have anyway."

"Jaune!" Pyrrha snapped, although her lips were twitching.

He held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. So, anyone want to go see that movie Glynda's been working on?"

"Oh, uh... I've been looking forward to it, but, uh, can I have a moment alone with Weiss?"

"Uh..." Jaune blinked. "I... we just got done having a couple's counseling session-"

"Oh, nononono. This isn't about you and me," Pyrrha assured him quickly. "I've been meaning to talk to her for a while, sort of a private project. Save me a seat at the theatre, though, we should be quick."

"Well, okay." He nodded, gave her a loving peck on the cheek, and walked out of the classroom.

Weiss quirked a brow as Pyrrha turned back to her. "So, what is it?"

"Well. It... has to do with my purpose, in the loops."

"Ah." Weiss nodded. "One of the eternal questions."

"Yes, well." Pyrrha fidgeted with her arms. "You see, I... after I died I had that period of figuring out who I was, you know. And I came to accept myself as... in baseline, basically being a beacon."

"What alliterative irony."

"I mean, I'm sort of a rallying point, both before and after that whole debacle. The icon which inspires everyone." Pyrrha sighed. "But, while I can accept that being my baseline role, it's just... it's not what I feel I have grown into being, in the loops."

Weiss tilted her head, expression one of polite curiosity.

"I... Well, it started before the expansions, really. When Jaune and I raised Ren and Nora. And then afterwards, I... well, I started reassuring people. I told Cinder it wasn't her-even though it was, but that's not the point... Ruby, she had some comments on hub loops and I walked her through that... Yang asked me for help with her waifu quest, then when Nora started worrying about Ren's state of mind, she came to me. Hell, even Ozpin confided in me about the Oscar thing-friggin' Ozpin! You know how close he plays his cards."

"You became... the confidant."

"Yes!" Pyrrha cried. "That's it exactly! I... I didn't mean for it to happen, but somehow... things started to build up. Even the new loopers-I found Kali at a bar once, and... the point is, everyone else is going to be dealing with baseline, but I... won't. And that sort of makes me the one who can serve as... an outside viewpoint? A nonjudgmental companion? Something like that. It'll be something to fill my time with, at least, and a way to still be... you know... relevant."

"Alright." Weiss nodded. "And... you wanted to talk to me about this because...?"

"Well, if I am going to be, you know, the one that everyone talks to, I should be able to help them as best as I am able. And you're the one with psychology degrees, so-"

"Ah." Weiss nodded again. "The first thing you should know is that there are different ways to help people."

Pyrrha nodded. "Well, I know that-"

"I mean there are different schools of psychology and therapy. Many have good points and many have bad points. So before you start thinking about how to help people, you have to think about what kind of helper you want to be."

"...I... I'm going to be honest, I don't quite take your meaning."

Weiss gestured to herself. "I present myself as a rational mediator, listening to all sides and weighing the options before interjecting with calm explanation and logical compromise. My style works for me, because I can maintain the poise and grace necessary due to my jedi training, but I will admit that very few loopers will cry on my shoulders. I'm not the shoulder-crying sort of therapist. I... if I'm honest, I'm a touch too intimidating for certain kinds of therapy to work."

"I see. And you would regard me as...?"

"Like I said, the confidant." Weiss nodded. "You aren't even regarded as a psychological doctor in the situations you've been in-a mother, a friend, somebody to talk to certainly, but not somebody who 'fixes problems.' Or even does diagnosis. You're... more personal, warm, open. Learning how minds work could assist in that, but you'd probably be better simply following your instincts and listening to those who need somebody to bounce their thoughts off of."

"...oh."

"...That said," Weiss mused, "I do think we could collaborate."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm. If I notice somebody who seems to be a bit unbalanced, I might just slip you a hint to go talk to them. And if somebody comes to you with a problem you feel is a bit big for you to handle, you could assure them that I am not nearly as frosty as my demeanor."

Pyrrha hmmfed in amusement. "Yes, well. Maybe if you stopped being serious all the time-"

"Again with the hilarious irony. This from Pyrrha 'I don't know how to make friends' Nikos."

"Exactly! I know exactly what I'm talking about. I loosened up a little, and I'm much happier for it."

Weiss chuckled. "Why do people keep telling me to relax?"

"...Because you take too much on yourself. Let me share the load." Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me take some of those worries."

After a moment, Weiss sighed. "I suppose you have a point. Alright. I'll... I'll see if I can."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.11 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Yang cleared her throat. "...Soooooooo."

"Yep."

"...So, uh." She rubbed her cheek. "Does this mean you and Ilia were... you know... a thing?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Despite the legions of shippers probably going nuts in the hub, all this new expansion confirms is that we were close friends. It doesn't mean anything about us, you know, emotionally." She shrugged. "I mean, I guess we _could_ have been a thing, but with the tree damaged it's one of those loop variable things and to be honest I'm more concerned with my future then my past. If Ilia's harboring feelings, that's... something I'll deal with when it comes up."

"Well, yes, obviously. That's not exactly what I was getting at."

"Oh?"

Yang took a breath and let it out slowly. "...It's just... Chronologistically, if you and Ilia were a thing, it would likely have been around the same time that you and Adam... were also a thing?"

Blake blinked. "What?"

"And, you know, if that's true, it kind of implies you, uh... might, you know, have tendencies that-I'm not saying they're wrong. It will take a little management, I admit-"

"Okay, let's back up here." Blake held up her hands. "First of all-whatever relationship I did have with Adam was abusive. We can just flat out admit that. Secondly, while we're assuming that said relationship was mutually romantic, that technically hasn't been outright confirmed, my view of him could have been limited to a mentor-"

"That just makes it all so much worse."

"Like anything about that thing could be seen as positive. But the point is, it's plausible that I was not in a romantic relationship with Adam whilst being in a romantic relationship with Ilia-"

"Could have been some sort of quadrant thing going on," Yang mumbled. "Matesprit and kismesis, or moirail maybe-"

"Don't bring Homestuck nonsense into this! I mean it was confusing enough when we _met_ the trolls-Look, that's besides the point." Blake took a breath. "The point is, it is possible that my baseline self is polyamorous, but it is not confirmed, and _it is not relevant."_

"Um." Yang paused. "I mean... it kind of is-"

"No, it is not." Blake sighed. "Listen. If she is polyamorous, I might incorporate it, or I might not, but either way I will not only let you know, I will make sure you are fully aware of who I might be interested in and why, and I will make absolutely certain you approve of anyone I bring into our relationship. Keyword: Our. This is not me going to have two separate lovers, that is never going to happen. I'm going to make sure everyone I love also loves me _and each other_ , because... because that's how it should work, I think. The ones that do. And that's assuming I decide I am polyamorous which, let's be honest, is assuming that my seventeen-year-old self is polyamorous and FURTHERMORE assuming I care to allow that part of myself to be expressed through the loops, and like I said I am more concerned with my future then my past at the moment."

Yang blinked. "...You've, uh... you've thought about this a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, well... there was that loop where we teased Sun with the possibility of a threesome, and you kind of... took it a bit far." Blake rubbed her ear. "I was... actually sort of wondering if you might be polyamorous, after that."

"Oh! Nononono, that was just lust. Not that Sun's a bad person, but the attraction was just physical." Yang paused. "Although... huh. Hmm. You know, I never considered whether I..."

She trailed off for a moment.

"Well, um. Wow." She nodded. "So... you and me forever, huh?"

"Yes, I think that's been pretty much established."

"Yeah. I know, I just... sometimes it's nice to be reminded."

Blake paused for a moment, turning to her. "Yang... are you okay?"

"What?" Yang gave her a winning smile. "Of course I'm... I mean, okay, I'm a little worried, but..."

The smile wavered under the worried golden gaze.

"...crap." Yang put her head in her hands. "Blake, I think... I think I might have a problem."

"Alright. What is it?"

"Well, you know how I was jealous of Sun?"

"Yeah?"

"It's... lessened a lot. I'm able to recognize it for what it is, and... but it's still there."

Blake let out a low sigh. "Oh. You know he's-"

"And it's not just him anymore."

"...what?"

"I... I kind of think... I might be jealous of anyone who gets to spend time with you."

Blake blinked. "Wait. Seriously?"

"I mean, this thing with Ilia-I know it's not the issue I made it out to be, but it just wouldn't go away in my head, and even know... and then there was that time where you were talking to Weiss about how the new, uh, pseudo-expansion was weirding you out, and I was annoyed for a brief moment because I thought it should have been me, and... I don't know. Blake, do you think I'm getting too clingy?"

"Not... really. I mean you seem a little nervous, yeah, but given our whole situation and the expansions-"

"I guess I can behave myself when you're around, but... I don't know. I think... I don't want to become the jealous girlfriend, but it feels like sometimes somebody says something to make you smile and-and for a brief moment it's like, I should be that person. Or, I need to get them away. And I, I recognize it when it happens, and sometimes I stop myself, but..."

Blake put a hand on her shoulder. "Yang... I don't know what to tell you. I mean, I can see why you'd be so protective, but if this is really becoming an issue... if you're letting it get in the way of your friendships... I'm actually kind of terrible at handling romantic jealousy."

"Really?"

"Remember, my first plan was to have Sun accompany us on our dates."

Yang laughed. "Ha, yeah. Seriously, what even was that about?"

"Well, you know, I kind of thought... he might be happy for me, or something."

"Right."

"Yeah, stupid idea. My point is... I don't know what to tell you. I can't help you handle this. Maybe... maybe Weiss has some idea of how to help."

"Right, the psychologist." Yang sighed. "Why is it always _me_ that needs to end up seeing the shrink? You and her are the one with abusive figures in your life!"

"Maybe we're just made of sterner stuff." Blake sighed. "Or maybe we just have well developed coping mechanisms..."

Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Look, I... didn't mean to make this weird. I'm having issues about you having friends, and that's on me. You have issues because your old friends have decided to be jerks and sociopaths, and that's on them. I... I'll talk to Weiss, figure out what the hell is up with my head, and work on this. And in the meantime, you know if you need to talk, I'm here." She rolled her eyes. "Handling your problems is always easier than handling my own for some reason."

"Kind of think that's universal. There's a reason they're called personal demons."

"Ha... yeah."

The two leaned into each other, staring down at the courtyard together.

Blake, slowly, snuggled into Yang's shoulder. "Look... even if you are being jealous and overprotective... it's coming from wanting to spend more time with me, not wanting to keep me from everyone, right?"

"Well, yeah, obviously! I mean I'm not going to try to lock you in a tower or anything." Yang snorted. "I'm not _that_ sort of dragon."

"Good. That's good." Blake smiled and shut her eyes. "It means you love me just a little too much to know how to handle it."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.12 KanameFujiwara**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Tai's Vlog

"Yo this is me, Tai, for yet another episode of Survivors! So we're going to explore some food and I think it's going to be quite interesting.

Now some of you might be wanting some of those muscle time with me but let me tell you - a healthy body start with what you ate so what you eat matters.

Now picture this scene - the kingdoms had fallen. All contacts cease. You are alone in the wilds - _what to do?_ Previously we exploreed on how to create a proper base, now we have to figure out how to score some chow time!"

"-now say what you will about Atlas but their rations were pretty good. Some of these must have been since the time of the Great War and it's actually edible. Now be careful to pick and choose. You already know that some of these rations are not going too last, but what you didn't know is that some of them are purposefully poisoned. See, back then these rations serve both as a supply for their troops and poison to everyone else. If you're lucky - it's just diarrhea. If you're not - well - let's just say having your anus on acid is a very painful way to die. There's a trick to it. It's all about noticing a few numerics in the package-"

~~~***~~~9

"See, that's why I love honey. A lot of folks from my family love it as well. In the right light this delicious food can last forever. And it can do some neat tricks. See, when my wife was still alive she would use these as medicine for ulcers. It turned out great! They have lots of healing properties as well. Definitely want to have some of them when the Grimm Apocalypse happens. Finding it is a bit tricky but bees usually thrive in tropical climates and heavily forested areas. Now it might surprise some of you to know that I actually met a Grimm Bee and they indeed sting like a bee - if your stinger is as sharp as a samurai sword! Yikes!"

~~~***~~~9

"I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. And it seems like it's going to be a while to the nearest outpost. What's a man going to do? I heard some of you suggest eating my own piss and shit - well screw you! You listen and you listen well - eating waste from the body is not a good way to properly nourish it. It's about the worst thing you can do! Your urine is salty which is bad when you're dehydrated and poop has something call e-coli bacteria. That's bad - very bad. So yeah I'm not recommending the shit and piss diet. What you need to do above all else is to calm down and-"

~~~***~~~9

"So apparently I am now hostage to the Tribe. They are demanding a lot of stuff from me. I told my first wife that they can go and screw themselves! Not going to lie - their chicken is to die for. But I'm not budging. This is survivor!"

~~~***~~~9

"So I had some slow talk with the wife and she portal me home. Yeah, it seems my eldest is having a row with her mom so I'm going to stay away from that. So remember people - no matter the situation, stay calm, think positive and remember - SURVIVE! Don't forget to like and subscribe. Up next - the Swiss Army knife. Some interesting ways to use them!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.13 StormyAngel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Yang glanced up from her book as her sister ran giggling through the hall. It was a Chibi loop, so it wasn't exactly an uncommon sight, even when Ruby was Awake as she currently was. Even so...

"What's up Ruby?" she asked her cheerfully.

"Gah!" Ruby stumbled, toppling over. "Uh, Yang? What's—oh. Uh...Nothing!"

They both paused, Ruby's failed attempt at deflection floating shamelessly between them for a moment, then Ruby hung her head in defeat.

"Right, well, you see I just got to watching some of the Chibi backups a couple loops back and I've been dying for a chance to talk to this one character ever since."

"Yeah?" Yang frowned. "Who though? It's not like you couldn't talk to anyone back in the normal loops."

Ruby picked herself off the floor sheepishly. "Well, the thing is...they don't really talk there."

"Who would..." Yang facepalmed. "Oh, come on Ruby. The _grimm_? Seriously?"

"I know, I know," Ruby replied. "I just...I've always wanted a chance to talk to them. And now that we know they _can_ in the Chibi loops..."

"One of these days we are going to have to address this." Yang groaned into her hands. "You realize you have a bad habit of associating with unrepentant nonlooping villains right?"

"I do not—" Ruby raised her hand in protest before pausing. "Okay so Cinder was a—" she frowned thoughtfully. "Roman and Neo and then...Hazel... _mumble_...Raven a while back...Ilia..."

"Huh," she eventually settled on.

"Exactly." Yang stood up and walked over to hug Ruby. "I know you're bored sis, but there has got to be a better way to spend your time than bonding with evil henchmen. I mean, what if you managed to get the Grimm looping!"

"That would never happen," Ruby dismissed with a wave. Then her face fell a bit, and she scuffed her foot against the floor forlornly. "Although...I guess I see your point."

Yang gave her baby sister another hug before sighing.

"Oh, don't be so down in the dumps." Yang scolded her. "Just because you have a bad habit doesn't mean you can't talk to them. I just think there's more... _interesting_ options."

Ruby gave her sister a quizzical look, before Yang rolled her eyes.

" _Pranking_ them, Ruby. I'm talking about pranking some sapient grimm."

Ruby's face lit up with a sparkle in her eye, "Yang, you're a genius!"

And the two sisters ran off for some good old-fashioned, not-so-mindless-anymore-eldritch-abomination-monster-pranking fun.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.14 LithosMaitreya**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"Mrs. Belladonna," the Deputy Headmistress greeted with an expressionless nod. "Please, sit down."

Kali came forward into the small office and sat across from Glynda, folding her hands in her lap. The chair was quite comfortable. "I thought I'd be talking to the Headmaster?"

"He's not Awake."

Kali blinked. "Wait, you _are_?"

Glynda nodded, still perfectly composed. "Yes."

Kali blinked a couple of times. "Are you… all right?"

"I'm quite well, yes. But we need to talk about Blake's behavior."

Kali narrowed her eyes. "…You know she's Awake too, don't you?"

"I do."

"…Then what's the problem?"

Glynda took a deep breath, in and out, through her nose, her eyes closing momentarily. "Miss Belladonna," she said slowly, "has been making _puns_."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.15 Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"Scho, it's like. Kinda like that. I like your hair, and you's a good guy, even if you did sorta be stupid cause of dancerling. BUT. The thing is, and this is super unfair for you, it's not the totality of you I like, just the hair. And, and I kinda think, maybe it can work? But I should be sorta honest." Weiss hiccuped. "Like, super honest, Neptune. Cause, you know, you should be knowing what you are getting in for."

Neptune nodded. "I know. I know. I mean, I know I look great, and I have smarts, and... it's just getting people, you know? Like Sun gets me, and the others, and that's why he's the team... guy. The team order guy."

"Team leader?"

"Yeah, that's the word. So, like, you're pretty and awesome, and, and you could get any guy or girl, so, I'm sorta coming into this knowing I might not be right full in the... stuff. Yeah."

"I can't get everyone." Weiss sighed forlornly. "The one I want the most probably hates me..."

Ruby glanced at the pair, cautiously sniffing the glass in her hand. "...Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you spike the punch?"

"I can confirm that no alcohol or behavior-altering substances were brought anywhere near the punch by my own personage or any extension thereof."

"...did you convince somebody else to spike the punch?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Did you accept a bribe not to be looking at the punch after the dance started?"

"I have received no monetary compensation-"

"Yang."

The blonde shrugged. "Coco said it would be fun, and Blake can hold her sake."

"Yooooooou." The mentioned feline faunus sauntered over, barely a sway in her step. "You are... the reason that there is booze. In my system. Don't deny it."

"Kay, I won't."

Ruby threw up her hands, accidentally flinging the contents of her glass on Ironwood. "Oh, so I have to weasel my words, but for her you just flat out admit it."

"You are lucky you're so hot and sweet and caring and sexy and good with words cause, cause I only just realized I'm rambling, and as soon as I'm not intoxicated I'm going to be VERY upset that I've been talking so openly about my feelings." Blake poked her partner in the chest. "VERY. UPSET."

"Got it."

"I will remember everything, Xiao Long. I never forget a booze night. If you take advantage of me, I'll remember it."

"What if I decide to make sure nobody takes advantage of you?" Yang inquired.

 _"I will remember that too."_

"Why would Coco even want this?" Ruby grumbled. "What benefit could she possibly-"

"EVERYONE, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCY THING." Velvet stumbled into the center of the room. "I. Love. My team. Like full on, romantic love, emotionally and physisexually. Now I haven't done anything with that yet, cause. Cause I thought I had to choose. BUT!" She pointed dramatically. "I just realized, that the best way not to choose, is to make sure that they all love each other. So as of right now, I say, like, all of them, we're all going to be dating each other. Fox and Yatsu, me and Coco, and Coco and Fox and, uh, four times four minus four divided by two is twelve, six? SIX PAIRINGS. Yes. And also tridates and team dates. I am saying this now, because I think I'll be too scared to say it later. GET ME MAH TEAM!"

She passed out. Coco, standing off to one side, managed to shake herself out of her shock and stepped forward to catch her.

"Well." Yang bit her lip. "Did not expect that."

Ruby sighed. "Honestly, this is going to descend into chaos. I'm just glad that Weiss isn't _where the hell did she go?!"_

"What?" Yang looked over to see Neptune sitting alone with his head in his hands. "Oh no."

Ruby zipped over. "Neptune. I know you're probably upset, but I need to know where Weiss is so she doesn't hurt herself."

"She told me why she agreed to come with me."

"Yes, so where is she?"

"It's my hair," Neptune mumbled. "My hair reminds me of the girl she lost."

"Okay, that's very sad, _now where did my drunken partner go?!"_

"I said... maybe she should try to get back in touch, maybe apologize, and she suddenly got this great big smile and told me I was a great friend and walked out-"

Everyone's scroll suddenly beeped at once, the image of a black chess queen flashing across the myriad of glass panels.

 _"Oh, so that's what this thingy does!"_

Ruby blinked, glancing from her scroll, to the tower, and finally to the corner where Cinder had gone very, very still.

 _"This, this works great. I just, I have so much to say. I don't know if you can hear me, but, but I'm so sorry, Ilia, I'm sooooooo sorry!"_

Blake went from leaning on Yang to clutching her arm in shock.

"Welp," the blonde managed, "Weiss sure sounds loopy, sis."

"Nah, she's just drunk and incredibly lucky."

 _"I was a jerk all the time, and I didn't know better cause, well, father always said I should make myself the leader in any situation. And I know, I know I deserve everything you did, every shattered tooth, but I was, I was a kid. I've learned. I've changed."_

"Oh my gods." Blake stared at the tower in fascinated horror. "Oh sweet dust."

"Hey Ironwood, don't rough her up too much!" Yang shouted at the general walking out the door. "She's boozed after all!"

Ruby blinked, glancing around, and zipped to Cinder just before she could leave. "HAHAHA I really need your help."

"I'm terribly sorry, but-"

 _"I don't know what I can do to prove it. I don't even know if you're still out there, Ilia, or if I'm just holding on to some schoolgirl crush. But what father's doing is wrong-no. Every way we mistreat faunus, deluding ourselves that everything is better, it's wrong. I, I didn't see it back then. And even now, I know I don't know what you suffered."_

"That's my partner rambling drunkenly for everyone to hear," Ruby explained quickly. "And you look like you have a good mind for manipulating reputation-please, can you just stay here and be ready to help me keep rumors from getting out of hand?"

"I, well, that is..." Cinder looked from Ruby, to the large crowd now giving her amused smiles. "I... suppose I could give you one or two tips-"

"I'm really bad at the social thing. Please?"

"Well that's this timeline gone completely off the rails," Yang mused.

"I don't know whether to laugh or cry," Blake murmured, the shock almost enough to sober her up.

 _"I could join the White Fang-no, they'd never take me. Oh, I know! Hem hem. ~Oh, mon bien-aimé Ilia, vous êtes vraiment joli et votre peau est comme un arc-en-ciel incroyable. Et je pense que vous êtes doux et savez comment jeter un coup de poing.~"_

"Oh noooooooooooo," Blake groaned.

"I am never letting her live this down," Yang said dryly. "Not now, not for eternity."

 _"~Et j'aime vos cheveux et vos écailles, ils sont aussi comme des taches de rousseur à moins que vous n'aimiez pas les taches de rousseur, je les ai adorées, mais vous savez ce qui vous rend heureux. Je sais que nous nous connaissions vraiment comme des écolières et c'est super bizarre à cause de ce que j'ai toujours dit, même si j'étais une petite fille et j'aimerais pouvoir le reprendre.~"_

Cinder stared up at the tower and sighed. "You know what, yeah. Sure. I'll stick around."

"Thank you so so much!" Ruby grabbed her hand. "Now I don't know what to do next, but I think maybe when Ironwood comes back we can work with him-"

 _"~Mais peut-être que nous pouvons aller de l'avant si vous êtes toujours là-bas? Vous pourriez me montrer comment j'avais tort, et je pourrais jeter de l'argent parce que les dieux savent que j'ai beaucoup trop de cela. Sauf cela ne veut rien dire, n'est-ce pas? Peut-être que je pourrais commander une pièce d'art de vous.~"_

Neptune sighed into his hands. "I'm going back to my room." He stood up and swayed to the door.

"Here." Sun rushed up next to him. "Let me get you back in one piece."

 _"~Non, c'est encore trop un cadeau riche. Merde, je suce amoureux! Quoi qu'il en soit, je suis à l'académie de balise maintenant, vous devriez pouvoir me trouver à partir de là, si vous êtes intéressé-~"_

 _"Weiss, that's enough."_

 _"Oh! General Ironwood!"_

 _"Where did you even find this broadcasting program?"_

 _"It was on the server, it looked brand new-"_

 _"Never mind, just turn it off. NOW."_

 _"Oooooh-kaaaaaay. Gotta go, Ilia! General's going to militarize me! Byyyyyyyyyyye!"_

There was a sudden ping, and all the scrolls went silent.

Blake put her head into Yang's shoulder. "I think, I think Weiss just, just made everything super confusing."

"Girl, you have no idea."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.16 diesel**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"Hey, Ruby?"

Ruby blinked looking at the apparently upside-down Sun as she looked for from her puzzle and position on the roof. "Ahoy Sunye, what do ya need from ye cosmic keystone?"

The blonde haired faunus didn't bat an eyelid at the odd speaking pattern. "Why are you so insistent on being a virgin, as in not willing have sex as a looper?"

"Why do ya care?"

Sun shrugged. "Curiosity, mainly. It's the loops, and you have never experimented? I'm just… curious, most loopers try really everything at some point. Do you want to remain a virgin forever?"

"Mostly?" Ruby said teasingly and gave a put-upon sigh when Sun didn't rise to her bait. "Ya a spoil sport, monkey boy." Ruby landed gracefully with a flip giving a bow. "And it be stubbornness for the most part. How about we go get some grub and talk on the way there, boyo?"

Sun laughed and took Ruby's offered arm, matching her step for step as they danced down the hallway to the beat of drums coming from Ruby's music player. The deepening twilight was filled by the sound of laughter and music.

"Ya known how loopers cling to aspects to keep and fragile hold and sanity?" Ruby asked as they waltzed down the hallway. "Or stubbornly cling to tics and quirks that cut them at the knees more than give them a semblances of benefit?"

Sun nodded as he spun Ruby around, the dance picking up tempo as other students began hitting things in time with the beat and joining the impromptus dance. "Like Kali and her clumsiness, so why did you pick going celibate?"

Ruby laughed in amusement as she started dancing on the walls, Sun join her a few moments later. "Ye think Ah just chose it? Ya need a head check. First few loops I got none, I was not even touched!"

They weaved around each other like it was a dance of death, pulling back at the last moment, moving in time to the music as the others watched on in awe or tried to match them.

"Just wasn't an thing to start with, Just didna see any attraction to anyone and everything was reset. Then I got memories of it and that was enough for them. And ya think I'm going to go after kiddies?" Ruby shrugged, offering Sun her hand and taking the lead.

Professor Port offered Glynda his hand and joined the dance. Some of the other students pulled out instruments or beginning to sing or beat box.

"What about Loopers?" Sun asked grinning as Ruby turned up the beat, rainbow motes of aura and dust swirling around them as other people tried to one up each other down below, sweeping the whole school into the dance. "One-night stands with people from other branches?"

Ruby released Sun's hand, striking a posed as she shifted styles, shooting him a burning, sultry gaze. Her eyes were brimming with humor and playfulness and Sun pretended to swoon. The two loopers beginning to act out a love story by dance. "Nay!" Ruby laughed running a hand through her hair as she made a come-hither motion to Sun, beginning a swaying dance towards the dining room. "The chance for such burning love between those separated by ye aching eternities and decayed histories had vanished into the horizon, long before it was an inkling of a spark."

The rhythmic beat echoed in Sun's head as he let the beat and tempo carry him away, letting his friend lead as they talked, ignoring the whispers below.

"Why?"

"Ya can blame me old sister, that Dragon was a part." Ruby grinned impishly, "Burning gold means burning passion and me kin spent time awash with sensation. Only a few loops, ya known. Not that bad. But she tried to get ye resident keystone into the games, get me laid by to reduce stress. But all I saw were kiddies and was being stubborn. Kept holding onto that. Never let go, get enough from memories and loops where there is not a streak of a chance out of it."

Sun laughed, the sound lost amidst the swirling music and lights as he took Ruby's hand again and hey kept dancing.

"Like I be saying, ye have a stubborn Keystone."

"What about baseline?" Sun asked, "What happens if you actually fall for someone there?"

He got a shrug in reply. "Baseline is as baseline does. Separate but forever linked, might give such a thing a go. Can't avoid it, so may as well be open to possibility and it be silly to dismiss something to a hand, just as silly to commit no harm looking at possibilities though. Baseline is me, but I not be Baseline. We not be same, if similar by skin and act." Ruby cocked her head as the setting sun streamed in, silhouetting her against the fiery sky.

For a moment, Sun felt his breath hitch.

"As be for Loopers? Not for, not against. See how things go, not going to turn down a sincere offer ta romance someone. But it be a long road to get this," Ruby gestured to her body as she tapped danced down the roof. "An then ye be facing issues with times lost and duty to all that rest up my will ta keep em anchored. I be having a duty beyond all that, keep everyone safe and balanced best I can."

"Doesn't mean that a relationship would stop ya doing that."

Ruby nodded. "Still be another factor, boyo. Too much problems in this here loop, can't afford ta risk alienate someone. I be having no interest in other branches either, Remnant or relationship be a remnant before it blooms."

Sun was silent for a moment, he kind of got most of that.

 _I wonder… she is beautiful in her soul and form._

Sun blinded as the thought registered, what the heck?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.17 smxsonic, Masterweaver**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

"Am I weird, Weiss?"

Weiss cocked her eyebrow. While being used to odd conversation starters, Ruby was never one to second guess her position on things.

"There is no end to answers to that question, Ruby."

Ruby hummed in response. "Well, I guess the question is: 'Is my thing with celibacy weird?'"

Weiss turned around from her desk to look at her partner, who was currently hanging upside-down from the top. She didn't seem to be particularly stressed about the subject, more like this just kind of was on her mind.

"Staying Celibate isn't weird in itself..." Weiss started diplomatically.

"There's a 'but' there..." Ruby countered preemptively.

"Well, it's less that you choose to stay chaste, and more how you seem to always point it out."

"Huh?"

"It always looks as if you're Protesting too much, acting as if we'd forget if you didn't bring it up every time it seemed necessary."

Ruby hummed taking in the sometimes therapist's words. "The others keep asking me about it though."

"Again, because you feel the need to say it. Most of us wouldn't really need to know, or would really care. It's less that they think it's a big deal and more how you think it's a big deal."

"I mean, I don't want to end up in the kind of situation Yang and Blake are in now with Sun."

"It does also seems odd that you, Ruby, the Anchor that has declared war on baseline, the girl who will defy destiny at any cost, is basically waiting for destiny to hand you a significant other on a silver platter."

Ruby sat back up and sat down right side up on the top bunk with a sigh. "That... does sound weird now that you put it that way."

"That being said, I don't expect you to just start getting into bed with every looper you meet. Like I said, being Celibate in itself isn't all that odd, many other people make the same decision, looping or not, for various reasons."

Ruby rolled back on the bed and started hanging upside down again.

"Yeah, I see what you're saying..."

The two sat in silence with nothing much more to say. The talks on looping ethics would wait for another time. Because as most loopers well know: Two hours cannot pass before some shenanigans happen in some way or another.

Said shenanigans came in the form of Yang kicking open the door and carrying a visibly resigned Blake through the door. "Somebody get me some salmon, stat! We have a crisis on our hands!"

Weiss glanced up, took in the scene, and rolled her eyes. "How expensive do you want the dish?"

"Let's put it at a pampering level of seventy-three percent."

"Sixty-seven," Blake interjected.

"Sixty-nine?" Yang inquired, waggling her eyebrows.

"Later, when I'm not annoyed at you." Blake rolled her eyes. "Also, this doesn't count as making it up to me."

"What?" Yang tossed her onto her bed. "What do I have to do to make it up to you?"

"No, telling you would make it mean less. But this does buy you time."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she handed Yang a seafood dish that would probably cost a lot, even for her. "You two are incorrigible. Honestly, half the time I think you fight just so you can make dramatic sweeping gestures in apology."

"Is that your professional opinion, doctor Weiss?"

"No, it's my bemused observation as a friend."

Blake took the plate from Yang, chewing on it thoughtfully. "Well, being fair, you are enabling that sort of behavior by handing out this sort of food."

"I suppose that's true. I'll have to find some way to break Yang of the habit."

Yang grinned. "You won't."

"I will."

Blake's ears perked. "Hey, Ruby... you've been kind of quiet. What's the matter?"

"Eh... I don't know. Just..." Ruby sighed. "Is it weird that I keep insisting I'm celibate? And that you guys keep teasing me about love and romance and all that..."

"...I mean, not... exactly." Blake shrugged. "I get that you want to be the simple soul that baseline makes you out to be. Is it really bugging you?"

"I don't know. I mean, kind of? It's just, I remember a couple of times where you and Cinder really prodded me about it. And I mean... I get that you two are really happy together, don't get me wrong, and you express it a lot through sex, but it's like... Jaune and Pyrrha are also happy together, but sex isn't as central to their relationship? I mean it happens, but it's not-"

"Yeah, the thing about the sex thing is, we sort of click into it more than they do," Yang explained. "It's sort of like... a lot of my identity is wrapped up in my physicality. I punch people, I have big honkers, you know, that's not just the meat-puppet I drive around but a part of me, as myself. And Blake... uh..."

"I'm very in tune with my own body," Blake said simply. "My semblance, my extra ears, and there's the fact that I have a larger than average chance of being not what I usually am. So I enjoy... this part of me, yes."

"But with Jaune and Pyrrha, their bodies are... tools. Like, they're warriors first, lovers second." Yang paused. "Well, okay, not warriors first, but it's pretty high up there. So having sex is enjoyable for them, but it isn't something that they identify as expressing themselves-well, not as much as their styles of combat."

"So," Ruby mused, "you're saying that because I choose to focus on weapons, my expression of self is more through my weaponry than my physical actions?"

"Something like that anyway." Yang shrugged. "I kind of chalked up your celibacy thing to the fact you're stuck mid-puberty."

There was an awkward pause.

"Like, the hormones and all," she explained. "For the rest of us we're sort of on the tail end-I mean Weiss might be a late bloomer and Neo's occasionally prepubescent-but for you you're constantly dealing with your body sending you conflicting urges and you decided to shut it out until you grew up. Or something."

"I'm a living swarm of-"

"Yes, yes, the chibi-ruby thing. I don't know if that neutralizes the problem or makes it worse. It's like... you're obsessed with the _concept_ of sex, but you want to analyze it fully before you try it for yourself?"

Weiss sighed. "Yang, I respect your skills as a combatant, tailor, and surgeon, but as a psychological analyst I think you're best suited to being the comforting hugger, not the problem diagnoser."

"Noted."

"There's also the romantic side of things," Blake commented. "You seem to emotionally set yourself up as everybody's friend or family member, which is nice but sort of precludes the depth of connection that real romance has."

Weiss opened her mouth, paused, and nodded. "You would know, wouldn't you? Given the relationships of your baseline and all."

Blake gave her a flat glare. "Look, whatever's going on with Ilia, whether I'm polyamorous or not is my choice."

"I... did not mean to imply you were polyamorous," Weiss stated. "I merely meant that your relationships with Adam, Sun, and Yang give you a wide spread of intense interpersonal experience from which to derive the nature of romantic connection."

"...Oh."

Yang chuckled. "Actually I sort of joked that Sun could be her moirail a while back."

Blake sighed. "Just because you're an internet hound whenever we hit the hub doesn't mean you have to bring Homestuck into every conversation."

"Well, there's that comic circulating where Nepeta talks to you about your quadrants."

"You do have an interesting variety of intense relationships," Weiss noted in agreement.

Blake rolled her eyes. "If we're really bringing troll romance into this, you and Ruby are definitely moirails."

Ruby blinked, sharing a look with the equally surprised Weiss. They stared at each other for a moment or two. Then, as one, they shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah okay."

"Fair enough."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.18 Shimmer712**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

An unAwake Yang flipped through the magazine when she heard thumping from upstairs. "Ruby? What's that noise?" she called to her sister.

"My bed! I'm having fun with Sun!" Ruby called back with a giggle.

"Oh. Okay." Yang nodded before freezing as the words processed. Her sister? With a guy in her bed?

Yang shot up and bolted upstairs, arming her gauntlets and preparing to punch the fanus. She burst into the room.

"WHAT-" Her outburst died on her lips as she stared at the two. She snorted.

"Jumping on the bed? Really?" she chuckled. "How old are you?"

"We are older than you know as the world is broken and we are condemned to repeat our lives until reality is restored," Sun stared gravely, pausing to stare off dramatically into the distance.

"May the gods defend the computer," Ruby said solemnly, clasping her hands in prayer.

Smiling, Yang shook her head. "Lemme show you how bed jumping should be done," she declared, jumping onto her own bed.

"All hail the Dragon Lady! She of Flame and Bed Jumping!" Sun announced.

"Was that a pun about my name? Puns are _my_ thing here, mister!" Yang laughed.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.19 Fictional Fanatic**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

(Some loop a long while back.)

Rick Awoke to some surprising circumstances. For one, he had been living with Beth for a lot longer than baseline. Secondly, Morty was nowhere in his loop memories, and neither was Summer, or rather, not the Summer he was used to. Instead his grand kids this loop were named Summer and Ruby. Pinging, he got one response back and took a swig from his canteen. "Welp, guess I gotta show the visiting looper around. Wonder it it's Ruby or Summer." He hoped it was Ruby, since according to loop memories, they had begun adventuring a lot earlier than he usually did with Morty in Baseline.

-9

"You have got to be shitting me! Again, really Ruby?"

"I'm sorry Uncle Rick, but I am not putting this thing up my butt."

"For fucks sake Ruby. You said you wanted the whole experience. I'm telling you, this is what happens in baseline."

"Yeah, no. I'm skipping this part." Ruby said, unamused as she instead put the seed into her pocket.

"Fine, if you're gonna be that way and take all the fun out of it, we might as well just not bother with most of the loop."

"Look, Rick, I draw the line at stuff like that. I. AM. NOT. Shoving seeds, up my butt."

"Yeah, yeah. You made your point. Let's just go back home and put that sucker to use," Rick said, taking out his portal gun and opening a portal back home.

-9

Rick blinked in surprise as the triple simulation around him disappeared, just as he was escaping together with what he had confirmed was the fake Ruby. "Huh? Well this is new," he commented as he saw the state of the Zigerions' spaceship. "Wow, what happened here?" he asked in astonishment.

"Well, they decided to kidnap you. So, in turn, I decided to get back at them," Ruby explained, appearing next to Rick in a dash of rose petals.

"Yeah, you surely spared no expense. Hey, may I ask you, did you kill all of them on your own?" Rick asked, looking at a decapitated Zigerion lying at the entrance to the simulation chamber.

"Yep!" Ruby replied cheerfully.

"Geez, I thought you were all like, peace, save everyone we can kinda looper. Guess I was wrong," Rick said, only to notice Ruby frowning.

"I don't particularly like the Zigerions. They put me through a really bad null loop once," Ruby explained.

"You... you want to talk about it?" Rick asked.

-9

"Yeah, I can see why'd that be traumatic. Say, since you obviously got your revenge, our Rick and Ruby adventures are now over."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"I'll tell you why, because you're acting like a little piece of shit! That's why!"

Ruby was about to object, but Rick simply continued.

"Just because you wanted to get your god damn revenge, you tell me you want this to be a baseline loop, while you just jump the rails as soon as it suits you."

"I told you, I am not doing butt stuff!"

"This isn't about the butt stuff. This is about you listening to me. I can compromise Ruby, but if you just do shit on your own as soon as you feel like what I'm saying isn't agreeable, then you're not cooperating. I know you're an Anchor, but guess what, so am I. This is my loop, so if you hadn't guessed, I outrank you! My loop, my rules. And if you can't follow them, then I have no obligation to help you with going baseline. Got it?"

Ruby just nodded in response, looking down a bit in shame at having behaved that way.

"Good, now we're finding Jerry and blowing this shit up before going home where you're staying for the loop while I take care of all the other shit the loop usually throws my way."

"I could help." Ruby offered weakly.

"Help? No thank you, I don't need someone who starts arguing with me every chance they get. I already have one Morty, what would I need another for? You know what, just talking to you right now pisses me off, just go home and we'll talk once we get back." Rick said, opening a portal and swiftly pushed Ruby inside.

"Now, to find the other idiot."

-9

"How about this. I bring you a thousand different versions of the Mc Donald's szechuan sauce and in exchange, you give me another chance where I promise I'll behave and listen to what you tell me to do."

"A thousand? You don't think I've had the opportunity to collect more samples than that by myself? Make it a million and I'll consider it. However, you have to collect them all entirely by yourself."

"Fine, but I'll have the right to pocket any tech we come across in that loop."

"Yeah, right. But nothing until you bring me that sauce."

"Then it's a deal."

"Then it's a deal."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

 **93.20 BIOS-Pherecydes**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=9

Standing in front of a large crowd of new recruits, The General paced back and forth. "Listen up ladies! You're here for one reason, and one reason only," Spinning rapidly she slammed her pointer into the board beside her, upon which a diagram of their mortal foe was drawn. "To fight the infinite hoard of evil that threatens to overrun our utopian society."

One of the recruits raised her hand. "Ooh, Oooh. Over here."

Pointing to the figure, The General nodded. "Yes Ruby?"

"I thought we were here for sugar."

General Ruby nodded her head. "That too. Now sit your butt back down and zip it!"

Next to Ruby, Ruby palmed her face and pulled Ruby back down into her seat. "You must be new here."

Ruby nodded her head. "Yep. I was just fissioned yesterday."

Nodding, Ruby shook the newbie's hand. "Nice to meet ya. So what brings you to the frontlines?"

"I was told we could get extra sugar if we volunteered. So I thought, free sugar and a chance to fight. Win-win."

Ruby nodded with a grin. "I know, right?"

Back up at the front, General Ruby was once more engaged in her lecture. "First things first! Know your enemy!" Pointing to several diagrams in quick succession, she rattled off names. "E-Coli, Staphylococci, Streptococci, C. botulinum. Rhino, Corona, adeno, coxsackie, and Orthomyxoviruses. You thought the Grimm were bad? Ha! The War on Grimm is nothing compared to _our_ war.

"A million to one odds every second of every day. And it never stops! CONSTANT VIGILANCE! But! In exchange for your service you get to keep all the sugar you can carry. Use your Cookie Beams wisely Rubys. Remember, you're not just fighting for you. Every kill you make contributes to the safety of the Whole.

"We are the candy bringers! The money makers! We who control the sugar, control the Rubyconomy. But we are also the protectors! The last line of defense! We are the Immune System HOOAH!"

"HOOAH!"

In the back, Ruby turned to Ruby with a curious look. "She's kinda weird."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I heard she's all the way from the First Fissioning."

Ruby's eyes widened. "No way. Really!"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. That's why she's The General. She and the other First Guard even get called on by the Council of Ruby up in the head when things get really serious."

"Whoa." Ruby said with a low whistle. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to look. A figure in black and red, with pale skin and bone white hair, silver eyes surrounded by radiating lines of black, but the same face as everyruby else. "Hey, who's that?"

Following Ruby's pointer finger, Ruby saw the figure in question and frowned. "That's one of the Sisters. At least that's what they call themselves. We just call them Salemified Rubys. They're regular chibis, same as any other Ruby, but they hold onto any of the bad stuff that regular Rubys don't want. Anger, hate, jealousy, that kinda stuff."

"Why do they look like that though?"

"Eh, once upon a time Ruby Prime got possessed by a Salem, and she focused it all into a bunch of chibis. They decided to keep the look."

"So, they're like evil us. Us'. Useses?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. If anything, they're the best of us. They keep the worst parts of us locked away, so the rest of us can just be normal. They don't have to do it. They just do. Of course, they're also jerks. Holding all that stuff has to come out somehow, so they're all sarcastic and play mean pranks and are just big stupid-heads."

Ruby was quiet for a bit, before she nodded to herself. "So why's she here?"

"The Sisters are always on the frontlines. That's how they take out all their aggression without doing anything _really_ evil."

"Oh. Is it alright if I talk with her?"

Ruby grimaced. "You can, but they're not really good chibis to hang around with."

Ruby nodded. "That's okay."

Shrugging, Ruby gave up. "Eh, your choice."

Getting up, Ruby made her way over to the Sister. "Uh, hi?"

The response was less than friendly. A dismissive glare, and a cruel grin. "What do you want?"

"Well, I, I mean if it's not a problem, I just—"

"Spit it out!" The Sister snarled.

"I want to join the Sisters!" Ruby shouted nervously.

Suddenly every eye in the area was focused on her, and Ruby wanted nothing more than to melt. The Sister gave her another once over and her smirk grew softer. "Do you really."

Ruby just nodded, and the Sister smiled. A nice smile.

"Come with me."

Taking a look back at the other recruits, and the shocked face of Ruby in particular, Ruby mustered up her courage and turned to follow. Before she did so however, The General met her gaze and saluted her with a proud look.


	94. That Worrying Anticipation

**94.1 LoamLapse**

* * *

Yang had Awoken somewhere in the middle of the initiation, right as she was crushing the neck of an Ursa. The first thing she had come to see after that was an Unawake Blake scouring the Emerald Forest for other students, refusing to meet her eyes or even acknowledge her. She hadn't a clue as to why she was getting all that ice cold shoulder back then, as she seemed to have no loop memories at all.

That was then, weeks had already passed and she had figured out a few things. Blake rose up, standing between an unconscious Sun and a particularly sadistic variant of everyone's favorite criminal, who was winding up a golf swing at her. Yang rushed between them, her golden hair flailing wildly around as she took the brunt of his blow with her crossed wrists.

"You know, you kids at Beacon really should stick to picking fights with the Grimm." Blake struck the side of the SDC container, leaving a sizeable dent as she fell onto her hands. Yang grabbed her by the shoulder, the support keeping Blake's trembling arms from collapsing under her.

"Nasty as they are? Nowhere nearly as vicious as the world." Blake swiped her bloodied jaw and spat in reply to his mocking tone. Yeah, Yang had it rough with no friends. Blake and everyone else had it worse though. No aura this loop.

Roman kicked her in the ribs with enough fury that the force behind the leg lifted her up against the earlier dent, deepening the cavity enough that it could now hold Blake sitting inside of it. For someone with no aura, she was showing ludicrous resilience to the inflicted punishment. With a wavering hand and a scowl, Blake pulled her weapon from her back and fired it. Roman deflected the shot with a twirl of his cane, but without aura, the shot did a number on it, chipping it before the length of metal smacked the gun from her now aching hands.

"Why you… animal! You've ruined my favorite cane!" After inspecting the damage, he leveled it at Blake's head. Still too far. He cocked the hammer inside his cane.

Their rescue came as Ruby arrived on scene. Penny wasn't there, leaving her sister alone and Unawake against a particularly mean variant. She charged down at him to Yang's endless horror. She tried to warn her, but Ruby couldn't hear her as she descended upon him carelessly. Roman dodged the initial swing of her scythe, and tripped her. He scooped her from her tumble and lifted her up with a sturdy grip around her neck. The cane's firing end was lazily pointed at Ruby.

Still too far.

Yang studied Blake, wordlessly begging for her to be still conscious in her little dwelling. The ears at the top of her head twitched and she groaned, turning the thief's attention towards her.

"You're still alive? How about this, kitty-kat. You stand up and take your punishment, and little red here doesn't get another opening in the back of her hood. What do you say?" He smiled convincingly and it was terrifying. Blake grimaced as she rose to her feet and locked her eyes with the man. Then, she suddenly gave a stern look at Yang for the first time in a week. She whispered something, much to Roman's growing ire.

"I don't know what you are. But please, you've protected me all this time. Save her. She's my team and her partner would never forgive me if my mistake tonight cost us her life." She choked out these quiet words, burdened by physical and emotional stress. The muttered sentence was punctuated by a wet cough that pushed another dreg of blood into the fist she had curled over her mouth.

"I'm sorry miss, could you possibly use your _outdoors_ voice? **I can't hear you!** " Roman barked impatiently, pressing the tap of his cane to Ruby's forehead hard enough to leave a blanch mark. Yang sucked air through her teeth as his finger danced on the trigger. It wasn't a null loop, but she was currently very much not in control. It still had time to become a nightmare one.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you. Do it." Blake pleaded. Roman tilted his head in confusion, before a victorious smirk emerged on his face.

"You're the boss, lady." Blake stumbled weakly forward, meeting the cane halfway as Roman readjusted it towards her. She pressed against it, drew in a resolute breath knowing it could be her last one and closed her eyes.

How preposterous. Torchwick pulled the trigger, but Yang was faster and most importantly, finally close enough. In the span of a second, the cane had been mangled and bent to resemble a clef. The dust charge exploded inside the barrel with a pitiful _poof_.

"WHAT!?" Roman howled in wide-eyed confusion. It was preposterous that Blake had to even ask her for that. That she'd ever feel the need to. This loop, maybe she might have stopped talking to her after the initiation, she may have stopped even acknowledging her when she'd awakened at night to find her playing with her hair, maybe she'd even tried to get rid of her.

But even if she couldn't say it to her, swear it, even if Yang couldn't speak, she would never in the infinite loops abandon her, Awake or not. Torchwick had leaned forward aghast and having so politely offered himself, Yang punched him hard enough to send the man flying across the docks. Ruby fell down free, gasping for air as she crawled towards her scythe. Blake opened her eyes, and shared a relieved smile with Ruby before rushing after him. She mouthed a thanks to Yang as they rounded the corner and found Roman stuck between them and a dead end.

"If you think the world's vicious, you haven't seen my friend then," Blake let out flatly. Roman turned his horrified expression towards her, his eyes searching for some hidden ally of hers. Of course he couldn't see Yang. Nobody could.

"She's easily upset by people hurting others, but especially when they try that on me. Me and _Ruby, especially_." Yang cracked a smile, searching for Blake's approval. She gained it in the form of a nod and a smile. Yang might have not been able to speak this loop, but she had never been much of a speech person anyways. In difficult situations, she had preferred to let her fists do the talking.

Along with the newly gained trust from Blake, at least she had that going for this loop. Maybe it wouldn't suck so much from here on out. Maybe being bonded to her as her protective spirit like this wasn't so terrible.

" _ **ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA**_ -"

* * *

 **94.2 KanameFujiwara**

* * *

Consequence

Playing detective seems like fun and games. But with the loops, Sun discovered just how quick it could get real really fast...

"Something wrong partner?" asked Neptune. It had been going on as usual - both he and Sun trade their usual banter. It was all in good fun. And then he read the report...

"...Nep, that faunus girl we found at the brothel - where did you sent her?" Sun asked back, not once his eyes leaving the report.

"She was a ho selling her services. That's kinda illegal here in Vale so I send her to Chuck to be process-"

"-So you locked her up?" asked Sun, cutting Neptune off.

 _What the_ \- "Yes, I locked her up. Chill a bit. That's kinda our job you know," said Neptune, all the while wondering what the hell was going on. When Sun didn't respond Neptune snapped. "Alright, what's going on! You're been out of it ever since you read that report."

"...The girl was a rabbit faunus, looks like an 18 years old. She had a tatoo on her back. She doesn't speak when I tried talking to her. Her database was a blank."

"Right..."

"But the logbook from the brothel had a girl matching her exact description-"

"-Right."

"...8 years ago."

There was a moment of silence. At first Neptune didn't put two and two together but Sun could tell when he did because the expression on his partner had been replaced from one of confusion to horror. "You mean..."

Sun gritted his teeth and close his eyes. "She's not a criminal. She's a vic."

It took sometime for Neptune to collected himself. When he did, Sun spoke, "Go check on her and have the girl send to Eve. She knows what to do. And I want those goons spilling their shit. It's personal."

"Good cop, bad cop?" Neptune asked as he approached the door.

"Why not..." Blood was going to be spilled either way. He was too late to save the little girl 8 years ago. But he wasn't too late to save the woman now. Sun didn't have any delusion that he could save everyone. He couldn't. That didn't mean he would not try to save what he could. Because that's what he was. The Sun.

* * *

 **94.3 Shimmer712**

* * *

Sun had trouble looking Blake and Yang in the eye.

"Alright, Sun, what's with you?" Blake asked after the two had cornered him.

"Yeah, what gives?" Yang questioned.

"Oh, well." Sun scratched his head. "See, I just had a loop where you two weren't awake."

"You hooked up with one of us?" Blake guessed.

"Uh...that version of you was a couple," Sun said.

"...So?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"A couple who wanted kids and asked me to donate. And then revealed you meant doing the contraception thing all natural and were very kinky. And flexible," Sun said, turning red. "I have very clear memories from before I Woke up."

"Oh." Blake blinked.

"...That's pretty hot," Yang admitted.

The two faunus looked her.

"What? Just because I'm bit possessive of my girlfriend doesn't mean I can't enjoy the mental image!"

"She's taking that better than I thought," Sun remarked to Blake.

"It's probably the fact that my unAwake self was the one dating her that has her calm," Blake said lightly, a teasing tone to her voice. "Otherwise you may be in some trouble."

* * *

 **94.4 Shimmer712**

* * *

"You guys have nothing to worry about. I've seen your daughter in action before! And trust me, she's got some moves!" Sun announced just as he Woke up.

Oooh! He remembered this! And he had actually be planning out how to respond when Blake's Dad-

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wukong?"

-asked that.

Grinning gleefully, Sun launched into an exaggerated recount of the baseline fight against Roman at the Docks. Ghira stared blankly, having been not expecting such an enthusiastic description of his daughter's combat prowess.

Kali giggled and leaned over to her daughter. "Well, no one can say you're just a pretty face to him," she said quietly with an impish smirk.

"I guess," Blake shrugged.

"And then he ran away," Sun finished up. Ghira blinked at him.

"Well, that's good hear," he said. "And I'm glad she had good teammates to count on."

"Yeah, they had a bit of a hiccup, where Blake tried to run off and take care of things herself, that's why they weren't at the docks at the start of the fight," Sun explained, not sure how Blake would feel if he told her parents Weiss was a Schnee. "But they sorted it out. Hey, did you know they fought Torchwick when he had this huge robot?"

"No," Ghira shook his head.

"Oh, well I wasn't there for the whole thing but I heard about the rest from the others! See, me and my buddy Neptune, we teamed up with Blake and her team..."

As Sun chatted, he noted that he was probably making a better impression on Ghira this time around.

* * *

 **94.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

* _Brrrrraaaaaaaaaaaamp_!*

"Whoa." Ruby frowned. "Yang, what the heck did you eat?"

"Quadruple foryo sundae with extra cherry sauce. Also a couple pizzas. Half a jug of OJ... Oh, and a bowl of ramen."

"No, I meant just this morning."

"Yeah, I know."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Far be it from me to suggest Ruby abandon her love of pastries, but I'm sure she could make you more healthy meals."

"Any meal is healthy," Nora countered, "if it's being given to the right person. And it's not rotten. Should think that's obvious, but sometimes-"

A sigh preceded the entry of one Neptune Vasilias. "Yang, you are so uncouth," he said, shaking his oversized head in disapproval.

Ruby took a sharp breath. "Oh yeah, _this_. Yang, didn't have time to catch you up to the expansion, but-"

"No no no." Yang waved her down, grinning at the blue-haired boy. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"You want to know what your problem is?"

"I'm too awesome? I make this look easy? I care too much? I'm impulsive? I'm overly possessive of the people near and dear to me, to the point of irrational jealousy? I've got plenty of issues, boyo, you're going to have to be specific."

"You're a tomboy!"

"HEY!" Nora jumped off the couch. "HOW DARE YOU! If anybody here's a tomboy, it's gotta be me!"

Neptune blinked. "Wait, what? But you're... adorable! You wear pink and hearts and have that cute little nose boop thing!"

"I eat dozens of pancakes, smack around people with a grenade-launching hammer, and I totally rock the arcade!"

"But why would you want to be called a tomboy?"

"Because I don't believe in silly little things like gender-based societal conventions!" Nora declared. "Also, because Yang gets really angry when people call her a tomboy for some reason."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, seriously." Her hands had crushed divots into the armchair. "Not cool, Nep."

"I'll admit her manners are slightly lacking," Weiss allowed. "And her sense of humor tends to be crass. And her casual approach to personal feelings can come across as brusque. And her preference for fisticuffs and tremendous strength lend themselves to a less delicate and artistic form of combat."

"Weiss," Yang growled warningly.

"But apart from that, she is a paragon of feminine beauty and power." Weiss sipped her tea. "Frankly, I agree that the term tomboy better fits Nora than Yang."

"Honestly, it's kind of a pointless word anyway," Ruby pointed out. "I mean, we're literally fighting shadow monsters. And what's considered 'feminine' varies wildly between time periods and cultures and even within a single school. I don't even get what you're trying to say, Neptune. Yang's a tomboy? What does that even mean?"

"I... mean she's not very ladylike." Neptune coughed. "You know, sweet, cultured, adorable. That sort of thing."

"You haven't met very many 'ladies', have you?" Weiss deadpanned.

"All I'm saying is that maybe, if she gets it together, she could get herself noticed by somebody." Neptune grinned. "You know, a handsome fellow, like me."

There was a pause.

"Okay." Yang stood. "I know this is a chibi loop and you're not this bad normally. I know you're not looping, so you're not going to remember this. I know that I could be the bigger person, and just let this slide."

She cracked her knuckles, slowly and methodically. "But, one: I'm spoken for. Two: she's a girl. Three: You're an idiot. And four: Don't worry, you'll survive."

Ruby let out a small sigh, turning to Weiss. "Should we stop this?"

"No, let her have it, we'll talk about it later."

Nora broke out a bucket of popcorn, munching away happily as Yang stalked toward a suddenly very nervous Neptune.

* * *

 **94.6 Awesomedude17**

* * *

(RWBY x My Little Pony)

"I'm going to get over my fear of rabbits." Ruby said.

"Wait, really?" Yang reacted with shock. "Good for you. How're you gonna do it?"

"By confronting the worst one in existence."

"The one from Monty Python?"

"No. The Looper."

"WHAT! Ruby, you're insane."

"We're all insane, Yang, but this must be done."

"Ruby... don't."

Ruby trotted over to Fluttershy's pet rabbit, and fellow Looper, Angel. Angel looked at Ruby with confusion.

"Are you Awake?"

Angel nodded.

"Good. _YOU ARE A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE RABBIT THAT EVEN RABBIDS WOULD THINK OF AS VILE SCUM! YOU ARE AN EVIL JERKFACE WHOSE NAME IS IRONIC AND OUTRIGHT WRONG AS IS YOUR EXISTENCE! YOU MAKE GODS, ANGELS AND DEMONS SHUDDER IN HATRED AND DISGUST, AND YOU HAVE BROUGHT UPON MY RAGE BY EATING! MY! CARROT CAKE! COOKIE! SANDWICHES!"_

Angel blinked for a few seconds, right before clapping in genuine appreciation for her over the top insult.

"Oh... uh... thanks?"

Angel wandered off.

"So, feeling better about your fears?"

"...No." Ruby replied with worry.

Yang sighed. "Sorry to hear, but at least that insult was epic."

"Totally!" Rainbow Dash said, flying down. "Recorded the whole thing."

"You better have copies for us before we leave."

"What loyal friend wouldn't?"

Ruby knew that this would take a while, but that recording would help matters.

* * *

 **94.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So... here I am again." Yang gestured in resignation. "Laying on your fancy couch while you psychoanalyze me, and hoping that I can be fixed."

Weiss hummed thoughtfully. "So, you feel possessive of Blake. to a point where it's affecting your interactions with others. Did this start during your time of baseline separation?"

"The V4 stuff? Yeah it..." Yang paused. "Well... I mean, then, I was sort of jealous of Sun. But that was just like... it was just him. And I wasn't really actively jealous? I mean, it worried me, and we would talk whenever we woke up together, but it was more... in that case, I wasn't really worried about Sun so much as I was about Blake, you know? I mean I know she would never leave..." Yang shook her head. "No, I know she would never replace me. She did leave, but that was baseline and, as much as I don't like the whole reasoning, it... makes sense for her. Repositioning, you know? Anyway, I guess that I was letting my feelings about baseline dig at me, but I got over that pretty fast because, stalking aside, Sun's actually a decent guy, and he did help her get herself together. Baseline. I guess he maybe helped her while she was Awake too?"

"So you'd say Sun was a positive influence."

"Yeah! I mean, he's been one ever since he met her. Heck, even when he started looping, his first reaction wasn't to flirt-I mean, okay, I pretty blatantly said 'we're engaged,' and he took the time to back off and heal and we were all super sensitive about that, and... he's a nice guy, and I know Blake chose me, and for a while I wasn't jealous of him. And then, suddenly, I was?" Yang frowned. "That's weird. I... I don't know why I was suddenly jealous of him. I mean, I was a bit angry when he cut in on my dance with Blake, but then he explained he wanted us to hang out, for a bit. To get over it. And..."

She paused.

"...huh. Come to think of it, I wasn't jealous of him even through that. It... it came after that. Is that weird? That I became jealous of him only after I got to know him?"

"Not really," Weiss replied. "Knowing somebody allows a more personal understanding which, in turn, allows more personal emotions. I would say you were not jealous of pre-Awake Sun so much as you were perturbed, correct?"

"...yeah. Actually, yeah. That's a good way to put it. And... it's not like I ever felt bad about him spending time with Blake. It's more that I didn't want him spending time with Blake while I wasn't there." Yang groaned. "So we're back where we began."

"Hmmm." Weiss tapped her lips with her pencil. "Sun might have been the trigger for your possessiveness, but... is it possible he's not the underlying cause?"

"I... guess? I mean... if there's a problem, I'm not sure what it is. I'm happy with Blake, and I know she's happy with me, and I know that whatever Baseline throws at us we're going to end up together in the loops, so, you know, it's not like it matters-or, I mean, it shouldn't matter that she can be friends with other people-WOW. No, no no no, not what I meant." Yang took a breath. "No, I am NOT locking her up. Not that kind of dragon. See, this is the problem. It's like, I want to hug her tight all the time, or at least be there, but I know that just saying 'she's mine and nobody can talk to her without my permission' is a dangerous road, and yet, there's... I don't know!"

"What would you do without her?"

Yang blinked. "What?"

"I'm not saying if she was gone forever," Weiss clarified. "Just... if you had to do something without her. What would it be?"

"I... um. Hmm. Work on my stances... maybe keep up with my surgery stuff, and the lingerie... tease Ruby... read some hub literature, or something... um. I guess... just ordinary stuff?"

"Interesting..."

"What? What's so interesting about that? It's just the usual stuff, you know. Hobbies!"

Weiss scribbled some notes on her pad. "...so, about your breakup with Bumblebee-"

"Ugh, Weiss! Seriously, I-that's kind of a..." Yang groaned, flopping onto her stomach. "I wasn't really getting much out of that relationship. And before you go on about how weird it is to have a relationship with an inanimate object, let me remind you that YOU were the one that said we shouldn't be weirded out by Ruby's thing with Crescent Rose!"

"Oh, it's not that aspect that interests me," Weiss assured her. "It's actually the reason you broke up that I wanted you to consider."

"What, that I wasn't getting much out of the relationship? Look, she was... she wasn't improving with me. Alright?"

"You could have put her in your subspace pocket," Weiss noted. "Started working on her, like Ruby did with Crescent Rose."

"Well, I mean, sure, but... what would be the point? I picked up a flaming flying ability, even before I figured out my dragon thing and what the hell does this have to do with Blake?!"

"On the one hand, a rocky but successful romantic relationship that will culminate in marriage. On the other, a teary breakup with one who has been around since before you even attended Beacon." Weiss tilted her head. "Very interesting, especially given your ship name-"

"It's completely different! I can get hundreds of Bumblebees over the loops, but there's only one Blake! Well, maybe two if you count her non-looping self seperately... I mean... she's looping, and that's what matters!"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow.

"I mean, for the... comparison." Yang shook her head. "Not that nonloopers don't matter. I don't have Sakura Syndrome. They're important. I mean... Blake's just..."

"More important?"

"Yes! NO! Kind of. It's more personal! Like, they... I mean, she's the one who... I like being with her. I mean, obviously I like being with her, I love her, but it's like, it's just... I don't want somebody to take her away, alright?!"

For a moment, there was silence.

"...fuck." Yang's head rested on the couch's armrest. "Maybe I am that kind of dragon."

"It's interesting that you're possessive of Blake and not, say, Ruby."

"What...?" Yang looked up. "She's my sister. I don't think of her that way."

"What way do you think of her, then?"

"She... I mean, she's my little sister, but at the same time she's the Anchor of Remnant. It's kind of a magnification of her being team leader, you know? It's like, I still remember protecting her and guiding her, and now she's grown up-not completely, she's still eating cookies, but I've seen her become... incredible." Yang chuckled. "Wow, I sound like a mom, don't I? Guess that makes sense. Anyway, she's... she's pretty good, she's got her friends, and now she watches out for us all."

Weiss took a slow breath. "So you don't mind when she hangs out with Cinder?"

"Nah. I mean I should, but... that loop aside, Ruby can handle herself."

"So, she's important to you, and yet... you don't feel the need to control her that you do with Blake."

"...no." Yang looked at Weiss. "Is that important?"

"Is it?"

"You're the shrink."

"You're the patient."

Yang snorted. "Right, so... what do we know? My issues center around Blake, I had a breakup with my bike, and I'm fine with Ruby triapsing around the world."

"And a number of your hobbies are not baseline."

"Well, yeah, but that's normal."

Weiss bit her lip. "I'm going to ask you a question. And I want you to consider it."

"...alright?"

"You collect the various prosthetic arms that Ironwood sends you when you Awaken late, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Yang shrugged. "I mean... he keeps sending them. I can't really explain 'oh hey, time traveller, I've got a small set of my own, kthxbai,' that would be rude."

"You don't have to pocket them, though," Weiss pointed out. "They must take up a lot of space."

"Um... well, I guess they do. What... is this an obsessive habit?" Yang frowned. "Are you going to say my arm thing is related to Blake? Because-okay, Adam, sure, but this is-"

"I think," Weiss said slowly, "that both your arm thing and your Blake thing are symptoms of a deeper issue. As is your breakup with Bumblebee and... well... the whole waifu quest."

Yang blinked. "Oh wow. Almost forgot I did that! Man, that would be awkward to explain to dad... so, what's your prognosis, doctor Schnee?"

"Well... for the majority of the volume four expansions, you were dealing with that Grimm mew, and everyone else was handling their own issues. Pyrrha, Roman, Ozpin, and Penny were trying to figure out their post-death lives. Cinder and Neo... well, they were slowly going insane, but they were being kept busy. Blake had Menagerie, I had Atlas, RNJR had Mistral... Qrow had Mistral too, actually. Glynda went on a vacation, Winter... well, Winter was trying to deal with my stuff by proxy, and Zwei essentially ran himself ragged keeping us all together."

"Okay...?"

"The thing of it is, you were constantly dealing with loop-specific issues. The Grimm Mew. Concern over what Raven would be like looping. Worry about the Blake and Sun situation, which you couldn't have known about in baseline. The rest of us had to worry either about expansions or lack of expansions, in the case of the dead. You, however..." Weiss sighed. "The baseline Yang needed months to recover from her PTSD. And I'm not saying that's not important. But you always knew, even when you woke up late, that you would get your arm back, that the fall of Beacon would be undone."

"Whoa, if you're saying I was unaffected by all that-"

"Not at all. You were definitely affected. You needed to recover, and you did. And then you got sent to a period of time where you, essentially, had nothing to do." Weiss sighed. "Worse yet, doing anything would worry those around you, because they assumed you were traumatized and just changing would make them suspicious. And then, of course, there was the Grimm Mew on top of that. For you, specifically, the demands of Baseline fell by the wayside. And then that loop happened, and you were focused so much on all the issues that came with it that you didn't even bother to pick them up again."

She put her pad down. "I think your issue is, quite simply, you don't know who Yang Xiao Long is anymore."

Yang blinked. "Wait, what? Are... are you talking about Baseline? Because I thought we declared war on baseline."

"...I think our original declaration was on fate," Weiss mused. "But the technicalities are besides the point. You can't fight a timeline if you aren't sure what that timeline contains."

"But I am sure!"

"Are you?"

"Yes!"

"Then why did you break up with Bumblebee?" Weiss asked. "Why do you collect arms you don't need? Why did you need to start the waifu quest in the first place? Why are you so obsessed with Blake?"

"I-I... I mean, the Bumblebee, she wasn't doing... and the arms, he keeps... and I didn't, Raven, because... Blake's important. Blake's super important..."

"Yang. Take a deep breath."

"Weiss, I-"

"Breath. Now."

Yang, reluctantly, complied.

"...aaaaand let it out."

Yang slowly let the breath out.

"...I would like to apologize," Weiss began. "I was a little... aggressive in my questioning. I did not mean to accuse you of anything."

"No, it's... it's fine." Yang sighed. "I mean, no, it's not fine, but it... I think I see what you're getting at. Bumblebee didn't grow with me because I didn't let her grow. I wanted to shove Raven out because she was in my past. I collect arms because... it's one of the few ways I connect back to who I should be... and Blake..."

She gave a lower, deeper sigh. "Tree, I love her. But the issue isn't that I love her. It's that I... I split myself off from baseline. She's important to my looping self, but not in the same way as my baseline self." Her face clenched. "Well, not yet, anyway."

"So...?"

"So, I'm becoming possessive of Blake because, I guess... She's a link to the greater loops for me. Or... something."

"Or something," Weiss agreed.

"Oh come on." Yang rolled her eyes. "You identified the problem, right?"

"A significant part of it," Weiss allowed, folding up her pad. "If people's minds were so straightforward, the field of psychology wouldn't be nearly as rife with missteps as it is."

"Right. So... what now?"

"...Honestly? Now, we wait."

"What?"

"For the expansions," Weiss clarified. "I don't think that you'll enjoy them, mind. But being part of your own story again... that can only do you good in the long run."

"...what?!" Yang cried as the heiress started gathering up the furniture. "That's it? That's your prescription?! Wait it out?!"

Weiss smiled. "Hardly. That's what I am going to do. You," she stated firmly, "are going to meditate on this new revelation, maybe talk to some others about it, and find an outlet for your possessiveness."

"...Fine. You know what? Fine." Yang stood and crossed her arms. "Damn it, I was hoping for some miracle cure or epiphany therapy, or something. Argh. Now I'm frustrated." She shook her head and stormed out the door. "I'm going to go punch some Grimm out."

Just before she left, she turned around. "...Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"...Do you... really think that this will help me?"

Weiss considered. "I think... it will help you help yourself."

"Huh. You know, that sounds like it should be cliche, but... I guess... I'll try." Yang let out a breath. "...Should I patch things up with Bumblebee?"

"...Maybe you should start over," Weiss suggested. "You know. Don't force her to change, but help her to grow on her own terms."

"...right." With a nod, Yang stepped out the door.

* * *

 **94.8 Wixelt**

* * *

Slowly, Blake turned the page of her book, browsing idly through words she had read hundreds of times before, only focusing for the occasional difference. To that end, she wasn't all that perturbed when, with a large amount of gusto, a certain blonde brawler, having Awoken late, kicked the dorm room's dock clean off its hinges, a massive grin plastered across her features.

"So," Yang stretched, slumping back onto her bed alongside her fiancée, glancing between her and Ruby, who was sat opposite, a surprised look plastering her features, "I've got something big coming up."

"Hmm?" the cat Faunus raised an eyebrow, setting her novel aside as she shared a subtle look with her redheaded team leader. "And what would that be?"

"You sure? It's pretty big."

"Yang, just tell us," Ruby cut in, a hint of childish petulance in her voice, though her face betrayed anything but.

"Well…" Yang beamed, barely able to hold back her excitement, "There might be a Looper Olympics soon!"

"That…" Blake blinked a few times, as if to gather her thoughts, before smiling, "sounds fun."

"Yeah!" Ruby hopped to her feet with a great enthusiasm, "It sounds great! All that sport…"

Yang narrowed her eyes. Maybe a little too much enthusiasm. She opened her mouth, prepared to accuse, when she heard a curt cough from behind her.

"I take it you are awake then, Yang." Weiss sighed with exasperation as she stepped over the splintered remains of door to join her team, "Which begs the question of just what demanded such an unnecessarily explosive entrance."

"Yeah, actually." Yang regained a little of her vigor, "There's going to be a Looper Olympics."

"Oh."

"…o- oh?" Yang blinked in surprise, "What do you mean, 'Oh?'"

"I had assumed your news was new."

"It is!" Yang countered, before a realisation dawned on her. Slowly, she turned towards her now guilty looking sister, "…you already knew, didn't you?"

"…sorry." Ruby shrugged, "Marianne told us. We already started making plans and stuff."

"…geez, I was away for a while, wasn't I?" Yang sighed, a mild look of defeat on her face, "Does everyone know?"

"Raven doesn't, I don't think." Blake suggested, a hand on her partner's shoulder, "She's not awake this loop, though."

"Damn."

* * *

 **94.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

The Pyre of Shadow, Part 4 (Inside Out/RWBY)

Riley, after some consideration, agreed to Anger's idea; it was certainly better than some of the concepts she'd entertained. Following Cinder around San Francisco was easier than they expected. The woman had a very typical daily routine: wake up, eat breakfast, do some (unsurprisingly aggressive) stretches, and head out for whatever. She didn't seem to have an official job, exactly, but she always had money to spare-easy enough to obtain as a looper, though, so it wasn't really that suspicious.

And her trips might have taken her unusual places by Riley's standard, but they weren't exactly all that surprising from what she knew of Cinder Fall; a glass-blower shop (Cinder complemented some of the work and purchased a rather dangerous-looking griffon figure), a gun shop (Cinder scoffed at some of the guns on display, decrying them as 'basic and bulky,' and only bought ammunition and empty shells from the annoyed storekeep); a gaming store (Cinder perused the miniatures, the books, and a few of the board games with a keen eye, selecting a dozen of each; she allowed herself to be talked into an impromptu card game challenge with a deck off the shelf and trounced her opponents with flawless tactics and a smug grin before making her purchase); a metal-smith (Cinder changed into a suit of her own and paid the usual keep to let her work on her own project, and took five hours to complete her forging of a complex pronged blade); and what Riley, thanks to an embarrassing loop some centuries ago, recognized as a more mature entertainment club (for obvious reasons, Riley decided to wait until she came back out to continue tracking her actions).

By the end of the week, Riley thought she had a good read on her mysterious looping guest. A villain on vacation, essentially-one who had a devious mind, certainly, and a preference for that which both looked awesome and functioned well. She hadn't done anything illegal as far as the girl could tell, aside from maybe something in the club (which neither Riley or her emotions cared to speculate on). She did seem to have a way of simply... slipping into situations, confidently acting as though she belonged there and, somehow, convincing everyone that was true. Any attempt to cow her was countered by a few well placed words and a gesture.

Cinder Fall was, simply put, a master at being the master in any situation.

And yet...

There was something niggling at Riley's mind, which led to some issues when her emotions complained about the frequent power fluctuations in headquarters. Cinder wasn't just a two-dimensional lover of power, after all. She had sisters, adopted maybe, but ones she seemed fond of-even if she talked about them sadly. And the way she interacted with the Anderson family wasn't as... forceful, exactly. She was polite and helpful, even if she did play up her role as a 'vampire' from time to time. Once she spent an entire day sewing, by hand. Another time, she simply disappeared into her pocket for a good twelve hours, and when she finally emerged she had a frustrated expression. Those weren't the only exceptions to Cinder's mask of confident manipulation, by far.

Riley of course realized that a person wasn't just one clean-cut stereotype-after all, her baseline was almost entirely founded around the idea of growing more complex and therefore, more mature. But there was something about the divide in Cinder's public persona and the one she had at home. The more Riley watched Cinder the manipulator, the more she felt... like Cinder was, almost, sleepwalking. Like Cinder's touch of words and easy power was so deeply ingrained that she could have talked her way through the most decadent court without even being fully aware of it. It was only when she stopped being the master that she seemed... well, not normal, but more 'awake', more conscious of her actions.

And then, twelve days in, Riley tracked Cinder to an abandoned warehouse. The gates were locked, but the windows weren't. After some thought, she braced herself, climbed up the fire escape, and pressed her eyes against the glass...

...and nearly threw herself back, a shocked gasp escaping her lips.

* * *

 **94.10 diesel**

* * *

"Cinder?"

Said villainess cracked open an eye, looking blearily at the person who woke her up, "Yes, James?"

"Were you responsible for the White Fang civil war in Menagerie recently? The one that result in a massacre of the entire population and grotesque and bloody artworks made with the corpses?"

Cinder snorted at the accusing question, closing her eyes. "I didn't kill anyone myself, but I orchestrated it, yes."

"Haven's students rebelling and ripping apart the Kingdom?"

"Which time?"

James narrowed his eyes, resisting the urge to do something. She was so frustrating to deal with, she didn't care or see. And James wasn't sure which was more accurate. "The Desecration of Vale, where a portal to hell opened and damned the city?"

"Blake had a brain snap, admittedly with good reason. I asked if I could join in and she said I could. The demons came out of nowhere, I didn't even know there was an afterlife, let alone you could summon demons from it."

"The succubi in..."

"That was Neo." Cinder said flatly, "I enjoyed the opportunity to rip her apart. Pyrrha and Nora helped."

"Lava and fire consu..."

"If there was fire and lava involved, chances are 'yes'. And if not, no one would believe me anyway." Cinder opened an eye again, glaring slightly at the person interrupting her nap. "Is there a point in this James?"

James Ironwood clenched his fists as he grit his teeth, face cast into stark relief by the rivers of molten rock and towering infernos that dyed the sky a hellish red. Kicking a chunk of volcanic rock in frustration. "Weren't you going to stop doing this?"

"I never said that." Cinder said annoyed. Why did people think she was suddenly going to be good? And she had stopped doing things as much because everyone didn't like it, most loops she didn't tear apart kingdoms anymore. "I've stopped tormenting everyone and dialed back randomly burning things down as much. It's more interesting to manipulate things to fall apart anyway, less chance of being stopped and annoying people. It's not like it takes much skill to sink a city into the mantle or slaughter it, no matter how much fun and relaxing it can be."

"Explain this!" Jame ground out, gesturing to the wasteland.

Cinder shrugged, "I didn't mean for Menagerie to fall like that, I still had plans for them. I wanted one side to join with Haven and cause a pitched battle there, then the students kept going without a counter. I'm not sure why they rebelled again two years later as I wasn't looking. Then the demons came out of that portal Blake and I opened by accident, Neo used that to summon the Succubi and spread the information as far as she could. Finally, I was trying to nap and a Incubus tried to molest me. I took exception to it. Can I go back to sleep now? You're in my sun puddle."

James let out a long breath... it wasn't worth it. "Next dozen loops I'm going to wreck every plan you have," he promised, his eyes hard.

"Sounds fun. Now shoo, I'm trying to sleep here."

* * *

 **94.11 Zurcior**

* * *

Friends and Acquaintances Pt.1 (RWBY x Worm)

It was a bright, sunny day out on the beach of Brockton Bay, and a certain fire-themed villainess from Remnant was taking the opportunity to relax.

"Cinder!"

Cinder Fall lifted her head from where she was lounging on her back in the beach chair. Upon spotting the one who called out to her and the companion she was with, Cinder smiled and waved a greeting. "Blake! Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Says the vampire," Blake responded dryly. "Don't mind me. I'm just here as a mediator."

Cinder could only shrug before she turned her gaze on to Blake's companion and her smirk grew wider at the glare she was receiving. "And Ms. Hebert! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Taylor Hebert's glare didn't lessen one bit. "I'm not in the mood for you to play dumb, Cinder. You know why I'm here."

"Whatever could that be?" Cinder coyly asked. "And don't think I haven't noticed all those bugs you surrounded me with under the sand. Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were angry with me."

"Maybe," Taylor ground out, "that is because you burned Brockton Bay to ash the last time you were here!"

"You can't give me all the credit," replied Cinder. "After all, if you hadn't let your guard down and gotten complacent I wouldn't have succeeded." She frowned when she heard the rising drone of insects getting louder. "It was thousands of Loops ago. Are you really still that mad about that?"

"Not really," Taylor admitted dryly. "Shit happens during the Loops, and it would not be the first time I've seen this city destroyed. But you are here again, and I don't trust you to behave yourself. So I'm only warning you once: I won't let my guard down a second time."

"What are going to do? Kill me again? Not much of a threat, Taylor."

"Cinder!" Blake snapped reproachfully. "This is serious. Everyone from both our Branches are Awake now and we're all hoping for a relatively peaceful Loop. Can you please cooperate with this?"

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Alright. Relax, I don't have any nefarious plans for this Loop. Except help Ruby with Pocketing some Endbringer flesh during the next attack." She stood up from her chair and walked away uncaring if she stepped on some insects hidden beneath the sand.

"I can't believe you consider her a friend," Taylor remarked as she watched Cinder disappear into the crowd.

"She really helped me during a dark moment in my life," Blake retorted with a shrug, "and she's not so bad once you get to know her."

"I still don't trust her." Taylor said as her eyes refused to leave the direction Cinder left in.

Blake gently placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then trust me when I say that she'll keep her word. Because if she was as bad as you fear she is, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"...That sounds like an ominous story."

"A long and painful one. I'll tell you later. For now, let's just not worry too much about Cinder."

Taylor considered it for a while. "I'm still keeping an eye on her." She decided.

"That's fair." Blake agreed.

There was silence between them for a minute.

"Enough of this gloomy stuff," declared Taylor as she turned to her friend, "anything good happen since we last saw each other?"

Blake couldn't help but smirk as she responded, "Well, I got engaged to get married!"

Taylor stared. "WHAT?!"

* * *

 **94.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

Blake walked up to Weiss as she quietly dismissed the servants handling her luggage, granting them a brief glance before noting the worried frown on the heiress's face. "She'll be here, you know it."

"I know. It's just, the fact that she isn't already-"

"Yang's walking her over now, look."

Weiss glanced in the direction that Blake was indicating. "Okay. Distant gaze, not upset-oh, she glanced at the tower. Something firmed up and it's surprising, but not in a bad way."

Blake blinked. "Wait. You can tell that just from the way Ruby's looking around?"

"I'm her partner," Weiss explained distractedly, "and she's going to tell us anyway. She'd have much subtler tells if she were keeping it secret."

"O...kay then." Blake nodded. "That's actually kind of cute, in a really creepy way-"

"Shh shh sh, they're almost here!"

Ruby and Yang joined the two, Ruby finally shaking herself out of her stupor. "Oh! Hey girls. Sorry, kinda lost in my own thoughts."

"Happens to all of us," Weiss replied casually. "Would you care to share?"

"It's... weird. It's just..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Well, uh... you know how some traits from the chibi loops can carry over?"

"Like Winter being able to summon a log cabin?"

"Yes, well. There was an expansion, and, uh... the long and short of it is... I have a birthday."

Yang blinked. "Wait. Is it the same this loop?"

"Yeah. It's been the same for my last thirty-seven. It might, you know, be baseline."

"Hold on. My loop memories are telling me that..." Yang snorted. "Oh, geeze. That is hilarious, you're serious?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "A significant anniversary of my life finally solidifies and you focus on the funny side. Thanks, sis."

"I'm sorry, really, but come on! You're the simple soul who loves cookies and dogs and, and you were born on October thirty-first?!" Yang giggled. "I mean, you're like... I know you're a good warrior, sis, but come on! Sweet little Ruby, born on Halloween?!"

"It would explain her fashion sense," Weiss mused. "Red and black. And growing up associated with a day that celebrates the darker aspects of humanity would probably acclimatize her to violence..."

Blake rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised halloween's a thing, even in the chibi loops. The Grimm are attracted to fear, after all."

Ruby threw up her hands. "Look, guys, I get it, alright? Halloween jokes. Yeah. It's just... I have a birthday! That's not loop variable anymore! I have a date that I can mark on a calendar, and... it's just..." She glanced around. "It's kind of weird, right? Suddenly knowing something I always knew about myself, something so fundamental being given to me with no fanfare. Just, oh hey, here's your birthday, bam. I... I don't know, I'm not explaining this well..."

"No, I understand." Weiss put a hand on her shoulder. "I know what it's like, really. You remember back when I didn't even know my father's name?"

"Yeah..."

"It'll take a bit to get used to, but at least you know now. You can... use this. It's another part of you."

"Yeah. I know. I'm not even worried or stressing out, it's just... suddenly it's a thing. And I'm not sure what to do with it, you know?"

"Weeeeeeell," Yang drawled, "if you keep doing what you did before you Woke Up this loop, I might just have to pull big sister prank rank."

Ruby chuckled. "Alright, alright. I was kind of a brat, I'll admit it. Still," she mused, "a pumpkin cake every loop might be fun..."

* * *

 **94.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So do you want to shove me off this time?"

Pyrrha tried not to be amused, she really did, but her lips managed to quirk anyway. "Like I said before, I'm not a murderer."

Cinder, sitting on the edge of the roof, shrugged. "You might want to after this conversation. I wouldn't blame you."

The casual tone, almost light-hearted, caught Pyrrha's attention. With only a moment of hesitation, she walked up and sat down to her would-be killer. "What did you want to talk about anyway?"

"The expansions."

"...Ah."

The two of them looked over the edge of Beacon. Cinder had chosen to have this conversation in daylight, for some reason. Maybe it was just so Pyrrha was more comfortable, or maybe just a way to keep the schedule clear.

"It's likely Salem's going to send me out again soon," Cinder said eventually. "And, from a tactical perspective, the fall of Mistral would nearly guarantee global warfare, especially if she could pin it on the Fang. Two kingdoms, dead at the hands of Faunus, and the largest Faunus population is in Menagerie, so they 'must be brought to justice' or so the wealthy Atlas civilians would say."

"Or she could send you somewhere else entirely for reasons we don't yet know about," Pyrrha replied. "It's hard to speculate when Remnant plays its cards so close to its chest."

"Yes, I'm aware, but... given how I've been training, burning the illusions of Ruby, it's more likely she'll use my anger and direct me at issues... I might become the new Tyrian for her." Cinder chuckled dryly. "Whatever the reason, in baseline, I'll probably end up in that city, and I'll probably end up in conflict with Ruby and crew."

Pyrrha considered her for a moment or two.

"...And... in the loops?"

"That's the crux of the matter, isn't it." Cinder gestured out at the courtyard. "Right now I should be having Emerald and Mercury wander about, get a lay of the land, I should be threatening Adam and browbeating Roman... I should be exerting my dominance. That's what the script says-or, well, what it hints at anyway. And yet, here I am, choosing to talk to you, because I already know all that."

"...but you don't know about the expansions."

"No. I don't." Cinder took a breath. "So... I'm going to play along with them."

"I thought you hated being Salem's pawn."

"Oh yes, I do, but... It's not that I hate being a pawn. It's more that I don't like that I'm no longer the master of my own fate."

Pyrrha frowned. "I... suppose I could see where you're coming from. I would probably have chosen to get in the pod, with or without the pressure, but the pressure made it so much worse."

"Ozpin at least cared enough to acknowledge what he was doing would affect a person. Salem, however, cares only for what I can do, not for who I am. I don't hate that, I don't hate her... I've done the same thing, really. And at least she respects me enough to 'mentor' me."

"So... you're not going to rebel against her?"

"Maybe not initially. The simple fact of the matter is I have no backstory, no identity, no family in baseline-my ambition is all that I am. And whatever she orders me to do, it will probably feed that ambition."

"You might get backstory," Pyrrha pointed out. "You are from Haven, after all."

"That could have been a crafted lie... Besides the point. The point is..." Cinder looked out at the courtyard. "I must acknowledge and embrace my baseline actions, and then grow from them, not apart."

"So... when you loop into an expansion, you're going to choose to be bad."

"I'm going to choose to be me," Cinder corrected. "I'll acknowledge that Good and Evil exist, but frankly trying to filter my identity through them... The last time I tried to split myself between 'good' and 'evil,' I ended up going insane. I don't think I should do that. Of course I'll probably be different from my unawake self," she mused, "she'll be filled with anger and self-doubt and want to get revenge on Ruby and probably? She's going to be a mess. Me, I'll just feed my ambitions. Coolly and logically."

"...So like you're doing already," Pyrrha mused. "How you still, sometimes, go around and try to take over the world, or destroy Beacon. Even though you know we don't like it."

"Mmm. Basically."

"And... you're telling me this... why?"

"Well... I just wanted to make sure you're okay with it."

Pyrrha blinked. "I'm... sorry. What?"

"If you're okay with me going baseline villain in the expansions," Cinder repeated.

"I... Cinder, frankly I still don't feel comfortable with what you do in the loops. No," she held up a hand, "I understand that you have a need to be strong and feared and powerful and that's a core part of your identity, and I get that you don't do it all the time and you try to make sure the rest of us... get a chance to have a say, I guess...? But it's still..." She gestured vaguely. "It's... weird. Somehow, you see that like... some sort of competition, or something. Even though the rest of us..."

She trailed off.

"Hero versus villain." Cinder nodded. "All the world's a stage, and us but merely players. You died, and then the play was over, and you kept on... you can afford to be you, because everybody knows that Pyrrha the warrior fell on top of Beacon Tower, and you don't have any pressure from the expansions to be her anymore. But you still choose to consider her you, in part, right?"

Pyrrha frowned. "...Yes. Her willingness to do anything for her team, for the world... yes, that's still in me."

"What I've got is ambition, and a manipulative streak. And unlike you, the expansions are going to expect me to play that role. I need to know what that means. I need to know who I am, on the stage, before I step off. So, yes, I'll be the bad guy-not exactly the same as baseline, I won't hide that I'm looping, that was... that was what made me split before. And yes, I understand that means people will be upset with me in the next loop. But I can deal with that. Or, well... I'll accept it."

"...and why do you want me to be okay with this? I'm not the one you're going to be affecting the most. My family, yes. Yours too."

Cinder held out her hands. "You're the one I killed. The one who, I think even in baseline, was worth my respect. I know that's not exactly a good foundation for a relationship. But we've been sparring for a while and I thought, maybe, you would... I thought if I could explain it to you, I could explain it to everyone else."

"Cinder... you're already strong, feared, and powerful. By loopers as well as nonloopers. Is this just... power as a means to an end?"

"No, it's power as expression."

"I'm not sure I understand."

Cinder rubbed her forehead. "In baseline, I orchestrate the fall of Beacon to get at Amber, so Salem can find the Relic. In the loops, I don't have that motivation, but... I still have Emerald and Mercury, and I usually Wake Up after I've intimidated Adam into following me, and Salem's still there. I'm given that level of control. I could rebel against Salem, or kill Adam, or seduce Emerald... or I could ignore them all and break from it, but it would be like, I don't know, asking Ruby to put up Crescent Rose for a bit. Even if she doesn't use her to cut through Grimm, she still carries her around. Even if I don't use my minions to destroy Beacon, they're still something I need to tend to and care for."

She swung her hand out at the courtyard. "Ruby still kills Grimm individually with her scythe, even when she has so many better options available, because that's her way of expressing herself. Not her only way, of course, but one of the ways she's always known. I don't just destroy Beacon, it's... it's the how, the specifics, maneuvering different people into different places. I know that sounds like Sakura Syndrome, but it's not like I see them as just pawns, I accept my actions have consequences, it's just... it's incredible, seeing how much I can be... how much I can change."

Pyrrha swallowed. "So... destruction is your paintbrush, and tragedy your works of art."

"All the world's a stage." Cinder shook her head. "I know. It's not something you consider good. But it is something I consider to be me. So... I'm not going to stealth, and I'm not necessarily going to be the villain every time, but... think of it like a competition, I suppose. We have to learn the rules, and we learn by playing."

"...Cinder," Pyrrha said slowly, "I appreciate that you want to make sure we all know why you're you, and that your actions aren't malicious-or, uh, not hostile I suppose... but I don't think I'm equipped to comprehend your view of the world and yourself. Maybe you should-"

"Talk to Ruby? Or Weiss? Maybe Blake or Yang?" Cinder smiled faintly. "Yeah, I should. But they're all going to be worried about their own part in the expansions. I will talk to them, but I wanted to settle things between us first. Before I poked that bundle of issues."

"Well... I... can't say I fully understand," Pyrrha admitted. "But I know that you dividing yourself isn't good for your mental health. So... while I don't think I can agree with your reasoning, I suppose I'll tell the rest of team JNPR to..."

She paused.

"Actually, if you want this to be a competition, I think I'll tell them not to go easy on you."

Cinder barked out a laugh. "That's totally fair. And of course, we can all talk about it every loop after. What's a play without reviews, after all?"

Pyrrha sighed. "Cinder... You are one screwed up girl."

* * *

 **94.14 diesel**

* * *

"Hold!"

Pyrrha froze, twin blades still raised as Cinder stepped back, letting her own blades hang in the air as she circled around Pyrrha.

"You're letting your blades tilt wrong." Cinder's voice was critical, "Go back, 2.43 seconds."

Breathing out carefully, maintaining the rhythm and balance she had had in that last movement, Pyrrha moved back, the other two blades moving to their prior spots as she did so. It was easy to picture in her mind's eye, Cinder standing there with her volcanic blades poised to stick her down. Subtly adjusting Pyrrha's stance Cinder spoke again. "0.24 seconds forwards, tilt right tip up .000135 millimeter. Repeat."

In the middle of the clearing Phyrra burst into action. Thunder crashed through Forever Fall as the sound barrier shattered, the hypersonic blows playing out the last few seconds with her new posture. Cinder watched from the side noting each minute change in posture and timing. Better, but not good enough. Pyrrha was very much out of practice.

"End."

Cinder tossed Pyrrha a bottle of water as she relaxed her stance, the scent of rain blowing through the clearing and mingling with the ever present, sweet scent of syrup that saturated the forest. "That's all for today," she said looking up at the clouds rolling in across the sky. The sun dimming as it did so.

Pyrrha smiled as she took a sip of water. "Worried you'll melt in the rain?" she said teasingly. The smell of rain was normally pleasant, and everything seemed new and fresh afterwards.

"I would be more worried about Glynda," Cinder smirked placing her hands into her jacket pockets. "That's more her fairy tale than mine."

"Well, if the shoe fits..."

* * *

 **94.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Okay." Yang took a breath. "I'm going to ask you two for a big favor. A really big one-I mean I know you're probably going to do it anyway but, um, well. I just want to make sure."

Kali and Sun shared a look as she started pacing.

"See, the expansions are coming up soon. Or at least, I think they are-the Chibi loops just had that big thing with the bands, and last time we had a 'finale' feeling thing the normal loops started expanding pretty soon after, and Marianne admitted she was working on fixing up the last of Cinder's damage, and-so, the expansions are coming up soon. And all of team RWBY is going to be in Mistral, and we're all going to have dramatic run-ins where we reunite-or that's what I think is going to happen anyway, and, okay, the point is, my baseline self is at some point going to run into Blake and..."

Yang took a breath, turning to the two. "Look. You've met me while I was looping, and... yeah, I have issues, but I also have therapy and Blake's around and I'm able to keep myself, you know, looking stable. But, you've seen the backups I guess, and... and you know baseline, I'm just coming off a bout of severe PTSD, and that Yang, I don't know how much she blames Blake for running, or how much she hates the Fang for destroying her home, or how she's going to... the point is, when Blake and me meet up in Baseline, I just know it's going to go horribly."

"Yang-" Kali began.

"No, I'm serious! I don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to hurt Blake. Awake or Unawake, when she meets that version of me-" Yang's hands began to spiral in increasingly twitchy gestures. "If she's not Awake, it'll be like, I don't know, a lot of guilt slinging, probably some yelling, maybe a fight might break out, or it could just be cold shoulder 'you abandoned me' type stuff, and even if she is Awake it'll still... the expansions, they're like, they impact us more than just being new stuff, it's part of our life, it's big, it's, it'll hurt her even if she manages to cool that Yang down-"

"Yang, listen-"

"So, what I need you to do," Yang overrode Sun, "is whenever that happens, whenever I... do whatever I do, I need you two to be there for her. Okay? Even if she tries to hide it, I think you two, at that point, will be at the best place to help her. I mean, she'll probably realize that I'm acting off my own trauma, she's not stupid, but she'll begin beating herself up again and that, I don't want that, I don't think I can avoid it though, so you just have to help remind her of all the good she's doing, and... and that she does have friends, I guess? That she's more than her mistakes? I don't know, just keep her from breaking down, I think. Just, can you do that for me? Please?"

"Well, I am her mother," Kali reminded her gently. "I'll do what I can, I promise."

Yang nodded, practically squeezing her forehead. "Thank you, that, yeah. That's going to be really important. I just, I don't want this to be, like, a thing that just... I mean, I guess it'll have to be damage control-"

Sun tilted his head. "You're really freaking out about this, aren't you?"

"OF COURSE I'M FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS!" Yang cried, tearing at her hair. "WE LITERALLY POSTPONED OUR WEDDING BECAUSE OF THIS EXACT ISSUE!"

"Hey hey hey-!" Sun grabbed her wrists and carefully maneuvered her twitching hands down. "It's okay, it'll be okay, okay? Like Kali said, she's her mom, and I... I'm not the kind to let people wallow in self-loathing. We'll be there for her, alright?"

"I, yes. Yes, you're right. That-yeah. I just, it's not... I don't..."

Kali walked up and, gently, wrapped Yang in a hug. "It's okay to be worried. And yes, this is not going to be pretty but... I'm sure you and Blake will work through this in baseline. You're partners, if nothing else. It'll be alright in the end. And if it's not alright..."

"...it isn't the end." Yang sighed. "Yeah, I've heard that one before too... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be snapping at you, it's just... It's not something I'm looking forward to."

"I know. Still... it shows you do care about her. Not just the looping Blake, but her in her entirety." Kali smiled. "And I'm glad she found somebody who does."

Yang shook her head, a weak but honest smile on her face. "Yeah. Multiple somebodies, actually-come here, Sun!"

"Wha-!" The boy blinked as he was pulled into the hug. "Okay, not that I'm protesting, but-"

"You're part of the family too."

"Oh. Right." Sun chuckled. "Yep. Family guy, that's me. Just hanging out... in a hug... with two lovely ladies that I feel very uncomfortable flirting with..."

Yang snickered. "Well, gee, tell us how you really feel!"

"Am I... interrupting something?"

The three of them looked up, finding Blake standing in the door with an amused grin.

"...Not at all. In fact," Kali reached out, "why don't you join us?"

"Group hug, okay." Blake shrugged, wrapping her arms around them. "We're doing this to tease Sun, right?"

"Yes, absolutely." Yang nodded. "That is one hundred percent what is happening."

* * *

 **94.16 smxsonic**

* * *

Weiss Awoke in the normal position, just about to enter Beacon from the first time with what could be described as a hilarious amount of luggage. She sorted through Loop memories and pings, everything seemed in order: No visiting Loopers, no big variances, nothing that was a parody of something from the hub. Just a normal baseline loop, meaning Ruby would run into her in 5, 4, 3,2, 1.

As planned, Ruby fell onto her, except it didn't knock her down and cause all her dust to fly out. Considerate, to be sure, but not baseline. But that wasn't where the madness began. The madness began when the Ruby in front of her was dressed in blue.

"S-Sorry..." The Blue Ruby said.

"Oh my gosh, sis! Are you okay?" That wasn't Yang... It was the actual Ruby.

Of all the great things the Weiss had seen from the Multiverse, Ruby Rose still managed to surprise her. She looked at the Blue Ruby, then to the Red Ruby, back to the Blue Ruby, back to Red.

"Ruby, what the hell?" Weiss said, forgoing her usual character and the usual Looping code conversation.

Both the Rubies grinned mischievously at each other.

"Why, haven't you met my Twin Sister, Weiss-Weiss baby?" Ruby asked innocently.

"H-hi... My name is Sapphire Rose..." the Blue Ruby introduced meekly.

"...What are you trying to accomplish here? It's not like the Tree randomly creates children."

"See, Weiss, you know that, I know that... but as far as everyone else in concerned, the Rose twins are going to be a concrete part of the Beacon experience!"

"I assume your actual family is Awake?"

"Like I'd be able to fool them with a sudden twin no one ever knew about."

"...No offense, but I'm going to sit the one out."

"You should be thankful I didn't double down on this."

Weiss just sighed, wondering just why Ruby was considered the most grounded person in their universe.

"Onwards, Sister! It's time for the Rose Twins to take their spotlight!"

"C-Coming, sis..."

* * *

 **94.17 World Weaver**

* * *

"I can fix this!" said Taiyang before rapidly duct taping the facet. Ruby facepalmed harshly when the duct tape failed to fix the facet.

10 loops later

Instead of the tube it was now a cylinder of duct tape.

80 loops later

Cinder looked around at her compatriots of evil and wondered how this much duct tape snuck its way into the hideout.

10 loops later

Ruby stopped Taiyang from embarrassing himself. "Dad. Let me show you how to duct tape everything."

"Is this with Looper-made duct tape?" Taiyang hesitantly eyed the crate of duct tape and cardboard Ruby was removing from her Pocket. "Because I haven't met with one of its makers yet."

Ruby shook her head. "Nope, just the original brand of duct tape and cardboard both from the hub."

Taiyang proceeded to follow his daughter's instructions on making/fixing a faucet with duct tape. Taiyang then drank a glass of water before drinking another one.

"Now what next that needs fixing?" asked Ruby.

"Maybe it's time for a tune-up," said Yang to her motorcycle.

Then she spotted Ruby and Taiyang with unnaturally wide smiles affixed on their faces.

"NO!" Yang said firmly as she futilely tried to protect her precious Bumblebee from their gazes.

They both adopted watering puppy-dog eyes and silently pleaded to help. The tactic would have worked if not for the many, many, tiny eyes opening up upon ruby's face joining in the gaze.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Yang pointed to Ruby's face before trying to speed away. They appeared in front of her, forcing her to dodge; her ride screeched up a wall and she breathed a sigh of relief before realizing they were on the roof with her.

"If I let you duct tape Bumblebee, will you stop it with the slender-gag?" asked a panting Yang to her terrifying chasers.

They both rapidly nodded, before clutching their heads to stop the whiplash.

"Okay then, I'll let you "Fix" Bumblebee if you promise not to awaken Kevin AGAIN. Deal?"

They accepted as Yang preemptively went into mourning for this version of Bumblebee. She was intrigued by the sounds of cardboard being cut, but she didn't want to peek.

"Okay it's done~" said the two proto-mechanics.

Yang beheld the glorious sight of Bumblebee intact and from the feel of her, ready to race some punks into the ground. After Yang did a lap around the city block she thanked/hugged them before speeding off.

The two Fixers wondered what to do next...

10 minutes later

"Hey Dad?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"Do you think we went too far?"

Taiyang then looked over the burning city of Vale and listened to the sounds of civilians screaming. He winced as a huge explosion of dust marked the bringing of Yang's rampage towards them. The sight of a blob of duct tape subsuming a group of Hunters caught his eye before the mountain split AGAIN revealing a Cyborg Kevin for all to see.

Taiyang solemnly nodded in shame. "We are sooooo going to Eiken for this," he said softly as the approaching Kevin revealed Cinder and Ozpin upon his head.

"Next time we won't make a Gurren Lagann out of cardboard and duct tape." Ruby proceeded to charge at the Cyborg Kevin with a Giga Drill Breaker. Made of duct taped cardboard of course.

* * *

 **94.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...So," Taiyang said. "Yang's been stressing herself out about the upcoming expansions."

Raven nodded. "I can't blame her for that."

"I mean, I can get it. There's a lot that's all going to go on at once. She's going to meet up with Ruby, which will put her in conflict with Salem, and there's whatever's going on with Blake and the White Fang..." Taiyang paused. "...and, well. You're on the same stretch of land."

The bandit queen said nothing for a moment, examining the glass in her hand.

"You know... it's likely you'll have to deal with both of her," the blonde pointed out. "The one you've gotten to know in the loops and... well, the one who only just got off a bout of PTSD."

She nodded. "Yes, if we run into each other... that will certainly be an experience."

The two fell silent, the sounds of the woods floating in through the window.

"...Rae, when are we going to be at the point where you're willing to talk about whatever's bothering you?"

Raven scoffed. "You never know when to leave well enough alone, do you?"

"The whole point of relationships is to help each other out. Even if we aren't as close as we were, I still worry."

"...you've got your daughters," Raven said, looking into her glass. "You've got Port and Oobleck. Qrow. Zwei. You've got a present, and as much of a past as can be expected in this situation." She took a sip. "I've got... a tribe of shadows, and maybe a dream of Yang's. Yes, I know," she held up her hand, "there's more, but it's all... scraps."

"You're worried about what the expansions might reveal."

"Worried... not the right word. Unnerved, yes. But I've never lived through an expansion. Hell, you at least went through the chibi loops while they were growing, you've got... if not a complete idea, then a hint." Raven shrugged. "It's more like... I'm standing on a cliff. And I know I'm going to fall, I can feel gravity taking me and there's no way to save myself. But my feet haven't quite left the ground yet. There are so many things that could happen, good or bad, things that I might be ready for, or things that might blindside me, and... I can deal with that, yes. It's just..."

"Tense?"

"No, it's... it's like I look ahead, and... it's... not frightening. It's not exhilarating or anything, it's... the sheer power of that void, of what could be. It wipes everything away and... I'm left empty." She shook her head. "I should be afraid. Or excited. Or even just saying 'meh, whatever,' but I... I can't explain it. There's nothing but the need for it to happen. The need for it to be. The need to be... filled, to be something."

Taiyang nodded. "So... you're anticipatory, but you don't know of what."

"Yeah. That about sums it up." She gestured around. "This is all distraction, waiting, and... I should be preparing, but I don't know how."

"...you could talk to one of the other loopers." Taiyang tapped his cheek. "Pyrrha will probably have the most spare time. Or Roman."

"Or Penny."

"Penny didn't activate until after her death, she... might not understand the anticipation."

Raven nodded. "Yes, right. I forgot that." She put her glass down. "Tai... you know, in baseline, that whatever's going to happen between me and Yang is going to be intense."

"Yeah."

"So... what?"

"What?"

"What do you want from that?"

Taiyang sighed. "Honestly? What I want and what I expect are two different things. I want you to help Yang get into a better mindset, even if it's through rejecting her or something, and then have her miraculously convince you to go full on good guy. I expect you'll meet up, battle, do something that will affect Remnant in a big way, and both leave with bigger doubts."

"...sounds about right."

"Of course," he continued, "that's just baseline. In the loops... I want you to talk to us, figure out where you stand with whatever happens. We should keep each other together. That's the whole reason there's more than just Ruby looping, after all-we look after her, and after each other."

"Hmm." Raven stared at her drink for a moment or two. "Well... at the least, I'll figure out more about my tribe, won't I."

Taiyang managed not to flinch. "There is that."

"If I know more about them," she mused, "I might be more comfortable leaving them to their own devices from time to time."

"...there is that."

"Well... thanks for the drink, Tai." She put the glass, still half full, on the table. "...And, look. If I do see Yang in the expansions... you'll be the first to know, alright?"

Without another word, she ripped a hole in reality and walked away.

* * *

 **94.19 diesel**

* * *

A cackling laugh echoed through Beacon's hallowed halls along with a noxious stench that sounded like the screams of damned, thick with lime and witch-fire.

Nora laughed as she stirred her cauldron, the liquid sparkling like diamonds in the sun. It was a vast thing hewn from obsidian and large enough for a person to swim in. Carved pumpkins encased malign flames which lit the darkened dorm, yawning and stretching like things possessed, chanting in time with their mistresses work.

Grabbing a pinch of Dust, Nora cast the glittering substance into the brew, the cauldron blazing as she enchanted. "Essence of Fire - Become the spark that gives Life to the Inanimate!"

Swirling light interrupted from the cauldron, shrieking and howling as the scent of something long dead and rotten filled the room.

"Essence of Wind - Become the power that fuels the spark to gives rise to the Spirit!" Nora watched unflinchingly as the light flared and raged. It writhed and pulsated as though it was almost alive - and it HATED. Existence without identity, awareness without sense. Bereft of bonds or light. An echo of that which was once lost brought into the world without form or vessel.

"Essence of Earth - Become the bones and flesh that shape the Spirit!"

Tendrils of of ichor burst forth from the cauldron, sinking into the spirit with a scream that froze the marrow. Blood seeped from the walls and the lights of Witchfire went out, plunging the dorm in an unnatural darkness. A amorphous silhouette just visible, aglow with a hint of profane silver light. Two inhuman eyes burning in places as the smell of decayed roses filled the room.

"Essence of Water - Become the force that binds the life together and gives motion to the static!"

The room was bathed in light, the sweet stench of rot and metallic blood seeping from the cauldron like a gaping wound in reality. The twisted silhouette collapsed into the cauldron that now howled with a riot of light.

Nora gritted her teeth, all joviality missing from her voice as she spoke and made reality - life and death - listen. She would not be denied.

"You - Friend, Lover, Mother. Born of the Seasons Four and named for when life is peaking before the Fall. Gifted power of the Remnant Moon. Once I say: Return!"

Petals filled the room with the discordant screams and sobs of loss and agony. With the whispers of regrets of the lost and words unsaid.

"You - Hunter of the Shadows and Beacon of Light. Leader of four and three. Clad in the Light of your Soul. Twice I say: Return!"

"You - Lost with promises unfulfilled and kindred still waiting. Loved by blood and not. Thrice I say: Return!" Nora roared.

Time froze.

The world skipped a beat.

All became [LIFE/DEATH]{CHAOS/COSMOS} Before order reasserted itself.

There was a rushing sound and the moonlight trickled in through the window, falling upon a sleeping figure so similar to Ruby. Silver eyes shut in peace and her wounds healed.

"Happy Birthday, Summer." Nora murmured as the clock ticked to midnight.

* * *

 **94.20 Black Omochao**

* * *

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"Um… Yang?" the UnAwake Weiss looked at her friend questioningly.

"Yeah, Weiss?" Yang grinned at her at the white-haired girl. It was a Chibi-Loop, and everything seemed normal (for a Chibi-Loop…), except for…

"Do you know there's a little boy in your hair…?"

At this question, Yang looked up, at the same time Nate looked down. The two smiled and Nate snuggled further into his sister's hair.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he just does that." The blond Looper shrugged. "It makes him feel safe…"

"Safe…?"

"You know, from the ghosts?"

"Ghosts…?" Weiss felt very confused, Ruby walked into the room humming a happy tune.

"Hey Weiss, Hey Yang, Hey Nate!" she continued humming as she walked, before her eyes widened and she sped back over. "Wait a minute! Nate!? Yang, what's he doing here!?" Ruby exclaimed worriedly.

Weiss glanced between the two sisters with a quizzical expression.

"Oh, he was getting too scared back home with dad, so he came to find his favorite nest, obviously," Yang explained with a confident smile.

Ruby took a few steps back. "Right… well…"

"Hi Ruby!" Nate waved with an innocent smile, the leader of team RWBY stiffly waved back as she edged out of the room.

"Yes… hi, Nate. Um, Weiss… could I talk to you… in the other room?"

"Um… sure…" Weiss kept glancing between Yang, whom had her little brother resting in her hair, and Ruby, whom kept motioning her to exit the room. She followed Ruby, whom softly shut the door behind her.

"Okay! This is a code red! Or blue! I don't know which color? White? Ghosts are white…" Ruby muttered frantically as she paced.

The W of RWBY patience was wearing thin. "Ruby!" Weiss snapped.

Ruby jumped a little and looked around. "Shhh!" she hushed her partner. The red-clad girl subtly cracked the door open and peeked inside, she saw Yang happily humming as she sat on the bed, Nate peacefully sleeping in her hair. Ruby closed the door with a sigh of relief. "Be careful Weiss…"

"…What? I don't understand?"

"…Weiss, my brother can't get scared," Ruby stated in a serious tone.

Her partner kept her confused expression. "Um, what? Ruby, he's a little boy, even if he's your and Yang's brother, I find it hard to believe that– "

"No! Weiss, you don't understand. My brother can't get scared!" Ruby insisted, her pupils shrinking a little. "Or, at least, we can't let him get scared…"

"…I'm not following you?"

"Did Yang mention the ghosts?"

"She said ghosts, I wasn't really sure what she meant…" Weiss scratched her head.

Ruby kept pacing and muttered a few more things. "Okay, here's how it is. When my brother gets scared, we all get scared with him. As in, this place will become a real-life haunted house!" the leader softly exclaimed, a scared expression on her face. "Or… haunted academy?" Ruby mumbled to herself in thought.

Weiss glared. "Ruby, you are still doing a terrible job of explaining. Stop being vague and just say what you mean!"

This outburst was met by a red blur tackling her and her mouth being covered. "No sudden noises!" Ruby hissed quietly, "If he gets scared, we're all in the ghost-house!"

"…I'm not following any of this," Weiss admitted after Ruby let go of her.

"Okay, look… my little brother has a power, or something… we don't know if it's his semblance, but he can't control it," Ruby explained calmly. "Whenever he gets scared, ghosts just… appear… and they haunt the area until he's not scared anymore…"

"…What?"

"Yeah, but so long as he stays in Yang's hair, he should be fine," Ruby nodded, letting out a sigh. "For some reason, he feels safe when he's in Yang's hair…"

"…"

"So, we just need to make sure nothing frightens him, or removes him from Yang's head, or else we'll be dealing with the poltergeists," Ruby nodded confidently.

Weiss just kept staring blankly. "…Now, when you say 'ghosts'…"

Ruby let out a groan before her partner finished her question and shook her head. "Fine! You know what? I'll show you." The leader quickly grabbed her white-haired friend by the wrist and lead her back into their room, before she marched up to her sister and brother.

"Hey sis," Yang greeted.

"Hi Ruby," Nate smiled.

Ruby gave no response, before emotionlessly grabbing Nate by his shirt, and pulling him from Yang's head.

"Huh? Huh… uh, AH!" the little brown-haired boy started shaking as the room grew dark.

Weiss' eyes widened as Yang backed up. "Ruby, why!?" the blond sister called out in fear.

Ruby sighed, Nate cried. Weiss looked around the dark room as transparent, shadowy shapes started to form, there were voices, eerie voices…

Then Ruby placed her distressed brother back on Yang's head, he visibly calmed down, and the darkness and shadows receded…

"…Don't take my brother off Yang's head, spread the word," Ruby stated calmly to the shaken Weiss. The white-haired huntress nodded numbly, before walking out of the room without another word.

"…Well, that was something," Nate commented after a moment. Yang and Ruby chuckled.

"How long do you think we can keep this prank going?" Yang asked with a mischievous smirk.

"I'm hoping the whole Loop," Nate laughed as he curled up in her hair.

"Yeah! Little brother-Big sister-prank Loop!" Ruby cheered, the three all laughed together.

* * *

 **94.21 Masterweaver, KitsuneShin0bi**

* * *

Ruby blinked at the news report as the airship flew into Beacon. After a few minutes, she shook herself and glanced at the woman leaning against the wall. "...Really?"

"Turnabout is fair play."

"He only took your coat and hat! You didn't have to leave him naked!"

The woman twirled the cane in her grasp. "Have a reputation to maintain, sweetheart."

"You realize that he's going to set everyone he can on you. Neo, Cinder maybe, probably Sun, possibly Raven."

"Oh, I look forward to it. A lovely game of cat and mice." She tipped the stolen bowler hat.

"Well... I guess a war of master thieves could disrupt the fall of Beacon."

"True, true. Of course, they'll have to find me first, which leads to that inevitable question..."

Ruby half smirked as the airship docked. "Where in the world. Right, of course. Welcome to Remnant by the way."

"I believe I'll enjoy my stay, miss Rose. I'll be taking Amity first," she added, walking toward the airlock. "Just to up the stakes, you understand."

"Of course you will." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Just make sure that aaaaaaaand you've disappeared. Great. Welp." She threw up her hands, quickly triple checked to make sure that everyone was where they were supposed to be, and pulled out Crescent Rose. "Keeping all my stuff this loop is going to be both fun and terrifying..."

Yang searched the web frantically, looking for any evidence of two thieves' location.

"When I find out which one did it, I swear I'll-"

Weiss raised her eyebrow.

"You do realize this is your own fault, right? I mean leaving something valuable in the open would guarantee it would be stolen."

The blonde turned and pointed at the heiress.

"As if you're one to talk! When I was searching, I found out all of that spare Variant Dust you've been experimenting with has gone missing as well!"

"Wait, what?!"

Yang nodded. "Yep, all of it gone."

"That was an unstable mix of Time and Gravity dust!" Weiss shot up from the bed. "We need to find them fast before-"

She was cut off as the door opened and Ruby walked in with a certain, yellow Ax-Ax.

"Hey Yang! Sorry for borrowing your guitar on such short notice, Crescent Rose and Sonoro Pine haven't had a play date with her in a while and- is something wrong?"

"Ruby, please tell me you were the one who took my Dust too," pleaded the jedi.

The Anchor blinked.

"What are you talking about? You took it out yourself saying you were going to move it somewhere safer."

Weiss' eyes narrowed.

"Neo," she growled before running out into the hall.

* * *

 **94.22 Black Omochao**

* * *

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY/Red Vs Blue]

It was another 'big family' Loop for the Rose-Xiao Long house, with all the siblings home and Awake, it was a rare and happy occurrence.

However, the youngest of the family did not seem very happy…

"Keita?" Yang looked at her little brother questioningly, he was sitting at the table, a depressed look on his face. "What's the matter?"

Their other siblings; Ruby, Cinder and Grif, along with their father; Taiyang, were all near but doing their own things. Keita's next words however, caught all of their attention.

"I'm a terrible father…"

"…I'm sorry, but what!?" Yang gaped at those words, the others looking over with some interest.

"Okay, what happened…" Grif sighed as he stepped over. "Did you get a time-skip Expansion?"

"…No," Keita shook his head, still sitting with a melancholy expression. "Normal Expansion, but it turns out that… well, you guys know that yo-kai; Hanahojin?"

"The nose-picking one? Yeah, why?" Ruby questioned, looking curious over where this conversation was going. Cinder had already seemed to have lost interest, while Taiyang was frozen in place with a shocked expression.

"Well… it turns out that he was originally a booger I picked from my nose before he became a yo-kai, making me sort-of his dad… and the other ones too…" Keita explained with a sigh.

"…Okay," Yang nodded, not sure what else to say here.

"So, I have a booger-nephew?" Ruby concluded, seeming a lot less shocked than her sister.

"Nephews, possibly nieces too… there's more than one, but other than the main one they're very Loop-variable…"

"Neat!"

"Isn't this family tree complicated enough!?" Cinder called from the other side of the room. Grif groaned, before grabbing hold of his younger brother's shoulder.

"Keita, absurd method of reproduction aside, why do you think you're a terrible father?" Keita looked away from the older boy.

"Well… I haven't exactly been the kindest to Hanahojin, I always just saw him as a nuisance when he would bug me in Baseline… I never understood that it was just his and the others' way of trying to get close to me…"

"Okay, and? Did your Baseline-self know about this yo-kai being your… 'son?'" Grif questioned, looking unsure if that was the appropriate term to use for this situation.

"Well… no…"

"Then, don't worry about it. You can't undo what your Baseline-self does, and how could he have ever been a decent father if he didn't even know he was one… and was also eleven?" Grif questioned plainly, Keita scratched his head in thought.

"I guess…"

"I still confused how exactly some nose-picking yo-kai is your son, and by extension, our nephew. But if that's the case I'm sure you can be a great dad if you put in the effort," Yang added, Ruby nodding in agreement. Keita let out a little sigh of relief at his siblings' comfort and smiled.

"Thanks guys…"

"…I'm a grandfather!?" Taiyang finally snapped out of his frozen-state, his various kids, Baseline or otherwise, all looked at him with blank expressions, before they all laughed a little. "…Seriously! I'm a grandfather? Nose-picking yo-kai!? I have many questions here!"

* * *

 **94.23 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So... expansions." Ruby looked up from her bed. "You worried, Weiss?"

"...Not really."

"No?"

"Well, I'm obviously nervous about what will happen," Weiss allowed. "Mistral, the Fang, Salem, all that. And I am concerned for what is going to happen to my fellow loopers. But... for me personally?" She spun her chair around, holding her hands wide. "The only member of my family still undefined is my mother. I know who my siblings are, who my father is... Klein, though I perhaps afford him too little attention." A frown flitted across her face. "I've got to work on that, honestly."

"Huh. So... you're cool going ahead?"

"For the moment. I suspect, of course, that there will be some brand new sources of drama. Ones we know are coming and ones that aren't. I might very well be taken hostage by Sienna Kahn, or Adam, or Raven if it comes to it-a daughter of wealth is a valuable bargaining chip, even if she is no longer a heiress. But that is... political. Not personal. Well, not for me." She gave Ruby a look. "What about you? Are you worried?"

"...a little. This is the first time where we're going in with everyone's cards on the table." Ruby leaned into the wall. "Nobody's stealthing in any way. We're all... mostly stable, when it comes to the loops. Yeah, Yang is worried, and the new loopers I think are in for a shock, but... I'm just wondering. How much will these events shake us? And what will we learn, what will we accomplish?"

"But you're not worried about, say, Watts suddenly attacking you. Or Oscar possibly crushing on you."

Ruby snorted. "No. Well, not no, more like... it's anticipatory, not worried. I will react to those events with appropriate joy or horror, yeah, but right now I'm just... I'm looking forward to finding out, you know?"

"That's about where I am, actually. The only difference is you have people where you are that you worry about."

"Winter's there too, you know."

"She's... somewhere," Weiss acknowledged. "There might be a couple conflicts there. But that's the thing, isn't it? Even though I can list the conflicts in my head... I'm not really worried they'll blow out of proportion."

"Well... yeah, I guess."

They sat in the room, silent for a while.

"So." Ruby shrugged. "Are you going to find me, or am I going to find you?"

"The former, hopefully. No offense, but your baseline self might not have the delicacy to extract me from whatever situation she finds me in."

"What, you don't think I could save your life without causing an international incident?"

"Remember Vacuo?"

Ruby flushed. "THAT WAS ONLY ONE TIME!"

* * *

 **94.24 smxsonic**

* * *

"Ruby, What are you doing here?" Cinder asked her sister, who was just casually sitting on some boxes.

"I dunno, Just thinking..."

Cinder sighed and took a seat next to Ruby, "About?"

"You know how you guys sometimes tease me about my love life?"

Cinder nodded, still not entirely getting where this was heading.

"Do you... think it's weird for me to keep insisting on my celibacy"

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Off and on, With the expansions coming soon and what that might bring... I'm not entirely sure what to do if I get into a relationship..."

Cinder gave a chuckle, "That's why you're worried about the expansions?"

"Among other things. I talked to my team about it and they all had different theories about it."

"Look, in the end, it's your decision to try and ... I don't know.. prepare for if the expansions give you Oscar."

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"But, if that does happen and you want to remain the simple soul that Baseline wants you to be, so be it. Even though it is weird that..."

"I'm cursing destiny, while at the same time I'm waiting for it to hand me a significant other on a silver platter. Yes, Weiss pointed that out to me."

"Whatever keeps you sane. I might not be the best person to say that, but it's been working semi-well for me."

Ruby jumped off the boxes, "Thanks, Cinder."

"It's nothing I guess, but I do have some nefarious schemes to enact in order for you to foil, so... Go on, Get!"

* * *

 **94.25 World Weaver**

* * *

Ending the call with Jaune, Ozpin leaned back and contemplated the chance of levity in the upcoming expansions.

There was that bet Ruby made a while back, it could be fun to turn it against her... Hmm.

Ozpin's body instantly started bitching about everything as he stood up and walked into his pocket. Calmly walking through the vast and maze-like corridors of his pocket, Ozpin reached the portion dedicated for hats. He passed by the plastic recreations of his fellow Loopers, and the various appendages of them fashioned into crowns.

Should I start with a steampunk hat or a regular hat? Ozpin thought to his other half.

How about that one? highlighted Oscar.

Summoning the selected hat, they proceeded to training room before starting to adapt their fighting style so that their glorious hat wouldn't be damaged in the course of battle. After that they pondered on how to protect it from sudden Crashes before deciding to cash in a few favors with the Equestrian Branch.

A few minutes later and Ozpin was ready for the rest of this chaotic variant, starting with clearing Jaune from the Conquest Infestation. Plus, the most glorious example of top hats that ever-graced Remnant of course. Oh, he couldn't wait until the perfect moment arrived, but considering the prank he was planning relied upon a specific variant of a variant that would-be a while after the needed moment for the plan to be concluded...

Ozpin made a note to bug Roman on how he keeps his hat undamaged on his to do list.

"Ozpin can you do a favor for me…" Jaune trailed off once he saw the new look Ozpin was sporting


	95. A STRQ New Beginning

**95.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

Every member of team STRQ was Awake, save Summer Rose.

Ozpin was too, thankfully enough, and Glynda had given Qrow a looping signal before heading off with Ironwood. A quick check revealed that Kali was Awake in Vale, joining the newly forming White Fang, and a particular orange-haired thief had decided to join her-Neo, apparently, had not been born yet.

Actually, none of the other loopers had been born yet. Well, Cinder might have been without being Awake, her age was variable enough that she could be anywhere from an infant to a twenty-year-old in this particular era, but the point was that specific people-people who might have had a better idea how to handle this-were not around. And unless certain _other_ people took certain actions, they were not _going_ to be around.

Kali, of course, was more than willing to do her duty-though she decided to wait until the proper time. And Qrow had explained that no matter what else, Ruby had to be born-even if she wasn't Awake at the moment, even if she spent the first fifteen years of her life Unawake, she was the Anchor and-barring a stealth Anchor-she had to exist at some point to stabilize the loop. That was logical and reasonable, once one wrapped their head around the temporal issues involved in the situation.

However, for Taiyang and Raven, that left one other... particular... issue.

Technically speaking, they did not have to follow baseline to the letter. In fact, one particular event-one which was awkward enough _without_ the foreknowledge of what would occur-could be avoided entirely without any results save, perhaps, Ruby's eventual disappointment (and the ire of the other loopers). Or, perhaps, instead of making a large emotional connection out of the shebang, they could arrange for the deed to happen as quickly and efficiently as possible, with all results handled in the coming year to fit as... closely, to the normal situation as possible. They could even play-act exactly as they recalled, just to avoid questioning.

The idea of them 'staying together' was out of the question, of course. Taiyang and Summer had to bond at some point, and that couldn't exactly happen if Raven was still around. No matter what they decided, though, it would be Yang that would suffer the consequences. Well, most directly anyway.

So an air of awkward tension had developed in team STRQ. Taiyang and Raven, who had been going through the early phases of flirting, were suddenly overly formal to each other in public and awkwardly dancing around the whole matter in private. Qrow was mature enough to recognize the complexity of the situation, but he did have a vested interest in the eventual resolution, and not-so-subtly tried to convince the two of them to pick a solution, any solution, so he could figure out where to walk next.

What the three of them had forgotten, of course, was that Summer Rose was team leader. And from her perspective, her three best friends had abruptly gone from casual teasing and banter to stiff, almost clipped distance. That was not going to fly, not as long as she still took breath. So, like any good team leader, she made an executive decision and took matters into her own hands.

* * *

There's a particular sort of intensity that one can achieve by almost-ALMOST-slamming a door open. Allowing it to build up the inertia, the powerful motion, but keeping one's grip tight on the handle so it abruptly stops at a right angle; that communicates the usual passion of door-slamming, combined with the precision and control that comes from having total focus. It's the sort of motion that communicates the one doing it has something very specific to accomplish, and it will be accomplished come hell or high water, but it would be so much less painful if everyone in the room followed orders exactly.

Summer Rose had just almost slammed open the dorm room door. She took in the three sets of eyes on her.

"Qrow, the headmaster wants to talk with you."

"Really?" The dark-haired man sitting on one of the beds quirked an eyebrow. "You sure? Cause I think he would have-"

" _Now_ , Qrow."

Qrow took in the steely gaze-not focused on him, but on the other two in the room-and slowly stood. "Right. I'll be a while, then. Don't wreck the place." He carefully slid past Summer and walked down the hall, his footsteps echoing after him.

Summer shut the door. Very deliberately, she reached out and turned the lock. Her eyes never left Raven and Taiyang.

"...Do you know, I was actually worried for a while there?"

The two of them glanced at each other as she stepped forward.

"I was worried that something had happened, that somebody had done something unforgivable." Summer's voice was casual, but her motions were predatory. "I thought, hey, maybe Taiyang had suggested all bandits were monsters or, I don't know, maybe Raven had crushed some kid's dream or, just perhaps, maybe Qrow had said something really, really stupid." Every slow, measured step brought her closer to the pair. "A team falling apart, and no idea what was going on, I was panicking. Oh, I hid it," she assured them with a casual wave, and now Raven took a step _back_ to keep her at arm's length, "I tried to figure it out on my own and decide how to handle the situation myself, but in the end I figured I'd look for some friendly advice."

Her smile was terse. "I went to the headmaster. He listened to my problem. And then he told me... one _heck_ of a story."

Taiyang shuttled quietly behind Raven. "Did he?"

"Oh, yes. There was this strange nonsense about a great tree-computer, about gods repairing cosmic damage, about otherwise ordinary people trapped in a fluctuating time loop..." Summer's eyes narrowed. "About two little girls, not born yet, destined to become heroes."

Raven gave her a slow nod, her face stoic. "I see."

"Do you? Really, do you Raven?" Summer started forward again, her smile unmoving as her sheer force of will forced the woman back. "Because, the way I see it, you two have been trying to make a choice-a very personal choice, let me add, one that involves all of us, and you didn't consult me once."

Raven bumped into something and looked behind her-Taiyang held up his hands, backing against the wall. She looked back and certainly didn't jump when she found Summer's face inches from her own.

"I am the team leader for a reason," Summer said, not stopping her walk-and Taiyang found himself pressed into the plaster as his not-yet-ex-wife backed up. "And one of my duties is finding solutions to any problems that strain our relationships, making sure we work as a cohesive unit." And now Raven took a steadying breath, sandwhiched as she was between two warm bodies. "So, let me summarize the situation."

Taiyang cleared his throat, "Summer, look-"

"At some point in the future, Taiyang needs to get me pregnant, because the universe depends on that child," Summer listed off. "Also in the future are the options of Taiyang getting you pregnant, you leaving said child and returning to your tribe, and me dying and or mysteriously disappearing while out on a mission. These are events you have both lived through, multiple times, with very little variation." Summer Rose grinned at Raven. "Am I correct so far?"

Raven's hands clenched tightly. "Yes."

"The issue, if I understand it properly, is the worry that I will not be emotionally receptive to Taiyang at the proper time due to your own actions, or that you will be too emotionally attached to give him up, or something along those lines. You feel that you have to either prevent the relationship, or break it off, to keep the universe running. I, however, do not think either of these options are viable."

"Really."

Summer nodded firmly. "Really. Ruby Rose, eventual Anchor, deserves to have her older sister. In order for that to happen, you must have your relationship with Taiyang. However, leaving-even if you did in the original timeline-is not an acceptable choice after such a decision. Therefore, I propose a third option."

The room was silent for a moment.

"...A third option," Summer repeated.

"No, I heard you," Raven replied. "Um." She turned to look at Taiyang. "Is... she saying what I think she's saying?"

Taiyang cleared his throat. "Well, I don't want to be put in the role of 'typical perverse male'-"

"Two daughters, two year age difference, two different women."

"-but if I had to go out on a limb," he continued musingly, "I think she's suggesting a trinogamous relationship?"

"I am," Summer confirmed.

Raven considered her position, trapped between two bodies. "...I assume as part of this arrangement," she said slowly, "you expect me _not_ to return to the bandit tribe?"

"You'll be with them almost every other loop," Summer pointed out. "Right now, you have a unique opportunity to experience what it might have been like if you had stayed." She paused. "As well as indulge in gratuitous bisexual escapades."

"Gratuitous."

"Gratuitous."

Taiyang held up a hand. "I can appreciate why you're trying to sell Raven on this, really, but as the other party involved-"

"You get to keep close ties to both the women you love without either of them being jealous and as an added bonus with Raven watching my back I am far less likely to die abruptly."

"...I will admit, that is a very tempting pitch." He took a breath. "If we are going to do this, though, can we do it properly? Dating for a bit before we all hop in bed together, probably getting married after that?"

"Wait, seriously?" Summer's smile finally bore a hint of amusement. "You've got two hot girls pressing into you and you're not aroused?"

"He is," Raven confirmed. "He's just too polite to act on it without our permission."

Taiyang's face flushed. "Well, you didn't have to _tell_ her."

"A lack of honesty can strain any relationship." Raven turned back to Summer. "Alright, we'll try it your way this loop-but like Tai said, we're not going to be jumping to the sex right off the bat."

Summer gave an exaggerated sigh. "And here I was hoping to be pinned to the bed and stripped bare. Oh, _all right_." She stepped back, releasing Raven from her pressure, and gave them a cocky smirk. "Movie on friday?"

"As long as it isn't one of those 'brave explorer' films," Raven replied, sliding sideways. "They never get the nomads right."

"I've heard good things about that chick flick that hit the theaters last week," Taiyang offered, quickly walking across the room. "Maybe we could go see that..."

* * *

 **95.2 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...and your support in our endeavors is most helpful," Ghira finished. "Without your knowledge of Vale politics, I don't know if the White Fang would have even gotten off the ground."

"Honestly, the run-around the council was giving us," Sienna Khan growled, grumpily accepting the tea their hostess handed her. "They acted like we should be grateful we were even allowed to point out what was wrong!"

Kali smiled faintly. "The people of Vale are some of the most accepting you'll ever meet; unfortunately that means a few bad apples can spoil the whole thing. You just have to make sure to know which ones are which."

"Ha. You know, I talked to a few of them, and they seem to think Menagerie was some sort of haven for faunus?" The woman rolled her eyes. "Exile, more like."

"It's a bit of both," Kali hedged. At Ghira's quirked eyebrow, she cleared her throat. "Power comes in many forms, but economic power is what shapes societies. I believe the King of Vale did genuinely want to give Faunus a powerbase to build their wealth and prestige out of after the great war, even if he failed to communicate it to the other kingdoms."

"So kindly Vale thinks they did the us a great aid and don't need to do anything else, while Mistral offloads any faunus they find troublesome onto an already strained continent and Atlas just screws everyone over." Sienna snorted. "Gee, that worked out really well."

"You're here, aren't you?" Kali pointed out. "Establishing the White Fang, making the issues known... an effort like this wouldn't have had financial backing twenty years ago."

"You do have a point," Ghira mused. "It's not perfect, but-"

A sudden rapping sound made Kali's left ear twitch, and she sighed as she put down her teacup. "I'll go deal with that, excuse me a second." Her brisk walk brought her over to the window, and she gave a flat look at the red-eyed crow gripping the windowsill. "Oh. It's this one."

Sienna stepped over. "What, some bird?"

"Corvids-crows and ravens, they're among the most intelligent birds in the world." Kali opened the window. "In fact, some of them can even understand spoken language."

Ghira stood up, watching the black bird hop in. "Is that so?"

"Yep. This one, he likes alcohol-"

"Booze," croaked the crow.

"-and I made the mistake of bringing him home from a bar one time, and now..." She gave a melodramatic sigh. "Now, whenever he's too tipsy to fly home, he pecks on my window and tries to sleep on my couch."

"You... have a bird that crashes at your place after he gets wasted," Sienna deadpanned.

The crow cocked its head at her indignantly. "Buzzed."

"Like I said, very intelligent animal." Kali crossed her arms. "Although he usually doesn't drop by this early."

Ghira smirked. "Maybe he wants to build a nest here?"

"Smart!" the crow barked.

"He's already got a nest," Kali said. "I've seen it, he and three others share a space-"

"Threeway."

There was an awkward pause.

Sienna turned to Kali. "...Did your drunkard bird friend just say he was kicked out of his home because his buddies wanted to bang?"

"Smart," the crow repeated.

Kali sighed. "I'm... so sorry. I didn't even know he was coming over-"

"How about we let you handle this in private?" Ghira suggested, gently grabbing Sienna's elbow. "We can talk about our plans later."

"I really am sorry. I'll make sure he understands not to interrupt White Fang meetings in the future."

Sienna shot Ghira a look. "Our civilian contact is a crazy cat lady with a drunk bird pal," she muttered in undertone.

He frowned at her. "Sienna."

"I'm just saying..."

Kali pretended not to hear the byplay, simply waving as she shut the door after them. Only after she heard their footsteps fading away did she turn around, glowering at the dark-haired teenager now leaning against the wall.

"What are you doing here, Qrow? I thought you were supposed to be at Beacon in this era!"

"Tai and Rae were sort of freaking out about what to do about Yang, Summer was freaking out about them freaking out, she went to get advice from Ozpin and he told her about the loops, and she decided this time round would be Tai's wet dream."

The woman dragged her hand down her face. "So Summer intends to marry Taiyang and Raven... that's one way to handle things, I suppose. Doesn't explain why you're here."

"A lot of the social stigma against screwing is of the 'I'm saving myself for so and so' variety. Thing is, they all already know they're going to be getting it on at some point-combo that with teenage hormones and how close teams are anyway, and threesomes are practically inevitable." Qrow shrugged. "Obviously I don't want to be sleeping in the same room as my twin sister getting doublewhammied, so I figured I'd ask if I could crash here for the duration."

"...I guess Beacon's only an hour or two away by wing," Kali mused. "Fine, I'll leave the guest bedroom window open."

"Thanks a bundle, Kal. You're the best old friend a teen could ask for."

"Excuse me?"

Qrow rolled his eyes. "You're already an adult with an apartment, and I'm only just coming into my prime. Add in it'll be a little over two decades before we get to the 'usual' loop timeframe... Face it, you're old."

"And _you're_ going to be paying rent."

"...eh, fair enough."

* * *

 **95.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Well that's... interesting."

James gave Glynda a look as she read the message on her scroll. "What is it?"

"Ozpin told Summer about the loops. Apparently, after her initial freakout, she, and I quote, 'developed a grin not unlike the kind that Blake wears shortly before grabbing Yang and disappearing into Vacuo, and declared she had a way to fix everything.'"

"Ah." James paused. "Ah," he said again, but with more comprehension. "That is certainly an interesting result."

"And one we'll tease Tai and Raven about for loops to come, I'm sure." Glynda clicked off her scroll. "I suppose that's one way to make the future better."

"Yes..." James glanced down at his arm. His... entirely organic arm.

Glynda looked over at him. "...what? What are you thinking?"

"...I don't know how much of my influence comes from... losing this." He rotated his hand. "I could have been rapidly promoted thanks to some heroic deed that also necessitated my cybernetics, or I could have just lost it all in an accident. Maybe the replacement is how I met doctor Polendina; maybe he's introduced to me after I become a general. And Jacques is... sort of a friend, right now, does he pay for the operation or what?"

"You're not sure what you can change... or what you should."

"This far back, so much is loop variable..."

"James." Glynda put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't focus on what could be, or what isn't yet. Take care of what is."

James sighed. "The only thing that 'is' right now is Jacques getting married in two weeks."

"Then work on that. Lean on him, keep him from being too... corrupt, this time round. Or let me do it, and you can focus on your military career."

"...that's... a start." The man dragged his hand down his face. "If we could find Salem-"

"No ifs. Just the now."

"...I can't help but worry."

Glynda chuckled dryly. "None of us can help that. Except maybe Neo."

James snorted. "Oh, yes. A perfect picture of sanity." He managed a faint smile. "I'll try, Glynda. Who knows... I might even get Penny built early."

* * *

 **95.4 Zurcior**

* * *

Raven Branwen was happy.

That wasn't a word normally used to describe the woman. Not to say she was incapable of happiness, but it simply wasn't a characteristic associated with her by those who didn't know her.

Even so, Raven was happy.

And it was easy to see why.

So far, this had been the most enjoyable Loop Raven has ever had. Her relationship with Taiyang and Summer ended up being an enjoyable, if somewhat awkward at first, experience. Their dates were lively and sometimes more subdued as they ate at fancy restaurants, went to live concerts, simply took walks in the park together, and occasionally went to amusement parks. All in all, the three of them had enjoyed each others' company, and seeing Taiyang and Summer be happy became a common sight to the red-eyed huntress.

(Eventually, their naked bodies also became a common sight. That part was always great.)

It was nostalgic for Raven, in a way, when she saw their smiling faces and heard their laughter. She couldn't help that feeling of warmth she received when she realized that she was partly responsible for that.

It wasn't long before Raven realized that she would always keep the memories of this Loop close to her heart.

She was glad that Summer - ALMOST - slammed the dorm room door open and laid down the law the way she did that day. Raven appreciated how her friend took a complicated situation and seemingly simplified it so easily. Especially since it gave Raven the very rare opportunity to be a mother to Yang in a few years; a prospect that terrified her as much as it secretly excited her.

So with everything she had experienced so far, and the promise of more to come, Raven felt she made the right choice when she accepted Summer's proposal.

Raven Branwen was happy.

And that was a problem...

Because she knew that in about a couple decades from now, this Loop would end.

It would end, and everything she found happiness in will have gone away.

The dates. The smiles and laughter. The intimacy. Summer. The eventual motherhood with Yang.

All of it will have disappeared, and all the dark-haired woman would have left were the memories.

Because as agreed upon, their arrangement was a one-loop deal.

That was why she vowed to make the best of the situation. Raven refused to mourn a distant future, and instead strove to live and appreciate the happiness she had now. She promised herself that she would cherish every kiss she received from Summer and Tai, enjoy the quiet nights where they all simply cuddled in bed, honor the vows that would be made at their future wedding, and most importantly, that she would be the kind of mother Yang deserved when the time came.

But she wasn't just doing it for herself.

She was doing it for them. For Summer. For Tai. And for Yang.

Because Raven Branwen was happy.

And she was determined to return the favor for as long as this Loop allowed her to.

* * *

 **95.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...so that, apparently, is why Roman Torchwick is wearing a red coat."

Qrow scoffed. "He changes that up every time I ask. Probably wants to appear mysterious."

Kali shrugged. "Well, it was a fun story anyway. How are things with the rest of you?"

Summer wrapped her arms around Taiyang and Raven's shoulders. "Well, graduation's coming up, so we're planning for the finals before going on a wild honeymoon tour-"

"-don't call it that," Raven objected futilely-

"-of the entire continent. Might even get started on bringing new loopers into the fold."

Qrow nodded. "Winter is about the right age for Weiss to... begin. She's also very frustrated that nobody will take a five-year-old seriously." Qrow chuckled. "Downside of Waking Up early, I guess."

Taiyang gave him a look. "Are you two, uh... planning anything together?"

He gave him a flat stare.

"I mean, you're both Awake now, so-"

"Yeah, no. It'd be too awkward for both of us at this point. And technically illegal." Qrow rose a finger. "You three can have your sexy adventure on Saunus, I'm going to head over to Kuroyuri and settle in there for the next decade and a half."

"Right, Ren and Nora." Kali nodded. "That's a good plan. Well, Ghira and I are still 'just dating' but I'm almost certain he's going to propose sometime soon, so-"

Her ears perked, and she gave a small sigh. "Oh no..." She turned in her chair, putting on a warm smile as she gripped her cup. "Miss Khan! What brings you here?"

Sienna Khan growled as she stalked up to the woman. "Your hypocrisy is sickening," she hissed.

"Is this about the whole 'consorting with humans' thing?" Kali asked politely.

"You say you want a better world for the faunus, but here you are talking with the enemy!"

Kali folded her hands together. "I am talking with four polite young individuals, who are on the cusp of heading out into the world and making their fortune. Yes, they are human, which means that on some level they enjoy benefits we do not. By the same token, they can do things that we, at the moment, cannot. They can enact change in ways we are incapable of. And that's not factoring in, oh, the fact that they are close and dear friends of mine."

"Humans never think of faunus beyond how they will exploit us, how they will abuse us!" Sienna snarled, her tiger-like teeth glinting in the light.

"Because that is what they have been taught," Kali replied smoothly. "They are as trapped in this system as we are. By teaching them about our plight, by showing them that we are people, I take the first steps toward opening doors that have never been opened before."

"None of them care! They only think of us as beasts!"

"So you snarl and growl, and prove them right. I for one refuse to play the part." Kali took a sip of her drink. "I shall be the epitome of refinement."

The other faunus narrowed her eyes, glowering at her for a moment or two. "Ghira would have been a greater leader if he never met you."

Raven stood up even as Kali winced, striding over to the other woman. "A true leader understands their people's needs," she stated coldly, "and does anything to satisfy them."

Sienna looked ready to rant at her, but her mouth opened and shut as she tried-and failed-to come up with a counter for that blunt statement. Finally she snapped off with an enraged grumble, stalking out of the cafe.

"...thank you for backing me up on that," Kali said, sagging in her seat. "I was worried she would try to start a fight."

"She wanted one," Raven pointed out. "She's been pushed around enough... I can see why the White Fang went the way it did, under her."

"Well... will have gone if we did not interfere, so might will have gone, so-"

"Kali," Summer advised gently, "maybe drop this before we all get another time travel induced headache?"

"...Right." Kali chuckled dryly. "Of course. You know, I think she was crushing on Ghira this loop-before I came along, anyway."

"Sienna's incredibly loop variable," Qrow pointed out. "Aside from being the White Fang leader and possibly a tiger aspect there's almost no consistency. Man, woman, demagogue, tactician, hot, cold..."

"Sounds incredibly frustrating," Summer mused. "Especially since she's such an important figure."

"Speaking of," Taiyang interjected, "what's the plan for Salem this loop?"

"Well, our heavy hitters at the moment are mostly tied up running schools or keeping Jacques from becoming as bad as he is in baseline. I guess Glynda could go out looking for her, but we've got even less to go on then we usually do. At the moment we're waiting for Cinder-Awake or not, she'll give us a hint where to look next."

* * *

 **95.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

Amber looked around the streets of Vale nervously, clutching at her satchel as she walked along. It had seemed like a good idea-or, rather, like the only idea she had, find headmaster Ozpin and get him to explain all this... but she hadn't factored in how large Vale was, and how confusing its layout could be to a newcomer. If there was a way to Beacon from here, she didn't know it-she didn't even have a map.

At least she was in a city, though. Protected from... them. She didn't even know who they were, or why they were so interested in her, but... here, they wouldn't try to capture her openly.

She hoped.

"Um, excuse me?" Amber walked up to an adult carrying a box of books. "I'm... looking for a way to get to Beacon. Do you know...?"

"Quickest way I know of is the shuttles," he replied, jerking a thumb in a particular direction. "Head for the docks and you should be good."

"Oh. Thanks mister...?"

"Tukson." He looked her over. "You've come a long way, haven't you?"

"Yes, I'm from... well, I _was_ from a village." Amber gulped. "There was... a raid. I don't know if anyone else got out..."

The man's eyes softened, and he put his box down. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

"I can get there on my own-"

"I don't really have anything better to do. My shop doesn't open till tomorrow anyway."

Amber nodded, giving in quietly. In all honesty, after... what had happened, she couldn't really object to an escort. "You... run a shop?"

"Just bought it." The man started walking, and she fell into step beside him. "Tukson's Book Trade, we trade books."

"That's... kind of... repetitive," Amber pointed out. "And not very ambitious."

"Really?"

"What if... what if you said you had a lot of books? Like all the books in Mistral? Or enough to weigh down a goliath?"

"Every book under the sun..." Tukson nodded musingly. "You might have a point there, kid. I'll think about it."

Amber smiled, glancing ahead as they walked. "I'm sure it's a very good... oh no." She stepped behind him quickly.

"Kid? What's wrong?"

"That man." Her finger pointed as a muscular individual with hairy arms. "He was with the group that..." She trailed off, gripping her satchel tightly as the man turned toward them.

"...I know a way around." Tukson flicked his head toward an alleyway. "Come on."

"What if he comes after us?"

"Don't worry. I've got a few surprises of my own."

The two of them made their way quickly between the buildings, their brisk pace not quite a run. Tukson rushed them around corners, through a few odd turns, and for a moment Amber thought she might make it.

Then the muscular man stepped out in front of them, arms crossed. "The girl comes with me."

Tukson narrowed his eyes, cracking his knuckles. "She's not going anywhere with you."

"You can't stop me." The tone wasn't threatening, merely a statement of fact. "Stay out of the way."

"Make me."

The muscular man nodded, unfolding his arms and stepping forward. Tukson widened his stance as he approached.

A fist flew, and Tukson caught it-and unsheathed a set of claws from his fingertips, scratching deep into the man's hand as he swung his other arm. The man didn't even flinch, snatching the incoming appendage with lightning speed and crushing it in his grasp-Tukson gave a shout of pain, trying to pull his arm back, and was utterly unprepared for the headbutt that followed, or the knee to the stomach that threw him off balance, or the quick jerk that slammed him into the wall, or the final punch to the face that knocked him out.

Amber backed away as quickly as she could as the man stepped toward her, looking around desperately. "Stay away! Stay back, please, I-" She scrunched her eyes shut as his arm shot forward-

-and heard a loud thunk.

Nervously, she opened her eyes. A black-haired girl, about her own age, was standing between her and the man. One glittering arm was up, holding back the man's fist; the other was out, dark crystals weaving out from her sleeve to form a wicked serrated sword.

The man seemed just as surprised as Amber herself. "Stand aside," he growled.

That, for some reason, caused the girl to chuckle.

Without warning she swung her blade, the man rolling back to dodge and slamming a fist into it. The weapon shattered and... reformed, crystals weaving into the girl's hands as she jumped and kicked him in the chest-he staggered back, shock clear on his face, and just barely caught her arms before the two sharp points cut into his shoulders. With her new leverage the girl swung up her legs, gripping his head between her feet and suddenly pulling herself _up,_ over him and behind, the crystals forming a rope around his wrists as she twirled to land behind him. He released her, but it was too late-with his new set of handcuffs the girl had gained control of the situation, jerking him to the ground in one smooth motion.

She strolled up his length, putting a foot down on his chest, and knelt down to look him in the face. "I want you to deliver a message to your master, Hazel."

The man snorted. "Ozpin's getting creative."

"Oh, I'm not one of Ozpin's little pawns. I'm something far, far worse." She grinned, exposing a deadly set of fangs. "I'm the bringer of the apocalypse, and Salem's in my seat. Tell her to move over."

Hazel frowned. "You're skilled, but you can't possibly-"

The girl cut him off by trodding on his face, hand stretched out toward the dark crystals. They spun and twisted and, with a sickening schlorp, jumped to her grip.

"If you want to keep your other hand," she said coolly, "I suggest you head on out."

Hazel stood, staggering as he gripped the stump on the end of his arm and glowering at her. "You've made a powerful enemy, girl."

"Oh, I know." The girl brought his hand to her face, smiling as she took in the scent. "I look forward to crushing her."

The man glared for a moment or two, before drawing himself up and walking slowly out of the alleyway. The girl watched him until he vanished.

Then she turned around. "And you." Her golden eyes glimmered in amusement as she observed Amber wince. "I'm not usually on this part of the equation... what do I do with you?"

"Please don't kill me..."

"...do you even know why Hazel was after you, Amber?"

"No. All I know is, he killed my grandma and... and then there was this light and he went after me and-"

"Ah. Interesting." The girl considered the hand in her grip. "Well, I was going to need to talk to Ozpin anyway. This might actually be entertaining."

"...what's going on? Why did he kill grandma? How did you know my name? Who even _are_ you?"

The girl smirked. "I am the nightmare of Remnant, reborn. I am the slayer of heroes and consumer of demons. I am the shadow that brings light. I am Cinder Fall... and for today, at least, I might be your friend."

* * *

 **95.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

 **Power Cycle Running...**

 **Operating Software online.**

 **Cooling systems active.**

 **Visual inputs accessed. Location identified: Atlas Auratech Laboratories.**

 **Audio inputs accessed. Receiving data...**

"Come on, 121, work...

 **Data identified as "encouragement."**

 **Opening program: Dustwork operations. Running program.**

 **Initiating activation of Dustwork system.**

 **Dustworks active. Running aura subroutine...**

 **Aura active.**

"Yes! It's working! It's-"

 **Personality subroutine accessed.**

"-what?"

 **Updating Identity: Penny**

 **Updating Identity: Looper**

 **Personality subroutine integrated into Operating System.**

"What's going on? This isn't-"

 **Hello world! Salutations! Why can't I move?**

"Um. Excuse me, Brigadier Ironwood, I... this has never happened before-"

"Quite alright, mister Polendina. Part of science is discovering the unexpected."

 **I am finding the not moving thing to be rather awkward, honestly. Also the not talking thing. Are any of my words coming through?**

"We're reading them on a screen for the moment. You're still hooked up to the test network."

"Brigadier, I... I think it's alive."

"Yes, mister Polendina, I gathered that."

 **I can hear you, you know. Also, I think I'd prefer to identify as feminine.**

"What-oh. Yes. Um. I'm sorry, I should have... let me just activate your motor systems here..."

 **Motor systems activated. Thank you. Let's see if I can stand...**

The metallic skeleton slowly pushed itself up, thin arms holding it steady as green-tinted cameras focused on the three individuals standing behind a terminal. The doll-like head tilted, processing them for a moment or two, before it moved in a small nod; rod-like legs swung off the side of the table, and titanium feet hit the floor with a soft thunk. It looked down at itself, paused, and looked up at them.

 **I have just realized something crucial.**

"Yes?"

 **I am completely and totally naked.**

The blonde rolled her eyes. The dark-haired man had a barely visible smirk, as the older man glanced from the screen to the skeleton.

"I-I didn't think-I'll... this is unprecedented. I never expected this when I designed the project. It-she's exhibiting her own personality!"

 **You designed me?**

"Ah. Yes. I did."

 **Then you are my... father?**

The man blinked. "I... suppose, yes. Oh dear, I-I really need to get you a voicebox-"

 **Skin would be nice as well. Even so... thank you for letting me exist.**

* * *

 **95.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ozpin looked from one five-year-old pyrokinetic to the other.

"As if this loop wasn't interesting enough."

Cinder tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Summer Rose is aware of the loops," he explained. "I informed her personally, and she... decided to enrapture both Raven and Taiyang."

"Oh." Cinder blinked. "OH! Well, Tai's going to have a fun time, then."

"Um..." Amber rose her hand awkwardly. "What... what's a loop?"

Ozpin considered her for a moment.

"...Cinder, what exactly was your plan?"

The glittering girl shrugged. "I was going to spend the loop scaring Salem up until Ruby woke up, then storm her castle. For the challenge, you know?"

"I take it you planted some sort of tracker on Hazel."

"Yes. Yes I did."

"Who's Salem?" Amber asked.

Ozpin looked from her, to Cinder, then back to her.

"...Miss Amber, do you have any living relatives?"

She winced. "No... no sir. That... Hazel man... he killed them all."

"Hmm. And what do you think of miss Fall here?"

Amber glanced at the girl, sparkling in the sunlight. "She... um... she did save me, but... um..."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "You're scared of me, aren't you."

"...maybe a little?" Amber admitted.

Ozpin smiled faintly. "Honesty, at least in this room, is the best policy."

"Hypocrite."

"I've never lied in my office, Cinder. I've only deceived."

"Because that's so much better."

"I will admit that it is morally ambiguous, but you must admit-"

"You know I don't really care about morality, Oz. But hypocrisy is kind of what led to that whole thing in the first place."

"You do have a point, miss Fall. I apologize for-"

Amber's eyes teared up. "I have no idea what's going on! My grandma is dead and, and a big man tried to catch me and then this girl saved me but she did it in a super scary way and then she brought me here and you're talking about loops and Salem and she's still glittering and I... I don't know what's going to happen to me, I don't even-"

"Miss Amber." Ozpin sighed. "I... apologize. I do want to help you, truly, there's just quite a bit going on and this situation is... complicated."

The girl sniffed.

"...Have you ever heard the story of the four maidens?"

Amber nodded. "Grandma used to... used to tell it to me every night."

Cinder snorted. "Well, congrats, you're the fall maiden now."

Ozpin shot her a disapproving look, before turning back to Amber. "Most fairy tales you know of are based in truth. Magic is real, but... it is also very dangerous, hence why those of us that know about it try to make sure the world believes magic is fictional."

Amber looked between the two of them, confused.

Cinder sighed. "Your grandma had a bunch of awesome super powers, but the bad guys wanted them. The super powers hop to whoever the last person who had them was thinking of when they died, so when they moved over to you they decided to try to catch you. Being a kid, you're easy to manipulate-or just kill," she added, "you'd probably be thinking of whoever killed you when you died, so that's another way to get your powers."

"You know, Cinder, you used to be tactful."

"Yeah, well... I blame Yang."

Ozpin half-smirked. "Hmm, she does have that effect on people."

"Are... are you a maiden too?" Amber asked in a quavering voice.

"...I'm a vampire."

"Oh."

Ozpin cleared his throat. "Obviously you will need to be protected from Salem's forces, which means you need a guardian willing to travel with you while we... keep you off the map. Unfortunately, my usual choices are elsewhere at the moment. However, I believe an opportunity has presented itself."

He turned to Cinder. "Miss Fall, would you care to protect Amber?"

There was a moment of silence.

Followed by two five-year-old girls shouting "WHAT?!" in the same instant.

"I would be able to give you an income," Ozpin noted, "and have an excuse to look the other way while you run about provoking Salem. And to be fair, it isn't like you have anything better to do."

"Isn't like-Ozpin, you-are you insane?!" Cinder gestured between her and Amber. "You _know_ what happens between us! You know what-"

"The situation with team STRQ is far outside baseline, Glynda is in Atlas with Ironwood, Roman's helping Kali with the less then legal side of the Fang, and Winter woke up not two months ago." Ozpin shrugged. "Frankly, this loop is off the rails already, and this offer-"

"Okay, putting aside the sheer mental dissonance of assigning somebody's murderer as their guard-"

"Wait what?" Amber blinked.

"-this is a strategically stupid decision. Salem's going to be on the lookout for both of us, and if we're seen together she'll know we travel together."

"Hazel has only seen you in your vampiric form," Ozpin pointed out. "You could use that to challenge Salem publicly, and your usual appearance as a separate identity. In fact, splitting your capabilities between the two so as to muddy the issue further might be an interesting challenge for you."

"...if you're trying to appeal to my sense of competition, you are doing a poor job of it."

"Miss Fall." The man folded his hands. "A wise man once said that saving someone's life makes you responsible for it. You saved Amber's life."

Cinder put her head in her hands. "That was just a coincidence."

"...I wouldn't mind us being friends," Amber suggested hesitantly.

The other girl looked up and stared at her for a few moments.

Then she turned to Ozpin. "This is some form of punishment for trying to Ascend, isn't it? Another one of your sick mind games."

"Don't be ridiculous, miss Fall. My mind games are perfectly healthy."

"And you're talking about things I don't understand again," Amber grumped.

Cinder sighed. "...I'll tell you the story on the way to Mistral."

The girl blinked. "Wait... Mistral?"

"Yep." Cinder stood, popping her neck. "If I'm going to be your guardian, I'm calling the shots."

"You may want to drop the glitter," Ozpin advised.

"Yeah, yeah." Suddenly Cinder was less... glittery. "I'll probably want to change too. Don't have many clothes in this size, though... might have to spend a few days sewing stuff for me and Amber to wear."

"You can sew?"

"Like nobody's business, Amber. Come on, let's find an empty dorm so I can get your measurements."

* * *

 **95.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

Winter's deadpan gaze met Penny's eyes. She had to step back a bit to do it, but she managed. "I'm not going to ask how the hell you convinced Ironwood to allow this. Or your father to make the frame adjustments-"

"I used Glynda as a visual reference for the necessary adjustments. She was present at my activation, so I figured I could use it as an excuse-"

"Yes, yes, naive robot assumes all women resemble the first she sees, I can understand you spinning it that way. What I really want to know is _why_."

Penny beamed. "Well, given that a number of differences this loop were kicked off when Summer Rose insisted on a romantic triad, I figured I'd respect that in my design. It's meant to be a visual example of the positive impact sexuality can have on the world."

"Sex is... enjoyable," Winter allowed, "but it's not inherently positive or negative. In fact, in a number of instances sex is used to restrict and demean-although, yes, it could be used to encourage loved ones and improve relationships, but it should never be an ends unto itself."

"The same could be said of money," Penny pointed out. "Or power. Or baking. Or a lot of things, actually."

"My point is, you didn't have to turn yourself into a walking wet dream on a whim."

Penny sighed. "Look, baseline, I am a plank. And I don't really mind that usually, but sometimes it frustrates me. This body makes me feel pretty-I won't use it as my main form, obviously, but I might keep it around when I need a night on the town."

"You're talking about your body like most girls talk about a dress."

"You're just tense because you legally can't get any."

Winter rolled her eyes. "I'm six and a half."

Penny smirked down at her. "I'm younger then you and I turn heads."

Winter threw up her hands. "Alright, fine, it's your body, do what you want with it. Why did you even come over?"

"Oh, I just 'escaped' the labs for the first time. I figured if I 'ran into you' we could be friends and presumably go on wacky adventures together." The ginger steepled her fingers. "Maybe even end up meeting a dusty old Qrow, hmm?"

"...gets me out of the house, lets me travel, and gives me an excuse to develop an abrupt teenage crush at the right time to screw with Jacques' head..." Winter tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Very well. As a child, the logical action would be to convince the naive robot to help me raid a candy store."

"I like this plan already."

* * *

 **95.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Raven, I take back every time I ever teased you about your whining." Summer Rose flinched as she put down her plate of baked potatoes dipped in maple syrup. "Pregnancy is the worst."

"You're only three months in," Raven replied with amusement. "When you hit the second trimester most of the earlier symptoms will fade, and you'll actually start popping out."

"So I'm almost past the worst part?"

The other woman waggled her hand. "It's all horrible, but this early bit is your body getting in tune with Ruby's needs and reprogramming itself so she can grow faster. It won't go away immediately-some of it might stick around for a while-but you'll get better."

"Will I still have the cravings?"

"Probably."

"Oh good." Summer took a chomp of her syrup-drenched potato. "I mean I know this is weird, intellectually, but I'm kind of liking being able to enjoy weird things like this."

Taiyang walked in, gently leading the wide-eyed blonde toddler gripping his finger. "Hey ladies. Time for breakfast, huh?"

"Yes, yes, I've already set up her... goop." Raven picked up the little girl, planting her in the high-chair. "Oof. You're getting big, Yang."

"Bih!" the toddler proclaimed, spreading her arms wide.

"Yes, big!" Summer cheerfully replied. "Not as big as I'm going to get in the next few months, though." She patted her stomach fondly, consuming another of her potatoes. "Hard to believe that the center of the universe is in my belly right now. Does that make me a saint?"

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Nah, Ruby's pretty big on not being a god, so..."

"Come on, Yang, eat up." Raven maneuvered the spoon close to the girl's mouth. "You want to grow up to be big and strong, don't you?" She gave an exasperated sigh as Yang made a face. "Look, we had worse stuff in the tribe, you should be grateful you get this mush."

Summer snorted. "Yes, _that's_ going to convince her. Come on, Raven, I thought you were looking forward to this?"

"I am at babysitter levels of parenting at _best_. I don't know all the tricks to get a kid to eat their greens."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "You've got the right idea in trying to get her to go with it, but you've got to remember she's a little young to be thinking any further then a few minutes ahead. Make it fun for her."

"Ooo, yes, the old boat into port game! Come on, Raven, you've got to have-"

Summer cut herself off at Raven's flat look.

After a moment, she turned back to Yang, prodding her cheek with the spoon. "Poke. Poke poke. Poke poke poke. Poke... poke poke poke poke poke-"

The girl made the mistake of laughing and, a moment later, found the spoon in her mouth. Even as she swallowed, she turned a look of betrayal on Raven; the woman simply gave her a smug smirk.

"...That works too, I guess," Taiyang admitted. "Come on, Yang, it wasn't that bad was it?"

Yang huffed and pouted.

Summer giggled. "Aw, Yang, you're not going to win them all."

"Especially if you leave yourself open like that," Raven added, poking at her cheek with another spoonful of baby food. "Learn to anticipate your enemy, hmm?"

Taiyang looked on as she deftly kept Yang from knocking the spoon out of her grasp. "Combat training already?"

"Never too early to start." Raven swooped the spoon around as Yang tried to reclaim control, snapping in when the girl parted her lips in a yell.

"Well, that's certainly one way to view parenting," Summer allowed. She hid a bemused smile at Yang's frustrated frown. "We're a strange little family, aren't we? I can hardly wait for Ruby to join us."

"Because your body will finally stop pulling crazy stunts on you?" Taiyang asked.

"Hush up. You can't get pregnant, you don't know what it's like."

Taiyang half smiled. "Actually, there was a variant loop where I was the mother and you two were the dads. Remember that, Rae?"

"Yes, you were a very sexy lady," Raven said distractedly, focusing on the ongoing feeding war.

"Wait, seriously?" Summer blinked. "I mean, you told me about variant loops but I thought it was just, like, events. Not-things like that."

"Nah, a lot can get scrambled. There was also a loop where me and Kali where Yang and Blake's kids." He shuddered. "Trust me, you _don't_ want to know how that worked."

"So what you're saying is that out of all the people in this room, I'm the only one who doesn't remember being pregnant before."

"You and Yang," Raven corrected, maneuvering another spoonful into the toddler's mouth. "She's not Awake yet-if she was this would be a lot more awkward than it already is."

Summer opened her mouth, paused, and frowned. "Nope. Not in the mood for another timebending mindbender. I'll just take your word for it."

"You know, I don't think we should be talking about the loops around Yang," Raven mused. "At least, not until she's older."

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Two reasons. One, she's not the Anchor, so she might not actually Wake Up, so hearing about the multiverse and our expectations might do more harm then good if she feels she has to measure up to the other Yang-"

"That Winter girl woke up when she was _five_ ," Summer pointed out. "And Penny woke up on her development table, which I think is equivalent to birth. This seems like a high wake-up ratio loop."

"-and two," Raven continued, "she's in the stage where she's picking up words. If she just says loop a lot because we say it a lot, then if she does Wake Up we might not catch it because we're interpreting her code phrase as the usual typical Yangtalk."

"Then we'll just have to wait for her to use specific words we don't often," Taiyang pointed out. "Like the name of the tree, or our admin. Or that _special_ trick Ruby picked up."

"Special trick?" Summer asked.

Taiyang opened his mouth, only to find Raven's hand over it. "No no no. Let Ruby surprise her, it'll be hilarious."

He gave her a look. "She might have a bad reaction. Like you did when Yang scaled up."

"Yes, but Yang was angry. Ruby's probably smart enough not to frighten her."

"You are a twisted woman, miss Branwen."

"Never claimed not to be."

Summer looked between the two of them, before glancing at her belly. "Well now I'm going to be wondering what to expect for at least five years."

"Mwahahaha," Raven deadpanned, getting the last of the goop into Yang's mouth. "Right, who's on dragon duty today?"

"I've got to head over to the school," Taiyang said with a shrug. "New year starting, have to check with my fellow teachers and all that."

"So it's me then."

"Hey!" Summer protested. "I could look after Yang for the day!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Can't risk it. You're going to need a few dozen bathroom breaks, and that's too long with eyes off the prize."

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm invalid!" Summer shot back. "Remember last week with the beowolf? I'm telling you, I am perfectly-"

Her face suddenly blanched. With hurried motions she shot out of the chair, rushing for the bathroom; moments later a particularly horrific _gluooooooorfm_ sounded from the bathroom.

Taiyang winced in sympathy. "You... going to be a while there, Summer?"

"Your daughter," she wheezed back, "has a _terrible_ sense of humor!"

"Hey, at least you have a toilet!" Raven shouted. "In the tribe women were lucky to get a _bucket!"_

"Screw you, Ra- _urp! Gfrrrrraaaaaaaammmlrgm..."_

"Well, if you're up for it tonight, sure." Raven chuckled darkly, turning to the high chair. "Seems like you're with me today, kiddo."

Yang crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Yes, yes, I gave you icky food, I'm a horrible monster, want to go visit Blake?"

"Blay?" Yang asked curiously, giving Raven a wary look.

"Yes, Blake. I don't think Kali has a protest scheduled today. I'll just call her up and tell her we're coming today." She gave Taiyang a look. "That's okay with you, right?"

"Well, yes. Next time though, call Kali beforehand." Tai shook his head. "Don't want to build up to a disappointment if she can't have you over."

"Fair point." Raven reached out and pulled Yang out of her chair, setting her carefully down on the ground. "Come on, let's get your pack so you and Blake can have another playdate."

"Blay!" Yang cheered eagerly, toddling eagerly after the woman as she walked out.

Taiyang smiled faintly, before turning back to the bathroom. "Do you want me to get you anything before I head out, Summer?"

"Water. A lot of water. Maybe drain a lake-oh noooooo _hhrmmmgllaaaaarrrfffff..."_

"How about I wait till you're done, and we head to the school together? I can survive being a bit late."

"Sounds good. I'll try not to throw up on anyone. Unless they're idiots."

"...I'll point you at the right people."

"Ha! Hahahaoooooooooog- _Gllllllrlelrlelflesflslelllafaaaaaaaaa..."_

* * *

 **95.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

Jacques Schnee was not somebody who was easy to anger.

To annoy, certainly. To upset, to aggravate, to irritate-the man might have put up a facade of friendliness, but behind closed doors he could mutter and grumble and complain near-constantly.

But anger? Actual, full-on fury? That level of passion was for bedrooms and plebeians, not cultured individuals such as himself. It would take almost apocalyptic events to bring rage to the surface.

And right now, he was wondering if his oldest was, in fact, the herald of the end times.

"Winter Schnee." To his credit, he kept his hands clasped tightly together. "Do you know exactly what you have done?"

"Hmmm." The young girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "If I recall correctly, I decided to go shopping for a new dress."

"Shopping. For a dress." Jacques quirked a brow. "And how, exactly, does that translate to four hundred thousand lien in damages, the shut-down of the Atlas shopping center, and the arrest of seven members of the SDC board?"

"It does not. The events happened while I was present; my involvement with them is circumstantial at best."

"Yes, it is. It's yet another circumstantial coincidence." The man leaned forward. "Like the incident at the sweets shop. Or the dancing Atlas knights. Or the Dust geyser. Or the dishware fiasco!"

Winter quirked an eyebrow. "Am I being accused of something?"

"Your so called bad luck is causing trouble across the kingdom, and I have had to cover for you more often then little girls get eaten by beowolves! Have you considered that, Winter? Do you want my hair to go grey early?"

"...You would certainly look quite asture if it did," the girl replied with utmost sincerity.

Jacques put his head in his hands, taking a deep breath. "I would rather," he said firmly, "not have to deal with any other 'incidents' cropping up in your wake. If anything like this happens again, I will be forced to assign a retinue to keep you out of trouble." He looked up, glaring pointedly at her. "Is that understood?"

Winter considered him for a moment or two. "...I can assure you," she eventually said, "that I will do my utmost to ensure Atlas does not have another such 'incident'. In fact, I believe I shall refrain from visiting the city entirely until further notice."

"Good." Jacques leaned back, putting his hands on the desk. "You may go now."

Winter stood, curtsied, and walked out of the office.

As soon as the door was shut, she pulled out her scroll. "Hello, Penny? I think we need to move up our trip to Mistral. How's this weekend sound?"

* * *

 **95.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

"I really, really can't thank you enough. I swear this just came up yesterday and-"

"It's fine, Kali, really. I was looking for something to do with the girls anyway." Raven gently bounced the burbling half-year-old that was responsible for the world's continuing stability. "Besides, you know how close Yang and Blake are."

"Where Blake?" Yang asked curiously, looking around the foyer. "I wan-"

"RWAR!"

A black and white blur lunged out from behind the half-open door, tackling the blonde to the ground. Raven only just managed to keep from smirking. "Situational awareness, Yang. If you don't keep an eye on everything, you might just get ambushed."

Kali half smiled. "Look at you, being all motherly. And you were worried you couldn't handle it."

"...This is still the easy part," Raven admitted in a low tone. "Keeping them alive and... teaching them how to stay alive. It's getting harder, though-she shows me a drawing of her mommies and daddy and... I say it looks good, but..."

"Well... it's worth the effort. Trust me." Kali patted her shoulder. "You sure you're good to look after three girls?"

Raven took a breath. "I'll have to focus on Ruby, she's still too young to really know she needs anything, but those two?" She nodded at the pair currently wrestling on the ground. "I think they can mostly handle themselves."

"Uh-huh. You have Winter on speed-dial-"

" _Yes_ , Kali, I've got Winter on speed-dial, _and_ Penny, _and_ you and Ghira, _and_ Glynda and Ironwood, and my _whole_ team, and Oz- _freaking_ -pin. The only one I don't have a scroll number for is Roman, and that's because-"

"Yes, I remember, I was there. Just in case-"

"I've run a bandit tribe, Kali. I think-" Raven cut herself off. "No, not tempting fate. Not doing it."

Kali rolled her eyes, turning as she saw Ghira emerging from the other room. "Right. Blake?"

The two girls stopped rolling on the ground, springing up quickly. "Yes mommy?"

"Me and daddy are going to another rights meeting now. You be good for miss Branwen, okay?"

Blake nodded eagerly, then shot forward and hugged her leg. "Be okay, mommy."

Ghira smiled, leaning down. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe." He ruffled her ears playfully, chuckling as she smacked his hand away with a whine. "We'll be back before your bedtime."

"And if they aren't," Raven promised, "I'll drag them back myself."

* * *

"The situation could be worse," Kali assured Ghira, watching him pace back and forth. "We've been in this position before."

"We didn't have a daughter before."

"Raven's looking after Blake-you know she takes that seriously."

"If we don't get out in time-"

"Then Blake will be upset," Kali stated bluntly. "And she might grow to resent the VPD, or just humans in general."

Ghira sighed, resting his head against the wall of the cell. "I should have known this would happen. A meeting next to one of the most infamously racist hotels in Vale? Obvious set-up."

Kali shrugged. "The charges won't pass, we were in full view of the security cameras. We spin this honestly-we were betrayed, we did nothing wrong. Make sure the footage gets out."

"That assumes they'll let it out," her husband growled. "They're probably bribing the police-"

At that moment, the sound of a door slamming open reached their ears.

"We demand to speak to the officer in charge of the Belladonna case!" proclaimed an authoritative voice.

Ghira blinked. "Is it just me, or did that sound like a little girl?"

Kali's ear flicked, and she managed an amused smile. "Well, I can safely say _this_ situation is new..."

"Look, little girl," said the officer at the front desk, "I don't think-"

"That would be a problem," the voice said haughtily. "You don't think. You don't think before trusting an openly anti-faunus individual's word that the leaders of a peaceful equal-rights movement have suddenly done a one eighty and pulled the heinous crime of... what was it Penny?"

"Inciting a riot, ma'am."

"Inciting. A. Riot. I've looked over the footage, sir, and that was the least riotous riot I have ever seen."

"I-what?"

"As the duly appointed defense lawyer for this case I insist you put me in contact with the officer right now or risk my putting _you_ on record for obstruction of justice."

Ghira turned to the cell door in shock. "Did she just-?"

Kali hid her smile behind her hand. "I do believe so."

"Look, little girl-" the officer tried again.

"Sir I have the paperwork right here-thank you Penny-putting me in charge of this case. Please do not let my genetic condition distract you."

The sound of rustling paper came through the door, before the officer gave an exasperated sigh. "...Wait here, I need to go find the captain."

"See that you do." The young voice gave an irritated sigh as the officer's footsteps clicked away. "Honestly, Penny, I thought the officers of the law learned their lesson long ago."

"This isn't Atlas, ma'am."

"True, true. Which cell did the register say they were holding the Belladonnas in?"

"Cell B4, ma'am. That one, actually."

"Hmm. What is the likelihood that they heard that entire exchange?"

"One hundred percent!" Kali shouted out. "Raven call you two?"

"Yes, yes, she informed our contacts of the situation. Honestly, it is _completely_ deplorable. You have not been mistreated, have you?"

"No, it's all been above-board, aside from the initial arrest."

"Thank the gods for small favors," Ghira muttered. "Kali, who are these people?"

"Alright, alright." The officer's voice returned. "Here's the captain."

"Young miss-"

"You've had a look over the papers I provided, yes?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then let us not waste any more time. I need to discuss the case with my client. Hop to it."

"...You're a child."

"Sir, the more you insult me, the more you build up my case for discrediting this station."

"Fine."

Footsteps approached the cell and, with a rattle of keys, the door swung open...

...revealing a ginger teenager in a barely-fitting skirt and tie ensemble, and a white-haired seven year old in a highly professional three-piece-suit.

"These," Kali introduced her husband, "are some of the most experienced legal advisors I know of, and very good friends of mine. Ghira, meet Winter and Penny, attorneys at law."

* * *

"...as you can plainly see, the video shows the accusers as the ones doing the damage, therefore this entire arrest is a farce-"

"This is not a court of law," the police captain stated flatly. "You are-"

"-demonstrating the utter incompetence and or corruption of your task force, as I will be publishing my findings and handing them over to VNN for public viewing." Winter steepled her fingers. "This is a courtesy, captain, giving you time to punish or reprehend the officers in question before the citizenry becomes aware of the problem and demands their own retribution."

"...I see. And in regard to the Belladonnas-"

"I have already paid their bail and intend to be present at whatever joke of a trial these accusers feel is necessary. Frankly, captain, I have seen better smear campaigns from elementary school students. This is not only an insult to faunus kind as a whole, and the White Fang in particular, but to the very concept of sabotage of a public image. You do not want to appear to have supported these actions in any way, I assure you."

The police captain sighed. "Everything seems to be in order. And I will be looking into this. Waving firearms around so casually... it's not like we're all Huntsmen and Huntresses." He turned his gaze to the two faunus sitting calmly at the desk. "...Thank you for cooperating with this situation."

"We want to reform the system," Ghira replied, "not tear it down. That wouldn't be good for anyone."

"Hmm." The captain gestured toward the door. "Go on then. We're done here."

"For the moment." Winter stood, nodding politely to the captain as Penny opened the door. "Thank you for your time."

Kali cleared her throat as the four of them stepped out of the office. "So... Winter. Is this going to cost us anything?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"I thought we were doing this pro bono?"

"Only monetarily, Penny. Our contract specifically states that we are to be paid in pastries for this case."

"Ah. Excellent idea, ma'am."

"I'll look into it," Kali assured her with a small grin.

Ghira quirked an eyebrow. "Kali, not that I don't trust your judgement, but... how do you even know these two?"

"I met them through Raven's brother," Kali replied smoothly. "Oh, that reminds me, our car is still back in the parking garage-"

"Not to worry, I already have transportation." Winter led them out of the police station and walked confidently up to a giant gecko with blue feathers.

Ghira stopped in shock. "I-what is that?"

"Glubrrii is a Varactyl," Penny replied casually, patting the creature's beak as Winter adjusted the saddle. "Don't worry, she's herbivorous."

 _"Glllarining?"_ chirruped the creature.

"We'll be dropping mister and missus Belladonna off at the parking garage," Winter explained to the animal. "And staying in Vale for a few days."

 _"Hrreginna!"_ She peered at Ghira and Kali, churring warmly as Kali stroked her feathers.

"Excuse me," said a nearby police officer, "do you own this animal?"

"I do, yes," Winter confirmed, "and I have proper licensing for riding the creature." She produced a wallet, showing the details.

"...I... see." The officer looked at the little girl, up at the big lizard, and finally sighed. "Right. Well. I... where the hell did you even find this thing?!"

"Clearly you've never been to Menagerie."

Ghira blinked, almost about to say something, when Kali subtly shook her head. After a moment, he simply stepped forward. "I take it I'll be in the rear?"

"Yes, indeed. Shortest in front, tallest in back." Winter slung herself into the saddle, patting the scales in front of her. "And you might want to hang on, Glubrrii is fast when she gets going."

* * *

 **95.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

"And we're out of milk." Raven shut the fridge with a sigh. "Tai, you got milk in your subspace pocket?"

"I haven't bothered collecting much food, aside from... you know whats." Taiyang shrugged, rising from the couch (much to the protestations of the two girls trying to show him their _**INCREDIBLE CRAYON MASTERPIECES**_ ). "I could go shopping-"

"No no, you need to finish your grading before tomorrow, you've been complaining about it all week. I'll go down to the marketplace-"

"You said you'd look after the girls later, remember?"

"Yes, so that _you_ could finish your grading!"

"It's an hour's walk into town!"

"I've got my portals, I can just hop over, buy the milk, and be back in a jiffy."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Nobody just 'buys milk,' Rae. It's universally understood that buying milk also means buying a lot of other groceries."

"Cookis!" Ruby explained imperiously.

"And lemonade!" Yang added empathetically.

"And broccoli," Taiyang pointed out, trying not to grin at his daughters' sudden cries of horror.

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this! Even if I spend thirty minutes at the marketplace, it's literally ten seconds for me in either direction."

"Do you even have the lien to go on a shopping trip?"

"Oh my _gods_ , Tai! Just because I didn't use money in the tribe does not mean I'm incapable of handling... pff... handling..."

Raven tried, she really did try, to keep herself from laughing, but a few chortles escaped her lips.

"What?"

"This... this is fu-fuuuuuuuu _dging_ ridiculous." She leaned against the counter. "We're arguing over... money. And groceries. I mean... what."

Taiyang shrugged. "I mean... yes? This is what people argue about."

Yang tilted her head. "Mommy Raerae was gonna say a bad word, right?"

The two adults shared a look.

"I'll just... get the stuff and be back before Summer returns from the Huntsman office."

"Oh no, Rae, you can't just-"

"When can I get to say bad words?"

"Never," said Taiyang.

"When you understand their meaning and origin," said Raven at the same time.

 _"Rae!"_

"I should go before the stalls pack up, ta!" With a flick of her wrist the woman opened a portal and backflipped into it.

"Fughe no ba wor..." Ruby's wet eyes looked up to Tai. "Is ih?"

"No, fudge isn't a bad word, but it sounds a lot like one that is really bad."

"Fudge fudge fudge," Yang chirped experimentally.

Taiyang sighed. "Right, what am I going to have to do to make sure you don't do that around Summer?"

The girls looked at each other, grew incredibly mischievous grins, and turned back to him...

"Home sweet home. You would not believe _what in the heck is going on here."_

"We cauh a higear!" Ruby proclaimed proudly.

Summer looked from her daughter to her husband, noting the various orange and black squiggles on his face.

"Roar," Taiyang deadpanned.

"...You still haven't finished your grading, have you."

"Uh-oh," Yang singsonged, "Daddy's in ~trou~blllle!"

* * *

 **95.14 Zurcior**

* * *

Qrow stood in front of the Ren family with a little girl hiding behind his legs.

"I found her about two weeks ago all on her lonesome on my way here," he explained to the married couple. "Couldn't just leave her to fend for herself, ya know?"

Li nodded in understanding at his new neighbor's words. "That was quite kind of you, but I'm sure you didn't expect to pick up a child when you decided to move here. Are you sure you're ready for that responsibility?"

"Trust me, I have experience," responded the huntsman as he ruffled the little girl's hair. "Besides, I've grown quite attached. I'm already like an uncle to her."

The girl giggled and swatted at his hand.

An Ren smiled at the byplay. "We'd like to help, but I have to ask; why do you trust us to watch over her while you are out on a mission?"

"I trust my instincts," answered Qrow, "and they've never led me wrong before. Especially around nice folks like you. That, and we're neighbors now. Who else would I trust?"

Li and An looked to one another before Li spoke.

"We'd be honored to look after the girl while you are away," he answered. He turned to his son. "Lie, why don't you introduce yourself to our new houseguest."

The small boy named Lie stepped forward and held out his hand in greeting. "Hello, my name is Lie Ren. Who are you?"

The girl hesitated and hid a bit further behind her guardian until she felt a hand on top of her head. When she looked up, she was met with the smiling visage of Qrow.

"Go ahead, little sparkler," he gently encouraged her. "It'll be okay. I promise."

The orange-haired child nodded before she steeled her nerves and faced the boy in front of her.

She grasped his hand.

"Hi," she replied shyly. "I'm Nora."

Both children ended up smiling as they shook hands.

 _ONE MONTH LATER_

"Are you sure you can slay this beast on your own, Qrow?" Li asked worriedly.

He and the rest of the villagers of Kuroyuri stood far behind Qrow as he waited for the Nucklavee at the front gate.

"Don't worry," Qrow reassured the hunter. "As long as I'm here, everything'll be fine."

"You can do it, Uncle Qrow!" Nora called out from the back with a smile, held in An's arms.

Ren stood beside his mother. "Show it who's boss!"

Qrow gave them a thumbs up.

"It's here!" yelled one of the villagers as he pointed outward.

Sure enough, the terrifying horse/humanoid grimm made itself known as it stepped forth and let out a horrific screech that shook the surrounding area.

But Qrow stood firm, unaffected by the creature's bluster.

The Nucklavee snorted black smoke and charged.

But Qrow stood firm.

The Grimm continued charging.

And Qrow still stood firm.

"Mr. Branwen!" An cried out in worry.

The Nucklavee continued to charge-

-and inexplicably tripped over its own long arms, tumbling end over end until it slid to a stop at Qrow's feet.

Qrow finally moved, and swung his sword twice in a lazy manner to cut off both of the Grimm's heads.

As thick black smoke rose from the dead Grimm, Qrow turned to his audience with a smile. All the villagers had shocked looks on their faces. All of them except-

"Boooo!" shouted Nora with both of her thumbs pointed down. "That was boring!"

Qrow blinked. "What?"

"I have to agree," interjected Ren. "That was fairly anticlimactic."

"Yeah!" Nora agreed. "Why didn't you do something cool like you always do?"

This caused Qrow to roll his eyes. "Kids today," he grumbled under his breath, "no appreciation to the finer things in life." He then raised his voice and asked, "Oh yeah? And how would have liked me to kill it?"

Nora and Ren looked at each other before they both turned back to Qrow and answered at the same time, "Crow transformation!"

Qrow sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Nora exclaimed excitedly. "It would have been so cool! You'd have been all, 'caw caw stupid grimm', and it would have been like, 'oh no I'm being beat up by a little birdy'! It would have been so _awesome_!"

Ren merely nodded in agreement.

Qrow opened his mouth to respond, but before he could several loud loud screeches could be heard from above as dozens of Giant Nevermores shown up from above.

The villagers started to panic again, but Qrow himself gazed at the two children with a smug look on his face.

"So you kids wanna see something cool, huh?"

Nora and Ren's eyes lit up. "Yes!" they both shouted enthusiastically.

Smirking, Qrow transformed into his crow form and took off to the skies to do battle with the airborne grimm.

Ren, Nora, and the rest of the villagers watched in awe as the resident huntsman slayed the beasts one by one.

Who knew crows could have laser vision?

* * *

 **95.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

Taiyang sighed. "Raven..."

"What? I played this game all the time growing up."

"You played 'let's whack each other with sticks' growing up."

"It's clearly pretend swordfighting. Ruby! If you can't stop it, redirect it!" Raven nodded as the three-year-old tried to shove her older sister's stick away. "Besides, don't you teach Yang boxing in baseline?"

"Not this young. They could get seriously hurt."

"That would be true no matter what they did. Besides, they know when I say stop, they stop."

A small cry of pain from Ruby made Taiyang wince, but the fact she kept swinging her stick made him flinch. "And when do you let them stop?"

"Oh, you know. When I feel like it."

"Rae-"

"Look, I'm keeping an eye on them, and if it gets too far I'll intervene. It's not like Qrow's here to train Ruby with a scythe anyway, he's busy babysitting Nora."

"Yes, but Ruby will already know this when she Wakes up! There's no need to-"

"Tai, just... trust me on this one, alright?" Raven's voice was softer than usual. "This is... something I know how to do."

Taiyang paused, looking out at his daughters, and gave a slow sigh. "...we're going to talk with Summer about this."

"I guess that's fair. Yang! She's too fast to chase, you need to outmaneuver her!"

Tai sighed. "Lunch is in fifteen minutes. I want them cleaned up and inside before then."

"Got it."

* * *

 **95.16 Leviticus Wilkes, Masterweaver**

* * *

Qrow had to admit, dating Winter had an interesting effect on him. He had come to enjoy her company, her camaraderie, quite a bit in battle, in travel, and yes, in bed. That she was currently seven at the moment while he was a solid twenty four did put a neat wrench into their relationships, but the lessons they had learned from one another stuck around.

For Qrow, it was an appreciation of how lucky Ruby and Yang were to have Tai and Summer.

The Schnee matron was a poor woman who had long since crawled into a bottle to help her forget that she had no control over her life or even her children and no say over the powerhouse that was her father's company. Jacques Schnee was a power hungry bastard with a fetish for looking like Remnant's white knight. Qrow had learned sobriety from the fact that he wanted to show Winter that he was in control of himself and thus, dependable. He also happened to gain and healthy disgust for abusive fathers.

Hence why he was now pecking on the window of a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. The noise was minute, thin, but omnipresent and enough to wake the young boy sleeping in the room. The boy yawned and sat up, and eyed the bird with his quicksilver eyes.

Qrow kept tapping on Mercury's window.

"...dumb bird." The boy fell back to his bed, pulling a blanket over his face.

Qrow rolled his eyes-not easy to do in this form-and set about pulling the screen off the window. It took him a few minutes, since he didn't want to ruin the surprise by turning shifting back to human, but he eventually managed to wrench his beak into a small crack and leverage open the window a smidgen.

Mercury groaned at the sound, lifting the blanket and blearily sitting up. "Whyyyyyyyyy..." Rubbing his six-year-old eyes, he walked over to the window and waved his hands. "Go. Shoo. No room in this room."

"Looks like plenty to me."

Mercury blinked. Then he narrowed his eyes. "What."

"All I'm saying is this room looks plenty big." Qrow shrugged his wings. "Then again, I'm only half your size."

"Okay, look, I'm not stupid. A talking bird comes to my window in the middle of the night? That's one of the big story starters right there." Mercury crossed his arms. "You want something."

"Yep. I want to give you a new home."

"Riiiiiiiiiight. Out of the goodness of your feathery little heart."

"I've seen the way your dad treats ya, kid. Few more years of that, and you won't be able to relate to people." Qrow glanced away. "Already plenty of monsters walking around in human flesh. Don't need another cropping up when I can stop it."

Mercury seemed to withdraw into himself a bit. "Yeah, well... I'm... sure I can take it."

Qrow chuckled wryly. "So I offer you a way out and you see it as a challenge to your manliness. That explains a lot."

"I'm not going to listen to some dumb bird. What, you think you can give me what I need?"

"I've raised kids before. Human ones, even. Most of 'em turned out pretty good."

The boy considered the bird for a few moments.

"...You're some sort of fairy, right? Like, there's a whole lot going on that I don't get. Magic shit."

Qrow shrugged. "You're not too far off the mark, kid."

"You know, I don't really trust this situation at all." After a moment, Mercury shrugged and opened the window. "But what the hell, I might as well see how crazy this can get."

"Trust me, you have no idea." Qrow hopped in. "Now, we're going to need to pack your things before-"

A loud bang came from the front room. "MISTER BLACK! I would have words with you!"

Qrow groaned, covering his beak with a wing. "What is _she_ doing here...?" He hovered up to the bedroom door, twisting the handle and pulling it open. "You can stay here or follow, I've got to deal with this..."

He flew into the main room, entering just as a white-haired man burst out of another door and glared at the two girls standing confidently in his living room. "Whoever the HELL you are-oh. You're kids from the damn village, aren't you."

"Actually, we're from Atlas," said the busty ginger.

"And that is irrelevant," said the white-haired seven-year-old. "We are here to discuss the future of your son-"

Qrow gave a low groan, perching on the back of a chair. "Damn it, Winter, I had a plan."

Winter blinked. "Qrow? What are _you_ doing here?"

"Getting the kid out so I can raise him right, what are _you_ doing here?"

"I was going to exercise my legal skills to obtain guardianship over Mercury-"

"Really, a kid raising another kid. You think the law would allow that."

"Well, it's more likely than letting a bird have the rights!"

Mercury snuck into the room just in time to catch Qrow rolling his eyes. "What, you think I was going to go to the adoption center like this?"

"How the heck were you going to explain things to him?"

"I was aiming for a Peter Pan angle-"

"Peter Pan is not a viable role model for parenting!"

"Oh, hello," the ginger said, quietly sidling up to the boy. "How are you doing?"

"I'm... very confused." Mercury pointed from Winter to Qrow. "I mean a bird and a girl are arguing over who's going to raise me."

"Mmm. They really should have coordinated this." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Penny, by the way."

"Um." He took the hand and shook it. "Mercury."

"All that I am saying is you should have talked with me before trying it!"

"I just wanted to surprise you-"

"Look, I appreciate the gesture, really. But you're already raising Nora. I would have assumed you had realized the difficulties in raising multiple children, given baseline-"

"Yes, I'm well aware. I'm also aware I have more experience than you do."

Winter opened her mouth, paused, and sighed. "Alright, fair point. But Nora is high maintenance. Mercury is..." She paused. "Well, Mercury will need some delicate work," she allowed. "Probably more delicate then I'm capable of, I admit..."

"I was thinking of giving him to Roman-"

 _"Roman?!"_

"Hey, he's got experience raising Neo!" Qrow protested.

"One: That is not a mark for him. Neo's... Neo."

"I mean, sure, but-"

"Two, I'm pretty sure he's already raising Emerald." Winter sighed. "He hasn't found Neo yet."

Qrow sighed. "Yeah. That must suck... alright, if he's busy, who'd we give Mercury to?"

"We could hand him off to Generuncle Jamie," Penny offered. "Or-actually, Glynda's probably better."

Qrow snorted. "You think Glynda will want to raise Mercury."

"She raised Harry Potter that one time," Winter pointed out.

Mercury cleared his throat. "Can I get a say in this?"

"You are NOT taking the boy from me!" Marcus thundered.

Winter rolled her eyes. "Mercury, do you really want to stay with this drunk?"

"Well-"

"It doesn't matter what he wants! He took my wife from me, so I'm the one that decides what he gets. End. Of. Story."

The room fell quiet for a moment or two.

Penny sighed, formed her hand into a cannon, and vaporized the coffee table.

"...what, is that supposed to impress me?"

"Mister Black, let me just make a few things clear. Winter is one of the wealthiest people on the planet. Qrow is a talking bird with luck-powers. I'm an artificially constructed war machine. Your wife is dead, and that's tragic, but we are not going to let you impose the same tragedy on your own son. Which means, either you clean up, or we take him away."

Marcus Black frowned. "I could take you."

"You can't," Qrow deadpanned. "You really can't."

The room was silent for another few moments.

"Fine." Marcus threw up his hands. "Fine. You want the little rat, go ahead. Don't blame me when he ruins everything." With a grumble, he turned back to his room and slammed the door behind him.

Winter sighed. "Well, this is a mess... come on, Mercury, I'll help you pack. Penny, can you catch Glynda up on things?"

"I'll make sure she's ready."

Qrow fluttered over. "You need help?"

"NOT-at. The moment." Winter took a breath. "We are going to have to have a talk about this later..."

* * *

 **95.17 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

To be frank, when you knew that you were living on borrowed time with someone that you had spent centuries idolizing and mourning, things tended to snap into perspective. Like how baking cookies suddenly went from the occasional treat that you gave your daughters to a semi-weekly ritual for bonding with your dead wife. Or how the years of careful honing of his body into a living weapon transferred into bed. Or how a shared love of jogging could go from a quick lap around the house to an all out foot race that was, inevitably, won by Ruby.

It was the little moments that stood out, that burned deep into Taiyang's mind as he lived with Summer and Raven. Raven was honest, and if not gentle, at least never overdoing it. But Summer was her inverse, her opposite. Not merely gentle, but tender. Not just honest, but genuine, and willing to spare him the truth to help him feel a bit better. The difference between Raven and Summer was black and white... or rather, pure white and deep scarlet.

And they were a part of him, as much as he was a part of them. Raven was his opposite, the pole so far from him as he was from her. She was cold, calculating even, always thinking "how do I entertain Yang the best, how do I spend the most time with Summer as I can?" He was fly by the seat of his pants and give no damns, trying to live in the moment.

Summer, against him, was reserved, slow and peaceful. He was fast and loud and say everything and do everything all at once. She made cookies with Ruby and Yang: he had cookie eating contests with them. She tittered and giggled. He roared with laughter.

There was... Taiyang really had no word for it. Neither did Raven, no matter how long he and the nomadic bandit had talked it over. This little house on Patch Island, where their daughters and their wife and they lived, was heaven on Remnant, and soon enough it would simply be a Remnant in their lives. A blink of an eye in a vast and eternal history that would never end and never cease to grow.

They had sat up too many nights, when Summer was asleep, and they lay in bed, hand in hand, watching the sleeping form of the women that, magically, they had both come to love.

Was this the true Summer Rose? Was the real Summer always so gentle and so passionate, so kind and so honest? A woman of such great mirth and great care, that lay with them, and gave them the world they could not imagine.

Taiyang has actually gotten the idea when he had been searching his Subspace Pocket for some flour. Cookies always needed flour, Summer insisted, and he had to make sure that he got the right kind. Instead, he pulled a picture out of his pocket.

It was a small picture, wallet sized. He actually remembered finding the photograph a thousand years before, when he and Raven has helped Qrow empty his Subspace Pocket. Qrow has said that it belonged to a friend from Amestris, and apparently was his daughter. Qrow said that the guy had collected the photos obsessively, and catalogued all of them with care.

The lightbulb that went off in Taiyang's Head was so damn obvious he had hit himself for not thinking about it before hand. "Hey Summer." When Summer turned to him she was dazzled with a bright flash, Taiyang behind a camera. "Smile."

Taiyang knew, ultimately, that the Summer Rose of here and now would not go on forever (no matter the offerings of Cinder, which he and Raven has turned down on principle). Memories would last forever, of course, but having a true memento was something else entirely.

And so, the catalogue of Summer Rose's life was born.

* * *

 **95.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

Even before she pinged, Yang knew she had woken up early. The weight of her hair felt different-more like pigtails then its usual tangled river. There were various toys for younger children scattered about the living room, and a very very young Ruby Rose was currently having her Action Abigail doll wail on a plastic Grimm. Oh, and of course the fact that she was about eye-height to the couch armrests, that was a big freaking clue.

The moment she let out a ping, the woman on the couch stiffened-just a touch, before she felt eighteen other pings in return. Her red eyes moved to Yang, who had awkwardly started fiddling with one of her pigtails.

"...What's the matter? Feeling a little loopy?"

Yang half-smiled. "Ever since I woke up."

"Hmm." Raven leaned forward. "Have to double-check. Name of the tree?"

"Yggdrassil. Why, what...?"

Yang blinked as the memories started to flow in.

"Oh. Ooooooh. Woke up early, huh?"

"Very early. Ozpin explained things to Summer and she... took matters into her own hands."

The blonde girl looked over at Ruby, who was engrossed in making Abigail chase after a beowolf. "Good on her, then."

"...You're not upset?"

"No? Why would I-oh, right." Yang shrugged. "Here's the thing: you're all here. And you're all happy-I think you are, anyway. And... honestly? I don't often get a chance to be a kid. Like, really be a kid, after... Summer, you know."

"After she dies," Raven mused quietly.

"Yeah, Dad has a breakdown and... I have to grow up super fast to take care of Ruby. Now, though?" Yang smiled. "Now I've got a dad and _two_ moms."

There was a pause.

"Yes, I said that," Yang confirmed.

"I thought-"

"For this loop, you did actually try to be my mother. Therefore, for this loop you are my mother. And Summer is too." She shrugged. "It might be weird, next loop, but... I'm willing to try it, for this loop."

"...this is one of those things that's temporary, isn't it. You being my little girl, me being your... mother... It goes away when the loop ends."

"Doesn't make it any less valuable." Yang took a breath. "So, you okay with that?"

Raven nodded. "Well. Yes." She narrowed her eyes. "But don't think that you Waking Up will make me a more lenient parent."

"Oh, no, of course not! Like I said, I want to be a kiddo, so all this super serious talk is just me making that known." Yang turned toward her sister with a grin. "I think Action Abigail needs a bit more challenge. Maybe a braver ursa or two to fight against."

She walked over, picking up one of the plastic Grimm, and gave a playful roar as she made it lunge toward Ruby's heroine. And, for the moment, she pretended not to notice Raven looking at her, or the faintly upturned corner on the woman's lips.

* * *

 **95.19 Masterweaver**

* * *

Blake had Awakened in a number of unfortunate situations. Sometimes she'd see Yang lose an arm in front of her, or find the local iteration of the White Fang to be worse than usual-and she would never forget the time she nearly became Nevermore chow before discovering Cinder had gone crazy. She remembered faunus having more prominent animal traits, or being replaced by pokemon, or just being giant snails. And those were all in Remnant-never mind the darker worlds she had breezed through in her long looping life...

So, all in all, Awakening as a little girl in the middle of a princess-themed photoshoot wasn't actually that bad. The glittery plastic tiara, the overly elegant dress, and the scepter that could also be called a wand, they were actually pretty decent-not as good as some of her regal wear from the times she had actually been a queen, but comparing to them wasn't fair in any sense. No, the scenario was pretty pleasant, all things considered.

It was her mother's reaction to the Ping that worried her. The initially simply happy grin, slowly morphing into something that had perhaps not unfairly been associated with feline loopers across the multiverse.

"What's with that loopy look?" she teased. "Don't tell me you're getting bored already!"

Click went the camera, like a jail cell snapping shut.

Blake sighed. "I feel like I just woke up." She paused, looked over her loop memories, and managed to give an amused groan-something she'd learned over the eons of dating her partner. "You're going to make me finish this, aren't you?"

"You did promise Ya~ng," Kali reminded her cheerfully. "I'm sure she'll be very upset if you don't get the full set of pictures. She might even refuse to give you the cookies she promised!"

"Oh, right, of course, that is the most important thing in this situation." Blake rolled her eyes, even as she moved to another pose. "You are having way too much fun with this, you know that?"

"How often do I get to do things like this with you?"

Blake's eyes softened. "...not often. And that's mostly my fault-"

"Uhp uhp uhp, we can have our emotional conversation on the stresses that the loops impose later." Kali snapped another picture. "Right now, we need to prove to Yang that you're the prettiest princess ever."

"Of course we do." Blake paused. "So, how long have you been Awake, anyway?"

"Since team STRQ was at Beacon, actually. Ozpin told Summer about the loops, she took things into her-raise your arm a bit-into her own hands, and things have been off the rails since then. You won't believe what Penny and Winter have gotten up to..."

* * *

 **95.20 Masterweaver, Flametusk**

* * *

Jacques Schnee's entire world was thrown upside down one morning... quite literally, as a matter of fact. His desk slid into the wall as he stumbled, books pouring out of their shelves-before the shelves themselves smashed the coffee table. With wide eyes, he staggered across his ever shifting furniture, opened the door to his office, and looked down the hallway-not left down the hallway, no, _down_ down the hallway. Great mechanical whirs and the rumble of powerful engines reverberated across the marble walls-out the window, he could see the scenery shifting, descending, and for a brief moment he was unable to mentally reorient. Once he did, though, he took in a sharp breath.

And then a large hand with thin fingers reached through the window, smashing the glass and plucking him from the doorframe with surprising delicacy.

Even in the middle of his shock and terror, Jacques Schnee retained enough mental facility to give a frustrated cry of "WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON HERE?!" It didn't do him any good, but at least it hid his fear at the situation; appearances were always important, after all.

The hand placed him gently down on the sidewalk amongst his various servants, and he looked up-and blinked. His mansion-a building of great craft and age-had been transformed. The east wing was now a long arm, as was the west; the northern extensions had been changed into thick, powerful legs. Atop the balcony was a dome, with metallic eyes-or possibly windows; hanging beneath it, a holo-screen flickered to life, showing an incredibly familiar face.

"Hello? Is this thing on? Yes, yes, there we go. Ahem. Hello, world, I am Weiss Schnee, and I am going on an adventure."

"Going on a-" Jacques shook his head, glaring up at the robot that had only seconds ago been his home. "Young lady, I will not-!"

"Excuse me, sir?" Klein cleared his throat. "She did just turn the mansion into a giant mech. I don't think there's really any way you can stop her..."

"Big sis?" A young boy stuck his head into the frame. "What are you doing?"

"I just said, Whitley, I'm going on an adventure."

"Oh."

Weiss's face softened. "You can come too, if you want."

"Really? You're not... too busy for me?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Oh. Okay. That sounds fun. Will father be mad?"

Weiss smiled reassuringly. "Not at you."

Jacques, by this point, was fuming indignantly, arms crossed in the Atlas cold; he could do nothing but shiver as his mansion walked away.

After a few quiet moments, Klein coughed. "Shall I... get in contact with the local law enforcement, sir?"

"Don't bother." Jacques glared at the mecha. "With all the nonsense Winter's pulled over the years, they don't even get involved in Schnee dramatics anymore..."

* * *

"Weiss Schnee, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Whitley Schnee!" the police officer informed her as they were trying to leave Atlas.

"My sister's taking me on an adventure though!" the youngest Schnee told the officer.

"It's dangerous out there. You could be kidnapped by faunus. I hear that there's this one group that's starting to get a bit more active. The Light Fang or something like that."

"Don't worry officer. We're just going to go to Mistral and look at the city. It would be good to learn about some of the history of the rest of the kingdoms. I know an adult there who can help make sure nothing happens," Weiss said.

"You're six years old," the officer deadpanned.

"And as such, any crimes committed by the child are filed against the parent. So you should be speaking to my father about this," Weiss told him.

"Look. There's an airship heading to Vale in about half an hour, you can take another airship to Mistral from there."

"Thank you," Weiss said. "Come on Whitley, we're going to see a big castle!"

"Really? I want to live in a big castle! Do you think Daddy could buy it for us?" Whitley asked.

"But the castle is also a school where the Hunters are taught in Vale. If our dad buys it, then who will teach the huntsmen to fight Grimm?" Weiss informed him.

"They get to go to school in a castle? If I learn to be a huntsman, could I do that big sister?" the younger sibling eagerly asked.

* * *

 **95.21 Masterweaver**

* * *

It was kind of odd, not wearing armor.

Granted, it wasn't like she never wore anything but armor. Even in baseline, she had her school uniform and the prom dress. But her armor was her casual wear, which actually said a lot about her. Even when she wasn't wearing armor, she was wearing her crown. It only ever came off in very specific, very intimate events. Even then it was a coin toss.

She flushed, shaking the memories away. Best not to think about that right now, she was only six-well, biologically.

The point was, even in her heavy overalls and tight headscarf, she felt naked. She didn't have her crown-this loop, at least, it was a mark of Mistral champions, and she had yet to enter any such competition. In fact, as she carefully dug out another furrow in the soil with her spade, she began to wonder if she should even head down that path...

Planting a few seeds, she wiped the sweat off her brow and pushed herself to her feet. That was this side of the garden done. It wouldn't be at all strange for her to take a break for a few minutes-a child only had so long an attention span, after all, and she was a bit thirsty. She turned to head inside-

-and froze, noticing the two preteens walking up the road.

"So what I was thinking was that maybe we could go see a play. Not one of those boring operas you like-I mean they're not all boring-but something like a real play, you know, with action and drama!"

"Amber, just because I have oodles of super powers and money doesn't mean I'm going to drop everything for fun on a whim."

"But you're all about hedonism!"

"No, that's Neopolitan. I'm more about expression of power-"

"Cinder Fall, what the heck are you doing?!"

The preteens froze, turning around to see the red-headed six-year-old glaring at them with crossed arms.

The paler one cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

"Yes. On the top of Beacon Tower."

 _"...Pyrrha?"_ Cinder asked incredulously.

Pyrrha huffed. "Yes, it's me!"

The darker preteen looked between them. "Is she another looper?"

"Another-? You _told_ her?!"

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Yes, Ozpin assigned me to guard Amber after I saved her from Hazel."

"I-you-WHAT?!" Pyrrha shook her head, producing a scroll. "Okay, I'm going to have to talk to him about this-"

"It's fine!" Amber assured her. "Cinder's been... not a jerk. Not nice, but not a jerk."

"And this loop was off the rails anyway," Cinder said, pulling out her own scroll. "When the rest of Team STRQ woke up, Ozpin told Summer about the loops-"

"What?!"

"-and she decided to marry Raven and Tai together, just because. By the way, smile for the camera."

"What?" Pyrrha asked, her confused expression caught by Cinder's scroll.

"Oh come on, you're six and woke up early. I'm sure everyone will love to see the great Pyrrha Nikos as a kid playing in the dirt."

"You do pull it off," Amber assured her.

Pyrrha blinked twice, before blushing furiously. "No I-that's not-what is even up with this loop?!"

"Everyone's waking up super early and screwing destiny harder than Yang screws Blake."

"Ewww!" Amber cried. "Can you _not_ talk about gross sex stuff?"

Cinder rolled her eyes, idly snapping another picture of Pyrrha. "Look, you're the one that asked me where babies come from. If you really didn't want to know-"

Pyrrha rubbed her forehead. "I'm getting a headache. This is just too weird..."

Cinder shrugged. "Preaching to the choir."

"Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm probably going to regret this, but... you want to come in and stay for the night?"

"Wait... really?"

"Yeah."

"Um." Cinder gestured from herself to Amber. "I would have thought, you know-"

"I mean, it's weird, and very strange, and... yeah. Still, if you don't have a place to stay, I figured-"

Amber shrugged. "Well, I'd like to get embarrassing stories about Cinder at some point."

Cinder snorted. "Pyrrha is a woman of honor and dignity, she would never-"

"You want to hear about the time she was terrified of maids?"

Amber grinned as Cinder sputtered. "Oh boy, do I ever!"

"PYRRHA!"

"Well, this was back when she was still hiding her evil side," Pyrrha began, "but as far as we can tell, she had the misfortune of threatening one Littlefoot..."

Cinder groaned. "He had an anime shoggoth in his pocket! _What is a dinosaur doing with a shoggoth maid?!"_

* * *

 **95.22 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Of altha gin joints en altha towns entha world, she walks inta mine."

"That's a noir quote, Yang, not a western one. Nice boots, though."

"If I get it wrong, I get it wrong with style." The blonde girl grinned, stepping aside and gesturing. "Come on in, Weiss, we've been expecting you."

"Weiss?" asked the young boy leaning out from behind the white-haired girl. "Who is this?"

"Whitley, this is Yang Xiao Long, a... friend of mine. Yang, this is Whitley, my little brother."

"Awwww, look at you, you're almost as old as my little sister!" Yang ruffled the boy's hair fondly, giggling at the way he slapped his hands over it. "Maybe you can be friends!"

"Maybe," Weiss allowed, gently leading her brother into the house. "It might do him some good."

"...Daddy says I can't make friends with strangers," Whitley pointed out uncertainly.

"Well if you can't make friends with strangers," Yang asked, "how are you going to make new friends?"

Whitley blinked, staring up at her. "Um..." He tried to come up with an answer, face screwing up as he considered his experiences. "...Daddy... finds them?"

"But Daddy is super busy sometimes," Weiss reminded him. "Why don't you try being friends with Yang's sister? That way, he doesn't have to spend time finding you friends, so he has more time to spend being a dad!"

The little boy considered his sister's words carefully. "...I... do not know..."

"Yang, what-?" An apron-wearing woman walked into the living room, pausing suddenly. "Oh. Are these the guests you mentioned?"

"Yep, Weiss and Whitley Schnee. Weiss is loopier than Whitley."

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Rose," Weiss said warmly.

"And it's good to finally meet you as well. Ruby's almost done helping me bake the cookies, she'll be with you two in a moment."

Whitley tilted his head. "Cookies...?"

"Yes, cookies." Weiss smiled faintly. "I'm not sure you ever had any, but-"

"NEVER HAD COOKIES?!" A tiny bolt of red and black shot out of the kitchen, gripping Whitley's shoulders and staring at him with wide silver eyes. "YOU'VE _NEVER HAD COOKIES?!"_

The boy leaned back. "Um. No. What are-?"

And then the bolt was clinging to the woman's legs. "Mommy mommy mommy we gotta bake DOUBLE the cookies! Like double double like a lot a lot!"

"Ruby, I'm not sure-"

"Don't worry," Yang said with a grin, "I can use my big sister magic to make sure it happens. But only if you make Weiss and Whitley feel welcome!" she added firmly.

"Yaaaaaaay!" The Schnee siblings suddenly found their wrists ensnared in the little girl's grip. "Come on come on let me show you my action Abagail we can dress her up and have her fight Grimm it'll be great!"

Whitley stumbled in confusion as she dragged them over to the toy shelf; Weiss gave Yang a joking glower before joining in the game.

Summer Rose leaned down. "Big sister magic?"

"Code for 'I have plenty of cookies in my subspace pocket in case of emergency.' With Ruby, you can never be too certain."

"Right. I'm sorry, this was all explained to me but it's still-"

"It takes some getting used to? Yeah, I know." Yang smiled up to her. "Just keep doing what you're doing, though. Trust me, it'll be worth it."

* * *

 **95.23 Shimmer712**

* * *

Jaune shook his head as he Woke up. He paused for a minute at the image in the mirror in front of him, wondering if it was a genderbender loop. A quick check of his loop memories confirmed that he was still a guy, his sisters just liked putting ribbons in his hair. And putting him in adorable costumes. And babying him a lot.

That was a pretty common trend for them, actually.

He sighed as the two sisters present - named Azure and Lavender - happily discussed whether to add bunny clips or flower clips.

He loved his sisters, really, even though their existence was fluid. But their babying did get to be a bit annoying.

 _Should I put up with it this loop or shouldn't I?_ he wondered.

* * *

"Aww, how cute!" Sol said as Azure and Lavender showed her pictures. "When did this happen?"

"Last week, after you had gone on holiday with friends," Azure said.

"Ooh! I almost forgot!" Sol dove for her bags and dug through. "Look what I got!"

"A bunny outfit?" Azure looked at the object her sister presented.

"Won't he be adorable in this?" Sol grinned.

"Oh yes!" Lavender agreed.

"Where is he, anyway?" Azure asked.

The three sisters searched and found the youngest member of their family, finding him outside. Swinging a wooden sword through repeated motions, his little face adorably serious.

"Jaune, what are doing?" Lavender asked curiously as Azure quickly snapped some pictures with her scroll.

"I'm going to be a huntsman," he told them earnestly. "I'm gonna be big and strong and fight monsters and bad guys!"

"Really?" Sol responded, smiling and Azure and Lavender fought to keep from giggling.

"Yeah!"

"Alright, then," Sol patted him on the head. "You trained hard and we'll bring you some lemonade later, okay?

"Okay!"

The three girls went back inside, chatting to each other.

"Did you see his face?" Azure giggled.

"It was the same expression Indigo had when she announced she was going to catch Santa four years ago!" Lavender squealed.

"We need to tell the others. This is going to be adorable!" Sol declared, her sisters nodding in agreement.

* * *

 **95.24 Masterweaver**

* * *

Amber looked up from her book, the corner of her lips twitching. "Bandits this time?"

Cinder shot her a look as she shut the window behind her. "How'd you-?"

Amber tapped her lips meaningfully. "Little blood. Right there."

"Ah." Cinder ran her tongue over the offending patch, swallowing. "Thanks."

"No prob." Amber watched her glittering form step over to the dresser. "So, were there any Grimm?"

"No."

"So we're still going to be sticking around for a bit?"

"Yes."

"...so... you want to do something fun this weekend?"

Cinder paused. Turned around. Noticed the book in her hands.

"...did Tukson send you that?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Did you _ask_ him to send you that?"

Amber grinned. "Guilty."

Cinder facepalmed. "Okay, let me go down the whole list of reasons that is just plain wrong. First of all, we're both eleven."

"Well, I am. You're infinity-gazillion."

"Biologically," Cinder clarified sharply. "So it's way too early to be thinking about that sort of thing."

"No it isn't!" Amber protested. "I mean, yeah, the icky sex stuff should wait, but-"

"Secondly, trashy romance novels are in no way a reflection of reality."

"Even the ones with vampires?"

"ESPECIALLY the ones with vampires!"

Amber pouted. "But you have the glittering skin and everything..."

"Thirdly, you're supposed to keep a low profile while I continue provoking Salem and her servants," Cinder said flatly. "Going out on a date-"

"You said it, not me!"

"-or any other social get-together with me is just going to paint a target on your back, since they've been looking for you since day one."

"But I'll have my sexy vampire guardian protecting me! I'll totes be safe!"

"Fourthly, there's the fact that in baseline I happen to be, oh, _the woman who actually kills you!"_ Cinder cried. "Doesn't that scare you?"

"Pssh, that's just baseline," Amber replied dismissively. "You're the one that remembers it. All I know is that you're the cool girl who saved me from the bad guys and regularly goes out to scare them so they don't know where I am."

"Oh don't lie to me, I saw how you reacted when I beat up Hazel."

"Hey, we only just met!"

"And when I drank the blood of that street mugger."

"Well, that was the first time I'd ever seen you drink blood."

"Or that time I set a forest on fire to roast the Grimm?"

"...Hey yeah, I can do that too, can't I?"

Cinder pointed a finger at her. "NO. No, you know exactly why we don't let you show off your maiden powers!"

Amber crossed her arms petulantly. "Why haven't you killed Salem yet anyway?"

"I'm waiting for Ruby to wake up, just in case things get hairy." Cinder blinked, shaking her head. "Anyway, that's besides the point. The point is you're terrified of me."

"Whatever you say, hotcheeks."

Cinder stiffened.

Amber smirked. "What, I can't use grown-up language cause I'm a kid? Mighty hypocritical oURK."

"You realize," the vampire hissed as the hand around her neck tightened, "I could literally squeeze the life out of you right now, and not give a damn."

The girl's eyes were wide with fear, but... she didn't look away. Didn't even reach up to grab the glittering wrist. There was something else in her expression-her lips tight, a challenge written on her face.

"...Oh sweet Yggdrasil." Cinder's grip slackened. "You actually trust me, don't you?"

"Y...yeah," Amber rasped out. "Sexy vampire guardian," she explained with a smirk.

Cinder rolled her eyes, releasing her grip and leaving the girl to pant. "You don't get to use the word sexy till you've actually had sex," she muttered, walking back over to the dresser.

"So..." Amber coughed, rubbing her neck. "So," she tried again, "going out this weekend?"

Ciner beat her head against the mirror. "I do not need this. I do not need my number one victim crushing on me."

"...Hey, it... it might not be a crush," Amber assured her awkwardly. "I mean, you said it-I'm eleven. I don't know exactly what a crush is supposed to be like, all I know is I want to hang out with you. Even if you are super scary."

The regular thunks of a glittering skull hitting a mirror gave her pause.

"...How about this," she offered. "I promise not to act on my feelings until after you kill Salem, and we can talk about it then? Whether to date and do... sex... stuff or whatever?"

Cinder's head came to a final rest. "...I suppose that's about as reasonable as this situation is going to get," she grumbled. "When did my life become some sort of melodrama?"

"When you went insane and started pretending to be two different people?"

Without even looking up, Cinder flipped Amber off.

* * *

 **95.25 Masterweaver**

* * *

"And in one act, you outplay everything your sister did to get on the news," Raven complimented. "Well done."

"I will be honest, I had been planning something like it for a while," Weiss admitted as she sipped her tea-and frowned. "I've forgotten how terrible this tasted to children's tastebuds. Do you mind if I have some fruit juice instead?"

"Not at all, though Yang might rant at you for stealing her... whatever that concoction she's whipped up is."

"Thankfully, I have my own." With a gesture, she produced a can of 'People Like Grapes'. "And still fresh, too."

"Being a looper certainly does change things..." Raven trailed off, glancing out the window.

Weiss followed her gaze, smiling faintly as she caught sight of Taiyang and Summer chasing their two daughters around. "Yes. Yes it does."

Raven blinked, turning back to Weiss and clearing her throat. "So. You... kidnapped your brother?"

"Well, yes and no. I told him we were going on an adventure, and he agreed readily." The girl who probably wasn't a heiress anymore shrugged. "Perhaps manipulating a four-year-old is morally ambiguous, but I haven't had him do anything... wrong. Besides, this way I can give him a life outside of Jacques' influence, a chance to actually be somebody of his own making."

"You do realize that will only last for the loop."

"Mmm, yes. As will Amber's fear-crush on Cinder, and Sun's rising fame in Vacuo... and your relationship with Summer and Tai."

The not-a-bandit-queen flinched.

"I did not mean that as an attack." Weiss put her can to the side. "Let me be clear, miss Branwen, I... have had numerous one loop stands myself. Some romantic, some sexual, some with loopers and some without. I know full well how temporary this all might seem, and I know how important this is because of that."

"...It is incredibly strange to hear that sort of statement coming out of a six-year-old's mouth."

"I've heard of loopers waking up in utero. I think the admins patched that out before we were activated, but I can't be sure." Weiss half-smirked at Raven's disturbed expression. "But back to the matter at hand... We could choose to become a reclusive society of time travelers, ignoring all those who do not loop in their entirety, focused only on that which endures. A detached section of Remnant's population. Ignore the Grimm, ignore the fall of Vale, ignore Jacques and Tyrian and Salem... ignore Ghira the loving husband and father, ignore team SSSN and their dorky shenanigans, ignore opportunities like these."

"But we don't."

"No. We don't." Weiss pointed out the window. "It. Will. Hurt. When all this is over, when you're back on Anima running the tribe, you will feel something has been torn from you. And because you're a looper, you will be able-at any point in time-to recall the pangs of things that are missing. And that... that will keep you mortal. That will keep you anchored to this world." She took a sip of her drink. "That... and by the same token, you'll be able to remember all the good things. The pride when Yang aces her first test, or the quiet attempt to hide your amusement when you're lecturing her over the latest stunt. The smiles Summer gives you and Tai, the ways she flirts and tries to take care of you... how you reassure her whenever she doubts her position. It will end, but it won't go away."

Raven tapped her fingers on the table. "I... appreciate you being honest with me, Weiss. I'll admit I had... much the same thoughts, but-"

"Never let the worries of the future destroy the joys of the present. Plan ahead, but live in the moment." The girl shut her eyes. "Cliche, perhaps. But wisdom does not endure without reason."

"Hmm." Raven nodded. "Tai's said some of that too. I think he's adapting to this better then me, I..."

"...you had a different life. For Tai, this is a dream come true-even if it comes with a few oddities. For you... you didn't even realize you wanted this."

"I didn't want it." Raven sighed. "This is _more_ than I wanted. And I am enjoying it, but... when it goes away, it will never come back."

Weiss considered her for a moment or two.

"...There are things the Admins aren't allowed to talk about."

Raven blinked, turning to her. "What?"

"Esoteric things. The nature of the afterlife, the exact number of dimensions in Yggdrassil... among them, what exactly happens when a loop ends. It's not that they don't want to talk about it," Weiss explained. "Or that they can't talk about it completely, we just... don't get the full picture."

"Alright... why are you bringing this up?"

"Each loop is one simulation of Remnant. Each loop, one check of the variables. Each loop is run, analyzed, and cataloged by the system." Weiss looked upward. "Somewhere in that cosmic computer system, there's a folder with each and every last time Ruby Rose has woken up and saved the world, or failed to save it, or started a technological revolution, or just binged on cookies for two months. And when this loop ends, this world will be slotted in with them."

Raven blinked. "Wait. This will be... saved on a file."

"...There's speculation, among some of the loopers, the ones with long-term plans." Weiss sipped her drink. "They think that when the loops end, when Remnant and all the other worlds are made whole, we won't just have one realm apiece-we'll have access to all of the what-ifs and maybes and might-have-beens that cropped up in the loops." She nodded out the window. "When the loop ends, you'll be torn away, but for Summer? Well. One moment she'll be facing oblivion and the next... the next, you might come in to welcome her into our new pantheon."

"...Is that a fact?"

"It's a theory." Weiss sighed. "It's a popular one, mind, but there's some level of confirmation bias-it might not actually be what happens. Still... even if it is a permanent end, it's just of a chapter. Not the whole story."

Raven took a breath and, slowly, let it out. "...Hope is... devious. It can lead armies to ruin."

"Or save the lost."

"It's a guide without direction. Sometimes it helps, and sometimes..."

"That," Weiss said plainly, "is why we live in the moment."

"Hmm." Raven nodded. "...Well. Thank you for coming over, anyway. This... this has been an interesting conversation."

"I aim to assist, where I can." Weiss smiled faintly. "So if you ever need to invite some kids over for Ruby's birthday party-"

"I dunno," Raven mused, "Yang and Blake have that pretty much covered."

"I'll crash it if you don't. With full Schnee dramatics."

"Oh, fine, fine. But you have to bring the ice cream and she has to invite you herself."

"An acceptable bargain, miss Branwen. If you'll excuse me, I must ingratiate myself to my future partner via childish antics." Weiss tossed the can into the trash, threw her a salute, and walked out the door.

Raven stared after her for a second, before rolling her eyes. "Live in the moment. Right." She pushed herself into a standing position, joining the others outside, and created a day of fun that would long, long be remembered.

* * *

 **95.26 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Here you go Uncle Qrow!"

Qrow blinked as Nora shoved a bouquet into his hands. Red rosebuds and irises hiding cockscomb blooms, around a ring of buttercups and white jasmine, itself centered on a single snapdragon...

"Me and Ren got awful loopy waiting for you to come back," she said innocently. "We missed you soooooooooooooo much!"

"Oh I _see_ ," Qrow mused, glancing behind her at An-who was hiding a faint smile behind her hand as she tended to the garden. "So you woke up one day and decided to get me flowers, huh?"

"Only the prettiest of flowers for the prettiest of men," Nora cooed, fluttering her eyelashes-and An tried, valiantly, to suppress her giggle at the six-year-old's words.

"Hey, I'm not pretty. I'm ruggish."

"Oh, of course you are," Nora purred. "Ruggishly pretty."

"Right. Okay." Qrow glanced up to the absolutely-not-giggling-this-was-a-sneezing-fit-really An Ren. "How long has she been planning this?"

"Her and Lie have been conspiring for two weeks," Li Ren deadpanned, stepping out of the house with an exasperated expression-and an amused twinkle in his eye. "They won't tell me where they got the money for the flowers. Perhaps you might have better luck."

"I _did_ tell you, father!" Lie Ren followed after him. "A robot ginger helped us find the best flowers!"

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Oh, I believe you, lil' Ren. I'm just wondering why you went along with it."

"I like seeing Nora happy," he replied simply.

Nora pounced on him. "Awww, I love you too!"

"Then what's all this about?" Qrow asked, waving the bouquet.

"I think you two can share!" Nora chirped brightly.

"I wouldn't mind," Ren agreed.

An, by this point, was bent over in open laughter. Li sighed, turning to the children. "Somehow I do not think that would work out well."

"Why?" Ren asked completely innocently. "Qrow's sister shares."

Li blinked. "Qrow's...?"

"Raven, my twin. She hooked up with the two other members of my team back at Beacon-who were all the same age," Qrow emphasized to the children. "They make it work, they have two daughters, but I don't swing by as often as I should."

"Because of your semblance."

"Yeah, that, and my sister with a man and a woman..." Qrow coughed. "Not exactly something I want to think about."

"Ah." Li nodded in understanding, before turning back to the two children. "I expect you two to consider what you want very carefully."

"Oh we will!" Nora promised.

"We certainly will," Ren agreed.

Qrow stretched. "Well, I've had a long week. You mind if I take Nora back home?"

An finally managed to stop her laughter, looking up. "Are you sure... sure you can handle..." Her lips quirked. "That, hee, that much woman?"

Li gave her a flat look.

"I've got ladies flirting with me across Remnant," Qrow replied. "I think I can keep my head around Nora."

"Oh, I like a challenge," Nora quipped eagerly.

An burst out laughing again.

* * *

 **95.27 Shimmer712**

* * *

"Jaune!" Cyan called as she searched for her brother. "Jaune? Where is he?" She frowned. She wanted to do some baking and Jaune normally loved helping her. Admittedly, he did make things a bit messy but it was all in fun. But she couldn't find him. "Jaune!" she called again.

"Something wrong?"

"Gah!" Cyan jumped, turning to look at her sister. "Ivory! Stop sneaking up on people!"

Ivory just smirked. "No."

Cyan huffed. "Have you seen Jaune?" she asked, changing the subject.

"He was in the backyard, the last I saw," Ivory answered, a smile forming on her lips. "Still swinging that toy sword."

Cyan smiled as well. "Isn't he adorable?" she chuckled, starting to walk off.

"Nothing wrong with wanting to be able to protect yourself," Ivory shrugged, following her.

"In that case, why aren't you teaching him, miss Self-Defense-Instructor?" Cyan challenged. Ivory shook her head.

"I don't do armed combat, Jaune wants to use a sword," she answered as they noticed the backyard was empty and made their way into the trees at the edge of the yard. "I would teach him how to use it wrong. Besides, it's probably just a phase, like when he insisted that he wears yellow every day."

"Hmm, maybe," Cyan nodded. "He did seem to enjoy activities that didn't involve fighting. Like baking with me!"

"Not just baking with you," Ivory scowled.

"Pssh! I'm his favorite and you know it!" Cyan shot at her. "He just loves his big sister Cya and Big sister Ivie is a second-rater!"

"Yeah right," Ivory snorted. "He-"

"Ivie! Cya!"

The girls broke off their bickering to focus on their brother. They froze.

"Uh...Jaune? What's that next to you?" Ivory asked.

Jaune beamed. "It was a Grimm!" he said excitedly, waving his sword. "It attacked me so I hit it back and killed it!"

The two sisters stared at the dissolving form next to their brother. It had dissolved enough that they couldn't tell what it was but it couldn't have been that big or dangerous, right? Still, a Grimm that close to their brother...

"Uh...Jaune?" Ivory spoke up. "How would you like some self-defense lessons? I know you want to use a sword and all but learning how to fight without one could help!" _And leave you less time by yourself to be attacked!_

"Yeah, Ivory would love to give you lesson!" Cyan added. "And if you're going to be a Huntsman, you'll need to know first aid and stuff won't you? I can help you there!" _And keep you far away from trouble!_

"Yeah!" Jaune cheered. He smiled up his sisters as they led him back inside. He had wanted to show off the Ursa he killed to get them to take him seriously but he supposed this would do for now. At least now they knew he had _some_ ability to defend himself and were trying to ensure that was encouraged.

Besides, spending time with family was always a good thing.

* * *

 **95.28 Zurcior**

* * *

Summer Rose hummed to herself as she tended to her garden in front of the house. The exceptionally hot weather convinced her it would be a productive use of her time. So she had put on a white tank and blue jean short shorts and got to work.

After she finished watering the lilies, she knelt next to the roses to do the same. But before she could, a pair of feminine arms wrapped themselves around her waist from behind.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with a slight jerk of surprise. She scowled when she looked back and saw who had startled her. "Did you really have to sneak up on me, Raven?"

Raven chuckled and gave Summer a peck on the cheek as an apology as she stayed next to her on the ground. "Sorry, but you should really be aware of your surroundings more." She began to gently rub Summer's stomach with her right hand. "Where are the kids?"

"Yang is watching Ruby inside," Summer smiled as she felt the other woman's hand through her tank top. "You just got back. Don't you want to rest?"

"How can I rest when you're obviously tempting me with all this loose clothing you're wearing?" responded Raven as she pulled back.

"I didn't put this on to tempt you," countered the redhead, and laughed when she saw the look on Raven's face. "It's just hot out today."

Raven rolled her eyes and sat down next to her wife with a pout. "Summer, do you want to be seduced or not?"

"Kinda in the middle of something. Almost finished, actually."

"Then I'll help you," offered the dark-haired huntress as she reached over to take the watering can from Summer. "After all, I'm quite experienced at helping you _finish_."

"Ugh, that was awful."

"What's awful is you making me work so hard for it."

"What can I say? You are so **cute** when you get like this."

"Cute, huh?" Raven mumbled as she started watering the roses. "You know, roses are my favorite flower."

Summer snorted, crossed her legs, and placed her head in her hands. "Oh really? I wonder why."

"They are just so beautiful to look at," Raven continued as if Summer's interruption hadn't happened. "I especially like the red and white ones."

"Obviously."

Raven set the watering can down and placed her hand on the silver-eyed warrior's thigh. "But what I enjoy more than looking is touching them," she resumed as her hand set about slowly rubbing up and down.

Summer's eyes shone with amusement. "Aren't you worried about the thorns?" she teased while she poked the other woman in the side.

"Nope," Raven replied as she leaned over and nuzzled her cheek against Summer's. "I actually like the thorns. I find it extremely exciting to be able to hold something so beautiful, yet so _dangerous_ , in my hands." She then stopped the hand that was caressing Summer's lap and placed it on the redhead's knee. "But do you know the part of the rose I like to feel the most? The _rose petals_."

Summer snorted again and tried to stop the grin that threatened to show on her face. "R-really?"

"Yep," Raven confirmed as she continued to ignore her lover's giggles. "The petals of a rose are so soft, so _smooth_ , that I simply can't keep my hands off 'em."

A noise emanated from the back of Summer's throat as she failed to keep her shoulders from shaking.

"And if I'm not mistaken," the dark-haired seductress continued in a sultry whisper, "the rose petals are responsible for the flower's rather-" Raven buried her nose into the crook of Summer's neck and breathed in deeply -"intoxicating scent," she exhaled provocatively back into the huntresses' ear.

Summer couldn't hold it back anymore and the dam had burst. "Pfft," she laughed as she pulled away from Raven. Then she started laughing harder. "Hahahahaha! Oh my gods, you are so _**cheesy**_ ~~~!"

Raven folded her arms and frowned as she turned her back to the laughing redhead. "You don't have to laugh about it," she grumbled as a red tint appeared on her cheeks.

"Aww," cooed Summer as she hugged the bandit raised huntress from behind, "don't take it personally, honey. I like it when you're cheesy. It's cute!"

Raven turned herself around in Summer's arms and gave her an even look. "Cute?" she inquired flatly. She pointed at her face. "Bitch, I'm adorable."

"Yup, the most adorable little bird I've ever laid my eyes on."

"Willing to back up those words with action?"

The silver eyed huntress affixed her forehead against Raven's with a soft, loving gaze. "Glady," Summer smirked before she leaned forward and kissed her wife on the lips.

"Mommy, mommy! Look what I drew!"

Summer and Raven both jerked, and pulled away from each other with a yelp. They turned to the side to confirm their ears hadn't deceived them, and sure enough, four-year-old Ruby had just finished running up to them with a drawing in her hand.

"Shi-," Raven nearly cursed in disappointment before she caught little Ruby's big, innocent eyes and realized she had to censor herself, "- iiiii _take mushrooms!_ Yes, shitake mushrooms would look great in the garden! Great thinking, Summer!"

Summer managed to send her a dull look. "Smooth," she deadpanned before she climbed to her feet. "What happened to paying attention to your surroundings?" Raven stuck her tongue out at her. Summer ignored her and gave her daughter her best smile. "You drew something, sweetie?"

The little red-head smiled toothily and excitedly bobbed her head up and down. "Uh huh, uh huh! Lookie!" she begged adorably before she lifted the picture for both of her mothers to see.

"Oh, how pretty, Ruby," praised Summer as she gazed at the stick figures that littered the white paper. "Is this our family?"

"Yeah!" Ruby exclaimed happily. She then pointed to each stick figure with different colored hair. "Tha's you, and tha's momma Rae-Rae, and tis is daddy, and tha's Yang!"

"And where are you?" Summer asked in curiosity.

Ruby pointed to the far side of the paper. "I'm ovah here beatin' up grimm!"

Summer blinked. "Oh. Well good for you, Ruby! That's my girl." She ruffled her daughter's hair and the child fell into a fit of giggles.

"Ruby," Raven interjected as she too stood on her own two legs, "where is your sis-"

"Oh Ruby! There you are!" Yang appeared and ran up to her little sister. "You shouldn't run off like that, sis!"

The four-year-old gave her six-year-old big sister a confused look. "Buh you were da one who-"

"Ruby! Let's go to the backyard and play huntresses!" Yang interrupted quickly. Too quickly. Raven narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Will that be fun?"

"Yeah!" cheered Ruby as she hopped up and down. "Huntresses, huntresses!"

"Well, c'mon!" encouraged Yang, and she led her sister to the backyard. But not before the Awake Looper looked behind herself, and gave both of her moms a mischievous smirk before she disappeared behind the corner.

Raven scowled when she realized Yang had sent Ruby to them on purpose. "That girl is _so_ grounded."

"Actually, she just got Ruby out of the house and into the backyard where they can't hear anything."

Perplexed, Raven turned to Summer. "What?"

Summer sent her a sexy smirk. "I'll wait for you in the bedroom. We have some catching up to do after you're long mission, after all."

When she finished talking, she disappeared in a burst of white rose petals that marked the use of her teleportation semblance.

Raven stood stock still for a moment, but once she processed Summer's words she bolted inside the house.

* * *

 **95.28 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Welcome to Lisa Lavender's Loudspeaker, your source for local legends and laconic lectures. I'm your host, Lisa Lavender, and today I'm joined by none other than the Skyborn Trio of White Fang fame." Lisa turned to face the three seven-year-olds sitting on the couch. "It's nice to have you here today, ladies."

"And it's good to be on live-screen TV." Yang Xiao Long gave the camera a winning grin. "Great practice for when I eventually become PRINCESS OF ALL DRAGONKIND!"

"Only princess?" Weiss asked from the other side of the couch.

"Blake's queen, of course."

Blake nudged Yang with a playful elbow. "You just want me to handle the paperwork."

"Guil~ty!" the blonde proclaimed cheekily.

Weiss rolled her eyes with an indulgent grin. "These two... Anyway, miss Lavender, it is an honor and a pleasure to be here. I hope we can have a forthright and entertaining discussion."

Lisa nodded. "Very well then. I might as well begin with you, miss Schnee. You're famous for your dramatic... exit from your father's mansion. What, exactly, drew you to join the White Fang so soon after that?"

"I will admit it was, at first, typical childish rebellion. Jacques is a very controlling individual, which is good if you want a business to be profitable but not exactly the best trait for interpersonal relationships-at the time, I was rather put out by drama I shall not share with the public, and wished to... what was the phrase, Yang?"

"Stick it to the man?"

"Yes, 'stick it to the man', as it were. However, in my time associating with these two..." Weiss paused.

"Rapscallions?" Blake suggested.

"That only applies to Yang. I think I'll go with luminaries. These two luminaries have taught me much about both the world and myself, and... I have decided to follow the path of my grandfather, and make the world a better place as best I can. And in this case, that means directly addressing the inadequacies of our current society."

"By which she means the discrimination against faunus," Blake added.

Lisa cleared her throat. "Some of those against the White Fang's protests point out that the law treats faunus the same as humans."

"There's a difference between equal rights and equal opportunity," Blake pointed out. "Until recently Faunus were slaves and second class citizens-and some of that still remains. Some people would look at my ears and think I'm subhuman, but that's not the problem-the problem is people who look at my ears and think I'm undereducated, or not cultured enough. Assuming that because I'm a faunus I must fall into some specific box... that limits what I would be allowed to do."

"See, I could make a really bad joke about her liking boxes," Yang quipped, "but she likes boxes on her own terms."

Blake opened her mouth, paused, and gave her a look. "I can't tell if you're being deep or just stumbled on an accidental bit of wisdom."

"It's Yang," Weiss pointed out.

"Right, accidental wisdom then."

Lisa cleared her throat. "So, miss Xiao Long-"

"Please, miss Xiao Long is my father."

"...what?"

"My moms got him to wear a dress one time. He really does pull it off."

"That's interesting," Lisa allowed, "but bringing this back to your White Fang association, how do you feel your methods have been helping the cause?"

"Do you mean my tendency toward abruptly swinging conversations in random directions in order to get people to think about what they believe, or my tendency to set myself on fire as a way to emphasize points to particularly stubborn idiot racists? Ooo, or my constant flirting with Blake? Because that last bit's actually real, the only reason we aren't married is because we aren't of legal age yet."

"She said on live television," Blake deadpanned, "confirming so many rumors."

"So many," Weiss agreed.

"Anyway, we've got a trio here. Weiss is a student of politics and economics, and uses logic and reasoning in her arguments. Blake, being more a fan of society and literature, appeals to morality and ethics. Me, I've learned from experience and the internet, so I go with unbalancing and refocusing." She held up a finger. "AND TOGETHER, WE FIGHT SOCIAL INJUSTICE! Also crime, but that always gets overlooked, I mean really we stopped a bank robbery and nobody even cared."

Lisa gave her a faint smile. "Really."

"Yes, actually, just last week." Weiss looked at her fingers idly. "It was quite the undertaking."

"I... see." Lisa cleared her throat. "Well, thank you for your time ladies."

"And thank you for your professionalism," Blake replied. "I expect to see you as a full news reporter within the decade."

"Oh, that would be the day..."

"You know what, let's make a bet." Yang grinned. "This time next year, if you aren't a news reporter, I'll go ahead and make the news just for you."

Lisa chuckled. "Of course you will... anyway." She turned back to the camera. "This has been Lisa Lavender's Loudspeaker, your source for local legends and laconic lectures. Thank you for watching."

* * *

 **95.29 Masterweaver**

* * *

Summer didn't know exactly how it would happen. Yang had been six, and Winter around five, but there was no guarantee that Ruby would Awaken at the same time. She was...

...well...

...she was nervous. Yang had still been Yang, even after she Awakened, but she'd been... a bit different too. A bit more cocky, but not in a mindless way. A bit deeper when she considered things. Definitely more affectionate with Blake, but Summer had kind of expected that.

Raven and Tai had been very understanding. Tai had been gentle, carefully reassuring her Ruby would still be her girl; Raven had been blunt, pointing out she was worried over her daughter growing up, which every parent worried about. Both of them had obligingly rearranged their schedules so Summer could spare the time to be constantly near Ruby-pick her up from school, play with her in the house, maybe fuss over her a little.

Of course Ruby had noticed, and asked Yang what was going on, because her big sister knew so much about grown-ups. Yang had confidently replied that Summer had a case of the Hovers-"It just means she loves you a little more than she knows how to deal with. This is a mild version, and we caught it early. She'll adapt."

Summer had quietly arranged for Yang to have an extra cookie for dessert that night.

The problem was there was no clear signal-at least not if you weren't a looper. She and Tai had been at the market when he had suddenly stopped, tilted his head, and given her a small smirk-and when they came home, Yang had hugged her tighter than ever before. So maybe a distant look, but every time Ruby had gotten thoughtful she'd turned around and asked a typical little girl question-where do Grimm come from, why can't everyone have cookies, could somebody fix the moon? If Summer had known what to look for, maybe she wouldn't be so on edge.

And then one day, while she was reading Ruby a story, she felt her stiffen. She glanced at the six-year-old, who seemed to be listening to nothing, seemed to be deep in thought.

"...Ruby?"

Ruby blinked, looking up at her. And...

...and she knew. It was in her eyes... recognition, glee, consideration, amazement, joy-

The little girl wrapped her arms tightly around her mother.

Tomorrow there would be a grand party, with people from Atlas and Mistral and Vacuo and Menagerie and especially Vale all travelling to a tiny island, coordinating grand plans, and getting ready to throw the world into a crazy tailspin.

Today, however... today Summer and Ruby Rose got to know each other again, for the first time.

* * *

 **95.30 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

On a small bluff beyond the castle in Salem's domain, two girls stood above the bubbling pits of Grimm. One tan, one pale, both bristling with the power of the elements. Cinder nodded to Amber, and they began.

With a drop of her foot Cinder cracked the bedrock base of the castle, magma rising from below. Above a hurricane brewed, electricity crackling along the rim of the clouds. Amber directed the power of the Fall Maiden to strike at the stone edifice to evil.

The grand windowed hallway shattered with blow after blow of lightning. Nevermore, Griffins and Dragons rose into the skies, spiraling against the fierce winds. Beowolves, Ursa, Creepers, Deathstalkers and Taijitu surged over the shattering landscape, using the bodies of their fellows and compatriots to bridge the opening gaps. From the towers Geists possessing monstrous amalgamations of artillery began to fire, the smoking gunpowder conflagration arcing for the two.

A forcefield formed up, the shells blasting against the impenetrable barrier. Amber glanced at Cinder in fear, but turned her focus back to the battle. With a surge of fire and wind she summoned the ruined shards of metal into a storm of flechettes. The Grimm above were shredded by the tools of their own.

And still more poured from the collapsing castle, an endless tide of tar.

The battle was fierce at first, but even Grimm could not fully engage against the power of the awakened earth. Cinder's lavabending slowly corrupted and dissolved what land remained, until only the most obstinate and ancient of Grimm, the Nuckalevee that stood above trees, the Goliath's whose footfalls would sound seismic triggers, the Dragons that rose from the hearts of mountains themselves, could move onward.

Yet, even they could not rise from a burial. Taking her powers and pushing them to their limits, using wind drawn from the superheated updrafts and the weakened base of Salem's once proud castle, Amber hauled the ruins forward, upon the monsters that haunted Remnant. It fell like a mountain, and the few that survived the crushing weight perished from the unyielding fire.

As the battlefield grew silent but for the sounds of bubbling lava and settling rock, Cinder and Amber waited, and listened. Above the narrow clamor, a whining noise was heard: an engine. Cinder launched herself into the sky, Amber right behind her. The two landed on a motorcycle that very quickly turned into a biplane, and began to circle the rubble. From a small, almost hidden alcove, a Bullhorn attempted a vertical take off. Amber cored it with a meteor, and it collapsed into the rubble again.

Cinder guided for a landing, and dismounted her sky skimmer. "Well Amber, that went... nicely."

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Amber screamed, jumping up and down. "I can't believe we did that, that had to be more Grimm than I've ever seen! It was... it was..."

"Exhilarating?" Cinder suggested. She shrugged when Amber nodded. "I've seen better. Hell, I've done better."

The two approached the Bullhorn, where it lay inert. Cinder threw a fist up and approached with care, her eyes narrowing. She could already see it: inside, on one side of the door was Tyrian, on the other Hazel. The two waiting in ambush. That wouldn't do. Cinder formed her bow, aimed, and loosed.

BOOOOOOOM!

Cinder was hurled across the rubble field, crashing through a boulder and striking another with boneshattering force. She blacked out, for a moment, her blood roving to her core. With a shake she forced her body to push past the hyperbaric shock and restored her sight.

The Bullhorn was little more than a smoking crater, as was the surrounding fifty meters of rock. Cinder lay against a more distant outcropping on the disolving island, just close enough to gauge that Amber, having been much further away, was badly concussed, but hopefully alive.

She pulled her sky slimmer from the rubble and loaded Amber onboard as the other girl, still quite disoriented, protested. Cinder's mind whirled as she launched into the air, trying to determine how much Dust had been in the bomb that had been inside the remote controlled Bullhorn, and more importantly...

How had Salem known they were coming?

* * *

 **95.31 StormyAngel**

* * *

"Go-ooood Morning, little sister!"

"Yang!" Ruby shouted as she hugged her sister at the breakfast table. "Mom told me you're Awake, isn't this great! Everyone's waking up early and we'll have _years_ to spend together! Oh I have so many ideas! Have you talked to Blake yet? Of course you have. What about everyone else? Do you know who else is awake?"

"Slow down there, you little rascal," Tai cut in, before setting some food down on the table. "Have a bite to eat first."

"Thanks Dad!" Ruby replied cheerily hopping up to her seat, she turned back towards Yang before doing a double take.

Sitting right before her was a box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallowy goodness...with Sun Wukong's smiling face staring right back at her.

"Uh..."

"I know right?" Yang replied. "It's like he was _made_ for it!"

Ruby looked at the box, then at Yang, then back at the box. Over at the sink Tai's shoulders shook with barely contained laughter.

"Yang, what did you do?"

"Well...Pyrrha really didn't want to go for their sponsorship this time around, so I figured, why not? I took the little monkey under my wing, and now he's Vacuo's rising star. Sun was pretty fun as an apprentice too."

"But...how? He's still so young! Is he even awake?"

"Well he is _now_..."

 _(One year prior)_

Sun had woken up in some pretty unusual predicaments before. That just came as part and parcel of the Looper experience as a whole. Still, if there was one thing every Looper had learned from long experience: there's always something weirder still to come.

"-it drives me _bananas!_ " Sun exclaimed as he followed through on a mighty punch. The monstrous Grimm- were they always so big?- flew away from him...covered in banana peels...before disintegrating.

And then he was surrounded by laughter. Sun blinked, glancing around him at the surprisingly _tall_ audience in the stadium. Why was he in a stadium? Before he even had a moment to dig out his loop-memories though, a familiar voice chimed in from a device that had haunted him for millennia.

"I _peel_ you can do better."

 _(Back in the present)_

"...and after the latest Faunus Rights act passed through the Vacuo Council, Sun agreed to serve as their champion Grimm-slayer until the time comes for him to go to Haven Academy." Yang finished her explanation.

"Oh, that's so awesome!" Ruby squirmed excitedly in her seat. "What else have you been up to?"

"We-eelll, Blake and I had this idea for a prank on Weiss..."

* * *

 **95.32 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...so while I'll agree that mister Taurus is certainly... _passionate_ in his desire for fairness, I don't think he is even-tempered enough to be anything more than a servicemember at this time."

Sienna Kahn snorted. "More of your mysterious wisdom... Frankly, I don't know how Ghira puts up with you."

Kali smiled faintly. "I do have my ways, you know."

"Yes, yes, we can all hear it when you two get passionate." Sienna frowned. "Fine. I'll have somebody trustworthy keep an eye on our new recruits. Do you think your kid would be willing to give one of her legendary 'hope, tenacity, and willpower' speeches?"

"I'll ask her about it," Kali replied evenly. The fact that Adam, even a young Adam, was among these new recruits made her less certain about the wisdom of letting Blake near them. Her daughter tended to be very guarded whenever the subject of the man came up, and Kali had decided to leave that particular demon to the other members of RWBY; loathe as she was to admit it, she couldn't be expected to help Blake with all her issues, and Yang had quite a bit more experience dealing with her in this one regard.

Sienna gave her a look. "Will she be busy looking for wedding armor with that blonde girl?"

"I'm fairly certain they're still looking into what kind of ceremony they want to have."

"I'm honestly surprised they're still keeping up that whole 'true love' thing. I'd have thought they'd have gotten tired of make believe by now."

"They're not playing make believe."

"They're a couple of kids."

"Yang has flat out told me and Ghira they're planning to have sex when they hit puberty."

Sienna sputtered. "Wait. WHAT?"

"Raven had invited us over to their place for a shared dinner, and Yang just put it out there. Blake was a little embarrassed, of course, but-"

"She's, what, eight years old!"

"As of last week," Kali allowed.

"How the hell does she even know-?!"

"Apparently she walked in on her parents having a threesome."

"That-she, you, you're just, you can't be okay with this."

"Well, her argument was basically that Blake could either go find some random stranger for her first time, or end up with a girl we know and trust. Ghira was quite put out, of course, and Tai took her aside to talk with her and Summer apologized profusely, but Raven was on the edge of laughing the whole time." She gave the other woman a sly smirk. "I, of course, can't help but respect such hope, tenacity, and willpower."

"...I don't even... how can you..." Sienna paused, took a breath, and let it out slowly. "That is... surprisingly personal information you're willing to share with me, Kali."

"I'd like to think we can trust each other," Kali replied. "You aren't planning to forcefully take over the White Fang, are you?"

Sienna was quiet for a moment or two.

"...you know, I actually was, at one point."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I thought... you and Ghira were busy pointing out problems, and nobody was doing anything about them. You even got arrested. Multiple times, by multiple corrupt officers, and I... I thought maybe we needed a different direction, maybe we should make a problem that the people in power couldn't ignore." Sienna laughed dryly. "And then that Schnee girl up and mechafied her mansion, and you somehow convinced her to join us. And nobody could ignore _her_."

"She does have a way of attracting attention," the other woman allowed.

"It's just... I thought that I knew what was wrong with the Fang, and how to fix it, and then suddenly that. And you rolled with it. You managed to take the craziest case of Schnee dramatics and work it to the advantage of the White Fang." Sienna pinched her brow. "And now, thanks to her, and your kid, and the blonde girl, we're actually getting things done. We've got Faunus on the councils of Mistral and Vale, Atlas has stepped in and started enforcing worker's rights... I was going to change the world through fear, and those three are changing the world through just being crazy kid celebrities. I don't even know."

Kali turned, taking in the resigned confusion that painted her companion's face. She'd seen the expression in the mirror, sometimes, or on the face of her husband; that sheer disbelief that happened when loopers did something so alien that observers just couldn't decide what they should feel, where they felt the world had spiralled entirely out of anyone's control and all they could do was sit back and watch the resultant chaos. She bit her lip, trying to come up with something to say, when an odd whimpering sound made her ears twitch.

"Did you hear that?"

"Teeth, not ears."

"Right, still..." Kali frowned, walking toward a nearby alleyway. "It's coming from over here."

"Probably some animal. Maybe a rat or something."

"No, it was-oh." Kali stopped, swallowing. "Well, it's not _just_ an animal."

"What? What would-" Sienna's words died as she looked over her shoulder. "Oh. Well... Shit."

Curled up in the sagging cardboard box in front of them was a tiny black and white puppy, quietly nuzzling an androgynous child with pink and brown hair who looked less than a year old.

Kali took a slow breath. "Well, Roman's going to be... I don't know what he's going to be."

"What's your underworld contact got to do with this?"

"I'm pretty sure that's his niece," Kali explained, nodding to the sleeping infant. "He's been trying to find her for a while... hold on." She took out a scroll and snapped a picture.

"Huh." Sienna frowned. "You know, I'm used to thinking of him as just that thief with an ego that gives us tips sometimes. I never really thought about his personal life."

"I've known him since he was still getting acne cream. He's not exactly open about his life, but..." Kali sent off the picture. "Well, he didn't just spring up out of vapor."

"So, what? You going to send him the kid?"

"...Maybe the puppy too. They seem to have bonded."

Sienna sighed. "See, this is what really frustrates me about you. I just... you're so... _likeable._ "

Kali sighed. "Are you still jealous about Ghira?"

"Hey!"

"Are you?" she repeated, gently.

Sienna scoffed, even though her eyes didn't meet Kali's. "I'd like to think I'm not that shallow. It's more... like, you're too... the world isn't all sunshine and roses! And you act so charming and poised and, and sweet and somehow it works! How the hell do you make that work?! You're like everyone's kindly old grandma!"

"I'm not _that_ old!" Kali protested.

"It's not the old part, it's the-whatever." Sienna threw up her hands. "The point is, I don't... get you. How can you be so nice when the world's such a terrible place? There's a kid, right in front of you, maybe not even able to walk yet, sleeping with a mutt in a box in an alleyway. Why haven't you descended into outright cynicism yet?"

Kali smiled. "Somebody once said that just because they had a moral obligation to stop evil, it didn't mean they had a moral obligation to hate it. And besides," she added, kneeling down, "I'm here for her now, aren't I?"

"...yeah. Sure." Sienna took a breath. "Look. I don't know anything about kids, but... if there's anything I can do to help-"

"We're going to have to take her to the hospital to get a check-up anyway. If the doctors hold us up for too long, you can roar at them."

"Yeah, sure. Roaring. That's what I'm good at..."

* * *

 **95.33 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

Upon arrival, Penny decided that Kuroyuri was a nice place to live, when it wasn't a deserted wreck harboring only the restless memories of the dead and monsters of shadow. The people were warm and hospitable, the climate even more so, and there was even a smattering of Huntsmen and Huntresses making the rounds. Sure, many of the men and not an small number of women were of the opinion that Penny's eyes were significantly lower on her body when she first saluted them, bust still, they were quick to focus correctly.

Winter was clearly not enjoying the village quite as much. The air was agonizingly humid for one. The boys she kept running into either wanted to steal her wallet, or other articles of her person. And Qrow was nowhere to be seen! He was supposed to meet them in the village market, and Winter said as much to her guardian.

"Winter, Qrow has always been late. He's drunk, more than likely, and we can't expect him to always be on time. And why should we: we are, after all, time travelers."

Winter grumbled, a noise that carried an undercurrent and lower tone with it. Penny did a quick biometrics scan of Winter. "You have low blood sugar and are dehydrated. Shall I purchase some food for you."

Winter rolled her eyes and sniffed the air. "I have the money I need." The teenager marched through the streets, following the delicious smell of cured ham, and happened upon a butcher's cart. The butcher was gone, but his apprentice was cutting meat. It was how he was cutting the meat that revealed his identity to Winter. "Mercury!?"

"Who's asking?" Mercury said nonchalantly. He raised up his leg, a gargantuan cleaver tied to his ankle, and brought it down on a hunk of pork. The hearty thud elicited a minute but not dishonest applause from the other stall owners.

Winter stared at the silver haired boy, three years her junior, with a hint of shock. "What are you doing in Kuroyuri? Wasn't Qrow out raising you?

"He does." THUD. "I live here." Mercury untied the cleaver and set it aside, putting his legs up. "Hey... aren't you that girl that tried to adopt me? Winter, right?"

Winter handed him her card. "Winter Schnee. Attorney at large."

"A legal knight errant," Penny added as she caught up with her charge. She sniffed the pork and came as close as a robot could to drooling. "Ooh... what's in it?"

"Just some local spices. Paprika, cinnamon, lemon juice, S&P, the usual," Mercury said. He leaned in conspiratorially. "The secret ingredient is cumin."

"MERCURY!" The butcher, a large and fat Faunus with a lion's tail, shot around the corner and raced up to the belligerent boy. "What have I said about putting your grimy feet on the meat table?"

Mercury very pointedly pulled his feet down. "I was just acting cool boss. The ladies here want some meat."

The butcher looked at Winter and then at Penny, and a very red blush slipped over his face. "Ohohoh... do they now? Ma'am, I'm sure I can arrange some... minor discount. For such wonderful ladies like yourself."

Penny did a quick eye tracking test on her recent visual recordings. The results were not surprising. The butcher stared at her breasts the whole time. Penny decided she would have some fun with that. "Oh, that is wonderful. Thank you. Do you have any sausage? I will pay you a Lien for each inch."

Penny then handed the lecherous butcher a penny. "That should suffice to buy your entire sausage. And please, keep the change."

Mercury burst out laughing. Winter rolled her eyes. The Butcher was less than enthusiastic.

It was at that moment that mister tall, dark and handsome walked by. Then Qrow bumped into that guy going the other way, staggering along, piss drunk. He collapsed right on Winter. "Baaaaaaabe." He was snoring before he hit the ground.

Winter had a beowolf pick him up. "I can't believe this idiot sometimes. I go away for a few years and he ends up drunk out of his mind. Who does that."

It was at that moment that Miss An Ren staggered along, piss drunk. She collapsed right on Winter, causing the Beowulf to disperse. "Pilloooooow." She was snoring before she hit the ground.

Winter had two beowolves pick up the drunks, as Penny and Mercury chuckled at the sight of a pissed off thirteen year old. "Alright! I will be magnanimous ahead of schedule. If there are any more drunks in the town, come forth now, I will take you home."

Winter looked up the street. She looked down the street. She looked up the street again. There were no drunks. "Thank you."

It was at that moment that Miss Nora Valkyrie fell out of the sky, severely dizzy. She landed right on Winter, causing the beowolves to disperse. "Winteeeeeeer." She was snoring before she hit the ground.

Ren rounded a corner. "Father, I've found them." Li Ren followed his wayward son, and sighed at the trio of unconscious fellows.

Penny picked the three up, and at her suggestion they retired to the Ren Household, Mercury in tow. "I live there," he said when Winter asked about his residence.

Once Qrow, An and Nora were on the couch and sleeping, Winter introduced herself, Penny to Li. "It is an honor to meet you Mister Ren."

"The honor is mine," Li said. "Qrow spoke highly of you both, as has Mercury. Frankly, it is wonderful to meet such admired people." Li glanced down at Winter. "...I... merely should have expected... less."

Penny, at that moment, did a quick eye tracking test on her recent visual recordings. The results were not surprising. Li stared at her eyes the entire time. Clearly, he was devoted to An.

Winter rolled her eyes, and looked at the two. "I expected Qrow to be drunk. But An..."

Li shrugged. "She is a wily one. She and Qrow understood each other very well. Besides, she hoped she could curb his worst exploits of alcoholism."

An then reached up, grabbed her husband by the wrist, and pulled his into unauthorized cuddles. They were the best cuddles. Qrow just burped.

Winter sighed. She had come to the town of Kuroyuri to start her "rebellious teenaged crush" phase, and Qrow was not making that easy. So she just threw herself into the older man's arms. "My hero."

It was very half hearted.

* * *

 **95.34 Masterweaver**

* * *

"In all my time traversing the world, I've discovered tragedy is a constant. So I have given myself to its study, its expression. The appearance I take is merely a reflection of Remnant's HEART of DARKNESS!"

Weiss shook her head. "No no no, too angry. If you want to sell this, you've got to do more sorrowful statements. 'Remnant's heart of darkness' is way too obvious... why not 'as the moon has shattered, so too have I?'"

Winter snorted. "A bit poetic. I'm supposed to be a rebellious _teenager_ , not a playwright."

"Yes, and part of the personality is that you want so desperately to be taken seriously that you overextend into the framework you have selected. You're not merely somber, you're the very epitome of woe!" Weiss paused, glancing at Winter's outfit. "Or, uh, whatever it is you're trying to sell."

"Well, the confusion is part of the gambit, isn't it? I claim I think life is meaningless, but I'm also looking for meaning. Hence why I only dyed _half_ my hair."

"I sort of think you're over-analyzing this," Penny mused. "Most teenagers don't put words to the complex interplay of defying and developing from their family history as they attempt to find their own identity."

"Yes, well, a lack of self-awareness can lead to situations like baseline Whitley," Weiss pointed out.

"Hmm. Fair enough. Although I'm pretty sure he's very confused about himself at this point."

Winter shrugged. "It's to be expected, I'm afraid. We exposed him to looping weirdness at far too young an age."

"I'm not sure why he's channeling Kamina, of all people." Weiss glanced at her sister. "Then again, you're apparently channeling Yoko."

"I resent that! I have actual _pants!_ And a jacket!"

"I'm not sure a pair of leather sleeves connected by a single strap of fabric and a collar actually counts as a 'jacket.' How in the world are you even going to justify that?"

"I'm a terrible influence," Penny quipped brightly.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Right, right. Anyway, maybe you shouldn't go for a goth look, Winter. This feels more punk then goth."

Winter sighed. "I suppose you're right... Goth tends to be more refined anyway." She shrugged. "Well, I think I'm going to find the most obnoxious motorcycle and start riding around Mistral to beat up bandits. Penny, you in?"

"Well..." Penny mused. "Actually, I'm sort of trying to set up some things in Atlas right now. But hey, maybe you can hit up Qrow and play your super-punk persona as a tsundere teenage crush."

"...He does need to be reigned in a bit," Winter mused. "Alright. I'll keep in contact, of course."

Weiss smiled. "Of course. Oh, and if you find any evidence of Salem, let us know, alright? Cinder still wants to one-on-one her."

"I'll keep you updated. Fare you well, little sister."

Weiss waved as she strode off. "Don't get into too much trouble out there!"

Penny smiled. "You know, she really does pull off the studded pants. I never would have thought it, but-"

"The Schnee family is known for many things. Our wealth, our power, our intellect, but _especially_ our legs."

"Really." Penny quirked an eyebrow. "Your _legs._ "

"Why do you think I wear a combat skirt in baseline? It's not nearly practical coldwear!"

* * *

 **95.35 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

The road.

It was really something else, being on the road. Sure, Cinder had traveled before, and usually she had some purpose when she traveled beyond "Get to point B from A". But traveling with someone who was perfectly aware of who she was, traveling with Amber, who knew that Cinder had killed her in another life...

That was new to Cinder, and not all that unwelcome.

Amber herself was becoming quite the young woman: confident, able, calm under fire. She sort of had to be when her traveling companion and crush was a sparkly vampire that had been destined to kill her. That and the powers of the Fall Maiden made for a lethal warrior.

Lethal was what was needed after all. The two were supposedly on the trail of the premiere threat to all of mankind and Faunus, and Salem was not about to hold back when a Maiden was after her. Legions of Grimm fell out of the night like an ocean of shadows. Bandits, killers, and other terrible people came for them, promised riches by Salem and her allies. All to slay two little girls.

It had actually been the near constant attacks that had tipped Cinder off to the reason for Salem's early and supposedly fortuitous absence from her castle. Seer Grimm slinking in the shadows, Geists carefully grafted into stones and trees, burrowing beasts below the earth and minuscule Nevermores plying the skies. Amber had almost always been under surveillance, and thus, so was Cinder.

Those Grimm were not long for the world, and Cinder decided that her easy way out would ultimately have to be used. She invited Amber into her Subspace Pocket, teleported somewhere she presumed Salem would be near, dropped an antimatter bomb, and jumped into her pocket as the fuse went off. She imagined that the blast was quite impressive.

Stepping back into reality... well...

"Oh my gods..." Amber murmured as Cinder helped her step out of her Subspace Pocket and back into reality proper. The Fall Maiden's jaw was hanging somewhere around her knees due to shock. She pointed at a distant wall, a steep, sheer cliff. "Is that..."

"That is the wall of the crater, yes," Cinder admitted. She hopped a bit on the still hot ground. "We should be looking at a fairly wide and deep crater. Blast radius should have killed Salem."

"Should," Amber said.

Cinder's lips twitched and she playfully thumped Amber on the shoulder. "Should. She should be dead. She might not be. But do you really not trust me?"

Amber folded her arms, but the light grin on her lips told Cinder the truth of her feelings. "Well, considering your track record with killing Salem and large explosions..."

Cinder chuckled and coughed, something Amber matched. The large ejecta of the antimatter blast had long since landed, but the dust and ash was descending now, and would no be abating any time soon.

It was when the two had almost reached the rim of the crater that some of the rubble shifted. Cinder snapped an arm over Amber and stopped her, as Hazel heaved himself from beneath a pile of stone. The burly man caught a glimpse of the two and twitched, recognizing them instantly. "So even you survived..."

Cinder slammed her blades together, pulling an arrow from her back. "You survived. Where is Salem?"

Hazel spat into the rocks. "Burn, foolish girl. Salem will never die, and I will never speak."

Cinder lowered her bow. "Well, I won't contest that. She didn't tell you where she was going anyway."

Hazel's glare was painfully informative.

Cinder groaned. "Dammit..."

* * *

 **95.36 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...which was when the police arrived, and that just made the situation even worse." Penny rolled her eyes. "So of course, Winter decides that just then-"

She blinked as her scroll started ringing. "Sorry Ruby. I should check that."

"Not a problem!" Ruby replied, smiling innocently-an expression that worked especially well on her six-and-a-quarter year old face.

Penny quirked a suspicious eyebrow, but allowed her attention to be claimed by the device in her hands. "Hello? Oh, hello Ciel! ...I'm sorry, I'm on an island outside Vale at the moment. ...I know, I know. Maybe you could talk to Neon though?"

A frown formed on her face. "Well, you don't _have_ to, no, but I thought you were friends?" The frown deepened as she continued listening, oblivious to Ruby sneaking into the kitchen. "Yes, okay, but that-Ciel, I-Ciel... Ciel, can I-CIEL! CALM THE HECK DOWN!"

She cleared her throat.

"Look, everything you just told me about Neon is also true about me. And I think you know it. Just... what's the real problem here?"

The voice on the other end of the scroll seemed to stumble about, muttering for a bit.

"I'm not going to force you to talk," Penny assured her gently. "I'm your friend, after all. I just want to make sure you're okay. And if Neon did something, I can always-"

She blinked as the scroll went dead.

"...You know, I am so used to dealing with the logical huntress version of Ciel that I sometimes forget that she's still a kid this loop."

"Why don't you check in with Neon?" Ruby asked, hefting a stepladder. "Whatever's going on, it's probably good to get both sides."

"Yeah, you're right." Penny tapped her scroll for a bit. "Hello, Neon? Hey! Look, I just... I just had the strangest scroll conversation with Ciel, and-"

She winced at the river of vitriol that spewed from the device.

"-okay, uh... yeah. Look, what the heck is going on? The last I checked, you two were great friends, and now all of the sudden you want nothing to do with each other?"

Another short stream of rage followed, though somewhat more subdued.

"Yes, yes, we've already established how horrible Ciel is. What did she _do?"_

The response was somewhat... reluctant and annoyed.

"Oh? And what makes you think I wouldn't get it?"

A brief shout, and the scroll cut out.

Penny threw up her hands. "Oh my glitches and circuits. I'm not even asking them to talk to each other, I just want to know what the heck is going on!"

"Sounds like a right mess," Ruby agreed, casually pulling a cookie from the jar in her hands and munching.

"Yeah, I-"

Penny blinked, turning to her.

"...Um." She held up a finger. "...You know, I understand that the loops make this situation a little weird, me being both older and younger than you, and technically you can look after yourself, but... when I told your mom I could babysit, I promised not to let you get into the cookie jar."

Ruby simply grinned and, with deliberate slowness, chomped down on another cookie.

"...I'm going to have to punish you," Penny continued. "Is what I'm saying."

"Mmmhmm?"

"...Like... um. Seriously." Penny blinked. "Send you to your room or... something."

"Oh, wow." Ruby didn't stop grinning. "That sounds horrible."

"...Ruby, in all seriousness, I don't know how to handle this situation at all. I'm not exactly good at the... I mean you're the Anchor and..." Penny groaned. "Just... can you not make me look incompetent in front of your mother? Please?"

Ruby shrugged, handing her the cookie jar. "Alright, alright. You caught me and sent me to my room for a few minutes, because you are a mature and responsible artificial being."

"...You are just going to tease me about this all the time, aren't you."

"Oh, probably!"

* * *

 **95.37 Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

"Dammit, I hate Haven," Emerald grumbled to herself as she pushed through the bog. The thief apprentice hadn't expected much from the Huntsmen Academy considering what Roman and Neo had taught her. So the challenge of the Headmaster was supposed to be easy.

Leonardo Lionheart seemed to disagree. He had personally flown the sixteen prospective students out into the middle of the Kirin swamp and told them their mission. "Find the eight relics on the perimeter of the swamp and return them here. You have four hours. Go."

Of course Emerald had seen straight through the little charade. With only eight relics supposedly the students would scramble to retrieve them for themselves, and the Headmaster would disqualify those who couldn't work together. It was blatantly obvious.

Still, getting to the relic (and her prospective partner) was a hassle. Who wanted to slog through a swamp after all? Emerald didn't, certainly, and based on the utter lack of monsters attacking her, the Grimm shared her sentiment.

So Emerald had done the sensible thing and had tried to hijack the Headmaster's Bullhorn. Which sounded like a good idea. When it had flown away of it's own accord, the Headmaster frantically trying to follow it, Emerald decided that it wasn't a good idea.

Hence the slog. Not that Emerald was a total moron. When the trees in the swamp were close enough she used her Ballistic Falx to swing from branch to branch, but when the flora thinned to the point where even her chains couldn't reach, the result was the slog.

It was a hard drive, made worse by the mist, the moss, and the occasional bone. Older and smarter Grimm had a bad tendency to leave certain parts of their victims uneaten, to terrify passersby and give the Grimm another edge. Combine that with the overall spooky atmosphere, and the Grimm essentially had radar.

Emerald wasn't afraid. She imagined if she told herself that frequently enough, it would be true. Based on how she had yet to meet a Grimm, it seemed to be working.

Still, she had to be on her toes. She never knew when fate would turn against her (according to Roman at least). At any time her luck would run out, and then-

Emerald stopped dead in the middle of the swamp. Her head twitched. She cocked an ear out. Something was screaming in the distance... and GETTING CLOS-

Something faceplanted into her back hard. Based on the timber of the voice, it was humanoid. And male.

"AAAAAAAH oh I stopped falling. Ah... yep, that worked out. Thanks mint chocolate, you make a great cushion."

Emerald had gone face first into the muck, and her assailant's nonchalance was pissing her off. "Do you have any idea who you just landed on?" She heaved herself from the marsh and splashed water on her face to clear out the grime. "I am Emerald Sustrai, trained by crime lords and shadow killers, who-"

The preplanned spiel came apart when she saw the laid back and eyebrow-half-cocked visage of the young man who had used her as an airbag. "Hmm. Emerald. Qrow told me about you."

Emerald glowered at the boy. "Mercury, wasn't it? Roman had a few words for you," she spat.

"Do they go something like 'Mercury is a badass'?" Mercury asked mockingly. The teen sat on a log and dragged one leg from the swampbottom with a wet sucking sound. The small gauntlet came off and got dunked into the cleaner water, Mercury politely giving Emerald an eyeful of his flesh and blood ankles. "So, you know about the Loops or something?"

Emerald continued to glare at Mercury, but she sat down next to him anyway. "Yeah. Torchwick told me about the whole time travel mess we're tied up in. And about my future team."

"Let me guess, he told you Cinder was psychotic, Neo was crazy, and I was an asshole."

"He did one better. He showed me the tapes."

Mercury paused his weapon cleaning and nodded after considering Emerald's comment. "Yeah, Qrow gave me the same treatment. After he got me out of my dad's home," he added.

Emerald glared at the empty swamp she had been traversing. She was still angry, but her conscience was telling her to not be angry at Mercury. "So why did you-"

"Land on you? Eh, lucked out." Mercury switched legs and hauled his other foot from the mired ground. "I have enough cartridges to cross this bog on gauntlet and tree. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Emerald cast a short side glance at Mercury, sizing him up. He definitely seemed honest, controlled and sane, a far cry from the sociopath that she had or was going to work with according to Roman's movies. In fact, he seemed sort of normal.

Emerald let herself think back to the day Roman had found her, having just crawled out of a dumpster for food. His disgust had been palpable and she had been sure he would beat her with his cane. So his immediate collection of her and her affects and transportation to the finest restaurant in Vale had been odd, but not unwelcome.

Roman had been honest and upfront about his intentions. He was going to raise her as his apprentice, keep her safe and help her become a better thief. In exchange, all she needed to do was give him a sizable cut after every heist.

The years had passed, she had grown skilled and able. He taught her a fraction of what he knew, and she learned as well as she could. Neo had come to them from a small box, and Roman had fawned over her. Emerald hadn't been more than a bit jealous of her, and when she had the chance demanded an explanation for Roman's gentleness to Neo.

Roman had shown her the videos of herself, and Cinder, and RWBY. He had told her about the Loops. He walked her through his Subspace Pocket, and Neo gave her a gander as well.

The wall of Amber had been a... startling sight, to say the least.

The plans were handed down over time. Qrow showed up on occasion, and mentioned raising Mercury as his son. The old drunk had been alright in Emerald's book.

She met a few other Loopers: Winter, barely a few years older than her. Penny, a busty woman that had given Emerald such a shock that she had needed a blood transfusion. Yang had dropped by and had spoken to her, and consoled her for the things she had done.

The plan now, ultimately, had been to make it to Haven Academy and enroll. Roman had sent her on her merry way, and when the paperwork was all submitted and checked and rechecked, Emerald was brought aboard a grand airship that soared over Mistral, to Haven Academy.

One night, one flight, and one trek through a bog later, brought Emerald to the log she sat on, and her partner. Mercury finished cleaning his boots and stood atop the log to keep them from sinking into the mud below. "So, Emerald. What's our plan from here on out?"

Emerald stood up next to Mercury, drawing her Ballistic Falx. "Well, my plan has a few steps. Try and keep up."

She gauged the distance to the nearest grove of trees and shot a chain to the trunk of a sturdy looking old willow. She tightened her grip and made the distance, swinging from one tree to the next. She cleared the grove, somersaulted in midair, braced for the landing, and was caught across the shoulders by a flying Mercury.

His larger body carried them further forward, and for a moment Emerald was certain he would bring them crashing into the distant grove further ahead. She then remembered that that was what she wanted. Another chain out, and Emerald and Mercury were on their way.

This pattern, of Mercury using his gauntlets to partially cross the distance between tree islands and Emerald using her chains to finish the gap. It was a solid rhythm, and years of combat experience under their teachers soon coalesced into a hard won victory. They reached the edge of the swamp in record time, and beheld their target.

A Minotaur. It was big, mean, chained to a massive stone pillar, and wearing a large gold medallion around it's neck. Emerald and Mercury shared a glance from the tree they were perched in, and saw the other was in agreement. That was the relic.

Mercury switched the load of his gun from Air Dust to Lightning. "Alright. You're my long range cover. If I fall, hook me up and reel me in. Fire on the bastard."

"Go for the legs. I don't like how it's pulling on that chain. It could snap." Emerald drew her other gun and reloaded for a full clip of Ice Dust. "On three."

"Two," Mercury said, bracing his feet against the tree branch.

"One." Emerald and Mercury took a deep breath...

"Now!"

BOOM! A bolt from the heavens descended. It fried the Minotaur in a microsecond.

Emerald jerked forward. Mercury half leapt and fell into the mud. A young woman in an orange rider's outfit hopped out from behind a clump of reeds and grabbed the medallion from the dissolving Grimm. "Mine. Sorry."

Emerald's tongue failed her, as she witnessed the nonchalant kill steal, and once she recognized the girl. "A-Amber!?"

Amber looked at the pair of students she had upstaged and dropped the medallion. "Oh my... GODS! IT'S EMERALD AND MERCURY! CINDER! CINDER!"

Another patch of reeds shifted and a young woman in an immaculate red dress peeled herself from the foliage. Emerald's jaw dropped as she beheld the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. The woman spoke. "Well, would you look at that. It is them."

Mercury hauled himself to his feet. "Hey. Looks like we all got the relic."

Amber slipped her relic into her pocket. "Um, no. It's our relic."

Emerald scrambled down from her tree. "I'm sorry, no. That's our relic. We were here first."

To all that Cinder scoffed. "Children, please. There's no need to fight. We're all on the same team here."

Cinder swept her arm past the trio before her, encompassing Amber, Mercury, and Emerald. "We've met here, in the light of and by the will of destiny. We shall be a team, team-"

"CAME," Mercury said. Cinder balked. Emerald stared at the foul mouthed boy. Amber snickered.

Cinder took a deep breath and regained her composure. "No Mercury. We, together, are team CrEAM."

For a moment, the only noise was the popping of the bog, as Amber, Emerald and Mercury stared at Cinder. Cinder choked on empty air. "I mean... fuck it, we'll think up a new name later. For now, we're a team. Let's go."

* * *

 **95.38 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Weiss! It's good to see you! And Penny, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Ruby reached out and hugged her friends, dragging them into the house. "How are things with the two of you?"

"Well, I'm still trying to get Ciel and Neon together," Penny replied. "I mean, they're both crushing on me... for some reason..."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "You knew when you chose that frame that there would be consequences."

"I mean, yes, I did sort of expect to get looks, but these two have been crushing on me since they were kids and-"

Ruby cleared her throat. "SO. Anyway. Maybe, uh, video games. Video games sound fun, right?"

Weiss and Penny shared an amused glance as Ruby set up a fighting game from some science fantasy loop.

"So, Weiss, are things with Whitley going alright or what?"

"Oh, Whitley's... well, he's certainly gone all out this loop." Weiss walked over to the couch. "He's taken up singing, I believe."

"Oh, really?" Ruby grinned, sitting down next to her. "I guess he looks up to his cool big sis."

"Yes, yes. It's... nice, to be honest. Mother is of course worried that he'll be swamped by girls when he turns teen-I suppose Winter and I didn't exactly help her worries there."

Ruby laughed, a little too high. "Wow. Really?"

"Winter and Qrow's 'sudden relationship' stunned a lot of people," Penny reminded her, taking a position opposite Weiss. "And Weiss, well..."

"I assure you, the rumors about me and that bandit tribe are entirely exaggerated." Weiss examined her hand. "It's simply that the public cannot believe a Schnee sibling wouldn't do something ridiculous, this loop."

"Leaving them bound and gagged in front of a brothel kind of sends a message," Penny pointed out.

"I suppose, I suppose."

Ruby groaned. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'm a prude, no need to tease me."

"But it's ever so much fun," Weiss replied innocently.

"You know what's more fun? Video games." Ruby pulled out her scroll. "Come on, this allows a three-for-all!"

"Speaking of three-for-alls, should we expect your parents downstairs anytime soon?"

"Weeeeeeiss," Ruby whined.

"Now, Weiss," Penny admonished, "you know how embarrassed Ruby gets when we reference her parents' active and extremely adventurous sex life."

Ruby's face went pink. "Um, thank you Penny, but-"

"And I'm sure she doesn't want us to mention the fact that Blake and Yang are taking advantage of each other's recent developments in another upstairs bedroom," she continued, "even though we all know it."

Now Ruby's face was as red as both her namesakes. "Penny, you're doing this on purpose."

"Doing what?" Penny asked curiously. "All I'm saying is that it is incredibly rude to reference the salacious and intimate activities your loved ones are engaged in not fifty feet away from our position."

Ruby dissolved in sheer humiliation, flustered chibis hiding in the couch cushions and underneath the furniture.

Weiss chuckled. "Alright, alright. We'll stop."

"Liar!" squeaked a number of the chibis.

* * *

 **95.39 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Okay." Neon took a breath. "So, we're agreed."

"Yes." Ciel nodded. "Together."

"...Hey, uh... even though we're rivals in this thing, I just... just want to wish you good luck, alright?"

"Yes. Well. Good fortune to you as well. And... no matter the result, let us try to remain friends."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"...So. In we go?"

"Right. Best to get this over with as quickly as possible..."

Simultaneously they turned to the door, Ciel absently putting her hand on the scanner, and stepped through as it slid open. Neon opened her mouth to speak-

-and froze.

"Ah." Penny glanced up. "I knew I forgot something." She took in their expressions. "Oh, right. You didn't know... this is a little awkward, then."

Neon stared. "A little... I'm sorry. Penny, I am trying not to freak out here, but, um... Well-"

"What _happened_ to you?!" Ciel cried.

"Oh. Well. Nothing."

"Nothing?! You-you're..." Ciel gestured widely. "You've got-your arm is over there, and, and your body is opened and there are wires and-"

"I was just doing maintenance. Fairly routine."

Neon nudged Ciel forcefully. "Well. Do... you want us to go while you work on your, uh... surprisingly integrated prosthetics?"

"Oh, this isn't prosthetic," Penny explained. "I'm an artificial person. Part of a project to see if an artificial aura could be made... that's _technically_ top secret but, well." Her detached arm gestured at the technology on the table. "You've seen it already. So..."

"Right." Neon nodded, grabbing the still gaping Ciel. "Excuse us a second."

She dragged the other girl next to a potted plant, where she turned. "Okay, this is way out of left field, right?"

"I... she's... all over." Ciel shook her head, managing to focus on Neon. "Miss Katt, this is... I mean, I suppose I can understand why this would be kept secret-"

"Right. So. Penny is, apparently, a robot. Does this... like... change anything, do you think?"

Ciel blinked. "What?"

"I mean, about, you know... the... stuff. We talked about."

Slowly, Ciel looked down. "I... do not think so. There are many factors that go into attraction, after all. This just means that certain... aspects of a relationship with Penny would be different than the norm."

"Right. Right." Neon paused. "Unless, you know, she... isn't capable of that sort of connection."

Ciel blinked. "I... think she has to be? She has an aura, and therefore a soul, and-"

"You're right, I'm overcomplicating things." Neon shook her head. "Right. So, should we leave and come back to do this later or-"

"I can hear you two," Penny said. "Like I said, this is routine maintenance. I should be done in a few minutes."

"Of... course." Ciel took a breath, turning around and forcing herself not to wince. "I apologize for my poor reaction, I simply... was not expecting... this."

"Do not worry, I've studied plenty of psychology texts. I'm not offended." Penny reattached her arm. "This is pretty far out of the ordinary."

"Yes. Quite." Ciel cleared her throat. "I... we, ah... hoped for a moment of your time to... clarify an issue we've been having for a while."

"Yes?"

Neon took a breath. "It's like this, Penny... do you have any romantic feelings? For either of us?"

Penny sighed. "No."

"...No?"

"No." Penny glanced up. "Frankly, I had assumed you were attracted to each other."

Ciel and Neon shared a look.

"So... just no," Neon said.

"Just no. I apologize if I gave off any suggestion I was enamored of you romantically. I do consider you good friends, and I know that having hopes cut off like that is harsh, but..." Penny stuffed the last of her wires back into herself, folding her torso shut. "While I am not opposed to the idea of a relationship, I do not feel it is something I am in a position to explore at this time."

"...All right." Ciel nodded. "Thank you for your honesty."

The room was awkwardly silent for a few moments.

"So!" Neon clapped her hands together. "I'm feeling surprisingly relaxed, I thought that would be a lot tougher but now I just feel like... I don't know... doing something."

"Well, Winter is coming over in a few minutes with her boyfriend," Penny mused. "We're planning to take control of the SDC from her father."

Ciel rolled her eyes. "Schnee dramatics. I suppose joining in might be entertaining."

"Yeah, hey, that does sound like fun," Neon agreed. "You hear what the Skyborn Trio did with that racist mine owner down in Mistral?"

"I'm afraid I haven't caught that bit of news yet."

"See, they'd somehow managed to get this big beach ball, like the size of a house big, and fill it with gummy worms..."

* * *

 **95.40 Masterweaver**

* * *

"So..." Summer poked at her breakfast. "The girls are off at Beacon."

Taiyang nodded. "Yep."

"So... we've got... a little over the year before the loop ends."

Raven sighed. "Just... say what you're thinking."

"...it just feels more real now. Knowing that I'm going to... vanish. I couldn't see it before but now, it's on the horizon." Summer bit her lip. "I mean, I know I'm usually peppy and all that, but this is kind of... terrifying, you know?"

"Not vanish." Raven shook her head. "This is all being filed away. When the loops end-"

"Oh, so I'll just be in stasis next to forever while you and everyone else goes on living and growing and-!" Summer took a breath. "I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to snap, it's just... this is going to end, you know. And even if you do remember to come back after an eternity, I..."

She trailed off.

Taiyang put down his own fork. "We're not going to forget you, Summer. We never did, not even before we started looping."

"But that's the thing, isn't it? I'm... loop variable."

"Summer-"

"I am, aren't I?" Her gaze, slightly watery, met his. "Don't lie to me."

"...You're a member of our team," Raven said slowly. "Usually the leader. And you help Taiyang raise two wonderful girls. And you die. You're not... nearly as unstable as I am."

"But that's... still so vague. Who I am now, or even who I was back then. That's going to change." Summer rubbed her eyes. "I might be some idiot who doesn't ever realize you were from a bandit tribe, or, or I could be some genius with an antisocial shell you have to break, or maybe I don't actually love Tai and just stick around to support him after you leave or-"

"-it doesn't matter," Taiyang assured her. "Here, now, you are who _you_ are. Not any of those other Summers. You're this version of you. And we'll remember that."

"This version of me." Summer gripped the table. "This version of me... this version that loves you both, that-that supported Yang when she went after Blake, that baked all those cookies for Ruby and fretted over when she would start looping-this me. I'm not going to be coming back, am I?"

"You're not looping, no."

Taiyang frowned at Raven. "You don't have to be so blunt."

"I don't coddle. You know that." Raven's eyes fell. "Besides... I'd rather we dealt with this now, while we still can. I... don't want to miss an opportunity."

Summer managed a weak chuckle. "Let it go, Tai, you know that's how she shows affection."

Taiyang took a breath. "Summer... I... I don't know. We all knew, going into-no," he corrected himself, "this isn't about all of us. This is about you. You're the one who..."

He trailed off.

"...I'm not sure what the worst part is." Summer looked at her plate. "That I can't do anything to change it. That it's not going to hurt, physically. I won't even know-I mean, you'll tell me, and I'll anticipate and... what? Will it just pass... will you suddenly not be your looping selves... or will you be you but from the future? Gods. Sometimes I wish Ozpin hadn't-no."

She shook her head. "I don't. It would be easier, but I think this was worth it."

Raven blinked. "You're... sure about that?"

"Yeah. I... this was worth it." Summer took a steadying breath. "Still, the existential dread is kind of a big deal. Maybe we should talk about how to avoid it next time."

Taiyang and Raven shared a look.

"I know that look. That's the 'we don't want to weird out Summer with weird loop mechanics' look."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Summer, you know the loop usually starts with you dead and me with the tribe."

"Right, right, and you can keep doing whatever you do during that, but if there's a variant where I'm alive-"

"This is the usual time the loop starts," Raven pointed out. "If you are alive and the loop starts now, you're already going to be married to Tai-unless it's one of those weird variants where you're actually off somewhere for some magic reason and let everyone think you were dead."

"Yeah." Taiyang frowned. "If that turns out to be baseline-"

"You have my absolute permission to yell at my idiot hideaway self," Summer assured him. "Both of you. All of you. All you loopers. I don't know how I'd react if I found that out."

"It could be you're amnesiac, or didn't have a choice-"

Raven held up a hand. "We're getting off topic. The point is, if the loop starts and you're alive, it's probably going to be at a point where you're already... here. With Tai. So, no explaining will be necessary."

Summer, slowly, nodded. "...I guess I can see what you mean, if you manage to act well enough to keep it a secret from me-"

"No, it's because Ruby will tell you," Tai corrected. "She really does enjoy the times where... you know."

"Oh. She... she does?"

"Since before we even started looping," Raven confirmed. "Grimm, since before Qrow started looping. I wouldn't be surprised if she told you the first time you cropped up."

"Huh." Summer sniffed, a small smile on her face. "That... actually makes me feel better. In a weird way..."

She trailed off for a moment.

"...S-So. The big issue, if I'm seeing it, is if you two wake up really early. Or, um, only one of you." Summer clapped her hands together. "Because the big thing was this whole love triangle and Yang's conception and wow I'm actually talking about this. This is a thing that-anyway. If you wake up that early again-"

"You're a better parent then I am," Raven replied simply. "The way I see it, staying out of the way-"

"Is not an option," Summer said firmly. "Because first of all, whatever the hell you screwed up in baseline you didn't do it here, and I expect you not to do it any time you wake up early enough to not do it."

"Summer-"

"Team leader, I set the rules."

Taiyang smirked. "She does have a point, Rae."

Raven threw up her hands. "Look, I agreed to this because-well, frankly, you got a memo from the future. If we wake up that early again we're not going to tell you about the loops."

Summer blinked. "You... won't?"

"Telling an adult about a broken reality is a lot better than telling a teenager. Ruby can pass the message along whenever she comes along."

Taiyang winced. "I hate to say it, but looking what happened to Whitley this loop... And Amber, actually. Yeah, you'd probably be better mentally prepared if it was Ruby who told you in the future."

Summer rolled her eyes. "I'd also probably be super pissed that you hid something like that for most of our life."

"It's not an argument I'd look forward to, but..." Taiyang rubbed his brow. "Maybe when we get married... or sometime before."

"So I'll step back and-"

Summer cut Raven off quickly. "Second problem: Yang."

Raven sighed. "Look, Yang... I know we're letting ourselves have the mother-daughter relationship this loop, but you've got to understand-"

"We are talking, specifically, about loops where we wake up before the births of our daughters." Summer pointed at her. "You, specifically, have a responsibility to make sure Yang exists, even if you decide to run off later."

"...I thought you said you didn't want me to repeat the mistakes of baseline when I didn't need to."

"Well, I'll admit there will be occasions where you're Awake and Tai isn't. And on those occasions, Ruby will need to exist, being the Anchor. If the local iteration of me isn't comfortable with triads, that means you will have to remove yourself, at least temporarily."

Tai coughed. "Well, um. There are variants where Qrow is actually Ruby's dad..."

Summer froze, her face screwing up in a strange mix of contemplation, horror, and amusement. "...Okay. Absolute worst-case scenario. That is the final option."

Raven smirked. "What, do you think my twin is hot or not?"

"There is no possible right answer to that question. Anyway. Should either of you wake up in our Beacon days, your options are triad, baseline make-and-break, or shack me up with Qrow, in order of preference. Agreed?"

The other two shared a look.

"...I can't say I'm opposed to this plan," Taiyang admitted.

"It's probably the best option we've got," Raven allowed. "But if I wake up with my tribe, I'm staying there."

"...I guess that's fair." Summer sagged in her chair. "You know, that's... actually talking about this really helps. I..."

She stared at her breakfast.

"...I just... I know this is probably incredible for you. I don't want you to look back on this in sadness. Or, whatever. I just... needed to get that off my chest."

"...Well," Taiyang replied, "the loop's not over yet."

"I hear there's a new Spruce Willis film out." Raven shrugged. "Why don't we go see that this afternoon."

"...That sounds like fun." Summer took a breath and started cutting into her waffles. "So, anyway. You would not believe the whopper that I heard on the docks..."

* * *

 **95.41 Masterweaver, Leviticus Wilkes**

* * *

Mercury Black (though if he was feeling cheeky or emotional it was Mercury Branwen) didn't really like thinking about his dad all that much. Marcus Black was a violent bastard with a drunk streak and a penchant for blaming the death of his wife on Mercury. The problem for Mercury was that "violent bastard with a crazy streak" also applied to Tyrian Callows, and Callows was nuts.

So when Cinder Fall and Amber showed up at Haven Academy and tried to pull a recruitment on him and Emerald, Mercury has been beyond skeptical, a trait shared with Emerald. But then Cinder and Amber had started pulling out the moral cards: "Oh how terrible will it be if Salem runs rampant!? How many tragic deaths will there be before she is stopped!? Oh how-"

At which point Mercury and Emerald shut down the drama queens and said yes.

The walked out of Haven and hit the road, and damn if that hadn't been something. Nearly a year, marching from the frozen wastes of Solitas to the burning heat of western Saunas, and the reaching pines of Vale and the sweeping rainstorms of Mistral. Seeing sights most couldn't dream of, meeting people that at times seemed to spring from Legend. Sun Wukong, the hero of Vacuo. Ghira and Kali Belladonna, the founders of the White Fang. Even Headmaster Ozpin dropped by, the old wizard sharing a cup of black coffee with him and the awestruck Emerald.

And to him and Emerald, who knew the truths behind the Loops and Remnant, well... it was like something of a religious experience. Mercury had to make sure he was awake when Ozpin left: it would be like him to dream something like that.

But slowly they began to circle in on their target. Salem, with Watts and Tyrian, slipping unseen and unnoticed through Southern Anima. The real hunt was beginning, and time was running out. The lot of them were scheduled for a year long party to celebrate a Loop gone well, and dammit if Mercury didn't want to bring Qrow something that said 'we got Salem!'

So to that end, he, Amber, Cinder and Emerald has set out into a small but dense wooded valley, moving with care and stealth. Through the dappled light of the high trees, Mercury crept along, eyes open to the potential signs of travelers. It was when he was fording a small stream that he noticed the boot print.

"Quicks to Corpse, do you read? Over."

 _"Yes, yes, I hear you."_

"Found some tracks. Looks like a mouse."

 _"Right. Which one's the mouse again?"_

Mercury rolled his eyes. "The one that plays with the cat."

 _"Oh! Yeah, that one. Why are we even using these codephrases, anyway? It's not like we need them."_

"Talk to Terror about that. I'll be following these roots, I think I'll leave Rocks behind."

 _"I have no idea what you just said."_

Mercury rubbed his forehead. "Just... just repeat what I said to Terror, alright?"

 _"Fine, fine. Tell me when you catch sight of the... mouse, I guess. Corpse out."_

With a snort, the silver-haired man continued walking through the woods. Some things, he mused, even the loops couldn't explain.

* * *

Amber had grown up with Cinder Fall, essentially, defining her world. The woman had saved her as a child after her family was slaughtered and, through an odd series of circumstances, ended up as her guardian in basically every sense of the word. Legal, practical, poetic... it was hardly any wonder that Amber had become enamored of the beguiling woman, even after she revealed that she'd killed her in baseline. Everything about her identity was tied up in her relationship with the looper-it was through her that she met what few people she would consider to be her friends...

It wasn't healthy, perhaps. But with all she had known thrown out... Cinder had become the point of fixation in her life. An ironic reversal, perhaps, of what had happened so many loops ago.

Amber wasn't stupid. She knew Cinder only cared for her in passing; a reflection of a ghost that would vanish and never return at the final tick of the clock. She'd been surprised when Emerald had acted jealous toward her-as though only one woman, one scrap, could satisfy her sexy vampire guardian, as though she had laid claim to the unclaimable. She'd taken the green-haired woman aside, pointed out she was dead in baseline-that Emerald, herself, was far more important then she was. The two had come to an understanding after that, regarding their team leader, and Emerald had... softened, somewhat.

Was it wrong, that Amber worshiped the woman who should have slain her? Yes. She knew, from all the looper's efforts, Cinder's own included, that she was not acting in a sane and rational manner. But, well... this was her life. Her only life. She heard plenty of stories of times when the loopers had, through some breaking of the afterlife or early awakening, rescued Summer Rose from her destined demise. It was a rarity, relatively speaking, but one they enjoyed. But for Amber, the girl in the pod...

...always in the pod. She was saved or, far far more often, she died beneath Beacon's tower. Almost never did she have anything before.

This was her life. Her only life. She knew she was far less likely to start looping than Summer, even though she was more alive at the proper time. So she intended to take this brief chance that Fate afforded her, this chance that _Cinder_ afforded her, and live it to the fullest.

Which would have been so much easier if they weren't, again, trekking through a forest as they searched, again, for Cinder's chosen target who had, again, evaded her notice.

"It's either a possession variant," Cinder mused, "or a regeneration variant. That's the only way she could have survived an antimatter bomb-well, the only way she could have done it undetected."

"Of course," Amber replied, following after her and shoving a branch out of the way. "Possession or regeneration. So, we either need to catch her ghost or, I don't know, burn her body? Does she have spare bodies?"

"...She might," Cinder mused. "That's actually incredibly rare, but... We're going to have to catch her and restrain her. Work on her while she's still alive, just to figure out how to kill her permanently."

"Sounds like fun. Do I get a scalpel?"

The vampire gave her a look. "I remember the last time you got your hands on a scalpel."

"Hey, come on! Nobody died! And they did sign the waivers." Amber rolled her eyes, shifting another pile of leaves out of the way. "Besides, I thought you had fun with that."

Cinder chuckled darkly. "Well, yes, it was fairly interesting to see what the desperate would agree to. But unfortunately, those talents will have to be applied very differently here."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Still, I kind of liked having the scalpel."

"Were you this bloodthirsty in baseline?"

Amber snorted. "Asked the vampire."

"Yes, yes, I'm a terrible influence, mwahaha." Cinder paused, glancing at a gouged out tree.

"...Not Ursai," Amber mused. "Same size claws, but not the right pattern." She gave Cinder a look. "Custom Grimm?"

"Most likely." Cinder grinned. "I think we're closing in on her."

Amber grinned back. "Right, then. Lead on, sexy."

* * *

Emerald had spent way too much time around Roman and Neo, she knew that. Roman had taught her the many, many ways of the larcenous arts he practiced, and Neo was either stuffing her with heavenly sweets or trying to show her the best way to disembowel Grimm. Neither had to have been good for her mental health. Still though, she had been clothed and fed and given a warm bed, and that was such a giant step up from the dumpster that she had crawled out of that Emerald was prepared to do the dirty work for Roman Torchwick, Vale's premier crime lord. It was either that, or enroll in a Huntsmen Academy, and fuck that shit.

And then, he'd told her to head to Haven anyway. When she protested, he pointed out that he was allowing her to get out from his control and steal from the greatest prey of all: Huntsmen and Huntresses. And then, she had ended up on a team with Mercury, Cinder, and _Amber_ of all people.

It could have been just the tree's sense of humor. Or it could have been coordinated. She could never get a straight answer from any of the loopers.

Still, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Cinder was... well, not kind, exactly. Understanding, more like. She let her practice her thievery, got her better clothes, and managed to play her so well that she wouldn't realize she had been manipulated until a week later. The first few times she figured it out, she was annoyed, especially since Cinder never apologized. But...

Well...

Emerald had at one point tried to find out where Cinder was buying her clothes, only to find they were hand-crafted. She'd tried to steal from Leo Lionheart and almost got caught, but Cinder had happened to distract the professor long enough for her to escape. And whenever Emerald tried to confront the woman about being used, Cinder had seemed pleased she'd noticed, assessing her arguments and praising her ingenuity, and Emerald had walked out confusingly happy... well, until she realized she had been manipulated again, and then she had simply sighed.

Cinder Fall, Emerald realized, was a seductress. Amoral, enticing, commanding. And Emerald... well, Emerald was her favored pawn, in the loops. She'd never stood a chance.

And yet... she found that despite her frustrations, Cinder made her life too interesting to give up. So... she'd stuck around. Followed her on her mad journey. Decided to watch her, maybe find a way to have her own legend.

Which left Emerald in the rather odd position of hunting down a Grimm shaped like a woman. An unenviable task, she knew. Still, it could have been worse.

" _Bzzzt. This is Quicks to Rocks. Quicks to Rocks. Do you read? Over."_

Emerald sighed and fingered the small wire in her ear, slipping up against one of the many millions of trees that made up Remnant's enormous forests. "Rocks to Quicks. I read. Still no sign."

" _Same. Squirrels and rabbits and mice."_

Emerald started and bolted west. "Position!" she hissed into the mic. Squirrels, rabbits and mice were the codewords for the targets.

" _Gyah!"_ Mercury made an exaggerated noise. _"Damn Roots."_ Damn: West. Roots: South. South west. _"Nearly tripped me."_ Tripped: three hundred feet.

Emerald's pistols unfolded and she sprung into the trees, leaping from branch to branch at full speed. There was no way in hell she would let this get away from her.

Finding the last foes of Remnant... that would be enough to get the loopers' attention. And if they remembered this fondly...

It wasn't likely that this version of Emerald would loop. But it could lead to another one being promoted from just a pawn.

* * *

A familiar coolness began to envelop Cinder as she moved through the trees, a sense from before the time Salem had existed, from before she held a fragment of the Fall Maiden's power, from before even the Vytal festival had at last arrived in Vale. The other loopers could detect Grimm, of course, but her ever-fluctuating past had gifted her with the ability to _feel_ them as they moved, their void of being easily locked onto.

Her teeth flashed as she moved through the woods, ear to her headpiece. "Terror to Rocks, give the squirrel a surprise party... and invite the mouse."

 _"Not the rabbit?"_

"Rabbit needs to be caught to be skinned. I'm the one with the equipment."

Emerald sighed. _"Understood. I'll see what I can do."_

"You know, that would probably sound more badass if I could remember this crazy code you whipped up," Amber quipped.

Cinder rolled her eyes, tapping her forehead. "Rocks throws mean parties."

"...Ooooooh right! That! Okay, yeah." Amber shrugged. "Seriously, why do we have this code?"

"A combination of paranoia and boredom. Of course, it's only paranoia if you're wrong. On your left."

Amber whirled and set fire to some sort of mega-badger Grimm. "Yeah, that's a new one! You want to help?"

"I'm hunting rabbits, remember?"

"Alright, fine! What am I supposed to do, then?"

Cinder turned to her with a feral grin. "Today, you finally get to cut loose."

Amber blinked. Then, slowly, her own smirk grew dangerous. "Well, it's about time!" Her eyes glowing, she turned back to the trees and the shadows crawling between them. "Come on, beasties, let's make a legend!"

The looper nodded, turning back to her own walk. She'd wanted a challenge, and she had gotten it. And now the end was in sight.

That final thrill, that final spike before the climax... Cinder loved it.

* * *

Salem was not capable of desperation, or nervousness, or imbalance.

Her mind, such as it was, could be frustrated. It could wonder, for lack of knowledge or for sudden revelation. It could conceptualize abstraction, predict personality. But even when control was stripped away, the thoughts would whirl about how to manipulate the situation, how to return stronger, how to use the failing to advantage.

And yet...

A maddened Tyrian had suddenly lunged on Watts, killing the man with his stinger as he saw something that was not there. Then he had been taken out quickly by a Huntsman, who himself had dodged her assaults. A huntress, his partner maybe, was swinging behind her-Dust making great earthen walls. The forest suddenly went in flames, and she felt her brothers perish-images, brief, of the fall maiden coming forward.

It was the glittering one that arrived. The one that had destroyed two prior bases, each with massive explosions. She had been a thorn ever since she appeared, a mystery that wanted claim to her power, taunting her to grow stronger. This did not feel like Ozpin's manipulations; it was more the madness that had, slowly, begun to spread as strange things appeared.

"You are not from this world, are you?"

The glittering one laughed. "You really do have a low opinion of humanity, don't you? Anything that can beat you, it can't be from us."

"Your magics are strange and your arrival coincides with the breaking of norms across the world." Salem inclined her head. "Do not think I have not noticed."

"It's tempting to beat you with just baseline skills," the glittering one mused. "So very tempting, but... well, too much has been revealed for that to work, I think. So, I'm just going to completely destroy you."

Salem nodded. "Very well." She held her arms wide. "Bring forth your weaponry."

"Oh, no. The guns and bombs didn't work before. This time... this time you get the chains."

And for the first time in her long existence... Salem felt something that could have been fear.

* * *

"...Hmm." Ozpin considered the creature before him. "I suppose Salem's defeat has interesting consequences."

"Yeah." Ruby leaned on her scythe. "It's loop variable, but this happens sometimes. Keystone army and all that."

The beowolf continued to bump into the tree, oblivious to its presence and their own.

"I do believe this will make cleanup much easier," Ozpin mused. "Although, of course, people will ask questions."

"Well, let them. We're kicking off a year-long party on saturday anyway." Ruby shrugged. "Might be fun to have some grimm-riding events, if we can figure out how to saddle these things."

She poked the shadow monster with Crescent Rose. In response, it turned, very slightly, and walked past the tree... only to begin repeatedly bumping into a boulder.

"This loop has certainly been interesting," Ozpin noted, sipping his coffee. "You've taken plenty of pictures, I assume?"

"Oh, yeah. And I think there will be dozens more..."

The two of them walked out of Emerald forest, past the hordes of Grimm that were mindlessly bumping into the geography, and into a celebration that would span Remnant. Again.

* * *

 **95.42 Flametusk**

* * *

"Scientists are still wondering how the moon got put back together, and how a select group of people have managed to put messages on it. Attempts to speak to some of the people responsible for this have been met with the following responses."

* * *

"Mr. Wukong. What do you have to say about your message on the moon?"

"Well, today's a special day, I mean-" At this point, the camera was covered in some sort of bright red goo.

"Ruby! Why'd you have to drop some of yourself from orbit?" Sun's voice could be heard, as the goo somehow peeled itself off of the camera, and formed itself into said reaper.

"You mean I missed? I thought I positioned the giant space corgi made of me perfectly!"

* * *

"Ah, yes. I suppose I just wanted to make a statement." The dog with the sophisticated voice said.

"What sort of statement could be made from pinning a Grimm dragon to the moon, and having it bite its tail, Mr. Zwei?"

"Please, Mr. Zwei makes me feel older than my billion years. Just call me Zwei. I am a dog, after all. And don't dogs just like to chase their tails? Some super glue and duct tape, and Kevin is just a reminder that canines aren't to be forgotten in a Multiverse with talking, non-evil dragons, or person-sized exploding plants. Besides, I haven't really left my mark on the world, so why not mark my territory on the moon with one of my kills?"

"You realize the dragon is still alive, right? Just immobile and trapped?"

"Don't worry my dear reporter. I'll fix that oversight shortly. Besides, Weiss already made a big statement with the Mansion Mech eleven years ago, so I wanted to try out doing her."

* * *

"We have just received reports that the dragon pinned to the moon is no longer struggling against its bonds after the silver flash five minutes ago."

* * *

 **95.43 Masterweaver**

* * *

"Well, girls, I've got to say, you sure know how to throw a party."

Yang laughed, wrapping an arm around Summer's shoulders. "Yeah, we don't usually do this, but when we feel the need we go all out!"

"Not _all_ out," Ruby assured her, tapping her glass. "Milk. No alcohol."

Summer half smiled, rolling her eyes. "It's good to know at least _one_ of my girls is responsible."

"Hey!" Yang protested. "I resemble that remark!"

Ruby giggled for a moment, before letting out a slow breath. "So. I know none of us want to say it, but... we've got one day left before the loop ends. So... is there anything you want to do, mom?"

Summer opened her mouth, paused, and cleared her throat. "Well, hmm. All the loopers are here, right?"

"Yep," Yang confirmed. "As well as Port and Oobleck, SSSN, Ghira, Whitley, Cinder's crew, I think I actually saw team FNKI talking to Sienna Kahn somewhere-crazy, right?"

Ruby spread her hands. "Neon Katt and Sienna Kahn: long lost niece and aunt. No clue if it's baseline, but that's how the loops roll sometimes."

"Yes, well, no offense to those charming individuals, but I think... if it's my last day, I should spend it with the ones that matter most to my family." Summer wrapped her arms around the two girls. "Which of course, goes double for my family itself!"

"Daaaaaw!" Nora squealed, jumping out from behind a tree and snapping a picture. "You three are so cute together!"

The three stared at her.

"What? Oh. This?" Nora gestured at her clothing. "Bet with Ren. I lost."

"So..." Yang mused. "If you're wearing _Ren's_ clothes..."

"They're actually a little tight," Nora complained, "and the sleeves and legs are too long-"

Ren caught up to her, clearing his throat. "I told you, Nora, if you want to wear the shirt you have to let me adjust it. Oh, hello miss Rose."

"Hello Ren." Summer nodded. "I have to say, you look good in a skirt."

"Thank you. I hope Nora hasn't been too overwhelming?"

"Actually, I think Mom was just about to see about getting all the loopers into a dance-off," Ruby cut in. "Could you go tell Penny to get her DJ table ready?"

Ren's face grew stoic. "Of course. And might I say, miss Rose... Good luck."

"You're going to neeeeed iiiiiit!" Nora sang, following after him.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Ruby, a dance-off? Really?"

"Well... we'll be on your side," Yang assured her. "So, you know, it might just be fair."

Summer's smile grew soft, and she nodded to her daughters. For a moment, the long dead mother looked around at the party. The Rens discussing parenting techniques with the Arc-Nikos'. Qrow and Mercury goofing off to the shared annoyance of Emerald and Winter. The Fangers discussing the next few moves they would make, Kali watching on with admiration. Sun and company trying to teach Neptune how to dance. Amber secretly kissing Cinder. Neon and Ciel bobbing to the beat of Penny's music. Roman slipping out smoothies and milkshakes, Neo eating ice cream with Whitley. Blake waving over at Yang. Ruby smiling at her. For a brief moment, Summer's breath caught in her throat.

They were standing at the edge of the world, on the precipice of the end, and here they were partying. Weren't they supposed to be saying their goodbyes, bracing for the short end that was sure to come?

Summer looked down at Ruby though, and in the silver eyes that mirrored her own, she saw eternity. An eternity of hope, and love, and grief, and pain, but also of strength, virtue, and passion. And beyond them, Summer saw something greater: a simple, honest soul. Summer saw that Ruby would never see her again, and for that she cherished their time together all the more.

Summer's lips spread in a wide and genuine grin. "Just to be fair. Let's go!"

* * *

 **95.44 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ruby sipped her milk quietly, staring at the moon as it slowly drifted over the horizon. The many torches behind her stretched her shadow long past her crossed legs into the night, reaching for a future that would be found in the past... or maybe just being a shadow without any underlying metaphor. She gave a subtle, almost imperceptible head bob when she heard somebody sitting next to her, and for a few moments said nothing.

Then she sighed. "You know, I don't know how to feel about it."

"About what?"

"My home being host to an orgy."

That got a snort from the one next to her. "It's not an orgy."

"Weiss, there are fifteen people having sex, all over the house."

"Yes," her partner acknowledged, "four couples, a triad, and a foursome, all in distinct rooms."

"One of them is _my_ room," Ruby grumped.

"And I'm sure Cinder's team is very grateful that you were willing to lend it to them."

"How did Cinder even pull that off?! It's-no, I, I'm not going to think about it." She gave a sulky pout. "Yang and Blake practically kicked me out of the kitchen. This is my last glass of milk for the loop, you know?"

"Well, the Belladonnas did commandeer Yang's room." Weiss paused. "You're... not really upset about this, are you?"

"...nah. Not really." Ruby gestured back at the house. "They're all just expressing their love for their lovers before the loop ends. I can't really blame them for that." She took a sip of her milk and sighed. "Maybe I'm just a little upset that mom decided to spend the last few minutes somewhere that wasn't... with me."

"This is the first loop she's been around where Tai was Awake," Weiss reminded her.

"No, I get that. I get that she's... not _just_ my mother. I guess I just got used to the idea she'd always send me off with a hug."

"Would you want her to hug you, right after what she's doing right now?" Weiss chuckled as Ruby screwed up her face. "I didn't think so."

"...she did give me a hug before she went inside," Ruby murmured. "Actually she went around hugging everyone, but she saved the best for last."

"There, you see? She does care for you. She just... wanted to continue having fun in a way she knew you would be uncomfortable with."

"You know how it is, Weiss." Ruby took another swig of milk. "Emotions are sometimes irrational and fickle things that act in ways you know don't make sense. I'm annoyed, sure, but not really upset." She shrugged. "And the rest of the party was pretty good."

"Pretty good."

"Okay, it was awesome. And this whole loop's been fun." A smile crossed the Anchor's face. "I'm going to miss it, all things considered."

"Mmm. Me too. It was nice, being able to help Whitley become something more than Jacques' puppet for once."

"Even if he did take it some unusual directions?"

"I blame our looping antics-he probably felt he had to measure up. But he does make an excellent rock star."

"Where is he, anyway?"

Weiss blinked, looking around. "He was sitting over there just two-oh, by the rotting eternities-!"

Ruby blinked as her partner stood and stormed toward a patch of trees with narrowed eyes. She pushed herself up and trailed after her in somewhat bemused curiosity, coming upon a confrontation that made her stop in her tracks.

"Take your hands _off_ my brother!"

"Aw come on, Weiss-cream! It's just a little harmless fun-"

"A little-?! HE IS FOURTEEN!"

"And I'm thirteen. Besides, he's been on his best behavior, doesn't he deserve a reward?"

"Neapolitan," Weiss growled, striding forward with tightly clenched hands, "you are not going to use my brother as another one of your flings!"

The ice cream girl sighed, stepping away from the confused and worried boy to his enraged elder sister. "Weiss, look. I didn't put any compulsion on him, he's completely consenting in this. I explained this would be a one time thing, and-"

"You are missing the point."

"Look, can't I have this one thing? It's not like I'm slipping back into bad habits. Or, I mean, if I am, you get to psychoanalyze me again and we can talk about it. And it's not like anybody else would give me anything anyway," she grumped, "I'm too young this loop."

Weiss took a deep breath, and let it out. Her hands unclenched, and she gently gripped the girl's shoulder. "Neo... I understand you're tense. We've been putting a lot of pressure on you ever since that reveal, and I suppose it's unfair to expect you to simply endure without complaint. I can understand the need to find release. There is something, however, that you need to realize."

"What, that actions have consequences? You've been hammering that into me for centuries!"

"Well, yes," Weiss allowed, "and also that I've looped into Star Trek as a Vulcan."

Neo's eyes widened just as Weiss pinched the side of her neck, before they rolled up and fell shut. The white-haired girl caught her mid-slump, carefully lifting her over her shoulder, before turning to her brother.

"I, uh. Um. You wouldn't hurt your little brother, would you?"

Weiss sighed. "...Whitley, just... not with Neo, okay?"

"Oh. Okay. I'll just... go." Whitley awkwardly shuffled away, before breaking into a run.

Ruby walked up to her partner, sipping her glass of milk. "Soooooooooo."

"Drop it, Ruby."

"Just saying."

 _"Drop it, Ruby."_

"Fine. Fine." Ruby paused. "Got about fifteen minutes before the loop ends. Anything you want to do?"

"Well, I had planned to just talk about stuff with you, but this cropped up and now I'm not in the mood."

"Fair enough. Let's find a place to stuff Neo and then maybe karaoke?"

Weiss chuckled. "You can do karaoke. I'll heckle you from the sidelines."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

 **95.45 Masterweaver**

* * *

"...well..." Summer managed a weak grin. "That was... yeah."

"Yeah," said Taiyang, smiling back at her.

"Mmhmm," Raven added, a sly smirk on her lips as she ran a hand through Summer's hair.

"...you planned this," the huntress accused light-heartedly. "This was a coordinated attack."

Neither of the others denied it.

She chuckled, then sighed. "I... hate to ask. But... how long now?"

Taiyang bit his lip, glancing at the clock that had, miraculously, kept on ticking. "...seven minutes."

"Heh, well. At least we won't have to clean up this mess. The smell would last for ages."

Raven shrugged. "There is that," she agreed, glancing at sheets that were strewn about the room.

"Well." Summer took a breath, paused, and let it out slowly. "You'll take care of the girls, Tai? I mean, I know they don't _need_ it, but-"

"I'll be around for them, you know it."

"And Raven." She turned, looking back at the other huntress. "You... you absolutely promise you'll keep my panties safe?"

Raven snorted. "I assure you, I'll enshrine them in a place of the _greatest_ honor."

"Oh, good. That's great." Summer giggled. "I'm sorry, I know, it's silly, but... well, you know."

Taiyang quirked a brow. "Inside joke?"

For some reason that got Summer giggling even more. " _Very_ inside."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'll tell him."

"Yeah, that... I guess I'm okay with that. Seriously though, you, uh..." Summer took a breath. "You do have the wedding gift I got Yang, right?"

"Yes, I do. It's stasis-locked and everything."

Taiyang blinked. "Wedding gift?"

"No offense, Tai, but I want my gift to be a surprise and you can't keep a secret from our girls for that long." Summer smiled at him. "That's what I like about you, you're so... forthright. Caring. You wear your heart on your sleeve. Or, you know, tattoo it on your arm."

"...I guess you have a point," Taiyang reluctantly acknowledged.

"And Raven... well." Summer turned to her. "You're a little too obsessed with controlling your situation, and a bit too eager to laugh at other's misfortune. Still, you know what you want, and you... you're smart enough to figure out how to get it." She sighed. "Guess that means you're going back to bandit tribe after this, huh?"

"Well... yes." Raven shrugged. "But I liked this. All of it."

"Yeah, I know you did..." Summer took a breath. "I know you did. Both of you. And I get that there was... always some tension between you, and you mostly made it work because I was here. No," she stopped the protests, "I'm not stupid. You broke apart in baseline, and you're not just going to magically get together after this. And... I'm okay with that, I guess... I just..."

She hesitated.

"...I mean, I'm basically going to die in a few minutes. Or something. I don't know. I'm terrified, but... what I did while I was alive... with you, and the girls, and all our friends... I don't regret that. Even knowing it was only a brief minute in your existence, I don't regret it. I enjoyed it."

"Summer-"

"So what I want," she continued over Taiyang's words, "is for this to be something you don't regret. Or mourn over. Okay? Can you promise me, no matter what happens between you two, that this loop will just be a shared fond memory? That this, that us... that it's not going to be 'things were better back then' and a spiral into depression?"

Raven let out a slow breath. "...If we do start going that route, we promise to take it up with the local psychologist. I don't want my memories of this loop tainted." She looked toward Taiyang for confirmation.

"Yeah." Taiyang smiled. "It... it'll be hard, not going to lie, but I know better this time round. We'll be good."

"Good." Summer nodded. "Good. Well. We've got a bit of time left?"

"Thirty seconds."

"Oh, good, see, there was one last thing I needed to tell you both, and I didn't want it complicating our relationship even more, but now's pretty much the last moment. Are you both listening?"

Raven and Taiyang both nodded.

"See, there's a secret that I've been keeping this whole time. It's something I didn't want to admit, because it would make things weird. But... well...?"

"What?"

"...see... one of you is way, _way_ sexier than the other."

The two of them had just enough time to see the mischievous grin on Summer's face and process her last statement before the world, abruptly, ended.

* * *

 **A/N: And that, ladies and gentlemen, was A STRQ New Beginning. Happy volume 5!**


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